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What to Know About T-Cell Lymphomas
These types of lymphomas begin in the T cells of the lymphatic system. T-cell lymphomas make up almost 15 percent of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas in the U.S. T cells or T lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that attacks viruses, foreign cells, and cancer cells. T cells also produce a number of substances that regulate the immune response. By looking at the proteins on the surface of cells, a pathologist can tell which type you have. This information helps guide your treatment plan:
Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. This type tends to occur in the lymph nodes. It causes infections, fever, weight loss, and skin rashes. It is not clear that this lymphoma is curable, and some patients may require a stem cell transplant.
Extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type. As its name implies, this type often involves the upper airway passages, such as the nose and upper throat. It can also invade the skin and digestive tract. A person of any age can develop this type of lymphoma. If localized to the nasal passages, it can often be cured by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. If it is widespread, cure is less likely.
Enteropathy-type T-cell lymphoma. This type occurs in people with sensitivity to gluten, the main protein in wheat flour. Gluten-sensitive enteropathy is a disease that can progress to this type of lymphoma. It typically invades the walls of the intestines. Once that occurs, the outlook for recovery is unlikely.
Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma. This lymphoma causes nodules to form in the deepest layers of the skin. It starts out as slow-growing. It can be treated with radiation and, sometimes, chemotherapy.
Anaplastic large T/null-cell lymphoma. About�1 to�2 percent of lymphomas are this kind. It is a fast-growing type that often occurs in children. Starting in the lymph nodes, it can also spread to the skin. Treatment with chemotherapy often works well.
Peripheral T-cell lymphoma, unspecified. This term is used to describe T-cell lymphomas that don't fit in other categories.�Most people with this type of lymphoma are in their 60s. It tends to grow quickly and be widespread.
Precursor T-lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia. This disease is classified as lymphoma or leukemia, depending on how much the bone marrow is involved. (Leukemias have more bone marrow involvement.) About 1 percent of all lymphomas fall into this category. It often starts in the thymus, which is in the front part of the chest. People with this type are most often young men. Although the lymphoma is fast-growing, the chance for a cure with chemotherapy is good if it hasn?t spread to the bone marrow when first diagnosed.
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (mycosis fungoides, Sezary syndrome). This is a T-cell lymphoma that begins in the skin, accounting for about�5 percent of all lymphomas. It begins as patchy, red lesions. It can progress to more solid, raised tumors that can invade lymph nodes and organs, including the liver and spleen. With Sezary syndrome, the lymphoma cells are found in the blood. The prognosis is better if the lymphoma hasn?t spread. | <urn:uuid:9383c715-2588-4eda-95e4-4128288c437c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lomalindahealth.org/medical-center/our-services/cancer-center/cancer-health-library/document.page?contentTypeId=34&contentId=BLymD3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928811 | 737 | 3.65625 | 4 |
Drought forces lighter barges as Mississippi River drops
* River down 55 feet (16.8 metres) from 2011 flood level
* Commodities transport costs seen rising as river shrinks
By Emily Le Coz
TUPELO, Miss., July 26 (Reuters) - One year after its waters swelled to historic proportions, the drought-ravaged lower Mississippi River now sits so low that barge operators hauling some $180 billion in goods must lighten their loads for fear of getting stuck.
If water levels drop further on this main artery of the U.S. waterway system, prices could rise on the raw commodities commonly shipped by boat - coal, grain, petroleum and steel, to name a few.
The Mississippi River carries 566 million tons (513,467 tonnes) of freight per year, said Ann McCulloch, spokeswoman for American Waterways Operators, a national trade association representing tugboats, tow boats and barges.
"The main thing that they're doing now is voluntarily reducing the size of their tows ... so they're having to take more trips to carry their normal volume of commodities," McCulloch said. "This will drive up transportation costs if it continues over a long period of time."
Barges must unload 17 tons (15 tonnes) of cargo for every one-inch loss of water and 204 tons (185 tonnes) for every one-foot (30.5 centimetre) loss of draft, said Tom Allegretti, president of the trade association.
Draft is the vertical distance between the ship's waterline and the lowest point of its keel.
"When you consider that a typical tow on the upper Mississippi or Ohio Rivers has 15 barges, a one-foot loss of draft will decrease the capacity of that tow by 3,000 tons (2,720 tonnes)," Allegretti said in a statement.
"The tows on the lower Mississippi River are larger, consisting of 30-45 barges, resulting in decreased capacity of over 9,000 tons (8,165 tonnes)," he said.
He said it would take 130 semi trucks or 570 rail cars to haul the freight unloaded by one large barge under those conditions.
On Thursday, Kirby Corp, the largest U.S. inland tank barge operator, said it was adding capacity to its fleet that carries petrochemicals, gasoline and fertilizer, as it has been forced to reduce boat-loads because of low river levels.
The company said it has been incurring costs of about half a million dollars per month since mid-May because of reduced barge loads and delays.
During the 2011 floods, the Mississippi crested at nearly 48 feet (14.6 metres) above the baseline near Memphis, according to the National Weather Service.
Now with the U.S. Midwest locked in the most extensive drought in five decades, the river on Wednesdays had dropped to 7.1 feet (2.16 metres) below the baseline. That is 13 feet (4 metres) below normal for this time of year and 55 feet (16.76 metres) below last year's level.
It could drop another 2.5 feet (76.2 cm) by August, said Marlene Mickelson, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, calling that a "worst-case scenario."
The river typically is 6.1 feet (1.86 metres) above the baseline in July.
While the level has not yet hit the historic low of 10.7 feet (3.26 metres) below baseline, recorded in 1988, it is unusual to see it so dry this time of year.
"It normally happens in August and September that we're low," Mickelson said. "We're a month early."
To prevent closures along the Mississippi and keep commerce flowing, the Army Corps of Engineers has been dredging the waterway all summer, said its spokesman, Jim Pogue.
Dredging removes the silt that has fallen to the bottom of the river, which accumulates more when water levels drop.
"When the river is down," Pogue said, "it flows slower and so the sediment settles and ends up on the bottom."
Lessons from the 1988 drought, which forced week-long closures along the waterway, prompted changes in the way the Army Corps of Engineers maintains the river and, as a result, have lessened the impact of this year's drought, Pogue said.
The Corps has built dikes and other structures that direct the flow of water in key areas and help the river keep itself clean, he said.
"As a result we're in much better shape than in 1988," he said.
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train pursued its course, that evening, without interruption, passing
Fort Saunders, crossing Cheyne Pass, and reaching Evans Pass. The road
here attained the highest elevation of the journey, eight thousand and
ninety-two feet above the level of the sea. The travellers had now only
to descend to the Atlantic by limitless plains, levelled by nature. A branch
of the "grand trunk" led off southward to Denver, the capital of Colorado.
The country round about is rich in gold and silver, and more than fifty
thousand inhabitants are already settled there.
hundred and eighty-two miles had been passed over from San Francisco, in
three days and three nights; four days and nights more would probably bring
them to New York. Phileas Fogg was not as yet behind-hand.
the night Camp Walbach was passed on the left; Lodge Pole Creek ran parallel
with the road, marking the boundary between the territories of Wyoming
and Colorado. They entered Nebraska at eleven, passed near Sedgwick, and
touched at Julesburg, on the southern branch of the Platte River.
here that the Union Pacific Railroad was inaugurated on the 23rd of October,
1867, by the chief engineer, General Dodge. Two powerful locomotives, carrying
nine cars of invited guests, amongst whom was Thomas C. Durant, vice-president
of the road, stopped at this point; cheers were given, the Sioux and Pawnees
performed an imitation Indian battle, fireworks were let off, and the first
number of the Railway Pioneer was printed by a press brought on the train.
Thus was celebrated the inauguration of this great railroad, a mighty instrument
of progress and civilisation, thrown across the desert, and destined to
link together cities and towns which do not yet exist. The whistle of the
locomotive, more powerful than Amphion's lyre, was about to bid them rise
from American soil.
was left behind at eight in the morning, and three hundred and fifty-seven
miles had yet to be traversed before reaching Omaha. The road followed
the capricious windings of the southern branch of the Platte River, on
its left bank. At nine the train stopped at the important town of North
Platte, built between the two arms of the river, which rejoin each other
around it and form a single artery, a large tributary, whose waters empty
into the Missouri a little above Omaha.
hundred and first meridian was passed.
and his partners had resumed their game; no one—not even the dummy— complained
of the length of the trip. Fix had begun by winning several guineas, which
he seemed likely to lose; but he showed himself a not less eager whist-player
than Mr. Fogg. During the morning, chance distinctly favoured that gentleman.
Trumps and honours were showered upon his hands.
having resolved on a bold stroke, he was on the point of playing a spade,
when a voice behind him said, "I should play a diamond."
Aouda, and Fix raised their heads, and beheld Colonel Proctor.
Proctor and Phileas Fogg recognised each other at once.
you, is it, Englishman?" cried the colonel; "it's you who are going to
play a spade!"
plays it," replied Phileas Fogg coolly, throwing down the ten of spades.
it pleases me to have it diamonds," replied Colonel Proctor, in an insolent
a movement as if to seize the card which had just been played, adding,
"You don't understand anything about whist."
I do, as well as another," said Phileas Fogg, rising.
only to try, son of John Bull," replied the colonel.
turned pale, and her blood ran cold. She seized Mr. Fogg's arm and gently
pulled him back. Passepartout was ready to pounce upon the American, who
was staring insolently at his opponent. But Fix got up, and, going to Colonel
Proctor said, "You forget that it is I with whom you have to deal, sir;
for it was I whom you not only insulted, but struck!"
said Mr. Fogg, "pardon me, but this affair is mine, and mine only. The
colonel has again insulted me, by insisting that I should not play a spade,
and he shall give me satisfaction for it."
and where you will," replied the American, "and with whatever weapon you
in vain attempted to retain Mr. Fogg; as vainly did the detective endeavour
to make the quarrel his. Passepartout wished to throw the colonel out of
the window, but a sign from his master checked him. Phileas Fogg left the
car, and the American followed him upon the platform. "Sir," said Mr. Fogg
to his adversary, "I am in a great hurry to get back to Europe, and any
delay whatever will be greatly to my disadvantage."
what's that to me?" replied Colonel Proctor.
said Mr. Fogg, very politely, "after our meeting at San Francisco, I determined
to return to America and find you as soon as I had completed the business
which called me to England."
you appoint a meeting for six months hence?"
ten years hence?"
six months," returned Phileas Fogg; "and I shall be at the place of meeting
is an evasion," cried Stamp Proctor. "Now or never!"
good. You are going to New York?"
difference is it to you? Do you know Plum Creek?"
replied Mr. Fogg.
the next station. The train will be there in an hour, and will stop there
ten minutes. In ten minutes several revolver-shots could be exchanged."
well," said Mr. Fogg. "I will stop at Plum Creek."
guess you'll stay there too," added the American insolently.
replied Mr. Fogg, returning to the car as coolly as usual. He began to
reassure Aouda, telling her that blusterers were never to be feared, and
begged Fix to be his second at the approaching duel, a request which the
detective could not refuse. Mr. Fogg resumed the interrupted game with
o'clock the locomotive's whistle announced that they were approaching Plum
Creek station. Mr. Fogg rose, and, followed by Fix, went out upon the platform.
Passepartout accompanied him, carrying a pair of revolvers. Aouda remained
in the car, as pale as death.
of the next car opened, and Colonel Proctor appeared on the platform, attended
by a Yankee of his own stamp as his second. But just as the combatants
were about to step from the train, the conductor hurried up, and shouted,
"You can't get off, gentlemen!"
asked the colonel.
twenty minutes late, and we shall not stop."
am going to fight a duel with this gentleman."
sorry," said the conductor; "but we shall be off at once. There's the bell
very sorry, gentlemen," said the conductor. "Under any other circumstances
I should have been happy to oblige you. But, after all, as you have not
had time to fight here, why not fight as we go along?
wouldn't be convenient, perhaps, for this gentleman," said the colonel,
in a jeering tone.
be perfectly so," replied Phileas Fogg.
we are really in America," thought Passepartout, "and the conductor is
a gentleman of the first order!"
he followed his master.
combatants, their seconds, and the conductor passed through the cars to
the rear of the train. The last car was only occupied by a dozen passengers,
whom the conductor politely asked if they would not be so kind as to leave
it vacant for a few moments, as two gentlemen had an affair of honour to
settle. The passengers granted the request with alacrity, and straightway
disappeared on the platform.
which was some fifty feet long, was very convenient for their purpose.
The adversaries might march on each other in the aisle, and fire at their
ease. Never was duel more easily arranged. Mr. Fogg and Colonel Proctor,
each provided with two six-barrelled revolvers, entered the car. The seconds,
remaining outside, shut them in. They were to begin firing at the first
whistle of the locomotive. After an interval of two minutes, what remained
of the two gentlemen would be taken from the car.
could be more simple. Indeed, it was all so simple that Fix and Passepartout
felt their hearts beating as if they would crack. They were listening for
the whistle agreed upon, when suddenly savage cries resounded in the air,
accompanied by reports which certainly did not issue from the car where
the duellists were. The reports continued in front and the whole length
of the train. Cries of terror proceeded from the interior of the cars.
Proctor and Mr. Fogg, revolvers in hand, hastily quitted their prison,
and rushed forward where the noise was most clamorous. They then perceived
that the train was attacked by a band of Sioux.
not the first attempt of these daring Indians, for more than once they
had waylaid trains on the road. A hundred of them had, according to their
habit, jumped upon the steps without stopping the train, with the ease
of a clown mounting a horse at full gallop.
were armed with guns, from which came the reports, to which the passengers,
who were almost all armed, responded by revolver-shots.
had first mounted the engine, and half stunned the engineer and stoker
with blows from their muskets. A Sioux chief, wishing to stop the train,
but not knowing how to work the regulator, had opened wide instead of closing
the steam-valve, and the locomotive was plunging forward with terrific
had at the same time invaded the cars, skipping like enraged monkeys over
the roofs, thrusting open the doors, and fighting hand to hand with the
the baggage-car, they pillaged it, throwing the trunks out of the train.
The cries and shots were constant. The travellers defended themselves bravely;
some of the cars were barricaded, and sustained a siege, like moving forts,
carried along at a speed of a hundred miles an hour.
behaved courageously from the first. She defended herself like a true heroine
with a revolver, which she shot through the broken windows whenever a savage
made his appearance. Twenty Sioux had fallen mortally wounded to the ground,
and the wheels crushed those who fell upon the rails as if they had been
worms. Several passengers, shot or stunned, lay on the seats.
necessary to put an end to the struggle, which had lasted for ten minutes,
and which would result in the triumph of the Sioux if the train was not
stopped. Fort Kearney station, where there was a garrison, was only two
miles distant; but, that once passed, the Sioux would be masters of the
train between Fort Kearney and the station beyond.
was fighting beside Mr. Fogg, when he was shot and fell. At the same moment
he cried, "Unless the train is stopped in five minutes, we are lost!"
be stopped," said Phileas Fogg, preparing to rush from the car.
monsieur," cried Passepartout; "I will go."
had not time to stop the brave fellow, who, opening a door unperceived
by the Indians, succeeded in slipping under the car; and while the struggle
continued and the balls whizzed across each other over his head, he made
use of his old acrobatic experience, and with amazing agility worked his
way under the cars, holding on to the chains, aiding himself by the brakes
and edges of the sashes, creeping from one car to another with marvellous
skill, and thus gaining the forward end of the train.
suspended by one hand between the baggage-car and the tender, with the
other he loosened the safety chains; but, owing to the traction, he would
never have succeeded in unscrewing the yoking-bar, had not a violent concussion
jolted this bar out. The train, now detached from the engine, remained
a little behind, whilst the locomotive rushed forward with increased speed.
on by the force already acquired, the train still moved for several minutes;
but the brakes were worked and at last they stopped, less than a hundred
feet from Kearney station.
of the fort, attracted by the shots, hurried up; the Sioux had not expected
them, and decamped in a body before the train entirely stopped.
the passengers counted each other on the station platform several were
found missing; among others the courageous Frenchman, whose devotion had
just saved them. | <urn:uuid:612d1c9b-05e2-43e2-9066-3aecc44cc090> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://aroundtheworld.phileas-fogg.net/aroundtheworld/80days-chapter29.html | 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 | 0.97268 | 2,800 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Heritage and Local Studies Events
Triumph & Tragedy: The World of the Cranmers and the Simpsons
4 May - 12 July. 2nd floor, Morden Library, Merton Civic Centre.
The Cranmers and their descendants, the Simpson family, owned the manor of Mitcham Canons for over 250 years. They were involved in all aspects of village life, from land rights and poor relief, to local industry, taxation and education. Wealth and status enabled them to enjoy foreign travel and a privileged existence, yet they also experienced their share of tragedy.
Based on images and extracts from family letters, this exhibition will reveal more about the Cranmers and the world in which they lived.
Did You Know? : A Look at the History of West Barnes
9 May - July 30, 2nd floor, Morden Library, Merton Civic Centre.
This small-scale display looks at different aspects of local heritage in the West Barnes area, from housing and industry, to agriculture, leisure time, local transport and the war years.
Wimbledon Football Club - an A-Z.
4 June, 10.30 - 12.00. Wimbledon Library, 35 Wimbledon Hill Road, Wimbledon. SW19 7BN
This illustrated talk will look at the colourful history of Wimbledon Football Club from its origins as the "Old Centrals," to F A Cup glory. Topics will include star players, team managers, sports grounds, trophies and key victories.
This event is aimed at adults
Info: Tel. Wimbledon Library 01159 293388 Email: email@example.com
West Barnes Local History Group
Merton Heritage Centre organises a monthly programme of talks at West Barnes Library. These are held on the third Tuesday of each month from 10.30am to 12 noon. The next scheduled events are as follows:
Game, Set & Match: The History of the All England Lawn Tennis Club
18 June, 10.30 - 12.00 West Barnes Library, Station Road, Motspur Park
Discover more about the historic sports venue and the world famous Wimbledon tennis championship
Memories of Motspur Park
16 July, 10.30 - 12.00 West Barnes Library, Station Rd, Motspur Park
Historial anecdotes based on the memories of Bruce Bendell, a resident of Motspur Park between the 1930s and 1950s.
William Morris at Merton
13 August, 10.30 -12.00 ( Note change of date ) West Barnes Library, Motspur Park
Find out about the life and work of this internationally renowned artist, designer, writer and Socialist thinker, including his links to Merton's industrial heritage. | <urn:uuid:cd4f0a24-eb3f-460e-852b-c899f88adcb4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://arena.yourlondonlibrary.net/web/merton/heritage-and-local-studies-events | 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 | 0.924795 | 562 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Creator of solar microinverter sees 100 employees in ’09
PETALUMA – Enphase Energy continues to grow despite an economy that has many technology companies struggling.
Buoyed by an infusion of $22.5 million in May of this year from both new and returning venture capital companies, Enphase is adding staff as quickly as it can find qualified workers.
The company grew from 55 employees in May to 70 currently and expects to have a staff of 100 by the end of the year, according to Director of Marketing Leesa Lee.
If Enphase has a challenge, it’s that demand for the company’s product is outgrowing manufacturing capacity, leading to a scramble to find contract manufacturing partners and ramp up production, she said.
Launched in 2008, Enphase was the first to market with a system that uses high-efficiency microinverters to convert energy from solar panels. The system includes Web-based analytics to maximize energy harvest and simplify design, installation and management of solar projects, increasing energy harvest by 5 percent to 25 percent and reducing labor costs by about 15 percent.
Investors love the technology because energy storage is an expensive and cumbersome component of large solar installations.
So far, Madrone Capital, Bay Partners, Third Point Ventures, RockPort Capital Partners and Applied Ventures LLC have put $53 million into Enphase.
According to Enphase President and CEO Paul Nahi, the company has tens of thousands of units installed in the U.S. and Canada.
The company is planning an aggressive move into the European marketplace in 2010. Although Europeans are fans of solar energy – Germany has the most installations per capita in the world – they lag in microinverter technology.
“The Enphase microinverter is a particularly American phenomenon because the technology has close ties to the communications, semiconductor and software industries,” said Mr. Nahi.
The company sells through solar and electrical distributors and directly to solar module makers and installers.
“We’ve ramped up production to meet demand and have just signed a partnership with one of the largest contract manufacturers in the world – Singapore-based Flextronics,” said Ms. Lee.
Enphase has not seen any downturn in demand despite the economy, she said, because the Enphase Microinverter Systems are resonating with solar installers and system owners.
“They like the increased energy harvest, improved reliability and a simpler and safer way to install and manage a solar energy system,” she said.
For more information, visit www.enphaseenergy.com.
Copyright © 1988–2013 North Bay Business Journal
View the policy for linking to website content. | <urn:uuid:ef41d41d-423b-4d74-9c38-6394b41261ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/14548/with-22-million-infusion-enphase-sees-rising-demand/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938456 | 561 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Most people have heard that human inheritance is spelled out in our DNA and activated through our genes. Yet few know anything about epigenetics, a variety of methods that our cells have evolved to transmit heritable changes without changing DNA.
Among other things, epigenetics is crucial to differentiation, the process which makes one cell from another, and thus is at the heart of the mystery of stem cells.
Genomic imprinting is a type of epigenetic change that causes one copy of a particular gene to be turned off, depending on its parental origin. It works largely by altering the methylation patterns"the addition or subtraction of methyl groups"around a gene, but not the DNA sequence itself. These methylation patterns are reprogrammed when passed from generation to generation, carrying instructions related to the parent from whom that copy was inherited but without altering the DNA.
Abnormal methylation patterns in cancerous cells were discovered more than 20 years ago. Yet tumor cells have so many things wrong with them, including methylation abnormalities, that a precise cause-and-effect relationship between cancer and epigenetic alterations has been difficult to pin down, says Andrew Feinberg of the John Hopkins School of Medicine, who has been a pioneer in unraveling the epigenetics of cancer.
Now Feinberg has taken a new look at genomic imprinting, as a cancer-predisposing factor. Feinberg analyzed a common epigenetic alteration—found in 5–10 percent of the general population—that involves the loss of imprinting on an insulin-like growth factor gene called IGF2. Loss of imprinting of IGF2 has been associated statistically with individuals who have personal and familial histories of colorectal cancer. Turning to mice that modeled the loss of IGF2 imprinting, Feinberg found an increase in frequency of tumors in mice who also had mutations in a cancer-associated gene called Apc. In the mutant Apc mice, the loss of IGF2 imprinting seems to particularly affect the behavior of the adult stem cells that continually regenerate the colon in mice. This probably plays a role in the increased risk of colon cancer, says Feinberg.
Spotting epigenetic markers like lost IGF2 in humans could be used in future cancer-prevention strategies. Says Feinberg, “It could be possible to screen for colon cancer risk by looking at the epigenetic changes in colon cells of healthy people.”
The American Society for Cell Biology
46th Annual Meeting
San Diego, CA
December 9–13, 2006
10:00 am, U.S. Pacific Time
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Johns Hopkins University
East Baltimore Campus, Ross 1064
Baltimore, MD 21205
Sunday, Dec. 10
3:45 pm–4:05 pm
Epigenetics and Chromatin Remodeling
The Epigenetics of Cancer Etiology
Department of Medical Genetics
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:06f79fa0-9c6c-4bb4-836a-234df6f481a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychcentral.com/news/archives/2006-12/asfc-iod120406.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93326 | 627 | 3.96875 | 4 |
Behind the buzz and beyond the hype:
Our Nanowerk-exclusive feature articles
(Nanowerk Spotlight) In the wake of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico we published a Nanowerk Spotlight on Nanotechnology-based solutions for oil spills that provided a general overview of the wide variety of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies that offer significant promise for oil spill cleanup and recovery. One problem with many existing solutions though is that they are one-offs, i.e. one they absorb oil they can't be re-used and need to be disposed of (which could in turn create secondary pollution effects).
Ideally, any oil absorbent material used during ocean oil spills should be reusable and with special wettability that could controllably capture and release oil pollution repeatedly. Addressing this issue, researchers have now created an underwater water/solid interface inspired by fish scales. The surface of this new material shows superamphiphobicity in air and superoleophilicity under water, allowing it to be repeatedly used to capture and collect oil droplets in water.
Reporting their findings in the May 2, 2011 online edition of Advanced Materials ("Underwater Oil Capture by a Three-Dimensional Network Architectured Organosilane Surface"), a research team from Dalian Maritime University and the Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, have developed a novel organosilane surface which mimics the 'desert beetle effect' (this beetle relies on its bumpy back, consisting
of alternating wax-coated hydrophobic regions and non-waxy hydrophilic regions, to capture drinking water from fog-laden wind) underwater and could repeatedly capture and collect oil droplets in water.
"We synthesized the organosilane surfaces by a simple phase separation reaction and grafted to glass substrates," Meihua Jin, a researcher at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering
at Dalian Maritime University, and first author of the paper, explains to Nanowerk. "Hydrolysis of the Si-Cl organosilane monomer yielded Si-OH and polycondensation formed highly cross-linked 3D networks."
Scanning electron microscopy shows that the surface is composed of nanofibers and microbumps, which criss-cross each other and form a 3D network architecture.
"It is well known that the wettability of a surface is governed by the surface free-energy as well as the surface roughness," says Jin. "Our organosilane-grafted surface is of a relatively low free-energy and high roughness, its wettability is thereby evaluated by a contact angle system. in air, the contact angle of water and oil are 168.2 ± 1.3° and 148.1 ± 2.1°, respectively. This result confirms that the surface presents a typical superamphiphobic property in air. The rough structure formed by the 3D nanofibers and microbumps contributes greatly to an increase in the amphiphobicity, and makes the surface amphihydrophobic."
The oil capture and collection process with a organosilane surface glass tube. Step 1: a layer of oil droplets is sprayed in bottom of a water container. Step 2: Glass tube touches and captures the oil drops underwater. Step 3: as the glass tube moves, oil drops are gathered together. Step 4–6: the oil droplets are sucked off from the water. (Reprinted with permission from Wiley-VCH Verlag)
To demonstrate that their novel material can be used to collect oil droplets in water, the team carried out an experiment to determine the capability to capture oil on its surface (see images above): A layer of oil droplets was sprayed in a container filled with water. As the glass tube was moved underwater, the oil droplets gathered
at the bottom of the glass tube coalesced together and could then be easily extracted from the water.
"After the organosilane surface was removed from the water surface, the superamphiphobic surface in air was easily cleaned by flushing," says Jin. "In other words, the oil droplet collected underwater could fall off from the surface automatically and quickly."
This study opens up a new strategy to the disposal of oily wastewater, which is certainly significant for future industrial applications. | <urn:uuid:366f0094-2f7d-4435-b726-75b314a6ee59> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=21272.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941447 | 898 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Petra ("petra-πέτρα", cleft in the rock in Greek; Arabic: البتراء , Al-Batrāʾ) is an archaeological site in the Arabah, Ma'an Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is renowned for its rock-cut architecture. Petra is also one of the new wonders of the world. The Nabateans constructed it as their capital city around 100 BC.
The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced to the West by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate prize-winning sonnet by John William Burgon. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage. In 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage Site.
Pliny the Elder and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the Nabataeans, Aramaic-speaking Semites, and the centre of their caravan trade. Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf.
Excavations have demonstrated that it was the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply that led to the nnnn rise of the desert city, in effect creating an artificial oasis. The area is visited by flash floods and archaeological evidence demonstrates the Nabataeans controlled these floods by the use of dams, cisterns and water conduits. These innovations stored water for prolonged periods of drought, and enabled the city to prosper from its sale.
Although in ancient times Petra might have been approached from the south via Saudi Arabia on a track leading around Jabal Haroun ("Aaron's Mountain"), across the plain of Petra, or possibly from the high plateau to the north, most modern visitors approach the ancient site from the east. The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark, narrow gorge (in places only 3–4 metres wide) called the Siq ("the shaft"), a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa. At the end of the narrow gorge stands Petra's most elaborate ruin, Al Khazneh (popularly known as "the Treasury"), hewn into the sandstone cliff.
A little further from the Treasury, at the foot of the mountain called en-Nejr, is a massive theatre, so placed as to bring the greatest number of tombs within view. At the point where the valley opens out into the plain, the site of the city is revealed with striking effect. The amphitheatre has actually been cut into the hillside and into several of the tombs during its construction. Rectangular gaps in the seating are still visible. Almost enclosing it on three sides are rose-colored mountain walls, divided into groups by deep fissures, and lined with knobs cut from the rock in the form of towers.
Evidence suggests that settlements had begun in and around Petra in the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. It is listed in Egyptian campaign accounts and the Amarna letters as Pel, Sela or Seir. Though the city was founded relatively late, a sanctuary existed there since very ancient times. Stations 19 through 26 of the stations list of Exodus are places associated with Petra. This part of the country was biblically assigned to the Horites, the predecessors of the Edomites. The habits of the original natives may have influenced the Nabataean custom of burying the dead and offering worship in half-excavated caves. Although Petra is usually identified with Sela which also means a rock, the Biblical references refer to it as "the cleft in the rock", referring to its entrance. 2 Kings xiv. 7 seems to be more specific. In the parallel passage, however, Sela is understood to mean simply "the rock" (2 Chr. xxv. 12, see LXX).
On the authority of Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews iv. 7, 1~ 4, 7) Eusebius and Jerome (Onom. sacr. 286, 71. 145, 9; 228, 55. 287, 94) assert that Rekem was the native name and Rekem appears in the Dead Sea scrolls as a prominent Edom site most closely describing Petra and associated with Mount Seir. But in the Aramaic versions Rekem is the name of Kadesh, implying that Josephus may have confused the two places. Sometimes the Aramaic versions give the form Rekem-Geya which recalls the name of the village El-ji, southeast of Petra. The capital, however, would hardly be defined by the name of a neighboring village The Semitic name of the city, if not Sela, remains unknown. The passage in Diodorus Siculus (xix. 94–97) which describes the expeditions which Antigonus sent against the Nabataeans in 312 BC is understood to throw some light upon the history of Petra but the "petra" referred to as a natural fortress and place of refuge cannot be a proper name and the description implies that the town was not yet in existence
The only place in Petra where the name "Rekem" occurs was in the rock wall of the Wadi Musa opposite the entrance to the Siq. About twenty years ago the Jordanians built a bridge over the wadi and this inscription is now buried beneath tons of concrete.
More satisfactory evidence of the date of the earliest Nabataean settlement may be obtained from an examination of the tombs. Two types may be distinguished: the Nabataean and the Greco-Roman. The Nabataean type starts from the simple pylon-tomb with a door set in a tower crowned by a parapet ornament, in imitation of the front of a dwelling-house. Then, after passing through various stages, the full Nabataean type is reached, retaining all the native features and at the same time exhibiting characteristics which are partly Egyptian and partly Greek. Of this type there exist close parallels in the tomb-towers at el-I~ejr in north Arabia, which bear long Nabataean inscriptions and supply a date for the corresponding monuments at Petra. Then comes a series of tombfronts which terminate in a semicircular arch, a feature derived from north Syria. Finally come the elaborate façades copied from the front of a Roman temple; however, all traces of native style have vanished. The exact dates of the stages in this development cannot be fixed. Strangely, few inscriptions of any length have been found at Petra, perhaps because they have perished with the stucco or cement which was used upon many of the buildings. The simple pylon-tombs which belong to the pre-Hellenic age serve as evidence for the earliest period. It is not known how far back in this stage the Nabataean settlement goes, but it does not go back farther than the 6th century BC.
A period follows in which the dominant civilization combines Greek, Egyptian and Syrian elements, clearly pointing to the age of the Ptolemies. Towards the close of the 2nd century BC, when the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kingdoms were equally depressed, the Nabataean kingdom came to the front. Under Aretas III Philhellene, (c.85–60 BC), the royal coins begin. The theatre was probably excavated at that time, and Petra must have assumed the aspect of a Hellenistic city. In the reign of Aretas IV Philopatris, (9 BC–AD 40), the fine tombs of the el-I~ejr type may be dated, and perhaps also the great High-place.
In 106, when Cornelius Palma was governor of Syria, that part of Arabia under the rule of Petra was absorbed into the Roman Empire as part of Arabia Petraea, becoming capital. The native dynasty came to an end. But the city continued to flourish. A century later, in the time of Alexander Severus, when the city was at the height of its splendor, the issue of coinage comes to an end. There is no more building of sumptuous tombs, owing apparently to some sudden catastrophe, such as an invasion by the neo-Persian power under the Sassanid Empire. Meanwhile, as Palmyra (fl. 130–270) grew in importance and attracted the Arabian trade away from Petra, the latter declined. It seems, however, to have lingered on as a religious centre. Epiphanius of Salamis (c.315–403) writes that in his time a feast was held there on December 25 in honor of the virgin Chaabou and her offspring Dushara (Haer. 51).
The Nabataeans worshipped the Arab gods and goddesses of the pre-Islamic times as well as few of their deified kings. The most famous of these was Obodas I who was deified after his death. Dushara was the main male god accompanied by his female trinity: Uzza, Allat and Manah. Many statues carved in the rock depict these gods and goddesses.
The Monastery, Petra's largest monument, dates from the first century BC. It was dedicated to Obodas I and is believed to be the symposium of Obodas the god. This information is inscribed on the ruins of the Monastery (the name is the translation of the Arabic "Ad-Deir").
Christianity found its way into Petra in the 4th century AD, nearly 500 years after the establishment of Petra as a trade center. Athanasius mentions a bishop of Petra (Anhioch. 10) named Asterius. At least one of the tombs (the "tomb with the urn"?) was used as a church. An inscription in red paint records its consecration "in the time of the most holy bishop Jason" (447). After the Islamic conquest of 629–632 Christianity in Petra, as of most of Arabia, gave way to Islam. During the First Crusade Petra was occupied by Baldwin I of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and formed the second fief of the barony of Al Karak (in the lordship of Oultrejordain) with the title Château de la Valée de Moyse or Sela. It remained in the hands of the Franks until 1189. It is still a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church
According to Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth, and where Moses' brother, Aaron, is buried, at Mount Hor, known today as Jabal Haroun or Mount Aaron. The Wadi Musa or "Wadi of Moses" is the Arab name for the narrow valley at the head of which Petra is sited. A mountaintop shrine of Moses' sister Miriam was still shown to pilgrims at the time of Jerome in the fourth century, but its location has not been identified since.
Petra declined rapidly under Roman rule, in large part due to the revision of sea-based trade routes. In 363 an earthquake destroyed many buildings, and crippled the vital water management system The ruins of Petra were an object of curiosity in the Middle Ages and were visited by the Sultan Baibars of Egypt towards the close of the 13th century. The first European to describe them was Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.
Because the structures weakened with age, many of the tombs became vulnerable to thieves, and many treasures were stolen and remain unknown.
On December 6, 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage Site.
In 2006 a team of architects began designing a "Visitor Centre," and Jordan's tourist revenue is expected to increase dramatically with the attraction of visitors on package holidays. The Jordan Times reported in December 2006 that 59,000 people visited in the two months October and November 2006, 25% fewer than the same period in the previous year, which may suggest that the flow of visitors may be affected by perception of political instability or travel safety considerations.
On July 7, 2007, Petra was named one of New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World.
The picturesque site is featured in various films such as: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Passion in the Desert, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, the Sisters of Mercy music video "Dominion", and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It was recreated for the video games Spy Hunter (2001), King's Quest V, Lego Indiana Jones and Sonic Unleashed and appeared in the novels Left Behind, Appointment with Death, The Eagle in the Sand and The Red Sea Sharks, the nineteenth book in The Adventures of Tintin series. It also featured prominently in the Marcus Didius Falco mystery novel. | <urn:uuid:248b2506-17cb-4b68-bdb7-af2cae2cf4b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kingsafaridahab.com/petra.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96297 | 2,762 | 2.953125 | 3 |
The newly released picture book – “1 Little Boy” – takes a refreshing and innovative approach to interactive children’s applications. It is the original story of a little boy who goes on a fantastical journey and along the way is joined by a variety of animal characters from cherished classic tales. The app was carefully contemplated and executed with tremendous attention to detail. The text has a delightful sing-song rhyme and rhythm, the illustrations are remarkably attractive, and the narration is clearly and distinctly enunciated. You can interact with the story in several ways; you can touch each character to hear different sounds and expressions, touch the screen to have characters appear, and record your own voice to narrate the story. It’s a great educational resource, too. Kids are learning on several levels; they can read along with they narrator, they have the opportunity to count and recite numbers, and they can indentify different animals and their sounds. I’m HUGE fan of this application…”1 Little Boy” is a picture-perfect addition to our virtual bookshelf, and it’s an imaginative, refreshing, and amusing way to teach my son.
1 Little Boy
Released: 2010-03-04 00:00:00
Description from the Developer- "One of the best StoryBook Apps" - Jinny Gudmundsen, USA Today
- "I’m HUGE fan of this application! ‘1 Little Boy’ is a picture-perfect addition to our virtual bookshelf... " - Giggleapps.com
An interactive picture-book about a child's bed time imaginary journey. Great educational fun for toddlers!
Skipping down the road, jumping over the moon and landing safely back, animal characters from famous children’s stories and rhymes join the Little Boy on his fantastic journey. The story encourages children to recite numbers and to count up to 10 in a playful, engaging way.
• Narrated, record yourself (The most fun!) or no narration;
• Actively practicing reciting and counting the numbers one to ten;
• Real animal sounds (make the Cat in Boots go m-m-m-me-meow!…);
• Beautiful, high quality illustrations;
Touchoo creates quality, educational apps for kids. Our apps stimulate the child on many developmental levels: cognitive, emotional, motoric, and social - all strictly age appropriate.
Our apps are made by parents, for parents.
Visit our website www.touchoo.com for details, feedback and questions.
To report problems or to give feedback, please contact us: support [at] touchoo.com
Touchoo is a member of Moms with Apps, a collaborative group of family-friendly developers seeking to promote quality apps for kids and families.
Recommended Ages: 1-3,3-6 | <urn:uuid:73d83608-e1c9-48d2-9f4a-277cf8157c3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.giggleapps.com/reviews/1-little-boy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917982 | 591 | 1.945313 | 2 |
The Spanish Synagogue is Home of the Jewish Museum, the Most Visited Prague Museum:
The Spanish Synagogue (Španelská Synagoga) in Prague sits on a site that was previously the Old Shul, the oldest Jewish temple in Prague (circa 12th century). When the Jews were expelled from Spain during the reign of the Catholic monarchs, one group found shelter in Prague. The Old Shul was given to them as a place of worship and from that time on, it was also called the Spanish Synagogue.
In 1868, the Old Shul was demolished and replaced with a neo-Moorish building whose architectural style is a reminder of the golden age of Jewish culture in Spain. The new synagogue was equipped with the latest technology of that time, with an emphasis on good acoustics as temple music and singing were held here frequently. František Škroup, the composer of the Czech national anthem, served as organist here between 1836-45.
The new Spanish Synagogue has a central, square floor plan which is bounded on three sides by raised galleries which open onto the main nave. Its interior walls, doors and gallery balustrades are richly decorated with elaborate Moorish polychrome, gilded motifs and stained glass. Although the interiors were restored in the 1950s, the building had to be closed in 1979 due to structural problems. It was after a long delay of almost 20 years before the reconstruction was carried out and the building re-opened.
Jewish Museum in Prague
Today the Spanish Synagogue is one of the six locations for the Jewish Museum (Židovské muzeum v Praze), the most visited museum in the Czech Republic. The Museum has one of the most extensive collections of Jewish art in the world and artefacts and books which tell of the life and history of Jews in the region. If you are interested in learning more about the Jewish quarter and Prague’s Jewish history, there is a Walking Tour of Jewish Prague that you can join which includes entry to the Jewish Museum.
Music at the Spanish Synagogue
With its long history of hosting music, the Spanish Synagogue also offers a diverse programme of classical and contemporary music. With its stunning golden interiors and good acoustics, the synagogue is a must-visit for anyone looking to enjoy some concerts in Prague. See what’s on at the Spanish Synagogue Here.
How to get to the Spanish Synagogue:
The Spanish Synagogue is located in the centre of Prague, on the corner of Dušní and Vezenská Streets . You can get there by Metro: Staromestska (line A). | <urn:uuid:a0963fef-9fe3-41dc-ad76-8f04824cd0fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.travelsignposts.com/Czech-Republic/featured/spanish-synagogue-prague | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972546 | 558 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a growing policy priority in many countries. A growing body of research recognises that ECEC brings a wide range of benefits, including social and economic benefits; better child well-being and learning outcomes as a foundation for lifelong learning, more equitable outcomes and reduction of poverty, and increased intergenerational social mobility.
These positive benefits are directly related to the “quality” of ECEC. The new policy output Encouraging Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care was accorded the highest priority among all proposed policy outputs in 2008 by the Education Policy Committee. This activity will investigate what defines quality, which policies can promote and enhance quality, and how such policies can be effectively put in place, drawing on the work of Starting Strong I & II.
The main overarching policy question of the project is: How can countries put in place policies that would raise quality in ECEC? The analytical approach focuses on addressing the challenge of moving from policy analysis to successful implementation.
The project will deliver four output types:
Output type 1: Policy tool box
- The policy tool box will aim to translate or transform selected policy orientations into practical policy tools, checklists, materials and/or strategies for implementation.
Output type 2: Country-specific policy profile
- Of the policy tool box, a country-specific policy profile can be prepared for countries, adapted to their country-specific needs.
Output type 3: Policy forum(s) and a summary of the forum(s) in individual countries
- Using the country-specific policy profile, policy forum(s) will aim to further help countries for
effective implementation of the selected policy.
Output type 4: Round table discussion on implementation
- After a round of national policy forums had been held, the OECD will hold a roundtable among all
member countries to exchange country experiences featuring those countries that participated in policy forum(s).
The project was launched in 2010. For more information on the project methodology, click here. | <urn:uuid:ae6f1475-3505-4275-93bc-2a6d805a1e02> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/enhancingqualityinearlychildhoodeducationandcareecec.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905951 | 412 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Year of the Snake
13 February 2013 | Article
This week, Chinese New Year celebrations mark the beginning of the Year of the Snake and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is celebrating snakes and their importance for healthy habitats and livelihoods.
Snakes are found in every continent except Antarctica and in almost every habitat including the sea and even the Himalayan Mountains. Their presence is important for healthy ecosystems as they are predators as well as prey for other species. Many species feed on rodents and other pest animals and can be an important source of pest control in many tropical countries. Snake venom is also used for medicinal purposes in the prevention and treatment of heart attacks, while the sale of snake skins for use in the fashion industry can be an important source of income for some people. Snakes are also increasingly popular pets and the international pet trade provides another source of income for many communities in Asian countries.
There are nearly 3,500 described species of snake and of the 1,518 listed on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, 185 are listed as threatened. These include iconic species such as the King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), the world’s largest venomous snake, listed as Vulnerable as a result of combined pressures from deforestation and intense harvesting for traditional medicine, meat and skins. These activities are also major threats for many other species of snake, including a number whose ranges are restricted by living on small islands, such as three Critically Endangered species, Boo-Liat's Kukri Snake (Oligodon booliati), Pulau Tioman Ground Snake (Gongylosoma mukutense) and Calamaria ingeri, all of which are confined to less than 100 km2 of intact forest on the Malaysian resort island Pulau Tioman.
Over 200 species of snakes are found in China. Of the 12 species included so far on the IUCN Red List in threatened categories, one is the Mangshan Viper (Protobothrops mangshanensis), listed as Endangered, which has suffered severe population decline as a result of habitat loss and overexploitation led by demand in the international pet trade. A recent study estimated that the surviving population may contain as few as 462 individuals and concluded that current levels of protection are inadequate to ensure its survival.
Unfortunately, snakes are still unpopular creatures in many communities and can be treated unfavorably. In tropical Asia, snake species do not benefit from any strict conservation measures and no protected areas have been established that specifically protect habitats of rare or threatened snakes. Most species in this region are utilized on a national or international level but as many of these are not covered by CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, it is difficult to attract funds needed to carry out detailed studies determining the impacts of this exploitation on these species.
IUCN is supporting snake conservation through its network of experts in three snake-focused IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Specialist Groups, including the IUCN SSC Boa and Python Specialist Group, IUCN SSC Sea Snake Specialist Group and the IUCN SSC Viper Specialist Group.
The IUCN Boa and Python Specialist Group have contributed to the report, “Trade in Southeast Asian Python Skins” led by the International Trade Centre and TRAFFIC which identified that illegal trade in python skins is occurring due to poor regulation or a lack of transparency throughout the trade chain. The trade provides an income that can improve the livelihoods of communities throughout Southeast Asia but better monitoring is recommended to ensure future sustainability and habitat conservation.
Through The Orianne Society, the IUCN SSC Viper Specialist Group is involved with the conservation of a number of species in the USA and South America using their “Science fuelled boots on the ground conservation” approach which includes projects for the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus), the largest rattlesnake in the world. They are also improving people’s attitudes to snakes by encouraging the change of rattlesnake roundup events into wildlife festivals.
During the Chinese Year of the Snake, the IUCN SSC snake Specialist Groups will continue their efforts to increase awareness of the importance of snakes and work with governments, organizations and communities to continue current conservation projects and develop more on the ground action where it is needed. IUCN is also in the process of undertaking a global assessment of reptiles to evaluate the conservation status of all the world’s snakes and other reptiles for inclusion on the IUCN Red List, an effort supported by a dedicated Snake and Lizard Red List Authority.
For more information please contact:
Camellia Williams, IUCN Species Programme Communications, IUCN, t +41 22 999 0154, e firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:cf484f81-a158-4112-a532-83bf324ff69d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://maggie.roth@iucn.org/news_homepage/?11986/Year-of-the-Snake | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927335 | 1,011 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Definition of baby:
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk; "the baby began to cry again"; "she held the baby in her arms"; "it sounds simple, but when you have your own baby it is all so different"
the youngest member of a group (not necessarily young); "the baby of the family"; "the baby of the Supreme Court"
an immature childish person; "he remained a child in practical matters as long as he lived"; "stop being a baby!"
an unborn child; a human fetus; "I felt healthy and very feminine carrying the baby"; "it was great to feel my baby moving about inside"
(slang) sometimes used as a term of address for attractive young women
a very young mammal; "baby rabbits"
a project of personal concern to someone; "this project is his baby"
treat with excessive indulgence; "grandparents often pamper the children"; "Let's not mollycoddle our students!" | <urn:uuid:c40c01c7-e337-4190-8609-acba175e130c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chencer.com/hyper/dictionary/b/a/baby.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962211 | 217 | 2.4375 | 2 |
NEW AND IMPROVED PROCESSES FOR TEXTURIZING MILK COMPONENTS
Location: Eastern Regional Research Center
Title: PROPERTIES OF WHEY ISOLATES EXTRUDED UNDER ACIDIC AND ALKALINE CONDITIONS
Submitted to: Journal of Dairy Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: September 14, 2005
Publication Date: December 26, 2005
Citation: Onwulata, C.I., Isobe, S., Tomasula, P.M., Cooke, P.H. Properties of whey isolates extruded under acidic and alkaline conditions. J. Dairy Science. 89: 71-81. 2005.
Interpretive Summary: Some snack foods containing textured proteins and meat-like products are made from starch and proteins cooked in a machine called an extruder. The extruder consists of a long, heated barrel with two mixing screws inside. The starch and protein are cooked as the screws mixes and pushes the materials through the extruder to form the snack or meat-like food. The crispness of the product is determined by its moisture content and its temperature as it leaves the extruder. It was determined that addition of WPI in its native globular form adversely affected the crunchiness, color, and the texture of extruded snack or meat-like foods. To improve the usefulness of the protein used in the snack or meal-like foods, the texture of whey protein isolates are first changed in the extruder using different pH conditions. The temperature, moisture and pH conditions of the WPI leaving the extruder were adjusted to modify the structure of the WPI. This created a form of WPI that makes better snack or meat-like product. This knowledge allows the creation of nutritious expanded crunchy snack foods, and utilizes whey protein, a byproduct of the cheesemaking process.
Whey proteins have wide acceptance and use in many products due to their beneficial nutritional properties. To further increase the amount of whey protein isolates (WPI) that may be added to products such as extruded snacks and meats, texturization of WPI is necessary. Texturization changes the folding of globular proteins improving interaction with other ingredients and creates new functional ingredients. In this study, WPI pastes (60% solids) were extruded in a twin screw extruder at 100°C with four pH-adjusted water streams; an acidic (pH 2.0 ± 0.2), HACI, and alkaline (pH 12.4 ± 0.4), NALK streams, from 2 N HCl and 2 N NaOH respectively, and two electrolyzed water streams, acid (pH 2.5 ± 0.2), EACI, or alkaline (pH 11.5 ± 0.4 ), EALK; these were compared to WPI extruded with deionized water, NEUT. The effects of water acidity on WPI solubility at pH 7, color, microstructure, Rapid Visco-Analyzer (RVA) pasting properties and physical structure were determined. Alkaline conditions increased insolubility caused yellowing and increased pasting properties significantly (p<0.05). Acidic conditions increased solubility and decreased WPI pasting properties. Subtle structural changes occurred under acidic conditions, but were more pronounced under alkaline conditions. Overall, alkaline conditions increased denaturation in the extruded WPI resulting in stringy texturized WPI products which could be used in meat applications. | <urn:uuid:a8866c82-5a6e-458b-a124-1763a0ae642e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?seq_no_115=182285 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928006 | 740 | 2.65625 | 3 |
My sun jars were originally a big craft fail. Last summer I decided to make my own sun jars following a tutorial that I found on the web. The tutorial called for removing the stake from a garden solar light, then gluing it to the inside of the glass lid of a wire bail canning jar. It worked great.......for about a week. Then the glue failed. I don't think it could take the hot and humid greenhouse conditions inside the jar. My husband and I tried four other types of glue before I gave up and threw the jars on a shelf in the garage.
This past week I saw the jars and decided to try again. I took one of them to the dollar store and wandered around trying to find a solution. I came home with.........don't laugh........plastic shot glasses and a package of mini disco ball party favors!
My plan was to make the solar light free standing by gluing it to the bottom of a plastic shot glass and setting it the bottom of the jar. The LED bulb hangs down so I had to make a hole in the shot glass to accommodate it. I did this be heating a metal skewer in the burner flame on my stove, then gently pushing it through plastic and twisting it to widen the hole (this is dangerous, attempt at your own risk). My husband had first tried drilling the holes, but this cracked the plastic.
The LED's on my dollar store garden lights were very weak so I decided to place half of a disco ball underneath to reflect the light. After some gentle twisting and pulling I was able to pull apart the two halves.
With super-glue, I attached the solar light to the bottom of the shot glass making sure the LED was sticking through the hole. I also glued the disco ball in the middle of the bottom of the jar. I thought about gluing the solar light/shot glass assembly to the inside of the jar, but left it unattached in case I needed to change the battery. All that was left was putting the solar light in the jar, closing the lid and setting it outside to charge. | <urn:uuid:08009856-f083-448e-bc46-6418b193cd96> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.craftiments.com/2012/06/dollar-store-sun-jars.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96414 | 427 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Cape Town, or the Mother City, is South Africa’s oldest and arguably most stunning city. It lies in a basin at the southern tip of Africa, surrounded by dramatic mountains that rise regally from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean with the legendary Table Mountain standing at its center. This cosmopolitan city has earned the honor of South Africa’s number one tourist destination, and for good reason. The city’s unrivaled beauty, temperate climate, stunning sunsets and historical significance offer something for everyone and ensures that no one leaves disappointed.
Table Mountain, the center of Cape Town’s city’s scenic landscape, is the most photographed and visited tourist sight in Cape Town. This majestic mountain, long believed to be a powerful world energy center, lies at the foot of The Cape Peninsula’s mountain range which comprises Table Mountain National Park. The Park itself is a scenic drive down Cape Town’s stunning coastline. After taking a cable car to the top of Table Mountain for a 720 degree view of Cape Town and the peninsula, head south, to explore some of the city’s most famous and beautiful attractions en route to Cape Point, home of the Cape of Good Hope, the southwestern most point of the African continent.
The coastal drive is a treat for the senses. After rounding Hout Bay, with its magnificent cliff roads built into the mountain with plunging seas below, you will encounter Boulder Island, home to the African penguin colony. Spend time watching the penguins frolic with their human onlookers, and don’t miss the photo ops as the penguins seem to pose for the camera. Back on the road, keep a look out for ostriches, zebras and chacma baboons which populate the landscape and make for spectacular game viewing without leaving your automobile. Once you arrive at Cape Point, take the cable car or walk up to the lighthouse for spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean. On the drive back, stop into the Twelve Apostle’s Hotel and catch the spectacular sunset from their Leopard Bar.
Cape Town’s 3,500,000 inhabitants are a varied lot. Marked by Dutch, British and Malaysian influences, this city is a multicultural melting pot. Not far from Table Mountain you will find Bo-Kaap, home to many of the Cape Muslim population (or Cape Malay as they are sometimes referred) who are chiefly descendants of African, Indian and Malaysian slaves. This neighborhood, buttressed by Signal Hill, is a unique and vibrant area identified by its colorful houses dating back to the 1700s and home to many of the city’s mosques, including Auwal Mosque, Africa’s oldest mosque built in 1794. As you wander through the neighborhood, stop and sample traditional Cape Muslim cuisine, which has heavily influenced traditional South African fare. As an added treat, arrange a driving tour of the Cape Town and Cape Peninsula with Escape to the Cape and ask Shaheed, the owner, to arrange a private cooking class at the home of Latiefa Larney, a celebrated long time Bo-Kaap resident whose cuisine and dinners are legendary.
V&A WATERFRONT, ROBBEN ISLAND
The next morning, head down to V&A Waterfront and take a 30 minute ferry ride across the Atlantic to Robben Island, the political prison that housed Nelson Mandela for 18 of his 27 years. When you first land on Robben Island, you are sheparded to waiting buses and taken on a tour of the island’s famous landmarks. After the bus tour, you are greeted by a former inmate and embark on a guided walk to Nelson Mandela’s former cellblock by way of a tour of Mandela’s garden. It was here, in this small strip of flora amidst concrete, that Mandela secretly stashed his manuscript, “A Long Walk To Freedom”, penned during his imprisonment.
Upon your return from Robben Island, quickly explore the V&A Waterfront and its touristy shops, then head north, about an hour’s drive outside of Cape Town to the Winelands. Here, in Stellenbach, the first town established on the Cape’s wine route, you will find an abundance of wineries and vineyards nestled in the valley, complimented by Dutch architecture. Don’t miss Tokara (www.tokara.com), a winery as renowned for its famous art collection as it is for its sumptuous wines. Have lunch at Tokara’s restaurant, surrounded by magnificent views of their vineyards. Indulge in a uniquely South African lunch of King Klip, a meaty white fish indigenous to South African waters, and sip a glass of Pinotage, a wine produced only in South Africa.
There are many specialty tours in Cape Town that cater to the interest of every traveler. Choose from jazz tours, which visit famous jazz clubs for the jazz lover, to township tours for those who want to get up close with Cape Town’s historical segregated shanty towns and their residents. If your visit is on a Sunday, you can | <urn:uuid:337b436a-407f-41e7-b7a5-258c732a20b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ebony.com/life/travel-cape-town-south-africas-oldest-city | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945929 | 1,060 | 1.804688 | 2 |
REVENUE boss Josephine Feehily has warned that it will be very difficult to avoid paying the new property tax.
She said the authorities have extensive powers to collect the levy and will use them against people who "do not engage with us".
But the chairman of the Revenue Commissioners also admitted that thousands of people will receive property tax demands in error.
Ms Feehily said letters about the new tax may end up going to the wrong people because the authorities have the wrong name for the owner or a family member paid the household charge.
The owner may have died, but the formal transfer of ownership may not have taken place. Tenants may also get the letter by mistake. The onus is on anyone who gets a letter in error to tell Revenue, said Ms Feehily.
"Because there is no existing property register, there will be errors in some cases. We are conscious people will get a letter in error," she said, launching a new information campaign.
Homeowners are due to start getting letters from next week, outlining how the tax works, including a rough estimate of their property's value, and including a two-page form that has to be filled out.
There will also be details on how to assess your property to check if the estimate is correct, and details of how to pay. The form is due back in May, with payment in July for half of the year.
Ms Feehily said the new tax was a self-assessed charge and it was up to homeowners to research their home's value and tell Revenue what it is worth.
"We are not valuing individual properties. We don't know what your house is worth, what condition it is in, and how big it is. We know you have a house, that's all," she said.
People who refuse to fill out the two-page form will have to pay the estimate Revenue has placed on the property.
The tax authorities are presuming that people will be honest about what their homes are worth. Valuations do not need to be too exact.
Revenue will launch an online valuation tool on its website on Sunday. This will allow people to enter some details about their house and pinpoint their location on a map, and they will be given an indicative value.
"We have made this one as easy as possible to file and as easy as possible to pay, but it will also be difficult to avoid," Ms Feehily said.
"We will use the Revenue estimate for the tax due on the property if people do not engage with us, and we will be pursuing it."
The tax body expects at least 80pc of homeowners to have paid the tax at the end of the first year.
Anyone who refuses to pay will have the money taken from their salary, pension or social welfare payments.
Meanwhile, Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has defended the introduction of the property tax, saying householders will be able to engage with Revenue if they feel the estimate of the value of their property is wrong.
Mr Gilmore was responding to questions from Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald in the Dail.
Ms McDonald said the Government was planning to put its hand into the pockets of people who were struggling, with a tax that took no account of individual circumstances. | <urn:uuid:b5329b0b-3b8c-44a4-b365-25627ac3a6e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/dont-try-to-dodge-property-tax-warns-revenue-chief-29116880.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981273 | 671 | 1.5 | 2 |
This surgery involves removing
from the wall of the uterus (womb). Fibroids are noncancerous tumors in the muscle of the uterus.
Reasons for Procedure
Myomectomy is done to relieve problems caused by fibroids without doing a
(removal of the uterus). These problems can include:
- Pelvic pain
- Back pain
- Pressure on the bladder
- Abnormal vaginal bleeding
- Difficulty becoming pregnant
- Discomfort during sexual intercourse
The symptoms caused by fibroids are often successfully controlled with this procedure. This may include a return to a normal menstrual cycle and the ability to become pregnant.
Complications are rare, but no procedure is completely free of risk. If you are planning to have a myomectomy, your doctor will review a list of possible complications, which may include:
- Surgical wound infection
- Recurrence of fibroids
- Damage to other organs
- Wall of the uterus may be weakened if a large fibroid is removed
- Reactions to anesthesia
Need for special precautions in pregnancy (eg, need to deliver by
- Pelvic adhesions that can cause pain and/or bowel blockage
- Problems found during surgery that make removal of the uterus necessary
Severe scarring, resulting in
Factors that may increase the risk of complications include:
Be sure to discuss these risks with your doctor before the procedure.
What to Expect
Your doctor may do the following:
- Physical exam
- Blood tests
- Review your medicines
- Dilation and curettage (D&C)
—a procedure to remove tissue from the lining of the uterus (endometrium)
- Ultrasound—shows images of pelvic organs
- Intravenous pyelogram
—x-rays taken of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder after a contrast medium is injected into a peripheral vein (done if the fibroids are affecting the ureters)
You should discuss with your doctor:
- Whether you should have hormone treatment for 2-4 months before the procedure—This treatment shrinks fibroids. It makes them easier to remove and reduces the risk of excess blood loss during the procedure.
- If cancer is found in the uterus—One option is to remove the uterus during the myomectomy.
- Whether you should donate your own blood for the procedure
Leading up to your procedure:
Talk to your doctor about your medicines. You may be asked to stop taking some medicines up to one week before the procedure, like:
or other anti-inflammatory drugs
Blood thinners, such as
- Arrange for a ride home from the hospital. Also, arrange for help at home.
- Do not eat or drink for at least eight hours before the procedure.
is used most often. It will block any pain and keep you asleep through the surgery. It is given through an IV in your hand or arm.
The doctor will make a small cut in the navel. He will insert a laparoscope into the abdomen through the cut. A laparoscope is a tube with a tiny camera on the end. The doctor will use this to examine the abdomen. Two or three additional small cuts will be made in the abdomen. Other tools will be inserted through these cuts. The doctor will find each fibroid and remove it. In some cases, you may be given the drug Pitressin to reduce blood loss. After the fibroids are removed, the doctor will use stitches to close the incision area.
Laparoscopic View of Uterus
Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
Be aware that in some cases, the doctor may need to switch to an
open surgery. During an open surgery, she will make a larger cut in the abdomen to do the surgery.
After the procedure, you will be:
- Taken to the postoperative area
- Watched for complications
- Given IV fluids and medicines
Your doctor will give you pain medicine to help control the pain.
You will either stay overnight or leave the hospital the same day as your surgery.
Full recover will take about 2-4 weeks. When you return home, do the following to help ensure a smooth recovery:
Be sure to follow your doctor's
- Wear sanitary pads or napkins to absorb blood. The first menstruation after the procedure may be heavier than normal.
- Try to walk often. This will decrease the risk of
- Take medicines as prescribed by your doctor. If you had to stop medicines before the procedure, ask your doctor when you can start again.
- Ask your doctor about when it is safe to shower, bathe, or soak in water.
Ask your doctor when you will be able to:
- Return to work and drive
- Resume sexual activity
- Resume strenuous activity (You may need to wait 2-6 weeks.)
Call Your Doctor
After you leave the hospital, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:
- Signs of infection, including fever and chills
- Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or discharge from the incision site
- Excessive vaginal bleeding (soaking more than one pad per hour) after the procedure
- Excessive vaginal discharge that continues beyond one month after the procedure
- Vaginal discharge has a foul odor
- Severe abdominal pain
Headaches, muscle aches,
dizziness, or general ill feeling
constipation, or abdominal swelling
- Pain and/or swelling in one or both legs
- Fibroid symptoms return after the procedure
- Cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain
- Pain, burning, urgency or frequency of urination, or persistent bleeding in the urine
- New, unexplained symptoms
In case of an emergency, call for medical help right away. | <urn:uuid:123951b6-60ea-46d3-bd31-ad3fad4c2b99> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.crouse.org/health/PIB/Myomectomy_Laparoscopic%20Surgery/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903824 | 1,219 | 2.203125 | 2 |
During President Obama’s first term, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a series of aggressive rulemakings targeting coal-fired boilers, including those that supply power to the nation’s power grid, as well as institutional or industrial coal-fired boilers that serve a specific facility. At the same time, hydraulic fracturing changed the marketplace with respect to the supply and price of natural gas. These two factors are driving a sea change from coal to natural gas in terms of power generation, and the intersection of our nation’s energy supply and environmental regulation has been squarely in focus during recent political campaigns.
As the Obama administration begins its second term, the EPA is likely to continue its aggressive regulation of the energy sector, and below are several areas where we think short-term action may be likely:
New source performance standards (NSPS): The Clean Air Act authorizes the EPA to develop technology-based standards that apply to specific categories of stationary sources. In 2012, the EPA issued a final NSPS for the oil and natural gas source category and issued final rules targeting the reduction of volatile organic compound emissions. In January 2013, however, the EPA announced that it would reconsider that standard, including potentially regulating methane emissions to address climate change. Also in 2012, the EPA proposed an NSPS for all power plants that would establish a pollution standard of 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour of output—the level of emissions currently achieved by combined-cycle gas-fired power plants. New coal-fired power plants could achieve that limit only through the use of carbon capture and sequestration.
Hydraulic fracturing: Hydraulic fracturing is a game-changer in terms of its dramatic impact on the supply and price of natural gas. Our nation’s energy infrastructure is being transformed as a result. However, the process of hydraulic fracturing has raised environmental concerns and as the activity has increased, so have calls for stricter regulation. In 2012, the EPA promulgated regulations establishing air standards for natural gas wells that are hydraulically fractured, requiring additional control methods to reduce methane emissions. The EPA also has undertaken a research project into hydraulic fracturing’s effects on water supplies, due in 2014. It is likely that the EPA will seek to regulate the disposal of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing and the use of chemicals in the process.
Cooling water intake structures: To minimize the environmental impacts of cooling water intake systems, Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act requires the EPA to ensure that the location, design, construction and capacity of cooling water intake systems reflect the best technology available. Over the past decade, environmental groups have sued the EPA, alleging that it failed to promulgate regulations and that when it did promulgate regulations, the regulations were flawed. The EPA ultimately agreed to promulgate a final rule by July 2012. In July 2012, the EPA pushed its deadline for a final rule back to July 2013, in order to complete its analysis of data and to address public comments.
Coal ash: The EPA is considering two options for the regulation of coal combustion residuals (including coal ash) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. One option would regulate coal combustion residuals as hazardous waste, which would subject it to much stricter disposal and storage standards. The second option would regulate coal ash as a non-hazardous waste subject to more lenient standards that would operate as guidance for state regulation. Environmental groups have sued the EPA seeking an order forcing the agency to choose between the options and to promulgate final standards. The EPA’s current position is that it is not feasible, given the current state of the agency’s knowledge, to set a rulemaking schedule, and that it must consider additional data. | <urn:uuid:1c12d451-4ea0-43bf-ae9e-669837c5081c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.insidecounsel.com/2013/03/13/regulatory-what-to-expect-in-the-energy-sector?t=careers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956608 | 761 | 3.234375 | 3 |
The previous post < Isn’t Business … > described what Business Intelligence is and is not. This posting will explore the most common applications of Business Intelligence (BI) systems.
Business Intelligence systems benefit organizations by helping put accurate and timely information at the fingertips of decision makers. Undoubtedly some of the most important corporate decisions relates to customers, sales and financials. It should come as no surprise that most common applications of Business Intelligence are related to these subjects. These common applications are:
- Sales Analytics
- Operational Analytics
- Financial Reporting & Analytics
- Compliance Analytics
- Risk Analytics
- Pricing Analytics
- Operations Analytics
- Spatial Analytics
- Website Analytics
- Product Management Analytics
- Inventory Management Analytics
Today the most widely used Business Intelligence application by small and medium sized companies (SMB) are Sales Analytics and Customer Analytics and Financial Reporting. These three applications alone can dramatically help companies by help identify new sales opportunities, increase customer satisfaction and reduce the revenue cycle. Imagine seamlessly identifying cross sell opportunities, Anticipating customer order issues in advance and quickly invoicing the completed jobs.
Identifying the non-performing products/business partners could also be vital to the company’s success. Eliminating non-performing products/business partners could positively impact the overall profitability by reducing allocated resources to manage the product/relationship and hence improve the financial standing of the organization.
For example, if your organization makes money from successful sales by business affiliates to leads generated by you, then you need to maintain a high closing rate to attract the right kind of business partners. Identifying and eliminating non-performing business affiliates is one way to achieve higher closing rate.
Also keeping tap on operation, helps anticipating issues and be prepared to proactively and properly addressing them, in order to increase the likelihood of on-time delivery.
So anytime you need to crunch large volume of numbers, prepare reports from data spread into multiple internal/external systems, seamlessly share information with peers, managers, customers and regulators or setup proactive alerts based on critical business events, remember that Business Intelligence systems can make your life much much easier.
If you are not taking advantage of Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence benefits, this is a great time to contact your trusted technology partner to find out how your business could benefit from these new power tools.
Specializing in predictive analysis, AnalyticsPoint constructs executive dashboard software and other business intelligence tools to gather and organize business objects so that executives can maximize benefits from performance management software. Tools such as a data warehouse and balanced scorecard are used to enhance enterprise business intelligence so that companies can understand and react to circumstances and opportunity with lightning speed and precision.
CHIEF KNOWLEDGE OFFICER | <urn:uuid:9a08ca08-f6be-4bf5-9b20-11f598448359> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://analyticspoint.com/blog/?tag=scorecards | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922974 | 551 | 1.9375 | 2 |
I thought it might be worthwhile pulling together a few resources for the 21st century parent looking to use Buddhism to help them cope with the pressures of life, parenthood and so on.
A Constitution for Living by P.A. Payutto
which pulls together extracts from suttas that give suggestions on how various roles within society would be well filled.
Secondly, a sutta with some good advice on keeping the family together...
AN 4.32 - Sangaha Sutta
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html
- "There are these four grounds for the bonds of fellowship. Which four? Generosity, kind words, beneficial help, consistency. These are the four grounds for the bonds of fellowship."
Generosity, kind words, beneficial help,
& consistency in the face of events,
in line with what's appropriate
in each case, each case.
These bonds of fellowship [function] in the world
like the linchpin in a moving cart.
Now, if these bonds of fellowship were lacking,
a mother would not receive
the honor & respect owed by her child,
nor would a father receive
what his child owes him.
But because the wise show regard
for these bonds of fellowship,
they achieve greatness
and are praised.
and if you're still with me... there's this online book.
A Happy Married Life (A Buddhist Perspective)
by Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... riage.html
And if you want to read more, perhaps try the following books from Sarah Napthali (I've read the first and it's pretty good)...
Buddhism For Mothers - http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.as ... 1741140101
Buddhism For Mothers With Lingering Questions -
http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.as ... 1741149074
All of the Buddha's teachings, regardless of who they're directed at, are all about the alleviation and cessation of suffering. So whilst only a small percentage might be specifically focused on the challenges facing parents, the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path has been helping householders improve their lives for centuries.
What are your experiences as a Buddhist parent?
What Buddhist practices would you recommend for a parent new to Buddhism? | <urn:uuid:6b2ba677-8955-4b7d-872c-9cce9d5e4ca6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?p=48248 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924564 | 515 | 2.109375 | 2 |
PBS NewsHour Reports mHealth Applications Show Promise but Need Further Research
October 6, 2011
The use of mobile phones for medical purposes, or mHealth, holds "promising implications," but "there are still some challenges to overcome," PBS NewsHour reports. Additional research is necessary to determine whether people act on health-related text messages and whether the messages have value for a user, to "questions ... around whether applications can be used across all mobile devices, and how to charge cell phones in areas where electricity is spotty or nonexistent," the news service writes. "Despite all of the challenges, there is progress, especially in the area of collecting health information," NewsHour notes (Epatko, 10/5).
This article was provided by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It is a part of the publication Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report. Visit the Kaiser Family Foundation's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services.
Add Your Comment:
(Please note: Your name and comment will be public, and may even show up in
Internet search results. Be careful when providing personal information! Before
adding your comment, please read TheBody.com's Comment Policy.) | <urn:uuid:d3412796-f291-4f8a-a85d-1564413f4a28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thebody.com/content/64282/pbs-newshour-reports-mhealth-applications-show-pro.html?nxtprv | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905504 | 246 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Seamus is an Irish Setter, but not the frenetic kind. In fact, he is rather torpid and slow-moving, especially when compared to his new little sister, Frieda.
Frieda is 8 pounds of wired, manic Miniature Schnauzer that Seamus’ owner recently adopted. At age 2 years, she is not spayed, not housebroken, not obedience trained, not anything. The only redeeming features she has going for her is an adorable face and a heaping bowlful of human sympathy.
But, this story is about Seamus.
Seamus is too much of a gentleman to tell this smelly, noisy, undisciplined newcomer about how to be a civilized canine companion. Perhaps he hopes he can lead by example. Maybe he doesn’t think she is a permanent resident.
In any case, after a couple of months of Frieda’s incessant whining, pawing, and odorous infiltrations of his personal space, Seamus could take no more.
He lost it. But NOT with Frieda.
Instead, he found a discarded tissue, took it into his lair under the dining room table, and then growled and snapped at his owner when she tried to take it away from him.
She was utterly shocked. Seamus had NEVER done anything like this before.
As enamored – and preoccupied – as she was with the new dog, she hadn’t noticed the signs leading up to the incident with Seamus. In a way, he had been sending out vibrations all along that he was stressed by Frieda’s occupation of his house:
- He gulped his food down even more quickly than usual.
- He would get up and leave the room when Frieda tried to play with him.
- He spent more and more time under the dining room table.
- He seemed reluctant to come in after being outside in the yard.
- He had had an accident in the living room, something he NEVER did before.
Its not that Seamus doesn’t like other dogs. He’s just as amiable and easy-going as any setter. But Frieda, little as she is, takes up a lot of valuable real estate in this family. Her demands for attention, her noise, her smell, changed everything. Seamus withdrew, and then lashed out.
Readers might remember Dog Wars, which detailed the ultimate in clashes that two dogs in a household can incite.
Although this was not the case with Seamus, snapping at his owner was enough of a recognizable call for help to get the trainer in, pronto.
The introduction of any new addition to the family – a child, an adult, a second (or third) dog, is almost always disruptive and potentially disturbing to the resident dog.
Of course, there are things the dog owners can do to help ease the transition:
1. When bringing a new dog home, keep the resident dogs’ areas for sleeping separate so the first dog’s territory isn’t being threatened.
2. Feed the dogs in separate areas, and pick up their food bowls after feeding time is done.
3. Keep the dogs confined in separate areas of your home any time you are away or can’t watch them.
4. While your dogs may enjoy each other as playmates, supervise their play to prevent them from getting over excited.
5. Interrupt their play if one dog begins to bully or growl at the other, and separate them for a few minutes. Praise them when they are playing well together.
And most important, devote plenty of time to each dog individually for both training and play.
Like Seamus, if one dog is much older or less energetic than the other, be sure to give him time and space to himself so he can rest and feel secure. | <urn:uuid:576d1153-0f6e-4bf2-931f-ec6aed9e16ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.timesunion.com/bark/who-invited-you/1872/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980789 | 808 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Rob Epstien’s film splices the 1957 obscenity trial with cartoon animation of Howl itself, alongside interviews with the poet and an early reading of the poem. In this way the poem is folded over and doubled back on throughout the film, and the audience become involved and implicated in the echoes and effects of its language. The film is about poetry and explores the myriad meanings and allusions any one poem can have. Lines from the poem are often heard once, twice, three times and each time the meaning is different. In the staid, stuffy and prim surroundings of the court room, the lawyer for the prosecution reads out illicit sections of the poem: “Neal Cassidy sweetened the snatches of a million girls trembling in the sunset, and were red eyed in the morning but prepared to sweeten the snatch of the sun rise, flashing buttocks under barns and naked in the lake”.
We then hear the same line read again at a poetry reading in monochrome and smokey New York, where an audience of young revolutionaries cheer and whoop. And then again as part of the animation, through melting sunsets and swirling bodies locked in psychedelic embraces. And then we see Ginsberg read it, alone in his room, telling an interviewer about his love for Neal, a love that was never fully returned as Cassidy was struggling to remain straight.
Franco as Ginsberg is sweet and earnest and disarmingly humble. Asked about the Beat Generation he replies, “there’s no Beat Generation, just a bunch of guys trying to get published.” This frank humility is juxtaposed with his equally simple way of looking at poetry, and he tells the tape recorder that he only started writing to impress Jack Kerouac. A lot has been written about how well Franco has adopted Ginsberg’s speaking voice, and it’s true - he masters the warbling New York deepness completely.
The film is suffused with a warm sunny light that lets some sections fall into an overdone nostalgia; it is all a little too dreamy and filmic. The presence of Mad Men’s John Hamm as Lawrence Ferlinghetti's lawyer (for the defence of the publisher) goes no way to reducing this; it is as though Don Draper has walked a block from Madison Avenue and is moonlighting as a lawyer, without even changing his suit! It is the animation that brings the film back to the grotty and depressing reality of what Ginsberg was writing about - the experience of his mother, Carl Solomon and Ginsberg himself in various state-owned mental institutions. The animation has touch of the arcade video game and is similarly apocalyptic, but it allows the film to dwell on the misery and desperate parts of Howl without detracting from its beauty.
This film is worth seeing for so many reasons, but one of the most enjoyable is the trouncing of the trial and the marvellously chosen cast of “experts” who declare the poem meritless trash. | <urn:uuid:8c813ece-cf1a-40ab-b595-f8a769d9abd7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kickingagainstthepricks.org/node/38 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968533 | 617 | 1.875 | 2 |
President Barack Obama said Friday that he would strike down a ban on same-sex marriage if he were on the Supreme Court, and that he believed his administration was obligated to weigh in on a California case before the justices.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Obama opened up about his rationale for signing off on a government brief that was filed in an appeal of California's 2008 prohibition of same-sex marriage.
The Justice Department brief submitted on Thursday urged the high court to invalidate the ban.
"Let's treat everybody fairly. Let's treat everybody equally," Obama said.
The issue could be a defining moment in Obama's presidency, similar to the political impact last year when the high court upheld the health care reform law that he spearheaded.
It is rare for a president to become personally involved in the legal and political considerations in a Supreme Court appeal, and sources say Obama spent a good deal of time reading up on the issue and articulating his views privately before the brief was filed.
The administration is not a party in the California appeal, one of two same-sex marriage cases before the high court this term, and was not required to offer an opinion although the Justice Department often does so in important constitutional cases.
Sources said Obama made the final decision for the administration to submit a viewpoint and signed off on the wording.
He said Friday that he believed it was "important for us to articulate what I believe and what this administration stands for."
The California law, known as Proposition 8, does not provide any rationale for "discriminating against same-sex couples," Obama said. | <urn:uuid:b325359b-a552-47dc-b93f-6ca07c783afe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wxii12.com/news/politics/Obama-says-same-sex-marriage-ban-should-go/-/9677658/19142154/-/d75l72z/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979743 | 325 | 1.945313 | 2 |
In its simplest form, a kitchen garden produces fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs for delicious, healthy meals. A kitchen garden doesn’t have to be right outside the kitchen door, but the closer it is, the better. Think about it this way: The easier it is for you to get into the garden, the more likely it is that you will get tasty things out of it. Did you forget to add the chopped dill on your boiled red-skinned potatoes? No problem — it’s just steps away.
Starting a Kitchen Garden
If you have to choose between a sunny spot or a close one, pick the sunny one. The best location for a new garden is one receiving full sun (at least six hours of direct sunlight per day), and one where the soil drains well. If no puddles remain a few hours after a good rain, you know your site drains well.
After you’ve figured out where the sun shines longest and strongest, your next task will be to define your kitchen garden goals. My first recommendation for new gardeners is to start small, tuck a few successes under your belt in year one, and scale up little by little.
But what if you’re really fired up about it? Even in year one, you may be able to meet a big chunk of your family’s produce needs. In the case of my garden in Scarborough, Maine, we have 1,500 square feet under cultivation, which yields enough to meet nearly half of my family of five’s produce needs for the year. When you do the garden math, it comes out to 300 square feet per person. More talented gardeners with more generous soils and climates are able to produce more food in less space, but maximizing production is not our only goal. We’re also trying to maximize pleasure and health, both our own and that of the garden. Kitchen gardens and gardeners thrive because of positive feedback loops. If your garden harvests taste good and make you feel good, you will feel more motivated to keep on growing.
Preparing the Garden Site
If you’re starting your kitchen garden on a patch of lawn, you can build up from the ground with raised beds, or plant directly in the ground. Building raised beds is a good idea if your soil is poor or doesn’t drain well, and you like the look of containers made from wood, stone or corrugated metal. This approach is usually more expensive, however, and requires more initial work than planting in the ground.
Whether you’re going with raised beds or planting directly in the ground, you’ll need to decide what to do with the sod. You can remove it and compost it, which is hard work, but ensures that you won’t have grass and weeds coming up in your garden. If you’re looking to start a small or medium-sized garden, it’s possible to cut and remove sod in neat strips using nothing more than a sharp spade and some back muscle. For removing grass from a larger area, consider renting a sod cutter.
Otherwise, to avoid sod removal altogether, you can use a technique called “sheet mulching,” or “lasagna gardening,” whereby you smother the grass with one or more layers of organic goodness (untreated cardboard, newspaper, loam, compost, leaves, grass clippings, etc.) in such a way that the grass underneath dies and decomposes, enriching the soil with organic matter. Sheet mulching is particularly effective for kitchen gardens started in the fall, as the sod has more of a chance to break down over the winter. One variation on sheet mulching is to use instant garden beds, which are made by laying out bags of topsoil to form beds.
Choosing Garden Crops
The most important recommendation after “start small” is “start with what you like to eat.” This may go without saying, but I have seen first-year gardens that don’t reflect the eating habits of their growers — a recipe for disappointment. That said, I believe in experimenting with one or two new crops per year that aren’t necessarily favorites for the sake of having diversity in the garden and on our plates.
One of the easiest and most rewarding kitchen gardens is a simple salad garden. Lettuces and other greens don’t require much space or maintenance, and grow quickly. Consequently, they can produce multiple harvests in most parts of the country. If you plant a “cut-and-come-again” salad mix, you can grow five to 10 different salad varieties in a single row. And if you construct a cold frame (which can be cheap and easy if you use salvaged storm windows), you can grow some hearty salad greens year-round.
When it comes to natural flavor enhancers, nothing beats culinary herbs. Every year I grow standbys such as parsley, chives, sage, basil, tarragon, mint, rosemary and thyme, but I also make an effort to try one or two new ones. One consequence of this approach is that I end up expanding my garden a little bit each year, but that’s OK, because my skills and gastronomy are expanding in equal measure, as are my sense of satisfaction and food security.
Planting a Garden: Where, When and How
Next, sketch out a garden plan of what will be planted where, when and how. To do this, you need to get familiar with the various edible crops and what they like in terms of space, water, soil fertility and soil temperatures. See What to Plant Now for this information, sorted by region and month. MOTHER EARTH NEWS also has a new, interactive Vegetable Garden Planner that makes it super simple and fun to handle planning a kitchen garden. Check out a 30-day free trial of the program.
Garden Seeds or Transplants?
When the time comes to plant your kitchen garden, you’ll need to decide which plants to start from seed and which to buy as transplants. Many gardeners choose to plant all of their crops from seed for a variety of reasons, including lower costs, greater selection, and the challenge and satisfaction of seeing a plant go from seed to soup bowl. But whether you’re a greenhorn or a green thumb, there’s no shame in buying seedlings. Doing so increases your chances of success, especially with crops such as eggplants, peppers and tomatoes that require a long growing season. (Learn more about transplanting.)
Mulch, Mulch ... And More Mulch
After you’ve sown your seeds or planted your plants, introduce yourself to the kitchen gardener’s best friend, Mr. Mulch. Just about any organic matter you can get your hands on — straw, grass clippings, pine needles, shredded leaves, dead weeds that haven’t gone to seed — can be used as mulch. I bring in mulch from neighbors who would otherwise throw it away. Mulch plays three main roles: It deters weeds, helps retain moisture, and adds organic matter to the soil as it decays. I apply it to the pathways between my beds and around all of my plants. (Learn more about building healthy soil.)
When and How Much to Water Your Garden
Fruits and vegetables are made mostly of water, so you’ll need to make sure your plants are getting enough to drink. This is especially important for seedlings that haven’t developed a deep root structure. You’ll want to water them lightly every day or two. Once the crops are maturing, they need about an inch of water per week, and more in sandy soils or hot regions. If Mother Nature isn’t providing that amount of rain, you’ll need to water manually or with a drip irrigation system.
Garden Maintenance: Keep An Eye On It
Sun and rain willing, fast growers such as radishes and salad greens will begin to produce crops as early as 20 to 30 days after planting. Check on them regularly so you get to harvest them before someone else does. In my garden, those “someones” include everything from the tiniest of bacteria to the largest of raccoons. Various protective barriers and organic products can deter pests and diseases, and if you have trouble with rabbits, deer or other four-legged critters, your best defense may be a garden fence.
Succession Planting: Plant Now and Later
Getting the most pleasure and production from your garden comes from learning the beauty of succession planting. Rather than trying to “get your garden in” during one busy weekend, space your planting out over the course of several weeks by using short rows. Every time you harvest a row or pull one out that has stopped producing, try to plant a new one. Succession plantings lead to succession harvests spread out over several months — one of the key characteristics of a kitchen garden.
As you gain new confidence and skills, you can look for ways to incorporate perennials including asparagus and rhubarb into your edible landscape. And no discussion of kitchen gardens would be complete without mentioning flowers, which should be added from the start. Flowers add beauty and color to the garden and the kitchen table. They also attract beneficial insects while, in some cases, repelling undesirable ones.
How to Sow a Revolution
Safer, fresher, better-tasting, more nutritious food — that’s four great reasons to grow your own. And there’s one more benefit you’ll get when you plant a kitchen garden — spending time outdoors and watching stuff grow is great fun.
Join the Kitchen Garden Revolution!
What started as a whisper a few years back has grown into a full-throated chorus of people calling for a kitchen garden revolution. The resurgence of kitchen gardens couldn’t come at a more relevant time in our nation’s history, or in that of the planet.
Concerns about food safety are nothing to sneeze at, considering foods as seemingly benign as spinach and peanut butter have been contaminated with harmful E. coli bacteria in recent years. You can’t bank on the nutrition of grocery store fare, either. The commercially grown foods we’re eating today are significantly less nutritious than they were just 30 years ago. Breeding crops for higher yields has delivered cheaper food, but it has also diluted nutrients.
Over the next 50 years, the international community will face health, food security and environmental challenges more daunting than any civilization has ever faced. The United Nations estimates that food production would need to increase by 70 percent to feed the projected global population of 9 billion in 2050. Plus, we’ll need to grow our food in an unstable climate with a greatly depleted natural resource base.
While the challenge facing poor countries is too little food production, one of the challenges in wealthy ones is too much of the wrong type. Sixty-eight percent of the American adult population is now overweight and 28 percent of it is obese. The situation with children is even more alarming. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in three children will develop Type II Diabetes in their lifetime and one in two if the child is black or Hispanic.
But before you hurl yourself onto the nearest compost pile in despair, I’ve got some good news: The solutions to many of these problems are as close as your own backyard. What we need are millions of new people joining the movement by planting healthy kitchen gardens of their own or, in the case of existing gardeners, by converting their summer veggie plots into more productive, four-season gardens. You can also connect with gardeners in your area to help other people and groups (schools, clubs, companies, retirement communities, food pantries, etc.) start gardens. And why not join the planet’s largest garden party? Join us in celebrating World Kitchen Garden Day on Aug. 28!
Key Dates in American Kitchen Garden History
Pre-Colonial period: Native Americans develop and grow locally adapted plant varieties over the course of millennia.
1620: European immigrants begin bringing seeds and horticultural know-how from their home countries.
1772: Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s country estate, is built and becomes home to more than 400 varieties of fruits and vegetables.
1894: Detroit Mayor Hazen “Potato” Pingree allocates 430 acres of vacant land to 1,000 families who harvest 40,000 bushels of potatoes, beans, squash and pride.
1917-1944: Americans plant about 20 million War Gardens and Victory Gardens as part of homefront efforts.
1954: Scott and Helen Nearing publish Living the Good Life, which becomes a bible of the back-to-the-land and organic gardening movements of the 1960s and ’70s.
1975: Seed Savers Exchange is founded, encouraging gardeners everywhere to grow and save seeds of heirloom crops.
1995: Chef Alice Waters plants an edible schoolyard at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, Calif., inspiring numerous school gardens across the country.
2009: With a groundswell of popular support, First Lady Michelle Obama breaks ground on a 1,100-square-foot kitchen garden at the White House. The garden becomes a platform for a new national dialogue about healthy eating and lifestyles.
Roger Doiron is the founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, a global online community of people growing their own food and helping others to do the same. | <urn:uuid:b8e67652-abd9-4bad-8235-9209fe29a0ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/kitchen-garden-zm0z11zalt.aspx?page=5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936494 | 2,830 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Antimicrobial resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a serious concern worldwide, particularly in Asian countries, despite the introduction of heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). The Asian Network for Surveillance of Resistant Pathogens (ANSORP) performed a prospective surveillance study of 2,184 S. pneumoniae isolates collected from patients with pneumococcal infections from 60 hospitals in 11 Asian countries from 2008 to 2009. Among nonmeningeal isolates, the prevalence rate of penicillin-nonsusceptible pneumococci (MIC, ≥4 μg/ml) was 4.6% and penicillin resistance (MIC, ≥8 μg/ml) was extremely rare (0.7%). Resistance to erythromycin was very prevalent in the region (72.7%); the highest rates were in China (96.4%), Taiwan (84.9%), and Vietnam (80.7%). Multidrug resistance (MDR) was observed in 59.3% of isolates from Asian countries. Major serotypes were 19F (23.5%), 23F (10.0%), 19A (8.2%), 14 (7.3%), and 6B (7.3%). Overall, 52.5% of isolates showed PCV7 serotypes, ranging from 16.1% in Philippines to 75.1% in Vietnam. Serotypes 19A (8.2%), 3 (6.2%), and 6A (4.2%) were the most prominent non-PCV7 serotypes in the Asian region. Among isolates with serotype 19A, 86.0% and 79.8% showed erythromycin resistance and MDR, respectively. The most remarkable findings about the epidemiology of S. pneumoniae in Asian countries after the introduction of PCV7 were the high prevalence of macrolide resistance and MDR and distinctive increases in serotype 19A. | <urn:uuid:e67a19f7-c343-4e17-a68a-e1e438a1859d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/solr/reg?pageSize=25&term=&sortby=score+desc&filterAuthor=author%3A(%22Carlos%2C+Celia+C.%22) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918863 | 401 | 1.90625 | 2 |
CAP doesn't traditionally conduct or support classified missions of a secret or higher nature itself, but it does support sensitive missions regularly, and some mission results support classified missions and customer needs. Members need to be familiar with the classfication definitions and their associated access and guidance requirements below.
These definitions are quoted from DoD Directive 5200-1. Refer to the DoD Directive if information on higher classifications if needed.
Unclassified controlled information shall be applied to information that requires protection for types of information that require application of controls and protective measures for a variety of reasons. Type of information that fall within this category include "For Official Use Only" information, "Sensitive But Unclassified" (formerly "Limited Official Use") information, “Law Enforcement Sensitive”, "DEA Sensitive Information", "Sensitive Information" as defined in the Computer Security Act of 1987, and information contained in technical documents.
Communications Security (COMSEC). The protection resulting from all measures designed to deny unauthorized persons information of value that might be derived from the possession and study of telecommunications and to ensure the authenticity of such communications. COMSEC includes cryptosecurity, emission security, transmission security, and physical security of COMSEC material and information. i.e. – CAP radio frequencies
Information Security. The system of policies, procedures, and requirements established under the authority of E.O. 12958 to protect information that, if subjected to unauthorized disclosure, could reasonably be expected to cause damage to the national security.
Access. The ability and opportunity to obtain knowledge of classified information, unclassified sensitive information, LE Sensitive, DEA Sensitive, etc. The proper clearance and/or background investigation granted by DoD, Law Enforcement Agency, CAP, etc will be needed for access. Agencies may require CAP members to sign a binding non-disclosure agreement before granting members access.
Need to know – CAP members who have been authorized by a customer/tasking agency, posses the proper access level, and designated CAP authority will be granted access to unclassified or classified mission information. The customer may restrict CAP personnel who have a need to know. Member’s involvement in a particular mission will determine need to know. i.e. – IC working a sensitive mission. Mission information will not be shared with personnel that do not have a “need to know”.
Close Hold/Sensitive – Mission information that is unclassified but must be safeguarded. Loss of Close Hold or Sensitive information would compromise ongoing operations for a supported agency. Members will safeguard Close Hold/Sensitive unclassified information to prevent deliberate or accidental disclosure.
Classified missions will receive their designation from the request/tasking agency and not designated or derived by CAP. CAP may designate an unclassified mission as Sensitive but Unclassified or Close Hold. Requesting agencies may designate a mission Law Enforcement Sensitive, DEA Sensitive, or Sensitive Information.
Classification Access and Guidance
DoD Directive 5200-1 outlines the requirements and guidance for access and handling of classified materials and information. The following outlines the basic guidance for CAP missions:
CAP mission information will be handled in accordance with the level of classification assigned to the mission.
Only CAP members with a proper clearance in the CAP/CAP-USAF database and a need to know will have access to classified information. Members with a need to know for mission support shall have access to Unclassified Sensitive information as defined in CAPR 60-3. Need-to-know is a determination made by an authorized holder of classified or sensitive information that a prospective recipient requires access to specific information in order to perform or assist in a lawful and authorized governmental function. A member’s rank and/or grade does not automatically entitle access to Unclassified/Sensitive, Unclassified/Close hold, or classified mission information. A need to know and proper clearance determines a member’s access to information.
CAP members will mostly work with Unclassified “For Official Use Only”, “Sensitive But Unclassified”, “DEA/Law Enforcement Sensitive” information. Only CAP members that hold an appropriate DoD Security Clearance along with a need to know will be involved in classified missions on a case by case basis.
CAP members will mark documents and email traffic to insure that sensitive mission traffic is handled appropriately. Unclassified documents containing DEA/Law Enforcement Sensitive information shall be marked "DEA or Law Enforcement Sensitive" at the top and bottom of the front cover (if there is one), the title page (if there is one), and the outside of the back cover (if there is one). Unclassified documents containing FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY shall be marked in a similar manner. Each part of electrically transmitted messages containing FOUO or LE Sensitive information shall be marked appropriately. Unclassified messages containing FOUO / LE Sensitive information shall contain the abbreviation "FOUO or LE Sensitive" before the beginning of the text. Files attachments will be similar marked.
CAP Personnel with Clearances Already
Some CAP personnel have security clearances already because of their full-time jobs, either from DoD or another federal agency. CAP has very few missions requiring personnel with security clearances at this time, and is not normally involved in investigations or other requirements to get or maintain security clearances. That said, occasionally there are missions that customers would prefer to use members with security clearances, and we have tools in place within e-services for members to input information on their existing security clearances so that CAP-USAF can then validate them for potential usage, allowing CAP to have a pool of personnel with valid security clearances when necessary. Personnel with current and valid security clearances can input this information by logging into e-services, clicking on Review/Edit My Info under the My Info section in the top center of the page, clicking on Security Clearance in the left menu, and then submitting the Agency, Type, and Date the investigation was closed. Information will show as Pending until verified by the issuing agency. Personnel submitting a clearance from a non-DoD agency must email the Federal Agency point of contact to the Security Clearance Group at firstname.lastname@example.org
so that CAP-USAF can contact the POC to validate the clearance appropriately. | <urn:uuid:d6be88f5-83dc-4dd0-847e-427ca38a17be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/emergency_services/operations_support/sensitive-and-classified-mission-programs/ | 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 | 0.912626 | 1,302 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Age Group: Adults, Seniors & Teens
3/13/2013 • 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.Sahara West Library
Room: Board Room
The Basics of Astrology
This four-week class is a very basic introduction to western astrology, and was previously offered during the fall. If you're interested in receiving our free birth chart to look at, please have your date of birth (month, day, year), birth city and country. For the most accurate chart, your EXACT time of birth (found on your birth certificate of family record) is needed. If you do not know your time of birth, let the instructor know during class.
March 6: Basic Components of the Birth Chart
The Midheaven, Ascendant, Houses, Planets, Signs and Aspects will be discussed, as well as the basic mythological energies and meanings of the 10 planets.
March 13: Signs of the Zodiac
The elements and qualities of each sign will be discussed, as well as briefly discussing how planets function in a particular sign.
March 20: Houses and Aspects
Learn what houses and aspects mean, and how they relate to a birth chart.
March 27: Basic Interpretation of Birth Charts
Learn the basic interpretation of a birth chart by summing up the basics of astrology and combining all prior classes, as well as different types of astrology.
This event is free and open to the public.
For more information, please call 507-3631. | <urn:uuid:b8e39e99-0318-4a4e-a2b0-98530e17fa06> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lvccld.org/events/event.cfm?nID=44651 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928281 | 319 | 2.25 | 2 |
According to a CBS Chicago news affiliate, school principal Jay Sargeant sent an e-mail that detailed the drill.
The entire e-mail can be read below:
At Cary-Grove and across District 155, we make your child’s safety our number one priority each day. As a parent, I can assure you that we understand our responsibility to return your child safely at the end of each day. While we take many preventative steps to keep our building secure, we also practice our response should a crisis arise. Some examples include meetings with first responders, a comprehensive crisis response plan, and simulations. We are planning a code red simulation on Wednesday, January 30. We feel it is important to explain the simulation to you in advance so that you and your child might be able to better understand what will take place on Wednesday.
The simulation will take approximately 15-20 minutes, during which time teachers will secure their rooms, draw curtains, and keep their students from traveling throughout the building. Please note that we will be firing blanks in the hallway in an effort to provide our teachers and students some familiarity with the sound of gunfire. Our school resource officer and other members of the Cary Police Department will assist us in sweeping the building to ensure that all students are in a secure location during the drill. At the conclusion of the drill, we will take some time to process what occurred and then we will return to our normal classroom routine.
I encourage you to discuss the drill with your student both before it happens and after. These drills help our students and staff to be prepared should a crisis occur, but it may cause some students to have an emotional reaction. In those cases, your voice may provide reassurances of the drill’s importance. Additionally, we have trained social workers on staff who can speak directly with your child should he or she need added support.
Should you have any questions, please contact me or any member of the Cary-Grove’s administrative team. Together, we can keep our school a safe place for your child to learn and grow.
A few parents of the students who attend Cary-Grove are displeased and concerned about this extreme drill. One parent, Sharon Miller, spoke to WBBM Newsradio and gave her opinion on the matter:
If you need to run a drill, you run a drill. They run fire drills all the time, but they don’t run up and down the hallway with a flamethrower.
This isn't the only case of schools incorporating realistic shooting drills, which is a direct outcome of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting. At the beginning of January, more than 100 Jefferson County teachers and administration participated in active shooter school training.
Video footage of the proceedings can be seen below:
The issue of gun control in America is a hot button issue that is especially important these days. This school shooting drill is another part of the ongoing saga of school shootings/gun control activity. | <urn:uuid:0b69038b-9511-4d8c-a167-9c27f7aa3019> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.heavy.com/regions/2013/01/school-shooting-drills-now-include-firing-blanks-in-the-hallway/ | 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 | 0.96033 | 605 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Quite a few articles have been written about the importance of owning Gold and other precious metals as a means of maintaining one’s wealth in the face of rampant money printing by the world’s Central Banks.
Today I’m going to share some ideas on how to actually buy bullion.
As far as precious metals go, you need
- Own actual Bullion
- Store it yourself (not in a bank)
I do not recommend owning a paper gold-based ETF because frankly the custodial risk is high (that is, there’s no telling if the Gold is even there or
who would get it if the ETF is liquidated).
In comparison, physical bullion, stored outside a bank, is literally money in hand. You know where it is and you can find out what it’s worth. Compare that to a Gold ETF in which you’re hoping
that the bank actually has
the Gold and that it could actually send
it to you if you requested (fat chance).
In terms of actual gold coins, there are three coins that comprise the bulk of the bullion market. They are Kruggerands, Canadian Maple Leafs, and American Gold Eagles. I’ve been told to avoid Maple Leafs by both a trader and a bullion dealer as they can easily be scratched which damages the gold and reduces the coin’s value.
In terms of silver, the easiest way to get it is via pre-1965 coins (often termed “junk” silver). You can also get silver one-ounce rounds (coin-like medallions) and 10-ounce bars. Or you can buy Silver Eagles coins.
I cannot tell you which dealer to go with, but look for someone who’s been dealing for years (not a newbie). You should always ask for references from the dealer (former clients you can talk to about their purchases/ experiences).
Some warning signs to avoid are dealers who try to store your bullion
. Never, I repeat, never store your bullion with someone else. Always store it yourself. Also, be sure to talk to the dealer for some time and ask him or her numerous questions about the industry, the coins, etc. (feel free to test him or her on the information I’ve provided you with e.g. the three most liquid Gold coins, etc.). If they can answer everything you ask in a knowledgeable fashion, their references check out, and you verify everything they say with a 3rd party, you should be OK.
This concludes this article. If you’d like more information on inflation and protecting yourself from it, we feature a FREE Special Report detailing the threat of inflation as well as two investments that will explode higher as it seeps throughout the financial system. You can pick up a FREE copy of this report at:
PS. We also On that note, feature a FREE report concerning the threat of a European Banking Collapse. It’s called What Europe’s Collapse Means For You
and it explains exactly how the coming Crisis will unfold as well as which investment (both direct and backdoor) you can make to profit from it.
This report is 100% FREE. You can pick up a copy today at: | <urn:uuid:ffe0e596-de96-46a7-9404-8769ac4b5ecd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-10-21/how-buy-bullion-what-ask-and-what-own | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94368 | 676 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The energy company has built a pavilion next to the Olympic Stadium, where sports fans will be able to pose for souvenir photos next to virtual versions of British cycling champion Victoria Pendleton and French swimming champion Yannick Agnel.
Another activity will see fans use hand pedals or show off their best dance moves on a special dance floor to power thousands of LED lights.
A Tomorrow’s World-style zone will showcase futuristic energy saving products designed by some of the world’s leading research and design institutes, which could soon become part of our everyday lives.
EDF worked with building contractors Nussli and architects Schmidhuber and Kaindl on the project. The pavilion will open to the public on July 27, and will remain open between 9am and midnight throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Gareth Wynn, EDF’s director for London 2012, said: "Electricity is so fundamental to our daily lives and yet most of us take it for granted. We want visitors to the EDF pavilion to be entertained but also to understand a bit more about the remarkable engineering, organisation and creativity that means for so many of us electricity is always there when we need it."
Hubert Blanquefort, director of the EDF pavilion project added: "The EDF pavilion is intended to be a real visitor attraction that will entertain, inform and inspire people. We have designed the building to be modern and sustainable and throughout the experience we have tried to make the best use of up to date, energy efficient technology."
EDF sponsors 36 athletes from across Europe, including British medal hopes Victoria Pendleton, rower Katherine Grainger, kayaker Tim Brabants, rower Tom Aggar, and swimmers Liz Johnson and Ellie Simmonds.
Comment below and let us know what you think.
For more in-depth and print-only features, showcases and interviews with world-leading brands, don't miss the next issue of Event magazine by subscribing here. | <urn:uuid:1ec04452-c1f0-490c-bfbe-74a8fc843e06> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eventmagazine.co.uk/News/EmailThisArticle/1141487/EDF-showcase-magic-electricity-Olympic-Park-pavilion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931821 | 416 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Steven W. Mosher
See also Steven Mosher (disambiguation).
Steven W. Mosher is President of the non-profit Population Research Institute (PRI).
According to the PRI web site, Mosher's "writings demonstrate that overpopulation is a myth, and that the efforts of population controllers to reduce human numbers have led to massive human rights abuses and undermined the health of women and children.
"Steve came face-to-face with the nightmare of population control when he was the first American social scientist to live in rural China in 1979-80. What Steve Mosher witnessed in China shocked him deeply . . .
"Pregnant women hunted down by population control police and subjected to forced abortion for violating China's one-child-per-family law; women mutilated through forced sterilization; women forced to endure life-threatening forms of birth control.
"Steve returned to his studies at Stanford University and wrote about the population control horrors he witnessed in China. Bowing to demands of the Chinese government, Stanford expelled Steve Mosher rather than grant him the PhD he had earned....
"Steve Mosher, a convert to Catholicism, is the author of the best-selling A Mother's Ordeal: One Woman's Fight Against China's One-Child Policy. Other books authored by Steve include Hegemon: China's Plan to Dominate Asia and the World, China Attacks, China Misperceived: American Illusions and Chinese Reality, Journey to the Forbidden China, and Broken Earth: The Rural Chinese.
"Articles by Steve have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest, The New Republic, National Review, Reason, The Asian Wall Street Journal, Freedom Review, and numerous other publications."
Articles and Resources
Related SourceWatch Articles
|This article is a stub. You can help by expanding it.| | <urn:uuid:40cac22d-372c-4771-84ba-ed83ce269bfb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Steven_W._Mosher | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925932 | 383 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Q:There seems to be a popular belief that children can catch polio from swimming pools. The virus is supposed to get into the pools when newly vaccinated children excrete the live virus. My medical dictionary says that polio is excreted in the stoo
A:This widely circulated myth is usually used as rationale for having babies vaccinated with the live polio virus (so that they don't catch it when they swim). We checked with the Physician's Desk Reference under the entry for Orimune, the live pilovirus vaccine produced by Lederle. According to Lederle, "The vaccine viruses are shed in the vaccinee's stool up to 6 to 8 weeks as well as via the pharyngeal route." That means, the drug is also excreted via the throat.
We then consulted with our expert on all vaccine matters, former FDA official Dr J Anthony Morris. He put this so called risk into perspective. First of all, the virus usually shed by recently vaccinated babies is the same attenuated (weakened) one that they have been given. On very rare occasions the vaccine virus mutates in the gut of a vaccine recipient and reverts to its virulent form. Dr Morris says:
"Polio virus is mainly transmitted through fecal matter, not through urine. Although many babies urinate in pools, few defecate in them.
"However, should any of the polio virus become circulated and somehow make its way into the pool, the level of chlorine in most swimming pools added to kill most infectious diseases should be adequate to inactivate it.
"So if there is any danger at all, it is so minute that you can forget about it"
Dr Morris adds that there is less risk of contracting polio from a pool full of newly vaccinated children than from the vaccine itself.
One final note. Remember that in most cases, polio is a harmless infection. The current statistics estimate that only 10 per cent of people exposed to polio will contract it, and only l per cent of these will come down with the paralytic variety those that vaccine critic Dr Richard Moskowitz says have a certain "anatomical susceptibility". Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control in the US estimates that the risk of vaccine induced polio is one per 500,000.
To err on the side of safety, it''s probably prudent to keep all unvaccinated people out of pools frequented by lots of three month old babies who may have recently been vaccinated. If you or other unvaccinated individuals are going to be handling recently vaccinated babies, you may wish to get your immunity to polio checked out and consider having the new killed polio vaccine, which doesn't carry the risk of contracting paralytic disease. | <urn:uuid:1479589b-242f-429c-b99a-307b8efcc56c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.aspx?Id=3218 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96756 | 555 | 3.125 | 3 |
A new study published by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has found that more and more Americans are warming to the idea of driving electric vehicles, citing environmental concerns as the main reason for making the change.
Over a quarter of the people surveyed described themselves as familiar with electric cars while 42% of respondents said they were likely to follow news reports about electric vehicles. Nearly a third of respondent described themselves as familiar or very familiar with hybrid vehicles.
Of those who said they would consider buying an electric car, nearly 80% said their greatest advantage was the fact they run without gasoline, while 67% cited the reduction in pollution.
However, when it came to reasons not to buy an electric car the survey showed that a definite gap remains between the public’s perception of the accessibility and applicability or electric vehicles and the technical reality.
Nearly 60% of respondents were worried that the limited mileage of an electric car would hamper their ability to use one, while over 70% were worried they would run out of charge in the middle of a journey.
However, in 2003 the US Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics found that nearly 90% of commuters travel 30 miles or less one way, with over half travelling 15 miles or less. In addition, the provisional results of the 2009 National Home Transportation Survey have found that the average daily trip of a car is 11 miles. All these figures are well within the range of a typical electric vehicle.
Furthermore, two-thirds of consumers raised concerns about not being able to recharge their vehicle, with over half saying that they would not consider purchasing an electric vehicle if it meant they had to install special charging equipment at home.
All electric cars can recharge from the standard 120v system available in any home or business. The only disadvantage the 120v system has is that it can take between 8 and 12 hours to fully recharge an electric vehicle. However, as the figures above show, the majority of electric vehicles will not need a full charge every night, and a great many may only need to be charged at the weekends.
It’s this basic misunderstanding about the usefulness of electric cars for everyday use which is one of the greatest obstacles to promoting electric vehicle use today, even before the infrastructure is in place for stretch commuting and other journeys of over 100 miles.
In January 2011 the CEA’s International Consumer Electronics Show will be held in Las Vegas. For the first time ever it will include a special TechZone dedicated to electric vehicles, with manufacturer Audi being among the first exhibitors to sign up.
This is the perfect time for electric vehicle companies to correct the public’s misconceptions and show how useful electric cars are today. Let’s hope they seize it. | <urn:uuid:cc57c748-1a47-4222-b165-554ed839f6f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gas2.org/2010/08/26/americans-slowly-warm-to-the-electric-car-show-willingness-to-try-new-things/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972862 | 554 | 3.078125 | 3 |
India driving changes to Russian fighter platforms
Russian fifth-generation fighter programs could undergo major revisions to meet India’s requirements, following Sukhoi’s offer of an export version of the latest T-50 model. With India as a major importer of Russian defense equipment (purchases last year accounted for $1.8 billion), Sukhoi and its rival/possible collaborator can ill-afford to be out of sync with the Asian power’s military agenda.
The T-50 is Sukhoi’s own designation for a fifth-generation fighter project. Two years ago it beat the RSK MiG I-2 warplane in a Russian government tender. In the middle of last year the project passed critical design review with the Russian air force, which allowed Sukhoi to officially present its export version to India in early 2005.
Joint development of a fifth-generation fighter accounts for part of the Russo-Indian intergovernmental military cooperation program for 2001-2010. The documents defining the program remain classified but, as a framework agreement, do not contain detailed technical specification for the aircraft.
It also seems that the T-50, conceived under the tightly closed doors of the Russian defense ministry and Sukhoi design house, does not appeal to India. At the Aero India 2005 airshow, held in February at the Indian air force’s Yelahanka base near Bangalore, Indian officials gave strong indications that they would not accept the T-50 “as is.” This has created headaches for Sukhoi managers as they try to reconcile the vastly differing Russian and Indian requirements in one basic design.
The T-50 is the latest iteration of Russia’s long-running quest for a fifth-generation fighter platform. For more than a decade, the country’s own ministry of defense has swayed between various project definitions that have resulted in both lightweight single-engine concepts and back again to a more capable twin-engined warplane. The current Russian specification reads PAK FA, which stands for the baffling Perspective Aviation Complex of Frontal Aviation.
Official information on the T-50 is limited, and so far no pictures have surfaced. The powerplant consists of two NPO Saturn AL-41F-1A turbofans, essentially AL-41Fs scaled down to the size of the existing Su-27’s AL-31F. Such commonality has allowed the engine maker to develop the new unit by replacing one AL-31F module after another, while at the same time applying new AL-41F-1A technologies and parts to upgrade in-service Su-27s. An experimental AL-41F-1A entered flight test a year ago on a Su-27M test bed.
The Russians have not released exact figures for the PAK FA program’s weight and size. Russian air force commander Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov gave only the vaguest clues when he said, “the PAK FA is not so lightweight, it is rather a medium size.” Sukhoi general director Mikhail Pogosyan told Aviation International News the aircraft’s size “is between the MiG-29 and Su-27, closer to the Su-27.”
The latest MiG-29 mutations carry a maximum takeoff weight of 25 tons (55,114 pounds) and the Su-27 variants weight from 38 to 40 tons (83,774 to 88,183 pounds). Based on those figures, the T-50 would weigh in the region of 30 to 35 tons (66,137 to 77,160 pounds), well suited to the AL-41F-1A’s estimated thrust rating of 15 tons (33,068 pounds). The new engine would provide up to 50 percent more power than the earlier AL-31F engine.
But India reportedly wants a lighter design, having already taken care of its requirement for heavier combat air power through a long-term commitment to the 38-ton Su-30MKI model. A license production agreement calls for Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to build 140 airframes between 2004 and 2017. In the small fighter segment sector India already has its own home-grown option in the shape of the 10-ton Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
Aero India 2005 brought news that the ADA has begun working on a 20-ton Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA) said to compare to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. Because the conceptual MCA weighs some 10 tons less than the T-50, harmonizing the two programs might prove difficult.
Nonetheless, at the show Russia and India agreed to establish joint working groups for further upgrades to the Su-30MKI, as well as broader work on next-generation fighters. “A common decision whether to go forward is expected by the year-end,” Pogosyan commented. “We’ll proceed together if our views on the future aircraft can be reconciled.”
MiG Stakes Its Next-Generation Claim
Meanwhile, RSK MiG general director and designer Aleksei Fiodorov is also looking for ways to join forces with the Indians. To wit, the manufacturer continues to study a next-generation aircraft in the category of the MiG-29. “Lightweight fighters are MiG’s traditional market, and we are set to keep there,” Fiodorov said. “If harmonization with the Indian specification is possible, we will seek to jointly develop such an aircraft.”
Just before this week’s Paris Air Show rumors surfaced that Sukhoi and RSK MiG have entered talks over a common approach to a new lightweight fighter. If true, they clearly have the Indian requirement in mind.
Sukhoi’s T-50 offer coincided with a change in the Indian air force’s high command. “With individual leadership changing in the armed forces, be it the army, navy or the air force, the vision does not change. In the case of the air force we have a collective vision with which we prepare for the war of tomorrow,” the newly appointed Air Chief Marshall Tyagi said.
However, despite Tyagi’s stated commitment to the status quo, Indian defense buyers apparently want to shift focus from highly ambitious projects, such as the LCA, to models such as the HJT-39 twin engine combat aircraft trainer. While having similar weight (9.5 tons) and dimensions, the HJT-39 is made of metal for transonic speeds, as opposed to the composite, supersonic LCA.
“It’s a big secret,” said Pogosyan, acknowledging the slow negotiations with India. “So far there is no mutually agreed plan. We need time to reconcile views of the project participants.”
According to Pogosyan, the Indian defense industry wants to expand cooperation with Sukhoi on the existing and future programs. “Cooperation with Sukhoi makes it possible for them to develop their business and the Su-30MKI program provides a firm foundation for expanding our cooperation. The Su-30MKI success in India was due to Sukhoi’s policy of focusing on the needs of a particular customer. We are not developing an aircraft for the sake of it. We are sticking firmly to the customer’s needs to ensure we do what the customer wants.”
But critics would say that the problem with the T-50 lies precisely with the fact that Sukhoi designed it for one customer and offered it to another. Its future may depend not so much on the capability of the Sukhoi engineering team but on the negotiating abilities of its top managers to persuade its customers to compromise on their vastly differing views.
Meanwhile, Sukhoi believes that Russia’s own air force will soon need the T-50. The last deliveries of air superiority fighters new from a factory took place fully 15 years ago. Tight budgets have allowed for the modernization of only five Su-27s in 2003 and seven in 2004. Russia plans to upgrade between 11 and 17 aircraft this year.
“They are upgrading fighters built over 15 years ago, but it does not seem reasonable to prolong their lifetimes further than 30 years,” Pogosyan reflected. “Sukhoi is completing the Su-35 documentation package and assembling its prototypes. This aircraft is superior to what is available today on the market. It will give us the time to work comfortably on a fifth generation fighter.”
The Russian air force plans to purchase Su-35s as an interim solution before a next generation aircraft is available in the 2010-12 timeframe. | <urn:uuid:5a08d2bb-a513-47d8-8d97-b51e8003cedd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/paris-air-show/2006-12-12/india-driving-changes-russian-fighter-platforms | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938548 | 1,825 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Space Beer: Barley Go Where No Brew Has Gone Before
Every little boy responds with a glamorous job title when asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Firefighter, cowboy, race car driver – or astronaut. I was no exception, and when I got a little older, I still wanted to be an astronaut. But this was in the days when the only men who left the surly bonds of Earth were reckless test pilots and jet jockeys culled from the ranks of the United States Air Force. My Coke-bottle glasses and tendency toward carsickness pretty much eliminated “astronaut” from my career aspirations once I realized this.
Instead, eventually, I ended up as a journalist, and now a beer writer. My dreams of soaring above the Big Blue Marble to touch the heavens have been dashed.
Or have they?
An Australian pub tour operator is now taking reservations for the world’s loftiest beer-drinking experience – a chance to sample the first beer brewed specifically for zero gravity.
Granted, there are still a lot of details to be worked out, but the Thirsty Swagman company is serious about pulling this off sometime in 2012 or 2013.
The beer is ready. It was developed and tested last year by Australia’s 4 Pines Brewing Company and Saber Aeronautics Australia. Vostok 4 Pines Stout Space Beer is described as ” a recipe designed to be consumed in low gravity,” aimed at an anticipated space tourism market.
The beer is not a gimmick. The companies spent a lot of money and conducted a lot of research into adjusting the carbonation and ingredients for zero-gravity conditions, and held tests aboard a modified 727 that conducted parabolic arcs (known in the astronaut biz as the “Vomit Comet”) in the skies above Florida.
Here’s what Thirsty Swagman has to say about the proposed flight on its BeerinSpace.com website:
Beer in Space tour (coming 2012 / 2013)
It’s the nectar of the gods, and now you can touch the heavens to drink it. Never in the history of humanity has such a giant leap been made possible. To drink a beer in space.
At 300,000 feet in zero gravity, you’ll see the world through the bottom of your glass.
- Travel to the edge of the atmosphere at over 3 times the speed of sound
- Go down in history as the first humans ever to consume beer in space
- After-event party with the Thirsty Swagman crew
Thirsty Swagman now takes you not just on the coolest party tours on planet earth, but into space for the ultimate travel experience. The trip of a lifetime… the pinnacle of adventure.
You’ll be amongst the first human beings to take part in the next frontier of space exploration, and go where no man (or woman) has gone before.
You’ll pass through the Kármán line, the official height of space at 100 kilometers / 62 miles altitude where you’ll be weightless for 5–10 minutes, with a view that will simply take your breath away.
The beer you’ll drink has been specifically brewed for consumption in space, and is officially certified as space beer.
It’s one small thirst for man, one giant first for mankind.
I would like the folks at Thirsty Swagman to know that I, Gerard Walen, editor of the earthbound website Road Trips for Beer, volunteers to represent the media on that first beer-tasting flight, if you would host me.
That, unfortunately, is the only way it seems that I’ll be able to participate. The cost currently is $95,000 to put my butt in one of those seats on the initial flight.
But a boy can dream … .
(Psst! Here’s my contact info). | <urn:uuid:6f7fb313-1a90-4882-bfb3-6987828df97d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.roadtripsforbeer.com/2011/10/space-beer-to-barley-go-where-no-brew-has-gone-before/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939892 | 837 | 1.882813 | 2 |
Last year, users of JSTOR, the online scholarly database, downloaded articles from the site seventy million times. Nearly five million of those downloads were made by Aaron Swartz, a twenty-four-year-old Stanford dropout and, as the Times put it, “Internet folk hero,” who this week was charged by the federal government with violations related to computer hacking. If convicted, he could face up to thirty-five years in prison. Defenders say Swartz was arrested for the online equivalent of “checking too many books out of the library,” as phrased by the executive director of Demand Progress, a political-action non-profit founded by Swartz. U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz had a different view: “Stealing is stealing whether you use a computer command or a crowbar, and whether you take documents, data or dollars.” Swartz, for his part, pled not guilty.
Here’s what the federal indictment says Swartz did: he bought an Acer laptop, hid it in a closet at M.I.T., with which he was not affiliated—the federal indictment deems it worth noting that he was, at the time, a fellow at Harvard University’s Center for Ethics—and connected as a guest to M.I.T.’s network (which anyone within range of that network is free to do) under the user name “Gary Host,” or “ghost,” for short. Several bouts of geek espionage ensued—shifting of I.P.s, spoofing of MAC addresses—and, over the course of four months, Swartz was able to download close to two-thirds of JSTOR’s archive to the laptop’s hard drive. When Swartz finally returned to the closet to retrieve the laptop, he hid his face, as the indictment puts it, “with [a] bicycle helmet before peering through a crack in the double doors and cautiously stepping out.”
It sure sounds suspicious, but what, exactly, was Swartz’s crime? (A moment of disclosure: Swartz’s company Infogami was acquired in 2005 by Reddit, which, like The New Yorker, is under the Condé Nast umbrella.) Sneaking into a building at M.I.T. might seem like trespassing, but that’s not a federal crime. He’s charged instead with wire and computer fraud—for having knowingly accessed a computer with the intent to defraud, and gaining some value from it. (A JSTOR subscription like M.I.T.’s could go for fifty thousand dollars.) Swartz is also accused of accessing a “protected computer” (more on that in a moment) without authorization, and damaging it—his downloads overwhelmed JSTOR’s server, shutting down access at M.I.T. for a time. Critics of Swartz have compared the act to breaking and entering, while supporters note that the better analogy is to say that JSTOR gave Swartz the keys to its house, then got upset when he drank all the milk.
JSTOR, for its part, says all the milk was returned—Swartz gave back the downloaded data—and considered its dealings with Swartz complete. (Among the broader, more existential questions involved: Can one “steal” and then “return” data, given that the original data remains on JSTOR’s servers all along?) But that doesn’t appear to satisfy the government, which has been waging something of a war against “hacking,” broadly defined. The primary method of bombardment has been Title 18, Section 1030 of the U.S. Code, known as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. It prohibits a number of things, primarily the unauthorized use or access of government computers, computers affiliated with financial institutions, and “protected computers.” The last of these is defined as those laptops and desktops “used in or affecting interstate commerce.” (JSTOR’s computers are located outside of Massachusetts.) Like the constitutional clause of a similar nature, this particular statement has been read expansively to prosecute various Web-based misdeeds—a category of criminal activity the government has been struggling to define. Combined with Justice Potter Stewart’s pornography test, the C.F.A.A. has become a sort of Internet martial law for prosecutors: we know Internet crime when we see it, and we’ll punish it as we see fit.
A number of cases have involved the C.F.A.A., to varying degrees of applicability. The government dropped espionage charges against Thomas Drake, the N.S.A. employee whose prosecution for allegedly leaking government secrets was chronicled by Jane Mayer, but only after he pleaded guilty to one charge of computer fraud. Among the thirty-four counts currently held against Bradley Manning, the WikiLeaks leaker, nine come from Section 1030. The prosecution of Lori Drew, who had been accused of harassing, via MySpace, a teen-age girl who eventually committed suicide (Lauren Collins wrote about the case) stemmed from a charge similar to that against Swartz, that she had had violated MySpace’s terms of service. That charge was thrown out as being too broad, and fraught with too many complications, but, as Wired points out, it has been used again in a case against computer bots that may have violated Ticketmaster’s terms of service in an effort to beat actual humans to the best Bruce Springsteen and U2 tickets.
In Swartz’s case, it’s unclear exactly why he wanted JSTOR’s archives. The indictment alleges that he intended to create a sort of Napster for scholarly research. Why, some wonder, is the research on JSTOR, much of it conducted at taxpayer-funded universities or supported by government grants, not available to the public? Jill Lepore, a staff writer at The New Yorker and a professor at Harvard, co-founded a free scholarly journal in 1999 because she “felt so strongly that it was important that it be free, which seemed, then, the promise of the Internet.” As to whether all scholarly information should be free, Lepore was less sure, saying, via e-mail, “What has being free done for newspapers and magazines and books lately?” Swartz offered his take on the argument when, in 2008, he used a free trial of the government’s PACER service, which provides access, for a fee, to court records, to download an estimated twenty per cent of the database’s available material, 19,856,160 pages of text. He then posted them for public consumption, and only found out later that the F.B.I. had investigated his involvement.
By returning the downloaded data to JSTOR, Swartz seems to have admitted some level of wrongdoing, or at least a desire to avoid more serious criminal prosecution. But the question now is whether his alleged offense should be criminal at all. The Web is well into its second decade of public use, but the government is still far from a precise understanding of how to police it.
Photograph by diylibrarian, Flickr CC. | <urn:uuid:e833b656-2ada-4b30-9b35-596a1c56b5d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/07/jstor-aaron-swartz.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968138 | 1,525 | 1.6875 | 2 |
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S. G. Morris offers a full line of standard and customized Fluid Power, Safety, & Lubrication Training classes. Our current list of courses includes:
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- This three-day course is designed for those individuals involved with troubleshooting hydraulic systems in the industrial environment. Learn more about Troubleshooting Training.
- Each student will be provided with reference materials on how to identify seals and specify seal materials, how to identify and stop leaks, as well as, proper hose routing techniques to reduce leaks and extend the life of the hose. An accredited instructor with years of industry experience will teach the class. Learn more about Leaks, Causes and Cures Training
- This three day course emphasizes the fundamentals and principles of electro hydraulic system components and circuit operation. Learn more about Electro Hydraulics Training.
- This four and a half day course is an expanded version of the three-day Fundamental Hydraulics course that includes hands-on exercises that focuses on mobile component construction and operation, as well as on the role of the individual components in an operating mobile hydraulic system. Learn more about Mobile Hydraulics Training.
- This four-and-a-half-day course will cover how to select and properly size components used in mobile hydraulic circuits. Learn more about Advanced Mobile Hydraulics
- Total Machine Safety is the first fully-integrated electrical and fluid power machine safeguarding training program. Learn more about Total Machine Safety Training.
- This four and a half day course will cover how to select and properly size components used in industrial hydraulic circuits. Learn more about Circuit Design Training.
All of the courses are designed to be taken as a standalone class or in a sequence. Consider the courses for everyone in your organization including electricians, machine repairmen, engineers, pipe fitters, maintenance, sales representatives and management.
Each standard or customized course includes:
- Structured classroom environment at our Cleveland facility, your company, or an off-site location
- All courses are taught by experienced Certified Training Instructors
- All student materials are customized for each class
- Hands-on exercises
- Class size up to 12 students
- Lunches, beverages, and snacks during breaks
- Pre and post assessments
- Certificates of completion
- Course length from one to five days | <urn:uuid:81ad3f94-0cfd-489e-8a3b-790bfe51bc6a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sgmorris.com/training | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91248 | 530 | 1.5625 | 2 |
It seems that the young have grown as cautious as the elderly with debt:
Young adults are cutting debt faster than older people and are less in hock to creditors than a decade ago–despite the ballooning of student loans, a new study shows.
Between 2001 and 2010, young households—defined as those headed by someone younger than 35—have generally reduced their indebtedness while older households have increased it, according to a report by the Pew Research Center released Thursday. Some 56% of young households saw either a decline or stabilization in their overall debt load in the period, with only one type of debt—student loans—rising as a share of total debt. By contrast, older households tended to have more non-property-related debt than before, not less.
Neil Shah at The Wall Street Journal explains that this is due to a variety of factors, including reduced overall mortgages, auto loans, and credit card debt.
Specifically, younger people are getting married later, which means they do not form households until they are older.
As for automobiles, only 66% of young households owned cars in 2011.
The post compares the present day to the 1980s, when younger households held more debt than older ones:
The typical young-adult household owed around $15,000 in 2010, half the $30,000 owed by older households. That’s a striking reversal from 1983, when young households owed more than older counterparts.
Of course, the 1980s saw roaring growth of real consumption and GDP per person, producing such categories as the “yuppie,” the Young Urban Professional.
While I think it is responsible for the United States to reduce its overall debt load, I grow concerned about future income growth for young households.
Let us hope that this does not mean a general adversity to risk for those under 35. It is they who must help reform our government in the future; they certainly have a hardy task ahead.
Patrick Ryan recently graduated from Villanova University with a BA and MA in Political Science and was a volunteer in Romney for America’s War Room in Boston. Originally from San Francisco, he currently lives in Washington, D.C.
The American Spectator Foundation is the 501(c)(3) organization responsible for publishing The American Spectator magazine and training aspiring journalists who espouse traditional American values. Your contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Each donor receives a year-end summary of their giving for tax purposes.
Copyright 2013, The American Spectator. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:d6edf3ed-fb8f-4b2c-86cc-288249507015> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://spectator.org/blog/2013/02/22/the-young-and-the-cautious/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972638 | 521 | 2.484375 | 2 |
Racine Intergovernmental Agreement for sewer service and revenue sharing
Thomas J. Bunker, P.E., General Manager, Racine Water and Wastewater Utilities, Racine, Wisconsin
William J. Mielke, P.E., R.L.S., President/CEO, Ruekert/Mielke, Waukesha, Wisconsin
The Racine Intergovernmental Agreement developed out of the need to expand the City of Racine, Wisconsin's wastewater treatment facility. The facility was in need of major upgrades and expansion, estimated to be in the range of $100 million. Some of the proposed improvements dealt with the system's inability to handle current flows and stormwater events. Instances of having to divert minimally treated wastewater into Lake Michigan or the Root River had increased. Necessary upgrades and replacement of equipment that was nearing the end of its useful life were required. But these upgrades to accommodate the existing population only accounted for 30.2% of the total project costs.
The fact that almost 70% of the project costs were associated with expanding the planned capacity of the system to handle growth through the year 2020, including interceptor system improvements, was a major problem. Current municipal customers of the Utility include the City of Racine, the Towns of Mount Pleasant, Yorkville and Caledonia, the Villages of Sturtevant, North Bay, Wind Point and Elmwood Park, and three Sanitary Districts. Without these system upgrades, the Village of Sturtevant and the Towns of Caledonia, Mount Pleasant, Yorkville and Raymond, all surrounding the City of Racine, would have restricted residential, commercial and industrial growth. Indeed, a total ban on any sewer extensions was implemented by the Racine Wastewater Commission in November of 2000. The Commission cited the wastewater facility's inability to deal with either increased flows or major stormwater events. Ruekert/Mielke, a consulting engineering firm in Waukesha, Wisconsin that was hired to assist in negotiating a wastewater service agreement, was able to attach hard figures to show that the majority of the improvements to the wastewater treatment facility were needed to accommodate the growth of the suburban areas west and north of the City of Racine.
These problems were caused, in part, by the City of Racine's actions in the 1960s. The City extended sewer lines to two areas—the SC Johnson Waxdale Plant in the Town of Mount Pleasant and a handful of subdivisions in the Town of Caledonia—without annexing the area. Essentially the City closed off its own borders, limiting its ability to expand into the open space directly to the west and northwest. Lawsuits and years of hard feelings followed, as the Towns of Caledonia and Mount Pleasant grew into the largest towns in the State of Wisconsin while the City of Racine's population dropped. Between 1990 and 2000 the city lost 2.9% of its population. There are now 81,855 residents, down from a high of 95,162 in 1970. On the other hand, Sturtevant's population grew by 39% between 1990 and 2000, with Mount Pleasant (15%) and Caledonia (12%) also posting impressive numbers.
While the City wasn't posting the kind of economic numbers necessary to stabilize or lower its tax rate, it was still providing amenities enjoyed by the entire region. The City of Racine Public Library, for example, is an asset whose circulation reaches far beyond the borders of the City. While Racine County partially compensates the City for use by nonresidents, almost 64% of the funding is provided directly by the City. The most recent $8.9 million expansion of the library was funded entirely by the City. It is estimated that the City has been subsidizing library service to the surrounding municipalities in the amount of approximately $697,000 annually.
Likewise, the Racine Zoological Gardens, one of only eleven free zoos in the United States, draws over two-thirds of its visitors from outside the city limits. With operating revenues covering less than 40% of expenses, the City of Racine was contributing over $400,000 per year to the zoo. The rest of the County combined, including the fastest growing suburbs, contribute only $69,625 through County property taxes.
The Wustum Museum of Fine Arts fits into a similar category. Boasting one of the four best collections of contemporary American crafts in the country, the museum offers free daily admission plus outreach programs. The County and suburban communities pay nothing toward the museum's support. The museum recently finished building a new $9.5 million facility at a downtown location, with no plans in place for cost sharing between benefiting communities.
Initially the Racine Utility hired a Madison, Wisconsin attorney and Ruekert/Mielke to negotiate a wastewater service agreement. Later an attorney from Quarles and Brady, Milwaukee, was retained to compliment the City Attorney and Racine General Manager to assist in the negotiations. Their initial finding was that any new agreement for wastewater service to the outlying communities would end up costing the City of Racine utility customers money. The solution typically used by other municipalities is to require annexation of a property before sewer or water services are provided. Racine had done just the opposite, not realizing the long-term consequences. Instead of requiring annexation, the City provided sewer and water service outside of the City limits and was now paying the price. It was clear that the City needed to find a new solution to the broader problems of inequity in service provision, and that the time was now, before sewer service was extended any further.
As part of the system upgrades, a new pump station was constructed to serve a new remote wastewater storage facility. This facility is capable of diverting up to seven million gallons of storm-related wastewater flows at a maximum rate of 17 MGD. The facility reduces the stress on downstream conveyance and treatment facilities.
Negotiations over the wastewater treatment facility expansion started in 1997. With each community protecting its own turf, negotiations started out on shaky ground. While the negotiations initially dealt with the upgrades and expansion of the facility, it was quite clear that little progress would be made without addressing the quality of life institutions. The City of Racine was clear in its position—a more encompassing intercommunity cooperation agreement would have to be drafted, or all parties would suffer the consequences.
As negotiations progressed, everyone had an opportunity to bring issues to the table related to wastewater service or cost sharing for regional services. Inequities in services or practices were examined as they arose, with the engineering firm examining documentation of actual costs versus perceptions of costs. This action served to dispel notions of inequities, either actual or perceived, among the neighboring communities. In this way, leaders were able to move forward with meaningful negotiations that were based upon facts rather than a history of mistrust.
The allocation of costs for the wastewater treatment facility upgrade and expansion was the first issue to be addressed. Traditionally, capital costs are billed to current customers as a percentage of current wastewater flows. Under this method, the City of Racine would pay for about 64% of the annual costs until growth in the suburbs caught up with usage. However, almost 70% of the costs were to expand the facility to accommodate future increased flows, only about 8% of which will be generated within the City of Racine. Recovering all project costs through user charges would have resulted in the City of Racine customers carrying the cost of capacity created to serve growth in the suburbs. Therefore, an entirely new approach to capital cost sharing was developed.
Instead of Racine fronting the costs, Ruekert/Mielke developed a plan that called for each community to purchase capacity rights in the wastewater treatment facility and to pay up front for their share of capital costs. The cost of service study was prepared in order to determine a fair allocation of capital costs to communities served by the wastewater treatment system. This analysis involved the examination of all the individual components of the system improvements, and an allocation of the costs based upon the design criteria and existing/future design flows for communities served. Each project cost was identified by Ruekert/Mielke as either an upgrade cost or an expansion cost. Upgrade costs were allocated to each community on the basis of existing volumes of wastewater flows and paid for through the user charge, while expansion costs were allocated on the basis of future increases in flows and paid for directly by the communities requesting the capacity.
A portion of this cooperative effort involved the formation of a new board to oversee the treatment facility's operation. The facility is still owned by the City of Racine, but an eleven-member board now oversees the budget. Membership breaks down like this: seven representatives from the City, two from Mount Pleasant, one from Caledonia, and one from Sturtevant. The concept of purchase of capacity rights gained acceptance relatively quickly, as each community saw the long-term benefits of the agreement paired with representation in the decision-making process.
The intercommunity cooperation agreement is structured so that growth pays for growth, rather than having the residents of the City of Racine shoulder the financial responsibility for suburban expansion. Each of the communities outside the City has purchased future capacity at the wastewater treatment facility. Mount Pleasant expects to have the most future growth, and has purchased rights to almost 30% of the total capacity of the upgraded and expanded facility.
While the allocation of expansion costs was relatively easy to resolve, the inequities of the "quality of life" institutions provided by the City of Racine was a major obstacle. This situation required bold thinking and new ideas. A detailed analysis for each institution covered in the study—the library, art museum, zoo, urban transit system, and sheriff dispatch—revealed the true costs of services as never before. While it was difficult to put a dollar tag on these services in relationship to how they attract new residential, commercial or industrial growth, it was possible to analyze budgets, contributions, and the geographic area served with greater clarity.
The communities agreed that additional funding for some of these services should come from the County, since the services are regional in nature. Racine County has raised the level of library funding and is considering additional funding for the zoo and the museum. In the interim, the agreement allows for the Racine Utility to use reserve funds to pay the City of Racine for a portion of the cost of these services related to serving nonresidents until the County funding is in place.
The situation faced by the City of Racine and its neighboring communities is a familiar one, often repeated throughout the United States. Some common themes in the literature on city-suburban relations are the relative inability of central cities to compete for new commercial and manufacturing development. Other problems that larger cities face include the loss of higher-income households to the suburbs, the struggle to continue providing services with a deteriorating property tax base, equitable means of providing area-wide services, and boundary and annexation disputes. While it is difficult to identify the initial causes of decline amongst multiple, interrelated causes, the effect can be observed in changes in the fiscal health of central cities compared to their suburbs.
This analysis prompted Ruekert/Mielke to produce a property tax-based revenue sharing plan for the service area. Ruekert/Mielke proposed that a workable model for Eastern Racine County should incorporate the following concepts:
The overall result of the revenue sharing payments is to transfer property tax revenues from communities with a large proportion of commercial and industrial property value and high fiscal capacity to communities with low commercial and industrial property value and low fiscal capacity. The program was not intended to bring about a total effective equalization of fiscal capacities, but rather to work with and complement the existing Wisconsin Shared Revenue Program. It is noteworthy that under the State of Wisconsin's current Shared Revenue Program, the average effective fiscal capacity of the surrounding communities is 156% of that of the City of Racine.
Revenue sharing income that goes to Racine will allow the City to maintain social welfare programs, rebuild infrastructure and restore brownfield sites. This arrangement provides a politically acceptable means for municipalities to reduce fiscal disparities, share in the benefits of economic development, and foster increased governmental cooperation in the region.
Work on the Racine wastewater treatment facility has been completed. Construction of an equalization basin that holds 8.4 million gallons of wastewater, preventing the recurrent overflows that the system is now experiencing, is now complete. The expansion allows for the average daily flow to increase from the present 30 million gallons per day to 37 million gallons per day, with a peak hourly capacity of 232 million gallons per day.
The City of Racine has received revenue sharing checks in the amount of $4,396,403 since the program began. The City has formed several task forces to allocate the new revenues. Some of the money, however, is already earmarked for specific projects. For example, $6 million of the revenues coming from the Village of Mount Pleasant will be spent in a joint impact zone, with improvements to infrastructure coming within 10 years of the signing of the agreement. In the Village of Caledonia, the upgrade and improvement of a shared road is already earmarked for funding.
Mount Pleasant's petition for incorporation was granted on June 6, 2003. A referendum for incorporation passed on September 9, 2003, and a new Mount Pleasant Village Board was elected on November 4, 2003. Caledonia voted overwhelmingly in favor of incorporation on October 25, 2005. Elections for a full-term village board will be held in April 2006. The newly-formed Village of Caledonia is already anticipating major growth along the Interstate 94 corridor. With its borders now frozen, the Village can make long-range plans. It will also have new tools available, such as the formation of tax incremental finance districts, that previously were not available under its status as a Town.
A consolidated dispatch service for the Racine County Sheriff's Department was recommended in the study. This is still in the process of being studied. A retail water service agreement between Racine and the surrounding communities is being negotiated, with anticipated savings of over $5 million in capital and operation/maintenance costs.
The interdependence of local governments, due to location and shared services, presents opportunities for both cooperation and conflict. Too often municipalities choose to proceed down a path that incurs huge legal fees for their constituents, yet seldom results in an outcome that satisfies all parties. The acrimony that results from these actions can have effects that last years, and transcend political affiliations.
The suburban fiscal capacity cycle is one of continually increasing fiscal capacity and lower tax rates, supported by the infrastructure and amenities of the larger city or village. The central city fiscal capacity is one of continually decreasing fiscal capacity and higher tax rates. If this cycle is left to continue long enough, there are studies that suggest that a failing central city will cause the decline of the entire region.
The Racine Intergovernmental Agreement illustrates what can happen when innovation in management and approach are taken seriously by all parties. The wastewater treatment facility expansion proved to be the catalyst for developing a broad regional vision. It positions the City of Racine as a beneficiary to suburban growth. The suburban areas, likewise, benefit from the extension and enhancement of infrastructure that supports their growth. The entire area, including people from outside the immediate geographic boundaries, enjoys the art museum, zoo and library. The fact that this agreement was voluntary, rather than mandated by law, speaks to the visionary leadership that triumphed over political agendas that could easily have derailed the entire process.
Ruekert/Mielke provides clients with a broad range of municipal services, including street and highway design, stormwater management, water supply and system design, wastewater treatment facility design, GIS data mapping, infrastructure management programs, building design, and SCADA systems. | <urn:uuid:2a53b9db-b85a-4290-87d2-98586de133d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.apwa.net/Resources/Reporter/Articles/2006/2/Racine-Intergovernmental-Agreement-for-sewer-service-and-revenue-sharing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962318 | 3,227 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The Harvard Innovation Lab succeeded in reaching and involving key constituencies during its first nine months of operation, especially students and faculty from across the Harvard University community.
Student engagement significantly exceeded expectations during this period: there were nearly 14,000 Harvard student visits, with more than half of them representing schools other than HBS. Staff of the i-lab spoke at faculty meetings and met with individual faculty from multiple schools and from Harvard's teaching hospitals. As a result, a core group of faculty users has emerged, together with specific plans for generating broader involvement. Community-focused partner programming attracted participants from the Allston-Brighton area.
Fulfilling its mandate to be a resource to the surrounding Allston-Brighton neighborhood and the Boston community, the i-lab conducted a sustained public outreach campaign through channels ranging from social media to time-honored leafleting. As a result, nonprofit organizations ranging from the Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation to the Harvard Allston Task Force held programs and meetings at the i-lab. There was also sustained activity among the i-lab's designated small business advisory partners—for example, weekly open office hours and a series of workshops sponsored by the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network and SCORE Boston's workshops and one-on-one counseling appointments. The i-lab also welcomes the public to the majority of its own workshops.
The i-lab provides a venue for groups of entrepreneurs across the University: case in point, the 2012 Women's Founders Forums. Initiated by Janet Kraus, serial entrepreneur and HBS senior lecturer, the series gave women with companies in various stages of development the chance to share knowledge and help each other navigate challenges. The vast majority of the group's 21 members were HBS students, joined by others from Harvard College, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Graduate School of Education. Their business ideas ranged from an online end-of-life planning service to a mobile electronic health records solution, and they included a number of fashion-oriented companies.
At each forum, Kraus gave a presentation on a key topic, followed by a question-and-answer session. Then two or three participants presented a business issue they were currently facing. In the final sessions, each entrepreneur presented her business concept and model to a group of experts for immediate feedback.
An initiative of the School's Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship now in its sixth year, the HBS Entrepreneurs-in-Residence program brings accomplished entrepreneurs to the campus to work with students on projects and with faculty on cases and courses throughout the academic year.
The HBS Entrepreneurs-in-Residence also serve as Experts-in-Residence at the Harvard i-lab. Additionally, Experts-in-Residence from Harvard Law School and Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are included in the i-lab's roster of nearly 30 individuals who share their expertise. | <urn:uuid:74438359-39d1-4b25-8f82-b85e91a3063e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hbs.edu/annualreport/2012/features/integration.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955986 | 593 | 1.734375 | 2 |
By Archives Staff
Primary Creator: Butz, Earl L. (Earl Lauer) (1909-2008)
Extent: 30.5 Cubic feet
The papers of Earl Laur Butz (b. July 3. 1919). Earl Butz was an alumnus and faculty member of Purdue University and served as Secretary of Agriculture under the Nixon and Ford Administrations during the 1970s. The papers include documents, photographs, letters, scrapbooks, correspondence, biographical material, speeches, and subject files. Major subjects in the papers include: Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Alaska Pipeline, the environment, international economic policy, energy, natural resources, timber, Purdue University, and the Republican Party. Files on Butz's various travels to other countries such as the Soviet Union, Europe, Mexico, and the Middle East are included.
Please see PDF Finding Aid for collection inventory.
Earl Butz was born in Albion, Indiana. He recieved a BS in Agriculture in 1932 and his Doctorate in Agricultural Economics in 1937, both from Purdue University. Butz stayed on at Purdue after receiving his Doctorate to teach in the agriculture department. From 1946 to 1954 he was head of the agricultural economics department. Butz was Dean of Agriculture from 1957 to 1967. From 1968 to 1971 Butz was Dean of Continuing Education and President of the Purdue Research Foundation. Under President Dwight Eisenhower he was Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and from 1971 to 1976 Butz became Secretary of Agriculture. He resigned as from that post in 1976.
Access Restrictions: The majority of this collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions: Boxes marked "Closed Files" have restricted access due to donor request.
Physical Access Note: Collection is located onsite.
Preferred Citation: MSF 64, Earl L. Butz papers, Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries | <urn:uuid:c37ec836-b80d-4c13-a0f1-c8420ca4e02f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www4.lib.purdue.edu/archon/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=53&q=earhart&rootcontentid=9982 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959885 | 391 | 2.125 | 2 |
Forced Air furnace: air has unpleasant smell
This is my first post. I am a tenant in a new apartment. My landlord has not been too helpful with this problem so I am trying to find out info on my own.
The apt is actually the ground floor of an older house with a forced air heating system. The furnace in the basement looks fairly new, however, as do some of the air ducts. The floor vents are older though and may go back to the 1940s when the house was built. The furnace is a Nortron Electric furnace and seems to be working properly except that the smell that it sends up through the floor vents is quite unpleasant. It has an "old ashtray" smell, as I call it. It may not actually be related at all to cigarettes, but that is roughly how I would characterize it anyway, like putting your face down in a filled ashtray.
This is the first time I have lived in a place with forced air heat, so maybe this is just the way it smells?? Is this what people put up with though?
One thing I have noticed: if I put my face right down on the vents when the furnace comes on, it starts blowing cool air before the hot air comes up. I understand why this is (it takes a moment for the furnace to start warming up the air from the intake vents) but the interesting thing is that the cool air does not have the bad smell. In other words, it doesn't seem to be a problem with the duct system needing to be cleaned or something like that. When air blows through the system without being heated, it doesn't smell. It is the process of heating the air by the furnace that seems to be where the problem arises.
Again, is it just me, or is there something wrong here? Any help would be greatly appreciated! | <urn:uuid:79e92de9-187a-44ad-93f0-d595085ea754> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.houserepairtalk.com/f8/forced-air-furnace-air-has-unpleasant-smell-10166/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979444 | 379 | 1.84375 | 2 |
The Shinmoedake volcano on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, 950 miles from the epicenter of last week's magnitude 9 earthquake, spewed ash and rocks up to 2.5 miles into the air March 13. The volcano had erupted Jan. 19 and several times afterward, most recently Feb. 1. Its re-eruption just two days after the massive temblor prompted many to wonder whether the quake could have triggered that event.
"The last explosion event at Shinmoedake may be triggered by the shock of the earthquake," said Setsuya Nakada of the Earthquake Research Institute at the University of Tokyo in an e-mail. "Nobody can verify the relationship, however."
Though scientists may not know all the facts in this case, there is a relationship — at least in principle — between earthquakes and volcanoes. If an earthquake starts out large enough, it can certainly trigger a volcano many hundreds of miles away, said UC Santa Barbara volcanologist Frank Spera.
Photos: Japan grapples with crisis
"These things are kind of like snakes in a box. They're ready to go, so you wouldn't need a huge push to get it going," Spera said. "An earthquake of this magnitude could provide that. It's not outlandish.... It's like taking a hammer and just whacking a large bell; there's going to be vibrations. The bell will continue to ring for a while."
Though it doesn't appear to happen often, an earthquake may activate a volcano in several ways:
• The energy waves traveling through the ground may break up the hardened top of the volcano's magma reservoir, allowing the molten rock to escape, said John Ewert, a volcanologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. These usually cause what looks like a "leakage," Ewert said. The 1975 Kalapana earthquake in Hawaii caused the Kilauea volcano to flow in that manner.
• The earthquake causes a shifting around of gas in the volcano's magma that may trigger an explosive eruption. Think of a bottle of soda pop, Ewert said: "If you give things a shake and you release bubbles, those bubbles can rise to shallower areas where they're under less pressure."
Stress caused by earthquake can squeeze magma reservoirs, pushing the magma to the surface.
The lower the reservoir of molten rock beneath the volcano, the lower the chance of this. That's because deep beneath the surface — say, 25 miles — the Earth's crust has fewer cracks and fissures to be disturbed.
This is what should happen, volcanologists say. But observing it in practice is often hard to do. Of the more than 1,500 potentially active volcanoes on Earth, only 50 to 100 have multiple sensors on them to enable scientists to know what's happening beneath the volcano's surface, Ewert said.
If earthquakes spawned eruptions with any degree of predictability, an eruption would have been highly likely after the 2004 magnitude 9.1 to 9.3 Sumatra earthquake, which devastated Indonesia. Indonesia has 129 active volcanoes. (Japan has 106 active volcanoes). Afterward, not a single quake-associated eruption occurred.
On the other hand, two days after Chile's 9.5 earthquake in 1960 — the largest earthquake of the 20th century — the Cordon-Caulle volcano in the southern region of the country erupted after four decades of inactivity.
The bottom line: The relationship between earthquakes and volcanic eruptions is confusing but exists. The relationship can work both ways: When a volcano erupts, the movement of magma beneath the surface can cause rocks to break, triggering tremors that appear similar to earthquakes caused by shifting tectonic plates. But these tremors are generally small, below magnitude 5, and within 20 miles of the eruption.
As to whether the recent activity of the Shinmoedake volcano was a harbinger of the giant quake March 11, there's no reason to suppose that, scientists said. | <urn:uuid:98259d18-3b88-4bff-aa8a-81826bba5425> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/18/science/la-sci-quake-volcano-20110319 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946396 | 829 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Published in Hepatitis Weekly, March 27th, 2006
The avian H5N1 strain is one of the candidates that could lead to a global influenza pandemic, although currently there is no transmission to and among humans. Under the agreement with the Italian Ministry of Health, sanofi pasteur may also provide pandemic vaccine in the event of a pandemic being declared, once the actual virus strain responsible is identified.
According to the terms of the contract, sanofi pasteur has supplied, in bulk concentrate form,...
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NewsRx also is available at LexisNexis, Gale, ProQuest, Factiva, Dialog, Thomson Reuters, NewsEdge, and Dow Jones. | <urn:uuid:aa02c99d-5300-4dfd-9a4d-bb4436c43d01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsrx.com/newsletters/Hepatitis-Weekly/2006-03-27/032720063337HW.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922433 | 176 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Wat Na Phra Meru
- off the Island
- admission ฿30
Lonely Planet review for Wat Na Phra Meru
This Wat Na Phra Meru escaped destruction during the Burmese attack in 1767 because it was used as the invading army's headquarters. It was also the site where the Burmese king was fatally injured after firing a defective cannon. His death ended the sacking of Ayuthaya.
Restoration of the temple, which was originally built in 1546, took place during the reign of King Rama III of the Bangkok era. The primary draw here is the main bòt (central sanctuary) which contains an amazing carved wooden ceiling depicting the Buddhist heavens, with Mt Sumeru in the centre. There is also a splendid Ayuthaya-era Buddha image sitting 6m high. The unique characteristics of the Ayuthaya artistic style was to depict Buddha as a king; also note how detailed and human-like the facial features are, another departure from traditional Buddha images. Inside a smaller wíhǎan (large hall)behind the bòt is a green-stone Buddha from Sri Lanka; it's in a European pose (sitting in a chair), and is said to be 1300 years old. The walls of the wíhaan show traces of 18th- or 19th-century murals. | <urn:uuid:14ab000c-a5d3-4905-82b0-4cf3f34aa9ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thailand/ayuthaya-province/ayuthaya/sights/religious-spiritual/wat-na-phra | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957908 | 287 | 2.9375 | 3 |
I’m glad you’re reading this. If you’re like me, too often we don’t want to know about issues that make us uncomfortable and out of our realm of control. But the longer I live and read about what we are doing to the environment as a global society, the more convinced I am that small actions can and do add up, and consequently, can bring out monumental change.
Take the toilet paper you buy. Seems like a preference thing, doesn’t it?
I share with you some thoughts of a fellow blogger from EgoCentric, who interviewed an award-winning photographer who takes to the air to get a birds eye view of the destruction incurred by such mining techniques as mountaintop removal. The tops of mountains are basically sheared off to get to the coal below.
What happens to the ecosystem?
The deforestation involves taking the forests, soil, rocks and land forms are thrown down the side, where they clog natural streams and decay existing ecosystems. Hey, you wouldn’t toss your garbage out your back door. Why is this OK?
How does toilet paper factor into this?
Well, our consumption of paper products is at an all time high. And not using recycled paper products means consuming products made from trees. And using energy from fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, that have to be mined.
“Again, toilet paper is such a perfect example. The most important decision you can make in a day is which toilet paper to buy. I’m trying to show people consequences, because the consequences of these purchase decisions that we make are obscured from us. Producers don’t want you to know that if you buy that nice poofy, white toilet paper you’re destroying the habitat for the nice wolves and the bears you love to watch on the nature channel and causing climate change and air pollution and water pollution and water depletion. I mean paper is one of the worst things we do to the planet. And who thinks about it?” So says J Henry Fair, the photographer, whose shocking photos are featured online. Click here.
What makes the toilet paper white? Dioxin, which is created in the bleaching of wood pulp. Think about that next time you buy a roll. | <urn:uuid:7f1fbe77-ecec-47e1-beb4-96c1449e470e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.goerieblogs.com/news/writersblock/2012/03/why-which-toilet-paper-you-choose-matters/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955111 | 475 | 2.5625 | 3 |
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A rather interesting exchange has taken place recently at Whitworth College. It began when students of the Whitworthian, the campus newspaper, asked Discovery Senior Fellow and Associate Professor of Philosophy Dr. Stephen Meyer for permission to reprint his op-ed from the WorldnetDaily.com which critiqued PBS’s Evolution series. Among other errors, this piece criticized the series promotion of the “universal” genetic code as key evidence in support of Darwinism. Granting his permission, the article ran and was met in the following edition by two letters to the editor. One letter, written collectively by the biology department, declared that the Christian faith and evolution were compatible for the simple reason that they believed it to be so. The second letter, written solely by Professor Jean Pond, was targeted at Meyer’s critique of the “universality” of the genetic code. Pond exclaimed, “That Meyer would imply that the genetic code is anything other than prime evidence favoring evolution is astonishing,” and that “the genetic code is nearly universal in all studied organisms.” She went on to say that “the small changes seen in a few groups fit perfectly with the predictions of evolutionary theory.” At which point she closed with the vitriolic statement that she would “do him the kindness of assuming that he does not know what he talking about.” “The alternative explanation for his words holds a great deal less charm.” Meyer’s letter of response was submitted to the Whitworthian, was subsequently published and is appended below.
In her recent response to my editorial about the scientific errors in the recent PBS series Evolution, Jean Pond suggests that my editorial misrepresented a key fact. Whitworthian readers may recall that I criticized the PBS Evolution series for, among other things, claiming that the genetic code is universal and for claiming that this alleged fact establishes Darwin’s theory of universal common ancestry.
Dr. Pond expressed astonishment that “Meyer would claim that the genetic code is anything other than the prime evidence favoring evolution.” She reassured readers that, “the genetic code is nearly universal in all studied organisms” and that “the small changes seen in a few groups fit perfectly with the predictions of evolution theory.”
Yet Pond is wrong on both counts. First, the genetic code is neither universal (as PBS claimed), nor “nearly universal” (as Pond claims). There are now—count them—at least 15 known variants from the standard genetic code that determines amino acid assignments from DNA “codons” during the process of protein synthesis in different living organisms. Whitworth students who wish to verify this claim might check the following website maintained by the National Institutes of Health at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Secondly, and more importantly, the existence of these variant codes is not consistent with a key prediction derived from Darwin’s theory of universal common ancestry. To see why, imagine typing on a keyboard in which the assignment between the keys and the letters that appear on your screen have been secretly changed. When you hit a specific letter such as an “n,” a different letter such as “t” appears. Or, imagine that every time you hit, say, an “o,” a period and a double space appears on your screen. Now envision submitting such a paper to a professor (without any information about the special new code that your computer used). Will your paper make sense? Will you get a good grade? I doubt it.
In a similar way, changes in the genetic code will inevitably result in the production of some amino acid sequences that will not fold into functional (i.e., biologically meaningful) proteins--much to the detriment of the organism. Indeed, many of the variant codes in nature either insert a “stop” (the equivalent of a period) where, in the standard code, a specific amino acid would have been, or they continue to produce amino acids where previously a “stop” would have been. Both these kinds of changes are hardly trivial from a functional point of view.
Historically, advocates of Darwinian evolution have recognized this extreme functional sensitivity of organisms to any change in codon-amino acid assignments. As a result, they took previous evidence for the universality of the code as prime evidence for Darwin’s theory of universal common descent. Since organisms can’t change their codon-amino acid assignments without deleterious consequences (a.k.a. death), Darwinists reasoned that all organisms must have all evolved from a single organism with a single common code. Thus, the theory of universal common ancestry, implied (or predicted) the existence of a universal code. If there was a single common ancestor, there should be a single common code. And since, until recently, biologists knew of only one code, evidence of the same seemed to support the hypothesis that all life had evolved from a single universal common ancestor.
But what if the code is not universal? Well, it isn’t. Many new variant codes have been discovered. Yet evolutionary biologists have not produced credible new explanations about how any organism could continue to survive while nature tinkered with something as fundamental as the code by which its cells (or organelles) direct protein synthesis.
If a single code implies a single origin of life, do multiple codes imply, by the same logic, multiple separate origins? Not for Dr. Pond. Instead, she, and other contemporary Darwinists, assert that the new evidence for the non-universality of the code (which she minimizes by calling the code “nearly” universal) is just as consistent with Darwinism as our previous incorrect belief in a strictly universal code. Heads they win, tails they win.
If such fulfilled “predictions” seem persuasive to modern Darwinists, then I suppose those of us who do not share their convictions can to do little to dissuade them from their system of belief. But surely by the same token, we are under no obligation to take either their inaccurate factual claims, or their interpretations of these claims, as authoritative statements of the truth.
Stephen C. Meyer
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Director, Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture
Copyright 2004 Stephen C. Meyer. All rights reserved. International
File Date: 04.28.04
This data file may be reproduced in its entirety
for non-commercial use.
A return link to the Access Research Network web site would be appreciated.
Documents on this site which have been reproduced from a previous publication are copyrighted through the individual publication. See the body of the above document for specific copyright information. | <urn:uuid:a9efdd69-59d1-4392-a377-8d528ca2f39a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://arn.org/docs/meyer/sm_meyerwhitworth.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949419 | 1,417 | 1.960938 | 2 |
Unemployment fell across the region in October fueled by an uptick in private sector hiring.
Virginia announced Tuesday an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent after being stuck at 5.9 percent for three months. Maryland unemployment fell by 0.1 percentage point to 6.7 percent, while the District's dropped from 8.7 percent in September to 8.5 percent, it's lowest mark in nearly four years.
The labor force increased in Virginia by 15,234 and in Maryland, 16,700 jobs were created, which Gov. Martin O'Malley said was "the best month for private sector job growth in more than 15 years." D.C. added 4,100 jobs.
Both O'Malley and D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray touted their administration's job creation efforts for the boost in hiring. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell did not send out a statement about his state's positive job growth.
"I'm proud that our efforts to put District residents back to work continue to pay off, and that we are at our lowest level of unemployment since January of 2009," Gray said. "But we still have far too many residents who are having a hard time finding jobs, and I will continue to work hard to ensure they get back to work along with the rest of D.C."
The national unemployment rate is 7.9 percent. | <urn:uuid:160a0296-5cb6-4195-9654-eb875f233305> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://washingtonexaminer.com/d.c.-region-sees-spike-in-employment/article/2513994 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976946 | 274 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Pope Benedict XVI announced last month his resignation from the papacy. The 85-year-old pope alluded to the fact that his age and poor health were the reasoning behind his decision. With his departure from the Vatican, many are wondering who may replace him. Here is a list of potential candidates that may be elected to become the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
Cardinal Peter Turkson
Turkson is the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and the Archbishop of Cape Coast, Ghana. In October Turkson made headlines when he showed a controversial video about Islam growth in Europe to a group of bishops at the Vatican. With that aside, his high stature in the church may make him the first black pope.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet
Ouellet originates from Canada and was elected and appointed to secretary of the Pontifical Council for promoting Christian Unity. He was consecrated in March 2001 by Pope John Paul II. Ouellet co-hosted an Americas Conference alongside Pope Benedict XVI in December 2012.
Cardinal Francis Arinze
Cardinal Arinze is 80 years old and from Nigeria. He is the prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He has also served as president delegate of the 2nd Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. He may be a rival to Cardinal Turkson based on their similar backgrounds.
Archbishop Angelo Scola
Cardinal Scola serves as archbishop of Milan. He served in the College of Cardinals who elected Pope John Paul II to the papacy in 2003. He has doctorates in philosophy and theology.
Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga
Maradiaga is the first Cardinal to serve the Honduras and became archbishop of Tegucigalpa in 1993. He founded the Catholic University of Honduras, and has become one on of the most prominent figures in the Church from Latin America.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
Cardinal Bertone is the secretary of state of the Holy Roman Church and formerly served as Archbishop of Genoa, Italy. His position in the church allowed him to serve alongside Pope John Paul II. With that in mind, he may have a fair chance at replacing the pope.
Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco
Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco is the current archbishop of Genoa, Italy. This multilingual cardinal was president of the Italian Episcopal Conference in March 2007. Bagnasco spoke openly about the necessity for Italian culture to change in regards to their negative birth rates. He warned that a society without children will crumble. | <urn:uuid:d5463bba-baf6-4bbb-baf2-e06b718c8382> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newyorkdailysun.com/benedicts-replacement/1835/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977728 | 540 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Thomas Peploe Wood (1817-1845) was a talented and prolific artist. Little
known outside Staffordshire, his work is a valuable record of the County’s
history and landscape. He spent most of his short life sketching and painting
in Staffordshire, taking particular pleasure in working on Cannock Chase.
He was well known for his paintings of landscapes and animals.
Born in Great Haywood, near Stafford, Thomas was the son of Joseph and
Alethea Wood and one of six brothers. His father was a shoemaker and kept
the toll-gate on the main North Road in Great Haywood. Joseph and Althea
had six sons and one daughter.
Thomas was self taught from an early age, collecting and copying engravings.
He sometimes sold his own work to travellers on the main coach road from
London to Liverpool, using the money to buy prints of Old Masters. His
eldest brother, John, who was a house-painter and colourist, taught him
how to grind and mix colours and he worked in a range of mediums, including
pencil, pen & ink, pen & wash, sepia, watercolour and oils. Click
here to read more and download T.P. Wood Timeline
T. P. Wood’s work continues to be available to view at the William
Salt Library and, by appointment, at the Shire Hall Gallery, both
in Stafford. They are also available on the Gateway
to the Past web site.
This website was published to coincide with an exhibition held at the
Shire Hall Gallery, www.staffordshire.gov.uk/shirehallgallery
from 14 March to 10 May, 2009, featuring Wood’s oil paintings, watercolours
A book of illustrations by Thomas Peploe Wood, with information about
the artist and his connection with the banker and antiquary William Salt
(1808-1863) written by local historian Randle Knight can be purchased
from Staffordshire Museum Service for £7.00. As
we are currently unable to process online payments, please email
to reserve a copy. | <urn:uuid:b8a583ee-256c-49a2-888c-9920472d2e9b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.staffspasttrack.org.uk/exhibit/tpwood/Index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96586 | 450 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Tyre Safety Centre News
Buying used tyres? Beware
A survey of used tyres - often called part worn tyres - has shown that many are potentially dangerous.
TyreSafe (a not-for-profit organisation) carried out a study which involved the purchase of 50 random part worn tyres from retailers across the UK. It found that 98 per cent were being sold illegally as they did not meet current requirements, but more seriously, over a third of the tyres were found to contain potentially dangerous forms of damage or non-compliance.
"Despite clear legislation it would appear from our investigation that the sale of illegal part worn tyres is a very real problem and needs to be tackled head on by Trading Standards as a matter of urgency. Those who sell illegal part worn tyres need to be educated and stopped as it really it could be a matter of life and death," said Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe.
One tyre in its investigation was described as having the "potential to kill" as it still contained a metal object penetrating 5cm through the tread in a manner which was likely to result in sudden and total tyre failure had it been fitted to a vehicle.
Other serious safety breaches included dangerous and unsafe repairs, exposed cords, bead damage and evidence of runflat damage. TyreSafe says that, last year, there were more than 1,200 road casualties where illegal, defective or under-inflated tyres were a contributory factor.
We have to agree. We know new tyres are expensive – and as cars have ever wider tyres, the prices keep going up - but part-worn tyres are a gamble. A part-worn tyre could come from a legitimate source, but most people use their tyres until they are worn out and then replace them. How many MOT failures, for example, have tyres in good condition that you would be happy to use? Given the difference in how long a new tyre will last, you will normally get your money back in the long run.
From November 2012, an energy rating similar to those on fridges and freezers will be slapped on all new tyres produced for passenger cars and light trucks. It has three different categories: rolling resistance, wet grip and outside noise.
So how will manufacturers test tyres under the new rules?
Well, the truth is that for tyre development, these three categories are only a minute part of the exhaustive testing that goes into a tyre. Thousands of miles will be driven on differing road surfaces with extreme weather conditions to make sure that they are safe and perform well.
What can I expect?
The first thing that might surprise you is that most of the premium tyre brands will not automatically come with an A rating. Why? Well, this is because the three future parameters are actually very difficult to balance. This is a deliberate move by the EU to make extremely difficult ratings and thus it stops the market being flooded with A+, A++ and A+++ tyres in a matter of months. Manufacturers are therefore choosing one of the three features to focus on much more closely. Both Goodyear Dunlop and Avon are designing tyres that can perform admirably in the wet, so while it may have a great looking figure in the wet grip category, the other two might look poor in comparison.
You will have to decide which of the three ratings suits your needs best.
What will I have to do?
If you have recently bought a set of tyres or your tyres still have a healthy amount of tread, don't worry. The legislation does not require you to change them for new on 1 November 2012. Other exemptions include remoulds and retreads. However, if you are in the market for a new set of tyres, expect to hear a lot more from the mechanic than "That'll be £400 mate." Instead, you will be shown how the new tyres on the shelves have fared on the easy-to-read label before you make your judgement.
Why has the EU planned this?
The main drive to label tyres is so that consumers understand more about the rubber that keeps us on the road. Lie Junius, director of public affairs for Goodyear Dunlop, believes it will 'enable customers to get excited about tyres'. That may be pushing it, but if more people make a conscious effort to understand why it is important to keep tyres in check, the less number of accidents will happen on our roads.
Why is road noise on the label?
First of all, it is important to point out that the tyre noise grading on the label has nothing to do with what you can hear inside the car. It focuses purely on outside noise pollution and the negative impact on the environment. In town and cities, this could see a significant reduction overall in noise pollution from traffic, although we'd recommend buying tyres with better wet grip or fuel efficiency.
Why don't I just buy the most fuel efficient tyres?
On the face of it, this would seem like a good plan, especially if you don't do many miles or aren't looking to blat round your local country lanes in a tyre-screeching frenzy. A-rated rubber could save you up to 7.5% in fuel costs over the life of the tyre, or 6 litres per 1000 km. Great, but you must also consider that the wet grip grading needs to be high too, especially as from next November another bad winter is sure to set in.
What will be the real difference between A grade and G grade tyres?
The major manufacturers have already been conducting thorough tests that involve the equivalent of high grade and low grade tyres. Autoblog visited the Goodyear proving ground in Luxembourg to find out more.
A section of the track was kept wet to replicate heavy downpours and create conditions that may cause aquaplaning. The cars used were VW Golf Mk6 1.4 TSi models. Each Golf had different tyres on; one with the equivalent of A grade tyres and one with the equivalent of the lowest G graded tyres.
At 105kph, the brakes were applied firmly to simulate an emergency stop.
In Goodyear's research, the A grade equivalent tyre stops short by up to 40%, or 18 metres.
The A grade tyre gave excellent grip and really hunkered the car down. The stopping distance between the two cars simply felt huge. The car was completely controllable.
The G rated tyre was a different story altogether. It was skittish under heavy braking and the Golf really wanted to squirm in different directions, fighting with the ABS. It was here that 18 metres soon started to feel like 18 miles.
This could well be the difference between a dink in your bumper and a complete write-off!!!!
FREE ROADSIDE TYRES ASSISTANCE ** EXCLUSIVE TO MICHELIN STAR OUTLETS **
Tyre Safety Centre Ltd are one of only 3 outlets in Northern Ireland that are ableto to bring you this superb free benefit when purchasing a Michelin or BFGoodrich tyre.
FREE Tyre Assist when you buy any Michelin or BFGoodrich car, van or 4x4 tyre TyreAssist is an extended warranty offering roadside assistance services, and is available to any customers purchasing Michelin or BFGoodrich car, van or 4x4 tyres. The service cover is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and lasts for 2 years from the date of your registration to TyreAssist.
In the case of a puncture or any other tyre-related problem, simply call the number on your card, quoting your unique membership number and TyreAssist will arrange for a technician to be sent out to you.
The technician will fit your spare tyre or, if appropriate, tow you to the safety of a local tyre dealer or your own home.
FREE BENEFITS from the first day of registration:
Roadside assistance for any tyre-related problem
Expert roadside service (or towing to the nearest dealer if necessary)
Fast, efficient response times
Service across the UK & Ireland
Local rate telephone number
Cover for 2 years
Michelin Star Award
2011 saw Tyre Safety Centre being awarded the very first Michelin star to be given to a tyre company in Ireland.
An independent audit was carried out during the late summer. Criteria included, customer service, product knowledge, workmanship, quality, vehicle care, building layout, stock range, telephone manner etc etc.
A score of 96% was achieved and we at Tyre Safety Centre and management are extremely pleased.
In the later part of 2011, Tyre Safety Centre undertook a massive rebranding exercise. This included the re-creation of it's logo, Signage, building exterior, office, waiting area, stationery, staff uniforms, website, etc etc.
Hopefully it will keep TSC up to date and ahead of the game in today's very demanding world.
New website launch, November 2011
Since the creation of the website www.alloywheelsni.com some 8 years ago, Tyre Safety Centre has relaunched its website twice.
November 2011 brings the launch of an all new site, giving customers a more stimulating browsing experience and providing as much information and knowledge as possible on our alloy and tyre inventory.
Whether you are an experienced alloy connoisseur, or browsing for rims for a gift, there are a number of ways to locate your wheels of choice; by brand, by search but also by vehicle suitability.
In addition to this our all new inspiration panel helps by showing what other TSC customers have chosen for vehicles similar to yours.
Let us know how you get on - happy browsing! | <urn:uuid:d408a431-997f-4a6d-93ef-fe5ce2bc4bae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alloywheelsni.com/pages/news | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963511 | 1,980 | 2.140625 | 2 |
POLITICS APRIL 5, 2012
If the Supreme Court overturns key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, it will precipitate the largest confrontation between the Court and a president since the mid-1930s. Yes, the Court prevented Truman from seizing the steel mills and forced Nixon to give up the tapes. But in those instances the decision ended the controversy because the President chose not to prolong it.
Not so this time: President Obama has signaled his intention to make the Court a central issue in the fall campaign if it guts his signature policy achievement. Although this may be a shrewd short-term political calculation, it raises troubling questions about a president’s broader responsibilities to the constitutional order he is sworn to uphold.
There are good reasons why, if Obamacare is indeed overturned, it would be tempting for the President to mount an all-out attack on the Court in the presidential campaign. First, defeat typically energizes the losers more than victory does the winners. A negative decision by the Court would enrage liberals who have been lukewarm about the ACA and the Obama presidency. And the president would have no trouble channeling this renewed passion toward electoral mobilization.
Second—and more fundamentally—the American people have soured on the Court. Surveys done in the past two years find that three quarters of the respondents believe that justices’ political and ideological views sometimes influence their decisions. The Gallup trend question—“Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Supreme Court is handling its job?”—shows a 15-point decline, from 61 percent to 46 percent, in public approval of the Court since mid-2009. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey released last month found only 23 percent of the people expressing “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the Supreme Court, versus 30 percent in the presidency (and only 6 percent in Congress). In other words, the Court is vulnerable to political attack.
But there are times when a president should refrain from exploiting a political opening, and this is one of them. The polarization of our politics has already produced a governance crisis; ours is a political system that finds it increasingly difficult even to perform routine functions, let alone agree on solutions to large problems. The inability to act decisively has gotten so bad, in fact, that it verges on a legitimacy crisis as well. The American people have withdrawn their trust from nearly all our governing institutions, and most believe that the government officially based on “We the people” responds instead to a myriad of narrow special interests.
An all-out attack by Obama on the Court, and its institutional role in American public life, would only make things worse—especially if it is framed in terms appropriated from his adversaries. On Monday, the President echoed conservatives’ long-standing critique of “judicial activism,” referred to the justices as an “unelected group of people,” and characterized the overturning of a law passed by a “democratically elected Congress” as an “unprecedented, extraordinary step.”
The president used to teach constitutional law, so he surely knows better. Although justices are nominated and confirmed by elected officials, the founders deliberately insulated the Court from everyday politics. They are “unelected” so they can do their job without being answerable to transient public sentiment. That is because their job is to judge democratically passed laws against constitutional standards and to serve as guardians of those standards, even when it is unpopular. But since judging requires judgment—since it is not mechanical—it is inherently controversial. One person’s judicial activism is another’s constitutional fidelity.
So if the Court does invalidate the individual mandate, Obama should take the conversation in a different direction. He should seize the opportunity to place this constitutional controversy in a broader context—to remind the American people that the substantive political agenda that conservatives are proposing is that of a return to the pre-New Deal era. This is as true of Republicans in Congress, who want to dismantle the welfare state, as it is of the “originalists” in the Supreme Court, who want to abandon the interpretation of the Commerce Clause that became a consensus after 1936 and made possible many of the programs Americans now cherish and take for granted. The 2012 election, he could argue, is a choice not just between two budgets or even two social philosophies, but also between a conception of government adequate to address the problems we face today and a conception that faces backward, not forward. Obama can pay deference to the Court’s prerogative to challenge legislation while attacking the vision of jurisprudence that is currently motivating its interventions.
I sincerely hope that it doesn’t come to this. In my previous column, I urged John Roberts to adopt a view of his role as chief justice that is informed by his responsibility for the legitimacy of the institution over which he presides. Especially in the context of the past decade, another decision split 5-to-4 along ideological lines might well convince the American people that their aspiration for a Court above normal politics is hopelessly naïve. But if that decision comes to pass, it is the president’s responsibility to minimize the damage by speaking to the people’s hopes rather than their fears, to their patriotism rather than their anger. That’s what Obama at his best has always done. And that’s why he was elected.
William Galston is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing editor for The New Republic. | <urn:uuid:36cad979-0df3-4a76-9e59-873847ddf4ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newrepublic.com/article/the-vital-center/102372/obama-supreme-court-campaign-issue-scotus | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966217 | 1,136 | 1.71875 | 2 |
OMG! Vatican unveils Pope''s Twitter handle: @pontifex
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But while the pope will be one of the world's most high-profile tweeters and have many followers, he will not be following anyone himself.
"This is the new market of ideas and the Church has to be there. We want to use any method to spread the message. It's cost-effective and not very labour intensive and it is aimed at young people," Burke said.
PELLETS OF WISDOM
The Vatican said precautions had been taken to make sure the pope's certified account is not hacked. Only one computer in the Vatican's secretariat of state will be used for the tweets.
Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the Vatican's communications commission, said while he himself was not a big twitter fan he understood its importance and its possibilities for the Church.
"Reducing the pope's message to 140 characters is definitely a challenge but we have seen that a profound thought can also be expressed in a brief Biblical passage," Celli said. "We can see this as sparks of truth or pellets of wisdom". And are there any fears that it could create problems with a type of social media that generates so much discussion?
"I think the risk would be not to go there because you are afraid of going there. Then you would leave vacant a space that is important to spread the pope's teachings," said Monsignor Paul Tighe of the Vatican's communications commission.
The pope's Twitter page is designed in yellow and white - the colours of the Vatican, with a backdrop of the Vatican and his picture. It may change during different liturgical seasons of the year and when the pope is away from the Vatican on trips.
The pope, who still writes his speeches and books by hand, has given a qualified blessing to social networking.
In a document issued last year, he said the possibilities of new media and social networks offered "a great opportunity", but warned of the risks of depersonalisation, alienation, self-indulgence, and the dangers of having more virtual friends than real ones.
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- In 7 lucrative minutes on May 9, Sreesanth bowled 6 balls, bookie made Rs 2.5 cr
- India and China ask border envoys to work on more steps
- Former Ranji player among 3 more held | <urn:uuid:bbce49c2-83bf-49f8-a2c7-929acbbe0a95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indianexpress.com/news/omg--vatican-unveils-popes-twitter-handle--pontifex/1039865/2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957018 | 641 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Robert Endre Tarjan (born April 30, 1948 in Pomona, California) is a renowned computer scientist. He is the discoverer of several important graph algorithms, including Tarjan's off-line least common ancestors algorithm.
Tarjan received a Turing Award in 1986. The citation for the award states that it was :
- For fundamental achievements in the design and analysis of algorithms and data structures.
Tarjan obtained a Bachelor's degree
in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology
. At Stanford University
, he received his Master's degree
in computer science in 1971
and a Ph.D
in computer science (with a minor in mathematics) in 1972
. At Stanford, he was supervised by Robert Floyd
and Donald Knuth
, both highly prominent computer scientists.
Tarjan is currently a professor of Computer Science at Princeton University, and also works for Hewlett-Packard. | <urn:uuid:6a0ea9b0-1921-416e-aeba-b0b3d7582416> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.encyclopedia4u.com/r/robert-tarjan.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948575 | 186 | 2.28125 | 2 |
He narrowly missed being blown up and was tortured whilst a prisoner of the Japanese. More than 65 years on, Clifford Hartland, one of the few surviving soldiers who worked on the notorious Burma ‘death railway’, talks about his ordeal for the first time. Catherine Vonledebur reports.
On September 2, 1945 – the day the Japanese surrendered to the Allies – Clifford Hartland had been told to dig his own grave and was waiting to be shot.
A former prisoner of war, he was forced by the Japanese to build the Thailand-Burma “death railway”. The horrific conditions of the prisoners as they built the line, formed the basis of David Lean’s 1957 film, The Bridge On The River Kwai.
Clifford who now lives in St Martin’s Rest Home, Woodway Lane, Coventry, with his wife Marjorie, aged 96, is the last living POW survivor from his regiment.
Out of 700 in his regiment, the gunner had been one of only four to survive their ordeal, and after suffering the brutality and torture of the prison camps, he returned home weighing just five stone.
As he looks forward to celebrating his 100th birthday on Tuesday, he reveals he has never spoken about his ordeal until now.
When asked how it feels to be nearly 100, Clifford who has had three strokes, is registered blind and slightly deaf replies dryly, “No different – just a bit older”.
His only daughter Christine, aged 66, a retired nurse, says despite everything her father has been through in his life he has never lost his sense of humour.
“Seven hundred of them went out in his regiment – but only four came back from the prison camps.
“For years dad kept in touch with the other three until they died,” she explains.
“He used to tell the grandchildren he and another chap built the Bridge on the River Kwai.
“Despite everything that has happened, he has always had a good sense of humour.
“Someone once offered him a lot of money to tell his story but he said ‘no I’ve had enough’. This is the first time his story has been told.”
The youngest of 13 children Clifford Hartland was born in Gloucester and nearly died as a result of scarlet fever at 18 months. His father was a chef who made Lamprey pies for the King. He and his brother Jack were head choir boys at Gloucester Cathedral. He married Marjorie at St John’s church in Cardiff on July 30, 1939.
A gunner in the 7th Coast Regiment Royal Artillery, Clifford had only been married to Marjorie for two years when he left the docks at Liverpool on October 1, 1941 for Singapore, via Cape Town, South Africa.
Three months later on February 15, 1942 Clifford was one of thousands of British soldiers who surrendered to the Japanese in Singapore. He was sent to 15 prison camps and forced to build the Thailand-Burma line. During its construction, around 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway.
In The Bridge on the River Kwai, Alec Guinness plays a British colonel who oversees his men’s construction of a railway bridge for the Japanese – whilst oblivious to the Allies’ plan to destroy it. The largely fictional plot is based on the building in 1943 of one of the railway bridges over the Mae Klong in Thailand.
Mother-of-two Christine says: “All the way through the war it was a case of luck for Dad.
“Dad was in the last carriage of a train which was blown up crossing the bridge during the war. It was the only carriage that was saved.
“Afterwards dad said there was bits of people everywhere – blown-up arms and legs.
“Once dad got caught smoking banana leaves in one of the prison camps and a Japanese officer got a poisoned bamboo shoot and pushed it through his leg. He still has the scar.
“Every day they had to trek miles and miles through swamps filled with leeches.
“His leg got so gangrenous they thought he would have to have it cut off. The leeches probably saved it.
“One night cholera swept through one of the prison camps. As there was not enough room for each prisoner to have their own bed – they had to take it in turns to sleep on the floor.
“All the prisoners who slept on the floor died in the night and the ones in the beds survived. It was dad’s turn to have a bed.”
Even now Clifford is still haunted by the brutality and torture he endured.
He says: “The worst thing was when we had to dig our own graves. We were due to be shot on the day the war ended. Then the ‘all-clear’ sounded. You can guess how I felt. It was a long time ago now.”
Christine says: “Dad was 11 stone when he left home to go to Singapore but when he came out of the prison camp he was five stone. | <urn:uuid:8301882d-3ee0-4cc6-85f1-6e0c4d3a1e2b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.birminghampost.net/news/newsaggregator/tm_headline=clifford-hartland-opens-up-about-his-days-as-a-prisoner-of-the-japanese%26method=full%26objectid=32541012%26siteid=65233-name_page.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98951 | 1,076 | 2.3125 | 2 |
I love food and very often eat far more than my share. But, I know that I'm lucky and that not everyone living in my hood has the same privilege. Approximately 333,000 households in our area cut or skipped meals in the past year because they do not have enough money to buy groceries. Food kitchens and pantries in our areas are having to turn people away or reduce the amount given to each family.
In celebration of World Food Day (10/16), Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger launched “Nourishing Neighbors”.
Here's the gist - The Nourishing Neighbors program is a food drive that's happening right now through November 7 sponsored by Stroehmann, Giant Food stores, and Acme Markets. The goal is to raise and donate over $100,000 to the Hunger Coalition through Hunger Relief drives, Food Stamp enrollment events, and a purchase program. For every loaf of Stroehmann’s Dutch Country or Stroehmann’s King bread sold at Acme and Giant, 10 cents will be donated to the effort. | <urn:uuid:289d1c82-f4a2-482f-950e-26d702788ab4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eatingoodinthehood.blogspot.com/2009/10/nourishing-neighbors.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957178 | 220 | 2.171875 | 2 |
|"Are you a wizard or not?"
The title of this article is conjectural. Although it is based on canonical information, the actual name is conjecture and may be supplanted at any time by additional information released from canonical sources. If this occurs, please move this page to the appropriate title.
|Giant at the Battle of Hogwarts|
This individual was a giant and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts fighting for Lord Voldemort. He destroyed the suits of armour with one of the Quidditch goal hoops. He is one of the two Giants who participated in the Courtyard Apocalypse, in which he sees Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger and chases after them. When he is about to hit them with the goal hoop, they hides behind one of the Bell towers' bells, and the Giant hits the bell and loses interest in them. However later he got a new interest in chasing them, after they run past him. He then manages to destroy one corner of the courtyard.
Behind the Scenes
- This giant is played by Philip Wright in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
- In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 a Giant appears with a Quidditch goal hoop which is possibly the giant. The trio uses a phonogragh to make him dance then kill him with a Portable Swamp in a Weasley box.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Appears as generic Giant) | <urn:uuid:dc918feb-7ccd-44b8-88a2-9704a385ee38> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Unidentified_Giant_in_the_Battle_of_Hogwarts_(I)?oldid=766477 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922711 | 327 | 1.617188 | 2 |
An Easier Way to Getting A College Education Online
Many people in today’s society do not have the time they want in order to attend a college or university in order to further their education. So, there is an easier way to get a college degree and that is by taking online courses. Online courses are offered in a wide range of subjects from accounting to engineering. These courses are deemed to be the easier way to getting a college degree by doing it online. A college education online will give you the same degree level that you would get if you attended a traditional university or college.
The newest way to get a degree is attending the University of Phoenix online. The<b> University of Phoenix online </b>offers their students a list of courses, a personal admissions counselor, and classes that are fit around your already hectic schedule and lifestyle. With almost sixty online courses and approximately thirteen campuses spread throughout the country, the University of Phoenix is the leading site for getting a <b>college education online</b>. They offer everything from a Bachelor’s degree to a Master’s degree and even offer single classes instead of an entire degree’s worth. They also offer financial assistance for those who are not able to afford an online education. The financial assistance plans that they offer range from helping out a little bit, to making the payments affordable for those that have families and large monthly bills.
There are other web sites that offer the ability to obtain an education degree online. Most sites are affiliated with accredited universities and colleges. However, these sites require that you go to the university or college in order to take the exams issued regularly, as well as the mid-terms and final exams. The internet sites that are linked to accredited universities tend not to offer an affordable <b>education degree online</b>. Sometimes their courses can cost just as much as if you were to attend the classes in person. Be sure to check out as many sites as possible when deciding to get your education degree online and definitely make sure to check out the University of Phoenix online or call one of their toll free numbers. This will ensure an easier way to getting a college degree online. | <urn:uuid:edb4c62e-86a7-47d1-81c2-6a332933d824> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.educarelab.com/2012/07/24/an-easier-way-to-getting-a-college-education-online/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968198 | 442 | 1.867188 | 2 |
The Senate voted Tuesday to begin debate on a bill to give tax breaks to small businesses that hire new workers or boost pay for existing workers. But the overwhelming 80-14 vote masks the broad expectation that because of an unrelated fight over the Bush tax cuts, the small business bill is unlikely to pass the chamber.
"You have to wonder whether the bill that we will go to shortly is a serious exercise," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, shortly before the vote, as he a noted a procedural technicality could scuttle the bill even if the Senate did approve it. "So I'm not sure that the majority is interested in passing something."
In addition, McConnell said Republicans would insist on getting a vote on an amendment to extend all the Bush-era tax cuts for one year, which he said would provide some certainty to taxpayers and give lawmakers time to agree on comprehensive tax reform. The GOP push for the tax cut extensions for all filers comes on the heels of President Barack Obama's announcement Monday that he wants to extend the Bush tax cuts only for those earning $250,000 and less.
Top GOP aides privately made clear that Republican senators would consider voting for the bill only if they were first allowed to vote on their tax cut extension proposal.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was non-committal when asked if he would agree to the GOP demand, saying only that "we'll move through this amendment by amendment and see what we can work through."
A vote on the Republican amendment could be tough for some moderate Democrats, especially those facing re-election, as they will be forced to choose between supporting the policy of the Democratic president or their Republican opponents.
Democrats huddled in the Capitol with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and top Obama campaign aide David Axelrod to discuss the issue.
Reid said about his caucus that "generally everyone agrees" with the president's proposal although he acknowledged it is not unanimous.
Many Republicans like aspects of the small-business tax bill. But they say because it originated in the Senate, it violates a constitutional requirement that revenue bills first pass the House, and therefore it couldn't become law in its current form.
But Republicans also said they consider the bill to be more about political messaging than serious legislating, so that technicality might be moot. | <urn:uuid:5d2298a1-e914-4fcd-832f-621a4b92f76b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/politics/Tax-cut-fight-could-derail-small-business-bill/-/1719386/15468116/-/k3qb94z/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975314 | 473 | 1.609375 | 2 |
We ran across this article from Inhabitat, and just had to share it!
Providence Arcade, the first U.S. indoor shopping mall, is being transformed into a new micro apartment complex. Originally built in 1828, the historic building is known for its classic Greek architecture and iconic columns. It was closed in 2008 for renovations, but took a completely different direction instead.
In 1976, the Providence Arcade was declared a National Historic Landmark.
Natural light shines through the building’s skylights and brighten up its central atrium.
An inside view of the structure, where there will be restaurants and retail space on the ground floor and 48 apartments featured on the remaining levels.
Complete with kitchen appliances (minus an oven), full bathroom and pull down bed – the micro-sized apartment has just about everything you could need. The complex also provides additional storage space, a laundry room and a common area for residents to mingle. | <urn:uuid:02d8bd42-6c88-4b7a-92a1-b0ab99374df7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.millikencarpet.com/en-US/designcenter/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=118 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969305 | 196 | 2.203125 | 2 |
User Roles & Permissions
Your role determines your capabilities for sharing, broadcasting, and other activities in an Adobe Connect meeting. There are three roles for meeting room attendees: host, presenter, and participant.
The creator of a meeting is designated as the host by default. The host can specify each attendee’s role, including selecting other attendees to be hosts for the meeting. Permissions for each role are as follows:
Hosts can set up a meeting, invite guests, add content to the library, share content, and add or edit layouts in a meeting room. They can promote other participants to the role of meeting room host or presenter, or give enhanced permissions to a participant without promoting the participant.
Hosts can start, stop, join, and leave audio conferences. They can also start and stop broadcasting audio into a meeting room. Hosts are able to create and manage small group breakout rooms within a meeting. They can also perform all the tasks that a presenter or participant can.
Presenters can share content already loaded into the meeting room from the library and share content from their computer, including Adobe® Presenter presentations (PPT or PPTX files), Flash® application files (SWF files), images (JPEG files), Adobe PDF files, MP3 files, and FLV files.
They can share their screen with all attendees, chat, and broadcast live audio and video. Presenters can mute and unmute audio broadcasts on their computers.
Participants can view the content that the presenter is sharing, hear and see the presenter’s audio and video broadcast, and use text chat. Participants can mute and unmute audio broadcasts on their computers. | <urn:uuid:ef974c9e-ccb5-406f-973d-1c3675fa2e85> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.emerson.edu/about-emerson/offices-departments/media-services/adobe-connect/user-roles-permissions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920666 | 344 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Emergency unemployment compensation
From OpenCongress Wiki
Emergency unemployment compensation is a program initiated by the U.S. federal government in response to an economic slowdown of recession that provides additional unemployment benefits to workers experiencing long-term joblessness in states with high rates of unemployment. The EUC program is temporary, and differs from the Extended Benefit Program.
Current EUC Program
In 2008, Congress approved the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008 (H.R. 2642), which was signed by President George W. Bush on June 30, 2008. It provided $12.5 billion to help states provide an additional 13 weeks of unemployment compensation, above the regular unemployment benefits provided through 53 different state programs. Since the adoption of the current EUC program, there has been one extension (called Tier 2 EUC).
Eligible individuals can now receive up to 33 weeks of EUC equal to their regular unemployment benefits, with an additional $25 per week provided as part of the 2009 stimulus bill. Eligibility for both tiers of EUC are set to expire on December 26, 2009 (meaning individuals would be unable to enroll for EUC payments if their regular benefits expire after December 26). EUC payments under Tiers 1 and 2 are set to cease after June 6, 2010.
Additional extensions have been proposed in Congress and are being considered by lawmakers, including an additional 13-week extension (the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009) for states with high Total Unemployment Rates or Insured Unemployment Rates. In addition, legislation (H.R. 3404) has been introduced that would extend a third tier of EUC into 2010, and extend eligibility past the current December 26 deadline.
Tier 1 Emergency Unemployment Compensation
The benefit amount is equal to the claimant's weekly regular UC benefit, and includes any applicable dependents’ allowances. With the passage of the 2009 stimulus bill, an additional $25 weekly benefit is provided.
Originally set at a duration of 13 weeks (under H.R. 2642, the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008), Tier 1 EUC benefits were extended by an additional 7 weeks in late 2008 when Congress approved H.R. 6867, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act. While the maximum duration of benefits under Tier 1 EUC is 20 weeks, some individuals might receive less depending on their original UC benefits.
Date of first claim
According to the Congressional Research Service, applicants "must have been eligible for regular UC benefits and have exhausted their rights to regular UC compensation with respect to a benefit year that expired during or after the week of May 6, 2007.
Exhaustion of regular EC benefits
To be eligible for emergency unemployment compensation, workers must have exhausted the regular unemployment benefits, which are determined on a state-by-state basis according to the federal-state unemployment benefits system. According to CRS,
Generally, regular UC eligibility is based on attaining qualified wages and employment in covered work over a 12-month period (called a base period). Conditional on earnings amounts and number of quarters worked in the base period, an individual may qualify for as little as one week of UC benefits in some states and as many as 26 weeks in other states. Individuals with higher earnings and multiple quarters of work history will generally receive higher UC benefits for a longer period of time.
States determine benefit eligibility, amount and duration on an individual basis.
Full-time insured employment requirement
To be eligible for the EUC program, applicants must have at least 20 weeks of full-time insured employment (or an equivalent) in insured wages in their base claimant period.
Tier 2 Emergency Unemployment Compensation
Workers in states experiencing unusually high levels of unemployment are eligible for a second tier of EUC, consisting of an additional 13 weeks of EUC payments.
To be eligible for Tier 2 payments, unemployed workers must have exhausted their regular UC benefits and Tier 1 EUC payments.
Exemption for low unemployment
In addition, at the time of a claimant's exhaustion, their state must be eligible for Tier 2. If, at the time of Tier 1 exhaustion, the claimant's state:
- has a Total Unemployment Rate of less than 6 percent and
- has an Insured Unemployment Rate of less than 4 percent
the claimant would not ineligible for tier 2 benefits.
The claimant will become eligible for Tier 2 benefits if their state later meets the requirements for the EUC program (TUR greater than 6 percent or IUR greater than 4 percent), but the payments will not be retroactive to the period when the claimant was not receiving EUC payments.
Legislation in the 111th Congress to expand EUC
Several bills have been introduced in the 111th Congress to expand the EUC program.
Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009
The Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009 (H.R. 3548 in the House, S. 1699 in the Senate) would provide an additional 13 weeks of EUC for states with unusually high rates of joblessness. Workers in states with a TUR of 8.5 percent or an IUR of 6 percent would be eligible, but only if those individuals had exhausted their regular UC benefits and both Tier 1 and Tier 2 of EUC payments.
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009
The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009 (H.R. 3404) would continue most of the EUC provisions into 2010 and extend EUC payments through June 2011. Those provisions include:
- Extending eligibility period for EUC Tiers 1 and 2 into 2010 (currently set to expire on December 26, 2009)
- Extending cutoff date for the 33 weeks of EUC payments to June 2011 (all EUC payments are set to cease after June 6, 2010)
- Continuation of $25-per-week payment originally established by the 2009 stimulus bill
- Continued 100-percent federal funding of the Extended Benefit Program (currently set to revert to a 50/50 state/federal split on January 1, 2010)
In addition, H.R. 3404 would provide an additional 13 weeks of EUC (similar to the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act for states with a TUR above 9.5 percent. A similar Senate bill (S.1647) would set eligibility at 8.5 percent.
Articles and resources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Julie M. Whitaker and Alison M. Shelton, "Temporary Extension of Unemployment Benefits: Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08)", Congressional Research Service, February 17, 2009
- ↑ "Extended Jobless Benefits", National Employment Law Project, retrieved September 28, 2009
- National Employment Law Project
- Government site: Latest month's unemployment rate report
- Find it Fast, Find it Free - Direct links to your state's unemployment insurance benefits
- Government site: One-Stop Career Centers - in each state
- State Employment Offices by State
- Text of the California Unemployment Insurance Code | <urn:uuid:3b13de03-d84a-4697-8deb-95e74265446e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.opencongress.org/w/index.php?title=Emergency_unemployment_compensation&oldid=33253 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945133 | 1,433 | 2.109375 | 2 |
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Prejudiced mill owner drove his workers into the unions
HE may have been the head of a dynasty of worker-bashing mill owners, but a closer look at Addingham's most famous son reveals he could have been inadvertently responsible for helping to create the Conservative Party's deadliest rival.
Samuel Cunliffe Lister, the First Baron Masham, is celebrated in Bradford as a former industrial giant and a great benefactor to the city.
There is a statue of him in Lister Park, a green space which he kindly donated to the city, but arguably his greatest monument is the Italianate splendour of the towering chimney of Lister's Mill, Manningham, which still dominates the city skyline more than 100 years after he breathed his last.
Samuel's grandfather, John Cunliffe, was a textile manufacturer and substantial landowner in Addingham, who began his textile career at Low Mill.
The family's future was assured when John's astute son, Ellis Cunliffe, married a member of the wealthy Lister family, of Manningham, Bradford, whose fortune he subsequently inherited by conveniently changing his name to Cunliffe-Lister. Samuel was the son of Ellis's second wife after his well-heeled first wife died at a young age.
Despite inheriting the right through another relative to be Rector of Addingham, Samuel took up the cloth trade instead.
After his original Manningham Mill burned down in 1871, Samuel built and operated the largest textile mill in the North of England. He became a highly successful businessman, inventor and, what was much more lucrative, patent owner of textile machinery. At its height, Lister's Mill employed 11,000 men, women and children, manufacturing high quality textiles such as velvet and silk using state-of-the art technology.
Some textile history writers have claimed that the multi-millionaire Lister was held in great affection by his employees but his attitude towards the workers in the famous strike of 1990-01 seems to contradict this anodyne assurance.
Unlike today, wages in the Victorian era used to be regarded by employers as a variable rather than a fixed cost to the business. When outside influences threatened profit margins, the lost revenue could be regained by the simple expedient of cutting wages.
When the introduction of US import tariffs began to impact on the profit from the plush' department at Lister's, managers posted a notice in the mill announcing the intention to cut the wages of 1,100 workers by 25 per cent in the run up to Christmas, and threatening lock-out to those who refused.
The unorganised but determined workforce resisted and at its height the strike saw 5,000 people downing tools at the mill. The dispute dragged on from December to April with riots in the streets and frequent but futile attempts to negotiate a settlement.
Various reports describe Lister's attitude as obstinate, overbearing and undiplomatic'. He was also accused of shifting his negotiation position frequently in order to prevent a mediated settlement.
But the most damning indictment of his conduct and attitude came from his own hand. After threatening to close down the mill altogether and move production to Addingham, he wrote a self-justifying denunciation of his workforce in a letter to the local paper, displaying his ignorant prejudices.
"The women spend their money on dress and the men on drink, so that the begging box goes round - it matters not what wages are," said the great paternalist and benefactor.
Hardly surprisingly, since they were denied any help from the Poor Relief, poverty and hunger drove the strikers back to work in April, giving Lister a complete victory and ensuring that his profit margins remained at an optimum.
Remarkably, this belligerent attitude towards striking workers seems to have been passed on in the same way as the huge estates, family titles and coats of arms to subsequent generations of Listers.
Philip Loyd-Greame who married Samuel's granddaughter, Molly, and inherited her fortune by changing his name to Cunliffe-Lister (not a bad trick that) served as President of the Board of Trade during 1926 when the Conservative Government of Stanley Baldwin confronted the TUC during the General Strike.
He subsequently became the Earl of Swinton and was succeeded to the title by his son David Yarburgh Cunliffe-Lister, who served as Margaret Thatcher's Chief Whip in the House of Lords when she trounced Arthur Scargill's miners in the bitter dispute of 1982.
As enemies of the working class, in popular parlance, the family - many of whose remains lie in the collapsed vault beneath Saint Peter's Parish Church in Addingham - have got form'.
But how less interesting history would be without irony? As the body of Samuel Lister Cunliffe was being mourned through the streets of Addingham, whose residents were reported to have closed their shutters as a mark of respect in the frosty second month of 1906, the seeds sown by the bitter Manning Mills strike were beginning to take root.
As a result of the strike's defeat, the previously unorganised workers in textiles and other industries flocked to the ranks of trade unions, turning their back on the Liberal politicians who had dramatically turned their backs on them during the dispute.
The workers realised that a new, specifically working class party was needed and the formation of the Bradford Labour Union led by a series of stages into the formation of the Independent Labour Party, the forerunner of the modern Labour Party.
Had Samuel Lister-Cunliffe given in to his strikers, and accepted a paltry five per cent drop in yearly profits - a figure which would have saved the company as much money as a 25 per cent reduction in wages - the history of 20th century British politics could have been so different.
The Lister family's links with the Conservative Party over the years could not have been stronger. Its seat at Swinton Park in the Yorkshire Dales became a training base for future Conservative MPs and agents, hosting shooting parties and opportunities for like minded souls - including Christine and Neil Hamilton - to meet and develop relationships.
But the hungry workers of the Manningham Mills strike came back to haunt the Cunliffe-Listers in the shape of the Parliamentary Labour Party which became the main rival to the Conservatives.
Samuel's greed and indifference to the people who made his fortune acted as midwife to his political antithesis, ensuring that the workers in a manufacturing economy had a powerful political voice to represent them in future struggles with their employers. | <urn:uuid:b02b08fc-47f0-4f13-a022-cec09ebf475a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wharfedaleobserver.co.uk/news/1770951.prejudiced_mill_owner_drove_his_workers_into_the_unions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979056 | 1,380 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Raised beds help gardeners produce healthier vegetables. Raised beds give gardeners an opportunity to improve their soil's drainage and increase its level of nutrients. Similar to container gardening, raised beds can alleviate some of the physical demands of gardening by reducing the amount gardeners must kneel and bend to care for the vegetables.
Build the frame for the raised bed with non-toxic materials. Toxins from the framing material may leak into the soil and render your vegetables inedible. Purchase frame materials for the simplest and fastest construction. Find raised beds in garden supply stores, through mail order and online sources.
Make your own frames to give yourself the greatest flexibility and control costs. Build beds to fit the shape of your property. Triangles, squares and long rectangles are all viable options when you do it yourself. Create beds with new lumber or recycled materials. Clean recycled lumber thoroughly by sanding and scraping away all foreign materials. Use galvanized screws and nails to hold the pieces together. Galvanized metal resists rust.
Build your raised beds at the location on your property that receives the most sun. It does not matter if the soil in place is less than ideal for vegetables because you will add soil to raise the planting area.
Create a slope in your planting area to help the soil drain. Some vegetables, such as zucchini, prefer to grow on a slope. A slope exposes more planting area to sunlight, which means your bed will produce healthier and larger vegetables during the season.
Insect and Rodent Protection
Take advantage of a raised bed's structure to defend your vegetables from insects and rodents. Before installing the raised bed, lay down hardware cloth or any other grid material to thwart the efforts of burrowing rodents.
Protect your vegetation from threats from above with netting. Create tents over the plants by securing insect or butterfly netting to the sides of the raised beds. Netting allows water and light to pass through, but turns away hungry insects.
Creating barriers to ward against crawling pests is easier with raised beds. Gardeners who hold onto the theory that a copper band will deter slugs can add protection to the edges of their raised beds.
Leave enough space between beds to pass through the area with ease. Digging for potatoes can be tiring, reduce fatigue by sitting on a chair while tending to the plants. After building the beds, make paths through the area . Use some form of weed protection, such as weed-blocking cloth, under a layer of pine bark or gravel. | <urn:uuid:646cc499-ab81-42dc-b04b-9d5eee0323f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gardenguides.com/95917-tips-growing-vegetables-raised-bed.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921469 | 512 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) by Nature's Apothecary
Blue Cohosh is a powerful women's ally, who's main action is on the uterus. It has a wide variety of uses, dating from when Native American Chippewa wise-women used a strong decoction for contraceptive purposes. Nature's Apothecary has a large selection of Fresh Plant Single-Herb Extracts and is processed immediately after harvest to maintain the highest possible levels of potency.
Blue Cohosh is often used alone or in combination with other herbs for regulation the menstrual cycle and to ease painful cramps. It is also used in formulas to treat endometriosis, chlamydia and cervical dysplasia.
As a uterine tonic, it nourishes and revitalizes the uterine tissue in a variety of circumstances, including after pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion or coming off the pill.
As a dietary supplement, take 1 dropperful (1 ml) 1 to 3 times daily. Measure in Easy-Dose Dropper and put directly in mouth, water or juice or mix with warm water to make a tea. Use in conjunction with a healthy dietary and lifestyle plan.
Store in a cool, dry place.
Do not use if pregnant/lactating, except with the advice of a healthcare professional. Keep out of reach of children.
Blue Cohosh (Caulaphyllum thalictroides)(Roots) 500 mg
Other Ingredients: Purified Water, 40% (1:2) Pure Grain Alcohol for maximum activity, potency and freshness of delicate botanical constituents.
About Nature's Apothecary
For years, Nature’s Apothecary’s reputation for producing high quality natural products, specifically multi-herb and single herb extracts and aromatherapy products, has been unparalleled. This family-owned, environmentally-conscious herbal extract company has laid deep roots on the front range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, and in the natural products industry as well. NOW® is proud to continue their tradition of excellence in providing only the highest quality natural herbal extracts with the purchase of this premier liquid herbal extract supplier. We’re committed to using the same processes and procedures that have made the Nature’s Apothecary line one of quality and longevity.
395 South Glen Ellyn Road
The views and opinions expressed by contributors of the product reviews are their own and not necessarily those of LuckyVitamin.com. LuckyVitamin.com does not endorse or imply any medical claims from these reviews. These reviews should not be taken as recommendations but rather customer opinions of the products that they may or may not have used. Reviews are not intended as a substitute for appropriate medical care or advice and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Read the full product reviews disclaimer here. | <urn:uuid:992f6f1e-b5bd-45f6-93f3-2c2e8237caf1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-17292-natures-apothecary-blue-cohosh-caulophyllum-thalictroides | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916988 | 597 | 1.507813 | 2 |
This step by step article is about how to build a wooden picnic table. In this article we show you basic plans, as any amateur handyman could get the job done, just with common tools and basic woodworking techniques. If you like to spend time in your garden and you need a rustic table, we recommend you to follow the step by step instructions and to build it in a weekend. If you have several 2×4 slats from other projects and common power tools, you can get the job done even quicker, in just several hours. Nevertheless, make sure you ask a friend to assist you during the construction process, as an extra pair of hands would be very useful.
Work with great care and attention, if you want to obtain a neat look. In addition, after designing the table, according to your needs, you should write down all the materials needed for this project. Afterwards, go to several lumberyards and ask an estimate for the materials (lumber designed for outdoor use, such as: cedar, pine, redwood or pressure treated). Choose the best offer in terms of quality and price, after you examine every board. As a general rule, the slats have to be perfectly straight and without any other visible flaws.
Align all the components at both ends, before locking them together with wood screws. Whenever is required, plumb the elements with a spirit level and lock them with several C-clamps. In addition, use a drill machinery to make pilot holes before inserting the galvanized screws, otherwise the wood might split.
How to build a wooden picnic table
- A – 4 pieces of 2×4 lumber – 38″ long LEGS
- B – 2 pieces of 2×4 lumber – 64″ long BRACES
- C – 5 pieces of 2×4 lumber – 30″ long SUPPORTS
- D – 2 pieces of 2×4 lumber – 33 3/4″ long BRACES
- E – 14 pieces of 2×4 lumber – 72″ long SLATS
- Safety gloves, glasses
- Miter saw, jig saw
- Chalk line, tape measure, spirit level, carpentry pencil
- Drill machinery and drill bits
- Router and 1/4 bit
- Smooth the edges of the wooden boards, with a router
- Pre-drill holes in the wooden components, before driving in the screws
- Countersink the head of the screws
- Don’t use lumber that is likely to crack or shrink
- Don’t over-tighten the screws to prevent the wood from splitting
- One day
Building a wood picnic table
First of all, you need to build the legs and to lock them together with several braces. Use 2×4 lumber to build the components, as in the image. Cut the ends of the legs at 30º, using 40” long slats. Drill pilot holes and join the components with 3 1/2” carriage bolts.
Work on the ground, making sure the surface is perfectly level. Both sides of the table has to be equal, in order to obtain a professional result.
After you have built the side of the picnic table, you should attach the wooden counter-top. In order to get the job done like a pro, we recommend you to build the wooden top on the ground, and then to attach it to the side legs.
Smart tip: Don’t forget to plumb the sides of the table with a spirit level, otherwise you might not be satisfied with the result. Drill pilot holes and insert the decking screws into place.
After you have attached the top slats, we recommend you to lock all the components together into a rigid structure, by installing galvanized wood screws. In order to obtain a neat look, we recommend you to miter cut both ends of the braces, at 26º.
Smart tip: Pre-drill several holes and insert the screws at angles. In this manner, you will build a durable table with a nice appearance.
The next step of the woodworking project is to install the seat slats. Therefore, first you have to cut the 2×4 boards at the right size. Afterwards, align them at both hands and drill several pilot holes, at least 1/2” from the edges.
Smart tip: Place the slats equally spaced, by placing a nail or a piece of wood between them. In this manner, all the gaps will be consistent and the look symmetrical.
After you have assembled all the components of the picnic bench, you need to pay attention to the finishing touches. Fill the head of the screws and the gaps with wood putty. Let the compound to dry out for several days, before sanding the surface with medium-grit sandpaper.
Smart tip: Don’t forget to apply several coats of paint or stain, in order to protect the wooden surface from water damage or decay.
Thank you for reading our article about how to build a wood picnic table and we recommend you to check out the rest of our projects. Don’t forget to share our articles with your friends, by using the social media widgets. | <urn:uuid:f512ece6-8e47-4cc2-81db-2135af815ec0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.howtospecialist.com/outdoor-furniture/how-to-build-a-wooden-picnic-table/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925631 | 1,068 | 1.84375 | 2 |
At Everest, you're likely to meet people with many of the same interests as you. Get to know them; it's important to develop your own network of career-minded individuals. Click on the "Go" button to get started on your career training.
The goal of our Accounting and Payroll administrator program is to give students “hands on” training in the key areas of financial accounting and payroll. Students will also learn the operation of computerized accounting systems, as well as the common computer programs used in accounting and finance jobs.
Our up-to-date curriculum will provide students with fundamentals of practical accounting and payroll tools. Through vital hands-on training, students will develop accurate and reliable accounting and payroll procedures.
Accounting and Payroll Courses
Our computerized accounting classes will provide you with training in:
Students will also take a career and employment strategies course that will provide techniques on job interviewing, resume preparation, writing thank you letters, and job search management.
Successful graduates of this program will meet the program requirements to receive the Payroll Compliance Practitioner certification from the Certified Payroll Management Program (CPMP), issued by the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA). The certification is nationally recognized as the standard of excellence for payroll training.
Accounting and Payroll Career Opportunities
Graduates of our accounting and payroll program may find careers as a:
Discover your potential with an Everest education and create change that can last a lifetime.Request Information | <urn:uuid:7cec0fea-0ef7-4597-8773-eeecc340f73f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.everest.ca/campus/hamilton_city_centre/program/accounting-payroll | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948856 | 303 | 1.601563 | 2 |
On February 28, 1861, Jefferson Davis vetoed the bill that the Montgomery Convention had passed banning Confederate participation in the African slave trade. Davis did not veto the bill because he favored the trade’s resumption. Instead, he was concerned that the provisional Confederate congress had created a loophole whereby Africans might still be imported into the Confederacy from overseas to become slaves. Davis stated in this veto message:
In the sixth section of the bill provision is made for the transfer of persons who may have been illegally imported into the Confederate States to the custody of foreign States or societies, upon condition of deportation and future freedom, and if the proposition thus to surrender them shall not be accepted, it is then made the duty of the President to cause said negroes to be sold at public outcry to the highest bidder in any one of the States where such sale shall not be inconsistent with the laws thereof. This provision seems to me to be in opposition to the policy declared in the Constitution – the prohibition of the importation of African negroes – and in derogation of its mandate to legislate for the effectuation of that object.
The text of the 6th section of the bill had stated:
Sect. 6. Every negro illegally imported as aforesaid into the Confederate States shall be arrested by the Marshal or his deputies, or any officer of the said States charged in any manner with the execution of this Act, and shall be safely kept, subject to the disposition hereinafter provided. And the said officer shall immediately notify the President of the Confederacy of such arrest and confinement. The President shall, as soon as possible, communicate with the Governor of the State whence the vessel in which such negroes were imported cleared, if the same be one of the United States of America, and shall offer to deliver such negroes to the said State, on receiving a guarantee from such State that the said negroes shall enjoy the rights and privileges of freemen in such State, or in any other State of The United States, or that said negroes shall be transported to Africa, and there placed at liberty, free of expense to this Government. If such proposition be rejected, or if the contingency specified above shall not have occurred, the President shall receive any proposition which maybe made by any responsible persons or society, who will furnish satisfactory guarantee to the President that such negroes will be transported to Africa, and there placed at liberty, free of expense to this Government; and if no such proposition shall be made within a reasonable time, the President shall cause said negroes to be sold at public outcry to the highest bidder in any one of the States where such sale shall not be inconsistent with the laws thereof, under such regulations as he may prescribe; the proceeds of which sale, after paying all the expenses incurred by the Government in the capture, detention, and sale of such negroes, and in the prosecution of the offenders, shall be paid, one-half to the informer (if he be bond fide such), and the other half into the Treasury of the Confederate States.
In retrospect, Davis’ veto and the bill itself were largely superfluous. In 1861, the African slave trade still existed, but was under tremendous pressure from western navies, particularly Great Britain’s Royal Navy, but also from the U.S. Navy’s African Squadron. Indeed, three days before Davis’ veto, the USS Saratoga had seized a suspected slave ship, the Express, off the coast of what is today the Republic of the Congo. The last known ship to deliver African slaves to mainland North America, the Clotilde, had discharged its cargo in Alabama in 1859. Although the concern of Confederate leaders over the African slave trade was not unfounded, by the time of the bill and Davis’ veto it was essentially dead in North America. Not surprisingly, the Confederacy never revisited the issue as they soon had more urgent issues to deal with, but both the African slave trade bill of the veto served a useful diplomatic purpose in distancing the Confederacy from this odious commerce–which perhaps had been the point all along.
To read Jefferson Davis’ full veto message visit: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_v022861.asp
For the complete text of the Confederate bill banning its participation in the African slave trade see: British and Foreign State Papers: 1861-1862, Vol. 52 (London: William Ridgway, 1868), 728-731, available through Google Books. | <urn:uuid:adbb3aef-e446-4d9e-82c0-bfb7874eea15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cwemancipation.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/jefferson-davis-veto/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=c7a699f16c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95469 | 924 | 3.453125 | 3 |
The primary obstacle to closing the detention center at Guantanamo is the question of what should be done with detainees who cannot be released. Officials are reportedly still considering creating a military-civilian prison facility that would house its own court at a site in Michigan, but local residents have strongly opposed [JURIST reports] the plan. Officials are also considering trying detainees in federal courts, with cases assigned to federal prosecutors [JURIST report] last month. There are currently 226 detainees remaining at Guantanamo.
Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format. | <urn:uuid:c963d22d-4010-45ba-88ac-b886b7bcfecd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jurist.org/paperchase/2009/09/obama-administration-committed-to.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957141 | 174 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Everyman - Funding research to cross out male cancer
Everyman is the UK's leading male cancer campaign
Everyman scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research are working hard to resolve the unanswered questions surrounding prostate and testicular cancer.
Specifically, researchers are looking into what causes prostate cancer, what causes it to develop and how can we can distinguish prostate cancers which require treatment from those which do not.
Another key area of testicular cancer research is the family link, as the strongest risk factor for testicular cancer is having a first degree relative (father, brother, son) with the disease.If you have had testicular cancer and would like to help with a research study that aims to identify some of the causes of testicular cancer, then find out more about a new study at The Institute of Cancer Research. | <urn:uuid:1123d6ea-02b3-419a-9576-fdc112d0dea6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rachelgetsfruity.com/everyman/about/research/our-research.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960334 | 164 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Throughout a long golden era, the American movie musical transformed Hollywood into a Mecca for the biggest singing stars and leading songwriters of the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. Hosted by Michael Feinstein, THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK offers a dazzling parade of American popular songs as seen and heard in some of the most beloved films ever made. With stars ranging from Al Jolson to Judy Garland to Frank Sinatra, and sounds from the Gilded Age to New Orleans jazz to Broadway musicals, THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK tells the story of the first 50 years of American popular music. Whether it was from the vaudeville stage or Tin Pan Alley, on the radio or the record player, it all found its way to the silver screen. This treasure trove of musical clips overflows with the very best of George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, and many more artists.
Additional funding for this program was provided by the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust.
Many local PBS stations are offering THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK videocassette, DVD, and its companion CD, SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW: THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD MUSICALS, as Pledge gifts. To order these items, pledge now. Or you may purchase the VHS or DVD of the program from Shop Thirteen. | <urn:uuid:50713af3-e138-4d3c-89aa-18008cc39665> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/the-great-american-songbook/introduction/139/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909513 | 315 | 1.820313 | 2 |
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news* of God,*
15and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;* repent, and believe in the good news.*
16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lakefor they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, Follow me and I will make you fish for people. 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Enter another bible reference:
10 February 2011 | <urn:uuid:8dc8270b-2230-47fb-9e59-fab520908134> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=193210067 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974239 | 226 | 1.546875 | 2 |
DuPont E.I. De Nemours & Company Pompton Lakes
|EPA Identification Number:||NJD002173946|
|Facility Location:||2000 Cannonball Road, Pompton Lakes, New Jersey 07442|
|Facility Contact:||Dave Epps, Project Director, (973) 492-7733|
|EPA Contact:||Clifford Ng, (212) 637-4113, email@example.com|
|New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Case Manager:||Anthony Cinque, 609-633-1416, Anthony.Cinque@dep.state.nj.us|
|Last Updated:||March 2010|
|Environmental Indicator Status:||Human Exposures Under Control: "Current Human Exposures" are NOT "Under Control."
Groundwater Contamination Under Control [PDF 47.95 KB, 10 pp] has been verified.
E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Company is located at 2000 Cannonball Road, Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. The DuPont Pompton Lakes Works site (DuPont) occupies approximately 570 acres of land in Pompton Lakes and Wanaque.
Two parallel valleys (Wanaque River and Acid Brook) run through the site north to south. Land use in the vicinity of the site is predominantly residential and commercial, but also includes undeveloped areas, an interstate highway (Route 287) and state-owned forest.
DuPont conducted operations at the site from 1902 to April 1994, when the facility closed. DuPont manufactured lead azide, aluminum, or bronze shelled blasting caps and operated processes producing metal wires and aluminum and copper shells. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Administrative Consent Order (ACO), NJDEP Ground Water Permit (NJPDES-DGW), and the EPA HSWA Permit require cleanup of the facility (on-site and off-site).
Potential Threats and Contaminants
DuPont’s manufacturing operations and waste management practices at the site resulted in releases to soil, sediment, and groundwater. The primary contaminants are lead and mercury in soil and sediment, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the groundwater.
Releases of lead and mercury contaminated the sediments and soils in the Acid Brook and flood plain leading to Pompton Lake, impacting approximately 140 residential properties along the Acid Brook. Remediation of the Acid Brook sediments, including residential properties, began in 1991 and was completed in 1996. Additional sediment investigation is being conducted in the Acid Brook Delta Area of Pompton Lake. Based on an ecological evaluation, sediment remediation of Pompton Lake is required.
In the Wanaque River Manufacturing areas, site discharges have contaminated soils and sediments along the Wanaque River, which flows through the western valley (where DuPont had ceased its operation in the 1920's). Soil remediation has been conducted both on-site and off site in the Wanaque River Valley. Additional soil and sediment investigations are being conducted to determine appropriate future remedial actions.
In March 2008, DuPont evaluated the potential for vapor intrusion to the indoor air pathway for volatile contaminants in the groundwater plume. Sub-slab sampling at select locations in the groundwater contamination plume was conducted. Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) concentrations exceeded the applicable criteria, indicating a potential vapor intrusion problem at buildings over the groundwater plume (affecting approximately 439 residences).
DuPont’s Vapor Intrusion Interim Remedial Action Workplan was approved in June 2009. It included the installation of sub-slab depressurization systems at all building structures potentially impacted by the plume and gathering additional vapor and groundwater data. In November 2009, DuPont’s work plan for additional sampling at homes that did not provide DuPont access to install sub-slab systems was approved.
DuPont is also required to conduct additional evaluations of potential groundwater treatment technologies to accelerate the cleanup of the contaminated groundwater plume off-site.
Cleanup Approach and Progress
Due to the substantial off-site soil and sediment contamination along Acid Brook and Wanaque River, remedial actions have been focused on investigating and cleaning up the areas. All soil contamination at off-site properties near Acid Brook was cleaned up. The on-site portions of the Acid Brook and its banks were also cleaned up.
Contaminated soil at residential and public properties along the Wanaque River is currently being cleaned up. Contaminated soil in upland portions of the delta where Acid Brook meets Pompton Lake were excavated and sent off-site for disposal, as was soil from along the Wanaque River on-site where hazardous wastes were found.
In 1998, DuPont installed a groundwater recovery system along the southeast boundary of the site to pump, treat, and re-inject the treated groundwater into infiltration beds down-gradient. A groundwater monitoring program is in place to assess the effectiveness of the system and quality of the groundwater.
To address the vapor intrusion exposure pathway, DuPont offered to install a sub-slab depressurization system in those residences that are potentially impacted by vapor intrusion from groundwater. In parallel, DuPont will evaluate techniques and methods to accelerate the cleanup of the groundwater plume.
What Remains To Be Done
Further investigation of the on-site portions of this facility still needs to be completed. The investigation will be done in phases due to the size of the facility and the need to prioritize re-development of certain portions of the former operating area. NJDEP will restrict any use of the property that may be a human health threat. The groundwater pumping and monitoring systems will continue. NJDEP will also impose restrictions on the use of groundwater for as long as it remains contaminated.
DuPont will further define the groundwater plume off-site and develop corrective measures to address the groundwater contamination. In the interim, DuPont will continue offering to install a protective vapor mitigation system in the residences that are potentially impacted by vapor intrusion from the groundwater plume.
Additional sediment investigation and remediation will be conducted in the Acid Brook Delta Area of Pompton Lake. DuPont will prepare a remedial action workplan to address the Acid Brook Delta sediment.
Copies of supporting technical documents and correspondence are available for public review at the following location:
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Solid & Hazardous Waste
401 E. State Street, 6th Floor
Trenton, NJ 08625
Telephone: (609) 777-3373 | <urn:uuid:58b0eb8c-cc00-4694-8844-66710cb3e116> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.epa.gov/region02/waste/fsdupopo.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924722 | 1,379 | 1.507813 | 2 |
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama's campaign today is announcing a plan -- with five points and $5 billion to be spent over 10 years -- to clean up the Great Lakes.
His plan, if approved and implemented, would jump start restoration, stop invasive species like zebra mussels and Asian carp, get rid of toxic sediments, make sure no other states or nations divert Great Lakes water, and install a central manager to coordinate all the federal and state activity.
You're forgiven if you think this sounds like a lot of other Great Lakes restoration plans, all announced to fanfare over the years. The difference, say supporters of Obama, including Sens. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, is that this plan would get funded. President Bush has made similar proposals but has never followed up with actual dollars, the lawmakers said. Bush even proposed a budget last year that would have cut Great Lakes funding by 16 percent, Stabenow said in a conference call with reporters this morning.
How would Obama pay?
By cutting subsidies to oil and gas companies.
A reporter noted that if those subsidies are in fact cut, the money already seems over-subscribed.
Obama supporters on the call did not address that directly. But Stabenow said, "Even though we have proposed using what have been huge subsidies to oil and gas companies for years ... our Republican colleagues have not supported doing that, the president certainly has not supported doing that. So for us to be able to really aggressively move those incentives to the right place for the future, it's going to take President Obama and Democrats in the House and the Senate to make that happen. I believe we're going to be able to do that, to use those funds and be able to make that happen."
The Obama campaign and supporters also criticized Republican John McCain for opposing other Great Lakes cleanup measures. McCain's record is somewhat more complex than that, partly because he has missed some votes in the past couple of years. He was criticized during the primaries for speaking in opposition to a huge bill that would have authorized a number of water projects across the country. McCain agreed with Bush that while some of the projects were worthy, it was inappropriate to offer money for numerous Army Corps of Engineers projects when the Corps was under criticism for its management of old and ongoing projects.
But the Senate overrode Bush's veto threat, no thanks to McCain, Stabenow said. Lawmakers can work together on reform, she said, but the Great Lakes are too critical to their states' economies to ignore. | <urn:uuid:b82d2746-1dde-44e4-903c-7ebd19e6db87> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/09/obama_announces_great_lakes_pl.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975448 | 521 | 1.945313 | 2 |
October 29, 2012
Hurricane Sandy has collided with a cold front to form a “Frankenstorm,” bringing extreme weather to the East Coast. Experts predict that the storm will cause billions of dollars in damages and could cause as many as 10 million people to lose power. This historically unprecedented weather event brings to mind a troubling question: Is the storm a natural occurrence or a consequence of human-driven climate change?
The answer—as often happens in science—is more complicated than a simple yes or no. For starters, there’s the distinction between weather and climate. As my colleague Sarah Zielinski wrote here in 2009, “Weather is a data point. Climate is a collection of data.” Science tells us that increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases will doubtlessly change the climate, but linking that overall shift to any one weather event is far less certain.
Nevertheless, climate models do predict that on the whole, cyclones (a category that includes hurricanes, typhoons and other extreme storms, named depending on their location) will become more frequent and intense as the climate changes. The reason is that, as noted in a 2010 Nature Geoscience study, warmer oceans cause more evaporation and precipitation, theoretically leading to more frequent powerful storms like Sandy.
As Bill McKibben writes at The Daily Beast, “when that ocean is hot—and at the moment sea surface temperatures off the Northeast are five degrees higher than normal—a storm like Sandy can lurch north longer and stronger, drawing huge quantities of moisture into its clouds, and then dumping them ashore.” A study published earlier this month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found a strong positive association between warmer years and storm activity in the 20th century, while the Nature Geoscience study noted that the latest models indicate that by 2100, tropical cyclones (including hurricanes) will occur 6 to 34 percent more frequently.
However, it’s important to note that these predictions are made with less confidence than many others dealing with the climate’s future. As Adam Frank writes at NPR, these types of long-term climate forecasts are arranged in a confidence hierarchy. Climate models allow us to be most certain, for example, that global average temperatures will increase and extreme heat events will become more frequent.
The amount of confidence that can be assigned to the prediction of increased cyclones and hurricanes over time is lower. As an IPCC special report on extreme weather events notes, “There is low confidence in any observed long-term (i.e., 40 years or more) increases in tropical cyclone activity (i.e., intensity, frequency, duration), after accounting for past changes in observing capabilities.”
The reason for this reduced amount of confidence is partly the fact that storm formation is far more complicated than the simpler physics of greenhouse gases trapping radiation and causing overall warming. Additionally, since cyclones occur irregularly—and there is limited historical data on their frequency and magnitude prior to the satellite era—the degree to which their formation can be linked to climate change is restricted.
As Andrew Revkin points out at the New York Times’ Dot Earth blog, the overall scientific picture is simply more complex than advocates for action on climate change might prefer. He cites a 2002 Nature study [PDF] that notes:
Climate models suggest that human activities, specifically the emission of atmospheric greenhouse gases, may lead to increases in the frequency of severe storms in certain regions of the Northern Hemisphere. However, the existence of natural variability in storminess confounds reliable detection of anthropogenic effects.
Put most bluntly, this storm will bring terrible consequences to millions of East Coast residents, and we have many compelling reasons to limit anthropogenic climate change to whatever degree possible before it’s too late. But it’s scientifically disingenuous—even for those of us who are most desperate to convince others of the seriousness of the threat—to explicitly link this one weather event to the overall experiment we’re conducting on the planet’s atmosphere.
Sign up for our free email newsletter and receive the best stories from Smithsonian.com each week. | <urn:uuid:65611688-f5c9-452c-aadd-4ac0ce5ecd63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2012/10/can-we-link-hurricane-sandy-to-climate-change/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935133 | 844 | 3.6875 | 4 |
Classics Today: outstanding.
On 5 November 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught preparing to detonate 36 barrels of gunpowder under the House of Lords unveiling an act of attempted treason that shocked the whole of Europe. What led a group of young Catholic men to risk their lives for their faith? 400 years later the King’s Singers and Concordia illuminate the dangers of hearing Mass in secret, of conspiracy and downfall, and of protestant relief and celebration, through a project of music and prose. The music, structured around Byrd’s perfect 4-part Mass, contains motets by Catholic composers, balanced with protestant anthems celebrating the downfall of the plot, and a commission from the British composer, Francis Pott. Master Tresham: His Ducke reflects on the ‘9/11’ of its day - 5/11/1605. The script, drawing on historic texts and written by Deborah Mackay for the quatercentenary concert series related to this CD, uses the dramatized persona of William Byrd, the most famous composer of his age, to recreate the atmosphere of change and hope in the Jacobean court.
Extra material for download | <urn:uuid:603d60eb-f67e-4c11-bd34-24c3b089b9da> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eclassical.com/composers/byrd-william/treason-dischord-william-byrd-and-the-gunpowder-plot.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935429 | 245 | 2.546875 | 3 |
On March 7, Berkeley County Sheriff Kenneth M. LeMaster, Jr. submitted his fiscal year 2014 budget request to Berkeley County Council members. LeMaster requested a total budget of nearly $5.8 million for an agency responsible for providing public safety to nearly 106,000 residents (2011 U.S. Census estimate).
Some have questioned LeMaster's proposed budget increase. In reality, LeMaster should have requested more - probably $10 million - given the size of Berkeley County, its growing population and persistent crime rates. According to the FBI uniform crime statistics, many crimes in our county have increased in 2011 (last year of full reporting), thus reinforcing the need for more police officers. To get a sense of our sheriff department's plight, look at the annual budgets of surrounding sheriff's departments.
According to its Citizens Guide, Frederick County (Va.), population 79,666, allocated $10.1 million to its sheriff's department in 2011. The Frederick County Sheriff's Department has 125 personnel, including 100-plus uniformed officers on patrol. In comparison, Berkeley County gave a meager $3.3 million to its sheriff's department in 2011, which has only 56 deputies assigned to patrol, despite having considerably more population.
Jefferson County (W.Va.), population 54,225, gave $2.9 million to its sheriff's department in 2010 (most recent available figures). Its department includes 31 personnel (a third smaller than Berkeley County), according to its official annual budget document. To translate, if the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department was as large as Berkeley County, its annual budget allocation would be about $8.7 million.
In its annual report, Washington County (Md.), population 148,203, spent $22.5 million on its sheriff's department in 2011 - $8.32 million going to the patrol division alone. Using Washington County's public safety appropriations as a comparison, Berkeley County should allocate about $15.75 million to its sheriff's department each year (taking into consideration about a 30 percent less population size difference).
I was unable to locate budget figures online for Morgan County, W.Va.
Today, the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department (BCSD) has less than 90 personnel - with only 56 uniformed officers (that's one officer per 1,888 county residents) assigned to patrol our neighborhoods as well as investigate a wide range of crimes occurring 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Among its diverse responsibilities, the BCSD is charged with protecting and serving many communities spread over eight tax districts and encompassing 322 square miles. In addition to policing the streets, the sheriff's department funds a significant portion of our regional jail costs. Sheriff's deputies also provide security at our courts. Other officers enforce our county's animal control ordinances. This is quite a diverse and demanding job for such a small police agency. Certainly, criminals are aware of this disparity among law enforcement agencies in the tri-state area.
Clearly, the BCSD is severely underfunded, understaffed and underpaid. This translates into a decreased enforcement capability, longer emergency response times, radio communication issues (lack of updated equipment), training issues (no time to train), very little emphasis on citizen-focused policing (such as neighborhood/crime watch), and a major safety issue for our police officers (often, there is no backup). On top of this, many deputies leave the BCSD for better career opportunities elsewhere. They don't have to look far for more pay, increased promotion potential, better equipment and a safer work environment.
So, it is really troubling to know that my fellow citizens (which may include some county council members) question and complain about Sheriff LeMaster's modest request for a budget increase. I think his budget proposals are reasonable and long overdue. The citizens of Berkeley County deserve more from their local law enforcement. This includes providing the necessary funding to our sheriff's department, so they can better protect our communities now and in the future.
We can do this through a combination of fiscal reform strategies that may include budget reallocation (moving money from other county programs into public safety); proportional and necessary property tax increases; taking advantage of low interest rates for government loans; federal and state grant funding (although becoming less available) and, perhaps, new legislative ideas that aim to offset escalating jail costs. Ultimately, I will defer to our local community leaders to come up with sensible/workable solutions.
This is a small price to pay for improving our safety and security which directly impacts, and raises, our quality of life. | <urn:uuid:f63785d2-fe81-40f2-aa7d-af1156e934c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/592023.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959787 | 927 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
They buried her in the family tomb
- This first line gives us a lot of vital information about what's going on in the poem. If this poem were a real epitaph, as suggested by its title, this would be written on the old woman's gravestone. Yet, we're not reading this on a gravestone, so some background information is provided in this line.
- This woman has a family tomb and is being buried by "they." If you've never seen a family tomb, picture a little building, or perhaps a little gated area, which contains the graves of all the members of a family, spanning generations.
- "They" is probably the younger members of her family, maybe a son or daughter, with grandchildren gathering around. We can imagine that the sadness and weight of the death of this old woman, who has lived a long life, sits heavy on the shoulders of the crowd.
- Or maybe there are only a few people watching her burial—we have no way to know that this woman ever had children, though we can assume that "they" include family members, or at least close friends, who enter her into the tomb.
and in the depths the dust
- This line takes us down into the family tomb, with the woman who is being buried. The word "depths" lets us know that this tomb goes down underneath the ground, unlike some tombs, which have above-ground structures. There is dust down there, and at this point, we don't know what this dust is. It could be the kind of dust you'd expect in an underground vault, a fine layer covering the coffins of the dead, trapped far from the sun.
- Of course, all this talk of tombs and dust also reminds us of the saying, "ashes to ashes, dust to dust," which is modified from a verse in Genesis, in the Bible.
- So we won't make conclusions until we read the next line…
of what was once her husband
- Aha! And here we find that this dust isn't normal dust. Instead, it's the dust of the remains of the husband's body. This means that he was probably buried a long time ago, and has been in the tomb, turning back to the dust which, according to the Bible, he came from.
- Whether the significance of the dust is biblical or not, this line makes the reader think about the way our bodies naturally decay at the end of life. The old woman is being lowered into the grave, next to her late husband, yet it's only his dust that she is joining.
- As you read this line, imagine, for a moment, that this woman has missed her husband since the day he died, years ago. Now, though she is not alive to know it, she's finally joining him. He, too, has been alone in the tomb without her, waiting for her in whatever afterlife may or may not be.
- Note the arrangement of this line. We don't find out that this dust was once her husband until the very end, building our tension and expectations for when we finally get that moment of breakthrough.
- This moment in the poem is sweet and sad—but there's no period at the end of the line. Our eye is already drawn to the next line because of its indentation, making it closer to the middle of the page.
- In this line, we go from the natural process of death and decay to the supernatural, or at least to the wildly imaginative. We knew that we weren't done with the husband's dust at the end of the last line, and, conveniently, this next line is indented nearly to the middle of the page so that it catches our eye right away.
- We know that this line is pretty momentous because of this indent. We also know because it's just one word, making it different from the rest of the lines in the poem. This one word, "trembled," suggests that the dust of the old woman's husband is somehow aware that she is being lowered down to be with him.
- Yet we don't know what kind of tremble this is. Suspend your belief, and allow, for a minute, that the dust is actually capable of trembling. Is he trembling with joy at being joined with his wife? Or with sadness that she, too, has left the world of the living? Or is this merely disturbing his sleep?
- You may have heard someone say "If so and so knew this was going on, she or he would be rolling over in their grave." Well, the wonderful thing about poetry is that wild things like rolling over in a grave can happen. When we think about the dust trembling, it opens our minds up to think about the possibilities of love and life after death.
- Note that this line ends with a colon. This means that what follows is either a list, or an explanation—a definition of sorts. | <urn:uuid:95aae93b-8694-40b9-8504-2c9e817e9a86> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shmoop.com/epitaph-for-an-old-woman/lines-1-4-summary.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978867 | 1,044 | 3.390625 | 3 |
The Medal of Honor is the United States' highest military decoration. A number of Engineer officers and enlisted personnel have received the award since its inception during the Civil War, including two officers who would become Chiefs of Engineers in the late nineteenth century. General Douglas MacArthur, who was an Engineer officer in the early years of his career, was awarded the honor for his service during World War II. Also among this diverse group of American heroes was Corporal Terry Teruo Kawamura, an Engineer soldier in the 173d Engineer Company, 173d Airborne Brigade.
Terry Kawamura was born on December 10, 1949, in Wahiawa on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. His parents were both of Asian and Pacific Island heritage, and his father also served in the U.S. Army. Terry entered the Army in 1968 and was eventually assigned to the 173d Engineer Company.
The 173d Engineer Company was part of the elite 173d Airborne Brigade, which was the first U.S. Army ground combat unit to enter South Vietnam in 1965. Four years later the 173d were in the central highlands of South Vietnam at Camp Radcliff, a vast American base near the city of An Khe. On March 20, 1969, an enemy demolition team infiltrated the 173d Engineer Company’s quarters area firing automatic weapons. The Medal of Honor citation vividly describes Corporal Kawamura’s heroism:
"Disregarding the intense fire, Cpl. Kawamura ran for his weapon. At that moment, a violent explosion tore a hole in the roof and stunned the occupants of the room. Cpl. Kawamura jumped to his feet, secured his weapon, and, as he ran toward the door to return the enemy fire, he observed that another explosive charge had been thrown through the hole in the roof to the floor. He immediately realized that 2 stunned fellow soldiers were in great peril and shouted a warning. Although in a position to escape, Cpl. Kawamura unhesitatingly wheeled around and threw himself on the charge. In completely disregarding his safety, Cpl. Kawamura prevented serious injury or death to several members of his unit."
President Richard M. Nixon presented the Medal of Honor posthumously to Corporal Kawamura's family for his "extraordinary courage and selflessness" and "conspicuous gallantry . . . above and beyond the call of duty."
President Nixon presenting the Medal of Honor
to the Kawamura family
* * * | <urn:uuid:46276016-8d86-44f6-ae44-13e6a2a48e37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/HistoricalVignettes/WomenMinorities/025AsainHero.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983493 | 505 | 2.71875 | 3 |
rich minds, rich rewards
Worrying Won't Change a Thing
CBNMoney.com "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." - Philippians 4:6
What has you worried or anxious these days? Is it a relationship, a child, money, or perhaps something unexpected that has taken you by surprise? Whatever it is, large or small, I have a simple message for you this week: Worrying doesn’t change anything.
I was reminded of this simple piece of wisdom last weekend while talking on the phone with my father. We’d been talking for about 45 minutes and were about to hang up when he casually said something that shocked me:
“Well, the house burned down on Tuesday. I’ve got to fly out to Denver in a couple of days to take care of it.”
“What did you say?” I asked, perplexed. “What house? Not the one we used to live in?” I asked. In the last few years since living in the D.C. area, my father has rented the house out. It has been in our family for about 20 years.
The news sounded major to me, but he delivered it in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
“Was anyone hurt?” I asked.
“No. Thank God no one was hurt. But the house is uninhabitable. It’ll take a few months to rebuild it,” he explained.
“Dad, you don’t sound too upset,” I said. "And why didn't you call and tell me four days ago?"
“Well, being dramatic and upset isn’t going to fix the problem. I’m disappointed, but there is no need to get worked up. It won’t change anything.”
He made a decision to absorb the shock of a devastating loss and be grateful for the chance to rebuild. When he found out about the fire, which was caused by a cooking mishap, he didn’t race to tell everyone the bad news. He didn’t wallow in the problem. He accepted it – then went about the business of changing the things he could.
Remember the famous serenity prayer written by Reinhold Niebuhr that is often quoted:
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
When you face challenges, it is essential to make a choice not to worry by getting worked up over the things you cannot change. “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” Jesus asked in Matthew 6:27.
Worrying drains your energy and time. Choose peace, prayer, and calm. It doesn’t always feel easy, especially if you have a habit of being emotional, dramatic, or anxious. You can experience peace in the midst of turmoil by looking for the reasons to be grateful despite unwanted circumstances.
Peace begins with thanksgiving. Calm begins with prayer. And change begins with you.
My challenge to you this week:
Stop worrying and choose peace, prayer, and calm. Accept the things you cannot change and muster up the courage to change the things you can.
Consider something that currently worries you or makes you anxious. Which aspects of the situation are things you cannot change? What aspects of the situation are things you can do something about? What are you willing to do and when?
A sought-after life coach and speaker, Valorie Burton seeks to inspire people to live more fulfilling, less stressful lives. She is the author of Listen to Your Life, What’s Really Holding You Back?, Rich Minds, Rich Rewards, and her latest, Why Not You? 28 Days to Authentic Confidence.
CBN IS HERE FOR YOU!
Are you seeking answers in life? Are you hurting?
Are you facing a difficult situation?
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need. | <urn:uuid:4684fc91-ca5c-430d-bbcf-1925061a693e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cbn.com/finance/burton_worry.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963858 | 880 | 1.546875 | 2 |
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Drupal is an open source Content Management System(CMS) written in PHP. It is open source social publishing software that empowers individuals, teams, and communities to easily publish, manage and organize a wide variety of content on a website. It is used as a "back end" system for many different types of websites, ranging from small personal blogs to large corporate and political sites.
Platform compatibility of Drupal:
Drupal can run on any computing platform that supports:-
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With Drupal you can create: Basically, there are no limits with Drupal, and you can really make any type of website you
It makes stuff lot more easier if you know some html, php, css etc.
Our Drupal services include | <urn:uuid:801b10bc-61b4-49b1-abe4-321310a4465e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://locusit.com/Drupal-Programming-Application-Development-LocusIT-Bangalore.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922241 | 225 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Top 10 of 2010
Issue #2: The Arizona Effect: When National Governments Fail, Others React
December 2, 2010
Arizona's simmering frustration with the federal immigration system — which has failed to stop illegal immigration through Arizona's border with Mexico — officially boiled over when the state legislature passed and Governor Jan Brewer signed SB 1070 in April 2010.
In a year when the federal government made no progress on immigration reform (see Issue #5: United States Still Stalled on Immigration Reform, Republican Victories in Midterm Elections Change Landscape), the law cemented Arizona's status as ground zero for US immigration enforcement and made the state the target of a federal and other lawsuits, boycotts and demonstrations, and international reactions.
SB 1070's most controversial provision authorizes law enforcement to question the immigration status of anyone stopped for a possible state violation if the officer has a "reasonable suspicion" that an individual is an unauthorized immigrant. Civil-rights and immigrant advocacy groups suing Arizona have claimed this provision would lead to racial profiling.
In its lawsuit, the federal government has relied on a different theory, arguing that federal law preempts SB 1070. In July, US District Court Judge Susan Bolton gave the federal government's argument a boost, temporarily stopping this and other key provisions, including requiring immigrants to carry proof of their immigration status, from going into effect. But Bolton allowed some provisions to take effect.
On November 1, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard oral arguments on Brewer's appeal of the judge's injunction. The case will likely end up before the Supreme Court.
Despite the legal setbacks, Arizona has inspired 23 states (from Georgia to Oklahoma to Nevada), which have already introduced or have announced plans to pursue their own versions of SB 1070. Other states are reportedly waiting for the outcome of the lawsuit before introducing their own legislation.
However, state and local legislative action on immigration has remained unabated in the United States. In the first half of 2010, 44 state legislatures enacted 319 laws and resolutions related to immigrants and refugees, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Local frustration with immigration is not limited to the United States. Although Silvio Berlusconi's government has famously cracked down on illegal immigration and immigrants since coming to power in 2008, some Italian cities have taken matters into their own hands.
Most notable among them is Milan, the heart of Italy's industrial north that has become home to immigrants from China to North Africa and remains a stronghold of the anti-immigrant Northern League party. Last year, police in Milan began targeting immigrants on public buses and trams, demanding to see proof of legal status and taking those who lacked documents to the police station for identification and possible expulsion.
In February, ethnic rioting broke out in a diverse neighborhood in Milan's outskirts after a Latin American gang murdered a young Egyptian. The deputy mayor told the media that city officials would check buildings in immigrant neighborhoods, notifying authorities of those who could be deported.
In 2009, the Tuscan city of Lucca banned new ethnic food outlets in the city's center, a move that encouraged the city of Florence to pass a similar law this year.
Question: Will Arizona be a new model of activism for subnational action in the United States and beyond?
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All rights reserved.
Migration Information Source, ISSN 1946-4037
MPI · 1400 16th St. NW, Suite 300 · Washington, DC 20036
ph: (001) 202-266-1940 · fax: (001) 202-266-1900 | <urn:uuid:ade71b4f-2c88-418e-a0ee-f89545f64cee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/print.cfm?ID=809 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945128 | 729 | 2.1875 | 2 |
February 14, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – This statement is delivered on behalf of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) by Co-Chairs David Beckmann, George Ingram, and Jim Kolbe:
As Congress begins debate this week on funding the government for the remainder of 2011, we support current spending levels in the international affairs budget. Foreign assistance is not a nice-to-have perk in a world where complex challenges defy narrow solutions; it is a must-have pillar of our foreign policy alongside diplomacy and defense. In addition, now more than ever, foreign assistance reform must move forward, in order to make sure we can get the most out of every dollar we spend on development.
We are acutely aware of the dangers a growing deficit and debt-to-GDP ratio pose to economic growth and security in the United States. But disproportionately drastic cuts in the foreign assistance budget being considered by the House of Representatives this week would undo a decade’s worth of progress against global poverty and disease, and adversely affect our security, prosperity, and leadership in the world.
For around 1% of the federal budget, experts from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and other agencies are empowered to work hand-in-hand with our diplomats and members of the Armed Forces to help build accountable institutions and increase stability in “frontline” states like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Yemen. These professionals are also deployed to help boost private-sector and middle-class growth and reduce poverty in developing countries, the fastest-growing markets in the world. Our development efforts in these countries are crucial to opening up export opportunities for American businesses and building stable, long-term trading partners and allies. Were we to pull back, the void left behind would surely be filled by other countries that do not share our values.
We must also finish the job of implementing the serious reforms to U.S. foreign assistance that have been pushed forward on a bipartisan basis over the last decade. The focus now should be on two key actions, which will increase the effectiveness of all of our development programs, particularly marquee efforts like the Global Health Initiative and the Feed the Future agricultural development program:
- Enacting USAID Forward: To transform USAID into a modern development enterprise so that it can make the best use possible of limited resources and achieve more dynamic results, the budget should provide strategic resources for strengthening accountability and evaluation; changing inefficient procurement practices; and investing in innovation, science, and technology.
- Implementing the President’s Landmark Development Policy: To ensure that all U.S. development activities are more coordinated, efficient, and effective, the budget should focus resources on bolstering economic growth and democratic governance around the world, while at the same time being more selective about who gets our assistance and cutting programs in places where U.S. partners are ready to take more ownership and responsibility.
We call on the Administration and Congress to work together to complete the reforms and build a modern development enterprise for the U.S., so that we can maximize the returns on our development investments at a time of complex budgetary and geopolitical challenges. | <urn:uuid:acbaa3a6-2486-4ca2-9243-e2d21269e544> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.modernizeaid.net/2011/02/14/mfan-statement-budget-landscape-increases-urgency-of-foreign-assistance-reform/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923462 | 645 | 1.671875 | 2 |
|Husband and Redeemer|
|Written by Toby Sumpter|
|Monday, 31 May 2010 20:23|
It’s so easy to miss the gospel in the Old Testament. We are like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Only we’ve seen Jesus, we know He’s alive, and so frequently we still read the Law and the Prophets like unbelieving Jews.
For example, in Exodus, Moses gives Israel instructions for masters and slaves immediately after giving the Ten Commandments, after bringing Israel up out of Egypt. We should be suspicious of this, but we’re modernists and post modernists and we are chronological snobs. Those non-narrative portions of the law are obscure, random, and they frequently feel to us like the ancient Hebrew scribes just cut and pasted verses together like a choose-your-own-adventure novel.
But Moses gives the Ten Commandments and immediately proceeds to set out guidelines, specifically laying out protections for slaves and their families. In particular, a female slave was to have special legal safeguards. If a female slave was betrothed to marry her Hebrew master but he found some "evil" in her, he was not permitted to sell her to a "foreign people," but must "redeem her" (Ex. 21:8). Likewise, if he betroths a female slave to his son, he must honor and protect her as his own daughter (Ex. 21:9).
A couple of chapters later, God says that He will meet with Israel from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim on the ark of the testimony, and He will speak with them there (Ex. 25:22). Literally, God says, “I will betroth you to me, from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim...” It’s the same word used in the regulations concerning the betrothal of female slaves.
Later, when Israel offers the daily sacrifice at the tent of meeting before the Lord, He says, "I will betroth myself to you and speak with you there..." (Ex. 29:42, cf. 29:43) Again, when Yahweh gives instructions for setting up the altar of incense in the tabernacle, He says to put if before the "veil that is above the ark of the testimony in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will betroth myself to you." (Ex. 30:6, cf. 20:36)
Exodus is the first book in the Hebrew Scriptures to use this word, and it means to agree together, gather together, perhaps even covenant together. Clearly it is the language of love and promises, intimacy and trust. Later, in Numbers, God will call His people to gather together before Him at the tent of meeting, He will call them to betroth themselves to Him in the assembly (Num. 10:3-4), but Israel will respond to Yahweh’s overtures of love and betrothal with infidelity and rebellion. When He calls them to go into the Promised Land, they refuse, and God says that they have gathered together against Him, they have betrothed themselves to another (Num. 14:35). Korah, Dathan, and Abiram do the same, plotting infidelity to their Lord and Husband (Num. 16:11).
What this means is that the law in Exodus 21 for female slaves was not just for Hebrew men. It was simultaneously for the entire nation of Israel. It was for us. This law is the gospel.
When Yahweh brought Israel out of Egypt, out of bondage, Israel was a female slave betrothed to Him. But we know that He found "evil" in her over time. She was unfaithful in the wilderness, and she betrothed herself to other gods. She rebelled against His love. And the history of Israel replays this narrative over and over. But Yahweh is a faithful husband, and He will not sell her to a “foreign people.” She will go into exile in a foreign land, and she will be mistreated by her lovers. But He will come for her; He will “redeem her.”
How will He redeem the female slave that He was betrothed to? How will He redeem her for the “evil” that He has found in her? He will redeem her with His own Son and betroth her to Him, and then God the Father will honor and protect her as His own daughter.
Here in what looks like a few obscure details of the Israelite law we see the goodness and mercy of God. This is the entire gospel in miniature: God our Husband and Redeemer.
|Last Updated on Monday, 31 May 2010 20:34| | <urn:uuid:c35ddccd-6185-4991-b8e6-5c04b8799aa5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.credenda.org/index.php/Theology/husband-and-redeemer.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963703 | 1,023 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Pegomastax africanus has vampire-like fangs...
Via Fox News:
A bizarre dinosaur had vampire-like fangs, a parrot beak and porcupine bristles, researchers say.
The ancient creature, which was found 50 years ago in southern Africa but drew relatively little attention until now, may shed light on the evolution of the major group of dinosaurs that included famous giants such as Stegosaurus and Triceratops.
The 200-million-year-old dinosaur "was two-legged, probably fleet-footed, and had grasping hands," said researcher Paul Sereno, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago.
Named Pegomastax africanus, or "thick jaw from Africa," it was less than 2 feet (0.6 meters) long and weighed less than a house cat at 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) at most, "and was mostly tail and neck," Sereno added.
Strangely, bristles somewhat like porcupine quills may have spread across most of the body of Pegomastax. Such bristles first appeared in a relative named Tianyulong recently discovered in China. Buried in lake sediments and covered by volcanic ash, Tianyulong was preserved with hundreds of bristles covering its body from its neck to the tip of its tail. | <urn:uuid:ef105cdb-0df1-40ba-b4da-da18fbce691a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scinewsblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/meet-dracula-dinosaur.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967226 | 281 | 3.125 | 3 |
World Choir Games
The World Choir Games
The idea to create an event like the World Choir Games is based on the Olympic ideals, which aim to peacefully unify singing people and nations connected by song in a fair competition. The idea should inspire people to experience the strength of interaction which is able to challenge personality and community equally through the power of singing together. No matter on which artistic level one is working – whether singing for pleasure or reaching for artistic stars. The World Choir Games are an international choir festival taking place every two years on different continents.
This idea of the World Choir Games is carried out through the personal experience of millions of people throughout the whole world who sing in choirs daily and internalize and pass on human ideals through song. The idea is instrumental in helping people overcome conflicts and offering, through their social interaction, an example for life. In the future, choirs from all over the world will come together regularly to the World Choir Games, in order to contribute to understanding and peace among nations. All participants celebrate this amazing festival of music, as music is the common language of the world! | <urn:uuid:5d0ab9b6-0a04-4357-bb34-7e40dd8787a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.interkultur.com/world-choir-games/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946863 | 229 | 2.21875 | 2 |
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Ernest takes a ride
By Joan Stimson
Ernest the elephant had an
ambition. He wanted to ride on a red bus.
Each day Ernest looked out from his enclosure.
The buses went by exactly on the hour. "The three o'clock is the
bus for me," thought Ernest. "Everyone will be taking a nap
after lunch." Then he made his Plan.
One morning Mr Wainwright found a new notice in
Throw cash, not buns. Am saving up, signed
Mr Wainwright was shocked - but the visitors
loved it. In just one day Ernest became rich. That night Ernest
went to bed early, but he was too excited to sleep.
"Tomorrow," he kept thinking, "I shall ride on a
Ernest was too nervous to eat breakfast. He was
too jittery to take lunch. He was beginning to think that three
o'clock would never come. By five minutes to three Mr Wainwright
and the animals were snoring. HEAVE! By two minutes to three
Ernest had clambered onto the boundary wall of the zoo.
It was a real struggle, but Ernest made it. At
exactly three o'clock the red bus arrived at the zoo. Ernest
dangler his trunk over the wall, right by the bus stop.
EEEK! The bus driver screeched to a halt. Ernest
had attracted his attention all right. His trunk was blocking
the road! The bus had an open top, which lined up perfectly with
the zoo wall, and Ernest stepped very gently on board. Then he
settled comfortably into six or seven seats.
The bus driver had got over his surprise, and he
was beginning to feel quite important. He was looking forward to
telling the other drivers he'd picked up an elephant!
The bus conductor was beginning to feel nervous.
What if the elephant didn't have the fare? But he needn't have
worried. Ernest had plenty of money. He handed it over with a
RETURN TRIP TO THE ZOO-KEEP THE CHANGE,
Signed Ernest Elephant.
The red bus drove through the country and into
town. Ernest saw all the sights- the shops, the churches, the
parks and the factories. He'd done it at last!
"I'm riding on a red bus, I'm riding on a red bus,"
hummed Ernest happily.
Every few minutes the bus stopped. An old lady
got on with her dog. A young boy got off with his hamster. But
there were no zebras, monkeys, seals or hippos at the bus stops.
There was no sight of Mr Wainwright's friendly face. Ernest
began to feel homesick- homesick and hungry. At exactly four
o'clock the red bus pulled up outside the zoo. Ernest got up
from his six or seven seats, and stepped gently back onto the
zoo wall. Thud! Ernest was back in his enclosure. Mr Wainwright
and the animals had stopped snoring. They were beginning to
"It's great to be home," thought Ernest, and
nuzzled his trunk into Mr Wainwright didn't need a note to know
what Ernest wanted. Mr Wainwright could read Ernest like a book.
Ernest wanted his tea! | <urn:uuid:5e6c97be-4172-4929-b7d3-4d1ba94f9771> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://abc-english-grammar.com/1/tales54.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981963 | 766 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Bicycle frames are constructed from materials which place emphasis on being strong, lightweight and stiff to aid power transfer. Aluminium, titanium, steel and carbon are widely used in all levels of frame production.
Major bike manufacturers produce a new range of bikes on an annual basis and this determines the model year of a particular bike. This annual turnover is fuelled by advancing technology, industry trends and customer demand for a particular feature or style of bicycle.
Bicycle wheels come in a wide range of sizes from 12" wheels found on smaller Kids Bikes to larger 29" Mountain Bike and 700c Road Bike wheels. Larger wheels are normally faster and more stable at speed and their larger contact patch improves grip too. Smaller wheels are normally lighter, more manoeuvrable and have quicker acceleration.
Wheel sizes are defined by the country that first popularised the style of bike that used them - so you'll see some imperial and some metric measurements listed. Wiggle includes the ISO standard in brackets after each for ease of comparison.
Cyclists are passionate about their sport and equally as passionate about the bikes they ride. In few sports do participants take such pride, interest and involvement in their equipment, but to a cyclist a bike is more than just the right tool for the job, it is an extension of them and reflects their individual personality.
Those of us who have worked to create Verenti understand this. We're cyclists too... | <urn:uuid:4ce2448d-aae4-46bb-90a4-9ed52d939b25> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti | 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 | 0.95665 | 289 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Podcasts & RSS Feeds
Wed April 11, 2012
Dairy Farmers Looking for Change
Many dairymen are calling the government price support system broken, but just how to fix it isn't clear. There's debate over how much the government should step in to help in tough times and as to what degree it should let the free market govern.
The urgency to fix the dairy supports in the upcoming 2012 farm bill is spurred in part by the horrible hit milk producers took in 2009. Milk prices hit rock-bottom lows; the price of raw milk paid to farmers dropped to its lowest level in 40 years. Outdated government price supports didn't kick in until prices were already too low – and some dairies went bankrupt.
Not only did income plummet but dairymen's equity tanked, which is directly tied to their ability to finance their business. Between 2007 and 2009 the combined equity of dairies nationwide – how much their cows and equipment and business are worth – dropped by $20 billion, or about 20 percent, said National Milk Producers Federation spokesperson Chris Galen.
"They stayed in business, in most cases, by having understanding lenders and bankers," Galen said. "And what we've heard time and again is 'Boy, I barely hung on by the skin of my teeth in 2009, we can't go through that type of situation again.'"
The market nightmare stemmed from a host of factors: feed costs skyrocketed, struggling global and national economies soured the demand for milk, and government price supports were often too little, too late.
Terry Van Maanen's 600-cow family dairy in Sioux County, Iowa, survived the rough patch. They grow much of their own feed, which helped deflect some costs.
"Definitely it was an eye-opener when you have to borrow money to pay your bills,” Van Maanen said. “It was a tough year. It really was a tough year.”
But Van Maanen isn't complaining. He believes dairymen should have to respond to the market realities and the industry needs these swings of low prices.
"Without it, where would we be today if we did not have that? We'd have so much milk, we wouldn't know what to do with it," Van Maanen said. "So do I look forward to poor milk prices? No. Do I fear them? In some respect, yes, I do. And yet when they come, to me it's the process of supply and demand."
But other dairymen worry they couldn't survive another year like 2009. A new dairy plan proposed by the National Milk Producers Federation strives to walk the line between letting the market control prices, but also providing a safety net.
"What we'd like the Congress to authorize and have the USDA implement, is a new safety net that's not tied directly to the price of milk, but actually would help insure against poor margins," Galen said.
So when the difference between what dairies get paid for milk and the cost of feed is below $6 per hundred pounds of milk, some government support would kick in. At the same time, to stabilize market prices, the USDA would notify farmers that they won't be paid for 2 percent of their production, which would give them a few months to scale back.
Participation would be voluntary, Galen said. For a farmer to get this margin insurance, he'd have to agree to production cutbacks in tough time. These ideas were incorporated into the Dairy Security Act, which was introduced into Congress last year.
Lee Maassen, president of the Western Iowa Dairy Alliance Board, likes the basic tenets of the milk federation plan, that supports kick in when margins get tight. He runs a midsize dairy in Sioux County. But, he said, when it comes to controlling supply, the market should do that.
"I'm in favor of a market discovery system, more of a capitalistic approach, where there's a true supply-demand situation," Maassen said. “I don' t like the point where we really control supply so much that it flattens out the market discovery, because then on the long-term ... that lessens your true opportunity for the future."
However, the National Family Farm Coalition says that kind of approach would just perpetuate volatile prices. Spokesman Paul Rozwadowskiis, a dairy farmer himself, said the problem with the milk federation plan is that it starts to limit farmers' milk production aftermilk prices get really low.
"You're giving the farmers an actual double kick in the behind,” Rozwadowski said. “They're already getting low prices and then they have to reduce it to 98 percent.”
The coalition says the government instead should manage how much dairies produce to stabilize milk prices. It supports a bill that would have the USDA monitor and control milk supply at all times in order to keep dairies from overproducing.
That's similar to how it works in California, the nation's largest milk producing state. Each dairy is given a production goal for the year, said organic dairymen John Taylor, who runs a family farm near Point Reyes, Calif. Then if they overproduce, they can sell this milk to a processor, if the industry can take it. Otherwise, they're out of luck.
Taylor said price support and supply management go hand in hand.
"I think you need to look to the individual dairy owners and say are they over-producing or are they getting hit with high input costs?” Taylor said.
But agriculture economist Dan Sumner, former assistant secretary for economics at USDA, has qualms with plans that ask the government to manage the milk supply. He said even the occasional milk production cutbacks imposed in the National Milk Producers Federation's plan would have a stifling effect.
What it does, "is takes people my age, and say to us, 'You get to be grandfathered in to keep what you've got,’” Sumner said. “The next generation... are told, 'No you don't get to compete.'"
It's too soon to say what the odds of this bill passing are, but supporters are hoping to push it through with the 2012 farm bill. The farm bill comes around only every five years, so there's a limited window for dairy farmers to repair a system many describe as broken. | <urn:uuid:c9b4e35e-0b40-4332-8c5f-351c7a81dbcc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kbia.org/post/dairy-farmers-looking-change?ft=1&f=150440793,150441014 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976879 | 1,329 | 1.703125 | 2 |
"Where are the Children? Declining Fertility in Hong Kong and East Asia?""Where are the Children? Declining Fertility in Hong Kong and East Asia?"http://www.haverford.edu/calendar/details/221452Chase Auditorium2013-02-13T16:30:002013-02-13T18:00:00
February 13, 4:30PM
A talk by Rubie Watson
Dr. Watson was Curator of Comparative Ethnology (retired) in Harvard's Peabody Museum and Senior Lecturer (retired) in the Department of Anthropology. She was Director of the Peabody Museum from 1997 to 2004, the first woman and the first social anthropologist to hold that position. Prior to coming to Harvard, Watson taught at the University of Pittsburgh were she was Associate Professor of Anthropology.
Tea at 4:15, Talk at 4:30
For More Info | <urn:uuid:97f42047-4d3a-4d52-9ceb-21465d9660ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.haverford.edu/calendar/details/221452 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915761 | 196 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Green Technologies | News
Student Group Drives Renewable Energy Project
Students at Camden Hills Regional High School (CHRHS) in Rockport, ME are getting a hands-on education about renewable energy, thanks to a 121-foot-tall wind turbine located next to the school's athletic fields. The school is using the turbine, installed last March, to generate electricity and teach students about alternative energy sources.
The NPS 100 wind turbine, from Northern Power Systems, is the result of an eight-year project started by a group of CHRHS students, the Windplanners. The group's goal was to increase renewable energy sources on campus. More than 100 students worked together, performing research, securing approvals and permits, and raising the $500,000 needed for the project.
The turbine is integral to the school's science curriculum, according to Margo Murphy, CHRHS science teacher and Windplanners advisor. Students track the turbine's performance and energy output using Northern Power System's SmartView 3 software, which comes with remote monitoring and reporting features. The collected data is integrated into lesson plans and class discussions. "All the data gathered from the wind turbine is integrated into every aspect of the curriculum at the school," explained Murphy, in a prepared statement from Northern Power Systems. "By the end of the year, all freshmen will be able to access, assess and make sense of the data."
The project has inspired other schools around the state to look for ways they can become more energy efficient. Students from eight other Maine schools have joined the Windplanners project and are now tracking energy use on their campuses. The students will use the collected data to "compare expected energy production to what the turbine is actually producing and explore any differences."
The Windplanners, founded in 2004, includes five teams, each responsible for a different aspect of the project. The Data Management Team monitors the energy produced by the turbine. The Communications Team manages the project's web page. The Outreach Team coordinates tours and gives presentations to community groups. The Energy Action Team handles school events and is working to shape the school's culture around energy consumption. The Fundraising Team writes grants to raise money for projects aimed at boosting energy efficiency.
More information about the Windplanners' project can be found online.
Kanoe Namahoe is online editor for 1105 Media's Education Group. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:d5d5817f-89e6-4494-a941-829a8f94e3cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/10/10/student-group-drives-renewable-energy-project.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937453 | 498 | 2.640625 | 3 |
CENTRE FOR POLICY ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH ON TURKEY (RESEARCHTURKEY)
‘Exploring Turkey’s Education Policy: What Do the Global Trends Suggest, What Do the Recent Amendments Really Amend?’
Date: 13-14 December 2012
Venue: Middle East Technical University, Cultural and Convention Centre, Ankara, Turkey
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CALL FOR PAPERS:
Starting from the late 1980s, globalisation has quickly entered into the realm of the education policy in different settings, including Turkey. In particular, fast spread of the globalization process and the neo-liberal transformation introduced profound changes in terms of school finance, employee rights, curriculum development, privatisation and school-environment relations. Similarly, the lexicon of education policy was introduced some new ‘trendy’ concepts such as ‘productivity’, ‘performance’ and ‘human capital’ and governments and business groups started talking about the necessity of schools meeting the needs of the global economy. The global educational agendas promoted by international organisations, such as United Nations, the OECD and the World Bank, now reflected educational discourses about human capital, economic development, and multiculturalism, leading to intense debates between scholars, policy makers and civil society on how the education should be.
Recently, a controversial answer to this question has been given by Ömer Dinçer, the Turkish Minister of Education: ‘A new legal amendment is somewhat obligatory, which renders the primary education gradual, flexible and in line with the needs of democratisation and global trends’. Indeed, the most recent legal arrangements (the so-called 4+4+4 system, the Fatih project, the restructuring of the Ministry of Education with the Statutory Decree numbered 652) which introduced a thorough transformation into the Turkish primary education has been claimed to serve to this purpose from the start.
Against this background, this 2-day conference organized jointly by ResearchTurkey and the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the Middle East Technical University aims to investigate current trends and changes in Turkish education policy by locating them within the wider context of globalization. The conference will seek to improve our understanding of following questions:
1- What is meant by the ‘global transformation of the education policy’? How are the concepts of ‘productivity’, ‘innovation’, ‘performance’ and project-based learning’ speak to this transformation?
2- What are the implications of global economic dynamics for education?
3- How does the relationship between education and development relate to the global trends in education?
4- Are the concepts of ‘immigration’ and ‘identity’ meaningful categories for explaining the transformation education?
5- To what extent do these debates overlap with the transformation of education in Turkey? Are the recent changes in Turkey regarding education (4+4+4 system, the Fatih project, the restructuring of the Ministry of Education) significant in relation to the global trends in education?
6- In what ways is education a part of the 2023 vision of the AKP government? To what extent is the 2023 vision related to the aforementioned transformation?
ResearchTurkey is pleased to announce its first international conference to be held on December 13 and 14, 2012 at Cultural and Convention Centre, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. We welcome papers and panels from various disciplines including education, social policy, sociology, psychology, gender studies and economics digging into various aspects of the transformation of the education policy both in Turkey and in the world. Paper or panel proposals should be prepared for blind review and be sent to email@example.com no later than 20 October 2012 with 3-5 keywords and a maximum of 500 words.
For more information and/or any enquiries: firstname.lastname@example.org
Centre for Policy Analysis and Research on Turkey (ResearchTurkey)
For general enquiries, contact email@example.com
For sending articles and papers, contact firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:6b58bc38-6b82-4999-882b-741430b0fab4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://researchturkey.org/wp/wordpress/?p=1603?3962f540 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922427 | 843 | 1.75 | 2 |
A website has been developed which provides access to video material of specific classroom practices used in the teaching of argumentation in science, including strategies for group work. The videos support three CPD units, which have resources and tasks for professional development in argumentation pedagogy, suitable for primary and secondary audiences. Teachers can use the resources collaboratively or individually.
The project has produced high quality film material which captures teachers using a range of groupwork strategies and facilitating argumentation activities from introduction to plenary. Students are engaged in argumentation to develop their skills and science knowledge. Professional development tasks supported by these materials are currently being trialled with a cross phase group of teachers from KS2 and KS3.
This project intends to produce video material supported by specific professional development tasks linked to strategies related to group work and argumentation. Included will be strategies such as listening triads, envoys, pairs, pairs to fours, jigsaws, class debates, and roles taken by individual children whilst working in groups. There will also be material based on teachers modelling and introducing argumentation focusing on talk that encourages argumentation processes, including justification, counter-argument and evaluating argument. | <urn:uuid:09a2d9c1-4f6b-424c-b0b8-c62b444f1f4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.azteachscience.co.uk/funding-and-projects/projects/developing-web-based-cpd-for-groupwork-and-argumentation-in-science.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927796 | 236 | 3.328125 | 3 |
For most of us, the Hayman Fire registers as the largest in Colorado history. But trees across Colorado—and the ecologists who study them—tell a different story.
Lessons learned from Colorado’s largest wildfire in recorded history might help restoration efforts in the forests and watersheds affected by the current High Park Fire west of Fort Collins.
Currently at 68,200 acres, the High Park Fire continues to burn west of west of Fort Collins. Containment remains at 55%, but fire officials are optimistic about additional containment by the end of day. | <urn:uuid:a29e56e6-16a1-40a4-b5f7-716e679b64f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kunc.org/term/environment?page=225 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943255 | 113 | 2.734375 | 3 |
You may wonder how to produce a popular Facebook application. Every inventor wonders how to sell the product he or she has invented. Before you invent the product, it is important to know that there is an audience for it. Once you have identified your audience and their needs, you will find designing easy. In this article you will find suggestions on creating a Facebook application.
When you are coming up with ideas for your project, you need to have your audience in mind. The audience for Facebook includes users that are young to middle aged. This website is popular as it enhances the user ability to socialize and engage with friends. Popular applications meet this need. Socialization is the key to the products success.
A lot of individuals use social media websites to inform others of their lives. This forum is a great way to remain in contact with people far away. Individuals tend to like the attention a post gets. By posting, the individual words reach an audience that is usually over 100 people. In real life, it would be hard to capture an audience that big. With this website, a user can affect a large audience. The audience can engage in a conversation by responding back. A good product will factor in the audience and its possible ways of interacting.
You want the application to build upon what the user brings to the forum. Popular apps all embrace this idea. Such as the app that takes the past year updates and creates a memento or the app that does something unique to the users picture. You want your app to add to the forum that is Facebook and individualize the experience.
You want the app to be something the user can build upon. Many people enjoy games where you interact with your friends to build something. When you create an app that builds something, you invite the user to use it again.
Lastly, a good app is something you want. If you dream of using the app on Facebook, then create it.
You, like a lot of others, may wonder how to create a well used app on Facebook. With these few simple tips, you will easily be on your way to creating an app. When designing, create an app that will entertain the user friends and increase socialization for the user. Invite the user back to the app by making it something that can be used repeatedly and builds upon something. Design something you would like to use. | <urn:uuid:62a77b2b-1bbe-43eb-8c2d-0a3bb511f246> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reviewcrushers.com/2011/04/social-media-tips-some-ideas-on-creating-a-facebook-application/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951226 | 480 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Making history come alive... that's what the making of "JESUS" is all about. Every location, every pot, every cloak, and every word had to be authentic. This is, after all, a film about the most important man who ever lived: Jesus of Nazareth.
The life of Jesus Christ influenced the course of history in a way that cannot be ignored. That's why every single person, regardless of religious views, should be informed about His life, and watching "JESUS" is an excellent way to do that. Both dramatic and inspirational, the "JESUS" film is the most accurate movie ever made about the life of Christ. Translated into more than 1,000 languages, "JESUS" has had more than 6 billion viewings from all around the world, possibly making it the most watched film in history. | <urn:uuid:1522ef73-df66-479d-a996-bb819ed061ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inspirationalfilms.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967849 | 176 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Professor David C Wilson has been involved with hazardous waste policy issues throughout his 35 year career. He currently represents CIWM on the Defra Hazardous Waste Steering group, as well as on the Hazardous Waste Forum (HWF), for whom he wrote their first Action Plan. He previously chaired the Northern Ireland HWF from 2003-2007.
From 1977, DCW ran the Department of the Environment’s hazardous Waste Research Unit. In 1981, he was rapporteur for the UNEP/ WHO working group which developed the first international guidance on hazardous waste management (HWM). In 1989, he edited the World Bank’s Technical Manual on The Safe Disposal of Hazardous Wastes: the Special Problems of Developing Countries. Since 1984, he has represented CIWM on the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA)’s Working Group on Hazardous Wastes (WGHW). With the WGHW, he compiled two definitive international comparisons, in 1987 and 1999, analysing how different countries have implemented their HWM systems; and with WGHW, UNEP and the Basel Convention, he developed the multiple award winning Training Resource Pack for Hazardous Wastes in Developing Countries (2002).
A key conclusion of DCW’s policy analysis is that all countries have developed their HWM systems in a series of steps. Over the last 25 years, much of his international project work in hazardous wastes has involved helping countries take the next appropriate steps in developing their management systems. Examples include developing a national strategy in Vietnam and putting in place the first national legislation; and developing and demonstrating a regulatory control system in Sverdlovsk Oblast in Russia. Other projects have been in, e.g., Hungary, Ukraine, Bahrain, India, Sri Lanka, China, Philippines and Chile. More recently, DCW was an advisor to the team revising Ireland’s National Hazardous Waste Management Plan, which was published in September 2008.The UK was one of the early pioneers of hazardous waste management in the 1970s, both in terms of enacting legislation and developing treatment facilities. But while other countries gradually built up their capacity for relatively high-tech treatment, the UK chose to rely on the science of controlled co-disposal with municipal solid wastes, a practice banned under the EU Landfill Directive from 16 July 2004. The demise of co-disposal has led to the UK facing what DCW describes as a classic ‘implementation conundrum’; while the government waits for industry to invest in treatment facilities, the industry waits for the government to give ‘regulatory certainty’ before making investment decisions. Defra established the Hazardous Waste Forum (HWF) in 2003 to oversee this transition: DCW represents CIWM on the HWF, and wrote their Action Plan published in December 2003. The saga is still continuing: DCW represents CIWM on Defra’s Hazardous Waste Steering Group established in 2008, and which is contributing to development of a new strategy for hazardous waste treatment. DCW also chairs CIWM’s Special Interest Group on Hazardous Wastes.
The Chemical Waste Treatment Centre (CWTC) in Hong Kong, the first comprehensive hazardous waste treatment plant to be developed outside of the OECD. Prof David C Wilson was involved in developing this facility from 1987 to 1994, leading the team responsible for the institutional arrangements. Photo © Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department. | <urn:uuid:2ee1fc73-f45a-4788-b546-115cbbaa6f30> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://davidcwilson.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4&Itemid=6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940543 | 699 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Yoga for Cyclists part 10: Trunk
Pack your trunk (with lovely flexible muscles) for an aerodynamic new season
When we ride, particularly road, we're pulling forward into the bars, bending the spine, and pulling the stomach in. The lower you get, the faster you go - but a lot of people lack the flexibility to get the perfect position.
In this video, covering trunk (or spine) flexion and extension, you'll improve your performance by getting more of an aerodynamic position and a flatter back on the bike.
In fact, resident Road.cc yoga expert Karen Burt gives examples of people who manage to get their postions up to an inch lower, giving them some serious advantages.
Here she shows some simple exercises to relax and open out the spine, and we can check out Tony's 'sinking' posture as an example of how not to look on the bike:
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