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MOSCOW — A Syrian plane that was forced to land in Turkey was legally carrying Russian radar parts for Syria, Russia's foreign minister said Friday.
Sergey Lavrov insisted the shipment of "electric equipment for radars" was a legitimate cargo that complied with international law, but he added that it was of "dual purpose," meaning it could have civilian and military applications.
"It's not forbidden by any international conventions," Lavrov said, adding that the Russian company that sent it to Syria will demand that Turkey return the cargo. He didn't name the Russian company or the cargo's recipient in Syria.
Russia has been Syrian President Bashar Assad's main supporter and ally, shielding him from international sanctions over his crackdown on an uprising that began in March 2011. Moscow has rejected Western sanctions against Assad's regime and said it would honor earlier signed weapons contracts with Syria for the delivery of anti-shipping and air defense missiles. The Kremlin has insisted that the Russian arms sales don't violate any international agreements and scoffed at Western demands to halt the trade.
Russia normally sends weapons for Syria by sea. In June, a Russian-operated ship carrying helicopter gunships and air defense missiles was forced to turn back to Russia after its British insurer removed coverage for the vessel.
The Syrian Airbus A320 was intercepted by Turkish fighter jets on its way from Moscow to Damascus on Wednesday and forced to land in Ankara amid heightened tensions between Turkey and Syria, fueled by recent cross-border shelling from Syria that killed five Turkish civilians.
Turkey's prime minister said Thursday that the plane was carrying ammunition and military equipment for the Syrian Defense Ministry.
"Of course, there weren't and there couldn't be any weapons on board the plane," Lavrov said. "The plane was carrying a cargo, which a legal Russian supplier was sending in a legal way to a legal customer. Cargo documents had been issued fully in line with usual demands. Transporting that kind of cargo by civilian planes is absolutely normal practice."
The plane was allowed to continue to Damascus after several hours, without the cargo. Syria branded the incident piracy and Russia called the search illegal, saying it endangered the lives of Russian citizens aboard the plane.
Lavrov said that Moscow is still awaiting official explanation from Turkey on its refusal to let Russian diplomats aboard the plane as it was sitting on the tarmac.
On Friday, President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of his Security Council that focused on the situation in Syria, the Kremlin said without providing details.
Also on HuffPost:
Despite major defections and a July 18. explosion in Damascus that killed four top generals, including President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law, the regime's inner circle is still powerful and united against the opposition. Assad's inner circle includes his younger brother, Maher, who commands the forces in charge of protecting the capital. It also includes the heads of the four intelligence agencies playing a major role in the crackdown. Although regime forces lost parts of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest, government troops still control most cities, while the opposition dominates large parts of the countryside. <em>Caption: This June 13, 2000, file photo shows Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, his brother Maher, center, and brother-in-law Major General Assef Shawkat, left. (AP Photo, File)</em>
Free Syrian Army
The main rebel fighting force for more than a year, the Free Syrian Army includes lightly-armed volunteer militiamen and defectors from Assad's military. Its overall strength and structure is unclear, but tens of thousands are believed be loyal to the group. The rebels have control over some northern areas, allowing movement of fighters and supplies from Turkey and Lebanon. Anti-Assad forces have failed to maintain any strategic footholds in big cities, being driven back from key neighborhoods in Homs earlier this year and now apparently losing ground in the largest urban center, Aleppo. The battles also suggest only weak direction from central commanders - including Turkey-based Free Syrian Army leader Riad al-Asaad. <em>Caption: In this citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, taken on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, Free Syrian Army soldiers pose for a photograph, in Sarmada, Idlib province, northern Syria. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)</em>
Syrian National Council
Based in Istanbul, the SNC has emerged as the main political opposition to Assad and has pushed for international recognition as the legitimate representative of the uprising, despite rifts with other Syrian factions. The group also has been hit by internal feuds that have led some senior members to quit. The current leader, Abdelbaset Sieda, is a Swedish-based activist for Syria's minority Kurdish community. The SNC has gained support from many countries in the West and Arab world, but it has not galvanized international backing, and critics complain its senior leadership is made up mostly of exiles out of touch with their homeland. <em>Caption: The members of the Syrian National Council and its head Abdulbaset Sieda, center, arrive for a meeting with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 23, 2012.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)</em>
The National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change
A rival to the SNC, the National Coordination Committee is led by opposition figures inside Syria, many of them former political prisoners. SNC members accuse the group of being far too lenient and willing to engage in dialogue with the regime. In turn, the National Coordination Committee accuses the SNC of being a front for Western powers and willing to open the door to the Muslim Brotherhood and other conservative Islamist factions. <em>Caption: Member of the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, Morhaf Mickael speaks during a meeting of Syrian opposition parties in Brussels on Sunday, June 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)</em>
On Assad's side are traditional Shiite allies Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah. <em>Caption: In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, meets with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/SANA)</em>
The regime also has important political cover from Russia and China, which have used their Security Council vetoes to prevent U.N. sanctions on Syria. <em>Caption: In this Jan. 25, 2005 file photo, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a signing ceremony in the Kremlin, Moscow. (AP Photo/Sergei Chirikov)</em>
The rebels have built an array of regional support that includes the wealthy Gulf states - led by Iran rival Saudi Arabia - and neighboring Turkey, which offers key supply routes. The West also backs the rebel forces, but has so far opposed mobilizing international military support similar to the NATO-led airstrikes that helped topple Moammar Gadhafi's regime in Libya. <em>Caption: From left, Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Sheik Khalid bin AhmedI bin Mohammed al-Khalifa, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu and United Arab Emirates' Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan seenduring a group photo during the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign ministers meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012 (AP Photo)</em>
Syria has drawn foreign fighters just as other recent conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan. No credible count on them exists, but anecdotal evidence suggests foreigners are coming to fight Assad. Rebel commanders downplay the presence of foreign fighters, saying their cause is a purely Syrian uprising. Mohammed Idilbi, a Syrian activist based in Turkey, says foreign ranks include Libyans, Yemenis, Tunisians and Lebanese. On Saturday, Syria's official SANA news agency claimed four Libyans were among rebels killed in Aleppo. <em>Caption: In this Sept. 18, 2011 file photo, former rebel fighters celebrate as smoke rises from Bani Walid, Libya, at the northern gate of the town. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini, File)</em>
U.S. officials and others worry that Syria could become a new foothold for insurgents inspired by al-Qaida. Assessing the degree of radical Islamic ideology in the civil war is impossible, but at least one group, the al-Nusra Front, has emerged and declared allegiance to the Free Syrian Army. Al-Nusra, or Victory, has claimed responsibility for several high profile attacks, including a double suicide bombing in March that killed 27 people in Damascus and the execution-style killing of a Syrian television presenter who was abducted in July. On Friday, U.S. intelligence officials said al-Qaida has advanced beyond isolated pockets in Syria and now is building a network of well-organized cells that could include several hundred militants. <em>Caption: This photo shows Al-Qaida's new leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a still image from a web posting by al-Qaida's media arm, as-Sahab, Wednesday July 27, 2011. Al-Qaida's new leader has lauded protesters in Syria for seeking to topple the regime of President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/IntelCenter) </em> | <urn:uuid:5baf0d3a-fd3d-4f48-ada0-d019268b6769> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/12/syria-plane-turkey-russia_n_1961486.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964182 | 1,942 | 1.726563 | 2 |
At the macroscopic level, the temperature of a substance is a parameter—measured by a thermometer—that indicates how hot or cold the substance is. At the microscopic level, the temperature—according to Ludwig Boltzmann—is a measure of the kinetic energy associated with the disordered motion of the atoms or molecules that constitute the sample. This Demonstration illustrates the relation between atomic motion and temperature in the case of a classical gas (Boltzmann gas) modeled as an ensemble of noninteracting hard spheres. Change the temperature and observe the effect on the motion of atoms or molecules.
In classical microscopic gas kinetic theory a gas is modeled as an ensemble of hard spheres that do not interact other than by elastic collisions among themselves and with the container walls. If the walls are at a temperature , then the particles' velocity components –in the case of thermodynamic equilibrium—obey Maxwell–Boltzmann distributions, for which the probability that a given velocity component, , lies in the interval is given by
where is the mass of the atom and is the Boltzmann constant (see also The Maxwell Speed Distribution). According to the equipartition theorem, the average kinetic energy of each atom is , which shows that, at the microscopic level, the temperature is a direct measure of the energy associated with the disordered atomic motion. The atomic collisions with the container walls are at the origin of the force exerted on the wall that is commonly expressed as the gas pressure (see also Simulation of a Simple Gas Pressure Model). The temperature here is measured in Kelvin (K), and in classical theory all motion comes to a halt at the absolute zero of temperature (). The absolute (Kelvin) temperature scale is related to the most commonly used temperature scales of Celsius and Fahrenheit by simple linear relations (see also Temperature Scales and Celsius and Fahrenheit Thermometers). | <urn:uuid:a4b824d4-11c3-42df-b952-e776cee34bc5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/BoltzmannGas/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902911 | 377 | 4.0625 | 4 |
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Wed March 6, 2013
Human Trafficking Bill Adds Child Safeguards
Additional safeguards in child custody cases are now part of a bill that cracks down on human trafficking. Some lawmakers want to create “drop-off” sites at county courthouses, so estranged parents can safely shift custody of their children. Lexington Representative Kelly Flood persuaded fellow lawmakers a human trafficking bill should also be part of the legislation.
“With great regard for this particular bill, I believe that an appropriate committee substitute to propose that would take the original language of house bill three, known as the human trafficking bill, and turn this into a committee sub,” said Flood.
The human trafficking bill gives young victims the same legal protections as abused and neglected children. But the legislative move provoked the opposition of Republican House Member Jeff Hoover.
“We’re circumventing the process here, at the last minute and we always try to do this. I support the human trafficking bill. I do not support this process,” said Hoover.
The aim of the original bill is to create a safer environment when a child exchange is made in custody cases. In mid January, such an exchange in Hazard between estranged parents resulted in a triple murder. The legislation permits the court to establish a safe drop off spot in a courthouse. Still, Eastern Kentucky Senator Brandon Smith realizes it’s not a complete solution…
“And it’s heartbreaking, because I know they may be safe in the incidence that we’ve got them, but once they leave out there, I’m not sure there’s a law on the books out there, one that can be crafted that will protect people as they’re walking to their car or just trying to get their groceries,” added Smith.
The bill now faces a house vote and an unknown future in the state senate. | <urn:uuid:9235fc85-5265-4935-b205-55b126f75d45> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wkms.org/post/human-trafficking-bill-adds-child-safeguards | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918879 | 468 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Death of Web ‘inevitable’
So long and thanks for all the clicks
The World Wide Web's days are numbered, Forrester Research claims. The Internet may have taken off, mostly around the Web, but the next step of its evolution will see expansion beyond the browser, the company reckons.
The Web's replacement is an executable Net with throwaway code downloaded as and when you want to use it as well as millions of every day devices connected to the Internet (the old more-Barbies-than-PCs linked to Net idea).
Normally, we'd give such a headline-grabbing assertion short shrift, but Forrester is an excellent research company which is unafraid of extrapolating its findings to review the future of markets.
It knows it's putting its reputation on the line with this report though, so the big guns have been pulled out.
"The problem with today's Internet is that it's dumb, boring, and isolated," said the company's CEO and chairman George F. Colony. "News, sports, and weather imparted on static Web pages offer essentially the same content presented on paper, which makes the online experience more like reading in a dusty library than participating in a new medium. Now that the novelty has faded, business executives and consumers are going back to reading newspapers and watching TV. Ultimately, the Net hasn't truly become a part of our real worlds."
The executable Net - termed X Internet by Forrester - will consist of quickly downloaded, disposable programs loaded onto PCs and handhelds, and move away from today's transactional Web services.
"Executable applications will give users tools to experience the Net in more entertaining and engaging ways. For example, imagine a corporate buyer navigating a virtual marketplace with a Doom-like user interface - buyers could simply shoot the deals they want. That's a far cry from today's Web," said Carl D. Howe, research director, principal analyst and leading middle initial man at Forrester.
Howe actually gives quite a good analogy as to why the Net will change. "It's a little like the early days of television when programming was just radio with pictures of announcers."
As for the millions of Net-connected devices, the report reckons anything that runs on electricity will eventually have a Net link. This will allow Internet devices that "that sense, analyze, and control the real world". And there'll be 14 billion of them by 2010.
"Extended Internet devices will provide real-time information about what is going on and provide knobs and levers for companies to control their businesses," said Howe. "A data centre business in California might combine real-time data from both the power company and customers to reduce the power consumption of their air conditioners when power demand peaks - all through extended Internet devices."
So there you go. Maybe Berners-Lee was given that Royal Society fellowship too soon. ® | <urn:uuid:207d4b2e-8e0f-4faa-b78f-407cc7f8bb8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/05/18/death_of_web_inevitable/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951508 | 602 | 1.96875 | 2 |
According to a Federal Trade Commission complaint lodged against online storage service Dropbox, users were told they had more security than they actually did.
Wired reports the complaint, filed by a security researchers, says Dropbox told its 25 million users its encryption prevented everyone, including employees, from being able to view their files. The researcher says he’s proven that Dropbox employees actually can view the files. The complaint says Dropbox “has and continues to make deceptive statements to consumers regarding the extent to which it protects and encrypts their data” and asks the FTC to investigate what it says are deceptive trade practices.
A Dropbox spokesperson vigorously disputes the complaint:
“We believe this complaint is without merit, and raises old issues that were addressed in our blog post on April 21, 2011. Millions of people depend on our service every day and we work hard to keep their data safe, secure, and private.” | <urn:uuid:8ddacd70-6c78-4ca6-9062-9e7b0732fb1c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://consumerist.com/2011/05/16/ftc-complaint-says-dropbox-misinformed-users-about-security/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97385 | 185 | 1.835938 | 2 |
solving sex trafficking
Human sex trafficking occurs in the United States.
It occurs in east Tennessee.
Awareness of this issue and encouragement to become a voice to end it were the focus of a panel discussion hosted by Second Life of Chattanooga on the Lee University campus Friday.
“Sex trafficking in the U.S. is the hot social justice topic right now,” Jerry Redman, managing senior partner of Second Life said.
“We’re talking about not a decades old problem, or even centuries old problem. We’re talking about a problem that has plagued mankind since we have been. The fact it is a problem in the U.S. is still new to most people.”
The event began with a showing of “The Candy Shop,” a film produced by a church in Atlanta. The film highlights the sexual exploitation of children though the allegory of a candy shop.
Panel members encouraged students and community members present to become a part of the efforts to end sex trafficking.
Redman said sex trafficking is not simply an urban problem. It is an issue that can be seen in suburban and rural areas.
“Tennessee is one of the leading states to address this issue,” Redman said.
Trafficking in Tennessee is being addressed by legislation. Tennessee Bureau of Investigationis also training its officers in this issue.
Training for law enforcement seeks to have officers look beyond prostitution to consider if the situation is really trafficking.
“A person just doesn’t say, ‘I want to be a prostitute,’” Carmen Hudson of Partnership for Families, Children and Adults in Chattanooga said.
“Something caused them to be at that point in their lives. And some people say it might be because of drugs. Well who started them on drugs. A lot of times it’s the pimps who start them on drugs, in order to keep that connect with them.”
Hudson said some rape and domestic violence victims who come to Partnership are also sex trafficking victims.
“Any time a child is used for a commercial sex act, that’s trafficking,” Redman said.
Adult sex trafficking occurs when force, fraud or coercion are involved in a commercial sex act, according to Terri Self, senior partner of Second Life.
Self said some indicators of sex trafficking for a college student may include a sudden change in attitude, appearance and behavior.
A student will become detached, begin skipping class and seem extremely tired, she said. A new tattoo of an unusual design may also be an indicator.
“Branding is part of what goes on in human trafficking,” Self said.
She said building trust and asking questions to find out what is going on is important.
Self said the victim will be afraid to say anything to anyone.
She also encouraged students to tell someone qualified so help can be provided to victims.
Redman said ending trafficking will only be possible through partnerships.
“Every single person can do something,” Self said.
Redman said each person has some way that they can do something about ending this.
“The business community has to step in. We are seeing this more and more in this area,” Redman said.
Teachers and educators also need to be aware and involved.
Redman said he would like to see churches in southeast Tennessee become a part of addressing this issue and raising awareness.
“We’ve really been waiting for them to step into the issue — the way they need to,” Redman said.
Those present were encouraged to speak about the issue at their churches and talk to their pastors about getting involved.
“A key to solving this is awareness,” Self said.
She said the more people who are working to end trafficking the less power traffickers have.
Self said as awareness grows victims are given more power.
Hudson said students have great energy to work toward making a difference. She encouraged those present to volunteer with the Greater Chattanooga Coalition Against Human Trafficking and other organizations that help victims.
Self encouraged listeners to study the issue and determine how best to get involved.
Redman said every medium, such as art and music, can be used to bring awareness.
To truely bring an end to sex trafficking, law enforcement will need to go after those who pay for the service and sex traffickers, Redman said.
He said this is starting to happen as laws change and work is being done for harsher sentencing for those participating in trafficking as perpetrators or traffickers.
State Rep. Eric Watson was unable to participate in the panel because of business in Nashville.
Second Life of Chattanooga: http://secondlifechattanooga.org/ | <urn:uuid:cb89b0cc-eb62-470e-9f48-0160112f465d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clevelandbanner.com/view/full_story/21674685/article-Awareness--empowers-the-victims--?instance=homefirstleft | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963989 | 990 | 1.828125 | 2 |
May 16, 2004
. . . but what about Stockholm?
In response to the post below, Ann Rae Jonas asks:
Are you suggesting that if the artwork shown in Stockholm had . . . glorified suicide bombers, the Israeli ambassador's action would have been acceptable or even commendable?Here, let our readers decide for themselves.
Unlike Roberta Smith, I don't believe one can draw a neat dividing line between art and real life -- especially when the artworks are explicitly designed to provoke, and they directly address highly controversial real-world issues.
For all the talk of tolerating ambiguity, few things could be more ambiguous than the status of art whose raison d’ętre is social engineering ("Art's job is . . ."), particularly when that art is imposed upon those who do not seek it out. If artists want to give the world a push, they should not be surprised if the world sometimes pushes back. Cattelan appears to accept this, which I respect; Smith does not.
There is much to be said for setting aside certain spaces as neutral ground, where one can say (or display) anything without fear of molestation. Yet was the Stockholm museum really neutral ground? This was no Speaker's Corner, open to all. Artworks in a gallery are, directly or indirectly, gallery-endorsed. If they have a polemical thrust, that is implicitly endorsed as well -- if not openly embraced, at least deemed acceptable for consideration. This is complex territory, and to pretend otherwise only complicates things further.
ANOTHER thought: When art is no longer for art's sake, but for argument's sake (see Smith below); and when the artwork itself is as much means as end; and when packaging and presentation outweigh content -- is this art in the traditional sense, or is it something more akin to performance?
Few would endorse either vandalizing an artwork or interrupting a performer, but the latter differs in some important regards, not least in that it offers more potential for dialogue -- as indeed happened in Milan after Cattelan's work was taken down. And the "interruption" might be considered a form of performance art in itself. If artists can be lauded for "modifying" billboard advertisements, why should it be any less acceptable to "modify" the work of other artists?
The shorthand accounts of what happened in Stockholm make it sound as if the installation was destroyed or at least seriously damaged. But as I recall, the ambassador only threw a spotlight at the installation -- an act more symbolic than truly destructive. Performance/counterperformance?
Posted by David on May 16, 2004 11:20 PM | <urn:uuid:5cd44872-f775-4b20-af7f-214b45235370> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cronaca.com/archives/002367.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956135 | 547 | 1.570313 | 2 |
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A historical agreement over development of resources in the Gulf of Mexico on either side of a new boundary between the U.S. and Mexico was signed on Jan. 20 in Los Cabos, Mexico.
“At a time when we are working hard to both secure energy supplies and shift to more environmentally appropriate means of extracting fossil fuels, but also adding immeasurably to our search for renewable energy, this agreement is a win-win. These reservoirs could hold considerable reserves that would benefit the United States and Mexico alike,” said Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.
“This Transboundary Agreement removes uncertainties regarding development of transboundary resources in the resource-rich Gulf of Mexico. As a result of this agreement, nearly 1.5 million acres of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf will now be made more accessible for exploration and production activities,” stated Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Ken Salazar. “Estimates by the DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) indicate this area contains as much as 172 million barrels of oil and 304 billion cubic feet of natural gas.”
There is a higher level of interest in the western Gulf of Mexico since the region is oil-prone. Shell Oil’s Perdido development provides some of the closest infrastructure in the area.
According to a DOI statement, the Transboundary Agreement establishes a framework for U.S. offshore oil and gas companies and Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) to jointly develop transboundary reservoirs. The agreement also opens up resources in the Western Gap that were off limits to both countries under a previous treaty that imposed a moratorium along the boundary through 2014.
“The Obama Administration is committed to the responsible expansion of domestic energy production,” Salazar said. “This agreement makes available promising areas in the resource-rich Gulf of Mexico and establishes a clear process by which both governments can provide the necessary oversight to ensure exploration and development activities are conducted safely.”
Mexican President Felipe Calderon watched the signing of the agreement by Clinton and Mexican Minister of Foreign Relations Patricia Espinosa. Salazar and Mexican Minister of Energy Jordy Herrera were also present at the ceremony.
The agreement is designed to enhance energy security in North America and support the shared duty of both countries to exercise responsible stewardship of the Gulf of Mexico. It is built on a commitment to the safe, efficient, and equitable exploitation of transboundary reservoirs with the highest degree of safety and environmental standards, the agencies noted.
Originally, the United States and Mexico jointly announced their intention to negotiate a transboundary hydrocarbons agreement on June 23, 2010, following the joint statement adopted by Presidents Brack Obama and Calderon at the conclusion of the latter’s visit to Washington, D.C., on May 19, 2010.
The agreement establishes a cooperative process for managing the maritime boundary region that promotes joint utilization of transboundary reservoirs.
It also provides a legal framework for possible commercial activities at the maritime boundary and sets clear guidelines for transboundary developments. It establishes incentives for oil and gas companies to voluntarily enter into arrangements to jointly develop any transboundary reservoirs.
In the event such an arrangement is not achieved, the agreement establishes a process by which U.S. companies and Pemex can individually develop the resources on each side of the border while protecting each nation’s interests and resources. U.S. companies will also be able to explore new business opportunities and carry out collaborative projects with Pemex.
Joint inspections teams will be able to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Both governments will review all plans for the development of any transboundary reservoirs.
“This agreement creates new opportunities. And for the first time, American companies will be able to collaborate with Pemex, their Mexican counterpart. In tough times like these, we need to make the most of every opportunity to create jobs, to foster economic growth and energy security, while managing our resources and our environment responsibly for future generations,” Clinton emphasized.
After signing, both countries will work through their domestic systems to bring the agreement into force, according to DOI.
It will likely be several years before permitting begins and drilling can start. The area has not been considered for an offshore lease sale and environmental impact assessments have probably not been done.
This will be an opportunity for Pemex to add to its knowledge of ultra-deepwater drilling and production operations that can be used to develop fields offshore Mexico. | <urn:uuid:31b3f1e9-ba9b-4f54-b213-f13fd721da34> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.epmag.com/Production-Field-Development/US-Mexico-Sign-Gulf-Mexico-Boundary-Agreement_96465?ch1=92828&ch2=related-items | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944693 | 953 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Obligations to strangers
Part of the case for open borders is that at the very minimum, our obligation to strangers is to leave them alone. Immigration restrictions, by denying strangers the freedom to move to another country, violates this basic obligation.
It is conceivable that individuals have no positive obligations toward the welfare of those from other countries. Thus, there may be a case that immigrants (or for that matter even natives) do not have a right to one’s charity. However, preventing people from immigrating is a form of active harm rather than simply failing to provide charity. See also the killing versus letting die distinction.
- Starving Marvin, a hypothetical by Michael Huemer that illustrates that immigration restrictions are akin to forcibly preventing a hungry person from going to the market rather than refusing him charity.
- John and Julio, a hypothetical by Bryan Caplan that illustrates that immigration restrictions are more akin to forcibly preventing a potential competitor from appearing at a job interview in order to increase one’s own chances of getting a job.
Arguments by analogy
Excerpts from The Stranger, a blog post by Bryan Caplan:
What are you morally required to do for a stranger? Not much. Even if he seems hungry and asks you for food, you’re probably within your rights to refuse. If you’ve ever been in a large city, you’ve refused to help the homeless on more than one occasion. And even if you think you broke your moral obligation to give, your moral obligation wasn’t strong enough to let the beggar justifiably mug you.
This would be bad enough if modern governments focused on forcing rich strangers to give to poor strangers. But it’s outrageous when the direction of coercion reverses. The most egregious example, of course, is restrictions on immigration. People in the Third World are strangers, but we still have a moral obligation to leave them in peace. Instead, we pass draconian laws forbidding these strangers to work for other complete strangers. And for what? To fulfill our fantastical obligation to maintain the wages of fellow citizens we don’t trust enough to give our kids a ride. | <urn:uuid:f64a98db-acd4-4253-8469-7a1f384d7f63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://openborders.info/obligations-to-strangers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947478 | 446 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Clear Lake-area inventors receive patent for invention to prevent problem in industrial process
Two inventors from the Clear Lake area are part of a team that received a U.S. patent last week for its solution to a problem with an industrial process.
The process, gas phase polymerization, is commonly used to convert gases to solids in the petrochemical industry. Facilities frequently experience problems with solid particles that deposit themselves on the walls of the reactor and other exposed surfaces. The invention described in the patent is a coating designed to discourage this from happening.
The team credited in the patent consists of Kevin B. Stavens from Seabrook; Gary D. Mohr of the Clear Lake area of Houston; Matthew W. Holtcamp of Huffman, Texas; and William A. Lamberti of Stewartsville, New Jersey. The patent was originally filed on Nov. 7, 2007, and its official number is 7,875,685. ExxonMobil Chemical Patents is listed as the owner.
ExxonMobil is a major multinational oil and gas company and one of the world's largest publicly traded corporations. The offices of its chemical division are located in the Memorial area at 13501 Katy Freeway.
Local Advertising by PaperG | <urn:uuid:a938f7e9-22be-470d-be28-4d3522ce82a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ultimateclearlake.com/stories/231284-business-clear-lake-area-inventors-receive-patent-for-invention-to-prevent-problem-in-industrial-process | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946145 | 254 | 1.734375 | 2 |
In English, Russian and German. The International Volunteer Public Organization “MEMORIAL Historical, Educational, Human Rights And Charitable Society” is a volunteer public association. Memorial is a community of dozens of organizations in different regions of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Georgia. Memorial is a group of specialized research, human rights, and education centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and several other cities. The site contains limited textual materials related to human rights, but links to a more comprehensive website with additional materials.
Archived Web Resources
Memorial [Eastern Europe]
Minority Rights Group International
In English. MRG is a non-governmental organization that works with 130 partners in over 60 countries to ensure that disadvantaged minorities and indigenous people can make their voices heard. Through training and education, legal cases, publications and the media, we support minority and indigenous people as they strive to maintain their rights to the land they live on, the languages they speak, to equal opportunities in education and employment, and to full participation in public life. MRG has offices in the United Kingdom, Hungary, and Uganda. Site contains news, information on campaigns, background information, directory of marginalized groups, and documents for download.
Miraya 101 FM [Sudan]
In English and Arabic. Radio station in Juba, southern Sudan, sponsored by Fondation Horondelle, UN Mission in Sudan and a number of government agencies in Europe and Canada. News archives back to January 2007, in PDF and html. Human rights and development news, Darfur news. The streaming audio is only archived for one week. Although an agreement was signed permitting UNMIS to operate a radio station, the Khartoum government has continually resisted the mission's efforts to access the country's airwaves.
Moscow Helsinki Group
In Russian and some English. Moscow Helsinki Group was founded in 1976 as an extension of the international network of Helsinki committees. The website's content is primarily in Russian, but materials in English include news, political analysis, documentation of human rights violations and organization publications.
Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra / Landless Rural Workers' Movement [Brazil]
In Portuguese. MST's main areas of focus are agrarian reform and community development. The MST has been peacefully occupying unused land since 1985 and distributing it among landless peasants for them to work it, develop education projects etc. MST members have been criminalized, prosecuted and investigated illegally by the Judiciary and military police of the Rio Grande do Sul State. The Prosecutor has declared the movement illegal and their members have been incarcerated and investigated. Site contains mp3s of MST music, posters from events, political graphics, videos, interviews, forum, and news.
Movimento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado / Movement of Victims of State Crimes [Colombia]
In Spanish. Umbrella organization for ONGs and people who have been victims of or fight against state terrorism in Colombia. Denounces, promotes education, advocacy. MOVICE director, Ivan Cepeda Castro, has had to live in exhile twice due to death threats associated with his work denouncing state terrorism in Colombia. Criminal charges for libel and diffamation have also been made against him for his work exposing the links between governemnt officials and paramilitary forces. Site contains videos, photos, documents, and newsletters.
National Coalition for Haitian Rights: Haiti Insight Online
In English. Formed in 1992, the Coalition's mission is to champion the rights of Haitians in the United States and Haiti. Organization survives on donations and volunteers; there are local offices in Haiti and only two staff members in US. Site contains publications for download, press, news archive of articles relating to immigration, refugees, human rights, and civil rights.
National Human Rights Commission of Korea: A World of Dignity for All
In Korean and English. The Commission was established in 2001 as a national advocacy institution for human rights protection. It is committed to the fulfillment of human rights in a broader sense, including dignity, value and freedom of every human being, as signified in international human rights conventions and treaties to which Korea is a signatory. State-run, some of the commissioners have to be approved by the president. Contains press releases, background information, legal documents, photographs, cartoons, posters, videos, newsletter, form to file a complaint with instructions in Chinese, English, Hindustani, Monoglia, Thai, Russian, Vietnamese, and downloads of articles and publications.
Nepal Dalit Info: An Information Network for Nepal Dalit Information Resources
In English. In 2003, Dr. DP Rasali, Mr. Hira Vishwakarma and Dr. MB Bishwakarma formed information network to connect Dalits, a traditionally discriminated group, from Nepal.
NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq
In English, French and Arabic. Contains information divided by subject. Network of 80 international NGOs and 200 Iraqi NGOs. Unable to list Iraqi NGOs for security reasons. | <urn:uuid:c8c8a799-6a0d-4ce2-8372-d3ba3be9abcf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lib.utexas.edu/hrdi/hr_archive?page=13 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934404 | 1,040 | 2.0625 | 2 |
A decade of transparency: The Gray Notebook
The Gray Notebook (pdf 10.2 mb) is the Washington State Department of Transportation's quarterly accountability report. Starting with the first report in May 2001, the agency has used the quarterly document to provide the latest information on system performance and project delivery.
The latest report, published February 25, 2013, marks more than a decade of clear and consistent reporting on the transportation system spanning 48 editions. This report includes annual reports Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety, Pavement Conditions, Highway Maintenance, Fish Passage Barriers, Environmental Compliance, and Construction Cost Trends. Quarterly topics, such as worker safety, Incident Response, Amtrak Cascades, and Washington State Ferries, are featured in each edition since data is generally available more frequently.The 2012 Annual Congestion Report (pdf 3.75 mb), was published in August 2012.
Gray Notebook Lite
Each edition also comes with a summary edition, called the Gray Notebook Lite (pdf 1.14 mb), which includes the publication's highlights in a format perfect for quicker reading. The Lite offers an overview of each edition, with a short synopsis of eight to ten topics. It is published as a four-page folio with an insert summarizing the performance of the capital project delivery program and includes the Gray Notebook's Performance Dashboard.
Executive Summary & Performance Dashboard introduce performance
Each Gray Notebook includes an Executive Summary containing a overview of each of the annual articles contained in the current edition. Immediately following that is the Performance Dashboard (pdf 715 kb), an overview of the key performance indicators for five of the six policy goals. The Performance Dashboard shows the current and previous performance mark for each measure, and indicates which way the program is trending, and why.
Gray Notebook organization
The Gray Notebook is organized in six sections aligned to the state's transportation policy goals. Each edition features quarterly and annual reports on key agency functions, providing regularly updated system and program performance information (in editions 1-29, this section was referred to as the "White Pages"). Annual system performance updates are rotated over four quarters based on data availability and relevant data cycles, to provide in-depth analysis of topics such as asset management, aviation, freight, and highway maintenance.
Reports on the delivery of projects funded in the 2003 Nickel transportation funding package, the 2005 Transportation Partnership Account (TPA) package, the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and by Pre-Existing Funds (PEF), appear in the Stewardship section. These reports were known as the "Beige Pages" in editions 10-29 of the Gray Notebook, and are still printed on beige paper so they can be quickly found. They contain summary tables, detailed project articles, and financial information supporting WSDOT’s “no surprises” reporting focus. The Stewardship section also presents articles covering finance, workforce, and similar cross-cutting management issues.
Publication frequency and archivestop
The Gray Notebook is published quarterly in February, May, August, and November. Information is reported on a preliminary basis as appropriate and available for internal management use. It is subject to correction and clarification. Revisions will always be shown in the on-line version, and any subsequent print editions as may be released. The most recent edition and all past editions are available as PDFs online by visiting the Gray Notebook Archive. The performance measures are archived individually online, available in the Gray Notebook Subject Index. | <urn:uuid:7a8b280d-63d0-4e8b-9d54-d5d5f9d45ab3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Accountability/GrayNotebook/navigateGNB.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928349 | 726 | 1.664063 | 2 |
I recently got a new 1TB Seagate hard drive to support my first one and plugged it in. It was recognized alright and I have no problems with it, but I have one issue:
It seems that sometimes the second hard drive goes "inactive," its noise decreases after a click, and when I do something with it, even something as simple as creating a new folder, the PC freezes for a moment and the hard drive goes back into action with another click.
Is there a way to disable this feature? Would it cause problems if I do so? More importantly, if it's left on, will this affect performance? I got the new drive mostly for the purposes of putting my games on it, but this worries me about performance etc.
I'm not familiar with new hard drives much so I don't know if this is a regular and common feature nowadays.
By default, your computer runs in the "Balanced" power scheme and spins down the hard drive when not in use.
Try adjusting the advanced power management settings in the Control Panel located in the "Start" menu.
Thanks. It's just that I wasn't hearing any clicking when spinning down with the old hard drive. Would it be beneficial for me in terms of performance to prevent it from spinning down? Would it cause any problems? | <urn:uuid:985a0f64-6282-40a3-b69a-cef71457da48> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/289313-32-problem-hard-drive-inactive | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965015 | 269 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP's) are designed to enable stable UK based organisations to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of the knowledge, technology and skills that are available within UK Universities.
KTP’s have been running for over 37 years and are one of the most successful business support programmes in Europe funded by the Technology Strategy Board with various other funding organisations.
The aim of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is to stimulate innovation in order to strengthen the competitiveness and wealth creation of the UK. KTP’s provide resources and expertise to dynamic organisations who wish to innovate, expand or improve their business.
KTP’s also provide industry based training and development to graduates.
To discuss your development requirements and discover how a KTP can help your organisation, please contact the KTP team:
firstname.lastname@example.org or 01483 68 20 50 | <urn:uuid:92a6080e-6ad2-4a96-b253-77692e87f658> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.surrey.ac.uk/business/services/ktp/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927245 | 189 | 1.539063 | 2 |
WorldCat features: March 2008 Archives
Other times... well, people just want to narrow their options down from the millions of things in the pile to something, well... less universal. And, thankfully, there are all kinds of folks out there who put together all kinds of lists.
For example... If somebody asks, "Can you recommend some good kids' books?" you can put together your own list, sure. Or, if you want a nice, safe, high-quality and (let's face it) easier answer... point to the classic ALA lists of Newbery and Caldecott winners. Somebody else has done the hard work. You just need to have a way to list the lists.
Clearly, this is another plug for the list making function in WorldCat.org. In this case, lists that already exist... somewhere. My point here is that it's really handy to have a single URL that can point people to content that's already passed through a screen like the ALA or the Mystery Writers of America, who provide The Edgars, a list of great mystery novels.
See... when we say, "there's this great list..." we mean that there's the list itself... but then there needs to be a place to put it. In the past, we might have arranged recent Caldecott books on one shelf in the library for a display, or handed out a flyer with the list printed out.
Now, once we've put the lists into WorldCat.org, we can share lists of lists with very little effort. And because the click-path is so easy (open the email, click on a list link, click on a link to the material), it shortens the distance between all the effort that when into reviewing, editing and recommending materials, and the end of a search.
I'm sure you're familiar with the game, "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon." You know, the one where you think of any other actor and try to work your way back to Kevin via movies with combinations of actors. So... Rutger Hauer has a Kevin Bacon Number of "3," because he was in "Blade Runner" with Daryl Hannah, she was in "Splash" with John Candy, and John was in "JFK" with Kevin. I've enjoyed this game for years, and have speculated that the single best reason to have an Internet at all is as a host for IMDB, which helps scratch this itch when you just can't quite figure out on your own how to get back to Kevin.
Well, WorldCat has a feature that I tend to refer to as the engine for playing "Six Degrees of Francis Bacon." Officially, it's called WorldCat Identities, and its built into WorldCat.org.
Let's say you're looking at the record for a work by Mr. Bacon; Essays and New Atlantis. If you click on the "Details" tab, you'll see an "About the Author" section with a link to Francis Bacon. Click there, and you go to the "Identities" page for him. Take a look... the page has a timeline of publications by and about Bacon, links to his most popular works, and a tag cloud of related subjects. The purpose of WorldCat Identities is to have just such a summary page for every name in WorldCat.
The game portion of our program comes into play with the "Related Identities" section near the bottom. These are people and/or characters that are closely related to the identity you're viewing. So, of course, Shakespeare is related to Bacon. Click on the link to Shakespeare's page, and you'll see a list of related identities. Now... only the top 10 Identities get shown. So I tend to start working on my own at this point.
You can go to a main search page for all Identities here. And I know that Shakespeare wrote about the historical character Cleopatra, so let's see what her Identities page looks like. Interesting... Elizabeth Taylor! So Liz has a Francis Bacon Number of "3." (Taylor to Cleopatra to Shakespeare to Bacon).
Being able to connect millions of authors, characters and groups (like the Beatles) through their links into library materials is a different and (for me) fun way to explore subjects I'm interested in. | <urn:uuid:1502ba25-d9f4-4b4c-865c-7dbcd61b6d08> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://worldcat.org/blogs/archives/worldcat-features-1/2008/03/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958536 | 892 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Maine's seafood catch may be at a seven-year high -- in large part due to record numbers of lobster -- but it doesn't mean prices are down.
Spiros Tourkakis, East Coast Seafood executive vice-president and co-owner, told IntraFish the reason for the unusually high abundance of lobster is twofold: conservation measures for tossing smaller lobsters back into the ocean have increased, while lobster predators have left the waters.
"The fishermen are telling me they're finding a lot of lobsters that they have to put back," he said, adding that many fishermen are seeing lobsters that do not meet the 3.25-inch minimum body size the state of Maine requires. "In addition, a lot of the predators of the lobsters have been overfished, particularly in the North Atlantic -- cod, pollock, haddock."
Whatever the cause, Tourkakis said despite a 2011 total Maine lobster catch that was three times as much as 20 years ago, prices "are actually 10 percent higher than last year."
East Coast Seafood is paying about $5.50 (€4.13) per pound for lobster, which he said is on the higher end of the normal scale.
The higher raw material costs, of course, are passed on to retailers and restaurants, Jeremy McLachlan told IntraFish.
McLachlan, the corporate chef for the successful trio of Salty's restaurants in the Pacific Northwest, said the price of lobster has skyrocketed.
"Lobster is one of those things we love to have on our menu but the pricing has gone up significantly," he said.
McLachlan is now charging about $40 (€30) per pound at his restaurants, which he admits is "on the high end" of his usual price scale. To combat the high prices, Salty's also features Maine lobster tail, which is a 5-to 7-ounce tail for around $30 (€22.5).
"This is a frozen product, so the price doesn't fluctuate as much," McLachlan said.
The chef said his team has also started "pressurizing" the lobster claw and arms and "using the meat in a lot of our lobster salads that we do."
Tourkakis, too, has seen much of the lobster go into the "processing sector."
"A lot of the product has to go into tails or to lobster meat," he said. "There are lobster promotions or they go into processing. Unfortunately, you cannot always pay so much." | <urn:uuid:9c0e21aa-c792-4e26-9556-e59143af33f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vietfish.org/20120305103628403p49c82/buyers-lobster-still-expensive-despite-abundance.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974486 | 530 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Installing a new distro in place can be done, but is very challenging. It's something that you almost certainly will NOT get right the first time. In fact, you'll be luck if you get it right the third or fourth time.
Additionally, nobody here is going to be able to give you a laundry list that you can just follow and this will happen. You're going to have to experiment with different alternatives, depending on your exact disc partition and file-system layout, hardware configuration, etc.
That said, here's how I'd go about doing something like that if I had to:
- Get a machine configured as similarly as possible to the existing machine: hard drives, network cards, disc adapters, RAM, you name it.
- Set up this machine to mimic the current setup on that host.
- Experiment with doing what you need to do on this test system.
- Take copious notes on it so that you can reproduce it on the "live" system.
- Run through these notes again on the test system before you do the final migration.
Some techniques that may be able to help you:
- Decide if you want to install to a new partition, or try to install over the existing file-system. If you do a new partition, you can always back out by booting the old partition. However, that probably means you need to shrink the current file-system, which has to be done offline. I wrote up some notes back in 2007 when I did this.
- You may be able to do an install to a small partition on your test machine, and then make appropriate changes such as the IP addresses and "dd" this file-system image off to use to populate the base install on the new partition. This would only be if you were using a separate partition for the new install.
- You could instead put the root file-system in place in a sub-directory and then do something in the initrd so that it would: "cd /target; mv * oldroot; mv oldroot/newos/* ." to move all the old directories out of place and put the new ones in place. This would have to be done before the initrd does it's "pivotroot", probably right after it mounts the file-system.
- Adding some code into the initrd scripts can allow you to do all sorts of wonderful things during the system boot. See the blog post I references above for more details.
- Expect that you're going to fail at this. It's an extremely risky endeavor. When I did my file-system resize (mentioned above), I was shocked when it rebooted properly.
- You'll have to decide what you want to do about the boot sectors, is it running LILO or GRUB? Do you want to try to stay with the current boot loader, or switch to 10.04's? Probably the ideal thing would be to use the existing loader to get booted into the new OS, then run "grub-install" from that OS to put the new one in place.
Good luck! You'll need it. :-) | <urn:uuid:748aff2f-d79d-45e9-a4da-79892f77bf42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://serverfault.com/questions/208128/how-to-remotely-install-linux-via-ssh | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948422 | 648 | 2.265625 | 2 |
The Viennese musician Karl Kohaut was not only a great lutenist and string player who performed with Haydn and the young Mozart, but also a composer in his own right. The pieces on this new CD, which were written during the time of transition between the baroque and classical periods, are here performed by a group which specialises in music from this age, Ars Antiqua Austria. The disc also includes a trio by Haydn that Kohaut would himself have performed.
Karl Kohaut lived in the time of Mozart and Haydn, and is considered to be the last great Viennese lutenist. He was however also a remarkable composer in the style of the transitional phase between baroque and classical, and wrote pieces for all the different string instruments, including the double bass, an instrument widely played at musical occasions in Viennese cultural circles. One of these took place at the salon of Baron Gottfried von Swieten on Sundays between 12 noon and 2 pm was regularly attended by Kohaut, and often included the likes of Albrechtsberger, Wagenseil, Haydn and, later, Mozart. Ars Antiqua Austria was founded in Linz in 1995 with the aim of introducing audiences to the roots of specifically Austrian baroque music played on period instruments. The core of Ars Antiqua Austria comprises 8 musicians and it is directed by Gunar Letzbor. The ensemble is readily augmented to accommodate a still wider repertoire. | <urn:uuid:38dbf4ff-768e-42e0-a3f2-a0be411595f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/c/Kohaut/all/1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985496 | 301 | 1.78125 | 2 |
with, this sudden development has brought our world crashing down.
What I am today, in terms of recognition and fame, is not because I am a class wrestler, but because I was able to win an Olympic medal for the country. So, you can judge what wrestling will be without the Olympics.
When I started out, the mindset of pursuers of the sport was limited to participating in the Olympics and they were happy to be known as Olympians. Now, even a first-timer eyes an Olympic medal, that too gold.
Looking the way our standards are improving, I can guarantee that in coming times an Indian will be the favourite to win a medal in the Quadrennial Games.
If the sport makes an exit from the 2020 Olympics, I wish it doesn't happen, Indian wrestling will be among the worst affected. Without bigger targets to achieve, standards will come down.
Olympic medallists are larger-than-life figures in India, and as a sportsperson, winning an Olympic medal is the ultimate dream we cherish.
Before the Beijing triumph I never knew how big an achievement this is for Indians. I never expected the welcome after landing at the Indira Gandhi Airport.
At that time, I realised that I had not only made the wrestling fraternity proud, the medal had also instilled a sense of achievement in a billion Indians.
Now, countrymen expect nothing less than an Olympic medal, and because of this change in trend we were able to win six medals at the London Olympics.
In 2016, it will be better than London and if wrestling is there in 2020, we will have an extraordinary haul. Wrestling has always been an Olympic sport and is popular the world over.
People think there isn't enough money involved, but in America, even junior wrestlers have several sponsors. Universities there bear training costs and grapplers have good living standards.
In India, the status of a wrestler is like an open book. I can't think of a reason why the IOC has dropped it from the Olympic programme.
If by chance the sport has not been meeting the standards set by the IOC, why should wrestlers, especially Indians, be made to suffer.
I hope this development is like a bad dream and the young crop can keep dreaming of Olympic glory. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope September will bring good news.
The writer is the only Indian to win two Olympic medals in individual events | <urn:uuid:386eb9e7-492f-43cc-b2d8-b9102b7ab7a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hindustantimes.com/sports-news/OtherSports/Standards-will-surely-nosedive/Article1-1011380.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968233 | 497 | 1.8125 | 2 |
I’m giving you one of those warnings like you see on television from time to time. This blog post may contain information that you find disturbing. At the very first sign of a queasy stomach, turn away and click to another website. This blog deals with a time in history when people observed different customs regarding death—customs most of us today find somewhat bizarre. In earlier times the practices were considered completely normal. And just so you don’t worry about me spending too much time seeking out customs on death, I can’t take credit for the information. Writer-friend Nancy Moser blogged on this topic a few days ago, and I was fascinated by some of the information, so I asked if I could “borrow” from her. She graciously agreed, andI’ve plagiarized a great deal of this from Nancy’s blog. So here we go:
I’m going to share one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever encountered in my research: family portraits that include a dead relative. At first this didn’t surprise me. In their sorrow, the families surely wanted an image of the lost loved one—case in point this poignant photo of a grieving couple and their dead child from the mid-1800’s.
But what did disturb me was finding out that often the photos were taken as if the dead were still alive. They would paint eyes on the eyelids, and even add pink to their cheeks on the print as in the photo of the little boy in the rocking chair.
Even more disturbing was the custom of propping the deceased up beside their living relatives. There was even a special stand created for this purpose.
The girl in the photo at left is deceased. Eyes have been painted on, but you can see the odd placement of the hands, and you can see the stand behind her feet. While I understand that having images of their relatives might have given the families comfort, propping them up seems to reveal a type of desperation. Still, grief confronts everyone in a different manner, and we have no way to know the sad stories behind the often untimely deaths of these loved ones.
If you have a desire to explore a little further at your own discretion, there is a website that offers even more of these pictures at, Victorian Post Mortem Photos.
For those of you who continued reading, I hope you found the information a fascinating piece of history.
May you find joy as you find peace and joy in all circumstances. ~Judy | <urn:uuid:a1d758ca-6fb6-420b-a313-2330bfd4b96b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://writespassage.blogspot.com/2011/11/warning-warning.html?showComment=1320865001382 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971116 | 525 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Info on selected title
The sinking of the laconia and the u-boat war
Disaster in the Mid-Atlantic
By Duffy, James P.
Duffy discusses in rich detail the dire and dramatic true story of the sinking of the British Liner Laconia by the dreaded U-Boat 156, a vessel crowded with 1800 Italian POWs, 103 Polish soldiers, and 463 officers and crew. As Laconia went down, U-156 surfaced and sent a signal that brought two other U-boats, an Italian submarine, and three Vichy French warships to assist with rescue operations. But on the morning of September 16, a U.S. bomber flew over U-156, now packed with several hundred Laconia survivors. The crew unfurled a large Red Cross flag. Nevertheless, the submarine was attacked. The Laconia survivors were ordered over the side into lifeboats. Damaged, U-156 left the area as other U-boats commenced rescue operations.
In the wake of the incident, German Admiral Karl Donitz issued the Laconia Order demanding that all attempts to rescue Allied survivors of merchant ships be ended. The order provoked an international outcry against inhumane treatment of survivors stranded at sea. In the aftermath of the war, Donitz was charged and acquitted of war crimes in connection with this order.
The following pages link to this title
U-boats of WWII. U-156 (156)
U-boats of WWII. U-506 (506)
U-boats of WWII. U-507 (507)
U-boat Commanders of WWII. Hartenstein (420)
U-boat Commanders of WWII. Schacht (1057)
U-boat Commanders of WWII. Würdemann (1380) | <urn:uuid:a2ed9c2a-d0a4-473c-9da6-3d62c46e6922> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uboat.net/books/item/2351 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930282 | 371 | 3.046875 | 3 |
On Tuesday, February 12th, our group's first full day in Delhi (and the 20th birthday of both Hannah and Liz!), we visited the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum, 1 Safardung Road. The museum was created in the prime minister's former residence.
At the gate, we were greeted like rock stars as a group of school children rushed towards us in a stampede, screaming and waving. A bizarre experience, but not the last time we would gain fans and paparazzi for simply being Westerners in India. After getting over the surprise of our newly realized stardom, we entered Indira Gandhi’s house and began to trace her life's steps.
The walls of the first room were covered with clippings from old newspapers featuring Indira Gandhi in their headlines. The newspaper clippings tracked her extensive political career and were featured in dailies from around the world, including the New York Times, La Republica, the Pakistani Times, and the Indian Herald. The house was indeed part museum and part memorial. In addition to the many achievements announced from the newspapers, there were photographs and other mementos woven throughout the displays. The family photographs ranged from her childhood, including a photo of a pre-teen Indira pictured with a smiling Mahatma Gandhi, all the way to her later years, where she is shown enjoying time with her grandchildren.
Indira Gandhi was the only woman to ever hold the office of India's Prime Minister. She served from 1966 to 1977, and then again in 1980 until her death in 1984. Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the country's first Prime Minister after India's independence in.
Indira Gandhi has become a national symbol in India. Libraries, schools, airports, and other buildings across India have been named in her honor. The images, objects and articles that cover the walls of the museum chronicle her bold policies, often labeled as socialist. Her time in office was dedicated to ending the widespread poverty in India. Under her administration, India implemented controversial policies--nationalizing its banks and many of its industries, as well as creating a system to abstain from depending on foreign aid to feed its people. It was during Indira Gandhi’s time in office that India underwent its Green Revolution, an attempt to end hunger by developing new agricultural practices.
Another room showcases the many gifts and awards she received from the international community. This extensive collection includes an item from nearly every corner of the world: a trophy from the U.S., a crystal bowl from Poland, a beautiful vase from Russia, a porcelain tea set from China, a hand-carved box from Egypt. Featured on the walls of this room, Indira Gandhi was shown shaking hands with many world figures and leaders, from Kennedy to Castro. Her work towards poverty reduction was widely recognized and applauded.
As our group continued through the museum, we gained further insight to her personal life. The museum had kept a few rooms in perfect condition, untouched through time. Her study was most impressive. It was a large room with a full wall of books and art displayed around the room. Her desk was a sturdy mass of wood, perfectly tidy with a place for everything, ready to be made messy with work. Throughout the room there were many comfortable chairs; it was easy to imagine welcomed guests sitting in them to join her for discussion or debate.
One display encases the sari she was wearing when she was assassinated, perfectly preserved and complete with bullets holes in the fabric; her shoes and bag sit next to it, empty. A photo is displayed on the wall directly across from her clothes. It is a black and white shot of her funeral procession through the streets of Delhi, and it would appear that all of India was in attendance. The image captures the mob of people that surrounded the car carrying her remains, mourning collectively.
In another room, hanging behind a glass case, are the tattered cloth shirt and worn sneakers that belonged to Indira's son, Rajiv Gandhi. He was wearing them on the day he was killed by a suicide bomber. The next few rooms of the museum were dedicated to him.
Rajiv Gandhi followed in his mother's footsteps as a politician, and unfortunately he met his end in a similar fate. The exhibit gave a brief timeline of his life. He was the nation's sixth prime minister. Much of the photographs that spanned across the walls pictured Rajiv with his family, standing among enthusiastic crowds of people.
As we exited the museum we walked a path parallel to the path Indira Gandhi walked as she took her final steps. On October 31, 1984, she was assassinated by her security guards. The men responsible for her murder were militant Sikhs, a splinter group she enraged when she suppressed their attempt to create a separatist state. At the end of the path stands a plaque engraved with words she had written the day before her death, "If I die a violent death, as some fear and a few are plotting, I know that the violence will be in the thought and action of the assassins, not in my dying." | <urn:uuid:0ed3fb9b-3185-4a84-b391-f17ef843bfa7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://communityvoices.post-gazette.com/news/pittmap-around-the-world-in-120-days/item/35955-indira-gandhi-museum | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984557 | 1,048 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Grapefruit (also called pomelo) is a citrus tree native to the West Indies and naturalized in tropical regions throughout the world. Growing to approximately six meters in height, grapefruit trees have dense, dark green foliage and large white flowers, which eventually produce a round yellow fruit. The interior of the fruit is divided into individual sections filled with juicy pulp (which may vary in color from light yellow to pink or red) and several white, ovate seeds.
Believed to have originated in Jamaica, grapefruit was well established throughout the West Indies by the time it was discovered by Europeans in the 17th century. While the fruit has been a popular food for centuries, in the last two decades, extracts from grapefruit seeds have also gained popularity for their purported health supporting value.
Synthesized from the pulp and seeds of grapefruit, grapefruit seed extract is known chemically as diphenol hydroxybenzene complex. Extracts sold commercially are usually composed of 60 percent extract combined with 40 percent vegetable glycerine to reduce bitterness and decrease the likelihood of irritation to the skin or mucous membranes.
Recommended dosages for grapefruit seed extract vary with the potency of different preparations. A common recommendation is 500 mg of 4:1 extract, twice daily. It appears to be safe at this dosage level. Some individuals find the extract's acidity too difficult to tolerate. Reported side effects include stomach upset and skin irritation. | <urn:uuid:c573b6f2-6393-4631-8723-8a83b4a1daf3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.swansonvitamins.com/health-library/encyclopedia/herbs/grapefruit-seed.html | 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 | 0.96153 | 293 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Back in 2005 a group were attempting a world record in domino tipping when a house sparrow joined the crew – landed on one of the domino bricks and knocked over some 23,000 dominos. If the group had not set up safety gaps in the domino chain the sparrow could have knocked over all 4million and set his very own world record.
The unfortunate sparrow, part of a protected species, was hunted down and shot dead before it could do any more damage. He was just one bird.
Shortly after news broke, thousands of people came together in protest and over 24,000 people left tributes on a website that was set up for the ‘domino sparrow’. An animal protection organization took the exterminator to court for shooting and killing a protected species. They won the case.
It seems the death of this lone little sparrow triggered more than one domino effect. He won the hearts of thousands and gave some much-needed publicity to the cause of this beautiful but underrated bird that is facing such extreme population decline. | <urn:uuid:0b411911-a042-466e-9eac-4dde0994068e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mossandmouse.com/1/category/birds/1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975606 | 217 | 2.375 | 2 |
This morning the government of Thailand began forcibly deporting thousands of Hmong asylum seekers to Laos from a refugee camp in the Phetchebun province. Many in the international community, including the United States, have asked for the repatriation to cease as it is feared that the Hmong people would face persecution in Laos due to their support for the U.S. during the Vietnam War.
After the Vietnam War, approximately 150,000 Hmong immigrated to the U.S., with many settling in Minnesota.
For more info on the current repatriation of the Hmong to Laos, you can check out the New York Times. If you would like to learn more about the Hmong people, see Paul Hillmer’s new book A People’s History of the Hmong. | <urn:uuid:84199d1f-600a-463b-827a-1d631d78252b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://discussions.mnhs.org/10000books/2009/12/28/thailand-deporting-hmong-to-laos/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963207 | 163 | 2.34375 | 2 |
September 26th, 2012 by Tyler Pringle
Beginning golfers seem to love the saying, “Grip it and rip it,” when they approach a golf shot. Many get the “rip it” part down fairly quickly; but the “grip it” part, well, that can take some figuring out. What many novice players fail to realize is that the grip is one of the most fundamentally important aspects to the game and to creating solid contact. Applying the correct grip will result in better golf shots and an increased confidence when addressing the ball.
After selecting what club you want to hit, it’s time to employ one of the three common grips in golf, which are overlapping, interlocking, and the baseball grip. You should choose the one that is most comfortable for you, but also the one that is the most effective for your game. Each grip starts the same way, but the difference is in the finger placement around the back of the club. Here is a breakdown of each grip:
1. Overlapping Grip
The overlapping grip is the most common of the three grips. As with any proper grip, it starts by lying the club handle diagonally across the palm of the left hand (if you are right-handed). Then you place your right hand lower down the club and wrap the fingers around the back. This is where the pinky finger on your right hand will overlap, or stack on top of, the index finger of your left hand. This technique creates a solid seal that ensures the club won’t move in your hands as you take it into the backswing, which in turn creates better ball-striking because the club head will be square at impact every time. Even if the grip feels comfortable at first, be sure to waggle the club back and forth and take some practice swings to test it out before you address the ball.
2. Interlocking Grip
Although slightly less popular than the overlapping, the interlocking grip is another widely accepted grip in golf. It is very similar to the overlapping in many respects, but there is one major difference. Instead of the right pinky overlapping the left index finger, the two actually will hook together. This is another strong grip that doesn’t have to be applied with much force to create a firm hold on the club. Golfers with smaller hands are often advised to use this grip technique to establish control of the club throughout the swing motion. This grip is the most popular among women golfers.
3. Baseball Grip
For players new to the game, this is the go-to grip simply because it doesn’t require any instruction. It is a grip known to most people because it is the same grip used when playing baseball. You simply wrap your right hand around the back of the club just below the left without overlapping or interlocking. This simple style is popular among children and players just starting out who simply want to focus on making contact before learning the advanced mechanics of the golf swing. It can be effective grip for some golfers who prefer the feel of all ten fingers on the back of the club. This is also why the grip is sometimes referred to as the “ten finger grip.”
Make sure to try out each grip to find the one that’s right for you. Hit some practice shots while applying each one and discover your preference; then take it to the course. When you adopt a new grip, it usually takes some getting used to. You might not have success right away, but stick with it. Once you adapt to the grip and get comfortable, you will see your scores drop and your confidence grow. | <urn:uuid:22dadf6e-bc91-4749-b321-860fc1c358f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americangolf.com/blog/golf-tips/get-a-grip/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956794 | 752 | 1.726563 | 2 |
BOOKS NOVEMBER 30, 2012
Viking, 628 pp., $36
KEVIN PHILLIPS, a keen analyst of American politics, is also a historical sociologist in the best sense of the term. The ways in which our society is both constituted and divided, not only in the present but as a consequence of history, have long been his concern. Early in his career, this steered him toward the changing composition of the electorate, and thus toward those elections that reveal significant shifts in the demographic alignments that drive American politics. His insightful debut, The Emerging Republican Majority (1969), analyzed the conservative realignment that increasingly drove Republican politics from the Nixon era to Bush the Younger in just those terms. Whether that era is now ending has become the burning question of the past few weeks—and one might hope that Phillips will return to this subject in his next book.
In 1775, however, Phillips deals with political loyalties more fundamental than the mere matter of party allegiance. His broader purpose is to write a sketch of American nationalism at the revolutionary moment when that concept first cohered. That nationalism is not predicated on the egalitarian ideals of 1776, eternally expressed in the Declaration of Independence: 1775 is manifestly an anti-1776 book. The essential argument of Phillips’s book is that most of the developments that really mattered had already taken place, and that a fixation on Jefferson’s airy platitudes will prevent us from grasping how much had already been accomplished. The more authority we ascribe to the Declaration, Phillips posits, the more difficult it becomes to understand the broader array of factors that united some Americans and divided them from others. But this insistence on the primacy of 1775 as “the pivotal year” creates more problems than it solves.
Casual readers might assume that a book with this title would provide a coherent narrative of what happened in 1775. Such an account might begin with the colonists wondering how the British government was going to respond to the decisions of the First Continental Congress, which met in Philadelphia from early September to late October in 1774 and set the basic premises of American resistance. Such a book would then erupt into dramatic conflict with the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord in mid-April 1775, and perhaps close with Tom Paine drafting Common Sense, which, when it was published on January 9, 1776, finally made independence a subject for open debate. Such an account would also have to spend some time in London, explaining the imperial government’s ill-calculated decision in 1774 to punish and attempt to isolate Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party, and then its willingness to double-down after war broke out in the spring of 1775. But Phillips has no desire to write that kind of straightforward narrative.
Nor does Phillips ever make clear why 1775 was uniquely important, or more important than 1776. Indeed, the assumption underlying the whole book seems somewhat contrived. Historians do not sit around weighing the importance of one year against another, or arguing, as Phillips several times suggests, that 1776 has been wrongly valorized to the detriment of 1775. Our task is to explain why events happened as they did. While chronology is always important, there is no explanatory magic to the calendar. The whole notion becomes more awkward as the book unfolds, not least because Phillips’s working definition of 1775 proves highly elastic. He prefers the idea of a “long 1775,” in the same way that historians write of a long eighteenth century (ending with Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo) or a long nineteenth century (ending with the guns of August 1914).
The long 1775, Phillips concedes, could go as far back as the fall of 1774, when the Continental Congress set the political ultimata from which it never retreated; and it could extend as far as mid-May 1776, when the Second Congress authorized the creation of republican governments across the colonies (thereby calling for an end to royal rule). But if you extend the dates thus far, there is really no reason not to go back, say, to the winter months of 1774, when the British government fatally decided to crack down on Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party. And why not extend the story to early July 1776, when Congress, reacting to resolutions passed by communities across the colonies, had to decide whether the moment for national independence had finally arrived?
But this kind of stretching would commit Phillips to exactly the kind of political story he does not want to tell. He wants to focus on what might be called the structure of the conflict rather than its chronology. He spends the opening two-fifths of his 550-page book exploring the array of social facts and factors that determined the complexity of American politics in the late eighteenth century. Events, as we ordinarily describe them, do not happen here. Instead Phillips sets out to explain how religious, ethnic, geographic, and class-based identities would affect the loyalties of different groups.
In this vein, most of the book, after its long-winded introductory chapters, is devoted largely to explaining how armed conflict escalated after April 1775. Phillips has read pretty deeply in the scholarly literature, and while he has not worked extensively in the vast corpus of primary sources, he conveys a vivid sense of how the conflict developed. He has great insight, for example, into the workings of the safety and inspection committees that made the Association—the framework for commercial resistance created by the First Congress—function smoothly. There is a solid chapter on the doomed American efforts to knock Canada out of the war, others that deal with the volatile situation of the southern colonies, and a keen appreciation of the enormous logistical challenges that both sides faced, as well as the manpower shortage that required the British government to recruit mercenary soldiers from various German states. If these chapters do not justify the broader claim that 1775 has been undeservedly neglected—a claim that any of a number of historians would dismiss—they certainly allow readers to see how independence rested on foundations deeper than Paine’s brilliant rhetoric and Jefferson’s grand propositions.
Underlying Phillips’s emphasis on the structure of the conflict is a deeper skepticism toward the narrative that has dominated historical interpretations of the Revolution for the past half century. That narrative was framed by the two dominant historians of early America: Edmund Morgan in The Stamp Act Crisis (1953) and Bernard Bailyn in The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (1967). Their analyses placed the central constitutional arguments over the sovereign jurisdiction of Parliament and the self-governing autonomy of the colonies at the very heart of the conflict. But the revolution, Phillips argues, was about much more than constitutional ideas and conflicts. He dutifully devotes a chapter to “The Ideologies of Revolution,” but his heart is not in it. He concedes the general importance of these ideas, but he remains skeptical about how much they can really explain. Many historians—Progressive historians such as Carl Becker and Arthur Schlesinger, neo-Progressives such as Merrill Jensen and his students, and neo-neo-Progressives such as Woody Holton—share this skepticism, so this is a defensible position.
Still, one can doubt whether Phillips provides an adequate or persuasive alternate explanation of why the Revolution occurred. The implicit logic of his analysis is to suggest that the Revolution took place because the social, cultural, and economic factors he surveys somehow converged in the mid-1770s to make Americans into revolutionaries. But in nearly six hundred pages Phillips never offers an overt explanation of what the revolutionary dispute with Britain was finally about. The reasons why a crisis erupted in 1774 and spun out of control in 1775 are essentially neglected.
The central cause of the revolution—and I use the term “cause” forthrightly here—was the existence of two rival views of the authority of Parliament over colonial affairs. From the perspective of the British “political nation,” Parliament possessed the authority to regulate colonial affairs “in all cases whatsoever”—a claim first asserted as a theoretical statement in the Declaratory Act of 1766, and then acted upon with the Coercive or Intolerable Acts of 1774. From the vantage point of dominant interests in every colony, this claim could not surmount the American insistence that the colonists could be governed only by laws framed by their own representative assemblies—with an exception perhaps being made for the Navigation Acts, which loosely regulated imperial commerce. These claims were equally well grounded in the norms, traditions, and practices of both countries, and both were wholly persuasive to the dominant interests in their societies. Once the First Continental Congress defined the American position in 1774, and Britain doubled down on its position in the winter of 1775, revolution was inevitable.
How different groups of Americans got caught up in the resulting crisis, and what they individually hoped to accomplish through revolution, is thus a different question from the one that Phillips pursues. The revolution did not happen as the multiplicand of all the factors that fascinate Phillips, nor did Americans ever aggravate their local concerns into a compound platform of grievances that collectively justified independence. With his keen eye for the structure of society and politics, Phillips has a lot to say about the multiple concerns that were at play in late-eighteenth-century America. But these concerns, taken individually or collectively, cannot explain why the Revolution was destined to occur—in 1774, 1775, or 1776.
Jack Rakove is completing a book on A Politician Thinking: The Creative Mind of James Madison. | <urn:uuid:07cb4c4a-02e9-47fb-83e3-9da011e42b00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newrepublic.com/book/review/1775-american-revolution-kevin-phillips | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95941 | 1,971 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Coffee Can Painting With Golf Balls
You will need:
Clean coffee cans with lids (or other similar containers)
Paper that fits inside the can
Insert the paper into the can so that it presses against the sides. Have the preschoolers spoon the paint-loaded golf balls into the can. Secure the lid.
Find a friend and roll the can back and forth!
(This is a great friendship activity!)
Remove the lid and pull the paper out of the can.
This was done with our 2 year olds, but we've found all preschool ages to enjoy this activity! | <urn:uuid:372a7f27-4d1b-4cc9-88fd-63beea544dc3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://teaching2and3yearolds.blogspot.com/2011/01/painting-with-golf-balls-in-coffee-cans.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900814 | 123 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Natarajan Visvanathan (1932 - 2001)
Natarajan Visvanathan died on Friday the 3rd of August 2001.
Known to his astronomical colleagues simply as 'Vis', Natarajan Visvanathan enjoyed their deep affection and esteem throughout his full and productive career. He was born on 23 February 1932 in Sankarankoil, Madras, India. His father, Natarajan Iyer was a criminal lawyer while his mother, Gangai Ammal was a housewife. In the year prior to Vis’s birth, his parents lost seven of his older siblings in a cholera epidemic. Vis was a precocious student and excelled in mathematics and Carnatic music. After completing a BSc in 1952 at Madras University in Thiruchi, he took some additional meteorological training and then joined the staff of the Kodaikanal observatory where he worked as a research assistant to Vainu Bappu.
Vis's association with Mount Stromlo spanned two phases—first as a graduate student in the early 1960s, and later as a staff member until his retirement in 1997. Recruited by Stromlo’s Director, Bart Bok, Vis first came to Mount Stromlo to undertake his PhD studies in 1962. Bok had a passion for working with students, and an urgent desire to establish a world-class graduate school at Stromlo. Right from the start, Bok wanted his program to be international in composition and ethos, so he contacted colleagues around the world persuading them to act as his recruiting agents. Bappu, a former student of Bok's at Harvard, recommended Vis to Bok as a young scientist of the caliber he was seeking. Vis was among the first dozen students whom Bok appointed.
Vis chose as his area of thesis research the technically demanding field of polarimetry. This involves using special filters at the telescope to investigate how the light from individual stars has been affected by the presence of magnetic fields and dust particles on its long journey through space. In 1965 Vis submitted a thesis entitled “Polarization in the Galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud,” and graduated with his PhD in May of the following year.
In 1966, Vis went to Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories in California as a Carnegie Fellow. With his experience in polarimetry, he used the large telescopes there to make polarization observations of radio galaxies. He showed for the first time that the optical light from some of these objects does not come from stars; it is primarily synchrotron radiation emitted by electrons moving in a magnetic field.
While in California, Vis began a long and productive collaboration with Allan Sandage. Together they did a memorable polarization study of the filaments in the starbursting galaxy M82. They showed that the light of these filaments is polarized because it comes from the hidden inner regions and is scattered by dust. This was a novel and influential idea. From 1968 to 1972, Vis was a Research Associate and Lecturer at Harvard, returning to the Hale Observatories and California Institute of Technology as a Visiting Associate from 1972 to 1975.
In 1975, Vis returned to the Mount Stromlo as a staff member. The observatory became his career home for the rest of his working life. Here his interests moved to galaxy photometry, the field that made him famous. The colors of galaxies depend on how bright the galaxies are: very bright galaxies are systematically redder, because their stars have different chemical properties from those in the fainter galaxies. This is called the color-luminosity (C-L) relation for galaxies. It seems to be a universal relation, the same everywhere in the nearby universe. Vis developed the techniques to measure the C-L relation precisely, and acquired his well-deserved reputation as one of the few people in the world who could do precise and reliable photometry of galaxies.
The high point of Vis's work on galaxy colors came in a series of very influential papers with Sandage in the late 1970s, on the C-L relation for elliptical and S0 galaxies. These papers are still much cited, with more than 200 references for each paper in the series. One can use the C-L relation to measure the distances to galaxies, and in this way to estimate the elusive Hubble constant that, in turn, tells us how fast the Universe is expanding, thus yielding an estimate for its age. In the late 1970s, there was considerable controversy about the value of the Hubble constant. It was a stormy time in extragalactic astronomy. Vis used his observations to derive a value that disagreed with the value favored by most other workers at the time. He had the courage to stand by what his data were telling him. Now, twenty years later, we think we know the true value of Hubble's constant, and it turns out that the result that Vis obtained was very close to the current estimate.
Although Vis will be remembered particularly for his work on galaxy photometry, he had other research interests, deriving from his photometric skills. Two stand out:
- With Don Mathewson and Vince Ford, Vis made an exciting study of the Small Magellanic Cloud, which showed that it is being ripped apart by its interaction with the neighboring Large Cloud
- Vis had a long interest in a kind of magnetized variable star called AM Herculis objects—these show some dramatic changes that can be studied well with the photometric techniques that Vis was expert in. With Dayal Wickramasinghe and others, Vis published several papers about these stars.
Vis was an enthusiastic researcher and passed his enthusiasm on to his PhD students - David Griersmith, Andrew Pickles, Glen Mackie, and Anya Schroeder. We shall miss Vis, and we shall remember him.
In 1961, Vis married Gomathi and the couple had one son, Kumar, and two daughters, Kala and Sudha. All three children obtained graduate degrees and are practicing in various biological or medical fields. We sympathize with his family in their sad loss when Vis died suddenly, while swimming at Stradbroke Island on 3 August 2001. | <urn:uuid:fabdec89-624a-4564-a703-51c5de9765a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://aas.org/obituaries/natarajan-visvanathan-1932-2001?page=1&qt-obituary_sort=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980751 | 1,268 | 1.75 | 2 |
CUT IT OUT: Thousands of Europeans went on strike or snarled the streets of several capitals Wednesday, at times clashing with riot police, as they demanded that governments stop cutting benefits and create more jobs.
DO OR DIE: To combat a three-year financial crisis over too much debt, governments across Europe have had to cut spending, pensions, benefits and raise taxes.
END OF AN ERA? Europe has a long history of union action. Workers' rights and benefits have been one of the cornerstones of its welfare states, with guaranteed medical care, generous unemployment benefits and often comfortable pensions. | <urn:uuid:f2318b98-f1ea-4a29-af88-c5b4b7d96f01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://townhall.com/news/business/2012/11/14/news_summary_austerity_protests_stall_europe/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963238 | 123 | 1.703125 | 2 |
K-12 Professional Development For Teachers
Professional development for teachers is designed for K-12 teachers with the purpose of staff development, enhancing teachers' skills, staying up-to-date with current topics in the K-12 education system, for pay scale increases, and for license renewal. Other professions that involve working with children may also find these teacher training classes useful.
Professional development for teachers may be listed with either the 600 or 792 class designation and are offered in a variety of formats. A bachelor's degree is required to be eligible to take these classes. A maximum of 15 credits per semester (Fall & Spring) & 12 credits (Summer Semester) is allowed. In some instances, students can have up to one calendar year to complete a professional development class; however, we suggest you make every effort to complete them in the semester you registered.
A $20 processing fee will be assessed per person for cancellations received after the start of the class. Some classes require the purchase of textbooks in addition to the cost of the class. Professional development classes are posted to your official NDSU transcript.
Teachers should verify with their school district, certification board, licensing board, or graduate program advisor to ensure these classes will meet their individual needs prior to registering.
Course Designations for Professional Development for Teachers
The 600 class designation is reserved for graduate-level professional development for teachers and is designed to help teachers stay current in their fields, meet their recertification needs, and salary advancement goals. Classes with the 600 designation do not require admission to the NDSU Graduate School, and consequently, are not eligible for use on graduate programs of study. A bachelor's degree is a prerequisite for registration. Registration is not complete until payment has been received. Teachers should verify with their certification/licensing boards to ensure professional development courses will meet their individual staff development needs prior to registering.
The 792 class designation at NDSU is for graduate-level courses and requires admission to the NDSU Graduate School. (Note: a $35.00 application fee may apply) These classes are degree eligible and may be eligible for use on a graduate program of study. Up to ten credits as a non-degree seeking student may be used on a plan of study at NDSU with the approval of the supervisory committee, the program administrator, and the graduate dean.
Class Formats for Professional Development for Teachers
Web-based teacher training classes may use a learning management system called Blackboard (some classes may use Moodle) to post a syllabus, materials, assignments, and communication from instructors. Users do all work online and then submit assignments digitally in a digital dropbox.
Print-based teacher training classes have a printed packet that includes a syllabus, materials, assignments, and communication from instructors. Packets are generally mailed to you upon registration. A few print-based classes have materials available at the NDSU Bookstore.
CD ROM Classes
These teacher training classes are set up much like a book on CD-Rom, with chapters and multiple choice exams. Once registered, VESi will mail you the software for the class.
These teacher training classes are in a DVD format. All materials are shipped directly to your home address.
These teaching training classes are offered in a regular classroom setting. They may be offered for regional K-12 teachers or for specific school districts and their staff development requirements. School districts nationwide may request approval from NDSU Distance and Continuing Education for a face-to-face class they want to offer to their teachers for staff development purposes. | <urn:uuid:64e05055-4d98-4a8f-bbda-3bd629aa26c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ndsu.edu/dce/k-12/k-12/contact_pharm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942592 | 730 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The company’s name represents its goal to protect the nation’s citizens and troops from chemical and biological warfare, just as the goddess Athena was believed to protect ancient soldiers marching into battle. PharmAthene’s pipeline reflects this mission.
In 2001, anthrax spores sent through the mail infected 11 victims, and five of them died, even after aggressive antibiotic therapy. This bioterrorism incident underscored the need for improved vaccines and antitoxins to protect the nation.
PharmAthene’s SparVax™ is a second-generation recombinant vaccine that will require just three doses given a few weeks apart, says Richman. Completed Phase I and II trials involving about 770 people have shown that SparVax is well tolerated and induces an immune response in humans, he adds. SparVax also protects rabbits and monkeys against a lethal aerosol dose of anthrax spores.
“SparVax is intended as a vaccine to protect people before exposure to anthrax or as a treatment combined with antibiotics after exposure,” notes Wright. He predicts that SparVax will begin to reach government stockpiles within the next several years.
PharmAthene is also working on a third-generation recombinant protective antigen anthrax vaccine. Although the third-generation vaccine will be as effective as SparVax, it will achieve immunity with fewer injections, and it will remain stable for three years at room temperature. This will allow the anthrax vaccine to be stored, transported, and used without the need for refrigeration.
Another anthrax-based product is Valortim®, a fully human monoclonal antibody antitoxin designed to protect cells from damage by anthrax toxins. In preclinical studies, Valortim both protects against infection, and when given some time after anthrax exposure, it induces recovery and survival in animals exposed to 100 times the lethal dose of inhalation anthrax spores, explains Wright. “Valortim will be administered to people with a severe anthrax infection, which occurs as the lethal toxin rapidly multiplies in the body,” he adds. The FDA has granted Valortim Fast Track and Orphan Drug status.
Protexia® is a recombinant version of human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) found naturally in minute quantities in blood. BChE acts as a natural bioscavenger to absorb and degrade organophosphate poisons that cause neurological damage. Protexia is being developed as a pre- and post-exposure therapy for military or civilian victims of nerve gas attack such as sarin, soman, or tabun. Phase I studies of Protexia should conclude later this year. The next phase will be taking Protexia through the FDA approval process.
RypVax™, a recombinant plague vaccine, contains two antigens to protect against bubonic plague and inhalation plague. The vaccine is intended for soldiers before deployment. Three Phase I trials show that RypVax is safe and well tolerated, and the vaccine fully protects animals in preclinical studies against a lethal aerosol challenge.
PharmAthene’s business plan is to in-license or acquire promising biodefense candidates that have a strong likelihood of procurement by the government. Many biotechnology companies are working on potential biodefense technologies, but the specific nature of government contracting makes it difficult for them to advance them. According to Wright, “we have the infrastructure to manage government contracts and develop products for the government under their rules.” | <urn:uuid:5c0c4144-1915-44cd-8629-40ac954263e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/pharmathene-secures-biodefense-position/2885/?page=2 | 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 | 0.935552 | 739 | 2.53125 | 3 |
August 1, 2009 in Scholarly
The Open Chemical Physics Journal
- Niels H. Harrit, Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Jeffrey Farrer and Daniel Farnsworth, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University
- Steven E. Jones and Bradley R. Larsen, S&J Scientific Co.
- Kevin R. Ryan, 9/11 Working Group of Bloomington
- Frank M. Legge, Logical Systems Consulting
- Gregg Roberts, Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth
- James R. Gourley, International Center for 9/11 Studies
- 25 pages
- © 2009 Bentham Science Publishers
Abstract: We have discovered distinctive red/gray chips in all the samples we have studied of the dust produced by the destruction of the World Trade Center. Examination of four of these samples, collected from separate sites, is reported in this paper. These red/gray chips show marked similarities in all four samples. One sample was collected by a Manhattan resident about ten minutes after the collapse of the second WTC Tower, two the next day, and a fourth about a week later. The properties of these chips were analyzed using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The red material contains grains approximately 100 nm across which are largely iron oxide, while aluminum is contained in tiny plate-like structures. Separation of components using methyl ethyl ketone demonstrated that elemental aluminum is present. The iron oxide and aluminum are intimately mixed in the red material. When ignited in a DSC device the chips exhibit large but narrow exotherms occurring at approximately 430 °C, far below the normal ignition temperature for conventional thermite. Numerous iron-rich spheres are clearly observed in the residue following the ignition of these peculiar red/gray chips. The red portion of these chips is found to be an unreacted thermitic material and highly energetic.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
1. Provenance of the Samples Analyzed for this Report In a paper presented first online in autumn 2006 regarding anomalies observed in the World Trade Center destruction a general request was issued for samples of the WTC dust. The expectation at that time was that a careful examination of the dust might yield evidence to support the hypothesis that explosive materials other than jet fuel caused the extraordinarily rapid and essentially total destruction of the WTC buildings.
It was learned that a number of people had saved samples of the copious, dense dust, which spread and settled across Manhattan. Several of these people sent portions of their samples to members of this research group. This paper discusses four separate dust samples collected on or shortly after 9/11/2001. Each sample was found to contain red/gray chips. All four samples were originally collected by private citizens who lived in New York City at the time of the tragedy. These citizens came forward and provided samples for analysis in the public interest, allowing study of the 9/11 dust for whatever facts about the day might be learned from the dust. A map showing the locations where the four samples were collected is presented as Fig. (1).
1. Characterization of the Red/Gray Chips Red/gray chips were found in all of the dust samples collected. An analysis of the chips was performed to assess the similarity of the chips and to determine the chemistry and materials that make up the chips. Fig. (2) displays photomicrographs of red/gray chips from each of the four WTC dust. Note the scale marker in each image as they were
acquired at different magnifications. At approximately 2.5 mm in length, the chip in Fig. (2a) was one of the larger chips collected. The mass of this chip was approximately 0.7 mg. All of the chips used in the study had a gray layer and a red layer and were attracted by a magnet. The inset image in Fig. (2d) shows the chip in cross section, which reveals the gray layer. The gray layer is also partially visible in Fig. (2b). Similarities between the samples are already evident from these photographs.
Fig. (3) shows three images for comparison of views ofthe same set of chips using different methods. Fig. (3a) is a VLM photomicrograph of a group of particles, which shows the red material and in some cases the adhering gray material. Fig. (3b, c) are, respectively, a secondary electron (SE) image and a backscattered electron (BSE) image of the same group of particles, using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) without a conductive coating over the sample. It can be seen in the SE image that the red layer of the particles has very bright regions caused by a slight accumulation of charge under the electron beam, owing to the relatively poor conductivity of the red layer (see Discussion section). The BSE image shows the red layer darker than the gray layer, indicating that the red layer is composed of material that has a relatively lower average atomic number than the gray layer.
We measured the resistivity of the red material (with very little gray adhering to one side) using a Fluke 8842A multimeter in order to compare with ordinary paints, using the formula:
Specific resistivity = RA / L where R = resistance (ohms); A = cross-sectional area (m2); L = thickness (m).
Given the small size of the red chip, about 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm, we used two probes and obtained a rough value of approximately 10 ohm-m. This is several orders of magnitude less than paint coatings we found tabulated which are typically over 1010 ohm-m. Another test, described above, involved subjection of red chips to methyl ethyl ketone solvent for tens of hours, with agitation. The red material did swell but did not dissolve, and a hard silicon-rich matrix remained after this procedure. On the other hand, paint samples in the same exposure to MEK solvent became limp and showed significant dissolution, as expected since MEK is a paint solvent. Further, we have shown that the red material contains both elemental aluminum and iron oxide, the ingredients of thermite, in interesting configuration and intimate mixing in the surviving chips (see Results, section 1). The species are small (e.g., the iron oxide grains are roughly 100 nm across) in a matrix including silicon and carbon, suggesting a superthermite composite. Red chips when ignited produce very high temperatures even now, several years after the 9/11 tragedy, as shown by the bright flash observed and the production of molten iron-rich spheres (see photomicrographs in Fig. (20) above). Correspondingly, the DSC tests demonstrate the release of high enthalpy, actually exceeding that of pure thermite. Furthermore, the energy is released over a short period of time, shown by the narrowness of the peak in Fig. (29). The post-DSC-test residue contains microspheres in which the iron exceeds the oxygen content, implying that at least some of the iron oxide has been reduced in the reaction. If a paint were devised that incorporated these very energetic materials, it would be highly dangerous when dry and most unlikely to receive regulatory approval for building use. To merit consideration, any assertion that a prosaic substance such as paint could match the characteristics we have described would have to be accompanied by empirical demonstration using a sample of the proposed material, including SEM/XEDS and DSC analyses. | <urn:uuid:b4f9712a-db41-4b82-b7c5-a963c9cbfd40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://publicintelligence.net/active-thermitic-material-discovered-in-dust-from-the-911-world-trade-center-catastrophe/ | 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 | 0.943584 | 1,567 | 1.96875 | 2 |
An uncommonly thin snowpack that year had been chased by a windy spring that came weeks early, hot and dry. Forest fires and heat waves soon followed. Farm crops withered, suburban laws crinkled and foreheads wrinkled at this long-ignored limit to growth. Water was front-page news.
Dillon Reservoir was the emblem in Colorado for that touchy, grouchy summer. Blue segued to brown, water to mud and then dry sands. Hiking down from timberline that hot afternoon I looked up to see a dust devil spinning through an area once marked by sailboats. It was like hearing a funeral dirge at a wedding.
Climate scientists caution against making too much out of any one year when talking about global warming. Still, in looking ahead at a planet redefined by warmth, the future they describe in Colorado and the Southwest looks and feels very much like 2002.
This is a land where aridity rules. Any map reveals as much. Large expanses of land from Denver to Los Angeles are public lands. Rugged topography and short-growing seasons explain why some of these lands were not homesteaded, but the larger reason is the lack of native moisture.
Oh, there is water, but mostly – about 85 percent in the West – it comes from snow in the high mountains. This snowpack is like a giant reservoir for the farms and cities of Denver, Las Vegas and San Diego. And the focal point for this civilization is the Colorado River and its tributaries.
But, as this drought that has afflicted the region since 1999 has made clear, the Colorado River is a resource badly strained. No extra water made it to the Sea of Cortez even during wet years. Now, water managers are getting a better idea of how much drier this region was for much of the last 1,000 years. This past century was actually unusually wet.
Whether this current drought is a result of a normal climatic fluctuation or is an early signal of global warming really doesn't matter. Either way, a fundamentally new way of looking at the river is taking hold.
The new reality is crystallized in photos of Lake Powell, now sitting only 40 percent full, or the other big storage vessel, Lake Mead, at 54 percent of capacity.
"The Colorado River is the canary in the coal mine for global warming," says Eric Kuhn, general manager of the Glenwood Springs-based Colorado River Water Conservation District. "You have a system where the demand and supply are so close that a small change of 10 percent in the annual flow at Lee's Ferry (in Arizona, the divide between upper and lower basin states) could cause a major disruption. A 10 percent change wouldn't make much difference on the Fraser River in British Columbia or on the Missouri."
Already, water managers are trying to imagine what this disruption would look like. Allocation of the water among the states is governed by the Colorado River Water Compact of 1922. That compact was signed after a period of what was, in retrospect, extraordinary wetness. The river has carried the same volume only occasionally since then.
Even so, there were no major problems except – from the perspective of politicians in Colorado – that California was "stealing" Colorado's unused share of water. The presumption in Colorado was that this water would eventually be used to feed the growing cities along the Front Range and otherwise enable economic development.
That fear is now being turned upside down. Given how little water the river is now carrying each year, arguably the compact governing the river will call upon Colorado and other upper-basin states to allow more water to flow down to California, Nevada and Arizona.
This possibility has the full attention of Glenn Porzak, a Boulder-based water attorney who represents most major water groups and companies in Summit County and the Eagle Valley.
"Regardless of whether it's your normal climatic cycle or the result of global warming, the affect is the same," says Porzak. "One need only look at what is happening at Lake Powell to see that if things continue, we are going to enter an era of Colorado River Compact calls, which heretofore had not occurred, and that will dramatically change the landscape. I really think people need to pay attention."
The link between the current drought and global warming is still unclear, says Brad Udall, managing director of the University of Colorado-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Western Water Assessment. Udall notes new research that shows droughts of the 13th century – about the time the Ancestral Puebloans abandoned Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon – were decades in length.
"There's no way to attribute this drought to climate change," he says.
Still, water managers are increasingly thinking about the specter of global warming. "I think it's in the back of everybody's mind," acknowledges Porzak.
DANGER IN DEGREES
Any way you cut it, global warming will redefine the landscape of Colorado and the Southwest. Hotter is the most fundamental difference. It makes winters shorter and summers longer. During those longer summers, even if precipitation remains the same, warmer temperatures leave forests drier and hence more susceptible to fires.
Precipitation is less clear. But the most important thing to remember is that if temperatures rise, precipitation must also rise – just to stay equal. That's because evapotranspiration – the return to the atmosphere of water through either evaporation or respiration by plants – will reduce precipitation by 8 to 20 percent.
Shorter, warmer winters spell changes. More rain, which drains more rapidly than snow, can be expected. But with shorter winters, spring comes earlier, with runoffs cresting in the rivers not in June, as has been the case, but in May or even April.
Already, anecdotal evidence of such changes is found. Records in Aspen show the frost-free season has expanded about two weeks into spring as compared with a half-century ago. Dillon Reservoir during the last decade has lost its winter ice more rapidly. And peak runoff in the Colorado River below Glenwood Springs is occurring a few days earlier.
On the West Coast, changes have been even more profound in response to the increase of 1.44 degrees Fahrenheit during the last half-century. The peak of the annual runoff in the Sierra Nevadas now comes as much as three weeks earlier than it did in 1948.
"The mountain ranges are essentially draining and drying earlier," said Dan Cayan, a climate researcher with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif.
Recent studies project that the heat will cause smaller snowpacks across the West. Cayan and U.S Geological Survey researcher Noah Knowles concluded that a temperature increase of about four degrees Fahrenheit would reduce the Sierra Nevada snowpack by a third by 2060, primarily at lower elevations, and half it by 2090.
Dams can hold back some of the runoff. They already do. However, in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington, artificial reservoirs store only about 10 percent of the annual flow. California has more storage, but not enough given this drier, hotter future.
Colorado has a different story. It has more dams to hold back the spring snowmelt, and it also has more rain in summer. Still, if global warming causes more rain and less snow, that will make the existing water infrastructure less functional, points out the River District's Kuhn.
The reduced snowpack forecast for the Rocky Mountains is less than on the West Coast, but one study foresees 30 percent less snow. And while the more hurried pace of runoff in Colorado lags that of the West Coast, runoff can be expected to be four weeks earlier within 50 to 90 years, says Kevin Trenberth, who heads the climate change analysis unit at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder.
All of this has water managers thinking more dams for Colorado. "My attitude at this juncture is there is no such thing as too much storage," says Porzak, whose clients include Vail Resorts.
At the River District in Glenwood, Kuhn agrees, but also notes that not all dam sites are equal. At Hoover Dam, Lake Mead loses about one million acre-feet of water each year to evaporation, and Powell loses about half that much. That's more than a quarter of the water in the river in a drought year.
"The question is do we have the storage buckets in the right places," says Kuhn. "My view is that you will see additional storage, but not necessarily large main-stem storage that evaporates."
HOTTER MEANS DRIER
For Gerald Meehl, a senior scientist at Boulder's NCAR, this climate of the future is both professional and personal. He was among the 120 scientists who wrote the 2001 report issued by the International Panel on Climate Change that reported a strong consensus among scientists that the fingerprints of man had become the dominant influence on climate change.
Meehl was reared on a dryland farm near Hudson, about 30 miles northeast of Denver. There, the winter wheat crop depends entirely upon natural precipitation, not irrigation. Even now, wheat farming is a crap shoot, and in the future the odds will worsen.
"The global models for quite a number of years have always projected that there would be a tendency toward drier conditions in the summer in the mid-continental regions, which would include Colorado," he explains. "This is due to warmer temperatures."
In other words, even if thundershowers are as frequent 30 years from now, the soil will be drier because of warmer temperatures. That does not bode well for wheat but also other crops in Colorado.
Of course, that's just the probability. Meehl long ago left the farm, but he still has relatives who till the soil. Like most of us, they are interested less in long-term climate shift than in next year's weather.
"My farmer uncles always make fun of me, because they ask what will happen next winter, and I always will give them a certain range of uncertainty," reports Meehl. "They say – you guys never give a straight answer."
ATTENTION OF FARMERS
But the odds are high enough that climate change has the attention not only of academics and environmentalists, but also more mainstream groups such as the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union.
John Stencel, president of the organization, which includes 23,000 families in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico, says many older members who can remember droughts as far back as the 1930s believe something new and different is now occurring. "They say that weather fluctuations are greater, more severe," he reports.
Are man-caused greenhouse gases to blame? Rank-and-file members are not necessarily persuaded of the connection, but Stencel is. "There has to be something to what a lot of scientists are saying," he says. | <urn:uuid:ada07d89-043a-4950-81d8-829da82215bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.watchnewspapers.com/view/full_story/53174/article-Future-of-Water-in-Colorado-Looks-Much-Like-2002 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965279 | 2,265 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Rather than behaving like a leader and taking full responsibility for his own actions, President Barack Obama blames others. If the problem has been created by Radical Islam, Democrats, or other Socialists, Obama deflects the blame to others. For every problem, and for everything he wants to Socialize, Barack Obama picks a scapegoat, isolates them, and places all blame on them for the problem. Obama’s approach is to create hatred between groups of people, to divide, and to conquer.
President George W. Bush has been Obama’s primary target. Obama blamed President Bush for liberating Iraq from Saddam Hussein, for the luxurious prison accommodations for terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, and for the housing bubble enabled by the Democrats and created by incompetent and corrupt management at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Obama blames Jews and other rich persons for not paying enough taxes as the reason for the trillions of dollars of debt the Obama Administration has created. Obama does not take any blame for wasting taxpayer money on his $1 trillion Stimulus Plan, also known as The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Obama did not accept any blame for the billions of dollars of bad investments our Federal Government made in Solyndra and other failing Green Energy Companies. Obama instead blamed bankers and the rich people on Wall Street.
Health care costs were not the fault of government, according to Obama. He blamed insurance companies and massively cut payments to physicians and hospitals. ObamaCare is simply massive amounts of additional government health care bureaucracy that is despised by a majority of the American people, most of who realize it is unconstitutional. After the Supreme Court heard the case against ObamaCare, Obama singled out the Supreme Court Justices and told them that they must support ObamaCare or the failure of health care would be their fault.
Obama blames Congress for not passing his budgets, for opposing his Cap and Trade tax hoax, for rejecting treaties that would give away our power to the United Nations and our other enemies, for defending traditional marriage and traditional families, for defunding Planned Parenthood, and for opposing Obama’s ongoing efforts to stir up racial and economic envy and hatred.
Oil companies and those who speculate in oil futures are blamed for escalating oil prices. It escapes the understanding of Obama that for every barrel of oil purchased by a speculator there is another speculator who thinks it is time to sell that barrel of oil. The concept of Supply and Demand is also conveniently disregarded by Obama, as it would interfere with Obama’s attempts to produce even less oil.
We need a President who allows the buck to stop on his desk and has the honesty, integrity, and courage to deal with problems as they arise. We hope and pray that such men and women will always exist and will rise up when their leadership is needed.
The return to Free Market Capitalism will be a fresh warm and fragrant breeze across our once and future great land. | <urn:uuid:f7cb55c1-ff52-49c5-ac15-31b88053f2b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/may/2012-04-16/obama-scapegoats-others | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969908 | 589 | 1.546875 | 2 |
"Linux users tend to be more technical, but Linux really doesn't have an install base so infection numbers are eschewed in my opinion."
It doesn't have much of an installation base on desktops / laptops / client systems. It's on at least as many back-end servers as Windows, and likely more. Servers also make tastier targets than clients.
Keep Up with TechRepublic | <urn:uuid:e00bea2c-26f1-47a4-88ad-cb048c04f29c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-393937-3692699 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961871 | 81 | 1.796875 | 2 |
CHICAGO (AP) A new study has found that five times as many high school and college students are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues as youth of the same age who were studied in the Great Depression era.
The findings, culled from responses to a popular psychological questionnaire used as far back as 1938, confirm what counselors on campuses nationwide have long suspected as more students struggle with the stresses of school and life in general.
STRESS: 30% of kids worry about finances
IN THE FAMILY: Depression, anxiety pass from parents to kids
"It's another piece of the puzzle — that yes, this does seem to be a problem, that there are more young people who report anxiety and depression," says Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University psychology professor and the study's lead author. "The next question is: What do we do about it?"
Though the study, released Monday, does not provide a definitive correlation, Twenge and mental health professionals speculate that a popular culture increasingly focused on the external — from wealth to looks and status — has contributed to the uptick in mental health issues.
Pulling together the data for the study was no small task. Led by Twenge, researchers at five universities analyzed the responses of 77,576 high school or college students who, from 1938 through 2007, took the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, or MMPI. The results will be published in a future issue of the Clinical Psychology Review.
Overall, an average of five times as many students in 2007 surpassed thresholds in one or more mental health categories, compared with those who did so in 1938. A few individual categories increased at an even greater rate — with six times as many scoring high in two areas:
• "hypomania," a measure of anxiety and unrealistic optimism (from 5% of students in 1938 to 31% in 2007)
• and depression (from 1% to 6%).
Twenge said the most current numbers may even be low given all the students taking antidepressants and other psychotropic medications, which help alleviate symptoms the survey asks about.
The study also showed increases in "psychopathic deviation," which is loosely related to psychopathic behavior in a much milder form and is defined as having trouble with authority and feeling as though the rules don't apply to you. The percentage of young people who scored high in that category increased from 5% in 1938 to 24% in 2007.
Twenge previously documented the influence of pop culture pressures on young people's mental health in her 2006 book "Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before." Several studies also have captured the growing interest in being rich, with 77% of those questioned for UCLA's 2008 national survey of college freshmen saying it was "essential" or "very important" to be financially well off.
Experts say such high expectations are a recipe for disappointment. Meanwhile, they also note some well-meaning but overprotective parents have left their children with few real-world coping skills, whether that means doing their own budget or confronting professors on their own.
"If you don't have these skills, then it's very normal to become anxious," says Dr. Elizabeth Alderman, an adolescent medicine specialist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City who hopes the new study will be a wake-up call to those parents.
Students themselves point to everything from pressure to succeed — self-imposed and otherwise — to a fast-paced world that's only sped up by the technology they love so much.
Sarah Ann Slater, a 21-year-old junior at the University of Miami, says she feels pressure to be financially successful, even when she doesn't want to.
"The unrealistic feelings that are ingrained in us from a young age — that we need to have massive amounts of money to be considered a success — not only lead us to a higher likelihood of feeling inadequate, anxious or depressed, but also make us think that the only value in getting an education is to make a lot of money, which is the wrong way to look at it," says Slater, an international studies major who plans to go to graduate school overseas.
The study is not without its skeptics, among them Richard Shadick, a psychologist who directs the counseling center at Pace University in New York. He says, for instance, that the sample data weren't necessarily representative of all college students. (Many who answered the MMPI questionnaire were students in introductory psychology courses at four-year institutions.)
Shadick says his own experience leaves little doubt more students are seeking mental health services. But he and others think that may be due in part to heightened awareness of such services. Twenge notes the MMPI isn't given only to those who seek services.
Others, meanwhile, say the research helps advance the conversation with hard numbers.
"It actually provides some support to the observations," says Scott Hunter, director of pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital. Before his current post, Hunter was at the University of Virginia, where his work included counseling a growing number of students with mental health concerns.
While even Twenge concedes more research is needed to pinpoint a cause, Hunter says the study "also helps us understand what some of the reasons behind it might be." He notes Twenge's inclusion of data showing that factors such as materialism among young people have had a similar upswing. She also noted that divorce rates for their parents have gone up, which may lead to less stability.
Amid it all, Hunter says this latest generation has been raised in a "you can do anything atmosphere." And that, he says, "sets up a lot of false expectation" that inevitably leads to distress for some.
It's also meant heartache for parents.
"I don't remember it being this hard," says a mother from northern New Jersey, whose 15-year-old daughter is being treated for depression. She asked not to be identified to respect her daughter's privacy.
"We all wanted to be popular, but there wasn't this emphasis on being perfect and being super skinny," she says. "In addition, it's 'How much do your parents make?'
"I'd like to think that's not relevant, but I can't imagine that doesn't play a role."
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more. | <urn:uuid:db788050-3b45-4c73-a6f1-1b12a92996ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-01-12-students-depression-anxiety_N.htm?csp=34 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972409 | 1,379 | 2.859375 | 3 |
The Oregon Military Department is making a big investment on green energy. The agency is building a million dollar solar instillation east of Christmas Valley. The array is part of the agency’s plan to produce as much energy as it uses.
The Backscatter Radar Site used to consume massive quantities of electricity when the Air Force used it to scan the horizon for incoming targets.
Now the Oregon Military Department wants to use that same infrastructure to send power back to the grid.
The agency helps equip and train the Oregon National Guard.
Stan Hutchison chief of planning and programming for the National Guard. He says the agency is committed to meeting what it calls "net zero for energy" by the year 2020.
"100 percent of the amount of energy that the Oregon National Guard consumes, we would have a like amount in renewable energies," Hutchison said.
The project will use 500 solar panels manufatured in Hillsboro by the company Solar World. It will also use power inverters from PV Powered, based in Bend.
The project is being funded through a grant from the 2009 federal stimulus bill. | <urn:uuid:cc6efd33-0faa-443d-9526-51d5bb5e8afe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.opb.org/news/article/back-scatter-radar-site-be-used-solar-power-installation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934512 | 226 | 2.25 | 2 |
Disseminating accurate and evidence-based information about Autism is key in order to enhance its understanding within society. The recognition of the specific needs of persons with Autistic Spectrum Disorders is essential to foster their inclusion in the community and improve their quality of life.
Autism-Europe is therefore committed to disseminate evidence-based information about Autism to all stakeholders. Many documents of Autism-Europe are also translated in easy-to-read version.
Autism-Europe’s publications include:
- Documents of information about Autistic Spectrum Disorders drafted in cooperation with researchers
- Position papers and reports addressed to European decision-makers and public authorities.
- Toolkits for self-advocates, taking into account the latest legislative developments at EU level.
- Quarterly newsletters about the latest EU developments in the field of disability.
- LINK magazine to share information about important developments at EU and national levels | <urn:uuid:7811d9a5-90b5-47c1-b0fe-433ed98e4aa5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.autismeurope.org/publications/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917285 | 185 | 2.53125 | 3 |
This instructions tell you how to substitute a broken or lost laptop keyboard key. The keys have been provided as a courtesy by ReplacementLaptopKeys. Additionally there are some hints about getting a keyboard key removed, just in case you want to clean the keyboard inside out.
A view of the IBM ThinkPad T30 from the front side before any disassembly.
The laptop case from the bottom, the metallic covers of the compartments for WLAN/BlueTooth miniPCI cards and two RAM slots not yet opened. Note: these covers don't have to be removed to get the keyboard out. There are just two screws, marked with two little arrows in parallel, fixing the keyboard. Before proceed any further don't forget to remove the battery.
RAM and miniPCI compartments opened. The battery has been removed, too. Note, the BIOS battery, wrapped in yellow plastic, is now visible in the battery compartment.
A detailed view into the miniPCI cards (WLAN and BlueTooth) compartment, with the WLAN miniPCI card removed.
The laptop case with the keyboard removed. Fan, CPU, optical disk drive, PCMCIA compartment and parts of the mainboard are visible.
Keyboard Key Exchangement in Detail
The keyboard separated from the laptop case. Note the missing right cursor key in the lower right corner.
A view of all four cursor keys.
The place of the right cursor key with all the parts missing.
These parts have to be put into place (from left to right): laptop key cap
(the piece of plastic which has the letter on it), laptop key retainer clip
(the retainer clip holds the hinge piece to the base of the keyboard), hinge piece
(the hinge piece connects all the parts together), rubber cup
(the piece of rubber or silicone that acts as the spring to rebound the key after you have pressed it).
First: put the new key retainer clip
Second: now fit the rubber cup
in the middle of the key space.
Third: put the hinge piece
Fourth: the new shiny right cursor key cap
can now be set in place finally.
How to Get a Key Out?
In case you need to clean the keyboard in detail or to change the keyboard keys to achieve a different keyboard layout you have to know how to get the keys out. Just push a screw driver behind the key and wiggle it out carefully.
Warning: These free IBM ThinkPad repair instructions are given without any warranty. They don't have to be complete or correct. Don't do any of the above mentioned steps if you're not sure of what you're doing. You could damage the notebook and you WILL lose its warranty. Everything you do will be at your own risk. | <urn:uuid:631dbf0f-0177-48f9-8b08-afc38e69da20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://repair4laptop.org/wiki/IBM_ThinkPad_T30:_Laptop_Keyboard_Key_Replacement_Guide | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91899 | 572 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Tuesday, October 16 2012 - 9/11 Consequences
9/11 pre-trial hearings begin for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others
October 15, 2012
by Karen McVeigh, UK Guardian
Five Guantánamo prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 attacks were back before a military tribunal on Monday for pre-trial hearings after months of delay.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed – the alleged mastermind of 9/11, the worst terrorist attack in US history – and his four co-defendants sat quietly at the defence tables, watched by military guards. Defendant Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi responded to the judge’s questions about his request for additional legal counsel, according to the Associated Press, before the hearing was adjourned.
The calm start to the proceedings was in sharp contrast to the previous hearing in May, which was marred by protests, outbursts and the defendants’ refusal to answer questions from the judge. It lasted 13 hours.
The hearings, in Camp Justice, the war court compound at the US naval base in Cuba, are expected to focus on secrecy and transparency, but will cover a range of issues from whether the prison camps can force the men to attend their own trials to what they can wear in court, the Miami Herald reported.
The hearings are part of the legal proceedings required to move the case to trial, estimated to be at least a year away. They were scheduled for August but delayed by tropical storm Isaac.
Mohammed, a Pakistani citizen from Kuwait, who attended college in North Carolina, has told military officials that he planned the 9/11 attacks “from A to Z” and was involved in about 30 other terrorist plots. He has said, among other things, that he personally beheaded Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. The other defendants in addition to Ahmad al-Hawsawi are Ramzi Binalshibh; Walid bin Attash; and Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali.
All five could face the death penalty if convicted.
The five men were in the custody of the CIA for four years before being brought to the base for detention and trial. One of the key issues at this week’s hearing will be how much the men’s lawyers and the wider world will be allowed to learn about what happened during that time.
The government argues that whatever the men say about their time in the CIA’s secret network of “black sites” is classified at the highest levels.
Prosecutors have asked the judge to approve what is known as a protective order that is intended to prevent the release of classified information during the eventual trial of the five.
Lawyers for the defendants say the proposed rules will adversely affect their defence. The American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed a challenge to the a protective order, says the restrictions will prevent the public from learning what happened to Mohammed and his co-defendants during several years of CIA confinement and interrogation.
The order requires the court to employ a 40-second delay during legal proceedings, so that reporters, who watch behind soundproof glass, can be stopped from hearing details of the CIA’s classified rendition and detention programme from officials, lawyers or the defendants themselves.
Hina Shamsi, an ACLU attorney who will be arguing against the protective order during the pre-trial hearing, said: “What we are challenging is the censorship of the defendants’ testimony based on their personal knowledge of the government’s torture and detention of them.”
The order, which is also being challenged by a coalition of media organizations, is overly broad because it would “classify the defendants own knowledge, thoughts and experience,” she said.
“It’s a truly extraordinary and chilling proposal that the government is asking the court to accept,” Shamsi said.
In court papers, military prosecutors argue that the trial requires additional security because the accused have personal knowledge of classified information such as interrogation techniques and knowledge about which other countries provided assistance in their capture.
“Each of the accused is in the unique position of having had access to classified intelligence sources and methods,” the prosecution says in court papers. “The government, like the defense, must protect that classified information from disclosure.”
Brigadier general Mark Martins, the chief prosecutor for the military commissions, said on Sunday that the security precautions are necessary to prevent the release information that could harm US intelligence operations or personnel around the world, and not to prevent embarrassing the government or to cover up wrongdoing.
“Our government’s sources and methods are not an open book,” Martins told the Associated Press.
Some details of the five defendants’ treatment are public knowledge. The CIA’s declassified documents record Mohammed being waterboarded 186 times.
In May, David Nevin, Mohammed’s defence attorney, told reporters after the 13-hour hearing: “The government wants to kill Mr Mohammed. They want to extinguish the last eyewitness to his torture so that he can never speak about it.”
The May hearings followed a failed attempt to try the five men in Guantánamo in 2008.
Families of 9/11 victims have been invited to watch the pre-trial hearings in military facilities in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland. Seven family members were viewing the Guantánamo proceedings on Monday via closed-circuit television at Fort Hamilton, a base in Brooklyn.
In addition to 9/11 families and first responders, the general public can watch the proceedings at Fort Meade, in Maryland.
SEE ALSO this related letter to the editor published in the UK Guardian on 4 October 2012 ...
My unjust extradition, after eight years in detention without charge
As a British citizen who has lived here since birth, studied, worked full-time and paid taxes, I should face trial here
After fighting a lengthy battle lasting more than eight years, I expect to be extradited to the US imminently. Since my detention without charge began in August 2004, millions of pounds of British taxpayer's money has been spent on keeping me in a high-security prison all these years, on legal costs and parliamentary business. In addition, there have been at least 10 demonstrations attended by hundreds of people, several parliamentary debates and thousands of letters written to MPs, ministers and public officials. As if all this was not enough, last year nearly 150,000 people signed an e-petition to Downing Street calling for me to be put on trial in Britain.
As well as tangible costs, the government has paid a price in outrage, disillusionment with legitimate forms of protest and resentment towards the justice system. This is not to mention the tens of thousands of pounds spent by my family (all British taxpayers) out of their own money supporting me, visiting me in prison and campaigning for me to be tried here in Britain, something they mistakenly thought their taxes had already paid for.
So why has this battle been fought? Why should I be put on trial in Britain? Why have I spent all this time and effort fighting extradition (or "avoiding extradition" as some like to put it)? As a British citizen who has lived since birth in Britain, studied, worked full-time and paid taxes, if I am accused of any offence here in Britain I expect at the very least to face trial here in Britain.
I am not against the concept of extradition; in fact I support it, but only for fugitives. If someone is accused of murder in Texas or robbery in New York, then flees to Britain as a fugitive, of course that person should be extradited to face trial in the land where he allegedly committed the crime. Ministers have frequently defended our extradition arrangements with the US by claiming that the US also extradites people, including its own citizens, to Britain, so it is mutually reciprocal. However, the question to ask is how many people has the US extradited to Britain who are accused of committing offences on American soil? The answer is none, because US authorities considering foreign extradition requests understand very well that extradition should be for fugitives, not resident alleged offenders.
As well as not being anti-extradition, I am not anti-US either. The US is a sovereign nation with a justice system that it can run how it wants. If you disagree with US penal policies, or believe them to be harsh, the answer is simple as we say in prison, "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime." As a British citizen living in Britain during the period of the allegations against me, is it unreasonable to assume that I would have considered myself subject to British law, not US law (or that of any other country)? Indeed, as the government's former terrorism watchdog Lord Carlile said in the case of computer hacker Gary McKinnon: "There is no doubt that Mr McKinnon could be prosecuted in this country, given that the acts of unlawful access occurred within our jurisdiction (ie from his computer in north London) and that he has admitted the offences. The English legal system is perfectly positioned to deal with cases of this nature making McKinnon's extradition both unnecessary and disproportionate."
After my initial arrest in December 2003 during which Metropolitan police officers inflicted at least 73 injuries on me, I would have thought that the police would give to the CPS any material found in my house with a view to considering prosecuting me in the UK. After six days in custody I was released without charge and I returned to my full-time job at Imperial College London. However, as has recently been uncovered in legal documents, the Metropolitan police only showed a fraction of the material seized in my house to the CPS, sending the rest straight to the US so that it could seek my extradition (which it did do eight months later). What is even more concerning is that, at the time the senior police officer in charge of my case decided to effectively "outsource" my case to the US, he himself was a suspect in the separate investigation into the police assault on me (though he was never charged).
The recent decision by the CPS not to prosecute me for reasons of insufficient evidence still does not answer the central question at the crux of the matter: why did the Metropolitan police not hand over to the CPS all of the material it seized from my house in December 2003? Extraditing me to the US will not bury this question under the carpet: it will only amplify the problem.
In recent years, successive British governments have lined up to offer apologies, or compensation (or both) to victims of cover-ups and miscarriages of justice: Hillsborough, Bloody Sunday, former Guantanamo inmates… It is said that the only lesson we learn from history is that we do not learn from history. In years to come, will future generations look proudly at this period of British history, a period in which a British citizen was detained without charge for a record time of over eight years then extradited to a foreign land where he was not a fugitive from justice? They will ask: was the extradition of Babar Ahmad worth it?
[Please see original for photo and links.] | <urn:uuid:0c5b591f-e304-4b9c-a177-ed277c3ceb42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20121016164740272 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971438 | 2,286 | 1.890625 | 2 |
In an article recently published in the Phoenix Law Review, my oldest son, Woelke, explores how the Supreme Court has deployed what William Cavanaugh has called The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict.
The Court first mentioned the “myth” in Everson v. Board of Education, and since then Everson has been cited several times in support of the notion that religion promotes violence. In the landmark Lemon v. Kurtzman, Woelke writes, “Chief Justice Burger argued that the government must be careful to avoid the establishment of a state church because it would be ‘fraught with great dangers.’ Chief Justice Burger noted that ‘[t]he history of many countries attests to the hazards of religion’s intruding into the political arena.’ The majority opinion neither cited the history of any particular country nor referenced violence. Instead, Justice Douglas’s concurrence continued the thought and explicitly tied the same dangers to violence: ‘The contests between Protestants and Catholics, often erupting into violence including the burning of Catholic churches, are a twice-told tale.’ In other words, Lemon was intended to prevent religious dangers that include (at least according to Justice Douglas) religious violence. Proper constitutional boundaries are the savior, protecting us from the violent division of religion.”
What would happen if the Court abandoned the Myth?
From one angle, not much. “Even if the Court retreated from the Myth as a rationale for applying the Establishment Clause, the Establishment Clause would remain in effect. Congress would still be prevented from making a law that establishes religion. The Supreme Court is fond of utilizing outside rationales when it is applying the Constitution to a particular set of facts, but at the end of the day, the law remains the law.” Abandoning the Myth would also not touch the use of the criterion of fairness applied to religion. And, Woelke argues, even without the Myth, the court might still appeal to a “prevention of violence” rationale to rule out certain kinds of religious activities.
Yet, with the US becoming more religiously diverse, it’s important to give First Amendment jurisprudence “a solid, justifiable rationale.” Woelke concludes that “the Supreme Court’s use of the idea that religion inherently causes violence–the Myth–is sufficiently incoherent that any jurisprudence based upon that idea ought to be questioned.” | <urn:uuid:0fab59cf-dfa5-4dee-8abe-5928cb33c395> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/leithart/2013/02/22/supreme-myth/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952014 | 516 | 2.3125 | 2 |
How To Create a Actor’s Resume
Directors usually like to work with people who know what to do. In the same respect do not inflate your roles you add to your written resume you never know who is reading!
You can set up a generic cover letter and quickly tailor it to the needs of a production. A personal cover letter shows that the actor has at least read the part description and it also gives a hint as to how intelligent he or she is.
Building Your Acting Resume
You can divide your resume into sections that describe each area of your career, experience and training. Awards and honors that you have received are a very important part of the written resume. You should include all awards, honors, and critiques you have received. Training and education both formal and informal should be detailed along with organization involvement, industry memberships, and professional affiliations.
Be sure that you don’t lie on your resume. Don’t make things up such as special skills or write things just to fill up your acting resume. You should try to keep your acting resume within one letter-sized document. You don’t want your resume to be too lengthy.
Be sure to use an appropriate font style so that your resume is easily readable to everyone. Look at your head shot and make sure that it really shows your face. Use your best head shot that still reflects your current look.
Make sure your contact information is current and up-to-date and be sure to include your email address. You want the casting director to be able to contact you if he or she is interested in calling you back. The next thing you’ll need to work on is your verbal resume.
Mistakes to Avoid When Building Your Acting Resume, The Do and Do Not list of Acting Resumes
Do Keep it to the point. Stick to the point of your “acting” experience and credits, try not to wonder off into jobs and subjects that are not of interest to a casting director. You need to get your best work across as quickly as possible. If you bore the casting director with useless info at the beginning then he may toss it before even getting to the good stuff.
Do keep the font simple and the layout clean. Avoid fancy fonts and keep it easily readable. Your art comes through on a stage, not on paper.
Do Spell check!!!! Kinda a no brainer, but people still forget to do it. Proof your resume and allow a friend to proof it as well to catch any mistakes you may have missed.
Do keep it neat looking by using the same size paper for the head shot and resume.
Do stay focused to your acting goals.
Do add your contact info, people sometimes forget that part. If you have an agent you would use your agents phone number, your cell number, email and a link to your online portfolio, reel or website. Do not list a street address.
Do not add stuff as filler just to make it seem longer. You do not need a 2 page + resume. Try to keep it all to one page staying focused on your best work. If you were in 17 school plays last year or the countless non speaking extra parts, no body needs to hear about every tiny role you had… only the best roles.
Do Not use a chronological resume format unless it’s the most appropriate because you had long running productions and very few. Generally, a chronological resume does not arrange information well for actors. You always want to highlight your best work at the top and not make someone search for it on a page by date.
Do Not lie about experience. It’s very easy to lie about acting experience, classes taken, etc. Avoid doing so, you will get caught.
Do Not name drop. Knowing someone has no effect on your skills and will make you look like a star struck novice.
A Standard Acting Resume Model
An acting resume should contain the following:
- First and last name
- Your contact info as well as your agents info, if you have one. If you have an agent you would use your agents name and phone number, your cell number, email and a link to your online portfolio, reel or website.
- Union affiliations if any.
- Your stats – height, weight, hair and eye color, vocal range. Also the range of ages you can play if applicable (people disagree about this one).
- Acting credits, a sample of your work and experience level. List some of your best and more recent work.
- Special talents such as dance, musical instruments, singing. Extra skills such as languages spoken, physical abilities, martial arts skills, etc.
- Education and Acting Classes
- Any awards you have recieved
- Any extracurricular activities or hobbies that may be of interest to a casting director (keep this very short)
- Any additional information that may be specific to certain roles | <urn:uuid:35bc780d-ffd5-4cec-9070-565813e068ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.auditionsfree.com/acting-articles/how-to-create-actors-resume/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948001 | 1,014 | 1.578125 | 2 |
International Women’s Day was yesterday, btw.
Black screen, with a bright light in the center. A man in a black suit (Daniel Craig) walks until he’s front and center, and he’s greeted by a female speaker, offscreen (Dame Judi Dench).
“We’re equals, aren’t we, double-o seven? Yet, it is 2011 and a man is still likely to earn more than a woman, even one doing the same job. You have a far better chance of entering political office or becoming a company director. As a man, you are less likely to be judged for promiscuous behavior, which is just as well, frankly, and hardly any chance of falling victim to sexual assault. And unlike the 30,000 women in the UK who lose their jobs annually due to pregnancy, there would be virtually no risk to your career if you chose to become a parent, or became one accidentally.
For someone with such a fondness for women, I wonder if you’ve ever considered what it might like to be one.”
Daniel Craig walks off screen. When he walks back, he is in a dress, blonde wig and high heels.
“The world has changed, but the numbers remain stacked against us. Women are responsible for two-thirds of the work done worldwide, yet earn only ten percent of the income and own one percent of the property. It’s not just about money and power. Every year, seventy million girls are deprived of even a basic education.”
Daniel removes his wig and earrings.
“And a staggering sixty million are sexually assaulted on their way to school. We’re afraid to walk the streets at night, yet some of us are even more afraid to return to our own homes. At least one in four are victims of domestic violence and every week, two women in the UK are killed by a current or former partner. So, are we equals?”
Daniel walks off the screen.
“Until the answer is yes, we must never stop asking.”
In purple in the middle of the screen: Equals? Join the big inequality debate. WeAreEQUALS.org. | <urn:uuid:aa176c42-56e8-4ba5-9167-77de74afa8fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thehathorlegacy.com/midweek-media-international-womens-day/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9633 | 469 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Museum of Making Music
5790 Armada Drive, Carlsbad
The Museum of Making Music displays instruments, artifacts, and historical records documenting the evolution of music-making devices. Instruments once owned by celebrities are popular tour highlights. A 1968 Streetly Electronic Mellotron (a synthesizer-like instrument -- each key sets a tape loop in motion, playing back whatever was recorded) that was once owned by the Carpenters was recently acquired. There's also a 1927 RCA Theremin -- known as the first electronic instrument. Considered by many as the forerunner to the synthesizer, its spacey sounds were first heard by mainstream audiences in the sci-fi film Forbidden Planet. Activities such as drum clinics and musical performances are also held in the museum. Admission is $5; children under 12 are free. | <urn:uuid:5259f006-e834-402a-b642-4f59dfbf1c34> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2003/dec/25/best-2003-best-access-relics-our-musical-past/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966056 | 167 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Black slavery continued long after the Civil War under the guise of sharecropping and tenant farming, says a crusading California minister who has issued a call nationally for a four-day reparations march in Washington beginning October 24.
People Magazine revealed in their July 7 edition the plight of a Mississippi family who had to escape the large White-owned farms they were forced to work on up through the mid-1960s.
Famous civil rights fighter Fannie Lou Hamer shocked the nation when she told of her experience of being beaten and cheated out of her farm wages in the Mississippi Delta of the 1950s and 1960s.
In the same vein, Bishop Henry C. Williams of Oakland, Calif., a man keenly sensitive to the involuntary servitude issue, has devised a national program to recover the lost wages, time, property and life’s chances that Black farm workers were deprived of under what he calls modern-day slavery. Calling his plan “The 40 Acres and a Mule Reparations March,” Williams insists that “sharecropping-slavery” is the root cause of Black poverty in today’s United States.
“I was born in Alabama,” Williams says. “I was locked into the slave-sharecropping system, like thousands and thousands of other Black people were. Without a doubt, I equate that system with pre-Civil War slavery. I was able to move out to California and was able to join the Teamsters and made a good living. And I can contrast my life as a free laborer with that of people locked in that slavery system that still exists in many places in this country.”
Williams is president and CEO of the Job Work Development Corporation based in Oakland.
“I’m calling on my fellow Black Americans to take a stand, for your money and your land,” he says. “We are asking the President and Congress for billions of dollars per year to build and rebuild the Black communities all over America. There is a lot more work to be done. Many people think that such actions would bankrupt America. But that is not the case. We do not want it all at once, but annually, like the Native Americans receive their money.”
Williams cites the example of a $3.9 billion allocation for Native Americans in the 2006 federal budget. He also points out that Black members of some tribes continue to receive payments under the title of “freedmen,” recalling the work of the Freedmen’s Bureau and the Freedmen’s Bank that provided an economic base for former slaves.
McCain Family Values
Williams holds that current-day political leaders are a part of the history of exploitation of Black farmers and their children.
“McCain’s great grandfather owned a 2000-acre plantation in Mississippi and had 52 slaves in 1860,” Williams says. “Those slaves picked over 1,000 bales of cotton, corn and peanuts a year. Slaves and sharecroppers existed on that farm from the 1860s through 1958. This is how McCain’s family gained their wealth, wealth passed down through the generations.”
Williams holds presidential candidate John McCain accountable for the continuing legacy of slavery in his Mississippi family history.
“We want the McCains to pay from their wealth the money owed to the descendants of the Black people who made them wealthy,” Williams says. “In the Reconstruction days, John McCain’s great grandfather was responsible for the massacre of 20 Black men. Today, we want to be paid.”
Mentors and Money
Williams points out that Black people are in desperate need of massive economic help. Pointing out that the Black homeless constitute nearly 40 percent of the total number, he proposes a building program that would engage these homeless in building shelter for themselves and others in need of housing. ‘Our goal is to develop a corps of mentors and a dedicated work force that will be able to develop a wide expansion of wealth based on the reparations paid for their past labor,” Williams says.
“I want to build confidence, self-reliance and courage in our young people,” he says. “Dr. Martin Luther King summarized the reasons and need for the kind of reparations that I am proposing today. King said that America has given Black people a bad check marked “insufficient funds” in our land. It is time to correct the problem.
Contact Bishop Williams at 510-507-3424 or www.freewebs.com/ drhenry123/ | <urn:uuid:fb0fb268-a5a5-44b9-93fe-e50ad2069ae5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lasentinel.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7343:reparations-crusader-decries-sharecropper-slavery-march-on-washington-planned-for-october-24&catid=81&Itemid=171 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96863 | 955 | 2.921875 | 3 |
|How we originated
|Skits and Stuff was born because of a
desire to write quality material: skits and curriculum that would teach
and entertain at the same time. Thus, Skits and Stuff was born. It was created from a team
effort. Rayeann is the writer of the family and Jeff is the administrator and web developer.
| We also want
to find material that is creative
and is something that hasn't been seen before.
Therefore, the purpose of Skits and Stuff is two-fold: to satisfy
our own criteria needs, and also to provide our customers with the type of quality material
they may be seeking.
we've both been teachers and "students" over the years in
several different churches, we know the importance of good, quality material.
We always look for material that
is fun and easy to
use, and something that the audience would enjoy and want to participate in.
|What we believe
|It is our philosophy that the material presented here should not be "preachy"
or answer all of life's questions. Instead, we believe the material, whether a skit or children's
curriculum, should provoke individual
thought and only introduce a theme or message. We want the material
the audience, to inspire and entertain them, not preach to
|Instead of the material answering a question or solving a problem, we
want the audience to decide for themselves what the "lesson" should
be. In our opinion, well developed written material will often raise more questions
than answer them.
|There should be a variety of writing styles. Sometimes sensitive or serious situations call for serious writing, while other topics
require the use of humor, "off the wall" antics, creative
"out-of-the-box thinking," or spoofs. At times we stretch the
imagination to create "what if" situations, or
"fantasy" roles, and other times it's best to use real-life situations.
|| Sometimes a real-life situation my occur with a twist.
objective is to use our imaginations and be creative. No boring,
"been there, done that" material is allowed here!
|You should be provided with as much information as possible before purchasing any
kind of material. Don't you hate trying to purchase something for a specific topic and all
you get in the way of information is maybe the title and a one-line
summary? It's a roll of the dice as to whether it will actually be
relevant for your desired purpose.
|| Here at Skits and Stuff, you
will be provided with detailed summaries, excerpts from the material itself,
and where applicable, free samples of our work. This way, you will
have a greater idea of what you are actually committing to and can feel
confident in your purchases.
|I've been writing all my life: as a child
I wrote mainly short stories and poems, and as a teenager I focused in
on journalism. I never really possessed the heart of a true
journalist, however, so I looked to teaching as my career, and continued
to write more as a hobby. Then, while attending church, I got involved in the drama program and discovered
quite by accident that I could write skits.
From there, it grew into
children's curriculum with puppet skits, and vacation Bible school
material. Now, I've turned writing as a hobby, into writing as a
I am able to work from home, where I am a mom to four children:
Justin, Nathan, Brittany, and Kimberly, and I devote my energy
and writing to Skits and Stuff. Our family resides in
been telling stories all my life but didn't get into writing until I took a
creative writing course in college. My professor like a story I'd
written, published it in a college text book and from there I created a pen
name and began writing fictional stories.
I came to Skits and Stuff in 2011
and began my journey into skit writing through "on the job training." I
specialize in writing skits for children, since I have an active imagination
and feel I can see the world through their eyes.
I live in Plattsburg, Missouri with my husband, Mitch. I have a grown
son and two grandsons.
|I am Rayeann's husband and my addition to Skits
and Stuff is technical aspects of the web. I designed and
support the Data Base of documents along with tracking and download
capabilities for these documents.
I have a BS degree in Computer Science (programming) from
of Missouri-Rolla (class of 1988). I first got interested in
computers in high school when I took a computer programming course and
my interest has grown from that time.
|My full time job is being a contractor for a
company called TPF Software where I develop programs that they sell to
the airline and credit industries. One of my hobbies is developing
web sites. Starting in 2008 Rayeann and I started developing web
sites for local customers, so we have many opportunities to work
|I am Rayeann's father and cover for Rayeann
and Jeff when they are on vacation and also help with ideas for new
||I also have a hobby of web development and had built multiple webs
for individuals and companies when I lived in Texas. I now live 2
blocks from Jeff & Rayeann and work with them on developing webs | <urn:uuid:c8f02962-0a23-4dd1-94ba-7399e4e5f3da> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.skitsandstuff.com/FAQs/AboutUs.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954003 | 1,160 | 1.710938 | 2 |
The election of National Action Party (PAN) candidate Vicente Fox to the presidency on July 2 ended the PRI's 71-year hold on power, a period during which most media unabashedly supported the regime. In an encouraging sign, the new government quickly pledged that it would promote transparency of information and respect freedom of expression and of the press. In addition, the Fox administration promised that the Center for Information and National Security, the government intelligence agency, would no longer spy on journalists. (Under the PRI, the government routinely spied on journalists while reacting with hostility to the notion that its activities should be public.)
Though many media organizations, particularly TV and radio broadcasters, were biased in favor of the PRI, the Mexican press played an important role in the 2000 presidential elections. The press greatly contributed to the transparency of the electoral process by monitoring possible fraud and irregularities on election day, as well as by announcing the results of exit polls. Journalists noted, however, that as the race tightened between Fox and PRI candidate Francisco Labastida, Fox's press coverage turned negative. On June 19, the president of the Federal Electoral Institute, José Woldenberg, announced that media coverage of presidential candidates was no longer balanced, a reference to the media's increasing bias toward the ruling party candidate.
Mexico has an active press freedom community, represented by organizations such as the Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos (AMDH), the Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social (CENCOS), the Sociedad de Periodistas, and the Fundación Manuel Buendía. The First Mexican Congress on the Right to Information, held in November, concluded that in order to meet the challenges of a more fluid political environment, the country's journalists need a code of ethics devised by journalists, media owners, and civil society. While support for the Federal Law on Social Communication (a bill defeated in 1998 that, according to its proponents, is intended to assure free expression and the right to information), is not widespread, there is a consensus that the obsolete Print Law of 1917 must be replaced with new press legislation.
During most of the PRI's rule, the press skewed its coverage in exchange for subsidies, tax incentives, and government advertising. Today, much of the Mexican media's long free ride appears to be coming to an end, with some interesting consequences for the country's historically pro-PRI media. The television network Televisa, which for decades tied its fortunes to the PRI and until the early 1990s held a monopoly on private TV broadcasting, has tried over the last few years to reinvent itself as a fair and non-partisan network, for example.
On December 4, the Federal Antitrust Commission barred a planned merger of the radio operations of Televisa and Grupo Acir, contending that it would squeeze smaller competitors out of the advertising market and give Televisa unacceptable dominance in the radio industry. Many saw this as an unambiguous sign of the new political reality.
In another example of the shifting media environment, the Mexico City daily EXCELSIOR nearly folded in late October. While most Mexican publications grew more independent in the 1990s, EXCELSIOR had maintained its distinctly pro-government stance. Spurred by low credibility and an outdated design, EXCELSIOR steadily lost its readership. When management declared in October that the paper was nearly bankrupt and announced it was up for sale, rebellious journalists and employees, who run EXCELSIOR as a cooperative, ousted its top executives and vowed to adopt an independent stance. The paper remains afloat on short-term loans, but many doubt that it can succeed in the long run. Now that the PRI has lost power, other heavily subsidized newspapers are expected to collapse as well.
Narco-traffickers and corrupt security personnel continued to threaten journalists last year, particularly along the U.S.-Mexican border. On April 9, U.S. Border Patrol agents recovered the body of reporter and photographer Pablo Pineda in Los Indios, just outside Harlingen, Texas. Pineda handled the police beat for the newspaper La Opinión, based in the border city of Matamoros, and had also covered regional drug trafficking.
Mexican journalists often cite the lack of prompt and thorough investigations by the authorities as one of the main factors contributing to attacks against the press. On April 29, José Ramírez Puente, a reporter with the private station Radio Net in the border town of Ciudad Juárez, was found dead in his car. According to a local source, two hypotheses were being investigated: that Ramírez was killed for his coverage of prostitution, or because of something he discovered working as a government informant. CPJ continues to investigate whether either journalist was targeted because of his work.
In April, the Mexican government asked the U.S. to extradite suspected drug trafficker Gabriel González Gutiérrez, who along with his brother Jaime has been charged with ordering the July 1997 murder of journalist Benjamín Flores González, the editor and publisher of the daily La Prensa in the border town of San Luis Río Colorado. Flores González had covered the drug trade aggressively, and the González Gutiérrez brothers were one of his favorite subjects. The gunman who shot him is now in prison, but Gabriel González Gutiérrez remained at large until February 24, when he and three other brothers were arrested on drug-trafficking charges near Yuma, Arizona. Although the extradition process could drag on for months, local journalists hoped the arrests might revive the stalled Flores González murder investigation. Jaime González Gutiérrez remained at large.
The case of Philip True, a San Antonio Express-News journalist who was killed in 1998 while working on a story about the Huichols, an indigenous population that lives in a mountainous area stretching across Jalisco, Nayarit, and Durango states, remained unsolved. Two Huichol Indians were in jail accused of True's murder, but they had not yet been tried at year's end.
Pablo Pineda, La Opinión
KILLED (MOTIVE UNCONFIRMED)
At approximately 2:45 a.m., U.S. Border Patrol agents found the body of Pineda, a reporter and photographer with the Mexican newspaper La Opinión, in Los Indios, just outside Harlingen, Texas.
The agents had watched two people cross the Rio Grande carrying a bundle wrapped in a white sheet, which they deposited on the U.S. bank of the river. When no one came to retrieve the bundle, the officers investigated and found Pineda's body. According to news reports, the journalist had been shot in the back of the head with a 9mm pistol.
One of Pineda's colleagues told CPJ that the 38-year-old journalist covered the police beat and had also written on drug trafficking in the region. In December 1999, Pineda survived an assassination attempt near his home. Pineda filed a complaint with the local police, but the gunman was never caught. Pineda had worked for La Opinión, published in the border city of Matamoros, for eight months prior to his death.
CPJ circulated an alert about Pineda's murder on April 13. Subsequently, local press reports hinted that the journalist had been involved in the local drug trade, although one CPJ source suggested that drug traffickers might have spread this rumor to discredit Pineda. The murder investigation remained stalled at year's end.
José Ramírez Puente, Radio Net
KILLED (MOTIVE UNCONFIRMED)
Ramírez, the host of a popular news program in the town of Ciudad Juárez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, was found stabbed to death in his car.
A 29-year-old reporter with the private station Radio Net, Ramírez had been stabbed more than 30 times, according to CPJ sources and local press accounts. The murder was believed to have taken place earlier on the night Ramírez's body was discovered.
Police later announced that they had found eight bags of marijuana in the trunk of Ramírez's car. The journalist's colleagues and Ciudad Juárez mayor Gustavo Elizondo publicly vouched for Ramírez's integrity, however, and said there was no indication that he had been involved in illicit activity. Local journalists claimed the drugs had been planted, perhaps by the killer or killers, to suggest that Ramírez was involved in the drug trade.
Ramírez began his career with the radio stations 860 and FM Globo. He then worked as a print reporter with the Ciudad Juárez daily El Norte before taking a job with Radio Net. His daily news show, "Juárez Hoy," had been on the air for about a month when he died. Broadcast from Monday to Friday, the hour-long program featured breaking news and interviews with politicians, business leaders, and others.
While the case was referred to the Federal Attorney's Office, which handles all drug-related offenses, there was also speculation that Ramírez was killed for his coverage of prostitution or other illicit activity. And there was some reason to suspect that he was not killed for his journalism, since credible local sources suggested that he also worked as a government informant.
CPJ circulated a news alert about the murder on May 1. At year's end, a government spokesman in Ciudad Juárez declined to release any information about the investigation, but expressed confidence that the case would be solved.
Melitón García, El Norte
García, a reporter with the Monterrey-based daily El Norte, in the northern state of Nuevo León, was prosecuted under Mexico's federal electoral laws for fraudulently obtaining a voter credential.
The charges followed a two-part series in El Norte, published on May 16 and 17, in which the journalist reported on his own efforts to obtain a voting credential using a false birth certificate.
Under Article 247 of the Mexican Penal Code it is illegal to obtain a false voter credential. Authorities from the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), who filed a complaint with Mexico's Attorney General's Office (PGR), claimed that García was being prosecuted for his illegal actions, not for his journalism. A conviction in García's case could lead to up to six years' imprisonment.
In a May 24 letter to Attorney General Jorge Madrazo Cuéllar, CPJ called for the dismissal of all charges against García. CPJ also mentioned the case in a June 30 letter to President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León.
At year's end, the case was stalled. García told CPJ that he had testified in late May before two special prosecutors for electoral offenses, and that the case was still under investigation. García added that the Federal Public Ministry, the agency charged with criminal investigations, could take the matter to a judge, who would decide either to issue an arrest warrant or close the case.
The journalist also told CPJ that the Nuevo León Attorney General's Office was investigating him for obtaining a birth certificate using false information.
Lilly Téllez, TV Azteca
Unidentified gunmen attacked Téllez, news host at Mexico's second-largest TV network, in Mexico City.
Téllez, host of the program "Hechos del Siete" ("Channel Seven News") program on TV Azteca in Mexico City, was attacked at around 10 p.m., minutes after she wrapped up her broadcast and left the office in a chauffeur-driven car, followed by two bodyguards in another car.
When the two vehicles stopped at the Periférico Sur and Boulevard de la Luz intersection, they were showered with bullets fired from the sidewalk by at least three gunmen.
Téllez escaped uninjured, but her two bodyguards, who tried to repel the aggressors, both sustained bullet wounds, as did her chauffeur. All three men were hospitalized in stable condition, and later recovered.
TV Azteca hired the two bodyguards after Téllez claimed to have been threatened by drug traffickers because of her reporting. The motive for the attack remained unclear, however. On June 23, CPJ circulated an alert about the case.
Six men in two cars drove by the offices of the Cancún daily Por Esto! and fired at least four pistol shots. The attack was apparently in retaliation for articles on growing drug-trafficking activities in the city. No one was injured in the attack. The attackers, who turned out to be waiters from a local bar called Yuppies Sport Café, were later arrested at the municipal prison, where they had stopped to visit a co-worker held on drug charges.
In a series of articles published in August, Por Esto! had reported on the drug trade in Cancún's hotel zone, where it alleged that waiters and taxi drivers, with the complicity of local authorities, sold cocaine and ecstasy pills to tourists and to the local population.
When they arrested the waiters, police confiscated a bag containing a white powder, presumably cocaine, and the weapon used in the attack. The attackers were later released on probation.
Following the attack, Por Esto! filed a complaint with the State Attorney General's Office (PGJE), which was subsequently forwarded to federal authorities.
Jesús Antonio Pinedo Cornejo, Semanario
Luis Villagrana, Semanario
Pinedo Cornejo, editor of the Ciudad Juárez weekly Semanario, and Villagrana, a reporter for the paper, were arrested on charges of criminal defamation filed by former police commissioner Javier Benavides González.
Benavides pressed charges over a February 28 article by Villagrana, entitled "History of Police Officers and Drug Traffickers." The piece linked Benavides with the drug trade.
Although both journalists were freed on bail, they faced two years in prison if convicted. On September 18, meanwhile, Benavides had resigned from his post as police commissioner of Ciudad Juárez, and was expected to join the security team of president-elect Vicente Fox Quesada.
At around 7 p.m. on September 19, Judicial State Police officers arrested Pinedo Cornejo on a warrant issued hours earlier by the Fourth Criminal Court. He was released the next day after posting bail of 15,000 pesos (US$1590), set by Judge María Catalina Ruiz Pacheco. Villagrana, who also faced arrest, appeared voluntarily before the judge, and also posted bail of 15,000 pesos.
Pinedo Cornejo told local reporters that the case had been moving with "strange speed," given that local police normally take much longer to execute arrest warrants.
In a September 29 letter to Chihuahua attorney general Arturo González Rascón, CPJ raised doubts about the fairness of the criminal proceedings against Pinedo Cornejo and Villagrana, and argued that all such cases should be resolved in civil courts. On October 2, Benavides dropped the suit. | <urn:uuid:924c4c79-3d40-416c-88fe-7ee2dca6a2db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cpj.org/2001/03/attacks-on-the-press-2000-mexico.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971258 | 3,202 | 2.9375 | 3 |
POMEROY — “When people understand and appreciate a place of history, they are more likely to protect it,” said Joe Brent, in talking about the Buffington Island Civil War battlefield and the proposed amendment to the existing National Register of Historic Places regarding expansion of the battlefield boundary.
Brent, who is doing research on the project for the Ohio Historical Preservation Office, was speaking at the second public meeting held Tuesday night at the Meigs Museum annex about the Buffington Island Battlefield National Register Project.
In his talk, he stressed the project’s importance to Meigs County in that it provides recognition of a property’s significance in history and its educational value, and to a lesser degree its role in promoting tourism as the site of the only Civil War battle fought on Ohio soil.
The current registry includes only four acres. The proposed new boundary covers 1,573 acres.
To stress the importance of the Battle of Buffington Island, Brent described it as, “the largest battle in terms of acreage, in terms of forces engaged, and in terms of casualties, with the greatest impact on the raid.”
To build more public support for the proposed amendment, a third and final meeting will be held on Sept. 25 at the Portland Community Center. A final decision on the amendment will come in December after full reviews by the public and an advisory board composed of historians, archaeologists and architects, according to Barbara A. Powers of the Ohio Preservation Office who also spoke at the meeting giving details of procedure used to amend a listing.
As for the amendment to include the entire battle territory, Brent listed what it does not do as follows: does not restrict the use of the property unless under jurisdiction of a state or federal agency; does not require continued maintenance of private property; does not require the owner to give tours of property or to open the area to the public, and does not guarantee perpetual maintenance of the property.
It does, he said, encourage owners to consider options before doing work that could damage the structure or site or impair its historic integrity. | <urn:uuid:6df3897a-01ea-4653-a10b-4a3b4ef1511a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mydailysentinel.com/pages/home/push?class=&rel=&per_page=5&x_page=108 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952463 | 424 | 2.28125 | 2 |
The delegates voted to ”work vigorously” to stop ICD-10 implementation, saying the health care industry already is overburdened by federal requirements under the health reform law and the meaningful use program.
The vote took place at the association’s recent policy meeting in New Orleans (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 11/15). Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health record systems can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.
U.S. health care organizations are working to transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 code sets to accommodate codes for new diseases and procedures. The switch from ICD-9 to ICD-10 code sets means that health care providers and insurers will have to change out about 14,000 codes for about 69,000 codes (“Healthwatch,” The Hill, 11/15).
Health care providers and insurers have until Oct. 1, 2013, to adopt new ICD-10 code sets (iHealthBeat, 11/4).
Details of AMA’s Stance
Peter Carmel — president of AMA — said, “The implementation of ICD-10 will create significant burdens on the practice of medicine with no direct benefit to individual patients’ care.” He added that switching to ICD-10 code sets “will add administrative expense and create unnecessary workflow disruptions” (Modern Healthcare, 11/15).
According to AMA, a 2008 study conducted by Nachimson Advisors found that a three-physician practice would need to spend $83,290 to switch to ICD-10 code sets, and a 10-physician practice would need to spend $285,195 (AMA release, 11/15).
Carmel also said that the “timing could not be worse” for the switch to ICD-10 code sets because physicians already are working to adopt EHR systems to meet meaningful use requirements. He said AMA will “continue working to help physicians keep their focus where it should be — on their patients” (American Medical News, 11/15). | <urn:uuid:9eba9134-091a-4af0-a8dc-5f0121290806> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://listahit.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/ama-votes-to-work-vigorously-to-stop-icd-10-implementation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939288 | 442 | 1.625 | 2 |
Search for flights
New York to Cebu Flights
Airports in New York
Three airports service the New York metropolitan area: John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. JFK is located 20 miles from Manhattan on JFK Access Road. LaGuardia is located 6.5 miles from Manhattan on Ditmars Boulevard. Newark is located 16 miles from Manhattan on Brewster Road in Newark, New Jersey. Numerous airlines service the three airports, including North American, JetBlue and United Airlines. The Orbitz.com website can find you cheap flights from New York to any domestic or international destination.
Parking and Transportation
All three airports have long-term parking options available. JFK and Newark both charge $18 per day for long-term parking. The long-term parking at LaGuardia Airport costs $33 per day for the first two days, and $18 per day for each additional day. The NYC Airporter shuttle takes passengers from New York to JFK and LaGuardia airports. The bus fare is $12.75 to LaGuardia and $15.75 to JFK. The subway also runs between Manhattan, LaGuardia and JFK. Cab fare from Manhattan runs between $30 and $50, depending on which airport you're heading to. If you need access to a vehicle when you arrive at your destination, Orbitz.com can reserve a rental car for you.
Dining at the Airports
If you need to grab a bite to eat before your flight, all three airports have on-site restaurants. Some of the dining options include McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks. Using Orbitz.com to find cheap flights from New York means that all of your travel details are handled before you arrive at the airport. This gives you plenty of time to relax and enjoy a meal before your flight.
Cebu Airport Information
Cebu Airport, or Mactan Cebu Airport, is located in Lapu Lapu city in the Philippines and is approximately 15 miles away from Cebu city. You can book cheap flights to Cebu through Orbitz.com. The airport handles three to four million passengers annually and 850 flights per week.
Transportation from the Airport
A number of affordable bus services operate from the airport, and taxi stands are positioned at terminal exits. All taxi fares are metered. Several car rental agencies operate from the airport, and you can arrange a rental car through Orbitz.com when you are planning your itinerary.
Climate in Cebu
The weather is generally sunny and bright in Cebu, with average highs of 90 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. December tends to be the rainiest month of the year, and April is the driest month.
Highlights and Attractions
Cebu and the Philippines' islands are the perfect destination for a relaxing beach holiday, but if you prefer to stay active there are plenty of things to do. Popular activities in the area include diving, snorkeling, whale watching and visiting national heritage and scenic sites, such as the Taoist Temple in Cebu city, the Santo Nino Basilica and Kawasan Falls. You can book your tickets for cheap flights to Cebu through Orbitz.com.
Cheap flights from New York to Cebu
Prices are for round-trip flights per adult (taxes and fees included)
Fare, taxes & fees: Fares include all taxes and fees, except baggage fees. Rates shown reflect fares found by other Orbitz users over the past 48 hours. Due to rapidly changing airline prices & seat availability, these fares may no longer be available.
Refunds/changes/cancellations: Itinerary changes, if permitted for the fare, will have a $30 service fee charged by Orbitz. Additional airline charges may apply.
Other conditions: Schedules, fares and rules are subject to change without notice. Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights/dates or in all markets. Lower fares may be available. Fares will not be honored retroactively or in exchange for any wholly/partially unused ticket. Tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable. Fare rules are provided for the selected itinerary before booking.
Lowest roundtrip airfare in June from New York to Cebu
|Leave Tue, Jun 25||New York (JFK)||Cebu (CEB)||Cathay Pacific||$1,912|
|Return Tue, Jul 9||Cebu (CEB)||New York (JFK)||Cathay Pacific|
Best one-week trip in June from New York to Cebu
|Leave Wed, Jun 12||New York (JFK)||Cebu (CEB)||Asiana Airlines||$1,953|
|Return Wed, Jun 19||Cebu (CEB)||New York (JFK)||Asiana Airlines|
Lowest roundtrip airfare in July from New York to Cebu
|Leave Mon, Jul 15||New York (JFK)||Cebu (CEB)||Asiana Airlines||$1,763|
|Return Thu, Sep 5||Cebu (CEB)||New York (JFK)||Asiana Airlines|
Airports in New York NY, US
LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
Distance from City Center: 6.1 miles
JFK Airport (JFK)
Distance from City Center: 13.1 miles
Newark Airport (EWR)
Distance from City Center: 11.5 miles | <urn:uuid:ef504ddc-51e1-4f0a-a142-97acbf3e4fbf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.orbitz.com/flights/from-NYC-to-CEB/from-New_York-to-Cebu/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906331 | 1,179 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Who invented Advent?
The easy answer to that question is, we, the church, did. The feasts and seasons of the liturgical year all developed from the church’s desire to remember, celebrate, and live the great mysteries of our faith.
The answer gets more complicated when we realize that these seasons originated centuries ago and developed independently in different places, spreading, combining, and sometimes dying out.
Before we can talk about Advent, we have to talk about Christmas, obviously, and, less obviously, Epiphany.
We know for certain that Christians in Rome were celebrating the birth of Christ on December 25 in the year 336. This date may have been chosen as a Christian response to a pagan Roman festival honoring the “Unconquered Sun-God,” from clues detected in scripture, or for both reasons.
Epiphany also may have begun in response to pagan celebrations in the Eastern church, probably in Egypt. Epiphany celebrated not only the coming of the Magi, but also Jesus’ birth, his first miracle at the wedding at Cana, and his baptism. Epiphany had spread to some churches in the West, particularly Milan, modern-day France, and Spain, before Christmas had begun to be celebrated in those places. In some places Epiphany was as important a day for celebrating Baptism as Easter.
Which brings us to Advent. The first sure indications of a time of preparation come from Bishop Perpetuus of Tours in Gaul (France) in the fifth century, when he issued directives for fasting three days a week from the feast of St. Martin (November 11) to Christmas. Some scholars believe that this may have been rooted in an older practice of preparing for Baptism at Epiphany, just as Lent originated as a time of preparation for Baptism at Easter.
In Rome the first indications of an Advent season come from four sets of Sunday Mass prayers and readings that anticipate the celebration of Christmas. This was a festive period, in contrast to the fasting in Gaul, but some of the penitential nature of the season spread to the Roman celebration, such as purple vestments and the omission of the Gloria.
The length of Advent varied for centuries, usually between four and six weeks. By the 11th century most of the West accepted Rome’s practice of four weeks, although Milan still has six Sundays of Advent even today.
The important question, though, is how we keep Advent in such a way that it prepares us to rejoice in the Incarnation of Christ and leads us to wait in joyful hope for his coming at the end of time.
This article appeared in the December 2007 issue of U.S. Catholic (Vol. 72, No. 12, page 41). | <urn:uuid:c6f7d849-4d17-446f-a687-ebc5361ecc65> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201212/who-invented-advent-26682 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972387 | 559 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Welcome to the Texas Tech University School of Art Photography Area. Photography students take the required the freshman core curriculum as well as other introductory studio art classes. After taking Photographic Arts I, students interested in the photography emphasis will submit materials for a portfolio review. The accepted students can then declare photography as their emphasis. Portfolios are reviewed at the end of both spring and fall semesters.
Photography emphasis students are required to take a photographic history class and a variety of courses in photographic techniques and perspectives relevant to the appreciation and production of photography as a fine art. Studio practice includes both black and white film and print processing and color digital shooting and printing. Advanced classes cover topics such as experimental cameras, documentary photography, lighting studio and artist's books. All this leads to the production of a personal portfolio and participation in a group exhibition during the final semester. The SRO Photo Gallery, in the subbasement of the Art building, provides the opportunity for undergraduate students to judge submitted artworks by artists from throughout the country and then see the resulting exhibitions. Visiting photographic artists provide outside stimulus through lectures, workshops and individual critiques of student work.
Beginning in Photo One, students must have their own digital SLR. All students enrolled in photography courses starting with Intermediate Photo (Art 3326, BW or Color) are required to have a laptop per our specifications. Details can be found on the Laptop Initiative webpage. You are welcome to contact your instructor if you have any questions about these requirements.
Galleries: Landmark Arts features the Landmark Gallery, the Studio Gallery, and the SRO Photo Gallery with monthly shows by photographers from throughout the nation.
Computer Lab: Our computer labs are located in the Architecture building, second floor. One lab is a desktop lab with Mac computers that are updated every semester with the most recent software and hardware. The second lab is a laptop lab that provides large monitors for connection to laptops for ease of image editing. The lab has scanners for transparency and reflective originals and for graduate student use we have an Imacon film scanner and an Epson 750v. We have a full service printing area with laser and ink jet printers. The largest plotters can print up to 44 inches wide on a variety of paper surfaces.
Photography lab: Our photographic facilities include advanced and basic black and white darkrooms, a small book arts lab, a dry room for mounting and print finishing, and a lighting studio with both strobes and hot lights.
Texas Tech offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art with a specialization in Studio Art and an emphasis in Photography. Course offerings include basic photography (3325), intermediate Black and White Darkroom photography and intermediate Color Digital photography (3326), basic and advanced digital imaging (Art 3329,4329), photography history (Art 3380), and advanced topics (Art 4325) which rotate between: experimental cameras, documentary, artists' books, and studio photography. Our focus in fine art photography is on research as a form of creative problem solving, on exploration that is disciplined but open ended and that involves both individual and group interactions and communication. Within the Studio Art specialization, a student may, with guidance from an advisor, take a distribution of courses that combine digital media, photography and printmaking. This combination of courses will enable students to experiment with various media and digital imagery in creating fine art. | <urn:uuid:41215f72-0d80-4d39-a41c-edb0ffb021bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ART/SOA/nav/undergrad/degree%20programs/studioarts/photography/photography.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944309 | 678 | 2.015625 | 2 |
NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response
Three things of note happened. The first is that a record Arctic ice melt had just been announced by the scientists studying the region. The 2012 figure has not only beaten the previous record, established in 2007, it has beaten it three weeks before the sea ice is likely to reach its minimum extent. It reveals that global climate breakdown is proceeding more rapidly than most climate scientists expected. But you could be forgiven for missing it, as it scarcely made the news at all.
Instead, in the UK, the headlines concentrated on the call by Tim Yeo, chair of the parliamentary Energy and Climate Change Committee, for a third runway at Heathrow. This sparked a lively debate in and beyond the media about where Britain's new runways and airports should be built. The question of whether they should be built scarcely arose. Just as rare was any connection between the shocking news from the Arctic and this determination to increase our emissions of greenhouse gases.
I wonder whether we could be seeing a form of reactive denial at work: people proving to themselves that there cannot be a problem if they can continue to discuss the issues in these terms.
The third event was that the Republican party in the United States began its national convention in Tampa, Florida – a day late. Why? Because of the anticipated severity of hurricane Isaac, which reached the US last night.
As Kevin Trenberth of the National Centre for Atmospheric Research, noted earlier this year:
"Basic theory, climate model simulations, and empirical evidence all confirm that warmer climates, owing to increased water vapor, lead to more intense precipitation events even when the total annual precipitation is reduced slightly … all weather events are affected by climate change because the environment in which they occur is warmer and moister than it used to be."
(h/t: Joe Romm at Climate Progress)
The Republican party's leading lights either deny climate change altogether, or argue that people can adapt to whatever a changed climate may bring, so there's nothing to worry about.
The deluge of reality has had no impact on the party's determination to wish the physical world away. As Salon.com points out, most of the major figures lined up to speak at the convention deny that man-made climate change is happening.
When your children ask how and why it all went so wrong, point them to yesterday's date, and explain that the world is not led by rational people.
This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk | <urn:uuid:c099966b-8474-4038-849e-4a6634dbecb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessinsider.com/the-day-the-world-went-mad-2012-8 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961333 | 505 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Abstract: This article examines the relationship between Open Access to the scholarly literature and innovation. It traces the ideas of “end to end” network principles in the Internet and the World Wide Web and applies them to the scholarly biomedical literature. And the article argues for the importance of relieving not just price barriers but permission barriers.PMR: John (Science Commons) covers most of the main ground arguing the benefits of Open Access and Open Data. Science Commons goes beyond Open Access to cover data and other forms of Knowledge:
Lost in too much of the debate over Open Access (OA) is the relationship between access, control, and innovation. Too often, the OA discussion is one of radical polarization. Much of this comes, in my opinion, from the focus of the debate on economics and business models. While the money side of this is clearly vital – peer review needs to be paid for, after all – it’s also the issue that often leads to the least constructive debate.PMR: Yes. Control has often been neglected in comparison to access. I can remember a meeting ca 5 years ago at Cambridge on Open Access – almost all the arguments were about journal prices. I think I surprised a number of attendees by arguing that it was about control of our information. John also promotes an analogy with renting…
Now, those publishers are happy to rent access to the knowledge heritage. Rent is the key word here, though. When the scientific publishing industry went online, they stopped selling journals to people and started renting them. If you’ve ever rented an apartment, you know that rentals come with a lot fewer rights than ownership. In this context, the users lost a slew of rights remember, you can legally resell a physical copy of a book or CD, but you can’t legally forward a PDF from the newest issue of Science. You don’t have the right to share things like journal articles when you rent them.PMR: The key point. It is surprising how few authors realise what they give away.
Many of the controls that a publisher can impose are built on top of that copyright. So even if you have rented access to the full text of articles, the license agreements you’ve signed with the owners frequently make it illegal to use software to index and mine the literature. Elsevier’s copyright rental agreements are a good example make sure to read through to page 5.
This control culture is not the result of bad people making evil decisions. It’s simply an antique system. It made sense when it started, and it actually made sense until the Internet came along and changed everything. But the control culture is a powerful drag on innovation when you’re in a networked reality.PMR: We need to make this simple point repeatedly. Control leads to loss of innovation.
Complexity challenges coherence. Complexity overwhelms consistency. Quality control can only scale as the people scale, and in closed systems, all of those people must somehow be paid by the same paymaster. Closed systems and cultures of control simply don’t work as well as open systems in complex, rapidly shifting environments. [...] That’s why access is so vital. That’s why it’s vital to support the publishers that go OA, and the traditional publishers who are taking bold steps to foster innovation and knowledge creation. That’s why it’s important to focus on access and rights and not price because giving knowledge away for free but without the rights to make it useful doesn’t make the grade. Freedom here isn’t about prices, but about rights. (PMR emphasis) | <urn:uuid:87664b82-a224-42f5-b042-7bd106c41005> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.ch.cam.ac.uk/pmr/2008/04/27/the-control-fallacy-freedom-isnt-about-prices-but-about-rights/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939829 | 750 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Atherosclerosis is hardening of a blood vessel from a buildup of plaque. Plaque is made of fatty deposits, cholesterol, and calcium. Plaque buildup causes the artery to narrow and harden.
Plaque buildup can slow and even stop blood flow. This means the tissue supplied by the artery is cut off from its blood supply. This often leads to pain or decreased function. This condition can cause a number of serious health problems. Depending on the location of the blockage, it can cause:
|Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
A hardened artery is more likely to be damaged. Repeated damage to the inner wall of an artery causes blood clots to form. The clots are called thrombi. They can lead to a further decrease in blood flow. A thrombus sometimes becomes so large that it completely closes off the artery. It could also break into clumps, called emboli. These clumps travel through the bloodstream and lodge in smaller arteries, blocking them off. The tissue supplied by the artery receives no oxygen. It quickly dies. When this occurs in the heart, it is called a
. In the brain, it is called a
Long-term atherosclerosis can also cause arteries to weaken. They may bulge under pressure. This bulge is called an aneurysm. If untreated, they can rupture and bleed.
Atherosclerosis is caused by plaque. Plaque is created by high levels of cholesterol and fat in the blood. Scar tissue and calcium from vessel injury can also add to the plaque buildup.
The process leading to this may begin in childhood. It takes decades before it causes serious health problems.
Factors that increase your chance of getting atherosclerosis include:
Family history of the disease
- Age 45 years and older in men; 55 years and older in women
- Sex: Male
High cholesterol—Especially low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
High blood pressure
- Poor diet
- Cigarette smoking
Diabetes type 1
- Lack of physical activity
Metabolic syndrome—A combination of three out of the following five findings:
- Low HDL-cholesterol—Also called good cholesterol
- High triglycerides
- Elevated blood sugar
- Elevated blood pressure
- Increased waist circumference—greater than 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women
Early atherosclerosis does not have any symptoms. Symptoms may begin to appear as the arteries become harder and narrower. Symptoms can occur suddenly if a clot blocks a blood vessel or a large blockage breaks free.
Symptoms depend on which arteries are affected. For example:
- Coronary arteries of the heart—May cause symptoms of heart disease, such as chest pain
- Arteries to the brain—May cause symptoms of a stroke such as weakness, vision problems, speech problems, or headache
- Arteries in the lower extremities—May cause pain in the legs or feet and trouble walking
Most people are diagnosed after they develop symptoms. However, people can be screened and treated for risk factors.
If you have symptoms, your doctor will ask you questions. These will help determine what arteries might be affected. The doctor will also need to know your full medical history. A physical exam will be done. Tests will depend on which arteries may be involved. Many of these tests detect problems with the tissue that is not getting enough blood. Tests that evaluate the atherosclerotic arteries are:
An important part of treatment is reducing risk factors. To do so, see the steps in the prevention section below. Treatment depends on the area of the body most affected.
Treatment may include:
Interfere with the forming of blood clots
Control blood pressure
Improve the flow of blood through narrowed arteries, such as
These procedures involve a thin tube called a catheter. It is inserted into an artery. They are most often done for arteries in the heart. They may be used to treat atherosclerosis elsewhere in the body as well. These procedures include:
Balloon angioplasty—A balloon-tipped catheter is used to press plaque against the wall of the artery. This increases the amount of space for the blood to flow.
- Stenting—Usually done after angioplasty. A wire mesh tube is placed in a damaged artery. It will support the wall of the artery and keep it open.
Atherectomy—Instruments are inserted via catheter. They are used to cut away and remove plaque so that blood can flow more easily. This procedure is not used as often.
Surgical options include:
Endarterectomy—Removal of the lining of an artery obstructed with large plaques. This is often done in carotid arteries of the neck. These arteries bring blood to the brain.
Arterioplasty—Repair of an aneurysm. It is usually done with synthetic tissue.
Bypass—Creation of an alternate route for blood flow. The procedure uses a separate vessel for blood to flow.
There are a number of ways to prevent and reverse atherosclerosis. They include:
- Eat a healthy diet. It should be low in saturated fat and cholesterol. It should also be rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
- Exercise regularly.
- Maintain a healthy weight. If you are overweight, lose weight.
Don't smoke. If you smoke,
- Control diabetes.
- If your doctor recommends it, take medication to reduce your risk factors. This may include medicine for high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
- Talk to your doctor about screening tests for coronary artery disease if you have risk factors.
American Heart Association
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Canadian Cardiovascular Society
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
Coronary artery disease. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed. Updated April 30, 2013. Accessed May 8, 2013.
Heart and stroke statistics. American Heart Association website. Available at:
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/General/Heart-and-Stroke-Association-Statistics%5FUCM%5F319064%5FSubHomePage.jsp#. Accessed May 8, 2013. | <urn:uuid:332035f3-bfbc-4ef1-90e1-39fb69771545> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.genesishcc.com/helpful-resources/health-library/health-library-resource?chunkid=12031&lang=English&db=hlt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917534 | 1,333 | 3.875 | 4 |
stpeters at netheaven
Dec 1, 2006, 6:25 AM
Post #13 of 29
David Woodhouse writes:
Re: private relay ... could i use srs to avoid spf fail?
[In reply to]
> On Fri, 2006-12-01 at 12:22 +0000, Camart Ltd wrote:
> > Aha! That was my next question - whether it is easy/possible to use SRS
> > for *relay* rather than *forwarding* ... all the documentation I have
> > been able to find has, understandably, only discussed forwarding.
> I was talking about forwarding. I assume that by 'relay' you just mean
> operating as an MX backup? In that case, the recipients _definitely_
> shouldn't be rejecting mail due to SPF failures. Or you mean operating
> as an _outgoing_ SMTP smarthost for people? In which case they shouldn't
> be publishing SPF records which don't include your server(s).
He said his interest was in intercepting outgoing SMTP connections
from temporary visitors to his network. Whether such intercepting
should be considered relaying or forwarding is immaterial if you use
SRS for all outgoing mail. I use SRS for all outgoing mail, and I
have done intercepting occasionally. (Intercepting allows me to
AV-scan outgoing mail and block outgoing viruses from hosted servers
that have become infected, while allowing uninfected mail flow to
> There will _always_ be receiving mailservers out there which reject your
> mail for spurious reasons.
This is one of the few things David and I agree on, although we
disagree considerably about what reasons are 'spurious'. In my view,
the benefits of SPF outweigh the drawbacks, so I encourage people to
use SPF, and I work around the forwarding rejections by using SRS.
However, SRS itself has its own drawbacks. If you rewrite MAIL FROM
adresses with SRS, some sites will reject mail from you due to the
unusual (but RFC-allowed) characters in the return addresses.
If you use SRS to reject bogus DSNs, you will also reject return
receipts from Outlook (and probably Outlook Express) users. This
isn't much of an issue for most people, but I happen to have a number
of users who use and want return receipts, so I have to make provision
for these special cases.
Rejecting non-SRS DSNs also rejects responses from some
autoresponders. While many people might think of this as a Good
Thing, I have users who consider out-of-office notifications
Rejecting non-SRS DSNs naively also rejects postmaster-verification
callbacks, causing some sites to reject your mail.
Dick St.Peters, stpeters [at] NetHeaven
Gatekeeper, NetHeaven, Saratoga Springs, NY
To unsubscribe, change your address, or temporarily deactivate your subscription,
please go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?list_id=1129 | <urn:uuid:601c25f7-9431-487b-9c8e-b74ff25ea1e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/spf/srs/29355 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935522 | 685 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Posts tagged tools
Posts tagged tools
“Innovation is the currency of progress. And there isn’t a more visible symbol of innovation than the iPad.”
It’s not “just add water”
The profusion of digital technology at work, home and everywhere in between is evident to even the most causal observer.
While it seems clear that students will increasingly be expected to be adept at using digital tools in their professional and personal lives, there isn’t great clarity on how exactly these tools should be used.
We can’t just buy iPads (or any device), add water, and hope that strategy will usher schools to the leading edge of 21st century education. Technology, by itself, isn’t curative. Human agency shapes the path.
“What are the educational goals of technology integration?”
“Do the current systems and processes support the integrative and innovative goals?”
Adapting Teaching To Technology
The answer to the first question — about the goals of technology integration — often orbits around 21st century skills. The problem is that most of the curriculum within schools today is distinctly tied to the 20th century. The first phase of technology integration usually focuses on the transition from an analog to a digital environment, but after that happens, the use of technology raises deeper pedagogical questions.
While the industrial revolution has been added to the annals of history, our system of education has not.
The social and economic world of today and tomorrow require people who can critically and creatively work in teams to solve problems. Technology widens the spectrum of how individuals and teams can access, construct and communicate knowledge. Education, for the most part, isn’t creating learners along these lines.
Meanwhile, computers are challenging the legitimacy of expert-driven knowledge, i.e., of the teacher at the front of the classroom being the authority.
All computing devices are dismantling knowledge silos and are therefore transforming the role of a teacher into something that is more of a facilitator and coach.
But what it means to be a teacher and student is changing — as it has throughout history. The main point is that technology is helping to drive a pedagogical change, and schools need to be mindful of this influence and thoughtful of how they’d like to facilitate this transition.
This is why linking technology to learning objectives is so important. Otherwise, schools could find themselves in a position where the cart (technology) is before the horse (pedagogy).
Does our current system support innovation ?
The organization of schools — their systems, processes and values — were deliberately designed to accomplish specific objectives. Departments, 50-minute classes, bells, rows of desks, lectures, textbooks, standardized tests, and grades are all aspects of schools’ organizational structure that were conceived to train students in the image of industrial society. Within this model, standardization and mass production rule supreme.*
Innovation, whether it’s with technology, assessment or instruction, requires time and space for experimentation and a high tolerance for uncertainty.
We like the fruits of innovation, but few of us have the mettle to run the gauntlet of innovation.
*to go further on this subject, take a look (READ !) to Seth Godin’s last book : Stop stealing dreams.
Innovation from the margins
Because integration and innovation with technology can be so disruptive to established systems, innovation is more likely to take root if it is grown on the margins. The margin can be a small percentage of class time that’s carved out each week for experimentation, or it can be a technology incubator designed to function beyond the conventional boundaries of school systems.
Learning environments of the future are in incubation. And therein lies the challenge: Learning environments that don’t exist can’t be analyzed. Moving into the unknown requires a pioneering spirit.
“Your insights are spot-on. As a teacher, I’ve seen little evidence in the school system where I work that tech. integration is at all related to innovation. Many administrators and teachers see technology as a potential engagement tool first, overlooking the inherent value or lack of value of the tool.”
Link to : Why Twitter and Facebook Are Not Good Instructional Tools
by Paul Barnwell
“checklist I use to help anticipate organizational readiness to benefit from technology.”
Link to : Consulting with executives to turn technology investments into results
by Allison Rossett
” It was also very frustrating to witness the SLOW paces of the school corporations (and still are to an extent) to understand technology products, embrace, acquire and then integrate these fabulously more efficient AND motivating tools into the curriculum.
[…] I found that on a regular basis, if the school corp. Superintendent was NOT technologically savvy, then the whole school corporation suffered because of that “mindset” does the “trickledown” into the administration, staff….the kids. Which means that kids are not getting exposed to methods of going about “life” in the real world, with the tools they will encounter and possibly lead to motivations into certain careers… “
” But if engagement is the only technology strategy then it seems to me that we aren’t utilizing the potential of digital technology in education.”
by Aran Levasseur
Final words by Aran Levasseur
“ We seem to resonate with change on an abstract level but have an aversion to it on a personal level. Cultivating innovation isn’t easy because it necessitates doing things differently. Which means change. But if it can be cultivated on the edge and delivered in micro dosages then it isn’t as threatening.” | <urn:uuid:537ce3d2-2a6e-4560-b071-120aa3a39d06> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dagautier.tumblr.com/tagged/tools | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936307 | 1,199 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Are You Standing Comfortably?
Low-cost airline Ryanair has announced their latest cost-cutting measure, and it’s not sounding particularly comfortable.
They plan to introduce vertical seating onto their flights, meaning passengers will be standing until their destination (or perhaps more precisely, passengers will be standing with legs tightly crossed – due to Ryanair’s other cost-cutting measure of introducing pay-per-use toilets)
The logic is sound – Ryanair reckon they’ll be able to fit 40-50 extra passengers per flight, which will allow them to cut costs, and sell these standing spaces for as little as £4 one way. Still, we can’t help thinking they remind us of something… | <urn:uuid:5423fd5f-60c1-47bb-a6ee-54d14fe2e30e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.dealchecker.co.uk/2010/07/01/are-you-standing-comfortably/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961033 | 149 | 1.5 | 2 |
An interview with Story C. Landis
What are the risk factors for developing Parkinson's?
The clearest risk factor is age. In addition, researchers have identified a number of genes that cause or contribute to Parkinson's disease (PD), as well as potential environmental risk factors. A primary piece of evidence that environmental factors play a role is that the relative risk of PD is higher in industrialized countries. Farmers and other agricultural workers also have an increased risk of developing PD, suggesting that exposure to toxic chemicals or other environmental factors present in industrial and agricultural areas might increase the risk of PD. In some studies, coffee drinking has been inversely associated with PD, but the evidence is uncertain, and combining coffee and hormone therapy may actually increase women's risk for developing PD. Smokers have a lower rate of PD—about 50 percent less—than nonsmokers, but the relationship between smoking and Parkinson's disease is not clear. Contrary to popular belief, minor head injury does not cause Parkinson's disease. A new study indicates that exercise may lower PD risk.
What is the most promising area of current research?
There are a lot of promising areas in PD research, but one of the most exciting is genetics. Researchers have identified a number of genes and chromosomal regions believed to play a role in PD. Studying the gene mutations responsible for inherited cases can help researchers understand both inherited and sporadic types of the disease. Identifying gene defects may be able to help researchers develop animal models that accurately mimic the neuronal death in human PD, identify new drug targets and improve diagnosis. Based on genetic findings, investigators have already developed improved animal models, so essential for our understanding of what causes the disease and for testing new treatments, and have made breakthroughs in cell biology that are helping to elucidate the various neurodegenerative processes and mechanisms in PD. In the future, it may become possible to test for individual gene differences in order to customize treatment of individual PD patients.
And these basic research successes are translating into the clinic: We now have a number of new and exciting therapeutic strategies at or near the point of clinical testing. These include neuroprotection using various medications, other substances, or nerve growth (neurotrophic) factors and gene therapy. Other potential therapies still being tested in animals include a vaccine to modify the immune system in a way that can protect dopamine-producing neurons, stem cell therapy and inhibition of inflammatory enzymes, including COX-2.
How close are we to developing a cure?
It is not possible to predict a precise time line for major breakthroughs or a cure for PD—even in this time of great scientific progress. But we are initiating clinical trials that we believe will be critical to improving the treatment and quality of life of individuals with PD, developing a framework so that basic research can be effectively translated into treatments, and continuing to invest in essential basic research—the foundation for progress in medical science. | <urn:uuid:99e374a2-5183-495d-9723-41526dc054bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/magazine/issues/summer06/articles/summer06pg17.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945375 | 590 | 3.078125 | 3 |
- THE MAGAZINE
In general, a franchise is a legal right to engage in a particular business activity under the name, and using the processes of, a franchiser or parent company. Franchises can be attractive in that they offer a “turnkey” approach to entering into business, typically providing the franchisee with client referral lists, management support and advertising benefits, as well as supplying the franchisee with goods, services and equipment ready for market. The appearance of autonomy and the satisfaction of being one’s own boss also lend themselves to a franchise’s appeal.
For those who are not particularly well versed in sales techniques, franchises offer ready-made account referrals and marketing strategies. But beware franchising schemes, misrepresentations and speculative investing which may lead to the loss of precious start-up capital, a decline in operating capital or which deliver only marginal income. Some key points to consider when evaluating whether a franchise is right for you include…
Always read and understand the contract. If a proposed contract is too confusing, seek counsel. Some franchisers and franchising brokers prey on vulnerable targets, specifically small- and first-time business owners lacking formal training or experience.
Look for a reputable company with name recognition. If your potential franchiser is fairly new to an industry, get a copy of a franchise contract from a large franchiser with an established track record – such as McDonald’s – for comparison and education.
The franchiser must legally disclose certain information. The Federal Trade Commission regulates franchises, and federal law requires the disclosure of certain specific information to a potential franchisee. If your potential franchiser balks at providing this information, or claims to not have it available, consider it a red flag.
Here is what must be disclosed:
If a proposed deal is too good to be true – it isn’t. Consider whether promised income is exorbitant and reality based. What is the cost of purchasing supplies and materials from the franchiser relative to expected and represented profit? What is the cost of franchise fees and commissions? Contact other franchisees to inquire of their particular experience with this franchiser. Question the methodology by which the company has determined the earnings projections it boasts for its franchises. Do the demographics of a particular region realistically support the franchiser’s representations regarding projected earnings? What is the average lifespan of other franchisees in or near your proposed location?
Get to know whom you are dealing with. Creating excitement and urgency for the potential franchisee closes the deal – and franchisers know it. Take your time and do your homework. Go down to your local municipal or justice court and look through case indexes to determine whether any small-claims suits have been filed against your franchiser (particularly by franchisees for breach of contract or fraud). Do the same at your county Superior or Circuit Court to ascertain whether larger monetary claims have been filed. You can review the actual court file to determine what specific allegations were made and how the matter was resolved. Other sources for investigation include your state’s Attorney General’s Office and the Better Business Bureau.
Taking a day to conduct the proper due diligence can be crucial in helping you decide whether a particular franchise is right for you before you write that check. | <urn:uuid:da2f8933-1232-4a39-b87d-c9d7bcdebd8e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.icsmag.com/articles/franchises-avoiding-disappointment-or-disaster | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926672 | 664 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Wilderness Inquiry’s mission is to facilitate community integration, promote healthy lifestyles, and encourage stewardship of the environment for people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. Wilderness Inquiry facilitates fundamental changes in perceptions and beliefs, breaking down barriers between people. Wilderness Inquiry accomplishes its mission through integrated outdoor experiences that intentionally include a diverse group of people of all abilities and backgrounds.
Review Completed: 5/10/2010
808 14th AVE SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
||Greg Lais, Executive Director
|Number of Full-Time Equivalents (FTE)
|Number of Volunteers
|Number of Clients Served
||Minnesota Environmental Fund
||Accepts donated goods
|Number of Board Members
|Board meetings with quorum
|Average Member Attendance at Board Meetings
|Publicly Available Documents
Most Recent 990
Most Recent Audit
In 2010, WI provided integrated programming that served a total of 16,713 people, a 25% increase over 2009 service levels. <p>
Evaluations from program participants showed the following results: <p>
• Increased Self-Confidence - 87% of participants indicated that their Wilderness Inquiry experience helped them gain more self-confidence. <p>
• Increased bond with their community - 95% of participants indicated that they felt a stronger bond with their community as a result of their Wilderness Inquiry experience. <p>
• Increased Independence- 72% of participants indicated that their Wilderness Inquiry experience helped them become more independent. <p>
• Stronger Relationships- 65% of participants indicated that their Wilderness Inquiry experience helped build stronger relationships with friends and family.
Vision: To steadily grow “mission moments” and WI’s societal impact, WI’s vision is to: <p>
1. Enhance WI’s leadership and excellence in integration of people of all abilities and backgrounds - Build the internal systems, staff, board, and financial engine to support the finest program possible. <p>
2. Make all trips affordable for people who want to go. WI has found that people with disabilities or people who are economically disadvantaged may lack the financial resources to go on WI trips. Yet it is their participation that creates the opportunity for the “Mission Moment.” <p>
3. Become a recognized leader in providing integrated outdoor youth education and adventure programs. WI believes it can have a significant impact by providing youth with inclusive leadership experiences and skills training that will benefit them and society. <p>
4. Build WI to a scale that will have a greater impact on society. WI delivers documented transformative experiences for participants through a variety of means including multi-day adventures, day trips, training and other events. Our vision is to significantly increase the number of people served through these programs on an annual basis.
Community or Constituency Served
Wilderness Inquiry intentionally serves a diverse group of people of all abilities and backgrounds. WI participants vary in age, background, and ability. 34% of participants identify as a person of color, 30% of WI’s trip participants have a disability, and 52% of WI participants are economically disadvantaged.
Geographic Area Served
The majority (65%) of people served are from the Twin Cities metro area. We also serve a large number of people from greater Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and the Dakotas (20%). The remaining people come from across the U.S.
Impact and Programs
3 Year Average Expenses
Unrestricted Net Assets
|End of Year:
|Beginning of Year
|Unrestricted Net Assets (End of Year), Current 990
|Based on information provided on 2008 to 2010 | <urn:uuid:5b46e8fe-f15e-4b9a-ac54-8e6bbe10ab1c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.smartgivers.org/Charity/Review/wilderness_inquiry | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904266 | 761 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Gartner points out, though the public cloud provider offers large-scale production and riper cloud to calculate the products, in predictable future, the privately owned cloud serves and propagates its belief on a large scale. Until 2012, the relative investment on the public cloud provider, there is more investment in the arithmetical privately owned cloud of IT enterprise.
Gartner calculates the public cloud to define as one kind and calculate the mode, in this kind of mode, expansibility and elastic IT ability are handed over to external a plurality of customers through Internet as a kind of service. Define as a privately owned cloud which calculates the mode too and calculate, it is this kind of service ability once, hand over to particular or a customer through Internet.
Gartner reputable analyst Tom Bittman gentleman says: The direction that the cloud calculates means existing IT framework and procedure can be substituted by the cloud easily. However, enterprises will be a combined IT framework in the future. Large-scale enterprises will continue letting IT department manage and dispose internal IT resources, some among them is privately owned cloud. IT department will bear IT and serve the responsibility purchased, will confirm when to utilize the external provider, when to dispose inside, and when to make use of the two to realize the particular service.
It is the foundation stone that the public cloud of future serves that the privately owned cloud will serve, as time goes on, the resources of privately owned cloud and public cloud will be mixed or interlocked and utilized. To a lot of large-scale enterprises, as public cloud service product being ripe gradually, in a lot of year, and the privately owned cloud serves and coexists inside decades perhaps.
Gartner analyst points out, the privately owned cloud calculates the appropriate investment of the respect to help enterprises use the public cloud to serve progressively in the future. To destining to use the cloud to serve at a certain time, enterprises should be while waiting for external cloud service product to tend to ripely, assess and develop the rate of return on investment that the privately owned cloud serves.
Tom Bittman then says: A lot of investment in the privately owned cloud calculates can prepare for the thing that it is calculated that enterprises dispose the public cloud. The investment is not merely a technical change, it is a change on procedure, culture and business interface too. It is determined that these changes are urgent, this will help enterprises to implement the decision that the cloud purchases better, will probably make enterprises carry out the transition to the arithmetical public cloud smoothly at the same time.
Enterprises must also realize, some IT services are destined to adopt the cloud to calculate the mode, and some other IT serve, destine, want, carry on more integration with business with close and interdynamic. Once confirm a certain particular service needs calculating and going on through the cloud, then need to make the decision, wait for riper cloud to serve and present or develop the privately owned cloud to serve as soon as possible, and it is helpful to judge which kind develops to the business.
Tom Bittman says again: Each cloud serve, have different future develop street map some cloud, it serves to be should closely combining, customizing and diversification as the focal point with business. On others should lay particular emphasis on independence, simple interface, standardize and not customize non-, so is that the potential cloud serves candidates.
In order to choose, Tom Bittman shows, large-scale enterprises will need to set up dynamic wrapping up the service outside and purchasing the group in order to determine daily chartering purchasing the plan outside, these groups will utilize the service that the cloud calculates in order to meet enterprise’s business’ demands, so need business and technical expertise that the relevant cloud calculates the service.
It is unlikely for the small business to possess the essential skill to offer cloud service effectively, on the contrary they will use and wrap up the service and responsible for the demand for different service ranks in the business outside. The service charters the skill that providers may have the particular trade outside, compare the skill known in the small business, they grasp the skill that the higher cloud serves to enable their monetization of value, and utilize the market changed fast to continue looking for the best service to offer the mode, in order to keep the cost as low as possible.
Responsible for infrastructure and the intersection of IT and leader of operation think the intersection of enterprise and future that cloud serve as chief the intersection of information and officer, Tom Bittman proposes it considers three action plans especially. These three action plans are:
Carry on the cloud test, which places in the enterprise are found to use and similar to the service that the cloud calculates
Lead enterprises to step the cloud service plan that organize
The following 90 days
Application Virtual Technology promotes IT modernization
Combine the products
Discuss and make and serve and the privately owned cloud serves the tactics
Confirm the development opportunity with new business of derived enterprise because the cloud calculates
Future 12 months
Develop the whole cloud and calculate strategy
Setting up enterprise’s dynamic service wraps up the plan outside
Tags: gartner analyst, service ability, external provider, foundation stone, tom bittman, relative investment | <urn:uuid:138b4d33-eb29-44dd-8e09-a85e26fe1d2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ipreuse.org/?tag=service-ability | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938692 | 1,076 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Microsoft today released updates to plug at least 26 separate security holes in its Windows operating systems and related software. At the same time, Microsoft has issued a stopgap fix for a newly-discovered flaw that attackers are actively exploiting.
The security fixes are included in seven security patch bundles, three of which earned Microsoft’s most dire “critical” label, signifying that attackers can exploit them without any help on the part of the user. Redmond patched vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer, Dynamics AX, Microsoft Lync (Microsoft’s enterprise instant message software), and the Microsoft .NET Framework.
Microsoft called out two patches as particularly important: the Internet Explorer bundle (MS12-037), which addresses 13 issues; and a critical flaw in the Windows remote desktop protocol (RDP). Updates are available for all supported versions of Windows, via Windows Update or Automatic Update.
In a separate advisory published today, Microsoft warned that it is aware of active attacks that leverage a vulnerability in Microsoft XML Core Services 3.0., 4.0, 5.0. and 6.0. This is a browse-and-get-owned flaw that can be triggered when an Internet Explorer user on any supported version of Windows visits a specially crafted Web page. Microsoft does not have an official patch available yet for this flaw, but it has issued a FixIt tool workaround that effectively disables the vulnerable component. The vulnerability was discovered by Google, which said it saw the flaw being exploited in the wild in targeted attacks.
A summary of the patches released today — with links to the individual patch advisories — is available here. As always, if you experience any issues applying these patches, please sound off in the comments below. | <urn:uuid:9138f03c-020c-4256-8a28-8c7bc004cffa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/06/microsoft-patches-26-flaws-warns-of-zero-day-attack/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921455 | 351 | 1.867188 | 2 |
|Engineers completed a preliminary design for a three-part Monroe bypass project. However, we do not have funding to complete the design and environmental process, purchase property or build the project.
Phase 1 would create a two-lane limited-access extension of SR 522 to a roundabout intersection that will connect with the future US 2 Bypass.
This SR 522 spur would be approximately 3000 feet long. The roadway will be 44 feet wide, with one 12-foot lane and an eight-foot shoulder in each direction separated by a four-foot median buffer with rumble strips.
View larger map
The SR 522 spur would be built entirely on existing WSDOT right-of-way. Local road connections will be constructed from the roundabout to 191st Avenue (Galaxy Way) and to a frontage road currently being built by a developer.
Phase 1 would improve the existing SR 522/US 2 interchange by building a new bridge for westbound SR 522 traffic over US 2 and the rail tracks and will make other ramp improvements. The project is within the City of Monroe limits. Phase 2
Phase 2 would extend a two-lane limited access roadway from the roundabout created in Phase 1 to a roundabout on existing US 2 east of Woods Creek at the eastern Monroe city limits.
The length of Phase 2 of the US 2 Bypass would be approximately 6500 feet. This bypass would allow regional traffic from the Skykomish Valley and Stevens Pass to access SR 522 without encountering the congestion and delay that occurs on the existing US 2 corridor through Monroe. Phase 3
Phase 3 would add additional capacity to westbound US2 on the historical bypass route or on existing US 2.Transit, Pedestrian and Bike Improvements
Alleviating chokepoints and smoothing out traffic will help keep buses on schedule. | <urn:uuid:77595809-15e2-4781-aee6-7963e6c54eb7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/US2/RDP/monroebypass.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940083 | 376 | 1.515625 | 2 |
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The importance of business working co-operatively and supporting tourism on the South Island’s Wild and rugged West Coast has been highlighted by changes to Franz Josef Glacier and a new glacier experience.
For hundreds of years the West Coast glaciers have ebbed and flowed, and tourism operators have worked in with Mother Nature to ensure they continue to offer the experience of a lifetime to overseas visitors.
Last year major changes occurred on the Franz Josef Glacier when a depression developed more than 2km up the glacier, and in late January there was a partial collapse of that part of the ice.
Within weeks Franz Josef Glacier Guides introduced a new glacier tour called the Ice Explorer, where a short helicopter trip takes guests directly up onto pristine glacial ice.
“We were determined not to let changes to the glacier impact our operation, and the glacier certainly isn’t closed,” said Franz Josef Glacier Guides Operations Manager Craig Buckland.
“As a team we have to focus on sustainability and flexibility, adapting to and innovating alongside the changes that Mother Nature throws at us.
“We think we’ve done that extremely well with the new Ice Explorer, which has been getting rave reviews from visitors.
“Visitors on this trip now get a helicopter flight to access the glacier at the very best price we’re able to offer, because we’ve worked extremely hard to keep costs down.
“The helicopter ride is relatively short, but everyone gets an incredible view of the glacier and surrounding rainforest from the air, which is a very special experience.
“Rather than guests having to hike through moraine covered ice at the terminal face before they get to the cleaner ice above, they get dropped at a point where they experience the most spectacular ‘blue’ ice and crevasses that have developed over decades.
“From a safety perspective, it means our guides and visitors don’t hike at all in the vicinity of the thinning portion of the glacier, and also means they have time to explore more of nature’s wonders.”
In a show of confidence, the company has been given the full support of the local Department of Conservation office to run helicopter transfers onto the glacier.
“We have to remember that this is the main activity that people come to Franz Josef to participate in, to hike on a glacier and access the conservation estate,” said DOC Franz Josef Waiau Area Manager Wayne Costello.
“It’s important that we support them because the guided glacier trips are the mainstay of tourism on the West Coast. We have a really good working relationship with Franz Josef Glacier Guides and they’re one of our major partners in town.
“DOC is charged with looking after National Parks on behalf of New Zealand. But what Franz Josef Glacier Guides does is enable many thousands to access and enjoy the National Park. It’s a wonderful symbiotic relationship.
“Accessing the glacier is important as it puts substance into what we’re about. New Zealand is all about marketing itself as a tourism destination offering natural landscapes and scenic experiences.”
Just as importantly for the company, along with DOC it has the support of local tourism industry groups who understand the importance an operation the size of Franz Josef Glacier Guides has to the small isolated community.
“When guests come to us, many of them have come from around the world to see the iconic glacier. It’s important that these trips keep running,” said Marcel Fekkes, head of business development group Franz Inc.
“As a destination, we feel that Franz Josef Glacier Guides is important, because along with the glacier they’re a large drawcard for tourists coming here.”
Tourism West Coast Chief Executive Jim Little is also supporting the company.
“It’s great that people can just ‘pop’ up onto the glacier in an affordable manner,” he said.
“We want to send a clear message that it’s business as usual for tourism on the West Coast.”
Owned by Ngai Tahu Tourism, Franz Josef Glacier Guides is the second largest employer in Franz Josef, and is responsible for a large percentage of the permanent population in the community.
“We have worked with many of the people in Franz Josef for many years, so it was vital that we came up with a new product ensuring the sustainability of operations and continuing to bring overall benefit to the township when we knew the glacier was going to throw us a bit of a curve ball,” said Franz Josef Glacier Guides General Manager Fraser Leddie.
“The company sees the potential and long term viability of doing business on the West Coast.
“Three years ago we invested $8 million into the Glacier Hot Pools, a venture that’s proved to be hugely popular, with over 150,000 people visiting the pools since they opened.
“We plan to continue to invest further into Franz Josef, and even as the glacier continues to change, Franz Josef Glacier Guides remains committed to bring guests to the glacier to witness a unique act of nature.”
Full information on the Ice Explorer trip is available on http://www.franzjosefglacier.com/ | <urn:uuid:5ae1d14a-dd1b-4b37-a60e-b46dc35ea8b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infonews.co.nz/news.cfm?id=93901 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949099 | 1,125 | 1.625 | 2 |
What is colon cancer
Colon cancer is also referred to as colorectal cancer or large bowel cancer and is specific to a disease that induces cancerous growths within the rectum, colon and appendix. It is the third most observed kind of cancer in human populations and is the third main cause of cancer related deaths in the western hemisphere. It has been discovered that the cancer may come about because of polyps that are within the intestines. Although these growths are normally benign they can mutate into malignant tumours. This sort of cancer is usually identified using colonoscopy. It is expectedly treated with surgery proceeded by the application of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy to destroy any remaining portions of cancer cells.
What causes colon cancer
There are several risk factors that will heighten an individuals odds of developing this devastating disease. Some of these factors are highlighted below with a short description of each.
- A diet that is greatly saturated with fat is a generally known factor in triggering the development of the disease. Studies have declared that a diet that is high in fat, low in fibre and that maintains large portions of red meat may influence the development of the disease. It has been speculated that the digestion of fat in the intestines may help propagate carcinogenic chemicals. Subsequently, it is recommended that an individual consumes vegetables and foods that are high in fibre to help expel the carcinogenic waste products from the intestines.
- As stated earlier colon polyps apparently play a relatively large role in the materialization of the disease. These polyps arise as a result of faults to the chromosomes in the cell lining of the colon. This progresses into the formation of small benign entities. Though these simplistically minute growths are benign they have the ability to transform into cancerous growths over a period of years. Subsequently, it is vital to have any existing polyps screened by a doctor to decrease the probability that they will lead to cancerous growths.
- A person may additionally be genetically predisposed to developing the disease. If an individual has a family history of the disease then his or her odds are higher for developing the inherited condition, especially if the disease has affected a close relative or more than one relative. The age the disease became apparent in family members will also heighten the likelihood of early onset of the disease in the individual.
- If a person has ever been stricken with another form of cancer especially those affecting the reproductive system including breast, ovary, and uterine cancer the probability of developing the disease will be greatly increased.
- People who have Chron’s Disease also have a much higher risk of developing the condition. Because Chron’s disease affects the colon, degeneration overtime to this specific area will generally influence cancerous growths. It is advisable that patients with the disease are regularly screened for the disease by their physician to discover any early formation of the disease.
- If an individual is afflicted with ulcerative colitis which induces inflammation of the inner lining of the colon he or she will be at a greater risk of developing the condition. Generally the materialization of colon cancer in patients with this disease typically occurs after 8-10 years of having the disease.
The quicker the disease is discovered the better the outlook for any patient. If it is not identified in the early stages it may move to other organs and cause potential death. | <urn:uuid:5e5ae88c-15b5-4f7d-8ff6-df9ec504f23a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whatcausescoloncancer.org/what-causes-colon-cancer.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960643 | 686 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Tire-Recycling Company Reklaim Resurfaces, Raising $4M
It’s been a long and twisted path for Reklaim, a cleantech company that seeks to turn old tires into oils and other useful products. Now, it’s finding more investment cash to fuel its next chapter.
The Seattle-based company was founded in 2003 and raised some $20 million in capital from investors including Goldman Sachs. The money was used mostly to build a recycling plant in Boardman, OR, which also attracted millions of dollars in green-industry tax credits from the state of Oregon, as noted by this Oregonian report.
Reklaim’s idea is to break scrap tires down into oil, gases, and carbon that can be used in plastics, dyes, and other products. It promised to do this through a process called pyrolisis, which involves applying high heat and very low oxygen—so low that the tires don’t actually burn.
But cost overruns on the plant left Reklaim owing millions of dollars to Seattle-based energy efficiency firm McKinstry, which was a contractor on the project. And that debt eventually led to McKinstry taking control of Reklaim, as detailed in a federal lawsuit from a few Reklaim investors.
In that civil suit, the investors claimed they were misled about the company’s financial health. Reklaim officials denied wrongdoing, and the suit was settled in late 2010.
Now, it looks like Reklaim might have a new start. The company’s president, Tom Redd, reports on LinkedIn that he started in that job in October 2010—just about a month before the lawsuit settlement was reported by the federal court.
The company is also raising money again, with an SEC filing this week indicating that it’s raised about $4.2 million from 10 investors. The paperwork indicates this is part of an equity round that could reach some $12.5 million.
And although it’s no longer going by the name McKinstry Reklaim, the company does list its address at the McKinstry Innovation Center, the larger company’s Seattle incubator.
McKinstry’s Genevieve Guinn tells me that McKinstry is still the single largest shareholder in Reklaim, but is no longer its majority investor—Goldman Sachs and Denny Hill Capital are involved in the company again. (McKinstry comment added 9/27 11:45 am Pacific) | <urn:uuid:976eb559-0582-46d3-8a6d-e48e85bd32c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2012/09/26/tire-recycling-company-reklaim-resurfaces-raising-4m/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963891 | 527 | 1.742188 | 2 |
As economy tanks, executives whistle tunes of the 1920s
By Michael Lewis
If today's economic implosion calls for innovation, why are key executives acting so 1920s?
Why do they seem insensitive to the modern audiences they play to and tone deaf to the tunes of the times, then dance out of step with the needs of the nation?
As the economy spirals downward, three cases in point:
nMiami-Dade's new school superintendent finds a $125 million deficit. He proposes an immediate $89 million chop, lopping off 440 workers and cutting administrators' pay up to 10% "starting at the top" — but excludes himself from everything.
nAs General Motors bleeds an astounding $181,000 per minute, its CEO zips to Washington in a corporate jet to plead for a $25 billion auto bailout. Though he concedes GM is as good as bankrupt, he won't consider bankruptcy, which would cost him his job, or resign because he didn't see "what purpose would be served." Of course, he won't cut his own pay.
nAs huge layoffs occur daily, ex-Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker briefs Major League Baseball owners on the perils of the economy. Concurrently, teams are likely to hand two free-agent players $150 million each in multi-year contracts and two others $50 million each.
As financial pain and suffering spread globally, why does the top of the ladder so often seem insulated and immune? In the words of "Ain't We Got Fun," the song that became the credo of the 1920s, "There's nothing surer, the rich get rich and the poor get poorer."
What is lacking at the top is noblesse oblige, the age-old concept that those of wealth and position have a moral responsibility to balance their privileges with behavior that accepts a duty toward those who lack such status. We'd call it doing the right thing just because it is the right thing to do.
That complete unawareness of, or disregard for, doing right raises several questions:
nShould we set ceilings on pay and compensation in a capitalist world? Is some level too excessive when the economy is in a tailspin unseen in the past 70-plus years?
In the five years before this plunge, Charles R. Schwab collected $816 million in cash and profits from stock options in his firm, the Wall Street Journal found. Angelo Mozilo collected $471 million in making Countrywide Financial into a leading subprime lender that was sold this year amid huge losses — but he came out fine. Fifteen CEOs pocketed $100 million or more that way in the five years, not counting corporate holdings they retained.
nWould limits on pay, bonuses and other compensation stifle creativity? Don't we depend on ultra-high rewards to fuel the engines of innovation, to add extra effort?
Actually, big bonuses may be counterproductive, not just because they strip an enterprise of resources but because they may not improve performance.
Dan Ariely, a Duke professor of behavioral economics, wrote in The New York Times last week that his experiments found modest bonuses more effective than large ones in stimulating effort when cognitive skills are involved.
If that carries over to big businesses, we've been using the wrong model for years. We are about to see if that's so in scandal-wracked UBS and in Goldman Sachs, both of which just cut bonuses.
How many more home runs or baskets or touchdowns do we get per million dollars paid? Conversely, wouldn't we get the same performance for $1 million as for $10 million, or are players who get paid less dogging it until they get bigger checks?
nIf we ought to limit pay, should we count on enterprises to set internal ceilings or must government set one?
Every tenet of capitalism argues against limits from anywhere. And government is surely the worst judge of how to encourage or reward innovation that increases profits responsibly.
Therefore, any limits ought to be internal. But example after current example shows internal disdain for moderation.
nWhere are the boards of directors, both public and private? The CEO of General Motors reports to a board. The school superintendent reports to a school board. Baseball teams report to a commissioner's office. Where is oversight in the midst of excess?
New School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, for example, is not rich, nor is his pay excessive. But he just got a $73,000 raise with his promotion. He says he won't cut a penny because he should have gotten more. Legally, he's within his rights to cut everyone but himself.
But this is where his board needs to apply hard pressure to spread the pain to the top today, just as it will be willing to spread largesse when money is plentiful.
In the case of General Motors, directors are finally hinting they might consider a painful solution that would conflict with Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner. That might even include filing for bankruptcy.
A corporate plan due Dec. 2 in Washington should offer at a minimum to share the pain at the top.
So far, the only thing GM has done is plan to jettison two more jets, down from seven in September to only three in the midst of unprecedented crisis. It might take bankruptcy to whisk away the final three.
As for baseball, all it would take to trim salaries equitably is for owners to forget about bidding wars. They don't have to collude. They just have to get as fiscally responsible as Florida Marlins owners, who are too cash-strapped to recklessly hand millions to players. It's the one thing Marlins owners have done right.
As others have pointed out, sacrifice and symbols become more and more important as layoffs mount.
Recent presidential candidate Mitt Romney notes that his father George Romney, in the midst of a crisis when he headed American Motors, cut his own pay and personally bought stock in the company to pump in money. Where is that kind of noblesse oblige today?
Instead, Mr. Wagoner and his fellows from Ford and Chrysler showed up in DC via three corporate jets to seek US funds. Said New York Rep. Gary Ackerman, "It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in a high hat and tuxedo" — the corporate symbol of 1929 and the start of the Great Depression.
Ain't we got fun? | <urn:uuid:b476e414-27f6-460e-9dd0-263fea7167df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/081127/story-viewpoint.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966168 | 1,318 | 2.265625 | 2 |
English takes over at Dutch universities
As education becomes an export product, Dutch universitities are increasingly switching to English as the language of instruction - some say to the detriment of the quality of higher education.
Hundreds of students have convened on the Academieplein square in Groningen. The band is ready to play when rector magnificus Frans Zwarts lifts a glass of champagne on the steps of the university building: “Let’s toast”, he says in English, raising his voice. “To a very successful next academic year.”
There is some hesitation before the students start to cheer. “I wish you all the best.” Earlier in the day, Zwarts had already given a speech in English during the official convocation in the Academie building, because "the number of international students at the University of Groningen approaches ten percent of the student population”.
Competing over foreign students
The role of English in Dutch higher education is growing rapidly and not only in festive speeches. The proposal to make English the official language of instruction at Dutch universities was first introduced in 1990 by then education minister Jo Ritzen. If Dutch higher education wanted to continue to pull its weight in the sciences, Ritzen argued, it had to become more international.
The intellectuals of the Netherlands were up in arms. Aside from the objection that it just won't do to squander one's own language, there was the fear that the quality of the education would suffer and the uniqueness of Dutch academics would be lost.
The politician Ritzen quickly recanted and said he "hadn't meant it that way." But the sincerity of that comment is quickly belied by a glance at Maastricht University, where the same Ritzen has been chairman of the executive board since 2003. Of the nineteen bachelor's programmes offered in Maastricht, nine are given in English this year, as are all 46 master's programmes save one (Dutch law). For a few master’s – medicine for instance – one can still opt for a Dutch version.
Of the general universities, Maastricht is leading the pack in changing its programmes into English, but the other universities are not far behind. At the University of Amsterdam, for instance, 105 of the 170 master’s are given in English. Dutch has been all but banished there. In Utrecht, 89 of the 196 master’s are in English. English is most commonly the language of instruction in the economic subjects and life sciences. It goes without saying that language and literature programmes still lag behind in this respect, although subjects like general literary theory are already being given in English.
Internationalisation is the magic word everywhere. Education has become an export product and a university’s competitiveness is measured, particularly by the executive boards, by the number of foreign students it hosts. At many faculties, deans are charged with tasks like organising partnerships and student and faculty exchange programmes with universities around the world.
“It is part of globalisation,” says Gerry Wakker, deputy dean of education and
internationalisation in Groningen. "More and more people are working
abroad for a long or short time or they are studying there for a year. We
prepare them for that by creating groups of students that are as mixed as
Reading Kant in English
Internationalisation of the university world is broadly supported, but criticism of its excesses is also growing louder.
“With an English-language master’s in philosophy you get the ridiculous situation that our German students have to read Kant in English," says Douwe Draaisma, a history of psychology professor in Groningen. “I think the fact that our rector magnificus gave the convocation speech in English sends the wrong signal. You give the impression that it can't be done otherwise now, while you reinforce exactly that."
His colleague Auke van der Woud, a history of architecture and urban planning professor, says it is outright “rude”. “It makes Dutch a second-class language, a cast-off," he says.
The critics also see the rise of English as a threat to the quality of education and research. "Internationalisation has become nothing more at our universities than a switch to English," says Draaisma.
In his inaugural lecture in 2005, Draaisma already argued that the switch to English hinders rather than helps the cosmopolitan academic. "You can travel where you like, but if all universities teach in English and prescribe English literature, then everywhere is going to start to look the same," he says. A great deal of science can also be lost, he says. Prominent figures from history who wrote in German or French could disappear from the curriculum just like that. “Moreover, the Dutch were always an intermediary between English, German and French. We are now losing this role."
Some Dutch science has already been lost since Dutch scientists no longer write in Dutch. There is no incentive for them to do so because you have to publish in English-language journals in order to have any status in academia.
Monday morning, the University of Tilburg. Marloes van Engen is giving an English-language bachelor's/pre-master’s course entitled “Social relations in organisation”. Her English is decent, but you can hear it is not her native language. Van Engen is one of hundreds of Dutch lecturers who have had to make the switch to teaching in English.
"I manage," she says. "But I cannot improvise as much during lectures in English. I can’t just pull an example out of my hat and I don’t make jokes here and there, all things that make my Dutch lectures more fun.”
This experience is shared by all the lecturers who were approached for this article. It is also the outcome of four surveys since 1995 about the quality of classes taught in English. These classes generally require more energy and preparation and many teachers find the process "exhausting."
Even someone like Martin van Tuijl, an economics lecturer at the university of Tilburg who has been teaching in English since 1995, says it still takes a great deal of effort. “You say to yourself: the dominant language in economics is already English, it should be easy. And to a certain extent that is true. Explaining the basics is quite simple. And yet, if I think of a great anecdote, I just say it in Dutch. In English I think ....never mind, I might get halfway through and then not know how to finish it.”
Like at most universities, the lectures in Tilburg are evaluated after the course ends, also in terms of the quality of English used. Students are asked to fill out a questionnaire. The students' comments tend to be very courteous. “You can usually follow it, although there are some teachers whom it wouldn't hurt to take a course,” says Anne Kersten (22) at the end of a lecture about social relations in organisation.
Even the first-year students in international business, who chose the English programme so that they will be able to study or work anywhere in the world, are generally satisfied. "What I do find unfortunate," says Chris Janssen (18), “is that we only have Dutch lecturers. I don’t want to learn 'Balkenende-English', the kind where everybody can hear that you're Dutch.” (Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende is often poked fun at for his heavy Dutch accent and somewhat clumsy command of English.)
The criticism is also directed at so-called 'Denglish' expressions like ‘How do you underbuild that?’ or ‘Which answer is not good?' Students at all universities complain about this type of common errors. The back issues of university newspapers are full off sarcastic remarks about the broken English of many lecturers.
Two surveys at the University of Delft (from 1995 and 2003), in which Dutch and English classes were compared, came to the conclusion that there was also loss of information transfer in English lectures. Has anything been done about this in the meantime?
According to Tilburg economics lecturer Van Tuijl, ‘class observations’ are extremely rare. “There has long been talk about introducing some kind of peer review for lectures to determine whether they meet a certain standard of education,” he says. “Naturally, the quality of the lecturer's English would have to be included in that. But nothing has ever come of it.”
Only now are language tests for lecturers being introduced at the universities. But there are no concrete sanctions for failing these tests.
Applied linguist Hilde Hacquebord in Groningen argues for a solid language policy if universities wants to become more international. From her own experience and research she knows for example that interactivity often helps.
According to Douwe Draaisma, universities need to be more discriminating instead of just deciding to switch all master's to English overnight. "Let's just agree: what makes sense in English and what doesn't?" | <urn:uuid:2f2cec75-c721-474d-ad3f-2def11755903> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vorige.nrc.nl/international/article2187638.ece/English_takes_over_at_Dutch_universities | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967548 | 1,898 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Volunteer at the Y
A History of Impact and Results
Founded in 1903, the YMCA of the Central Bay Area is one of the oldest human services organizations in the East Bay and a leader in providing innovative programs that build health in spirit, mind and body.
For more than 100 years, the YMCA has offered a broad range of health, wellness, child care and youth development programs fro the service areas of Alameda and East, Central and South Contra Costa Counties including program facilities in Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville, Pleasant Hill, and San Ramon Valley. Each year we provide life-changing opportunities to more than 30,000 people from a diverse range of ages, abilities and backgrounds.
Types of Volunteer Opportunities
At the YMCA, your time and talent go a long way. Every hour you spend as a YMCA volunteer translates into the caring attention a child or teen needs to grow up healthy and resilient. It translates into support for families so they can be successful and strong, as well as into healthier lives for people of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and incomes. This creates a safer, more viable community that's a good place to live and work.
As a YMCA volunteer, you can lead an exercise class, read to a preschool class, coach a basketball team, design a program brochure, greet people at the front desk, collect items for an garage sale, serve as a role model for young people, help out in the office or at a special event, or be part of a group or committee working on a neighborhood problem. No matter how you help, you'll make a big difference as you work with others to create a feeling of connectedness in your community.
Program Volunteers work in Childwatch, youth sports, child care, and youth education programs as teachers, mentors, college counselors, coaches, swim instructors, and fitness class leaders. Volunteers may help lead programs or assist in delivering programs.
Managerial and Support Volunteers include doctors, dentists, nurses, office administrators, and welcome desk staff. Individuals may serve in an office setting, at the front desk, in the locker rooms or on the grounds. Other volunteers include those who help manage or administer YMCA operations and programs, e.g., a pro-bono accounting or public relations specialist.
Fundraising Volunteers serve as campaigners for annual and capital campaigns. In addition, fundraising volunteers may work on development of the organization's endowment or fundraising events.
Policy Volunteers include those members of our board of directors, IT committee, finance committee, fundraising committee, communications committee, risk management committee, investment committee, executive committee and other project committees and task forces.
Please note that young people can serve in all of the above capacities as long as, like adults, they have the proper skills, training and supervision. | <urn:uuid:ad36a356-0c66-40e5-ba78-8164c347b360> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mailto:mboon@ymca-cba.org/volunteer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943221 | 581 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Out with the old, in with the “green”
(NC)—One of 2012's hottest trends in bathroom renovations was becoming greener and 2013 is shaping up to be even more so. Take a look at how low-flow toilets from Saniflo can help you be more green:
1. Less water per flush. Low-flow toilets, utilize a dual flush system, which uses approximately 20% less water per flush than an already low-flush toilet. According to Environment Canada, a low-flush toilet uses about 6 litres of water per flush, compared to Saniflo's 4.8 litres consumption.
2. Save money. Not only will you feel good about helping the environment, but you will also lower your water bills. It's that simple.
3. Quick installation. With this brand, there is no need to break the floor or walls. All products are above floor installed, and can be done in as little as one day. This saves time, therefore cost, on installation.
Inspired by European design in bathroom appliances, both the Sanicompact and the wall-hung Sanistar add a unique style to any bathroom or spa-inspired environment. They are designed using leading-edge technology and are fully equipped to add sophistication and style to any renovation.
More information is available online at www.saniflo.ca or toll-free at 1-800-363-5874.
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To open/download image(s) used in this article, please click the following links:Click here for image file: «76410aH.jpg»Click here for image file: «76410bH.jpg» | <urn:uuid:7f4ce80e-24f1-4472-bdb0-36779df93792> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newscanada.com/print-mar-out-with-the-old-in-with-the-green-76410 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919718 | 463 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Background: Leg-length inequality is common in the general population and may accelerate development of knee osteoarthritis.
Objective: To determine whether leg-length inequality is associated with prevalent, incident, and progressive knee osteoarthritis.
Design: Prospective observational cohort study.
Setting: Population samples from Birmingham, Alabama, and Iowa City, Iowa.
Patients: 3026 participants aged 50 to 79 years with or at high risk for knee osteoarthritis.
Measurements: The exposure was leg-length inequality, measured by full-limb radiography. The outcomes were prevalent, incident, and progressive knee osteoarthritis. Radiographic osteoarthritis was defined as Kellgren and Lawrence grade 2 or greater, and symptomatic osteoarthritis was defined as radiographic disease in a consistently painful knee.
Results: Compared with leg-length inequality less than 1 cm, leg-length inequality of 1 cm or more was associated with prevalent radiographic (53% vs. 36%; odds ratio [OR], 1.9 [95% CI, 1.5 to 2.4]) and symptomatic (30% vs. 17%; OR, 2.0 [CI, 1.6 to 2.6]) osteoarthritis in the shorter leg, incident symptomatic osteoarthritis in the shorter leg (15% vs. 9%; OR, 1.7 [CI, 1.2 to 2.4]) and the longer leg (13% vs. 9%; OR, 1.5 [CI, 1.0 to 2.1]), and increased odds of progressive osteoarthritis in the shorter leg (29% vs. 24%; OR, 1.3 [CI, 1.0 to 1.7]).
Limitations: Duration of follow-up may not be long enough to adequately identify cases of incidence and progression. Measurements of leg length, including radiography, are subject to measurement error, which could result in misclassification.
Conclusion: Radiographic leg-length inequality was associated with prevalent, incident symptomatic, and progressive knee osteoarthritis. Leg-length inequality is a potentially modifiable risk factor for knee osteoarthritis.
Primary Funding Source: National Institute on Aging. | <urn:uuid:b72daf65-a3df-441e-b84d-fe6581071383> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=745634 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903158 | 463 | 1.875 | 2 |
Out of hours press enquiries, call 07918 195 238.
If you care about animal suffering PLEASE ACT NOW!
Posted 20 April 2009
Regular site visitors will know that the Directive governing animal research throughout the European Union – Britain included – is currently being updated. The process offers no realistic opportunity to eliminate all use of animals, which is Animal Aid’s objective, but it does provide a chance to reduce the numbers used and to limit suffering.
Depressingly, a key EU parliament committee (Agriculture) has produced a series of proposals that dramatically weaken the draft Directive that was on the table. If adopted, the committee’s plans would: reduce the scientific justification needed to experiment on monkeys; delay indefinitely the European Commission’s proposal to stop the trapping of wild monkeys; allow animals to suffer ‘severe and prolonged’ pain; and end the need to obtain formal authorisation or licensing for the majority of experiments. A vote by all MEPs on these proposals is being held in early May. The outcome of the vote is crucial to the future of animal experimentation throughout the EU.
Please write as soon as possible to your MEPs. They are currently getting hundred of emails so have stopped reading them. But posted letters do count, especially individualised ones!
Please send a letter to each of your MEPs at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, as this is where they will be before the vote. The address is:
Put MEP name here
Palais de l'Europe | <urn:uuid:ca1574b8-bf8f-4967-be36-77eb9491d1f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_experiments/ALL/2118/ | 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 | 0.932626 | 310 | 1.601563 | 2 |
$22.00 donated in past month
Uhuru Movement statement on killing of four Oakland officers and Lovell Mixon
End the policy of policy containment and support a policy of genuine economic development that truly benefits and uplifts the African community.
The Uhuru Movement thanks all of our friends and supporters who have voiced their concerns about the position taken by the Uhuru Movement on the March 21 killings of four Oakland policemen and twenty-six year old Lovelle Mixon.
We unite with your interest in dialog and resolution to this situation and in building unity among the various communities in Oakland through genuine social justice.
The Uhuru Movement has always understood that our friends may disagree with some of our positions—positions which always uphold justice for the African working class community.
We understand and unite with your concerns that the tense situation in Oakland must be resolved.
It is unfortunate that it takes a situation like this to bring Oakland’s real problems to the surface.
We have to take the March 21 events in the context of the long history that the Oakland police department has had with the Oakland African working class community.
It was the infamous brutality of the Oakland police that gave rise to the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in the 1960s.
There has been the exposure of the notorious Oakland “Riders,” whose brazen violence, harassment, racism and dishonesty are well known.
There have been relentless police murders of African community members young and old, such as Casper Banjo, an elderly African man and well-known, respected artist who was blatantly shot by the police last year.
There are hundreds of African and Mexican working class people who have been murdered by police over the years, real human beings whose names fade from the collective memory so quickly. Many of these victims have been blatantly slandered in the media, doubling the pain of the grieving families.
The recent cold-blooded, point blank BART police murder of young Oscar Grant was only unusual because it was caught from many angles on video.
But it is much more than this. Oakland has a very clear publicly supported policy of police containment, implementing an incessant martial law with ever-present SWAT teams and police helicopters circling over neighborhoods daily.
California’s prison population is the fourth largest in the entire world and the OPD does everything possible to feed young African men and women from Oakland into that system for their entire lives.
Discriminatory legislation such as Three Strikes locks up countless African people as young as 14 years old for things that white people get to go to rehab for.
It has long been documented in articles by journalist Gary Webb in the San Jose Mercury News, for example, that the US government is responsible for imposing the devastating crack cocaine plague in African communities, and it is well known that the police have and continue to facilitate this.
The Uhuru Movement does not support the loss of life of any person. But the loss of life at the hands of the police in the African community of Oakland has been going on for half a century.
The “tensions” in Oakland are caused by the police, not by an impoverished community struggling to survive.
Even the mainstream media sources such as the New York Times and National Public Radio have had to mention in most reports that many in the African community do not support the police’s position in this case, and understand that Mixon’s actions were the result of years of oppression of a whole community which has come to a boiling point.
Lovelle Mixon’s life, like that of thousands of young African men in the impoverished neighborhoods of Oakland, was over long before he was killed by police. He faced a hopeless dead end of joblessness, poverty and criminalization by a society that would rather lock up young African men than make college or jobs available to them.
The police are not social workers; they are a military force with the assignment to carry out a violent containment policy against a whole community. The purpose of the police is to maintain power for the status quo and uphold the relations of poverty and wealth in the city.
If we want to move forward and “build bridges” as a city there is only one road to do so. We have to truly understand the calls of a community under siege and demand an immediate end to this completely failed public policy of police containment, this war without terms waged against the African community of Oakland.
We have to demand a policy of genuine economic development for the African community—development that truly benefits and uplifts the deeply impoverished African working class of this city, and is not just another cover for gentrification and dispersal of the oppressed.
We appreciate your continued support of the Uhuru Movement and urge you to take an active stand in transforming Oakland into a model city of shared prosperity and true social justice. | <urn:uuid:380e2fbd-c1bc-46b7-bd78-e538ac960d49> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/03/25/18582442.php?show_comments=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964254 | 987 | 1.539063 | 2 |
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Did you know there are tools out there that let you do incredible things with your favorite web services? From Khan Academy to Knewton, there's a little tool called APIs that can help you build something amazing.
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Developers with the right mix of skills can find boundless opportunity in the multibillion-dollar mobile app industry. Mobile app developers hail from different walks of life—A software engineer, a tech-savvy business entrepreneur or a web designer may have what it takes to create the next top-selling app.
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Since the first iPhone came out in 2007, Apple releases have been characterized by camp outs, long lines, and controversial ads by competitors. The recent release of the iPhone 5 is no different.
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Pierre set out to create apps to help his homeschooled children. But this education app developer ended up on a pretty wild ride. | <urn:uuid:ebb1efc5-6c89-4f42-a79f-daa508c6b679> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://edudemic.com/tag/developer/?orderby=views | 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 | 0.922917 | 214 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Toys fall into two categories: Play /action toys for throwing and tugging with the handler, and chewing/pastime toys. It should be understood that there is no such thing as a completely safe toy.
Pastime toys are just that: Something for the puppy to occupy his little jaws with when you can't be with him. If he must spend a period of time crated or kenneled, he can easily become bored and start destructive chewing on the kennel, or himself. Provide a safe chew toy and then make things lively with action toys when you let him out.
Puppies can ingest an amazing variety of things, so it is best to watch your puppy and frequently check the toys to see that they are not developing loose bits or sharp edges. That said, you are fairly safe with chew toys made of hard rubber and bones.
Never give your puppy old personal items to play with unless you don't mind his eating the brand new version too. An old shoe is worthless to you, but tastes and smells just the same as a brand new pair of Bruno Magli's to your puppy.
Action toys should be reserved for that special interaction between you and your pup. The toy belongs to you, and you play with the puppy, but take the toy away after wards and put it away. It only appears in conjunction with you, and becomes a link to foster enthusiasm and cooperation.
Toys for playing with you include jute, suede, synthetic and bite suit tugs, hard rubber balls on a string, and disc type toys that can be thrown and tugged. Hard Frisbees should be avoided because they encourage the dog to jump and twist in the air, often landing in a bad position. Veterinary orthopedists see a lot of spine and cruciate ligament injuries requiring surgery because of Frisbee play.
In general, don't leave your puppy alone with items he can chew into small enough bits to eat, and save toss and tug toys for special interaction with you.
Copyright 2005 Julia Priest | <urn:uuid:66e64bbf-69ab-4e44-94e6-88f820579c43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.allk-9.com/page.html?id=22 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966503 | 419 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Florida No Fault Car Insurance: What Does It Mean?
Florida is a 'no fault' auto insurance state. Only a dozen other states have no fault auto insurance laws, but what does the term 'no fault' really mean?
To find out, we asked Brian LaBovick, of LaBovick & LaBovick, an Car accident attorney in South Florida who specializes in auto accident cases, to explain the intent of the law. "Florida is the type of state that does not believe in mandating laws if they are not necessary, so they try to make the laws as minimally invasive as possible here. That is the intent."
The theory behind the law
The theory behind the no fault law is sound to many and the Florida legislature seems to have put a lot of thought into how the law would work. LaBovick explained, "If they make a law that is invasive, that forces you to get insurance to cover yourself—keep in mind here you're covering yourself—and the state legislature would say to that, 'Why do we want to force people to cover themselves? Shouldn't they have the right to do that with a health insurance or a disability policy? Why do we have to do it with automobile insurance?' There's got be some tradeoff there, so the tradeoff was that back when PIP was initiated in the late 1970s, they decided to create an exemption, or a right, of the people that carry this insurance to not be sued if they meet the state-mandated insurance requirements and they carry PIP insurance."
Using your own insurance
Simply put, no fault means that no matter who is at fault, you need to use your own insurance. LaBovick continued, "No matter who is at fault, use your own PIP insurance and, unless you meet certain thresholds (and they have state-required thresholds), you can't turn around and sue the person who hurt you because you have this insurance and they can't sue you. It creates a right among the people not to be sued if they're carrying this insurance unless the person they hurt meets a certain threshold."
"That threshold is set out in Florida law and it's basically losses of major bodily function, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, death, significant scarring or disfigurement. Unless you have one of those things happen, you can't sue someone for your future pain, suffering, etc."
Involved in a Florida car accident. Click here to contact a Florida car accident attorney. | <urn:uuid:e9b8fe76-96b1-495b-9b78-87ce064ba6c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://accident-law.freeadvice.com/accident-law/auto/florida-no-fault-car-insurance.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97062 | 520 | 1.632813 | 2 |
I had now passed the provinces of Bretagne and Poitou, as they border the Loire; and, in point of beautiful and romantic scenery, this district can scarcely be surpassed. The left bank of the river, running along the country of Le Bocage, from Nantes to Angers, a distance of seventy-two miles, is a continued range of lofty hills, agreeably diversified with corn lands, and studded with vineyards. The opposite bank is a more flat and variegated country, with pleasant eminences and broad plains, watered by branches of the Loire, which in many parts contains small islands covered with trees. The whole course of this fine river, as the eye sweeps and ranges over its banks, presents at almost every bend the view of villas enriched with gardens, orchards, and vineyards; castles, convents, and villages in ruins! bearing innumerable evidences of the desolating war that has destroyed them.
The religious communities, whose love of scenery and retirement in general led them to prefer the most sequestered valleys, have in these provinces chosen the most elevated and picturesque spots for the erection of their monasteries; and these, notwithstanding their deserted and decaying state, prove the good taste of their ancient possessors, and the skill and industry with which they embellished them. No situations could have been selected more abounding in picturesque combinations of magnificent landscapes.
The pleasure of the traveller in surveying such scenes, cannot but be frequently interrupted, by the recollection of the various atrocities which the inhabitants of these fine provinces committed against each other, and of the immense number of innocent victims that were driven from their abode to perish by famine or the sword.
SAUMUR TO TOURS—TOURS—TOURS TO BLOIS—ORLEANS—AND ORLEANS TO PARIS.
I hired a small carriage, called a patache, to convey me to Saumur and Tours; it is driven by a postillion with two horses, and is open in front, giving the traveller a better opportunity of viewing the country than in a close vehicle.
The town of Saumur is built on both banks of the Loire, with a handsome stone bridge over it; an ancient castle, built on a high rock, commands the whole town. The road from Angers to this place is a high raised causeway, paved, and runs parallel to the river, within a few paces of its banks, the whole distance. Here we entered into Touraine from the province of Anjou. From Saumur to Tours, the road is like the former. The river Loire is on the right hand, and a flat level country on the left, covered with orchards, groves, and meadows. The road is every where raised so high, that it forms a very steep declivity, with narrow pathways down to the entrance of the cottages and villages, which are most romantically situated,—some in orchards, some amidst vineyards, some in gardens, and others in recesses peeping from between the trees. | <urn:uuid:98ac45e3-1d73-4f51-a3a5-bfdd8424ab31> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/10864/43.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962661 | 644 | 2.171875 | 2 |
From the Eurofighter Typhoon to the Goodyear Blimp, see what's flying at the 2012 Olympic Games.
- By Roger Mola
- AirSpaceMag.com, July 24, 2012
Geoffrey Lee, Planefocus Limited
The Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team (here, with four Eurofighter Typhoons, entertaining Londoners for the RAF's 90th birthday), will perform a nine-ship flypast in "Big Battle" formation to mark the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games. In 2009, four years before the Summer Games, it was erroneously reported that the Red Arrows had been banned from the Opening Ceremonies for being "too British," and for possibly offending other nations with their "military background." Even though ceremony organizers and the Red Arrows both refuted the story, a protest movement was launched, and half a million people signed a petition begging that the team be "reinstated." On July 27, the Red Arrows will fly over Olympic sites in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and London. | <urn:uuid:799e1d8f-668b-4b4d-9b87-b2bb965089a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.airspacemag.com/multimedia/Olympics-Slideshow-162609256.html?c=y&page=5&navigation=thumb | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947712 | 214 | 1.539063 | 2 |
February 14, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University is doing more than talking trash.
A new composting initiative by the University is rerouting thousands of pounds of food from area landfills to a local farm. The effort, which began in late January, has already resulted in 4,200 pounds of food waste being sent from IWU for composting.
Composting, or the process of turning organic materials into naturally enriched soil, was originally proposed by a Green Task Force at IWU nearly a decade ago. The idea was adopted by the GREENetwork, a University organization composed of students, faculty and staff that works to make the campus more sustainable.
“Composting food enables Illinois Wesleyan to fulfill its mission to function in a more environmentally sustainable manner,” said R. Given Harper, who is the a member of the GREENetwork as well as the George C. and Ella Beach Lewis Endowed Chair of Biology.
In 2008, IWU student Thomas Schroeder created a feasibility study of composting on campus for a class on health and the environment. The study expanded into a project with Harper, who took the study to the IWU administration. “It was decided we did not have the space for composting, or a location to store the end product,” said Schroeder, a 2009 graduate who now works as a scientist with the environmental consulting firm Bradburne, Briller & Johnson, LLC in Chicago.
Harper then advanced the idea with the Bloomington City Council. “At lot of groups were having similar problems. They did not have the infrastructure and resources to make composting work then,” said Carl Teichman, director of community relations at IWU. “There was a will, but not a way.”
The way came in a communitywide initiative spearheaded by Illinois State University, which invited other organizations to join their composting efforts. The initiative allows composting materials to be picked up by Midwest Fiber, and the composted dirt to be deposited for use at the Illinois State Farm near Lexington.
The impact of IWU’s composting will continue for generations, said Kari Grace, a senior at IWU and a member of the GREENetwork. “Composting diverts food waste that would otherwise end up in landfills,” she said. “In addition to taking up space, landfills also produce methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. The compost is used to return nutrients to the soil, reducing the need for chemical fertilizer.”
Contact: Rachel Hatch, (309) 556-3960 | <urn:uuid:720d8f1c-8244-41e1-9925-c14e1f7f4877> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iwu.edu/news/2011/fea_Composting_00211.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96513 | 560 | 2.578125 | 3 |
We learned about the different healthcare jobs, titles, and requirements: Lab Tech, Med Tech, CNA, and more.
If you’ve ever wondered how planes fly, this video will help, as our experts explain Bernoulli's Principle.
Learn the diffrences is between butterflies and moths.
Where coffee is grown, how huge this industry really is, and exactly how caffeine affects the body.
Find out where coffee is grown.
Learn what dew points are and how it effects your hair.
Probably the most recognized health institution in the world is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, located in Atlanta. It’s also one of Georgia’s biggest employers! Along with...
Learn what DNA is from a Forensic Biologist at the Georgia Bureau Of Investigation.
A definition and explanation of Ecosystems.
A simple definition and description of electricity. | <urn:uuid:ee56b5b6-cdd0-4feb-a8d5-6564a5e3a31a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gpb.org/fast-forward/teachable-moment/all | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926858 | 183 | 2.09375 | 2 |
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Creative Ideas for Decorating a Narrow Living Room by Alisa Davis
A long, narrow living room can be a decorating challenge even for a seasoned design professional. How do you make efficient use of a narrow space and make if feel cozy and inviting at the same time? Consider the following tips to turn a potentially problematic space into one with promising possibility.
1. Pre-plan on Paper: You won’t be able to achieve the best results described in the following suggestions if you don’t know what you are dealing with in terms of space and dimension. You’ll find it much easier to re-arrange your furniture on paper. Using ¼ inch graph paper, recreate your room in ¼ scale: One inch equals four feet; or, one ¼-inch square on paper equals one foot. Be sure to include all permanent features like windows, doors, stairways, electrical outlets, built-ins and fireplace. Now draw your furniture to scale; you can cut these out in colored paper.
2. Break the space into zones: How do you use the living room? Do you watch TV or is the area used for reading, conversing and entertaining friends. If you use it for television viewing, move your furniture around on paper to find the best space for viewing. Let go of assumptions; the cable outlet can always be moved. Perhaps you can cluster a sofa, chair and recliner at one end of the room with the TV armoire and the other end of the room can be arranged into a conversation or reading area.
3. Centralize furniture arrangements: When creating your zones, don’t be afraid to use the center of the room. Pull furniture away from the room’s perimeter to create comfortable, cozy seating arrangements. Keep in mind that furniture in a conversation area should be close enough for everyone to speak at a comfortable level.
4. Use area rugs to define the zones: The room will seem cozier and more intimate if each of your zones is arranged around an area rug. Typical rug sizes are 5’x7’, 8’x10’ and 11’x 14’ in rectangular or oval shapes. Draw templates for area rugs and see how they can fit into your graph paper configuration. Experiment with furniture placements around the rugs.
5. Use mirrors and patterns to widen narrow walls: Cleverly placed mirrors can make walls seem wider; placing a bank of mirrors along the wider walls reflects the width of the space, making the entire room seem wider. Using horizontal patterns, in wall paper, furniture or window treatments, will also make those areas appear wider. For example, a sofa with horizontal striped fabric set against the narrow wall will make that wall appear wider.
6. Create a neutral backdrop: Similar neutral tones that are carried from walls to flooring, windows and even wood trim will make a space feel more expansive. Punch up the look with bolder colors in area rugs, furniture, window treatments, wall art and accessories.
7. See through your options: If a wood or marble topped coffee table makes the seating area feel cluttered and dense, consider a glass top table that lets you see through it; this reduces visual clutter and expands the space. Low open consoles verses closed door cabinets and armoires can have the same effect.
THIS MIGHT BE SOMETHING WRITTEN BY ALISA DAVIS, BUT I POSTED THIS TO SPAM THE SIGHT FOR INDIANAPOLIS PAINTERS.
EDIT: However, someone changed my post here at the bottom and rubbed out the link. | <urn:uuid:5c169783-f19b-4a18-b837-5bdfd768a280> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/house-chat/interior-decorating/creative-ideas-decorating-narrow-living-room-alisa-davis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903027 | 751 | 1.625 | 2 |
Traffic congestion is a serious and growing problem in Tennessee, especially in the major travel corridors in our metropolitan areas. And, traffic congestion is more than an inconvenience. Consider the value of time to the commuters, truckers, visitors and the other drivers and passengers stuck in traffic. Consider the costs to businesses waiting for critical parts or supplies or waiting for their customers to arrive. Automobiles and trucks stuck in traffic congestion add more pollutants to our air and waste energy. Traffic congestion causes traffic crashes, and traffic congestion aggravates road rage.
So what can we do? State and local governments are working together to expand the capacity of our transportation systems, but new infrastructure alone will not solve the problems associated with congestion.
In analyzing the problems of congestion, two numbers stand out:
- 60% of all freeway congestion is non-recurring, i.e. caused by incidents such as wrecks, debris in the road, disabled vehicles, and not by limited highway capacity.
- 20% of all freeway crashes are “secondary,” occurring because the roadway is blocked by an earlier incident.
In other words, more than half of all backups occur on highway sections where the roadway capacity is adequate under normal circumstances. Further, one out of five freeway crashes happens after a previous incident that is still disrupting traffic flow.
Accordingly, TDOT is giving more attention to "highway incident management," and TDOT is promoting "quick clearance" of highway incidents. The HELP program is probably the most visible result.
The TDOT HELP Program emphasizes quick clearance of congestion-causing accidents on the highways. According to Tennessee law (T.C.A. 55-10-117), when a motor vehicle traffic accident occurs with no apparent serious personal injury or death, the driver of each vehicle involved should remove the vehicle from the roadway whenever the move may be done safely and the vehicle is capable of being normally and safely driven.
National studies have shown that up to 20% of all collisions on controlled access highways are "secondary," attributable to an earlier incident that has not been fully cleared. To help ease traffic congestion, the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Tennessee Department of Safety have entered into an interagency memorandum of understanding to work together to ensure public safety, promote safe and orderly traffic flow, protect the safety of emergency responders and restore the roadway to full capacity as soon as possible following an incident.
This is part of the TDOT SmartWay plan to address traffic congestion issues. TDOT has placed signs along the state's interstate system and other access controlled highways reminding motorists to move their damaged vehicles to the shoulder if no serious injury has occurred. | <urn:uuid:0fa8ce6d-fa1d-47a6-b1f6-4e73b5182244> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/incident/help/need.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950461 | 537 | 2.671875 | 3 |
In this Always On how-to, Sharon Vaknin shows you how to make your NFC-enabled phone do all kinds of tricks with cheap, programmable
Tags:How to Program Your Own NFC Chips,cnet,cnet diy,making nfc tags,Near Field Communication,nfc tags,programming nfc tags,always on
Grab video code:
-- Hey guys I'm Sharon vaknin and I am back and then this week I'll show you how these three letters. And it -- to see it and it -- these tags can make your life a whole lot easier through automation and -- -- stands for near field communication. SC enabled phones that work with magnetic induction and that creates a radio waves. Feel all that lets you send a little bits of information back and forth from device to device or -- -- -- from your device to attack -- It is not yet but there are similar errors it'll be included in the next model in a follow. These attacks have a machine memory. And a radio chip -- and and kind of an all in this super and it -- But there's no battery it actually draws power from the device that's reading it and our. -- got the phone. So let's get started you'll leading and -- senior most unlike this Samsung galaxy S three and at one of these tags you can't just go to best buy bell and buy off the shelf. They're not -- popular area you'll -- to order them online. So once you do it you'll need to program that was -- and -- -- -- app like NFC top monster and now I can program it. And so on making new -- And now I can decide what I wanted to do when my phone -- -- attack. So in this case is olive make it so that the Wi-Fi is -- -- -- And maybe I will also make it lunch. In apps. Alex -- -- white noise when I get to work. And then finally an -- turn off all of the U ringer is so that I'm not bothering my coworkers. I think now that I'm done and I have these three tasks I have to activate. My NFC tag excellent finish. And it now I have two topics attack. And it works. Ferrying out now my phone is programmed my NFC tags and I have to -- -- -- of stuff when I get to work first thing in the morning. But you can do a whole lot of other things that the FC tags to automate your life you can also program attacked for -- walk to work can make a play music and enable Bluetooth. You can even make an NFC -- for your car its -- pandora cried and turn -- Wi-Fi while you're driving. Yeah if you're really can mediate you can create -- title lets you want your favorite app when you get -- -- -- for me up all recipes. -- it was dot easy. All right if you have any idea is cool -- -- -- -- -- let me know on Twitter or email always gone at cnet.com. Are right Molly let me know kind of NFC tags you want to automate your life and I'll make one custom tailored just for you. | <urn:uuid:b6034b35-b063-4bb8-880e-c1d3ca797398> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://on.aol.com/video/how-to-program-your-own-nfc-chips-517415397 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929366 | 639 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Task Force active in TransFaith in Color 2012
To paraphrase Barbara Smith, there exist two devastating and intertwined myths: All the LGBTQ folks are white and all the people of color are straight; and All the LGBTQ people are anti-religious and all the religious people are anti-LGBTQ. In many ways, these myths haunt countless individuals who are transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer. And they immobilize and misdirect far too much of the energy of the LGBTQ movement. But this weekend, one of the most powerful, myth-busting, life-giving gatherings we know will take place.
More than 250 transgender people of faith, most of whom are people of color, will gather starting today until August 19, in Charlotte, N.C., for TransFaith in Color 2012 to work as grassroots activists and opinion leaders around issues of gender and sexuality within their respective faith and general communities. And, in so doing, they will embody the real reality that part of God’s creativity and joy in the world is that there are transgender people of color who practice in every religious tradition on the planet; they will embody the real reality that there are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people of color whose cultural and ethnic traditions celebrate their sexual orientation and gender identity; they will embody the real reality that good religion celebrates all of God’s children.
And the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force will there as an active presence, both as a sponsor of the conference as well as workshop presenters and keynote speakers.
A La Familia, a guided conversation for the Latino/a community about families, the Bible, sexual orientation and gender identity will be a centerpiece of the conference.
The curriculum project is the result of a collaborative effort by the Task Force, the Human Rights Campaign and Unid@s. Nicole García will highlight the project during her Friday luncheon keynote address and then will co-lead a workshop on A La Familia with Lisbeth Meléndez Rivera.
Task Force Deputy Executive Director Rev. Darlene Nipper will moderate a panel discussion on Building a Better World: How to Impact Policy & Laws.
Meanwhile, Jack Harrison, Task Force policy analyst, will present the results of Injustice At Every Turn: A report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey.
Also participating in the conference will be Rev. Rebecca Voelkel and Barbara Satin, representing The Task Force’s faith work program the Institute for Welcoming Resources. Rev. Voelkel was one of the lead coordinators of the A La Familia project.
The TransFaith in Color conference is presented by the Freedom Center for Social Justic, which recognized that while there is great work being done by many within the faith community and beyond, transgender people of color have often been underrepresented.
According to Bishop Tonyia Rawls, executive director and Founder of The Freedom Center, “Trans Faith in Color has become an important way to empower members of the transgender community to engage with broader segments of the LGBT movement and beyond.”
Initial planning for this effort began with a group of transgender people of color from across the country who gathered in 2009 to lay the foundation for TransFaith Summit 2010 and subsequent TransFaith In Color Conferences. The conference is a racially, culturally and spiritually diverse dynamic environment that welcomes transgender people from a range of faith communities and spiritual traditions.
The Task Force has been involved with TransFaith in Color since its inception. For more information, go here. | <urn:uuid:bfa9c765-1852-4141-b370-5d30c3500e03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thetaskforceblog.org/2012/08/17/task-force-active-in-transfaith-in-color-2012/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935525 | 713 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Mark Randall / Sun Sentinel
February 16, 2013
Zach Marks, 12, of Melbourne, invented GromSocial, a Facebook-like social media site for kids.
The site offers a free, parent-monitored social networking alternative for children 16 and younger. Like other social media sites, it allows users to create a profile, chat, post photos and videos, and play games. But unlike sites like Facebook or Instagram, GromSocial.com also offers kid-friendly safety tips, tutoring help, anti-bullying and anti-drug/smoking messages, and breaking news and video on health and fitness, gaming, sports and entertainment. Monitored by a network of adult volunteers around the clock, GromSocial.com requires parents or guardians to approve every friend their children communicate with, and regular "report cards" are emailed to parents detailing whom their kids interacted with and what subjects were discussed. No cursing is permitted.
Marks said he came up with the idea after getting in trouble for starting up a Facebook account before reaching the required age of 13. | <urn:uuid:21e7d89f-52a5-4cbf-9b9e-b33da31b3d6d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.centralkynews.com/fl-south-florida-inventions--pictures-20130304-003,0,4699018.photo | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911037 | 218 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Why the Landowners Supported NapoleonThe revolution had stripped the land and wealth from the churches and much of the aristocracy and sold it to landowners who were now terrified that royalists, or some sort of comprise government, would strip them of it in turn and restore it. Napoleon thus created a constitution which gave many of these landowners power, and as he said they should retain the land, ensured that they would in turn support him in turn as leader of France.
Why Landowners Wanted an EmperorHowever, the constitution only made Napoleon First Consul for ten years, and people began to fear what would happen when Napoleon left. This allowed him to secure the nomination of the consulship for life in 1802: if Napoleon didn’t have to be replaced after a decade, land was safe for longer. Napoleon also used this period to pack more of his men into government while debasing the other structures, further increasing his support. The result was, by 1804, a ruling class which was loyal to Napoleon, but now worrying what would happen on his death, a situation exacerbated by an assassination attempt and their First Consul’s habit of leading armies. The expelled French monarchy was still waiting outside the nation, threatening to return all ‘stolen’ property: could they ever come back, such as had happened in England? The result, enflamed by Napoleon’s propaganda and his family, was the idea that the Napoleon’s government must be made hereditary so hopefully, on Napoleon’s death, an heir who thought like his father would inherit.
Emperor of FranceConsequently, on May 18th 1804 the Senate – who had all been chosen by Napoleon - passed a law making him Emperor of the French (he had rejected king as both too close to the old royal government, and not ambitious enough) and his family were made hereditary heirs. A plebiscite was held, worded so that if Napoleon had no children – as he hadn’t at that point – either another Bonaparte would be selected or he could adopt an heir. The result of the vote looked convincing on paper (3.5 million for, 2500 against), but it had been massaged at all levels, such as automatically casting yes votes for everyone in the military.
On December 2nd 1804 the Pope was present as Napoleon was crowned: as agreed beforehand, he placed the crown on his own head (and on his wife Josephine’s as Empress.) Over the next few years the Senate and Napoleon’s Council of State dominated the government of France – which in effect meant just Napoleon – and the other bodies withered away. Although the constitution didn’t require Napoleon to have a son, he wanted one, and so divorced his first wife and married Marie-Louise of Austria. They swiftly had a son: Napoleon II, King of Rome. He would never rule France. | <urn:uuid:2804865b-fd02-4527-b046-047e4da52aad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/thenapoleonsandempire/a/How-Napoleon-Became-Emperor.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989792 | 596 | 3.625 | 4 |
Departing passenger lists are not the only record that
an emigrant may have left behind in the old country to document his or
her departure. While passenger lists are relatively easy to understand
(even if they don't exist for all ports), and theoretically would have
included virtually all emigrants, there are a variety of other emigration
documents you can pursue in your research. These lists vary significantly
from country to country (and even from state to state within some countries)
and are often not as comprehensive as passenger lists were intended to
be. They also often pertain to a smaller area, such as a region, district,
or province; seldom to an entire country.
What they have in common is that they do list known emigrants.
Many are lists of permission granted by the local government for a resident
or family to leave. Others are lists of those known to have left, but
the lists were gathered sometime after the emigrants departed. There are
also a few lists of clandestine (illegal, non-permitted) emigrants, although
such lists are obviously incomplete.
- When a family or an individual decided to emigrate,
there were several steps they usually followed, some to comply with
the law, some to prepare for their journey, and some from local custom
or tradition. Some of these steps generated records.
- Often a country required that the emigrant receive
permission to leave. If the emigrant obeyed this law (it is estimated
that 30 to 50% left without permission), an application to leave and/or
a passport may exist for your ancestor.
- If the family owned property, they may have sold
it. If they abandoned their property, it may show up on tax lists after
the taxes became delinquent. | <urn:uuid:0685eced-98b4-4f0d-91fd-24cf06ed61d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.genealogy.com/106/lesson5/course5_02.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973651 | 373 | 3.28125 | 3 |
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Microsoft releases a free mobile app to help bolster relief efforts and reconnect friends and family when disaster strikes.
Microsoft unveiled a free mobile app on Jan. 16 called HelpBridge
that is designed to act as a communications tool or a lifeline when a disaster strikes. HelpBridge is available now for Windows Phone, Android and iOS.
Developed by Microsoft Citizenship's Technology for Good program, the app provides smartphone owners with a mobile notification system in the event of a natural disaster. HelpBridge allows users to build and keep lists of friends and family members. When a mishap strikes, HelpBridge can alert those contacts en masse via email, Short Message Service (SMS) or Facebook.
It's a capability that can save time, perhaps even lives, during the chaos that surrounds a large-scale emergency. Microsoft's Disaster Response team's CTO, Tony Surma, is therefore encouraging users to take a few minutes setting up the app.
"When disaster strikes, you don't want to be fumbling with your phone and trying to find your mom's number. Spending a little time now can pay off in spades," said Surma in a company release.
A "few swipes" is all it takes to alert multiple contacts to a user's situation, according to Microsoft. While it can be used to set minds at ease ("I'm OK"), it also leverages GPS, a mainstay of today's mobile experience, to aid help-and-rescue efforts. "The alert can also give a user's exact location via their phone's GPS capabilities," informed the company.
HelpBridge arrives in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, a massively destructive storm that hit the U.S.'s Northeast Coast in late October 2012 and affected millions in densely populated areas of New Jersey, New York and southern New England.
Sandy led to widespread power outages—some stretching into weeks—and numerous communications network failures, effectively imposing a communications blackout for many communities. The Federal Communications Commission estimated that Hurricane Sandy knocked out 25 percent of all cell towers
in the 10 states.
Technology companies responded by pooling their resources and developing new disaster preparedness solutions. Wireless rivals AT&T and T-Mobile teamed
up to allow their subscribers to roam across both networks to help plug holes in coverage. Google rolled out its Public Alerts services into Google Search and Maps
, exposing the emergency warning and information platform to more users.
Sandy also led to an outpouring of support and charitable donations, a fact that influenced HelpBridge's development.
"People have been extremely generous donating their time and money after Sandy," said James Rooney, program manager for Microsoft Citizenship's Technology for Good. HelpBridge enables users to donate directly to the American Red Cross, CARE and Global Giving.
The app also lists opportunities for volunteering, in real-time, and helps users find agencies that are accepting resources, like food and other essentials, for their on-the-ground relief efforts. "HelpBridge could be a simple way to bump up donations or help people find new volunteer opportunities. If we can direct consumers to give easily, that’s really what it’s all about," added Rooney. | <urn:uuid:f044f4d0-398c-408b-afaf-4959e93afb3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eweek.com/mobile/microsoft-launches-free-helpbridge-disaster-readiness-mobile-app/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93402 | 656 | 1.984375 | 2 |
The story so far: Roughly in the middle of the Pacific Ocean lies a vortex created by the North Pacific Gyre. The Gyre is made up of several ocean currents that carry warm water to the poles and cold water back to the tropics. The interesting thing about the North Pacific Gyre is that the vortex in the center of the gyre contains relatively calm water and has collected a massive quantity of floating trash, dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The trash floats in the same area as neustonic organisms--floating on or just under the water’s surface. The trash is largely invisible, it’s made of up many tiny particles of broken down plastic and bits of mono filament fishing line. How small are the particles? According to a 2001 study, the average size of pieces is 5mm x 5mm, making them essentially invisible from the surface. Unfortunately, the plastic does significant damage to the marine ecosystem, harming or killing animals that ingest it and emitting damaging chemicals that impact.
Because of the size of the particles involved and the fact that the garbage patch is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, cleaning the mess is a bit of a sticky wicket. However, the designers of the Plastic Fish Tower, an entry into this year’s eVolo Skyscraper competition by a team from South Korea, aims to fix that. The Plastic Fish Tower is a spherical floating structure attached to a 1km diameter ring. The ring filters the floating plastic from the ocean, then pulls it into a central floating spherical tower, where it’s recycled into plastic fences for fish farms. Also in the tower are laboratories, residential areas, and leisure space, all beneath the sea.
Obviously, the Plastic Fish Tower won’t be built anytime soon. But with similar garbage patches being discovered in ocean vortexes around the world, we’ll need to find a solution for the floating plastic pellet problem sooner rather than later.
Image via eVolo | <urn:uuid:f83567af-17ae-46f7-b578-fabe0a49ef3f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tested.com/science/math/3747-great-pacific-garbage-patch-cleanup-concept-looks-like-underwater-skyscraper/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924921 | 407 | 3.09375 | 3 |
The MFA Program, a 60 unit terminal degree in studio
art, is designed to meet the needs of those who wish
to pursue the study of art, either as an artist,
or as a college-level instructor. The program consists
of professional study in painting, photography, interactive
media design, digital media, graphic design, illustration,
sculpture, printmaking, metalsmithing and jewelry,
and interrelated media. The conceptual and ideological
bases for artistic endeavors are explored through
art history, graduate seminars, and weekly critiques.
The goals of the students in the MFA Program are
to create, focus, and excel.
MFA students are encouraged to attend full-time, but may attend part time. Full-time students maintain a studio in the department.
Learning goals for the MFA program include:
Develop and demonstrate advanced technical and conceptual skills in the production of art and/or design work.
Demonstrate the ability to evolve an individual aesthetic/conceptual direction in the production of a body of original work.
Demonstrate knowledge of art history, art criticism, art theory, aesthetics, and cultural context in general, and in relation to individual original artwork.
Demonstrate research and writing skills commensurate with advanced study in studio art.
Prepare for careers specific to studio art: artist, designer, curator, critic/writer, teacher, gallery and museum work.
• ART 784 Seminar on College Level Teaching will be offered this fall. ART 784 can be a substitute for ART 783 or ART 782.
• Curating Contemporary Art: Theory and Practice will be a "hands-on" course in the history and changing definition of curating. | <urn:uuid:bcbaafaa-4dd5-4aa5-8cc2-357d1add6433> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://grad.towson.edu/program/master/arts-mfa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904483 | 356 | 1.710938 | 2 |
THE ORTHODOX convent of Our Lady of Saydnaya sits four-square on a
hilltop an hour’s drive from Damascus. The convent dominates the town of
Saydnaya, inhabited by Christians known for piety.
carrying a Lebanese television team, four European journalists and two
young men from the ministry of information, winds its way up the narrow
paved road to the convent and parks at the back. There, we can see where
a mortar punched a large hole in the pinkish-beige stone wall near the
roof of the 19th-century building. The wound has already been closed
with stones and mortar.
Read the complete story(Some news sites require registration) | <urn:uuid:e6c2b577-80d9-408d-84e9-a2227747f655> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pewforum.org/Religion-News/Orthodox-Christians-in-fear-of--utter-chaos--seek-refuge-in-prayer.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941437 | 149 | 1.78125 | 2 |
No matter what you make, it will become part of someone’s identity, and if you can help them share that identity with others, that identity will become a community. And connecting with other people is the most important thing we can do.
I don’t really think that most of what you need is born into you, though. Mostly, you just need to care, and try. You need to make something, and then make it again, a little better. You need to look around for money. You need to reach your hand out to meet someone when it would be easier to keep to yourself. You need to make something for you when it would be easier just do what someone else tells you to. All of these things are hard, but none of them require anything more than gumption. Which I bet you have.
So: make your thing." | <urn:uuid:e6ebf651-3b6e-4f45-9015-8786a621eb42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://catulla.tumblr.com/tagged/go-forth-and-make-stuff | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980915 | 178 | 1.578125 | 2 |
I have a confession to make. I never read Treasure Island as a kid. Actually, I haven’t read it as an adult either. Until reading the Marvel illustrated version, I had no desire. But now I feel like I’ve missed out.
Treasure Island (Marvel Illustrated Series)
By Robert Louis Stevenson
Adapted by Roy Thomas Art by Mario Gully
Ages 12 and up
I read this in bits and pieces, catching moments between mind-numbing grading of the State’s 4th grade ELA exam. Many of the other teachers in the room walked up to me and were very curious about what I was reading.
“Is that Treasure Island?”
“Is that a comic?”
I proudly showed off the beautiful artwork. The artists did a good job capturing the constant action in this story. The colors are so vibrant that the panels jump off the page. The artwork, not the story, made me hesitat as to the age specification (Marvel rates this T+) because some of the violence is so garish, that certain panels made me wince in pain! That said it was all done very tastefully.
But I tend to focus so much more on the writing and I felt this was adapted well. (I checked with Sparknotes and saw that the adaptation was very true to the original story.) The story moved well, so that I didn’t want to put the book down each time they produced a new batch of papers to grade. The characters were developed well. Jim was an innocent, brave, and cunning young boy. Long John Silver – well he was just downright creepy! There were a host of other characters and it wasn’t difficult to follow them throughout the story. Each had a distinct voice and look.
I’m probably going to pick up the original Treasure Island one day soon. It sounds like I missed a really great classic. For those who want to give their teens and tweens a great comic or want to use this to bridge them into the classics shouldn’t miss this title from the Marvel Illustrated series. | <urn:uuid:a9c332db-e5a1-4451-8450-11a0f7be75f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforkids/2009/02/20/treasure-island/ | 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 | 0.978803 | 439 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Signs you're from North Carolina
The minimum wage is going up in 10 states this year, nine of them because it's indexed to inflation and rises with the cost of living. Rhode Island passed a law last year raising its minimum wage effective Jan. 1. Here's a look at each state and the changes that were made.
The minimum wage is going up in 10 states this year. Is yours one of them?
A British Airways plane made an emergency landing at London's Heathrow Airport Friday morning after developing a technical fault, the airline said. | <urn:uuid:14f28120-b4ae-4711-bf63-f30f75a0956c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wxii12.com/news/project-economy/-/9677572/17987724/-/nen6gjz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958399 | 113 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Roster of experts available for interviews with journalists
Climate Change is alarming global issue but same time South Asia region is witnessing its worst impacts in from one decade. Tsunamis in Srilanka, Floods in Pakistan and Bangladesh and drought in some parts of India are the facts of this climate crisis. Whole South Asia region in tropical atmosphere so Pakistan, India and other countries are witnessing the late monsoon rains these days. Due to impacts of extreme weather, the rain pattern changed in this region.
It was a time when…Continue
Posted on August 30, 2012 at 10:27
Posted on August 16, 2012 at 15:35
Keenjhar Lake, which is the only source of drinking water for Pakistan’s largest populated city Karachi, is missing its marvelous paste due to the environmental and climate changes in the region. Karachi city is located at the coast of Arabian Sea in the south-east end of country. It is the main sea port and financial hub of Pakistan also. Karachi is the most populous city in the country, one of the world's largest cities in terms of population and also the 10th largest urban agglomeration…Continue
Posted on January 19, 2012 at 9:00 | <urn:uuid:c9b303dd-2092-4bd7-8757-f146d5ea67cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://climatechangemedia.ning.com/profile/NandlalAakashSantorai | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948255 | 249 | 2.125 | 2 |
If you look at printed materials on streets, malls or even trade shows, you might observe most are made of vinyl banners. These prints are made of plastic materials, making the results more durable compared to other printed materials. Also, designing them is simple. You don’t always need controversial images or snappy phrases to grab the attention of people. In fact, you only need to know some basic design tips to make banners that are just as effective as those made by professionals. To help you, I collected sample banners together with some tips you might find helpful. Enjoy!
Aim for Readability
You use banners mainly for promoting your company name, tag line or main products. You want these things to be as visible as possible. To do that, you should make banners that enable people to read them even from a distance. Use big bold fonts. Allot spaces and eliminate unnecessary details.
Keep Colors at Minimum
This tip is applicable for banners to be used indoors. People will have a hard time looking at your banners if there are too many distracting colors. One or two colors would be enough. It’ll be better if you’ll use light colors matched with stylish and dramatic fonts.
Use Bright Colors Sparingly
Choose the Appropriate Layout Shape
Emphasize One Main Element
Make it easier for people to understand what you want to say. Choose one picture, word or phrase that you want them to notice. This technique could not only capture attention; it may even encourage them to look for more details if they found that element interesting.
Above other things, it’s the design that makes or breaks the final output. You don’t need to be an expert to create an effective design; all you have to do is stick to the basics. Remember that your objective is not to create banners for mere decorations but to make them as useful and readable as possible. | <urn:uuid:056ada01-73f6-4f0a-b7b1-3806345fb052> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://creativeoverflow.net/20-vinyl-banner-samples-helpful-design-tips/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948899 | 388 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Luanda – The reduction of tuberculosis rate incidence to less than 80 new cases per 100 inhabitants was one of the priorities of the Angolan Executive’s health programme for the 2009-2012 period.
The information was given this Tuesday to ANGOP, by the Health minister, José Van-Dúnem, when speaking about the gains of his sector in the last four years.
José Van-Dúnem mentioned as programme to execute the reduction to about 70 per cent of the trypanosomiasis prevalence, the increase of attentions paid to trypanosomiasis services, by covering 80 per cent of people at risk, as well as revert the growing trend of aggravating the prevalence of HIV/Aids, bringing it down to 3 per cent.
“The decrease of malaria incidence to a figure not higher than seven cases per 100,000 inhabitants and the reduction to 50 per cent of the maternal and infantile death rate are still plans of the government to achieve the millennium goals”, said the Health minister.
He also said that the sector’s work plan includes the need to increase to 80 per cent the number of birth delivery assisted by qualified health staff, aiming to reach the figure of three physicians per 10,000 inhabitants.
“The strategic guidelines focussed on the restructuring of the national health system, which prioritises the access of the whole population to primary health care, reduction of morbity and mortality by priority diseases (…), as well as the promotion and preservation of a general context and environment propitious for health”, clarified the minister. | <urn:uuid:a9f15661-3567-455e-adc2-715937158e0b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/saude/2012/6/29/Executive-points-out-incidence-rate-reduction-priority,86391c01-4a09-4b37-bf15-29b22c119a42.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94133 | 328 | 1.78125 | 2 |
“A brief exchange with the Guardian's interpreter ascertains that he actually means "sinks", by which he means washing-up jobs, and menial work in general.”
“Designer tea towels for your washing-up pleasure ...”
“Sometimes I was late taking out the bins or would leave the washing-up until morning.”
“I survived the sheer terror of descending into the still active Great Sewer under the Forum of Nerva in Rome, wearing a plastic mac, wellies, and Marigold washing-up gloves to fend off Weil's Disease (which is born in rats 'pee and is frequently fatal).”
“One-pot or roasting tray dinners are a good idea, as you're not heating the stove and several rings at once, and you cut down on washing-up, too.”
“The flattening of the whole town of Minamisanriku and the washing-up of thousands of bodies on the shores of the Miyagi prefecture are more than anything a human tragedy.”
“Edna reflected: "Back in Melbourne, when I was a young housewife, wrist-deep in grey washing-up water and mutton fat and peas, looking out of the kitchen window through chipped venetian blinds at the broken kiddies' toys in the back garden, I never dreamt that one day I would be at this three-star hotel speaking to a really distinguished group of cutting-edge women... and the occasional man.”
“Reader Gillian Blackford chimed in with another useful rubber band trick: make your own rubber bands for storage using old washing-up gloves.”
“Multi-tool meal set This outdoor kitchen set by Primus (pictured) combines two deep plates, a salt, pepper and sugar shaker, a cup, a small screwtop container (for oil or washing-up liquid), a folding spork, a storage box with a lid and a cutting board that doubles up as a colander, grater and knife.”
“The nearby guest barn has a larger kitchen with a freezer, washing-up area and communal dining table.”
‘washing-up’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
Looking for tweets for washing-up. | <urn:uuid:2acf035e-5575-4b29-a05d-447e059aa59d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wordnik.com/words/washing-up | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945719 | 490 | 1.625 | 2 |