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Innovators: Programming Unmanned Aircraft To Cooperate In Daring Hurricane Missions
Getting unmanned aircraft to fly in coordination with one another, while in the throes of hurricane force winds, is no easy feat. It calls for a lot of mathematical formulas, tricky steering algorithms and prototype testing. But, aerospace engineer Derek Paley and hurricane researcher Sharan Majumdar are up for the challenge. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), they are working on programming unmanned aircraft to fly cooperatively and collect an abundance of hurricane data from altitudes and in conditions that are considered unsafe for humans to fly. This they hope, will lead to more accurate predictions of hurricane intensity, something Paley says will help improve emergency response decisions and will have a potential for societal impact.
Provided by the National Science Foundation
More Innovators videos | <urn:uuid:001aa900-f3b4-48be-873c-87f816a0f05b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://science360.gov/obj/video/5a1e9b76-5190-40e2-a89b-865522266736 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915608 | 171 | 3.140625 | 3 |
New York City Homelessness Prevention Efforts
Best Practice | August 11, 2006
New York City is prioritizing the development of new strategies and resources to help prevent homelessness among families. Among the innovative efforts underway are enhancing homelessness prevention efforts in communities from which a disproportionate number of families become homeless and investing in research efforts to examine why family homelessness is so prevalent in those neighborhoods. Because of the substantial efforts NYC is investing in preventing family homelessness, this webpage will be periodically updated as new information and resources become available.
New York City Family Homelessness Master Panel
Family Homelessness Prevention Report
On November 12, 2003, the New York City Family Homelessness Special Master Panel issued findings and recommendations regarding steps New York City should take to prevent homelessness among families. The Panel was created by a New York State Supreme Court Order as part of a settlement agreement between The Legal Aid Society and the City of New York and the New York City Department of Homeless Services. The independent panel is charged with evaluating the family homelessness system and putting forth recommendations for its improvement. In developing these recommendations, the Panel met with local and national experts on homelessness, community based organizations working with families at risk of homelessness, city agency personnel, and conducted focus groups with families who have experienced homelessness. | <urn:uuid:616e43e6-e59d-4b39-b39e-5b180bb74f11> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/new-york-city-homelessness-prevention-efforts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946917 | 251 | 2.15625 | 2 |
UNIX is a very powerful
operating system for the business sector, offering companies the power, security and
versatility that they need to run their business smoothly.
Linux is a flavor of UNIX that has found its way
into many homes across the world over the last few years, due to its increasing ease of
use and its security features, and is also starting to show up in the businesses sector
from business owners looking to find an inexpensive yet powerful way to administrate their | <urn:uuid:9ac040d8-94ab-403f-b49f-2e85a6cf932e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://qmail.unixgeeks.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979576 | 100 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Kuhn - Science as a Paradigm
by Saul McLeod published 2010
Thomas Kuhn (1962) attacks “development-by-accumulation” views of science which hold that science progresses linearly by accumulation of theory-independent facts. Older theories give way successively to wider, more inclusive ones.
Kuhn was critical of the simplistic picture that philosophers had painted of science. Kuhn looked at the history of science and argued that science does not simply progress by stages based upon neutral observations (e.g. Positivism).
Like Karl Popper, he agrees that all observation is theory laden. Scientists have a worldview or "paradigm". The paradigm of Newton's mechanical universe is very different to the paradigm of Einstein's relativistic universe; each paradigm is an interpretation of the world, rather than an objective explanation. Darwin is also an example of a paradigm shift in biology.
For Kuhn the history of science is characterized by revolutions in scientific outlook. Scientists accept the dominant paradigm until anomalies are thrown up. Scientists then begin to question the basis of the paradigm itself, new theories emerge which challenge the dominant paradigm and eventually one of these new theories becomes accepted as the new paradigm.
He believes that we progress intellectually through stages of development. This can be related to Piaget’s Stage Theory account of cognitive development in children.
During different periods of science, certain perspectives held sway over the thinking of researchers. A particular work may “define the legitimate problems and methods of a research field for succeeding generations of practitioners.”
Knowledge which does not evolve according to the four stages, according to Kuhn, may not be considered scientific.
- Disorganized and diverse activity.
- Constant debate over fundamentals.
- As many theories as there are theorists.
- No commonly accepted observational basis. The conflicting theories are constituted with their own set of theory-dependent observations.
Normal Science (most common – science is usually stable)
- A paradigm is established which lays the foundations for legitimate work within the discipline. Scientific work then consists in articulation of the paradigm, in solving puzzles that it throws up.
- Puzzles that resist solution are seen as anomalies.
- Anomalies are tolerated and do not cause the rejection of the theory.
- A paradigm is a conventional basis for research; it sets a precedent.
- It is necessary for normal science to be uncritical. If all scientists were critical of a theory and spent time trying to falsify it, no detailed work would ever get done.
Crisis and Revolution
- Anomalies become serious, and a crisis develops if the anomalies undermine the basic assumptions of the paradigm and attempts to remove them consistently fail.
- Under these circumstances the rules for the application of the paradigm become relaxed. Ideas that challenge the existing paradigm are developed.
- Eventually a new paradigm will be established, but not as a result of any logically compelling justification.
- In crisis there will be ‘extraordinary science’
where there will be several competing theories.
One theory will win because it will get the greatest number of supporters in the scientific community, because it is simple or may solve a social need.
- Each paradigm constructs “the Universe” and the meaning of concepts and observations in a completely different way.
- Each paradigm comes complete with standards for the assessment of what is to count as scientific.
- Different paradigms are held to be incommensurable.
- The reasons for the choice of a paradigm are largely psychological and sociological.
- There is no natural measure or scale for ranking different paradigms.
A paradigm is a universally recognizable scientific achievement that, for a time, provides model problems and solutions to a community of practitioners.
The enormous impact of Thomas Kuhn's work can be measured in the changes it brought about in the vocabulary of the philosophy of science: besides "paradigm shift", Kuhn raised the word "paradigm" itself from a term used in certain forms of linguistics to its current broader meaning. The frequent use of the phrase "paradigm shift" has made scientists more aware of and in many cases more receptive to paradigm changes, so that Kuhn’s analysis of the evolution of scientific views has by itself influenced that evolution.
For Kuhn, the choice of paradigm was sustained by, but not ultimately determined by, logical processes. Kuhn believed that it represented the consensus of the community of scientists. Acceptance or rejection of some paradigm is, he argued, a social process as much as a logical process. This means Kuhn is a relativist, although he denies this stating that a scientific theory can be assessed according to its problem solving ability.
Does science make progress through scientific revolutions? Are later paradigms better than earlier ones? No, Kuhn suggests, they are just different. The scientific revolutions which supplant one paradigm with another do not take us closer to the truth about the way the world is.
Successive paradigms are INCOMMENSURABLE. Kuhn says that a later paradigm may be a better instrument for solving puzzles than an earlier one. But if each paradigm defines its own puzzles, what is a puzzle for one paradigm may be no puzzle at all for another. So why is it progress to replace one paradigm with another which solves puzzles that the earlier paradigm does not even recognize? Kuhn used his incommensurability thesis to disprove the view the paradigm shifts are objective. Truth is relative to the paradigm.
Science does not change its paradigm over night. Younger scientists take new paradigm forward. As Kuhn put it "a new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it."
Thomas Kuhn showed contemporary philosophers could not ignore the history of science and the social context which science takes place. Science is a product of the society in which it is practiced.
Is psychology a pre-science? Was there a cognitive revolution from behaviorism that changed methodology and assumptions? Is cog a new paradigm? Still reductionist, input – output, still uses experimental method.
Kuhn, T.S. (1962). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
How to cite this article:
McLeod, S. A. (2010). . Retrieved from
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Nobody can deny it anymore. The environment, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are becoming important trends nowadays. More and more cities and companies turn “green”. There is a growing conscience that sustainability, care for the environment and CSR are necessary for the growth of our society. CSR is operating with attention for the three P’s: People, Planet and Profit. These three elements must be combined in a harmonious way.
Success cannot only be measured by economic growth (Profit), but also by sustainable development which cares about social, ethical (People) and green (Planet) values.
Also the meeting industry has gone “green” and has integrated the CSR policy. The Maastricht Convention Bureau helps visitors by providing information about “green” conferencing.
Maastricht and surrounding area cares about the future of our children and our planet.
The city of Maastricht and surrounding area takes different actions regarding sustainability:
For a full description of these sustainable projects in Maastricht, click here.
For further information, please visit the website of the local government of the city of Maastricht.
Click here to read an article about Sustainable Maastricht.
Many of our partners take outstanding measures regarding Corporate Social Responsibility. Doing business with these partners means doing business in a responsible way. Below, you find an overview of our partners and their sustainable measures:
* The Green Key was created to raise the awareness of owners and managers of tourism and leisure establishments on the necessity and possibilities of running a responsible business. Getting awarded with The Green Key means that an establishment has fulfilled more sustainable requirements than is required by law. Besides pure environmental demands, the criteria inclide demands on policy actionplans. Click here for more information about The Green Key.
A green meeting or event incorporates environmental considerations to minimize its negative impact on the environment.
10 tips for a green event:
By becoming climate neutral you will inspire others to do the same. Climate Neutral Group aims to make it easy for people and organisations to become climate neutral. In this way global warming can be countered. On the website of Climate Neutral Group you can calculate your CO2 emission. For conventions and special events you can contact Climate Neutral Group to make a measure made calculation for you. For more information, please visit their website. | <urn:uuid:2e070e74-4b1c-46f2-9e79-0bb3f32f67ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.maastrichtconventionbureau.com/about-maastricht/sustainable-maastricht?set_language=en&cl=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929585 | 487 | 1.992188 | 2 |
There are many exciting ways you can volunteer at Washington Township. If you have a talent or are looking to learn something new, we welcome you to apply.
Assist in maintaining departmental and Township records. Depending on your interests, duties can include filing, transcribing, typing, copying, scheduling appointments and special projects such as health and wellness initiatives.
Meet and greet people at the parades, festivals, open houses, and other celebrations in which we host and participate. Duties can include providing assistance with event set-up, tear-down and activity preparations, inflating balloons, directing people and traffic, answering questions, registering participants, serving food, or staffing a booth or information table. Your creative talents can be expressed by designing posters, leading children’s activities, preparing materials for crafts and games, conducting a demonstration, or developing games or crafts.
Park Facilities Maintenance
Get outdoors, get some exercise, and help us keep the Township parks looking beautiful. Small and large projects keep the staff busy year-round painting, repairing, constructing, and refurbishing to keep the park grounds, play areas, fencing, buildings, and equipment in tip-top shape.
Green thumbs and those who like to get their hands dirty will enjoy working with the group that plants, mulches, removes weeds, and waters the landscaped areas and gardens around township buildings and in the parks.
Recreation Programs and Activities
Assist in the preparation and/or implementation of recreation programs including arts and crafts, athletics, games and live entertainment offered by the Parks and Recreation Department. Duties may include helping in the preparation of materials, assisting with program participant supervision and guidance, helping to clean up and organize at the program’s conclusion, and helping with publicity and program evaluation.
Eagle Scout Leadership Service
Discuss with a Parks staff member your ideas for a service project. Projects completed by former Eagle Scout candidates include developing a rain garden, building a permanent educational display, planting trees, And constructing picnic tables and benches.
Assist the Parks Manager with a variety of special projects including building, installing and repairing bluebird houses, monitoring wildlife activity, and maintaining pond and prairie habitats to promote species diversity and provide resources for educational programming.
If you have a passion, hobby, craft, special interest, or skill you would like to share with the public in the form of a class offered through our Parks and Recreation Department, contact the Parks Program Manager, Kori Hurley at (614) 652-3947. | <urn:uuid:815f547a-a965-4d59-937f-07eb89ade16b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wtwp.com/information-and-news/careers-and-volunteers/volunteering/volunteer-opportunities/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936839 | 512 | 1.554688 | 2 |
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There are several approaches to strengthen one’s health. A few of these ways are proper eating, muscle building and exercise.
Usually, men do bodybuilding. They plan to follow a program that will aid them enhance their physical appearance and general health at the same time. Muscle building is such a good way of defining our physique. The fact is, weight training is becoming well known to some women also.
Both men and women can easily follow a diet routine. Anyone who performs weight training could get the most beneficial results from the workout by including right dieting. Women prefer to create their own diet routine and strictly stick to it to keep their physique. Diet plan is generally consists of whole wheat bread, brown rice and so forth. It'll be recommended to include fresh vegatables and fruits fruits and vegetables to ensure that even though you are on a diet, you are still obtaining the body’s required amount of nutrients.
Whenever you will have a sparetime, try to make it a normal routine in performing cardio exercise. With aerobic exercise, you will have the ability to get rid of excessive body fats. Another benefit of carrying out cardiovascular exercise is sculpting your legs. The ideal time of executing aerobic exercise is half an hour at least. Through this, it's not far to have ideal results in your training.
By following the three tips said above, being healthy and fit can be carried out easily. You better know these things if you want to be in your most beneficial form. | <urn:uuid:4151ace5-bcc9-48b2-b2d8-63d47a7dd2a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.t-bomb2.com/articles/healthy-lifestyle-through-these-three-simple-hints.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969646 | 312 | 1.953125 | 2 |
COMMERCE CITY — City councilmembers voted unanimously to approve a set of city-level regulations on oil and gas to create a way for the city to retain control in regulating proposed fracking and drilling operations.
A crowd of about 20 residents wearing bright blue name tags applauded the 8-0 vote. Councilwoman Jadie Carson was absent at the Monday night meeting.
Before the vote, one man — a visitor from Lafayette — asked the city to keep in mind that residents and local officials must hold control to strictly regulate fracking operations that he said could be dangerous.
The relatively new process of hydraulic fracking involves pumping water, sand and varying mixtures of chemicals into a well to fracture rock and release oil and gas. Industry officials say fracking is an environmentally sound method of extracting oil and gas from deep underground.
But critics claim the chemicals used during the extraction process can be dangerous.
City officials addressed the man's comments, saying that the regulations the city drafted addressed those controls.
The rules, which will take effect Aug. 1, will prohibit drilling operations on or near the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and Barr Lake State Park, under a
The rules also create a new level of regulation, requiring individual agreements that the city will negotiate with each company.
Certain elements that will be considered in the so-called extraction agreements, such as noise-mitigation plans, water-quality-control measures, restricted hours of operation and permitted lighting, were not passed as specific city rules. They were thought by some to be overreaching and interfering with state regulations on the industry.
Commerce City received a letter from the Colorado's attorney general's office in May. In that letter the office warned Commerce City that proposed regulations could conflict with the regulation process at the state level, through the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Putting the issues under individual agreements are intended to allow companies some flexibility to negotiate their operation plans.
"We believe a layered approach to oil and gas development balances community protections with individual rights," said Mayor Sean Ford. "In amending our existing rules, the city sought to remain within the regulatory framework of the state and be consistent with the recommendations of Governor Hickenlooper's oil and gas task force."
Officials also postponed discussions of an amendment that would create an appeals process to allow citizens or businesses to take companies to task if they do not follow the terms of their agreements.
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372 or email@example.com | <urn:uuid:2d548bed-3783-4325-ab42-83d42f75cef7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_20994400 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94914 | 508 | 1.773438 | 2 |
This collection is comprised entirely of an album with photographs from 1928-1935. The black and white photographs depict Louisiana governor Huey P. Long; Russell Long; former Louisiana Governor Oramel Hinckley Simpson; James P. O'Connor, Public Service Commissioner; Louisiana Governor O. K. Allen; John Overton; U.S. Senator Hattie Carraway; and others.
Topics represented in the photographs include Long's gubernatorial inauguration, Long's oath of office as Senator, Tulane and Louisiana State University sporting events, a Veterans' protest parade, the Overton trial, and Carraway's campaign in Arkansas.
The original album is housed at LSU Libraries' Special Collections Library. | <urn:uuid:bb413e98-3f1f-4261-b53b-647f3a64cca2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/LSU_HPL | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904613 | 144 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Let your desk help you stretch and strengthen your legs, arms, and spine.
-Downward Desk: Stand about an arm's length away from your desk with your knees slightly bent. Bend forward, letting your hands touch the edge of the desk, keeping your back straight, and your knees slightly bent. Adjust your feet further back if you need to. Allow the weight of your head and your chest to melt forward, dipping toward the ground as your hips pull up toward the ceiling. Slowly straighten your legs and lengthen your spine as you inhale and exhale deeply. Hold here for 2 or 3 more breaths or as many as you need. Then, soften your knees a little, let go of the desk, and drop your hands. Now, gently roll up to stand.
trending around the web | <urn:uuid:d341f745-2570-4cf8-a4e6-86dfd321ea9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/videos/m/32072110/downward-desk.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952973 | 166 | 2.109375 | 2 |
In The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Charles Darwin proposed to explain how one life form gave rise to another. He subtitled the book, "The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life." He argued that a succession of small improvements in reproductive success would gradually lead to the major changes that distinguish one species from another. This gradualist hypothesis followed the Uniformitarian principle learned from his geology professor, Charles Lyell.
Since 1859, Darwin's followers have focused on optimizing reproductive success, now called "fitness." For them, natural selection increases fitness and, thus, generates new life forms, including their sophisticated and complex adaptations.
Darwin put it this way in Chapter 6: "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. But I can find no such case."
There has always been controversy about whether random variation and natural selection for improved fitness can truly explain biological evolution over time. Today we can apply genome sequence data to test Darwin's theory. It answers clearly about gradualism.
Many genome changes at key stages of evolution have been neither small nor gradual. For example, plant breeders are familiar with rapid speciation. When we wish to create new plant species artificially, we do not use selection. We generate hybrids by mating different species. In a fine 1951 (!) Scientific American article on this subject entitled "Cataclysmic Evolution," the distinguished 20th Century evolutionist, G. Ledyard Stebbins, explained how flour wheat evolved, suddenly, by hybridization.
Hybridization frequently leads to a process of "whole genome doubling." Doubling the genome takes one generation and potentially affects all hereditary traits. Note that the production of new species with novel characters by hybridization occurs too rapidly for natural selection to act creatively.
Perhaps the most important evolutionary step of all took place at least one billion years ago, when two or more cells fused to produce the first "eukaryotic" cell having a defined nucleus. This nucleated cell was apparently the progenitor of all "higher" forms of life, including plants and animals. Such cell mergers are known as "symbiogenesis," long championed as an evolutionary force by the recently deceased biologist, Lynn Margulis .
It's remarkable that even though processes like hybridization and symbiogenesis have been well-known for decades, many neo-Darwinists firmly insist on gradualism in evolutionary change. Their position notwithstanding, living organisms have many tools at their disposal for generating sudden change.
As I described in my previous HuffPost blog, "Evolutionary Lessons from Superbugs," bacteria get new DNA information from unrelated organisms. Microbes transform into superbugs in a few minutes by "horizontal DNA transfer." Similar events confer new traits to many microbial and eukaryotic recipients, often multiple characters in a single step.
Was Darwin simply mistaken about the gradual nature of hereditary variation? Such ignorance would be unavoidable before we knew about Mendelian genetics and DNA. Or was there a deeper flaw in the theory that he (and Alfred Russell Wallace) propounded? The answer may well be that it was a basic mistake to think that optimizing fitness is the source of biological diversity.
My recent book, Evolution: A View from the 21st Century, begins: "Innovation, not selection, is the critical issue in evolutionary change." This blog expands on that assertion.
The first problem with selection as the source of diversity is that selection by humans, the subject of Darwin's opening chapter, modifies existing traits but does not produce new traits or new species. Dogs may vary widely as a result of selective breeding, but they always remain dogs.
The second problem is that Darwin understood only "numerous, successive, slight modifications" as the sources of inherited change. His neo-Darwinian followers have modified this position to assert that all mutations occur randomly. They insist there is no biological input into the change process. For them, the genome determines organism characteristics. They think of it as a read-only memory (ROM), which only changes by accident.
However, the last 60 years of molecular biology and genome sequencing have established that genome change is very much an active cellular biochemical process. I call this "natural genetic engineering." In my book, I argue that DNA biochemistry has changed our 21st-century view of the genome. We now have to consider the genome a read-write (RW) memory system.
In other words, the genome is more like an iPod than a CD.
My claim of creativity in genome change clearly requires empirical support. Decades of molecular biology research show that organism traits result from action by protein-RNA-DNA networks, which also respond to multiple sensory inputs and signals.
• How cells generate new proteins by combining parts of existing ones
• How families of proteins expand by copying segments of DNA & RNA
• How innovations spread from part of the genome to another
• How DNA "cassettes" move through the genome (with eerie similarity to familiar human technologies).
Given these well-documented examples of molecular innovation by natural genetic engineering, the new century may be an appropriate time to revisit our basic assumptions about the sources of biological diversity. Perhaps natural genetic engineering plays a more important role than natural selection.
As Barbara McClintock predicted three decades ago, the 21st Century brings us new insights about how cells adapt to challenges. Let us hope that we acquire nature's wisdom. Just as life has survived by repeated innovation, we humans can solve our own daunting problems by learning the lessons cells have to teach. | <urn:uuid:3b4a7bd6-e305-44e0-a65a-56599bbcf910> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-a-shapiro/what-is-the-key-to-a-real_b_1280685.html?ref=science | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942598 | 1,159 | 3.8125 | 4 |
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In a recent version of the Good Neighbor Policy, the world's largest free trade area was created when the United States, Canada and Mexico launched the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). That agreement has brought economic growth and higher standards of living for all three countries, and is committed to helping the partners to realize a more integrated and efficient North American economy.
NAFTA took effect on January 1, 1994. The agreement immediately lifted tariffs on the majority of goods produced by the signatory nations. It also called for the gradual elimination, over a period of 15 years, of most remaining barriers to cross-border investment and to the movement of goods and services among the three countries. Major industries affected include agriculture, automobile and textile manufacture, telecommunications, financial services, energy, and trucking. NAFTA was followed by the signing of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT/World Trade Organization (WTO), also in 1994.
The WTO administers a variety of agreements, covering, among other things, trade in goods, trade in services, foreign investment, government procurement, and intellectual property. Such regional trade agreements as NAFTA interact with the global regime in ways that can make or break a firm’s business strategy. Moreover, regional trade agreements can offer clues to the directions in which global agreements may be headed.
Like any multinational treaty, NAFTA has its pros and cons, its cheerleaders and detractors. More than 10 years after the treaty was signed, protests continue, especially by citizenry "south of the border." NAFTA seems to favor North America's big business over the needs of Latin America's indigenous peoples. While jobs may have been created in Latin America, the pay is generally low and available jobs are far from home. The benefits appear to go to governments, rich land owners, and large businesses.
The new NAFTA economies apparently have disrupted traditional agrarian lifeways as well. Formerly successful agrarian families, once able to send their children to college, find the markets for their traditional crop, such as corn, have been undercut by multinational agricultural corporations. The small farmers can't sell their corn at a profitable price.
No official NAFTA compensation or reparations structure seems to exist to cope with the widespread disenfranchisement of indigenous families dependant on traditional, but obsolete local economies.
The following information is derived from the official NAFTA website:
The Government of Canada, the Government of the United Mexican States and the Government of the United States of America, resolve to:
The NAFTA agreement among Canada, the United States, and Mexico, was signed by President George H.W. Bush in 1992. However, it still had to be approved by Congress. A tough battle ensued despite high-level support in both major parties. The following year, President Bill Clinton mustered all of his political clout to push the measure through Congress. The office of Republican representative Gerald Solomon of New York circulated a list of some 37 special side deals and pork barrel projects the Clinton Administration used to buy passage of the trade agreement. The president's November 17th political victory in the House of Representatives arrived by a 234 to 200 vote.
Detractors of NAFTA point out chapter 20, which mandated the creation of a North American "Free Trade Commission" and a vast new bureaucracy under the commission called the "Secretariat." The NAFTA Secretariat, comprising three Sections — Canadian, Mexican and United States — is responsible for the administration of the dispute settlement provisions of the agreement.
Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, a member of the Trilateral Commission's executive committee and a longtime power in the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), called the vote on NAFTA the single most important decision that Congress would make during Mr. Clinton's first term. Indeed, Kissinger acknowledged in the Los Angeles Times that passage "will represent the most creative step toward a new world order taken by any group of countries since the end of the Cold War. . . ." NAFTA "is not a conventional trade agreement," he asserted, "but the architecture of a new international system."
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Democratic representative Robert Matsui of California, another NAFTA supporter, candidly admitted that the agreement brings with it a surrender of American "independence." NAFTA supporter Democratic Senator Max Baucus of Montana bragged about the "iron fist" of the pact.
U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor, the negotiator of the "side agreement" on the environment, said officially that "No nation can lower labor or environmental standards, only raise them." In the August 17, 1993 edition of the Wall Street Journal, Kantor said that "No country in the agreement can lower its environmental standards — ever."
Historical Documents - The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) 1994
In essence, NAFTA has fueled the population growth of the border region, focusing the attention of the both the U.S. and Mexican governments on the environmental, social, and political dilemmas in the region. Preamble Part One: General Part ...
Foreign Affairs - Book Review - NAFTA Revisited: Achievements and Challenges - Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Jeffrey J. Schott
... participation in Federal Reserve Board meetings, common visa standards for non-NAFTA visitors, an independent trilateral monitoring board to promote core labor standards, an annual environmental report card to spotlight glaring deficiencies ...
North American Free Trade Agreement
Ohio factory workers feared NAFTA, contending that United States business owners would move their factories to Mexico, where labor costs were dramatically less than in the United States, including in Ohio. Substantiating workers’ fears, some ... | <urn:uuid:a334f931-1fa0-4dc0-b194-462d00d847b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1968.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939609 | 1,165 | 3.984375 | 4 |
International Women’s Day
Have you ever heard of International Women’s Day? If you haven’t, you’re not alone.
While it may not be a holiday in the United States, March 8th is widely celebrated around the world in places such as Europe, Uganda, and Africa. A global web of local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities, parades, and marches. It’s a day to celebrate the achievement that women have made and rejuvenates us for the fights still ahead.
International Women’s Day has been observed since the early 1900’s. Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. They began to stand up against the oppression they were experiencing and became more active in campaigning for change.
A woman named Clara Zetkin, leader of the Women’s Office of the Social Democratic Party in Germany, took notice and proposed that every year in every country, there should be a celebration of women in order to press for their demands. As a result, the first International Women’s Day events were held in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland in 1911 and were attended by over one million people.
One hundred years later, International Women’s Day is an official holiday in over 25 countries.
The new millennium has brought with it a shift in attitudes. With more women in leadership positions and greater equality in legislative rights, one could think that women have gained true equality. The fact of the matter is that “women are still not paid equally, they aren’t present in equal numbers in business or politics, and women’s education, health, and violence against women is worse than that of men”.
We do have female astronauts and heads of state, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has “moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives”.
While the world looks much different today, the need to create social change remains the same. So how can you honor the women who have paved the way for you, and guide the way for women who may come after you? Check out the official International Women’s Day web page to learn more about the holiday and participate in any events happening near you.
I challenge you to bring attention to this cause and hopefully soon, America will join the rest of the world in making International Women’s Day a national holiday. | <urn:uuid:cad2c689-ec5c-487a-a75a-04b4b3045996> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nextdoor.org/march-2011-intl-womens-day/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97103 | 530 | 2.859375 | 3 |
In banking over the past 10 years, management accountants have been instrumental in the creation of new management processes and performance systems. Their innovations have enabled banks to create internal capital markets, measure risks so as to facilitate their proper hedging and pricing, and create risk-based performance standards for lines of business. They have also made great progress in creating data bases and analytical tools to resolve strategic conflicts.
This article discusses the evolution of commercial banks into semiautonomous lines of business and the managerial issues and challenges that this organizational change has created. It goes on to describe the development of funds transfer systems, the allocation of risk-based capital, and the creation of risk-adjusted hurdle rates. Unresolved issues in bank management are also reviewed, such as the problem of "adding up" in the allocation of capital, the valuation of customer relationships, and the creation of objective measures of credit risk. | <urn:uuid:4d4727a2-7d13-41c9-8dff-e451f434602f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/neer/neer1997/neer397b.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954152 | 181 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program became mandatory as a result of House Bill 1018 passed by the Texas Legislative in 1999. Of the approximately 1,400 eligible communities statewide, 993 communities were participating in the NFIP. The remainder needed to participate no later than January 1, 2001, to be in compliance with state law. Residents of non-participating communities were ineligible to receive federal loan assistance to construct a home or business in a designated flood prone area. Loans guaranteed or underwritten by the Federal Housing Administration and the Farmers Home Administration require flood insurance. In addition, federal disaster relief was not available to mitigate flood damage in non-participating communities.
The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) was the state’s designated lead in cooperating with FEMA in planning and carrying out of state participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. This included, but is not limited to, providing training and technical assistance to communities so that they may have programs and ordinances in place to qualify under the federal program. The LCRA coordinated with the TNRCC in providing such assistance to the communities within the lower Colorado River basin. Expanded training and technical assistance was identified by the Steering Committee as a proposed objective for the coalition.
TNRCC and local water quality protection programs also had the potential to prevent or reduce flooding. Increase development in the watershed will increase impervious cover, thus potentially increasing runoff. This runoff may not only increase containment levels in streams, it may also increase flood flow and floodplain boundaries. Stormwater permitting programs have the ability to retain this runoff as well as protect water quality. Certain management practices to protect water quality such as natural riparian buffer areas have the added benefit of flood control. Such measures that provide this dual benefit should be encouraged, where appropriate. Coordination between TNRCC, local stormwater permitting programs, and floodplain management programs could help achieve flood reduction objectives. | <urn:uuid:9543c556-ee71-4501-8152-0024609fa572> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tcrfc.org/about-us/background/texas-natural-resource-conservation-commission/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957702 | 392 | 2.765625 | 3 |
A reader sent us a link to the Slate feature “The Wrong Stuff: What it Means to Make Mistakes.” It’s written by by Kathryn Schulz and features Q&As with notable folks discussing their relationship to being wrong.
It was my first visit to The Wrong Stuff but you can read past interviews with Innocence Project Co-Founder Peter Neufeld, Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger, chef Anthony Bourdain, and criminal defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz.
But this recent interview was titled “From the White House to the Jailhouse to the Pulpit: Chuck Colson on Being Wrong.” Many readers of GetReligion are probably familiar with Colson:
Today, Colson is a prominent evangelical leader and founder of the Prison Fellowship and the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. During the Nixon administration, though, he was, by all accounts (including his own) secular, self-obsessed, and scary. Officially, he was special counsel to the president. Unofficially, he was Nixon’s hatchet man and “the White House tough guy.” In 1973, as the waters of Watergate rose around him, Colson simultaneously found God and found himself in prison for obstruction of justice. Below, he and I talk about why he converted, what he regrets most about his involvement with Watergate, and why Christianity is “the religion of second chances.”
You have a fairly dramatic conversion story. What first prompted it?
Even though I am pretty familiar with Colson’s story, I found this interview to be fascinating. And it’s not as if Schulz seems like an expert on moral theology, as the reader who submitted it points out. But her interest in letting a subject tell his own conversion story makes for a great read.
Her questions show that she is listening intently to each word uttered by her subject (e.g. “Was that just social discomfort, or was it an inner discomfort–the first stirrings of your conversion?,” “Can you recollect what you were crying about?,” etc.). She asks him for details on the when of his conversion and is surprised to find out that it wasn’t a jailhouse conversion, as she’d long suspected. Here’s a great section of the interview:
If Watergate didn’t prompt your conversion, do you feel that your conversion affected how you handled Watergate?
Oh, yes. One day I did a show with Mike Wallace. This was when Watergate was absolutely at a fever pitch and the trials were going to begin and by this time I’d been indicted. He asked me how I could be a friend of Richard Nixon, given the things Nixon had said on the tapes. And I said, “Well, he’s my friend and I don’t turn my back on my friend.”
I got home that night and realized that there was no way I could be a good witness for Christ if I compromised on what I could say, or was not as fully honest as I could be. So I decided the best thing I could do was plead guilty. I sent my lawyers into the Watergate prosecutors to say I wouldn’t plea bargain, and that I had not done what they charged me with [conspiracy to cover up the Watergate burglary], but here was something I had done [obstruction of justice]–and if they wanted to charge me with that, I would plead guilty. And I did.
When you look back on that era, what’s your biggest regret?
My biggest regret is that I saw things going on that I should’ve known were wrong or I knew were wrong but then I rationalized them away. I didn’t say anything. I should’ve spoken up a number of times and said, “Wait a moment, this isn’t right,” and I didn’t. That’s my greatest regret.
The interview continues to dig down — “What do you think stopped you from speaking out?” and other questions that help really flesh out what was going with his conversion and how it changed his life. So the interview naturally goes into prison ministry, to which he’s devoted 35 years of his life, and why he thinks the modern prison system is futile. He mentions that when he got out of prison, there were 239,000 people in prison. Today there are 2.3 million. They discuss the sometimes interesting alliances that are formed when working to reform prisons.
But the interview gets back to religion, where Colson explains the Christian perspective on sin and second chances. They also discuss truth claims and religious tolerance and many other interesting tidbits, too. A nice read and I look forward to future Wrong Stuff Q&As. | <urn:uuid:dccfb544-ebdc-468d-87c6-31ae9e8a55c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.patheos.com/blogs/getreligion/2010/11/getting-colsons-wrongs-right/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977422 | 1,011 | 1.546875 | 2 |
A modern dictionary of Catholic terms, both common and obscure. Find accurate definitions of words and phrases.
Inherent power to produce a given effect. The term is commonly applied to physical or natural power, but it may also refer to the spiritual power conferred by divine grace. As supernatural power, it enables a human being to perform actions that are either beyond the capacity of human nature, weakened by sin, or totally beyond the natural capacity of any created being and leading to the possession of God in the beatific vision.
All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission. | <urn:uuid:28092c0c-4965-4c94-ba98-867232d35576> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=33326 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933566 | 130 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Over 8,000 websites created by students around the world who have participated in a ThinkQuest Competition.
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This website was meant to help children to play sport. The different sports are cricket, soccer,rugby, hockey and water polo. Children need to play sport to keep fit and healthy. Sport will also help develop children's muscles. We hope that this website will help encourage children to play sport and keep fit.
12 & under
Sports & Recreation | <urn:uuid:be8d27e6-9ca7-4293-9699-590d7cdefded> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thinkquest.org/pls/html/f?p=52300:100:2193846149024747::::P100_TEAM_ID:501578527 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92259 | 101 | 2.375 | 2 |
“Those who get along are the ones who share the feelings rather than the same language.”
The great thinker Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi leads humanity by shedding his gracious light all around the world. The journey that began in Belh and ended up in Konya resulted in a great gift to the city: Mevlana, a man of peace, love, understanding and art. With Rumi’s philosophy, Konya became a city of peace, serenity and tolerance. Rumi’s universality in his teaching that advocates unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love for humanity was his touchstone in his life. This indicates why we all need today Rumi’s belief in dignity of life, human life in particular and urge to rejoin the spirit to divinity and find the real self with love, tolerance, hope and peace. “Konya and Mevlana are inseparably entwined.” The ecumenical call from Rumi’s Shrine reaches out to a great number of people around the world and Rumi Museum is visited by about 2 million people every year.
“Sama” which means hearing and listening also comes to mean, in sufisim, listening to beautifully recited Quran and religious poetry as well. Starting from the first sufis, it has been very important to recite the Quran beautifully and to read poetry about religion, and to listen to the Quran and such poetry recited in the same way. Mensurable and harmonious sounds are usually followed by rhythmic and harmonious movements. And such movements have been named as “circulation, revolving, movement, dance and whirling". So, “Sama” has been used both for hearing and listening, and for moving and dancing along with the effect of nice rhythmic musical sound performed in harmony. And as the dervishes mostly dance by whirling, “sama” has been called also “whirling and revolving”. And the place where the “sama” is performed is called Samahane (the whirling room).
The Mawlawi Sama which is also known as the Mawlawi Muqabala consists of many aesthetical elements of art such as poetry, music, dance, ethics and manners of conduct. And it is these mentioned elements which make the spirit rear up and exalt it so that they are considered to be the important and inevitable ways to get closer to God. As an outcome of this understanding, there has occured a very rich culture made up of literature, music, ethics and manners of conduct in Mawlawi Order. And this culture has a very important role for a high class community in terms of both their aesthetical concerns and spiritual lives.
The Mawlawi Sama Ceremony has so many symbols in almost every step from music to clothing. The
sikke (tall honey-colored felt hat) of the Mawlawi dervish who is dead in ego, represents the tombstone, his
tennure (the long white skirt) represents the shroud, and his khirqa (black cloak with long, large sleeves) represents the tomb.
Samahane (the whirling room) is the universe; and the right hand side is the visible and the known material world whereas the left hand side is the spiritual world. Moving towards right from the post symbolizes decending from highness (from
ulwi to sufli), and moving towards the post at the end of the
khatt-i istiwa (the invisible straight line) symbolizes ascending which tells about the spiritual journey (sayr-i suluq) in the end attaining maturity and a greater perfection. The reed-flute (nay) represents the “perfect and mature human”. Blowing the red-flute also represents the Archangel Israfil blowing the
Sur (trumpet). Slapping the floor and then rising up to feet signifies both “Be”ing and the dead rising from the grave after the trumpet is heard. The three tours in Sultan Walad Cycle imply the three levels of knowledge "İIm-al yakeen, ayna'l yakeen, haqqu'l yakeen" meaning knowing, seeing and being/becoming.
The sheikh standing at the red post represents Rumi. And red is the color of the manifested world. He is the one who knows the path leading to Truth (God), so it is only he who can step on the khatt-i istiwa (the invisible straight line) representing the shortest way to reach the Truth. The walk in the Sultan Walad Cycle represents following the steps of a spiritual guide, the man of inner perfection, and trusting him to attain the salvation instead of staying bewildered knowing nothing about what to do and seeking where to go on the day of Resurrection.Sama consists of four salutations: The first one is the state of being aware of the Exalted Creator and of the servanthood by borning into Truth with knowledge. The second salutation is the state of seeing the greatness, the order and harmony in the creation of human being, and facing the highness and power of the Exalted Creator and feeling adoration to Him. The third one is the state of turning the feelings of adoration and gratefulness into love; and this is the sacrifice of mind to love. This is also the point of full submission. And in the last salutation is the state of completing the spiritual journey and, bowing to the inevitable, realizing the servanthood which is the duty assigned in the creation.
it is said :
"Even if you know all the spiritual levels, and even if you have attained them, never give up servanthood as it is the highest rank and level; but those who know and do not know are not the same. "
In order to preserve and revive especially the Sama Ceremony and the culture and tradition of the Mawalawi Order, which occured in the 13th century and has developed and got into a shape, and thus become an important part of Turkish history and culture, this tradition must be introduced and carried on to the next generations causing no degeneration and no harm in terms of its technique and inner perfection and original form. That is why the Mawlawi Order and the Sama ceremonies , each of which is one of our cultural richnesses, have been considered by UNESCO to be among the 'Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity' . Also, for the Sama Ceremonies to be performed as in the original form and proper atmospheres, The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has published a notice accordingly. Besides, the Metropolitan Municipality of Konya has been holding these ceremonies at International Mawlana Culture Center every Saturday as free of charge. Providing such an important cultural service to domestic and foreign guests, the Metropolitan Municipality aims at pointing Konya as the only place proper and close to the original form of the ceremony. | <urn:uuid:f34464a3-7c1b-4111-b66b-ad43dd0c979c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gyoder.org.tr/GelisenKentlerZirvesi_Konya/en/Ceremony.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959878 | 1,470 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Best Known For
Hortense Ellis, younger sister of the "Godfather of Rock Steady" Alton Ellis, was a pop singer who was regarded as Jamaica’s first locally based female singing star.
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Hortense Mahalia Ellis was born in Trench Town, an impoverished area of Kingston, Jamaica, on April 18, 1941. She recorded several duets with her brother, Alton Ellis, who became a superstar in Jamaican music. She worked with several important producers including Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and Lee "Scratch" Perry, but raising her children took precedence over her career. Ellis died in Kingston on October 18, 2000.
Hortense Ellis was born in Kingston, Jamaica on April 18, 1941, to a railway worker and a housewife who sold fruit at the market. One of seven children, Ellis began performing in local talent shows at an early age. In 1959, at age 18, she made a splash with her version of Frankie Lyman's hit, "I'm Not Saying No At All," winning a prize in the process. Her brother Alton was already enjoying success as half of the duo Alton & Eddie, who had their first hit with the song "Muriel."
By 1962, Ellis was touring the Bahamas and Trinidad with producer Byron Lee and his band, the Dragonaires. They became quite popular at local Caribbean holiday shows, including "Christmas Mornings," "Easter Spectacular" and a New Year's show. She was awarded the Silver Cup as "Jamaica's Best Female Vocalist" in 1964, an award she won again five years later.
Ellis also recorded with some of Jamaica's most prolific producers of the time, including Ken Lack, Arthur "Duke" Reid, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and Lee "Scratch" Perry. Inspired by Alton's success, Dodd paired the brother and sister for several duets that became classics, such as "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do." Dodd also produced several "female" versions of Alton's hits for Hortense to record.
In 1971, Ellis married Mikey "Junior" Saunders and worked on new recordings under the name Mahalia Saunders. She had five children in rapid succession, and her priority began to shift from her career to raising her family. While touring was a challenge, she continued to record periodically, working with producer Gussie Clark in the late 1970s on one of her biggest hits, "Unexpected Places."
After divorcing Saunders and living in Miami in the 1980s, Ellis returned to her beloved Jamaica, where she was diagnosed with throat cancer. She died of stomach complications on October 18, 2000, in Kingston, Jamaica, and was survived by eight children.
Following Ellis's death, Michael Barnett of MKB Productions—who promoted Heineken Startime shows, on which Ellis appeared later in her career—spoke about her in an interview with the Jamaican Gleaner newspaper: "She was a very good singer, and she always sought to put her total energy into her performances."
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From Babylon to Zion, they are the international artists who have revolutionized reggae, a musical genre that originated in Jamaica in the 1960s. At that time, the genre took on a more pop-based sound. Over the past several decades, however, reggae music has transformed to include various sub-genres such as rocksteady, roots reggae and steppa. Our list of Reggae Artists includes musicians of various styles and experiences, from Rastafarians to raggamuffins to sapps, to everyday mon; read about world-renowned musicians like Toots Hibbert, Peter Tosh, Judge Dread, Alton Ellis and Bob Marley.
Reggae Artists 19 people in this group
Famous Arians 535 people in this group
Famous People Born in 1941 70 people in this group | <urn:uuid:b038a10d-837d-4782-a3cd-9d486b2d798e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biography.com/people/hortense-ellis-20906121 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981664 | 877 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Published in AIDS Weekly, November 15th, 2010
"Approximately 15% of HIV exposed seronegative individuals repeatedly resist infection, a phenomenon that has been observed in all investigated HIV-exposed cohorts. This brief report provides a limited historic perspective of the discovery of these cohorts and outlines some of the immunologic and genetic parameters that are associated with resistance," wrote G. Shearer and colleagues, University of Milan.
The researchers concluded: "We raise the...
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NewsRx also is available at LexisNexis, Gale, ProQuest, Factiva, Dialog, Thomson Reuters, NewsEdge, and Dow Jones. | <urn:uuid:f2f00ec5-f5d7-4f2c-9ed2-d81c96ebfebc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsrx.com/newsletters/AIDS-Weekly/2010-11-15/2111520105AW.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937433 | 162 | 2.25 | 2 |
BlogsMixing Alcohol and Energy Drinks Has Sexual Side Effect
In addition to increased binge drinking, mixed drinks like Red Bull and vodka are linked to drunk and casual sex.
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As part of the “hook-up culture” on many college campuses, mixing alcohol with energy drinks, like Red Bull and Rockstar, is pushing many students toward risky sex, according to a new study.
Researchers from the University of Buffalo found that college students who drank alcohol and energy drink mixes were more likely to have intoxicated or casual sex during their most recent hook-up.
"Mixing energy drinks with alcohol can lead to unintentional overdrinking, because the caffeine makes it harder to assess your own level of intoxication," study author Kathleen E. Miller said in a press release.
Previous research has highlighted the dangers of mixing alcohol with energy drinks—increased drunk driving, binge drinking, and fighting. The researchers point out that a Jägerbomb/Red Bull won’t make someone have casual sex, but it increases their chances of doing so.
Drunk and casual sex both have potentially dangerous consequences, like unintended pregnancies, sexual assault, and sexual transmitted diseases. The good news is that the study, published in the Journal of Caffeine Research, found that students who drink alcohol and energy drink mixes weren’t less likely to use a condom during their most recent sexual encounter.
Still, with almost a third of sexually-active students mixing alcohol with energy drinks during the previous month, the dangers of these mixed drinks still loom large, especially when it comes to risky sexual activities. | <urn:uuid:4270a9a9-2d39-4280-9119-ee1cbe62eada> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-drink/mixing-alcohol-and-energy-drinks-has-sexual-side-effect | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955983 | 330 | 1.734375 | 2 |
If you experience the burn of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, also known as Acid Reflux, you are not alone. An estimated one third of the US population, including men and women of all ages, suffers from symptoms related to Acid Reflux. But help is available. Join Debi May, RN and Dan Madden, RN, with Cone Health Endoscopy for a discussion about Acid Reflux, the latest diagnostic procedures and treatment options for this common condition.
Wesley Long Hospital is located at 501 N. Elam Avenue. The Education Center faces Elam Avenue and is across the street from the LeBauer HealthCare building. Visitor parking is available in the designated visitor/patient parking lots located off of Elam Avenue to the left of Wesley Long Hospital. Follow the sidewalk to the Education Center entrance that faces Elam Avenue. The classrooms are numbered and located within this Center.
We have a tremendous response to our programs and space is limited. If you cannot attend this class, please call 832-8000 to cancel your registration.
In the event of inclement weather, please visit conehealth.com or call 832-7562 for the status of this program. | <urn:uuid:44fcd8e0-ea21-40a1-90da-e19ab2d1bbf0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.conehealth.com/classes/details/?eventId=8803324d-ba3f-e211-a94d-2c768a4e1b84 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932491 | 246 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Florida Red Light Camera Law Doesn't Care Who's Driving: Car Owner Fined
from the as-long-as-the-city-gets-paid,-who-cares? dept
There are an awful lot of problems with red light cameras -- starting with the fact that they don't actually decrease accidents or make the roads any safer. Most evidence suggests the only thing they're really good for is increasing the revenue for a city -- which is why a bunch of cities have broken the laws over the years and shortened the length of the yellow light to "catch" more red light runners -- while also actively ignoring any actual data around the cameras. Reader Gabriel Tane points us to a newly proposed law in Florida for red light cameras that, on top of everything else, would automatically fine the owner of the car even if he or she wasn't driving. It's difficult to see how this is reasonable... unless of course this law has nothing to do with making drivers safer, and is, instead, a way to raise extra money for a city. | <urn:uuid:72cc852b-00e6-4ec5-94ab-84039b3b1547> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090308/0956264033.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950066 | 213 | 1.65625 | 2 |
As an employer, you can take advantage of various programs that encourage the recruitment and hiring of people with disabilities. This will also make you eligible for tax credits that help cover the cost of accommodations for employees with disabilities. While this is an excellent way to expand and enhance your business, keep in mind that you will need to comply with certain legal requirements concerning the accommodation of employees with disabilities.
If you are a new employer or new to employing people with disabilities, you should start by reading the Guide to Disability Rights Laws. This guide summarizes the major disability laws affecting employers, governments, schools and other organizations.
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires any employer with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities, unless doing so would cause undue hardship. A reasonable accommodation is any change in the work environment that enables a person with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities.
Explore these resources for more information on how to comply with the ADA.
Provides an easy-to-read, overview of the basic employment provisions of the ADA as they relate to employees and job applicants.
Explains how to comply with the ADA's nondiscrimination standards when hiring and employing people with disabilities.
Offers answers to key questions facing small businesses in connection with reasonable accommodations. Read about the obligations of both employers and individuals with disabilities, and review the limits on how far employers must go in providing reasonable accommodations.
Hiring People with Disabilities
Now that you are familiar with ADA, you are ready to take the next steps in employing people with disabilities. The following resources will help you understand the ins and outs of hiring people with disabilities.
Do's and Don'ts of Hiring Persons With Disabilities
Provides a checklist for how to comply with ADA standards.
Links to resources for recruiting, employing and accommodating people with disabilities in the workplace.
Covers the benefits and tax incentives for employers hiring veterans with service-connected disabilities.
Offers a free consulting service designed to increase the employability of people with disabilities by providing individualized worksite accommodations solutions and compliance with the ADA.
If you have decided to employ people with special needs, you must be sure that they will have a comfortable work environment. These Worksite Accommodation Fact Sheets will help you ensure that all your employees have a safe and comfortable work environment.
Federal Tax Incentives
Employing people with disabilities will qualify you for various tax credits from the federal government. Click on these links to learn more about which credits you may be eligible for.
Provides an overview on the tax incentives available to help employers cover accommodation costs for employees and/or customers with disabilities, making their businesses accessible for everyone.
Supplies information on the Internal Revenue Service's disability-related provisions of particular interest to businesses as well as people with disabilities.
Details tax incentives available to help small businesses cover the cost of accommodations for employees with disabilities and to make their places of business accessible.
Covers how to take advantage of the tax credit and deduction available for complying with the ADA. | <urn:uuid:b7b83b6e-7970-4da0-97f1-f32868a6accc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sba.gov/content/hiring-people-with-disabilities | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952438 | 628 | 1.859375 | 2 |
This film type was modelled on samples processed with Ilford Ilfotec DD-X in a drum processor. Not all film types in TrueGrain have this range of media types but they are very comprehensive where possible.
Using TrueGrain is a breeze and really couldn't be any simpler. Open your image, pick your film type, select your filter if needed, then pick a grain sample and process. The whole workflow is really simple and allows a great deal of modification from the base effect. The interface features three control panes which allow you to refine the simulation by modifying the spectral response, dynamic range and film grain attributes and settings.
Spectral Response basically maps how a particular film type responds to different wavelengths of light. The Spectral Response panel controls via a mapping curve how color ranges are mapped to black & white values. The curves are again really simple to use and can be used anyone with some knowledge of color to create more interesting effects with your images. This panel is also where you pick the wratten filter you wish to emulate.
The Dynamic Range panel is where you affect the tonality of your image via a tonal response curve. According to Grubba software this feature basically affects "the overall nonlinear response of a given film stock to brightness." The attenuation slider affects the overall intensity of application of the dynamic range.
The last panel is the Film Grain application control curve where you define how the film grain is applied. In this panel you can select the scale of the grain for the film type you have selected. The scale is reliant on the film size you select and bearing this in mind I would make an effort to size your source image appropriately for your intended print size. The curve in this panel isn't editable but it's intensity of application and appearance can be increased by the grain intensity slider.
Film grain is one of the hardest attributes to effectively emulate and it is often something which many imageers are asked to remove from scans and images. In TrueGrain this attribute is required as the user is actually trying to emulate this realistic quality which has its own aesthetic value. Grain modelling is nicely implemented with controls for affecting the inclusion of grain in shadows, midtones and highlights via the predefined curve, as well as controlling the grain size.
One of the attributes which would greatly improve the handling here is the inclusion of features like clumping and grain shape to allow for special effects and more customizable grain effects. It might be possible to create application curves and profiles for different types of grain and effects.
I found the best results were created when using fairly neutral, low ISO images with no overt color casts. I also found that using higher resolution images was a necessity, as with lower resolution images the grain effects proved unrealistic—a 6 megapixel image being a recommended baseline or minimum size.
TrueGrain is impressively simple and it is my feeling that the only real way to improve the application is to add color film types to it and some facility for custom effects as outlined above. However as Grubba indicate in their FAQ, they want to focus on handling B&W first before tackling the additional complications involved in modelling color film types.
Cons: Would like to see more B&W film types. No support for color film types.
Pros: Fast and really easy to use. Highly configurable. TrueGrain is aimed at professional users who can appreciate the work that's been put into this excellent product. The interface makes it easy to achieved the desired result and the available presets further simplify the process. All things considered, TrueGrain is a must have for any photographer and imageer who wants a digital equivalent of black & white film. Highly Recommended. | <urn:uuid:7b557bba-7fb7-4deb-92af-db0c78f7e0f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kickstartnews.com/reviews/graphics/truegrain_black_white_film_emulation_review.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945263 | 753 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Strong Energy Industry, Natural Resources Create Booming Local Economy
Texas’s booming energy sector is visible throughout the state, but nowhere more so than in Victoria, where strong corporate development intersects with major natural resources to produce a robust local economy.
Caterpillar, Petrochemical Plants Expand Operations
Well-known national and international energy and related companies continue to call Victoria home, and they are being joined by an increasing number of new players. In 2012, the new, $150 million Caterpillar excavator plant will come online, a 600,000-square-foot facility that will create at least 500 new jobs. It joins Formosa Plastics Corp., which operates a production facility and support operation at a 1,600-acre petrochemical complex in Point Comfort; polymer and fiber producer INVISTA, which continues to expand its manufacturing facility in Victoria with both employees and operational capacity; and Dow’s Seadrift Operations, a 4,700-acre site with 11 plants representing the company’s global businesses.
Economic Development Key Focus for Victoria Officials
Recruiting, retaining and growing the petrochemical sector is a continuing mission for Victoria’s economic development officials. Happily, the area’s strong infrastructure, solid business climate and vast resources give them plenty to offer, says Dale Fowler, president of the Victoria Economic Development Corp.
“One of the things Caterpillar really likes about us is the diversity we have here,” Fowler says. “We are very heavily invested in petrochemical companies, but we aren’t tied too strongly to any one industry. Our medical industry is growing and has substantial ties to the hospital systems here, and our transportation advantages through highways, rail and waterways give us an advantage with many other industry sectors as well.”
Eagle Ford Shale Adds to Success
Victoria is also reaping the benefits of its proximity to the Eagle Ford Shale, a vast formation that is a hotspot for gas and oil developers and related businesses.
“The advancement of technology has allowed them to develop deep, horizontal drilling and fracking wells, so that industry has really changed,” Fowler says. “We’re centrally located along the northern half of the shale, and our community has enough amenities to support the people who are coming in for the various operations. We’re not doing a lot of the drilling here yet, but we’re a very strong destination for the companies coming in to do so, as well as all the people who are relocating to the area to work on the shale, or run the companies who are doing that work.”
Victoria is firing on all thrusters to capitalize on all this activity, and is succeeding because of well-laid plans that have been in place for years.
“We’re not just building these synergies now,” Fowler says. “Caterpillar was the result of a longtime community and business recruitment effort. We purchased and developed a business park so that we’d have available sites for industry. We have formed relationships over time in many different industries, and they help us close a lot of deals. And going forward, we’re working to make sure that these existing industries know that they can grow to their full potential here, and that we can develop other business parks and properties, such as land at the Port of Victoria, in such a way that different businesses can find a home here as well."
Read more on Victoria, TX employers. | <urn:uuid:94f5f2b8-b874-443d-8e85-15f33611742d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://livability.com/victoria/tx/business/strong-energy-industry-natural-resources-create-booming-local-economy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9555 | 725 | 1.671875 | 2 |
View Comments By:
Contribute your own thoughts, experience, questions, and knowledge to this survey for the benefit of all MedPage Today Healthcare Professionals and Expert Patients™.
Dr. Joe Muscato
I'm puzzled by the point of this study. The headline implies that
these scans are a waste.
1. They indicate palliation, as if that is the initial goal of
every patient with Stage IV cancer. We need to separate these goals.
2. Imaging is used to decide on appropriate therapy and make sure
that this therapy is working. It is better to get a scan than to
continue treatment with ineffective chemotherapy.
3. The decrease in imaging for early stage indicates that
physicians understand the limited use in many of these. That is a
helpful and under-emphasized model of appropriateness.
4. And, as usual, who is going to tell us when the last year of
Scholar of inMedicine
Probably,the essence of this study is to emphasize that FAMILY TIME
AND QUALITY OF LIFE/PALLIATIVE CARE will trump CT SCANNING/IMAGING
appointment times and all the unnecessary distress associated when
end of life staging strageies are apparently medically useless
(futile) for future patient wellness..
Joan M. New York City
As a metastatic breast cancer survivor and patient advocate, I would agree with Dr. Muscato. Also, today,
there are many more chemotherapy, biologic, and endocrine drugs to curtail advanced cancer than
before. Therefore, it's likely that patients will be given more scans in order to tell whether they've
become refractory to a particular therapy before starting a new treatment. Further, each patient is an
individual in when they are ready to consider palliative care. However, doctors should become more
adept at discussing end-of-life directives with their patients. My early stage breast cancer was diagnosed
in 2003 but advanced in 2007. However, there have been no signs of it since 2008. I've been on only the
same biologic drug every three weeks that I took even before the cancer metastacized. I require CT scans
and a brain MRI every 6 months to determine whether the cancer has progressed, and it used to be every | <urn:uuid:72b2b083-bc99-4a79-9ca5-dc31e356fb2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medpagetoday.com/comments.cfm?tbid=33986 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940819 | 483 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Selecting Appropriate Toys For Your Baby
Picking the right toys for your baby
Before you buy a baby toy, ask yourself these 10 questions.
- What will it teach my child?
- Will it hold my child’s attention?
- Is it safe?
- Is it annoying for me to see or hear?
- Does it promote creativity and/or social interaction?
- Is it non-combative and non-aggressive?
- Does it foster hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills?
- Can it be enjoyed by both genders?
- How many senses does it stimulate?
- Will the baby enjoy playing with this toy?
While these questions are extremely important for your baby’s fast-paced development, I think I would add one additional question to the list.
- Is the toy age appropriate for the child and the other children in the house?
Toys and age
We have a wide range of ages in our house (2, 4 and 9), which makes it rather difficult to keep dangerous toys out of the toddler’s reach — but we do it because we have to.
There’s a reason why there are age requirements on toy packaging — toy manufacturers have tested their products for age requirements and safety hazards. As much as my 2-year-old wants to play with his 9-year-old brother’s Lego pieces, he’s not allowed. He often acts and appears older than some of his fellow 2-year-old friends (because he has older brothers), but he’s still a toddler with irrational thoughts and he’s still learning essential comprehension skills.
Same thing goes for infants. Babies place anything and everything in their mouths. A toy with small pieces or a toy that is meant for older children can instantly become a choking hazard.
Learning through play
The right toys can enhance a child’s curiosity and teach important physical, social and emotional skills. According to the Dr. Sears website, AskDrSears.com, “the best toys are the ones that stimulate many senses and that give the child the opportunity to make things happen.” When buying toys for your baby, always choose toys that build on the skills the child already has, challenges the child and is developmentally age appropriate. | <urn:uuid:61e351ce-3979-4ffd-ba34-106f3fb56f0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pregnancyandbaby.com/the-hatch-blog/articles/950853/10-questions-to-ask-before-buying-baby-toys | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963447 | 482 | 2.390625 | 2 |
By Russell B. Laine, Chief of Police, Algonquin, Illinois
|Russell B. Laine, Chief of Police, |
ver the last several years, we have witnessed a remarkable, and horrific, increase in the level of drug-related violence in Mexico. In 2008, more than 6,200 people died as a result of drug-related violence. So far this year, more than 1,000 people, including police officers, judges, prosecutors, soldiers, journalists, politicians, and innocent bystanders, have been killed.
This violence is not contained to Mexico. States along the southwestern U.S. border and cities throughout the United States have reported increases in crime and violence that can be traced back to organizations based in Mexico. For example, the Arizona attorney general recently advised that over the last two years, the city of Phoenix has reported more than 700 kidnappings for ransom—more than any other U.S. city—and that the vast majority of these kidnappings were related to the Mexican drug trade. Even more troubling is the fact that Arizona law enforcement agencies believe that twice as many kidnappings went unreported.
This spike in violent activity is a tragic and unacceptable situation that poses profound risks not just to Mexico, but to the United States and countries throughout the region and the world.
At the January 2009 meeting of the IACP Executive Committee, Acting Director Michael Sullivan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) provided the IACP governing body with a comprehensive briefing on the situation in Mexico, its impact on the United States, and the efforts under way to combat these criminal organizations and reduce the level of violence.
This briefing made clear that the scope of these criminal organizations is astounding. According to the National Drug Threat Assessment 2009, prepared by the National Drug Intelligence Center, Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) represent the greatest organized crime threat to the United States.1 The influence of Mexican DTOs over domestic drug trafficking is unrivaled. In fact, this report estimates that a vast majority of the cocaine available in U.S. drug markets is smuggled by Mexican DTOs across the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition, Mexican DTOs control drug distribution in most U.S. cities and are gaining strength in markets that they do not yet control.
For example, in my home state of Illinois, the Justice Department found that three Mexican drug cartels—Federation, Gulf Coast, and Juárez—are active in cities throughout the state. According to the DEA, Mexican drug cartels supply most of the cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana distributed in the Chicago area. Finally, reports suggest that $10 to $24 million in drug proceeds are sent from Chicago to the southwestern border each month.
Illinois is not alone. Mexican drug cartels are now present in at least 230 U.S. cities, up from about 50 cities in 2006. Mexican drug traffickers affiliated with the Sinaloa, Gulf, Juárez, and Tijuana cartels maintain working relationships with at least 20 street gangs, prison gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs that operate in urban and suburban communities throughout the country. These affiliations have significantly increased the availability of illicit drugs in many of these areas.
Of course it is not only the drugs being brought into the United States that is a problem, but also what the United States is “exporting” to Mexico. It is an undisputable fact that the weapons and firearms used to fuel the drug-related violence in Mexico can be traced back to guns procured legally or illegally in the United States. Over the last several years, ATF has arrested more than 1,000 individuals and seized more than 12,000 weapons that were en route to Mexico.
ATF has reported that an analysis of firearms trace data over the past three years indicates that Texas, Arizona, and California are the three largest source states for firearms illegally trafficked to Mexico. However, ATF trace data have also established that drug traffickers are acquiring firearms from other states as far east as Florida and as far north and west as Washington.
Clearly, combating these gangs and reducing violence in our communities and along the border is an effort that will require the resources and the commitment of law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels, as well as international cooperation among agencies.
We must confront this challenge directly in a unified and coordinated method, because far too often, we have seen the corrupting influence of drug traffickers weaken the institutions of a state and destroy the fabric of a society.
We must speak with one voice! We must guarantee that we, as the collective voice of the international law enforcement community, work to ensure that the world stands firm in the face of the challenges posed by drug traffickers, drug dealers, and drug users.
This is a war we must win. We have no other option. The lives and well-being of too many are at stake. Our inaction or failure in this effort will affect not only our communities or regions but also our families and our officers as well. ■
1National Drug Intelligence Center, U.S. Department of Justice, National Drug Threat Assessment 2009, December 2008, http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs31/31379/31379p.pdf (accessed March 23, 2009). | <urn:uuid:c340b971-8e8b-46a6-82dc-d92dcf42e93b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1768&issue_id=42009 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955647 | 1,105 | 1.960938 | 2 |
TRUST YOUR GOVERNMENT ??
"On T.V., Art Linkletter would put simple questions to a panel of kids who would respond with hilarious howlers? I think of that sometimes when I read the amazing comments that come out of the mouths of various officials. It's almost as if they're sitting in a row .. answering Art's questions as best they can.
Today we'll look at three .. regarding the safety of our food supply. You can judge for yourself whether they're hilarious, frightening, or both.
While listening to a recent report on NPR's Morning Edition, I heard two surprising statistics. And when put side by side, they're pretty sobering.
1) Over the past three years, agricultural imports from China to the U.S. have doubled. But you won't be able to tell if many of these imports end up on your dinner plate because a huge percentage of the imports are ingredients that manufacturers use to process foods, such as garlic powder, sausage casings, and apple juice for sweetening.
2) The FDA employs about 650 food inspectors who are responsible for nearly 420 ports of entry. ... Those 650 are also responsible for 60,000 domestic food producers. And to make matters worse, the FDA's ever dwindling budget devoted to food inspection will soon result in the closure of nearly half of the agency's food-testing labs.
Scary. More food comes into the country but less gets inspected. So every time we go to the grocery store, we can ask ourselves: Are ya feeling lucky? Well...are ya?
#1: In an NPR interview, William Hubbard, former deputy commissioner of the FDA, was asked about the problems linked to eating fish from China that contain residues of antibiotics. He noted that such fish can contribute to antibiotic resistance in humans, and added, "When a foreign processor is using them to make their fish stay alive, that's clearly a violation of U.S. law."
Oh sure - we wouldn't want Chinese food to contribute to human antibiotic resistance. That's something we can easily take care of right here at home where much of the domestic beef, chicken, and turkey meat we buy in our
grocery stores comes from animals ... given antibiotics.
Official #2: This also comes from Mr. Hubbard's NPR interview. He explains: recent contamination of wheat gluten was missed because the FDA's resources are stretched so thin that ... inspectors were only able to examine about one percent of shipments in U.S. ports last year. Then to cap it off he adds: "When you have what some consider a weak FDA, then that actually gives foreign exporters incentives to send us their bad stuff."
Given all that, you'll never believe his response when asked: should U.S. consumers be concerned: "I think the food supply is safe. I think we can continue to consume our food with confidence."
System failure. Does not compute.
Food is not our only import problem. Late last month all toothpaste shipments from China were blocked from entering the U.S. after a toxic chemical was detected in Chinese toothpaste sold in other countries. A few days later, the FDA announced that brands of this contaminated toothpaste had been discovered in Miami, Los Angeles, and Puerto Rico.
Official #3: A Wall St. Journal article about the toothpaste scare offered a curious statement from Burt Flickinger III, a consultant to consumer-product manufacturers. After noting that most major U.S. toothpaste brands are made here, he said, "Manufacturing toothpaste has always been sensitive because it's something that you put into your mouth. You can't take the risk of people being affected."
Riiiiight. And all those food products imported from China: they're all put - where?"
Well readers, its your world! Do you have family? I don't but I try to help. A lot more can be done if a lot more care enough to help spread the truth.
Can we trade with natural enemies for profit alone?
The item above is just one of hundreds related to health, food, government or war. I delete about 9/10th. of newsletters coming in, otherwise I would have no time for anything else. It's your government; (wherever in the world you live) you think they look after you? Why not print out a few of these leaflets for friends. If they don't believe now the time will come when they have to. But that could be too late! [See: www.themindweb.com] | <urn:uuid:67eeacf6-8f16-4459-ae8e-fef724617551> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gniebxbeing.org.uk/archive/supplements/health1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969009 | 938 | 1.664063 | 2 |
She vowed to make women’s rights a cornerstone of US foreign policy. How did she do?
Expanding Washington’s military footprint in North Africa may be well intended, but it could be destabilizing and lead to blowback.
Congress has many options to counter the Obama Doctrine, including revising the 1973 War Powers Resolution and 2011 Authorization for Use of Military Force.
A secret CIA drone base, a blowback world and why Washington has no learning curve.
The Islamic Republic has survived for so long because its basic model is, according to numerous surveys, what a majority of Iranians actually want.
How the United States military has become a global police force for the superrich and superpowerful.
Today's confirmation hearings are the last best chance to debate the truth about a lost war and America's war-making future.
The US has three lousy options with Afghanistan. Pick one.
In his inaugural speech, the president vowed to engage with other countries so as to "lift suspicion and fear." He should reach out to forge a more sane and sensible relationship with Cuba.
Will China-Japan-US tensions in the Pacific ignite a conflict and sink the global economy? | <urn:uuid:d1c62227-d5ac-42f0-a3d3-1eba9201ac49> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenation.com/section/foreign-policy?page=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938114 | 242 | 1.640625 | 2 |
15.02.2011Hosni Mubarak's ResignationPharaoh KOWe are experiencing a key moment in world history, in the light of which the events in Tunisia – as vital as they were for the Egyptian revolution – seem like a mere overture, writes Stefan Weidner
Down and out: despite desparate attempts to remain standing, Hosni Mubarak was knocked off his feet on 11 February "The Egyptians have inspired us," said Obama in his speech on Friday (11 February). He was visibly relieved. In the face of Mubarak's intransigence, it had seemed as if the US had either lost all influence over him or, even worse, had not been using it.
Since last Friday, Egypt has been ruled not by Vice-President Omar Suleiman, who was still being lauded as the great white hope only a week ago, but by the military in the form of a "Higher Military Council" that has so far distinguished itself by issuing three statements. In the end, Suleiman's only task was to announce that Mubarak had stepped down.
In his speech on Thursday (10 February), Mubarak made no mention of resignation, but chose instead to focus on his achievements. That enraged the demonstrators so much that the situation threatened to explode and the army was forced to have Mubarak's resignation announced, so to speak.
A "doctorate in stubbornness"
It is worth noting that so far, Mubarak himself has not announced his resignation, at least not in public. He has adhered to the "doctorate in stubbornness" of which he has always boasted. It was the people and the army who ejected him from his throne.
Could a general in civilian clothing make a promising presidential candidate, as some commentators have assumed? The military's third statement – which said that the council had only taken over power temporarily, and that there is no legitimacy other than that of the people – seems to suggest that this is unlikely.
According to Stefan Weidner, regardless of what happens in the near future, "the feeling of having achieved something considered impossible only at the beginning of the year is overpowering, not only among Egyptians" No matter what may happen in the future, the feeling of having achieved something considered impossible only at the beginning of the year is overpowering, not only among Egyptians.
We are experiencing a key moment in world history, in the light of which the events in Tunisia – as vital as they were for the Egyptian revolution – seem like a mere overture. Yet to what is the new Egypt the overture?
Pan-Arab power surge
One of the first sentiments noted by almost all Arab commentators on Friday night was a pan-Arab power surge, the like of which had not been experienced since Gamal Abdel Nasser's triumph in the 1956 Suez Crisis. Tunisia passes the baton to Egypt, which passes it to Jordan, which passes it to Lebanon, which passes it to the Gulf states, which pass it to the Gaza Strip…
Pan-Arabism is not pan-Islamism. There is nothing evangelical about it. It gives birth to pride and confidence, but not to fanaticism. It might just have what it takes to inoculate Arab societies against the temptations of political Islam.
For Europe, a revival of pan-Arabism would therefore not present a problem; and yet it would for Israel. No democratically legitimised government in the Arab world can afford the conciliation towards Israel that has so distinguished the authoritarian regimes in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt in the eyes of the West.
Even as early as Friday night, the voices on the street captured by reporters all over the Arab world included talk of Palestine having to be freed now.
Marshall Plan for Arab democracies
A new day has dawned: the admirable peaceful nature of the protest and the fact that the protestors did not resort to fanatical slogans or extreme ideologies augur well for Egypt's future If the Israelis are wise, they will make peace with the Palestinians while the Egyptians are still occupied with themselves. The wind blowing in their direction can only get harsher as time passes. Yet it would not necessarily be a bad thing if Israel were prepared to make long-overdue concessions to the Palestinians on the basis of a realistic assessment of the altered situation.
The actual test – i.e. proving itself under free democratic conditions – still lies ahead for the Egyptians and all those inspired by them. The admirable peaceful nature of the protests, the lack of fanatical tones and ideological entanglements augur well.
The major obstacle is the country's catastrophic economic situation, which even the cleverest government will not be able to improve in the coming years to the extent needed to ensure for stable conditions.
Which is why the West must step in now. With a Marshall Plan for the nascent democracies in the Arab world, the Europeans and Americans can prove how much stability is worth to them in the Middle East.
© Qantara.de 2011
Translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire
Editor: Aingeal Flanagan/Qantara.de | <urn:uuid:dcec1603-44b7-4ea0-b25c-dc7641fa9a88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.qantara.de/Pharaoh-KO/7151c7220i1p473/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975718 | 1,038 | 2.296875 | 2 |
History professor Dana Frank was quoted in a number of news outlets and blogs about a letter from 35 U.S. experts on Latin America asking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not to permit early elections in Honduras, including La Tribuna (Honduras), El Canario7 (Canary Islands), ADN (Madrid), El Financiero (Mexico City), El Diario CoLatino.com (San Salvador), and the online German magazine Telepolis. Frank also had a new op-ed piece syndicated online by New American Media in both English and Spanish. In addition, Frank appeared with Latin American studies assistant professor Hector Perla on the Santa Cruz Community Television show "Voices from the Village," and Perla appeared as a guest on Radio Jamaica commenting about the coup.
Shannon Gleeson of Latin American and Latino studies published a letter in the San Jose Mercury News defending comments by Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor. "We do not live in a color and gender blind society," wrote Gleeson.
Media Highlights provides monthly summaries of "UCSC in the News" columns. | <urn:uuid:bb66a27e-333b-40da-ad9b-6d172364bff7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.ucsc.edu/2009/07/3095.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928696 | 227 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Japan's Yone Minagawa yesterday relinquished her short-held title as the world's oldest person when she died "of old age" having clocked up 114 years, news agencies report. Minagawa was born on 4 January, 1893 in Fukuchi, Fukuoka prefecture, southwestern Japan. She was officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the …
But living across 3 centuries, how cool would that be? Only another 94 years to find out, although 10 centuries would be preferable.
99 and 2 days
My goal right now is 99 and 2 days. That will get me to my 75th wedding anniversary. But first comes June 21, 2030 and our 50th.
Was she dutch?
Still think I’d rather live a short enjoyable life than a long somewhat enjoyable life which had me waiting 40+ years wondering when I was going to die... or that I had to wear incontinence pants for any extended period of time...
Re; 99 and 2 days
>> My goal right now is 99 and 2 days. That will get me to my 75th wedding anniversary. But first comes June 21, 2030 and our 50th.
Assuming, ofcourse, that you wife is still living (and you are still married). Also, is there a particular reason you would like to die on your wedding anniversary?
On another note, I wonder what the probability of the current worlds oldest person dying, on any given day? I wonder how many we get through in a decade?
Who cares about being oldest?
I'm just working on getting my pension for longer than I paid into it. Three grandparents past the century mark (and one who died of silicosis at 85)... just wondering if taking early retirement would be cheating?
Hang on, Edna!
Hey, I wonder if there is some "curse of the 114"... Emma, check. Yone, 114 too. Hang on there, Edna!
"...put her longevity down to a good diet and plenty of kip, describing the latter as her "hobby"."
It seems to me that if you sleep a lot you miss all the action. Still, I think I'll give it a try. Give me a nudge when it's time for dinner will ya ....
Re: Re; 99 and 2 days
"is there a particular reason you would like to die on your wedding anniversary?"
Karma. I've been telling her for years that she's working me into an early grave. That would be proof.
What the devil is "popping clogs"? Kicking off (one's shoes), I take it?
Good grief. A techie's news site and here you are, a poster so technically backward you couldn't even ask a search engine for an explanation of 'popping clogs', but felt impelled to blither about your incompetence by posting? Research sharpens the mind, oh anonymous one; take the blunted object you currently possess and go forth... While you're at it, read Monty Python's 'Parrot Sketch' so that you'll have passing familiarity with some other euphemisms for dying quite likely to be used here.
To use another phrase with which you may need to look up, I thank you for laying yourself open to the sharpening of my claws.
For the longest time I thought the term was "pop cogs" ... like gears ... like a watch face just erupting with gears and springs and sickly cuckoo clock sounds. Shoes are not nearly as cool. | <urn:uuid:d7aeb536-5619-4a91-9f15-f9e330154a74> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2007/08/14/worlds_oldest_person/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967207 | 732 | 1.59375 | 2 |
- What does the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) do?
- How does NIDA fund research?
- FAQ's on Applying for Grants & Contracts
- What drugs are commonly abused?
- What is drug addiction?
- How quickly can I become addicted to a drug?
- How do I know if someone is addicted to drugs?
- What are the physical signs of abuse or addiction?
- If a pregnant woman abuses drugs, does it affect the fetus?
- Are there effective treatments for drug addiction?
- Where can I find information about drug treatment programs?
- What is detoxification, or "detox"?
- What is withdrawal? How long does it last?
- What is NIDA’s Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN)?
- How does NIDA ensure its research findings are used by treatment providers?
- What are the costs of drug abuse to society?
- How can I receive educational materials regarding drug abuse?
- Is permission required to use parts of or reproduce these materials?
What does the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) do?
NIDA is a Federal scientific research institute under the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA is the largest supporter of the world's research on drug abuse and addiction. NIDA-funded scientific research addresses the most fundamental and essential questions about drug abuse, including tracking emerging drug use trends, understanding how drugs work in the brain and body, developing and testing new drug treatment and prevention approaches, and disseminating findings to the general public and special populations.
How does NIDA fund research?
Information for funding opportunities available at NIDA can be found online at www.drugabuse.gov/funding.html. We fund meritorious and innovative scientific research on all aspects of drug abuse and addiction. Because NIDA is one of 27 institutes and centers that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH), our grants review process and funding policies are governed by NIH. All NIH funding opportunities, including grants, contracts, training, and small business initiatives, are posted in the NIH Guide. The NIH Guide also provides instructions on how to apply for funding.
FAQ's on Applying for Grants & Contracts
What are the physical signs of abuse or addiction?
The physical signs of abuse or addiction can vary depending on the person and the drug being abused. For example, someone who abuses marijuana may have a chronic cough or worsening of asthmatic symptoms. Each drug has short-term and long-term physical effects. Stimulants like cocaine increase heart rate and blood pressure, whereas opioids like heroin may slow the heart rate and reduce respiration.
What drugs are commonly abused?
NIDA and other agencies track trends in drug abuse through various surveys and data collection systems. Annually, NIDA supports the collection of data on drug abuse patterns among secondary school students and young adults through the Monitoring the Future Study (MTF); for more information, see DrugFacts - High school and Youth Trends. NIDA also supports a Community Epidemiology Work Group, a network of researchers who meet twice yearly to discuss drug abuse patterns in major metropolitan areas across the nation and in regional "hot spots," such as within and across border cities and areas.
For information on commonly abused drugs, see Commonly Abused Drugs, for a chart containing information on street and commercial names of abused drugs and their health consequences.
What is drug addiction?
Drug addiction is a complex, and often chronic, brain disease. It is characterized by drug craving, seeking, and use that can persist even in the face of devastating life consequences. Addiction results largely from brain changes that stem from prolonged drug use—changes that involve multiple brain circuits, including those responsible for governing self-control and other behaviors. Drug addiction is treatable, often with medications (for some addictions) combined with behavioral therapies. However, relapse is common and can happen even after long periods of abstinence, underscoring the need for long-term support and care. Relapse does not signify treatment failure, but rather should prompt treatment re-engagement or modification. For more information, see "Drugs, Brains, and Behavior - The Science of Addiction."
How quickly can I become addicted to a drug?
There is no easy answer to this common question. If and how quickly you become addicted to a drug depends on many factors, including your biology (your genes, for example), age, gender, environment, and interactions among these factors. Vast differences characterize individual sensitivity to various drugs and to addiction vulnerability. While one person may use a drug one or many times and suffer no ill effects, another person may overdose with first use, or become addicted after a few uses. There is no way of knowing in advance how quickly you will become addicted—but there are some clues, one important one being whether you have a family history of addiction.
How do I know if someone is addicted to drugs?
If a person is compulsively seeking and using a drug(s) despite negative consequences, such as loss of job, debt, family problems, or physical problems brought on by drug abuse, then he or she probably is addicted. And while people who are addicted may believe they can stop any time, most often they cannot, and will need professional help—first to determine if they in fact are addicted, and then to obtain drug abuse treatment. Support from friends and family can be critical in getting people into treatment and helping them to maintain abstinence following treatment. For information on substance abuse treatment providers, see: findtreatment.samhsa.gov or call 1-800-662-HELP.
If a pregnant woman abuses drugs, does it affect the fetus?
Many substances including alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs of abuse can have negative effects on the developing fetus because they are transferred to the fetus across the placenta. For example, nicotine has been connected with premature birth and low birth weight as has the use of cocaine. Heroin exposure results in dependence in the newborn, requiring treatment for withdrawal symptoms. It is often difficult to tease apart the confluence of factors that go with drug abuse during pregnancy—poor nutrition, inadequate prenatal care, stress, and psychiatric comorbidities—all of which may impact fetal development.
Are there effective treatments for drug addiction?
Drug addiction can be effectively treated with behavioral therapies and, for addiction to some drugs such as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol, medications. Treatment will vary for each person depending on the type of drug(s) being used. Multiple courses of treatment may be needed to achieve success. Research has revealed 13 basic principles that underlie effective drug addiction treatment discussed in NIDA's Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide.
Where can I find information about drug treatment programs?
For referrals to treatment programs, call 1-800-662-HELP, or visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration online at findtreatment.samhsa.gov.
What is detoxification, or "detox"?
Detoxification is the process of allowing the body to rid itself of a drug while managing the symptoms of withdrawal. It is often the first step in a drug treatment program and should be followed by treatment with a behavioral-based therapy and/or a medication, if available. Detox alone with no follow-up is not treatment.
What is withdrawal? How long does it last?
Withdrawal describes the various symptoms that occur after long-term use of a drug is reduced or stopped abruptly. Length of withdrawal and symptoms vary with the type of drug. For example, physical symptoms of heroin withdrawal may include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, and cold flashes. These physical symptoms may last for several days, but the general depression, or dysphoria (opposite of euphoria), that often accompanies heroin withdrawal may last for weeks. In many cases, withdrawal can be easily treated with medications to ease the symptoms, but treating withdrawal is not the same as treating addiction.
What is NIDA's Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN)?
Clinical trials are research studies that answer specific questions about new treatments for health conditions such as drug addiction. NIDA's CTN seeks to test treatments for drug addiction, both medication and behavioral-based, in community settings.
NIDA has established a network of CTN research centers across the country. Each one partners with several community treatment programs where patient volunteers are recruited for clinical trials. Researchers and practitioners involved in the CTN work together to determine treatment concepts to be tested. To date, 30 major trials and related sub-studies have been completed by the CTN, and nearly 20 major trials and related sub-studies are under way. As part of the clinical trials, providers are trained in the delivery of evidence-based practices, thus infusing research findings into the diverse culture of community treatment. This process of bringing together researchers and practitioners to test the real-world feasibility and effectiveness of proven treatments is changing the way drug abuse treatment is provided in this country. Researchers, community treatment providers, and people who want to learn about participating in the CTN should visit www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/organization/cctn/ctn.
How does NIDA ensure its research findings are used by treatment providers?
NIDA partners with other NIH Institutes, Federal agencies, and community and professional organizations to bring research findings to community and other treatment settings. In a landmark initiative begun in 2001, NIDA and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) developed what has come to be known as the Blending Initiative. This involves an interagency agreement designed to meld science and practice by encouraging the use of current evidence-based treatment interventions by professionals in the drug abuse treatment field.
"Blending Teams," composed of NIDA researchers and staff from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment's (CSAT'S) Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network, are charged with disseminating research results for adoption and implementation in practice settings. Specifically, these teams help develop innovative "products" (e.g. training curricula, supervisory manuals) for the substance abuse treatment and research community. For the first time, these products are being made available at nearly the same time that the research results are published in peer-reviewed journals, substantially reducing the gap between research and practice. Blending gives treatment providers the necessary tools to facilitate the adoption of science-based interventions for use in their communities. This effort also will establish and maintain regional and national partnerships with drug abuse researchers and community-based treatment providers as well as policy makers, stakeholders, and the general public.
What are the costs of drug abuse to society?
Drug abuse costs the United States economy over $600 billion dollars annually in increased health care costs, crime, and lost productivity, broken down as follows by type of drug:
Illicit drug abuse: $181B
http://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/pdf/economic_costs.pdf (PDF, 999KB)
Alcohol abuse: $235B
http://www.camh.net/News_events/News_releases_and_media_advisories_and_backgrounders/rehm_lancet_jun09.pdf (PDF, 279KB)
Beyond the raw numbers are other costs to society, including:
- the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C either through sharing of drug paraphernalia or unprotected sex;
- deaths due to overdose or other complications from drug use;
- effects on unborn children of pregnant drug users; and
- other effects such as crime, unemployment, domestic abuse, family dissolution, and homelessness.
How can I receive educational materials regarding drug abuse?
NIDA produces a variety of educational materials for the general public and healthcare providers. NIDA's materials are available via our website, which houses the NIDA Drug PUBS Research Dissemination Center Drugpubs.drugabuse.gov. Multiple featured publications are listed for downloading and for ordering print copies, along with a lookup feature to access materials on particular drugs, for specific audiences, and within the array of NIDA series. The latter includes:
- NIDAMED Resources for Medical and Health Professionals
- NIDA Notes (Research News and Trends)
- Research Reports on Different Drugs of Abuse and Related Topics
- NIDA DrugFacts for Science-Based Facts on Drug Abuse and Addiction
- Topics in Brief on Various Topics Related to Drugs of Abuse
- NIDA Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, NIDA's Peer-Reviewed Journal
For teachers and students, NIDA Goes Back to School provides science-based drug abuse education materials geared to students in grades K-12 and their teachers. All of these materials are free. Students are encouraged to join Sara Bellum, a budding neuroscientist, as she explores the effects of various drugs on the brain. Students and teachers can learn through the Mind Over Matter curriculum, or they can go online to join in Sara's Quest an interactive web-based program. Educationally appropriate materials from NIDA's collaboration with Scholastic Marketing Partners, the in-school marketing division of Scholastic, the global children's publishing and media company, also are available in compilations by year from NIDA's publications catalog and online through NIDA Goes Back to School. These products include articles and posters from the Heads Up: Real News About Drugs and Your Body program through which Scholastic features NIDA science-based articles on drug abuse and addiction in its Classroom Magazines. ScholasticNews.com also maintains a Heads Up Web site at headsup.scholastic.com. Also available is Marijuana: Facts for Teens and a companion booklet, Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know.
Is permission required to use parts of or reproduce these materials?
Unless otherwise specified, NIDA's products are in the public domain and can be copied as a whole without seeking permission from NIDA. Also, text selections and graphics that do not have source citations listed beside, above, or below them can also be used without permission. If the person or organization using such material wishes to cite the document or text, standard citation formats relating to publications and Web sites should be followed.
Please note, however, that if a person or organization wishes to use text selections and graphics that do have source citations listed beside, above, or below them, permission for use will need to be sought directly from the listed source. | <urn:uuid:9888a881-739f-4697-90e4-f300ca23d59c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drugabuse.gov/faqs?device=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927419 | 3,005 | 2.75 | 3 |
The Walkerville Progress Association (WPA) was formed in 2006 to give a voice to ALL visitors to Walkerville, whether they be guests of residents, campers or day trippers who have an interest in providing facilities that are for the benefit and enjoyment of all. It was in response to misinformation and a lack of transparency by decisionmakers at Walkerville over several years regarding various issues such as the campaign for a boat ramp by the local fishing club,and preparation of management plans etc.
We are against inappropriate and insensitive development but at the same time recognise that some facilities need to be provided for the enjoyment of families and these facilities need to be kept in a good state of repair.
Out of 17,000 annual users of Walkerville about 20% are landowner and friends represented through the Rate Payers Association and 20% are boaters represented by the Boat Club. This leaves 60% of users with no voice at all or any way of communicating their view on issues they feel are important.
We stand for transparency and openness on all matters regarding the future of Walkerville.
The biggest single issue that still faces (and will continue to face) the Walkerville users is the question of separating pedestrian and vehicle traffic on the beach at Walkerville during peak season. Although the Foreshore Committee and the Department of Sustainability and Environment have rejected a strong call for improvements that problem still remains. The WPA is not philosophically for or against a boat ramp but supports the majority view of the wider community. Whatever that may be.
Other issues that have been raised of a lesser nature that will be reviewed by the association vary from small housekeeping issues to other issues such as:
- Sealing of road in camping ground to keep down dust.
- Improvement of facilities at beach at Waratah.
- Construction of pedestrian / cycle track from camping ground to Walkerville North.
- Upgrading of picnic facilities for daytrippers at entrance to camping ground.
- Improvements to beaches at North and Waratah Street by small sized rock removal and parking improvements.
- Picnic facilities at Walkerville South.
- Underground power lines along the foreshore at Walkerville North.
The only agenda of the WPA is to provide representation for the views of a wide as possible section of the community that will allow Federal, State and local government authorities to “make informed” decisions about what the visitors to Walkerville would like or wouldn’t like.
If the silent majority chose to keep their views to themselves then it is the views of minority groups that will prevail in the future. This is you chance for ownership of local issues at our beautiful Walkerville. | <urn:uuid:fe1a22ac-c6de-49ef-9754-a40e6041e774> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://walkervilleprogress.org/about-wpa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952152 | 544 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The teen unemployment rate has risen to heights unseen in many years. But thanks to the city of Lansing, some teens were spared the trouble of job searching this summer.
The city coordinated a four-week summer employment program for high school students and recent graduates. They are camp counselors for elementary-aged kids.
The teen unemployment rate nationally is at its highest point in the last nine years, according to the U.S. Labor Department. The rate is at 18.5% for teens.
Lansing Mayor Tony Benavides says the city spent about $15,000 on the Summer Works Program. | <urn:uuid:164aea46-1d65-4f98-85d9-c66effce672d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wilx.com/home/headlines/394032.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957089 | 124 | 1.890625 | 2 |
fabulous fabrics, yarn, and sew-
ing supplies at the SewGreen Store in downtown Ithaca. Quilters, crafters,
and designers will love our unique selection.
to sew! SewGreen offers classes for children, "tweens," teens,
and adults. Our primary focus is on learning to successfully use a sewing
assess, clean, oil, and tune-up older sewing machines – or show
you how to do it yourself. We also refurbish donated machines and often
have a few for sale.
apprenticeship program is free to qualified teens who have a “passion
for fashion” or want an after-school job. We are also recruiting for
SewGreen operates with about half paid and half volunteer staff. We
cannot function without our dedicated volunteers. Store and classroom
volunteers typically make a once-a-week commitment of 4 or 5 hours.
We provide training, but it is helpful to have knowledge of sewing
or knitting, and working with fabrics. Teens, college students, and
community members are welcome to apply.
SewGreen was proud to again partner with two Cornell University departments
recently on a project to make reusable feminine hygiene kits for girls
in impoverished regions where modern supplies aren’t available.
Students and community volunteers completed 100 kits, which have been
shipped to Days
for Girls International for distribution.
Holiday shoppers put a serious dent in our store stock. The shelves
are filling up again, but we need more. If this is a good time to
clean out that stash and donate unwanted fabric, yarn, and sewing
supplies, we will happily accept it. Donated materials are used in
our classes, resold to support programs, or given away. Please follow | <urn:uuid:e7c46785-5449-4d2e-95bd-a7ff84accecc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sewgreen.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915045 | 376 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Enhanced Oil Recovery Plan Draws Bipartisan Welcome in Congress
Consensus Recommendations from Industry, State and Nonprofit Leaders Benefit
Economy, Energy Security, and Environment
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A coalition of industry, state, environmental and labor leaders called today for federal and state incentives to stimulate the expansion of enhanced oil recovery using carbon dioxide (CO2) from power plants and industrial facilities. The proposed measures would boost domestic U.S. oil production while reducing the nation’s CO2 emissions.
The recommendations by the National Enhanced Oil Recovery Initiative (NEORI), convened by the Great Plains Institute (GPI) and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), were released at an event on Capitol Hill.
Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Congressman Mike Conaway (R-TX) were on hand to welcome the recommendations, and Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), and Congressman Rick Berg (R-ND) offered written statements in support of the initiative.
In CO2-enhanced oil recovery (EOR), oil producers inject CO2 into wells to draw more oil to the surface. The practice, 6 percent of current U.S. domestic oil production, helps sustain production in otherwise declining oil fields, but limited supplies of CO2 constrain the expansion of EOR. NEORI’s recommendations would encourage the capture of CO2 from industrial and power facilities for use in EOR.
The centerpiece of the group’s recommendations is a proposed federal tax incentive focused on companies that capture and transport CO2, not oil companies. NEORI estimates that the tax credit would quadruple U.S. oil production from EOR, to 400 million barrels a year, while reducing CO2 emissions by 4 billion tons over the next 40 years. The U.S. Treasury Department would administer the competitively awarded tax credit.
NEORI calculates that the program would pay for itself within 10 years through increased federal revenues generated by boosting domestic oil production, with an estimated net return of $100 billion over 40 years. The incentive would reduce the trade deficit by saving the United States about $610 billion in expenditures on imported oil over the same period.
As an immediate measure, NEORI recommends that Congress or the Treasury Department modify the existing Section 45Q Tax Credit for Carbon Dioxide Sequestration to provide a more workable incentive to firms to capture and transport CO2.
At the state level, NEORI identified a range of existing state policies encouraging commercial deployment of CO2 capture technologies and projects and recommends that other states tailor and adopt them. The model state policies include tax credits, exemptions or abatements, and the inclusion of carbon capture-and-storage in electricity portfolio standards, among others.
“The EOR Initiative’s recommendations strike common ground among a diverse collection of interests and offer a realistic opportunity to increase U.S. oil supplies while reducing carbon emissions,” said C2ES President Eileen Claussen. “The proposal reflects practical solutions that deliver a win for our nation’s economic growth, energy security, and the climate.”
“Implementing these recommendations for EOR can create a virtuous circle of increasing benefits to our nation over time,” said Brad Crabtree, policy director for GPI. “Congress and state policymakers can expand American oil production, spur jobs, increase revenues, reduce the trade deficit and store significant CO2, all with incentives that pay for themselves.”
In total, an estimated 26 billion to 61 billion barrels of economically recoverable oil could be produced in the United States using currently available CO2-EOR technologies and practices, or potentially more than twice the country’s proved reserves. Expanded use of CO2-EOR also can advance the development of infrastructure needed for long-term capture, transportation and storage of carbon emissions.
NEORI participants include state officials from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Texas, West Virginia and representatives of:
- Air Products, Inc.
- Arch Coal, Inc.
- Archer Daniels Midland Co.
- Basin Electric Power Cooperative
- Clean Air Task Force
- Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute, University of Wyoming
- GE Energy
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Ohio Environmental Council
- Southern Company
- Summit Power
- Tenaska Energy
- United Transportation Union
- Wyoming Outdoor Council
- Chaparral Energy LLC
- Core Energy, LLC
- Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission
- North American Carbon Capture and Storage Association
The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) is an independent non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting strong policy and action to address the twin challenges of energy and climate change. Launched in November 2011, C2ES is the successor to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, long recognized in the United States and abroad as an influential and pragmatic voice on climate issues. C2ES is led by Eileen Claussen, who previously led the Pew Center and is the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.
About the Great Plains Institute
The Great Plains Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to transforming how we produce, distribute, and consume energy to be both environmentally and economically sustainable. Through research and analysis, consensus policy development, and technology acceleration, we are helping to advance clean, efficient and secure energy. Our collaborative efforts with public and private leaders focus on energy efficiency, renewable and low-carbon electricity and fuels, enhanced oil recovery, energy storage, smart grid and transmission. | <urn:uuid:c66f2d12-873f-452a-a685-36bb273e9443> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://neori.org/press-release-feb28/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918481 | 1,179 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Talk:Roll of Parchment
Salvage research
Expert salvage research for Rolls of Parchment
|Wood Plank||3||Gordon Ecker 06:12, 5 July 2007 (UTC)|
Parchment is not made of wood.
It is just scraped and limed animal skin, usually goat, sheep, or calf. A sort of wood-based paper can be made to resemble parchment by suitable chemical treatment, but it isn't parchment. Shrug. Cynique 15:53, 17 October 2011 (UTC)
- "Prophecies and Factions artisans will craft one Roll of Parchment for 5 Wood Planks and 20 Gold."
- "Artisans will craft one Roll of Vellum for 5 Wood Planks, 5 Piles of Glittering Dust and 20 Gold. "
- I suppose you would prefer that Calissa Sedgwick offer Parchment and Vellum options in exchange for Charr Hide. (Still, it does seem like an oversight by ANet that both rare mats can be crafted from wood rather than Tanned Hide or available in exchange for some other animal-skin-sourced salvage item.) – Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 15:59, 17 October 2011 (UTC)
- Well, I suppose it's fair that she doesn't, as Charr aren't goats, sheep, or calves... ;) But yes, it probably should have been Tanned Hide. As I said, shrug. Cynique 18:13, 17 October 2011 (UTC)
- Shrug or not, I think it's a relevant trivia note; usually, ANet's been pretty good about tying things to real-life (and/or fictional) counterparts (when there is one). (re: charr or not. Wikipedia says that vellum, i.e. high quality parchment, is sourced from any mammal.) – Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 18:20, 17 October 2011 (UTC) | <urn:uuid:0f53baf3-4a0c-4acc-8d55-9d80e9a5e2c4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Talk:Roll_of_Parchment | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951366 | 406 | 1.90625 | 2 |
It's getting tougher these days to think of the glass as half full rather than half empty, but if you're going to survive this economic crisis literally you might as well try.
That's the lesson from a large study of death rates in optimistic vs. pessimistic women, conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh. Using data from the Women's Health Initiative, an ongoing government study of more than 100,000 women over age 50 that began in 1994, the team found that eight years into the study, optimistic women were 14% more likely to be alive than their pessimistic peers. (See pictures of women around the world.)
The participants were asked to answer a standard questionnaire that measured optimistic tendencies based on responses to statements like "In uncertain times, I expect the worst." Those scoring highest in optimism on this scale were more likely to be alive eight years later, while those with the lowest, most pessimistic scores were more likely to have died from any cause, including heart disease and cancer.
At first blush, that's not such a surprise, considering that optimistic people, being more hopeful overall, probably eat better, work out more and make regular visits to the doctor. Previous studies have indeed documented the life-extending benefits of optimism, although most of that research has involved men and has been conducted in small numbers. What's more, not all studies have done a good job of weeding out potentially confounding factors such as health status and lifestyle. That's what makes the new study different. "Taking into account income, education, health behaviors like [controlling] blood pressure and whether or not you are physically active, whether or not you drink or smoke, we still see optimists with a decreased risk of death compared to pessimists," says Dr. Hilary Tindle, lead author of the study. "I was surprised that the relationship was independent of all of these factors." (Read "The Truth About Women, Money and Relationships.)
So if the women's lifestyle doesn't explain their longevity, what does? While the study was not designed to tease out specific factors, Tindle proposes several potential explanations, which she hopes to validate in further trials: optimistic people have more friends and a larger social network on which they can rely during crises; they also tend to cope better on their own with stress, a risk factor that has been associated with high blood pressure, heart disease and early death in previous studies. It isn't entirely clear how optimists manage stress so well, but it may have something to do with their physiological makeup genes and metabolic processes that keep them from panicking during troubling times. Or it may simply be that optimists follow medical advice more faithfully than pessimists, giving them a better chance of staving off life-threatening disease. "Our study reveals interesting findings. Now we need to replicate them and find out why this association is happening," says Tindle.
Another interesting trend that emerged from Tindle's analysis was the difference in longevity between white and black women. Pessimistic black women in the study were 33% more likely to have died after eight years than optimistic black women, while white pessimists were only 13% more likely to have succumbed than their optimistic counterparts. The numbers in the study weren't large enough to support any definitive explanations for this racial gap, but "there is definitely a suggestion that whites and blacks may be different in how optimism affects longevity," says Tindle.
It's also worth noting that the current report identifies only an association between optimism and longevity; it does not actually establish whether optimism can directly cause a longer life. Additional research will have to be done in order to answer that question. But if a sunnier disposition helps promote healthy behaviors like eating well and exercising regularly, then there's no reason not to view the glass as half full. | <urn:uuid:88773e31-3398-4ae6-a1c3-68f03fa17dab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1883402,00.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980448 | 769 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Any pregnancy that occurs outside of the uterus is called an ectopic pregnancy. The most common site for an ectopic pregnancy is in one of the fallopian tubes that lead from the ovary to the uterus.
Any pregnancy that occurs outside of the uterus is called an ectopic pregnancy. The most common site for an ectopic pregnancy is in one of the fallopian tubes that lead from the ovary to the uterus. During conception a woman’s ovum (female egg) is usually fertilized by the sperm in the narrow fallopian tube. This fertilised egg begins to divide and moves into the uterus over the next couple of days. If the fallopian tube is scared or narrowed the pregnancy may implant in the tube. Ectopic pregnancy occurs in about 1 in 100 pregnancies. It is vital that ectopic pregnancy is diagnosed early to prevent serious health consequences for the mother.
Some women are at greater risk of an ectopic pregnancy than others. These include: women who have had surgery on their fallopian tubes; women who have had pelvic inflammatory disease; women who have an intrauterine contraceptive device and women who have had an ectopic pregnancy previously. The reality is, however, that a substantial number of women that experience ectopic pregnancies have no identified risk factors at all. This is why it is important that all sexually active women are aware of the symptoms.
Typically women with ectopic pregnancies will present to their doctor or the emergency department having missed a period. They may feel they are pregnant or have done a pregnancy test, which is positive but have now started to bleed. What happens is the pregnancy will have grown to the limits of the fallopian tube and begun to fail. The hormones will begin to drop and bleeding will occur from the lining of the uterus, as occurs normally with a period. The pregnancy may, however, invade through the wall of the fallopian tube rupturing blood vessels and causing a serious internal haemorrhage to occur. The bleeding is usually associated with pain. If untreated shock will develop and in more serious cases the woman can die. Ectopic pregnancy is considered to be a medical emergency.
Any woman who is sexually active and has missed a period and then has bleeding accompanied by pain should seek medical help immediately. A pregnancy test will then be done as well as an ultrasound to see if there is any evidence of a pregnancy in the uterus or outside the uterus.
Management of an ectopic pregnancy will depend on whether the pregnancy has begun to fail and the hormones are dropping or whether it is still growing and the pregnancy hormone levels are high. It also depends on the physical state of the woman such as if shock is developing. Surgery to remove the pregnancy from the fallopian tube is still very common. If possible the doctor will try to conserve the fallopian tube. Sometimes it is possible to wait for the pregnancy to be absorbed naturally without resorting to surgery.
If a fallopian tube is removed women should still be able to get pregnant through the other tube. This does reduce the chances of a pregnancy though as you tend to ovulate out of alternative ovaries each month. Women who have had an ectopic pregnancy will be asked to be extra vigilant with any future pregnancies because of the increased risk of this occurring again. | <urn:uuid:a2c8d6af-55d2-4a09-b368-56f90d1b8506> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pregnancy.com.au/resources/topics-of-interest/pregnancy/ectopic-pregnancy.print.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967082 | 662 | 3.40625 | 3 |
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- A focus on not only the mechanics of homeschooling, but also
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Homeschooling Today magazine - Learning from the Past with a Vision
for the Future - Subscribe Today! | <urn:uuid:920b0ffa-662e-4491-9884-be77a7caf5d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hslda.org/perx/default.asp?Action=MDoffer&ID=16&catsub=Homeschool%20Resources%3AMagazines | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915251 | 391 | 1.796875 | 2 |
British Adventurer Sarah Outen Rescued After Being Stranded At Sea
British adventurer Sarah Outen has been rescued by the Japanese Coast Guard after her boat was damaged by a tropical storm during her around-the-world trip.
Outen’s voyage, which was supposed to be a human-powered around-the-world trip starting and ending in London, came to a crashing halt when the tropical storm that rolled through damaged her boat. Luckily, the Japanese Coast Guard was able to locate and transport her to safety.
Before the rescue had officially taken place, when asked about the state of Outen, her London2London team responded that she was ”bearing up well and demonstrating the strength and resolve that has brought her the huge distance on the journey so far.”
Possessing more technology than the average household on her journey, Outen was able to notify rescuers of her location as well as send out tweets regarding her thoughts on the situation.
“Trying hard2 smile and breathe calm keep getting interuptd by waves throwing us over.” adding,
“Focusing on calm trying2 block out wind and waves. Visualizing family and friends pulling us in.”
According to a statement released by her team, the rescue was a success and she was making her way back to the mainland.
“Sarah is now making her way to back to Japan,” they wrote. “We are awaiting final confirmation of details of Sarah’s arrival in Japan and will let you know more once we have further information.”
Sarah began her London 2 London journey on April 1st, 2011 and will attempt to bike, kayak, and run over 20,000 miles before her journey is complete.
Outen hopes to complete her voyage in London by fall 2013. | <urn:uuid:e5f0a2f0-7d69-4daf-a869-2ceb90ba15a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inquisitr.com/250795/british-adventurer-sarah-outen-rescued-after-being-stranded-at-sea/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978825 | 377 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Viruses are small infectious agents that replicate only within the cells of living plants and animals. Viruses are approximately ten times smaller than bacteria and consist of a nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) wrapped in a thin coat of protein. Viruses cause many different diseases such as the common cold, chickenpox, polio, and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Some types of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) can cause cancer.
Viruses are transmitted by direct contact with the blood and/or secretions of an infected person. The transmission may involve inhaling droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, but some viruses, such as yellow fever, are usually transmitted by bites from insects that have previously fed on an infected person. Viruses penetrate the cell walls of body tissues bringing a payload of DNA or RNA that starts replicating inside the infected cells. When the cell dies, multiple copies of the virus are released and continue to infect other cells. The human body sometimes is able to build antibodies that prevent the replication of the virus to stop the infection.
Vaccines consist of weakened viruses that stimulate the body's defenses to fight infection by the natural viruses. Vaccination was discovered by Edward Jenner (1749-1823), an English country doctor, who observed that milkmaids who got infected with cowpox only got a weak version of smallpox but did not get smallpox itself. Smallpox was greatly feared at the time because it killed one third of its victims and the survivors were left with unsightly scars. Jenner published his results in 1798. World-wide vaccination programs eliminated smallpox infections in 1977.
Polio can cause partial or total paralysis. The polio virus enters the body through the mouth and attacks the nervous system. Vaccination with the Salk and the Sabin vaccines has reduced polio infections globally from 350,000 cases in 1988 to 1,652 cases in 2008. Polio is now endemic only in Nigeria, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, but great efforts are being made to eradicate it. In 2011, there was only one case of polio in India due to the implementation of an aggressive vaccination and monitoring program. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative put in place a plan for stopping all wild poliovirus transmission in the world by the end of 2012. The program was dealt a setback when Taliban gunmen killed nine female health workers who were immunizing children against polio in Pakistan in December 2012. The Taliban had described the anti-polio campaign as a cover for CIA espionage activities.
with polio in 1921
Viruses are classified into classes based on their nucleic acid constituents and their mode of propagation. These are the seven categories of viruses with examples of the diseases that they cause in parentheses:
|Warts are caused by a Papovavirus|
|Cold sores are caused by
Messenger RNA (mRNA) consists of a sequence of the nucleotide bases Adenine (A), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G), and Thymine (T). These sequence of nucleotides is called a "message" because the cytoplasm of a cell translates mRNA into a protein by interpreting each sequence of 3 nucleotide bases into an aminoacid that forms the protein. The term "positive-stranded RNA" is used for viruses where the RNA has message sense and can act as a messenger RNA (mRNA). The term "negative-stranded RNA" is used for viruses where the RNA is the complement of the message sense and the message is constructed by creating a complementary sequence of the nucleotide bases where cytosine (C) is complementary to guanine (G), and thymine (T) is complementary to adenine (A). (Click here to see the molecular structure of DNA and nucleotide bases)
Although viral diseases such as AIDS and yellow fever have major economic and social impacts, they do not cause the panic caused by Influenza. Both AIDS and yellow fever can be controlled by common hygienic practices and by preventing insect bites. Influenza is a viral infection of the respiratory and pulmonary system generally accompanied by fever. It is hard to prevent influenza because it is contracted simply by the act of breathing. The high mortality associated with the great pandemics, such as the 1918 Spanish flu, elicits greater vigilance from monitoring agencies like the U.S. Center for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization.
Influenza Types A, B, and C
A genus is a biological taxonomic category ranking below a family and above a species and generally consisting of a group of species exhibiting similar characteristics. Influenza Types A, B, and C are different genera.
What is Bird Flu and Swine Flu?
Bird flu or avian influenza is an infection of birds by the Type A influenza virus. Similarly, swine flu or swine influenza is an infection of pigs by the Influenzavirus A or C. Variants of the influenza virus can also infect humans. Several human deaths from the Influenzavirus A (H5N1) in Thailand and in Turkey and deaths in Mexico from influenzavirus A (H1N1) have caused concern that the virus may mutate into a form that is easily transmitted from person to person thus causing a pandemic as devastating as the 1918 Spanish flu. The outbreak of swine flu in Mexico in 2009 was caused by a virus with a reassortment of components from influenza strains endemic in humans, birds, and swine. The best prevention against contracting the influenza virus is to use face masks to avoid inhaling particles with viruses from infected persons, washing the hands after touching light switches and door handles, and avoiding touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
Type A viruses are divided into subtypes based on differences of two surface proteins called hemagglutinin(H) and neuraminidase(N). There are 16 different hemagglutinin subtypes and 9 neuraminidase subtypes. The designation H5N1 refers to a specific combination of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase subtypes. Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase have complex protein structures. They are antigens that stimulate an immune response, especially the production of antibodies.
The influenza virus is about 0.1 micrometers (millionths of a meter) in size, which is approximately ten times smaller than the width of bacteria like E. Coli. The following electron photomicrograph shows the surface protrusions of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase as bright specks on the surface and the edges of the virus.
Hemagglutinin is a glycoprotein that binds the virus to the cell being infected. There are 16 hemagglutinin antigenic subtypes which are labeled H1 through H16. The hemagglutinin molecule is actually a combination of three identical proteins (shown here as gray, green, and purple) that are bound together to form an elongated cylindrical shape. A mutation that changes just one amino acid in the protein structure can alter the antigenic properties significantly.
Neuraminidase is an enzyme that helps the virus to breach cell walls. Neuraminidase is also known as sialidase because it breaks the linkages between sialic acid and cellular glycoproteins and glycolipids found in cell walls. There are 9 neuraminidase antigenic subtypes labeled N1 through N9. Neuraminidase forms mushroom-like projections on the surface of the influenza virus. The top consists of four identical proteins with a roughly spherical shape. The picture below shows how each of these subunits is rotated by 90 degrees relative to the center of the arrangement. | <urn:uuid:06ad75bf-7106-45cc-8887-2ca353b6e7be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scientificpsychic.com/health/virus.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943957 | 1,611 | 3.96875 | 4 |
Both Taneyev and Balakirev helped direct the development
of Tchaikovsky. While Balakirev has never been short of orchestral recordings
(nimbly helped along by the interest taken by Beecham and Karajan in
the First Symphony) Taneyev has struggled to grasp any public attention.
The first movement of the Second Symphony is
gravely liturgical and pregnant with tension then fiery with an energy
half Coriolan and half Dvořák's
Eighth Symphony. It reminded me of Fibich's Third Symphony. The stolid
andante of this three movement symphony is almost as long
as the first movement at 13.01. Its nature is reticent and hymnal lit
by woodwind silverpoints. The Allegro is big-boned and stompingly
uproarious mixing a tendency to colossal dance figures (like Beethoven's
Seventh Symphony) with Dvořák. The
trumpet assertion at 4.27 in the third movement glares in dark celebration.
The last few minutes sound rather Tchaikovskian.
The Fourth Symphony is in four movements. It
makes the most of the hall's cavernous and lively acoustic. This is
made to sound like a big piece about the great life themes and eternal
issues. The brass addresses are melodramatic, chasmal and inkily turbulent
suggestive of Tchaikovsky's Manfred and early Miaskovsky with
the odd dash of Brahms along the way. The contented adagio is
about the same length as the andante of the Second Symphony.
Its successor is a skipping wind-led scherzo in which the more
animated sections of Beethoven's Pastoral meet the scherzo
qualities of Glazunov's Fourth and Fifth Symphonies. The gutsy finale
is sturdy and ends in brassy grandeur, braying glory and Brahmsian majesty.
The Symphony is dedicated to Glazunov who also conducted its premiere.
This is the only Tanayev symphony to have been published.
I have been critical of Polyansky's approach in the
Glazunov symphonies. I had my concerns here but in fact he plays these
two works with zest and character; genuinely engaged by their invention.
Polyansky was a pupil of Oddisey Dimitriada (who recorded several of
Glazunov's more obscure orchestral pieces for Melodiya) and of Gennady
The notes are by David Nice, one of the leading authorities
on Russian music. He does not explain why it is that the only Taneyev
symphonies we ever hear are these two. Whatever happened to the First
This is not the first time that these two works have
been coupled. The Marco Polo CD was rather a damp squib and by all accounts
the interpretatively much better Melodiya Harmonia Mundi CD was rather
raw and unsubtle. [Jeffrey Davis writes in to say there
is also an identical coupling with the USSR Radio and TV Orchestra/Fedoseyev
(Symphony 2) and Novosibirsk PO/Arnold Katz (Symphony 4) on Russian
Stonkingly good performances of music that, rather
like the Glazunov symphonies, only succeeds when it is played all out.
Polyansky sloughs off his reputation for the languid and the meandering
to give these two symphonies the performances of a lifetime. | <urn:uuid:3486c25b-9c4f-47cb-ab7f-1466a3173016> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/oct02/Taneyev24.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935408 | 754 | 1.632813 | 2 |
(Click on image for larger view) |
3 - 6 years. Children will learn letters, spelling, and reading with this version of the popular game. Pictures and matching games allow children to make the connection between objects and their names.
Copyright © 2013 Kaplan Early Learning Company. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:f70a1b29-b0c6-4e45-a1dd-ca98f7c05757> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kaplantoys.com/store/trans/productDetailForm.asp?CatID=11%7C%7C3&Page=3&Max=174&Seq=15.95&PID=16633 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926138 | 61 | 2.25 | 2 |
A bald eagle that was rescued from an animal trap by New Hampshire police on Thanksgiving Day came from Rhode Island.
Officers in Salem, New Hampshire are trying to determine who is responsible for setting a hunting trap that captured a Bald Eagle.
Viewer Paul Holmes recently spotted two bald eagles near Monponsett Pond in Halifax.
A record number of bald eagles were spotted in Massachusetts during an annual winter survey, officials announced on Friday.
A bald eagle was found shot in Onset on November 2, and now officials are offering a reward for finding the person who did it.
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On top of high unemployment, we're suffering from a drop in wages in the aftermath of the recession.
This week's credit check: Wage growth fell from 3.8% in May 2007 to 1.8% in May 2011. Wage growth over the past decade was below Great Depression levels.
It was a year ago this week that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner welcomed America to its recovery. "We suffered a terrible blow, but we are coming back," he assured us, and he had a lot of "good news to report": businesses in a "strong financial position," banks "strong and more competitive," and American families saving more. But that last point may tell a slightly different story. While corporations are seeing nice profits again and banks are back to their usual wheeling and dealing, Americans are still scrimping and saving, even a year later. This recovery period hasn't felt like a recovery for the average worker, who is still struggling desperately to make ends meet. And beyond the fact that this is clearly a jobless recovery, another reason all of us are still wounded from the crash is that this is also a wageless recovery.
An analysis from the Economic Policy Institute shows that we're not just suffering from high unemployment in the aftermath of the recession. We're also experiencing falling pay for those who are lucky enough to have work. It reports that "wage growth has tumbled in the recession and its aftermath, falling from an annual growth rate of 3.8% in May 2007 to a rate of 1.8% in May 2011." Even the employed are worse off, bringing in less pay for their work.
And wages were pathetic even before the crash. While there are many parallels between our era and the Great Depression, that time period beats us in wage growth. As Jed Graham puts it, "Over the past decade, real private-sector wage growth has scraped bottom at 4%, just below the 5% increase from 1929 to 1939, government data show." So as wages fall after the Great Recession, they come on top of the fact that we had less to begin with heading into the financial crisis than people living under Hoover.
Fittingly, then, income is also falling during the "recovery." Total income was down about 15% between 2007 and 2009. New tax data that came out yesterday showed that in 2009, average income fell 6.1% to $54,283, losing $3,516 since 2008. That's the lowest level since 1997.
All of this comes on top of the trillions in wealth Americans lost in the crash -- little of which has been recouped. According to figures from the Federal Reserve, US household wealth fell by about $16.4 trillion of net worth from just before the recession to the worst of it in the beginning of 2009. Since then, Americans have regained only a little more than half of that, or $8.7 trillion. That stands in contrast to GDP, which has regained all of its losses. The picture is far, far bleaker for people of color. According to Census Bureau data, the median wealth for Hispanic households fell by 66% from 2005 to 2009 and by 53% for African Americans.
If wages continue to stall and unemployment remains outrageously high, we'll likely stay in this weak "recovery." When asked what's holding back the US economy, Deutsche Bank economist Carl Riccadonna responded, "It's the weakness in consumer spending." Workers spending their hard-earned paychecks (aka consumer spending) accounts for 70% of our economy.
As millions continue to look for work and employed workers bring less home, Americans should be able to turn to a government increasing job growth and promoting wages. But with unionization down and the government fixated on austerity, few are championing the needs of workers. Where will they turn instead when in need of cash to pay for the basics? Credit card companies, who will be glad to lend them money for outrageous fees and interest rates.
Bryce Covert is Assistant Editor at New Deal 2.0. | <urn:uuid:8bac4e28-051f-49c7-95bf-becc6b09e8ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nextnewdeal.net/welcome-wageless-recovery?author=35 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972636 | 829 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Niagara Gazette — The nation might learn a lesson or two by examining how the wonderful City of Niagara Falls, New York has learned not only how to take the plunge over the fiscal cliff, but to apparently survive it.
When Annie Taylor, the 63-year-old school teacher decided to take the plunge on October 24, 1901 she was certain that her feat would bring her fame and fortune; she certainly earned a name for herself and in the process, helped boost Niagara Falls, but when she died twenty years later, she was broke.
Ten years later on July 25, 1911, daredevil Bobby Leach also survived the plunge in a steel barrel though it took nearly six months in the hospital to heal his shattered body. He did not earn a lot of money for his efforts either.
Then, Quebec native Jean Lussier conquered the cliff on the Fourth of July, 1928 in a 6-foot inner tube covered rubber ball with a double walled steel frame. He made his small fortune the hard way by displaying and selling small slices of rubber inner tube cut from his contraption for fifty cents apiece, a tough way to earn a living!
At least as many would be rich and famous daredevils tried and died attempting to beat the challenge, proving that it takes more than simple courage and a well crafted barrel to survive the cliff, while those who took the plunge and survived also proved that fortune is much more elusive than fame.
Perhaps one important lesson to be gleaned from Niagara’s experiences with cliff diving which we might share with our representatives in Washington who now seem fascinated with the prospect of taking the plunge over the fiscal cliff might be that, while the imagined awe and splendor of the blind leap is certainly entertaining if not spiritually inspiring, the reality of the consequences of actually diving into the abyss are not quite worth the effort without a good plan as well as a better barrel.
As witnesses to the historic, seemingly perpetual rise and fall of personal as well as public fortunes tied to our most fortunate geographic juxtaposition on a cliff over-looking the crashing of the water from one Great Lake into another, Niagara Falls should be well versed in the benefits as well as the perils of such behavior.
Poor Annie Taylor, buried right here at Historic Oakwood Cemetery is “living” proof of such folly.
But, we don’t easily learn the most fundamentally important lessons in life; we are prone to repeat them over and over, and over again.
Another lesson that we might share with our Washington cohorts is that compromise, cooperation, and collaboration almost always work better than mindless confrontation. We know this because we have proven it to be so by doing the exact opposite for more decades than most of us can remember.
There was a time, beyond our recent collective memory when we were able to demonstrate some levels appreciable of progress toward the realization of a healthy, sustainable balance between the public and private interests, between and among governmental jurisdictions and political parties, but somewhere along the line, much of that goodwill evaporated and we were left with what we have now, not much.
But there are encouraging signs on the horizon that we might be able to avoid the plunge, or in the alternative, take the leap in a better barrel.
Among other things, the State’s demonstration of intent to fulfill decades of broken promises by finally making a small down payment on its billion dollar pledge to invest in our Western New York economy, and improving conditions at the State Park at Niagara Falls, the county’s demonstrated commitments to the Culinary Institute, and the private sector’s rediscovery of the dormant hotel potential in downtown Niagara Falls all point in the same direction ... forward!
But it is way too soon to celebrate; there is so much more to do together, for starters:
• Re-engineering our entire international travel and local ground transportation infrastructure.
• Figuring out what might be the best way to help NFR refine and move their vision ahead.
• Finding a way to complete the demolition of dangerous structures in the city.
• Recycling and utilizing vacant but viable buildings in and around the downtown core.
• Re-energizing institutions like the Niagara Community Center to help train a new technical/vocational workforce.
• Encouraging local entrepreneurship that can participate in what will inevitably become a bustling tourist industry again.
• Taking full advantage of our history and heritage as an internationally important center for human rights and energy development.
• Collaborating with our adjacent communities to develop world class all-season recreational facilities.
• Encouraging our abundant educational institutions to work together to develop the region as a planetary learning consortium.
• Developing a plan for the creation of a world class public art and performing arts and cultural center capable of hosting the world’s finest.
We’ve got work to do; let’s quit the squabbling and get BUSY building a better barrel!Contact Bill at firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:d9279227-d6a5-4bf1-973b-517fad076965> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://niagara-gazette.com/columns/x2120610708/BRADBERRY-Surviving-the-cliff-in-a-better-barrel | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956846 | 1,025 | 2.71875 | 3 |
There’s no use denying it. We live in the age of digital information. Smart-phones, iPods, iPads, laptops, and many other devices ensure that we are never disconnected, for better or for worse. Everything is becoming digitized in the name of ease, and now many things that were staples of the home have become quaint novelties of a bygone era. And, unfortunately, books seem to be falling into this same trap.
I’ll admit it. I am riding the e-reader bandwagon. I was fortunate to receive an Amazon Kindle for Christmas, and I have to admit, I’m a believer in the digital age. While I don’t feel that the Kindle can replace the feel of a good book in my hands, the ease surrounding the small device cannot be denied. I read three gigantic books over the summer, each close to one thousands pages long, and my back thanked me when it didn’t have to lug around those behemoths everywhere I went.
Of course, this is a Library’s Blog, not a personal one. How are these e-readers going to affect the libraries? Are they also doomed to vanish from this world? How do they keep up with this new technology?
It’s a problem that has already been written off by some. But, as a lot of people know, libraries are no strangers to technology. Instead of shunning e-books, they have embraced the new medium, and are offering a new method of digital book distribution, thanks to something called Overdrive.
Overdrive is basically a fancy way of saying “Online E-Book Library.” And it works just as the same, with few headaches. You go to a special section of the Minuteman Library Website, where a listing of all the digital books are displayed. You can search through them, or display them in a full list. When you find a book you want, you click it, select the format you want it in, and then download it. It’s really that simple, with only a few tweaks depending on your e-reader of choice. You then have the book on your device (or even your laptop!) and can start reading right away.
But they don’t stop at just e-books. They have a large selection of audiobooks as well, along with the potential for videos as well. These are just as easy to obtain, following the same process described above. Select, download, and enjoy.
Of course, there are limitations. Firstly, the selection, while constantly growing, is still limited. It is likely that a book you want just won’t be available, however the library is happily accepting requests. Secondly, the library can only loan out a certain number of copies of most books. Like the physical thing, if someone has the only copy checked out, you have to wait for it to be returned before you can take it. That, and there’s no way for the book to be renewed. After the loan period passes, you have to check the book out again, which is a minor issue, but one that should be noted.
However, there are a number of books that are “available anytime,” as it states on the website. This is exactly what it sounds like; the books can be checked out by an unlimited number of patrons. Of course, these are likely not “best-sellers,” and instead tend to be classics.
With that said, Overdrive is already a great service and only has potential to grow better with time. It’s somewhat limited now, yes, but what is there is very easy to use and surprisingly robust. Once the selection grows, I think it will become a staple of libraries everywhere. Unfortunately, it’s not quite there yet. But, I know if I see a book on there I want, or need for a class, you can bet I’ll be using Overdrive to check it out! | <urn:uuid:a73702b4-11f5-4f48-ae8c-75a2f083c41c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://whittemorelibrary.wordpress.com/category/resources/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969446 | 833 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Morning at the Office. Commenced reading regularly the Massachusetts Reports and propose now to pass my Mornings in devoting myself to the Profession of the Law. I have been made to drink so much of the bitterness of dependence, that I hope now not to cease my exertions until I am on my own ground. But independence would bring to me
none but sad reflections, as it would proceed from the consciousness of having been forced to it when others who had no better claim than I are equally assisted without the labour. This is a very incorrect system of education. It checks the well disposed for it gives them little encouragement to meet the labour of life. Afternoon reading Burke and some of the History of the United States.
On my return home in the evening, I took up the Boston Daily Advertiser and noticed a piece signed a Yankee Farmer, attacking my father on the old score of 1807
It was such an evident attempt to act upon the public mind unfairly, that I could not help sitting down on my return to my Office, and answering it at least so far as to expose the partial effect it was designed to have. This took up all the evening excepting time for the eleventh Book of Milton.2 | <urn:uuid:100fee2a-eb78-486f-a3c1-b6e7f05bd424> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.masshist.org/publications/apde/portia.php?id=DCA02d1197 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972986 | 249 | 1.554688 | 2 |
It is not our place to judge the neighbors of Ariel Castro. We don’t know enough about the particular circumstances of those who lived near this man who allegedly held three women hostage for a decade to be able to judge whether things could have been different had they been paying closer attention
The book of Bamidbar, literally “in the desert” or “in the wilderness,” is a hard book to read. Over and over, plagues break out and thousands are killed. The reason, we are told, is a pronounced lack of faith in God. I found the repeated spilling of Israelite blood difficult, to say the least, until Bible scholar Adriane Leveen put it into mythic perspective for me.
I have spent much of my adult life working to bring Jews and Christians together. In particular, I have tried to explain to fellow Jews that traditional Christians are our best friends in the world today.
Shavuot celebrates the receiving of the Ten Commandments and the arrival of the spring harvest. But, for food lovers, it is noted for the array of dairy foods that are served — delicious combinations of cheese, sour cream, milk and eggs. Also in abundance are “stuffed” foods, such as blintzes with cheese fillings.
There are a variety of options for how to begin the process, but all involve study with a rabbi. Some people study with an individual rabbi for a period of time, and other people enroll in group classes designed especially for converts.
This week’s double Torah portion, Behar-Bechukotai, begins: “And the Lord spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai” (Leviticus 25:1). At the end of our reading, we conclude the Torah’s third book with: “These are the mitzvot that the Lord commanded Moshe for the children of Israel at Mount Sinai” (Leviticus 27:34).
Natan Sharansky’s proposal to reduce tensions at the Western Wall has lost support from Orthodox and non-Orthodox leaders.
Criticism is the oxygen of journalism. Here at the Jewish Journal, we will criticize anything that we believe deserves criticism, including religion.
I was meeting with an upcoming bat mitzvah girl the other day and talking with her about the Torah (what else?). I pointed out all the books that surrounded us in my study and mentioned that as someone who has published five books myself, how thrilled I would be if people were still reading even one of my books 20 years from now.
Everyone has their moments of failure, when they transgress.
For the last couple of years - and especially the last couple of days - my Jewish friends all over the world have expressed their concern over whether anti-Semitism is on the rise in Turkey. First of all Turkey has a population over 70 million.
Rabbi David Hartman has gone to his eternal rest, but not before he made a monumental contribution to Jewish life and a significant contribution to Jewish thought.
I watched President Barack Obama’s second inauguration from the hospital room of my 92-year-old friend Harriet. She was having an EKG during it, even though we all agreed the numbers would not provide an accurate assessment of her condition — her medical condition, that is.
In these dark, cold days of winter, it’s so easy to lose hope. Add to this the hardships of loss, with which life seems intent on liberally sprinkling our lives, and we get something akin to paralysis. We may feel like a tree in winter, shorn of its leaves, standing still like death. Will spring ever come, and will we survive until it does?
On Feb. 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, tragically taking the lives of all seven astronauts on board. Among those who never returned home were Israeli Air Force Col. Ilan Ramon — Israel’s first and only astronaut — and a miniature Torah dating back to the Holocaust.
A Memphis yeshiva’s Shabbat retreat was disrupted when a hotel security guard was arrested for vandalizing Torah scrolls and other property belonging to the school.
There is an old midrash to explain how Moshe discovered his Jewish identity and woke up to his calling as a teacher and prophet. Yocheved, Moshe’s mother, used to sing him lullabies and feed him familiar foods.
Nowhere in the Torah does it say: “And on the seventh day, God played soccer.” Which is too bad for observant Jewish youths who would love to take advantage of the many local sports leagues that play on Saturdays.
It might be difficult for anyone in the 21st century to relate to the Leviticus story of how God killed Aaron’s sons for burning “strange fire” in His honor. It’s even tougher when you’re 12.
With his brother Benjamin’s fate hanging in the balance, Yehuda “draws close” to the Egyptian viceroy (whose true identity is not yet known). Yehuda had sworn to his father he would return Benjamin safely to Canaan, but now Benjamin is facing confinement and servitude in Egypt.
There are a good many details about the Joseph narratives that elude ready explanation. We absorb them readily and ignore them just as readily.
The senior rabbi of the Lithuanian haredi Orthodox, Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, said yeshiva students should not agree to enlist in National Service.
In our age of Facebook and Twitter, we know all too well how fast words can spread. When I was a kid, we played the game telephone, passing a word or phrase around the circle by whispering it into each other’s ear, knowing that by the time it went all the way around, it would probably be transformed into something completely different — that was funny!
Jacob returns to Canaan, where 20 years earlier he fled his brother Esau’s wrath after stealing his birthright. But time does not seem to have healed the wound.
Members of a Kansas City synagogue have come to the aid of Jewish Hurricane Sandy victims in Long Island by donating a Torah scroll to a synagogue that lost four.
The arrest of Israeli feminist Anat Hoffman at the Western Wall last month sent ripples of alarm across the Jewish world, and leaders in Los Angeles will address their concerns about religious pluralism in Israel to Los Angeles’ Israeli Consul General in a public forum Nov. 26 at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills.
One of the most frequent questions Christians ask me as a Jew is, “Why aren’t Jews committed to protecting the unborn?”
Jewish tradition has always championed the idea that justice is a fundamental necessity. When the Torah commands us, “Justice, justice shall you pursue,” the repetition is to teach that not only we must have just ends, our means to those ends must be equally just.
My road from twice-a-year Jew to Torah-study groupie took 40 years. With the heady days of the High Holy Days, Sukkot and Simchat Torah still fresh in my mind, it’s worth examining how I got here. During my youth, my family and I attended synagogue only during the High Holy Days. Even then, like most adolescents, no matter the Jewish preschool, Jewish summer camp, bat mitzvah or confirmation, the rabbi’s sermon was my cue to flee the sanctuary with my sister to find the other kids in the parking lot tearing into a purloined challah snatched from the synagogue kitchen.
Rabbi Menachem Youlus, once dubbed the “Jewish Indiana Jones” for his remarkable tales of rescuing Holocaust-era Torah scrolls, was sentenced to more than four years in prison for fraud.
The best parts of the Noah story are not found in the Torah verses, but in the stories we weave between them. Classical midrashim and the movie “Evan Almighty” help us answer such questions as: How did all those animals get along on the ark, and who cleaned up after them? How did Noah build such a humongous vessel all by himself? | <urn:uuid:b5031ebe-2804-4059-9ca7-89820af1c0bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jewishjournal.com/tag/torah | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965352 | 1,722 | 1.828125 | 2 |
(CNN) -- A Russian cargo ship reported to be carrying arms to Syria is turning back, Britain's top diplomat said Tuesday.
"I am pleased that the ship that was reported to be carrying arms to Syria has turned back apparently towards Russia," British Foreign Secretary William Hague told the House of Commons.
U.S. officials have said that the Russian operator Femco's cargo ship, MV Alaed, was headed for Syria with attack helicopters and munitions for the al-Assad regime from the port of Kaliningrad. The vessel had been off the north coast of Scotland, according to ship tracking data.
Hague commented on a ship during questions about the fighting in Syria during a wide-ranging House of Commons question-and-answer session about foreign policy. He didn't name the vessel.
He mentioned the status of the ship when asked whether "every peaceful diplomatic effort is being made to prevent the Syrian government from getting its hands on weapons that can be used against its own people."
Hague also cited a European Union arms embargo on Syria.
"We discourage anyone else from supplying arms to Syria," he said. "We have had discussions with Russia about that specifically."
He answered a question about how to approach the issue of chemical weaponry in Syria. Hague said that such weapons are a concern and that he's "confident that the international community" would pursue any action to deal with the issue, but he wouldn't elaborate.
The Standard Club, a UK marine insurer, said it has stopped coverage for the Alaed. The withdrawal of coverage applies to the whole Femco fleet of eight vessels entered with the company, Standard Club officials said.
"We were made aware of the allegations that the Alaed was carrying munitions destined for Syria and have already informed the ship owner that their insurance cover ceased automatically in view of the nature of the voyage," the company told CNN on Monday.
Femco declined to comment to CNN on Tuesday.
The Alaed was proceeding southwest at a speed of 12 knots and was some 40 miles off the Scottish port of Thurso at 9 a.m. ET Monday. The data showed that it left Kaliningrad 10 days ago with a final destination of Vladivostok on July 24.
On Friday, U.S. officials said they were tracking a Russian military cargo ship, the Nikolay Filchenov, also thought to be bound for Syria. U.S. intelligence believes the Russians are sending the ship to help fortify a Russian naval base in Syria as the situation in the country continues to spiral out of control, Pentagon officials told CNN on Friday.
RIA Novosti, Russia's state-run news agency, denied the report Monday, citing a source in the Black Sea Fleet who said the Nikolay Filchenov remained docked at its base in Sevastopol.
Syria has been engulfed in widespread unrest for more than 15 months. Thousands have died after a crackdown by the government of President Bashar al-Assad on peaceful protesters stoked an anti-regime uprising.
Hague said that efforts to deal with the "dire" situation have been focused on a "peaceful political transition in Syria and to a cessation of violence."
"At no stage have we been advocating a military intervention, but we do recognize the situation is so grave and deteriorating so quickly and such crimes are being committed, we cannot take any options off the table at the moment." | <urn:uuid:2bcc365f-4f3b-4409-ad98-b5d88092ed3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/19/world/meast/syria-cargo-ship/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978626 | 698 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Next week Israel celebrates Lag BaOmer - and the yahrzeit of the Tanna Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who popular tradition attributes authorship fo the Zohar ( "The Book of Splendor, " the central book of Jewish mysticism). There will be celebrations all over Israel, but the real mega-event will be in Meron at the grave of the Rashbi (Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai). But why celebrate - and what do we celebrate? In the west memorials are solemn, even grave occassions - so why make a hillula (celebration) with singing and dancing?
Become familiar with the mystical, and also very very practical, details of the event! The latter cannot be ignored ignore because over the years a whole industry has been built up around the event. Learn about Meron's significance in the Jewish mystical traditition - and the story and history of modern day Moshav Meron - and how it has changed over time!
How many people will attend the celebration this year, and which sectors of Israeli society they represent? When do the organizers start preparing for the event? Which organizations are involved in these preparations? Why do chessed organizations give out food and drink for free to everybody - and how come raspberry juice and coffe is flowing from the tap?
Why would you need a medura (bondfire) on a warm summer day - and who has the privilege to light it? What`s the significance of playing the same three songs over and over? Who plays in the band? How much do accomodations costs for this very special night - and what happens with those who cannot afford the cost?
Our guest for this show is Mrs. Leah Farkash, who will reveal for us the spiritual and practical aspects of the day. Mrs Farkash is the PR manager of a prestigious Chessed Organisation ( which doesen`t want to be named), and she is highly involved in the organizing of many Meron based events. Leah Farkash will also share with us her story - how a Portugese Jew from Paramaribo, Surinam ended up marrying a Hungarian Spinke Chassid in Jerusalem!
Listen and find out! | <urn:uuid:33092fd6-bc62-437a-b674-9b6349c3fc87> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/3126 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945891 | 462 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Sen. Barack Obama could have used a magic ball after he underwhelmed Pennsylvania voters with a score of 37.
Technology and sports smashing up against each other can be heard in each ping of an aluminum bat, thwack of a graphite golf club, and, yes, gavel of a congressional hearing investigating steroids and baseball.
Add to that list the sound of a newfangled space-age bowling ball, a ball so advanced that some bowling purists are worried the game is becoming more about equipment than skill.
So two years ago, the United States Bowling Congress began a complex study of bowling ball motion. It studied the outsides of balls, the insides of balls, and even the temperature in the room to see what has the greatest impact on bowling success.
To do that, it had to eliminate a variety of variables — most important, the bowlers themselves. Enter Harry, a 7-foot-tall ball-throwing machine that the USBC uses at its testing facility. (See video of Harry in action to the left.)
So what did the USBC find? Well, in general, the outside porousness of a ball has much more impact than anything on the inside, and the room temperature has barely any impact at all. As a result of the study, starting in April 2009, the USBC will not approve balls if their texture is greater 50 microinches. (Old balls will be grandfathered in.)
So, which ball is best? Well, as USBC research engineer Paul Ridenour explains, it depends on the type of lane you're bowling on. You see, bowling lanes are oiled in different patterns. Pro tournaments choose from The Shark, The Cheetah, The Viper, The Scorpion, and The Chameleon.
But in general, more porous balls absorb more oil, which makes them more effective. And can you tell how porous a ball is just by touching it? "Not really," says Ridenour. "I guess that's why they pay me the big bucks." | <urn:uuid:67036423-3d92-4c50-9162-44ac59367ef9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90506564 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956623 | 424 | 2.40625 | 2 |
1. In France, "métis" is a general word referring to anyone who is mixed race.
2. In Canada and the northern USA, the Métis are a distinct ethnic group, descended from French and Scottish men who married Amerindian (mostly Cree, Ojibwa and Algonquin) women.
There are around 390,000 people in Canada who identify as belonging to the Métis people: around 1.3% of the Canadian population. | <urn:uuid:255e6edd-ac85-4457-8e6f-032d97ff2fb1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=m%C3%A9tis&defid=5562125 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954971 | 99 | 3.5 | 4 |
African States and UN agree to beef up measures against Lord's Resistance Army
|Publisher||UN News Service|
|Publication Date||9 January 2012|
|Cite as||UN News Service, African States and UN agree to beef up measures against Lord's Resistance Army, 9 January 2012, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4f0ff61e2.html [accessed 24 May 2013]|
|Disclaimer||This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.|
During a meeting in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which ended on Saturday, countries discussed ways in which they could collaborate to combat the LRA, and addressed future challenges that can be tackled jointly.
According to the UN Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) one of the key advancements during the meeting was the acceptance by the Central African Republic (CAR), South Sudan, Uganda and the DRC for their troops to cross borders withWe know how to guide our future actions to better coordinate the fight against the LRA.out hindrance if they are pursuing LRA forces.
UNOCA stated in a press release that the terms for the patrols beyond borders must be well defined, justified and targeted, and that the types of troops to be mobilized should also be specified.
During the meeting, the DRC also firmed up its support for the AU to combat LRA activities. "We have obtained guarantees as to the significant contribution of the DRC in the implementation of the regional cooperation initiative of the African Union against the LRA," said the Special Envoy of the AU to the issue of the LRA, Francisco Madeira.
The joint mission also received the names of the Congolese officers that will integrate the operational and military structures to track the LRA.
UNOCA chief Abou Moussa stressed the importance of the regional meeting to enhance cooperation on the issue. "We had reason to make this joint mission," he said. "We know how to guide our future actions to better coordinate the fight against the LRA."
Before 31 May, Mr. Moussa is expected to report to the Secretary-General on the progress in the exchange of information between the AU, States affected by LRA activities and UN missions.
The LRA was formed in the 1980s in Uganda and for over 15 years its attacks were mainly directed against Ugandan civilians and security forces, which in 2002 dislodged the rebels. They then exported their activities to Uganda's neighbours, such as the DRC, the CAR and South Sudan, with practices that include the recruitment of children, rapes, killing and maiming, and sexual slavery.
Over the course of the group's existence, more than 12,000 combatants and abductees have left the LRA's ranks and have been integrated and reunited with their families. | <urn:uuid:90c251e1-92d9-4dd2-9fd9-6ca2cd403431> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=country&category=&publisher=UNPRESS&type=&coi=CAF&rid=&docid=4f0ff61e2&skip=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963968 | 632 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The Model 1500 Aquygen® Gas Generator runs on water and electricity only! It produces a stable hybrid hydrogen-oxygen gas, with many unique properties. The generator provides a superior gas for most conventional brazing, soldering and metal cutting operations.
The Model 1500 Aquygen® Gas Generator is a mid-sized machine, weighing about 160 lbs. with dimensions of 16" x 24" x 26" or about 5.75 cubic feet. It is powered by standard 220v current and can run continuously on 3/4 gallon of water for approximately 8 hours. The unit can operate one standard brazing/soldering station or multiple jeweler torches simultaneously. Additional models designed to generate larger quantities of Aquygen® gas are currently under development and are expected to be introduced in calendar 2009.
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Please note: All data presented below has been obtained through 3rd party validations.
HTA is aggressively pursuing clean energy markets in which the inclusion of Aquygen® gas based technologies has been shown to increase combustion efficiency leading to:
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Decreased operating costs
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Aquygen® gas has been shown to increase combustion efficiency in coal-fired furnaces leading to a dramatic decrease in fuel consumption and significant reduction in emissions, including CO2, CO, NOx, SOx, and fly-ash. Preliminary testing carried out at Western Research Institute (WRI), the leading energy research entity located in the number-one coal-producing state in the nation which has earned a name for reliable emissions testing and monitoring at power plants, showed an increase in furnace temperature upon the introduction of Aquygen® gas (A) and the ability to obtain the same furnace temperature with a decreased coal feed rate (B).
Some of the major benefits of HTA's Aquygen® Gas Enhanced Coal Combustion Process include:
As described below, Aquygen® gas has been shown to decrease natural gas consumption in boiler applications. We believe the same effect demonstrated in boiler applications will transfer to natural gas fired gas turbine applications for the power generation industry, allowing for significant reductions in fuel cost and emissions while producing substantial revenues from the generation of carbon credits.
Aquygen® gas produced on-board a vehicle and introduced to the engine's combustion environment has demonstrated increased fuel economy as well as decreased vehicle emissions. Both gasoline- and diesel-fueled vehicles and/or engines have been tested, showing a significant increase in fuel economy and reduction in emissions. HTA has recently completed an initial round of testing with a Ford F250 (diesel) and on-board system producing Aquygen® gas. Results from this testing can be seen here.
After extensive research, HTA's partner RAI has developed a technology for treating various liquid fossil fuels with Aquygen® gas at moderate conditions with diesel fuel being the primary base fuel of interest. The primary method to increase the caloric power of a liquid fuel is to increase the mass concentration of hydrogen in the molecular chains. RAI's modified fuels technology has been shown to increase Cetane number, through increasing the alkane content, and H/C atomic ratio of the fuel. Diesel fuel modified with Aquygen® gas through a catalytic treatment has demonstrated improved combustion characteristics such as improved fuel economy and decreased smoke and particulate matter emissions. This modified fuels process is designed to be implemented at the refinery level.
The combination of natural gas and Aquygen® gas provides an impressive compliment of clean fuels. The addition of Aquygen® gas to natural gas combustion environments has been shown to greatly reduce fuel consumption and improve emissions, especially carbon monoxide (CO). Initial experiments on a hot water boiler demonstrated the ability of Aquygen® gas to increase heat output (Nominal Flow) along with the ability to generate the same amount of heat with less natural gas (X, Y, and Z).
Aquygen® gas has been extremely successful as a replacement for common industrial gases such as acetylene for most soldering, brazing, cutting, fusing, and specialty welding applications. The unique properties of Aquygen® gas make it possible to melt and cut most materials in record time. Because the temperature of the flame varies with the target media, from 259°F in open air to over 10,000°F, it can even be used to heat or fuse disparate materials together in ways that were previously impossible. Aquygen® gas can be used to fuse pieces of aluminum and other metals or to braze faster than traditional two-gas methods while requiring only one gas. Steel cutting is more fuel-efficient and 30% faster than traditional methods. The Flash movie below shows up to 1.75" thick steel being cut by Aquygen® gas only without any other gas. | <urn:uuid:73975633-bcf6-4671-8d17-fd244173b314> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hytechapps.com/products.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934727 | 1,020 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Volume 13, Issue 5: Femina
Careless living is easy. It requires little thought. In fact, that is the whole problem. Carelessness really boils down to thoughtlessness, and Christian women, whether old or young, married or unmarried, ought to be thinking women, women who are careful to keep God's commands.
Proverbs 19:16 in the King James says, "He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die." It's interesting that what is "careless" in some newer versions is rendered "despising" in the older. But really, when we do not take heed to our souls, we are in fact despising them, killing them. Keeping and heeding are healthy activities for the soul. Both
these activities require attention and diligence.
Carelessness comes in many forms, and the verse above uses the general term ways to cover every aspect of living. Rather than being careless of our ways, Scripture repeatedly exhorts us to commit our way to Him, to acknowledge Him in all our ways, to learn and walk in His ways. This is an
all-encompassing call to obedient living. Obedience requires thought and care, attention and diligence. It is not easy like careless living.
Christian women are careless for different reasons. It may be caused by a lack of good teaching, it may be the result of immaturity, it may be a conscious choice to push it, a poor understanding of liberty in Christ, or it may simply be hard-heartedness. Whatever the case may be, the call to careful living is the same for us all. So
the cause of the carelessness is not the issue here, but rather the need to forsake careless living.
As we consider a couple of areas where carelessness often shows up, I want to make it clear that these are not the only two. A woman can be careless in her prayer life, careless in her theology, careless in her choice of a husband. It include issues like study habits, cleaning habits, eating, working, sleeping. It can include how
the emotions are indulged, or what kind of entertainment is allowed. In other words, if we are to take heed to our souls, we must be alert on all fronts. But with that qualifier, I would like to address two specific areas of carelessness: modesty and the tongue.
Women are careless in their ways when they dress in a manner that is too revealing. It doesn't seem to matter how often modesty is addressed, the careless woman will continue to dress to please herself, which is often too provocatively. A careless woman may or may not know that she is bouncing along in her sweater
or that when she sits down in her short skirt, too much is seen. If she knows and is wearing these clothes intentionally, she is careless. If she doesn't know and would be horrified to find out, she is careless. Whether she is a teenager, a college student, a young mother, or even a grandmother, the standard is the same. Modesty is for Christian women of all ages. It is not something that comes into effect at age sixteen, after marriage, or after the third child. A careful woman dresses in a manner that not only demonstrates her obedience to God's commands, but also shows a kind consideration for her fellow saints. When a Christian woman is dressed immodestly, it is at the very least an embarrassment, or a distraction to her fellow saints. At the most, it is a pastoral problem
for the church.
Because of the rampant immodesty in the Church, it is no wonder some Christian women have resorted to dressing like prairie muffins in clothes that were in style in the covered-wagon days. Though they may look out of step with the modern world in a calico dress and bonnet, at least we cannot charge them with immodesty. I am not advocating dressing this way, but I am saying that an immodest "fashionable" woman has no grounds to make fun of her sisters in jumpers. If only we could learn to dress carefully, modestly, and beautifully. Certainly it must be possible.
A second area of carelessness is the tongue. Careless women do not take heed to what they share, what they repeat, what they criticize. Scripture is as clear on the subject of the tongue as it is on modesty. It is no mystery what the Bible requires. Gossip, slander, complaining, nagging, anger, lying are all out. Period.
Careless women talk too much on the phone, or share too much on email. They don't speak the truth; they fudge a little here, a little there. They speak to and about their husbands inappropriately. They talk when they should be keeping quiet. A careful woman does not share things about family, husband, parents, or children that should be kept confidential. She does not openly criticize or dis-respect her husband or parents. A careful
woman exercises caution in what she says. The tongue is a dangerous instrument for destruction or a powerful tool for good. Wise women use their tongues cautiously. They weigh their words before they utter them.
Obviously, to be careful women we need much grace: grace for forgiveness, grace to keep His commands. We must take heed to our ways. We must give thought to our ways. We must pay attention to our behavior. Are we careless in our dress? If so, it's time to purge the wardrobe of revealing clothing. Are we careless with our tongues? Then it is time to repent. God expects us to be earnestly seeking to please Him, by the grace He gives us. | <urn:uuid:36ec7fd8-a6a7-4fef-bc67-263e4ad529dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.credenda.org/archive/issues/13-5femina.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972742 | 1,172 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Ancestors Taking A Bite Out Of The Old Pocketbook
Don't have enough debt of your own? Do what Prince Charles recently did and take on the financial debt of your ancestors.
Charles handed over the sum of £453.15 to a clothing company for a 350-year-old debt left by King Charles II. Seems the negligent ancestor failed to pay the bill when he commissioned The Clothiers Company of Worcester to make uniforms for his troops in 1651.
Were the folks at the Clothiers Company wolves in sheep's clothing? No, but perhaps they were elephants as these folks never forgot the debt!
As Prince Charles ponied up he joked that he was glad he didn't have to pay back any interest. "It seems that members of the Clothiers Company have a long memory," said the conscientious Prince.
What would it cost you if you decided to pay up on your ancestor's debts? Leave your comment and let's see who will go bankrupt first. | <urn:uuid:40616691-a3c4-4d4d-b642-c22ed86764aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.genealogygemspodcast.blogspot.com/2008/06/ancestors-taking-bite-out-of-old.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979106 | 210 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Summer is going too fast already. We’re already in the middle of the second week (public schools around here end late). I let the kids use the first full week of summer afternoons to rest their brains. They’ve been doing a lot of reading, playing with Legos, and enjoying the long 4th of July weekend.
Now it’s time to regain some momentum for doing math work. It will only get harder if I wait any longer. We have only eight full weeks of summer left for developing computational automaticity and number sense. The only way to develop these strengths is through practice.
Even though I know how important it is for the kids to do this work now, while they have the time, I do feel the cultural lure to give my kids some kind of idealized carefree summer. When I need to remind myself of the reasons why it’s important to remain disciplined about giving the kids summer work, I read what Vern Williams has to say about the philosophies that inform public school curricula.
Mr. Williams writes that he does his “very best to shield [his] students from the effects of educational fads, political correctness and anti intellectualism that we experience everyday in public schools. “ While I’m grateful that each of my children has had a few teachers of Mr. Williams’s ilk, I’m afraid that there aren’t enough to go around. | <urn:uuid:f63f5f56-9307-4ec5-9acf-87164f08ada4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tabup.com/AfterSchoolers/TalkAbout/a8d0044c-3fef-4118-879b-8b328a8f8f13?categorySort=Popular&category=a7339118-9145-4034-b972-ef03bd41754d | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96101 | 299 | 1.6875 | 2 |
(Last Updated on : 11/08/2011)
Cities of Jharkhand
include hills, forests, water falls, national parks and temples. Post 1765, this state came under the control of the British Empire and became formally known under its present title, "Jharkhand"- the Land of "Jungles" (forests) and "Jharis" (bushes) in the year 2000. Jharkhand is located on Chhota Nagpur Plateau and Santhal Parganas. Jharkhand derives its name as the `Land of Woods` with a plethora of minerals and dense forests largely found in the cities of Jharkhand. Near about thirty two tribal communities reside in the se cities of Jharkhand. The rich mineral content fertile soils of the region make it suitable for the growth of green vegetation and plants. A wide variety of wild animals are found in the national parks and sanctuaries of Jharkhand.
is the capital city of Jharkhand. This city is a hub of industrial activities. Formerly Ranchi was known as Lohardaga district
. Ranchi derives its name in 1899 after the name of a small village. This city is well known for its sacred pilgrimage centre. Ranchi is enriched with Tagore Hill, Ranchi Lake, Ranchi Hill. Hundru Falls, Jonha Falls, Dassam Falls, Pahari Mandir, Gonda Hill and Rock Garden, Sun Temple all are within 50km from Ranchi. This city is famous for healthy environment.
Other main cities of Jharkhand are Jamshedpur, Hazaribugh, Deoghar, Bokaro, Dhanbad.
Jamshedpur is known as Tatanagar. The city is named after the name of late Jamshedji, the founder of Tata Iron and Steel Company. This is mainly industrial and a much planned city. The famous educational institution Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur, attract huge students from all over the country.
Fertilizer factories iron and steel plants, explosive mines have grown in various cities of Jharkhand, namely, Dhanbad
, Adityapur, Deoghar
etc. Dhanbad is an important Industrial centre of India. The maximum amount of mineral wealth of India is found in Dhanbad.
, another city of Jharkhand is well-known for its easy availability of Indian coal
, ore, manganese
and other raw materials. This city is the home of one of the largest steel plant in India.
Hazaribag is famous for its healthy climate and beautiful sceneries. This city is a popular tourist destination. This city has a number of parks and gardens. The wonderful scenario of this city includes trees, rivers and hills.
Deoghar is considered as the city of Lord Shiva
. It is a famous pilgrimage as well as tourist spot. This city is full of many temples. But the main temple of this city is Vaidyanath Temple. On the month of Sravana Thousands of people used to go tom the temple in order to worship Lord Shankara. Apart from having Vaidyanath Temple Deoghar also has Satsang Temple and Nandan Kanan which are equally adorned by the tourists.
Jharkhand has many other small cities namely Dumka
These cities have made Jharkhand a populated and well desired destination from tourist point of view. The cities of Jharkhand mesmerize the people with its enchanting charisma. | <urn:uuid:30586928-c525-4a6f-bbda-37fa35a0bac0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indianetzone.com/7/cities_jharkhand.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948877 | 744 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Summary: Leonard J. Rosen Academic Writer's Handbook, Second Edition Complete coverage of the writing and research process, and guidance on writing for every course, with 14 model student papers. A focus on source-based writing with an emphasis on avoiding plagiarism. The book gives you clear instructions for properly locating and evaluating sources, as well as summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting the work of others. Comprehensive grammar, punctuation, and mechanics sections help you ...show morewrite better with clear instructions. Helpful across-the-curriculum examples explain the rules behind the instructions and exercises allow you to put your skills into practice. Key material available only in the second edition: New, extended coverage of academic writing teaches you how to create papers for all of your courses that are informed, clear, well structured, and based on evidence. New tools for getting exactly what you need out of your research and becoming comfortable using your library's subscription databases (Chapter 12). New source samples show you how to correctly cite books, online periodicals, and articles from a library subscription service (Chapters 14 to 15). ...show lessEdition/Copyright: 2ND 09
More prices and sellers below. | <urn:uuid:356e4112-1467-49bc-9779-7c5eba9bc031> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.textbooks.com/Academic-Writers-Handbook-MLA-Updated-2nd-Edition/9780205745210/Leonard-J-Rosen.php?mppg=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910811 | 240 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Hot Trends, which lists the top 100 break out searches of each day. These are not the top searches, but the ones that deviate the most from their normal search pattern.Google today launched an improvement to their Trends service,
Clicking on a trend leads to a page that includes news, blogs, and web searches in an attempt to explain why that search term might be as popular as it is. For example, today "bubonic plague" checks in at #70 because yesterday's news story about a capuchin monkey at the Denver Zoo dying of the disease. The results are, of course, not always perfect.
For example, this week's XM radio outage story takes up six different spots on today's Hot Trends list. It would probably be more useful if Google's algorithm attempted to group related searches into a single topic (or at least gave that option). Also, as Duncan Riley of Techcrunch points out, the very odd term"legless chihuahua" appeared in two spots on yesterday's trends list (though apparently spurred by a news story about, you guessed it, legless chihuahuas that made its way across the wires over the weekend).
Other oddities appear across today's list. The #14 search, for example, is "2004 world series champs" -- which, as an Ameican baseball fan like myself knows, is the Boston Red Sox, but the trends page for that term shows no recent news or blog posts that would have caused that specific search rather than the more common search for the team's actual name. Further, the searches appear to be coming out of Houston, Texas and Louisville, Kentucky, hardly bastions of Red Sox fandom. And why that would out rank #19 "whosarat.com" which was featured in a front page New York Times article this morning and widely reported across political blogs, is something of a mystery to me.
Google's Hot Trends is essentially like Yahoo!'s list of "Buzz Index Movers" which lists the day's top search gainers. Though Yahoo!'s list doesn't give as much information as Google's, it appears to have less peculiar listings upon first glance. That is perhaps because it is edited by humans. Strangely, there seems to be little overlap between the two lists.
Hot Trends could, of course, be very useful for Internet marketers and researchers studying how information flows and spreads across the web. It would be great if Google would offer API access to the service, especially with an expanded data set that included more frequent updates and a largest list of terms.
The search term "chihuahua puppies," of the legged variety, appear's on Yahoo's list of top decliners today, down 97%. Maybe Paris Hilton switched search engines overnight. | <urn:uuid:759e4951-c455-46e8-a0ed-6e987ea6d15f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://readwrite.com/2007/05/22/google_hot_trends | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957538 | 566 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Blister Beetle Poisoning in Horses
There is no antidote for cantharidin toxin. The success of treatment relies primarily on the speed of diagnosis, and the amount of cantharidin that was ingested.
Any horse that has been affected by cantharidin will be in need of intensive supportive therapy, including the administration of IV fluids to flush out the kidneys, rehydrate the animal, and return balance to the body’s electrolytes. Activated charcoal should also be administered in attempt to neutralize any toxin that is left in the gastrointestinal tract and mineral oil may be administered via a nasogastric tube to facilitate further rapid evacuation of the intestinal contents. Ulcer medication should be given, as well as broad-spectrum antibiotics, to prevent secondary bacterial infections. Pain medication will also likely be given.
Living and Management
Even when caught early, cantharidin toxicity has a guarded prognosis.
The blister beetle congregates in swarms to feed on alfalfa fields during mating, which is normally in mid- to late summer. Knowing where your hay is coming from along with close inspection of the hay this time of year in areas that harbor this insect are two ways to help prevent against this potentially lethal condition.
A low level of calcium in the blood
The nose and the stomach
The prediction of a disease’s outcome in advance
The digestive tract containing the stomach and intestine
The whole system involved in digestion from mouth to anus
Any substance used to combat the effects of certain poisons.
a) A type of antibiotic that kills both gram positive and gram negative bacteria.
A crop; often eaten by horses as a vital source of fiber and protein. Alfalfa has compound leaves made up of three small leaves.
A record of the activity of the myocardium
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60% (114 votes)
14% (27 votes)
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N/A (I do not use tick preventives)
12% (23 votes)
Total votes: 191 | <urn:uuid:ca3fd39c-251f-4685-acd9-ca4a086a3624> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.petmd.com/horse/conditions/digestive/c_hr_blister_beetle_poisoning?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908894 | 500 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Frugality has really stolen the limelight lately and it’s getting a lot of attention around blogs, from your friends and coworkers and even from big television networks. It seems people are simply fascinated by the way others can save money in extreme ways. But sometimes you just can’t tell if frugality is being showcased, or if it’s just cheapness.
Frugality is about making things stretch and using every last drop. It’s about conserving resources and making use of what you have. When you buy things of higher quality, even if they cost a little more, you are still being frugal, not cheap. And in the end, if that quality purchase outlasts the cheap quantity purchases, you will have made the right choice. At Digerati Life, the author feels the same way and details some situations and benefits of buying higher quality products in Pay More For Quality! Cheap Isn’t Always Best.
Speaking of quality, here are some more great articles from this week:
How to Save Money on Damn Near Everything
The little things add up. In fact, here are a lot of little things that can help you save in just about every aspect of life. [You Have More Than You Think]
Dealing with the Employment Mentality
To some, something as superficial as a title – even a title that simply reads “employed” – is often sought after for no other reason than tradition. [Freelance Switch]
7 Ways to Avoid Debt Hell
Debt really is hell and should be avoided if at all possible in every situation. Here are some ways to help. [Gail Vaz-Oxlade]
Selling Stuff On Amazon: A Step-By-Step Guide
Selling stuff is a great way to dig out of debt. It’s found money but not always that easy to get at. Here is a step-by-step guide for selling on Amazon to help you get rid of the clutter and rake in the dough. [Money Cone]
10 Tips for Living Debt Free
It’s not enough to be debt free. You have to live debt free each and every day. Building good habits over time is how this can be achieved. Here’s some help to create those necessary habits and live debt free. [All You]
Stash or Trash? Five Tips to Decide Whether to Store, Sell or Discard Belongings When You Move
Moving is stressful and something that makes it even worse is moving things you haven’t used for years. Moving the stuff into storage until they can be sorted out is just silly. Can’t let go? Try these tips. [Deliver Away Debt]
Money Advice for My Sister, the Graduate
With school comes structure, but when it’s all over, how do you keep things from unraveling? Here, one sister gives another advice that we can all take to heart. [US News]
Why I Recommend Things that Cost Money
The world is full of scams that will take your money and leave you with nothing more than crushed spirits. But not everything that costs money is a scam. Investing in yourself is always worth it in the end. [I've Tried That]
5 Overused Negotiation Strategies
Negotiating is a great tool to get the best price, but going about it the wrong way is a bad idea and all too common. Here are some things not to do when negotiating. [Find The Best Car Price Blog]
How Do You Deal with Black Boot Moments?
We all go through times when we feel discouraged and panic. How do you deal with those times? Here’s what one blogger does. [Passive Income Now]
(photo credit: Shutterstock) | <urn:uuid:5da151ce-3e2e-4753-96d0-c12600790908> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.moneycrashers.com/personal-finance-roundup-spending-quality-frugal/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933521 | 786 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Neurokinin B signaling in human puberty
A Kemal Topaloglu
The control of the onset of human puberty remains an enigma. According to current understanding, the GnRH pulse generator, a functionally interconnected and synchronized network of GnRH neurons, is inhibited throughout childhood following a period of pubertal level activity during fetal life. Release of this inhibition at the early second decade of life signifies the reawakening of the pulse generator.
Recently, we have identified loss-of-function mutations TAC3 or TACR3 (encoding neurokinin B and its receptor, NK3R, respectively) in 11 patients from five multiplex families affected by normosmic idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. These findings provide compelling evidence for the involvement of Neurokinin B (NKB) signaling in puberty. Recent studies suggest that a network of sex-steroid responsive neurons in the infindubular (arcuate) nucleus in the hypothalamus coexpress NKB, kisspeptin, Dynorphin and ERalfa and probably communicating via NKB-NKR3 signaling these neurons project to ipsi- and contralaterally to the infindubular (arcuate) nucleus as well as to GnRH terminals in the median eminence to put out a synchronized intermittent secretion of GnRH.
The facts that the discovery of both kisspeptin and NKB signaling in puberty was thanks to multiplex human families and that in the great majority of such families, the genetic causes are still waiting to be unraveled imply that there are more single genes to be discovered, which will help understand the elusive developmental process of puberty. | <urn:uuid:b6982576-154e-4ee7-9a19-6b4a9bb5a10e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.endocrine-abstracts.org/ea/0022/ea0022s17.2.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906393 | 344 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Bocce is an Italian lawn game that is becoming very popular in the United States. Four or more people can play. If four play, they play individually. Otherwise, the players are divided into teams of four. Create a playing field with clearly marked lines. Each team uses four bocce balls. The balls have distinctive colors and patterns so that each player can identify his ball. The rules of the game are as follows:
1. Toss a coin to decide which team will go first. The winner tosses the pallino (the smallest ball) to put it into play. The pallino must pass the mid-field line and stay in bounds. If the pallino is not tossed properly by the first team, the second team tosses the pallino to put it into play.
2. The team that tosses the pallino properly then tosses their first bocce ball as close to the pallino ball as possible. The first team then steps aside and lets the second team toss their first bocce ball. Whenever a team gets their bocce ball closer to the pallino ball than the other team did, they step aside and let the other team toss their bocce ball. If a team does not toss their bocce ball closer to the pallino, then the other team continues to toss their remaining bocce balls until they get a ball closer or they have tossed all of the balls. This continues until both teams have tossed all their bocce balls.
3. A player can use his bocce ball to knock his opponent's bocce ball away from the pallino. All balls must stay in bounds at all times. If a bocce ball goes out of bounds it is removed from the game. Play will resume from the opposite end of the court, with the team that originally tossed the pallino tossing it again.
4. Only one team scores in a frame. One point is given for each bocce ball that is closer to the pallino than is the closest ball from the opposing team.
5. All balls must be tossed from behind the foul line. Balls may be tossed, rolled, or bounced underhanded.6. If a player rolls the wrong color ball, simply replace it with the correct color ball when it comes to rest. If a player rolls out of turn, the other team has the option to replace any moved balls to their original position or leave all balls as they are.
7. The team that reaches the agreed-upon number of points for that game wins. | <urn:uuid:73b65e58-97d3-4a71-af1c-cca9cec464d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.netplaces.com/games/outdoor-games/bocce.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958695 | 524 | 2.25 | 2 |
FAU’s Anne and Louis Green Memory and Wellness Center Offers Workshop to Build Cognitive Reserve
BOCA RATON, FL (February 28, 2008) – Florida Atlantic University’s Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center currently is hosting “The Brain’s Gain Workshop,” a six-week memory loss prevention program that teaches participants ways to build cognitive reserve and protect their brains through active strategies and lifestyle choices. The workshop will take place each Friday beginning March 14 and ending April 18, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Memory and Wellness Center, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus.
Designed by Anna Lisa Curtis, an FAU honors scholar studying psychology and multimedia journalism, the workshop will include a variety of lecturers such as “Memory and Emotion” by Dr. Denise Sparks, and “Exercise and Brain Growth” by Kim Pace, an injury, prevention and performance enhancement specialist who holds a master’s degree in exercise science and health promotion . Daily actions for brain health will be discussed, implemented and supported.
“In the same way science has shown how to prevent muscle and bone loss, current research is pointing towards ways to protect the brain from age-related degeneration,” said Curtis. “The answer lies in actions that expand and protect the brain, creating cognitive reserve by building more connections between existing brain cells, and caring for what we have.”
Cost for the workshop is $95, and space is limited. For more information or directions to the event, contact Connie Simonetti at 561-297-0502 or firstname.lastname@example.org. For more information on The Brain’s Gain Workshop, contact Anna Lisa Curtis at 561-212-6420 or email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:052cf451-d8a0-4b55-87d3-a61b4f754e32> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fau.edu/mediarelations/Releases0208/020827.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901724 | 385 | 1.6875 | 2 |
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Human Rights Council – 18th session
Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Statement by Australia
21 September 2011
Australia welcomes the reports of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples.
The Expert Mechanism’s study on Indigenous peoples and the right to participate in decision making, highlights the importance of ensuring that Indigenous people’s views are heard. Australia recognises that Indigenous populations worldwide are at times denied the opportunity to participate in international discussions that have direct relevance to them, simply because of a lack of available resources.
In keeping with our steadfast commitment to improve the active participation of Indigenous peoples worldwide, Australia is pleased to highlight yesterday’s announcement that it will contribute $100,000 to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations. This is in addition to funding already provided by Australia, through the Australian Human Rights Commission, for participation by Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Australia acknowledges the important work undertaken by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples, and we were pleased, in July of this year, to provide a response to the Special Rapporteur’s questionnaire on natural resource extraction and development projects on or near Indigenous territories. Australia has introduced significant land rights legislation which provide important mechanisms for native title groups to share in the mineral wealth of their lands, thereby materially contributing to closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Australia notes that the Special Rapporteur will present a specific set of guidelines or principles by 2013, and we look forward to continuing a constructive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on this issue.
Both the reports of the Expert Mechanism and the Special Rapporteur emphasise the importance of consultation and participation. The Australian Government is committed to engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and working in partnership to address Indigenous disadvantage. This strengthened engagement ensures Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are central to the design and delivery of services and programs in Australia. In addition the Government has provided funding and support for the creation of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, which will provide a vehicle for the engagement and consultation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, providing them with a national voice and input into policy development. Work has commenced on the development of a formal engagement framework between the Australian Government and the National Congress. The Expert Mechanism’s report will be very useful in informing the development of this framework.
1. We would welcome the Chairperson of the Expert Mechanism’s views on ways to ensure a greater role for Indigenous women in decision-making.
2. Australia’s native title and land rights regimes give Indigenous people the right to negotiate with mining companies on access to their lands. We would welcome the Special Rapporteur’s views on ways to further ensure such negotiations provide sustainable and significant benefits to traditional owners. | <urn:uuid:b9820fcf-e3fe-44f9-b4f2-50f55a3c16f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.australia.ch/gene/Statement232.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906621 | 671 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Tweet A few days ago Pete Brown told us about the fate of Tetley's Cask, and how its owner, Carlsberg UK, have decided they will close the brewery in Leeds and shift the production elsewhere in England.
This is nothing new, neither surprising. It's common practice among the big multinational brewing groups. Heineken CZ have been a lot on the news lately for doing just that here in the Czech Republic. In the last year they have shut down three breweries, in Znojmo, Kutná Hora and, most recently, in Louny (they had bought the last two the year before).
But this is not what I wanted to talk about today (neither about Heineken's idea of a free market). The closing of breweries, though sad, is something inevitable in this context and, to be fair, we should ask ourselves whether those breweries would have survived had they remained independent, which, unfortunately, we will never know.
What I wanted to talk about is the little respect Heineken has for language and, to a certain extent, the intelligence of the consumers.
On the pages that in their website Heineken Česká Republika dedicates to the brands of the closed breweries we can still see the following slogans:
"Dačický aneb zlatý mok ze stříbrného města" (Dačický, or the golden beverage from the silver town.) for the brand formerly brewed in Kutná Hora (this city in the middle ages was famous for its silver mines).
"Dobré pivo ze Znojemska za dobrou cenu." (Good beer for a good price from the Znojmo region.) For Hostan
"...pivo s hořkou chutí a s historií dlouhou jako je město Louny samo." (...beer with a bitter taste and a history that is as long the history of the town of Louny.). For the namesake beer.
The last one is perhaps the worst of the lot. The history of Pivovar Louny has finished and the beer is no longer brewed in the city it was named after, but in Velké or Krasné Březno (can't remember which now).
I'm pretty sure the long time drinkers of all these brands are glad to at least still be able to keep on enjoying them, even if only as in name. But still, and specially in Louny's case, this is just another, sad, example of the Brand above the Drink
Reserve your Prague hotel and win a walking tour. | <urn:uuid:bc12f1d8-ea25-4f18-99e1-6ba5b5dc1c03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pivni-filosof.com/2010/03/brand-above-drink.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936337 | 576 | 1.835938 | 2 |
A group of soldiers speaking Arabic shovel sand into a pit while a disembodied voice wails. After a few seconds it becomes apparent that the desperate voice is coming from a man buried in the trench; the head alone is visible.
The soldiers—a number dressed, incongruously, in sneakers—appear to reply with gloating taunts. But they are mainly concentrating on the job at hand: covering the victim's head in earth. They do their grisly job well; in less than a minute his head is completely buried. The video then ends abruptly—the rest is silence.
One rain-swept morning in April, Trushar Barot, assistant editor at the BBC's User-Generated Content (UGC) Hub in London's rather bleakly monolithic BBC Television Centre, was studying the anonymously posted footage on YouTube
. His Twitter feed was buzzing with news of the clip. Jon Williams, the BBC's world news editor, had also raised it at the 9 o'clock news meeting. What everyone wanted to know, on Twitter and in the newsroom, was this: Was the video real or fake? That is the kind of question the Hub is there to investigate.
A Fateful Error
Started in 2005 to sift through unsolicited contributions previously perused by many different teams, the Hub has grown to a complement of 20 staffers. Initially, the team focused heavily on images, footage and eyewitness accounts e-mailed to the BBC, but in the past few years people have become much more prone to distribute material themselves through Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. As a result, the number of contributions proffered to the BBC has declined to about 3,000 a day, and the Hub's task has moved toward semi-conventional newsgathering with a Web 2.0 twist. Staffers now use search terms, see what's trending on Twitter, and look at the images and footage trusted contacts are discussing on their Twitter streams.
The golden rule, say Hub veterans, is to get on the phone whoever has posted the material. Even the process of setting up the conversation can speak volumes about the source's credibility: unless sources are activists living in a dictatorship who must remain anonymous to protect their lives, people who are genuine witnesses to events are usually eager to talk. Anyone who has taken photos or video needs to be contacted in any case to request their permission, as the copyright holder, to use it.
The risk of posting non-authenticated images is high, as the Hub was reminded on Sunday, May 27. As a breaking news story about a massacre in Houla, Syria, unfolded, staff members spotted a powerful photo circulated on Twitter, showing shrouded bodies in rows and apparently sourced from activists in Syria. "The original distributor of the photo on Twitter was tracked down, we spoke to them, and they gave us information about its sourcing," says Chris Hamilton, the BBC's social media editor since 2011. "So the picture was published on the BBC News website, with a disclaimer saying it could not be independently verified."
This photo, taken in Iraq in 2003, was posted on the BBC’s homepage on May 27, 2012 to accompany an article about a massacre in Houla, Syria. It had been distributed by Syrian activists on social media. Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Reportage by Getty Images.
Seeing the BBC News website, Getty photographer Marco Di Lauro almost fell off his chair, he later told The Daily Telegraph
—the image supposedly showing the shocking aftermath of the Houla massacre was a photo he'd taken in Iraq in 2003. He posted on Facebook: "Somebody is using my images as a propaganda against the Syrian government to prove the massacre." Meanwhile, alerted by users, the BBC took down the image—90 minutes after it had been posted. But the damage was done: The Daily Telegraph and other publications reported on the error, and the blogosphere went wild over accusations that the BBC was pushing the anti-Syria position of the British government. Interestingly, few readers or commentators accepted the disclaimer posted with the photo—a key element to how many news organizations today handle the challenge that there are few independent reporters in countries such as Syria and that activists' accounts and footage often cannot be verified.
"Posting this photo was a mistake, there is no question," says Hamilton. "We should have made more checks, as is normal practice, and the decision to publish should have been delayed, something we are very happy to do in an environment where being right is more important than being first." He adds: "But this was not a systematic error. We have a strong track record of stopping numerous examples of incorrect material making it to air or online."
While frustrating, the intentional "redistribution" of the Iraq photo illustrates that "governments don't have a monopoly on spinning the media," says Hamilton. "There is a lot of potential for activists to be faking and spinning things in a way that puts their cause forward. It is something we are all aware of. But it has to be navigated anew each and every time we look at footage. There are very few things that can give you 100 percent certainty."
Authenticating photos and video, in other words, can be a tricky business, even for senior staff at the Hub. During my visit in May, assistant editor Barot recounted how on that rainy April morning he went about vetting the grisly video of the man being buried by people who appear to be Syrian soldiers: By 9:20 a.m. he had e-mailed the video to a colleague, an Arabic-speaking Syrian at BBC Monitoring, which uses language specialists to gather information from media outlets across the world. At 10:12 a.m. the colleague e-mailed back: The soldiers' accents are Alawite, the ethnic group which rules Syria and provides many of its soldiers. And sneakers are commonly worn in some Syrian units. However, the colleague wondered how the voice of a man whose face is being covered in sand could be so consistently audible—unless he has been fitted with a microphone?
Barot had noticed this too, plus another cause for suspicion: Why does the video end only a few seconds after the victim's head has submerged completely? Could it be because it has to be short enough for him to hold his breath?
His hunch corroborated by this second source, Barot e-mailed colleagues around the BBC within 10 minutes to tell them the Hub had reservations about the clip. It had failed the test.
The dubious video illustrates a point made repeatedly by Barot and his boss Chris Hamilton: The business of verifying and debunking content from the public relies far more on journalistic hunches than snazzy technology. While some call this new specialization in journalism "information forensics," one does not need to be an IT expert or have special equipment to ask and answer the fundamental questions used to judge whether a scene is staged or not.
"People are surprised to find we're not a very high-tech, CSI-type of team," says Barot. He and Hamilton, like the Hub's other members, have conventional journalism backgrounds. Hamilton, for example, has done stints as reporter and editor during his 12 years at the BBC.
It's time for the Hub's 10 a.m. news meeting, which has the feel of any morning confabulation of journalists at a media outlet, including a palpable sense of impatience to stop conferring and get on with the day's work.
After setting priorities for the rest of the day, Hamilton finds a cramped office in which to discuss the future of verification.
Is the Hub here to stay? "We're seeing correspondents and producers building up their verification skills, and you've got to work out whether it's something you need specialists for," Hamilton says. But, he adds, "in some form you'll always need them," if only for the sake of efficiency.
Hamilton can, however, foresee a time when the size of the BBC's Hub team might shrink as verification is "industrialized." By that, he means that some procedures are likely to be carried out simultaneously at the click of an icon.
He also expects that technological improvements will make the automated checking of photos more effective. Useful online tools for this are Google's advanced picture search
, which look for images similar to the photo copied into the search function. Barot used TinEye to disprove one of several gory fake images of Osama bin Laden's head that circulated online soon after his death last year. He tracked down the original photo of another corpse's face, onto which bin Laden's features were grafted using Adobe Photoshop.
|This fake photo of the dead Osama bin Laden was debunked by the BBC’s User-Generated Content Hub. Using TinEye, the team revealed that bin Laden’s features had been digitally superimposed on the head of a dead Afghan fighter. Photo by Philip Hollis.
Responding to the tendency for social media to act as a rumor mill for outlandish theories, the Hub steers clear of tweets that ask the public whether something is true—in contrast to some journalists who use Twitter for crowdsourcing. Hamilton justifies this by pointing out that the mere fact the BBC is investigating a rumor "lends credence to the idea that it might be true."
However, there is no question at the Hub about the role journalists should play in verifying online information with their trusted tools and techniques. "UGC and verification are no longer a side operation," says Hamilton. "They have become part of the journalistic toolbox, alongside agency pictures, field reporters, background interviews. It's critical for any big newsroom that wants credibility in storytelling."
David Turner is a freelance journalist and author based in London. He was a correspondent at the Financial Times for 10 years. | <urn:uuid:ffd141bc-6442-4fc7-ad36-a63cb91b403f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102764/Inside-the-BBCs-Verification-Hub.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971397 | 2,021 | 1.898438 | 2 |
On the 32nd anniversary of the official institution of China’s One Child Policy, the organization Women’s Rights Without Frontiers sent a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao asking him to end the “incalculable suffering to the women and families of China.”
Calling the One Child Policy a crime against humanity, Reggie Littlejohn, President of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers called the case of Feng Jianmei, who was forcibly aborted at seven months when she and her husband, Deng Jiyuan, could not pay a 40,000 yuan fine (US$6300). Officials of Ankang City, Shaanxi Province, tried to force Feng into a car, but she escaped to her aunt’s house. They broke through the gate, so she fled to the mountains, where officials found her hiding under a bed. After forcibly aborting her pregnancy, officials laid the remains next to her in the bed. The story and photograph immediately went viral, sent shockwaves around the world, and ignited a firestorm of outrage.
Ms. Littlejohn wrote in her letter: ‘’The coercive enforcement of China’s cruel and barbaric One Child Policy causes more violence towards women and girls than any other official policy on earth. It is China’s war against women and girls.”
She added that women are forcibly aborted up to the ninth month of pregnancy and that this practice is ‘’systematic, institutionalized violence against women, official government rape; and it continues to this day.”
There are many cases like Feng’s in China and it is not only the women who are oppressed, but also those who try to defend them. Blind activist lawyer Chen Guangcheng exposed the widespread and systematic use of forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations in Linyi County in 2005. The Chinese Communist Party imprisoned Chen for four years and three months. They then kept him and his family under strict house arrest from September 2010 until his dramatic escape. Chen arrived in the United States on May 19th 2012.
There are also catastrophic financial penalties for families under One Child. The often excessive fines paid by couples to save an “out of plan” pregnancy are used to line the pockets of family planning and other officials, according to Women’s Rights Without Frontiers. These fines can reach up to ten times a person’s annual salary. In March 2012, the head of the Chemistry Department at Renmin University in Beijing jumped to his death because he was accused of having a second child and threatened with being “discharged from public employment.” Meanwhile, officials are promoted or demoted based on whether they meet birth, abortion and sterilization quotas.
In a striking blow against China’s One Child Policy, the European Parliament in July passed a resolution strongly condemning forced abortion and involuntary sterilization in China and globally, citing Feng Jianmei. The resolution “strongly condemns the decision to force Ms. Feng to have an abortion and condemns the practice of forced abortions and sterilizations globally, especially in the context of the one-child policy.” It further states that “the EU has provided, and still provides, funds for organizations involved in family planning policies in China,” and “urges the Commission to ensure that its funding of projects does not breach” the European Parliament’s commitment against coercive population control.
In the wake of the case of Feng Jianmei, a prominent group of Chinese scholars and entrepreneurs has criticized the policy on the basis that it violates human rights and works against economic stability. The fifteen signatories to the open letter said the re-writing of family planning law was “imperative.” One of the group’s leaders, well-known Internet entrepreneur James Liang, called for the abolition of the one-child rule. Mr. Liang is the co-founder and CEO of Ctrip.com, China’s largest online travel site. He said that “The birth approval system built on the idea of controlling population size as emphasized in the current ‘Population and Family Planning Law’ does not accord with provisions on the protection of human rights contained in the nation’s constitution.”
Ms. Littlejohn of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers appealed to President Hu in the letter by saying: “You are in a unique position to stop this violence. As you prepare to leave office later this year, may the end of the One Child Policy be your legacy to the Chinese people.” | <urn:uuid:5a1cfec2-1e97-4d39-a7ee-fb445cca2eac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.freeforallblog.org/a-grim-anniversary-of-chinas-one-child-policy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963472 | 941 | 2.25 | 2 |
You are hereNew Tavern Fort
New Tavern Fort
The remains of the 18th century New Tavern Fort are found in the gardens of Major General Charles George Gordon’s* (Born 28 Januaty 1833 0 Died 26 January 1885) Gravesend residence, Fort House. According to Anna Dubuis in an article entitled ‘The ghosts and legends of north Kent’ which appeared in the Gravesend Reporter on Wednesday 31 October 2012.
‘New Tavern Fort in Gravesend, which was built in the 1780s to defend the Thames against naval attacks, is the site of numerous sightings.
James Balan was volunteering there in 1992 when he saw his first apparition.
“I went down to the tunnels to get some wood and I turned around and saw a Victorian soldier working down there.
“I could see the buttons on his uniform. I took a deep breath and quickly got out.
“Sometimes you think you see something, but what I saw was indisputably a ghost, it was a memory of the past years coming back.” | <urn:uuid:39e78bd3-52a8-44a8-88cf-daa9ebc1607f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/england/kent/hauntings/new-tavern-fort.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977372 | 225 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Some houses you just can’t get out of your head. Woodland, the Beverly Hills, Calif., home of the producer Robert Evans, is not exactly a secret; it has been published several times and was a character unto itself in “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” the 2002 film based on Evans’s blunt, colorful autobiography. The facts are well known: that it was love at first sight when Evans first saw the house (which was designed in 1942 by the architect John Woolf for the interior designer James Pendleton) in the mid-1950s; that after he bought the house a decade later, it became an epicenter of industry deal-making; and that after selling the house during one of the bleakest periods of his life, Evans bought it back with a little help from his friends, who included Jack Nicholson. But no matter. For me, the house is not just a portrait of its owner; it’s also a portrait of an era that’s quickly fading from memory.
I spent a lot of time in Los Angeles in the 1980s and lived there in the early ’90s, and I watched as the last vestiges of old Hollywood glamour — the people and the places, including houses — disappeared. On film and in photographs, Woodland still captured that glamour, which was all about a casual chic that looked effortless.
And the house, unlike some movie stars, is as seductive in person as it is on film. It’s easy to see why, with a crib like that, the seven-times-married Evans was such a legend with the ladies. Who could resist that swank little pavilion with the elliptical swimming pool and the enchanted garden of roses and trees? As Evans said of his ex-wives, “Maybe they fell in love with the house and not with me.” Woodland is modest by today’s McMansion standards: it is basically a one-bedroom house, on one floor, with a tiny guest house, a living room and dining room sized for mere mortals, and the kind of kitchen you’d find in, well, your house. But it’s not the square footage that matters; it’s the elegant proportions, details and decorating that give Woodland its larger-than-life charm.
John Woolf made famous the architectural style that is now called Hollywood Regency, and Woodland is a well-preserved example. Visitors enter the house under a mansard roof, through a pair of tall, skinny doors flanked by small, elliptical windows. Through the foyer, another tall doorway frames a view of the living room fireplace. The fireplace seems to float in a wall of glass that offers a view of nothing but greenery. As they said in the movies, you had me at hello.
Flanking the living room windows are another pair of tall double doors, each of which is topped by an elliptical niche occupied by a backlit statue. The decorating mixes comfortable upholstery and antiques with a French accent. It’s a movie mogul’s version of the Petit Trianon, only with racy photos by Helmut Newton (a great friend of Evans’s, who shot many pictures at Woodland) and a wardrobe of tinted glasses in the dressing room closet. The corridor from the foyer to the kitchen is lined with photographs of Evans with every celebrity imaginable, from Henry Kissinger to Michael Jackson to ex-wives like Ali McGraw and Phyllis George. Even the butler has panache. The gracious and witty Alan Selka, who has been with Evans for many years, occupies a room that is crammed to Victorian perfection with his favorite things, which include an old-fashioned Victrola.
If it sounds like you’re in another world at Woodland, you are. Beverly Hills is a lot more crowded than it was when the house was built, and you can see cars whizzing past the fence, a reminder that things move faster these days. But inside the house’s gates, as Evans said, “You don’t think you’re in L.A.” | <urn:uuid:87fe2a9a-5b36-474f-a98a-1babbfbe9820> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/domesticities-at-home-with-robert-evans/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972627 | 876 | 1.65625 | 2 |
USF Students Help Rebuild New Orleans
A GROUP OF 15
University of San Francisco students devoted their spring break to rebuilding houses in New Orleans, the once vibrant city that students describe as a ghost town more than 18 months after Hurricane Katrina and flooding hit.
The group began its Arrupe Immersion Trip by attending an Ignatian Family Teach-In that examined the challenges facing post-Katrina New Orleans. “Rebuilding Communities: Facing Racism & Poverty” provided the students with an overview of New Orleans culture and the housing, employment, and community rebuilding issues it faces. The USF-based Ignatian Solidarity Network organized the teach-in, which brought together students, staff, and faculty from Jesuit colleges, universities, and high schools across the country.
After the teach-in, half the USF group spent four days insulating and hanging drywall in a house in St. Bernard Parish. Organized by the nonprofit St. Bernard Project, the work was part of an effort to rebuild the once close-knit community. The homeowner stopped by every day to thank the students, bringing crawfish and potatoes for lunch on their last day.
“It was just weird to be thanked for that because… why wouldn’t we go down there when we have the time off and can go?” said Katherine Lloyd, a senior communication studies major.
The other half of the group worked on the initial stage of the rebuilding process by gutting a house in a different part of the city. Organized through the volunteer organization Common Ground, the project required that the students wear protective gear because of the mold inside. The house had not been touched since the flooding, and the students’ efforts were a critical first step in making it habitable.
While the state of the individual houses surprised the students, they were also taken aback by the deserted nature of the city. Although the French Quarter was lively, much of the rest of New Orleans was desolate, Lloyd said. The city’s population is barely half what it was prior to the storm, and many businesses remain boarded up. Abandoned parks and houses line city streets, and in some cases, buildings are simply gone, leaving staircases that go nowhere. Like the house the students worked on, many homes have not even been gutted since the storm.
“I’d never been to a city in America that felt so abandoned,” said Lloyd.
USF forged a connection with New Orleans in the wake of Katrina when the university opened its doors to nearly 120 New Orleans area students affected by the storm. The students were able to continue their college studies at USF during the fall 2005 semester even as their universities were closed.
From the Editor
2130 Fulton Street | San Francisco, CA 94117-1080 | (415) 422-5555
About This Site | <urn:uuid:744afbdb-1300-4a28-851f-f4f67dfb8fde> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usfca.edu/templates/usf_magazine.aspx?id=4294972423&tid=2147483673 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969751 | 589 | 2.0625 | 2 |
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Plan in works to fix ‘construction atmosphere’ on Newport, Railroad Canyon
Friday, November 14th, 2008
Issue 46, Volume 12.
In the current economy, it seemed like a cruel joke. Nothing has stirred behind that fence for months.
The site was to be the Audie Murphy Ranch, a housing project covering 991 acres on both sides of Newport Road along Railroad Canyon and Goetz roads in Menifee.
The housing project was to be an idyllic suburban paradise with an elementary and middle school, a community center, a network of hiking trails and at least two parks.
Then the housing market crashed. The tractors stopped in their tracks and all construction ceased.
Now, grasses and shrubs have settled on this once-rumbling construction site. The graded earth, which had been deep brown and carved into sharp angles, has become weathered mounds.
The project has stopped, possibly forever, leaving local residents with nothing to show for it but a fence lined with plastic and a makeshift detour around the site.
Yellow triangles on a traffic control sign flash at drivers approaching Audie Murphy on Railroad Canyon. Haggard, dull-orange bollards herd the traffic into two lanes as they pass the site. Signs order the drivers to slow to 25 mph.
Canyon Lake City Manager Lori Moss looked disheartened when she talked about the road. The city has been taking complaints from residents continuously since the beginning of the year, when construction stopped, she said.
The site broke ground more than three years ago and the detour has been in place since.
"This was supposed to be temporary," said Juan Perez, the County of Riverside’s deputy director of transportation, as he pointed to a photo of the detour around the Audie Murphy site.
He sat in his office shuffling through a six-inch-thick pile of papers representing the preliminary plans for the project.
As part of the Audie Murphy plan, the developer was going to build a new road, called New Newport, to replace the current road.
It would connect to Railroad Canyon near the point at which it curves north around Canyon Lake and becomes Goetz. It would then take traffic through the Audie Murphy site and reconnect traffic to Newport near its intersection with Murrieta Road in Menifee.
The developer completed 80 percent of New Newport before finally pulling the tractors out of the site, Perez said.
The road needs several pipes installed underneath, another layer of asphalt in some places and, most problematically, to connect to the existing roads.
On July 23, Perez unveiled a plan to remedy the traffic problem in a presentation to the Menifee City Council. He proposed Menifee, Canyon Lake and the county coordinate theirefforts and resources to complete New Newport.
The entire project will cost between $15 and $20 million, according to county documents.
Though the county’s taxpayers will be footing the bill for the project, the county should be able to recoup the losses, Perez said.
The county requires a developer to post bonds as a form of insurance against exactly the kind of situation that has arisen, he said. The county and the developer are currently talking to find out what the bond company will pay for and how much it will pay.
"It’s not unusual for the process to take two to three years," Perez said of the negotiations. This, he said, is another reason to pay for it with local funds and collect money from the bonding company later.
Some of the developers’ outstanding debts have complicated matters dealing with payment, Perez said.
Some contractors have not yet received payment for jobs they did on the project and some of the money the county receives from the bonding company may have to pay those contractors.
Dennis Chapman, president of Brookfield California Land Holdings, LLC, the lead developer of Audie Murphy Ranch, was unavailable for comment.
Audie Murphy’s original plan would dismantle the parts of the current Newport Road lying west of La Ladera Road. The county’s new plan will leave the current Newport – which it will rename Normandy Road – in its place.
It will turn New Newport into a one-way street for eastbound traffic.
The plan is imperfect and presents numerous difficulties, Perez said, but it will be better than the current conditions.
One costly difficulty in the plan is to build a 200-foot-long bridge over Salt Canyon Creek, which currently runs under Railroad Canyon Road but floods frequently.
The bridge is necessary because of a 12-foot difference in New Newport and Railroad Canyon’s elevations.
Paying for the project presents yet another difficulty.
On Oct. 8, the City of Canyon Lake hired a contractor to prepare preliminary designs for the Railroad Canyon-New Newport extension.
A Canyon Lake staff report expressed the urgency the city feels for the project.
"When the traffic control plan for the road project was approved for Audie Murphy no one imagined the amount of time residents would have to bear the construction atmosphere," it stated. "Time has wreaked havoc on the signage, striping, and bollards."
The county has already allocated $4 million in Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fees to the project. Nonetheless, Perez refuses to start the project without securing the project’s funding and otherwise sorting out the financial details, he said.
"This is a very complicated and messy situation," Perez said. "There’s a lot of complex parts that need to get worked out here."
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95 Huell Howser of ... | <urn:uuid:fa932465-710d-4c86-95eb-8aaaafdf7d6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/34070/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954241 | 1,289 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Malaysia at a Glance
Driving in Malaysia123RF
Malaysia boasts some of the best roads in Asia.
Driving in Malaysia, you get to reap the benefits of the best road system in Southeast Asia. You can find more than 98,700 kilometers of roadways in this peninsular country. It is especially well-linked with its neighboring countries Thailand and Singapore.
The popularity of driving in Malaysia is immense: Many Malaysian families have more than one car. Therefore you can imagine that when you start driving in Malaysia, especially in its larger cities, you’ll be seeing a lot of clogged roads.
It is said that the style of driving in Malaysia is rather frantic, leading many drivers to succumb to road rage. It is best to avoid partaking in this: If you are involved in an accident, you as the foreigner will probably end up with the higher fine. Also try to stick to a manner of driving in Malaysia that will not lead to conflict with the police. They may think you are disrespecting them and request bribes, sadly a common practice among Malaysian law enforcement.
Driving in Malaysia: Road Infrastructure
The fact that Malaysia has some of the best roads in Southeast Asia is often attributed to it having once been a British colony. Whether this is indeed true or not, the roads are in considerably good condition and getting from one end of the peninsula to the other usually does not pose a problem.
Driving in Malaysia is not always free of charge: Apart from state or federal roads, there is also a network of toll roads. You can pay using ‘touch-n-go’ cards or cash cards, both of which can be bought at toll kiosks along the highway.
Obviously, accidents and mishaps can also happen to anyone driving in Malaysia. Should your car break down on the highway, do not fear. There are emergency phones located along the road every two kilometers.
The intense traffic congestions were met with the introduction of the Light Rail System (LRT). This was an effort to minimize the absolute need for driving in Malaysia’s large urban centers such as Kuala Lumpur. The LRT takes you to your destination swiftly, cheaply, and without much harm to the environment.
Driving in Malaysia: Rules and Regulations
You must have an international driving permit if you are planning on driving in Malaysia for up to six months. Afterwards you must apply for a Malaysian one. Licenses issued in Thailand or Singapore are valid without any restrictions for driving in Malaysia. Unfortunately, no other countries have an agreement with Malaysia that enables them to simply exchange their licenses. To find out what the license fees are, contact the Road Transport Department.
There are three types of licenses available in Malaysia. If you get a driver’s license for the first time in your life, you need to go to driving school and apply for a Learner’s Driving License (LDL). Once you have passed the exam successfully you will receive a Probationary Driving License (PDL), which after two years of no offenses can be updated to a Competent Driving License (CDL). Foreigners driving in Malaysia receive the CDL when they exchange the driver’s license from their home country for a Malaysian one after taking the required written test.
The regulations for driving in Malaysia are due to be changed shortly, with a revision about to be implemented in May 2012. This mostly concerns changes for users of automatic transmissions. We will update our article once the changes come into effect. | <urn:uuid:daec032e-b6ab-4619-9b84-8703b7b95732> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.internations.org/malaysia-expats/guide/driving-in-malaysia-15637 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959403 | 721 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Qigong And The Impact On Concentration
From "The Power Of QIgong For Concentration DVD and Companion Book" by Keith A. Shaw
Posted by: Keith A. Shaw
The inability to identify the smell of lemons, lilac, leather and other smells predicts which people will develop Alzheimer's Disease, according to a study presented at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology’s annual meeting. So, when you consistently practice this Qi exercise, you can improve your ability to concentrate, mental capabilities and your probability of a longer, healthier life.
That is why Qigong is so very important. Qigong has been practiced throughout China, Korea and other Asian countries for thousands of years and continues to be practiced daily in parks, playgrounds and at home. In my visits to Asian countries, I always see groups of people, young and old, men and women, congregating shortly after sunrise preparing to practice their Qigong exercises.
The gentle, graceful movements, combined with controlled breathing and meditation make Qigong an ideal health and fitness program for men, women and children of all ages. As humans, our Qi energy is at its peak in our late teen years, 18-20. As we age, we lose a little of our energy, year after year. It is only through continued, diligent practice of Qigong that you can increase your Qi energy and vitality to build physical and mental strength, help fortify your immune system, reduce stress and speed recovery from injury for a longer, healthier life.
Copyright ©2006 MindBodySpiritCentral.com, LLC and Keith A. Shaw. All rights reserved.
Healing Arts, Energy Work, Healthy Living, brain power, Breath Work, Fitness, Meditation, self mastery | <urn:uuid:1cd2d15e-5f16-4fc1-bcad-830d39b35c97> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailyom.com/library/000/000/000000636.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930403 | 362 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Landslide: Every Tree Tells a Story,” an exhibit of photographs commissioned by the Cultural Landscape Foundation, will open at Longhouse Reserve in East Hampton on April 30. The exhibit is an evocation of this year’s East Hampton Star garden supplement whose theme is, simply, trees.
The show is part of an annual effort that began in 2003 by the foundation to bring attention to “significant at-risk parks, gardens, horticultural features, and working landscapes.” It can be said that the South Fork is a mine of arboreal treasures — with notable trees in public places, on private estates, and in woodlands — and the exhibit includes images taken in East Hampton of American elms.
East Hampton’s elms were nominated for inclusion by Mac Griswold of Sag Harbor, a garden historian, whose application praised the success of the Ladies Village Improvement Society in keeping elms here alive and well.
“The elms of East Hampton, so thoughtfully cared for by the Ladies Village Improvement Society, command “the same awe and inspiration that our culture bestows on the arts, architecture, and design,” Joanne Sohn, executive assistant at LongHouse, said. “This photography exhibition of unique, unusual, and irreplaceable trees enhances our mission to bring together art and nature,” she said.
The trees and groupings of trees chosen are, for the most part, associated with historically important people and events, which gives them meaning beyond their botanical properties. Russell Hart, a former executive editor of American Photo magazine, chose the photographers and sent them to 12 locations in the United States and Puerto Rico.
The exhibit features “sentinel and specimen trees, allées and boulevards, urban forests, formal and vernacular trees that surround us and are living reminders of our heritage,” the press release says. It opened first on April 10 at the Jay Heritage Center in Rye, N.Y., where it will remain on view, and it will travel after it closes there and at LongHouse on June 15.
Twelve of the images displayed in a traditional gallery space in Rye will be shown outdoors at LongHouse, mounted on signboard and placed in the dunes area of the reserve’s grounds.
Some of the exhibit’s highlights, which may be included in East Hampton and would be of interest to arborculturists and photography aficionados, are images of a 60-by-70-foot Moreton Bay fig tree at a Buddhist temple in Los Angeles; an 80-foot-tall tulip poplar in Washington, D.C., which has stood there as long as that city has been our nation’s capital; some 50 trees that make up Sycamore Row at Iowa State University; three Louisville, Ky., parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and his sons; the tree-lined Commonwealth Avenue Mall in Boston, and three African Cloth-Bark trees from San Juan, Puerto Rico, which are approximately 50 feet tall, with a 20-foot trunk diameter, and a canopy that stretches over seven lanes of highway.
“These aren’t just pretty pictures of old trees,” Mr. Hart said in a press release. “They are important photographers’ studies on unique specimens in context, from parklands to roadsides. Each of the 12 trees or groups of trees is seen through the lens of an artist’s sensibility in spectacular prints — and the images are as different as they could be.”
The foundation, based in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the public’s awareness and understanding of the importance and irreplaceable legacy of America’s cultural landscapes. | <urn:uuid:288fb8fe-150b-4288-ae3b-8b954dfb55fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://easthamptonstar.com/?q=Garden/2011420/Standing-Sentinel | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947104 | 786 | 1.789063 | 2 |
I love food – fresh, healthy food! But understanding what’s healthy and safe is getting increasingly difficult. Food poisoning and food contamination are too common. Do you buy organic? Local? All natural? Sustainably grown? Free range? Grass fed? Lowfat? Whoa……….
Fish is loaded with heart, brain, and skin-healthy omega 3. But not all fish. Many types are also contaminated with mercury, overfished, or farmed, which has its problems. Chicken is a healthy, lean protein, but not if it’s injected with growth hormones and antibiotics and raised in filthy, inhumane environments. Soy is an excellent source of plant protein, but along with corn, a major GMO (genetically modified organisms) crop. GMO crops are linked to allergies and many other health issues, and what’s worse they aren’t labeled. (There is a bill before Congress now requiring GMO foods to be labeled.)
It’s ironic that berries are a powerhouse of cancer-fighting anti-oxidants, but one of the most heavily sprayed crops with cancer-causing pesticides. Apples are considered a super food, but they are #1 on the list of the most heavily sprayed crops. Additionally, it seems like everyday we get conflicting advice about what is good for you and what isn’t.
It’s all too complicated. There are several eye-opening books and documentaries however, that help make the issue of food more understandable. Here are some of the most important.
Michael Pollan is the expert about sensible, ethical eating and has written several fascinating books on the subject. His book The Omnivore’s Dilemma is a must read; Food Rules is a short manual of simple food rules. One example, don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation is the intriguing history of the fast food movement and how it has changed our diet, culture, economy and health!
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, a history making bestseller published in 1962, launched the modern environmental movement.
Food, Inc., an astonishing, if not frightening film about what’s wrong in America’s industrialized food system.
Super Size Me: A fit man embarks on a 30-day challenge to eat only McDonald’s fast food.
Forks Over Knives investigates the lifestyle diseases that can be controlled or reversed by avoiding meat and processed food. You’ll never eat meat again!
The Future of Food: A look into genetically modified food (GMOs) and the destructive path of the Monsanto Corporation.
Get informed – the future of our food supply depends on it!
Email me with questions….. | <urn:uuid:31012254-c664-4862-8885-4e8e60ca4070> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://betsywild.wordpress.com/tag/omega-3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93237 | 578 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Stereophile magazine editor John Atkinson's recent article, "Getting the best from your loudspeakers," provides gobs of useful information.
Atkinson's observation that "inexpensive speakers, optimally set up, may well outperform more expensive models just plonked down willy-nilly" is absolutely true. Proper speaker placement is crucial to getting the best sound out of your speakers.
The article explains how room acoustics affect the sound of speakers, and it's definitely a complex relationship. You won't need a microphone or any technical skill to get the job done, but an Atkinson-produced Stereophile test CD can be a big help when fine-tuning speaker placement.
Perhaps his most important bit of advice comes early on: "Entire books have been written about the relationship between loudspeakers and room acoustics, but the starting point for any successful setup is to position the two speakers and your listening chair as the pieces of an equilateral triangle; that is, the speakers are each as far away from you as they are from each other."… Read more | <urn:uuid:c09c6dd3-c48f-4bab-875b-838a5e845688> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.cnet.com/8300-5_3-0-15.html?keyword=magazine | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951578 | 223 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Join us for a unique event at the Orlando Science Center...
Thank you for attending this year’s Science of Wine benefitting the Orlando Science Center!
Grand Raffle Winning Ticket: 741187
Number of Corks: 997 Corks
4th Annual Science of Wine
TBA May 2014, 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Join us for a night of wine and gourmet food! The Science of Wine is a unique wine and food tasting with an educational twist. More than a hundred of the finest wines from all of the major regions of the world will be represented. Local gourmet restaurants and caterers will also be present to pair the wines with a variety of delectable dishes.
This is a unique event that offers a chance to celebrate and network with others who enjoy the culture of wine. We look forward to seeing you!
Learning About Wine
While we are pleased and proud to enjoy over 150+ fine wines from Southern Wine & Spirits and partner with a vast range of culinary treats from Orlando area restaurants and caterers, our guests tell us that what makes Science of Wine completely unique is Orlando Science Center’s educational programming about Wine! All the educational content is engaging, hands on and interactive. So, enjoy, wine, dine and learn about the Science of Wine!
Cheese and Wine: Life beyond the 'wine and cheese' social cocktail party. The advent of the cheese course is a cornerstone of today's fine dining experience. Take advantage of it by understanding how to best work wine into the equation. As a separate course, in appetizers and yes, in or with desserts- all scenarios can be explored. Course duration: One hour.
Class is presented by Luis Torres, Constellation Academy of Wine. South American-born, Chicago-raised Luis Torres lends his extensive background in wine supply, distribution, and on-premise roles to the Academy. Read More…
Reservations required. Ticket for Science of Wine required but no additional cost for the seminar. This seminar will be completely booked, so please make your reservations a.s.a.p. by calling 407.514.2112.
Wine & Learn Stations:
Visit four different stations to learn about the elements of wine:
- Sweetness: taste a range of wines from bone dry to sweet.
- Alcohol: assess the differences from light bodied to full bodied wines.
- Acidity & Tannin: learn about the building blocks that provide structure to a wine.
- Oak Treatment: see, smell & taste the difference that oak can make on wine.
These are casual, self-propelled stations where our Education Partners from Tim’s Wine Markets (Orlando, Windermere & Lake Mary) will guide you through the elements of wine.
Please note that this event is for guests 21 years of age or older. Valid government issued identification will be required. Please drink responsibly.
18 May 2011
Posted in The Science of Wine
The next time you pick up a glass of Cabernet, you might stop and think about the science that went into producing that fine wine. You will if you were one of the nearly 500 guests that attended The Science of Wine on May 14, 2011. Sommeliers, casual wine lovers and “newbies” alike enjoyed a variety of wines paired with samples from local restaurants.
In an event that was described by guests as “uniquely the Science Center”, sampling was complimented by seminars and workshops intended to create a better understanding of how wine is produced. Proceeds from the inaugural event will support the Science Center’s mission “To Inspire Science Learning for Life". | <urn:uuid:da037c3c-d89f-40e5-817f-e2078b418ce4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://osc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=112&Itemid=194&limitstart=10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938886 | 766 | 1.84375 | 2 |
European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection
Portrait of the Dauphin Francis, Son of Francis I
After the painting in the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp (cat. no. 33)Made in France, Europe
Workshop of Jean Clouet, French, c. 1475 - 1540/41
Oil on panel
Currently not on view
Inv. 309John G. Johnson Collection, 1917
LabelAs eldest son of the king of France and heir to the throne, the boy in this painting held the title of dauphin. In the medallion on his hat appears Saint Francis, namesake of the dauphin and his father, Francis I. When Francis I was taken prisoner by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V he exchanged the dauphin for his own freedom. The boy's grandmother reportedly sent a portrait similar to this one to Catherine of Aragon, the Spanish Queen of England, hoping she would use her influence with the Spanish Emperor to obtain the release of the young boy. The dauphin was nevertheless held hostage for years and only released after his father raised enough gold to buy his freedom. | <urn:uuid:f75ba8ff-5618-4258-9a86-83b1b4a0c2b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/103679.html?mulR=22612%7C13 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938794 | 242 | 3.171875 | 3 |
A new academic study led by UCLA scientists has found that even brief exposure to ultrafine pollution particles near a Los Angeles freeway is potent enough to boost the allergic inflammation that exacerbates asthma.
Published online in the American Journal of PhysiologyLung Cellular and Molecular Physiology in June, the study shows that the tiniest air pollutant particles ― those measuring less than 180 nanometers, or about one-thousandth the width of a human hair ― incited inflammation deep in the lungs. The researchers used a "real-time" testing method in an animal model to isolate the effects of vehicular emission particles on the immune response in the lung.
Since these ultrafine particles are primarily derived from vehicular emissions and are found in highest concentrations on freeways, the results have particular significance for the study of the impact of traffic-related emissions on asthma flares in urban areas.
The findings also point to the importance of understanding the role air-pollution particles play in asthma flares in order to develop new approaches for asthma therapy.
"The immune processes involved in asthma, and current treatments, are traditionally thought to be dominated by a specific initial immune response, but our study shows that ultrafine pollution particles may play an important role in triggering additional pathways of inflammation that heighten the disease," said the study's principal investigator, Dr. Andre E. Nel, professor of medicine and chief of nanomedicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Pollution particles emitted by vehicles and other combustion sources are coated with a layer of organic chemicals that can be released into the lungs. These chemicals generate free oxygen radicals, which excite the immune system in the lung through a cell- and tissue-
damaging process known as oxidation. Oxidation contributes to allergic
|Contact: Rachel Champeau|
University of California - Los Angeles | <urn:uuid:6ceee10f-caf0-4d61-93df-bf8ef468270a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-1/Ultrafine-particles-in-air-pollution-may-heighten-allergic-inflammation-in-asthma-14231-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921883 | 376 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Former Transportation Security Administration head Kip Hawley is on a media tour criticizing the inefficiency and misplaced logic of searching for insignificant tools like knives and scissors. According to ABC News, Hawley says passengers should be able to carry knives on planes because they don’t pose a significant risk.
His thinking stems around the fact that no matter how many knives someone carries on board, they’ll never be able to get into the fortified cockpit or cause major damage. Instead, he argues, TSA agents should focus on finding things like explosives or toxins, which can kill far more people and actually take down a plane.
Here’s more of Hawley’s logic explained to Charlie Rose:
“You can’t take over a plane with a knife,” he told Charlie Rose, because the cockpit doors are now secure. “It’s a risk management issue. You could say, ‘Yes, somebody could bring a knife and stab the guy next to him,’ that’s a risk. When I tried to get small scissors taken off the prohibited items list, there was a scream of, ‘There’ll be blood running in the aisles!’
“I think what risk management would dictate is you’ve got to find the bombs, because a bomb will take down a plane. And if you’re so busy fishing around looking for Swiss Army knives, it diverts your focus. So my theory is, let’s not have the officers look for knives and small things. Focus on bombs, toxins, things that could destroy the plane.”
Although the thinking is pretty sound, don’t expect things to change anytime soon. This is basically the musings of a disgruntled former administrator looking to stir up controversy and sell his books. Many of the current policies that have been stacked on top of each other to slow down the screening process were implemented under Hawley.
Aside from no longer screening people for knives, he also says that the TSA is sitting on key technology that screens liquids, so we’d finally be able to carry on water and other items. But, it seems like they aren’t eager to release this equipment for a reason not given by Hawley.
Think about it. If we’re able to carry knives on planes once again, there may just be more heroic stories of knives saving lives in the sky, like this one. | <urn:uuid:085dfc98-5291-49ee-9eb6-28429ed09037> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.knife-depot.com/blog/ex-tsa-head-passengers-should-be-able-to-carry-knives-on-planes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950276 | 508 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Their are two groups of people in the United States. There are those who, at the very heart of things, believe that it is better to be part of a team in the game of life, and those who believe that it is better to compete as individuals in the marathon of life. Each group has elements of the others group. Even though the running back and the defender are both members of a team, each individual is counted on to do their individual jobs. Just as the marathon runner runs alone, he or she must depend on the support of others along the way if he or she is to do their best.
The basic problem lies in the fact that the country used to be one of marathon runners, but the number of those who want the country to be a country of a giant team have grown into a majority.
This country of marathon runners allowed everyone to be which ever they chose to be, marathon runners, or if you wanted to play a team sport, well of course, those who celebrate individualism and freedom, including freedom of choice, said it is your choice to make. Those who believe in “team”, having been given the freedom to make their own choices chose to give up some freedom for the power and security of the team. Because they tend to believe in “team” over individual, the use of the power of numbers is just part of their character. Another “natural” belief by those believers of “team”, is that team is best, therefore, if your are forced onto the team, it is the best for you, and everyone else. The individualists tell the others they should enjoy their freedom to be individuals-but if you choose to not believe in individualism, under the beliefs of the individualists, you have the choice to choose not to be an individualist. If you do the math, one side of the equation allows for subtraction, and the other side of the equation is all about the power of numbers (you don’t gain numbers by allowing subtraction), like it or not, and over time it is easy to see what will eventually happen.
One group is all about freedom and choice. The other is all about power of numbers and power/majority wins/rules. One is about self-reliance, and individual rewards. The other is about winners and losers, and imposing one team’s will over the other.
Is the one flaw of democracy is that it allows others to vote away their individual freedoms and others individuals’ freedoms, too, whereas it can’t happen in reverse? If you allow freedom of choice, and one of the choices is less freedom, you can’t very well tell people they can’t make that choice.
One of the very great things about a team, one of the things that gives it such power and makes it so alluring to some, is that it can focus the energy of numbers against individuals (think double team), and it can bring help to individuals who are weak.
Weak individuals almost have to go with the “team” way. Often, very strong individual are drawn to the additional power of being a part of a team, and take comfort in the team’s ability to help the weak individuals.
So, if you look at things mathematically, the individual freedomists, the marathon runners, are simply doomed by their own freedom. It is simply a matter of time.
Then, when the “teamers” are able to use their numbers to force their way, forcing individualists to join the team, as is their nature, the nature of joiners, their power snowballs. Remember how we all used to laugh at the Soviet Union when they would report that their totalitarian leaders had received 100% of the votes, and all of the votes of their “democratically elected” representatives were simply rubber stamps for the Stalin’s, and those who followed. Not nearly as funny, nowadays.
Eventually, once individual freedoms had been so stripped for everyone except the leaders, individuals were willing to stand up to tanks with their bare hands to try and get their freedoms back. The tank drivers had lost their freedoms, too, and so they didn’t have the heart to follow the orders of the team, and made the individual choice to not fire on those who were willing to die for what the tank drivers wanted almost as much.
Is that the flaw with totalitarianism? Eventually, the totalitarian leaders are faced with the choice of killing those who refuse to knuckle under to the team, those who are willing to die to get their individual freedoms back, depending on enforcers who’s own desire for their own freedom makes them unreliable, or fleeing the people whom they had basically enslaved (remembering that at one time, it was the majority that had willingly joined the “team”.
If those are the natural conclusions, to those two scenarios, then where are we, as a country?
There is areason why we have become so polarized, as a people. Each group has begun to see the writing on the wall. The “teamers” can see that they have things in the bag for the future. The math has worked for them, and their numbers can only grow, through the use of their power, until it becomes absolute. How long will it be before we start getting those unanimous votes from our congress? Who knows. The United States, with a history of individual freedoms that no other people on earth have ever had, the process may take a little longer than it would normally. Maybe, because of the same history, the time to demand their freedoms back might come sooner.
For the individualists, they have just watched the majority of their countrymen vote the country founded on individual rights and freedoms into a country based on the power of the majority, at the loss of individual freedom. | <urn:uuid:c530ac81-68eb-490e-8054-8a18b7f04396> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kyyotesden.com/The_Kyyotes_Howl/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977146 | 1,214 | 2.15625 | 2 |
ESnet, Globus Online and IU Demonstrate more Reliable Data Transfers
January 24, 2013
Contact: Jon Bashor, 510-486-5849, JBashor@lbl.gov
A collaboration between the Department of Energy’s ESnet (Energy Sciences Network) and Globus Online, together with Indiana University (IU), is already producing proof-of-concept demonstrations of moving large scientific datasets.
As a lead-up to TIP2013, an international networking conference held from Jan. 13-18 in Hawaii, experts from ESnet, Globus Online and IU demonstrated the integration of three critical data transfer technologies:
- ESnet’s OSCARS (On-Demand Secure Circuits and Advance Reservation System) which provides multi-domain, high-bandwidth virtual circuits that guarantee end-to-end network data transfer performance.
- Globus Online’s application that provides easy-to-use, robust and secure file transfer capabilities – traditionally available only on expensive, special-purpose software systems – accessible to any researcher with an Internet connection and a laptop.
- Indiana University’s XSP (eXtensible Session Protocol) which enables scientific applications to automatically provision circuits or interact with software defined networks to meet the specific needs of the data transfer.
In a demo conducted in early January, the team was able to move one terabyte of data using a dynamically configured 5 gigabit per second (Gbps) OSCARS circuit between Argonne National Lab and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in about 22 minutes. As a proof of concept, the demo achieved impressive transfer rates of just over 6 gigabits-per-second – highlighting how the integration of these technologies can greatly improve scientific productivity. The demo was conducted using ESnet-operated test GridFTP servers which are available for community testing.
In November, ESnet and Globus Online announced a collaboration to help scientists better manage the growing amounts of data they need to move, share and analyze worldwide. ESnet is the Department of Energy’s high performance science network that interconnects the nation’s research laboratories, supercomputing centers and experimental facilities. As an easy-to-use, highly reliable online file transfer and sharing service, Globus Online has become a primary on-ramp for researchers to access high performance networks like ESnet for rapidly sharing data or to use remote computing and scientific instrument facilities. ESnet is also pursuing complementary research efforts with Indiana University.
Researchers at the Indiana Center for Network Translational Research and Education (InCNTRE) at IU have been developing XSP to transparently improve network performance in transferring bulk data. The XSP client library implementation provides a general interface for configuring dynamic network resources, including technologies such as OpenFlow and virtual circuits like OSCARS. Indiana University and Globus Online recently received a National Science Foundation Campus Cyberinfrastructure – Network Infrastructure and Engineering (CC-NIE) grant to accelerate the integration of XSP and GridFTP, and to bring the power and ease of use of Globus Online to the next-generation campus cyberinfrastructures being funded in other awards.
Raj Kettimuthu, a fellow at the Computation Institute, a joint initiative between The University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, said the demonstration was aimed at bringing together three proven technologies to give researchers more predictability and reliability when moving the large datasets that are increasingly the hallmark of modern science. The Computation Institute is the driving force behind Globus Online.
Ian Foster, director of the Computation Institute, highlighted the results of the demonstration during his keynote presentation at TIP 2013. The meeting, which combines the twice-yearly Joint Techs meeting sponsored by ESnet and Internet2 with the Asia Pacific Advanced Network’s (APAN) meeting, drew more than 450 networking experts from around the world.
The challenge addressed by the demo is a common one faced by research and education network operators around the globe. As an example, Kettimuthu said, say five researchers are trying to move their data across a 10 gigabit-per-second link between Argonne and Lawrence Berkeley national labs. Under the current paradigm, the scientists using Globus Online would have access to “best effort” networking and would share the link with other users resulting in no guaranteed performance for their transfers.
OSCARS allows users to reserve a specified amount of bandwidth for a specified time, ensuring the data will be delivered with the highest performance possible. This allows the user to also schedule computational resources accordingly to perform the necessary simulations or analysis. Given the size of datasets and the overwhelming demand for computing time, such a capability is necessary. XSP provides the critical bridge to integrating Globus Online with resources like OSCARS to make this possible.
“Through this demonstration, we are showing the viability of high performance data transfer as a service – as a potential new model,” said IU Professor Martin Swany, director of InCNTRE and lead for the XSP research effort. “By automating every facet, including network performance tuning, dynamic network allocation and management of the ensemble end to end, we can improve data throughput and network efficiency. This demo is an important first step in our new NSF effort with the Computation Institute and a logical next step in our ongoing collaboration with ESnet.”
ESnet provides the high-bandwidth, reliable connections that link scientists at national laboratories, universities and other research institutions, enabling them to collaborate on some of the world's most important scientific challenges including energy, climate science, and the origins of the universe. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science and located within the Scientific Networking Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, ESnet provides scientists with access to unique DOE research facilities and computing resources. | <urn:uuid:56bdf737-b31d-4bc2-9f1a-142aef6ff5e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://es.net/news-and-publications/esnet-news/2013/esnet-globus-online-and-iu-demonstrate-more-reliable-data-transfers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90292 | 1,208 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Wonderbook makes your PS3 pretty magic
IT’S the sort of thing every Harry Potter fan dreams about, a book of spells with magic that jumps out of the page.
Sony are about to release their latest game, Wonderbook, and aim to do just that.
Wonderbook is an augmented reality book about the size of an annual. If you sit on front of the TV with it and turn on a Playstation camera you can see amazing moving images coming from the pages as you look at the screen.
The first disc to launch with the book is J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter Book Of Spells.
It tells a story of an ancient magic book discovered in the restricted section of Hogwarts library with a list of spells in it.
Aimed at children and hardcore Potter fans, a Sony Move controller becomes a wand and you can interact with the book as you make your way through the chapters.
For any parent trying to coax their child into reading more it’s a perfect way of combining a game with homework.
The Sun has had a special preview of the Wonderbook and it genuinely feels quite magical as you tap the book with your wand and see sparks and spells fly from the page.
Wonderbook: Book of Spells Gamescom trailer
BOOK of Spells is the first game on Wonderbook - the new augmented reality book for PlayStation 3.
The plan in the future is to release a series of books that use augmented reality to bring stories to life as you interact with the pages.
The book itself will retail at under £30 but you must have a move controller and PS3 camera to make the technology work. | <urn:uuid:c603fe92-7795-4b21-b23e-d8764a606a7b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/incoming/4599040/Wonderbook-makes-your-PS3-pretty-magic.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941982 | 336 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The Science of Pet Food Labels
Check out the Nutritional Analysis
All pet foods are required to meet minimum standards for protein, fiber, fat, and moisture. These minimums are based on an “as fed” basis and include the moisture used for processing. For dry foods, dry matter percentages can be calculated by taking 100 percent minus the amount of moisture in the food (10 percent on average) and dividing the percentage listed by the percentage of dry matter.
For example, a dry food with 10 percent moisture is: 100 – 10 percent moisture = 90 percent dry matter. Taking 20 percent protein and dividing it by 90 gives you 22 percent protein on a dry matter basis. You can also use this formula to calculate the amount of fiber and fat in the food.
Make Sure it’s Complete and Balanced
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) requires all foods to meet standards for nutritional adequacy. This is necessary for a product to be labeled as complete and balanced. The label should also tell you which life stage the food is meant for, such as growth stages for young pets, maintenance, or senior stage.
Feeding Instructions and More
All pet foods should have a general guideline printed on the package for feeding your pet. This is based on body weight and age, generally. Additionally, the package will list the companies that manufacture the food and distribute it. Most companies will list an address or phone number so that you can contact them in case of problems, questions or complaints.
Image: Eloise Mason / via Flickr
The amount of matter in a certain type of feed without the moisture
Any product that is derived from but less in value than another product from the same source.
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60% (114 votes)
14% (27 votes)
8% (15 votes)
6% (12 votes)
N/A (I do not use tick preventives)
12% (23 votes)
Total votes: 191 | <urn:uuid:0d8c56e5-57f2-453f-8fde-de67d9dfe069> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_multi_pet_food_labels?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90922 | 471 | 2.78125 | 3 |
First Lady to Lead National Childhood Obesity Initiative
February 4, 2010 | Ginny
When we think of the United States of America, there might be a few key pictures that enter our minds: baseball, apple pie and…fast food? Over the years, fast food has become associated with American culture. Children especially have come to associate fast food with rewards, special days and celebrations. Whether it is the fun toys, the play places or the mesmerizing advertisements, there is a certain spark about fast food that draws children in – and continues drawing them in through adulthood.
Fast food, as well as the large variety of sugary and fattening junk food that adorns grocery store shelves, has played a large part in the child obesity epidemic witnessed over the years within the U.S. It might come as a surprise, then, that a study recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics found that child obesity rates have actually slowed in growth over the past several years. Despite these results, there is little reason to celebrate. We still live in a nation where a third of our children are obese and in African American and Latino communities, the number reaches nearly 50%.
In the State of the Union Address given by President Obama last Wednesday, he mentioned a national movement to address the issue of childhood obesity, which will be led by the First Lady, Michelle Obama. Mrs. Obama recently announced her initiative to combat childhood obesity at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington D.C., where she was discussing the issue.
As a mother herself, she said she is familiar with the business of being a working parent and struggling to feed her family healthy, balanced meals. Even though it’s easier to eat cheaply and less healthy in a rough economic climate, Mrs. Obama stated the importance of good nutrition, especially for children. The new childhood obesity initiative, which will launch next month, will employ greater communication between the federal government and local schools, businesses and non-profits on the importance of healthy eating. These communications will cover a variety of topics, such as increasing the number of schools where students can have access to healthy foods, techniques to provide children with more opportunities to be physically active and ensuring that low-income communities have access to healthy food options.
Erie Family Health Center has been dealing with the child obesity head on. Erie’s B.A.L.A.N.C.E curriculum (Building Lives Around Nutrition-Centered Education) aims to provide physical and nutritional education to elementary-aged children at Erie’s school-based sites. This program allows students at both Ryerson and Henson Elementary Schools, where high levels of childhood obesity exist, to have the opportunity to learn about ways to eat and live healthy lives through fun games and activities. Parents are also given information on healthy nutrition and exercise habits, which allows children to take what they’ve learned in the classroom and put it into practice at home.
If Mrs. Obama’s program proves to be successful, it might not be long before we see other programs, like Erie’s B.A.L.A.N.C.E. program, springing up at the community level. One thing is for certain, though: becoming a healthier nation goes far beyond health care reform – it comes down to our day-to-day choices about how to treat our bodies. If we learn to make healthy choices, especially as children, then we will be on our way to living healthier, happier lives. | <urn:uuid:44fd2eb9-e750-46b1-a794-ec2be02e1587> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eriefamilyhealth.org/obesityinitiativ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96028 | 726 | 2.203125 | 2 |
South African family stories
The exhibition ‘Family stories from South Africa’ opened in 2002 in the Tropenmuseum Amsterdam, and was shown in the National Cultural History Museum in Pretoria between 2003 and 2007. Around and together with nine specific families an imaginative presentation was created by a great number of South African professionals.
Important South African artists, photographers, designers worked with researchers and organizers. It turned out to be a crazy, complicated, stimulating, debatable, fascinating project with many experiments in form, content as well as in adjacent events and programmes.
Tropenmuseum curator Paul Faber looks back at the ‘making of’, Ciraj Rassool & Leslie Witz, Cape Town, discuss the resulting exhibition in the Netherlands. Added as well are reviews and reactions to the exhibition in Pretoria.
The various contributions to this publication provide stimulating ideas on a broad range of questions concerning exhibition development, (re)presentation, self presentation, identity, multiculturalism and dealing with apartheid experiences in contemporary museum context.
Bulletins of the Royal Tropical Institute | ISBN 9068325221 (Dutch) | ISBN 9789068324921(English) | Paperback | 80 p. | 2007 | € 25.00 | English | <urn:uuid:aec21cc0-2400-4899-a561-d454ad8c0923> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tropenmuseum.nl/-/MUS/20254/Tropenmuseum/Collection/Collection-Publications/Publications-Archive/South-African-family-stories | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916511 | 256 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Constellations are groupings of stars that form easily recognized and remembered patterns, such as Orion and the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper is actually an asterism, not a constellation, because it is only part of the constellation Ursa Major (the Big Bear). Actually, the stars in the majority of all constellations do not “belong together.” Usually they are at greatly varying distances from Earth and just happen to lie more or less in the same line of sight as seen from our solar system. But in a few cases, the stars of a constellation are actually associated; most of the bright stars of the Big Dipper travel together and form what astronomers call an open cluster.
If you observe a planet, say Mars, for one complete revolution, you will see that it passes successively through 12 constellations. All planets (except Pluto at certain times) can be observed only in these 12 constellations, which form the so-called zodiac, and the Sun also moves through the zodiacal signs, though the Sun's apparent movement is actually caused by the movement of Earth.
Although the constellations are due mainly to the optical accident of line of sight and have no real significance, astronomers have retained them as reference areas. It is much easier to speak of a star in Orion than to give its geometrical position in the sky. During the Astronomical Congress of 1928, it was decided to recognize 88 constellations. A description of their agreed-upon boundaries was published in Cambridge, England, in 1930, under the title Atlas Céleste.
Fact Monster/Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:742e8520-12c7-41d8-a0f7-82e402f0fc3d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0004504.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946234 | 347 | 4.1875 | 4 |
Volunteering with Animals in Malaysia
A promotional article in association with Tourism Malaysia
Malaysia is one of the jewels of South East Asia, full of dream-like scenery, rich cultural history and amazing travelling adventures. Whilst simply backpacking through the country can be fantastic, spending time working on a volunteer project can be an incredibly rewarding experience.
Planning your gap year around volunteering is a brilliant idea for all sorts of reasons; it's a lot of fun, great for learning life skills and you can really feel like you're making a positive contribution to something meaningful.
Working with animals is a specific kind of volunteering experience, and thoroughly worthwhile. But what kind of animal volunteer projects can you do in Malaysia? What wildlife will you encounter? Gapyear.com takes a look at some options of volunteering with animals in this beautiful part of the world.
Probably the star of Malaysian animal volunteering, working with orangutans is an insanely popular area.
Classified as two separate species - the Bornean and Sumatran - the orangutan's name literally means 'man of the forest', and it's likely the human resemblance that has helped orangutans endure as such an endearing species to volunteers. There is a strange air of wisdom to them, and they seem to naturally evoke empathy with their large eyes and striking orange-red fur.
Although the 'man' part of their name isn't technically accurate, the 'forest' aspect is completely apt. Orangutans are total forest-dwellers, living in the lush, exotic back garden of Borneo. They feed on fruit, sleep in nests and move through the rainforest canopies in graceful sweeping motions.
But like many species around the globe the orangutan is endangered, and it's thought that numbers are less than 60,000 worldwide. Sadly, their habitats are frequently destroyed by mining, logging and fires, and they're sometimes killed for food or because of their disruptive effect on human communities.
There are lots of ethical and good value volunteering opportunities to work with orangutans, most of which are located in Malaysian Borneo. The focus of these ventures is conservation and rehabilitation - looking after orangutans that have been injured, orphaned or otherwise need caring for. The ultimate aim of these projects is to protect orangutan numbers and eventually re-introduce as many of them into the wild as possible.
Every project will have its differences, but working on a placement with orangutans will typically involve working alongside other volunteers and project staff to assist in animal care, husbandry and maintenance. So you could end up working on everything from mucking out the animal enclosures and painting buildings to seeing new orangutans being born and helping others return to the wild!
"It was fantastic experience!" said former volunteer Caroline Martin. "I loved every minute of the program and it was worth every penny that I struggled to save!"
Caroline was particularly loved the chance to clean and feed the orangutans, as well as observe their released behaviour and welfare.
She added: "If I had the funds, I would return tomorrow."
Its African cousins might grab all the headlines, but there are elephants in Malaysia too.
Asian elephants are smaller than their African relatives, but are still enormously impressive as well as culturally iconic. They have been worshipped for centuries and are still used for ceremonial and religious events.
However, unlike their western counterparts the Asian elephant is struggling and sadly finds itself on the endangered list. The World Wildlife Foundation claim that the number of Asian elephants in the wild is between 25,000 and 33,000, and that their populations are highly fragmented - decreasing their chances for survival.
There are various projects in Malaysian Borneo that offer the chance to monitor elephant numbers and feeding patterns to help authorities manage the situation.
Being involved in activities designed to help protect the Asian elephant is a hugely rewarding experience, although it's worth pointing out that you may not have any direct contact with these creatures if you are monitoring wild elephants.
Just being in their presence is incredible, though. Seeing elephants majestically move across the landscape en masse is a joy to behold, and hearing them generate a cacophonous symphony of ground-crushing, water-splashing and trunk-blowing is simply breathtaking.
If you do decide to get involved with a monitoring placement you'll be taking part in river 'cruises' as you record what's happening. And it's not just Asian elephants that you might come across; you'll often spot pygmy elephants, orangutans, birds and other wildlife along the river bank too.
It's a brilliant opportunity to observe the natural behaviour of animals up close and keep records that will be of great use to wildlife conservationists. Oh, and it's also an awesome way to get some amazing photos!
Former elephant volunteer Yvonne Hadley said: "I could have stayed longer. It’s fantastic to watch the elephants just be elephants - with no tourists on their backs."
She added: "I would definitely recommend it."
Malaysian turtles are attractive, compelling to watch and sadly on the edge of extinction.
The country is home to the Olive ridley and Green variety, both of which are endangered, as well as the Leatherback and Hawksbill, which are critically endangered.
The numbers of each sub-species vary across the region, with most of the breeding areas spreading across the beautiful islands of Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor and Perak.
The main problem for the turtles lies in the vulnerability of their breeding behaviour. Females lay hundreds of eggs each nesting season, but relatively few young survive through to adulthood. Baby turtles are eaten up by crabs, lizards and birds either before they hatch or as they struggle through the sand and make their first forays into water. Once in the shallows, many more hatchlings are eaten by fish.
This is, of course, the way of the natural world. However, when you factor in humans harvesting eggs and fishing hatched turtles for food and jewellery, the little turtles’ chances for survival head even further south.
Pretty much all turtle conservation projects in Malaysia have the same objective: collect and protect. As a volunteer you will typically be involved in nightly beach patrols, collecting data from adult turtles, nests and hatchlings, surveying forest and coral environments, assisting in running conservation and English language school clubs and assisting with various other art, recycling and community projects.
Clare Maher volunteered on a turtle conservation project in the Perhentian Islands, Borneo, and said: "I can thoroughly recommend it. You take part in turtle conservation, reef checks and can get a diving qualification as well!"
The end goal for these collective projects is the small matter of conserving an entire species. Just to be even a small part of that can be incredibly fulfilling, and working together with other volunteers around these amazing creatures can be a huge experience.
Some animals might not have specific volunteering projects built around them, but you might still encounter them whilst working on other placements. Here are some of the rarer animals in Malaysia that you might come into contact with.
The proboscis monkey is instantly recognisable from its large nose. They are extremely rare, and can only be found in Borneo. An endangered species, it is thought there may be as few as 3,000 proboscis monkeys left in the wild. There are some volunteer campaigns working towards saving this species all across the Malaysian, Indonesian and Brunei areas of Borneo, though you might still also some proboscis monkeys whilst on other animal volunteer placements.
Less well known than their friends, sun bears are the smallest species of bear in the world. They have a distinctive honey-coloured crescent shape of fur on their torso, so have been nicknamed the 'honey bears. They are extremely rare, and listed as vulnerable in the endangered species lists. While there are very few projects in Malaysia dedicated solely to sun bear conservation you may be able to work with them on a general 'zoo assistant' type placement. To work with these amazing creatures would be a fantastic experience.
The smallest of the big cats, clouded leopards are secretive and rare in the wild. They are classed as endangered owing to their habitat undergoing deforestation. An attractive animal, it is also much sought after for its fur, skin and bones, and authorities are trying to control the illegal trade in leopard goods. Volunteer projects to work with clouded leopards in Malaysia are not very common, but with some research you may well be able to find somewhere doing good work. Working with one of these animals would be a wonderful experience and an immense privilege.
A small and cute primate, all five species of the slow loris are either listed as vulnerable or endangered. This is largely due to habitat loss and illegal trade - from them being used as exotic pets or traditional 'medicine'. As with the other examples above, you may not find a great deal of projects in Malaysia based solely around slow lorises, but they there may be some being cared for at other conservation centres.
Among the suppliers of responsible animal volunteering programmes is The Great Projects. Visit their site for more information on available placements.
For more details on worldwide endangered species visit the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Some photos appear courtesy of The Great Projects
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Opportunities are ripe for food manufacturers using organic meat ingredients, with a new report revealing the volume of organic meat ingredients used in processed foods is starting to take market share away from supermarkets,writes Lindsey Partos.
The fastest growing segment of the UK organic food industry for a number of years; today, this represents the second largest organic meat market in the world, with sales increasing by 139 per cent between 2001 and 2004.
A mix between increasing demand for high quality meats, together with taste and ethical concerns are the key motivations driving growth, claim Organic Monitor, authors of the report.
"Supermarkets continue to dominate with 72 per cent market share, however their market share is in decline. Increasing volume is going to other channels; specialist retailers, food processing, direct marketing and the catering sector," say the market analysts.
According to their figures, the increase in organic food processing activity has boosted demand for organic meats to an extent that over half of domestically produced organic pork goes into processed foods.
The surge in demand has been particularly evident in organic sausages, ready-meals, and baby food, say the authors, with rising requests from restaurants, schools, hospitals and government buildings.
Although sales volume has expanded considerably, the market share of organic meats remains below 4 per cent in most retailers. Organic meats are mostly marketed under supermarket private labels, which account for over 80 per cent of fresh cut sales. Brands are more evident on organic processed meats.
Organic products have become more accessible to the masses thanks greatly to the stronger role of grocery multiples in the market.
Large supermarket and hypermarket chains, have introduced both branded products and their own-label lines on the shelves. Multiples are now the most important distribution channel for organic food and non-alcoholic. But despite their dominance, with 72 per cent market share in the UK, the report suggests their share is in decline. "Increasing volume is going to other channels; specialist retailers, food processing, direct marketing and the catering sector," says the report.
The organic poultry market has the highest growth, expanding by over 20 per cent per year, predicted to continue in this vein in the coming years.
Barriers to growth for organic meats are still linked to supplies, that remain fragmented, and impacted by consolidation in the conventional meat sector.
"Although there has been a large rise in organic meat production since 2001, inefficient supply chains and lack of finishing units have caused significant volume to go into the conventional meat market. Other restraints to market growth include the high price premium and competing meat products," reports Organic Monitor.
Topping up supplies, imports into the UK remain "important", hitting about 20 per cent of total sales volume.
Supermarket sourcing policies are responsible for conventional meat companies dominating the supply of organic meats. But imports remain important, representing about 20 per cent of total sales volume with products coming into the UK," writes Organic Monitor.
Organic production has grown steadily over the last 20 years. In 1985, just 100,000 hectares of EU farm land was certified organic - less than 0.1 per cent of total farm land. By the end of 2002, this figure had risen to 4.4 million ha or 3.3 per cent of total farm land with market worth around €10 billion.
Data from Mintel shows, to date, a total of 93 new organic food products have been launched in Europe since the beginning of the year. | <urn:uuid:ae7303e5-227d-49c3-9581-ef577a8fa4d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Processed-food-driving-demand-for-organic-meat-ingredients | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952671 | 700 | 1.75 | 2 |
South Sudan’s Ministry of Finance says the country has enough money to keep the government running for the next few months. The country’s economy saw a serious meltdown after the shutdown of the oil sector and there have been widespread fears that the country could soon run out of funds.
The Ministry of Finance has not paid July salaries to the nation’s civil servants. The Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Marial Awou Yol, said the delay was nothing more than a technical glitch.
"We had to implement certain regulations passed by the parliament accompanying the budget including making arrangements for the paysheets and that is why payment for the salaries was delayed. We are going to pay them,” Awou said.
After the shutdown of oil production in Janurary, South Sudan’s parliament passed an austerity budget that included severe spending cuts, such as slicing allowances for home rentals in half. Despite no more oil production, which made up 98 percent of the country’s revenue, Awou said the government has the funds it needs to pay civil servants' salaries.
“We have enough reserves to pay salaries for the foreseeable future. To supplement our reserves, we have secured a large loan from the bank of South Sudan that will allow us to pay salaries for the rest of the year,” he said.
Awou also said South Sudan may take out a foreign loan. He did not elaborate, but said China has declined to make a sizable loan that was discussed earlier.
Awou also said South Sudan has been able to rely on other, non-oil related revenue and a decline in spending to help pay for civil servants' salaries.
“In June last year, we recorded 11.9 million [South Sudanese] pounds in non-oil revenue. In June of this year, we recorded 66.6 million pounds. This is almost a six-fold increase in just one year,” Awou said.
Despite lower spending and higher revenue in non-oil sectors, the deputy minister of finance is calling on South Sudanese to “tighten their belts” until oil production resumes.
Sudan and South Sudan delegations at the talks in Ethiopia recently signed a deal on oil transportation fees but until a comprehensive peace deal is reached on all the outstanding issues such as the border, security and the disputed region of Abyei, the resumption of oil production may still be in question.
Listen to Mayar interview with SS Finance Minister | <urn:uuid:dda00089-bca7-4ebe-abe3-4f6301403546> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-civil-servants-waiting-for-paychecks/1492412.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977114 | 512 | 1.59375 | 2 |
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The Sacramento Public Library is pleased to announce Full Circle: An Exploration of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, a four-month series of programs that delve into J.R.R. Tolkien’s well-known trilogy. Programs will be held at 2 p.m. on the first and third Sundays of each month from September 16 through December 16 at the Central Library, 828 I Street, Sacramento.
Each month features one of the classic Tolkien books: September is The Fellowship of the Ring, October is The Two Towers, November is The Return of the King, and December is The Hobbit, just in time for the December 14 release of the new film by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson.
Several programs will be led by university professors exploring the epic and myth in Tolkien's books, the moral elements in Lord of the Rings, and medieval dragon mythology in The Hobbit. Plus, there will be a Lord of the Rings fashion show, photo showing of locations from the Lord of the Rings film series, and a sword fighting demonstration.
For more information, please telephone the Sacramento Public Library at (916) 264-2920 or visit www.saclibrary.org. | <urn:uuid:4670e513-cda1-405a-91b1-3b67db89d3a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/72758/JRR_Tolkiens_Lord_of_the_Rings_ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941218 | 246 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Feb 17 2013
Pope Benedict XVI blessed the faithful from his window overlooking St Peter's Square for the first time since announcing his resignation, cheered by an emotional crowd of tens of thousands of well-wishers from around the world.
Benedict triumphantly raised his arms outstretched to the crowd in his second-to-last Angelus blessing before leaving the papacy.
A huge banner in the square read: "We love you."
The Sunday appointment is one of the most cherished traditions of the Catholic Church, and this moment is one of Benedict's last opportunities to connect with the Catholic masses.
The Pope's voice was strong and clear as he looked into hazy sunshine over the square packed with at least 50,000 pilgrims.
Benedict made no reference to his stunning decision to step down on February 28. But in an indirect nod, he thanked the faithful for their "affection and spiritual closeness". The crowd broke out into cheers and wild applause.
The Pope gave particular thanks to the "beloved inhabitants of the city of Rome", a possible hint at the title he will take after retirement. The Vatican has suggested he may be called "emeritus bishop of Rome".
The traditional noon appointment normally attracts a few thousand pilgrims and tourists, but city officials prepared for a crush of people.
"We wanted to wish him well," said Amy Champion, a tourist from Wales. "It takes a lot of guts to take the job and even more guts ... to quit."
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