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Scripture says nothing about a required mode of burial for either believers or non-believers. However, burying the body was the standard practice among the Israelites in the Old Testament and Christians in the New. There were some exceptions: the people decided to cremate Saul and Jonathan and then bury their ashes because their bodies had been mutilated by the Philistines (1 Sam. 31:8-13). In another instance, Achan and his family were cremated after being executed for sinning against Israel (Josh. 7:25).
Obviously any buried body will eventually decompose (Eccles. 12:7). So cremation isn't a strange or wrong practice-it merely accelerates the natural process of oxidation. The believer will one day receive a new body (1 Cor. 15:42-49; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Job 19:25-26), thus the state of what remains of the old body is unimportant.
The imagery of Christ's resurrection pictures burial and then a raising up from the dead (Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor. 15:3-4). Because of that, many Christians prefer burial to cremation to maintain a likeness to Christ's burial (although literally He was laid in state in a cave, not buried in the ground).
What we need to focus on as Christians is not how to dispose of our earthly bodies, but that one day new bodies will be fashioned for us like our Lord's glorious resurrection body (see Phil. 3:21; cf. Luke 24:30-40; John 20:19, 26; 21:1-14; and Acts 1:1-9 to get an idea of what to look forward to). That transformation will be eternal! | <urn:uuid:0571b19a-70f5-4ec4-9d1f-5ec51cbe9f62> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gty.org/resources/questions/QA177 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951427 | 362 | 2.46875 | 2 |
As Alex Horton noted last week, the unemployment rate among Iraq- and Afghanistan-era Veterans has now fallen below the national average. With so much concern about the economy and jobs, this is welcome news.
It’s important to remember, however, that data from one month doesn’t make a trend and monthly employment numbers can be volatile. So to really get a sense of where we stand now, we’ve pulled the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to create a chart that compares trend lines of unemployment over the past two years. As you can see below, the unemployment rates have ranged quite a bit since February 2010. But one thing is certain: Both the national unemployment rate and the rate among Iraq- and Afghanistan-era Veterans is falling.
None of this is to say that we’re close to resolving the problem of veteran unemployment or underemployment. But this is a very important point to make: According to the BLS statistics, the trend of veteran unemployment over the last two years shows falling numbers. And that’s progress.
Of course, this is no time to slow down. Administration initiatives such as Joining Forces and the Veterans Job Corps will continue to play a key role as we move forward. And combined with help from those in the Veterans community, these public and private sector partnerships will help us to ultimately expand employment opportunities for Veterans. And that’s what we intend to do. | <urn:uuid:0a965b3e-8af0-4dfb-a83a-a4c692a7a71f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/6108/cautious-optimism-the-downward-trend-of-unemployment-among-oefoif-era-vets/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933869 | 297 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Defense is not as important as offense anymore
Contraversial, but so true. I submit to you that over the past 8 years or so since the introduction of the illegal contact rule that defenses have been neutered to the point where it is much harder for a defensive player to make an impact on the game vs an offensive player that scores touchdowns.
There are two main reasons for this:
1. A deliberate decision by the NFL to tilt the rules towards facilitating a higher scoring games and more explosive passing plays.
2. The risk that the league is facing vs litigation from former players for
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and various head wounds and concussions risks that players face when they leave the game. Junior Seau's recent death hasn't helped matters, so these rule changes and calls to protect the NFL against litigation is only likely to increase in the future.
As a direct result of the above factors Defensive backs, linebackers, and Pass Rushers have all been effected to various degrees making them less effective than they used to be, and less important than players that score touchdowns.
-Illegal contact Rule. This has made it much easier for Receivers to get off the line of scrimmage, and much easier for the receiver to get separation and much harder to cover. Remember the old really good defenses like the old Patriots, Ravens, Steelers, etc.? Man, they used to be able to mug the receivers, and it was very likely that a good defense could stuff a really explosive passing attack because the receivers could be jammed past 5 yards, they could be crushed if they dared came over the middle, and the QBs would have to hold on to the ball longer giving the pass rush more time to get to the QB. It's not that way anymore at all. Even the very best defenses are fairly limited in their ability to truly shut down the best offenses in the league.
-Emphasis on Defenseless receiver rule and increased helmet to helmet calls with increased frequency and fine sizes has made defenses much more trepidatious with regards to how they hit receivers. The net result of this is that receivers no longer have a fear of going over the middle and are no longer intimidated, and there is an increase in personal foul penalties. Again, advantage offense.
-Pass interference is called far more frequently than it used to be. Advantage Offense.
-The horse collar tackle rule has resulted in more personal foul penalties and has effected the way players can be tackled from behind
-Roughing the passer. The NFL has put in tight controls to protect the quarterbacks which has resulted in an increased volume of roughing the passer penalties each of which is 15 yards a pop. In fact, some of the QBs have actually escaped from some potential sacks because some defensive players have been a bit more timid than they should have to be to hit these quarterbacks so they have been able to escape.
The only rule on the side of the defense that I can think of that has been introduced in the past few years to offset all of the above mentioned new rules is that now defenders can push a receiver out of bounds when he is in the air. That's not nearly enough to offset the massive advantage that all of the above rules have given the offense and the massive disadvantage that these same rules have bestowed upon the defense.
So what does it all mean? Primarily you need to build a team that takes advantages of these rules and has an explosive passing game that scores more touchdowns than field goals first, and then the second priority should be your defense simply because the rules are stacked against the impact that these players can have vs the players that can score touchdowns on the offensive side of the ball. Now before you tear me a new one and tell me I don't know what I'm talking about, you need to hear me out first.
You see, all the way from when Jimmy Johnson to Dave Wandstadt to Nick Saban, to Bill Parcells/Morono, the emphasis on this football team has been defense. It seems like all of these guys were defensive guys and they felt like if they built the defensive side of the ball first that they could have an offense that simply didn't make many mistakes but that didn't have to necessarily have to be explosive in the passing game they could win. In fact, offensively, the emphasis on offense was actually on the running game. Now I know that some of that was because we haven't had a franchise QB here since Marino, but also, I think that in JJ and Wandstadt's era, you could win by running the football and playing superior defense. That all started to change in 2004 with the introduction of the illegal contact rule, but we didn't change the way we built our football team to reflect that in the way we drafted or signed free agents. Parcells and Saban still had this philosophy for constructing a football team that in the NFL at least had become outdated and they didn't change their model it to take advantage of the new rules changes that were steadily introduced to tilt the balance of power towards the offense.
Let's examine 4 remaining playoff teams and some of the teams that they had to beat in the last round to advance. What do they all have in common?
Patriots - Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski (I know he's currently hurt, but he's still a weapon), Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Danny Woodhead, Brandon Lloyd, Deon Branch.
Okay, so they may have one of the greatest QBs to ever have played the game. But count how many legitimate weapons that he has to throw to, or to run the football to take some pressure off and create balance. I count 8 really solid weapons that can attack every blade of grass on the football field. What defense can actually stop them in today's NFL? Easy answer. None. You have to have an offense that can keep up with them and hope you win the turnover battle which has as much to do with luck as skill, play a perfect game, but you have to score, score, and score. And I mean Touchdowns, not Field Goals.
What about their defense? Well, they added Aqib Talib at cornerback, and he has helped with their passing defense, they have Vince Willfork in the middle who is disruptive and a load in the run game, and they have a couple of nice pieces at linebacker. The biggest contribution these players made this year is really in the turnover battle, but again, that can't be counted on. Alot of that has to do with luck and who you are playing against, but if you can get turnovers on a consistent basis it will help you, but sometimes that's more bad decisions or lack of ball security by the other team than anything that your defense does, it just has to make the play when it has the opportunity. However, I think when you evaluate the Patriots as a team it is not a difficult conclusion to make that the main reason they are so dangerous is because of their offense, not their defense which is really just a complimentary piece, but they don't necessarily need to rely on it to win. Their defense can have a bad game, but it is still likely that they will win if their offense clicks like they usually do, but the same can't necessarily be said if things are the other way around.
San Francisco 49ers Offense -
Collin Kapernick, Michael Crabtree, Randy Moss, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, and the best offensive line in football.
To be fair, Kapernick should count as two weapons considering the ability he has displayed in the running game, but they have two really good receivers in the slot and on the outside, Crabtree can go deep as well, they have one of the best tight ends in football to use along the seams and in the red zone, and they have one of the best backs in football who can run through the tackles and huge holes that their offensive line makes for him as well as in the flat out of the back field in the passing game. Not quite as many weapons as the patriots, but they can attack every blade of grass in the passing and running game, and they have an extra element of mobility and electricity with their young QB who I wanted us to draft by the way but that's another story.
Look, they have one of the best defenses in football. They have Patrick Willis and Justin Smith, so they can get after the passer, defend the run pretty well and are generally considered a solid unit. Does anyone think that it would be unlikely that the Patriots or Falcons will score under 30 points because of this defense? I say, not bloody likely. Look how the goal posts have moved as to what our standards once were as to what a good defense could do. Remember when the Bucaneers held the greatest show on turf to like 13 points? Or remember those old Ravens defenses the early part of last decade? Those days are gone I tell you, defense has been emasculated, castrated, and neutered.
i'm going to skip the Atlanta Falcons and the Ravens because they are both pretty much similar.
Here's what all of these teams have in common: Franchise Quarterback, Multiple receiving threats in the slot, deep threats, stud tight end, stud running back(s) who can pound it and catch it out of the back field, and solid defenses that they don't necessarily rely on as much as their offenses to win games. Now, I'm not saying that a defense can't make plays that can help determine victory or defeat. Rahim Moore from the Broncos comes to mind. But, it never should've come down to that, but that's another story entirely.
What I am saying is that you cannot compete in the NFL against the very best teams without the following:
-Franchise QB, at Least two or three wide receivers - Possession, Slot, and deep threat, at least one Stud tight end to threaten the seams and be a true red zone threat, and at least one solid back, preferably two that can protect, run between the tackles and be a threat in the passing game and you need a decent but not necessarily great offensive line.
You don't need a great defense. You need a great offense, this a fact. Green Bay could've beaten San Francisco and they don't have a great defense. But with their Quarterback and the weapons he has they ALWAYS have a decent chance.
Therefore, if you believe what your powers of observation are telling you, then I say we need to prioritize with money and draft picks the things we don't have in free agency and the draft on offense first. I think we have a good QB prospect, but I'd draft another prospect because we probably can't afford to keep Matt Moore and he probably wants to start somewhere and you should always have a stable of young developmental QB prospects that you are developing.
So, all of the above factors are why this is what I think we should do this off season:
12th pick - The absolute only picks that make sense at this position are Tight end or receiver. The reason is, they are both the absolute biggest needs for us, and are critical for Tannehill's develoment and because at this position we can probably get the top prospect at each of those positions. This means if we go Tight End, either Zack Ertz, or Tyler Eifert, whichever one of those guys the scouts think are better. Or alternatively, let's get a receiver, Keenan Alan, Terrance Williams, Justin Hunter, or whomever the scouts rate as the best fit for our system.
Personally, I am kind of leaning towards the tight end unless we sign one in free agency just because a receiver will be easier to find in the second round.
2nd round picks - Receiver or tight end with one depending upon what we did with the first round pick, and a offensive tackle or guard with our second pick.
3rd round picks - Offensive tackle or guard and cornerback with the other pick
Free agency - Sign a WR like Jennings or Wallace, a guard like Andy Levitre if he's available, and Derek Cox from Jacksonville
Our own Free Agents - Sign Hartline, Starks, Bush, and Long if he is affordable, otherwise let him go. I would resign Sean Smith if the price is right, those are the critical signings.
Basically, our defense is good enough to win, it's our offense that sucks and needs to be heavily invested in, the game has changed and we need to adapt to take advantage of the way the rules are tilted towards the passing game in the modern nfl era. | <urn:uuid:1aec19f0-0b2a-41fe-af9d-70bb14aeb533> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.finheaven.com/forums/showthread.php?332756-Defense-is-not-as-important-as-offense-anymore&p=1064563408&mode=threaded | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980185 | 2,604 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Former Microsoft executive and CEO of Living PlanIT Steve Lewis has brought Microsoft on-board to help with Portugal’s “smart city” in Paredes, according to the gurus at engadget. By incorporating networking technology directly into the city’s buildings and infrastructure, the “smart city” will significantly improve urban energy efficiency and overall sustainability. Several high-tech companies have already joined the fray, including Cisco, for the project that will eventually house 1/4 million people and cost a whopping $14.1 billion.
Microsoft will provide the necessary cloud framework to coordinate the city’s integrated sensors with its Azure platform. These will allow real-time monitoring of everything from water and energy use to traffic management, improving the quality of life for residents while reducing the use of natural resources.
In addition to providing thousands of jobs in a country that is struggling financially, the increased efficiency will offset the initial investment the development, which Portugal called a project of “National Importance,” according to a Financial Times report. Let’s hope it doesn’t crash! | <urn:uuid:e5453e68-997d-449b-9e8a-0a2b3f26af0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://inhabitat.com/microsoft-jumps-on-board-portugals-mega-smart-city-plan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9271 | 228 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Sri Lanka University Students Human Rights violations
Sri Lanka University News.Two student unions in Sri Lanka published a report last Monday claiming an increase in rights violations against university students. The report claimed that students have suffered more than 1,000 human rights abuses since 2009.
The Student Human Rights Report 2012 contains statistics from all 15 state universities. It reported 524 cancellations of classes and, in the past year, 104 disciplinary inquiries against students, and 44 imprisonments.
There were also 67 cancellations of Mahapola scholarships, which are awarded to students from low-income families and pay US$20 a month subsistence income.
The report was produced by two major student unions: the Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF) in association with the Student Organisation for the Protection of Human Rights (SHR). It was released on 10 December in the capital Colombo.
The report's objective is to make the public aware of rights violations against students and get the attention of authorised bodies meant to protect students' rights.
IUSF Convener Sanjeewa Bandara claimed that more than 1,000 students had been suspended from universities during the past three to four years. Students had been penalised for fighting for their rights, but would continue protesting to safeguard free education regardless of the crackdown
Full Report : Click
Sri Lanka University News | <urn:uuid:b931a94c-c713-4e95-8f4f-f78d244ef768> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nowpublic.com/world/sri-lanka-university-students-human-rights-violations-0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964146 | 277 | 1.523438 | 2 |
1.What is a compatible LCD SCREEN?Back to Top
LCD is very advanced technology. And all Manufacturing Companies are big & known. They manufacture alternative compatible parts with same resolution and same quality.
Laptop LCD screens may be compatible with other laptop LCD screens. Moreover, laptop makers like Dell, HP Compaq, IBM, Toshiba and Sony may source more than one LCD screen (as distinguished by the LCD screen's part number) even from different brand LCD screen manufacturers to install in the same laptop model. There are many variables to take into consideration like various physical constraints, electronic signaling characteristics and power issues.
But do all compatible screens work similarly in all models and all brands? NO NO NO !!! They don't. Sometimes Compatible screen works great in one model and brand but won’t fit in other one. (Not because of technical incompatibility but laptop design -- (short flex cable, needs hinge adjustment etc.). Some screens even don't light up because of inverter settings.
2. How to select the right screen for your laptop screen? Back to Top
Specific laptop models can come in many sizes and resolutions, backlight type. Laptop LCD resolution should not be upgraded or downgraded. You must confirm that this screen matches your laptop in SIZE, in RESOLUTION and in BACKLIGHT TYPE to order the right screen.
Certain laptop models come in different screen sizes, resolution and backlight. For example, Dell M1330 may have LED or CCFL backlight. Compaq R3000 was released with 15" or 15.4" screen size and these are not interchangeable. Mac book Pro 15" comes in different screen resolutions and they are not interchangeable as well.
You have to check if your laptop screen has the same SIZE, RESOLUTION, BACKLIGHT prior to ordering to avoid incompatibility issues.
Tips: We suggest choosing Dell screens by laptop model or making sure the screen comes with the inverter (see the screen description). No inverter is needed for LED screens.
3. How to measure Screen size?Back to Top
Screen size is measured in inches diagonally from corner to corner as you can see in the picture below.
TIPS: 1 inch=2.54 cm.
There are different laptop screen sizes according to the standard:
4.How to find out resolution? Back to Top
IMPORTANT! Please, confirm screen resolution before buying! Certain laptop models come in different screen resolutions. You have to make sure that the screen you need has the same resolution as the one you are buying. Screen resolution refers to just how many pixels are crammed onto your screen all at once.
Put simply, a pixel is a little colored dot of light, many of which go together to make up what you see on your computer monitor. The same laptop model may come in different screen resolutions and listed below are the most commonly used ones:
WXGA 1280x720; 1280x768; 1280x800; 1360x768; 1366x768
WSXGA+ 1680x1050, 1680x945
WUXGA 1920x1200, 1920x1080
TIPS: "W" - means wide screen with the Aspect Ratio 16:10.
There are several ways to find out your screen resolution.
A. Refer to your laptop manual. It should usually be in the laptop specs section. That's the most reliable way.
B. If the manual is not available, you may check the laptop manufacturer's website and find the laptop specs in the Support & Help section using your laptop serial number or model.
Please, search Google for your laptop manufacturer name to find their website.
C. If your computer is up and running, you can check your resolution on-line. Please, note that this on-line tool tells your screen resolution and it only makes sense if you did not change factory default screen settings in Windows or Mac OS.
On-line Resolution Check
D. The best way to find out which screen you need is to open the display and check the screen model name on the sticker on the back side of the screen. You can also search Google for the screen model to find size and resolution.
5.How to find out backlight Type?Back to Top
Laptop screen may come in different backlight types. Single and dual backlights use CCFL (fluorescent bulb) to light up the image and require an inverter to power up. LED backlight doesn't require an inverter and uses light-emitting diodes as a source of light.
A. Single backlight means that there is only one bulb, that lights up the screen and the screen has only one inverter connector. This type of backlight is the most common one. Please, see the picture below:
B. Dual backlight means that there are two bulbs in the screen and the screen has two inverter connectors. This type of backlight is not very common. Please, see the picture below:
C. LED backlight used in some recent laptop models and LED screens doesn't have an inverter cable and normally has only one socket to connect a video cable (see picture below).
LED backlight is a relatively new feature; it will usually be mentioned in your laptop specs. Check your laptop tech specs to find out if yours has LED backlight.
6.What is a dead pixel?Back to Top
The norm defines three types of defects. Type 1 is for pixels stuck in “up position” while type 2 is for those stuck in “low position”. In other words, this corresponds to pixels that remain in white or black regardless of the picture displayed. It may sound disturbing, but this is compensated by the brightness of surrounding pixels which reduces this defect to some effect. There is one type of dead pixel left…
Type 3 concerns sub-pixels. If you take a closer look at your screen you will see that each pixel is actually made of three sub-pixels: one red, green and blue. A type three error designates the malfunctioning of one of these red, green, or blue components. This time the result is a very bothersome red, green or blue dot on your screen!
7.What is the Standard Regarding How Many Dead Pixels is Acceptable?Back to Top
Applied to different screen sizes, Class II tolerance authorizes the following number of faulty pixels:
8.Left LED Connector / Right LED ConnectorBack to Top
Ordering the right LED screen requires selection of the correct placement of video connector on the back of the LED screen. Ordering based on the part number alone does not suffice here, as LED screens with left connector or right connector may have the same part number. It is therefore very important that before ordering the screen from us, you make sure you are ordering the LED with connector on the same side as your original LED screen.
Please refer to the illustration below on how to determine the side for your connector
As seen in illustration labeled "A", the LED has a connector on the LEFT.
As seen in illustration labeled "B", the LED has a connector on the RIGHT.
9.Inverter Transfer and Installation Instructions - DELL LCDs only.Back to Top
Dell LCD panels are unique and are fitted with special brackets usually located on the top and bottom of your original LCD panel.
99% of DELL LCD products will always have a special circuit board known as an inverter located on the bottom of your original LCD panel, these circuits in most cases, will sit on a specially fitted metallic housing bracket on the bottom of the panel. These are strictly a design by DELL and serve no serious purpose, Again this is just a matter of design.
For you new LCD replacement you will notice that the bracket has not been riveted / fitted to the top or bottom of your new LCD replacement you have purchased
When you receive your LCD replacement you must perform the following steps prior to installation.
From your original LCD you must remove the circuit / inverter from the metallic bracket. The circuit will be held in with a small screw and usually reinforced with a small amount of adhesive. When the screw is removed a small flat head screw driver or flat solid object must be wedged between the metal and the circuit so to release the adhesive.
Once you have performed these steps the circuit must be transferred to the new LCD panel. By doing this you must place the panel glass side down on smooth un-abrasive surface so to avoid scratching on the glass. You can use a towel or a paper towel to achieve this. Now you must start the transfer, you will do this by centering the circuit to the bottom of the LCD. Now you must use single sided tape to adhere the circuit to the bottom of the panel. Any type of tape will do, masking tape is a good type to use. One those steps have been done you can perform the installation. Please understand that once the plastic frame / bezel have been re-attached all electronic components will stay completely secure.
10.LED vs LCD DisplayBack to Top
We see lately that the displays are named as LCD and LED, but actually there are all LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) displays. So we begin with this idea to explain the differences between these display types.
Single and dual backlights use CCFL (fluorescent bulb) to light up the image and require an inverter to power up. LED backlight doesn't require an inverter and uses light-emitting diodes as a source of light.
On the picture we have one ccfl lamp.
The LED displays are the same as the CCLF LCD, but here the backlight is a series of white LED diodes instead of the CCFL lamps. The main advantage of this types of displays is that here there is no need of inverter because the LED diodes work on low voltage. Also, the power dissipation of this type of displays is very low.
Next we goanna see the difference in the design of this display types.
On the next picture is shown CCFL LCD display.
As we see from the picture, the electronic board is on the top side of the display. With “Data” is assigned the connector where we attach the flat cable. With “High Voltage” we assign the jack that we connect to the output of the inverter.
On the next picture is shown LED LCD display.
As we see from the picture the electronic board at this display in on the bottom. There is only one connector, assigned with “Data” on the picture, but actually with the same cable is distributed also the power supply voltage for the LED diodes. | <urn:uuid:30368612-f0db-47cf-b881-fcd7dc632b84> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://stores.ebay.com/ScreenAid/CSP3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929947 | 2,222 | 1.84375 | 2 |
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Airman Makes Good on Promise
Discussion Board on this Respect item
By John Ingle / 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, Aug. 5, 2004 — Airman Diana Herbert's reason for serving in the Air Force is simple. She made a promise.
She did not seek or want the attention she is getting, but that does not change the enormity of her promise to her brother, Army Pfc. Rayshawn Johnson.
Herbert, 18, fulfilled her pledge July 28 when she graduated from the aircraft fuels systems apprentice course here.
Johnson was not at the graduation ceremony. He was killed Nov. 3 in Tikrit, Iraq, when his Humvee hit a land mine. He was a combat engineer in the 299th Engineering Battalion, 4th Infantry Division.
"This was to fulfill a promise to my brother," she said.
Herbert said she had visited with a recruiter in Brooklyn, N.Y., weeks before her brother's death. She had even taken the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test and was waiting to learn when she would enter.
Her brother had spoken with her about how the Army had changed his life and how it could change hers. It would be a change that would take her from the foster family system in New York that she, Johnson, and their younger brother, Michael Johnson, had known for years.
She was returning from a movie when she saw Michael outside their home, crying.
"He never cries," she said, sensing something was not right.
That's when she heard about her brother's death.
"My first reaction was 'it's not true. Maybe it was someone else,'" she said. "He always protected me. I always relied on him."
Herbert said the news of her brother's death did not really hit home until about a week afterward when she and Michael received a letter from him.
"When my letter came ... my younger brother thought he was alive," she said.
Herbert struggled through the first weeks of basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, particularly when Taps would play. Her thoughts would immediately go to the day her family buried her brother.
As the days passed and she continued on to technical training here, she looked to her brother for strength and encouragement. "Anytime I feel I can't do anything, I think about him," she said. "It reminds me why I'm here, and makes me want to try harder."
The airman's next assignment is at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., where she will work on A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and C-130 Hercules.
There could be a sequel to this story of triumph over tragedy. Younger brother, Michael, is planning to join the Marines; another testament to the impact one person, one soldier, can have on someone else. | <urn:uuid:f9c5750f-fb9c-42d5-abf7-b835072d18f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.strategypage.com/respect/articles/military_2004814.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986072 | 629 | 1.554688 | 2 |
I heard it said again: “I am not one of those with celiac disease, but I quit eating gluten and now I feel so much better.”
This time the words came from one of my more sensible, logical friends, an attorney who often calls for her friends to notch it down, chill out or practice “this, too, shall pass.”
Tracy is the last person I suspected would surrender to the “no gluten” movement. She’s doing it as part of an 80/20 commitment toward better nutrition.
She said giving up grain in the morning was tough – as tough as getting rid of the coffee pot.
Does she drink coffee? Yes, but only one cup a day.
Does she eat bread? Yes, but only if there is absolutely no other food choice at a meal – maybe a couple times a month.
Out went the last of the processed foods from her family’s food pantry. With her exercise regimen are shakes made of things never meant to be blended, I told her.
That’s OK. She wasn’t going to get kale down her throat any other way, she admitted.
We stopped short of discussing the big buzz among foodies across the nation: Stanford’s organic vs. conventionally grown study, released several weeks ago. Bottom line? Organically grown is no more nutritional than conventionally grown, when it comes to fruits and vegetables.
I can’t recall how many newspaper accounts I’ve read of that study which noted that organics have lower pesticide levels, but little else. The same study noted that pesticide levels in conventionally grown were still significantly lower than the EPA standard for safe consumption. The most important predictor of high nutritional value has to do with the time it takes to get the food from the field to the table.
That makes sense to me.
It’s what you learn in Nutrition 101. Vitamin content diminishes the more time you fiddle with fresh – whether it’s because the spinach is immersed in boiling water or it’s sitting in a box under the grocery store’s produce shelf.
Tracy, a Wyoming farmer’s daughter who, in her youth, routinely tucked away money earned working a roadside corn stand each summer, always maintained that science would eventually expose the “eat only organic” movement as just another successful marketing coup.
I need to have that conversation with this political moderate who practices a modified Paleo diet and a commitment to good eating, daily exercise and as little drama as possible. | <urn:uuid:1b277036-71f5-40d0-b12e-13d884410605> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20120927/BLOG03/120929642/0/SEARCH/Moderation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965855 | 536 | 1.609375 | 2 |
In the case of Aloeboetoe et al,
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, composed of the following judges:
Hector Fix-Zamudio, President
Thomas Buergenthal, Judge
Rafael Nieto-Navia, Judge
Sonia Picado-Sotela, Judge
Julio A. Barberis, Judge
Antônio A. Cançado Trindade, ad hoc judge;
Manuel E. Ventura-Robles, Secretary and
Ana Maria Reina, Deputy Secretary
delivers the following judgement pursuant to Articles 44( 1 ) and 45 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court in force for matters submitted to it prior to July 31, 1991 ( hereinafter " the Rules " ) in the instant case submitted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against the Republic of Suriname ( hereinafter " the Government " or " Suriname " ).
1. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ( hereinafter " the Commission " ) submitted the instant case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ( hereinafter " the Court " ) on August 27, 1990. It originated in a petition ( No. 10.150 ) against Suriname, which the Secretariat of the Commission received on January 15, 1988.
2. In filing the application with the Court, the Commission invoked Articles 51 and 61 of the American Convention on Human Rights ( hereinafter " the Convention " or " the American Convention " ) and Article 50 of its Regulations, and requested that the Court determine whether the State in question had violated Articles 1 ( Obligation to Respect Rights ), 2 ( Domestic Legal Effects ), 4 ( Right to Life ), 5 ( Right to Humane Treatment ), 7 ( Right to Personal Liberty ) and 25 ( Right to Judicial Protection ) of the Convention, to the detriment of Messrs. Daison Aloeboetoe, Dedemanu Aloeboetoe, Mikuwendje Aloeboetoe, John Amoida, Richenel Voola ( alias Aside ), Martin Indisie Banai and Beri Tiopo. The Commission also asked the Court " to adjudicate this case in accordance with the terms of the Convention, and to fix responsibility for the violation described herein and award just compensation to the victims next of kin. " It appointed the following Delegates to represent it in this matter: Oliver H. Jackman, Member; Edith Marquez-Rodríguez, Executive Secretary; and David J. Padilla, Assistant Executive Secretary.
3. On September 17, 1990, the Secretariat of the Court transmitted the application and its attachments to the Government.
4. By fax of November 6, 1990, the Government of Suriname appointed Lic. Carlos Vargas-Pizarro, of San Jose, Costa Rica, as its Agent.
5. By Order of November 12, 1990, the President of the Court, in agreement with the Agent of Suriname and the Delegates of the Commission and in consultation with the Permanent Commission of the Court, set March 29, 1991, as the deadline for the Commission's submission of the memorial provided for in Article 29 of the Rules and June 28, 1991, as the deadline for submission by the Government of the counter-memorial provided for in that same article.
6. By note of November 12, 1990, the President asked the Government to appoint an ad hoc judge for this case. In a communication dated December 13, 1990, the Agent informed the Court that the Government had named Professor Antônio A. Cançado Trindade of Brasilia, Brazil, to that position.
7. By note of February 7, 1991, the Commission appointed Professor Claudio Grossman to serve as its legal adviser in this case.
8. The Commission submitted its memorial on April 1, 1991, and the Court received the counter-memorial of Suriname on June 28 of that same year. Together with the counter-memorial, the Government interposed its preliminary objections.
9. By Order of August 3, 1991, the President directed that a public hearing be convened on December 2, 1991, at 15:00 hours, at the seat of the Court, for the presentation of oral arguments on the preliminary objections. At the request of the Government, the Order also subpoenaed the following witnesses to testify on the preliminary objections A. Freitas, Military Auditor of the Government of Suriname, and Darius Stanley, investigator of the Department of Investigations of the Military Police of Suriname. The Government subsequently waived the right to have these persons appear as witnesses. In a communication dated November 28, 1991, the Agent informed the Court that Messrs. Ramón de Freitas, Albert Vrede and Fred M. Reid would appear " as members of the delegation of Suriname " and identified them as Attorney General of the Republic of Suriname, pathologist and expert, and Third ( Embassy ) Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Suriname, respectively.
10. The public hearing was held at the seat of the Court on December 2, 1991.
There appeared before the Court for the Government of Suriname:
Carlos Vargas-Pizarro, Agent
Ramón de Freitas
Fred M. Reid;
for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights:
Oliver H. Jackman, Delegate
David J. Padilla, Delegate.
Although the hearing was convened for the purpose of dealing with the preliminary objections, the Government used it to accept responsibility for the events giving rise to the instant case ( infra 22 ).
11. The petition filed with the Commission on January 15, 1988, indicates that the events reported occurred in Atjoni ( landing stage of the village of Pokigron, District of Sipaliwini ) and in Tjongalangapassi, off kilometer 30 in the District of Brokopondo. In Atjoni, more than 20 male, unarmed maroons ( bushnegroes ) were beaten with rifle-butts by soldiers who had detained them under suspicion that they were members of the Jungle Commando. Some of them were seriously wounded with bayonets and knives. They were forced to lie face-down on the ground while the soldiers stepped on their backs and urinated on them.
12. According to the petition, these events occurred in the presence of some 50 persons. Both victims and witnesses came from Paramaribo. In order to return to their village, they had to pass through Atjoni. All of them denied that they belonged to the Jungle Commando. The Captain of the village of Gujaba made a point of telling Commander Leeflang of the Army that the persons in question were civilians from several different villages. Commander Leeflang ignored this information.
13. After the events at Atjoni, the soldiers allowed some of the maroons to continue on their way. However, seven of them, including a 15-year old boy, were blindfolded and dragged into a military vehicle and driven towards Paramaribo along the Tjongalangapassi road. Before leaving, a soldier declared that they would celebrate the end of the year with them. The names of the persons taken away in the military vehicle, their place of origin and birth dates ( in some cases ) are as follows: Daison Aloeboetoe, of Gujaba, born on June 7, 1960; Dedemanu Aloeboetoe, of Gujaba; Mikuwendje Aloeboetoe, of Gujaba, born on February 4, 1973; John Amoida, of Asindonhopo ( resident of Gujaba ); Richenel Voola, alias Aside or Ameikanbuka, of Grantatai ( found alive ); Martin Indisie Banai, of Gujaba, born on June 3, 1955; and Beri Tiopo, of Gujaba.
14. The petition goes on to state that the vehicle stopped on reaching kilometer 30 and that the soldiers ordered the victims to get out. Those who did not were forcibly dragged out. They were given a spade and ordered to begin digging a short distance away from the road. When one of the victims asked what they were digging for, one of the soldiers answered that they were going to plant sugar cane and another repeated that they would be celebrating the end of the year with them. Aside tried to escape. They shot at him and he fell to the ground, wounded, but they did not go after him. A little later, shooting and screaming were heard. The other six maroons were killed.
15. On Saturday, January 2, 1988, men from Gujaba and Grantatai took the road to Paramaribo in order to demand information from the authorities about the seven victims. When they reached Paramaribo, nobody was able to tell them the whereabouts of the victims. While in Paramaribo, they met with Orna Albitrouw ( Coordinator of the Interior at Volksmobilisatie ) and with the Military Police of Fort Zeeland, where they tried to see Vaandrig Achong, the Head of S-2. On Monday, January 4, they returned to the Tjongalanga area. When they came to kilometer 30 at 7 p.m., they found Aside, who was seriously wounded and in critical condition, as well as the bodies of the other victims. Aside, who had a bullet embedded in the muscle above his right knee, stated that he was the only survivor of the massacre, the victims of which had already been partially devoured by vultures. Aside's wound was infested with maggots, and an " X " had been carved into his right shoulder blade. The group returned to Paramaribo. The representative of the International Red Cross obtained a permit to evacuate Mr. Aside after negotiating with the authorities for 24 hours. He was admitted to the Academic Hospital of Paramaribo on January 6, 1988. Despite the care provided, however, he died some days later. On January 8 and 9, the Military Police prevented Aside's relatives from visiting him in the hospital. It was not until January 6 that the next of kin of the other victims received permission to bury them.
16. The petition is signed by Stanley Rensch. He avers that he spoke twice with Aside about the events reported and that Aside's version of the events coincides with that provided by more than 15 persons, among them eyewitnesses and participants in the search.
17. On February 1, 1988, the Commission opened case No. 10.150 and processed it through May 15,1990. On that date, invoking Article 50 of the Convention, it drew up Report NO. 03/90 in which it resolved the following:
"1. To admit the present case.
2. To declare that the parties have been unable to achieve a friendly settlement.
3. To declare that the Government of Suriname has failed to fulfill its obligations to respect the rights and freedoms contained in the American Convention on Human Rights and to assure their enjoyment as provided for in Articles 1 and 2 of the same instrument.
4. To declare that the Government of Suriname violated the human rights of the subjects of this case as provided for by Articles 1, 2, 4( 1 ), 5( 1 ), 5( 2 ), 7( 1 ), 7( 2 ), 7( 3 ), 25( 1 ), and 25( 2 ) of the American Convention on Human Rights.
5. To recommend to the Government of Suriname that it take the following measures:
a. Give effect to Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention by assuring respect for and enjoyment of the rights contained therein;
b. Investigate the violations that occurred in this case and try and punish those responsible for their occurrence;
c. Take necessary measures to avoid their reoccurrence;
d. Pay a just compensation to the victims next of kin.
6. To transmit this report to the Government of Suriname and to provide the Government with 90 days to implement the recommendations contained herein. The 90 day period shall begin as of the date this report is sent. During the 90 days in question the Government may not publish this report, in keeping with Article 47( 6 ) of the Commission's Regulations.
7. To submit this case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the event that the Government of Suriname should fail to implement all of the recommendations contained in numeral 5 above."
18. On August 27, 1990, the Commission referred the instant case to the Court.
19. The Court has jurisdiction to hear the instant case. Suriname has been a State Party to the Convention since November 12, 1987, when it also recognized the contentious jurisdiction of the Court pursuant to Article 62 of the Convention.
20. In its memorial, the Commission requested the following:
"That the Honorable Court find the State of Suriname responsible for the deaths of Messrs. Aloeboetoe, Daison; Aloeboetoe, Dedemanu; Aloeboetoe, Mikuwendje; Amoida, John; Voola, Richenel, alias Aside [or] Ameikanbuka ( found alive ); Banai, Martin Indisie, and Tiopo, Beri, while in detention, and hold that these deaths violate Articles 1( 1 ) ( 2 ), 4( 1 ), 5( 1 ) ( 2 ), 7( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) and 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights.
That the Court find that Suriname must pay adequate reparation to the victims next of kin and, consequently, order the following: payment of indemnization for indirect damages and loss of earnings; reparation for moral damages, including the payment of compensation and adoption of measures to restore the good name of the victims; and the investigation of the crime committed, with due punishment for those found to be guilty.
That the Court order Suriname to pay for the costs incurred by the Commission and the victims in the instant case."
21. The counter-memorial presented by Suriname requested the Court to declare that:
"1.-Suriname cannot be held responsible for the disappearance and death of the persons named by the Commission.
2.-In view of the fact that it has not been proved that the violation attributed to Suriname was committed, Suriname should not have to pay compensation of any type whatsoever for the death and disappearance of the persons listed in the Commission's report.
3.-Suriname be exempted from the payment of costs in the instant case, since its responsibility for the executions attributed to it has not been demonstrated.
22. At the hearing, convened on December 2, 1991, for the purpose of dealing with the preliminary objections ( supra 10 ), the Agent of Suriname declared that " the Republic of Suriname, having reference to the first case being considered in the proceedings now before the Court, accepts responsibility for the consequences of the Pokigron case, better known as Aloeboetoe et al " He later added: " I simply wish to reiterate[that Suriname] accepts its responsibility in the instant case. " Following a request for clarification by the Commission's Delegate, Mr. Jackman, the Agent for Suriname subsequently explained: " I believe my statement was clear: it accepts responsibility. Consequently, the Court has the right to close the case, file it, determine the compensation payable or do whatever is appropriate under the law" .
23. In view of the fact that the Government of Suriname has acknowledged its responsibility, the Court holds that the dispute concerning the facts giving rise to the instant case has now been concluded. As a result, all that remains is for the Court to decide on reparations and court costs.
1. Notes the admission of responsibility proffered by the Republic of Suriname and finds that the dispute relating to the facts giving rise to the instant case has now been concluded.
2. Decides to retain the case on its docket in order to fix reparations and costs.
Done in Spanish and English, the Spanish text being authentic, at the seat of the Court in San Jose, Costa Rica, this fourth day of December, ( 1991. )
Rafael Nieto Navia
Julio A. Barberis
Antônio A. Cançado Trindade
Manuel E. Ventura-Robles
Read at the public hearing held at the seat of the Court in San Jose, Costa Rica, on December 6, 1991.
Manuel E Ventura-Robles
Home / Treaties / Search / Links | <urn:uuid:e50a2ca9-e266-4831-9ba9-a6430d62259e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/iachr/b_11_15a.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95605 | 3,475 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Automakers get fuel rule help from local steel
ArcelorMittal's lighter product matches stringent efficiency law
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal and United Steelworkers Local 979 both have high hopes for 2013, thanks to a new type of steel that they'll be producing specifically for the nation's automakers.
“I'm feeling pretty good,” said Mark Granakis, president of Local 979, in discussing the new product that will be made at the plant manned by his union members on Cleveland's near West Side.
It isn't the continued rebound of the automotive industry that has Mr. Granakis and the company so optimistic, though they say that's a huge plus as well. It's because automakers soon will need to lighten their vehicles in order to meet new, higher federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, commonly referred to as CAFE standards. Chain reaction
Thanks to recent investments in its Cleveland Works, ArcelorMittal says it will be able to make a new type of steel in the first quarter of 2013. The metal will be lighter and stronger than the steel the plant currently makes and which automakers stamp into car hoods, doors and other large stamped pieces. It also will be lighter and stronger than competitors' products, according to the company.
“It's definitely CAFE standard-driven,” said Mark Kovach, ArcelorMittal's Cleveland division manager. “By 2025, it's on the books that the average car will have to get 54 mpg. In order for us to get to 54 mpg, a couple of things have to happen — you have to lighten the weight of the car and change the powertrain. Where we come in is in lightening the weight of the car.”
Steel often has competed with other materials, such as plastics and composites, as automakers have sought to make more components out of lighter materials. That's not new, and the plastics industry expects that trend to continue, to its benefit.
But not all that is automotive can be plastic, because plastic can't be easily stamped the way steel can and it does not generally have steel's toughness, which is important in many automotive uses. So, ArcelorMittal wants to bring to market a product that is still steel, with all its benefits, but a lighter steel than currently is available.
And not just a little lighter, either.
“Twenty five percent (lighter) is the number we're putting out there,” said Blake Zuidema, ArcelorMittal's director of automotive product applications in Southfield, Mich.
That reduction means the weight of the body panels that typically make up about one-third of a vehicle's weight can be reduced by one-fourth. But, just as importantly, it means many other parts of the vehicle can be made lighter in turn, Mr. Zuidema said — something called “secondary mass decompounding” in the auto industry. Happy union boss
The industry phrase means that, because the vehicle itself now is lighter, it requires less power to make it go and less braking power to make it stop.
As a result, engines, transmissions, brake systems and other components can be downsized and made lighter as well.
If all goes as planned, Arcelor-Mittal's new steel not only will sell well for traditional uses, but also could compete with other materials that once beat out steel because of their lighter weight, Mr. Zuidema said.
The new steel is the result of tens of millions of dollars of investment into the Cleveland Works by ArcelorMittal over the last few years. It is the result of metallurgy that produces a lighter, stronger alloy, combined with new heat-treating and galvanizing lines installed at the plant, Mr. Zuidema said.
It's too early to say how well the product will sell, but if ArcelorMittal's claims are accurate, the lighter steel has a chance of being an important new product for automakers, said Ed Gonzalez, owner of Cleveland-based Ferragon Corp. As a steel toll processor, Mr. Gonzalez's' company treats and cuts steel for customers ranging from steel mills to end users, including some in the automotive industry, where he said lighter is almost always better.
“If they can make something lighter and stronger, that's what automakers need,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “That's a great thing for Cleveland.”
On top of the weight savings, ArcelorMittal has another selling point for its new steel — it can produce more parts per ton. That's because steel is sold by the ton and shipped in rolled coils. Because ArcelorMittal's new steel can be rolled thinner while possessing the same strength as older, thicker steel, more car doors, hoods and other parts can be stamped from each coil, Mr. Kovach said.
The Steelworkers' Mr. Granakis is happy because the new steel should mean job security for his more than 1,100 members who work in the Cleveland mill.
The union does not expect the mill to hire more people; it's pretty much at full staff and, with each ton of steel only requiring one man-hour of labor, the Cleveland Works is one of the most efficient plants in the world.
However, the product should keep the plant busy and should help avoid slowdowns and layoffs in the future, Mr. Granakis predicts. | <urn:uuid:f7962563-4076-438d-91ad-62d3c540192c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20130107/SUB1/301079998/1003/MAN | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961303 | 1,126 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Anywhere people work together conflict is inevitable. As a manager you must work to promote healthy associate relationships and deal with conflict in a constructive manner. Harassment in the workplace is a serious issue every manager should educate themselves on. Sooner or later you will deal with it.
Sometimes what starts as poking fun or seemingly innocent banter between associates can grow into a conflict. Words are exchanged, perhaps provocations occur. Now as a manager you are faced with dealing with harassment in the workplace.
What is Harassment?
So what constitutes harassment? Harassment is any improper conduct by an individual, that is directed at and offensive to another person or persons in the workplace, and that the individual knew or ought reasonably to have known would cause offence or harm. It comprises any objectionable act, comment or display that demeans, belittles, or causes personal humiliation or embarrassment, and any act of intimidation or threat.
- Serious or repeated rude, degrading, or offensive remarks such as teasing about a person’s physical characteristics or appearance, put-downs or insults.
- Displaying sexist, racist or other offensive pictures, posters, or sending e-mails containing such material.
- Repeatedly singling out an employee for meaningless or dirty jobs that are not part of their normal duties.
- Threats, intimidation or retaliation against an employee, including one who has expressed concerns about perceived unethical or illegal workplace behaviors.
- Unwelcome social invitations, with sexual overtones or flirting, with a subordinate.
- Unwelcome sexual advances.
Often the person being harassed does not say anything. They may laugh at a joke or act as if what is said or done does not bother them, when in fact it does. Over time the toll this takes on an associate builds. They may begin performing poorly at their job. They may start calling in sick or being late for work. In their mind the workplace has become something they dread or want to avoid.
In this manner you may think you are dealing with a performance issue, when in fact the root cause is the associate feels they are being harassed. As with any performance issue you should sit down in private and discuss the issue. As part of any performance issue you should throw out the question if they have an issues with their co-workers.
Proactive Harassment Prevention
The best approach to preventing harassment in the workplace is to be proactive. Don’t wait until an incident occurs. Make sure all associates are well aware of company policies and federal laws. Many associates may not realize what they are doing can be considered harassment.
When you hear about or notice behavior that could be seen as harassment hold a meeting with all associates. Do not single out an instance or a person, but merely read relevant parts of your harassment policy. This act alone will usually stop such behavior. Associates will know you are aware and that you take such behavior seriously.
When an off-color or disparaging remark is made by an associate address it by telling them that is not appropriate in the workplace. If it continues have a private discussion with the associate about the harassment policy and let them know you have zero tolerance for such behavior.
The root of harassment is a lack of respect. One of the best ways to promote respect among associates is to set a good example and promote professionalism. While you may not be able to change the views or opinions of others, you can demand that they be kept out of the workplace.
What to Do When Harassment Occurs
Never ignore a complaint about harassment. You could be held liable for not taking prompt action. Don’t think the problem will just go away. Harassment must be dealt with immediately to protect yourself, the company and the workplace environment.
- When someone comes to you with a complaint about harassment take the time right then to sit down with them and discuss the issue in private.
- Never address or speak with an associate about any claims of harassment in public. Take them to a private place where nobody can be seen or heard. If you have a supervisor or another manager you may want them to attend. A witness to a harassment discussion may be useful if down the road if what is discussed is disputed.
- Do not try and lead the discussion. Let the associate give a complete narrative of what happened and do not interrupt them.
- Take notes on everything the associate says, do not rely on your memory. Do not editorialize or otherwise add your own comments in the notes. They can become legal documents.
- When the associate is done look over your notes and look for holes in the details you need to fill in. Be careful in your questioning. You only want to ask questions that will fully document the incident. Thank them for coming to you and let them know the issue will be addressed. Tell them should any further harassment occur they should come to you immediately.
- If your company has a human resources department you should consult with them right away. They are the experts in the field and you should always take advantage of their expertise when dealing with harassment issues. | <urn:uuid:4923f7f2-1602-4a95-b599-6b611a48dc3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://itmanagersinbox.com/1493/dealing-with-harassment-and-discrimination-in-the-workplace/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959595 | 1,035 | 2.5 | 2 |
TOWIE girls watch out! Women who use nail varnish and hairspray 'may have higher risk of diabetes'
- Personal care products often contain phthalates, which can mimic human hormones
By Claire Bates
Towie star Sam Faiers: Fake tan, hairspray and perfume all contain phthalates
High-maintenance women who cover themselves in self-tan and hair spray may be at higher risk of developing diabetes, researchers say.
A team from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston said they had found a link between phthalates - a class of chemicals found in these products - and the metabolic disease.
They found that women who had the highest concentrations of the chemicals in their bodies had up to double the risk of developing diabetes compared to those with the lowest concentrations.
They also found a link between high concentrations of phthalates and insulin resistance among women - which is often a precursor to Type 2 diabetes.
Phthalates are a group of man-made chemicals found in a range of personal care products, including nail varnish, shampoos and soaps. They are also found in plastics and packaging. They can mimic the body's natural hormones.
The researchers analysed information from of 2,350 American women aged 20 to 80 who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2001 and 2008.
As part of the survey, participants underwent physical exams and provided urine samples and 217 reported having diabetes.
Women who had the highest levels of two chemicals - mono-benzyl phthalate and mono-isobutyl phthalate - in their urine samples were nearly twice as likely to have diabetes as women with the lowest levels of those chemicals, the study found.
People with diabetes must check their blood glucose levels regularly
Women with moderately high levels of the chemicals mono-n-butyl phthalate and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate had approximately a 70 per cent increased risk of diabetes. These findings held even when other risk-factors were taken into account, such as how many calories the women consumed.
However, the researchers said that their results were preliminary and other sources of phthalates exist outside of cosmetics.
What is more the study surveyed participants at only one point in time and so further research is required.
Writing in Environmental Health Perspectives, the researchers said it was possible that the chemicals increased the risk of diabetes indirectly by interfering with the metabolism of fat tissue, as this can lead to insulin resistance.
The latest study joins a growing body of research highlighting health concerns about phthalates.
Nail varnish: Dibutyl phthalate was banned from European cosmetics in 2003 but not in the U.S
Researchers from the Children's Environmental Health Center at The Mount Sinai Medical Center found a link between obesity in young children and exposure to phthalates. They said their study emphasised the importance of reducing exposure to the chemicals where possible. | <urn:uuid:048400da-34b2-4daa-8b24-166c6024c31b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2174191/Women-use-nail-varnish-hairspray-higher-risk-diabetes.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969654 | 619 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Way back in January I watched a Google tech talk video Lego Engineering: from kindergarten to college. The talk stresses the importance of teaching engineering in schools. A few days later at breakfast I started talking with my oldest daughter, Alexandria, about engineering and what it is that engineers do. I said that engineers use what they know about science and how things work to find solutions to challenges. I threw out a challenge as an example: Build the tallest possible tower that fits in our house and then build a robot to climb it. It was just an example but she got really excited about the idea. “Can we build it. Can we. Can we.” she said. I said “sure”.
In March I posted a preview of the robot with a picture and promises of more details to come. Its taken me way to long to finally write it up. The robot has been done since May and has made a dozen or so ascents. Making the video is what caused the delay.
Here is what I remember of the process.
I asked Alexandria what the tower should be made of and where is the tallest place in the house. Wood and K’NEX were the candidate tower materials. We had just gotten some K’NEX for Christmas so that seemed like the more interesting choice. We measured a few places in the house and found that the tallest possible place was the stairs that went from the basement to the second floor but in at least one spot it would be too narrow for a robot. The second tallest place has a ceiling fan in the way. That left the play room which has a sloped ceiling just over 11ft at its highest. We have a large Lego collection including the RCX so it was clear that the robot would be made out of Legos.
One weekend morning Alexandria and I set out to build the tower. We were both new to K’NEX so we started by just playing around with different ways of connecting them. We each came up with a tower design. Alexandria’s was stronger (and looked cooler) but used more pieces. We decided to go with her design after removing some parts to conserve materials without reducing the strength. In the end we ran out of some parts so we switched to a simpler design that used parts that we still had plenty of for the top of the tower. The total height of the tower is 10ft 9in (3.28 meters). The tower has a ladder built into one of its faces for the future robot to climb.
Later, my other daughter, Isabella, helped build the tower base out of wood. She cut strips of wood and screwed them to a piece of scrap plywood to hold the tower steady as the robot climbed. There are no guy wires or anything else holding the tower steady.
With the tower complete it was time to work on the robot. I knew that this would be much more challenging than the tower but I still wanted to involve the kids as much as possible. We talked about how design ideas can come from watching other things work including nature. We acted out how people climb ladders and modeled the motion of a simple arm with Legos. I played a little with a motorized elbow and shoulder but quickly realized that it would end up being too heavy, not strong enough and use more motors than the Lego RCX can control (it has a maximum of three outputs).
I switched to a design that used rack gears to move an arm up and down. A quick test showed that driving the rack gear directly from the motor would not have enough power to lift the robot. Gear reduction would be needed. This was a good opportunity to demonstrate to the kids how you can trade speed for power with different size gears.
The robot has two climbing arms. The left and right sides are mirror images so Alexandria and I built one side each in parallel. At this point we had a good motorized climbing mechanism with switches so that the robot controller would know when the arms were at their farthest extent either up or down. It used two motors and two switches. The arms had enough reach for the ladder rung spacing but how it would grab and release was still an unsolved problem and turned out to be one of the hardest.
I used a section of the tower ladder for testing out various designs for how the robot arms would grab and release. The general principals were fairly simple. It needed a pivot and a curved or angled piece to move the hook out of the way as the arm moved up past the next rung. It would then need to snap back into place so the hook could engage the rung as the arm moved down. Selecting just the right combination of pieces that would work with the K’NEX ladder design was very challenging. I worked on this many nights without finding a solution that I thought would be robust enough.
I stopped working on it for a while and it might have become another uncompleted project if Alexandria hadn’t reminded us to get back to work on it. I finally came up with a design for the grabbing hook. The blue curved part and the pivot point near the rack gear allows the hook to move out of the way as it slides past the ladder rungs. Then a rubber band snaps the hook back into place. The black piece sticking up contacts a switch on the down stroke.
Deciding where to place the RCX programmable brick was a challenge. Putting it on top of the motors would move the center of mass too far way from the ladder, which would make it difficult for the hooks to grab on. This lead to the hinged design that allowed the robot to drive up to the tower then fold flat and hang down as the robot climbed.
Here is the first version of the climbing robot:
With the mechanics working it was time to start programming. I like to use the text based NQC language for programming the RCX rather than the Lego Mindstorms picture based language. It is also easier to setup and use on Linux.
To get the kids involved we did the exercise described in the Lego Engineering video. We built a simple car and measured how far it went when the motor was turned on for one second. Then we placed a Lego minifig 4 feet from the starting line. The challenge was to figure out how long to run the motor so that the car would come as close as possible to the minifig without running it over. We had a lot of fun doing this. However, I bet it wasn’t so fun for the minfigs that got run over.
The program moves each climbing arm independently. There are two switches for the arms: one detects when either of the arms is all the way down and the other detects when either arm is all the way up. Because the switches are shared by both arms the program must keep track of which direction the arms are moving. If both arms are ever both up or both down there will be problems. The program counts each arm stroke and displays the count on the RCX display. It also makes a beep sound on each stroke. This beep turned out to be helpful during video editing. At start up it goes through a test cycle to make sure each arm can move all the way up and down. If something goes wrong during the startup tests it will play an alert sound and end — better to find a problem before it starts to climb.
While testing it became clear that more gear reduction was needed. As soon as the batteries lost more than one tenth of a volt the robot would start having trouble climbing. I added a battery voltage test at startup so it won’t climb if the battery is low.
Using what was learned I redesigned the robot. The gear ratio was 8 to 40 before and I added another 8 to 40. This gave a great deal of torque (and also means the robot climbs much slower). I found that if the switch or program was even a little delayed at turning off the motor it would rip the robot apart. So I did more redesign to make the switch contacts more robust and the overall structure stronger.
The original challenge had nothing to say about how the robot would get down or if it even would. There were plenty of details to work out just to get it to climb up but the getting down problem was in the back of my mind the whole time. While working on the hooks the general idea came to me that rubber bands would be used to pull the hooks away from the rungs while the arm moved down. The tricky part is that the same rubber bands would have to be slack on the way up. I came up with a passive mechanical design where a bar across the top of the tower would trip a lever as the robot climbed past it. This would tension the rubber bands. The lever is designed with another rubber band so that it snaps into either the up or down position and won’t stay in between. This mechanism was in the first version of the robot but it was never tested (since the robot had trouble getting to the top). This too was improved in the second version.
Here is what the second version of the robot looks like:
The climbing direction lever can be seen in the climb-up position. You can also tell that the motor was reversed and the extra gears added to the outside. This allowed for the extra gears to fit in a very small space. Climbing down requires a different algorithm than climbing up. A switch is used to detect when the lever is in the down position. Even with the switch I consider it a passive design because no motor is used to change the mechanical configuration. When the robot reaches the bottom the folding action causes the lever to move part way up (releasing the switch). This is how the program detects when it is all the way down. When testing the robot would sometimes stop halfway down. The reason was that any small movement of the lever could release pressure on the switch. Given the sensitivity of the switch and the delicate balance of the rubber bands the problem was best solved in software. The program requires that the switch be off for two full cycles before ending. This is why it keeps climbing for a moment when it is at the bottom.
This project marks the first time that I used Lego modeling software. While redesigning between the first and second versions I wanted to remember the way it was in case I needed to go back. I had wanted to try modeling software for a while. On my previous Lego video I got some requests for how it was made. This time I have a model to share (see below for the link). The software I used is MLCAD (under Wine), and LDView. This site is required reading for getting this stuff running on Linux. I installed LeoCAD also but in the end preferred MLCAD. I even installed Lego Digital Designer (again using Wine) but this official program does not have very many parts and is not as powerful as the others (it looks and feels like a toy). Note: I had to turn off Compiz for LDView to work (Ubuntu 8.04).
Isabella and I built the cockpit together and Isabella made the minifig pilots.
The robot had one more problem. At the very end when the wheels would first touch the ground the robot would fall over backwards. The reason was that the car wouldn’t fold back up. I tried adjusting the car so that it stayed partially folded (like a hockey stick rather than a straight line) but this moved the center of mass so that the hooks wouldn’t grab reliably. It took me a long time to figure out a solution. After considering all kinds of ideas that would require an extra motor the simple solution can be seen in the last picture. To wheels sticking out the back of the cockpit would hit the ground first and start the car folding.
So now its May and the robot is done. It’s final weight is 900 grams (32 ounces). It climbs up and down flawlessly. A number of visitors get to see it but the project was always intended to include a video to share on YouTube. Here again the project stalls until November.
The last time I edited a video was back when I was running Windows 2000. I used Adobe Premiere 6 and After Effects. Linux doesn’t have as many video editing options as Windows. One program that I saw mentioned a number of times is Cinelerra. Unfortunately it consistently crashed after a few seconds of playing any video I loaded from my Camera. (The camera is a SANYO xacti.) I also found the Cinelerra documentation to be very poor. While looking for another program I found a forum where people were voting for their favorite Linux video editor program. Someone asked why Blender wasn’t on the list. The response: its a 3D modeling program. There were a number of follow ups explaining that while it is a 3D modeling program it also includes a very good video editor. There was something about the responses that made me want to try it. Blender is open source and cross platform, which is great. The documentation is good and the community seems very active. There are many tutorials. The down side is that it has a steep learning curve. When you first start it up it is difficult to even find the video editor. Because of the quality documentation and tutorials I kept at it. It took several hours to get used to the program but the whole time I had the feeling that the effort was worth it – that knowing this software would be useful. I’m very happy with Blender. I found that it can do all the things that I had previously done with the Adobe products.
I shot a bunch of views of the robot and the tower. Then two complete runs up and down the tower. Each run was a continuous shot. I did two runs so that I could cut between them to get views from different angles. The beep the robot makes at the end of each stroke, while not intended for this purpose, helped me to sync cuts between the two shots.
The music for the video is from the Nine Inch Nails album Ghosts I-IV, which has a Creative Commons license. (How cool is that?)
The model is available as a zipped LDraw format (.mpd) file here. The model isn’t 100% identical to the final robot. In some cases the part library didn’t have the exact part I used. Some details such as the rubber band connectors were left off. You can compare with the video and pictures above. The model is organized into sub models and includes some steps. It is provided as-is with no warranty. It was never tested by building the robot from scratch. The NQC program source is also provided as-is with no warranty. Here is a direct link to the YouTube video “Lego Robot Climbs K’NEX Tower”
We hope you enjoy the video. | <urn:uuid:41fc9ee8-4321-4486-b0c3-da51c80e0041> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hardlikesoftware.com/weblog/2009/11/14/lego-climbing-robot/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976751 | 3,055 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Citizenship: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
Interest in citizenship has never been higher. But what does it mean to be a citizen in a modern, complex community? Richard Bellamy approaches the subject of citizenship from a political perspective and, in clear and accessible language, addresses the complexities behind this highly topical issue. - ;Interest in citizenship has never been higher. But what does it mean to be a citizen of a modern, complex community? Why is citizenship important? Can we create citizenship, and can we test for it?. In this fascinating Very Short Introduction , Richard Bellamy explores the answers to these questions and more in a clear and accessible way. He approaches the subject from a political perspective, to address the complexities behind the major topical issues. Discussing the main models of citizenship, exploring how ideas of citizenship have changed through time from ancient Greece to the present, and examining notions of rights and democracy, he reveals the irreducibly. political nature of citizenship today. - ;Citizenship is a vast subject for a short introduction, but Richard Bellamy has risen to the challenge with aplomb. - Mark Garnett, TLS;[Bellamy] advances a distinct and provocative view of citizenship. - Mark Garnett, TLS;One can only hope that well-argued...tracts like this will remind govenments and voters that citizenship involves duties as well as rights. - Mark Garnett, TLS
Great little intro
By Almelle - November 15, 2009
This is a great little introduction for students and other curious people on what modern citizenship is, where it came from, and how its meaning have changed in response to globalism and multiculturalism.
Bellamy starts by discussing the Greek participatory model of citizenship, and the Roman model of rights-based membership in an empire. He outlines the effects of race, ethnicity, and gender on membership and belonging, and discusses the tensions between the idea of universal human rights and the necessary local level of enforcement by sovereign states.
Last, he suggests the need for a more participation-based model of democratic citizenship. This is a great foundation for further study and discussion.
A modern reflection on citizenship
By Dr. Bojan Tunguz - May 15, 2009
The problem of citizenship is as old as politics itself, since it deals with the most fundamental political question: who gets to participate in politics and to what extent. In fact, as this book shows, citizenship existed in many forms even before politics as we think of it did, and will likely outlive it. Richard Bellamy takes us through history of what citizenship meant in different cultures, and how different models of citizenship dominated under different political arrangements. He draws a distinction between ancient Greek participatory citizenship, in which all able-bodied citizens of the city-state were expected to participate in political affairs, and a more legal citizenship that was the predominant form in Roman state. In a more modern context, Bellamy does not advocate the dissemination and abandonment of nation-states, but recognizes their importance for the sake competitiveness between different political arrangements. He also stresses the importance of democracy for the... read more
Excellent primer on an important topic
By Thomas W. Sulcer - July 3, 2009
That the subject of citizenship, itself, might serve as a field of academic inquiry caught me by surprise. I think citizenship is vital for understanding our predicament in 21st century America. Unfortunately I didn't get time to finish reading this book so I feel constrained to give it five stars and comment on what I read (the first 50 pages) which was well-written, insightful, instructive. If and when I finish this book, I'll update this review.
Richard Bellamy sees three components to citizenship:
(1) membership -- who is a citizen? He thinks citizenship is linked with democracy, since democracies require broad acceptance, legitimacy, trust, and solidarity among citizens to function properly.
(2) rights -- I was somewhat confused about his sense of this term, but I like his idea that citizenship is a "right to have rights" although I think there's more to it than that. I have a sense of a right as a sphere of possible future action that others... read more
Readers searching for an antidote to heavy-going, complex and lengthy textbooks need look no longer. A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Studying Strategy is a welcoming, ...
It isn't every day a movie star steals your husband. When that day comes for Chiffon Butrell, of Cayboo Creek, South Carolina, she looks to the Bottom Dollar Girls to help her out of one fine mess. ... | <urn:uuid:f9b25f12-bc63-464b-be25-c8b6ecc58cb5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pdfcast.org/paid/9780192802538 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953465 | 954 | 2.375 | 2 |
Published: Friday, December 14, 2012, 12:01 a.m.
I am writing in response to the Dec. 3 letter, "Superficiality is our downfall
": I was reading and agreeing, and disagreeing, with many of the points of view the writer was expressing. When I read the words, "We believe..." it prompted me to write this letter. Being British by birth, and raised by British parents, I am hoping the writer is referring to the royal "we." Never having met the writer, not knowing his background, age or any bias he may hold, I would ask him or anyone writing a letter to the editor to consider using "I think," "I feel," or "It's my opinion" to express one's point of view.
The writer has the privilege to live in a nation where freedom and diversity are encouraged. Everyone has the right to disagree. When the behavior is disagreeable to me, I have the right to limit my exposure to the behavior and express my displeasure.Anna Y. PritchardArlington | <urn:uuid:79eb5bd8-23ad-42d1-b32d-cef22878a3ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20121214/OPINION02/712149943/0/Opinion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979663 | 218 | 1.820313 | 2 |
What recent event is going to be more defining for the Republican Party, Sen. Rob Portman’s about-face on gay marriage or the strident rhetoric of the Conservative Political Action Conference? The GOP ought to pray it’s the former and hope it keeps the party’s empathy gap from turning into the Grand Canyon.
Politicians shouldn’t have to be poor to understand what it’s like to be poor: to have no money for a doctor, the rent, tuition or even food; to understand how that hampers people’s ability to envision and move toward a better future; and to realize that making their lives more difficult isn’t the answer. They shouldn’t have to be sick, or have a sick child, to understand what it would be like to have no insurance or regular doctor. But too many Republicans apparently don't understand, to the detriment of their party and to their country as well.
There are stacks of speeches and policies, topped by the Paul Ryan budget and Mitt Romney’s 47 percent monologue, that suggest many Republicans are misreading the psychology and realities of poverty, the motivations of people who are trying to escape it, and the catalytic role government can play in nourishing productive citizens. They are looking at the safety net through the lens of people who have food, shelter, health insurance, a good education, a job, an American passport and a mom-dad-buddy-and-sis family, who have never been anything but blessed and mainstream in America.
Republicans don’t have to give up their principles or their critiques of federal safety-net programs, which could be streamlined and improved in many ways. But they should at least try to understand the lives of others and align their policies with reality. Here are five places to start:
- A compelling response to Romney’s 47-percent debacle by New York Times columnist David Brooks, a Republican. Brooks eviscerated what he characterized as Romney’s view that “people who are forced to make it on their own have drive. People who receive benefits have dependency.” “Middle-class parents don’t deprive their children of benefits so they can learn to struggle on their own. They shower benefits on their children to give them more opportunities,” he wrote. “People are motivated when they feel competent. They are motivated when they have more opportunities. Ambition is fired by possibility, not by deprivation.”
- “I Was a Welfare Mother,” an essay that Larkin Warren published in The New York Times last fall. As a young single mother relying on tuition and housing aid, Warren realized she’d have to quit school unless she applied for welfare and food stamps for herself and her son. It was, she says, a responsible decision. She graduated, got a job, remarried, and doesn’t apologize for taking the help. “My husband and I have paid big taxes and raised a hard-working son who pays a chunk of change as well,” she says. The gritty details – what led to her problems, why her family couldn’t help, the exact types of aid she received and how it all came together – are well worth reading.
- An equally gritty Washington Post story about the role of food stamps in holding up the economy of an entire town in Rhode Island. The piece makes clear that deep cuts in federal programs would create huge hardship, not just for individuals but for businesses. More important, it illuminates the life of a couple on food stamps. They are young, they are married, they have two children, and they work. But much like the hunter-gatherers of old, they spend nearly all their time making sure their family is fed – obsessively making lists, comparing prices, weighing the costs and benefits of lower prices versus a car trip across town. Their focus is on survival, not planning for a better future.
- Social science research on the consequences of “decision fatigue” – constant choices and tradeoffs that result in an erosion of willpower and self-discipline. “Decision fatigue helps explain why ordinarily sensible people get angry at colleagues and families, splurge on clothes, buy junk food at the supermarket and can’t resist the dealer’s offer to rustproof their new car,” John Tierney wrote in a fascinating New York Times magazine piece. Researchers, he said, believe it can help trap people in poverty: “Because their financial situation forces them to make so many tradeoffs, they have less willpower to devote to school, work and other activities that might get them into the middle class.”
- An ongoing study of the winners and losers in an Oregon lottery to expand Medicaid coverage. Findings so far suggest that people on Medicaid were more likely to visit a hospital, take medication, get preventive screenings and see a regular doctor. So yes, they cost the system money. They also reported themselves to be happier, healthier and more financially stable than those who did not receive Medicaid. I would argue that’s the more important outcome from the standpoints of both morality and productivity. However you feel about the much larger national expansion of Medicaid coming next year in the new health law, though, it’s probably not constructive for the GOP’s broader future to have South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on national TV at CPAC vowing that “we will not expand Medicaid. Ever.” She says her state takes care of its own, but more than 20 percent have no health insurance.
Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, is talking up a plan this week to rebuild the GOP. Its elements include fewer debates, a shorter primary season and a continuing presence in communities and on campuses. The idea is to publicize the party’s history and goals, become better known, minimize what Priebus calls intraparty "slicing and dicing," and thereby improve its brand. But none of that will help if most Republicans keep talking and acting as if people with problems are not their problem. | <urn:uuid:4be979ae-76f9-4f8f-9da1-d3272755fbd4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/how-to-shrink-the-dangerous-republican-empathy-gap-20130317 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970491 | 1,269 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The lack of effect of prophylactic vitamin C supplementation on the incidence of common cold in normal populations throws doubt on the utility of this wide practice. The clinical significance of the minor reduction in duration of common cold episodes experienced during prophylaxis is questionable, although the consistency of these findings points to a genuine biological effect.
In special circumstances, where people used prophylaxis prior to extreme physical exertion and/or exposure to significant cold stress, the collective evidence indicates that vitamin C supplementation may have a considerable beneficial effect; it was the results of one of these six trials, with schoolchildren in a skiing school [4
], that particularly impressed Pauling [1
]. However, great caution should be exercised in generalizing from this finding, which is based mainly on marathon runners.
No benefits have been observed from therapeutic use of doses totalling 10 g that was divided for the first three days of illness. The equivocal findings of the large study, which used 8 g only on the day of onset of respiratory symptoms [3
], are tantalising and deserve further assessment.
None of the therapeutic trials carried out so far has examined the effect of vitamin C on children, even though the prophylaxis trials have shown substantially greater effect on episode duration in children.
Study quality for the trials included in these three meta-analyses was variable, but sensitivity analysis, where we excluded studies from the analysis that were less adequately blinded or randomized, did not change the general conclusions of the Cochrane Review.
Future work on this topic should explore the value of high dose therapy—in particular, in children—and the mechanisms underlying the observed prophylaxis benefits in those exposed to substantial physical and/or cold stress. | <urn:uuid:188de099-bae6-4ea4-97a1-a765bf74bd15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC1160577/?lang=en-ca | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95168 | 353 | 2.765625 | 3 |
When four canoeists and a kayaker ventured down the South Branch of the Moose one spring day in 1991, passing through posted land, they sparked a legal battle that lasted eight years and ended in a victory for paddlers.
The Court of Appeals, the state’s highest tribunal, ruled that the common-law right of navigation embraces recreational canoeing. Two years later, the paddlers and the landowner, the Adirondack League Club, reached an agreement specifying when the public is allowed to paddle the South Branch.
But it wasn’t a total victory.
For one thing, the agreement says the river is open to the public only from May 1 to October 15 (or the opening of big-game season). But if a river is navigable in mid-April, why shouldn’t the public be allowed to paddle it? Can such an agreement between a landowner and private parties restrict the common law?
For another thing, little has happened to advance the cause of navigation rights since. Last spring, I paddled through posted land on Shingle Shanty Brook, a stream that connects two parcels of Forest Preserve in the Whitney Wilderness. I believe the public has a right to paddle this stream, but the landowners disagree. That there is still doubt about this, more than a decade later, shows that the Moose River decision was not as world-shaking as paddlers had hoped.
Finally—and this is less well known—the Moose River case put an end to legislative and regulatory efforts in Albany to clarify navigation rights.
Back in 1991, state legislators were pushing a bill that would have affirmed that paddlers have the right to travel on navigable rivers. At the same time, working on a parallel track, the state Department of Environmental Conservation was drafting departmental regulations with the identical purpose in mind.
The bill passed the Assembly, but apparently it was blocked in the upper chamber by Senator Ron Stafford, whose district included most of the Adirondacks. I’m told that Stafford was on the verge of coming around when the Moose River controversy erupted. Because of the lawsuit, the bill was shelved.
Similarly, DEC abruptly abandoned its effort to adopt regulations. The department had progressed so far in this initiative that it had drafted a news release.
What’s more interesting, DEC had prepared a draft list of 253 waterways throughout the state that it deemed navigable under the common law. Fifty-five of those rivers are in the Adirondacks.
You can read about this history in the May/June issue of the Adirondack Explorer. The story is available online here.
You also can see online the fifty-five Adirondack waterways on the department’s list. Keep in mind, however, that this was the draft of a preliminary list. If the list were subjected to public hearings, waterways may have been added or subtracted. That being said, it’s thought that most of the waterways on the list probably would have survived.
There is now a bill before the state legislature that would clarify the common law and authorize DEC to draft a new list of navigable waterways. Whether DEC would use that authority is questionable. The department may prefer to negotiate with landowners, as it is doing in the Shingle Shanty case. However it’s done, though, the public’s rights need to be clarified. The Moose River decision was not enough.
Photo of Shingle Shanty Brook by Phil Brown | <urn:uuid:f331f8e1-4a0d-4603-97c9-e04b3802d003> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2010/04/phil-brown-long-standstill-over-paddlers-rights.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969178 | 721 | 2.25 | 2 |
The Journey: From Kabul to Chicago
Every week I visit Sameer Shahab and his family, refugees from Afghanistan in their modest, basement apartment nestled within the side streets off of Devon, with it’s constant bustling of Muslim immigrants, bright lights, and the wafting of sweet Indian spices. As we sit down in their living room, he gently folds his hands in lap and tells me stories of his past life growing up in a war torn country. I wonder what else must be going through his head, just a month ago he was a translator for the U.S Army, putting his life at risk for his family while being hunted down by the Taliban.
“We were so scared, we didn’t know why someone would be throwing eggs at our window, we were just sitting in this room talking at night when it happened. We thought it was the Taliban, that they had followed us from Afghanistan” recalled Sameer father of two and husband. The weekend before Halloween, with the shouting kids, teenagers smashing pumpkins, throwing eggs and loud music had brought back fresh memories of life in war-torn Kabul.
Lucky for me, as a volunteer with Loyola Refugee Outreach, he invites me over once a week where I’m able to sit and talk with him, devour rich homemade Afghan meals prepared by his wife Shazia, play with his two young children Balal and Ayesha, and listen for endless hours of his journey from Kabul to Chicago; he wants me to write a book of his journey, as I’m one of the only American friends he has and humbles me by his faith in my writing.
According to Patrick Curran, who set me up as a volunteer with the Shahab family and Youth Refugee Worker at Catholic Charities, “The most common misconception around refugees is that people think they are helpless. Refugees are survivors. They escaped persecution based on their ethnicity, war or religion. They are not helpless people, they are just in an extremely vulnerable situation; it’s important to remember this distinction.”
Sam, the soldier
Sameer is not a typical refugee; he worked as a translator to the U.S Army for over 10 years, during the war, as an Afghan citizen. “ All of the American soldiers would call me Sam.” He recalls being trained as a soldier and interrogator for a division of soldiers from the Midwest area. He led them into many Taliban infested areas, putting his life at risk everyday for his family and freedom. He waited for over two years to have his green card processed so that way his family could flee the country and the risks they were exposed due to his involvement in the war against the Taliban.
“That is why we came here, we were not refugees like others, we were granted special permission because the Taliban was after me and my family for my work during the war” said the 27-year-old.
More than 30,000 Afghan citizens filed for political asylum abroad in 2011, according to UN statistics. This figure indicates a 25 percent increase over the same period in 2012.
In fact, the number of people fleeing Afghanistan has tripled since four years ago despite the international community pouring billions of dollars into Afghanistan to boost the economy, rebuild infrastructure and protect against a Taliban-led insurgency as the 2014 NATO Troop withdrawals draws near.
Life before in Afghanistan
Sameer Shahab was born into a war. “ My entire life has just been me and my family trying to survive wars” he recalled while flipping through an old binder of photos he has from Afghanistan. “ I remember when I was seven years old, during the civil war we stayed in my basement for two months because of the fighting. It was winter, and we ran out of wood to burn, so my brother wanted to put my shoes in the oven, but my mother stopped him from going outside. A minute later a rocket hit my backyard and my whole house shook, windows shattered, doors fell. There was so much dust we couldn’t see anything but we had no scratches on us, if my brother would have gone he would be dead.”
Struggling for a new life
It’s been a different type of struggle since September 2012 when the Shahab family arrived in Chicago. They received help from an organization called, Catholic Charities which helps refugees in the Chicago area by providing them with free housing for the first three months after their arrival, food stamps, and a small stipend until they are able to find jobs. These financial benefits are short lived and the Shahab’s were forced to acclimate quickly.
Even to this day in December, Sameer is struggling to find a job that will pay enough for rent, food and eventually his son Balal who is turning five needs to start pre-school so he can learn English and get out of the house, says Sameer.
When I first started to visit, Shazia was always dressed in a long dress and Hijab, her English limited to simple phrases, rarely making eye contact.
However now she has warmed up to our presence and even last week she had Sameer translate and asked us when we were getting married, that we were getting old.
“Language barrier is a major challenge for refugees. Refugees seem to feel very distant from everyone in a society that is based around the English language. It’s difficult to connect with Americans for them, and almost impossible to find a high paying job ” stated Curran.
Sameer translates for us frequently, and told us once, “At the end of the day whenever we sit and talk, she always tells me, I would rather be back in Kabul, dirt poor but with my family and people who understand me here it’s not what I thought, life is so hard for us and our future is so uncertain.”
I will never forget the first thing that the Shahab family told me a few months ago the day we met. They graciously welcomed me into their home and told me that it was such a great honor to have someone of high education in their home. | <urn:uuid:1f075e74-adf6-4e88-a651-15479e225bf7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.luc.edu/hubbub/uncategorized/the-journey-from-kabul-to-chicago/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986692 | 1,276 | 1.828125 | 2 |
An established landscape and genre painter in England, Ewart painted many prominent citizens of Sydney and Bathurst and advertised himself as a painter who could copy photographic portraits into 'the more permanent form of oil paintings, the size of life or otherwise'.
painter, exhibited four times at London's Royal Academy between 1846 and 1850 and showed landscape and genre paintings at the British Institution in 1847-52. Leaving for New South Wales soon afterwards, he was in Sydney by 1853 when he painted a portrait of the two daughters of Lady Stephen (Virginia and Jessy), as noted in her journal. In the late 1850s he was at Bathurst painting portraits of prominent local citizens, including oil portraits of the government medical officer Dr George Busby ...
View the full record at
Design and Art Australia Online | <urn:uuid:0cf268f1-3e04-4c31-9d96-71e627be2129> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://trove.nla.gov.au/people/1486797?c=people | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973834 | 162 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Looking for a fresh look for your home? Try nature-inspired colours such as ocean blues, purple-reds, or corals while maintaining
the earthy feel by using 'green' paint.
Tags:Lates Paint Decors,paint,paint trends,painting,painting your home
Grab video code:
Bea: This year in Home Décor our increasing sensitivity to the environment is inspiring the colors of natures foliage. The new paint pallet is filled with the range of natural greens. Cooler than in past years greens take on a blue and grassy base with a calming environmental influence. The year ahead we will see a greater use of dark, rich and botanical greens. But all nature inspired tones are looking great rooms of gorgeous in earth browns, ocean blues, and deep floral shades like rich purple reds, oranges and corals too.
I am here today to find out how using the latest color trends can be better for the environment. Hi Melanie.
Melanie: Hi Bea, come on give me a hand.
Bea: Sure! Melanie, beautiful greens and other earth tones are quite trendy right now and I understand that environmentally friendly green paints are too.
Melanie: Yes, VOC emission free paint, it is wonderful.
Melanie: Volatile Organic Compound they are pollutants in paint which affect the quality of the air we breath essentially VOCs are emitted as a gas into our homes when paint dries and it irritates especially young people or even older people.
Bea: Well, all of us who wants to have odors and fumes if you do not have to these paints do not smell at all.
Melanie: Well exactly, and you know something else, VOCs contribute to smog formation you know when you a choose paint that is no VOC not only are you helping the air in your home but of course also for those around you as well.
Bea: But tell me, do these emission free paints look like the other paints?
Melanie: Oh absolutely, when you make a responsible paint choice you are absolutely not compromising any quality, appearance, application in any way, shape or form. I found three beautiful finishes, cashmere, chamois and shantung and the great thing is not only do they look good they are really silky and easy to apply. You want to try some?
Bea: I would love to.
Melanie: All right let us do that.
Bea: Looking forward to that part.
Melanie: Oh you know what? Maybe not right there, let me see if we can, oh here.
Bea: Oh great.
Melanie: Give it a try on this.
Bea: Wow, it is so smooth. You know Melanie I think that thing responsible about the environment is going to help us breath easier all year round.
Melanie: Absolutely, and with the beautiful color like that cleaning up the air and bringing a little bit of Mother Nature inside. | <urn:uuid:c1d12ee1-62ad-4ab6-b25a-8bfc9b95c693> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://on.aol.com/video/paint-trends---incorporating-a-natural-look-in-your-home-65600105 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910269 | 631 | 1.796875 | 2 |
The UK government has announced a new national space agency that will start up on April 1 with the opening of a $60 million facility called the International Space Innovation Center located in Oxfordshire, England. The new agency will oversee all of the county’s space endeavors, which includes earth-monitoring satellites for climate change and future human space exploration.
The country’s current space program has been scattered between government departments and science councils, and its activity has been mostly focused on building satellites and associated electronic equipment. The space and satellite industry currently supports 68,000 jobs and contributes $9 billion annually to the economy, according to Space.com. It wasn’t until 2007 that the British National Space Center set up the Space Exploration Working Group and proposed plans for human space missions, citing the fact that two British astronauts could travel to space by 2015. (UK-born astronauts have had to become United States citizens in order to fly in space.)
UK officials said the new agency could grow to a $60 billion a year industry and create over 100,000 jobs over the next two decades. A few of its main goals would be to boost the country’s role in climate change science with new earth-monitoring satellites and create space-based systems for both security and communications in hopes of becoming one of the top ten space nations. UK officials are also deciding whether they should establish their own Earth observation network; right now the UK gives majority of its space budget to ESA for satellite projects and robotic missions. (ESA’s press release about the announcement is here.)
According to parts of the British media, it’s about raising the country’s bottom line. In the Guardian theUK business secretary, Lord Mandelson, says the space agency will help Britain out of recession. New Scientist magazine says the agency is more about revitalizing the manufacturing industry than the science.
When designing an embedded system choosing which tools to use often comes down to building a custom solution or buying off-the-shelf tools. | <urn:uuid:eae6a08b-8564-4a0f-a1c4-56d377ada4e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.technologyreview.com/view/418170/britain-announces-new-space-agency/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944318 | 412 | 2.875 | 3 |
Sustainable farm research 'under threat'
News analysis Sustainable farming research in Australia is facing a lack of strategic leadership, say experts.
Williams says he has been unable to find any reference in the budget to replace the leadership role played by LWA.
"I don't believe [the closure of LWA] has been thought through," says Williams, who is head of the Natural Resources Commission of New South Wales.
LWA was set up in 1990 to integrate public good research into farming research.
At a cost of $13 million a year, it oversees and funds research programs including those on dryland salinity, pesticide contamination and nutrient run-off.
"It's about working out how to farm and retain the elements that support that farming into the future - the nutrients, the water, the vegetation, the soil organisms," says Williams.
To date, he says, food production had led to land and water degradation because it failed to integrate ecological principles into farming.
"The focus had been on the paddock," Williams says. "Agricultural science unfortunately has not connected well to the rest of the landscape."
Lack of integration
Williams says LWA brokers collaborations between researchers from many different disciplines to work out the best way to farm.
"[For example] when you produce food and you take water out of rivers, then river knowledge and the way catchments work are fundamental to that food production," says Williams, a former chief of land and water research at CSIRO.
Williams says research agencies, like CSIRO, are not generally good at integrating agricultural and ecological knowledge in a way that can be used by farmers and others managing the land.
"If you're in research you'll get rewarded and promoted from publishing in the literature, but there's not a lot of credit for being a broker and a facilitator," he says.
More investment needed
Former CEO of LWA, Dr Andrew Campbell, says the organisation has developed valuable expertise and systems for identifying key research questions, targeting investment and managing research collaborations.
He says these include research databases, search engines, evaluation systems, risk-management systems, contracting processes and collaborative agreements.
"To throw all that away would be tragic," says Campbell. "It will finish off costing way more money in the future to try and rebuild them from scratch."
Campbell says more, not less, investment is needed into how to farm in a way that conserves land, water, energy, carbon, soil and biodiversity.
"They are the things that will determine the future of Australian agriculture," he says.
And Campbell says when resources are scarce, it is important to have a funding body removed from the relatively narrow views of specific research groups.
Peter Cornish, a professor of agriculture at the University of Western Sydney agrees LWA's role was unique.
"LWA really brought together the right people with a vision and with the capacity to develop really important cross-commodity, cross-sectoral programs," says Cornish, who specialises in land and water research.
"In terms of land and water resource management in Australia, I saw [LWA] as the peak coordinating body," he adds.
"I think [its abolition is] a tragedy for the Australian landscape
The Australian Academy of Science has also called for the capabilities of LWA to be preserved. | <urn:uuid:c29b90e9-c7f6-4afb-b7fb-d3e4c9e1fc6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/05/18/2573816.htm?topic=energy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965107 | 686 | 2.515625 | 3 |
This heated subject is beginning spread across our country, simply because a lot of African American mothers and fathers have not properly trained and prepared their daughters for true love and to independently obtain wealth and even share the wealth with a potential black man. Our team of journalists sat around the conference table and discussed how in the 21st century Rev. Al Sharpton is yet fighting the many battles of racism for black people, but the same black people who complain about racism are not attracted to each other; furthermore, the mother of civilization, which is often claimed by the Nation of Islam, is getting revenge on black men who flaunt different races of women in their faces by listening to their mothers (fathers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents) to marry white men for money, instead of listening to their inner voice to wait on their God-given man, not necessarily a white (or different race of a man). The main reason why the majority of black women do not have any strength is because by nature, they have become followers, doing what makes them look good while hurting on the inside. Interim, they have missed out on what love really means and depend on white (or Latino and Asian) men to give them their wealth.
Posts Tagged ‘american women slavery’
March 31st, 2010 AT2W Staff | <urn:uuid:72a20dbc-22dd-4d33-87c6-2d0ed05b302c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.atoast2wealth.com/tag/american-women-slavery/ | 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 | 0.973836 | 270 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Look, there have always been people who could command a wage that could support a family, and people who could not.
In the old days, the people who could not were called women. And various other names related to skin color that I will not include here. That whole notion of earning a family wage with no specialized education or skills only applied to a subset of the population, and the organizations protecting their interests worked to keep it that way.
Nowadays, white men have no special protections. If they want to buy a house and raise a family, they need to learn a trade better than Walmart clerk. And they may need to move away from depressed rural economies.
The gain is that a lot of people who never had a shot at the good jobs in the past do have that shot now. White men are competing with everyone now, and they can't coast.
They are even competing with the entire populations of China and India. Terrifying thought, but you can't get around it.
The 50s were fake, so we can't really use them as our baseline. And even that fake only applied to some people.
It's also worth remembering that companies were not only legally allowed, but expected, to pay married men more that anyone else, and that ordinary people lived much, much more modestly than they do now. Many workers lived with other family members, or in rooming houses--the houses in television and movies from the era are, just as now, abnormally large because average-sized houses would be too small to film. In the popular mind, every blue collar worker in 1950 was pulling down a hefty wage at GM, but union membership peaked at about a third of workers, and most of those jobs were at companies that didn't have the profits, or the freedom from competition, to support those kinds of wages. A lot more blue collar workers were people like the mechanics and pump operators at my grandfather's gas station, who raised families on . . . the kind of money you could generate working at a gas station.
Our memories are distorted by two things: first, the tendency of all cultures to focus on their own outliers (many fewer people work for silicon valley startups in real life than in either our entertainment, or the popular imagination), and second, the fact that the people who have written about the period are abnormally likely to have come from successful families who pushed them through an education. Their memory of a well-appointed blue-collar childhood in a nice suburb on Dad's generous steelworker wages endures; few memories of a straggling blue-collar childhood as the child of a factory janitor do, because those kids were less likely to go to college and become people of letters. The successful and educated are disproportionately likely to be represented in all parts of our written and spoken culture, from man on the street interviews to letters to the editor. History really is written by the winners.
This article available online at: | <urn:uuid:083b2929-b4a8-4b16-9f1e-bb98aa07a50a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theatlantic.com/business/print/2009/02/a-living-wage/4726/ | 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 | 0.98693 | 603 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Mar 11 2009
We advocate for Science-Based Medicine partly because science incorporates various generic intellectual virtues to which everyone should aspire. These include logical and clear thinking, unambiguous definitions, and internal consistency. In fact it is demonstrably true that opposing science often equates to promoting muddied and sloppy thinking, ambiguous language, and self-contradiction.
Last week I wrote about that latter virtue – consistency – and its lack when dealing with regulating physicians vs regulating so-called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). In fact CAM exists, in my opinion, specifically to create a double-standard to disguise contradictory standards. It is institutionalized compartmentalization to minimize public cognitive dissonance.
This week, as promised, I will discuss how the same double standard has been made to apply to the regulation of supplements vs pharmaceuticals. The recently published Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on supplement regulation by the FDA brings this to light.
In the US, supplement regulation is primarily determined by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), which is an amendment of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The purpose of DSHEA was to limit FDA power to regulate supplements and to expand the definition of “supplement.” Here we see the first internal contradiction. The GAO report states:
DSHEA defines dietary supplements as products that, among other things, are intended for ingestion to supplement the diet, labeled as a dietary supplement, and not represented as a conventional food or as a sole item of a meal or diet. They must also contain one or more dietary ingredients.
DSHEA also states that herbs and other botanical are to be considered supplements. Botanicals, however, are not dietary supplements. They are taken not for their nutritional value but for their pharmacological effects. Herbs and botanicals are simply one form of drugs. Vitamins and minerals are nutritional supplements; echinacea is a collection of chemicals, some of which may be pharmacologically active, but with no or trivial nutritional value.
The GRAS Is Always Greener
The justification for regulating herbal drugs as nutritional supplements derives, it seems, from the concept of GRAS – which stands for “generally recognized as safe.” FDA regulations state that for supplements and food additives companies do not have to prove safety if the ingredient is GRAS and if it was in use prior to 1994. Any totally new ingredient must be studied for safety (which makes sense as a new ingredient has not been around long enough to be considered GRAS).
The argument is that herbs that have been around for a long time are generally recognized as safe and therefore should not suffer the burden of having to prove safety prior to marketing. However, it is not always true that herbal supplements have been in use for very long, especially not as they are currently marketed. And even for those that have been around for centuries, subtle risks and toxicity would not be necessarily generally recognized without controlled trials.
The example I think is very relevant is that of VIOXX, which was pulled from the market because studies showed that it significantly increased heart attacks in those at risk. This was enough to generate a scandal. And yet, without large post-marketing clinical trials this increased statistical risk would never have come to light. We cannot say with any confidence that any herbal supplement does not carry a similar risk – the GRAS standard is simply not sufficient for this.
GRAS is reasonable when it comes to food and true supplements. Companies should not have to conduct clinical trials prior to adding salt, corn oil, chocolate, or other common ingredients to their food products. The GRAS standard is sufficient for this. But I do not think it properly applies to taking an botanical drug for a medical condition.
The GAO report also noted that companies are responsible for determining whether or not an ingredient falls under GRAS, and they are under no obligation to report this to the FDA (although some do voluntarily). This means the FDA may not even hear about food or supplement ingredients if the companies themselves felt they were GRAS.
Safety, Efficacy, and the GAO Report
The GAO report looks at current FDA effectiveness in regulating the safety and educating the public about the science of supplements under DSHEA. It is interesting to note that the GAO report does not question a central fact of DSHEA – that the FDA has no role in regulating the claims made for supplement products. This, in my opinion, is a major failure of DSHEA. Regulating marketing claims has been left entirely to regulatory agencies like the Federal Trade Commision (FTC), which can go after supplement marketers for commercial fraud. However, FTC fines have been little more than a slap on the wrist, and they have no authority to pull products themselves from the market.
FDA regulation of claims was reduced with another double-standard contradiction – so-called structure/function claims. Under DSHEA companies are free to make whatever structure/function claims they wish. These are claims that a supplement or ingredient improves a structure or function of the body. Companies are not allowed to claim that their product treats or cures a disease. However, it did not take long for companies to figure out that they could restate disease claims as structure/function claims to skirt the FDA. For example, a company may claim that their product promotes a positive mood, but they cannot say it treats depression. Or they may say it boosts the immune system (which is important for fighting cancer -wink, wink, nod, nod), but they may not say it cures cancer.
The result has been an explosion of unregulated supplement claims, and a growing supplement market. The GAO report says the supplement industry grew to 23.7 billion dollars in 2007.
The GAO report does not question or recommend changes to this basic structure, which I think is fatally flawed. Rather their recommended solution is to increase FDA efforts to educate the public about the science of supplements. I am very much in support of efforts to educate the public. However, I do not hold out much hope that such efforts will have a significant effect. The supplement industry has billions of dollars with which to market their claims. The FDA is not likely to significantly impact upon this. It is also much easier to make claims that people want to believe rather than patiently explain that science does not support those claims.
Regarding safety the GAO report makes a number of observations and conclusions. At present companies are required to report to the FDA severe adverse reactions to their products. They are not required to report mild or moderate adverse reactions, which are voluntary.
The FDA cannot require safety testing prior to marketing. The FDA primarily uses after-marketing monitoring for safety, and the burden of proof is on them to show that a product is unsafe before they can pull it from the market. The only product so removed was ephedra, and that was 10 years after the FDA issued it first warning about the product and after thousands of people were harmed.
The GAO report brings to light many of the current shortcomings of FDA regulations of supplements. The FDA is underfunded and does not have the authority to properly regulate supplements and as a result, the GAO concludes, the public is insufficiently protected.
In order to improve safety regulation they recommend:
1. To improve the information available to FDA for identifying safety concerns and better enable FDA to meet its responsibility to protect the public health, we recommend that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services direct the Commissioner of FDA to request authority to require dietary supplement companies to
Recommendations for Executive Action
• identify themselves as a dietary supplement company as part of the existing registration requirements and update this information annually,
• provide a list of all dietary supplement products they sell and a copy of the labels and update this information annually, and
• report all adverse events related to dietary supplements.
2. To better enable FDA to meet its responsibility to regulate dietary supplements that contain new dietary ingredients, we recommend that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services direct the Commissioner of FDA to issue guidance to clarify when an ingredient is considered a new dietary ingredient, the evidence needed to document the safety of new dietary ingredients, and appropriate methods for establishing ingredient identity.
3. To help ensure that companies follow the appropriate laws and regulations and to renew a recommendation we made in July 2000, we recommend that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services direct the Commissioner of FDA to provide guidance to industry to clarify when products should be marketed as either dietary supplements or conventional foods formulated with added dietary ingredients.
To better regulate claims of efficacy for supplements they recommend:
4. To improve consumer understanding about dietary supplements and better leverage existing resources, we recommend that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services direct the Commissioner of FDA to coordinate with stakeholder groups involved in consumer outreach to (1) identify additional mechanisms—such as the recent WebMD partnership—for educating consumers about the safety, efficacy, and labeling of dietary supplements; (2) implement these mechanisms; and (3) assess their effectiveness.
While I think these are all reasonable measures, my sense is that they do not go nearly far enough. Perhaps they consider this a baby-step, making the best of the current regulations. However, there are core problems with DSHEA that need to be addressed.
Structure/function claims are a fiction – a manufactured loop-hole for supplement marketers. It should be done away with. Instead, any health claims made for supplements or food ingredients should be subjected to some form of FDA review prior to allowing the claims. Opponents of this typically appeal to a false dichotomy – pharmaceutical level regulation or no regulation. However, a middle-level of regulation is also an option. Existing scientific evidence can be reviewed and only claims that are sufficiently backed by evidence should be allowed in the marketplace.
In terms of safety, I do not think the GRAS standard should apply to herbals and botanicals. They should, in fact, not be categorized as supplements at all. This would eliminate the problem of having companies classify their food additives as supplements to evade regulation. Rather, it makes more sense to create another category for botanical drugs. Evidence of both safety and efficacy should be required, but the same level of procedures for pharmaceuticals is not realistic. An appropriate level of evidence can be mandated, but perhaps, for example, the FDA can allow use of prior research to establish their claims.
Further, even though DSHEA and the GAO report do not deal with this issue, while I am making recommendations to alter FDA regulation, I would eliminate approval for homeopathic substances. Their inclusion under FDA approval is anachronistic (not that it was ever justified) and is another glaring contradiction. Homeopathic substances are not supplements or drugs – they are nothing but water, lies, and pseudoscience. It is time FDA regulations reflected this demonstrable scientific fact.
While the GAO recommendations would be a few baby steps in the right direction, much more substantive changes to FDA regulations are required to bring them into line with science-based medicine.
9 Responses to “The GAO Report on Supplement Regulation” | <urn:uuid:82fc6d5d-e472-4333-a28c-626a0e9e3a40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/the-gao-report-on-supplement-regulation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961706 | 2,290 | 2.46875 | 2 |
There will be a presentation on reading dog body language on Thursday, May 10, at 7 p.m. at the Pine Hills Branch Library in Albany.
CAPITAL DISTRICT The American Veterinary Association estimates about 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs each year, and roughly 800,000 of those bites require medical attention. But according to Diane Blackman, a dog trainer for 15 years, some of those could be easily prevented if people know how to read a dog’s body language.
“Dog’s don’t lie, so if they’re telling you they need more space, honor that. If they’re telling you to come in, then go in,” said Blackman.
Blackman owns All Dawgs Training Services in Latham, where she helps owners get a handle on dogs who could benefit from a little extra discipline. She said learning to communicate with dogs is simple and in honor of National Dog Bit Prevention Week (May 20 to 26), she’s holding a free presentation at the Pine Hills Branch Library in Albany on Thursday, May 10, to share some tips.
“I would definitely encourage people to come out. The more you learn the more you’ll be able to have a positive experience with your dog,” said Blackman.
Blackman said all dogs speak the same language, regardless of the breed. That means a sweet golden retriever and a dominant pitbull are equally easy to read once you know what to look for.
Stress signals can convey positive or negative emotions, so it’s important to know what to look for to distinguish between the two, she said.
If a dog is seeking more “social distance” or space, they might have pinned back ears, their tail could be tucked, they might yawn, lick their lips, curl their teeth or “freeze” which is where their whole body goes still and they get what Blackman called “whale eyes.”
“The head and body don’t move together so you can see the sharp distinction between the pupil and the rest of the eye,” said Blackman. | <urn:uuid:2f1ccc82-f81f-44b4-8731-1d3fb59f1809> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.spotlightnews.com/news/2012/may/07/communicate-all-dawgs/?page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948237 | 450 | 2.75 | 3 |
Lots of people give their kids bunnies or chicks as an Easter tradition. What they don’t realize is that these ill-fated but cuddly animals are most likely going to die before their first birthday, like most Easter-themed pets.
Chickens and rabbits are lifelong commitments. Chickens can grow as old as 8 years, while rabbits can live up to 12 years. Unless children (and their parents!) are ready to care for this type of pet for this long, they shouldn’t be given one. They require specialized habitats and food. Gentle handling is also needed, and young children don’t always have the softest touch. Injuring or even fatally harming these delicate animals would be traumatic for both the pet and the child.
Do you know anyone who would bring home a puppy or a kitten, only to release them into the wild to certain death, or to take them to a shelter as soon as they grow out of being a cute little kitten or puppy? I don’t think I do. Yet people do the same thing with these chicks, bunnies, and sometimes ducklings.
If you are considering doing this as a treat for the little ones this year, please consider it thoughtfully. Unless you’re prepared to care for this pet throughout her life, stick with chocolate or stuffed bunnies. Spend more time decorating and hunting for Easter eggs. It will create more lasting memories, and won’t cause unnecessary harm to a living creature. | <urn:uuid:b1755cfc-b05d-4649-8011-e09ead0f84b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.briarcliffanimal.com/blog/2012/04/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96734 | 313 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Okay, so I'm pretty new to the whole Ubuntu thing. I installed it yesterday alongside Windows 8, and it installed fine. Then I started it up and tried to connect to my wireless router. It wouldn't give me the option and the only thing that I could find was Edit Connections thing along the top which I didn't understand at all and just ended up confusing me. Can someone give me a simple explanation as to what I have to do? My laptop is a Toshiba Satellite C855-18D. Thanks guys!
closed as too localized by Eric Carvalho, Basharat Sial, Seth, Luis Alvarado♦ Apr 19 at 14:41
This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, see the FAQ. | <urn:uuid:4d04c6ac-f278-4118-8ea6-f2150cd8cc3e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://askubuntu.com/questions/222645/no-wireless-on-ubunto-12-10 | 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 | 0.963593 | 195 | 1.703125 | 2 |
An Oregon court quietly issued a ruling recently that has resounding implications for advocates of animals and animal welfare. In State vs. Weldon, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that animals, not their owners, are the actual victims in criminal animal cruelty cases. While this may sound simplistic and self-evident, the ruling pushes the envelope of animals’ status in courts and legislatures.
Legally speaking, animals are pieces of property. As such, they have few inherent rights of their own. When they are harmed or stolen, usually only the human’s losses and injuries count in the eyes of the court.
In Weldon, police found almost 100 dead or dying horses, goats and other farm animals on the defendant’s farm. The defendant was charged with 93 separate counts of cruelty, one per animal. After trial, the jury found him guilty of 20 of those counts. When it came time for sentencing, the trial court merged all 20 counts into a single count of animal abuse because “the animals are not victims.” The trial court decided there was a single victim, the animals’ one owner, and, therefore only a single violation of the animal cruelty law.
The prosecution appealed the case, arguing that each animal was a separate victim that represented a distinct incident of animal cruelty. Oregon statutes do not expressly define the term “victim” for the purposes of the animal cruelty laws, so the appellate court had to look deeper. When there is confusion about the meaning of a statute, courts consider the legislature’s intentions in enacting the law. In Weldon, the appellate court first had to identify the “gravamen” of criminal animal cruelty and, second, determine whom the Legislature intended to protect with the statute.
The court found that the “gravamen” of the animal cruelty laws was the failure to provide proper care to animals in one’s custody or control. This indicated that the Legislature intended to prevent cruelty directly to animals, not necessarily their owners.
The court then went on to the more contentious question whether animals, legally classified as property, could be the ones protected by the law. The answer was yes. First, although numerous other criminal code provisions defined a victim as human, the animal cruelty sections did not. Second, other non-humans had previously been identified as victims of particular crimes, such as “the public.” Third, there was no limitation in the animal cruelty statutes treating animals solely as property in that context. Thus, animals clearly could be considered victims.
Finally, the court had to consider whether the Legislature meant for animals to be the victims when it enacted the animal cruelty cases. Maybe the Legislature meant to protect the public instead, noting its strong interest in animal welfare? No, the court found, the Legislature meant to “protect individual animals as sentient beings, rather than to vindicate a more generalized public interest in their welfare.” As a last consideration, the court noted how absurd it would be if the animals’ owner was the true victim; in most criminal animal cruelty cases, the defendant would be committing a crime against himself.
Having walked through this careful analysis, the Oregon court held that the jury’s verdict of 20 animal cruelty counts could not be merged into a single count of cruelty. The defendant will be sentenced for 20 separate counts.
To the frequent dismay of advocates for various causes, the law usually moves by increments. This article gives a little taste of the detailed and tedious reasoning process that goes on as courts struggle to make sense of laws in today’s society. After a classic legal analysis, the Weldon case yielded an important victory for animal protection in the courts. The bottom line may seem technical and uninteresting, but with its careful and thoughtful opinion, the court was able to find justice for abused animals within the existing system. Under the Weldon view, animals are still considered property, but they are acknowledged as a special kind of property with their own interests protected by law.
Kate Burke is an attorney with Insight Law, LLC, in Durango. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:f535825e-171b-445a-9938-8fde8a020619> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20120812/OPINION02/708129923/-1/Opinion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95861 | 854 | 2.34375 | 2 |
One of the most devastating human emotions can be feelings of bitterness. It can creep in to our lives. Sometimes we do not even know how much it consumes our thought life and feelings. Before we know it, we are captured in the claws of the sin of unforgiveness.
Perhaps it starts with hurt feelings over what was said, another’s actions, or even a lack of response. We mull it over, and over. It festers in our gut. Our spirit can be crushed. We can get hard feelings about the person that we feel offended us. Perhaps those hurt want to get “even” at the other person. Before long, hurt feelings can lead to a host of other actions, including slander against the offending person, or avoidance of that person.
The hurt accomplished may not even be recognized by the offender. They may not even have a clue as to how one is reacting to their remarks or actions; yet the offendee’s bitterness digs deeper and deeper into their life.
Holding a grudge against another can be so devastating to some that it affects their health. Anger can be a result of bitterness. When angry, adrenaline and other hormones are released into the bloodstream, causing high blood pressure and a faster beating heart. Depression, ulcers, heart attack, and stroke have also been linked to those that are controlled by the stress of bitterness and unforgiveness. Not forgiving, and not attempting to forget the offense, can also lead people to do or say things to the offender that they would never think of doing or saying. Bitterness can indeed bind a person’s life.
All have wrongs done to them sometime in their lives that hurt their feelings. Some let them roll off their shoulders and go on with their life; others stew and never let go of what another has done to them. The Bible has much to say about bitterness and forgiving one another. Here is a glimpse of what is said in the Bible:
God says not to be bitter and hold a grudge!
“It’s not that easy to not be bitter,” is often said. This is true, but no sin is easy to stop. In order have a healthy life, and a good relationship with God, bitterness has to be halted.
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour [to complain, utter loud noises], and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:” (Ephesians 4:31).
Forgive those that wronged you.
“Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.” (Luke 17:3).
Christ knows all you did; yet He still has forgiven all you have done, if you are saved! (John 3:16).
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32).
“Forbearing [to restrain from action against another] one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” (Colossians 3:13).
Do not worry and occupy your thoughts with what another has done to you. The gateway to bitterness is the thought gate. Once a thought gets in and is contemplated on, it does more damage the more it is entertained in one’s thought life. Do not let yourself dwell on it. Stop thinking about it, before it gets out of hand.
“Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;” (Proverbs 24:19).
Do not even start entertaining thoughts of getting even.
“Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.” (Proverbs 24:29).
“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:8). If you think what the other person has done to you is wrong, how is it any better if you do the same or similar hurtful thing to them?
You certainly have wronged others; even unintentionally. You certainly want to be forgiven by others and the Lord; so, forgive those that have “wronged” you!
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12).
“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”(Mark 11:25-26).
Forgive them, even if they do the offense more than once!
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21). See also Luke 17:4.
The only “getting even” God allows is to be nice to the offender!
“If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.” (Proverbs 25:21-22). Return unkindness with kindness! This is certainly not what the world gives as a solution. Vengeance never takes away hurt feelings.
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
“Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.” (Romans 12:14).
“ Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men." (Romans 12:17).
If there is any “getting even” to be done, God will do it; not you!
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Romans 12:19).
Do not be happy when bad things happen to them. Do not gloat, “They are getting theirs!”
“Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.” (Proverbs 24:17-18).
Unforgiveness, and the bitterness that often follows, does not help matters, nor change anything. The hurt feelings of bringing the matter up repeatedly certainly digs its trap deeper and deeper. The only way to get peace is to forgive.
“It’s easy for you to say; you don’t know what that person did to me.” You are right. I do not know, but I do know that carrying and harboring that bitterness is going to hurt you and others around you. Your only choices are to let it fester, or get rid of it. Hopefully, you truly want to get rid of it.
Although, you hear again and again to forget, most of us humans cannot forget. Only God can forget, when He chooses. We may not be able to get it out of our minds, but we can do our best not to let it come to mind.
“How do you do that?” Our Saviour fought off temptation with scriptures. That is the only remedy for any battle. When the thought enters your mind, repeat a verse, hopefully one that is about the sin you are tempted with and quote it repeatedly. It is hard to harbor thoughts of darkness and sin, when your mind is flooded with light! Praying about the problem and seeking God’s solution are the only way to have victory over your hurt feelings.
We all battle hurt feelings. It is our choice how we handle them. God is clear that we should not let those temptations rule and destroy our life. Instead of getting bitter, and even blaming God about a matter, it is the time to get close to him. It is during those hard times that we learn of his mercy and grace.
“People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing.” — Will Rogers | <urn:uuid:0fba9fae-9d19-4f77-8560-549f0856f4bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fbbc.com/messages/brinkworth_bitterness.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95246 | 1,926 | 2.328125 | 2 |
G. Squires and J. Moate
Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, vol.5, 2012, p. 152-163
Urban regeneration is a complex mix of instruments and stakeholders, characterised by high moral aims, great expectations, and intricate politics. Social Responsible Property Investment (SRPI) sets out to ensure that buildings reach their substantial potential for enhancing the quality of life now and in the future. In the regeneration context such social impacts can be summarised as access to opportunity and aspiration for both new occupiers and for existing neighbourhoods, through catalytic measures such as job creation, affordable access and improved amenity. This study reveals that the practice of SRPI is far from uniform, with a spectrum of investors and developers adopting differing priorities driven by their own investment targets. It identifies SRPI as playing an exemplary role in urban regeneration, while finding significant barriers to widening its more mainstream application.
Communities and Local Government Committee
London: TSO, 2012 (House of Commons papers, session 2010/12; HC 1750)
Community Budgets were introduced in October 2010 as part of the Spending Review. The aim of the initiative was to give local public service partners the freedom to work together to redesign services around the needs of citizens. Following the riots in summer 2011 the focus of these Community Budgets changed and the troubled families programme was introduced in December 2011, with the aim of changing the lives of 120,000 troubled families by the end of the current Parliament. Scrutiny of the current Community Budgets will be carried out in separate stages. For the first stage, the Communities and Local Government Committee invited written evidence and held a single oral evidence session that outlines the questions raised to assist in their subsequent work. | <urn:uuid:7921a0da-feea-4685-9cb4-ceb45ad65afc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bl.uk/welfarereform/issue153/commregn.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949115 | 353 | 1.640625 | 2 |
29-Oct-2010 -- This is the first of four Confluences on this trip through the Libyan desert.
Though easily accessable, this confluence point lies far off the usual tracks. The barren landscape gives no reason to travel here except you work for an oil company, or are a fossil hunter.
For paleontologists the escarpment of Jabal al-Ma'rūf, also known as Dūr al-Ṭalḥa, 25 km south of the Confluence, is a top location to find a broad variety of flora and fauna fossils, even remains of large vertebrates as whales and crocodiles. To find these you obviously have to be a professional, as we weren't able to spot anything distinctive in the huge sediment layers except lots of petrified wood in excellent preservation state.
Continued at 24N 13E. | <urn:uuid:e0b72008-9549-47a2-ad8c-ec1c74367bbc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?id=9632 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943655 | 179 | 2.515625 | 3 |
The nutrition committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics has just issued a new set of recommendations for cholesterol screening. The advice of this august body? Screen 2-year-olds for high cholesterol and start prescribing statin drugs at age 8. OK, they are just recommending this for kids with risk factors, such as high LDL cholesterol (the bad one), family history of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, etc. This sounds great for doctors, testing labs, and drug companies. Is it a good idea for kids? Which kids? Who is going to pick up the tab for this?
Next public appearance
This is one of a series of lectures at The Well on Food, Faith, and Planet.
Queen Anne United Methodist Church, 1606 5th Ave West, Seattle.
My talk on the farm bill and SNAP is at 7:00 pm in the church sanctuary, followed by Q and A and a book signing. | <urn:uuid:0468f441-5e2b-4a72-9cf0-ae0c3e3df302> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foodpolitics.com/2008/07/statin-drugs-for-8-year-olds/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959368 | 191 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Gerig, Sebastian (1839-1924)
Sebastian Gerig, bishop of the Sugar Creek Mennonite Church (MC), Wayland, Iowa, from 1879 to 1924, was born in Pfastatt, Alsace, the son of Jakob and Elisabeth (Zimmermann) Gerig. He united with the Amish Mennonite Church in France at the age of 17, and in 1856 emigrated to America to escape compulsory military service. After spending a few weeks in Ontario he traveled to Iowa, living in Davis and Lee counties for six years and in Ohio approximately two years. After his marriage to Magdalena, youngest daughter of Bishop Joseph Goldsmith he established his home in Henry County, Iowa, where he lived the rest of his life. To this union were born twelve children, all of whom became members of his church. Three of his grandsons were in the ministry of the Mennonite Church (MC): Vernon Gerig, Wayland, Iowa; Willard Leichty, Wayland, Iowa; and Maynard Wyse, Archbold, Ohio.
Gerig was ordained to the ministry in the Sugar Creek Amish Mennonite Church in 1869 and ten years later to the office of bishop, In 1916 he ordained his successor Simon Gingerich. Gerig was a leader in the Western District Amish Mennonite Conference, serving either as moderator or assistant moderator in 1897, 1900, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1908, and 1909. A man of sound judgment and keen insight, he led his congregation through the changes brought about by the introduction of Sunday schools, young people's meetings, evangelistic services, and the English language.
Gospel Herald (17 April 1924): 63.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 480-481. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.
©1996-2013 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
To cite this page:
MLA style: Wyse, Olive G. "Gerig, Sebastian (1839-1924)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 25 May 2013. http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/G4756.html.
APA style: Wyse, Olive G. (1956). Gerig, Sebastian (1839-1924). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 May 2013, from http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/G4756.html. | <urn:uuid:f75967bc-5c81-471d-b5dd-d312cf7ce678> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/contents/G4756.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915731 | 571 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Deborah Romero is an Associate Professor in English as a Second Language and Bilingual Education in the Hispanic Studies Program at the University of Northern Colorado. She received her Ph.D. in Education with an interdisciplinary emphasis in Language, Interaction and Social Organization, from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She has an MA in Educational Psychology from the Autonomous University of Queretaro, Mexico, and a BA in Applied Language Studies from Thames Valley University, Great Britain.
Dr. Romero teaches courses in Second Language Acquisition (TESL 350) Applied Linguistics for ESL educators (TESL 380), ESL Practicum (TESL 401/402) and Spanish for Professionals (Span 103).
Dr. Romero’s research interests use interdisciplinary approaches to study multilingualism and multimodal communication in linguistically diverse settings and with underrepresented students. She has published in both English and Spanish.
Dr. Romero currently serves as Associate Director for Faculty Development at Center for Enhancement for Teaching and Learning, where her grounding in sociocultural theories of human development, critical pedagogies and a commitment to equity and diversity in education, coupled with her background in linguistics and digital literacies, are all foundational elements in her own teaching-learning approaches and provide frameworks to actively engage today’s diverse faculty and students. http://www.unco.edu/cetl/faculty_development/ | <urn:uuid:859f6f69-25c7-4541-90b5-ff81469bee57> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unco.edu/hispstds/d_romero.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906309 | 296 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Creating Waves of Awareness
If a man is ejaculating sooner than his and his partner wish, such as before intercourse begins or shortly afterward, he may have a condition known as premature ejaculation.
Premature ejaculation is a common sexual complaint.Both psychological and biological factors can play a role in premature ejaculation.Premature ejaculation is a common and treatable condition.
Homoeopathic Medication, psychological counseling and sexual techniques that delay ejaculation can improve sex.
The primary sign of premature ejaculation is ejaculation that occurs before both partners wish, causing concern or distress.
1.Ejaculation that always or nearly always occurs within one minute or less of vaginal penetration
2.The inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations
3.Negative personal consequences, such as distress, Anger, frustration or the avoidance of sexual intimacy.
4.Is marked by persistent or recurrent ejaculation with minimal
stimulation before, on, or shortly after penetration.
The exact cause of premature ejaculation is not known. It involves a complex interaction of both psychological and biological factors.
Early sexual experiences may establish a
pattern that can be difficult to change later in life, such as:
1.Situations in which you may have hurried to reach climax in order to avoid being discovered
2.Guilty feelings that increase your tendency to rush through sexual encounters
Other factors that can play a role in causing premature ejaculation include:
Erectile dysfunction. Men who are anxious about obtaining or maintaining their erection during sexual intercourse may form a pattern of rushing to ejaculate which can be difficult to change.
Anxiety. Many men with premature ejaculation also have problems with anxiety — either specifically about sexual performance, or caused by other issues.
Relationship problems. Interpersonal issues between the partners may contribute to this problem.
A number of biological factors may contribute to premature ejaculation, including:
Abnormal hormone levels
Abnormal levels of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.
Abnormal reflex activity of the ejaculatory system.
Certain thyroid problems
Inflammation and infection of the prostate or urethra
Rarely, premature ejaculation is caused by:
Nervous system damage resulting from surgery or trauma
Withdrawal from narcotics .
While premature ejaculation doesn't increase your risk of serious health problems, it can cause problems in your personal life, including:
1.Relationship strains. The most common complication of premature ejaculation is relationship stress.
2.Fertility problems. Premature ejaculation can occasionally make fertilization difficult or impossible for couples who are trying to become pregnant.
What Questions We must ask:
1.How often do you have premature ejaculation?
2.Has this problem developed gradually or suddenly?
3.Do you have premature ejaculation only with a specific partner or partners?
4.What is the status of relations with your partner?
5.Do you have premature ejaculation every time you have sex?
6.What do you think may be the cause of this problem.
7.How much are you bothered by premature ejaculation?
8.Are you suffering from hurriedness, frustration or stress.
9.How satisfied are you with your current relationship?
10. Do you have any guilt of your past experiences?
11.Are you also having trouble getting and maintaining an erection (erectile dysfunction)?
12.What medications have you recently started or stopped taking?
13.Do you use recreational drugs?
Diet and nutrition: One should take Diet rich in Citrus fruits, Sprouts , Egg, fish, Wheat germ oil, Flax seeds, Almond, figs, walnut and seeds preferably muskmelon. Drink plenty of water, Avoid too much use of antidepressant drugs, Avoid narcotic drugs, Avoid excess alcohol. Sleeping Hours must be 7-8. Yoga is also beneficial in keeping good health but before doing yoga always have expert opinion.
A Case of Premature ejaculation
I am presenting here a case of a gentlemen of 35 yrs age,
Recently married, A complete workaholic guy, all the time busy with office job , very ambitious and a achiever too, he was in habit of achieving and winning and for that he said " I can go up to any extent if i have to win than win".
A bit rude and arrogant , averse to contradiction, but in his work he was very efficient and fastidious.
Strong liking for coffee, in habit of Drinking 5-7 cups of coffee in night in order to work late at night and keep himself awake.
Very hurried and impatient to a extent that he himself wanted to finish the work sooner and even wants his subordinates to finish it fast.
Often gets abusive when riding in car even fights during road rage.
He was a Chilly patient wants warmth always.
Liked spicy fatty food, in habit of taking stimulants like alcohol and coffee.
His bowels were usually constipated with constant and ineffectual urging.
He had Increased desire for sex, but simulaneously during intercourse also he used to be in hurry and wanted to finish it fast so that he can again go to work. This quick or early ejaculation was taking his Married life to a state where both of them became short tempered and started quarreling.
Had an history of Seminal emissions during sleep, with dreams.
He had often spasm and cramps .
In Dreams also he used to quarrel.
Taking in consideration into all these symptoms I prescribed Nux Vomica 1000 single drop dose, along with placebos. In all 4 doses were given and The patient got well so soon and his problem is now nowhere and moreover he has become less impatient, sweet natured, less arguementative and quarrelsome, his wife was telling that now his staff is also very happy.
Homoeopathic Medicines indicated for this problem are :
Berberis, Caladium, Carbo veg, China, Conium, Calc carb, Eryng-aqua, Gels, Graph, Lyco, Natrum carb, Natrum mur, nux vom, Phos acid, Phos, Picric acid, Platina, Selenium, spongia, staph, sulph, Sepia, Titanium, Vanilla, Zinc.
Few more rubrics:
Ejaculation, quick too, errection, after shortly : Phos acid , sulph.
Ejaculation, quick too, before errection is complete : calad, sulph, Graph.
Ejaculation, quick too, Intromission before : Sulph
Ejaculation, quick too, without excitement : Bufo, eug.
Anxiety during coition : Kreos
Anxiety conscience anxiety of masturbation after: Ambra g, Phos acid.
Dear friends, lets make this topic more meaningful by adding more information to it.
A 28 yrs old man, married, with poor physical health, sore -aching all over body,stressfull & history of Migraine . Deficient erection & premature ejaculation. Onosmodium Virginianum 1000 / 2 doses followed by plesibo . 3 weeks later no medicine . Pt . is now feeling & keeping well from last 6 months.
Dear Aamir Saleem
Titanium and Selenium are specifics. Sometime work and sometime do not work.
In which potency these Titanium and Selenium were found useful. | <urn:uuid:857d0c24-7a38-4935-b250-3fcdc933c4c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://homeopathyworldcommunity.com/forum/topics/premature-ejaculation?id=3101571%3ATopic%3A114922&page=5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943654 | 1,545 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Date: c. 1910
Description: The discovery of mineral water, and its reported healing powers, sparked an influx of health-seeking visitors in 1881-82. A flurry of drilling activity resulted in incorporation of the city of Mineral Wells in 1882, as water was sought to satisfy the booming market; so much so that no one remembers the order in which the wells were drilled. The Gibson well, however, was one of the early ones. Located at 705 NW 2nd Avenue, it grew into one of the largest parks and drinking pavilions in town. The gasoline-powered "Dinky cars" of the Mineral Wells Lakewood Park Scenic Railway passed by it every quarter-hour, from 1905 to 1909, on their journeys to and from Lake Pinto. The Gibson property was acquired by the Crazy. It was known as the Crazy Park in 1938, and it was made into a beautiful botanical garden. It is currently the site of the First Christian Church.
Contributing Partner: Boyce Ditto Public Library | <urn:uuid:dc7d3630-afc6-4d4b-9f7d-94948c82fe9d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/partners/BDPL/browse/?start=20&fq=untl_decade%3A1910-1919&fq=str_location_county%3APalo+Pinto+County%2C+TX | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975535 | 210 | 2.34375 | 2 |
In this season of 10-year anniversaries, one almost got by me, just as it almost got by many of us on October 26, 2001. The Ashcroft Justice Department, which could hardly find a case of discrimination against a Black person or a woman to prosecute, and was busy dismantling its Civil Rights division, had apparently been busy elsewhere. Even before 9/11, they had written the USA PATRIOT Act (that’s “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” for those of you not patriotic enough to think that up yourselves).
They had cobbled bits of nefarious repression not included in the Clinton administration’s also egregiously-named 1996 “Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.” This law has its own deep problems, as a vehicle for stepping up federal executions, and criminalizing protest. The Bush regime built on it, and not because of the 9/11 attacks; a bill that long could not have been written in 15 days.
But let’s just be clear. The Patriot Act is domestic political repression, widening the government’s power to spy on people electronically, break into our homes and offices physically in “sneak and peak” operations, view our email, reading habits, photos, and much more.
by Debra Sweet
National Director, World Can't Wait | <urn:uuid:a690a4f6-1fbb-4cbe-9709-8b2428d2a5a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://warisacrime.org/content/10th-anniverary-criminal-patriot-act | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978175 | 294 | 2.0625 | 2 |
When I was 10 or so, my father won an all-expense paid trip to Senegal. “We’re going to Africa!” my mother gleefully exclaimed. So we took the Amtrak train to New York to fly out of JFK and ignored the warnings of a pending Nor’easter, thinking the sheer and desperate determination of three Black Americans to make it to Africa would hold off the worst of the snow until we were airborne.
It didn’t. New York City was shut down for three days, and by the time the airports opened, it didn’t make sense to fly out. We pushed the trip back indefinitely, and never made it. And so began my obsession with Africa, the place my even-tempered mother spoke of like it was some sort of Disneyland for Black people.
Some Black Americans, and I’m referring mostly to those that call Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina their “Old Country,” tend to be awe-struck at the idea Africa, like Nas at the end of Belly. Once we get a full picture beyond what we’re taught in school, where the largest continent and birthplace of all mankind is reduced to being the starting point for the Atlantic Slave Trade, there becomes an eagerness to migrate back across the Atlantic. The yearning is not unlike some immigrants who seek entrance to American shores. Except we’re not seeking the opportunities and streets of gold that Fievel and his family expected; we’re seeking the “home” that the Middle Passage erased.
I get why. For many American Blacks, the overall American experience has never really felt like a place where you can kick up your feet and recline all the way back. You get moments where that happens, of course, but then you also get a startling awakening— like when people are surprised you don’t have any children out of wedlock, or you happen to be “so articulate,” or despite carrying a purse while you shop, you find yourself explaining “No, no, actually I don’t work here.” Those things remind you not to get too comfy. America is home in the sense of being the devil you know, a bit like a stereotypical step-child, the one you tolerate but don’t really love like your own.
In recent weeks those feelings have surfaced again for many who struggle to make sense of the injustice of Trayvon Martin’s killer walking around freely, the ignorance displayed in conservative columnist John Derbyshire’s piece for The National Review where he wrote of advising his children to avoid Black folk, and the obnoxiousness of those Twitter-racists who found outrage in a sympathetic book character being Black or Awkward Black Girl landing the Shorty Award for best web-series. I find, similar to Cinderella, we dream of an escape to a place where we fit, like a glass slipper on the correct foot. For me, that place was Africa, any country, any part. | <urn:uuid:7491409b-1e22-4420-baf3-50df44e2e6ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2012/04/not-african-enough-in-africa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950168 | 628 | 1.90625 | 2 |
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Kriszti feedback about her son's Tutorial course, | <urn:uuid:e765cb28-866c-4e09-96b2-ae5db387e066> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.homelingua.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921825 | 341 | 1.734375 | 2 |
PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay in Baltimore.In Washington on Monday, President Obama began his second term. Now joining us to give us his take on the president's inaugural address is John Nichols. John is a political writer for The Nation magazine and joins us from D.C. Thanks for joining us, John.JOHN NICHOLS, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE NATION: I'm honored to be with you.JAY: Thank you. So did you get any sense from the inaugural address whether the next four years will be much different than the last four?NICHOLS: Absolutely. You do. It doesn't necessarily mean that they will be better or worse, but you get a signal from the inaugural address. And people ought to read it closely.Presidents expend political capital in two speeches following a reelection. The first of those speeches is the inaugural address. They know they have to say something different than what they said four years earlier, because things are different. And so they go for a deeper perspective. You usually hear a little more there. And then shortly thereafter they do a State of the Union address.This president is on an arc coming off a pretty successful reelection, and his inaugural address, it could have been very rhetorical, it could have been a little bit soft. He didn't do that. And that's important.This wasn't a perfect address. There's plenty of things I would have rather have heard said, etc., etc. But the bottom line is, here's a president who expended political capital talking about gay rights and marriage equality, talking about immigrants and immigrant rights, talking at some significant length about this theory of the right, the austerity-based theory that says that, you know, we've got makers and takers, and not only pushback specifically against that line, which is a wonderful thing, but really did at a number of points talk about the fact that, you know, when we pay people well, that's good for society. When government does some things, that's good for society. This wasâit's not a Franklin Roosevelt speech, it's not a perfect speech, but it was a significantly more progressive speech than I expected.And it was also part of, again, an arc coming off the election in which this president took a bolder stand than we expected on gun issues, fought a little bit more effectively, I think, on the fiscal cliff issues, and so now he gives a reasonably progressive speech. I would have to say I am cautiously hopeful.JAY: But is it really that different than what, for example, he said in the presidential campaign in 2008?NICHOLS: No.JAY: And then, when he gets elected, when you put meat on the bones of what he's actually going to do, you know, we wound up with a finance team that was essentially, you know, representatives of Wall Street. The new Treasury secretary, Jacob Lew, is more or less more of the same. He talks again about the importance of deficit fighting. I didn't hear much about whether it be stimulus or, for example, those words, EFCA, you know, the Employee Free Choice Act that was supposed toâ.NICHOLS: No, you didn't hear that.JAY: What's that?NICHOLS: You didn't hear that.JAY: You didn't hear anything.NICHOLS: You didn't hear anything good on trade policy. There's a lot of things you didn't hear good stuff on. But let meâPaul, you've covered this long enough and you're smart enough to know that, you know, from a Democratic president we're never going to get a fully progressive agenda. That doesn't happen. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party isn't that anymore, if it ever was.And so what you look for from a Democratic president is kind of where the balance goes. And when I say I'm cautiously optimistic, I am not cautiously optimistic that Barack Obama is going to govern as some sort of raging progressive. What I'm cautiously optimistic about is that he did not throw off the closing campaign themes of his 2012 campaign.I was with Obama in the last, you know, few days, week or so of his campaign, and I heard him giving, you know, very, very populous speeches, economic populist speeches, with Bruce Springsteen at his side, talk about we take care of our own. And what I heard in this speech was some connection to that. That's important, that this president hasn't broken the connection with the campaign that reelected him. And I think he did do that in 2009. I think that he came off an incredibly hopeful, incredibly energetic campaign in 2008 and then gave a 2009 inaugural address that was (A) kind of empty, there wasn't a lot of depth there, and (B), to the extent that he did say anything, it tended toward a relatively conservative approach. This was not an energized president.JAY: But when he says in this speech, you know, we have to cut health-care costsâbut I'm not sure what he means, unless he's talking about Medicare reform, and that'sâand he says we have to make the hard choices. I mean, we're all moving towards this 'nother debt ceiling piece of theater. And, you know, Bill Black's coined this term the grand betrayal. People are concerned that this is where he's heading. Doesn't this language suggest that that is where he's heading?NICHOLS: His language has suggested that forâgoing back to before he was a presidential candidate.The fact of the matter is that we have always wrestled with Barack Obama on this issue. And there are statements by Barack Obama from way, way back that are very unsettling. The thing that you want to look for here is that when he did get into talking about Medicare, Medicaid, talking about some of these commitments, he expressed a relative level of commitment there, a relative level of desire to do the right thing.You know, I have never seen Barack Obama as a progressive. I've never thought of him as a particularly liberal player. I think of him as a mediator president. This is a guy who kind of looks at where the left is, looks at where the right is, and tries to find some kind of middle ground.The Republican Party is in such absolute disarray right now that they are far less effective at putting their position than they were even a few months ago. And so there's a tremendous opening here for the coalition that reelected Barack Obama to ask things of Barack Obama. The question is: is he going to push them away; where's the openness there? In this speech, I heard a significant amount more openness than I expected. And what I think is that is not a commitment from Obama. Anybodyâyou know, I'm unbelievably tired of people who psychoanalyze Obama or try to figure out where he's coming from or what he's going to do. It's quite clear this guy responds to pressure.And so what I hear from this speech is essentially a call to progressivesânot from him, but what progressives should take as a callâto listen to what he's saying, recognize that there is at least a relative sympathy there or some openness, and to raise the pressure to a much higher level. [crosstalk]JAY: Speaking of pressure, I mean, the one force that you would think has some leverage to exercise pressure is the trade unions.NICHOLS: Yes.JAY: And, you know, back in '08 there was actually some bones thrown to the trade unions. It didn't go very far, but EFCA was one, and also some rhetoric about the importance of unions. And we didn't hear a word now. And I guess this is more a critique of the unions.NICHOLS: No.JAY: They seem to have no leverage anymore at all at all.NICHOLS: Barack Obama doesn't think about unions very much, and you didn't hear much in his first inaugural address about unions, you didn't hear much in any of his State of the Union addresses. This is not where this guy's coming from. And he, I think, tends to see unions as part of a broad coalition, and he is relatively respectful of them in that context, but not in the way that we see trade unions historically in America or, certainly, in a lot of other countries around the world.What I think is again important is not what Obama says about the unions; it's what the unions say to Obama, and it's what these coalitions of environmental groups, trade union groups, community groups, civil rights groups say to him.And I'll give youâjust to put a little perspective here, imagine a decade ago an American president saying from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall, making that connection between women's rights, civil rights, and gay rights. Imagine an American president doing a lengthy soliloquy on marriage equality in a speech. There is a response to a community, the LGBT community, which has for a long time, you know, pushed on this issue to a real change in society, and Obama responding to it. That's not Obama leading; that is Obama following. It's him responding.Similarly, with the trade union movement, and, I think, with economic justice folks in general, there's never been a more important time to make demands of him and to pressure him.Now, you suggestâI think, correctlyâthat the trade union movement has been pretty battered in the last few years. You're right. But what I heard in that speechâI didn't hear anything in that speech that said, you know, if you guys ramp it up, I'm going to push you away. And so I think that's what to take away from it.But don'tâyeah, this is the big mistake people make. I think people listen to a Barack Obama's speech and they think, wow, this guy's going toâyou know, I want to hear things that tell me he's going to lead me to the Promised Land. But Eugene Victor Debs said it right. If somebody tells you they're going to lead you to the Promised Land, don't follow them, 'cause if they can lead you in, they can lead you out. He says, go into the Promised Land yourself; build a movement that actually creates that here. And that is such a truism going into the second term. All I will tell you is that Obama's speech was a decidedly more progressive speech than we have heard from a president, Democrat or Republican, in a very, very long time. Now, you look back and you look at the referencing in this speech, and you say, well, you know, who does that compare to, I would suggest to you that you've got to go back to probably Lyndon Johnson in 1964 to hear somebody kind of referencing, talking about the importance of work, talking about poverty, referencing some environmental stuffânot always as deep as I'd want to go. So give Obama that, but then don't expect that it's going to be any easier with Obama than it was with Lyndon Johnson or with Franklin Roosevelt. You're still going to have to make demands.JAY: Alright. Well, let's see how these words translate into action. Thanks very much for joining us, John.NICHOLS: You guys do great work. I'm so pleased to join you on this day.JAY: Alright. Thanks much.And thank you for joining us on The Real News Network.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
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Australia (TGW) - Global warming is going to take a heavy toll on Australia, already one of the driest parts of the world, according to a new report released by scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).
Australia is likely to be hit harder because it is already dry there.
The key findings of the report include that by 2030, temperatures will rise by about 1 degree Celsius over Australia – a little less in coastal areas, and a little more inland - later in the century. If emissions are low, warming of between 1 ºC and 2.5 ºC is likely by around 2070, with a best estimate of 1.8 ºC. Under a high emission scenario, the best estimate warming is 3.4 ºC, with a range of 2.2 ºC to 5 ºC.
The report also indicates there will be changes in temperature extremes, with fewer frosts and substantially more days over 35 ºC.
Temperatures have already increased .9 degrees Celsius since 1950.
At low emissions of greenhouse gases, warming of between 1 degree Celsius and 2.5 degrees was expected by 2070, with a best estimate of 1.8 degrees, Whetton said.
At high emissions, the best estimate was warming of 3.4 degrees, in a range of 2.2 degrees to 5 degrees.
Other findings include increased droughts, increased evaporation rates, increased high-fire danger, stronger cyclones, and continued sea level rise.
Via :: Reuters :: CSIRO Press Release | <urn:uuid:d247a9f5-18e8-4bbb-98f8-7ab3c46020d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thoughtsonglobalwarming.blogspot.com/2007/10/report-australia-to-be-hit-harder-by.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938534 | 326 | 3.359375 | 3 |
|Liver Autoantibodies in Patients with Scleroderma|
|Tuesday, 19 October 2010 20:23|
Thelma L. Skare & Renato M. Nisihara & Osvaldo Haider & Pedro M. Azevedo & Shirley R. R. Utiyama
Received: 5 January 2010 / Revised: 13 August 2010 / Accepted: 26 September 2010
# Clinical Rheumatology 2010
Association between autoimmune liver diseases and scleroderma has been described. The purpose of this study was to study the prevalence of antimithocondrial antibody (AMA), antismooth muscle antibodies (SMA), and liverkidney-microsomal (LKM-1) autoantibody in a cohort of 63 scleroderma patients and 100 healthy controls. The autoantibodies AMA, SMA, and LKM were determined by indirect immunofluorescence. Patients' charts were reviewed for demographic data, scleroderma form, and clinical and antinuclear antibody profile, aiming a comparison between patients with and without liver autoantibodies. Nine patients (14.3%) were positive for at least one of the liver autoantibodies; only one patient had both AMA and SMA positive.
Antibody SMA was positive in 6.4% (4/63) patients; AMA was present in 9.52% (6/63) of them; none were positive to LKM-1. In the control group just one patient (1%) was SMA positive; the other autoantibodies were negative. There is an increased prevalence of liver autoantibodies in patients with scleroderma than in control population. These patients should be carefully followed for liver dysfunction.
Login to download your own copy of the full and original article from the link provided below | <urn:uuid:894e8959-b3b0-48a0-91dd-6301427dde30> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sclerodermatt.org/articles/news/290 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944678 | 386 | 1.617188 | 2 |
The name of God the Merciful and prayers and peace for Mister
and Best of all Prophets - our Lord Mohammed son of Abdullah - Allah bless him and peace.
Beauty is an Art and Imagination in the spirits of all human beings; it is not only for women but also for men. Some
people seek for beauty for their partners, others for self-satisfaction and others for perfection. The plastic surgeries
are the only way to acquire these needs. The studies showed that the rate of such surgeries had been increased by
about eight times over the past ten years.
The Reality of Cosmetic Surgery:
By analytical Studies for Cosmetic Surgeries, the fat aspiration (liposuction) procedures are the most common wanted surgeries. In addition, other body contouring surgeries (like abdominoplasty, brachioplasty, breast surgeries ...etc), come in the second level for the common plastic surgeries all over the world. Chemical peeling, Nose-Reshaping (Rhinoplasty) and Ear-Reshaping (Otoplasty) are also common surgeries. These studies attribute the increase in demand for cosmetic surgery to several factors, including: increasing the proportion of older persons in the distribution of the population, rising incomes, as well as the new methods of plastic surgery that made it easier, safer and faster, prompting many to rush out without fear of pain or long recovery periods.
So the Questions are, that cosmetic surgeries are frivolous or luxury or a real need for improvement organic and psychological status? And what are the opinions of cosmetic surgeons, what are the opinions of Islam scientists?
Cosmetic Surgery specialist actually differs from the general surgeon, cosmetic surgeon deals with the following types of peoples who need:
1 - Cosmetic Surgeries: as reshape of nose and ear, and eyes, hair implantation, Obesity and excess skin in all over the body, breast or buttocks augmentation and reduction of huge male breast.
2 - Reconstructive Surgeries: as treating of congenital defects as cleft lip, rebuild wounded organs as hand, breast reconstruction after mastectomy, reform broken nose after an accident and removing the effects of skin distortions and scars of previous surgeries.
3 - Microscopic surgery: as re-implanting of amputated parties, tissue and muscle transfer, liver implantation, micro-vascular surgeries and peripheral nerve surgeries.
4 - Burns: as treatment of severe burns and late burn deformities and scars.
However, there are many unnecessary plastic surgeries in love with only a change of form, and harmony with the model circulated by Hollywood or the media; as much talk about the female attempts to breathe like the lips of American actress Jane Smith and similar sports stars and other, which is in essence non-core are not connected with the concealment of defects, or to address problems in the body. These types of surgeries are common in Europe and America.
In Egypt and Arab countries, the Cosmetic surgeries started to be public, especially after advancement in medical equipments and availability of well trained highly qualified Arab Plastic Surgeons, since eighties.
The Acceptable Cosmetic Surgery:
There are many conditions where plastic and cosmetic surgeries are acceptable. Allah Says in Quran: "We have created man in the best stature," and we have already mentioned that one of the categories that describe plastic surgery is the reconstruction surgeries, and God created man in the best of creation, but as a result of certain conditions or certain diseases a part may lose its form or functions, and here plastic surgeon can reconstruct these parts to regain their natural forms and functions. The origin of humanity to be beautiful, and people took the wrong idea about the topic and entered in the subject of Halal and Haraam.
The Qualified Plastic Surgeon should avoid religiously unacceptable surgeries. For example, if a person has a deviation or curvature of the nose, however, the origin of creature of the nose should be a natural harmonious, so, we can reshape his nose (Rhinoplasty). In this situation, we do not change anything in the created nose but we regain the original form. We deal with complaints, which may psychologically affect the patient or generate alienation from the others around him or from himself. So, we should solve these psychological problems before treatment of the patients' deformities.
Anthropometric Studies have stated that every part of the face (nose, mouth and ear, eye, etc...) has proportional dimensions with the other facial features. For the majority of population, these proportions are fixed. However, some people have proportions that differ from the normal ones. For example, the nose occupies middle one fifth of the facial width and the middle one third of the facial height. If the dimensions of the human nose are beyond these proportions, this nose is abnormal and may cause psychological problems. Here, there is a true need to correct this dimensions to fit the normal proportions by nose reshaping. But, if the proportions of the nose are within the normal ranges, there is no need for cosmetic surgery.
Some people consider the plastic surgeries are luxuries; however, it may be the meaning of life to others. For example, if a woman has small atrophied breasts that reduce her femininity and cause psychological problems?! Breast augmentation using an external prosthesis is the best way to regain her femininity and to solve her problem, why she can not do this operation?! The others do not consider it to be important, but for her, she may lose her husband and her life at all. On the contrary, if a woman has huge breasts, that cause back ache, she should think about breast reduction to get rid of pain.
Therefore, the vast majority of patients have cosmetic complaints effective, except for few exceptions. As we have stated in advance of such operations religious and morally acceptable and there is no deviation from the Islamic beliefs. The patient comes to us named Abdullah, also came out Abdullah is not changed, but his deformities were corrected or modified. If we will change God's creation, we will remove the nose and put it somewhere else!!
We do not think that people are generally opposed to these issues, but they are looking for reassurance; because they fear no man's land (Haraam). To say that plastic surgery is considered an interference in the trunks of creation, is to ignore the fact that the miraculous nature of creativity and begin the moment of fertilization and one cell to end after nine months of pregnancy to the thousands of billions of cells that have been developed to provide a well-thousands of jobs unique staggering, hence man's creation is only a fraction of universe beauty and creativity. The plastic surgery is to add a touch of beauty to one of these posts. We can not say that the use of air-conditioned is to interfere in God's creation. Therefore, Islam does not oppose the rights to make man-life more comfortable, productive and happy. Talk or Hadith of our Lord Mohammed bin Abdullah Allah bless him and peace says: "God loves a beautiful beauty."
Relations between plastic surgery and psychological treatment:
This issue "Is cosmetic surgery Halal or Haraam?" "i.e. Is Cosmetic Surgery is religiously legal or illegal" of concern to both the cosmetic surgeon and the patient in order to verify that they do not conflict with Islamic beliefs as it relates to the human body.
Recently, after spread of cosmetic surgeries in Islamic countries due to the propaganda in media and advanced medical technology, there have been opinions that reject these surgeries as they are not in conformity with Islamic beliefs as they change God's creation. Yet, as plastic surgeon, we can divide plastic surgeries into three categories:
Section I: (more than 60%), what is so-called complementary, compensatory, or reconstructive surgeries.
Section II: (approximately 30%), this group includes the patients who have changes that occur as a result of progress in life; such as obesity, tummy tucks, breast ptosis especially after pregnancy and lactation, here are forced to undertake the operation; in order to maintain the cohesion of the family and the regain of some of lost Fitness.
Section III: (less than 10%), this group includes the patients who seek for just changes and there are no obvious deformities. Most of these patients are not treated by the plastic surgeons, but a psychiatrist.
There is up to 5% - 10% of cosmetic surgeries which are religiously unacceptable; because their goals are only luxury and the tradition of the West. This type of cases we - as plastic surgeons - should face them with red card; where the patient comes with a model or an image and he wants to make him like its nose, mouth, or even eyes. In addition, gender transfer surgeries and conversion to the opposite sex (male to female and vice versa) is debatable issue. This problem is divided into two groups:
- The first group that includes the patients who are suffering from hormonal imbalance in the genes level. The patient's sex could be determined easily by the laboratory tests that confirm that hormonal dominance is female hormones, or vice versa. In addition, the examination of the external genitalia, and the report of the scientific committee, which do not have an interest in this surgery, could help the surgeon to make the decision.
- The second group which suffers from a moral and behavioral disorders, abnormal sexual problems, and rebellion of the values, customs and religion. This type of patients we can not deal with them, according to their whims. However, in Western countries these surgeries are not uncommon!
Therefore, the relationship between the surgery to the body and the spirit, "if the plastic surgery are necessary to correct a deformity (congenital or accident), it is acceptable."
The standards of beauty vary according to each region and race, but the logic of fashion and the anthropometry of western body, with pressure imposed by the media in the cinema and television to make the individual seek for more and more perfection, even if there are not of real benefit, so, self-awareness and the value of the spirit will be the key to get rid of this mirage.
Islamic scientists' opinions:
- Sheikh Dr. Mohamed Salah said, in Huda Channel:
- Prof. Ali Alsoa / Professor of Jurisprudence:
Amendment of creature to its original form is legally permissible; as this change is due to an abnormal incidence that interferes with the form and functions of this creature. As regard the gender transfer, organ transplantation, teeth implantation, hair transplantation, cornea transplantation, breast augmentation or reduction, nose reshaping and management of post-burn deformities, Who can determine that such a needed thing or not?
- Sheikh Gamal Kotb - Chairman of the Fatwa Committee of Al Azhar former:
He has an opinion for cosmetic surgery that is" he opposed to the word cosmetic surgery because of congenital defects, and instead preferred to say, evaluate the surgery because of defects resulting from inborn error in the diet or because of a genetic factor resulting in an increased shortage of finger or toe or so.
Sheikh Gamal has been identified the creature as the normal pattern for God's creation, which most people have, but the distortion occurs because of a defect. Islam does not prevent the enjoyment of human beauty; the Prophet Muhammad said: (God loves beauty beautiful). From religious aspect, there is no objection for reconstructive surgery; that the islamic beliefs agree with: "No Darr or Dirar" i.e. (we can do anything if it is legal and there is no harmful effect on mankind or others), where the return to normalcy and the origins of the creatures that God created people without an increase or a change of God's creation. He wonders: Is, with the development of technological and medical advances, it acceptable that we leave the disease and suffering by the patient or have a plastic surgery?!
- While the Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Awadi - President of the Islamic Medical Association - stated that change of sex is not allowed totally in Islamic believes; as this may lead to confusion on the issue of inheritance. However, homosexual disorders should be corrected for dominant gender, but it is not allowed for normal man and these procedures are wrong and prohibited.
However, cosmetic surgery in general is not entirely forbidden as long as the surgical procedure will not change anything from God's creation. In addition, all reconstructive surgical procedures should be done without any objection.
As Regard the circumcision of girls, He said that It is regrettable that some of female circumcision is an Islamic obligation, and the Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him is the "Akhvdi not Tnehki" - i.e. little not total excision - It is the firm islamic believes that we do not allow it but if only it is a medical indication; to limit its malpractice, and protect women rights.
- Sheikh Abdul Bari Elzimzmi - one of the most prominent Islamic scholars of Morocco - said: "cosmetic surgery has two indications: one is to seek for beauty to improve the human look, and the second dealing with the congenital defect and repair of the lesion on the body after accidents. The beauty of the good demand is categorically forbidden taboo; because of the work of the devil The steps and God said in Quran the people will follow the devil way and devil said "I will mislead them, and I will create in them false desires; I will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and to deface the (fair) nature created by Allah". So, cosmetic surgery is prohibited even to animals.
For these causes the Prophet prohibited any changes in features of the face if the indication is seeking for beauty. He - by Son of Masood - said, may Allah be pleased with him: "God's curse women, who extend her hair by using natural hair from other woman; who sell their hair; who remove eyebrow hair to make it thinner; who use tattoo; who make it; who widen spaces between front teeth and who seek for beauty, changing what God created.
The beauty is permissible if the treatment of a congenital defects or correction of defects after an accident as burning with fire.
- Sheikh Mohamed Hassan, Sheikh Mohamed Hussien Yaquop, Sheikh Mohamed El Areefe, Doctor Abd El Aziz Fawzan, Sheikh Mustafa El Adawy:
- Sheikh Sharawy, one of the most prominent Islamic Scientist of Egypt:
Islam's view of plastic surgery:
Every living organism has the right to enjoy health. Man as one of those creatures may get sick, and as he is the best of creatures, he has the right to seek for health to be in the best condition to devote himself to religious duties. Therefore, it was necessary to clarify those Islamic provisions for the Muslim patient, the treating physician and everyone to be aware of them; in order to get convenience with them.
Many of the Islamic religious provisions should be applied by a trusted doctor who can medicate the disease, and help the patient to get off his illness as soon as possible, to be ready to continue his normal life.
However, there are diseases which are not medical organic disease, but affect Man health. These types of diseases affect mainly the psychological state of the patient. They include congenital defects, like someone who was born with a cleft lips or six finger in hand, or it may happen to man during his life, such as accidents and burns. They affect the patient by the psychological pain which may be more harmful than organic pain. With the advances in medicine in the modern era of surgery, it has been easy to eliminate these harmful psychological pains.
Medical researches continue to reveal the secrets of the human body, and ways to ease and simplify the cosmetic surgery. This type of surgery is not a new phenomenon, but this type of surgery was widespread among Arabs and Muslims. Proof of this statement in the book "the history of medicine and pharmacology at the Arabs," on the subject of orthodontics: "If teeth grew abnormally; that make ugly look, especially with women and slaves, we try carving or extraction of these teeth"
The purpose of medicine - one of two things: the conservation of health, and the second treatment of diseases or their effects. Says Ezz Bin Abdulsalam: "medicine, such as Islamic law, designed to bring the interests of safety and wellness, and prevent the consequences of disease."
Medication in the Islamic religion is lawful. That is not different as regard the cosmetic surgery. Leaving these defects in the human body affects the psychological state and causes pains. The Prophet - peace be upon him - stated the importance of medications to strengthen the hearts and souls, the narrated in his Sunan Ibn Maajah from the Hadith of Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri said: The Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him: "If you visit a patient, ask God for him a long life, this is not something, but which is a pleasure for the patient". In this type of very Sharif treatment, the treatment by words extends to the pleasure to regain the health, helping to eliminate the illness. But if there are distortions in the body, it causes the worry and sadness; because selves always tend to self-perfection.
Summary and Conclusion:
The medicine is developed to bring the interests of safety and wellness, and prevention of harm. Anthropometric Studies have stated that every part of the face (nose, mouth and ear, eye, etc...) has proportional dimensions with the other facial features. For the majority of population, these proportions are fixed. However, some people have proportions that differ from the normal ones.
Cosmetic operations are divided into three types:
Type I: This is necessary to correct congenital defects. This type includes patients with the proportions which are not within the normal ranges.
Type II: This is necessary to correct and compensate defects in the body resulted from an accident during lifespan.
Type III: Which is frivolous or luxury and is intended to excessive standards of beauty. This type is forbidden in the Hadith.
Here, Cosmetic Surgery could be needed to the overcome first two types (I, II). However, type III is contrary to Islamic religious law.
May be this is too expensive in your country. Or just you look for privacy and discretion.
May be you are considering having this surgery abroad, but with safety and confidence.
ENTER and know all what you have to know about safe and affordable plastic surgery!!
Should you have any questions, please feel free to Contact Us! | <urn:uuid:c6ad36dc-2ce5-47cb-b7df-1cf7e3e59c20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.elroubyegypt.com/hn/islamic_opinion.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952926 | 3,817 | 1.929688 | 2 |
An Early College Economics Lesson For One Student
One day last year I skipped school to wait for acceptances from colleges. It was the final day that letters or emails were supposed to be sent out.
I sat in front of my laptop by the front door for at least three hours, listening for the mailman while eagerly pressing the refresh button on my inbox. I admit, at one point, I checked my neighbor's mail. Getting my house skipped on the mail route was one of the less crazy hypotheticals I imagined while waiting.
The college responses I had already received were pinned up on a corkboard in the hallway, so everyone in my family would pass by them on the way to the bathroom.
After my 300th click I finally got it: my rejection email. It was just two paragraphs. We're very sorry, such-and-such many applicants, etc. etc. Sure, I was upset. But I thought, at least I still have the other schools on that corkboard.
A few weeks later, I got my federal financial aid notice or FAFSA. It estimates what your family can pay for college and how much federal aid you can get. I knew the minute I saw those little black numbers it wouldn't be enough. My mom was still paying off her college loans and I had already spent more than I could afford on high school transcripts, applications, and the ACT test. Tuition at my top school was $30,000 a year, and I was going to be on the hook for two-thirds of it.
For the first time, I was seeing the price tag of my dream and realizing it was way out of my budget.
I had spent months telling my friends about my plans for the next school year: journalism and anthropology classes on the East Coast, taking the subway, and going to poetry readings.
That all changed after the financial aid letters.
Now I'm attending community college, working two jobs and I'm still trying to figure out next year. And how much debt my college dreams are worth. | <urn:uuid:85f7855f-b8a0-469b-adc3-db2d89491389> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.redriverradio.org/post/early-college-economics-lesson-one-student | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983749 | 424 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Clothing for Comfort
No you don't need special clothes or shoes to enjoy dancing. This isn't a fashion show. But every week we see people who are having problems because they're wearing something that restricts their movements, or that makes them feel uncomfortable. So here's a few suggestions to help you and your partners be more comfortable on the dance floor:
Bring clean shoes
Bring a second pair of shoes and change when you get to class. Your street shoes bring in dirt, and dancing on a gritty, cruddy floor feels bad. The grit also chews up the floor, and it ruins the special shoes that dancers wear.
Wear shoes that stay on your feet
Open-back shoes are a bad idea. If you can't go forward, backwards, sideways, and turn without coming out of your shoes, don't wear them dancing.
Wear shoes that let you pivot
Most athletic shoes and many synthetic-soled shoes are too sticky for comfortable dancing. You should be able to pivot easily, and be able to drag or slide your foot without it sticking to the floor.
Don't wear big shoes
Sounds dumb, but it's true. Big clunky shoes, or shoes that make your feet look big, will make your feet feel big and clumsy.
So what do I wear?
Short answer: Experiment, and wear whatever works for you.
Long answer: Most people find that leather-soled shoes work well on a wooden floor. Heel size doesn't matter--the important thing is to feel comfortable and stable. A flexible sole works better than a thick, stiff sole. If they're too slippery, try using a wire brush on the soles. Real ballroom dance shoes have suede leather soles. Jazz flats have the same soles but usually cost less.
Wear clothes that let you move
Guys are usually okay with this, but women sometimes show up to dance in straight skirts or tops that fall off their shoulders. If you can't comfortably take a full stride in every direction, or raise your arm above your head, wear something else.
Wear clothes that are comfortable in a class setting
You're going to be in close contact with people you don't know, which may raise some issues of modesty and comfort levels. Wrapping your arms around strangers can feel awkward, and there's no point in making it worse by wearing something that makes your feel exposed.
Shorts/short skirts: Are popular and easy to dance in, but remember that thigh contact is a normal and necessary part of some dances. If you're not comfortable having someone else's leg between yours, you might want something longer.
Low-back/backless tops: Only if you don't mind other people's hands on your bare back. Having to put a hand on your bare back will also make some partners feel awkward.
Big jewelry: Big earrings will whack you in the face, and sharp rings can cut or catch on things. Keep it simple.
Tank tops/sleeveless shirts: You might not mind strange hands on your bare shoulders, but some of your partners won't be comfortable doing that. The male armpit is also not generally considered to be a thing of beauty to be displayed at close range.
But there are no rules. Wear whatever you enjoy dancing in and find comfortable for class. | <urn:uuid:c5276d8a-53ca-41d7-88c7-1f1dcc6058a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dancevision.com/buyers-guide/resources/dance_tips/21/?cfid=10012697&cftoken=47044379 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959995 | 691 | 1.859375 | 2 |
The Port of Prince Rupert is usually in the news because it is expanding again or signing a new customer. The recent news wasn’t as positive, as an incoming container ship ran aground.
According to the Prince Rupert Port Authority, the Hanjin Geneva, a 915-foot container ship, ran aground on November 20 at Prince Rupert Harbor in British Columbia after it changed course to avoid a small fishing boat and hit a sandbar. No one was hurt, and no cargo was lost.
This is at least the third accident in Prince Rupert harbor. A bulk carrier hit ground in January 2007, and a freighter touched bottom in December 2009. The harbor is deep, but the area apparently subject to a 21-foot tidal range.
Activists and attorneys are already using the incident to highlight risks of expanding Rupert to accommodate oil shipments.
“Joseph Spears, a maritime lawyer at Straith Litigation Chambers in West Vancouver, agreed Prince Rupert has a remarkable safety record. But Mr. Spears, an expert on marine emergency planning, said the accident could easily have been a disaster – and had it resulted in a major oil spill, B.C. wouldn’t have been ready to respond.
“That vessel could have up to 3,000 tonnes of bunker fuel on it,” he said. ‘If that was a … spill, what would that look like on a dark and stormy night?”
Mr. Spears said federal government cutbacks have weakened the ability of authorities to respond to a major marine accident on the B.C. coast. | <urn:uuid:b838c8ac-1f3b-49ff-ac42-a3487788a20b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.longshoreshippingnews.com/2012/12/concerns-raised-after-ship-runs-aground-at-port-of-prince-rupert/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966576 | 325 | 1.601563 | 2 |
The Rohan Regional Shows 1981 – 1986 all part of the Rohan story. When we started Rohan in the 1970′s we assumed that we would sell our garments through the UK outdoor retailer. Such was the order of things at the time.
Post Tagged with: "Rohan history"
The iconic Rohan Bags are the original multi-functional outdoor trousers and the blueprint for all contemporary travel trousers. Lightweight, quick-drying and highly resistant to UV radiation, four security pockets
A few days ago this question was posted on the forum. How many Rohan Pullover smocks are there? We asked Ben from Rohan Keswick who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Rohan History if he could list all the Rohan over the head tops.
Pen Slots remember them? We get some great questions on the Rohantime forum. This one is no exception. Many thanks to forum member NixEre Title: Pens “When I started buying Rohan many years ago
Rohan have been producing legwear for over 40 years. Rohan and Striders have been together for years. Rohan Bags are now an iconic garment in the history of outdoor gear. Bags have been in continual production since 1979.
Greetings Everyone This time of year I attempt a round-up of the highlights on Rohantime over the past 12 months. It is always difficult because I am really spoilt for choice. Yesterday an outdoor journalist asked me to sum up Rohantime over the past year. One word does it ‘people‘. [...]
Rohantime posts are tremendously varied, covering such topics as Rohan Reviews, Rohan History, Rohan Shops and Rohan People and Places. Each of these posts generates comments. From time to time we highlight a comment
A couple of strange things happened during October, within a few hours of each other. I was asked this question by a Rohan Customer - ‘What was the very first jacket Rohan made’? I was at the time sorting the Gift Your Gear donations. I opened a box and on the [...]
Happy Birthday Rohan! The Team at Rohan Perth would just like to wish Rohan a very Happy 40th Birthday this year! A customer recently brought in some old Rohan catalogues to the Perth shop. So we just couldn’t resist this opportunity to bring you some of the highlights by way [...] | <urn:uuid:5d5374c5-9683-4480-b13c-b8c76c1e55a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rohantime.com/tag/rohan-history/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960649 | 500 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Belching is important for baby because when baby belches, the air that is in her stomach will be put outside. If baby doesn’t belch, it can make baby vomits, easily chokes and for some babies, it can make her stomach puff up.
The gas that is in her stomach can cause colic (stomachache). It can make her cries for long time because of the hurt and she doesn’t feel comfortable. Indirectly, when she cries there will be some gas that enter to her stomach. This will make her condition worst.
When you make your baby belch, try to clap her back softly and do it several times. In order to protect you and your baby from the liquid that she might vomit it, put the bib on your baby’s neck or little towel in your shoulder.
If you are confused how to make your baby belch, you can follow these steps:
- You sit firmly and carry your baby on your chest.
- Put your baby’s chin on your shoulder and hold the baby’s hand with one of your hands.
- Your another hand clap her back softly and do it several times.
If your baby cries and it seems she does not feel comfortable when you breastfeed her, just stop breastfeeding her for a while. Make your baby belch and you can change your position. After that you can breastfeed her again. Try to make your baby belch every time she consumes 60-90 ml so that there will be no much gas that put in. if her stomach is easy to puff up, every 5 minutes try to make her belch when she drinks milk.
For baby whose age is 6 months, commonly she needs 10-15 minutes to belch. If baby does not belch, it is possible that she will vomit. If your baby is getting older, you don’t need to make her belch because she can swallow the foods without inhaling too much air. | <urn:uuid:a1cb99ec-caeb-4b19-8532-e8419085efac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://babytipz.com/baby-care/breastfeeding-and-making-your-baby-belch | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953668 | 414 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Yesterday our President came to town!
President Obama dropped in on the citizens of Nashua, NH on Saturday (Oct. 27, 2012) as part of the last leg of his re-election campaign. In my opinion, having the leader of the free world stopping into town is a big deal and for me a chance to capture a little history with my camera.
The folks in Nashua really turned out and despite long lines and many hours of waiting, they kept the smiles on their faces. The fact that so many people decided to take part makes me hopeful about the state of our body politic. It was a small demonstration against apathy, and I will take it as a positive sign.
James Taylor provided a warm-up act for the main show and he did not disappoint. He played a selection of his hits and really sounded great. It was a nice distraction and provided some relive for the thousands of folks patiently standing en-mass on the lawn of the Elm Street School campus.
I was able to share this experience in the company of two of my sisters, which is rare get together for us, which made for a more important occasion. The event brought to mind, all the political /campaign events we have witnessed together in New Hampshire over the last forty or so years. From the days of Nixon to today we have had a front row seat to the American political process.
Just another good day in New Hampshire.
Posted in Live event photography
Also tagged Dan Splaine photographer, editorial photography, James Taylor, Nashua, New Hampshire, photojournalism, politicians, politics, President Obama, press photos, Test of Time photography
Senator Arlen Specter during hearings on Capital Hill. This image is from my archive of client work. Many of my photography assignements involved creating editorial images for public policy clients. ©2006 Daniel J. Splaine – All Rights reserved
The news of the death of Senator Arlen Specter yesterday was noteworthy for a few reasons. First and foremost the nation has lost a long serving and capable public servant. His death also marks the end of another era in American political life. The senate he served in was once a place of civility and high-minded pursuit of effective public policy. Today it is all about dogma and disparagement Moderate northeastern Republicans like Specter, offered a counter balance to more extreme right and in my opinion we all benefited from that middle road.
Specter was tough and pragmatic, with a political career that began with the Warren Commission and ended with the Tea Party. In my photography career I was able to photograph and observe the senator in action on a couple of occasions. What I recall most from watching in the Senate hearing room was his intensity and his no-nonsense approach. We would be well served as a nation if we had more like him. Agree with him or not, the man always earned respect. RIP sir.
On Sunday I held a street photography workshop during the Chinese New Year Parade festivities in Boston’s Chinatown. Sixteen photographers joined me for a day of photo education and image making. The Lion Dancers and festivities made provided a unique subject to photograph and plenty of excitement.
Street photography is one of the oldest traditions in photography. As camera technology became smaller and more mobile (Moving from large format view cameras to smaller roll film cameras) photographers turned their cameras to the realities and moments they observed around them. The aim of this workshop was to immerse the participants into the urban environment and to have them practice this type of on the fly documentary photography. Despite the cold and crowds, they were able to make some remarkable images.
Check out the results on the group Flickr page.
This workshop is one of the program of digital photography workshops and photography tours that we offer at Test of Time Photography. Our objective its to build photographer skills and creative abilities so our students can create the images they imagine. This was a fun event and a great way to start of the year.
Posted in Digital Photo classes, Digital photography tips, Learn Photography, Photo workshops, Photographer tours, Travel Photography, Uncategorized
Also tagged adult education, Boston, Chinatown, Cninese New Year, Dan Splaine Photo educator, Dan Splaine photographer, digital photo how to, digital photo workshops, learning digital photography, NH photo class, photo how to, photographer tour, photography skill building, photography workshops, street photo workshops, stret photography, Test of Time photography, understanding photography
Game on in New Hampshire! Now that the Iowa caucus is over John Huntsman will not be the only primary candidate wandering the streets on New Hampshire seeking primary voters. This shot made on Monday when all the excitement was in the Midwest, the calm before the storm. Looking forward to a week full of political events and sightings.
Gov. Huntsman with wife in tow, passing in front of a bust of JFK which graces the Main Street in front of the city hall in Nashua, NH. The statue commemorates the spot that Kennedy started his campaign for president in 1960. The image reeks of irony for me and I can not but hear the voice of Lloyd Benson comment on VP Dan Quayle ” You’re no Jack Kennedy…”
The presidential primary, the national sport of the Granite State is truly one of my favorite things. Only six more days until the parade leaves town!
Posted in Live event photography, NH Primary
Also tagged candidate, candidate appearance, current events, Dan Splaine Photo educator, Dan Splaine photographer, editorial photography, election, Nashua, New Hampshire, New Hampshire primary, photojournalism, politicians, politics
The national sport of the State of New Hampshire is of course the much beloved, first in the nation, presidential primary. Having had the privileged of growing up in Nashua, I have been watching the parade of politicians stomping across the granite state since the early 1970′s. (We are a state of astute political handicappers and I think the rest of the nation does not quite get what a service we provide to the body politic). For myself, a political junkie and a photographer the primary campaigns are pure joy and source of great imagery.
This time around the parade has not really begun. Given President Obama’s unchallenged status among the Democratic party and the Republican pool of candidates unwilling and reluctant to jump in things are pretty quiet on the NH stump. At this point in a typical election year we would have candidates and their minions as thick as black flies roaming the state.
The Memorial Day appearance of Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann in Dover was my first chance of this election cycle to photograph a candidate on the hunt for votes. Despite her undeclared status and Sarah Palin’s tour competing for media attention a fair amount of media turned out. Half the fun of the primary show is the media scrum that follows the candidates and of course jumping in to get the images I want to make. My mass and height give me some advantage in the mix and a certain immunity to elbows and nudges.
Bachmanns’s presentation was unremarkable by design-she is keeping her powder dry for her upcoming Iowa announcement. As modest as the event was it excited my taste for things to come, the political theater of the New Hampshire primary. Bring on the parade!
Michele Bachman – Memorial Day visiti to Dover NH – at the podium
Michele Bachman – Memorial Day visiti to Dover NH – Greeting a Vetran
Michele Bachman – Memorial Day visiti to Dover NH – Greeting a Vetran
Michele Bachman – Memorial Day visiti to Dover NH – Lone protestor
Michele Bachman – Memorial Day visiti to Dover NH – media scrum | <urn:uuid:a2535bb3-408a-437d-b19d-835bc633ea1c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://insplainesight.com/?tag=event-photography | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958972 | 1,586 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Peter Alexander, “Dorado”
October 29 - November 26, 2011 at Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica
by Diane Calder
The “wow” factor that astonishes those initially introduced to Peter Alexander’s velvet paintings via print or online imagery intensifies considerably when viewers stand engulfed by works such as 1982’s “Dorado.” Akin to a geisha’s lush attire, the unexpectedly diverse and sensual overlays of color, patterns, lines and textures in “Dorado” create an environment that entices spectators to look into its depths, longing to draw close enough to inspect every layer. Get your nose right up to the delicate floating keyhole created by the circular elements at its center: the boundaries of the oversized work disappear, submerging you in a mysterious undersea world.
Peter Alexander, “Dorado,” 1982, acrylic and fabric collage on velvet, 94 x 115”.
In the 60’s, overwhelmed by his response to witnessing underwater creatures gone florescent in a night sea illuminated by the red tide and flickering lights from a fishing boat, Alexander’s gut response was to find a way to express his awe through his art. Early attempts experimenting with paint black enough to simulate the ocean’s depths were disappointing. Only when he looked closely at materials from antique quilts, which his then wife Clytie happen to have on hand, did Alexander consider the cheeky possibility of utilizing black velvet as a major element in his work.
A gifted draftsman and colorist, Alexander assembled and left his mark on hordes of dazzling materials, utilizing paint, glitter, and the translucent and reflective qualities of various fabrics. He orchestrated them into his personal interpretation of natural phenomenon that quickly became branded as quintessentially Californian. He directed Clytie to loosely paste materials into place, allowing him to move various elements around until compositions clicked. At that point Clytie did the final sewing on works that L.A. Times critic Christopher Knight noted "take the lowest of low-art media - those cheesy paintings on black velvet for sale at every abandoned gas station from here to Tijuana - and transform it into an ecstatic world."
Along with the unstretched velvet works from the 80’s, several smaller, mid-70’s framed pieces, including “Beverly Hills” and “The Other One” are on display. Like ghosts of Julius Schulman’s iconic photograph, “Case Study house #22,” (shown recently at this gallery), numerous paintings by Alexander connote rows of lights receding into space. They bring to mind the dramatic night landscape underscoring Schulman’s image of Pierre Koenig’s cantilevered architecture. Schulman’s recollection of New York Times architectural critic Paul Goldberger’s comment about that photograph is applicable to much of Alexander’s work: “The night scene represented an idealistic image of young people’s dreams; what they visualized living in the hills of Hollywood California could be – without ever having been there.”
Alexander’s aptitude in dealing with space as well as light, honed in his early studies in architecture, emerges in the subtle resin sculptures included in this exhibition. Ardently engaged in the joys of the 60’s Californian lifestyle, early on Alexander realized that the plastics he had on hand to coat his surfboards could be utilized to make sculpture. Alexander first became noted for his polyester resin sculptures while still an MFA student at UCLA, showing West Coast work that was well received in New York. However, in less than a decade, the toxins emitted from plastics put an end to his use of that media. Now he hires out the fabrication, concentrating on designating color and form for engrossing works like “Ditman,” and “Mirasol.” Alexander enhances the rippled surface left from casting to obtain the suggestion of shadows moving through water. The effect is heightened when the viewer becomes engaged in these intimate works: moving around, changing position, accepting Alexander’s invitation to experience the sensation of viewing light captured in the space of an object.
Peter Alexander, “The Other One,” 1974, acrylic and fabric collage on velvet, 30 x 40”. | <urn:uuid:6dec71f0-e5a6-43aa-9e0e-1759a1344cd5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artscenecal.com/articles/661-peter-alexander | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959018 | 908 | 1.601563 | 2 |
“Gamma-Dynacare is committed to giving back, and to helping ensure the growth of strong and healthy communities. To us, making a difference in the places where we live and work is a natural extension of our mission of: Providing Information. Impacting Lives. Caring for People.”
President and CEO
As one of Canada’s largest and most respected providers of laboratory services and solutions, we strive to be the best at what we do -- transforming laboratory information and services into solutions that improve health, wellness and the Canadian health care system.
Located in more than 75 communities across five provinces, we also strive to be good neighbours by being a positive force for change in people’s lives. Through our corporate giving, we support programs that promote health and wellness and help build strong communities.
Making a Difference: Gamma-Dynacare’s 2012 Lead Charity
“Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all the major cancers. It is the only leading cancer with a five-year survival rate still in the single digits, a survival rate that has not improved in the last 40 years.”
Executive Director, Pancreatic Cancer Canada
Each year, with the help of our employees, Gamma-Dynacare chooses one Canadian charity to which to make a significant contribution. Typically it is an organization that promotes health & wellness, has national reach, and supports a cause that is otherwise underfunded and under recognized.
For 2012, Gamma-Dynacare employees voted to support Pancreatic Cancer Canada. Pancreatic cancer can strike anybody, at any time. It is estimated that 4,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2011, and approximately 3,900 will die.
It is referred to as a silent killer because it is difficult to detect and spreads very quickly. There are no detection tools to diagnose this disease in its early stages when surgical removal of the tumor is still possible.
“Despite significant advances in the treatments of other cancers, pancreatic cancer remains largely incurable,” says Laurie.
And, despite affecting more people each year, donations to fund critical research lags far behind other leading cancers. In fact, a recent report from Charity Intelligence Canada calls pancreatic cancer the most seriously underfunded cancer, receiving only 0.1% of all research funds.
In an effort to fight back, Pancreatic Cancer Canada was founded in 2006. Since then, the country’s only national, volunteer-driven foundation has raised more than half a million dollars for the cause.
“We look at each donation as an opportunity to provide hope,” says Laurie. “It is our goal to ensure that pancreatic cancer patients join the growing rank of cancer survivors, as opposed to cancer victims.”
To learn more about Pancreatic Cancer Canada, or to make a donation, please visit www.pancreaticcancercanada.ca
“Amongst our 2,000 employees, a community spirit is alive and thriving. Gamma-Dynacare wholeheartedly supports local initiatives, and encourages employees to be active in their individual neighbourhoods.”
Vice-President, Human Resources and Talent Management
Our employees donate hundreds of hours of their own time, giving back to the communities where they live. Many also extend this good work past our Canadian borders, helping others across the globe. Collectively, their efforts help to assist the less fortunate, raise critical dollars for treatment and research into many of today’s deadliest diseases, and help mentor our youth.
This culture of giving has allows Gamma-Dynacare to become partners with the communities we serve, as well as make the company a more rewarding place to work.
Read our stories!
Cytotechnologists donate time, expertise to help save lives in Peru
Imagine a place where women face one of the highest rates of death from cervical cancer in the world. Add to that less than 30 per cent of its female population has access to life saving screening and medical interventions, and you have a precarious situation in the country of Peru.
Wanting to make a difference, Gamma-Dynacare cytotechnologists Sharon Tomas and Marylee Skurdelis answered a plea for help from the International Cervical Cancer Foundation (INCCA). There, the duo donated their skills and their vacation time to volunteer at the Cervi-Cusco Clinic in Cusco, which administers free Papanicolauo (Pap) tests to the women of central southeastern Peru.
“We saw it as an opportunity to do good work,” said Sharon. “Like all cancers, early detection and intervention are key. Once the disease has progressed to an advanced stage, there is little that can be done to help.”
Before the clinic opened its doors, Sharon continued, many of the regional women had never had any access to preventative health care or cervical screening. Now, patients literally line up outside to be evaluated, sometimes travelling for hours just to get to the clinic.
“On or before the mission weeks, a clinical group of volunteer medical students and gynecologists goes up into the remote mountain villages to see patients. Sometimes these communities are nine or 10 hours away by bus, with women who would never have access to screening without the work of the clinic,” adds Marylee.
Sharon and Marylee’s group arrived in Peru in June of last year, one of four missions that all together included about 60 volunteer cytotechnologists, pathologists and clinicians, gynecologists, and medical students from the U.S. and Canada. As cytotechnologists, their responsibilities included staining slides and screening conventional Paps for the clinic. Together, Sharon notes, their group screened more than 1,000 slides during the one week period they were there.
“It was certainly different than what we experience here in Canada. In Peru, if we deemed a slide to be negative, it was simply tossed into a large box. There were fewer quality controls and health and safety controls in place for the laboratory work, something we now take for granted here,” says Sharon, adding that all things considered, the quality of the preparation and staining done at the clinic was very good, and it was great to see that patient care given such a high priority.
The two, who were responsible for paying all their own expenses for the trip, including transportation, lodging and food, went a step further than just donating their time to help the women of Peru. Recognizing the opportunity to do further good, the pair reached out to their fellow co-workers and to Gamma-Dynacare to assist with the donation of necessities for the clinic, as well as hundreds of dollars of essentials for children in nearby isolated mountain schools.
“We were truly overwhelmed by the generosity of our colleagues, and of the organization. Everyone wanted to help,” says Marylee. “It was an amazing experience for us to be given that much support. We can’t thank people enough for their interest and their enthusiasm.”
Combined with Gamma-Dynacare’s donation of unused microscopes, slides and other required supplies, this giving spirit from employees raised close to $1,300 in cash donations to purchase an additional 5,000 cover slides. The cost to ship the laboratory equipment to the clinic, they add, was paid for by Gamma-Dynacare. The remainder of the funds, says Sharon, was used locally to purchase books in Spanish and Quechua, as well as other much-needed supplies for schools in the isolated Andean villages. Two additional suitcases weighing over 110 pounds were used to carry all the donated clothing, shoes, hand soaps and art supplies, etc. to Cusco, Peru.
“We wanted to see more than just Cusco, so after our week at the clinic we did some sightseeing, including a trip up into the mountains to personally drop off some much-needed supplies at one of the area’s mountain schools,” adds Sharon.
The school, one of four in the area supported by the Willka T'ika Children’s Fund, runs a library, a hot lunch program, as well as courses teaching cultural trades such as weaving, pottery and organic farming. Some of its 200 students, adds Marylee, walk for more than two hours each day just to attend.
With no publicly funded health care in the country, the Willka T'ika Children’s Fund also supports an emergency medical assistance fund. This fund, which provides emergency treatment to children who otherwise would receive no help, was the recipient of the remaining $550 that was raised by Sharon and Marylee prior to their departure.
“The whole trip was an amazing experience, one we would gladly repeat,” says Marylee, echoing Sharon’s thanks to their colleagues and to Gamma-Dynacare for their generous support.
Impacting Lives: Our Community Outreach Program
“By providing valuable diagnostic information, we improve the quality of millions of lives each and every year. Through our Community Outreach program, Gamma-Dynacare is also committed to impacting lives by promoting health & wellness, and building stronger communities in Canada and abroad.”
Vice-President, Strategic Planning and Corporate Communications
At Gamma-Dynacare, we believe in connecting with our communities. Through our Community Outreach program, we are impacting lives through the support of local, national and international causes.
Our Community Outreach program focuses its support on projects, programs or campaigns that:
- promote health & wellness, or help to build stronger communities;
- directly benefit the community;
- have the greatest positive impact;
- are measureable in terms of success.
Preference will be given to those projects, programs or campaigns targeted to areas in which Gamma-Dynacare operates. However, we will consider organizations whose good works impact those in other Canadian communities, as well as abroad.
To apply for donations under the Community Outreach Program, please review the criteria below and then complete and submit our Donation Request Form (below).
On this form, you will be asked to provide information on the project, program or campaign you would like us to support. You will also be asked details about the primary contact, the organization requesting funding, as well as the amount of funds being requested. All applications must then be emailed to Gamma-Dynacare at DonationRequest@gamma-dynacare.com.
Requests for funds are carefully reviewed three times a year. The request turnaround time depends on the size and complexity of the request, as well as when it is submitted. A Gamma-Dynacare representative may follow up with you if more information is required.
Organizations receiving funding may be asked to provide a final report detailing the results and benefits achieved through the funded project, program or campaign.
Criteria to consider when applying for funding under our Community Outreach program:
- In order to be eligible for funding, organizations must be a registered Canadian Charity.
- Preference is given to those projects, programs or campaigns targeted to communities in which we operate.
- While funding amounts vary, requests for more than $5,000 are not typically considered under this program.
- Our Community Outreach program focuses its support on projects, programs or campaigns that:
- promote health & wellness, or help build stronger communities;
- directly benefit the community;
- have the greatest positive impact;
- are measureable in terms of success.
- Funding is not generally provided for:
- Individual or business endeavours;
- Religious, political organizations or special interest groups;
- Advocacy or lobby initiatives;
- Advertising, memberships, ticket sales or lotteries;
- Salaries or operating costs.
Gamma-Dynacare Donation Request Form [PDF]
More questions? See our Frequently Asked Questions.
1. When do you accept proposals?
Requests for support are accepted throughout the year, and are reviewed three times a year in March, July and November.
2. When will I be contacted about the status of my application?
The request turnaround time depends on the size and complexity of the request, as well as when it is submitted. A Gamma-Dynacare representative may follow up with you if more information is required.
3. What is the maximum amount my organization can request?
Requests are considered on a per application basis; however, donation requests higher than $5,000 are not normally considered under this program.
4. What if my organization is not a registered Canadian Charity?
Only charities that are registered as a Canadian Charities, and have a Charitable registration number (as provided by the Canada Revenue Agency), are qualified to receive funding.
5. Do you accept phone solicitations?
No. All applications must be filled out using our donation request form, and emailed to DonationRequest@gamma-dynacare.com
6. What if I have additional questions?
If you have additional questions about the donation request form, or the Community Giving program, please contact Corporate Communications via email at DonationRequest@gamma-dynacare.com | <urn:uuid:f53c46ac-210c-48b9-88dc-7e9801b8968f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gamma-dynacare.com/Content/Community/Community.aspx?expandable=7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957612 | 2,764 | 1.710938 | 2 |
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Mad as a Hatter
The phrase 'mad as a hatter', like most phrases, has its basis in a curious and long forgotten fact.
In his novel of 1850 Pendennis, William Thackeray uses the phrase to imply anger, as opposed to madness:
We were talking about it at mess, yesterday, and chaffing Derby Oaks - until he was as mad as a hatter.
The phrase was later used to imply madness, or at least eccentricity, as demonstrated by Tom Brown's Schooldays, when Thomas Hughes described someone as:
a very good fellow, but as mad as a hatter.
Dementia was indeed a common ailment among 19th Century hatmakers, as exemplified by the most famous literary example, the lunatic host of the tea party in Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland: the Mad Hatter himself. The earliest mention of a 'mad hatter' appears to refer to one Robert Crab, a 17th Century eccentric living at Chesham, England. He gave all his goods to the poor and lived on dock leaves and grass. Carroll, however, seems to have based his mad hatter not on Robert Crab, but on a certain Theophilus Carter - not a hatter but a furniture dealer - who was known locally as the Mad Hatter, partly because he always wore a top hat, and partly because he was quite an eccentric and produced some wacky inventions. Makers of felt hats would indeed often drool, tremble, talk to themselves and have bouts of severe paranoia, for reasons that will become clear. Both in Europe and North America they were the eccentrics and madmen of the clothing trades, which gave rise to the phrase as used today.
These hatmakers used the softest of felts for their hats and these felts were originally derived from one of two animal pelts: beaver or rabbit. Beaver was the pelt of choice, though rabbits were more plentiful, hence cheaper, so were often used. However, rabbits had very short hairs that required treatment. To soften and mat the hair, hatmakers used a heated solution of mercury (II) nitrate. Every one of these hatmakers had a vat of this nitrate heating away in his workshop. This process was known as 'carroting', as the treated fur turned orange. Not being an era known for its decent working conditions, ventilation was poor.
What these hatmakers did not know was that their mercurous nitrate, though inorganic, was still highly toxic. Though not as deadly as its organic cousins, severe renal and gastrointestinal problems can occur. To add to that unpleasant prospect, given that mercury tends to travel rapidly through the bloodstream to the brain, other symptoms of poisoning also include drooling, trembling, memory loss and psychotic behaviour. The hatmakers, without knowing it, were poisoning themselves in their workshops in their efforts to craft felt hats for the people about town. The common sight of these muttering tradesman gave birth to the phrase 'mad as a hatter' and, later, Carroll's demented character.
Due to the trembling, this condition also became known as St Vitus' dance. It was thought that joyous dancing in front of this Sicilian saint's statue could bring good fortune throughout the year. The trembling, poisoned hatmakers were said to resemble these dancing devotees seeking a good year. In Danbury, Connecticut, one of the centres of the hat trade in the the United States, the conditon became known as 'the Danbury Shakes'. To add to this, the people who wore the hats themselves would often develop similar symptoms.
All for a fur-lined top hat. | <urn:uuid:cd555e87-654f-4279-aa41-f8f92aed53fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://h2g2.com/approved_entry/A882939 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988398 | 766 | 2.859375 | 3 |
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- "Is there anything geekier than rocket science?"
Not much, apparently. Forbes named Huntsville the No. 4 geekiest city in America, out-geeked only by Framington, Mass.; Boulder, Colo.; and San Jose, Calif.
About 16.2 percent of Huntsville's workforce (or 32,630 workers) is employed in science or tech jobs, according to the U.S. National Science Foundation. That measurement is how Forbes ranked the cities -- the No. 1 geekiest city of San Jose boosts 18.2 percent of its workforce in science and tech. | <urn:uuid:abf5a32e-85bd-489f-ab22-a0aa93d458ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/08/huntsville_ranked_no_4_in_forb.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917078 | 128 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Marketing management plays a key role in the new-product-development process along with the research and development department and other related departments.
The consulting firm Booz, Allen & Hamilton has identified six categories of new products in terms of their newness to the company and the marketplace.
New-to-the-world products (Product new to the company and the market)
New product lines: New products that allow a company to enter an established market for the first time (the product is new to the company not the market)
Additions to existing product lines: New products that supplement a company’s established products lines (package sizes, flavors, and so on)
Improvements and revisions of existing products: New products that provide improve performance or greater perceived value and replace existing product (Improvements in features and benefits of a product)
Repositionings: Existing products that are targeted to new markets or market segments (to be called a new product there must be some changes in the existing product to suit the new segments targeted).
Cost reductions: New products that provide similar performance at lower cost to the company.
Kotler says only 10% of all new products are truly innovative and new to the world.
New product development in various categories mentioned above is very important for any organization because existing products are vulnerable to changing consumer needs and tastes, new technologies, shortened product life cycles, and increased domestic and foreign competition. Organizations have to be on the lookout for new products.
Factors That Contribute to Success in New Product Marketing
Madique and Zirger found the following factors:
1. Deep understanding of the customer needs.
2. High performance to cost ratio of the product
3. Being the early entrant into the market
4. Higher contribution margin
5. Larger amount of marketing expenditure
6. Strong top management support
7. Greater cross-functional teamwork among R&D, Engineering, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Marketing and Finance from the beginning
Effective Organizational Arrangements for New Product Development
An effective new product development organization starts with top management. The amount of money spent on R & D is an important top management decision related to new product development. Companies give the responsibility for new product development to product mangers, or new-product managers, or new-product committee, or new-product department, or new-product venture teams. In general product managers may not be able to devote adequate time to new products as they have to take care of existing products’ marketing and selling issues.
Managing the New Product Development Process
Eight stages are involved in the new product development process.
1. Idea generation
2. Idea screening
3. Concept development and testing
4. Marketing strategy development
5. Business analysis
6. Product development
7. Market testing
A number of creative idea generating techniques can help individuals and groups generate idea. Some of them are:
- Attribute listing
- Forced relationships
- Morphological analysis
- Need/Problem identification
- Brain storming
The purpose of screening is to drop poor ideas as early as possible and allow only promising ideas for further stage in the new product development process.
There is likelihood of two opposite types of errors occurring in this process. One, the drop error, results in dismissing a good idea. The other, the go-error, results in moving a poor idea forward.
Poor ideas result in product failures. Three types of product-marketing failures can be categorized: Absolute product failure loses money even on variable cost. Partial product failure recovers variable cost and some fixed cost. Relative product failure yields a profit, means it recovers variable cost and fixed cost, but the profitability is less than the company’s target rate of return.
Concept Development and Testing
A product concept is an elaborated version of the product idea and it is expressed in meaningful consumer terms so that consumer can visualize the product.
Concept testing involves an appropriate group of target consumers giving their reactions to the concept.
|Will it Sell?|
New Product Marketing Strategy Development
After the concept is finalized, marketing strategy needs to crystallized. At this stage the marketing strategy is expressed in three parts.
The first part: It describes the target market’s size, structure, and behavior. Product positioning is defined. The sales size, market share and profit goals are expressed.
The second part: The price and distribution strategy and the required marketing budget for the first year are specified.
The third part: It describes marketing-mix strategy over time and evolution of sales and profit.
At this stage, marketing department has finalized its market understanding and converted it into sales revenues and related marketing costs. The next stage is analysis of operating costs and profit analysis.
If the business analysis clears the product, actual product development work is given to the research and development department
Test Marketing or Market Testing
High investment/high-risk products, where the chance of failure is high must be market tested. The cost of the market tests will be an insignificant percentage of the total project cost. Various types of market testing are:
Simulated test marketing
Controlled test marketing
Based on marketing, if the company decides to go for the manufacture and sale of the product, capacity decisions are to be made. The timing of the launch, the geography of the initial launch, the niche market within the target market and how to launch the product become important decisions.
Consumer Adoption Process
Marketers need to understand the new product adoption process to build an effective strategy for developing market for the product. Adoption is an individual’s decision to become a regular user of a product. The adoption process is followed by loyalty process.
Stages in the adoption process
Rogers defines the innovation diffusion process as “the spread of a new idea from its source of invention or creation to its ultimate users or adopters.”
Adopters go through the following five stages:
New product marketer has to aim his effort at facilitating the movement of consumer who is an adopter of new product through the five stages.
Philip Kotler, Marketing Management (Main text for revision and article)
Modesto A. Maidique and Billie JO Zirger, ” A Study of Success and Failure in Product Innovation: the Case of the U.S. Electronics Industry,” IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, November 1984, pp. 192-203
See Bibliography also
Determinants of New Industrial Product Performance: A Strategic Reexamination of the Empirical Literature by GARY L. LILIEN AND EUNSANG, 1989
New Product Successes in Japanese Consumer Goods Market,
Hotaka Katahira, Makoto Mizuno, and Yoram Wind, 1994, Wharton School Working Paper
New Product Diffusion Models in Marketing: An Assessment of Two Approaches by Malcolm Wright and Don Charlett, Marketing Bulletin, 1995 | <urn:uuid:786bae0c-b19f-48fc-8b58-e062255d4eea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seeingfuture.wordpress.com/tag/company/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906052 | 1,422 | 2.09375 | 2 |
The American Journal of Human Genetics, Volume 77, Issue 3, 1 September 2005, Pages 408-419
Hong Shi, Yong-li Dong, Bo Wen, Chun-Jie Xiao, Peter A. Underhill, Pei-dong Shen, Ranajit Chakraborty, Li Jin and Bing Su
The prehistoric peopling of East Asia by modern humans remains controversial with respect to early population migrations. Here, we present a systematic sampling and genetic screening of an East Asian–specific Y-chromosome haplogroup (O3-M122) in 2,332 individuals from diverse East Asian populations. Our results indicate that the O3-M122 lineage is dominant in East Asian populations, with an average frequency of 44.3%. The microsatellite data show that the O3-M122 haplotypes in southern East Asia are more diverse than those in northern East Asia, suggesting a southern origin of the O3-M122 mutation. It was estimated that the early northward migration of the O3-M122 lineages in East Asia occurred ∼25,000–30,000 years ago, consistent with the fossil records of modern humans in East Asia.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (3636 kb)
The American Journal of Human Genetics, Volume 91, Issue 5, 2 November 2012, Pages 849-862
Wenfei Jin, Sijia Wang, Haifeng Wang, Li Jin and Shuhua Xu
The processes of genetic admixture determine the haplotype structure and linkage disequilibrium patterns of the admixed population, which is important for medical and evolutionary studies. However, most previous studies do not consider the inherent complexity of admixture processes. Here we proposed two approaches to explore population admixture dynamics, and we demonstrated, by analyzing genome-wide empirical and simulated data, that the approach based on the distribution of chromosomal segments of distinct ancestry (CSDAs) was more powerful than that based on the distribution of individual ancestry proportions. Analysis of 1,890 African Americans showed that a continuous gene flow model, in which the African American population continuously received gene flow from European populations over about 14 generations, best explained the admixture dynamics of African Americans among several putative models. Interestingly, we observed that some African Americans had much more European ancestry than the simulated samples, indicating substructures of local ancestries in African Americans that could have been caused by individuals from some particular lineages having repeatedly admixed with people of European ancestry. In contrast, the admixture dynamics of Mexicans could be explained by a gradual admixture model in which the Mexican population continuously received gene flow from both European and Amerindian populations over about 24 generations. Our results also indicated that recent gene flows from Sub-Saharan Africans have contributed to the gene pool of Middle Eastern populations such as Mozabite, Bedouin, and Palestinian. In summary, this study not only provides approaches to explore population admixture dynamics, but also advances our understanding on population history of African Americans, Mexicans, and Middle Eastern populations.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (789 kb)
The American Journal of Human Genetics, Volume 83, Issue 3, 12 September 2008, Pages 322-336
Shuhua Xu and Li Jin
Following up on our previous study, we conducted a genome-wide analysis of admixture for two Uyghur population samples (HGDP-UG and PanAsia-UG), collected from the northern and southern regions of Xinjiang in China, respectively. Both HGDP-UG and PanAsia-UG showed a substantial admixture of East-Asian (EAS) and European (EUR) ancestries, with an empirical estimation of ancestry contribution of 53:47 (EAS:EUR) and 48:52 for HGDP-UG and PanAsia-UG, respectively. The effective admixture time under a model with a single pulse of admixture was estimated as 110 generations and 129 generations, or admixture events occurred about 2200 and 2580 years ago for HGDP-UG and PanAsia-UG, respectively, assuming an average of 20 yr per generation. Despite Uyghurs' earlier history compared to other admixture populations, admixture mapping, holds promise for this population, because of its large size and its mixture of ancestry from different continents. We screened multiple databases and identified a genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism panel that can distinguish EAS and EUR ancestry of chromosomal segments in Uyghurs. The panel contains 8150 ancestry-informative markers (AIMs) showing large frequency differences between EAS and EUR populations (FST> 0.25, mean FST = 0.43) but small frequency differences (7999 AIMs validated) within both populations (FST< 0.05, mean FST< 0.01). We evaluated the effectiveness of this admixture map for localizing disease genes in two Uyghur populations. To our knowledge, our map constitutes the first practical resource for admixture mapping in Uyghurs, and it will enable studies of diseases showing differences in genetic risk between EUR and EAS populations.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (2092 kb)
Copyright © 2004 The American Society of Human Genetics All rights reserved.
The American Journal of Human Genetics, Volume 74, Issue 5, 856-865, 1 May 2004
1 State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Center for Anthropological Studies, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai
2 Department of Biology and Human Genetics Center, Yunnan University, Kunming
3 Key Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming
4 Center for Genome Information, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati
An unequal contribution of male and female lineages from parental populations to admixed ones is not uncommon in the American continents, as a consequence of directional gene flow from European men into African and Hispanic Americans in the past several centuries. However, little is known about sex-biased admixture in East Asia, where substantial migrations are recorded. Tibeto-Burman (TB) populations were historically derived from ancient tribes of northwestern China and subsequently moved to the south, where they admixed with the southern natives during the past 2,600 years. They are currently extensively distributed in China and Southeast Asia. In this study, we analyze the variations of 965 Y chromosomes and 754 mtDNAs in >20 TB populations from China. By examining the haplotype group distributions of Y-chromosome and mtDNA markers and their principal components, we show that the genetic structure of the extant southern Tibeto-Burman (STB) populations were primarily formed by two parental groups: northern immigrants and native southerners. Furthermore, the admixture has a bias between male and female lineages, with a stronger influence of northern immigrants on the male lineages (∼62%) and with the southern natives contributing more extensively to the female lineages (∼56%) in the extant STBs. This is the first genetic evidence revealing sex-biased admixture in STB populations, which has genetic, historical, and anthropological implications. | <urn:uuid:3a8054fb-d182-4d88-97d3-d602e2ae183e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cell.com/AJHG/retrieve/pii/S0002929707643535 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917243 | 1,474 | 1.96875 | 2 |
flexi auth is a free open source user authentication/login library for use with the CodeIgniter 2.0+ framework.
The flexi auth library initially started out as a modified version of the popular Ion Auth library. As the original library was tweaked with feature after feature being added, the original code base had transformed into a new library all of its own.
For those that have used the Ion Auth library, the general structure of the library may be familiar, but to help anyone wanting to get a running start with using flexi auth, there is an comprehensive user guide and demo detailing covering every function within the library.
flexi auth is designed with modularised features that can be mixed and matched, turned on or off, and can be customised to suit your requirements.
The best place to start for help is by having look through the the in depth user guide, which contains an installation guide and detailed information on each function that is available from the flexi auth libraries.
If there is a feature available in flexi auth that you wish to implement on your site, then there is most likely a working demo example of how to implement the feature.
Have a browse through the demo and see if there is a example of what you are trying to achieve.
If you find an example of what you're after, then open up the downloadable demo files and have a look at the underlying code.
Still stuck? Contact me via the CodeIgniter flexi auth forum thread http://ellislab.com/forums/viewthread/224351/ | <urn:uuid:8eaae2c4-6acc-4902-95f1-c060be11dcf8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://haseydesign.com/flexi-auth/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935977 | 318 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers
After a long day at work, getting dinner on the table for your family can be a challenge. Because of this, more often than not you may end up serving fast-food, takeout meals, or convenience foods. Did you know you can serve healthier foods at a fraction of the cost?
Meal makeover plan
Taking small steps each week in the right direction in terms of what you buy and cook can improve your family's eating habits. Here are some ideas:
Week one. Add one extra serving of fruit each day. Top your child's favorite cereal or frozen waffle with a handful of sliced strawberries or bananas. Offer a fresh fruit smoothie for a quick and delicious snack. Add grapes, sliced strawberries, cubed melon, an apple, or a single-serve fruit cup to his or her school lunch box.
Week two. Add one extra vegetable serving each day. Add a shredded carrot to tuna salad. Add a bag of baby carrots or grape tomatoes to school lunches. Serve carrot and fruit juice blends for breakfast instead of plain orange juice. To hold hungry appetites at bay while you're completing dinner, put a bowl of low-fat or fat-free ranch dressing and sliced vegetables on the table for an "appetizer."
Week three. Add one healthy beverage each day. Pack 100 percent fruit juice or 1 percent low-fat milk instead of sugary sodas in school lunches. Make "homemade" soda by combining 100 percent fruit juice with club soda.
Week four. Include one healthy snack each day. Offer a midmorning snack of dried fruit and nuts, a squeeze yogurt, or grapes instead of cookies or chips. Serve homemade oatmeal cookies made with less fat and sugar than store-bought goodies to cut down on unhealthy trans fat and too much sugar.
Week five. Serve one extra high-fiber grain food each day. Use 100 percent whole wheat bread or other whole-grain breads instead of white breads for sandwiches. Buy cereals made with whole grains instead of sugary, low-fiber brands. If your kids won't give up their favorites, mix it 50/50 with a healthier brand. Serve brown instead of white rice. Make pancakes with buckwheat instead of white flour.
'Market' good nutrition
It's tough competing with TV ads for sugary cereals, salty snacks, and high-fat fast foods. But it can be done.
Take a lesson from the fast-food marketers and give some thought to how you can make healthy foods more appealing to your children.
Instead of stressing the health benefits of carrots, simply say, "These baby carrots are so delicious and sweet, you should try some," as you pop one in your mouth. Or make vegetables more interesting by adding a little kosher salt and olive oil to steamed green beans or potatoes. You could cut melon slices into fun shapes if you have young children.
Establish food rules
It's unlikely that your children agree with all the rules of behavior you insist on, and they may not like your "good" food rules, either. But you're the boss and should feel free to make a few (not too many) rules regarding what your family eats. Here are some ideas: Serve milk instead of soft drinks with meals. No candy before dinner. Don't offer sweets as a reward for eating dinner.
Food rules encourage healthy eating habits early in life, which can help prevent diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other chronic conditions later on.
Streamline your cooking
Fortunately, there's no connection between improving your family's diet and spending more time in the kitchen. It takes just as long to wash an apple as to open a bag of cookies or chips.
Even so, making some changes that can reduce your kitchen duty is well worth it. Don't be afraid to use convenience foods occasionally, but choose the healthiest ones by reading labels and choosing those with the least fat, salt, and sugar. Organize your pantry and refrigerator so you can find things fast.
It may be the hardest part of the healthy meal makeover to accomplish, but eating together regularly is an important component to improving your family's diet.
Studies have shown that meals eaten as a family at home improve children's nutrition, strengthen family ties, enhance communication, foster tradition, and boost self-esteem. | <urn:uuid:3594fda3-9dba-4dde-b867-fc0dbee2a2a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sjo.org/Health-Library/Article.aspx?CT=1&C=2560 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944029 | 905 | 1.921875 | 2 |
The White House
Office of the National Drug Control Policy
White House Drug Policy Director Awards $85.6 Million to Local Communities to Prevent Youth Drug Use
(Washington, D.C.) – Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), today announced $22 million in new Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grants to 169 communities and 16 new DFC Mentoring grants across the country. The awards announced today are in addition to the $63 million in Continuation grants simultaneously released to 549 currently funded DFC coalitions and seven DFC Mentoring Continuation coalitions. These grants provide community coalitions needed support to prevent and reduce youth substance use.
“The Drug Free Communities program embodies the Obama Administration’s dedication to evidence-based community prevention efforts that protect the health of our young people,” said Director Kerlikowske. “Data show that communities receiving DFC funding have seen significant reductions in past 30-day use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana among middle and high school students. I applaud the hard work of local community leaders, youth, parents, educators, healthcare professionals, faith-based leaders, law enforcement officials, and others who are working together daily to strengthen communities and save kids’ lives.”
"Action at the community level -- in school rooms, community centers, churches and at kitchen tables—can help drive rates of substance abuse down," said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. "SAMHSA is pleased to join the Office of National Drug Control Policy in supporting communities that are bringing people together to create healthy and drug free environments for children."
The Drug Free Communities program is directed by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The DFC program provides grants of up to $625,000 over five years to community coalitions that facilitate citizen participation in local youth drug prevention efforts including prescription drug diversion and prevention initiatives and underage drinking programs. Coalitions are comprised of community leaders, parents, youth, teachers, religious and fraternal organizations, health care and business professionals, law enforcement, and the media.
The 169 new grantees were selected from 521 applicants through a competitive, peer-reviewed process. To qualify for these matching grants, all awardees must have at least a six-month history of working together on youth substance use reduction initiatives, have representation from 12 required sectors of the community, develop a long-term plan to reduce youth substance use, and participate in the National Evaluation of the DFC program.
The overall percentage of Native American/American Indian representation in the new and continuation grant program has increased 42 percent since 2007 and now represents 10 percent of the total DFC awards. DFC continues to grow in rural communities with participation in rural areas growing from 53 percent of new awards in FY2009 to 62 percent of awards in FY2010.
The DFC program was created by the Drug Free Communities Act of 1997, and was reauthorized by Congress in 2001 and 2006. Since 1998, ONDCP has awarded approximately 1,600 Drug-Free Communities grants to local communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Palau, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and, for the first time in FY 2010, the Federated States of Micronesia.
More information about the Drug Free Communities Support Program is available at: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/dfc | <urn:uuid:c3c37fbc-9c46-4ceb-a568-dc6dc32b4d73> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/news-releases-remarks/white-house-drug-policy-director-awards | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934406 | 723 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Inspiration and advice for your building project
Depending on the roof structure and planning constraints, a loft conversion is one of the most straightforward and effective ways of getting the space you need from your existing house. Almost all houses can benefit from this extension with a bit of basic planning.
This feature explains everything you need to know about planning your project and, by way of an example, the step-by-step guide link at the bottom of the page shows how the roof space in a 1950s bungalow was converted to provide two bedrooms and a shower room — all at a cost of £21,600 (which, according to a recent valuation, has added £35,000 in value). Most of the work was carried out by the homeowner, and the author, with expert help for some of the trickier tasks.
Conversion Assessment: The features that will decide the suitability of the roof space for conversion are the available head height, the pitch and the type of structure, as well as any obstacles such as water tanks or chimney stacks. An inspection of the roof space will reveal its structure and physical dimensions.
Head Height: Take a measurement from the bottom of the ridge timber to the top of the ceiling joist; the useable part of the roof should be greater than 2.2m.
Pitch Angle: The higher the pitch angle, the higher the central head height is likely to be, and if dormers are used or the roof is redesigned, then the floor area can be increased.
Type of Structure: Two main structures are used for roof construction — namely traditional framed type and truss section type. The traditional framed type is typically found in pre-1960s houses where the rafters and ceiling joists, together with supporting timbers, are cut to size on site and assembled. This type of structure has more structural input, so is often the most suitable type for conversion. The space can be easily, and relatively inexpensively, opened up by strengthening the rafters and adding supports as specified by a structural engineer. Post 1960s, the most popular form of construction used factory-made truss roof sections. These utilise thinner – and therefore cheaper timbers – but have structural integrity by the addition of braced diagonal timbers. They allow a house roof to be erected and felted in a day, which is a big advantage to a builder. However, this type of truss suggests that there are no loadbearing structures beneath, and so opening up the space requires a greater added structural input. This will normally involve the insertion of steel beams between loadbearing walls for the new floor joists to hang on and the rafter section to be supported on — together with a steel beam at the ridge. This added structural input requires skill, knowledge and equipment that would limit scope as far as DIY is concerned — and a far greater cash outlay. It is advisable to seek advice from specialist firms in this instance.
If the initial roof space inspection reveals a head height of less than 2.2m, there are two available – but costly – solutions that will require professional input.
Solution 1: Raise the Roof: This would involve removing part or whole of the existing roof, and rebuilding it to give the required height and structure. This is structurally feasible, but the major problems are the high cost and getting planning approval. If the whole roof area needs removing, a covered scaffold structure, to protect the house from the weather during the works, would also be required.
Solution 2: Lower the Ceiling in the Room Below: The ceiling height in some rooms in older properties may be 3m or more, so if the roof space height is limited there is the option of lowering the ceilings below, providing it still allows at least 2.4m. This will require all the existing ceilings in question to be removed, causing much mess. With this method a plate will need to be bolted to the wall using shield anchors or rawlbolts, for the new floor joists to hang from. There is also a need for a suitable tie between the roof structure and the dwarf wall formed, to prevent the roof spreading. Any DIY involvement will be limited to supervised demolition and clearing up.
ABOVE: It’s a good idea to use the low space under the eaves for storage — but you could create a more dramatic effect by having a gallery overlooking the floor below.
The existing ceiling joists are unlikely to be adequate to take a conversion floor, so additional new joists will be required to comply with the Building Regulations. The size and grade would have been specified by the structural engineer, who will have taken into account the span and the separation distance for a given loading. The new joists span between load-bearing walls, and are normally raised slightly above the existing ceiling plasterwork by using spacers below the joist ends. This spacing must be sufficient to prevent any new floor joist deflection from touching the ceiling plaster below. The new joists run alongside the existing joists. Above window and door openings, thicker timbers are used to bridge the opening, so that pressure is not put on the existing opening lintel. RSJs are also specified to distribute the load, and in some installations are used to carry the ends of the new joists. If head height is limited, then thicker joists, more closely spaced, can be specified.
Your Building Control inspector will specify exactly what you require. The roof structure can be insulated in one of two main ways. The most straightforward is to use a ‘cold roof’ method. This involves filling the space between the rafters with 70mm-thick slab foam insulation such as Celotex, ensuring that there is 50mm spacing between the roofing felt and the insulation (for ventilation via the roof and soffit vents). In addition, 30mm slab insulation is attached to the inside of the rafters, giving a total of 100mm of insulation. The rafter thickness is often less than 120mm, so a batten may be required along each rafter to allow the 50mm spacing and the 70mm insulation. The roof section requires 300mm of mineral wool insulation (e.g. Rockwool), or 150mm of slab foam insulation, such as Celotex. This method can be undertaken by the DIYer.
The other main method is ‘warm roof’. This method uses 100mm Celotex insulation or similar over the rafters, and a covering capping, followed by the tile battens and tiles. This is not really a practical option unless the roof coverings have been stripped off. It could be used with a dormer, especially if it has a flat roof. Continuity of insulation between walls and roof is required to avoid any cold bridging. The dormer walls can be insulated with 100mm Celotex between the studwork. The internal partition walls use a 100mm quilt that will provide sound insulation. Plaster - board is attached to one side of the wall then the quilt inserted, followed by plaster - board on the other side. Insulation is also placed between floor joists, and this is typically 100mm-thick Rockwool fibre or similar — mainly for its sound-reduction properties.
The ideal location for a staircase to land is in line with the roof ridge: this will make best use of the available height above the staircase. The minimum height requirement above the pitch line is 2m, although this could be reduced to 1.9m in the centre, and 1.8m to the side of a stair. In practice, the actual position will depend upon the layout of the floor below, and where necessary the available height can be achieved using a dormer or adding a rooflight above the staircase or, if appropriate, converting a hip roof end to a gable.
Maximum Number of Steps: The Regulations specify that the maximum number of steps in a straight line is 16. This is not normally a problem, as a typical installation usually only requires 13 steps.
Step Size: The maximum step rise is 220mm, whereas the step depth or ‘going’ is a minimum of 220mm; these measurements are taken from the pitch point. The step normally has a nose that projects 16-20mm in front of the pitch line. However, the ratio of size must not exceed the maximum angle of pitch requirement of 42°. Any winders must have a minimum of 50mm at the narrowest point. The width of steps is unregulated, but in practice the winders are likely to limit the reduction in width.
The height minimum is 900mm above the pitch line, and any spindles must have a separation distance that a 100mm sphere cannot pass through.
The loft conversion will require a means of getting natural light and ventilation, and the most straightforward method is to use rooflights that follow the pitch line of the roof. This type is fitted by removing the tiles and battens in the position that the rooflight will be fitted. The rafters are cut to make way for the rooflight after suitably reinforcing the remaining rafters. The rooflight frame is then fitted within the new opening, and flashings added before making good the surrounding tiling. This type of window is the most economic, and more likely to be allowed without planning permission, under your PD (Permitted Development) rights. Conservation rooflights, which are slightly more flush to the roofline and are made of metal, can also be specified.
Dormers not only give natural light but can add space to a loft conversion; they can be at the ends or sides. They are particularly effective where the pitch angle is high, as the useful floor area can be increased. The mansard type (ABOVE) will give maximum conversion roof space because it projects the maximum available head height, thus giving a greater usable floor area. A hip to gable conversion has a similar effect.
Dormers and other similar conversions are normally installed by opening up the roof, and cutting the required specified timbers to size on site. They normally involve compound angle cuts (SEE BELOW) so may not be a task that a DIYer would like to undertake. Care also needs to be taken with the roof and side coverings, to get a good weatherproof structure.
Some loft conversion companies will make the dormers off site in their workshop and lift into place. This process allows quick installation, and quick weatherproofing.
Dormers can have gabled or hip roofs, and with careful design can enhance a roof line. In practice, a mixture of the available types can result in the maximum light and space, and provide a fire exit.
The plasterboard ceiling in the upper rooms will delay the spread of fire to the roof space in an unconverted house. However, when an opening is introduced for the staircase the risk is shared with the conversion — therefore, safeguards must be in place to reduce the risk.
All habitable rooms in the upper storeys served by a single staircase should have an escape window with an obstructed openable area of at least 0.33m², a minimum 450mm high x 450mm wide, and not more than 1.1m above the floor level. For loft conversions to existing two storey houses, more stringent provisions apply, due to the greater risk associated with escape via high-level windows. These require a new 30- minute fire-resistant floor to the loft conversion, and a protected 30- minute fire-resistant stair enclosure discharging to its own final exit, with fire doors to all rooms (except bathrooms and WC). The fire doors do not need to be self-closing.
At least one mains-operated smoke alarm with battery backup must be installed in the circulation space of each storey. All alarms are to be interconnected.
An approximate guide to the likely costs is given in the downloadable PDF document below, based on straightforward conversions. Costs for raising roofs or lowering ceilings cannot realistically be given because of all the variables that need to be considered.
The costs involved in the example loft conversion are listed. The conversion was carried out between April 2008 and September 2008, so the costs relate to that period. They serve as an accurate indication — but an indication only.
|Loft Conversions Table of Costs.pdf||1.15 MB| | <urn:uuid:97b6d943-4e07-4538-8266-c785e116dabd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/existing-homes/converting-loft/beginners-guide | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937888 | 2,524 | 1.984375 | 2 |
FAITH is necessary to salvation, because we are told in Scripture that works cannot save. To tell a very familiar story, and even the poorest may not misunderstand what I say: a minister was one day going to preach. He climbed a hill on his road. Beneath him lay the villages, sleeping in their beauty, with the corn-fields motionless in the sunshine; but he did not look at them, for his attention was arrested by a woman standing at her door, and who, upon seeing him, came up with the greatest anxiety, and said, “O sir, have you any keys about you? I have broken the key of my drawers, and there are some things that I must get directly.” Said he, “I have no keys.” She was disappointed, expecting that everyone would have some keys. “But suppose,” he said, “I had some keys, they might not fit your lock, and therefore you could not get the articles you want. But do not distress yourself, wait till some one else comes up. But,” said he wishing to improve the occasion, “have you ever heard of the key of heaven?” “Ah, yes!” she said, “I have lived long enough, and I have gone to church long enough, to know that if we work hard, and get our bread by the sweat of our brow, and act well towards our neighbours, and behave, as the Catechism says, lowly and reverently to all our betters, and if we do our duty in that station of life in which it has pleased God to place us, and say our prayers regularly, we shall be saved.” “Ah!” said he, “my good woman, that is a broken key, for you have broken the commandments, you have not fulfilled all your duties. It is a good key, but you have broken it.” “Pray, sir,” said she, believing that he understood the matter, and looking frightened, “what have I left out?” “Why,” said he, “the all-important thing, the blood of Jesus Christ. Don’t you know it is said, the key of heaven is at his girdle; he openeth, and no man shutteth; he shutteth, and no man openeth?” And explaining it more fully to her, he said, “It is Christ, and Christ alone, that can open heaven to you, and not your good works.” “What, minister!” said she, “are our good works useless, then?” “No,” said he, “not after faith. If you believe first, you may have as many good works as you please; but if you believe, you will never trust in them, for if you trust in them you have spoilt them, and they are not good works any longer. Have as many good works as you please, still put your trust wholly in the Lord Jesus Christ, for if you do not, your key will never unlock heaven’s gate.”
So then we must have true faith, because the old key of works is so broken by us all, that we never shall enter Paradise by it. If you pretend that you have no sins, to be very plain with you, you deceive yourselves, and the truth is not in you. If you conceive that by your good works you shall enter heaven, never was there a more fell delusion, and you shall find, at the last great day, that your hopes were worthless, and that, like sere leaves from the autumn trees, your noblest doings shall be blown away, or kindled into a flame in which you yourselves must suffer for ever. Take heed of your good works; get them after faith, but remember, the way to be saved is simply to believe in Jesus Christ.
Without faith it is impossible to be saved, and to please God, because without faith there is no union to Christ. Now, union to Christ is indispensable to our salvation. If I come before God’s throne with my prayers, I shall never get them answered, unless I bring Christ with me. The Molossians of old, when they could not get a favour from their king, adopted a singular expedient; they took the king’s only son in their arms, and falling on their knees, cried, “O king, for thy son’s sake, grant our request.” He smiled and said, “I deny nothing to those who plead in my son’s name.” It is so with God. He will deny nothing to the man who comes, having Christ at his elbow; but if he comes alone he must be cast away. Union to Christ is, after all, the great point in salvation.
Let me tell you a story to illustrate this: the stupendous falls of Niagara have been spoken of in every part of the world; but while they are marvellous to hear of, and wonderful as a spectacle, they have been very destructive to human life, when by accident any have been carried down the cataract. Some years ago, two men, a bargeman and a collier, were in a boat, and found themselves unable to manage it, it being carried so swiftly down the current that they must both inevitably be borne down and dashed to pieces. Persons on the shore saw them, but were unable to do much for their rescue. At last, however, one man was saved by floating a rope to him, which he grasped. The same instant that the rope came into his hand a log floated by the other man. The thoughtless and confused bargeman, instead of seizing the rope, laid hold on the log. It was a fatal mistake: they were both in imminent peril, but the one was drawn to shore because he had a connection with the people on the land, whilst the other, clinging to the log, was borne irresistibly along, and never heard of afterwards. Do you not see that here is a practical illustration? Faith is a connection with Christ. Christ is on the shore, so to speak, holding the rope of faith, and if we lay hold of it with the hand of our confidence, he pulls us to shore; but our good works having no connection with Christ, are drifted along down the gulf of fell despair. Grapple them as tightly as we may, even with hooks of steel, they cannot avail us in the least degree.
Spurgeon, C. H. Words of Wisdom for Daily Living. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009. | <urn:uuid:1c9188ed-e7b8-4a5e-87a3-ae967b93ec63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.jeffbrown.com/2012/11/15/good-works-and-broken-keys-charles-spurgeon/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982109 | 1,404 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Survival or introduction? Romanitas in Britain after AD410
Our AGM meeting saw the welcome return of Ken Dark, currently Chair of the Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies and Director of the Research Centre for Late Antique and Byzantine Studies at the University of Reading, who began his archaeological career as a digger with COLAS.
He told us that until recently the conventional picture of Britain after AD 410 was one of a fairly rapid and complete collapse of the governmental, economic, material and social structures characteristic of Romano-Britain. This was believed to have occurred alongside Anglo-Saxon immigration, which resulted in eastern England being dominated by pagan Germanic peoples, while the Celtic British in the west reverted to a subsistence existence, led by hill-fort dwelling petty kings. The one glimmer of higher civilisation was the spread of Christianity among the Britons.
At first sight, this picture is apparently supported by many written sources, notably ‘The Anglo Saxon Chronicle’, Historia Brittonum (the preface of which claims it was written by Nennius) and Gildas' De Excidio Britanniae. The problem is that most of these works were produced much later than the events they describe. The ‘Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’ and Historia Brittonum (no longer believed to have been written by Nennius) were both compiled for 9th century political purposes. The Anglo-Saxons were illiterate in the 5th-6th centuries, and it was highly unlikely that historical information could have been accurately transmitted orally for more than about 200 years. However, if we examine AD 400-600 through contemporary sources only, we were left with very few sources and none from Anglo-Saxon writers. The most useful of these are the Confessio of St Patrick and the writings of Gildas. Recent research has shown that these present a very different picture.
Patrick describes growing up (perhaps AD c.450) on his father's villa estate, near what modern archaeologists of Roman Britain would call a small-town and a civitas capital where his father had an administrative role. His birth place Bannaventa taberniae, has not been located, but was probably in the West Country. In the mid-fifth century it seems, therefore, that in that region a typical late Romano-British settlement pattern was surviving, alongside a developed and sophisticated Church establishment, which had difficulty understanding Patrick's missionary approach in the different conditions of Ireland.
Gildas was another churchman (although not a monk as often imagined), and his excellent Latin in De Excidio Britanniae shows that he was someone who had been highly educated in the Late Antique scholarly tradition. He uses carefully structured rhetorical arguments, makes numerous allusions to a wide range of classical authors, as well as Church Fathers and the Bible. He had clearly read very widely, even by Roman standards. All rather surprising for someone probably writing in AD 525-550! His work is addressed to the rulers of his own time, expecting it to be understood by them.
Ken Dark argued that these works give clear indications that large parts of Britain at least had not reverted to barbarism, but had developed a culture and ethos that is recognised elsewhere in the former Western Roman Empire during the 3rd-7th Centuries AD as 'Late Antique'. This was a fusion of provincial Roman, Christian and barbarian norms, and 'Late Antiquity' is today the standard term for the 5th to 7th centuries in Europe and the Mediterranean. There was considerable diversity in Late Antique ways of life and a spectrum of culture between being Roman, being romanised and being barbarian, both within kingdoms and between them. This romanitas in Late Antiquity was not about copying the High Empire of the 1st-2nd Centuries, but rather a continuation and evolution of Late Roman provincial customs and culture.
With so few written sources and no satisfactory detailed narrative history, archaeology has to play a major part in establishing what happened in AD 400-600. In Eastern England the chief markers for the 'Anglo-Saxons' (the term was not used until Bede writing in the 8th century), are graves with characteristic grave-goods. While many, if not all, 5th century cremation cemeteries are likely to be of migrant pagan 'Ango-Saxons' or their descendents, it is hard to state categorically which of the so-called 'Anglo-Saxon' 5th-6th Century inhumations are Germanic or pagan, since the residual British population may have adopted 'Anglo-Saxon' material culture and customs, even if they were Christian. Elsewhere in the former Western Roman Empire during Late Antiquity - for example in Gaul - similar graves to our 'Anglo-Saxon' are probably those of the descendents of both barbarians and Roman provincials.
Western Britain remained under British rule and the evidence for 5th -6th Century romanitas is nowhere stronger than at Tintagel, Cornwall. This rocky promontory on the North Cornish coast, excavated by C A Ralegh Radford and lately Chris Morris, has yielded our largest assemblage of 5th-6th century Byzantine pottery. It has the remains over 100 rectilinear dry-stone and turf buildings, laid out along paths or on terraces, in a plan that looks like a Romano-British 'small town' but in this case probably dates mostly from the 5th-6th century. It also has multi-roomed buildings, evidence for the zoning of activities and of Latin literacy in the form of an inscribed slate, mentioning a man called 'Artognou' - nothing to do with 'Arthur', art- ('bear') was common in Celtic names at this time. Other finds include Frankish pottery and glass from Frankia, Spain and the Mediterranean. Tintagel in the 6th century looks more urban and romanised than any Cornish site at any time in the Roman period, and was likely to have been a royal settlement with active trading connections. Exciting recent study of the imported pottery indicates that the assemblage is characteristic of direct contact with Byzantium beg. there are ships' jars of a type usually only found in the Mediterranean, and there is even pottery that may be associated with the Byzantine official supply network.
Perhaps the rulers of Tintagel were receiving ambassadors or traders directly from the heart of the 'Late Antique' world. This may not be an isolated case. Ecclesiastical history has references to British involvement in wider Church affairs after AD 400 and the idea of monasticism was imported at some point during the late 4th-5th Century. There appears to have been a regular commercial route importing bronze 'Coptic' bowls into Kent and a Byzantine garnet intaglio has recently even been found in excavations at Cefn Cwmwd, a small hut group in-northwest Wales, not the sort of site where people usually used such high-status objects in the Roman period.
Other sites are shedding new light on post-Roman life. The extensive redevelopment of Wroxeter in the 6th century was revealed by the famous work of Philip Barker, while excavations at Brawdy hill fort in West Wales showed refortification in the 5th-6th Century AD with buildings including a timber-aisled building of Romano-British form that probably had rounded headed windows and white plastered walls.
Careful examination of the latest phases of Roman towns and villas is yielding further evidence of 4th-6th century continuity and there is more to find, Ken Dark believes. Even the infamous 'dark earth' may sometimes be evidence of different type of occupation, rather than desertion. There is also a need to re-consider of the dating of various 'Late Roman' pottery types and other objects, which may not have ceased production as early as is currently believed and there needs to be wider recognition of little known Byzantine and continental imports.
Our old views of 4th-6th Century Britain were no longer credible, Ken Dark said. It was not isolated and culturally backward, but in touch with the wider world, with much more going on than often recognised. This is a rich and varied story still in the process of being unravelled.
|Registered Charity No. 277286|
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HMS Drake. Rathlin Island Shipwreck.
Wilson, Ian (2011)
Rathlin Island, Co Antrim: Rathlin Island Books.
112 pgs (16 pages of photographs)
Printed by Impact Design & Printing, Ballycastle, Co Antrim.
HMS Drake was torpedoed on 2 October 1917, five miles north of Rathlin Island, off the north coast of Ireland. She later sank in Church Bay, the largest wreck close to the shore in Irish waters, and is passed daily by island residents and visitors alike. But that was not all that happened on that epic day, which brought some of the horrors of the Great War to the quiet shores of Rathlin Island. Recounting the life, times and death of the Drake, these stories are now being told in full for the first time…
"A light westerly breeze is lifting early morning mist over calm waters... Kapitänleutnant Rohrbeck observes with sudden excitement a cruiser through his periscope. She has four tall funnels and two masts... Manoeuvering U 79 to the correct angle for attack, he is only 600 metres from the British ship's starboard side when he gives the order to fire..."
“...the islanders watching all this in amazement from the cliffs and the settlement at Church Bay, could see the Drake finally reaching her intended sanctuary a few hundred yards offshore at just about the same time the Lugano was sinking from view beneath the waves four miles to the west. Near her, the mutilated silhouette of the Brisk was being approached by two of the many armed trawlers on hire to the Admiralty, Seaton and Vale of Lennox. There might have been another twenty ships in Rathlin Sound. Was there ever a scene like it round the Irish coast?”
"Captain Stephen Radcliffe was the last to leave his ship. He stepped aboard the Delphinium, ordering her CO to anchor nearby to await the tugs. His report concludes: '...nobody except the dead remained on board the Drake when I left her for the Delphinium: the mess decks, boiler rooms, engine rooms had all been searched and reported clear. Ship was abandoned at 2.05 p.m...'"
The cover painting is an original artwork that was commissioned especially for this book, and was painted by renowned maritime artist Kenneth King, based in Glencolmcille, Co Donegal. The painting is oil on board, and depicts HMS Drake escorting Convoy HH 24 north of Rathlin. The composition specifically requested of Kenneth has the Drake to the right of frame, allowing for the painting to be used as a 'wrap-around' image for both the front and the back of the book. See Kenneth King’s other works at: www.king-studio.com.
The tailpiece at the end of each chapter is a sketch of the Drake commissioned for the book, and drawn by Barbara Henderson (Rathlin Island). The sketch is also a key part of the design of the website.
The Drake wreck
The wreck of the Drake has been marked for decades now by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. The wreck is marked with a South Cardinal Buoy – one that instructs vessels to pass to the south of the marker, and is a familiar sight to anyone approaching Church Bay, Rathlin Island. The buoy is regularly maintained by the Irish Lights Vessel Granuaile, and is part and parcel of the Rathlin landscape, particularly at night when the buoy’s seven flashes mark the last resting place of HMS Drake. (Photograph: Jessica Bates) | <urn:uuid:e0989924-565f-4a7d-8dd6-be4ab4866274> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rathlinislandbooks.com/books/HMS-Drake-Rathlin-Island-Shipwreck | 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 | 0.961644 | 751 | 2.578125 | 3 |
KUANTAN, Malaysia—In the Internet era, even a 64-year-old retired math teacher can become a threat to a large company.
That, at least, is the experience of Lynas Corp. For over a year, the Australian rare-earths mining company has come under fire from Tan Bun Teet and his band of tech-savvy campaigners on Malaysia's South China Sea coast.
The group, called Save Malaysia Stop Lynas, has disrupted Lynas's plans to open a refinery with a nimble, Internet-based campaign, drawing nationwide support through regularly updated blogs, Twitter feeds and a Facebook page. In a recent interview, Chief Executive Officer Nick Curtis said Lynas underestimated the extent to which the protesters had enlisted the organizing power of the Web, forcing the company to delay the opening of the plant until this past November, a full year behind schedule, and to raise money it didn't initially plan for.
Sydney-based Lynas, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with a market value of 1.2 billion Australian dollars ($1.24 billion) appeared to be onto a winner when it broke ground for a new plant in Kuantan nearly five years ago. Global demand for materials such as lanthanum and neodymium was surging as the world's appetite for hybrid cars, wind turbines and ever-faster phones with better screens increased.
The prospect of weakening China's chokehold on 95% of the world trade in these critical elements helped convince Malaysia's government that the project would be a success. It offered the firm a 12-year tax holiday to set up shop in Pahang, the home state of Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Instead, construction of the $800 million Lynas refinery kicked off a debate with local residents about how to handle the low-grade radioactive waste that comes from processing rare-earth elements. The company and the Malaysian government say the plant is safe.
The clash is also now spilling over into national politics, as opposition firebrand Anwar Ibrahim incorporates the cause in his bid to topple the coalition that has governed this predominantly Muslim nation since independence from Britain in 1957. Elections are expected to be called this spring.
"If we can't challenge the government in the courts, then perhaps the election will change the game," says Mr. Tan, a wiry, methodical 64-year-old.
Rare earths are a group of 17 elements valued for their magnetic and conductive properties. While harmless by themselves, they are frequently found mixed with potentially dangerous radioactive ores such as thorium. Separating and refining them can be complex and messy.
That has raised alarm among Malaysians who fear the government hasn't done enough to ensure the safety of the Lynas plant. "We can't trust them to do what's right," said Yu Siew Hong, a young mother who lives near the new facility.
Last month, Lynas secured a victory when the High Court in Kuantan dismissed protesters' allegations that Malaysian authorities improperly awarded the firm an operating license. The company's stock is also regaining interest among investors: J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. upgraded its recommendation on the shares to "buy" from "hold" in recent weeks.
The company's stock has continued to drift south, underscoring the difficulties still facing Lynas's plans to become a breakthrough player in the global rare-earths market. Lynas's shares fell 2.4%, to 61 Australian cents, on Monday.
Among other things, the company still faces another judicial review sought by Mr. Tan's group.
The upshot: Lynas's outlook "is still very uncertain," said Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Terry.
Mr. Tan, who serves as Save Malaysia Stop Lynas's spokesman, isn't your common variety of eco-warrior. He and the other protesters hadn't taken much of an interest in environmental issues until Lynas began building its plant at the Gebeng industrial estate near Kuantan. Unlike groups such as Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth, the group didn't have experience in organizing protest campaigns.
Their emergence is part of a trend of smaller and smaller groups targeting corporations and markets, rather than governments, to achieve their goals, sometimes with spectacular effects.
In an extreme recent example, Australian activist Jonathan Moylan organized a hoax in early January in which he and his cohorts temporarily wiped $315 million off the market value of Whitehaven Coal . Mr. Moylan issued a statement, purportedly from the company's bank, saying it had withdrawn funding over concerns about environmental damage. The shares later recovered and Australian market regulators are now investigating the matter. Mr. Moylan couldn't be reached for comment, but local media have quoted him as saying he issued the statement.
Mr. Tan and his friends, for their part, filed a series of actions specifically aimed at damaging Lynas's ability to secure additional funding and force it to give up.
"Refining rare earths is a dirty business and we want people to know what it involves. We might not win in the courts, but whatever action we take, it bleeds Lynas a little bit more and makes it more difficult for them to raise money," says Mr. Tan. The group's flurry of writs delayed Lynas obtaining a temporary operating license until this past November, a full year behind schedule, driving a decline in the company's share price from A$1.59 in February 2012 to the 61 Australian cents now, and forcing Lynas to raise more money to keep going.
"We've raised 175 million [Australian] dollars more than we wanted. It's cost our shareholders," Mr. Curtis, Lynas's chief executive, said. "It's not acceptable, but it is what it is."
The government is taking notice of the protesters' pull, too. In December, four cabinet ministers warned in a joint statement that Lynas must export all waste material from its plant or see its operations suspended.
Lynas says it intends to process the radioactive waste into other materials, such as road surfacing, diluting it. The company plans to export the material to comply with Malaysia's requirements.
Analysts say the obstacles Lynas has faced in Malaysia prevented it from enjoying a boom in rare-earths prices. The plant is finally operating, but prices for some rare-earth elements are now 80% off their peaks.
Lynas's Mr. Curtis concedes the opportunities lost but views the market as now being on a more sustainable growth path.
"Hopefully, when the election is out of the way, we'll be able to get down to business," he said.
Write to James Hookway at email@example.com
A version of this article appeared February 19, 2013, on page C1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Miner Hits Mother Lode of Dissent. | <urn:uuid:bdbafe20-0483-48cb-9069-4c8e17d61c40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323764804578310070165067986.html?mod=WSJ_article_U.S.Headlines | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96942 | 1,422 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Thu August 23, 2012
Saving Landmarks In Eldon, Iowa
From a volunteer pool of more than 30 — most past retirement age – friendly folks greet visitors at the American Gothic House Center.
Unpaid guides provide pitchforks so tourists can pose in front of the house that inspired Grant Wood's recognizable painting. And they dispense information about one of America's most celebrated artists.
Many of the same volunteers helped restore the Rock Island Railroad Depot. They are also saving McHaffery Opera House, staffing a food pantry and constantly cooking for fundraisers to preserve the heritage in this town of 900 residents in Southeast Iowa.
Brian Chambers is media coordinator for The American Gothic House Center and listens to KDWI. | <urn:uuid:5e9df858-5293-4e9e-985d-0bff06c2401e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kuer.org/post/saving-landmarks-eldon-iowa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903534 | 147 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Ships arriving at the Port of San Francisco
THE VOYAGE OF THE "EASTERN STAR."
The voyage which terminated a few days since in the safe arrival in this port of the ship Eastern Star, from New York, was a somewhat eventful one When off Rio de Janeiro the vessel's chronometer, the only one on board, broke. Captain A. Curtis, her Commander then made for the shore, and when the line showed fifty fathoms, he continued on his course, keeping an extra sharp look out. The Straits of Le Maire were safely navigated, and that most dreaded of points, the "Horn," was passed only four miles distance. Strong winds, that then set in, blew the ship one hundred miles to the eastward, and the weather all the time had been too thick to permit of taking a lunar observation. When, as he supposed, he was far enough to the westward, the Captain began to make his northerly running, and on the 10th of February sighted the island of Juan Fernandez.
Captain Curtis was then of course aware of his exact position, and from thence he ran by dead reckoning and by lunar observations; and crossing the Equator in 100 degrees he took the N.E. trades in 150 N., and sighted the Farallones within thirty minutes of the time he expected. The Eastern Star is a vessel of magnificent proportions. She brings a general cargo, and is discharging at the Mission street wharf. Too much praise cannot be given to Captain Curtis for bringing his ship safely into port. Many sleepless days and nights must he have passed in navigating the Eastern Star, under the difficulties in which he was placed.
January 10, 1871 San Francisco Chronicle: By the arrival of the Moses Taylor from Honolulu, which connected with the Wonga Wonga from Auckland, we have New Zealand dates to December 7th and from Sydney to November 30th. The following is the list of passengers from Australia and New Zealand: Austrian Field Marshall Lieutenant Baron Jochnus, W.H. Wilson and wife, Thomas Henderson, Jr. Wm. B. Dyson, Dr. Jenkins, Miss Allen, F.L. Castle, Miss Rose Evans, G. Clarement, H.M. Hyndman, Mrs. Barton, A.J. Logan, A. Stevenson, Mail Agent, and twenty others.
News brought in by the Moses Taylor: In native matters though there is no immediate danger of a general rising by the Maoris, there are not wanting signs of uneasiness which bode no good for the peace of the country. On the 27th of last month five natives, adherents of the Maori King, attacked a survey party at work on the boundary of the land confiscated after the war of 1863. Mr. Richard Todd, the chief of the survey party, was killed, and a half caste assistant was severely wounded. The natives surprised the party while they were at breakfast. Warning had been given the day previous, but the Europeans despised it. The cause of the attack is said to be surreptitious prospecting for gold on native land, of which the Maoris are very jealous, coupled with the surveys. Very recently a ch-rebel, Le Kooti, and his compeer, Kereopa, a chief, who killed the Rev. Mr. Volkner, ate his eyes and drank his heart’s blood, having reappeared in the neighborhood of the settlements on the east coast of the Province of Auckland. The settlers are on the qui vive. It is satisfactory to know that so far the Maori King hold aloof from these proceedings.
The Duke of Edinburgh was daily expected to arrive at Auckland from Australia, via New Caledonia, in the Galatea.
The Earl of Pembroke, who was cruising among the South Sea Islands, was wrecked. He was picked up together with the captain and crew by a passing vessel.
Daily Alta California, February 11, 1879
ALONG THE WHARVES
Daily Alta California, February 20, 1879
ALONG THE WHARVES
Daily Alta California, August 14, 1879
Daily Alta California, August 20, 1879 | <urn:uuid:b54a9d94-8903-4c01-93ff-6451541b1ca7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.maritimeheritage.org/inport/1870s.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972861 | 877 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Take control of your health. Subscribe to MediResourceís
Your knee: it's the biggest joint in your body, made up of a lot of parts that can get injured in all kinds of sports. The knee connects the lower end of the thighbone (femur) to the upper end of the shinbone (tibia). Several large ligaments - strong, elastic bands of tissue that join bone to bone - make this connection, bracing and controlling the motion of the joint. The kneecap (patella) slides in a groove at the end of the thighbone; it protects the knee and gives leverage to various leg muscles. Cartilage at the ends of the leg bones helps to cushion the joint, like a shock absorber.
Sprains (stretched or torn ligaments) are an especially common knee injury, and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the one most often damaged. This can happen, for example, when you change direction quickly, twist a leg or fall, slow down when running, or land from a jump. Typically, a torn ACL will be immediately disabling: you'll feel or hear a "pop," and the knee seems to "give way." Even though it might not be painful, see a doctor right away. Surgery may be necessary.
Knee pain can also come on gradually from overuse of the joint. For example, "patello-femoral syndrome," or pain caused by the kneecap being pushed against the sides of its groove, can occur if you do a lot of running. The pain, either sharp or dull, is usually felt in the front of the knee. Squatting or walking down stairs often makes it worse, and you might feel a grinding or "clicking" in the joint. A sports medicine specialist can help you to rebalance the kneecap and prevent further pain through proper training, stretching, and strengthening exercises.
Did you find what you were looking for on our website? Please let us know. | <urn:uuid:ed12730b-c889-4587-9eaa-26b43f6a6455> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_health_features_details.asp?health_feature_id=5&article_id=7&channel_id=9&relation_id=10862 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946298 | 415 | 3.21875 | 3 |
|3. Everything / Arts and Entertainment / Humour|
3. Everything / Languages & Linguistics / Colloquialisms, Slang & Humour
Otherwise known as poetry for the common man, limericks, named after the Irish town of the same name, were first published in 1820 in The History of Sixteen Wonderful Old Women, Illustrated by As Many Engravings: Exhibiting Their Principal Eccentricities and Amusements1 by James Harris. They were popularised by Edward Lear (1812 - 1888) in his 1846 Book of Nonsense, a two-volume work featuring 73 illustrated limericks. Despite featuring examples of misogyny and racism, these books were intended for children, with mildly nonsensical verses such as these:
There was an old man of Nepal
There was an old man of the coast
Characteristic of Lear's limericks is the identical ending to the first and last lines (example 1) and the use of a place-name at the end of each. Given the intended audience, most of the limericks in his book closely resemble those reproduced above, seldom using a different word for the last line and seldom introducing the humorous twist until the third line.
Lear's book cemented the structure if not the the content of popular limericks. The content-independent school of limerickery holds that any five-line poem with the requisite structure is a limerick, as would be true for a sonnet or villanelle fitting their respective formulae.
Limericks are officially described as a form of 'anapestic trimeter'; the 'anapest' is a 'foot' of poetic verse consisting of three syllables, the third longer (or accentuated to a greater degree) than the first two. Lines one, two and five of a limerick should ideally consist of three anapests each, concluding with an identical or similar phoneme to create the rhyme. Lines three and four are shorter, constructed of two anapests each and again rhyming with each other. Thus, the overall rhyme structure of a, a, b, b, a, with the beat patterna: da-da-daah da-da-daah da-da-daah
b: da-da-daah da-da-daah
Often, lines three and four have an extra syllable at their start. Variations on this theme include the substitution of the final foot of a line to the iamb, a two-syllable foot with the accent on the second. Further substitution in this way can result in the maximum syllable count of
being reduced to a minimum of
As the figures in italics indicate, curtailing the 'active' beats of any line results in a corresponding increase in the number of beats' pause between lines.
It is possible to construct a limerick with unmatching a or b lines; it is essential that the overall beat structure remains and that the flow of words allows the lines to be spoken as if they were identical.
While the appreciation of a finely-structured limerick has a place in today's world, tradition dictates that the comic value of a limerick is greatly enhanced if the content involves that great stalwart of humorous verse - vulgarity. Since Lear's time, the habit of using the same word (usually a place) to end the first and final lines has been supplanted. Limericks today often comprise the following basic formula:
This is quite acceptable, but still slightly dull. The anonymous author of the following limerick succinctly describes the problem of style over content:
The limerick packs laughs anatomical
The writer Don Marquis made a statement in a similar vein, summing up the traditional content of limericks:
There are three kinds of limerick:
Those suitable for recount in the presence of ladies...
A limerick written in jest
In accordance with DNA's dreams
I once met a man from the South
A being whose name was The Lord
...those utterable in the absence of ladies but the presence of clergy...
There once was a girl from Nantucket
A vicar, the Reverend Bowles
A slavering pervert named Benny
'Tis normal for boys adolescent
An elderly priest, Father Vaughan
The Powers That Be of this site
Of course, it is possible to be witty and clever without recourse to vulgarity and indecency2. Subtle use of euphemism can make a technically inoffensive limerick greater than one with overt smut...
There was a young plumber called Lee
A gentleman hailing from York
While clever word-play relating to the structure itself can be employed when expletives and a salacious subject must be avoided.
Also, the long-established structure and rhyme pattern of limericks can be turned against them; the reader or listener knows what to expect after the first line, providing, of course, that they've heard a limerick before, and can thus be led to believe that an expletive is imminent. When the expletive or expected word is replaced, the results are often pleasing. The added advantage of printability goes without saying.
The limericks shown on this site
I was feeling quite down on my luck
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Most of the content on this site is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here to alert our Moderation Team. For any other comments, please start a Conversation below. | <urn:uuid:be44ea5e-0ecf-4d4d-a405-13758cc944eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://feeds.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbiplayer/plain/A218206 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936141 | 1,206 | 3.265625 | 3 |
December 1941, Oregon country boy turned soldier, Private Jake DeShazer sat disgustedly peeling potatoes on KP wondering why he had joined the Army when the radio blared, “The Japanese just bombed Pearl Harbor”. Private DeShazer threw the half peeled potato against the wall, “I’ll get those dirty Japs!”
A few months later the Private got his wish. A secret plan has being formulated to bomb Tokyo itself. Most considered it a suicide mission but America was now at war and losing on every front in the Pacific. This was a chance to show that America could strike back, at the very heart of Japan. Jake DeShazer wanted to be a part of it. He became one of the Doolittle’s Raiders.
The plan worked, Tokyo was bombed but unfortunately not all the Raiders made it to safety. Several were captured by the Japanese, Jake DeShazer was one. He was to spend over three years in solitary confinement as a POW.
Three years is a long time to spend alone. A long time to think…to think about life and death and God. Raised in church but as a boy he hadn’t paid much attention. Now he was thinking, watching life around him, trying to figure things out…why, what was it all about, did he really matter, did God even know he existed, here in this dirty cell?
Years into captivity the Japanese allowed several books into the prison, the Bible was one. Jake read the Bible through three times in two weeks. The other prisoners never heard from his cell during this time. Several were wondering if he was dead. Indeed Mr. DeShazer did die in that cell. And was born again into the kingdom of God. He had discovered his answers in the Person of Jesus Christ.
One of the first acts he knew he needed to do was be baptized as Jesus commanded. How was this to happen? Ask the prison guards for permission to be baptized? “Off with your head!” would be the answer. How? Jake prayed. God answered. In the form of a storm, wind and rain blowing through the cell window. He knew what he needed to do and moved to the window, opening his arms wide, he was “sprinkled” by God Himself. Jake knew in his heart God had answered his prayer.
But was he really changed? Jesus said to love your enemies. And he had plenty of enemies, all around him. He knew this was the next step in following Jesus. The most brutal guard came to his cell to throw in Jake’s next meal, “How is your family doing?” The guard stopped, looked at Mr. DeShazer wondering what this was all about. Seeing a sincere smile, the guard hesitantly answered. Jake answered in a friendly manner that it was good to hear. Every day the conversations became longer and deeper.
One day the war ended and the POW’s were all scheduled to be executed. Marines miraculously rained from the sky, Jake and his fellow POWs were rescued.
“Was this all God had for me?” Jake wondered. Returning to the United States he enrolled in Bible College, fell in love, and they made plans to go to Japan as missionaries. Six years after the war Mr. and Mrs. DeShazer went to Japan with world wide coverage: “Former POW, Missionary to Japan” the headlines read.
Mitsuo Fuchida hung his head as he stepped off the bus to his war crimes trial in Tokyo. As the leader of the attack on Pearl Harbor he knew his fate was not good. But worse for Mitsuo was that all his life had been wasted, his family disgraced, his hope and faith in his ancestral gods and teachings wrong, reduced from hero to failure.
“Jake DeShazer, POW and Missionary to speak tonight” cried the man handing out flyers. Mr. Mitsuo took one, “I’ve heard of this man, why did he come back?” After reading the flyer, he bought a Bible written in Japanese. Starting at Genesis he read until he came to where, on the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do.”
(Luke 23:34 KJV)
Who is this Jesus, so strong He can forgive His enemies?
Mr. Mitsuo, fallen warrior, met with Jake DeShazer, former POW, and was led to Jesus. Together they traveled as brothers in Christ and witnessed the love of God to Japan and the world. Thousands will greet them when they enter through those pearly gates.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel. | <urn:uuid:c847667d-5faf-4d0b-86e6-0b0970224572> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.faithwriters.com/wc-article-level2-previous.php?id=18996 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991338 | 1,044 | 1.820313 | 2 |
What is Verification?
Verification is a procedure used to review processed FAFSA information to ensure that it was completed accurately. Applicants who already filed their federal income tax returns are encouraged to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) when completing the FAFSA which will prefill the answers to some questions by transferring data from their federal income tax returns. Students who do so initially are less likely to be selected for verification.If you did not use the DRT, you should go back into your FAFSA and use it to update your financial information shortly after you file your taxes.(For a list of timeframes, please review our Obtain a Tax Transcript from the IRS page.)
What Should You Expect?
If your FAFSA is selected for verification, you will be sent an email from our office asking you to review your PAWS To Do List for additional requirements. Beginning with the 2013-2014 academic year, verification will become more customized—in other words, not everyone will have to verify the same items. If tax information needs to be verified, federal regulations require that the information be obtained directly from the IRS either by choosing the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) option on the FAFSA (preferred method) or by requesting a tax transcript from the IRS and submitting it to our office. Please DO NOT submit copies of your federal tax returns unless specifically asked to do so.
For items not found on the federal tax return transcript, the Financial Aid Office will need to collect additional documentation to determine whether certain questions on the FAFSA were completed accurately. Some students are selected for verification by the U.S. Department of Education while others are selected by the school. Details on the additional documents that are required will be shown in your To Do List.
For more information about the IRS Data Retrieval option, refer to the instructions that are included in the verification worksheets below or view this 2 minute video.
Why Was Your FAFSA Selected for Verification?
There are several possible reasons for your FAFSA being selected for verification. Keep in mind that other possibilities exist, but the following are the most common reasons:
- When completing your FAFSA you did not use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT), or you did but then subsequently changed the data
- Your FAFSA has incomplete data
- Your FAFSA includes estimated information
- You were randomly selected
- You have made multiple corrections to your FAFSA
If Selected for Verification, You Must Do the Following:
- Monitor your UWM email and your PAWS To Do List. If additional information or documents are needed, they will be requested via email.
- If a Verification Worksheet is required, select the appropriate Worksheet from the Forms Listed Below. Complete, print and submit it to the Financial Aid Office (it can be mailed, faxed, or dropped off).If you aren’t required to file a tax return, indicate that on the worksheet. Attach W2’s if you had any employment.
- If tax transcripts are reflected on your PAWS To Do List, and you filed a tax return, go back into your FAFSA application and use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT).Our office will be sent a confirmation that your information came directly from the IRS.Once we receive that information, the need for a transcript will drop off of your To Do List.
- If you are unable to use the DRT, you will need to request a Tax Return Transcript from the IRS.
- If information needs to be corrected, our office will submit the corrections electronically and continue review of your application after the corrections have been accepted and processed by the Central Processor. If corrections are not required, and all necessary documentation is completed, your eligibility for financial aid will be determined, and you will be sent an email notification.
Because there are certain deadlines, it is important that the verification process be completed in a timely manner. Failure to complete verification of your application will prevent you from receiving a financial aid award. For the Pell Grant only, verification materials must be submitted no later than 120 days after the last day of attendance, or by September 25, whichever is earlier. For all other programs, verification materials must be submitted and aid eligibility determined no later than the last date of attendance. A loan cannot be offered to you after your last date of attendance. Please allow approximately 4-6 weeks following receipt of your documentation for the verification process to be completed and your eligibility for financial aid to be determined.If corrections are required, the entire process will require an additional 7-10 days
IMPORTANT: If you wait until the summer months to submit the documents needed for the verification process to be completed, the amount of time it takes to complete the verification process increases significantly; eight weeks is not unusual. Students are strongly encouraged to apply by March 1, which is the UWM priority filing date, to avoid delays in receiving both an offer and disbursement of their financial aid. | <urn:uuid:43b50f98-638c-42c2-84e6-15e4699de8b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www4.uwm.edu/financialaid/apply_for_aid/verification.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93683 | 1,040 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Cities across the United States are facing $7 trillion in outstanding pension liabilities. This conference, part of the Anton/Lippitt Conference on Urban Affairs at Brown University, shed light on how municipalities are addressing this financial challenge.
The United States system of ensuring food safety (FS) is more than 100 years old and, until very recently, was the primary system designed to ensure FS. The system assumes that primarily federal regulators have the necessary knowledge to instruct food manufacturers on producing safe food, with both federal and state governments enforcing their respective regulations. While there have been notable successes in the last century — such as mandatory pasteurization for milk and other products, low acid canned food rules, and basic sanitation requirements — much of this progress was achieved in the first half of the 20th century. In the last 30 years, the incidence of foodborne disease has changed very little. | <urn:uuid:cdddb269-285b-4152-8c69-48af78c62faa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mercatus.org/all-publications/speeches-and-presentations | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963681 | 177 | 2.671875 | 3 |
In business, community and personal relations, education is the binding element that allows for growth in each these sectors of life. What’s so neat about education is that it’s a neverending process, no matter how much knowledge you obtain. Even more important are the relationships you develop with your teachers along the way. It’s more than learning just facts, but experiencing life lessons that inspire you. Education is an incredible process that every student should have ready access to and that every teacher should be able to readily impart.
In an effort to jumpstart quality learning for our children, the Miami Beach Chamber Education Foundation was created to support our public education system. As a community, we should be building up to our schools, not cutting their resources. Part of this process includes highlighting the individuals within who excel in nurturing our youth. April 27th marks our the presentation of the annual Elayne Weisburg Excellence in Education Award. One teacher from Miami Beach Senior High School, as well as from each of its feeder schools - Treasure Island Elementary School, North Beach Elementary School, Ruth K. Broad K-8 Center, Nautilus Middle School, South Pointe Elementary School, Fienberg Fisher K-8 Center and Biscayne Elementary School - has been nominated for his/her outstanding work.
I’m pleased to announce that this year’s nominees are:
• Jacqueline H. Adler, Biscayne Elementary School
• Olga Bichachi, Treasure Island Elementary School
• Gussie Bowen, Miami Beach Senior High
• Dorothy Brochey, Nautilus Middle School
• Benjamin E. Groff, South Pointe Elementary School
• Onil F. Rodriguez, Ruth K. Board Bay Harbor K-8 Center
• Anat Schwartzbaum, North Beach Elementary School
On behalf of the Chamber, I extend congratulations and heartfelt appreciation to our nominees.
The winner will be announced at the April 27 luncheon hosted at the Palms Hotel & Spa. Speaking from my personal experience last year, it will be incredibly difficult for our panel of judges. We would be proud and honored to have any of these educators teach our child, or even ourselves for that matter. Should you like to support these teachers on their special day, visit www.miamibeachchamber.com/cm_Events .php for registration details.
At your service,
Short URL: http://www.communitynewspapers.com/?p=35127
Comments are closed | <urn:uuid:f03f53c0-a21d-42a4-a347-e814c447badb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.communitynewspapers.com/miami-beach/letter-from-the-chair-3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951865 | 514 | 2 | 2 |
Report: Gulf Coast ports need help to ready for expanded Panama Canal
by Associated Press
Published: June 22,2012
GULF OF MEXICO — A federal agency says seaports in the Southeast region need the most help getting ready to trade with supersized cargo ships expected to arrive soon through an expanded Panama Canal.
A report to Congress released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says ports on the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts may need up to $5 billion to deepen their harbors to accommodate the giant ships. A major expansion of the Panama Canal is expected to wrap up in 2014, and the U.S. has no ports south of Virginia or between Florida and Texas with waterways deep enough for them.
The budget crisis has made federal funding for port projects extremely tight. The Corps says state governments and private industry may need to shoulder more of the costs.
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- Doctor appeals Medicaid, Medicare fraud conviction | <urn:uuid:52cd16f8-03a9-4c43-986d-edbc935a945e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://msbusiness.com/blog/2012/06/22/report-gulf-coast-ports-need-help-to-ready-for-expanded-panama-canal/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928534 | 334 | 1.757813 | 2 |
There are no reliable portraits of the man named Gilbert White, only a couple of quick ink sketches—doubtful likenesses at best. There's almost no contemporary testimony about his physical appearance, though he stood a little below average height and hunched his shoulders for emphasis when he talked. The absence of portraits wouldn't really be surprising, except that Gilbert White is the author of The Natural History of Selborne, a book that has been steadily in print, often in multiple editions, since the day it was first published in 1789, when White was 69 years old. It is the book, for many readers, that still defines the art of observing nature.
"The parish of Selborne lies in the extreme eastern corner of the county of Hampshire, bordering on the county of Sussex, and not far from the county of Surrey." So The Natural History of Selborne begins. From such an opening, White might have gone on to write a novel about one of the leading families in the parish, with some account of the travails of the eldest son and the prettiest daughter. Like most people, White certainly enjoyed telling stories about the neighbors. But he preferred to tell stories about swifts and martins, cuckoos and curlews, about the dire winter weather and the softness of a welcome spring, about how the sheep were faring and what kind of summer the hay was having.
And rather than leave behind any image of himself, White left the world something much rarer and far more important. He left us the vision of one small place. He knew Selborne in a way that's almost unimaginable to us now. He was born within the parish and, apart from a few years at Oxford, lived his whole life there. He knew it as a naturalist and as an Anglican clergyman—as a naturalist, in other words, of the human soul. In The Natural History of Selborne, White mirrored Selborne as few places have ever been mirrored. He was the glass that leaves no image of itself, only of the world around it.
I had visited Selborne again and again in my reading. I knew my way down its "single straggling street." I knew how the soil changed dramatically from one side of the street to the other and how the Hanger—"a vast hill of chalk, rising three hundred feet above the village"—dominated White's garden and Selborne itself. But there's a kind of vanity in reading. We love the books we do, not only for themselves but for what we supply from our own imaginations as we read them. White's Selborne had become, in some sense, my Selborne, so much so that I had begun to write a book of my own about it. It became time to see what White's Selborne really looked like, to go there for real and not just in the pages of his journal.
I drove from Oxford in a little over an hour, slipping west of London and then south some 50 miles. I knew the pattern of place-names from White's letters—Dorchester, Wallingford, Pangborn, Aldermaston, Basingstoke, Alton, Faringdon—and they seemed to pass with indecent haste. Norton Farm flashed by—the final landmark—and then the road dipped and curved and narrowed, and became asingle straggling street set between housefronts bulwarked with pleached limes. Suddenly Selborne. Entering it was like being swallowed by another century. I should have been riding a gray mare named Mouse, the wayWhite would have been, or as well mounted as the woman sitting astride her horse outside the Queens & Limes, where I was going to stay.
White's house lay only a few steps back down the road. I admit that at first I noticed almost nothing of the house—now a museum devoted to White and (it's a long story) to Titus Oates, the Antarctic explorer. Much as White had loved it, the house had never framed his sense of nature. I knew what had the minute I stepped out the kitchen door. It was the garden, the broad field that lay beyond the garden, and then the Hanger, that long chalk hill clad in beech trees to the south. | <urn:uuid:60f725a8-41f9-4511-8ea8-07afdf0a6b38> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/country-life | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979194 | 879 | 2.265625 | 2 |
New Study: New Mexico Leads in On-Campus Polls, Equipment Uniformity
Takoma Park, MD—September 8, 2008—New Mexico has uniform voting equipment and sufficient on-campus polling locations for students, but voters may experience problems on Election Day because of inconsistent poll booth allocation, according to a report released today by FairVote, a nonpartisan advocacy group.
FairVote surveyed 29 out of 33 New Mexico county clerks and found that the state does not have a standardized method for allocating poll booths, which may cause long lines on Election Day. Long lines are often caused by an inadequate number of poll booths and have plagued voters, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods, in the past several election cycles. Researchers found that only 5 clerks, out of the 29 clerks surveyed (17-percent), plan to create a written poll booth allocation plan for their county. Creating a written plan gives voters an opportunity to review election preparedness and outlines contingency plans in the event of unexpected turnout on Election Day. One of the primary reasons given by county clerks for not creating written plans is that such preparation is not required by state statute.
New Mexico’s government has made a concerted effort to ensure students living on large college campuses have access to the polls on Election Day. FairVote found that there are 28 community college, four-year college or university campuses among the 29 counties surveyed. Of the 28 schools, 16 campuses have on-campus polling locations. On-campus polling locations encourage student participation, particularly among 18 to 24-year-olds. This demographic has traditionally yielded the lowest level of voter participation.
“New Mexico does an excellent job of encouraging student participation,” said co-author of the report, FairVote’s Adam Fogel. “However, there is still work to be done to ensure the standardization of booth allocation across precincts. We need more funding for elections and better federal and state guidelines, including minimum standards for election preparedness.”
FairVote is a non-partisan electoral reform organization founded on a belief that democracy depends on respect for every voice and every vote. Part of FairVote’s Democracy SoS project, Uniformity in Election Administration: A 2008 Survey of Swing State County Clerks—New Mexico Edition is the second in a series of reports to be published by FairVote this fall, designed to shed light on practices of county election administrators, as well as their interpretation and compliance with state law. The New Mexico Edition will be followed by several other state reports, including Virginia and Colorado. The Missouri Edition was released in August. A national report surveying election officials in counties with at least 500,000 residents in ten “swing states” will be released in September.
Full Report: http://www.fairvote.org/sosresearch
# # # | <urn:uuid:9484cc26-fc20-46ea-ac29-1c5d80bcac26> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fairvote.org/new-study-new-mexico-leads-in-on-campus-polls-equipment-uniformity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959385 | 578 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Roy Petitfils (counsellor, speaker and author), told me he was using this quote from the movie "The Secret Life of Bees" in his work this year with students and teachers.
He said, “The teachers are framing it and putting it on their desks.” Here it is:
“Bee yard etiquette: ... the world is really one big bee yard, and the same rules work fine in both places: Don't be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don't be an idiot; wear long sleeves and long pants. Don't swat. Don't even think about swatting. If you feel angry, whistle. Anger agitates, while whistling melts a bee's temper. Act like you know what you're doing, even if you don't. Above all, send the bees love. Every little thing wants to be loved.”
Source: Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees (Penguin Books), 2002.
Link to Roy’s blog which is a treasury of useful and inspiring stories like this one, this beauty and a third for good measure.
Dr Geoff Pound
Geoff can be contacted by email at geoffpound(at)gmail.com on Facebook and Twitter.
Image: “The world is really one big bee yard.” | <urn:uuid:06451455-c88b-4e93-b826-e2c777c7d6b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://storiesforspeakers.blogspot.com/2009/08/lessons-from-secret-life-of-bees.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953231 | 282 | 2.046875 | 2 |
DMI, which was first implemented in High Point, North Carolina, and has been replicated with success in several other cities, including Huntington, West Virginia, is a strategic problem-solving initiative aimed at closing down drug markets that breed crimes of violence and disorder.
See video from the "Don't Horse Around With Drugs" program!
and on "Late Night"!:
VISIT THE CITY OF HUNTINGTON'S INTERACTIVE WEB SITE at:
LINKS TO OTHER STORIES:
October 07, 2011 @ 12:00 AM
HUNTINGTON -- U.S. Attorney R. Booth Goodwin honored the Huntington Police Department as the law enforcement agency of the year for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Goodwin announced the honor Thursday at his office's annual Law Enforcement & Victim Assistance Awards ceremony. It was held at Marshall University, marking the first year the ceremony has been held in Huntington.
Goodwin praised the Huntington Police Department for its participation in multiple joint operations with various federal agencies. He believes those efforts have resulted in "fundamental change" evidenced by a drop in violent crime and a transformation in the city neighborhoods, including the Fairfield community.
"They have come up to me, not just one but dozens of individuals have said, 'Listen. You don't know what this has done for the community. We were scared to go outside. We were scared to let our kids play, and now we have our streets back,'" Goodwin said. "That's the kind of change the people in this room can make."
Thursday marked the inaugural presentation of an award to honor the district's top law enforcement agency and task force of the year. The task force award was bestowed upon the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team based in Kanawha and Putnam counties.
Huntington Police Chief Skip Holbrook accepted the award that honored his agency. He praised officers in his department when asked about the award prior to the ceremony.
"It's considerable hard work by these guys and they deserve all of the credit," he said. "It's always nice when someone that's kind of outside of the box can look back in and recognize your work. I think it brings some validity to what you're trying to accomplish."
As the HPD accepted its award, several of its members received individual recognition for work on the multiple joint operations.
Five city police officers received an award recognizing Outstanding Gun and Violent Crime Investigation. It honored their work in Operation Smokin' Aces, which involved undercover federal agents operating a fictitious storefront at 917 20th St. in Huntington. It targeted crimes ranging from counterfeiting to the trafficking of illicit drugs, guns and black market tobacco.
Two of those city officers also were honored for participation in a marijuana investigation dubbed "Up in Smoke." It unraveled a $15 million marijuana conspiracy, which pumped tons of the drug through central Ohio and into the Tri-State.
Goodwin presented 12 members of the city's police department with an award recognizing Outstanding Implementation of District Initiative. It praised the city's work on its drug market intervention program. It was designed to close down open-air drug markets by offering services to low-level drug offenders, while prosecuting and locking up higher-level offenders.
Paid for by The Committee to Elect
Hershel "Woody" Williams, Chairman;
Kellie Wright, Treasurer
Copyright 2012 WOLFEforHUNTINGTON.com. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:1053b1ee-12c9-46c4-9693-6d205de46204> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wolfeforhuntington.com/team_news | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970154 | 711 | 1.570313 | 2 |
CD Candle Holder
Small foil pie tray
Access to oven
Place the foil pie tray onto an oven tray. If you can not find a small Pie tray use a metal dish to melt the CD over. Remember to always use Gloves.
Heat the oven to 150-200 Deg Celsius.
Gently place a CD on the foil cup, with the label side up.
Place it into the heated oven for around 10 Min's.
Using an oven glove, push the CD down into the pie tray.
It should be flexible enough to sink into the tray and shape.
Allow it to cool and harden.
Always melt CD's in a well ventilated area.
The Images for this project were contributed by "Altered Angel"
This project was submitted by honeysuckle2 (Jenny Coleman). Thanks Jenny Coleman! | <urn:uuid:9b5a1d37-1088-4286-9557-fd2639f8e864> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.craftbits.com/project/cd-candle-holder | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904832 | 172 | 1.59375 | 2 |
US 6888105 B2
A cover for a rack to control the temperature of the contents of the rack is provided. The cover comprises a frame having a heater, a soft hood with a top and a bottom, the hood extending downward from the frame, and a duct fluidly connecting the heater to the bottom of the hood whereby the duct introduces heated air into the bottom of the hood. Also included is a method of controlling the temperature of a reaction using the cover of the present invention.
1. A cover for a rack to control the temperature of the contents of the rack comprising:
a frame having a temperature-controlling element, said frame adapted to be disposed above a rack;
a soft hood having a bottom, said hood extending downward from said frame; and
a duct fluidly connecting said temperature-controlling element to the bottom of said hood.
2. The cover of
3. The cover of
4. The cover of
5. The cover of
6. The cover of
7. The cover of
8. The cover of
9. The cover of
10. The cover of
11. The cover of
12. The cover of
13. The cover of
14. A method of controlling the temperature of a reaction comprising the steps of:
(a) suspending a flexible hood from a frame to form an enclosed area below the frame;
(b) inserting a reaction vessel into the enclosed area;
(c) bringing air within the frame to a first desired temperature;
(d) passing the air from the frame to the bottom of the hood and into the enclosed area;
(e) taking up the air from the enclosed area at the top of the hood and bringing it back to said first temperature in the frame; and
(f) repeating steps (d) and (e) until a desired reaction is complete.
15. The method of step 14 wherein step (c) comprises warming air within the frame.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. P Provisional Patent Application No. 60/434,134, filed Dec. 17, 2002. The entire disclosure of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/434,134, filed Dec. 17, 2002, is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention is related to climate control devices, and more specifically to the control of temperature in laboratory racks and incubators.
It is often desirable in laboratory work to have a controlled environment in which to allow experimentation to occur. This control would especially include temperature, particularly in biological experimentation and production. Several techniques have been developed to insure this control.
Many popular incubators are actually boxes which contain an atmosphere suitable for the growth of organisms. Such incubators are typically plastic or metal and consist of walls containing a variety of equipment assembled for the particular experimentation. Other types of controlled atmosphere incubators are adapted to receive a tray or rack of individual containers, reactors, or bottles in which experimentation and production are being performed. These racks are often on rollers and can be rolled into, and later out of, the controlled atmosphere enclosure.
One drawback to many of these known devices and systems is that the enclosure into which the racks are rolled take up a large amount of space, at least as much as the racks themselves. Thus, laboratory space, which is often limited and expensive, must accommodate cabinets and even, sometimes, small rooms into which bottle or reactor racks can be placed.
The present invention provides a cover for a rack to control the temperature of the rack and its contents. The invention comprises a frame having a temperature-controlling element, such as a heater or refrigeration device, a soft hood extending downward from the frame, and at least one duct fluidly connecting the temperature-controlling element to the bottom of the hood to allow passage of the temperature-controlled air from the temperature-controlling element to the bottom of the hooded environment. The rack with its contents is then placed into the soft-sided structure during experimentation so that a controlled temperature environment can be maintained.
In a preferred embodiment, the cover apparatus includes a blower in the frame to force warmed air down the duct(s) into the bottom of the hood. Preferably, the frame has four sides and the hood hangs down from the frame. The inner dimensions of the hood are only slightly larger than the outer dimensions of the rack for which it is designed to house. The frame is attached to a wall, suspended from a ceiling, or is adapted to be disposed atop the rack. Control devices are disposed on the frame to control temperature and air flow through the hooded enclosure. The duct(s) are preferably disposed outside of the shell, and most preferably they are formed integrally with the shell. Either the frame or the duct system has a cold air intake at the top to feed air to the heater.
Also included in the invention is a method of controlling the temperature of a reaction comprising the steps of suspending a soft hood from a frame to form an enclosed area below the frame, inserting a reaction vessel into the enclosed area, bringing air within the frame to a first desired temperature, passing the air from the frame to the bottom of the hood and into the enclosed area, and taking up the air from the enclosed area at the top of the hood at a second temperature back into the frame where it is again brought to the first desired temperature. The temperature within the enclosed area is monitored and controlled to maintain the desired temperature within a preset tolerance, for example 37° C.±1° C. This cycle is continued until a desired reaction is complete.
The features of the invention believed to be novel and the elements characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The figures are for illustration purposes only and are not drawn to scale. The invention itself, however, both as to organization and method of operation, may best be understood by reference to the detailed description which follows taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The present invention provides a cover for a rack to control the temperature of the rack and its contents. The invention comprises a frame having a temperature-controlling element, a soft hood extending downward from the frame, and at least one duct fluidly connecting the temperature-controlling element to the bottom of the hood to allow passage of air from the temperature-controlling element to the bottom of the hooded environment. The rack with its contents is then placed into the soft-sided structure during experimentation and production so that a controlled temperature environment can be maintained.
The cover apparatus preferably includes a blower in the frame to force air down the duct(s) into the bottom of the hood. Preferably, the frame has four sides and the hood hangs down from the frame. The inner dimensions of the hood are only slightly larger than the outer dimensions of the rack for which it is designed to house. The frame is attached to a wall or ceiling, or is adapted to be disposed atop the rack. Control devices are disposed on the frame to control temperature and air flow through the hooded enclosure. The duct(s) are preferably disposed outside of the hood, and most preferably they are formed integrally with the hood. Either the frame or the duct system has an air intake at the top to feed air to the temperature-controlling element. Preferably, the temperature-controlling element is a heater.
The hood is generally designed to fit over whatever rack is used in a particular laboratory. A preferred embodiment of the invention provides a hood for a bottle rack such as that shown in
As noted above, hood 140, as shown in
In its preferred embodiment, where a heater is the temperature-controlling element, the present invention achieves heating in two ways, namely through forced air heat exchange (because of the blower) but also natural convection as the warmed air is introduced at the bottom of the rack and allowed through natural convection (albeit in addition to the forced air circulation) to rise through the rack. When required the controller activates the blower to force heated air through the enclosure. This situation takes advantage of both forced air movement and the heat transfer properties associated therewith, and also natural convection.
The above embodiments, where the hood is suspended from a frame mounted to the top of a rack, allow the rack to be moved about even during experimentation (which may not always be desired) or between experiments, depending upon laboratory space requirements.
Another embodiment of the present invention utilizes a system where the frame is mounted directly to a wall or suspended from a ceiling and a hood is suspended therefrom. Such an arrangement allows the draping of the hood which, together with the frame, form an enclosed area into which a laboratory rack can be rolled. All other aspects of this embodiment are generally the same as those discussed above. Any number of different attachment means can be used to mount the frame to the wall or ceiling, including something as simple as bolting the frame directly to a laboratory wall or ceiling. Furthermore, other mounting systems could work, including the use of a free-standing frame disposed atop a laboratory bench or table top. When not in use, the hood can be folded up and stored away, or even simply laid atop the frame and out of the way.
One particular embodiment of this aspect is shown in
Another particular embodiment of this aspect is shown in
Advantages of the present invention include that fact that the soft-sided incubator hood embodiment can be made of a heat-reflective soft curtain or other thermally insulating material. The hood, or soft side curtain provide equal or superior thermal insulation and convenience as compared to known sheet metal cabinets. The soft sides can be made of one material or a combination or layers of materials, not limited to but including, flexible plastics, cloth, metal foil, fiberglass, multi-layer polymeric fabrics, or other man made materials. The preferred materials of construction would be bio-compatible and carry a UL94-VTM fire rating. One possible method a shown in
Such a configuration as described above also allows for considerable weight reduction over known units which results in lower storage and transportation costs. When not in use, the soft curtain allows the system to be space-minimized such that a very small space is consumed. The unit can be rolled or folded up so that the only significant remaining volume is that occupied by the frame/air handling unit. In addition, the soft incubator can conform to many sizes and shapes of cell culture apparati and racks, from roller apparati to various bench top units. For the bench top units an outer frame could be added to support the control frame and soft side curtains.
Other embodiments could take advantage of more than just temperature control. In such cases, humidity could also be controlled with suitable handling units in the frame. Although most of the above disclosure centered on warming the environment, cooling could also be accomplished. Furthermore, controlled atmospheres such as CO2 control or oxygen introduction could also be accommodated.
The control frame consists of an outer protective shell with mounting adaptations which house a means to heat air and move the air through the enclosure both activated by either mechanical or electronic controls and an interface to adjust and monitor the results. The outer protective shell and mounting system could consist of a strong stiff material, which is strong enough to protect the internal components from damage and support the weight of the soft curtain. It could be made of any of the following materials: plastics, wood, metal, or fiberglass.
The air is heated or cooled by turning on a heater or compressor, which may be any of the following types: coil, wire resistance, or fin strip types. The typical heater may have in independent high temperature cut-off for safety. One possible selection could be a fin strip heater similar to a Caloritech/Wellman model FS102X.
The air flow and heat requirements may vary depending on the size of the enclosure and application. The air may be moved by any of the following methods: fan, blower, bellows, or a compressor. A typical fan would be similar to an EBM model R2E220, which provides air flow ranging from 200 to 1000 cubic feet per minute. The larger the rack and the higher the temperature requirement, the larger the demand on the air handling system. The temperature and movement of the air needs to be controlled to achieve the desired results within the enclosure. This is achieved via mechanical and/or electronic switches and controls, such as an ATHENA PID Temperature controller model #M400. This aspect of the present invention, however, is defined by parameters known to those skilled in the art.
Also included as a part of the invention is a method of controlling the temperature of a reaction. The method comprises the steps of first suspending a soft hood from a frame to form an enclosed area below the frame, and then inserting a reaction vessel or rack into the enclosed area. Then air is brought to a first desired temperature within the frame and is passed from the frame down to the bottom of the suspended soft hood and into the enclosed area. The air introduced at the bottom is brought up through the rack or vessels and is taken back into the frame where it is again brought to the first desired temperature. This process continues until the desired reaction within the vessels is complete. In a preferred application of the method, the air is warmed in the frame to a temperature higher than the surrounding temperature.
Accordingly, while illustrated and described herein with reference to certain specific embodiments, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments and details shown. Rather, the appended claims are intended to include all embodiments and modifications which may be made in these embodiments and details, which are nevertheless within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
Citas de patentes | <urn:uuid:9475cc08-f818-46d7-b484-7853c6fdf66b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.google.es/patents/US6888105?hl=es | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937477 | 2,820 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Molly (Poecilia butleri)
From The Aquarium Wiki
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56,781.177 mL 56.8 Litres (15 US G.)
3.15 in 7-8 cm (2.8-3.1")
1 - 1.015
7 - 7.8
533.07 °R 300.15 K
540.27 °R23 -27 °C (73.4-80.6°F)
This animal is available captive bred
- Mexican Molly, Pacific Molly
- Males are much smaller and have a modified anal fin called a gonopodium which allows the male to deposit sperm.
- In the wild Mollies shoal in their hundreds and the ratio of males to females is one third males to two thirds females. Indeed a female molly would typical give birth to 70% females.
- In pet shops they will often sell Mollies in pairs. Whilst this will not cause the female any long term harm, it will tire the female as she is constantly pestered by the male's advances. It is far better for the fish if you have a male to every 2 females and then the females will be less stressed. Every 30-40 days you'll have 50-100 live fry.
- The female has the ability to store sperm for several months if the male should disappear.
- Adults will prey on young fry, so dense planting in the form of Java Moss can be used to ensure fry survival, or the young fry can be put into a breeding trap until they are larger. Pregnant females should never be placed into a breeding trap as this will cause undue stress and possibly cause them to abort the fry.
- A popular choice for a beginners aquarium, the molly is a good community fish that will generally not bother other inhabitants, they may harass other livebearers, including Platies, however. It is known for Mollies to be a little nippy, however, so any tankmates should be fast swimming and not be long-finned.
- Flake, dried fish food. Mollies will eat a small amount of meat. Raw cockles, Bloodworm, etc. It will even eat a small amount of soft algae if not over fed. They also like to eat some blanched vegetables like courgette, cucumber or lettuce.
- Feed once or twice a day.
- Originally from a brackish water source in the wild.
- It must be noted that keeping Mollies in an entirely salt-free environment can be detrimental to their health. One of the sicknesses they are prone to if kept this way is the "Shimmies", which will appear as erratic swimming.
- Top feeders (see mouth shape) but will take food at any level of the tank. Known for their ability to clean the water surface of tanks. Quickly becomes used to the aquarist and will feed out of your hand.
- Typical molly shape, A silver body with 5 thin vertical dark bands on its body starting from its dorsal fin. With a large black spot on the side of its body in front of the dorsal. | <urn:uuid:a64a332e-116a-4f6c-a3f9-86bb4acc115d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theaquariumwiki.com/Poecilia_butleri | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936006 | 672 | 2.546875 | 3 |
17.506 Ethnic Politics II (MIT)
This course is designed mainly for political science graduate students conducting or considering conducting research on identity politics. While 17.504 Ethnic Politics I is designed as a primarily theoretical course, Ethnic Politics II switches the focus to methods. It aims to familiarize the student with the current conventional approaches as well as major challenges to them. The course discusses definition and measurement issues as well as briefly addressing survey techniques and modeling.
21L.003-2 Reading Fiction (MIT)
Reading Fiction is designed to sharpen your skills as a critical reader. As we explore both short stories and novels focusing on the theme of "the city in literature," we will learn about the various elements that shape the way we read texts - structure, narrative voice, character development, novelistic experimentation, historical and political contexts and reader response.
17.906 Reading Seminar in Social Science: The Geopolitics and Geoeconomics of Global Energy (MIT)
This course focuses on strategic and political implications of ongoing trends in global energy markets, particularly markets for crude oil and natural gas. The course examines the world's major oil and natural gas producing regions: the Middle East, the Caspian Region, Russia, Venezuela, and the North Sea. Producer-consumer relationships are considered for China, India, Japan, and the United States. United States foreign policy implications, especially with respect to China, are discussed.
Doris Kearns Goodwin, Nov. 2, 2001
Former Harvard professor and White House fellow under Lyndon Johnson, Doris Kearns Goodwin is the author of bestsellers The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys and Lyndon Johnson & the American Dream. Her articles on political issues have appeared in leading national publications, and she is a regular panelist for “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer.” In 1995, she received a Pulitzer Prize in history for No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. Goodwin has receiv
Professor Paul Franco, Sep. 8, 2006
Mr. Franco is a Professor of Government with teaching responsibilities in the history of political philosophy and contemporary political theory. Mr. Franco is the author of The Political Philosophy of Michael Oakeshott, Hegel’s Philosophy of Freedom, and most recently Michael Oakeshott: An Introduction.
Henry Laurence, Karofsky Faculty Encore Lecture, Common Hour September 12, 2008
"You Can't Say That! Keeping Terrorists, War Crimes and Gay Marriage off TV." Henry Laurence is an associate professor of government with a joint appointment in Asian studies at Bowdoin. He teaches courses in Japanese and comparative politics, media and politics, and international political economy. In 2007–2008 he was a research associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University. He is currently writing a book on broadcasting politics that compares the BBC, PB
China Lecture Series: "China's Real Energy Crisis"
Associate Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Edward S. Steinfeld specializes in the political economy of reform in socialist and post-socialist systems. His book, Forging Reform in China (Cambridge University Press, 1998), explores the process of state enterprise restructuring in China and attempts to illuminate the institutional drivers of economic behavior in the Chinese system.
Reunion Lectures 2006: Church & State
During Reunion Weekend 2006 Paul Franco, professor of government, discussed the relationship between religion and politics, and examined the implications and complications of the separation of church and state in the context of recent Supreme Court cases.
Gary Hirshberg: Make Money and Save the World
Environmental activist and businessperson Gary Hirshberg calls on individuals to realize their power to effect change in the marketplace — "the power of one" — while proving that environmental commitment makes for a healthier planet and a healthier bottom line.
Hirshberg, president and "CE-Yo" of Stonyfield Farm, Inc. — the world's largest organic yogurt company — discusses how business can both save the planet and deliver higher growth and superior profits.
Ambassador Thomas Pickering '53: Priorities for the Next President of the United States in Foreign a
Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering '53 holds the personal rank of career ambassador, the highest in the U.S. Foreign Service. In a diplomatic career spanning five decades, he has served as U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He served as U.S. ambassador and representative to the United Nations in New York from 1989 to 1992, a period that saw an international coalition move effectively against Saddam Hussein's invasion o
Copyright 2009 University of Nottingham | <urn:uuid:1f04f62b-33d3-4ea6-99ab-f6b558b3905f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/xpert/scoreresults.php?keywords=Politics,%20power%20and%20political%20economy%20in%20Latin&start=7220&end=7240 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919938 | 972 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Since photography’s invention, there have been those rare times when a picture tells not only a thousand words, but also stories of humanity.
These are our iconic images.
Genre? Human suffering, period of injustice or moment of love? Era? In living color of recent memory or grainy black and white of long ago?
Take your pick. And then ask, what springs to mind?
Perhaps a small boy in an overcoat, a cap on his head, standing in a Warsaw street with his hands raised, a German SS soldier, holding a machine gun, standing a few feet behind him.
Take in the whole image: bedraggled people around the boy, all in a scurry to follow the soldiers’ orders. It is a disturbing scene, but linger for a moment upon that boy until you meet his dark eyes. It is then that you realize his terror.
This is the nightmare of the Holocaust in a single snapshot taken by a German officer — who unknowingly did his small part to indict the Third Reich for crimes against humanity. All the horror, all the evil man is capable of, is summarized in a photograph in a way nothing else can match.
What springs to mind? Is it less disturbing, more outwardly emotional, more subtle? Or is it closer to home? If so, then you surely know of our iconic photograph here in Calhoun County.
Choose your favorite search engine and browse through images listed under “bus burning.”
There are plenty of choices.
A picture’s details
There are dramatic scenes of buses aflame in Pakistan, in the West Bank, in Ivory Coast, in India and in Thailand. They all tell stories of violence with images full of smoke, fire licking out of broken windows. They are desperate moments amid political, religious, sectarian or ethnic strife, moments that provide brief commentary on the larger story in the background.
In the end, though, they are just images of burning buses. An interesting photo, maybe. Nothing more.
That is not the case of a shot made outside Anniston on Mother’s Day 1961 of a Greyhound bus engulfed in flames.
It is a stark black-and-white shot, with an almost acidic tone. A broken, cloud-covered sky provides a backdrop for the criminality playing out in front of our eyes. A clutch of people, black and white, with backs to the camera, a couple sit slumped in the grass on the side of the road. Others stand a bit closer to the bus, in front of the symbol of Greyhound and its slogan, “Leave the driving to us.”
Farther back, the fire crawls throughout the mortally wounded bus, jumping out the windows like a rabid animal lashing out at anything in its path.
At the edge of the frame on the left is an S&H Green Stamps sign, a jarring reminder of the ending of normalcy.
But this photo also is the sign of a struggle begun and a way of life passing. It’s a photo of the sickness of a society, of injustice, and, yes, man’s cruelty to his fellow man.
That picture, taken by Joe Postiglione, a photographer in 1961 for The Star, put the civil rights movement in its proper place and the segregated South in its proper place. This was a black-and-white issue, and the side of righteousness was focused just as much as the image of the burning bus.
America’s apartheid society couldn’t see it then; some might not see it now. But a society is on the wrong side of justice when some of its citizens are allowed to firebomb others who are peacefully asking for equal rights. You will not win that fight.
In May 1961, drowning in ignorance, inertia, selfishness and laziness, our political leaders saw an interesting photo of a bus on fire.
The world saw it for what it was: A powerful summary of the towering injustice and racial hatred that was the South in the early 1960s. Clearly, something had to change because there could be no equivocating on trampling out racism or white supremacy.
The world sees Anniston
By that evening and the next morning, New Yorkers were reading the news of the day from Calhoun County. Londoners were taking in a scene of utter inhumanity in the Southern states. Parisians were seeing a bad side of the American South. For once, Muscovites were being fed pure truth about a serious Western shortcoming, racial intolerance.
History was a recorder, thanks to a hard-charging and determined Anniston Star photographer who beat deadline and transmitted his work to the Associated Press, which sent it around the world. With the luxury of a little time, history was a recorder in a deeper way.
In his massive work of the mid-20th Century, The Glory and the Dream, William Manchester, details the events on a highway outside Anniston.
Explaining that a group of Klan members surrounded the bus, “A rock sailed through one window, followed by an incendiary bomb. As it burst into flame the riders fled. Twelve of them were being methodically beaten when policemen arrived and fired pistols in the air,” Manchester wrote.
Taylor Branch, author of a trilogy of the civil rights movement, wrote in Parting The Waters, that the mob followed the bus outside of town until the driver was forced to stop because the tires had been slashed in Anniston.
After the mob started attacking the bus, “[S]omeone threw a firebomb through a gaping hole in the back window,” he wrote. “As flames ran along the floor, some of the seats caught fire and the bus began to fill with black, acrid smoke. When the choking passengers realized that the fire could not be contained, they gave way to panic.”
He went on to detail how people in the mob, standing outside the perimeter of the fire, took swings at the Freedom Riders who made it off the bus.
In those works we find the broader context and key insights into the desperate moments on the bus, when a Molotov cocktail came through a broken window.
What that single picture doesn’t say — but the books and the work of a few good men do — is that the awfulness of that day could have been so much worse. That door on the bus is open in the photo because, in part, to fate. The bus’ exploding fuel tank persuaded the mob to move away from the blocked door, through which the remaining Freedom Riders escaped.
But without that act of providence, Anniston might own an iconic photo close to par with one of a terrified little boy on a Warsaw street.
John Fleming is The Star’s editor at large. E-mail: email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:ebc7f082-451a-4139-845d-7ad68dc428cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://annistonstar.com/pages/full_story/push?article-A+sharper+focus-+The+power+of+an+iconic+image+to+show+what%E2%80%99s+there+%E2%80%94+and+what%E2%80%99s+not%20&id=13270549&instance=specialops | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961376 | 1,426 | 1.804688 | 2 |
In what is surely a preemptive response to Amid Moradganjeh's "Rimino" concept, New Zealand-based designer/photographer Richard Clarkson has developed a prototype of "Rotary Mechanical," a hypothetical smartphone design that is as much an art object as an exercise in form. Yet Clarkson's original point of departure is remarkably similar to Moradganjeh's endeavor to create "technology that is more integrated and more sensitive to the human experience.":
The rotary mechanical smartphone is based on the idea of incorporating more feeling and life into our everyday digital objects. In modern times these objects have come to define us, but who and what defines these objects? Are we happy with generic rectangles of a touchscreen or do we want something with more tangibility, something with more life, something with more aura?
Where Moradganjeh arrives at poster design as an analog means of communication, Clarkson arguably digs deeper, exploring the physical organ of UI:
I have looked at where industrial design has come from, and where it might be going to, and by doing so have tried to create an object that is true to both, a harmonious combination of mechanical parts and digital technologies. Rotary mechanical is a question not only about the ever increasing 'digital take-over' of everything in our lives but also what is lost when this happens.
Clarkson's design splits the difference between the DIY steampunk aesthetic and Ramsian minimalism—literally two sides of the same device—to emphasize the contrast between modern and traditional.
The phone comes with a pair of interchangeable brass plates: a true rotary dial and one with a traditional numeric keypad, where "the act of changing these is inspired from changing the lenses on a camera."
As with Moradganjeh's project, the photography is gorgeous. Larger images are available for viewing on Clarkson's Flickr page. | <urn:uuid:4c256b2e-a187-4b27-8d87-5db39bd04cf7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/steampunk_meets_minimalism_in_amazing_rotary_mechanical_smartphone_concept_19626.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950178 | 386 | 2.09375 | 2 |
People aren't the only ones in need of antioxidants to
neutralize free radicals. Scientists have long known that plants use
their own vitamin C to reduce oxidative damage. Now, Agricultural
Research Service scientists are looking into ways that plants use
vitamin C to defend against ozone, which damages more plants than all
other air pollutants combined.
Stratospheric, or upper-level, ozone protects Earth from
harmful ultraviolet radiation. But tropospheric, or ground-level, ozone,
is a pollutant. Tropospheric ozone results when air pollutants react
with oxygen in the presence of sunlight to form a molecule with three
highly charged oxygen atoms (O3). Tropospheric ozone enters
plants through their leaves and decomposes into unstable molecules called
reactive oxygen intermediates (ROIs). If not neutralized by an antioxidant,
ROIs injure plants.
At the Air Quality-Plant Growth and Development Research
Unit in Raleigh, North Carolina, plant physiologist Kent Burkey is studying
how plants transport vitamin C out of their leaf cells and into a complex
of adjoining cell walls. This outer cellular space is called the apoplastan
interconnected liquid layer surrounding the cells. "We've found
that plants that are able to move greater quantities of vitamin C into
the leaf apoplast have a better chance of detoxifying ozone," says
He has evidence that ozone tolerance in snap beans is
associated with elevated vitamin C in the leaf apoplast. He has also
found that plants vary widely in terms of how much vitamin C they make
inside their cells. "But that doesn't seem to be related to how
tolerant they are," says Burkey. While some plants make lots of
vitamin C in their cells, they are not capable of transporting it into
the apoplast, where it could provide protection against ozone injury.
After vitamin C neutralizes ROIs, the vitamin C itself
becomes oxidized into dehydroascorbic acid (DHA). The plant then moves
the DHA back into the cell where it is reduced, or revitalized, into
vitamin C, which is once again available for transport back into the
apoplast to fight ozone.
Questions remain about the protective importance of vitamin
C stored in the apoplast before ozone exposure versus vitamin C that
is pumped into the apoplast in response to ozone stress. But Burkey's
most recent tests on snap beans suggest that the presence of vitamin
C in the apoplast before ozone enters the leaf is critical.
He will next look more closely at how vitamin C and DHA
are transported between the cell and the apoplast. And he will look
for other antioxidant compounds in the leaf apoplast that could protect
against ozone injury.
Burkey hopes the research will lead to finding genes associated
with a plant's ability to pump vitamin C into the leaf apoplast. "You
could potentially develop plants with greater ozone tolerance,"
he says. "Once you have the gene, you could express it in other
plants using molecular techniques."By Rosalie Marion Bliss,
Agricultural Research Service Information Staff.
This research is part of Air Quality (#203) and Global
Change (#204), two ARS National Programs described on the World Wide
Web at http://www.nps.ars.usda.gov.
Kent O. Burkey
is with the USDA-ARS Air
Quality-Plant Growth and Development Research Unit, 3127 Ligon St.,
Raleigh, NC 27607; phone (919) 515-1620, fax (919) 856-4598.
"Vitamin C Protects Stressed-Out Plants" was published
in the January
2003 issue of Agricultural Research magazine. | <urn:uuid:0cfefe3a-f047-47f8-9a12-5863f775e457> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/ar/archive/jan03/plant0103.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901679 | 798 | 4.09375 | 4 |
Ghana to synchronise polio eradication programmes with neighbours
Accra, Sept. 30, GNA - Dr Kwadwo Odei Antwi-Agyei, National Programmes Manager for Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), on Thursday said though Ghana was currently polio-free, it could not attain certification until the whole of Africa had been adjudged free of the disease.
He said this called for extra efforts to support neighbouring countries in the West Africa Sub-Region to totally eradicate polio and ensure the sustenance of surveillance, to maintain the status of being polio-free.
Dr Antwi-Agyei, at a press briefing on the National Immunisation Day (NID) scheduled for October and November 2004, said the programme was being sponsored at a total cost of over 4.5 million dollars. He stated that the programme be held under the theme "Make Ghana A Nation Without Polio" would be in two phases; commencing from October eight to October 10 and to continue from November 19 to November 21 to ensure that at least 5.5 million children under five years were immunised against the disease.
Dr Antwi-Agyei said Ghana until the year 2003, had succeeded in ensuring that polio became outdated, but suffered a setback, with a record of eight cases of wild polioviruses in eight districts, within six regions of the country.
He stated that major surveillances were mounted to ensure corrections and mopping up of the gaps in the NID programmes.
"So far we have not recorded any case this year and hope that all children under age five would be immunized against polio to prevent a repetition of the records of the previous year," he said.
He, however, said since the poliovirus knew no boundaries, it was imperative to co-ordinate with "our neighbours to ensure a synchronisation of eradication programmes that would best help eradicate polio in Africa."
Dr Antwi-Agyei emphasised that more doses of the vaccine was not injurious, but beneficial to the child, explaining that scientific evidence had it that children in developing countries required between 10 to 15 doses of the vaccine in order to develop full immunity.
Dr Antwi-Agyei cautioned that Ghana must not rejoice in her achievement when her close neighbours like Nigeria still had high recordings of wild polio viruses of 301 cases as at June 21, 2004, compared to 58 at the same period last year.
Mr Kofi Poku-Adusei, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC), called on parents, caregivers, religious leaders and the public to assist the Government in ensuring that all children under the age of five were immunised against polio to help maintain Ghana's status of a polio- free country.
He said about 46,000 volunteers and 4,000 supervisors had been contracted to take part in the NID programme. He commended the efforts of the Japanese government, USAID, UNICEF, the Royal Danish Embassy, WHO, the Rotary International and the Centres for Disease Control for donating towards the programme. | <urn:uuid:0c3343aa-d448-4bff-8c6d-6e183d89bd31> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.modernghana.com/news/63921/1/ghana-to-synchronise-polio-eradication-programmes-.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964261 | 636 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Today, point A to point B. The University of Houstonís College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.
Every weekday, millions of Americans turn on their cars, pull out of their driveways, and begin a journey that will take them to and from work. And as they inch forward in freeway traffic, or sit idly waiting for a light to change, a thought occurs. Canít we build better road systems?
The answerís yes, but itís not always simple. Add more lanes to clear up a bottleneck, and youíre likely to create one elsewhere. Shorten the wait at traffic light and you may well wind up clogging the next intersection.
Road systems are complex networks. The engineers who design them are highly trained, and we occasionally catch glimpses of their handiwork. Driving through downtown Houston (or many other large cities) itís easy to see how the lights are coordinated — timed so itís possible to traverse many intersections without stopping. Itís color coordination taken to a new level. But itís not as simple as timing the lights on a single stretch of road. Roads cross, feed on and off of freeways, and so on. Without a coordinated design, traffic wouldnít just be a headache; it would grind to a halt.
Electronic media are a simple but effective means of improving traffic flow. Motorists can check out congestion and change their routes if trafficís bad. GPS devices can even make recommendations using calculations that incorporate traffic speeds throughout the road network.
A somewhat more controversial means of managing traffic is through the use of ramp meters — signal lights that control the flow of traffic onto a freeway. Do they work? Are they worth the cost and inconvenience?
Thatís a question the residents of Minneapolis-Saint Paul asked in the year 2000. Tired of waiting in line to get onto the freeway, they demanded a half-million dollar test be performed. Ramp meters were turned off. Statistics were gathered. And the result? Travel times jumped, speeds plummeted, and accidents went up. Ramp meters proved to be a big win, bolstering the case for their use. The lights were turned back on, but the controversy continues.
Ramp meters work by keeping tightly packed groups of cars from merging onto freeways at the same time. Experimental evidence shows that individual cars merge with flowing traffic much more seamlessly. But ramp meters can cause backups onto city streets. Properly operated, ramp meters make better use of existing road networks. Poorly operated, they create their own set of problems.
Of course, the holy grail of traffic flow is centralized computer-control. Drive onto the freeway, push a button, let go of the wheel, and let a computer program take you to your destination — a computer program that knows the whereabouts of every vehicle in the road network. The technologyís on the horizon. Will we use it? Should we use it?
Iím Andy Boyd at the University of Houston, where weíre interested in the way inventive minds work.
D. Levinson and L. Zhang. ďRamp Meters on Trial: Evidence from the Twin Cities Metering Holiday.Ē Transportation Research Part A, 40 (2006), pp. 810-828. See also: http://nexus.umn.edu/Papers/RampMetersOnTrial.pdf.
All pictures are from U.S. government Web sites. The picture of the eight cars traveling together at highway speeds under computer control is from a 1997 demonstration of work performed under the Automated Highway System initiative.
This episode was first aired on December 8, 2011
The Engines of Our Ingenuity is
Copyright © 1988-2011 by John H. Lienhard. | <urn:uuid:43f1b4a0-4655-463d-965b-da8f20f51d0f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uh.edu/engines/epi2759.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941127 | 781 | 3.375 | 3 |
Learning about Your Period Symptoms
Every woman’s body is different, and period symptoms may manifest themselves in every woman a bit differently. Some women may find their periods to be so heavy and severe that they have to take birth control just to control them. Some women also feel so sick during their period that they must take a day off of work or school. As you start getting periods more regularly, it’s important to recognize what your own period symptoms are every single month. This will not only help you track your menstrual cycle, but also be able to predict a day ahead of time when your period is coming.
About 80 percent of all women report period symptoms of some kind. Your menstrual cycle involves a monthly cycle that keeps your ability to get pregnant intact until you’re ready to use it. During your cycle, your ovaries are releasing one egg into your uterus. If that egg does not get fertilized within a few days, then your body discharges it and the tissue lining. This is the bleeding you experience every month. The technical term for this monthly cycle is menstruation.
All the symptoms associated with your monthly period are commonly known as PMS, or pre-menstrual syndrome. The most common period symptoms most women feel are:
The cramps and pain usually comes within the first five days of your period. These cramps are essentially a miniscule version of labor pains you’ll feel if you ever have children. You may also experience breast tenderness with your period and even some swelling in your hands and feet. All of these physical symptoms can range from mild to severe, and your level of comfort during your period will probably drop.
You may also experience one or more emotional symptoms during your period.
Depression and irritability are much more common right before and during a woman’s period.
Anxiety, confusion, and mood changes are also pretty common ground when it comes to period symptoms.
Don’t be surprised if you also feel some food cravings during various times of the month. Your hormone levels will often cause you to crave certain kinds of food. It’s ok to give into these food cravings sometimes, but watch how much you give in because you could find yourself gaining a lot of extra weight.
After about two weeks, the next egg will be released. The cycle will continue on the same way until you become pregnant or pass into menopause. Menopause usually occurs around the age of 50, so you’ve got several decades of periods and potential child-bearing time.
You’ll find it helpful to track your menstrual cycle on a calendar. This will help you know ahead of time when you’re going to have a period. You’ll also start to see patterns in your behavior, moods, and much more. Your menstrual cycle actually affects your body throughout the month, although the changes it causes are much more pronounced around the time of your monthly period. | <urn:uuid:eb5dce2e-90bf-4b05-8cef-81ba12e64399> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.periodsymptoms.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963481 | 612 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Canadian-owned Nautilus Minerals received more criticism in its bid to mine the sea-floor offshore Papua New Guinea, Radio New Zealand reported.
Nautilus is developing the world’s first commercial deep sea mining project in Papua New Guinea called Solwara 1.
But the Deep Sea Mining campaign says there’s been a lack of environmental analysis for the project.
Dr. Helen Rosenbaum, the author of the report ’Out of Our Depth: Mining the Ocean Floor in Papua New Guinea’ stressed that very little is understood about the possible impacts of Solwara project.
Dr. Rosenbaum said: “They say they’ve continued to do research that addressed a lot of the concerns that we addressed in that report. But every time we’ve gone back to them to say, well can you share this research with us, we’ve been unsuccessful. So we’re totally unconvinced that this research has been conducted.”
Dr Helen Rosenbaum states the campaign’s worries are similar for the many projects in which deep sea mining exploration is starting throughout the Pacific.
Subsea World News Staff , June 12, 2012; Image: Nautilus Minerals | <urn:uuid:5fb2e282-34bc-421c-bcd1-abad6aecdb19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://subseaworldnews.com/2012/06/12/papua-new-guinea-nautilus-receives-criticism-for-solwara-mining-project/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939046 | 254 | 2.546875 | 3 |
NEW YORK, NY.- Public Art Fund
presents its commission of a new project by Ryan Gander entitled The Happy Prince, on view in Doris C. Freedman Plaza at the southeast corner of Central Park, September 15, 2010 February 13, 2011. Ryan Gander, one of the brightest young artists in Europe, has conceived a brilliant new work for one of New Yorks most prominent public spaces. Taking inspiration from Oscar Wildes beloved childrens story, The Happy Prince, Gander has transformed the parable of a noble statue into an arresting work of contemporary art, said Nicholas Baume, Public Art Fund Director and Chief Curator. In conjunction with the Public Art Fund project, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum will present a new commission by Gander in its Aye Simon Reading Room as part of the museums Intervals series.
In Wildes story, the Prince, a gilded and bejeweled statue standing atop a column, observes the daily suffering of his citys poor. One afternoon, he befriends a swallow, who he convinces to strip the jewels and gold from his body to distribute to the people, alleviating their misery. After helping the Prince, the swallow, who has grown increasingly cold with the onset of winter, dies at the Princes feet, and the Prince, who is no longer covered in riches, is toppled from his place of honor by the Town Councillors who no longer deem him a fitting and beautiful statue for their town square.
In creating a work after Wildes story, Gander follows in the footsteps of other notable artists who have drawn inspiration from literature. In the story, the image of the destroyed monument is never described but is left to the imagination; Ganders The Happy Prince captures the moment as a sculpture. Using a sophisticated casting process with glass-reinforced concrete, the artist depicts the scene of the fallen statue at life size. Like a romantic ruin, elements of the original statue remain visible: the Princes heart, sword, and helmet, as well as the body of the dead swallow. As a reminder of the statues former grandeur, the base of the column is still visible and protrudes through the surrounding debris. However, unlike the fragments of an actual ruin, Ganders work is one single, massive form. His work is not a literal illustration of Wildes story so much as a representation of the ruin as an idea. We see that all the elements are made from the same material and that they belong to a whole. The artist presents not a ruin but a sculpture of a ruin.
A conceptual artist whose past works have included elements of architecture, language, typography, design, and city planning, Gander often weaves together narratives that grapple with the nature of art and object making, polemical ideas, and social norms. In The Happy Prince, he draws on Wildes tale about a public monument as well as the history of sculpture and the urban context of New York City, to create a poetic and lyrical sculpture that re-imagines public art. Sited in Doris C. Freedman Plaza, the sculpture resonates with the surrounding civic monuments; it also invites comparisons between the inequalities of wealth in the gilded age of Wildes fictional city and modern-day New York. If the writers parable takes up the themes of privilege and charity, the artist overlays those with questions about the nature of public art and our contemporary experience of the monument. The Happy Prince is Ryan Ganders first public art commission. | <urn:uuid:555274aa-3ff1-46cc-b318-1894329e9dff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artdaily.com/section/lastweek/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=40892&int_modo=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949611 | 716 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Though his name has become synonymous with the 19th century’s canonical movement of Impressionism, and though his masterpieces hang proudly in the halls of the world’s finest museums, Claude Monet has long been—for me—a confounding artist. He was one of… More»
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) Venetian street.
Sargent did not like to be photographed, but here is a rare image of him sketching and puffing on a cigar. The photographer, his friend Sarah Choate Sears, drew subjects from the same aristocratic circles as Sargent did for his paintings.
John Singer Sargent, about 1890, Sarah Choate Sears, gelatin silver print. The J. Paul Getty Museum. | <urn:uuid:232c62dc-4219-4563-ba0f-09dba2ad1273> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/tags/rouen-cathedral/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958764 | 160 | 1.953125 | 2 |
Hic. Hic. There it goes again. Hic. Although a momentary nuisance for most people, hiccups have engendered a legion of home remedies, each with its own army of true believers.
The best remedies try to block the reflex in your diaphragm—the muscle wall that controls breathing from the bottom of the rib cage. Hiccups happen when the diaphragm becomes irritated and contracts irregularly. The contraction causes you to inhale, but your breath is blocked by the glottis, the opening of your windpipe. It's a standoff between two reflexes—the diaphragm, which starts the breath, and the glottis, which stops it.
Hiccups can have many causes, some of which are overeating, drinking too much alcohol, gastrointestinal reflux, and certain medications.
Left alone, hiccups probably will go away after a few minutes. But that short time can seem like an eternity, so here are a few things you can try:
1. Hold it. Hold your breath for as long as you can, then exhale. Inhale and hold your breath again. Do this for several cycles until the hiccups stop. Holding your breath causes a buildup of carbon dioxide, which drives the breathing response, and breaks the cycle of hiccups.
2. Sweeten it. Swallow a teaspoon of dry sugar. The action of swallowing sugar interferes with the signals that trigger hiccups.
3. Gulp it. Drink water from the far lip of a cup, tipping your head forward so the water runs down the back of your throat.
The above suggestions are only for adults. It is important to note that it is normal for most babies to have hiccups from time to time. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that if hiccups occur during feeding, changing your baby's position, try to get your baby to burp, or help your baby to relax (for example, rubbing his or her back) may help stop them. Feeding your baby when he or she is calm and before he or she is really hungry should also help reduce the hiccups. A baby's hiccups are usually more disturbing to the parent than they are to the infant.
Usually, hiccups are an irritating, short-term problem. Sometimes, however, people with serious medical conditions can develop hiccups naturally or as a complication of their treatment. For these people, hiccups can last for days, weeks, or become permanent. When this occurs, it can have a major impact on the person's quality of life. A health care provider's evaluation will determine the best way to treat such serious hiccups.
Fortunately, for most people, short-term hiccups are the problem. Find out what works for you. Your spell of hiccups may even subside by itself before you get through the list of remedies. | <urn:uuid:09edc455-e6a2-49f7-bcb0-cacb9f2c66ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mission4health.com/Health-Library/Article.aspx?CT=1&C=1076 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960596 | 609 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Toronto architect Nevena Krilic has won Washington University's 2010 Steedman Fellowship in Architecture International Design Competition.
Sponsored by the College of Architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, the biennial competition is open to young architects from around the world and carries a $30,000 first place award to support study and research abroad — the largest such award in the United States.
Krilic received both a bachelor's degree in environmental studies and a Master of Architecture from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, in 2001 and 2005, respectively. Her work was chosen from a field of 27 submissions representing Austria, Canada, France, Greece, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, the United States, and Vietnam.
She will use the award to study post-socialist architecture in Eastern Europe.
"Reframing Saarinen's Arch"
Titled "Reframing Saarinen's Arch: Addressing the North-South Axis," the 2010 Steedman Competition centered on the relationship between the City of St. Louis and the Mississippi River. Just as Eero Saarinen's iconic Gateway Arch stands as a metaphoric "gateway to the west," so does the Mississippi itself serve as gateway to the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the world beyond.
"The natural inclination of the Mississippi River is a meandering state of flux, constantly remapping itself in its floodplain," Krilic notes in her winning proposal, "Urban Armada: Anchor & Transform." Yet generations of efforts to control the river have channeled and quickened its flow, erasing islands, sand bars, bends, and bayous.
Krilic's design would replace this lost geography with a mobile fleet of 15 barges — housing a variety of public, cultural, and retail spaces — stationed along the riverfront in groups of three.
"The barge, as a tectonic unit, allows for the inhabitation of the landscape without complete permanence," she explains. "The idea of the barge as a moving urban artifact is further enforced when all 15 barges group together as an armada for the Fair St. Louis," the city's annual July 4 celebration. "This aspect could be further explored by deploying the armada on a Sawyer-esque journey down the Mississippi, as a vessel of St. Louis culture."
Jury chair Alex Krieger, professor of practice and interim chair of the Department of Urban Planning & Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), noted that, "Among the many impressive qualities of this proposal is the careful analysis of the banks of the Mississippi River and the identification of five strategic places along the river to establish expanded engagement with the river.
"This barge armada, no longer for the purpose of ferrying goods, now serves to energize the urbanized area of the river," Krieger adds, "ferrying citizens from place to place and across the river."
Alternates and honorable mentions
First alternate is Philip Lee of Brooklyn for "PUSH-PULL Landscapes at the American Bottoms," which proposed an imaginative system of u-shaped levees, the upper parts of which would form a continuous public promenade while also acting as wetlands to temporarily absorb water during floods. Lee received a Master of Architecture degree in 2003 from the Rice University School of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science degree in architecture in 1998 from the University of Michigan.
Second alternate is Michael Hughes of New York for "Toxic-Mounds/Plume Parks," which explored bio-remediation of the several thousand brownfields lining the Mississippi's western banks, and which was inspired by nearby Cahokia Indian Mounds. Hughes received a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 2009 from Cornell University.
Four honorable mentions were awarded, to John Arthur Liu of New York; Sony Devabhaktuni of Paris, France; Dimitri Gourdoukis of Thessaloniki, Greece; and Andrew Moddrell of Chicago.
In addition to Krieger, jurors included Joan Busquets, the Martin Bucksbaum Professor in Practice of Urban Planning and Design at the GSD; Dorothée Imbert, director of the Sam Fox School's newly established Master of Landscape Architecture program; Marilyn Taylor, dean of the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania; and Charles Waldheim, professor and chair of landscape architecture at the GSD.
Granted since 1925, the Steedman Fellowship is awarded biannually on the basis of an International Design Competition. The competition is supported by an endowment given to the Sam Fox School's College of Architecture in honor of James Harrison Steedman, who received a degree in mechanical engineering from Washington University in 1889. He was a decorated veteran of World War I, and passed away at the family's home in Montecito, CA, in 1921. The memorial was established by Steedman's widow, Mrs. Alexander Weddel, and his brother, George.
In addition, the Steedman Summer Travel Fellowship is awarded annually to a current architecture student to support travel and the investigation of an architectural topic of the student's choosing. The winner of the 2010 fellowship is June Kim, who is pursuing a dual Master of Architecture/Master of Urban Design degree. The award will support a five-week study of floating settlements in Cambodia.
For more information about the Steedman Fellowship, visit www.steedmancompetition.com. | <urn:uuid:6b4f80bc-611c-4c27-aa18-f1ec78b9c053> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://art.wustl.edu/news/3571 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950681 | 1,118 | 1.703125 | 2 |
This is a translation of an original page in English.
The English original page has been changed since this translation was last
updated. The English page can be found at:
The date of change in the English page is:
Please see the Translations README to find out how you can help with updating this translation.
Tasks to do for www.gnu.org
Here are many possible tasks for improving the GNU web pages. If you would like to help with one of them, please e-mail <firstname.lastname@example.org> BEFORE you do any work on them.
Investigate how www.gnu.org could provide better accessibility to all regardless of disability.
- A good place to start is the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).
- Other resources on and off the web could also be checked.
- People at or near MIT could check with MIT's Adaptive Technology for Information and Computing in person.
- People who have access to similar centers at other schools, organizations, and companies could check with them.
- Disabled users of the web could also be interviewed, and perhaps even added to the webmasters team for this task and others.
- Set up manual indexing using the system proposed by Miloslav Nic. See the email exchange for more details on what is to be done.
- in directory /fun/ include
- cgi-bin scripts that
- conduct a dialog with GNU Emacs's doctor.el and convert it into HTML.
- get a zippyism from GNU Emacs's yow.el and convert it into HTML.
- feed zippyisms to GNU Emacs's doctor and convert it into HTML.
Roland McGrath has done some of this on his home pages. Ask him if you can copy his work over to http://www.gnu.org.
- cgi-bin scripts that
- We are looking for people to volunteer to convert documentation from various formats to the Texinfo format. This is something we need occasionally. We would like to have a list of people we could ask on these occasions. If you want to volunteer, please send mail to <email@example.com>.
- Rewrite the various philosophy pages and bulletins in Texinfo and convert to HTML using texi2html. They could then be easily included in:
Writing Web Pages
- Write web pages for GNU programs that lacks web pages on our server or whose web pages are obsolete using our software boilerplate as a template. Also read our software page standards.
- Work on improving our sitemap.
- Design a better sitemap that helps people find all places on the website easily. The sitemap should highlight particularly important parts of sub-pages. (For example, the philosophy listing on the site map should have under it links to some particularly useful essays on the philosophy page).
- Come up with several different ways of presenting the sitemap, that consider
both the differences in
- how people perceive web pages, and
- how people use the site.
- Also, the idea of creating a programatically generated sitemap has been proposed; this would primarily be a tool to aid in writing by hand a more easily navigated sitemap.
- Remove JPEG artifacts from all PNG pictures. You do this by removing "loose" pixels and turning them into 1bpp (in case of black/white drawings).
- Create new graphics for our web pages. We mostly want to have nicer drawings like the ones we already have and perhaps in more colors.
Validation and Broken Links
- Check all the web pages for well formedness, consistency with our HTML style sheet, and webmaster guidelines. All web pages need to be valid to their specific DTD, (the W3C Validator is a good place to start).
- Help is needed repairing broken links. There are numerous symlinks, so please do not break these in your repair efforts. Time and care is needed to track down broken links, and in most cases find suitable replacements. Please ensure that our linking policy is followed in finding replacements. | <urn:uuid:e3aa0efb-cb9a-4169-8d0d-46d254f79b71> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gnu.org/server/tasks.ro.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916625 | 847 | 1.703125 | 2 |
By Mike “Mish” Shedlock
“Big Brother” in Action
In case you have not already realized it, 1984 has come and gone politically. All that remains is how fast we march down the path of “thought suppression”. Here are a couple of articles that will make my point.
The Telegraph reports EU wants power to sack journalists:
A European Union report has urged tight press regulation and demanded that Brussels officials are given control of national media supervisors with new powers to enforce fines or the sacking of journalists.
The “high level” recommendations that will be used to draft future EU legislation also attack David Cameron for failing to automatically implement proposals by the Lord Justice Leveson inquiry for a state regulation of British press.
A “high level” EU panel, that includes Latvia’s former president and a former German justice minister, was ordered by Neelie Kroes, European Commission vice-president, last year to report on “media freedom and pluralism”. It has concluded that it is time to introduce new rules to rein in the press.
“All EU countries should have independent media councils,” the report concluded.
“Media councils should have real enforcement powers, such as the imposition of fines, orders for printed or broadcast apologies, or removal of journalistic status.”
“The national media councils should follow a set of European-wide standards and be monitored by the Commission to ensure that they comply with European values,” the report said.
Nigel Farage, the leader of Ukip, compared the proposals to “Orwell’s 1984”. “This is a flagrant attack on press freedom. To hear that unelected bureaucrats in Brussels want the power to fine and suspend journalists is just outrageous,” he said. | <urn:uuid:9df34686-752a-4566-8160-0f9e7256c11f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://investmentwatchblog.com/big-brother-in-action-eu-wants-power-to-sack-journalists-prime-minister-rajoy-threatens-newspapers-following-corruption-articles/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938498 | 380 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina indicated Saturday she would back a ban on the country’s largest Islamic party, as tens of thousands of people joined the funeral of an anti-Islamist blogger.
Hasina said after a meeting with the mourning relatives of Ahmed Rajib Haider that the Jamaat-e-Islami party, whose members are suspected in the blogger’s murder, had “no right to be in politics in free Bangladesh”.
Demonstrations championed by the country’s online activists have seen thousands take to the streets for the last two weeks demanding the execution of leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami party who are on trial for war crimes.
Rival protests by Islamists demanding a halt to the trials of Jamaat leaders including its chief and deputy chief over their role in the 1971 independence war have turned violent across the country, leaving 13 people dead.
Late on Friday Haider, an organiser of the anti-Islamist protests, was hacked to death with a machete near his Dhaka home.
Police have yet to comment on a possible motive, but his brother said Haider was targeted by Jamaat’s student wing for his online activities. Fellow blogger Shakil Ahmed said a pro-Jamaat website had last week named Haider as a target.
Hasina visited Haider’s home on Saturday and hinted in comments to reporters that she would back a ban for Jamaat.
“Anyone can assume who were behind this,” she said, alluding to Jamaat.
“Many claim they are a democratic political party, a democratic force. Now it is proved that they believe in terrorism not democracy, she said.
“We will do to them what is necessary. They have absolutely no right to be in politics in free Bangladesh.”
Thousands of people including war veterans joined the funeral late Saturday at Dhaka’s Shahbag intersection, where protests have been staged against Islamist groups since February 5.
Local police chief Sirajul Islam told AFP at least 50,000 people attended the funeral.
“We touched his coffin and vowed that we won’t leave the protests until the government finds his killers, and bans Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir,” said blogger and protester Mahbubur Rahman.
Clashes between police and Islamists have intensified since last week after a senior Jamaat leader was sentenced to life imprisonment for mass murder.
Jamaat and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party have said the trials are based on bogus charges and are part of a wider political vendetta.
The government rejects the accusations and says the trials are needed to heal wounds of the nine-month war in which it says three million people were killed, many by pro-Pakistani militia whose members allegedly included Jamaat officials.
The killing on Friday was the second attack in Dhaka against a blogger critical of Islamist groups in less than a month, after the stabbing of a self-styled online “militant atheist” by three unidentified men.
[Image via Agence France-Presse] | <urn:uuid:8f13349c-ce58-4f50-8a8a-80cd0bfeef49> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/16/bangladeshs-pm-hints-at-backing-ban-of-islamic-party/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976703 | 653 | 1.625 | 2 |
Women in Politics
Friday, 17 March 2006
Reporter: Shannon McDonald
Presenter: Trevor Chappell
Senator Natasha Stott Despja
What particular obstacles face female politicians these days? Are there strategies in place to attract more women into the field?
Trevor Chappell spoke with Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, Democrats Senator for South Australia, spokesperson for a number of portfolios, and former party leader from 2001 -2002.
After her initial shock at the 4am wake-up call, and crossing her fingers that her baby would continue sleeping, Natasha began to relate the story of her life in politics.
Natasha's interest in the wider world began early. Coming from a socially conscious family Natasha naturally developed an awareness of local and international issues. It was while attending the University of Adelaide in the late 80's that Natasha became aware of politics and the enormous influential power they wield. The introduction of HECS during this time sparked a passionate involvement from Natasha and she became deeply involved in student politics, eventually becoming President of the Students' Association.
The leap from University politics to "real" politics was a combintion of luck and tenacity. Senators John Coulter and Cheryl Kernot both took her under their respective wings and she did a lot of research and speech writing while learning the ropes. When Coulter resigned at the end of 1995 Natasha was elected into his spot and the rest, as they say, is history.
Kernot was a great role-model and exposed Natasha to the particular difficulties faced by female politicians. Kernot had been under constant media scrutiny since entering politics, something many of her male contemporaries had avoided.
When asked why women are subjected to that much scrutiny Natasha replied that it's the "novelty factor". For example, when she first walked into parliament in November 1995, she was young, female and the first politician to wear Doc Martens (!), so there was an inevitable focus on her.
When asked what she thought of quota systems, Natasha replied that the Democrats haven't operated on quota systems and yet they were the first party to have a female leader, to have an indigenous leader and at one point had more women than men in parliament. There is also a concern that those brought in on quota systems would be subject to criticism and the suggestion that they didn't make it on merit. However, the Liberal and Labor parties' seeming reluctance to encourage diversity within their own ranks, could be sped up by an effective quota system.
Having experienced the first RU486 debate in 1996, Natasha was thrilled to witness the recent bill amendment on the abortion drug RU486 and says it will go down in history (or 'herstory' as some are saying) as a pivotal moment when women from all sides of politics formed a coalition to affect change by and for women.
One characteristic female politicians are said to bring to the political table is greater compassion. But is compassion in politics associated with weakness? Natasha agreed that a show of emotion in politics, even if it relates to a particular issue, can be seen as weakness by other politicans. But she was quick to add that these judgements don't extend to the community who want real people from diverse areas of life to represent them in parliament.
Women In Politics Interview and Talkback
Hear Natasha and Trevor here.
Last Updated: 6/04/2006 6:38:00 PM AEST
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Email this page | <urn:uuid:f7fd0cab-5f9c-43c0-8d55-c59641d1f479> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/overnights/stories/s1594453.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980194 | 705 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Progressivism, Equality, and the Battle for Lincoln’s Legacy in Presidential Rhetoric
by Jason R. Jividen
Northern Illinois, 243 pp., $38
When Barack Obama launched his presidential campaign in 2007, he did so just two days shy of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, standing in front of the old Illinois State Capitol where Lincoln had delivered the “House Divided” speech that helped propel him to the White House. Two years later, Obama rode to Washington following Lincoln’s same train route, ate an inaugural luncheon menu reminiscent of Lincoln’s favorite foods, was sworn in on the same Bible Lincoln used, and chose “A New Birth of Freedom” as his inaugural theme. In short, the new president did everything but grow a beard to signal to the American public that a new Emancipator had arrived. (Though what Obama wishes to emancipate us from remains hazy. Solvency, perhaps?)
As Jason Jividen shows here, progressives have been trying for a century to reinterpret the 16th president’s words and deeds in order to claim him as their predecessor. This progressive sleight-of-hand has been so effective that even some on the right have fallen for it, denouncing Lincoln as the first big-government liberal. Such grousing, mercifully, is limited largely to neo-Confederates at the margins of American politics; for the rest of us, Senator Everett Dirksen’s words remain as true, and challenging, as they were 50 years ago: The first task of an American politician is “to get right with . . . Lincoln.”
Jividen makes his case simply by contrasting Lincoln’s words with those of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Barack Obama. Far from anticipating progressives’ “faith in the perfectibility of human nature through social planning,” Lincoln’s idea of equality was drawn from the American Founders: All men are created equal in their natural and inalienable rights and not, as he put it, “in color, size, intellect, moral developments, or social capacity.” His belief in giving all men an equal opportunity to use their unequal talents is captured by his admonition: “Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built.” No class warfare here.
Although TR and Wilson were early promoters of wealth redistribution and a living Constitution, it was Franklin Roosevelt who would set the successful pattern for later progressives. A master politician, FDR didn’t frame his arguments (as Wilson had) in what Jividen terms “a self-conscious and deliberate break with the principles Lincoln sought to restore.” Instead, he clothed his New Deal in the Founders’ language of rights and liberty: His rhetoric was a “serious effort,” according to David Donald, to “raid the Republican closet and steal the stovepipe hat.” Liberals have made tremendous headway ever since by following the same script, as if a limitless welfare state were part of the “unfinished work” Lincoln had spoken of at Gettysburg.
A century after Lincoln’s death, Lyndon Johnson proclaimed at Howard University that “equal opportunity is . . . not enough.” Instead of an equality of rights—“equality as a fact”—government would seek “equality as a result.” On another occasion, LBJ admitted that Lincoln’s “importance to us is not in the facts of his life, but in what he has come to mean.” The bottom line, writes Jividen, is that “progressive and modern liberal presidents have misinterpreted, misrepresented, and distorted Lincoln’s equality in their rhetorical attempts to claim Lincoln’s legacy.”
Perhaps Jividen’s next book should explore how, and how well, conservatives have borne this legacy into the 21st century. For now, it is worth pointing out that, although some conservatives lament that the right has sacrificed serious intellectual efforts for crass populism, there has been at the same time a remarkable renaissance of conservative scholarship. Recent books by Ronald J. Pestritto, Bradley C. S. Watson, Jonah Goldberg, and William Voegeli have added depth and subtlety to our understanding of modern liberalism’s roots in the progressive movement, occupying a shelf to which Claiming Lincoln is a welcome addition.
John B. Kienker is managing editor of the Claremont Review of Books. | <urn:uuid:e6cf728d-e4c6-4116-a3ab-a5b077a112bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weeklystandard.com/keyword/political-rhetoric | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96372 | 979 | 2.5 | 2 |
1964 Alaska earthquake
Fourth Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska, looking east from near Barrow Street. The southern edge of one of several landslides in Anchorage, this one covered an area of over a dozen blocks, including 5 blocks along the north side of Fourth Avenue. Most of the area was razed and made an urban renewal district.
|Date||27 March 1964 (AKST)|
|Depth||14 miles (23 km)|
|Countries or regions||United States|
|Total damage||$311 million|
|Max. intensity||XI: Extreme|
|Peak acceleration||0.18 g|
The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan Earthquake, the Portage Earthquake and the Good Friday Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that began at 5:36 P.M. AST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964. Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 143 deaths.
Lasting nearly three minutes, it was the most powerful recorded earthquake in U.S. and North American history, and the second most powerful ever measured by seismograph. It had a magnitude of 9.2, making it the second largest earthquake in recorded history—the largest being the 1960 Valdivia earthquake in Chile.
The powerful earthquake produced earthquake liquefaction in the region. Ground fissures and failures caused major structural damage in several communities, much damage to property and several landslides. Anchorage sustained great destruction or damage to many inadequately engineered houses, buildings, and infrastructure (paved streets, sidewalks, water and sewer mains, electrical systems, and other man-made equipment), particularly in the several landslide zones along Knik Arm. Two hundred miles southwest, some areas near Kodiak were permanently raised by 30 feet (9.1 m). Southeast of Anchorage, areas around the head of Turnagain Arm near Girdwood and Portage dropped as much as 8 feet (2.4 m), requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the Seward Highway above the new high tide mark.
In Prince William Sound, Port Valdez suffered a massive underwater landslide, resulting in the deaths of 30 people between the collapse of the Valdez city harbor and docks, and inside the ship that was docked there at the time. Nearby, a 27-foot (8.2 m) tsunami destroyed the village of Chenega, killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there; survivors out-ran the wave, climbing to high ground. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected Whittier, Seward, Kodiak, and other Alaskan communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia, Oregon, and California. Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan. Evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was reported from all over the earth.
At 5:36 p.m. Alaska Standard Time (3:36 a.m. March 28, 1964 UTC), a fault between the Pacific and North American plates ruptured near College Fjord in Prince William Sound. The epicenter of the earthquake was , 12.4 mi (20 km) north of Prince William Sound, 78 miles (125 km) east of Anchorage and 40 miles (64 km) west of Valdez. The focus occurred at a depth of approximately 15.5 mi (25 km). Ocean floor shifts created large tsunamis (up to 220 feet (67 m) in height), which resulted in many of the deaths and much of the property damage. Large rockslides were also caused, resulting in great property damage. Vertical displacement of up to 38 feet (11.5 m) occurred, affecting an area of 100,000 miles² (250,000 km²) within Alaska.
The Alaska Earthquake was a subduction zone earthquake (megathrust earthquake), caused by an oceanic plate sinking under a continental plate. The fault responsible was the Aleutian Megathrust, a reverse fault caused by a compressional force. This caused much of the uneven ground which is the result of ground shifted to the opposite elevation.
Death toll, damage and casualties
||This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2011)|
Various sources indicate that about 131 people died as a result of the earthquake: nine as a result of earthquake itself, 106 from subsequent tsunamis in Alaska and 16 from tsunamis in Oregon and California. Property damage was estimated at over $310 million ($2.22 billion in current U.S. dollars).
Anchorage area
Most damage occurred in Anchorage, 75 mi (120 km) northwest of the epicenter. Anchorage was not hit by tsunamis, but downtown Anchorage was heavily damaged, and parts of the city built on sandy bluffs overlying "Bootlegger Cove clay" near Cook Inlet, most notably the Turnagain neighborhood, suffered landslide damage. The neighborhood lost 75 houses in the landslide, and the destroyed area has since been turned into Earthquake Park. The Government Hill school suffered from the Government Hill landslide leaving it in two jagged, broken pieces. Land overlooking the Ship Creek valley near the Alaska Railroad yards also slid, destroying many acres of buildings and city blocks in downtown Anchorage. Most other areas of the city were only moderately damaged. The 60-foot concrete control tower at Anchorage International Airport was not engineered to withstand earthquake activity and collapsed, killing one employee.
The house at 918 W. 10th Avenue suffered damage peripherally, but one block away the recently completed and still unoccupied Four Seasons Building on Ninth Avenue collapsed completely with one whole wing sticking up out of the rubble like a seesaw.
The hamlets of Girdwood and Portage, located 30 and 40 mi (60 km) southeast of central Anchorage on the Turnagain Arm, were destroyed by subsidence and subsequent tidal action. Girdwood was relocated inland and Portage was abandoned. About 20 miles (32 km) of the Seward Highway sank below the high-water mark of Turnagain Arm; the highway and its bridges were raised and rebuilt in 1964-66.
Elsewhere in Alaska
Most coastal towns in the Prince William Sound, Kenai Peninsula, and Kodiak Island areas, especially the major ports of Seward, Whittier and Kodiak were heavily damaged by a combination of seismic activity, subsidence, post-quake tsunamis and/or earthquake-caused fires. Valdez was not totally destroyed, but after three years, the town relocated to higher ground 7 km (4 mi) west of its original site. Some Alaska Native villages, including Chenega and Afognak, were destroyed or damaged. The earthquake caused the Cold-War era ballistic missile detection radar of Clear Air Force Station to go offline for six minutes, the only unscheduled interruption in its operational history. Near Cordova, the Million Dollar Bridge crossing the Copper River also collapsed. The community of Girdwood was also confined to the southern side of the Seward Highway when water rushed into Turnagain Arm arm and flooded or destroyed any buildings left standing to the north of the highway. Interestingly, only the ground immediately along the highway and that on the north side of the road dropped, prompting geologists to speculate that Girdwood may rest upon an ancient cliff face, now covered by countless thousands of years of sediment and glacial deposits.
A 4.5 ft (1.4 m) wave reached Prince Rupert, British Columbia, just south of the Alaska Panhandle, about three hours after the quake. The tsunami then reached Tofino, on the exposed west coast of Vancouver Island, and traveled up a fjord to hit Port Alberni twice, washing away 55 homes and damaging 375 others. The towns of Hot Springs Cove, Zeballos, and Amai also saw damage. The damage in British Columbia was estimated at $10 million Canadian ($65 million in 2006 Canadian dollars, or $56 million in 2006 U.S. dollars).
Twelve people were killed by the tsunami in or near Crescent City, California, while four children were killed on the Oregon coast at Beverly Beach State Park. Other towns along the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Hawaii were damaged. Minor damage to boats reached as far south as Los Angeles.
There were thousands of aftershocks for three weeks, following the main shock. In the first day alone, eleven major aftershocks were recorded with a magnitude greater than 6.2. Nine more occurred over the next three weeks. It was not until more than a year later that the aftershocks were no longer noticed.
See also
- U.S. Geological Survey (7 March 2006). Historic Earthquakes - Alaska - 1964 March 28 03:36 UTC - Magnitude 8.5: The Largest Earthquake in the World. Retrieved on 2009-09-02
- US Geological Survey report on the earthquake
- "Largest Earthquakes in the World Since 1900". Earthquake Hazards Program. US Geological Survey. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- The Great Alaskan Earthquake & Tsunamis of 1964, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Accessed 2009-06-23. Archived 2009-06-25.
- Historic Earthquakes: Prince William Sound, Alaska
- National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Alaska Earthquake, The great Alaska earthquake of 1964, Volume 1, Part 1, National Academies, 1968 p. 285
- Sozen, Mete A. and N. Norby Nielsen, 1973: Analysis of the failure of the Anchorage International Airport control tower. The great Alaska earthquake of 1964, Volume 3, Part 2, National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Alaska Earthquake, National Academy of Sciences, ISBN 0-309-01606-1.
- Oregon’s pioneer spirit. Statesman Journal, December 26, 1999.
- USGS Release: 40th Anniversary of "Good Friday" Earthquake Offers New Opportunities for Public and Building Safety Partnerships (3/26/2004)
General references
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Good Friday Earthquake|
- USGS report on the earthquake
- U.S. Geological Survey Photo Library -- earthquake photos
- The Great Alaskan Earthquake & Tsunamis of 1964 -- NOAA report
- The Effects of the March 28, 1964 Alaska Tsunami in British Columbia, Canada
- Eyewitness Accounts
- Info on event from Alaska Earthquake Information Center
- Tons of Info on the Alaska earthquake
- Extensive site on Good Friday Great Alaska Earthquake 1964
- The short film ALASKAN EARTHQUAKE (1966) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more] | <urn:uuid:acf85d1d-4a8d-4533-9b56-472a1c94b6b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Alaska_earthquake | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94482 | 2,216 | 3.203125 | 3 |
With Thanksgiving less than 48-hours away, AAA is projecting that more than 42 million people will travel 50 miles or more for the holiday.
According to a AAA release, the projected numbers are a four percent increase from the more than 40 million people who traveled for Thanksgiving in 2010. Lon Anderson, a spokesman for AAA said some improvement in the economy has triggered the increase in travel for the holiday this year.
“The economy has improved enough that people are saying ‘That’s it, we’re traveling for Thanksgiving this year’,” Anderson said.
Anderson said AAA has done national polling as recent as a couple weeks ago to get an idea of how many people will be traveling for the holidays. More than 38 million people are expected to drive to their destinations for Thanksgiving with more than three million expected to fly. Other travelers have decided to travel by train and according to AAA, some have said they will travel by boat to Thanksgiving dinner. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period, according to AAA, goes from Nov. 23 through Nov. 27.
Joseph Perkins, 49, of Falls Church, said he plans on loading his family into their car and heading to Ohio Wednesday morning. Filling up Tuesday at a Falls Church gas station, Perkins said it’s cheaper to drive to his parent’s home than it would have been to fly his wife and three children there.
“Sure it would have been quicker to fly, but we couldn’t really find good prices,” Perkins said. “Gas prices are still a bit high for my liking but for the money we saved by driving that can go toward Christmas shopping.”
Anderson said he couldn’t predict what holiday travel for Christmas will be but he said history has showed that it usually mirrors Thanksgiving travel. He said polling for Christmas travel will begin soon but the Thanksgiving numbers are a good indicator of what’s to come.
“I think the explanation for the holiday travel is the economy is improving,” Anderson said.
If you haven’t already done so, click here to take the Patch poll on how you plan to spend your Thanksgiving! | <urn:uuid:02539cae-9290-4505-bdcd-63d93035d95e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mclean.patch.com/articles/aaa-projects-more-than-42-million-people-will-travel-for-thanksgiving | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972123 | 445 | 1.570313 | 2 |