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1878 - He was born in Naples and studied with Benjamino Carelli and Vincenzo Lombardi (teacher of Fernando de Lucia) at the Conservatory San Pietro a Majella. An Italian baritone opera singer.
1899 - He made his début at the Teatro Bellini in Naples at the age of 21, singing Germont père in La Traviata.
1904 - Appeared at Covent Garden for the first time. He also alternated Victor Maurel and Mario Sammarco as Rigoletto.
1907 - He was celebrated at La Scala, where he sang Golaud in the Italian premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande.
1908 - Engaged at the Met. Here he sang frequently opposite Enrico Caruso, mainly in the Italian repertoire. His most successful roles at the Met were Luna, Carlos, Ashton, Tonio, Rigoletto and Amfortas.
1910 - Created Jack Rance in Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West, opposite Emmy Destinn, Enrico Caruso and Adamo Didur.
1912 - His vocal decline began. From the beginning of his career he overused his wonderful voice.
1920 - His career was relegated to appearances in provincial theaters and on tour with various companies. He spent the last years as professor of voice and opera at the Louisiana university.
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From French Adèle, an ancient name popular in medieval Europe because of the fame of a 7th-century saint, a daughter of the Frankish king Dagobert II. It is of Germanic origin, from adal ‘noble’ (a short form of a two-element name such as Adelheid; see Adelaide). It was the name of William the Conqueror's youngest daughter (c.1062–1137), who became the wife of Stephen of Blois. However, it died out in England in the later Middle Ages. It was revived in the 19th century, being the name of a character in Johann Strauss's opera Die Fledermaus. Its popularity was further reinforced in the 1930s as the name of a character in the novels of Dornford Yates. | <urn:uuid:4675e524-6046-4c34-ad38-7ad01f2be435> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://names.whitepages.com/Adele/Daake | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979652 | 167 | 3.140625 | 3 |
It’s shortly after 11 p.m. at the beginning of December. With perfect timing – it’s the start of meteorological winter – the low-pressure system dubbed “Katharina” has brought snow and frosty temperatures to South Germany. But whilst many people would rather not venture out in their cars, Anton Rosinger is looking forward to a nocturnal drive through snow and ice. “There’s nothing nicer than being out on the Jura plateau when it’s full moon and there’s fresh snow on the ground”, says the Swabian as he steers his C-Class through hairpin bends. The 55 year-old has plenty of dream roads to choose from: as a test driver for Mercedes he gets to drive on testing grounds and tracks all over the world, and knows the frozen surfaces of Scandinavia like the back of his hand, as he does the vertical curves of Nardo in Italy, the Namibian desert
and Death Valley, scorched by the Californian sun.
But now it’s time for testing in his home country: the new-generation C-Class has to prove its long-term qualities in what is known as in-camera testing in the Swabian Jura. “We do this to simulate the first year of a new vehicle with the customer”, Rosinger explains. “Working in two shifts, my colleagues and I cover around 1000 kilometres every day.” Within two weeks the thinly disguised near-series prototypes will have more than 10,000 kilometres on the clock. The circular route is precisely defined and is composed of around 65 percent rural roads, 30 percent motorway and five percent urban traffic. The torture track on the test site in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim is also used.
Today the trained car mechanic is on a night shift, and he has no idea what awaits him between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. “The procedure might be a very routine one, but every test day is different.” Rosinger certainly has plenty of experience under his belt: he has been with Daimler for 32 years, 28 of which have been spent in endurance testing. The E-Class predecessor, the W 123, was the first car he tested when he took on this role. Since then there have been huge changes in automotive technology – “above all in the fields of electronics and assistance systems”.
So the C-Class holds a sedate Sunday drive in store for us, pleasantly air conditioned and with the sounds of the audio system as a backdrop? Hardly. “I usually leave the radio switched off, so that I don’t miss hearing any rattling or creaking noises”. Because the endurance testing is not just about rigidly eating up the kilometres – Anton Rosinger’s tasks also include having an ear for locating the noises that only occur on certain road surface conditions or at specific speeds. After all, ensuring that Mercedes models do not draw attention to themselves on account of inappropriate noise or unpleasant vibrations is all part of the brand’s premium standard.
But Rosinger does not sit back and wait to see if a problem will arise – he actively subjects the C-Class to the same stresses the customers will be inflicting on their car over the course of several months: he diligently presses buttons, operates switches and plays with the controls, as the test drivers have to work through an extensive testing schedule, which includes frequent use of the power windows and closing the doors, as well as ignoring the route suggested by the navigation system – in order to see how the software reacts to the disobedient driver. If he notices anything untoward, Rosinger records a short message on his dictating machine, and then at the end of his shift he notes down every detail on his laptop.
But he is still only halfway through his shift, and no sooner has he reached the motorway, than Rosinger takes a short break. He has already covered a good 150 kilometres on the narrow, steep and sometimes snow-covered lanes of the Swabian Jura. So far there have been no problems to report – only the marten and fox have put in brief appearances at the side of the road. Even the 11 percent gradient on which a tester colleague had got stuck in freshly fallen snow the previous night was no trouble for the C-Class Saloon. It turns out that Rosinger is a brilliant driver who is sensitive in his operation of the steering wheel, accelerator and brake, displaying foresight in his driving style: “As time goes by you develop a sixth sense for the way in which other car drivers react”, says the Mercedes employee, who has covered nearly three million kilometres in his testing career.
Even members of Germany’s elite anti-terror unit, the GSG9, have profited from Rosinger’s driving skills, as he has demonstrated to them in courses how to act at the wheel in dangerous situations. He also uses his leisure time to prove his mastery of machines: Rosinger is a successful participant in motorcycle dexterity tournaments. These involve the completion of tests in which the entrants have to try and drive faultlessly in a circle one-handed, for example.
It goes without saying that both hands remain firmly on the steering wheel in the
C-Class. Safety has top priority; the test drivers have to undergo extensive training and adhere to a code of conduct, and Mercedes-Benz also insists on annual health checks.
Now we’re cruising on the main road to Stuttgart. There’s an increasing among of traffic about: the revellers on their way home to bed and the morning commuters going to work keep us company as night turns into day. “I like working shifts, as it gives me more free time”, explains family man Rosinger, who currently enjoys spending every spare minute he has with his 20 month-old granddaughter.
In Untertürkheim we meet up for the first time with colleagues who have already completed their series of tests on the torture tracks. Is being a test driver not a lonely job? “That suits me down to the ground”, Rosinger admits, grinning. “As there’s no-one to stick their oar in all the time.” It is indeed very difficult to imagine the Swabian in a desk job. When he first started at Mercedes-Benz he was in the motor racing department, where he worked on the Mercedes 450 SLC rally car under Erich Waxenberger, which was how he also came to meet Walter Röhrl.
It’s now shortly before 7 a.m., and we’re approaching the circular route’s starting point. To round off his shift Rosinger still has to see to the documentation. Any incidents of note: none. A perfectly normal night’s work draws to a close. | <urn:uuid:14d94fff-92f4-43ea-af69-ecc62533aca0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-921-1354374-1-1372150-1-0-0-1372340-0-0-11702-854934-0-1-0-0-0-0-0.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971904 | 1,454 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Where did Holmes and Watson first meet? Why did Holmes wear that deerhunter cap and why such a large pipe? Why did Holmes never seek love? This movie may have taken a rather large artistic license, but they made such a wonderful and imaginative tale!
(I love Sherlock Holmes, he's one of my addictions from early years, and I still go back to Sir Arthur's works. They are a must for mystery lovers!)
This movie is made for kids, but all the adults I know who have seen it, Love it. Holmes still has all the character appeal from his adult years, we just get to be there to watch it develop!
Holmes and Watson meet and the adventures start! People are dying mysteriously all over London. One man is said to have had some kind of attack , and ran in front of a coach. Another jumps from his window. Why, and how are they linked? When Sherlock's mentor, an eccentric retired professor given to inventing, joins the numbers Holmes is determined to find out why!
The clues begin to appear: an Egyptian blow-pipe, an old photograph of a group of Englishmen , and a much feared cult. How are they connected, and can Holmes find out before the next victim dies, or his rival gets him kicked out of school?
We meet Holmes' earliest rival, his first love, AND learn why Moriarty is his life-long nemesis! Lestrade also makes his appearance, and he is still the comic relief! We see Holmes here as we see him no where else! Not only young, but tender, unsure of himself, filled with angst& guilt, loving, and adventurous.
Watson ,as always, plays second fiddle to Holmes, but here we see why he wouldn't have it any other way. Watson's unswerving loyalty makes sense when we see how they become bound to each other not just by respect, but shared events,knowledge,pain,& loss.
There are also some interesting special effects which complement the story and even the character development well. The story and settings are wonderful. The actors were well cast, and made their characters appealing in ways too varied to describe. Easily understood by a younger audience with plenty to keep adults interested, a film with wide appeal! (Be sure to watch through the credits!)
This movie has been repeatedly underrated since it came out in 1985 and for no good reason. It has strong writing, directing, acting and setting, and a balanced dose of mystery, fantasy, reality and adventure. Sherlock Holmes, a young man still in school, faces a mystery that involves an old religious cult that may be responsible for the recent, strange murders taking place in London. Watson is the narrator of the story. He has just arrived at Sherlock's school, and fascinated by the … more
YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES is a very imaginative and entertaining addition to the Holmes Saga, detailing the boyhood of Holmes and Watson and their first brush with their most dangerous adversary... As the story opens, Watson is the new mid-term arrival at Brompton, a boarding-school in the heart of Victorian-era London, where he quickly makes friends with charismatic senior student Sherlock Holmes. On a quest to discover the reason why his mentor Waxflatter … more
Hello, my name is Quinn... yes, that really is my first name. :o) I also answer to Mom, and occasionally Entwife. I enjoy Beauty wherever I find it... Nature, Music, Art in all its forms... I believe … more
Consider the Source
Use Trust Points to see how much you can rely on this review. | <urn:uuid:49f937df-dd65-4018-a476-11797943df58> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lunch.com/reviews/movie/UserReview-Young_Sherlock_Holmes-1011593-177689-The_Game_s_Afoot_.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976724 | 744 | 1.867188 | 2 |
All students also have the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research projects through the University's UExplore Undergraduate Research Program. Through UExplore, students can receive up to $1,000 for research supplies during fall and spring semesters; or up to $2,000 in research funds, a stipend of $3,500, and free housing for 10 weeks for summer research.
A few examples of ongoing faculty research projects include:
- Analytical or Environmental Chemistry - the development of multi-antibody immunoaffinity separation platforms and heavy metal determination in the local environment
- Biochemistry - the study of an enzyme that may play a role in insulin resistance and diabetes
- Inorganic Chemistry - the synthesis of catalysts for the production of hydrogen fuel
- Organic Chemistry - the development of new methods for solid-phase synthesis of organic molecules
- Physical Chemistry - the development of multiple laser techniques for the study of highly excited electronic states of molecules | <urn:uuid:b4d955f0-cb99-482d-b780-0190206245f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.evansville.edu/majors/chemistry/research.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902369 | 193 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Hanafi, Ivan (2007) Implementation of Technical-Vocational Education and Training at German-Malaysian Institute, Malaysia. PhD thesis, Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Technical Education and Vocational Training (TEVT) system has an important role in providing high skilled labour to fulfil the needs of industry. However, most of the existing graduates of TEVT system have not yet attained the standard of job quality desired by the industry. In fact, the industry is less satisfied with the achievement of TEVT graduates, both in the technical and personal perspectives. Therefore an in-depth research of TEVT system is necessary to identify effective TEVT system that can successfully equip students with the technical skills and able to fulfil the current work demands and professional expectations. The main objective of this research was to study the implementation of TEVT system in the German-Malaysian Institute (GMI) which has been successful in preparing graduates for middle level job tasks. In addition, the study also seeked to analyse the organizational system, teaching and learning strategy employed, the curriculum, industrial involvement, and students’ employability skills of the institute. The study utilized qualitative method to gain information pertaining to the implementation of the TEVT system in the GMI. To obtain a clearer picture of students’ employability skills, quantitative method was employed. Therefore, the researcher used the mixed-method research design in the conduct of the study. The organization of TEVT system of the GMI which is in the form of a company with limited guarantee is a joint venture project between the Governments of Malaysia and Germany. The GMI as a centre for advanced technology, and technical-vocational teacher education, provides consultancy and technical services to local industry. In fact, the GMI is an integrated TEVT system with strength in the technical field, education and training, and industrial relation. The study has found six approaches and strategies of teaching and learning used in the GMI. These were adjustments of dynamic curriculum, broad-based learning, hands-on training approach, student-centred learning, project-based learning, and control in-plant training program. Most of the strategies practiced were inclined towards the inclusion of the Theory of Constructivism. The study also discovered three dominant factors that encouraged students’ enthusiasm and spirits to learn. The factors were availability of learning facilities, instructors’ competence and experiences, and learning management. Students’ employability skills were also measured. It was found that the mean score for overall employability skills was slightly high. Whereas, the mean score for personal quality was the highest among all the aspects of the employability skill’s variable. In conclusion, the organizational system employed, teaching and learning strategies, and the three dominant input factors (availability of learning facilities, instructors’ competence and experiences, and learning management) had important influence in the implementation of an effective TEVT system. The above components also provided valuable contribution in providing technical and employability skills in the preparation of students for working life. The researcher conceptualized the findings of the study into a model of technical education and vocational training system for the German-Malaysian Institute.
|Item Type:||Thesis (PhD)|
|Subject:||Technical education - Malaysia.|
|Subject:||Vocational education - Malaysia.|
|Chairman Supervisor:||Professor Ab Rahim Bakar, PhD|
|Call Number:||FPP 2007 11|
|Faculty or Institute:||Faculty of Educational Studies|
|Deposited By:||Rosmieza Mat Jusoh|
|Deposited On:||12 Apr 2010 12:53|
|Last Modified:||24 Jul 2012 10:44|
Repository Staff Only: item control page | <urn:uuid:375c537e-565a-45d8-9854-4e8aeb0193e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/5525/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931424 | 765 | 1.796875 | 2 |
The Wrights were right: humans have a deeply seated need to fly, and everything from books to movies to cartoons has been teasing us with the promise of flying cars for decades now. So many things hinted at in set-in-the-future stories have come to pass – the Internet, videophones, robotic everything – but not this one.
Ignoring all logistics entirely (because you can’t really combine Hollywood with logic), I think we’re ready.
A recent drive on area roads during the holidays revealed that. With traffic lightened during usual commuter times, it became obvious the volume of traffic our roads were truly built to accommodate was some time back in the 1950s. We need the world of George Jetson to get here.
The corridors in and around Canada’s densest cities are hellish by any measure. In a study of the most congested cities in North America, GPS company TomTom placed Vancouver second, Montreal fourth and and Toronto fifth, with Los Angeles leading the pack and San Francisco nudging into third.
Here in Ontario, the QEW was built in 1939, and Highway 401 as we know it debuted in the late 1940s. While construction is ongoing to take into account our exploding population (completion date: never), we’re bailing a sinking ship with a teaspoon. We like our cars, and most still don’t want to share them (carpooling), nor run on someone else’s schedule (transit). And so we sit and pollute, going nowhere fast.
The first Back to the Future sequel promised us flying cars by 2015. While it’s true, that it is the goal of Moller International to have a Skycar in every driveway yesterday, its biggest splash to date has been landing in the Neiman Marcus gift guide of the ridiculous in 2005. The price? $3.5-million.
I remember seeing Marty McFly on a hovering skateboard, and thinking that it seemed eminently possible, if not eminently imminent. In 1985, they had 30 years to get there; with only two years left until the movie’s future setting of 2015, it doesn’t seem so certain.
The writers of the animated classic The Jetsons left themselves far more room: 100 years, to be exact. George’s car doesn’t have to be zipping around until 2062, which means I’m going to miss all the fun.
But even if they build it, will we come?
The auto industry has made some amazing breakthroughs in recent years, as we've moved from hybrids to electrics. After decades of near-inertia on the subject (because oil will last forever), we’re finally seeing enormous strides towards not just terrific fuel efficiency, but also the comfort – if not luxury – that we’ve become so accustomed to. Car makers quickly found out consumers are unwilling and unlikely to settle for anything less.
Canada had an explosive year in auto sales in 2012. Extraordinary, really, when you factor in the current world economy, and consumers that could be (should be?) more jittery. They must be embracing this forward-thinking technology, right? Happy to have their ever-increasing wishes met? Too much range anxiety with the Leaf? Buy the Volt, with a reassuring gasoline engine along for the ride. Put in your order with Tesla to prove you can still have flash with your electric cash. Except, no. In spite of a riptide of new car sales, these innovators are stagnating.
Few buyers are biting on generous government rebates, intense media and splashy ad campaigns. Cost is no doubt the main factor; from the outside looking in, most of these cars cost about double the similar gas-powered one sitting beside it. But didn’t we want this? While we’re smart enough to see around a $3.5-million flying car, can’t we see the future we’ve been waiting for?
George Iny, of the Automobile Protection Association, sums up the public shrug toward some of these vehicles: “Sometimes the public is an ass.” Harsh or not, car buyers have been known to embrace pricey or even unreasonable cars, and many such purchases are driven by emotion. Toyota Priuses were once outliers, yet now seem positively old guard.
Are we in the middle of a transition, which like a long, complicated labour has to happen? Maybe we just need more romance when we envision the future – like effortless flying cars – instead of fuel-efficient common sense. | <urn:uuid:ffc3f4ba-bb7d-4161-aa31-dceeb926e770> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/the-future-where-are-our-flying-cars/article7050665/?cmpid=rss1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960334 | 960 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Urgent need to isolate source of burger problem
While the cause of the problem remains a concern, food safety controls have proven to be of high quality
The Government needs to get all the facts out concerning the horse DNA crisis as quickly as possible, former minister for agriculture Alan Dukes has said.
“I’m still not sure it’s horse DNA or horse meat that was found in the burgers. There seems to be some confusion over that,” he said.
Dukes, a public affairs consultant with Wilson Hartnell PR, said the Government was responding to the scandal in a correct and appropriate manner by conducting an inquiry into the situation.
“They’ve taken precautionary steps by removing everything from the shelves until they can fully investigate the problem. That was the right thing to do.”
He said one of the positive things to come out of the horse DNA crisis was the high standards of food regulation in Ireland. The current incident came to light as a result of ongoing policing of food authenticity by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. “Our food safety controls are better than other European countries which is excellent.”
Pádraig Slattery, managing director of Slattery PR, echoed Dukes, saying the most important thing for Ireland from a public relations point of view was to make all the information surrounding the crisis available to the public.
He spoke of the need “to communicate quickly what the full story is, how they are going to deal with it and how they are going to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Equally as important though is to ensure they don’t over-react to the situation”.
He said any crisis-prevention steps taken must be sound, well thought out and based on facts.
“We have had other food crises down through the years from BSE to the pork dioxin scare and the long-term impact on Irish food has not been negative. Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture have been very good at portraying Irish food as reliable and green.”
Slattery warned against concealing any information from the public, no matter how small, as it invariably always comes out and becomes a much bigger issue.
‘Honest and open’
“The Government and Government agencies need to be honest and open from the start. They only have one shot to get it right and get the truth out. You have to seem in charge from the start.”
He added that any inquiry and corrective measures taken had to be done as quickly as possible.
“Things need to be done fast in situations like this, a week or two at most. It can’t take months. As Anthony de Mello said, it’s not the issue but how he deals with the issue that defines the man and the same principle applies here.” | <urn:uuid:8a5aed3f-f5ef-4fc5-8913-33f321076c10> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/agribusiness-and-food/urgent-need-to-isolate-source-of-burger-problem-1.964087 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971541 | 595 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The American Heart Association just concluded its annual "Scientific Sessions" conference, where heart experts gather to discuss and share findings about the latest treatments, procedures and studies about heart health and heart disease prevention.
While many of the presentations targeted doctors to improve their knowledge and understanding about keeping hearts healthy and treating heart disease, some the presentations included information to help consumers understand how to keep their hearts healthy.
Professor Donna Arnett is the current President of the American Heart Association and she's the first epidemiologist to lead the AHA. She discussed four things that heart experts want you to know, based upon information presented during the conference:
1. Don't rely on multivitamins to protect heart health. A large study of doctors found that taking a daily multivitamin didn't reduce major heart events such as heart attacks, stroke or death from heart disease. Many people take multivitamins under the false assumption that they will prevent heart disease or other medical conditions.
This study, which was also published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found there was no difference in heart attacks, strokes and other heart events between doctors who took multivitamins, compared to doctors who received a placebo.
Arnett says the findings of this large study confirm previous smaller studies that found no heart benefit from taking multivitamins. "The American Heart Association has no recommendations for supplements except for fish oil," and that's only for people with very high blood levels of triglycerides, she says. Fish oil has been shown to reduce levels of triglycerides, a type of fat found in your blood, among people with high levels.
2. You're never too young to be at risk of heart disease. It's important for people to understand that heart disease isn't ageist when it comes to developing risk factors, as illustrated by the study showing that many younger people often do not get properly diagnosed for high blood pressure, Arnett says.
The study examined young adults age 18-24 who had high blood pressure and regularly went to the doctor. The young adults were 28% less likely to get a diagnosis and treatment for high blood pressure, compared to adults aged 60 and older. High blood pressure left untreated can damage blood vessels, resulting in heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and heart failure. Ask your health provider whether your blood pressure reading is normal and - if the answer is no - whether you need treatment.
3. Your reflection may show a future heart problem. What you see in the mirror and what your doctor sees when he examines you may offer keys to future heart problems.
Danish researchers found that people who had three to four specific signs of aging - receding hairline, balding at the crown of the head, earlobe crease or yellow fatty deposits (called xanthelasmata) around the eyelid, were at increased risk for heart disease and heart attack. Cardiologists have long known that people with earlobe crease and xanthelomas are at an increased risk, Arnett says. But this study tells people, "if you're getting three or four of those markers, it's a sign that you need to aggressively look at your risk factor levels and make sure that you check in with your physician about your measures."
If you have some of these signs, she says there are actions you can take, including talking to your doctor, having your cholesterol levels checked, and working on controlling heart disease risk factors by eating a healthy diet, maintaining proper weight, exercising and not smoking.
4. Heart attacks hurt your wallet as well as your heart. Here's another reason why fighting heart disease and heart attacks is important: it has a wide-ranging impact on more than your anatomy.
A notable study presented at the conference looked at the economic costs associated with having a heart attack or acute coronary syndrome, both on workers and employers, Arnett says. Researchers analyzed cost data including medical, pharmacy, short-term and long-term disability claims.
"Everybody's health insurance costs are rising, and it's a concern for both workers and employers," Arnett explains. The average worker lost 60 days of work in the short-term after an event; short- and long-term disability costs for employers were estimated at $52,473 for long-term and $7,943 for short-term.
The takeaway from this study, Arnett says, is "the importance of work site wellness and having programs that are available to employees to really understand how to embrace prevention." | <urn:uuid:85a4f0df-b306-4245-b729-0c52387981bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.click2houston.com/lifestyle/health/Good-heart-health-benefits-body-wallet/-/2597500/17347686/-/y1eu93z/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967618 | 920 | 2.890625 | 3 |
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More than 300 guests gathered on 28 February in Amsterdam to participate in the National Closing Event of the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations in the Netherlands. Representatives from various generations, cultures and interests attended an all-day programme of films, presentations, performances and debates organised by the Dutch Informal Network involved in the celebration of the European Year 2012.
The European Commission has proposed to provide Italy with €3.6 million from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to help 856 former workers of information technology services company Agile S.r.l. to find new jobs.
Arbejdsmarkedsstyrelsen (AMS) in Denmark will host this peer review from 21-22 March in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Building on the success of last year’s first edition, the European Commission is launching generations@school 2013, a competition which takes the European Day of Solidarity between Generations (29 April) as an opportunity to organise activities in the classroom that bring pupils together with seniors and contribute to a better understanding of each other.
Despite a modest growth in job vacancies, especially in the education, health care, business and administration sectors, recruitment demand stagnated in the second quarter of 2012, says the February edition of the European Vacancy Monitor.
The EU's Council of Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Ministers will meet on 28 February in Brussels. It will be devoted only to Employment and Social Affairs issues.
The European Commission has proposed to better protect workers from risks linked to exposure to chemicals at the workplace.
The 50+ generation is willing to be actively involved in discussions about fostering active ageing and in the deliberation of policy decisions which affect their lives. This is the message expressed by many of the senior citizens, about 700, who took part in the European Voices for Active Ageing (EVAA) project conducted by World Café Europe in the framework of the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations 2012. | <urn:uuid:76488943-c3b1-4926-a6a3-e15bd1bf5340> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?pager.offset=30&catId=89&langId=pt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933287 | 511 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Who’s Making Hybrids?
Microsoft’s Windows 8 will serve as both a tablet and laptop operating system. This will allow PC makers the opportunity to produce laptop/ tablet hybrids.
Apple CEO Tim Cook likened it to merging a refrigerator and a toaster. Cook stated, “Anything can be forced to converge but the problem is the products are about tradeoffs,” and “You begin to make trade-offs to the point where what you have left at the end of the day doesn’t please anyone.” He then claimed that Apple will not produce an iPad/ MacBook hybrid.
It’s worth noting that Steve Jobs claimed that Apple would not produce a video playing iPod, a year-and-a-half before video enabled iPods hit the market.
Are Hybrids Inherently Bad?
I don’t think that hybrids are an inherently bad idea. If Windows 8 doesn’t suck, and Microsoft and their manufacturing partners produce products that are both lightweight and comfortable to use, then it could work.
What does worry me is an iOS/ OS X convergence. Should Apple dumb OS X down to the lowest common denominator and force users to acquire all software via the Mac App Store, that would be catastrophic. Apple gets away with exercising a lot more control over their users than Microsoft does. That’s ok (I guess) for phones and tablets. However it’s horrible for general purpose computing.
Should Apple do this, they will lose me as a customer.
Apple’s Gestapo works hard to prevent information leaks, but every once in a while a real product shot circles around the interwebs. However more often the blurry distorted “leaked” images are fake.
Most of the time the fake images are obviously forgeries. Today’s iPod nano leaked image is one example.
This image looks nothing like the direction that Apple has moved in their product designs. The bold color and lack of a clip (a key feature for this product), make it extremely unlikely that this is real. Yet, the tech press published it all over the place. My RSS feed was full of “Leaked Nano” stories all day.
The traffic increase on Apple leaks must be huge for everyone to forgo logic and publish this garbage.
That being said, readers are smart enough to know BS when they see it.
If you’re going to post fake Apple products, they should at least look good:
Headphones are still a terrible gadget to shop for, but I did settle on the Woodees IESW100L BLUES Noise Isolating Earphones with 3 Button Microphone (Black).
Selecting a Pair
Bose & Skullcandy were out because they aren’t good, and they are overpriced. Beats by Dre are a good pair, but I wasn’t going to pay extra for his name on them, plus, the bass is too overpowering on them.
I narrowed the decision down to Sony, Shure & the Woodees.
I’m currently boycotting all things Sony due to their anti-consumer practices in their game division, so they didn’t make the cut.
It really was a coin toss between Shure & the Woodees. After reading a ton of reviews I decided to go with the boutique brand.
Onto the Woodees IESW100L BLUES.
They are by far the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever worn. I generally hate sticking earbuds in my ears, and I’m happy to walk around with these suckers in. I’ve been wearing them for hours without the slightest hint of discomfort.
They are light-weight, and they come with four different size adjustments. It was easy to find the right size for my ears.
The bass is full without overpowering.
The mids are so rich.
The highs are clear but a little subdued which I generally prefer. I have a hard time listening to strong highs for extended periods of time; especially through headphones.
They come equipped with the three button controls for newer iPods. I don’t have a new iPod so it doesn’t impact me much, however it is nice to know that they are their should I choose to upgrade.
The headphones don’t identify which bud is left and which is right. I had to listen to an album where I knew the speaker orientation to figure it out (The bud with the bottons goes in the right ear).
There isn’t enough high-end to replicate screaming guitars when solos hit very high peaks. While not the end of the world I really noticed it during the heights of Kirk Hammett’s solo in Metallica’s Fade to Black.
I’ve got no serious complaints so long as they last me a few years. If they happen fall apart, I will update this.
I’ve put the Woodees IESW100L BLUES through their paces on rock, blues, grunge, rap, metal, folk, country, classical, and a lot of stuff that resides in-between the genres, and I’m thrilled with the purchase.
They especially shine on acoustic guitar tracks. Listening to Jeff Buckley’s Lilac Wine through these headphones blew me away because I could hear more of his acoustic guitar’s sound than I realized was captured by the recording.
Shopping for headphones is a real pain in the ass. If you care about sound quality, or have an ear for music finding headphones that meet your needs is difficult for a number of reasons.
I’m currently on the hunt for a pair of in-ear headphones to plug into my iPod when I go into NYC. I have a great pair of on-ear headphones, but they aren’t any good for travel, and those white fashion statement iPod headphones really sound like junk.
Here’s the dilemma:
No In-Store Testing
Want a TV? Just walk into Best Buy and look at the pictures. You may have to reset the image settings, but you can physically look at the device.
Want a computer? Look at the specs, read a few reviews, go into the store and make sure that the keyboard and trackpad are comfortable, and make your decision.
If you want headphones you can only read very subjective reviews, that are probably written by people who have no concept of sound quality, nor do they tell you the type of music they are listening to, and that matters a lot.
Headphones you use for rap are not the kind you want for blues rock or classical music.
There aren’t any in-store tests for most headphones, so your purchase is blind.
Too Many Options
There are so many models and variations of models out there that it’s hard to keep track of what’s available, let alone what’s good.
A search for headphones on Amazon results in a paralyzing array of options where the only significant differences seem to be price. Good luck sorting through that mess.
No Clear Standards
Most gadgets have specs that are pretty easy to decipher with minimal training. That’s not the case with headphones.
The Big Brands Suck
Bose blows. Their devices have poor mid ranges, and that’s where the soul lives in music. Listening to a guitar through Bose equipment is like ripping the heart out it.
The brands that are supposed to be “the best” only sound good to people because they’ve been told that they sound good.
Good marketing ≠ Good sound quality
My search has taken me to a number of headphone blogs, and the only method I’m finding even remotely useful is finding multiple reviews of the same products by many people who care about sound quality.
When I make a purchase, I’ll let you know how it goes.
There is a lot of potential to make money in revolutionizing headphone sales.
There’s too much going on today to just cover one topic…
- Happy birthday to TGW contributer Jason (TheLisnakFactor). He is now the official TGW tech question responder guy, so send him some questions!
- Happy 10th birthday Dreamcast; the defunct Sega gaming console. Oh Dreamcast… your graphics were so good, controller was freaking odd, and your games were unfathomably easy to pirate. Thems were the good ole days.
I am back from my adventures in Costa Rica. It was an incredible trip, but I will have more on that later.
I’m still catching up with my life which pressed forward in spite of my absence, so this will be a short one.
Here’s a video from Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy titled, “Things You Never Hear.” Pay close attention to “Things You Never Hear #3,” and keep in mind that I actually wrote yesterday’s post about two weeks ago.
In other geek news, a fan created this fake trailer for a Green Lantern movie staring Firefly and Dr. Horrible’s Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan. The trailer is cheesy yet cool.
I’m rooting for a Green Lantern movie staring Fillion… dare I say, Joss Whedon could direct it.
Microsoft is attacking Apple with another wasted commercial:
As of June 2008 (a year ago), Apple had sold about 163 million iPods:
Zune has been a lost cause since launch. Trying to outflank Apple by labeling Zune as the cheaper alternative will only damage Microsoft’s brand and reputation (as I pointed out before).
I do want to see Microsoft put up an intelligent fight (although I am not sure why I care).
Please Microsoft, pick better battles. | <urn:uuid:3c84737e-9bde-4bf4-8ab4-aef743e83cec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thegeekwhisperer.com/tag/ipod/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949942 | 2,067 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are, by definition, epithelial cells with an intact nucleus that express cytokeratin and don’t express the leukocyte-common antigen CD45, which are found in the blood of cancer patients.
Their presence and abundance in patients who have undergone treatment has been shown to correlate with disease progression and overall survival. They are extremely rare even in such patients: estimates are in the range of 10-8–10-9, and 50 from a milliliter of blood is considered a good yield.
Yet no one truly knows what CTCs are, where they come from, what they mean, what the best way is to get at them, or even what to with them afterward. There is a single FDA-sanctioned technology, Veridex’ CellSearch, approved only for the semi-automated enumeration of CTCs from 7.5 mL of whole blood.
That doesn’t stop other techniques—some of which build upon the CellSearch platform, others utilizing distinct technologies—from generating a lot of excitement as well. Academic scientists, physician-researchers, and industry players gathered at Select Biosciences’ inaugural “Circulating Tumor Cells” conference to discuss how to capture, analyze, and interpret the data from these putative biomarkers that many feel have the potential to significantly impact clinical oncology.
Minetta Liu, M.D., associate professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, uses CellSearch for “all of my patients within the indication of metastatic disease, and I have found it useful in timing imaging studies, in helping to determine in conjunction with routine clinical factors and our radiological studies whether current therapy is helping a patient or not,” she said. “We don’t know what we’re counting, but I do know that counting the cells with that technology does correlate with patient outcomes.”
The hope is to go beyond simply enumerating CTCs. “We need to figure out what these cells are so we can manipulate them, to do better in those outcomes,” she added. Dr. Liu is involved in a clinical trial comparing molecular features of CTCs with those from primary breast tumor or metastatic sites, “trying to get an understanding of what these cells are trying to tell us.”
Stefanie Jeffrey, M.D., chief of surgical oncology research at Stanford University School of Medicine, is interested in how CTCs may be used to individualize therapy. Even from the same blood draw you can see different types of CTCs, and this may have implications for treatment, especially in a metastatic setting. One drug may be needed to treat one kind of metastasis and another drug to treat another, but you usually cannot biopsy all metastases a patient has.
“If you could do a liquid biopsy in real time, and could see how the tumor cells are changing, then potentially you may be able to more intelligently select the therapy—but this would have to be proven within a prospective clinical trial,” Dr. Jeffrey said. “We’re hoping that CTCs that are released to the bloodstream may be a surrogate, representing some of the cells that are involved in the seeding and reseeding of metastases.”
Lihua Wang, M.D., Ph.D., senior scientist of laboratory of toxicology and pharmacology at Frederick National Lab, develops CTC assays for targets that have been demonstrated for tumors, to have a way to measure the effect on tumor cells multiple times after administration of a drug—the assumption being that what’s happening in the CTCs is accurately reporting what’s happening in the tumor. But this needs to be proven. In fact, one of Dr. Wang’s fundamental goals is to establish whether a CTC is an equivalent to a biopsy.
A true surrogate not only accurately reports the same effect on its target, but reports it quantitatively as well. For the assays they have looked at there is concordance, she noted. “We have not yet proven that it’s a surrogate. That’s a high hurdle.”
Cells can be captured part way through the automated steps of CellSearch for the purpose of characterization, and there are also other ways to collect CTCs as well. These may not capture the same set of CTCs, and “it’s important to look at these side by side and to try to really figure out what they are and where they might be most useful,” remarked Dr. Liu.
Among these is the MagSweeper, an automated device that uses a reiterative process of magnetic capture, wash, and release to enrich CTCs by up to 108, yielding a highly purified sample of live CTCs that can be analyzed on a single-cell basis. The MagSweeper was invented by Dr. Jeffrey and Stanford colleagues from the Genome Technology Center and School of Engineering, and has been licensed to Illumina.
Dr. Jeffrey donates her royalties to a nonprofit charity “so that I can use other technologies that may isolate more CTCs but maybe not as pure for different purposes, or to capture different phenotypes of CTCs,” she pointed out. “And so we’re testing other technologies in our lab as well.”
The On-Q-ity platform combines affinity capture with size filtration capture to isolate CTCs. About 100,000 micropillars, conjugated with antibody, line the chamber of the plastic microfluidic device. The micropillars are arrayed in a gradient—they “get closer and closer together as the blood flows through the device, allowing you to capture the cells based on size in addition to affinity,” explained Kam Sprott, Ph.D., the company’s director of product development. The smaller leukocytes should be able to flow through even the smallest gaps, while CTCs are retained in the chamber for imaging or further processing.
Another way to achieve a similar end is to “make sure that cancer cells collide with the walls of the chip very often, but the contaminating cells—the things we don’t want to capture, which is mostly white blood cells—don’t collide with the surface anywhere near as much,” said Brian Kirby, Ph.D., who directs the Micro/Nanofluidics Laboratory in Cornell University’s Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He used his training in fluid mechanics to design a three-dimensional geometrically enhanced differential immunocapture (GEDI) microfluidic device in close collaboration with Weill Cornell Medical College’s David Nanus, M.D., and Evi Giannakakou, Ph.D. | <urn:uuid:46b77ab8-7c0c-4e74-b0f0-c5621f2e4ec7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://genengnews.com/gen-articles/demystifying-circulating-tumor-cells/4189/?kwrd=Cellular%20Biology | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948676 | 1,448 | 2.640625 | 3 |
DURING HIS State of the Union speech Tuesday, President Obama proposed raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour - and then indexing it to annual increases in the cost of living, so that further raises would be small but automatic every year.
Some liberals complained the wage hike was too small; some conservatives oppose the existence of any minimum wage at all, preferring to leave the matter entirely up to negotiations between an employer and employee.
Who is right? Should the minimum wage rise, or should it even exist?
Joel Mathis and Ben Boychuk, the RedBlueAmerica columnists, wrestle with the implications.
Workers should not live in poverty
By Joel Mathis
NINE dollars an hour might seem like a good raise in the minimum wage - the current rate is $7.25 an hour - except it's not, really.
President Obama himself campaigned in 2008 on raising the wage to $9.50 an hour. Adjusted for inflation, that would be $10.13 an hour in today's dollars, and even then it wouldn't be enough to pull American families above the poverty line.
For a family of four, with one parent working full time, the minimum wage would have to be $11.78 an hour just to pull that family to the poverty line.
And that's where liberals should start negotiations: With the idea that working a full-time job in this country won't leave your family in poverty at end of the workweek.
Opponents of the minimum wage will
They also suggest that minimum wage laws do little to raise workers out of poverty.
But nothing precludes an employer and an employee from negotiating a higher wage, of course. And it's worth noting that the minimum wage contains all kinds of exceptions, depending on the kind of work being done. But there's nothing wrong with a minimal standard for employee wages; if businesses can't afford that minimum, they're probably not going to last long in the market anyway.
Yes, there are studies to show that minimum wages don't tend to raise workers out of poverty. Then again, the minimum wage is often set below the poverty level. Let's see what happens when we raise the wage high enough to matter. Now would be a good time to start.
Young people would be hurt most
By Ben Boychuk
PRESIDENT Obama must really have it in for young people. Not only will twenty- and thirtysomethings bear the disproportionate burden of paying for the president's health care "reform," the younger cohort and teenagers also would be hurt most by the president's minimum wage proposal.
Youth unemployment is a real crisis today. Among teens - the bulk of the minimum wage-earning population - the unemployment rate is around 25 percent. Meanwhile, more than 6.5 million Americans between the ages of 20 and 24 - mostly young graduates - are sitting idle, completely out of the workforce, often with crushing student loan debt.
Raising the minimum wage sounds beautiful. More money for people struggling to lift themselves out of poverty! Who could possibly object?
Most reputable economists, actually. Congress could raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour, but it doesn't mean labor is worth that much.
Raise the cost of labor, and you will get less of it, not more.
The result isn't hard to predict: When the minimum wage goes up, the unemployment rate follows.
University of Chicago economist Casey B. Mulligan estimates that the last federal minimum wage hike, which took effect in 2009, added 800,000 people to the unemployment rolls through December 2010. And, yes, Mulligan's study took account of the ravages of the Great Recession.
So what happens if President Obama has his way and the federal minimum wage rises to $9 an hour or higher? Money doesn't just appear out of nowhere. Businesses that get by with tight profit margins - restaurants, for example - won't necessarily hire. They'll raise prices, cut hours, or make do with the workers they already have.
In short, if you're a young person or a low-skilled worker, or you're a college grad struggling to find any work at all, a higher minimum wage will make your job a lot harder.
Ben Boychuk (email@example.com) is associate editor of City Journal. Joel Mathis (firstname.lastname@example.org) is a writer in Philadelphia. Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/benandjoel. | <urn:uuid:86336e45-de7f-40c6-9280-749a2c45a03e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sbsun.com/business/ci_22598511/is-it-time-raise-minimum-wage-opinion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955332 | 928 | 2.203125 | 2 |
"A UFO is an unidentified flying object. It's just an object someone can't recognize. Just because a person can't identify something doesn't mean it's an oddity,...People see it and think it's impossible unless it comes from outer space, ...Their imaginations, of course, are prone to thinking the object must have come from outer space. People don't tend to make good observers."- John Hubisz, professor of physics, on UFOs
"Have questions or having trouble manipulating the atoms in the universe with your thoughts? Well, Oprah feels your pain and is going to do a show just for people like you.- Steven Sashen, writing on The Anti-Guru blog asking, "Okay, Oprah, Let's Settle This Once And For All" (Which I think is a good idea)
But rather than merely attracting guests by seeing, believing and receiving, she’s actively soliciting people who, for some reason, can’t make the UNIVERSAL LAW of Attraction work for them. Oprah’s producers say, “The Oprah Show is looking for people who have questions about the “Laws of Attraction.”
For a moment, let’s ignore that if it were a UNIVERSAL LAW, people would have no trouble with it or questions about it. I mean, when’s the last time you had trouble with gravity? I don’t know about you, but if I had a dollar for every time I spilled water on the ceiling because I tried putting my cup on a table, but it floated up into the air instead… well, I wouldn’t have a dollar. But, hey, maybe it’s just me.
But, I’ll play along. Here’s are my questions:
Why assume that if you’re “having trouble” with the LOA it’s because of some problem you have? That you don’t understand something, or that something is preventing you from implementing The Secret and getting what you (think) you want? That some new bit of knowledge will allow you to bend the will of the cosmos to your puny desires (seriously, why isn’t anyone using The Secret to “manifest” food and water for everyone on the planet instead of for a new car, house, relationship, job, body, or Oscar?)
What if, and again, I’m just askin’ here, the fact that so many people can’t make it work reliably (and by “so many” I mean EVERYONE) is proof that the very premise is flawed?
What if, and please just humor me, the times it SEEMS TO WORK are not proof that it does, but a demonstration about human beings bad understanding of probability and complex cause-and-effect relationships, and our tendency to latch onto times we BELIEVE we have control over a chaotic universe, even when we don’t?
What if trying to “have strong intention” in order to create a specific outcome is no less superstitious than believing that ripping the heart out of a young girl every night causes the sun to rise the next morning? (It wasn’t too long ago that a lot of us believed that.)
Why do we “believe our own experience” when we THINK that the LOA worked for us in the past, when our own experience lies to us on such fundamental levels?
For example, ever had a VIVID memory that turned out to be wrong? Or, even simpler:
We KNOW there are no gray dots in the spaces between the squares, below, but it’s impossible NOT to *see* them. This should send us SCREAMING from the room with the knowledge that we cannot trust our most basic perceptions, rather than writing it off as a “trick.”
Anyway, in the spirit of fairness and scientific inquiry (as well as good television), let me propose this experiment for Oprah’s show:
At the beginning of the show, announce that one member of the studio audience will get a new car. And the job of everyone on the show, with the help of how ever many “experts” about The Secret they bring on, is to “attract” the new car.
Now, right before giving out the car, ask the audience who feels/thinks/believes that they’ll get it. Ask who has asked and believed and is ready to receive.
If more than one hand goes up in the air, then The Secret is nonsense.
Since everyone can’t be correct, and if more than one person believes they’ll be the winner, than the internal experience of “believing” or of “having the right vibration” or of “having the cleanest colon”, or whatever, has absolutely no relationship to whether you’ll get what you want.
There’s no Vibrate-o-meter or Gauge-o-Attraction (let alone a thought, or feeling, or belief) that can measure or predict, IN ADVANCE, who will get the car.
Now there are two ways to finish this experiment:
1) Give the car away in a RANDOM DRAWING… and then ask the winner why he/she won and listen to the story he/she makes up. It’ll be total fiction about how he/she is responsible for getting the car (probably by not really wanting it in the first place). Of course, it would be my hope that the car would go to someone who DID NOT have their hand up for “who thinks they’ll get it!”
Then ask ALL the losers why they didn’t get the car and listen to their stories — equally fictional — about how they weren’t visualizing hard enough, were vibrating 3 MHz too slow or fast, how their chakras were spinning backwards, or how a psychic predicted they wouldn’t win… or whatever.
Stories made up after the fact to justify history are JUST STORIES. (Now is the time to kill one of your pets so that we have a good corn harvest next season.)
But here’s an even better resolution for the show…
2) DON’T GIVE AWAY THE CAR!
That’ll put a twist in the audience’s collective knickers (Or turn the show into an homage to Let’s Make a Deal and if anyone in the audience IS wearing knickers, give them the car).
Make everyone the “loser” and show, definitively that no amount of wishing, hoping, releasing, allowing, attracting, vibrating, manifesting, willing or anything else had ANYTHING to do with the results.
And then watch the crowd tear down the studio in some sort of soccer-style rampage that would make fights on Jerry Springer look like an afternoon with Mr. Rogers… and then do the follow-up show about how Oprah and all The Secret experts attracted this negativity.
OH! I just realized how I really want the show to end.I want to see someone do the ONE THING that reliably and dramatically improves (but doesn’t guarantee) their chance of getting what they want. Namely, taking EFFECTIVE ACTION.
When Oprah asks who thinks they’ll get the car, I want to see someone bound out of the audience, stride right up to Oprah, yank the keys from her hand, and drive the car through the studio wall!
And then roll the credits over the stunned faces of everyone in the studio, Oprah included." | <urn:uuid:bd0c9d75-eac0-4269-af03-3968820bb2bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://themachoresponse.blogspot.com/2008/02/ufo-prah-unnecessarily-fooling-others.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946555 | 1,614 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Revised plan for Green Mountain Reservoir, Cataract Lake area gets provisional OK from advisory group
By Bob Berwyn
SUMMIT COUNTY — This land is once again your land for free, at least at the popular Cataract Lake trailhead in northern Summit County, where the U.S. Forest Service has been charging a feee to park and hike since the late 1990s.
But last week, a citizen advisory committee voted to a approve a revised recreation plan for the larger Green Mountain Reservoir area, including Cataract Lake, and the new plan ends the unpopular Cataract Lake parking and hiking fee, as well as day use fees at Green Mountain Reservoir. The new plan also reconfigures camping fees to a basic per-site charge, with extra fees for extra cars.
A couple of caveats: The vote by the Colorado Recreation Resource Advisory Committee apparently was incomplete, with a few members missing, so it’s not altogether clear if the vote will stick, Arapahoe-Roosevelt National Forest Supervisor Rick Cooksey, the designated federal official on the recreation advisory panel. Cooksey said he will speak with the members who were absent from the meeting to try and get their approval for the Green Mountain-area plan.
If the vote does stick, it probably won’t take effect until next summer, according to Ken Waugh, recreation staff officer at the U.S. Forest Service Dillon Ranger District.
“I consider Green Mountain a victory not just for us but for the Forest Service. It’s in compliance with the law,” said Kitty Benzar, president of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition, a group that’s been spearheading the charge against inappropriate and illegal public land fees.
The history of the controversial fees goes back to the late 1990s when the Forest Service launched what was then called the recreation fee demonstration project, or rec fee demo, for short. Cataract Lake was one of the original sites chosen to try and wear down public resistance to the idea of paying fees to park and hike.
The agency adopted the fees with the justification that recreation budgets were shrinking, although opposition groups claimed it wasn’t quite that simple. Critics said the fees were part of a subtle shift toward the privatization and capitalization of public lands.
The bulk of the revenues from the free program were intended to be used at the sites were they are collected to make needed improvements, with a smaller percentage going to administrative costs (fee collection, enforcement) and to a regional fund for starting new fee projects.
At Green Mountain Reservoir, the recreation fees have helped to cover costs of managing the area in the last few years, but needed improvements at the campgrounds have been supplemented from the overall Forest Service budget, with the biggest recent boost coming from a federal economic recovery grant that paid for major improvements on Highway 9 and the Cow Creek camping area.
As opposition grew, and when the demo program expired, Congress passed an updated version of the fee program, called the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. The revised law included very specific requirements as to where public land agencies can charge fees, but the underlying philosophy was the same.
Since then, the controversy over the fee program has focused on whether certain fee sites have the amenities required by the law. Critics continue to charge that the agencies are charging fees that don’t meet the legal requirements, and they have won several significant court victories, most recently in Arizona, where a federal judge nixed an area-wide recreation fee.
As a result of those rulings, the Forest Service has even entered into settlement talks on the recreation fees it charges at Mt. Evans, where the fee structure may be revised as a result of the talks.
Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Ranger District, forests, public lands, Summit County news, US Forest Service, White River National Forest Tagged: | Cataract Lake, Colorado, FLREA, forest service recreation fees, Green Mountain Reservoir, Summit County, Western Slope No-Fee Coalition | <urn:uuid:a8509381-8ffc-4527-9bb5-e899c3d7e510> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/06/20/colorado-forest-service-to-drop-fees-at-cataract-lake/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955097 | 833 | 1.640625 | 2 |
While, Microsoft is busy playing catch-up, Google is determined to stay on the cutting-edge. It has launched a new open source project dubbed ANGLE (Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine), which will enhance Chrome’s graphics rendering capabilities.
In very simple terms, the goal of ANGLE is to permit execution of WebGL content in Windows systems by utilising DirectX 9.0. WebGL is a cross platform API which can be leveraged by web applications to serve hardware accelerated 3D graphics within the browser.
The trouble with WebGL is that it relies on the OpenGL ES 2.0 API. Once upon a time OpenGL was considered a serious competitor to DirectX. However, in the recent years it has been decimated by Microsoft’s DirectX. So much so, most Windows systems do not even have the requisite OpenGL drivers installed. ANGLE project aims to work around this problem by implementing most of the OpenGL ES 2.0 API.
WebGL is still a young technology with limited support. Microsoft isn’t even a member of the working group and hasn’t showed any inclination to support WebGL in the future. In fact, given its long conflict with OpenGL, it is doubtful if Microsoft will ever warm up to WebGL. Nevertheless, Google obviously believes that technologies like WebGL, which are important for next-gen web applications, deserve a chance. It will be interesting to see if Google really succeeds in making a difference. | <urn:uuid:5cf64552-3962-4e1e-bb84-877201b84865> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://techie-buzz.com/browsers/google-angle-webgl-opengl.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93557 | 297 | 2.140625 | 2 |
A LITTLE HISTORY:The Campbells Russian hamster, Phodopus campbelli, was named in honor of W.C. Campbell, who captured one of these fine hamsters in Tuva, Mongolia in July of 1902. It is also commonly referred to as the Djungarian hamster because it commonly lives in a region in Mongolia known as Djungaria. Campbells Russians can also be found in northern China, central Asia and parts of Russia.
CAMPBELLS RUSSIANS IN THE WILD!The Campbells Russian hamster usually lives in steppes (vast, semi-arid grass covered plains), here they are able to dig their burrows, which often extend three feet into the ground. These burrows are usually very comfortable, with the walls of it's chambers lined with scavenged sheep wool and dry grass. While the temperature outside the burrow can range from 5 below 0 to 72 degrees (-25 to 23 celsius) the temperature inside will remain around a cozy 62 degrees, the perfect temperature for raising young Campbells Dwarf Russians. Campbells' burrows typically have several exits and entrances from which the hamster can make a quick get away should they encounter a predator. Owls, foxes, falcons and weasels are always eager to pounce on an unsuspecting and unguarded hamster. These hamsters travel up to a mile at night (they are nocturnal animals) in search of food. The Campbells Russian can also hold very large amounts of material in their expandable cheek pouches allowing them to store lots of food or bedding on their nightly runs to be stored later back at their burrow.
COLORS AND MARKINGS:Until the introduction of the ARGENTE, discovered in the former Soviet Union in the late 1970's, the only color available to the pet consumer was AGOUTI (which is sometimes referred to as their natural or normal wild color). The albino first appeared in Hungary in the late 1980's (white with pink eyes). Since then, some creative breeding has increased the number of colors and markings; including the satin coat which was first introduced in 1981, with more colors being developed on a regular basis. The first broken color was developed in the UK in the early 1990's and the fun began.
It is assumed that the Campbells Dwarf has numerous spotting genes, but only 3 have been clearly identified at this point; the collar, the mottled, and the spot. Since there is no "standard of perfection" recognized internationally, there are several names attached to some of the colors and markings. We will not enter the controversy surrounding the proper name. Instead a list follows which will indicate come of the various names used to refer to various markings.For those who might be interested, an article has been published by Tina Bolton entitled "CONFUSION, CONFUSION" which describes the genetic difference.
MARKINGS:SPOTS: Sometimes referred to as Mottled or Broken color. It is generally associated with an animal with a white body and definite spotting over the back and the head.
PEARLS: Also referred to as PLATINUM, a white animal with a dorsal stripe and colored ticking on the face and flanks.COLLAR: A colored hamster with a solid white band around the shoulders and the neck. MOTTLED: A colored animal with white spotting that is feathered into the color. Spotting is not as precise as that of the actual spot.
colors:ARGENTE is sometimes referred to as Cinnamon or Sandy in color. Cross-breeding with the OPAL, has led to the introduction of several new colors: BLUE, Blue Fawn, Lilac Fawn, BLACK and BLACK EYED ARGENTE.
Although Dwarfs don't carry some of the lethal genes known to exist in Syrians, if two spotted dwarfs (normally red eyed dwarfs) are mated, there is the possibility of creating the Anopthalmic White Gene as seen in the Syrians. Normally about 25% of the litter will be Anopthalmic (eyeless) Whites and generally won't live past two weeks of age because they will also be toothless. There are however, exception to this rule. The picture to the right is of an Anopthalmic White Dwarf, she is now four months old. She isn't as large as others her age. Her diet consists of a bowl of assorted grains that she only picks at, as well as cooked cereals and canned dog food. She doesn't have problems finding her way around the cage or running in the wheel.
CAMPBELLS SCENT GLANDS:Like the Syrians, Campbells Dwarfs have scent glands. Unlike the Syrians however, they are not located in the hip, but are discharged from glands at the corner of the eyes, pouches, behind the ears and from the rectal and urinary vents. Such glands are also located on the male's abdomen and the female's genitalia. The primary function of these scent glands is to mark territory through grooming. In the wild, these hamster would mark the entrance to their burrows by rubbing their ears and eyes with their paws and scratching and rolling.
Much like Hansel and Gretel with their bread crumbs, the dwarf hamster with its poor eyesight marks the trail they follow using the odor from its scent glands. By grooming before leaving the burrow, the scent is adhered to its paws therefore marking their entire trail which can then be back-tracked all the way back to the safety of the burrow. The scent on both the trail and the entrance can last up to eight days.Check out some pictures of the many different colors in our FINS N FUZZ photo section. | <urn:uuid:8ac2b873-3fc5-4ad1-a39a-871f05418055> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hamsterific.com/RussianHamster.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969345 | 1,196 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Two American scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their work revealing protein receptors that tell cells what is going on in and around the human body. Their achievements have allowed drug makers to develop medication with fewer side effects.
Research spanning four decades by Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka on "G-protein-coupled receptors" has increased understanding of how cells sense chemicals in the bloodstream and external stimuli like light, according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awarded the prize.
Lefkowitz began the research by tracking adrenalin receptors. The Nobel Prize announcement apparently set off some of the excitement hormone in his own body.
"I'm feeling very, very excited," he said in a predawn phone call from the United States to the committee in Stockholm, Sweden, which announced the winners at 5:45 a.m. ET.
"Did I even have any inkling that it was coming?" Lefkowitz said. "I'd have to say no."
He contacted Kobilka via a Skype video call to celebrate the news after receiving the call from the Nobel committee.
Lefkowitz, with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, began tracking cell receptors with radioactive substances in 1968.
In the 1980s, Kobilka, from Stanford University School of Medicine in California, joined the research to isolate the human gene that produces the adrenalin receptor, the academy said.
"Kobilka achieved another break-through" in 2011, the academy said in a news release: a photographic image of a hormone triggering a receptor to send an impulse into its cell.
"This image is a molecular masterpiece -- the result of decades of research," the academy said.
Humans experience G-protein-coupled receptors most consciously when they smell, see and taste, the academy explained in a background document. But within the body, they sense "signaling substances, such as adrenalin, serotonin, histamine and dopamine."
"They serve as the gateway to the cells," Lefkowitz said.
"Around half of all medications act through these receptors, among them beta blockers, antihistamines and various kinds of psychiatric medications," the academy explained.
In the case of adrenalin -- known in science as epinephrine -- receptors in cells of the heart make it beat faster and receptors in muscle cells signal them to activate to mobilize a person's strength.
Newly anointed Nobel Laureate Lefkowitz can use the energy boost.
"I'm thinking that this is going to be a very hectic day," he said. "I was going to get a haircut," he revealed, triggering laughter at the academy, as he explained that he really felt he needed one. "But I'm afraid it will probably have to be postponed."
Nobel Prizes in chemistry have gone to predominantly to organic (or carbon-based) chemistry, particularly to discoveries in the area of life sciences, such as genetics.
This year's monetary award will be 8 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million). This represents a drop of 20%, compared with last year, from 10 million Swedish kronor, and is due to the turbulence that has hit financial markets.
Last year, Israeli scientist Daniel Shechtman from Technion - Israel Institute of Technology won the award for the discovery of quasicrystals, which was made in 1982 and "fundamentally altered how chemists conceive of solid matter," according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
On Tuesday, the academy bestowed Nobel honors in physics on Serge Haroche of France and David Wineland of the United States for their work in quantum optics that allowed scientists to observe the workings of atoms without disturbing their properties. As a side effect, their work lays down principles that could lead to quantum computers, which are astronomically fast computers that would radically change human life, if ever invented.
On Monday, the Nobel Assembly awarded the prize for physiology or medicine to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka jointly for their discovery that stem cells can be made of mature cells and need not necessarily be taken from fetuses or embryos.
The committee also will announce prizes in literature, peace and economics.
Since 1901, the committee has handed out the Nobel Prize in chemistry 103 times. In certain years, mainly during World Wars I and II, no prize in chemistry was awarded.
The youngest recipient was Frederic Joliot, who won in 1935 at the age of 35. The oldest chemistry laureate was John B. Fenn, who was 85 when he received the prize in 2002.
Frederic Sanger was the only scientist to win the chemistry prize twice for his work related to the structure of proteins and DNA. | <urn:uuid:d12b1ba7-627e-47e2-820a-f34e790b9183> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ksat.com/news/2-Americans-win-Nobel-Prize-in-chemistry/-/478452/16924166/-/ognsyk/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961629 | 987 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Fairlington, Arlington, Virginia
Fairlington Historic District
|Location:||Roughly bounded by Quaker Lane, King St., I-395, S. Walter Reed Dr., and S. Abingdon St., Arlington, Virginia|
|Area:||322 acres (130 ha)|
|Architectural style:||Colonial Revival|
|Added to NRHP:||March 29, 1999|
Fairlington is an unincorporated neighborhood in Arlington County, Virginia, United States, located adjacent to Shirlington in the southernmost part of the county on the boundary with the City of Alexandria. The main thoroughfares are Interstate 395 (Shirley Highway) which divides the neighborhood into North and South Fairlington, State Route 7 (King Street) and State Route 402 (Quaker Lane).
The neighborhood consists almost entirely of townhouse-type condominium apartments built in the 1940s as the largest housing project financed by the Defense Homes Corporation during World War II. Fairlington is listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and on the Virginia Landmarks Register.
Name, boundaries, and geography
Fairlington was originally called Seminary Heights but it was changed due to confusion with other nearby geographical features named for Alexandria's Virginia Theological Seminary including Seminary Drive, Seminary Road, and Seminary View, among others. A new name, Fairlington, was chosen combining the two counties in which the neighborhood was then located: Fairfax and Arlington. (The former Fairfax County section is now part of the City of Alexandria.)
The neighborhood is wooded and sits on heights overlooking the Four Mile Run valley. It is bisected by I-395 into North and South Fairlington connected by the Fairlington Bridge (South Abingdon Street).
Early history
Upon the arrival of Europeans in the New World, the area that is now Fairlington was near a Necostin Indian village in the 17th century. In the early 18th century, a 534 acres (216 ha) tract including Fairlington and extending to nearby Four Mile Run was granted under the headright system to William Struttfield, one of 48 original landowners in what is now Arlington County. By 1756, the land was owned by John Carlyle, a friend of future U.S. President George Washington, who was also the builder of Carlyle House in Alexandria. Carlyle and his heirs would possess the area of Fairlington for 150 years. Around 1770, Caryle began construction of a plantation and summer house near the current intersection of 30th Street South and South Columbus Street. The house was first called Torthorwald and later changed to Morven and stood until 1942. Carlyle used his plantation as a stud farm and operated a grist mill downstream from Fairlington above what is now Arlandria. Following John Carlyle's death in 1780, the house passed to his nephew, Carlyle Fairfax Whiting. George Washington himself owned a portion of the land in what would become Fairlington, near the Abingdon Elementary School and South 28th Street after he bought two of the 48 Arlington land grants.
Following the American Revolution, new federal district governed by Congress was created in 1790 and the area that is now Fairlington (except for part of the section now within Alexandria) was included within the original boundaries of the new District of Columbia, forming part of Alexandria County, D.C.. Congressional control began in 1801 and the area was no longer under Virginian jurisdiction. However, in 1846, the entire county was retroceded to Virginia and became Alexandria County, VA.
From Union occupation to World War II
With the secession of Virginia from the United States on 17 April 1861, Northern Virginia was quickly overrun by Union soldiers. A line of redoubts and breastworks above Four Mile Run was constructed to defend of the main base of the occupying Army of the Potomac in Alexandria and the Fairlington area was the site of two of these. Fort Reynolds, a redoubt, was constructed in September 1861 to command the approach to Alexandria by way of the Four Mile Run valley. It had a perimeter of 360 yards (330 m) and emplacements for 12 guns and was located just northeast of what is now 31st Street South at South Woodrow Street. Battery Garesche at what is now South Abingdon Street at South 30th Road and was constructed late in 1861 to control the higher ground dominating Fort Reynolds, 200 yards (180 m) to the southeast. It had a perimeter of 166 yards (152 m) and emplacements for 8 guns. The area was never liberated by Confederate forces and remained under US military occupation until 1870.
Despite the military use of what is now Fairlington, the area retained a rural character; mostly wooded, with some small farms, into the 20th century. In 1879, the area of Fairlington was consolidated under Hawkins Smith who remodeled Morven and renamed it Hampton. His son, Hawkins Smith II, made Hampton a leading horse farm but sold it in 1926. It was subdivided with some of the land rented by sharecroppers. One cleared area in South Fairlington served as an airfield until the mid-1930s.
In 1920, Alexandria County was renamed Arlington County to distinguish it from the neighboring independent City of Alexandria and in 1929, Alexandria annexed all of Arlington County south of Four Mile Run to the current boundary along Quaker Lane.
The creation of Fairlington
At the time of the United States entry into World War II in December 1941, the Defense Homes Corporation (a component of the Federal Housing Administration) had purchased most of the area. The corporation was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940 through the allocation of emergency funding and, by February 1942, it had assembled 322 acres (130 ha) for construction of housing for civilian and military defense personnel to be called Seminary Heights. The site was only 2 miles (4.0 km) from 1⁄2the Pentagon which had begun construction in August 1941. As with nearby Parkfairfax, Alexandria, and several other sites throughout metropolitan Washington, the Corporation endeavored to quickly satisfy increased wartime demand for housing and, by the end of 1943, by which time the project was renamed Fairlington, there were almost 2,415 housing units completed. By 1945, there were 3,439 units when the project was completed at a cost of $35 million ($368 million in as of 2005[update] dollars).
In 1947, the Defense Homes Corporation sold the property to Fairmac Realty Corporation, which operated Fairlington as rental apartments. The area surrounding Fairlington also began to urbanize with nearby Shirlington Shopping Center opening in 1945 and Bradlee Shopping Center in the 1950s.
In 1952, the independent City of Alexandria annexed the small Fairfax County portion of Fairlington, rendering the name an anachronism. In 1966, a mutual agreement between Arlington and Alexandria adjusted the city-county boundary through North Fairlington that had followed the original District of Columbia-Virginia line. The new boundary followed the north and east sides of State Route 7 (King Street), 30th Street South, South Columbus Street, and 28th Street South. In 1954, the well-preserved Fort Reynolds was leveled to construct the Park Shirlington apartments.
In 1967, as part of the conversion of Shirley Highway to interstate standards, a bridge connecting South Abingdon Street in North Fairlington and 34th Street South in South Fairlington was opened, directly connecting the two sections for the first time.
Fairlington as condominiums
By the late 1960s, Fairlington's owners, now Hartford Insurance, considered razing the apartments and constructing high-rise apartment buildings. Instead, it decided to convert the existing structures to condominium apartments in 1972. Virginia had only permitted condominium development since 1962 and Fairlington was the largest scale project ever undertaken to that date. Fairlington was sold to Chicago Bridge and Iron and operated by CBI-Fairmac and a five-year project to physically modify the apartments for their new use commenced. Common basement areas were divided between apartments and boiler houses were removed and replaced with recreation facilities. Beginning in South Fairlington, CBI-Fairmac converted the area into seven legal entities under the Virginia Horizontal Property Act. Six of the condominiums were in South Fairlington and the entirety of North Fairlington formed one condominium. The initial offerings sold for $19,000-$45,500 ($86,000-$203,000 in as of 2005[update] dollars) in 1972 and prices were increased for later sales with the final units sold in 1978.
In 1996, the value of Fairlington was assessed at $423,701,600 ($514,299,241 in as of 2005[update] dollars). Fairlington as a whole was listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register in December 1998 and the National Register of Historic Places in March 1999.
Historical marker
An Arlington County Office of Historic Preservation historical marker installed at the corner of Quaker Lane and South 32nd Street reads:
- "Designed in the Colonial Revival style by Kenneth Franzheim and Alan B. Mills and constructed between 1942 and 1944, Fairlington is an early example of successful community planning and large-scale, publicly financed rental housing built for defense workers and their families during World War II. With 3,439 garden apartments, Fairlington was the largest project financed by Defense Homes Corporation (a component of the National Housing Agency) and the nation’s largest apartment complex at that time. The units were renovated and sold as condominiums between 1972 and 1977. The name Fairlington combines Fairfax and Arlington, the counties in which the project was located."
Civic organization
Fairlington is organized into seven, independent condominium associations sometimes called villages including Fairlington Arbor, Fairlington Commons, Fairlington Glen, Fairlington Green, Fairlington Meadows, and Fairlington Mews, all in South Fairlington, and Fairlington Villages in North Fairlington. There is a single civic association, the Fairlington Citizens Association, representing the community in local affairs and the Fairlington Historical Society promotes historical preservation.
Physical environment
Fairlington's streets are all of two lanes and they are neither on a grid with uniform city blocks nor in the suburban cul-de-sac style found in most American suburbs but are slightly winding and usually separated by the equivalent of two or more city blocks. Fairlington's apartment units are grouped in "courts," usually three or four separate buildings of around 40-50 total units facing a parking lot (carpark). Most units are three levels (upstairs, ground level and basement) with front and back doors. Some units are two or three story walk-ups with units on a single floor. Prior to the condominium conversions, back doors opened to common areas with connecting sidewalks leading to back porches. Post-conversions, most units have a small courtyard off the back door, surrounded by a wooden fence. The common areas between the courts contain open areas for recreation. Originally the common areas included playgrounds and wading pools. The latter consisted of flat concrete squares with short concrete sides and a sprinkler in the center. These provided cooling and recreation in the summer when air conditioning was not widely available. With the conversion to condominiums, tennis, basketball courts, playgrounds, and swimming facilities replaced the original playgrounds and wading pools. Prior to the condominium conversions, each building had a common basement area, which could be reached from the basement of apartments which had basements, or from a stairway in buildings containing single-floor apartments. The common basement contained trashrooms and laundry facilities. Buildings with single-floor apartments also had storage units in the common basements. With the condominium conversions, the common areas were divided to become part of the basement areas of individual condominiums. Sidewalks (pavements) along the streets and in the common areas connect the neighborhood. Each condominium association in South Fairlington consists of around 15 courts.
Fairlington's nomination to the National Register of Historic Places identifies 1024 historical buildings in Fairlington and 30 residential unit types and describes North and South Fairlington as follows:
- In terms of style, materials and detailing, the two sections are very similar. All buildings are of the Colonial Revival style. Building heights range from 1½ to three stories. Gable roofs predominate, followed by hipped roofs, flat roofs, gambrel roofs, and a handful of mansard roofs. Most are slate. Walls primarily are brick, laid in five- or six-course American bond, although a few of the 1½-story buildings with steeply pitched gable roofs are of cut stone. Windows are six-over-six double-hung sash. Exterior doors are paneled, with or without lights. Front entrances are sheltered by porches or stoops. All of the one-story, one-bay porches feature hipped, shed or gable roofs supported by wooden Tuscan or Doric columns, square or turned wooden posts or brick piers. Front entrance stoops often are sheltered by bracketed canopies. Many buildings have nonfunctioning brick chimneys. Typical details include dentils and other decorative wood molding, stone window and door lintels, pilasters, sidelights, wheel and round windows, belt courses and inoperative shutters.
In journalist David Brinkley's 1988 Washington Goes to War, he mentions the area, describing life there in the summer of 1943 noting its lack of shopping and transportation options. However, "Fairlington at least had sturdy, well-designed housing (most of it still standing today and now expensive townhouses and condominiums)." Fairlington is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places and, in 2002, the neighborhood was presented the "Test of Time" award by the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects, for the lasting value of its architectural design. Such listings and awards do not impose restrictions on property use which is the under the purview of the condominiums. Fairlington was the first large-scale apartment community to be considered for such designation and the campaign for listing was largely a volunteer effort.
The controlled access Interstate 395 (Shirley Highway) divides Fairlington and is bridged by South Abingdon Street within the neighborhood but provides no direct access. State Route 7 (King Street) and State Route 402 (Quaker Lane) bound the neighborhood on the southwest and east respectively but are largely separated from it by chain link fencing with access only at street entrances.
Although Fairlington's street names and addresses follow the rules of the grid-style Arlington County's street-naming system, the streets do not follow a grid but are also not the suburban cul-de-sac style found in most American suburbs. Intersections consist of both four-way stops and modern roundabouts (traffic circles).
Within Fairlington there are both bicycle lanes and an on-street bicycle route.
Several Washington Metro stations are within 3–4 miles (4.8–6.4 kilometres) of Fairlington and Metrobus and DASH directly connect the neighborhood with the King Street – Old Town Metro station in Alexandria and the Pentagon Metro station in Arlington.
Recreation and commerce
The Fairlington Community Center, which was once an elementary school, is located at the northeast corner of 34th Street South and South Stafford Streets in South Fairlington. It provides space for a number of community and recreational activities. Utah Field Park and Abingdon Elementary School also have space for public recreation. Each condominium association within Fairlington also maintains its own system of swimming pools and tennis and basketball courts for its own residents.
The Village at Shirlington provides restaurants, stores (shops), bars (pubs), a theater (theatre), a cinema, and the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail trailhead within walking distance for North Fairlington residents. South Fairlington residents are connected to Shirlington by a pedestrian walkway that crosses the Shirlington Circle interchange with I-395.
The Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site, the Virginia Theological Seminary, both in Alexandria, are a short distance from South Fairlington. Alexandria’s Bradlee and Fairlington shopping centers are adjacent to South Fairlington.
The Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources provides continuing education at the Fairlington Community Center.
County and state services
Fairlington is in the 3rd District of the Arlington County Police Department which cooperates with the Fairlington Citizens Association. Arlington Fire Station No. 7 of the Arlington County Fire Department housing Engine 107, located at is located on South Abingdon Street in North Fairlington. The Arlington County office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service is located in the Fairlington Community Center.
All of Fairlington, including the Alexandria portion, is in the 22206 Zip Code area and is served by the United States Postal Service's Shirlington Annex Post Office although the Parkfairfax Post Office in Alexandria is closer to most of Fairlington.
See also
- List of Arlington County Historic Districts
- List of Registered Historic Places in Virginia
- Parkfairfax, Virginia
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
- Both names reflect Carlyle's Scottish heritage. Torthorwald was a family property and Morven is a mythical land of the Gaels in an Ossian poem. One impetus for the change might have been that black residents in the area began to refer to Torthorwald as "T'otherworld" (i.e., the other world). (Noted in Richard Henry Spencer. [The Carlyle House and its Associations—Braddock's Headquarters—Here the Colonial Governors met in Council, April, 1755."] William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine. Vol.18, No.1. (July 1909). p. 16.)
- The base of one of the District of Columbia boundary stones is still in place near the intersection of King Street and South Wakefield Street.
- Other Contributing Buildings, Fairlington Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
- From the Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places - Fairlington Historic District (.pdf file) - assembled by Gail H. Baker
- Quoted in "A Brief History" from the Fairlington Villages Resident's Handbook
- Fairlington's traffic circles follow modern roundabout rules with entering vehicles yielding and vehicles in the roundabout having priority over entering vehicles.
- American Fact Finder census information
- "A Brief History" from the Fairlington Villages Resident's Handbook
- Fairlington Historical Marker, located at the corner of Quaker Lane and South 32nd Street, Fairlington, VA, 1998
- The Fairlington Historical Society website
- Catherine D. Fellows. Fairlington at 50: May 1943-May 1993 – The 60th Anniversary Edition. Arlington, VA: The Fairlington Historical Society, 2003
- "Military-use structures" at Arlington Historical Society webpage
- Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places - Fairlington Historic District (.pdf file) - assembled by Gail H. Baker
- Linda Wheeler. "Fairlington: At 50, a Mature ‘Little Town’." Washington Post. 29 May 1993
- Community Discussion Board hosted at Yahoogroups; 200+ members
- "Complex Analysis: Not-So-Secret Garden-Style Units of Fairlington, Parkfairfax Grow in Popularity and Price" from the Washington Post
- Map of Arlington County Police Districts (including Fairlington in the extreme south)
- Fairlington News - a local community site about what's going on in Fairlington | <urn:uuid:3e496cbf-5528-44ab-a05d-d12f11a36905> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairlington,_Arlington,_Virginia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953906 | 4,058 | 2.3125 | 2 |
OWS has a lot of problems heading into the spring.
We heard from Sage about the “anti-capitalists” trying to seize the money and the message. Of course, it appears that it is indeed the “anti-capitalists” who have held sway from the beginning, who have been forcing out the others, like Sage.
OWS has also run out of money, and is searching for ways to be relevant as well as to promote their May 1 attempt at a general strike.
Yet, as one occupier/organizer noted in a recent email, the text of which was tweeted through a link on Twitter:
But it is not enough. After Occupy’s initial splash last year, participation has not been growing. Hopefully it was just the winter and the heat will bring everyone out again, but I fear that we are not doing a good enough job communicating with the American people.
So what does the occupier suggest?
First we need to communicate in a language that they understand. Speaking to middle America in the same way that you would talk to your activist friends is not effective. Don’t use movement, socialist, anarchist, liberal… buzzwords that only some people know the definition of (and others have been trained to fear by decades of propaganda). Translate words like horizontalism, commodification, socialism, anarchy, anti-captitalist, revolution, into explanatory phrases that people without education in revolutionary thought can understand and see as moving their lives forward.
Read more here: http://pastebin.com/tgXieYa6
However, the occupier forgot to tell these OWS members at ~2:30.
April 14, 2012 | Categories: Occupy | Tags: anarchist, anarchy, anti capitalist, anticapitalist, communist, general strike, Marxist, May 1, Occupy, OWS, Sage, socialist, spring training | 3 Comments » | <urn:uuid:11348775-0bca-457d-89d8-0ce70233f9cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://citizenjournalistdotorg.wordpress.com/tag/sage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966717 | 393 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The Russian company that used to specialize in manufacturing sturdy sidecar motorcycles has recently ventured into the solo style motorcycles. It was the sidecar that popularized the IMZ-Ural and gave it its worldwide appeal. Initially manufactured in 1941, by BMW, the R-71 motorcycle design was copied by the Soviet Union. Just before the operations of the factories that produced these bikes were affected by the threat of the German Nazi army onslaught, they had been located in Kharkov, Moscow and Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg.
The Ural motorcycles design had been copied by the Russians from an original design given to them by the Germans in the late 1930s. The sidecar bike model was known as the R71 and latter on the R75. A decision was reached to move the factories that manufactured these sidecar motorcycles and scale up their production to utilize them in the war against the Nazi army.
As history would have it, the initial production was, therefore, for military use by Russia’s Red Army, with the bikes being produced at their Ukrainian factory, the KMZ. Later on, in the 1950s, the Russian production arm, IMZ or Irbit Motorcycle Works, took over the whole manufacturing process and produced the motorcycles for domestic use.
Spread of the Ural wings
Historical accounts state that, not only had the Russians copied the German design of the sidecar and used it to mobilize their army, but also, in Japanese and the Americans had a similar idea. Riyushko in Japan opting to copy the American version. Harley-Davidson, popular for their chopper style, iconic motorbikes, had followed the same path as the Russians, copying from the Germans. They had copied and manufactured a flat, twin-shaft driven motorized bike and supplied the United States Army to be used, later on, in the Second World War. Other versions, of this account, claim that the Russians may have received the designs of the Ural after BMW discontinued the design of the R71 and choosing to proceed on with the design and manufacture of the new R75.
From the initial model, the M-72, the design was later on, in 1957, bought by a large Communist-China company, the Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation, who built the Chang Jiang. These sidecar bikes started infiltrating the world market as early as 1953. Names such as Cossack motorcycles, popularized by the SATRA company of the United Kingdom, being an early version seen on British roads as early as 1973.
The Ural legacy continues
More recently, the Ural story has continued to take on a more modern shape as the Russian government slowly relinquished the grip hold it had on the company. In November 1992 the Uralmoto Joint Stock Company was created after its acquisition by private Russian investors. The ownership was split amongst private ownership, the management and the employees. The government still maintained a stake in the company.
A new company has blossomed since 1998 when private Russian investors purchased the government’s shares which were later on distributed to private investors in the year 2000. A fresh appeal to the company has been brought on by new designs and manufacturing technologies and employees. This, topped up with a committed quality control department, ensures that the modern bike contains an updated engineering and design pattern to match any of the world’s top brass motorbike companies while still maintaining the old, classical appeal of its original, IMZ Ural predecessor. | <urn:uuid:5daf5d91-8a3a-4b9d-aa0c-8e8a9f8d88b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mddcvamaa.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98019 | 712 | 1.8125 | 2 |
14 Dog Breeds You've Never Heard Of (but Will Soon)
AKC Miscellaneous Class Breeds
Are you familiar with the Italian Bergamasco, the patient sheepdog pictured here? Or the powerful hunting dog, the Dogo Argentino?
These are just two of the fourteen dogs who are hoping to become fully recognized by the American Kennel Club in the next few years. Before the AKC fully recognizes a breed, the dog and its parent club must go through an application stage called the Miscellaneous Class. The requirements are daunting. The parent club has to submit a detailed breed history, various photographs of the puppies and dogs, and strict breeding and judging standards. But for these devoted breed proponents, the payoff is worth the effort. Full recognition gives their dogs the opportunity to compete at the AKC dog shows and be in competition to win the coveted Best in Show prize. For now these breeds are working toward the date when the 14-member AKC Board of Directors vote to award them full recognition. You may not know these dogs today, but there's no doubt you'll be seeing their names in the coming years.
Eva Maria Kramer, Animal Photography
If you're looking for a loyal sighthound with a protective streak, then the svelte, elegant Azawakh may be your match. The aloof breed hails from the Sahel region of Africa, a desert area that encompasses parts of Mali and Niger, including a region called the Azawakh Valley. There, the Azawakh protected the nomadic Touareg people and guarded their tents; he also played a role in hare, antelope and wild boar hunting. Because the Azawakh is so devoted to his people, he might bark at strangers, and he requires extensive socialization in puppyhood so he can adapt to new situations later in life. Since he has thin skin and not much body fat, the Azawakh would not do well in extremely cold or wet conditions — he'll thrive in a home with abundant exercise and a comfortable place to rest.
Alice van Kempen, Animal Photography
The rough-coated Belgian Laekenois is the rarest of the four Belgian herding breeds, and the only one without full AKC recognition. He's an alert, medium-sized dog with prick ears and a square body, plus a tousled coat that gives him something of a boyish charm. The Laekenois has a protective personality, and might be possessive of his favorite family members, so early socialization is key. Thanks to his impressive herding heritage, he must be taught not to chase or nip at the heels of children or other animals. Watch closely, and you might see him move in a curve instead of a straight line, like he's circling a flock — this is also a quirky feature of his herding past.
Tim Hagendoorn, Animal Photography
The Bergamasco's stunning coat looks like it requires expensive professional grooming, but don't be fooled — her hair is much easier to care for than you think. The Bergamasco's corded or matted fur is actually a combination of three different types of dog hair — confusingly called dog hair, goat hair and wool — that weld together into mats. That long mop of hair protects her eyes from the sun and her skin from mosquito bites. Grooming this dog might seem like a daunting task, but her hair care is relatively simple. Just remember to clean her face after meals to prevent a wet wool odor, and maintain the natural oils in her coat by not using shampoo to bathe her. Appearances aside, the Italian Bergamasco is a patient sheepdog who excels at obedience, hiking and even therapy visits with hospital children or people with disabilities.
Eva Maria Kramer, Animal Photography
Weighing in at 145 to 155 lbs., the Boerboel is one of the most athletic breeds in the mastiff category. This is a very dominant dog, so the breed is best for people who have large-dog experience. In her homeland of South Africa, the Boerboel worked as a farm dog, aggressively guarding her land, herd and human family. The breed arrived in the United States in the early 1980s. With her short wash-and-wear coat, the Boerboel requires only basic grooming. Due to her guard dog instincts, it's critical that these canines are introduced to new sights, sounds, people and situations as early and as often as possible.
Bred as a versatile sled dog, the friendly Chinook is best known for his love of children. His name means "warm winter winds" in the Inuit language, and he lives up to it. He excels at mushing, hiking, sledding and skijoring, a winter sport in which a person on skis is pulled by dogs. The breed sports a thick, tawny-colored double coat that sheds lightly every day. He also wears drop or prick ears, but you won't be able to tell which until he's 4 to 6 months old. In 1927, a team of 16 Chinooks, including the first dog in the breed (whose name was "Chinook") accompanied Admiral Richard Byrd on his first expedition to Antarctica.
The rare Cirneco dell’Etna has a fascinating history: She's believed to have descended from dogs left behind by the Phoenicians along the coast of Sicily. Depictions of the breed appear on Sicilian coins minted as early as the 3rd century B.C. She's named for Sicily's Mount Etna, and silently hunted rabbits, hares and even birds in her native Italy. This dog is a spectacular jumper, so be prepared to install a high yard fence and watch what edibles you leave out on the counter — a short baby gate isn't going to keep this canine from traveling to where she wants to go. With her thin coat and bony body, the Cirneco isn't built to handle extremely cold weather; you'll also need to watch for muscle and toe injuries from running.
Sally Anne Thompson, Animal Photography
In 1920s Argentina, a young man named Antonio Nores Martinez dreamed up a dog who could hunt big game, control vermin and guard property in his country's diverse terrain: mountains, lake country and harsh plains. The Dogo Argentino fulfilled that dream, but wasn't officially recognized in Argentina until after Nores Martinez's death in a robbery. The breed features a huge head and a smooth white coat that sheds heavily and requires weekly brushing. This powerful dog can weigh up to 100 lbs., and has an extremely strong prey drive, so he's not a good choice for a first-time dog owner. He needs a firm leader who can provide constant training, adequate exercise and appropriate outlets for his energy.
Ron Willbie, Animal Photography
Peruvian Inca Orchid
When Spanish conquistadors invaded Peru, they stumbled across strange, hairless dogs lounging in orchid-scented homes. They named them "perros flora," Spanish for "flower dogs." Called the Peruvian Inca Orchid in English, this physically sensitive breed comes in hairless and coated varieties. The fur of the coated dogs comes in many lengths and textures, and some canines have a narrow patch of hair atop the head, not unlike a mohawk. The hairless dogs require moisturizing lotion, dog-safe sunscreen and some kind of sweater in the winter. Peruvian Inca Orchids are also emotionally sensitive, so use positive reinforcement and kind words in training.
Portuguese Podengo Pequeno
In his native Portugal, the three sizes of the Podengo are considered one breed. But here in the U.S., the Portuguese Podengo Pequeno — "pequeno" is Portuguese for "small" — is his own breed, separate from the medium and large sizes of the dog. The Pequeno measures 8 to 12 inches in height and 9 to 13 lbs. in weight. He's a pack dog, bred in Portugal and Spain to hunt rabbit. When trained well, the rustic little Pequeno has a friendly, positive attitude and gets along well with other dogs. He recovers quickly from fear, and his hearing and sense of smell are extremely sensitive. He succeeds in agility competitions, and will thrive in any environment, as long as he exercises every day.
The energetic Pumi is a Hungarian herding breed who loves to work. From competing in agility competitions to simply lounging on the couch, this dog is down to do whatever you want to do. The Pumi grows to between 22 and 30 lbs., and requires daily exercise, like jogging, hiking or chasing tennis balls. You can care for his beautiful corkscrewed coat at home with biweekly combing, but remember not to blow-dry his gorgeous locks — air-drying will do the trick. Pumik (plural for Pumi) are typically reserved around strangers, but warm up quickly. They get along well with children and other pets if raised with them. The breed also has a tendency to herd ducks, cats, other dogs and, if you can believe it, people.
Sally Anne Thompson, Animal Photography
The all-purpose Rat Terrier can proudly claim to be made in the USA. Her popularity soared in the early twentieth century on American farms, where she hunted small game and killed rats and other vermin. She comes in miniature and standard sizes, and is a blend of Smooth Fox Terrier, Greyhound and Beagle, among other breeds. This dog is silly, fearless and vocal, and is known to be calmer than other terrier breeds. One of her famous fans was President Theodore Roosevelt. But if she's bored, a Rat Terrier can easily tear up a home as majestic as the White House. Engage this agile and athletic dog in constant games, exercise and training, and she'll learn to mind her manners.
Barbara O'Brien, Animal Photography
The feisty Russell Terrier, like many of the terrier breeds, was originally employed for vermin control. Don't be fooled by his little frame: Although he only weighs 14 to 18 lbs., his intensity for life is huge. He's an active and intelligent dog with a strong hunting instinct, so early socialization and firm, consistent training are a must. He thrives in family with an active lifestyle, and is very devoted to the people he loves. Enter him in agility and Earthdog competitions and watch this little terrier put his big energy to work. He is a distant cousin to the Jack/Parson Russel Terrier.
The sleek Sloughi is a smart and affectionate sighthound who is built for speed. In his native North Africa, he lived with the nomadic Berber people and hunted jackals, gazelles and desert hares. His strong prey drive is still very much apparent, so make sure you're there to supervise the Sloughi around other pets. He quickly forms an unbreakable bond with his family, which makes rehoming a Sloughi very difficult. He's also fast in mind and body, so make sure your yard is secure — an underground electric fence won't stop this breed from chasing squirrels across the street.
Eva Maria Kramer, Animal Photography
The history of the Wirehaired Vizsla remains somewhat mysterious, because many records of his existence didn't survive World War II. Development of the breed began in the 1920s in the Austria-Hungary region by hunters and falconers who wanted a different version of the Vizsla, the national dog of Hungary. They bred a dog with the hunting qualities of the original Vizsla, but added a heavy, dense wire coat so the dog could better withstand cold winters. Aside from coat texture, the Wirehaired breed is a bit taller and more laid-back than her Vizsla cousin. She has a high drive to please, and some call her a "Velcro dog" because of how she sticks to her person. Whether you want her to hunt waterfowl or work as a therapy dog, your wish is her command.
Join the Conversation
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Religious symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork, events, or natural phenomena, by a religion. Religions view religious texts, rituals, and works of art as symbols of compelling ideas or ideals. Symbols help create a resonant mythos expressing the moral values of the society or the teachings of the religion, foster solidarity among adherents, and bring adherents closer to their object of worship.
The study of religious symbolism is either universalist, as a component of comparative religion and mythology, or in localized scope, within the confines of a religion's limits and boundaries.
Religious symbolism is effective when it appeals to both the intellect and the emotions. The choice of suitable acts and objects for symbolism is narrow enough that it would not be easy to avoid the appearance of an imitation of other traditions, even if there had been a deliberate attempt to invent an entirely new ritual.
Religious symbols
A number of these are represented in Unicode.
See also
External links
Media related to Religious symbol at Wikimedia Commons
News & Star
News & Star
Tue, 21 May 2013 00:03:03 -0700
“We need to be sensitive to religious symbolism, particularly in the age in which we now live,” he said. “This image has lots of symbolic value, and real meaning for people. If you look at war graves, you see row upon row of crosses, each representing ...
Coos Bay World
Mon, 20 May 2013 13:19:47 -0700
The group, which opposes religious symbolism on public property, claims the cross is unconstitutional and wants it removed. Following a packed public meeting at the Coos Bay Public Library in March, the city retained the services of the Texas-based ...
Mon, 20 May 2013 05:44:28 -0700
Other jewellery with significant religious symbolism has also been taken. In all cases the sentimental value of the pieces and the sense of loss is immense. As part of Operation Citadel, the proactive campaign to reduce domestic burglary across both ...
Sat, 18 May 2013 09:04:01 -0700
In other works, particularly his paintings of fish, Christian religious symbolism is apparent, though in a subtle manner. Yeh's landscape and still-life works share many characteristics with portrait painting. As the gallery accurately points out ...
U-T San Diego
Sun, 19 May 2013 04:14:52 -0700
Broyles also wrote that the curriculum teaches the Sun Salutation pose, which represents worship of the Hindu solar deity, and the lotus and resting poses, which embody religious symbolism. Citing quotes from Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, who developed ...
Thu, 16 May 2013 01:10:19 -0700
In the tradition of some older Irish myths and legends, tales grew around him and his travels, culminating around the 9th century in a book in Latin generally known as “The Voyage of St. Brendan” full of exploration, religious symbolism, and strange ...
New York Times
Thu, 16 May 2013 15:13:21 -0700
... painting, the Clark Art Institute's “Virgin and Child Enthroned With Four Angels,” which comes from a different altarpiece in the painter's hometown, Sansepolcro, and exemplifies Piero's uncanny orchestration of figures, architecture and religious ...
Washington Post (blog)
Thu, 02 May 2013 11:22:29 -0700
One Christian rescue worker selected a crossbeam and attached religious symbolism to it. He suggested that this specific crossbeam was not scrap metal like all the others, but was a sign from heaven, “a promise from God that he is with us even in the ...
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Students Discover Clawed Dinosaur in China
A newly discovered dinosaur was likely an agile predator that took down prey such as horned dinosaurs.
CREDIT: Matt van Rooijen.
A claw sticking out of a cliff face in Mongolia, China, turned out to be the tip of the dinosaur – the skeleton of a 6-foot-long agile predator that preyed on its own kind.
"It was a total surprise that the whole skeleton was buried deeper in the rock," said doctoral student Jonah Choiniere of George Washington University, who along with graduate student Michael Pittman of University College London discovered the dinosaur remains during a 2008 field expedition.
Now called Linheraptor exquisitus, the dinosaur lived some 75 million years ago and is a relative of Velociraptor, a feathered, bipedal meat-eater.
With its spindly body proportions, about 6 feet long (1.8 meters) and 50 pounds (23 kilograms), Linheraptor would have been a fast, agile predator, the researchers suspect. Like other members of its family Dromaeosauridae, the dinosaur sported a large, curved claw on the foot that might have helped in capturing prey like horned dinosaurs.
The pair of doctoral students found the skeletal remains in rocks of the Wulansuhai Formation, part of a group of red sandstone rocks in Inner Mongolia, China. It is the fifth dromaeosaurid discovered in the rocks, which are famous for their preservation of uncrushed, complete skeletons.
"Jonah saw a claw protruding from the cliff face. He carefully removed it and handed it to me," Pittman said, adding, "I've always wanted to discover a dinosaur since I was a kid, and I've never given up on the idea. It was amazing that my first discovery was from a Velociraptor relative."
The find marks the first near complete skeleton of its kind to be found in the Gobi desert since 1972, and will help piece together the appearance of other closely related dinosaur species.
The researchers, led by Xu Xing of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, will publish their findings in the March 19 issue of the journal Zootaxa.
- 25 Amazing Beasts
- Images: Dinosaur Fossils
- Dinosaur Quiz: Test Your Smarts
MORE FROM LiveScience.com | <urn:uuid:e30529bf-b2d8-437b-8058-6916b0c3316a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.livescience.com/8114-students-discover-clawed-dinosaur-china.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951368 | 504 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Apr 8, 2011
When is it time to walk away, and when is it time to run? This week we have the story of an entire country deciding whether to give up on just one of its citizens, when to hold 'em in order to win nearly a million dollars in poker, and a new story from Dave Dickerson.
- One of the principles of treating alcoholism is that there's hope for everyone. You never fold your cards. But there are also places known as "wet houses," controversial shelters for alcoholics where they are allowed to keep drinking. Reporter Marc Sanchez visited St. Anthony House, a wet house in St. Paul, to learn how it works. Marc is a producer at Minnesota Public Radio, where he works on a feature called "Minnesota Sounds." (10 1/2 minutes) | <urn:uuid:b6916422-4b2b-4361-8dba-13a84950e263> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/432/know-when-to-fold-em?act=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970495 | 166 | 1.617188 | 2 |
For more than 30 years, GCC's Fashion program has earned a stellar reputation for providing exciting and challenging opportunities to students interested in the dynamic world of fashion design, fashion commerce and fashion merchandising. The pinnacle of GCC's Fashion program is the presentation of the largest, professionally-produced annual fashion show in Western New York.
At GCC, you can now select from four different areas of concentration in this exciting industry:
- Fashion Buyer
- Fashion Designer
- Visual Merchandise Designer
- Set Designer
- Interior Designer
- Fashion Journalist
- Fashion Stylist
- Fashion Merchandiser
- Fashion Retail Manager
- Fashion E-Commerce
Together, students from both Fashion Business concentrations focus their talents, energy and newly acquired skills on the student-planned and produced fashion show scheduled at the end of April every year. Each yearly production is original, featuring more than ten separate scenes and utilizing the traditional runway style while coordinating the efforts of hundreds of models and volunteers, announcers, music, choreography and the creative talents of GCC students. Not only will you create fashions and scenes for the show, you will also have the opportunity to produce radio and TV commercials in GCC's studios, develop web pages, work in public relations, blog about your experiences, and mostly importantly, you will create your own fashion portfolio.
GCC's Fashion Business program allows you to explore the latest fashion trends through class field trips to fashion centers in New York City and nearby Toronto. These trips reinforce individual creativity. In addition, through the student marketing club, DECA (Distribute Education Clubs of America), you'll visit designer showrooms and buyers' offices. DECA also arranges for world renowned guest speakers to visit the GCC campus and share their rich stories and experiences within the industry. A recent visitation featured author and fashion historian, John A. Tiffany who wrote the book "Eleanor Lambert: Still Here."
All students also participate in an off-campus, full-time cooperative work experience giving you a chance to acquire first-hand experience in a variety of fashion-related assignments that can take place in well-known fashion centers. From local to national garment stores to full scale malls, GCC's fashion students earn excellent hands-on experiences through their co-op encounters, some of which can lead to full-time jobs.
Many of GCC's Fashion Business graduates look forward to transferring to four-year colleges and universities for a bachelor's degree.
Transfer Programs / Articulation Agreements: Fashion Institute of Technology (New York City), Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (California), LIM College "Where Business Meets Fashion" (New York City), The Arts Institutes and Buffalo State College. | <urn:uuid:1a49c490-83bd-4f09-a3ac-dc6a08a5324e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.genesee.edu/academics/programs/Business/Fashion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925805 | 551 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Does the following scenario describe you? Years ago, you took out a mortgage and bought a house. You've worked hard and earned a good living. Now that you've paid off the mortgage loan on your house, you're interested in taking out another mortgage. With that money, you hope to invest in a child's education, do home improvements, pay medical bills, or acquire an investment property to start earning extra income. Before you make the financial commitment to get a mortgage on your paid-off home, consider the types of loans you could apply for as well as the realistic practicalities of whether or not you can afford the cash-flow aspect of paying the loan off on a monthly basis. If you go about this decision wisely, you could save yourself a lot of time and effort.
Home mortgage interest deduction
Tax-deductible interest on a mortgage is known as a home mortgage interest deduction. To qualify for this tax incentive, you simply have to meet the guidelines as described in IRS Publication 936.
Figure A, highlighted in Publication 936, is titled, "Is My Home Mortgage Interest Fully Deductible?". This publication will assist you in determining the deductibility of the mortgage interest on your personal residence. Consult a licensed tax authority to determine if there is any added financing required for your specific purposes, including buying an investment property.
Home equity loan
A type of loan where the debtor applies the equity in their house as collateral is called a home equity loan. This loan is typically given in a lump sum with a fixed interest rate. Many people use it to finance large expenses such as home renovations, medical fees or higher education. A home equity loan makes a lien against the debtor's house, thus reducing actual home equity. Having an excellent credit history is one of the first steps that can qualify you for a home equity loan (HEL).
HELs are normally referred to as second mortgages, because like a conventional mortgage, they are secured against the worth of the home. Home equity loans are often used for a shorter loan term than first mortgages. To determine whether you can deduct home equity loan interest from your income taxes, consult a tax authority.
Home equity line of credit
A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is different than a traditional home equity loan. The lender does not advance the entire amount at once. The lender is given a line of credit instead in order to borrow sums that are equal to no more than the credit limit. In this way, it is like a credit card. The "draw period" typically runs five to 25 years, with the repayment schedule including interest in addition to the drawn amount. The interest rate is variable and is usually based on the prime rate index, so it can vary over time. Not all lenders determine the margin -- the difference between the prime rate and the rate of interest -- in the same manner. It is advisable to compare rates thoroughly. A HELOC might require a minimum monthly payment that is often "interest only." The borrower may repay any amount as long as it is larger than the minimum payment but smaller than the outstanding total. At the end of the draw period, the full amount of the principal is due. You can pay this either as a lump-sum "balloon payment" or according to a loan schedule.
Some people want to take out a mortgage loan to pay for a real estate investment, while others need one to get them through an unplanned crisis, such as medical expenses, or to complete much needed home repairs. Whatever your reason, look beyond the mortgage interest deduction to see if you can justify the investment, considering your cash-flow situation. You may be able to take out the loan, just do it wisely. Speak to a tax professional to help assess your personal situation. | <urn:uuid:ee8be637-0cf5-4107-993d-b0204ae781c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.realtor.com/home-finance/homebuyer-information/can-you-get-a-mortgage-on-a-paid-off-home.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968449 | 769 | 1.820313 | 2 |
We've got 4, 3 of which are school age. (4th, 1st, and Pre-K). Here's the dilemma - last year I got them started together in the AM, then the younger boys would wander off and play while I did 1-on-1 with the oldest. THen I was running back and forth trying to lure them back to the action and get some more work/activities/games, etc going. Once the boys were playing they were hard to interact with. Then the eldest would finish the bulk of her stuff and wander off and I'd want to start something more involved with them all but the day was gone and I'd wasted so much time rounding them up that it was too much work to do a project and I'd let them off the hook. So I felt like we barely covered the basics and never got to get deeper into stuff.
I wonder how families with multiple kids at the table do it?? Do you keep them all in the same area and keep them busy until they all take a designated group break together? My heart tells me if I keep it fun enough they will want to join in........ but really, that puts a lot of pressure on me and not much expectation on them and it never worked out that way last year. I want to expect them to stick around until they've finished a certain amount of TIME at work, not just a certain number of activities. Is that too "school at home"???
I want to start the school year with some good routines. | <urn:uuid:c36fa903-24a7-4635-be50-5557c0df1b3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1321598/hs-siblings-together-or-staggered | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989844 | 311 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Answer any 9 of the following 10 questions. Each is worth 11 points.
1) A common emission line seen in interstellar nebulae corresponds to a particular electron transition in singly-ionized Oxygen (also called O II). Because this transition is extremely unlikely to occur at any given time, this kind of emission line is often referred to by astronomers as a "forbidden line".
2) In some binary star systems, the two stars are so close together than one of them will actually transfer its mass to the other. Suppose a given star loses some of its mass in this fashion. Use Hydrostatic Equilibrium to explain how the core temperature of that star will change as a result.
3) A black hole is also known as a "singularity" because the entire mass of the object is thought to be concentrated in a single infinitesimal point. Gravitational force can be calculated using the following equation:
4) Astronomers tell us that the absolute luminosity of a star is directly proportional to that staršs mass cubed (i.e. a star twice as massive as the Sun would be eight times more luminous). We also know that the self-gravity of a star is directly proportional to the staršs mass (i.e. a star twice as massive as the Sun would hold itself together with a self-gravity twice as strong).
A careful study of the main sequence in the H-R diagram reveals that the sizes of main sequence stars are proportional to the masses of the stars. In other words, the more massive a main sequence star, the larger we expect it to be. Explain why.
5) For this question, you may wish to refer to the inverse square law, given elsewhere in this exam. The Cepheid Period-Luminosity relationship tells us that the period of a Cepheid is directly proportional to its absolute luminosity. Suppose we observe Cepheids in two different nearby galaxies with no intervening interstellar material interfering with our observations. In both galaxies, the apparent luminosities of the Cepheids are identical. In galaxy A, the period of the Cepheid is much longer than the period of the Cepheid in galaxy B.
6) As a star evolves from the main sequence into the red giant phase of its lifetime, you may assume that angular momentum (mass * size * rotation speed) is conserved. Since the mass of the star remains the same while the size increases by a large factor, what can you conclude happens to the staršs rate of rotation? Explain your answer.
7) We often use the inverse square law to determine the distances to stars:
where the absolute luminosity is defined to be:
However, the effects of the interstellar medium (extinction and reddening) often cause errors in our distance estimates.
8) Suppose as a student project, you decide to determine the sizes, temperatures and masses of all of the stars visible in the sky tonight.
9) At the end of a star's main sequence, after hydrogen fusion ends, there is a brief period of time in the staršs development between the end of hydrogen fusion and (if the star is massive enough) the onset of Helium fusion.
10) Globular clusters are distributed uniformly around the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, and they can be used to deduce the age and size of our galaxy. | <urn:uuid:cd00c26f-637b-4294-a326-9b26aa3fd0ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://personal.tcu.edu/dingram/phys20083/sp99_ex2c.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938068 | 697 | 3.75 | 4 |
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
August. Vacation time. A time for rest and reflection… Will you accompany me on a short journey going through branding, experiences and storytelling? Let’s go!
Nowadays, companies have converted the Internet into an extension of their brands. Their presence answers the opportunity to exploit the major potential offered to them by the web to achieve business objectives, while responding to the demands and behavior of its target public, key in this medium and fundamental, given its power of exposure and diffusion of contents (opinions, recommendations and conversations, in general).
When we want to buy something, the Internet has become our first stopoff in the purchase chain. Through the web, we expect to get personalized information when we need it. We have the means to get it and our demands are high.
For that reason, the Internet has become the most influential medium for brands, as it also offers multiple ways of working brand building actions through which it can transfer and reinforce its identity, and involve its target audience in the process. But we cannot expect those benefits without planning and understanding the options out there with a global approach.
Where to start?
Listen? Create content? Social networks?… Inspire interest!?
A brand is not a “logo”, a set of products (intangible in the digital sphere), services and messages. Now more than ever, brands are experiences resulting from its audience’s interactions with it (sensory, emotional, cognitive, social experiences…); they are stories lived and perceptions experienced. Something transcendental, which should be highlighted.
We are in a world of socially connected brands, in which brands must be present and connect with their audience well before the purchase. They must accompany the consumer on their journey discovering the brand, creating a RELATIONSHIP OF TRUST, and providing value, ENGAGEMENT through CONTENT (key moments of inspiration and decision).
(Next stop on our journey: storytelling and strategic concept )
Eva Mª Vaquerizo is an expert in Digital Marketing, Brand Corporate Communication and Web Analysis. She is defined by her passion, willingness and enthusiasm for facing each challenge with a smile, a real commitment, a resolute attitude and a desire to overcome the odds. | <urn:uuid:4f70ba6a-e5c3-4464-9b44-72ad59bf0708> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.blog.zyncro.com/author/eva-maria-vaquerizo/ | 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 | 0.939505 | 465 | 1.703125 | 2 |
LENDING rates are likely to fall to 15 percent as negotiations between banks and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe near conclusion, banking sources have said. The banks are charging lending rates of as high as 25 percent per annum, which economic analysts say has slowed down Zimbabwe's economic recovery.
"They (banks and RBZ) are likely to settle at 15 percent - 10 percent plus an average 5 percent being the cost of money being obtained by the banks," said one source.
Bankers' Association of Zimbabwe president Mr George Guvamatanga yesterday would only say "the matter is still under discussion and we hope that it will be finalised soon".
The central bank and the BAZ were due to meet yesterday.
The two bodies have already come up with a draft framework which, according to reports, seeks to ensure "that bank charges and interest rates promote financial inclusion, stability and economic growth".
The draft is yet to be ratified.
Under the terms of the draft framework, banks will also be compelled to pay an interest rate of at least 4 percent on term deposits of over US$1 000.
They would also be obliged to design accounts with lower charges to cater for poorer customers.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti proposed in his
2013 National Budget last November that deposits of less than US$800 should be exempted from bank charges.
Last week, the National Social Security Authority and Old Mutual reduced the cost of money lent to banks from 10 percent to 7 percent, with banks now on-lending that money at a maximum interest rate of 10 percent per annum.
Before the reduction, banks were on-lending the money at a maximum rate of 15 percent per annum.
Many banks obtain significant funds from the two institutions.
Minister Biti said in November last year he had negotiated with NSSA and Old Mutual to reduce the cost of funds lent to banks so that they could also cut their lending rates.
The minister said 40 percent of internally generated money comes from Old Mutual and NSSA and the banks should therefore not on-lend at a rate exceeding 10 percent.
But bankers said while the rates had been reduced, the money might be very difficult to get.
Economic analyst Mr Rongai Chizema said the banks had for long been getting money cheaply from depositors while lending it out at high interest rates.
"Banks have always made money from mopping deposits cheaply at zero cost, and lending these at very high interest rates.
"These interest rates have had no bearing on the zero, or rather negligible cost of mobilising deposits, and hence they were making quite a good return beyond reasonable levels on this idle capital," he said.
"Both the minister and the Governor of the RBZ, Dr (Gideon) Gono, have employed moral suasion for the past few years - it seems to have failed.
"Under the circumstances, the approach taken by the (Finance) Minister (Biti) is welcome to depositors.
"If you look at the income banks have been making in recent times, most of it has been from non-interest income streams, such as fees and charges."
Mr Chizema urged banks to be innovative and grow their income streams by employing product innovative platforms. | <urn:uuid:ef658b95-4bc3-46bb-a736-2987b66e424f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://allafrica.com/stories/201301080271.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974986 | 671 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Some parents decide before their children are born that they will home school them. I was not among their number. Frankly, had the nurse at George Washington University Hospital told me, as she handed over my first swaddled newborn, that I would spend five years teaching this child algebra, Roman history, and the difference between igneous and sedimentary rocks, I’d have been tempted to inquire about the hospital’s returns policy.
So how did I end up in the spring of 1994 sitting in a church basement, clutching a bag of fourth and fifth grade textbooks and listening as a speaker extolled the joys of home schooling?
The short answer is that we had decided to take a family timeout. I left my corporate job; my husband took temporary leave of his position teaching at the University of Chicago Law School to spend a year as a visiting professor at the University of Utah. We wanted to explore the west untrammeled by a school schedule, and home schooling would make that easier.
The longer answer is that we thought we were escaping from progressive education. As far as I could tell, the private school my children attended in Chicago taught reading using the Music Man’s “think” method: Imagine that you can read, think about reading, picture yourself reading, sit on a cushion surrounded by a pile of books, and abracadabra, you will read. At the end of first grade my older daughter could read . . . her name and one other word. We eventually hired a tutor to remedy that with a strong dose of phonics. The award-winning second grade teacher used inventive games to instill math problem-solving skills. Yet the only reason my kids knew any math facts, I’d become persuaded, was that the Turbo Math Facts computer program we’d purchased bribed them into solving problems with the promise of earning newer, bigger, and better race cars so that they could cross the finish line first. History seemed to have disappeared from the curriculum, although my daughters did study one continent each year. That continent was Africa – every year. As it happens, I had lived in Uganda as an exchange student and studied African politics in graduate school. I did not object to my children learning about Africa. I trooped off dutifully to school each year to show slides of my high school adventures in Africa. I did wonder if my kids were ever going to learn about anywhere else.
So months before we embarked on our Utah “gap year,” I arrived at a home school fair in suburban Illinois ready to pay up to get back to basics. The textbook vendors must have thrilled as I threw my credit card at one traditional textbook/workbook set after another. If ten long division problems were good, twenty would be even better. Maps with labels to fill in thrilled me. So did stolid multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank chapter tests. | <urn:uuid:25205fa7-6451-4dbe-bc4f-d8569110a6b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://educatingourselves.blogs.deseretnews.com/2011/03/15/home-schoolreal-school-a-view-from-both-sides-of-the-barricades-part-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983844 | 600 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Select a characteristic and click "search"
Origin or Ethnicity
Its source is a Mongolian expression meaning "Beyond the horizon."
This boy's name is used in Mongolian.
This is the meaning given by the name's most famous bearer in the Western world, actor Yul Brynner (1920-1985).
Russian-born American actor best known for the role of the King of Siam in The King and I.
(separate several addresses with a return)
See all 8 names that start with
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BabyNamer has been redesigned, rebuilt and rejuvenated. Please | <urn:uuid:c96e0a5f-55b6-4795-8a49-d5b2d8a86b31> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.babynamer.com/Yul | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908379 | 136 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Nobel Laureate in Economics Amartya Sen Speaks at Queens College on "Social Demands of Justice"
Amartya Sen received the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences from the Nobel Foundation in 1998 "for his contributions to welfare economics." He is the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor, and Professor of Economics and Philosophy, at Harvard University. Until 2004, Sen was the master of Trinity College, Cambridge University, in England. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages; his most recent work is The Idea of Justice. Among his many professional accomplishments, Sen has served as president of the Econometric Society, the American Economic Association, and the International Economic Association.
As part of the premier public university in the most diverse county in America, and affirming its commitment to global education, Queens College offers cultural and academic programming focusing on a different nation each year. For academic year 2012-2013, the focus is on India, a vibrant, diverse country with a complex history and globally significant economy.
March 6, 2013
65-30 Kissena Boulevard
Seating is no longer available | <urn:uuid:6380f9f0-659b-4a11-adcc-35fdfbf139dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://events.cuny.edu/eventDetail.asp?EventId=41483 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929283 | 230 | 1.578125 | 2 |
AB Testing - Topics A-Z
Topics A-Z listing of articles and resources about how to use AB testing to compare and contrast the pages which have better conversion rates for visitors to your website.
This category last updated: 28 February 2013
Stop Making Excuses, Start Split Testing
- By Nick Eubanks, Business 2 Community, Published February 27, 2013. "If you are reading this, chances are you are not new to the idea of split testing, but just in case, here’s a quick and dirty definition:
A/B testing or split testing compares the effectiveness of two versions of a web page, marketing email, or the like, in order to discover which has better response rate or better sales conversion rate.
In my opinion, split testing should be the most frequently used tool in your CRO toolbox. Split testing alone is one of the greatest sources of 'Ah Ha!' moments and insights into exactly how your customers think about and perceive your brand.
For some of my specific thoughts on conversion rate optimization, please check out my recent CRO interview with Ben Beck. Also, stay tuned for a special offer at the end of this post..."
A Simple Guide to Google Content Experiments
- by Nick Eubanks, Search Engine Watch, November 12, 2012. "... 3 Reasons You Need to Split Test
- Little changes can lead to big improvements.
- Your competitors are testing. If you aren't gaining ground, you're losing it.
- It is a tenet of the Lean Startup for good cause, this is the quickest way to optimize conversions for your target audience.
Here's What We're Going to Do
The easiest way to get started with a simple split test is to make a copy of the page you would like to test.
Once the copy has been made – in most cases this involves create a new page in your content management system (CMS) and copying and pasting all of the source code from the original page – simply make the change that you would like to test and save the new page to a new URL.
When testing between two or more URLs, it's smart to use the URLs as an additional indicator of the variation number, so the first variation would be URL-2, and the next URL-3...
Google Content Experiments is a free and robust testing platform integrated directly into Google Analytics, formerly know as Google Website Optimizer..."
Google Content Experiments-The Good, the Bad and The Alternatives
- By Mariel Bacci. Future Now, August 22, 2012. "Google Website Optimizer is gone. It has been replaced with Google Content Experiments. Countless articles and blog posts have been written on how this change will affect testing for everyone. This blog post will briefly outline why Google Content Experiments will make your life better, but might make your life harder, and will show you some alternative testing tools that this change should draw your attention to..."
Website testing and Google search
- Posted by Susan Moskwa, Webmaster Trends Analyst. Google Webmaster Central Blog, Thursday, August 9, 2012. "We've gotten several questions recently about whether website testing—such as A/B or multivariate testing—affects a site's performance in search results. We're glad you’re asking, because we're glad you're testing! A/B and multivariate testing are great ways of making sure that what you're offering really appeals to your users..."
Google's SEO Guide On A/B & Multivariate Testing
- by Barry Schwartz. Search Engine land, August 9, 2012. "Google posted some guidelines on how you can conduct A/B or multivariate testing and stay clear of any issues with being listed in its search engine, such as avoiding penalties..."
8 Rules of A/B Testing – The Art in Marketing Science
- by Uri Bar-Joseph, Search Engine Watch, August 6, 2012. "Data will tell you the right answer. If you can't find data somewhere, you should run a test, collect the data, and let it tell you what's right.
Testing is one of the core marketing arts a marketer should master and practice.
You should treat A/B testing as a competition between two players – a champion and a contender. You define the rules, set up the arena, announce the players and let the data be the judge..."
Upgrades To Google Analytics Content Experiments
- by Daniel Waisberg. Marketing Land, July 31, 2012. "A few weeks ago Google Analytics launched Content Experiments, a new testing functionality that can be used to create A/B/N tests to optimize campaigns and overal website experience.
Last week Google announced 3 upgrades that will make testing with the tool significantly easier and more powerful. Below I discuss each of the upgrades and how they can enhance testing with Google Analytics..."
Google Improves Content Experiments in Analytics
- by Thom Craver, Search Engine Watch, July 26, 2012. "Last month Google introduced Analytics users to Content Experiments, a revamped version of the old Website Optimizer tool. Content experiments is a tool that allows site owners to do simple A/B testing against a common goal.
This week, Google announced they've already added several improvements to content experiments..."
Making Google Analytics Content Experiments Even Better
- Posted by Inna Weiner, Software Engineer. Google Analytics Blog, Monday, July 23, 2012. "A few weeks ago, we announced Google Analytics Content Experiments. Since our announcement, we have been busy making Content Experiments available to Google Analytics users and improving it based on your feedback. We'd like to tell you about a few changes that we have recently introduced:
Content Experiments available to everyone. Every Google Analytics user can now access Content Experiments. You can find this feature under "Experiments" in the "Content" section of your Standard Reports..."
What to do When Your Split Test Fails
- by Bonnie Stefanick, Search Engine Watch, June 10, 2012. "Most of the time when it comes to landing page testing, whether it be multivariate or split testing, you read about gleaning successes, where 'we increased our conversion by 454 percent!' But what do you do your test fails?
Let's focus on what causes your A/B/n experiments to fail, because this is the most common type of landing page testing done by small- to mid- size webmasters. We will also explore how to gain value from even failed tests..."
Google Analytics Gets New Testing Functionality: Content Experiments
- by Daniel Waisberg. Marketing Land, June 1, 2012. "Today the Google Analytics team made an important announcement for marketers and analysts: Google Website Optimizer will be fully integrated into Google Analytics. Google will be discontinuing Website Optimizer as a stand alone product (by August) and the testing functionality will be available to Google Analytics users only. The testing tool will be found in the Content section under the header 'Experiments'..."
Google Website Optimizer is Dead. Long live Google Analytics Content Experiments
- by Sayf Sharif. LunaMetrics, Posted on June 4, 2012. "Until a few days ago we've had to keep this one under wraps, but with the official announcement on the Google Analytics Blog Friday we can finally talk about the all new Google Analytics Content Experiments. This is the all new, tied directly into your analytics, testing software to replace Google Website Optimizer. Google Website Optimizer will slowly be decomissioned over this year, and replaced fully by these new Content Experiments. So if your'e starting any A/B testing anytime soon, time to do it in here rather than in GWO.
Let's do a quick run through on how to use and set up these new tests. It’s really simple, and A/B testing is something pretty much everyone is capable of doing, and should give a try..."
Helping to Create Better Websites: Introducing Content Experiments
- Posted by Nir Tzemah, Google Analytics team. Google Analytics Blog, Friday, June 1, 2012. "Over the last 5 years, it’s been great to see how many marketers and publishers have improved the web by using insights from Google Website Optimizer to create better site experiences. Today, we’d like to announce the release of Google Analytics Content Experiments, which brings website testing to Google Analytics.
We’re excited to integrate content testing into Google Analytics and believe it will help meet your goals of measuring, testing and optimizing all in one place. Content Experiments helps you optimize for goals you have already defined in your Google Analytics account, and can help you decide which page designs, layouts and content are most effective.
Do It Yourself A/B Testing
- by Conrad Saam. Search Engine Land, April 4, 2012. Shows you how to use a free online tool called AB Tester, which allows you to measure up to three alternatives compared to a benchmark.
45 Awesome Posts on A/B, Multivariate, and Usability Testing
- By Kristi Hines, Unbounce, December 7, 2011. "... These 45 posts from 2011 will teach you all you need to know about A/B testing, multivariate testing, and usability testing for copy, design, landing pages, PPC, and much more..." | <urn:uuid:4999c9e4-171f-4ea2-95d9-67e4d7ec40d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.egov.vic.gov.au/topics-a-z/a/ab-testing-topics-a-z.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915524 | 1,930 | 1.570313 | 2 |
- Study at Deakin
- Campus life
- Industry and community
- About Deakin
Deakin has a wide range of outstanding resources for research students.
A recent and important part of Deakin's progress is the establishment of the Institute for Technology Research and Innovation, which draws together world-class researchers from three existing areas of research strength - BioDeakin; the Centre for Material and Fibre Innovation; and Intelligent Systems and Robotics. Much of this research takes place at the Geelong Technology Precinct, which has cutting-edge laboratory and equipment. This 'Proof of Concept facility' at the Geelong Campus at Waurn Ponds gives increased impetus to Deakin's policy of building partnerships with industry, government and the community; this is a successful policy as growing collaborations in India, China, North America and Europe attest. The Director of ITRI is Professor Peter Hodgson, Victoria's only Australian Laureate Fellow.
A dozen new Strategic Research Centres have also been established, pooling expertise and resources into world-class concentrations of research that provide excellent environments for research training.
The University's Medical School plays an important role in enhancing Deakin's research reputation in public health. A central component to Deakin's innovative work in health and wellbeing is the Clinical Research Facility. This is a multipurpose area capable of supporting both discrete discipline and multidisciplinary activity.
As well as specialist library resources and dedicated librarians for each School, the Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library focuses on federation, the growth of the Australian nation, and the development of the Australian constitution (Deakin University takes its name from Australia.s second prime minister.) The Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library is the latest addition to an informal association of Prime Ministerial Libraries around Australia. A full set of Deakin's personal papers is available on microfilm with online access to sections of the papers which have been digitised by the National Library of Australia.
Each faculty has its own, specialised facilities and you can view these through the faculty research pages. | <urn:uuid:6259abaf-92b9-4971-9de2-90aa84f4b8b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.deakin.edu.au/future-students/research/research-facilities.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937463 | 416 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Oregon Focus: People to Know: Captain William Clark
About Captain William Clark
William Clark was born near Charlottesville, Virginia, in the the county next the family farm where Meriwether Lewis lived. They considered themselves to be near neighbors, and the two boys grew up as close friends, although Clark was four years older than Lewis.
William Clark was the ninth child in the family. George Rogers Clark, who distinguished himself as a soldier in the Midwest, was older brother.
When Clark was 14, the family moved to Kentucky. Although he had little formal schooling, he developed self-reliance and boldness that made him stand out as a leader. At 19 he joined the infantry, and two years later became a captain in the militia. He was promoted to lieutenant in the regular army infantry and served under Mad Anthony Wayne. By the time Clark was 25, his capacity for leadership was rewarded. On one assignment, Meriwether Lewis served under him with Wayne's troops.
Later, when Lewis was planning the historic expedition to the Pacific Ocean, he immediately chose Clark as his co-leader. Clark was known among the Native Americans as "red-hair chief." He had a natural ability to gain and keep their respect and trust. Clark worked well with Lewis during the expedition and their childhood friendship grew stronger.
On their return to St. Louis, President Thomas Jefferson appointed Clark to be brigadier-general of the territorial militia and Indian agent. Clark also served as appointed governor of the Missouri Territory until it became a state in 1820. In 1822 he was made superintendent of Indian affairs, a post he held until his death in 1838.
Clark saw the journals of the expedition to Oregon published in 1814. He is shown at the Oregon Capitol as part of the outside sculpture and in one of the rotunda murals.
Suggestions for teachers
Ask students to:
Read portions of books about Captain Clark as well as the journals of the expedition. Talk about what life was like in his times.
Make a continuous "filmstrip" on butcher paper depicting the major events in Clark's life. Write sentence labels for each picture. Wind the ends onto cardboard rolls and turn as several students narrate.
Make simple maps showing the route Lewis and Clark followed on their expedition.
Play imagination game: How do you travel over mountains where there are no roads? How do you get around rapids and rocks in the rivers? How do you get through forests with few, if any, paths? etc.
Taste beef jerky, edible wild berries, etc. to stimulate discussion about what explorers might have eaten on their journeys. How did they get salt? Where did they get water?
Prepare a skit of events in the Lewis and Clark Expedition, such as the first sight of the Columbia River and Christmas at Fort Clatsop.
Pretend they are traveling with Clark. Write a letter to tell the folks back home what they are seeing. | <urn:uuid:af73cf95-19f0-4707-a598-f1bc0ae4ecb2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bluebook.state.or.us/kids/focus/clark.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986139 | 606 | 3.328125 | 3 |
|Home > Features > Issues > Iraq > Article|
He said the reconstruction of Iraq would be an important element of talks between Prime Minister John Howard and US President George Bush over the weekend.
On Wednesday President Bush's National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, suggested the US wanted a greater peacekeeping contribution from Australia. But Senator Hill said he did not expect a request for more troops. "We are committed to playing a part in the reconstruction of Iraq but it won't be predominantly a military contribution," he said.
Leaving for the US yesterday, Mr Howard said Australia had indicated before the war began that it would be unable to provide a large peacekeeping force. "We are leaving in Iraq some hundreds of Australian defence personnel for a transitional period, exactly how long we haven't decided," he said.
Last month, The Age revealed plans to send a small protective infantry force and armoured personnel carriers to Iraq.
Senator Hill said about 75 troops would make up the new protective unit, Senator Hill said. They would guard the new Australian mission in Baghdad and protect and escort Australian personnel.
"Having played a significant role in combat operations in Iraq, the Government recognises that Australia has a responsibility to contribute to stabilising the country and helping it get back on its feet," Senator Hill said.
"It is vital now that the conflict is almost over that we maintain the momentum by working quickly to restore law and order and services in Iraq . . . we have decided to provide specialist assistance in areas where we can make a difference."
Opposition defence spokesman Chris Evans said the announcement confirmed that Australia had a major peacekeeping commitment in Iraq. The size of the peacekeeping force was similar to the one sent to East Timor and would be a severe strain on the defence force.
Senator Hill said he had intended to leave a commando force in western Iraq, but the US had sent forces into the area and "therefore we've taken the opportunity to withdraw our forces".
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Iraqi welcome for US turns to fury
America has been weakened by its victory in Iraq
Britain expects to control south-eastern Iraq
US appoints team to run Iraqi oil
US plan for Iraqi grain market deal
Aziz constant on 1991 pilot
Peace-force plan for Iraq
Sights set on a new battle plan
Baghdad battle 'killed 2,300'
Secrets of Australian heroism revealed
'Liberators' find they are not wanted
Australia to open mission in Baghdad
President Bush's speech from the USS Abraham Lincoln
Bush celebrates Iraq victory at sea
Bush to declare an end to the war
|text | handheld (how to)||
Copyright © 2003 The Age Company Ltd
|advertise | contact us| | <urn:uuid:fef2d6c4-8245-408d-a5f3-b5b9ad5a9e43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/01/1051382047277.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95733 | 568 | 1.65625 | 2 |
China Sneaks its Chicken in on Man’s Best Friend
The Chinese chicken saga continues…
By Tony Corbo
On July 18, I attended a meeting at the USDA to get an update on the status of poultry exports to the U.S. from the People’s Republic of China. When I returned from the meeting, I saw an email alert from the Food and Drug Administration entitled, “Questions and Answers Regarding Chicken Jerky Treats from China.” The press statement detailed FDA’s investigation into complaints from dog owners who claimed their pets got sick from eating chicken jerky dog treats imported from China. The Chinese will stop at nothing to force its dubious chicken into the U.S. market to unsuspecting consumers, I thought. What an ironic example of how screwed up our food safety system really is.
The USDA has a fairly elaborate process to approve imported meat and poultry products for human consumption. If there are no major issues with the exporting country’s food safety system, it takes about two years between the time a country applies to USDA and publication of the final regulations approving its application. Unfortunately, such a system is not in place for other imported foods that are regulated by the FDA, including pet food.
Food & Water Watch has led a campaign to prevent China to export their poultry products for human consumption since 2005 when the Bush Administration supported regulation to allow China to export processed poultry products to the U.S. China first asked the USDA for approval to export its poultry products to the U.S. in 2003. Even though 2004 USDA audits turned up unsanitary conditions in several Chinese poultry plants they visited, and there had been several outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu in Chinese poultry flocks that killed thousands of animals and some humans, the Bush Administration proceeded to propose the new regulation in November 2005 anyway.
Furthermore, the slaughter facilities in China did not meet USDA inspection requirements. So, the proposed regulation restricted any poultry exported to the U.S. to products where the raw poultry came from “approved sources.” At the time, the only “approved sources” were the U.S. or Canada, which meant that North American poultry slaughterhouses could ship their raw carcasses to China to be cooked and the finished products could then be shipped back to the U.S. in order for U.S consumers to “enjoy” them. As ridiculous as that sounds, the Bush Administration approved that rule in April 2006 over the objections of most of the people who commented on the proposed rule, including Food & Water Watch. When the rule was published, USDA estimated that approximately 2.5 million pounds of this exported processed poultry from China would be consumed annually.
Since no U.S. or Canadian poultry processing company stepped forward to take advantage of such a wonderful opportunity, the Chinese stepped up pressure on USDA to permit it to ship processed poultry originating in China directly into the U.S. Then, Congress intervened. Led by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the Congress in 2008 and 2009 explicitly prohibited USDA from spending any money to implement or propose any regulations that would permit China to export processed poultry products to the U.S. In response, China filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) arguing that the U.S. was treating its poultry products unfairly. Big U.S. agribusiness put pressure on the new Obama Administration in 2009 to have the congressional ban lifted because the Chinese had threatened retaliatory action on U.S. agricultural exports to China. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative began to lobby the Congress to have the ban lifted. The 2010 spending bill for USDA lifted the ban and China eventually won its WTO case against the U.S. Even though the Chinese prevailed, it meant that USDA had to restart its review process of the Chinese food safety system.
The Chinese have been less than cooperative in this new review by USDA. According to the verbal report I received from USDA officials on July 18, the Chinese government did not permit USDA inspectors back into their poultry processing facilities until December 2010. USDA inspectors, once again, found food safety deficiencies in those plants. The Chinese wrote to USDA in early 2012 that the deficiencies identified in 2010 audit had been corrected but have yet to schedule a time for USDA inspectors verify Chinese poultry facilities themselves. Why were the Chinese dragging their feet in completing the review process when they have made it such a big trade issue? The July 18 FDA alert on Chinese chicken jerky dog treats offered a major clue. I asked Food & Water Watch’s research department to dig into the volume of pet food imports from China and this is what the found:
From 2003, when China first approached USDA about poultry exports, to 2011, the volume of pet food exports (regulated by the Food and Drug Administration) to the U.S. from China have grown 85-fold. Meanwhile we have yet to permit one ounce of imported poultry products from China for human consumption (regulated by USDA). Remember that the USDA estimated that 2.5 million pounds of poultry products would be exported to the U.S. for human consumption under the 2006 rule. Under the FDA nearly 86 million pounds of pet food came from China in 2011.
But it’s not just our pets whose health is at risk. China continues to experience major human food safety scandals as well:
- Dairy products contaminated with melamine that sickened 300,000 Chinese consumers and killed 8 babies in 2008
- Toxic bean sprouts treated with banned substances in April 2011
- Pesticide-drenched yard long beans in March 2010
- Dairy products contaminated with leather-hydrolized protein in 2011
- Rice flour contaminated with heavy metals that continues to be a food safety concern
- The use of recycled cooking oil salvaged from restaurant drains
- Cabbage tainted with formaldehyde in 2012
- Exploding Chinese watermelons caused by growth-promoting chemicals
- Arsenic-laced soy sauce
- The use of bleach in mushrooms to make them appear fresher
- The use of borax to treat pork to make it look like beef
- This year, baby Chinese formula was found with dangerous levels of mercury and a cancer-causing toxin
China should not be allowed to export any food – for humans or pets – to the U.S. until it gets its food safety act together. FDA remains hamstrung to regulate the safety of imported food products – it only has the capacity to inspection about 2 percent of imported human food and around 1 percent of animal food. The new FDA Food Safety Modernization Act signed into law by President Obama gives the agency new authorities to regulate the safety of imported food. Unfortunately, the regulations to implement the new law have been bottled up in the White House Office of Management and Budget for nearly 8 months. One of the proposed regulations would tighten the food safety standards for pet food. According to the law, those regulations should have been finalized on July 4, 2012. We are still waiting for the proposed rule on pet food safety to be published.
Until then, pet owners beware and make sure you check for country of origin labels on your pet’s food and treats. Sign the petition telling the FDA to stop allowing tainted pet food from China here. | <urn:uuid:f4f701e8-e804-4b78-b3f8-ba2bcb7d9681> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/blogs/china-sneaks-its-chicken-in-on-mans-best-friend/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958757 | 1,490 | 1.53125 | 2 |
LR Occupiers have until May 16 to relocate | News
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- The Occupy Little Rock Movement began six months ago and has since become a permanent fixture at 4th and Ferry Streets. But now, the city says that fixture has three weeks to get out.
Resting in the shadow of downtown Little Rock at the corner of 4th and Ferry is a small town, a camp for Occupy Little Rock protestors like Greg Deckelman.
"We've been here for just a little over six months. There are about twenty people a day here. On the weekend, those numbers swell up. We have our own solar energy, our own wind energy. We supply our own water here, our own bathrooms," says Deckelman. "Occupy started at the Clinton Library and then we were given a permit by the city to come occupy this parking lot with an open ended date."
Monday, Police Chief Stuart Thomas delivered a new permit to the site with a new date to vacate.
"We're approaching the high traffic season, so we've informed The Occupy Group that they need to move from that lot by May 16," says Lt. Terry Hastings with the Little Rock Police Department.
He says with Riverfest and several other summer tourism events just around the corner, the lot is needed for additional bus parking.
"We are working with them, talking with them, trying to find solutions. We're not telling them they have to get out of town. We're telling them we just need them off that lot and see if we can find another place for them to go," says Lt. Hastings.
Deckleman says with the deadline approaching, finding a new site will be a challenge.
"We know of no private property options at this point. We don't want to get into a situation where it deteriorates into a PR war with the city. We want everybody to win in the situation," says Deckleman.
A win for Occupy would mean finding a new site, and the city says they are more than willing to help.
"We're not restricting their protest at all. We'll help them just as we have in the past and as we always have. It's been a good working relationship with them. In fact, I think we've been the model in the nation with dealing with Occupy. We haven't had the problems here that some of the other cities have had and we want to continue that," says Lt. Hastings.
"I believe and everyone at Occupy Little Rock believes that is possible," says Deckleman who insists no matter the outcome, their civility will not change.
"Whatever Occupy Little Rock does, you can guarantee and take it to, I started to say bank but a savings and loan that it's going to be peaceful," says Deckleman.
Leaders from Occupy Little Rock met with the Mayor Tuesday afternoon to talk about their options. They say those talks will continue tomorrow and hope a resolution will come sooner rather than later.
City ordinance prevents camping in public parks, which is why they were forced to move the first time from the Clinton Library. Lt. Hastings says private property is probably their best option and occupiers say they are hoping supporters will come forward and possibly donate a place for their camp. | <urn:uuid:c3df8635-b7a1-4b10-b39c-6d8d400dbd60> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://littlerock.todaysthv.com/news/news/92394-lr-occupiers-have-until-may-16-relocate | 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 | 0.983487 | 677 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Actually, not. The methodology that cultivates the factors leads to insight got called insight/vipassana well after the fact. The Burmese progenitors of this practice knew full well how vipassana is used in the suttas and commentaries. And that something I have heard explained by teachers more than once at vipassana retreats.hermitwin wrote:Once again, the term 'vipassana' comes up.
Beginners have a hard time separating the unique significance
of this word in the burmese tradition vs others eg thai tradition.
In the burmese tradition (mahasi sayadaw) tradition, 'vipassana' is THE method taught by Buddha to reach enlightenment.
If that is your point, I do not see anyone disagreeing with you.hermitwin wrote:it is however important to present the bigger picture of the diversity of views concerning 'vipassana'. esp since we are talking about ajahn chah here.
hermitwin wrote:"As I see it, the meditation itself might rightly be called satipatthana, whereas the possible result of that satipatthana practice is vipassana (clear seeing)."
thanks retro, i am in full agreement.
Cittasanto wrote:There is a technique called satipatthana originating from Thailand, it involves body movement even in sitting practice.
Bakmoon wrote:Forgive me if I am wrong, but I believe that tradition of meditation is called "Mahasati" developed by a Monk called Ajahn Teean.
Bakmoon wrote:Cittasanto wrote:There is a technique called satipatthana originating from Thailand, it involves body movement even in sitting practice.
Forgive me if I am wrong, but I believe that tradition of meditation is called "Mahasati" developed by a Monk called Ajahn Teean.
befriend wrote:what is ajahn chahs method of vipassana?
Insight Meditation (Vipassana)
If you have faith it doesn't matter whether you have studied theory or not. If our believing mind leads us to develop practice, if it leads us to constantly develop energy and patience, then study doesn't matter. We have mindfulness as a foundation for our practice. We are mindful in all bodily postures, whether sitting, standing, walking or lying. And if there is mindfulness there will be clear comprehension to accompany it. Mindfulness and clear comprehension will arise together. They may arise so rapidly, however, that we can't tell them apart. But, when there is mindfulness, there will also be clear comprehension.
When our mind is firm and stable, mindfulness will arise quickly and easily and this is also where we have wisdom. Sometimes, though, wisdom is insufficient or doesn't arise at the right time. There may be mindfulness and clear comprehension, but these alone are not enough to control the situation. Generally, if mindfulness and clear comprehension are a foundation of mind, then wisdom will be there to assist. However, we must constantly develop this wisdom through the practice of Insight Meditation. This means that whatever arises in the mind can be the object of mindfulness and clear comprehension. But we must see according to Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta. Impermanence (Anicca) is the basis. Dukkha refers to the quality of unsatisfactoriness, and Anatta says that it is without individual entity. We see that it's simply a sensation that has arisen, that it has no self, no entity and that it disappears of its own accord. Just that! Someone who is deluded, someone who doesn't have wisdom, will miss this occasion, he won't be able to use these things to advantage.
If wisdom is present then mindfulness and clear comprehension will be right there with it. However, at this initial stage the wisdom may not be perfectly clear. Thus mindfulness and clear comprehension aren't able to catch every object, but wisdom comes to help. It can see what quality of mindfulness there is and what kind of sensation has arisen. Or, in its most general aspect, whatever mindfulness there is or whatever sensation there is, it's all Dhamma.
The Buddha took the practice of Insight Meditation as His foundation. He saw that this mindfulness and clear comprehension were both uncertain and unstable. Anything that's unstable, and which we want to have stable, causes us to suffer. We want things to be according to our own desires, but we must suffer because things just aren't that way. This is the influence of an unclean mind, the influence of a mind which is lacking wisdom.
When we practice we tend to become caught up in wanting it easy, wanting it to be the way we like it. We don't have to go very far to understand such an attitude. Merely look at this body! Is it ever really the way we want it? One minute we like it to be one way and the next minute we like it to be another way. Have we ever really had it the way we liked? The nature of our bodies and minds is exactly the same in this regard. It simply is the way it is.
This point in our practice can be easily missed. Usually, whatever we feel doesn't agree with us, we throw out; whatever doesn't please us, we throw out. We don't stop to think whether the way we like and dislike things is really the correct way or not. We merely think that the things we find disagreeable must be wrong, and those which we find agreeable must be right.
This is where craving comes from. When we receive stimuli by way of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body or mind, a feeling of liking or disliking arises. This shows that the minds is full of attachment. so the Buddha gave us this Teaching of Impermanence. He gave us a way to contemplate things. If we cling to something which isn't permanent, then we'll experience suffering. There's no reason why we should want to have these things in accordance with our likes and dislikes. It isn't possible for us to make things be that way. We don't have that kind of authority or power. Regardless of however we may like things to be, everything is already the way it is. Wanting like this is not the way out of suffering.
Here we can see how the mind which is deluded understands in one way, and the mind which is not deluded understands in another way. When the mind with wisdom receives some sensation for example, it sees it as something not to be clung to or identified with. This is what indicates wisdom. If there isn't any wisdom then we merely follow our stupidity. This stupidity is not seeing impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and not-self. That which we like we see as good and right. That which we don't like we see as not good. We can't arrive at Dhamma this way -- wisdom cannot arise. If we can see this, then wisdom arises.
The Buddha firmly established the practice of Insight Meditation in His mind and used it to investigate all the various mental impressions. Whatever arose in His mind He investigated like this: even though we like it, it's uncertain. It's suffering, because these things which are constantly rising and falling don't follow the influence of our minds. All these things are not a being or a self, they don't belong to us. The Buddha taught us to see them just as they are. It is this principle on which we stand in practice.
We understand then, that we aren't able to just bring about various moods as we wish. Both good moods and bad moods are going to come up. Some of them are helpful and some of them are not. If we don't understand rightly regarding these things, then we won't be able to judge correctly. Rather we will go running after craving -- running off following our desire.
Sometimes we feel happy and sometimes we feel sad, but this is natural. Sometimes we'll feel pleased and at other times disappointed. What we like we hold as good, and what we don't like we hold as bad. In this way we separate ourselves further and further and further from Dhamma. When this happens, we aren't able to understand or recognize Dhamma, and thus we are confused. Desires increase because our minds have nothing but delusion.
This is how we talk about the mind. It isn't necessary to go far away from ourselves to find understanding. We simply see that these states of mind aren't permanent. We see that they are unsatisfactory and that they aren't a permanent self. If we continue to develop our practice in this way, we call it the practice of Vipassana or Insight Meditation. We say that it is recognizing the contents of our mind and in this way we develop wisdom.
Samatha (Calm) Meditation
Our practice of Samatha is like this: We establish the practice of mindfulness on the in-and out-breath, for example, as a foundation or means of controlling the mind. By having the mind follow the flow of the breath it becomes steadfast, calm and still. This practice of calming the mind is called Samatha Meditation. It's necessary to do a lot of this kind of practice because the mind is full of many disturbances. It's very confused. We can't say how many years or how many lives it's been this way. If we sit and contemplate we'll see that there's a lot that doesn't conduce to peace and calm and a lot that leads to confusion!
For this reason the Buddha taught that we must find a meditation subject which is suitable to our particular tendencies, a way of practice which is right for our character. For example, going over and over the parts of the body: hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth and skin, can be very calming. The mind can become very peaceful from this practice. If contemplating these five things leads to calm, it's because they are appropriate objects for contemplation according to our tendencies. Whatever we find to be appropriate in this way, we can consider to be our practice and use it to subdue the defilements.
Another example is recollection of death. For those who still have strong greed, aversion and delusion and find them difficult to contain, it's useful to take this subject of personal death as a meditation. We'll come to see that everybody has to die, whether rich or poor. We'll see both good and evil people die. Everybody must die! Developing this practice we find that an attitude of dispassion arises. The more we practice the easier our sitting produces calm. This is because it's a suitable and appropriate practice for us. If this practice of Calm Meditation is not agreeable to our particular tendencies, it won't produce this attitude of dispassion. If the object is truly suited to us then we'll find it arising regularly, without great difficulty, and we'll find ourselves thinking about it often.
Regarding this we can see an example in our everyday lives. When laypeople bring trays of many different types of food to offer the monks, we taste them all to see which we like. When we have tried each one we can tell which is most agreeable to us. This is just an example. That which we find agreeable to our taste we'll eat, we find most suitable. We won't bother about the other various dishes.
The practice of concentrating our attention on the in-and out-breath is an example of a type of meditation which is suitable for us all. It seems that when we go around doing various different practices, we don't feel so good. But as soon as we sit and observe our breath we have a good feeling, we can see it clearly. There's no need to go looking far away, we can use what is close to us and this will be better for us. Just watch the breath. It goes out and comes in, out and in -- we watch it like this. For a long time we keep watching our breathing in and out and slowly our mind settles. Other activity will arise but we feel like it is distant from us. Just like when we live apart from each other and don't feel so close anymore. We don't have the same strong contact anymore or perhaps no contact at all.
When we have a feeling for this practice of mindfulness of breathing, it becomes easier. If we keep on with this practice we gain experience and become skilled at knowing the nature of the breath. We'll know what it's like when it's long and what it's like when it's short.
Looking at it one way we can talk about the food of the breath. While sitting or walking we breathe, while sleeping we breathe, while awake we breathe. If we don't breathe then we die. If we think about it we see that we exist only with the help of food. If we don't eat ordinary food for ten minutes, an hour or even a day, it doesn't matter. This is a course kind of food. However, if we don't breathe for even a short time we'll die. If we don't breathe for five or ten minutes we would be dead. Try it!
One who is practicing mindfulness of breathing should have this kind of understanding. The knowledge that comes from this practice is indeed wonderful. If we don't contemplate then we won't see the breath as food, but actually we are "eating" air all the time, in, out, in, out...all the time. Also you'll find that the more you contemplate in this way, the greater the benefits derived from the practice and the more delicate the breath becomes. It may even happen that the breath stops. It appears as if we aren't breathing at all. Actually, the breath is passing through the pores of the skin. This is called the "delicate breath." When our mind is perfectly calm, normal breathing can cease in this way. We need not be at all startled or afraid. If there's no breathing what should we do? Just know it! Know that there is no breathing, that's all. This is the right practice here.
Here we are talking about the way of Samatha practice, the practice of developing calm. If the object which we are using is right and appropriate for us, it will lead to this kind of experience. This is the beginning, but there is enough in this practice to take us all the way, or at least to where we can see clearly and continue in strong faith. If we keep on with contemplation in this manner, energy will come to us. This is similar to the water in an urn. We put in water and keep it topped up. We keep on filling the urn with water and thereby the insects which live in the water don't die. Making effort and doing our everyday practice is just like this. It all comes back to practice. We feel very good and peaceful.
This peacefulness comes from our one-pointed state of mind. This one-pointed state of mind, however, can be very troublesome, since we don't want other mental states to disturb us. Actually, other mental states do come and, if we think about it, that in itself can be the one-pointed state of mind. It's like when we see various men and women, but we don't have the same feeling about them as we do about our mother and father. In reality all men are male just like our father and all women are female just like our mother, but we don't have the same feeling about them. We feel that our parents are more important. They hold greater value for us.
This is how it should be with our one-pointed state of mind. We should have the same attitude towards it as we would have towards our own mother and father. All other activity which arises we appreciate in the same way as we feel towards men and women in general. We don't stop seeing them, we simply acknowledge their presence and don't ascribe to them the same value as our parents.
Thanks for that.danieLion wrote:befriend wrote:what is ajahn chahs method of vipassana?
In Reading The Natural Mind Ajahn Chah said:Insight Meditation (Vipassana). . .
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests | <urn:uuid:2cac6e95-d3f5-4213-af3e-f666ad8660d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?p=189242 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969753 | 3,387 | 2 | 2 |
As I’ve said before, it sometimes helps to understand human behavior from a tribal perspective.
When the human animal finds himself in uncertain or stressful situations, his default behavior is to seek refuge with his own kind. The tribe can be an ethnic group, a college fraternity, one’s religious denomination, or even a profession (like law enforcement).
It’s “us” vs. “them,” a mindset reinforced by initiation rituals as well as mandatory loyalty to the group.
Our constitution is a framework of codes designed to protect society from this all-too-natural tendency, especially when it exhibits itself in the institutions of government.
We are a nation of laws, not of men, and the idea of fairness and equality under those laws is the animating ideal that binds us together. It’s why the president swears his fealty to the constitution, and not to the people of the United States.
It is an ideal—not a reality—because men are not perfect. But it is why we feel such a deep sense of wrong when abuses like the recent Hollywood police fabrication occur. The deliberate flouting of our common code is not just an offense to the motorist who was hit by the policeman, but to everyone.
The authority those law enforcement officers wield is conferred by the rest of us. They threw it in our faces in the name of protecting one of their own. | <urn:uuid:eec8d89e-a50e-4b11-ba6a-db023e419c21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/07/the_hollywood_cops_fabrication.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962268 | 294 | 2.0625 | 2 |
This Italian jewel, born in 1947, sees us in a Florentine palace, opera dressing rooms, or theatre apron.
Fadini Borghi is to silk what Braquenié is to cottons.
This house, inspired by fabrics brought back from the Orient by explorers during the Renaissance, now offers silk in all its forms: voided velvet, taffetas, damask, lampas, brocades are illustrated by classical Italian (from the 16th to the 19th centuries), Art Deco or very contemporary patterns, when metal is mixed with silk.
Sumptuousness and virtuosity accurately sum up this house bought out by Pierre Frey in 2004 .
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Top 3 Trading Indicators for Profitable & Simple Trading
Many investors and traders make the same mistakes assuming that one needs a complex trading system to consistently profit from the stock market. On the contrary, some of the top performing strategies are the ones with the least amount of moving parts and are simple. Because their simplicity they can be easily and consistently followed.
- Personal Finance, Many investors and traders make the same mistakes assuming that one needs a complex trading system to consistently profit from the stock market. On the contrary, some of the top performing strategies are the ones with the least amount of moving parts and are simple. Because their simplicity they can be easily and consistently followed. The methodologies we use for timing the market, picking stocks and option trades are very simple because we focus mainly on price, volume and momentum. These three indicators are the key to success. When these are used together you are able time your entries and exits during key turning points, clearly define risk and reward levels while maintaining a clear unbiased state of mind which allows one to trade almost emotionless. As my Trading System Mastery coach (Brian McAboy) taught me, if you do not have a detailed trading plan which a five year old could trade, then you do not have a solid strategy and will have unnecessary losses and emotional stress. So here are a couple t
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Investors, Speculators and the Stock Market - Part 1
Virtually everything we buy and sell, both wholesale and retail, is auctioned to the highest bidder daily; demand for goods and services are generally satisfied by competitive auction. The foundation of Capitalism is the auction process of exchanging property. The auction is the only manner in which private property and labor can be exchanged for the highest contemporary value. Every owner desiring to sell a product will make it available to all potential buyers and strike a deal with the highest bidder. | <urn:uuid:1b9fb39f-b13b-4cca-9dc2-802dd7dab917> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.feedthebull.com/related/more/articles/14853%2B3938%2B4116%2B3363%2B60112 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936091 | 505 | 1.507813 | 2 |
|"Are you a wizard or not?"
The title of this article is conjectural. Although it is based on canonical information, the actual name is conjecture and may be supplanted at any time by additional information released from canonical sources. If this occurs, please move this page to the appropriate title.
|Fiery offensive spell|
Scorches the opponent
This spell was a spell (incantation unkown) most commonly used in used in duellings. When cast, a large body of flames is produced from the wand of the caster, which is then forcefully directed at the target. It is possible that, given the powerful, firey nature of the spell, it causes the opponent to be scorched or incinerated when directly hit with it. Deflecting the fire from this spell by the target onto others will cause them to pass out from heat exhaustion. It is also possible that this spell extracts fire from nearby areas to attack the opponent with, rather than conjure an intense amount of flames.
Behind the scenesEdit
- In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Minerva McGonagall uses this spell to fend off Severus Snape and the Carrows. However, this usage of the spell cannot be considered canon as, in the novel, the duel between McGonagall and Snape is much different from what is shown on the film.
- This spell looks remarkably similar to the Blasting Curses that Hermione Granger and Harry Potter used against Nagini in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2. However, it is doubtful that they are the same spell, as Confringo is used to blast an object, causing fire to erupt from it as a result, while this spell is used to create and direct a source of fire.
- During the duel between Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the fire from the Great Hall's torches diminishes. It could be that McGonagall used that fire for her spell or it could be that the director wanted the torches diminished to created a more darker and tense atmosphere for the duel.
- It is possible that this spell is Incendio Duo or Incendio Tria, given that both spells are used to create a large amount of intense flames, and that both are commonly used in Duelings. | <urn:uuid:9c70c9db-d1b1-4ad6-9013-1a03ddf601b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Minerva_McGonagall's_Spell | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930151 | 485 | 2.375 | 2 |
UPDATE: The town of Wadesboro issued a release warning citizens that the low pressure and outages in the water distribution system on Friday increases the potential for back siphonage and introduction of bacteria into the water system.
Due to this risk, the Division of Water Resources advises that when water is restored consumers boil all water used for human consumption (including drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation) or use bottled water, according to Public Services Director Hugh James.
James said that vigorous boiling for one minute should kill any disease-causing organisms that may be present in the water. He urged water consumers to conserve water whenever possible until further written notification is issued from the town.
Wadesboro residents woke up to find their water turned off on Friday. The problem, according to Town Manager Alex Sewell, is a broken water line on North Rutherford Street. Town staff are working around-the-clock to restore water service and hope to restore the water service no later than 1 p.m. on Friday.
The town said “entities with critical needs, including the hospital and school system,” have been notified of the situation. “Town staff are working tirelessly to restore water service for our customers and we regret any disruptions this causes for our community,” Sewell said. “Notably, the waterline at issue is one that we are about to replace so we can avoid disruptions like this in the future.
As of 9:20 a.m., the schools had not issued a cancellation notice for classes and other activities for the day. | <urn:uuid:99529206-e470-4207-a7d2-8c77ce48c5a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ansonrecord.com/pages/home/push?class=&per_page=5&rel=prev&x_page=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962667 | 326 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Every once in a while, scientists set out to study one thing and discover another entirely.
Consider the case of this seizure-medicine turned hot-flash therapy – or more recently, URMC scientists’ discovery that an already-FDA-approved osteoporosis medication (human parathyroid hormone, sold under the brand name Forteo) can potentially be repurposed as a cartilage-rebuilding agent for millions of adults grappling with wear-and-tear arthritis.
Admittedly, there’s a long road to human clinical trials and hypothetical approval, but if the drug were approved for this new application, it would be the first disease-modifying (not just symptom-masking) therapy for osteoarthritis. And that could mean a whole new lease on life for the 67 million American adults (a staggering 25 percent of the U.S. adult population!) projected to have the painful, degenerative joint condition by 2030.
To hear more about this exciting research, we’ve asked Dr. Randy Rosier to talk a bit about the coincidental discovery process – and recent laboratory trials that have given him hope for the drug’s new potential.
*Please note that several URMC researchers, including Rosier, have a U.S. Provisional Patent application related to this work.
URMC Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation is the largest, most comprehensive orthopaedic group in the region. Boasting over 40 board-certified or board-qualified doctors, we cover every sub-specialty of orthopaedics, and see more than 170,000 patients each year. To request an appointment, click here.
When it comes to your skeleton, it’s all downhill after 30.
That’s the age when growth hormone dwindles, bone-building slows to a crawl, and your body is likely to reach its maximal bone mass, explains bone expert (and bone “sleuth”) Dr. Susan Bukata.
“After that, bones begin to deteriorate,” she says. “Luckily, there are a few things you can do to slow down the clock.”
Bukata suggests the following tips for keeping the bone you’ve got:
- Spend 2 percent of your day exercising. You can spread this goal — 30 minutes of weight-bearing exercise — throughout your day in small bursts. For instance, picking a spot further out in the grocery store parking lot can bring you a few minutes closer towards that half-hour goal.
- Find secret sources of calcium and Vitamin D. Hate milk? A half-cup of collard greens has the same calcium punch as an 8-ounce glass. Plenty of other creative sources of calcium (broccoli, salmon, bread) and Vitamin D are linked here and here.
- Kick the habit (no ifs, ands, or “butts”). Quitting smoking — or better yet, not starting in the first place — can dramatically cut your risk for fractures. While osteoporosis is undoubtedly a bad disease, Bukata says that avoiding a debilitating fracture is really the “name of the game.”
Bukata is the Clinical Director of URMC’s Center for Bone Health. A regional referral center for the diagnosis and treatment of bone disorders like osteoporosis, calcium bone disorders, and metabolic bone disease, the Center also works to advance patient care through research. | <urn:uuid:775cb189-d7a9-47a2-bace-8aa918b0f1a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://urmcscripts.wordpress.com/tag/bones/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911332 | 720 | 2.09375 | 2 |
In literature, naturalism is often considered a more scientific reaction to romanticism's focus on intuition and feeling. The movement, which developed from the 1880s to 1940s, drew from the ideas of Charles Darwin, leaning heavily toward the notion that the individual is a product of heredity and environment, rather than a being of spirit. Naturalistic writing focuses on depicting everyday reality with an eye toward the underlying conditions responsible for the actions and choices of characters. The term "naturalism" was coined by Émile Zola, who said of his novels, "I wish to explain how a family, a small group of human beings … are, as analysis demonstrates, most closely linked together from the point of view of affinity. Heredity, like gravity, has its laws."
Chegg is for students
See what's inside! | <urn:uuid:de33b5cb-aeb0-47b8-81dd-e9dc7fed60b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/naturalism-41 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978395 | 169 | 4.03125 | 4 |
The concept for this project is as follows: "The wind blows away heavy mist in a valley at dawn. A shinning start flies across the sky and lands here, the bright light rises, which lights up the red leaves of an ancient tree. The whole image is full of holiday happiness and exotic flavours.”
As 3D work should be more precise than 2D work, the creation process should be longer and the effect is often represented only at the end. To avoid any deviation from the original design in the long making process, I've drafted a rough concept image which captures the atmosphere we're looking for (Fig.01).
According to the concept image, there should be a tree as the focal point of the image, so select "Banyan tree” from the Foliage options (Fig.02).
Set the tree on the earth table that has been made (Fig.03).
Open the Compile menu and adjust to get a satisfactory shape. What we need to pay attention to here is the following: by clicking the "New” tag on the left of "Seed” in "Parameters”, a random tree shape will be generated. Clicking repeatedly will be unfavourable for returning to original shape and providing comparison, so I suggest using the parameters on the right of "Seed” to adjust the basic model. Secondly, the options under "Show” are about groups of tree, and one can remove redundant groups according to his needs. For example, in this work, we need a quite thick tree. Although the Banyan tree has quite an appropriate shape, its roots need to be removed. Such removal will be used more often in the following process (Fig.04).
Adjust the size of the work according to the draft, lock the scale and set up the cameras. Many artists like to do this step later, but as the work is "static”, a lot of unnecessary work can be saved if it is done earlier. For example, it becomes unnecessary to consider the scene beyond the image (Fig.05)
Open "Material Editor”, select a new shader and use "sucker” to suck materials off the "tree”. We will find that the tree has six shaders, so adjust these shaders accordingly (Fig.06).
We're going to start with the leaves: open the leaves shader and we can see that there is only one alpha texture and no colour texture in the default materials. Click the "magic tube” icon to display the leaves cut by channels, and open the channel map (this is a default image provided by 3ds Max, and we can find location of the file by the path shown in the image) (Fig.07). | <urn:uuid:242a5581-a088-4e9e-94b9-f6fa44149dda> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.3dtotal.com/index_tutorial_detailed.php?id=479 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924688 | 567 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Witte's other recently posted papers are here.
In the midst of the English Revolution, John Milton emerged as the most articulate and innovative advocate of religious rights and liberties. Milton, religious liberty was a God-given, God-directed natural right. Humanity has the image of God within, and therefore has the freedom to choose.
However, to use natural freedom, mankind needs supernatural direction. Milton took a radical step by arguing that Christ rendered the Mosaic law obsolete, arguing that instead Christians have the liberty to do their duties to God and neighbor, have the right to do what is good, and to imitate Christ in their daily lives.
In addition to removing the Mosaic moral law, Milton also attacked the Church of England, labeling the clergy lords of the religion and claiming the church had too many Catholic ties. Thus, Milton advocated five major reforms in the Church of England. First, Milton called for liberty of conscience, the dearest and most precious right. Second, supported one’s freedom to worship in community of one’s choosing. Third, the state should tolerate every peaceable church. Fourth, Milton advised a separation of church and state. Finally, Milton emphasized that there should be no established religion.
These reforms are based on Milton’s premise that family is the foundation of society. The domestic commonwealth is like the political commonwealth: it should be dissolved if it fails its fundamental purpose. For marriage, the fundamental purpose is both civil (reproduction) and religious (spiritual bond before God). If either of those purposes is frustrated, divorce is a remedy.
Milton also believed strongly in civil rights and liberties, including the right to democratic election, the right to petition, the right to associate, the right to a jury trial, and the right to an education. Milton also called for freedom of speech and press, claiming that censorship was self-defeating for the church, impractical, and harmful to both the author and the public. However, Milton still felt that blasphemous or treasonous statements should still be punished, even if they were not censored. Censorship is wrong to Milton because denies the nature of human judgment; truth comes from revelation, not from restriction.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Witte on John Milton and the Reformation of Rights and Liberties in England
John Witte Jr., Emory University School of Law, has just posted a number of earlier legal history papers on SSRN. Among them is Prophets, Priests, and Kings of Liberty: John Milton and the Reformation of Rights and Liberties in England, which appeared in the Emory Law Journal, Vol. 57, p. 1528, 2008. Here's the abstract:
Mary L. Dudziak at 11:50 AM | <urn:uuid:8e4a6a7f-00f4-4994-9f69-5268955d9921> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/witte-on-john-milton-and-reformation-of.html?m=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961322 | 565 | 3.359375 | 3 |
© 2011 -
Cirrhosis Of The Liver Treatments, News and Developments
The liver is an important organ located in your abdomen. It is the liver's job to
filter out harmful toxins in your bloodstream and process nutrients. When your liver
is damaged, it tries to heal itself, and like many other organs, when it heals it
forms scar tissue on the area that has been damaged. This scar tissue is inflexible,
and when enough of it is present, it prevents the liver from performing its functions
properly. Unfortunately, initial damage to the liver often goes undetected because
the outward symptoms do not present themselves until the damage is extreme. When
extensive scarring is present in the liver it is called cirrhosis. Advanced cirrhosis
of the liver is a life threatening condition, and can require a liver transplant
or lead to death.
Cirrhosis of the liver often goes undetected in its early stages because the symptoms don't really appear until the disease has reached an advanced stage. Blood work can be done to detect irregular or elevated liver enzymes, but other than that, the outward symptoms may go unnoticed for a long time. Diagnosis can also be complicated because typical symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss, itching, confusion or pain in the stomach can be ignored or mistaken for signs of other illnesses. The symptoms that usually end up getting attention from the doctors are jaundice, which is characterized by a yellowing of the skin or eyes, nosebleeds that are constant and excessive, bruising and edema of the abdomen and legs.
Other telltale signs are when the palms turn red or when red spots and tiny lines on the skin appear. All of these symptoms are indications of the presence of toxins in the bloodstream, and usually lead to tests such as liver biopsies being performed to confirm that it's cirrhosis. Continued below....
Cirrhosis of the liver is a diagnosis that describes liver damage caused by a variety of things, including a high-
Stage 3 of cirrhosis of the liver is the first point at which you might notice symptoms,
which are caused by increased blood pressure caused by the scarring in the liver.
Finally, in the fourth stage, the fibrous tissue that has replaced healthy tissue
in the liver's structure prevents it from functioning properly and serious health
issues begin to appear.
Although liver damage is not reversible, there are many things that can be done to improve the condition of patients suffering from cirrhosis of the liver. Alcohol must be avoided completely, and this is also true of high fat foods. A healthy diet of whole grains, fresh vegetables and fruits is particularly helpful, because damage to the liver prevents it from performing one of its vital functions, delivering nutrients to the body.
Because of a variety of complications that can take place in patients with cirrhosis of the liver, it is usually a good idea to cut back dramatically on sodium, stay away from too much animal protein, and eat multiple small meals rather than large meals. Many medications can exacerbate problems in the liver, so be sure to check with your doctor before taking anything without his knowledge.
Cirrhosis Of The Liver
|End Stage Liver Disease| | <urn:uuid:2e861977-4b6d-405f-bb1d-3b86d98c3ffd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cirrhosisoftheliver.us/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950277 | 666 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Temperatures in Wichita Falls have remained in the triple digits for 12 consecutive days so far this month and are expected to remain above monthly average through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla.
According to NWS meteorologist Doug Speheger, the high today is expected to reach 104 degrees, lower than the original 108-degree prediction that could have come within one degree of the previous record high temperature.
"The record high for June 14 is 109 (degrees), which was set in 1953," Speheger said. "It's still going to be very hot, but that record ... will probably survive."
Temperatures are expected to remain above 100 degrees throughout the week, with the exception of a 97-degree high expected for Wednesday.
"(It's) not too significant of relief," Speheger said. "(There is) a cold front moving through Oklahoma and probably into North Texas as well, which may cool us down into the 90s for Wichita Falls on Wednesday, but that's going to be fairly temporary."
The NWS temperature forecast for the end of the week in Wichita Falls includes a high of 101 degrees on Thursday, 104 degrees on Friday, 106 degrees on Saturday and 105 degrees on Sunday.
So far this month, the area has had temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above the area's normal 91-degree average. The temperatures are also well above last year's numbers, as Wichita Falls did not pass 100 degrees throughout the entire month of June in 2010, Speheger said.
This year's early heat wave is a result of the area's weather pattern which varies year to year, as well as the ongoing drought across Texas and the Southwest.
"With the dry weather we've had, it's also been a lot easier ... to really warm the temperatures more than usual," Speheger said. "(It's) both a combination of a large scale weather pattern and also the lingering drought that we've had."
There is a slight chance of rain and thunderstorms tonight, but Speheger isn't confident in the odds.
"Tuesday night (tonight), we have a 20 percent chance of rain for the Wichita Falls area," he said. "There's at least a chance, but the odds are that it will still be dry."
According to Speheger, the Wichita Falls area has only experienced a trace amount of precipitation this month, meaning there has been a few drops of rain but not enough to measure. The average month-to-date rainfall for June is 1.67 inches.
In addition to the monthly rainfall deficit, Wichita Falls is nearly 10 inches below the normal year-to-date rainfall measurement of 13.18 inches. Currently, the area has only had 3.34 inches of rain since the year began. | <urn:uuid:6a398dd3-df3f-4996-9ccd-73e916bd2cf7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2011/jun/14/amid-the-heat-staying-cool-as-ice-weary-weather/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966472 | 573 | 2 | 2 |
Robert S. Ramsey, an enterprising and progressive farmer of Center Township, is a native of Columbiana County.
He was born in the township, where he resides, Aug. 23, 1854, and is the son of John and Keziah (Hamilton) Ramsey.
John Ramsey, son of Robert Ramsey, was a native of Madison Township, Columbiana County, and a prosperous farmer
of this section. Both he and his wife are deceased and buried in West Beaver Cemetery. They were the parents of
12 children, two of whom are living: Robert S., the subject of this sketch; and Keziah, married Ramsey McGregor,
lives at Lisbon.
After completing his schooling in the district schools of his native township, Robert S. Ramsey engaged in general
farming with his father. After his marriage in 1881 he purchased his present farm and several years later added
to his original land holdings until he owned 116 acres of well improved land. Mr. Ramsey has disposed of some of
this land, which has been allotted into homesites. He still maintains about 25 acres, but lives practically retired.
On Sept. 14, 1881, Mr. Ramsey was united in marriage with Miss Lucy Burnett, of Hubbard, Trumble County, Ohio,
and the daughter of Edmund P. and Christiana (Myers) Burnett, both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey have no children.
In politics Mr. Ramsey is identified with the Republican party and holds membership in the Presbyterian Church.
Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey have a wide circle of friends in the community where they have spent so many years and are
History of Columbiana County, Ohio
By: Harold B. Barth
Historical Publishing Company
Columbiana County, Ohio Biographies
Names A to F
Names G to M
Names N to Z
For all your genealogy needs visit Linkpendium | <urn:uuid:cc8800f8-f672-4fa3-89fc-1dcd42c0ad91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.onlinebiographies.info/oh/colum/ramsey-rs.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966103 | 390 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Every day, in small ways or big, we are confronted with suffering and injustice in our world.
For believers, this can be confusing and severely test our faith. For some nonbelievers, the presence of evil in the world is a barrier to faith – how could a good God allow suffering?
The Old Testament book of Habakkuk confronts these issues head on as the prophet asks God what he is going to do about the problem of evil.
Come along to NCS for the last three weeks of semester to hear how God answers! | <urn:uuid:7e925648-c0e4-4587-b071-bafd897be064> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newcastlechristianstudents.org/2012/05/14/when-life-doesnt-make-sense/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942417 | 112 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Around the Nation
Census data released this week revealed that Detroit lost nearly 250,000 people in the past decade. That's roughly one person every 22 minutes, according to a local analysis of the numbers. Mayor Dave Bing says he will challenge the count. NPR's Alex Kellogg talks to Steve Inskeep about the figures. | <urn:uuid:93fe2774-8e23-4468-8d14-9c017b862268> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kunc.org/post/shrinking-detroit | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927264 | 66 | 1.539063 | 2 |
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Fri November 18, 2011
Confusion reigns over what state should do with health care law
Business owners are trying to figure out how the federal Affordable Care Act might play out in Michigan and how it could affect their bottom line.
Under the law, states are required to create an online exchange where people could compare and buy health care insurance. States need to create the exchange by the end of 2012 or the federal government will do it for them.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide if all or parts of the Affordable Care Act are constitutional next year. The problem is the State of Michigan needs to implement parts of the federal law by that time. If the state refuses, the federal government will do it for them.
State Representative Ken Yonker (R-Caledonia) sits on the House Health Policy Committee. He wants the state to do nothing; ignore the mandates. Even if the Court doesn’t rule the health care law unconstitutional, Yonker doesn’t think the federal government even has the money to implement the exchange.
“I think that the odds are in our favor that I’m not afraid to call their bluff,” Yonker told a group of business owners at a Grand Rapids Chamber health care summit Friday. He quickly followed up with, “But I’m not speaking for my caucus.”
That’s because Republicans disagree about whether they should start setting up the exchange. Michigan Public Radio Network Capitol Bureau Chief Rick Pluta reported last week:
Republican Governor Rick Snyder says the health care exchanges are a good idea that will benefit businesses and consumers regardless of how the Supreme Court rules. The governor says he’s also afraid Michigan would be thrown into a federally designed system if the Legislature does not act quickly.
“Before the end of the year would be best in terms of being prepared,” Snyder said.
But Republican House Speaker Jase Bolger says he’s in no hurry and would rather wait for the Supreme Court to decide one way or the other.
“I don’t expect the House to act until or unless we have to act,” Jase said.
The Michigan Senate has already passed a bill that would set up the exchange.
Jamie Mills is President of Mills Benefit Group in Grand Rapids. She helps companies decide what insurance plans are best for them.
“If we do not get something through Michigan by (the end of 2012), then the federal government can come in a put in their own exchange," Mills said. "Will they? It’s kind of like liar’s poker here – who’s going to move first.”
Mills said she’d like to see the whole act thrown out. She thinks everyone has a right to health care coverage, but she doesn’t think the Affordable Care Act will address what she sees at the main problem – rising costs. | <urn:uuid:8af9c936-2b9a-42c3-a446-0671fa50d191> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://michiganradio.org/post/confusion-reigns-over-what-state-should-do-health-care-law | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961256 | 620 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Blood Diamonds Tracing the Deadly Path of the World's Most Precious Stones (Paperback)
|Author: Greg Campbell|
|Journalist Greg Campbell leads the reader down the international diamond trail of brutality, horror, and profit - providing an on-the-ground and in-the-mines story of global consequence|
From the Publisher:
First discovered in 1930, the diamonds of Sierra Leone have funded one of the most savage rebel campaigns in modern history. These ?blood diamonds? are smuggled out of West Africa and sold to legitimate diamond merchants in London, Antwerp, and New York, often with the complicity of the international diamond industry. Eventually, these very diamonds find their way into the rings and necklaces and brides and spouses the world over.
Blood Diamonds is the gripping tale of how diamond smuggling works, how the rebel war has effectively destroyed Sierra Leone and its people, and how the policies of the diamonds industry?institutionalized in the 1880s by the De Beers cartel?have allowed it to happen. Award-winning journalist Greg Campbell traces the deadly trail of these diamonds, many of which are brought to the world market by fanatical enemies. These repercussions of diamond smuggling are felt far beyond the borders of the poor and war-ridden country of Sierra Leone, and the consequences of overlooking this African tragedy are both shockingly deadly and unquestionably global.
In this newly revised and expanded edition, investigative journalist Greg Campbell returns to West Africa ten years later to reveal how despite widespread exposure to the corruption and greed of the diamond trade, it continues unabated as the region struggles politically, ecologically, and economically. | <urn:uuid:ad1479db-e14e-4537-b8d6-00520016c5f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rakuten.com/prod/blood-diamonds/222393606.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915938 | 335 | 1.53125 | 2 |
TUESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- Reconstructive surgery may help ease the pain of women who have suffered female genital mutilation, a new study finds.
Female genital mutilation, or FGM, "includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs" for cultural or non-medical reasons, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO declares that female genital mutilation "is a violation of the human rights of girls and women."
In the new study, published online June 11 in The Lancet, researchers from France found that a new surgical technique could allow women who have been subjected to this type of mutilation to experience sexual pleasure. They noted, however, reconstructive surgery is often not an option for women who have had their external female genitalia (such as the clitoris) partially or totally removed.
"Our findings show that clitoral reconstruction after FGM is feasible. It can certainly improve women's pleasure and lessen their pain. It also allows mutilated women to recover their identity," the inventor of the surgical technique, Pierre Foldes from Poissy Saint Germain Hospital, explained in a journal news release.
"However, women with FGM rarely have access to reconstructive surgery to improve their lives, and in most developed and all developing countries surgery remains prohibitively expensive," added the study leaders Beatrice Cuzin from Edouard Herriot University Hospital in Lyon, and Armelle Andro from Pantheon Sorbonne University in Paris.
In conducting the study, the researchers examined the immediate and long-term outcomes of nearly 3,000 surgeries involving mutilated women who underwent a new surgical procedure to reconstruct their clitoris and restore its function.
The women were asked about the pain in their genitals as well as their sexual pleasure before their surgery and one year after they had the new procedure.
The study authors noted that 5 percent of the women experienced complications right after the surgery, such as moderate fever or suture failure.
One year later, however, 821 out of 840 women who attended the follow-up visit reported either an improvement or no increase in pain compared with their pre-treatment levels. Most women (815 out of 834) also reported an increase in sexual pleasure.
The researchers also reported that one-third of the women who had never had an orgasm prior to their operation had restricted or regular orgasms one year after they had the reconstructive surgery. They noted that the women who had restricted orgasms before the surgery had regular orgasms one year after the procedure.
More women should benefit from this new surgical technique, the study authors suggested. "Reconstructive surgery needs to be made more readily available in developed countries by trained surgeons. In France, where most of the health expenses are reimbursed, there is only limited provision, because only a handful of surgeons have been trained in this technique and fewer than 10 offer this service," they wrote in the news release.
Still, many mutilated women are not aware of their options for reconstructive surgery and some national health insurance plans do not cover this type of procedure, noted Jasmine Abdulcadir and colleagues from University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, who wrote an accompanying commentary in the journal.
According to the WHO: Female genital mutilation is most common in the western, eastern, and northeastern regions of Africa, in some countries in Asia and the Middle East, and among immigrants in Europe and North America from these areas. The causes include a mix of cultural, religious and social factors. About 140 million girls and women worldwide are living with the consequences, including an estimated 92 million girls aged 10 and older in Africa. The mutilation is usually carried out between infancy and 15 years of age.
The World Health Organization has more about female genital mutilation.
SOURCE: The Lancet, news release, June 11, 2012
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Health News on healthfinder.gov. | <urn:uuid:c70f1465-16b3-416e-9cea-36c732ad5625> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthfinder.gov/News/Article/665606/procedure-might-ease-pain-of-female-genital-mutilation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967144 | 863 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Tea parties are changing the face of political participation, but critics of the tea party movement point to these grassroots upstarts as “extreme,” “angry,” “racist” and even “seditious.” Yet The Christian Science Monitor reported that tea party rallies are so orderly police have given them more latitude than other protest groups. Are tea parties really seditious or do they instead invoke a genuine American tradition of protest—such as when civil rights leaders too made appeals to the Founding Fathers?
With knee-jerk charges leveled against tea party rallies, it may be prudent for organizers to think more carefully about the message and images they express. Dismissing out of hand the most common charges, however baseless, could prove costly for a movement of real opportunity aiming to transform the culture.
Naturally, tea partiers have borrowed from the symbols of the American Founding, but the civil rights movement may offer an even greater teachable moment. One clear reason for this is that tea party movements need to awaken the moral culture of politics and public discourse. A grave danger on the road to that goal is getting stuck in the rut of partisan politics and rhetoric.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s. movement was so successful not just because of his commitment to non-violence and the justice of his cause, but also because his words and actions consistently looked to expand the number of people who sympathized with the civil rights movement. He understood the importance of symbols and crafting narratives to reach those outside his crusade for justice. King hardly ever focused on specific legislation or public figures but appealed to greater universal truths and posed deeply moral questions to the Republic.
In his heralded “I Have a Dream” speech, King made no mention of contemporaries, save for a reference to his children and the governor of Alabama. King instead focused on Scripture, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and President Abraham Lincoln. King knew those were powerful symbols for all Americans, and that a massive audience—not just those already in agreement with his ideas—was his target. He borrowed widely from the narratives and promises of America to appeal to this country’s better nature. King’s movement was so transformative, Washington was forced to take notice, and even President Johnson quoted the movement’s anthem “We Shall Overcome,” when he addressed a joint session of Congress in 1965.
King was also a moderating force in the civil rights movement. His non-violent tactics and insistence on not breaking federal court orders, except in extreme cases, were at odds with more radical black leaders. His appeal was also a Christian one that found resonance in the wider American culture.
Tea Party groups should learn from King’s actions precisely because their participants are law abiding and peaceful. There are fundamental truths to their claims, too, because they invoke the better nature of our government given to us by our Founders, just as King did.
Rallies that depict President Barack Obama as totalitarian or as Adolf Hitler undermine the moral witness of tea parties. Tea partiers who show up with semi automatic rifles strapped to their back in open-carry firearm states do likewise. Just because you can do something doesn’t necessarily mean you should.
Like King’s and other transformative movements, the tea party cause should be focused on winning converts and influencing those who may be opposed to them. All of this may seem difficult without a national leader, but part of its strength is drawing from the already countless leaders who have graced American history. While tea party advocates shouldn’t moderate on principle, they should reject tones of excessive anger and fear.
President Ronald Reagan, for example, was adored not just for his ideas about limited government and freedom, but also because of his sunny personality and optimism. This quality helped Reagan push those ideas back into the mainstream.
Like Reagan, King too was an optimist and embodied a vision. In his 1963 book Strength to Love he said to those seeking justice: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” There is no better truth for tea partiers to build upon.
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Phone: (616) 454-3080
Fax: (616) 454-9454 | <urn:uuid:118323bb-aba0-40e3-8096-f8c39e10926e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.acton.org/pub/commentary/2010/05/05/will-tea-parties-awaken-america%e2%80%99s-moral-culture | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961879 | 925 | 2.78125 | 3 |
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Abortion and Euthanasia.
The first 200 words of this essay...
Abortion and Euthanasia
Human life is sacred, this means life is precious and that no one has the right to take life away only God. The Christian church teaches life is a sacred gift from god.
In the bible we read, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish and the sea, the birds of the air, over the livestock, over the world and all the over creatures that move along the ground '. The teaching of the Catholic Church is expressed in the declaration on procured abortion (1974) in this the church points out that respect for human life is not just a Christian duty.
'So God created man in his own image, the image of God created him, male and female he created the' (Genesis 1:26-27). Created in the image of one God... has the same nature and the same origin of all.... Enjoy an equal dignity. The equality of all rests on essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it.
(taken from the Catechism of the Catholic church 1994)
Contraception and birth control may be
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""Waseem Hussain. Biology, Maths, Chemistry, ICT A Level Student.
""Yvette Agars. Senior History Teacher. Saint John's College. Whyalla S.A. | <urn:uuid:c51d3453-064d-4fd7-a0ea-1f362caf305b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.markedbyteachers.com/gcse/religious-studies-philosophy-and-ethics/abortion-and-euthanasia-1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910172 | 443 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Just a reminder that the New Year's Day (Octave of Christmas and Feast of the Holy Mother of God) is a Holy Day of Obligation binding on all Catholics.
Formerly January 1st was the "Circumcision of our Lord" but this was changed by His Holiness John XXIII. I like the old title, since Christ would have been circumcised on the eighth day after his nativity--January 1 is the eighth day after Christmas. For this reason, the Gospel lesson tells of the Circumcision. Mystically speaking, the circumcision of Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Law and the "down payment" of His passion and death.
Click here for an explanation of Catholic Holy Days of Obligation: Holy Days of Obligation (Explained). | <urn:uuid:806ffeae-2997-4134-8d04-712678858c59> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.taylormarshall.com/2007_12_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963746 | 160 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Symptoms and illness
Whooping cough (pertussis) symptoms start with a runny nose and dry cough. Coughing gets worse over the next few weeks developing into attacks of coughing. The ‘whoop’ sound occurs as babies draw a breath after a long coughing attack. Children often gasp for air and some make a ‘whooping’ sound. They may also vomit after coughing attacks. Babies might go blue or stop breathing during coughing attacks. Most children are well between the coughing spells. In older children and adults whooping cough may present as an unexplained persistent cough that goes on for more than two weeks. The cough may last for up to three months.
Severe risks associated with whooping cough
Whooping cough (pertussis) is most serious in those under one year old and babies under one year are most at risk of serious complications from the infection. Around seven out of ten babies who catch whooping cough when they are under six months old are hospitalised. Whooping cough can lead to pneumonia and can also lead to encephalopathy (brain damage), convulsions and death. The risk of encephalopathy ranges from about one in 100 to one in 1000.
Severe complications are much less common in older children and adults but infected teenagers and adults can pass the infection on to younger children and babies.
You should see your family doctor if you think you have symptoms of whooping cough (pertussis) . Your doctor can arrange tests and may prescribe antibiotics. Sometimes, as a preventative measure, treatment is also offered to the whole family if there are young children in the family at risk of severe disease and complications. Antibiotic treatment is useful in preventing the spread of infection and, if given early, may shorten the period you are unwell.
Prevention and stopping the spread of infection
Immunisation is the best prevention – it is especially important to ensure babies are immunised on time. Do not delay your baby's first immunisations which are given at 6 weeks, 3 months and 5 months. Ensure older children are also up to date with their immunisations. Immunisation for children is free.
- If your doctor has diagnosed you with whooping cough stay away from work, school or pre-school until you have had 5 days of antibiotic treatment – or if not taking antibiotics for whooping cough until 3 weeks after the cough started. Where possible, avoid contact with babies, young children and women in the late stages of pregnancy (because of the possible risk to their newborn).
The disease is spread by coughing. Don’t cough on babies. Cover your cough.
Additional measures to help protect newborn babies
It is advisable for women who are planning a pregnancy to ensure they are up to date with their immunisations before becoming pregnant. Other measures that may help protect newborn babies include whooping cough immunisation boosters, if needed, for:
Pregnant women in the late stages of pregnancy to help protect their newborn (From 1 January 2013 and until the whooping cough outbreak finishes, all pregnant women can get a free whooping cough vaccine between 28 and 38 weeks of pregnancy from their GP).
Family and household members who are likely to be in contact with the newborn (Note that there may be a cost associated with these vaccinations for adults).
Expectant mothers should discuss the above measures with their GP.
For more information
Contact 0800 IMMUNE (466 863) or visit www.immune.org.nz
Ministry of Health: Whooping cough (pertussis) information
Ministry of Health: Whooping cough fact sheet for parents and caregivers | <urn:uuid:0ea4cf71-4627-4a3e-bc03-1885e8e3fd8a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ttophs.govt.nz/pertussis_public | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958711 | 744 | 3.6875 | 4 |
In a written statement, the pilot reported he intended to depart from his private airstrip about 250 miles from the destination airport. During the departure roll, as the airplane became airborne, the main landing gear collided with a large rock on the left side of the strip. The pilot visually confirmed the damage of the left wheel fairing (torn off), but could not discern any other damage. The airplane operated normally and the pilot landed without further incident. After landing, the pilot noted that the left tire was flat and the left main landing gear was damaged, including the gear box. Use your browsers 'back' function to return to synopsisReturn to Query Page
In the section titled "RECOMMENDATION" in the NTSB Pilot/Operator Report, form 6120.1/2, the pilot stated that accident could have been prevented if he had ensured there were no rocks on the airstrip, and if he had maintained runway centerline. The pilot added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine. | <urn:uuid:429c5048-d1ee-468e-b8da-ec3a1992f8dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20080917X01478&ntsbno=LAX08CA210&akey=1 | 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 | 0.966273 | 212 | 2.03125 | 2 |
The ancient Greeks spread their phenomenal culture—from art, architecture, and literature to philosophy, science, and mathematics—throughout the Mediterranean, and their accomplishments continue to have a strong influence on the Western world. This voyage has been designed to reveal the history and legacy of the Greeks, from the emergence of the great Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations to the magnificent artistic and architectural achievements of the Byzantines.
This popular all-inclusive, value cruise to the Mediterranean aboard the 350-guest Aegean Odyssey begins with two nights in Istanbul, home to outstanding Byzantine and Ottoman sites. You'll also explore other fascinating archaeological sites in Turkey, including Pergamum and Ephesus, and the Greek Islands of Santorini, sacred Delos, Mykonos, and Crete. Your cruise concludes with visits to the splendid Greek theater at Epidaurus and a two-night stay in Athens, with time to visit the Acropolis and recently opened Acropolis Museum. Throughout your cruise, you'll enjoy included excursions in each port, as well as time to relax or additional optional excursions.
Our cruise also offers an onboard educational program as well as the flexibility to determine your own schedule: after your included excursions you can choose to explore sites or ports further on your own, join an optional excursion, or simply relax. And cruising aboard Aegean Odyssey (a mid-size ship accommodating 350 guests), you’ll enjoy the amenities of a larger ship as well as the ambiance and gracious service of a more intimate vessel.
Discover the great monuments of Byzantine Istanbul, among them Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace.
View the spectacular coastline monasteries of Mount Athos, a peninsula known as the “Holy Mountain” on which women are forbidden to set foot.
Explore Akrotiri, the ancient Minoan outpost on the island of Santorini, and Ephesus, the classical Roman capital of the province of Asia.
Marvel at the Minoan palace, eccentrically restored by British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, at the Bronze Age site of Knossos, Crete.
Tour the famous temples and buildings of Delos, the paramount religious sanctuary of the ancient Greek world.
Visit the recently opened Acropolis Museum in Athens and explore the Acropolis itself, the city’s ancient citadel.
Enjoy our flexible schedule, including free afternoons in Athens and Istanbul, to explore on your own!
World Heritage sites
This tour features the following World Heritage sites on this tour:
Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey | <urn:uuid:2bbe2a66-5496-4218-a73e-014758f69b94> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/tours/value-cruise-greece-turkey/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916068 | 548 | 1.632813 | 2 |
The sight of brightly colored pinwheels blowing in the breeze brings back happy memories of childhood days when no one else in the entire world was as important and special and loved as you. It is for the sake of children and building happy childhood memories that KIDS Place is promoting Pinwheels for Prevention during April for Child Abuse Prevention Month.
“We are very excited about this year's awareness campaign,” said Alisa W. Ashe, KIDS Place executive director. KIDS Place is collaborating with local businesses, churches, and other agencies to display more than 2,000 pinwheels in 48 pinwheel gardens in Franklin. "By displaying these symbols of childhood, we want to call attention to the problem of abuse in our community and encourage everyone to be a positive support for children and families." Additionally, the blue bows on lamp posts in downtown Franklin are to commemorate Child Abuse Prevention Month. | <urn:uuid:1b9ec8bf-559e-425c-8d43-65f7c120369c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.maconnews.com/news/community?start=44 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95566 | 182 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Working at home has advantages that any
other type of work simply can't give you.
You can work full or part time from the convenience of your own home and adapt your work schedule to suit your own lifestyle. Work the days you want, and work the hours you want. No clock to punch.
No more worries about early alarm clocks, beating the rush hour traffic or packing a lunch. There are no dress codes when you work at home, so no hassle of expensive and stylish clothes to wear.
Be Your Own Boss:
Since you can work at your own time and pace, there is no one looking over your shoulder telling you what to do or how to do it. You, alone make the product from start to finish.
You can be part of the growing family of independent minded men and women across the country who have decided to take their fate into their own hands and wish to be their own boss. The financial rewards can run from just a few hundred
dollars a week on a part-time basis to thousands of dollars per month on a full-time basis. It all depends on how hard a person is willing to work to pursue his or her goals. You're only limited by your own desires and motivation.
Pride in Your Work:
The demand for hand made items has become overwhelming and many of these companies don't have the man power to keep up with their orders. This is why they are looking for assemblers to do the work out of their own home. Don't be surprised
to see some of your own assembly work in your favorite local gift shop. In order to compete with foreign manufacturers, these companies use work at home assemblers to cut their costs. By using this assembly system, you can be a part of the pride of labeling
all of these products "Made In The U.S.A." You can also feel proud of the fact that each and every assembled item is unique because it is hand made instead of being mass produced by automated manufacturers. The companies do all the selling. All they
want you to do is to follow their easy instructions, and pay you for the completed work. The items are easy to assemble and, in most cases, there are no special skills or equipment required. Some items may require a basic sewing machine or a simple screw
driver. You simply assemble the products according to their instructions and you'll be paid upon completion and return of the finished goods to the company. They do the rest.
THIS IS WHAT SEPARATES OUR HOME EMPLOYMENT DIRECTORY FROM ALL THE OTHERS..
National Homeworkers Association is a division
of the Wes-State Corporation, in business since 1976. We are
long time members of our local chamber of commerce, Business Ethics Profile
and financially rated with Dun and Bradstreet.
We have been publishing quality books and publications for
over 20 years, and we are proud of our reputation. Not only are we the largest
and most successful in the work at home industry, we also have the
nations most current and respected work at home programs available.
We have researched hundreds of companies and
carefully selected approximately 60 honest, reputable companies
that have met our stringent requirements and offer genuine opportunities for
profitable home assembly work.
We have documentation on each company plus
a sample of the product they offer for assembly. We only insert companies that
have met our required evaluation.
We are in direct contact with each company and should a problem
arise we will gladly resolve it for you.
We have published the "Home Employment Directory"
since 1989, and have thereby eliminated all the frauds. Our directory contains
only honest legitimate companies with credible business ethics.
Our staff constantly updates our directory information such as product description, addresses and phone numbers. We are excited about our latest version which contains a variety of new and profitable work at home offers.
The variety of products and companies in our directory is numerous
enough that we guarantee you will find work and earn money.
We don't take four to six weeks to ship your order. All orders
are shipped within one business day.
When you call our office you will talk to a live person,
not a machine or recording. Our experienced staff is here to help you
Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 4:30 pm PST.
The type of work available through
the Home Employment Directory:
There are numerous companies offering a variety of products that need assembly work. These products appeal to both men and women and include such
• Toys & Gifts
• Place Mats
• Leather Products
• Duffle Bags
• Baby Bibs
• Stuffed Animals
• Holiday Decorations
• Key Chains
• Hair Cutting Capes
• Wood Products
• Refrigerator Magnets
• String Art
• Potpourri - Sachets
• Hair Bows
• CD Stands
• Felt Game Boards
• Book Marks
There is also a variety of other interesting work available that involves:
• Mailing Postcards
• Fishing Accessories
How the Home Employment Directory
works for you:
There's NO Selling Required.
Most of the companies will ship you supplies, materials
and easy-to-follow instructions so you can get started right
away. You get paid strictly for doing the work. The items are easy
to assemble and, in most cases, there are no special skills or equipment required.
You simply assemble the products according to their instructions and you'll
be paid upon return of the finished goods to the company. No selling required.
Start Earning Money Immediately.
Your place of residence is unimportant. As long as the U.S. Postal Service or other shipping services can make deliveries to your address, you can enjoy the benefits of working at home. Whatever your situation is...whether you're a housewife
or househusband, work part-time or full-time, are a senior citizen, have a handicap or just don't like the hassle of a regular 9:00 - 5:00 job...there are companies that offer assembly work to be done in your own home. Once you've received the "Home
Employment Directory" all you do is choose the products that you are interested in assembling and contact the respective companies who will provide you with instructions to assemble their products in your own home. Get started today and start
receiving weekly paychecks for doing light assembly or other interesting work in your own home. | <urn:uuid:1f5d7fa6-d06f-45d5-ade3-c4057c1fc996> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.national-homeworkers-association.com/directory.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 | 0.952417 | 1,334 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Alabama Counties: Fayette County
Click on the map to get a detailed image of the county
Provided by Alabama Maps
Fayette County was created on 1824 Dec. 20, from portions of Tuscaloosa and Marion counties. It is located in the northwest-central section of the state. It currently encompasses 630 square miles. The county was named for Gen. Marie Jean Paul Joseph Roche Yves Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, who was touring Alabama at the time of the county's formation. The county seat is located in the town of Fayette.
Owen, Thomas McAdory. History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1921.
|Fayette County Historical and Genealogical Societies|
Updated: November 20, 2009 | <urn:uuid:22f089a7-7db1-4458-9c79-889ea371a4be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archives.state.al.us/counties/fayette.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92183 | 170 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Guinea-Bissau: Security Council demands restoration of constitutional order
Raising the possibility of targeted sanctions, the United Nations Security Council today demanded the immediate restoration of constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau, as well as the reinstatement of the West African countrys legitimate government.
The Security Council further demands the immediate and unconditional release of the interim President Raimundo Pereira, Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Júnior and all officials currently detained in order to enable the completion of the presidential and legislative elections, the 15-member said in a presidential statement, following a meeting.
Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau a country with a history of coups, misrule and political instability since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974 seized power earlier this month. The putsch came ahead of the presidential run-off election that was slated for 22 April between Mr. Gomes Júnior and a former president, Kumba Yala.
In its statement, the Council said it was prepared to consider possible further measures, including targeted sanctions against the perpetrators and supporters of the military coup, should the situation remain unresolved.
It also reiterated its strong condemnation of the coup, and expressed deep concern over reports of violent repression of peaceful demonstrations, looting, restriction of freedom of movement, the arbitrary detention of civilians and demands their release.
It said it welcomed and supported the engagement of the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, and encouraged closer coordination of their efforts to restore constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau.
The Council asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who has also condemned the coup to keep it informed of developments in the West African country and to submit a report, by the end of April, on the re-establishment of the constitutional order there.
The UN Secretariat is in close consultation on the situation in the country with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Guinea-Bissau, Joseph Mutaboba, and the UN team on the ground. | <urn:uuid:b40bb759-a819-44e2-88d6-ccf13373bf2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bnaidarfur.org/2012/04/23/guinea-bissau-security-council-demands-restoration-of-constitutional-order/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94525 | 415 | 1.609375 | 2 |
UPDATE: This article has been changed to include three corrections.
Community activists in the Castro District of San Francisco have been riled up by recent legislation proposed to limit public use of the Harvey Milk and Jane Warner plazas.
The ordinance proposes to ban “wheeled equipment” and prevent people from sleeping, camping, or selling merchandise. Further, the ordinance limits the time that seating will be available to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“Poor people and low income people can’t live in the neighborhood anymore,” said community activist and Housing Rights Committee member Tommi Avicolli Mecca. “This ordinance is a response to people’s discomfort with people who look homeless in the plaza.”
Mecca believes that this legislation was pushed forward by the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District and the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro (MUMC) as a way to privatize the public spaces and, in effect, prevent homeless people from occupying them.
"(The legislation) talks about sleeping and camping. Who is doing that other than homeless people and what printed materials are being distributed other than the Street Sheets?" said Bob Offer-Westort human rights organizer for the Coalition for Homelessness. "All of this really clearly targets homeless people."
Other community activists, such as blogger Mike Petrelis, believe that this legislation is a preemptive act against the Occupy movement and that meetings discussing the ordinance intentionally excluded activists like himself. "This new legislation is part of a downtown agenda to prevent an Occupy encampment set up," said Petrelis.
Petrelis wrote about the legislation on his blog , and among his arguments he states that preventing tents to be present in Harvey Milk and Jane Warner plazas expresses direct disapproval of the movement.
"I read this and hear fear on the part of [Sup. Scott] Wiener, MUMC and the CBD that an Occupy the Castro encampment could take root at the top of Market Street,” he said.
Wiener, who is sponsoring the legislation, says that it was drafted under the Pavement to Parks effort to transform the space into park land and that the provisions are standard for that use.
"We’re trying to have usable vibrant public space and this legislation will help us have it,” Wiener told us. “This legislation provides what we already have in our parks. It’s pretty basic provisions.”
Wiener says that many local merchants and advocates, such as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, have been involved in discussions around of this legislation, but the Sisters have not taken a stand on the measure.
"The Sisters, as far as I know, have not made a collective effort one way or another on the legislation at this time," said Sister Barbi Mitzvah in an email. "The Sisters individually can comment, but coming from the organization takes a majority vote as we are a 501c3 non profit."
Whether this legislation addresses homelessness, an attempt to prevent an Occupy Castro movement, or if it is to create a “usable vibrant public space,” the community is demanding participation in this decision.
"Both plazas play a vital role in the Castro community," Petrelis said. "So why won’t he hold a public meeting?" | <urn:uuid:e240f01b-a486-4f58-b595-4befae07d9a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfbg.com/print/politics/2011/12/06/castro-residents-clash-over-proposed-restrictions-public-spaces | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958426 | 696 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Eight years after the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, Iraq remains the most volatile of places.
And now another issue is back, the US presence in Iraq. Around 44,000 US troops remain in Iraq, down from about 170,000 at the peak of the war, with a full withdrawal scheduled by the end of the year.
But even that is up for debate. One of the things both Iraqi and US leaders are now looking for is some sort of final decision on whether the remaining US troops should stay or go.
Will American troops stay longer than planned? Can the politicians work towards the greater good? What is it that prevents Iraq from moving forward?
Inside Story, with presenter Kamahl Santamaria, discusses with guests: Saad al-Muttalibi, a former political advisor to the Iraqi government; Scott Lucas, a professor of American Studies at the University of Birmingham; and Anas Altikriti, the CEO of the Cordoba Foundation - a group seeking to promote dialogue between the Muslim world and the west.
This episode of Inside Story aired on Tuesday, August 2, 2011. | <urn:uuid:cd6b5841-5b83-46c9-8f0e-9408ce904edd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2011/08/2011839353914351.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946096 | 230 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Lions Clubs International was founded in Chicago, USA by Insurance businessman, Melvin Jones (above) in 1917. At this time there were many groups and circles consisting of local businesses. Melvin Jones was a member of the Business Circle of Chicago, and it was his belief that local business clubs should not only concentrate on their own professional matters, but should also try to better their communities and the world at large. His fellow members agreed, and after contacting similar groups around the United States, a meeting was held in Chicago, Illinois on June 7th 1917. They became known as the "Association of Lions Clubs".
Above: In 1917 the founding members gather outside the Chicago Art Institute, and one of it's famed lion statues.
In October of the same year, a National Convention was held in Dallas, Texas, where a Constitution, Objects, and Ethics were approved. In 1920 a club was established in Canada, making the 'Lions' an International Association. This growth continued, and during World War II, Lions Clubs in Canada wanted to send cash aid to England. But there were no Lions Clubs here to administer the money. On the advice of the then Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI, the money was administered by the Waifs and Strays Society which was part of the Church of England Children's Fund. After the war, the Queen sent Col. Edward Wyndham to Canada to thank the Lions. He returned to London determined to form a Lions Club and in March 1950, Colonel Wyndham became the Charter President of the London Host Lions Club. Today, Sophie, Countess of Wessex (below) is the Royal Patron of Lions Clubs International in the British Isles and Ireland.
Lions Clubs International has grown to 1.4 million members across 46,000 clubs in 193 countries. The current International Head Office is situated in Oakbrook, Illinois (below). | <urn:uuid:1de6e38e-b1c2-4b79-bb0f-347673c4849c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dursleylions.com/history.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981769 | 382 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Satellite-gate by Bill KoutalianosWhilst the issues of climate change and a carbon price have been mentioned during the election campaign, the greatest moral and economic challenge of our time, does seem to have fallen off the radar.
Could it partly relate to last week’s admission by the US Government that a decade of satellite measurements by NOAA may be undermined by a faulty satellite. One reading of 612 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in parts of Wisconsin. If similar errors have gone unnoticed for a decade, could this explain global warming?
Late last year we came very close to introducing an emissions trading scheme. At Copenhagen we were in the cheer leaders’ squad in favor of signing up to a heavy handed international treaty. Our new PM told us a few weeks ago, we need to begin to rethink the way we live and work. Now we realize that all this effort and talk was partly based on the data from a faulty satellite, as well as our East Anglia friends. What the electorate needs right now is The Climate Sceptics party’s voice in the Parliament.
NSW Senate Candidate
The Climate Sceptics | <urn:uuid:969b3247-f129-4970-bc3d-5a645d662912> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com/2010/08/satellite-gate.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964967 | 232 | 1.773438 | 2 |
These early chapters of Genesis teach us much- the meaning of the world, our place, and ourselves. And throughout we hear God’s delight in it all, until chapter 2. It is the first time we hear the declaration- “it is not good”. Why? Not because God made a mistake or moral evil has entered, but for the lack of something- and that lack is relationship. From the beginning we see that relationships aren’t just nice but necessary.
05.17.09 Foundations of Faith: Relationships | <urn:uuid:fea9bae5-bbd0-43da-bb70-a02525a965f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gracedc.net/grow/sermons/2009/05/relationships/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920683 | 113 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Trade Act Program
The Trade Act programs, Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA), assist individuals who have become unemployed as a result of increased imports from, or shifts in production to, foreign countries. The goal of the Trade Act programs is to help trade-affected workers return to suitable employment as quickly as possible. To facilitate this goal, TAA certified workers may access a menu of services that include income support, relocation allowances job search allowances, and a health coverage tax credit. TAA participants that require retraining in order to obtain suitable employment may receive occupational training.
In addition, the ATAA program for older workers provides an alternative to the benefits offered under the regular TAA program. Participation in ATAA allows older workers, for whom retraining may not be suitable, to accept reemployment at a lower wage and receive a wage subsidy.
If you are currently employed, or recently laid off from a company that is qualified for this program, please contact a Career Specialist at Chautauqua Works to learn more abou the benefits that you may be eligible for. | <urn:uuid:9a73a6af-5f31-4d2c-9853-2e755e49b3f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chautauquaworks.com/zen.asp?mod=article&actid=90 | 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 | 0.951744 | 226 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Wednesday June 4, 2008
Magic Mushrooms home of Tokoriki’s Giant Clam Farm, has a new resident – a baby White Tip Reef Shark.
All month this little fellow, of only around one metre long, has largely stayed put under a large “massive porites” coral.
At first when we stumbled across him he ot rather agitated, but now he is quite used to us and seem to happily tolerate awestruck divers staring at him.
Oddly enough, a Tawny Nurse Shark (not seen before at Magic Mushrooms), has also been spotted a number of times this June, as well as lots of close encounters of larger White Tip Reef Sharks.
At the moment we seem to be seeing Sharks on nearly all our dives – mostly White Tip, but also Black Tip, Tawny Nurse and Grey Reef. | <urn:uuid:c4d2f781-741b-43a1-a107-f389600f6206> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tokorikidiving.com/new-species-found | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967492 | 177 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Bill creates innovative path to fund college savings
AUSTIN — A bipartisan group of state officials is endorsing an innovative way to fund an important program that matches the savings parents set aside for their children's college and university education.
Senator Kirk Watson on Thursday filed Senate Bill 517, which would create a renewing funding source for the Texas Save and Match Program - also known as the Texas Match the Promise Fund. The program was created in 2007 and matches savings of eligible children enrolled in the Texas Tuition Promise Fund. The Match the Promise Fund accepts philanthropic contributions and currently provides a mechanism for unclaimed property owners to voluntarily donate their unclaimed property to the scholarship fund.
Under SB 517, property valued at $5 or less that has been unclaimed for 20 years or more can be appropriated by the Texas legislature to the Match the Promise Fund to be used for college scholarships. This small-dollar, long-unclaimed property currently amounts to $738,398.
Representative Geanie Morrison has filed the same bill, HB 1001, in the state House of Representatives. And both legislators are working with Comptroller Susan Combs, who first proposed this funding approach.
The legislation would infuse the program with more than $700,000 immediately, and then another roughly $80,000-per-year into the future. It will work in conjunction with another bill Senator Watson plans to file that would expand access to the Match the Promise program for middle-class Texans. (Senator Watson filed a similar bill in 2009 - Senate Bill 1760 - but it did not become law due to a technical issue; this year's legislation will fix that issue while making sure that more Texans can take advantage of this program.)
"The financial hurdles that prevent Texas families from sending their children to college will become larger economic hurdles as our state tries to compete in the 21st Century," Senator Watson said. "This is an innovative approach to funding an essential program that will put more Texans in college and help the Texas economy. I look forward to working with the Comptroller to make sure this program is funded and available to the many Texans who need it."
Comptroller Combs assured Texans that unclaimed money that is put to use in the Match the Promise Fund will continue to belong to its rightful owners, and if the owners wish to claim their $5 or less after it has been held by the state for more than 20 years, the state guarantees reimbursement.
"There is no reason to set this money aside when the likelihood that it will be claimed is very small, and it can be put to good use," she said. "In a time of limited resources, this legislation would help us to do more with existing funds and do better for Texas by helping families send their children to college."
Representative Morrison said she hopes the bill will stand as a model for legislators looking for innovative ways to stretch state dollars and focus on the state's top priorities.
"This unique program will help a wide variety of parents living across the state who are doing the right, responsible thing for their kids," Representative Morrison said. "I hope we'll find other tools to fund priorities that will help Texas without leaning on taxpayers." | <urn:uuid:516bbf5a-630d-4e0c-9eb5-8b6f0c8810ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/Members/dist14/pr11/p020311a.htm | 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 | 0.967036 | 650 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Choosing a Career as a Professional City, Town, or County Manager
A career in local government management is challenging--and extremely rewarding. Few other careers offer the opportunity to have such a positive impact on your community.
Professional local government managers, like other chief executives, are responsible for the overall performance of their organizations. As the top administrator, the manager organizes and directs a team of department heads, supervisors, technicians, and support staff to initiate and manage programs and deliver public services.
Professional city, town, and county managers are typically responsible for
- Working in partnership with elected officials to develop sound approaches to community challenges by bringing together the resources that make the right things happen and produce results that matter.
- Bringing a community-wide perspective to policy discussions that takes into consideration the past and future in addressing current challenges.
- Helping the governing body develop long-term visions for the community that provides a framework for policy development and goal setting.
- Encouraging inclusion and building consensus among diverse interests (including those of the elected officials, the business community, and citizens) by focusing on the needs of the entire community rather than the interests of only a few individuals.
- Promoting equity and fairness by ensuring that services are fairly distributed and that administrative decisions (such as hiring and contracting) are based on merit rather than favoritism.
- Developing and sustaining organizational excellence and promoting innovation.
What Kind of Career Preparation Do Professional Local Government Managers Need?
While professional local government managers come from a variety of backgrounds, there are trends and similarities. ICMA’s 2009 State of the Profession Survey found that:
- Twenty-four percent of respondents held a four-year degree
- Sixty-two percent had earned an MPA, MBA, or other master’s degree
- An additional five percent had earned either a law or doctorate degree.
City, town, and county managers also come from a variety of professional backgrounds, ranging from director of planning (4 percent) to director of finance (6 percent) to employment with the state/federal government (3 percent). The majority of managers surveyed (24 percent) indicated that they had held the position of assistant manager/chief appointed officer (CAO) prior to assuming their current CAO position.
How Do I Get Started?
The material above is just a sample of the many ICMA career resources available. Other good sources are described below.
This section of the ICMA website offers:
- Resources for job seekers, employers, students and teachers
- Information on internships, fellowships, and coaching and mentoring
- A selection of career guides, wikis, and documents, including ICMA’s popular wiki on choosing a career in the field, Careers in Local Government Management.
The Life, Well Run website, developed by ICMA as part of a larger public awareness campaign, offers a comprehensive look at what it means to be a professional local government manager and how the manager contributes to the quality of life in his or her community. The site contains useful resources, including a description and qualifications for becoming a professional local government manager.
NASPAA is the membership organization of graduate education programs in public administration, public policy, public affairs, and public and nonprofit management. NASPAA’s website offers comprehensive information on finding a school of public administration and earning a degree in the field. | <urn:uuid:d103be6d-4ffc-471c-be5f-43965cdc3e36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://icma.org/en/icma/about/overview/becoming_manager | 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 | 0.956425 | 698 | 1.960938 | 2 |
AFHS was established in 1952 and is the only open-admission shelter in Butler County. Our mission is to promote humane principles, to protect lost, homeless, abandoned and mistreated animals, and act as advocates for animals in our communities. Prior to opening the animal shelter over a half century ago, stray dogs were kept (until they could be claimed or destroyed) in a shack on a Middletown city dump and in a small block building on County fairgrounds in Hamilton.
The original shelter was enlarged in 1986, so that more animals could be sheltered at once. Other upgrades over the years include an in-house veterinary clinic for spaying, neutering and medical treatment and the purchasing of a PetMobile trailer and van in which volunteers take adoptable animals to public events on a regular basis. Most importantly, we have developed an active volunteer program where adults and children 16 years of age or older assist in various capacities from walking dogs and socializing cats to raising funds at annual events.
We relocated to Hamilton in 2009 and now occupy a 22,500 sq. foot facility with top-notch ammenities for our shelter population. Animal Friends Humane Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
On a typical day, Animal Friends Humane Society houses between 200 and 300 dogs and cats in our facility. We are Butler County's largest and oldest non-profit animal shelter. Thank you for helping us continue our lifesaving work by supporting our cause! | <urn:uuid:2226941f-6bc2-4925-a6dd-9f76617b41d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.animalfriendshs.org/index.cfm?page=aboutUs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94976 | 299 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Last week, software major Microsoft announced its intent to launch a tablet PC, christening the hand-held device as Surface. The company detailed that there will be two models of the Surface — one featuring an NVIDIA Tegra processor and the other is the Windows RT version of Windows 8 meant for devices with ARM chips. There will also be a version with an Intel Core processor and Windows 8 Pro. Both versions of the Surface are said to feature a 10.6-inch HD display, front and rear cameras, and Wi-Fi connectivity.
We have already seen companies like Acer and Asus announce Windows 8 tablets, and not to mention a few other vendors that are selling Windows 7 tablet PC in the market today. But why is Microsoft itching to have a share in the tablet PC market rather than leaving the hardware to other manufacturers? Worldwide PC shipments are growing ever so slowly that in turn are affecting Windows’ revenues for the company and the tablet PC market has begun to pinch Microsoft, where it doesn’t 't have any competitive edge over Android based smart devices or the ever-growing Apple iPad.
How is Windows 8 OS on a tablet PC like? The sleek, touch-friendly design of Metro (tiled user interface on Windows 8) seems to be perfect for tablets, but remains untested for much-touted productivity features. There’s a Release Preview version (beta) of Windows 8 available for downloads, and if you already own a Windows 7 touch-capable PC today, then try the Windows 8 Preview and see for yourself what the OS is all about. According to Microsoft, Windows 8 will allow users to freely switch between the touch control interface, a keyboard or mouse. The company hasn’t specified when Windows 8 will hit the market, but most analysts expect the software to come out in September or October 2012.
Meanwhile, here’s a preview of some of the best Windows tablet devices that you will soon have in markets.
Asus Transformer Book
At Computex in Taiwan, Asus showed off the upcoming Transformer Book that will ship with a range of Intel Ivybridge Core i3/5/7 processors and discrete Nvidia graphics. According to Asus, this will be the thinnest Core i7 computer in the world. Users can choose a display of 11.6, 13 or 14-inch, making the tablet one of the largest in the market. The touchscreen tablet PC can plug into a keyboard docking station, effectively becoming a laptop (or ultrabook, if you prefer). Sporting the latest Windows 8 OS, this tablet is due for a debut later this year along with Windows 8 launch. The Transformer Book models will sport dual cameras – a HD front-facing camera and a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera. Company hasn’t put out any word on pricing or availability yet.
MSI Slider Tablet
If virtual keyboards (like the ones on Android tablets and iPad) just don't appeal to you in a way physical keyboard does, you should wait for the launch of hybrid tablet category on Windows 8 platform. MSI’s latest hybrid design, the Slider S20 Ultrabook packs in a keyboard that slides out from behind the screen. MSI also announced that the Slider will weigh around 1.3 kgs, features an Ivybridge CPU under the hood and is designed to work on Windows 8 platform. Rather than equipping the tablet with a solid-state drive, MSI has opted for a hybrid hard drive that will offer much more storage than the average solid state drive. USB 3.0 connectivity is also included, as are an HDMI 1.4 output port, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0. While the company has not announced the pricing yet, the tablet PC is scheduled to hit the markets in second half of the year.
Acer Iconia W510
At the Computex, Acer showed off its Windows 8 line up for 2012 and that includes a 10.1-inch W510, and the 11.6-inch W700 Iconia tablet PC. The W510 will feature support for a detachable keyboard dock that Acer says will extend the battery life of the tablet to about 18 hours. On the W700, there’s a multi-touch support for up to 10 fingers as well as Dolby Home Theatre audio and a trio of USB 3.0 ports. The W700 also comes with a cradle that allows the tablet to be placed at a 70 degree angle for viewing or a 20 degree angle for easier touching, claims Acer.
The 2 versions of Surface, due to launch in the next few months, will differ primarily on their hardware profiles with one running on the ARM-based NVIDIA chipset (Tegra 3), and other based on the 3rd generation Intel Core series processor (Ivybridge). In his keynote speech, CEO Steve Ballmer emphasised that Surface will be an entertainment device “without compromising the productivity that PCs are uniquely known for.” Surface, supported by Windows 8, will likely become the first of many portable PC-type machines that Microsoft releases. At the unveiling of Surface, Ballmer showed that the new tablets will run Windows 8 apps, such as Netflix. Microsoft didn’t say how long the Surface would last on battery power.
Why you need to watch out for Surface? For starters, the tablet’s magnetised Touch Covers are as thin and unobtrusive as iPad’s cover but the inclusion of a razor thin (just 3 mm), full, qwerty keyboard on one side promises to elevate the whole experience of using the tablet PC to new level. And Microsoft promises that its new operating system was built for precisely this sort of hybrid laptop/tablet experience. The killer feature? The fact that Microsoft will pack the full suite of its desktop applications that billions of users are already dependent on in tablet devices.
Microsoft is constitutionally incapable of doing what Apple does, and the same goes for Apple. But will that make buyers stop lusting for Apple iPad and turn them towards Windows 8 tablets? It’s a wait and watch. | <urn:uuid:d05861f3-f414-4dbe-9ec2-921aa1601908> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.business-standard.com/article/technology/the-tablet-has-surfaced-windows-opening-for-new-devices-112062500009_1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929398 | 1,246 | 1.578125 | 2 |
What if Richard Heene, the guy who claimed his son was accidentally launched in an experimental balloon, were a media critic instead of a pathetic publicity hound?
What if he wanted to make the point that the news media, especially TV news, is overdosing us on mayhem and fluff?
Here's what Heene could have done: put a puppy in his experimental balloon, instead of pretending his kid Falcon was in it.
The puppy ride would undoubtedly have made national and international news, with images of the tail-wagging dog all over the place. TV stations would have dispatched helicopters to chase Heene's balloon. The media drama would have stretched on for days or longer.
Heene could have said he was fixing his balloon, and his annoying puppy was biting his shoes and knocking over his tools. We all know how pups can do that. So he put his unruly dog in the balloon basket to keep it contained, and the balloon accidentally floated away from him. (Or, the doggy just jumped in the basket of his own accord, like Toto in "The Wizard of Oz".)
Heene could have pulled off the entire stunt without telling anyone but the mute puppy.
And then, sitting there on the "Today Show," with millions of morning viewers looking on, media-critic Heene could have come clean and skewered the journalists for paying so much attention to his balloon-riding puppy, while so much real horror and tragedy in the world go by unnoticed.
Of course, there's the risk that the balloon could have crashed and the puppy died, and then Heene may have faced animal-abuse charges. And even if the puppy survived, Heene may still have been held responsible for the emergency-response costs and other damages.
Here's another option.
In his bizarre book, "How You Can Manipulate the Media," David Alexander describes how an activist sent out a news release threatening to "pour gasoline on a puppy and set it afire" to protest U.S. involvement in violence in Central America during the Reagan administration.
You can imagine the response. Local TV coverage. Letters to the editor. Protests by animal rights groups.
People called the police, but no one had any recourse because, as Alexander writes, it's not against the law to threaten to harm an animal.
The protester scheduled the puppy burning to coincide with the 5 p.m. news. Several stations were broadcasting live when he emerged from his house with the puppy in hand, according to Alexander.
Then the protester turned into a media critic on live television. He denounced journalists for ignoring the problems in Central America and for caring more about pets than people. He announced that he would not burn his puppy after all. In fact, he loved dogs. Media hoax over.
If Heene had been a media critic, all he would have had to do was threaten to send a puppy up in his balloon, and you can bet he'd have gotten a ton of media attention.
The puppy-in-a-balloon threat, or possibly an actual canine balloon ride, would have been the perfect platform to denounce TV news' fixation on mayhem and fluff, especially involving animals. Heene probably wouldn't have gotten in any trouble at all for doing it. (Last week, he pleaded guilty to felony charges.)
And, as far as I'm concerned, Heene would have been a hero for trying to get re-porters and media consumers alike to wake up and demand quality journalism, instead of settling for the increasingly pervasive American news diet of infotainment.--
Jason Salzman, author of "Making the News: A Guide for Activists and Non-profits," is chairman of the board of Rocky Mountain Media Watch and a former media critic for the shuttered newspaper Rocky Mountain News. | <urn:uuid:3d2866fc-9bc4-4978-94fb-f55879833337> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/content/balloon-man-media-critic | 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 | 0.981954 | 784 | 1.710938 | 2 |
HAVANA — HAVANA (AP) - Supporters say a longtime Cuban dissident and her followers have abandoned a hunger strike on its eighth day after receiving word the government will meet their main demand.
Martha Beatriz Roque called off the strike when told the government would free little known dissident Jorge Vasquez, as she has demanded since Sept. 10.
Roque supporter Rosa Maria Naranjo read a communique to The Associated Press on Tuesday saying the protest had not been in vain.
The 67-year-old Roque is one of the best known figures in Cuba's small dissident community. Opposition members say more than two dozen others participated in the hunger strike.
Cuba's government considers all opposition members to be common criminals and stooges in the pay of Washington. It has had no public comment throughout the protest. | <urn:uuid:fb1192a6-87f3-4081-80b1-f5488d67d7da> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/sep/18/cuban-dissidents-end-hunger-strike-over/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96955 | 174 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Safe home for Orang-utans this Christmas
Thanks to your support the World Land Trust (WLT) has successfully funded new land purchase in Malaysian Borneo, protecting this rainforest habitat forever
This Christmas the World Land Trust (WLT) has more than the festive season to celebrate after successfully protecting a forest home for Orang-utans. We have funded 14 acres of rainforest in the Sabah state of northern Borneo, a strategically important parcel of land that will help protect these endangered Great Apes.
About 80 per cent of Malaysia’s wild Orang-utan population is found in the state of Sabah in Borneo; WLT are focusing our efforts on creating wildlife corridors in the Lower Kinabatangan region of Sabah, to connect one protected area with another to create a larger safe haven for them to move safely.
The Lower Kinabatangan is suffering from an alarming rate of deforestation, turning once dense forest into fragmented and isolated patches of trees. In these isolated areas, Orang-utan populations become stranded, unable to move safely through their forest home in search of food and mating partners – hampering the survival prospects.
Protecting strategic parcels of land
By protecting relatively small but strategically important parcels of land, like the 14 acres just purchased, WLT is helping to create a contiguous habitat for Borneo’s flagship species – such as the Orang-utan and the Pygmy Elephant.
The cost of land in Borneo is spiralling as demand from the oil palm industry pushes prices up, with forests being brought up and stripped of their forest at an alarming rate to make way for oil palm plantations. Buying land here is becoming increasingly difficult, being both time consuming and very expensive; this is why focusing our efforts on buying strategically important parcels of land to connect safe forests is so important.
Working in partnership to protect Orang-utans
“This whole area is very important for wildlife and we are trying to purchase as many parcels as we can. The 14 acres is a riverine piece of forest and is prime habitat for Orang-utans and other wildlife, including proboscis monkeys, leaf monkeys, and hornbills.”
She added: “It is also part of the traditional elephant route for their migration past the village of Sukau from the Kinabatangan estuary downriver to the upriver forests. Had this land been converted to an Oil Palm plantation or for tourism development, the elephant route would have been cut off and this would results in a significant increase in conflict between people and elephants surrounding the village.”
Donating to the Borneo Orang-utan is the perfect green Christmas gift for all animal-lovers. A gift for life, it will help WLT in our challenge to save their forest home forever.
- Learn more about Orang-utans
- Learn more about Bornean Elephants
- Read about WLT's work in Malaysia
- Save Orang-utan habitat as a gift | <urn:uuid:8d1d7f85-3bc9-45aa-9c67-2d37def26279> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldlandtrust.org/news/2011/12/safe-home-orang-utans-christmas | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933464 | 628 | 2.265625 | 2 |
From the CK Water & Sewer District website:
On Wednesday, August 1st at 5:00PM, the Cedar Key Water & Sewer District was given approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to allow human consumption of the District’s water supply. It is now safe for you to drink the water.
The new reverse osmosis units are manually on-line. During the next week the final commissioning, training, testing and final adjusting of the equipment will take place. While the water is safe to drink, the full impact of the new units will not be felt until the latter part of next week. By then, there should be a noticeable improvement in the quality of the water.
We thank everyone for their patience throughout this emergency. Since the water supply is now safe to drink, dispensing bottled water at the District Office will discontinue.
Below are photos of the two Reverse Osmosis Skids now installed and operational at the water plant. | <urn:uuid:0c1a59d6-444e-481a-bf65-1d11171e2ca2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/content/ck-tap-water-safe-drink?mini=calendar-date%2F2013-01 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949948 | 199 | 1.726563 | 2 |
We in the Anglican Church and throughout the Western world are not facing the marriage crisis. The destruction of marriage has gone far beyond cultural decline. It is today’s most urgent and far reaching crisis of church-state relations and the greatest test facing the church. Under “no-fault” divorce laws, the vows we take to one another before God and our congregations are worthless: The state can simply dissolve them. The state can tear up the contract and the covenant (and marriage is both, the one unable to survive without the other) at the mere request of one spouse without giving any reason and without any “fault” by the other spouse. Once they dissolve the marriage, state officials then seize control of the private lives—children, home, savings, wages, movements—of all family members, however innocent of any legal wrongdoing. In fact, the state typically rewards the guilty spouse and punishes the innocent one, who may be removed from the home, separated from the children, expropriated of all goods, and jailed without trial.
When the state then steps in and abolishes that marriage, without any objection or resistance from their church or fellow Christians, is it any wonder they see no purpose to the church or doubt the sincerity of our faith when it is put to the test? We rightly challenge government officials who permit the killing of the unborn or the redefinition of marriage to include same-sex unions. But we do not challenge the state when it abolishes marriages altogether—marriages we have witnessed and pledged to support. As long as we tolerate this, our strictures on marriage and our preaching (in the negative sense of “nagging”) about its sanctity will earn us nothing but contempt.
Christians can act to change this. Recognizing that the state has effectively abolished marriage, perhaps it is time to acknowledge that fact ourselves and in the process to demonstrate the value we place on marriage in a way that would cost us something. As a thought exercise, imagine what it would say to the world if the churches refused to consecrate marriages until the state stops tearing them up.
Protestants, given their history and experience with the oppression of the Catholic church, should have known better than to permit the state to horn in on the domain of the Church some 200 odd years ago. They surrendered any influence over marriage when they permitted the state dominion over marriage; it just took this long for the state and public mores to render the Church entirely impotent in the marriage issue.
If marriage is to be saved, it will be a political question. Political as in convincing the people to expel the state from the marriage business entirely, and the business of doling out goodies based on who one keeps house with. Only then will the Church have real influence in marriage once again. In the interim, the Church could do a lot to support marriage not by pitching a hissy about homogamy, but rather by attacking the scourge that is divorce in their own Church body. | <urn:uuid:4057521a-a960-4415-a5ce-de49d57e34ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://elusivewapiti.blogspot.com/2009/05/baskerville-on-clergy-boycotting.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960065 | 616 | 1.960938 | 2 |
Are You Racing to Nowhere?
Jill Hare | Teaching
I had the privilege of seeing a screening of Race to Nowhere recently in Atlanta. I have a feeling that the hour and twenty minutes I spent watching that movie could alter my future as a parent and educator more than any other single event in my life. As I looked around the screening room at the almost 500 other people watching the movie, I had to wonder, how could we get the people who really need to see this documentary to watch it? If like me, you bought a ticket to see Race to Nowhere, you already recognize the issue and want to learn more. But the movie isn’t for those of us who are trying our best to stay abreast of the latest research and make changes accordingly.
The issue that spoke to me most as an educator was homework. The movie talked to so many stressed students who had mountains and hours of homework each night. One teacher said, “When did the teacher get to decide how students spend their time when they leave school for the day?” So many parents saw the stress that homework had on their kids, and craved to have time after school to let their kids just be kids. Research says there is no correlation between homework and academic achievement in elementary school. There is a correlation between homework and learning in middle school, but after an hour of homework, the correlation disappears. The same is said for homework at the high school level, but after two hours, the correlation of learning and homework drops off.
Homework is a local school issue. Each school has homework policies, and my hope is that every teacher knows where the value of homework stops. Teachers need to talk to each other at each grade level to ensure that students don’t have more work than they can handle.
If parents talk to each other, they might find that homework assigned in certain grades or at certain schools is too much. Advocating for appropriate levels of homework should be a dialogue between schools and parents. Making students sit for hours each day after school to complete unnecessary homework doesn’t benefit the teacher or the student.
One high school AP teacher said when he started assigning less homework, his students’ grades got better. Several schools, because of parent advocates, started implementing homework free nights or no homework altogether. Students became more excited to go to school and learn, and after school time with families was drastically improved.
Homework Tips to Take to Heart
Homework isn’t all bad. It teaches students responsibility and helps them practice their newly learned skills. “One thing is certain,” stresses Roch Chouinard, vice-dean of the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Education, “homework is more beneficial when it is short but frequent rather than long. What’s more, the correlation between homework and cognitive and social benefits is precarious. This means if there is too much homework potential benefits can become negative. This tipping point varies from one family to the next and from one environment to the next.”
Pat Hensley, author of Successful Teaching writers, “Don’t give homework just for busy work. Make sure there is a valid reason for the students to be doing this assignment.”
“Make sure the assignment length and difficulty is appropriate for the age of your students. One rule of thumb is that very young children should have no more than 15-20 minutes of homework a night (all subjects combined), students in grades 4-7 should have less than an hour (all subjects combined), and secondary students should have no more than 2 hours a night (all subjects combined). An alternative rule of thumb is that there should be no more than 10 minutes per grade level each night. For example, third grades have no more than 30 minutes, fifth graders no more than 50 minutes, etc, "author Julia G. Thompson writes.
Expectations & Praise
If you’re a teacher, how do you praise your students? Do you hold your praise until each student attains the same accomplishment? Or do you praise every students for their personal achievements? Many students in the movie felt guilt until they completed their homework. One student told his mom that he had to do his homework or his teacher would get mad. Reflect on your homework expectations and how you reward students. Make sure the process is one that helps students understand the value of learning.
As a parent andan educator, the message of Race to Nowhere was more powerful. The language parents use to set expectations for kids and the way they are praised for their accomplishments is an important issue. Many times in the movie, parents had motivated their kids to do school work to “get in to a good college.” This is where the name of the movie transpired. One student described how he was working so hard to complete everything and do it well, and then he would get to college and do it all over again to “get a good job.” All of the racing to nowhere didn’t make sense if the goal of life was to be happy.
The parents in the film were mainly middle to upper class parents who pushed their kids to be the best, get involved in as much as possible, and motivated them by the results of a great college and top job. Parents reflected that sometimes they focused too much on trying to get their children to be the highest achiever. One mom said she always asked her child “How’d the test go?” And by innocently doing that on a regular basis, she may have created the stress the child felt towards doing well in school. It’s great for parents to care about the school day, and each child should be held to reaching their full potential. However, doing well shouldn’t be stressful. After school hours should be filled with a mix of activities, both free and planned.
The education system we have today doesn’t measure all types of success. It’s important as an educator and a parent to find and redefine success based on the individual, not what society defines as successful. For me, success is happiness. What do you think the ultimate success in life is? Share your thoughts about these issues and your take on the movie Race to Nowhere. | <urn:uuid:5d68a58f-8821-43cb-ab02-4324c3469fe2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://teaching.monster.com/news/articles/10329-are-you-racing-to-nowhere | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982427 | 1,300 | 2.703125 | 3 |
“Other than the vague threat of an Orwellian dystopia, as a society we don’t really know why surveillance is bad,” writes Washington University Law Professor, Neil Richards [PDF]. Today, the United State Senate reauthorized a controversial Obama-supported surveillance law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008 (FISA), which permits intelligence agencies to monitor international communications, sometimes without a warrant and little court oversight.
Civil libertarians are up in arms, but in the face of deadly terrorist threats, does government monitoring actually harm people? Richards’ attempts to argue that brazen government spying does, indeed, have real-world harms, including mass self-censorship and blackmail, and supplies moderately compelling evidence that will appeal to those naturally scared of the government.
Without the Senate’s support, FISA’s powers were set to expire at the end of the year. Fierce FISA critic, Senator Ron Wyden (CrunchGov Grade: A), who released a hold he put on the bill in exchange for limited congressional debate, worries that evidence of government overreach means that FISA could lead to more unnecessary spying. The scope of monitoring and the admitted breaches of the 4th Amendment are themselves shrouded in secrecy. Proponents, such as Representative Lamar Smith, (CrunchGov Grade: F) argue that national security concerns are worth the trade-off.
Under the worst-case scenarios, how could spying from democratic governments actually hurt people in a way that would offset the increased risk of terrorism?
“Freedom to think as you will and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth,” wrote Supreme Court legend, Louis Brandeis. However, “surveillance inclines us to the mainstream and the boring,” writes Richards, who argues that the omnipresent threat of government monitoring makes our discussions risk-averse and devoid of important contentious dialog. Certainly in Soviet-era Russia, the very real threat of being hauled off to the icy gulags undercut democratic debate.
There is some evidence that users self-censor in the presence of a watchful eye. In one experimental study, monitored participants were less likely to engage is neutral topics or discuss issues that were incriminating or critical of their colleagues.
There is no equivalent study of government spying or its effect on mass dialog. Certainly there is no shortage of criticism on President Barack Obama’s Facebook page. But, perhaps the effect only applies to government officials with actual knowledge of government malfeasance. Without good evidence on the chilling effects, we’ll let readers decide whether self-censoring behavior extends to government employees.
Blackmail and Coercion
“Information collected surreptitiously can be used for other purposes, whether blackmail or the discrediting of opponents by revealing embarrassing secrets,” Richards writes. Under constant surveillance, governments invariably pick up unintended bits of incriminating evidence. For instance, Richards points to how FISA-surveillance led to the discovery of evidence that a terrorist suspect murdered his own daughter for dating the wrong boy. “Whether these discoveries are important, incidental, or irrelevant, all of them give
greater power to the watcher.”
Perhaps a more compelling example was how the Federal Food and Drug Administration spied on scientists who alleged that the agency was approving dangerous medical devices. According to ABC, only one of the scientists being monitored still works for the FDA. The others were either fired or their contracts were not renewed. Thus, overactive government spying could potentially be used to snuff out important critics.
Richards makes a valiant attempt, but one would think that the over-the-top rhetoric from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and The American Civil Liberties Union would be supported by some jaw-dropping evidence. Instead, it mostly appeals to those who are naturally afraid of the government, and willing to bet that the worst-case scenarios, even without much evidence, will come true.
Civil libertarians aren’t making an unreasonable bet that the government will overstep its authority, but they’re just as reasonable as the many congressmen who voted to authorize the bill for the sake of saving American lives.
[Image Credit: Flicker user aussiegall] | <urn:uuid:ff6e9149-319b-4b9b-918b-a7146469a9a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thenumbers.marketplace.org/publicradio/news/read/23092660/a_few_actual_harms_to_be_concerned_about_from_today%E2%80%99s_government_spying_law | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954311 | 874 | 1.945313 | 2 |
James F. Gunby, president of the Altoona State Bank, is a Kansan by birth and a native son of Wilson county, born Sept. 5, 1871. The Gunby family is of English descent and contributed to the heroes of the Revolution, Colonel Gunby bearing a gallant and conspicuous part at the battle of Camden. Joseph H. Gunby, the father of James F., was a farmer, merchant and banker. Born in Missouri he came to Kansas, in April, 1861, and served in the Kansas state militia during the Civil war as the captain of a company. Immediately upon coming to this state he bought land, which he continued to own up to the time of his death, March 3, 1906, and for years was engaged as a merchant and banker at Buffalo, Wilson county, where he was well known and highly respected. For the most part his allegiance was given to the Republican party, but in later years he was a free silver man. He and his wife, who was Elvira D. Welch, were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. She died in 1827. She was a daughter of Peter Welch, one of the earliest of Kansas pioneers who moved to this state from Missouri, in 1858, and here experienced all the privations and hardships incident to pioneer life. The country was then still full of Indians and game abounded everywhere. There is an apple orchard still standing which Peter Welch, with provident forethought and with the spirit of development, planted nearly a half century ago. James W. Gunby, the paternal grandfather and a native of Delaware, came to Missouri, in 1836, but never came to Kansas. He was a farmer and a mechanic by occupation and died at Shelbyville, Mo.
James F. Gunby completed a common school education in Wilson county and then attended the Sanders Normal College, at Fort Scott, two years. After teaching one term of school he was associated with his father in the mercantile business until January, 1896, when he engaged in the banking business at Buffalo, remaining there until 1904. That year he established the Altoona State Bank and has since been identified with it, as its president. He has given the subject of finance careful study, and with that knowledge and his natural gift of good business judgment, he has made a success of banking. The Altoona State Bank has a capital of $15,000 and a surplus of $6,000. Besides his bank stock he also owns a good farm in Wilson county.
In June, 1897, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Gunby and Miss Frances A. Spillman, a daughter of John W. Spillman. Mr. Spiliman was a farmer and an early settler in Wilson county and resided near Coyville at the time of his death, in 1901. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Gunby has been blessed with five sonsMerl, Kenneth, Donald, Dean and Wayneall of whom are in school, except Wayne. Mrs. Gunby is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Gunby sustains fraternal membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and has held all the offices of both orders. He is a Republican in his political views, but takes no decided interest in party affairs. He is interested in that which pertains to the public welfare of his community, however, and while a resident of Buffalo served as a member of the school board, and has served one term as mayor of Altoona. As a financier his integrity is unquestioned and as a citizen he is both prominent and highly respected.Pages 726-727 from volume III, part 1 of Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... / with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence. Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912. 3 v. in 4. : front., ill., ports.; 28 cm. Vols. I-II edited by Frank W. Blackmar. Transcribed December 2002 by Carolyn Ward. This volume is identified at the Kansas State Historical Society as microfilm LM195. It is a two-part volume 3.
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The KSGenWeb Project | <urn:uuid:5fdbb3c1-8ace-41f6-b53e-8114dc6e63a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/g3/gunby_james_f.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980334 | 1,067 | 1.953125 | 2 |
The most common expression of this myth is the cardiac catheterization report which reads “Conclusion: no significant coronary disease. Plan: cardiac reassurance.” Such reassurance, however, may be false. It is increasingly recognized that patients with angiographically “minimal” coronary disease (usually interpreted as “No significant coronary disease”), or even “normal” coronary arteries, experience coronary events.
In the July 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine is a report of pooled data on patients experiencing non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes, 9.1% of which had angiographically “insignificant” or no coronary disease. Long term follow up of such patients revealed a significant rate of recurrent events.
The mechanism of such seemingly discrepant findings is clarified by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), which has shown that in the initial stages of atherosclerosis the growing plaque presses the adventitia outward rather than the intima inward. Since the lumen is uncompromised the coronary angiogram of such a patient (essentially only a “luminogram”) would appear normal. Nevertheless such a plaque could rupture, producing a coronary event.
A review of advanced coronary imaging, including a nice discussion and images of IVUS, is here. | <urn:uuid:87b33d24-b215-4285-a2b5-d532e520f962> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://doctorrw.blogspot.jp/2006/07/myth-of-normal-coronary-angiogram.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93813 | 270 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Retailers, consumers and prices
Check out the spending boost planned by Americans for Halloween.
The National Retail Federation said spending by the 148 million Americans who partake in the “spooky” October holiday is expected to surge almost 18 percent this year as revelers look for any reason not to think about high unemployment and a shaky housing market.
“In recent years, Halloween has provided a welcome break from reality, allowing many Americans a chance to escape from the stress the economy has put on their family and incomes,” NRF CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.
“This year, people are expected to embrace Halloween with even more enthusiasm, and will have an entire weekend to celebrate since the holiday falls on a Sunday,” he added.
Americans will spend an average of $66.28 on costumes, candy and decorations (or a total of $5.8 billion), up from last year’s average of $56.31. However, that is still short of the $66.54 spent in 2008, according to the study conducted by BIGresearch for the NRF. Retailers love Halloween because it comes between the back-to-school and December holidays in luring consumers into stores.
Check out the increasing appetite for mobile applications among U.S. online retailers.
Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of online retailers either already have or are developing a mobile strategy and one out of every five has a fully implemented mobile strategy already in place, according to a study from Forrester Research and Shop.org, the National Retail Federation’s digital division.
Check out what retailers are thinking about China’s revaluation of the yuan.
Western retailers may pay more for goods they import from China as the yuan appreciates, but the flip side is that the move may create significant selling opportunities by putting more money in the pockets of consumers in the world’s biggest market.
After their abysmal 2009, nearly half of all U.S. retail chains plan on at least maintaining their number of stores this year, according to a survey released on Thursday by consultancy KPMG and industry group the National Retail Federation.
Far more retailers were planning to open stores than close them, according to the survey of 310 retail industry executives, representing 138 companies, conducted late last year.
Check out a prediction for increased U.S. retail sales this year.
The National Retail Federation said U.S. retail sales should rise 2.5 percent this year, signaling that stores have made it through the worst of the downturn as improvements in the housing and job markets bolster shoppers’ confidence.
The projected increase would be a step up from a 2.5 percent decline last year and 1.3 percent increase in 2008, NRF said.
The numbers could rise year-over-year in February, for the first increase in more than two years, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and IHS Global Insight.
The trade group held a conference call later in the day to add details about their forecast. Here is what NRF spokeswoman Ellen Davis said about the forces that will shape the upcoming holiday shopping season:
The National Retail Federation has issued its 2009 back-to-school spending survey and the results show that the ringing of school bells won’t necessarily translate into the happy ringing of cash registers.
But the one part of stores where parents and students expect to boost their spending despite the ongoing recession is electronics.
Parents plan to spend less money on back-to-school gear for their children this year in another worrisome sign for retailers heading into what is normally their second biggest selling period behind Christmas.
The average family with children in kindergarten through 12th grade is expected to spend $548.72 on back-to-school merchandise this year, down 7.7 percent from 2008, according to the National Retail Federation.
The recession hammered U.S. holiday sales last year and new research suggests that it also drove up ”shrink” — a retail industry term for shoplifting, employee theft, and administrative errors.
An estimated $36.5 billion was lost to “shrink” in 2008, according to preliminary findings from the latest National Retail Security Survey released today. | <urn:uuid:18b247a8-ff47-4dd0-8acd-2a3e58c1f7ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.reuters.com/shop-talk/tag/national-retail-federation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952888 | 883 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Take a look at this video! On a huge 90ft wave, you can just make out the silhouette of Garrett McNamara who broke a world record for the biggest wave ever surfed.
With the wave collapsing just behind him, this Man of Action beat the previous world record, set by Mike Parsons in Cortes Bay, California when he surfed a 77ft wave in 2008.
A native to Hawaii, McNamara was invited to Nazaré in Portugal for a big wave competition. There is an underwater canyon 1,000 ft deep, which causes some of the largest waves in the world.
There certainly is an element of danger, as the position of the canyon – which runs from the ocean to the coast – means that waves often break very close to shore.
What’s extraordinary is that this was a spontaneous decision. Garrett had originally only agreed to tow a friend, Andre Cotton, out but as the waves grew bigger and bigger he decided to take it one step further.
‘When we got round to the break it did seem big but I was just going to tow Andrew. But we still weren’t expecting much. I didn’t feel so good. Then the other guys were saying you’ve got to go. You’ve got to go and – boom! – I was on the rope and on a giant wave.’
But they say actions speak louder than words – so its worth going back and watching that again…. | <urn:uuid:7384965c-d835-4ae4-a931-0cef8d980053> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thewildgeesecollection.com/whiskey/making-waves-a-new-world-record/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974595 | 303 | 1.679688 | 2 |
"Asia is the most affordable, while the European is leader in the expensive," TripAdvisor site assessment when making the list of cities expensive and cheapest travel of the world, which Hanoi stood second of Cheap.
Howard Limbert, an expert of the British Cave Research Association said that his team had found traces of a collapsed cave in Vietnam’s central province of Quang Binh which beats the record of the world’s largest cave of Son Doong.
Located on every land and water route in Cantho City (Mekong Delta).
The gardens are a rich collection of fruit trees, flowers and diverse species of
In recent years, a series of modern tourism gardens have appeared on every land
and water route in Can Tho City.
The gardens of My Khanh, San Duong, Ba Lang and Tan Binh extend along the arched highway, as well as on the waterways of Hong Dien and Phung Hiep Rivers.
Other gardens in Long My, Vi Thanh, O Mon and Thot Not are also developing.
The My Khanh Gardens occupy 2.2ha and feature more than 20 species of fruit trees and flowers, as
well as diverse species of birds, fishes, tortoises, snakes, crabs and shrimps.
Under the shade of lush green trees, there are small “rong” houses to provide
visitors with a place to rest for the night.
Ba Lang is located 9km from Can Tho (on Highway No. 1A towards Soc Trang),
and has an area of 4.2ha. There is the animal sanctuary of Ao Sen Lake,
two lakes for swimming, an outdoor stage and mini-hotels. Gardens here combine
agricultural potential with tourism. | <urn:uuid:d51a5da1-705f-4d42-8141-158021e205eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.welcomevietnamtours.com/Travel-guide/52/can-tho-tourist-gardens.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945248 | 371 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The Lego craze may have quieted over the past 81 years, but the toys continue to shine their brilliance on young and old alike. The more than 400 billion blocks out in the world have shown us how playing with our imagination can make learning fun.
Like Lego, littleBits Electronics is on a mission. It wants to give the world appendable toys that help make electronics and circuitry builds an easy, fun, and educational experience for all creative people.
Ayah Bdeir, the founder of littleBits, was always interested in science and engineering growing up in Lebanon. Naturally, she gravitated toward an education in engineering. After getting her master's degree from the MIT Media Lab, she began to see that much of the world did not get enough exposure to the technological world behind the electronics that surround our everyday lives. She built her company with an eye toward lessening the intimidating nature of electronics.
The cutesy looking design littleBits toys pack quite a creative potential for innovators of all ages.
(Source: littleBits Electronics)
LittleBits bills itself as "an open-source library of electronic modules that snap together with magnets for prototyping, learning, and fun." The latest littleBits platform v0.3 offers a wide array of electronic blocks. The magnetic connections ensure that current always flows in the right direction (and that components don't fry).
The blocks are grouped into four different categories: power, input, output, and wiring. The color-coded, neatly packaged, and well-labeled components include wall power adapters, buttons, dimmers, light sensors, bend sensors, pressure sensors, motion triggers, LEDs, fans, servo motors, wires, logic gates... the list goes on. For such a cutesy looking design, the toys pack quite a creative potential for innovators of all ages.
Bdeir told us she hopes that, like Lego, littleBits changes the way we think about educating our children. Schools have been known to limit imaginative learning with strict curricula and an emphasis on high-stakes testing. Learning through playing allows one to experiment and become engaged in a boundless world of possibility. Perhaps more entrepreneurial efforts of this sort will enlighten schools to get back to being fun.
LittleBits kits are available in four sizes: a three-piece Teaser Kit ($29), a seven-piece Holiday Kit ($49), a 10-piece Starter Kit ($89), and a 14-piece Extended Kit ($149). Individual components are also available for purchase on the company's website. | <urn:uuid:dafba914-3aed-476c-b007-58d5af0c2a70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=259402 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938713 | 526 | 2.515625 | 3 |
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US-EU-TRADE:Europe and China don't need a trade war: EU trade chief
By Robin Emmott and Sebastian Moffett
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will not back down from protecting its industries against Chinese competition it sees as unfair, but mutual self-interest will prevent a damaging trade war, the EU's trade chief Karel De Gucht said.
Disputes with Beijing have taken on a bigger scale in recent months and Brussels brought its biggest ever trade case against Beijing in September after European companies accused China of dumping solar panels in Europe.
The EU is also gathering evidence to see whether Chinese telecoms companies Huawei Technologies and ZTE are dumping or receiving illegal subsidies.
"We are not going to shy away from what we have to do," De Gucht told Reuters in an interview.
"But we are not interested in escalating tensions. I believe that the Chinese also realize that this has to be kept within limits," he said from his office in the European Commission.
The growing trade spats come at a dangerous time. Europe's economy is hardly growing and the continent is suffering from record unemployment, while China's much-faster growth is cooling. Both downturns raise the specter of social instability.
De Gucht, who first got to know China during his term as Belgium's foreign minister between 2004 and 2007, sees the tensions persisting precisely because China is seeking to produce sophisticated products that will compete with Europe.
"China is facing a tremendous challenge: how to get a larger share of the value-added pie, as it otherwise can't possibly take the next step in economic development, which Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong have already taken," De Gucht wrote in a book published this month called "Freedom: Liberalism In A Time of Cholera".
There he cites a Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times."
Trade between China and the European Union has doubled since 2003, rising to 428 billion euros ($558 billion) in 2011, making the EU China's biggest trading partner. China is the second biggest destination for European goods after the United States.
But ongoing disputes range from metal tubes to China's restrictions of exports of rare earth metals.
In the solar panel case, European makers want duties placed on Chinese imports amid a sharp drop in prices, something the United States has already implemented.
NOT AN EASY PARTNER
EU diplomats say De Gucht could be using the solar panel dispute in Europe as leverage over Beijing to push the Communist government to cut what they see as illegal subsidies to Huawei and ZTE and avoid another formal trade case with Brussels.
De Gucht declined to go into details about either case, but said he hoped solutions could be found.
"You can imagine that: a mushrooming of problems between China and Europe," said De Gucht, one of Europe's most powerful commissioners and who leads trade policy on behalf of the EU's 27 countries. "Both parties realize that this would be a very bad thing for the whole of the world economy."
The U.S. ambitions of Huawei and ZTE were stopped in their tracks earlier this month as a congressional report urged American companies to stop doing business with the firms, raising fears of retaliation from China.
The U.S. House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee warned industry that Beijing could use equipment made by the two companies to spy on certain communications and threaten vital systems through computerized links.
Europe's dealings with Beijing lack the geo-political dimensions of China's relations with its other big trading partners, such as Japan, which is in a tussle over the ownership of some islands, and the United States, which has a naval fleet based in Japan to wield influence over the region.
That means Europe lacks leverage beyond trade defense instruments, but also makes the partnership less complicated.
"That fact deprives us of a number of possible levers, but on the other hand also facilitates a more rational discussion on a number of trade issues," De Gucht said.
Trade has always been a fundamental aspect of the European Union and is one of the few things that still unite eurosceptic Britain with EU enthusiasts such as De Gucht's Belgium.
The European Union implemented a landmark free-trade deal with South Korea in 2011, which went beyond tariff reductions and took in regulation and services. Now it is seeking to forge similar pacts with Japan and the United States.
While a free-trade pact between China and Europe is unlikely even in the medium term, Brussels and Beijing could agree on an investment pact that would lay down rules for companies expanding in both regions, something De Gucht said was gaining momentum. "It is of prime interest for us," he said.
As things stand, burdens on European investors in China - including rules requiring companies to share their know-how with Chinese firms - makes deepening investment links problematic.
"They are much more ready than in the past to put these topics, which are rather sensitive for them, on the negotiating table," he said. "That doesn't mean that China is suddenly an easy partner, but they realize they have to engage."
($1 = 0.7674 euros)
(Additional reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Sophie Hares) | <urn:uuid:2546b4c7-6958-4640-a91c-0beed975dd37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theusdaily.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=2253969&type=home | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962292 | 1,113 | 1.601563 | 2 |
The term defamation refers to a false statement made about someone or some organization that is damaging to their reputation. Defamation can come in either written form (libel) or oral (slander) form and consists of making injurious statements about a person that are untrue.
If the injurious statements:
then they may be referred to as being defamatory per se.
If the alleged statement is not defamatory per se, then the plaintiff may have to prove what are called special damages in order to recover against the defendant. Special damages would come in the form of out-of-pocket expenses incurred as a result of those defamatory statements.
If you are a plastic surgeon and a former patient calls you a butcher, that is a statement that is defamatory per se. You could assert a defamation claim against you patient even though you may not have incurred any special damages (any out-of-pocket expense as a result of the making of that statement).
Keep in mind that truth is always a complete defense to a defamation claim.
If, on the other hand, you are unemployed and someone calls you a crook, and as a result of making that comment you incur so much emotional distress that you seek psychiatric help, you may have a basis for a defamation claim against that person. Even though the comment made is not defamatory per se, the fact that you have incurred medical expenses as a result of the making of the comment about you satisfies the special damages requirement. It gives you the basis for a defamation claim.
Some statements, although defamatory, are protected by a qualified or absolute privilege. For instance, a statement made by an employer about an employee to a new prospective employer may be governed by a qualified privilege. The idea is to allow employers to freely exchange information about employees. What that means is that the employee in a defamation action against the former employer may have to claim and prove that there actually was some malice in the statements that were made.
An absolute privilege would be one that is an absolute bar to a claim for defamation. For instance, comments made in the course of a judicial proceeding are generally governed by such a privilege. The idea is to allow the parties to freely exchange comments during such a proceeding.
Defamation is largely the same whether committed by more traditional means or online. Internet based defamation can be dangerous because it is so easy to have widespread public access to the defamatory statement. A seemingly innocent rant can spread quickly through Internet web sites, emails, and online postings. Importantly, under the Communications Decency Act (codified at 47 U.S.C. § 230), website owners generally cannot be held liable for defamatory or otherwise harmful content posted on their site by third parties.
Feel free to ask a legal questions that you would like answered. Your question will go directly and only to Deskin Law Firm, a professional law corporation. Deskin Law Firm will contact you directly to discuss your situation, usually via telephone, so please provide multiple ways to reach you via phone. Your situation will be kept confidential. There is no cost to discuss your situation and no attorney-client relationship is created by simply filling out the form and sending it. | <urn:uuid:ef31b317-42c4-47de-8d59-946511cf2738> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://openjurist.org/law/what-are-defamation-slander-and-libel | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96185 | 655 | 2.28125 | 2 |
U.N. Seeks Aid for Afghanistan
By KATHY GANNON
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - The United Nations issued an appeal Wednesday for $229 million to help Afghanistan, a country shattered by 21 years of relentless war, its worst drought in three decades and a ravaged economy
Moscow calls on UN to harden sanctions against Taliban
MOSCOW, Nov 28 (AFP) - Moscow on Tuesday called for the UN Security Council to harden sanctions against Kabul's ruling Taliban regime during a visit by the UN's special envoy to Afghanistan, Francesc Vendrell.
Pakistan Gates Shut to Many Afghans
By AMIR SHAH
TORKHAM, Afghanistan (AP) - Huddled in dirt-caked woolen blankets, children cough and cry while their parents keep vigil at the gates that separate Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Aid community concerned at travel restrictions in Afghanistan
KABUL, Nov 29 (AFP) - Senior foreign aid workers in Afghanistan expressed concern Wednesday over travel restrictions imposed by the ruling Taliban militia.
Pakistan's militants inspired by Taleban success
By Jack Redden
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The black-bearded mullah complained that exhorting Pakistanis to reject cable television and its contaminating western programmes had failed, so the time was near for Muslim militants to take matters into their own hands.
Last roar for the Lion of Panjshir?
By Rory McCarthy
A line of ageing Russian tanks and rocket-launchers have been firing from the mountain top at the Taliban positions across the river all afternoon. Mujaheddin fighters are advancing under the cover of artillery fire, yet the indomitable Ahmad Shah Masood,
Marginal gains for Masoud
The Times of India
By Mahendra Ved
NEW DELHI: Forces of Ahmed Shah Masoud have acquired "a marginal advantage" in their fight to recapture Taloqan. They have laid the siege from three flanks, except the west, and are "in the process of entering the town," Afghan envoy here, Masoud Khalili, claimed Tuesday.
India criticises Taliban and its 'foreign mentors'
UNITED NATIONS (NNI): India has criticised the Taliban and its "foreign mentors" for forcing war on the Afghan people which has led to "searing" poverty, profound underdevelopment and denial of human rights to the people.
Inderfurth to discuss Afghan situation with India
NEW DELHI (NNI): After A week of intense diplomatic activity centered around developments in Kashmir and Afghanistan, the United States Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs Karl F Inderfurth
US not to repeat Russian mistake: Taliban official
Islamabad, Nov 29, IRNA -- Taliban's Consul General in Karachi, Moulvi Rehmatullah Kakazai said the United States will not repeat the mistake which the former Soviet Union had once committed by invading
U.S., Russia Want Arms Embargo Against Taliban
U.N. resolution would allow Afghan opposition to rearm
Colum Lynch, Washington Post Wednesday, November 29, 2000
United Nations -- The United States and Russia are working together on a U.N. Security Council resolution that would prohibit the sale of weapons to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia while giving its internal opposition a free hand to rearm.
Taliban may accept even 4th option on Osama issue: envoy
Islamabad, Nov 29, IRNA -- Taliban envoy to Pakistan, Mulla Abdul Salam Zaeef on Wednesday said the group was ready to accept even a fourth option on the issue of Osama bin Laden, if the US wished so.
Loya Jirga team to visit S. Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Russia
ISLAMABAD (NNI): The delegation of former Afghan King Zahir Shah will soon visit Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Russia to seek support for the proposed Afghan Loya Jirga (grand assembly).
Iranian experts to study dredging of Hirmand in Afghanistan
ZAHEDAN, Nov 28 (IRNA) -- Zabol governor, Rostam Sadrieh announced here Tuesday that a group of Iranian experts will go to Afghanistan to study the issue of dredging Hirmand River in Neemroze province.
Afghan general's claims disputed
ISLAMABAD (NNI): The Afghan opposition Northern Alliance has disputed several claims made last week by a former Afghan army general and published in the Pakistani and Iranian media.
Clintonís Ramazan message for Muslims
ISLAMABAD (NNI): US President Bill Clinton has said that it is a privilege to deliver again this year, on behalf of the American people, a message of friendship and respect to Muslims around the world as they begin the sacred
Interview with Commander Jandad Khan - Payam-e Mujahed (United Front)
Commander Jandad Khan is one of the major Mujahideen commanders in Kunar who has spent twenty years of his life in Jehad, first against the Soviets and now against the Pakistanis.
Iranian radio interviews warring Afghan sides' UN envoys on peace talks
text BBC Monitoring Service
United Kingdom; Nov 24, 2000 (from: eurasia-geopolitics@eGroups.com)
Iranian Mashhad radio on 23rd November broadcast prerecorded interviews with the Taleban's unofficial UN envoy, Abdol Hakim Mojahed, and the ousted Afghan government's representative
And now for two flawed, deceitful and unsubstantiated Pakistani views expressed in the Pakistani media about the Afghan refugee crisis. It should be noted that as pointed out in several fair and accurate analyses of the refugee situation
|Back to News Archirves of 2000|
Disclaimer: This news site is mostly a compilation of publicly accessible articles on the Web in the form of a link or saved news item. The news articles and commentaries/editorials are protected under international copyright laws. All credit goes to the original respective source(s). | <urn:uuid:cc38d505-ba45-40ee-b8f8-c868efd30b28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.afghanistannewscenter.com/news/2000/november/nov292000.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921902 | 1,244 | 1.59375 | 2 |
I’ve been thinking about the attitudes of my sister and brother residents of the United States and the kinds of things that are emphasized in the news these days, such as all of the inane remarks that now preceede the run-up to the 2012 Presidential and Congressional elections. What seems to be missing from all of the commentary is a broader picture. It’s as if we’ve narrowed our focus to just what is around us. How can we ignore the tremendous famine happening right now in the Horn of Africa. The floods in Pakistan and Thailand, the recent earthquake in Turkey, those in Haiti who still don’t have shelter more than a year after that devastating earthquake and who are suffering from a cholera epidemic, those being killed by their governments in Bahrain and Syria and those being killed every day by drones and bombs in many parts of the world?
The feelings expressed in this blog article have been inspired by two different sets of images. The one above that lends a more planet wide focus to the whole idea of the 99% in this country. It was sent to me by a long time peace with justice activist a couple of months ago just after the Occupy Wall Street protests began and it’s haunted me ever since.
To give readers some idea of what I mean by the kind of awareness I’d like to see in place of this myopic and narrowly focused attitude of much of the populace of the US, I offer some selections from a great set of ideas on Building Global Community that was written by members of the Syracuse Cultural Workers in 2002, before we embarked on the invasion of Iraq. To further inspire a change of attitude there are beautiful paper cut illustrations by artist, Melinda Levine.
Think of no one as “them.”
Don’t confuse your comfort with your safety.
Imagine other cultures through their poetry and novels.
Notice the workings of power and privilege in your culture.
Help build economies from the bottom up.
Learn a second (or third) language.
Learn people’s history.
Understand your heritage.
Know physical and political geography.
Look at the moon and imagine someone else, somewhere else looking at it too.
Read the UN’s universal declaration of human rights.
Understand the global economy in terms of people, land and water.
Question military/corporate connections.
Never believe you have a right to anyone else’s resources.
Don’t confuse money with wealth or time with money.
Judge governance by how well it meets all people’s needs.
Choose curiosity over certainty.
Know where your water comes from and where your waste goes.
Assume that many others share your dreams.
I think that living as a global citizen on a shared planet and considering every human life of equal worth is going to become increasingly important now that we number 7 Billion human beings and the ecosystem of our planet faces greater and greater threats. | <urn:uuid:26703b6e-0916-4785-83b7-a9120a4186a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.timesunion.com/wagingpeace/zooming-out/2889/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953422 | 611 | 1.984375 | 2 |
|08-01-2009, 10:41 AM||#1|
Join Date: Nov 2004
Published: July 30, 2009 | Source: newstrib.com | Leave a Comment
K. Eric Larson and a few pals had planned a mountain climbing trip to Mount Rainier when the idea hit him: turn the trip into a fundraiser for spinal-cord injuries and call it “Climb for a Cause.”
Larson, a graduate of Henry-Senachwine High School, had a public-relations business in the Chicago area with a niche in hospitals and health care. He’d also been volunteering for the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, that readily agreed to the fundraiser and accepted nearly $15,000 when he returned from Seattle.
“That climb had a lot of impact on me personally. It was the most physical thing I’d ever done,” Larson said. “I thought, ‘I want to do something more with this.’”
Larson went back to NSCIA and pitched a new program: training the disabled to go canoeing, camping and rock climbing. With trained guides and special equipment, he figured, people in wheelchairs also could climb mountains, literally and figuratively.
The first candidate was a paraplegic who had enjoyed the outdoors before hurting his spine in a 1981 fall at the University of Illinois. Pat Maher, who later asked Larson to stand up at his wedding, descended from the mountain and wondered aloud why he hadn’t pursued his favorite hobbies in the nearly 20 years since his injury.
“And we realized, at that moment, that was the point: when people acquire a spinal cord injury, the typical response for that person — and, unfortunately, everyone around them — is to close doors,” Larson said. “The joy of the program is to see them climb an 80-foot cliff and then say, ‘Gee, if I can do that, I guess I can apply for a job.’”
Larson and Maher’s program became known as “Moving Mountains” and it has served hundreds of individuals who have spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D). It also prompted NSCIA to make Larson its executive director this past October.
|Thread||Thread Starter||Forum||Replies||Last Post|
|Climbing post-SCI||rhyang||Recreation, Sports, Travel, & Hobbies||35||07-21-2009 02:40 PM|
|Mountains to Marshes challenges everyone to come out and play||Max||Recreation, Sports, Travel, & Hobbies||0||02-27-2005 11:58 AM|
|Former McKnight director has mountains to conquer||Max||Cure||0||01-19-2004 03:53 PM|
|Disabled Veterans Ski the Rocky Mountains||antiquity||Recreation, Sports, Travel, & Hobbies||0||04-01-2002 02:47 PM| | <urn:uuid:7ea1c851-40eb-4678-be45-6022f9eeea20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthread.php?p=1077339&mode=threaded | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95359 | 641 | 1.703125 | 2 |
April 13, 2010
By Darla Martin Tucker
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – (www.lasierra.edu) The verdict is in. State education systems in Delaware and Tennessee are the first-phase winners of a new, highly competitive federal grant program and will respectively receive $100 million and $500 million to help renovate their programs and improve student performance.
The much-discussed, two-part $4.35 billion Race to the Top grant program, administered by the U.S. Dept. of Education, includes requirements that school districts find ways of improving the effectiveness of their teachers. While columnists and pundits discuss the implications of this new and rigorous education reform effort, Sandra Balli, La Sierra University associate professor of curriculum and instruction, cuts to the heart of the matter in her book about what makes an excellent teacher.
Rowman & Littlefield Education, a subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Inc. in Maryland, published Balli’s 180-page volume in April 2009. The book is titled “Making a Difference in the Classroom: Strategies that Connect with Students.” Through touching and sometimes humorous student anecdotes, the work details the makeup of exemplary teachers. Balli based her writing on the qualitative analysis of essays completed by 148 students at a Midwestern university several years ago. Balli asked the students to write about an episode from their elementary, high school or early college years describing how a teacher in their academic experience demonstrated excellence. She transcribed the information from the essays into NVivo, a qualitative research software system.
The analysis turned up four key ideas underlying the essence of excellence: excellent teachers permeate the classroom with energy and joy and refuse to take irritations too personally or themselves too seriously; excellent teachers are caring and nourish students unconditionally, including those who don’t reciprocate; excellent teachers are responsible and steadfast in lesson preparation – they don’t wing it; excellent teachers are serious about learning, have high expectations for all students and believe all students can learn, traveling in the trenches with each student in the process.
“These were students who wanted to be teachers,” said Balli of the students who wrote the essays. “My interest in teaching excellence was from the perspective of the students, so I was looking for the qualities and instructional strategies that make a teacher excellent. I was not so much looking for the popular teachers, but for teachers who really impacted student learning and their potential.”
The students’ responses depicted teachers from every grade level through early college and in every subject area, Balli said.
Her book covers the full gamut of issues teachers face daily in the classroom, with 13 chapters on such topics as “Respect,” “Teacher-Student Friendships,” “Teaching Styles,” and “Classroom Management.”
In a chapter titled “Learning Activities” a student named Tiffany described her teacher’s intelligence and organizational skills as the least among her positive attributes. The teacher’s most impressive quality was her creativity, the student said. “She varied her teaching methods so we didn’t get bored. …We acted out plays, we did group projects, and she brought in interesting guest speakers.”
Many students will name recess as their favorite school activity because it is activity “that dominates the terrain of the playground,” Balli writes in the chapter. “Students have a valid point about long, dragging class periods choked with remedial, passive seat work. In such classes, students become like coiled springs waiting for the signal to bolt. …When teachers get active with the curriculum, the dynamics of learning fundamentally change.”
The chapter on “High Expectations” includes a vignette from a student named Jade who wrote her former chemistry teacher “was the teacher everyone hated, including me. It wasn’t until college that I grew to appreciate and respect her. She accepted no excuse for less than our best. She had high expectations for every student….She patiently re-taught material when needed and remained available for extra help.”
Students’ views of past failures are a strong predictor of future success, writes Balli in the same chapter. Teachers can question students about the reasons they believe they failed at a particular task. Teachers can then use the information the help the student focus on different study strategies or ways of thinking rather than attributing the failure to a perceived lack of ability.
Teachers have at their disposal, “clear cut pathways” along the journey toward excellence, Balli writes. “Among them are conferring with trusted colleagues who also strive, journaling at the end of a teaching day, reading the collective wisdom of research and practice, participating in the community, attending meaningful conferences, and amending classroom strategies…”
In a chapter titled “Not Like Some Teachers,” Balli writes that society expects teachers to prepare report cards, administer discipline, organize learning materials and produce other tangible results. “But for students, teaching is more than working out the mechanical elements of a job description; those teachers …who are extraordinary rather than ordinary, occupy a prime place in students’ memories.” Teachers should avoid acting as if they know all the facts when they don’t, should admit mistakes and avoid barraging students with a litany of “colorless facts,” Balli writes.
She concludes that the pursuit of excellence is a journey “with a destination but no final stopping point.”
The book contains a four-page foreword by David C. Berliner, Regents’ Professor at the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education, Arizona State University. Berliner, an acclaimed author and educational psychologist, likens Balli’s views to those of John Dewey. “Dewey—and now Balli—reminds us that school should not be thought of as preparation for life, but is, in fact, life itself,” Berliner writes. “I think that Sandy Balli has nailed it. Her advice and tutorials are compatible with the research on teacher expertise but much more vivid and lively because she knows classroom life so well.”
PR Contact: Larry Becker
Executive Director of University Relations
La Sierra University | <urn:uuid:60b2e19f-2240-4007-a1af-5c5f9c07ad36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lasierra.edu/library/index.php?id=2852 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955865 | 1,313 | 2.109375 | 2 |
MIT opens registration today for the first of its online courses offered as part of its new MITx initiative. The university announced MITx late last year as the next step not just in informal online learning but in alternative certification. Registration for MITx is free and open to anyone, and for this first "prototype" class, there is no additional charge to receive the certification upon successful completion of the class.
This first class is "6.002x: Circuits and Electronics." It will run from March 5 through June 8 and will be taught by Anant Agarwal and Chris Terman (co-directors of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory), Piotr Mitros (one of CSAIL's research scientists), and Gerald Sussman (a professor in the department of electrical engineering and computer science).
According to the course website, the class will demand approximately 10 hours a week from those enrolled. There will be video lectures and demonstrations, homework exercises and an "online interactive lab specifically designed to replicate its real-world counterpart." All of the assignments and exams will be graded by "robots," or rather artificial intelligence software. Use of this machine grading makes it possible to scale the offering to the same sort of level that Stanford experienced with its massively popular online offerings last fall. For now, verification of students' academic honesty in the MITx course will rely on the "honor code," but in the future the university says it will develop a more sophisticated system checking students' identities and curbing plagiarism and cheating.
Circuits and Electronics, as the name of the course suggests, is meant to be an introduction for electrical engineering and computer science majors. The materials for 6.002 are already available via MIT Opencourseware, but MITx clearly offers more than just the syllabus and readings.
But the connection to MIT OCW is important here, and it's something that makes MITx quite distinct from some of its online learning competitors. As MITx is situated as part of the university's broader mission, MIT isn't just offering isolated courses or content here, disaggregated from other related materials and/or catering to people who already have a fair amount of expertise in a field. Rather the MITx classes will be situated as part of the larger university curriculum and tied into its other online learning initiatives. There will be a list of all the related curriculum and courses on the MIT OCW website, for example, with the pre-requitsites available (and/or coming soon) as MIT OCW Scholar classes.
Much of the initial interest in MITx has focused on the certification part and the question of whether or not a letter from MITx will mean much on the job market. If a certificate from MITx (or Udacity or the like) is accepted, so the argument goes, "the jig is up" for higher ed. But by situating MITx as part of the larger educational mission of the school, it appears as though MIT is making a different argument here for its continuing relevancy -- not just as an issuer of diplomas and certificates, but as a source for a "world class education." | <urn:uuid:e95b622f-fc97-4eba-889b-5e76283f6407> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hackeducation.com/2012/02/13/mitx-opens-enrollment/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953372 | 642 | 2.25 | 2 |
ATLANTA, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. health officials said anyone with severe influenza, or at high risk of influenza-related complications, should get treated with antiviral medication.
Dr. Joe Bresee, chief of the epidemiology and prevention branch at the Center's for Disease Control and Prevention's Influenza Division, said anyone with severe influenza illness, or at high risk of serious influenza-related complications, should get treated with influenza antiviral medications if they get flu symptoms regardless of whether or not they got vaccinated.
"Also, you don't need to wait for a positive laboratory test to start taking antivirals," Bresee said in a statement.
"Reports of influenza-like illness are nearing what have been peak levels during moderately severe seasons and while we can't say for certain how severe this season will be, we can say that a lot of people are getting sick with influenza and we are getting reports of severe illness and hospitalizations."
Anyone who has not already been vaccinated should do so now, Bresee said.
The CDC tracks influenza activity year-round and the proportion of people seeing their healthcare provider for influenza-like illness was elevated for four consecutive weeks, but climbed sharply from 2.8 percent to 5.6 percent during that time. Some cities such as Chicago and Boston have had very high rates of patients being treated in hospitals.
However, last season, which was relatively mild, influenza-like illness peaked at 2.2 percent; during 1998-99 and 200304, which were moderately severe flu seasons, influenza-like-illness peaked at 7.6 percent. During the 2007-08 flu season another moderately severe season, influenza-like-illness peaked at 6 percent, but during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, influenza-like-illness peaked at 7.7 percent, the CDC said.
So far this season, 91 percent of the influenza viruses analyzed by the CDC match the viruses included in this year's influenza vaccine. The match between the vaccine virus and circulating viruses is one factor that impacts how well the vaccine works. But Bresee cautioned other factors are involved such as the health of the patient.
"While influenza vaccination offers the best protection we have against influenza, it's still possible that some people may become ill despite being vaccinated," Bresee said.
CDC recommends antiviral medications -- sold commercially as Tamiflu and Relenza -- to treat influenza as early as possible after becoming ill. The antivirals are recommended for any patient with confirmed or suspected influenza who are hospitalized, seriously ill, or ill and at high risk of serious influenza-related complications, including young children, people age 65 and older, people with certain underlying medical conditions and pregnant women.
Treatment should begin as soon as influenza is suspected, regardless of vaccination status or rapid test results and should not be delayed for confirmatory testing, the CDC said.
|Additional Health News Stories|
LAUDERHILL, Fla., May 23 (UPI) --Police said they have arrested a Florida man who mistakenly pocket-dialed 911 while planning a killing earlier this month.
LONDON, May 23 (UPI) --U.S. rocker Jon Bon Jovi is advising 19-year-old pop star Justin Bieber to respect his fans if he wants to have a long and successful career.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, May 23 (UPI) --A strip club in New Zealand has a street sign reading "Topless Terrace," after winning it in a cancer foundation auction Thursday.
WASHINGTON, May 23 (UPI) --U.S. President Barack Obama was the last obstacle to getting the Keystone XL oil pipeline built through the country, the chairman of a House committee said. | <urn:uuid:0cf71c7f-5638-472a-9c57-05b962f1569f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2013/01/10/CDC-Use-anti-viral-medication-for-flu/UPI-81921357832772/?rel=18381357907834 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965797 | 770 | 2.53125 | 3 |