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Rodin Museum, Philadelphia (U.S.A.)
Jules Mastbaum (1872-1929) discovered the works of Auguste Rodin on a trip to Paris in 1923. He immediately decided to purchase a number of sculptures and sketches that he would donate to the city of Philadelphia (USA) for the purpose of founding a Rodin Museum. This museum, whose entrance is a replica of the ruined façade of the 18th-century Château d’Issy that Rodin had reconstructed at Meudon, opened in 1929.
Photo : Bobisstraveling - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobistraveling/4474739790/ | <urn:uuid:f43b9039-55ba-479b-a722-9fc2bfafbd5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.musee-rodin.fr/en/museum/rodin-collections-world/america/rodin-museum-philadelphia-usa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911744 | 147 | 2.796875 | 3 |
All the cool kids do!
On March 23rd, Glee's Darren Criss will kick off the first ever Democracy Day in partnership with Rock the Vote and the National Education Association. The idea is to promote awareness about our government and the upcoming elections to classrooms around the nation.
Darren will be on hand at Hamilton High School in L.A. to help launch the program with a "one-class-period program that uses pop culture, video, discussion and mock election to teach young people to engage as active citizens in the election process."
Of the program, Darren told sources:
“The voting process can be a bit overwhelming and at times confusing, particularly for first time voters. I’m very excited to be a part of such a comprehensive effort that both educates and encourages young people about the importance of their vote.”
Agreed! Young people are the voice of the future, so they should have a say in the present. If this program can help them make more informed choices, then we're all for it!
Hopefully, this will be something that catches on!
Good luck with it, Darren!
[Image via WENN.]
Tags: darren criss, democracy, education, glee, government, high school, rock the vote, voting | <urn:uuid:59c997c1-99ba-4dd1-bc06-2f814015bc58> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://perezhilton.com/tag/rock_the_vote/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945036 | 268 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Special Education is a challenging and rewarding career for anyone who is willing to work hard and wants to make a difference in the lives of others. The faculty and staff in the Special Education Program take pride in offering excellent, student-centered programs at the Bachelors and Masters level. All of our programs are fully accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
The mission of the Special Education program is to prepare highly skilled teachers as well as to provide leadership to the field of Special Education at local, state, national and international levels for the purpose of assisting individuals with disabilities in acquiring greater independence in an increasingly diverse and technological, global community. Philosophically, research-based theory and practices are the foundations of our teacher-training program. The Special Education program is committed to the preparation of personnel who celebrate and foster Inclusion, Diversity, and Multiculturalism.
Undergraduate and graduate programs are organized around two sequences of study that lead to one or more areas of Special Education teacher certification in the state of Oklahoma. Special Education degree programs at UCO offer teacher certification in the areas of Mild-Moderate Disabilities and/or Severs-Profound/Multiple Disabilities.
UCO values new, transfer and graduate students. In each of our Special Education specializations, traditional lecture and field-based courses provide many opportunities for students to work with children in both traditional and non-traditional school settings. Under the guidance and direction of UCO faculty, course work emphasizes the most up-to-date knowledge in the field of special education. The Special Education program courses are among the most highly rated in the state. For those who qualify, limited scholarships may be available at the undergraduate and graduate level. The placement rate of our graduates has exceeded 95% over the past five years. | <urn:uuid:4dd9d7a7-4ac4-40b0-965e-784fa3260b7c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uco.edu/ceps/dept/apss/special/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951994 | 365 | 2.015625 | 2 |
From British weekly The Observer:
‘All we want is justice for our son. That’s all we have left’
As Sir Ian Blair waits for the Crown prosecutors’ report on the Jean Charles de Menezes shooting, the victim’s parents in Brazil will be equally anxious to learn its conclusions.
Tom Phillips in Sao Paulo and Mark Townsend report
Sunday July 16, 2006
It is impossible to miss. As you round the last bend into the dusty hilltop town of Gonzaga, three shiny road signs loom imposingly over the newly paved road.
‘Welcome,’ reads the first, flanked by another, more unexpected, message: ‘The land of Jean Charles – a victim of terrorism in London.’
For travellers who make it as far as Gonzaga, a remote, anonymous town in the hilltops of Minas Gerais, there can be no mistaking the meaning.
Gonzaga’s town hall is determined that its most famous son will not be forgotten, nor the brutal nature of his death.
At its two entrances the sign warns that, in this remote corner of Brazil at least, “we prioritise life”.
A year on from the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes on the London Underground a bitter taste lingers in the mouths of many gonzaguenses.
See also here. | <urn:uuid:f0c9e972-2d8f-4b60-aedc-aa5b66ce1577> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/2006/07/16/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906255 | 290 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Holiday Train Exhibit opening at Nacogdoches Depot
November 29, 2011 - Shirley LunaA model train exhibit will be on display in celebration of the holiday season at the Nacogdoches Train Depot. The exhibit is being provided by the Loblolly Railroad Group and is sponsored by the Center for Regional Heritage Research at Stephen F. Austin State University.
The exhibit will include four train sets and will begin with set up at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 2. According to Loblolly Railroad Group member George Ellis, the train should begin running at approximately noon and will continue until 7 p.m. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and 5 until 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec 3 and Dec. 10. Hours are 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Friday Dec. 9. There is no admission charge.
For the past 10 years, members of the Loblolly Railroad Group have attended train shows throughout the state to promote the hobby of model and toy trains.
For more information, call (936) 468-3953. | <urn:uuid:b433233d-fd36-49b9-ac0d-6d41cd374537> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfasu.edu/5930.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958043 | 233 | 1.53125 | 2 |
These days, the Taunton River rolls through the Southeastern Massachusetts countryside past aging towns and gentrified mills. But 400 years ago, the people who became the Mashpee Wampanoag fished, hunted and plucked bulrushes along its shores.
Then, they were part of the larger Pokanoket tribe settled around the Taunton area, which they called Cohannut.
What they're trying to prove
- The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 allows federally recognized tribes to offer casino gambling on reservation lands, provided that type of gambling is legal in the state.
- To offer gambling on reservation lands acquired after 1988, a tribe must meet one of several exemptions. The Mashpee Wampanoag are applying to have 146 acres in Taunton and 170 acres in Mashpee taken into federal trust as an “initial reservation,” which is one of those exemptions.
- In 2008, the requirements were updated so that the tribe must demonstrate “significant historic” and “modern” ties to the land being taken into trust.
- The tribe can also apply to have land taken into trust that is in the “vicinity” of its ancestral lands, though vicinity is not defined in the regulations.
- For modern ties, the tribe must demonstrate one of the following:
1. The land is near where a significant number of tribal members reside.
2. The land is within a 25-mile radius of the tribe's headquarters or other tribal governmental facilities that have existed at that location for at least two years at the time of the application for land into trust.
3. The tribe can demonstrate other factors that establish the tribe's current connection to the land.
Source: Federal Register
Tribe's claims in brief
- The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is part of the overall Pokanoket tribe that called all of Southeastern Massachusetts from Warren, R.I., east to the Cape and Islands and north to Gloucester its ancestral homeland.
- Cohannut, the Indian name for a region that encompasses modern Taunton, Middleboro, Bridgewater and Lakeville, was an important hub for the Pokanoket transportation by land and water.
- The Taunton River area was “resource-rich” for hunting, fishing and gathering. It's still used today by the Mashpee tribe to gather bulrush for basket and matt making.
- Two archaeological sites in the Taunton area are associated with the Wampanoag tribe. The 10,000-year-old Wapanucket site is located in Lakeville just six miles from Taunton. The other is the Titicut site in Bridgewater, which is 11 miles from Taunton and dates back 6,000 years.
- Mashpee was the place where many Wampanoag tribe members sought refuge after King Philip's War.
Now in a 158-page report written to establish “significant historic and modern ties” to Taunton, the Mashpee tribe asserts its people are all that remain on the mainland of that larger tribe that once inhabited all of Southeastern Massachusetts. Those ties, they contend, give them federal rights to have 146 acres in Taunton taken into trust for a $500 million Indian casino.
The report was written by Kathleen Bragdon, a professor of anthropology at the College of William and Mary whose online biography on the college website states that she works with Native American tribes in the Northeast and Virginia studying “linguistics, archaeology and comparative ethnology.” Bragdon received help from tribe members Ramona Peters, the tribe's director of historic preservation, and Jessie “Little Doe” Baird, who leads a program to reclaim the Wampanoag language.
The Times obtained a copy of the widely anticipated report from a tribe source. The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will use it to decide whether to accept the tribe's application to create an initial reservation that includes the land in Taunton as well as in Mashpee. Its decision is expected this month.
The tribe declined to comment on how much the report cost to produce. Bragdon did not return calls seeking comment.
Based on previous decisions by the BIA, the tribe must demonstrate “actual historical use and occupancy,” said Kathryn Rand, an Indian gaming expert at the University of North Dakota.
The evidence offered in the report is likely to be challenged by other Wampanoag tribes from the region, though none are federally recognized. Casino critics are also likely to pick apart the data in the hopes of blocking a tribal casino.
The report is backed up by thousands of pages of documents, first-person accounts and historical maps.
“To suggest that, historically, there were no ties between Cohannut and Mashpee (or Massipee, as it was also known) is to ignore plentiful evidence, and to misunderstand the nature of Wampanoag social, political and economic life, both historically, and today,” it states.
In 2008, the BIA updated regulations for tribes seeking an initial reservation. Tribes must show a “significant historical connection” and a modern connection, Rand said. “Significant,” means, for example, more-than-occasional visits and proof of that would include burial grounds, village sites and areas used for subsistence.
Tribes are also allowed to seek land in the “vicinity” of their native homelands, though that is not clearly defined. There is no mileage restriction, unless the tribe can't demonstrate a modern connection. In that case, the land must be within 25 miles of a tribe's headquarters.
Mashpee and Taunton are separated by 46 miles by highway, 35 miles as the crow flies.
Years ago, those distances were less important than might be imagined.
Cohannut was much larger than modern Taunton, encompassing much of what is now Bridgewater, Lakeville and Middleboro. It was a hub for nearly 70 villages of the Wampanoag Nation, which stretched from Rhode Island east to the Cape and Islands and north to Gloucester.
Maps in the report show trails leading to Cohannut from the east and Cape Cod. It also describes Native Americans traveling from the North River in Scituate to the mouth of the Taunton River in Dighton using the rivers and lakes of what's now known as the Wampanoag Commemorative Canoe Passage.
The Pokanoket (sometimes spelled Pokanocket) spoke one language, which is what distinguished them from the Narragansetts to the southwest, the Pequots and Mohegans to the south and the Nipmucs to the west. They answered to one supreme sachem, known by the title of massasoit, who at the time of the Pilgrims' landing in 1620 was Ousameequin. Tribe members moved freely between the villages, at times seasonally, for food and shelter.
It is Ousameequin's son, Metacom, who is credited with changing the tribe's name from Pokanoket to Wampanoag, which means “Easterners” or “people of the first light,” the report says.
Dozens of pages deal with King Philip's War, a violent bloody battle between Native Americans and English settlers in 1675 and 1676 over the encroachment of settlers in and around Taunton. The war and the ensuing settlement of Southeastern Massachusetts were turning points for the Wampanoag.
In 1665, sachems Tookenchosen and Weepquash, with help from the Rev. Richard Bourne, had deeded to the Mashpee tribe a 25-square-mile tract of land stretching from Cape Cod Bay to Nantucket Sound. In 1670, Bourne established an Indian church at Mashpee.
The report also lists two signed agreements between Plymouth colony leaders and Indian sachems of the Cape and Mashpee region documented in court records.
In 1671 in Taunton, English settlers forced Philip to “lay down his arms” and “sought assurances from other Indian sachems and their followers that they would remain loyal.”
Mashpee became a refuge for many Wampanoag who survived not only the war, but European-induced diseases, the report says. Some were not so lucky and were indentured to colonists or sold into slavery in Bermuda and Barbados.
“Mashpee became the anchor of Christian Indian communities in the area, where peoples of several former lower Cape sachemships gathered to worship, or fled for protection and sustenance, particularly during and after King Philip's War,” the report states.
The report also describes instances in which tribe members have “fiercely defended” rights to its land “to fish, hunt, gather and self-govern.”
In 1763, after the tribe appealed to the crown, Mashpee was established as a self-governing Indian District by the King of England.
In 2007, the United States government acknowledged the tribe's existence and rights as a sovereign nation.
Although Taunton is about an hour's drive from Mashpee, there is precedent for the BIA to approve initial reservations for tribes with some distance between two different locations. In 2010, the agency approved the Cowlitz tribe's application to take land into trust for a casino about 35 miles from its ancestral homeland.
The U.S. Department of the Interior's approval of the Cowlitz land application, even after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling called into question the department's authority, initiated a lawsuit that is being closely watched by tribes across the country.
The Cowlitz tribe, however, demonstrated that the land in question was within its Indian Health Service and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development service areas, Rand said.
“In the same decision, regarding significant historical connections, (the BIA) noted the relevance of the tribe's historical use of the land in question for hunting, fishing, frequent trading expeditions, temporary camps, and the like,” Rand said.
The Mashpee Wampanoag can show similar ties to the Taunton area and beyond.
Sixteen years before it was federally recognized, the tribe was selected in 1991 by the National Park Service to handle the repatriation of Native American artifacts throughout Southeastern Massachusetts.
The Mashpee tribe is also designated to provide health and heating-assistance services for members throughout Southeastern Massachusetts.
Members have worked to preserve Wampanoag sacred grounds such as Betty's Neck in Lakeville and the Watuppa Wampanoag Indian Reservation in the Fall River/Freetown State Forest. These locations are used by tribe members for traditional ceremonies such as sweat lodges.
In the report, the tribe provides a map showing 65 percent of its 2,633 members live within a 50-mile radius of Taunton, “nearly 700 of them residing either in Mashpee or Falmouth.”
The tribe has demonstrated “political, cultural, linguistic and spiritual” perseverance, the report concludes. “With this land base, the Mashpee Wampanoags will have the platform from which to realize their dream to lead the way in efforts to conserve and nurture the territory that was once theirs.” | <urn:uuid:148d9f55-b1ad-4168-b26c-4005ffc62c02> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130128/NEWS/130129776 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964082 | 2,373 | 2.578125 | 3 |
In "The Christmas Books," John Butt describes the Boy as neither a type nor an abstraction like "Ignorance" in A Christmas Carol, but "a clearly recognizable slum child" (147). This child, for example, experiences various emotions: before, confronted by Redlaw, he was cringing in terror; here, he gives himself over to whole-hearted enjoyment of food, fire, and money. This is the sort of fire, a fire of blazing coals in a grate, that Scrooge initially forbids Bob Cratchit from building, but in conclusion exhorts him to construct with a newly-purchased coal-scuttle: in Stave One, Bob cannot "replenish it, for Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own" (Penguin I: 47). Coal is thus established in the Carol's printed text as an expensive luxury, but only in the pictorial text of The Haunted Man.
Leech's Boy, then, is no mere abstraction, but a child whose realism is conveyed through his various emotions and his size relative to the chair. The artist has given him tumbling mounds of hair, trousers far too short for his legs, and bare feet to emphasize his poverty, The passage illustrated is immediately above the plate, but the artist has positioned the Boy sitting as near as possible to the fire, his feet approaching the fender. We have just read about an old man being reduced to an egocentric sensualist by Redlaw's gift, desiring to be waited on and fed, and seeing no merit in the holly-berries because they are inedible. He is more savage than the urchin because humanizing memory does not soften him as the physical warmth does the Boy.
Butt, John. Pope, Dickens, and Others. London: 1951.
Last modified 19 October 2004 | <urn:uuid:75df13c0-0e68-45a2-9fff-f34b7a79b45b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/art/illustration/haunted/12.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976192 | 386 | 2.8125 | 3 |
| In 1986, Giles Thompson joined the Oregon Episcopal School's ill-fated expedition to Mount Hood. It turned into the biggest climbing disaster in the state's history. |
IMAGE: KEVIN P. CASEY
Ten of them were sophomores at Southwest Portland's private Oregon Episcopal School--where the climb was a rite of passage. Two teachers and a guide led the way. They planned on making it up all 11,235 feet of Hood in time to catch the day's sunrise. They only made 11,135.
A freak spring blizzard paralyzed the climbers, the snow creating a white blanket the climbers couldn't see out of. Amazingly, the teachers pressed the kids on well into the storm, saying it was good experience, a character builder. Two people--the 30-year-old guide and a senior student--turned around and tried to find help. Barely 100 feet from the summit, the rest dug themselves a shelter in the snow and waited.
The storm didn't let up. For three days, the climbers piled on top of one another inside the makeshift ice cave. Body heat made the cave melt from the inside; hypothermia drove them mad.
Giles Thompson, then 16, can only remember fragments of his experience in the cave.
"After a couple of nights up there, I was unconscious," Thompson says. "I don't recall if I thought I was going to die. I just remember it being completely unreal. I don't remember it occurring to me."
Searchers discovered the cave late on May 14. Three climbers, trapped outside the cave, had already been found dead on the slopes. Eight remained inside the cave, barely alive, so frozen that paramedics couldn't get intravenous lines under their skin. Rescuers found that one climber's body temperature was just 39 degrees.
By midnight, only two remained alive: Thompson and 16-year-old sophomore Brinton Clark. Doctors speculated that the two survived because they dressed warmly and laid on top of one another in the ice cave.
Nine others were dead. It was the biggest climbing disaster in Oregon history.
Brinton Clark spent six weeks in the hospital recovering from nerve damage. After her discharge, Clark returned to OES and went on to Stanford, where she graduated with a degree in human biology. Later she served in the Peace Corps in Ghana and went to medical school. Now 34, she lives in San Francisco and recently completed her medical residency in internal medicine. She and her husband, whom she met in Ghana, had their first child--a boy--last month.
Giles Thompson, also 34, had a tougher time moving on; as he says, the "tire tracks" from the accident are still all over his body.
Doctors amputated both of his legs, one above the knee and one below. His heart was unstable, and docs had to remove muscle tissue in parts of his body.
"I got pretty messed up," Thompson says. "I only have one knee now, so that makes it more interesting for me. Thank God I have one knee, though."
Thompson now lives in Seattle and is a full-time master artisan (i.e. special-effects guy) at the city's ACT theater. He says he was "kind of half-ass" about dealing with his loss until he got divorced a few years ago.
"I wasn't dealing with the reality of the loss," he says. "I was just coping. But when I was divorced, that kind of personal tragedy really makes you look at yourself."
Now, he says his two sons, 7 and 10 years old, make him realize the enormity of what other parents must have gone through while their kids were stranded on the mountain. Though he's never spoken about the experience with Brinton Clark--"It was too hard, too eerie," Thompson says--he has no trouble talking about the accident now.
"I definitely do talk about it now at length with friends, and especially kids," Thompson says. "I wear shorts, and if you're missing both your legs, it's pretty hard to ignore that."
Thompson doesn't fear the mountain; in fact, he decided to attend college in Colorado Springs, Colo., so he could have easy access to skiing. But still, he hasn't been able to bring himself to read his mother's book of diary entries about the accident, The Mountain Never Cries.
"It's very difficult to read," he says. "Someday, I'll get to it."
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Intro | Tonya's Mob: Tonya Harding, Jeff Gillooly & Shawn Eckardt | The Crusader: Gordon Shadburne | The Meteor: Billy Ray Bates | Satan's Pilgrim: Rex Diabolos Church | The Firebrand: Ron Herndon | The Bad Boy: Frank Peters | The Broken Halo: Michael Stoops | The Crack Mother: Anita Nichols | The Veejay: Kennedy | The Girl from Electra: Treva Throneberry | The Perfect Victim: Azalea Cooley | The Grappler: Dutch Savage | Wonder Boy: Pat Gillis | The Ex-Files: Marcia & Steve Moskowitz | The Witness: Dave Mazzella | The Prankster: Igor Vamos | The Intern: Monica Lewinsky | The Runaways: Diane Walden & Peter | Top Cop: Mark Kroeker | Sprawl Kitten: Kate Schiele | Authority Figure: Rocky Balada | The Hulk: Dry Dock 4 | The Candidate: Gail Shibley | The Super: Ben Canada | The Organ Grinder: Dr. William J. Brady | Pillars of the Community: The Lovejoy Columns | The Survivor: Giles Thompson | The Contender: Andy Minsker | Space Invader: The Phantom Dialer | The Red Menace: Ma Anand Sheela | <urn:uuid:b56c4495-dbbe-4406-b8b6-43e0ae41abdf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-3814-the_survivor.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970372 | 1,215 | 2.5625 | 3 |
- How to Green
- Philly Represent!
- Plastic Bag Reduction
Books from childhood (some read by teachers) have the power to stay etched in our memories forever. For me it’s books like Where the Wild Things Are, the Amelia Bedelia series and Little Women to name a few that I can still quote lines from to this day.
The Greenzys by the reputable children’s author Danielle Mentzer just hit shelves on Earth day 2010 and is a story with a message worth remembering. Greenzys is an “eco-friendly, literary-based brand” that parents and teachers alike should be happy to promote.
When GreenPhillyBlog was given an advanced copy of Greenzys to review I was pretty stoked. I love reading – kids book included! My take on the Greenzys book?
It’s a well-told story with a positive message. I encourage all to pick this book up and pass on to the kids in your lives. (Or – enjoy the adorable story and illustrations yourself. No judgement.)
Without giving too much away… the premise revolves around a pine tree named Orinda who is in danger of dying because of environmental threats. The villain, Grimy, is a “dirty, messy troublemaker” representative of real-world eco-dangers. The Greenzys – a group of animals including a giraffe, panda, elephant, penguin and more – unite to battle Grimy and save Orinda.
There are tangible takeaways and pretty pictures from illustrator Cris De Lara to enjoy along the way.
You can find The Greenzys at FAO Schwarz New York and FAO.com. Other locations will likely be added soon.
The book is made with eco-friendly certified paper and board with soy based inks. It’s printed in The United States.
Posted by Beth
Green Philly Blog
What Readers Are Saying | <urn:uuid:5b33a2e4-d196-4082-bd55-e4599c6f8efd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.greenphillyblog.com/green-living/the-greenzys-a-sweet-read/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927672 | 399 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Dactylanthus is New Zealand's only indigenous fully parasitic flowering plant.
The kowhai ngutukaka/kakabeak is found only in New Zealand. The shrub features clusters of stunning red flowers each spring.
Lancewood, or horoeka, is a unique, small tree with lance-like foliage that changes dramatically as the tree matures.
Rata trees, along with the pohutukawa, are one of the best known native trees in New Zealand. The rata and pohutukawa belong in the myrtle family of trees.
Conservation - all regions | <urn:uuid:ed588b63-57b4-413d-9b88-6d6ccaeb9e4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://doc.govt.nz/by-region/east-coast/conservation/native-plants/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924052 | 130 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Dr. Peter Simon, President
Galvanized by scientific research that showed the vital importance of music and the arts in developing the brain, we resolved to find new ways to infuse music and the arts into the fabric of every young person's life. The result was a ground-breaking program called Learning Through the Arts® (LTTA), which is now in over 300 schools in Canada, and dozens more around the world. Teachers and students in LTTA schools use the arts in a systematic way to explore, construct, test, and apply new knowledge across the curriculum.
In the past few years, we have also become a leader in preparing teachers to advance the development of preschool-aged children through music. Today, The Royal Conservatory is one of a handful of institutions in the world that offers a certification program in the teaching of early childhood music education.
More recently, we created new ways for students to learn and expand their intelligence and creativity via new technology. We have partnered with Acadia University, Yamaha Canada, and CANARIE in a project with worldwide implications for distance learning: MusicPath. This remarkable technology allows a gifted student living anywhere in the world to receive life-altering training from a master teacher at The Conservatory.
After a decade of hard work and tangible progress in realizing our dreams, The Conservatory has completed the construction of a new facility designed especially for the new and vibrant institution we have become. Our Building National Dreams Campaign had extraordinary success, reaching 76 percent of its target through support from government, corporations, foundations, and individual donors.
While music remains the core of our work — embodied in an acoustically and visually resplendent concert hall and the excellence of The Royal Conservatory School, The Glenn Gould School, and the Young Artists Performance Academy — our new home also provides dazzling multimedia capabilities needed to develop dynamic new training programs for all.
Anchored in the spectacular TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, located in the heart of Toronto's finest cultural precinct, our programs reach out even further across a remarkable mix of diverse Canadian communities to countries around the world.
We have continued to benefit from the contributions of our Board of Directors, our National Advisory Board, our Capital Campaign Cabinet, our Foundation, and our management team and employees. Their enthusiasm and hard work have made tremendous progress for The Royal Conservatory.
We are immensely grateful to our supporters for helping us move forward to create a society in which the arts are embraced by all citizens as catalysts for achievement, pathways to self-exploration, and bridges to mutual understanding. | <urn:uuid:bac8d036-2770-4b9d-867b-3d106c8cb912> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rcmusic.ca/presidents-message | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94765 | 523 | 2 | 2 |
Hundreds of American films feature native American characters, but how many famous movies can you name that present the story from the Indians' point of view?
Three blockbusters spring to mind:
A Man Called Horse (1970) starring Richard Harris
Little Big Man (1970) starring Dustin Hoffman
Dances with Wolves (1990) starring Kevin Costner,
And what do all three have in common besides being about Indian culture?
All three of them star non-Indians.
A fourth film for this category that didn't make as big a splash as these three is Smoke Signals (1998).
Smoke Signals is based on a collection of short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie who also wrote the screenplay. The film is an all-Indian production created on a budget of under $2 million. It grossed a little over $6 million. Chris Eyre directed and co-produced it.
Best of all, all the Indian characters are played by Indians. You younger readers may think that's a no-brainer, but I grew up with movies in which Sitting Bull was played by J. Carroll Naish (Annie Get Your Gun 1950), Cochise by Jeff Chandler (Broken Arrow 1950) and Geronimo by Chuck Connors (Geronimo 1962 ). One of the Indians in The Searchers (1956) was played by German-born Henry Brandon. Believe me, it's a real treat to see Indians played by Indian actors.
Smoke Signals begins on the Coeur d'Alene reservation in Plummer, Idaho. The story focuses on the relationship between Victor Joseph (Adam Beach) and Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams) and their differing ideas about what it means to be Indian.
Victor Joseph can't stand Thomas. For one thing, Thomas is an insufferable nerd who talks incessantly. For another, Thomas worships Victor Joseph's n'er do well father Arnold.
Thomas regards Arnold as a hero because he saved the infant Thomas from dying as the result of a house fire. Victor Joseph has bitter feelings towards his father because he was an abusive alcoholic who finally abandoned his wife and son to take up with another woman.
As the story begins, word comes that Arnold has died in Phoenix, Arizona. Thomas Builds-the-Fire offers to drive Victor Joseph to Phoenix to arrange for the disposal of his father's ashes. Fans of Northern Exposure, will enjoy the too brief appearance of Elaine Miles as one of the reservation girls who barter a ride for a story. Another familiar face from TV is that of Tom Skerritt as a police chief.
Other actors and their parts:
Irene Bedard..................Suzy Song
Gary Farmer..................Arnold Joseph
Tantoo Cardinal............Arlene Joseph
Cody Lightning.............Young Victor Joseph
Simon Baker..................Young Thomas Builds-the-Fire
Monique Mojica.............Grandma Builds-the-Fire
John Trudell...................Randy Peone
Chief Leonard George....Lester Fallsapart
Michael Greyeyes...........Junior Polatkin
Michelle St. John...........Velma
If you haven't seen Smoke Signals, treat yourself and your family. | <urn:uuid:78767738-fc8b-4da8-b6f6-a916d8bfcd84> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bellaonline.com/ArticlesP/art40558.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943151 | 673 | 1.789063 | 2 |
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Bromley police talk to public about terrorism
BROMLEY police officers are making the public aware of how they can tackle terrorism.
The London-wide scheme, known as Operation Penna, will involve high visibility patrols around town centres, as well as briefings to businesses explaining current threats and ways of protection.
The activity is coordinated by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Protective Security Command, in partnership with officers, and is taking place between November 26 and December 7.
Bromley police's borough commander Steph Roberts said: “Although the threat from terrorism has not increased, it remains real and serious.
“Everyone has a role to play in keeping London safe from terrorism and this operation sees specialist officers working closely with neighbourhood officers and communities, which is vital.
“We encourage the residents to remain vigilant and alert and to report anything suspicious to police."
Call 0800 789 321 if you have information on unusual activity or call 999 for emergencies. | <urn:uuid:017ce411-e819-47d6-b87d-3b7f8e9b4dcc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/bromley/10070836.Bromley_police_talk_to_public_about_terrorism/?ref=nt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953224 | 223 | 1.8125 | 2 |
How many ways are there to manage your task list? Almost as many as there are people with tasks to do. Here are 20 different ways of tracking your to dos, with examples of each.
You probably use more than one of these options, depending on what you’re trying to manage and what suits your temperament. Or maybe you have some other ideas. If so, share them here.
1. Free web-based to do list managers. Remember the Milk supports sharing lists, email add of tasks, and SMS reminders. Ta-da List is 37Signals’ stripped-down version of their for-pay Backpack information manager. Voo2Do includes project management capabilities like support for software scheduling and tasks organized by project.
2. The Hipster PDA. A pile of index cards held together with a small binder clip plus a Fisher Space Pen as a stylus. Carry it in your pocket. Take notes on the cards. Categorize using rainbow-colored cards. Reorder as necessary. Learn more on the Hipster PDA wiki.
3. Text files. You can put everything in one big text file. You can implement GTD with text files. If you get really excited about your text files, try the Todo.txt scripts that give you powerful editing, searching, sorting, and progress reporting.
4. Task list integrated with your desktop or online calendar. The 30 Boxes online calendar offers taggable to do lists. Yahoo’s calendar incorporates a simple task list. Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Entourage, and the Mac’s iCal software all offer task management capabilities.
5. Word processor or spreadsheet, desktop or online. Of course you can use Microsoft Office or OpenOffice. Create task lists that look just as you want, print them out, and get the tactile pleasure of scribbling off tasks as you complete them. Online versions make it super-easy to share lists with your family members or coworkers, like when you want to add items to the grocery list. Two biggies in this category are Google Docs & Spreadsheets and Zoho Office.
6. The Emergent Task Planner. PDF files that you print out. Developed by David Seah, these pages guide your work each day using time boxing. You list what you need to do, estimate how long each will take, and schedule them in blocks of time.
7. To do list widget on an Ajax start page. I like Netvibes’ to do list module. When you check off an item, it remains on the list, but crossed out, giving you feel-good feedback as to what you’ve completed. But you don’t have to use an actual task list widget. The start pages offer various sticky notes and text editor widgets that could be used also.
8. Paper-based 1980s-era planner. Remember Filofax? The Franklin Planner? No self-respecting Gordon Gekko wannabe of the late eighties would be without a bulging binder of to dos and calendar items and contacts. Then the Palm Pilot came along and it was named the “Filofax of the nineties.” Now paper planners are still used, but they no longer qualify as status symbols.
9. Desktop note taking app. You might use this as an intermediate spot between your brain and a more structured to do list or project planner. Check out our profile of four of them: Sidenote and mynotes on the Mac, EverNote and OneNote on Windows. Readers also mentioned VoodooPad (Mac), Yojimbo (Mac), and Tomboy (Linux) among possibilities to consider.
10. Build-your-own custom online to do list manager with Dabble DB, Ning, or Coghead. This new breed of do-it-yourself web app platforms make it easier than ever before to create sharable online software. Creating a to do list app would be a good way of checking out how capable these services are.
11. Sticky notes everywhere. Not electronic stickies–real stickies. They’re not ideal as a primary means of managing tasks but come on, admit it, haven’t you put a sticky note on the bezel of your computer monitor to remind yourself to do something? I also put stickies on the front door when I need to remember to take something with me the next time I leave. Plus, sticky notes are great for doing preliminary project planning–write each task on a sticky note, perhaps categorized by color–and shift them around on a big board to see how tasks fit together.
12. Mind mapping. Feeling stuck in a rut? Not making progress on your goals? Mind mapping can open up new ways of thinking about how you should move forward. You can doodle a mind map on a piece of paper or use mind mapping software. You can choose from open source (e.g., FreeMind), freeware or shareware (e.g., Compendium), or for-purchase (e.g., MindManager).
13. Open-source personal information manager (PIM) on your own web server. Perfect for someone who knows how to hack and wants to customize their information management. Tudu lists is available as source code or in a hosted version. Tracks, built in Ruby, implements GTD and can be installed as desktop software because it comes with a built-in webserver. Gravity GTD also implements GTD.
14. Fancy notebook with a fancy pen. If you love interacting with beautiful, well-made things, maybe this is the choice for you. Moleskine is the most well-known of the prestige notebooks, but it’s not the only one. Paperblanks offers beautifully designed notebooks that are almost works of art in themselves. What kind of pen is worthy of those notebooks? Perhaps a Montblanc or a Conway Stewart.
15. PDA software with its desktop counterpart. For example, Palm devices like the Treo come with Palm Desktop. Makes sync ultra-easy. But you might give up some features you want in your task manager in exchange for ease of synchronization.
16. Desktop to do list app for your PC or Mac. To Do X for Mac allows you to print in many different ways–great if you like to enter and manage tasks online, but print and carry lists with you. There are, of course, lots of shareware options for Windows and Mac including To-do List 2.2.1 for Windows.
17. Or create your own desktop app. If you’re at all familiar with Microsoft Access or another desktop database management program, it’d be easy to create a table of tasks with whatever attributes you want: due date, category, project, and so forth.
18. Outliner software, web or desktop-based. Good if you are managing multiple projects but don’t want the overhead or extra complexity of a project management app with Gantt and PERT charts. Buy a Mac, and you’ll get OmniOutliner. If you’re an RSS geek, you might like to use Dave Winer’s OPML Editor. On Windows, you might try NoteMap. Want to combine your outliner with a mobile PDA? Try the Carson method, one geek’s method that uses OmniOutliner with the Hipster PDA.
19. Online wiki. Free wiki services like PBwiki and Wikispaces make it easy to create, edit, and share web pages. Some wiki platforms support interaction beyond simple creation and editing of pages. Have you heard of Monkey GTD, a “GTD inspired task manager” that uses TiddlyWiki plus plugins to implement getting things done? Here’s Monkey GTD in action.
20. A piece of paper with a pen. Easiest and cheapest. I use looseleaf paper, one page per “context” (at computer, at home, errands, to call) and staple them together. It’s completely mobile, just fold and go, and I love scribbling out items when I complete them.
What tools do you use to manage your to dos? And how do you combine them into an overall system? | <urn:uuid:1ba41bad-927c-479b-a534-0c73883dc694> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gigaom.com/2007/01/07/20-different-ways-to-manage-your-to-dos/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903859 | 1,720 | 1.625 | 2 |
Europe 2020 is the EU's growth strategy for the coming decade.
In a changing world, the EU should become a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. These three mutually reinforcing priorities should help the EU and the Member States deliver high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion.
Within each initiative, both the EU and national authorities have to coordinate their efforts so they are mutually reinforcing. Most of these initiatives have been presented by the Commission in 2010:
The overall aim of the Digital Agenda is to deliver sustainable economic and social benefits from a digital single market based on fast and ultra fast internet and interoperable applications.
The ICT sector is directly responsible for 5% of European GDP, with a market value of € 660 billion annually, but contributes far more to overall productivity growth (20% directly from the ICT sector and 30% from ICT investments).
Key performance targets in the field of eGovernment:
- eGovernment by 2015: 50% of citizens using eGovernment, with more than half of them returning filled in forms. (Baseline: In 2009, 38% of individuals aged 16-74 had used eGovernment services in the last 12 months, and 47% of them used eGovernment services for sending filled forms.)
- Cross-border public services: by 2015 online availability of all the key crossborder public services contained in the list to be agreed by Member States by 2011. (No baseline)
The Digital Agenda for Europe is one of the seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy based on the following aims:
- Apply the European Interoperability Framework at national level by 2013; The Commission is working with Member States on an Action Plan to implement the commitments in the 2009. eGovernment Declaration Malmö
- The Commission is working with Member States on an Action Plan to implement the commitments in the 2009. eGovernment Declaration Malmö
eGovernment action plan
A new generation of open, flexible and collaborative eGovernment services is needed to empower European citizens and businesses, to improve their mobility within the internal market of the 21st century and to ensure that public services can serve an economy which relies on the networks of the future.
The European Commission aims to support with its eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015 the provision of a new generation of eGovernment services for businesses and citizens. The Action Plan identifies the following four political priorities based on the Malmö Declaration, agreed on 18 November 2009 at the 5th Ministerial eGovernment Conference in Malmö, Sweden:
- Empower citizens and businesses
- Reinforce mobility in the Single Market
- Enable efficiency and effectiveness
- Create the necessary key enablers and pre-conditions to make things happen | <urn:uuid:92459ac7-622c-493d-a51a-6e2721a4d75b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.austria.gv.at/site/7588/default.aspx?wai=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929311 | 546 | 2.15625 | 2 |
By Force and By Friend
Greetings from the holy city of Jerusalem!
In this week's parsha, Jacob journeys homeward after a 22-year absence, and meets his brother, Esau, on the way. Jacob prepares himself for the potentially dangerous encounter in three ways: he prays to God; he divides his family into two camps (a protective measure in case of battle); and he sends gifts ahead to his brother.
Our mystical tradition teaches that Esau is the personification of the yetzer hara (inclination toward negativity) in this world. Therefore, on a deeper level, Jacob is not only preparing himself to meet Esau, but is readying himself to battle the yetzer hara.
Jacob pleads to God, "Please save me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau" (Genesis 32:12). Why does Jacob use this repetitive language? He has only one brother, and there is only one Esau. Either description would have been sufficient on its own!
The Kedushat Levi and the Ben Ish Chai both understand this seeming redundancy as a hint to two different approaches of the yetzer hara.
One approach of the yetzer hara is to attack us outright, and to try to actively prevent us from following God's will. This approach is called "Esau" - the overt use of force to keep us from practicing Judaism.
But the yetzer hara can also make inroads by causing us to let down our guard. This more subtle approach is what Jacob calls "my brother." At times, nations will not attack us overtly, but will instead try to befriend us. Historically, this approach has the same effect as the use of force. When we become relaxed and comfortable within a non-Jewish environment, the clarity of what God wants from us begins to fade, and we are susceptible to giving up our beliefs.
Through this idea, we can see that the verse is not redundant at all. When Jacob asks to be saved "from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau," he is asking for two different types of protection. He requests the strength to resist the temptations of false brotherhood and camaraderie ("my brother") as well as the ability to protect himself from overt physical attack ("Esau").
May we all be blessed with clarity and awareness, so that we will not be taken advantage of or swayed - either by force or by false friendship - to compromise our Judaism. | <urn:uuid:fe140212-0379-4215-9ec1-6a004bb9046c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aish.com/tp/i/btl/48938077.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962101 | 517 | 2.65625 | 3 |
In the last post we had shown the MOW specific wakesurfer and the extra foam that we had left on the deck side. On the tail section, we’ve left a small area open where the rail material wraps the rounded part of the tail. We are going to add two more sections of the rail material and when we do that, we’ll overlap these sections withe each subsequent layer. To finish this first layer, we cut and fit a final piece of the high density material and glue that up to the tail of the MOW specific wakesurfer.
Now, we’ve already completed the glue up of the tail section and moved on to the bottom shaping. We want to increase the bottom concave some, we are searching for ways to increase the resposniveness of teh board as well as, generate additional down-the-line speed immediately. That is to say what is commonly referred to as squirt. We aren’t overly concerned with making the board go 15 mph, but we want it to go from 10 to 12 instantaneously! And we want the rail-to-rail to have that same sort of responsiveness. Most likely it will feel “twitchy” to mosy folks, but that’s the ride we are after. A picture of the exaggerated bottom concave.
One last picture for this Monday. We are developing with our normal composite sandwich techniques, but we want to incresae the stiffness of the MOW specific wakesurfer. That stiffness will cause the flex return to be faster, the idea of this MOW specific concave deck wakesurf board is faster, quicker, more responsive so that it can be used in the limited pocket length available.
The weather is changing here in Northern California, so we’ll be moving our building efforts more indoors’ish and using some heat to keep things warm and toasty. Thanks so much for following along, we appreciatre it! | <urn:uuid:fd83478f-3353-46ea-b023-65151deb6990> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://flyboywakesurf.com/shorter-mow-specific-wakesurfer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93824 | 406 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Medellín is famous around the world for its beautiful women and Botero sculptures, but also for the biggest fashion fair in the region.
You are here:
Medellín, the fashion city
Every day, Latin American fashion and clothes by Latin American designers attract increasing interest.
Over the years, some names have arrived at the pinnacle of world haute couture; for instance, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Narciso Rodríguez, Alexander Hercovich, and Esteban Cortázar.
In recent years, Colombia began to host its biggest fashion fair, Colombiamoda, which attracts more people every year who are interested in the national textile industry.
Following this trend, Colombia has betted on putting together the country’s most important fashion fair, Colombiamoda, which attracts more and more public interested in Colombian textiles every year. Colombiamoda takes place in Medellín with the participation of important companies, international guests, and the best of Colombian talent. It is an event with a large convening power among businesses around the world and, undoubtedly, a great platform for doing business with European and South American companies.
Colombiamoda attempts to influence the development of productive chains in the textile industry, cooperation and technology interchange, raw materials, design, and marketing, and to attract foreign investment.
The objective of the fair is to generate closeness between Europe, with its efficient technologies for business and investment; and Latin America, with its knowledge, talent, low production costs, and top-quality raw materials.
At present, Medellín is Colombia’s main exporter of knit and woven textiles, with 53% of total exports of finished clothing going to countries like the United States, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the European community. The textile industry generates 30% of the total employment for the city by way of 45,000 direct jobs and 135,000 indirect ones.
The following brands are licensed for production in Medellín: Diesel, Fiorucci, Americanino, Naf Naf, Esprit, Chevignon, Levis, Girbaud and Used Jeans Company.
Clothing of the following brands is manufactured in Medellín: Avirex, Tommy Hilfiger, Levis, DKNY, Hanes, Gymboree, Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, Eva Picone, Daniel Hetcher, Liz Claiborne, Nautica, Oscar de la Renta, Nine West, Kathie Lee, Dockers, Hue Charter Club, Slates, Timberland, Little Me, Byford, Hush Puppies, Pex, Farah, Sock Shop, Burlington, and Mothercare. | <urn:uuid:f5bc66d3-6355-4f9d-915b-e9054c0a98fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.colombia.travel/en/international-tourist/sightseeing-what-to-do/history-and-tradition/fairs-and-festivals/july/medellins-colombiamoda | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904904 | 562 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Monday 6 February at 8.30pm on ABC1
For some time now there’s been a bruising debate about the balance of funding handed out to public and private schools. No one doubts it’s an important debate, but many educators believe it has helped obscure an even more fundamental question about where the money is spent. Over the past decade, the Federal Government has spent billions of dollars trying to lower class sizes, increase the use of computers and boost investment in school buildings. At the same time, Australia’s educational performance relative to key neighbouring countries has been falling. The question is why?
For some the answer is simple. Money is being spent in the wrong places. Experts point to a growing body of research that says good teachers are the major determining factor in how a child performs at school. They claim that too little money is being spent on improving teacher performance. To make matters worse, state school principals are not empowered to make decisions about how their schools are staffed and run. As a result, some good teachers go unrewarded and bad teachers cannot be sacked.
As one educational researcher puts it:
“Outside of the home environment and the family situation, the biggest impact on a kid’s education is teacher effectiveness. The quality of the instruction the teacher provides that student… If you have a teacher, one of the top performing teachers in Australia compared to one of the least effective teachers in Australia, that can be as much as a years difference.”
This week Four Corners looks at the impediments to better teaching. Imagine running a business where you can’t choose your own staff. Where you don’t have control of your own budget to invest in innovative programs to improve the product you create. That’s the situation many state school principles must deal with.
“If you want the school to have the best staff, you have to choose them and they have to be able to match the needs of the school.” – School Principal
This week Four Corners visits three very different schools and talks to the people who are trying to change the system from within. As they tell the us, it’s hard work but it is possible to dramatically turn a school around and change children’s lives. | <urn:uuid:227658ea-a103-49b0-8edf-884ad506f15d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.throng.com.au/2012/02/four-corners-revolution-in-classroom/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970347 | 466 | 2.625 | 3 |
As refinements in conversion technologies increase its feasibility, geothermal energy will come to take on a more prominent role. Readily available in various geographical regions throughout the world, both on land and under the sea, this energy source alone could provide enough clean energy for the next thousand years.
These underwater structures are designed to convert a portion of the flow of the Gulf Stream through turbines to generate clean electric power. These slow rotating turbines would have a centrifugal separator and deflectors to prevent harm to marine life.
A land bridge or tunnel might be constructed across the Bering Strait. The primary function of this span would be to generate electrical power and house facilities for collecting and processing marine products. Beneath and above the ocean surface would be tunnels for the transport of both passengers and freight. Not only could this structure provide a physical link between Asia and North America, it could also serve as an avenue for social and cultural exchange. This land bridge would perhaps serve as a base for the development of clean fusion power. Pipelines to conduct fresh water from melting icebergs to other parts of the world may also be incorporated.
Solar power has tremendous potential from photovoltaic panels that store energy in batteries for private use to large scale solar plants on land and in the sea. The radiation that strikes the Earth’s surface each year is more than 10,000 times the world's energy use. New technologies are constantly emerging to harness this potential.
Designs by Jacque Fresco, The Venus Project ©
Models and Photos by Jacque Fresco & Roxanne Meadows
3D Renderings by supporters of The Venus Project | <urn:uuid:17f9105d-ca67-453f-a8db-be2374987581> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thevenusproject.com/en/technology/energy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936952 | 330 | 3.84375 | 4 |
In Chariots They Ran
In the late 1970s, an idealistic producer struck out on his own to create a different kind of movie--a movie about self-sacrifice and moral courage, as embodied by two historic British runners. The result was Chariots of Fire.
As training began, there were a few early shudders about the actors' fitness—McNab says Charleson turned up at his house for the first time "and he'd pulled a muscle running for a bus!"—but excess of zeal seems to have been more of a problem. "I was doing 10-mile runs at one point," says Farrell, "getting a bit overkeen, and I sprained my foot. Tom said, 'Calm down.'"
Fitness wasn't the only issue. They had to look like athletes—a little easier task when their models were the gifted mortals of 1924. As Havers says: "You could get away with a certain physique." Where they could, the filmmakers made it easy on them. Though McNab says Havers was a competent hurdler, the obstacles in the film were 2'6" high rather than the regulation 3'.
The young actors turned up twice a week for training at Wormwood Scrubs Stadium in West London, hard by a notorious prison. Still unpaid, they arranged their schedules around collecting unemployment and whatever work they could find. They got by, though. And they got competitive. "They were like athletes in many ways," says McNab, "insecure, all about performance." He adds: "Most of these guys had athletic ability they had never tapped. Ben Cross got to the point that he thought he was fast. He said, 'What do you think I could run for the 100 meters, 11 flat?' I said, 'You'd be lucky if you could run 12.6.' I put a veteran female runner against him. She was over 50 and she slaughtered him over 40 yards. He never mentioned it again."
Havers, meanwhile, took a tumble while showing off his hurdling technique to Cross. He dislocated a shoulder and, as he waited in agony for an ambulance, realized with a sinking feeling that he had also broken a wrist. A cast would have ruled him out of the movie, so he taped it and disguised it with a sweater and later a huge wristband. Havers says, "The wrist never really recovered." But as shooting began, he was on the set.
After three months of boot camp, they all were. A fitter, faster bunch than when they started, they'd become a tight-knit group. They were friends, and it shows on-screen. As Havers says: "We were like a little Olympic outfit ourselves, a very close group. We forgot about the camera being on us. Hugh just let it roll."
FINANCING THE MOVIE POSED PROBLEMS OF A DIFFERENT order. Puttnam and Hudson may have been sold on the treatment, but it was tough to persuade anyone else to share their enthusiasm. (British film company Goldcrest did put up some money to help pay for the development of the script, but Hudson says, "It was the best investment they ever made. A few thousand dollars and they've been claiming the film as theirs ever since.")
Their first big break came at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. As Puttnam and his former business partner, Sandy Lieberson, then president of 20th Century Fox, were falling asleep in a shared bedroom, Puttnam told him the story line of the movie. Lieberson liked it enough to put up half the $5.5 million Puttnam needed. The other half was tougher.
Hudson says: "The American studios rejected it. Why? Because the two main characters barely meet. There is no shoot-out at the end. They support each other because they are both running for Great Britain." He adds that after weeks touring the U.S. in a fruitless search for finance, "I remember sitting with David in a hotel room almost weeping. It seemed impossible to get anybody to understand why this was a film worth investing in."
Puttnam says it reached the point where "we were thinking of pulling the plug. That or remortgage the house. My wife said, 'Don't think twice. Just do it.' Luckily it didn't get to that." By 1981, Allied Stars, a British production outfit owned by Egyptian mogul Mohamed Al Fayed, agreed to stump up the other half. | <urn:uuid:6726869c-06c4-465f-b21d-7f38993ac996> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/chariots-they-ran?page=4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988816 | 939 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Massachusetts Family History Research
From Ancestry.com Wiki
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[[File:Massachusetts.jpg|thumb|left|Map of Massachusetts]]
==History of Massachusetts==
==History of Massachusetts==
Revision as of 19:52, 6 May 2010
This entry was originally written by Alice Eichholz, Ph.D., CG, for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
History of Massachusetts
The Pilgrims landed on the outermost reaches of Cape Cod in 1620, considerably north of their original destination in Virginia. Providence would have it that they would create their colony based on the experimental ideals of religious freedom and self-government in a colder climate than they had expected. Plymouth Colony’s development, and that of its neighbor to the near north, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, established ten years later, set a course for new models regarding the concept of community, political life, and records. During the “Great Migration” between 1620 and 1643, an estimated 20,000 people left England and settled in these two colonies that eventually merged, in 1691, to become the Province of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts was the stepping-stone for numerous other settlements that developed along the New England coast and for thousands of immigrants who came in waves across the Atlantic over the next four centuries. Settlements grew first along the shores, then along the riverbanks, and later out of the forests rich with furs and lumber. These settlements existed in contrast to those of the native inhabitants, and contained within themselves festering differences of opinion regarding religious and political views.
Some of those who dissented from their neighbors’ views set out to begin their own communities, moving farther and farther west in the colony and sometimes immigrating to other locations, including most of the Eastern seaboard. They often took with them ideas about government and record keeping from their former Massachusetts communities.
Settlement continued steadily based on the mostly peaceful accord between natives, represented particularly by agreement with Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoags, and settlers. All that changed in 1675 when Massasoit’s son King Phillip (Metacom) declared open warfare, raiding fifty towns in southeastern and central settlements. A year later, the resulting death (including King Phillip’s) and destruction in towns ended the warfare, but confidence in settlement was not restored. The Peace of Utrecht in 1713 brought sweeping changes to the political and economic enterprises in Europe, marking the beginning of Great Britain’s colonial and commercial power, and stepping up the pace of immigration again.
In the next two decades more and more towns were established as the population grew in all of lower New England. Warfare reared its influence again in a long series of French and Indian wars throughout all the colonies, sending settlers scrambling for safety back from the frontiers to the more securely established towns.
By the time of the American Revolution, nearly everyone still in Massachusetts could trace their ancestry to one of those 20,000 people in the first major immigration. Many of the French Huguenots, Irish, and Scots-Irish who had emigrated before the American Revolution married into the English families who had arrived earlier. There were also a few Portuguese and some Germans in the early development of the colonies, but it was not until later that these ethnic groups immigrated in large numbers.
Long known for disagreements with the Crown, Massachusetts, with its ideals and strong voice, became a catalyst for the American Revolution. Minutemen and Loyalists, sometimes in the same family, served their respective causes, supported on both sides by family members and former neighbors who had settled throughout the New England colonies. The conclusion of the war found some former New Englanders in the provinces of Canada or the Port of New Orleans for their loyal opposition, and an even larger number of patriots moved to the newly developing frontiers in northern New England and New York. Maine, which remained part of the state of Massachusetts even after the colonies gained their independence, became a separate state in 1820.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts was soon in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, which brought people with more cultural and linguistic differences to the growing state economy. A glimpse of this expanding immigration could be seen as early as the mid-seventeenth century when hundreds of Scottish prisoners—cheap labor for the ironworks in Braintree and Lynn—arrived in Boston’s harbor. A steady stream of immigrants to Boston’s port continued over the next two centuries, fueled by the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s and 1850s, which provided the Industrial Revolution with a labor force previously unavailable in New England. Many other ethnic groups soon followed.
Massachusetts citizens were catalysts for another war of Northern ideals. The state sent its sons, and some daughters, to the southern battlefields of the Civil War. Industrial development continued to flourish, but by the end of the nineteenth century, New York City eventually outdistanced Massachusetts as a port for immigration. Despite that fact, the industrial development and ethnic diversity of Massachusetts have had a profound impact on life in New England, leaving records of a rich history. | <urn:uuid:7bc530ac-6c9c-419f-aadf-1f5204a784ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ancestry.com/wiki/index.php?title=Massachusetts_Family_History_Research&diff=5679&oldid=5678 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971517 | 1,069 | 3.734375 | 4 |
DIRECTORATE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
page 1 of 1
This part of the library contains a collection of scanned photographs of equipment which the Directorate had an association with, either on an operational or experimental basis.
During its fifty-five year history, the Directorate was responsible for specifying, procuring, engineering, installation/commissioning and subsequent maintenance of a wide range of telecommunications equipment used by the emergency services and other government departments.
In addition, some of the equipment which can be seen either in this collection, or elsewhere on this website (such as Intercom Journals) show equipment or concepts which the Directorate was investigating at the time, but may not have implemented on a national basis. | <urn:uuid:c4e74418-3f42-46a7-992b-012e94a51b21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dtels.org/html/equipment.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95352 | 145 | 1.5625 | 2 |
So you have all of this free time, and still feel like you are finishing things under the gun? Follow these steps to get a handle on the wayward minutes so that you can increase your success in school.
Step 1: Priority setting
The trick to managing your time first comes with having a clear understanding about what your priorities are. Is your main goal in college to have fun? To get good grades? What kind of grades constitute “good” for you? To accomplish a specific major? To grow deeper in your faith? To go on an off campus program? To gain the skills necessary for your dream job? What is it that you want out of your college experience?
Once you have determined what your goals are, rank them. Somewhere towards the beginning of this list should be a focus on your academics. If academics are not appearing towards the top of your list, then you may need to adjust your expectations of what your college experience will be like.
Ideally, the higher an item appears on this list, the more time you spend each day toward that activity. So if growing stronger in your faith and mastering your academic commitments are at the top of your list, then you will spend a large amount of your time each day toward these two activities.
Step 2: Develop the “to do” list
In order to take control of your days, you need to develop some sort of educational strategy so that you can see the items you need to accomplish each day. Using a “to do” list or a checklist will allow you to see in one shot, what needs to be done for the day.
You should use your syllabi from each class to help you develop this list. Be sure to look ahead two weeks for each of your classes to see if there are any upcoming papers or exams. If so, then include at least 1 hour per day to study for the exams or work on parts of the paper. The goal with larger projects is to break them down into smaller pieces and slowly work on the finished larger project. Be sure to include any other housekeeping tasks that need to be accomplished (calling your parents, doing laundry, grocery shopping etc.).
Step 3: Map out your day
Do you have an organizer, or some way to organize your day so that you know what you need to do and when? If not, invest in an organizer or print a calendar from the web that has the days marked out in hours. Include in the organizer all of your class meeting times, work, chapel and any other regular time commitment you have for the entire week. Be sure to also include time to eat (ideally 3 meals a day) and the time that you plan on regularly going to bed and waking up.
Take a look at the upcoming week. How many hours do you have each day to get things done? Are you suddenly feeling like there is no time to do it all? Don’t worry, the most important thing with time management to remember is that we are going to increase your efficiency, so that there will be no more wasted time, no matter how many minutes you have to work on something.
To this list you are developing for each day, rank order the items by priority. Also, include next to them an estimation of how much time it will take to complete them.
Step 4: Become time aware
In addition to the failure to know what you need to do each day, most people also have an issue with being time aware. We get wrapped up with the things we are doing in the moment, and we fail to pay attention to the passing of time. This can happen when we are not aware of the amount of time we are spending on a task, be it the goal task (a particular assignment) or a distracting task (watching a movie, surfing the web, talking to friends,etc.).
To master the idea of the passing of time, try setting a timer when you begin working on a project. Based on the time estimations you set up in the previous step, choose one of the items on your list. Then set a timer, so that you work for 30 minutes on that task, then take a timed 10 minute break, then come back to the task for another 30 minutes. You can either repeat until the project is done, or switch to another project and come back to the initial one later in the day. If you really want to amp up your efficiency, when you take your 10 minute break, choose one of your shorter tasks to accomplish so that you double up on your list!
Step 5: Just get started!
Many of us procrastinate because we really don’t want to start a project, or because we don’t know how to start. It becomes so much easier to find something else we find more enjoyable, and forget the things that need to get done. So, using the idea of spending 30 minutes at a time on a project, choose the one project on your list that you don’t want to do, and start with that one first. One of two things will happen. Either you will start the project, and at least get 30 minutes into it, or you will start the project and find that once you get the ball rolling, you want to keep working on it until it is done.
We hope that you find the above tips helpful in your quest to conqueror your time management issues. If you would like additional tips and strategies, contact the Academic Advising office as x6135 and schedule a meeting with the director. | <urn:uuid:a94f76be-61ea-47f8-9117-b1f43e051016> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.westmont.edu/_offices/academic_advising/TimeManagement.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953295 | 1,136 | 2.1875 | 2 |
The oxpeckers are medium-sized starlings that occur naturally in Africa, where they inhabit open country.
They mostly feed on insects and often perch on large mammals, such as cattle or rhinoceroses, feeding on ticks that are attached to the animals.
They have strong feet. The plumage is light brown.
They usually nest in holes, often in walls, that they line with hair plucked from livestock. The average clutch consists of 2 - 3 eggs.
The species are:
- Red-billed Oxpecker, Buphagus erythrorhynchus of east Africa
- Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Buphagus africanus of most of sub-saharan Africa.
High Quality Species Photos, Videos and/or Articles Contributions are welcome! Click here to upload articles and images.
Please Note: The images on this page are the sole property of the photographers (unless marked as Public Domain). Please contact the photographers directly with respect to any copyright or licensing questions. Thank you.
The Avianweb strives to maintain accurate and up-to-date information; however, mistakes do happen. If you would like to correct or update any of the information, please send us an e-mail. THANK YOU! | <urn:uuid:f15bf4ed-a00d-4e8e-bf89-faad44e73f16> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.avianweb.com/oxpeckers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92473 | 266 | 3.25 | 3 |
This article or section needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of article quality.
Origins and family
Taliska was not related to the Haladin tongue at all, therefore when the Númenóreans returned to Middle-earth in the Second Age, they did not recognise the peoples of Enedwaith and Minhiriath as their distant kin, who spoke unrelated languages.
On Numenor
Adûnaic was generally considered to be a language of less prestige than the Elven tongues. Thus most important documents and maps of Númenor, and most of the lords and ladies of the Dúnedain, used Quenya or Sindarin names instead of Adûnaic ones. Even most commoners knew Sindarin to some degree.
Most of the House of Bëor had been killed after the Dagor Bragollach, but even during the Second Age a Bëorian accent of Adûnaic still survived in parts of Númenor, most notably in Emerië and around the harbour of Andúnië.
Days of Pride
About 2,000 years into the Second Age, the Númenóreans began to envy the immortality of the Firstborn, which extended to the languages of the Elves; the Kings their followers, used the Elven tongues less and less. Though the Kings and Queens had all taken their names in Quenya, after some time their supporters used their Adûnaic names to refer to them.
Eventually Ar-Adûnakhôr took his name in Adûnaic and forbade anyone to speak the Elven tongues in his presence. The supremacy of Adûnaic was most strongly enforced by Ar-Gimilzôr: he outlawed the use of Elvish anywhere in Númenor, which antagonized the few Faithful Númenóreans still living in the land.
However, his son Inziladûn took a Quenya name again, Tar-Palantir, repealed the ban on the Elven tongues and gave peace to the Faithful. His daughter Míriel would probably have continued his reforms, but her cousin Pharazôn seized power and, in addition, gave her an Adûnaic name (Ar-Zimraphel).
With the Downfall of Númenor came the end of classical Adûnaic. The study and preservation of the language was neglected by the Exiles of Númenor, because they associated it with the rebellious and repressive Númenórean Kings.
However, the Men of Middle-earth who descended from the early Númenórean sailors and colonists still spoke it as a Common Speech. This language eventually evolved into the Westron tongue widely spoken during the Third Age. | <urn:uuid:70b3eb8b-047a-4ff8-8497-d495c5de005e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Ad%C3%BBnaic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953991 | 580 | 2.9375 | 3 |
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court on Monday pressed ahead with plans to try a dead whistleblowing lawyer on tax evasion charges, despite an attempt by relatives to block a trial they say is inhuman and politically motivated.
Sergei Magnitsky died in 2009 after complaining he was denied treatment as his health declined in jail, prompting the United States last year to bar entry to Russians accused of involvement in his death or human rights abuses.
Critics say the posthumous trial, which the state says is possible under legal changes made last year, is a cynical act by President Vladimir Putin to hit back against Washington.
Magnitsky's lawyers refuse to defend him in the trial and boycotted a pre-trial hearing at the Tverskoi Court in Moscow on Monday. The court rejected their attempt to stop a state-appointed lawyer defending Magnitsky.
"Exploitation of the decree ordering the post-mortem prosecution of my son by the Russian Federation's Prosecutor General ... is illegal," Magnitsky's mother, Natalya, said in a statement read out by the family's lawyer, Nikolai Gorokhov.
"From the civil point of view, it is cynical and inhuman," she said.
Court spokeswoman Alexandra Berezina said a pre-trial hearing due on Monday had been postponed until March 4 to give the defence lawyer appointed by the state time to prepare. She did not say when the trial itself would begin.
Putin, back in the presidency since May despite the biggest protests since he rose to power in 2000, has dismissed international criticism over the case, saying in December that Magnitsky had died of a heart attack at the age of 37.
Although Putin has rejected suggestions Magnitsky was tortured in prison, the Kremlin's own human rights council has voiced suspicions he was beaten to death.
HERMITAGE REJECTS "BLASPHEMOUS TRIAL"
Magnitsky's former employer, investment fund Hermitage Capital, says the lawyer was killed because he had accused law enforcement and tax officers of stealing $230 million from the state by setting up bogus tax refunds.
Gorokhov says the dead can be prosecuted in Russia only at the request of relatives seeking to rehabilitate a loved one. This has not happened in this case, which the family says is politically motivated.
Gorokhov says the trial is intended to discredit Magnitsky and Hermitage owner William Browder, who is to be tried in absentia, and paint them as the criminals.
"The fact that this posthumous trial is going ahead indicates that justice in Russia is turning into raw and outright blasphemy," a statement issued by Hermitage said.
It said the court's order to the state to appoint a lawyer to defend Magnitsky against the will of his relatives was reminiscent of the treatment of political opponents during Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's "purges" of 1937.
Hermitage also says the Russian authorities have opened a new criminal investigation against it and ordered HSBC bank to provide it with financial information dating back to 1996. It said details of the new case were not yet clear.
No Russian official has been convicted of any crime related to Magnitsky's death and Browder has said several officials allegedly involved in the tax fraud are living lives of luxury.
The case against Magnitsky was initially closed after his death in November 2009, but authorities reopened it in 2011 as international criticism over his death - and Russia's apparent reluctance to hold anyone criminally responsible - mounted.
Magnitsky and Browder were charged last year, weeks before the United States adopted the Magnitsky Act, which imposes asset freezes and bars from entry to the United States anyone suspected of a role in his death.
Russia responded with a law that imposed similar measures in return and also barred Americans adopting Russian children, adding to tension that has increased since Putin's return to the presidency last May.
(Reporting by Timothy Heritage; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Jeremy Laurence)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp | <urn:uuid:0b5f5154-879e-4f50-8fb0-368f4acdc17f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50846291/ns/world_news/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980804 | 850 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Before the meeting - 1
- What is the purpose of the meeting?
- What are the items for the agenda?
- How long ahead of time should it be distributed?
- What outcome are you looking for?
- What is your role in the meeting?
- What needs, wants do you require?
- What needs, wants do other participants require?
- What policies, procedures or process should apply? | <urn:uuid:90a28d99-a2a2-4843-a461-6bfbe22d826c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.maxwideman.com/issacons4/iac1443a/tsld003.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903447 | 88 | 1.6875 | 2 |
2855 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 203
Berkeley, CA 94705
World Initiative for Science and Healthcare (WISH) has launched a global initiative 'endhivnow' to deliver mobile self-contained HIV testing and diagnostic services to countries hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic. It will be the first of its kind to scale the availability of mobile HIV testing, counseling, treatment, palliative care, support and prevention services to populations most at risk by HIV-AIDS in remote areas of the world. We believe that every person has a universal right of access to needed medical care regardless of where they live. By delivering a mobile HIV diagnostic platform in partnership with non-governmental organizations, we are able to satisfy this fundamental right, particularly for at risk populations in Africa. We need your help in reaching those most at risk in the fight against HIV-AIDS.
Health & Disease, Global Relief | <urn:uuid:19733bee-823a-42be-a85f-f0b3130ddfd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.goodsearch.com/nonprofit/world-initiative-for-science-and-healthcare.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922244 | 180 | 1.804688 | 2 |
“For a quarter of a century, Washington and Wall Street have wanted China to become an integral part of the world economy. Their wish has been granted, and now it’s time to come to grips with the implications.” –Jeffrey Garten, Yale, June 2002 (BusinessWeek)
Ten years after those words were written we still find ourselves wringing our hands over how much American prosperity is derived from Chinese manufacturing. A series of articles from The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) this week on Apple’s tricky relationship with the company that builds the iPhone and iPad makes it clear that while society may occasionally recoil at the human cost required to build our flashy mobile toys, when it comes to consumer electronics there is no Plan B.
A predictable series of questions emerged in the wake of those reports, which didn’t break a ton of new ground on the business practices of Foxconn but did well to explain how conflicted the tech industry can be about China. Foxconn, an electronics manufacturing giant headquartered in Taiwan that employs hundreds of thousands of people in China, has been Apple’s most important partner during its climb to the top of American business, cranking out the 315 million iOS devices that Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has sold over the last five years at a reliable clip and an attractive price.
Why doesn’t Apple build the iPhone in the U.S.? How much do its executives really know about conditions in these factories? If they do know, why do they tolerate it? If they don’t know, how could they be so naïve as to not wonder at how tens of thousands of iPhones emerge from a drab factory in the middle of China overnight?
The answer to the first question is easy. China is the world’s workshop, having invested heavily in manufacturing and infrastructure over the last 20 years, and its advantages in consumer electronics are maybe even more pronounced. A complex network of electronics producers and suppliers has sprung up in cities like Shenzhen and Chengdu, much the same way that London and New York are centers of finance and Los Angeles dominates entertainment production.
There’s nowhere else in the world you can build a modern smartphone or tablet as cheaply, easily, and reliably as the massive factories of companies like Foxconn, which operate on a scale that is difficult to comprehend. The price for doing business with companies like Foxconn is living with the knowledge that these products are being built by people who have signed up for a modern-day version of indentured servitude.
So what can be done about that? Can foreign companies really force their suppliers to adhere to a standard pretty far above the basic requirements (assuming there are any) of their local governments?
They certainly do try. Clothing and sporting-goods companies were the ones in the crosshairs a decade ago, when a series of reports on the horrifying conditions that were employed to produce $120 Air Jordans prompted companies like Nike and The Gap to impose conditions on suppliers and adopt codes against doing business with companies that exploited their workforce.
So how are they doing?
Nike actually hasn’t released a supplier responsibility report in a few years. The Gap released one for 2010 in which it found that more than 50 percent of the 320 factories it buys from in “Greater China” did “not equip machinery with operation safe devices and inspect on a regular basis” and that somewhere between 10 percent and 25 percent forced workers to work seven straight days on occasion and “did not pay overtime & incentives as required.”
Apple released far more detail about its suppliers in its 2012 supplier report, which was obviously constructed with the knowledge that the Times was planning a series of articles around the same time. Apple also went a little further in saying whether or not it had stopped doing business with a particular supplier over issues detailed in the report, something The Gap did not include.
As should be clear by now, Apple is only being singled out by the Times because it is at the top of the tech heap, and while that may be fair game given Apple’s unbelievable profit, it overstates the ability of the company to act as a macroeconomic force.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees Thursday that the company is doing everything it can. In a company-wide e-mail sent in response to the Times articles and obtained by 9to5Mac.com, Cook wrote:
We know of no one in our industry doing as much as we are, in as many places, touching as many people. At the same time, no one has been more up front about the challenges we face. We are attacking problems aggressively with the help of the world’s foremost authorities on safety, the environment, and fair labor.
The truth is that an entire consumer electronics industry depends on these factories for their livelihoods; the dozens of companies and millions of people that have made a handsome living on the spread of mobile technology, gaming consoles, and high-definition televisions into everyone’s lives. And China depends on the demand for its manufacturing services driven by Western consumers who want quality goods at a low price, knowing that few other operations are able to hit those targets as consistently as its homegrown manufacturing base.
U.S. tech companies have a very complicated relationship with China. It’s the world’s largest potential consumer electronics market and is home to the world’s best tech manufacturing companies, but it is run by a government that encourages censorship, tolerates working conditions that other countries made illegal many years ago, and favors domestic companies to an unnerving degree.
Engagement in hopes of changing the situation on the ground has yet to work, as anyone who worked for Google (NSDQ: GOOG) in early 2010 will readily attest. So what can Apple do to improve working conditions at its Chinese suppliers?
It could use some of its $97 billion cash hoard as a carrot and the threat of losing its formidable business (Foxconn has no customer more important than Apple) as a stick. But unless Apple is willing to incur significant risk and set up its own manufacturing facilities governed by its own principles within China (something which, to be clear, may not be permitted by either China or the U.S.) it is dependent upon suppliers that have different standards when it comes to the well-being of their employees. And changing the labor laws of a foreign country is not necessarily a project that a U.S. company can throw money at and cross its fingers hoping everything works out.
The truth is pretty simple: the modern consumer electronics industry couldn’t exist without companies like Foxconn. And Apple can’t just take its ball and go home: there’s nowhere else in the world one can find an industrial system that could replace what China has built, and attempts at building an alternative might take decades.
Apple is right to keep pressure on its suppliers to improve conditions, and critics are right to ask the company to do even more. But even Apple doesn’t have the clout to reverse two decades of economic history that has led to the status quo, in which low-cost Chinese manufacturing props up the consumer-driven U.S. economy.
How much change Apple can really bring to an irreplaceable partner born of a country without enough respect for the basic human rights of its people? | <urn:uuid:7d72f5ab-d219-479b-a425-2049611f44a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://paidcontent.org/2012/01/28/419-your-iphone-has-to-be-made-in-china-and-apple-cant-absolve-your-guilt/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970901 | 1,514 | 2 | 2 |
View alphabetical lists of all artists currently featured on the site.
Select the initial of the artist's name that you are looking for. Scroll down the list until you find the name, and select it for more information about the artist and his or her work.
Artists are organised by their most commonly-used names. This is usually but not always their surname e.g. Leonardo da Vinci is under L, Van Gogh is under V and Raphael is under R.
Benedetto Caliari (Italian (Veronese), 1538 - 1598)
Benedetto was the younger brother of the artist known as Paolo Veronese. By 1556 Benedetto had moved from his native Verona to Venice, where he joined his brother and became one of the assistants in his highly successful workshop. The brothers collaborated on large projects such as the ceiling decoration in the church of S. Sebastiano, and later on illustrious commissions in the Doge?s Palace. Benedetto was responsible for some independent works, and from these it is clear that his handling was somewhat heavier than his brother?s more fluid technique. This made Benedetto?s forms appear rather more solid when compared to Veronese?s more lifelike figures. | <urn:uuid:ac3630b1-c7b8-4f09-ac7c-0b714e2ae122> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/322/C/4074/artist_name/Benedetto%20Caliari/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983693 | 262 | 2.296875 | 2 |
In polluted China, a breath of fresh air can be bought in a can1/30/2013
There are a lot of wonderful things to do in Beijing. Breathing is not one of them. The air pollution in the Chinese city of over 20 million is so horrendous that the U.S. embassy reports levels are "beyond index." Take heart — and lungs — residents of Beijing. Multimillionaire entrepreneur Chan Guangnbiao has air for sale. You can buy a can of it for about 80 cents. They come in in sexy flavors such as "pristine Tibet," "post-industrial Taiwan" and "revolutionary Yan’an." Chen said, "If we don't start caring for the environment, then after 20 or 30 years our children and grandchildren might be wearing gas masks and carry oxygen tanks." Or they may even be breathing out of cans. Wait, that’s right now. [Source]
Click to see more on msnNOW.com, updated 24 hours a day.
What flavor air would you buy? | <urn:uuid:c7a8cad1-c280-4a36-9a73-b2987c3f3785> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://now.msn.com/canned-fresh-air-for-sale-in-china | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947471 | 216 | 1.601563 | 2 |
bout these 'RULES' of mine. I originally collected and numbered them for a talk I gave, which I titled 'Towards a rhetoric of comics'. In other words, a bunch of principles codified for assisting a cartoonist to put his thoughts across in the clearest and most persuasive way. Jessica Abel drew a two page comic strip explaining how a comic strip works
, and I have a problem with it. I don't think it's Jessica's fault. She has tried to explain something which under closer scrutiny proves to be faulty, but she's too sweet to say so. Now, me, I'd say: "this system is shambolic, I'm proposing a new one whether you like it or not."
The problem lies in the placing of word balloons. Convention (or Jessica) says that comics are a 'nested system'. You read a panel from left to right and from top to bottom and, when you've read everything in that panel you move left-right and top-bottom and read everything in the next one until you've completed the page.
However, in all of my watching and noting over many years, the reader, even the experienced one, after reading the contents of a balloon, will be inclined to read the next nearest balloon irrespective of whether the rest of the balloons in the current panel have already been taken in. If the next nearest balloon is in the next panel, or even the panel underneath, then the cartoonist risks losing control of his/her narration. Therefore the very first thing the artist must do upon a approaching a page is pin down the balloons. In fact I go so far as to do all of the lettering first, because in addition to the above, lettering will take much less reduction in size than a picture, therefore it is essential to give the lettering priority. When I am certain that the lettering follows reading-logic, only then do I start drawing. Each balloon should follow clearly from the one before it no matter where the panel borders are placed.example a
: a page from Bacchus vol 1, Immortality isn't Forever
(right above). The first panel is the tall one at the left of the page. My system dictates that the lettering in this panel go at the very top and there only, even though it might function better nearer to the heads of the speakers, otherwise the reader would be required to break a basic reading rule and move up the page to the next panel and its balloons, instead of following the conventional law of top-bottom.example b
: page at pencil stage from my cockeyed version of the Minotaur's story in Bacchus vol 3, Doing the Islands with Bacchus
. lest you think that my system is inevitably going to require that all the balloons float at the tops of the panels, here's a variation. In this case the position of the balloons in the second panel have determined that those in the last panel must be placed very low, in fact at the foot of the page. The course of the balloons follows a downward sinuous line. They can only be read one way. This sample is also useful in that you can see I have ink-lettered the balloons while the pictures are only sketched roughly. In fact if you have the book you'll know that these pictures were replaced by others at the inking stage. I wouldn't normally do this much sketching (any) before lettering except that this was an odd layout that required special attention.
CAMPBELL"S RULE #3: In spite of what you may read, comics are not a nested system; a reader will read a balloon and then read the next nearest balloon even if they haven't already read all the ones in the current panel.
Other relevant thoughts on the general subject of balloons: Eisner has stated that giving a character more than one balloon in a panel gives the lie to the panel being a moment in time, with characters frozen in a pose relevant to what they are saying (therefore they can only be saying a limited amount). We all have our rules to make our specific way of doing things into a coherent system, but I don't worry too much about that one (you take your pick). I distrust the idea of comics being tied to 'time'. it's too close to the movie model for my liking. And there are bigger lies to worry about, like who said they didn't steal the tarts, or said they didn't kill Cock Robin.
Alex Toth wrote something about lettering that stuck in my head. It may have been here
but I can't find it again. That site has Toth doing commentaries on a bunch of his old short stories. The 50s romance stories are the ones most worth checking out. He said that he liked a lot of 'padding' in the balloons, in other words, a comfortable amount of white space around the block of text. I have taken that one on board completely.
At the top of this post is a brace of word balloons from a detail of a panel in The Black Diamond Detective Agency
that express my present aesthetic ideal. The balloon should be a thoughtfully designed shape that relates to the things around it in its pictorial context. I absolutely DETEST and ABHOR those goddam elipses they use nowadays in the comic books. I LOATHE them and will NOT TOLERATE them. I also don't care for them. I've heard all the economic arguments, so don't send them to me. Within the balloon the block of lettering should also form a designed shape, which need not echo the shape of the balloon around it, but the two should be aware of the existence of each other. It need not be said that I also have no time for computer fonts. But thirdly and don't forget this one, the space between the block of lettering and the balloon is a yet another element that needs to be carefully considered and shaped, the 'padding ' that Toth speaks of. Half close your eyes and you'll see it as a white stream flowing around the block of text.
In my last couple of jobs I have taken to painting the balloons onto the page of art (before the picture, and then tidy them up later) in a pale yellow. I want the balloon to be a painted presence on the page instead of a hole through it to another dimension. I arrived at this by an evolutionary process after I started doing the painted books (in Batman: Order of Beasts
I used a font, with irregular balloon shapes but with a holding line around them. The holding lines proved to be a technical pain in the ass, so in the 13 page Escapist story I did I tried losing those and lettered onto a tracing paper overlay by hand, which is very simple to align with the time honoured manner without extra computer work. This proved satisfactory so I carried the approach over to Diamond
and I'm also using it on my new one, The Amazing Remarkable mr. Leotard
.My pal Dave Gibbons felt compelled to throw in his two cents on my last 'rule'
. Since he does his own lettering and it is always faultless, I'll be very interested indeed to hear his thoughts on this one .
Finally, if you click the 'balloons' label below you'll find an earlier post on the subject.
Labels: Bacchus 1, balloons, my rules | <urn:uuid:de6547de-a7a5-42b2-b81c-0316b27315da> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eddiecampbell.blogspot.com/2007_02_25_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966752 | 1,528 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Today’s green paper will lay out various options. On retirement, everyone who can would pay a lump sum of around £20,000 up front and nothing ever again. Or that sum could be attached to the value of their home, deducted from their estate after death along with accumulated interest. Or, if you delay retirement and don’t draw your state pension for three years, the sum would be waived altogether. These could be mixed and matched by paying a portion up front, and having a portion attached to the value of your home.
You see, we all already pay for our old age. It’s called National Insurance.
That large chunks of what we pay are pissed up against the wall on things which are not in fact national insurance is the problem, not that we are not paying for it.
For example, in those financing options, raising the state pension age is mooted as a method of paying for such care. Given that the pension is in fact social insurance, insurance against outliving your savings, the pension age should rise anyway. To the median age of death (currently 77 for men, 81 for women or thereabouts).
That would leave plenty of money out of what we are all already paying to pay for care. | <urn:uuid:6d9a16a5-0aff-480c-9608-a66ac588aec5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://timworstall.com/2009/07/14/paying-for-old-age/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976585 | 257 | 1.765625 | 2 |
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We proudly introduce a free typeface by DSType Foundry: HADES, an exquisite blackletter. Go to www.dstype.com, download and enjoy it!
Bold and gorgeous font!
Thank you :-)
Although I personally don't like seeing the name of a blackletter
font allude to Evil, the font itself looks nice and juicy.
Awesome! Keep up the great work!
Where's the evil?
The Ancient Greeks were nicely ambivalent about that sort
of thing, but these days Underworld = Hell for most people.
I'm guessing Hades was yet another victim of Christianity's
propensity for "repurposing" pre-existing pagan beliefs.
Thanks for all the kind words.
Hope you enjoy using it as much I enjoyed designing it.
Wonderful — thank you.
This is gorgeous. I don't get many chances to use blackletter, but I will have to go out of may to find one for this font.
i’m not the blackletter kind, but i do like this one a lot, great!
I have just found this, and it looks really great, Dino, what a nice gift. :-)
@Hrant: I think "Underworld" and "hell" are not the same thing, no matter the culture or place. The infernal world is something different from hell. Don’t know about “christianity” as a generic cultural term, but that association – as much as it may have been done – is wrong, and hell, in catholic theology, is not a place.
I used to fall
In love with all
Those boys who maul
But now I tell
Each young gazelle
To go to hell,
I mean Hades.
—My Heart Belongs to Daddy, Cole Porter.
Porter recognized that by 1938 “Hades” had, with the demise of everyday Latin, lost its sting, become a euphemism.
Hades was the guardian of the afterlife, which included the Greek concepts equivalent to both heaven and hell. He was no more evil than, say, Zeus (and in fact was one of the more sober and respectable Greek gods). The guy always seems to get a bad rap nowadays, though.
Nice font, BTW, thanks. I will point out that your online catalogue isn't terribly useful for people on platforms/browsers which lack webfont support. At least you do provide PDF samples, which is nice.
Thanks for the feedback!
I didn't care that much about the meaning of the name, to be honest.
I just felt the need of a font name started by the letter H :-)
Regarding the name itself, it reminded me some poetry (Poe, Byron, Baudelaire) that I used to read, like the "Don Juan in Hades", and that's it! I never wanted the font to be connected to some sort of evil stuff.
I think it's a pleasant font, inspired by the lettering in a beer house that I saw in Malmo in 2007.
It was made just for fun, no profit in the horizon!
All the best to my fellow typophiles. Have a wonderful 2013! | <urn:uuid:225b66da-acee-4870-b51f-b75a6d3d759f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://typophile.com/node/91689 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950105 | 703 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Bush entering a tough time for two-termers
By David Jackson and Susan Page, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON For President Bush, 2005 was a year of growing public impatience with the Iraq war, angst over record gas prices, devastation from Hurricane Katrina, the collapse of his Social Security plan and, finally, a firestorm over his decision to authorize targeted domestic spying without court warrants.
Now he faces a challenge that's upended the best-laid plans of his predecessors.
His sixth year in office.
It was in the sixth year of their presidencies that Bill Clinton was impeached and Richard Nixon was forced to resign, that Ronald Reagan and Dwight Eisenhower faced the worst scandals of their tenures and that Franklin Roosevelt encountered increased resistance to New Deal legislation.
The White House and its allies see opportunities, though, sixth year or not. "This president has a real pattern of defying conventional wisdom," says Mark McKinnon, media adviser for Bush's presidential campaigns.
Top aides say Bush aims to travel more often and speak out more forcefully, touting the economy as underappreciated good news. The Pentagon already has canceled the deployment to Iraq of two brigades, or about 7,000 soldiers, the first small step in a hoped-for drawdown of U.S. troops there. To avoid the sort of stalemate that undermined his Social Security proposal, Bush will downsize his domestic agenda, proposing changes in immigration law but shelving, at least for now, plans for a tax overhaul.
"I've been thinking long and hard about 2006," Bush told reporters Sunday. White House spokesman Scott McClellan says the basic game plan is simple: "The economy and progress in Iraq."
The president's most powerful aide, Karl Rove, has invited think-tank analysts, authors and others to the White House for ideas to help reinvigorate the president's domestic agenda. Bush launched a more aggressive communications campaign last month, defending the war in Iraq and his policies on terrorism in speeches and at a year-end news conference.
But there is trouble on the horizon, too, and events that are outside White House control.
In Iraq, sectarian strife is complicating efforts to form a coalition government after December's elections. At home, the trial of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff in the CIA leak case could bring damaging disclosures, and Rove remains in jeopardy in the inquiry. The Justice Department ethics investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff threatens to ensnare more officeholders, most of them Republicans.
After five years of extraordinary party discipline, Republican members of Congress have begun defying the administration more often. On spending and taxes, deficit hawks are increasingly vocal. And Bush's job-approval rating was an anemic 41% in the USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Dec. 16-18.
Thomas Mann, a political scientist at the Brookings Institution in Washington, warns that Bush lacks "a compelling agenda for the year that might switch the focus" from bad news. His choice of immigration as a centerpiece "is filled with the potential for division within his own party."
All in all, Mann says, "I think the year is filled with peril for him."
The comeback strategy
White House officials began meeting months ago to devise a plan for the year. Steps on the road back that they've mapped:
•Start fast. Bush wants to start the year by scoring a quick victory with Senate confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. Judiciary Committee hearings begin on Monday. Barring new disclosures, Democrats now seem unlikely to filibuster, the procedural maneuver that could block a vote.
Then, at the end of month, Bush gets an hour of prime time to deliver his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress.
Congressional Democrats won't be idle, though. They are pushing for hearings this month on the president's decision to authorize domestic electronic surveillance of people suspected of links to terrorism without the court warrants normally required by federal law and the Constitution.
•Stay aggressive. Allies say the administration was slow last year to respond to attacks on Iraq, including allegations officials manipulated intelligence to justify the invasion.
When attacked in 2006, "we'll aggressively set the record straight," says White House counselor Dan Bartlett. GOP strategist Terry Holt says, "If we learned anything this year, it's 'hit back, hit back hard and fast.' "
Case in point: When The New York Times broke the story on domestic surveillance last month, Bush immediately defended it as essential for national security. The next day, he devoted his Saturday radio address to the subject, and he later called disclosure of the program "a shameful act."
Bush also has been more pointed toward Democrats. When Senate Democrats joined with four Republicans to block re-authorization of the USA Patriot Act in December, he said their action would "endanger America."
Nonetheless, after a last-minute scramble, the House and Senate agreed only to a five-week extension of the law. The debate will resurface before the measure lapses again on Feb. 3.
•Bring some troops home — or at least keep them safer. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced during a surprise pre-Christmas visit to Fallujah, Iraq, that the administration would begin withdrawing troops from Iraq this year. Bush emphasizes that how many and how fast will depend on how well Iraqi security forces progress. "The conditions on the ground will dictate our force level," he said Sunday after visiting injured veterans at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
Even so, Bush has noted that U.S. forces gradually are turning over military bases to Iraqis, putting them in the forefront and providing some insulation for American troops. "You're beginning to see our troops step back from the fight," he said last month.
That presumably would reduce U.S. casualties, which remained steady last year. In 2005, the number of U.S. troops who died in Iraq was 841, four fewer than in 2004.
Reducing the U.S. presence could be difficult, however, if Iraqis can't form a new government or if the country spirals into civil war. Bush said a precipitous withdrawal "would hand Iraq over to enemies who have pledged to attack us."
•Talk up the economy. In Chicago on Friday, Bush is slated to deliver the first in a series of speeches touting the economy. He credits tax cuts passed in his first term for strong economic growth and job creation last year — "the envy of the world," he said in his radio address on Saturday. Some of those cuts are due to expire soon, and he pledges to make them permanent.
The White House also plans to put forward programs designed to bolster what it calls economic security: tax-free health savings accounts, pension changes and help for the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast. Bush will spotlight the start of the prescription-drug program for Medicare recipients, though the sign-up period got off to a rocky start amid complaints of confusion from some seniors.
Potential problem: The expensive drug program and hurricane relief will add to the federal budget deficit, already a source of concern.
•Scale back big promises. Bush's top domestic agenda item in 2005 was an ambitious plan to "transform" Social Security by adding individual investment accounts to the nation's retirement system. The plan drew powerful opposition from the AARP — the behemoth seniors' advocacy group — and from AFL-CIO unions. Even most congressional Republicans shied from embracing it.
A commission Bush named to study the tax system submitted a 272-page report in November, proposing a simplification scheme that included scaling back popular deductions for home mortgage interest and state and local taxes. Treasury Secretary John Snow says the report is still under study. Republicans who work with the administration say the White House is likely to push limited changes this year, not a controversial revamp.
"A lot of the goals are going to relate to spending, as opposed to going after a radical tax-reform package," says Charlie Black, a Republican strategist with ties to the White House. One reason for caution: Every tax break has protectors in Congress.
•Keep the Republican family together. Republicans generally stuck with Bush this year, despite some erosion among voters in the aftermath of Katrina and protests from conservative activists after the nomination of White House counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. Bush withdrew Miers' name before the Judiciary Committee began hearings.
Even with an approval rating of 41%, Bush has the support of a solid 86% of Republicans — critical since only 31% of independents and 10% of Democrats approve of the job he's doing. Republicans need to hold the base together to retain control of the House and Senate in the 2006 elections.
But that cohesion could be imperiled by Bush's plan to focus on immigration, an issue that divides major factions in the GOP coalition. A business-oriented coalition led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports provisions to permit immigrant "guest workers," while many conservatives, including outspoken Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, demand tighter borders.
Former Republican national chairman Ed Gillespie is trying to bridge those differences through an advocacy group called Americans for Border and Economic Security, formed at the impetus of the White House. "It's important for us as a party that we handle the issue right," Gillespie says.
Back on the stump
Bush plans to campaign as extensively for Republican candidates in 2006 as he did in 2002. He remains the party's most effective fundraiser, and he can generate enthusiasm among Republican stalwarts even if his standing with swing voters has weakened.
Still, history isn't on his side. In modern times, the president's party usually suffers significant losses in the congressional elections held in his sixth year in office. Democrats lost a stunning 71 House seats during FDR's sixth year; Republicans lost eight seats and control of the Senate in Reagan's sixth year.
The exception was in 1998, when Democrats gained four House seats during Clinton's sixth year. But during the midterm elections in his first term, in 1994, Democratic losses were so severe that the party lost control of both houses of Congress.
The challenge for the GOP in 2006 is that "voters want change," Republican National Chairman Ken Mehlman says. "They not only want the changes we're offering, they want more change, and we have to continue to be the party of change."
Allies predict Bush's sixth year will be better than his fifth, though that's not a high bar. Of modern-day presidents, Bush had the most disastrous start of a second term of any except Nixon, caught in the Watergate scandal.
"A perfect storm of problems" for Bush, says Grover Norquist, president of the anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform and an activist close to Rove. "No one or two of them were fatal, but seven of them? They made life rough."
The good news, he says, is that many of those troubles have reversed: Gas prices have declined. Memories of Katrina are fading with time. While violence continues in Iraq, a constitution has been ratified and elections held.
"We don't have to be out of Iraq by September" to boost Americans' views of the war and help Republicans fare well in November's elections, Norquist says. "What we have to do is: Iraq with an elected leadership. Iraq every two months with some announcement that more U.S. troops are coming back — a steady sense of that."
It is the war that carries the highest risks for Bush this year, he warns. "If somehow he got off the track of Iraq being solved, that would be problematic."
Bartlett agrees: "The public wants to see tangible progress."
Why is the sixth year of a presidency typically so troubled?
"Presidents by six years have been there long enough for the media and the country to see their flaws," says presidential historian Robert Dallek, author of books about FDR, Nixon and Reagan, among others. The initiatives launched with such promise when they first took office have had time to succeed or fail. The advisers who helped them win the White House are often exhausted or have moved on. Years in power sometimes breed arrogance or isolation.
No modern two-term president has escaped the six-year itch. But some have recovered more successfully than others.
Roosevelt dealt with the approach of World War II and won third and fourth terms. Reagan replaced the top aides implicated in the Iran-contra scandal and negotiated arms control with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Their dialogue help speed the end of the Cold War.
"If circumstances favor you and you're pragmatic enough to respond to those circumstances, it's not impossible" to recover, Dallek says. "But it's hard."
And time is short.
By November of a president's sixth year, voters usually seem eager for new faces and policies; that's why the party that has held the White House typically suffers big losses in the midterm elections. Many members of Congress, even friendly ones, begin worrying more about their own re-election and less about loyalty to the president.
And the seventh year? By then, the focus begins to turn to who will be the next president. | <urn:uuid:23c8e3fa-0d57-485b-bdb1-3005e96b08dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-01-02-bush-sixth-year_x.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965977 | 2,710 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The First Annual Youth Bike Summit
Pasqualina and organizer Helen Ho send the following report from the proceedings:
More than 200 participants from 14 states and two countries came to New York this past weekend to swap ideas, learn bicycle advocacy best practices and build nationwide momentum in the country’s first-ever Youth Bike Summit, sponsored by Recycle-A-Bicycle. The youth spent three days learning everything from map-making techniques to political organizing strategies, participating in roller races and developing an action plan to advance biking in NYC and places beyond.
To kick things off, DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan acknowledged the event’s female leaders by evoking Susan B. Anthony’s 1896 quote, "I think the bicycle has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world." She then introduced Kimberly White, an 18 year old intern at Recycle-A-Bicycle as the Summit’s keynote speaker.
Kimberly related her personal transformation from a 16-year-old couch potato watching 36 hours of television a week, whose 4-year-old sister had superior bike handling skills, to a comfortable cyclist who had built her very own bicycle. This led to an opportunity to attend the 2010 National Bike Summit, where Kimberly and other NYC delegates asked legislators to make biking and walking safer for kids. She now seeks to empower other youth by urging legislators to keep streets safe for all young people in New York City.
In one workshop, Dr. Edward Fishkin, the director of medical services at Woodhull Hospital, spoke about his creation of a Kids Ride Club 15 years ago. From spring through fall, Dr. Fishkin leads weekly rides ford kids ages 7-19 with fun destinations and healthy lunches. Their motto is “Have fun and ride safe.” Fishkin calculated that in the 2010 season the Kids Ride Club burned a collective total of 1.5 million calories on the rides.
On day three of the conference, all of the participants formulated a plan based on what they'd learned during the weekend on topics such as education and advocacy campaigns, infrastructure designs, and diversity-boosting strategies. They vowed to band together to research the issues, publicize their findings, and create change. Clearly, this is a young group with a lot of energy. Legislators and decision-makers, watch out!
To follow the progress of the youth bike advocacy movement, go to www.recycleabicycle.org, and for more information on how to get involved contact Pasqualina Azzarello, Executive Director of Recycle-A-Bicycle, at director[at]recycleabicycle[dot]org.
Pasqualina Azzarello: [00:01] We are here today for the first Youth Bike Summit, which I imagine to be the first of many. It has been a really amazing experience to see all these people, more than 200 people, coming in from all over this country to share in a conversation about what’s important to us in terms of riding bikes and participating in our communities and exchanging information. We had a keynote introduction this morning by Janette Sadik-Khan and one of our young leaders, Kimberly White.
Janette Sadik-Khan: [00:34] I think it’s a great time and a great place to hold the summit. We’ve done a lot to improve cycling in the City of New York. We’ve put down over 200 miles of on street bike lanes, 15 miles of protected lanes and thousands of bike racks and parking facilities. And, you know, the youth that’s here today is the future of New York City, and they have a big stake in the game in terms of wanting to see that their streets are as safe as they can possibly be.
Kimberly White: [00:59] Youth actually do care about pressing issues, contrary to what most people believe that this generation is completely benighted which prove itself to be a fallacy because we have a lot of youth here today who are very much engaged in cycling and sustainability and community work.
Pasqualina Azzarello: [01:17] We’ve also had a whole day filled with workshops. So there are different presenters, different organisations, different young people, different community advocates who are working together to share information, to tell their stories.
Michael Cheng: [01:31] This workshop today was amazing. I didn’t know that there was so many people around the nation and around our community who are involved in so many projects. I learned a lot about people who are starting bicycle programmes, teaching people how to bike, you know, getting over all the obstacles and just making bicycling a central part of transportation.
Rommel Bishop: [01:51] I definitely feel that the summit is the place where everybody can come together and talk about what they like to do.
Jelani Hamlett: [01:57] We bring kids in and teach them not only bike mechanics where they can make their own bike and learn the mechanics, but also about environmental advocacy so they can know that while they’re making this bike they’re also helping the environment.
[02:11] Like if there’s this much young people talking about it then
it’s an issue that’s going to be around for as long as those young
people are around. | <urn:uuid:3799a2fa-6abe-4bcb-9eb5-4a288ec130c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.streetfilms.org/the-first-annual-youth-bike-summit/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959039 | 1,130 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Ever attend the talk on maintaining your Ramaḍān momentum? Seems to be everywhere at the end of Ramaḍān, but in my experience few, if any, are impacted because Ramaḍān time is treated as a time of binge worship rather than an occasion for strategic habit development. I believe our speaking capital is better invested in teaching habits of worship that are practically integrated in the life of the typical Muslim. By doing so, Ramaḍān stops acting as a time of crash-and-burn binge worship and turns into a framework for building habits that should be at the core of every Muslim's daily life. The first habit this series will look to develop is teaching the reader one method that has been successful in developing the ability to wake at 4 am daily (translation: this is how I did it, but it's not the only way to get the job done).
Real Goals vs Guilty Goals
At the heart of every Muslim's life priorities should be an aspiration to place in the highest level of Paradise. You'll know the strength of that conviction by the conscious strategies you create to get there, and the active steps you take to making those strategies successful. You'll likely fail many times, but oftentimes the intent and effort is just as important as attaining the goal itself. This is a Real Goal.
In contrast, when one says, “I should change”, but no real effort takes place, either in planning or doing, it's what I like to call a Guilty Goal. Guilty Goals are not true goals – they're simply lip service placeholders in our minds, that allow us to acknowledge the virtue of some action while simultaneously making us feel guilty because, either we don't really want to do them (lip service), or we don't see a viable path forward to complete them.
For example, when asked, “Do you want to memorize the Qurʾān?” in a lecture, all hands shoot up. Who wouldn't want to? But were we to ask, “Who has a one-, two-, five-, or ten- year plan to get it done,” the number of raised hands would disappear faster than chicken biriyani at an ifṭār.
The Bridge from Guilty to Real Goals: Daily Habits
I'm often asked about my eating and training strategies because of the shape I maintain, especially since I'm not a fitness professional, but a 9 – 5 software engineer with a wife and three kids. The most important strategy for getting into shape is the same as for waking at 4 am – it's hardwiring neural pathways in your brain that converts new, frequent actions into lifelong habits.
Once those habits are firmly established, it becomes difficult to leave aside performing those habits. If you'd like to test it out, see how you feel when you don't brush your teeth in the morning. Beyond avoiding close quarters in conversation and the gross feeling in your mouth, you're subconscious mind will continually bang away at the walls of your mind letting you know something is wrong. There is so much negative reinforcement, you can't help but go back and brush your teeth (at least, I hope so).
What if the pain of leaving a good action was more than the pleasure of leaving it? What if your mind rebelled and compelled you to go back and perform the action? Now you have a good habit established. We'll discuss how to go about doing this, using the 4 am wake-up as our example.
How I Establish Daily Habits
When you begin any new activity, be it waking at 4 am or turning your health around, you're both attempting to establish many new habits while breaking away from other established habits. That's a tall order, and it's why most people fail to change – it's too much too soon. It's the same reason why almost no one maintains their Ramaḍān momentum, and why they crash and burn come ''Īd day. The following strategy outlines how I bring about change in my daily habits with the 4 am wake-up as the example.
Step 1: What's In It For Me? Find Your Motivation
Before changing your habits, you need one or more compelling reasons to change. In the case of waking at 4 am, one habit I wanted to establish was praying at least 2 rakaʿāt of qiyām ul-layl every night. I chose 4 am because when the winter months hit, I would still be within a half-hour time frame before fajr, so no matter what time of year I was in, I could perform it.
But this isn't the only reason I wanted to establish this habit. By waking early, I could also better prepare myself for the day, spend more time on other acts of worship (more dhikr, memorizing Qurʾān), more learning (preparing for certifications related to my job), getting more work done (I could get more done in an hour in the morning than during normal office hours), and if my wife woke with me, spend quality time with her while the kids slept, and we would both be bright and fresh during that time.
Sure, there are some days when I oversleep and wake up at 6:30am, and there are days when I wake up and just want to stand in the shower and veg out for more time since I have more time. It's all fine because I have that time for myself to do just that.
For me, waking at 4 am is the foundation for success in all other areas of life. In particular, during the brief periods of time I consistently performed qiyām ul-layl, I found my du'ā's often answered with overnight delivery. All-in-all, this habit means a lot to me, and I believe very strongly in the benefit of establishing this habit and maintaining it for life.
Step 2: Anticipate the Unintended Consequences of the Habit
Changing oneself isn't simply a matter of deciding you'll act differently and then doing so. A number of areas of life should be addressed:
- Relationships: If I wake and sleep earlier, what effects will that have on my family's routine? If this causes me to go to the office earlier, how will that affect my team's established routine? If you see the potential for conflict, you should speak with the affected parties and ensure they understand what you're doing and why you're doing it. If they anticipate problems, work out those problems to the satisfaction of both yourself and the other person.
- Energy Levels: Your own energy levels will be impacted by this change. On a daily basis, you'll wake and want to go right back to sleep. If you stay awake, you may find performance deteriorates due to mind fog. I dealt with this by taking an energy drink first thing in the morning upon waking. I'm now at a point where I wake early without an alarm clock and don't need the energy drink immediately.
- Daily Schedule: When my day started and ended later, I spent more time relaxing in the evenings because rest was all I wanted after a long day at work. By flipping my hours around, I was working on all those “important” priorities first thing daily, but I was no longer taking the time to relax and have fun. It was leading to a different type of mental burnout, and I didn't anticipate that. If there are important activities in your life coming later in the day, make sure to find other times in your schedule to handle them.
Step 3: Persevere Through Initial Launch and Occasional Failure
The beginning of a dramatically new habit comes with the burden of overcoming existing mental and physical programming. If the change is too dramatic, then you'll likely last anywhere between one day and one week before crashing.
To preserve through the initial launch, the change should be a challenge without being overpowering. If you're already waking at 8am, then you would start at 7am in your first week, not 4 am. Your focus during this time is not qiyām ul-layl, studying, working out, or anything else. The goal is simple – wake up and stay up. If you want to take a long shower, walk around the neighborhood, or veg out on Facebook, go for it. If you woke at 7am and stayed up all day, congratulations, you succeeded.
The last point cannot be overstated enough. The goal is simply waking and staying up, no more. Even if you sleep late, it doesn't matter – your goal is consistently waking up at the same time and staying up. The next week, you'll move to 6am, the week after 5am, and the week after that, you can push to 4 am. If one hour increments are too much for you, wake earlier in half-hour increments. If even that becomes too much, aim for 15 minute increments.
Once you've established the habit, you'll find that your wake up time may fluctuate. Sometimes I wake at 3am and can't fall back asleep, and other times I wake at 4:30am to 5am. This range is acceptable for me, based on my own goals. If I were to wake up at 6am and beyond, I would consider that “oversleeping”. In this case, I consciously attempt to discern what may have caused the problem (in one instance, I worked out late in the evening and then slept late), and make sure to focus myself on not repeating the mistake, or if I repeat the mistake, setting up other means of waking (like my alarm). The key is that occasional failure is ok (and expected), just determine that a failure doesn't mean the end of the habit, it's just a part of our human imperfection, and strive again to maintain better consistency.
Another point to keep in mind – sometimes I intentionally “fail”, meaning, I realize I've awakened too many early mornings in a row while sleeping an average of 5 hours. When this occurs, I allow myself a recovery day (usually on a Saturday or Sunday) to knock out until 9am (that's just my time, others may have their own).
I know many of you are excited to get started and running on this, but there are some exceptions such as if you're:
- Pregnant or within 2 years of delivering a baby: Your schedule and hormones are far too upside down. Focus on a healthy delivery, and don't try to force a sleep schedule with a new baby. In fact, set your expectations and don't guilt yourself over not being able to achieve more during this time unless you have an awesome spouse who will help out and give you your own time.
- You Work the Graveyard Shift: You probably hit qiyām every night ;) But really, the point is that you don't wake up simply to get up and get ready for work. Use the techniques outlined above to wake up 2 hours earlier to get other types of work done.
- People with medical sleep disorders: Seek the help of a competent professional. Let them know what you want to do and see how they can help you get it done.
Becoming a consistent early-morning person isn't about being a super duper tajwīd master shaykh floating on a magic carpet. It's all about focusing on the goal, keeping it simple, making conscious, gradual improvements, and moving forward until you hit the target. Don't worry about the days you fail, just keep trying until you get to enjoy the sweetness of front loading your day with all the most important things in your life. The gradual success that comes from it will snowball into this amazing feeling of accomplishment and happiness that honestly can't be put into words. | <urn:uuid:d3a7f390-194e-4e40-aa9d-456f1bf22354> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://muslimmatters.org/2012/10/22/the-muslimmax-series-wake-up-at-4am-daily/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Muslimmatters+%28MuslimMatters+Posts%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969416 | 2,451 | 1.773438 | 2 |
13 Year Old Girl Sentenced to 90 Lashes for Bringing Cell Phone to School in Saudi Arabia
What ever happened to writing on the chalk board a hundred times … “I will not bring my cell phone to school?”
Parents in America get upset when schools sit little Johnny in the corner when he misbehaves? Check this brutal and ridiculous behavior. What’s a little flogging to get a kids attention. A 13 year old school girl in Saudi Arabia received 90 lashes in front of her classmates for the crime of bringing a cell phone to school. Are you serious, 90 lashes!!!
A 13-year-old Saudi schoolgirl is to be given 90 lashes in front of her classmates after she was caught with a mobile camera phone.
The girl, who has not been named, was also sentenced to two months in jail by a court in the eastern city of Jubail.
She had assaulted her headmistress after being caught with the gadget which is banned in girl schools, said Al-Watan, a Saudi newspaper. The kingdom’s use of such punishments has been widely condemned by human rights organisations.
Under Saudi’s Sharia or Islamic law, flogging is mandatory for a number of moral offenses such as adultery or being alone in the company of an unrelated person of the opposite sex. But it can also be used at the discretion of judges as an alternative or in addition to other punishments.
As Jihad Watch sarcastically adds, “The vaunted compassion and moderation of Sharia on display again.” | <urn:uuid:5268b76a-5084-4c81-b281-61b1d36596e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scaredmonkeys.com/?p=12101&akst_action=share-this | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9668 | 316 | 1.59375 | 2 |
A new policy at CVS requires all employees who use the company’s health care to report their weight, glucose levels, and body fat to their insurer, or pay a penalty of $600 dollars — a hefty sum for many of the low-wage staff in the chain pharmacy’s stores.
The rule mimics other efforts provide incentives for healthy behavior, like the discount that Whole Foods employees get based on their Body Mass Index. But patient privacy advocates have serious qualms with the effort:
“This is an incredibly coercive and invasive thing to ask employees to do,” said Patient Privacy Rights founder Dr. Deborah Peel, adding that mounting health care costs have made these policies increasingly common.[...]
But in exchange, workers must sign a form saying the screening is voluntary, and that the insurer can give test results to WebMD Health Services Group. The firm provides health management programs and benefit support to CVS.
If workers don’t sign up, their medical coverage will jump by $50 a month.
CVS insists that it will not have access to the data.
Leaving aside the privacy implications, the new policy could end up penalizing low-income Americans who are already stretched too thin. A minimum wage worker putting in a 40-hour workweek makes about $1,160 a month. A fine of $50 a month is a huge amount for a minimum wage CVS employee to fork over if they consider the measure a privacy infringement, especially given the fact that American workers’ health care costs are rising while their wages are stagnating. It may be a smart business move to CVS to try to lower costs, but it’s at the expense of their workers’ interests. | <urn:uuid:b3ca4a33-3645-4090-8359-e23f407e0d3f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/03/20/1747541/cvs-weight-fine/?mobile=nc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955591 | 354 | 1.859375 | 2 |
MARSHALL - Ready or not, harvest time in Minnesota is here.
In its weekly crop weather report Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that Minnesota's corn and soybean crops were 2 percent harvested as of Sunday, compared with 0 percent for the five-year average. Mark Seeley, University of Minnesota Extension climatologist, said he suspects that there'll be a huge jump in the percentage of harvested soybeans and corn in next week's crop report.
"This is one of the earlier harvests we've had in decades," Seeley said. "It's so extraordinarily early."
Photo by Jenny Kirk
It might be only the second week in September, but some farmers headed to the fields this week to get a jumpstart on the fall harvest. Here, a farmer unloads soybeans in a field outside of Marshall.
According to the latest report, an estimated 43 percent of corn was reported to be mature, as compared to 8 percent last year and the five-year average of 13 percent. Forty-two percent of the corn was listed as being in good condition, while 34 percent was fair. While it's too soon to tell if forecasted strong winds will cause ear droppage or stalk breakage in the fields of crop producers in the midst of harvest, Seeley said he's seen mixed yields so far.
"Actually, overall, I would say the majority of corn yields are better than expected, although there are some bad spots," he said. "The corn is coming in with 16 to 19 percent moisture. That's remarkable for this time of year."
Currently, 51 percent of soybeans were also reportedly dropping leaves, compared to 6 percent a year ago and 19 percent in the five-year average. Forty-seven percent of soybeans were listed in the report as being in good condition, while 32 percent were fair.
"Some varieties planted earlier have lost all or most of their leaves and are ready for harvest," Seeley said. "But I'd say that most crop producers are waiting for the pods to dry down a little bit more."
Seeley suggested that a combination of factors are involved in explaining the earlier-than-normal harvest season this year. In addition to getting the 2012 crop in early, Minnesota also had above-normal temperatures for plant development. As the temperatures pushed the growth along, drought conditions forced the crops to advance more rapidly.
"It's almost like an emergency buzzer goes off inside of the crop, like a survival mechanism," Seeley said. "It's truly a testament to better management and better genetics."
During the last two decades, Seeley said, crop producers have been putting in more drought-tolerant plants.
"Despite the driest growing period we've had since 1988, the crops coming out still have a reasonable yield," he said. "I think the goal for most crop producers right now is get the harvest in the bin - both the corn and the soybeans - and not do any crop tillage or soil sampling."
Like most of the state, rain is needed. While the area did receive some precipitation Wednesday, it wasn't much, and what did fall was spotty. Thirty-two counties across Minnesota currently have severe drought conditions, including nine counties experiencing extreme drought conditions.
"The big concern is that our soils need a big drink of water," Seeley said. "Until we get some rain, farmers may have to sit and be patient. They need to let the soil cool down and get moistened up. Last year, all we did was turn over five-by-five clods of dirt or actually break the plow. There were lots of broken implements last year."
While this year's yields may pale in comparison to the high yields in recent years, the prediction is that it will be better than previously expected.
"It's below the trend line, but by no means is it a drastic trend like our neighboring states," Seeley said. "Ours is looking pretty good."
Pasture and range conditions are not as optimistic, though. According to the recent report, 20 percent is listed in very poor condition, while 26 percent is rated poor. Thirty-one percent is listed in fair condition.
The other plus, Seeley predicted, is that moderate, fall-like temperatures will keep harvest time moving along smoothly.
"The bigger picture is looking better than we thought earlier," he said. "My fingers are crossed that it stays that way as harvest continues." | <urn:uuid:6fa004a1-ed64-44ca-b4b7-9989421a2085> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/535942/An-early-harvest.html?nav=5015 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979236 | 924 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Combatives System (MCS) is based on the belief that
self defense training needs to be based on defending against
the ways you are most likely going to be attacked and
counter attacking in such a way that makes it hard for
your attacker to defend.
Most spontaneous attacks whether they are with an open
hand, stick knife or gun will require you to respond initially
with your open hands. That is the cold hard truth. At
best you will have a pen or flashlight in your hand. But
that is OK, because in Modern
Combatives System we believe that there are only two
types of weapons when you get down to it. Edged and impact.
And since a pen or flashlight does not have an edge you
strike with it.
The first part of MCS is recognizing pre assault indicators and preparatory
movement that is required for someone to attack you. The
second part is teaching you to defend against the mechanism
of the attack instead of the attack it self.
Combatives System is only concerned with interpersonal
combat within seven yards since this is where most people
are attacked, fall apart and die. In keeping with MCS'
belief in training over toys the system is broken down
into three skill sets that mirror both the likelihood
of the attack and the mode of defense. | <urn:uuid:bd7cdf28-eaf7-4416-898f-98806191ef9d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.moderncombativesystems.net/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958533 | 275 | 2.375 | 2 |
Yes, you can have only Windows installed, but there are some other things to be aware of:
Leopard and Snow Leopard
To have full hardware support, you will need a copy of OS X Leopard or preferably Snow Leopard since Snow Leopard has a newer version of the Boot Camp drivers and device software. When you are booted into Windows and insert the OS X disc, you will be prompted to install the Boot Camp drivers and utilities. These Boot Camp drivers are used for things like the Apple keyboards, trackpads, mice, special function keys for brightness, etc. to function in Windows. You can download a version of the Boot Camp drivers from Apple's website, but it is only an update and doesn't include the full suite of drivers and device software. Since the full Boot Camp software is on the OS X disc, you will need a copy of the OS X on-hand, but you don't have to have to keep OS X installed.
Lion and Mountain Lion
Since there is no longer any retail disc, Boot Camp drivers can be download in OS X by running the Boot Camp Assistant utility in Applications -> Utilities -> Boot Camp Assistant. This does mean you will need an installation of OS X at least while you download the drivers and then burn them to disc or copy them to a USB drive.
If you are installing Windows on an older Mac, you might need a temporary installation of OS X to update the EFI firmware to allow BIOS emulation which is needed to boot Windows. If you do need to update the firmware, you can wipe off OS X after it is updated.
Some newer versions of Windows such as Vista SP1 and 7 have a EFI boot mode, but Microsoft's EFI boot code is not compatible with Apple's EFI. This effectively means BIOS emulation is necessary to boot Windows, however this BIOS compatibility is in the computer's firmware and does not require an OS X installation in order to function. Also, you can safely format the hard drive as MBR-only if you want only Windows (and/or Linux) installed. If you are also running OS X along with Windows, you would want to be using a GPT/MBR hybrid partition format.
|show 3 more comments|
Yes. I've done it myself. I've wiped Snow Leopard in favour of Windows 7, as I found myself booting into windows frequently and my need for Mac software became less important.
I won't question your reasons, thats not the point.
If you insert the windows disk and hold down 'alt' on startup, the windows install will kick in. As previously mentioned, if you want to install Windows 7, the latest Bootcamp drivers are required. These are a .exe found on the Snow Leopard disk (or torrent) and will make your touchpad, sound etc work well in Win 7.
Take it from me, I'm writing this answer using my Macbook white 13in with Win 7 ultimate, and it works like a charm.
You CAN just install Windows. Either from using the BootCamp assistant (Apps>Utilities>BootCamp) or simply by holding down OPTION (ALT) or "C" (for CD-boot) on the keyboard during boot up with the Windows disc in. Once the Windows Installation process starts, choose Custom, Delete ALL partitions, Choose New for the Windows Partition and click Next. Voila! It's that easy.
No need to run Disk Utility. You can edit the partitions from the Custom Windows Install. I was worried if you only had the Windows partition that it might not boot up but this isn't the case. It's works great with just the Windows Partition and the Windows "System" allocated space.
Windows 7 runs amazing on my Mac Mini 2,1.
After installing Windows, ensure to put the Mac OS X install disc in as this will install all the necessary Windows drivers (video card, track-pad, etc) for it run at its max potential.
If you do not have the Mac OS X disc, no worries. You can d/l the drivers from the BootCamp Assistant (Go>Utilities>BootCamp) or from the Apple web site.
Short and fat: Boot up with original Mac OSX DVD.
When installation of OSX starts you will have the menu available.
Go to disc utilities - delete all partitions to one or two drives as you prefer (two drives if you want a C and D drive). Partition the drives to FAT. (Otherwise the windows installation cant find a valid installation drive)
Stop the OSX installation.
Switch DVD to Windows install DVD - This can be tricky. Upon reboot hold down eject key - switch DVD and force close with power button.
Upon reboot hold down ALT key.
Select Windows CD.
Start the installation.
Select wich drive to install to.
If using a Windows 7 upgrade CD - do not type in the activation key at this point.
When windows is running (several reboots -switch to Mac DVD in windows environment) - go to bootcamp folder.
Install Bootcamp using the bootcamp setup file.
After reboot - insert Windows 7 DVD and start installation again. This installation will be considered as an upgrade, and you can now use your activation key.
Two finger scroll works just fine. The keyboard layout is exactly as you see.
The downside is.. (if you are used to normal PC) - No page up and page down, print screen or Pause Break buttons
Benefit... Runs/performes even better than OSX
Dont know if this works with Windows XP. Dont know if all your other mac hardware works (Apple TV - Mac Mini server). All internal hardware in your Mac performes just fine.
After installing Windows, if you're running Lion, hold Option as the computer is booting up and select recovery HD.
Then wipe the parition from there
Make sure you named the paritions in a easy to identify way. By defult, on a MacBook Pro, partition 4 should be Bootcamp.
protected by Community♦ Jan 8 at 10:20
This question is protected to prevent "thanks!", "me too!", or spam answers by new users. To answer it, you must have earned at least 10 reputation on this site. | <urn:uuid:ba491bb8-8aac-4bab-9800-ddf917c96c48> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://superuser.com/questions/50841/can-you-run-only-windows-on-a-mac/69409 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903157 | 1,297 | 1.773438 | 2 |
11 minutes is all it takes
for you to burn
on a summer's day
Be SunSmart in Australia this summer with
the official SunSmart app for Android and iPhone™.
The SunSmart app lets you know when you do and when you don't need sun protection, making it easier than ever to be SunSmart this summer.
With a few clicks, you can find the weather, temperature, UV level and sun protection times for the day anywhere in Australia so you can be prepared for the day ahead.
Sun protection times are based on the UV information issued daily by the Bureau of Meteorology. You can set a default Location to quickly access information for your home town. The app also offers a reminder function that alerts the user of their daily sun protection needs, when it's safe to get some sun for vitamin D and a sunscreen calculator.
The SunSmart app is an initiative of SunSmart Victoria - a program of Cancer Council Victoria and VicHealth. SunSmart programs run in all Australian states and territories by the Cancer Council. All UV alerts and weather forecast information is provided by the Bureau of Meteorology. | <urn:uuid:d08765a3-f510-48e3-ba85-c66da4128bbe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bom.gov.au/uv/iphoneapp.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907577 | 228 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Automotive Exhaust System, also known as Emissions Control System, is the system that collects and emits exhaust gas, generally consisting of exhaust manifold, down pipe, catalytic converter & DPF, oxygen sensor, muffler and carbon canister. Automotive Exhaust System discharges the exhaust gas generated by running engines, and reduces pollution and noise.
In 2009, an exhaust system for gasoline-driven vehicle was priced at USD250 on average. As the environmental policy becomes increasingly harsh, the price will rise to USD280 in 2014. An exhaust system for diesel-driven vehicle was as expensive as USD350 in 2009, and the price will be USD530 in 2014.
On July 1, 2011, China began to implement national IV standards for light-duty gasoline-driven vehicles. The average price of Exhaust System rose to USD240. China had planned to implement the standards for diesel-driven vehicles since January 1, 2012, but the quality of Chinese diesel is not good, so China is very likely to delay the implementation of the national IV standards for diesel-driven vehicles. In 2015, China will upgrade the emission standards for gasoline-driven vehicles once again.
Faurecia is a global leading automotive exhaust system manufacturer controlled by French PSA Group. At the end of 2009, Faurecia acquired EMCON of Arvin Industries with about EUR330 million, becoming the world's largest automotive exhaust system manufacturer. EMCON is a major supplier of FORD and BMW, while Faurecia a major supplier of VW and PSA, so the customer base of Faurecia is the strongest among all of automotive exhaust system companies.
Tenneco is a U.S. company, and it acquired German Gillet in 1994. Gillet's Walker is the world's first automotive exhaust system manufacturer, established in 1888. Ebersp?cher is a German family enterprise, and over 70% of its revenue comes from Europe, it has not entered the Asia-Pacific market.
Sango and Futaba are Japanese companies, and their major client is Toyota. Benteler and Boysen are German family enterprises, starting from steel tube business. Yutaka is a subsidiary of Honda. Sejong is a South Korean company, and 85% of its revenue comes from Hyundai.
Bosal is a Belgian company, and it was a former partner of Delphi. Katcon is a company in Mexico, and it acquired Delphi's Exhaust System Division in 2009. Tokyo Roki’s major customers are Mazda and ISUZU. Calsonic Kansei is controlled by Nissan.
The key component of automotive exhaust system is three-way catalytic converter. The automotive catalyst market is mainly controlled by four companies, namely, Johnson Matthey, Umicore, BASF and Cataler. In 2010, Johnson Matthey, Umicore and BASF achieved revenue of over EUR10 billion respectively, but the catalyst revenue accounted for a small proportion of the total revenue. Only Toyota's Cataler is mainly engaged in the production of automotive catalyst.
There are many M & A cases in the field of catalyst, and many companies have changed hands for several times. Umicore is a Belgian mining giant, and it is also a leader in the fields of lithium battery anode material manufacturing and precious metal recycling, and it acquired the catalyst business of Delphi and Degussa. BASF acquired the automotive catalyst business of Engelhard. Johnson Matthey acquired German Argillon to enhance its technical strength with EUR214 million in February 2008.
The market of ceramic monoliths for automotive exhaust system is basically monopolized by Corning and NGK. | <urn:uuid:531dbf99-b449-46a1-bb5e-54f6ac330ca9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/135846-global-and-china-automotive-exhaust-system-industry-report-2010-2011.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946744 | 746 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Re: play(player, game)
Octav Popescu <octav <at> cmu.edu>
2005-05-25 23:16:53 GMT
One more question: It seems to me that even if you implement this change,
this won't change Krzysztof's example in any way, right? I'm not trying to
suggest it should, just trying to find out how it'd work. CLOSED wouldn't
mean that all members of the relation have to be asserted explicitly, some
could be inferred in the reasoning process. So in his example (ASSERT (PLAY
JANO JANO)) will infer (GAME JANO) and there would still be no contradiction
with the fact that it was not declared explicitly.
--On Wednesday, May 25, 2005 09:34 -0700 Thomas Russ <tar <at> ISI.EDU> wrote:
> I'll let Hans handle the other issues, but I'll tackle closed world.
> On May 24, 2005, at 10:38 PM, Octav Popescu wrote:
>> Then I guess my question is again: Any idea when you'll issue the next
>> Related to the problem with the CLOSED relations, I was trying to
>> think of possible problems, so I was wondering if you would fix that
>> only at the top level, or also at intermediate levels in the reasoning
>> process. Like for instance if one tries to prove (AND (P1 A) (P2 A)),
>> and (P1 A) is TRUE and (P2 A) cannot be proved but is declared CLOSED,
>> would the whole result be FALSE?
> That would be my preferred solution. That is, in part, why
> it is taking a while to get something running out. | <urn:uuid:06498dcd-d75f-44fc-b189-e021dc47f9aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.comp.ai.powerloom/month=20050501 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962597 | 385 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Tell It Like It Is: Combined Reporting Improves DC’s Tax System By Making Corporations Disclose Their Profits and Pay Their Fair Shareby Elissa Silverman and Ed Lazere | October 21st, 2009 | PDF of this report
Mayor Fenty and the DC Council recently approved an important reform to the District’s corporate income tax which will prevent large corporations from avoiding taxes. The law, known as “combined reporting,” is recognized by economists and tax experts as the most comprehensive way for states to stop corporations from abusing tax shelters. A majority of states with corporate income taxes already practice combined reporting; many have had this provision in place for more than 20 years. DC’s Chief Financial Officer has concluded the law, which will go into effect in January 2011, will raise roughly $20 million in revenue annually.
Not surprisingly, combined reporting often faces business opposition. This likely reflects its effectiveness at closing corporate tax loopholes. Since the District’s adoption of combined reporting this summer, the DC law has been attacked by organizations such as the DC Chamber of Commerce and the Council on State Taxation, a trade association of multistate corporations, as well as by individual corporations such as Verizon, Pfizer, and Home Depot.
Combined reporting is important because it promotes tax fairness for the city’s small businesses, which are far less likely than large, nationwide businesses to use tax shelters and other tax avoidance schemes. The new law should be defended for several reasons:
- Combined reporting levels the tax-paying field between national and local companies. Without combined reporting, large national and multinationals have a tax advantage by shifting profits earned in DC to states with lower taxes—or no taxes at all. While small businesses and local companies that operate only in DC have to pay their fair share of taxes, larger corporations often don’t.
- Combined reporting will not hurt the District’s business climate. Of the 45 states with a corporate income tax, 23 already have adopted combined reporting. Sixteen have operated with combined reporting for more than 20 years, including California and Illinois. Studies suggest that combined reporting has not affected their economic competitiveness.
- Combined reporting builds on previous DC efforts to close corporate tax shelters. Elected officials took steps in 2004 and 2009 to close a corporate tax shelter known as the Delaware Holding Company. Using this tax scheme, businesses shift profits to a shell company in the state of Delaware, a state with no corporate income tax. Combined reporting helps close other shelters that are not addressed by previous legislation.
- A move to eliminate combined reporting would unbalance DC’s budget. Getting rid of combined reporting would create a $20 million budget gap in FY 2012 and beyond. Recent budget deliberations in the District have focused on the city’s long-term budget problems stemming from the recession, and the need to adopt policies that provide long-term fiscal stability. Eliminating combined reporting would require cutting local services or raising other local taxes, while keeping taxes low for large national corporations.
Combined Reporting Promotes Tax Fairness
Should a locally-owned clothing store be taxed more than a branch of a national retailer? Of course, the answer is no.
Yet without combined reporting, national retailers and other corporations often have a distinct tax advantage over local DC businesses. Many national and multinational companies engage in complicated tax-avoidance strategies that artificially shift profits out of jurisdictions where they are earned and put them in states where the business tax rate is lower—or where a corporate income tax doesn’t exist at all.
This occurs because most large multistate corporations are composed of a “parent” corporation and a number of “subsidiary” corporations owned by the parent. Some major retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Toys R Us, have shifted profits earned by subsidiaries to reduce their taxes.
Combined reporting addresses this practice by treating the parent company and its fully-owned subsidiaries as one corporation for state income tax purposes. In other words, the profits made by the parent and subsidiaries are combined and added up together. In a state with combined reporting, the corporate tax is determined by a formula based on the percentage of business operations that take place in that state compared to activity in other states.
The tax avoidance strategies that occur in states without combined reporting are unfair in several ways. They rob states of tax dollars needed to finance roads that customers might travel to stores, schools that educate workers, police and fire departments that provide public safety protection, and other services.
So who picks up the slack when large corporations hide profits by using tax shelters? Individual taxpayers and smaller, locally owned companies who can’t stow away their profits in a different state.
Combined reporting creates a level-playing field, so that large and small, local and national, all pay their fair share. States that adopt combined reporting are following advice long offered by state corporate tax policy experts, who argue that the failure to enact combined reporting is an invitation for businesses to engage in tax avoidance.[i]
States with Combined Reporting Remain Economically Competitive
By adopting combined reporting, DC joined 23 states which already have chosen to implement this key reform. (Forty-five states have a corporate income tax.) Sixteen of these states have required combined reporting for decades. Recently, momentum has been growing among other states to expand this policy. Since 2004, seven states — West Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas, and Vermont — have adopted combined reporting.
Despite the long existence of combined reporting, corporate interests often warn that adopting this policy will harm a state’s economic prospects.
The evidence proves otherwise. States with combined reporting include some of the most economically-powerful in the country. Of the eight states with corporate income taxes that have seen growth in manufacturing since 1990, seven had combined reporting in effect the entire time, according to a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The next two best-performing states, Oregon and Minnesota, also are combined-reporting states.[ii]
Moreover, recent studies by three states considering combined reporting examined the location decisions of large companies in their states. The studies found that a majority of these businesses maintain facilities in other states with combined reporting. The fact that these companies have chosen to locate in states with combined reporting suggests that they would not move their locations from a jurisdiction that newly adopts combined reporting. [iii]
Finally, corporate income taxes represent a relatively small share of business expenses—usually less than one percent, whether or not a corporation is located in a combined reporting state. A state’s decision to adopt combined reporting increases that small corporate tax load only slightly. Not surprisingly, a recent study by economists Robert Tannenwald and George Plesko, which measured interstate differences in overall state and local tax costs for corporations, found no statistically significant correlation between those costs and state success in attracting business investment.[iv]
In other words, higher state and local business taxes did not impede business investment.
Combined Reporting Extends DC’s Efforts to Close Corporate Tax Loopholes
The District of Columbia already has taken steps to close corporate tax shelters. Adopting combined reporting allows it to close such shelters more tightly.
In 2004, DC adopted legislation to nullify an abusive corporate tax shelter frequently referred to as the “Delaware Trademark Holding Company” or “Passive Investment Company” (PIC) shelter. Updated legislation to close the same tax shelter was adopted in 2009.
This is how this tax scheme works: A corporation transfers ownership of its trademarks and patents to a subsidiary corporation located in a state that does not tax royalties such as Delaware or Nevada. The out of state profits are disguised as royalty fees paid for the use of the trademark or patent in the Delaware corporation. For example, Toys R Us created a separate entity for its logo that was incorporated in Delaware. All Toys R Us stores paid royalties to the Delaware corporation, shifting profits away from the states where they were earned.
DC and some states have taken steps to close this specific tax shelter, but combined reporting is needed to address such profit-shifting strategies more comprehensively. If states were to rely on closing only the Delaware Holding Company, they remain susceptible to other tax shelters abuses. [v]
Conclusion: Combined Reporting Asks Business to Pay Its Fair Share and Provide Revenue for Critical Services
At its essence, combined reporting closes a gaping corporate tax loophole.
It’s about fairness. If companies don’t pay their full tax burden, there’s less money to fund critical city services these businesses rely on to create a healthy business climate, as well as money for other services that residents need.
For these reasons, the District should retain the combined reporting requirement it passed in July.
[i] Michael Mazerov, A Majority of States Have Now Adopted a Key Corporate Tax Reform — “Combined Reporting”, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Revised April 3, 2009.
[ii] See: Michael Mazerov, “Most Large North Carolina Manufacturers Are Already Subject to ‘Combined Reporting’ in
Other States,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 2008, Table 1, p. 6. Available at www.cbpp.org/1-15-
[iii] See the study cited in Note ii. See also: Michael Mazerov, “Almost All Large Iowa Manufacturers Are Already
Subject to ‘Combined Reporting’ in Other States; Fears of Job Flight from Reducing Corporate Tax Avoidance Are
Unwarranted,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April 2008, available at www.cbpp.org/4-3-08sfp.pdf. See also:
Jack Norman, “Combined Reporting: How Closing Corporate Loopholes Benefits Wisconsin,” Institute for Wisconsin’s
Future, February 2009, available at www.wisconsinsfuture.org/publications/taxes/
[iv] George A. Plesko and Robert Tannenwald, Measuring the Incentive Effects of State Tax Policies Toward Capital Investment, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Working Paper 01-4, December 3, 2001.
[v] For example, businesses can set up a tax shelter, known as a “captive real estate investment trust,” that acts in many likes like the Delaware Holding Company shelter. Yet legislation to close the Delaware Holding Company shelter would not affect that captive real estate investment trust shelter. | <urn:uuid:953c210c-1a18-4230-96b3-768b76efa8da> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dcfpi.org/tell-it-like-it-is-combined-reporting-improves-dc%E2%80%99s-tax-system-by-making-corporations-disclose-their-profits-and-pay-their-fair-share | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963483 | 2,171 | 1.796875 | 2 |
As community members walked down Memorial Avenue, it wasn't difficult for them to remember why they were there. Passing street signs that read Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on their way to Lycoming College, volunteers had gathered to celebrate King's message of serving the community during a day of service Saturday.
Throughout the day, volunteers put together 600 family fun packs, which included board games, snacks and winter wear, that will be distributed to area students this week. It was King's call for service that motivated them to participate.
"If your community is not behind you, then what do you have?" said Joseph Walker Jr., AmeriCorps member, on the importance of serving the community.
Walkers take a stroll down Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard from Campbell Street on a walk in the civil rights leader’s honor Saturday morning. The walk ended at the recreation center at Lycoming College for an AmeriCorps service project.
The day started by community volunteers walking from the corner of Campbell Street and Memorial Avenue, to Lycoming College. This, Walker explained, was to show how, although everyone comes from different walks of life, they are all one community.
"Some of us have been in our neighborhoods for 10 or 15 years and don't know our neighbors," he said.
After they made their way to the college's recreation center, family packs began being assembled.
"The goal of today is to be in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. in helping anybody," said AmeriCorps member Maria Vidal-Huertas.
All of the items in the packs were donated by local businesses.
"We just got overwhelming support from our community," Walker said of the donations.
The packs will be distributed to sixth-grade students in the Williamsport Area School District, fourth- and fifth-grade students in the Keystone Central School District and other community agencies.
Walker said as students grow older, quality time as a family becomes more and more scarce, which was the motivation behind the packs.
"We want to bring family time back to the family," he said.
Mark McKenney and Sean Wilson, Lycoming students, were on hand with fraternity brothers to help during the event.
"(Community service) is important because something that we lost is the sense of community," Wilson said.
The idea of community and coming together as one was an oft discussed on the day that the community not only served, but mourned for the loss of one of its members.
State Rep. Rick Mirabito, D-Williamsport, who had come to the event after attending the funeral of Terell Henderson-Littles - a member of the community who was shot and killed earlier this month - said it is time the community stand up and do what's right.
He added, "We're all in this together," and urged community members to speak up against violence and wrong doing, like King did.
"We have to stand up." Mirabito said. "Stand up for righteousness. Stand up for what's right."
But even in the emotional times, volunteers remained in good spirits as they tried to do their part in the community.
"(Community service) elevates you. It empowers you. It nourishes you," said John Kiernan, who remembers when King visited the area. "When you lose yourself in service, you find yourself."
Walker has a vested interest in the community, as his nieces and nephews are growing up in it. He said he wants to serve it to show them "strong role models."
And throughout the day, Walker said he could see that the message of the day was being received. The community was coming together.
"We're not all white. We're not all black. We're not all old. We're not all young," he said. "But we can come together for one cause." | <urn:uuid:c0716b07-e095-4a54-84b6-4298ac10625d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/588203/Honoring-King-s-legacy.html?nav=5019 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983235 | 805 | 1.75 | 2 |
In classrooms, libraries and homes across the country on Friday, students and children will open books and reacquaint themselves with the joy of reading. It is, after all, Read Across America - not just Dr. Seuss' birthday, but a day to promote and raise reading awareness.
Looking back, I can say books befriended me, inspired me, and empowered me. All my early female models I met through books. In fifth grade, I met the two Harriet's.
Though the reading level of Uncle Tom's Cabin was much above my own skill in fifth grade, Harriet Beecher Stowe enticed me page by page. Spellbound, captivated, I forgot who I was; a small girl, in a small rural town, of very modest means. At first, all I saw was Little Eva and the wonderful, unfortunate people who had their freedom taken from them. I loved, I laughed; I cried and cried and cried. And then, I saw the miracle, a woman who never left home (I couldn't imagine ever leaving home) and yet, who changed the world with the touch of her pen and gave my new friends their freedom back. The power, the impossibility of that idea still inspires me.
And then I met the other Harriet - Harriet Tubman - a young girl, a slave, who did the unthinkable. She escaped slavery by running away and found the Underground Railway which led her to her freedom. All this was done at incredible risk due to an injury which made her fall into a deep sleep unexpectedly. Alone, hungry and afraid, this girl never
Sometime later, I met two Iron Ladies. In my teens, I met Golda Meir in her autobiography. Golda, a poor girl in Milwaukee, who rebelled against advice to quit school early and marry, went on to shape, build and preserve the modern state of Israel. Golda ran guns under her skirt, donned disguises to meet and negotiate for cooperation between Jewish and Arab nations, and served as premier of Israel until the end of her strength. Such strength, such dedication, and such willpower, I am humbled when I think of her.
And then there is Margaret Thatcher. But I'm sure you know this Iron Lady.
If not, she and my other friends are patiently waiting to meet you, and your secret hopes and very real aspirations. Just a page away...
Sen. Jean Fuller, R-Bakersfield, represents the 18th District in the state Senate. | <urn:uuid:9af47218-2b70-451a-8e47-dc84a9c46612> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailybulletin.com/opinions/ci_22689185/commentary-turning-pages-and-opening-doors | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969151 | 511 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging
Detection of single nano particles by surface plasmon resonance imaging
Recently, a new approach in SPR imaging was suggested, allowing the detection of single nanoparticles. The developed approach can be applied for characterization of nano particles of different sorts in liquid, gaseous or vacuum environments. Any particle bound on the sensor surface gives rise to a characteristic pattern with a light spot of few micrometers in diameter on the image.
Polystyrene nanoparticles (refractive index n=1.58) of different size in water solution (refractive index n=1.33) were studied to calibrate the detected SPR signal and estimate the minimal detectable size of the method. The brightness of the observed spot is nearly proportional to the particle size. As a result, the light intensity caused by small particles surpasses the intensity of Mie scatteringby by several orders of magnitude, which is decreasing as the sixth power of the particle diameter. This allows detecting of polystyrene particles down to few tens nanometers in diameter.
This effect can be used to develop of a powerful analytical method. The particles bound on the sensor surface can be directly counted and the counting rate can serve as the measure of particle concentration. The sensor area of several square millimeters can be monitored simultaneously. This provides a very high concentration sensitivity which can be used for medical diagnostic of virus diseases and/or for continuous monitoring of virus contamination of public areas. The counting rate for the binding of polystyrene particles depends linearly on the concentration. Observed counting rate was in a good agreement with the value calculated based on a two-compartment model of mass transfer in a fluidic cell. This gives us a chance for etalon-free measurements of particle concentration. Concentrations of HI virus-like particles in buffer solution were measured, and the results were in good agreement with the results of ELISA analysis. | <urn:uuid:ba01a4cd-db08-40bb-b32f-c59480abac04> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.isas.de/Surface-Plasmon-Resonance-Imaging.534.0.html?L=vvxhvldog | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932594 | 387 | 2.625 | 3 |
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Statistics on the employment status of the population and related data are compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS). This monthly survey of households is conducted for BLS by the Bureau of the Census through a scientifically selected sample designed to represent the civilian noninstitutional population. Respondents are interviewed to obtain information about the employment status of each member of the household 16 years of age and over. The inquiry relates to activity or status during the calendar week, Sunday through Saturday, which includes the 12th day of the month. This is known as the “reference week.” Actual field interviewing is conducted in the following week, referred to as the “survey week.”
Each month about 60,000 occupied units are eligible for interview. Some 2,600 of these households are contacted but interviews are not obtained because the occupants are not at home after repeated calls or are unavailable for other reasons. This represents a noninterview rate for the survey that ranges between 4 and 5 percent. In addition to the 60,000 occupied units, there are 11,500 sample units in an average month which are visited but found to be vacant or otherwise not eligible for enumeration. The rotation plan provides for three-fourths of the sample to be common from one month to the next, and one-half to be common with the same month a year earlier.
Unemployment estimates for States and local areas are key indicators of local economic conditions. These estimates, which are produced by State employment security agencies, are used by State and local governments for planning and budgetary purposes and as determinants for the need for local employment and training services and programs. Local area unemployment estimates are also used to determine the eligibility of an area for benefits in various Federal assistance programs.
Under the Federal-State cooperative program, the Bureau of Labor Statistics develops the concepts, definitions, and technical procedures which are used by State agencies for the preparation of labor force and unemployment estimates. Currently, monthly estimates of employment and unemployment are prepared in State agencies for some 5,400 geographic areas, which include all States, labor market areas (LMA’s) and counties and cities having a population of 25,000 or more.
Last Modified Date: May 16, 2008 | <urn:uuid:3ac68e87-bf17-46b3-8f8b-ded00517f575> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/print.pl/ro3/fax_9590.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952847 | 469 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Green Packaging - Closing Thoughts: What lies in green packaging’s future?
“Innovations in energy, as well as packaging design and materials, are clearly on the horizon. I hope to see businesses take the challenge to consumers and our federal leaders to ask for their participation in greening packaging by helping to support the development of more-effective collection and recovery systems.”
“I foresee tremendous growth in biopolymers such as PLA, as well as huge progress in making all types of packaging, regardless of the material, more lightweight. I predict that consumer demand for eco-friendly products and packaging will grow beyond current expectations.”
“The sustainability story is like an onion. When we peel back one layer, it reveals others. As the packaging industry looks to deepen its ecological commitment, we will see companies move beyond today’s focus on biopolymers and recycled content. The supply chain will become more important as brands look into issues such as the agricultural practices used to grow feedstock for biopolymers or the use of renewable energy to power the blow-molding line.”
“The future of green packaging is to realize that we need more future and less packaging.”
“We will see a closed-loop system, in which manufacturers use materials that can be recycled or composted and in which there is infrastructure for the end-consumer to make sure their waste is recycled into packaging and products for tomorrow.”
“Step by step, change takes time. Remember when everyone smoked in movie theaters, supermarkets, restaurants, airplanes, and even in college classrooms? It wasn’t that long ago. I look forward to the day when there is no packaging waste, when people may actually say, ‘You mean you used to throw all of that packaging into the landfill?’”
“I believe that a growing segment of consumers will judge companies on how they treat the environment and that there will be a growing emphasis on packaging. Companies that make an effort to use environmentally friendly packaging will be rewarded, and those that do not may turn off a segment of consumers who believe that they should.” | <urn:uuid:90748f47-f11f-402b-8a63-86818dd43421> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cpcpkg.com/magazine/08_03_green_closing.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957191 | 447 | 1.960938 | 2 |
Many people look at the foreclosure crisis in one of two ways:
Distressed homeowners, unable to make their mortgage payments and facing foreclosure, should now face the reality of having made a poor borrowing decision.
But prior to the crisis, mortgage lenders were all too happy to make subprime loans, and banks packaged these loans into investments that were bought and sold with little regard to the risk of default.
Whether you agree or not, one thing is clear: the banks and mortgage companies continue to push home foreclosures. And many are breaking the law in the process.
Short history of mortgage-backed investments
Florida has been hit particularly hard with foreclosures. Responding to reports of fraud, the Florida Office of the Attorney General (the "AG") published the results of its recent investigation, presented in straightforward PowerPoint format. This is a MUST READ presentation that will set your blood to boiling when you see the hard evidence of fraud and abuse perpetrated by several lenders.
Once upon a time, bankers locked mortgage notes in vaults, and there they stayed while homeowners made their mortgage payments. Then came the Great Depression. In response, the government created the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae). Fannie Mae created a secondary market for mortgages, freeing lenders to make more loans to stimulate the housing market.
Then, in 1960, the market evolved. Lawmakers created real estate investment trusts (REITs), which function like mutual funds. In 1977, Bank of America created the first private mortgage-backed security. Fannie Mae followed suit in 1981, and mortgage-backed securities continued to take different shapes and sizes to the present day.
A tricky one: collateralized debt obligations
Collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) are made of pools of bonds and other assets like subprime mortgage notes. A typical CDO is made of thousands upon thousands of mortgages that are sliced up and separated and grouped. CDOs are then classified in terms of risk. But it's next to impossible to understand that risk. Imagine trying to understand a 15,000-page prospectus representing just one CDO.
In the words of Warren Buffett: "It can't be done."
As a result, CDOs made terrible investments. Thousands of homeowners have gone into default, and many of the same banks and mortgage companies that dealt in CDOs want to foreclose. But foreclosure is difficult without original mortgage documents, such as assignments of mortgage, which are necessary to starting foreclosure proceedings.
So the banks and mortgage companies found a work-around.
From so-called "robo-signers" (those who don't know anything about the documents they sign) to sham witnesses and notaries, they're doing everything possible to keep the foreclosure machine humming along — in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Who is Linda Green?
On paper, the industrious Linda Green has somehow managed to rise to the level of vice president at more than 14 different entities, including American Home Mortgage Servicing, Citi Residential Lending and Wells Fargo. According to the Florida AG, Green's forged signature is on hundreds of thousands of mortgage assignments. The fraud is clear since each of these signatures is different from the next.
In addition to Green, there's no shortage of misdeeds when it comes to mortgage assignments:
- Forgery: the signatures of Scott Anderson, Tywanna Thomas and Jessica Ohde all appear to have been forged
- Fiction: names on documents include "Bogus Assignee" and "A Bad Bene"
- Science fiction: documents have effective dates of 9999, roughly 8 millennia from now
And two infamous business failures of the Great Recession, IndyMac and Lehman Brothers, both recently executed mortgage assignments despite the fact that they failed more than two years ago.
IndyMac Bank, the seventh largest mortgage loan originator in the U.S. prior to its failure on July 11, 2008, somehow executed an assignment on July 12, 2010. IndyMac is understood to have failed precisely because it dealt in risky securitized mortgages.
And Lehman Brothers — having filed the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history on September 15, 2008 — also executed an assignment on July 22, 2010, like a ghost from the past.
The notary's function
A notary public functions in part as an official who authenticates the signing of a document. In other words, the notary's stamp and signature is an official declaration that the other signatures on the document are true signatures, not forgeries. Generally, a notary public directly observes the person who signs a document and verifies that person's identity, thus certifying that the document is legal and authentic.
The following is testimony from the deposition of paralegal Tammie Kapusta, former employee of a law firm with clients in the mortgage industry, as published by the Florida AG:
- Q: Would these notaries be there watching [...] as she signed?
- A: No.
- Q: She would just sit there and sign stacks of them?
- A: Correct. As far as notaries go in the firm I don't think any notary actually used their own notary stamp. The team used them.
- Q: There were just stamps around?
- A: Yes.
- Q: And you actually saw that?
- A: I was part of that.
Kapusta's testimony illustrates the problem: mortgage companies appear comfortable using any method at their disposal — even outright fraud — to push lawsuits through the courts with falsified documents so that they can foreclose on struggling homeowners.
And, so far, they've gotten away with it.
This in a time when, according to the National Consumer Law Center, the pace of foreclosures continues unabated: "Despite government efforts to encourage modifications through the Home Affordable Modification Program, too often [mortgage companies] have found it more profitable to foreclose than to offer loan modifications that would benefit homeowners and investors."
It's not hard to see why.
We encourage you to make your own decision as to whether foreclosure fraud was committed in Florida by viewing the Florida AG's PowerPoint presentation. If you agree that the evidence is clear in Florida, do you have any doubts as to it happening in California or anywhere else? Contact the Sobti Law Group for a consultation about stopping foreclosure through a comprehensive audit. | <urn:uuid:688594ca-1dfb-4f54-b639-ec34f7221de6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americanrescuesolutions.com/Articles/Bankruptcy-Articles/Who-Is-Linda-Green-A-Case-Of-Foreclosure-Fraud.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958323 | 1,317 | 2.28125 | 2 |
"International Security" Journal Highlights
Belfer Center Programs or Projects: Quarterly Journal: International Security
International Security Vol. 36, No. 2; FALL 2011
International Security is America’s leading journal of security affairs. It provides sophisticated analyses of contemporary security issues and discusses their conceptual and historical foundations. The journal is edited at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center and published quarterly by the MIT Press. Questions may be directed to IS@Harvard.edu.
"Muslim 'Homegrown' Terrorism in the United States: How Serious Is the Threat?" By Risa A. Brooks
Despite a surge of arrests in 2009, evidence suggests that Muslim American terrorist activity—a phenomenon sometimes referred to as “homegrown” terrorism—is not on the rise. The 2009 arrest count is likely a combination of more aggressive law enforcement and an accident of data: several long-term plots led to arrests in 2009, and many of the plots involved groups, increasing the number of arrests per incident. In addition, many plots have been detected with the help of inside informants. It is therefore crucial not to overreact to statistics in a way that could alienate the Muslim community.
"States in Mind: Evolution, Coalitional Psychology, and International Politics" By Anthony C. Lopez, Rose McDermott, and Michael Bang Peterson
Viewing coalitions through the lens of evolutionary psychology leads to several hypotheses that can help generate important predictions about group behavior. For example, studies show that humans represent coalitions as a special category of relatively unreliable individual, which has implications for theories on conflict and cooperation among states. The study of psychological mechanisms also indicates that factors such as a man’s strength, whether or not a woman has children, and the size of a coalition can help predict whether or not an individual will support an aggressive foreign policy.
"The Collapse of North Korea: Military Missions and Requirements" By Bruce W. Bennett and Jennifer Lind
The upcoming transition in North Korea’s leadership will not inevitably bring about a collapse of government, but the potential consequences of such an event necessitate advance and combined planning. It is imperative that China, South Korea, and the United States develop a coordinated response, as each of these countries could take destabilizing action to protect their individual interests. A relatively benign collapse could require 260,000 to 400,000 troops to gain control of North Korea’s nuclear weapons, prevent humanitarian disaster, manage regional refugees, and ensure stable U.S.-Chinese relations. Civil war or war on the peninsula would only increase these requirements.
"India's Nuclear Odyssey: Implicit Umbrellas, Diplomatic Disappointments, and the Bomb" By Andrew B. Kennedy
After decades of flirting with nuclear weapons, India finally emerged as a nuclear power in the 1990s. New evidence suggests that India was able to hold off in part because it was able to secure protection through an alternate method: implicit “umbrellas” from superpowers. In the late 1970s, however, U.S. support for India waned as it began to improve its relations with Pakistan, and India lost its other major backer with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. By the late 1980s, India could no longer protect itself through diplomatic means, and acquisition of the bomb became an inevitable response to its security needs.
"Veto Players, Nuclear Energy, and Nonproliferation: Domestic Institutional Barriers to a Japanese Bomb" By Jacques E.C. Hymans
Although Japanese politicians have expressed interest in the bomb in the past, the country’s veto players make acquisition unlikely. Early research viewed proliferation exclusively as a response to security needs. Since the 1980s, most models have included domestic factors, but they have focused exclusively on a single actor whose influence can be negated if veto power is widely enough dispersed. Thus, despite Japan’s intimidating plutonium supply, and its persistence in building a complete fuel cycle, the country’s large and growing number of veto players suggests the continuation of a rigid nuclear weapons policy. As this analysis indicates, historical institutional analysis is crucial to understanding a state’s propensity for proliferation and should be considered alongside other contributing factors.
Compiled by International Security staff.
For more information about this publication please contact the Belfer Center Communications Office at 617-495-9858.
For Academic Citation: | <urn:uuid:9d7a048c-1e07-49f3-9ae0-770cdceb89d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/21582/international_security_journal_highlights.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930363 | 896 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Kluane National Park and Reserve of Canada covers an area of 21,980 square kilometres. It is a land of precipitous, high mountains, immense icefields and lush valleys that yield a diverse array of plant and wildlife species and provides for a host of outdoor activities. Kluane National Park and Reserve is also home to Mount Logan (5959 m/19,545 ft), Canada's highest peak.
As part of a larger system of national parks and historic sites found throughout Canada, Kluane National Park and Reserve protects and presents a nationally significant example of Canada's North Coast Mountains natural region and the associated regional cultural heritage. Fostering public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of Kluane National Park and Reserve while ensuring ecological and commemorative integrity for present and future generations is Parks Canada's goal. | <urn:uuid:1bca8452-13a9-4a73-a450-42b90352232a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/yt/kluane/index.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915401 | 161 | 2.546875 | 3 |
On Tuesday night, over the course of three hours, two different men asked me if I could defend the term ‘mansplain.’ Why was it, they both (yes, separately) wanted to know, so different from just being a regular old condescending asshole? So I launched into my usual spiel about the patriarchy, and how men explain things with the assumption that women are stupid, and the privilege that underlies every interaction in which a man expects a woman to know nothing.
Then Wednesday morning, another man asked me the same question.
If the goal of feminism (and, particularly, young feminists on the internet) is to create an inclusive conversation where we can get to the root of systematic behavior that suppresses the ability of women to succeed, then inventing our own terminology — or at least the word ‘mansplain’ — has failed. I’ve spent more time defending and defining the term than using it. And even as it serves to define a certain type of assholeishness, it undermines our understanding of the other forms of privilege.
The concept of mansplaining most likely originated in a 2008 LA Times article titled, “Men Who Explain Things To Me,” in which the author, Rebecca Solnit, recounted the story of a man encouraging her to read a seminal work in Solnit’s field. It turned out to be a book that Solnit herself had written. From there, the portmanteau of “mansplaining” became a sensation among feminists on the internet. It came to define, broadly, when a man speaks to a woman with the assumption that the she knows less than he does about a given topic, even when it’s painfully obvious that she knows more.
As intuitive as that definition might seem, the term is still used wrongly all the time. I’ve heard someone say one man is “mansplaining” to another. I’ve heard someone say that they would “mansplain” something manly — jock itch, beard hair — to me.
Even the New York Times, when it decided that “mansplaining” was in the running for the “word of the year” in 2010, defined the term incorrectly by leaving out the fact that a mansplainer is assuming that a woman knows less than he:
mansplainer: A man compelled to explain or give an opinion about everything — especially to a woman. He speaks, often condescendingly, even if he doesn’t know what he’s talking about or even if it’s none of his business. Old term: a boor.
See how long it takes just to get a handle on what the word actually means? And I could keep going.
But even if there were a six-word answer for what a ‘mansplainer’ is, or how one can ‘mansplain,’ there are still a variety of issues with the term.
For one, the word is a portmanteau. And as we all know, those are usually hilarious. But if we’re trying to tackle a serious power dynamic rooted in institutional sexism, we might not want to use something so lighthearted. Because the word sounds fun, it sticks in the brain and, as the New York Times shows us, people use it without understanding what it means.
Hugo Schwyzer over at Jezebel pinned down Summer 2012 as the season when ‘mansplaining’ left the feminist blogosphere and made its way into the mainstream. It wasn’t long after that when I began hearing ‘womansplaining.’
Falling right in line with the anti-feminist idea that “reverse sexism” is rampant in our society, I’ve heard men throw around the word ‘womansplain’ to point to the fact that if a man can explain something condescendingly, then a woman can as well. And that’s true. But that argument totally ignores the fact that mansplaining was invented to uncover privilege -– specifically, the privilege men have to assume that they are right, that women are wrong, and that their responsibility is to explain something to the poor woman who just can’t understand it.
Ultimately, that’s the core of the term: Privilege. But by calling out men in the term mansplaining, feminists bring up a gender divide when condescension actually plays an integral role in privilege more broadly.
When we draw the divide between gender-based privilege and other privilege, we actually agree that it is somehow different for a man to use his privilege to condescend to a woman than it is for him to condescend to someone else. When we talk about condescension, we should be inherently addressing privilege, whether that is gender-based or racial or socio-economic. Jessica Valenti puts it this way:
The successes that dominate the mainstream narrative on feminism largely center on the most privileged of American women, even when the consequences affect the most marginalized. And while symbolic successes… are important, it’s more crucial that feminist actions make a difference in real women’s lives.
With ‘mansplain,’ feminist blogs have invented a term, one that’s leaked out into the mainstream, that’s exclusionary. It doesn’t address other types of systematic repression, narrowing concern over the dynamics of condescension to male-female interactions. A white woman can’t ‘mansplain’ to a black woman what it means to be discriminated against, but she can certainly be patronizing about the experience that black woman endures, approaching that interaction with all of the privilege of a mansplainer.
Undeniably, there is something unique about the gendered dynamic in a mansplain-y interaction that doesn’t translate to other types of condescension, no matter how despicable. But there’s already a word for that — sexism. The first step in putting an end to bad behavior is to label sexist behavior for what it is. The specialized term we’ve created for calling out certain type of sexism, mansplaining, has in practice obscured the sexism that’s actually at stake in male condescension.
Moreover, it distracts from the fact of racial or socio-economic privilege, or the fact that either or both can and often do operate in tandem with gender privilege. In discontinuing “mansplaining,” there’s an opportunity for feminists to point out the intersectional privilege that rich, white men can bring to interactions with women, people of color, or low-income people. Broadening the terminology we use allows us to identify privilege and condescension of all stripes, call it out, and work to change it.
Inclusivity is, or at least should be, the goal of any group that is trying to achieve equality. That means making sure that everyone is speaking the same language, and that that language doesn’t preclude anyone from being a part of, or understanding, its use. The term ‘mansplain’ has helped us women who endure sexism in all its forms to find a singular, easy, even fun way of naming that thing. But unfortunately, what we’re experiencing can’t be wrapped up in a little one-word bow for the outside world. We’ve tried it, and if our goal is to change things, not just name them, then ‘mansplaining’ has failed. | <urn:uuid:598e5d94-fe74-488d-8433-0e85a303474c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thinkprogress.org/media/2013/03/03/1653271/viewpoint-mansplaining/?mobile=nc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947698 | 1,572 | 1.625 | 2 |
News tagged with traffic accidents
Related topics: traffic
Researchers at Queen's University Belfast have devised a 'magic bullet' nanomedicine which could become the first effective treatment for Acute Lung Injury or ALI, a condition affecting 20 per cent of all patients in intensive ...
Medical research May 15, 2013 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0
More than 270,000 pedestrians are killed on the world's roads each year, the World Health Organisation said Thursday, slamming decades of neglect in favour of vehicle transportation.
Health May 02, 2013 | not rated yet | 0
Treatment with an agent that blocks the oxidation of an important component of the mitochondrial membrane prevented the secondary damage of severe traumatic brain injury and preserved function that would otherwise have been ...
Neuroscience Aug 26, 2012 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0 |
(Medical Xpress)—For decades, no one worried much about the air quality inside people's homes unless there was secondhand smoke or radon present. Then scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence ...
Health Apr 11, 2013 | 3 / 5 (2) | 1 |
Researchers from the University of Exeter Medical School have for the first time identified the mechanism that protects us from developing uncontrollable fear.
Neuroscience Oct 05, 2012 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 3 |
(HealthDay)—More Americans now commit suicide than die in car crashes, making suicide the leading cause of injury deaths, according to a new study.
Psychology & Psychiatry Sep 20, 2012 | 5 / 5 (5) | 0 |
(HealthDay)—Elderly pedestrians face a much higher risk of being killed in a traffic accident than the young do, a new government report finds.
Health Apr 18, 2013 | not rated yet | 0
Despite efforts by law enforcement and public health officials to curb prescription drug abuse, drug-related deaths in the United States have continued to rise, the latest data show.
Medications Mar 31, 2013 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0
Not surprisingly, victims of a natural disaster can experience stress and anxiety, but a new study indicates that it might also cause them to make more errors - some serious - in their daily lives. In their upcoming Human Fa ...
Psychology & Psychiatry Feb 10, 2012 | 4.5 / 5 (2) | 0
A new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows that alcohol is now the third leading cause of the global burden of disease and injury, despite the fact most adults worldwide abstain from drinking.
Addiction Mar 04, 2013 | 5 / 5 (1) | 1
It's now unlawful to shave or use a mobile phone while driving, but reading billboards is still OK. Or is it?
Psychology & Psychiatry Feb 14, 2013 | not rated yet | 0 |
Most serious traffic accidents occur when drivers are making a left-hand turn at a busy intersection. When those drivers are also talking on a hands-free cell phone, "that could be the most dangerous thing they ever do on ...
Psychology & Psychiatry Feb 28, 2013 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0
(Medical Xpress)—Many people going into hospital have concerns about contracting the hospital acquired infection MRSA, yet the risk of acquiring - and dying from – hospital acquired venous thromboembolism (VTE) is much ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sep 03, 2012 | not rated yet | 0
Hospitalization for underage drinking is common in the United States, and it comes with a price tag -- the estimated total cost for these hospitalizations is about $755 million per year, a Mayo Clinic study has found. Researchers ...
Health Feb 15, 2012 | not rated yet | 0
New research finds over half of young adult deaths could be preventable if parents and children work together
(Medical Xpress)—About 57 percent of deaths among American teenagers and young adults are attributable to personal decisions and could be prevented, according to new risk research from Duke University. ...
Health Apr 12, 2013 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0 | <urn:uuid:22d430ce-b040-4831-a337-3cbb5d87f015> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://medicalxpress.com/tags/traffic+accidents/sort/liverank/all/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933215 | 859 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Safety Tips for You and Your Dog
- Keep your dog(s) out of streams and away from shorelines.
Dogs that consume raw/uncooked salmon and trout are at risk of infection by "Salmon Poisoning Complex." The bacteria carried by a parasitic trematode worm may cause death in infected dogs.
The disease is found in members of the salmon and trout family along the western slopes of the Sierra and Cascade mountains of California, Oregon and Washington, and can be found in ocean-going salmon as well as rainbow trout stocked in Bay Area lakes.
Dogs that consume raw/uncooked trout or salmon that carry the bacteria often develop fever, vomiting, diarrhea and enlarged lymph nodes within 5-7 days. If not treated by a veterinarian, the dog may die.
What to do:
- Do not allow your dog(s) into any stream or shoreline areas.
- Do not let your dog eat any part of raw/uncooked salmon or trout.
- If you believe your dog has consumed raw/uncooked salmon or trout, contact your veterinarian immediately.
- Choose a hike within the limits of your dog's ability.
Dogs, like people, need to be in condition for exercising. Start slow. Do not ask your dog to do too much too soon. For an older dog or a dog with arthritis, or any other medical problem, a long hike is not fun and can be dangerous. Keep in mind that dogs are sprinters by nature. They are not built for long distance running. Your awareness will play a big role in the success of your outing.
- Carry water for your dog.
Always carry water for your dog. Your dog will need a lot for summer hikes. Water from streams or ponds is not always available, and not always safe to drink. We recommend carrying a lightweight plastic container.
- Restrict exercise in the heat of the day.
Hike in the shade, where possible. Carry water for your dog. Heatstroke is a great danger to dogs during the summer, they do not eliminate heat as efficiently as humans. When air temperature is close to body temperature, cooling by rapid breathing is not effective. Dogs need cool air to exchange for warm air. If the air becomes as warm as the dog's body temperature, normally 102.5°, it will continue to rise. If it exceeds 106°, heatstroke could result causing seizures, organ damage and death. If you come across an animal who is suffering from heat exhaustion (begins with rapid, noisy breathing), lower its body temperature immediately by soaking with cool water. Then take the dog to a vet as soon as possible.
On an average 75° day, the temperature in a car can rise to a deadly 120° within half an hour. Leaving the windows open a crack or parking in the shade does little to alleviate the heat. It is against the law to leave dogs in parked cars in extreme temperature and/or without adequate ventilation.
- Check before the hike to see that your dog's nails are medium length.
Long nails will make your dog's feet hurt. Short nails interfere with traction.
- Check for and treat cracking, punctures, or sores on foot pads.
Your dog needs to have tough pads. If he lives and walks only on soft grass, he might have a problem hiking on trails that may be hard or rocky. A dog's pads should be rough and look like fine sandpaper. Worn down pads that need treatment are smooth and may have little "dots" on them. The dots are nerve and capillary (blood supply to the pad) endings.
- Check for and remove foxtails and other weeds.
Be sure to check head, neck ears, eyes, nose, mouth, genitals, and between the toes. If your dog repeatedly shakes its head, a foxtail may have entered the ear canal. Sneezing may indicate that a foxtail is in the nasal passage. Repeated licking or scratching in the same area may be due to an imbedded foxtail. If you suspect a foxtail, promptly get your dog to a veterinarian.
- Check for ticks after every hike.
Check your dog during and after each hike. Pay particular attention to the ear/neck area and the underbelly. If you find ticks crawling on your dog, remove them while wearing plastic gloves or brush them off and crush them. Try not to touch them with your bare fingers. If you find a tick imbedded in your dog, remove it with a tick removal tool without squeezing it. Ticks carry a variety of diseases that dogs can catch, including lyme disease that is carried by the Western Black-Legged Tick (Ixodes pacificus). If you wish to have a tick identified, contact the Alameda Count Vector Control at 567-6800 to see if it is a carrier of lyme disease. Save in whole and live, if possible, in a covered container, with a moist cotton ball so it does not dry out. Tick prevention measures are available for your dog. Check with your pet professional.
- Stay on the trails and out of brush.
Dogs can transmit poison oak to you. Avoid ticks, foxtails, and poison oak by staying on the trails and keeping your dog on the trails.
Download the EBRPD flyer about snakes, ticks, poison oak and other wildlife encounters.
Safety in the Parks and on the Trails> Safety tips and resources | <urn:uuid:0eb9b96b-255c-480a-b014-c98eb0e203e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ebparks.org/activities/dogs/safety | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938651 | 1,129 | 3.03125 | 3 |
By WSJ Staff
Consumer spending helped to accelerate economic activity in the third quarter but the overall U.S. recovery remains sluggish, according to Fannie Mae .
The mortgage-finance company said U.S. gross domestic product has climbed 7.2% since its low point in 2009, compared with an average growth of 16% for economic recoveries since the 1960s over the same period.
Consumer spending accounted for about 70% of GDP in the third quarter. But Fannie Mae warned that consumer and business confidence may weaken in the coming months due to the looming fiscal cliff and debt-ceiling debate, which are likely to create significant barriers to meaningful growth.
It is unclear whether Washington will avert the so-called fiscal cliff, composed of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to begin in early January. Many experts fear that failure to resolve the fiscal cliff will tip the economy back into recession by sapping consumer spending, damaging investor confidence and eating into corporate profits.
“The tone of the economic data we’ve seen during the past month has been modestly favorable, but our expectations for growth this year remain subdued,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “While the pick-up of activity in the third quarter is encouraging, it is compared to the weak pace seen in the second quarter and doesn’t portend a robust recovery in the near term.”
Recent data have also pointed to a gradually strengthening housing recovery. Both existing and new home sales posted gains in the third quarter from the second quarter, and the year-over-year home sales price rate rose 5%, the largest increase since 2006, Fannie Mae said.
The company predicts housing will contribute to GDP this year with an additional increase in 2013. However, as it currently accounts for only 2.5% of GDP, Fannie Mae said such growth isn’t likely to provide a substantial boost to the economic recovery. | <urn:uuid:8e2682bc-68d2-4608-b34f-c38aa36bbf78> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/11/21/fannie-maes-economics-expectations-remain-subdued/?mod=WSJBlog&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wsj%2Feconomics%2Ffeed+%28WSJ.com%3A+Real+Time+Economics+Blog%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958631 | 397 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Extract from ‘Shoe Obsession’ by Valerie Steele and Colleen Hill
This February, Yale University Press is publishing the lavishly illustrated Shoe Obsession by Valerie Steele and Colleen Hill. The book introduces more than 150 pairs of some of the most creative and inspiring shoe designs—with a particular focus on high-heeled shoes—over the past 12 years, from the likes of Manolo Blahnik, Pierre Hardy, Christian Louboutin and other influential designers. To coincide with the visual sneak preview on our Facebook page, here’s an extract from the informative introduction to Shoe Obsession.
Sigmund Freud famously asked, “What do women want?” For many women, the answer appears to be shoes. Of course, I am being facetious, and it would be absurd to suggest that all women just “naturally” love shoes. However, women who are interested in fashion do exhibit a particular enthusiasm for shoes, especially high heels. Men also tend to respond with almost Pavlovian ardour to the sight of a woman in high-heeled shoes. If there is a little bit of Imelda Marcos in many women, there seems to be a little bit of the shoe fetishist in many men. Shoe obsession is not a new phenomenon, but it is one that has been growing in significance since the beginning of the twenty-first century, when extraordinary designer shoes with extremely high heels became central to fashion.
Why are we obsessed with shoes? And why are shoes so important now?
Our obsession with shoes is “over-determined” (as psychiatrists would say), because the cultural significance of shoes is so multi-faceted. An intimate extension of the body, shoes convey a wealth of information about an individual’s sexuality, social status, and aesthetic sensibility. “You can judge 90% of people’s personalities by their shoes, researchers say,” trumpeted a recent headline. However, this seems to exaggerate what the researchers actually found, and it certainly blurs the definition of “personality.” After all, you don’t have multiple personality disorder, just because you have dozens of pairs of shoes! Nevertheless, shoes unquestionably have tremendous social and psychological power.
Feminists have traditionally regarded high heels, corsets, and (of course) foot-binding as profoundly disempowering for women. Yet by patronizing women as the “victims” of patriarchy and the “slaves” of fashion, they ignore the reasons that so many women chose to wear corsets or bind their daughters’ feet. Today’s fashion for high-heeled shoes is entirely optional, but it raises some of the same questions about why women choose to follow “irrational” fashions. We shall return to this issue later, but the short answer is that they see benefits and pleasures in doing so.
Consider the Cinderella story, of which there are a number of historical variants, some with a fur shoe instead of a glass slipper. In one version, the stepsisters cut off their toes and heels in a vain attempt to squeeze their feet into the tiny shoes, but are betrayed by a trail of blood. In William Klein’s satiric film, Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo? (1965), a professor explains the significance of the Cinderella story as “the value of tiny feet and beautiful shoes.” He triumphantly concludes, “So there you are: Fetishism, mutilation, pain. Fashion in a nutshell.”
From the introduction to Shoe Obsession by Valerie Steele and Colleen Hill | <urn:uuid:b6c39221-26ec-444a-bc58-15bf2168f630> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://yalebooks.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/extract-from-shoe-obsession-by-valerie-steele-and-colleen-hill/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948565 | 770 | 1.835938 | 2 |
The principle is simple: Mobility products help those with disabilities enter, exit, and, when possible, drive their vehicles. Mobility accessory-enhanced vehicles deliver more than occupants to their appointed rounds - they change people's lives. The ability for people with disabilities to independently arrive at their destinations is a big deal and has created an audience auto manufacturers haven't overlooked. More than 40,000 mobility-enhanced vehicles are sold every year, a number that's expected to grow quickly in an American buying public with an aging baby-boomer population.
According to Andrew Bayer, automotive division product manager at Bruno Independent Living Aids in Oconomowoc, Wis., notes there are 87 million Americans over age 50. "It's estimated that, by 2020, this number will skyrocket to 116 million" he says. "Today, approximately 54 million have a physical disability, with over two million using wheelchairs. The fastest-growing segment of wheelchair users is seniors who develop disabilities later in life, primarily due to arthritis. In fact, nearly half of persons aged 65 will develop arthritis, and this number is certain to grow as this segment of the population increases."
Most major automobile manufacturers now offer reimbursement programs for owners looking to add mobility products to their vehicles. Considering that mobility accessorization of a standard minivan can cost in excess of $20,000, it's easy to understand exactly why these support programs are so welcome by consumers in need.
This special section is designed not only for those with disabilities, but for families dealing with aging and family members who have disabilities. Wheelchair ramps, lifts, and hoists facilitate mobility and, in turn, help families. Hand controls and wheelchair-locking mounts assist those with disabilities to operate vehicles in a safe and manageable manner. People with disabilities once were relegated to being left behind. They now can come along as well as participate in the fun of driving these amazing vehicles.
This issue marks the second annual special "Promote Ability" Mobility Section of Motor Trend and a rededication of our relationship with the National Organization on Disability. Recognizing the importance of accessible vehicles to an active lifestyle and livable communities, the 50+ advocacy group AARP has also become a partner in this now annual section.
Awareness of mobility products has turned a corner with the general public as demand for assistance has increased. This section is dedicated to helping those members of society overcome vehicle-mobility issues and to the family members and caretakers who assist them to live better lives. | <urn:uuid:44d85c8e-b404-45f0-beff-d294c3b7e19b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.motortrend.com/womt/112_0507_mobility/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969562 | 508 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Analysis: Supreme Court decision opens door to more corporate, union cash in elections
Thurs., 01.21.10 - In a major decision rejecting its precedents and a century of history, the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to corporate funding of independent expenditures supporting the election of political candidates. The ruling could lead to huge infusions of corporate and union money into the election process.
The 5-4 decision found that a key provision of the McCain-Feingold law violated the First Amendment by barring corporations from paying for independent political ads advocating the election of a candidate. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the court: "Government may not suppress political speech on the basis of the speaker's corporate identity. No sufficient governmental interest justifies limits on the political speech of nonprofit or for-profit corporations."
While opening the door to corporate and union money for political expenditures, the court upheld a requirement that corporations publicly disclose the identity of donors.
Rejecting a 'century of history'
The court explicitly overruled a 1990 precedent and a portion of the 2003 decision that upheld the McCain-Feingold law. Kennedy wrote that the 1990 decision, Austin vs. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, had been wrong in deciding that a corporation's speech could be limited to avoid "distortion" of the political process by the infusion large amounts of corporate funds.
The main thing that has changed since the 2003 decision upholding the McCain-Feingold law is the composition of the court. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. replaced Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Alito was in today's majority permitting corporate expenditures, while O'Connor had been in the the majority of the 2003 decision. The court's newest member, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined the court's liberals in dissent.
Justice John Paul Stevens, who read from his long dissent from the bench, wrote that the court was blithely rejecting a "century of history" in coming to a ruling that "threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the nation."
Charles Burson, a Washington University law professor who has argued election law before the Supreme Court, said in an interview that the court's rationale is "pretty broad" and opens the door to corporate and union money. "This is a strong case to buttress those who think that the best way to deal with money in elections is simply disclosure."
"What is so ironic," Burson continued, "is that at a time when populism is so strong relating to large corporate interests, the court comes out and says we aren't going to buy it and we're going to open the doors to corporate money. The Massachusetts election looks like a manifestation of populism and the failure to deal with powerful banking interests, yet the court opens the door here. It is the court being out of step with the passion of the time, whether that's a good or a bad thing." Burson was chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore.
Bruce La Pierre, another Washington University law professor, has argued against campaign contribution limits in the Supreme Court. He wondered, in an email, about all of the "hand-wringing" among campaign finance supporters "about adverse effects" of the decision.
"If the foundations of our democracy are about to crumble," he wrote, "why isn't there some evidence of those problems from the 26 states that do not restrict independent expenditures by for-profit corporations?" he wrote. Kennedy noted in his decision that more than half the states already permit corporate political expenditures.
La Pierre added, "Balancing interests in unfettered political speech and government regulatory interests may be difficult in some cases, but here it would appear there is nothing on the regulatory side of the scale."
The court's decision did not disturb a century-old law prohibiting corporations from giving treasury funds directly to candidates. Nor did it disturb Buckley vs. Valeo, the post-Watergate decision that permits limits on direct campaign contributions to candidates. Thursday's decision permits, for the first time, the use of corporate money to pay for independent ads advocating the election or defeat of candidates for office.
'Hillary' and 'Mr. Smith'
The decision is Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission. Citizens United is a nonprofit corporation that funded a 90-minute "documentary" called "Hillary: The Movie" that attacked Hillary Clinton. The conservative group sought to distribute the movie on cable as video-on-demand and wanted to promote it with broadcast ads during the period leading up to the primary elections for president. The lower courts ruled that the movie and the ads would violate the McCain-Feingold law because they were illegal electioneering communications paid for by corporate funds.
Kennedy analogized the Hillary movie to the classic Jimmy Stewart film, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." People in Washington were upset by that film too, he recalled. If Congress can bar the Hillary movie it could bar the fictional film because it was made by a corporation and was critical of members of Congress.
One aspect of the decision that will be closely scrutinized is the ease with which the majority finessed decades of precedent. Stevens, in his dissent, wrote that Kennedy had pieced together dissenting opinions from previous decisions as he "blazes through our precedents, overruling or disavowing a body of case law" that included five precedents.
There was a striking difference between Kennedy's relatively brief discussion of stare decisis -- adherence to precedent -- and the detailed discussion of the same issue in the 1992 Casey decision that reaffirmed constitutional protection for a woman's right to choose an abortion. Roger Goldman, a professor at Saint Louis University law school, pointed out that Justice David H. Souter wrote Casey's detailed analysis of precedent. Souter no longer is on the court. (Kennedy joined Casey but wrote a different portion of it.)
Even though Kennedy does not explicitly call into question Buckley's ruling in favor of campaign contribution limits, some legal scholars wondered whether Buckley's distinction between contributions and expenditures could withstand the Hillary decision.
La Pierre put it this way: "The line between independent expenditures and contributions is, to say the least, very thin. When a Republican runs to replace (Sen. Christopher S.) Bond, any corporation or individual can figure out the Democratic candidate's line of attack and jump on board with a me-too campaign without ever sitting down with the Democratic candidate or his/her committee. Independent expenditures may be a problem for a candidate if the ads are way over the top, but for the most part independent expenditures tend to track the candidate's line."
In the Hillary case, Kennedy said that the McCain-Feingold law censored important political and campaign speech. He gave these examples, which demonstrate that both liberal and conservative speech could be censored.
"The following acts all would be felonies," he wrote. "The Sierra Club runs an ad, within the crucial phase of 60 days before the general election, that exhorts the public to disapprove of a congressman who favors logging in national forests; the National Rifle Association publishes a book urging the public to vote for the challenger because the incumbent U.S. senator supports a handgun ban; and the American Civil Liberties Union creates a website telling the public to vote for a presidential candidate in light of that candidate's defense of free speech. These prohibitions are classic examples of censorship."
The forces arguing in favor of permitting corporate contributions included political opposites, including Floyd Abrams, the well-known First Amendment lawyer as well as the NRA.
Kennedy and Stevens disagreed as to whether the law had actually barred corporations from supporting the election of political candidates. Stevens said that corporations simply had to set up political action committees, PACs, to make contributions. But Kennedy said that a corporation's PAC is different from the corporation, so the corporation itself is barred from making a contribution. "The law before us is an outright ban, backed by criminal sanctions," he wrote.
Kennedy also pointed out that PACs were expensive and burdensome to administer, which is why there are only about 2,000 PACs even though there are millions of corporations.
Kennedy argued that it is impossible to distinguish the free speech rights of media corporations from other corporations. If Congress can prohibit the use of corporate funds for political expenditures by Exxon, it could prohibit endorsement editorials by newspapers, such as the New York Times.
"All speakers, including individuals and the media, use money amassed from the economic marketplace to fund their speech," he wrote. "The First Amendment protects the resulting speech, even if it was enabled by economic transactions."
is all corporate speech equal?
The media revolution makes it even more futile to try to distinguish media corporations from other corporations, Kennedy argued. "With the advent of the internet and the decline of print and broadcast media...the line between the media and others who wish to comment on political and social issues becomes far more blurred," he wrote.
Kennedy rejected the governmental interests advanced in support of the law. He said that use of corporate funds to support independent political expenditures did not create an "appearance of corruption," as the government claimed. Because there is no coordination between the corporation and the candidate, there is no appearance of a quid pro quo. Nor does it appear that that independent corporate expenditures ingratiate the corporation to the candidate, he wrote.
The court noted that there was no evidence in the record of an independent corporate contribution creating a quid pro quo.
The court left for another day the question of whether Congress can ban the use of corporate contributions by foreign corporations.
A different alignment of justices upheld the requirement that corporations publicly disclose their donors. The liberals joined Kennedy on this point, but Justice Clarence Thomas dissented. Kennedy wrote that "disclosure permits citizens and shareholders to react to the speech of corporate entities in a proper way. This transparency enables the electorate to make informed decisions and give proper weight to different speakers and messages."
Stevens, in a 90-page dissent, argued that the Founding Fathers never intended to protect corporate speech, an argument that Justice Antonin Scalia spend some pages trying to rebut.
Stevens also disagreed with the court's willingness to see corporations as equivalent to people. "In the context of election to public office, the distinction between corporate and human speakers is significant," he wrote. "Although they make enormous contributions to our society, corporations are not actually members of it. They cannot vote or run for office. Because they may be managed and controlled by nonresidents, their interests may conflict in fundamental respects with the interests of eligible voters. The financial resources, legal structure, and instrumental orientation of corporations raise legitimate concerns about their role in the electoral process." | <urn:uuid:16b36902-9d19-4165-9d28-6b9147fcaac7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stlbeacon.org/?_escaped_fragment_=/content/19761/analysis_supreme_court_decision_opens_door_to_more_corporate_union_cash_in_elections_ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959225 | 2,173 | 1.703125 | 2 |
The president of the Central African Republic asked Thursday for help from other nations to stave off rebel advances that threaten his rule.
The former French colony asked France and the United States to help ensure "the rebels return home...instead of destroying and killing Central Africans," President Francois Bozize said.
"Fellow citizens, the time has come," Bozize said. The rebels "want to steal our country and we want to do (something) about it."
Amid indications that the rebels may try to take the capital, Bangui, the United Nations began relocating dependents and nonessential staff.
The U.S. Embassy in Bangui suspended operations Friday "as a result of the deteriorating security situation," the State Department said in a statement. "U.S. citizens who have decided to stay in CAR should review their personal security situation and seriously consider departing, taking advantage of commercial flights," it said.
Attacks on several cities by the coalition of rebel groups known as "Seleka" undermine peace agreements in the Central African Republic; rebels say they are fighting because the government has broken promises.
The rebels were located about 190 miles from Bangui; no new attacks had been reported since Wednesday, diplomatic adviser Honore Nzessiwe said Thursday.
The Central African Republic government is seeking negotiations with the rebels in Libreville, Gabon, he said. In the meantime, troops from the Central African Multinational Forces were expected to arrive to bolster security in the capital, he said.
Bozize directed his call for help to France, saying "the French are our cousins. They should fix what is happening."
France has a permanent presence of 200 to 300 military personnel at Bangui's airport under the mandate of the Economic Community of Central African States.
But French President Francois Hollande said Thursday that the troops are not intended to "protect a regime" against the advance of the rebels, but instead French nationals and interests.
France will "in no way to interfere in the internal affairs of a country, in this case, CAR," Hollande said, adding: "That time is over."
Asked about a possible intervention in favor of displaced persons or refugees, the French president said that his country could not "intervene unless there is a U.N. mandate," and noted that "this is not the case."
"But in general, we are always for civilians to be protected and preserved, and we will do our duty again," he said.
Bozize spoke Thursday with the French foreign minister about the crisis.
The French asked the Central African Republic leader to protect foreign nationals in his country. A day earlier, hundreds of protesters massed outside the French Embassy and called for intervention in Bangui; people threw stones and pipes at the building.
On Thursday, protesters gathered in front of a U.N. building in the capital.
That was where Bozize made his remarks asking for foreign help, said Margaret Vogt, special representative of the U.N. secretary-general.
The president "addressed the crowd telling them he is ready for a dialogue," she said.
The desire for negotiation was reiterated in a statement released on behalf of Bozize by the Central African Republic Foreign Ministry. It said Bozize has no intention to tinker with the constitution in order to remain in power, and wants to work within the framework of the document to negotiate a solution. | <urn:uuid:c83b0921-5dad-43ed-984d-83c93e97a07e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news4jax.com/news/CAR-president-seeks-help-against-rebels/-/475880/17915362/-/item/0/-/2520ijz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972666 | 707 | 1.570313 | 2 |
|Create storage to stay organized. If you
avoid putting away an item because you don't know where to put it,
think about other similar items you might have and store them all
|Keep a bag or bin with handles in your car.
It makes it easier to transport items back and forth between you home
|Keep track of all the money you spend today and
You'll find yourself spending less.|
|Write down all voice mail messages as you receive
them. use your master list of a phone log. Saving messages
and listening to them again later only wastes time.|
|Avoid procrastination by using the "five minute
rule." Tell yourself you only have to do a certain
task for five
the hardest part is getting started.|
|Take ten minutes at the end of each day to pick up
your home and office. You'll feel less frustrated the
|Make two extra sets of keys this week. Place
them on a hook by the door. You'll never again be |
you're searching for lost keys.
|Clutter gives you a bad image. Take one step
each day to
reduce the clutter in your life. Using a basket,
your home or office and pick up
ten items that belong
elsewhere. Put them away.|
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|Use a pill sorter to keep track of daily
medications. Available at most pharmacies, they're real
time-savers. Because they are labeled by day, you'll always
if you've taken your meds.
|Control financial clutter by
keeping all your
financial information together in a file
cabinet or portable file box.
Collect banking accounts, investments, wills, credit card accounts and
|Organize your purse and
briefcase by using small
make-up or plastic storage bags. Separate health care items,
make-up, office supplies and financial items.|
|Keep a small "directions
notebook" in your car.
down the directions to friends' homes, doctors' offices,
business appointments, etc.|
|Organize your cleaning supplies. Make it an
easier chore. First, gather all of them. Then, get rid |
anything you don't use. If you have a two story home, keep
supplies on each level to save
|Try plastic drawer units on
casters for extra
storage at home or at the office. They can hold toys, kitchen
items and office supplies.|
|Use your file folders. Whenever you start
a project at home or work, make a file folder for it. Get organized
from the start.| | <urn:uuid:f70e116f-d5b5-4e61-9dc7-96bbd077af00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ineedmoretime.com/organizing_tips.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9045 | 706 | 1.859375 | 2 |
You might recognize prominent primatologist Frans de Waal from lectures he has given about his research on primate behavior, which have been popularized on YouTube.
His face is familiar to chimpanzees, too; some chimps that he knew as babies still recognize him even after decades apart, he said.
"Chimpanzees have the advantage that you cannot ask them questions, so you have to watch (their) behavior to see what they do," says de Waal, director of Emory University's Living Links Center, in his Dutch-accented voice that is both gentle and authoritative.
He adds, with dry humor: "With humans, you can ask questions and you get all sorts of answers I don't trust, so I prefer to work with chimpanzees for that reason."
Living Links is part of the oldest and largest primate center in the United States: The Yerkes National Primate Research Center, a secluded grassy area in suburban Atlanta where humans work in office trailers and other animals play in open-air compounds.
De Waal, who has been at the center for more than 20 years, has made a career out of finding links between primate and human behavior, particularly in the areas of morality and empathy.
You might think of "morality" as special for humans, but there are elements of it that are found in the animal kingdom, says de Waal -- namely, fairness and reciprocity. His latest study, published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that chimpanzees may show some of the same sensibility about fairness that humans do.
The popular belief that the natural world is based on competition is a simplification, de Waal says. The strength of one's immune system, and the ability to find food, are also crucial. And many animals survive by cooperating.
"The struggle for life is not necessarily literally a struggle," he said. "Humans are a highly cooperative species, and we can see in our close relatives where that comes from."
Mammals such as wolves, orcas and elephants need their groups to survive, and empathy and cooperation are survival mechanisms. De Waal discusses these mechanisms in his 2009 book "The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society."
"We think that empathy evolved to take care of others that you need to take care of, especially, of course, between mother and offspring, which is universal in all the mammals," de Waal said.
What it means to be fair
De Waal isn't sure that his monkeys have what a philosopher would call a "concept of justice" in an intellectual sense. But the emotional reactions researchers have observed indicates that there is, at a more basic level, a sense of justice among them.
Among the questions he investigates: If an animal gets more than another, is there is a feeling that this is somehow unjust? And if one shares food with another, is there an expectation of returning the favor?
In a 2008 study, de Waal and colleagues put two capuchin monkeys side by side and gave them a simple task to complete: Giving a rock to the experimenter. They were given cucumbers as a reward for executing the task, and the monkeys obliged. But if one of the monkeys was given grapes, something interesting happened:
As observed in a popular video that de Waal showed in his TED talk, after receiving the first piece of cucumber, the capuchin monkey gives the experimenter a rock as expected. But upon seeing that the other monkey has grapes, the capuchin monkey throws the next piece of cucumber that it is given back at the researcher.
Like children, the monkeys feel they "need to get the same thing as somebody else," de Waal said.
Based on experiments such as these, de Waal came to believe that the sense of fairness observed in monkeys is egocentric. The capuchin monkeys were upset, selfishly, when they didn't get the grapes that their neighbors received. De Waal believed this model of fairness would apply to chimpanzees also. Chimpanzees are so closely related to us that they share 99% of their DNA with humans.
But the new study, which compares chimpanzees to young children, makes de Waal rethink that view.
"Now with this experiment, we are thinking that they have a higher level, where they worry about reward division in general," he said, "and it's now unclear how they differ from humans."
The new study: A human sense of fairness?
In the new study, de Waal and colleagues had chimpanzees and, separately, young children, play an "ultimatum game." This is "the gold standard of fairness for humans" because it has been played all over the world, by people in different cultures, to show that, universally, humans appear to have a sense of fairness.
The basic structure of an ultimatum game is that there are rewards that can be divided between two individuals. One proposes how to divide them and the other accepts or rejects this offer. If the receiver rejects, no rewards are given out.
Human trials have shown that people usually propose a generous division of the goodies, such as half and half or 60% and 40%, de Waal said.
In the version used in the new experiment, six adult chimpanzees and 20 human children, between ages 2 and 7, participated. | <urn:uuid:fcc2d9ca-f5f4-43ca-92e0-ca0d80015344> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.channel3000.com/health/Morality-It-s-not-just-for-humans/-/1652/18199024/-/8wybcez/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969137 | 1,107 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Update, Nov. 1, 2012:
The Maryland State Department of Education’s Traumatic Brain Injury/Sports Related Concussion Task Force's public hearing on traumatic brain injuries and concussions among interscholastic athletes in Maryland public schools has been rescheduled, the State Department of Education announced Wednesday.
The hearing will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Nov. 5 in the state school board meeting room at 200 W. Baltimore St., in Baltimore.Advance registration is required to testify. Call Sharon Komornik at 410-767-0555 by the close of business on Friday, Nov. 2 to register. Speakers will have three minutes will be allotted for oral comments.
The rescheduling of the hearing, which was originally set for Monday, Oct. 29, is due to Hurricane Sandy.
Original post, Oct. 17, 2012:
As football season brings the dangers of head injuries into sharper focus, the Maryland State Department of Education announced plans Tuesday to hold a public hearing on traumatic brain injuries and concussions among interscholastic athletes in Maryland public schools.
The Maryland State Department of Education’s Traumatic Brain Injury/Sports Related Concussion Task Force will hold the hearing from 1 to 3 p.m. on Oct. 29 in the state school board meeting room at 200 W. Baltimore St., in Baltimore.
Hearing topics may include:
- Best practices for recognizing concussion signs and symptoms.
- Removal and return to play.
- Parent, coach and student awareness.
- Protective equipment.
- Prevention strategies.
Advance registration is required to testify. Call Sharon Komornik at 410-767-0555 by the close of business on Oct. 25 to register. Speakers will have three minutes will be allotted for oral comments.
Written comments of any length may be submitted by email to email@example.com or to MPSSAA, 200 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.
The task force has been meeting since August and will issue a report with recommendations to the State Board of Education in late January, said Ned Sparks, executive director of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association.
The hearing is a way to allow “parities that we were not able to accommodate on the task force to provide information that might be pertinent to the issue …,” Sparks said. “We want to make sure we at least air out everything and make the report as comprehensive as possible.”
The Maryland General Assembly passed legislation in 2011 requiring the state Department of Education to collaborate with the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, local school boards and experts to develop a program to raise concussion awareness among coaches, school personnel, students and parents. The legislation also requires that a student athlete suspected of suffering a head injury be removed from play “until he or she has obtained written clearance from a licensed health care professional trained in the evaluation and management of concussions.”
Following the enactment of the law, the state Department of Education and MPSSAA issued guidelines for implementing concussion awareness programs.
Still, some parents don’t think schools are doing enough to raise awareness about the dangers of head injuries in contact sports.
Kristen Sheely, of Germantown, founded the Derek Sheely Foundation in memory of her son, who died after suffering a head injury during a football practice at Frostburg State University in 2011. Sheely is pressing the state for changes to protect student-athletes.
Montgomery County Public Schools announced last month that it is considering a baseline-testing program for all student-athletes, Patch reported. The program would be used to identify when athletes have suffered a concussion and to determine when they can safely return to play. | <urn:uuid:c7c2a11f-b3f6-4fb8-b45b-1204b9ef47a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bethesda-chevychase.patch.com/articles/state-task-force-to-hold-hearing-on-sports-related-concussions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94306 | 783 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Captain Charlie Plumb graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis and went on to fly the F-4 Phantom jet on 74 successful combat missions over North Vietnam. On his 75th mission, with only five days before he was to return home, Plumb was shot down, captured, tortured, and imprisoned in an 8 foot x 8 foot cell. He spent the next 2,103 days as a Prisoner Of War in communist prison camps.
During his nearly six years of captivity, Charlie Plumb distinguished himself among his fellow prisoners as a professional in underground communications, and served for two of those years as the Chaplain in his camp.
Since his return home, more than 4,000 audiences in nearly every industry have been spellbound as Captain Charlie Plumb draws parallels between his P.O.W. experience and the challenges of everyday life. He has shared his message to an even wider public through appearances on Good Morning America, Nightline, Larry King Live, and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
One of the most sought-after achievement speakers of his time, Charlie Plumbs presentations are as he...
No audio reviews yet. | <urn:uuid:e35ef5cc-3ecf-48b8-b42e-1bf526bce70a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://premierespeakers.com/charles_plumb | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979437 | 233 | 1.546875 | 2 |
NYTimes Report: Millions in U.S. Drink Contaminated Water
According to a new report from the New York Times, more than 20% of the nation's water treatment systems have violated key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act over the last five years.
The Act requires communities to deliver safe tap water to local residents. But apparently since 2004, the water provided to more than 49 million people has contained illegal concentrations of chemicals like arsenic or radioactive substances like uranium, as well as dangerous bacteria often found in sewage!
Regulators were informed of each of those violations, but records show that astonishingly fewer than 6% of the systems that broke the law were ever fined or punished by state or federal officials.
According to E.P.A. data, in some areas, the amount of chemicals detected in drinking water was 2,000% higher than the legal limit. The E.P.A. administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, has announced a complete overhaul of enforcement of the Clean Water Act, which regulates pollution into waterways.
Click here for more info. | <urn:uuid:f338741f-bb6d-41c1-a931-4ecda75dcf04> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://liveearth.org/es/liveearthblog/nytimes-report-millions-in-us-drink-contaminated-water | 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 | 0.966798 | 219 | 2.78125 | 3 |
What is shigellosis?
Comment on this
Shigellosis is an infectious disease caused by a group of bacteria called Shigella. Most who are infected with Shigella develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps starting a day or two after they are exposed to the bacteria. The diarrhea is often bloody. Shigellosis usually resolves in 5 to 7 days. Persons with shigellosis in the United States rarely require hospitalization. A severe infection with high fever may be associated with seizures in children less than 2 years old. Some persons who are infected may have no symptoms at all, but may still pass the Shigella bacteria to others.
What sort of germ is Shigella?
The Shigella germ is actually a family of bacteria that can cause diarrhea in humans. They are microscopic living creatures that pass from person to person. Shigella were discovered over 100 years ago by a Japanese scientist named Shiga, for whom they are named. There are several different kinds of Shigella bacteria: Shigella sonnei, also known as "Group D" Shigella, accounts for over two-thirds of shigellosis in the United States. Shigella flexneri, or "group B" Shigella, accounts for almost all the rest. Other types of Shigella are rare in this country, though they continue to be important causes of disease in the developing world. One type found in the developing world, Shigella dysenteriae type 1, can cause deadly epidemics.
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Shigella - Experience Question: Please describe your experience with a Shigella infection.
Shigella - Diagnosis Question: Describe the events that led to a diagnosis of a Shigella infection.
Shigella - Treatment Question: What kinds of treatment or medication did you receive for your Shigella infection?
Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox FREE! | <urn:uuid:39acdd43-119f-45f4-bb70-a7086c420206> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medicinenet.com/shigella_infection/article.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950533 | 408 | 3.453125 | 3 |
GRIFFIN, Ga. -- Giant machines are tearing down the old bleachery, another reminder to Chuck Smith that this old mill town doesn't make much anymore.
Just about everyone he knows was employed at one point making, folding or bleaching towels, until the mills started to close down in the 1990s and 2000s and family members lost their jobs. Like most of this town's residents, Smith can name all the old mills in a slow Georgia drawl.
"There was the Thomaston mill that was here, and the Dundee mill, and the Highland mill, but they tore that one down just like they did this one," he said, watching a bulldozer push piles of metal around what used to be a factory for bleaching towels. "These mills used to employ all the people in this city."
Recently, the town had a reason to be optimistic. Retail behemoth Wal-Mart announced that it will spend an additional $50 billion buying U.S.-made goods over the next 10 years. It cited 1888 Mills, which runs the last mill left in Griffin, as one company that would benefit from this pledge.
Wal-Mart will sell 1888's Made Here towels, manufactured in Georgia, in 600 stores this spring and in another 600 later this year, which enables the company to add manufacturing jobs.
The retailer's effort will help businesses and "give them the nudge they need" to bring manufacturing back to the United States, Wal-Mart U.S. Chief Executive Bill Simon said in announcing the initiative. It's part of a much-heralded
But if Griffin is any example, Wal-Mart's much-lauded pledge isn't likely to do much to turn around a decades-long manufacturing decline here or in the rest of the country.
That's because manufacturing has changed dramatically since it left American shores, replacing workers with machines and reducing the number of jobs that people could get right out of high school. And as much as companies pledge they're moving manufacturing back to the United States, they're mostly moving just small parts of their larger global operations, to be closer to U.S. markets.
"People talk about manufacturing being a big source of job growth. It's going to grow, but it's not going to be a big source of total employment," said Tom Runiewicz, principal for the industry practices group at IHS Global Insight. "It's just a drop in the bucket."
1888 Mills, for instance, will add just 35 jobs because of the initiative -- better than nothing, but a pittance in a town of 23,000. The company will still make 90 percent of its goods in overseas factories.
"We don't envision the entire industry going back to the United States -- low-cost Asian manufacturing will still be the base for volume," said Jonathan Simon, the CEO of 1888 Mills. "But for just-in-time service, U.S. manufacturing does make sense."
Some 400 miles away, in North Carolina, computer giant Lenovo is doing the same thing. In October the company announced plans to open a manufacturing plant in North Carolina to make specialty personal computers for the U.S. market. The initiative will create 115 jobs, 15 of which are engineering positions. But the company also is expanding research centers in Japan and China.
"It's a relatively small-volume facility. It's not going to produce millions of units," said Mark Stanton, Lenovo's director of supply chain communications.
The United States lost 6.3 million manufacturing jobs between January 1990 and the industry's low point in January 2010, a 36 percent decline, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since that low point, the industry has added nearly 500,000 jobs, an impressive number, but one that barely begins to offset the millions of losses.
A walk through the spacious 1888 factory in Griffin shows why job gains have been slow, despite some onshoring. Machines spin threads of cotton into yarn, a process once done by hand; they weave the yarn into thick rolls of fabric, cut the fabric into towels and sew the hems. Where a whole factory was once needed to bleach and color the towels, a Rube Goldberg-like machine does that work with minimal labor; another machine dries the towels.
"It's all automated," Douglas Tingle, founder of 1888 Mills, said on a tour of the factory. "Some of this is the latest technology advancements."
That automation is part of the reason that although labor costs are higher in the United States than in other countries, it can make sense to make towels and other products here. But there are other reasons as well. If 1888 needs to make changes to towels, it can get the finished product to Wal-Mart more quickly from Griffin than it could from China. The rising price of oil is increasing shipping costs, and again could provide some cost savings for locally manufactured products.
"One of the things you might see if production coming back here, but not with as many jobs as used to be the case," said Jared Bernstein, a senior fellow for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and former chief economist for Vice President Joe Biden. | <urn:uuid:b246f072-be41-492c-8050-87fcdd4cc4dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_22747376/u-s-factory-work-is-returning-but-industry | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968313 | 1,058 | 1.8125 | 2 |
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“I am in love with the More Like This features you have added…this makes narrowing down a search so much fun… and easy!” | <urn:uuid:ed428dc0-7f42-4f71-940f-2e40dde0ceda> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oclc.org/en-AU/firstsearch/content/worldcat.html | 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 | 0.905501 | 443 | 2 | 2 |
You cloth diaper your baby, use reusable products throughout your house, and you’ve tried to create a more sustainable lifestyle for your children. They will begin to make their own choices at some point. When you’ve directly modeled an action and they understand how easy it is (like washing kitchen towels), or when it just doesn’t occur to them that there is another way to live (like cooking meals from scratch), they will probably follow your choices to a great extent.
What will happen when they don’t have a direct model, though? What will happen when they don’t want to talk about their choices? What will happen when reusable products make your child stand out among peers?
What will happen when your daughter reaches menarche (her first period)?
For those who think this is far, far in the future, if your little girl is six years old and you find yourself surprised by that, just know that twelve will sneak up just as fast. It helps to think through now what you will do to help your daughter become familiar with her body and her options for menstrual products.
Creating familiarity was my strategy. My daughter (and everyone else in my house) knows that I use cloth pads. It’s just part of our life and not hidden or whispered about. Some of us grew up in households where the natural functioning of our bodies was not a welcome topic. If that was the case with the family you grew up in, you have the power to change that with your growing family. If your daughter is comfortable asking you questions about your period, she will be more comfortable asking you about her own period.
My daughter is generally quite private. Despite my efforts to be the radically open parent (or maybe even because of them), my daughter hated talking about puberty. I persisted, but I wasn’t annoying. I tried to keep the door open and knock on that door occasionally as I could see that puberty was coming. She did ask questions, though, and I answered her questions as she asked them, so I knew it was working just to be available.
I told my daughter how we handled potty training. When she was a toddler, I showed her where there were underwear in her drawer in addition to diapers and explained how underwear work. One day, she told me she planned to wear the underwear all day, and she did. That was it. Potty trained.
When she was about twelve years old, we did the same with cloth pads.
I have a lot of cloth scraps in a rainbow of colors. My daughter chose a time when we were alone, and together we drew the shape of a basic cloth pad that snaps around the underwear with an extra layer in the center. We cut out half a dozen and sewed them. Then, she stuffed them into the back of a drawer so her brother would never see them.
For a long time, that was it. I occasionally knocked on the door and talked to her about changes, but I didn’t push too much. When the time came, she just used the pads on her own. By making sure that she had access to what she needed, I tried to be sure that she could be as private as she wanted to be.
That was not it with cloth pads, though.
Be Open to Options
My daughter is a dancer. She spends a lot of time in leotards and tights. The cloth pads were uncomfortable for her, but also she hated how bulky they were. “Please just let me use tampons,” she said. I asked her to trust me that we could find a way to use reusables, and she did.
We kept looking for better options. We did the research together. She was completely unwilling to use a menstrual cup, but she decided to try natural sponges. These actually worked really well, but she still needed some kind of pad, so she finally tried Lunapanties. These start with the same long oval as the Lunapads that snap around your underwear. Rather than being held in place on a pad with rickrack, though, they are held in place on underwear by tucking the pad under elastic. No extra bulk snapped around the underwear.
I tell you what my daughter chose not because it is the solution for every girl but because it was the solution that finally helped my daughter embrace reusable menstrual products. I adore Lunapads because they helped my daughter relax and stop worrying about accidents. My daughter washes her own sponges and puts her pads in the same bucket with mine for wash. She’s less sensitive about her brother knowing now. She’s comfortable talking with friends about what she uses. And, she’s committed to reusables.
In the end, what menstrual products my daughter would use was not my choice. I certainly tried to influence her choice, but I recognized that she would do whatever she wanted to do, so I tried to keep the pressure off and the conversation open. My low-level persistence in talking about it and my openness to hearing and trying to understand what wasn’t working for her paid off.
My advice to you cloth diapering mothers who think this choice is far in your future is to start now with the openness. You don’t need to talk about periods or cloth pads necessarily. Just learn how to hear what your daughter needs and answer her questions. Create a pattern of discussion as a foundation for later. If you can see that puberty is coming, inform yourself about the full range of options for reusable menstrual products and talk to your daughter about those options. I’ve known girls who loved choosing their own fabrics for pretty pads, but my daughter is far less interested in pretty. Figure out what is important not to teen girls in general but to your daughter specifically. Tell her why it is important to you that she choose a sustainable option, and she’ll probably be willing to follow your lead.
Image Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net | <urn:uuid:606e0756-981e-4450-a4e1-7eb1f0d88774> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ecobabysteps.com/category/eco-baby-steps/page/2/ | 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 | 0.983839 | 1,243 | 1.828125 | 2 |
British Prime Minister David Cameron hosted Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan's President Asif Zardari for trilateral talks on Afghanistan's floundering peace and reconciliation process.
Attempts at peace have faltered even as international forces prepare to withdraw from the country in 2014. Karzai is attempting to draw the Taliban back to negotiations toward a deal between the government and the insurgency.
As part of the effort, the three leaders agreed to open an office in Qatar's capital for negotiations, believing that the Taliban are softening their hardline stance against discussions.
The leaders set out a six month timeline for peace and committed themselves to "take all necessary measures to achieve the goal," a statement from Cameron's office said following the talks.
The meeting was the third in a series of trilateral meetings convened by Cameron.
Earlier, Karzai said in an interview with the U.K.'s Guardian and ITV News that security in the southern Helmand province was better before the arrival of British troops, saying it's possible western forces are being drawn down in Afghanistan because international leaders realized "they were fighting in the wrong place" and that he expects fighting to diminish once NATO forces withdraw.
Karzai said Helmand province—where the U.S-led coalition has lost more soldiers than anywhere else—was more peaceful before British troops arrived in 2006, but that he didn't want to lay blame.
"Whatever happened was the past, and now we are looking forward to the future," he said.
Karzai said the greatest threat to his country's prospects is foreign meddling, but that he was more optimistic than a year ago that behind-the-scenes discussions between his government and the Taliban would prove fruitful, as relations with Pakistan improved.
Karzai, Zardari and Cameron "affirmed that they supported the opening of an office in Doha for the purpose of negotiations between the Taliban and the High Peace Council of Afghanistan as part of an Afghan led peace process," it said in a statement.
The Afghan government has previously expressed support for the opening of an office in Qatar—but only if the Taliban publicly say they will use it to talk solely with the Afghan High Peace Council, which is responsible for talks with the Taliban insurgency.
So far, the Taliban have resisted, although officials close to the Afghan president say privately that they appear to be opening up to the possibility.
Cameron, the Afghan president and Zardari were joined by foreign ministers, defense and intelligence officials for their meeting Monday at the British prime minister's country residence, Chequers.
The Afghan and Pakistani Chiefs of Defense Staff and Intelligence agreed on ways to strengthen cooperation, the statement said. It did not detail the "concrete" measures agreed upon.
Cameron initiated the meetings last year. | <urn:uuid:8bf1afe3-531f-4d01-852c-91fb9c11d477> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yorkdispatch.com/nation/ci_22514667/karzai-helmand-was-safer-before-uk-troops-arrived | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971678 | 567 | 1.757813 | 2 |
People & Places eNewsletter for March
In this month’s People & Places we start off with a celebration of the life and work of Stephen Hawking. The darker side of history is explored in “Who Killed Walter Raleigh” and “The Great Big Book of Horrible Things”, while we finish with a mix of New Zealand biography, photography and travel.
- Bite off some law for lunch at the Central Library!
- We’ve added over 23,000 copyright-free public domain eBook titles!
It’s mostly men this month – biographies included are about the great and famous Napoleon, the most renowned scientist of our time,Stephen Hawking, the beloved creator of the Jeeves novels, P.G. Wodehouse and the refreshingly different mayor of London, Boris Johnson. David Hockney needs no introduction – this new study of his life an work has been widely praised. Brian Sewell the noted British art critic and media personality, is less well-known here, but has an interesting tale to tell.
Stephen Hawking : his life and work : the story and science of one of the most extraordinary, celebrated, and courageous figures of our time / Kitty Ferguson.
“This is the story of one of the most remarkable figures of our time – Professor Stephen Hawking, the Cambridge genius who has earned an international reputation as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein. This is not quite a biography; it is more the story of one man’s quest to find the ‘Theory of Everything’. Stephen Hawking’s life and work have produced a multitude of amazing paradoxes: beginnings may be endings, two great scientific theories taken together may seem to give us nonsense, empty space isn’t empty, and black holes aren’t black. Cruel circumstances can lead to happiness, and fame and success may not. A man whose appearance inspires shock and pity takes us to where the boundaries of space and time ought to be – but are not.”(Abridged summary from globalbooksinprint.com).
Hockney : the biography. Volume 1, 1937-1975 / “Christopher Simon Sykes.
“In this astounding first volume of his authorised biography Christopher Sykes explores the fascinating world of the most popular living artist in the world today. David Hockney’s career has spanned and epitomised the art movements of the last five decades; His story is one of precocious achievement at Bradford Art College, the Swinging 60s in London where he befriended many of the iconic cultural figures of the generation, to California and the cool of the swimming pool series of paintings, through the acclaimed set designs for countless operas around the world and major retrospective exhibitions.”(Wellington City Libraries catalogue note).
Catherine the Great : portrait of a woman / Robert K. Massie.
“Massie returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography–the extraordinary story of an obscure young German princess who traveled to Russia at 14 and rose to become one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history. History offers few stories richer in drama than that of Catherine the Great. In this book, this eternally fascinating woman is returned to life.” (Syndetics summary)
Just Boris : the irresistible rise of a political celebrity / Sonia Purnell.
“A major and controversial new biography of one of the most compelling and contradictory figures in modern British life.Born Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, to most of us he is just ‘Boris’ – the only politician of the age to be regarded in such familiar, even affectionate terms. Uniquely, he combines comedy with erudition, gimlet-eyed focus with jokey self-deprecation, and is a loving family man with a roving eye. He is also a hugely ambitious figure with seemingly no huge ambitions to pursue – other than, perhaps, power itself. In this revealing biography, written from the vantage point of a once close colleague, Sonia Purnell examines how a shy, young boy from a broken home became our only box-office politician – and most unlikely sex god.”(Abridged summary from globalbooksinprint.com)
Napoleon / Alan Forrest.
“On a cold December day in 1840 Parisians turned out in force to watch as the body of Napoleon was solemnly carried on a riverboat from Courbevoie on its final journey to the Invalides. The return of their long-dead Emperor’s corpse from the Island of St Helena was a moment that Paris had eagerly awaited, though many feared that the memories stirred would serve to further destabilize a country that had struggled for order and direction since he had been sent into exile. In this book, Alan Forrest, tells the remarkable story of how the son of a Corsican attorney became the most powerful man in Europe, a man whose charisma and legacy endured after his lonely death many thousands of miles from the country whose fate had become so entwined with his own.”(Abridged summary from globalbooksinprint.com).
The secret life of Barack Hussein Obama / Mondo Frazier.
“Mondo Frazier divulges the little-known details of Obama’s past that the public is dying to know in The Secret Life of Barack Hussein Obama.“(Summary from globalbooksimprint.com).
A life in letters / P.G. Wodehouse ; edited by Sophie Ratcliffe.
“This is the definitive edition of PG Wodehouse’s letters, edited with a commentary by Oxford academic Sophie Ratcliffe. The funniest and most-adored writer of the 20th century, PG Wodehouse always shied away from the idea of a biography – a retiring sort of chap, it was through the written word that he expressed himself. Includes previously unpublished correspondence, such as that relating to the infamous pro-Nazi propaganda”(Wellington City libraries catalogue note).
The perfect Nazi : uncovering my grandfather’s secret past / Martin Davidson.
“Using the skills he honed as a documentary producer for the BBC, Davidson explores the truth behind his family’s dark secret–his grandfather was a Nazi SS officer.” (Syndetics summary)
In this month’s pick on new history books you’ll find ‘The Twitter Year’, a look at 2011 through the medium of social media. Ever wondered where your name comes from and how it relates to your family history? Take a peek at ‘Surnames, DNA, and Family History’. Enjoy!
The Twitter year : 365 days in 140 characters / compiled by Kate Bussmann.
“The first ever social-media almanac presents 12 months as witnessed by the 100-million-strong tweeting community. It captures a dramatic year in news, culture and sport, from the death of Osama Bin laden to the Royal Wedding – all told through tweets, graphics and fascinating facts. Distilling from the 230 million tweets that are now sent each day, this is history through a lens.” (Library Catalogue)
In the year the social network celebrates its 5th birthday, Twitter continues to grow at an incredible rate. There are now over 200 million accounts across the world, including Lady Gaga, the British monarchy, Lord Voldemort and a lot of pets. A Twitter Year gathers some of the funniest and sharpest tweets to bring you a unique celebration of the way we talk now. (Global Books In Print)
Surnames, DNA, and family history / George Redmonds, Turi King, and David Hey.
“This book combines linguistic and historical approaches with the latest techniques of DNA analysis and show the insights these offer for every kind of genealogical research. It focuses on British names, tracing their origins to different parts of the British Isles and Europe and revealing how names often remain concentrated in the districts where they first became established centuries ago. In the process the book casts fresh light on the ancient peopling of the British Isles. The authors consider why some names die out, and how others have spread across the globe. They use recent advances in DNA testing to discover whether particular surnames have a single, dual or multiple origins and whether various forms of a name have a common origin. They show how information from DNA canbe combined with historical evidence and techniques to distinguish between individuals with the same name and different names with similar spellings and to identify the name of the same individual or family spelt in various ways in different times and places. Clearly written and illustrated with hundreds of examples, this book will be welcomed by all those engaged in genealogical research, including everyone seeking to discover the histories of their names and families.” (Global Books In Print)
Who killed Sir Walter Ralegh? / Richard Dale.
“For 400 years, the true story behind the fall of Sir Walter Ralegh, his conviction for high treason and his eventual beheading has been shrouded in mystery. Was he deliberately set up by the brilliant but untrustworthy Sir Robert Cecil? Why did his friend Lord Cobham denounce him at his trial? And how could this towering figure of the Elizabethan age be accused of conspiring with his old enemy Spain to overthrow the king and his government? This book draws on the author’s legal background to unravel the extraordinary plots and intrigues that marked the last weeks of Elizabeth’s reign and the first months of James’s succession. In the bitter struggle for position, wealth, and royal favor, only the most ruthless and devious could hope to win, and it was the dwarfish, hunch-backed Cecil who eventually prevailed over the swashbuckling Ralegh. But in the eyes of posterity, who was the real victor?” (Global Books In Print)
The great big book of horrible things : the definitive chronicle of history’s 100 worst atrocities / Matthew White.
“The subtitle might be a little grandiose (can one writer’s opinions be definitive?), but the book is undeniably compelling. The author, an expert in atrocitology (a useful word he appears to have made up), has put together a serious and seriously interesting collection of events that have resulted in massive loss of human life. From Alexander the Great to the collapse of the Mayan Empire to the Crusades to the Napoleonic Wars to WWII to Saddam Hussein to the genocide in Rwanda, the author takes readers on a lively, opinionated, fact-filled trip through the violent history of humankind. White makes sure to give us all the important facts (death toll, time frame, historical context, etc.), but he also provides some entertaining commentary (History likes the Third Crusade. This was the classy crusade, where wise and virtuous kings hacked each other apart with honor and style). For students, the book is a very useful and informative supplement to history texts. For the general reader, it’s a very good way to browse the dark side of human history.” (Booklist)
The Borgia chronicles / Mary Hollingsworth.
“The Borgia family of Renaissance Italy has become a byword for pride, lust, cruelty, avarice, splendour and venomous intrigue. They have inspired abomination and fascination in almost equal measure, comparable to the Corleone clan depicted in Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather. Indeed, Puzo himself featured the Borgias in his last novel, The Family, and the Borgias have inspired many other works of fiction together with plays, films, and even an opera – Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia. Of Spanish origin, the Borgias came to prominence in the Italy of the 15th century, at a time when the spiritual values of the medieval Church were being swept aside by the worldly secularism of the Renaissance. They also became notorious for licentiousness, venality and indeed all forms of immorality, while at the same time their patronage of the arts helped to bring about some of the greatest artistic masterpieces of the Renaissance.” (Library Catalogue)
Ghost on the throne : the death of Alexander the Great and the war for crown and empire / James Romm.
“In this fast-paced and absorbing account, Bard College classics professor Romm chronicles the political intrigues and military conflicts of the half-dozen generals who struggled for power after Alexander the Great’s death in 323 B.C.E. The goal for each was control over an empire stretching from the Danube to the Indus. Because Alexander left no will or obvious successor, his seven closest friends – the Bodyguards – fought not only to preserve Alexander’s Macedonian empire but also among themselves to mark out territory to rule. Drawing deeply on sources such as Plutarch’s Lives and the anonymous The Lives of the Ten Orators, Romm brings to life the Bodyguards and their struggles to maintain their territories.” (Publishers Weekly)
Journey to Oxford / John Mulgan ; edited by Peter Whiteford. “The ship was now drawing away from the land and pointing out across the round curve of the Pacific, behind us the last of the Gulf islands with the sun shining on its high bush hills and steep cliffs, beyond that again the blue line of the land, well down in the sea. I knew that last island and had sailed round it on a still summer day, a wild fearful place with a toll of two shipwrecks, and the break of seas on it day after day. It had been very warm and peaceful then, and the sail had hardly moved with the wind, and now it all looked very wonderful and beautiful. There are few people that have seen this country that do not want to look on it again.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)
A controversial churchman : essays on George Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand and Lichfield, and Sarah Selwyn / edited by Allan Davidson.
“New Zealand’s first Anglican bishop, George Selwyn, was a towering figure in the young colony. Denounced as a ‘turbulent priest’ for speaking out against Crown practices that dispossessed Māori, he brought a vigorous approach to episcopal leadership. These essays offer new insights into Selwyn’s role in developing pan-Anglicanism, strengthening links between the Church of England and the Episcopal and Anglican Churches in North America, and his time as Bishop of Lichfield (1868–78). His place in Treaty history, as a political commentator and a valuable source of historical information, is recognised. George Selwyn left a large imprint on New Zealand church and society. This collection both honours and critiques a controversial bishop.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)
Early New Zealand photography : images and essays / edited by Angela Wanhalla and Erika Wolf.“We are all participants in an increasingly visual culture, yet we rarely give thought to the ways that photographs shape our experience and understanding of the world and historical past. This book looks at a range of New Zealand photographs up to 1918 and analyses them as photo-objects, considering how they were made, who made them, what they show and how our understanding of them can vary or change over time. In the course of the book, they explore a host of issues related to the development of photography in New Zealand. World War I is the end point, as it coincided with profound cultural shifts with the expansion of the mass illustrated press and the rise of consumer photography, as well as a change in New Zealand’s place in the world.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)
Strong, beautiful and modern : national fitness in Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, 1935-1960 / Charlotte Macdonald.
“In the late 1930s and early 1940s, a wave of state-sponsored ‘national fitness’ programmes swept Britain and its former colonies. Following revelations of the Nazi enthusiasm for government-backed sports and the organisation of mass leisure, the programmes quickly foundered. They probably laid, however, the foundations for the twentieth century’s obsession with fitness – a key facet of modern life. Drawing on extensive research, and written in vivid, lively prose, STRONG, BEAUTIFUL AND MODERN is an historical investigation into the way that people and their governments think about their health and well-being, and how those historical views have shaped our modern life.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)
A walking guide to New Zealand’s long trail : Te Araroa / Geoff Chapple. “This is the guidebook of Te Araroa Trail: The Long Pathway, a continuous trail running from Cape Reinga to Bluff, 35 years in the making, which will officially open in late 2011. The book maps the 3000-kilometre trail in 40-kilometre sections. Photographs of the trail illustrate each section. Each of the 12 regional sections opens with a stunning 2-page 3D map. This book is an accessible guide both for those who only want to walk parts of the trail and dedicated trampers who intend to walk its entire length.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary) | <urn:uuid:6b43120d-5cd0-4daa-ae59-16098f680be4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blog/index.php/2012/03/05/people-places-enewsletter-for-march/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939254 | 3,594 | 2.078125 | 2 |
CalRENEW-1 Solar Farm
CalRENEW-1, the first utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) solar facility to be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) under the state's Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Program, has now become the first to achieve approval from the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) to deliver zero-emission solar power directly to the transmission level grid. This is significant because it enables electricity from solar facilities like CalRENEW-1 to be scheduled directly into the grid so that it can be moved over utility lines to meet electricity demands where it is needed most.
CalRENEW-1 consists of more than 50,000 solar panels covering almost 50 acres; the facility generates 5 megawatts of zero emission, environmentally benign solar electricity. The power is being sold to PG&E under a long-term purchase agreement.
CalRENEW-1 is moving California one step closer to its renewable energy future and helping the state meet its stringent carbon reduction goals. Additionally, the facility demonstrates the viability of utility-scale PV solar as a renewable peaking resource, stimulates green jobs training, creates new jobs, and supports development of clean industry in the state's economically distressed San Joaquin Valley. In addition to its economic stimulus benefits, CalRENEW-1 is helping to move the San Joaquin Valley towards cleaner air by providing renewable electricity to the area when local demand is the greatest.
Commercial operation was achieved just eight months after the August 2009 groundbreaking ceremonies were held, two years and four months after receiving approval from the CPUC. Developed by Meridian Energy USA, CalRENEW-1 was a collaborative undertaking between PG&E, the California Independent Systems Operator (CAISO), the CPUC, the City of Mendota, Meridian Energy USA and its parent company New Zealand-based Meridian Energy Limited. | <urn:uuid:5005f5dd-de93-4ba0-b3ee-a8f3e12dd7b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.meridianenergyusa.com/Project/CalRENEW-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920465 | 389 | 2.078125 | 2 |
phorm writes "Reuters is carrying an article about a recent MIT development which may pave the way for solar-energy to be collected for use in low-input periods. According to Reuters, the discovery of the a new catalyst for separating hydrogen+oxygen from water requires only 10% of the electricity of current methods. This would allow storage-cells to function as a form of battery for other forms of energy-collection, such as solar panels. The new method is also much safer (and likely environmentally friendly) than current methods, which require the use of a dangerously caustic environment, and specialized storage containers." sanjosanjo points out coverage of the process at EE Times, which features the MIT group's press release. | <urn:uuid:ca9d35cb-78b7-4069-98e1-794c98ddc039> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/08/07/31/2118234/using-suns-energy-to-split-water-means-solar-power-all-night | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955428 | 148 | 2.328125 | 2 |
To improve your cricket power you need to train in a highly specific way. That means doing exercises and routines that strengthen your whole body in ways that can be transferred to the cricket pitch.
I have discussed this before without mentioning specific exercises so today I'm going to give you the 10 most important to me.
These core exercises are not a plan in themselves, just a way to balance all your training while staying specific. You would struggle to do them all in one workout. Split them (or variations of them) over 2-4 sessions as part of your yearly cricket fitness plan.
- Squat. The plain old squat is a strength standby. You can do it with bodyweight, dumbbells or a barbell and it trains your hip mobility, legs, shoulders and trunk in one go. It's a tough exercise but will get you great improvements if done with the right technique.
- Single Leg Squat. Training one leg at a time is a great way to develop strength, balance and sprint speed in one go. There are loads of ways to do this exercise with weight or without so pick something that challenges you.
- Romanian Deadlift. Your hamstrings exist in cricket to extend your hip while you run. The Romanian Deadlift trains you in the same way and helps prevent injury. Good form is vital here, as is keeping the weight low. No prizes for ego lifting in this game.
- Cook Hip Lift. The buzz word in sports conditioning at the moment is prehabilitation: the prevention of injury through specific exercises. The Cook Hip Lift is a hamstring and hip exercise that teaches your muscles to 'fire' in the right way while you are running. It's easy to do once mastered and can be done almost anywhere which is especially good for fielders and fast bowlers who want to warm up to run while on the field.
- Medicine Ball Throws. Core stability is another one of those buzz words. In this case, the point of it is to strengthen and activate the muscles that allow you to twist your trunk and drive power through your hips. A skill that all cricketers (especially seam bowlers) will benefit from. The key is to use a light ball (3kg or so) and throw harder. You can use a partner or a wall to help.
- Press Up. Possibly the most unglamorous and underrated exercise in the world, the press up is a superb chest, arm and trunk stability exercise. There are loads of variations such as adding a handclap for power and you can do it with no equipment at all. Forget the PE teacher who used it as a punishment, pressing up is amazing.
- Standing Overhead Press. While cricketers generally should avoid specific "shoulder exercises" (especially upright rows and lateral raises), the overhead press and its variations are essential if used in moderation. Always do them standing up and to add power drive the weight upwards with your legs as well as your shoulders and arms.
- Chin Up. The best back exercise on the market and it's free to use. Chin ups can be hard to do for some people but with perseverance, time and assistance (from bands or a training buddy) anyone can do a few. It's worth it because it works so many upper body muscles in one go saving you a lot of time.
- Bent Over Rows. Rowing isn't just for rowers: they work your back muscles in a different way (vertically instead of horizontally) so develops the stabilising muscles in your hips and shoulders. They are also the perfect opposite to press ups allowing you to develop strength and power in balance. To develop even more hip rotational strength you can do it with a cable pulley system in the gym.
- Hang Pull. This power exercise is an easy to learn variation of the hang clean. To work properly it does require a relatively heavy amount of weight so is best for off season training in the gym and only with good technique. When done well it will give you big strides in power movements, especially jumping, hitting and sprinting. | <urn:uuid:bd02e0ef-e154-4278-8d92-eb8791736d1a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pitchvision.com/10-essential-cricket-strength-and-power-exercises | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946797 | 835 | 1.84375 | 2 |
To combat the relentless move toward electronic technologies, many schools are integrating such analog technologies as pencils, pens, water colors, pastels, in addition to teaching the manipulation of the latest computer software. — metropolismag.com
An ambitious zero-energy retrofit proposal for a downtown Los Angeles federal building has just won the first prize of the 8th Annual Next Generation Design Competition, presented by Metropolis magazine in partnership with the General Services Administration. The brief of the competition's 2011 edition asked architects and planners to design a Zero Environmental Footprint for this 1,172,746 sqft, eight-story, 1960s energy-guzzling federal building, considering any scale of intervention. — bustler.net
SUBMIT NEWS: submit in 60 seconds! | <urn:uuid:022898f0-46dc-43b3-8221-10bbe14d57d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archinect.com/news/tag/8851/metropolis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900794 | 159 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Before treating acne, one should know first what you’re trying to get rid of. If there’s any consolation, you’re not the only one who has this problem.
So what is Acne? It refers to skin conditions like clogged pores which may result in either blackheads or whiteheads, pimples, or worse, lumps that may not only appear on the face, but also on the chest, neck, back, and other parts of the body. Almost everyone goes through the same problem at one point in their life although teenagers are more prone to it. Many may be lucky enough to resolve their acne problems with little intervention – like using over-the-counter treatments. However, there are those with severe case of acne who may have to consult a dermatologist.
With medical advances nowadays, knowing how to get rid of acne may be easier for some however, knowing all the available treatments can be overwhelming. As a result, people with acne problems tend to experiment with treatments one after the other, especially if they find little or no effect at all.
Although some manage to prevent acne with good skin care, people with acne problem seek treatment for different cases like healing existing lesions, stopping additional breakouts, preventing scarring or simply lessening the stress and embarrassment experienced with this problem.
Here are some tips on how to get rid of acne, depending on the degree of severity:
• Frequent face washing, usually twice daily with unscented soap or mild cleanser, is recommended for removing excessive oil. Oily skin may need more than what is recommended. Doing this routine will degrease the skin, since excessive oil on the face could contribute to acne. However, do not forget to be gentle to your skin. Scrubbing, using a cleansing puff, washcloth or abrasive cleaner may irritate your skin.
• No matter how tempted you are never pop, squeeze or pick at acne for it may only make it worse. Doing so may lead to permanent acne scars. In addition, it can irritate the skin. Irritated skin is more prone to breakouts.
• For those with mild acne, several products prove to be effective and are available even without a prescription. Products that contain benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid are usually recommended. The type of product for a specific skin type should also be considered. An acne gel or solution would work best for oily skin while acne cream or lotion is recommended for dry skin.
• Any acne product should be applied on clean skin. It is highly suggested that the product is applied not only on the blemishes but also to the entire acne-prone area to increase effectiveness.
• Consult a dermatologist if you believe you’ll need help, especially if your acne is severe.
You may find these tips helpful on how to get rid of acne; however, it is still best to consider prevention first rather than finding a cure. | <urn:uuid:3bfeb1fc-1896-4e11-bf31-a42fd8f89c37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://peopleshealthportal.com/acne-treatments/what-you-need-to-know-about-getting-rid-of-acne/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946843 | 606 | 2.4375 | 2 |
SUP Distance World Record Set on June 27th 2012 on Yukon River in Canada’s Yukon Territory for 238 Miles Paddled in 24 Hours
Ben Friberg set out on the Yukon River in Canada’s Yukon Territory to standup paddle as far as he possibly could in 24 hours. Riding the high water levels from the 2011/2012-winter ice and snowmelt provided the perfect vehicle to go for a BIG distance day on this untamed body of water. The expedition took place during the long days around the Summer Solstice, so there was plenty of light and motivation throughout the 24-hour interval.
The goal of the 2012 Yukon SUP Expedition was to set the bar as high as possible for the distance a standup paddler could achieve during a 24-hour interval. The adventure began at the North end of Lake Laberge at 3:07pm on June 26th 2012. To tabulate the exact distance covered, Friberg wore 3 GPS tracking devices to monitor progress. Throughout the 24-hour expedition he paddled non-stop, taking breaks only to switch out hydration packs or eat a quick snack. Friberg maintained a solid 10mph moving average, reaching 200 miles in the 20th hour. He then paddled an additional 38 miles in the final 4 hours for the mission’s total of 238 miles (383 Kilometers), ending well beyond the Ingersoll Islands.
Expectations for the 24-hour SUP expedition were always high. Documents were filed with Guinness World Records before the attempt, and now all remaining paperwork is being completed for them to recognize the achievement. Most importantly though, this expedition hopes it can share the potential rewards the Yukon River offers with the SUP community. Spectators watched the event live through spot tracker technology via 24YukSUP.com and a documentary film crew was on hand to capture the event as it unfolded.
For more info, visit: 24YukSUP.com | <urn:uuid:c93f62fd-09cf-404c-a7a5-bb245b2aa26c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.supthemag.com/news/sup-world-record-set-longest-distance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949119 | 401 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Icy sidewalks. Slippery driveways. Boots that bring melting snow onto floors. These all can cause falls. These are minor hazards for most of us, but for an elderly person, they can be devastating. A spill that gives a 20-year-old a bruised knee could send an elderly person to the hospital.
“If you are over the age of 80 and you fall and break your hip, there is only a 50 percent chance that you will be able to return home, ever,” says Frederick Frost, MD, Department Chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Cleveland Clinic.
Some adults over age 65 are more at risk for falls than others, says Barbara Messinger-Rapport, MD, PhD, Director of Geriatric Medicine at Cleveland Clinic.
Danger signs to look for
Here are 4 danger signs according to Drs. Frost and Messinger-Rapport:
- Rapid weight loss could mean loss of muscle and bone mass. Elderly people who lose 10 percent of their weight or more within six months may be more at risk because older people are more likely to lose muscle and bone mass than fat, says Dr. Messinger-Rapport. “Women are more likely to have a wrist fracture if they try to break their fall with their arms,” she says. “And if they don’t get their arms out in time, they’re more likely to break their hips when they fall.”
- Vision problems can make it hard to see. If an elderly person has impaired vision, this can cause them to trip and fall and bump into things. Some eye problems, like cataracts, can be corrected.
- Neurodegenerative diseases can increase an older person’s risk. Neurodegenerative diseases, like Parkinson’s disease and dementia increase an older person’s risk. “Many people with early dementia may look very robust, but have difficulty with multitasking,” says Dr. Messinger-Rapport. “They may be carrying a cup from the living room to the kitchen, and if there is an obstacle or an uneven surface, they may not pay sufficient attention, trip, and fall.”
- Certain medications impair judgement. Pain medications, muscle relaxants, or sedatives can impair an older adult’s judgment, says Dr. Messinger-Rapport. “And even though you wouldn’t think it, most antidepressants increase the risk of falls and fractures.”
How do you prevent falls?
Drs. Frost and Messinger-Rapport offer these suggestions for fall-proofing a home — whether elderly loved ones are visiting or you are helping an elderly person reduce risk of falls in their own home.
Clear a walking path
Make sure any pavement is shoveled and de-iced. Try to discourage people from tramping through the house in wet boots, and wipe up any slippery spots quickly. You might also encourage shoes (or slipper socks) in the house because they have more traction than bare feet.
Either remove throw rugs or use double-sided tape to secure them; they can cause people to slip. De-clutter the stairs. To help elderly visitors, make sure the steps are free of any obstructions like shoes or toys. Look for unnecessary items or even pets and small children plopped down in a high-traffic area.
Watch alcohol intake
At family get-togethers, older people may want to change their alcohol intake, says Dr. Frost. “However, the interactions of that with drugs they may be taking can be unpredictable,” she says. The limit on alcohol for older adults is one standard serving in a 24-hour period.
Both doctors say if an elderly person has fallen in the past year, he or she may have a balance problem and should tell a doctor. Treatment can include physical therapy sessions to improve confidence as well as strength, endurance, and balance. | <urn:uuid:c18266dd-709d-4570-917c-5d48b47e0fbd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2013/01/a-dangerous-road-elderly-and-winter-falls/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939331 | 825 | 2.9375 | 3 |
MIAMI (AP).- A young boy reaching toward a glimmer of light took shape as Haitian graffiti artist Jerry Rosembert Moise sprayed paint on the wall of an impoverished neighborhood's youth center.
It's the kind of clearly hopeful image Moise developed after a catastrophic earthquake leveled his hometown of Port-au-Prince in January.
"I used to do caricatures, but now I try to be more realistic to get more attention for helping the country," Moise said during a break from his painting Thursday night.
Moise, who gained international attention for his images after the earthquake, is among the artists taking advantage of the art fair crowds in Miami this week to highlight Haiti's ongoing struggles and raise funds for earthquake victims.
Thousands of collectors are in Miami for the annual Art Basel Miami Beach international art fair, and for other contemporary art fairs and museum exhibits.
Haitian artists and advocates hope they can gain influence and money for projects to improve the lives of more than 1.5 million people still homeless nearly a year after the earthquake, amid a cholera outbreak that has killed nearly 1,900 since October.
The Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami scheduled an exhibit of portraits of Miami's Haitian community by fashion photographer Bruce Weber specifically for the Art Basel crowds. Some of the images in "Bruce Weber: Haiti/Little Haiti" were shot in the same streets where Weber has photographed fashion magazine spreads.
The faces Weber has captured on film in Little Haiti since 2003 show the long-reaching effects of the earthquake and U.S. foreign policy.
A young girl detained for six months by U.S. immigration authorities won't smile and fixes her eyes on the ground. A plumber with an intravenous tube running from his nose spreads his scarred hands on his hospital bed to show he can still work. Women cradling small children in their laps crowd shoulder to shoulder in church pews. A young couple in wheelchairs tentatively hold hands.
The Haiti Art Expo is selling new paintings by contemporary artist Philippe Dodard, along with artwork by other Haitian artists, to benefit earthquake relief efforts. At its opening Thursday night, Haitian voodoo drumming rivaled a DJ's electronic beats in the next gallery.
Meanwhile, outside a downtown hotel, a cluster of large, colorful tents isn't just for show. In the words of Antuan, the artist who organized the Base Paint Tents project with Fundacion Manos del Sur and the Step by Step Foundation, it is a "utilitarian art installation."
The 10 heavy-duty tents will become classrooms for children living near the Port-au-Prince airport in a camp managed by Haitian soccer star Bobby Duval.
While Haiti desperately needs new housing and schools, reconstruction efforts have stalled with just a trickle of pledged international aid delivered to the Caribbean country. These tents were chosen for their mobility and ability to withstand harsh conditions for years.
"We see the reality of almost a year (since the quake) and the rubble is still there," Antuan said. "The tents are going to be there for a long time."
Duval's brother, Miami-based artist Edouard Duval Carrie, is among the 10 artists who painted the tents. Duval Carrie also organized a separate, two-part show at the Little Haiti Cultural Center, "The Global Caribbean II: Caribbean Trilogy."
Along with works by Duval Carrie, Cuban artist Jose Bedia and Dominican artist Jose Garcia Cordero, it includes new textiles commissioned from three Haitian artists after the quake. Jean Joseph Jean-Baptiste stitched Voodoo-inspired fantasies into beaded and sequined flags, while deities emerge from layers of buttons and found objects sewn together by a pair who sign their work as Kongo Laroze.
Duval Carrie said he commissioned textiles instead of paintings because textile artists will employ more earthquake survivors.
"They're like ateliers. They have 15 families working for them," Duval Carrie said.
None of the textile artists could secure a visa to travel to Miami for the exhibit's opening Friday. Ira Lowenthal of Men Nou Gallery, which represents Jean-Baptiste, blamed U.S. bureaucracy and said he planned to return to Port-au-Prince to argue on the artists' behalf.
"The U.S. should be trying to promote what's positive in Haiti, what makes Haiti special and why we should be helping Haiti," Lowenthal said.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. | <urn:uuid:9e7d1447-b25f-49a7-aa4b-38985caff9fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artdaily.com/section/lastweek/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=43114&int_modo=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961948 | 925 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Did you start your company to become a millionaire in a few years?
If so, you’re in for a rude awakening.
If candidates’ reason for joining is to become rich when the company exits should raise more than red flags; it should ring every alarm you have and send you running for the nearest exit.
That’s true no matter how badly you need his skills or how much the team likes him.
Candidates who join because they believe they’ll be millionaires in a few years are walking time bombs and hiring them could be your worst nightmare.
Because, as the man once said, “It ain’t gonna happen.”
This isn’t about the well know statistic that half of all startups fail (they don’t), but it is based on some interesting stats I came across in a blog called the “MarketInfoGuide” sponsored by China Research and Intelligence, a market research and consulting firm in Shanghai.
Slide sold for 200 million dollars to Google, but the employees made almost nothing, because so little was left for the common stock shareholders after the preferred shareholders were paid back.
I bounced it off Matt Weeks to see how solid the information and numbers were.
“Math is wrong regarding the participating preferred, but the main point is still pretty accurate… don’t join a startup to make a million in 3 yrs.”
Also, some phrasing slants the text in a decidedly negative way, but that doesn’t change the stats.
So why should you start a company?
To solve a problem, make a difference in people’s lives, maybe even help solve one or another of society’s ills and create a happy place to work.
Why should you join a startup?
To work on the bleeding edge of technology, contribute to something amazing, be challenged, grow exponentially, be happy.
Whichever side of the table you are on remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day, Google was founded in 1998 and IPOed six years later; and Facebook was founded eight years ago in 2004.
Even when it happens it doesn’t happen fast.
Flickr image credit: Alan Cleaver | <urn:uuid:ebaa3261-3695-479d-87df-e9e5104976e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mappingcompanysuccess.com/2012/02/entrepreneurs-whens-the-gold/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948193 | 465 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Google+ on Monday announced it would gradually roll out its “Hangouts on Air” feature to the masses over the coming weeks. The feature lets you broadcast live sessions for anyone to watch — just like Barack Obama did in January.
Hangouts on Air can be posted on your Google+ stream, YouTube channel or website by checking “Enable Hangouts on Air.” It also allows you to monitor the number of views, record the live session and share it.
The feature previously was available only to a small group of broadcasters starting in 2011. Google touts the creative Hangouts those people have produced such as live concerts from a living room, classes anyone can attend, town halls with politicians and roundtables about any topic, among other sessions.
“So if you have something to say — as an aspiring artist, a global celebrity, or a concerned citizen — you can now go live in front of a global audience,” Google engineering director Chee Chew wrote in a blog post.
To learn more about Hangouts on Air, watch the videos above and below.
via Mashable! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Mashable/~3/tyq17F0X59s/ | <urn:uuid:d378e198-d028-4f23-90d5-692cd4a67978> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://megafind.blogspot.com/2012/05/google-launches-hangouts-on-air-lets.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92199 | 259 | 1.5 | 2 |
Spring cleaning of city codes is coming early this year.
City Councilmembers are calling for members of the public to bring suggestions to the table on how regulations can be cut, modified or clarified to help businesses.City officials call it the spring cleaning of city codes.
The city will host a workshop for these suggestions Monday night. The workshop will be part of the regular city council meeting in City Hall at 6 p.m.
The suggestions expected to be heard Monday night range from simple – such as outdated codes that can be overturned – to major overhaul of a city development department.
Councilmembers announced their stance against excessive regulations at a Nov. 4 press conference. Now, they will hear from several groups and organizations about what specific rules are a hindrance to San Diego businesses.
“The city is saying, ‘hey, if there are ways we can improve the system, let us know,’ and we are taking them up on that offer. We’ve got a whole laundry list of things they could be doing better to help people get back to work,” said Matthew Adams, vice president of the Building Industry Association of San Diego County.
Among the items on Adams’ laundry list include self-certification for building inspections. This way, anyone in the process of construction won’t have to wait around for inspectors to approve their plans – it’s one of the many reasons why construction on new businesses takes so long, Adams said.
He will also present his ideas on parking reform. As San Diego transitions from a suburban to urban area, parking rules should also change to eliminate excessive parking in certain urban areas, he said.
Councilmember and mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio threw his support behind the workshop, suggesting in a press release that the city’s mayor be granted “regulatory amnesty,” or the ability to waive any penalties and fines he or she finds excessive.
It’s unlikely that any of the regulations will be cut at Monday’s meeting. Most of the suggestions will have to be handed off to other committees to determine the consequences of cutting the regulations, said Jill Esterbrooks, communications director for Council President Tony Young.
In a previous article on the workshop, Tony Khalil of the Neighborhood Code Compliance division in the city said he stands by the health and safety codes and building codes he helps to enforce.
"These codes are there for a purpose,” Khalil said. “They provide the standards to make sure people are living a good quality of life.”
The workshop is considered the first of many phases though, and councilmembers could vote on changes within a couple weeks, Esterbrooks said. | <urn:uuid:b1095944-f06b-42dc-b5db-5a496720ec53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Public-Tells-City-What-to-Cut-133844028.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957908 | 556 | 1.546875 | 2 |
In the second century of graduate medical education at Geisinger Health System, the General Surgery Residency will continue its tradition of excellence in patient care, education, and research. Geisinger Health System which now spans 31 counties in rural Pennsylvania has been asked by its Board of Governors and CEO to grow. In order to grow, specific service lines have been created in the areas of minimally invasive surgery, breast surgery, cancer, transplant, and pediatrics. These service lines encompass the entire Health System through its west, central, and east hubs allowing for more coordinated and efficient patient care.
The goal of the General Surgery Residency Program is to create a well-rounded individual with technical expertise in the various aspects of general surgery including subspecialty surgery. Graduates of the program have traditionally been certified by the American Board of Surgery and have pursued both community and academic careers. Approximately one-half of our graduates pursue additional fellowship training.
Resident education is provided by 23 full-time faculty in the various surgical disciplines at one facility, Geisinger Medical Center, the main campus of Geisinger Health System. Residents also complete general surgery rotations at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre, PA.
The program focuses on the six core competencies defined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education: patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice. | <urn:uuid:82ba882a-3666-4d1d-845a-acbe20153c70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.geisinger.edu/Residencies/surg/mission.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953916 | 296 | 1.5 | 2 |
(CNN) -- Paris is perpetually one of the world's most popular cities. And the 16 million tourists who travel to the home of La Tour Eiffel and the Louvre leave a whopping $17.8 billion behind during their trips, according to MasterCard's 2012 Global Destination Cities Index.
While Paris isn't generally a place you go to save money, it can be done. Even in this pricey place, the clever traveler can track down activities, services and just plain pleasures that don't cost a single centime. Here's a list of 10 fabulous and free finds in the City of Light.
Tour the city for free. Spend an hour or 90 minutes strolling city streets on free tours -- except for the voluntary tips you give -- with Parisian natives through Discover Walks. Held 363 days a year -- each day except December 24 and 25 -- these rain-or-shine, small-group tours show you the Right and Left Bank, Notre Dame, the hip-and-trendy Marais and the picturesque city village of Montmartre. Just show up ready to walk. You don't even have to book in advance unless you're bringing a group of eight or more.
Soak up the organ sounds at Saint-Sulpice. Here's a favorite of "Europe Through the Back Door" travel guru and public television series host Rick Steves. The Left Bank church of Saint-Sulpice -- which gained fame thanks to its prominent role as a location in "The Da Vinci Code" -- has a pipe organ tradition dating back to the mid-16th century. Visitors can climb up a spiral staircase to the organ loft to meet multilingual virtuoso Daniel Roth after the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass and subsequent organ recital. Guests can watch this living legend play one of Europe's most majestic pipe organs during the 12:05 p.m. Mass. Amazing grace, indeed.
Drink up -- at a sparkling water fountain. Leave it to Paris to create a public water tap -- inside a lovely park, no less -- with the bubbly stuff. For the past couple years, the Jardin de Reuilly in the city's southeast 12th arrondissement has been serving up cooled sparkling water to quench Parisian thirsts (available any time the park is open). The park's La Pétillante public fountain was the first in France to add carbon dioxide to the city's tap water, and locals lapped it up by bringing their own bottles to fill. You'd expect no less in the country that gave the world Perrier.
On a clear day you can see ... Sure, you can climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe or Eiffel Tower, but some of the City of Light's most stunning -- and free! -- views can be found from the roof terrace of the Left Bank's Institut du Monde Arabe. An über-modern, curved-façade facility designed by famed French architect Jean Nouvel, the Institut was founded by 18 Arab nations and France to take a multidisciplinary look at the Islamic Arab world. It allows visitors, whether or not they're visiting the Institut's recently revamped museum, library or bookshops, to take its glass elevator up to the ninth floor terrace. From here, gaze out at Notre Dame, the Centre Pompidou or the landmark column standing in Place de la Bastille.
Under 26? Catch up on contemporary French art at MAC/VAL -- the Musée d'Art Contemporain du Val de Marne. Who says youth is wasted on the young? Not if they're lovers of contemporary art and artists like Christian Boltanski, Bruno Perramant and Gina Pane. Here, out in the 'burb of Vitry-sur-Seine, MAC/VAL offers visitors a range of French modern art from the 1950s through today. And if these visitors are under 26, they get to experience it all gratis (flash an ID to borrow a free audio guide). From established talent to emerging artists, you'll find them at MAC/VAL, which hosts three to four temporary exhibits each year.
Look for the loos. Most folks don't get particularly psyched about toilets. But when they're the space-age, self-cleaning, pod-like gray structures dotting the Parisian streetscape, you just might. You'll find 400 of these disabled-accessible bathrooms scattered all around Paris (they're open between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.) near major tourist spots, food markets and taxi stands. Each time a visitor uses these "sanisettes," the toilet bowl and floor are automatically cleaned, dried and disinfected -- and they contain coat hooks, a mirror and sink. And with natural roof lighting, reduced water use and renewable-source electricity, they're eco-friendly to boot. Mother Nature must be thrilled.
Life's a beach (during the summer, at least). So what if the Seine River that snakes through Paris has no beach? This city is nothing if not inventive -- so Mayor Bertrand Delanoë spearheaded the creation of Paris Plages, man-made "beaches" that offer locals and tourists alike a "Seine-side holiday" each summer. Starting around July 20 and for four weeks after, the city closes the streets along the river, brings in tons of sand and palm trees and offers a slew of entertaining options from beach volleyball to kayaking to open-air concerts on three different "beaches." Of course, this being France, riverside cafés, restaurants and ice cream vendors are de rigueur. You'll have to wait 'til next year to take advantage of the next installment, but what a Parisian way to spend those dog days of summer, from 8 a.m. to midnight.
Make it a museum. Just like museums in most world-class cities, many of those within Paris open themselves to visitors free of charge one day a week. In the City of Light, that's the first Sunday of each month. Save those euros for a few café au laits or souvenirs and check out the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée National Rodin (hello, The Thinker!), among others. Some, like the Musée Carnavalet, offer free admission to their permanent and themed collections each day. For those seeking a free dose of nighttime culture -- and who visit Paris in mid-May -- Nuit des Musées is just the ticket. Nearly 200 city museums keep their doors open during this one night from 6 p.m. until at least midnight.
See Paris through local eyes. There's nothing like traipsing through a city with a local resident by your side. The Parisien d'Un Jour, Paris Greeter program, pairs city visitors with regular residents -- students, working people, retirees and others. These folks aren't formal guides or interpreters, just passionate Parisians willing to spend two or three hours walking with groups of six or fewer tourists, showing off their favorite areas and spots based on your interests and language. Just go online to register. (Paris Greeters welcome visitors with disabilities, too.) Got questions about navigating the Métro or Parisian quirks? Ask away. And while the service is free, the program happily accepts donations.
Savor free sounds on Sunday. As it has since the early 1930s, the American Church in Paris has hosted the Atelier Concert Series, which offers a performance venue to musicians of diverse backgrounds and musical styles. Staged at the legendary Left Bank church every Sunday at 5 p.m. from September to November and January through June, music lovers will hear everything from classical pianists to opera singers to flute-and-guitar ensembles. Feel like giving thanks? Drop something in the voluntary offering at the door.
Maureen Jenkins is a freelance travel and food writer who lives outside Paris and blogs at UrbanTravelGirl.com. | <urn:uuid:e231592b-d397-44f8-a16d-4caa6bea035c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/26/travel/free-activities-paris/index.html?hpt=itr_mid | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929634 | 1,655 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Tag Archives: US Government
Sat, Aug 29, 2009 | 19:15 BST
The Federal Communications Commission has started researching a possible universal rating system to include games, mobile content and television in response to the US Congress investigating current laws are doing enough to protect children from harmful content.
Enter the ESA which says that the FCC has no jurisdiction in games.
According to Rich Taylor, senior VP for communications and industry affairs at ESA, current ESRB ratings are “considered by parents, family advocates, the Federal Trade Commission, and elected officials as the gold standard in providing caregivers with the information they need to make the right choices for their families.”
Taylor feels a universal rating would “confuse consumers, violate the Constitution’s first amendment, and are a solution in search of a problem.”
The FCC maintains control over television an radio in the US – basically airwaves. How games would fall under this category is unknown, unless the FCC lobbies to get more power in its court. | <urn:uuid:ed305784-e12c-4966-94a5-7cc5f9d26141> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vg247.com/tag/us-government/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947341 | 209 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Iceland Inflation Holds at 5.4% in June as Interest Rates Rise
Iceland’s annual inflation rate was unchanged this month after the island’s central bank raised interest rates.
Inflation was 5.4 percent in June, Reykjavik-based Statistics Iceland said today on its website. Consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in the month, the office said.
The central bank this month raised its benchmark rate by quarter of a percentage point to 5.75 percent, the fifth increase since August to steer Iceland’s recovery and ensure a stable krona as capital controls are unwound. The bank targets 2.5 percent inflation.
“Raising interest rates in May and again now, in June, has withdrawn some of that accommodation, as is appropriate in view of the recovery of the real economy and the deteriorating inflation outlook,” the central bank said in a June 13 statement. “As the recovery continues and spare capacity disappears, it is necessary that the monetary policy slack should disappear as well.”
The currency has slipped about 3 percent against the dollar this year and strengthened 0.8 percent against the euro. It plummeted as much as 80 percent in the offshore market against the single currency following the island’s economic collapse in 2008.
The government in March closed a loophole in the island’s capital controls it said had allowed short-term investors to speculate on the krona. Iceland’s $13 billion economy will expand 3.1 percent this year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said May 22.
“We anticipate that inflation will continue to subside in the near term, assuming, of course, that the krona doesn’t depreciate,” Ingolfur Bender, head of research at Islandsbanki hf, said in a note prior to the release. “Our forecast is based on the assumption that the krona will continue its seasonal fluctuation pattern but will appreciate overall in coming quarters. If it fluctuates in line with the conventional pattern, it will appreciate until the fall, with the impact making itself felt through the winter.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Omar R. Valdimarsson in Reykjavik firstname.lastname@example.org.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at email@example.com.
Bloomberg moderates all comments. Comments that are abusive or off-topic will not be posted to the site. Excessively long comments may be moderated as well. Bloomberg cannot facilitate requests to remove comments or explain individual moderation decisions. | <urn:uuid:39e0f754-4fd0-4dde-be08-e35ddf35725d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-27/iceland-inflation-holds-at-5-4-in-june-as-interest-rates-rise.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950768 | 549 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Will this accessory work with my Product
Use your model number to find out.
Not afraid of water
Water. You drink it every day. Spilled it on your Samsung SDHC Card? No worries. As far as SDHC cards are concerned, water is the enemy. Even a little could destroy SDHC card and precious data. But with the Samsung SDHC card, water doesn’t have to be so dangerous. The Samsung SDHC Card is covered by EMC (Epoxy Molding Compound) to protect Samsung NAND flash memory chips from threats posed by water and dust.
Survives strong impact!
We trip, we bump, we get our bag stuck between doors and watch everything fall out. This is life. Well, the Samsung SDHC Card is prepared for what life can throw your way with shock-proof technology that protects small and sensitive SDHC cards from impact. A diamond pattern within the SDHC card protects your data from impact so forceful, it could break a glass plate.
- Soft case
- FCC, CE, MIC
- Low power consumption is easy on device's batteries
- Mechanical Write Protection Switch
- With the SDHC Card Association card specification
- High Speed
- About the size of a postage stamp (24 x 32 x 2.1mm)
- As easy as plug-and-play | <urn:uuid:9578498b-e1f7-4aea-9ddb-ae626ad71ba0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/memory-cards-hdd-odd/memory-cards-accessories/sd-accessories/MB-SS4G031?subsubtype=sd-accessories | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908212 | 278 | 1.601563 | 2 |
The agreements that
emerged from the 198694 Uruguay Round the WTOs agreements are
now five years old and a new round of negotiations is about to be launched in Seattle.
However, five years after the agreements took effect, developing countries still
experience difficulties with their implementation.
On the one hand,
developing countries lack the financial and human resources to fulfil their commitments
such as the complex requirements of the intellectual property (TRIPS) agreement. On the
other hand, they say developed countries have failed to implement the agreements in a way
that would benefit developing countries trade.
differential (S&D) provisions are included in all the WTO agreements. There are two
- more flexible terms
within specified time limits: for example, longer transition periods, smaller commitments
(for example the commitments on agriculture); and
- clauses which say in
broad terms that developed countries should help developing countries in specific areas
(such as technology transfer under intellectual property protection) but without defining
exactly what action is needed.
In other words, the
provisions are designed both to help developing countries implement the agreements and to
accentuate the benefits they might enjoy. However, five years later, developing countries
feel that these provisions have not served their purpose. They argue that the more
specific S&D provisions of category (a) are usually insufficient and that the broader
requirements of category (b) are too vague and often ignored.
For this reason, the
issue of implementation promises to be prominent in Seattle. Developing countries are
eager to see the Ministerial Declaration include language to correct perceived oversights
in the Uruguay Round texts. Indeed, many developing countries argue that they are owed
this redressal of the Uruguay Rounds results before a new round can start.
with Uruguay Round requirements
In their proposals to
the General Council (part of the process of drafting the Seattle Ministerial declaration),
developing countries have identified several difficulties they face in implementing the
WTO agreements. Most frequently mentioned are the following:
countries, except the least developed, have to implement the Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement by 1 January 2000. (Least-developed
countries have until 1 January 2006.) For most, this means amended or new
intellectual property legislation and new or more effective means of enforcement.
countries argue that five years is not enough for such a radical change and have proposed
that this transition period be extended. Some say that the five year implementation period
granted to them was chosen haphazardly rather than on the basis of their level of
development. These countries say they should be allowed to apply different degrees of
intellectual property protection, depending on the level of development.
Others envisage the
inclusion in the TRIPS Agreement of additional commitments, for example in relation to the
transfer of technology and the protection of geographical indications.
Investment Measures (TRIMS) Agreement deals with policies that are considered inconsistent
with GATT. An illustrative list includes such measures as minimum local content and trade
balancing requirements. Developing countries have to eliminate inconsistent measures by
1 January 2000, least-developed countries by 1 January 2002.
countries say there is too little time for too many changes. They would also like to
retain the flexibility to choose investment promotion policies that they consider
necessary to fulfil their developmental needs, including some of those listed as
inconsistent with GATT.
developing countries say they missed the boat: they were unable to notify some of their
investment measures in time (they had to do this immediately) and they cannot now apply
and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade
phytosanitary (SPS) measures deal with animal and plant health and safety, and food
safety. The Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement deals with other technical
standards. Both agreements say that members have to take into account the special needs of
developing countries when they prepare these regulations. However, developing countries
feel they are excluded from the creation of international standards and are often expected
to comply with standards that go beyond their technical ability or financial capacity.
market access for developing countries exports
say market access has not met expectations for their exports in two areas: agriculture and
textiles. They recognize that the letter of the agreements has not been violated, but they
feel that the spirit of these agreements has not been honoured.
countries complaints focus on some extremely high tariffs, tariff escalation (higher
tariffs on processed goods than on raw materials, which penalizes processing in exporting
countries), the difficulties in gaining access to markets through tariff quotas and the
trade-distorting effects of subsidies. They are calling for lower barriers on agricultural
goods that they export.
Agreement on Textiles and Clothing does two things. Over a 10-year period, it integrates
the sector into GATT rules, and as part of that process it phases out quotas. Developing
countries complain that although 33 per cent of trade has been integrated as committed,
only a few quotas have actually been removed. They add that what little market access has
resulted from the implementation of the agreement has been cancelled out by measures taken
by the importing countries, such as transitional safeguards, anti-dumping actions and
discriminatory rules of origin.
outcome from Seattle
countries have submitted specific wish-lists to the WTO General Council. These include:
- the creation of a
working group to look at implementation issues
- converting all S&D
provisions into concrete commitments
- tighter restrictions on
the use of anti-dumping measures
- allowing developing
countries more flexibility in applying food, animal and plant health and safety (SPS)
measures to their products
- enabling developing
countries to participate more in bodies which set food safety and technical standards
- speeding up the
integration of textiles and clothing products into GATT rules
- allowing developing
countries more time and greater flexibility to implement the agreements on investment
measures (TRIMs) and intellectual property (TRIPS)
- allowing developing
countries greater flexibility to subsidize agriculture
- tighter restrictions in
the use of subsidies by developed countries in agriculture
These issues could be
up for discussion in Seattle or in the negotiations that follow. | <urn:uuid:d2a5c5be-be59-47d5-a594-813555f62678> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min99_e/english/about_e/05impl_e.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941463 | 1,330 | 2.625 | 3 |
|Antiques Digest||Browse Auctions||Appraisal||Antiques And Arts News||Home|
Candlelight was the chief means of lighting American homes before the advent of various types of whale-oil and kerosene lamps. Whale-oil lamps first appeared about 1815. Those using kerosene, at first called "coal oil," did not come into general use until several years after the discovery of petroleum in 1859.
Candles continued to hold their own during most of the 1860's, especially in rural sections. They gave no more light then than now, so to supplement those used in various kinds of candlesticks, there was widespread use of wall sconces. The majority were of tin, but a merchant or a wealthy land owner might have a pair or two made of silver for the best rooms.
Just how early such sconces were used in American homes is not known definitely, probably about 1700. The first ones were imported from England, were expensive, and few in number. Then in 1740, William and Andrew Patterson emigrated from Ireland and opened a tinsmith's shop in Berlin, Connecticut. Other tinsmiths opened shops elsewhere in that colony and in such Massachusetts towns as Dedham and Hingham. Working with sheets of tin plate about two feet square, imported from England and known as "best charcoal tin," these tinsmiths made a wide variety of lanterns, sconces, and candlesticks, as well as plates, teakettles, and coffee pots which they supplied to tin peddlers.
These peddlers, from early spring until late fall, followed their routes through the farming country. They first traveled on foot, carrying their wares in large baskets on their shoulders. Later came the picturesque tin peddler with horse-drawn cart piled high with an assortment of tin wares, mainly candlesticks, sconces, and lanterns. Many of the peddlers came from Connecticut and since, by the early nineteenth century, they were often away from home for months at a time, warehouses where they could restock their wagons were established in such cities as Albany, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, Charleston, and Cincinnati.
The sconces and candlesticks were usually simplified copies of more expensive ones of silver or brass. The first sconces were of the tall oblong type, circular or shield-shaped sconces, often with inserts of mirror glass to aid in reflecting the light of the candle flame, date from a little after 1800 to about 1850. | <urn:uuid:ab5e641a-35dd-4cd0-9c66-1b32adcf2c20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oldandsold.com/articles/article427.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980096 | 525 | 2.875 | 3 |
BRUSSELS, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Several European finance ministers said writing down public debt would not be part of the solution that puts the Greece's bailout program back on track.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble, Jorg Asmussen, a member of the executive board at the European Central Bank, and Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter have all said that writing down Greek debt, which would mean taxpayers across Europe would take a hit from the Greek bailouts, was not a palatable solution.
Schauble has even said the move would be illegal, The New York Times reported Monday.
But leaders gathered in Brussels Monday for a third meetings in three weeks to figure out how to get through an impasse that is holding up $40.8 billion in loans to Greece.
A new agreement could even clear the path so Greece can receive $57 billion, as a series of loans has been on hold since June, when the international community froze a $168.5 billion credit line set up for Greece.
While leaders debate how to accept that Greece will not hit budget targets on time, economic conditions in the country deteriorate further. Unemployment is about 24 percent and the gross domestic product is slipping quickly.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund is on the other side of the debate, arguing that a write-down or considerably larger loans will be necessary.
The IMF has drawn a line in the sand, insisting Greece lower its debt to 120 percent of its gross domestic product by the end of 2019.
It is now at 175 percent of GDP and could reach 200 percent by 2014 if the economy continues to shrink, some analysts have concluded.
It looks currently like something has to give. The IMF has to lower its expectations or creditors, such as Germany, have to expect either more money will be needed or a haircut -- losses -- on debt will be on the table.
|Additional Business News Stories|
WASHINGTON, May 22 (UPI) --Maintaining a flat level of natural gas production from U.S. shale deposits is an elusive prospect, an energy policy director told U.S. lawmakers.
OTTAWA, May 22 (UPI) --Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper faces more embarrassing questions as new evidence suggests the nation's strategy for building a strong arctic naval force is out of control. | <urn:uuid:271a1dea-b1ea-4372-a53c-c40aa8db7542> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2012/11/26/Leaders-try-to-revive-Greek-rescue/UPI-93511353967932/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960211 | 477 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The Muskingum County Library System has crunched its 2009 numbers and have surprising results.
For every $1 invested in the Muskingum County Library's General Revenue Fund, area residents received $8.93 in library materials, resources, programs and technology. That return on investment is a dollar more than last year. The library system also generated around $2.3 million in revenue.
"$203,000 of that then was local impact, money spent with local businesses, supporting local jobs and helping local services. We think that is really important, we try really hard to invest that money back into the community," says Blair Tom with the Muskingum County Library System.
Tom says he was surprised by the results since funding went down last year. But the numbers show how many people used the library's resources and the library was able to remain fiscally responsible.
"We see program attendance increasing because they are not only educational and enrichment opportunities, they are free family entertainment. That is important, we see ourselves as community gathering places as a result of the information we receive from the community and we had our conversations about what matters most to public libraries," says Tom.
Tom says the levy money should be coming in soon and residents will see an increase in new materials and programs. | <urn:uuid:efed65ee-5941-4a81-8599-e625267f4f88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whiznews.com/content/news/local/2010/03/05/library-puts-out-surprising-results | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9697 | 263 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Testing times: pressure on as teams get into gear
Tracking well … Mark Webber during a Red Bull test drive at the Jerez racetrack in southern Spain. Photo: Getty Images
Football and cricket teams train, tennis players and golfers practise, boxers drill, swimmers, cyclists and runners trial, and formula one drivers test. Preparation and simulation are staples of sport. In just about any competition you care to name, training, practising, trialling - call it what you like - are unrestricted. But not in F1. In-season testing is banned and only limited pre-season running is allowed. The rigid restrictions were imposed in the middle of the last decade as one of several measures to control the runaway costs of fielding an F1 team. With the start of the season at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne five weeks away, teams began their preparations during the week with a four-day test at Jerez in southern Spain. Two more tests at the Circuit de Catalunya outside Barcelona from February 19-22 and February 28 to March 3 are the only other opportunities to fine-tune the new cars - and some new drivers - before official practice at Albert Park on March 15. It's only in Melbourne that teams and drivers will know for sure whether pre-season tests were a form guide or flattered to deceive.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
With the days of unlimited testing - and unlimited budgets - long gone in F1, teams have adapted in recent years to doing more with less. Computer programs that simulate car performance at every track on the schedule, wind tunnel calculations and sophisticated video simulators have replaced track running between events. Post-global financial crisis, the F1 rules allow three tests, involving all the teams, of no more than four days each from February 1 to the week preceding the first race. The teams are limited to a total of 15,000 kilometres testing in a calendar year. In addition to the pre-season trials, there is a three-day test for young drivers - open only to those who've contested no more than two F1 races - usually held at the end of the season. A further four one-day aerodynamic measurement tests are permitted at approved straight-line (like an airfield runway) or constant-radius (for example, the speed bowl of an automotive test track) courses. Drivers can train and test as much as they like on big-screen simulators at the factory. These virtual-reality racers are so realistic - and getting more life-like all the time - that they are increasingly accurate predictors. They have even been known to cause motion sickness in some drivers.
TESTING WHAT AND HOW
At the pre-season tests, teams develop and refine their designs, making sure everything works reliably and meets the computer-calculated performance targets. Despite the extreme sophistication of simulation software used to predict performance, the results on the track still vary and real-world testing is the only true guide to a car's potential. Teams will experiment with different set-ups - complex combinations of suspension settings, aerodynamic balance, weight distribution and engine tune - to find a car's sweet spot. Speed isn't everything at tests and teams will usually concentrate on simulated race runs with high fuel loads and medium and hard compound tyres. The headline-grabbing quickest lap times at tests are achieved with little fuel on board and using the softest compound tyres for ultimate cornering grip, and may not be indicative of overall performance. Many a team has won the ''winter world championship'', setting the pace in the northern hemisphere pre-season tests, only to be uncompetitive when the real racing starts. The first real guide to the pecking order will be qualifying in Melbourne. Development never stands still in F1, with the cars evolving through the season.
THOSE WERE THE DAYS
From the early 1990s until the mid-2000s, the richer F1 teams took advantage of the lack of testing restrictions, logging tens of thousands of kilometres between the races. The top teams had dedicated test squads with separate personnel from the race groups - including extra drivers - that undertook relentless development work. But when annual budgets for the leading teams soared to upwards of $400 million, unlimited testing was a major target of the need for urgent cost reductions and controls. And because testing took place out of the public eye, it contributed nothing to the F1 ''show'' . The ultimate exponents of testing were Ferrari and Michael Schumacher, who trialled constantly at the company's Fiorano track, refining car and driver to an unprecedented peak. As the only team with its own test track, Ferrari remains an opponent to the in-season testing ban, with its big chief Luca di Montezemolo likening it to not allowing football teams to train between matches. He also bemoans the lack of opportunity to train new drivers. In late 1995, Indycar champion Jacques Villeneuve tested with Williams for the best part of five months, before his F1 debut at Albert Park in March 1996, and was immediately a front-runner.
FIRST TEST TALLY
Although it's far too soon to really tell, the early indication from the first pre-season test at Jerez is that Ferrari, Lotus and Red Bull are in good shape. Unlike last year, Ferrari have jumped out of the test gate, with Brazil's Felipe Massa setting the quickest lap time of the four days in the new F138. Massa did the Italian team's initial trial work on his own as team leader Fernando Alonso isn't back from his off-season break until the test in Barcelona starting on February 19. Massa was two-tenths of a second quicker than Kimi Raikkonen; reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel was fractionally slower again in the latest Red Bull RB9. Also on the front-running pace was Raikkonen's teammate Romain Grosjean, half a second faster than Lewis Hamilton in his first outing with Mercedes-Benz. Hamilton was closely matched by his teammate Nico Rosberg, who was a tenth clear of Jenson Button's best on the opening day in his McLaren. Mark Webber ran the first two days and was 1½ seconds off Massa's later yardstick, while Daniel Ricciardo and his French teammate Jean-Eric Vergne showed promising pace in the new Toro Rosso. Not too much can be read into the times as they were set on different days in slightly different conditions and with the cars in different configurations. The Barcelona tests should be a better guide, but still not conclusive. Even after the first race at Albert Park on March 17, unless someone is completely dominant, there will still be more questions than answers about how the season will unfold. | <urn:uuid:6bc932e9-e3d7-49ee-9469-acb7a941201f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/motorsport/testing-times-pressure-on-as-teams-get-into-gear-20130209-2e54b.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966926 | 1,381 | 1.632813 | 2 |
I wrote back in January about how more private sector jobs had been created in 2010 than in Bush's entire 8 years in office. I think this was a significant accomplishment. But there were and are a number of things hindering continued growth, some more complicated than others. But knowing how American voters vote (i.e. with the economy), Obama's got to find a way to address everything he can to get his job groove back and get re-elected in 2012.
Environmental Regulations are Good for the Economy & Jobs
First things first, environmental regulations create jobs. Of course, the Tea Party won't tell you this, as its whole (stated) agenda is to limit government efforts to clean up industry.
Numerous macro-scale and micro-sale studies have shown that environmental regulations over the last 10+ years have spurred great economic growth and created numerous jobs. And why wouldn't they? They make industry develop cleaner technologies (which creates jobs). They make industry do more to take care of the environment we all rely on (which creates jobs). A report by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) found, last year, that clean air and clean water regulations cost the U.S. about $26 to $29 billion from 1999-2009, but their benefits ranged from $82 to $533 billion.
Furthermore, if you think about the thousands and thousands of endangered plants and animals and maintaining healthy biodiversity in the world, it takes people to monitor these endangered species and ensure that they survive.
Larger, Macro-scale Job Issues
Next, it's worth pointing out that we're facing job trends far beyond the realm of the Obama administration, and have been for a long time. As Fareed Zakaria of the Chicago Times nicely summarizes,
... for 20 years, America has had huge difficulties creating jobs. After every recession since the Second World War, once gross domestic product recovered to pre-recession levels, employment also returned to pre-recession levels within about six months.
Until 1990. In the recession that began in 1990, it took 15 months for jobs to come back after the gross domestic product had recovered. In the recession of 2001, it took 39 months for jobs to come back.
And now? Since the start of this year, American GDP has returned to its pre-crisis levels — but with 6.8 million fewer workers. At the current rate of job creation, it will take 60 months — five years! — before employment returns to pre-recession levels.
Wow, right? But that's not all. A lot of our previous job growth was in government and healthcare, which can't keep growing at the rates they were.
While the causes for these long-term trends are not certain, two big factors are widely considered to be a large factor:
1. the tremendous growth of IT over the past couple decades has reduced the need for human employees in many businesses and sectors;
2. globalization and relaxing of trade regulations has made it very easy and financially logical for U.S. businesses to relocate many of their jobs overseas to countries where they can pay much less for the work.
How could Obama tackle such phenomena? That's a hard question.
The Tea Party
I think it's clear to anyone who has looked into the matter at all that two of our best options for creating good, long-term jobs in the U.S. are by 1. making the U.S. a clean energy research, development, and manufacturing center and 2. investing in large, long-term infrastructure projects (which are sorely needed anyway).
These are probably two of our best hopes for job creation. Cutting taxes for large businesses and the richest of the rich is not going to help. They are already raking in record-breaking profits. If they wanted to spend more money and create jobs in the process, they could now. They're not.
While Obama has had some success in creating jobs through clean energy investment and environmental regulations, it has been a central goal of the Tea-Party-led Republican party from day one of his presidency (or before that) to make sure he does not succeed, to make Obama a one-term president. That does seem to override it's supposed interest in creating U.S. jobs and it has held numerous job-creation policies of the Obama administration hostage or trimmed them down so much that the were less than effective.
The fact that making Obama a failure is in line with letting industry pollute at an unprecedented rate makes it that much easier for the Tea Party to block Obama's best hopes for economic success. Global citizens, Tea Party leaders are not. Solar and wind power pioneers, Tea Party leaders are not. U.S. job creators, Tea Party leaders are not. Protecters of the wealthiest of the wealthy, Tea Party leaders seem to be. And, for now, Obama can't get much done with them controlling so much of Congress.
But, if he doesn't find a way to have more influence, exert more power, he could be out of a job in 2012 as well. Peter Nicholas of the LATimes reports:
Pollster Stanley B. Greenberg, who polled for Clinton's White House, said voters had little patience for political leaders who limited policy proposals to what the opposition would support. "White House officials can "get trapped in 'what can get through Congress' and the constraints of that debate," Greenberg said, recalling similar arguments in the Clinton years. "Voters want you to break out of that" and answer the question, "What are you battling for?" he said.
Image Credit: skdevitt via flickr/CC license | <urn:uuid:f6be168e-b161-4253-8d93-8c29e1bb4012> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ecopolitology.org/2011/08/31/how-obama-could-get-his-job-groove-back/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97614 | 1,158 | 2.140625 | 2 |
The differences between mix and mixture are subtle.
A mix of something is often descriptive of the make-up or components of a mixture:
The castle was built from a mix of sand and water.
A mixture, on the other hand, is the thing that is mixed:
The cake mixture is often a mix of eggs, flour, and oil.
There is a lot of wiggle room in usage and the distinction of when to use one or another is fuzzy. A general rule of thumb is to use mix when naming the individual parts, and mixture to describe the whole.
In the examples you gave, I think both would be acceptable, because you are either talking about a mix of hiking and camping that make up the trip, or the trip's "mixture" of hiking and camping. | <urn:uuid:26c7cfbd-d1e7-46a7-9b6e-3176945242ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/40308/mix-and-mixture | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96862 | 164 | 2.359375 | 2 |
by Corina S. Rueegg, Nicolas X. von der Weid, Cornelia E. Rebholz, Gisela Michel, Marcel Zwahlen, Michael Grotzer, Claudia E. Kuehni, for the Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group (SPOG)
Healthy lifestyle including sufficient physical activity may mitigate or prevent adverse long-term effects of childhood cancer. We described daily physical activities and sports in childhood cancer survivors and controls, and assessed determinants of both activity patterns. Methodology/Principal Findings
The Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study is a questionnaire survey including all children diagnosed with cancer 1976–2003 at age 0–15 years, registered in the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry, who survived =5years and reached adulthood (=20years). Controls came from the population-based Swiss Health Survey. We compared the two populations and determined risk factors for both outcomes in separate multivariable logistic regression models. The sample included 1058 survivors and 5593 controls (response rates 78% and 66%). Sufficient daily physical activities were reported by 52% (n?=?521) of survivors and 37% (n?=?2069) of controls (p<0.001). In contrast, 62% (n?=?640) of survivors and 65% (n?=?3635) of controls reported engaging in sports (p?=?0.067). Risk factors for insufficient daily activities in both populations were: older age (OR for =35years: 1.5, 95CI 1.2–2.0), female gender (OR 1.6, 95CI 1.3–1.9), French/Italian Speaking (OR 1.4, 95CI 1.1–1.7), and higher education (OR for university education: 2.0, 95CI 1.5–2.6). Risk factors for no sports were: being a survivor (OR 1.3, 95CI 1.1–1.6), older age (OR for =35years: 1.4, 95CI 1.1–1.8), migration background (OR 1.5, 95CI 1.3–1.8), French/Italian speaking (OR 1.4, 95CI 1.2–1.7), lower education (OR for compulsory schooling only: 1.6, 95CI 1.2–2.2), being married (OR 1.7, 95CI 1.5–2.0), having children (OR 1.3, 95CI 1.4–1.9), obesity (OR 2.4, 95CI 1.7–3.3), and smoking (OR 1.7, 95CI 1.5–2.1). Type of diagnosis was only associated with sports. Conclusions/Significance
Physical activity levels in survivors were lower than recommended, but comparable to controls and mainly determined by socio-demographic and cultural factors. Strategies to improve physical activity levels could be similar as for the general population. | <urn:uuid:79430b76-c6e7-46ca-bdf7-3f5aaee4e02b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biospace.com/PLos_Article.aspx?id=12604 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903524 | 625 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Fire. Meat. Beer. The recipe for a barbecue has barely changed since the start of recorded time, but that doesn't mean technology can't get in on the party. BBQ Guru has released the CyberQ WiFi, a wirelessly enabled temperature control that lets you fiddle with your griddle using a mobile device. You can relinquish your spot in charge of the fire but still control how rare your steak will come out (when someone else goes and gets it). Even better, if you nod off during the Superbowl, it'll send you an email alert thanks to its built-in web server. It'll install onto most standard grill / smoker types and will set you back $295 with an additional fan and grill adapter and is available from today.
The BBQ Guru Announces Release of the CyberQ Wi-Fi
Experts Deliver the World's First and Only BBQ Temperature Control that Connects Directly to Wi-Fi Enabled Devices
WARMINSTER, Pa., June 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The BBQ Guru, maker of the world's most accurate temperature controls for charcoal BBQs, today announced the release of the newest and most technologically sophisticated product in their line of temperature control devices, The CyberQ Wi-Fi. Like the other temperature control devices that BBQ Guru offers, the CyberQ Wi-Fi regulates the temperature of charcoal grills and smokers with incredible accuracy but can be controlled directly from any Wi-Fi enabled device or through any internet browser via a home router.
"BBQers around the world will be able to set, change, and monitor the temperature of their charcoal cookers from their smartphones or computers," said Director of Marketing, Bob Trudnak. "We pride ourselves on being on the cutting edge of BBQ technology. We are changing the way people barbeque and our controls make it easy for anyone to cook using a charcoal grill or smoker."
The CyberQ Wi-Fi was created with Serious BBQ enthusiasts and professionals in mind. The product was inspired by technology savvy cooks who implement user-friendly gadgets when cooking. As with all BBQ Guru products, the CyberQ Wi-Fi was also created for backyard BBQers who want to spend more time perfecting recipes and enjoying company than hovering over their grill to make sure the cook temperature remains consistent.
"BBQ Guru draft controllers have always been an outstanding way to provide the predictability needed when competing against the best in the world," said Chris Hart, BBQ World Champion and author of Wicked Good BBQ. "The Guru Guys have raised the bar to a whole new level with the CyberQ Wi-Fi model."
In addition to coming with a built in Wi-Fi web server, the new CyberQ offers email alert capabilities. The full-time adaptive control algorithm learns the cooker to control with better stability and accuracy. The CyberQ Wi-Fi controls in the temperature range of 32 degrees F to 475 degrees F and displays cooking temperature on a digital read-out in degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius. The open lid detection system senses when the pit's lid is open to minimize the temperature disturbance and recover quickly. The CyberQ Wi-Fi fits most standard charcoal grill/smoker types and is currently on sale on the company's website, www.TheBBQGuru.com, for $295.00 plus fan and grill adaptor.
Other features of The CyberQ Wi-Fi include:
Calibrated, programmed, and ready to use immediately
Monitors up to three food temperatures
Exclusive low and slow ramp down feature ramps the pit down on rising food temperatures, so the food never overcooks
Cook and Hold feature (with countdown timer)
Scrolling display shows all of the temperatures, time, and status
Rugged, armored high-temperature pit and food probes
Real time blower status indication and output % to measure fuel use
16 Character by two line backlit LCD display
Runs on 100-240VAC (for worldwide use) or 12VDC for automotive supply use
Audible alarm sounds with adjustable deviation
The BBQ Guru has become a trusted name in BBQ since its founding in 2003. The company's owner, Shotgun Fred, invented the first temperature control technology of its kind for charcoal and wood burning cookers. Its most popular DigiQ temperature controls and Onyx Charcoal Oven have become mainstays at BBQ competitions around the world. The company has their full line of BBQ equipment for sale on its website, including the DigiQ DX2, PartyQ, Onyx Oven, and single- or three-bay catering systems. | <urn:uuid:50de9a66-2999-4187-8557-867ed03a51b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/21/bbq-guru-cyber-q/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933742 | 935 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Children who may have taken breast cancer treatment medication mistakenly distributed by a New Jersey pharmacy instead of prescribed fluoride pills likely won't suffer any health problems, a pharmaceutical expert said Saturday.
CVS Caremark officials say only a few children ingested pills for breast cancer treatment that they mistakenly received, and company investigators are still working to determine how and why the errors occurred at the pharmacy in Chatham. The pharmacy has acknowledged improperly dispensing Tamoxifen instead of chewable fluoride tablets to children in as many as 50 families between Dec. 1 and Feb. 20.
"Fortunately, it's very unlikely that this specific drug would cause any serious or adverse effects when used for only a short periods of time," said Daniel Hussar, a professor with the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences.
CVS said it had spoken with or left messages for every family whose child was dispensed a 0.5 mg fluoride prescription from its Chatham location within the past 60 days. The company issued a statement Friday that said it was "deeply sorry for the mistake that occurred," although it did not explain how the mistake happened.
Mike DeAngelis, CVS Caremark's director of public relations, has said that "most of the families we have spoken to did not indicate that their children received any incorrect pills." No injuries related to the mix-up have been reported.
Officials say the two pills are similar looking but have distinctively different tastes. Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay and is usually prescribed by dentists for children, while Tamoxifen is used to treat breast cancer and blocks the female hormone estrogen.
Hussar noted that while the fluoride pills may have some flavoring because they are meant to be chewed, Tamoxifen is a pill that's intended to be swallowed, so no effort is made to make it taste good. That means a child who mistakenly took a Tamoxifen pill would likely "want to spit it out or tell his parents it tastes bad," said Hussar, who has written and spoken extensively in the areas of new drugs, drug interactions, patient compliance, and issues facing the profession of pharmacy. He's also served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the American Pharmacists Association and is a Past President of the Drug Information Association and the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association.
Hussar also noted that while such prescription mix-ups are "rare occurrences," they can be important learning tools to help ensure that similar problems don't occur in the future.
The state attorney general's office has begun a preliminary investigation into the matter. Its consumer affairs division on Friday ordered the Chatham pharmacy to explain the mistake and provide the names of all its employees along with all emails, telephone calls, complaints, and other information related to the mix-up.
The pharmacy must provide the information by Wednesday and company representatives must appear before division officials for questioning under oath on Friday, an order signed by division Director Thomas R. Calcagni said. He said in the order that the division wants to look into whether any laws were violated.
DeAngelis said the company is "actively investigating this matter to determine how the mistake occurred in order to take corrective actions to prevent this from happening again."
CVS Caremark, based in Woonsocket, R.I., runs the second-largest chain of drugstores in the U.S., after Walgreen.
The Associated Press | <urn:uuid:647760d2-bf95-4298-b9e6-84264692b032> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/mar/03/expert-kids-likely-not-harmed-in-cvs-pill-mix-up/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973121 | 701 | 1.796875 | 2 |