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Funders and Supporters
Reporting to the Minister of State for Universities and Science, the UK Space Agency is at the heart of UK efforts to explore space, exploit space-based applications and technology and support our academic and industrial communities. Space is an essential part of all our everyday lives and one of the key enablers of the global economy.
Central to the work of the UK Space Agency is encouraging and supporting the high levels of growth which the industry has displayed over the last decade.
The UK Space Agency works closely with the industry to maximise the benefits of UK's participation in the European Space Agency's space science and earth observation missions; to ensure access to space by issuing licences to UK space craft; to develop those areas of technology that are going to support growth in the future. We work to increase understanding of space and its practical benefits and inspire our next generation of UK scientists and engineers. | <urn:uuid:1343330b-ac2f-4e70-8e3e-8ce2e48916f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nationalspaceacademy.org/about/funders-and-supporters/82-uk-space-agency | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931698 | 181 | 1.859375 | 2 |
This American in Britain Revels in Free NHS Contraception
Posted on March 12, 2009 by peacefulyorkshire
American women are always talking about it when I go back home, that is the frustrations of their pricey insurance policies. “Why won’t my insurance company pay for my birth control?” I’ve heard many American women ask. “Surely it is much cheaper then me getting pregnant and then covering my hospital bills!?” The thing is, when I used to live in America, I’ve always had that thought too about the American insurance system and contraception…
But here in Britain people still complain about health care too.The NHS gets a lot of slack from the British public– I am sure you’ve heard stories about people not getting the cancer treatment they need, the surgery lists of 678 people in queue for transplants. One British neurosurgeon once told me : “There are more neurologists in Manhattan ALONE then there are in ALL of Britain, and you want me to give you an MRI because you have a family history of tumors?” Need less to say I waited 9 months, and no MRI. It was not an option. Period. If you have a major issue the NHS might not be the best, which is why a lot of people “go private”.
BUT how about it you just need some little things, like say, your monthly birth control pills? How about if you need the morning after pill because let’s face it, mistakes happen? That is where the NHS. has it right, because they are readily available from a doctor’s office, free, and it makes total sense! Hand out birth control to women and they might have to shell out less in the future–
So, every time I walk away from my GP’s office with the standard 3 months supply of contraception, I feel liberated, and taken care of by my high tax contributions. And that is one of the reasons I like living in Britian. NO not because of the high tax contributions, silly, its the free pills! | <urn:uuid:84dfe035-66e6-4258-91fc-4a639fdfda79> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shesnotfromyorkshire.com/2009/03/12/this-american-in-britain-revels-in-free-nhs-contraception/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955625 | 438 | 1.554688 | 2 |
New Insurance Programs Target Forages
New federal risk management tools targeting pasture, rangeland and forage production will help offset losses during
drought, say USDA officials.
The rainfall and vegetation index insurance programs are offered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency and co-developed
by Texas Ag Experiment Station rangeland researchers. They will be available through approved insurance providers.
"These new insurance tools will help farmers and ranchers, especially with operations located in drought-impacted
areas, to improve their risk-management capabilities," says Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. "Designed to
operate in a variety of range and pasture environments, these products utilize innovative technology to determine
when a pro-ducer has suffered a loss."
The two programs were expected to become available by early September, with a closing date of Nov. 30.
The rainfall index program will be tested in 220 counties in Colorado, Idaho, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North
Da-kota and Texas. Rainfall indices will be used as a means to measure expected production losses.
The vegetation index will be tested in 110 counties in Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and
South Dakota. The program is based on satellite imagery that determines the greenness value of the range, helping
analyze range condition as a means to measure expected production losses.
Together, the programs will provide coverage to approximately 160 million of the 640 million acres of grazing and
hay land in the U.S.
“These products were designed to allow maximum flexibility for the producer,” says Wayne Hamilton, Texas Ag
Ex-periment Station rangeland specialist. “Producers are not required to insure all acres, but cannot exceed the
total number of grazing or haying acres they operate.”
Each producer will be asked to make several choices when insuring production, including coverage level, index
inter-vals, productivity factor and number of acres. Producers will work with crop insurance agents to view map and
index grids for their areas and assign acreage to one or more grids based on location and use of insured acreage.
More information can be found at www.rma.usda.gov/policies/pasturerangeforage/. | <urn:uuid:6ede9d99-9892-47ec-8393-35bf1ad0c7b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hayandforage.com/print/news/insurance_forages | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937089 | 468 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Supply Chain Management
- basic details of supply chain management and how it is used to ensure reliable and cost effective supply of components for manufacturing.
Supply chain management is used in manufacturing to ensure the reliable supply of components and other services and requirements for the production of electronic or other equipment as well as the management of aspects such as cash-flow.
Effective supply chain management is now an integral part of a manufacturing process as it is necessary to ensure that costs are minimised and efficiency levels increased, and the whole manufacturing process is managed in an effective manner.
As a result of its importance, supply chain management is used by many companies in various forms and is a key element in the planning and implementation of manufacturing processes.
Supply chain management basics
It is becoming increasingly important for organisations to have effective supply chains. In order that a manufacturing organisation can run effectively, components, goods and services must be in place when they are required. They must also not be in place any sooner than necessary as this requires additional storage and payment must be made before the items are required. It must also be possible to resolve any problems swiftly and effectively.
Supply chain management encompasses many activities within an organisation. It requires the consideration of the planning and management of component and services sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics management.
Supply chain management also includes the building of relationships with partners with partners, which may include suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers.
Accordingly, supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies.
While some companies may choose to address all the issues of supply chain management within their own company, often many of the services are subcontracted out. One key example of this is the use of a distributor to control the component inventory. This can work well because the distributors have a large buying potential and already have relationships with a large number of component suppliers. As such they are able to easily add the supply management of many of the components to their existing workflow.
More popular tutorials . . . . .
|Supply chain||Obsolescence||Kanban||Just-in-time, JIT||Ship to stock| | <urn:uuid:1c964818-9040-4b3e-9dfb-e38f8fc8f48d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/distribution-supply/supply-chain-management/basics-tutorial.php | 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 | 0.962234 | 444 | 3.015625 | 3 |
A Quick, Compact, and Easy-to Understand Resource for Non-Accountants
Accounting for Non-Accountants is the must-have guide for all of us who have never taken an accounting class, are mystified by accounting jargon, and have no clue about balance sheets, income statements, or statements of cash flows.
Whether you own a business, plan on starting one, or just want to control your own assets, you'll find everything you need to know:
How to prepare and use financial statements
How to manage budgets
How to deal with audits and auditors
How to control cash flows
How to use accounting ratios to interpret financial statements
For entrepreneurs or anyone who needs to rush up on accounting fast, this book will have you up and running in no time.
"A definite must-have for any business owner "
-Julie A. Aydlott, CFE, author of The Quick Guide to Small Business Budgeting
"A good choice for anyone who is finding accounting difficult to understand."
-Dr. Richard A. Samuelson, emeritus professor of accounting, San Diego State University | <urn:uuid:80aee987-a0b4-4347-9ccf-981670626644> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clintonbookshop.com/book/9781402222634 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912606 | 232 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Cooking Up a Persuasive Speech
Name: Douglas Parker
Affiliation: Author of Basic Public Speaking, 2nd Edition
Title: Cooking Up a Persuasive Speech
Category: Lesson Plan
Description: By understanding appropriate public speaking techniques, students will learn how to prepare and deliver a tasty persuasive speech.
Web URL: http://www.capital.net/~bps2
Cooking Up a Persuasive Speech
Grade Levels: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Subject(s): ESL/Language Arts
Overview: Students need to understand that how they say something and how they physically present themselves are just as important as what they say. By understanding the dynamics involved in effective persuasive speaking, students will improve their overall confidence in communicating.
Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to improve students' oral persuasion techniques by understanding the appropriate speaking skills. The lesson is presented in second person, making it more meaningful as a resource for the students, and easier for the teacher to use as a handout.
Objectives: Students will be able to:
1) Demonstrate the appropriate classroom public speaking and listening skills (e.g., body language, articulation, listening to be able to identify specific examples of the speaker's coordination of talking and action) that would be necessary to influence or change someone's mind or way of thinking about a topic.
2) Define the elements of persuasion.
3) Recognize the elements of personal credibility.
4) Develop methods to analyze other students' speeches.
5) Understand outlining main ideas.
6) Create a persuasive speech.
Resources/Materials: Teacher-prepared topics for persuasive speeches.
Assessments: The Class will assess each speaker's performance in terms of voice and body coordination, and in terms of persuasiveness. Each class can develop performance assessments such as rubrics to facilitate this process.
Teacher's Anticipatory Set:
During class discussion, define and explain how people make decisions based on what they see and hear. Explain that sometimes we have to use skills to convince others about our positions. Have the students recall and list their own experiences trying to convince their friends about something, and then ask them to share these with the class.
Activities and Procedures: Cooking Up a Persuasive Speech
Pick a proposition that not everyone would agree with such as: "nuclear power plants are superior energy sources." Write a 6 to 8 - minute speech in outline form to persuade the group.
The Lesson: Your Voice and Body are Your Best Tools
You are a natural persuader! You have done it all your life. Every time you enter a conversation, you engage in elementary persuasion techniques. It is true, that any time you make a statement of fact, you are asserting its validity and assuming that your listener agrees.
This speech goes further than a normal conversational assertion: now you have to assume that not everyone will agree with you from the start, and it is your job to make them see things your way. The goal of this speech is to change someone's mind or way of thinking about a topic. This is not a speech to sell, as you do not ask that the listener do anything except to agree with you or to begin to listen to your way of thinking. Your message is, of course, very important in this speech, but your voice and body language are even more important. Here you will see how your delivery can help.
There are several important aspects of presentation to keep in mind:
1) Body language - make sure that you have a proper posture. If your shoulders are sagging and your legs are crossed, you will not appear as being sincere and people just will not accept your message.
2) Articulation - articulation means how your total vocal process works. There are several steps to this entire process. First, you need air from the lungs, your vocal cords in your larynx must be working, your mouth and tongue must be in sync, and you have to make sure that you have got some saliva in your mouth to keep things oiled. You should be aware of your physical makeup to be able to understand how you speak.
3) Pronunciation - pronounce each word. Avoid slang, except to make a point, and do not slur your words. Avoid saying, "you know."
4) Pitch - pitch refers to the highs and lows of your voice. Whatever you do, avoid a monotone!
5) Speed - your speed, or pace, is an important variable to control. Between 140-160 words per minute is the normal pace for a persuasive speech. Any faster and you may appear to be glib; any slower and you sound like you are lecturing. If you are not sure about your speed, tape yourself for one minute and then replay it and count the number of words you used in the minute! The human ear and brain can compile and decode over 400 spoken words per minute, so if you are going too slow your listeners' minds are going to start to wander as the brains finds other ways to keep themselves occupied.
6) Pauses - the pause, or caesura, is a critical persuasive tool. When you want to emphasize a certain word, just pause for one second before; this highlights the word. If you really want to punch it, pause before and after the word!
7) Volume - volume is another good tool for persuasive speech, but you should use it with caution. If you scream all the way through your speech, people will become accustomed to it and it will lose its effectiveness. On the other hand, a few well-timed shouts can liven up the old speech! Try to "project" or throw your voice out over the entire group - speak to the last row.
8) Quality - quality of voice is gauged by the overall impact that your voice has on your listeners. Quality of voice is the net caliber of your voice, its character and attributes. Try to keep your vocal quality high; it is what separates your voice from everyone else's.
9) Variance - variance of vocal elements is your most important consideration of all! One of the most persuasive speakers in modern history was Winston Churchill. One of his most remarkable qualities was his ability to vary the elements of his voice. He would start with a slow, laconic voice and then switch gears to a more rapid pace. People were light-headed after listening to him! Even if you have no desire to run for political office, you can still use the tools of variance. Change your pitch, volume, and speed at least once every 30 seconds, if only for just one word. Never go more than one paragraph without a vocal variance. This keeps your group locked into your speech, if for no other reason than it sounds interesting! Let the words speak for themselves; reflect their nature through your voice. If you use the word "strangle," say it with a hint of menace in your voice. If you say the word "heave," let the group feel the onomatopoeic force behind it. If you say the word "bulldozer," make it sound like a titan earthmover, not like a baby with a shovel.
The Strategy: Appear Rational
When you are trying to convince someone of something, you must first establish your credibility, or in other words, you must sell yourself before you sell your message. If people feel that you are not being reasonable or rational, you do not stand a chance. You must be committed to the ideals and goals of your speech and what you are saying. Do not use words such as "maybe" or "might"- use positive words such as "will" and "must."
You are the authority figure in this speech, so you had better supply enough information to prove your points so that you can seem knowledgeable, and you had better know your material cold. People can usually spot someone who is trying to "wing" a speech. You should also appear to be truthful -even when you are really stretching a point. If you do not appear to be earnest, even if your message is the 100% truth, people will doubt your word and tune out your speech.
Lastly, do not be afraid to show a little emotion - this is not a sterile or static speech. Your body and voice must match the tone of your words. If your language is strong, you must present a physical force to go along with your delivery.
The Comments and Goals
You cannot sit back and let your words do all of the talking. You must use your total self to deliver your message, and this means that you will have to expose a little of your personality to the group. Your group will be supportive.
The Group Reaction
The group has two major criteria to consider after each member's speech. First, the delivery. Were the speaker's body, words, and actions in synchronization and harmony? Did one support the other or was there tension between the body and the voice? Secondly, were you persuaded? Why or why not? Discuss what makes a persuasive speech work and how the intangibles effect a positive outcome.
World's Best Jobs!
Dave's ESL Cafe Copyright © 2008 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:50b778d1-e272-4640-a8db-d514135e3279> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eslcafe.com/idea/index.cgi?display:991846926-14938.txt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952248 | 1,906 | 3.859375 | 4 |
American eels are catadromous, which means they live their life in freshwater but breed in the ocean. This is the other way around from anadromous fish like the striped bass and salmon that live in the ocean but return to freshwater to spawn.
A young eel is born in the Sargasso Sea, an area north of the Bahamas. The small larvae, called leptocephalus, don't swim but drift with the ocean currents for 9 to 12 months before they reach the coastal waters of North America.
Picture: American eel. Picture courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Duane Raver.
The eels develop into "glass" eels before entering the brackish waters and freshwaters where they will live most of their lives. When the eels are around 1 meter (about 3 feet) long, they mature and get ready to migrate back to the Sargasso Sea where they will spawn. After spawning, the adults die and the larvae again drift north.
References and further reading
Members of the American Eel Monitoring Survey team at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) are counting the number of young eels that are migrating into Virginia's estuaries and freshwater lakes and pond. Their website has some great images of eels in various life stages.
Read more about the American eel and its life cycle on the website of the The Chesapeake Bay Program. | <urn:uuid:662e8bdb-c5f9-4164-9acf-7e459b81bfd5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://serc.si.edu/education/resources/watershed/stories/americaneels.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93221 | 297 | 3.671875 | 4 |
A new Congressional Budget Office analysis adds yet another wrinkle to the ongoing debate about the surface transportation legislation: the House Republicans' bill would bankrupt the Highway Trust Fund by 2016.
The study, being promoted by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), ranking member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, seemingly confirms what some critics have been saying for weeks: House Republicans can't deliver the revenue they'd promised for transportation.
"There is no doubt we need to pass a long-term bill that creates certainty, but the only thing this bill does is make certain the Highway Trust Fund will go belly up even before the end of the bill," Rahall said in a statement
The House's five-year, $260 billion bill -- which is headed Tuesday to the House Rules Committee, which will consider a slew of amendments -- is controversial since Republicans are funding highways and bridges with revenue that would be generated by expanded energy production.
CBO's informal estimate, shows the trust fund's highway account having a year-end deficit of $500 million at the end of FY 2016 that grows each year through FY 2022. The "alternative transportation account" -- a new version of the transit account -- starts going into the red in FY 2017.
At the end of FY 2022 the two accounts together would be $78 billion in the hole.
An aide to the committee's Republican majority tells Governing that lawmakers believe CBO's math was wrong, and its analysts did not give as much credit for energy revenues as they should have.
Republicans will work to address the discrepancy without borrowing money or raising taxes, the aide said. | <urn:uuid:ccf1cab1-89cb-4691-83f4-404850fa0305> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.governing.com/blogs/fedwatch/CBO-Republican-Transportation-Bill-Will-Bankrupt-Trust-Fund.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959876 | 329 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Robert StoneArticle Free Pass
Robert Stone, in full Robert Anthony Stone (born Aug. 21, 1937, New York, N.Y., U.S.), American author of fiction about individuals in conflict with the decaying late 20th-century Western societies in which they live.
Stone served in the U.S. Navy before attending New York (1958–59) and Stanford (1962–64) universities. He wrote advertising copy and newspaper articles and became friends with such writers as Jack Kerouac and Ken Kesey. A Hall of Mirrors (1967), his first novel, is set in New Orleans, Louisiana, and revolves around a right-wing radio station and its chaotic “Patriotic Revival”; Stone adapted his novel for the screenplay of the film WUSA (1970). His second novel, Dog Soldiers (1974), concerns the legacy of corruption of the Vietnam War. The novel won the 1975 National Book Award, and Stone cowrote the screenplay for the film based on it, Who’ll Stop the Rain? (1978).
In the late 1970s Stone visited Central America, the setting of his novel A Flag for Sunrise (1981), about four individuals in a corrupt, poverty-stricken country ripe for revolution. His novel Children of Light (1986) features a debauched screenwriter and a schizophrenic actress, both in decline. Stone’s fifth novel, Outerbridge Reach (1992), was a well-received story of a foundering marriage and an around-the-world sailboat race. Later works by Stone include Helping (1993) and Bear and His Daughters: Stories (1997).
What made you want to look up "Robert Stone"? Please share what surprised you most... | <urn:uuid:82c57333-dd77-4845-a9f5-8a672e6f0363> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/567225/Robert-Stone/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960777 | 357 | 1.5625 | 2 |
View Full Version : The Seven Seas
08-24-2001, 10:16 AM
The Seven seas refers to the Punjab? Then how is it Punjab means 5 rivers, or was I misinformed?
C K Dexter Haven
08-24-2001, 12:15 PM
Killer, it's helpful if you post a link to the Staff Report that you are commenting on, helps others figure out what the heck you're talking about. Makes for more coherent responses.
What are the seven seas? (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/m7sea.html)
Duck Duck Goose
08-25-2001, 12:02 AM
the Hindus used the term for the bodies of water in the Punjab.
This area was known as 'Sapta-Sindhu' or Seven Seas in those days. The Saraswati dried up in course of time... The Punjabis were in difficulties. They did not like the Indus. Besides only five rivers remained - the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Bipasha and Shatadru. Punjab is the land of these five rivers. The name is derived from two Persian words: 'Panj' meaning five with 'Aab' meaning water.
. "Punjab" means five waters, and the state was alluviated by five rivers indeed. Indus, Sutlej, Jhelum, Ravi, and Beas. Some have it that there were not five but seven rivers and the region was called sapt saindhav which means seven seas.
The word Punjab is made up of two words Panj and Aab. Panj means five and Aab means water, the land of five rivers. This name was probably given to this land of five rivers possibly in an era when this region came into close contact with persia. Prior to that period this region was known by different names at different times. Probably when at the height of its glory it was known as Sapta Sindhu, the land of seven rivers.
The Aryans migrated from the North-west to the area called Sapta-Sindhava (the land of the seven rivers) - Eastern Afghanistan, Punjab and the fringes of western Uttar Pradesh.
Well, there, that's enough of that. Evidently the word "sindhava" or "sindhu" or "saindhav" can be translated as either "rivers" or "seas", depending on the translator, I suppose.
Duck Duck Goose
08-25-2001, 12:04 AM
As for what happened to the other two rivers, or whether there even were seven rivers to begin with, I'll leave that for somebody else to deal with, 'cause I'm going to bed.
vBulletin® v3.7.3, Copyright ©2000-2013, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. | <urn:uuid:1642329e-ffe8-49e5-9693-266181722cb0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-83516.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945951 | 611 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Al, this is an interesting application, and a good solution to a major concern. It makes no sense to have an engineer outside of the facility controlling machines inside the facility. On the other hand, there is a lot one can discern about a system with a steady stream of telemetry. In addition, as mentioned, the smart controllers can generate alerts so that support engineers can assess the health of the system. All in all a good thing. This was, of course, done in the computer industry, primairly in mainframes, many years ago. Those were "smart" systems, so it was natural to do it.
Al and naperlou, I wonder if it is possible to quantify how much of this movement to remote monitoring is being spurred by high cost and how much is the natural result of automation. I appreciate that there are lots of security issues and even more OEMs involved, but hasn't this capability existed since the early 1990's with the founding of ODVA.org? Perhaps there is a confluence of higher cost and lower resistance to change that is enabling this now, 20+ years after it was technologically feasible to do so. One generation later in human terms, 13+ generations in Moore's terms...
William, I can attest from first hand experience working for an automation supplier that cost, but also the speed of dealing and resolving problems, has been driving the move to remote support for easily more than 10 years. The ability of a skilled engineer or technician to immediately logon and review code in a control system is a huge benefit. For machinery builders, it definitely reduces support costs and enables (for the hardest problems) to have key engineering staff to review the app versus sending someone on the road.
Thanks for the quick reply, Al. I come from that PS/2 generation of technology fans that projected virtual reality and flying cars by 2001. I still find it difficult to integrate reality into my musings of a connected future. Maybe we are getting there, albeit, slowly. I agree that remote diagnosis is an awesome ability. Perhaps remote machine diagnosis is following the trends in remote diagnosis for humans.
Interesting concept, Al. I'm curious, though: Is diagnostic ability limited as a result of the outbound-only communication set-up? Seems like bi-directional communication would be an important of a system like this one.
Looks like a similar, even parallel, trend to remote robotic maintenance & repair, as DN has covered more than once: http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=257502 http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=253921 http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=247655
This is a great application of secure connections to help with production problems. As a practice, my company does not run external communications to our machinery due to security concerns. These highly secure connections would help to sway our IT department. We had a recent application that required error monitoring on a new piece of machinery, but we needed to have the supplier stay at our facility and send information back to their headquarters via e-mail. This system got the job done, but it was inefficient. If the supplier could continually monitor the machine, they could have had better real time data and supplied us with a solution quicker.
I have done telephone support for industrial machines, and sometimes a technician has to be on-site to diagnose the problem. Many times I have diagnosed a problem on-site because the operator couldn't properly describe the problem on a telephone call. To reduce downtime, the first choice is to try to fix the machine remotely through a telephone call.
Yes, I agree with Glenn, although I think a solution like this can be helpful in some situations. But sometimes there is no replacement for a live person who can quickly assess the situation and get the job done quickly and correctly.
I first saw the headline and thought that DN was reporting on the development of the system that puts engineers virtually at the machine. This article, as pointed out by others, is just highlighting remote data that has been in existence for quite sometime.
The technology I am referring to is vitual presence. It consists of a maintenance person (or other plant staff) to wear a head mounted display and camera. This communicates to the offsite engineers the state of equipment, notifies the user of troubleshooting procedures, and gives the engineer the visual of everything the actual plant staff is doing. This is even being shown on commercials for firemen safety (GE I think?). Think of what our military has been using in combat field for direct feedback to command and control. This is being applied in the manufacturing environment. As machines get very sophisticated, transmission of control data is only part of the engineers need for quick responses. They need a virtual presence to actually see the machine running (or malfunctioning) to help direct corrective actions of root causes and avoid/limit future failures!
The digital age has definitely helped with troubleshooting industrial products. Emails often have scope traces, digital photos and test data attached that just would not have been possible a generation ago. This seems like a natural extension of communication capability if and when the security concerns can be addressed. Customers also have to be willing to pay more for equipment that has the built-in diagnostic and interconnect functionality.
My employer has a remote connection solution, and it does save some trips by field service engineers. Frequently the problem must be solved by a person getting on a plane, but that remote assessment can better inform them for what to expect and what parts to order, and that can save valuable time.
I question the value of security by unidirectionality. Many of our customers have sophisticated IT departments and are less concerned with viruses coming in than with valuable IP going out.
Also, being able to give commands or upload configuration changes to the tool is usually the key to avoiding that plane trip.
GLOlover, I know that some OEM machinery builders have implemented systems that also use a video link, so that plant personnel can walk around the machine and provide the remote support personnel with live video as well. No question that is a powerful advantage, although I don't know how many companies are using that approach.
Chuck, I would guess the plan is to diagnose problems from afar, but implement solutions using local plant personnel. In many automation systems, application software issues for example can be difficult to debug until the machine is in production. A skilled engineer can see the problem, fix the code and then email it to someone at the plant to make the update. Just one possible scenario.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution. | <urn:uuid:eb7f37df-3ff6-437d-b343-946540779ce1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&piddl_msgorder=thrd&f_src=designnews_node_3055&doc_id=257626&image_number=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960263 | 1,551 | 1.5 | 2 |
Wild Onion Flower
Finding wild Plants and flowers that look and smell interesting and tasting them.. researching afterwards. Worked out for me this time! Oh and the last hundred times. Wild onion flower so pretty, and tasty. Yes please, I will keep you. Perhaps collect the others just like you and cook something delicious. http://www.flickr.com/photos/34287392@N06/7163715955/
Over this past weekend a couple friends and I went to Truckaroo in DC. It’s basically all of the local food trucks in a big circle with live music. The trucks ranged from ice cream and cupcakes to grilled cheese, to macaroni and cheese, to italian, to hot dogs, to Korean tacos. Basically everything in between as well. It had potential to be fantastic. I wasn’t able to make it up there...
The FDA still cannot honestly assure the public that milk is safe.– Ted Weiss (via officialteamgreen)
The Impulsive Farmer: Companion plants pt2: herb... →
squeoo: Herb gardens are a little less common than flower-dominant gardens, and probably about as common as a vegetable garden, but herbs themselves are fantastic companion plants. Some herbs are great for eating, and some have strong medicinal purposes (or you can extract oils and sell…
99 Things You Probably Didn't Know You Can Compost →
destx: Anybody that has a composting bin or compost pile at their house knows that old apple cores, banana peels and potato skins can be composted. But many people who compost at home are unaware of the sheer vastness of every day waste that can easily be thrown in their compost bin.
There is no doubt that humans are a naturally omnivorous species whose diet...– Vaclav Smil (Eating Meat: Evolution, Patterns, and Consequences)
Blogs to Come !
Although I am crammed with finals, homework, and studying I am working on a few blogs. Soon I will be posting my ANTI-Microwave blog. I have a few questions to answer and hopefully will be blogging with pictures my answers. Pretty excited about that. Another blog that I am working on is about my experience at the restaurant Sushiko in DC with pictures! Last but certainly not least I am taking a...
8 Reasons You Should Be Eating Cucumbers
thereluctantrawfoodist: Interesting list: spineandsports: One of the 30 Most Hydrating Foods. Made up of 96% water, naturally distilled (better than normal water) Contains alkaline-forming minerals (regulates ph levels in your blood) Good source of vitamin C and vitamin A (great for your skin) Prevents water retention (reduces puffy/swollen eyes) Helps normalize body temperature during...
Mysterious Honey Discovered That Kills All... →
Mixed Emotions. flowerfood: theafroqueerizedbeekeeper: Bees feeding off tea trees native to New Zealand, produce a type of honey that’s known as “Jelly Bush Honey” in Australia and “Manuka Honey” in New Zealand. Now, scientists at the University of Sydney’s School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences have found this particular type of honey has some amazing curative properties. Until...
frites & fries: What is a Food Blog? →
fritesandfries: A post from Amateur Gourmet today: “In this week’s New York Magazine, there’s a story about a 27-year old who spends most of her life and her money eating out at trendy, of-the-moment restaurants […] one line (highlighted by Eater) stood out for me to the point that I’ve been… | <urn:uuid:87bf2925-0d99-4267-8ccd-e56870f8800a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://allaboutfoodwnicolie.tumblr.com/archive | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930543 | 792 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The school has received praise from some, including former South African President Nelson Mandela, but has also been criticized by many who say they are displeased that it only caters to the needs of a small number of children.
“Oprah’s school is great, but doesn’t make a dent,” Sisulu said. “It doesn’t begin to address the problems in South Africa. No one can really say that education in South Africa will be improved by Oprah.”
The educational and social problems in South Africa have been compounded recently by woes throughout the continent, especially in neighboring Zimbabwe.
As the official mediator appointed to deal with Zimbabwe by the Southern African Development Community, South African President Thabo Mbeki has faced heavy criticism for taking what many believe to be a soft stance against the actions of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who was declared the winner of the nation’s runoff election last month. Many in the international community have questioned the legitimacy of Mugabe’s victory, calling the June 27 runoff neither free nor fair.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the most votes in the March presidential election, but not the majority required to avoid a runoff. He withdrew from the second contest after weeks of military-orchestrated violence left dozens of his supporters dead, thousands severely beaten and thousands more homeless as they were chased from villages, fled attacks or had their houses burned down.
Sisulu was in Zimbabwe last April and said she was disturbed by the poverty and political corruption that have taken over the country.
“As a human rights activist, I believe in speaking out against injustice,” Sisulu said. “Not speaking out against Mugabe goes against everything the anti-apartheid movement stood for.”
Magona said she is particularly concerned about the silence from many African leaders and African Americans on the problems in Zimbabwe. While she is happy that the African Union (AU) strongly opposed the establishment of the United States African Command (AFRICOM) military base, Magona is disappointed that the same anger has not also been directed toward Mugabe, saying that the AU has evolved into a “friendship club.”
“There are no standards in the AU anymore,” Magona said. “Mugabe gets support from them because he skillfully talks about himself as anti-Western and anti-imperialist. As an individual, do I want Mugabe as a leader? No, I do not. What does he stand for?”
As the political and economic problems worsen in Africa, Magona feels good that change is in the air in the White House, and hopes Africa can have a better relationship with the United States in the near future.
“We are excited about [Democratic presidential contender Barack] Obama, not because he is black, but there is a chance that he would want to have a better engagement with the world,” Magona said. “He is a good role model, and he makes us feel proud to be black.”
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
After changing his country so profoundly, then turning his energies during his first “retirement” to tackling problems like AIDS, Nelson Mandela has left the stage to younger leaders. But South Africa and the world seem reluctant to let him fade into retirement. More »
The protests in Delft, a township on the far outskirts of Cape Town, underscore resistance to what some have called the persistent legacy of attempts to keep the city's impoverished black residents powerless under South Africa’s apartheid regime. More »
The students said they felt optimistic about the opportunity before them to make an impact both at home and abroad, citing the “American Dream” as a source of inspiration. More » | <urn:uuid:7be5e6f7-4048-4266-a180-f377a549f913> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.baystatebanner.com/world27-p2-2008-07-17 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979476 | 798 | 1.882813 | 2 |
A discussion today on O’Reilly’s editors list considered why Bluetooth has failed to take root year after year. I agreed with the camp that thought it was largely a failure of marketing (specifically, trying to market itself against 802.11b), and also that there has been a sort of chicken-and-egg problem, where Bluetooth in one gadget doesn’t get you much; its power shows when it gets into all your gadgets. This is pretty different from 802.11b, where if you shell out for a wireless PC card, you’re admitted to a glorious world of wireless networks in offices, conventions, airports and — according to Cory Doctorow — enough insecure and community-spirited wireless networks to give seamless coverage in a
cab riding through Manhattan.
But I’m an optimist, so I visited the Bluetooth Developers Conference at Moscone in San Francisco on Wednesday. Attendance was respectable; not as mobbed as last December’s show in San Jose, but a whole lot more energy than the ghost town I walked into at the Annual Linux Showcase in Oakland last month. It was a lot like last year’s show, right down to the demos of cool projects that one could be pretty sure aren’t going to show up anytime soon: a Bluetooh-enabled pen that
is also a camera (!), thumb-sized Bluetooth radios that plug into the USB
port. And three times at three different booths, I saw the same demo: using a Bluetooth connection between a laptop and a mobile phone to use the phone as a modem that connects the laptop to the Internet. At 14 Kbps. Pretty unimpressive, and only slightly less so when you imagine it happening at GPRS speeds — 40 Kbps realistically. Hardly a killer app to demo at shows.
The folks who seem furthest off base with this technology are those companies trying to sell it as a wireless LAN. Bluetooth developers have figured out that the original range of 10 meters is too small, so they’re
calling that Class 2 Bluetooth now, and are developing a Class 1 that
supposedly will have a range of 100 meters. That would put it in (or
beyond) the range of 802.11 networks. But I still can’t imagine any office
environment going for Bluetooth over 802.11, even if the price is about
the same, for at least two reasons: the throughput is a lot less (1 Mbps
against 802.11’s theoretical 11 Mbps and actual 5.5 Mbps), and if you buy
802.11 cards for your laptops you get to use them in lots of places –
So why do I remain a Bluetooth optimist? I think once they get over the
idea that they are competing with 802.11 and begin to admit they are
competing with USB, things will move along more smoothly. IBM & Toshiba
are offering Bluetooth capability in laptops for about $100, and the top
three mobile phone handset manufacturers (Nokia, Motorola, & Ericsson) are
all promising to stick tens of millions of the chipsets into their phones
over the next few years. After two years of the world laughing at
Bluetooth’s failure to arrive, they’re beginning to learn to be
conservative in their estimates: one vendor told me they expect Bluetooth to be in 70% of the world’s mobile phones by 2006. That’s 2006. I expect we’ll all be commuting on Segways by then, riding over soaring viaducts and
listening to MP3s streaming down from satellite radio…
Scaled back to these more modest expectations, the software applications
for Bluetooth come into view. Obviously there will be a need for good
synching software at all levels, from apps that attempt to provide lots of
“enterprise” information to workers, to programs that let your Palm
– more optimism here, that there will still be a Palm platform in 2006 –
and your cell phone update each other. It ain’t too sexy, but neither is
USB or ASCII text, and look how essential they’ve become. I met with one
vendor, Rococo Software out of Dublin, Ireland, that has an IDE for J2ME
applications and is porting it over to be a Bluetooth development
environment, presumably for the same types of applications.
I think putting Bluetooth into phones will make the biggest difference. We all know there are more folks carrying mobile phones than carrying laptops in the world. And here’s a key difference: mobile phone consumers want everything to work automatically; they don’t really need to know how or why, and most don’t care about the technical details. It’s a more passive (or at least casual) relationship than folks have with their laptops. I would guess that at least one third of laptop users could tell you what operating system they’re running; I doubt that 1 percent of mobile phone users could tell you much about the software in those phones. That’s how I think Bluetooth will work: quietly and automatically in the background, your phone and PDA updating each other’s address books, your laptop talking with your printer — about as sexy (and as necessary) as a USB port.
Am I kidding myself? | <urn:uuid:162d7d9d-8b21-4d00-b6dc-e11d93476f6f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oreillynet.com/mac/blog/2001/12/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937063 | 1,118 | 1.53125 | 2 |
U.S. cotton production could slip to about 14.1 million bales this fall, which would be the lowest production since 1998, say crop analysts from the four major cotton-producing regions of the United States.
The estimate is slightly higher than USDA’s July estimate of 14 million bales, and down from last year’s estimate of 19.21 million bales. Speaking at the Cotton Roundtable, held in late July at the Intercontinental Exchange in New York City, analysts said dry weather continues its assault on dryland cotton in Texas and parts of the Mid-South and Southeast.
O.A. Cleveland, professor emeritus, Mississippi State University, says cotton area in the Southeast and Mid-South continues to decline and the two regions “don’t carry the significance they once did. Planting is down in the Southeast about 17 percent, and in the Mid-South about 30 percent, meaning about 366,000 acres fewer will be harvested in the Southeast and 800,000 acres fewer in the Mid-South.
“Based on conditions of the crop, we’re looking at a drop of 2 million bales from last year, when both regions combined produced about 8.5 million bales.”
Cleveland noted that Alabama is still in the throes of a long-term drought. Carolina and Georgia have had decent weather and those crops are doing fairly well, and yields should average around 700 pounds an acre.
“The Arkansas crop still looks like it will break 1,000 pounds per acre. Mississippi has been a bit dry and that crop has been reduced. Tennessee and Missouri have both had good weather and they’re looking at 900 pounds per acre.”
Carl Anderson, Extension specialist, professor emeritus, Texas A&M University, said the Southwest region of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas has the potential to produce about 6.5 million bales of cotton this year.
About 95 percent of Southwest production will come from Texas, which isn’t expected to come close to the surprising crop of 2007, when Texas produced 8.25 million bales on 4.7 million acres. “The average yields last year of 843 pounds across the state are phenomenal compared to 10 years ago. The weather was ideal, and only 200,000 acres were abandoned. Texas growers also have a sizable 1-ton club, growers who produce 4 bales per acre of lint on at least 20 acres.”
In 2008, Texas yields are expected to be above average, Anderson says. “However, because of dry planting conditions, high winds, blowing sand, hail and extremely hot temperatures at planting time, I’m estimating that 900,000 acres to 1 million acres of the 4.7 million acres planted have been abandoned.
“About half of the remaining 3.7 million acres is irrigated, and has a high yield potential. Roughly, we have about 300,000 acres in Texas under drip irrigation and have the possibility of making 3 bales per acre.”
Anderson noted that USDA’s weekly crop condition report “has shown for the past month that one-third of the Texas crop is in poor or very condition, one-third fair and one-third, good to excellent.”
Despite the estimated million or so acres lost, Anderson expects this year’s harvest to be 6.2 million bales. “Because of dry weather, cotton is stressed in south Texas, the Coastal Bend and the Blacklands. Hurricane Dolly came in on the south Texas end and probably lowered the yield and quality down there somewhat on about 100,000 acres.
“We think yields in these areas of Texas will be way below average. As we move into the Rolling Plains, cotton is doing okay due to recent rains. Cotton in the southern High Plains has also improved with recent scattered rains. Part of the crop, however, is a little late and will need warm weather in September and early October to reach full maturity.
“In Oklahoma, growers planted 15,000 more acres than they did last year, so they have a total of 190,000 acres and their crop is doing rather well. In Kansas, producers planted only 45,000 acres this year, compared to 115,000 acres two years ago. They are shifting acres to wheat.”
Jarral Neeper, vice president, marketing Calcot Ltd., Bakersfield, Calif., said a very dry winter in California pushed cotton producers into other crops because they couldn’t justify the high water costs of cotton. “In some cases, they just couldn’t get the crop planted at all.”
As a result, upland cotton acres in California fell about 45 percent and Pima acreage fell about 30 percent, Neeper said. “What’s out there looks pretty good right now. We’re not going to have a great year like we had last year when we had record yields across the board. But this year is going to be an average to above average.”
Neeper said Arizona’s crop “was looking a little shaky to begin with, but now it’s coming on strong. They are looking at a potentially good year. Overall, the crops in both states will probably be down about 900,000 bales from last year. Together the states will have about 1.1 million bales compared to 2 million bales this time a year ago.” | <urn:uuid:a92380e6-fb7e-4b8c-b4ad-880477e07623> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://southwestfarmpress.com/cotton/analysts-project-141-million-bale-cotton-crop | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955139 | 1,136 | 2.546875 | 3 |
"There is no more urgent issue than this for the AMA".
What could it be?
Childhood nutrition and vaccinations?
Reducing obesity in society?
Making immediate treatment of stroke accessible to all?
Improving reimbursement rates for primary care doctors, psychiatrists, and other cognitive specialties?
Working to reduce medical errors?
No. Here's the context, from the Chicago Tribune story, AMA takes on retail clinics -- Doctors groups say patients in danger:
"The American Medical Association should call for a ban on in-store clinics being opened by retail giants like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Walgreen Co., several doctors groups urged at the AMA's annual meeting in Chicago on Sunday."
"Faced with an onslaught of competition that is forecast to bring several thousand retail health clinics to U.S. consumers, AMA members testified that such clinics are endangering patient care, particularly for children. The doctors say the clinics, largely staffed by advanced-degree nurses and physicians' assistants, are largely unregulated and, therefore, put patients' health at risk."
" 'There is no more urgent issue than this for the AMA,' Dr. Kamran Hashemi, a family physician from South Barrington, said, urging the organization to push for more regulation of retail clinics. 'This issue speaks to what all of us do every day in practice.' If the AMA does nothing, Hashemi said, 'in five years, the chairs [at the AMA] meeting will be filled with representatives from Walgreens, Wal-Mart' and other retail outlets."
I can't tell you how reassured I am to learn that our physician groups in Massachusetts are not out of the mainstream . . . . | <urn:uuid:8db70704-fcdf-444a-a003-544fa76f5123> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/2007/06/misplaced-priorities.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943443 | 348 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Declaration on Fundamental Principles concerning the Contribution of the Mass Media to Strengthening Peace and International Understanding, to the Promotion of Human Rights and to Countering Racialism, apartheid and incitement to war
28 November 1978
The General Conference,
Recalling that by virtue of its Constitution the purpose of Unesco is to ‘contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms’ (Art. I, l), and that to realize this purpose the Organization will strive ‘to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image’ (Art. I, 2),
Further recalling that under the Constitution the Member States of Unesco, ‘believing in full and equal opportunities for education for all, in the unrestricted pursuit of objective truth, and in the free exchange of ideas and knowledge, are agreed and determined to develop and to increase the means of communication between their peoples and to employ these means for the purposes of mutual understanding and a truer and more perfect knowledge of each other’s lives’
(sixth preambular paragraph),
Recalling the purposes and principles of the United Nations, as specified in its Charter,
Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 and particularly Article 19 thereof, which provides that ‘everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers’; and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1966, Article 19 of which proclaims the same principles and Article 20 of which condemns incitement to war, the advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred and any form of discrimination, hostility or violence,
Recalling Article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1965, and the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1973, whereby the States acceding to these Conventions undertook to adopt immediate and positive measures designed to eradicate all incitement to, or acts of, racial discrimination, and agreed to prevent any encouragement of the crime of apartheid and similar segregationist policies or their manifestations,
Recalling the Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between Peoples, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1965,
Recalling the declarations and resolutions adopted by the various organs of the United Nations concerning the establishment of a new international economic order and the role Unesco is called upon to play in this respect,
Recalling the Declaration of the Principles of International Cultural Co-operation, adopted by the General Conference of Unesco in 1966,
Recalling Resolution 59(I) of the General Assembly of the United Nations, adopted in 1946 and declaring:
‘Freedom of information is a fundamental human right and is the touchstone of all the freedoms
to which the United Nations is consecrated;
. . . Freedom of information requires as an indispensable element the willingness and capacity to employ its privileges without abuse. It requires as a basic discipline the moral obligation to seek the facts without prejudice and to spread knowledge without malicious intent;'
Recalling Resolution llO(I1) of the General Assembly of the United Nations, adopted in 1947, condemning all forms of propaganda which are designed or likely to provoke or encourage any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression,
Recalling resolution 127(11), also adopted by the General Assembly in 1947, which invites Member States to take measures, within the limits of constitutional procedures, to combat the diffusion of false or distorted reports likely to injure friendly relations between States, as well as the other resolutions of the General Assembly concerning the mass media and their contribution to strengthening peace, trust and friendly relations among States,
Recalling resolution 9.12 adopted by the General Conference of Unesco in 1968, reiterating Unesco’s objective to help to eradicate colonialism and racialism, and resolution 12.1 adopted by the General Conference in 1976, which proclaims that colonialism, neo-colonialism and racialism in all its forms and manifestations are incompatible with the fundamental aims of Unesco,
Recalling resolution 4.301 adopted in 1970 by the General Conference of Unesco on the contribution of the information media to furthering international understanding and co-operation in the interests of peace and human welfare, and to countering propaganda on behalf of war, racialism, apartheid and hatred among nations, and aware of the fundamental contribution that mass media can make to the realization of these objectives,
Recalling the Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice adopted by the General Conference of Unesco at its twentieth session,
Conscious of the complexity of the problems of information in modern society, of the diversity of solutions which have been offered to them, as evidenced in particular by the consideration given to them within Unesco, and of the legitimate desire of all parties concerned that their aspirations, points of view and cultural identity be taken into due consideration,
Conscious of the aspirations of the developing countries for the establishment of a new, more just and more effective world information and communication order,
Proclaims on this twenty-eighth day of November 1978 this Declaration on Fundamental Principles concerning the Contribution of the Mass Media to Strengthening Peace and International Understanding, to the Promotion of Human Rights and to Countering Racialism, Apartheid and Incitement to War.
The strengthening of peace and international understanding, the promotion of human rights and the countering of racialism, apartheid and incitement to war demand a free flow and a wider and better balanced dissemination of information. To this end, the mass media have a leading contribution to make. This contribution will be the more effective to the extent that the information reflects the different aspects of the subject dealt with.
1. The exercise of freedom of opinion, expression and information, recognized as an integral part of human rights and fundamental freedoms, is a vital factor in the strengthening of peace and
2. Access by the public to information should be guaranteed by the diversity of the sources and means of information available to it, thus enabling each individual to check the accuracy of facts and to appraise events objectively. To this end, journalists must have freedom to report and the fullest possible facilities of access to information. Similarly, it is important that the mass media be responsive to concerns of peoples and individuals, thus promoting the participation of the public in the elaboration of information.
3. With a view to the strengthening of peace and international understanding, to promoting human
rights and to countering racialism, apartheid and incitement to war, the mass media throughout
the world, by reason of their role, contribute to promoting human rights, in particular by giving expression to oppressed peoples who struggle against colonialism, neo-colonialism, foreign occupation and all forms of racial discrimination and oppression and who are unable to make their voices heard within their own territories.
4. If the mass media are to be in a position to promote the principles of this Declaration in their activities, it is essential that journalists and other agents of the mass media, in their own country or abroad, be assured of protection guaranteeing them the best conditions for the exercise of their profession.
1. The mass media have an important contribution to make to the strengthening of peace and international understanding and in countering racialism, apartheid and incitement to war.
2. In countering aggressive war, racialism, apartheid and other violations of human rights which are inter alia spawned by prejudice and ignorance, the mass media, by disseminating information on the aims, aspirations, cultures and needs of all peoples, contribute to eliminate ignorance and misunderstanding between peoples, to make nationals of a country sensitive to the needs and desires of others, to ensure the respect of the rights and dignity of all nations, all peoples and all individuals without distinction of race, sex, language, religion or nationality and to draw attention to the great evils which afflict humanity, such as poverty, malnutrition and diseases, thereby promoting the formulation by States of the policies best able to promote the reduction of international tension and the peaceful and equitable settlement of international disputes.
The mass media have an essential part to play in the education of young people in a spirit of peace, justice, freedom, mutual respect and understanding, in order to promote human rights, equality of rights as between all human beings and all nations, and economic and social progress. Equally, they have an important role to play in making known the views and aspirations of the younger generation.
In order to respect freedom of opinion, expression and information and in order that information may reflect all points of view, it is important that the points of view presented by those who consider that the information published or disseminated about them has seriously prejudiced their effort to strengthen peace and international understanding, to promote human rights or to counter racialism, apartheid and incitement to war be disseminated.
For the establishment of a new equilibrium and greater reciprocity in the flow of information, which will be conducive to the institution of a just and lasting peace and to the economic and political independence of the developing countries, it is necessary to correct the inequalities in the flow of information to and from developing countries, and between those countries. To this end, it is essential that their mass media should have conditions and resources enabling them to gain strength and expand, and to co-operate both among themselves and with the mass media in developed countries.
By disseminating more widely all of the information concerning the universally accepted objectives and principles which are the bases of the resolutions adopted by the different organs of the United Nations, the mass media contribute effectively to the strengthening of peace and international understanding, to the promotion of human rights, and to the establishment of a more
just and equitable international economic order.
Professional organizations, and people who participate in the professional training of journalists and other agents of the mass media and who assist them in performing their functions in a responsible manner should attach special importance to the principles of this Declaration when drawing up and ensuring application of their codes of ethics.
In the spirit of this Declaration, it is for the international community to contribute to the creation of the conditions for a free flow and wider and more balanced dissemination of information, and of the conditions for the protection, in the exercise of their functions, of journalists and other agents of the mass media. Unesco is well placed to make a valuable contribution in this respect.
1. With due respect for constitutional provisions designed to guarantee freedom of information and for the applicable international instruments and agreements, it is indispensable to create and maintain throughout the world the conditions which make it possible for the organizations and persons professionally involved in the dissemination of information to achieve the objectives of this Declaration.
2. It is important that a free flow and wider and better balanced dissemination of information be
3. To this end, it is necessary that States facilitate the procurement by the mass media in the developing countries of adequate conditions and resources enabling them to gain strength and
expand, and that they support co-operation by the latter both among themselves and with the
mass media in developed countries.
4. Similarly, on a basis of equality of rights, mutual advantage and respect for the diversity of the cultures which go to make up the common heritage of mankind, it is essential that bilateral and multilateral exchanges of information among all States, and in particular between those which have different economic and social systems, be encouraged and developed.
For this Declaration to be fully effective it is necessary, with due respect for the legislative and administrative provisions and the other obligations of Member States, to guarantee the existence of favourable conditions for the operation of the mass media, in conformity with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with the corresponding principles proclaimed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1966. | <urn:uuid:de3c1491-653f-4599-a632-19796aae0543> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13176&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926875 | 2,490 | 3.203125 | 3 |
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission launched an electronic system for anglers reporting diseased fish they catch and observe in the Susquehanna River.
The move is part of the commission’s continuing effort to gather more evidence to support its case for additional state agencies to begin recovery efforts for the river, according to The Patriot-News.
“Everything from Viagra to Prozac is ending up in our rivers and streams at measurable concentrations,” commission member Vicky Blazer said in a video discussing the future of the Susquehanna River.
The commission is gathering that information through an online form on its website.
The form asked the anglers to report the location of their catches, including GPS coordinates for that location; a description of the location, such as "approximately 100 yards downstream of Rockville bridge;” and the nearest town.
Additional information sought on the form includes the date and time of the catch, the condition of the fish, the number of fish observed and the proportion that seemed to have the condition, the approximate size of the fish and water conditions.
The form is the commission's latest effort to push action along to begin recovery efforts on the Susquehanna, which appears to suffering from a variety of stresses.
Click here for the full report.Click here to view a Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission video about the effort. | <urn:uuid:5b47ae81-d215-4735-93a6-0823dc65402f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tradeonlytoday.com/home/523275-pennsylvania-seeks-data-from-anglers-on-diseased-fish | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955163 | 280 | 1.828125 | 2 |
The work I'm posting about is no longer on our shelves, but I realized I hadn't written about it yet. This year is the first time I've put it out, so you won't find it in the archives either. Below you can see how I had it set up on my stationary shelf.
From left: a basket of various colors of construction paper, a basket with strips of plain white cardstock, a basket with a gluestick, a basket with the pattern cards, a tray with three shape punches, and in the center of the green placemat, a Punch-Aid.
To do this work, the child selects a pattern card. (I made these by punching the shapes from black construction paper, gluing them into various patterns, and laminating the cards.) Then they choose a color (or two colors) of construction paper and use the Punch-Aid and punches to punch out the shapes they need. For the card shown below, they would punch 4 squares and 2 circles. Next, they get a strip of white cardstock and glue the shapes to it, following the pattern on the card. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a "finished" photo, but I am pretty sure you get the idea!! This was a very popular activity during the two weeks I had it out. If you have seasonal punches, this would be fun to put out with various seasonal variations. | <urn:uuid:12ad751c-bfa0-487c-8e8a-35eda524bdfd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/my_montessori_journey/montessorimath/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969087 | 287 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's grandson Han-sol appeared on a Finnish TV last Monday. The teenager called the Libyan uprising, which overthrew Muammar Gaddafi's dictatorial regime last year, "very interesting."
Kim Jong-il died last December and Han-sol's father, Kim Jong-nam, recently disappeared from public view.
Han-sol (17) left Macau last year to board at United World College, an international school in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the interview with the Finnish public network YLE TV he said his roommate is from Libya.
"Especially the revolution... when that happened, [the roommate] was really enthusiastic about telling me many stories. He would tell me stories about what he was doing during the revolution," Han-sol said. "He went home and saw a different Libya, the transition process of the new Libya. It was very interesting."
The interview, which was edited down to 29 minutes segment, was aired in Finland on Monday. It was the first time Han-sol has given such a long interview.
Appearing before the camera in a pair of black horn-rimmed glasses, a black tie and suit, he spoke English fluently. He sported two little earrings on his left earlobe.
The interview was conducted by Elisabeth Rehn (77), Finland's first female defense minister, who hosts the show the segment was part of.
Talking about Kim Jong-il, Han-sol said, "I never really met him or had conversation with him." He admitted he was "really curious" about the notoriously reclusive leader. "I really didn't know if he knew that I existed," so he was waiting for his grandfather to look for him. "I was hoping that he will come find me."
As a child, "I always wanted to meet my grandfather because I wanted to know what kind of person" he was, Han-sol said. "I really didn't get to know until later on that my grandfather was a leader" in North Korea, he added.
The teenager has also never met his uncle, current leader Kim Jong-un. "I really never met them... I really don't know how he became a dictator, because, first of all, it was between him and my grandfather. I never met both of them." He added his father "was definitely not really interested in politics."
Han-sol was born in Pyongyang in 1995 and lived there for two years before his family moved to Macau. Afterwards, he visited the North to meet relatives at every opportunity, including summer, but he has few friends there.
When asked if his mother is also from a privileged family, Han-sol said, "She was actually just an ordinary citizen in North Korea." He added, "My mom always tried to encourage me to live the same lifestyle as ordinary citizens so I can have better understanding of the people."
"My dad always told me just forget about the background and everything and live your life and understand everything, there are a lot of people who're hungry. Always think twice and be thankful for what you have right now," he added.
He had some friends from South Korea in Macau. It was awkward meeting them at first, but "then little by little we started understanding each other," he said. "We realized how similar we are, same language, same culture... Now today we are really close friends, travel together. It's such a wonderful feeling."
Talking about a South Korean student who will arrive at the UWC next year, he said. "It's gonna [be] very interesting."
On the Korean issue, Han-sol said, "The two countries are trying to work to build peace together for unification. But at the same time there are laws that say North and South Koreans shouldn't interact with each other even outside North Korea."
"It's really sad that I can't go to the other side and see my friends over there," he said. "I also dream of unification."
Asked about his future plans, he said, "For me, I picture myself continuing my education at the United World College. After university I picture myself volunteering somewhere. After that I'd like to engage in more humanitarian projects and also work to contribute to building world peace, and especially back home, because that's a really important part of me." | <urn:uuid:85fe3693-6caf-4615-a4ae-12ae0ff47b4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/10/19/2012101900919.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989526 | 904 | 1.523438 | 2 |
On October 2, 1882, the Sioux Commission was formed with Judge P. C. Shannon and Governor Newton Edmunds of Yankton, Dakota Territory; J. H. Teller of Cleveland, Ohio; and the Reverend S. D. Hinman of the Indian Bureau at Washington, D.C. The four commissioners visited the five agencies on the Great Sioux Reservation to divide it into smaller tracts of land, setting up individual reservations for the various bands of the Sioux living there. The plan, established under the direction of Major James McLaughlin, was to meet with each of the bands and determine how much land was required under an allotment quota to sustain each family. The balance of the land would then be purchased by the United States Government.
The concept, under Article 6 of the treaty of 1868, was that the head of each family was entitled to select three hundred and twenty acres for cultivation, and in addition to that tract of land, he was to select eighty acres for each of his children who were under eighteen at the time the agreement was ratified. The agreement further stated that the US Government would supply, among other items, twenty-five thousand cows and one thousand bulls to disperse among the various reservations to help establish an agricultural base for farming.
After a quick visit to the Santee Agency in Nebraska on the October 17th,where the Santee accepted their current location separate from the Great Sioux Reservation, the commissioners went on to the Pine Ridge Agency. Here they were greeted by Red Cloud, who wanted a separate reservation, a sentiment that would be echoed by the other Sioux tribes. The agreement was signed at Pine Ridge on October 29th, and then at the Rosebud Agency on November 6th.
On this date, the commission met with the tribe at the Standing Rock Agency, and again the agreement was accepted. A provision of the Standing Rock agreement was that the Lower Yanktonais Indians at Crow Creek and the Indians with Sitting Bull would share in the Standing Rock reservation. The commission went on to the Cheyenne Agency and finally the Rosebud Agency, meeting with the Brule Indians to complete their task.
An interesting feature of the agreement was that it already contained the proposed boundaries for each of the five new reservations to which the various tribes had agreed. Although non-binding, the document was the key to reducing the size of the reservations over the next few decades.
Dakota Datebook written by Jim Davis
The Bismarck Tribune December 1, 1882 | <urn:uuid:302fd153-ff59-48fb-95a5-d547e59fe4a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prairiepublic.org/2012/radio/dakota-datebook/sioux-commission | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978644 | 512 | 3.6875 | 4 |
Roger Shepard’s above illustration shows two tables of exactly the same size and shape. It’s an extraordinary example of how even when you know that the table tops are the same, the data changes nothing. The dynamics of perspective mean we continue to see things in the wrong way.
Early on in the Prozac and Suicide controversy, Eli Lilly adopted a strategy that has “put things in perspective” ever since – they asked us to blame the disease rather than the drug. This has framed how we see things since in quite astonishing ways.
While ghostwriting an article on Paxil for GlaxoSmithKline, Sally Laden, perhaps the famous ghostwriter of all, referred to some studies as providing data that no spin could overcome (despite her best efforts to do so). As a tribute to her, it seems a good idea to draw attention to the Spin that no Data can overcome.
When something goes wrong on a drug, it can be difficult to decide if it is the drug or the disease. It is all too easy for drug companies to portray depression as giving rise to suicidality.
When an engine falls off a plane or the plane falls out of the sky, we can spot something that shouldn’t be happening. When something goes wrong on a drug, it can be difficult to decide if it is the drug or the disease. If a drug for weight loss such as fenfluramine causes valvular heart disease, it’s difficult to argue that obesity causes valvular heart disease. But at the opposite extreme it is all too easy for drug companies to portray depression as giving rise to suicidality.
In between lies an area that companies have been busy colonizing ever since Lilly introduced the disease defence, and with time it’s become easier and easier for them to argue that there is some disease somewhere that has caused whatever problems might have been linked to their drug; we have been told schizophrenia causes diabetes among other things.
One way to reframe the issues would be to restore the word “poison” to our vocabulary. Every drug, as one of the fathers of medicine, Paracelsus, said, is a poison, and the art of medicine lies in finding the right dose. This is one of the most famous and hallowed definitions of medical practice but it has become close to illegal to voice it.
Every drug is a poison, and the art of medicine lies in finding the right dose.
In expert reports on drug-induced injury cases, when I refer to all drugs being poisons, the defense lawyers file a motion to have the term poison removed as prejudicial and the judge will commonly rule in their favour. I’m waiting for the argument that it’s unconstitutional to refer to any medicine as a poison.
The bias introduced by a disease perspective unbalanced by a poison perspective is extraordinary. In the case of the antidepressants, the bias is almost complete. There are studies in which healthy volunteers have become suicidal or committed suicide on antidepressants – and the response from companies and their experts is that these volunteers must have been depressed or bipolar.
After the Black Box warning made it more difficult to blame depression, the antidepressants-causing-suicide story was reframed as an error in diagnosis; these patients in fact had a different disease – bipolar disorder – and if they had only been given a mood-stabilizer rather than an antidepressant, all would have been well.
This story has worked a treat – even though in bipolar patients, anticonvulsants given as mood-stabilizers double the rate of suicides and suicidal acts compared to placebo. It works even though people with epilepsy or migraine given these drugs have double the rate of suicidal acts on them compared to placebo. It works even though healthy volunteers become suicidal on them.
Doctors and academics cannot bring themselves to see medicines as poisons to be used with care. Instead, the disease as the unique source of toxicity frames our view of events.
Despite this, doctors and academics cannot bring themselves to see medicines as poisons to be used with care. Instead, the disease has become the unique source of toxicity and this frames our current view of events.
The role of the disease as a source of toxicity has huge implications for randomized controlled trials, widely trumpeted as the gold standard method of evaluation.
The failure of doctors to spot drug toxicity has huge implications for the continuing existence of medicine as a profession.
We will explore these in my next blog posts. | <urn:uuid:704e54c3-a721-458d-828f-0db939d1ef3c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://davidhealy.org/the-spin-that-no-data-can-overcome/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961688 | 924 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Nose riding looks easy, all you really do is stand there, but for many it seems like a mystery that’s unsolvable. With a couple of simple tips you can not only have a clue but most likely find yourself logging some serious tip time.
You can noseride on almost any SUP board, but there are certainly some shapes and designs that are easier than others. In general, a round nose offers more support than a pointed one, and moderate nose rocker keeps the tail from being levered up. A little concave in the nose helps as well. Some folks like a little V in the tail to make steering the board from the nose a bit easier–but I’m not a fan of V, to me it makes the rail to rail transitions too much like flipping a switch. It also helps to have a long fin to keep the tail under control if it’s levered out the back of the wave.
First and probably the most important is positioning. Positioning on the board is important but positioning on the wave is most critical. If there were a secret it is positioning yourself high up on the face. This serves two functions. One, because of the steep angle at the top of the wave, it is easier to keep the nose from pearling, and two, the crest of the wave essentially peels over the board and holds the tail down so that it counters your weight at the nose.
Next, positioning on the board is a delicate dance of balance and control. The idea of course is to get yourself as close to the nose as possible, hopefully to the point of hanging your toes over the nose. The problem is the closer you get to the nose, the less control you have over the board and the more the board wants to pearl. The control issue is managed by delicate steps on your way to the nose, being careful to keep your weight centered over the stringer, or middle line of the board, this will keep the board traveling on the same line and hopefully maintain that high line that makes it much easier.
You can shuffle around to move on the board, but it upsets the board quite a bit and makes it hard to keep the board trimmed. Still, you might find shuffling around to be easier at first, and there’s no harm in it, but sooner or later you’re going to want to cross step. Cross-stepping is the classic way to make your way to the nose. Not only does it look cool, it also enables you to maintain control of the board. As you cross you can control the pressure on your toes and heel to keep the board flat. If you aren’t already cross-stepping around on your board then now is a good time to learn. You can cross step anywhere for practice, even though it might look weird to your spouse or friends. Knees bent, weight balanced evenly between toes and heels, pick up the rear foot, step over the toes of the front foot and place it a few inches or so in front of the prior front foot. Transfer your weight to the new front foot, keeping toe and heel pressure balanced, move the new rear foot around the heel of the front foot and place it a few inches ahead. As the shampoo bottle says–”lather, rinse, repeat”. Going backwards is the reverse of frontwards of course. The biggest problem you’ll have is keeping the pressure on toes and heel under control. Don’t try to go fast until you have full control of your weight and balance.
On a shorter board it might take two steps, on a 12 footer, maybe four steps, but in either case it will be an even number so your dominant foot is forward. As you cross step make the last step a bit longer to reach the magic spot on the nose. Once you get to the nose keep most of your weight on your back foot. This will help keep the board from pearling. The coveted hang ten takes much more practice and comes after you’ve mastered the hang five.
The paddle can also be used as an aid in balancing once you commit to the nose, by skimming it across the surface as you ride. If you feel the nose on the verge of pearling you can either step back to keep it from going under or just put more weight on your back foot if a little adjustment will suffice. You will also discover that you actually can have some control over the board from the very tip. By pressuring your toes or heels the board will veer slowly to one direction or the other. Again, experimentation is key to learning this skill and many falls will come between you and success, but ultimately you will make it. Another tip that will make it a little easier is to try and ride on your front side whenever practicing. This will allow you to integrate your toes more into the equation, which are more sensitive to fine balance adjustments. You will want to master it in both directions though ultimately. Good luck. | <urn:uuid:fa314ce1-cdcc-4dc8-8191-0b9070720121> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.davidkalama.com/nose-riding/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960653 | 1,028 | 1.53125 | 2 |
In keeping with the Pokemon theme around here lately, today's tutorial will be over how to draw Ash Ketchum. Ash is the main character of the Pokemon anime, who's goal in life is to be the greatest Pokemon trainer ever. But if you were searching for this tutorial, you already knew that! Let's get started.
The first step in drawing Ash is to make a simple oval which will become his head. This oval should be fairly flat on top, and come to a small point at the bottom where his chin will be.
Next, we need to draw a half rectangle which will be Ash's midsection, and two lines connecting it and his head to give him a neck.
We now need to build on Ash's shoulders and give him some clothes. As you can see in the image on the left, draw in Ash's wide collar around his neck, and give him two sleeves that get cut off at the edge of the image.
Draw in Ash's hat by making two small half circles on the top of his head, with his spiky hair sticking out from the sides of his head.
At this point we need to begin giving Ash some definition to his face. Draw in his ears, and a large triangular mouth.
Ash has very large eyes. In fact, each eye should be nearly the same size as his mouth. Give Ash two thin eyebrows, and a very small triangular nose, and his face is mostly complete.
At this point, Ash should be pretty much finished. All that's left to do is to add in the pupils to his eyes, some buttons on his jacket, and the symbol on the front of his hat.
I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial. Don't forget to comment and like us on Facebook. Thanks everyone! | <urn:uuid:3cc3a0e3-a718-48ed-9c21-4a32823438e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drawcentral.com/2012/10/how-to-draw-ash-ketchum.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988643 | 364 | 2.390625 | 2 |
There’s been a lot of talk in the news about a new economic stimulus package. Some are talking about a new one being approved this year while others speculate that it won’t happen until President-Elect Obama takes office. There’s been talk that a new economic stimulus package would be more infrastructure and not checks as the last package was. And there definitely has been a lot of talk of whether we even need a new economic stimulus package; questioning if it even makes a difference. Here’s what I say:
Never mind a new economic stimulus package – Save yourself!
Don’t count on the government to come through with legislation to help you make ends meet. That attitude will never get you ahead. You need to take matters into your own hands. If you are in a bad financial situation you need take control and ownership of the problem and fix it yourself.
Here are 12 ways you can take matters in your own hands and save yourself:
- Get your finances in order. If you haven’t done so get all of your monthly bills and expenses together and figure out what you are really spending. Put together a realistic budget that you will follow.
- Make sure you excel at your job. Unemployment is the highest it’s been in quite a while and I’m sure there will be many more layoffs to come. Don’t be the robot at work that does just enough to get by. Get yourself interested and make yourself valuable to your company. Don’t just get your job done – get it done well! If layoffs are coming you may be able to save yourself from the chopping block. Hey, maybe you could even get a promotion?
- Build networking relationships with friends and co-workers. Sometimes, as unfair as it seems, it’s not what you know but who you know. Keep up with co-workers when they move to other jobs. They can be your foot in the door if you leave your current job. Stay in contact with friends as well. Even if they don’t work in your industry they could prove to be a valuable contact. Network!
- Pay your bills on time. Lenders are getting shy about giving out their money these days. If you pay late you may find your interest skyrocketing. Universal default allows one credit company to raise your interest rate if you’re late on a different company’s card. A late payment can make all of your credit cards have high rates. If you aren’t paying off your balances every month you can find yourself sinking faster into debt.
- Put money away for emergency savings. Really you don’t know what the future holds and as the saying goes: “when it rains it pours!” What happens if you find yourself out of a job? Then the car breaks? Then you need a doctor’s appointment? Hopefully you don’t need your savings but put yourself in good shape by having savings in place.
- Make sure your credit report is clean. Errors on your credit report can be costing you in higher interest rates on your credit cards and loans. Make sure your credit report is accurate.
- Check you credit score. Your credit score is like your code of honor among credit agencies. A low score means higher interest rates and could also mean you won’t get a needed loan or credit. Credit scores are also used in housing and in job hunting. Get that score up!
- Cut costs. Remember that emergency savings? A way to help build that up is to cut costs. Cut a few corners here and there and you can find yourself with significant savings!
- Analyze your tax withholding. Are you paying too much? Pay what you need to and no more. Many like to get a big tax refund but you’re better off having that money in each of your paychecks instead. You don’t earn any interest when the government is holding your money! Adjust your tax withholding so you maximize your paycheck.
- Re-evaluate your holiday spending. The holiday spending frenzy is starting. Don’t get caught up in the current! You don’t need to spend exorbitant amounts on every person you know this holiday season (here’s a challenge: see if you can keep a $100 holiday). What really the point in spending so much if it puts you in a bad financial situation? Budget what you can spend on gifts and don’t go over. Make sure your budget is within reason of your financial situation (don’t spend more than you have!).
- Go to school. Yes, school is an expense. But taking some extra courses or pursuing/finishing up a degree can help make yourself more marketable to employers. This can be as simple as taking an advanced Excel course to working on a higher degree.
- Work on building alternate sources of income. Try your hand at blogging. Work on developing a hobby that could earn money such as photography. Other streams of income are a good thing, especially when money is tight. And you never know, what you start could develop into something bigger.
It always sounds nice when the government offers to give us money back but we have to remember there’s a price to this. It could mean less services somewhere else or more taxes down the line. Remember the money has to come from somewhere!
Don’t hope the government will do something to ease your situation. Get a hold of your finances and take care of it yourself! | <urn:uuid:a4acc1ae-bd38-4c59-88f8-ba90f3062f02> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freefrombroke.com/never-mind-a-new-economic-stimulus-package-save-yourself/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957285 | 1,143 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Fascinating fruit and veg
The fruit and veg displays in the RHS Summer Fruit & Vegetable Competition Pavilion can be as interesting as the show gardens
The RHS Summer Fruit & Vegetable pavilion may often be overlooked because its displays are not as extravagant as the Show Gardens, however if you have an allotment, are interested in herbs, fruit and vegetables or simply want to stay out of the rain, then spend some time talking to the exhibitors. They are full of interesting facts and tips about growing their specialist fruit or herb, as well as displaying them in competitions or exhibitions.
B136a British Tomato Growers' Association
With four candles in his hand and a cash register full of money, Arkwright from Open All Hours stands behind a cash register, surrounded by a huge selection of tomatoes in sweet jars and baskets. Keep an eye out for a very shiny tomato called ‘Tomkin’ that looks absolutely delicious.
Top tips for growing tomatoes
- To ensure a set number of fruits per truss, count out the flowers when they are in bloom and remove the rest. The number of tomatoes will depend on the size e.g. there are often five ‘Elegance’ tomatoes per truss whereas for ‘Picolini’ there are usually 12.
Top tips for showing tomatoes
- Always pick the best tomatoes to display. Aim to show popular selections but also so slightly different ones to keep the exhibition interesting.
B136b The Herb Society
As well as an attractive display of herbs, there will also be demonstrations on how to make herbal corsages (which you can keep) and a chance to sample Elizabethan Pot Pourri made with Orris root which, we are assured, keeps its scent for years and not just for a few months.
Top tips for growing herbs
- Remember to compost herbs such as yarrow and nettles because they help decompose compost heaps in half the time.
- Herbs are also full of nutrients that can enrich your compost; yarrow (copper), comfrey (nitrogen), tansy (potassium), dandelion (copper and iron), camomile (calcium) and sunflowers (potassium).
Top tips for showing herbs
- Pick a theme for your display first and then all other decisions are easier to make.
B136c Northern Fruit Group
A simple but informative display of soft fruits, including tips on growing such as how to shade gooseberries to prevent sunburn. Look out for a plate of Finnish Hinommaki gooseberries that are resistant to mildew.
Top tips for growing fruits
- Often considered as a fruit grown in hotter climates than ours, apricots can be grown in this country as long as they are against a warm wall. Painting the wall white also helps.
- Cordons are an excellent way of growing fruit. They can be used as a border around an allotment, spaced 2-3ft apart allowing a large selection of fruits to be grown.
Top tips for show fruits
- Make sure you are growing the correct selections of fruits for your display. There is nothing worse than finding out that you have grown the wrong cultivar or variety of fruit.
- Check for uniformity of colour, shape and size when displaying fruit.
B136e Mid-Cheshire Gooseberry Association
Entering gooseberry competitions is not for the faint-hearted as this display shows. There are containers with flat-growing gooseberry bushes demonstrating the technique used to produce heavier fruit; wax sealed boxes to carry fruits to competitions; old-fashioned penny-weight scales to weigh the fruit; and a display case exhibiting winning gooseberries. Be sure to speak to the exhibitor about gooseberry competitions – the rules, regulations and lengths to which competitors go to is astounding.
Top tips for growing gooseberries
- Grow organic. Don’t spray with artificial fertilisers.
- Fruits are grown for their size and weight so grow gooseberry plants low and flat rather than high and bushy so plant energy doesn’t have to travel as far and is directed to the lower, more immediate fruits.
- Thin out the berries to produce fewer but heavier fruits.
Top tips for showing gooseberries
- Show cultivars and varieties should be bought from specialist growers and not from local garden centres. Not only do they have newer selections but the quality of plants will be higher.
B136d Colour My Garden
This display, which resembles a chessboard, illustrates the medieval style of growing herbs and edible plants with a square patch of grass planted in between the different types of herbs. This technique makes herbs easier to access and maintain and is a useful and attractive way to grow herbs in raised beds.
Top tips for growing herbs
- Only grow what you want to eat. The exhibitor said she made the mistake of growing Jerusalem artichoke and is now struggling to remove it from her allotment.
- If you don’t want to use straws or paving for paths in your allotment then Alpine strawberries are good for edging walkways.
- Must-have herbs and edibles for any allotment include bay trees, rosemary and thyme because they can all be added to a wide selection of foods.
- Alpine strawberries are the best fruit to grow because they do not run and fruit constantly throughout the growing season.
Top tips for showing herbs and edibles
- Design your display well in advance so you know what and how many plants are needed. | <urn:uuid:fc1c3897-1ba5-48c3-8bb5-6bb0561a061a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/RHS-Show-Tatton-Park/2012/All-Coverage/Articles/Marquees/RHS-Summer-Fruit---Vegetable-Competition-Pavilion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942643 | 1,140 | 2.890625 | 3 |
The AIC's Executive Director, Ben Johnson, was quoted in an article in the New York Times....
Truth Held Hostage: Dissecting the Lies about Kidnapping in Arizona
Arizona politicians who support the state’s sweeping anti-immigrant law (SB 1070) are not particularly fond of facts. For instance, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) has made all manner of ludicrous statements about unauthorized immigrants typically carrying drugs, killing cops, and leaving headless bodies in the desert. But the most hypocritical of the anti-immigrant statements made by politicians such as Brewer concern kidnapping. Not only do Brewer and company pretend that kidnappers are lurking behind every corner in Arizona, but they usually neglect to mention that unauthorized immigrants are the primary victims of the kidnappings that do occur. In other words, the kidnapping of unauthorized immigrants is being used as a justification to crack down on unauthorized immigrants. This is a nonsensical policy that attacks the victims rather than the perpetrators of the crime.
The reality of most kidnappings in Arizona is captured in a new book by journalist Terry Greene Sterling, entitled Illegal: Life and Death in Arizona’s Immigration War Zone. Sterling recounts the terrifying experience of two unauthorized immigrants from Mexico—Rosario and Selestino—who were kidnapped for ransom by the smugglers (coyotes) they hired to bring them to the United States. After a five-day journey by foot through the desert, Rosario and Selestino, along with several other immigrants, were taken at gunpoint to a filthy “drop house” in a Phoenix suburb, told that the fee for smuggling them had nearly doubled, and threatened with death if they couldn’t produce the extra money.
Published On: Thu, Aug 26, 2010 | Download File | <urn:uuid:2dc2a4cd-6233-42d5-a2f7-7a5b73ddb07a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/perspectives/truth-held-hostage-dissecting-lies-about-kidnapping-arizona | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962145 | 358 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Dr. Steven Strang
This course is an introduction to the history, the theory, the practice, and the implications (both social and ethical) of rhetoric, the art and craft of persuasion. By the end of the semester, you will have been exposed to several of the key concepts of rhetoric (e.g., ethos, pathos, logos, invention, style, arrangement, kairos, stasis, commonplaces) and to the over-riding importance of writing to your audience. You will have gotten a taste of rhetorical history and theory. You will explore and analyze and respond to some key texts by significant writers. You will have had a chance to practice speaking and debating before the class. You will have written and revised several texts. You will have examined some of your core beliefs and assumptions. In this course you will act as both a rhetor (a person who uses rhetoric) and a rhetorician (one who studies the art of rhetoric). Because the study of rhetoric has always had as one of its goals the creation of active and informed citizens and because rhetors write to influence the real world and thus to become agents of positive change, the topics you choose and the essays you write will have the important purpose of persuading your readers (the class and me). | <urn:uuid:d382a500-f90a-4b49-b322-ccec59ca316c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/writing-and-humanistic-studies/21w-747-1-rhetoric-spring-2006/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955302 | 261 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Severing heads of the dead enemy soldiers? I thought it was so medieval.
People who did that to the late Lance Naik Hemraj Singh's body must be severely punished.
Business Standard's leader on January 15 2013:
"News TV's martial music drowns out its responsibilities...It should go without saying that the media has a role in informing and educating a citizenry about the issues of the day, providing background, context and holding the powerful to account. A case study in how not to go about this is currently being provided by the electronic media in its coverage of recent raids and counter-raids on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, in which two Indian soldiers have been killed, and one allegedly subjected to post-mortem mutilation. Instead of questioning the narrative, news television and some print outlets have instead blatantly beaten the drums of confrontation, hyping even relatively calm statements by the army chief into belligerent displays of national machismo."
On December 7 1760, just before the third battle of Panipat that was fought on January 14 1761, Maratha chieftain Balwantrao Mehendale (बळवंतराव मेहेंदळे) was killed by the enemy. The enemy wanted to sever his head and present it to their leadership. A few brave Maratha soldiers prevented that from happening and his whole body was brought back to the camp.
(Read a related post on the subject here.)
Cutting enemy heads was almost the norm then. Maratha armies too occasionally indulged in the practice.
Last year a book titled "The Severed Head: Capital Vision" by Julie Kristeva, translated by Jody Gladding was published. It's about the way in which the severed head pops up in art, literature and real life.
Kathryn Hughes said in the review of the book for Guardian:
"Part of its fascination lies in the way it seems to offer a physical location for where our true self resides. Our face is what makes us knowable in the social world, our brain is what tells us who we are, and our speaking mouth is the conduit between the two. Lose our heads and we have lost everything, which is why the fact that we can come apart so easily is terrifying. It also explains a certain morbid fascination with how long a head can go on living after it has been severed."
Of all the books I read in my childhood, I remember those most which had memorable pictures. I have already mentioned a few of them before.
One such book was "Sheesamarthcharitramrut" (श्रीसमर्थचरित्रामृत).
It claims to be a biography of Samarth Ramdas (समर्थ रामदास) told through stories. It's 159 pages long and was published in 1958, 350th birth anniversary year of Samarth. Luckily, I still have it with me.
I must have read it dozens of times. I once knew almost all of its text by heart but I now only remember its pictures.
They were drawn by Chitrakalabhushan Mr. J B Dikshit (चित्रकलाभूषण श्री. जि. भि. दीक्षित). Mr. Dixit's contribution has been generously acknowledged by the editor of the book in the foreword.
It has a couple of pictures of severed head of Bholaram (भोळाराम), disciple of Samarth. They scared me a bit tn the beginning but I guess they also increased the book's appeal to the child in the long run.
'Bholaram cuts off his own head'
The story of Bholaram of course is a folktale/myth as are most of them in the collection.
In 17th century Maharashtra severed head was not all that bizarre. As seen earlier, one reads in battles involving Maratha armies, how the victors cut off the heads of the vanquished and carried them as trophies.
Battle was such an accepted motif then that even Tukaram (तुकाराम) says:
"वेढा वेढा रे पंढरी । मोर्चे लावा भीमातिरीं ॥1॥ चलाचला संत जन । करा देवासी भांडण ॥ध्रु.॥ लुटालुटा पंढरपूर। धरा रखुमाइऩचा वर ॥2॥ तुका ह्मणे चला । घाव निशानी घातला॥3॥"
(Hey besiege besiege Pandharpur, erect barricades (open fronts) on the banks of Bhima
come come devotees, spar with the god
Plunder, plunder Pandharpur, detain the husband of Rakhumai
Tukaram says let's go, we have hit the target)
I wonder if Mr. Dixit saw or studied the following picture?
David with the Head of Goliath, 1609–1610
Artist: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
"Perhaps the most powerful and personal work that Caravaggio completed during his final months in Naples is his David with the Head of Goliath. Everything that Caravaggio knew about youth and age, cruelty and compassion, life and death, sex and suffering, has been poured, without hesitation or holding back, into this image of the delicate boy—probably the same one who modeled for the brooding Saint John the Baptist now in Rome’s Galleria Borghese- holding, at arm’s length, the head of the the bearded, shaggy, middle-aged man whom he has slain. The head of Goliath is Caravaggio’s last self-portrait. His features are thick and misshapen. One of his eyelids droops. On his forehead is a bloody wound, presumably the mark of the fatal stone from David’s slingshot, but which also suggests the disfiguring injuries the painter received when he was attacked at the Osteria del Cerriglio in Naples.,,
...Death has already frozen Goliath’s features into a rigid, Medusa-like mask, and what’s most disturbing is that death has given him no peace, no relief, no release from the agony and horror of his dying moments, from the shock of having been murdered by a boy so much like the youths whom, in more peaceful and less desperate times, Caravaggio would have loved."
(from 'Caravaggio / Painter of Miracles' by Francine Prose)
I have quoted above: "how long a head can go on living after it has been severed.".... Caravaggio's head still lives! | <urn:uuid:e106ed85-dedb-488d-9124-a7c3554e0f73> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.searchingforlaugh.blogspot.com/2013_01_20_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960533 | 1,677 | 2.515625 | 3 |
I have no way of knowing what kind of movie you want to make. Maybe it's a scripted short film; maybe just a relatively simple capture of an upcoming event or occasion. But the one thing I'm pretty certain of is that you really do know how that movie is going to look. You know that because you're walking around with an incredible resource: memorable scenes and techniques from your favorite movies.
Three of my favorites are Kurtz, isolated and speaking from surrounding darkness in Apocalypse Now; the artfully composed opening scenes of Once Upon a Time in the West; and the low-angle, wide-angle views throughout the Coen brothers' Raising Arizona.
Such scenes and techniques are practically master classes in filmmaking.
When I first saw Once Upon a Time in the West when it was released in 1968, it was the story and the characters that impressed me. Today I see much more. The film's first 15 minutes have no dialogue—the visuals tell the story with no doubt about what's going on. I marvel at the composition of every single scene in the film. The director and the director of photography plotted exactly how the camera was going to move and how the move would affect the viewer's perception. The placement of characters, objects and story elements within each frame is so flawless it's mind boggling. No, I'm not going to make a movie on that scale, and I'm not going to imitate those techniques, but Sergio Leone's brilliant filmmaking has given me a lot of ideas.
That's what movies have always given us: ideas, and awareness of methods and techniques. Not the fine points, the deep knowledge of filmmaking, but we know what a cut is, a pan, a reveal. We have the clues to what makes a movie work, and now, with the filmmaking capability of Nikon D-SLRs and the help of key accessories, we have some pretty sophisticated tools.
No matter how you choose to tell your story, what you've seen, appreciated and thought was so cool in movies can be applied. It might be lighting, maybe a camera move or a cut from one scene to the next that you can adapt to help tell your story.
Not long ago my fascination with the Coen brothers' use of low angles and wide angles in Raising Arizona prompted me to see what I could do with that technique. Could I get, as the Coens did, the look and feel of a world where things were out of kilter? I made a short film called A Walk in the Park in My Favorite Red Shoes.
It was a solo production—I was filming my own feet as I walked along with my D7000 and 10-24mm NIKKOR zoom—so I needed a way to put the camera down close to the ground and have it move with me as I walked. I modified a flag arm—it's normally used to hold a sunshade over a camera—by adding a handle and a platform. I left the top hinge of the arm loose, so that as I walked it swung like a pendulum. The device also allowed me to move the camera around my body so it didn't look like I was the one in control of the camera. You can see the result of my experiment in this article.
What ideas would you like to try from movies that inspire you, that you remember vividly or that make you smile every time you see them? A reaction shot, the use of light and shadow, someone silhouetted in a doorway, a sudden shock cut, a slow reveal?
And how will those scenes work together as you edit the film?
Earlier this year I edited the behind-the-scenes short film that Mike Corrado and Lindsay Silverman made as Sandro Miller filmed Joy Ride with D800 cameras. From watching movies I'd absorbed editing ideas, and I'd taught myself the techniques to express those ideas. I know to mix fast-paced cutting and still images to grab people's attention; to use reverse angles for interest and pacing; when to use a reaction shot and a detail shot. The next time you view a favorite film, concentrate only on how it's edited. You'll be amazed at what you'll learn—and what you already know. | <urn:uuid:45a39399-72e3-4641-ab61-ebcd357e9d2b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Learn-And-Explore/Article/h0ndzf4c/master-class-just-watch-and-learn.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966681 | 866 | 1.820313 | 2 |
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My lawn is really struggling with the heat and drought. Is there a point when it just won't recover?
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With high temperatures, drying winds and drought conditions, many lawns, once lush and green, are looking more like hay fields. It is normal for traditional Utah grasses to struggle with the current heat and drought. Brown or golden patches may be forming and growing in lawns. The good news, though, is that these grasses possess the capability to recover from extreme weather conditions. Consider this information before giving up on your turf.
Dormancy is the physiological process grass uses to protect itself from heat and drought. Usually when grass appears to be dead this time of year, it is actually dormant. Dormancy is characterized by a complete cessation of growth along with brown or dead grass blades. Grass blades are less of a concern than the crown of the grass plant, which is at the soil surface and is the point from which the grass blades grow up and the roots grow down. As long as the crown remains alive, grass has the capability to recover when temperature and moisture conditions improve. By entering dormancy, grasses are protecting their crowns for future recovery.
When heat and drought reach a certain level, be aware that no amount of irrigation water will coax your grass out of dormancy. However, as temperatures drop and moisture conditions improve, the grass will recover naturally.
You may find that as your grass becomes more stressed from heat and drought, weeds and insects can become a problem. This will be less of an issue if your lawn was healthy before the hot weather took over. Wait to control weeds until the grass has begun to recover. Pulling weeds by hand works well, but using herbicides can damage already stressed grass. The reduced root growth that occurs when grasses are in dormancy can also increase the injury caused by root-feeding insects. However, it is often difficult to diagnose insect problems when grass is dormant. Be certain you are dealing with an insect problem before using insecticides, and always read and follow label directions.
Though it may be tempting, completely giving up on grass irrigation is not recommended. You may want to cut back to a very small amount of irrigation — just enough to keep the crowns of the grass plants alive. This low amount of irrigation is known as survival watering. For the cool-season grasses traditionally grown in Utah, this can be as little as one inch of irrigation water per month. It can be disbursed in one application or split into two or three applications. It will not keep the grass from entering dormancy, but it will help the grass crowns survive and recover.
Dormancy is a helpful, protective process that should not be feared. Instead, be patient and recognize that it will help your grass recover in the fall.
For more information on drought-related issues, visit www.extension.usu.edu/drought. The site has information on landscape irrigation, agricultural water issues, indoor conservation, frequently asked questions and upcoming events.
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- when should i apply a preemregent to control the weed oxalis that is in my lawn? can you reccomend a particular product? | <urn:uuid:5e142a7f-e624-4498-94d9-269584280104> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://extension.usu.edu/htm/faq/faq_q=170 | 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 | 0.958161 | 952 | 3.015625 | 3 |
וָאֶתְחַנַּן, V'Etchanan, Deuteronomy Chapter 7 דְּבָרִים
"Wow!" I said. "All that peace process is totally forbidden, midiraTa, straight from the Torah!"
You can't get much clearer than that!
Nu, we read this part of the Torah every summer. Why hadn't anyone noticed? How can a person claim to be Torah observant and still insist that we "make peace with the Arabs?" Am I nuts? I found the words I had remembered. They are clear. I suggest you read the Biblical text further, because these instructions are among the most important G-d gives us:
G-d doesn't mince words. The key to our survival is following this demand, simple commandment from G-d. Our security won't come from treaties with the Arabs nor any other foreign power. It will just come from G-d and following G-d's instructions.
As a People, things happen to us that don't make sense. Let's start with our continued existence. No other People, Nation, religion has lasted longer or wandered as much and returned to our own Land. Actually, there is no other people like the Jewish People which is so intimately tied through history and religion to one small piece of land. We the Jewish People are unlike any other.
That's the truth, the pragmatic truth.
Have a Good Week | <urn:uuid:b272cc64-c773-44f4-8e4a-a064540f8d6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2012/08/peace-treaties-with-ehe-arabs-are.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962591 | 317 | 2.078125 | 2 |
The Jackson Daily News carried a story saying the Freedom Rider movement to challenge segregated transportation terminals in the South was conceived in communist Cuba.
Last week many of 328 riders arrested in Mississippi that year – most of whom wound up incarcerated in the state’s notorious Parchman Penitentiary – were the toast of the town here, treated as royalty. Even Gov. Haley Barbour, certainly not noted for civil rights sensitivity, at a Sunday gathering of Freedom Riders profusely apologized for their mistreatment in Mississippi 50 years ago.
We hadn’t known back in May 1961, what high-level negotiations had gone on behind the scene involving Sen. James O. Eastland, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Gov. Ross Barnett. Looking back, I realize they saved Jackson from becoming a bloody state-federal battleground as happened on the Ole Miss campus 14 months later. Determined not to have a repeat of the mob attack and firebombing that had greeted the Freedom Riders when they arrived in Montgomery, Ala., four days earlier, Kennedy secretly extracted a promise from Barnett to have armed National Guardsmen ride on the bus with other Guardsmen following in automobiles to protect the riders into Jackson.
So it came as a great surprise to me when the shiny red and white Trailways bus bearing 12 Freedom Riders pulled into the bus station on Pascagoula Street, and state Sen. G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery (whom I knew and liked, in the Legislature) stepped off the bus in a National Guard lieutenant colonel’s uniform. (A remarkable coincidence: 10 years later, Montgomery and John Lewis, one of the Freedom Riders on the bus, would be serving together as Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives.)
Immediately after entering the “white only” section of the bus terminal, the Freedom Riders, one at a time, were placed under arrest by Capt. J. L. Ray after refusing to obey his order to “move on.” Other blue-capped city police officers led them to a waiting paddy wagon. Nothing as said about violating Mississippi’s segregation laws.
The arrests seemed to follow a script. And to a large extent – as we would learn later – they did. Kennedy had made a deal with Barnett, brokered through Eastland, that the feds would not intervene when the riders were arrested by Jackson police and jailed. The thinking was that the riders would post bond and then go home, and the news story would quickly disappear. But that is not the way the Freedom Rider story played out.
James Farmer, co-founder of the Congress of Racial Equality, which sponsored the rides that left Washington, D.C., in early May, meantime arrived in Jackson later on May 24 aboard a Greyhound bus with 15 fellow riders and had also been peacefully arrested. Farmer decreed that instead of posting bond and then disappearing into the night, the riders would stay in jail until the final day of their 40-day sentences, and then file an appeal of their convictions for breach of the peace. Then, to the annoyance of Bobby Kennedy, Farmer sent out word for riders to keep coming to Jackson and fill up the jails.
Barnett, through Hinds County Judge Russel Moore, decided to relieve over-crowded city and county jails by carting the riders off to Parchman state penitentiary. Their accommodations: maximum security cells and the tender mercy of the toughest prison guards. That’ll send those trouble-makers packing, so went Barnett’s thinking.
Again, the riders turned the tables on their Mississippi “hosts.” They did it by constantly singing freedom songs that they invented. When guards snatched their inch-thick mattresses, ex-rider Henry “Hank” Thomas (now a prominent Atlanta businessman) told me, they sang “You can take my mattress, but you can’t take my soul...”
Jackson’s Mayor Allen Thompson (now deceased) weighed in confidently that once the Freedom Riders stopped coming, “Our colored people will go right back to the old way.” History has proven otherwise.
Columnist Bill Minor has covered Mississippi politics since 1947. Contact him through Ed Inman at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:bd66bf25-0776-4930-80f3-10b44b6e96fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://djournal.com/view/full_story/13450068/privacy_policy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965169 | 886 | 2.40625 | 2 |
PORT ARTHUR — By Ashley Sanders
The News staff writer
Houston did it. The sleepy college city of Bryan did it too.
Countless Texas towns and metro areas have revitalized their dilapidated downtown areas with loft suites and upscale housing. And the Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce is hoping an upcoming housing boon could revitalize the city’s once enchanting downtown.
With more than 18,000 workers needed over the next four to six years to complete industrial expansion projects across the city, Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce President Verna Rutherford is optimistic that some real estate developers might pave the way for a new, trendy Procter Street area.
“This is the only seed I will plant,” Rutherford told a crowd of industry leaders and real estate developers Monday at the Housing and Lodging Initiative meeting held at Lamar State College-Port Arthur. “A good spring board idea would be to develop lofts downtown. What could be a better view than looking out at the water every morning?”
Just an idea that she was throwing out for consideration, Rutherford said the chamber is wanting to help any real estate developer, apartment owner or hotel proprietor pair up with a local industry group to make future housing plans for the influx of workers expected to start arriving in Port Arthur in 2007.
Expansions, new projects take flight
Opening up Monday’s informal meeting with a warm welcome to both the industry groups and real estate representatives, Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Bob Morgan told the crowd that it was “heartening” to see the kind of growth expected for Port Arthur.
“I have not seen anything like this in the history of Port Arthur,” Morgan said of the five refineries and chemical plants looking to make additional roots in the city.
Taking a few hours out of their day, representatives from area plants talked with real estate agents and housing companies during the meeting — each industry leader laying out the framework of their future project and the workforce requirements necessary to complete the job.
Speaking on behalf of Motiva Enterprises, Community Relations Coordinator Sue Parsely said the Port Arthur refining group was still optimistic that they will get the go ahead for a $3.5 billion expansion project. If Port Arthur is selected for the expansion, the plant will become the largest in the nation.
Once approved by the Motiva board of directors, the Port Arthur site could begin to see construction start as early as 2007 and peak in 2009.
To get the 600,000-barrel-per-day crude plant on-line by 2010, Motiva estimates they will need 4,500 people working on the project over the four year construction stint.
Those employees, whether local or from out-of-town, will need lodging.
Golden Pass LNG
Making headlines recently across the county and much of the state about their plans to begin work on their LNG terminal, representatives from Golden Pass LNG say they are ready to see their two and half years of planning the terminal come to fruition.
Tom Burger, vice president of development and operations, said Golden Pass LNG is already taking shape near Sabine Pass.
“We are ready to start dredging,” he told the audience. “We plan on hiring anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 people with an average of 600 workers for this three year project.”
Burger said he was unsure about housing requirements needed by the workers and that he assumed a per diem amount would be provided so the construction crews could find their own lodgings.
Representatives from Sempra LNG said they are about a year behind the Golden Pass LNG project, but that they too would most likely see construction begin on their project in late 2007 or early 2008.
With a maximum manpower need at 1,247 and an average workforce requirement of 530 people, Sempra is hoping that their LNG plant will be completely on line by 2011.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a permit in mid-June for Sempra to move forward with plans to construct the facility on the company’s 2,900 acres of land located near TX 87 and the ship channel.
The new LNG terminal will be capable of producing three billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
While Port Arthur’ s Total expansion has not been approved by the company, Pat Avery, community relations director for the Port Arthur plant, said she is hopeful that her plant will secure a $1 billion deep conversion coker project.
Avery estimated that the project would require 3,500 workers over the course of three years.
“We want to emphasize that we want to hire in our own community,” she said. “We need to tell our young people who do not go to college how important the construction business is. After these plants are built, they will need maintenance and this creates additional jobs.”
Also not finalized, but never the less optimistic, Port Arthur’s Valero plant is hoping to secure an expansion project that would require 2,000 construction workers.
“It seems like if one company gets a good idea, they all do,” Jim Griffith, Valero spokesperson, said. “If approved, this project would get started in 2007 or 2008 and probably peak construction wise in 2009.”
Anyone who would like to offer a housing solution for the influx of workers expected to begin arriving in Port Arthur in 2007, call the Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce at 963-1107.
PA CoC searching for solutions
PORT ARTHUR — By Ashley Sanders
- Local News
- Vote goes against teacher
- Association backs teacher
- Sanderson steps down from Ned school board
- Contributions of maritime industry recognized
- Stabbing death, burglary possibly related
- Man arrested for murder after telling neighbor he ‘shot his girlfriend’
- Port Neches man killed in one vehicle wreck in Nederland
- Man dead, wife hospitalized following wreck
Association, teacher say Gunner incapable of attack
“A person does not change their character overnight,” said Veazey, a retired Port Arthur Independent School District teacher. “We do not accept that she just walked into a room and started beating on a kid. Her students are her life. She wouldn’t do that.”
- Donations for tornado victims accepted locally
- More Local News Headlines | <urn:uuid:be77dad7-3571-418e-bc49-1dd3f77c0ce5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://panews.com/local/x681418090/Plant-expansions-to-create-a-housing-boon | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953929 | 1,328 | 1.515625 | 2 |
There's a lot of new functionality in the new release, and there are some significant changes.
This blog post talks about an earlier release candidate, but presumably still applies. At the time of posting, the release notes stop at release 23, but that may be fixed by the time you read this.
A quick test showed some of the new features, and some of the issues involved in migrating existing projects.
The new IDE looks subtly different. Below you'll see a 'verify' button (shown as a tick) which you can use to compile a sketch without trying to upload it. I found that handy when checking the compatibility of existing code.
You'll find changes in several libraries. In most cases these are improvements in functionality. Examples:
- the Serial library is now asynchronous
- Serial now contains functions for parsing input data
- the String class is now more efficient and robust
- the Ethernet library now supports DHCP and DNS
- the SD library (which you can use for reading from/writing to SD cards) now supports multiple open files
However, some changes will break existing code. For instance
- send() and receive() in the Wire library have been replaced by write() and read()
- the effect of Serial.print() on a byte argument has changed. It's now more consistent with other libraries, but existing code will break. The old behaviour can be reproduced by using Serial.write() instead
Finally, the extension for Arduino sketches has changed from pde to ino. The new IDE will recognise your old sketches, though, and when you save them a pop-up will remind you of the change before asking if you want to save the file with the new extension. That's handy, as it gives you an easy way to keep track of which sketches you've migrated.
There are many other changes listed in the blog. I'll update this post if I come across anything crucial. | <urn:uuid:76afbb08-cd05-48c4-95c0-f028e05ce129> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://romillys-robots.blogspot.com/2011/12/arduino-10-is-out-first-impressions.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945922 | 393 | 1.585938 | 2 |
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What is Biomimicry?
Biomimicry, as defined by the Biomimicry Guild, is an innovation method that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature's time-tested patterns and strategies, e.g., a solar cell inspired by a leaf. The goal is to create products, processes, and policies-new ways of living-that are well-adapted to life on earth over the long haul. | <urn:uuid:9e047edf-2ea0-4040-b5d7-8ef5c887a231> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sustainability.about.com/od/Myths/Green-Myths.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927417 | 739 | 2.078125 | 2 |
In an attempt to smooth over relations with the Korean people. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi of Japan offered an apology to South Korea for Japanese war-time actions, specifically pertaining to Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes in Japanese military brothels during World War II. The Japanese Statement came in a meeting with visiting South Korean president Kim Dae-jung. Although it is not the the first time that Japan has apologized to Korea for its war-time misconduct, this statment was given extra weight because it was included in a joint declaration issued by the two leaders called the ``new partnership''. This agreement opened up new areas of cooperation between the two countries, including the Asian financial crisis and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Korean survivors of the war are demanding official compensation and an apology from the Japanese government, but Tokyo has refused direct payment, saying the issue has already been settled through peace treaties. A government-backed private fund has raised money to give to the women, but many still say they want official, direct compensation. Kim did not say whether Tokyo should pay the women or not. On Friday, the Tokyo District Court rejected claims from 46 Filipino women for 20 million yen ($169,000) each in compensation. The presiding judge said the international law under which the plaintiffs sought damages did not permit compensation demands by individuals.
In the first ever visit by a Chinese head of state, President Jiang Zemin arrived in Japan asking for an spology similar to the one that Japan had earlier extended to the Koreans. Prime minister Obuchi offered Jiang the traditional welcome gift--a statement of "deep remorse" for Japans war-time actions--but refused the written apology that Jiang wanted.
Keizo Obuchi-Prime Minister of Japan
Jiang Zemin-President of China
Kim Dae-jung-President of South Korea
|10/08/98||A civic group representing the South Korean women forced into sexual slavery rejects Japan's apology|
|11/25/98||Japan expresses deep remorse, for war-time misconduct against Chinese people but does not apologize outright.|
Good article dealing with war-time sex slavery
Japanese War Crimes | <urn:uuid:5b911d04-c8ae-49ad-a786-e47f8a79fec1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://projects.ldc.upenn.edu/TDT2000/topics/completed-research/japan-korea.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955086 | 442 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Filed under: Uncategorized.
One of the most desperate concerns of home owners today is the security of their property. Not only are the home owners worried about their physical property itself, such as their home, outdoor buildings, and vehicles, but also the security of their loved ones inside of the home. Obviously, home owners will want to keep their loved ones and valuable possessions safe by implementing some safety and security measures of their own. However, there is another added benefit to installing an alarm system or a solar security light that most home owners do not know about! When home owners install items that make their property safer and secure by deterring theft or better reinforcing the property against natural elements, their homeowners insurance rates can be lowered significantly.
This is because when an insurance agency agrees to insure the property of a consumer against theft, damage, or vandalism, they are doing so with the hopes that the home does not fall under damage. The least likely that a home is to incur these various damages, the lower monthly insurance rates that particular home owner will be offered. Before an insurance agency can give a particular home owner a quote on their insurance rates, they will need to analyze the physical location and region of the property.
For instance, if the home is located in a city or neighborhood that has a history of crime and theft, the insurance rates will be higher for that home owner than for the owners of a similar property in a different area. However, the home owners of a property in a crime-riddled area can make amends for their neighborhood by installing a security system and a solar security light in their home. When choosing the different security or alarm system to install in their property, the home owners will likely have a wide variety of systems to choose from. For instance, there are many new security system models that will connect the outdoor solar security light with the system itself.
This will allow the alarm system inside of the home to be armed, so that if a person were to enter through the front door or forcibly through another area of the property, the system will sound the alarm and make a call to the local authorities. For those home owners that are considering installing one of these systems in their property, it would be wise to educate all the children in the home about how to disarm the system after they enter the home so that the alarm will not sound unnecessarily. This is a very important step, because if the alarm were to be triggered by one of the children, this act could result in an unnecessary emergency call to the police, which is a serious offense.
If the home owner is concerned about how the addition of their solar security light and alarm system will truly affect their homeowners insurance rates, they should call their insurance agency and speak with a representative. The insurance adjuster will likely be able to recalculate the monthly insurance rates for the property right there on the phone, which may allow the home owner to make a better decision about which security system to install in their home. When considering the placement of their outdoor security lights, the home owner should do their best to pick a location that will be the most beneficial to the safety of their property, without becoming a nuisance to the home’s occupants. For instance, if an outdoor security light is placed just outside of one of the bedroom windows, the motion-triggered light could disrupt the sleep of the home’s occupants if the home is not equipped with proper blinds or drapes. | <urn:uuid:69b9622f-cf1e-4e8f-9cd4-47e1197b116f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thesolarpowerexpert.com/basic-home-safety-and-the-solar-security-light/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972886 | 702 | 2.234375 | 2 |
May 26, 2009
The Hill reports that tobacco and tobacco products will soon fall under some government agency's jurisdiction. J. Taylor Rushing writes,
The congressional drive to bring tobacco under Food & Drug Administration control -- given new life in the Senate last week -- is poised to approach the finish line in the Senate in June, but not without a bipartisan fight from North Carolina's two senators.
Sens. Kay Hagan (D) and Richard Burr (R) plan to push a substitute bill that would put the controversial drug under the control of a newly created entity of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services instead of the FDA. The substitute bill by Burr and Hagan has been criticized by critics who say taking control outside the FDA would short-circuit attempts at worthwhile regulation, while Burr and Hagen say HHS is better equipped to regulate the drug. . . .
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act passed the House by a vote of 298-112 on April 2 -- a vote opposed by most House Republicans. Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said last week that Senate Democrats plan to move forward on their side sometime in June. The Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed the bill on a 15-8 vote last Wednesday. . . .
The bill -- primarily pushed by HELP Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) would set new FDA regulations on nicotine. Federal officials would gain new power to regulate the ingredients, marketing and disclosure requirements of cigarettes, for example, including the power to ban advertising that seeks to downplay the drug's effect, such as companies that advertise cigarettes as "low-tar," or "mild." The bill is also an attempt to circumvent a March 2000 Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Clinton administration attempt to regulate tobacco. On a 5-4 vote, justices at the time said the FDA was "overreaching" in attempting to regulate tobacco without congressional approval. . . .
But the bill won't go down without a fight. Democrats say they have the necessary 60 votes to pass the bill, but Burr said he will lead opposition. "FDA's core mission is to prove the safety of every product that they regulate -- except for tobacco, which we know is dangerous and kills people," said Burr. "So what do you do, ask FDA to ignore their core mission when it comes to tobacco but apply it on everything else?" Burr said he and Hagan do not disagree with the need for increased regulation. ,But where you put it is important," Burr said.
May 26, 2009 | Permalink
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Microsoft is joining a growing number of tech companies that want to do something about their growing carbon emissions due to power hungry data centers and office buildings. The software giant on Tuesday announced a plan to become carbon neutral by fiscal year 2013 (which starts this July), and said it plans to do so by putting a price on its emissions, using energy efficiency measures and buying renewable energy and carbon offsets.
Microsoft will also consider investing in renewable energy projects, the company said. It will look at signing purchase agreements to buy clean power producers, taking a stake in wind farms and methane-capture projects and building onsite clean power generation systems such as fuel cells, the company said in a white paper.
Microsoft is hardly the first tech firm to strive to be carbon neutral. Companies such as Google have announced efforts to do the same and Google has been carbon neutral since the end of 2007. Last year, Google also unveiled a new website that outlines its electricity use publicly for the first time and plans to reduce its carbon footprint.
The use of carbon pricing is an interesting emphasis for Microsoft. Microsoft will put a price on its emissions based on the prevailing market prices for renewable energy and carbon offsets and each of the company’s divisions will have to use its own budget to pay for the emissions that they’ve produced. The fees will go into a central fund that Microsoft will use to buy renewable energy and carbon offsets.
“The goal is simple; to make the company’s business divisions financially responsible for the cost of their carbon emissions and drive even more focus on efficiency and environmental sustainability across Microsoft,” wrote Robert Bernard, chief environmental strategist at the company, in another blog.
The company has been using energy efficiency measures and buying carbon credits to offset its emissions for years now. It’s quite proud of being No. 3 on the Environmental Protection Agency’s annual ranking of 50 big corporations and their emission reduction efforts. Microsoft said it’s met its 2012 goal of reducing its carbon footprint by “ at least 30 percent per unit of revenue” from the 2007 levels.
Buying carbon offsets is a common strategy among companies that want to be carbon neutral. But investing in clean power generation and actually using the renewable electricity would be a more sustainable move because it cuts down on a company’s reliance on power from dirty fossil fuel sources, said Greenpeace, which has its own ranking of Internet companies and their use of clean power to run their data centers.
Greenpeace has used the list to pressure tech companies into using more clean power and share data about their energy use and carbon footprints. In its most recent report, Greenpeace praised efforts by Google, Yahoo and Facebook but was critical of Apple and Amazon. | <urn:uuid:4ad5bbcf-8274-44c2-92c4-81b8ff78593f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gigaom.com/2012/05/08/microsoft-pledges-to-be-carbon-neutral-by-the-summer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964 | 554 | 2.40625 | 2 |
All around the world, big bata is being used to solve longstanding challenges. In Canada, big data is being used to detect infections in ICU babies before its too late. By harnessing millions of heartbeat measurements from the ICU each day, infections can now be detected at least 24 hours before they become symptomatic, thus allowing doctors to get a head-start on treatment. However, medicine is just one of many fields advancing through big data. Big data has led to extraordinary discoveries in many diverse fields, including economics, science, technology, and countless others.
In the first of our two part interview series with Rick Smolan, we discussed the foundation of the Human Face of Big Data project and its incredible app. Today, we're kicking off the second part of the series with a look at major advancements made possible by analyzing big data.
When you think of challenges that were solved using big data in recent years, what major discovery immediately comes to mind?
Remember the terrible earthquake in Japan last year? We all saw images on TV and read about the devastation, it was just heartbreaking. But one of the stories that very few people in the media covered was the fact that 43 seconds before the earthquake hit, every bullet train in every factory in Japan stopped.
It turns out that Japan spent half-a-billion dollars over the last 15 years installing this early earthquake warning system. Incredibly expensive, dedicated sensors, hard-wired, and it worked!
Can you give us an example of how big data is being used to improve the everyday lives of individuals?
There's this little gadget that I wear on my wrist, called the Jawbone. This measures my sleep. It tells me how much good sleep, deep sleep, REM sleep. It shows me my pace during the day. It shows me what time of the day I'm the most active, and what time I'm not.
Three years from now, wristbands, like the Jawbone, will be doing blood oxygen and glucose levels. This might be a way to give us early health warnings. This is big data. A lot of people say, "No, it's a little device. It's a tiny metadata." But if every single human being was wearing it, it might give us this other view of our health, of our activity, of correlating food and diet, with nutrition and disease. It's fascinating.
You and your team traveled all around the world to learn stories of how big data is solving challenges in different societies. Do you have any favorite stories or discoveries?
There's so many other stories that we've uncovered. For years radar operators at airports have basically cursed about the fact that there's all this noise on their radar from birds, bees, bats, and insects. They keep trying to filter this stuff out, because they want to see where the planes are.
A group of scientists about a year ago said, "Wait, you've got 20 years of migration patterns of bats and birds and bees, and you've been throwing it out?" This stuff that was considered to be noise that radar operators are trying to get rid of, suddenly is this incredible treasure trove for scientists. We're seeing this over and over again all over the world, data that was always right there in front of us. Suddenly, we can see things that we just simply couldn't see before.
What role do you think big data will play in the world 50 years from now?
I think 50 years from now big data will be invisible like telephones are now, and really just a part of everyday life. Like all pervasive technologies, things ultimately disappear into the background, like telephones, for instance. In 50 years, that's what I think big data will be: pervasive to the point where we're not talking about it any more. It will become part of everything, woven into every aspect of how the world works.
Want to find out where you fit in to the bigger picture of big data? Download our app on Android or on iOS.
On October 2nd, Rick Smolan stood before a large audience in Manhattan's own Chelsea Market, and boldly stated that: "Big Data will have a bigger effect on humanity than the internet."
These were the words that kicked off Mission Control, the climactic event intended to discuss the latest advances in Big Data. Rick's words sent a wave of excitement over the venue, which was aptly decorated in neon-lights, stunning photographs, and glowing monitors that displayed mind-blowing facts about Big Data and the world as we know it.
For the next hour and a half, we witnessed presentations from an impressive lineup of tech and media figures, including: Juan Enriquez, Sheldon Gilbert, Carlos Dominguez, Esther Dyson, Aaron Koblin, Paul Sagan, Jer Thorp, and Scott Harrison.
"We can either get crushed by its weight or take this opportunity to unlock its potential," said Paul Sagan of Akamai, when referring to the power of Big Data. The crowd was then presented with a new data visualization system that shows where data is being created around the globe. This system is being used to pinpoint malicious IP addresses on digital maps, thus allowing the prevention of destructive data hacks.
Jer Thorp of the New York Times presented an extraordinary visualization of airplanes landing and taking off from airports around the world. "This is one of our most clear experiences of living in a world where we can't understand a system because it's too big," Thorp explained. He then introduced the audience to a project of his, Just Landed, which collects information about how people are traveling from their Tweets and cellphone activity. Just Landed is being used to map patterns that offer new insight on the process of human mobility.
The final presentation of the event was given by the founder of charity: water, Scott Harrison. Scott noted that every $1 invested in improved water and sanitation equates to $12 in economic returns. He posed a problem explaining that: "People don't want to give to charity because there's a black hole, so we wanted to use data to show people the impact of their money." charity: water's solution to fill this black hole was to implement GPS systems on their wells in order to allow funders to witness how wells are drilled and function over time.
Over a dozen prominent companies set up "data pods" at Mission Control to share the advancements they're making, thanks to Big Data. Weatherbug demonstrated how they are using satellites to track thunderstorms paths earlier than ever before. MLB presented its process of analyzing the performance of baseball pitchers using sensors that track pitches. Bluefin Labs demonstrated its process for measuring how influential individuals are in the social media space by compiling their conversations and analyzing their overall reach. These are just a few examples from more than a dozen companies that came out to share their Big Data stories at Mission Control.
In addition to all of the amazing presentations, the world was able to view some awesome data visualizations from the app. Some of the early data collected from the app revealed thought-provoking results. We've discovered that people who get their news from the TV are more likely to believe in an afterlife than people who get their news from computers. We also found that couples who are cohabiting are less likely to want to change anything about their partners than couples who are married.
Mission Control was only the beginning. We're collecting data from smartphone users all around the world, through November 20th. Want to help us measure our world? Download the app for Android or iOS today!
From gossip stream to on-the-ground reporting for natural disasters to marketing campaign platform, Twitter plays a major role in detailing everyday life. With 1 billion Tweets sent every 72 hours from over 140 million active users, Twitter is more than just a micro-blogging platform: it's become a source for big data on an individual, regional, national, and worldwide level.
Last Friday, we were very excited to hold a live Q&A on Twitter with Twitter's very own Isaac Hepworth (@IsaacH). Isaac has an engineering background and works for the Media team at Twitter. In his spare time, he looks at "what Twitter data can tell us about how feedback loops drive behavior", among other adventures:
Isaac spent an hour with us sharing fascinating insights about Twitter and big data and how Twitter data has changed how we see, experience, and change the world around us. We started with a couple of fun icebreaker questions directly from our app and found out which country Isaac wants to visit not just once, but twice in his lifetime:
Politics has been a hot topic this season with an election between President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney just around the corner. From the "binders full of women" viral meme and Trending Topic to assessing changes in political sentiment in real-time with Twindex, Twitter has been prominently used in several different political events. Isaac's recent favorite?
Renowned photographer and journalist, Rick Smolan, is a man on a mission. Rick's latest project, the Human Face of Big Data, is a global attempt to measure our world by collecting and visualizing massive amounts of data in real time. The results will be groundbreaking, as staggering correlations will be made between human activity and the world, as we know it.
We caught up with Rick to chat about this unprecedented project. The conversation has been divided into a two part series.
How did you first discover big data? What is it?
Ihave a lot of friends in the technology world and this word, "Big Data," started popping up a year ago and I kept saying, "What is Big Data?" Everybody described it differently! One person would say to me, "Big Data is so much data, it can't fit on a personal computer." Then the next person would say, "No, no. Big Data is when you take data collected for different reasons by different organizations and overlap them and suddenly see these patterns that you could have never seen otherwise."
What kind of impact do you believe big data will have on the world? The more that I've learned about big data, the more I think that this is going to have a bigger effect on the human species and on our planet than the Internet. If you'd asked somebody 15 or 20 years ago when the Internet first entered people's lives, was it really going to be transformative? I don't think anyone would have ever realized in less than 20 years that the Internet would become so inextricably woven into the fabric of life.
Can you tell us more about how the Human Face of Big Data smartphone app will work?
Yes, so it has three parts. It asks "Would you allow us to download the passive data that your phone collects about you?" And there are a lot of things your phone knows about you. It knows your radius of travel. It knows how many people you pass in the course of a day, because of Bluetooth handshakes. You get to see this view of your life in a way that you might not normally.
The second part is a series of very thought-provoking questions. We're asking you all these questions that appear to be sort of random, about politics and sex and sleep and relationships. But by triangulating all those, you suddenly see these patterns emerging.
What kind of activities make up the third part of the app?
One is going to help you find your data doppelganger. Somebody just like you on the other side of the world that answers the questions and has a data pattern just like you. Second activity is called, "Before I Die," which sounds creepy, but it isn't. It asks, "What's the one thing in your life, no matter what age you are, that you'd love to have said that you did?"
What do you hope to accomplish in your lifetime before you die? View earth from outer space.
Want to find out where you fit in to the bigger picture of big data? Download our app on Android or on iOS.
Big Data ends where it begins — with people — when those numbers, generated by all of us, improve all our lives. The Human Face of Big Data tells the story of that circle, and your role in it. Big data is detecting earthquakes in tsunami-prone Japan, keeping traffic flowing on America's highways, foiling counterfeit pharmaceuticals, battling mosquitoes from outer space, and providing citizens in the developing world with much-needed identity documents. Explore examples and uncover all the ways Big Data is impacting our world.
Please feel free to share your thoughts and feedback with the Human Face of Big Data on our app, blog, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook Page.
When posting, please remember to respect each other and refrain from the following:
Defamatory, abusive, offensive, obscene and hate language
Posting any deceptive, misleading and unlawful information
Violations of any intellectual property rights
Deliberate disruptions of discussion
Spamming or trolling
If you don't follow these guidelines, your posts may be edited or deleted. Additionally, the comments left on these channels do not reflect the opinion of The Human Face of Big Data and are solely representative of the person posting the comment. | <urn:uuid:912dd28f-3d8e-4d31-8f64-a77bfb8d8d44> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.humanfaceofbigdata.com/blog/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963215 | 2,707 | 2.609375 | 3 |
If you were riding mountain bikes when XTR hit the scene in 1991, then you'll remember that there was only one style of front derailleur. It looked quite similar to this XTR Dyna-Sys Traditional Triple Front Derailleur FD-M981. You might hear it referred to as a high-clamp or bottom swing type as well. It's called traditional, and were it not for the cutting edge 980 XTR styling, it might look old fashioned. However, we've always suspected that traditional derailleurs were more durable than their low clamp counterparts. So at the risk of being old fashioned, we always appreciate parts that offer top level function and durability to boot.Shimano builds this derailleur to be used with the XTR Trail Triple Crankset and the XTR 10-speed HG-X chain. So while it could be used with a double, it wouldn't be optimum. The cage is specifically shaped to meet the needs of the triple, and it has a maximum compatible chainring size of 42 teeth. The limit screws are angled outward to facilitate adjustment for convoluted rear suspension designs as well.The Shimano XTR Traditional Triple Front Derailleur FD-M981 has a multi-clamp design that allows it to be used with seat tubes in any one of three different diameters -- 28.6, 31.8, and 34.9mm. A plastic shim is used to accommodate the two smaller sizes. The cable lever arm is compatibility with top- or bottom-pull cable routing.
There have been no reviews posted yet for this product. Be the first by clicking Submit a Review | <urn:uuid:9b472bf6-8189-4c9b-ab7e-05649e1e4bdd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mtbr.com/cat/drivetrain/derailleur/shimano/deore-xtr-m981/prd_489248_116crx.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95034 | 338 | 1.523438 | 2 |
I must disagree with Speak Out writers Thomas Moates and Patricia Brown. It’s not just about raising revenue, although allowing Sunday alcohol sales would financially benefit Calhoun County. Sale of alcohol on Sundays is about freedom. It would expand consumer choice on the second busiest shopping day of the week.
Religious rationale is the only thing cited for continuing the existing “blue” laws in Calhoun County. “Blue” laws were originally designed to enforce moral standards. They were established to enforce religious beliefs and practices of some people on the entire population.
I support everyone’s freedom of religion, freedom of belief and freedom of worship. I wish Mr. Moates and Ms. Brown would support mine and stop tying to force their moral values on me.
I urge our elected leaders to do away with these antiquated laws and allow Sunday alcohol sales. | <urn:uuid:b91fc7cf-1287-4182-aaee-6344ca27c875> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story/22039660/article-Do-away-with-antiquated-blue-laws | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961553 | 178 | 1.507813 | 2 |
The Humane Society says this image was taken at the Seaboard Foods' pig farm in Goodwell, Okla., in late 2011. The pigs are in stalls that measure two by seven feet, a practice that had been routine until other major pork producers announced plans to do away with them.
Aiming to pressure two of the largest U.S. producers of pork, one of them a Walmart supplier, into changing how they treat pigs, the Humane Society of the United States on Tuesday said it had staged undercover operations that revealed atrocious conditions.
Alleged abuses against the animals include the use of extremely confined crates as well as the cutting off of tails and testicles with no painkillers.
"Lame pigs, pigs with gross abscesses, torn ears and noses, and ripped genitals and piglets sickened by 'greasy pig' disease were not seen by veterinarians," the group said in a statement released along with what it said was undercover video.
The allegations focus on two pig farms in Goodwell, Okla., one owned by Seaboard Foods and the other by Prestage Farms.
The Humane Society also filed federal complaints against Seaboard alleging that it made false and misleading statements about treating its animals humanely.
Seaboard has a public "Commitment to Animal Care" that states: "We are committed to proper animal care and have a moral and ethical obligation to the humane treatment of animals. We believe food animals can and should be raised, transported and processed using procedures that are safe and free from cruelty and neglect."
On Tuesday, Seaboard posted a statement on its website saying it strongly disputed "any allegations of abuse."
Ron Prestage, who owns Prestage Farms with his parents and siblings, told Reuters the video did not appear to show any neglect or abuse at their farm. He added that the company has initiated an internal investigation to ensure company policies are followed.
"There is nothing for me to defend in the video. We have both systems (gestation crates and group pens) and have for years," Prestage said.
The video shows pigs penned in cages that the Humane Society described as "so small the animals can't even turn around, rendering them virtually immobilized for their entire lives."
The group said its undercover operatives also "found workers cutting piglets testicles and tails off with no painkiller, injured piglets with their legs duct taped to their bodies, gestation crates overflowing with feces and urine and employees hitting pigs’ genitals to force them to move from one crate to another."
Gestation crates are stalls where female pigs are placed during pregnancy.
Both companies are "lagging behind" competitors like Cargill and Smithfield Foods, the Humane Society said, noting that those had recently pledged improvements such as ending the use of gestation crates by 2017.
In its statement Tuesday, Seaboard said that its "integrated system uses both stalls and group pens to house gestating sows. Animal welfare experts and professional groups have found no one method for housing gestating sows that is clearly better than the other when managed properly."
Prestage said that "there are times when each system has its advantages. If you have an animal that's gotten injured, it's much easier to treat them if they are in an individual crate. If they happen to be on the bottom of the pecking order, the other ones are just going to beat them up.
"On the other hand, if there is no fighting, you might decide they are happier in a group pen," he added.
Reuters contributed to this report.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News | <urn:uuid:9beb434a-1381-47dd-8ed6-86a40686f324> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/01/31/10279974-widespread-abuse-alleged-at-two-pig-farms | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976538 | 749 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Economics - July 7
Click on the headline (link) for the full text.
Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletin homepage.
Why Americans Should Work Less – The Way Germans Do
Dean Baker, Guardian/UK
There is a solution to unemployment: if we worked the same shorter hours as Germany, we'd eliminate joblessness overnight
Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman and Richard Layard, a distinguished British economist, took the lead last week in drafting a sign-on "Manifesto for Economic Common Sense", condemning the turn toward austerity in many countries. This manifesto seems destined to garner tens or even hundreds of thousands of signatures, including mine.Assembly worker at Chrysler automobile factory, Detroit, 1952
While the basic logic of the manifesto is solid, there is an important aspect to the argument that is overlooked. We can deal with unemployment every bit as effectively by having people work fewer hours, as we can by increasing demand.
The most important point to realize is that the problem facing wealthy countries at the moment is not that we are poor, as the stern proponents of austerity insist. The problem is that we are wealthy. We have tens of millions of people unemployed precisely because we can meet current demand without needing their labor.
This was the incredible absurdity of the misery that we and other countries endured during the Great Depression, and which Keynes sought to explain in The General Theory.
(4 July 2012)
AIG Chief Sees Retirement Age as High as 80 After Crisis
Boris Cerni and Zachary Tracer, Bloomberg
American International Group Inc. (AIG) Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche said Europe’s debt crisis shows governments worldwide must accept that people will have to work more years as life expectancies increase.
“Retirement ages will have to move to 70, 80 years old,” Benmosche, who turned 68 last week, said during a weekend interview at his seaside villa in Dubrovnik, Croatia. “That would make pensions, medical services more affordable. They will keep people working longer and will take that burden off of the youth.”
(4 June 2012)
The Lower Ninety
Scott Burns, Asset Builder
Raw numbers can be striking. While Occupy Wall Street has focused on the 1 percent versus the 99 percent, the recently released Federal Reserve report on the Survey of Consumer Finances clearly shows that the Lower Ninety— the 90 percent of all households that are less well off that the top 10 percent— were hard hit by the housing bust that started in 2006 and endures today.
The study, which shows how our finances changed between 2007 and 2010, also confirms all the piecemeal reporting on foreclosures, job loss and the 401(k) plans that became 201(k) plans. And the losses aren’t limited to the housing wipe out. Most households are worse off today than they were in the survey done for 2001, before the housing bubble. Here are some of the findings from the report:
From 2001 to 2010 the bottom 20 percent of all households went from a modest net worth ($1,400 in 2010 dollars) to a negative net worth. While the largest percentage decline in net worth was for households in the second quintile (between 20 and 40 percent from the bottom), every household category but the top 10 percent suffered a decline in net worth. If most Americans feel poorer, it is because they are.
But you knew that. The loss was large because home values dominate the personal balance sheets of most households. Worse, the lower you are on the net worth scale, the greater the size of your home mortgage as a portion of home value. The same leverage that made people quickly rich during the bubble worked to destroy net worth very quickly in the downturn.
Derivatives challenge citizenship (and economic survival)
Tom Atlee, Posterous
I'm interested in derivatives as a symbol of an economic system that's NOT based on productivity that satisfies real human needs. Derivatives are contracts that shift risk from players who are risk averse (and want insurance against loss) to players who have an appetite for risk (and want a big gambling win).* While originally intended to serve much like an insurance policy, they have turned into a tool for high-stakes gambling that puts everyone else at risk.
The speculative market in financial derivatives is - depending on whose estimate you read - THREE to TWENTY (or more) times bigger than the whole global economy - way bigger than the GDP of the entire world. Derivatives are a very big part of what is called "the casino economy". Financial speculation is basically gambling that the value of something - commodities, stocks, currency, whatever - will go up or down. The casino economy is not about producing or financing real goods or services.* It is about making lots of money for the successful gamblers.
The rest of us could let them go ahead and gamble except for two things. First, many of them use the money they get to buy more influence and power, making a mockery of "the free market" and "democratic self-governance". Secondly, the wrong sequence of bad guesses, responses and glitches in this highly computerized money-making game could wipe out the global economy that the rest of us depend on. We are still stumbling from the last global financial crash in 2008 - in which derivatives played a major role. But far bigger crashes are possible.
The article below introduces us to this bizarre reality. If you find it interesting, I suggest looking at the original article online, which is filled with links and is followed by more than a dozen mainstream articles - from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, etc. - making the same points. If you'd like to start with some pretty amazing visuals illustrating the amounts of money involved, try
The main solutions - regulating the derivatives market and taxing speculative financial transactions - are fairly obvious but complex and (naturally) resisted by powerful interests. These solutions can only go into effect with massive public understanding and support. On the bright side, these solutions have some potentially very popular selling points - especially the tax, which would not only stabilize the speculative market but which - due to its gigantic size - would likely generate significant resources for creating healthy economies, societies and natural environments. (See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_transaction_tax for various proposals.)
Tom Atlee --
I'm interested in conscious evolution as an active and integrated process of personal and social transformation, as well as many subsets of that -- collective intelligence, evolutionary spirituality, wise democracy, emergent economics, etc. My main home website is http://co-intelligence.org.
(30 June 2012)
Suggested by EB contributor Jim Barton who writes: "I'd never read such a quiet, yet urgent, discussion of derivatives. While EnergyBulletin concerns itself mainly with peak oil & other energy issues, the histories of energy and speculation have been very intertwined the last century." | <urn:uuid:ed7ff108-70dd-47f2-9028-db6395624478> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.resilience.org/stories/2012-07-07/economics-july-7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957451 | 1,436 | 2 | 2 |
[This FAQ has been excerpted, in part or its entirety, from Division of Market Regulation: Key Points About Regulation SHO]
A short sale is generally the sale of a stock you do not own (or that you will borrow for delivery).1 Short sellers believe the price of the stock will fall, or are seeking to hedge against potential price volatility in securities that they own.
If the price of the stock drops, short sellers buy the stock at the lower price and make a profit. If the price of the stock rises, short sellers will incur a loss. Short selling is used for many purposes, including to profit from an expected downward price movement, to provide liquidity in response to unanticipated buyer demand, or to hedge the risk of a long position in the same security or a related security.
For example, an investor believes that there will be a decline in the stock price of Company A. Company A is trading at $60 a share, so the investor borrows shares of Company A stock at $60 a share and immediately sells them in a short sale. Later, Company A's stock price declines to $40 a share, and the investor buys shares back on the open market to replace the borrowed shares. Since the price is lower, the investor profits on the difference -- in this case $20 a share (minus transaction costs such as commissions and fees). However, if the price goes up from the original price, the investor loses money. Unlike a traditional long position — when risk is limited to the amount invested — shorting a stock leaves an investor open to the possibility of unlimited losses, since a stock can theoretically keep rising indefinitely.
Typically, when you sell short, your brokerage firm loans you the stock. The stock you borrow comes from either the firm's own inventory, the margin account of other brokerage firm clients, or another lender. As with buying stock on margin,2 your brokerage firm will charge you interest on the loan, and you are subject to the margin rules. If the stock you borrow pays a dividend, you must pay the dividend to the person or firm making the loan.
Although the vast majority of short sales are legal, abusive short sale practices are illegal. For example, it is prohibited for any person to engage in a series of transactions in order to create actual or apparent active trading in a security or to depress the price of a security for the purpose of inducing the purchase or sale of the security by others. Thus, short sales effected to manipulate the price of a stock are prohibited.
|1||For more information on short sales, see http://www.sec.gov/answers/shortsale.htm.|
|2||For information regarding margin, please see http://www.sec.gov/answers/margin.htm.|
Borrow Rates (per share) | <urn:uuid:49f8a718-0448-4d93-91f1-26771aaae082> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://regsho.com/faq/shorts.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923568 | 578 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Wilson, Derick and Zeldin, Shep (2010) "Creating Restorative and Intergenerational Cultures for Youth: Insights from Northern Ireland and the United States". Youth and Society, 42 (2). pp. 1-19. [Journal article]
|Rich Text (RTF) (Introduction to Collected Research Pieces on Young People from Northern ireland and the United States) - Accepted Version |
Indefinitely restricted to Repository staff only.
In the spring of 2009, a group of scholars and college students from Northern Ireland and the United States spent two weeks together. The purpose of the exchange was to study the conditions facing young people in contested areas of Northern Ireland, to explore parallels with conditions in the United States, and to discuss strategies for promoting positive youth and community development. The first week was spent in Belfast and the surrounding towns. The Northern Ireland/U.S. delegation met with youth, community workers, program managers, prison and human service providers, and local community leaders with and without paramilitary backgrounds. The second week was spent at Corrymeela Peace Center in Ballycastle. The objective was to expand the discussion to more stakeholders, with the aim being to identify a common set of restorative and intergenerational practices that could contribute to inclusive and just societies within Northern Ireland and the United States. What we discovered was that, from the perspective of youth, there are probably more commonalities across the two countries than differences. In both countries, many youth desire peace, and want to be part of the solution and not be viewed as the problem. Youth want the freedom to make friends, and to hang out with people of their own choosing, without having to worry about community or social divides, or contested “no go” neighbourhoods. They want safety, respect, opportunity, and in many cases, a job. The same is true for many community workers. They want the exact same thing for the young people and for themselves, also. Community workers want legitimate opportunities to make a positive difference in the lives of young people. They want policy and programmatic support for the challenging work that they perform on a day to day basis.Common challenges – policy, structural, and relational – were also discovered. There are deep divides in Northern Ireland and the United States that reinforce separation and unequal opportunity among different groups or identities. Most certainly, the two countries differ tremendously in their size and in the nature of diversity among its people. But, the divides that exist in both countries have a tremendous impact on the life course of young people. It is difficult to thrive in settings of fear, mistrust, and isolation. Northern Ireland is an ethnic frontier (Wright, 1987), a contested society emerging from conflict. It is a place where people throughout political, public, and civil society have to decide whether they wish to commit themselves to build a new and shared society together. Duncan Morrow (2007, p.1) put forth the challenge in this way: “Crossing the barrier from the past to the future is a hazardous enterprise. It is especially so in a place like this (Northern Ireland) where the essence of peace has come to mean making a future with the very people ‘we’ tried, and failed, to defeat.” Reflecting the dynamic of “pessimistic common sense,” participants often spoke about how the dominant cultural wisdom in contested societies, such as Northern Ireland, becomes one where people and organizations come to expect that nothing much will change, and where hope often becomes hostage to a wider pessimism. In such a context, there is often an inability and even an unwillingness to imagine a brave new and shared future that is very different from the current reality.This assessment resonated with the U.S. participants. The large gaps in the social safety net, the growing economic disparities among residents, and the prominent gaps between the stated social morality and public policy in the United States has led to a similar pessimistic common sense, and a corruption of public rhetoric and discourse. Others spoke of historical similarities that the United States shares with Northern Ireland in terms divergences between its rhetoric and civic culture. Shriver (2007, p.8) was cited, specifically his view that: “no society can soon recover from vast, institutionalized assaults upon that heroic norm for which America is famous, `that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights’… one can hardly get the words out of one’s American mouth without raising the suspicion that down through two centuries we Americans have always silently and publicly added the qualification, `well, not all men, not slaves, not women, not Asians… not… not… not.” There are similar challenges: How does a divided society balance a critical appreciation of the past, while concurrently, living in the present in ways that promote new social principles and policies?
|Item Type:||Journal article|
|Keywords:||Restorative, Reconciliation, Poverty, Youth Inequality, Young Women, Male Violence, Young People and Policing|
|Faculties and Schools:||Faculty of Social Sciences|
Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education
|Research Institutes and Groups:||Institute for Research in Social Sciences|
Institute for Research in Social Sciences > Education
|Deposited By:||Dr Derick Wilson|
|Deposited On:||21 Sep 2010 11:41|
|Last Modified:||21 Sep 2010 11:41|
Repository Staff Only: item control page | <urn:uuid:599e7eeb-14a0-46df-98b0-81977db5768b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eprints.ulster.ac.uk/15561/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948685 | 1,139 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Rumors are flying about a possible hearing involving Standard & Poor’s. It is believed the Senate Banking Committee is gathering information on the credit rating agency. Disgruntled over the loss of the government’s AAA rating, the rumored investigation is believed to be sparked by Treasury Department officials claiming that S&P’s judgment was affected by an error that overstated national debt projections by $2 trillion. And in the House, a few Republicans are wondering about talks S&P executives had with Treasury officials.
What is also being discussed as justification for a possible investigation is S&P’s, along with other rating agencies, failure to accurately rate mortgage securities which contributed to the housing bubble. The logic behind such an argument reflects a flawed train of thought, for surely if S&P failed to rate mortgage securities they didn’t correctly rate the U.S. government.
It appears, based upon actions, that the government hasn’t learned anything from the recent downgrade. Instead of taking responsibility, elected officials are looking for a scapegoat and have decided to place the blame on S&P.
As Samuel Gregg explains in, “Down on the Downgrade?” S&P’s failure to accurately rate mortgage securities shouldn’t dismiss the obvious, which is the United State’s inability to meet its fiscal obligations resulting in its credit downgrade:
There are many reasons to be cynical about ratings agencies. These are, after all, the same outfits that assured us collateralized-debt-obligation markets were doing fine just before they started imploding in 2007–2008. Their slowness in warning about the fading creditworthiness of corrupt entities such as Enron and government-sponsored enterprises such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a matter of record.
That said, Standard & Poor’s decision to downgrade America’s creditworthiness shouldn’t surprise us. It simply states in a pseudo-official kind of way what everyone — citizens, investors, politicians, and maybe even Paul Krugman — already knows: The failure of Washington’s neo-Keynesian policies combined with the long-term projections for entitlement-spending have lowered confidence in the U.S.’s ability to meet its fiscal obligations.
The surprise that many in the government are showing by the U.S. credit downgrade is appalling. S&P published reports clearly articulating the fiscal policy that was needed in order for the government to preserve its AAA rating which included $4 trillion in savings (the budget includes only abut half of that in cuts). Furthermore, in a report released on August 5th, S&P doesn’t just blame the lack of savings but describes how entitlement spending is a problem:
We lowered our long-term rating on the U.S. because we believe that the prolonged controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and the related fiscal policy debate indicate that further near-term progress containing the growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an agreement on raising revenues is less likely than we previously assumed and will remain a contentious and fitful process. We also believe that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration agreed to this week falls short of the amount that we believe is necessary to stabilize the general government debt burden by the middle of the decade.
In addition, the plan envisions only minor policy changes on Medicare and little change in other entitlements, the containment of which we and most other independent observers regard as key to long-term fiscal sustainability.
There are clear policy options the government needs to pursue if it wishes to return to fiscal health, and it should be of no surprise that such policies involve fiscal stewardship.
Instead of being humbled by the government’s loss of its triple AAA credit rating and learning from their mistakes, the politicians in Washington have chosen to sit on the sidelines. The lack of leadership in such a crucial time is astounding. Politicians are continuing down the path which brought them to this state: blaming others instead of accepting responsibility. It is time for some humility in Washington. Politicians need to admit to their mistakes and become leaders set on bringing America back on course. | <urn:uuid:2d024e65-844b-43ff-a9c2-c682ee782665> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.acton.org/archives/25399-where%E2%80%99s-the-leadership.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962273 | 861 | 1.664063 | 2 |
If you are pregnant and you are working, two federal laws protect your rights at work. The first law is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA, 42 U.S.C. 2000e(k), which is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under the PDA, your employer cannot discriminate against you in the terms of your employment on the basis of your pregnancy. The second law is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Under the FMLA, if you work for a business that employs at least 50 people, you are allowed to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. State laws also protect you.
The PDA prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, which includes pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Maternity must be treated the same as other disabilities for purposes of sick leave or temporary disability benefits. So, if your employer has a sick leave policy, you should be able to take as many sick days for pregnancy and childbirth as other employees are allowed for other illnesses. If you have health insurance through an employer-provided group health care plan, pregnancy and childbirth should be covered in the same manner as other health conditions.
Under the PDA,
- Your employer cannot discharge you for taking time off for childbirth without incurring a charge of sex discrimination by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Your employer must reinstate you in the same manner in which it reinstates other employees with other temporary disabilities
- Your employer must give you seniority credit for your period of leave in the same manner as it gives other employees seniority credit for other kinds of disability leave
- Your employer cannot require you to take maternity leave
- If you are a male employee, your wife and children must receive the same health care benefits as female employees
Title VII requires employers to treat male employees who go on paternity leave in the same manner as they treat female employees who take leave for child-care purposes.
The FMLA provides job security for employees who need to take time off for certain family or medical reasons. For an employee to be eligible:
- The employer for which the employee works must have at least 50 employees (either part-time or full-time) who live within 75 miles of the company (or the employee must work for either the federal, state or local government).
- The employee must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours.
The act allows employees to take time off:
- To care for a newborn child
- To care for a new adopted or foster child
- To care for a seriously ill son, daughter, parent or spouse (A child over the age of 18 isn't covered, unless the adult child is considered "incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability" as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.)
- To care for themselves (when an employee suffers from a "serious health condition" that prevents job performance)
What Is a "Serious Health Condition" ?
The Department of Labor defines "serious health condition" as an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves "inpatient care" or continuing treatment by a health care provider. Basically, cancer, diabetes, surgery, pregnancy difficulties and so forth qualify.
If an employee is eligible for sick leave under the law, the employer may (but isn't required to) offer that employee a lighter schedule or some other accommodation so that the employee can keep working.
Job Security under the FMLA
It's illegal for an employer to reprimand the employee or count FMLA leave against an employee in any way - including attendance.
An employee must be offered the same job or an equivalent position when he or she returns, unless:
- After the allotted 12 weeks, the employee can't return to the job or perform the same work because of a physical or mental condition.
- If FMLA leave will cause "substantial and grievous economic injury" to the business, "key" employees (those who are among the highest paid 10 percent in the business) don't have to be reinstated in their jobs.
Taking Leave under the FMLA
In order for an eligible employee to take leave under FMLA, he or she should:
- Give the employer 30 days written notice before starting the leave. (However, in certain circumstances an employee can take leave immediately or within one to two working days.)
- Provide medical proof. This may require more than just a doctor's note. The employer can request second and third medical opinions, but the employer must pay for those.
- Make arrangements with regard to continuing group health benefits during the leave.
- Address issues on whether to use accrued paid leave (such as sick leave or vacation leave) as part of the FMLA leave. Under the law, an employer can require an employee to use accrued leave.
- Respond to an employer's occasional checks to verify status and intent to return to work. (A failure by an employee to provide medical certification when the employer requests it may be grounds for termination of employment.)
- Within two business days of returning to work, an employee may request that his or her leave be recorded as FMLA-related.
State Law Requirements
While FMLA may serve as a good guideline as to what is required of employer in this area, there may also be state laws that come into play. To find out what state-specific requirements may be in the area of employee leave, you should check the laws of each state where the business has employees. | <urn:uuid:30fc65ff-4f9a-474b-b42a-fb44df9bb071> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://labor-employment-law.lawyers.com/human-resources-law/Laws-Protecting-Pregnant-Employees.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959466 | 1,149 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Open Access in Poland
As of April 2008, there are 30 universities and a number of higher academic schools in Poland. Individual, mostly institutional, repositories begin to emerge at some universities, like Repozytorium Eny in Wrocław University of Technology or ABC AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. Not all of them are OAI-PMH compliant. For subject based repositories - the best known and most used is Polish Mathematical Collection, soon to be moved onto a new platform.
Poland is in the unique position, being the only EU DRIVER country that at the same same time is within the scope of interest of EIFL organization. This opens important opportunities for DRIVER to promote in the former Soviet Union as well as other Eastern and developing countries.
Poland has already developed a good local tradition for Open Access content, with the active involvement of organisations like Creative Commons Poland. Poland was able to develop the fourth largest wikipedia in the world (which for many years used to be the third largest after the English and the German only).
A number of groups active in promoting electronic publishing exist in Poland, like the BAZTECH consortium maintaining Polish Technical Journal Contents database and providing an incentive for technology journals to make their contents openly available online. Other similar initiatives include AGRO for agricultural journals, Polish Scientific Journal Contents, or BAZHUM for publications in humanities and social sciences.
The major Open Access initiative is run under the auspices of the Virtual Library of Science (VLS), which, over the years became extremely popular in Poland, with over 10 thousand full text articles being downloaded daily. Over last 15 years, VLS, based on a consortium model, and co-founded by the Polish Ministry for Science, provided massive access to mostly licensed content of over XXX articles to academic institutions in Poland. With the recent paradigm shift, the national project will aim to consolidate licensed and open access published digital library resources as well as the repositories into a seamless, single-point of shopping system. To this end, an integrated software platform, YADDA is being prepared by ICM.
Besides VLS, also a number of traditional libraries are present electronically in Poland. As of April 2008, there were over 10 local libraries online, most of them OAI-PMH compliant.
At the same time, active steps are being taken to promote Open Access ideas in Poland through a number of events. A BOA blog portal about Open Access provides recent information related to Open Access events and initiatives.
It is planned that in 2008-2009 YADDA will be used to integrate the Open Access bibliographic databases (like BAZTECH, PSCJ, AGRO or BAZHUM), Open Access journals, the repositories of digitized copyright-expired publications, new born digital contents, and the licensed content from the major publishers.
According to the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) there are 48 Polish OA journals, mostly from technology or live sciences. These journals are usually hosted by individual institutes of Polish universities or Polish Academy of Sciences.
According to a survey of Polish academic publishers conducted by ICM in 2007, over 1/3 of the journals publishers would be ready to make full texts of the articles published in their journals available in open repositories. As of 2007, over 30% of the publishers declared that all full texts of the articles from their journals are available online.
Usually, the authors of the book publications retain most of their copyrights, while the authors of articles tend to cede much of their rights to the publishers.
VLS is co-funded by Polish Ministry of Science and by the consortium members.
A survey of Polish academic publishers was conducted by ICM in 2007, showing that a portion of them was considering an option to publish under open licenses.
On March 8, 2008, in Toruń, a national Open Access initiative was presented at the Conference of Rectors of Polish Universities meeting.
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One thing that never change, all Chinese needs to make money, and lots of it
This is a discussion on How did China change in Culture, from Imperial era to today. within the Military History forums, part of the China Defense & Military category; I been reading Chinese history, the decline and fall of Qing dynasty, the warlord periods, Japan invasion, Civil war etc... ...
I been reading Chinese history, the decline and fall of Qing dynasty, the warlord periods, Japan invasion, Civil war etc... I am able to see chronologically how each event changed China to the modern day, but I am also curious culturally how has China changed during this period?
For example, what value did they emphasis in the past, and what do they emphasis now, and what traditions has been discarded, and what are some of the most important new lessons/cultures that they have adopted. And because of this, are the current Chinese culture more similar to Western culture now or still more resembles the traditional culture.
For example, I read that only until recently, woman have very low social status, and Chinese culture didn't really emphasis on teaching technology and science in school etc...
I would love for those of you that have some knowlege in this area to share, so I can get a better understand where will China be heading in the future and how it may contribute to the world culturally.
One thing that never change, all Chinese needs to make money, and lots of it
Here's an interesting paper about the development of Chinese scientific thought:
This is an interesting topic, and one I've pondered about myself as well.
First, we need to understand the sociopolitical climate of the late Qing era. China was defeated by the British in the Opium War, forced to cede Hong Kong; defeated by the Japanese in the Jiawu Battle and lost the entire Northern Fleet; its capital was sacked by the Eight Nations Alliance; forced into signing unequal treaties that granted foreigners extrajudicial rights; etc. etc.
The Chinese people, who had considered themselves the pinnacle of civilization at that moment, was now faced with the truth that they were now, in fact, a backwater society in danger of being left behind by the march of progress.
All this spurred Chinese intellectuals to look outside of China for social values. Sun Yat-sen brought back Republicanism, which eventually overthrew the Qing dynasty. This fundamentally changed the political culture of China: no longer would the Chinese accept an "Emperor" as their ruler. When Yuan Shikai tried to bring back imperialism and crown himself emperor, he was besieged by literally *everyone*. Yuan's faction was wiped out even though he had the strongest force at the time.
Another thing we need to understand is that feudal Chinese society was an *extremely* unequal society. Magistrates and Aristocrats could abuse peasants with impunity. Women had very little social status and were regarded as little higher than property for the men. Although the Republic of China ended imperial and aristocratic rule, many of the social inequalities remained. Although the Republic outlawed polygamy, this was rarely enforced. People still went on with a wife and one or more concubines. Other traditional practices, such as food binding, also continued.
Once the communists came into power, all that changed. Mao decreed that all backwater feudal practices were to be outlawed and severely punished. Most of the break from traditional practices came from the Mao era. He also declared that "women held up half the sky", and overnight, the women of China became equal to the men.
However, with the liberalization of the society that followed on the footsteps of the liberalization of the economy, traditional practices are returning to the Chinese society. Concubinage has again become a widespread practice, and much like it was during the feudal era, it is mostly practiced by the rich and powerful. Fortunately, gender equality does not seem to have suffered as a result.
Chinese society today is a place of contradictions. It is in constant flux, and has yet to find a balance between its traditional roots, and the empowerment of modernity. It remains to be seen what China will be like in the future.
China has had no permanent class of nobility like those in europe for geenrations.
its society was inherently more equal in that social mobility was restrict by birth.
a poor street peddeller who eventrually become rich, his sons could aspire to be a confucius gentlemen and examed into the civil service. therefore become the prime minister. ranked only next to emperor.
Manchu Qing's was a special abreation because of its inherent nobility and class structure.
also China during mid to late Qing dynasty was in a stagnant decline long before European kicked down china's door.
even during Qianlong's supposily golden reign. the productivity of the society stagnated.
during late song to early to late ming dynasty china was developing the early stages of capitalism. banking, proto mass manufacturing in urban areas espcially around souther chinese cities of Suzhou etc centered around textile.long range ocean borne trade... all these were in place.
what doom china in imho was the double blunting of Jin and Mongol wars and Manchus.
It is my opinion that if musket fire power were more developed Manchus woould never hada chance.
Yes, the rich have mistresses everywhere in the world. However, in China, it's not just the "rich". The practice of "xiao san" is widespread even among the upper-middle class.
Oh, it's not the same concubinage as from the "Old Society". For one thing, women are empowered now. They can enter or leave relationships of their own free will. However, the fact that polygyny is becoming ever more socially accepted does indicate a return to the "old" way of thinking. Already, we have wives who turn a blind eye to their husbands' affairs. How long before the wife accepts this enough to live under the same roof as the mistress?
You mentioned polygamy, are you saying these people now live together? Commonly occurring is not the same as acceptable. Turning a blind eye on it also does not equal to supporting it. The wife tolerating the husband having mistresses is also not limited to China. Should I remind you a lady called Hilary Clinton? That's different from polygamy, where a man living in the same house with his wives. All you have to do is to turn on a TV in the middle of the day and watch one of those day-time soaps and you'll see how kind of weird things going on...
And what is "Xiao San"?
Although I am really interested if there is any statistic on this, just how widespread this problem have gotten, and is there any government campaign try to stop this behavior etc..
Also I think, it goes a little haywire when a society first opens up. Just look at America in the 70's. All kinds of weird things happened. So whatever weird things are happening in China now will not be permanent.
---------- Post added at 03:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:07 PM ----------
This maybe consider one of the culture traditions that Chinese have gotten rid off from the past, or it maybe also coming back as well. Only time can tell.
---------- Post added at 03:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:20 PM ----------
Interesting, I see a lot of civilizations all around the world tries to adopt to this shock from the Western cultural invasion, would be interesting to see how China have tried to adopted to this, what exactly they learned from the West and how much have this new value replaced the old value, for example it appears that China is no longer an absolute monarchy system, but then again Mao governed China much like emperor himself, but the current leadership style is more consensus based, I wonder if this is going to be the new norm, or in the future if a strongman desires to take over, will the average Chinese accept him as an emperor style ruler.
As for the example of concubines culture, this is something that was discarded from the old days and then maybe getting accepted back again, because maybe the concept has not been totally erased, it was hidden behind people unconscious, and if this is so, I wonder what other traditions might be awaken again (good or bad).
And I think Woman’s equality is going to stay for good, because everyone can see how valuable woman can contribute to society if they are empowered, and this is not something that can go back again.
---------- Post added at 04:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:36 PM ----------
Anyway. When people have been oppressed for too long, more freedom and more wealth make people do all sorts of crazy stuff. Just like in the late 80's, people used to burn suitcases of money in public, just to show off how much money they had. Nobody does that anymore. The modern-day China is a lot like a teenager who is acting up. It will wear off. | <urn:uuid:53684e4d-f107-48f1-b6b0-38e7b6c9b9ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sinodefenceforum.com/military-history/how-did-china-change-culture-imperial-era-today-6037.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974368 | 1,879 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Did you know that it takes 15 000 litres of water to produce one kilo meat from an animal who is being feed with grains. 1500 litres of water is needed to produce one kilo of grains.
Read more over at UN’s World Water Day website.
Terms like going green and reducing one’s carbon footprint are part of the everyday vernacular. Ironically, one way that people can be part of this increased focus on eco-friendly behavior is by learning about and using a process that has … Continue reading | <urn:uuid:70656a81-e1af-4259-8355-d8c72f38e735> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.green-blog.org/2008/01/08/1-kilo-meat-15-000-litres-of-water/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956015 | 109 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Each year on 12 August, International Youth Day (IYD) is assigned a theme; a conceptual slogan that communicates the scope, direction, and objectives of the year's youth initiatives and that also provides a unifying banner from under which individuals can draw the inspiration to take action. The theme chosen for International Youth Day 2012 - Building a Better World: Partnering with Youth - is a global call to action for young men and women, as well as other stakeholders around the world, to develop and engage in partnerships with and for youth towards building a better world.
Vienna International Model United Nations (VIMUN) 2012 closed (
Milena Dudasova will be the youth delegate of Slovakia to the 67
th session of the UN General Assembly in 2012 and join her country's delegation to the Third Committee, dealing with social, humanitarian and cultural issues. | <urn:uuid:1089655c-a6d5-49f6-929a-32d94ef611fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/events/2012/youth_and_the_un.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92396 | 173 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
NYC football still suffering Sandy's wrath
By Jared Shanker
A helicopter hovered over Beach Channel High in Rockaway Park, N.Y. Inside the aircraft was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who, along with the pilot, was surveying an entrance point to the Rockaway Peninsula. Few areas among the 24 states Hurricane Sandy affected were hit as hard as this one.
As the helicopter got within a few dozen feet of Beach Channel’s artificial turf football field, the pilot suddenly ascended again. The turf, already torn at the seams from years of wear, lifted from the foundation and began wildly whipping around in the air, nearly catching in the helicopter’s rotor.
“If you look at our football field, from the 40 to 40 is nonexistent,” Beach Channel coach Victor Nazario said. “It’s only the black rocks and stones underneath the field.”
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg used Beach Channel High's football field as a helicopter landing area while surveying Hurricane Sandy's damage to Rockaway Peninsula.
An area lightly recruited to begin with, New York City’s few prospects face even more challenges and hurdles in landing the elusive Division I scholarship.
Beach Channel DT Folorunso Fatukasi has yet to go back to his house since the Oct. 29 superstorm forced his family to evacuate. But he’s trying to make the best of the situation.
For several months, Fatukasi was working out at a gym close to the motel where his family was staying. His family is now living with a friend, but his perseverance helped him sign with Connecticut earlier this month and he recently received his workout schedule from the UConn staff.
Now that Beach Channel is open again, Fatukasi is working out on the field as much as the conditions allow.
“We can do some workouts, small sprints,” Fatukasi said, “but when me and my teammates want to do full sprints, it’s not working out. … But it can be done. We got half of a field to work with. If we need to do 100-yard sprints, I guess we’ll go right there and turn right back around.”
While Fatukasi is signed and ready to leave for UConn in the summer, underclassmen are just beginning their pursuit of a scholarship. The spring evaluation period, during which college coaches can visit high schools and watch potential recruits train, begins April 15 and lasts through the end of May.
The problem is several high schools don’t have a field or facilities.
Nazario faced a similar situation 13 years ago as the city updated several of New York’s fields. Nazario, who spent six years in the Army Reserves, held workouts at an old military fort no longer in operation. He hopes to use that again if the field is not ready in time, but he was told the base could be used to help deal with Sandy relief in another capacity. Layers of sand from the nearby beach buried another Rockaway youth football field, leaving one fewer option.
“I’m brainstorming as we speak,” Nazario said.
Abraham Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.) coach Shawn O’Connor talked with assistant coaches last week about what the school will do for the spring evaluation period.
Lincoln junior defensive tackle Thomas Holley has added several high-level BCS offers in recent weeks, but he has only eight career games under his belt. O’Connor has a few other underclassmen who also could use the help of a strong spring performance in front of coaches to earn a scholarship.
“We got not only Thomas but some other good guys that can get some [attention] because [colleges] are coming to look at Thomas,” O’Connor said. “Right now we’d go in tennis courts or the gym or go to a park a couple blocks away if they don’t get the field up and running.”
Sandy could hurt the development of New York City’s prospects when it comes to the 2013 season as well. Nazario and O’Connor both lost their football field houses to flooding. The recently furnished weight room at Lincoln was destroyed, as well as game tape and some equipment. Beach Channel’s field house had three TV sets and DVD players to watch film. All are now unusable.
“I had to sit with my AD to give a list of everything lost -- which was pretty much everything -- and what needs to be replaced,” Nazario said, “but the Department of Education has priorities and understandably so.”
With estimates pushing Sandy’s damage toll past $70 billion, O’Connor is asking where the money to help rebuild football facilities and buy equipment will come from.
“Who’s going to pay for it?” he said.
Nazario just hopes he can field a team in 2013. The numbers are dropping, and some parents are hesitant to send their children back to the city schools hit hardest.
He tries not to dwell on it too much, though. He said that isn’t in his nature.
“I’m not going to pout,” he said. “I’m going to seek to solve it.” | <urn:uuid:14743a96-9d1c-4986-aab9-604646bf0922> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncfrecruiting/east/print?id=6410 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975908 | 1,136 | 1.507813 | 2 |
“I regard Morgellons disorder as a hybrid bio-nano-machine terror weapon. Establishment medicine and the government, which is now a fraudulent foreign-owned corporation, go to great lengths to protect Morgellons from investigation of any sort. Morgellons is not one thing but is actually a system of multiple attack vectors that damage the body in numerous ways and carry various DNA and RNA strands. It is made in laboratories by talented men and women who have lost their souls and adhere to satanic principles.”
~ Dr. Edward Spencer
This is a really long article (over 11,000 words), so I’m only going to post links to it, but I highly recommend reading the whole thing. One of the authors, H.P. Albarelli, recently wrote a terrific book called A Terrible Mistake, which shined a light on the CIA’s cold war era mind control and biological weapons programs. I highly recommend that as well.
In this most recent piece, Albarelli and Zoe Martell look into the extremely controversial topic of Morgellons disease, the very existence of which is steadfastly denied by the mainstream medical community.
The completely bizarre collection of symptoms that fall under the umbrella of Morgellons include the sensation of insects crawling on and biting the skin, joint and muscle pain, crippling fatigue, and persistent skin lesions containing multi-colored strands of fibrous material that react to attempts at removal by withdrawing into the body!
Albarelli and Martell’s search for the possible origin of Morgellons led them down several deep state back alleys, including bio weapons, genetics, nanotechnology, and the CIA’s infamous MK/Naomi project.
WARNING: The article is graphics heavy, and lots of them are truly creepy!
Part 1: Morgellons Victims Across the US and Europe
by Hank P. Albarelli Jr., Zoe Martell | <urn:uuid:1ad85a58-b143-4427-a86b-3e92a2880d67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://americapsycho.wordpress.com/2010/06/27/morgellons-and-the-cias-mknaomi-project/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935101 | 404 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Sunday, December 30, 2007
in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is
frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl
and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not
ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
In 1872, construction workers dug up a suspicious lump of clay near the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee"
200612041642 [I]t was found in New Paltz, New York, in 1932. It was dug up by William Bayer at the age of 9 while he was helping dig a grave."
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Saturday, December 01, 2007
For a person who never lived He affected human history remarkably? The reference work The Historians' History of the World observed: “1The historical result of [Jesus'] activities was more momentous, even from a strictly secular standpoint, than the deeds of any other character of history. A new era, recognized by the chief civilizations of the world, dates from his birth.”
Jeeze Even calendars today are based on the year that Jesus was thought to have been born. “Dates before that year are listed as B.C., or before Christ,” explains The World Book Encyclopedia. “Dates after that year are listed as A.D., or anno Domini (in the year of our Lord).”
Well below are a few accounts from history.....what do you think?
Tacitus lived from A.D. 55 to A.D. 120. He was a Roman historian and has been described as the greatest historian of Rome, noted for his integrity and moral uprightness. His most famous works are the Annals and the Histories. The Annals relate the historical narrative from Augustus’ death in A.D.14 to Nero’s death in A.D. 68. The Histories begin their narrative after Nero’s death and finish with Domitian’s death in A.D. 96. In his section describing Nero’s decision to blame the fire of Rome on the Christians, Tacitus affirms that the founder of Christianity, a man he calls Chrestus (a common misspelling of Christ, which was Jesus’ surname), was executed by Pilate, the procurator of Judea during the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberias. Tacitus was hostile to Christianity because in the same paragraph he describes Christus’ or Christ’s death, he describes Christianity as a pernicious superstition. It would have therefore been in his interests to declare that Jesus had never existed, but he did not, and perhaps he did not because he could not without betraying the historical record.
Lucian of Samosata
Lucian was a Greek satirist of the latter half of the second century. He therefore lived within two hundred years of Jesus. Lucian was hostile to Christianity and openly mocked it. He particularly objected to the fact that Christians worshipped a man. He does not mention Jesus’ name, but the reference to the man Christians worship is a reference to Jesus.
Suetonius was a Roman historian and a court official in Emperor Hadrian’s government. In his Life of Claudius he refers to Claudius expelling Jews from Rome on account of their activities on behalf of a man Suetonius calls Chrestus [another misspelling of Christus or Christ].
Pliny the Younger
Pliny was the Governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor (AD. 112). He was responsible for executing Christians for not worshipping or bowing down to a statue of the emperor Trajan. In a letter to the emperor Trajan, he describes how the people on trial for being Christians would describe how they sang songs to Christ because he was a god.
Thallus and Phlegon
Both were ancient historians and both confirmed the fact that the land went dark when Jesus was crucified. This parallels what the Bible said happened when Jesus died.
Some time after 70 A.D., Mara Bar-Sarapion, who was probably a Stoic philosopher, wrote a letter to his son in which he describes how the Jews executed their King. Claiming to be a king was one of the charges the religious authorities used to scare Pontius Pilate into agreeing to execute Jesus.
Josephus was a Jewish historian who was born in either 37 or 38 AD and died some time after 100 AD. He wrote the Jewish Antiquites and in one famous passage described Jesus as a wise man, a doer of wonderful works and calls him the Christ. He also affirmed that Jesus was executed by Pilate and actually rose from the dead!
a first-century Jewish historian, wrote of James, whom he identified as “the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ.”
With reference to early non-Christian historical references to Jesus, THE NEW ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA states: “These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus "(1976), MACROPÆDIA, VOL. 10, P. 145.
“Why would the apostles allow themselves to be martyred in such horrible ways for saying Jesus existed when they knew that was false? Instead they said they were eyewitnesses of Jesus' miracles and resurrection. And they all were martyred separate from each other. It could be said that one of them was crazy and suicidal...but it would be hard to make the case that ALL of them were (except John, who wasn't martyred but was exiled to the island of Patmos instead).”
The four Gospels
The four Gospels are the four accounts of Jesus’ life, which are contained in the New Testament part of the Bible. Historians will tell you that the closer an historical document is written to the time of the events it describes, the generally more reliable it is as a source of information about those events. Matthew’s Gospel account of Jesus’ life is now reckoned to have been written sometime between AD 70 and AD 80. Mark’s Gospel is dated between AD. 50 and AD. 65. Luke’s Gospel is dated in the early AD 60s and John’s Gospel sometime between AD 80 and 100. If Jesus died sometime in the AD 30s, it is clear that Mark, Luke and Matthew wrote their Gospels within living memory of Jesus’ death. John’s Gospel comes later and probably outside of living memory for most as John lived to an unusually old age for the ancient period, but the accuracy of his Gospel was verified no doubt by those who read the earlier Gospels.
Another feature of the Gospels is that they were written by men who either knew Jesus personally, or who knew people who themselves knew Jesus personally. Matthew was a former tax collector who became a disciple of Jesus. Mark was a close associate of Simon Peter, who is regarded as being Jesus’ most prominent disciple whilst Jesus was on the earth. Luke was a close associate of Paul who is the most famous of Christian missionaries and who wrote the largest contribution to the New Testament. Paul, in turn, was a close colleague of Simon Peter. John was the former fisherman who became the closest disciple of Jesus. The accounts of such men need to be considered at least seriously!
------------------Some Bible notes
“In the number of ancient MSS. [manuscripts] attesting a writing, and in the number of years that had elapsed between the original and the attesting MSS., the Bible enjoys a decided advantage over classical writings [those of Homer, Plato, and others]. . . . Altogether classical MSS. are but a handful compared with Biblical. No ancient book is so well attested as the Bible.”—The Bible From the Beginning (New York, 1929), P. Marion Simms, pp. 74, 76.
A report published in 1971 shows that there are possibly 6,000 handwritten copies containing all or part of the Hebrew Scriptures; the oldest dates back to the third century B.C.E. Of the Christian Greek Scriptures, there are some 5,000 in Greek, the oldest dating back to the beginning of the second century C.E. There are also many copies of early translations into other languages.
In the introduction to his seven volumes on The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri, Sir Frederic Kenyon wrote: “The first and most important conclusion derived from the examination of them [the papyri] is the satisfactory one that they confirm the essential soundness of the existing texts. No striking or fundamental variation is shown either in the Old or the New Testament. There are no important omissions or additions of passages, and no variations which affect vital facts or doctrines. The variations of text affect minor matters, such as the order of words or the precise words used . . . But their essential importance is their confirmation, by evidence of an earlier date than was hitherto available, of the integrity of our existing texts.”—(London, 1933), p. 15.
don't let the way mans religion is make you believe the bible is not true or that Jesus never existed. Religion is in a total mess today because the DON'T apply the bible, not because the bible is wrong.
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A number of dentistry’s in the area participated in the annual “Give Kids a Smile Day”….one of those was Atwood Family Dentistry in Idaho
An estimated 500 children from low-income families will receive free dental services ranging from oral exams and x-rays to urgent treatment, including extractions.
This project is a collaborative effort between Eastern Idaho Public Health District and the Upper Snake River Dental Society.
“It’s really rewarding, it’s kind of nice to be able to provide those service opportunities to the kids, so obviously it gives you a good feeling” said Dentist Brodie Atwood.
Over 250 dental team members volunteered their services to make this event possible. | <urn:uuid:cc2c3ca6-bfc5-41f0-b62e-e320242d922b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kpvi.com/content/news/local/story/Give-Kids-a-Smile-Day-Celebrated-in-Eastern-Idaho/6z9bq8x9FUu8dw1I2tHMNw.cspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945349 | 151 | 1.921875 | 2 |
Easy Ways to Cut Sodium Intake
Lower Your Disease Risk by Reducing Your Salt Intake
-- By Nicole Nichols, Health Educator and Liz Noelcke, Staff Writer
You consume sodium every single day, and that's a good thing! Our bodies need sodium to help maintain water and mineral balances and blood volume. But too much of a good thing (sodium in this case) can have negative effects on your health, such as an increased risk for high blood pressure (which contributes to heart disease and stroke). While most of us get enough sodium each day to meet our bodies' needs (about 1,500 milligrams), the average person consumes way too much! Experts recommend that adults consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium daily—that's about 1 teaspoon of salt.
Sodium is a mineral that occurs naturally in foods that you eat every day, including meats, nuts, grains, and dairy. Salt and sodium are not the same things—but salt is made from sodium (and chloride). What you might not realize, however, is that “hidden” sodium found in processed foods (in the form of salt) makes up the largest proportion of the sodium that adults consume (in addition to any salt that you add yourself).
Cutting back on sodium is one action you can take to reduce your risk of high blood pressure and its related complications. Keep in mind that your taste buds are probably accustomed to a strong taste of salt, so limiting your consumption might take a little getting used to, but your health is worth it! Here are some sodium-cutting tips you can try today:
Introduce additional flavor to your foods with herbs and spices like garlic, oregano, basil, pepper, thyme and sesame. These all add flavor without the extra sodium. If a recipe calls for salt, cut the amount called for in half and taste it before adding more.
Make healthy choices at the grocery store. Processed foods (anything in a box or bag) tend to be high in sodium because it helps preserve foods longer and increase flavor. Always read labels for the foods you buy, including the sodium content on the nutrition facts label and the ingredients list.
Remember that "low-fat" or "low-calorie" doesn't mean healthy. These diet foods can also be higher in sodium because manufacturers hope that added sodium, a flavor-enhancer, will bring back the flavor that is missing since fat and other higher-calorie ingredients are removed. This is especially true for frozen dinners, which are often loaded with extra salt.
Choose low-, no- or reduced-sodium versions of your favorite soups, frozen meals, canned foods, and snacks. Even butter is available without added salt!
Choose fresh or frozen veggies over canned varieties, which often contain added salt to help increase shelf life. If you can't find sodium-free varieties of canned vegetables, rinse the can's contents in a colander under water before cooking to remove excess salt.
Olives, pickles and other items packed in brine are saturated in salt, as are many smoked and cured meats, like salami and bologna. Limit your intake of these high-sodium foods and be on the lookout for lower-sodium varieties.
- Fast foods are high in more things than just fat. Many of these meals, sandwiches and fries contain more than your daily recommended intake of sodium in just one serving. When consulting restaurant websites to make healthy choices, pay attention to sodium levels as well. By keeping your portions in check (order a junior burger or small French fry instead of the big burgers and super fries) will help control your sodium (and caloric) intake.
|Baking soda||1 tsp||1,259 mg|
|Mini pretzels||10 minis||1,029 mg|
|Soy sauce||1 Tbsp||902 mg|
|Frozen pepperoni pizza||1 serving||902 mg|
|Dill pickle||1 medium||883 mg|
|Frozen chicken pot pie||1 serving||857 mg|
|Shredded cheddar cheese||1 cup||702 mg|
|Baking powder||1 tsp||488 mg|
|Hamburger||1 sandwich||474 mg|
|Sauerkraut||1/2 cup||469 mg|
|Canned peas||1 cup||428 mg|
|Ham||1 slice||373 mg|
|Biscuit||1 whole||304 mg|
|Bacon||1 slice||303 mg|
|Salted mixed nuts||1/4 cup||205 mg|
|Ketchup||1 Tbsp||190 mg|
|Hard salami||1 slice||186 mg|
|White bread||1 slice||170 mg|
|Mustard||1 Tbsp||168 mg|
|Potato chips||1 ounce||168 mg|
|Saltine crackers||5 crackers||161 mg|
|Tortilla chips||1 ounce||150 mg|
|Italian salad dressing||1 Tbsp||116 mg|
|Salted butter||1 Tbsp||82 mg| | <urn:uuid:42c58728-44d9-484b-91b0-622895590f01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/articles.asp?id=625 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90144 | 1,069 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Canadian ships and naval personnel took part in operations in the Mediterranean Sea. These included convoy escort work, raids and amphibious landings in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and the south of France.
This photograph shows HMCS Prince Robert, probably in mid-1943 shortly after its conversion to an anti-aircraft cruiser, at Esquimalt, British Columbia.
The upgraded Prince Robert, intended to help defend Allied ships against German aircraft, supported convoys between Great Britain and Gibraltar, at the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. The ship's main anti-aircraft armament consisted of ten 4-inch guns on five twin mountings; two are visible on the right. Upgraded radar (upper centre) could detect and track enemy aircraft.
George Metcalf Archival Collection | <urn:uuid:51440f3d-cc08-441d-90ae-84e1e89b5f91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.civilization.ca/cwm/exhibitions/navy/print_description-e.aspx?source=explore§ion=2-E-4-d&h_number=4-F-1-w&img_file=e-20060192-012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949301 | 162 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Tag: "lettuce" at medical news
Grapes, Melons Implicated in Outbreaks
...Other researchers looked at the process of heating lettuce
to increase its shelf life. By dipping iceberg lettuce
into warm water baths, the vegetable resists brown discoloration.However, Larry Beuchat, research pr...
Keep fit with salads
...euvering can disguise an overripe tomato or a limp lettuce
leaf. Herbs add flavour, texture and visual pleasure to a salad each of which can be changed simply by varying the kinds of herbs used. Fresh herbs (rather than dried ones) are preferable, since their flavours are milder. Some of the herbs used in s...
The Benefits Of A Diet Consisting Of Moderate Amounts Of Fat
...omen between ages 19 and 28. Participants consumed lettuce
and other vegetables topped with salad dressing that contained zero, six or 28 grams of canola oil. Blood tests were taken every 11 hours following each meal. Results showed that when patients consumed fat-free dressings, they absorbed virtually no ...
Indians are certainly having their greens and eating them too!
...a leaves that have a crunch and a peppery tinge to lettuce
buds and zucchini, the bounty at vegetable markets is finding its way into the most divine salad bowls in Indian hotels // . Salad leaves and coloured bell peppers are becoming hot favourites for toss-it-up-your-way spreads. Judging by the salad bar...
Colourful vegetables lower asthma risk
...ighest intake of leafy greens - mostly spinach and lettuce
- were 22 percent less likely to say they had asthma than women with the lowest intakes. Similarly, carrot lovers had a 20 percent lower risk of the disease, while tomato fans had an 18 percent lower risk. However, the researchers point out, they c...
Contamination fear prompts lettuce recall
...s-based Nunes Company has voluntarily recalled its lettuce
after irrigation water samples tested positive for...condary water source temporarily used to water the lettuce
had tested positive for it. How the water got contaminated is still not clear. The company said th...
Raw (or) Undercooked Sprouts May Carry Harmful Bacteria
...oli bacteria (called O157:H7) has tainted packaged lettuce
and spinach around the country. Experts say that i...airy farms would have contaminated the spinach and lettuce
growing in close proximity. Another theory is that water used to wash the produce may have been cont...
Salmonella Poisoning Suspected In Peanut Butter
...re was an outbreak of E.coli in bagged spinach and lettuce
in Taco Bell restaurants. The attorney of the people who have been affected by peanut butter feels that their clients need to be compensated adequately. Joan Horbiak, director of the American Dietetic Association notes with surprise about the salm...
Posh Puts the Spice Girls on a Diet
...to go on a diet of edamame beans, strawberries and lettuce
and all this combined with 200 sit ups a day. "Victoria has told the girls that her secret to getting in shape is 200 sit-ups a day and a diet of edamame beans, strawberries and lettuce," the Daily Mail quoted a source, as saying. The source als... | <urn:uuid:1b99137d-30f7-48fe-9789-85cecb8be11b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/tag-1/lettuce/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947888 | 676 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Papuan Bird’s Head Seascape: Emerging threats and challenges in the global center of marine biodiversity
The Bird’s Head Seascape located in eastern Indonesia is the global epicenter of tropical shallow water marine biodiversity with over 600 species of corals and 1,638 species of coral reef fishes. The Seascape also includes critical habitats for globally threatened marine species, including sea turtles and cetaceans. Since 2001, the region has undergone rapid development in fisheries, oil and gas extraction, mining and logging. The expansion of these sectors, combined with illegal activities and poorly planned coastal development, is accelerating deterioration of coastal and marine environments. At the same time, regency governments have expanded their marine protected area networks to cover 3,594,702 ha of islands and coastal waters. Low population numbers, relatively healthy natural resources and a strong tenure system in eastern Indonesia provide an opportunity for government and local communities to collaboratively manage their resources sustainably to ensure long-term food security, while meeting their development aspirations. | <urn:uuid:bd251bc3-755c-4af7-9e66-cff73c2c7a8a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://politicalecology.xyvy.info/papuan-bird%E2%80%99s-head-seascape-emerging-threats-and-challenges-in-the-global-center-of-marine-biodiversity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925782 | 210 | 3.546875 | 4 |
People who sit for hours at a time at work are more likely to have reduced work productivity due to back pain. Low back pain has been listed as a top three common ailment among workers.
Sitting down for long-hours causes back aches, which may hamper workplace productivity, researchers say.
Occupational health physician Dr Abed Onn has listed low back pain as one of the three most common work-related ailments, alongside noise-induced loss of hearing and upper limb muscular disorder, Star Online reported.
Due to lack of reliable statistics, he based his evaluation on cases he has handled in the course of his work.
“Low back pain is not an old man’s ailment. I am seeing more cases of low back pain in fairly young individuals, even people in their early 30s,” Dr Onn said.
Orthopaedic and spine surgeon Dr Siow Yew Siong asserted that office workers suffer from mostly sprained and strained low backs as well as early degeneration of the spine because of the sedentary nature of office work.
“Sprains and strains are much more common than actual spinal diseases,” said Dr Siong.
“Poor sitting posture, poor office ergonomics (designing of equipment to fit the human body), wrong lifting techniques… continue reading
Looking for a chiropractor in Snellville, GA? Contact us today for more information. | <urn:uuid:a2aa86ac-b2e3-4af4-a398-998e2035953d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chiropractorssnellvillega.com/tag/work | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961271 | 298 | 2.484375 | 2 |
In a recent episodes of PBS’ Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, actress Michelle Rodriguez learned of the extreme lengths the Puerto Rican side of her family went through to remain light skinned.
To keep their family light, many relatives married first cousins rather than risk marrying someone from the outside who might produce potentially darker offspring.
From The Root:
Gates found out that Rodriguez’ light-skinned paternal ancestors married each other at a surprising rate. In fact, three of the actress’ great-great-great-grandfathers were brothers, while all of her great-great-grandfathers were first cousins.
“Our genealogist who traced your family tree in Puerto Rico called your family tree ‘a beautiful depiction of the consanguinity and endogamy on 19th-century Puerto Rican families,’ ” Gates told Rodriguez, who responded, “That’s an elegant way of saying you guys loved to do it in the family.”
Rodriguez was aware of her family’s colorism, but not the extent of it. Even within her immediate family, she felt the sting of it as her father’s Puerto Rican family was critical of him marrying a darker Dominican woman, Rodriguez’s mother.
Later, Rodriguez was shocked when she learned she was 72 percent European, 21 percent black and 6 percent Native American.
For all the concerns about colorism within the African-American community, compared to what happened in many Latin American and South American cultures, the American view almost seems enlightened. While there is a lot of discussion about color preferences and the privileges afforded to those who have lighter skin, the nature of American-style racism and Jim Crow laws fostered some semblance of togetherness or, at the least, some shared sacrifice amongst black Americans of all shades. Just the fact that someone light enough to pass for white would use the word “black” to describe themselves and their family – with pride – reflects of this.
So many black Americans, who in any other country would have self-identified as white or mixed, often solely identify as black in this country.
Often to the sheer befuddlement of our South American counterparts.
It’s not that you don’t have lighter and brighter tendencies here in the states, but there’s an ongoing debate, dialogue, and conversation going on about it in black American communities. When I read about something like this, even though I know how race and color are viewed differently in places like Venezuela, Cuba, or Brazil – it’s always shocking.
A friend of mine who is black American and Puerto Rican (and light complexioned) married a woman who was also Latino. We were the same tone and had the same hair texture. She would often jokingly say we looked as if we could be sisters or mother and daughter. But when I joked about how both our hair was so prone to frizz up with straightened because of our shared African ancestry, she bristled and insisted she was not black and had no black ancestry.
She was “Spanish.”
Her husband, who solely identified as black, pointed out that she was – by his definition and most Americans definition, black or white – as black as he and I, but because of her background she didn’t talk about it. Having long hair and being a lighter shade of medium brown had somehow gotten her out of the “dreaded” black category in her native country. To her, her husband and I were the weirdoes wanting to dump our light-skin and brown-skin “privilege” to be lumped in with people several shades darker. We were crazy.
Because where she was from, that was a shudder-worthy notion.
And I thought of her when I read about Rodriguez’ incestuous family history and her own befuddled reaction to it. Of how something that was so important to those generations in the past, now seems silly. Or even uncomfortably bizarre. As if she thought, “fine. You want to be light. You want you kids to be light and retain all the privileges that come with it, but you were willing to marry your cousins just to make sure you retained lighter skinned traits? The taboo of incest meant less than the perceived “lesser” status of darker skin? That’s pretty messed up.”
Even when understanding the historical context of it, that context still involves the ignoring of the biological imperative to seek out sexual partners outside of the family tree.
And that’s what discrimination does to people. Even in places where everyone is technically of a similar background. We will, as human beings, seek for ways to divide ourselves, to show who has less and who has more. We will find a way to create an underclass, an undesirable, someone lesser than, so when they are marginalized and oppressed, we will not fight for them, but instead see them as the inhuman “other.” And that fear of becoming what you hate, of being the “other” will make you settle for a lifetime of cousin-screwing, rather than risk the loss of all the advantages afforded to you when you can say you are not of which you’ve been taught to hate. | <urn:uuid:9ec62293-ee77-4f70-b24b-09ef699c7d5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2012/06/actress-michelle-rodriguez-ancestors-chosen-kissing-cousins-over-kissing-darker-skinned-people/comment-page-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98098 | 1,102 | 2.640625 | 3 |
When you were young, your parents may have read to you bedtime stories of tales from long long ago, of kings and queens from faraway kingdoms, of princesses in their castles waiting for their prince charming. From Snow White to Beauty and the Beast, these stories brought us great delight and sweet dreams. Many of us ladies have probably dreamt of becoming princesses. We improvised our own Cinderella gowns with blankets, our jeweled tiaras with shiny shimmering headbands; we even tried on our mother’s high heels. We acted as daughters of grace and royalty.
(Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/msspider66/143748632/)
As we grow older, we realize that we cannot live in castles and wear elegant gowns to school. We also discover that there is no such thing as a perfect man who best fits the shoes of prince charming. But even if there is prince charming, the ending isn’t always happily-ever-after. We see married couples experiencing marital strife, Hollywood fairy tales ending in divorce. With all these coming into play, our hope of becoming a princess may blur, but it never dies. We still dress up as princesses every time a good opportunity arises. Be it to the prom, on your sweet sixteenth or even on the much awaited wedding day.
And you know what? You need not limit your “Princess Days” on these occasions. Each of us is beautifully and wonderfully made. Don’t be afraid to dress up! The styles of the gowns may change, shoes may fade, but the tiara, the crowning glory of the princess will always be there.
For more tiaras and other hair accessories, visit http://tiaragarden.com/. | <urn:uuid:d3b1ddd1-3785-4cdf-9843-3f52bbf1b044> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tiaragarden.com/blog/headpieces/tiaras/everyday-a-princess-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940098 | 372 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Throughout the last few months of my research into the implications of an energy crisis on Higher Education, one of my main weaknesses was knowing where to start when considering the impact that a Peak Oil energy crisis would have on our economy and therefore on the economic input and output of the HE sector. When considering an energy crisis scenario in the context of Higher Education, it seems to me that we can broadly divide the impacts into 1) Economic; and 2) Infrastructural. By this, I mean that we should be asking ourselves questions that relate to how we operate in an economy with significantly declining GDP and how we operate under circumstances where our energy infrastructure itself declines (both transport and coal and gas dependent electricity are, in a sense, underwritten by oil production).1 Simply put, what happens to universities when there is a lot less money in the economy and energy in the form of electricity and petrol is rationed in one way or another? This was my original question and, I think, still remains valid.
I think that Educational Technologists should be thinking hard about the second part of the question, which implies that the provision of educational technology will be disrupted for decades. What is HE’s educational provision under a scenario of disrupted ICT?
The first part of the question should be of wider interest to people working in the HE sector (in fact, people in all parts of society, but this is where we work so let’s concentrate on HE). There has been some useful research done on the possible economic impact of Peak Oil. It cannot be conclusive, but it does provide us with the basis for our scenario planning. I would recommend these two recent papers which examine the likely short-term (i.e. 20 yrs) economic and social consequences of Peak Oil.
Hirsch, Robert L., 2008. “Mitigation of maximum world oil production: Shortage scenarios,” Energy Policy, Volume 36, Issue 2, Pages 881-889
Jörg Friedrichs, 2010. “Global energy crunch: How different parts of the world would react to a peak oil scenario,” Energy Policy, Volume 38, Issue 8, Pages 4562-4569
In summary, Hirsch’s paper shows that we can work on the assumption that global GDP will decline at about the same rate as global oil production, which is anticipated to be around %2-5/yr. The minority of oil exporting countries will fare better than the greater number of oil importing countries. Friedrichs’ paper, based on an analysis of historical examples, suggests that this will result in North America resorting to greater military coercion until a crippled economy forces the administration into ‘coercive diplomacy’. Western Europe, reluctant to engage in ‘predatory militarism’, “could hardly avoid a transition to a more community-based lifestyle. Despite the present affluence of Western European societies (or precisely because of it), this would be extremely painful and last for several generations.”
These papers, and their references, provide a good starting point for modelling the economic and social impacts on all aspects of society, including the UK Higher Education sector: Less money, more re-localisation.
On a related note, here are a few graphs which nicely illustrate the correlation between oil, money and debt. What they suggest is that oil production closely correlates with GDP and that since oil production plateaued in 2005, debt has been the driver of GDP where oil has been lacking.
The debt information is pretty suggestive of what is going on, and that is, the reason the world has been able to keep increasing GDP since 2005 is because it has been borrowing from the future to fund the addiction to economic growth. But this situation cannot continue without serious problems in terms of repayment. And we have imminent peak oil, with the consensus dawning that soon after 2011 oil supply is highly likely to start declining with decline rates anywhere between 2% and 8% per annum.2
- There is also the problem in the UK that many of our power stations need to be decommissioned around 2016. See this and this. [↩]
- I am Perplexed: Comments on the World Financial Situation and Peak Oil [↩] | <urn:uuid:036f1f8e-791f-4eb9-b3c6-2283ff2fccad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://joss.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/2010/06/16/the-economic-impact-of-peak-oil-where-do-we-begin/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955434 | 868 | 2.375 | 2 |
From the Sea to the Land Beyond
From the Sea to the Land Beyond offers a poetic meditation on Britain as an island through archive of the UK coastline. This cross-platform project offers audiences a moving cinematic/live music experience as well as an online tool where users reinterpret archive footage to create their own personal sharable video postcards.
From using decades of BFI Archive Footage, award-winning film maker Penny Woolcock created a stunning cinematic experience, with a score composed by British Sea Power. The film is available on the Space Website here:From The Sea To The Land Beyond. People can create an online video postcard by going to http://landbeyond.co.uk , selecting a coastal location and personalising them by adding in their own photos and videos underneath the score of British Sea Power. The project aims to form a lyrical interpretation of our relationship to the coast by a newly commissioned film / live music collaboration.
These pieces can be shared on different social platforms as well as The Space; everyone involved can view each otherís creations as well as watching the major cinematic piece. These thousands of individual video postcards will grow into a unique library of impressions of the UK coastline.
To make your own video postcard, visit http://landbeyond.co.uk
Watch the performance and film here: From The Sea To The Land Beyond
Produced by Heather Croall, Sheffield Doc/Fest and Mark Atkin, Crossover Labs
Sheffield Doc/Fest is the Worldís 3rd largest, documentary festival, attracting audiences of 18,000 each year.
XO Labs works with artists, designers, producers, directors and developers to devise new digital experiences.
From the Sea to the Land Beyond premiered on Thursday 13th June at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2012 and remain available till Wednesaday 31 October.
Using a hundred years of material, this one hour film explores the role the coast plays in our lives; whether itís a trip into busy, colourful sea side towns or the remote Scottish Isles, the film is an evocative and sometimes sometimes nostalgic piece of work to inspire people to think about their own experiences and opinions on the British coast.
Film Director: Penny Woolcock
Penny Woolcock is a polymath whose work spans documentary, fiction and opera. With documentaries like The Wet House, and breakthrough fiction like Tina Goes Shopping, she has often blurred the lines between fiction and documentary and, in the process, revealed something interesting about both disciplines. Her latest film for BBC Four, On the Streets, sees her return to documentary with a look at homeless and vulnerably housed people in London.
Film Editor: Alex Fry
Alex Fry has collaborated with Penny Woolcock on her most recent project On the Street as well of number hugely successful documentary feature documentaries.Penny and Alex worked with the BFI, who selected a range of archive material to include news, documentary, nature, entertainment and drama footage from 1936 to the present day.
The soundtrack of the film is a score composed and performed by British Sea Power a band famed for their live performances. They enhance the experience with an atmospheric and epic score live at the event.
Composers / Musicians: British Sea Power
British Sea Power are one of Britainís bestloved bands. They worked with the director, developing themes that reflect the themes of the film (work, play, childhood, romance, melancholy, hope, industry, transport, wilderness, the power of the elements, wildlife.
Inspired by the film, viewers are encouraged to go online, select from themes and locations which mean something to them from an interactive map of the British Coast. They will use these clips as the basis for dynamic video postcards, which they can add segments of the British Sea Power soundtrack to add a message and then share on The Space and Twitter and Facebook.
Digital Partner: Illumina Digital
Illumina Digital award-winning multiplatform production company has worked for the BBC, CBBC, Channel4, Wall to Wall, ITN. | <urn:uuid:b770902b-aa03-47ee-a10d-b855c7c921bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sheffdocfest.com/view/thespace | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921281 | 821 | 1.585938 | 2 |
The brain child of Ratan Tata, head of India’s massive conglomerate, the Nano, billed as the ‘world’s most affordable car,’ has never been far from controversy.
Nevertheless it has generated a great deal of interest around the world among the public as well as automotive designers and engineers about the concept of a truly practical car for the developing world. Now the Nano, which sells for around $2,500, has become the subject of an art exhibition stateside.
Cornell University’s Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art has put on a one-of-a-kind display which it calls ‘Unpacking the Nano – the price of the world’s most affordable car.” A bright yellow Nano is parked at the entrance to the museum, while upstairs a red one has been disassembled and various parts displayed on wire in one room, designed to appear as real life renderings of exploded shop diagrams or instruction manuals, with each of them broken down into price and weight in a social and cultural context.
Some components, such as the wiring harness are mounted on wood, symbolizing the 16 crates into which the whole exhibition can be packed.
The ideal of having a Nano display at Cornell isn’t as tenuous as you might think; Ratan Tata attended the university’s school of architecture. The exhibition runs until March 27th and like the car itself, is likely to generate plenty of controversy. | <urn:uuid:e09181b2-a75c-48e2-9ab6-64b85a017a15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2011/02/tata-nano-becomes-an-art-exhibit.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95958 | 301 | 2.140625 | 2 |
In many projects we want to have connection to PC. In most cases a serial interface works fine. Using it we can read data, send commands or simply debug program running on chip. Embedded programmers are looking for simple way controlling serial data flow. In many cases simple terminal is enough, but if you want to add some intelligence to program, then you need something more. One of great choices is Python. It is free, multiplatform tool that enables running programs using smart scripting language. Strong community has written tons of handy modules – libraries to do various tasks. One of these modules is called pyserial which allows accessing serial ports using simple functions. Pyserial is successfully used in many great projects so why not continue using it. Things changed a bit when Python3 has been released. The problem is that all modules were written for Python2. Developers of Python 3 decided not to add backwards compatibility to ver2. So many modules stopped working in Python3. Luckily pyserial is supported in Python3.
Tutorial from scienceprog gives a simple example on how to set up pyserial to be used with Python3.3. An example script shows how to read incoming text messages from serial line and displays on console screen. As test data there were ASCII table sent from ChipKIT UNO32. Given example could serve as starting point for new project that connect microcontrollers to PC. | <urn:uuid:bafc90e4-3d98-4ddc-8846-576dbb65ff4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.embedds.com/sending-data-from-chipkit-uno32-to-python3-via-serial-interface/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921851 | 285 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Author Notes: Kheer, if you want to get boring, is a form of rice pudding. But get a little adventurous and it can be so much more. The variations of flavors are endless – cardamom, nutmeg, saffron, cinnamon, rosewater, raisins, almonds, pistachios. Even the forms of kheer vary – it can be made with rice, vermicelli, semolina... It is believed that phirni, from which kheer is derived, originated in Persia (it means 'the food of angels'), from where it was brought to India by the Mughals. Depending on which part of India you’re in, you’ll encounter a different version but with one common denominator – they’re all delicious. - Heena
- 4 tablespoons Basmati rice
- 5 cups milk
- 1/2 vanilla bean
- Flavoring: a pinch of saffron or 1 teaspoon rose water or 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg
- 1/3 cup slivered pistachios (or cashews/almonds)
- Soak the rice in warm water for 30 mins. Drain the rice and grind coarsely using a mortar-and-pestle. (You can leave also leave the rice whole or grind using a processor.)
- Pour the milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds with a knife into the milk. Add the vanilla bean too. Bring the milk to a gentle boil. Take it off the heat and let steep for 30 mins. (If you don't want to use a vanilla bean, you can skip this step entirely.)
- If using the saffron, soak the strands in 1 tablespoon of the warm milk.
- Remove the vanilla bean and bring the milk back to a boil. Add drained rice and simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally to ensure no lumps form. Continue until the rice is cooked. and the mixture reduces to one-third of the original volume. (Or reduces to the consistency you prefer. It takes 25-30 mins to reach the consistency I like; also remember, it will continue to thicken as it cools)
- Add the sugar and mix well, cooking just until it dissolves.
- Stir in the saffron milk/rose water/spices. Serve warm or chilled as you prefer garnished with the nuts.
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Pudding | <urn:uuid:11793049-bf61-44b7-9db6-95c147e6ea9f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://food52.com/recipes/9692-kheer-indian-rice-pudding | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910057 | 522 | 1.757813 | 2 |
It’s a house that demands an explanation. There it is, set on a busy six-lane highway in Oneco, big and old and seemingly made of stone, with castle-like turrets and a white picket fence. It’s too cheerful-looking to be a haunted house, but you can’t help but wonder — what is it? An old library? A fire house? Does somebody really live there? Who?
The Helm-Nanney House, as it is officially known on the National Register of Historic Places, is just what you’re hoping it is — a beautiful relic of pioneer days, battered yet, somehow preserved over the years and now in the hands of a family who delights in taking care of it.
The home was built in 1908. Oneco was tiny but, still, an important part of Florida’s early citrus and nursery industry. (The world’s first pink-grapefruit was developed just down the road.) The Helm family, originally from Indiana, owned a grove and a nearby grocery store. They hired local contractor J.S. Maus to design their homestead in the then-popular Richardsonian Romanesque style. Characterized by arches, round towers and stone balustrades, the style was a turn-of-the-century staple across the country, particularly suited for public buildings and millionaires’ mansions.
Maus ordered all the materials for the home from Sears Roebuck and Co. The forms for the molded-concrete blocks were filled with sand from Siesta Key (even then thought to be the finest) and the still-intact woodwork, doors, windows sills and hardware came straight from the Sears catalog.
Walking through the home today, it’s easy to picture the way people lived 100 years ago. The ceilings are high — 10 feet in most rooms; the house still doesn’t have central air — and there is intricate woodwork everywhere. Although the house was subsequently divided into six apartments, current owners Margi and Pat Nanney were happy to discover that behind the 1930s and ’40s renovations, everything was still pretty much intact — even the original claw-foot bathtub, which they found buried in the backyard.
The ground floor consists of an entrance hall with a U-shaped stairway and a fireplace with an elaborate mantle and surround. Through a pair of Corinthian columns is the parlor, and beyond that a curved and enclosed porch (now used as storage). There’s also a dining room with a Franklin stove and a kitchen that’s half old, half new, complete with an old-fashioned wall phone.
Upstairs is a large sunny landing area with a bay window. “This is where the boys grew up,” Margi Nanney explains. Their current bedroom was still rented out as an apartment when the Nanneys moved in. There are two other bedrooms on this floor, plus the original bath. The third floor contains three more rooms, now used as headquarters for Margi Nanney’s extensive antiques collection. Her pride and joy is a wall display of artifacts from John Ringling Towers, the famous old hotel destroyed in 1998. “I was so upset that I didn’t drive by that spot for three years,” she recalls.
There’s also a balcony at the top of the west tower — the highest point in the area — from which you can look out over present-day Oneco. To the south are the remnants of the Helms’ citrus groves; to the north are low commercial buildings and the traffic rumbling by on one of Manatee County’s main east-west thoroughfares. It’s an eccentric place to call home.
The Nanneys bought the home in 1985 and it’s been their passion ever since, Margi Nanney in particular. Luckily, she’s had a variety of careers to prepare her for the challenge. A North Carolina native, she moved to Sarasota in fourth grade. Her first job after USF was as Cardinal Mooney High School’s first art teacher. Then, with her first husband, real-estate entrepreneur Jerry King, she was instrumental in the development of several Sarasota communities back in the 1970s and ’80s. “I remember choosing all the street names for Centergate.”
Along the way she also started her own advertising agency. Then, when a friend asked a small favor, everything changed. He wanted some lettering stenciled on the side of a race car, and, as Margi Nanney puts it, “I fell in love with the race track.” She and Jerry bought DeSoto Speedway in 1980 and with her at the helm it became, to quote its famous slogan, “the South’s fastest short track.” But Jerry’s interest was less than hers. They parted ways and Margi fell in love with — and married — driver Pat Nanney.
The Nanneys’ racing days have tapered off considerably. The track now belongs to someone else and Margi Nanney is currently the public information officer for the Manatee County Schools. But there is no doubt that cars and all things mechanical remain the focus of their family life. With most people, it’s the kitchen that’s the heart of the home. With the Nanneys, it’s the workshop out back. There, in 2,200 square feet of air-conditioned space, Pat Nanney and the boys — Mark and James, both now in college — repaired and rebuilt cars and trucks and the occasional motorcycle and ATV, while Margi Nanney has her own work station where she repairs lamps she finds at garage sales and online. Surveying this scene, with its wall of racing trophies and the 1970 Dodge truck her sons learned to drive on, Margi shakes her head. “Thank God, I had boys,” she says. “I’m such a tomboy at heart.”
Maybe so. But inside the home, with its Christmas decorations up — for the 104th year — Margi Nanney’s sentimental side took over. It’s filled with family photographs and treasures such as her mother’s old sofa and a pair of lamps said to be from Charles Ringling’s mansion. This year, as always, there’s a Christmas card with a picture of the family and even a corny poem. The house is often featured on the card, too, and why not? Along with their beagle, Chase, napping on the carpet, it’s a part of the family.
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4 "Gloria Musicae Celebrates America"
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
19 Steel Magnolias
4 10th Anniversary Perlman Gala Concert
Hat's off to Dee Pelton, volunteers
Dee Pelton held a luncheon that will be tough to top.
Youth sailors descend on City Island
Approximately 250 people hit the water Saturday, April 20 through Sunday, April 21, for Sailfest. The regatta, Sarasota Youth Sailing's biggest fundraiser of the year, included four classes of competition — Optimus, 420, Laser and Multi-hull — and a barbecue feast.
Book club sunsets for the season
The Sunset Beach Book Club, in its 10th year, ended this season with a luncheon and discussion of the book “Gone Girl,” by Gillian Flynn, April 18, at Lazy Lobster. Discussion moderator was Ricki Carroll. Together, the group read five books this season. | <urn:uuid:0ebe8a37-dde4-4f66-83d1-bd95873b8bbe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yourobserver.com/news/longboat-key/A-and-E/1226201223878/Home-Garden-Historic-Homestead?page=11 | 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 | 0.963202 | 1,612 | 2.34375 | 2 |
(11/10/1995) - Defenders of Wildlife announced today that it will offer a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who killed a female endangered red wolf last weekend.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) personnel found the body of the wolf on November 6 in Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina, where it was under the protection of the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). Anyone with information about the recent red wolf killing should contact FWS at (919) 946-3361.
FWS biologists said that the dead wolf had a litter of pups born on April 22, 1995, which is Earth Day. Although, the pups are just over six months old and probably capable of surviving on their own, normally they would have stayed with their mother for a year and a half or longer.
Rodger Schlickeisen, President of Defenders of Wildlife, said today, "This is a crime committed in an atmosphere of radical rhetoric by anti-environmental groups and politicians. The erroneous remark made on the Senate floor in August by Senator Jesse Helms, (R- NC), claiming that a red wolf had attacked a child is a prime example. Public figures have a responsibility to base statements about endangered species on fact, not fear."
The FWS enforcement officials credited an earlier Defenders' reward in helping to produce evidence in the case in which Chad McKittrick of Red Lodge, Montana, was convicted of shooting one of the gray wolves released earlier this year as part of the Yellowstone National Park wolf reintroduction program.
Schlickeisen added, "National wildlife refuges were established by law to protect wildlife. Therefore, it is especially outrageous that someone would commit this crime on a national wildlife refuge. Defenders is offering this reward so people will think twice before committing crimes against endangered species."
Red wolves were listed as endangered in 1967 and were declared officially extinct in the wild in 1980. A reintroduction program of captive-bred red wolves began in 1987, and red wolves have once again been reproducing in the wild. According to FWS, there is no known incident of any person being bitten by a red wolf and no record of any livestock killed by a red wolf in North Carolina.
Cat Lazaroff, (202) 772-3270 | <urn:uuid:0a0c9555-f2da-4e95-bc31-f945f310dd6f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.defenders.org/print/3656 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964641 | 481 | 2.328125 | 2 |
The United Nations is considering to declare Palestine a sovereign state whose territory includes all of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem during its annual General Assembly meeting in September.
The New York Times reports that the Palestinian Authority has been building support for the declaration, which has been steadily gaining momentum.
If such a declaration would be made, it would mean that Israel is occupying the terrority of a fellow United Nations member.
Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barack called the possible move a “diplomatic-political tsunami.”
Aides to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu are reportedly offering transfer of some West Bank territory outside its settlements to Palestinian control, and an international conference that would hammer out a final land agreement.
Palestinians, buoyed by their diplomatic gains and swiftly-moving regime changes across the Middle East, and embittered by Israel’s refusual to stop the building of settlements in the West Bank, are not biting.
“We want to generate pressure on Israel to make it feel isolated and help it understand that there can be no talks without a stop to settlements,” said Nabil Shaath, who leads the foreign affairs department of Fatah, the main party of the Palestinian Authority. “Without that, our goal is membership in the United Nations General Assembly in September.”
White House Middle East advisor Dennis Ross said Monday that the United States was opposed to the Palestinian Authority seeking a UN statehood declaration.
“We have consistently made it clear that the way to produce a Palestinian state is through negotiations, not through unilateral declarations, not through going to the UN,” Dennis Ross told the Anti-Defamation League’s annual leadership conference. “Our position on that has been consistent in opposition.” | <urn:uuid:6a434c48-ac8d-485a-bab0-c796b7e0847f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.therightperspective.org/2011/04/05/un-may-declare-sovereign-palestine-state/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959857 | 362 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Museum sights in Svalbard
- Sort by:
The simple, appealing little Pomor museum outlines (in Russian only) the historic Pomor trade with mainland Russia, plus Russian mining and history on Svalbard. Especially worthwhile are the excellent geological exhibits and the collection of artefacts suggesting Russian activity in Svalbard prior to the archipelago’s accepted European ‘discovery’ by Willem Barents.
The Svalbard Museum is an impressive, recently inaugurated exhibition space. Themes include the life on the edge formerly led by whalers, trappers, seal and walrus hunters and, more recently, miners. It's an attractive mix of text, artefacts and birds and mammals, stuffed and staring. There's a cosy book-browsing area too where you can lounge on sealskin cushions and rugs. | <urn:uuid:ef7cd483-4d23-4e52-9a85-b7e395cb4333> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lonelyplanet.com/norway/svalbard/sights/museum?sort_dir=desc&sort_order=popular | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907405 | 180 | 1.976563 | 2 |
|ESA-195 Public Report (J.R. Simplot, Moses Lake)|
|Written by USDOE Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy|
|Friday, 15 July 2011 09:50|
ESA-195 Public Report
This J.R. Simplot facility produces French fries and other potato products in Moses Lake, Washington. The plant operates a primary boiler that burns a combination of natural gas and hydrogen. The hydrogen is piped to the boiler room from a neighboring facility. The plant uses saturated steam to peel, blanch, and cook the potato products.
Objective of ESA:
The purpose of the steam energy saving assessment was to train this facility’s and neighboring facilities’ engineering groups to use the Department of Energy steam tools, to create a model of the plant steam system, and to identify projects that will save energy.
Focus of Assessment:
The plant generates steam to be used in the production of French fries and other potato products. The J.R. Simplot Company operates three plants in the Moses Lake area and several plants in the neighboring state of Idaho. Neighboring plants participated in the ESA to gain knowledge regarding the use of the Department of Energy’s steam tools. If ways can be identified to improve the plant steam system operation, the cost of energy use at the facilities can be reduced (i.e., primarily reduce the amount of natural gas consumed).
Approach for ESA:
J.R. Simplot was serious about gaining as much as possible from the Department of Energy-sponsored ESA; eight people were involved in the training audit, including two corporate engineering representatives. The assessment began by reviewing the Department of Energy’s Steam System Scoping Tool (SSST). Information obtained from the SSST and other specific information from the evaluation team was used to begin the modeling process. Jeff Breiling, the plant lead for the assessment, was very well prepared with the data previously requested. A plant tour was conducted to collect flue gas samples from the boiler, to observe the operation of the blowdown heat recovery equipment, and the deaerator, feed water economizer, and the condensate recovery system.
3E Plus software was used to build a metric for determining the heat loss in portions of the plant distribution system that have bare or poorly insulated pipe.
By the end of the first day of work, Jeff Breiling was manipulating the Steam System Assessment Tool (SSAT) model to develop a comprehensive list of steam system improvement opportunities. On the second day, significant time was spent computing steam turbine isentropic efficiencies, demonstrating the use of the 3EPlus software, and adjusting the SSAT model to ensure that all of the training audit team members were satisfied that the SSAT model represented the current plant operation.
General Observations of Potential Opportunities:
To enhance the accuracy of the SSAT model, the facility needs to record the steam generated from each boiler each day, the makeup water used in the boilers each day, and the amount of low pressure process steam used each day.
The following opportunities were evaluated using a fuel cost of $5.35/MMBtu and electric cost of $0.017/kWh. Some projects were modeled to determine the marginal cost of steam for the plant and the value of return condensate. The values are listed below.
Potential fuel savings from above improvements:
Management Support and Comments:
We did not meet with the plant manager but J.R. Simplot dedicated personnel from three plants to the training audit for three days, including corporate engineering representatives.
DOE Contact at Plant/Company:Alan ChristieCorporate Engineer
|Super Boiler - First NW “Super Boiler” Demo Nearing
08/06/2010 | Dave Klick
First NW “Super Boiler” Demo Nearing – Thanks to IPC’s Partners Super boiler technology, retrofitting the existing boiler fleet with an innovative advanced heat recovery system and promising [ ... ]
|A Guide to Reducing Energy Consumption in Your Food Processing Evaporator Systems|
09/06/2010 | PG&E
A Guide to Reducing Energy Consumption in Your Food Processing Evaporator Systems Evaporators are widely used in the food processing industry to remove a portion of the water from food products. This [ ... ] | <urn:uuid:9d76167f-683a-4f8c-9562-6ba0156f434d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nwfpa.org/nwfpa.info/supplier-references/407-esa-195-public-report-jr-simplot-moses-lake | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93706 | 889 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Vectorworks is an easy-to-learn, intuitive 2D/3D computer aided drafting program that runs on both Macs and PCs. During this intro workshop, we’ll start with a group project to get comfortable with the Vectorworks drawing tools. Students will then have the opportunity to apply their new drafting/modeling skills to individual design projects. Pre-registration is required so that each student can receive an individual free one-year licensed copy of the software, to be preloaded on your own laptop prior to class.
Course start time: Day 1, 9am
Course end time: Day 2, 5pm
- Competency Level: Beginner
- AIA credits: 14
To allow students to follow the instruction and experiment with the techniques demonstrated, they are required to bring their own laptop computers to class with Vectorworks installed (The program runs on either a Mac or PC). A free copy valid for one year is available to each registered student. Download instructions will be provided upon registration. Students should also bring a 3-button mouse.
The goal of this class is for the students to be familiar enough with Vectorworks to be able to complete a set of architectural drawings. We'll focus on the 2D elements of the program but will explore the 3D elements as well.
Day 1 Using a project provided by the instructor, we'll explore the fundamentals of Vectorworks through a series of exercises including:
- Launching the program and activating the standard workspace and adjusting preferences,
- understanding the toolbars and menus
- 2D drawing tools
- Manipulating and modifying objects
- Annotation tools
- Drawing presentation and printer setup
- students will work independently on a project of their choice with one-on-one instructor assistance.
- In the afternoon, once students are comfortable with the 2D elements, we'll explore Vectorworks Architect using Vectorworks 3D tools. | <urn:uuid:42f1c03a-e3f2-4a40-aa2e-e31fae8645c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yestermorrow.org/workshops/detail/intro-to-vectorworks?StartDate=2012-03-18&SortColumn=StartDate&SortDir=ASC&CategorySlug=woodturning-tutorial | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903566 | 390 | 2.28125 | 2 |
In late May, feminists celebrated the addition of the Shaheen Amendment to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, which would expand the Department of Defense’s abortion coverage policy for its soldiers. Currently, abortions are covered only if the woman’s life is endangered. Even if a woman in the military needs an abortion due to rape, incest or birth defects, she must pay out of pocket and receive the procedure off-base. The new amendment would extend insurance for abortions in cases of rape or incest, thus putting the military in line with such federal programs as Medicaid and the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program. The policy could make quite a difference to the several hundred active duty military women who become pregnant as a result of rape each year.
But the outlook is bleak as the bill advances to the GOP-controlled House. It may have the support of Republican Senators John McCain, Scott Brown and Susan Collins, but word on the Hill is that other Republicans will block it and that it “stands little chance of surviving” the House vote. Meanwhile, women in the military continue to risk their lives for a country which denies them full access to health care.
To support women soldiers in their struggle for reproductive justice, visit www.standwithservicewomen.org. | <urn:uuid:a46b8c07-c57a-4218-ba01-b99a575b6ebe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://msmagazine.com/blog/2012/06/14/war-on-women-soldiers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960575 | 259 | 1.875 | 2 |
Want More Education?
Delve deeper into the science behind skin care with —Skin Inc. Video Education!
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Beautifying the Body
By: Mary Bemis
Posted: June 23, 2008, from the May 2006 issue of Skin Inc. magazine.
page 2 of 3
Each of the spa directors I spoke with agrees that in order to truly care for the skin and to extend the anti-aging benefits of specialized spa treatments, clients need to be properly educated on at-home spa basics. “People are looking for body treatments that work, as well as things they can do at home,” says Betty Jane Grieco, spa director at Aquagene Spa at the Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Clients who book body treatments, such as the Marine Algae Body Wrap (50 minutes, $120), are given a body brush and an instruction sheet to use at home.
Craig recommends a professional body scrub once a week, as well as the use of an exfoliating shower gel every day. She also suggests that her spa clients apply a luxurious moisturizing body cream after each daily shower or bath.
“If you want to take care of the body the same way as the face, you have to care for it daily,” says Aida Bicaj, an international skin care specialist and esthetician in New York. “The best way to take care of the skin on the body is to never use soap because it is very drying,” she says. Bicaj instructs her clients to exfoliate daily with a loofah and a creamy exfoliant. Afterward, she notes that it’s important to use a regenerating and hydrating body lotion that contains lactic acid. Other beneficial ingredients include flax oil and jojoba, according to Sobel, who suggests choosing gentle exfoliating scrubs that contain these two substances. “Look for products that will help gently eliminate dry dead skin cells and re-moisturize and re-nourish skin,” he advises.
To keep your body ageless, perhaps Johnson has the best at-home advice that treats the body from the inside. “Drink plenty of water, eat a well-balanced diet, don’t smoke, and avoid an excess of alcohol and sunburns. Exfoliate and use generous amounts of moisturizer. Laugh a lot, avoid unnecessary stress and get enough beauty sleep.”
The future of body treatments
What are spa directors predicting for the future of body treatments? Sandra Sadowski, spa director at La Prairie at The Ritz-Carlton in New York, believes that the industry will see more anti–aging treatments that use “more medical equipment in combination with old-fashioned skin care.” Meanwhile, Dan Mohr, director of The Peninsula Spa at The Peninsula Chicago, observes two distinct trends in body services. “Treatments that are organic and made with natural ingredients are requested more and more by clients. Also, treatments that are indigenous to the location of the spa and that use local ingredients are growing in popularity. Clients want something unique that also offers natural results,” he says. | <urn:uuid:ff6aeaae-842a-400f-9831-cfa392169f17> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.skininc.com/treatments/body/20659269.html?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947749 | 674 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Zodiacal Influence on People Born in the Month of July
People born in this part of the year, namely from June 21st
to July 27th, are painstaking and industrious in all they
undertake, but are inclined to have extremes of good and
bad fortune. In gambling in shares they generally lose,
whereas in legitimate business work they can be most successful.
They possess, however, as a rule, a keen desire for speculation
and often lose business they have built up after years of
hard work by this tendency in their nature.
Like the symbol of "The Crab" they often advance and retreat
both in work and ideas; they may reach a certain point in
some definite plan or career and then surprise everyone
by stopping or turning back at the most critical moment.
As a rule they have great "ups and downs" in money matters,
unless they have conquered their speculative tendency early
in life and accumulated wealth and put it aside for the
emergencies that must sooner or later crop up in their careers.
People born in this part of the year often reach very high
exalted positions or gain some pinnacle of fame where they
cannot escape the dazzling light of publicity. In their
home lives, however, they usually go through a great deal
of trouble and are seldom surrounded by great happiness,
no matter how successful they may appear in the eyes of
As a rule they are "dreamers" of large plans. They evolve
big ideals for the welfare of others, but if they met opposition
and criticism they suffer keenly. but silently, and are
inclined to become cynical and shut themselves up in their
own immediate surrounding.
Although of a deeply affectionate disposition, they are
seldom demonstrative and are wrongly considered cold and
unemotional. They have large imagination and often make
excellent artists, writers, composers, or dramatists and
under some dates in this Zodiacal Sign, great organizers
in industry or business.
Generally they have splendid memories and store up knowledge
of all kinds in their minds. They often make excellent psychics
or become deeply interested in occult studies or in religion,
or in some unusual philosophy of life. They have deep love
for what they call "their own people," for family customs
and for tradition.
health they should be particularly careful in what they
eat, as they are liable to ptomaine poisoning, inflammation
of the stomach and digestive tract, gastric attacks, internal
tumors, cancer and dropsy.
The influence of the Moon for persons born in this period
of the year is inclined to playa considerable role, and
renders the constitution somewhat delicate, but the delicacy
is of a kind that can be mastered and held in check by the
application willpower. The emotional nature, being stronger
than the physical, most of the ailments will be brought
about by ill controlled feelings and morbid imagination.
Worry, anxiety and fears for the future should be avoided
as they only serve to bring on bad health. Persons born
in this period of the year have a strong liability to suffer
with rheumatism, gout and imperfect functioning of the blood
circulation, and danger from chills and protracted colds,
weakening the resistance of the lungs.
influence of Neptune and the Moon will cause persons born
in this part of the year to have many unexpected changes
in their lives. They should look out for financial loss
through the fraudulent conduct of others or companies and
syndicates offering large returns for a small outlay. They
should be very careful in all financial dealings, exercising
special caution in the signing of papers, contracts, agreements
and documents concerning which there is any element of uncertainty.
Financial benefits accrue to them in most peculiar ways
or by contact with peculiar persons. They often gain from
some totally unexpected source and come into money by the
most odd and peculiar means. They nearly always find success
in investments connected with oil interests, refining of
oil or coal, also with shipping, radium, platinum, electricity,
antiques, curios and the importation of drugs and liquid,
also in public life and in positions of responsibility.
Success by investing in large public utility companies and
associations is generally good, but particular attention
should be given to concerns, which cater directly or indirectly
for the needs and requirements of the masses at large. Persons
born in this period of the year are often successful as
pioneers and explorers and in the opening up and development
of land, and mines of all kinds.
Marriage, Unions, Partnership ....
will find their most harmonious relationships with persons
born in their own Sign of Cancer, June 21st to July 20th,
First House of Water: October 21st to November 20th, Sign
of Scorpio, Second House of Water; and February 19th to
March 20th, Sign of Pisces, Third House of Water, and in
the seven days of the 'cusp" at the beginning or ending
of each of these periods.
More Search for Astrology
Zodiacal Influence on People Born on July 04, 13 and 22
In your case the combination above mentioned would incline
you to have a very unusual personality, but not an easy
one to fit in with the eventualities that are likely to
arise, or the persons you will be thrown into contact with.
You will have a strong bent towards originality of thought
and ideas, with a leaning towards eccentricity.
You will be exceptionally sensitive and "touchy" in everything
that concerns your feelings, sentiment or emotional nature.
You will be liable to have considerable trouble and estrangement
by, or through relations, and in domestic matters.
You will be likely to have many lawsuits and to experience
great injustice at various times in your life.
You should be most guarded and cautious in making partnership,
also .in such matters as unions or marriages.
You will be highly intuitive and likely to meet with strange
experiences in such things as dreams, presentiments, etc.
You will be apt to develop mediumistic gifts but will be
so sensitive about such things that you will be apt to conceal
them except to a select circle of friends.
You will possess unusual mental ability and will rise to
a high position in any career you make your own.
You will have a great deal to put up with and not have an
easy time even when most successful.
Health - In
health you will have many unusual experiences. You will
find it difficult to get doctors to understand you. Many
will treat you as hypochondriac and not believe the symptoms
you describe. It will be the same with your own relations-you
will be very much misunderstood.You should take great care in what food you eat, as you
would easily get ptomaine poisoning. You should be extremely
cautious of fish, lobsters crawfish and crabs; mussels you
Important numbers and dates will be the 4th, 8th, 13th, 17th, 22nd, 26th and 31st.
You will find a strong magnetic attraction to persons born
on these dates, but you will find that such people will
playa more or less fatalistic role in your life or career.
The colors that would give you the best vibrations are shades
of sapphire, or ultra-marine blended, if possible, or in
combination with gold, bronze, yellow or orange.
Your "lucky" jewels are sapphires, pearls, diamonds and
The most important or climacteric years of your life are
the 4th, 8th, 13th, 17th, 22nd, 26th, 31st, 35th, 40th,
44th, 49th, 53rd, 58th, 62nd, 67th and 71st.
are very few persons you will care to become associated
with in financial matters. You will take strong aversions,
have intense likes and dislikes and you should let yourself
be guided by your intuitions. It would be best for you to
work out your plans-alone. You are likely at times to strike
some odd inventions that will be lucky for you, and you
will be liable to make money in peculiar ways, off the beaten | <urn:uuid:f91fd853-1c5a-4804-9cff-2109daa54bd4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.astrochap.com/numerology/july/born_on_july04.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950008 | 1,762 | 1.992188 | 2 |
The first to be founded -- in 1815 -- of the venerable North Coast Athletic Conference institutions, Allegheny today remains at the fore among the nation's colleges of arts and sciences. Keeping standards high and avoiding gimmicks or fads, Allegheny believes that its graduates' success is rooted in rigorous liberal arts preparation: experience in multiple disciplines; important historical perspective; and exceptional ability to think critically and to use the English language forcefully and correctly, in writing as well as speech.
The more than 2,100 students come from 37 states and 32 countries. The student-faculty ratio is 14/1; the average class size 22. Allegheny is a high-contact teaching institution, but faculty are also prominent practitioners of the disciplines they teach. When students discover that their chemistry professor is also a leading chemist, for example, they learn the difference between studying a subject and being part of the discipline itself. This explains, in part, the leadership positions to which Alleghenians regularly rise -- in business, government, social service, the professions, and more. Another reason is the Senior Project, a substantial piece of original research done by each student in his or her major field, which not only develops unusual self-confidence, but demands integration of the knowledge and skills developed over four years.
Allegheny is especially well-known for pre-professional education; acceptance rates to law and medical schools roughly double the national average. There is strength throughout all 30 majors, however. Further encouraged are double majors and student-designed majors, which are tailored by the student and advisor to the student's personal goals. | <urn:uuid:b092cb1f-c9e2-4d03-b3ab-18016b82889e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.northcoast.org/member/allegheny | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959839 | 323 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Where does Bolivia Stand on Drug Decriminalization and Legalization?
As calls mount from prominent Latin American politicians for a profound re-evaluation of international drug policy, and even a debate on the feasibility of drug decriminalization and legalization at the Summit of the Americas this weekend, Bolivia’s complex position is often misunderstood.
Personal consumption decriminalized in practice
Currently, personal drug possession in Bolivia does not carry a jail sentence. The 1988 antidrug Law 1008 mandates residential rehabilitation and treatment for drug addicts and occasional users. However, in practice this regulation has not occurred because of a persisting focus on drug interdiction and coca reduction, paired with almost non-existent public rehabilitation facilities. The law further stipulates that specialists from a government drug dependency institution should identify the quantity of each drug to be considered “for personal consumption.” Yet Bolivian legislation has never defined this quantity nor has the government created such an institute.
As a result of the shortage of public rehabilitation infrastructure currently, Bolivian police release people found with a small amount of cocaine or marijuana. Drug Control law enforcement officers complain that the lack of clarity about what should be considered a personal dose complicates their efforts legally distinguish consumer from drug dealers, and traffickers, who do receive stiff legal penalties.
Since 1988, only one person has been sentenced to mandatory rehabilitation. In 2010, Police arrested ex-dictator Juan Pereda Asbún after repeated complaints that he had exposed himself to adolescent girls and pressured them to get in his car. At the time of his arrest, police found two packs of cigarettes laced with cocaine, and claimed that Pereda was intoxicated. Apparently, Bolivian legal authorities decided that it would be less of a national embarrassment to sentence him to rehabilitation for drug possession than for sexual misconduct.
Outcome of long-awaited drug law modification unclear
Morales administration plans to modify Law 1008 have been repeatedly postponed since 2006. Although officials initially planned to make possession for personal consumption a crime, acute budget restrictions and severe prison overcrowding have forced them to re-evaluate this stance. Bolivian authorities are currently debating options such as fines or public service for possession of small quantities for personal use, and using funds confiscated from traffickers to create public rehabilitation options for addicts. It remains unclear whether rehabilitation for problematic users would be mandatory under the new legislation.
Bolivian government’s stance on legalization remains undefined as some neighbors press for profound reform
Recent calls from current and former Latin American leaders for an open, frank debate about failed drug war prohibitionist policies and the possibility of legalization have provoked a profound shift in the Latin American public discourse and raised expectations about reform possibilities and broad regional rejection of U.S. backed and funded initiatives. This paradigm shift has placed the Morales administration in a conceptual sandwich. Since 2006 the Bolivian government has sought to emphasize the distinction between the coca leaf, widely used in the Andes as a mild, legal stimulant, appetite suppressant, and cocaine, a powerful narcotic. This initiative heightened with the country’s formal denunciation of the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which classifies the coca leaf, along with cocaine, heroin and opium as dangerous addictive drugs, and their attempt to re-adhere with the reservation that coca chewing and other uses of the leaf be permitted within Bolivia.
Within Bolivia’s borders this “coca yes; cocaine no” policy has translated into rationed coca production among distinct coca producing and aggressive cocaine interdiction efforts on the part of anti-drug police. Unfortunately, though, the nation’s concerted efforts to clearly differentiate between the leaf and the drug have failed to gain the approval of some nations influential in the United Nations, most notably the United States. In spite of US statistics showing a net reduction in the Bolivian coca crop and drug control efforts, which has “decertified Bolivia’s drug control efforts since 2008” and blocked an Bolivian amendment to gain UN recognition of coca chewing and other uses of the leaf. Furthermore, the U.N International Narcotics Control Board mirrored US arguments by distorting the focus of the Bolivian initiative and publically condemning it, threatening that “the integrity of the international drug control system would be undermined and the achievements of the past 100 years in drug control would be compromised.”
Other nations, such as Japan, France, Great Britain, Sweden and Russia have also stated they lean towards opposing the Bolivian UN initiative. Even more surprising, although coca chewing is legal in Peru, on March 20 their drug czar told international correspondents that, “We’re carrying out a legal analysis to decide whether or not to Support Bolivia’s re-entry into the Vienna Convention…Peru respects coca chewing, but we need more evidence about coca’s medicinal properties,” She also erroneously claimed that none of the 200 countries present at the Commission on Narcotics Drug Meeting in Vienna supported Bolivia’s efforts to gain recognition for coca chewing. This lack of flexibility on an unfounded, anachronistic prohibition of the coca leaf, based on discriminatory assumptions from the 1950s, could backfire on opposing nations and the INCB.
Bolivia shares critique of repressive drug policies of leaders promoting reform debate
Key countries’ opposition to distinguish the coca leaf from class one narcotics pushes Bolivia closer to Latin American nations willing to debate drug legalization and other profound reforms to existing drug policy. Although it appears no nation will advocate complete legalization of most illicit drugs, the repeated calls for reform by Guatemalan, Mexican, Colombian and other prominent politicians highlights Latin American nations’ frustration with US drug policy dictates which appear insensitive and unresponsive to the dramatic toll the initiatives take on nations where they are imposed. Bolivians share this argument. Repressive policies, including military forced coca eradication, mandated by the US as a prerequisite for continued financial assistance, provoked human rights violations, retaliatory violence, poverty for subsistence farmers, erosion of national sovereignty and a lack of civilian control over the security forces. Although the scale of violence cannot compare to that of Colombia or Mexico, the negative impact of these policies from 1988 to 2004 is abundantly clear.
On March 15, President Morales met with President Santos of Colombia, who has stated he welcomes a debate on drug legalization and hopes that this will initiate in this week’s Summit of the Americas. Following a productive meeting Santos affirmed that:
We discussed the issue of seeking alternatives to the current international drug policy, explore whether there are better options, what they would be and how to implement them. This topic is now on the table. The Central Americans have asked that we address this matter in the summit. President Morales agrees that this is an extremely necessary debate affecting both countries, and the whole hemisphere.
Although rookie government minister Carlos Romero said the next day that the administration opposed a debate on drug legalization at the Cartagena Summit, veteran Drug Czar Felipe Cáceres soon corrected him, stating that, although they had opposed it in the past, Bolivia had not made up its mind about drug decriminalization. “We respect each country’s decision and legitimate position about the legalization of certain drugs…In Bolivia we haven’t yet analyzed whether we support or oppose drug decriminalization.
The Obama administration should take heed of Latin American calls for profound drug policy reform that have exceeded all expectations. Unyielding, politically-biased stances, such as claims that Bolivia’s reservation that non-narcotic uses of the coca leaf there be internationally recognized could “violate the integrity” of the Single Convention have often boomeranged, provoking more dramatic rejection of U.S. policy goals and unanticipated developments. For example, an unwillingness to permit the Bolivian government to cease violent coca eradication, in spite of the high costs for the nation, helped bring coca grower Evo Morales to office, something impermissible for the US and inconceivable just a few years before.
It is unclear what stance Bolivia will take in the legalization and drug policy reform debate or what the outcome of the general discussion will be. In any case, these determinations will increasingly respond to unique national and regional priorities, instead of U.S. policy dictates. US policymakers can continue to turn a blind eye to regional evolution or learn to become an active participant, respectful of the priorities and view of its southern neighbors. | <urn:uuid:f5739dc9-a90c-4881-b977-0fba47f46627> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ain-bolivia.org/2012/04/where-does-bolivia-stand-on-drug-decriminalization-and-legalization/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937823 | 1,745 | 1.789063 | 2 |
As the Libyan uprising was gathering force in late February, Iran’s presi- dent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, criticized Libya’s leader, Muammar Qaddafi, for using violence against his own people and advised him and other Middle Eastern heads of state to listen to their publics. The irony was not lost on anyone. Only two weeks earlier, on February 14, Ahmadinejad had sent hundreds of riot police, paramilitary Basijis, and plainclothes, baton-wielding goons to disrupt demonstrations in Tehran called by Mir Hussein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the opposition, in solidarity with the people of Tunisia and Egypt. By the end of the day, 1,500 protesters had been arrested; two had been killed.
The next day, 222 of the 290 deputies of the Majlis, Iran’s parliament, approved a resolution to put Moussavi and Karroubi on trial for sedition. Several dozen of the deputies, raising clenched fists, then began to shout out calls to execute the two men. The supposedly “moderate” speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, quietly joined in. Karroubi and Moussavi, already under house arrest to prevent them from attending the rallies they had hoped to lead, were held incommunicado and denied visits even from their children and families.
Here was another irony, in view of the recent pro-democracy uprisings in the Middle East that Ahmadinejad purported to support. Karroubi, a senior cleric, is a former speaker of parliament; Moussavi was prime minister and guided the country through the difficult years of the Iran–Iraq war in the 1980s. Their “crime” was to have posed a serious challenge to Ahmadinejad as candidates in the 2009 presidential elections, which many Iranians believed were blatantly rigged. Millions of Iranians poured out into the streets to protest when Ahmadinejad’s victory was announced. “Where is my vote?” became the slogan of the protesters, and some even cried “Death to the dictator!”—meaning Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei—an almost unprecedented attack on the regime itself.
But then the security forces and Basijis cracked down with brutal force; according to the government’s own figures, some six thousand were arrested during the election protests. That crackdown, and the mass show trial of protesters broadcast on state television that followed, muted but did not silence the opposition Green Movement. Protests have been attempted periodically since and invariably suppressed by government forces, as they were again in March.
We are witnessing today the intensification of the post-election crackdown, perhaps the severest the country has experienced since the death of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. This campaign is aimed not only at the usual dissidents among the intelligentsia, political activists, students, and journalists, but also at men once considered regime insiders. Iran’s leaders have turned against their former comrades-in-arms, fearing that … | <urn:uuid:80ef63ec-587c-4b58-a658-0326d41d8424> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/apr/07/iran-state-fear/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977723 | 629 | 2.03125 | 2 |
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Recording "Top of the Pops" every Thursday night using a tape recorder with a tiny microphone balanced in front of the TV, and wondering what it 'meant' if your friend's brother said hello once on the school bus all seems hilarious in an age of MTV and "The Jerry Springer Show". But this was the seventies, and "Jackie" magazine, with its combination of breathless pop news and teen advice, was an unforgettable part of it. Delving into the facsimile pages of this book, is like being given a ticket to travel back in time. Hilarious, nostalgic and utterly compulsive, it transports you straight back to a world where midi skirts were all the rage, Donny Osmond and David Cassidy split the nation and Cathy and Claire were the only voice of reason.
Published: 1st October 2010
Dimensions (cm): 34.1 x 25.5 x 1.7
Weight (kg): 0.913 | <urn:uuid:49573e26-aab3-4bde-900e-49a1f3368a00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.booktopia.com.au/jackie-the-best-of-nina-myskow/prod9781853758010.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950155 | 241 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Murray, who leads the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and is a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, called Panetta's decision a "historic step for equality" that recognizes the role women play in the military.
The Pentagon must notify Congress of each job or unit as it is sent up to the secretary to be opened to women. Then the Defense Department must wait 30 days while Congress is in session before implementing the change.
It is a marked difference from the way the military ended the exclusion of gays serving openly, or the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. In that case, there were no stipulations attached to openly gay service members. There was no staggered approach that integrated openly gay troops into units. It was instead done all at once, across the board.
A senior defense official explained the Pentagon's reasoning behind the different approach: "You're talking about personal choice of behavior versus physical capability. And they were already in the units. If you take a unit that's never had women before, that's quite a culture change."
Another senior defense official said the goal is "to provide a level, gender-neutral playing field."
The American Civil Liberties Union recently filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Defense, charging that combat exclusion is unfair and outdated, harms America's safety and prevents women from receiving training and recognition for their work. The plaintiffs, who include women awarded Purple Hearts, say the exclusion places them at a disadvantage for promotion.
The ACLU said it is thrilled about Panetta's planned announcement.
"But we welcome this statement with cautious optimism, as we hope that it will be implemented fairly and quickly so that servicewomen can receive the same recognition for their service as their male counterparts," Ariela Migdal, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Women's Rights Project, said in the statement.
Earlier this month, the Army opened the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment to women, and it has begun recruiting female pilots and crew chiefs. The Navy has put its first female officers on submarines in the past year, and certain female ground troops have been attached to combat units in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 800 women were wounded in those wars, and at least 130 have died. | <urn:uuid:508c84ee-7f57-4ec3-ac95-37ab9330a876> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news4jax.com/news/Pentagon-to-open-combat-jobs-to-women/-/475880/18256890/-/item/1/-/3xhibnz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977164 | 449 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Looking Ahead to the Childhood Years
Your infant's "age"
Age is both a measure of time and a marker of development. Unlike with a full-term infant, a premature infant's age and development can be defined in different ways. This can be confusing. When following your premature infant's growth and development, it can be helpful to know the difference between the following "ages":
- Gestational age is the same as the length of your pregnancy. If your baby was born at 32 weeks, that is his or her gestational age. This is sometimes called the baby's postconceptual age.
- Chronological age is measured from the day of birth. Your child's birthdays are celebrations of his or her chronological age.
- Corrected age is your child's chronological age minus the amount of weeks or months he or she was born early. For example, if your 1-year-old was born 3 months early, you can expect him or her to look and act like a 9-month-old (corrected age). You may find this figure to be most reassuring when following your child's growth and development for the first 2 years after birth.
Your infant's development
During your child's first 2 years of life, he or she will appear to be developmentally behind full-term children of the same age. But you can expect your infant and young child to achieve the same sequence of developmental milestones as any other child.
For more information about infant and child developmental milestones, see:
- Reference Growth and Development, Newborn.
- Reference Growth and Development, Ages 1 to 12 Months.
- Reference Growth and Development, Ages 12 to 24 Months.
Expect that your premature infant's "lag" in development will catch up at about age 2. As your child grows into the preschool years, a 2- to 4-month difference in age or development blends right in among a group of preschoolers. For more information about preschoolers, see the topic Reference Growth and Development, Ages 2 to 5 Years.
As your child begins formal schooling, be alert for signs of learning problems. Learning, reading, and math disabilities due to prematurity may first become apparent during the early school years.
|By:||Reference Healthwise Staff||Last Revised: Reference April 14, 2011|
|Medical Review:||Reference Sarah Marshall, MD - Family Medicine
Reference John Pope, MD - Pediatrics
- Health Tools
- Delivery of Your Premature Infant
- Taking Care of Yourselves
- The Premature Newborn
- The Sick Premature Infant
- Getting to Know the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
- Taking Your Baby Home
- The First Weeks at Home
- Looking Ahead to the Childhood Years
- Other Places To Get Help
- Related Information | <urn:uuid:31e550b3-b75a-4f54-a5df-d0406314ac46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sutterhealth.org/healthwise/?A=C&type=info&hwid=tn5684§ion=tn5713 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931311 | 580 | 3.65625 | 4 |
|Health systems have multiple goals,
but the fundamental reason they exist is to improve health. Yet health systems with very
similar levels of health expenditure per capita show wide variations in population health
outcomes. Part can be explained by variation in non-health system factors, such as the
level of education of the population. But part can also be explained by the fact that some
systems devote resources to expensive interventions with small effects on population
health, while at the same time low cost interventions with potentially greater benefits
are not fully implemented.
analysis (CEA) is one tool decision-makers can use to assess and potentially improve the
performance of their health systems. It indicates which interventions provide the highest
"value for money" and helps them choose the interventions and programmes which
maximize health for the available resources. | <urn:uuid:cc5e8901-3a37-4a5b-8cab-5c844dce037b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.who.int/health-systems-performance/hsintervene.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92987 | 169 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Aquarium of the Pacific - Online Learning Center - Species Print Sheet
Conservation Status: Safe for Now
Climate Change: Vulnerable
Little Blue (Fairy) Penguin
New Zealanders call this penguin the Little Blue Penguin or just Blue Penguin. Australians call it the Fairy Penguin. These common names come from their small size, the smallest of any of the world’s penguins, and the distinctive slate-blue or indigo-blue coloration of the feathers on the top of their body. Their scientific genus name, Eudyptula, means ‘good little diver’ which they are. These penguins do not migrate. They are year-round residents of their island and mainland locations in the Southern Hemisphere. When they leave the land to forage in shallow inshore waters, they do so in flocks at dawn under cover of darkness, spend the day at sea, and return to land at dusk. The dawn to dusk behavior in flocks provides them with protection from predators.
At the Aquarium
The Aquarium’s Little Blue Penguin is one of three models in the June Keyes Penguin Habitat that illustrate the wide size range among the world’s penguins. The Little Blue is the smallest of the three penguin models, (Emperor, Magellanic, and Little Blue), that provide our visitors with a ‘hotographic moment’.
New Zealand: south and north coasts of North island, southeast coast of South Island, west and southeast coast of New Zealand Island and Chatham Island. Australia: southern coast as far north as Port Stephens in the east to Fremantle in the west.
Little Blues are temperate water penguins, inhabiting both offshore islands, preferably with rocky shorelines, and mainland sites near or in urbanized areas.
The head and upperparts of adults can be slate-blue, indigo-blue, or almost black. The shade of blue varies by geographic location of the penguins. Small slate-grey feathers cover the ears, fading to white underneath, from the chin to the belly. The flippers are blue. The 3-4 c, (1.2-1.6 in) bill is a dark grey-black. The eyes are pale silvery- or bluish-grey or hazel, and the feet are pink above with black soles and webbing. Juvenile birds have a shorter bill and lighter upperparts. Hatchlings are covered in black down that is replaced in 8-14 days with chocolate brown down. At 26-29 days the down is replaced with feathers.
Standing height: 36-43 cm (13-15 in) Length, the measurement from the tip of the beak to the end of the tail, is several inches longer. Weight: 0.9-1.4 kg (2-3 lb) The weight of these penguins varies seasonally. They are heaviest when they start the breeding season after spending several months foraging, and at the end of the breeding season after their pre-molt foraging. Both males and females lose weight during the breeding season when they are caring for eggs and feeding chicks.
Diet and Feeding
Adult Little Blue Penguins usually forage every day about 25 km (15.5 mi) from shore in shallow waters where prey is close to the surface. They leave land at dawn under cover of darkness, spend the day at sea foraging in small groups, and return to land at dusk, again under cover of darkness. If there is thick fog and low visibility, they remain offshore. During the period in which they are incubating eggs, foraging trips are longer than daily, taking two to three days and during the non-breeding winter season, they may swim further from the colony. In larger colonies, over a period of 60-75 minutes hundreds of penguins may leave the land for foraging areas.
Their diet varies seasonally and by location. In some locations anchovy and sprat are preferred. In others the fish of choice is sardines, and in still other, the preference is krill and sometimes squid. In addition to food preference, their diet is impacted by seasonal changes in ocean currents and temperature that affect food supply.
Small fish are swallowed head-first under water; fish more than 3 cm (1.2 in) long are eaten at the surface. Prey is captured by pursuit diving to depths usually less than 20 m (66 ft). Dives usually last 20-35 seconds.
Little Blue Penguins usually breed for the first time when they are two to three years old. They have the most unpredictable breeding calendar of any penguins with the first egg being laid in some locations between May and August and in others between September and December or June and August. These penguins are able to raise two pairs of chicks in one breeding season, an ability unique among penguins. Research studies have shown that older adults are more likely to lay two clutches than are young adults, and their eggs and chicks have above average survival rates.
Most males and females form life-long pairs. The male usually arrives at the nesting site first and renovates last year’s nest or selects a site for a new one that he digs using his bill and feet. He then stands in front of the nest and waits for the female. Nests vary by location with underground burros under thick grass roots preferred; however, nests may be in rock crevices or caves. Burrows are usually about 2 meters (6.6 ft) apart and lined with grasses, leaves, or seaweed. In mainland urban areas, nesting may occur in man-made cavities under buildings, stacks of wood, and even railroad tracks. In some areas they also nest in artificial nest boxes supplied by humans.
The female lays a clutch of two eggs two to three days apart. Each egg weighs about 54 g (1.9 oz). After laying the eggs, which will be incubated for about 35 days, the female leaves the nest to go on an extensive foraging trip during which the male has the incubation duty. When the female returns, the pair split incubation duties and foraging equally. The eggs hatch in about 35 days. Little Blue Penguins are dedicated parents and they feed and care for both chicks equally.
The adults alternate almost daily in guarding and feeding the chicks for about six weeks. Then the chicks venture from the nest and stand outside it waiting for the parents to return with food. At this time parents forage and feed the growing chicks together. At eight weeks of age, the chicks have become juveniles that are the same size as their parents, have molted replacing down with waterproof feathers, and are independent.
On returning from their daily foraging trips, these shy nocturnal penguins quickly run to any temporary underground cover they can find to hide in while resting. Later they hide for most of the day in burrows, and in breeding season, in their nest burrow.
Molting takes place after the chicks fledge, a time that varies each year for Little Blues. Adults go to sea for two to three weeks to build up their body mass so as to be able to cope with the energy demands of the molting process. After a pre-molt start at sea, the adults return to the land to actually molt, a process that takes several weeks. During this time they do not eat and at the end of the molting period will have loss 40-50 percent of body weight. If the penguin has not gained sufficient weight while at sea, it may not survive the molt. Molting is a traumatic event demanding high expenditures of energy. During the process metabolism slows down and the birds usually just stand still trying not to expend any energy.
Little Blue Penguins are very noisy as if to make up for their small size. Calls are distinctive for each adult or chick and are used in bonding, courtship, defense of territory, aggressive behavior, and as a way to recognize each other. Males use different brays when calling for relief of nest duties and for bonding displays. Grunts, roars, brays, and various beeps are used when in an aggressive mood. They use a special call in disputes about territory. At night and especially during the breeding season, there is considerable noise and calls can reach a fever pitch in the colony. Chicks have a high-pitched beep that develops into adult vocalization close to time of fledging.
Little Blue Penguins are considered the most primitive of all penguins. They are believed to have evolved in New Zealand and spread to South Australia.
These flightless birds have about 10,000 feathers, three to four times the feather density of birds that can fly. The feather bases are very downy which traps air providing an effective insulation when the penguin is at sea. The feather tips are very stiff which prevents them being compressed by water pressure, stopping the insulating air layer from being squeezed out. Their countershading, dark when viewed from above, and light when viewed from below, protects them from predators swimming above or below them.
In the wild: six years average In protected environments such as aquariums and zoos: As long as 20-25 years
Status; Listed as Least Concern (Safe for Now) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List
The population of Little Blues is considered to be stable in most locations. There are about 1.2 million individual birds with 500,000 breeding pairs. Declines, however, have been observed in some areas, especially in urbanized areas and island locations where predation is high.
Oil pollution from wrecks and deliberate discharge in their foraging areas are one of the gravest threats penguins and other seabirds encounter both onshore and at sea. In October 2012 a freighter struck a reef near New Zealand’s busiest port. Heavy fuel oil spread from cracks in the ship’s hull washed ashore. An estimated 20,000 birds, among them Little Blue Penguins, were killed as a result of the spill. Some Little Blues were rescued and after treatment released back into the wild but the number was small. In 1995 an estimated 8,000-18,000 penguins died at sea as the result the spill of bunker fuel oil along Tasmania’s north coast,
The small size of Little Blues and their often closeness of their habitats to urbanization makes them especially vulnerable to a variety of significant threats resulting from human activities. These include predation by introduced mammalian species—weasels, foxes, ferrets, cats, and dogs. Uncontrolled dogs are a problem in urbanized areas where they roam popular beaches close to nesting sites. Feral cats have been responsible for extinction of one colony of Little Blues. Other threats on land include plastic pollution, roadkill, human harassment, tourism, and development destroying nesting sites. Eggs and chicks in the breeding sites are subject to predation by water rats and predatory seabirds, especially gulls and Sea Eagles.
Their predators at se include fur and leopard seals, killer whales, gulls, and White-bellied Sea Eagles. Tin addition to oil pollution, other human activities include being caught in fishing nets either as entanglement or by catch and competition from commercial fisheries in foraging areas for their food supply. Sea level rise as a result of global warming may inundate coastal breeding habitat and rising coastal ocean temperature may reduce food availability.
Tasmania’s Penguin Jumpers Project has stored 15,000 sweaters in Oil Spill Response Kits around Tasmania. If there is a major oil spill, these jumpers (sweaters) will be used to help rehabilitate Little Blue Penguins that have been oil affected. Oil clogs the feathers of these tiny seagoing birds, and reduces their insulating and waterproofing qualities. Even worse, the penguins attempt to clean themselves by preening, and rapidly become poisoned. In New Zealand crafty Good Samaritans responded to appeals for sweaters in 2002, 2007, and 2012. The appeals stemmed from oil spills at sea.
The White-flippered Penguin is currently a subspecies of Little Penguins (Eudyptula min albosignata). Some taxonomists believe this penguin is just a color morph while others believe that based on DNA evidence, the birds that inhabit some locations in New Zealand should be named a separate species of Eudyptula. White-fflippered Penguins are listed as endangered by the IUCN. The U.S. Endangered Species Act lists them as threatened. | <urn:uuid:d7c697bd-124b-4f15-8ec5-a8b7cde2567d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/little_blue_penguin/A%20trio%20of%20Little%20Blue%20Penguins%20out%20for%20a%20walk | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949557 | 2,590 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Reduction of stress encourages the growth of telomere, which allows cells to continue dividing. Our cells divide and grow, a telomere – a small DNA cap at the end of each chromosome - protects our dna from damage. The enzyme Telomerase, repairs the telomeres and ‘keeps DNA young'.
Several new telomerase-based drugs have entered Phase II and III clinical trials. And there is a very real race for the ultimate anti-aging pill.
"Current research reveals stressed people have shorter telomeres. Shorter telomeres appear to predispose us to disease and cancer and lead to shorter lives. Yet astonishingly, it has been discovered meditation appears to stall the process."
DNA replication, aging, and cancer are all complex. They involve a lot of stuff interacting. I don't know if this is the case for telomeres specifically, but it is possible that if cancer cells had these very same organelles, that it could function in the stability of a cancer tumor also?
If meditation was the cure for cancer, well, don't you think scientists would've discovered that already? Why do Buddhist monks ever get cancer?
Meditation might help, though!
Another thing to note, is Epigenetics, the layer that controls your genes, control which genes to turn on or off. A healthy lifestyle turns on the good genes and turns off the bad genes which helps defeat disease. Also, your gene activation combination was passed down to you by your parents and you will pass it on to your kids. This means if your parents smoked and had a bad life style, a lot of their bad genes were activated resulting in disease, this configuration was passed on to you, however if you exercise and eat well, you can deactivate those bad genes and turn on the good genes and pass that on to your children. You could reverse the damage caused by your family tree.
As I understand it, this stuff is also pseudoscience.
The news doesn't tend to be too reliable sometimes when it comes to science.
You should seek info which invalidates what you know in order to learn; not seek info to confirm what you already know. | <urn:uuid:1190db6d-bb0f-4ca6-ad71-118803fba221> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=6958 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960506 | 450 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Click photo to enlarge
Kashmiri passengers rest on luggage as they wait for the Jammu-Srinagar bus services, temporarily suspended due to curfew in Srinagar, at a bus stand in Jammu, India, Saturday, Feb. 9,2013. A Kashmiri man Mohammed Afzal Guru, convicted in the 2001 attack on India's Parliament, has been hanged in an Indian prison, a senior Indian Home Ministry official said Saturday. On Saturday morning thousands of police and paramilitary troops had fanned out across Indian Kashmir anticipating that protests and violence might follow news of the execution.
SRINAGAR, India—Government forces are enforcing a rigid curfew for the third straight day in Indian-controlled Kashmir after India executed a Kashmiri man convicted in a deadly 2001 attack on Parliament.
Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged in New Delhi on Saturday. Ahead of the execution, authorities ordered people in most of the Indian-held part of disputed Kashmir to remain indoors indefinitely in anticipation of anti-India protests.
Despite the curfew, hundreds of angry residents have clashed with the troops in the region.
A young boy injured in anti-India protests died in a hospital early Monday. Another protester died late Sunday.
Cable television and mobile Internet services were shut in most parts of the region on Monday. | <urn:uuid:a6dfa577-97ca-41dd-8df6-61cc0893e79c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eveningsun.com/nationworldnews/ci_22560038/indian-kashmir-edge-after-terror-convict-hanged | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952109 | 267 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Tulsa County judges donning pink robes for breast cancer awareness
BY Staff Reports
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
10/03/12 at 6:30 AM
The Tulsa County legal community, including members of the judiciary, are thinking pink in order to raise awareness of breast cancer.
Some Tulsa County judges are sporting pink robes this week, and the legal community is partnering with Panera Bread and Oklahoma Project Woman in activities in October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The Bench and Bar Committee of the Tulsa County Bar Association will host "Think Pink" for breast cancer awareness at the Tulsa County Courthouse from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Friday.
Booths in the courthouse will offer free Panera bagels for people wearing something pink, information, literature and volunteers to answer questions about breast cancer, symptoms, signs, diagnostics and testing.
Information will be available regarding local services, and donations will be accepted that will benefit Oklahoma Project Woman.
A display will be set up for participants to post pictures of people they have known who had or continue to have breast cancer.
A rally that will begin outside the courthouse about 8 a.m. Friday will feature pink vehicles and horses clad in pink.
In addition to providing free bagels at the courthouse Friday, Panera will be offering its Pink Ribbon Bagels for sale throughout this month at Tulsa-area locations.
Original Print Headline: Tulsa County judges donning pink
Tulsa County District Judge James Caputo wears a pink robe in support of breast cancer awareness. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World | <urn:uuid:066ab652-a404-4291-bece-bcb7947013bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/printerfriendlystory.aspx?articleid=20121003_14_A10_CUTLIN680402 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925613 | 329 | 1.523438 | 2 |
[APG Public List] APGPublicList Digest, Vol 12, Issue 38
laboswell at rogers.com
Mon Nov 1 13:56:17 MDT 2010
If establishing the "actual physical location" is meaningless, then why
would you want to try and establish coordinates for it? There has to be
some purpose for doing so that is perceived by the researcher. But in the
case you describe then the family did live in one location. You might have
been able to find more of that type of "record created in a nearby location"
type of thing if you carefully used maps (whether establishing coordinates
or not) and data tracking family and extended family.
If physical location and fact are going to be misleading then just like you
would have to explain why the records were recorded in a one location, while
the family lived in another location, _whether or not you also marked one or
the other using a mapping tool_.
----- Original Message -----
From: Ray Beere Johnson II
To: APG Posting
Sent: Monday, November 01, 2010 3:35 PM
Subject: Re: [APG Public List] APGPublicList Digest, Vol 12, Issue 38
Sorry, Larry, but I'm going to have to disagree with you here. Even
if you establish the "actual physical location", it may be meaningless.
Case in point? I have seen multiple instances in New England where
the actual physical location was in one town, but where an event was
recorded in a neighbouring town - because the families in question happened
to find it more convenient to travel there. Often, this seems to have been a
"cultural" issue, not necessarily a geographic one.
I even found one specific event for a surname connected with my
family recorded with records for another _county_. Why? Simply because a
minister for a certain town performed the wedding ceremony in another town
miles away - and the town clerk saw fit to record the event "their" minister
In other words, in at least some cases, actual physical location is
highly misleading in research - _if_ the researcher is unwary enough to get
too hung up on that point.
Ray Beere Johnson II
--- On Mon, 11/1/10, L. Boswell <laboswell at rogers.com> wrote:
> Sorry, maybe I'm missing something here, but I wouldn't say the
> physical location is less important than the artificial boundaries.
> How do you know which boundaries apply if you haven't established the
> actual physical location first (or early on in the research process)?
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More information about the APGPublicList | <urn:uuid:16d78dfe-3f62-4faa-96d0-82dcbb7eec29> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.apgen.org/publications/publiclist/archive/2010-November/002624.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941604 | 576 | 1.820313 | 2 |
While it’s easy to come across so-called gurus of IT talk about what needs to go into a great service desk. There are various models to follow, best practices to emulate, and overall hub-bub around people who act as if they cracked the code of great help desk service. Truth is, however, you’ll get the best advice on what to do and not do by the people who interact with the service desk outside of the organization.
Yes, your customers can tell you a lot about what they want to see, how they want to be helped, and what’s important to them. This post by Stephen Mann is, in his own words, 90% by a customer of IT service desks. The insight is blunt and remarkable for those of us that have been limited to thinking of our service desks as something solely IT. It begins with a reflection on what the workplace used to be like when there was just “one IT guy” and he would interact with the customer directly to help fix any problem that came up. As the scope of IT changed with the business, however, the one resource became a whole team, and the interaction became distant and strained at best.
Listing 12 areas where the service desk could expand its understanding and interaction with its customers, the anonymous customer starts by writing “Never put the service desk before your customers.” They go on to explain:
Don’t implement strict procedures whereby you will only deal with issues that are submitted as a ticket and confined to the service desk. Instead take in requests/incidents via every method of communication available to you and your customers ““ make yourself more widely accessible. It’s about helping people work not following IT-created processes.
That suggestion continues through many of the 12 areas: remember that your service desk is about helping people work, not about how well you can conform to the IT created processes that have been developed for you. At the end of the day, the service desk is rated by how well it helped the people who contacted it, how quickly it was able to resolve the issue, and how happy the customer was by the end of the interaction. Keeping this in mind can help guide a help desk to providing much better service to the customers who utilize it.
There are two more areas that every service desk should focus on immediately: learn how to apologize, and don’t treat your customers like five-year-olds. There is a tendency for IT to not want to admit blame ““ and in all honesty it’s a human tendency moreover. But quickly apologizing for even an inconvenience immediately sets the tone for the customer to understand that you, the service desk, aren’t inconvenienced by their call. On top of that, remember that they are an equal. Sure, the person calling might not have any idea how to fix the email problem they are having, but that doesn’t mean that they are lost in the woods. Treating all customers with the respect they deserve can make the difference when a solution is taking longer than expected.
Overall, the list of areas to improve is a great reminder to service desk teams about why they are doing the work they do, and how small actions can make or break a simple call. | <urn:uuid:c18ca15d-c6fb-40ae-baf1-dea7b482d731> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aits.org/blog/12-pieces-of-advice-for-it-service-desks-from-a-customer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978866 | 675 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Student group europe-v-facebook threatens to challenge DPC's findings
A student group that has been campaigning for better data protection by Facebook for more than a year is willing to go to court to contest the the Irish Data Protection Commission's findings in its audit of Facebook Ireland.
Facebook's international headquarters are in Dublin.
The group europe-v-facebook, which had pushed to have Facebook switch off its facial-recognition feature in Europe, said the changes it has made aren’t enough, RTÉ reported.
The group had also filed several complaints with the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), which then conducted an audit on Facebook Ireland this year. Its response disappointed europe-v-facebook.
"The Irish authority is miles away from other European data protection authorities in its understanding of the law, and failed to investigate many things. Facebook also gave the authority the runaround," europe-v-facebook said in a statement.
"We now hope for a soon settlement of our complaints. Simultaneaously we have to assume that the authority in many cases won't decide in the favour of users but in the favour of Facebook. Such a decision can be contested by us at court," the group added.
Group founder Max Schrems said, "If we get these things before the courts, it is very likely that it goes all the way to the European Court of Justice.
"Such a case would be a landmark for the whole IT industry, equally to the anti-trust cases against Microsoft."
In September, Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes said Facebook went beyond the initial recommendations of the Data Protection Commission by turning off tag suggest/facial recognition features.
A review published at the time by the Data Protection Commissioner confirmed that the great majority of recommendations made by its office to Facebook had been acted upon, including greater transparency for the user in terms of how his or her data is handled and greater control over settings.
In a statement, Facebook said it is committed to providing a service that enables millions of European citizens to connect and share with their friends around the world.
"The way Facebook Ireland handles European personal data has been subject to thorough review by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner over the past year," a Facebook spokesperson said.
"The two detailed reports that the DPC has produced by the DPC demonstrate that Facebook Ireland complies with European data protection principles and Irish law. Nonetheless we have some vocal critics who will never be happy whatever we do and whatever the DPC concludes." | <urn:uuid:7e42b7d9-0905-4db8-88e1-e8e5a2e38d84> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/30548-student-group/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959393 | 516 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Weather: Snow, rain and cold in central Algeria
Blida (Algeria)- Rain and snow falls have been spotted on the night of Friday to Saturday in many of Algeria's central provinces.
- In the province of Blida, 50 km southwest Algiers, the mountains of Chrea and the whole Atlas chain up to Mount Tamesguida in Medea (91 km east of Algiers) were covered with a thick snowy white coat.
- Snow also fell in the foothills of Blida's Atlas nearby the valley of Sidi El-Kebir, founder of the town of Blida. In Medea, snowfalls made traffic very difficult, especially on the Benchicao pass on national highway #1 between Medea and Berrouaghia.
- Ennaharonline/ AFP | <urn:uuid:13742bee-352d-4184-abc1-c45734429e7c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ennaharonline.com/en/news/2819.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920866 | 168 | 1.507813 | 2 |
5956609 5th Battalion Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
Ephraim Cole was born around 1916. His family lived at 11 Garden Place, Sudbury.
In January 1941 the battalion was sent up to Galashiels, Scotland to prepare for service overseas. On 27th October 1941 the battalion left Lichfield, Staffordshire for Liverpool where they embarked on SS Reina Del Pacifico, where their final destination would be Singapore. On 9th February the Japanese invaded the island and Singapore fell on 15th February 1942.
After the invasion of many countries in the Far East, Japan had a large number of prisoners and decided to transport them by ship to use as slave labour in the Japanese war effort. These ships were known as ‘Hell Ships’ and they were not marked by the Japanese to show that they were carrying prisoners of war and were therefore open to attack by allied forces, who saw them as legitimate targets.
Ephraim and other prisoners of war, including another Sudbury man Sidney Mumford, were onboard one of these ‘Hell Ships’ – the ‘Kachidoki Maru’ heading for Japan when the American submarine USS Pampanito attacked it on 12th September 1944 North East of Hainan Island, off of China. The ship was sunk with the loss of 400 out of 900 British prisoners of war on board.
Ephraim was lost at sea, aged 28. There is no known grave and he is remembered on the Singapore Memorial. Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore. Sidney Mumford also lost his life at sea.
A Cross of Remembrance was laid at Kanchanaburi Cemetery by Mr. Peter Smith in April 2007 for all the Sudbury men who died in the Far East.
Back to Roll of Honour | <urn:uuid:8bccb014-a922-439b-9fda-1596ec2aa00e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sudburysuffolk.co.uk/ww2/profile.asp?id=574 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985603 | 369 | 2.40625 | 2 |
I have to assume that this tennis court, with its clear and proximate view of Straitsmouth Island, was part of the old Straitsmouth Inn, out on Gap Head Road, off Marmion Way. But then I went down there and tried to replicate the view, I couldn’t exactly place it (at least not without straying in the backyards of the private homes that now line the road).
You can see, on the shore-facing side of the island, a small structure that was the boathouse. (It no longer exists.) Across the island, on its left side in this picture, you can see the Straitsmouth Light and the keeper’s house. The perspective of the lighthouse, which also seems to be from Gap Head, would appear to support the conclusion that the tennis court was part of the inn.
One thing I know, with that view, it must have been hard for these players to keep their eyes on the ball.
This postcard was published by Grafton Butman and was postmarked on Aug. 5, 1919. I’ve posted one other card published by Butman, of the Manning House. I conjectured then that this Grafton Butman may have been a descendant of the Grafton Butman who was a prominent banker in Rockport in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Now I wonder whether the banker might be the same Grafton Butman who published these postcards. In addition to banking, he also ran the Grafton Butman dry goods store in the late 1800s at the corner of Main and Beach streets and later the Butman & French dry goods store in the old Haskins building which was demolished to build the Shalin Liu Performance Center. Butman died in 1937, so he was certainly around when this postcard was published. The Manning House postcard was postmarked 1943, but could have been published many years earlier. | <urn:uuid:68094d30-1b56-4c6f-84c0-7bbbc0d13907> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vintagerockport.com/2012/08/31/a-tennis-court-view-of-straitsmouth-island-circa-1919/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982584 | 402 | 1.585938 | 2 |
HISTORY OF NEILLSVILLE
The Neillsville Historic Preservation Commission welcomes you to Neillsville's Historic Walking Tour. We are proud of the historic heritage of our community and support private property owners in their preservation efforts. Neillsville offers a myriad of architectural styles from Gothic Revival to the Arts and Crafts era and the Prairie and Bungalow styles.
At the time of the arrival of James O'Neill, Clark County was an uninhabited wilderness. O'Neill and his party came overland from Black River Falls in an oxen drawn wagon. They arduously cut the first road into the county. In 1845 O'Neill's party arrived in the area that would be named in his honor. Vast stretches of virgin pine forests lined a great waterway, the Black River. This waterway would become the highway, which would float their logs to the mills of La Crosse and Onalaska.
By 1850, 50 acres of land had been cleared by O'Neill. The county seat was awarded to Neillsville in 1853 after a colorful election. In April of 1855, O'Neill appropriated four acres of land for the village and had it platted by A. Boardman. Neillsville's population was less than 250 people in 1860. The logging industry and the infrastructure needed to support that industry, skyrocketed the population to 2,000 in 1890 and to 3,000 by 1900. Substantial brick structures continued to be built each year in the downtown commercial district. Prosperous lumber barons and merchants were commissioning architects to design commodious residences, some with ballrooms, many with great ornamentation that reflected their newfound successes.
The railroad arrived in 1887 when the Omaha Company built a railroad bridge across the Black River and extended their line into Neillsville and eventually on to Marshfield. The railroad would bring three passenger trains a day through Neillsville and would assist in Neillsville's transition from lumbering to industry. By the turn of the century Neillsville had a large furniture factory, condensary, canning factory, brewery, creamery, cheese factory, cigar factory, flour mill, spoke and hub factory, fence post factory, planning mill, and wagon factory. Neillsville was undertaking the building of a new high school, improving their street surfaces, and petitioning for a Carnegie Library. Hotels, restaurants and merchants prospered. Home construction continued as these new entrepreneurs were eager for newer stylish forms of architecture.
Their homes and business structures display innovative design, sophistication and elegance. All of Neillsville's historical buildings represent a collection of work of many notable architects, many with listings in the National Register of Historic Places. These structures represented the hopes and dreams of peoples who are remembered by us with gratitude for their fortitude and guidance. They serve as a constant reminder of our rich heritage, promoting community spirit and pride in our past, present and future.
Welcome to “OUR TOWN”, NEILLSVILLE. Where “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” you are always welcome. | <urn:uuid:afc5e464-6b47-4bf1-828d-3c0cad3be776> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.neillsville-wi.com/historic-tour/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968237 | 631 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Walking is one of the easiest and safest ways to get more exercise every day. Chances are, since you've been walking most of your life, you're likely an expert at it already! You won't need any special equipment or lessons - just a good pair of walking shoes - and walking is a natural movement that's virtually injury free. Best of all, it's an activity you can enjoy by yourself or with friends and family.
The in motion walking workout program is set up to assist you in meeting your physical activity goals based on how active you currently are. There are walking programs for beginners (relatively inactive individuals) to advanced (those of you already active and looking for a challenge).
Even before you start, we have tips and suggestions to help you select the right shoes for you; how to dress for the weather and on walking technique.
We'll also provide you with a walking chart to monitor your progress and we'll send you motivational tips and encouragement along the way!
So, if you are ready to get "in motion" - REGISTER for your walking workout today by clicking on one of the activity levels below that best describes your physical activity goals.
Fitness Level Information | <urn:uuid:add957ed-c74f-4e90-a1a1-2b97b8772254> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.winnipeginmotion.ca/walkingworkout/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952107 | 244 | 1.578125 | 2 |
With the nature of privacy and freedom to know who is around us, government agencies, law enforcement in particular, allow public access to inmate records through county jail inmate search
, arrest warrants and court dockets. Combined these can make a complete picture as a background report or more facts about anyone who's locked up.
Search for inmates in Iowa
Find inmates housed in the jails and prisons listed here. More searches are added when available, if you don't see the facility you're looking for, press the "Inmate Search" button. Information you'll receive can include offense reports, list of charges filed, arresting agency and requirements necessary for release.
- Local authority within state boundaries that governs smaller communities.
- Detention facility with criminal detainees awaiting trial or serving shorter sentences.
- Person in the custody of law enforcement for alleged illegal activity. Prisoner or convict.
More about corrections in Iowa
This directory contains links to 47 Iowa jails and detention centers and lists others with contact numbers or addresses. Compared to the online presence of jails, localized inmate searches are not as common. Call if necessary; be prepared to answer specific questions about the detainee or offense before they release any details. The Department of Corrections operates eight separate state prisons across Iowa, you'll find the physical address and phone number on that page.
Other Iowa specific pages | <urn:uuid:472b3abe-37ac-4123-ad24-53309af3cf32> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.countyjailinmatesearch.com/iowa-county-jails.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914123 | 270 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Women who drank water rather than sugar-sweetened beverages had a lower risk of developing diabetes, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) nutrition researchers.
Sweet drinks including soda and fruit juice were found to increase diabetes risk by 10% for each cup consumed. Researchers estimated that women could reduce their risk by 7-8% by swapping one daily sugary beverage for plain water.
The study drew from 12 years’ worth of diet and health data collected from 82,902 women enrolled in the landmark Nurses Health Study. It was published online 2 May in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
HSPH Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology Frank Hu, the study’s senior author, told Reuters Health that "because diabetes is so prevalent in our society, even a 7-8% reduction in diabetes risk is quite substantial in terms of the population".
- Flavonoids may reduce CVD risk in diabetic patients 2 MAY 2012 | Food
- Nestlé accelerates research on diabetes 13 MAR 2012 | Health | <urn:uuid:e670ff2f-1f88-446c-8301-5640159d5309> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foodbev.com/news/drinking-water-instead-of-fizzy-drinks-m | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955455 | 216 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Michigan sometimes gets short shrift in school reform news, what with all of the publicity given this year to Wisconsin — where some Democratic legislators left the state to avoid a vote on Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to restrict collective bargaining rights of teachers — and to Ohio, where Gov. John Kasich just saw voters repeal his effort to curb collective bargaining for public sector workers.
But it shouldn’t. Michigan’s legislature this year has been considered a host of Republican-sponsored bills that public school advocates see as attacks on schools and teachers.
The most controversial are a bill that lifts the cap on the number of charter schools in the state and another that does the same for virtual schools. The legislation, includes very little, if any, quality controls on charters and virtual schools. In other words, just about anything goes.
Joy Resmovits at the Huffington Post wrote in this story detailing Michigan Republican legislators’ reform efforts, that even big supporters of charters and virtual education are opposed to the legislation and that efforts to improve the bills have so far been unsuccessful.
She quoted Harrison Blackmond, who heads the pro-charter Democrats for Education Reform efforts in Michigan, as saying: "Our organization and other organizations that we're working with are not against lifting the charter-school cap. The other side is trying to paint us that way. Our issue is: How do you go about doing this in such a way that it protects children?”
Meanwhile, there is no research showing the effectiveness of full-time virtual schools anywhere, and some critics are opposed to for-profit companies having a big role in public education. Most of the charters in Michigan are now operated by for-profit businesses.
Both bills, having passed the Senate, are now up for a vote in the House, where highly conservative Republican Rep. Tom McMillin now runs the education committee. He stepped in when voters earlier this month recalled panel chair Rep. Paul Scott, who had pushed through legislation that reformed teacher tenure earlier this year and won K-12 funding cuts. McMillin is expected to continue Scott’s agenda.
The tenure legislation, among other things, makes it easier to fire teachers and requires that 50 percent of teacher evaluations be based on student standardized test scores by 2016, an assessment method that experts say is not sophisticated enough for high-stakes use. It also ends using seniority as the basis of staffing decisions.
But that’s not all. Michigan’s legislators are also considering bills that would strip local districts of their local control and further erode collective bargaining. They include one that allows private and home-schooled students to take elective courses in any private, charter or public school in their district — a move that critics say is nothing more than a voucher scheme. The bill that would have required that school districts admit out-of-district students — which is now voluntary — has stalled in committee.
There are other bills, some less controversial than others. But all in all, Michigan is right up there in the category of really bad school reform legislation.
Follow The Answer Sheet every day by bookmarking http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet. And for admissions advice, college news and links to campus papers, please check out our Higher Education page. Bookmark it! | <urn:uuid:128d9197-46e3-4b1f-80f3-a66c5291bc78> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/michigans-embarrassing-school-reform-legislation/2011/11/22/gIQAwaQNwN_blog.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965348 | 683 | 1.6875 | 2 |