text stringlengths 213 24.6k | id stringlengths 47 47 | dump stringclasses 1
value | url stringlengths 14 499 | file_path stringlengths 138 138 | language stringclasses 1
value | language_score float64 0.9 1 | token_count int64 51 4.1k | score float64 1.5 5.06 | int_score int64 2 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senate Passes Constitutional Amendment To Bring More Direct Role To Nyers
SENATOR GOLDEN SAYS: "POWER TO THE PEOPLE"
SENATE PASSES INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
The State Senate recently passed a constitutional amendment (S.6020) that would give New Yorkers a more direct role in the legislative process by empowering them to enact and amend laws through initiative and referendum.
"Initiative and referendum is an extremely powerful reform tool in politics as it gives the people the ability to make informed decisions to directly effect and change the powers and priorities of their government," Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C, Brooklyn) said. "It empowers the people to directly decide on ideas that have clear public support, yet have not been acted on by their state or local government."
"Initiative and referendum is a fundamental reform that will give New Yorkers more power to make decisions on public policy issues. It will also allow us as lawmakers to obtain a better view of the concerns of the citizens," continued Senator Golden.
An initiative is a proposed statutory or constitutional change that is placed on the ballot for a public vote; referendum refers to the power of the people to place on the ballot, laws that already have been enacted by the Legislature and either accept or reject them in whole or in part. Approximately one-half of states across the nation have some form of initiative and referendum.
The proposal would amend the State Constitution to allow for direct initiative and referendum, whereby measures are placed on the ballot at the November general election for a popular vote after a certain number of signatures are collected. Under the proposal, signatures from five percent of the total voters statewide in the last gubernatorial election would be required. To ensure that a measure has a broad base of statewide support, these signatures would be required to include at least 5,000 signatures of residents from at least three-fifths of the State's congressional districts.
Once on the ballot, an initiative or referendum would become law if it receives a majority of the votes cast. A measure enacted through initiative and referendum could not be repealed or amended by the Legislature for at least two years, and any modifications after that period could only be made with voter approval. Measures could be amended or repealed by the voters through the initiative and referendum process at any time. | <urn:uuid:cf3513fa-e95e-4fb1-9d49-da3170fab31b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nysenate.gov/news/senate-passes-constitutional-amendment-bring-more-direct-role-nyers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95894 | 473 | 2.5 | 2 |
While Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman is generally credited with bringing apples seeds to several Midwest states, Michigan apparently obtained its apple seeds and trees from some other enterprising settlers. Apples and apple cider were important food staples in the original colonies because apple trees grew more readily than grain or barley. This meant that the growing of apple trees was almost automatic for settlers as they headed west.
Michigan's Apple History
With no legend to explain things, it is something of a mystery how Michigan obtained its apple trees. The 1873 Annual Report published by the Michigan State Horticultural Society tried to trace back the “ancient apple orchards” along the Detroit River and found evidence that:
- 1796: One variety of apple tree came to the state from Montreal.
- 1825: In the years before he became governor, William Woodbridge brought two thousand apple trees to his farm (in what is now Detroit).
- 1833: One of the state's first nurseries brought 130 varieties of apple trees to Ypsilanti from Rochester, New York in 1833. Many of the varieties introduced into the state did not grow well, but those that did -– Snow Apple, Red Calville, Pomme Gris, Green Sweet -– were shipped from the Ypsilanti nursery to counties all over the state. | <urn:uuid:d1fd1bba-6bf6-4c15-a6ba-4aaf508dbce2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://detroit.about.com/od/fooddining/ss/Detroit-And-Michigan-Apples.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966301 | 274 | 3.53125 | 4 |
When I say the phrase “workforce development” chances are a certain image is conjured in your mind. Maybe you think of tradesmen positions, like carpenters, electricians, plumbers and masons. Maybe you think vocational training programs offered by community colleges. Regardless of what your mind has been trained to conclude based on that phrase, workforce development has never been more important than it is today. But it’s not enough—on its own or simply as it is. | <urn:uuid:024e7363-da02-4530-9096-e2249f1b566b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.entrepreneurship.org/en/Blogs/e360-Blog.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981887 | 101 | 1.640625 | 2 |
As part of a regular weekly feature on the Politics Now blog, Tom Precious of The News' Albany Bureau posts an audio interview with a newsmaker from the Capitol.
ALBANY — Patients, health providers and lawmakers are making another uphill push today at the Capitol to have New York join 16 other states that have legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
The legislation has passed the Assembly four times already, but has been stalled in the Senate. While some district attorneys have supported the concept, others worry legalization for medical reasons could be a steppingstone to broader relaxing of the state's drug laws. Patients interviewed in the past, both self-described liberals and conservatives, say they have broken the law to obtain marijuana to help with everything from the effects of chemotherapy to chronic pain from car accidents, and that existing drugs are too expensive and have too many side effects.
Today we talk about the issue with the new sponsor of the measure in the Senate, Diane Savino, a Staten Island Democrat and member of the four-person Independent Democratic Conference, a group that has been allied with Republican senators on a number of issues over the past year. Savino, whose district also includes part of Brooklyn, argues New York is overdue in letting people with serious chronic pain and terminal illnesses, with the prescription from a doctor, use marijuana as part of their treatment options.
Listen to the full conversation with Savino here: | <urn:uuid:558cab5f-3840-44e9-9828-b599db0ac8e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.buffalonews.com/politics_now/2012/05/audio-from-albany-senator-diane-savino-medical-marijuana-proponent.html?ref=bipn | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953126 | 285 | 1.84375 | 2 |
This opinion piece was first published in the “Forward Thinking” blog at the Forward. It was reprinted in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.
More and more frequently, I am confronted with alarming examples of the growing chasm between Israeli Jews and American Jews. Sometimes it is the Israeli misperception of American Jewish life that rankles me. On other occasions, I am dumbfounded by the lack of understanding of Israeli realities and sensibilities on the part of American Jews.
I would put an opinion piece by Joshua Bloom, Director of Israel Programs for Rabbis for Human Rights-North America published Tuesday in the Huffington Post into the latter category. In his article, Blum criticizes Gadna experiences for North American teens visiting Israel. Gadna (an acronym for g’dudei noar ivri), is the Israel Defense Force’s pre-military program for pre-army age teens. Gadna is staffed by IDF soldiers, and a minimum week-long Gadna stint has, in recent years, become a typical component (sometimes optional, sometimes mandatory) of many youth group Israel adventures.
Bloom seems to think that there is no justifiable reason for a week of Gadna on these trips. For him, American Jewish youth learning about life in the army, visiting different kinds of military bases, engaging in physical challenges, learning orienteering and survival skills, getting briefed on IDF history, and training to shoot a weapon amount to “the promotion of violent institutions.”
I beg to differ. I personally did Gadna for three summers in a row when I was a teenager back in the mid-1980’s, well before it was a common thing to do. And I didn’t just do one-week stints — I toughed it out for six weeks at a time. Those 18 weeks were probably the most formative ones of my life. Looking back nearly 30 years later, I can say unequivocally that I emerged from those summers not only more physically fit, but also a different, more aware person. And let me assure you, I did not turn out to be a promoter of violent institutions.
Click here to read more.
© 2012 Renee Ghert-Zand. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:32fbc07f-bc8f-4c29-803e-64ef8af8b491> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://truthpraiseandhelp.wordpress.com/tag/gadna/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954539 | 459 | 1.546875 | 2 |
(SEA SHEPHERD) On June 8, Animal Planet will air Seal Wars, a one-hour documentary capturing Sea Shepherd’s efforts to stop Nambia’s notorious seal slaughter. Although the footage is under wraps, the animal rights organization said that the Nambian government believed Sea Shepherd breached their National Security and had the navy, army, and police working to keep the massacre hidden. Animal Planet has finally released the trailer for the special and it looks astounding, to say the least. Read on for more on the documentary and the trailer. — Global Animal
Ecorazzi, Michael dEstries
We first caught wind of Animal Planet’s “Seal Wars” development last August – after a Sea Shepherd campaign infiltrated Namibia’s notorious seal slaughter.
“We created quite a controversy in Namibia, we can’t disclose what footage we captured, as Animal Planet have exclusive rights to it for the show ‘Seal Wars’, said Steve Roest on Facebook, who led the team into Namibia. “But the suggestion by the Namibian government that we breached their National Security and the fact that they used the navy, army and police to keep this slaughter hidden speaks volumes to the corruption involved.”
Now, Animal Planet has gone ahead and released a gripping trailer for the special, which will air as a one-hour documentary on June 8th. It utilizes the same pumping theme from the hit zombie film “28 Days Later” and instantly brings back memories of the tension and undercover work featured in the Academy Award-winning flick “The Cove.” It’s actually one of the finest trailers ever produced for a Sea Shepherd television event IMHO. | <urn:uuid:bc0aa968-e1f0-482a-8bb4-bca17a4ae4a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.globalanimal.org/2012/05/22/seal-wars-slaughter-on-skeleton-coast-video/74758/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94142 | 360 | 1.640625 | 2 |
An established favorite with completely new modern styling
Looking to increase the stagnant sales numbers of the Les Paul Standard models of the mid- to late-1950s, Gibson president Ted McCarty and his reputable team of luthiers and engineers set out to redesign the company’s solid body guitar. The result was the introduction in 1961 of what is known today as the Gibson SG line. The first use of the name “SG” actually surfaced on a Gibson guitar in late 1959 with the introduction of the SG Special – a double cutaway model with rounded horns that had previously been listed as a Les Paul since 1955. In early 1961, however, the Les Paul models would undergo a radical change in design in an effort to improve their popularity, and Gibson’s standing as a quality builder of electric solid body guitars. Fortunately, the redesigns would make a significant impact on Gibson’s market share, albeit slowly at first. On average, about 2,120 SGs shipped per year from 1961 to 1970, with the numbers continuing to increase well into the 1970s. This trend eventually made the SG Gibson’s most popular model – a distinction that still holds true today. From 1961 to 1963, the model was still known as the “redesigned” Les Paul Standard, although its namesake did not fully approve of the model’s new look. This would eventually lead to the removal of Les Paul’s name in 1963, in favor of a new name, the SG Standard.
Short for “solid guitar,” Gibson’s SG Standards featured a much thinner body made from solid mahogany, with pointed horns, beveled edges, no body binding and distinctive twin cutaways that offered easier access to the guitar’s higher frets, along with exceptional resonance, superior tone and greater sustain. The new models were also fitted with one of four vibrato tailpieces that were used in the early 1960s. The vibrato tailpiece that adorns today’s SG Standard model from Gibson Custom is the Maestro version with lyre-engraved cover plate that became a standard appointment in 1963. The SG Standard model was also fitted with a new wing-shaped, 5-ply black pickguard, and its new 22-fret mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard and slim-taper profile was quickly recognized as one of the fastest guitar necks in the world.
Today, Gibson’s SG line remains as one of the most popular and best-selling of all Gibson guitars, and the SG Standard from Gibson Custom is a painstaking recreation of this iconic instrument. Its distinct features and legendary tone are meticulously remade with all the precision and accuracy expected from Gibson Custom, including its solid mahogany body with twin cutaways, pointed horns, beveled edges and nickel hardware. Other standard appointments include its figured acrylic trapezoid inlays, single-ply crème binding along the fingerboard and a 1960s slim-taper neck profile. Its legendary tone comes from two of Gibson’s finest pickups – a Burstbucker 1 in the neck position, and a Burstbucker 2 in the bridge. Together these pickups deliver all the power and bell-like humbucker tone of the original SG Standards of the early 1960s. Each SG Standard comes with a standard Gibson Custom case and certificate of authenticity. They are available in a V.O.S. or gloss finish, in either Faded Cherry, Classic White or TV Yellow. They can also be ordered with an original Maestro vibrato tailpiece, or with a lightweight aluminum stopbar. | <urn:uuid:145fa98e-8aad-4e3e-8d33-d849c733082a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/SG/Gibson-Custom/SG-Standard-with-Maestro-VOS/Features.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961066 | 743 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Mattingly’s Flock Houses are a cross between a tent and geodesic dome, and are currently camped out in a field near the Bowling Green subway station at Battery Park. The orb-like structures were designed to exist on their own, or be merged with other Flock Houses, a reaction to the reimagined future of urban space. With the rise of the world population, Mattingly imagines a time when urban growth will spiral out of control, and thus the modular and adjustable Flock Houses seem to be a viable solution.
The pod-like Flock Houses can go beyond attaching to one another – they can attach themselves to city buildings, siphoning their heat, utilities or energy like a parasite. The Flock Houses can also subsist on their own, collecting rain water, growing a canopy of edible plants, and deriving power from solar panels and human sources.
But Mattingly doesn’t intend for the Flock Houses to be completely autonomous- with a stone soup mentality, each Flock House benefits by joining with the next and sharing resources- a lesson Mattingly hopes the future will bring.
To practice what she preaches, Mattingly has lived in a Flock House herself, and others have used them as studios under the Manhattan Bridge, before they were transported to Battery Park to appear as part of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s River to River Festival. | <urn:uuid:52310fd3-ae0f-4983-9330-cda72a8bc913> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://inhabitat.com/nyc/parasitic-geodesic-flock-house-pops-up-in-battery-park/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958297 | 292 | 2.3125 | 2 |
BELLA VISTA, Arkansas – Pastor Jonathan Watson says that he would like to be more like America’s greatest generation than the destructive one that followed it.
“Many people I know of my generation would like to be more like our grandparents’ generation than our parents’ generation,” Watson, 34, said in his office at the Bella Vista Assembly of God. “That was America’s Greatest Generation. They were children of the Great Depression and they were a generation of people who lived by a standard.”
The generation that followed – the Baby Boomers – were the “hippies of the 1960s, the disco goers of the 1980s and the power brokers of the 1980s," Watson said. “That generation has eaten up everything that their parents left them and leave nothing but debts behind them for the rest of us."
Watson, whose church is in this small town near Bentonville in Northwest Arkansas, which is home to retail giant Walmart, said he believes that America needs to rebuild its sense of community and rediscover its moral compass.
“The hippies wanted to do good things and change the world. Unfortunately, they changed the world for the worse," Watson said. "Many of us have looked at our grandparents and think that their way was better. We think it’s better to buy a house and live in it for 40 years, spend your life with just one woman and love your children.” | <urn:uuid:2927b7b5-c787-43c9-983c-171e11fd9882> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/tag/greatest-generation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986769 | 307 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Chem3x11 Lecture 4
Under construction Sat Apr 28.
(Back to the main teaching page)
- Molecular orbitals impose geometrical restrictions on reaction mechanisms
- The stereochemical outcome of a reaction can tell is a lot about a reaction mechanism
- Intermediates like carbocations, carbanions and radicals can destroy the stereochemical integrity of enantiopure starting materials
Why do we Study Reaction Mechanisms?
A reaction mechanism is the detail of how/why one molecule becomes another. Why do we care? Three reasons:
1) Truth - even if a reaction is well-behaved, we're human being and like to understand the universe.
2) Complexity - in many cases reactions do unexpected things. Reactions never "don't work" - they either give back unreacted starting material, give the expected product, give something else, or give mixtures of things. Frequently we want to understand reaction mechanisms so we can understand complex reaction outcomes - the "Why did that happen?" question.
3) Prediction - if we understand reaction mechanisms we can start to make intelligent predictions about how to make new reactions work.
Stereochemistry is useful in the study of reaction mechanisms. If we compare the stereochemistry of starting materials with the stereochemistry in the products, we can deduce things that must have happened in a reaction mechanism even if we can't see those things directly. This forms one very useful part of the study of mechanisms (when coupled with things like spectroscopy and kinetics).
In this lecture we'll talk about the standard polar organic reactions that you've seen already.
The first thing to say, by way of introduction, is that we need to remember that reactions don't just happen as if by magic between the two ions. The nucleophile and electrophile have molecular orbitals on them that need to align for a reaction to occur. In the case of polar reactions an electron pair in a filled molecular orbital on the nucleophile needs to overlap with an empty molecular orbital on the electrophile. Good overlap (giving a strong bond) requires these orbitals be close in energy.
A good nucleophile tends to have a high energy Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) while a good electrophile tends to have a low energy Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO).
Mechanism of the SN2 Reaction Revisited
We all remember the SN2 reaction, where bond formation and breaking occurs in a single rate-limiting step. The HOMO in the examples below is the lone pair in an sp orbital on the hydroxide O, while the LUMO is the σ* orbital of the C-I bond.
Focussing on the frontier orbitals (the HOMOs and LUMOs) gives a reason for the inversion of stereochemistry that is observed when this reaction takes place.
Note that just based on the frontier orbitals, the nucleophile could in theory attack the iodine end of the molecule here, but the whole process is higher in energy.
And we can prove all this (backside attack and no intermediates) by using an enantiopure substrate - an SN2 reaction gives an enantiopure inverted product in the following sequence.
Mechanism of the SN1 Reaction Revisited
Some evidence for a planar (achiral) intermediate in the SN1 reaction comes from the scrambling of the stereochemistry.
The energy profile for this reaction includes an intermediate - i.e. a local energy minimum referring to a theoretically isolable species. The intermediate is the carbocation
When we consider factors that promote an SN1 reaction we are allowed to consider things that stabilise the carbocation. Note that this is an approximation - what we ought to be doing is considering things that stabilise the transition state leading to the carbocation. The Hammond Postulate tells us that because the carbocation is fairly high in energy compared to the species either side, the transition states will resemble the carbocation itself. What factors favour SN1 processes? Obvious things like polar solvents, adjacent π systems and adjacent lone pairs. Adjacent carbonyl groups do not - it turns out the only orbital that can interact with the carbocation is the C=O π* orbital, but since these are both empty there is no stabilization.
Carbanions and Stereochemistry
Take an enantiopure alkyl halide and make a Grignard out of it and you will be sorely disappointed in the enantiomeric excess of the product of your reaction with that Grignard.
Carbanions don't (usually) retain their stereochemical integrity, which is kind of annoying actually.
The same thing holds for many carbanions, particularly if the charge is somehow stabilized.
Radicals and Stereochemistry
The same thing applies for radicals - we lose stereochemical intergrity when we form a radical from an enantiopure compound (if the radical is at the stereocentre).
...because the intermediate radical is planar.
The Licence for This Page
Is CC-BY-3.0 meaning you can use whatever you want, provided you cite me. | <urn:uuid:c1d4b25a-3d14-4adf-bb12-189b972961ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.openwetware.org/index.php?title=Todd:Chem3x11_ToddL4&oldid=599587 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911243 | 1,076 | 3.6875 | 4 |
With the election behind us—and the fate of the Affordable Care Act now assured—many seniors are concerned about cuts in their Medicare coverage in 2013. Should they be?
In a word, no. At least not yet.
This fall has been an especially confusing time for Medicare beneficiaries and their families. The elections coincided with the annual Medicare enrollment period, during which insurers aggressively woo Medicare recipients to join their plans. The confluence of all these events has produced a deluge of information, misinformation and rumors about what is likely to happen next year.
If you or your parents are concerned about radical changes, you can assure them that they can relax.
Most people 65 or older have Medicare Parts A and B, which cover hospitalization and doctor visits. But they must choose a prescription drug plan (Part D), and they have the option of purchasing a supplemental plan, often called Medigap, that covers the 20% of costs that Part B doesn't pick up.
They also can opt out of Medicare and sign up for a private Advantage Plan.
You have until Dec. 7 to enroll or switch. Even if you already have made your decisions, the answers to the questions below could help you sleep better.
Will the health-care overhaul increase my premiums?
No. In recent months a rumor spread via the Internet that under the new law, the premium for Medicare Part B would rise to $247 a month for individuals. In fact, Medicare premiums will continue to be calculated the same way they have been for decades.
Each year's premiums are determined by the prior year's claims experience, which can rise or fall. In 2012, the standard Part B monthly premium for an individual is $99.90, down from $115.40 in 2011.
What about surcharges for higher-income recipients?
Since 2007, higher-income people have paid a surcharge for Part B premiums, which in 2012 ranged from $40 a month for those with income above $85,000 to $219.80 a month for those with incomes above $214,000. Under the Affordable Care Act, they also pay a surcharge for prescription-drug coverage, which in 2012 ranged from $11.60 to $66.40 a month.
The new law also freezes the income brackets at their 2010 level through 2019. This means that in the future, more people will be subject to a surcharge.
In addition, starting in 2013, the Medicare payroll tax of 1.45% of income will rise to 2.35% on income above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples.
Will Medicare benefits be reduced?
No. In fact, benefits have increased under the Affordable Care Act. In 2011, Medicare added free annual checkups and preventive care, such as flu shots and screenings for breast, colon and prostate cancer.
The new law also provides steep discounts on prescription drugs for Medicare recipients who fall into the so-called donut hole, which causes seniors with high prescription-drug expenses to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for their drugs.
To fund increases in benefits for Medicare recipients as well as people under age 65, the Affordable Care Act is reducing payments to hospitals and subsidies to private insurance companies that run Medicare Advantage plans.
Will I have to give up my Medicare Advantage plan?
No. For years, the government has paid insurance companies a subsidy to run these plans. Beginning in 2013, those government subsidies largely will end under the Affordable Health Care law. Some people worry that this might cause insurers to raise premiums, phase out some coverage or even drop their plans, though so far most have continued to operate with little change.
What are the long-term prospects for Medicare?
Though the new health-care law now looks likely to survive, there will be continued tussling over the future of Medicare, including proposals to change the level of benefits.
For example, Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate, favors changing Medicare to a voucher system, under which the government would give individuals set payments they could use to purchase coverage on the open market.
The debate will continue, with President Barack Obama and congressional leaders looking at entitlement programs as part of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations. But for the coming year, at least, you can rest easy.
Write to Ellen E. Schultz at email@example.com | <urn:uuid:26cbdc50-5db3-4873-8f08-4915c0c1d27c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324595904578117071939251996.html?mod=WSJ_PersonalFinance_PF14 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957985 | 906 | 1.609375 | 2 |
You probably hear a lot about God’s sanctifying work in your life through His Word. But what does that process look like? How do you know if the living truth of Scripture is actually at work in your life? How do you know that God’s Word has actually taken root in your life?
To help you understand your own spiritual growth and how God’s Word works in your life, I want to highlight the key steps in the process of sanctification with three simple words.
The first is cognition. God’s pattern for spiritual growth starts with understanding what the Bible says and what it means. The meaning of the Scripture is the Scripture—if you don’t know what it means, you don’t have the truth. So the process of spiritual growth starts with understanding what the Bible says.
Many years ago as a child, the importance of knowing and understanding God’s Word was impressed upon me. I began to read my Bible repetitiously—day after day, over and over. The further I went, the more connections I was able to draw from book to book. After a few years, I was overwhelmed with the understanding that the Bible is its own interpreter. And you can see that conviction borne out in my teaching to this day.
True sanctification begins with renewing your mind. You must know the truth, plain and simple. There’s no premium on ignorance in sanctification. You’re not going to get there through some emotional or mystical experience. Spiritual growth won’t happen by osmosis—it requires the discipline of constantly putting God’s truth in your mind. | <urn:uuid:8ee6bbcb-b20e-4f84-b88d-104f9551f256> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://intelmin.org/2012/09/dr-john-macarthur-the-steps-of-biblical-santification/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962589 | 343 | 1.570313 | 2 |
The Effects of Acne on Self-esteem Among Adolescents
Adolescence is an important period for emotional and psychosocial development and considerable changes occur to self-consciousness. Low self-esteem in adolescence has been associated with delinquency, aggression, antisocial behavior, poor physical and emotional health, and lower economic success in adulthood compared to individuals with high self-esteem. This study focuses on how acne, a disease process that affects more than 85% of adolescents, impacts self-esteem in this patient population. We conducted a literature review for studies evaluating the impact of acne on adolescent self-esteem. Five studies that specifically focused on acne and self-esteem in the adolescent population were selected for complete review. All of the studies found a correlation between adolescent acne and low self-esteem and the majority of acne patients surveyed across all 5 studies reported dissatisfaction with their appearance and demonstrated more emotional disturbance than their peers without acne. Patient perception of disease severity was found to be the most important and universal indicator of low self-esteem. Acne treatment was associated with improvement in self-esteem. Early and aggressive treatment can have a positive impact on self-esteem in adolescents with acne, and it is important to consider a patient’s perception of his/her disease severity when selecting a treatment regimen. The high correlation between acne and psychosocial problems in adolescents indicates that it is imperative to assess patients for low self-esteem and depression prior to treatment.
Ref: Robin E. Schroeder, BS; Sebastian G. Kaplan, PhD; Steven R. Feldman, MD, PhD
- Acne (medically known as acne vulgaris) is perhaps the most common skin condition affecting people around the world.
- Acne affects people of all ages, though most commonly people in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, and sometimes unfortunately, even beyond.
WHO GETS ACNE & WHY
- Acne has few boundaries and occurs on the face, neck, upper arms, chest, back, and shoulders. While both males and females can get acne, research shows that outbreaks in males may be worse because they have more skin oils.
- Heredity also plays an important role-making some people more genetically predisposed to outbreaks than others. People with highly sensitive immune systems are also more likely to suffer from acne as they are more sensitive and susceptible to bacteria that are trapped in hair follicles.
- Other causes of acne include use of cosmetics containing oil, environmental pollutants, and drugs including androgens and barbiturates and humidity.
- According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), acne is caused by the overproduction of androgens, hormones that are present in both males and females. Androgens most commonly increase during puberty, stimulating the sebaceous glands in the skin to enlarge and increase the production of sebum. This increase in oil production coupled with follicular debris composed of dead skin cells results in blockages in the sebaceous glands.
HOW DOES ACNE DEVELOP
- Acne is commonly described as an inflammatory skin condition.
- While PSUs are found all over the body, they most densely occur on the face, upper back, and chest. Sebaceous glands make an oily substance called sebum. Sebum normally empties onto the skin’s surface though the opening of the follicle, commonly called a “pore.” Keratinocytes line the follicle.
- Hair, sebum, and keratinocytes that fill the narrow follicle may produce a plug or blockage that prevents sebum from reaching the surface of the skin through the pore. The mixture of oil and cells create a perfect breeding ground for P. acnes bacteria that normally live on the skin to grow and multiply inside the clogged follicles.
- These bacteria produce chemicals and enzymes that cause inflammation. Redness, swelling, and tenderness commonly associated with acne lesions are characteristic skin responses to the presence of bacteria. When the wall of the plugged follicle breaks, their content comprising sebum, dead skin cells, and bacteria erupts into nearby skin-leading to what we commonly refer to as acne.
Deluxe Acne Facial
This customized facial minimizes acne by decongesting the skin with a medical grade fluid that reduces oil production and dissolves clogged pores. The Deluxe Acne Facial also incorporates a deep pore cleansing with a unique powerful exfoliant, followed by extractions and Ozone to kill bacteria. A pumpkin enzyme is applied to slough away dead skin cells and further breakup any congestion. Your skin is then calmed and restored with an antioxidant soothing mask and prebiotics.
Photopneumatic Therapy Acne Facial
Would you like an individualized consultation? | <urn:uuid:dc563f70-662d-4094-9eb6-7e7104993d80> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tinacappiello.com/treatments-by-skin-type/acne/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939373 | 975 | 2.875 | 3 |
Many things a parent will do affect how children cope with divorce. We can influence through our own actions how well our children cope with the divorce of their parents. Below is a list of some behaviors that children should be protected from. Things you definitely don’t want to expose your children to.
1. Don't badmouth or criticize the other parent.
Children view themselves as half Mom and half Dad so, when you criticize the other parent you criticize your child. This also applies to stepparents and other adults in your child's life.
2. Dont share details of the divorce.
It is never in the best interest of children to be told information about court matters, child support, or financial concerns about your divorce. Children feel confused and caught in the middle when parents share too much detail with them.
3. Don't use your children as spies.
If you need to know something about your spouse, find it out yourself. Asking your child to spy on a parent puts the child in the middle and causes feelings of responsibility for the parents welfare.
4. Don't argue and engage in conflict in front of your child.
Parental conflict continues the cycle of children feeling confused and caught in the middle. Be supportive of your child and the stress they are under by conducting yourself in a mature manner around your soon to be ex.
5. Don't make your children responsible for making adult decisions.
Children should not be responsible for taking care of matters just because mom or dad stressed out. Make whatever adjustments you have to so that yourchild can be a child, with responsibilities of their normal age range.
6. Don't ignore your child when they ask why there is a divorce.
Not listening to your child and answering their questions sends them the message that their feelings dont matter. Answer your childrens questions no matter how painful the subject is for you.
7. Don't withhold visitation to punish the other parent.
A child should have regular contact with both parents. The pain your child would feel because of the absence of a parent is not worth your need for revenge.
8. Don't try to buy your child's love.
Gift may make an impression for a moment but, your attention and love makes an impression that lasts a lifetime.
9. Don't forget to have fun.
Lets face it, children are all about having some fun. Make sure you offer a relaxing fun environment. One in which they can let go of their worries and just be a child. Fun goes a long way in relieving stress! | <urn:uuid:2a8ea4e4-a4c4-4f1d-ab29-f75404b791a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://divorcesupport.about.com/od/childrenanddivorce/tp/childrendont.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948585 | 528 | 2.265625 | 2 |
You may have heard the expression, What you see is what you get. Well, in medical research that isn't always the case. Time can be an important factor. For example, treatment results using platelet-rich plasma for tennis elbow were better than results with steroid injections when measured a year after the injections. Three months after the treatments, there was no difference between the two groups.
In this study, orthopedic surgeons from The Netherlands used platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to treat chronic Achilles tendinopathy. The study included a second group of patients who received an injection of saline instead of PRP (the control group). Results were reported six months after the single injection and again now at the end of a full year.
Before we look at those results, let's define a few terms. Tendinopathy refers to damage, degeneration, or pathology of a tendon. It could be from an acute injury or tendinitis. Or it could be a case of chronic tendon pain or tenderness. With both acute and chronic tendinopathy, loss of normal motion and function are observed. But as scientists have shown in chronic tendon problems, there's no active inflammation.
So instead of calling the condition tendinitis, the term tendinosis is used. With tendinosis, the collagen fibers around the tendon are disorganized with an irregular placement of cell structure. There may be increased blood flow to the area but there are no inflammatory cells or processes present.
The next term platelet-rich plasma (PRP) may be new to you but its use is increasing as a treatment for a number of different musculoskeletal conditions. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is also known as blood injection therapy. PRP refers to a sample of serum (blood) plasma taken from the patient being treated. The plasma is then injected into the symptomatic (painful or tender) area.
How does it work? Platelet-rich plasma has as much as four times more than the normal amount of platelets. Platelets contain growth factors that act to promote tendon repair. These growth factors send signals to the body that increase blood flow to the area and transport cellular debris and waste from cellular metabolism away from the tissue. This treatment enhances the body’s natural ability to heal itself. It is used to improve healing and shorten recovery time from acute and chronic soft tissue injuries.
How can we measure the results of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for problems like Achilles tendinopathy? Well, there are always the standard tests of joint motion, recording the presence and intensity of pain, and assessing function. And the authors of this study did use those measures. But they went a step further in actually looking at the tendon fibers.
They used a recently validated technique called ultrasonographic tissue characterization (UTC). This is an imaging technique that allows for assessing the condition of individual tendons. It gives a three-dimensional view of the tendon structure. The ultrasonic view of the tendon also made it possible to measure the quality of blood vessels and blood supply to the area (referred to as neovascularization of the tendon).
In addition to asking patients about their level of satisfaction with the treatment, ultrasound measurements were taken before and after treatment. What did they find? There wasn't a measurable difference between the two groups (one treated with platelet-rich plasma and the other with saline).
Both groups were equally satisfied with the results. Both groups had an equal amount of tendon healing and blood flow as shown by the ultrasound testing. The only measurable difference was in terms of return-to-sports. There were more patients in the platelet-rich plasma group (56.5 per cent) who went back to their previous sport compared with the saline (control) group (41.7 per cent).
These results were pretty much the same as the results reported six months after the injection. There are two reasons why the two groups had similar results. The first is the fact that both groups had an injection and it might not be the contents of the needle (plasma versus saline) as much as it is the effects of the needle entering the area. And secondly, patients in both groups performed an exercise program for three months. It is possible the exercise program had as much to do with the results as anything else.
Where do we go from here? The authors make note of the fact that combining platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection with an eccentric exercise program does not add value to the results. It may be necessary to compare PRP injections alone with exercise alone to see the true effects of each individual treatment.
Reference: Suzan de Jonge, MD, et al. One-Year Follow-Up of Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment in Chronic Achilles Tendinopathy. In The American Journal of Sports Medicine. August 2011. Vol. 39. No. 8. Pp. 1623-1629. | <urn:uuid:647ae9af-f817-49ce-924a-d41ab6dcc227> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.taylorthornburgpt.com/Injuries-Conditions/Foot/Research-Articles/Part-Two-Study-on-Platelet-Rich-Plasma-for-the-Achilles-Tendon/a~4640/article.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96167 | 1,014 | 2.484375 | 2 |
Wed December 26, 2012
Taking Care Of Business
An expression I don't hear much any more is, “don't sweat the small stuff,” but I absolutely see demonstrations of it everyday. It means don't worry about the details and concentrate on the “big picture.”
Yet, little matters more than the details, because it is the details that determine the quality of the execution, and most great strategies or plans fail, not because they were bad, but because they were executed poorly. Billions in a retail chain with check-out clerks who don't even look at the customer.
The first important business lesson I ever received was from Roger Wright at E.L. Bruce Company. Roger taught me how to break work into the most elementary details, then execute each, then double-check each at the end.
Sounds laborious and slow, but concentrating on details saves time that otherwise would be spent correcting mistakes.
My last boss, before I went into business for myself, was Cooper Adams, who owned a very successful manufacturing company. Leaving late one evening, I saw a light in the mail room. When I went to turn it off, there was Cooper Adams running envelopes through the postage meter.
“I can hire high-priced guys to prepare these multimillion dollar proposals,” he said. “But I have never been able to hire anyone I could depend on to be sure they get in the mail.”
To reach Mr. Malmo, hear and read more of his commentaries, or to ask him your own marketing question, go to http://askmalmo.com. | <urn:uuid:15f22ed6-4487-40b1-8245-8f53250185f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wknofm.org/post/taking-care-business | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975441 | 337 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Editor's Note: This post first appeared in the India Development Blog.
Question: Which manufactured consumer product has the deepest market penetration in rural India?
In fact, 97% of rural households purchase matches on a monthly basis. Matches are a unique product because of their high, constant demand and low price point.Their ubiquitous presence provides fascinating insights into India's rural distribution networks, and offer potential ways to inform and interact with India's relatively untouched market.
Several innovative businesses with rural focus have floundered because either their message or their products failed to reach the end-user. One of the largest barriers to introducing new products into rural markets is the lack of reliable distribution channels. Matches, however, have probably the most pervasive distribution network of any manufactured consumer product in India; they find their way to every village and nearly every household, regardless of how remote or how poor.
What is more interesting is that most of India's matches are manufactured in southern Tamil Nadu, and are sold as far away as Jammu and Kashmir. To understand match distribution in India is to understand India's most basic, underlying distribution system. How do they reach the end-user? How many distributors do they go through? How long does it take? How much margin is added to the price of the box of matches each time it exchanges hands? Understanding how matches reach the rural consumers from Kashmir to Kerala can provide valuable insights for scaling up other products and services.
Matchbox distribution can be relevant for product piggybacking, whereby manufacturers hitch a new product to established distribution channels.Piggybacking is becoming an increasingly common way to deliver products and services to the base of the pyramid, allowing for a broader reach in rural areas at a reduced cost. Are there any products or services that can piggyback on matches?
In remote rural communities, where television, radio or even street names are almost non-existent, relaying information is a pressing issue. Matchboxes may contain the solution. The typical designs on most matchboxes in India show only the manufacturer's logo and some text about the contents. What if that space was used to relay information? Imagine the possibilities of spreading new health/educational information or advertising to 97% of rural families on a monthly basis. Simple pictorial designs would pique interest and accommodate India's vast differences in literacy rates and languages. Awareness of important topics such as the installation of chimneys to reduce smoke inhalation or cleaning and covering water containers to prevent stomach ailments could be spread to households across India, and potentially save lives.
Matches' universal presence in rural villages provides unique opportunities to reach and interact with India's underserved market. By tracking their distribution from manufacturer to end-user, we can assess the potential for piggybacking additional products and for designing innovative messaging of crucial information. Sometimes, taking a closer look at even mundane objects can spark innovative solutions and approaches to serious challenges. | <urn:uuid:5cdf50e1-d71c-41f6-ab75-d27eb2c1a2e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nextbillion.net/blogpost.aspx?blogid=1580 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943167 | 592 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Ancient artifacts are the inspiration behind these pit-fired clay vessels by Sue Tuttle. Each clay vessel is a one-of-a-kind work of art. The stunning jugs and jars are often embossed using wooden batik printing blocks.
Once the forms are created and the green clay is dry, the vessels are pit-fired and subjected to a reduced oxygen atmosphere in a process known as reduction. Reduction gives the clay vessels by Sue Tuttle coloration similar to that of unearthed pottery from archaeological digs. Tuttle sells her vessels at galleries and through her 'Mud Flats Pottery' site.
Ancient Amphora Replicas
4,152 clicks in 137 w
More Stats +/- | <urn:uuid:3ad81834-d4ed-421b-81d8-79fd4f8c623e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/clay-vessels-by-sue-tuttle | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948667 | 144 | 2.890625 | 3 |
TAKE THE DETAILED SURVEY AND ENTER YOUR DATA
REPORT A HUM LOCATION FOR MAPPING
VIEW THE HUM SUFFERER DATABASE
VIEW THE WORLD HUM MAP
REPORT A LOCATION WITH NO HUM
Most people come to this site because they have searched for information on a strange humming or rumbling sound whose source they cannot find. Many of them are surprised to find out that they are not alone and that they are experiencing a worldwide phenomenon that scientists and the public call the Hum. This is the same famous Hum that has afflicted residents of Bristol, England; Taos, New Mexico; Kokomo, Indiana, and Windsor, Ontario. The classic description of the Hum is that of a truck engine idling outside one’s home. Some describe it as a low throbbing drone or deep bass note. The noise is usually louder indoors than outdoors, and louder at night. If you are not sure if you are hearing The Hum, do not enter data until you have taken a few moments to read this. This is an open-source scientific study about The Hum, and not a place to complain about noises that have obvious pinpoint sources, such as loud music, metallic sounds from a wrecking yard, etc. | <urn:uuid:8725d8b3-d819-4891-854a-8cab32a34d77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thehum.info/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931711 | 256 | 2.578125 | 3 |
What is the AABB Accreditation Program?
Since 1958, AABB now located in Bethesda, MD, has administered accreditation activities as an all volunteer program of continuous improvement and education. This biennial peer review assessment verifies compliance with applicable standards and offers objective, independent feedback to affirm sound practices and provide guidance on areas for improvement
What distinguishes AABB Accreditation from others?
AABB assessments are based on standards that are developed by experts in the field. These standards consist of both quality and technical elements.AABB Accreditation is a voluntary assessment program rather than a mandated inspection. Facilities that choose to seek AABB accreditation do so out of a facility’s desire for and commitment to transfusion medicine and cellular therapy are core competencies of AABB.
How is AABB Accreditation relevant in today's marketplace?
AABB Accreditation is designation of choice for blood banking, transfusion medicine, blood management and cellular therapies because it demonstrates an organization’s commitment to advanced learning, continuous improvement, and innovation by striving to sustain the highest possible level of patient and donor care. AABB Accredited organizations are recognized by their peers as leaders in their field and as pivotal voices in the dialogue through which consensus-based, voluntary standards are developed and implemented.
What types of facilities are currently accredited by AABB?
AABB accredits laboratories and facilities worldwide that are involved in one or more of the following activities:
||Blood centres (collection, processing, testing and distribution)
||Hospital blood banks
||Cellular therapy laboratories (HPC, cord blood, somatic cells)
||Immunohematology reference laboratories (IRL)
||Relationship testing laboratories
Institutional members of AABB are currently required to participate, and non member institutions are also encouraged to participate.
Who are AABB Assessors?
Assessors are working professionals who are specially trained to conduct on-site assessments for AABB Accreditation. Most assessors have typically earned advanced degrees and offer many years of experience in the field. These professionals participate on a voluntary basis, donating their time and expertise to support the community in its longstanding commitment to deliver the highest quality of care for patients and donors.
Why is AABB Accreditation so critical to the blood and cellular therapy community?
AABB is a community of professionals and institutions united to establish and promote the highest possible standard of care for patients and donors in all aspects of blood banking; transfusion medicine; hematopoietic, cellular and gene therapies; and tissue transplantation. As such, AABB members set voluntary industry standards for quality performance and continuous improvement.
For more information:
AABB Accreditation Program
Health Canada Registered Cord Blood Bank
CReATe has registered with health Canada. Cells, Tissue and Organs (CTO)
registration certificate # 100115. | <urn:uuid:a935425f-b5c7-477a-b2c6-630236f6b1a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.createcordbank.com/accredited_cord_blood_bank.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922832 | 597 | 1.929688 | 2 |
26 April 2006
Left to right: Olga Kolosyuk, Vyacheslav Bortnik and Yugesh Pradhanang visit a water pump in Kirdany, Ukraine. (Photo by UNV)Kiev, Ukraine:
For Olga Kolosyuk, clean water represents progress in a post-Chernobyl Ukraine. The fact that her village of 1,000 has safe drinking water demonstrates what the community has accomplished—most notably the refurbishment of a local water supply—since taking the lead in improving their situation.
Olga is a leader of a community organization called Dryzhba, a collective of residents from Kirdany. She is one of numerous volunteers who, with the help of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, set up a community organization in the village. More than 200 community-led organizations exist in 139 villages throughout the Chernobyl-affected area. They are addressing the economic, environmental and social problems stemming from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which occurred 20 years ago today.
The organizations were established between 2002 and 2005 as part of the Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme (CRDP), a joint initiative of the Government of Ukraine, UNDP, UNV and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), with funding from Japan, Canada and Switzerland.
The CRDP uses mixed teams of Ukrainian and international UN Volunteers, together with technical assistance from UNDP Ukraine, to work alongside the communities. Collectively, they identify and develop rehabilitation projects, from renovating schools to improving community health centres to better cope with the illnesses associated with the Chernobyl fallout. During 2004 and 2005, 94 community projects were implemented, including 21school improvement initiatives, 21 health centre refurbishments and 22 water supply system improvements.
To build the capacity of the communities, the UN Volunteers provided training in planning, communications, leadership, fundraising and other skills to bring about effective project management. In 2005, nearly 4,000 people, including representatives of local government, participated in various trainings.
“They’re not only working to improve the community, but also themselves,” says Yugesh Pradhanang, a UN Volunteer from Nepal, charged with overseeing the UNV component of the CRDP. “Before [the CRDP], there was a dependency syndrome – people expected the government to take care of everything. Volunteering has given them a ‘magic stick’. They’re building partnerships and working together with local governments to improve their lives.”
Promotion of volunteerism is an important component of the CRDP. The UN Volunteers have worked extensively on sensitising the communities on the benefits of volunteering and its role in steering community development forward.
Much work has been equally carried out with Ukraine’s existing network of community organizations and other civil society groups to raise awareness of volunteerism in Ukraine and reposition it beyond preconceived notions under the former Soviet Union. Schools, for instance, have benefited from the new take on volunteerism. Previously seen as institutions under the government’s responsibility, today several schools part of the CRDP are hubs of community engagement with parents and those unaffiliated with the school active in education.
“There has been a big change in people’s minds,” says Vyacheslav Bortnik, a national UN Volunteer at the CRDP Regional Office in Ovruch. “When we first came here, people had no hope for the future and they wouldn’t believe that they could change anything. Now they’re saying ‘We did this and we are planning this’. There has been a big change.”
Mobilizing youth has also been a focus of the CRDP. Several community organizations have made youth issues a priority and invested heavily to create opportunities to improve their lives in the affected communities. As a result, youth centres were opened in 19 villages during 2004-2005, providing youth with a gathering place where resources are available on educational and social opportunities.
Beyond tangible results, the CRDP, and its focus on volunteerism, has boosted the affected communities’ sense of spirit, hope and direction. “I have positive feelings towards the CRDP,” says Valentina Radkevich, a leader of an association of community organizations in Listvin, where a youth centre and health post were established. “I have [had] the chance to teach other people… I am almost 60, but I still have possibilities for development and it’s great when you can help someone.”
Iryna Nevmerzhytska, a youth leader in Kirdany, says volunteerism has helped realize a common goal. “The [programme’s] most valuable success is the cooperation among people and joining forces together, all directed towards the achievement of one aim… the well-being of the community,” she says. | <urn:uuid:b5ccca92-c76a-4d83-ba2d-05a91d98b6f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/news-views/news/doc/volunteers-drive-recovery-of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962341 | 1,014 | 2.6875 | 3 |
VATICAN CITY (AP).- The Vatican Museums chief warned that dust and polluting agents brought into the Sistine Chapel by thousands of tourists every day risk one day endangering its priceless artworks.
Antonio Paolucci told the newspaper La Repubblica in comments published Thursday that in order to preserve Michelangelo's Last Judgment and the other treasures in the Sistine Chapel, new tools to control temperature and humidity must be studied and implemented.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 people a day, or over 4 million a year, visit the chapel where popes get elected, to admire its frescoes, floor mosaics and paintings.
"In this chapel people often invoke the Holy Spirit. But the people who fill this room every day aren't pure spirits," Paolucci told the newspaper.
"Such a crowd ... emanates sweat, breath, carbon dioxide, all sorts of dust," he said. "This deadly combination is moved around by winds and ends up on the walls, meaning on the artwork."
Paolucci said better tools were necessary to avoid "serious damage" to the chapel.
Visitors who want to see Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" in Milan must go through a filtration system to help reduce the work's exposure to dust and pollutants. This has made seeing da Vinci's masterpiece more difficult: 25 visitors are admitted every 15 minutes.
The Sistine Chapel, featuring works by Michelangelo, Botticelli and Perugino, underwent a massive restoration that ended in the late 1990s. The restoration was controversial because some critics said the refurbishing made the colors brighter than originally intended.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. | <urn:uuid:53d7e0b2-f648-433e-b7a0-928918e9ae21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=40651&int_modo=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950885 | 350 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Request Dr. Gracia Attend Special Events and Speaking Engagements [PDF | 62KB]
A pediatrician with epidemiology training, Dr. Gracia has served in academic medicine and government. From 2010 to 2011, she was the Chief Medical Officer for the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH). She provided programmatic and policy leadership and coordination of a portfolio that included child and adolescent health, climate change, disaster preparedness, environmental health, global health, Haiti recovery, and the White House Council on Women and Girls. Most recently, she led the development of HHS's 2012 environmental justice strategy, which addresses the disproportionate exposure of minority and low-income communities and Indian tribes to environmental hazards and promotes healthy community environments.
In 2008-2009, Dr. Gracia was one of fourteen White House Fellows and was assigned to HHS, where she worked in OASH and the Office of the Secretary. During the last two months of the fellowship, she was a policy advisor in the Office of the First Lady, assisting in the development of the childhood obesity initiative.
Previously, Dr. Gracia was a clinical instructor and general pediatrics research fellow at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, conducting research on community risk factors for violence. She received a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania and a medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Gracia completed pediatrics residency and served as Chief Pediatrics Resident at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. She is board-certified in pediatrics and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Dr. Gracia is an advocate for minority and vulnerable populations and lectures nationwide on health disparities and children's health. She is a National President Emeritus of the Student National Medical Association and a past Postgraduate Physician Trustee of the National Medical Association. A first-generation Haitian-American, Dr. Gracia earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in French at Stanford University.
You will need Adobe Acrobat® Reader™ to view PDF files located on this site. If you do not already have Adobe Acrobat® Reader™, you can download here for free. | <urn:uuid:126ef065-35fd-4793-b2b0-d34763f67f06> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/content.aspx?ID=2749 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95513 | 437 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Does Unexpected Cold Weather Mean There is no Global Warming?
Places around the world have been hit with a lot of unexpected cold weather this year, including parts of China, the UK, and the southern US. Certainly, all of this cold weather must mean that there is no Global Warming. All those predictions have to be wrong, right?
Well, no, not exactly.
The fact that there are cold temperatures in places that don’t get them very often does not indicate that global warming is at an end or a hoax; quite the contrary, actually. Climate change actually does have the potential to cause more crazy weather patterns, from heat waves to floods and even severely cold weather. The planet is still, indeed, warming up—but it doesn’t eliminate the chance or fact that cold is still a natural thing and will happen.
Senior scientist, Gerald Meehl, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research said that the cold weather is “part of natural variability”. He also adds that “we’ll still have record cold temperatures; we’ll just have fewer of them.”
While climate change has an impact on the weather, it’s actually not the main reason for all the unexpected cold this year. According to Deke Arndt of the National Climatic Data Center:
“We basically have seen just a big outbreak of Arctic air” … “The Arctic air has really turned itself loose on us.”
So, what’s the big deal about Arctic air? Well, a lot of air travels around the world from west to east, between the Arctic and the tropics. This particular section of air flow acts as a barrier to keep the Arctic air where it should be—in the Arctic. However, this west to east pattern has become deformed and is now also zigzagging from north to south. So, warm southern air is brought to the north, and then the flow will carry the cooler north winds to the south. The northern winds that move to the south are also including bits of the Arctic air in some places, hence why certain areas of the globe are facing colder temperatures this year than others.
This north to south pattern is not uncommon—it has been known to happen in the past. As for why it’s so strong this year, no one really knows. For those not used to the cold weather, you’ll be happy to know that scientists predict it should weaken and go back to “normal” within a couple weeks. And if you like the current cold snap, then enjoy it while it lasts!
By Heidi Marshall | <urn:uuid:203556f9-69c1-4da7-bbb4-02809e9dafdc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.greenfudge.org/2010/01/08/does-unexpected-cold-weather-mean-there-is-no-global-warming/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960043 | 550 | 3.015625 | 3 |
| || Changing School District Policies|| Activists in a number of communities across the U.S. have succeeded in gaining restrictions on recruiting at the school district level.
Some school d...|
| || Introduction to Counter Recruitment Work|| Counter recruitment (CR) takes many different forms. At its core the goal is to present alternative views to young people in order to "counter&q...|
| Opt Out/Student lists|| OPT OUT
"Opt Out" refers to the process defined in the No Child Left Behind Act that allows secondary students to with hold their contact ...|
| Topanga Peace Alliance High School Military “Opt-Out” Drive|| September - October 2011 Opt Out Campaign by Topanga Peace Alliance
In September and October, members of the Topanga Peace Alliance (TPA) distribute...| | <urn:uuid:332c50cb-7b4f-4023-8ef3-7b4e2ac2ee56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nnomy.org/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=tags&id=91%3Ahigh-school-opt-out&Itemid=312&lang=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943103 | 170 | 1.914063 | 2 |
This post compares technologies for aerial photography, but it is also about how tool choices can embed values, including transparency, openness, and accessibility, into the growing popular culture of mapping.
Most map imagery is collected by airplane or satellite and processed by GIS (geographic information system) professionals for planners, environmental scientists, archeologists, and other end users. However, recent advances in digital cameras have boosted the power of kites, balloons, poles, R/C planes and drones to acquire high-quality images, enabling both traditional end users and attracting new mapmakers.
Many prefer to control their own imaging techniques so they can collect images on-demand. This new and growing class of users want a reliable and repairable kit to integrate into their group or institution. While low-cost drones are grabbing lots of attention, balloons, kites, tall poles, and other "low-tech" systems have important roles to play in the future of mapmaking because they integrate well with towns, community groups, and volunteer initiatives better than drones.
A string running up from the ground to a kite or balloon acts as a big "I am here" sign, enabling people to find me, talk to me, and ask me questions. I can explain why I'm taking photos and what they'll be used for. Accountability is embedded into the technique itself, and every flyer is transformed into a goodwill ambassador engaged directly with the concerns of the surveilled.
The physical spaces I fly through are also social spaces -- most environments I want to image are full of people. While the short-term goal of a flight is to get a specific picture, the long-term goal is to always have up-to-date imagery. The long-term usefulness of an imaging technology therefore lies in the social acceptability of its frequent use.
Drones emerged from military research for battlefield operations, not service to civil society, while kites and balloons have emerged from public art and entertainment to become useful observational platforms. This context affects public perceptions -- the very existence of armed drones will affect the operational constraints placed on unarmed drones, while the shear ridiculousness of arming a kite or balloon will preserve their peaceful and fun image.
Drones were invented to hide their operators' location and intentions. Their first public appearances were in dystopic fictions and realities, and they do not have a "good neighbor" image. There are good uses for drones, but balloons and kites traditionally celebrate good weather and good times, and make for fun and inviting events.
Building and flying kites and balloons and lofting poles are not hard skills to learn, and the materials are rarely expensive. Volunteers can be mustered more easily than with drones, and kites integrate well with all ages and initiatives. Communities can adopt and control kites, balloons, and poles better than drones, which require advanced electronics and computer skills to modify. Inaccessibility encourages schadenfreude -- drone crashes are not usually met with understanding or sympathy.
Understanding a photo requires on-the-ground knowledge. While any low-cost system can encourage mapping by observers, kite and balloon mapping encourage mappers to become on-the-ground observers because they have to walk or float around the site.
If I want to map with a drone, I probably won't just send it out the window; I'll get in a vehicle and go to the site. Kites work great flying off the backs of boats, bike trailers, and very slow cars. If there is accessible terrain to move a vehicle through the site, a kite or balloon can leverage a vehicle's mobility, much like trawling for fish. With the price difference between kite and balloon gear and a low-end drone, I could buy a kayak, a small motor boat, or a cargo bike. Take the following differences into consideration:
- Price: $1,300 ready to fly
- Commercial use: Illegal in U.S.
- Flight time: 1 hour
- Payload: 1.5kg payload (likely to be legally limited to 500g in U.S.)
- Top wind speed: 18mph
- Range: 10km (line of site must be maintained)
- Max altitude: 450 ft (legal limit)
- Price: $300 ready to fly
- Commercial use: Legal
- Flight time: Dusk to dawn continuous
- Payload: balloon: 1kg, kites: 1-5kg
- Top wind speed: Balloon: 10mph, low-wind kite: 5-15mph, high-wind kite:10-30mph
- Range: Ground obstruction dependent
- Max altitude: 500-5,000 ft (150-1500m) (check your jurisdiction).
Resilience in the field
My homemade kites have four materials: wood, string, tape and tyvek. I don't need spare specialty components or fuel, and local substitute materials are always available. Commercial kites can be patched with tape, fixed with a needle and thread, and made with a sewing machine. Even very durable drones will eventually break some part that must be sourced from a manufacturer, while excellent kites can be made entirely out of sticks and leaves.
Research and Development
While drone development can involve computer programming and precision manufacturing, kites and balloons have been around for centuries, and almost everything I've wanted to do has already been done and documented. Even though billions are being spent on drone development, kite lovers are staying competitive with very little professional research.
For example, the Internet's large KAP community continues to investigate off-wind flying techniques in use by kite fishermen for 20-plus years. Photography kites were very advanced a century ago, and while contemporary kites are made from far better materials, the payload stabilization and ascension techniques used back then were often more advanced than current techniques.
Conclusion and Resources
Kites and balloons are people-friendly, kid-ready, fun, easy, cheap, and accessible methods for getting map imagery and encouraging dialogue and transparency. They help make mapping what it should be -- a fun thing people do, rather than a scary thing that gets done to them.
- Kite & Balloon Mapping at the Public Laboratory
- Kite Aerial Photography Forums
- West Lothian Archaeological Society
- Academic papers on Kites
- Pigeon Photography
Mathew lives in Portland, Ore., where he works on design issues in sanitation through the Cloacina Project, is faculty at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, and designs civic science tools as a founding member of the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science. | <urn:uuid:8f236232-9883-4222-8283-195cfd6d1096> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2013/01/mapping-with-kites-in-the-age-of-drones024.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939588 | 1,362 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Oct 19 2011
Alternative Fuel Do The Pros Outweigh The Disadvantages
This article is being brought to all by a website specializing in Travelocity Coupons. If you want, you may see their site by clicking the links. We hope you enjoy the content below.
Adopting a green lifestyle is all about changing the environment for the better. One terrific method of getting this done is through the usse of alternative sources of fuel. It’s very common to find individuals who can give you a lot of reasons why you should utilize alternative fuels just like they do. Likewise, there are people who dislike using alternative fuels and can give you a lot of reasons why you should not use them.
You’ll be hard pressed to contradict the fact that alternative fuels are beneficial for the environment as they burn much more cleanly than gas. Global warming and health problems are a few of the problems that have developed as a result of our contaminated environment, and we need to face these issues by making different choices. Who is it that must decide what is good for the environment, and are the the masses willing to do what is required or does it have to be forced on them for their own good?
Whenever a person decides to get a car that is powered by alternative fuel, fewer pollutants are released into the atmosphere, and this is good for the planet. Alternative fuel cars, specifically hybrids, obtain significantly better gas mileage. In the case of numerous drivers, this can have a very positive effect. Because the government is aware that there are reasons why folks won’t buy alternative fuel cars, they are using tax incentives to get more people to buy them. The planet will gain from folks driving these vehicles and the people themselves will be able to benefit from the tax breaks.
While saving money on taxes is a terrific incentive, many people are still unwilling to purchase alternative fuel automobbiles. For one, even taking into consideration available tax incentives, these cars are rather expensive. The expense is substantial and many people simply do not have the means to pay for them. Another huge downside of alternative fuel automobiles is the availability of the various fuels. Many types of alternative fuels are very hard to locate even though you can easily find E85 fuel, which is a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Even E85 fuel is not available in huge quantities and so people usually need to drive long distances just to get fuel for their cars.
No doubt folks will continue to argue the pros and cons for many years to come. Although we have to consider the unknown risks to people’s health, the average individual doesn’t spend much time thinking about possible health risks from pollution. Your level of commitment to preserving the earth will determine which side you end up on. If this type of car can protect our environment from pollution, you will be ready to purchase one. | <urn:uuid:7379ec1c-110f-4752-8fa6-3daa9e5c7124> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.everythingaria.com/date/2011/10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966867 | 584 | 2.046875 | 2 |
What You Should Know
The Yogurt Diet is a diet that capitalizes on the health benefits of yogurt to help people lose weight and get in better shape. There is little information based on the Yogurt Diet for the sake of this review, but what information we have will serve you well in deciding if this diet is for you.
List of Ingredients
Not only is Yogurt low in fat and high in protein, it also helps promote healthy digestion because of the live and active cultures that are used in its production. Research is pointing to the fact that diary and milk products will promote weight loss, though this research has yet to be shown conclusive. Yogurt helps those who are lactose intolerant to still be able to have dairy products in their diet. Though the diet website does not provide much information and claims that people can lose as much as ten pounds in two weeks, it is safe to assume that this done through the inclusion of low fat and high protein foods.
- Yogurt may promote fat loss.
- Does recognize the benefits of a supplement that has been proven to assist with weight loss with a fat burner and appetite suppressant.
- Details of the program are unavailable.
- No satisfaction guarantee.
- No user testimonials are available.
The lack of information available on this program certainly makes the program difficult to review. This, however, does not mean there is no hope for dieters. Any diet you embark on should most definitely include a balanced diet with plenty of water intake to keep you hydrated. Of course a decent amount of aerobic exercise and strength training should be included in the routine to not only help you lose weight but to help you get into better shape. If you are looking for a boost, choose a proven weight loss supplement that includes an appetite suppressant and fat burners to help address all aspects of weight loss. | <urn:uuid:fb6edebc-efdb-4553-b24e-04a348fa5e60> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dietspotlight.com/yogurt-diet-review/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95948 | 378 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Economic progress in Mexico has been underscored of late by the expansion of its industrial sector in 2011. The country’s exports reached an all time high thanks in part to a faster-than-expected recovery in the US, a market to which approximately 80% of all Mexican exports are destined. It is hoped an expansion in industrial capacity, with a focus on high-tech, value-added manufacturing, will reduce Mexico’s reliance on the US. Coupled with the country’s extensive list of free trade agreements (FTAs) involving some 44 countries, the most prominent of which is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the country will develop the internal supply chain and evolve the manufacturing industry away from its “maquiladora” origins.
The country’s GDP came in at $1.15 trillion in 2011, according to IMF estimates. Thanks in part to its liberalized trade policy, “foreign trade now represents around 60% of Mexico’s GDP,” Bruno Ferrari García de Alba, Secretary of Economy, told TBY. In terms of Mexico’s changing economic dynamics, this is a large increase from the 25% share foreign trade represented in GDP in the early 1990s. Exports reached a record high of almost $350 billion in 2011, up 17% on 2010, according to official figures and statistics. This is a continuing growth trend that saw the expand by grow 30% in 2010, “clearly showing that exports have been the main driver of the economy and its recovery,” José Antonio Ardavín, Director of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD)in Mexico, told TBY. The country now runs a current account deficit, although it is a modest $1.2 billion, with the majority of imports filling in gaps in the internal supply chain.
Weaknesses in the sector stem from the country’s reliance on oil exports for income, as 33% of the federal budget is sourced from the industry. Although the country is the world’s 12th largest economy, its nominal GDP per capita sits only slightly above the global average, at $10,153. UN statistics “show that 45% of the population, or 49 million people, are living below the relative poverty line,” said Kai Bethke, Regional Director for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean at UNIDO. The government’s push for high-tech industries, including electronics, the automotive sector, and the aerospace industry could kill two birds with one stone, effectively lowering the country’s sensitivity to US demand while also boosting employment and the rate of domestic consumption.
Unemployment currently stands at 4.9%, and inflation sits at a reasonable 3.8%, the lowest rate in over a year as capital inflows strengthen the peso, countering rising commodity prices. Indeed, the country attracted $19.4 billion in FDI in 2011, just under the $20.2 billion registered in 2010. In parallel to development in the country’s industrial base, the government has also poured attention on the country’s transport infrastructure. Inaugurated in 2012, the Baluarte Bicentennial Bridge is surely the crown jewel of Mexico’s road network, and the tallest cable-stayed bridge in the world. Through the construction of 19,000 kilometers of road, it is hoped that the new coast-to-coast connection will open up new areas of the country to economic development, while also promoting the nation as a trans-oceanic link.
While the Mexican industrial sector makes headlines, having grown to represent approximately 35% of GDP as compared to 31% in 2001, the services sector still represents over 60% of GDP, and agriculture around 4%, according to World Bank data. The hydrocarbon industry, a significant part of the national economy, has also ramped up its activities in recent years, with more than five fold growth in exploration between 2001 and 2012. While the country has 43.1 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, and 691 trillion cubic feet of technically retrievable shale gas, renewable and clean energy is also at the forefront of the Calderón administration’s agenda. Yet, 74% of the country’s electricity generation capacity still relies on oil and gas.
The manufacturing sector, meanwhile, is led by the automotive industry, which accounts for 20% of industrial value. The aerospace industry is working fast to play catch up, though, employing 30,000 people, just under a quarter of the number the automotive sector employs. Growth has been rapid. “Our aerospace industry was almost non-existent a decade ago, but has quadrupled since 2005,” said Carlos Guzmán Bofill, Director General & CEO of ProMéxico. “Industry also experienced 19% compound annual growth for the past seven years,” said Guzmán. “In fact, a plane with Mexican technology takes off every two seconds.”
The private sector is also thriving outside of the industrial sector, and competition has expanded in recent years in seaports, railroads, airports, telecommunications, electricity generation, and natural gas distribution. The National Infrastructure Program (NIP) is a core plan to develop the country’s transport infrastructure. A number of megaprojects have punctuated Mexico’s journey to increase its international competitiveness as a transit hub, including the Durango-Mazatlán highway, a key connector in a corridor linking the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as 115 bridges, including the cable-stayed Baluarte Bicentennial Bridge. The sector has grown in part thanks to the government’s commitment to public-private partnership (PPP) schemes, and the private sector invested more than $22 billion in transport infrastructure between 2007 and 2011.
The construction sector benefitted from the public sector’s commitment to infrastructure in 2011, continuing its recovery from the trough it was in following the 2008 liquidity crisis. In fact, the sector was back in the black following 20 months in the red, growing by 5.1% in 2011, reaching a value of $70 billion. Projects belonging to PEMEX, the state-owned oil and gas operator, accounted for 48% of this value, while the building of housing and multi-use developments represented 16%, and highway construction 12%. In the housing arena, “social” mortgage lenders Infonavit and FOVISSSTE issue six out of every 10 mortgages, and CONAVI, founded in 2005, has also sought to make housing accessible to lower-income segments. Today, “22% of Mexicans live in a dwelling financed by Infonavit,” Víctor Manuel Borrás Setién, Director General of Infonavit, told TBY. Efforts are being stepped up to get even more lower-income families into quality housing, yet a large informal sector still leaves many outside the reach of lenders like Infonavit and contributes to income inequality.
In terms of public priority, the state budget for 2012 calls for $298.3 billion in spending, up 7.9% over 2010, including a deficit of around 2.8% of GDP, according to DOF. While education, highways, agriculture support, and federal revenues received a boost, a freeze was implemented on government hiring—except for law enforcement—as well as wages for mid- and senior-level civil servants, in a nod to global calls for austerity. Spending projects, as well as revenue estimates, are based on the expectation that GDP will grow by 3.6% in 2012, according to Banco de México.
Of Mexico’s over $350 billion in exports, 80% is destined for the US while 90% is carried out under the country’s numerous FTAs, of which NAFTA remains the most significant. While it is hoped that the development of high-tech industries and a more comprehensive supply chain will lessen the country’s reliance on US economic performance, UNIDO’s Bethke notes that, “Mexico’s greatest advantage is also its greatest weakness, namely its proximity to the US.” However, “the US is still the largest economy in the world, and even if it falls to number two, it will still remain a big buyer.”
Mexico is currently the largest exporter in Latin America, exporting more than Brazil and Argentina combined. Diversifying export markets, though, still remains a priority. “We are looking toward Latin America, Africa, Asia, and some European countries,” said ProMéxico’s Guzmán.
The automotive sector remains one of the largest exporters, with 2.1 million of the 2.7 million units produced in the country exported. Of that figure, 63.5% was destined for the US market in 2011, 15% for Latin America, and 7.4% for Canada. Europe, which is in the sights of the Mexican administration in terms of increasing exports, accounted for just 10.3%. The Secretariat of Economy doesn’t, however, seem to be resting on its laurels, and through the Manufacturing, and Export Services Industries Program (IMMEX) it has gathered almost 7,000 enterprises with the aim of enhancing the export and import process, “hence creating business opportunities, increasing investment flows, and generating better-paid jobs,” said Ferrari.
Mexico’s FDI pull must also not be underestimated, with $19.4 billion attracted in 2011, down slightly by 9.7% over 2010, which had seen a jump from the $17.7 billion invested in 2009. The country has yet to return to the highs of the 2004-2008 period, when an average $24.2 billion was registered, due to slower growth in the US, as well as a crackdown on drug cartels, which has put off some because of security concerns. With Mexico ready to enter an election year in 2012, business leaders will be watching with interest to see where the Mexican story will move next.
© The Business Year | <urn:uuid:26a4a678-aa9e-4abf-a728-c7e727f1c50b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thebusinessyear.com/publication/article/12/880/mexico-2012/the-making-of-el-dorado | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950335 | 2,101 | 2.578125 | 3 |
OK guys! Lots of people have been asking me to ‘really open up’ and dissect what makes one of my locally famous vegetable cakes. 2 cups of coffee & 3 valiums later he we go (and it’s only Sunday morning!).
Left Over Mash Cake Eggless
- 1 x chocolate packet cake mix
- 2 cups of cold mashed root vegetables
- Take the dry packet cake mix, add the root vegetables & nothing else!
Bake in a greased & floured or baking papered cake tray in a moderate oven, -180C. Then check on it once it starts to become fragrant. Somewhere between 35-45mins usually. When it bounces back nicely in the centre or an inserted skewer comes out clean, it’s ready. Let it cool then eat this incredibly rich & dense cake!
Left Over Mash Cake Inc Eggs
If you have eggs you want to use or are wanting a more risen, slightly more spongy version of the above cake, just add 2 eggs. Voila!
I take a lovely ripe avocado, mash it then add in 2tblsps of raw cacao powder & heaps of sifted icing sugar until it becomes the consistency of Icing. Yum. When I’m either broke or lazy I just use coco powder. Add more chocolate powder to get it to a colour you like. This icing will be enjoyed by all but only if it’s brown. Bright green icing makes people turn their noses. Experiment! Maybe you want to add a little coffee or vanilla essence or lemon rind!
THEN sometimes I make Chocolate Cake following all normal recipe instructions except adding in my own twist: 1 cup of grated veges with their liquid squeezed out. If the recipe calls for water perhaps you could use the squeezed out nutrient filled water from the veges. You can removed water from zucchini, carrot, beetroot and spinach easily by squeezing it in fist over a bowl* or by placing the veges in a colander and pushing down on them with the palm of your hand. If you don’t remove the water from the vegetables it’s just like adding extra water to your recipe - we don’t want that!
Truthfully though, it’s kinda just a fun kitchen experiment :D You’re cake may not win awards but it’ll be yummy! And eating it cold is when you’re less likely to taste the flavours of the vegetable. Have fun!
Oh and the above are pictures are from my own cake. YUUUUUUM.
*These vegetable juices are good for you! If you don’t feel like drinking them, instead of discarding them, at least give them to your favourite plant.
Given that I am becoming one of those people who puts extra veggies in everything - even in dishes they don’t really belong - I think this is the next step. The ‘chicken’ dish currently sitting on my stove has eight different kinds of vegetables in it, just because I felt like it. | <urn:uuid:a100992a-eae3-4d9d-be26-c62fc6b97d18> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uppity-minx.tumblr.com/post/16276254670/theminutespodcast-ok-guys-lots-of-people-have | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92828 | 645 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Identification Card Printers Education and Training
Make identification card printers education and training a priority for improving your securityIf you are a small business that requires the use of an ID card printer, then you are in need of identification card printers education and training resources for your employees. ID cards can be used in many capacities. You can use them to simply identify a person, or provide a convenient method of making purchases. By understanding the full capability of your ID printer, you can take full advantage of your investment.
Training for a printer for making ID cards can take many formats, from written tutorials to industry articles. To achieve business success, you as a business owner should consider education and training a priority. Additionally, it would be wise to make ongoing training for identification card printers a necessary requirement for the following reasons:
1. Printers for creating identification cards are continually improved, so you would do well to mandate ongoing training if you decide to upgrade your machines.
2. If you are using ID cards for security purposes, you should endeavor to stay current with up-to-date identification card printers tips and techniques.
3. If your employees are not skilled in using a certain identification card printer, not only will product be damaged, but so will your profits and reputation.
Check out the training available for photo ID card printers before adding it to your program
Mandate a continuing training policy for printing ID cardsContinued training for your employees does not have to be an expensive policy since there are many free resources available online. Valuable information can be found on professional websites, as well as from peers in the same line of business. The size of the resource is not as important as how valuable or helpful the techniques are.
Stay abreast of the latest techniques in ID card makingIf you want your business to compete in its industry, you need to stay current in your equipment, knowledge and skill. This means continually looking up relevant resources so you are familiar with every aspect of your business.
- As your business grows, consider allocating the responsibility of researching educational resources for making ID cards to one individual or department.
Copyright © 2013 Business.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:ba1f8d30-de3f-44b3-a51b-63f5188a0b5f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.business.com/guides/Identification-Card-Printers-Education-and-Training-29133/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941627 | 443 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2004 December 13
Explanation: A comet discovered only this summer is brightening quickly and already visible to the unaided eye. Comet C/2004 Q2 (Machholz) is currently best visible in Earth's Southern Hemisphere where some observers report it brighter than magnitude 5. The comet is moving rapidly to northern skies and should continue to brighten until early January. By coincidence, Comet Machholz will be easy to view as it will be nearly opposite the Sun when appearing its brightest. How bright Comet Machholz will become then remains uncertain, but it will surely stay in northern skies for much of 2005, even approaching Polaris in early March. Pictured above, Comet Machholz was captured in early December already sporting a bright surrounding coma, a white oblong dust tail fading off toward the bottom, and a long wispy ion tail toward the right with a kink near the end.
Authors & editors:
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U. | <urn:uuid:b651e1be-cd9b-4697-961a-4590f380d3a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap041213.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916443 | 264 | 3.625 | 4 |
How do you fix a dry, flaky, itchy scalp? Very simply, just shampoo it. What do flakes represent, whether they’re on your face or on your scalp? Flakes represent large clumps of dead cells. Normally, as your skin matures, and the dead cells fall off, they fall off in very tiny, microscopic cells. You can’t see them. But when they come off prematurely, before they have a chance to separate one from the other, then they come off in clumps, and these clumps are recognized as flakes. And flaking is actually usually caused by inflammation, not by dryness, so what does flaking from the scalp represent? It’s actually dandruff, and dandruff is the result of inflammation from excess oil. The excess oil on the bottom of the scalp causes inflammation and that results in a little bit of redness, a little bit of swelling, and actually the skin is then shed prematurely in these flakes. How do we control this inflammation and the oil imbalance? Very simply, by shampooing. Start with your regular shampoo. Shampoo every day. Lather up for a minute, rinse it out. Lather up for another minute. And don’t be concerned that you’re going to cause dryness in your scalp because the flaking that you see, it’s not dryness, it’s really inflammation. If your regular shampoo doesn’t do the trick after about two weeks, then try a medicated shampoo. There are many over-the-counter medicated shampoos that work. They are aesthetically elegant. They often contain either tar, salicylic acid, selenium or zinc. Again, give them two weeks and, if that doesn’t solve your problem of dry, flaking or itching in your scalp, it’s time to see your dermatologist who will prescribe topical medications to control your problem. | <urn:uuid:4c79f7ce-8767-4416-b58c-956a57007a7b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dermtv.com/how-soothe-and-repair-itchy-and-flaky-scalp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941622 | 405 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Fiji’s Sisi Initiative Site Support Group was recently celebrated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with an award ceremony in the Natewa Tunuloa Important Bird Area for winning their Equator Prize 2012. During the ceremony Sisi announced how their community protected forest is benefiting their fisheries, and how they are also starting an ambitious new project in their IBA.
The prestigious Equator Prize recognizes innovation and leadership in community-based sustainable development approaches.
This week, the UNDP Resident Representative Akiko Fujii handed the award over to Sisi Initiative members from the districts of Natewa and Tunuloa. While handing over the award at Vosasivo Village in Natewa, she said the achievement by the group had been outstanding.
“I am very grateful to be here in the districts to hand over the award to a very hardworking committee that involves a group of youths from the villages,” Ms Fujii said.
The Sisi Initiative is one of 25 community initiatives that received the prize this year from around the globe, selected from 812 nominations submitted by communities in 113 countries.
Speaking at the award ceremony, the Assistant Roko for Cakaudrove, Anare Drauna said: “the Award [Equator Prize 2012] is a big achievement for Sisi Initiative Site Support Group and it has opened doors for the benefit of the Natewa Tunuloa District. Not only has it put the district on the global map but Fiji as a whole.”
The Natewa Tunuloa Peninsula was designated an IBA by BirdLife International in 2005 as it supports an unique assemblage of endemic birds and is a habitat of the Fiji Silktail (known as Sisi in Fijian). The Sisi Initiative received a boost from the Small Grants Programme (SGP) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) when BirdLife International’s Pacific Partnership Secretariat received a grant to assist in the conservation activities on the peninsula.
The Sisi Initiative SSG has established a 6000 +hectare community managed forest and developed alternative livelihood options for the area’s indigenous landowners.
Last week, during the awards ceremony, the villagers announced that they have seen a vast change in their fishing ground as a result of the community managed forest which has reduced the flow of siltation to the qoliqoli (traditional fishing ground).
“We have seen a big difference to our qoliqoli,” Naqaravutu Village Ecotourism Project Coordinator Petero Qaloibau said. “There are a lot of fish and the sizes are bigger as well”.
“The seafood … we once thought were almost extinct are in abundant supply now and we are grateful to the other villagers and traditional leaders for their support,” he said. He said villagers, at one stage, had to go out further to sea to fish for their meals. “That has now changed because we are preserving our forests and we have seen a big difference with our qoliqoli having so much fish and seafood in it.”
Sisi Initiative SSG is not stopping there and are once again on the global conservation map. Natewa Tunuloa IBA has been selected by the UNDP to be one of ten pilot sites around the world promoting sustainable landscapes as part of a two-year project entitled: Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative or “COMDEKS” for short.
COMDEKS has been designed to collect and disseminate knowledge and experiences from successful on-the-ground actions for replication and up-scaling in other parts of the world.
In Natewa Tunuloa, Sisi Initiative and BirdLife Pacific Secretariat have just recently completed a baseline assessment of the IBA. “This will provide information about the current state of the landscape, and will be instrumental for the development and finalization of a COMDEKS Country Programme Landscape Strategy”, said Miliana Ravuso of the BirdLife Pacific Secretariat.
“The assessment builds on work that has been carried out at the site by BirdLife International, and more importantly the outcomes of the baseline assessment will assist communities to develop project concepts with activities to maintain and rebuild socio-ecological production landscapes.”
COMDEKS is a UNDP initiative in partnership with the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ), the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), and the United Nations University (UNU). | <urn:uuid:1808954e-d397-4f02-9dbb-d3607565d7b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.birdlife.org/community/2013/03/empowering-local-communities-in-fiji/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948229 | 936 | 1.695313 | 2 |
A collection of news and information related to Healthy Diet published by this site and its partners.
Displaying items 1-12 of 1885 » View wdbj7.com items only1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11-158 Next >
Reporter/Lynchburg Bureau ChiefSome Bedford County students are growing food to feed themselves and their neighbors. Huddleston Elementary School is starting a community garden. Agriculture students from Staunton River High School were on hand Friday morning to help second graders...
WDBJ7 ReporterMore people than ever are on food stamps, but sometimes that help isn't used for the heathiest of foods. In fact, studies show poverty and obesity are intertwined. Locally, organizations are trying to do something about it. The Roanoke Natural Foods...
WDBJ7 ReporterA hot meal is something most of us take for granted. But there's a good chance some people in your hometown are hungry and don't have food to eat. Today, the U-S Department of Agriculture announced plans to expand StrikeForce. Virginia is one of ten...
ReporterHealthy nutrition was on the mind of Miss Virginia Thursday, as she visited with students in Roanoke. Rosemary Willis spent the day at James Madison Middle School, where she joined Carilion Catering Chef Darla Mehrkens for a monthly class focused on...
WDBJ7 ReporterCancer doesn't discriminate. It attacks people of all ages. And research shows, you are more likely to get some forms of the disease as you get older. A group of senior citizens in Danville with cancer is fighting to get healthy and live longer....
WDBJ7 Multimedia JournalistThe American Culinary Federation (ACF) Southwestern Virginia Chapter presents the First Annual Chocolate Sunday Festival. The event will offer free samples of chocolate-inspired delicacies from area vendors. Local and nationally recognized chefs...
WDBJ7 ReporterGetting healthy doesn't have an age requirement. Preschoolers in Danville are learning the importance of exercise by swimming. To a four year old, playing in the water is the best way to have fun anytime of year. In this class, it's purpose has...
Tags: Obesity, YMCA, Weight, Swimming, Overweight
WDBJ7 anchor/reporter"Put on a coat before going outsideor you're going to get sick!"Most of us remember hearing this warning as children. Unfortunately, moms all over were wrong about this one. The truth is, what you wear when it's cold, has no bearing on whether you get a...
WDBJ7 Multimedia JournalistUSA.gov listed some of the most popular New Year's resolutions. Here are the top ten: Lose weight, quit smoking, save money, manage stress, manage debt, take a trip, drink less alcohol, volunteer to help others, eat healthy, and reduce, reuse and...
WDBJ7 BloggerFor most of us on Thanksgiving, we did NOT prepare the food. How can we eat right when the food is so wrong? The scavenger hunt of the healthy food at the buffet table! Most veggies on Thanksgiving are prepared in a lot of fat, ton of sodium and don't...
Tags: Holidays, Thanksgiving
Reporter/Lynchburg Bureau ChiefA Lynchburg non-profit is making sure kids have healthy food to eat, no matter where they are. The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is getting ready to start its annual "Back Pack" program. More than 500 children in the Lynchburg area will get bags of food...
May 3, 2013 |Story| WDBJ7
Mar 28, 2013 |Story| WDBJ7
Mar 26, 2013 |Story| WDBJ7
Mar 21, 2013 |Story| WDBJ7
Mar 13, 2013 |Story| WDBJ7
Mar 8, 2013 |Story| WDBJ7
Feb 22, 2013 |Story| WDBJ7
Feb 14, 2013 |Story| WDBJ7
Feb 8, 2013 |Story| WDBJ7
Dec 27, 2012 |Story| WDBJ7
Nov 21, 2012 |Story| WDBJ7
Oct 4, 2012 |Story| WDBJ7
Original site for Healthy Diet topic gallery. | <urn:uuid:3ee815ab-f969-465f-b4bc-1bad0b4f1d1e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wdbj7.com/topic/health/diets-dieting/healthy-diet-HEDI000014.topic?page=1&sortby=taxrankprof | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945548 | 895 | 1.929688 | 2 |
To provide a method for recycling a foamed polystyrene resin by which the foamed polystyrene resin can be recycled without causing deterioration by heat and an apparatus for recycling treatment used for practicing the method for recycling.
A molded product of the foamed polystyrene such as a tray for foods is charged into a volume reducing solvent to provide a viscous material, which is then charged into a separator 2 while being stirred. Steam is added from an addition means 23 to the separator 2 to evaporate and separate the volume reducing agent and water from the viscous material at a lower temperature than that of the volume reducing agent by an azeotropic phenomenon. During the process, the viscous material is cut with a finely dividing means 22 such as a cutter in the separator 2. The volume reducing agent and water are respectively recovered from the mixed evaporated material of the evaporated and separated volume reducing agent and water and reutilized for recycling treatment. | <urn:uuid:937d6e1e-01ae-4661-bd96-c15685006acb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sumobrain.com/patents/jp/Method-recycling-foamed-polystyrene-resin/JP2001342287.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935778 | 195 | 2.046875 | 2 |
In the ancient times physical and mental perfection were idealized. Disability, although common at this time, was viewed as a mark of inferiority. In Ancient Greece, children with deformities were often left out in the weather to die. This practice was called “exposing” and was very common. The philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C) recommended that there should be a law “to prevent the rearing of deformed children.” In his Politics, he wrote, “As to the exposure and rearing of children, let there be a law that no deformed child shall live.”
During Protestant Reformation, which began in 1517, we see persons with developmental disabilities treated as anything but human. Martin Luther (1483-1546) denounced children and adults with mental retardation as “filled with Satan.” Luther advised that children with severe mental retardation should be drowned. He described them as a mass of flesh with no soul. The church most often viewed people with disabilities as sinners and believed either the person or family had sinned against God.
Between 1563 and 1601, things began change slightly for the disabled when Queen Elizabeth of England passed a series of laws requiring the state to take care of the “poor and disadvantaged.” Basic care was provided for the poor who were unable to work. Almshouses (or poor houses) were established for elderly poor people. Workhouses were built for vagrants who refused to work. Many with disabilities were placed in almshouses or workhouses, where the conditions were pretty horrifying.
Sometime in the early 1800s disabilities finally began to be viewed by some as a medical issue. Because of this, the disabled were often the subjects of dangerous experiments. Philip Pinel (1745-1826), a leading French psychiatrist of his day, was the first to say that the “mentally deranged” were diseased rather than sinful or immoral. He practiced gentle treatment and patience rather than using physical abuse and chains on hospital patients. This was pretty radical thinking at the time.
Also in the 1800s, social reformer Doretha Dix lobbied state legislatures on behalf of the indigent insane and created the first generation of American mental asylums. During that same time, Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe (1801-1876), who was the director of the Perkins School for the Blind, established the Massachusetts School for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Youth in 1848, an experimental boarding school in South Boston for youth with mental retardation.
As institutions grew in size and number, superintendents competed with one another to maintain the largest, most self-sufficient facilities. This led to institutions with over 6,000 people by the 1960s. Many of these schools began to grow their own food in order to become more self-sufficient and put less drain on society.
With the Civil Rights Act of 1964 much attention was brought to minorities including the disabled. Since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, society’s views have changed as to how we need to accommodate and treat citizens with disabilities. In the process, we have discovered that an accessible society benefits more than just the disabled population. Curb cuts designed for wheelchair users are also used by people with stroller, delivery people, skateboarders, etc. Ramps and elevators make access easier for many people and not just wheelchair users.
We have made great progress in educating those with special needs. No longer do we place these children in homes or institutions but we include them in regular education classrooms instead. This is called inclusion. Today we see inclusion not only in the classroom but also in sports teams, social organizations, churches and in just about every aspect of life.
We’ve come a long way in our thinking about the treatment of people with disabilities. However, that doesn’t mean our work is done. Injustices and prejudices still exist today. We as a society still have much work to do to ensure all people are treated fairly and have equal opportunity regardless of the disability a person may have.
REFERENCES: accessiblesociety.org; hss.state.ak.us/gcdse/history/; wikipedia.org
Pam Rasmussen is a resident of LaFayette. She is the mother of a child with spina bifida and an advocate of special needs children and adults. She can be contacted at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:62f10bb4-90e8-45a0-8a17-c6b9238354cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.catoosanews.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Column+by+Pam+Rasmussen-+No+good+old+days+for+the+disabled%20&id=21077780&instance=news_special_coverage_right_column | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979781 | 930 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Camping gear, camera equipment and dry gin.
Local photographer Julian Charles rode 3,300 miles on a Triumph Tiger motorcycle with little more than that strapped to the bike.
Charles traveled from Elkin to the Glacier National Park in Montana to have a high ball and bring awareness about how changing weather climates are affecting glaciers though a photographic exhibition.
“The idea of the ‘Ice and Slice’ came up as a name to hang on the trip to make it a bit more fun,” Charles said. “The whole subject of climate change can be heavy, so Ice and Slice was me taking a tumbler, a lemon and a mini dry gin and tonic and transporting it across America to find some ice to put in my drink. Once I got the ice I made a toast to the last of the great glaciers.”
When Glacier National Park opened in 1850, there were 150 glaciers. Today there are 22, Charles said.
“It helps bring the message home of how climate is changing really quickly,” he said. “There have been predictions that all the glaciers in the park will be gone in another 30 years.”
Charles traveled from Elkin to Montana on motorbike for five days, riding about 3,300 miles. He then parked his bike and hiked through the back country for three days; taking pictures and exploring the glaciers. His original plan was to photograph glaciers in Greenland but went to Glacier National Park as a plan B.
“This is a problem right at our door step,” he said. “The landscapes in the Alpine are changing very quickly. Glacier National Park does a good job of showing that.”
Along with exploring the glaciers, Charles was able see the United States, as well as experience climate change first hand, while traveling for five days on motorbike.
“It was so incredibly hot the first three days and four states were experiencing record high temperatures. It was 112 in South Dakota,” he said. “I was hit with huge hail, torrential rain and lightning strikes too close to for comfort. I also came across several wild fires. That journey, with high temperatures and increased severe weather activity, was a good example of how quickly things are changing if you just look out your window.”
Before leaving, Charles had a rough idea of the route he wanted to take, going day by day and using a map. He went through the Smoky Mountains, the Black Mountains and the Badlands. With limited space, he brought his camera, mailed his hiking gear to the park before leaving and had his camping gear to set up camp each night.
“You have to be pretty frugal with the equipment you take,” he said. “You have to consider the extreme weather you may face on a bike, so you have to travel pretty light.”
Though the weather was uncomfortable, Charles chose to ride a motorcycle to interact more with his surroundings. If he had more time, he would have cycled instead, he said.
“I’ve always enjoyed riding on a motorbike. It beats flying or driving a car,” Charles said. “You get to smell the mountain air and be more involved in your environment. I also got 50 miles to the gallon with gas on my Tiger.”
Charles expects to be back in Elkin on August 17, and will be showing his photos from the exhibition when he returns.
Reach Jessica Pickens at 835-1513 ext. 18 or email@example.com | <urn:uuid:5f5d9b38-db82-46ad-a60e-2a8bf40271ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://elkintribune.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Making+a+toast+to+the+last+of+the+glaciers%20&id=19788102 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975824 | 747 | 2.140625 | 2 |
No Dirty Gold: This Valentine's Day, Say No to Gold That's Mined at the Expense of the Environment and Workers
Stay up to date with the latest headlines via email.
Thinking of giving your sweetheart gold jewelry for Valentine's Day? You might want to first know what goes into making it. Extracting enough gold for one ring takes an average of two pounds of cyanide (a teaspoon will kill you). Processing the gold in one ring uses over 1,400 gallons of water, enough to meet the daily needs of 100 people. Left behind is a toxic sludge containing heavy metals, cyanide compounds, and arsenic. Each gold ring produces an average of 20 tons of waste - millions of tons over the life of a mine.
Producing gold can also come at great human cost. Mines are often imposed on communities that don't want them, and cause communities to lose their lands and livelihoods. Human costs also include the use of child labor in mines in Mali, dangerous conditions in mines in Ghana, and armed violence and human rights violations that have been linked to gold mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Seven years ago, the No Dirty Gold campaign called on jewelers to stop using gold produced in irresponsible ways. The campaign focused on jewelry because it is the primary end use of gold, accounting for some 80 percent of the annual mine production. More than 100,000 people have since signed the No Dirty Gold pledge to demand that companies not sell gold produced at the expense of communities, workers, and the environment. Over 70 jewelers have signed on to the Golden Rules for responsible sourcing of gold and precious metals. By signing they have sent a clear message to their suppliers about their desire for more responsibly produced metals. They have committed to seeking out responsible sources and independent verification of sourcing claims, and to increasing their use of recycled gold.
Over 50 jewelers have also pledged to protect the world's most valuable wild sockeye salmon fishery from an irresponsible mine project. At the request of the commercial fishing and indigenous communities of Bristol Bay, Alaska, they have promised not to use gold from the proposed Pebble mine. If built, Pebble would be the largest open-pit mine in North America, and would dump up to 10 billion tons of toxic waste at the headwaters ofBristol Bay.
Many jewelry companies have taken important steps in the right direction, but others, like Target, have turned a blind eye. Some jewelers have been so anxious to reassure their customers that they can shop without hurting their conscience that they have done so without any guarantee that the jewelry is actually being produced in more responsible ways.
Take Walmart. No Dirty Gold has commended Walmart for being the first Big Box retailer to sign the Golden Rules, and for taking steps to track its supply chain. But in its haste to launch a "green" jewelry line, Walmart made claims that were not accurate. Last month, an investigation for New Times by Jean Friedman-Rodovsky exposed the truth behind Walmart's 'Love, Earth' line of jewelry, revealing that it comes at a great cost to workers in Bolivia and to the environment and communities around mines in the United States.
Another example of PR claims without meaningful change is the mining and jewelry industry-led Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC). This is a trade association ostensibly concerned about social and environmental issues throughout the gold and diamonds supply chain. But its members do not include affected communities, mining unions or public interest groups.
The system as it is currently structured doesn't move us any closer to more responsible mining.
Communities and places affected by mining deserve meaningful changes that improve real conditions on the ground. One step in the right direction is the recent set of rules drafted by the Securities and Exchange Commission requiring companies traded on U.S. stock exchanges to determine if they are using gold from conflict mines in the Congo. An initiative to develop standards and an independent verification process for gold and other metals is now underway - and this effort, the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance or IRMA, includes both civil society and corporate participants.
Consumers care about their purchases and want to be assured that their gold jewelry or cell phone did not come at the cost of human rights or the environment. Jewelry companies should support transparency and truly independent verification of the metals supply chain, and insist that their suppliers provide them with cleaner alternatives to "dirty" gold. Now that's an idea we could grow to love. | <urn:uuid:3cfc74be-806c-4bf3-a770-803f4b5f780b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alternet.org/story/149888/no_dirty_gold%3A_this_valentine's_day%2C_say_no_to_gold_that's_mined_at_the_expense_of_the_environment_and_workers?paging=off | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958973 | 904 | 3.109375 | 3 |
UC Davis News Service
January 20, 2004
Twelve days after a puma killed one person and hurt another in Southern California, researchers at the University of California, Davis today released the most intensive scientific assessment to date of the complex relationships between pumas and people on the expanding urban fringe.
The report details the lives of 20 pumas straddling two worlds--one a popular state park rich with natural prey but shared with a half-million hikers, bikers, campers and horse riders, and the other woodsy communities where cats, dogs, chickens, pigs, goats and alpacas are easy pickings but eating one can get a puma killed.
From those details, the researchers make recommendations to help pumas and humans co-exist--recommendations that should be useful as dangerous encounters increase throughout the American West.
" Mountain lions inspire a range emotions including fear, awe, anger and wonder," said study leader Walter Boyce, director of the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center. "This study is designed to provide objective information so that people can make decisions and take actions based on facts rather than emotions."
The report summarizes the first three years of the Southern California Puma Project, a long-term research study conducted by UC Davis for California State Parks in and around Cuyamaca Rancho State Park in San Diego County. The park is located 75 miles south of the site of the two puma attacks January 8 in Orange County.
The report was written by a team of UC Davis researchers led by Boyce, a wildlife veterinarian and researcher. The UC Davis team worked in close collaboration with rangers, game wardens and biologists from State Parks and the California Department of Fish and Game. They tracked 20 pumas (Puma concolor, also known as mountain lions or cougars) for three to 27 months from March 2001 through December 2003.
By putting satellite radio collars on the cats and then regularly recording their locations, the researchers were able to examine the pumas' beds, dens, kill sites and food caches, creating both intimate individual portraits and general overviews of the local puma population.
By analyzing human use of the park's facilities (two large campgrounds, two equestrian campgrounds, two primitive camps, a school camp and 100 miles of trails), the researchers were able to compare human and puma activity patterns.
They found that Cuyamaca pumas were generally inactive by day in oak woodlands. The pumas traveled and hunted from 1.5 hours before dusk to 1.5 hours after dawn and frequently visited communities outside the park where people kept hobby animals in open pens. They lived largely on wild deer or bighorn sheep (in nearby Anza Borrego Desert State Park) but also killed pets, small livestock and hobby animals.
Although there were lots of pumas and people in the park, the pumas largely avoided contact with the people.
Eleven of the 20 pumas died during the study. Four were shot for threatening or killing domestic animals; four died of unknown causes, likely disease; and one each was killed by another puma, hit by a car on an interstate highway, and starved after being burned in the Cedar Fire.
The study also gives some glimpses into individual cats' existence. One big male, M01, was the first lion the researchers collared -- after it stole a dead deer from the project's pickup truck. He was the only puma that never crossed a major paved road and one of three pumas that died for unknown reasons in June 2003. An old female, F13, had a severe 1- to 2-week-old jaw injury when collared in October 2002 and ranged more widely than most of the study pumas -- possibly because she could catch only small prey -- and she was killed by another puma as she scavenged a dead deer.
Female F07 was a steady provider who, with her two male cubs, killed 10 of the study's radio-collared bighorn sheep, 17 uncollared bighorn sheep and two radio-collared deer, and killed or scavenged a domestic cat. Young male M09 sired two cubs with female puma F08, had 43 percent of his home range outside of the park on private property, and was shot dead one night as he left the yard of a property owner who had chickens running loose.
"Ultimately it's up to the people who live, work and play in mountain lion habitat to decide if they want to share the environment with an animal that can kill them," Boyce said. "Attacks are rare, but there is no guarantee of safety. Studies like ours show that there are many things each of us can do to avoid conflicts between mountain lions and people and domestic animals. Information and education are key to balancing the needs of wildlife and people."
The researchers made these recommendations for the operations of Cuyamaca Rancho State Park:
* Educational programs about puma behavior and human safety in puma habitat should be continued and expanded. Because the biological integrity of pumas in the state park is affected by what happens outside as well as inside park boundaries, State Parks and Fish and Game officials should take responsibility for educating private property owners in how to keep their domestic animals safe.
* When they plan locations of new trails and campgrounds, park officials should consider pumas' needs for plant cover when hunting, traveling and sleeping. Particularly in the Cuyamaca park, which was almost completely burned in the recent Cedar Fire, there are few places of refuge for wild animals, and people who visit those unburned areas now may be at increased risk of encountering pumas.
* The food caches pumas normally make after a kill, where they scrape dirt and plant litter over the dead animal and return periodically to eat, should not be removed when found near human activity because the loss of the food simply forces the puma to hunt and kill another animal. Instead, the dead animal should be dragged to a safer location 100 to 300 yards away, or the area can be temporarily closed to people.
* In light of the dramatic habitat changes wrought in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park by the Cedar Fire, as well as the need to improve our understanding of puma-human interactions, it is important for the Southern California Puma Project to continue. The report concludes, "The information gleaned will be useful ... for all of the people who live and recreate in puma country."
The authors of the report are Walter Boyce, UC Davis field biologists Linda Sweanor and Jim Bauer, and former UC Davis field biologist Ken Logan, now a carnivore researcher at the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
The UC Davis Wildlife Health Center is a program of the campus' School of Veterinary Medicine.
Southern California Program
Walter Boyce, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Wildlife Health Center, (530) 752-1401, firstname.lastname@example.org
Roy Stearns, California State Parks, (916) 654-7538, email@example.com
Lorna Bernard, California Department of Fish and Game, (916) 653-0991, firstname.lastname@example.org
Sylvia Wright, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-7704, email@example.com | <urn:uuid:0748b32f-ac56-4ef5-a342-e02d08821e4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/whatsnew/article.cfm?id=1316 | 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 | 0.96275 | 1,538 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Covidien Ventures joined superDimension’s existing investors in the round. The company, which is based in Minnesota but is a subsidiary of an Israeli business, has now raised well over $110 million from investors including Pfizer, CIBC World Markets and OrbiMed Advisors.
superDimension makes devices that support electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure that uses GPS technology to perform lung biopsies, helps physicians guide catheters deeper into the lungs and place markers that radiation oncologists can use to target cancerous tissue. superDimension wants to take the place of other traditional bronchoscopy devices and supplant more invasive medical procedures such as wedge thoracotomies.
Bronchoscopy devices overall will be a $50 million market by 2013. About 200,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer annually. superDimension’s system has been used on about 22,000 patients — a 10 percent increase since April, when the company said it had been used on 20,000 patients.
superDimension would only say this current financing would “further strengthen our commercial infrastructure and sales and marketing team” and declined further comment.
The company closed nearly $25 million in private capital at this time last year, roughly a year after it launched a new version of its lung-lesion detection tool iLogic. This past April, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved superDimension’s new marker kit, which helps physicians better target early stage lung cancer with beam radiation. | <urn:uuid:678b90c2-1bba-4144-a013-6a040892c5b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://medcitynews.com/2011/09/superdimension-gets-11-million-for-lung-cancer-treatment-adds-covidien-ventures/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941799 | 321 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Hereditary Defects—Down Syndrome and Sickle Cell Anemia, by Anthony P. Solli
Guide Entry to 82.07.06:
This unit gives background information on Gregor Mendel and his works, as well as Francis H. Crick and James D. Watson’s model of the DNA molecule. Emphasis is placed on hereditary defects of Down Syndrome and Sickle cell Anemia. Also, included is a detailed glossary of genetic terms, a students’ and teachers’ annotated bibliography which includes books, magazines, audio-visual materials and computer soft-ware. The unit is intended for elementary and middle school teachers which may be used with small groups or individual students for one or two weeks. Students should have a working knowledge of the human cell.
(Recommended for Middle School Health, Family and Eighth grade Mathematics and High School Biology)
Perinatology Biology Genetics Reproduction Fetal Development Human | <urn:uuid:70eeed92-62d1-4a6d-bc67-4c10136bef69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/guides/1982/7/82.07.06.x.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919703 | 195 | 3.75 | 4 |
The Great Debate UK
(Photo: Pope Benedict at Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, November 6, 2010/Stefano Rellandini)
Pope Benedict, on a lightning trip to Spain, urged Europe on Saturday to re-discover God and its Christian heritage and also denounced the country's liberal abortion laws.
"Europe must open itself to God, must come to meet him without fear," he said in the sermon of a Mass for more than 20,000 people in the square of Santiago de Compostela, which has been a major pilgrimage destination since medieval times.
Spain's Roman Catholic Church, whose image was stained by its close relationship with Francisco Franco during his 36-year dictatorship, has clashed with the Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero over gay rights and abortion. Read the full story by Cristina Fuentes-Cantillana in English here and in Spanish here.
One of the main themes of Benedict's papacy -- and an aim of the Spanish trip -- has been what the Church calls the "re-evangelisation" of Europe, an attempt to urge people to return to their religious roots despite living in highly secularised societies. | <urn:uuid:929a2561-8e7d-42d5-bc7c-0965ff3c6410> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate-uk/tag/secular/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961755 | 243 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Safe ICT use can further childhood development
I think it would be good if students could actively take part in activities that promote the safe use of the Internet and other communication technologies
- Natchaphon age 18, Grade 12, Banglamung School, Pattaya, Thailand
In Thailand approximately 20% of the population uses the internet and 25% use mobile phones. The Thai government aims to have 50% of the population over 15 years of age ICT literate by 2011. | <urn:uuid:d86e7352-0a4a-4c13-a334-75df10860b8c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.childprotectionpartnership.org/my-space-our-world/safe-ict-use-can-further-childhood-development | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928868 | 98 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Last week, Chicago made big baby safety news by becoming the first city in the U.S. to ban the sale of crib bumpers. Crib bumpers were originally introduced to keep babies from getting their heads or other limbs stuck in the crib slats before federal regulations required slats to be closer together. According to the Juvenile Products Manufacturer’s Association (JPMA) and, as recommended by the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP),
If bumper pads are used, remove them when the baby begins to stand so that they can’t be used as a step. Remove pillows, quilts, comforters, sheepskins, soft or pillow-like bumpers, stuffed toys and other soft products from the crib.
In general, if you plan to use crib bumpers, it is recommended that you use flat bumpers that attach securely around the inside of the crib, rather than thick, pillow-like bumpers.
What do you think? Do you use or plan to use crib bumpers? Do you think they should be banned altogether or should parents be able to choose? What does your pediatrician recommend? | <urn:uuid:066cd5c2-9196-422d-91b6-f4fdc8f7355c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newportcottages.com/blog/chicago-bans-crib-bumpers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950262 | 235 | 2.359375 | 2 |
War: The Card Game
No one can tie in this game, or it's war!
- Two players
- A deck of cards
- Deal the cards face down (no peeking!) so that each player receives approximately the same number of cards.
- All players turn over their top cards at the same time.
- Whoever has the highest card wins all of the cards in that round.
- If there's a tie, a.k.a., War, the players who tied put down their next three cards (face down), then flip over their fourth card.
- Again, the person with the highest card takes all the cards.
- Continue playing the game until one person has all the cards. | <urn:uuid:d1260430-74ea-4eb3-b4f5-2920dc636789> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.parentsconnect.com/parenting-your-kids/activities/games/war-card-game.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970675 | 149 | 2.28125 | 2 |
South Australian Household Final Consumption Expenditure
Includes: Estimated resident population, Components of population change
South Australia's population increased 1.1% during the year ended 30 June 2008.
Includes: Contents, Employed persons, Unemployment, Participation rate
South Australia's unemployment rate remained constant at 5.4% in December 2008.
Includes: Average weekly earnings
Average weekly earnings for South Australian males increased 5.0% in the year to August 2008, while female earnings increased 3.3%.
Includes: State accounts, Household final consumption expenditure (HFCE)
South Australia's State Final Demand increased by 1.0% in the September quarter 2008.
Includes: Retail trade, New motor vehicle sales
New vehicle sales in South Australia declined for the tenth consecutive month in December 2008.
Includes: Private new capital expenditure, Mineral and petroleum exploration expenditure
South Australia's Private New Capital Expenditure increased by 2.7% to $1,363m in the September 2008 quarter.
Includes: Building approvals, Construction work done
The total number of dwelling units approved in South Australia decreased by 3.9% from October 2008 to November 2008.
Includes: Contents, Consumer price index, Wage price index, House price index
The house price index for Adelaide rose 9.7% in the year to the September quarter 2008.
Includes: Housing finance commitments
Total value of housing finance commitments (owner occupier) for South Australia in November 2008 was $855m.
|International Merchandise Trade|
Includes: Exports and Imports
The value of South Australia's merchandise exports was $815m in November 2008 (down 8.4% from October 2008).
Includes: Rainfall, Reservoir levels
Total water storage in Adelaide's reservoirs was at 73% of capacity at the end of December 2008.
This page last updated 26 February 2009 | <urn:uuid:a34711c4-7465-4220-8788-153649b88c98> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/1345.4Main%20Features1Jan%202009?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1345.4&issue=Jan%202009&num=&view= | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923114 | 379 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Google announced that they were getting rid of their popular iGoogle service. Google used this since 2005 as an alternative home page and a bit of an answer to Yahoo!'s cluttered portal interface. You could use the standard Google minimalist home page for search queries, or you could use iGoogle and add "gadgets" to get mini-apps and feeds from various data sources. Fans loved the ability to stream different sources and use third-party apps.
First off, don't panic. You've got until November of 2013 to wean yourself off of the service. As I'm writing this, that's close to a year and a half. That's practically a decade in Internet years. By that time, we may all have Google Glasses or shiny new tablets, and we we'll think of iGoogle as a quaint relic of the days when we all used laptops. Well, maybe not. But it is a very long warning and more than enough time for us to develop alternative browsing habits.
Why Did They Do It?
Google's answer, "We originally launched iGoogle in 2005 before anyone could fully imagine the ways that today's web and mobile apps would put personalized, real-time information at your fingertips. With modern apps that run on platforms like Chrome and Android, the need for something like iGoogle has eroded over time, so we’ll be winding down iGoogle on November 1, 2013, giving you a full 16 months to adjust or easily export your iGoogle data."
Basically, the Yahoo! model of Internet portal services is slowly going away. Google's efforts to focus on "fewer arrows, more wood" mean that they'll remove things that take you away from what they see as core services. You can get the gadget experience from apps and widgets on your Android devices, and you can quickly get to your Web apps through the Chrome browser (and, of course, Chromebooks.)
It makes a lot of sense from a business perspective to focus app developers on Chrome and Android apps instead of iGoogle apps, even if it's not a transition all iGoogle users make gladly. Since there's such a long lead time, we may even see upgrades to Google+ that add some of the widget/gadget features of iGoogle into Google+.
What Can You Do?
Well, you could switch to Yahoo! if you really want that experience. If you're using third-party gadgets that store data, like calorie counters, to do lists, and scratch pads, you're at the mercy of the developer. Hopefully they'll figure out a way to export your data. They've got plenty of warning, and good developers will figure out a way to make this happen, especially if they're transitioning to a new platform.
If you're using a gadget developed by Google, it generally ties to an existing Google product, and it will continue to do so. No need to figure out any fancy way to get your document information into Google Drive. It's already there.
If you're using the Chrome browser on a laptop or desktop computer, you can add Chrome apps and extensions, but these are mainly bookmarks and add-ons. They don't have the same mini-app presence of a gadget. Google may change that by the time November of 2013 rolls around. You can change your theme on Chrome, but I doubt that's a huge comfort to anyone who really wanted to use iGoogle as a stream of multiple information sources. There's always Yahoo. | <urn:uuid:fb6c1520-6f7f-4782-9b0d-caf1272115e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://google.about.com/od/i/qt/Goodbye-Igoogle.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952566 | 710 | 1.65625 | 2 |
SOURCE: Starry Lane Bakery
Starry Lane Bakery in Santee, Calif., is now baking gluten-free cookies. People with gluten allergies and celiac disease can now bite into the goodness of delicious and freshly baked cookies without any worry.
San Diego (PRWEB) January 11, 2013
Starry Lane Bakery, a gluten free bakery has a delicious treat for people in San Diego suffering from gluten intolerance and celiac disease. Gluten free cookies are now coming out of the ovens of the family owned and operated San Diego bakery. This is certainly tasty news!
Traditional cookies and baked treats usually come with the protein gluten. Gluten is what gives the dough its elasticity, helping it to rise and maintain its shape. Gluten is also what gives baked products that chewy texture. For a time, people suffering from gluten allergies had no way of enjoying delicious baked cookies. Those suffering from celiac disease shared the same fate. In the county of San Diego alone, there are thousands suffering from this type of allergy and this meant that thousands were not getting the chance to bite into the goodness of sweet baked treats. However, Starry Lane bakery is putting an end to this sour news with their gluten-free cookies and other baked goodies.
Wheat, rye, and barley all contain gluten. Any food made with these grains will naturally contain gluten and usually cookies, breads and other baked goodies are made with wheat grains. Starry Lane Bakery makes their cookies without animal products and without the six most common food allergens. these food allergens are gluten, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, dairy and egg. No Starry Lane bakery products are made with any of these ingredients therefore cross contamination is avoided.
“When we started Starry Lane Bakery, our eyes were set on changing the face of gluten free foods forever,” said owner Jaime Schwartz. “We believe that everyone should be able to bite into sweet and crispy or chocolaty and gooey freshly baked cookies. But when you are suffering from gluten intolerance or celiac disease, the simple pleasure of biting into a freshly baked cookie is taken away from you. This is why we make gluten free cookies."
Aside from gluten free cookies, all products baked by Starry Lane Bakery are free from animal products and the 6 most common food allergens. The bakery is dedicated to give sweet indulgence to the thousands of San Diegans suffering from food allergies. Whats more, the San Diego Bakery is now selling their gluten free cookies all across the country. The bakery is also focused in educating the American public about this food allergy epidemic gripping the nation. Those who are suffering from food allergies can indulge their sweet tooth without any worries with Starry Lane Bakery’s baked goodies. Those who want to bite into freshly baked gluten-free cookies and baked goodies can simply walk into the doors of Starry Lane Bakery or call and have their orders placed for shipping.
“Our recipes are mostly our own. We decided to put up Starry Lane Bakery because of our own experiences with food allergies. It pains us to think that some of us have not experienced the goodness of biting into a cookie or any baked treat”. The bakery is not just solely focused on indulging one’s sweet tooth, they are also dedicated in educating the public on food allergens.
About Starry Lane Bakery
Starry Lane Bakery offers freshly baked, delicious and allergen-free baked goodies in San Diego. Products from Starry Lane are made without animal products or the 6 most common food allergens. Visit http://www.starrylanebakery.com/ to learn more about their gluten free cookies.
10769 Woodside Ave Santee, CA 92071
starrylanebakery (at) gmail (dot) com
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/1/prweb10309746.htm
2362 U.S. Hwy 11 | <urn:uuid:6163c400-cb22-4a61-b91a-75e5f9c31764> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wdam.com/story/20563127/delicious-and-gluten-free-cookies-are-now-coming-out-of-starry-lane-bakerys-ovens | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943802 | 835 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Most of the doggies are kept on a leash or put in cages. Not my Publisher. He had access to every square foot of our newspaper office. He was my watch dog. I wanted to be sure everyone was working at maximum production (I hope none of my old staff reads this).
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has published a manual dealing with dogs at work titled "Dogs at Work: A Practical Guide to Creating Dog-Friendly Workplaces" (that's a mouthful of doggie treats).
Dog trainer Liz Palika, the gal who wrote the book, said the guide takes all the work out of whether there's sufficient interest in bringing pooch to work as well as developing policies and sanctions. We didn't need a policy manual in Publisher's case. He made his own rules.
Supporters of the dogs-at-work program claim pets in the workplace reduce stress among the owners who worry about leaving the dog at home all by his lonesome. They say dogs also have a calming effect on the work environment. I go along with that theory. Publisher was the HR director in our office.
Of course, the dog has to have the right temperament. You wouldn't want a man-eater (unless you had certain employees that needed straightening out, if you know what I mean). Before Publisher came along, I tried out my black Labrador retriever, Bo. It didn't work very well. Oh, Bo was friendly enough. In fact, as a young male, he was a little too friendly with staff and customers, if you get my drift.
At HSUS, it was reported about 50 people bring their dogs to their worksites every day. I assume these people don't all work in the same office. Or maybe it's a 50-story building, and there's one pooch per floor. Whatever.
Palika estimates only one out of every 50 or 75 dogs is a good candidate to hang out at the workplace. She says the vast majority need basic obedience training and good "social skills." Pub had great social skills. Bo was sociable, too, only a little too friendly with the folks.
Some companies form pet committees that can show dogs the door if they get out of line. They even go to the extreme of having two- or three-strikes rules for what are deemed minor infractions and a one-strike-and-you're-outta-here major violators.
Bo was given more than one opportunity to clean up his act, but he was insistent on being a naughty boy. We had more than one embarrassing moment with unassuming customers.
Publisher? He was a perfect gentleman…
Jim Grisso was publisher of the Gaylord Herald Times, part of Northern Michigan Review which also owns the Petoskey News-Review . He can be contacted at (989) 709-0331 or email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:148bd7d6-395c-435d-be33-3965cf99d162> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.petoskeynews.com/2009-03-06/dogs-at-work_24020430 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984162 | 609 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Is your fish a meat eater? Ordinary pellets that contain fishmeal won`t be enough to satisfy his nutritional needs. Give him a real meat meal like Liquid Life Cyclop-Eeze Whole Freeze-Dried from Pet Store
. Carnivorous fish need specific elements in their diet that can only be found in unprocessed seafood. This product is unique because it employs a hi-tech way of sealing in essential nutrients in sea creatures` bodies.
They freeze dry selected small fish, effectively preserving in important and easily altered elements like Astaxanthene and ultra unsaturated fatty acids. This process takes away 80 percent of the moisture by using a vacuum under very low temperature. The freeze-drying process is quite and expensive one but there is no other way of maintaining that level of quality.
The contents of Liquid Life Cyclop-Eeze Whole Freeze-Dried are whole - you will not find chopped up fish or shrimp or other edible sea creature in any can. This is to give your pet maximum satisfaction as well as nutrition. This doesn`t need any special way of feeding. Simply give it to your pet as many times as you normally feed him. It`s that easy. Don`t hold out on your meat-loving fish
. Get him a can of Liquid Life Cyclop-Eeze Whole Freeze-Dried today!
Whole Freeze Dried Cyclop-eeze are produced from the Deep-Frozen product. The process involves the removal of up to 80% moisture under high vacuum and low temperature. Although freeze-drying is an expensive procedure it assures that important, labile, bio-molecules such as Astaxanthene and Highly Un-saturated Fatty Acids are not degraded. | <urn:uuid:c7e617b6-a4ac-46ac-885a-f440ac793fd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.petstore.com/argent-cyclopeeze-whole-freezedried-30-gram?reviews=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943631 | 361 | 1.625 | 2 |
Wouldn't they be pretty decorating a cake?
Well today we are going to show you how to do it yourself!
We didn't realize how easy it would be to make these, but they take quite some time to dry so make sure you make them a day or two in advance to your bake-off!
All you need is an egg white, a few drops of water, some icing sugar (confectioners sugar) a small brush and some grease proof paper. Oh, and some petals of course!
First up, using a fork whisk in a few drops of water to your egg white. Then prep your grease proof paper by sprinkling some icing sugar on it. This will make sure the backs of the petals will get covered and prevent them from sticking. Make sure you sieve your icing sugar as you dont want massive lumps going on!
All you need to do is brush on the egg white, working from the center of the petal out to the rim, making sure the whole thing is covered. Then sprinkle on the icing sugar and place it down to dry. It is that easy! Then leave to dry over night in a cool area but make sure you don't stick them in the fridge as they will go soggy! This is the most time consuming element, but trust us it is worth it!
In the meantime, you can get your bake on for the tasty treats these are going to adorn. Cake or cupcake ... the prettiest salad in the world ... anything is possible with these edible petals and they are so inspiring you may find it hard to decide where to start!
We whipped up some extra special chocolate mousse for our lovelies to feature on...
Cappuccino with heart candied petal spoon anyone?!
That's no cappuccino!
That would be a chocolate mousse dessert with candy pearl bubbles and our very own candied rose petals. If this doesn't say I love you we aren't sure what does!
His and Hers
Don't you think candied rose petals really are beautiful?
Treat your nearest and dearest with the desert they deserve without breaking the bank :)
We hope you have as much fun making these as we did. Let us know how you get on or if you have any questions. If you pop them in a jar and put them in the fridge you can save some for later too. Amazing! Enjoy pretties... | <urn:uuid:640d6477-6708-4c78-b3ad-94627729603b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vividplease.blogspot.com/2011/07/candied-rose-petals.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96699 | 507 | 1.5625 | 2 |
USG-UISG - With the Conference of the Superior General of the Society of Divine Word, Fr. Antonio Pernia this morning, Tuesday, February 8, the Theological Seminar jointly organized by the two Unions of Superiors General, entered into the heart of careful reflection on the apostolic consecrated life.
Fr. Pernia was asked to address specifically the issue of “Opportunities and challenges that today’s world and Church present to Consecrated Apostolic Life and the Theology of Consecrated Life”. Among the many challenges, the speaker focused in particular on the crisis of consecrated life caused by an increasingly globalized world.
This crisis is particularly evident in Western Europe and North America, although it is also conceivable that such a crisis, sooner or later may creep in other parts of the world. The most evident sign of this crisis is the unrestrained decrease in the number of religious men and women on the one hand, and the perception of an increasingly irrelevance of religious life on the other. This crisis is manifested also not only in the context of a Church which is becoming more polycentric and global, but also in the process of Westernization taking place within the Church.
Europe, Fr. Pernia reaffirmed, is increasingly becoming less and less the source of missionary vocations. The image of “white missionaries” going to distant lands to live among the natives” is becoming more remote from reality. With increasing frequency today, we speak of mission in all five continents, with all the consequences it inevitably entails. The speaker was asked: “Are we not simply replacing the European missionaries in Asia and Africa, while actually leaving intact the usual way of carrying out the mission?”
The main opportunities which today’s world can offer to the religious life are those of the increasingly multicultural aspects within certain religious Institutions, the inter-congregational collaboration and the increasing involvement of lay people who are trained and properly motivated. All these may not be enough. Many questions still await for an answer: such as “does religious life properly belong to the charismatic dimension of the Church rather to its hierarchical dimension?; Can the new religious communities be considered a development of consecrated life today? To what extent do paradigm shifts of the mission (from “Missio Ecclesiae” to “Missio Dei”) affect the religious life today?
The first answers to these questions, both for the challenges and opportunities came early in the morning through five interventions concerning the current situation of consecrated life in Africa (Bishop Faustin Ambassa), Latin America (Sr. Mariacarmen Bracamonte), Asia (Sr. Mary Sujita Kallupurakkathu), France (Fr. André-Pierre Gauthier) and Oceania (Sr. Susan Smith).
On quite aa few provocations heard worldwide, and after a careful sharing by language groups in the afternoon, the day’s proceedings concluded in a General meeting to share some basic guidelines for the future. Work will resume on Wednesday morning, February 9 with a second main Conference entrusted to a speaker from USA, Sr. Mary Maher on the theme: “CALLED AND SENT: REFLECTIONS ON A THEOLOGY OF APOSTOLIC RELIGIOUS LIFE TODAY”
(Fr. Angelo Arrighini)
Published: February 9, 2011 | <urn:uuid:b2a10344-c29b-4048-96f2-83625787d518> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vidimusdominum.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=149:challenges-to-and-opportunities-for-religious-life-today&catid=34:usg-uisg-seminar&Itemid=36 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943646 | 716 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Skip to main content
Create new Glog
Login to unlock Email share
In conclusion, I feel that my father is similar to George in the book 'Of Mice and Men'. Why? Because, just like George, my father is terse, short-tempered and a tad impatient. However, no matter what I do, my father will never stray from his duty as a father... to protect me and help me as much as he can...
Done by: Andy Tan8th June 2012
George-He is short-tempered but a loving and devoted friend.- George may be terse and impatient at times, but he never strays from his primary purpose of protecting Lennie.
My Dad- Will do anything to help me in my time of need-Acts like he dosen't care about whatever happens to me, but actually, he does.-He would spend every single dime on me, as my dad always puts my family ahead of himself...
Buy no ADS | <urn:uuid:56578015-835c-4720-ad4d-94b988d39191> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.glogster.com/andytanrcks/of-mice-and-men-character-homework/g-6lg8hoac37nbuahct1j1ua0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970657 | 203 | 1.601563 | 2 |
ATLANTA (AP) -- A new government report says construction workers, miners and food service workers are the occupations that smoke the most. Experts say that may have as much to do with education levels as the jobs themselves.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found 19.6 percent of working adults smoke, but as many as 30 percent in the mining, construction and food service industries smoke. Librarians and teachers smoked the least, at less than 9 percent.
Also, people who work outdoors are less likely to face indoor smoking bans seen in other workplaces.
The study is based on in-person interviews of more than 113,000 working adults in the years 2004 through 2010.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) | <urn:uuid:20775f90-a0a8-4fbd-b178-11ae184988c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.local8now.com/news/national/headlines/CDC_Miners_construction_food_workers_smoke_most_130785918.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964245 | 154 | 2.515625 | 3 |
As a native Los Angelino, I consider one of the city’s gems to be the Watts Towers. Completed in 1954 by Italian immigrant Simon Rodia, a construction worker without any art training, he would come home after work and slowly but surely (it took him 33 years) build “17 interconnecting sculptures adorned with intricate mosaics.” He used steel rods and pipes for the main supports and embedded pieces of porcelain, tile, bottles, and sea shells.
According to the LA Times, when the city of Los Angeles finally found Rodia’s masterpiece, the head of the municipal Building and Safety Department wrote this in a memo: “Personally, I think this is the biggest pile of junk outside a junkyard that I have ever seen.”
Quite the contrary, no? The Watts Towers have come to signify something very special to the city and since 1990, were designated as a Los Angeles landmark.
Over the years, tiny cracks and weather conditions have deteriorated the towers. In 2011, the Los Angeles’ Department of Cultural Affairs contracted with LACMA to help with maintenance and restoration.
Read here for more on how the restoration of The Watts Towers is coming along. | <urn:uuid:6cd7f337-f4c6-4bc4-8e84-f129165b59f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jamesythepooh.tumblr.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962345 | 251 | 2.328125 | 2 |
The Washington Post has an article today on how Daniel Carter Jr. was fired for "liking" a page on Facebook. This was not a pornographic, racist, or other prohibited website – it was a Facebook page for a candidate who was challenging his boss.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of workplace free speech rights. I represent a client, State Department whsitleblower Peter Van Buren, who was not only prohibited from using any social media – on his own time, on his personal computer – but the State was actively monitoring anything he did: blog, Tweet, update his status of Facebook, etc.
Both Carter and Van Buren's behavior is protected free speech.
Read more »
Carter filed a lawsuit claiming that his First Amendment rights had been violated, which is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Both Mr. Carter and Mr. Van Buren's "speech" raise substantial constitutional questions and create the appearance of impermissible retaliation for their criticism – Carter's so tacit that you can't even call it "criticism," and Van Buren's more open – of the head of the sheriff's department and the State Department, respectively.
The Supreme Court has made clear (Pickering v. Bd. or Educ., 1960 and its progeny) that public employees are protected by the First Amendment when they engage in speech about matters of public concern. These rights can be overcome only if the employee's interest in the speech is outweighed by the government's interest in the orderly operation of the public workplace and the efficient delivery of public services by public employees.
The Supreme Court has also held that public employees retain their First Amendment rights when speaking about issues directly related to their employment, as long as they are speaking as private citizens (Garcetti v. Ceballos, 2006). It is clear in both these cases that both Mr. Carter and Mr. Van Buren were "speaking" in their own voice and not on behalf of the local Police Department or the federal State Department.
Read more »
The Government Accountability Project praised the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Inspector General (OIG) for today's announcement of a new Whistleblower Ombudsman position. The job will include monitoring of whistleblowing disclosures and retaliation claims, communications with whistleblowers on the status of their cases, and liaison with other whistleblower protection agencies such as the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. GAP has long advocated for the creation of Ombudsman offices at the DOJ and other OIGs, as evidence of a commitment to establishing effective working relationships with whistleblowers. Institutional Ombudsman offices are required by the pending Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA), as well.
Regarding new DOJ OIG Michael Horowitz, GAP Legal Director Tom Devine commented:
"In announcing this new position, Mr. Horowitz is off to a flying start toward earning trust from whistleblowers and their advocates. At GAP, we know that any Ombudsman faces tough tasks but whoever assumes this new position at DOJ will certainly confront challenges. There is a history of mutual distrust between whistleblowers and the DOJ OIG, and OIG staff who have worked closely with whistleblowers in the past faced suspicion and harassment. The relationship between whistleblowers and government investigators inherently is difficult and strained, at best. But a working relationship is indispensable for effective law enforcement, and OIGs can play a major role in preventing retaliation or nipping it in the bud. The Ombudsman post is an institutional commitment to start reaching that potential."
Read more »
We here at GAP are big fans of both whistleblower rights and funny things, though, for better or worse, they don't often cross paths. Until now! We were unimaginably delighted when The Daily Show with Jon Stewart aired a segment on whistleblowers last night. GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack and NSA whistleblower/GAP client Thomas Drake appeared on The Daily Show to talk to correspondent Jason Jones about how Drake was prosecuted as a spy (under the Espionage Act) for revealing massive waste, fraud and abuse at the agency. Watch the segment below!
Radack, herself a Department of Justice whistleblower before becoming a whistleblower advocate, and Drake talked about his case, highlighting the absurdity of Drake being charged as a spy.
For more on Drake's case and how it eventually backfired on the government, click here. Radack's whistleblowing was the subject of her recent book, Traitor: The Whistleblower and the 'American Taliban', which you can learn more about here.
Hannah Johnson is Communications Associate for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.
Read more »
Yesterday marked the end of Bradley Birkenfeld’s prison term for conspiracy to defraud the United States. However, what he actually did was save taxpayers billions of dollars after exposing the secret corruption of UBS, the largest bank in Switzerland. UBS conducted a tax evasion scandal, allowing thousands of Americans to illegally evade taxes by using offshore bank accounts. After complaining to the UBS with no response, Birkenfeld blew the whistle to the U.S. government about the scheme. He provided extensive information about the company’s illegal operation, including the UBS agents directly involved and the details of 19,000 American-owned accounts.
In return, Birkenfeld was prosecuted, after pleading guilty to conspiracy in 2008. The DOJ claims Birkenfeld was not forthcoming about his status as a private banker for Igor Olenicoff, but Birkenfeld made his status known prior to the indictment in testimony to the Senate. In this same testimony, he revealed Olenicoff’s money laundering scheme. From GAP’s Jesselyn Radack:
After negotiations with the Justice Department broke down over its refusal to provide Birkenfeld a "friendly subpoena," which would provide the compulsory process necessary for him to reveal client names without violating Swiss bank secrecy laws, he reached out to the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which was investigating tax havens and more than happy to subpoena him. Accordingly, Birkenfeld testified to the Senate on October 11 and November 13 of 2007, in which he identified Igor Olenicoff by name as one of his biggest clients. At the same time, Birkenfeld also provided substantially the same information on Olenicoff to the IRS and the SEC.
In other words, prior to Olenicoff himself being charged criminally by the Justice Department, Birkenfeld had provided sworn testimony to the Senate identifying him, described his $200 million account at UBS, and detailed his own involvement as Olenicoff’s private banker at UBS.
For his truthful exposures, Birkenfeld spent two and a half years in prison, while those involved in the tax evasion scheme received little to no punishment. Martin Liechti – the UBS executive who led the illegal operation – returned to Switzerland without further punishment. As the kingpin walked with impunity, other small time crooks who assisted in the scandal were granted amnesty in return for small fines. The bank received a $780 million dollar fine, although the scandal cost the U.S. billions of dollars.
Read more »
I've said since the collapse of the Espionage Act case against National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Thomas Drake that the case was built on sand and collapsed under the weight of the truth.
Since the case collapsed last summer, the more information revealed publicly about the government's evidence only confirms the flimsiness of the evidence used to prosecute Drake under the heavy-handed Espionage Act. I wrote yesterday on a Washington Post editorial asking "is the classification system dysfunctional?" after it was revealed that an Espionage Act count was based on a completely innocuous and obviously unclassified e-mail.
Now, Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists reports on the release of NSA's supposed justifications for the clearly incorrect classification designations and former G.W. Bush administration classification czar's J. William Leonard's scathing critique of the NSA's after-the-fact decisions. All of the allegedly-classified information found in Drake's home underwent a "forced classification review" after which NSA experts claimed it was classified.
Props to Aftergood for using FOIA to get the information publicly released. It should give any American pause to consider the fact that not only will the government consider such bland and unremarkable information as "classified," but use that banal information as the basis to prosecute a whistleblower under the Espionage Act.
Leonard's complaint articulates how damaging it is to the classification system to over-classify information and use that wrongly-classified information to aggressively prosecute a whistleblower under the Espionage Act:
Nonetheless, when deciding to apply the controls of the classification system to information, government officials are in-turn obligated to follow the standards set forth by the President in the governing executive order and not exceed its prohibitions and limitations. Failure to do so undermines the very integrity of the classification system and can be just as harmful, if not more so, than unauthorized disclosures of appropriately classified information.
Read more »
In its third editorial about the Espionage Act prosecution against National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Thomas Drake, the conservative Washington Post (WaPo) editorial board opines that the Drake case demonstrates how dysfunctional the classification system has become.
Just before the Justice Department's case against Drake collapsed in spectacular fashion days before trial last summer, WaPo ran two editorials critical of the prosecution (here and here).Then, former classification czar under G.W. Bush, J William Leonard, was slated to testify as a defense expert for Drake and called the case the most "deliberate and willful example of government officials improperly classifying a document," he had ever seen.
In the year since the prosecution fell apart, WaPo obtained one of the documents that formed the basis of an Espionage Act charge against Drake, which prompted WaPo to opine again - this time sarcastically - on the flimsy evidence the government used to threaten Drake with spending "the rest of his natural life" behind bars:
A document at the center of the Drake case was a classified e-mail summarizing an agency meeting. The e-mail was titled “What a Wonderful Success.” It is an innocuous, self-congratulatory message to a team for its presentation to the director, Gen. Keith Alexander. Two paragraphs were classified “secret.” Now that the e-mail has been released, everyone can see what was so sensitive. One of the paragraphs included the hush-hush fact — be careful if you finish reading this sentence — that Gen. Alexander left a conference room and greeted people in a lab who had worked to make sure the demonstration was a success.
Last summer, WaPo articulated the chilling effect the Drake case has on potential whistleblowers:
Mr. Drake’s prosecution smacks of overkill and could scare others with legitimate concerns about government programs from coming forward.
Read more »
Adding to the leak hysteria in Washington, the Senate Intelligence Committee advanced legislation purportedly to limit "leaks." WaPo reports:
The legislation, which has yet to be considered by the full Senate or House, would require the White House to notify Congress whenever it plans to share classified information with the public and would curb an increasingly common arrangement in which top national security officials take jobs as commentators on cable-television shows.
What Congress completely neglects to address in their apparent frustration that the White House leaks to the press before leaking to Congress, is that whistleblowers who are sources for Congress end up getting burned and monitored by the Executive branch.
If the Senate Intelligence Committee really wanted to stop media leaks and preserve its oversight abilities, it would enact meaningful whistleblower protections so that employees who bring concerns to Congress are adequately protected from retaliation. Such a measure would certainly give Congress more information than a head's up from the White House that the White House is planning to make public information that will no doubt benefit the administration.
UPDATE: For a full summary of the anti-leak measures in the Intelligence Authorization legislation see Steven Aftergood's analysis. Key quote:
And yet there is something incongruous, if not outrageous, about the whole effort by Congress to induce stricter secrecy in the executive branch, which already has every institutional incentive to restrict public disclosure of intelligence information.
National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Thomas Drake testified before two congressional committees and brought his concerns massive waste, fraud, abuse, and illegality at NSA to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, in accordance with the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act. However, that didn't stop the Obama administration from charging him under the Espionage Act and threatening him with spending the rest of his life behind bars. (The case against Drake collapsed under the weight of the truth last summer). | <urn:uuid:cd5264bb-cbb3-4ef6-80a7-c2f81ba5086b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whistleblower.org/component/taxonomy/term/summary/20/101?start=21 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957305 | 2,636 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Vallee Richelieu Attractions
From its source in Lac Champlain, south-east of Montréal, the Rivière Richelieu winds its way northwards to enter the St Lawrence at Sorel. The 130 km (80 mi.) long river played a significant role in the history of both New France and New England, but even before the arrival of Europeans it was a busy trade route and communications corridor for the Indians. During the period of Anglo-French conflict, especially the years between 1754 and 1763, the Richelieu gave the warring nations and their Indian allies two-way access to the area east of Montréal. Only a few information boards along the river's course now recall those troubled times; today the quite delightful Richelieu Valley is the preserve of tourists and others in search of relaxation.
Boucherville still has a large number of 18th c. houses, among which are La Chaumière (416 rue Ste-Famille; built 1741), the Manoir Pierre-Boucher (468-470 Bd. Marie-Victorin) and the Maison Lafontaine (1780). In addition the church of St-Famille possesses some of the finest wood carvings in the whole of Canada, including side altars (dated 1808) by Louis Amable Quévillon and a 1745 tabernacle by Gilles Bolvin.
The small industrial town of Sorel is situated at the confluence of the Richelieu and the St Lawrence. It owes its name to an officer of the Carignan-Salières Regiment engaged in the 1665-66 campaign against the Iroquois. At that time Sorel was an important forward post for the French. Between 1781 and 1830 the Manoir des Gouverneurs (rue du Roi) served as a summer residence for a succession of governors of Canada.Today tourists are attracted to Sorel and the surrounding area by the numerous islands on Lake Saint-Pierre that comprise the Lake Saint-Pierre Biosphere World Heritage Reserve.
Lake Saint-Pierre Biosphere
The Lake Saint-Pierre Biosphere is a recognized UNESCO biosphere reserve. This area is comprised of numerous islands and is an important migratory stop for birds. The area is best explored using nearby Sorel-Tracy as a base.
Mont-St-Hilaire nestles at the foot of a hill bearing the same name. The town is best known for its orchards while the hill, 411 m (1350 ft) high and volcanic in origin, offers splendid views across to Lake Champlain and the U.S. states of New York and Vermont.
St-Ours, founded in 1672, is the region's oldest parish after Sorel.
Chambly, an industrial town, lies on the edge of the Montréal plain. Its principal tourist attraction is the well-preserved Fort St-Louis, steeped in 18th c. French colonial history. The stone fort was built in 1709, replacing the wooden fortifications constructed earlier by Jacques de Chambly in 1655. In 1760 the fort fell to the British, and in 1775 to the Americans. It was used to hold American prisoners of war during the 1812-14 conflict and in 1837-38 Québécois "Patriotes" were also interned here. | <urn:uuid:6eebd6f6-660d-460e-bea6-12cf3f96dd98> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.planetware.com/canada/vallee-richelieu-cdn-qu-quvr.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922874 | 710 | 2.875 | 3 |
Social media is one of the most important marketing channels for brands, as it offers unique opportunities to communicate with customers.
But getting social media strategy right isn’t an easy task, and the brands that are achieving the best results tend to be those that are taking risks and trying new things.
With this in mind, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how major brands use social, focusing on which of the main networks they are active on and how they use them.
And what better place to start that with the world’s biggest retailer: Walmart. Handily Walmart has actually published its own social media guidelines, which include things like 'don't be rude' and 'keep it real'.
So here's a quick look at how Walmart uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+.
Walmart has put a huge amount of effort into developing its Facebook presence, and has embraced the timeline to showcase how the brand has grown over time.
It has populated its timeline with an image for almost every year since it was established in 1962, although many just show when Walmart opened a store in a new US state.
The retailer has clocked up a whopping 26m fans – an increase of 9m since last July – who it entertains with a confusingly broad range of updates.
A majority of Walmart’s posts are just product suggestions, but it also includes caption competitions and sports chat, as well as trumpeting its sustainability credentials.
On any given day it will post between two and five updates, including weekends, and most achieve an impressive number of responses from its fans. Most of its posts achieve tens of thousands of ‘likes’ and hundreds of comments, with pictures of pets and children proving to be particularly popular.
However not everything Walmart touches on Facebook turns to gold. In October 2011 it partnered with the social network to create 3,500 pages for its local stores across the US.
The idea was to build brand loyalty with “enhanced local interaction at an unprecedented scale", but as of last September the results were far from encouraging.
Research by Recommend.ly found that the local pages had managed to add just 2m fans in 10 months, while the main Walmart brand page had added 10.5m fans in the same period.
Furthermore, a majority of the local stores have between 101 and 1,000 fans, while just 4% have more than 1,000, despite the fact that they were updated on a regular basis with photos and videos.
Walmart mainly uses Twitter to post questions; with topics ranging from sports, caption contests and requests for retweets if users agree with a certain statement.
Most of its tweets only get a handful of responses, and it does a good job of answering those users.
However it also responds to hundreds of tweets a day from other users, and has the hashtag #WalmartElves to help customers who are looking for gift inspiration.
Clearly Walmart sees the value of using Twitter to engage with its customers rather than just using it to churn out marketing messages. It has managed to clock up 307,000 followers, which is impressive but still someway behind rival retailer Target which has more than half a million.
Walmart also operates several other Twitter accounts that focus on its sustainable initiatives, healthy food, and charity and community programs. However these are far less popular than its main account, and all have around 10,000 followers.
Walmart appears to have two Pinterest accounts; one aimed more at product ideas and one that promotes green living. The product-focused account has more than 12,000 followers and has created 65 boards, while the green living account has just over 2,000 followers.
The main account uses fantastic imagery to promote creative ideas and special occasions such as Mother’s Day and Easter, and created seven new boards for Christmas alone.
A majority of its pins link back to the Walmart ecommerce site, but it also occasionally pins content from third party sites and it own Tumblr as well.
In September Walmart launched its first competition on Pinterest, offering users the chance to win a $500 gift card by sharing images of products that help them to live more eco-friendly lives using the hashtag #WalmartGreen.
According to its own information, the competition received hundreds of entries.
Assuming it’s a real account, Walmart joined Google+ back in December 2011 and has posted a whopping two updates since then.
Walmart is extremely active through its other social channels, so I’m dubious that this one is real but in truth there’s no other reason to doubt its validity.
If anything, Google should be quite concerned that Walmart has neglected to maintain a G+ page while putting so much effort into other social networks, though I doubt Eric Schmidt will lose any sleep over it. | <urn:uuid:b7c28e37-e0e5-4d38-8f78-1c64ecc36d5c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/61827-how-walmart-uses-pinterest-facebook-twitter-and-google | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967178 | 988 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Truth cannot be sacrificed at the alter of a pretended tolerance. All religions, plainly and simply, cannot be true. Some beliefs are false, and we know them to be false. So it does no good to put a halo on the notion of tolerance as if everything could be equally true. To deem all beliefs equally true is sheer nonsense for the simple reason that to deny that statement would also, then, be true. But if the denial of the statement is also true, then all religions are not true…
Ravi Zacharias (via kandacelee)
You have to answer the question, “What is the unborn?” before you can answer the question, “Can we kill the unborn?
And what arrogance, what absolute arrogance, and it has been an argument for so long in this human place that we live, that the stronger should dominate the weaker; should determine who lives and dies.
Gianna Jessen (Abortion Survivor)
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.
Corrie Ten Boom
Not free, what proof could they have giv’n sincere
Of true allegiance, constant faith or love
Where only what they needs must do appeared,
Not what they would? What praise could they receive?
What pleasure I from such obedience paid
When will and reason (reason also is a choice)
Useless and vain, of freedom both despoiled,
Made passive both, had served necessity,
Not Me? They therefore, as to right belonged,
So were created, nor can they justly accuse
Their Maker or their making or their fate,
As if predestination overruled
Their will disposed by absolute decree
Or high foreknowledge.
Milton’s Paradise Lost
Tolerance of harmful behavior is unloving
Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe-a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.
We’ve forgotten as a society what love is, because supporting and justifying homosexuality is not real love any more than glorifying drinking helps the alcoholic or celebrating smoking helps wipe out lung cancer… The most loving stance for others to take is not to serve as enablers of self-destructive and immoral compulsions, but to stand in patient but firm opposition.
David Kupelian, The Marketing of Evil
You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving
The Utopian schemes of leveling [re-distribution of the wealth] and a community of goods [central ownership of the means of production and distribution], are as visionary and impractical as those which vest all property in the Crown. [These ideas] are arbitrary, despotic, and, in our government, unconstitutional.
Samuel Adams, (William V. Wells, The Life and Public Services of Samuel Adams, 3 vols. [Bostron: Little, Brown and Company, 1865], 1:154.)
True law (or natural law) is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands, and averts from wrongdoing by its prohibitions…It is a sin to try to alter this law, nor is it allowable to repeal any part of it, and it is impossible to abolish it entirely. We cannot b freed from its obligations by senate or people, and we need not look outside ourselves for an expounder or interpreter of it. And there will not be different laws at Rome and at Athens, or different laws now and in the future, but one eternal and unchangeable law will be valid for all nations and all times, and there will be one master and ruler, that is God, over us all, for he is the author of this law, its promulgator, and its enforcing judge. Whoever is disobedient is fleeing from himself and denying his human nature, and by reason of this very fact he will suffer the worst punishment.
Cicero, (Great Political Thinkers, p. 133.)
But the most foolish notion of all is the belief that everything is just which is found in the customs of laws of nations… What of the many deadly the many pestilential statutes which nations put in force? These no more deserve to be called laws than the rules a band of rovvers might pass in their assembly. For if ignorant and unskillful men have prescribed deadly poisons instead of healing drugs, these cannot possible be called physicians’ prescriptions; neither in a nation can a statute of any sort be called a law, even though the nation, in spite of being a ruinous regulation has accepted it.
If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark.
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
← Newer • Older →
Page 1 of 2 | <urn:uuid:a1ad1b51-58dc-4a33-ac18-f767673318d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://standingfast.tumblr.com/tagged/quote | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955186 | 1,052 | 1.929688 | 2 |
More than 1,500 New Yorkers gathered today in Manhattan to mourn the death of a 32 year-old gay man, who was shot down on Friday just blocks away from the historic Stonewall Inn in an apparent act of anti-gay bias.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed Talks about His Support for Marriage Equality
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed sat down with Politics on Peach, a local news and politics show, to discuss his support for marriage equality. Mayor Reed has only recently endorsed full marriage equality, previously having only supported civil unions. In so doing, Mayor Reed tells the story of his own personal evolution on marriage equality, inviting other listeners examine what they believe and perhaps arrive on the side of equality.
It was only in December, when Mayor Reed announced that he supported marriage equality. Before December, the mayor had resisted marriage equality, pointing to that state's constitutional amendment that limited marriage equality as the will of the people. Even when President Obama came out in support of marriage equality in May of 2012, Mayor Reed wasn't yet ready to join the president.
However, by December, Mayor Reed was ready to announce his support. His office issued a press release that the mayor had signed onto a city council resolution that supported the city’s lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual community by endorsing marriage equality. The resolution later passed.
“Today marks an important day as I announce my support for marriage equality,” said Mayor Reed. “It is well known that I have gone through a good bit of reflection on this issue, but listening to the stories of so many people that I know and care about has strengthened my belief that marriage is a fundamental right for everyone. Loving couples, regardless of their sexual orientation, should have the right to marry whomever they want. By signing this resolution, I pledge my support to marriage equality for same-sex couples, consistent with equal protection under the law provided under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
The local CBS news show, Politics on Peach, recently sat down with Mayor Reed to ask him about his support. Mayor Reed outlines his evolution on the issue, which mirrors the journey that many allies go through. For those who look up to Mayor Reed, his story will be edifying and informative for their views on LGBT equality.
The host of Politics on Peach, Brandon Rudat, did ask a few questions that reinforced outdated stereotypes about LGBT people. He asked about the comparison between the present LGBT movement and the Civil Rights movement. He also talked about the supposed blanket opposition to LGBT equality by "the Black Church", a misnomer because of the variety of strands of African-American Christians, who all have various levels of support for LGBT equality.
Fortunately, Mayor Reed was able to speak from a place of personal conviction, and as a Black, straight man who represents Atlanta, which is itself a gay black mecca in the heartland of civil rights movement. Because of his position, he is able to draw strands of history and present culture together and remind viewers that acceptance continues to grow in all populations and sectors of life.
The LGBT movement is fortunate to have an ally in Mayor Kasim Reed. He is someone who can articulate how he came to support the LGBT community, and not afraid to share it with the media. He breaks stereotypes, and continues to work for equality. | <urn:uuid:a9492f58-4e28-4ea2-b5e9-ccdf035b20bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.glaad.org/blog/atlanta-mayor-kasim-reed-talks-about-his-support-marriage-equality | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978015 | 681 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Best Known For
Jim Henson was an American puppeteer best known for creating TV characters, including the Muppets, and for his work on the popular children's show Sesame Street.
Jim Henson - Muppet Master (1:11)
Mel Brooks - Comedic Start (1:11)
Watch a short video about Jim Henson and learn how this puppeteer managed to entertain and educate children for decades.
Watch a short video about Mel Brooks and learn about his childhood and how this funny man gained cult status with the Broadway production of "The Producers."
Watch a short video about Steven Spielberg and uncover the ways that this director used his street smarts to learn the fundamentals of film making.
At the age of 10, Steven Spielberg took his father's 8mm camera and started filming home movies. By 1975, Spielberg became one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood when "Jaws" became an instant blockbuster.
Think you know about Biography?
Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.Play Now
Jim Henson, the man behind the Muppets, was born on September 24, 1936, in Greenville, Mississippi. Henson began working as a puppeteer in college, creating characters like Kermit the Frog. He worked as a producer on Sesame Street, a popular kids' show that launched in 1969, and created The Muppet Show in 1976. The Muppet Movie, the first of many movies featuring Henson's famous characters, appeared in 1979. Henson received several accolades for his work, including Emmys,
Grammys and a Peadbody Award. He died of pneumonia on May 16, 1990.
Jim Henson was born James Maury Henson on September 24, 1936, in Greenville, Mississippi. At a young age, Henson was drawn to the arts. His maternal grandmother, a painter, quilter and needleworker, encouraged his creative passions, including his puppetry. Well before his teen years, Henson was performing puppetry for audiences, including his fellow Cub Scouts. His youth was also spent toying with different visual mediums, including television, which he adored. A major influence of his childhood was TV puppeteer Burr Tillstrom, of the show Kukla, Fran and Ollie.
Henson had his first dalliance with televised puppetry while still in high school. He began performing with his puppets on a local Washington, D.C. Saturday morning program. By his freshman year at the University of Maryland, in 1955, Henson had scored a bi-weekly bit on a local NBC affiliate, Sam and Friends. The program scored a local Emmy Award in 1958, the same year that Henson founded the Jim Henson Company. The Muppets, including an early version of Kermit the Frog, were borne from Sam and Friends.
The puppet characters' popularity continued to grow, and they were soon making appearances in TV commercials, including one for Wilkins Coffee. One of Henson's puppet characters, Wheel Stealer, who snatched a family’s snacks on a food commercial and later chomped on an IBM computer in a TV ad, was an early incarnation of the beloved blue Cookie Monster. The first Muppet to gain national exposure, Rowlf the Dog, went from making appearances in Purina commercials to playing a sidekick on The Jimmy Dean Show in 1963. Rowlf was brought to life with the assistance of puppet builder Don Sahlin and puppeteer Frank Oz. Members of Henson's growing puppeteering team also appeared on The Today Show and The Ed Sullivan Show.
Around the same time, Henson began experimenting with short films, including 1965's Academy Award-nominated Time Piece. Then, in 1969, Henson teamed up with Children’s Television Workshop to produce the now-classic children's show on PBS, Sesame Street. As the show's theme song goes, Henson swept "the clouds away" with various original characters, including Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Snuffulupagus and Elmo. Between his puppetry and animated shorts, Henson perfected his gift for engaging children and making learning fun on Sesame Street.
But Henson's even bigger claim to TV fame came in the 1970s, with the debut of The Muppet Show.
profile name: Jim Henson profile occupation:
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Your Friends' Connections
Included In These Groups
Famous Puppeteers 8 people in this group
Originally called Toast of the Town, The Ed Sullivan Show ran from 1948-1971 on CBS and was an American staple in the 50s and 60s. The American variety show featured the Who's Who of celebritydom over the decades, including Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Tony Bennett, Carol Channing, Lucille Ball, The Jackson 5, and The Doors.
The Ed Sullivan Show Guests 215 people in this group
Famous Libras 533 people in this group | <urn:uuid:a03f9359-3e8b-470b-98bd-6a6df5e96ae6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biography.com/people/jim-henson-9335615?page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970028 | 1,053 | 2.859375 | 3 |
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama sent the names of seven judges to the Senate Wednesday as his nominees for currently vacant slots in the federal judiciary, including an openly gay African-American nominee.
Judge William L. Thomas was nominated Wednesday to an opening on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
According to Judge Thomas’ biography, released Wednesday by the White House, Thomas has served as a circuit judge in Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit since 2005, presiding over civil as well as criminal cases.
Before his elevation to the 11th Circuit, Thomas was an Assistant United States Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida and also spent time as an assistant public defender for greater Miami-Dade County, Florida. He is a 1994 graduate of the Temple University School of Law.
In the statement released by the White House, the president called for immediate consideration of the nominees including Judge Thomas citing the fact that too many courts are lacking judges.
“These individuals have demonstrated the talent, expertise, and fair-mindedness Americans expect and deserve from their judicial system,” Obama said.
“They also represent my continued commitment to ensure that the judiciary resembles the nation it serves. I am grateful for their willingness to serve and confident that they will apply the law with the utmost impartiality and integrity.”
“Today’s announcement also reflects the President’s historic commitment to advancing a diverse judiciary that looks like America,” said Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, in a statement. “If confirmed, these nominees would bring more women, minorities, and openly gay judges to courts to better reflect the nation they serve.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Thomas would become only the second out LGBT African-American to serve as a United States District Court judge.
Deborah Batts, nominated by then President Bill Clinton in 1994, to the District Court for the Southern District of New York, was the first openly LGBT African-American judge appointed to the federal judiciary.
Filed under: National Headlines | <urn:uuid:505f3cc9-20c1-428b-b5b4-567db4267da6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2012/11/obama-nominates-openly-gay-african-american-judge-to-federal-bench/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969361 | 432 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Hearing Loss (may Be Only Temporary, Due To Fluid Accumulation) Medical Conditions
Below is a list of potential medical conditions this symptom could be a sign of.
Middle Ear Infection
With this condition, the middle ear becomes infected and inflamed. The middle ear is located behind the eardrum...What is Middle Ear Infection? | <urn:uuid:f16c571f-7e85-4150-8131-d4380e784807> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thirdage.com/hc/sy/hearing-loss-may-be-only-temporary-due-to-fluid-accumulation-symptom-971 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941434 | 73 | 1.921875 | 2 |
Featured by New York Association of Regional Grantmakers
The following article was published in the April 2008 Issue of the NYRAG Memo in the Environmental Grantmaking section.
The New York Community Trust
"Although environmental problems may be invisible to many New Yorkers, safe drinking water, clean air, and nontoxic buildings are critical for residents' quality of life," said Patricia Jenny, a Program Director at The New York Community Trust. "Philanthropy has an important role to play in protecting the resources that sustain our lives."
Through one of its grant programs devoted to reclaiming the waterfront and expanding open space, The Trust has, over the past three years, awarded grants to the Bronx River Alliance, a coalition of more than 70 community groups and government agencies dedicated to protecting, improving, and restoring the Bronx River corridor. Support from The Trust has helped the alliance lay groundwork for the Bronx River Greenway, a proposed 23-mile, multi-use path connecting Bronx River communities from Westchester through the Bronx. Stretching for more than 15 miles so far, the greenway will offer critical north-south recreation and transportation to pedestrians, bicyclists, and others. Today, the alliance is working to introduce the greenway to community members through canoeing, kayaking, and education and outreach programs.
The New York Community Trust also supports Riverkeeper in its quest to preserve land in watersheds that provide up to 1.5 billion gallons of unfiltered drinking water to more than nine million New Yorkers daily. Riverkeeper played a critical role in the first broad-based watershed legislation in 1997. Through community outreach and legal policy promotion and enforcement, it remains one of the leading organizations dedicated to safe-guarding the region's drinking water. With assets of more than $2 billion invested in 1,800 individual charitable funds, The New York Community Trust is one of the largest community foundations in the nation. Launched in 1924, it builds an endowment for the city, supports its nonprofit organizations, and helps charitable New Yorkers achieve their philanthropic aims. With a large fund dedicated to projects of national and international significance, The Trust offers environmental grantmaking that has a global scope. It supports projects that address climate change, preserve biological diversity through habitat conservation, and reduce toxin levels that are hazardous to human health. Grants aim to minimize fossil fuel use through energy efficiency, alternative energy, and better transportation options.
They also promote land conservation and smart growth strategies, reforming destructive agricultural and industrial practices and fostering clean production practices and safer chemical use. | <urn:uuid:87190d85-b919-40d5-991c-df43c834650b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nycommunitytrust.org/Newsroom/TheTrustintheNews/NewYorkAssociationofRegionalGrantmakers/tabid/318/Default.aspx | 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 | 0.940068 | 511 | 2.484375 | 2 |
There are several great reasons to can your own food, and if you want to save money, eat healthier, and cut down on food waste--you'll find out soon enough that canning can help you accomplish all that and more. Whether you're just now getting acquainted with the canning process and could use some helpful advice, or you're a canning pro in need of some gentle reminders, here are some useful tips to make your canning experiences more successful ones.
Select Fresh Produce
Since any fruits and vegetables that you're canning might be stored on your pantry shelf for an extended period of time, avoid selecting any produce that's overripe. Instead, opt for freshly picked fruits and veggies that aren't on the brink of expiring.
Sterilize Jars, Rings, and Lids
Never underestimate the importance of sterilizing jars, rings, and lids that you'll be using to can food. To properly sterilize jars, rings, and lids, wash them with soap and hot water and follow with a thorough rinse. Once washed and rinsed, use a tongs to place them in a large pot of boiling water, allowing them to sit in the hot bath for approximately five minutes. With the tongs, transfer the jars, rings, and lids to a clean layer of paper toweling and use immediately.
Always Use New Lids
While canning jars and rings can be used time and time again as long as they're in good condition, lids shoul (Read More....) | <urn:uuid:535487d5-3ee0-48ab-8c2c-b295da8e3278> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theemergencyfoodsupply.com/archives/tag/pantry | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945395 | 317 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Translated by Henry Beveridge
Born Jean Cauvin in Noyon, Picardy, France, John Calvin was only a boy when Martin Luther first raised his challenge concerning indulgences. Calvin was enrolled at the age of 14 at the University of Paris, where he received preliminary training in theology and became an elegant Latinist. However, following the dictates of his father, he left Paris at the age of 19 and went to study law, first at Orleans, then at Bourges, in both of which centers the ideas of Luther were already creating a stir. On his father's death, Calvin returned to Paris, began to study Greek, the language of the New Testament, and decided to devote his life to scholarship. In 1532 he published a commentary on Seneca's De Clementia, but the following year, after experiencing what was considered a sudden conversion, he was forced to flee Paris for his religious views. The next year was given to the study of Hebrew in Basel and to writing the first version of his famous Institutes of the Christian Religion, which he gave to the printer in 1535. The rest of his life-except for a forced exile of three years-he spent in Geneva, where he became chief pastor, without ever being ordained. When he died, the city was solidly on his side, having almost become what one critic called a "theocracy." By then the fourth and much-revised edition of his Institutes had been published in Latin and French, commentaries had appeared on almost the whole Bible, treatises had been written on the Lord's Supper, on the Anabaptists, and on secret Protestants under persecution in France. Thousands of refugees had come to Geneva, and the city-energized by religious fervor-had found room and work for them. Though Calvin was sometimes bitter in his denunciation of those who disagreed with him, intolerant of other points of view, and absolutely sure he was right on the matter of predestination, he was nonetheless one of the great expounders of the faith. From his work the Reformed tradition had its genesis, and from his genius continues to refresh itself. | <urn:uuid:66bdc9f9-5ec6-47d3-920c-41e22c03b749> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.textbooksrus.com/search/bookdetail/?isbn=9781434694294 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.992472 | 439 | 3.3125 | 3 |
My breath condenses in the cold winter air. Gazing over the still, dark waters of Lake Tekapo is to feel transported to the edge of the known world: Here be dragons. Indeed, dragons, dwarves, and giant eagles take little imagination to be conjured up from these snowy ranges shrouded in cloud.
When J.R.R Tolkien created the mythical land of Middle Earth for his much beloved books, he had no idea that the landscapes of New Zealand would later become the backdrop for his stories in film.
Birthed from volcanic forces and scoured by glaciers, New Zealand is a geologically new land of diverse topography. Within a day's travel it is possible to traverse from snow capped mountains to the wild, southern seas taking in starkly different environments. Sometimes it is as if this landscape was made specifically for dreamers Tolkien's landscape of fantasy comes alive at the bottom of the Earth.
On a bluebird-blue day, crisp with bright sun, each blade of tussock grass emerges highlighted in detail. The trail twists between broad valleys carved by glaciers and ringed by steep walls. Only the gurgle of a stream and the distant rumble of avalanches break the cathedral-like silences.
A pilgrimage to Mount Aoraki (also known as Mount Cook) feels holy and awe-inspring at times. With a top elevation of 12,316 feet (3,745 meters) this is the highest peak in New Zealand and the crown jewel of the Southern Alps.
Cast adrift from the supercontinent of Gondwanaland 85 millions years ago, New Zealand's north and south islands are just the tips of a larger continent called Zealandia, submerged beneath the Pacific. In the last 1.8 million years, volcanic eruptions and multiple ice ages have radically transformed the land into the almost magical landscapes we see today, including the Southern Alps: the backbone of the rugged South Island.
Like a pastoral landscape painting, golden fields flecked with sheep lead the way to Mount Aspiring. As clouds race overhead, sunshine gives way to shadow as we rattle onward. The air temperature plummets, and soon hail begins to patter on the windshield.
Exposed and buffeted by multiple weather systems, those visiting the mountains should prepare to pack for four seasons in one day. Weather across all of New Zealand is often moody and unpredictable at best.
Similarly, the land itself can be unpredictable. Squeezed between two moving sections of the Earth's crust that are pushing against one another, New Zealand bestows natural hazards as part of life. Major earthquakes frequently rattle the South Island, while volcanic eruptions are a real concern on the North Island. The same forces that have shaped the land so beautifully are also those that can destroy so violently.
Rambling through fern gullies and mossy groves of southern beech trees, this forest feels enchanted and primeval. Water is everywhere: trickling over boulders, dripping from leaves, even seeping into my boots. But I hike on; the water is what makes this place so lush and beautiful.
In New Zealand, the wind comes mainly from the west, bringing rain, and lots of it. As moisture laden clouds from the Tasman Sea run into the Southern Alps, the cooler temperatures cause the air to condense as it rises up the mountains, releasing rain. Western regions, like this forest near Haast Pass, are among the wettest in the country.
This dense, dark "bush" once covered much of New Zealand. Though it was nearly impenetrable to early human explorers, New Zealand's native forests are alive with birds, insects, and lizards. Today much of the native forests have been cleared, but those tracts that remain are treasured for their beauty and as habitat for some of the world's most unusual species.
I marvel at the folds and indentations of the hills, as if the land was shaved raw and close by a razor. Here in Central Otago the land is craggy and pockmarked by rock and tussock. Open ranges and giant stones litter the ground like a giant's marble game.
Between isolated ranges with names like the Old Man Range and the Rock and Pillar, small bygone gold rush towns from the mid-1800's populate the map between the Southern Alps and the East Coast. The solace of open space and the weight of history take the breath away and capture the imagination.
This scene could be the Great Plains or the African Savanna after all. Instead of bison or wildebeest though, giant birds once lumbered over this landscape. The now extinct flightless moa, the largest of which grew to 11 feet (3.5 m) tall and weighed over 440 pounds (200 kilograms), browsed open grasslands like this one much as cattle and sheep do today. Dig a little and you just might find old moa bones or even gold.
Low, misty clouds wrap around the hills like a blanket. River reeds murmur in the faintest breeze. Still waters gather expectantly in lakes and valleys as I make my way slowly from the high plains towards the coast.
Lakes abound in New Zealand, silent and deep. Indeed, New Zealand is a land of lakes, with more than 775 that are at least a half kilometer (one third of a mile) long. Some are massive like Lake Taupo on the North Island. At 240 square miles (623 square kilometres) in area, it is roughly the size of Singapore. Others are deep, like Lake Hauroko at the bottom of the South Island. At 1,515 feet (462 m) it is the 16th deepest lake in the world.
New Zealand lakes are habitat and home to many birds, such as ducks and herons, and fish, such as rainbow and brown trout that were introduced by European settlers. The kings of these still waters, though, are New Zealand's endemic longfin eels (Anguilla dieffenbachii). Found only in New Zealand, these eels are some of the world's largest, measuring up to 61 inches (155 centimeters) in length. They are also among the world's longest living eels, with records of some females living up to 106 years old!
Amongst the misty spray and dull roar of Purakanui Falls, green algae festoon the slippery rocks. Steadying myself with a nearby branch, my hand wraps around a thick mat of mosses, ferns and orchids. Tangled roots and tree limbs grope in every direction, hemming me in, while in the pools at my feet small fishes dart among the rocks.
Rivers are life, and for a small country New Zealand has a lot of rivers. Indeed, the total length of the country's rivers is more than 111,847 miles (180,000 km). The longest river is the Waikato at 265 mi (425 km), running through the heart of the North Island. More than 40 species of native fish and many other types of animals call these rivers home.
With canoes and rafts, early Maori explorers used rivers like highways to gather food and harvest pounamou, or greenstone, for trade. Later, European explorers used rivers to access the rugged interior, searching for gold, for new places to settle, for opportunities and a new life.
I feel like a little person, you could even say a Hobbit, dwarfed by giant tree ferns. It is as though I've walked straight into the Jurrassic period. Where are the dinosaurs? Forget Middle Earth, sometimes New Zealand feels like pre-historic Earth.
Broken off from the supercontinent of Gondwana more than 85 million years ago, New Zealand drifted in the seas of geologic time. As it drifted it carried a cargo of primitive plants and animals from Gondwana, like cycads and tree ferns.
Isolated from other lands by the sea, new creatures colonized the land over time, but only those able to fly or drift over. Because of the formidable ocean barrier, there are almost no native mammals in New Zealand. Over time, evolution shaped the creatures that did arrive in unusual ways. Flightless birds like the iconic kiwi and giant moas filled the roles mammals play elsewhere. While the now extinct Haast Eagle, the world's largest eagle at 22-33 pound (10-15 kg), once hunted them. With few predators, many birds did not need to be able to fly.
The tides are strong along the Otago Peninsula, rising and sinking several meters each day. Listening to the cries of oystercatchers and watching the waning tide rush out, seaweeds, red periwinkles, cat's eye snails and mussels lie exposed on the rocks. Masses of yellow k?whai flowers, New Zealand's national flower, frame a beautiful harbor.
The sea both separates New Zealand and brings the world closer to it. This was the last major landmass on planet Earth to be discovered and colonized by people. When Polynesian explorers first set eyes on this land around 1250 A.D., it must have seemed like a mythical place, with its dense forests, long rocky coastlines, impenetrable mountains and enormous flightless birds.
With the arrival of Polynesian explorers, New Zealand's long isolation was forever shattered. Within 200 years of landfall, the moa had been hunted to extinction. In the 19th century, many other native bird species were killed by rats, cats, stoats and other predators that came with the first European settlers. Today, some native species cling to life only in reserves: the last descendents of Gondwanaland.
In a Maori legend the demigod Maui pulled up a huge fish from the sea, which became the North Island. His canoe became the South Island, and its anchor Steward Island together, the three main islands of New Zealand or Aoteraoa in Maori, meaning "the land of the long white cloud."
The land of the long white cloud is a land of contrasts. Volcanoes and glaciers, forests, beaches and open plains run the length and breadth of this country. Plants and animals, both ancient natives and new arrivals, juxtapose evolutionary past with present. The culture of Polynesia meets that of the British Isles, blending into something different and utterly new.
Here it is possible to see sheep dotting the same green hillsides where penguins come ashore to nest; to experience four seasons and four landscapes in one day; to walk through a fantasy land come to life and feel small beside the immensity of nature. In New Zealand it is possible to find your own Middle Earth at the bottom of the Earth.
Follow OurAmazingPlanet for the latest in Earth science and exploration news on Twitter @OAPlanet. We're also on Facebook & Google+. | <urn:uuid:c2f008af-bb87-4bcf-9b40-be9bfdc8a90c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.livescience.com/31866-new-zealand-landscape-photos.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943707 | 2,256 | 2.78125 | 3 |
- Last Updated: 1:25 AM, August 11, 2012
- Posted: 1:25 AM, August 11, 2012
Comptroller John Liu yesterday urged the NYPD to allow Sikh officers to wear their religious turbans and beards while on duty.
In a letter to Mayor Bloomberg, Liu noted that the Washington, DC police department recently relaxed its dress code to allow Sikhs to wear beards and religious garb.
Liu’s appeal comes in the wake of the Wisconsin shooting at a Sikh temple and protests that Sikhs have suffered post-9/11 discrimination.
“Our city can enact meaningful inclusion of this community by changing NYPD rules to allow Sikhs to serve without having to forsake their turbans and beards,” Liu said.
“Shouldn’t the NYPD, providing security in one of the most diverse cities in the world, proudly display its own diversity?”
The NYPD defended its current policy as making such religious allowances — to a degree.
“The NYPD makes reasonable accommodations for religious beliefs, and already allows Sikh members of the service to wear turbans that fit under department headgear,” said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.
Browne said beards are allowed to a certain length. But he added, “Police officers are required to wear emergency equipment, including gas masks that beards of a certain length will break the seal and allow air in a contaminated atmosphere to enter, defeating the mask’s effectiveness.” | <urn:uuid:9c35e00e-c4dc-42ed-bbf6-87ef480f9d08> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/liu_let_sikh_cops_wear_turbans_bQa4kPF5aD07jK4AHLt93N | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958627 | 309 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Microarray-based identification and profiling of microRNAs in plants
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate specific target mRNAs at the post-transcriptional level. Plant miRNAs have been implicated in developmental processes and adaptations to environmental stresses. Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential heavy metal that is highly toxic to plants. To investigate the responsive functions of miRNAs under Cd stress, miRNA expression in Cd-stressed rice (Oryza sativa) was profiled using a microarray assay. A total of 19 Cd-responsive miRNAs were identified, of which six were further validated experimentally. Target genes were also predicted for these Cd-responsive miRNAs, which encoded transcription factors, and proteins associated with metabolic processes or stress responses. In addition, the mRNA levels of several targets were negatively correlated with the corresponding miRNAs under Cd stress. Promoter analysis showed that metal stress-responsive cis-elements tended to occur more frequently in the promoter regions of Cd-responsive miRNAs. These findings suggested that miRNAs played an important role in Cd tolerance in rice, and highlighted a novel molecular mechanism of heavy metal tolerance in plants.
Ding Y, Chen Z, Zhu C. (2011) Microarray-based analysis of cadmium-responsive microRNAs in rice (Oryza sativa). J Exp Bot [Epub ahead of print]. [article]
Microarray-based identification of tomato microRNAs and time course analysis of their response to Cucumber mosaic virus infection.
Abstract: A large number of plant microRNAs (miRNAs) are now documented in the miRBase, among which only 30 are for Solanum lycopersicum (tomato). Clearly, there is a far-reaching need to identify and profile the expression of miRNAs in this important crop under various physiological and pathological conditions. In this study, we used an in situ synthesized custom microarray of plant miRNAs to examine the expression and temporal presence of miRNAs in the leaves of tomato plants infected with Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Following computational sequence homology search and hairpin structure prediction, we identified three novel tomato miRNA precursor genes. Our results also show that, in accordance with the phenotype of the developing leaves, the tomato miRNAs are differentially expressed at different stages of plant development and that CMV infection can induce or suppress the expression of miRNAs as well as up-regulate some star miRNAs (miRNA*s) which are normally present at much lower levels. The results indicate that developmental anomalies elicited by virus infection may be caused by more complex biological processes.
Lang QL, Zhou XC, Zhang XL, Drabek R, Zuo ZX, Ren YL, Li TB, Chen JS, Gao XL. (2011) Microarray-based identification of tomato microRNAs and time course analysis of their response to Cucumber mosaic virus infection. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. 12(2),116-25. [abstract] | <urn:uuid:533c2fd6-f517-49ff-abcf-0fc731fea6de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lcsciences.com/news/microarray-based-identification-and-profiling-of-micrornas-in-plants | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932639 | 660 | 2.6875 | 3 |
© 2001 International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA)
What Mathematics Content Do Teachers Emphasize at the Eighth Grade?
Teachers of the mathematics classes tested were asked what subject matter they emphasized most in their classes (e.g., geometry, algebra, various combinations of content, etc.). Their responses, presented in Exhibit 5.16, reveal that most eighth-grade students around the world are being taught mathematics with an integration of content areas. Internationally on average, more than half the students were taught a combination of mathematics topics (i.e., combined algebra, geometry, number, etc.), and almost 20 percent were in classes emphasizing algebra and geometry combined.
Just as in TIMSS 1995,(6) the mathematics curriculum in the U.S. at the eighth grade does not appear to be as advanced as in other countries. About one-third of the U.S. eighth-grade students were in mathematics classes where the emphasis was on the combination of algebra, geometry, number, etc., but more than one-quarter were in classes emphasizing mainly number. None of the reference countries except Canada had a comparable proportion of students in classes emphasizing mainly number, and across all the TIMSS 1999 countries a mere 14 percent of students were in such classes.
Even when U.S. eighth graders were being taught algebra, it was usually as a single emphasis. More than one-quarter of the students were in classes emphasizing only algebra, compared with six percent in classes with a combined algebra and geometry emphasis. This is almost a reverse of the international pattern of 20 percent in algebra and geometry combined compared with eight percent in algebra only.
The Benchmarking states generally resembled the United States overall in the percentages of students in classes emphasizing various mathematics subject matter. Relative emphasis on mathematics subject matter varied more across the districts and consortia. Similar to the United States overall, most Benchmarking jurisdictions had much higher percentages of students whose teachers reported emphasizing mainly number at the eighth grade than did those in the top-performing comparison countries. These data suggest that many students in the U.S. continue to be taught number concepts at the eighth grade while their peers in other countries study topics in geometry and algebra, as discussed below. This is supported by previous TIMSS studies that showed that U.S. eighth-grade students who were not in Algebra 1 courses (approximately 75 to 80 percent of students) continued to receive instruction in arithmetic, estimation, and measurement units compared with their peers internationally who have completed these topics and received more focused instruction on integers, rational numbers, exponents, roots and radicals, and on geometry, algebra, and proportionality topics.(7)
In the Benchmarking states, the percentages of students in classes emphasizing mainly number is striking, and ranged from 20 percent in Indiana and Massachusetts to 39 percent in Idaho and Illinois. In Chicago and the Fremont/Lincoln/Westside Public Schools, 47 and 40 percent of students, respectively, had teachers who reported emphasizing mainly number at the eighth grade, while only four percent had teachers who did so in high-performing Naperville. Less than 10 percent of students were in mainly number classes in only six of the Benchmarking jurisdictions: the First in the World Consortium, Guilford County, Jersey City, the Michigan Invitational Group, Naperville, and Rochester.
There was even more variation among districts and consortia in the percentage of students in classes emphasizing algebra, ranging from two to five percent in Chicago, Jersey City, and Rochester to 91 percent in Naperville. Districts and consortia with more than one-third of their students in classes emphasizing algebra were the Academy School District, First in the World, Guilford County, Miami-Dade, the Michigan Invitational Group, Montgomery County, Naperville, and the Southwest Pennsylvania Math and Science Collaborative. Nearly all Benchmarking jurisdictions had no more than three percent of their students in classes emphasizing geometry. Only the Academy School District and the First in the World Consortium had appreciable percentages of students in such classes (14 and 18 percent, respectively).
TIMSS 1999 is a project of the International
Boston College, Lynch School of Education | <urn:uuid:71e2b410-2358-4818-8625-de4db3457248> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://timss.bc.edu/timss1999b/mathbench_report/t99bmath_chap_5_8.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964887 | 854 | 3.90625 | 4 |
|Received:||4/20/2004 5:46:36 PM|
|Agency:||Federal Trade Commission|
There are many legitimate mailers who only mail to people who have opted to receive their email. It is important to not put these people out of business by making regulations or penalties too harsh. The people that need to be stopped are the spammers who make no efforts to honor opt out requests or who hijack other people's resources to send mail. It is important to understand the difference between a legitimate email marketer and a spammer. | <urn:uuid:6d25f989-2678-4cc2-93c0-b0ba809227a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ftc.gov/os/comments/canspam/OL-105305.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919931 | 116 | 1.640625 | 2 |
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE "The Donner Party"
Aired Friday, 2/12 9:00-10:30 p.m. on CPTV
A cautionary tale of human endeavor and failure, hope and despair, greed and ambition, “The Donner Party,” the acclaimed documentary from filmmakers Ric Burns (“New York: A Documentary Film”) and Lisa Ades ("Miss America") returns to AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Monday, February 1, 2010, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET on CPTV. Narrated by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and historian David McCullough, "The Donner Party" chronicles the harrowing tale of the ill-fated emigrant group who set out for the promised land of California in the spring of 1846, only to meet with disaster in the snows of the Sierra Nevada mountains the following winter.
Using archival photographs, paintings, and maps; diaries, letters and memoirs of the party members; interview with writers and historians; and original cinematography from across the Oregon and California trails, “The Donner Party” traces the emigrants’ 2,500-mile journey from Springfield, Illinois, to Sutters Fort in California. The letters, memoirs and diary selections are read by Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, Frances Sternhagen, George Plimpton, Lois Smith and Eli Wallach, among others. “The Donner Party” has been honored with a George Foster Peabody Award and a Writers Guild Award.
The journey began in 1846 as part of the large tide of American emigration that was beginning to settle the Mexican province of Upper California. In July of that year, a group of 87 men, women and children led by George and Jacob Donner split off from the main body of emigrants heading for California to take an untried shortcut across the barren reaches of the Great Basin, which is bordered by the Rocky and Sierra Nevada mountains.
The tortuously difficult route was their undoing. Weeks behind schedule and desperately short of food, the Donner party did not reach the mountains of California until late October where they were stopped by the first blizzard of what would prove to be the worst winter in the history of the Sierra Nevada.
“Thursday, December 31st. Last of the year, may we with God’s help spend the coming year better than the past which we purpose to do if Almighty God will deliver us from our present dreadful situation,” wrote Patrick Breen in his journal. “Freezing hard every night. Looks like another storm. Snow storms are dreadful to us.”
The five months the Donner party spent trapped on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada culminated in death for some and cannibalism for others. Of the 87 people in the Donner party, only 46 survived.
“It’s got everything. It’s a Greek tragedy. It’s a great test of human character,” says author Wallace Stegner. “Some people came through it heroically. And some of the people in that party were far from heroes and got worse as the conditions got worse. It was as if the sheep and the goats, the blessed and the unblessed, sorted themselves out against the background of terrible hardship and tragedy.”
More than a century and a half later, the tale of the Donner party remains one of the most compelling and enduring episodes to come out of the West. The Donner party relentlessly shows us the dark side of the American dream, says director Ric Burns. Like no other episode in American history it shows us the way that dreams can sometimes go terribly awry. It also shows us the astonishing ability of human beings simply to endure under the most harrowing circumstances. | <urn:uuid:fed8278e-86c3-4872-ba7a-5c7be5ff20a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cpbn.org/program/american-experience-program-page/episode/american-experience-donner-party | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950046 | 791 | 1.90625 | 2 |
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon.com Inc. is selling a self-published guide that offers advice to pedophiles, and that has generated outrage on the Internet and threats to boycott the retailer.
The availability of "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct" calls into question whether Amazon has any procedures — or even an obligation — to vet books before they are sold in its online stores. Amazon did not respond to multiple e-mail and phone messages.
The title is an electronic book available for Amazon's Kindle e-reader and the company's software for reading Kindle books on mobile phones and computers. Amazon allows authors to submit their own works and shares revenue with them.
Amazon issues guidelines banning certain materials, including those deemed offensive. However, the company doesn't elaborate on what constitutes offensive content, saying simply that it is "probably what you would expect." Amazon also doesn't promise to remove or protect any one category of books.
The author of "The Pedophile's Guide," listed as Philip R. Greaves II, argues that pedophiles are misunderstood, as the word literally means to love a child. The author adds that it is only a crime to act on sexual impulses toward children, and offers advice that purportedly allows pedophiles to abide by the law.
Many users on Twitter called on Amazon to pull the book, and a few threatened to boycott the retailer until it does.
This isn't the first time Amazon has come under attack for selling objectionable content in its store. In 2002, the United States Justice Foundation, a conservative group, threatened to sue Amazon for selling "Understanding Loved Boys and Boylovers." That title is still available through Amazon.
In 2009, Amazon stopped selling "RapeLay," a first-person video game in which the protagonist stalks and then rapes a mother and her daughters, after it was widely condemned in the media and by various interest groups.
© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:9909d1ef-aa06-491e-9f75-0bee00094170> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsmax.com/US/Amazon-PedophiliaBook/2010/11/10/id/376677 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953006 | 424 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Year of publication
- 2009 (1) (remove)
- Hypothermia and postconditioning after cardiopulmonary resuscitation reduce cardiac dysfunction by modulating inflammation, apoptosis and remodeling (2009)
- Background: Mild therapeutic hypothermia following cardiac arrest is neuroprotective, but its effect on myocardial dysfunction that is a critical issue following resuscitation is not clear. This study sought to examine whether hypothermia and the combination of hypothermia and pharmacological postconditioning are cardioprotective in a model of cardiopulmonary resuscitation following acute myocardial ischemia. Methodology/Principal Findings: Thirty pigs (28–34 kg) were subjected to cardiac arrest following left anterior descending coronary artery ischemia. After 7 minutes of ventricular fibrillation and 2 minutes of basic life support, advanced cardiac life support was started according to the current AHA guidelines. After successful return of spontaneous circulation (n = 21), coronary perfusion was reestablished after 60 minutes of occlusion, and animals were randomized to either normothermia at 38°C, hypothermia at 33°C or hypothermia at 33°C combined with sevoflurane (each group n = 7) for 24 hours. The effects on cardiac damage especially on inflammation, apoptosis, and remodeling were studied using cellular and molecular approaches. Five animals were sham operated. Animals treated with hypothermia had lower troponin T levels (p<0.01), reduced infarct size (34±7 versus 57±12%; p<0.05) and improved left ventricular function compared to normothermia (p<0.05). Hypothermia was associated with a reduction in: (i) immune cell infiltration, (ii) apoptosis, (iii) IL-1beta and IL-6 mRNA up-regulation, and (iv) IL-1beta protein expression (p<0.05). Moreover, decreased matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity was detected in the ischemic myocardium after treatment with mild hypothermia. Sevoflurane conferred additional protective effects although statistic significance was not reached. Conclusions/Significance: Hypothermia reduced myocardial damage and dysfunction after cardiopulmonary resuscitation possible via a reduced rate of apoptosis and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. | <urn:uuid:053cc7ed-7f48-4824-84d3-3237a39ba386> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/solrsearch/index/search/searchtype/authorsearch/author/%22Alexander+Koch%22/start/0/rows/10/yearfq/2009/author_facetfq/Thi+Hoai+Nguyen+Tran | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903832 | 491 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Grand Challenges Canada, which is funded by the Government of Canada, announced a landmark $19.4 million in support of 15 innovative, pioneering projects designed to improve mental health diagnosis and care in developing countries, many of them nations ravaged by conflict and disaster as well as poverty.
The projects were selected through competitive scientific peer review from among 97 ideas submitted in response to a Grand Challenge that focuses on increased access and improved treatment, and addresses stigma for people with mental health disorders in developing countries.
Globally, close to 450 million people have mental health disorders; more than 75 percent of that number live in developing countries. In addition, according to the World Health Organisation, 85 percent of developing world patients with serious mental disorders receive no treatment at all.
"Mental health disorders are a leading cause of suffering and disability everywhere, but the problem is especially acute in the developing world," said Dr Peter A. Singer, Chief Executive Officer of Grand Challenges Canada. "There is very little funding for mental health innovations in low- and middle-income countries, where mental illness is the most neglected of many neglected diseases. It's a terrible denial of human potential."
"Canada has a long and proud tradition of fostering innovation to improve the lives of people living in some of the most desperate situations," said the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance for Canada. "Global Mental Health is a significant challenge which, left unaddressed, could undermine the health, social and economic futures of developing countries."
Fifteen projects in 14 low- and middle-income countries will test bold new ideas for addressing mental health issues, where patients are often severely stigmatised – even chained or locked up in the absence of understanding or care.
Afghanistan has suffered through 30 years of conflict in the recent past. Over one million people have been killed; one million are disabled and millions of others are refugees. Most Afghan families have lost one or more family members during the conflict. As a result, it is estimated that about 50 percent of Afghanis over 15 years of age are suffering from mental health problems – depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. Outside of Kabul, there is no mental health care system. The Grand Challenges Canada grant will help support improved awareness of mental health problems in rural areas through simple technologies, such as text messages and information technology, including web-based tools, and teleconferencing to enable community health practitioners to reach patients in need, especially young people.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, was traumatised by the 2010 earthquake that killed as many as 316 000 people, injured 300 000 and left 1.6 million homeless. Almost every person in this small country was affected. Later that same year, there was more misery when a cholera outbreak struck. As a result, it is estimated there is a high prevalence of mental health conditions in Haiti, yet mental health services are limited and of poor quality. With the support of Grand Challenges Canada, local health care organisation Zanmi Lasante will increase treatment and care to Haitians through developing and testing culturally appropriate initiatives for community health workers to implement.
Ethiopia. Der biaber anbessa yaser is an Amharic saying meaning, "Together, a spider web will tie a lion." Dr Clare Pain of Toronto and Dr Dawit Wondimagegn of Ethiopia are leading the Biaber project, which plans to help tame the lion of mental illness in Ethiopia. One contributing factor to mental health disorders is domestic violence which, according to a recent study, occurs in 72 percent of rural Ethiopian families. The violence can lead to depression, anxiety and suicide; furthermore, those who suffer are often severely stigmatised. This project will test improved screening for mental health disorders and make treatments available to many who previously could not access care.
Nigeria. As many as 25 percent of patients seen in local health centres suffer significant depression symptoms, yet few are diagnosed and only about one in six of those diagnosed get treatment of any kind – lower than the African average of 30 percent. Depression has a major impact on productivity and mortality, and compounds other health problems. Researchers will test low-cost innovations to improve recognition and diagnosis of the problem, improve patient adherence to treatment, and make interventions for depression more available and accessible with decentralised mental health services.
"Canada is to be congratulated for its bold new initiative to improve global mental health," said Dr Shekhar Saxena, Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at the World Health Organisation. "This area of health often remains ignored in health planning and resource allocation; for example, most low-income countries currently spend less than 25 cents US per person on mental health. Grand Challenges Canada is now making one of the largest ever investments in mental health innovations in the developing world, so WHO is very pleased indeed to support the initiative and help to ensure the most effective utilisation of these vital investments."
"These bold ideas will bring hope to so many who suffer from mental disorders in the developing world," said Dr Pamela Kanellis, Programme Officer for Grand Challenges Canada. "Each of the projects underscores the importance of innovation to making mental health care available in low- and middle-income countries, which are so desperately underserved and where stigma can result in people being locked up, even kept in chains, not receiving the care that they need. These projects will have a significant impact on the mental well-being of individuals, their families and their communities."
"Grand Challenges Canada is taking a global leadership position by funding innovation to address mental health disorders in the developing world. The $19.4 million we are putting into these projects is the largest single investment in global mental health innovation for this sadly under-resourced area of health," said Dr Abdallah S. Daar, Chief Science and Ethics Officer at Grand Challenges Canada and co-leader of a defining study, "Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health", published in Nature in 2011. http://grandchallengesgmh.nimh.nih.gov/Grand%20Challenges%20in%20Global%20Mental%20Health.pdf
Projects will be conducted in the following countries (some are in more than one country):
Africa: Nigeria (three projects), Kenya (two projects), Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda (two projects)
Asia: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka
Latin America and Caribbean: Haiti, Belize, Guyana
The projects include a wide array of mental health innovations, which include:
1) Using cell phones, care for Nigerian women suffering from perinatal depression
2) Promoting mental health in Kenyan children
3) Training non-specialist workers in Nigeria to increase the availability of care for people suffering from depression
4) In Pakistan, improving care for children with autism and intellectual disability
5) Identifying and treating people with dementia in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa
6) In Zimbabwe, counselling depressed and anxious patients on the "Friendship Bench"
7) Identifying and treating problem drinking in Belize and Guyana
8) In Ethiopia, spotting and encouraging treatment for domestic violence and mental disorders
9) Addressing youth depression in Malawi and Zambia
10) Treating severe post-war mental disorders in Uganda, Liberia and Nepal
11) Screening for alcohol and substance abuse in Kenya
12) Using local health networks and telemedicine to help Afghans with mental health challenges, estimated at 50 percent of the population over 15 years old
13) In post-conflict northern Uganda, bridging the traditional and modern approaches to treating mental health problems
14) In Haiti, bringing mental health treatment to rural Haitians to speed recovery from the 2010 earthquake
15) In Sri Lanka, expanding global access to online mental health care.
For more information about the 15 projects, click here. http://www.grandchallenges.ca/globalmentalhealth-grantees-en/
Grand Challenges Canada is funded by the Government of Canada through the Development Innovation Fund announced in the 2008 Federal Budget. | <urn:uuid:cc91e165-3283-47fb-9492-c1e0a890272c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://allafrica.com/stories/201210110792.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937146 | 1,651 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Note: This page is still in the early development stages ... it might occasionally behave erratically.
For the most part, expressions are entered using standard mathematical notation, with a few caveats:
I also have a page where you can practice differentiation (derivatives).
While I have tried to test this page fairly thoroughly, it may sometimes fail. If you find it is misbehaving for you, please click THIS LINK to send me an email report of the problem.
For "skipped" functions, this page provides a link to wolframalpha.com where you can see the details of how to find the integral (follow the link, then click "Show steps"). Note that this might fail for some functions, because some of my notation is tricky to translate to a form that WolframAlpha will understand.
To check if your answer is correct, the computer finds the exact derivative of your function, and compares it to the original function you were asked to antidifferentiate. If those functions have the same output value at 5 randomly selected x values between –8 and +8, your answer is judged to be correct. That should be nearly foolproof, but I have not tested this page to the point that I can guarantee it will never fail.
The contents of this page are © 2013 Darryl Nester. It is available to anyone who wishes to use it (like most things on the Internet). Please send me an email if you have found it to be useful, or if you have suggestions. | <urn:uuid:6a55d327-7e36-440b-9be6-269e9f1ab0dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bluffton.edu/~nesterd/java/integrals.html | 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 | 0.928138 | 308 | 2.0625 | 2 |
In an effort nicknamed "Operation Payback," a loose association of hackers called "Anonymous" has been targeting the websites of companies and organizations that have cut ties with WikiLeaks by overwhelming their sites with traffic, prompting them to shut down. Twitter and Facebook have blocked accounts for Anonymous, citing the illegality of their attacks as a terms-of-service violation. WikiLeaks' Facebook and Twitter accounts remain up and running.
“Of course, Anonymous is expected to keep creating new accounts as quickly as Facebook and Twitter squash them; it’s a bit like Whack-a-Mole or doing battle with a hydra, in that sense,” said social media news website Mashable. "Fighting Anonymous is a task we wouldn’t wish on anyone."
Below are some of the most notable attacks.
Mastercard was the first credit-card company to come under attack by hackers, and attacks on Visa soon followed – both launched in retaliation for the companies’ refusal to process donations to WikiLeaks. At various points Wednesday, parts or all of their websites were down, MSNBC reported.
NPR reported Thursday that WikiLeaks’ payment processor, Iceland's DataCell ehf, is preparing to sue both companies for their decision to block the funds, which it claimed is costing the company money.
"It's difficult to believe that such a large company as Visa can make a political decision," [CEO Andreas] Fink said in a telephone interview from Switzerland. In an earlier statement, his company had defended the WikiLeaks, saying that "it is simply ridiculous to think WikiLeaks has done anything criminal."
1 of 5 | <urn:uuid:c72f4b96-6e33-455b-9dd2-d4ddb99796f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2010/1209/Hackers-rally-to-support-WikiLeaks-Top-5-recent-attacks/Mastercard-and-Visa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980183 | 328 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Paying for Care Home Fees - Who Pays for What?
Who Pays for What?
When moving into, or helping a loved one into a care home, fully understanding what the State provides and being certain about costs and affordability is essential for all involved. Seeking independent advice is important, however, here we seek to answer some of the most commonly asked questions. Contact Saga for further advice specific to your needs, call 0800 056 7996 or fill in the click here.
Who qualifies for local authority financial assistance?
If you have been assessed as needing a care home place and your capital is below £23,250, you should be entitled to financial support from your local authority. If you have capital below £14,250 you will be entitled to maximum support although you will still contribute your income less £22.30 per week retained for personal expenses. If you have capital between £14,250 and £23,250 you will also pay a capital tariff of £1 per week for each £250 or part thereof between these two figures.
If the State is paying do I have a choice of care home?
Yes and it can even be in a different county. The home you choose must be suitable for your assessed needs, comply with any terms and conditions set by the authority and, not cost any more than they would usually pay for someone with your needs.
What if the home costs more than the local authority is prepared to pay for?
The local authority will allow the fees to be topped up by a third party who is able to do so over the long term. You are not allowed to top up the fees yourself from capital below £23,250.
My partner needs care, how does this financially affect me?
Only the partner requiring care should be means tested. Property occupied by a partner is disregarded and only fifty percent of any private pension should be taken into account. The local authority will take into account 50% of any joint savings. Therefore, to accelerate financial help, it is better to have separate single accounts meeting care costs paid from the account of the person in the care home. Contact Saga for further advice specific to your needs, call 0800 056 7996 or fill in the click here.
If you are self funding your care because you are not eligible for local authority funding, there are other forms of financial assistance you may be entitled to.
Will the Social Services pay my fees whilst I am selling my former home?
If, apart from your property, your other capital is below £23,250 the local authority will help as above with the costs during the first twelve weeks of permanent care. Beyond that period any financial help will be charged against the value of your former home and recovered from the eventual sale proceeds.
Do I have to sell my property?
No, the Social Services can lend you the money to pay for your care charged against your property value. However, they may limit how much they will pay and it could adversely effect your welfare benefit entitlements.
Do I have to pay council tax on an empty property?
If you move into a care home and your property is left empty then you should receive full exemption from Council Tax until it's sold.
Is there any financial help that is not means tested?
If you are self funding, Attendance Allowance is a non-means tested, non-taxable allowance paid at the lower rate of £47.80 per week for those needing care by day or night and, at a higher rate of £71.40 per week for those needing care by day and night. Also, whether your stay is temporary or permanent, if you receive nursing care in a care home you may be entitled to an NHS Registered Nursing Care Contribution (RNCC) towards the cost of your nursing care. If applicable, an amount of £108.70 per week is paid by the NHS direct to the nursing home as a contribution towards the weekly fees. If your needs are primarily health care needs, you may be entitled to full funding from your local Primary Care Trust (PCT) following an assessment under their continuing care eligibility criteria.
What happens if I move into a care home independently and run out of money?
Once your capital reduces to £23,250 you can seek local authority assistance. However, if the home costs more than the local authority usually pays and won't reduce its fees, you could be in the difficult situation of either finding a source of top-up or seeking less expensive accommodation, the move to which could be detrimental to health and well being. If there is a likelihood of running out of money it's important for you to arrange an assessment of your care needs with the local social services department to ensure they will step into help. Also check if the care home owner can continue to accommodate you at social services funding rates, or will require a third party top-up.
What can I do to avoid this situation?
There are ways of meeting care costs for as long as you need care whilst using up only part of your capital. For example the use of Immediate Need Care Fee Payment Plans can contribute towards capping the cost from the outset thus enabling an inheritance to be left for the family.
Contact Saga for further advice specific to your needs, call 0800 056 7996 or fill in the click here.
Care Home Search •
Care Home Providers •
Care Home Associations •
Care Home Fees Advice
Products & Services for Care Homes • A-Z Care Homes Guide • Care Data • Care News & Events • Care Home Jobs
Care Homes for Sale • Care Training Courses • iPhone & Android Apps
© 2013 carehome.co.uk | <urn:uuid:9894bc4e-5fae-4baf-8959-99af72e83f47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.carehome.co.uk/fees/feesadvice.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946565 | 1,162 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Cal Poly AMELIA Model
In January 2012, researchers from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif. tested a future aircraft concept model in support of the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Program. The model, called AMELIA (Advanced Model for Extreme Lift and Improved Aeroacoustics), has a 10-foot wing span and is 1/11th scale. It was tested in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex. AMELIA was designed as a 150-passenger regional cruise efficient, short takeoff and landing airliner.
Photo Credit: NASA Ames Research Center / Dominic Hart | <urn:uuid:6786b201-7da7-43c9-9062-9c6b677536e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/multimedia/images/2012/iotw/cal_poly_amelia_model.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918129 | 126 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Atomic City Underground
John Eschenberg, federal project director for the Uranium Processing Facility, said it's possible the project team could have squeezed all of the necessary equipment into existing designs for the new 350,000-square-foot production center at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant.
However, urgent efforts in recent months couldn't resolve the space/fit problems as the UPF design approached 90 percent completion. Eschenberg said it was far better to bite the bullet now — and face an anticipated barrage of criticism — than to try and make major changes after concrete was poured and construction of the building had started.
That's why Eschenberg and the National Nuclear Security Administration, already with a reputation for less-than-laudable project management, acknowledged last week that the UPF would have to be redesigned to make sure the multibillion-dollar facility meets functional expectations.
The roof will be raised by about 13 feet to open up more space for the national security work with weapons-grade uranium. The walls and the slab will be thickened accordingly — by about a foot — to meet the new structural requirements.
"These are very difficult decisions to make," Eschenberg said in an interview after an Oct. 2 meeting held by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board to discuss UPF issues. "They're difficult to accept."
What hasn't been fully explained is how — after years of work involving multiple contractors, hundreds of employees and half a billion taxpayer dollars spent — the UPF team came up with a design that couldn't accommodate all the operations to process and fabricate highly enriched uranium and assemble and disassemble nuclear warhead parts.
The UPF is supposed to replace multiple production facilities at Y-12, including the notoriously antiquated 9212 complex, and combine the technical operations in a modern nuclear facility that's efficient and protective of workers and the environment.
Eschenberg confirmed that the work plan had remained pretty constant since the design project began, so it's difficult to blame equipment add-ons or changes in the production requirements for the misfit design.
Reports had circulated months ago that the project was facing a serious problem, with one unconfirmed report suggesting there was 20 percent more equipment planned for UPF than there was space. During a June interview at Y-12, Eschenberg acknowledged the project was addressing some space concerns. But he downplayed the significance of the problem and said it wasn't that unusual for projects to deal with such things during the final stages of design.
Last week, he admitted that the team had exhausted all options to make the existing building design work in an efficient way.
During testimony before the safety board, Eschenberg said federal officials had not yet established the "root causes" for why the UPF building design didn't meet the space requirements.
But Eschenberg said it was evident the UPF design team "prematurely established a hard footprint" for the big building. That could be the result of groups of designers working out of three different geographic locations during the project's early stages, he said.
The UPF project chief said a lot questions won't be answered until an engineering reassessment and evaluation is completed, and that's not expected for another couple of weeks.
The Oak Ridge project's price tag was already under scrutiny, and that's likely to become an even bigger issue if the redesign causes the costs to go up. The current estimated cost range is $4.2 billion to $6.5 billion.
"There will be a cost impact for raising the height of the building," Eschenberg said. "Today I do not know what that cost impact will be."
Whatever that cost becomes, he said, it would "pale in comparison" to the potential cost increase if the space problems had to be addressed during the UPF construction phases.
There will be some costs — such as the purchase of steel and other materials — that will be beyond the control of the project, Eschenberg said.
What the UPF team want to do is make sure that all the costs that can be controlled are controlled, he said. A key to that is having a very "mature" design before starting construction, he said.
There are about 600 people working on the UPF design and planning team, and Eschenberg said there are plans to add to that staff in the near term, bringing in more engineering help for the contractor team and the federal oversight group.
The federal project chief said the team is still hopeful of achieving "Critical Decision 2" by September 2013. That's the status in which the Department of Energy approves a project's detailed cost and schedule. Given the new complications, that target date may now be ambitious, he said.
"Now, I will tell you that my confidence in our ability to meet that date has been degraded, it's been eroded," Eschenberg said.
There are still plans to do some preliminary activities on the UPF this fall, including the relocation of Bear Creek Road, movement of some underground utilities and extension of a nearby haul road to transport dirt, waste, and debris. These and other preparations will be carried out under the management of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which earlier signed a memorandum of agreement with the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Those activities, Eschenberg said, should not be impacted by the redesign efforts.
There had been a plan to demolish an old office structure, Building 9107, during the first phase to help clear the site for UPF work, but Eschenberg said that's been put on hold because there are some other tasks that need funding — including the purchase of a concrete batch plant.
The near-term focus is the redesign, and the federal official said it's not like starting from scratch. "There is a great body of knowledge that we have already in place," he said. "The design of the structure is actually quite far along."
Eschenberg said there's a new campaign within the UPF project team that's called "War On Rework," which translates into getting it done right from the start.
"All projects struggle with it," he said. "It's very undesirable when you have something that has to be reworked. Nobody likes to cut their lawn twice. Nobody likes to fix a flat tire twice. We don't like to design something twice.
"But it's like this old adage — measure twice, cut once. I would much rather be very confident in our design than I would be in having a lesser level of confidence in the design, proceeding into construction, pouring and placing significant amounts of concrete only to recognize, 'Oh, my gosh, our building's not big enough' or 'Oh, my gosh, we're going to have to tear down that wall and redesign it.' " | <urn:uuid:5dacb040-fb7f-47a9-8a5e-8599848a3cf3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/oct/10/after-500-million-and-years-of-effort-upf-design/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975003 | 1,399 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Local diabetes prevention program wins American Diabetes Association AwardThe Fond du Lac Human Services (FDLHS) Diabetes Prevention Program was presented with the American Diabetes Association “John Pipe Voices for Change Award” in recognition for its innovative diabetes services in American Indian communities. The award was presented Sept. 28 at the National Indian Health Board’s (NIHB) 28th Annual Consumer Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.
The Fond du Lac Human Services (FDLHS) Diabetes Prevention Program was presented with the American Diabetes Association “John Pipe Voices for Change Award” in recognition for its innovative diabetes services in American Indian communities. The award was presented Sept. 28 at the National Indian Health Board’s (NIHB) 28th Annual Consumer Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.
A “word of mouth” community-wide advertising campaign about diabetes prevention was developed and implemented by the FDLHS Diabetes Prevention Program this past year in response to a community focus group recommendation that information is spread best at FDL through friends and family
The campaign included a community competition for an all-inclusive trip for four to Disney World. In order to be eligible, each person needed to complete a blood sugar screening for diabetes. News of the competition was spread via word of mouth, as community members were asked to recruit family and friends for the event in order to have more chances of winning the prize themselves.
During the four-month competition, 491 community members were screened for diabetes and prediabetes; 51 members were diagnosed with prediabetes and eight were diagnosed with diabetes. The winner was a young man who was screened because his father, who has type 2 diabetes with complications, asked his son to be tested for
FDLHS has had a Diabetes Prevention Program since 2006. They have graduated over 80 community members from an intensive 16-week curriculum program of healthy lifestyle behaviors based on the original Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) National Study.
The Diabetes Prevention Program is part of FDLHS’s comprehensive Diabetes Program supported by the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) and accredited by the American Diabetes Association. Both programs are directed by Mary Jo Koszarek, CNP-RN, CDE, an adult nurse practitioner and certified diabetes educator. Lynne Kosmach, CNP-RN, CDE, the Diabetes Prevention Program coordinator, accepted the award on behalf of FDLHS at the NIHB conference.
“Diabetes affects American Indian communities at an alarming rate,” said Charles Kendall, M.D., FDLHS medical director. “The John Pipe Voices for Change Award recognizes programs, such as the Fond du Lac Human Services Diabetes Prevention Program, that empower
Native American communities with culturally grounded approaches to improve their health and prevent type 2 diabetes or diabetes complications.”
The award is in memory of long-time diabetes supporter John Pipe of Wolf Point, Mont., who was a dedicated diabetes advocate and served as a member of the Diabetes Association’s Awakening the Spirit Subcommittee. His longstanding advocacy efforts reached from his local community to Washington, D.C., and affected countles
The SDPI continues to give Indian health programs and tribal communities the resources and tools they need to both prevent and treat diabetes. It funds nearly 400 community directed programs, offering local tribes and health programs the opportunity to set priorities that meet the needs of the community, whether it be prevention activities or treatment.
~ Press release | <urn:uuid:b96b1100-8bb1-4805-a710-6f7da369752a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pinejournal.com/event/article/id/25456/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955786 | 705 | 1.515625 | 2 |
A subdomain, occasionally referred to as a "canonical," and sometimes called a "third-level" domain, is another URL address that can be created instead of a Web site subdirectory. Whereas, a particular web page domain is a folder that contains the site files; a subdirectory is a folder contained within this main folder. A subdomain, on the other hand, is basically an alias, as any Internet user can enter the subdomain in a browser's address bar to view the subdirectory with which it's associated.
A subdomain combines a unique identifier with a domain name to become essentially a "domain within a domain." The unique identifier simply replaces the "www" in the web address. Yahoo!, for example, uses subdomains such as mail.yahoo.com and music.yahoo.com to reference its mail and music services, under the umbrella of www.yahoo.com.
This table shows the structure of a subdomain.
|3rd level||2nd level||1st level|
The logic is that ".com" is the first level domain, "Conservapedia" (etc.) is the second level, and "www" or "http://" is therefore the third level. Thus, the domain name "conservapedia.com" is therefore a "real" domain name; however, "encyclopedia.conservapedia.com" would be a subdomain.
Subdomains are sometimes used to identify individual computers, each having an IP address of its own. In that case, the term "machine name" is sometimes used instead of "subdomain." For instance, a company could have two servers called "marketing.somefirm.com" and "accounting.somefirm.com." The two computers would serve different departments, and contain different information, but share the same domain name.
In most cases subdomains are used to organize information with a website. For example, an on-line shop could use the subdomains "books.onlineshop.com," and "clothing.onlineshop.com," etc., to store related information together. An excellent example of a site that uses subdomains for this purpose is About.com.
A Web site that uses subdomains could have used subdirectories, for example "about.com/antiques/" instead of "antiques.about.com." But the use of subdomains allows for a company or the host of a domain to more easily move a topic to a dedicated computer if it turns out to be very popular. The larger a site is, the more likely this "scalability" could be an important benefit and factor for using subdomains over subdirectories. For smaller sites, however, subdirectories work fine; it may not need the two-hundred or more subdomains included in a hosting package. Subdomains are available only in Web Hosting and Merchant Solutions plans. | <urn:uuid:366d51e4-722f-402c-9f44-dc2387cd97c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://conservapedia.com/Subdomains | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903066 | 612 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Wear what you wish on Friday 22 March and raise money to help make wishes come true for seriously-ill children.
Your support this Wish Day will make a life-changing difference to children like six-year-old Liam.
Liam, the face of this year’s Wish Day campaign, has IPEX syndrome, which causes his immune system to fight against its own tissues and organs. Liam had fun wearing what he wished when his wish for a Super Mario birthday party came true!
Natasha, Liam’s mum, was amazed by the wish and the effect it had on the family. “Liam’s wish has had such a positive impact on Liam and our family. Make-A-Wish gave us a day to forget our troubles and focus on the good things in life.” Read more about Liam's wish.
You can help grant wishes for children just like Liam by getting involved and fundraising this Wish Day, or simply donating to show your support.
Be part of the Wish Day fun and wear what you wish! | <urn:uuid:347c0d25-81dc-4c5c-b065-30cf2788f482> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.everydayhero.com.au/event/wishday2013 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976005 | 219 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Before we enter into the discussion of methods of Multivariate Data Analysis we have to make an important distinction. It appears that there are two types (or flavors) of basic factor analysis, depending of what our interest is in the data.
Suppose we have a table that describes various sorts of animals (among which cats, dogs, tigers and wolves) by means of a number of morphometric measurements (such as weight, height, width, length, etcetera).
On the one hand, we may want to do an analysis that preserves the size of the animals. This means that in any graphic display of the factor analysis we expect to see the big animals (tigers and wolves) close together, the smaller ones (cats and dogs) clustered together, and the two groups neatly separated in accordance with their overall difference in size.
On the other hand, we may be interested primarily in the shape (profile or spectrum) of the animals, irrespective of their size. This analysis is expected to show felines together, canines clustered, and the two groups neatly separated by their phylogenetic differences.
The result of both types of analysis is usually represented in the form of a Cartesian diagram, with two (or, when using perspective viewing, at most three) dimensions. In this diagram each of the two (or three) coordinate axes represents a factor that has been extracted from the data table. The entities represented by the rows (objects, subjects or categories of a particular variable) or columns (measurements, observations or categories of another variable) are displayed as points in the diagram.
If the points in this diagram are related to the rows of the data table, then we speak of a “scores plot”.
If the points are associated with the columns of the table, then we deal with a “loadings plot”.
If both row- and column-entities of the data table are represented as points in the factor diagram then we obtain a “biplot”, which was invented by K. Ruben Gabriel in 1971. The biplot is a beautiful graphic device that, once its function is understood, offers remarkable synthetic and analytic possibilities. It is an important step forward in the art and science of Multivariate Data Analysis after the invention of the bivariate diagram by Descartes.
Back to Begin Back to Title Page Previous Next | <urn:uuid:739decaf-8acc-4778-8cca-84eb54cf6813> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.datascope.be/MultiVarAnalPage/MDA-SizeShape.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938027 | 486 | 3.421875 | 3 |
Perelman School of Medicine Resources
Penn Medicine is a $4.3 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and quality patient care. It comprises The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS). Dr. J. Larry Jameson is the Executive Vice President of the University for the Health System and Dean of the Medical School. Dr Rubenstein oversees both UPHS and the Perelman School of Medicine. PENN Medicine employs more than 21,000 people and had total operating revenue in FY2011 of $4.3 billion.
The Perelman School of Medicine was founded in 1765 by John Morgan and William Shippen, native Philadelphians who graduated from the medical school of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. The emphasis, from the outset, was to integrate medical research with education. The first students of the school graduated in 1768. Today, Penn's Perelman School of Medicine is ranked #3 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools.
Education at the Perelman School of Medicine
- Presently there are over 1,900 full-time faculty; 1,133 residents and fellows; and 724 post-doctoral fellows working in 57 departments, divisions and centers.
- In FY2011, there were 597 full-time pre-doctoral students.
- In FY2011, there were also 746 medical students. Generally, the first year class numbers approximately 150 students.
- There are 157 biomedical graduate students enrolled in combined degree programs, leading to an M.D. combined with a Ph.D., Master of Bioethics, Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE), Master of Public Health (MPH), or Master of Business Administration (MBA).
Research at the Perelman School of Medicine
The Perelman School of Medicine has continued to enhance its leadership role in biomedical research.
- In federal FY2011, the Penn PSOM received $479.3 million in NIH research awards.
- A total of 75 individuals at Penn Medicine are elected members of the Institute of Medicine, one of the highest honors in medicine.
- A total of 48 patents were received by Perelman School of Medicine faculty in FY2011.
- The Perelman School of Medicine was awarded more than 330 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“stimulus”) grants from NIH with total project costs of more than $180 million.
- Currently, the total area of all PSOM facilities is an estimated 2.55M gross square feet, and the area dedicated for research is approximately 1.44M net square feet. Since 1990 the PSOM has added approximately 800K total net square feet of space, including the Translational Research Laboratories, the Hill Pavilion, a new animal facility, and supplemental space in the Mutch Building. The Translational Research Center offers a new home for interdisciplinary emphasis on translational research.
- Penn is a major research facility of the Howard Hughes Medical Institution (HHMI) with 8 HHMI investigators.
- An important institutional resource which supports patient oriented research is the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT). Under the leadership of director Garret A. FitzGerald, M.D., ITMAT supports research at the interface of basic and clinical research, with a particular focus on the development of new and safer therapeutic entities. ITMAT includes its own faculty and basic research space, the former General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) which has been integrated with that of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to form the Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) and an expanding repertoire of cores, programs, and centers designed to support research endeavors between proof of concept in cellular and animal model systems across the translational divide into proof of concept and dose selection in humans. Educational programs relating to translational research, including a newly founded Masters in Translational Research, are also housed within ITMAT. ITMAT has expanded to include investigators focused on clinical and translational research in all schools at Penn, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Wistar Institute, and the University of Sciences in Philadelphia. These partner institutions competed successfully for the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) funded under the NIH Roadmap, designating ITMAT as the academic home for the program.
- The Perelman School of Medicine has 21 research cores offering a number of services, from molecular profiling to cell sorting to high resolution electron microscopy. These diverse resources provide access to state-of-the-art equipment and instrumentation, technical expertise and training and education, all designed to support innovative, cutting-edge research.
- Also affiliated with the research and educational functions of the Perelman School of Medicine are the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC), The Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center (PVAMC) and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)..
The University of Pennsylvania Health System was founded in 1993 as the nation's first integrated academic health system. It includes three wholly-owned hospitals: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), Pennsylvania Hospital, and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; a faculty practice plan (Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania); a primary-care provider network (Clinical Care Associates); two multispecialty satellite facilities (Penn Medicine at Radnor and Penn Medicine at Cherry Hill); the Penn Center for Rehabilitation and Care; and UPHS Home Healthcare and Hospice Services.
- The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) was the first formal University Hospital in the United States, founded in 1874 with a commitment to bedside teaching by faculty, a model developed in the British Isles. The Hospital comprises 814 licensed beds. It employs over 6,400 individuals, including 1,713 physicians in almost 2 million square feet of space spread over 16 interconnected buildings. Features of the Hospital include the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, one of only 39 National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated comprehensive cancer centers in the nation; the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC), which conducts clinical trials; and PennSTAR, a critical-care flight program with three helicopters that transfer critically injured patients in the Philadelphia region. During FY2011, there were 37,849 adult admissions; 1,405,490 outpatient visits, 60,968 emergency room visits, and 4,395 births. HUP has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 10 “Honor Roll” hospitals, one of only 18 hospitals chosen from approximately 5,400 surveyed.
- Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation’s first hospital, was founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond. The campus includes specialty treatment centers, such as the Joan Karnell Cancer Center and the PENN Neurological Institute. Pennsylvania Hospital has 569 licensed patient beds and 736 physicians in almost 1 million sf of space spread over 15 buildings. During FY2011, there were 23,603 adult admissions; 84,966 outpatient visits; 33,232 emergency room visits; and 4,827 births..
- Penn Presbyterian Medical Center houses a number of specialties including Penn Cardiac Care, Penn Orthopaedics, and the Scheie Eye Institute. Presbyterian Hospital has 331 patient beds and 828 physicians occupying over 617,000 square feet in 10 interconnected buildings. During FY2011, there were 16,810 adult admissions; 99,277 outpatient visits; and 38,545 emergency room visits.
- The Ruth and Raymond Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine is a state-of-the-art, 500,000-square-foot outpatient facility located adjacent to HUP. It is designed to create an ideal environment for patient-focused care. The Perelman Center houses 19 clinical specialties including cardiovascular medicine, an outpatient surgical pavilion, and the Abramson Cancer Center. A national leader in cancer research, patient care, and education, the Abramson Cancer Center has been designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute for more than 30 years, and is today one of 40 such Centers in the United States. In 2010, The Abramson Cancer Center was rated “exceptional”, the highest possible rating, from the National Cancer Institute.
- Connected to the Perelman Center, the Translational Research Center (TRC) is a $353 million state-of-the-art basic research facility with an open, flexible design meant to facilitate interaction between scientists and physicians in order to integrate basic and clinical research.
- Occupying 75,000 square feet beneath both TRC and Perelman Center is the Roberts Proton Therapy Center, the largest facility of its kind in the world. The Roberts Proton Therapy Center uses proton beam radiation to precisely target tumors, with less radiation reaching the surrounding healthy tissues than in conventional radiation treatments. Along with saving lives, a key mission of Penn’s proton therapy center is to improve the treatment of cancer through research, by conducting innovative trials to discover the best uses of proton therapy and find new ways to reduce the side effects associated with radiation therapy. Unlike free-standing proton therapy facilities, Penn’s is fully integrated within the Abramson Cancer Center, offering each patient the most appropriate, effective, and comprehensive treatment plan.
- The Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania (CPUP) are the ambulatory care component of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Established in 1997, CPUP has more than 1500 physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners providing care at 150 practice locations across the Philadelphia region. CPUP physicians see more than 2 million outpatient visits each year.
- Penn’s provider network of primary and specialty care physicians, Clinical Care Associates (CCA) and Clinical Health Care Associates of New Jersey (CCA/CHCA), includes practices with more than 50 locations throughout Philadelphia and the surrounding areas, providing primary care and specialty care services.
- The Penn Medicine at Rittenhouse location is comprised of two buildings. The main building includes the post-acute care facility operated by Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a joint venture between UPHS and the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, and the Penn Medicine Clinical Simulation Center. The Tuttleman Center building houses The Surgery Center of Pennsylvania Hospital, as well as outpatient radiology, primary care services and the Penn Pain Medicine Center.
- Penn Home Care & Hospice Services offers a full range of home health care needs. It is composed of Penn Wissahickon Hospice, Penn Care at Home, and Penn Home Infusion Therapy. The service is backed by a multidisciplinary team of UPHS professionals, is Medicare- and Medicaid-certified and accredited by the Joint Commission.
- Satellite facilities provide both primary and multispecialty care to patients in the Philadelphia region.
- Penn Medicine at Bucks County specialties include primary care, cardiac and lung care, orthopaedics and radiology.
- Penn Medicine at Cherry Hill offers family medicine, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, as well as physical therapy and sport medicine.
- Penn Medicine at Radnor is one of the largest regional practices, offering more than 40 specialty offices, including cardiology, ophthalmology, women’s health, and primary care services.
- Penn Medicine at Valley Forge is the most recent addition, and includes allergy and immunology care, cardiology, diabetes and endocrinology, radiology and sports medicine practices.
- Penn Medicine at Woodbury Heights is home to a large internal medicine practice and an obstetrics and gynecology practice, as well as cardiology, general surgery, and physical therapy. | <urn:uuid:e79ff20c-4d6b-4fc4-b4f5-868004145443> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.med.upenn.edu/research/visitors/about_som.shtml | 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 | 0.940589 | 2,426 | 1.578125 | 2 |
On May 13th, we changed the default appearance of the English Wikipedia to use the new look developed as part of the Wikimedia Usability Initiative. On June 9th, we unveiled the new look in the remaining top 9 languages (by access volume). Other languages will follow in the coming weeks.
The key elements of the new design had been in public beta testing for many months, and hundreds of thousands of users had already adopted the new look. But, nothing compares to the real thing, and we tried to make the switch as painless as possible — by offering a quick way back to the old layout, by explaining our reasoning, observing and listening to comments carefully, fixing bugs and implementing changes quickly.
The single most frequently expressed concern about the changes we’ve made is the relocation of the search box from the left sidebar to the top right corner. This blog post will give an extended explanation of why we made the change, the other changes we made to the search, and what we’re planning to do next.
The old search box location
The default location of the search box in MediaWiki, the software used by Wikipedia, is below the “navigation” box in the top left corner. This was also the location in the English language Wikipedia, as well as many other language editions. Some language editions, including the German one, had customized the location of the search box, and moved it directly below the logo.
What do we know about search usability?
There are essentially three factors that influenced our decision to relocate the search box:
- common user expectations regarding the placement of the search box on web pages, as determined by the preexisting body of usability research;
- usability research regarding ideal search box width, and implications for the search box placement in our layout;
- ability of our test subjects to locate and use the Wikipedia search box, as determined by Wikimedia usability tests in a research lab.
There are several scientific studies that have examined the ideal placement of common objects on web pages. One early study by Michael Bernard conducted in 2001 by surveying participants regarding the expected placement of web objects such as internal links, external links, and search found that both new and experienced web users “generally expected internal search engines to be located in the upper and bottom-center of a web page. A smaller number expected it to be located at the top right of the page.”
This study was followed up five years later by A. Dawn Shaikh and Keisi Lenz (”Where’s the Search? Re-examining User Expectations of Web Objects”) in a survey of 142 participants. The study found that expectations had changed significantly, especially regarding the placement of the site search engine. The figure below illustrates the areas where participants expected the search to be found:
As the authors speculate and as seems intuitively plausible, early expectations of the placement of the search box were likely driven by the fact that search was commonly associated only with search engines of the time like AltaVista, not with site-specific searches. As more and more sites developed internal search functions, those were increasingly placed in slightly less exclusive screen real estate than the top center, shifting users’ expectations to look for search features in the top right corner.
Another factor that may have influenced user expectations is the common placement of search engine features in the top right corner of the web browser window.
There are practical advantages of positioning the search in the top right. As summarized in this research paper, several usability studies have pointed out a key advantage of navigational elements being placed on the right: it gives immediate access to the browser scrollbar. This is particularly valuable when a) scrolling up and down a list of search results, b) scrolling up and down an article you’ve just called up for information.
Search box width, and placement implications
The old search box is approximately 20 characters wide, the new search box accommodates 24 characters. More importantly, due to the placement of the old search box in the sidebar of the layout, widening the search was impossible without either relocating it or widening the sidebar.
The search box placement in the top right allows us to maintain a fixed standard width from one page to the next, while giving us maximum flexibility as to what that width should be. To make it even easier for users, we are experimenting with an expandable search, which is currently deployed in our sandbox 3. When you click the box, it will expand significantly to the left. We may or may not end up deploying this feature as we continue to look at ways to make search more accessible and user-friendly.
Our own research
In the course of the usability and user experience work since last year, we have so far completed a total of three usability studies, all of which are documented on the usability wiki:
- Usability and Experience Study (March 2009)
- Usability, Experience, and Progress Study (October 2009)
- Usability, Experience, and Evaluation Study (March 2010)
These studies included both remote and San Francisco based participants. While the primary focus of our studies were obstacles people encountered when editing, finding search in the navigation was clearly one of them, and our test subjects tended to resort to common web search engines to navigate Wikipedia instead of using the site’s own search. With the new search box placement, users’ ability to find and use the site search was markedly improved. One user intuitively used the search box in its new location and then consciously realized that it had been moved. To see videos of the other subjects finding and using the search box with ease, please see here.
For those unfamiliar with usability testing, it’s important to note that small samples and agile, iterative tests are commonly understood to be an effective method for discovering most key user interface issues. Our sample sizes were actually larger than strictly necessary, and more diverse than typical due to our use of remote testing methods.
With that said, we didn’t test the English Wikipedia against other languages which had placed the search box directly below the logo, and we recognize that this alternative placement is already an improvement to match user expectations. However, based on the cited research above, as well as the design reasons for moving the search box to the top right, we still believe that the overall case for moving the search is compelling even for those languages, if slightly less so.
So .. why did you move the search box? I liked it where it was!
In sum, we moved the search box to a) match web practices and user expectations, b) make it possible to widen it consistent with common usability recommendations, c) in response to actual observed problems of test subjects when using the old search.
We also recognize that millions of Wikipedia users had adjusted to the old placement, and will now have to re-adjust to the new placement. However, Wikipedia’s global audience grows by tens of millions of users every year (it is currently at 375 million unique visitors/month world-wide), and we hope to grow it by hundreds of millions in this decade. That will require that we adapt to common user expectations, rather than expecting every new user to adapt to us.
This will unfortunately inconvenience those who have adapted to the old placement. Do we absolutely know that to be the correct decision? No, but the fact that existing users are temporarily inconvenienced by it is not at all indicative that it is not.
Other search changes we made
It’s worth noting that the search box placement isn’t the only thing we changed about the search function. Perhaps most notably, the old search had two buttons (”Go” and “Search” in English). If you asked even an experienced user what the difference between those buttons was, you would get wildly different answers, and bug 577 had been open since 2004 because of this.
To answer the mystery: the “Go” button attempts to find an article with the same title as the entered search term and, if it fails, runs a full-text search of all articles. “Search” will always run the full-text search. “Search” is necessary where you want to search for a word instead of displaying the article of that title (say, you want to search for instances of “George W. Bush” all across Wikipedia).
In the new design, the less common case (search all across Wikipedia for a phrase, regardless of exact match) can be accessed using the “containing …” option in the drop-down menu. We believe this is both a more discoverable implementation, and it reduces overall clutter and complexity of the search.
Measures and coming changes
We are monitoring overall search volume. In the first week since the deployment, we have observed neither a statistically significant increase nor a decrease in search volume, but it’s too early to draw conclusions. There are also confounding variables. As noted above, the search box has changed not just in placement, but also in appearance and behavior. Finally, search volume isn’t the only interesting metric: search convenience (how long does it take users to, on average, find the search) is another one.
We’ll try to get our hands on solid metrics, but we’ll also continue to look for ways to make search more user-friendly (such as the auto-expansion), fix bugs, and so forth. In continuing our efforts to improve the user experience of all our projects, both for new and experienced users, we’ll try to share our thoughts with you frequently, and work with you to figure out the right answer. And, if you just can’t get used to the new search — you can always switch back to the old layout, which will continue to be there for you.
The User Experience Team | <urn:uuid:d58e5fe2-c974-4875-ac3b-a25bc09535d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.wikimedia.org/2010/06/15/usability-why-did-we-move-the-search-box/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942669 | 2,030 | 2.3125 | 2 |
A PQ government would strengthen Quebec language laws within 100 days: Marois
Explore This Story
MONTREAL—A Parti Québécois government would move quickly to strengthen the province’s language laws if it wins next month’s election, party leader Pauline Marois said Sunday.
The PQ would crack down on English in the workplace and introduce stricter rules for who must attend French-language junior college, Marois said at a campaign stop in Montreal.
Marois said the province’s landmark language law, Bill 101, must be updated to stop the decline of French in the province, in particular in Montreal shops and businesses.
The PQ leader, who criticized the Liberal government for failing to do enough to protect the French language, said she would introduce new legislation within 100 days of taking power that would close a loophole that allows companies to operate in English.
“I think we need to look over all of this, to see if there are gaps or corrections that need to be made,” Marois said.
Recent polls have placed the PQ ahead of the Charest Liberals and the new Coalition for Quebec’s Future in the election scheduled for Sept. 4.
The PQ’s overhaul of Bill 101 would extend language rules to businesses with between 11 and 50 employees, making French the mandatory language in the workplace, Marois said.
Immigrants and francophones would also be required to attend a French-language junior college, known in Quebec as Cegep. At the moment, post-secondary students can choose to go to either a French or English Cegep. Those language restrictions already apply to high school and elementary school students.
Marois said the PQ would also review the rules that allow companies such as aeronautics giant Bombardier to deny employees the right to work in French.
Marois said it’s normal that some tasks are performed in English when a worker is interacting with people outside Quebec, but within the province it shouldn’t be the norm.
“Once (the employee) hangs up the phone, I think business in Quebec needs to happen in French,” she said.
Marois has already promised to increase the number of language inspectors to monitor the presence of French on commercial signs.
The PQ also offered details Sunday of a party committee that’s been meeting since February in an effort to develop a strategy for another referendum on sovereignty.
“The goal was to do as much as possible before we get to power,” said Alexandre Theriault-Marois, head of the PQ’s political committee.
Another meeting scheduled for this summer was cancelled due to the campaign, but will “undoubtedly be accelerated” should the PQ be elected to power, Theriault-Marois said.
The Charest Liberals, meanwhile, promised to introduce new legislation of their own.
Premier Jean Charest said a returning Liberal government would introduce legislation that would deny anyone facing “serious” criminal charges the right to bid on government contracts.
“We will ensure that public construction contracts are awarded to companies above all suspicion,” he said.
If the new version of Bill 35 was in force today, companies linked to the empire of the businessman Tony Accurso — who is facing charges including fraud, breach of trust, and bribery — would be excluded from the process of awarding public contracts.
On Sunday, the Coalition for Quebec’s Future also unveiled its complete election platform, a hefty document with 94 separate party pledges.
Among the new elements in the platform were major changes proposed to Montreal’s municipal governance. Party leader François Legault said cutting down on the number of city councillors would give the city centre more decision-making power to improve problems like congestion.
The party, which promises to set aside the issue of Quebec independence, also promised to get tougher on crime.
- Mayor Rob Ford breaks his silence, says he does not use crack cocaine
- Canadian trucker hit Washington bridge that collapsed
- Hazel's last stand: Mississauga mayor's legacy hangs in the balance
- Blue Jays' call-up Nolin knocked around by Orioles in big-league debut
- Canada ranked third-worst among affluent nations for paid vacation
- ‘America’s toughest sheriff’ still believes in pink underwear and harsh justice
- Beer price hike at Rogers Centre a tipping point for concession workers
- Brampton suffers identity crisis as newcomers swell city’s population | <urn:uuid:aec9060f-c2d8-4431-a3c5-1c4dd5581a93> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/08/12/a_pq_government_would_strengthen_quebec_language_laws_within_100_days_marois.html | 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 | 0.955721 | 942 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Close to 250 Caltrans Maintenance people, maintain the 992 miles of State highway in District 1. The highways traverse a variety of topographies ranging from coastal routes to mountain passes. The highways take you through some of the most beautiful lands in America. Breath taking views are available along much of the routes. District 1 Maintenance Crews maintain all state highways in Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Lake Counties, as well as western portions of Siskiyou and Trinity Counties. The routes maintained extend from the northern part of the Wine Country to the Oregon Border and eastward into the Pacific Coast Mountain Range.
Highway 101, in District 1, travels from the Sonoma-Mendocino County line, about 40 miles north of Santa Rosa, to the Oregon Border, nearly 288 miles. Along the route you will pass through the wine country, Redwood National Parks, and along the rocky coastline. You will also pass through the county seats in Eureka (Humboldt County), Ukiah (Mendocino County), and Crescent City (Del Norte County).
Highway 1, in Mendocino County, goes along the Pacific Ocean from the Sonoma County line to Leggett, a distance of 105 miles.
Two major East-West routes connect Highway 101 with Interstate 5 in the Sacramento Valley. Route 299 in Humboldt County goes from just north of Arcata to Redding to hit I-5. Route 20 goes from just north of Ukiah to Williams to hit I-5.
Another East-West route connecting Highway 101 with Interstate 5, but through Oregon, is Highway 199 in Del Norte County. It goes from just North of Crescent City to Grants Pass, Oregon.
Near the middle of District 1 is Highway 36 which also crosses East-West reaching Interstate 5. It connects with I-5 in Red Bluff. | <urn:uuid:569410a1-0650-4474-8a4f-b1e24d0bf4ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dot.ca.gov/dist1/maintenance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922432 | 391 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Equality between women and men or gender equality includes:
Gender equality is still out of reach for most women worldwide.
Women continue to have fewer rights, lower education and health status, less income, and less access to resources and decision-making than men. Nevertheless, women's critical roles in food production, income generation, management of natural resources, community organization and domestic responsibilities are essential for sustainable development.
If equitable and sustainable progress is to be achieved, women's status must be improved, their rights must be respected, and their contributions must be recognized.
The international community has made important commitments to women's rights and equality between women and men, including:
Canada has played an important role in advocating for and implementing these commitments, and launched an Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security in October 2010.
CIDA has been a world leader in integrating gender equality analysis into its programs. Equality between women and men continues to be a crosscutting theme throughout Canada's programs. Gender equality results are systematically and explicitly integrated across all CIDA programs.
Note: If you cannot access the documents that are provided in an alternate format, refer to the Help page. | <urn:uuid:0c29f50b-8591-44a0-85f6-5387ee5c4316> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/acdi-cida.nsf/eng/JUD-31192610-JXF | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954245 | 244 | 3.640625 | 4 |
Benefits of buckwheat.
Buckwheat is one of the healthiest products available to us. Buckwheat is known for thousands of years throughout the world, loved from India through Europe and China to Russia and North America. Although called “buckwheat”, it is not really a wheat-related culture, but more close to sorrels, knotweeds and rhubarb.
Buckwheat is a potent cancer fighting food.
Those interested in shaping a diet that will help avoid diseases, including an anti-cancer diet, should bother to find a source of good high quality buckwheat. Buckwheat is exceptionally rich in magnesium, B-vitamins, rutin, zink, copper, selenium, anthocyanins, and half a dosen other invaluable nutrients.
Buckwheat grain contains rutin, a powerful nutrient that has proved to stop tumor growth in mice. Moreover, buckwheat hulls contain nutrients that have cytotoxic effect on breast, liver and cancer cells. In particular, there is evidence for buckwheat to be a potent breast cancer-fighting (and breast cancer preventing) superfood.
Antifungal properties of buckwheat
Studies have shown that buckwheat and its’ components have antifungal properties. If you remember, there are dangerous fungi around us, in particular molds, and those are direct cancer causing nutrients. So staying risk-free and balancing the harm of having been exposed to fungi previously, means adding buckwheat to your diet.
Where to get buckwheat?
Do try to research and find if they sell buckwheat around you. This potent cancer fighting food has been really popular in Europe and North America previously (before the maize and wheat boom after the nitro-fertilizer discovery). Russia has been the leader in buckwheat production, right now the top buckwheat producers are China, Russia, Ukraine, France, Poland, Kazakhstan and the USA (source). In some first-world countries (Italy, Germany, etc.) this grain can be sold in pharmacies as a dietary superfood, so you might consider shipping buckwheat from elsewhere for cheap, as it’s considered regular food in the rest of the world.
Some people are actually growing it. Watch this video made by a healthy nutrition enthusiast, it’s on growing buckwheat:
Sprouted buckwheat: healthiest there is.
Fans of raw foods and enzymes are well aware of the benefits of sprouted buckwheat grain:
Consuming buckwheat grain sprouted makes your body adapt and prepared to fight diseases caused by stress and modern day routines.
Whether you are going to have it sprouted or plain boiled (tasty, tasty all the way! With butter or olive oil — however you prefer! One cup buckwheat to two cups water, slow simmering and there you go), do add this cancer fighting food to your diet, as your body and health will reward you for that.
Powered by Facebook Comments
Category: Anti Cancer Diet | <urn:uuid:212c7114-38aa-41bd-9c4a-8b0d8d6b9a6e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://allcancerfightingfoods.com/buckwheat-in-anti-cancer-diet/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950233 | 645 | 2.0625 | 2 |
|Women collect water from a well in the town of Kabkabia, North Darfur State.|
By Sabine Dolan
NEW YORK, USA, 22 January 2007 – The violence in the Darfur region of western Sudan continues unabated amidst reports over the weekend of villages being heavily bombed in the north. Meanwhile, a joint statement issued on 17 January by a group of United Nations relief agencies, including UNICEF, has put the humanitarian crisis back in the spotlight.
UNICEF’s Deputy Director of Emergency Programmes, Pierrette Vu Thi, has just returned from northern Darfur, where she witnessed firsthand the deterioration of conditions for children and women.
During her four-day trip last week, Ms. Vu Thi visited – among other sites – the Al Salam Camp for people displaced by violence. The camp is located near El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State.
|Dr. Adam Musa examines an undernourished toddler at a UNICEF-supported, government-run nutrition centre in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State.|
Al Salam Camp is operating far over capacity, presently housing 45,000 people – including 20,000 who have arrived in the last six months. During her visit, Ms. Vu Thi spoke to camp residents, many from surrounding rural areas, about their ordeal and their needs.
Violence impairs relief efforts
“Most of the concerns that they expressed were the need for protection and security, and their desire to go home – which the situation at present does not allow,” she said. “They also mentioned the breakdown of traditional social norms in the camps and the lack of sources of livelihood for themselves.”
Ms. Vu Thi met with women’s groups as well. “Their foremost concern is protection against violence – particularly when they have to go out of the camps to fetch wood and they get attacked. There have been many cases of rape,” she noted.
Rape, pillage and killings remain a daily fixture of life in Darfur, terrorizing the local population. Now in its fourth year, the crisis has claimed more than 200,000 lives and driven more than 2 million people from their homes.
Darfur has one of the world’s largest aid operations, but violence and insecurity have severely impaired relief efforts. The UN agencies’ joint statement on Darfur indicated that humanitarian access to people in need is more difficult than at any time since April 2004.
|Osman Idris Abu Bakar, 9, does homework with his brother at their home in the Abu Shouk Camp for displaced people near El Fasher, North Darfur.|
‘A sense of hope’
After her visit to the Al Salam Camp, Ms. Vu Thi visited Sag el Naam village. Located 45 km east of El Fasher, the community lives under the control of a rebel group that has signed the Darfur peace agreement. The camp became accessible to UNICEF six months ago.
“UNICEF works directly with community leaders to provide humanitarian assistance to the vulnerable populations of the village in the areas of health, water and basic education,” Ms. Vu Thi says, adding that aid programmes in the village constitute a success story.
“Working with this community,” she continues, “does give a sense of hope that the people of Darfur will be able to recover and take back their lives into their own hands when the present conflict ends – and when the internally displaced people are able to return home.”
22 January 2007:
UNICEF Deputy Director of Emergency Programmes Pierrette Vu Thi discusses the humanitarian crisis in North Darfur, where she recently visited.
Requiem for Darfur: A song of solidarity [with video]
Mia Farrow’s Darfur video diary [with video]
35th anniversary of ‘Concert for Bangladesh’ [with video]
Requiem for Darfur website
(external link, opens in a new window) | <urn:uuid:18dc4e31-efd9-4a56-bb9d-87fb138b71fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unicef.org/emergencies/sudan_38124.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955219 | 844 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Will an open bottle of champagne stay bubbly if you place a teaspoon in the neck?
Can rubber power bracelet thingies make you an Olympic athlete? Is it true you can't get pregnant the first time? If you fail to forward a chain email to your entire contact list, will a baby unicorn die? Just how gullible are you?
In my misspent youth, I rated a perfect 10 on the Teaspoon Gullibility Scale. I'd open the bubbly, pour a glass or three and place the bottle in the fridge with an inverted teaspoon in its neck. Later we'd pour the rest and - what do you know - the wine was still fizzy! I was poor and perennially thirsty, and since my mates and I generally finished the bottle before bedtime, I don't recall testing the theory overnight in any meaningful way.
Happily, more rigorous and scientific minds than mine have taken the Teaspoon Theory seriously enough to subject it to proper testing
Teams from the French champagne industry body, New Scientist magazine, Stanford University and even television's MythBusters have all had a crack.
Some have gone so far as to check whether a stainless steel teaspoon or a silver one does a better job. The consensus appears to be that a spoon of any kind does nothing: wine treated this way overnight is generally about as fizzy as wine left in a bottle in the fridge with no covering of any kind.
If the wine is still passably bubbly the next day, that may be due to the way the bubbles got there in the first place. The kinds that are fermented via the traditional method - where the bubbles come from bottle fermentation - have more longevity than those added to the wine by carbonation, as is the practice with soft drinks and some cheaper sparklings.
You can buy all sorts of gadgets to help you keep the bubbles in your bubbly. These days I favour a simple, inexpensive rubber stopper with stainless steel wings that clamp onto the bottle's neck. In the long run, it's arguably safest to buy good stuff in the first place - and drink it in one night. What are friends for?
Are you struck with wine angst? Contact our Agony Aunt at email@example.com | <urn:uuid:e4f1e16c-045f-4fe5-a533-64ffa9004036> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/1132375/wine-agony-aunt/?cs=24 | 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 | 0.956317 | 463 | 1.585938 | 2 |
The Tea Tree, Melaleuca alternifolia, is a native of New Zealand and Australia.
Long prized by Aboriginal and Maori people for it's powerful healing properties,
the plant has become extremely popular in Western medicine over recent years.
Preparations of almost every conceivable health and beauty product are manufactured
using imported essential oils.
At Tir Sisial, Mandie has established a number of Tea Tree trees which with much care,
produce fresh leaves rich in the natural healing oils. The trees grow in a completely
chemical free environment and the resulting products carry a massively reduced carbon
footprint compared to products using imported oils. In addition, she has found the fresh
leaf even more effective in the healing of skin problems than any essential oil based
To complement the natural simplicity of Tea Tree's powerful healing properties,
Mandie uses, as a base for her product, Unrefined Shea Butter, with no
unnecessary fragrances, colours or other additives. Shea butter itself
has wonderfully beneficial effects on the skin. This is grown organically
through a Fair Trade scheme in Ghana.(The Akoma Trade Women's Cooperative.)
Shea butter itself has wonderfully beneficial effects on the skin.
Ashling Fresh Tea Tree Salve supports sustainable rural development
both in Britain and Africa through the choice of wholly natural ingredients.
The resulting product is a healing Salve, naturally scented, and superbly
effective in the treatment of spots, skin blemishes, excema,
insect bites, rashes and many other skin complaints. The Salve also
clears up cuts and grazes very quickly so is just appropriate for the First Aid
Kit as the bathroom cabinet. | <urn:uuid:ec8aaacd-e03d-469d-b9f0-134e5b8ee92f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tirsisial.co.uk/herbal.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923311 | 351 | 1.921875 | 2 |
What is a rare blood type?
Every blood donor is typed for their ABO and Rh type. However, only a small percentage of donors have a rare blood type, identified through additional testing. In most cases, a rare blood type is shared by just one in every 1,000 to 1,000,000 or more people. Because rare blood types are inherited - just like a person’s ABO and Rh type - people with a common heritage are more likely to share a rare blood type.
Have you already tested me to see if I have a rare blood type?
No, probably not. Because rare blood types are so uncommon, we try to concentrate our testing only on donors that are more likely to be rare types. If our testing indicates that you are a rare type, we will notify you.
You might have a rare blood type that could help special patients in need!
During your health history interview you will be asked to identify your race and/or ethnicity.* While it is completely optional to provide this information, we hope that you will. With your race/ethnicity indicated, we can test your blood to see if it is a match for one of several rare blood types urgently needed by patients with rare blood and platelets needs. By understanding who our donors are, we can best meet the unique needs of our community.
- This information is strictly confidential and will not be shared with oth
Rare blood types by race/ethnic category
African/African American U-, Fy(a-b-)
Native American RzRz
Asian/Pacific Islander Jk(a-b-)
Caucasian Kp(b-), Vel-
How can you help?
Please indicate your race and/or ethnicity information during your health history interview. You might have a rare blood type that could help save the life of someone with rare blood needs.
I: Native American
S: Asian/Pacific Islander | <urn:uuid:c5ba5d17-8311-4c33-a305-fba3b877c209> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.redcrossblood.org/info/ct/diversity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913758 | 400 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Alabama Hispanics concerned over immigration law
A new immigration law has sparked concern among the Hispanic community in Alabama and drawn comment from the US federal government.
Attorney General Eric Holder became the latest administration figure to speak out against the law, which came into force in September.
Speaking at a service honouring the late civil rights leader Rev Fred Shuttlesworth, Mr Holder said too many people in Alabama were "willing to turn their backs on our immigrant past".
Under the law, police can demand proof of residency from any person of "reasonable doubt" and Alabama schools are required to collect information about the immigration status of their students.
"It is such a broad law that it allows [the] monitoring of any form of contact between immigrants and authorities, or between immigrants and other citizens," said University of Alabama law professor Paul Horowitz.
The HB56 law is stricter than others adopted in states such as Arizona and Georgia.
Experts says that since it was enacted on 30 September, the effects of the law have been felt in the Latino community in faster and more obvious ways than in Arizona, where another law targeting illegal immigrants came into force in 2010.'Climate of fear'
With the HB56 law, Alabama follows the path of other southern states, where a crackdown on illegal immigration has intensified in recent years.
End Quote Wendy Cervantes First Focus
This law turns school officials into government agents, and diverts limited resources away from teaching Alabama's children”
The difference is that while other areas have statistically significant Hispanic communities (30% in Arizona, for example), Alabama Latinos represent only 3% of the total population.
Alabama did, however, have the nation's second fastest-growing Hispanic population between 2000 and 2010. According to analysts, that may have increased the perception of undocumented migrants as a "threat" amongst some conservative groups.
Thus, many have welcomed the enforcement of this piece of legislation.
"I have no doubt that this is the best thing for the long-term economic health of our state and no doubt that this is what a majority of the people of Alabama wants," said state Senator Scott Beason, the main sponsor of the bill.
Tea Party representatives described the HB56 law as "the best bill that we have designed" and called for similar standards to be adopted in other states.
In Alabama workplaces, churches and schools there have been noticeable changes in the daily routines of Hispanics, many of whom now feel intimidated, since the law came into force.
Elementary schools now report high absentee rates among Latino students.
"We have seen children crying as they get off the bus, thinking their parents won't be home when they return because they will have been deported," said William Lawrence, a school principal in the city of Foley.
"Many were absent and the rumours generated a climate of fear."
Many Hispanic parents are now considering leaving the state, Mr Lawrence added. Twenty-four of the 223 Latino children enrolled at his school have already left and 36 more have announced they will leave soon.
Under the law, schools must ask new students for birth certificates and official documents that are then sent to the Alabama State Board of Education.
Although the data is not forwarded to the immigration authorities, many parents are concerned that inspections and arrests might start occurring at the school gates.
"We started a campaign to explain to parents what the implications of this law are. But the children will get the worst of it because this panic affects learning," Mr Lawrence said.
"We do not know who is documented and who isn't. We do not ask because that's none of our business."
The 2010 US census showed about 79,000 children of migrant families live in Alabama. Of those, 88% were born in the United States, according to Kids Count, a nationwide welfare foundation.
The state will now have access to their immigration details to assess how much of the education budget is spent on the schooling of undocumented immigrants, according to authorities.
"HB56 directly threatens the education, safety, and overall well-being of children in Alabama," said Wendy Cervantes of First Focus, an organisation that protects children's rights.
"This law turns school officials into government agents, and diverts limited resources away from teaching Alabama's children."
Teachers are concerned about the long-term effects of the law on classrooms, and if the exodus of Hispanic children continues, state authorities could cut the current education budget.Missing Mass
The law has also raised concerns among religious leaders.
Pastors and priests fear being sanctioned for assisting undocumented immigrants in their communities, as well as seeing their congregations dwindle.
Leaders of various churches filed an appeal before the Court, saying the new law could interfere with the free practice of religion.
"In the 60s, it was the black churches that rejected discriminatory practices," said Scott Douglas of Greater Birmingham Ministries, a multi-racial organisation representing 20 different faith groups in the state.
"It is significant that today black churches, white churches and brown churches are coming together to overturn this unjust law that threatens our community," | <urn:uuid:a7893a81-5dca-45d6-9735-676f4c1c8179> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15439733 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970971 | 1,036 | 1.84375 | 2 |
A totally accessible user's guide from the creator of a scientifically proven form of psychotherapy that has successfully treated millions of people worldwide. Whether we've experienced small setbacks or major traumas, we are all influenced by memories and experiences we may not remember or don't fully understand. Getting Past Your Past offers practical procedures that demystify the human condition and empower readers looking to achieve real change. Shapiro, the creator of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), explains how our personalities develop and why we become trapped into feeling, believing and acting in ways that don't serve us. Through detailed examples and exercises readers will learn to understand themselves, and why the people in their lives act the way they do. Most importantly, readers will also learn techniques to improve their relationships, break through emotional barriers, overcome limitations and excel in ways taught to Olympic athletes, successful executives and performers. An easy conversational style, humor and fascinating real life stories make it simple to understand the brain science, why we get stuck in various ways and what to do about it. Don't let yourself be run by unconscious and automatic reactions. Read the reviews below from award winners, researchers, academics and best selling authors to learn how to take control of your life. This book is required reading for EMDR Institute Basic Training.
Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy Read by Actress Karen White | <urn:uuid:f730233c-7102-4577-8bba-c40563dd9dea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://emdr.com/registration/dvds-a-cds/getting-past-your-past-cd-detail.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93762 | 287 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Last June I was invited by Yukon Tourism to visit the territory. While I was there, we drove from Whitehorse to Fraser, British Columbia, to ride the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. The route goes over the mountains from Fraser, B.C., to Skagway, Alaska. The railroad was built for miners to easily get supplies over the mountains during the Klondike Gold Rush. The original route was a very difficult climb up the mountains with the ton of supplies that the RCMP required prospectors to bring into the territory. The original railway extended all the way up to Whitehorse, but today it only goes to Fraser.
Today, the railroad is mostly for tourists and people who stop in Skagway on cruise ships. Despite its short length (only 27.7 miles), it offers some of the most spectacular scenery you will see in the world. The train is also used to drop off hikers and backpackers who explore the backwoods of Alaska. A one-way ticket from either Fraser or Skagway is $81 and a passport is required for the trip as you are crossing an international boundary.
I took this trip about a week before the summer solstice to give you an idea how long snow stays on the mountains. | <urn:uuid:864a5d41-559b-4ed9-bfac-c49c182d7587> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/09/riding-the-white-pass-yukon-railroad-through-the-mountains/245234/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969143 | 253 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Some groundbreaking research out of the Mayo Clinic shows that when cities and counties ban smoking in public buildings, the rate of heart attacks in the area drops dramatically.
Researchers mined the data from tens of thousands of medical records from every hospital and medical clinic in Olmsted County, and the findings are eye-opening.
In the 18 months before the county banned smoking in restaurants in 2002, there were 212 heart attacks per 100,000 residents. In 2007, the comprehensive smoking ban was put in place, and heart attacks dropped to 102 per 100,000 residents in the 18 months after the ban began. That marks a 45 percent decline.
"We were quite surprised," said Dr. Richard Hurt. "We thought we'd see a reduction, but until now, the highest reported reduction in heart attacks was 47 percent but most were around 17 percent or so."
Furthermore, when the smoking bans began, the number of sudden deaths from heart attacks dropped from 152 per 100,000 to 76, which is a 50 percent drop.
Hurt said the research forms one of the most definitive links yet between second-hand smoke and heart disease.
"We've known about the relation between heart attacks and reduction of heart attacks in smoke-free work places, but this really nails it down," said Hurt.
The research also shows that after the smoking ordinance took effect in Olmsted County, the number of adults who smoked dropped by 23 percent.
Now, Hurt says the researchers plan to recommend that second-hand smoke be considered the sixth risk factor for heart disease and that people should avoid it.
"People with known coronary disease should have zero -- no exposure -- to second-hand smoke because the risk is too high," said Hurt.
The current risk factors are as follows:
For more stories from KMSP in Minneapolis go to myfoxtwincities.com. | <urn:uuid:bb3847db-07dd-48ae-bb86-400a0495419f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2011/11/17/fewer-heart-attacks-seen-after-smoking-bans/?intcmp=related | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968011 | 381 | 2.53125 | 3 |
End of ASEAN centrality? — Yang Razali Kassim
JULY 10 — China has announced that China, Japan and South Korea have agreed to begin negotiations in November on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The proposed pact, when concluded, will create one of the world’s biggest free trade areas as the three countries together account for 20 per cent of world GDP and 19 per cent of exports.
The goal of an East Asia FTA (EAFTA) has long been mired in historical mistrust amongst the three former enemies, notwithstanding their growing ties.
Their agreement to start formal talks for an FTA is a psychological breakthrough. Chinese analysts described it as a “milestone development”.
How will this EAFTA affect Southeast Asia and should ASEAN be concerned?
FURTHERING ASEAN’S INTEREST
From the viewpoint of ASEAN as the more established regional grouping, this development will help bring about East Asian integration and further ASEAN’s interest.
The agreement by China, Japan and Korea to forge an East Asia FTA reflects the growing economic convergence of three major countries in an essentially tense region.
An FTA amongst the three economies will have a direct impact on ASEAN as they are major trading partners and already have bilateral free trade arrangements with ASEAN.
An East Asia FTA will therefore help realise ASEAN’s vision of an East Asian Community. This vision has been carefully nurtured through the ASEAN+3 process which involved the three Northeast Asian economies in ASEAN’s annual summit meetings.
An important and often neglected aspect is ASEAN’s role as enabler of this growing convergence in East Asia. In the late 1990s, there was a clear gulf between the three major economies in Northeast Asia. In contrast, Southeast Asia’s economic convergence was gathering pace and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) being virtually realised.
ASEAN’s economic convergence underpinned closer political ties and regional stability in South-east Asia.
Conversely, the lack of economic integration in Northeast Asia was a potential hindrance to regional stability; a regional crisis there could spill over into Southeast Asia.
It was ASEAN that created the opportunity for the three Northeast Asian countries to meet among themselves to foster mutual confidence. ASEAN took the initiative of inviting the three countries to its annual summits since 1997.
The so-called ASEAN+3 summit allowed the ASEAN leaders to meet their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea together and separately. Over time, the gradual mingling of the Northeast Asian leaders within the ASEAN framework encouraged them to meet among themselves.
TWO MAJOR SPIN-OFFS
Two major developments spun off from this. Firstly, China took everyone by surprise with an announcement at the ASEAN+1 summit in 2000 that it was prepared to have a free trade arrangement with ASEAN.
That offer also triggered a competitive push for freer trade with ASEAN from Japan, and then South Korea.
Secondly, having broken the ice, the three Northeast Asian countries explored ways to forge closer economic integration amongst themselves.
By 2008, the three were comfortable enough to form their own forum — outside the ASEAN framework — sometimes referred to as the Northeast Asian Trilateral Summit.
By 2011, they demonstrated their growing faith in regional integration with a Trilateral Co-operation Secretariat in Seoul. The choice of Seoul probably reflected the desire of China and Japan for a more neutral ground as the three countries gingerly moved forward as a fledgling economic grouping.
ASEAN will benefit from this growing economic convergence in Northeast Asia. It fits into the ASEAN vision of a regional architecture for East Asia, and eventually the larger Asia Pacific.
This vision is evolving, with more than one route to its realisation. Within East Asia, there is firstly, the ASEAN+3 process towards an East Asian community. China prefers this, presumably because it would easily be the natural leader.
Secondly, there is the alternative route of the East Asia Summit (EAS) which Japan prefers because it involves the United States, its treaty ally, as well as Russia and they will therefore dilute China’s dominance.
The EAS also includes India, Australia and New Zealand, which complete the chain of ASEAN’s trading partners in the western Pacific and Indian Ocean.
Across the broader Asia Pacific, the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) is losing steam and could well be overtaken by the emerging free trade process called the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which the US leads.
China is reportedly concerned about the TPP whose potential rise is said to have prompted Beijing to quicken its push for an East Asian FTA with Japan and Korea.
Whether it is the EAFTA, EAS or the TPP route to the ASEAN vision of a regional architecture, one thing is clear: The free trade process that ASEAN began with its own FTA in the 1990s has triggered a proliferation of FTAs in a region that is widely touted as the centre of the new Asian century.
WHITHER ASEAN CENTRALITY?
While ASEAN can claim some satisfaction with being the facilitator of free trade areas and closer economic integration in East Asia, it also harbours some trepidation. There is the possibility of being sidelined by a larger and more powerful East Asia FTA.
That may mean the gradual erosion of “ASEAN centrality”, the group’s oft-repeated mantra. Such fears are not necessarily unfounded, but need it end this way?
To be sure, the road to an East Asia FTA may be long and winding, given the deep-seated intra-regional animosities. Like AFTA, the EAFTA could eventually emerge despite the obstacles.
However, Northeast Asia’s intra-regional baggages could prove more difficult to overcome. An East Asian FTA may still rely on a facilitating role by ASEAN, which means more room for ASEAN centrality. — Today
* Yang Razali Kassim is a Senior Fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, and a contributor to the Centre for Multilateralism Studies.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider. | <urn:uuid:663ef855-6dab-4abe-a032-f7463195b4a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/end-of-asean-centrality-yang-razali-kassim/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946733 | 1,335 | 2.53125 | 3 |