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Laboratories that offer stem-cell treatments have come under close scrutiny by FDA. A recent court ruling clarified that stem-cell products that have been more than minimally manipulated can be regulated as drugs, and FDA can require both an IND and manufacture under GMP for such products. Texas-based Celltex Therapeutics, a company that isolates and expands adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells, ran into trouble with FDA earlier this year over its stem-cell products. An inspection of its facilities in Sugarland, Texas in April, 2012 turned up more than 70 violations of GMP including inadequate sterility controls, poor record keeping, and the use of research-grade reagents (you can find the inspection report here).
According to a press release from Celltex, the company is working toward resolving those issues, but disagrees with FDA over the underlying premise that its products are drugs and can be regulated as such. The company also indicated it is preparing INDs for clinical trials focused on the effectiveness of adult autologous stem cells for specific conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, and macular degeneration.
The initiation of clinical trials is good news in a field that is awash in unsubstantiated medical claims. And, as it prepares its IND submissions, Celltex will receive an overdue education in the manufacture of clinical trial-grade material. | <urn:uuid:41e6e4b1-1947-454a-96e5-8ad8b8503da5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.pharmtech.com/2012/10/04/stem-cell-company-takes-steps-towards-compliance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960493 | 280 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Gypsy Roma Traveller Leeds
The permanent site of the Gypsy Roma Traveller Communities
Lee Fair is the oldest chartered fair in the country dating from 1136. Gypsies first went to the fair in the 1540's and have been supporting it ever since.
Lee Fair is held in the parish of Woodkirk in West Ardsley. The first Gypsies came to the Fair in the 1540's and have supported the Fair every year where families traditionally meet up.
'The owner of Woodkirk Garage, the Thwaites had a friend who went to run a hotel in Torquay in the 1960's. He had this old painting of Lee Gap Fair and took it with him. I went down there many years and got this photograph taken of the painting so it would not be lost. We don't know who painted it and even the Art Gallery in Leeds couldn't help trace it.'
'David Atkinson did this copy in the 1960's. It is a copy of the Woodkirk and West Ardsley Map made during the survey of 1735 by Williams Sikes for the Rt. Honourable, George, Earl of Cardigan, who owned this land at the time.'
'This was taken on August Fair day in 1908. You can tell that because they are just building the Sunday School at Westerton Church and it has the date on the building. The Fair used to take place on this field before the road was built.
'The common land was sold off in 1729 and then they got Westerton Road through and the Fair used to take place in the field on the right, which is called Fair Field.
'There used to be a big well there and the farmers and the horse traders used to water the horses as they said it had medicinal powers and cured the animals.'
'David Atkinson took this photograph in 1965 and it shows Tom Gomersal's house, which was built on the site of the old White Horse Public House. Families used to set up camp here when visiting the Fair as they had done for hundreds of years.'
'I took this photograph from outside my house as these young Travellers were heading to the Fair.'
This page is transcribed from a conversation between Peter Saunders of the Gypsy Roma Traveller Achievement Service and Peter Aldred, who also supplied the images. | <urn:uuid:76a82f39-6ccc-4393-ac41-e64ecba7266c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.grtleeds.co.uk/Culture/leeGapFair.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984823 | 481 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Gardening Articles: Health :: Cooking
Preserving Onions (page 2 of 2)
by National Gardening Association Editors
Onions are so easy to store for fresh use that you probably won't want to bother freezing any. However, if some of your onions aren't keeping well or are starting to sprout, you can salvage them by peeling and pureeing them in a blender. Pour the puree into ice trays, cover them with plastic (so the odor won't affect other foods) and freeze them. After the onion cubes have frozen, transfer them to a plastic bag in your freezer. They're good for gravies and taking the "canned" taste away from canned soup.
If you want to freeze whole onions, however, here's how: Peel and wash the onions and blanch them in scalding water until the centers are heated (three minutes for small onions, seven minutes for medium to large ones). Cool, drain and put the onions on cookie sheets, and place the sheets in the freezer. After they're frozen, put the onions in a plastic bag for convenient storage. Freezing them in this two-step way makes them easier to use; they stay separate, so it's easy to take out only the amount you need.
To keep large, European onions that don't store well, wash, chop and freeze them without blanching. Pack them in small containers, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace.
For the best flavor, use frozen onions within a month or two.
Onions can be canned in a pressure canner, but they discolor and lose their shape. It's easier and more satisfactory to pickle them, freeze them or just store them. Even the "canned" onions you find in the store aren't plain - they're usually pickled with a brine and spices. | <urn:uuid:b68741a5-0b97-40bd-9f0c-a20f31186b6f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.garden.org/subchannels/health/cooking?q=show&id=502&page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956143 | 382 | 2.09375 | 2 |
About This Wine
Following World War I, Europe was a place of new possibilities.
In the Champagne region of France, a small group of winegrowers discussed taking “the next step” — making wine from their grapes, rather than selling the fruit to others. They believed that their knowledge and expertise would enable them to make an exceptional Champagne.
In 1921, the growers made it official. Their discussions led to the creation of the Champagne Collet brand, named after one of the leaders of the organizational movement. Over the years, Collet would become a leading name in Champagne, and today the children and grandchildren of the founders carry on the winegrowing and winemaking tradition.
Collet’s “Millesime” bottling showcases outstanding vintages and complex sensations. Crafted from 10 different lots of Premier or Grand Cru quality wine, it’s a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It’s a perfectly balanced Champagne of great finesse — a tasty testament to the vision of Collet’s founders.
Champagne is a sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle secondary fermentation of the wine to effect carbonation. It is produced exclusively within the Champagne region of France.
- Grape Composition:55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay
- Grape Source:Champagne Growing Region of France
- Aromas & Flavors:Toasted Bread, Lemon and Assorted Citrus
- When to Drink:Now Through 2013
- Food Pairing Suggestionseared foie gras, or roasted veal. | <urn:uuid:c089a9a7-15c7-400b-aa75-8bb034ba085d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vinesse.com/buy/2000-champagne-collet-brut-millesime-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909421 | 339 | 1.8125 | 2 |
We’ve Been ZIRPed
The perils of the zero interest rate policy.
Dec 24, 2012, Vol. 18, No. 15 • By ANDY KESSLER
Savers are getting ripped off. Interest rates are near zero, yet the inflation rate as of October 2012 was 2.2 percent, which means real interest rates are negative 2 percent, so savings are being diluted by 2 percent a year. It’s a stealth, non-voted-on tax, maybe as much as $200-300 billion a year. This is not news. The Roman emperors debased their coins from 4.5 grams of pure silver to less than a tenth of a gram over a few centuries. Hardly anyone noticed until the Visigoths (or was it the Vandals?) showed up to sack Rome. The U.S. dollar has been diluted by 96 percent since the Federal Reserve was created 99 years ago. Modern vandals!
But until ZIRP, no one really noticed. If you got 5.25 percent on your passbook savings account back in the ’70s, you thought you were making money, even if the inflation rate was higher. Same for 2.4 percent returns in money market funds in, say, 2007. Two percent inflation and corresponding interest rates are considered stable. It’s an old trick. The European Central Bank official edict declares that “in the pursuit of price stability, it aims to maintain inflation rates below, but close to, 2 percent over the medium term.”
Think about it. If interest rates are zero, you might as well stuff hundred dollar (or euro) bills in your mattress. Why risk giving it to banks for no return? But at 2 percent inflation, you can’t hold onto cash, else you lose 2 percent each year. So you put it in banks, or, if you are a corporation, invest it for a higher return. The spreadsheets are believable. At 5 percent inflation, you might as well spend it now on that Deere Riding Mower or Ducati Monster 796 rather than wait and see prices rise.
So the eggheads at the Fed are conceptually right and real-world wrong. Bernanke’s in office for another year, and it’s doubtful Obama will reup his membership at the Fed. So why not junk the ZIRP today and let interest rates rise, most likely to 2-2.5 percent, reflecting current inflation expectations? Several things will happen—rising rates would restore a generation of savers, unleash a torrent of corporate spending, which will create jobs, and yes, cause federal interest payments to rise, which may force rationalization of unnecessary government spending. Why is any of this a bad thing?
Andy Kessler, a former hedge-fund manager, is the author, most recently, of Eat People: And Other Unapologetic Rules for Game-Changing Entrepreneurs. | <urn:uuid:ecd51767-c226-4ea4-9b01-9a3aedfa310e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/we-ve-been-zirped_666600.html?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961682 | 608 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Birds turn up in ‘odd’ places, ornithologists cite climate change
Published: Monday, October 15, 2012
Updated: Monday, April 22, 2013 19:04
Twenty years from now, birds are going to be seen in weird places, predicts Cornell ornithologist Andrew Farnsworth. Due to climate change and human impact on the environment, he said many bird species could change the time and place where they breed and perhaps migrate.
“You’re going to see some very odd things happen,” Farnsworth said.
Bird species with large populations that migrate long distances will be able to adapt to changes in temperature and urban sprawl, but species with smaller populations and narrow livable environmental conditions will experience catastrophic changes, according to Farnsworth.
Humans amplify the speed of climate change with the emission of greenhouse gases and drastically alter the environment with the spread of urban areas and forest fragmentation, he said. As a result, birds are struggling to make the necessary evolutionary changes for survival.
“In places where it’s getting warmer earlier, birds no doubt can be under really extreme selection pressure because of climate change,” Farnsworth said. “If they don’t arrive early enough, they’d miss an explosion of insects.”
He said birds migrate when situations get bad, and as early as this past spring, at least a couple species of birds, such as the red crossbill, broke “the norm” and were on the move because of climate and habitat change. Many species appeared two or three weeks earlier on breeding grounds and departed early due to mild weather.
Of the 836 species of birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, approximately one fourth are known to be in trouble, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, however population data on one third of these species is lacking.
Migration is the annual, large-scale movement of millions of birds between their ancestral breeding summer grounds and their nonbreeding winter grounds, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The majority of all bird species migrate to move from areas of low or decreasing food and habitat resources to areas of high or increasing resources.
Although changes in day length, lower temperatures and changes in food supply can trigger migration, Farnsworth said there are definite genetic predispositions to where and when birds migrate.
“There are all these cool cues that they have,” he said. “Waves crashing against the coastline, the alignment of the stars, the position of the sun. It’s much more evolutionary than just, ‘I’m going to fly somewhere and look for somewhere good.’”
Since birds have been following roughly the same patterns of migration for the past billion years or so, it can be difficult for certain species to respond to drastic climate and habitat changes. Severe storms, just one byproduct of global warming, cause many birds to die while crossing large bodies of water, causing a dramatic decline in populations, Farnsworth said.
Forest fragmentation and urban sprawl alter habitats where avian species stay for the winter, breed and stopover during migration, inevitably causing birds to migrate over large cities with artificial light and skyscrapers. Farnsworth said the artificial light confuses birds and makes them more prone to collide with tall buildings.
A 2009 study of 24 communication towers in Michigan showed that 50 to 71 percent of bird fatalities can be reduced through the elimination of steady-burning lights, according to the National Park Service.
Farnsworth studies the nocturnal migratory calls of birds and said he found that these short, urgent calls are most frequent when birds are disoriented from artificial lights and cloud cover. The calls are used as a means of communicating group positions so that birds can stay together and avoid collision. | <urn:uuid:466720fb-fe66-4207-9f48-3401eabcaf40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.udreview.com/birds-turn-up-in-odd-places-ornithologists-cite-climate-change-1.2927791 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935267 | 790 | 2.875 | 3 |
- Financial firewall would dribble money to #Spain and #Italy instead of hitting them with an economic "bazooka"
- Financing programs don't restore market confidence if they come with severe fiscal austerity within a euro straitjacket #debt
- Reviewing the large lending programs for Greece & Portugal should make policymakers reconsider the merits of a firewall
In 1940, the Maginot Line proved woefully ineffective in protecting France from a German invasion, despite the great amount spent on its construction and the high hopes placed on its impregnability. One has to wonder whether Europe’s proposed financial firewall around Spain and Italy will prove any more effective in protecting those countries from another market onslaught than was the Maginot line in protecting France. The very design of the proposed firewall appears to be basically flawed in dealing with a renewed loss of market confidence in the euro’s long-run sustainability.
At the top of the policy agenda for the International Monetary Fund’s April 21-22 spring meeting is the construction of a financial firewall for Italy and Spain. Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managing director, has been emphasizing that the IMF presently has only around $380 billion at its disposal in uncommitted resources for the IMF’s entire membership. Anticipating the real possibility of renewed market pressure on the European periphery, she is proposing that the IMF’s resources be augmented by at least $500 billion. To that end, she has been seeking commitments from non-European countries to complement the $150 billion in bilateral loan commitments that the IMF has already received from the European countries.
At the recent G-20 Finance Ministers’ meeting in Mexico, the non-European countries, including most notably China and Brazil, insisted that any bilateral loan commitments that they make to the IMF must be preceded by a greater effort by Europe to help itself in dealing with its debt crisis. They were especially keen to have the Europeans beef up their own bailout funds. In particular, they wanted the Europeans to allow the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) to run through mid-2013, as originally envisaged, rather than to have it expire in June 2012. By extending the EFSF’s life, the Europeans could increase the size of their bailout by €250 billion, bringing it to €750 billion.
Desmond Lachman is a resident fellow at AEI. | <urn:uuid:aef40f89-3daa-40cf-8578-9b364f1fbc84> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aei.org/article/economics/international-economy/europes-financial-maginot-line/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962432 | 491 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Hiring standstill points to growing recession risk
Saturday, September 3, 2011
WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers added no jobs in August — an alarming setback for the economy that renewed fears of another recession and raised pressure on Washington to end the hiring standstill.
Worries flared Friday after the release of the worst jobs report since September 2010. Total payrolls were unchanged, the first time since 1945 that the government reported a net job change of zero. The unemployment rate stayed at 9.1 percent.
The dismal news two day before Labor Day sent stocks plunging. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 253 points, or more than 2 percent.
Analysts say the economy cannot continue to expand unless hiring picks up. In the first six months of 2011, growth was measured at an annual rate of 0.7 percent.
Companies are mostly keeping their payrolls intact. They’re not laying off many workers. But they’re not hiring, either. Without more jobs to fuel consumer spending, economists say another recession would be inevitable. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of economic growth.
Like a wobbling bicycle, “you either reaccelerate or you fall over, said James O’Sullivan, chief economist at MF Global. “Something has to give.”
When growth is slow and unemployment high, companies feel little pressure to increase pay and benefits. In August, for instance, hourly wages fell.
And when unemployment is chronically high, even many people who have jobs worry about losing them. So they’re less likely to spend.
Eventually, as consumers cut back, corporate sales decline. Companies scale back hiring even more. Weak spending and hiring can feed on each other and edge the economy closer to recession.
When the economy is barely growing, it’s also vulnerable to shocks like natural disasters and political upheavals. An economy growing 5 percent a year can absorb more punishment than one growing at 1 percent before it would slip into recession.
Consumer and business confidence was shaken this summer by the political standoff over the federal debt limit, a downgrade of long-term U.S. debt and the financial crisis in Europe. Tumbling stock prices escalated the worries.
Even before it stalled last month, job growth had been sputtering. The economy added 166,000 jobs a month in the January-March quarter, 97,000 a month in the April-June quarter and just 43,000 a month so far in the July-September period.
“Underlying job growth needs to improve immediately in order to avoid a recession,” said HSBC economist Ryan Wang.
The dispiriting job numbers for August will heighten the pressure on the Federal Reserve, President Barack Obama and Congress to find ways to stimulate the economy.
So far, the Fed has been reluctant to launch another round of Treasury bond purchases. Its previous bond-buying programs were intended to force down long-term interest rates, encourage borrowing and boost stock prices.
On Thursday, Obama will give a televised speech to a joint session of Congress to introduce a plan for creating jobs and spurring economic growth.
“The importance of job growth cannot be overstated,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc.
The economy needs to add at least 250,000 jobs a month to rapidly bring down the unemployment rate. The rate has been above 9 percent in all but two months since May 2009.
Roughly 14 million Americans are unemployed. An additional 11.4 million are either working part time but want full-time jobs or have given up looking for work and aren’t counted as unemployed.
The weakness was underscored by revisions to the jobs data for June and July. Collectively, those figures were lowered to show 58,000 fewer jobs added than previously thought. The downward revisions were all in government jobs.
The average workweek declined in August. Cutbacks by federal, state and local governments have erased 290,000 government jobs this year, including 17,000 in August.
“There is no silver lining in this one,” said Steve Blitz, senior economist at ITG Investment Research. “It is difficult to walk away from these numbers without the conclusion that the economy is simply grinding to a halt.”
The unemployment rate for black men jumped a full percentage point in August to 18 percent. That’s the highest level for that group since March 2010. And unemployment for black people as a whole surged from 15.9 percent to 16.7 percent even as unemployment for white Americans ticked down to 8 percent from 8.1 percent.
Obama has faced doubts within his own party, including black lawmakers who say he hasn’t done enough to help chronic unemployment in black communities.
Yet Obama is unlikely to win support for any new stimulus spending from congressional Republicans, who oppose further spending and argue that the president’s economic policies have failed. They favor spending cuts and less government regulation.
On Friday, Obama took a step toward winning their support. He directed the Environmental Protection Agency to abandon rules that would have tightened health-based standards for smog. Republicans and some business leaders have said the proposed rules would have cost jobs.
Kurt Karl, chief economist for the Americas at Swiss Re, said the August jobs report “implies a rising probability of recession.”
Still, he noted, employment fell for 18 months after the 2001 recession — and the economy kept chugging along at an annual rate of 2.1 percent over that time.
The economy’s 0.7 percent growth rate in the first half of 2011 was the slowest six months of growth since the recession officially ended in June 2009.
Most economists expect growth to improve to about a 2 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter — though Friday’s bleak report may cause some economists to downgrade their forecasts.
Lower gasoline prices have provided some relief to consumers. And factories are revving up again after being interrupted by Japan’s earthquake and nuclear crisis.
Before Friday’s jobs report, the economy had been showing signs of better health. Consumer spending was strong in August. Auto sales were brisk. Manufacturing expanded. And fewer people applied for unemployment benefits.
Yet even 2 percent growth isn’t fast enough to generate many jobs. And the economy remains vulnerable to outside shocks — a worsening European debt crisis or more political brinkmanship in Washington.
“The economy’s perforated at this point,” said Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness. “Any additional strain on it will tear it apart.”
The Obama administration has estimated that unemployment will average about 9 percent next year, when Obama will seek re-election. The rate was 7.8 percent when he took office.
The White House Office of Management and Budget projects overall growth of just 1.7 percent this year.
“The economy continues to stagger,” said Sung Won Sohn, economist at California State University Channel Islands. “It wouldn’t take much (of a) shock to tip it onto a recession.” | <urn:uuid:cca47034-e4d0-43ae-9adc-682a863fdb5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newstribune.com/news/2011/sep/03/hiring-standstill-points-growing-recession-risk/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958455 | 1,488 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 3:46 pm Posts: 120 Location: South Minneapolis
I'm looking for information and inspiration. I'd be interested to hear: Who are the makers and hackers from history worthy of mention? Who resides in the Great Pantheon of the movement? Who would be enshrined in the virtual Hall of Makers, Hackers and Curious Craftsmen?
Here are a few names that come to mind as obvious choices:
Leonardo Nikola Tesla Thomas Alva Edison Charles Babbage (and perhaps Ada Lovelace, as well) Alexander Graham Bell
here is one from left field: Burt Munro - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt_Munro awesome since he made new engine parts by casting and questionable metallurgy (40% ford piston, 20% dodge crankshaft, 20% chevy leaf spring). a true maker!
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2009 4:14 pm Posts: 1438 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Serendipitous! Mr. Odegard, I was about to ask if you knew about Jacque Fresco. Being interested in artistic design, I'm sure you're familiar with him. He's a Renaissance Man of Leonardo's stature. Click the picture for his Wikipedia article.
There is a fascinating documentary about him on streaming Netflix, Future by Design. Highly recommended!
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 11:30 am Posts: 67 Location: Fridley, MN
No list of hacker heroes would be complete without Smokey Yunick. Not only did he invent things such as speed-proportional steering, he was always looking for a way to skirt, bend or even break the rules. Once he entered a car that was perfectly built at 7/8 scale - nobody could figure out why it was so fast until they took a measuring tape to the hood!
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You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum | <urn:uuid:00eba7ca-87f4-4a22-921d-385247e30721> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tcmaker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=12272 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94952 | 442 | 1.945313 | 2 |
WELLWOOD, a surname said to be derived from the Danish Velvod, or
Velvud, the name of a Danish noble who came to Scotland with the
Princess Anne of Denmark, consort of James VI.
The family of Welwood,
Wellwood, or Walwood, have, however, been provosts and officers of the
regality of Dunfermline beyond record. They are mentioned several times
in the chartulary of the abbey as bailies, anno 1437 and 1439, and in
the burgh register anno 1448, being designated De Walwood, or Walwode.
In 1566, John Welwood was senior officer of the regality of Dunfermline.
He and his brother, William, portioners of Touch, and of Forrester Leys,
and John, proprietor of the 7th part of the Grange, or East Barnes of
Dunfermline, 1566, and Lawrence and Thomas, are also noticed in the
Burgh Register, 1567. In it also are the entries of John Wellwood and
Helen Wardlaw, one-half of Touch; Abraham Wellwood, one-third part of
Nether Lessodie; and Laurence Wellwood, one-half of Touch and Wester
William Wellwood of Touch
married, in 1635, Margaret, youngest daughter of Nichol Wardlaw, of
Wester Luscar, Carnock parish, a branch of the Wardlaws of Torrie.
Their son, Robert, of
Touch, married Jean, daughter of a gentleman of the name of Livingstone.
The same who was fined in the case of Archbishop Sharp in 1670.
Robert’s son, Sir James
Wellwood, an eminent physician and historian, born in 1652, studied at
Glasgow, whence he removed to Holland in 1679. He completed his
education at Leyden, where he took the degree of M.D., and returned to
Britain with King William at the Revolution. Appointed one of the Royal
physicians for Scotland, he settled at Edinburgh, where he attained high
eminence in his profession, and acquired a considerable fortune. He died
in 1716. He was the author of – Vindication of the Revolution in England
anno 1688. Lond. 1689, 4to. – Memoirs of the most material Transactions
in England for the last hundred years preceding the Revolution in 1688.
Lond. 1792, 8vo. – An Answer to the late King James’ Last Declaration to
all his pretended Subjects in the Kingdom of England, dated at Dublin
Castle, May 8, 1689.
Sir James’s son, Robert
Wellwood of Touch, acquired the estate of Garvock, Fifeshire, from which
the family afterwards took their title, and married, about 1690,
Catherine, 6th daughter of John Denham of Muirhouse and West Shields.
His son, Henry Wellwood
of Garvock and Pitliver, purchased Tulliebole, Kinross-shire, in 1749,
and about 1752 conveyed it to Rev. Sir Henry Moncrieffe, bart., son of
his niece and of Rev. Sir William Moncrieffe, bart. He died January 16,
His brother, Robert
Wellwood, succeeded him in Garvock. He married Susanna, daughter of
Campbell of Monzie, and died April 13, 1767. He had one son, Robert, and
four daughters. 1. Catherine, born May 23, 1722, married Rev. Sir
William Moncrieffe, minister of Blackford, who became, in 1744, 7th
baronet of Tippermalach, (see MONCRIEFFE). 2. Isobel, married James
Robertson Barclay of Keavil, Sept. 24, 1744. 3. Margaret, married in
1754, Dr. John Stedman, born in 1710, died 1791, one of the professors
in the university of Edinburgh. 4. Susan.
The son, Robert Wellwood
of Garvock and Pitliver, advocate, born Dec. 22, 1720, married, in 1744,
Mary, eldest daughter of Sir George Preston, 4th baronet of Valleyfield,
Robert Wellwood executed an entail of his property, dated May 29, 1790,
and died January 12, 1791. He had two sons, Robert and Andrew, and 4
daughters. 1. Anne, born in 1745, married Robert Scott Moncrieffe of
Coates and Newhall; issue one son, Robert Scott Wellwood, who died in
1854 without issue. 2. Susan, born in 1751, died unmarried. 3.
Elizabeth, born Nov. 21, 1752, married Allan Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank
(see MACONOCHIE). 4. Catherine, born May 12, 1754, died unmarried.
The elder son, Robert
Wellwood of Garvock, born Feb. 7, 1747, married, 1st, Lilias, 2d
daughter of James Robertson Barclay of Keavil, and 2dly, Eliza M’Neil.
He died July 7, 1820, leaving 2 daughters by first marriage. 1.
Isabella, married Robert Clarke of Comrie Castle, Perthshire. She died
in 1826, leaving, with other issue, a son, Rev. William Colin Clarke,
born in 1810, married in 1856, Anne, eldest daughter of William D. Pigot,
late of Dysart, Queen’s county, Ireland, with issue. He is heir of
entail to Valleyfield. 2. Mary, married Lawrence Johnston of Sands, with
Robert Wellwood was
succeeded by his brother, Andrew Moffat Wellwood of Garvock, born in
1764, died Feb. 25, 1847. He had one daughter, Anna Mary, who married,
1st, John James Boswell, advocate, with issue; and, 2dly, Ralph Clarke,
Edinburgh. On the death of Robert Scott Wellwood, nephew of Andrew
Moffat Wellwood, in 1854, Alexander Maconochie, 2d Lord Meadowbank, son
of the first judge of that name, succeeded to Garvock. | <urn:uuid:753cd314-2f41-4e65-9ba6-2df5d45af66e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/wellwood.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958916 | 1,371 | 2.328125 | 2 |
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned
- I do not know how many generations we can count on before the Lord returns.
- When a man walks upon the lamp of the night [the Moon], Islam will fail.
- Corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will followuntil all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.
An incandescent column of smoke and flame
As bright as 10,000 suns
Rose in all its splendor
The great swarm of bees shall arise
But from where they come from shall not be known
Beneath the vines the sentinel will be ambushed at night
A city will be betrayed by five tongues not naked.
- The baths of Badon shall grow cold, and their salubrious waters engender death. London shall mourn for the death of twenty thousand; and the river Thames shall be turned into blood.
- I see wars, horrible wars, and the Tiber foaming with much blood! | <urn:uuid:72eb7e79-e9cf-472a-9a83-e29e53017135> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wso.williams.edu/orgs/trivia/funk/hours/apocalypse.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908687 | 226 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Oculus Rift is a virtual-reality head-mounted display that’s getting a ton of buzz.
It has been endorsed by smart developers like John Carmack (Doom) and Gabe Newell of Valve. Its Kickstarter drive has been more than funded, with over $1.6 million in pledges, the overwhelming majority of which has come from backers putting up $300 to get their own headset and development kit.
And the makers of Oculus Rift say they would rather you not buy one.
“We’re hoping to get more backers, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey told Wired, “as long as they’re the kind that we’ve been targeting all along.”
By this, he means Oculus would rather that only game developers purchase the headset through the Kickstarter campaign.
“We don’t want [the crowdfunding] to go to $5 or $10 million because consumers are getting in on these developers’ kits,” he said.
Rift is a head-mounted display unit for PCs. Those who have tried it, some in demonstration sessions set up by Carmack with a customized version of Doom 3, say that it is remarkably immersive. Its 110-degree field of view and its low-latency head tracking function, they say, make it worlds better than any other VR headset that has been tried.
The problem is, Rift isn’t ready yet. The development kit being sold via Kickstarter features a screen of significantly lower resolution than the final version’s. Oculus also aims to reduce the weight of the head-mounted display unit before shipping the consumer-ready product. And as of now, Rift only supports Doom 3.
“We really do think that the consumer version of the Rift is going to be far and away … a whole other level in terms of latency and comfort,” says Oculus vice president Nate Mitchell.
Nearly 5,000 Rift development kits have been sold so far, with two weeks left in the Kickstarter drive.
Unlike the $99 Android-based game console Ouya, Oculus isn’t using Kickstarter as way to pre-sell units to early adopters. Instead, it hopes to build hype for the product while reaching out to developers, allowing them to make PC games compatible with Rift in time for its launch.
Luckey says he’s trying to walk a fine line when it comes to promoting the crowdfunding drive.
Hyping it too much, he says, will cause consumers with cash on hand to give in and buy the prototype developer kit. Then again, he does want consumers to get excited and spread the word, asking their favorite developers to support Rift.
“If we don’t have that community aspect, a lot less happens,” says Luckey.
Oculus, it seems, is having no trouble keeping developers interested in Rift. In the Kickstarter video, Valve’s president Gabe Newell calls it “incredibly exciting.” Gears of War series director Cliff Bleszinski says he’s “a believer.”
As for gamers who want to support Oculus with money, the company encourages them to purchase T-shirts and signed posters at the lower tiers of Kickstarter rewards.
As of press time, these rewards accounted for less than $30,000 of the $1.6 million. | <urn:uuid:63c75337-2380-4575-a535-23a1af93c72d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wired.com/gamelife/tag/john-carmack/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950951 | 694 | 1.601563 | 2 |
So, what is really happening in the Northern hemisphere? Why are nations referred as developed, in huge trouble? Is it because of the rise of China and India; the end of colonialism, and progressive coming to an end of neo-colonialism; and the decryption of western technological secrets by some emerging markets, leading to a new world economic order?
Education will give women a greater ability to contribute to the economy, it will help them set up their own businesses, climb the corporate ladder and increase their representation in politics. Access to the education asset is essential in tackling gender inequality and multinational corporations have a proactive role to play.
The finance minister of Chile, Felipe Larraín, recently wrote an important article about the role countries like his are playing in the new global economy.
Each year, 9 December is recognised worldwide as International Anti-Corruption Day. The year 2011 however is especially significant as we've seen corruption make it to the very top of the political agenda. | <urn:uuid:dcb06d16-f13f-4584-bf28-66cbc416f44b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/tag/emerging-markets | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964041 | 199 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Ted Kyle, Chair of the Advocacy Committee for The Obesity Society, reflects on the most important developments of 2012 for obesity. He credits the George Washington University Department of Health Policy with helping shift focus toward obesity and health and away from weight loss outcomes through dialogue with experts, advocates, and the FDA.
Myths, misconceptions and misinformation about obesity and weight remain pervasive. These can make an already difficult task – managing weight and health – even more challenging and can fuel weight stigma, which is as pervasive in our society as the myths themselves. Click here to read more.
View Dr. Richard H. Carmona’s, 17th U.S. Surgeon General and the Alliance’s Health and Wellness Chairperson, letter of support for the Essential Health Benefits Task Force recommendations here.
By Morgan Downey, JD
Obesity is a major public health problem and is growing in prevalence and severity. Projections indicate continued growth with strong gender, race and ethnic differences. Morbid obesity is also increasing significantly. Many obstacles have persisted which have impeded effective public policies to address the issue. Health care reform presents unparalleled opportunities to change the approaches to obesity in a way to positively improve individual and public health. Simple solutions will not be adequate; rather, a complete integration of evidence-based interventions into the nation’s health care system is required. Costs will be significant, yet the costs of inaction will be greater. Recommendations are offered for the integration of obesity prevention and intervention measures. | <urn:uuid:5bceef4d-a28c-430d-9f25-1da047a3b464> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stopobesityalliance.org/gw-research/obesity-and-health-care-reform/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932523 | 304 | 2.484375 | 2 |
While less than 2 per cent of the population now attends a Church of England service every week, the number of female converts to Islam is on the rise. At the London Central Mosque in Regent’s Park, women account for roughly two thirds of the “New Muslims” who make their official declarations of faith there – and most of them are under the age of 30.
At the time of the 2001 Census, there were at least 30,000 British Muslim converts in the UK. According to Kevin Brice, of the Centre for Migration Policy Research, Swansea University, this number may now be closer to 50,000 – and the majority are women. “Basic analysis shows that increasing numbers of young, university-educated women in their twenties and thirties are converting to Islam,” confirms Brice. | <urn:uuid:44c4103a-00e0-4596-b37a-0094a5b2b129> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://harunyahya.com/en/works/121763/Thousands-of-young-British-women-decide-to-convert-to-Islam | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956301 | 168 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Former President Bill Clinton has taken a position in the U.S. Senate contest in Massachusetts between Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Democrat Elizabeth Warren, and he is saying voters should consider party agendas before choosing a senator.
In a fundraising pitch emailed on behalf of Warren, Clinton says that the Bay State race is about more than the candidates, a message that the Harvard Law School professor has reiterated along the campaign trail and in the two debates with Brown.
"Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a remarkable moment of candor that his number one priority wasn't putting people back to work – it was putting Democrats out of work," Clinton says in the letter. "No matter your personal opinion of Scott Brown, that's the political party that he wants to set the agenda in the United States Senate. It's controlled by right-wing Republicans and Tea Party radicals who will fight tooth and nail to go back to the same failed policies that got us in trouble in the first place."
The pitch to nationalize the Senate contest isn't new, although Clinton's surrogacy on behalf of Warren is. The popular former president is in the Bay State today fundraising for President Barack Obama's re-election bid against Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Warren and Democrats have worked to tie Brown, who was ranked the second most bipartisan Senator in 2011, to the national Republican Party, which has moved further to the right over the past four years, with hopes that it will convince independent voters to give Warren the push she needs to win.
Brown has deflected such lines of attack, saying that although Warren would "like to run against Mitt Romney," she is running against him.
In response to the fundraising letter sent by Clinton, the Brown campaign's Communications Director Colin Reed pointed to Warren's work on the LTV Steel case, saying that the two seem to be at odds in principle.
“It's ironic that Elizabeth Warren would turn to Bill Clinton for help in her race. After all, it was President Clinton’s administration that was trying to stop Elizabeth Warren and LTV Steel in their attempt to deny promised health benefits to LTV’s retired workers," Reed said in a statement. "President Clinton called that promise 'a solemn covenant' with workers. Elizabeth Warren saw it as just another opportunity to line her own pockets at workers’ expense."
Warren's campaign denied the Brown campaign's characterization of her work on the case, saying that she was fighting so workers and others owed money from a bankrupt company could receive payment through the bankruptcy process.
"Once again Scott Brown is resorting to desperate, misleading attacks because he doesn't want to talk about his record or his support for a Republican Senate," said Julie Edwards, a spokeswoman with the Brown campaign. "Elizabeth is honored to have the support of President Bill Clinton and President Obama and is ready to work with them to move the country forward and create economic opportunities for working families."
Brown and Warren have two more televised debates before election day, with the next scheduled for Oct. 10 at Symphony Hall in Springfield. Recent polls have shown Warren holding an edge over Brown, although depending on which poll you follow, the margin varies. | <urn:uuid:77f058cc-2a4a-413e-9473-ba4ace46cd52> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/10/former_president_bill_clinton_2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979616 | 647 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The Special Hands Project, founded and supported by Special Olympics World Winter Games PyeongChang 2013 Organizing Committee, is bringing athletes and others from seven developing countries to Korea. The seven countries have never before participated in a Special Olympics World Winter Games.
Also taking part are government officials from each of the seven countries. The athletes of the seven countries taking part in the Special Hands Project may also be participating in some sports and non-sports activities.
One of the seven countries is Papua New Guinea. The Special Olympics organization there is a Founding Committee and aspires to be an accredited Special Olympics Program.
"There are many people with intellectual disabilities in the rural areas who are afraid to come out and participate in our programs," said Sophia Tuna, Interim Secretary/Treasurer for the founding committee in Papua New Guinea.
"I believe this Special Olympics program will encourage them to do so because it is targeted towards this special group and it involves everyone and it encourages participation, friendship and team work."
These countries are taking part: Cambodia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Vietnam.
About Will Schermerhorn: I am director of web products for Special Olympics. | <urn:uuid:a11b6e49-372b-450d-96d5-e70087c858b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.specialolympics.org/SimpleStories/SimpleStory.aspx?id=25575&Region=SOAfrica&RegionName=Africa&LangType=1033 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933783 | 244 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The Osuna Poplar Grove Park
This 14 ha. park of great historical and
artistic importance lies in the Hortaleza area. It dates from 1783, when the
Dukes of Osuna bought the estate and built an enormous garden, which was
basically promoted by the exceptional personality of the Duchess of Osuna
The general layout is ascribed to the
gardener Jean Baptiste Mulot, who lived in the Petit Trianon at Versailles. This
layout is reminiscent of the mentioned garden and resembles the English style of
garden planning, including its typical garden architecture.
The Orient Square Gardens
Facing the Royal Palace there are the
gardens of Orient Square. In the centre of the square stands the equestrian
statue of Philip IV, cast by Pietro Tacca, who followed Galileo Galilei's
calculations.The model for the head of the statue, was made by the famous image
maker Martínez Montañés, of Seville.
The Castellana Gardens
Until recently, the Castellana Walk was the
real north-south axis of Madrid. It is an elegant avenue-park which extends the
traditional garden areas of the Prado Avenue and the Recoletos Avenue towards
the north. From Colón Square as far as the North junction, where new
gardens of 2.30 ha. were recently built, there are 6,5 km of trees, linking
squares and gardens of different nature.
The Villa Pasture Park
Perhaps the oldest green area of all the
parks and gardens in Madrid is this one. The oldest references to this pasture
land of the council date from the 15th. century.
In the 18th. century,
during the reign of Charles IV, it became part of the Royal Residence of El
Pardo. It was turned in the late 19th century. Today, la Dehesa de la Villa (ie:
Pasture land of the City) is very small compared with its original size, because
it used to include land of today's Moncloa and the University City.
The Pardo Mountains
Since the Middle Ages, The Pardo was used
as a hunting site because of its vegetation and its dense forest, as well as its
many wild animals. Thus, in The Art of Hunting, a book by Alphonse XI, it is
called "La Dehesa de Madrit", the Madrid pasture land, "royal
woodland of wild boar in winter". The first royal building in The Pardo
dates from 1405 and the times of Henry III.
Later, Henry IV enlarged
it, with what is known as the fortress. In the course of time, the place was
often remodelled, and under Charles I the small palace was built, but there are
only traces of it today.
His successor, Philip II, establishes the
Royal Public Works and Forest Commission and the Royal Residence of The Pardo.
The Bourbons enlarged the hunting grounds, adding the so-called Cordón de
El Pardo, with plants and new buildings. Thus, The Pardo has always been the
scene of royal hunts, especially during the reigns of Charles II and Charles IV.
The Watercress Fountain Park
This is another of the parks steeped in
history. It dates from the 17th. century, when it was called the Abroñigal
Estate and its water from the Abroñigal was famous, the use of this water
was exclusively reserved to the Crown, in the times of Charles III.
has been a public park since 1948 . It is another excellent example of
landscaped gardening thanks to the type of terrain which has romantic
characteristics: artificial lakes, The Watercress Fountain and the sculptures,
such as the one honoring the Russian poet Pushkin, contribute to making the park
one of the most coherent and pleasant garden complexes of Madrid.
Copyright © 1998 - 1999
by JLL & JRP
All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:b3c2d05d-046b-404d-aee2-b70d01690add> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nova.es/~jlb/mad_in42.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937959 | 852 | 2.28125 | 2 |
The Bedrock of the Gold Bull Rally
Last week I had the pleasure of participating in a webcast for Bloomberg Markets Magazine regarding gold investing. It was a very insightful presentation and I suggest you view the replay at www.bloombergmarkets.com. What struck me on the call was the negativity surrounding the gold market. Call it a bubble, a frenzy or mania, there seems to be a large number of voices in the marketplace who just are not fans of gold, whether prices are moving up, down or sideways.
Naysayers started calling gold a bubble back when prices hit $250 an ounce and though gold's bull market has tossed and flung the bubble callers around for almost a decade now, their voices have only gotten increasingly louder as prices broke through $1,000, $1,200 and now $1,400 an ounce.
However, gold prices appear asymptomatic of the signs generally associated with financial bubbles.
For instance, we haven't seen price spikes. Despite rising from under $1,000 an ounce to over $1,420 over the past six months, that represents only a 0.7 standard deviation move for gold prices, according to Credit Suisse (CS). The average standard deviation move of other bubbles -- Japanese equities in 1986, the tech boom in 1999, the GSCI in 2005 and gold in 1979 -- is 5.3. Gold's 180 percent move in 1979 represented a 10.3 standard deviation move, more than 14 times the magnitude we see today.
The reality is that gold doesn't possess the traits necessary for a financial bubble to form. Rodney Sullivan, co-editor of the CFA Digest, has done some great research on the history of markets and bubbles going all the way back to the 1600s. He discovered three key patterns in the 47 major financial bubbles that occurred over that time period.
These three ingredients of asset bubbles are financial innovation, investor exuberance and speculative leverage. The process begins with financial innovation, which initially benefits society as a whole. In the exuberance stage, usage of these innovations broadens; they become mainstream and attract speculation. The third step, the tipping point for a bubble to form, is when these speculators pile on massive leverage hoping to achieve greater success. This excessive leverage adds increased complexity, which mixes with irrational exuberance to create an imbalance in the marketplace. Eventually, the party comes to an end and the bubble bursts.
This is what happened with the housing bubble in the U.S. as Main Street home buyers leveraged themselves 100-to-1, Fannie Mae leveraged itself 80-to-1 and Wall Street investment firms leveraged themselves over 30-to-1.
Gold as an asset class is far from being overbought by speculators. Eric Sprott recently did a fascinating presentation explaining how underowned gold is as an asset class. Sprott wrote that despite a 30 percent increase in gold holdings during 2010, gold ownership as a percentage of global financial assets has only risen to 0.7 percent. That's a big increase from the 0.2 percent level in 2002, but Sprott points out that it's misleading because the majority of that increase was fueled by gold appreciation, not increased level of investment.
Sprott estimates that the actual amount of new investment into gold since 2000 is about $250 billion. Compare that to the roughly $98 trillion of new capital that flowed into other financial assets over the same time period.
Gold equities have seen even lower levels of investment. From 2000 to 2010, $2.5 trillion flowed into U.S. mutual funds, but only $12 billion of that went into precious metal equity funds. Of course, those figures were significantly impacted by the advent of gold ETFs during the decade. Despite the growth of the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), which held more 1,200 tons of gold as of March 31, gold remains largely underowned as a portion of global financial assets.
The bar chart from CPM Group shows gold as a percentage of global financial assets over time. In 1968, gold represented nearly 5 percent of financial assets. In 1980, the level had fallen below 3 percent. That figure had shrunk to less than 1 percent by 1990 and has remained there since. Sprott wrote that "it is surprising to note how trivial gold ownership is when compared to the size of global financial assets."
That point is magnified by the pie chart from Casey Research. Dr. Marc Faber included it in his April newsletter to show just how small a portion gold and gold stocks are for large institutional investors like pension funds.
Investors who don't think gold is a bubble but fear they've missed the boat need to look at the short- and long-term factors supporting gold at these historically high price levels. In the near-term, gold prices are being buoyed by continued weakness in the U.S. dollar.
The Trade-Weighted Dollar Index (DXY) is just above the lows experienced during November 2009 and is only 8 percent above the "critical" March 2008 low, according to BCA Research. BCA says the U.S. dollar's weakness is driven by four factors:
- Federal Reserve balance sheet expansion via QE2
- Combination of low real interest rates, steeply upward-sloped yield curve and perky inflation expectations that should continue in the U.S.
- Plans by the European Central Bank to raise rates later this month
- Willingness of Chinese authorities to allow for yuan (RMB) appreciation when the U.S. dollar is weak
This is part of what we call the Fear Trade. This graphic illustrates that the Fear Trade is a function of two separate government policies: monetary and fiscal. Whenever there is a structural imbalance between a country's monetary and fiscal policies, gold tends to perform as a "safe haven" currency. Currently, the quantitative easing measures implemented by the Federal Reserve and the significant size of the deficit spending by the government to increase entitlements to ward off a recession have created a significant imbalance between monetary and fiscal policies. This has devalued the U.S. dollar which, in turn, has boosted gold prices.
We believe that as long as the U.S. government refuses to trim entitlement and welfare programs and continues to keep Treasury bill yields below the inflation rate to battle deflation, gold will remain an attractive asset class.
Longer-term, our experience shows that whenever you have increased deficit spending, rapid money supply growth and negative real interest rates -- that's when the inflation rate is higher than the nominal interest rate -- gold tends to perform well in that country's currency. So far we have not seen rapid money supply growth here in the U.S., but the other two factors have been the main thrust behind gold's record rise.
GFMS CEO Paul Walker echoed those drivers in an interview with MineWeb this week. Walker said that "ultra-low interest rates, macro-economic dislocation, fears of global imbalances...the wrath of these things still remain solidly in place and that's really the bedrock of the gold bull rally."
CS says the combined $6.3 trillion of excess leverage in the G4 economies (U.S., eurozone, Japan and Great Britain) means that their central banks will be forced to push real interest rates down to abnormally low levels. You can see from the chart that this is quite bullish for gold prices. Any time the real Fed funds rate is below 2 percent, gold tends to rise.
Current projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) have the U.S. federal deficit at $1.5 trillion this year. To show the effect this has had on gold prices, we overlaid the rise in U.S. federal debt with the price of gold.
You can see from the chart that gold's bull run began in 2002, about the same time federal debt began to rise significantly. Gold played catch up at first, but the two have tracked each other rather closely. Since 2002, gold prices have risen 308 percent versus a 119 percent increase in federal debt. This means that gold's sensitivity to a rise in federal debt is just over 2-to-1. With lawmakers in Washington, D.C. still squabbling over where and by how much to cut the budget, it's unlikely the federal debt level will recede any time soon.
This is very constructive for long-term gold prices, but just how bullish depends on who you ask. The team at CS sees gold at $1,550 per ounce by year end. BCA estimates gold to remain in the $1,400-$1,600 range in 2011. Walker of GFMS said he believes gold will surpass the $1,500 mark by year end because "all of the structural factors supporting gold are in place." Perhaps the most bullish forecast has come from Rob McEwen, former gold analyst and founder of GoldCorp, who said late last year, and reiterated last week, that he thinks gold could hit $5,000 per ounce in the next three to four years.
It's important to remember the strong cultural attraction that many people in emerging countries have toward gold. It's a much stronger connection than that of the developed world and essential for rising gold demand.
We like to compare the G-7 countries to our E-7 -- the world's seven most populous nations. Interestingly, the G-7 is 50 percent of global GDP but only 10 percent of the total global population. The E-7, on the other hand, represents roughly 50 percent of global population but only 18 percent of global GDP. We would like to point out that money supply and GDP per capita is rising substantially faster in the E-7 than it is in the G-7, 17.7 percent money supply growth in the E-7 versus 3.7 percent in the G-7. If money supply growth in the E-7 continues at a rate of 15 percent or more for the E-7, it would be a strong catalyst for higher gold prices.
In conclusion, based on the above factors and trends, we believe gold could double over the next five years.
For more updates on global investing from Frank and the rest of the U.S. Global Investors team, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/USFunds or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/USFunds. You can also watch exclusive videos on what our research overseas has turned up on our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/USFunds.
Standard deviation is a measure of the dispersion of a set of data from its mean. The more spread apart the data, the higher the deviation. Standard deviation is also known as historical volatility. M2 Money Supply is a broad measure of money supply that includes M1 in addition to all time-related deposits, savings deposits, and non-institutional money-market funds. The U.S. Trade Weighted Dollar Index provides a general indication of the international value of the U.S. dollar. The S&P GSCI Spot index tracks the price of the nearby futures contracts for a basket of commodities. The following securities mentioned in the article were held by one or more of U.S. Global Investors family of funds as of 12/31/10: Goldcorp, SPDR Gold Trust (GLD). | <urn:uuid:287840f2-97a5-4524-aba3-1a2d402c09ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.safehaven.com/article/20502/the-bedrock-of-the-gold-bull-rally | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956256 | 2,341 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Nebulizer Myths and Facts
There are different kinds of devices you can use to take bronchodilator medications. You may have heard of metered dose inhalers (MDIs) or dry powder inhalers (DPIs), which are handheld portable devices you can carry in your pocket or purse.
You may be less familiar with nebulizers. If you have heard of nebulizers, you may think they are large machines like ventilators. Many of the new nebulizers are actually small devices that can fit in a purse or the palm of your hand. For the majority of people, these devices are easy to use at home and are an effective and relatively simple way to take your maintenance medication.18
There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of device.
Nebulizers are complicated.
Nebulizers are not complicated. Newer nebulizers are lightweight, portable and only a little bigger than a handheld inhaler. Many nebulizers weigh less than a pound.20 There's no need to carry a nebulizer with you all day, as you might with a handheld inhaler, because you use a nebulizer twice a day at home (morning and night) as part of your daily routine when using it with a medication like PERFOROMIST®. If you are traveling, a nebulizer can easily fit into a bag or suitcase for use twice daily.
Unlike when using an inhaler, no coordination of actions is required when receiving treatment from a nebulizer.18,21 You set up a nebulizer with just a few simple steps; then, breathe normally and calmly into a mouthpiece or facemask to take the medication.1,21
To use an MDI, you must breathe in deeply and slowly, and hold your breath for 10 seconds.22,23 It also requires coordinating your breathing with squeezing the device.18 Unfortunately, up to 86% of people with COPD do not use their MDI correctly.23 If not used correctly, you may not get the full dose of medicine, which means your symptoms may not be controlled as well as they could be.24
Using a DPI (another type of handheld inhaler) requires breathing in a dry powder deeply and quickly, and holding your breath while the medication works, which may be difficult if you have COPD.18,26,27 Some people do not have adequate ability (cannot take a deep enough breath)18 to inhale the drug properly.21 As with an MDI, people commonly misuse their DPI23 because a DPI requires multiple steps.23 Also, because a DPI uses dry powder, accidentally breathing out a little can blow away the medication, inhaling can result in medication on the back of your throat and tongue, and high humidity can cause the medication to clump.28
With either a handheld inhaler or a nebulizer, you know you're getting the appropriate dose of medication every time.
All types of devices are designed to deliver a full dose of medication. Unfortunately, many people have trouble using their handheld inhaler properly.5,18,23 If you don't coordinate your breathing and actions correctly or don't take a deep enough breath when using an MDI or DPI, then you will not get the full dose.18,24
Because a nebulizer does not require you to coordinate actions or breathe differently than normal, you know you're getting the appropriate dose during every use as long as you use the nebulizer for the entire specified time (until no more mist is formed in the nebulizer; with PERFOROMIST this is about nine minutes).1 Getting the appropriate dose may be important to achieving the goal of improving your lung function.
A nebulizer is a big, bulky machine, like a ventilator.
Today's nebulizers are easier to use and smaller than they used to be.21 Most nebulizers are lightweight—many weigh less than a pound20—and portable, about the size of a small box you can hold in your hand. A nebulizer can sit on your kitchen table or on a side table and can be used while you read or watch TV. When using a nebulizer with a medication like PERFOROMIST, there is no need to carry it around with you, since you use it twice a day at home.
You use a nebulizer like an inhaler, taking a deep breath while pressing down on the device and holding your breath for 10 seconds.
You can breathe normally and calmly when using a nebulizer to take PERFOROMIST.21 Unlike with an inhaler, no coordination of actions is required and no special effort is necessary during treatment.18,21
You have to carry a nebulizer with you when you go out.
When using a nebulizer for maintenance therapy, you only need to use it twice a day, for a few minutes each time (for PERFOROMIST, it takes about nine minutes).1 You can schedule when you take your COPD medication and work it into your daily routine, since you know you'll be taking it once in the morning and once in the evening. There's no need to take a nebulizer outside of your home, unless you'll be traveling overnight. And if you do travel, a nebulizer is very portable—many can run on batteries and some weigh less than a pound.20
A nebulizer is like an oxygen tank: only for very sick people with COPD.
A nebulizer may be a good choice (and patient preferred method) for any person with moderate-to-severe COPD. It delivers medicine, not oxygen. A nebulizer is just a different way to take a maintenance COPD medication like PERFOROMIST.
A nebulizer may be a good choice for someone who has arthritis and has trouble handling and pressing down on an inhaler, or for someone who can't take a really deep breath and hold it, which is needed to get a full dose with some inhalers.
Many People with COPD Breathe Easier with Nebulizers
2009 Nebulization for Easier Breathing (NEB) survey
Nine out of ten people with COPD said that nebulization helped
them breathe easier.25
Almost three out of four people with COPD said that nebulization helped them live more active lives.25
One out of four people with COPD said that device immobility is a disadvantage.25
Nebulization helped these patients feel that they had more control of their symptoms, needed less help from friends and family and experienced more comfort in their chest.25
Caregivers Can Help with Devices
Caring for a loved one with COPD means that you are in a good position to judge what kind of device may be the best choice. For instance, if the person you care for has arthritis, he/she may struggle with handheld inhalers and may not be getting a complete dose. You may want to take a look at the facts yourself and see if there's anything you want to talk over with the one you care for.
In a 2009 survey of people with COPD and their caregivers, caregivers agreed that nebulized therapies made caregiving easier, and wished the people they cared for had been given nebulization therapy sooner.25 Talk to your doctor for more information.
Next topic: Rescuing Too Frequently? | <urn:uuid:ac8b3bf9-b0d7-4a77-a6e7-af197bb636d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.perforomist.com/dtc/dtc-nebulizer-myths-and-facts.aspx | 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 | 0.934573 | 1,535 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Will Increases in Financial Aid Be Enough? | 03.27.09
Recently, President Obama has been talking about his plans to make college more affordable for families and students. The President’s plan is to increase the Pell grant, and make Federal student loans more accessible to students. Students from Kent State University recently asked Obama about his plans and when exactly those changes would take effect:
Student asks Obama about costs of higher education
Sandra Hernandez, The 33 News
March 26, 2009
President Barack Obama started off by saying, “I’m looking forward to taking your questions.”
This one came from 3 sophomores at Ken State University in Ohio:
“What proposals do you have to make college more affordable and to make student loans easier to get and when will your national service program be available so we can take advantage of the scholarship thank you Mr. President.”
President Obama proposes expanding national service and students would get an educational stipend.He is also pushing for more direct loans without banks as intermediaries.
“That then allows us to either lower student loan rates, or expand grants. We want to increase the amount of the pell grant so that it catches up with inflation.”
Students applying for financial aid at UT Arlington felt encouraged.
Harley Nguyen says, “If they increased the pell grant that would help out a lot.”
Erica Horak says, “That’s kinda one of the reasons why I’m going back to school because I know that they’re increasing financial aid and making it easier for people to go back.”
Financial aid is the top story in the campus newspaper with news that Sallie Mae will require students to make interest payments on their loans while they’re in school.
5th grade teacher Teresa Williams owes some 75-thousand dollars in loans she has another solution all together.
“I have loans that date back to 1995 from undergraduate and I have a masters and I’m about to start a doctorate program so yeah, I have loans, lots of loans. I’m waiting on them to be forgiven so come on Obama,” she says.
While it is great that President Obama is talking about increasing aid for potential students, I still don’t see an answer as to when all of this will take effect. I also do not see the benefit of making all loans Direct. The Department of Education, in its current state, can barely manage the loans they service now…and they service less than half of Federal loans in existence. I am all for making loans more accessible and increasing the Pell grant and the Stafford loan maximum amounts…but lets do it so it helps students out NOW…not years from now.
Also, while it is great to increase financial aid, it doesn’t help much when schools are forced to increase their tuition as well. Are we really getting anywhere? Increasing aid coupled with increasing tuition really just leaves the student in the same spot: broke and forced to private loans that can be increasingly difficult to pay back. The repercussions of this has the majority of recent grads and graduates in years to come crippled by looming private loan debt. How does this help the economy? Increases in financial aid are great, but increase it so it comes somewhat near the average of what a college education costs today. As it stands now, and even with Obama’s proposed increases, the maximum amount of Federal Aid a student can get does not come any where near the cost of a private university.
Points Code: wewantmore
5 Most Recent Student Loans Blog Posts:
The Student Loan Help blog is sponsored in part by: | <urn:uuid:41819254-28ca-4e18-9715-fd07c14242a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.studentloannetwork.com/tips/financial-aid/will-increases-in-financial-aid-be-enough/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964677 | 769 | 1.867188 | 2 |
What is it with multi-millionaires and deep sea expeditions these days? James Cameron just finished the deepest anyone's ever done solo. Now, Jeff Bezos, CEO of the online mega-retailer Amazon.com is preparing to recover the F1 engine that the Apollo 11 mission dropped when it left orbit.
He says that a year ago, he wondered if it was possible to find and recover the engines, which are one of the ultimate icons of the 1960s space race. They found them 14,000 below the surface. Although they don't know what state they are in after 40 years of being in saltwater, they're hopeful that the materials are strong enough to withstand the test of time.
If they're able to recover them, they would still be property of NASA, although Bezos is hopeful that they would make it available to display at the Smithsonian. Let's hope he does! | <urn:uuid:e844a2b7-96a5-4b1c-85f6-ef25c8984fd8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.omg-facts.com/Technology/Jeff-Bezos-CEO-Of-Amazon-Just-Located-Ap/50269?fromP | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971227 | 183 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Clean-up after flash flooding in South Yorkshire
A clean-up operation has been taking place in parts of South Yorkshire after heavy rain caused flash flooding.
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said it received about 75 phone calls from members of the public on Sunday evening.
Some areas of Barnsley including Atherlsey North and South were affected, as well as the Hillsborough area of Sheffield.
Sheffield Council said it was assessing the damage caused by the flooding.
The fire service said it pumped away flood water on Elm Lane to avoid the water reaching a nearby electrical sub-station in the city.
Middlewood resident Pallavi Deshpante told the BBC she had moved out of her home because of the water damage.
"Water was coming through my front door. I have a seven-month-old baby so I was just panicking.
"We thought sandbags would help but they came so much later." | <urn:uuid:d599bd2f-07a6-4e36-ac4e-f0fea95f6541> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-18393130 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980216 | 190 | 1.546875 | 2 |
When I use MAGMA with GotoBLAS the LAPACK results are sometimes wrong. Only some cases are wrong, but those that are wrong are consistently wrong, either with GotoBLAS with multiple threads or with only one thread. When I use the reference BLAS of Ubuntu Linux the problem cases then work. The nature of the failure is that after a certain point the results are different but not grossly so. The calculation returns a success code.
I am using a computer with an Intel I7 processor and 8 Gbytes of memory, running Ubuntu Linux 10.4 (64 bit). This is a new system for me which I bought specifically to hold an NVIDIA GTX 460 (with 2 GBytes memory) in order to explore GPGPU calculations using CUDA and MAGMA.
The process monitoring software reports the computer as having 8 CPU's, but I believe these to be on four cores, each behaving as if it is two processors.
I think this background is relevant to the problems I am having.
When I installed GotoBLAS I allowed it to choose the number of threads and it chose 8. I notice in practice that four cores show 100 % usage and the others a low but variable figure while the LAPACK calculations are being done as part of the MAGMA test cases.
1. Are there any specific configuration that I should do to use GotoBLAS with MAGMA? I have found nothing in the MAGMA documentation but in the GotoBLAS documentation there is some mention of some system modifications to use large memory pages. Should I implement that? Has anyone experience of doing that?
2. Has anyone experienced similar problems? Could this be in some way hardware specific?
3. Can anyone recommend an alternative strategy to get a multithreaded BLAS? The single threaded BLAS shows much slower speeds on both CPU and GPU calculations.
I have had a brief look around on the internet to see if there is any other information. I would welcome any suggestions as to where I could look.
Thank you for reading this.
P.S. Since writing this I have found the following comment on line:
(NB GotoBLAS2 won't work on the i7 series though).
at this location: http://ccl.net/cgi-bin/ccl/message-new?2010+11+06+005
I am attempting to contact the author of the comment. | <urn:uuid:bb4efe41-0ac0-4684-b754-c51f0a7ca154> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://icl.cs.utk.edu/magma/forum/viewtopic.php?p=452 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939511 | 500 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
© Copyright 2013
Gwinnett Daily Post
LAWRENCEVILLE -- Gwinnett County Public Schools officials are investigating a Sweetwater Middle School teacher who allowed students to wear Ku Klux Klan-like robes during a school activity.
The middle school social studies teacher, Stephanie Hunte, is not in the classroom pending the completion of the investigation, school district spokesman Jorge Quintana said Wednesday.
On May 20, a group of eighth-grade students decided to wear robes while re-enacting a KKK scene as part of an activity, Quintana said.
"Another teacher saw the students preparing for this in the hallway and told an administrator," Quintana said in a statement e-mailed to the Daily Post. "The administrator told the teacher of the class (Hunte) that this type of activity was not appropriate and would not take place. The students returned to class and the school felt this situation had been handled appropriately."
Hunte, however, recently told school officials that the same activity was conducted in her class the previous day, Quintana said. As a result, the district's Human Resources division launched an investigation into the matter.
Quintana said the eighth-grade curriculum covers parts of the nation's history including Reconstruction, key political and social changes, and the Civil Rights movement.
Hunte has worked for Gwinnett County Public Schools since 2006.
A Lumpkin County teacher was put on administrative leave last week after a similar incident, which drew a complaint from a parent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:16018dba-07b5-4b40-bf40-bf057ab1bedc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2010/may/26/gcps-probes-use-of-klan-like-robes-in-sweetwater/?opinion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969608 | 324 | 1.679688 | 2 |
The OECD Corporate Governance Committee:
oversees the implementation of the and the
co-ordinates and guides the Organisation's work on corporate governance and related corporate affairs issues, including state-owned assets, market integrity, company law, insolvency and privatisation
guides and supports OECD's dialogue with non-member economies in the area of corporate governance. have been established in , , , , and .
The Corporate Governance Committee meets 2 times a year and is composed of representatives from the 34 OECD member countries. It is chaired by Dr. Marcello Bianchi of CONSOB, the Italian financial markets regulator, and is serviced by the Corporate Affairs Division in the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs.
For further information about the Corporate Governance Committee, please contact Mr. Winfrid Blaschke (firstname.lastname@example.org). | <urn:uuid:9984c9ad-a7d1-4415-8211-d681e0df58cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oecd.org/corporate/ca/oecdcorporategovernancecommittee.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917756 | 182 | 1.515625 | 2 |
PANAJI: The Central government's proposal to introduce legislation to prevent pollution of inland waters will put curbs on Goa's inland water traffic. The state accounts for 80% of India's inland waterways business.
A meeting to discuss modalities of the new legislation - Inland Vessels (Prevention and Control of Pollution and Protection of Inland Waters) Rules 2008 - was held in Delhi on February 12, 2009. The meeting was convened by the union ministry of shipping and attended by Inland Waterways Authority of India, Indian Registrar of Shipping and representatives of coastal states of India.
Goa was represented by deputy captain of ports James Braganza and the secretary of the Goa barge owners' association William D'Costa.
Braganza told TOI that till date there is no control and prevention of pollution in inland waters anywhere in the country. Considering that regulatory mechanisms are required, the ministry of shipping invited all maritime states to discuss section 54H of Inland Vessels (Amendment) Act, 2007 which deals with prevention and control of pollution and protection of inland waters.
The meeting was called to finalize the guidelines, but considering a diversity of opinion and differences over the measures proposed, another meeting will be held before the draft is finalized, Braganza said.
Though there is no major problem in Goa regarding river pollution, Braganza said there could be oil leakage in the engine room spaces through pumps, valves and pipelines that could be discharged into the river. "Once the new rules are in place, all this will be controlled and the captain of ports will be the enforcement authority. There will be spot checking, imposition of fines and other measures," Braganza said, adding that an appellate authority will also be appointed in this regard.
Although the issue of inland water pollution has not cropped up in Goa, the state does account for 80% of India's inland waterways business. Goa has 270 barges transporting mineral ore to either Mormugao port or Panaji harbour. During the last three years, these barges have transported an average of about 39 million tons of iron ore through Goa's inland waters. The proposed legislation however does not deal with mining pollution but with pollution caused due to oil discharge into the rivers.
The proposed legislation has already evoked some resentment from the Goa barge owners' association. GBOA secretary William D'Costa who attended the meeting in Delhi told TOI the proposed measures were excessive.
"All inland vessels are exempt from the international MARPOL rules. We tried to make a case that inland barges should also be exempted. But the centre expressed the need to have regulations to prevent pollution in inland waters in India. So we have pleaded that whatever preventive facilities are required, should be shore-based rather then vessel-based," D'Costa said.
He also said that barges use diesel which is a clean fuel leaving no pollutants in the rivers. Other pollutants evaporate in the air and the use of lube lubricant is minimal. Besides, when barges change their oil, it is sold to people who recycle it. D'Costa said, "Pollution by barges is very less. We agree we have to be responsible and we have agreed to keep pollution response' equipment like saw dust, dispersant, cotton rags and shovels on board. We have also demanded that those vessels which have double hulls and holding tanks, should be exempted from such overreaching measures except for basic pollution response measures."
D'Costa said the GBOA is agreeable to invest in measures costing up to Rs 60,000, but keeping equipment like oily water separators costing between Rs five lakh and Rs 20 lakh were not needed on small barges used in Goa. "The measures propose that all vessels of over 1500 gross registered tons (GRT) should have oily water separators. We have asked that they should be made applicable to vessels over 3000 GRT.
Though Goa presently has only about 10 vessels over 1500 GRT, the future trend is to go for bigger tonnage vessels," D'Costa said.
Braganza concurred and said the measures also propose that the vessels keep high capacity booms. The proposed booms are needed only for large oil spills and not required for small barges used in Goa, Braganza said.
Goa also has 1054 registered fishing vessels of which about 850 are operational. Besides, Goa has about 37 ferries and 40 passenger boats, including the river cruise vessels. | <urn:uuid:9f9339f4-5fb4-400b-afbd-745b6d47bfbf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-02-19/goa/28047132_1_inland-vessels-water-pollution-goa-barge-owners | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967183 | 933 | 1.921875 | 2 |
Protecting The Polar Bear
Global warming is causing Arctic temperatures to rise, sea ice to break up, and these majestic Polar Bears to lose the very ground they walk on.
The Effects of Global Warming
Global warming is causing Arctic temperatures to rise, sea ice to break up, and these majestic Polar Bears to lose the very ground they walk on. Some drown, having to swim increasingly exhausting distances between floes in search for food. Others - too stressed - are unable to breed. And so it is that this ultimate Arctic survivalist, designed to endure temperatures of - 50°F and thrive in some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth, needs our help.
If current climate trends continue unabated, polar bears could become extinct by the end of this century. In commemoration of Lowepro's 40th Anniversary, we have joined forces with Polar Bears International (PBI) to help raise awareness about the Polar Bear habitat and the effects of global warming. We invite you to join us on the quest. A good place to start is PBI's website at www.PolarBearsInternational.org/. Not only will you find a wealth of balanced information on issues affecting polar bears, you'll learn that as an organization, 100% of the money raised goes for the bears.
Donate. Volunteer. Get involved. The last chapter isn't written yet and we all have a hand in how this turns out.
What's the Use of Making Products that Last Forever, if the Subject Matter Keeps Disappearing?
Polar bears thrive in some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth
We are members of alliances, conservancies, societies and our world in general. Animals, landscapes, all of nature, pristine and wild have always been our muse and our mentor, and because we want to preserve the world for generations of photographers to come, we're committed to doing our part right now to conserve it.
From everyday things like recycling, reducing waste and conserving energy to sweeping efforts on behalf of polar bears and more, Lowepro celebrates the power of human beings to make a difference in the natural world.
We live in a marvelous world. One where everything's possible; nothing is inevitable; and we all have a part to play. | <urn:uuid:c2c0da41-c636-4e7f-bc25-c14265d261f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lowepro.com/about-us/environment/protecting-the-polar-bear | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935763 | 463 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Hiram Collier and Barbara Sutton
Posted by mikegen48 on December 21, 2012
Hiram Collier was born in 1799 in Kentucky. He died circa 1832 in Illinois.
Hiram married Barbara Sutton about 1823 in Harrison County, Kentucky. Barbara was born in 1799 in Harrison County, Kentucky. She died in 1873 in Illinois.
They had the following children:
Henrietta Collier was born about 1826 in Harrison County, Kentucky. She died about 1860 in Tennessee.
Esther Collier was born in 1829 in Kentucky. She died on 23 Sep 1907 in Boone County, Kentucky.
Christopher M. Collier was born in 1831 in Kentucky. He died on 11 Jul 1907 in Tennessee.
Rufus A. Collier was born during 1831 in Kentucky. He died in 1869 in Rutherford County, Tennessee. | <urn:uuid:9284f79d-d018-4c5a-98cc-e9294f28b270> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mikegen48.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/hiram-collier-and-barbara-sutton/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=a34a077b61 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.993526 | 184 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Why can they fly?
Why can sheep fly? Well, why not? This is just another playful sheep that is going against the crowd, by proving than you can be different, even if everybody thinks you´re crazy.
He doesn´t nessesarily think everybody should fly, then it wouldn´t be special anymore. He thinks that by showing the world that he can fly, making it normal, maybe somebody out there will dare to do something that they never thought they could do.
The world might need sheep that stretches the limit of what you can and can´t do, in a peaceful and good way.
What if it was more normal that sheep could fly than not? | <urn:uuid:d92c534f-15dd-45ff-8a9b-7628b2f0141b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://enjoymyadventure.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/why-can-they-fly/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978328 | 142 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Results tagged ‘ MLB Groundskeepers ’
It is a good idea to have a set maintenance checklist, here is an example for one before practice.
Daily Field Maintenance Checklist:
TIP: Daily Routine before Practice:
1. Remove tarps
2. Water skinned areas and baselines
3. Install the bases
4. Erect safety screens for pitcher, first base and second base
5. Place the batting cage at home plate
What is needed for bases!
Each field needs the following: three bases, three base plugs and one clean-out tool.
(The clean-out tool is used to clear any soils that may enter the base anchors.)
Today’s field maintenance advice is BTF’s fertilizing tip of the day.
TIP: Make sure to aerate your field before applying fertilizers. This will allow water, oxygen, fertilizers, etc. to enter the soil and roots of your grass.
What is aerating? Aerating: punching holes about 3-4 inches into your field.
Today’s field maintenance tip is about mowing! Starting this afternoon there will be one tip on mowing each day this week!
Tip 1: It is important to train employees on equipment to reduce the potential for damage and ensure safety.
Check back tomorrow for another mowing tip!
Today’s tips is about raking base paths.
Rakes should be used on the base paths (in addition to mainaining them by hand).
TIP: When raking your base paths, do NOT rake across the path. Rake up and down along the length of the path.
Raking across the path can cause a low spot to develop down the middle of the path.
Each year, the Major League Baseball (MLB) Groundskeepers assemble in January to discuss best practices and industry issues. The conference, sponsored by the Toro Company, Covermaster, Inc. and Turface Athletics, includes a field day during which the groundskeepers renovate a youth field in the surrounding community. This unique “day of service” on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has been a tradition for the MLB groundskeepers for more than 10 years.
This year, Pinellas Park High School in Largo, Florida was selected as the site of a major field renovation as part of the 2010 MLB Groundskeepers Conference in Clearwater Beach, which took place from January 16-18. Groundskeepers from 22 MLB Clubs were in attendance.
The renovation of the baseball field was funded by a $40,000 grant from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, $15,000 grants from Phillies Charities and the Rays Baseball Foundation, and through equipment, material and labor donations from the MLB Groundskeepers, the Toro Company, Covermaster Inc., Turface Athletics and other local companies.
Beginning in April 2009 and culminating with final touches by the MLB Groundskeepers on January 18, the field renovation involved re-grading the entire field, installing warning tracks, irrigation, wind screen, adding foul poles and a flag pole for installation, re-building home plate and pitchers mounds and building double bullpen mounds. In addition, Pinellas County Schools recently completed the installation of a safety netting system and a Musco Lighting system at the field. The selection of Pinellas Park High School was based on field conditions, use and on-going field maintenance considerations.
The day concluded with a dedication ceremony that included Mike Boekholder, head groundskeeper for the Philadelphia Phillies who spearheaded the renovation, officials from the Pinellas County School District, representatives from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, the Rays Baseball Foundation, conference sponsors and Field Day contributors.
“We deeply appreciate the support of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund and the MLB Groundskeepers,” said John Johnston, Pinellas Park High School principal. “Pinellas Park High School has a strong passion and love for the game of baseball. This renovation will make a lasting positive impact on not just our own players, but on players from our community and local little league organizations. We are delighted to team up with Major League Baseball for this field renovation, and we commend them for their commitment to making baseball accessible to everyone.”
The Baseball Tomorrow Fund sends a special thanks to all of the MLB Groundskeepers, Phillies Charities, the Rays Baseball Foundation, conference sponsors and Field Day contributors for supporting youth baseball! | <urn:uuid:9cd909d2-8f6e-4193-ac8b-cb3c8b8f8e35> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://baseballtomorrowfund.mlblogs.com/tag/mlb-groundskeepers/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936189 | 907 | 1.867188 | 2 |
In the my years covering boxing, I’ve never nor will I ever refer to any prizefighter as a coward. It’s a word that cannot come into my lexicon after seeing the physical and emotional pain they have to put themselves through. Another reason is the ever-present risk of permanent damage a fighter faces every time they step in the ring. One such example of this reality is former champion Wilfred Benitez.
Benitez was a boxing prodigy, turning pro at an amazing 14 years old and winning his first title at 17 against future Hall of Famer Antonio Cervantes. He would later face the best fighters of his era in Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Tommy Hearns. While renowned as a defensive wizard, Benitez began to slip and receive more and more punishment in his later years. Those bouts would lead to him being diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease named traumatic encephalopathy, prompted by the repeated head trauma he took as a boxer.
At 52, he is cared for today by his older sister Yvonne, and survives on a $250 per month pension from the WBC, and a $14,000 annual stipend from Puerto Rico’s government. The millions he made in the ring as a fighter, whether through bad spending habits or shady dealings, are long gone.
His condition was further profiled last week in an investigative piece by AOL Fanhouse, which further describes Benitez’s day-to-day condition.
Fighters can be many things: arrogant, opportunistic, funny, prideful, greedy, and numerous other colorful adjectives. But when you watch them from the comfort of your flat screen, or even from the stands of an event, remember that the same brain you use to understand your world, is being smashed around the inside of their skulls. Remember that win, lose or draw, long after you’ve moved on to critique the next fight, they often limp and grimace around their homes carrying battle scars for weeks, months, and even years. And in some cases, scars that never heal.
Other sports use deceptive language to paint their professions as life and death struggles or epic battles. We, as followers of boxing, don’t require such hyperbole. We need only to look at our faded warriors to verify the pound of flesh our sport requires of its men and women. And it’s a painful, sobering lesson that should never be downplayed or forgotten. | <urn:uuid:4076fcf8-e824-4c3b-85e1-73a74200df0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://beatsboxingmayhem.com/tag/antonio-cervantes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972485 | 515 | 1.804688 | 2 |
1. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights considered the initial report of Egypt on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/1990/5/Add.38) at its 12th, 13th and 14th meetings, held on 2 and 3 May 2000, and adopted, at its 26th meeting, held on 12 May 2000, the following concluding observations.
2. The Committee welcomes the submission of the initial report of Egypt, which has been prepared in conformity with the revised reporting guidelines established by the Committee. The Committee also welcomes the written replies to its list of issues, and expresses its appreciation for the constructive dialogue between the Committee members and the government delegation. The Committee regrets, however, that the replies by the delegation to a number of questions raised by Committee members were incomplete.
3. The Committee acknowledges the general progress made by the State party in recent years in implementing economic, social and cultural rights. In particular, the Committee commends Egypt for the striking improvements in its educational system, as cited by the United Nations Children’s Fund, and for its achievements towards eradicating illiteracy, for which Egypt has received an award from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
4. The Committee notes with appreciation the State party’s recent efforts with regard to the protection of women’s human rights, such as the adoption of a new divorce law improving the position of women.
5. The Committee welcomes the stand taken by the Constitutional Court of Egypt which invoked the provisions of the Covenant to acquit rail workers who had been prosecuted for going on strike in 1986 and declared that the Penal Code should be amended to allow the right to strike.
6. The Committee commends the State party for the efforts it has made with a view to ensuring effective implementation of the right to health, particularly by establishing, throughout the country, including in remote urban and rural settlements, a network of primary health care units and centres.
7. The Committee notes with satisfaction that the State party has undertaken new and effective measures to introduce environment- and health-friendly fuel, beginning with the public transportation systems in major cities where pollution is a grave threat to life and health.
8. The Committee also expresses its appreciation for the holding of the Arab Regional Seminar on Human Rights and Development in Cairo in June 1999, and notes that the Government has developed with the United Nations Development Programme, a pilot project for capacity-building in human rights which was launched in June 1999 and which focuses on the right to development.
9. The Committee also expresses appreciation for the support of the government delegation for the Committee’s statement to the Third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, held in Seattle in November 1999, that international human rights obligations should be a matter of priority concern and therefore should be taken into account in trade negotiations.
10. The Committee is of the view that the state of emergency that has been in place in Egypt since 1981 limits the scope of implementation of constitutional guarantees for economic, social and cultural rights; that some aspects of structural adjustment programmes and economic liberalization policies introduced by the Government of Egypt, in concert with international financial institutions, have impeded the implementation of the Covenant’s provisions, particularly with regard to the most vulnerable groups of Egyptian society; and that the persistence of traditional practices and attitudes, deeply entrenched in Egyptian society, with regard to women and children hamper the ability of the Government to protect and promote their economic, social and cultural rights.
11. The discrepancies between available resources and the actual needs of the people are becoming increasingly marked given the climatic and geographical conditions in the country and the rapid increase in the population. These factors impede the full enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights in the country.
C. Principal subjects of concern
12. The Committee regrets the lack of clarity concerning the legal status of the Covenant in the Egyptian domestic legal order.
13. The Committee expresses its grave concern about the considerable divergence in Egypt between the constitutional provisions on the one hand and the national legislation and practice on the other, with respect to the societal status of women in general, women’s participation in political life, the provisions in criminal law with respect to adultery, and female genital mutilation (FGM). Moreover, the Committee is concerned about the divergence between law and practice with regard to the occurrence of child labour.
14. The Committee regrets that the State party does not take its obligations under the Covenant into account in its negotiations with international financial institutions.
15. The Committee regrets the lack of information and reliable statistics which has hampered its full assessment of the situation in Egypt with regard to, inter alia, poverty, unemployment and FGM. The Committee is particularly concerned about the absence of an officially established poverty line.
16. The Committee notes with concern that although the State party has undertaken initial steps against the practice of FGM in Egypt by criminalizing FGM outside of hospitals by persons without a medical qualification, this measure does not make the practice of FGM by medical practitioners a criminal offence. The Committee further notes with concern that the percentage of women who are victims of FGM remains alarmingly high: WHO statistics for 1995 showed an estimated 97 per cent prevalence of FGM (“Female Genital Mutilation: An Overview”, WHO, Geneva, 1998, p. 13).
17. Although the Committee welcomes the efforts by the State party in promoting equality of men and women through a new divorce law, it notes with concern that the new law contains provisions that may disadvantage women. In addition, the Committee notes with concern that the Nationality Law does not grant equal citizenship status to children of Egyptian women married to non-nationals.
18. The Committee is disturbed about the apparent inability of the Government to address the acute problem of unemployment in Egypt as well as the uncertainty of workers’ rights as guaranteed under article 8 of the Covenant. In particular, the Committee notes with concern that in spite of the State Security Court’s conclusion that the Penal Code should be amended to allow the right to strike, article 124 of the Penal Code continues to characterize strikes as criminal offences. In this regard, the Committee further expresses its concern about the new proposed labour law that reportedly contains provisions infringing upon the rights of workers, such as barring labour committees from negotiating collectively on behalf of workers and denying workers the right to strike without the approval of two thirds of a trade union’s membership.
19. The Committee is deeply concerned that law 153 of 1999 (Law on Civil Associations and Institutions, popularly called the “NGO Law”) does not conform to article 8 of the Covenant and contradicts article 55 of the 1971 Egyptian Constitution affirming the right of citizens to form associations, and gives the Government control over the right of NGOs to manage their own activities, including seeking external funding.
20. The Committee notes with concern that the problem of domestic violence against women is not being sufficiently addressed and that marital rape is not criminalized.
21. The Committee is deeply concerned over reports that children under 12 years of age work more than six hours daily in the agricultural sector, which deprives them of their right to education. In addition, reports also claim that children between 8 and 15 years of age work in cotton gins in the Nile Delta under unfavourable conditions without lunch or rest breaks, and have no protection under Egyptian law particularly with regard to work-related injuries and diseases.
22. The Committee is concerned about the massive housing problems faced by the Egyptian population, as acknowledged by the delegation of Egypt, and which have been exacerbated by the deregulation of rents and an acute shortage of low-cost housing. Furthermore, forced evictions without alternative housing or compensation being provided have been occurring in poor communities like the potters’ village and the “Ayn Hilwan” area in Cairo. The Committee is particularly concerned that in Cairo people who cannot afford housing are living in cemeteries. Unofficial statistics estimate their numbers to be 500,000 - 1 million.
23. The Committee regrets the insufficiency of information with regard to the situation of persons with mental illnesses and disabilities and the relevant legal regime, including safeguards against abuse and neglect.
24. The Committee notes with concern that despite the achievements of Egypt in the field of education, inequality of access to education between boys and girls, high drop-out rates for boys and high illiteracy rates among adults, particularly women, persist.
25. The Committee is gravely concerned over the official censorship imposed on the media, as well as literary and artistic works.
26. The Committee urges the State party to firmly establish the legal status of the Covenant in Egyptian legal order, and to ensure that the provisions of the Covenant can be invoked before the courts.
27. The Committee strongly urges the State party, notwithstanding the declaration made upon ratification of the Covenant, to undertake a comprehensive review of its legislation as soon as possible, with a view to amending laws that contradict the provisions of its own Constitution and of the Covenant.
28. The Committee strongly recommends that Egypt’s obligations under the Covenant should be taken into account in all aspects of its negotiations with international financial institutions, like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the World Trade Organization, to ensure that economic, social and cultural rights, particularly of the most vulnerable groups, are not undermined.
29. The Committee strongly recommends that an up-to-date national plan of action for human rights in accordance with the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, be developed in Egypt, and requests the State party to include a copy of the plan in its second periodic report to the Committee.
30. The Committee urges the State party to establish a national human right institution which is in full conformity with Paris Principles of 1991.
31. The Committee strongly urges the State party to seek assistance, including international cooperation, in order to collect the statistics and information necessary to formulate effective strategies to address problem areas such as unemployment, poverty, housing and forced evictions.
32. The Committee strongly urges the State party to address the problem of FGM as a matter of high priority with a view to moving actively towards the total eradication of this practice in the country. The Government is encouraged to seek technical assistance from WHO in this regard.
33. The Committee recommends that the Government undertake to review the provisions of the new divorce law with a view to removing all provisions that discriminate against women and place them at a disadvantage. The Committee also recommends that the Nationality Law, which discriminates against children born to Egyptian women married to non-nationals, be revised.
34. The Committee calls upon the State party, in accordance with its obligations under article 8 of the Covenant and the Constitution of Egypt, which affirms the right of citizens to form their own organizations, to amend or repeal law 153.
35. The State party must enhance its strategies and programmes aimed at combating domestic violence. In this regard, the Committee urges the State party to criminalize marital rape and also to combat this problem through information campaigns and educational programmes.
36. The Committee urges the State party to take steps towards establishing stronger labour laws in order to protect children from abusive working conditions and to undertake immediate measures towards the eradication of illegal child labour.
37. The Committee urges the State party to combat the acute housing shortage by adopting a strategy and a plan of action and by building or providing, low-cost rental housing units, especially for the vulnerable and low income groups. In this connection, the Committee reminds the State party of its obligations under article 11 of the Covenant and refers to its General Comments No. 4 on the right to adequate housing and No. 7 on forced evictions, to guide the Government’s housing policies.
38. The Committee urges the State party to ensure that its laws, policies and practices in relation to HIV/AIDS are non-discriminatory and in full conformity with the International Guidelines adopted at the Second International Consultation on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights in 1996.
39. The Committee requests the State party to provide more information in its second periodic report about the mentally ill, including how many are hospitalized, the facilities available to them, and the legal safeguards for the protection against abuse and neglect of patients.
40. The Committee urges the State party to undertake measures to address the economic, social and cultural factors that are the root causes of the problem of inequality of access to education, high drop-out rates for boys and high illiteracy rates among adults, in particular women. The Committee requests particular attention to be devoted to these concerns in the next report.
41. The Committee calls upon the Government of Egypt to respect the freedom indispensable for creative activity, including in the media, as provided for under article 15 (3) of the Covenant.
42. The Committee requests the State party to provide updated information, including statistics, on unemployment, the situation of women, including FGM, poverty, housing and homeless persons in its second periodic report, which is to be submitted by 30 June 2003.
43. The Committee requests that the State party distribute these concluding observations as widely as possible among its citizens. | <urn:uuid:3f59d25e-ca98-4974-b3ff-630766906c02> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/E.C.12.1.Add.44.En?Opendocument | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95035 | 2,685 | 1.6875 | 2 |
- For other women named Elisabeth of Austria, please see Elisabeth of Austria (disambiguation).
Elisabeth of Austria (July 9, 1526 - June 15, 1545), was a member of the House of Habsburg, Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania and the consort of King Sigismund II Augustus.
Elisabeth was the eldest daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
. On May 5
she was married to King Sigismund II Augustus
, who was her paternal first cousin. She died young however, without producing an heir and was interred in the Cathedral of Vilnius
. Sigismund married twice more, first to Barbara Radziwill
(by whom he had no children), and to Elisabeth's sister, Catharine of Austria
(his 3rd wife), but never had any (legitimate) children.
Her quarrel with Queen Bona Sforza
over the Parmesan cheese
is commonly known in Poland. | <urn:uuid:daa07c89-2d12-4754-9b29-08f76a0a770f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reference.com/browse/Elisabeth+of+Austria+(1526%E2%80%931545) | 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 | 0.969579 | 218 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Obituary: Isaiah Dent / McKees Rocks activist who worked to end violence
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Whatever role he served in their lives -- brother, uncle, friend or neighbor -- there were similar refrains when people that knew Isaiah Dent paused to remember him.
He was a presence in the community. He was one of the good guys. He would give you the shirt off his back -- and he might have even made it himself.
"I would stand on top of the Empire State Building and shout out how great my brother is," said his sister, Carrol Dent, of Youngstown, Ohio.
A tailor, artist, community activist and cosmetologist, Mr. Dent, 61, of McKees Rocks was found dead Monday morning in his Hays Manor apartment. Mr. Dent, also known to advocate against violence, succumbed to that fate. Police believe he had been beaten to death and the death has been ruled a homicide.
A Beaver Falls Senior High School and Community College of Beaver County graduate, Mr. Dent grew up in Aliquippa and lived throughout the region before settling in McKees Rocks, his family said. He was a longtime resident of Hays Manor, where he also served on the tenant board.
Family asked police to check on Mr. Dent because they were concerned when they couldn't reach him over the weekend, Allegheny County police Lt. Andrew Schurman said.
Ms. Dent said the two talked every day, about her work, his plans for the day -- everything, no matter how routine.
Police have confirmed Mr. Dent was alive Saturday morning, as a couple of people reported seeing him between 10 a.m. and noon. County homicide detectives, who are investigating the death, have found no motive or suspects for the killing yet. Police initially looked into the possibility that the death was part of a robbery attempt but Lt. Schurman said the home didn't look "ransacked in an effort to steal things."
"We can't imagine what could have happened," friend Barbara Owens said. "Everyone is at a loss to think of who would want to hurt him."
Family and friends also remember Mr. Dent as a Renaissance man of sorts. His niece Regina Dent said in addition to his cosmetology work, event planning and activism, Mr. Dent enjoyed traveling and making and selling African clothes, which he had done as long as she could remember.
McKees Rocks police Chief Robert Cifrulak, too, remembered Mr. Dent's presence at community gatherings, including meetings aimed at curbing violence. "He was everywhere," Chief Cifrulak said.
Ms. Owens, a jewelry designer and receptionist at the Father Ryan Arts Center in McKees Rocks, said Mr. Dent was the "ultimate perfectionist" in his tailoring. "A lot of his designs came from his imagination. I don't even remember seeing him look at any books," she said.
Last year, Mr. Dent organized Hays Community Day for families at the apartment complex. His death came a week after another event there: the MLK Day Cotillion, which he planned with the group, Breaking Silence: Ending Youth Violence.
"Isaiah was a huge help and trailblazer for the girls event last Monday and was looking forward to helping to organize the boys event," Sto-Rox Middle School principal Melanie Kerber said.
Besides his sister Carrol, he is survived by two sisters, Laverne Jackson of Wilmerding and Mildred Nash Stratton of Beaver Falls.
A vigil for Mr. Dent is scheduled for 5 this afternoon at Hays Manor on Locust Street, Building No. 5, Apartment D. Funeral arrangements are pending.
First Published January 30, 2013 12:00 am | <urn:uuid:1c368825-fc61-4838-864f-2b311e9c9ea5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/obituaries/obituary-isaiah-dent-mckees-rocks-activist-who-worked-to-end-violence-672582/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989551 | 778 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Question: What do the wardens do with the seized abalone, crab, cod, salmon, etc.? You can’t tell me that it gets thrown away! (Austin)
Answer: When unlawfully taken fish or game is seized, it is kept as evidence until the case is settled or until the judge orders it returned. In most cases though, if at all possible and in good condition, seized fish and game is given to the homeless shelters or soup kitchens that allow donations of wild fish and game. Because of inspection requirements, some facilities may not be able to accept these donations. If a suitable facility cannot be found, the evidence is thrown away or destroyed. In some commercial cases involving commercial size loads, the Fish and Game Code allows for this evidence to be sold and the proceeds may be used by the Department.
Question: I would like to do some shrimp fishing but when I read the regulations, they say shrimp traps can’t have an opening larger than a half-inch in diameter in waters south of Point Conception. This makes it impossible to catch any of decent size. Are there different regs for spot prawns which are quite large and could never fit through this size hole? (Jesse Link)
Answer: Your reading of the regulations is correct on the size of the trap opening, and you are also right about the opening size making it impossible to catch large spot prawn. According to California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) senior marine invertebrate specialist Kristine Barsky, when that regulation was developed, there was no interest in catching spot prawn recreationally. The reason was because they are found so deep (80 to 100 fathoms) and it is time-consuming to raise and lower traps to that depth when the daily bag limit is only 35 shrimp. In more northern states spot prawns are found in shallower water, but off Southern California they stay deep. The opening was kept small to prevent take of short lobster in this area.
As always, you are free to develop suggestions for regulation changes that you may present to the Fish and Game Commission. For more information regarding this process, contact the California Fish and Game Commission at firstname.lastname@example.org or visit their website at www.fgc.ca.gov.
Fishing during closed season
Question: In the freshwater regulation hand book under Section 1.38 it states: “CLOSED SEASON. That period during which the taking of fish, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks or crustaceans is prohibited.”
Can a person still fish during a closed season as long they release all the fish they catch? In other words, I would practice catch and release and use barbless hooks to protect the fish from further harm. The regulation restricts the taking of fish, but no fish will be taken. I am very confused. Can you help clarify?. (Robin O.)
Answer: Fishing during a closed season is prohibited, period. Even though you don’t intend to take any fish away with you, the definition of take is to “Hunt, pursue, catch, capture or kill fish, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, crustaceans or invertebrates or attempting to do so” (CCR Title 14, section 1.80). Therefore, despite your best methods, even the attempt to fish is prohibited. There are few exceptions, but the take of crayfish other than with hook and line is authorized under 5.35 (e) when a stream is otherwise closed to fishing.
Max rounds in hunting rifle?
Question: What is the maximum number of rounds you can have in your hunting rifle? I have heard it is five rounds but other people have said the California limit is 10 rounds. What’s the correct answer? (Nick Holly)
Answer: Most rifles hold three to five rounds, but the California penal code allows for up to 10 rounds. There are no California Fish and Game Code sections that address limits on the number of rounds a rifle may hold. Remember the Penal Code prohibits the purchase or sale of ten round rifles. There are many rifles out there that were purchased long before these laws went into effect that are perfectly legal. Many people own .22 caliber rifles with tube magazine and high capacities. These are not outlawed and can be used for hunting small game. Many people have carbines and other rifles bought long ago and they too are still legal even with a 30 round magazine.
# # #
Carrie Wilson is a marine environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s questions, she will select a few to answer each week in this column. Please contact her at Cal.Outdoors@wildlife.ca.gov. | <urn:uuid:6337cdbf-8228-4fdf-a459-8f61421fec81> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://californiaoutdoorsqas.com/tag/invertebrates/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95909 | 984 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Awaken to a New and Higher World Within Yourself
Talk summary: In this special podcast, Guy Finley talks about how a higher awareness of "our world" makes it impossible to punish, judge or be against another person.
Talk notes: In our daily lives--within our small worlds from which we look out presently--we seem to come into contact with people who either cause us to suffer, or who do not show us the proper amount of respect. To put it bluntly, living in that small world of ours is not fun. In fact, it can be downright painful! Fortunately there does exists a world that is not just my small world, in which there is no division between myself and the people I see with my physical eyes.
People behave cruelly to each other because of the amount of pain they are in. The way we can know this truth is that in "our" world, we share that pain. But I can never know about our world as long as I stay in my little world.
Most of the time when people ask you if you believe in something--or a question such as "What do you think?--the question is actually a subtle attack meant to immediately put you on the defensive, making you feel that if you do not answer appropriately, you will be punished. And what usually reacts within us to such a question is the exact same punishing nature. When you are able to meet that person who challenges you with an awareness of "our world," you will know that you have been challenged by a person who is in pain, and you will know that you cannot return the pain in kind.
We must not be against other people. And there's only one way to not be against people, and that is to find in this life what you should be authentically for. When you are for real life, you are for being present to the life that is being given to you, no matter what it is that is being given in the moment.
There are no secrets in real life. The only reason that people can keep secrets from you is that you have yet to understand yourself. When you understand what is happening in your own heart and mind, you also understand--compassionately and without judgment--what moves every other human being to act as they do. When you understand yourself, you can never be moved to act against a person who appears to have acted against you. | <urn:uuid:8a6f2550-91e7-470a-874a-4e98f7a48542> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.guyfinley.org/free-content/audio/3526 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980619 | 490 | 1.585938 | 2 |
June 13, 2005
C.K. Prahalad Describes India as a Laboratory for Innovation
Points to vast, emerging markets in developing countries
LOS ANGELES - C.K. Prahalad, the Harvey C. Fruehauf Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, brought his vision of world class products for the world's poorest consumers to UCLA Anderson in his keynote address at the 2005 SABA Conference. Developing countries, he said, may leapfrog developed countries with new products and services since the challenges are so complex that they require radical innovation, and change is not stymied by legacy systems.
The best-selling author described India as a laboratory for innovation in which a large number of poor and uneducated people co-exist with a growing number of highly-skilled scientists and engineers. Jumping from illiteracy to cutting-edge knowledge work, he said, is what innovation is all about. Prahalad presented examples of radical innovation in India, inviting the audience to imagine modern hotel rooms for $20 a night, artificial limbs for $25, cataract surgery for $30 and other revolutionary products and services designed for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid (BOP).
Prahalad challenged the audience to see five billion people in developing countries, 80 percent of the world's population, as a market opportunity. "How do you serve a consumer market when all you can see is abject poverty," he asked. Seeing a market at the bottom of the pyramid, said Prahalad, requires imagination rather than analytics. "If you use the analytical tools we teach you," he said, "you will not see a market."
Opening the market at the bottom of the pyramid fundamentally challenges every assumption we have made about how to serve the world's richest societies, said Prahalad. Entrepreneurs and researchers, he said, must learn to marry low cost, good quality, sustainability and profitability at the same time. The result, he predicted, could be a market as transformative as the Internet.
Watch a video of C.K. Prahalad's keynote address (Windows Media).
indiOne Reinvents the Business Hotel
"Indians travel. That's a fact," said Prahalad who noted that India's hospitality industry is largely undeveloped. "It's like all of Scandinavia, and then some, on the move every day." Prahalad described the conceptual process that led to the creation of indiOne Hotels. "You can't take a five-star hotel and start taking things away. That just produces a budget hotel." Ground rules included a minimum room size, affordable pricing, modern features, and scalability up to 100,000 rooms. The first indiOne Hotel is open in Bangalore, India and ten more are expected to open in the coming year. Each will offer clean rooms with LCD TVs, business centers, exercise equipment, ATM machines and pleasant surroundings for about $20 per night. Indian consumers want world class quality at local prices, said Prahalad. The first indiOne Hotel was profitable within a month, and Prahalad calls it a model for global expansion.
India to Challenge Automakers in Developed Countries
India's auto industry is growing, said Prahalad, with most new cars priced from four to five thousand dollars. Prahalad noted that India's manufacturers, recipients of many quality awards, have learned to produce automobile components for a fraction of what they cost in the United States. "So then, I ask whether there is a market for a $3000 car," he says. Given the gap between a $5,000 new car and a $1000 motorcycle, the market is obvious, he said. "If you go from $5000 to $3000, that represents a five to six times price advantage over the United States," he said, noting that American cars start from $15,000 to $20,000. "If you were an American automobile marketer, would that bother you?" he asked.
And something else is happening, he said. The three areas in India where automobiles are made are the same locations where India's technology development is taking place. Prahalad suggested that India could revolutionize the automotive industry by combining automotive knowledge, manufacturing quality, small batch capability, low cost and embedded software.
Doing Well and Doing Good
Prahalad turned to the large number of people in India and the developing world who have lost arms or legs in war or to landmines. "If people can afford shoes, they cannot wear them in a temple or kitchen, so an artificial foot must look like a foot," he said. "A patient must be able to squat on the floor and walk on uneven ground, and you must be able to provide custom fitting for a patient in a single visit.
"Overall specifications for prosthetics in India are more stringent than in the United States. So, if prosthetics cost $12,000 in this country, how much should one be in India?" A Jaipur Foot, he said, costs about $25 in India. Prahalad again urged listeners to think about the opportunity for extraordinary innovation in serving the bottom of the pyramid.
"I want you to think about innovative, high-tech solutions at new price and performance levels," he said. "Not five percent less, but five percent of what it costs here. This is the sandbox that the bottom of the pyramid forces you to play in ... But you can't do this unless you have imagination, passion, courage, deep sense of humanity and humility. We can do well and do good at the same time."
About C.K. Prahalad
Prahalad is a best-selling author as well as an influential management professor and consultant. He is the Chairman and Founder of The Next Practice, a strategic advisory firm that enables the world’s leading companies to leverage the emerging trends that are reshaping the face of competition.
Professor Prahalad's books include Competing for the Future (1994), co-authored with Gary Hamel. The Future of Competition: Co-Creating Unique Value with Customers (2004), co-authored with Venkatram Ramaswamy. The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profit (2004) was selected as one of the best books of the year 2004 by the Economist, Fast Company and Amazon.com.
He is a member of the United Nations Commission on Private Sector and Development. Professor Prahalad has consulted with the top management of many of the world’s foremost companies, such as Ahlstrom, AT&T, Cargill, Citicorp, Eastman Chemical, Oracle, Phillips, Quantum, Revlon, Steelcase and Unilever. He serves on the Board of Directors of NCR Corporation, Hindustan Lever Limited and the World Resources Institute.
About UCLA Anderson School of Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management is perennially ranked among the top-tier business schools in the world. Award-winning faculty renowned for their research and teaching, highly selective admissions, successful alumni and world-class facilities combine to provide an extraordinary learning environment. UCLA Anderson students are part of a culture that values individual vision, intellectual discipline and a sense of teamwork and collegiality.
Established in 1935, UCLA Anderson School of Management provides management education to more than 1,400 students enrolled in MBA and doctoral programs, and some 2,000 executives and managers enrolled annually in executive education programs. Recognizing that the school offers unparalleled expertise in management education, the world's business community turns to UCLA Anderson School of Management as a center of influence for the ideas, innovations, strategies and talent that will shape the future. | <urn:uuid:333b2a82-348b-47bc-9127-44fd0b2d96dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/media-relations/2005/ck-prahalad-describes-india-as-laboratory-for-innovation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955721 | 1,605 | 2.265625 | 2 |
What happened to Brandon?
The disappearance of the teen has sparked an outcry over video game addictions
COLIN CAMPBELL AND JONATHON GATEHOUSE | October 30, 2008 |
The idea that a simple video game could so completely upend a teenager's life is the kind of thing that most parents, at least until recently, would not have taken seriously. After all, shoot-'em-up computer simulations don't raise the same sort of red flags for parents as drugs, alcohol, or delinquent friends. But there is growing concern, even in medical and scientific quarters, that there may be a link between video games like Call of Duty and obsessive, even addictive, behaviour. For some teens, this might lead to minor problems like slipping grades and a loss of interest in other hobbies. But there are an increasing number of reports of far more tragic outcomes. Earlier this year, for instance, a British boy committed suicide after his father took away a Wii game. In a youth culture where so much social interaction has moved online, the deep ties young people can form to games and other computer pastimes could, some experts say, be a recipe for disaster. How do you tell when that line has been crossed? Today, it's the kids who don't play video games that stand out. According to a survey released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project last month, 97 per cent of U.S. teens aged 12 to 17 say they regularly "game," whether on a console system, computer, or handheld device. In Brandon's school alone 25 other students regularly play Call of Duty on the same online system he used. And the business continues to grow exponentially. In 2007, software sales reached US$9.5 billion, with nine games sold every second, according to the Entertainment Software Association.
But measures of how many people — not just teens, but adults and children — might be considered "addicted" to their games are much harder to come by. A widely cited 2007 survey by Harris Interactive claimed that 8.5 per cent of gamers aged 8 to 18 were "pathologically addicted" to their onscreen pastime. A larger U.K. study in 2006, of gamers of all ages, concluded that 12 per cent of the 7,000 respondents were unable to live without their games, experiencing "craving, withdrawal symptoms, loss of control and other negative consequences," usually associated with addicts.
Dr. Jerald J. Block, a Portland, Ore., psychiatrist who specializes in computer compulsions, says Internet addiction — whether to porn, games or social networking sites — is a real and growing phenomenon. "For some people, the Internet and games are an escape. It's a place where they can take anger, frustration and sexual tension and channel it. It can swallow up 30 or 40 hours a week, or more, and stop them from feeling bored and restless." Block says addiction problems manifest themselves more frequently among adult gamers and Internet users, if only because few grown-ups can avoid the work and family consequences that stem from spending most of their waking time at the computer.
But what sets the broad category of Net addiction apart from other compulsive behaviours, says Block, is how difficult it is to diagnose and treat. Many patients have difficulty even confronting the issue because of their shame (more so for games, because of their "childish" association, than even porn, notes the doctor). And the addiction is frequently complicated by other underlying problems like depression, attention deficit disorder, or anxiety. By the time patients seek treatment, the computer has often become the primary relationship in their life, and the process of untangling the person from the machine can be fraught. Block advises families to avoid abruptly "unplugging" patients from their games or Internet use because of the danger of backlash. "It's an explosive situation. You should expect a very, very angry outburst that may last several days to weeks," he says. In an article in the American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry last year, Block argued that a significant contributing factor in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre was a decision by the parents of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold to cut them off from their beloved Doom computer game. The rupture, he says, motivated the pair to move from a world of homicidal fantasy to real-life murder.
Thankfully, such extreme examples are few and far between. A more typical scenario sees addicted gamers directing their anger inwards at themselves. Brad Dorrance, a 40-year-old "ex-gamer" from London, Ont., knows that extreme type of despair all too well. His entire adult life has been defined by his computer use. On the eve of his 1999 marriage, he stayed up until 4:30 a.m., racking up a new high score on Quake 2. In 2001, on stress-leave from his job, he discovered online games, and the problem became even worse. Within months, he was playing up to 12 hours a day, and efforts to retrain and find a new job fell by the wayside. He became obsessed with the newest games and latest technology, running up $23,000 in credit card debts, undermining his wife's efforts to keep the family finances afloat. Finally after years of denial, the guilt overwhelmed him. Last December, Dorrance tried to commit suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills and ended up in a local psychiatric facility. | <urn:uuid:b2909a77-f9a9-49ba-b790-34e86567b83c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.macleans.ca/culture/lifestyle/article.jsp?content=20081030_22084_22084&page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966878 | 1,100 | 2.375 | 2 |
It's Halloween. Parents keep apologizing to me about their kid’s fondness for candy. Everyone thinks dentists are against all candy all the time. Well, let me just say, let the kids have their candy. My kids eat quite a bit around this time of year. All you need to do is use a little common sense. First, avoid the really hard candies; those really can break your teeth, braces or fillings. I've even seen a hard sucker pull off a crown. Second, brush and floss right after you eat the candy. It's not always the quantity of sweets, but how long they stay around. Sugars are the food for the bacteria that cause tooth decay. A cracker that sticks between your teeth and stays there all day and breaks down into sugars is much worse than one sweet that dissolves right away. Of course, a long-term sugar habit is not good for overall health either. Sugarless chewing gum is actually helpful in preventing tooth decay.
So, eat the sweets (but not too much or you will have some grumpy kids later in the day), then brush and floss. Hey, is that a Milky Way bar over there? | <urn:uuid:69ea95d5-c4ca-4329-98b8-0a3b872c2dad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cyberdentist.blogspot.com/2005/10/candy-anyone.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968752 | 245 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Let's compare the performance of video playback on the current MID platforms. The first test compares the playback performance with Totem player on a Compal Jax 10 MID platform. The Intel GMA 500 chipset used in this MID is the UL11L. The Intel Atom processor is the Z500 at 800 MHZ. In this test we will limit ourselves to SD content as the UL11L chipset is not supporting HD content decode.
The measurements taken below are measuring the CPU usage of a full video playback including audio decode. The first measurement shows the system cpu usage when doing a playback on Totem player with the software FFmpeg codecs (no hardware acceleration). The second one shows the system CPU usage when doing a playback on RealPlayer for MID with the hardware accelerated codecs.
The usage of the VA API allows the CPU usage to drop significantly when the hardware video decode is used reducing significantly the power drain on the battery. Note that when the CPU reaches 100% the system is not capable anymore to match the targeted frame rate. Indeed, the frame rate drops to a few frames per second, giving a pretty degraded experience.
In the second test we will use a platform with an Intel Atom processor Z530 at 1.6GHZ and a US15W GMA 500 chipset. Unlike in the previous test, this version of chipset is capable of decoding HD content. The playback is done with the regular FFmpeg codecs (without hardware acceleration) and the second one with the Fluendo codecs using hardware acceleration through the VA API. Note here that we are only measuring pure video decode. There is no audio decode happening.
The playback has been activated here using gst-launch-0.10 tool with the following command line :
gst-launch-0.10 filesrc location=<media file> ! decodebin ! queue ! xvimagesink
The system had Intel Hyper-threading Technology disabled. When reaching 100% usage, the playback experience is significantly degraded as the encoded fps cannot be delivered by the system. It drops to a few frames per second making the experience pretty poor.
As MIDs are becoming more and more widespread, video playback on this devices is seen as one of the major usage model especially as mobile TV and Video on Demand are really becoming popular. To be able to experience video playback in optimal conditions and to extend the battery life of the device, it is essential that the video players are using the hardware video decode capability provided in the platform.
Independent software vendors (ISV) have the choice to build their players on top of multimedia frameworks optimized for such platforms as Helix or Gstreamer, or to implement this decoding using the standard public API: VA API. It's a tremendous opportunity to get into this new growing segment and bring outstanding video support to the handheld world.
Special thanks to Jonathan Bian and Sengquan Yuan for their contribution to this article. | <urn:uuid:79ba6a25-df47-47d8-bcec-82a5aac333ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drdobbs.com/mobile/using-hardware-video-decode-on-mobile-in/220600992?pgno=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914754 | 591 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Saudi Arabian Athlete Told She Cannot Wear Hijab While Competing in Olympics
A Saudi Arabian woman may not be allowed to wear her hijab when she competes in the Olympics next week. Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani was expected to compete in the women’s heavyweight judo tournament next Friday, but her participation is now uncertain after an announcement from the head of the International Judo Federation. IJF president Marius Vizer said yesterday that Shaherkani would fight according to "the principle and spirit of judo," — code for: “without the hijab.”
IJF spokesperson Nicolas Messner said to reporters, “In judo we use strangleholds and chokeholds so the hijab could be dangerous,” despite the fact that Asian judo federations have previously allowed Muslim women to wear the hijab during major competitions.
Then he stated the IFJ’s real problem with the hijab: “The only difference between competitors should be their level of judo,” explaining that the sport aims to be nonpolitical.
So in an attempt to depoliticize IFJ’s sporting event, they politicize the hijab? Come on IFJ, don’t you know that the Olympics is an event where everyone comes together and pretends things aren’t political? But the IFJ apparently has no qualms about being ethnocentric.
As Saudi Arabian leaders agreed to send women to the Olympics only if they wear traditional Muslim clothing, talks are now underway among the Saudi Arabian National Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the IJF.
Messner told Reuters: "We still have one week. She is still scheduled to compete, there's no information that she won't compete.”
IOC spokesman Mark Adams added: "It was a positive discussion and we are confident a solution will be found," he said. And when asked what that solution would be, he said: "there are a range of options."
Shahrkhani and runner Sarah Attar, who is allowed to wear her hijab, are the first Saudi women participating in the Olympics.
In recent years, the World Taekwondo Federation and FIFA, removed their bans of headscarves to accommodate Islamic traditions.
As Shahrkhani, who was given a special invitation from the IOC to compete in London, now waits in limbo we may wonder: who really is the problem? On the one hand, the IJF is clearly xenophobic for not allowing her to wear her hijab. On the other hand, Saudi officials are being patriarchal and controlling for only allowing Saudi women to compete on the officials’ terms. But how does Shahrkhani feel about her hijab? We may never know, because in covering the debate surrounding the hijab, the media often fails to talk to Muslims or women. And the media talking to Muslim women? That’s a rare find. | <urn:uuid:308d5e09-a701-4daa-9776-a7eec644a967> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alternet.org/hot-news-views/saudi-arabian-athlete-told-she-cannot-wear-hijab-while-competing-olympics | 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 | 0.952496 | 616 | 1.554688 | 2 |
By PBN Staff
SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Four students from the University of Rhode Island – Ryan Pincince, Richard Kalhofer, Jill-Ann Hewins and Kelsey Finegan – won recognition for their entries in the 7th annual public service announcement contest, PSAid.
The students chose to compete as part of an option assignment for URI assistant business professor Koray Ozpolat’s operations and supply chain management course.
The students were charged with designing a PSA “encouraging smart compassion” that informed the public that monetary donations to proven relief organizations are a smart way to help those affected by overseas emergencies, said a URI announcement.
The national contest is sponsored by the Center for International Disaster Information and the U.S. Agency for International Development, and entries were judged for overall impact, originality, memorable content, delivery and for having a clear message.
The four URI students won second and third place in the print competition for two different PSAs.
“We have brilliant students at URI,” said Ozpolat in a release announcing the award. “They worked hard and smart collecting logistical data and merging that logistical data with art and design, all relative to what they are learning.”
The second-prize winning entry showed the shrinking value of a dollar bill with an item donation, such as bottled water, compared to a credit or cash donation, which showed a dollar bill intact.
The third-place winner showed a bottle of water with a price tag of $71.27, the real cost of a case of water bottles sent to a disaster site after handling, shipping and storage.
“This year’s contestants met the challenge with compelling and clever entries,” said CIDI Director Juanita M. Riling in prepared remarks. “Explaining to the public what smart compassion involves can be a challenge, but the winners clearly articulate the difference between good intentions and maximizing public generosity to help people affected by disasters.”
Winning entries can be viewed at www.psaid.org. | <urn:uuid:7a43e46c-7599-4d91-a911-c88ba1aeed9d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pbn.com/URI-students-win-humanitarian-PSA-contest,68223?category_id=87&list_type=most_viewed&sub_type=stories,packages | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944199 | 431 | 1.59375 | 2 |
MUSLIMS IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA: RACIAL-RELIGIOUS CHASM
By Frosty Wooldridge
November 12, 2009
Part 2: violence, competing religions, political correctness
“Academic and aristocratic people live in such an uncommon atmosphere that common sense can rarely reach them,” said Samuel Butler. For example: US Senator Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, John McCain, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Bill Gates and much of the U.S. Congress.
In her book, THE TROUBLE WITH ISLAM,” Canadian Muslim Irshad Manji wrote, “My cause is the democracy of thought and freedom of expression…I want to give my fellow Muslims permission to think…can you tell me why Islam is at the heart of terrorism and human-rights violations?”
At the center of Islam’s message is that all other religions and their followers constitute ‘infidels’ to be converted or killed. Islam means ‘submission’ of all by conversion, force or death. The Koran, Sura (chapter) 5, verse 85, describes the inevitable enmity between Muslims and non-Muslims: “Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans (anyone not believing in Islam). Sura 9, verse 5, adds: “Then fight and slay the pagans wherever you find them. And seize them, beleaguer them and lie in wait for them, in every stratagem of war.” Sura 5, verse 51 says, ”O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends.” Sura 1, verse 193 states: “Fight them until Islam reigns supreme.” Sura 8, verse 12 demands: “Instill terror in the hearts of unbelievers. Cut off their heads and cut off the tips of their fingers.”
Is it little wonder that Major Nadal Hasan, last week, slaughtered 42 unarmed people? Sura 55 states: “The smallest reward for martyrs of paradise is an abode where are 72 virgins….” (It’s possible that the 19-- 9/11 hijackers are deliriously happy right now or exhausted!) While Hasan presented ample evidence and actions for over two years, no one in the Army dared speak about his aberrant behavior for fear of fitness reports and political correctness. That political correctness caused the deaths of 13 and collateral damage of all 42 victims at Fort Hood, Texas. If carried out further for, say, another 20 years, it will mean the death of the United States as a first world, republican civilization.
Consider the behavior of Denver, Colorado Muslim, Najibullah Zazi, mixing chemicals to blow up parts of the city along with his colleagues in New York—before being captured by the FBI. Again, like Hasan, or the Fort Dix Six, or the imam from Detroit, Michigan two weeks ago, all followed the dictates of Islam.
One Muslim bragged that, “We love death more than life.”
Mary Cate Cary, writing for the Thomas Jefferson Street Blog, said, “The reason I don't think Islam is a religion of peace is that I am not aware of a single Muslim cleric stepping forward to denounce acts of violence committed in the name of Islam. This has happened over and over, and yet the mainstream Muslim leaders—presumably peaceful religious leaders who are not radicals—never step forward to call for an end to murderous rampages and terrorist acts committed in the name of Islam.”
One radio talk show host read a rant by Hasan where he said, “Any infidels should have their heads cut off and boiling oil poured down their necks.”
“Infidels” means all of the rest of us that do not subscribe to Islam. Therefore, he demanded that 9.9 out of 10 Americans should suffer beheading.
Religions like Islam and Christianity stand SO far apart; they might as well be as far apart as Earth to Pluto. A tribal illiterate thug living in the deserts of the Middle East, Muhammad, the originator of Islam, cut the heads, hands and fingers off his enemies. A peasant man, Jesus, from whom the Christian religion arose, spoke eloquently and offered his life on a cross to save everyone. One offered violence and the other offered salvation and peace.
Yet today, both religions race toward dominance. Muslims send their adherents out all over the world. Islam also sports the highest birth rates. Islam grows as the largest religion on the planet. Christians send their missionaries out to the world to convert anyone willing to listen to their beliefs.
Both religions offer books such as the Koran and the Bible. Both see the world in different ways. Both espouse myths, magic and eternal life.
Both remain as compatible as a cat and a dog, as a razor blade and a jugular vein, as a pedophile and a kindergartener. Modern day ‘multiculturalists’ espouse that members of these two religions can live together in perfect harmony. For non-examples: Israel, Iran, and Palestine! Such intellectuals forget that Islam vows to, “…convert or kill all non-believers.”
T.L. Winslow said, “The reason that the West is acting surprised at jihadists like the Beltway Snipers and Major Nidal Hasan, and attempting to find reasons why they're victims not victimizers is pure ignorance of Islam's 1400-year history. It all started back in 1683, when the Ottoman Empire’s military threat to the West ended. It allowed the West to rocket ahead in every category of civilization while quarantining the Muslim world. That ‘world’ remained in the Medieval Ages as the ‘Sick Man’ of Europe until WWI kicked the Ottoman Empire’s can. The West falsely believed that Islam was dead except as a name, only to be surprised by "fundamentalist" terrorists, which they thought were falling for all the Western "education." They were getting that the Quran is for display purposes only. Islam never dies. So, if you're still an Islam history ignoramus, it's getting dangerous not to take the time to finally acquaint yourself with the rise, spread, and real doctrines of good ole fashioned fundamentalist Islam before the next wet bloody surprise on American soil. Where is the best place to learn it fast accurate and free online? Just click here.
At some point, Islamists and Christians will explode in riots across the USA, or, if not, they will grow in their separate cities in yet another ‘tense’ multicultural bouquet of tolerance.
As Jean Raspail, in his book, Camp of the Saints, said, “You don’t know my people—the squalor, superstitions, the fatalistic sloth that they’ve wallowed in for generations. You don’t know what you’re in for if that fleet of brutes ever lands in your lap. Everything will change in this country of yours. They will swallow you up!”
For a reality check, Muslims erected over 1,000 mosques in America in the past 20 years. That might give you an understanding of the speed of this religion’s advancement on American society. Some experts predict Sharia Law will be voted into existence over democratic law—by using their numbers and democratic law, which, in effect, will void democratic law in America. It’s already occurring in Great Britain and Belgium. The greater their numbers the greater their collective power. Ultimate reality? Theocratic religious law will dominate Western civilization. That result? Return to the Dark Ages. Result for women? Returned to subjugation by men!
A New York Times article, "Islam Attracts Converts by the Thousands," contains interviews with converts, analyzes Islam's rapid rise in America, and states: with some 6 to 7 million adherents in the United States, Islam is said to be the nation's fastest-growing religion, fueled by immigration, high birth rates and widespread conversion. One expert estimates that 25,000 people a year become Muslims in this country; some clerics say they have seen conversion rates quadruple since Sept. 11.”
Muslims NEVER assimilate into the host country. At some point, Muslims will create Islamic schools separate from American public education. They will demand and receive more and more compromises from Americans. Much like Dearborn, Michigan, more and more cities will hear Islamic call to prayer ringing out over the cities dominated by Muslims. They will demand Arabic be spoken in schools and more and more newspapers will be printed in Arabic.
Symptoms of Jihad in America
Danville Express, November 11, 2009, “Backlash in California: Muslim tears cross from shopper’s neck and shouts, “Allah is power!” Journalist Emily West reported, “Police arrested 22-year-old Abdul Walid Hamid of Hayward on the evening of Wednesday, November 4th, after he reportedly tore a crucifix from a person's neck and scared others at Stoneridge Shopping Center. Hamid, an employee at a mall kiosk near Starbucks, has been charged with battery, terrorist threats and grand theft. According to reports, Hamid was yelling "Allah is power" and "Islam is great" while holding a pen in a fist over his head. Witnesses said he shouted anti-Christian comments, said police.”
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More outrageous examples abound in Great Britain, France, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria and Spain. We will cover them in this series.
Listen to Frosty Wooldridge on Wednesdays as he interviews top national leaders on his radio show "Connecting the Dots" at www.themicroeffect.com at 6:00 PM Mountain Time. Adjust tuning in to your time zone.
© 2009 Frosty Wooldridge - All Rights Reserved | <urn:uuid:d6eeea51-1290-4635-afc8-802d9ba4b513> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty517.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934743 | 2,098 | 1.625 | 2 |
Clinton seeks Russia, China’s help in Syrian crisisJune 7th, 2012 - 8:56 am ICT by IANS
Baku (Azerbaijan), June 7 (IANS) US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on China and Russia to use their influence on Damascus to stop the Syrian bloodshed, RIA Novosti reported.
But, she said, that it must include a political transition from the Al-Assad regime.
Clinton arrived in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku Wednesday as part of her South Caucasus visit. She held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and their meet focused on issues related to security, energy and democratic reforms.
Clinton’s comments for Russian and Chinese help for Syrian crisis came as she spoke to reporters after Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Weimin said Tuesday the countries oppose “regime change by force”.
Russia and China have twice blocked the UN from imposing sanctions on Syria.
On Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned Syria that the international community may soon seek a resolution at the UN Security Council that could authorise the use of force.
“We, the United States, hope that all responsible countries will soon join in taking appropriate economic actions against the Syrian regime, including, if necessary, Chapter 7 action in the UN Security Council, as called for by the Arab League last weekend,” Geithner said.
The UN’s Chapter 7 Resolution authorises actions that can ultimately include the use of military force.
- US 'disgusted' by Russia, China veto on Syria resolution - Feb 05, 2012
- Putin warns against bypassing UNSC Syria veto - Jul 21, 2012
- UNSC draft on Syria sends unbalanced signal: Russia - Feb 05, 2012
- Clinton hopes Russia, China will change stance on Syria - Feb 25, 2012
- Russia, China veto West's UN draft resolution on Syria (Lead) - Jul 20, 2012
- US calls for tougher sanctions on Syria - Jun 06, 2012
- Clinton warns Russia over Syria policy - Jun 14, 2012
- Syrian president ready for constitutional referendum - Feb 08, 2012
- China terms its criticism by Clinton over Syria unacceptable - Jul 08, 2012
- Russia defends decision on Syria resolution - Feb 07, 2012
- Russia denies holding talks over Assad exit - Jun 16, 2012
- US senators seek sanctions on Russian firm - Mar 13, 2012
- Russia hits out at West's 'chilling' stance on Syria - Jul 25, 2012
- US seeks Russia's cooperation over Syria resolution - Jun 18, 2011
- Moscow ready to host conference on Syria - Jun 13, 2012
Tags: al assad, baku azerbaijan, chinese president hu jintao, economic actions, foreign ministry spokesperson, hillary clinton, hu jintao, ilham aliyev, political transition, president hu jintao, president vladimir putin, regime change, russian president vladimir, russian president vladimir putin, south caucasus, syrian regime, timothy geithner, us treasury secretary, vladimir putin, weimin | <urn:uuid:d04ec1da-fb3a-4f3d-b354-0af0ed1f1bb6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/clinton-seeks-russia-chinas-help-in-syrian-crisis_100622838.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902733 | 683 | 1.734375 | 2 |
FETC Presenter Profile: Jennifer Womble on Integrating Technology
- By Bridget McCrea
Like many educators, Jennifer Womble wears more than one hat. A high school AP psychology teacher at Lawton Chiles High School in Tallahassee, FL, Womble also serves as a technology integration specialist who trains teachers how to use equipment and software. Taking it a step further, she then shows them how to most effectively integrate those tools into today's classroom.
Womble is presenting three sessions at the FETC 2009: "Developing 21st Century Learners with Technology-Rich Lessons"; "Transforming Teaching and Learning in a Flat World"; and "Grant Writing 101: You Have Seen Something You Want, How Do You Get It?"
Here, Womble gives details on each session and its applicability for educators.
THE Journal: Tell us about the three sessions you're presenting at FETC 2009.
Jennifer Womble: “Developing 21st Century Learners with Technology Rich Lessons” is about engaging today's students, who have grown up in the modern world of information technology. This can be challenging for educators, who at this workshop will learn about technology integration skills, resource information, differentiated instructional strategies, and curriculum ideas for the modern classroom. Teachers will be introduced to the features of SharePoint and Microsoft Office Professional, including Publisher, and learn how to effectively use technological tools, including digital cameras, scanners, document cameras and audience response systems.
In “Transforming Teaching and Learning in a Flat World,” I will look at exactly how to transform students, classrooms, and education in the 21st century. Thomas Friedman pondered the question, "...[W]hat is the right kind of education to prepare our young people for those jobs?" in his 2007 book, The World is Flat Release 3.0. What is the "right stuff" to teach digital natives, and how can we integrate these 21st century skills and global attitudes into our classrooms? Educators have the ingredients to the "secret sauce," and they are cooking up some solutions classroom by classroom across the country. At this session attendees will hear about the steps these classrooms are taking to design activities and environments where students emerge as passionate global learners.
Last but certainly not least, the “Grant Writing 101” session will show participants how to search for technology grants and how to successfully apply for those grants. Writing a grant is an excellent way to get what you need to make a difference. As a classroom teacher who has earned [more than] $1.6 million in grants to improve technology and equity for all students in the classroom, I will show attendees the steps to earning grants from local, state and national resources to support their technology needs.
THE Journal: Why is grant writing so important?
Womble: The grant writing session was developed after I noticed that many educators at conferences were picking up on technology tools that they could use in the classroom but were unsure of how to go about getting them. While the federal and state governments have supplied a lot of money to technology, many times that funding goes for machines, not software. As a result, a lot of teachers and administrators need help writing grants to supplement their classroom technology needs.
THE Journal: Why should educators be focused on developing 21st century learners?
Womble: We need to help instructors use all of the tools at their disposal to make their classroom a richer, more engaging environment. To get there, teachers need to put together project-based lessons and use a "constant improvement cycle" that not only integrates technology in the classroom, but that truly prepares students with literacy skills that they can take out into the work world. In this session, I'll show teachers how to put together all of the technology pieces to make lessons richer for those students.
THE Journal: Explain what you mean by "learning in a flat world."
Womble: The concept is based on Thomas Friedman's series of books, the third edition of which points out that teachers need to change the way classrooms operate, in order to help students become more globally minded and productive in order to function in the world's changing economic systems. And while the book wasn't meant to transform education, it does address education at the teacher level, and looks at what instructors are doing to bring together cultural awareness, productivity, rigors, and grading levels and how they're raising the bar in a way that engages students in meaningful learning.
THE Journal: What other insights will attendees take away from your sessions?
Womble: These workshops provide an interactive learning environment where an array of people from different backgrounds learns from one another. Many times, the administrators and IT professionals share their own tips and resources, and brainstorm and network with each other. There's always a great synergy in the room, and it gets people pumped up to get back to the classroom and put the strategies to work. The atmosphere can't be beat.
Further information about individual sessions at FETC can be found here.
Bridget McCrea is a business and technology writer in Clearwater, FL. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:5ace181a-3de5-4b20-ae9a-dd1233cac7d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/01/15/fetc-presenter-profile-jennifer-womble-on-integrating-technology.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948771 | 1,066 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Newman, M., P. D. Sardeshmukh, and C. Penland, 1997: Stochastic forcing of the wintertime extratropical flow. J. Atmos. Sci., 54, 435-455.
This study is concerned with assessing the extent to which extratropical low-frequency variability may be viewed as a response to geographically coherent stochastic forcing. This issue is examined with a barotropic model linearized about the long-term mean wintertime 300-mb flow with zonal and meridional structure. The perturbation eigenfunctions of the model are stable (i.e., decaying) for a realistic 5-day drag, so transient eddy activity can be maintained against the drag only with forcing. In a statistical steady state, a fluctuation-dissipation relation (FDR) links the covariance structure of the eddy vorticity to the covariance structure of the forcing. This relation is used in a forward sense to determine the covariance of eddy vorticity for a specified covariance of forcing. It is also used in a backward sense to infer the covariance of forcing required to maintain the observed covariance of eddy vorticity. The focus is on explaining the observed variability of 10-day running mean anomalies of the 300-mb flow in the northern winters of 1985-93.
When used in the backward sense described above, the FDR yields a forcing covariance matrix that is not quite positive definite. This immediately implies that the low-frequency variability cannot be rigorously viewed as a linear barotropic response to white noise forcing. Nonetheless, retaining only the positive definite part of the forcing matrix and using the forward FDR gives a reasonable approximation to the observed vorticity covariance. The approximation can be improved by specifying a stronger drag in the barotropic model. However, the simulation of the 5-day lag covariance of vorticity, which is poor using the 5-day drag, is made worse with the stronger drag. In other words this model cannot correctly simulate the time development of low-frequency variability. Thus extratropical low-frequency variability cannot be understood as a linear barotropic response to geographically coherent white noise forcing.
A slightly red stochastic forcing, with a decorrelation timescale of 1-2 days, produces only a modest improvement in the 5-day lag results. A very red forcing, with a decorrelation timescale of 20 days, gives better results at 0- and 5-day lags, but not at 10- or 20-day lags. Modeling the forcing separately as a first-order Markov process, with the model parameters estimated from observations, gives almost perfect results at 0- and 5-day lags. However, further analysis shows this to be an artifact of comparing the empirical-dynamical model simulations with dependent data. When the noise model parameters estimated from one-half of the data record are used to explain low-frequency variability in the other, the results are again poor. It is concluded that extratropical low-frequency variability cannot be viewed as randomly forced barotropic Rossby waves evolving on a zonally and meridionally varying climatological 300-mb flow. The spatial and temporal structure of the observed variability cannot be explained without also taking into account the detailed spatial and temporal structure of the forcing, respectively. | <urn:uuid:dbe98e80-c07c-4233-aa24-0c6b4b647654> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/psd1/pubs/1997/details/newman_01abs.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910119 | 694 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Thatcher papers show fascination with Reagan visitIt is not often that the president of the United States needs to seek fashion advice.
LONDON (AP) — LONDON — It is not often that the president of the United States needs to seek fashion advice.
But when Ronald Reagan was getting ready for a visit to England as a guest of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1982, his people had an important question for the Brits: Just what does one wear to go riding with the queen in the magnificent horse country surrounding Windsor Castle?
The answer: Something smart, but casual, of course. Riding boots, breeches and a turtleneck sweater would do fine — no need for formal riding attire.
The fashion inquiry is but one tidbit contained in nearly 500 pages of formerly Confidential documents relating to the Reagan visit being made public Friday by Britain's National Archives. The dossier shows the British government — led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — to be extraordinarily interested in pleasing the relatively new president on his two-day visit. British leaders also fretted that perennial cross-Channel rivals might triumph in the tug-of-war for presidential face time in a visit that had to be sandwiched between two summits on the European mainland.
The papers show that top Reagan adviser Michael Deaver had a way of annoying his British counterparts with last-minute changes and requests, and also surprised them with some of his objectives. Deaver, remembered as a shrewd image-builder, said he wanted Reagan to be photographed outside of formal venues, so he wouldn't be seen “exclusively in white tie” at palace functions, even suggesting that Reagan go to a village pub to soak up the atmosphere
There were raised eyebrows, and bruised feelings, when the White House failed to formally reply in a timely fashion to an official invitation from the queen — the sort of invite that usually commands respect and a prompt reply the world over. The queen's invite was left to languish for weeks and weeks, something that the British believe is simply Not Done.
“It is really for the president to respond to her invitation, which he has not done personally, something that I have pointed out several times here,” writes Nicholas Henderson, Britain's ambassador to Washington, in a memo to the British Foreign Office. “As you know those surrounding the president are not deliberately rude: It is simply that they are not well-organized and do not have experience of this sort of thing.”
William F. Sittman, a special assistant to Reagan who was involved in planning the trip, told The Associated Press that it is possible the delay in responding to the queen was caused by first lady Nancy Reagan's insistence on consulting her astrologer before travel plans were finalized.
“You have to remember that Mrs. Reagan was very strict about his schedule, and she would consult her astrologer to see if this was the right time to travel,” he said. “Sometimes she would back up departures.”
The documents make clear that Europe's leaders were desperate for Reagan's attention at a time of high Cold War tensions. A memo from U.K. Cabinet Secretary Robert Armstrong on Feb. 5 expresses concern that a gala, summit-closing dinner at the palace of Versailles outside Paris could delay Reagan's arrival in London. But he warns against pressuring the Reagan entourage to skip the meal at Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors because “that would not please the President of the French Republic.”
Reagan's aides also worried the British by suggesting the president might have to skip the stop in London because accepting it might anger the Germans, who had offered a similar invitation. But feelings are smoothed over a bit when the Americans assure the British contingent that the Germans are not America's top priority.
“Eagleburger emphasized how much the president himself wanted to go to London,” stresses one confidential memo from the British ambassador, referring to senior U.S. diplomat Lawrence Eagleburger. “There should be no doubt about that. Eagleburger also said that at the moment the Germans were not America's favorite allies.”
The prospect of a chance to relax from international summitry with a bit of horseback riding with the queen seems to have helped carry the day for the Brits. Asked for the president's favorite type of horse, British planners are told simply that he wants a thoroughbred. He ended up riding Centennial, one of the queen's favorites, and wearing a perfectly fitted sports jacket above his sweater, going for an old-time Hollywood look he carried off with ease.
Much of the actual visit was devoted to pomp and pageantry, or to relaxation, but Reagan did make one speech of consequence. He became the first American president to address a meeting of both houses of Parliament and used the occasion to trumpet his distaste for the Soviet Union, calling it an economic catastrophe.
He said Marxism-Leninism would be left on the ash-heap of history — a prediction that would come to pass in the following decade. | <urn:uuid:375e93ed-bca7-490e-8678-a5c7ffc5e46b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jamestownsun.com/event/article/id/176383/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973737 | 1,042 | 1.601563 | 2 |
A Tribute To Sally Ride, The Quiet Wrecking Ball
Sally Ride, who suffered from pancreatic cancer and, as a result, died peacefully in her home at the age of 61, earned a spot on the Challenger mission of 1983 and became the first American woman to fly in space. She then used her influence to inspire generations of young girls to infiltrate the fields of math, science and technology, reminding America just how much these fields were missing by leaving girls out.
Even in today's society, when people often argue that fighting for women's rights is a waste of time, a huge disparity still exists between the male and female pursuit of almost every single high level career path. There are still more male doctors, more male politicians, more male lawyers and more male scientists. And women, on average, make 81% of what men make yearly, meaning women are still significantly under-represented in higher paying careers.
The disparity was even worse in the late 1970s, when Dr. Ride was finishing doctorate studies in laser physics at Stanford University. When she applied to the space program, NASA had already made a commitment to admit women. However, it was not until five years after her acceptance in 1978 that Ride actually flew in space, and even then she faced discriminatory and disbelieving attitudes, particularly from the national media.
Reporters bombarded her with questions focused on her sex: Did she think spaceflight would affect her ability to have children? Would she still wear a bra or makeup in space? Would it make menstruation difficult? Did she ever cry on the job? Johnny Carson even joked on “The Tonight Show” that take-off would be delayed because Dr. Ride needed time to find a purse to match her shoes.
Dr. Ride joined a small legacy of women in space that was equally tainted by discrimination. Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova earned the distinction of being the first woman in space in 1963. A second woman, however, did not make a mission until 1982, and a male cosmonaut reportedly welcomed her onto the Space Station by saying that the kitchen and an apron were all ready for her.
Dr. Ride admirably deflected similar barrages of narrow-mindedness and negativity, stating at a NASA news conference that “It's too bad this is such a big deal. It's too bad our society isn't further along.”
Equally admirable is that, following the successful completion of two missions in space and training for a third that was canceled after the Challenger explosion in 1986, Dr. Ride began a new mission: to help society make up for its failings.
As a member of the panel appointed by Ronald Reagan to investigate the explosion of the space shuttle, Dr. Ride gained a reputation for asking tough questions that helped ensure that the role the carelessness of NASA personnel played in the accident was something for which the panel accounted. Despite her usual reticence, she openly lent support to those whose testimony indicated as much—even as they were shunned by many of her peers. She would serve a similar function in 2003, following the in-flight disintegration of the shuttle Columbia.
In 1989, Dr. Ride joined the physics department at University of California, San Diego, and became director of the California Space Institute. While there, her passion for science education grew to included younger students. She wrote six science books for children, and in 2001 she founded a science education start-up called Sally Ride Science. The company provides science programming, publications, and teacher training designed to bolster the interests of elementary and middle school students in science, math and technology.
A key part of their corporate mission is also “to make a difference in girls' lives, and in society's perceptions of their roles in technical fields.” As part of this mission, the company has put on nearly 100 science festivals nationwide. The festivals include girls in the fifth through eighth grade, their parents and educators, and feature workshops, hands-on activities, food, music, speakers and socializing.
I got the chance to attend one of these festivals, hosted by the University of Michigan, the day after my tenth birthday. My friends and I watched robotics demonstrations and made gelatin, and Dr. Ride signed one of her books for me. Dr. Ride also gave the keynote address, and it was the first time I sat through a speech of that ilk without getting bored once. My mind was blown. I had already decided I wanted to be a surgeon; for the first time, I understood this goal as something more than precocious ambition, a chance to continue the legacy of women like Sally Ride.
Nine years later, I am pursuing a degree in the arts and humanities, but I still consider Dr. Ride a role model. Her refusal to allow discrimination to direct her away from her dreams, and her commitment to making sure every American could contribute his or her full capacity to advancing our society, scientifically and otherwise, are traits I hope to emulate.
Our nation has missed out on countless opportunities for progress by restricting the potential of not just women, but also immigrants, ethnic minorities, LGBT people and the poor. I believe that by challenging one of these defects, she challenged them all, and she certainly inspired me to do the same from a very young age.
Consequently, I am surprised at the number of criticisms Dr. Ride has received for coming out posthumously, and not when she was alive to influence the LGBT cause. Ultimately, Dr. Ride did support the LGBT cause, by working to undermine discriminatory ideology in America. We do have to pick our battles, and Dr. Ride made hers the advancement of all girls, both gay and straight.
Dr. Ride did not live her life in the closet—she leaves behind a beloved life partner of twenty-seven years—she simply chose not to make a big deal about her sexual orientation. It goes back to her words at the NASA news conference before she first went into space. If it's too bad people cared so much about her being a woman, it's too bad they would have cared so much if she publicly announced she was a lesbian.
Sally Ride was a remarkable woman, for many reasons. She distinguished herself as a scientist, astronaut and educator. She surpassed the limits placed on her sex, and on her sexual orientation. She saw disparity and injustice and envisioned a society in which they were absent. She overcame and she inspired, and I thank her for that.
Reach Contributor Francesca Bessey here. | <urn:uuid:a8fba993-0c83-4245-b971-3e7531dd6e5f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.neontommy.com/news/2012/07/tribute-sally-ride-quiet-wrecking-ball | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981393 | 1,337 | 3.203125 | 3 |
About the Navy Memorial
The Navy Memorial includes both a commemorative public plaza and a Naval Heritage Center. The plaza is a round ceremonial amphitheater paved in granite to form a 100-foot diameter of the world. Surrounding the deck of the plaza are fountains, pools, flagpole masts, and sculptural panels depicting historic achievements of the sea services. A symbolic statue of a Lone Sailor stands watch near the edge of the plaza.
Admiral Thompson observes that “to passersby, the appearance of the Memorial is not unlike that of America’s perceptions of the sea. Even though it is vast and broad and unmistakably there, you could miss it if you are not paying attention. But when you walk on to the site, it engulfs you with its scale and grandeur.”
Perhaps the most striking individual feature of the Navy Memorial is the statue of The Lone Sailor©. The work of sculptor Stanley Bleifeld, The Lone Sailor© represents all people who ever served, are serving now, or who are yet to serve in the Navy and other sea services.
In one of the two classical buildings that flank the Navy Memorial is located the Naval Heritage Center. Another work of sculpture by Stanley Bleifeld – The Homecoming© statue depicting the joyous reunion of a sailor, wife, and child – greets visitors as they enter. It is here that the ongoing work of the United States Navy Memorial takes place, and it is here that the personal links between the people who have served our nation at sea are being forged and strengthened every day, the links that unite our sea service veterans and active-duty personnel around the world.
(The above passages were excerpted from the book From The Sea.) | <urn:uuid:49584274-cec1-4ccf-a6f2-876bac149939> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.navymemorial.org/About/tabid/68/Default.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959989 | 358 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Cristina spoke to the Parliament of Angola and called for “building a second independence”
May 18, 2012
The president, Cristina Kirchner, addressed the Parliament of Angola and highlighted the growing participation of women in politics in that country. She called to reject the market as a totalizing concept.
“We are above 40% participation of women in our parliament, and two women are in the Supreme Court. Besides me being the first woman elected and reelected President”.
“Especially in my political movement, the emblematic woman was Eva Peron. She achieved on November 11 [same day as the independence of Angola] having the Congress grant rights to women by allowing them to vote”.
“We are an emerging country, Argentina is Angola, a country under reconstruction. The need to build a second independence. The first was one that helped us get rid of the colonial yoke”.
“I think the emerging countries across Africa, we must be united South-South to ensure the right to decent work and social inclusion of minorities. This has moved us”. | <urn:uuid:c1873454-1bde-4512-90b4-1f109e67579a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m24digital.com/en/2012/05/18/cristina-spoke-to-the-parliament-of-angola-and-called-for-building-a-second-independence/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953879 | 231 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Saturday, January 10, 2009
This is my tribute to Scotland and to Robert Burns. There are many photos I took in Scotland and set to the song Caledonia by Robert Burns. The song is performed by James Malcolm. For more on Robert Burns follow this link:
There was once a day--but old Time then was young--
That brave Caledonia, the chief of her line,
From some of your northern deities sprung,
(Who knows not that brave Caledonia's divine?)
From Tweed to the Orcades was her domain,
To hunt, or to pasture, or do what she would:
Her heav'nly relations there fixed her reign,
And pledg'd her their godheads to warrant it good.
A lambkin in peace, but a lion in war,
The pride of her kindred the heroine grew;
Her grandsire, old Odin, triumphantly swore
"Whoe'er shall provoke thee, th' encounter shall rue!"
With tillage or pasture at times she would sport,
To feed her fair flocks by her green rustling corn;
But chiefly the woods were her fav'rite resort,
Her darling amusement, the hounds and the horn.
Long quiet she reign'd; till thitherward steers
A flight of bold eagles from Adria's strand:
Repeated, successive, for many long years,
They darken'd the air, and they plunder'd the land:
Their pounces were murder, and terror their cry,
They'd conquer'd and ruin'd a world beside;
She took to her hills, and her arrows let fly--
The daring invaders they fled or they died.
The fell harpy-raven took wing from the north,
The scourge of the seas, and the dread of the shore;
The wild Scandinavian boar issu'd forth
To wanton in carnage, and wallow in gore;
O'er countries and kingdoms their fury prevail'd,
No arts could appease them, no arms could repel;
But brave Caledonia in vain they assail'd,
As Largs well can witness, and Loncartie tell.
The Cameleon-savage disturbed her repose,
With tumult, disquiet, rebellion, and strife;
Provok'd beyond bearing, at last she arose,
And robb'd him at once of his hope and his life:
The Anglian lion, the terror of France,
Oft prowling, ensanguin'd the Tweed's silver flood:
But, taught by the bright Caledonian lance,
He learned to fear in his own native wood.
Thus bold, independent, unconquer'd, and free,
Her bright course of glory for ever shall run:
For brave Caledonia immortal must be;
I'll prove it from Euclid as clear as the sun:
Rectangle-triangle, the figure we'll choose,
The upright is Chance, and old Time is the base;
But brave Caledonia's the hypothenuse;
Then ergo, she'll match them, and match them always.
The Rams Horn
The Rams Horn on Facebook | <urn:uuid:a7138dbe-09e5-4dbf-b193-ef89ebdd2b26> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hillshepherd.blogspot.com/2009/01/brave-caledonia.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944426 | 673 | 1.84375 | 2 |
By Dennis Wilson (MMA)
The methodology surrounding the field of maritime archaeology is under going a continual evolution, and has been since its establishment in the late 1950s as a sub discipline of archaeology. From the invention of SCUBA onwards, maritime archaeologists have been using technology to overcome the constraints of the underwater environment and efficiently gather information about underwater cultural heritage sites. Today, maritime archaeologists have placed an emphasis on the protection of underwater cultural heritage (UCH) through the adoption of principles like in situ preservation and a movement toward stronger legislation (See UNESCO 2001). This movement toward in situ preservation and UCH identification is facilitated in part by the growing availability of capable remote sensing survey equipment to maritime archaeologists everywhere. These technologies have made it vastly easier to locate, and therefore protect UCH sites in an increasingly economic fashion. Side scan sonar is a pivotal tool in site surveying and continuing technological advancements have made it more readily available to the archaeological community. While we know the technology is out there, it is important for young archaeologists to know the capabilities and limitations of side scan sonar, and its potential for future research.
What is Side Scan Sonar?
Side scan sonar traditionally operates via a torpedo shaped “fish” that is towed behind a survey vessel, allowing the side scan transducers to radiate sonar beams laterally from both sides of the fish. The result is a two dimensional image created based on the time it takes for an acoustic signal to travel from the transponders to an object on the seabed and back. Objects of varying density producing visible changes in the final image (Atallah, 2005). Side scan images are characterised by a thick black line through the centre of the image caused by a gap between the transponders on either side of the fish (see figure 1), however the image will show the operator three things; the seabed, the water surface, and shadowed images of anomalies (Green, 2001). This black and white image is similar to what a photograph of the seabed would look like, but the use of sound instead of light means its accuracy is unaffected by murky or black water.
The interpretation of side scan sonar images is a complex ordeal and hardly produces conclusive results, but a keen eye can often separate real targets from interference. The presence of shadows in images is key to sound data interpretation. Shadows are an indication of an object standing as a vertical protrusion from the seabed and help to convey the shape of a target in detail. However, sonar data is affected by the conditions in which it is recorded, “noise” can create images that resemble a UCH site but these interferences will most commonly fail to create a shadow that matches the object present in the side scan image (Singh et al., 2008).
When do we Use Side Scan Sonar?
In the field of maritime archaeology, side scan sonar has become the choice technology for the locating and determining the size of sites. When locating sites, the side scan sonar will typically be placed higher in the water and set to a low frequency to maximize seafloor coverage (Warren, 2008). The search area of side scan sonar is a direct result of the distance between the fish and the seafloor, the height being 10% of the width of the swath (Singh et al, 2008). So a broad-area search at a height of 40m would presumably cover 400m of sea floor. When targets have been located, side scan sonar will be placed between 10 to 20 meters above the seabed with a high frequency (410kHz) pulse to gather more data. In these site-specific surveys the survey line spacing is greatly reduced, reaching intervals of 5 meters or less (Warren, 2008). Field redundancy is also a consideration, whether one requires continuous coverage with no gaps or possibly sites from multiple angles. A side scan sonar operating at hundreds of kHz may vary its overlap from 25% to 100% (Singh et al., 2008). After sites have been located and surveyed in a site-specific manor, the survey will progress to optical sensing equipment (Singh et al., 2008). However, in low visibility environments high frequency images from side scan sonar can be used to supplement an optical site map and assist divers in identifying various aspects of a wreck.
Like any technology, side scan sonar is not without its imperfections. Interference with sonar images can be caused by poor sea conditions during use, the pitch, roll, and yaw of the towboat will all conceivably have an effect on the accuracy of the image produced by side scan sonar (Singh et al., 2008). The seabed may also present problems in sonar imaging; rapidly undulating terrain and rocky seabed present a variety of potential “noise” that will deteriorate the resolution of the final image. Therefore, ideal conditions for the operation of side scan sonar surveys is in calm, flat waters with a sandy seabed (Green, 2001). The interfacing of side scan sonar with GPS has eliminated problems caused by inconsistent tow speeds through the water, ensuring that images are continually created to scale. This effectively means that sonar images can be compared to known plans of vessels to compare dimensions of the target with known ships, a principle applied on the discovery of the Sapporo Maru in Truk Lagoon (Green, 2001).
What is next for Side Scan Sonar?
Side scan sonar systems have become greatly varied since their inception, with various models ranging from simple and cheap to complex, sophisticated systems capable of working at extreme depths. C & C technology for example, operate an autonomous underwater vessel (AUV) which is equipped with swath bathymetry systems, chirp sub-bottom profiler systems, and dual-frequency side scan sonar in either 120/410 kHz or 230 dynamically focused/410 kHz configurations (Warren, 2008). Internal guidance systems and GPS ensure the AUV’s positioning at all times with a much higher degree of accuracy than deep-tow side scan sonar.
Finally, the combination of side scan sonar with other technologies has allowed for the ability to sonar mosaic. The incorporation of GPS means that each point on a graphic image produced by side scan sonar is known, and therefore using software these images can be georeferenced and mapped in GIS programs, making it possible to overlay the images on maps and aerial photography (Green, 2001). The final product of all this technology will be a high resolution image of a correctly scaled and geographically located image of UCH sites, from ancient shipwrecks (Ballard et al., 2001) to WWII wreck sites. No longer are the depths of the ocean capable of keeping some of the world’s most culturally significant wrecks from those who wish to learn from the secrets they hold in the deep.
Warren, D., 2008. “Using AUVs to Investigate Shipwrecks: Deepwater Archaeology in the Gulf”. Sea Technology. Vol. 49, no. 10, pp. 15-18.
Attallah L., Shang, C., Bates, R., 2005. “Object Detection at Different Resolution in Archaeological Side-scan Sonar Images”. Proceedings of Oceans ’05 Brest, France.
Ballard, R. et al., 2001. “Deepwater Archaeology of the Black Sea: The 2000 Season at Sinop, Turkey”. American Journal of Archaeology. Vol. 105, no. 4, pp. 607-623.
Green, J., 2001. “Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook”. Second edn., Elseiver Academic Press, U.S.A, pp. 77-83.
Singh, H. et al., 2000. “Imaging Underwater for Archaeology”. Journal of Field Archaeology. Vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 319-328.
Figure 1: Side Scan Sonar in Use. Retrieved October 4th, 2011 at http://gralston1.home.mindspring.com/Sidescan.html
Figure 2: Side Scan Sonar Image, Tugboat. Retrieved October 4th, 2011 at http://njscuba.net/reefs/chart_nj04xc_axel_carlson.html
Figure 3: C & C Technologies AUV Unit. Retrieved October 4th, 2011 at http://xpda.com/junkmail/junk187/junk187.htm
Figure 4: Side Scan Sonar Overlay. Retrieved October 4th, 2011 at http://geosolutions.blogspot.com/ | <urn:uuid:560d07c3-00ba-4564-96d9-86ee276bfe19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://flindersarchaeology.com/2011/10/25/side-scan-sonar-the-key-to-underwater-survey/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=20ee2ea151 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9128 | 1,796 | 3.9375 | 4 |
Division of Services and Intervention Research (DSIR)
The Division of Services and Intervention Research (DSIR) supports two critical areas of research:
- Intervention research to evaluate the effectiveness of pharmacologic, psychosocial (psychotherapeutic and behavioral), somatic, rehabilitative and combination interventions on mental and behavior disorders-including acute and longer-term therapeutic effects on functioning across domains (such as school, family, peer functioning) for children, adolescents, and adults.
- Mental health services research.
The interventions focus is broad and inclusive with respect to the heterogeneity of patients, the severity and chronicity of disorders, and the variety of community and institutional settings in which treatment is provided. It includes clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of known efficacious interventions, as well as studies evaluating modified or adapted forms of interventions for use with additional populations (such as women, ethnic, and racial groups), new settings (public sector, pediatric primary care, schools, other non-academic settings, communities at large), and people with co-occurring disorders. Other foci include: identifying subgroups who may be more likely to benefit from treatment, evaluating the combined or sequential use of interventions (such as to extend effect among refractory subgroups), determining the optimal length of intervention, establishing the utility of continuation or maintenance treatment (that is, for prevention of relapse or recurrence), and evaluating the long-term impact of efficacious interventions on symptoms and functioning.
Services research covers all mental health services research issues across the lifespan and disorders, including but not limited to:
- Services organization, delivery (process and receipt of care), and related health economics at the individual, clinical, program, community and systems levels in specialty mental health, general health, and other delivery settings (such as the workplace).
- Interventions to improve the quality and outcomes of care (including diagnostic, treatment, preventive, and rehabilitation services).
- Enhanced capacity for conducting services research.
- The clinical epidemiology of mental disorders across all clinical and service settings.
- The dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions into service settings.
The Division also provides biostatistical analysis and clinical trials operations expertise for research studies; analyzes and evaluates national mental health needs and community research partnership opportunities; and supports research on health disparities.
For the Division and each program we also provide Areas of High Priority and Areas of Emphasis. In addition, we continue to encourage innovative applications in any area relevant to the mission of the Institute.
Areas of High Priority
- Develop innovative interventions, including treatment regimens, prevention strategies, and innovative service delivery approaches, and personalize them for optimal use in diverse populations (e.g, across geographic locations, underserved groups, those with comorbid conditions, and all age groups).
- Test interventions through effectiveness research and practical clinical trials, to ensure that they are safe, maximize recovery and functioning, cost-effective, and personalized (e.g., by determining optimal lengths, combinations, and sequences of interventions as well as subgroups in whom they work best).
- Reduce the significant burden and mortality associated with suicidality through research on early detection, assessment, interventions, and services for individuals at risk in populations of all ages.
- Identify effective dissemination and implementation processes and mechanisms to increase the uptake of scientifically informed treatments and services.
- Employ strategic partnerships and community engagement/ participation to enhance research capacity and infrastructure to conduct research in underserved and diverse populations, as well as traditional and nontraditional service settings.
- Identify new targets for innovative intervention (development/ refinement) and service delivery models through research that examines the burdens from mental illness as well as the current use, benefits, safety, costs, and unmet needs for mental health care.
Robert K. Heinssen, Ph.D., ABPP
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7141, MSC 9629 | <urn:uuid:cc5c94e7-b260-443d-a842-80d78299e27b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nimh.nih.gov/about/organization/dsir/index.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917154 | 799 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Green is Pitcairn.
Red is .
"The United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos, commonly known as Mexico (Spanish: México), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost 2 million square kilometres, Mexico is the fifth-largest country in the Americas by total area and the 14th largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of 109 million, it is the 11th most populous country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city." | <urn:uuid:cdea74ae-56b7-4758-b2ff-06ff07e3603c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pitcairn.fatefulvoyage.com/places/place.php?name=Mexico | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948343 | 160 | 2.671875 | 3 |
The first serious Elvis biography (Elvis A Biography) was published in 1971. Reaching the top of numerous best seller lists around the world, Jerry Hopkins biography of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was irresistible reading for millions of Elvis’ fans and those simply wanting to understand more about the 20th century‘s pre-eminent cultural icon.
It was followed in 1980 by a sequel (Elvis The Final Years), completing the remaining years of Elvis’ extraordinary but flawed life.
The 2007 edition of Elvis The Biography combines revised editions of the earlier two volume biography and adds new material advancing the Elvis story to the sale of EPE in 2005 to entrepreneur, Robert Sillerman.
In our second review EIN's Piers Beagley becomes angered when he spots too many factual errors in this so-called updated biography.
For me Elvis’ music is paramount in importance when I want to understand or read about Elvis’ legacy.
For instance in a biography on Elvis I like to have a few pages dedicated to his ground-breaking recording session for his classics ‘Hound Dog’ and ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ and how they came about.
Similarly Elvis’ relationships with friends and family are also of interest since it was often Elvis’ private feelings and moods that would influence his recordings and performances.
Thus my favourite biography on Elvis has to be Peter Guralnick’s two sensational volumes ‘Last Train To Memphis’ and ‘Careless Love’. At a combined 1,300 pages these two books delve into the details of Elvis’ life to just the right level.
However I can understand that for the General Public these books can be over-detailed and over-long leaving people wanting a quicker, punchier narrative. This is where Jerry Hopkins ‘Elvis The Biography’ may be the a better choice.
First published in 1971 Hopkins’ original book "Elvis" was the very first serious biography on Elvis – and in fact one of the first serious biographies about anyone in "Pop Music".
When I first read it as a teenager I was incredibly impressed with all the details and revelations about Elvis’ life until then. The first book of course perfectly ended with Elvis’ 1970 return as the conquering hero and once again top of his game. It was also the only serious biography published during Elvis’ lifetime.
Hopkins’ sequel ‘Elvis: The Final Years’ was later published in 1980.
In 2007 both Hopkins’ biographies were combined to create his new, revised version, "Elvis The Biography".
So with the two weeks of holiday on a Polynesian beach I was looking forward for a chance at last to revisit Hopkins’ biography that I had read so long ago.
Jerry Hopkins’ writing style is nice and easy going with a good balance of quotes and narrative text. The writing about Elvis’ early years captures the poverty of his family background followed by the excitement and inspiration of those breakthrough years.
A later chapter such as "Changes" is also a perfect encapsulation of the importance of the Comeback Special and the 1969 Memphis Sessions.
The only fault I found with the updated content of ‘Elvis The Biography’ was that Hopkins has left out any mention of Elvis’ spiritual quest in the mid-sixties and visits to the Self-Realisation Fellowship. Similarly the "Clambake" Elvis concussion incident and Larry Geller’s influence are also omitted. The stupidity of Elvis’ mid-sixties movies counter-pointed with Elvis’ spiritual awakening is an interesting part of Elvis life in the sixties and deserves a few pages.
On a more positive note I found that Elvis’ final disheartening years are covered without too much sensationalism and Hopkins captures the right mood of sadness and hopelessness as no one can help Elvis halt his roller-coaster decline.
This is still one of the best biographies of Elvis - there is still plenty to enjoy within its 420 pages and along the way Hopkins does feature plenty of interesting stories and insights that are missed from those other so-called biographies of Elvis.
Please do not think that I am comparing this book in anyway to those crappy "tabloid" Elvis biographies that are always full of mistakes and total fabrications. This is a serious and often compelling book - still one of the best pop-music biographies ever written.
HOWEVER despite the enjoyable read, major factual errors started to jump to my attention this time around – even commencing with when Elvis was born!
To begin with I kept ignoring the mistakes so that I could keep on enjoying the book but even without any other reference books - and away from any Internet connection - these major factual errors kept leaping to my attention. In fact they started to make me quite angry, leading me to believe that Jerry Hopkins has become a very lazy author like all too many Elvis writers.
In this new updated edition Hopkins even quotes several segments directly from Guralnick’s two Elvis biographies so it is obvious that,
a) Hopkins has carefully read Guralnick’s rival publications.
b) Hopkins has majorly updated his original text.
So while some of these mistakes were certainly forgivable in 1970 (and even in 1980), by 2007 Jerry Hopkins has no excuse. Any reading of Guralnick’s biographies will point out the errors of Hopkins’ own text.
And it is not as though I am critiquing Hopkins style or presentation, nor the obvious exhaustive work that he did for his original enthralling biographies since they still stand head and shoulders above almost all other Elvis biographies.
It is only my annoyance that a quality writer of his ilk has been so lazy when it comes to this definitive upgrade of his own work.
The sad fact is that a lot of Elvis fans will read Hopkins’ new book and will be mislead once again by silly errors.
Below are some of the errors I have spotted – I suspect there are many more. Remember that these mistakes were only faulted from memory, with no fact-checking available to me.
Ten Real Stinkers.
Page 21 - Elvis Aron Presley was born shortly after noon on January 8 1935.
- It is pretty common knowledge that Elvis was born at 4.35am – It says so on his Birth Certificate! In 2007 that is not a hard fact to confirm.
Page 79 – The first of the three songs completed at the (first RCA) session was ‘Heartbreak Hotel’
- There is no doubt that Ray Charles’ ‘I Got A Woman’ was the first song recorded for RCA.
It was the familiar warm-up before they tried ‘Heartbreak Hotel.’
And FIVE songs were recorded on the RCA session, not three.
Page 81 – January 28 1956, Elvis’ first Dorsey Stage Show TV appearance…. "wide-spread legs, snapping his right knee Elvis sang,, "Well since my baby left me, I’ve found a new place to dwell"
What a crock! The extraordinary thing is that Elvis did NOT perform his hit single ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ until the THIRD ‘Stage Show’ appearance on February 11th. On the first show Elvis only performed the better known ‘Shake Rattle Roll/Flip Flop Fly’ and ‘I Got A Woman’.
Page 88 – "‘I Want You, I Need You, I Love You’ Elvis’ second single was also recorded at the first RCA January session."
More rubbish! Finding a suitable follow-up single was a real struggle and it was the ONLY song recorded at Elvis’ THIRD session for RCA in April 1956 - after the Milton Berle TV show and the first album had been recorded. The plane carrying Elvis and the band also nearly crashed etc etc
Page 92 – The Sept 9 Ed Sullivan Show "What was remarkable was Elvis was shown on the home screen from the waist up"
- Not true. It was only the third Ed Sullivan Show in January 1957 that was filmed from "The waist up". Elvis was shown doing some fine pelvic action on the earlier Sullivan shows.
Page 152 – "Elvis only wore his Gold Lame suit once in 1956 for the (LP cover) publicity shot."
- It is well known that although Elvis did not like the suit that much he DID wear it, even to perform in concert! He wore the complete suit at three concerts – March/April 1957 and the jacket at many others. The LP cover photo shoot was in also 1957 when The Colonel had Nudie Cohen design the suit, around the end of filming ‘Loving You’ Jan/Feb 1957.
Page 240 – The first 1970 tour, "Elvis stood centre stage, his arms outstretched, showing off his jewelled cape, a god reincarnate."
Elvis in fact did not wear a cape in 1970 at all. The first cape use was at the Las Vegas Closing Night 6th Sept 1971 combined with Black Firework jumpsuit.
Page 363 – Elvis’ 1976 album "was a weak collection of sad songs recorded for the most part
At Graceland in April 1976. Another recording session was scheduled at Graceland for the first week of February 1977."
Elvis’ Graceland recording sessions were February 1976 and October 1976.
There was a January 1977 recording session in Nashville at Creative Studios that Elvis flew down to but didn’t record which is mentioned in the book. Ernst Jorgensen & Guralnick have never referred to any supposed February Graceland session - although this story features prominently in Hopkins’ book.
Page 368 – May 30th 1977 Baton Rouge concert, "The show started, the intermission went on and on and on.. Elvis never left the hotel. The Colonel had to refund the money for that show and for the following day in Jacksonville."
- Elvis DID perform complete shows at both these concerts. Neither were refunded or cancelled.
While these errors may have been ok for Hopkins’ first printing of the ‘Final Years’ book (right) – helping explain Elvis’ decline – they can be easily checked nowadays. The point Hopkins should have been making is that the money-hungry Colonel booked Elvis for a gruelling 14 continuous shows in the May 77 tour and not one was cancelled.
Page 372 – "Only one song from Elvis’ Omaha concert ‘My Way’ appeared in the hour-long CBS TV show – the rest of the music came from Rapid City".
- Elvis did NOT perform ‘My Way’ at all at his 1977 Omaha concert! The famous & sad CBS footage of My Way comes from the Rapid City concert. Three tracks from Omaha were used in the TV Special 'How Great Thou Art', ‘Early Mornin' Rain’ and 'Can't Help Falling In Love'. The Hopkins’ ‘My way’ mistake is often repeated verbatim elsewhere.
Annoyingly incorrect statements.
Page 47 - That’s All Right & Blue Moon Of Kentucky – both sides were recorded before Sam Phillips took the acetate to Dewey Phillips to play on radio.
- Sam Phillips only had the 'That’s All Right' one-sided acetate to play. The stunning audience reaction to it caused the quandary of what to record for the B-side.
Photo Page 64-65 – Top photo states "An early recording session 1955".
Photo actually shows Elvis singing into an RCA Victor microphone – but it was a publicity shoot for RCA in December 1955 not a recording session - Elvis did not record for RCA until January 1956!
Page 157 – Elvis first sixties session, the drummer Buddy Harmon.
Probably only a typo but the drummer was sensational percussionist Buddy Harman.
Page 159 – Elvis’ second sixties all-night session "he recorded twelve songs, all of them released a week later on an album called ‘Elvis Is Back’"
This actually was the all-important session that produced three singles including ‘It’s Now Or Never’ and ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ plus ‘I Gotta Know’ in those twelve songs recorded. These were NOT on the album, songs from the first session completed the album.
Page 162 – "The other records released in the last months of 1960 were mostly from the Elvis Is Back & GI Blues albums and none was issued in the USA."
The European releases of ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ and ‘Wooden Heart’ were actually in January and February of 1961. ‘The Girl Of MY Best Friend’ UK single he mentions was actually a mid-1960 release as ‘It’s Now Or Never’ was delayed due to European copyright issues.
Page 181 – Jerry Hopkins repeats his specific note from his early biography about Raquel Welch’s film debut in Roustabout. "two pretty girls taking an outdoor shower, one of the girls was Raquel Welch, making a Hollywood debut she never talks about."
While that may have been ok in 1970, it has certainly been disproved since.
The "shower girl" was most likely actress Mariana Hill. Raquel Welch appears in the opening scene at Mother's Tea House, her first lines in the cinema are "How come they call this a tea house, dear?"
Page 182 – The movie "Double Trouble was a little better than Spinout."
While this is purely a subjective opinion I think 99% of fans would agree that Double Trouble was far worse than Spinout - and was probably Elvis’ worst movie of all time (along with Harum Scarum).
Page 206 – Elvis and Priscilla were driven to Baptist Memorial Hospital for Lisa Marie’s birth by Charlie Hodge, with no one else in the car.
Jerry Schilling drove Elvis and Priscilla to the hospital. Elvis made a point that Jerry had to be there for the drive to the hospital. Hopkins also quotes from Schilling's own biography at times in his book, so there is no excuse. (plus Charlie was known to drink a bit! Would you let him drive?!)
Page 256 – Elvis' version of Bob Dylan’s ‘Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right’ was released after Elvis’ death.
-‘Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right’ was released on Elvis’ 1973 "Fool" LP.
Page 289 – Elvis had included one of Kui Lee’s songs ‘I’ll Remember You’ on an album released in 1964, the year of the composer’s death.
Probably another typo but ‘I’ll Remember You’ was recorded in June 1966 and released the same year on the Spinout LP. Kui Lee died in December 1966.
Page 328 – The Elvis Live On Stage in Memphis album was "a so-so double disc recorded in March released in June 1974."
- Elvis released two double LPs during his lifetime, ‘Elvis Live On Stage in Memphis’ was not one of them. It was a single LP, released in July 1974.
Page 359 – After the 1976 December Vegas season. "The following two weeks were spent quietly at Graceland and then Elvis went to Pittsburgh for a New Year’s Eve concert."
Elvis’ life was certainly not quiet until New Year’s Eve as he had a series of five shows from December 27 – 31. These were an amazing return to form with Elvis having lost several kilos in weight.
This is still one of the best biographies of Elvis that has been written - and stands highly among the very few quality books written about Elvis' life. It's not as though Hopkin's easily digestible and enjoyable writing style has changed since his first Elvis publication that I read all those years ago. It still is a very incisive and fascinating look at Elvis' life and a substantial work - and combining the two books into one for the re-release is an excellent idea.
However, surely an author of Hopkins' calibre would have made certain that his newly updated and highly-praised Elvis biography was properly fact-checked?
Looking at the list of mistakes above I recall a comment in Hopkin’s book. He writes of Elvis in 1975, "He took the easy way… he put his career on "automatic pilot" and stopped growing. He weakened his standards. He wasted his talent".
To be honest that is a pretty correct appraisal of how I felt about author Jerry Hopkins having finished this updated biography!
Overall Verdict: ‘Elvis The Biography’ still stands as one of the best historical Elvis books that has ever been published. However while I did still enjoy Hopkins easy-going writing style this time around, the on-going all-too-easy-to-spot errors really did spoil my enjoyment of this classic biography. As a respected Elvis author Hopkins has indeed weakened his standards.
Quoted on the book’s front cover Rolling Stone editor Jan Wenner notes, "This thoroughly revised and updated version of his two classic books deserves a shelf of it’s own."
My review would be "Stick to Hopkins’ two original Elvis biographies and enjoy them for their nostalgic - if slightly incorrect - look into Elvis’ life."
Of course if you have lost your original copies, then you can still enjoy this updated book BUT fans should be aware of some very avoidable factual inaccuracies that it still perpetuates.
Review by Piers Beagley
-Copyright EIN, September 2009
Click to comment on this review
For a positive review of Jerry Hopkins new book read EIN’s earlier review by Nigel Patterson
Have Your Say – Click here and tell us which Elvis biography do you prefer?
‘Elvis The Biography’ by Jerry Hopkins "most accessible, readable and intriguing Elvis biography".
‘Last Train To Memphis’ & ‘Careless Love’ by Peter Guralnick, "1,300 page very detailed look into Elvis’ life"
‘Elvis’ by Dave Marsh, "the high brow intellegentia approach"
ALSO - Did you spot any other major mistakes in ‘Elvis The Biography’? if so please click here to tell us.
For a positive review of Jerry Hopkins new book read EIN’s earlier review by Nigel Patterson who forgave these mistakes for .. "The inherent strength of Elvis The Biography which is the author’s ability to piece together not only the psychology of Elvis but also that of those around him. Throughout Elvis The Biography there are intriguing accounts of how the relative personalities and agendas played out behind the scenes, often to Elvis' detriment."
EIN Website content © Copyright the Elvis Information Network.
Elvis Presley, Elvis and Graceland are trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises.
The Elvis Information Network has been running since 1986 and is an EPE officially recognised Elvis fan club. | <urn:uuid:4ad63b8a-2364-4fa1-9f24-3bf5ddb04000> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.elvisinfonet.com/bookreview_elvis_jerry_hopkins_2009.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966195 | 4,018 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Graduate Certificates in Entrepreneurship
Earn a degree in entrepreneurship from an accredited college
One of the best ways to prepare for a career in entrepreneurship is through a college education. A Graduate Certificate will help you develop entry level skills, general entrepreneurship know how and the basic entrepreneurship experience you need to start your career off right. You may also consider a Master's in Entrepreneurship to help you take your education and career to the next level. Take the first step to success by selecting a entrepreneurship school below.
Why would I want an entrepreneurship degree?
There are many reasons why an entrepreneurship degree would be desirable. If you already know that you want to own your own business, this degree can help you with the organizational skills, creative ideas, and connections in order to help you succeed. If you’re not sure that being self-employed is what you want to do, a degree in entrepreneurship can still be of benefit. It may spur your imagination and help you think of new business ideas; it may put you in touch with influential people in the business world who may help you get a position in a growing company; or it may just give you a well-rounded education in business which will help you succeed in the corporate world.
What does an entrepreneur do?
In a concise definition, an entrepreneur is someone who starts and owns his or her own business. It can be individually or in a group. Under most circumstances, there is a lot of risk involved, but the payoffs can also be very rewarding.
Entrepreneurs can be found in literally all sectors of the economy. They are the ones who create a majority of the jobs in the US and European economies.
Some of the more common fields that entrepreneurs have ventured into in recent years include:
- Technology: Think of all of the small companies in recent years that have been technology based. They span the range from teenagers making apps in their bedrooms to companies that exploded like Dell and Facebook.
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- Healthcare: In the United States, we have a baby boom generation that is either approaching or already is in the “golden years.” Due to that, opportunities in the healthcare industry have increased significantly. The entrepreneur opportunities in this field span from home health care services to emergency clinics.
How much does an entrepreneur make?
The salary range among entrepreneurs is the most extreme of any profession. There may be months or even years (especially early in someone’s career) where an entrepreneur may not make any money. On the other hand, most of the richest people in the world are entrepreneurs.
According to a famous study of entrepreneurship and self-employment called NLSY79, the average salary among entrepreneurs in 2002 was $52,300. According to that same study, regular salary earners earned an average of $38,258; so, according to this study, entrepreneurs earn more money on average than the average wage earner.
How popular are entrepreneur jobs?
Due to the nature of entrepreneurship, exact statistics are difficult to find. For example, these days, many people work a full-time job while starting a business on the side. One thing is for sure, though, entrepreneurship is becoming more and more popular, even among those who are close to retirement age.
There are many reasons for this growth in popularity, but one of the big reasons is because of the advancement in communications. The ways we communicate these days have created an environment in which small businesses can more easily thrive; so, if you are thinking about starting your own business, now would be an opportune time.
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The ways of becoming an entrepreneur are almost as vast as the types of opportunities that are available in entrepreneurship. If you are set on becoming an entrepreneur, though, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to get a degree in entrepreneurship. Many entrepreneurs make common mistakes when starting out and at critical growth points in their companies. Having an education in how to start and grow a business can save a lot of heartache and help increase your bottom line at a quicker pace.
Getting a degree in entrepreneurship can also help you meet people who can help you get your business up and running. Many entrepreneurship degree programs are either taught by people who already own and run successful businesses, or they put you in touch with successful entrepreneurs who may take a personal interest in your ideas.
Salary and career outlook data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Entrepreneurship Schools (1)
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...Please wait... more schools are loading... | <urn:uuid:90394914-a439-4d23-b972-89a198f4b919> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://degreesearch.org/online-degrees/grad_certificate/entrepreneurship?school_type=online | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962999 | 1,019 | 2.109375 | 2 |
During the Civil War a few hundred women disguised themselves as men and fought as soldiers. We know some of their names—Sarah Edmonds, Jennie Hodgers, Frances Clalin. In some cases, we have photos, we have pension documents and other records, and we have enough biographical information to reconstruct their life stories. So if you said that “women fought in the American Civil War,” you’d be right, at least in a very limited, literal sense.
But in a larger and more meaningful sense, of course, you’d be wrong. Women fought, but in miniscule numbers, and against official policy. If we’re trying to make general statements that really help us understand the war, then ”women fought in the American Civil War” doesn’t get us very far. These women are interesting figures, and they might reveal something by being exceptions to the rule, and that’s about it.
At the risk of beating a dead horse, here’s why I bring this up. It bears on the heated discussion of black Confederates troops that’s been roaring through the blogosphere, especially on Kevin Levin’s Civil War Memory blog (see here, here, and here), but also on other history blogs (here and here).
When we’re talking about black Confederate soldiers, it’s all about the numbers. If you read statements in favor of the idea of widespread black participation in the Confederate armies, you’ll notice an unhealthy reliance on anecdotal evidence. It’s always this first-person account from somebody’s ancestor, or that veteran honored at a ceremony decades later. This simply won’t do. The question isn’t whether or not there were occasions when African-Americans attached to Confederate forces fired shots in combat. Such incidents could be nothing more than bizarre aberrations. What’s important is whether or not there’s a pattern behind these incidents. And a pattern can only be established with some hard numbers. Unfortunately, many sources seem to pull the numbers out of thin air. We get wildly varying estimates, with no explanation of how they were tallied.
One website estimates that “over 65,000 Southern blacks were in the Confederate ranks. Over 13,000 of these, ‘saw the elephant’ also known as meeting the enemy in combat.” Does “in the ranks” mean actually enlisted? Soldiers aren’t the same as body servants, labor levies, free black sutlers or cooks, and others who accompanied the armies but didn’t serve.
Another website guesses that the figure could be ”anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000,” an estimate so broad that it’s virtually meaningless.
By way of contrast, take a look at this post from Civil War Gazette. This piece claims that “as little as under a hundred to as many as several hundred blacks may have actually engaged in combat for the South during the Civil War by actually carrying and discharging a weapon.” The implications of figures like these are radically different from those quoted above.
What many supporters of the “black Confederate soldiers” notion are trying to achieve is a paradigm shift. They want to challenge our notion that the war was fought over slavery and that the Confederacy’s aim was to preserve it. If thousands upon thousands of black soldiers fought for the South, then we may indeed the makings of a paradigm shift—a Confederacy that relied heavily on black manpower to fight for its independence would be an interesting thing indeed. If only a few hundred fought, we have nothing more than a curiosity. We’d be talking about such a tiny percentage of the armies that it would have no real impact on our larger understanding of them. The percentages would be comparable to those of women who fought in disguise, so it would make as much sense to argue that the Civil War was a co-ed affair.
Proponents of the notion of hordes of black Confederate combat troops need to show us where they’re getting these tens of thousands. Give us some serious, transparent analysis, and then we’ll do business. | <urn:uuid:8a3f00a8-b45a-417f-aaaf-edf9c888b06e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pastinthepresent.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/its-all-about-the-numbers/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=ba53fcffb3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953658 | 873 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Down by 15 per cent
Bean counters at analyst outfit Carnegie have said that world chip sales are likely to be only $22.7bn in January, compared to $23.8bn in December.
Seasonally adjusted, that would be down 1-2 per cent on a monthly basis and mean that actual chip sales will likely fall 15-16 per cent on a yearly basis. The reason for the fall, the analysts say, is due to disk drive shortages in Thailand which have forced costs to rise. The PC market is likely to be more back-loaded this year, the report notes.
Handset chip sales were likely also soft in January. Chips for cars were softer after a strong December. Other quirks, such as an early Chinese New Year also contributed the low figures in January. Although several chip makers indicated the inventory problems in fourth quarter had ended, Carnegie thinks that ly indicator indicates that it continued into this year.
PC's are the biggest chip users, followed by cell phones. Cars, appliances, base stations, and instruments are other significant users, the analyts said. | <urn:uuid:c19e43fa-fa69-40b9-a463-28c0cb6a7cd2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fudzilla.com/home/item/26016-chip-sales-fall | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979337 | 223 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Coleraine Flier Cited
WITH THE 12TH AIR FORCE- For outstanding achievement in the China-Burma-India theater of operations a veteran troop carrier group, to which First Lieutenant William A. Hitchcock of Coleraine, Minnesota, is assigned, has been cited by the 12th Air Force. Lieutenant Hitchcock is now entitled to wear the Distinguished Unit Badge. For his meritorious performance of duties as a pilot aboard the group's planes, during his stay in India, he has also been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Last April, his troop carrier group, stationed in the Mediterranean theater of operations, was suddenly ordered to fly to the support of Allied forces battling the Japanese in the Imphal Valley, India, and the Myitkyina area, Burma. Seven days later the big twin-engined C-47 transport planes of his group were delivering the needed supplies.
The unit continued to support the Allied armies for two and a half months, and played a tremendous part in driving the Japanese from northern Burma and the Imphal Valley. The group called "Cerny's Circus," after its commanding officer, Colonel John Cerny of Harrison, Idaho, is now back in the Mediterranean theater.
Lieutenant Hitchcock is the son of Clarence Hitchcock, Coleraine. He attended the Itasca Junior College, Coleraine, Minnesota.
WW II newspaper article courtesy of:
Mrs. William A. "Genevieve" Hitchcock | <urn:uuid:80ea7588-ab6f-499f-abb5-e7714049d4a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.firebirds.org/menu4/mnu4_p9.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96626 | 300 | 1.789063 | 2 |
|The online newspaper for the forest products industry including loggers, sawmills, remanufacturers and secondary wood processors.|
Itís Simple, but Bad News Can Be Good News
By Rich Jefferson
Date Posted: 4/1/2001
In last monthís column we discussed why the Greens win more public relations battles than the forest products industry and other advocates of the Ďwise useí of natural resources.
I polled some acquaintances: Why do the Greens win so often? What must we do to gain more victories in the court of public opinion?
They answered that the Greens hire more public relations people, English majors and former journalists. We need to do the same thing. Having your own full-time people building relationships with reporters is critical. If you ensure that even unfriendly reporters get what they need by deadline, that will result in a better story 95% of the time. We need more public relations professionals.
They said the media likes simplicity, even over-simplification. Maybe environmental reporters are watching too many sit-coms, where all of life is overly simplified. Every night millions of couch potatoes observe how lifeís difficulties and pains can be mollified in 30 minutes, no problem.
An uncomplicated, highly persuasive and utterly illogical argument for global warming can be made using a compelling picture of melting polar ice caps putting Manhattan 20 feet under water. Regardless of global warming, the image of Manhattan under water captures the imagination ó like Hercules cleaning the Aegean stables.
The effective use of strong images could help the forest products industry to take advantage of the mediaís need for simplicity. John P. Zapel, President of Holly Mountain Resources Ltd., may have hit upon the most effective image: forest fires. The focus should be forest health, not forest products. The public should see the connection between forest management and outdoor recreation, and between fire and the elimination of opportunities for outdoor recreation.
John suggested a television spot like this.
Visual:A little girl, face covered with ash. She clutches a doll and runs wildly in her yard. Behind her we see a woodland home surrounded by a forest exploding in flames. Audio: The fire roars. The terrified girl screams for her mother.
Narrator: "No logging is allowed here. The forest has grown thicker each year. There is more underbrush in the fuel load than ever before. So this year, the governmentís controlled burn got a little out of hand." Cut to another scene.
Visual: Hikers in expensive (yuppie) gear flee the raging flames. They get tangled in a blow-down. A young woman trips. She struggles and screams for help. No one hears her. She disappears in flames and swirling smoke.
Audio: The audience hears her friends calling her. "Mary! Mary! Did anyone see Mary?"
Narrator: "It didnít have to be this way. Managed forest thinning could have prevented this tragedy. But no logging is allowed here. It didnít have to be this way." Cut to another scene.
Visual: A brisk spring day in the woods. A forwarder and a harvester remove a blow-down. Audience sees the same urban hikers, but without the young woman lost in the previous visual.
Audio: Hikers talking. "The forest is beautiful. Mary would really love being out here today."
Narrator:"Mary was passionate about hiking. She paid the ultimate price for her passion. In a professionally managed forest, she could have escaped the fire, if there had even been a fire at all." More audio: "A female hiker says, "I think Iíve been wrong about loggers and foresters. Iím glad theyíre clearing the brush and fallen trees. This is a better, safer place to hike now. A managed forest is definitely better."
It may be melodramatic and sentimental, but itís definitely going in the right direction.
Zapelís idea underscores another Green public relations advantage. In the news business, you must give people what they crave: bad news. Greens offer the bad news that people really want. The general public likes the Green panic for the same reasons they read Steven King or watch the films of Caesar Romero: They like panic and disaster. Maybe Green public relations is entertainment.
If you think people want to hear good news, remember that once upon
The Greens have a bonanza of bad news. Most of our bad news lacks the same high stakes. Our bad news is about losing jobs, the destruction of logging families and their traditions. Our bad news just doesnít cut the mustard. It seems that you must promise planetary cataclysm and wholesale death if you really want good environmental news coverage.
The good news for us is that last yearís forest fires still are really bad news. Catastrophic wildfires meet the requirements for over-simplification and devastating news. We just need a way to put our bad news to good use.
Itís not long before the summer fire season will begin. Anyone inclined to argue publicly for better managed forests could do the following, preferably close to the anniversary of your fire of choice. The media love anniversaries. You might use some of these facts, as reported in the Washington Post: "Cerro Grande is the name of a hill in the Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico near Los Alamos, where a prescribed fire was ignited May 4. High, erratic winds drove the fire beyond the control area toward the city and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Before the fire was finally contained, it destroyed 235 homes in Los Alamos and burned 47,650 acres."
1) Write letters to the editor in favor of forestry management. Mention the fact that more acreage burned in the West in 2000 than the entire acreage of Connecticut. Say that little or poor management has left our forests "in the balance."
2) Call any radio talk show and remind the host of the anniversary of your chosen fire, its devastating effects, and the underlying cause ó little or no forest management.
3) Organize an event with a group of wise-use minded youngsters that will provide visuals for television and newspaper photographers and interviews for tape-recorder-toting radio news folk. If you have one teenager who is confident enough to explain to a reporter that sound forest management promotes better outdoor recreation, saves lives and homes, get that young person to the microphone. If you want your event to have added news value, invite elected officials you can trust to say something in support of forest management.
The Greens will say, "We just donít believe in forest thinning. Mother Nature should be left alone," and they will look uninformed. It would be nice to give them the opportunity to look that way.
The Washington Post also reported that: "According to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, there were 84,960 wildfires that burned almost 7 million acres of land across the United States between Jan. 1 and Oct. 21. A total of 852 structures were destroyed by the fires, which cost almost $878 million to suppress."
"Idaho was the hardest-hit state. It experienced 1,598 fires that burned 1.2 million acres of land, according to data compiled by the center. The next hardest-hit state was Montana, where 2,366 fires scorched 947,819 acres. In Nevada, wildfires covered more than 600,000 acres of land."
I recommend that you reach out to local television, newspaper, radio and reliable Internet reporters. Media in the larger Western markets -- Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles ó will bend over backwards to provide "environmental balance" to your story; you could end up doing all the work while the opposition steals the day.
Your news release should dwell on the ways that wildfires destroy forests and take away opportunities for outdoor recreation.
Send me copies of published letters or news reports about events you generate.
(Rich Jefferson may be reached via e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.org.)
Do you want reprints or a copyright license for this article? Click here
Research and connect with suppliers mentioned in this article using our FREE ZIP Online service. | <urn:uuid:672c9ca5-21ef-46f2-a38d-36f7d423fcb8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.timberlinemag.com/articledatabase/view.asp?articleID=422 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942615 | 1,705 | 1.992188 | 2 |
The Four Freedoms
FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION
FREEDOM OF WORSHIP
FREEDOM FROM WANT
FREEDOM FROM FEAR
…..…. everywhere in the world.
Annual Address to Congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 6, 1941.
In his essay on the Four Freedoms, published in Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms by Stuart Murray and James McCabe in 1993, William J. Vanden Heuvel states that the words and concepts of the Four Freedoms were distinctly personal to President Roosevelt. He wrote the phrases himself, he spoke them deliberately and simply to explain to the American people that their history of isolation was over, that the United States had no choice but to commit its enormous power to defeat the Fascist dictators. Franklin Roosevelt wanted not only his countrymen but every nation in the world to understand that the Four Freedoms justified the battle, made worthy the sacrifice, made essential the victory.
In April 1945 the Four Freedoms were included in the Charter of the United Nations. Following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, his wife Eleanor, continued to fight for them as chairperson of the United Nations Committee for Human Rights. Largely thanks to her determination, the Four Freedoms were included in the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was officially accepted by the UN on December 10, 1948.
More information on Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the famous Four Freedoms passage in FDR's speech to Congress on January 6, 1941 and William J. Vanden Heuvel's essay on the Four Freedoms are listed below.
The full text of FDR's speech is available under "Speeches".
“Freedom of Worship,” Norman Rockwell, 1943
Oil on canvas, 46” x 35 1/2”
Story illustration for “The Saturday Evening Post,” February 27, 1943
Norman Rockwell Museum Collections
©SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN | <urn:uuid:53e68734-5a5c-4c30-b880-86d8529f080b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fourfreedoms.nl/the-four-freedoms.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9594 | 419 | 3 | 3 |
[Pharmacodynamics of tongue tissue and plasma after intraarterial infusion of cis-diammine glycolato platinum (CDGP)].
ABSTRACT We measured total Pt concentration in serum and tongue tissue in CDGP intraarterial infusion with male rats. Subjects were 40 male rats sorted into intraarterial infusion (n=20), intravenous infusion (n=20), and CDGP infusion groups at a dose of 10 mg/kg. Total Pt concentration was measured every 30 minutes for 120 minutes after CDGP infusion was completed. Total Pt concentration in tongue tissue was measured on the dosage and nondosage side. Total Pt concentration on the dosage side of tongue tissue of the intraarterial infusion group was higher than in the intravenous infusion group for 120 minutes. Total Pt concentration in intraarterial infusion group tongue tissue on the dosage side was higher than on the nondosage side for 120 minutes. Serum total Pt concentration, total Pt concentration in nondosage side tongue tissue, AUC of total Pt in serum, elimination half-life (t1/2) did not show a difference in the intraarterial or intravenous infusion groups. Total Pt AUC in tongue tissue on the intraarterial infusion group dosage side was greater than in others. In intraarterial infusion of CDGP, Pt concentration in tongue tissue is higher than in intravenous infusion. Serum Pt concentration, did not differ by group. This study showed that intraarterial infusion of CDGP has the potency to become a chemotherapy indication the same as intravenous infusion, in addition to the target organ. | <urn:uuid:9db4fb50-138c-41cc-b77b-fcf8b24019a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.researchgate.net/publication/8105477_Pharmacodynamics_of_tongue_tissue_and_plasma_after_intraarterial_infusion_of_cis-diammine_glycolato_platinum_(CDGP) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901741 | 323 | 1.515625 | 2 |
- Who We Are
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Training Courses & Workshops
For nearly ten years, The WiderNet Project has worked with more than 4,000 people across the world, providing specialized Information and Communication Technology training, doing research, and providing people with technological materials.
We offer not only a variety of technical trainings, but we can also help with enterprise management, campus services, computer labs, and classroom technology. We've even created a special program for decision makers.
Our people-centered approach focuses on collaboration with our partners to always meet their objectives. We give patrons custom content and curriculum to serve their specific needs.
WiderNet Training Opportunities
Since 2001, WiderNet has trained over 4,700 people across Africa and India in information and communication technologies, including hundreds of decision makers from dozens of universities in sub-Saharan Africa.
Each training is tailored to meet the needs of our customer.
Who can be trained?
We offer training to technical support staff, librarians, course designers, IT trainers, and instructors.
How extensive of a training program would you like?
Here are examples of topics we could cover:
- installation and maintenance,
- building out wired and wireless networks to share the eGranary,
- general use of the eGranary,
- advance search techniques and digital information literacy,
- creating, uploading and sharing local content (using the built-in Community Information Platform),
- using Moodle for course management and delivery,
- repurposing digital content for teaching.
WiderNet has also offered a 10-day Digital Librarianship training at their Iowa City office only.
Where will training be held?
eGranary training can occur in your country or at the WiderNet office in Iowa City, Iowa.
When a WiderNet trainer visits your country, more people can be trained within a short time. When your organization sends a trainee to the WiderNet office, the trainee will receive a higher-level skill of training.
Cost of training?
$15,000 approximate cost of one WiderNet facilitator to provide 10 days of training in your country (this can vary due to location, time of year, and airfare). This will pay facilitation fees, airfare, lodging, and per diem for one WiderNet staff person.
$8,000 approximate cost per trainee to receive 10 days of training at WiderNet office in Iowa City (this can vary due to time of year and airfare). This will pay for training, airfare, health insurance coverage while in the U.S., SEVIS fee (required to obtain Visa), lodging and per diem for one person. Once you are ready to enroll in training, $500 (non-refundable) is due immediately to begin processing paperwork required to obtain Visa interview appointment and pay SEVIS fees and delivery of official paperwork to your location. All other fees associated with a visa that are paid in country are paid by trainee.
For training inquiries, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:7eb35f87-8243-4546-aef8-c19e34c02ee0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.widernet.org/whatwedo/training | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939793 | 653 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Monica Caldwell, Farm Manager
Monica is thrilled to be working with SEEDS Farm this season! She has a passion for growing and cooking good real food and for sharing this knowledge with others. She comes to the farm with the experience and knowledge of running her own farm, managing the local farmer's market, and much more. She is a Board Member of Just Food Co-op and is involved in many community initiatives pertaining to access to local healthy food for all. Monica also teaches natural food cooking and nutrition courses at local food co-ops.
Melina Lamer, St. Olaf Spring Semester Intern
A junior Environmental Studies and Sociology & Anthropology double major at St. Olaf College. She enjoys playing hockey for the St. Olaf women's team, rock climbing, and longboarding in her free time. Over the past years, she's found a passion for food ethics, sustainable ag, and farm-to-school initiatives. She's interested in researching aquaponics in hopes of one day implementing the system at SEEDS and learning as much as possible about farm life, in order to start a future sustainable CSA in Alaska.
Lara is in her third year at St. Olaf College and majors in environmental studies and biology. She enjoys riding her horse, hiking, adventure, and spending time with the people she loves. Lara is passionate about the community aspect of sustainable agriculture, an is excited to research sustainable techniques that will serve SEEDS Farm far into the future. After spending a semester abroad in India researching agriculture, Lara is excited to expand her farming experience by engaging in the local SEEDS Farm community. She looks forward to a semester of environmental stewardship, agricultural involvement, and lots of time on the farm!
My name is Gabriel Trejos, I am a sophomore majoring in Economics and Environmental Studies. I am an international student from Costa Rica. I really enjoy learning from different kinds of people and I am a lover of landscapes. My father is an agricultural engineer, so agriculture has been a part of my life since I was a kid. After I graduated from high school, I did some summer research with Dole to develop a 100% natural insecticide with the extracts of a plant called Wedelia Trilobata. This summer, I will be doing a project with the City Council from Northfield analyzing the impact of agriculture in the urban economy of Northfield and I see what I have learned from SEEDS Farm as my first step to this project. Working at the SEEDS Farm has been a great experience to have a better understanding of sustainable agriculture. Also, through this experiene I figured out that I want to go into agricultural economics for graduate school. I have really enjoyed working in the field and getting to know really knowledgeable people such as Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin and Greg Carlson.
Sara Hooker is excited for her first season at SEEDS farm! She is an international student from Ireland/Mozambique who is studying Economics and International Relations at Carleton College. Sara has become increasingly fascinated by sustainable agriculture and has done two policy internships in that arena with the UN World Food Program and the World Food Prize in Des Moines, IA. Now, she is ready to get her hands dirty and learn how a farm which has social as well as end goals works!
Anna is from San Francisco, CA and is thrilled to have the opportunity to be a mentee at SEEDS. She is interested in bio-dynamic farming and is excited to be able to learn how a small, sustainable farm works. She loves weeding and can't wait until harvesting begins! This summer, she will be biking around New England and connecting with local communities that are mobilizing against fossil fuels. She hopes she will be able to use some of her new farming knowledge while fighting fossil fuel dependence!
Becca Carlson has been at the SEEDS farm for two seasons and is more than thrilled to be working at the farm this summer. A recent St. Olaf grad in Biology and Environmental Studies, Becca has become increasingly interested in sustainable agriculture. Next year Becca hopes to be an 'intentional bum' exploring the world and SCUBA diving.
Abby Benson is enjoying her first season at the SEEDS Farm. Also a recent grad from St. Olaf, Abby has had organic farming experience leading STOGROW (St. Olaf Garden Research and Organic Works) and as an intern at Simple Harvest Farm. As a studio art major and with a passion for sustainable agriculture, Abby hopes to some day become an art teacher and run a small scale CSA in the summer (big dreams)! In the meantime, she is learning tons at SEEDS and soaking up every bit of the experience!
Joey Fleming interacts creatively with the natural world: he is a gardener, an amateur biologist, a taxidermist, and a potter. He draws his surroundings obsessively and weaves found materials into his art whenever possible, while also embracing temporal art forms: live performances, films, and artwork made of biodegradable materials, making his work at SEEDS the perfect compliment to his creative lifestyle. | <urn:uuid:d66b8f04-2a3d-42b9-b20f-72e5ab0bd4a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.seedsfarm.blogspot.com/p/know-your-farmers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96369 | 1,064 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Beginning in the 1930’s, The English Patient tells the story of Count Almasy who is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal Geographical Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert along with several other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds, Almasy enters into a world of love, betrayal, and politics that is later revealed in a series of flashbacks while Almasy is on his death bed after being horribly burned in a plane crash. —IMDb
A director known primarily for his classy, richly textured screen adaptations of famous novels, Anthony Minghella gained international recognition with his 1996 adaptation of Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient. Nominated for 11 Academy Awards, the film ultimately won nine including Best Film and Best Director statuettes for Minghella.
Born to Italian parents on the Isle of Wight on January 6, 1954, Minghella grew up next door to the neighborhood cinema. An early film devotee, he managed to score free film admission by befriending the cinema’s projectionist. Despite his lifelong interest in the cinema, Minghella took a long and circuitous path to filmmaking. After earning a degree from the University of Hull, where he lectured on literature, he began writing plays. In 1984, three years after he started his playwriting career, he was named Most Promising Playwright of the Year by the London Theatre Critics. Further adulation followed in 1986 when Minghella’s Made in Bangkok… read more
Michael Ondaatje, who wrote the novel, took a real life person named Almasy and wove this fictional story out of the historical background and his own romantic ideas. WHO IS Almasy, the English patient… read review | <urn:uuid:cb8c92cc-34fa-4d33-bdfd-28056d2f6d63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mubi.com/films/the-english-patient | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96714 | 358 | 1.671875 | 2 |
A Guide for Merit Badge Counseling, No. 34532
This tri-fold flier gives a well-rounded explanation about the merit badge program and spells out the counselor's responsibilities.
Merit Badge Counselor Orientation, No. 34542
Merit badge counselors in training can use this two-page resource as a quick reference.
Boy Scout Requirements (current year), No. 33216
This is the book for complete, official requirements for each merit badge, rank advancement, and special awards and recognitions. This booklet is revised every year and takes precedence over any other resource regarding rank and merit badge requirements.
Scoutmaster Handbook, No. 33009C
This resource serves as the Scoutmaster's primary guide and contains a helpful section about advancement, including the merit badge program. (See the "Advancement" chapter.)
Boy Scout Handbook, No. 34554
This is the Boy Scout's most vital source of information and encompasses all facets of Scouting, including a chapter on merit badges.
Application for Merit Badge, No. 34124A
Better known as the "blue card," this blue wallet-sized card shows that the Scout has permission to start working on a particular merit badge, records his progress, and, when completed, provides a separate record for the Scout, the counselor, and the unit.
Merit Badge Counselor Information, No. 34405
Local councils use the information from this form to identify merit badge counselors, the merit badges they are willing to coach, and other pertinent information. This form also includes the merit badge counselor's agreement to follow the merit badge requirements, and other BSA policies. This form, available online in PDF format (click here), should be submitted to the BSA local council along with the Adult Application.
Guide to Advancement, No. 33088
This manual for volunteers and professionals who administer the advancement program at all levels is the authoritative source for advancement policies and procedures and best practices for all BSA traditional programs.
Adult Application (to Be a Scouting Volunteer), No. 28-501C
To serve as a merit badge counselor, an individual must complete and return this adult registration form. The Adult Application is valid for one year only and must be renewed annually. To register as a merit badge counselor, mark the box labeled "Council/district position" in the upper right-hand block with "merit badge counselor." Fill in the "Position Code" with code "42," and fill in the "Position (Description)" with "merit badge counselor." This application also is available in Spanish (No. 28-502Q).
Supplemental Training: Merit Badge Counselor Instructors Guide
This module, which may be reveiwed online or used to conduct a training event, is designed to guide new and potential merit badge counselors through their responsibilities in the role and will give them an understanding of the methods of counseling Scouts. It is intended as a short orientation course for new merit badge counselors before they begin working with Scouts. | <urn:uuid:b90026cd-dec1-401a-9ee9-affbda01aa08> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/GuideforMeritBadgeCounselors/Resources.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901467 | 615 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Classics in Austrian Economics, 3 volumes
An Indispensable Collection of Material for Economic Scholars and Students
FEBRUARY 01, 1995 by PETER BOETTKE
When Carl Menger published his seminal book on economic theory in 1871 he established a tradition of economic scholarship that is still attempting to come to terms with his revolutionary insights into human action and the exchange process. As Mises reports in Notes and Recollections, it was upon reading Menger’s Principles that he became an economist. From 1871 to the 1930s, this was figuratively true of all those within the Austrian School of Economics, including such well-known economists as Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk, Friedrich von Wieser, Franz Cuhel, Richard von Strigl, Hans Mayer, Paul Rosenstein-Rodan, Gottfried Haberler, Leo Schonfeld, Fritz Machlup, Oskar Morgenstern, and, of course, F. A. Hayek. The 1930s, however, saw the destruction of the intellectual base for the Austrian School of economics, Vienna, as most of the remaining scholars within the tradition fled Austria to escape Hitler. Haberler, Machlup, and Morgenstern launched successful academic careers in the United States at Harvard (Haberler) and Princeton (Machlup and Morgenstern). However, their Austrian roots—while forever present —were not emphasized in their economic scholarship during their professional period in the United States. Mises and Hayek, of course, continued to refine the Austrian tradition with their brilliant work on the trade cycle and on the problems of socialist economic and political organization, as well as their work on the philosophical foundations of economic science. But, by the late 1930s, early 1940s, the Austrian School of Economics was thought to be either fully incorporated into the mainstream or soundly defeated in scholarly debate. This assessment has been subsequently proven wrong on both counts.
One of the difficulties with the Austrian tradition was plainly and simple translation difficulties. For example, Austrian capital theory formed the core of both the trade cycle theory and the critique of socialist calculation, yet economists trained in the English-language tradition did not see the point of the Austrian notion of a time structure of production, and therefore, were not particularly impressed with the Mises-Hayek demonstrations of either the problems with malinvestment caused by monetary manipulation or the inability of socialist planners to rationally calculate the alternative use of scarce capital goods amongst various investment projects. Certainly during the period between 1940 and 1970 there were some prominent theorists who argued against inflationary monetary policy and the advance toward socialism, but they did not base their argument on the reasons associated with Austrian economics.
In the 1970s that was to change. First, in 1974 Hayek won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science, which brought with it renewed attention to the economic theory, as opposed to political theory, work he had done in the 1930s and 1940s. Second, beginning in 1973, Israel Kirzner had started a resurgence of interest in the Austrian theory of the market process with his seminal Competition and Entrepreneurship. Kirzner also worked to establish an Austrian Economics Program at New York University, which supported both post-doctoral scholarship and student training in the Austrian tradition—the first institutional home for Austrian School scholarship since the 1930s.
Kirzner was a tireless champion for the Austrian cause. Since then he has published four additional works and edited two other collections of articles in the Austrian tradition. Now, he offers us a three-volume “sampling of a tradition”—as the subtitle states. Classics in Austrian Economics includes contributions to economic scholarship made by all the individuals I listed above beginning with Menger. Volume 1 is devoted to the early contributions. Some of the chapters are available in other works, such as Menger’s Principles or Bohm-Bawerk’s Capital and Interest, but many are not. In fact, as is the case with all three volumes there are original translations from the German that were produced for this project.
Volume 2, which covers the interwar years when Austrian economics flourished as a scientific body of thought, includes the an original translation of the classic paper by Hans Mayer on genetic-causal explanation within economic science. In addition, Richard von Strigl’s discussion of the relationship between economic theory and economic policy is translated.
Volume 3 is devoted to the age of Mises and Hayek and contains many of their seminal articles on methodology, money and capital theory, and the nature of the market process (including the critique of socialism). Israel Kirzner must be thanked for bringing together such a fine “sampling” of the Austrian tradition. The price of the volumes (around $300) will preclude individual consumption of these volumes . . . that is too bad, though understandable given the publisher’s purpose in producing this volume, which is to supply the reference market within libraries. But, it would be good if word-of-mouth advertising helped the publisher place these volumes in as many libraries as possible.
Not only did Kirzner organize this project, but he provides substantive introductions to each volume. His introduction to volume 1, for example, is quintessential Kirzner. With careful scholarship, Kirzner demonstrates the unity between Menger’s vision of economic science as emanating out of the human choice problem and Mises’ project in Human Action. Moreover, his history of the rise, fall, and then resurgence of the Austrian School is, I would be tempted to say, worth the price of the book—though given the price of the volumes this market is obviously what we economists refer to as very “thin.” Nevertheless, Classics in Austrian Economics is an indispensable collection of material for scholars and students committed to serious study of the Austrian tradition. Hopefully, these volumes will make their way onto the library shelves at a large number of universities and colleges so that many will have access to their wealth of material.
Dr. Boettke teaches economics at New York University. | <urn:uuid:4abf7658-09c6-42df-98b2-4a862f9d3868> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/classics-in-austrian-economics-3-volumes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966262 | 1,247 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Washington, DC -
06/28/2012 - Jim Mathews, policy manager of Pew’s Campaign for America’s Wilderness, issued the following statement commending the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands for holding a hearing today on legislation to safeguard 66,042 acres as wilderness in California’s Los Padres National Forest.
“Congressman Gallegly’s legislation would enhance the historic legacy of the Los Padres National Forest, which includes the first administratively protected primitive area to be designated as wilderness under the Wilderness Act of 1964—the San Rafael. The unique and environmentally sensitive lands in this bill are adjacent to the San Rafael and its Sisquoc Condor Sanctuary and complement this vital breeding ground for the California condor, a species that had all but vanished just 25 years ago.
“Working in collaboration with his constituents, Congressman Gallegly has developed legislation that protects the solitude and beauty of the Los Padres, as well as the many recreational activities available in the forest. The bill will ensure that future generations have the same opportunities to fish, hike, camp, and watch wildlife that visitors to the Los Padres have today. We look forward to working with the congressman to move this legislation through the House and Senate.”
View photos of this area: | <urn:uuid:8f8efc3a-09d7-432c-bc7d-fa7dab26128c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=85899401984&WT.rss_ev=f&WT.rss_f=Campaign%20for%20America's%20Wilderness&WT.rss_a=Pew%20Praises%20Committee%20Action%20on%20Los%20Padres%20Wilderness%20Bill&WT.z_contenttype=PressRelease | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93865 | 270 | 1.960938 | 2 |
Trayvon Martin was killed in a Fla. Community in February
SANFORD, Fla. (AP) - When Benjamin Crump got his first call from Trayvon Martin's father last month, the attorney counseled patience.
It had only been two days since a neighborhood watch volunteer had fatally shot the 17-year-old, and surely an arrest was imminent, thought Crump, who has pursued several civil rights cases against law enforcement agencies.
Another day passed. Nothing.
Two more days passed. Still nothing.
"I believed in my heart of hearts they were going to arrest him," Crump said Thursday in an interview. "I said, 'Oh, they are going to arrest him. You don't need me on this.'"
More than a month later, there still has been no arrest.
But thanks largely to Crump's efforts, the case has stirred marches and rallies around the nation, merited comment from President Barack Obama, led to the resignation of the Sanford police chief and brought scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice into this Orlando suburb of 55,000 residents.
"When you have the president commenting on the matter and you have celebrities and politicians wearing their hoodies as a symbol of the cause that you're representing, and it has taken over the world's attention, this is overwhelming in a sense," said Crump, who was in Washington for several days of meeting with members of Congress and appearing on national news shows. "We've been pushing relentlessly day and night."
Crump's strategy for making the case international news began with a series of heart-wrenching news conferences in which Martin's parents spoke about their loss. Florida media outlets began to notice. Then, he enlisted U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown to help convince authorities to release 911 tapes, recordings that brought the case to the attention of national media. He's further ratcheted pressure on authorities by organizing a series of rallies and working with national civil rights figures such as Al Sharpton.
The push began not long after Martin's death on the night of Feb. 26. Martin, wearing a hoodie, was walking home from a Sanford, Fla. convenience store when he was spotted by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who called a police dispatcher to report Martin as suspicious. There was a confrontation, and Martin was shot. Zimmerman has told detectives he shot Martin in self-defense.
Martin's death raises questions about the role of vigilantism, racial profiling and Florida's self-defense laws. Under those laws, a person isn't obligated to retreat in a threatening situation. Zimmerman's father has said his son wasn't profiling Martin and that he isn't racist. Zimmerman's mother is Hispanic and his father is white.
Crump was first contacted by a cousin of Trayvon Martin's father. The cousin, a Miami attorney, was familiar with Crump's civil rights work in Florida. Before Martin's death, Crump was best known for representing the parents of a teenage boy who died after an encounter with guards at a Florida boot camp in 2006. The videotaped beating of Martin Lee Anderson attracted national attention and led to the closure of the state's boot camps for juvenile offenders.
Crump, 42, and his wife, Genae Angelique Crump, are raising two teenage boys who are the biological sons of Crump's cousin. The oldest is Martin's age.
"Trayvon hits home on many levels," Crump said.
Crump and his law partner, Daryl Parks, are Tallahassee-based personal injury attorneys who primarily handle wrongful death and negligence cases. But their everyday work often involves civil rights issues.
"Daryl and Ben look at things in a broader perspective," said James Messer, a Tallahassee attorney who serves on the board of the Tallahassee Bar Association with Crump. "While there may be a wrongful death issue, it involves, in their eyes, more than anything a civil rights cause ... (Crump) has a passion for issues that have something to do with civil rights violations."
Crump's advocacy on behalf of Martin's family has gotten the attention of established civil rights leaders. Both Sharpton and Jesse Jackson flew down to Sanford to participate in rallies and a meeting before the Sanford city commission.
"He has integrity, smarts and an uncanny ability," Jackson said about Crump. "He is not flashy. He is just kind of a basic, old, solid-thinking, country lawyer."
Crump gets the "country" part from growing up in Lumberton, N.C., a tiny town not far from Fort Bragg. His mother held down two jobs as a factory worker and hotel housekeeper. His biological father was a soldier at Fort Bragg. He was raised by his mother and her high school sweetheart who later became her husband. Crump regards him as his father. The oldest of nine siblings and step-siblings, Crump grew up in an extended family of cousins, uncles and aunts headed by his beloved great-grandmother, Mittie.
"She had a switch in her hand when we came home from school. She would ask what we learned in school that day, and she used that switch to enforce the importance of that question," Crump said of his great-grandmother.
Crump would spend all day every Sunday in Pentecostal church, often missing the chance to watch his Dallas Cowboys play on television. The influence of the church is visible in his public speeches when he often sounds more like a preacher than a lawyer. His interest in civil rights stems from attending segregated schools until he was in fifth grade.
"It was a situation to me, that I said, 'Why do people on that side of the tracks have it so much better than people on our side of the tracks?'" he said.
When Crump was in high school, his mother sent him to Fort Lauderdale to live with the man he regarded as his father so he could have a male influence and be exposed to the culture that the bigger city offered.
He attended college and law school and Florida State University, where he met Parks, his future law partner. In his personal statement for law school, he said his hero was Thurgood Marshall, the U.S. Supreme Court's first black justice. After graduating, Parks and Crump formed their own law firm, Tallahassee-based, Parks and Crump.
Crump dodges the question of how, and if, he is being compensated by Trayvon Martin's parents.
"You do it because it's the right thing to do," he said. "As long as you make your goal to do right and do good, all of the money and financial material stuff will come." | <urn:uuid:cfa5929a-fd24-457e-b09f-8eb7bc0270dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=199496 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985951 | 1,389 | 1.671875 | 2 |
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SOURCE: Dubai Princess
Parwashwar Ali Qassimi is a well-known animal rights activist in New Delhi running shelters for helpless animals that are treated in the worst manner by humans. Recently the dog burning activity in South Korea raised many questions about animal’s safety in this human dominated world.
New Delhi, India (PRWEB) February 01, 2013
Parwashwar Ali Qassimi is a well-known animal rights activist in New Delhi running shelters for helpless animals that are treated in the worst manner by humans. Recently the dog burning activity in South Korea raised many questions about animal’s safety in this human dominated world. She demanded for a probe in this case and wants those cruel people to be punished.
"This is called ruthlessness! I don't know what is wrong with people, they must be out of their minds. Just because we do not have laws to protect stray dogs, it doesn't mean you can just set them on fire. The guilty has to be punished no matter what," said a supporter of Parwashwar Ali Qassimi's camp.
According to the article, two dogs were set on fire in the past two weeks and were left to die in South Korea. These kind of doings are really troubling and shows to what extent humans can cause pain to the poor voiceless creatures. Parwashwar Ali Qassimi, along with some regional animal welfare groups, joined hands together to fight against all kinds of animal cruelty and appeals the government to take severe measures so that kind of case never occurs again.
Parwashwar Ali Qassimi was born in New Delhi in 1964. She was raised the oldest of three children in an upper-middle class family and attended public schools in Noida, Uttar Pradesh and later Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh where she excelled scholastically and professionally. She currently lives in New Delhi and supports various projects taken up for the safety and security of animals.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebarwa-al-qassimi/01/prweb10376669.htm | <urn:uuid:6208798e-ef70-469e-a570-90d5ea05e8a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.walb.com/story/20932102/parwashwar-ali-qassimi-condemns-dog-burning-activity-in-new-delhi | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962467 | 467 | 2.21875 | 2 |
From the November 3, 2009 Forbes.com
November 3, 2009
by David Satter
As we mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the emphasis should not be on speeches and ceremonies but rather on the lessons of the fall of communism for the war on terror.
Although they seem different--one claims to be religious whereas the other was, supposedly, a perfect science--communism and political Islam are essentially the same. Both are radical ideologies that divide the world into the elect and the profane. Both deny individuality and suppress free will. And both treat man-made dogma as infallible truth and seek to impose it by force.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently reacted to a question about ideology by saying, "That's so yesterday." Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. The drive of an ideology to apply a false idea on the basis of its own inner logic independent of external reality is a mortal threat to the West and will be for generations to come. Accordingly, the experience of communism can do the world some good--if its implications are understood.
The following lessons of communism could prove vital to the West in the war against radical Islam:
The challenge must be confronted at the level at which it is posed.
An ideology is a system of total explanation. It rejects universal morality and insists that right and wrong are determined by the interests of a specific group--the proletariat, the master race or the ummah. In effect, the adherents of totalitarian ideologies deify themselves, even if they pretend to be "religious."
Our response to the claims of totalitarian ideology is traditionally to defend freedom. By answering an ideology that claims infallibility and promises to create heaven on earth by defending "freedom," however, we immediately raise the question of "freedom for what?" We also leave the contents of the ideology completely unchallenged. The failure of the West during the Cold War to challenge the claims of communist ideology was always taken by the communists to mean that the West did not believe in anything.
In fact, it is necessary to confront the terrorist ideology directly. Instead of treating freedom as an alternative to ideology, we need to attack radical Islamic ideology as an insult to sanity. It needs to be pointed out that supposedly religious Islamic radicalism is based on man-made dogma and that it relies on the same psychological mechanisms and has the same results as atheistic Communism and Nazism. It is only by attacking Islamic radicalism as an idea that we avoid the impression that the terrorists' interpretation of themselves is implicitly accepted. At the same time, by attacking radical Islam as based on false values, we automatically call attention to our own. In the Soviet Union, it was often noted by pro-Western Soviet dissidents that "it is difficult to beat something with nothing." Our task is to make explicit that the West stands for universal values, and those values are "something."
Forget about "right" and "left."
For years, attitudes toward communism in the West were heavily dependent on considerations of domestic policy. Those who liked the idea of free medical care and guaranteed employment tended to sympathize with communism. Those who were opposed tended to be anti-communist. But in both cases there was little awareness that the real issue was not the communist social system but the attempt to redefine morality and zombify the personality. The split between left and right in the West in relation to communism was manipulated by the Soviets and left us divided in facing a common threat.
There is little risk that radical Islam will evoke sympathy from either the right or the left in the U.S. But there is a danger that tactical disagreements on how to wage the war on terror will take on a partisan coloring. As the experience of communism shows, venomous internal disputes weaken the resolve of the country as a whole.
Treat the war on terror as the nation's highest priority.
Nazism and communism were defeated with comparatively little loss of American life. The reason was that it was the Soviet Union, not the Western allies, that defeated Nazism at a cost of 27 million dead. The Soviet Union then collapsed without having to be fought. The worldwide cost of the communist "experiment," however, was about 100 million lives--and this does not include those killed by the Nazi regime, which appeared, at least in part, as a response to communism.
Under these circumstances, the U.S. cannot afford to underestimate the potential of the totalitarian ideological mentality. Voices in the U.S. have warned that the cost of fighting Islamic extremism threatens President Obama’s reform program. History, however, shows that no reform Obama can envisage is remotely as important as neutralizing ideological fanatics who could get access to weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. cannot count on being lucky again.
Don't lose -- ever.
Man-made ideologies, lacking genuine spiritual roots, depend on success for their credibility. This applies also to radical Islam, which claims to have a long time perspective. In the 1970s and 1980s, Soviet citizens, despite their poverty, viewed the world with great equanimity. Eastern Europe was socialist and the revolution had triumphed in Vietnam, Cuba, Nicaragua, Grenada and, so it seemed, Afghanistan. The worldwide victory of socialism appeared to be only a matter of time.
In 1983, however, the U.S. overthrew the communist regime on Grenada, an island of 100,000 persons. The action was widely ridiculed at the time, but it represented the first time that a communist regime had ever been displaced. The unthinkable had become thinkable. It was followed by the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the collapse of the Soviet empire in Eastern Europe and the breakup of the Soviet Union itself.
Like the Soviets, the Islamic radicals promise their adherents an inevitable eventual victory. Their confidence was shaken in Iraq but has been renewed in Afghanistan. In this respect, the argument over the link between the Taliban and al-Qaida is irrelevant. They share the same ideology and a victory for the Taliban is a victory for the system of thought that was responsible for the terrorist attacks on the U.S. It will also lead to a surge in support for radical Islam in the Muslim world, which, at the moment, has very few psychological defenses against it.
In dealing with an ideological opponent, haggling and temporizing will not work. We must show the fanatics that they cannot win because we will not lose. In the long run, it is determination as much as military power that will make our victory possible.
David Satter, a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute and a visting scholar at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), is the author of It Was a Long Time Ago, and It Never Happened Anyway: Russia and the Communist Past (Yale). Age of Delirium, a documentary film about the fall of the Soviet Union based on his book of the same name, was recently released.
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© Copyright 2013 Hudson Institute, Inc. | <urn:uuid:49499342-c8d5-4754-8ae1-1ec1aa473d1e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=publication_details&id=6577&pubType=Homeland | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963686 | 1,534 | 2.046875 | 2 |
A reader deep within the bowels of the Environmental Protection Administration — and nasty bowels they are too — says he is following the orders of outgoing EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson by forwarding this message from her to “all agency employees.” We pass on this important message verbatim, minus only the EPA@Work banner displaying Jackson’s smiling countenance:
I am proud to share with you an important effort our colleagues at EPA are supporting. It is called the It Gets Better Project.
Created in September 2010 by syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller, the campaign’s mission is to show young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people “the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their teen years.” Video by video and story by story, the It Gets Better Project reminds LGBT teenagers who may be struggling that they are not alone — and that it will get better.
As President Obama said in his own It Gets Better video, “As a nation we’re founded on the belief that all of us are equal and each of us deserves the freedom to pursue our own version of happiness; to make the most of our talents; to speak our minds; to not fit in; most of all, to be true to ourselves. That’s the freedom that enriches all of us. “
I am honored to work alongside so many outstanding colleagues who have experienced tough challenges in their life due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, yet still have the courage to be open about who they are and the people they love. Many of them were able to keep focused on their life goals by telling themselves it will get better each day.
Some of these colleagues have offered to share their experiences of what it was like coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. Each story is different, but each story teaches us the profound difference that support and respect can make in a young person’s life.
I invite you to take a moment to view EPA’s It Gets Better video via the link below. I also invite you to share this link. Email it to your friends. Post it on Facebook. Tweet about it. This is a message we want to spread far and wide.
Special thanks to Ryan Robison, the multimedia team and the others who contributed to making this video. And thanks to all EPA employees for doing your part to ensure our agency is an open, welcoming and respectful place to work.
Lisa P. Jackson
It Gets Better, Indeed. It’s Getting Better All the Time. | <urn:uuid:fb24bc3b-30c1-43f0-b2dc-4a7d83c5d15b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/01/an-important-message-from-lisa-jackson.php?tsize=small&tsize=large | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959626 | 545 | 2 | 2 |
The closing decades of the twentieth century provide one of the most brilliant chapters in the history of Valencian painting. Important artists who emerged or established their reputations during this period gave a new sense to artistic activity and opened up the way towards modernity. In this context, our appreciation of the stature of Ignacio Pinazo is enhanced by an exploration of his work and personality. Ignacio Pinazo Camarlench (Valencia 1849–Godella 1916) was undoubtedly one of the finest European painters of his time.
His painting is a continuum that conveys the viewer to a world full of sensations that, for the artist, represent the path to knowledge. One cannot speak of Pinazo as a divided personality but as a creator of integrated realities. An artist who worked with many genres in his paintings and who fought for his independence from his retreat in Godella, where the Pinazo House and Museum is located. | <urn:uuid:f516a163-b2fc-43a7-8a9a-bc280969ee4f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ivam.es/en/collections/4-ignacio-pinazo | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978964 | 186 | 2.328125 | 2 |
DEAR DOCTOR K: My husband has Alzheimer's disease. Last week he left the house, and it took us hours to find him. How can I prevent him from wandering again?
DEAR READER: One of the most dangerous and distressing symptoms of Alzheimer's is wandering. It may seem unfathomable that a person might suddenly get up at night to go to the post office, or leave home at any hour for no apparent reason. The inability to control wandering is what often drives families to decide to place a loved one in a nursing home. | <urn:uuid:05a98d74-11b9-4964-9f84-1e5436abbe6f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.askdoctork.com/category/health/alzheimers-disease | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972483 | 115 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Ultra-gifted Lucius Shepherd pointed up a UK Independent article noting that the current military actions in Libya spearheaded by the US, UK and France are mysterious and possibly incomprehensible. I don't think it's controversial to state that the majority of people in the west are uneager for more war and would prefer to reduce, rather than increase, military conflicts. So the question arises, why is this war taking place, and who benefits from it and all the other conflicts? It's fair to say that the misery level is pretty high among average people in the US, and I doubt it's a whole lot better in the UK and France. My study of UK salaries for my type of job, housing prices, food, and petrol prices last year showed me that there are some pretty deep misunderstandings here in the US about "standard of living" and about what people receive in terms of government aid or supplements in the UK. Simply: they get less. UK salaries are lower than US salaries in real terms, and everything costs, on average, considerably more. Move to the UK? Not unless I suddenly morph into Madonna.
So, are arms manufacturers driving these conflicts? The largest arms manufacturer in the world in terms of revenue and earnings isn't Boeing, isn't Northrop-Grumman, and isn't Lockheed, Raytheon or General Dynamics - all companies that were previously major employers in Southern California (Northrop still is - I guess Raytheon is doing OK too). These are all companies I had some familiarity with due to neighbors, friends, and my years of work in corporate development. No - the largest arms manufacturer in the world is BAE. This nice lady is Linda Hudson, President/CEO of BAE Systems, who late Friday, issued a statement to employees regarding what clearly seemed to her at the time to be a certain shut-down of the US government due to Capitol Hill controversies.
Overall, all of the top 10 weapons manufacturers, all of whom are based in Europe, the UK, or the US, seem to be doing relatively well. Are they making money because of the ongoing, seemingly endless wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya? Are they further making money because of ?? Well, Boeing just laid off 1,000 more workers in Southern California, tastefully right after signing a deal worth 4 years of corporate revenue with China.
We do not hear such reports of BAE Systems, which employs nearly half of the parent company BAE's workforce. They have grown by tens of thousands of employees in the past two years. I had not heard of Linda Hudson before this a.m. She was the first female President/CEO of General Dynamics, which is no slouch position. In 2009, she acceded to being President/CEO of BAE Systems, which, although it is a division of BAE, with revenues of $32.42 billion worldwide, is probably a bit more challenging a position than her previous work at GD. I am as impressed by her NY Times interview as I've been by any female executive interview I've read in recent years.
As to why I had not heard of her, people sometimes forget that gender bias is not only real, it's pervasive to the point that Linda Hudson has probably 5% of the media coverage of male executives in charge of company divisions a tenth of the size of BAE Systems, men who have literally no influence in comparison to her daily role. She was ranked only 43 on Fortune's list of the 50 most powerful women in 2009. Most people would assume that Oprah Winfrey tops this list - but for the past five years, that slot has gone to someone many who don't read Fortune have never heard of: PepsiCo's CEO Indra Nooyi.
As to the power differential among multinational corporations making soda pop or nuclear submarines (a major project of BAE), PepsiCo's annual revenue of $60 billion, while still less than the amount cut from the US Government's budget Friday night in an historic agreement between the Republican Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader (I think they got up to $78 billion, but it might actually be zero, the way they account) - oh, where was I? - PepsiCo is twice the size of BAE in revenue. And it's not the world's largest soda pop maker. That would be of course, the Coca Cola Company. If you've ever yearned for Mexican Coke, you know that they truly are world-wide.
It is not, I think, to the advantage of either PepsiCo or the Coca Cola Company to have constant worldwide conflict destroying their customer base. A dead person can't drink soda. It's doubtful they would leave a provision in their will mandating soda purchase. The restaurants or other vendors who comprise the majority of any soda company's business are unlikely to be able to vend the product following a bomb or missile attack.
So, who is benefiting from these wars? Certainly not the families of those risking their lives in conflict. Families sacrifice so their their loved ones can defend our country.
It should go without saying that, when defending our safety and freedom, most of us would be willing to sacrifice a lot, and our troops put their lives on the line every day. But is, for example, the Libyan conflict about "our safety and freedom?" It's hard to picture that. The air battle seems to have stopped Gadhafi's troops from killing many thousands. But unfortunately, that does go on every day around the world - usually while those of us in the west never hear of it and go on about our daily lives having no idea someone else's family is being torn apart across the world.
So, are giant corporations encouraging this war for increased profits and control of oil? With the exception of retail giant WalMart, which has recently gone "green" corporate-wide (so maybe we shouldn't "boycott" or bag on WalMart quite so much) although the many-year controversy over WalMart's treatment of female employees had caused the company class action pain right now with the WalMart bias class action suit . . .
Maybe we could look at the other tier of corporate giants as to who is, if not driving, then benefiting from, these constant conflicts in areas related to oil. Afghanistan, while a terrible conflict, I think is not directly related to oil. It was a clear response to the attacks of 9-11, which were, most likely, related to oil. Many understand Al Qaeda and Islamic fundamentalism as being about "religion," which it must be, for the average person involved in or just sympathetic to, the messages of Osama Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders. But Osama, as many have pointed up, was long-ago jettisoned from his oil-rich family due to his radical views and actions. It's obvious to just a casual observer that Al Qaeda provides an attractive means to express the frustrations of those who are poor, left-out, and do not share in the oil-based wealth of the Middle East. To someone like me who doesn't even much follow Middle East politics, it was painfully obvious years ago that the regimes who are now under challenge region-wide, just experienced what happens when people finally get tired of being whipped into an angry frenzy of hatred over an indirect enemy, the United States, or those who are "different," like the Israelis, thus directing attention away from their direct, daily enemy - the whole hidebound, hierarchical, exploitive mess that is so many of the countries in the region, whether led by military dictators or family oligarchies.
But but but . . . back to who is more evil? Defense contractors or oil companies? Who's got the muscle? BAE and GD and Raytheon, Boeing or Northrop (all engineer-led companies - i.e. they "make stuff") or those who "take stuff." Oil companies "extract" and control.
So. Beyond WalMart, the world's highest revenue companies are dominated by the "energy providers" -
#2 worldwide - Royal Dutch Shell: $368 billion annual revenue - more than ten times the revenue of any one defense contractor, including BAE.
#3 ExxonMobil: $301 billion - nearly 10 times the revenue of BAE.
#4 British Petroleum: $298 billion revenue
* we have just achieved 1/3 of the US government's annual expenditures and half of its revenue - Federal, of course - they never count state or local when they do combined government revenue, which as percentage of GDP dwarfs that of European nations, which lack things that the US has, like STATES.
#5 Saudi Aramco: $233 billion
#6 Total S.A. (French): $212 billion
We are now up to $1.5 trillion
#8 ConocoPhillips: $198 billion
#9 Sinopec (China): $197 billion
#15 Chevron: $167 billion
#17 PetroChina: $149 billion
Among the others in the top 20 corporations by revenue worldwide are auto manufacturers: Toyota and Volkswagen, and energy production - State Energy Grid of China. Also in this group are GE ($150 billion) and Dutch company Vitol ($195 billion), the largest privately-held firm on the list. Vitol is primarily an energy trading company, by the way. It's an energy conglomerate including oil.
This list from a certain perspective, could be seen as the world's global warming engine. Literally and figuratively, as it ranges from every extractor and refiner of oil worldwide, to those who finance such ventures, to those who make products that use the energy - autos, trucks, and in the case of GE - everything else.
Viewed in this manner, the arms manufacturers appear to be model citizens. Arms manufacturer BAE, is led by a female engineer who's spent her life learning how to build up companies and make things work. The others all have roots in aviation, such as Los Angeles County's only Fortune 500 company, Northrop Grumman, which was originally two different companies founded by 1) Jack Northrop (aviation pioneer) and 2) Leroy Grumman (aerospace pioneer). Now, this could be apocryphal, but I have heard that Northrop is currently working on a project that can only be described as "beam me up, Scotty" in the real world - yes, matter transportation.
It's a little more clear when we speak about "war for oil," is it not? It's a little unsophisticated to "blame George Bush" when the type of economic dominance I just described is brought to the fore. Can one blame him, or blame any US politician when this type of world-dominating economic muscle is discussed? There is not one other industry on the planet that, under the pressure of even two or three of the oil giants and one auto manufacturer, wouldn't fold like an empty Coca Cola can when it's stepped on.
It's what we're dealing with. Review what occurred during the BP Gulf Oil Spill. How long it took for anything to be done. What happened later - shutdowns of drilling in the gulf - for the environment? Or, to help BP recover its profit margin by suppressing the activities of other companies eager to move forward and grab its oil share?
As to the power of creativity, the Book View Cafe Breaking Waves anthology earned over $550 for the Gulf Oil Spill fund of the New Orleans Community Foundation.
Don't make offensive videos that turn people off and make them sick to their stomachs. Work to make yourself and others free. So we won't have to keep dying ourselves and killing other people to make these companies mo' money mo' money mo' money. You can't legislate it. You can't elect someone to stop it because they'll get nowhere. You can only strangle it. And get the hell off WalMart's back while you're at it. By "going green" they're doing more to strangle it than any state's population could do. | <urn:uuid:b90bd9bf-6d3e-4842-8016-0200f5d1b331> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.asterling.com/current_affairs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97043 | 2,472 | 1.5 | 2 |
Students help local businesses green up
Students in Associate Professor Gerry Segal’s “Management 3781: Sustainable Business Management” class can’t say they weren’t warned. It’s right there in the course description: “Be prepared to see what’s in trash bins and note all waste generated.”
If you ask the 23 students whether this was a valuable application of their tuition dollars, they’d all likely respond with an enthusiastic yes. It allowed them to get out of their seats, get their hands dirty and positively impact not only the environment, but a business – Chez Boët (formerly Bamboo Café) in Naples, owned by Lisa Kelly Boet.
Frank Lee, a 23-year-old business management major, had taken University Colloquium – a required sustainability course for all undergraduates – but this class took that a step further.
“This time the experience outside the classroom didn’t just involve a grade, but could potentially involve the well-being of a business owner,” he says. “That’s how she (Boet) makes her livelihood. Not that she’s relying on our professional skills to consult her in that direction, but we have the potential to affect that.”
Says Segal, “This is not the traditional textbook course where they learn a lot of theories and spit it back on an exam – and then maybe forget half of it a few months down the road. This is a learn-by-doing sort of course where they have to go out and problem-solve. They have to do the research. This is more like what they’re going to do after graduation. This is the real hands-on course that’s going to give them practical skills that will serve them well after graduation.”
Segal divided the class into five teams, with each responsible for a sustainability report that offered recommendations for six functional areas: energy audit (electricity and natural gas); water; waste and pollution; product and supply chain; green marketing; and change management. On Dec. 15, they presented their findings to Boet.
That’s where the Dumpster diving came in. They examined what was being thrown out and noticed that the vast majority was food waste. Their suggestion: have a bucket in the kitchen when vegetables are trimmed, then donate the trimmings to a local farmer to use for compost or to feed animals.
Boet was struck by the students’ enthusiasm and determination.
“They understood our limitations – some of the things we’re faced with,” she says. “It’s not easy to say, ‘OK, we’re going to change everything in a week.’ It’s a process. They have been very astute about that. It’s been a great process because both sides have learned.” | <urn:uuid:ce2ece63-2c79-445b-8285-1ddba5885751> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fgcupinnacle.com/pinnacle-articles/cutting-edge/students-help-local-businesses-green | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966271 | 616 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Starting on 1 April (Update: this is now starting on 6th April) I am planning on launching another ‘31 Days to a Better Blog‘ project.
I’ve run this twice previously (once in 2005 and once in 2007) so thought that I should continue the biennial nature of it.
This year I’m going to run it slightly differently so if you’re interested in participating please read on carefully.
Of particular note – this year I’m asking those participating to sign up as registered participants. You don’t have to do it – but to get the full benefits from it I ask that you do. I’ll explain more on why I’m doing this below.
You can register here:
Here are the details of the challenge this year:
The idea behind this is simply to have a group of bloggers setting aside a month of their time to work at improving their blogs. While we all want to have better blogs sometimes it becomes one of those things that we’re going to do…. one day.
I personally find that I improve (in all areas of my life) when I’m more intentional and set aside a specific time to make the improvements. That’s what this project is about.
Yesterday on Twitter I mentioned that I was thinking of running this again and had 50 people express interest in 5 minutes. I quickly set up a sign up page just for my Twitter users and within 24 hours had well over 1000 registered participants. I guess people want to do it.
Interested in joining us? If so, read on…
How it Works
Each day from 6th April until early May I will make a post here on ProBlogger that is part of the challenge.
Posts will be designed to each have two aspects to them:
- A teaching component (theory)
- A practical component (a task/homework)
The idea is that often teaching remains in the realm of theory and doesn’t actually prompt those digesting it to DO something. This project is more about DOING than learning. I hope you will learn, but to be honest if you’ve been blogging for a while some of what we’ll cover many will have heard before – but this project will give you a framework and hopefully some inspiration to put what you know into action.
Some of the tasks will be similar to previous years tasks and some will be new (some things never change so there will always be some overlap). Some tasks will be more relevant to some bloggers than others so you may not choose to do all of them but they will be on a variety of areas of blogging including writing content, interacting with readers, finding new readers, design, tools etc.
This 31 days are designed for beginner and newer bloggers but many of the tasks will be relevant to intermediate and more advanced bloggers also.
As mentioned above – this year I’m asking those who want to do the challenge to register their email addresses. You will receive one email per day over the 31 days notifying you that a new post is up, giving you the link to it as well as a little extra information for registered participants.
You don’t have to do this and can follow the posts via our RSS feed – but I’m asking for you to register for a few reasons:
- Sometimes signing up for something is important in making us accountable to do what we say we’ll do.
- It will enable me to give a little extra information than the posts contain themselves. On the blog the posts will be written in a way that anyone will hopefully benefit whether they do the full challenge or not – but in the emails that I send each day pointing you to the post I will include a little extra information just relevant to those doing the challenge.
- My hope this time is to let the 31 Day Challenge live on way beyond the first 31 days. People will be able to signup and do the challenge at any point as the emails will be sent via an auto responder.
- It will give me a little more insight into who is doing the challenge which will hopefully means I can tailor it a bit better to peoples needs.
- Lastly – there’s a couple of things I’m working on as a bonus for those who register. I’ll write more of these as they firm up.
If you signup for the 31 days you’re more than welcome to unsubscribe at any point if you feel it is not helpful or not quite where you’re at.
At the end of the 31 days I’m not planning on sending too many more emails. I may add a few more tasks over time but the daily emails will stop. If I do keep sending a few emails, again you’re welcome to unsubscribe if it isn’t meeting your needs.
Sign Up to participate in the Challenge Here
I’m looking forward to the 31 Day Challenge this year and hope that you’ll join me.
Lastly – a special thanks to @Mark_MacDonald who put together the logo above and thanks also to the 15 other friends on Twitter who put together logos – I appreciate them all. | <urn:uuid:3ca15912-ca61-4415-8101-6b8ceb821cf7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/03/25/31-days-to-build-a-better-blog-sign-up-here/comment-page-5/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949054 | 1,085 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Alice was just an ordinary girl - imaginative and curious and thirsting for adventure. She was an ordinary girl, that is, until she found herself instantly transported to a place that was anything but ordinary.
After diving down a rabbit hole, young Alice encounters a magical world ruled by a vicious Queen. It is a world where anything can happen; a world filled with a talking caterpillar, a puppy as big as a house, and a Cheshire cat that can disappear and reappear in the blink of an eye. Are these colorful characters real? And if so, how will Alice ever find her way back home?
Beloved for more than a century, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is widely viewed as Lewis Carroll's masterpiece; a fantastic journey that will never be forgotten.
About Lewis Carroll
“Lewis Carroll,” creator of the brilliantly witty Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, was a pseudonym for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a shy Oxford don with a stammer.
He was born at Daresbury, Cheshire on January 27, 1832, son of a vicar. As the eldest boy among eleven children, he learned early to amuse his siblings by writing and editing family magazines. He was educated at Christ Church Collage, Oxford, where he lectured in mathematics from1855 to 1881. In 1861 he was ordained as a deacon.
Dodgson’s entry into the world of fiction was accidental. It happened one “golden afternoon” as he escorted his colleague’s three daughters on a trip up the river Isis. There he invented the story that might have been forgotten if not for the persistence of the youngest girl, Alice Liddell. Thanks to her, and to her encouraging friends, Alice was published in 1865, with drawings by the political cartoonist, John Tenniel. After Alice, Dodgson wrote Phantasmagoria and Other Poems (1869), Through the Looking-Glass (1871), The Hunting of Shark (1876, and Rhyme? and Reason? (1883).
As a mathematician Dodgson is best known for Euclid and His Modern Rivals (1879). He was also a superb children’s photographer, who captured the delicate, sensuous beauty of such little girls as Alice Liddell and Ellen Terry, the future actress. W.H. Auden called him “one of the best portrait photographer of the century.” Dodgson was also an inventor; his projects included a game of arithmetic croquet, a substitute for glue, and an apparatus for making notes in the dark. Though he sought publication for his light verse, he never dreamed his true gift–telling stories to children–merited publication or lasting fame, and he avoided publicity scrupulously Charles Dodgson died in 1898 of influenza.
About Mallory Loehr
Not only is Mallory Loehr a talented author, but she’s also editor in chief of Random House Children’s Books. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.
"I highly recommend Campfire’s comics. They do what they are intended to do and do it in a way that excites kids about classic literature."
— Chris Wilson, The Graphic Classroom (a resource for teachers and librarians) | <urn:uuid:fddc944e-d58a-445f-84e3-0d1d375d987d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.randomhouse.com/book/198659/alice-in-wonderland-by-lewis-carroll/href | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965484 | 685 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Altruism; Bayesian networks; decision making  distributed control; intelligent systems; multiagent systems; negotiations; satisficing games
Social utilities account for agent preferences and, thus, can characterize complex interrelationships, such as cooperation, compromise, negotiation, and altruism, that can exist between agents. Satisficing game theory, which is based on social utilities, offers a framework within which to design sophisticated multiagent systems. Key features of this approach are: a) an N-agent system may be represented by a 2N-dimensional Bayesian network, called a praxeic network; b) the theory accommodates a notion of situational altruism (a willingness to defer to others in a controlled way if so doing would actually benefit others under the condition that others wish to take advantage of such largesse); and c) satisficing games admits a protocol for effective negotiation between agents who, though interested in their own welfare, are also willing to give some deference to others. Three applications are presented. The first two involve well-known two-person games: the Prisoner's Dilemma and the Battle of the Sexes, and the third is a simulated uninhabited aerial vehicle scenario.
(c) 2005 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.; | <urn:uuid:359cf96b-68f3-4390-980c-c19247865f19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/IR/id/637/rec/7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929249 | 311 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Orders for U.S. durable goods in February rose 2.2 percent year-over-year to $211.8 billion, as increased demand for cars, computers and capital equipment helped pull the manufacturing sector out of a January slowdown, according to the Commerce Department.
Durable good orders have increased in four of the last five months, with the 4 percent year-over-year decline in January being the only lagging period. The Wednesday release of the statistics comes after the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation forecasted U.S manufacturing will outperform overall GDP growth through 2013.
“There exists pent-up demand for consumer durable goods, particularly for motor vehicles, and firms are profitable and need to spend more for both traditional and high-tech business equipment,” said Daniel J. Meckstroth, MAPI chief economist.
Shipments of durable goods, however, shrank 0.4 percent to $206.6 billion, the first decline in two months. Shipments of transportation equipment were hit the hardest, falling 2.5 percent year-over-year to $49.2 billion.
Inventories in February rose for the 26th straight month, increasing 0.4 percent to $373.3 billion. The storage of durable goods is the highest since 1992, when the federal government began collecting inventory statistics. | <urn:uuid:941e90b2-e50c-4daf-ab57-35f5a2b0fcfb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.joc.com/economy-watch/us-durable-goods-orders-rise-22-percent_20120328.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964842 | 277 | 1.726563 | 2 |
|I LOVE that Farley from Oh' Boy Fourth Grade does this ~ it always pushes me out of my shell. The whole pageant title pushed me out of my shyness (my boyfriend helped me out . . . hopefully that's alright).|
While I've been MIA I've been reevaluating how I function as a teacher. I realized that being ORGANIZED is essential and started working on my from to make manipulatives and resources more available to my students and myself. One of my ABSOLUTE favorite things to read on blogs is classroom setup / classroom organization. I LOVE IT! Without further ado this is my home away from home. I will be posting the rest of my classroom in the next several days.
|In the subject bins I also keep a notebooks or such that I am modeling to my students and doing with them.|
|I saw this idea floating around Pinterest and decided I was going to make one. This thing was about $12 from Home Depot. I used avery full page labels (plain sticker sheets) to print my candy themed labels onto. If anyone would be interested I'm happy to share :) It took my a couple times to get the perfect size but I did! To purchase these labels go HERE!|
|In the desk to the left I keep my to be graded system. You can read about that HERE. On the right side of the desk is my copy folder an basket. I will add a picture of my folder (I think it is so fun). I keep what needs to be copied in the folder o the left side. Once it is copied, it moves to the right side to be filed back in the correct place. The copies made to use are put in the basket. Once I get back to my room they get placed in their appropriate places. Except for the white stack you see that I didn't move due to being late to pick my kids up from Specials (or at least thats what I think). Underneath the desk I have this awesome six drawer organizer that I use every single day. The labels tell it all.|
I hope you have enjoyed the tour so far. I would love to hear of any thought you all have. I love organization. I believe an organized classroom make the teacher more efficient. In turn the teacher has more time to focus on academic instruction. | <urn:uuid:985e6b62-5396-40c0-adbf-7ad75924de53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://secondgradesweets.blogspot.com/2012/05/organization-classroom-tour.html | 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 | 0.967497 | 480 | 1.554688 | 2 |
One of our great purposes on earth is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
"All the public business in Congress now connects itself with intrigues, and there is great danger that the whole government will degenerate into a struggle of cabals." -- John Quincy Adams- (1767-1848) 6th US President
"This great and powerful force-the accumulated wealth of the United States-has taken over all the functions of Government, Congress, the issue of money, and banking and the army and navy in order to have a band of mercenaries to do their bidding and protect their stolen property." Senator Richard Pettigrew - Triumphant Plutocracy - Published, January 1, 1922.
"Under the influence of politicians, masses of people tend to ascribe the responsibility for wars to those who wield power at any given time. In World War I it was the munitions industrialists; in World War II it was the psychopathic generals who were said to be guilty. This is passing the buck.
The responsibility for wars falls solely upon the shoulders of these same masses of people, for they have all the necessary means to avert war in their own hands. In part by their apathy, in part by their passivity, and in part actively, these same masses of people make possible the catastrophes under which they themselves suffer more than anyone else. To stress this guilt on the part of the masses of people, to hold them solely responsible, means to take them seriously. On the other hand, to commiserate masses of people as victims, means to treat them as small, helpless children. The former is the attitude held by genuine freedom fighters; the latter that attitude held by power-thirsty politicians." Wilhelm Reich, The Mass Psychology of Fascism 1933 | <urn:uuid:4bdeb72f-bf18-4944-a167-b5b55b1bfff1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981518061 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965015 | 362 | 1.921875 | 2 |
Paper Edition | Page: 10
Ongoing pressure to increase the minimum wage will be a disadvantage to everybody in the long run, employers say — while workers have greeted the new decisions on the new minimum wages, to be effective in the New Year.
The Jakarta Post’s Ridwan Max Sijabat looks at the controversy in the following reports.
Workers in industrial estates in Riau Islands, West Java and Jakarta hailed the significant raises in wage as a starting point to live decently — like other people, workers said they can now save a little and have a bit of recreation.
Palace protest: Workers rally in front of the Presidential Palace. The strike on Nov. 21 was part of a series of rallies on labor welfare ahead of when the new minimum wage takes effect on New Year’s Day. JP/Ricky Yudhistira
Enny Chorifah, 19, who works at an electronic spare parts manufacturer in Muka Kuning industrial estate in Batam, said if her labor contract was extended she might be able to save, or to shop a little more, with the wage increase by 46 percent to Rp 2.04 million (US$220) from the current Rp 1.4 million.
“Unlike those living in rented bedrooms outside the industrial estates, we stay at the company’s dormitory, so I can go shopping at least once in two weeks for groceries or other things,” she told The Jakarta Post by telephone.
Enny, a senior high school graduate from Magelang, Central Java, has been employed for six months on a contractual basis, with monthly pay of Rp 1.4 million. She and her fellow workers get meals but do not receive any transportation allowance in compensation for the dormitory.
“With the wage going up to Rp 2.04 million from January and with overtime payments, I could earn around Rp 3 million per month and put aside around Rp 500,000, or send it to my parents in my village,” she said.
The Batam mayor has approved the increase in the minimum wage from the current Rp 1.4 million to Rp 2.04 million.
Winda Salmona, 20, a garment worker in Pulogadung industrial estate, East Jakarta, said she appreciated the first-ever significant increase from the current Rp 1.5 million to Rp 2.2 million 43 percent.
With an expected promotion to permanent status in December, thanks to the newly issued Ministerial Decree No. 19/2012 on outsourcing, as many as 300 contract-based workers in the garment factory will be promoted to permanent workers with a basic salary of Rp 2.2 million, she said. With transportation and meal allowances, “we can take home a total of Rp 3 million each month while workers will be registered with the Jamsostek social security programs,” she said.
Winda’s friend Danny Wirastati, a fellow high-school graduate from Indramayu, West Java, said with the real wage increase, they would be able to rent a larger room outside the industrial estate, purchase higher quality belongings, enjoy recreation centers at least once a month and save.
The two workers appreciated new Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo. “Despite the soaring price of basic commodities in the city, low-wage workers will survive and enjoy economic progress,” said Danny, secretary of the textile and garment unit of the Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (KSBSI) in the company.
Danny thanked the Jakarta administration, which considered not only basic prices, but also economic growth, companies’ financial capacity and the inflation rate to uphold social justice.
Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar appreciated the decision made by regional heads to endorse the significant increases in provincial, regental and municipal minimum wages.
He said they would improve workers’ purchasing power and stimulate national economic growth through more consumption.
“We could no longer maintain the cheap labor policy, which in the end has created vulnerable groups with no access to good nutrition, better education, better health care and social justice. If the poor condition continues, we will be creating an uneducated, unhealthy and underdeveloped society,” he said, citing the higher minimum wage in neighboring Malaysia.
The minister said the minimum wages were the minimum salary level in regions allowed by the labor law for a single worker without any considerations of competence, job experience and productivity.
“The minimum wage is a social safety net for individuals to allow them to meet their basic needs, and to live as individual human beings,” the minister said. Employers paying below the minimum level were exploiting their workers, he said. | <urn:uuid:def7e549-c889-4f36-9ff5-10ae07adf828> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/12/11/workers-greet-new-wages.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947024 | 989 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Master Gardener volunteers on the scene were Diane, Sarah R, Ge, Z, Melvin, and Sean.
The class started out with the gardeners drawing a picture of their ideal garden or coloring a plant part picture. Attached the works of the 2 older girls. One gardener designed a pea teepee in her ideal garden!. The students acted out 'radishes and weeds' in an effort to understand why weeding is important. Then, Gardeners to the Rescue! The class weeded the west border where we will be planting lettuce this week and did a great job!
Next up was a demonstration of what plant parts people eat. The class examined carrots (roots), celery (stem), cauliflower (flower), lettuce (leaves), cherry tomatoes (fruit), and sunflower seeds (seeds). Then they ate these plant parts in 'plant part roll-ups' -chopped carrots, celery, cauliflower, tomatoes, and sunflower seeds rolled up in a lettuce leaf, dipped in Ranch or Western dressing. SUCCESS!!!!!!! The kids ate them, liked them....even asked for seconds.
One Master Gardener volunteered to be a radish! That is truly being present to the cause!
Looking forward to our next class--BUGS!
Submitted by M. P., U of MN Extension Master Gardener - Ramsey County | <urn:uuid:57a69fb9-c341-4ddf-8b1c-4aba224a8c01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.lib.umn.edu/efans/master-gardener/2012/07/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922808 | 280 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Mason Williams’ baroque-a-nova hit “Classical Gas” is one of my top, top, top favorite pieces of music of all time and this is just fantastic.
From the description on Vimeo:
The “Classical Gas Video,” as it has come to be known, started out as a student film in 1963 entitled “God is Dog Spelled Backwards.” The film was created by UCLA film student, Dan McLaughlin, who used Beethoven’s 5th Symphony as the original soundtrack. McLaughlin’s idea was to bring together the world’s greatest art and the world’s greatest music to create the world’s greatest film. He came damn close.
After seeing the film in early 1968, Mason Williams, writer for the Smothers Brothers and composer of Classical Gas, approached McLaughlin about replacing the music with his (Williams’) composition, a successful Top 40 record at the time. The revamped music video was first shown on the Summer Brothers Smothers Show (the Smos. Bros. summer replacement hosted by Glen Campbell), in June, 1968, and then twice more throughout the year. The video has since passed into legend (some call it one of the very first music videos), while Classical Gas, due in part to the impact of the video, became one of the largest selling instrumental recordings of all time.
As with many others who saw the video at the time, I was just a kid (10 years and 9 months, to be exact) and I was awestruck. The video made an incalculable impression on me, so much so that it’s one of the seminal moments that drew me to video editing. When I’d gotten a bit older, I set out trying to find a copy of the original, contacting CBS, the Museum of Broadcasting in NYC, and libraries around the country. Unfortunately, it was not to be found anywhere.
When the internet got up to speed, I was hopeful that the video would eventually show up online. Again, no luck. Finally I looked into the story of the video’s creation and those involved and it became clear that with all the copyright issues, it seemed unlikely that all of the parties would ever come to an agreement necessary to release it. Realizing this, and finally out of patience after almost 40 years, I assigned myself the task of re-creating it. I found a copy of the original student film, re-edited it for timing to Classical Gas, and the Classical Gas Video was reborn. Give or take a few frames here and there, it is nearly identical to the actual video that aired on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968.
Even though I initially re-created the video for my own amusement, I soon realized that if I had such fond memories of it, others might as well. Before being pulled from YouTube back in the day when they actually enforced copyright infringement, the video had been viewed more than 500,000 times. A true testament to the power of a video that, in its original form, aired only three times over 40 years ago!
It’s just a pity this isn’t a lil’ sharper looking, but it’s still quite wonderful.
After the jump, a clip of Mason Williams performing a stunning live rendition of “Classical Gas” with a full orchestra in 1968… | <urn:uuid:b75ae573-38bb-4b76-8061-07514625678b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dangerousminds.net/tag/Mason-Williams | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966207 | 714 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The American Medical Association is now considering the labeling of products that contain genetically modified or engineered foods.
While Monsanto continues to emphasize that there is no difference between traditional and genetically modified organisms, and while most medical organizations currently believe this, things are about to hopefully change.
The American Medical Association (AMA) might soon support the labeling of GMOs through federal legislation or regulation.
Hoping to accelerate the process towards direct labeling of GMOs, the Illinois State Medical Society and the Indiana State Medical Association have both introduced resolutions to the AMA on this subject. These resolutions urge the AMA to back labeling initiatives, such as Right to Know.
The AMA will be holding its annual meeting on June 17th, and will reportedly be considering the proposals at that meeting. Not only is the list of individuals and organizations pushing for labelling huge, the resolutions submitted to the AMA are also backed by many researchers and physicians, including Dr. Martha Herbert, a pediatric neurologist and past vice-chair of the Council of Responsible Genetics.
In response to the secretive nature of GMOs and the subsequent lack of real knowledge on their wide scale effects, Dr. Herbert stated:
“Tracking the millions of people with vulnerable immune systems and their reaction to novel proteins and virus fragments in genetically engineered food is impossible without food labeling.”
What this means is that since GMOs are currently "incognito" in the food supply and are being consumed by unsuspecting people, it is very difficult to tie the GMOs directly to a condition. For instance, increases in cancer may have arisen as a result of GMO consumption but it may be nearly impossible to isolate the incidents and specifically link GMOs to the onset of the disease. People with allergies are consuming foods that, having been genetically modified, might contain the DNA of a food they are allergic to.
Because of this it is extremely difficult to bring down Monsanto with a lawsuit. They could simply say that it is impossible to prove that GMOs were directly responsible.
What is known, however, is that GMOs have been linked to a number of problems for both the environment and humans. Insects like rootworms are continually evolving to become yet more resistant to heavy pesticide usage on GMO crops, which leads to farmers having to douse the crops with even more brain-damage-linked pesticides.
Not only does this pose a serious threat to the environment, but also to human health. On top of this, by the creation of "superbugs" that threaten farmlands, Monsanto's creations are changing the very way that insects respond to chemical pesticides. Nature will always try and find balance.
As a result, warnings by the EPA and scientific groups have begun surfacing.
With even mainstream medical groups coming out to lend support to the labeling of GMOs, it is time that the government responds appropriately to the overwhelming support towards the many labeling initiatives and campaigns currently in the works worldwide.
Of interest to read is the Indiana delegation's recommendations to the AMA House of Delegates - on page 32 of this document.
The recommendations of the Illinois recommendation can be viewed on page 31.
Anyone wishing to support these recommendations can do so by signing a petition to send a request to Dr. Roger Brown of the AMA. | <urn:uuid:1336e9e6-32f1-49e7-8d7d-8a23839270a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/325880 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962213 | 649 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Building a Presence in Djibouti
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, Dec. 11, 2002 In the beginning, there was a wreck.
That was how soldiers serving in this nation in the Horn of Africa described the camp when they arrived in June.
The French built the military camp, located near the international airport. When they left, they turned the facility over to the Djiboutian military. After a few years, the Djiboutians abandoned the place to the elements and scavengers -- human and animal.
People stripped the buildings of anything usable. No wire or pipes were left. The elements caved in the roofs of some of the buildings and pigeons roosted in the remains. People raised goats on the property.
But the demands of the global war on terrorism means Djibouti is a hot spot. Across the Red Sea is Yemen, the family homeland of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The coastal country's neighbors are Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia -- areas where terrorists have attacked and where al Qaeda elements may be hiding.
U.S. and Djiboutian leaders recognized the strategic importance of the area, and Camp Lemonier would have to rise again.
It wasn't easy.
The 87th Corps Support Battalion from Fort Stewart, Ga., was tasked to make the camp livable again. The first soldiers on the ground had to clear the 11-acre camp of animal and human manure. They had to shore up the buildings, and they had to improvise.
The temperature here routinely hits 130 degrees in June. Flies "covered anything moist," said one soldier, and medical force protection became a priority. In addition to taking the normal shots to combat disease, service members in country take anti-malarial drugs.
The soldiers lived in old medium-sized, general purpose Army tents adapted for window air conditioners. The area is perpetually in drought, U.S. embassy officials said. Any movement to clear area raised choking clouds of dust.
But the battalion made quick progress. The soldiers cleared the original site quickly and built an infrastructure. "It's nothing fancy," said Lt. Col. Andy Bowes, battalion commander. "But it is serviceable."
The colonel said the unit had a "hard-charging sergeant major who ram-rodded" the engineering work through. The unit contracted local laborers for earthmoving and some construction.
The camp expanded to handle a larger number of facilities, and the unit helped build new concrete pads, maintenance facilities and living areas.
Camp Lemonier now provides logistical support for Combined/Joint Task Force Horn of Africa. The task force is responsible for the area covering Ethiopia, Sudan, Yemen, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti. There are 900 service members on the ground in Camp Lemonier with another 400 "afloat" aboard the command ship USS Mount Whitney.
The morale at the camp is high. "This is the front lines, for now," an Air Force technical sergeant said. "But I'll tell you, being based here gives you an appreciation for life in the United States."
Many service members feel that same way. Army Capt. David Connolly, the public affairs officer, said that even from the start of work in Djibouti, service members reached out to the population around them.
There was no formal humanitarian effort, so the soldiers started one. Connolly said the troops reached into their own pockets and raised $3,000. They used the money to rebuild a school devastated by a storm and then volunteered to paint playground equipment and buildings at a nearby orphanage. Medical personnel took leftover supplies from units transiting the area and passed them to people who needed them.
A schoolgirl in the United States sent 15 soccer balls to the troops in Djibouti. The soldiers delivered them to local schools and then stayed to play with the children.
The 87th is leaving Camp Lemonier soon, and Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., will take over the command.
There is much to be done at the camp. Most troops still live in tents. One airman said the buildings still get pigeons in them. The camp has two gyms -- one in a building, one in a tent. One construction project is to try to renovate a swimming pool the French built during their stay.
Americans also talk about bridging the cultural gap between themselves and the Djiboutians. "Time isn't judged the same way," said an Army staff sergeant. "It's much more laid back here. There's no real rush to get things done. That goes against our grain."
Bowes agreed, saying the only advice he has for his Marine replacement is, "Be patient. It'll happen."
So work will continue and Americans -- at least for the time being -- will continue to be based in this hot spot in the war on terror. | <urn:uuid:44473ad6-cba1-4319-9fc0-69f8ca806c6d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=42401 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966659 | 1,027 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
The Premiership (television)
The Premiership is Radio Telefís Éireann's principal association football programme. It is shown on RTÉ Two every Saturday night during the football season, showing highlights of Premiership matches. There are also some Saturday afternoon editions, showing live games.
The Premiership was first broadcast in the late 1990s. It is currently presented by the sports broadcaster Bill O'Herlihy. Pundits featured on the show to make (often) insightful comments about the games they have just seen, have included Eamon Dunphy, Johnny Giles, Liam Brady and Ray Houghton.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details | <urn:uuid:431daf71-4bdc-4883-bd06-8c65b6e19063> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/science_fair_projects_encyclopedia/The_Premiership_(television) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920416 | 160 | 2.265625 | 2 |
A couple of days ago journalism students at the London College of Communication excitedly tweeted snippets from a Q&A session involving a visiting Arsene Wenger.
Promisingly, these bright young things managed to resist asking him pointless questions about possible transfer targets and instead drew a few intriguing nuggets of wisdom from North London’s most famous Professor.
One of the students, Mike Carre, has done a write-up for the LCC website (and very nice it is too), but for those of you who are too lazy to click through here’s a few of the best bits.
Wenger on Premier League ownership…
“When I first arrived in England, the clubs were owned by people who were supporters of the club, who were successful in life and bought a club as their dream. Today the Premier League is in the hands of people who invest in the Premier League. They buy a big club and it becomes more of a business model.”
Wenger on football’s relationship with modern media…
“We have moved from a society of full support, to a media society and an opinion society. When I arrived here a defeat was not as dramatic as it is today. Why? Because we have moved from a rational society to a much more emotional society.
“When you finish a game it is analysed in a minute and the opinions go through the whole of society in 10 minutes. The emotional side of any reaction today is massive.”
Wenger on the individual’s desire to voice their opinion…
“Our society has changed much deeper than we think it has. Sometimes for good because people are better informed, but as well sometimes for bad because people who really take action, people who have responsibilities are not respected as much as before.
“When you have an opinion you’re tempted to think you are right, because you do not have to prove you’re right. It’s just an opinion. Today everyone has an opinion and people who have real responsibilities are less respected.”
Wenger on the temptations young players must resist to make it at the top…
“A big problem in sport and in the modern game is that you have to learn very early in life to know who is good for you and who is bad for you. If you waste (time) in normal life, you can waste four, five years and still be successful. In football, one year means 10 years in a normal life, because at 30 it’s bye-bye.
“If you do not understand how to behave before 22 it’s bye-bye, no career. So you have to understand very early, between 18 and 22, to lead a life that allows you to be successful. And that’s the main difficulty. People don’t realise how difficult that is because when your friends go out on a Friday night you have to say I stay at home because it’s more important I have a good game tomorrow.”
Wenger on helping his successor…
“What kind of influence do you give to the structure where you work? I leave to the next manager a good team, a strong financial situation and a club in a very good position to be successful, to give him the chance to do better. The continuation is there and I believe that is part of my job.”
It’s great to see Arsene still getting involved in events such as this outside of football; he’s an inspirational figure for many, even if you don’t necessarily feel he’s as good a manager as he once was. It’s also interesting that he seems to have been far more open with a room full of youngsters than one brimming with employees of the mainstream media (as he faces every week).
Ironically – or maybe it’s not ironic – those (current) journalists will no doubt jump on the above quotes having been fed them by the next generation. Arseblog News has presented them without an angle, although we sadly fear that others will find a way to twist them. | <urn:uuid:6cb74208-2b6b-44a5-9acd-cbd4ee131090> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.arseblog.com/2012/11/wenger-on-ownership-modern-media-and-his-legacy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978383 | 855 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Take control of your health. Subscribe to MediResource’s
There are many things to know about your ears and how to keep them healthy, but here are the big 10.
1. Not all ear infections need an antibiotic.
Sometimes when we hear the word "infection," we automatically think of antibiotics. But antibiotics are only effective against bacteria. If an ear infection is caused by a virus or a fungus, then antibiotics won't help anyway.
Mild outer ear infections do not always need an antibiotic, but many will require antibiotic eardrops. Most middle ear infection are caused by a virus and usually don't call for antibiotics. Inner ear infections often don't require antibiotics either, unless they are clearly linked to a bacterial infection.
2. Ear infections are more common in children.
Middle ear infections are more common in children ages 6 months to 3 years because their eustachian tubes are small. Outer ear infections are more common in children ages 7 to 12.
3. Many ear infections are painful.
Ear infections can be painful. If you or your child has an ear infection and are in pain, use over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. It's best to talk to your pharmacist or doctor about which pain reliever is best for you or your child.
4. Swimmer's ear isn't always caused by swimming.
Outer ear infections are often referred to as swimmer's ear because kids tend to get the infections when they swim a lot. But outer ear infections can also be caused by other foreign material (e.g., hairspray, sand) or liquids getting into the ear.
5. Never, ever, stick anything in your ear.
So, you have an itch, and you want to get the wax out of yours ears? Don't stick a cotton swab in your ear! Your ear actually cleans itself, and sticking anything in can push earwax further into your ear or cause damage to your ear.
6. You can do a lot to prevent hearing loss.
Most of us love listening to music. And we listen to more of it than ever thanks to our personal music devices. Unfortunately, this listening can take a toll on our ears, especially if we listen to music too loudly. Save your hearing by keeping the volume down and wearing protective devices when you're exposed to loud noise for long periods of time.
7. We lose our hearing as we age.
As we age, we lose the function of the hair cells in our inner ear that play a critical role in hearing. Age-related hearing loss is also called presbycusis, and genetics seems to play a role in how quickly or early hearing is lost.
8. Hearing loss or deafness is common.
It might be hard to believe, but in fact, one out of every 10 Canadians has hearing loss. Although hearing loss is more common as we age - more than half of Canadians over 65 years of age have some degree of hearing loss - it can happen at any age. Causes of hearing loss include ear infections, structural ear problems, trauma, and - rarely - tumours. Some hearing loss is caused by infections, such as mumps, meningitis, or rubella.
9. There have been huge advancements in assistive hearing technology.
For people who need assistive hearing devices, there have been tremendous advancements in technology. Today, hearing aids are much smaller and are programmable. Programming allows the hearing aid to be much more effective in different situations, especially noisy environments. And if hearing aids aren't helping, cochlear implants are an option. Light-alerting systems and assistive devices for the phone can also help people with hearing loss.
10. Hearing loss can be mild or gradual and you may not notice it.
Although some hearing loss can be severe and occur suddenly, hearing loss can also be mild and occur gradually. Your friends and family might be the first to notice. If they do, take their comments to heart and have your hearing checked. If you notice that you need to increase the volume on the radio or TV, or you are having a hard time following conversations, it could mean your hearing is starting to go. Again, it's important to have your hearing checked if this is the case.
Did you find what you were looking for on our website? Please let us know. | <urn:uuid:ae8272c3-047f-42c0-848b-8cb9b23ad5c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_section_details.asp?text_id=6439&channel_id=165&relation_id=10836&rot=24 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965022 | 908 | 3.40625 | 3 |
Laura has been kind enough to write up a great post all about brands with the best eco-friendly options! Enjoy the guest post, and be sure to check out her site!
Since Levi Strauss first capitalized on the wearability and functionality of jeans by selling them to miners during the California Gold Rush (circa 1853), denim trousers have found a place in society which crosses all boundaries: they can be dressed up or down; cost hardly anything at all or retail for hundreds of dollars.
In the continuing evolution of denim, some manufacturers are acknowledging the impact of commercial cotton production on the environment. (Cotton fields demand a great deal of water and insecticides, and workers are often treated abhorrently.) Organic cotton is grown without the use of toxic pesticides or synthetic fertilizers and many brands are offering these eco-friendly choices to their customers. Here is a sampling:
line is made from 100% organic cotton, buttons and zippers are fashioned from recycled materials, dyes are natural, and packaging is made from recycled paper and soy-based inks. These higher-end jeans are handmade and each pair is one-of-a-kind.
calls itself “the naked truth about denim” and says “jeans are more than just a piece of clothing”. Nudie produces 100% organic cotton denim, and the spinning, dyeing, and finishing is carried out according to ecological procedures. Nudie uses natural elements like potato starch to avoid chemicals and insists its suppliers follow a code of conduct which ensures fair treatment to workers.
7 For All Mankind will forever hold a place in my heart as my first pair of premium brand jeans, convincing me it is worth spending $200 to make my butt look that good. 7 carries a number of styles made from 100% organic cotton including Josefina with chain mail belt, and Austyn in white.
has been called the Vivienne Westwood of eco and is internationally recognized as the first designer to market eco luxury (a term which she has trademarked). Her 100% organic denim collection goes beyond trousers to include dresses and jackets, too.
Good Society offers “organic, fairly-traded denim that is fully sustainable” and calls itself a movement “a belief that in all things we must love, will and do good”. Proceeds from denim sales go to support not-for-profit initiatives. | <urn:uuid:2e2dac57-c455-459a-8dd6-af7ff304ccc8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.denimdebutante.com/2010/05/guest-blog-best-eco-friendly-denim.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952722 | 493 | 1.601563 | 2 |
About the Exhibition
Xi Zhang is one of the most distinguished emerging artists in Colorado history, and one of the most prolific painters of the new generation. Through his undergraduate studies at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and more recently his masters work at CU Boulder, he has developed an extraordinary set of painting skills that covers a wide swath of territory from the figurative to the abstract, with the ability to render his concepts both in intimate and large scales. Because of his thought-provoking concepts and inherent abilities, Zhang was named a "Pathfinder" in the visual arts and one of the top artists under 35 by the Denver Post in 2011. Later that year he became the youngest artist to deliver a Logan Lecture at the Denver Art Museum as part of the fall series’ focus on Chinese contemporary art. His new works are socially charged, symbolically complex and as visually rich as anything being done in contemporary art in the world today.
Fantastic Rebirth: Culture Is But a State of Mind
Nancy Hightower on Xi Zhang, 2011
Culled from his black market snippets of pop culture via comics and film, Xi Zhang’s use of the fantastic—that slipstream realm between the real and unreal— challenges, perhaps, our narcissistic judgments of technology and media. Is our culture permeated with so much information and visual texts that we have ceased to know where the human ends and the avatar begins? Such a question sounds like we are introducing a science fiction novel instead of a young artist’s daring new body of work. And yet I believe that Zhang shares many of the concerns that a science fiction writer would have regarding the rate at which technology currently structures our life.
Zhang creates his "psychedelic visuals" based on "our new addiction to technology that alters our minds and perceptions of the world." However, his work does not propel us into a state of binary oppositions about whether social media is bad or good. It simply is. For the artist, such media was and still is a way for an outsider to learn about different constructed realities beyond their clichéd contexts. For an addict (and here the word user can take on multiple meanings if we tie it into media), the image becomes the thing itself. It then ceases to be a doorway into the fantastic, into an imaginative way of communicating that stretches our language. It is this paradox that gives Zhang’s work a sense of haunting wonder.
The portraits in 12921 represent people who are neither subject or object but reside in the in-between place, a sacred space devoid of narrative that allows a creative energy to flow one from the other. Given how many cultural appurtenances we accrue in our lives, thereby accidentally (or purposefully) creating the Other we will eventually come to hate, Zhang’s work momentarily strip us of our acquired, and often artificial modes of representation. Hidden in masks, everyone is reduced to their basic humanity and must learn how to function accordingly. The next exhibition, Convulsions, then moves us into another rhetorical framework. The masks are only partially there and binaries have begun to form, leading to violence and even horror. Still, the liminal space that defines the boundaries between people, especially in the Rang paintings, remains in an abject state of fluidity, thereby binding any opposition into a sense of oneness. The series ends with In Utero, where a womb becomes the birthplace of the fantastic as animals and humans patiently wait to be born, their faces slightly anxious, ever watchful.
The fragmented portraits that permeate the beginning of the Dream Dust series question what happens after that birth, how individual and creative voices might be crafted, our very identities mediated through technology. We see the outlines of lips, at times, but mostly the mouth is effaced and often crisscrossed with circuitry. Any emotion is only seen in their eyes, which are haunting, averted, accusing. This becomes doubly powerful when we think about how much of our technology is advertised, sold, and participated in via the visual text. It is not until we encounter Dream Dust that the eyes are empty as the abject, grid-like world underneath explodes in magenta and electric blue hues. Bodies become porous, some almost animal-like and yet barely registering as uncanny ghosts with such rigid, web-like structures overtaking them. The following paintings then turn gothic as we see only individuals given over to madness, isolation and loss in A Beautiful Wish, An Tai Tou # Wan, and Hai Pei Ta Gai Ze. The organic collides with social media in the drawings 2011 and FWD:2011. However, these are not the natural animals we see in Zhang’s In Utero but rather the animated Kung Fu Panda, Puss in Boots, and Garfield now held within a computer frame. This "womb" holds us in a strange kind of wonder concerning this mess of machine and human.
Awaking Dreams of Springs leans more towards a sense of playfulness even as postcards, journal entries, and paintings are invaded by post-modern computer icons. However, just how much the computer can truly efface the body is challenged in the Bath paintings. Here, the pornographic positions and body parts are gleefully put on display while nondescript areas of flesh are censored through pixilation. The ridiculous becomes slightly more disconcertingly serious, though, when after the last image of a woman’s genitals are obscured, the next work of a Facebook page rendered slight out of focus makes us stare all the harder. We can make out names and a few words—just enough to keep our gaze riveted on this frozen, personalized wall.
No One’s Wonderland doesn’t return us to the abject so much as bring us into new sense of carnival by juxtaposing the ancient with the futuristic. In this expansive work, Zhang uncovers the impermanence of the boundaries we wish to place around self and other, virtual world and flesh, memory and mediation. Because of the Internet, we no long approach history in quite the linear way we had to with only books and print media. With Google, we can move through time forwards, backwards, and sideways, seeing completely disparate images appearing side by side, link by link. Such a strange universe unfolds in uncomfortable, mischievous ways with Egyptian wall drawings that expose the computer grids which created their image, Van Gogh’s lovely sunflowers peeping up behind them. In the center panel, a Tron-like portal opens with dazzling light and sinuous grids that snake throughout. People, video game characters, and pop icons interact out of cultural contexts, displaying the human need for connection and love.
But it is the portraits that capture my eye and act as stepping stones out of that mediated center. Instead of ghastly faces, we get a couple who borders on being grotesque with their eager smiles and direct gaze, their friend waving at us from an even smaller box. With insets of Duchamp’s L.H.O.O.Q. lining the side of his frame, the portrait of cultural creative Nick Cave stands oddly alone, his eyes neither accusing nor fearful but rather intently focused on the viewer, almost as if asking, well, what are you going to do now? And it is only then that I realize that the landscape that takes up the right side of the painting is the foundation for the entire work. Zhang Ze Duan’s Along the River During the Qingming Festival is recreated in this wonderland, with Zhang focusing on "people from all levels of society from rich to poor, as well as different economic activities in rural areas and the city." This is the very heart of Bakhtin’s carnival culture, and it highlights the anti-hierarchal nature of the technology in that it cuts across economic, racial, and educational boundaries while also paradoxically questioning the nature of economic disparity in the 21st Century. For the city portrayed in the painting, Kaifeng—and Zhang’s hometown—was once the capital of China, but now it is no longer the seat of power but a run down, "disintegrating" place. So, then, this "wonderland" might be an indictment of our mediated culture if we continue to see social media as a thing in and unto itself. Such technology has allowed a unique doorway into the fantastic, into an imaginative way of bypassing those destructive narratives we create to erase the Other, should we choose to enter it with wonder instead of cynicism. | <urn:uuid:745519df-9500-40f6-8c2e-dcfdc6c6f8f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.plusgallery.com/exhibitions/61/128/7/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954842 | 1,758 | 1.742188 | 2 |
What began more than 10 years ago as a career-oriented conference primarily for African American women at the U-M has evolved in a decade to cover such diverse topics as talking about sexual health with your children, institutional discrimination policies, cancer prevention, personal finances and success strategies for men of color.
This years People of Color conference is dedicated to drawing upon people of color from various cultures so that we can continue to strengthen ourselves and emerge as a powerful force in this society, note conference co-chairs Tamaria E. Conner and Elizabeth Thomas. Conner, an academic secretary at University Health Service, and Thomas, office assistant in the Affirmative Action Office, are members of the Women of Color Task Force, which hosts the conference each year.
Globally Pulling our Cultures Together: Positioning Ourselves to Empower, Impact and Excel is the conference theme for the Feb. 26 program, and the two keynote speakers address that topic.
Helen Zia, executive editor of Ms. magazine, will speak at 8:30 a.m. in the Modern Languages Building. Zia began her journalism career in Detroit, covering social and political issues for Detroit Metro Times and Monthly Detroit magazines, helped begin Metropolitan Detroit magazine, was editor in chief of M&C magazine and editorial director for Travel Weekly, a travel industry newspaper.
She graduated from Princetons
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and is president of the New York chapter of the Asian-American Journalists Association.
Zia also serves on the board of the New York Asian Womens Center, which assists Asian American survivors of domestic violence. Her leadership role in a landmark civil rights case has been documented in the film Who Killed Vincent Chin?
Sonia Sanchez, who will speak at 4 p.m. in Hill Auditorium, has lectured at more than 500 universities and colleges in the United States. She is the author of 12 books and has traveled in Cuba, England, the West Indies and the Peoples Republic of China to read her poetry.
Sanchez, who won the Lucretia Mott Award in 1984, graduated from Hunter College in 1955. She taught Black English and creative writing in the countrys first Black studies program at San Francisco State College in 196769.
Two-hour morning and afternoon workshops35 of themcover health issues, interviewing skills and resume writing, Total Quality Management concepts, personal development and multicultural issues.
For the first time, the task force has had to impose a fee of $10 to U-M affiliates who attend the conference and a $30 fee to non-University attendees. Luncheon tickets were available only to those who registered in advance, but Thomas says that those who wish to attend the conference can still register at the door and either bring their lunches, eat at the Michigan League cafeteria or eat at one of the many nearby restaurants and cafes.
Conference organizers note that those who have pre-registered should have received their confirmation tickets. Included was a schedule of events that incorrectly listed the fashion show and Sanchezs talk in Rackham Auditorium. They will be held in Hill Auditorium. Those who have pre-registered but not yet received confirmation should report to Site B at the Modern Languages Building 78 a.m. the day of the conference. | <urn:uuid:a2c39e1b-c359-4857-a3d9-534e755df853> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ur.umich.edu/9293/Feb15_93/6.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960018 | 669 | 1.507813 | 2 |
A Reiki Master's Hanko Seal
- The Hanko Seal
- In Japan, seals in general are referred to as inkan or hanko.
The first evidence of writing in Japan is a hanko dating from
AD 57, made of solid gold and belonging to the Emperor. At first,
only the Emperor and
his most trusted vassals held a hanko seal, as they were a symbol
of the Emperor's authority. Noble people began using their own
personal hanko after 750 AD, and the Samurai began using them
sometime in the Middle Ages. At the time, the Samurai were permitted
exclusive use of red ink for their hanko impressions. Modernization
of these seals began in 1870, and the hanko finally came into
general use throughout Japanese society.
- Traditionally, inkan and hanko are engraved on the end of
a finger-length stick of stone, wood, bone, or ivory, with a
diameter between 25 and 75 millimeters (1 and 3 in). Their carving
is a form of calligraphic art. The most common form of this calligraphic
art is the Japanese Kanji -- the Chinese script.
- They are still used in Asia for professional and personal
purposes. Most requiring registration with local government offices
much like a trademark.
- Many of the Takata masters have used their own Hanko seals
to authenticate their Reiki certificates for students. This makes
it harder for charlatans to claim lineage that they have not
acquired legitimately. Rev. Beth Gray is one of the people who
used her personal Hanko on graduation certifications (Beth Gray Certificates). This practice has
inspired many practitioners to follow in the footsteps of the
practicing Masters choose to use the Kanji version of "Rei
Ki" as their Hanko (seen on the left). Others use words
to represent their personality, a special phrase, or their personal
name (such as the Kanji of SpringWolf displayed above).
- The use of a hanko in Reiki can create a connection between
the Reiki practitioner and the Reiki origins in Japan. It can
be used as a sigil
during Reiki sessions to connect to healing energy. It can also
be used as a symbolic seal during attunements. They can be a
source of self promotion, pride or personality. They can be seen
in email signatures, decorations on web pages and even as tattoos.
- If you are interested in your own Hanko, I suggest the following
Kanji Dictionary - A Japanese to English translation
Connection - Handmade Hanko seals
- Source: 1, h5,
- Created: 04.03.2008 Updated: 09.17.2009 | <urn:uuid:9fd3c0f2-c8e2-4869-99b7-b4b72756b491> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.paganspath.com/healing/hanko.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920909 | 588 | 2.578125 | 3 |
In Woody Allen’s “Bananas,” Fielding Mellish condemns his prosecution for treason as a “travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham.” Mellish’s condemnation applies with scientific precision to this Dartmouth College announcement:
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Michael Dorsey was recently awarded $300,000 from the Ford Foundation to launch the Climate Justice Research Project. The project is dedicated to studying the racial and social inequities that occur in addressing climate change.
“We are working to develop the tools and means of analysis to ensure that climate change mitigation will occur in an equitable and just manner, inclusive of marginalized, low-income communities and communities of color,” says Dorsey.
According to Dorsey, preliminary evidence shows that carbon cap and trade programs are having little effect on climate change, and this and other market-based environmental programs often exacerbate the vulnerability of poor and marginalized communities. Dorsey and his team at Dartmouth’s Climate Justice Research Project will study this phenomenon and work to identify policy options that address the needs and concerns of underrepresented populations in relation to climate change, energy policy, and the economy.
“The Environmental Studies Program is delighted that the Ford Foundation has chosen to fund Professor Dorsey’s research,” says Andrew Friedland, professor and chair of Dartmouth’s Environmental Studies Program. “We are glad to see he has received such recognition for his contributions in the field of global environmental justice and climate. We know the work will enrich our faculty and our students as well.”
The funding will allow Dorsey and his research team, made up of undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, to generate policy information that is informed by comparative data about the effect of climate change on the livelihoods of low income people in the U.S. and abroad. The research will include an analysis of the current social, political, and economic capacity to change and adapt to with regard to climate change policy.
“An important component of the Climate Justice Research Program is finding ways to build bridges between the scientists, the policy makers, and the people in low-income communities,” says Dorsey. “All stakeholders need to be part of the debate and the solutions.”
Professor Dorsey’s research project brings to mind the mock headline usually attributed to the New York Times: World to End Tomorrow, Women and Minorities Hardest Hit. A grain of truth may lie at the heart of Professor Dorsey’s project; carbon cap and trade programs are undoubtedly having no effect on “climate change.” In the Dartmouth variation of the New York Times joke it is unclear to me at whose expense the joke should be taken, but there is no shortage of candidates.
Via reader Greg Lesko.
To comment on this post, go here. | <urn:uuid:56679ba7-e4c7-45e0-a2d9-f09e99578708> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/02/bananas-part-2.php?tsize=large | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945314 | 603 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Tea Leaf Green
Why is it important to vote?
There was a time I thought it wasn't important to vote. At a relatively peaceful and prosperous time, last election, it was easy to be apathetic. The electorate votes system fueled my apathy and I was a part of the "why bother my vote won't count anyway" club. Not True. I've spent the last four years without the right to complain about or express my political views. I forsake my opinion and watched from the sidelines as I saw things I deeply disagreed with, yet I could say nothing. I didn't vote. Voting is your voice, not only in the booth but for the rest of your life. Do it!
Is this election any different from elections past?
All elections are important. Democracy is important. This election is very important. This time we are living in is very important. It's up to the individual to secure the future.
Do politics have a place in music?
Why or why not?
Politics absolutely have a place in music. Every subject is fair game for music. Music and art is our greatest reflection of the life of our times. Music has the power to motivate and inspire change. We've seen it throughout history. In this country musicians are free to speak their minds and I'm glad they do. "The Times they are a' changin." Vote!
Have a comment? Please submit to Editor.
JamBase | San Francisco
Get Out and Vote!
Editor's note: While we did not set out with a particular political agenda we do realize that these responses have all been leaning Democratic, if there are any artists who can represent a Republican point of view we would love to hear from you. | <urn:uuid:3d276f4f-2715-44f6-b5f0-be2506ff0845> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jambase.com/Articles/5628/ROCKTOBER-2004---VOTING-ON-THE-MIND/24 | 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 | 0.976549 | 354 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Top 50 App in France, UK, Spain, Netherlands, Mexico! It has been in the top 100 for more than a year in the U.S.
“I have the new iPhone 3GS and this app is awesome – great for little ones learning animal sounds” kelbels / U.S.
“Simple, clever, nicely designed. My 2 year old loves it.” FunRock. / U.S.
TRY OUR NEW APP:
Color & Draw for kids: coloring book, sketch pad, artistic springboard and photo decorator
4 apps in 1. 50 amazing drawings and voice over invitations to draw and color.
IMPORTANT: PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR IPHONE IS NOT IN SILENT MODE OR YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HEAR THE ANIMAL SOUNDS. THANKS!
IT WORKS PERFECTLY WITH ALL IPOD TOUCHES WITH SYSTEM 3.0 and above.
"Toddler Tapping Zoo" was specifically designed with Toddlers in mind. It will expand the horizons of infants and toddlers through eye-catching images and amusing sounds of animals.
Since experts have shown that toddlers are more enthusiastic and learn more from realistic photographs than from illustrations, we have designed this app around gorgeous photographs.
Toddlers learn to distinguish sounds, associate sounds with images and fine-tune their motor skills. But most of all, they have a great time.
Read together while spending quality time or use them in an "emergency" to keep them entertained at a restaurant or check-out line.
Unlike other apps that feature more animals, our tapping zoo consists of a smaller but carefully selected list of animals. Bigger is not always better. We have made sure that both the images and sounds can be easily recognized as different by toddlers. Donkeys are very nice, but it can confusing for younger toddlers to tell them apart from horses. Tigers are beautiful, but their roar is too similar to that of the lions.
Our application uses the whole screen of the iPod/iPhone and allows for simple sequential navigation. You don’t have to go back to the menu again and again.
Toddlers love repetition too. Seeing the same animals over and over helps them learn and allows they to reencounter them often, which for them is hilarious. (We know it can be frustrating as a parent, but they love it).
"Toddler Tapping Zoo" contains images and sounds of the following animals:
Dog, cat, cow, horse, pig, sheep, rooster, parrot, owl, duck, lion, elephant, monkey, bear, orca, dolphin, mouse, snake, frog, camel, hippo, squirrel, koala, eagle, bee, seal, penguin and more.
If your kid likes "Wheels on the Bus" or "Old MacDonald" app he/she will surely love our Zoo. Better than "Toddler Flashcards": we have sounds and a better interface!
Learning fun, fun learning.
Write us at email@example.com
TRY OUR OTHER APPS:
ART MEMORY MATCH
TODDLER MUSIC JUKEBOX: CLASSIC KID´S SONGS
KID'S ART PUZZLE: SLIDING SLICES
TODDLER CAR, SHIP & ROCKET: SIGHTS & SOUNDS
¡HOLA, HOLA! TODDLER FIRST SPANISH
TODDLER MAGIC COLORS WITH CHUCK
TODDLER COUNTING KITTENS: 1 TO 100.
And many more on the way! | <urn:uuid:affd2259-a88c-444e-b9c7-19e64dc11b3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://smokinapps.com/app/toddler-tapping-zoo-animal-sights-and-sounds/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908128 | 760 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Rate the web
Rise in Construction Materials Costs
Likely to Run Ahead of Overall Inflation
The price of construction materials continued to rise in September, despite a decline in the rate of inflation throughout much of the U.S. economy.
"Plunging petroleum prices drove down the overall producer price index (PPI) and moderated the increase in the PPI for construction materials and components," according to Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America. The PPI for finished goods fell 1.1% for the month before seasonal adjustment and increased by 0.9% versus September 2005. "But the PPI for construction materials and components rose 0.3%, the same as in August, and had a year-over-year increase of 8.1%, nine times that of the overall index," Simonson added.
Although the 12-month increase moderated slightly, the additional costs continued to burden contractors, he said. The PPI for copper and brass mill shapes jumped by 75% year-over-year, for example. Other materials showed less dramatic but substantial increases for the period, such as the 33% increase in asphalt paving mixtures and blocks and the 3% rise in steel mill products.
"I expect contractors to get good news for the next few months relative to the artificially high post-hurricane prices of last autumn," Simonson added. However, prices are likely to continue to rise because of high worldwide demand and the effect of high freight and full costs, he explained.
"At the moment, falling diesel prices are helping contractors. But I expect construction materials costs over the next year to rise at least 6-8%, versus 2-4% for the overall economy," he said. | <urn:uuid:8e2ee08a-8941-4196-b7e3-1bb1b29b43a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.taco-hvac.com/news.html?News=93 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956604 | 357 | 1.6875 | 2 |
The following events are coming up at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge:
• Naturally Speaking: “Ohio’s Sandhill Cranes” — Dave Sherman, Wildlife Biologist for the Ohio Department of Natural Resource’s Division of Wildlife, will present “Ohio’s Sandhill Cranes” at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12 at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Sherman will be discussing the current population of sandhill cranes in Ohio and how the Division of Wildlife is working with these fascinating birds. This free presentation is part of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Association’s Naturally Speaking seminar series for the public, generally held on the second Sunday of each month.
• Refuge Auto Tour — Drive through 7 miles of the refuge normally closed to the public. Weather permitting, the auto tour route will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18. Drive at your own pace as you travel along a well-marked route, following a self-guided tour brochure found at the route entrance.
• Bald Eagle Tours — Are you interested in learning more about the Bald Eagles that live at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge? Join refuge staff and volunteers for an informal bus tour of the refuge from 10 a.m. to noon on the following days: Feb. 16 and 25; March 8, 24 and 29; and April 7 and 19. Space is limited. Registrations are required and will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. To sign up, call 419-898-0014.
For information about these or other Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge programs, visit the refuge website, http://www.fws.gov/midwest/ottawa or call 419-898-0014. The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge entrance is located 16 miles west of Port Clinton on Ohio 2. | <urn:uuid:27c4237e-d20d-403c-93d4-6e6bfe28b094> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thebeacon.net/local-news/around-ottawa-county/item/299-cranes-eagles-and-more-at-wildlife-refuge | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905154 | 382 | 1.929688 | 2 |