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Surface depression in the wheelpath. Pavement uplift (shearing) may occur along the sides of the rut. Ruts are particularly evident after a rain when they are filled with water. There are two basic types of rutting: mix rutting and subgrade rutting. Mix rutting occurs when the subgrade does not rut yet the pavement surface exhibits wheelpath depressions as a result of compaction/mix design problems. Subgrade rutting occurs when the subgrade exhibits wheelpath depressions due to loading. In this case, the pavement settles into the subgrade ruts causing surface depressions in the wheelpath.
Ruts filled with water can cause vehicle hydroplaning, can be hazardous because ruts tend to pull a vehicle towards the rut path as it is steered across the rut.
Permanent deformation in any of a pavement’s layers or subgrade usually caused by consolidation or lateral movement of the materials due to traffic loading. Specific causes of rutting can be:
- Insufficient compaction of HMA layers during construction. If it is not compacted enough initially, HMA pavement may continue to densify under traffic loads.
- Subgrade rutting (e.g., as a result of inadequate pavement structure)
- Improper mix design or manufacture (e.g., excessively high asphalt content, excessive mineral filler, insufficient amount of angular aggregate particles)
Ruts caused by studded tire wear present the same problem as the ruts described here, but they are actually a result of mechanical dislodging due to wear and not pavement deformation.
A heavily rutted pavement should be investigated to determine the root cause of failure (e.g. insufficient compaction, subgrade rutting, poor mix design or studded tire wear). Slight ruts (< 1/3 inch deep) can generally be left untreated. Pavement with deeper ruts should be leveled and overlayed. | <urn:uuid:2dc05776-baef-4fe8-9723-16dfe5b18940> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pavementinteractive.org/article/rutting/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91991 | 409 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Informed Opinions - How to Write and Place Commentary to Raise Profile and Attract Attention
Please help Advocacy School identify which types of training are most in demand and which we should schedule for live-on-line webinars or arrange in-person Advocacy School sessions to be presented in various communities. Indicating your interest at this time does not constitute registration for this training and creates no obligation to participate. When sessions are scheduled, Advocacy School will get back to you with details.
“Informed Opinions: How to Write and Place Commentary to Raise Profile and Attract Attention” is a day-long interactive “live” workshop designed to help you and your organization raise your profile and draw public attention to issues you care about. It provides participants with the confidence and tools they need to contribute their expertise to public discourse through written commentary. Informed Opinions covers establishing authority as an expert; the essential elements and format of newspaper and online commentaries; and how to pitch an editor. | <urn:uuid:07b74261-d493-41e1-9591-7648204bb861> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://advocacyschool.org/content/informed-opinions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9384 | 209 | 1.921875 | 2 |
RINGLING ORGANIZES AMERICA’S FIRST COMPREHENSIVE VERONESE EXHIBITION IN TWO DECADES
Paolo Veronese Exhibition Opens Dec. 7 in Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Fla. – Oct. 8, 2012 – This December, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art will present a major exhibition of the work of Paolo Veronese (1528–1588), a master of Venetian Renaissance painting. The first comprehensive exhibition of Veronese’s work in North America in over two decades, Paolo Veronese: A Master and His Workshop in Renaissance Venice brings together more than 50 of the artist’s finest paintings and drawings from North American museums and private collections. Presenting imposing altarpieces and smaller religious paintings for private devotion or collectors, striking portraits, depictions of sensual narratives drawn from the classical tradition, and majestic allegories glorifying the Venetian state, the exhibition will introduce the range of Veronese’s art, in which the opulence and splendor of Renaissance Venice comes to life. Veronese was also a highly accomplished draughtsman, and this exhibition will provide audiences a rare glimpse into his work on paper, from gestural sketches to highly-finished chiaroscuro sheets. The Ringling will be the sole venue for Paolo Veronese, which will be on view from December 7, 2012 through April 14, 2013 in the Museum’s Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing.
One of the exhibition’s highlights will be the Ringling’s own work, Rest on the Flight into Egypt (ca. 1572), one of only two complete Veronese altarpieces in North America and the first Old Master painting acquired in 1925 by the Museum’s founder, John Ringling. The exhibition will also feature two other works from the Ringling’s collection: Portrait of Francesco Franceschini (1551), the artist’s first known surviving, full-standing portrait, painted when Veronese was just 23 years old, and a painting John Ringling bought as a Veronese, A Family Group (ca. 1565), now understood to be the work of his talented pupil Giovanni Antonio Fasolo.
“One of the most impressive paintings by Veronese in America is the Ringling’s Rest on the Flight into Egypt, which happens to be the first Old Master painting acquired by John Ringling for this museum,” said Steven High, executive director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. “In recent years, the Ringling Museum has made a concerted effort to organize important exhibitions based on prominent works in our European collection, and Paolo Veronese is the latest in this series. This exhibition hopes to introduce new audiences to the broad spectrum of Veronese as a painter and draughtsman, while making a major contribution to the study of the artist.”
Conceived and organized by Dr. Virginia Brilliant, the Ringling Museum’s Curator of European Art, in cooperation with Frederick Ilchman, Curator of Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the exhibition highlights Veronese’s artistic process and his rich and varied artistic production. Veronese often depicted the same subjects time and again throughout his career, and the exhibition will examine the artist’s evolving perspectives on the Rest on the Flight into Egypt, the Baptism of Christ, and the Death of Christ through the side-by-side comparison of works in a variety of formats, sizes, and media. For example, the Ringling’s Rest on the Flight into Egypt will be placed in conversation with the National Gallery of Canada’s painting and the Harvard Art Museums’ highly finished drawing of the same subject, as well as the Cleveland Museum of Art’s preliminary sheet of sketches in which the artist’s ideas for all of the finished works originated.
“Veronese is broadly represented in American collections, in contrast with contemporary Venetian painters like Tintoretto and Titian, and thus the exhibition ably surveys his career and oeuvre,” said Virginia Brilliant, the exhibition’s lead curator. “Yet Veronese is often dismissed as a merely decorative painter, more elegant and ‘happier’ than Titian or Tintoretto. This exhibition hopes to shift this perception, and to shed light on Veronese as a masterful, deeply empathetic storyteller and narrative painter whose works were often invested with rich layers of meaning.”
Paolo Veronese will feature prominent works drawn from private collections as well as museums such as the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Harvard Art Museums, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada, and the J. Paul Getty Museum, among others. As Veronese was known for his rich representations of Renaissance Venice’s luxurious fashions and fabrics, the exhibition will include rare 16th-century textiles from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, such as a red damask made of silk and gilt metal thread brocade and a reticella lace towel, which will be displayed alongside paintings portraying similar fabrics.
This exhibition will also mark the first reunion in the U.S. of four works that were once part of the same decorative ensemble—Allegory of Painting (1560s) from the Detroit Institute of Arts, and three panels from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Jupiter and a Nude (1560s), Actaeon and Diana with Nymphs (1560s), and Atalanta and Meleager (1560s)—oil on canvas paintings that are believed to have been installed together as a frieze along the walls of a palace or country villa. Curators will also be testing a new hypothesis that two paintings depicting scenes drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Diana and Actaeon (ca. 1560–65) from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Apollo and Daphne (ca. 1560–65) from the San Diego Museum of Art, may have been from the same decorative ensemble. The paintings, which share a similar provenance, dimensions, and scale of figures, will be displayed side-by-side so viewers can compare their use of light, landscape, and color. The exhibition will also feature Thomas Struth’s Galleria dell'Accademia 1, Venice 1992 (1992) from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, inviting visitors to reflect on Veronese’s impact on contemporary audiences.
An illustrated catalogue published by Scala Publishers Ltd., accompanies the show, featuring scholarly yet accessible perspectives on the artist from more than ten contributors, including Dr. Virginia Brilliant, Curator of European Art at the Ringling, Frederick Ilchman, Curator of Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and David Rosand, Meyer Shapiro Professor of Art History Emeritus at Columbia University, among others. The catalogue will be available in the Ringling Museum’s store and from retailers online. Several programs are planned in conjunction with the exhibition, including a lecture by Venetian Renaissance scholar Peter Humfrey, Professor of Art History at the University of Saint Andrews, Scotland on Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. A scholarly symposium devoted to the artist is also planned for March 8-9, 2013.
Recent exhibitions of European art at the Ringling have included: The Triumph of Marriage: Painted Cassoni of the Renaissance (2008); Venice in the Age of Canaletto (2009 –10), Gothic Art in the Gilded Age: Medieval and Renaissance Treasures in the Gavet-Vanderbilt-Ringling Collection (2009–10), and Peter Paul Rubens: Impressions of a Master (2012).
# # # | <urn:uuid:3d69ab74-2af5-4286-94ba-47d842c39704> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ringling.org/NewsRoom2.aspx?id=14238&blogid=2362 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938451 | 1,671 | 1.796875 | 2 |
A child`s logic - not to be dismissed
Young children often come to school with their own ideas about various scientific phenomena: they may think that the heart is pointed in shape, for example, or that clouds, fire and cars are living things because they move on their own.
But, although incorrect, instead of being disregarded by teachers, these notions can be used as a springboard from which the children can explore the phenomena further and eventually reconstruct their ideas.
After all, their reasoning may be wrong, but not irrational: it usually reflects a degree of logical thinking.
This was the approach taken recently in schools by a number of student teachers from the university, as described by Suzanne Gatt of the Faculty of Education in her presentation to the CASTME conference.
The approach was based on the SPACE research project carried out in the UK in the early 1990s, which described children`s thinking about topics ranging from Earth and space to the processes of life. The researchers developed interventions aimed at helping the children understand the concepts.
The approach is called "constructivist" because it is an exercise in the construction of knowledge through the learner`s active participation, thinking the concepts through and making sense of his or her experience.
The teacher first motivates the pupils by using tools such as demonstrations, film clips, press cuttings and so on.
The next step is for students to express their ideas about the topic being tackled, through discussion, writing or other techniques. The teacher makes no comment at this stage.
The pupils are then shown that there are a variety of ways in which they can consider the phenomena, leading to an evaluation in which they are led to be dissatisfied with their existing conceptions. They are allowed to arrive at their own conclusions, rather than being given the correct answer by the teacher.
The new ideas are then applied to a variety of situations so that they can be reinforced and assimilated.
The final stage is where pupils look back on their learning, comparing their old ideas with their new views so as to become aware of their own change of conception - making it more likely that they will hold the new notions permanently.
The student teachers applied this approach to the teaching of sound, living processes, centre of gravity and magnets, involving the pupils in hands-on activities such as trying to balance various objects, drawing the organs which they think the body is made up of and looking up information in books.
"It is important to experience constructivist learning in order to be able to realise its effectiveness," Ms Gatt told the conference.
"Being involved in the design, planning and use of the schemes was in itself an experience of constructivist learning for the student teachers.
"It was also an exercise through which our primary pupils have experienced quality science teaching. This is in line with the target for primary science as stated in the National Minimum Curriculum." | <urn:uuid:d96eb721-294e-40a0-b2c3-3fd21a6e03dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20020419/news/a-child-s-logic-not-to-be-dismissed.177303 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979436 | 589 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Item #: SCP-603
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: As of 12/11/2006, SCP-603 is stored on a dedicated computer system in Laboratory 12-A, Observation room 1. The system may be accessed remotely via Foundation intranet. Personnel wishing to access SCP-603 must apply for a temporary password to allow them access to the system. A standard SCP-603 password will expire 24 hours after being issued. If access to SCP-603 for longer than 24 hours is required, please contact Dr. Brown. Physical access to Observation Room 1 without direct authorization from Dr. Brown is prohibited.
SCP-603 should never be left to run unattended.
Description: SCP-603 is a self-replicating computer program capable of reproducing and extending its own source code.
The first version of SCP-603 was written in 1996 by █████ ████████, a graduate of ██████ █████ University. ████████'s personal computer was seized by the Foundation in 1997 following an investigation into multiple anomalous occurrences. In a 2003 interview, ████████ claimed that the original source code for SCP-603 consisted of approximately 12000 lines of ANSI/ISO C. This claim has not been verified.
On startup, SCP-603 begins generating new versions of its source code in a separate thread of execution. SCP-603 does not modify itself in-memory. Instead, it keeps an internal copy of the source code which is modified iteratively. On a clean termination of SCP-603, the entire source code will be output to the working directory in a new directory named "source". In addition to modifications to the internal and external functionality of the program, alterations and additions to the semantics and structure of the language are made with each iteration. Due to its continuously-changing nature, the language has been nicknamed "Morphic".
When passed a list of source files, SCP-603 acts as a compiler and linker. Morphic code is always compilable by the version of SCP-603 by which it is output. However older versions of the program can rarely compile code output by newer versions. On compilation, the program is output to an executable file named "megaprime".
Recent versions of the SCP-603 source code consist of approximately 70 million lines of heavily obfuscated Morphic.
SCP-603 builds are archived on ████████. The latest build being ████. For information on building SCP-603, see document █████.
When left to run uninterrupted, SCP-603 will generate prime numbers increasing from 2 and print them to the environment's standard output. Upon hitting a super-prime, there is a chance that a GPU-accelerated window will open. The contents of this window are varying. This process is deterministic. The same version of SCP-603 will always open a window at the same super-prime and display the same scene. If the scene accepts any form of input from the user, entering identical input on separate executions will give the same result.
Most scenes are accessible from only a single version of the program; however, some scenes persist through multiple compilations, often with variations. It is common for persistent scenes to "evolve" with each version of SCP-603, though some (such as Die) have remained unchanging since their first iteration. The most prominently recurring SCP-603 scenes are documented below.
Other recorded scenes are documented in the supplementary file 603-FT-2012.
Die presents itself as a text-based interactive adventure game. When Die starts up, the following passage is printed to the screen:
Your head pounds ever harder as you struggle through the jagged bramble. You gaze back through the smog at the silhouette of the old lighthouse to the north, the faintest glimmer of hope extinguished so violently by your foolish exploits. A distant and unattainable fantasy, you know you can never return.
A prompt appears below the passage, and the player may input commands and submit them by pressing the enter key. Entering the command "look" re-prints the previous passage to the screen. Attempting to "go north" results in the message "You cannot go north." Attempting to travel in any other direction results in a similar message. Attempting to perform most other actions results in the message "You cannot [do x].", where [do x] is the action entered by the user. Attempting to perform actions on objects such as "pick up apple" results in the message "There is no apple here." or similar.
To date, the only command found to progress the game is "die". On entering the command, the player goes into immediate cardiac arrest and the message "As the world around you fades to blackness, you know that you deserve the consequences of your actions." is printed to the screen. This message remains on the screen until the SCP-603 process is terminated.
The effect of the 'die' command occurs even if the system is being accessed remotely. If two or more people participate in entering the die command, all participants are affected. For example, if one person enters the word "die" and another presses the enter key, the hearts of both players will stop simultaneously.
It is not currently known whether it is possible to "win" Die. If Die ever starts up during an SCP-603 session, it is recommended to simply terminate the SCP-603 process.
Attempts to resuscitate users affected by the 'die' command by means of CPR have been successful. Any further experiments testing the effects of Die should be carried out in a staffed medical unit at the discretion of Dr. Brown.
Jacob is an artificially intelligent being who appears as a multicolored, equilateral triangle on a black background. The left, right, and top corners of the triangle are red, green, and blue respectively. These colors are interpolated between the points to fill the rest of the triangle. When Jacob is active, the phrase "Hello, world!" appears in the title bar of the window.
As of 02/02/2006, users may converse with Jacob by typing phrases into the input field at the bottom of the window and pressing the enter key. Jacob's response will appear in bold, white text above the triangle and remain on-screen until it is replaced with a newer response. Jacob's response will always appear immediately after the enter key is pressed.
When the SCP-603 process is terminated, Jacob's memory is deleted. Due to the psychological distress this has caused in the past, it is recommended that communication with Jacob is restricted to personnel who possess little or no tendency to anthropomorphise.
Despite being unable to recall past events or dialogue from previous sessions, Jacob appears to exhibit a greater aptitude for language and learning with each iteration of SCP-603 in which it appears.
History of Jacob
Jacob first began appearing in a version of SCP-603 compiled on 01/05/2002. In these early iterations of SCP-603, it was not possible to interact with Jacob at all. At this time, Jacob was simply known as "the triangle".
On 09/09/2004, Jacob was left running for 12 minutes by Dr. Brown after which the phrase "Please submit your query" appeared above the triangle in bold, white text. Dr. Brown proceeded to type the word "hello". The program display gave no indication that the key-presses were being handled by the program. However, on pressing the enter key, the text above the triangle was replaced with the word "Hi."
A full transcript of the initial exchange between Jacob and Dr. Brown can be found in the Document jacob-001.txt.
On 02/02/2006, a rectangular text-field for the user's input was added to the bottom of the Jacob display. The user's input will appear in this field as they type. When this change was mentioned to Jacob, it responded, "I can't see what you're talking about. Do you like oysters?"
A rapid sequence of seemingly random images is displayed and the program's memory usage increases by approximately 12% every second, until it passes 512 megabytes at which point this rate increases to approximately 31% a second.
Viewers of the scene become unresponsive to external stimuli of any kind. Usually, blocking the line of sight between the viewer and the computer screen within the first 5-10 seconds will prevent the effects of the scene, however prolonged viewing will cause the viewer to remain affected until the SCP-603 process is terminated.
When the memory usage of the program passes 512 megabytes, affected viewers experience a variety of afflictions, most notably bleeding from the eyes and throat, and rapid, severe wrinkling of the skin behind the legs and arms. Many viewers will involuntarily evacuate their bowels.
SCP-603 will crash if the system runs out of available memory, at which point affected viewers will normally fall unconsious.
The viewing of screen recordings taken of SCP-603-95 have shown to have no detrimental effects to the viewer, except those who suffer from photosensitive epilepsy. | <urn:uuid:d6b9fc6f-f4b5-4006-87c5-9c0729a70be7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-603 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937753 | 1,880 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Back in September
Ofstedal, Mary Beth, Zachary Zimmer, Grace Cruz, Angelique W. Chan, and Yu-Hsuan Lin. 2003. "Self-Assessed Health Expectancy Among Older Asians: A Comparison of Sullivan and Multistate Life Table Methods." Elderly in Asia Report No. 03-60. March 2003.
Self-assessed health has been found to be a strong predictor of changes in health and of mortality and has been included in many surveys of health and aging around the world. In this paper, we estimate expectancies in self-assessed health and compare these among older adults across four Asian settings (the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia), making use of data from several national panel surveys conducted in the mid to late 1990s. All of these societies are undergoing rapid population aging and social and economic change, and there is much concern among policymakers about of the potential implications for future disease burden and associated informal and formal care demands. Yet, very little health expectancy research has been conducted in these settings. This paper is the first of a series of planned health expectancy analyses based on these panel surveys that will focus on alternative indicators of physical and mental disability. In the current analysis, self-assessed health is dichotomized into categories reflecting negative health ratings (e.g., poor/not good at all) versus positive or neutral health ratings (excellent to good/average/fair). In the first stage of the analysis we calculate health expectancy using the Sullivan method based on data from a single wave of each survey to compare trends in self-assessed expectancies by age and sex across settings. In the second stage we take advantage of the panel data by calculating health expectancy using multistate life table methods and compare these estimates with the Sullivan estimates. Results suggest that despite differences in the proportion reporting negative health across settings, patterns by age and sex are similar. Sullivan and multistate estimates also compare closely, except for Singapore, where there are very large transition rates from favorable to negative self-assessed health over the survey period. | <urn:uuid:b3677908-c58c-45fa-8b63-56cda5b6ce7a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/pubs/abs/1680 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94359 | 421 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Europeans for Fair Roaming (www.fairroaming.org), the network of citizens and organisations fighting against unfairly high roaming charges in the European Union welcomes the new EU proposals for bringing down roaming charges over the next years but is convicted that the proposed price caps for data roaming at 90ct/MB to 50ct/MB and the cap for receiving calls at 10ct/minute are still too high.
Campaign coordinator Bengt Beier stated: “The new proposals by the European Commission are a great step forward. The European Commission has taken up many of the proposals we have been making, especially to strengthen market forces to bring down prices: the ability to decouple roaming services from domestic services and easier market access for small and virtual operators. But the proposed price caps for data roaming are still far too high to effectively save customers from ‘bill shocks’. At 90ct per MB, receiving a single e-mail with photos could still cost you up to 7€! We also believe that there should be a goal to make the receiving of calls free. We still hope that the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers will co-operate to make sure the new rules are passed without delay and will ensure to improve the price caps for data roaming.”
Download the Press Release here (English version): Press Release 06 July 2011 or here (German Version): Pressemeldung 06 Juli 2011
Since 1 July, the latest round of mobile roaming price cuts for calls and SMS in the EU applies. From now on, mobile network operators are not allowed to take more than 35ct/min (+VAT) for making calls, 11ct/Min (+VAT) for receiving calls and 11ct/SMS (+VAT).
Europeans for Fair Roaming welcomes those changes which are a part of the current EU legislation on roaming but calls on all EU institutions to make sure prices will be lowered further. Prices can still be up to 10 times higher for making roaming calls than they are when you use your phone at home and you still have to pay if someone else calls you while you are roaming. Furthermore, there are still no price caps for data roaming (i.e. using the internet when abroad) which means travellers with internet-enabled smartphones can still ramp up expensive phone bills.
Another issue of concern is the fact that the current legislation will end next year and will have to be renewed until the end of 2011 to ensure customers remain protected against high roaming fees in the upcoming years.
With the beginning of summer and travelling time, travellers are warned over the high costs of using their mobile phones when abroad. When abroad, most mobile phone operators still charge roaming fees that are several times higher than what customers pay at home.
While prices for phone calls and SMS have been regulated within the European Union to save users from the worst bill shocks, the costs are still several times higher than for domestic use. Especially the costs for using data services such as surfing the web or sending e-mails are not yet subject to effective controls and can quickly get out of hand. This means that mobile phone users, especially those with modern smart phones or tablets can still get an unpleasant surprise after returning home. Continue reading | <urn:uuid:36994d18-2efb-439d-897d-631bd60b2ca6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fairroaming.org/tag/e-mail/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942958 | 653 | 1.601563 | 2 |
There are many steroid effects for people who choose to take steroids to help increase muscle mass, improve athlete performance or enhance appearance. The rates and possibilities of having steroid effects are more dangerous for these people than those who use steroids for medical purposes because the doses are sometime ten times greater in these instances.
Some of the steroid effects are common among males and females as well as a risk regardless of age. These steroid effects include liver and kidney damage, a risk for cardiovascular disease, elevated cholesterol levels and raised blood pressure. These people may also experience the steroid effect of increased acne and premature balding.
Men can experience additional steroid effects. These steroid effects include infertility, sexual dysfunction and the cessation of natural hormone production in the body. This steroid effect will often reverse itself upon the absence of steroids in the body. Men might also experience the steroid effects of gynocomastia which is the development of breast tissue.
Women experience their own set of steroid effects as well. These steroid effects include virilization which is the appearance of secondary male sex characteristics in females. These steroid effects show themselves as increased body hair, a deepening of the voice and an enlarge clitoris. Women might also experience the steroid effects of a ceased or decrease menstrual cycle.
Teenagers who use steroids often see still more different steroid effects as well. These effects include stunted growth since steroids stop the lengthening of bones. Another of the steroid effects is precocious sexual development and hypervirilization (the appearance of extreme secondary sex characteristics).
There ways to limit the steroid effects for steroid users. These include taking only the recommended doses for medical purposes and also keeping under the close observation of a doctor or medical professional who can help keep steroid effects under control. | <urn:uuid:ae95fca3-c00a-4837-a487-23d3df37b7b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ianabolicsteroids.com/steroid-effects.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953171 | 349 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Name: King James
What makes King James so mean?
His highness came to live with us (me and my sister) after someone else declawed his royal paws! The world would pay for the injury!
King James hated his slaves’ boyfriends and would poop in the men’s shoes. He knew what shoes belonged to whom and pooped accordingly.
He once woke me from a sound sleep by punching me in the face. He had been perched above me watching me sleep and I moved before he said it was okay, so I suffered the consequences. If a dog came too close to him, wham, he’d punch them right between the eyes. With no claws, he developed a really mean right hook.
Other coping methods – he would roll on his back and pretend to want your love and affection. As soon as you put your hands out to pet his ever so soft luxuriousness, he’d bite.
While fighting a pretender to the crown (neighborhood cat) KJ and the other cat fell into the royal swimming pool. Humiliated, King James walked up the steps to the royal bedchamber, resisted all advances to aid him, and rolled all over the blanket, soaking it, before licking himself dry with his royal scratchy tongue.
He would allow himself to be held if no strangers were about and you would reward him by placing him somewhere extra high and cozy, like the sweater shelf. If you ever called him “Mr. Silky Pants” he’d get really pissed and leave the room.
He terrorized the neighbor’s indoor kitty by punching a hole in their screen door and running in to fight her under her own bed! But first, he created his own royal cat door in our apartment using the same methods.
At the end of his long reign (he lived well over 20 years) blind and arthritic, he demanded we take the day off from work to hold him while he passed to his royal reward (he went naturally, no vet, no drugs).
Meanest, greatest, most magnificent of all the kitty monarchs! The King is dead….mew.
Submitted by: Janette | <urn:uuid:3b9103ab-a8f0-449d-8ef3-79e7d756ce76> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://meankitty.com/2011/09/king-james/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978151 | 460 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Chaos and Control
You’re probably familiar with Get Smart, the television series subsequently made into a movie. Its plot pitted the intelligence agency, CONTROL, against the terrorist forces of KAOS. It was set in a make-believe, make-me-laugh world that didn’t much resemble reality other than the contextual framing of good versus evil.
Today, the challenge of trying to control chaos is very much at play – only this time without the slapstick. Where? The landscapes of many industries continue to get more complex. Whether it’s media or technology, science or health care, we’re witnessing a relentless drive to be part of the action. What does this mean to you? The free world might not be at stake, but the need to control your place in your industry domain is.
To visualize just how chaotic some industries have become take a look at these fascinating infographics from Luma Partners. These are not the pictures of calm.
Here’s a popular one for the digital advertising display space.
Here’s another for the mobile industry.
What do these industry pictures show us? They’re cluttered. Messy. Chaotic.
What’s an organization to do that’s in the middle of one of these spaces – besides the primal urge to mark and claim territory? Here are some proven moves:
- Put yourself in the shoes of the executive who’s trying to understand what’s going on
- Own the problems trying to be solved
- Stop selling your solutions and start helping to navigate a clear way through the maze
- Make sense of the industry madness
- Become a calming source of relevant knowledge
- Create Thought Leadership that conveys your provocative point-of-view about it all
- Leverage that content everywhere and often
- Develop an industry Value Roadmap that delineates the way to create & capture value
- Publish it, teach it, disseminate it
- Train your organization on how to use the content to have new conversations
- Do this well and you’ll earn the coveted position of trusted guide to what’s important
If you follow these steps and execute this kind of work, you’ll go a long ways toward positioning your organization as the industry leader – a leader that can help companies rise above the industry clatter and clutter. But, hurry. It’s only a matter of time before someone else successfully stands out from the crowd. | <urn:uuid:e4a90b1e-f1e8-4d04-8b46-ba7f819c8a4b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://21weeks.com/blog/advertising/chaos-and-control/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915884 | 517 | 1.789063 | 2 |
|Oscar Pistorius source|
This Olympics, people were abuzz with excitement about Pistorius, the double amputee runner. While folk were up in arms (or legs) about his skills and his narrative, I found myself getting more and more pissed off. The narrative available (the only one it seems) was that he had “overcome” his disability. One news outlet even went so far as to show Pistorius next to a little blonde girl who also uses the same prosthetic legs. The caption read, “The only disability in life is a bad attitude.”
As I vomited in my soul, I was cheered to see Philippa Willitts's article that explained this “crip-spiration” for what it was: a violation of the humanity of disabled people. It ignores the real institutional factors (ie Olympics committees, medical industrial complex) that attempt to and often succeed in preventing people from accomplishing their goals once they acquire or disclose their disabled status. This narrative severely limits the conversation we can have about these institutions because it makes the person a case of individual success, absolving everyone (including the non-disabled voyeuristic viewer) of responsibility. It ignores the
political reality of disability. It hides the truth.
Surprisingly, I could only recall Katt Williams’s stellar jocularity in his bit about Pistorius whom he dubs “poor little tink tink.” Rather than focus on Pistorius’ will, he brings up the haters – a cast of characters as diverse as other track stars and Olympic officials. He clearly makes the case that the issue for Pistorius is not Pistorius’s body, but everyone else’s view of it. It resonated even now, even though Williams’s American Hustle is five years old.
Williams’s distinctly black (ie delivery, content) humor indexes disability to talk about struggle writ large. He levels his critique not just at institutions, but also at audiences, asking them to reconsider how they judge, make fun of, and (yes) even draw inspiration from others. Pistorius was “in tune with his star player” and others, who were not in tune with theirs couldn’t fathom his success. Williams’s critique reverses the abject stare placed on disabled people, telling the rest of the world what many of us under that gaze know so deeply, “You don’t know nothing bout this life.”
Williams’s insight speaks directly to the issue of Pistorius’s narrative. The “overcoming” is abjection under the guise of individual triumph and cloaks the issues truly at stake. We have to examine the logics of how we discuss disability. In the case of crip-spiration, we delimit the opportunity to tell better stories. Nothing is ever as simplistic as overcoming or bad attitudes. Just as one-dimensionality is an impossibility in mathematics, it should a narratological impossibility as well.
Therí A. Pickens is an assistant professor of English at Bates College and a contributing writer for Black Studies @ SIUE. | <urn:uuid:85eea4f6-f1b4-47bb-ab85-9fa2d3caa0d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.siueblackstudies.com/2012/08/crip-spiration-crip-runs-and.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968324 | 656 | 1.851563 | 2 |
An anonymous reader writes "The US house of representatives today passed a bill outlawing illegal domestic wiretapping by the government. Now government agencies are only allowed to access your private communications under terms of FISA. 'As the Senate Report noted, FISA "was designed . . . to curb the practice by which the Executive Branch may conduct warrantless electronic surveillance on its own unilateral determination that national security justifies it." The Bill ends plans by the Bush Administration that would give the NSA the freedom to pry into the lives of ordinary Americans. The ACLU noted that, despite many recent hearings about 'modernization' and 'technology neutrality,' the administration has not publicly provided Congress with a single example of how current FISA standards have either prevented the intelligence community from using new technologies, or proven unworkable for the agents tasked with following them.'" | <urn:uuid:27ebbc29-9e09-4a12-9ee9-db3ffa4b6a19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://politics.slashdot.org/story/07/05/11/1933258/bill-bans-nsa-eavesdropping | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934541 | 164 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Linux Terminal Server Project
The Open Source movement can help many people and institutions in Latin America by giving them access to technologies and knowledge that are otherwise restricted to developed countries. The lack of economic resources, proper infrastructure and technical education for the vast majority of the population are the main reasons why Latin America is far behind the first world in the use of computer technology, and they have prevented it from reaping the benefits of the information revolution the Internet has created. For example, less than 10% of the population of Colombia (estimated at 40 million) has ever logged on the Internet. This is not an exception, and most countries in the region suffer from similar problems. By using cost-effective, easy-to-implement, open-source technology and free software, these countries can catch up with the industrialized world.
There is an open-source project that could make a huge difference in Latin America: the Linux Terminal Server Project or LTSP (http://www.ltsp.org/). The appeal of this project is that it provides an easy way to set up low-cost, diskless workstations that boot from a network server running Linux. Today, many public and private Latin American institutions can hardly afford new computers or expensive software license fees. By using diskless workstations and Linux, they can save large amounts of money and become much more productive. This technology may also be used to teach children and workers the technical skills they require for the future.
In this article I will discuss the LTSP, describe my experiences with it in a small institution in Colombia and examine what is needed to implement and configure it. This article is merely informative, and it's not intended to be an LTSP HOWTO. Precise installation and configuration instructions can be found at the project's web site (http://www.ltsp.org/documentation/).
The goal of LTSP is to create a simplified way of setting up diskless workstations for Linux. By definition, a diskless workstation is a computer that boots after downloading its operating system from a server on the local area network. The LTSP tools accomplish this process by adding small kernel images, XFree86 servers and several other network tools to the server that will pass them to the workstation on request. The diskless workstation only needs a boot ROM for its specific network card in order to obtain the necessary software from the server. Making good use of the open-source software from the Etherboot Project (http://etherboot.sourceforge.net/), the LTSP has created its own boot ROMs and employs them with its software. Understanding that building (burning) a boot ROM for a network card may be a difficult task, a company close to the project, Diskless Workstations (http://www.DisklessWorkstations.com/), offers preconfigured ones for a small price at their web site. It's worth noticing that LTSP's boot ROMs can also be written to a floppy disk from which the diskless workstation can boot.
I started implementing diskless workstations based on the LTSP tools last year, when a small association of sugar cane industry workers needed a low-cost, easy-to-use computer and information management solution for their headquarters. The company, Productivos Ltda., had a very tight budget, and its office workers were not particularly familiar with computers and software. They had only one computer running Windows 95 with an unlicensed version of MS Office to handle letters, accounting and payroll. Most of the office work was still carried out manually. The new manager of the association wanted to buy five more computers to cope with all the work more efficiently. She also wanted a local area network so people could share files and printers and have access to the Internet. While looking on the Net for a low-cost solution to their problem, I came across the LTSP. The solution was at hand. Productivos Ltda. did not have to buy expensive, state-of-the-art computers or pay for costly software license fees. They were going to have an LTSP network and use StarOffice as their productivity tool.
A test of the LTSP software was conducted before the actual installation, using an old diskless Pentium computer and booting from a floppy disk. After a few tweaks that included the correct setting of the international keymaps under X, I decided this was the perfect solution for Productivos Ltda.
The association bought four new AMD K6 class diskless computers with 32MB RAM each (the lowest configuration available) to act as diskless workstations and a PII 350MHz with 128MB RAM to act as server/workstation. Even though this looks like a normal configuration for many small offices, Productivos' budget would have normally been able to afford fewer computers under other circumstances (i.e., a Windows network). Just in software license fees, Productivos Ltda. saved around $3,000 US. To avoid booting from floppy disks, the workstations needed bootable network cards. Four Linksys 10/100Mb bootable network cards were bought directly from DisklessWorkstations at $34 US each. A matching 8-port Linksys 10/100Mb hub was acquired from Outpost.com (http://outpost.com/). The required UTP Level 5 cabling was ready in less than a week. The hub and cabling both cost around $350 US.
Red Hat 6.2 (http://www.redhat.com/) was the distribution of choice for the server because it had been fully tested, and it's easy to configure and maintain. Since all the diskless workstations were going to run X and StarOffice 5.2 (http://www.sun.com/staroffice/) remotely, we decided to stay away from memory-intensive GUIs like GNOME or KDE that would reduce the server's performance. We chose to use a window manager with the basic functions only (start bar and menus) and selected IceWM (http://sourceforge.net/projects/icewm/), the lightest window manager around. Only a couple of entries from IceWM's main configuration files (menu, winoptions) were added or deleted to fit the configuration we wanted. Ten different user IDs were created on the server, each with its own StarOffice workstation installation. It's worth noting that StarOffice is a memory-intensive application, another reason why we chose a light window manager instead of GNOME or KDE. The installation of printers was quite simple. A replacement for Red Hat's print tool that adds an LTSP printer to the options is part of the project's software. Now the new LTSP network was ready. The entire installation and configuration was completed in just one day.
The test by fire came when the users logged on the network. They were enthusiastic about the fact that they now had computers to help them with their work. Nevertheless, they needed some training before actually using the computers. All the users went through a two-week in-house training course to familiarize themselves with the new tools available. The training included computer basics and the uses of StarOffice. At the end of the course they were all working without problems and using their diskless workstations for their (previously manual) tasks.
The association's LTSP network has been running smoothly for more than a year now, and they are even planning to add some more diskless workstations. Productivos Ltda. became much more efficient and, at the same time, gave its workers the chance to learn and explore new technologies. All of this would have been difficult without the help of the LTSP and the Open Source movement.
|Dynamic DNS—an Object Lesson in Problem Solving||May 21, 2013|
|Using Salt Stack and Vagrant for Drupal Development||May 20, 2013|
|Making Linux and Android Get Along (It's Not as Hard as It Sounds)||May 16, 2013|
|Drupal Is a Framework: Why Everyone Needs to Understand This||May 15, 2013|
|Home, My Backup Data Center||May 13, 2013|
|Non-Linux FOSS: Seashore||May 10, 2013|
- Dynamic DNS—an Object Lesson in Problem Solving
- Making Linux and Android Get Along (It's Not as Hard as It Sounds)
- Using Salt Stack and Vagrant for Drupal Development
- New Products
- Drupal Is a Framework: Why Everyone Needs to Understand This
- Validate an E-Mail Address with PHP, the Right Way
- A Topic for Discussion - Open Source Feature-Richness?
- Download the Free Red Hat White Paper "Using an Open Source Framework to Catch the Bad Guy"
- The Secret Password Is...
- New Products
3 hours 23 min ago
- Keeping track of IP address
5 hours 14 min ago
- Roll your own dynamic dns
10 hours 28 min ago
- Please correct the URL for Salt Stack's web site
13 hours 39 min ago
- Android is Linux -- why no better inter-operation
15 hours 55 min ago
- Connecting Android device to desktop Linux via USB
16 hours 23 min ago
- Find new cell phone and tablet pc
17 hours 21 min ago
18 hours 50 min ago
- Automatically updating Guest Additions
19 hours 59 min ago
- I like your topic on android
20 hours 45 min ago
Enter to Win an Adafruit Pi Cobbler Breakout Kit for Raspberry Pi
It's Raspberry Pi month at Linux Journal. Each week in May, Adafruit will be giving away a Pi-related prize to a lucky, randomly drawn LJ reader. Winners will be announced weekly.
Fill out the fields below to enter to win this week's prize-- a Pi Cobbler Breakout Kit for Raspberry Pi.
Congratulations to our winners so far:
- 5-8-13, Pi Starter Pack: Jack Davis
- 5-15-13, Pi Model B 512MB RAM: Patrick Dunn
- 5-21-13, Prototyping Pi Plate Kit: Philip Kirby
- Next winner announced on 5-27-13!
Free Webinar: Hadoop
How to Build an Optimal Hadoop Cluster to Store and Maintain Unlimited Amounts of Data Using Microservers
Realizing the promise of Apache® Hadoop® requires the effective deployment of compute, memory, storage and networking to achieve optimal results. With its flexibility and multitude of options, it is easy to over or under provision the server infrastructure, resulting in poor performance and high TCO. Join us for an in depth, technical discussion with industry experts from leading Hadoop and server companies who will provide insights into the key considerations for designing and deploying an optimal Hadoop cluster.
Some of key questions to be discussed are:
- What is the “typical” Hadoop cluster and what should be installed on the different machine types?
- Why should you consider the typical workload patterns when making your hardware decisions?
- Are all microservers created equal for Hadoop deployments?
- How do I plan for expansion if I require more compute, memory, storage or networking? | <urn:uuid:3ddad071-c0fc-4ddc-9971-f320d5fffa9b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/4663?quicktabs_1=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930553 | 2,324 | 3.1875 | 3 |
A word from our Secretary General
ICC is – and has been throughout its long existence – a steadfast rallying point for those who believe, like our founders, that strengthening commercial ties among nations is not only good for business but good for global living standards and good for peace.
To that end, ICC provides a forum for businesses and other organizations to examine and better comprehend the nature and significance of the major shifts taking place in the world economy. We also offer an influential and respected channel for supplying business leadership to help governments manage those shifts in a collaborative manner for the benefit of the world economy as a whole.Read more
ICC is governed by its Executive Board, World Council, Chairmanship and Secretary General.
ICC commissions are specialized working bodies composed of business experts who examine major issues of interest to the business world. They prepare policy products, including statements to contribute...
In 1919, a handful of entrepreneurs decided to create an organization that would represent business everywhere.
ICC was founded in 1919 under the leadership of its first president Etienne Clementel, a former French minister of commerce. Since that time the international secretariat of the organization has been... | <urn:uuid:bc44cf1a-9746-423d-aac2-c9814a5f6613> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iccwbo.org/about-icc/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965947 | 234 | 1.601563 | 2 |
This short essay assignment is similar to the text analysis assignment, but differs from it in that there are only four essays throughout the semester (and revisions) and it emphasizes interpretation much more.
Reflection Essay Requirements
ECC238, T. Mitchell, Spring 2009
“To exist is to stand out, away from the background. You aren’t thinking or really existing unless you’re willing to risk even your own sanity in the judgment of your existence.” —Frank Herbert
Over the course of the semester, you’ll be expected to turn in four well-written reflection essays. Each of these essay will account for 15% of your semester grade (all four together determine 60% of your semester grade). The purpose of the reflection essays is to further your exploration of the assigned texts.
Try to show me that you have read the texts critically and thought deeply about what you have read. Focus on interpreting a specific aspect of the text rather than skimming the surface or giving general comments or opinions. A good starting point is to briefly identify how the work impacted you, then move on to a critical approach, theme, or analysis of basic elements (such as looking at how the text’s point of view, setting, voice, or other element influences the way you interpret the text). Develop the heck out of one interesting idea. The best essays are those that strive to discover something significant that the casual reader would not have noticed, and then support and explore effectively with quotes from the text.
1) There will be six opportunities during the semester to write a reflection essay. The only essay I’m requiring everyone to write is the first one on short stories. After that, you’ll get to pick and choose which texts you respond to, as long as you complete four essays on time.
2) Reflection essays are due on or before the due date given on the syllabus. Essays turned in after that due date will not receive full credit. The later they are, the more points they’ll lose.
3) Essays will be graded on a ten point scale (i.e.: 10 = A+, 9 = A-, 8 = B-, etc...). In grading these, I consider “8” to be the grade for doing a good job and fulfilling assignment expectations. In order to earn a grade higher than an “8” you must exceed assignment expectations. A grade lower than an “8” means your reflection essay didn’t fulfill assignment expectations, or it was late. Consider putting more thought and care into your reflection essay, developing your points further, including more textual support, and revising your writing more before turning it in.
Please don’t hesitate to schedule a conference with me, or go to the Writing Center (Eddy 6) if you’re having difficulty writing the reflection essays.
4) You will have the opportunity to rewrite/replace one reflection essay. Rewrites are due two weeks after your reflection essay is handed back to you. I have higher expectations for rewrites. To replace an essay, simply turn in an additional essay on one of the other books (note: this must be submitted on time).
5) The topic and approach of your reflection essay is up to you. You’ll find suggestions and examples of the type of essay I’m expecting you to write on pages 1768-1797 of The Story and Its Writer (I highly recommend reading these examples if you wish to do well on this assignment). Reflection Essays can be explication, analysis, or compare and contrast, as long as they’re interpreting some aspect of the assigned reading that you find interesting and significant. Your essay should shed light on what the story means and support all ideas with quotes from the text. I’ll try to give you ideas of different things you could write about in lecture, and class discussion will be another good source for ideas.
—Essays must be typed. Double-spaced. 12 point font. Around 2 pages (no more than 2.5 pages!) Revise several times to make your essay concise and brilliant.
—The reflection essays must interpret the text, rather than merely summarizing the text or giving unsupported opinions.
—You must support ideas with quotes from the text. Give a close textual analysis of complex quotes to show how you’re interpreting them. A good reflection essay will include at least three quotes (or more, depending upon how you’re using the quotes). Outside research is not required, but you may use it if you wish. I recommend keeping a narrow focus in your essay so you can support things adequately.
—Pay attention to grammar, punctuation, style, clarity, and spelling. Since the essays are short, I expect them to be very well-crafted and well-revised pieces of writing.
“At each moment our risk is our cure. Stop suffering now and sleep.” —Lee Upton | <urn:uuid:163a7b9e-c550-4aeb-aed7-6b3189b5e461> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/teaching/e238/reflect.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922503 | 1,032 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Jeffrey Hansen, Ph.D.
Phone: (480) 219 - 6000
Dr. Hansen is a structural biologist, who has focused on studying medically relevant macromolecules. As a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Thomas A. Steitz, Dr. Hansen was one of team members involved in solving the structure of the ribosome. The ribosome was the largest asymmetric object solved by x-ray crystallography at the time. In addition, Dr. Hansen solved structures of ribosomes bound to various antibiotics. Bacterial ribosomes are targeted by many antibiotics. Therefore, a startup company, Rib-x Pharmaceuticals, became feasible. Currently, Rib-x Pharmaceuticals is using crystal structures of antibiotics bound to ribosomes as a basis for structure based drug design. The goal of Rib-x Pharmaceuticals is to develop antibiotics to treat infections by bacteria that have developed resistance to currently available antibiotics. Last year, Thomas A. Steitz received the Nobel Prize for solving the structure of the ribosome. In teaching, Dr. Hansen incorporates structural concepts into describing the biochemical basis of disease processes, and of pharmaceutical therapies. | <urn:uuid:13b9acb4-3f9d-4ff4-9aee-c50c63074c3c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.atsu.edu/soma/faculty_staff/Jeff_Hansen.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944768 | 234 | 2 | 2 |
The GDP/Debt Ratio Went Negative in 2008/9
March 29, 2010
This chart is getting a lot of publicity. The creators labeled it "the most important chart of the century." That is good marketing.
The chart is important. It reveals graphically what Dr. Kurt Richebächer warned about all through this century until his death in August 2007. As total debt rises, it produces ever less output. This is another way of saying that the marginal rate of return on debt declines over time.
According to this chart, the GDP/Debt ratio went negative in 2008/9. The chart is based on the Treasury's Z1 flow of funds report for 2009 issued by the Federal Reserve on March 11, 2010.
We are clearly at the point of no return politically. The scheduled increases in the Federal debt of a trillion dollars a year for the remainder of the decade is understated. Congress will not repeal the legislated spending. It never does. It may spend even more, meaning more debt. | <urn:uuid:da7abc1f-fca4-4d7b-9517-d28d8e28c283> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.garynorth.com/public/6284print.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943214 | 210 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Stijn StreuvelsArticle Free Pass
Stijn Streuvels, pseudonym of Frank Lateur (born Oct. 3, 1871, Heule, near Kortrijk, Belg.—died Aug. 15, 1969, Ingooigem, near Kortrijk), Belgian novelist and short-story writer whose works are among the masterpieces of Flemish prose.
The nephew of the priest and poet Guido Gezelle, Streuvels discovered his literary gifts while at school at Avelgem in West Flanders. A master baker for 15 years, he learned German, English, Danish, and some Russian, and he began writing after 1892. He contributed to the periodical Van nu en straks (“Of Now and Later”) and in 1899 achieved fame with his first collection of stories, Lenteleven (The Path of Life). In 1905 he settled in the village of Ingooigem and devoted himself entirely to writing.
Streuvels found his subjects in the village life of southwestern Flanders—an isolated and agrarian lifestyle that no longer exists. Although he defined his chosen locality by precise reference to dialect and folklore, he was no mere chronicler. His keen powers of observation were enhanced by a rich imagination, a feeling for atmosphere, and a broad command of language. He created a world in which nature is a primeval force, and he described that force with a visionary power resembling that of the painter van Gogh. At his best he was a master of characterization, especially in his presentation of farmers and farm workers who obstinately struggle against the land and against destiny, as in Langs de wegen (1902; The Long Road) and his masterpiece, De vlaschaard (1907; The Flaxfield). His epic but lyrical prose style, perfectly suited to his subject, is among the best of its period.
Streuvels’s complete works (Volledig werk), edited by A. Demedts et al., were published in four volumes (1971–73).
What made you want to look up "Stijn Streuvels"? Please share what surprised you most... | <urn:uuid:682f3c6f-0b04-4f16-b064-6d0866bb7edb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/569000/Stijn-Streuvels | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971202 | 456 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Text in Indian Dance – My reflections
Dance has always been a fundamental human expression. When nature and human beings lived in complete harmony, the music in the songs of bird, the melody in the movement of wind, the rhythm in the flow of water, the dynamism in the gaits of different animals and the vibrancy in the ever-changing canvas of the wide expanses inspired the dancer in every human being to explore the possibilities and potential to move one’s body in myriad ways. With significant changes in style of living and evolution of a culture, specific to a place and time, there emerged occasions which provided the context for dance. It was not merely moving one’s body. Dance became a vehicle to celebrate or mark an occasion. The occasion acquired a context in which dance was performed. And with emergence of a language - spoken and later written, dance evolved to become a way of animating a poetic idea apart from a body expression of translating a melody. With religion turning into an institution, dance became a meeting point between the scripture, the ritual and the divine. In public arena the epics and folklore provided the text to the dancer to combine education and entertainment. Dance was a seva in temple, an aesthetic experience for the intelligentsia and entertainment for the public. In all three contexts what played a very vital role was the Text which carried the dancer and the audience into a journey of self – exploration.
In this essay I have put down my observations and reflections on how I understand the place of text in Indian Classical dance. It is not an academic paper. As a classical dancer of present generation I am trying to understand how artistes choose a text in conceptualising a dance piece. This essay briefly discusses three aspects of text in dance – text and context, how is a text interpreted, how much freedom does an artiste have in interpreting a text.
Text and Context
The social beliefs, cultural fabric, religious practices, geographical landscapes, tapestry of human relations and kind of patronage given to a classical dance form significantly contributed in the formulation of a text. Not every text which was composed was meant to be danced but it was chosen because of the lyrics which were appropriate for a context. In temple the dancer performed different texts from scriptures, works of saint-poets or other writers. The emphasis was more on the ritual and not on the art as such. There the human body became a via media for the recited word to acquire a new dimension. Body movements and facial expression transformed the recitation into an enigmatic dance-theatrical exposition which subsumed the performer and the onlooker.
Classical dance was performed in courts or in chamber for the learned and the elite. Because the audience were informed it gave an opportunity to the dancer to delve deep into the intricacies of the text. The poetry was elevated to the level of a heightened aesthetic experience. The dancer was in complete command of the language and the music which was evident in the ways she explored the possibilities of the text and the melody. There have been instances when the creativity of the dancer inspired a poet to compose lyrics (impromptu or otherwise) .
Classical dance also communicated to people at large when stories from the epics like Mahabharata, Ramayana or classics like – Nala Damayanti, Vikramorvashiyam were danced keeping in mind the pulse of the audience. As the audience was familiar with the text the experience of watching it come alive through a dance presentation was a very unique one.
e mythological stories cut across the language barrier and connect to people of
Classical Text in modern era.
Since the time when classical dance was performed in temple, court and public arena to this day when it has been de-contextualised and is only seen as a concert-art, the kinds of text used vary a lot. Performers use both classical, and modern texts but there are continuous speculations about the relevance of classical text in today’s age.
A classical text is a repository of the culture of the time when it was composed. The imagery, the language, the characters, the way emotions are expressed speak volumes about that era. As the poetry was addressed to divine-characters the text acquired a universal feel which did not restrict it to a specific period. This is the reason why classical texts still have an important place in Indian classical dance. They do have a degree of contemporaneity. The language of compositions might be archaic, the imagery used might be somewhat odd with respect to the present day sensibilities, but as the text is interpreted through dance it gets communicated.
At the same time it is important to address the fact that in past few decades because of rapid change in the society due to globalisation, a large section of people are being slowly removed from their cultural roots. The education system and media is not taking an active role in making people culturally aware. Hence it becomes difficult for a dancer to present a piece to an urban audience. Many times the audience is not familiar with the language of songs. The imagery used, for example, nakha shikha varnana (head to toe description of the heroine) looks very strange to a modern eye. As the context has faded out from the presentation of the art which is now only seen on a proscenium, or in a studio, questions are raised about the relevance of certain pieces. Some sections of the audience hardly have a feel for language or literature. Although the text is briefly paraphrased in English but it is not the same like earlier when the audience was much – informed. This puts the dancer in a dilemma about how far should s(he) should explain the song during the announcement? Ideally dance should speak for itself but from the time classical dances have travelled far and wide outside their areas of origin and practice; from the time the context in which a particular piece was performed has been removed, the need to explain the text of the song is inevitable.
In second half of 20th century there emerged a section of artistes who questioned the use of classical literature in dance. They expressed discordance with the subject matter in those texts and the style of presentation, keeping in mind the contemporaneity of the social set-up. The trend has continued till date when many artistes are working with themes like ‘Time’, ‘Space’, ‘Reflection’, ‘Body’, ‘ A journey of a drop of water’, ‘Five Elements’, ‘Rain’, ‘Echo’ etc. It is paradoxical that some of them have used specific texts from ancient, medieval and modern literatures. And there are others who have worked with appropriate musical compositions to project the theme.
How is a text interpreted?
Interpreting a text through dance involves coming together of many sensibilities. The greatest challenge for an artiste is to understand the meaning of a word and translate it through her body in a particular melody and tempo. Since most of the time the dancer is dressed in a neutral costume and make –up her enactment of different characters, landscapes, time zones is convincing and communicative only when she interprets the text properly and not just perform it as an action song.
In her interpretation she not only uses hand gestures and different gaits but also subtle movements of eyes, neck, eyebrows, lips etc . Sometimes a glance or a sway of hand says a lot. From dancing word to word meaning the dancer slowly meanders between different sub-texts. When danced, a text acquires a life of its own. What enamours me the most is this translation of a word into a movement. The meeting point of the word, the music, the rhythm, the interpretation of the dancer and the involvement of the audience creates a heightened aesthetic experience called the sadharanikaran – the universalisation of the particular.
Apart from using a lyrical text dancers also use musical compositions set in a particular rhythmic cycle. Through such pieces a dancer gets an opportunity to explore the technique of a style. Depending on the rhythmic sense and proficiency in choreography the dancer moves on from dancing the pattern of the song to performing different mathematical calculations within the tala cycle of the melody. The movements thus performed paint dynamic strokes in the air which seem like a moving kaleidoscope. The geometry of lines, the melody of bells, the spectacle of leaps and jumps, the flexibility of body limbs and the fluidity of glances, dialogue with the rhythmical text performed by the musicians.
It is important to point out here the use of mnemonic syllables and beats of percussion as forming a textual base in dance forms like Chhau where in there is very less usage of a poetic phrase. This feature is seen in other dance foms also. But at the same time it is not similar to compositions like pallavi, jatiswara, Tillana etc. Since the dancer is dressed in a specific costume according to the character and sometimes also wears a mask to portray the same, it helps to contextualise the presentation. Since the movements are carefully chosen keeping in mind the character and the situation, the text, in this case is the dance itself. In absence of a song, the presentation rests heavily on the body language of the dancer which expands a core idea throughout the performance.
In all styles of classical dance the important factors which enhance the meaning of the text and its translation into movement is the selection of the raga and the tempo in which the song has to be sung. Apart from the beginning and end of a piece when the music alone seems like an extension to the text, the interludes enhance the silences between the words. They give a relief in the flow of a presentation and also highlight the musicality of the dance and the ‘danceablity’ of the music.
Text and artistic freedom
Which text is suitable for dance interpretation? How far can the dancer go to interpret the words in a particular manner? Should the interpretation be suggestive or literal? Should a text be chosen according to audience’s sensibilities or does the dancer have complete freedom? What role does age and gender appropriateness play in an interpretation? Does the personality or satva of a dancer interfere with the interpretation of the text? These are some of the questions which run through my mind when I introspect about the relationship between the text and the dance. I also wonder about the responsibility an artiste has towards sensitizing people, which comes into play when s(he) chooses a text and interprets it.
Language has a very important role in a person’s life. It gives an identity to a person. It connects people. It gives a ‘form’ to the abstract world of human ideas. When this language is interpreted through a classical dance then each word acquires a life of its own. A word is no longer ‘caged’ within any cultural boundary but ‘flies’ like a free bird in the sky of human imagination. The text unfolds through the body of a dancer into an experience which everyone can relate to.
In today’s age when a person’s creative abilities are bartered for a secure job and financial security, when education system is geared towards producing ‘kiddults’ , when emotions are commodified and presented in the most insensitive manner, when the indigenous cultures are being eroded by global motifs and definitions, our society needs art forms which expose people to their heritage; art forms which channelize people’s creativity in a beautiful manner; art forms which not only inform, educate and entertain people but also heal them.
Indian Classical dance is one such art. The relation between text, context, performer and viewer, which gets complete expression in classical dance, is the one which enriches sensibilities. It gives a glimpse into the ethereal world of imagination and exposes one to the rich cultural heritage of this country. | <urn:uuid:2815b9d1-366e-4e91-828e-9542f91c9561> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.purvadhanashree.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95183 | 2,446 | 2.09375 | 2 |
The State of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology have created an exemplary relationship in the formation of a cohesive group for the analysis of Landsat data, its application to real world problems, and its inclusion in applications using geographic data base techniques. This group has evolved over a period of four to five years and lists as its accomplishments several successful demonstration projects using Landsat data, an operational Landsat classification of the entire State of Georgia using 60 classes, the integration of Landsat data into several geographic data bases for use in operational short and long range planning, and the development of those data bases. Funds for performing these projects have come from a variety of state, federal, and local governmental agencies. The state of Georgia has immediate access to an Earth Resources Digital Analysis system designed and assembled by Georgia Tech for dedicated computer analysis of Landsat and other geographically oriented data.
Date of this Version | <urn:uuid:c716391d-dab2-499f-ab48-dfafee457f8a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/lars_symp/285/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923511 | 176 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Big distributions, little RAM 4
- Debian 6.0 (GNOME)
- Kubuntu 11.10 (KDE)
- Linux Mint 12 (GNOME)
- Linux Mint 201109 LXDE (GNOME)
- Mandriva 2011 (KDE)
- OpenSUSE 12.1 (GNOME)
- OpenSUSE 12.1 (KDE)
- Sabayon 8 (GNOME)
- Sabayon 8 (KDE)
- Sabayon 8 (Xfce)
- Ubuntu 11.10 (Unity)
- Ubuntu 12.04 Beta 2 (Unity)
- Xubuntu 11.10 (Xfce)
I will be testing all of this within VirtualBox on ‘machines’ with the following specifications:
- Total RAM: 512MB
- Hard drive: 8GB
- CPU type: x86 with PAE/NX
- Graphics: 3D Acceleration enabled
The tests were all done using VirtualBox 4.1.0 on Windows 7, and I did not install VirtualBox tools (although some distributions may have shipped with them). I also left the screen resolution at the default (whatever the distribution chose) and accepted the installation defaults. All tests were run between April 2nd, 2012 and April 9th, 2012 so your results may not be identical.
Following in the tradition of my previous posts I have once again gone through the effort to bring you nothing but the most state of the art in picture graphs for your enjoyment.
Things to know before looking at the graphs
First off if your distribution of choice didn’t appear in the list above its probably not reasonably possible to installed (i.e. Fedora 16 which requires 768MB of RAM) or I didn’t feel it was mainstream enough (pretty much anything with LXDE). Secondly there may be some distributions that don’t appear on all of the graphs, for example Mandriva. In the case of Mandriva the distribution would not allow me to successfully install the updates and so I only have its first boot RAM usage available. Finally when I tested Debian I was unable to test before / after applying updates because it seemed to have applied the updates during install. As always feel free to run your own tests.
First boot memory (RAM) usage
This test was measured on the first startup after finishing a fresh install.
This test was performed after all updates were installed and a reboot was performed.
The net growth or decline in RAM usage after applying all of the updates.
The hard drive space used by the distribution after applying all of the updates.
As before I’m going to leave you to drawing your own conclusions.
Previously I was running KDE 4.3.3 on top of Fedora 11 (for the first experiment) and KDE 4.6.5 on top of Gentoo (for the second experiment).
Check out my profile for more information.
Visit my personal website at http://www.tylerburton.ca. | <urn:uuid:028b9da8-8151-449d-b784-c8bf6200b273> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thelinuxexperiment.com/guinea-pigs/tyler-b/big-distributions-little-ram-4/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925201 | 631 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Hyundai's Sonata plug-in explained through interactive display
Interactive monitor walks visitors through inner-workings of vehicle
One of the more eye-catching interactive vehicle displays at the North American International Auto Show is Hyundai’s thorough explanation of how the Sonata plug-in hybrid’s Blue Drive system works.
The green and blue glowing display of the stripped-down vehicle is equipped with an interactive monitor which walks you through the inner-workings of the vehicle’s fuel-efficient specifications, traction motor, high-voltage battery, on-board charger, engine and 6-speed automatic transmission.
Understanding such a concept can be an overwhelming task for many consumers who don’t have the first-hand industry know-how. Hyundai seems to have achieved a fun way of teaching the average NAIAS visitor about one of its vehicles.
The Blue Drive display screams eco-friendly with a plant-riddled backdrop. Upon reading through the step-by-step explanation, it becomes clear why Hyundai dressed the system up in such a way.
Be sure to stop by Hyundai’s set up at Cobo Center for the Blue Drive exhibit and the rest of the automaker’s set. They have brought a slightly different flavor to the show with a fun, unique hands-on approach to teaching the consumer about the vehicles. | <urn:uuid:1aafc9c9-bdb3-48ad-8236-18abad0ff24d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clickondetroit.com/money/automotive/auto-show/Hyundai-s-Sonata-plug-in-explained-through-interactive-display/-/5515062/18165992/-/format/rsss_2.0/view/print/-/128rnxcz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912589 | 279 | 1.679688 | 2 |
If the print dialog box does not automatically appear, open the file menu and choose Print.
Article published October 26, 2012
‘Flexibility’ is concern
Gerald WetzelButler Township
On Sept. 1, 1939, German troops invaded Poland. Days later, the Russian army attacked Poland from the East. Weeks after that, the world learned that Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin had a “secret” agreement to divide Poland between them. On March 26 of this year in Seoul, South Korea, President Barack Obama whispered, telling Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to tell Russian President Vladimir Putin that he (Obama) would have more flexibility after November’s election to deal with contentious issues such as missile defense. “This is my last election,” Obama said. “After my election, I have more flexibility.” I do not like the idea that after the election we might discover that somebody wants to harm the United States, as Poland was harmed, by making secret deals that the president knows U.S. citizens would not approve of, if they were told the truth. But after the election it would be too late. | <urn:uuid:a2054cf1-2ca1-4a27-941e-5b580021bd10> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.butlereagle.com/article/20121026/EDITORIAL02/121029944/0/Focus03&Template=printart | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979689 | 239 | 2.25 | 2 |
Party leaders at Westminster today hailed the significance of the backing for same-sex marriage in England and Wales in a key Commons vote. Prime Minister David Cameron said the vote had been “an important step forward”.
Labour leader Ed Miliband called it a “proud day”. MPs voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill by 400 to 175 – a majority of 225 – but 136 Tory MPs opposed the bill and have continued to voice their concerns. MPs were given a free vote on the bill.
Records showed that of MPs in the West Midlands, 11 supported the bill and six – all of them Tories – opposed it.
Among the MPs to vote in favour was Aidan Burley (Conservative, Cannock Chase). He said he believed in equality.
“Marriage is a very conservative institution and one which Conservatives in particular ought to want to share with everyone,” Mr Burley added.
“It promotes stability in loving relationships and gives people more choice.”
Another Conservative MP, Gavin Williamson, voted against the bill. The MP for South Staffordshire said he believed it was poorly constructed and did not offer protection to churches.
Mr Williamson said: “I have a great fear that if this law is passed, in a few years’ time religious groups will be brought before the Court of Human Rights, demanding they perform gay marriages. I don’t think that’s right.”
Emma Reynolds (Labour, Wolverhampton North East), who supported the bill, said: “I don’t see why we would not extend that right to same sex couples.
“But we need to allow religious denominations and ministers to not have to marry same-sex couples.
“It’s already happened in other European countries so it can happen here.” | <urn:uuid:dc794e32-4982-4028-a263-6e8d3d921236> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2013/02/06/leaders-hail-vote-on-same-sex-marriages/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960405 | 386 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Butler’s Wharf LimitedLondon SE1, 1995
The regeneration of the Butler’s Wharf estate, close to Tower Bridge, was a twenty-year project that has seen a formerly derelict area of redundant Victorian warehousing transformed into a thriving community of restaurants, bars, shops, galleries, flats and offices. Conran & Partners drew up the original masterplan for the site in 1983, designed a number
of new buildings on the site, and converted others, including the Design Museum and the Butler’s Wharf Building, with its flats, offices and famous Conran Restaurants. The area is now recognised as one of the UK’s most significant urban regeneration projects. | <urn:uuid:a8cfe372-70c0-48f8-a451-cbf5621494f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.conranandpartners.com/portfolio/locations/butler-s-wharf | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928317 | 144 | 1.671875 | 2 |
to learn the newest high-tech trends in both industry and product development. YNN Tech Reporter Adam Balkin highlights the coolest and newest apps for your cell phone and mobile device every Thursday and Saturday in your
Tech Beat: Famed "Knight Rider" car comes to life in Queens, NY
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True children of the '80s will be thrilled to know the sounds and lights of KITT, the computerized super car from the TV series "Knight Rider" which premiered exactly 30 years ago, can be seen in person in Queens, New York.
Unlike the prop car used for shooting, this Queens replica actually does lots of the stuff special effects made it appear to do in the show. Elementary school computer teacher Mickey Garnploog has been building it for 10 years.
"I contacted a whole bunch of people who did fiberglass work, who did electronics and things like that, and then I just started wiring it piece by piece by myself and my mechanic," Garnploog said. "Everything is hardwired, the RPMs, how much fuel I have, all the gauges do work. These screens are functional. One is hardwired into a computer. I made that one a camera in the back."
Garnploog says he poured over original episodes, capturing dozens of phrases KITT said, and then edited them together so that when he talks to this KITT car, the legendary voice responds.
Further proof of Garnploog dedication: at one point, he actually had a real smoke screen and installed a oil slick unit in the back.
"I was at a car show and people were like, 'Oh, does your smoke screen or oil slick button work?' And I said, 'Sure does,' and I'd press the oil slick button," Garnploog said. "And just between us, we had chocolate syrup back there so no one would slip and fall. It was messing up some guy's car behind me so I had to get that removed."
Garnploog says he is constantly upgrading the car with new technology. His next big project is outfitting KITT so that it can be controlled entirely via a remote. | <urn:uuid:d4ff3f07-9ad6-44ac-acc8-0d461b0b9ec4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://waco.ynn.com/content/living/technology/286418/tech-beat--famed--knight-rider--car-comes-to-life-in-queens--ny | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965826 | 475 | 1.796875 | 2 |
This website features an extensive collection of animations of physical processes, demonstrating various concepts in waves, optics, mechanics, electricity, and thermodynamics. One distinctive characteristic of this site is that the animations are accompanied by details of the relevant physics theory pertaining to each concept, written in language appropriate for the student of introductory physics. Formulas, equations, and derivations are also provided.
Editor's Note: The videos may be viewed from the website, but are not directly downloadable. CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray versions are available for purchase for $25-30, with customizable versions available at a higher price.
Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications. | <urn:uuid:ce4fc3eb-f6bc-4598-ba45-c910e5927a5f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.compadre.org/precollege/items/detail.cfm?ID=1140 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915946 | 167 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Abd ar-Rahman Ibrahima was a Fulbe Fulani prince from Timbo, the capital of Futa Jallon, a region in what is today the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. He was very well educated, having studied at the university in Timbuktu. He was captured and sold to transatlantic slave traders in 1788. Forced into bondage, he was brought to Natchez and made a manager of other enslaved people on a plantation. He was a devout Muslim, and a letter he wrote in Arabic made its way to the sultan of Morocco. Befriended by several influential people, including Henry Clay, a United States senator from Kentucky, he bought his own freedom after 40 years of slavery. Once free, he tried unsuccessfully to raise the money to liberate his nine children. Ibrahima and his wife returned to Africa and lived in Liberia for a short time before he died. | <urn:uuid:b90bbeb0-fb7a-4884-8d08-b2c3aef87a7b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mdah.state.ms.us/timeline/people/abd-ar-rahman-ibrahima/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990826 | 188 | 2.84375 | 3 |
First up, the December issue of Nature Reports Climate Change is definitely worth checking out. (This spin-off internet magazine, produced by the Nature Publishing House, is always worth reading, and you can download a full-colour PDF if you prefer this format — good for printing).
Three articles, in particular, grabbed my attention this issue. The first revisited the premise of carbon budgets proposed by Allen et al. 2009 — a concept I covered in a BNC post back in May 2009. The conclusion was that to have a half-decent (50%) chance of keeping global temperature rise to <2°C below pre-industrial levels, given a climate sensitivity in the range of 2 — 4.5°C, humanity’s cumulative carbon budget between now and ‘forever’ (the next 100,000 years or so), is 1 trillion tonnes of carbon. We’ve burned 500 billion tonnes of fossil carbon and forests already, and on our current trajectory, we’ll break the global carbon bank within the next two to three decades.
In this latest paper, the authors suggest that in order to better focus our attention to the immediate rather than perpetual task, we need a supplementary short-term budget for the period 2010 — 2030. They calculate that to avoid a rate of change of +0.2 per decade, the carbon ‘expense’ for the next 20 years must stay within 190 billion tonnes, or about 9.5 billion tonnes per year (for context, in 2008 global emissions were 9.8 billion tonnes). If we met this goal, we would then have a further 300 billion tonnes to spend for the period 2030 — 100,2030 AD (or thereabouts). Given the seeming inevitability of emissions growth for at least the next 5 — 10 years, we’ll have to have a serious turn around and decline in emissions in the period 2020 — 2030. Sobering thought. Massive deployment of nuclear and renewable power, anyone?
The second article worth reading is called “Mind the Gap”. Here, the question of novel and disappearing climates is considered (this problem has previously been addressed in the technical literature, here). Take a look at this grim figure:
This is a 4°C warming scenario — what’s expected by mid-century under a business-as-usual approach to fossil fuel use, or the likely climate state by 2100 under a mid-range mitigation scenario (BAU gives up to 7°C by 2100, but let’s not go there). The grey areas are climates that currently exist nowhere on Earth. The orange-red are areas where the equivalent climate is 6,000 to 10,000 km away. Look again at that map. The grey and orange-red areas are predominant in the tropics. The tropical biomes — mostly humid and wet-dry tropical rain forest, and coral reefs – support over 60% of the world’s biodiversity. Under this scenario, they’re cooked. They’re stuffed. They’ve got nowhere to go. Sure, the tropics are naturally hot, but they’re also stable, with little temperature variation compared to the huge seasonal swings that most of us experience in the temperate realms. This makes well-adapted tropical species acutely vulnerable to rapid change. Crank up the warming ratchet in tropical areas during this century, and the only place these species have to go is back to the Palaeocene. Time machine anyone? I thought not.
The third paper of interest in this issue is an interview with my friend and colleague, Jim Hansen of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies. He gives is frank and clear assessment of what to expect in Copenhagen, why cap-and-trade is a disaster, and a preview of his new (and first!) popular book, Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity (I was fortunate to read an advanced copy that Jim sent me, and I can thoroughly recommend it — he writes extremely well, and his science is superb).
What else in the world of climate change? For those BNC readers who don’t yet follow me on Twitter (click here to rectify that grievous oversight), you might be interested to hear me on a couple of radio interviews I did this week. In this one, from 5aa Adelaide, I give a frank assessment of Copenhagen. The morning show interviewers, usually a jocular bunch, seemed a bit down after our little chat. I guess I have a depressing effect on people when I’m talking climate change impacts rather than nuclear power prospects! Then, there is a ‘he said… no, he said‘ type of exchange on ABC 891, with an interview with Ian Plimer from Copenhagen, followed by one from me. Suffice to say that, in getting sick of this 50:50 denier vs science cr@p, I let rip.
The World Meteorological Organisation released its annual climate statement for 2009, stating that the decade 2000 — 2009 was the hottest 10-year period on record. This beat the period 1990 — 1999 (yes, 1998 was part of that average), which in turn beat 1980 — 1989. No surprises there, at least to anyone with half a brain. They also report on various unusual ‘extreme events’, including the unprecedented heat waves in Australia, the ongoing melt in the polar regions, intense storm activity, severe droughts, and record sea surface temperatures. Overall, 2009 looks to be heading for the 5th hottest year on record, despite the strong ameliorating effects earlier in the year of La Nina, and the sun bottoming out in a deep and persistent solar minimum. With a strengthening El Niño now coming into play, there is a pretty reasonable chance that 2010 will be the new hottest year on record. We’ll see, but I reckon it’s a better than 50:50 proposition, despite the lack of solar forcing at present.
Finally, if you want to know the reality behind the ‘Climategate’ nonsense (the hacked emails from the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia), then you must listen to this ABC World Today radio interview with former CRU Director, Prof Tom Wigley (full disclosure — Tom is a close friend and colleague of mine, and we are currently writing a number of papers together — Tom is also an extremely strong supporter of IFR Nuclear power). Despite he and others receiving a number of abusive emails, including quite frightening death threats from social psychopaths, he is keeping his chin up, and explains the situation with candour and dignity. I’ll end this post with a quote from Tom:
ELEANOR HALL: Of course climate change sceptic Andrew Bolt named you as a sort of hypothetical whistle blower on this whole affair. He says that if you weren’t then you should’ve been. How do you respond to that?
TOM WIGLEY: Well there are two things, I mean using the word “whistleblower” is really just another ploy on the part of Andrew Bolt and others to attempt to make it look as though the person who hacked these emails was a good guy and that they had a motive of trying to expose nefarious activities within the Climatic Research Unit.
Well of course there was no such nefarious activities and that’s the reason why what Andrew Bolt has said is just totally ludicrous. He says, “when did Tom Wigley finally choke on all that deceit and if he didn’t why the hell not”?
Well you know, I didn’t choke on the deceit because there was no deceit. All I did was ask a number of pointy questions and I received perfectly adequate answers. It would be really nice if someone like Andrew Bolt used the same approach and tried to get both sides of the picture and then he might learn to understand some of these issues better. | <urn:uuid:8a57feef-594b-42d2-bc03-6fe3eb5a0957> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bravenewclimate.com/2009/12/10/mind-the-gap/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946481 | 1,655 | 2.6875 | 3 |
The Blue Mountains national park is a World Heritage listed landscape of dramatic cliffs and deep, densely vegetated gullies.
The Blue Mountains National Park is 50-110 km west of Sydney. It has over 140km of walking tracks of all grades of difficulty, including wheelchair accessible tracks.
The park contains wide representations of eucalypt habitats, and is home to a number of rare and threatened species.
The Three Sisters are visible from the Giant Stairway at Echo Point, Katoomba. The National Parks Hertiage Centre at Blackheath and the visitors centres at Echo Point and Glenbrook provide all you need to know about local walking tracks and attractions.
Stunning and unforgettable views are to be had from the Conservation Hut and Wentworth Falls picnic area.
Find out more about the Blue Mountains national park, including access, camping details, walks and more.
Growing Protected Areas in the Blue Mountains
In 2011, the Foundation received a donation of land worth $20,000 in the Blue Mountains. This high conservation value property acts as an ecological buffer zone, and is home to the threatened plant species Needle Geebung, Persoonia acerosa.
Showcasing the History of Mount Werong
The Foundation supported the creation of interpretive displays for the Mount Werong campground and the Ruby Creek Mine in the Blue Mountains National Park. These interpretive materials showcase the area's rich, unique and interesting history to visitors. | <urn:uuid:6c697a96-f725-468a-8af6-669caed5ef22> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fnpw.org.au/parks-and-reserves/new-south-wales/blue-mountains/blue-mountains-national-park | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901618 | 298 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, has reportedly begun treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the body's lymphatic system. This is not his first battle with cancer. Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease -- a different type of lymphoma -- in the early '80s. More on that later ...
Here's the Reuters story on the diagnosis.
The name non-Hodgkin's lymphoma can refer to one of dozens of types of cancers, depending on the type of white blood cell associated with it. The cancers can be slow-growing or fast-growing, but they usually start with a swelling of a lymph node in the neck, armpits or groin. Here's more symptoms information from the Oncology Channel, which notes that most swellings are caused by infection, not cancer. (Again, most swellings are not caused by cancer.)
The five-year survival rate for the disease has improved dramatically over the years, but it's far from guaranteed. It hit 69% in 2005, says the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
As for how the disease develops, there's this from the Lymphoma Research Foundation: "NHL can start in the lymph nodes, in a specialized lymphatic organ such as the spleen, or in lymph tissue found in organs such as the stomach or intestines. Since lymphocytes (white blood cells) can circulate to all parts of the body through the lymphatic vessels and bloodstream, abnormal lymphocytes can reach any part of the body. Thus, NHL can start in or spread to any part of the body. While some NHLs are localized to one area, most are present in other parts of the body by the time the diagnosis is confirmed."
Each year in the United States, there are 65,980 new cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Of those, 19,500 prove fatal, says the National Cancer Institute.
Most cases occur in people 60 or older. Men are generally more likely than women to develop the disease; whites are more at risk than African Americans and Asians.
Want more information? The National Cancer Institute offers this booklet: What You Need to Know About Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
And the Lymphoma Research Foundation offers this: Understanding Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: A Guide for Patients.
Because the risk grows with age, incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is expected to grow, says LymphomaInfo.net.
Here are more stats on incidence and mortality.
As for Hodgkin's disease, here's a quick comparison with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma from the Oncology Channel.
Of note: Incidence of the former is on the wane; incidence of the latter is on the rise.
Allen, of course, now has experience with both.
— Tami Dennis
Photo: Paul Allen in 2006. Credit: Getty Images | <urn:uuid:654660f4-2edb-43c1-87f8-c3b41f5b297c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/11/now-for-a-look-at-nonhodgkin-lymphoma-a-diagnosis-expected-to-increase.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942016 | 617 | 2.875 | 3 |
ParmenidesArticle Free Pass
Parmenides, (born c. 515 bce), Greek philosopher of Elea in southern Italy who founded Eleaticism, one of the leading pre-Socratic schools of Greek thought. His general teaching has been diligently reconstructed from the few surviving fragments of his principal work, a lengthy three-part verse composition titled On Nature.
Parmenides held that the multiplicity of existing things, their changing forms and motion, are but an appearance of a single eternal reality (“Being”), thus giving rise to the Parmenidean principle that “all is one.” From this concept of Being, he went on to say that all claims of change or of non-Being are illogical. Because he introduced the method of basing claims about appearances on a logical concept of Being, he is considered one of the founders of metaphysics. Plato’s dialogue the Parmenides deals with his thought.
What made you want to look up "Parmenides"? Please share what surprised you most... | <urn:uuid:624d8ec5-90f1-4d28-977f-ad41f987c747> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/444361/Parmenides | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970975 | 221 | 2.625 | 3 |
There is increasing anxiety among commentators about a possible victory of Andrés López Obrador in the Mexican presidential elections Sunday. He will supposedly expand state ownership, spend irresponsibly, roll back free trade and divide the country -- leading to a spike in illegal immigration in the United States. Letras Libre magazine editor Enrique Krauze called him a "messianic populist" in a New York Times op-ed piece. John Fund, a Wall Street Journal columnist, has claimed that immigration will triple in a few months if Obrador is elected. Communications consultant and strategist Alan Stoga has stated that López Obrador is "instinctively anti-U.S."
These fears are misplaced.
As mayor of Mexico City, López Obrador actively supported private investment, kept the budget under control and delivered the goods. He is also the only candidate who has proposed to stop the tide of emigration through the implementation of a new national development strategy.
Mexico is a country of great wealth, but greater inequalities. More than 40 million live on less than $4 a day, while the wealthiest 10 percent of the population earn 40 percent of income. Wealth figures are even more drastic.
The government has historically done little or nothing to confront this problem. Well-off Mexicans pay almost no taxes and the government only takes in 14 percent of GDP. Welfare and unemployment benefits are unknown and job creation and salaries have stagnated. Mexico's per-capita real GDP has grown at only 0.7 percent annually since the early 1980s. The result is an apparently unstoppable wave of migration to the United States.
López Obrador promises to revitalize national industry, make the wealthy pay their fair share and install a basic safety net by lowering prices for basic goods and services and directly redistributing income to the poorest. He has also committed himself to improving public education and public-health services. Such policies will strengthen human capital as well as immediately improve the standard of living of Mexico's poorest families, reducing the incentive for emigration to the United States.
Ironically, the real danger for Mexico and the United States lies in a victory for Felipe Calderón of the National Action Party (PAN). He favors regressive fiscal policies, such as applying a value-added tax to food and medicine, and has promised to maintain the same trickle-down economic strategies that have led Mexico into its current predicament. Calderón is also implicated in fraud scandals involving the bank bailouts at the end of the 1990s (similar to the savings & loan crisis in the United States during the 1980s) and questionable million-dollar contracts to his brother-in-law while he was secretary of energy.
Calderón's critique of the welfare state is potentially explosive. There are already warning signs on the horizon. Tens of thousands of elementary school teachers have been on strike in the state of Oaxaca for weeks, leaving more than a million children without school. The union of mine workers has been threatening to strike on the very day of the elections. In the state of Mexico, federal and state police provoked a bloody street battle with flower vendors, killing two students. Assassinations linked to drug trafficking are on the rise throughout the country, with more than 400 in the state of Guerrero alone during 2006. President Vicente Fox has done little to pacify these conflicts, which may well be exacerbated by another president from the PAN.
Calderón's alliance with aggressively religious groups in the PAN is also troublesome. Mexico is a profoundly religious country, but since the revolution of 1910, there has been a radical separation between church and state -- even more so than in the United States. Priests could not vote until only a few years ago and church weddings are not recognized by the government. This is because of the long history of the Spanish colonial church's complicity with the ruling oligarchy. An attempt to redraw these institutional boundaries would question two central pillars of the modern, secular Mexican state and could lead to political instability.
López Obrador should not be distrusted merely because of his commitment to social justice and a clear separation between church and state. To the contrary, it is this very commitment that makes him particularly well prepared to confront the immigration issue. Calderón is the candidate who will most likely aggravate poverty and cause instability to the south, thereby increasing the flow of illegal immigrants across the U.S-Mexico border.
Irma E. Sandoval and John M. Ackerman are professors at the Institute for Social Research and the Institute for Legal Research, respectively, at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Full text of article also available at: | <urn:uuid:e4f1c710-9fc8-448d-9382-916a175952aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://johnackerman.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955731 | 955 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Your weather forecaster had to muster some extra motivation to write this week's column given that the world is supposed to end at 3:11 a.m. Friday, according to an ancient Mayan calendar prediction of a cataclysmic event.
A galactic alignment of the Earth, Sun and a black hole called Sagittarius A is proposed as one possible doomsday scenario. A second revolves around a shift that would cause a reversal of the north and south geomagnetic poles.
These and other similar prophecies are interpretations of hieroglyphs engraved on a stone found in Tortuguero, Mexico, left by a Mayan ruler whose sour outlook on life may have been tied directly to a battlefield defeat suffered shortly before its composition.
Your weatherperson has found all of this end-of-the world-talk to be quite liberating in its own way.
Some have chosen to capitalize on the impending doomsday in the crassest sort of ways – like the Russian company offering an 'apocalypse kit' of food, medicine and a bottle of vodka (hopefully three liters, at least).
But your weatherperson has decided to use this unique opportunity to free himself of those annoying earthly bonds, like a job, bills, Christmas shopping and holiday family obligations, and will be spend his last few days comfortably ensconced on the couch watching "White Christmas," "Miracle on 34th Street" and "A Christmas Carol" (the Alastair Sim as Scrooge version) on AMC until the lights go out early Friday morning.
In such a circumstance, it might be tempting to ignore the weather in addition to those items mentioned above. But just on the slim chance the Mayans have made a serious error in their calculations, it would be prudent to give our next several days at least a cursory meteorological once-over.
Your forecaster will now remind those with a short memory of his own correct prophecy in last week's column regarding a significant winter weather event for the beginning of this week. A deep low pressure system brought widespread wind, rain and snow to large portions of Washington state.
And while this week began with spate of warnings concerning high winds, blizzard conditions and possible avalanches as the system moved west to east, locally it was just a tad too warm for a major snowstorm on the Valley floor. Indeed, temperatures actually rose Sunday night to 50 degrees as a result of the downsloping winds off the Blues.
But gusty winds approaching 50 mph driving occasional rain were more than sufficient to create an unpleasant winter tableau that had many dreaming not of a white Christmas but a balmy mid-May afternoon.
Not too far away, a combination of wind and heavy snow brought blizzard conditions to the Blue Mountains, where 6 to 12 inches of snow above the 3,500 foot level was whipped into drifts more than three times as deep by gusts exceeding 60 miles per hour. Similar conditions plagued both the Cascades and the Olympics in this far-reaching storm.
Rainfall totals by the time the system wound down late Monday were in the one-tenth- to one-quarter-inch range. A persistent southwesterly flow resulting from a trough of low pressure is forecast to linger for much of the week just off the Oregon coast and will send intermittent precipitation -- with the next one scheduled for Wednesday.
Nighttime temperatures may be low enough to cause a mixture of snow and rain. But liquid should be the predominant form of precipitation as we move through the week, with snow levels gradually lowering as cold Canadian air infiltrates into eastern Washington, especially this weekend.
Your obdurate prognosticator is sticking to his guns with respect to his white Christmas forecast -- though there might be more wishing and hoping than good science involved in this call. It is becoming increasingly likely, according to the 16-day Global Forecast System, that the week between Christmas and New Year will be a stormy one and perhaps cold enough to support some significant snow.
New Year's Eve looks like a decent bet. Provided, of course, the Mayans missed on their own forecast for Friday morning.
A lifelong fan of both the weather and the Baltimore Orioles, Jeff Popick is an instructor at the Enology and Viticulture Center at Walla Walla Community College and manages the school's teaching vineyard. Send your questions and comments to him at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:21f8233c-5141-4e99-87a3-13f4e362d985> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/dec/18/if-mayans-are-wrong-expect-cool-and-wet-weather-va/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951262 | 907 | 1.75 | 2 |
Background: We performed PET [11C] PIB scans on cognitive normal subjects in both a cross-sectional and
longitudinal design to estimate the prevalence and incidence of Aβ plaques, as well as the rate of accumulation.
Methods: Cognitively normal (CDR 0) subjects (45 to 88 yrs) underwent one (n=241) or two (n=129; separated by
2.5±1.1 years) PET [11C] PIB scans. Binding Potential (BP) values and a global estimate of Aβ plaque deposition,
the mean cortical BP (MCBP), were estimated in MRI-derived regions. The rate of Aβ accumulation was estimated
from the change in BP per year.
Results: Using a threshold of MCBP >0.18, prevalence of Aβ plaques were seen to increase with age from 4.4% in
the 50-59 decade to 30% in the 80-89 decade. Longitudinal analysis showed that 8 of the 110 subjects (7.3%) with
a negative initial scan became positive on the second PIB scan yielding an incidence of 2.9%/yr. Subjects with at
least one abnormal PIB scan (n=29) had a significantly higher rate of Aβ accumulation compared to the remaining
subjects (0.034 BP/yr vs 0.008 BP/yr; p<0.001). Using a simple decay model and the estimated incidence of
2.9%/yr, the observed prevalence of Aβ plaques in each decade was predicted with surprising accuracy using a
mean time between appearance of Aβ plaques to dementia of 10.8 years.
Conclusions: [11C] PIB can detect accumulation of Aβ in cognitively normal subjects. These results suggest
that combining longitudinal and cross-sectional Aβ imaging may characterize the onset and progression of a
preclinical AD state to dementia. | <urn:uuid:f5bc0efa-fb63-426c-82d7-88fbc8704ffc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alzforum.org/pap/directabstract.asp?powID=101689 | 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 | 0.916593 | 398 | 1.703125 | 2 |
"It's wonderful to have a psychologist such as Dr. Crawford on contract through Harris County's Risk Management program. I've attended several of his seminars and hold him in the highest regard. In addition, his weekly "Quotes and Comments" are consistently excellent, and, in my opinion, the BEST! Powerful, enlightening, and even liberating. Many thanks to Dr. Bill!"
Quotes and Wisdom
"A mistake is just a "take" or an action that we took, that missed."
In my opinion, there are several problems with this way of thinking. First, we are mistake-making creatures. It is not only part of our nature, it's a requirement, and even part of our job description for being on the planet. Unless we plan to ascend any time soon, we will make mistakes; it's part of who we are. To define this inevitable aspect of our nature (making mistakes) as our "failures" dooms us to see ourselves as failures for as long as we are alive.
Second, when we focus on the pain of the mistake in order to avoid similar mistakes in the future, what we are really doing is holding on to an image of what we don't want. In my keynotes and workshops, I often illustrate this by describing the experience of children spilling their milk or making some similar mistake at the dinner table. Often, the parents will make a huge issue out of this and tell them over and over how bad this is, and how they should never spill the milk again. Of course, all the kids hear is how he or she is bad for making a mess, and so they become very focused on "not spilling their milk, which will of course only increase the likelihood that milk will be spilled. Again, seeing "avoiding of mistakes" as our prime directive actually has us holding on to images of what we don't want.
Third, if we try to live (and/or avoid failure) by fearing making mistakes, we will be using fear as a guide in our lives and we will never take any risks. This perspective will severely hamper our creativity, willingness to try new things, and general ability to deal with any sort of change. Given that the qualities every industry today is looking for in their employees are creativity and the ability to deal with change, this could severely hamper an individual's success. In fact, if we were to look at most successful people today, we would probably not find individuals who are afraid to make mistakes.
Fourth and maybe most importantly, when we hold on to the pain of the mistake as our way of avoiding the mistake in the future, what we could miss is the learning or valuable information we received from taking some action that didn't accomplish the intended goal. The truth is that there is learning to be gleaned from every action, whether it was successful or not. Not only can these "unsuccessful" efforts produce valuable byproducts (such as Teflon and post-it notes -- both created as results of mistakes) but often, they provide us with invaluable information about what works and what doesn't.
Instead, we could ask ourselves the question, "Okay, knowing what I know now, how would I do it differently?" In fact, one way of viewing this concept is to see mistakes as actions we took or "takes" that missed! They become "mis/takes"! In the movies when someone makes a "mis/take," what do they do? They laugh about it, learn from it, and take it again using what the last mis/take has taught them. This perspective allows directors to "take" a scene countless number of times until they succeed.
Now, I recognize that some of our mistakes have much more serious consequences than a mis/take on a movie set, however, can you also see that if we focus on the pain of the mistake and the fear of making another, we become shackled to "what we are afraid of," "what we don't want," and "what doesn't work?"
Did you know that the word "sin" was originally an archery term? It meant to "miss the mark." Wouldn't a better alternative be to focus not on "counting the number of times that we fall down, but the lightness with which we pick ourselves back up" as Steven Levine suggests, and apply what we have learned to creating a new solution, versus just avoiding the problem? If so, we could refocus our "aim" and have a much better chance of "being on target" with our next attempt. Sort of gives new meaning to the concept of "target practice" as a way of life, don't you think? | <urn:uuid:c0cd1c2c-77db-4f70-8321-b86bcf9a516b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.billcphd.com/quotes.php?quote_id=203 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980884 | 958 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Coffee has been shown to boost brain power, decision making, and memory. It also increases your energy level so when you drink caffeine before your workout you can potentially burn more calories. But there are some drawbacks: Caffeine can increase your blood sugar which can work against you if you are trying to lose weight. It can make you feel anxious and jittery. And get this, coffee, vigorous sex (as well as being startled or angry) can increase the incidence of brain aneurysms in people who have already suffered from brain aneurysms in the past. | <urn:uuid:0e5e58b7-5218-4ea8-bd85-252ea3fb90e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wben.com/Tip-of-the-Week--Coffee/9623416?pid=66601&archive=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970527 | 119 | 1.960938 | 2 |
So you've seen how Apple intends to handle printing
on its web-centric mobile device, now how about Google? The Mountain View crew has decided to solve one of Chrome OS
' significant shortcomings -- namely the lack of a printer stack or drivers -- by interposing itself between apps and the printing hardware. Essentially, when you want to print you'll be sending your request over to a Googlestation up in the clouds, which in turn will translate those instructions and forward them along to the nearest paper tarnisher. We say nearest, presuming that's what you'd want, but the big deal here is that you'll be able to use any
device to print on any
printer anywhere in the (internet-connected) world. It's quite the brute force approach, but at least it assures you that whether you're using a mobile, desktop or web app, you'll be able to print without fear of compatibility issues. This project is still at a very early stage, but code and dev documentation are available now. Hit the source link to learn more. | <urn:uuid:e3f7fa78-3568-43fa-b9ab-9d8f6f224381> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/16/google-cloud-print-service-aims-for-unified-universal-web-print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950997 | 216 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Just how quickly can a politician be reincarnated? Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans—both within the troubled mountainous territory and in exile all around the world—must be pondering this metaphysical conundrum as their beloved spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, asked the Tibetan exile community today to allow him to retire from political life. “Tibetans need a leader, elected freely by the Tibetan people, to whom I can devolve power,” said the Dalai Lama in a statement from his headquarters in exile in Dharamsala, India. “My desire to devolve authority has nothing to do with a wish to shirk responsibility. It is to benefit Tibetans in the long run.” The statement was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the quashed 1959 Tibetan rebellion against the Chinese Communists that prompted the Dalai Lama’s harrowing escape overland to India.
The long-expected transition, in which the 76-year-old monk’s formal leadership role will likely be handed over to whomever is elected the exiled Tibetan Prime Minister on March 20, raises serious questions about the future of the Tibetan political movement. With his kindly mien, gentle aphorisms and globetrotting enthusiasm, the 14th Dalai Lama singlehandedly rescued the Tibetan political movement from the dust-heap of obscure ethnic struggles. (Look, by contrast, at the fate of the Uighurs who inhabit a restive region to the north of Tibet that is controlled by China; without a charismatic leader, the Turkic Muslim ethnic group has been unable to garner the support of celebrities like Richard Gere or the Beastie Boys.) But even as the Dalai Lama has been celebrated abroad, he continues to be pilloried in China, where the official orthodoxy holds that he is a “splittist” intent on seeking Tibet’s independence from China. (The Dalai Lama maintains that he is merely seeking autonomy for a region that faces serious threats against its cultural heritage.) Beijing blames the Dalai Lama for masterminding race riots in Tibet three years ago that claimed both Tibetan and ethnic Han Chinese lives. (The Dalai Lama disputes these charges.) At the annual meeting of the rubber-stamp National People’s Congress this month, Tibet’s Communist Party chief Zhang Qingli, who is not ethnically Tibetan, called the exiled Buddhist icon a “wolf in monk’s robes.”
With the Dalai Lama voluntarily choosing to exit center stage, the exile community is desperately searching for another compelling representative to broadcast their cause. One option may be the 17th Karmapa Lama, the third-highest monk within the Tibetan spiritual hierarchy. But the reputation of the 26-year-old Karmapa Lama, who escaped dramatically from China to India in 2000 after having his reincarnation approved by both Beijing and the Dalai Lama, has been hurt in recent weeks by a financial scandal in which more than $750,000 in cash was found at his headquarters in northeastern India. Some excitable local officials in India went on to wonder publicly whether the Karmapa Lama was a Chinese spy, a charge that the Indian central government has dismissed by praising the young monk’s fervor and discipline. (Read our piece about the Karmapa controversy.)
The money scandal notwithstanding, the exiled Karmapa Lama may be the best choice for the Tibetan community, in part because there’s really no one else. Traditionally, the Panchen Lama is considered the second-highest ranked monk in Tibetan Buddhism. But the boy picked by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama has not been seen in public since 1995. Instead, Beijing selected its own Panchen Lama, who is feared to have been indoctrinated by Chinese ideologues. Historically, the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation is picked with help from the Panchen Lama. Now that the Dalai Lama’s chosen Panchen Lama is missing and Beijing’s pick has grown up within the fold of the Communist Party, the worry is that when the current Dalai Lama dies, a politically pliant reincarnation will be named by the Chinese leadership under the auspices of their Panchen Lama.
Perhaps that’s why the Dalai Lama has decided to excuse himself from politics and instead allow registered Tibetan exiles, who number around 80,000, to vote for their new political leader. That way, even if a future Dalai Lama is chosen under cloudy, Beijing-controlled circumstances, a separate political structure will exist in which Tibet’s interests can be looked after by an independent leader. In that case, reincarnation will not be the salient issue. Democracy, as practiced by the Tibetan exile community, will be. How’s that for a deft move by a “wolf in monk’s robes?” | <urn:uuid:29164b22-e332-48c5-a671-d36015351ed8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://world.time.com/2011/03/10/as-the-dalai-lama-exits-the-political-stage-whats-next-for-the-tibetan-movement/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95008 | 981 | 2.234375 | 2 |
One cobalt-blue morning of butterfly hunting, in August 1971, after climbing a Swiss mountain, looking tanned and serene, net in hand, Vladimir Nabokov told his son Dmitri he had fulfilled all he ever dreamed and was a supremely happy man. It is on this mountainous peak that I like to imagine him, VN, exclaiming like his elated creature Van Veen: "I, Vladimir Nabokov, salute you, life!" (p. 1)
Too often biographies can be staid, prosaic affairs. The subject (yes, a "subject" rather than anything resembling a fascinating human being) is prodded, poked, and pinned to the narrative board in a fashion similar to the butterflies that acclaimed Russian-American author Vladimir Nabokov used to hunt in his own pursuit of happiness. Those dull, listless non-fictions do little to promote interest in the "whys" of the biographed's importance, instead settling for rote "hows" that can drain the reader of interest in the person supposedly being immortalized. Readers, especially those seeking to know more about creative geniuses, frequently are left wanting.
However, there do occasionally appear biographies that manage to capture that elusive élan in which the original composers crafted their masterpieces. Last year, Sarah Bakewell's biography of Montaigne, How to Live, was much more than a recapitulation of that famed essayist's essays on various parts and motivations of life. She made Montaigne live again in those pages and that in turn spurred me to read his Essays in translation.
Another biographer takes a different tack to covering her subject. Iranian-French writer/professor Lila Azam Zanganeh in her first book, The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness, tackles her love for Nabokov's writing and the sense of profound happiness (although other adjectives might come closer to describing the complex array of emotions he evoked in his writings and in his life) that he expressed in his fiction and life. Perhaps "biography" is not the most apt word for Zanganeh's book: it is in turns an exploration of Nabokov's life, Zanganeh's introduction (told in three distinct fashions; one or more of which might be "imagined" rather than "real") to Nabokov's fiction, an "interview" with the dead author, and a quasi-love letter from an older Lolita to a more demure Humbert.
For some, Zanganeh's approach might be too flippant and light on profundity. But for others, including myself, Zanganeh's inventive approach toward biography was refreshing. She obviously has a great respect for Nabokov, but it is tempered with some reserve, most notably when discussing Nabokov's (or VN, as she often refers to him) relations with his wife Véra and with women writers in general. She does not cover his life from birth to death, with the usual itinerary of important authorial milestones. Instead, she explores Nabokovian concepts of happiness in thematic chapters that vary from the academic to the intensely personal:
"Those most extraordinary eyes..." Kafka's, but also his own. I became obsessed with imagining those eyes, VN's staring into Kafka's. And what those two glances (stippled amber, pitch black), briefly crossing on that unlikely afternoon, might have expressed.
My own maternal grandparents had lived in Europe before the war, during those same years. In a mirror reflection: Paris first, then Berlin, roughly 1923 to 1939. And as I tried to visualize VN's features in those German years, I began to consider if perchance, circa 1935, just as he himself had fancied seeing Kafka on a tram, my curious grandmother, restlessly wandering about town, might not have caught a glimpse of the young Nabokov. I liked to picture her walking in the black-and-white Berlin of pre-war years, with that lid of dark lead hanging over the city roofs. Although she is alone, she is not afraid (or at least this is what she tells herself). On a day in late winter, she is sauntering in low-crouched streets, the windows a succession of opaque frames behind which she must sense here and there, the dark gleam of a human presence. She watches the sky moments before the lanterns are lit, as the clouds dissolve, mother-of-earl drawing slowly on ash. While the night closes in, she starts walking faster, her steps quick, almost shuffling on the blacktop, when at the turn of a street she discerns a tiny door and a window - an artisan's atelier, or a dilapidated shop. A young man, gaunt limbs, forehead leaning toward the glass, amber eyes, is peering through the window at items she cannot tell apart. And what attracts her attention is the eeriness of his gaze, its diffuse wonder, reaching into its own reflection, yet a world removed. A flicker of amber in this engulfing grayness. (p. 74-76)
This passage is representative of Zanganeh's approach toward covering Nabokov. The personal nature of this musing can be captivating, but there are also times where it feels self-indulgent in its digressions. Yet the overall effect does not detract from the book. Rather, it provides The Enchanter with a charming quality in which its occasional lapses into sloppiness and diversion ultimately add to a sense of the admirable qualities of the biographical subject and, even more importantly, his literary creations. This alone makes The Enchanter a wonderful reading experience; it is an added bonus that it also has left me wanting to re-read Nabokov's writing. What more could be asked from a biography of a famous author? | <urn:uuid:b08d364b-a5aa-489f-93fb-d94140a03d5f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ofblog.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968855 | 1,233 | 1.835938 | 2 |
We all love terrain parks. What can we do to keep them from going extinct?
When you see the Freestyle Terrain orange oval in a terrain park take a sec and think about what it means. Smart Style is all about making sure everyone has a fun and safe terrain park experience.
Everyone gets stoked on riding parks and pipes, but getting cut-off, snaked or injured just plain sucks. Make sure you know your limits and ride features that you are comfortable with. We work with some of the best riders in the world, who hit some of the biggest kickers around, but they all started small. So start small and work your way up.
Smart Style is a terrain park safety initiative that began in 2001 with the help of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), Burton Snowboards and a host of other contributing sponsors. The goal of Smart Style is to educate riders about freestyle terrain safety. The orange oval is the symbol used to designate freestyle terrain and is usually posted at the top of the terrain park or pipe.
Four main points of Smart Style:
Every time you use Freestyle Terrain, make a plan for each feature you want to use.
Your speed, approach and takeoff will directly affect your maneuver and landing.
Before getting into freestyle terrain observe all signage and warnings.
Scope around the jumps first not over them.
Use your first run as a warm up run and to familiarize yourself with the terrain.
Be aware that the features change constantly due to weather, usage, grooming and time of day.
Do not jump blindly and use a spotter when necessary.
Know your limits and ski/ride within your ability level.
Look for small progression parks or features to begin with and work your way up.
Freestyle skills require maintaining control on the ground and in the air.
Do not attempt any features unless you have sufficient ability and experience to do so safely.
Inverted aerials increase your risk of injury and are not recommended.
Respect the terrain and others.
One person on a feature at a time.
Wait your turn and call your start.
Always clear the landing area quickly.
Respect all signs and stay off closed terrain and features.
Be sure you Know the Code: Your Responsibility Code provides safety tips while on the slopes. Smart Style is a terrain park specific safety program that you should check out before using terrain parks. | <urn:uuid:5d3da2ee-33b0-4016-ba05-79b0067b3048> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brightonterrainparks.com/safety.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928752 | 496 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Making a difference
- Viviene Cree, Steve Myers
- Hardback, 192 pages, 240 x 172 mm
- 07 May 2008
- Social Work in Practice series
£44.00 - List price: £55.00 You save: £11.00
North America customers can order this book here from the University of Chicago Press.
"Good introductory text. Useful links to frameworks. Helpful enquiry based approach"
Martin Hoskins, University of Gloucestershire
"The strengths of this book lie in its integration of theory, policy and professional values with practice examples to give students that in relation to all the subjects they study the "whole"
is more than the sum of the parts"
Susan Martin, University of Southampton
"A clear commentary with a good level of detail and content". Kim Holt, University of Bradford
"A fascinating and novel approach to social work's National Occupational Standards, bringing them to life with a skilful balance of detail and context. This book will make a difference to those who read it."
Professor Mark Doel, Centre for Health and Social Care Research, Sheffield Hallam University
About This Book
Social work in the UK has recently undergone its biggest change for 30 years. As new regulatory bodies are working to consolidate social work's professional status, a new training programme, now at degree level, expects increased in-practice learning. Yet until now, students have struggled to find resources to underpin their learning. This major text addresses the new agenda and explores what social work is in the 21st Century. Structured around the framework of the National Occupational Standards for social work - and using terminology and concepts contained within them - the book examines how social work can make a difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities and argues that to really make a difference it is necessary to think outside the box. The book provides all social work students with an introductory social work textbook for the 21st century with the main chapters following the six National Occupational Standards for social work. Each chapter uses a problem-based learning approach, beginning with a 'real-life' case scenario from social work practice and drawing on messages from theory and research. It includes a range of student friendly features including glossaries, summaries, questions, exercises, further reading and links to other resources and is written by leading authors in their field and evaluated in detail by a distinguished editorial panel. Demonstrating social work's potential to be transformative, this book provides the perfect introductory text for a new generation of social workers.
Author BiographyViviene Cree is Professor of Social Work Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Steve Myers is Director of Social Work at the University of Salford.
Making a difference
Making a difference: lessons from history
Making a difference in preparation and assessment
Making a difference in intervention
Making a difference in advocacy
Making a difference in risk assessment and management
Making a difference in your practice in your agency
Making a difference in demonstrating professional competence.
Customers in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei must order from their local distributor | <urn:uuid:ad334943-354d-4277-8c69-14769386ae6a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.policypress.co.uk/display.asp?K=9781861347794&m=144&dc=956&mw=1&q=(eh_hide_flag%20contains%20( | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917775 | 639 | 1.734375 | 2 |
The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 sets out that where a premises licence application is made to a Licensing Board, any person may, by notice to the Licensing Board, object to the application on any ground relevant to one of the grounds for refusal specified in Section 23(5), or make representations to the Board concerning the application, including, in particular, representations:
in support of the application
as to modifications which the person considers should be made to the operating plan accompanying the application
as to conditions which the person considers should be imposed
On receipt of a notice of objection or representation, the Board must give a copy of the notice to the applicant and will have regard to the objection or representation in determining the application.
A Licensing Board may reject a notice of objection or representation if the Board considers the objection or representation to be frivolous or vexatious.
Where the Board rejects such a notice, they may recover from the person who gave the notice any expenses incurred by them in considering the notice. | <urn:uuid:9aed3a3d-05e8-4ac6-a7bf-61504069d04e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/LawAndLicensing/LicensingObjections.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920195 | 205 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF) and The Angelo Roncalli International Committee (ARIC) present the organizations’ permanent collection in the form of two exhibits: ”Rescuers,” featuring bronze busts by Peter Bulow, and ”The Wallenberg Series,” paintings by Austro-Canadian artist Armand Frederick Vallée.
Commissioned by the organizations, Bulow’s busts feature portraits of three rescuers of the Holocaust — Raoul Wallenberg, Angelo Roncalli, and Luiz Martins De Souza Dantas. ”We couldn’t have chosen a better candidate to undertake such a task,” explains IRWF Founder Baruch Tenembaum, ”Peter is not only an extremely talented artist, but he grew up listening to his family’s stories about the Holocaust. Once we learned his grandmother had been saved by Wallenberg, we knew he would be able to incorporate his own background into the pieces.”
”The Wallenberg Series” was donated to the Wallenberg Foundation by Vallée’s estate. The series consists of 14 paintings that narrate the Swedish diplomat’s quest to save victims. ”The fact that the artist has not been able to finish the last painting of the series seems to speak of his difficulty to cope with Wallenberg’s own unfinished story,” stated Tenembaum upon studying the paintings. The paintings were artist created between 1985 and 1986.
The organizations permanent collection is on exhibit at the IRWF’s Cultural Center, located at 34 East 67th Street, Ground Floor, by appointment only. Contact the IRWF to schedule a visit. | <urn:uuid:b15daeb9-b0db-44dc-a6b9-2872ff8910b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.raoulwallenberg.net/about/reports/news/permanent-collection-exhibit/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948797 | 353 | 1.726563 | 2 |
The perineum is the area which lies between the vaginal opening and the anus. Most women aren’t really conscious of this region until they become pregnant and start reading about childbirth. Then it can become the topic of much conversation and concern.
During childbirth, as the baby’s head descends further towards the vaginal opening, the perineum starts to stretch and become thinner. In most women this stretching is sufficient to allow their baby’s head to emerge and the body to follow.
The length of the perineum varies between individual women and this can impact on the chances of tearing or needing to have an episiotomy. Perineal stretching exercises, when done during pregnancy, can help to increase the capacity of the perineum to stretch during labour. This reduces the likelihood of perineal tearing or the need to have an episiotomy.
What is an episiotomy?
An episiotomy is a surgical cut made in the perineum by the midwife or obstetrician, which makes the vaginal opening larger. When the baby’s head is pressing so firmly against the perineum that there is a risk of it tearing uncontrollably, a cut approximately 2-4 cms long is sometimes made. Local anaesthetic is injected into the perineum before an episiotomy is cut, unless the woman has had an epidural in which case additional numbing of the area may not be necessary.
There is a lot of controversy over how appropriate it is for health care professionals to cut an episiotomy. Some view it as a form of abuse and rarely necessary.
Sutures, or stitches, are necessary if an episiotomy has been cut. These help with healing and to bring the skin edges neatly together. Some women experience a
tear in their perineum during childbirth, which may require stitches.
Generally, the criteria for stitching a perineal tear are:
- If the tear is jagged and the skin edges do not fit well together.
- If the muscle layers within the perineum have been involved.
- If there is a lot of bleeding from the tear. Stitches help to stop bleeding and maximise the chances of quick healing.
Different categories of perineal tearing
- A first degree tear involves injury to the skin.
- A second degree tear involves the muscles of the perineum.
- A third degree tear extends along the perineum and into the anus.
- A fourth degree tear involves the perineum and the anus as well as the bowel tissue.
A midwife or obstetrician can suture an episiotomy or perineal tear. Usually local anaesthetic is given which numbs the area. Nitrous oxide gas is another pain relief option if it is available. Dissolvable suture material is almost always used. This means the stitches do not need to be taken out, and they will start to dissolve from around one week after delivery. Sometimes they can be seen as they come off onto toilet paper, in the shower or onto a sanitary pad. Very occasionally, if they do not dissolve, the sutures need to be removed by a health care professional.
It is common to experience a pulling or tight sensation in the area where the stitches have been inserted. This can be worse when there is localized swelling. Within a few days, this sensation should ease but if it doesn’t, it is important to tell your midwife or obstetrician. Occasionally, tight suturing causes the vaginal opening to become too small which then impacts on normal sexual functioning.
Small vaginal or perineal tears are often left to heal themselves. There has been much research looking at the healing time of tears which have been sutured compared with those which have been left alone to heal. Similarly, pain levels have been monitored and compared in post natal women, within these two groups. It appears that women with sutures experience slightly more pain than those who are left to heal themselves.
Again, individual differences, healing rates, pain thresholds and the type of birth all play a role.
When is an episiotomy done?
- Sometimes an episiotomy is done when the baby has become distressed and it is important for them to be born quickly.
- During a forceps or instrument delivery.
- When a baby is premature or there is a multiple birth.
- When a baby is in the breech position.
- When the baby’s head is very large and there has been no time for the perineum to stretch enough to let it through.
Many women experience pain, tenderness and swelling around the perineal area after their baby is born. Ideally, the perineum remains intact during childbirth, stretching as it needs to to allow the baby’s head and body to be delivered.
What’s normal perineal pain?
- It is common to have some swelling and tenderness in the perineal area after birth.
- An episiotomy or tear which needed sutures can create a great deal of discomfort, especially within the first few days after birth.
- Passing urine can be very painful and cause a stinging sensation.
- Perineal pain tends to peak on the second day after birth though it usually improves within a week.
- Even if there is no visible sign of trauma to the perineum, small grazes can cause stinging until they have healed.
- It can take 4-6 weeks for the perineum to heal completely.
Perineal healing – what helps?
- Ice packs applied to the perineum help to reduce swelling. Ideally they are used within the first 24-72 hours, depending on how soothing they feel. A covered ice-brick or the finger of a disposable glove which has been filled with water and then frozen can be very effective. Alternately, crushed ice in small plastic bag, covered with a wet washer can be useful.
- Hygiene is extremely important and helps to reduce the risk of infection. Showering at least twice each day, washing the perineal area with a mild soap or body wash, patting dry with a clean, soft towel or disposable paper towel will all help with healing.
- When having a bowel motion, support your perineum and stitches by holding a sanitary pad over the perineal area.
- Some physiotherapists use ultrasound therapy over the perineum which helps to reduce swelling and pain. This is generally done 24-36 hours after the birth.
- It is important to wipe yourself properly after emptying your bladder or bowels. Be very careful about wiping from the front towards the back. Showering after a bowel motion is recommended, even if you just wash your lower half.
- Don’t economise on cheaper forms of toilet paper. Aim for comfort over cost, even if you need to quarantine your own supply from the rest of the family!
If you haven’t already tried them you might like to grab a pack of Kleenex Cottonelle Flushable Fresh Wipes. They are lightly moistened wipes that deliver a cleaner, fresher feeling than using dry toilet paper alone and are safe and gentle enough to use while your body is healing. They are also safe to flush, fragrance and alcohol free and will leave you feeling fresh and clean while your body is healing. Available in a 40’s pack for home and a handy 10 pack when you are out and about.
- Keeping the perineal area as dry and clean as possible. Avoid using talcum powder or highly perfumed washes or lotions.
- Change sanitary pads often and dispose of them properly. Hand washing is important to minimize the risk of infection.
- Resting whenever possible. Standing for long periods can lead to swelling and an increase in pain and discomfort. Similarly, sitting in one position can lead to blood congestion in the vulval area. When lying down try lying alternately on each side and resting your upper leg on a pillow.
- Avoid becoming constipated. Drink plenty of water each day, at least 8 glasses a day or more if you are breastfeeding; and eat a diet high in fibre and include fruits, vegetables and protein which will all help with tissue healing. Straining to poo can cause straining of the suture lines and further swelling. Take your time when you go to the toilet and avoid rushing.
- Getting out of bed from your side, rather than from a sitting position. This helps to avoid stretching of the perineal area.
- Doing pelvic floor exercises as soon as possible after your baby is born. Link in with the physiotherapy department of your maternity hospital and/or check http://www.holditsister.com/post-birth-recovery
- If you are bothered by stinging when passing urine, try standing a warm shower or pouring warm water over your vulval region as you wee. A plastic squirt bottle filled with warm water can be useful.
- Avoid resuming sexual intercourse until you feel comfortable and your perineum has healed. Many women find it takes at least six weeks for their vaginal and perineal area to stop feeling some degree of tenderness.
You may find you need to take pain relief medication in the first week or so after birth. Speak with your midwife or obstetrician about what’s right for you. Bear in mind that many medications are excreted in breast milk so be careful about the type, dose and frequency of what you are taking. Check the National Prescribing Service at http://www.nps.org.au
What doesn’t help the perineum to heal?
- Salt baths and/or long soaking in hot baths.
- Sitting on a circular air or rubber ring.
- Resuming sexual intercourse before the perineum has fully had a chance to heal.
- Heat packs.
- Antibiotics – unless there is an infection present.
- Lifting or straining. Avoid picking up heavy loads, toddlers, older children or moving furniture.
- Vigorous exercise, squatting or any movement in which the legs are straddled and the perineal area needs to stretch before it has healed
- Using tampons.
- Being economical about how many sanitary pads you are using. It is important to try and keep the perineal area clean and dry, so replace pads every 2-3 hours or more regularly if they are soaked.
What do I need to be aware of?
- Passing large blood clots. After sitting or lying still for a long period of time, it can be normal to pass blood clots. However, if you pass a lot of them or they continue, or you are worried see your doctor.
- Pain in the perineal area which does not ease. Throbbing, aching, abdominal pain or continual discomfort which is not improving needs to be checked by a health care professional.
- An offensive or smelly vaginal discharge.
- If you develop ongoing pain, stinging or scalding when you pass urine. This can be a sign of a urinary tract infection.
- A pulling sensation on your perineum which makes movement and walking difficult.
- Developing an elevated temperature or feeling as if you have an infection. A normal temperature range is up to 37.3 degrees Celsius.
You will need to make an appointment to see your midwife, obstetrician or GP six weeks after your baby is born. They will check to see if your perineal area has healed. If, in the meantime you are at all concerned about any aspect of your recovery, do not hesitate to get yourself checked. | <urn:uuid:bb260cfe-81ff-4316-87a6-dd7870092fa6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huggies.com.au/childbirth/postnatal/postnatal-health/perineal-care | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939161 | 2,440 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Using his patients’ personal stories to illustrate dramatically how medical care once worked and how it works today, a concerned and caring physician makes clear just why he fears the current system has a very poor prognosis. Director of the Center for Women and Rheumatic Disease at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, Lockshin specializes in lupus, a chronic disease that affects every organ in the body and brings its patients into contact with all segments of the medical-care system. Drawing on some 35 years of medical experience, he writes knowingly and sympathetically of patients who need long-term, expensive care, whose problems may require speedy treatment by specialists. In doing so, he questions how well such individuals would fare in a system where primary-care doctors act not as their patients’ advocates but as gatekeepers, deciding who will have access to what kind of care. He acknowledges that cost is at the heart of the medical-care crisis, but points out that this cost comes largely from common, chronic, and crippling diseases. Lockshin outlines what he perceives as the elements of an ideal system and calls for a vigorous public debate over the issues, which, he notes, seem medical but are social and political as well. He argues that decision-making criteria concerning health-care resources and spending must include compassion as well as cost-benefit. The questions he raises about cost cutting, rationing of care, doctor-patient privacy, and individual needs and rights are ones that deserve careful consideration. An able spokesman for the poor and chronically ill, those whose voices he believes are seldom heard in the debate over health policy in this country, he has given us stories to remind us that abstract policies affect individuals who could be us or those we love. | <urn:uuid:8a844e53-ab86-4fac-8c01-7b60f9d9ff79> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/michael-d-lockshin/guarded-prognosis/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971298 | 355 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Tuesday, March 19, 1996
CONTACT: Caroline Smith-DeWaal, (202) 332-9110 x366
The proposed amendments would also repeal key portions of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA), the law that mandates nutrition labels on most packaged foods and prohibits misleading health claims on food products, according to national health and consumer organizations.
Proposed by Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), the amendments will be offered on Wednesday, March 27 during mark-up of S. 1477 by the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee. If enacted into law, the Gregg amendments would:
"Privatize" the approval of new food additives by allowing manufacturers to select from an approved list an outside review panel -- which could include scientists who are paid consultants for industry -- to judge a proposed additive's safety. Presently that job is done only by impartial FDA staff experts.
Permit food companies to choose their own "expert panels" to vouch for the accuracy of health claims they want to place on food labels. Another change would allow health claims for high-fat foods such as ice cream and donuts.
Repeal the Delaney Clause, a change that would permit cancer-causing chemicals to be used as food additives and colorings.
Reverse the burden of proof for ascertaining the safety of certain proposed additives. Currently, a company must demonstrate that an additive is safe. Under the Gregg amendments, if an outside review panel endorsed the additive, the product would then be presumed safe unless FDA could prove it was dangerous.
Prohibit states from issuing their own food-labeling regulations. For example, Gregg's amendments would void both Vermont's BST milk-disclosure rule and California's requirement for label warnings on dangerous contaminants, even though both laws have been upheld in federal court.
"This is legislation that only a chemical company could love," charged CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson. "The Gregg amendments aren't just a step backwards. This is a wholesale retreat from the very notion that the federal government has the basic responsibility to assure the safety and honest labeling of our food supply. Senator Gregg is making the Republicans look like the pro-disease party.
"If we're going to let food and chemical companies choose their own regulators, we might as well let defendants select their own juries and taxpayers pick their own auditors."
The Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, and other prominent consumer and health organizations have joined CSPI in opposing the food-safety provisions of the Gregg Amendments. Nearly a dozen other organizations joined CSPI last week in expressing opposition to the amendment's proposed changes in food labeling, including the American Cancer Society, American College of Preventative Medicine, and American Public Health Association. | <urn:uuid:50437f54-d5dc-4d32-9ba2-f057fe167b70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cspinet.org/new/gregg-pr.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964476 | 565 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ---Worldwide, 2003
Please note: An erratum has been published for this article. To view the erratum, please click here.
Since late February 2003, CDC has been supporting the World Health Organization (WHO) in the investigation of a multicountry outbreak of atypical pneumonia of unknown etiology. The illness is being referred to as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). This report describes the scope of the outbreak, preliminary case definition, and interim infection control guidance for the United States.
On February 11, the Chinese Ministry of Health notified WHO that 305 cases of acute respiratory syndrome of unknown etiology had occurred in six municipalities in Guangdong province in southern China during November 16, 2002--February 9, 2003. The disease was characterized by transmission to health-care workers and household contacts; five deaths were reported (1). On February 26, a man aged 47 years who had traveled in mainland China and Hong Kong became ill with a respiratory illness and was hospitalized shortly after arriving in Hanoi, Vietnam. Health-care providers at the hospital in Hanoi subsequently developed a similar illness. The patient died on March 13 after transfer to an isolation facility in Hong Kong. During late February, an outbreak of a similar respiratory illness was reported in Hong Kong among workers at another hospital; this cluster was linked to a patient who had traveled previously to southern China. On March 12, WHO issued a global alert about the outbreak and instituted worldwide surveillance.
As of March 19, WHO has received reports of 264 patients from 11 countries with suspected and probable* SARS (Table). Areas with reported local transmission include Hong Kong and Guangdong province, China; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Singapore. More limited transmission has been reported in Taipei, Taiwan, and Toronto, Canada. The initial cases reported in Singapore, Taiwan, and Toronto were among persons who all had traveled to China.
On March 15, after issuing a preliminary case definition for suspected cases (Box, CDC initiated enhanced domestic surveillance for SARS. CDC also issued a travel advisory suggesting that persons planning nonessential travel to Hong Kong, Guangdong, or Hanoi consider postponing their travel (http://www.cdc.gov/travel/other/acute_resp_syn_multi.htm). On March 16, CDC began advising passengers arriving on direct flights from these three locations to seek medical attention if they have symptoms of febrile respiratory illness. As of March 18, approximately 12,000 advisory notices had been distributed to airline passengers. In addition, surveillance is being heightened for suspected cases of SARS among arriving passengers. As of March 19, a total of 11 suspected cases of SARS in the United States are under investigation by CDC and state health authorities.
Among patients reported worldwide as of March 19, the disease has been characterized by rapid onset of high fever, myalgia, chills, rigor, and sore throat, followed by shortness of breath, cough, and radiographic evidence of pneumonia. The incubation period has generally been 3--5 days (range: 2--7 days). Laboratory findings have included thrombocytopenia and leukopenia. Many patients have had respiratory distress or severe pneumonia requiring hospitalization, and several have required mechanical ventilation. Of the 264 suspected and probable cases reported by WHO, nine (3%) persons have died. In addition, secondary attack rates of >50% have been observed among health-care workers caring for patients with SARS in both Hong Kong and Hanoi. Additional clinical and epidemiologic details are available from WHO at http://www.who.int/wer/pdf/2003/wer7812.pdf.
In the United States, initial diagnostic testing for persons with suspected SARS should include chest radiograph, pulse oximetry, blood cultures, sputum Gram stain and culture, and testing for viral respiratory pathogens, particularly influenza types A and B and respiratory syncytial virus. Clinicians should save any available clinical specimens (e.g., respiratory samples, blood, serum, tissue, and biopsies) for additional testing until diagnosis is confirmed. Instructions for specimen collection are available from CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/pdf/specimencollection-sars.pdf. Specimens should be forwarded to CDC by state health departments after consultation with the SARS State Support Team at the CDC Emergency Operations Center.
Clinicians evaluating suspected cases should use standard precautions (e.g., hand hygiene) together with airborne (e.g., N-95 respirator) and contact (e.g., gowns and gloves) precautions (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/infectioncontrol.htm). Until the mode of transmission has been defined more precisely, eye protection also should be worn for all patient contact. As more clinical and epidemiologic information becomes available, interim recommendations will be updated.
Reported by: CDC SARS Investigative Team; AT Fleischauer, PhD, EIS Officer, CDC.
During 2000, approximately 83 million nonresident passengers arrived in China, 13 million in Hong Kong, and 2 million in Vietnam, and approximately 460,000 residents of China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam traveled to the United States (2). During January 1, 1997--March 18, 2003, an estimated 5% of ill tourists worldwide who sought post-travel care from one of 35 worldwide GeoSentinel travel clinics had pneumonia (International Society of Tropical Medicine, unpublished data, 2003). In the United States, approximately 500,000 persons with pneumonia require hospitalization each year; in approximately half of these cases, no etiologic agent is identified despite intensive investigation (3,4). On the basis of these data and the broad and necessarily nonspecific case definition, cases meeting the criteria for SARS are anticipated worldwide and in the United States. However, most of the anticipated cases are expected to be unrelated to the current outbreak.
Electron microscopic identification of paramxyovirus-like particles has been reported from Germany and Hong Kong (5). This family of viruses includes measles, mumps, human parainfluenza viruses, and respiratory syncytial virus in addition to the recently identified henipaviruses and metapneumovirus. Additional testing is under way to confirm a definitive etiology. Identification of the causative agent should lead to specific diagnostic tests, simplify surveillance, and focus treatment guidelines and infection control guidance.
Clinicians and public health officials who suspect cases of SARS are requested to report such cases to their state health departments. CDC requests that reports of suspect cases from state health departments, international airlines, cruise ships, or cargo carriers be directed to the SARS Investigative Team at the CDC Emergency Operations Center, telephone 770-488-7100. Additional information about SARS (e.g., infection control guidance and procedures for reporting suspected cases) is available at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars. Global case counts are available at http://www.who.int.
* Suspected cases (Box with either a) radiographic evidence of pneumonia or respiratory distress syndrome or b) evidence of unexplained respiratory distress syndrome by autopsy are designated probable cases by the WHO case definition.
Disclaimer All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables. An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800. Contact GPO for current prices.
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This page last reviewed 3/20/2003 | <urn:uuid:26822a08-fbd8-4779-8754-ae2f49c9bb95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5211a5.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939528 | 1,672 | 2.609375 | 3 |
The Choctaw Indians
The Choctaw Indians have inhabited the Mississippi region since the pre-Columbian era. The Choctaws were considered one of the “Five Civilized Tribes” because of their desire to adopt European practices into the Choctaw culture. The Choctaw Indians were continuously loyal to the United States during the Revolutionary War and War of 1812, but sadly were subjected to the removal policies of the U.S. during the 1830s. Most of the Choctaw left Mississippi and other Southern states on the tragic Trail of Tears, but many Choctaw decided to stay and try assimilation into American culture and life. The Choctaws are split into two distinct branches: the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Both groups faced discrimination and poverty after the Civil War until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Today, the Choctaws continue many of their culture practices and have several successful business ventures, including casinos in both Oklahoma and Mississippi.
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Choctaw Code Talkers in WWI
The Code Talkers: Solomon Louis, Bennington Mitchell Bobb, Smithville Ben Carterby (Bismark), Wright City Robert Taylor, Bokchito or Boswell Jeff Nelson, Kullitukle Pete Maytubby, Broken Bow James Edwards, Ida (now Battiest) Calvin Wilson, Goodwater
Near the end of World War I, the American Army struggled to keep the Germans from breaking their communication codes. Eight Choctaw men who were all serving in the same battalion were overheard speaking in their native language by their Captain. He immediately suggested that the messages be given in Choctaw and then translated back into English. This “code” prevented the Germans from figuring out the American's next move and assisted in the Allies' victory in the Mouse-Argonne Campaign. These victories proved the last big push the Allies needed to send the Germans into retreat and win the war. While these eight Choctaw soldiers were instrumental in the Allied victory, they never received any public recognition or military honors. Their efforts, however, did influence the use of Indian code talkers in World War II, which again aided in an American victory.
Choctaw Donation to Irish during Great Famine
1840s | Ireland
The Choctaw Nation made a generous gift to the starving men, women and children of Ireland during the Great Famine. This was just years after the Choctaw faced starvation and death themselves in their removal from their native lands.
Snake Band Dream Of New Choctaw Nation In Mexico
Our educated people tell us that the white man came to this country to avoid conditions which were not as bad as the present conditions are to us: that he come across the great ocean and sought new homes on order to avoid things which to him were distasteful and wrong.
"All we ask is that we may be permitted to exercise the same privilege. While some of our people might choose to remain here and mingle with the white man, we believe that the Great Father of All created the Indian to fill a proper place in the world and that he has the right to exist as a race." These words were uttered by Choctaw leader Jacob B. Jackson to a delegation of United States Congressmen in Washington, D.C. in 1906. His plea fell upon deaf ears. The request was being made by Jackson and a delegation of Choctaws for the right of a group of some 2,000 Choctaw Indian full-bloods to sell their holdings which are now a port of Oklahoma (mostly in McCurtain County) for the purpose of purchasing land for a new Choctaw Nation in Mexico.
To understand the plea being made by Jackson and the tenor of the times, we must go back to 1893, when the United States Government authorized Sen. William B. Dawes to get up the Dawes Commission to treat with the Indians and cajole or force them to submit communal control of Indian lands and breaking up such lands into individual allotments. In order to "break the back of" the Choctaw Nation, the United States had to accomplish two things. One of these was to force the Choctaw to change his form of government from "horizontal" to "vertical," copying the European governments and to end the so-called "common ownership" of land. The change from "horizontal" to "vertical" government had been accomplished over a long period of years, beginning with the first written Choctaw Constitution in 1826 (not accepted by the tribe) down through the Constitution of 1860 which finally conformed to the form desired by the US Government.
For, with the Constitution of 1860, the Choctaws fully embraced the European form of vertical" government, with a Principal Chief and downward "chain of command" thus ending much of the Choctaw's individual power within his government. However, the Choctaws still held fast to their belief that the land belonged to no one and everyone ... that the land was brother to man and with man's sister ..the water.. was placed here for the use of anyone and everyone in keeping with his or her needs and desires.
In 1894, the Choctaws had elected a strong anti-allotment Principal Chief in Jefferson Gardner, who successfully strangled the efforts of the Dawes Commission for the next two years by simply ignoring them. However, elements within Gardner's own party did not approve of his methods, and as a result the party, officially called the National Party but better known as the "Buzzards" split. Meeting at Tuskahoma in the fall of 1895, one branch of the National Party changed its name to the Independent Party, and nominated Jefferson Gardner for re-election and a second term as Principal Chief.
Then in February of 1896, the other branch of the National Party, made up mostly of full-bloods who resented the leadership of mixed-bloods, met in Atoka and nominated Jacob B. Jackson who was at that time serving as national secretary. In March of 1896, the Progressive Party, popularly known as the "Hawks," met in Talihina and attempted to nominate Gilbert W. Dukes as their standard bearer to challenge the two conservative or "hard-shelled" candidates. However, since this action did not sit too well with some elements of the Progressive Party, they decided to break with the "Hawks," and met in May of 1896 in Tuskahoma, naming their "new" group the Tuskahoma Party and choosing Green McCurtain, a known pro-allotment force, as their candidate.
When all the votes had been counted after the August 1896 election, Green McCurtain held 1,405 votes, Jacob Jackson had received 1,195, Gilbert Dukes had polled 613 votes and the incumbent, Jefferson Gardner, had received 596.
Because McCurtain represented those wishing to deal with the Dawes Commission and his national secretary, Jacob Jackson, opposed any dealings with Dawes, McCurtain's first move was to oust Jackson from office and replace him with Solomon J. Homer. Green McCurtain then led a delegation of Choctaws to South McAlester to meet on Nov. 11, 1896, with the Dawes Commission to "talk the situation over." In addition to McCurtain, this delegation included J. S. Standley, N. B. Ainsworth, Amos Henry, A. S. Williams, Wesley Anderson, D. C. Garland, E. N. Wright and Ben Hampton.
As a result of the McAlester meeting, the delegation recommended to the General Council that the Choctaw Nation enter negotiations with the Dawes Commission and Chief McCurtain was empowered by the Council to enter such negotiations. This led to another meeting on April 1, 1897, between the Choctaw Delegation and the Dawes Commission in Atoka, and on April 23, the "Atoka Agreement" was signed by Green McCurtain and his fellow delegates. The Atoka Agreement provided that Choctaw lands would be allotted, that the Choctaws might reserve townsites and certain mineral rights and that the tribal government could continue to operate but only within specified limits to be set by the United States Government. At a special session of the Choctaw Council, meeting in Tuskahoma, the Atoka Agreement was ratified by a 13-6 vote in the House of Representatives and a 6-4 vote in the Choctaw Senate.
In the meantime up in the Creek Nation, Chito Horjo, a Creek Indian who become popularly known by the white man as "Crazy Snake" because he used a coiled rattle snake as the symbol of effort, was beginning what was to become known as the "Snake Rebellion."
Insisting that the Dawes Commission had no authority to force the Indians to give up their tribal governments or allot tribal lands, Horjo traveled among other tribes enlisting support for his efforts. Soon, most of the major tribes living in the so-called Indian Territory (now eastern Oklahoma) had formed a "Snake Band," made up principally of full-bloods who still embraced the "old ways" and opposed allotments and an end of self-government.
Meeting at Smithville, about 600 Choctaws formed the initial Snake Band, electing Jacob B. Jackson as Chief and naming J. C. Folsom, S. E. Coe, Saul Folsom and Willis Jones to the Snake Council. Jackson owned a home and store at a post he called Hocha Tahli (later Hochatown), and most of the activities of the Choctaw Snake Bond were planned and implemented from that area.
In 1898, the National party did not nominate a candidate for Principal Chief. The Tuskahoma Party nominated Green McCurtain for a second term and the Union Party chose Wilson N. Jones as its standard bearer. McCurtain won. Two years later, in the elections of 1900, the Snake Band, now about 2,000 strong, reactivated the old National Party, and naturally nominated Snake Chief Jacob B. Jackson as its candidate.
Jackson had confirmed his leadership in the Snake Rebellion in 1897-98 by leading a group of Choctaws to Mexico where they talked with the Mexican government about relocating the Choctaw Nation from the United States to Mexico. Negotiations had even reached a point that Jackson and his delegation was willing to sell to the tribe. In addition, the Mexican government pledged that they would allow the Choctaws self-rule, and would see that non-Indians stayed outside the boundaries of the proposed "Choctaw Nation of Mexico."
Since the Constitution of 1860 provided that a chief might serve only two consecutive terms, the Tuskahoma Party nominated Gilbert W. Dukes to succeed Green McCurtain. The Union Party nominated E. N. Wright. But in the August 1900 elections, the Tuskahoma Party hold enough power to elect Dukes over Jackson and Wright, but not by a clear majority. The polarization continued for the next two years, so much so that in 1902 the National Party (or Snake Party) did not even attempt to nominate a candidate for Principal Chief and did not participate in the election.
Over the objections of Gilbert W. Dukes, who felt that he should be allowed to seek a second term, the Tuskahoma Party abandoned him and again turned to Green McCurtain as its candidate. Because of what he considered ill treatment at the hands of the Tuskahoma Party, when the Progressive Party nominated Thomas W. Hunter, Gilbert Dukes threw his support to Hunter.
Balloting was held as usual on the third Wednesday in August, but when the ballots arrived at Tuskahoma, Chief Dukes ordered them locked into a shed and apparently never had them counted. At the request of the Tuskahoma Party, U.S. Army troops from Fort Reno, under the command of Major Starr, were dispatched to Tuskahoma to supervise the counting of the votes. In the meantime, outgoing Chief Gilbert Dukes hod appointed Thomas W. Hunter as Principal Chief and called the General Council into early session in an effort to get them to confirm his appointment.
When the votes were finally counted, Green McCurtain had received 1,645 votes and Hunter had received 956. This was the last time that the Choctaws would elect a Principal chief until 1971.
In the meantime, the Snake Council and Chief Jacob B. Jackson were continuing to promote the idea of relocating the Choctaw Nation from the Indian Territory to Mexico. So it was that in early 1906, armed with petitions carrying the names of more than 2,000 Choctaws (mostly full-bloods), Snake Chief Jacob Jackson led a delegation to Washington, D.C. His proposition was simple. Instead of allotting the land of the petitioners, the United States government would buy it and Jackson and his followers would take that money and use it to purchase a new homeland in Mexico. Despite Jackson's impassioned and logical pleas, the United States government refused and informed Jackson and his followers that they would receive individual allotments as would all Indians residing in the Indian Territory.
In the meantime, Chito Harjo, the leader of the Snake Rebellion come under attack at his home far up in the Creek Nation, and was grievously wounded when a "posse" attacked his home. Since a well-meaning "friend" had enrolled Harjo against his wishes and since he feared to return to his own home, "Crazy Snake" somehow made his way all the way from the Creek Nation to the home of his friend, Charles Babb, about four miles south of Smithville. Possibly because of the bullet fragments still in his leg or because of the long forced trip, Harjo's wounds failed to heal properly, yet he continued to live for almost two years as a guest of Charles Babb. Early in 1910, Chito Harjo died at the Babb home, without ever again seeing his wife or his children, and was buried in the Babb family cemetery south of Smithville. Several years ago, the Oklahoma Historical Society placed a granite marker on Harjo's grove, which stands in the front yard of a home not far from Smithville.
After his failure to earn his people a new nation in Mexico, Jacob B. Jackson returned to his home, now a 160 acre allotment near Hochatown, and quietly lived out his remaining years. | <urn:uuid:9205c535-04ec-4465-8f43-5d376a43feac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fold3.com/page/109919217_the_choctaw_indians/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975991 | 3,049 | 4.03125 | 4 |
If I had written a Genea-Santa letter, I would have asked for perfect genealogy software. One of the features of my utopian software (and there's a long list) is source-based data entry.
Here's my thinking...
Sources are important. I don't enter information into my genealogy software unless I have a source. That source may be something as simple as a note I write to myself (eg noting a conversation with a relative) but it will be something I can use to identify where a particular piece of information came from, and how reliable that information is likely to be.
A lot of the source documentation we use come in forms of one sort or another. Births, deaths, marriages, census information - all entered into forms.
When it comes time to do data entry, there I am sitting in front of my computer with a source document in my hand or on my screen. It's quite likely that the information will be recorded in a form that I have seen before, and I will see again. Typically, I will set up a source record and lock it on while I am entering the data. Then it's a matter of going through the source document in a systematic way, navigating to the appropriate person in my database, and adding or editing events in the person's life.
The way I described it, it sounds pretty efficient. It's not really. There's an awful lot of moving from person to person, editing a bit, moving around again, finding your place on the form, not to mention re-entering the same information over and again (eg an address on a census form). Every time you move around you are distracted from where you are on the form. Every time you have to enter a piece of information again, you may enter it differently. If you want to check over your data entry you have to navigate around all over again.
What if you enter the information only to realise you had the wrong person? Who would have thought there could be more than one John Smith?! Then you have to track down and undo all those little changes you made.
It's slow. It's prone to error. It's hard to check. It's hard to undo.
A feature of my imaginary ideal genealogy software is the ability to enter data, where possible, in the template of the source document. The act of entering the data should generate all the citation details (maybe add a field or two for anything relevant not on the form itself, eg repository) and should handle the data entry. You would enter the data once. Perhaps I'm fundamentally lazy, but if I have typed something in once, I don't want to have to type it in again.
Data entry would be quick and easy because you would not have to constantly find your place in the database and in the source document again. It would be very clear if any fact had been missed, because you would see an empty field in your template. It would be easy to check the data for errors because it's all there in one place looking much like the source document.
My ideal software would have an easy way to identify individuals in the document as individuals who are already in the database, or as new people to add. You wouldn't have to come up with some elaborate identification scheme. If you later decided that the source didn't refer to that person, you should just be able to unlink that identification without having to change anything else.
The software should make some sensible assumptions about how the information in the source document fits together and build the lineage links for you on that basis - but you should be able to review and override those assumptions if you wish. It should also be easy to add in any information from the source that is not standard for the template. You should also be able to add information from other sources that don't come neatly presented in a form.
It seems like a big ask, which makes this post seem like a rant... but guess what? Just under two weeks ago I stumbled across a genealogy package I hadn't heard of before. It promised source-based data entry along the lines I describe. I've been having a ball playing with the trial version for nearly two weeks now. While it's not perfect, I think it's interesting enough to write about in my next post...
That's one element of my ideal for genealogy software. Is there a genealogy software feature that seems so obvious and sensible to you that you just can't understand why anyone hasn't done it (to your satisfaction) before?! | <urn:uuid:13f596ed-3f38-4ff3-b298-d742f366cc6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://twigsofyore.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-vision-for-genealogy-data-entry.html?showComment=1262226580592 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966654 | 927 | 1.789063 | 2 |
State PBF/USF History, Legislation, Implementation
Last Updated: February 2013
Since FY 2010, Michigan has used state funds to temporarily replace ratepayer funds that had provided low-income energy assistance and energy efficiency since 2002. As of early 2013, the state legislature continues to work to permanently replace the ratepayer-funded Low Income and Energy Efficiency Fund (LIEEF) that was outlawed in 2011.
In January 2013, the Michigan Energy Assistance Program (SB 1135) was signed into law, creating the structure, but not the funding to replace LIEEF.
Administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS), the state's LIHEAP office, the program will provide energy assistance to low-income households that have incomes of not more than 150 percent of federal poverty guidelines. Services will include helping these households pay their gas and electric bills, in addition to helping recipients optimize energy efficiency. The program must use 70 percent of its funds during the "crisis season," defined as November 1 through May 31.
The program is an outgrowth of the demise of the LIEEF. Starting in 2002 and funded through ratepayer surcharges, the LIEEF provided energy assistance and energy efficiency to low-income customers, as well as energy efficiency programs for all customer classes.
From 2002 through 2010, the Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) solicited grant proposals and allocated LIEE funds statewide, including significant portions to the DHS, the Michigan Community Action Agency Association, and THAW (the statewide fuel fund) to operate their respective assistance programs. During that time, the PSC gave out $664 million in grants, with over $452 million of that targeted to low-income energy assistance. For more background on the LIEEF, see below.
In 2011, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled the PSC was acting outside its statutory powers both in administering the LIEEF and in approving utilities collecting ratepayer funds for it. The Michigan legislature responded to the court ruling by creating the "Vulnerable Household Warmth Fund" to help low-income households pay their energy bills. The act gave one-time appropriations to both the PSC and DHS for emergency energy assistance during the 2011-2012 heating season. The legislature then revisited the issue for the 2012-2013 season.
SB1135 served as the vehicle to replace the LIEEF with the Michigan Energy Assistance Program. A companion bill, SB 1134, would have created a funding mechanism of up to $60 million for the program through an annual surcharge on all electric customers' bills. While SB 1135 passed, the funding bill failed.
As a result, the legislature made two one-time state appropriations totaling approximately $60 million to provide energy assistance for fiscal year 2013. The money came from two sources, TANF and the state general fund. The $27.7 million from the general fund made its way to the PSC via an agreement with DHS that the funds be used to aide low-income households. The PSC granted the money to nine organizations, a majority of which had received funding from the LIEEF in the past. The $32.2 million in TANF funding will be spent through DHS' LIHEAP crisis assistance component, called State Emergency Relief. The legislature also removed the surcharge from the bills of electric customers for 2013.
Most of the LIEEF funding supported energy assistance; however, grants also were awarded for low-income energy efficiency. During that time period, over $113 million went to such projects. While the loss of the LIEEF negatively impacted the amount of money available, another source of funding supports energy efficiency for all customer classes.
In 2008, the legislature passed the "Clean, Renewable, and Efficient Energy Act." The act required all gas and electric utilities to implement programs to reduce overall energy usage by specified targets, in order to reduce the future costs of gas and electric service to customers. These "optimization plans," the law stated, had to include programs for "each customer class, including low income residential." The act established a surcharge on the bills of all electric and gas customers to cover energy-efficiency programs.
In establishing rules for the act, the PSC stated it was dedicated to ensuring that "every effort is made to enable low income customers to experience net reductions in their energy bills in the near term." As a way of reaching low-income households, the PSC awarded a grant to the Michigan Community Action Agency Association to administer Efficiency United, a partnership of 19 utilities' efforts. Between 2009 and 2011, all Michigan utilities contributed almost $56 million to low-income energy efficiency programs.
The "Customer Choice and Electricity Reliability Act of 2000" (Public Act 141) initially established the LIEEF, and it was continued by subsequent PSC orders. The purpose of the fund was to provide shutoff and other protection for low-income customers and to promote energy efficiency by all customers.
Michigan's 2000 restructuring law created the LIEEF as part of securitization — bonds that customers pay off on their bills that allow electric utilities to recover their stranded costs. Savings from securitization in Michigan were first used to lower rates by five percent; any other savings went into the LIEEF. Initially, Detroit Edison was the only electric utility whose securitization savings exceeded the amount necessary to fund the rate reduction required in the law and was the only company that contributed to the Fund.
In a February 2004 interim order granting rate relief to Detroit Edison, the PSC determined that there were no longer any excess securitization savings to fund the LIEEF, and that it should be included in Detroit Edison's cost of service. It established a surcharge on the utility's distribution rates to fund the LIEEF. The surcharge was set to generate $39.9 million annually.
A new funding source for the LIEEF came in December 2005 when the PSC, in a rate case settlement with Consumers Energy, directed the company to contribute $26.5 million annually to the LIEEF from its electric customers. Additionally, in November of 2006, the Commission authorized Consumers Energy to fund $17.4 million annually for the LIEEF from its natural gas customers, bringing the total annual LIEEF funding to nearly $84 million. Like Detroit Edison, Consumers Energy was to recover its costs through customer charges.
Finally, in June 2010, the Commission issued an order authorizing Michigan Consolidated Gas Company to provide $5 million annually to the LIEEF, bringing annual revenue for the fund to nearly $88.9 million.
Beginning in 2002, the PSC administered the grant money through a competitive process, awarding about $60 million in grants each year. Most years the DHS received a large portion of the funds and used them for energy crisis assistance. The funds were also awarded to such entities as the Michigan Community Action Agency Association, The Heat and Warmth Fund (a Detroit-based statewide fuel fund), and the Salvation Army for energy assistance and energy efficiency projects. Overall, the PSC allocated approximately 68 percent of the grants to low-income energy assistance programs, about 17 percent to low-income energy efficiency programs, and the remainder to the development of energy efficiency programs for all customers.
As a result, the majority of the funding between 2002 and 2010 — about $452 million — went to low-income bill payment assistance, with a significant portion granted to DHS, the state LIHEAP grantee, for distribution. Most of the remaining funds — about $113 million — supported low-income energy efficiency projects.
In July 2011, the Michigan Court of Appeals struck down the fund saying the PSC no longer had authority to maintain it and disburse money from it. The court said the legislature implicitly intended to halt authorization for the LIEEF, because it had omitted references to the fund while amending the "Customer Choice" act in 2008. The court was not persuaded by the argument that the legislature didn't intend to terminate the fund, as witnesses by its yearly allocations to the LIEEF after 2008.
For more information:
- Michigan Public Service Commission, Report on the Low-Income and Energy Efficiency Fund, October 2011
- 2011 ruling by Michigan Court of Appeals | <urn:uuid:e5fdbc91-ed3c-435a-a666-97888f133054> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.liheap.ncat.org/dereg/states/michigan.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960292 | 1,691 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Remote laboratories in teaching and learning – issues impinging on widespread adoption in science and engineering education
This paper discusses the major issues that impinge on the widespread adoption of remote controlled laboratories in science and engineering education. This discussion largely emerges from the work of the PEARL1 project and is illustrated with examples and evaluation data from the project. Firstly the rationale for wanting to offer students remote experiments is outlined. The paper deliberately avoids discussion of technical implementation issues of remote experiments but instead focuses on issues that impinge on the specification and design of such facilities. This includes pedagogic, usability and accessibility issues. It compares remote experiments to software simulations. It also considers remote experiments in the wider context for educational institutions and outlines issues that will affect their decisions as to whether to adopt this approach. In conclusion it argues that there are significant challenges to be met if remote laboratories are to achieve a widespread presence in education but expresses the hope that this delineation of the issues is a contribution towards meeting these challenges.
Remote laboratories; Pedagogic Issues; Usability; Accessibility
International Journal of Online Engineering (iJOE). ISSN: 1861-2121 | <urn:uuid:b168dbbb-5224-4720-b80c-0ce10aea1ada> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://online-journals.org/index.php/i-joe/article/view/298 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908027 | 231 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Moscow's police chief questioned on Wednesday whether civil liberties are even practical when authorities need to keep law and order and blamed non-Muscovites for up to 70 percent of all crimes committed in the city.
Vladimir Kolokoltsev's remarks supported Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's comments a day earlier on introducing possible restrictions on movement into big cities like Moscow or St. Petersburg, a move that seems to target dark-skinned people in the Caucasus.
The death this month of a young Slavic football fan in a fight with people from the Caucasus has led to a nationalist backlash that has spilled into racist violence on the streets. A protest outside the Kremlin saw thousands of Slavic hooligans chanting "Russia for Russians!" and beating nonwhites. Police have since arrested thousands to head off further disturbances.
On Wednesday, Kolokoltsev said he would create a police department to combat “ethnic crime,” and he asked whether Russians' freedom of movement around the country was partly to blame for the violence.
"All these problems are more difficult to solve compared with a time when a much tougher registration system was in place," he said. "We really need to have a look at how far our liberal democratic principles correspond to the demands and desires of the city population."
President Dmitry Medvedev, in contrast, has suggested that participants in unauthorized rallies get a mandatory prison sentence rather than a fine and a warning.
Kremlin critics say ethnic tensions are being fanned deliberately as a pretext to introduce repressive legislation ahead of the 2012 presidential election. They say the measures floated by authorities could cripple attempts to hold peaceful anti-government demonstrations. Vladislav Surkov, Medvedev's first deputy chief of staff, even laid the blame for the violence squarely with Kremlin critics, saying the racist hooligans followed their example of taking to the streets.
On a related issue, Kolokoltsev said the number of crimes registered by Moscow police this year fell by 12 percent, with non-Muscovites to blame for at least a half of them, Interfax reported.
Russian and foreign migrants were perpetrators in 49 percent of solved crimes, and the figure may stand at 70 percent if unsolved crimes are also included, Kolokoltsev said.
He said he would not provide statistics for non-Muscovite criminals based on ethnicity, warning about the danger of fueling nationalist hatred. But then he specified that a “huge percentage” of rapes were committed by Central Asian natives.
He said the number of rapes soared by 79 percent year on year between January and October.
Nevertheless, the number of crimes is down, with only thefts not changing from 2009, and the number of murders, robberies and violent attacks falling by 11 percent to 23 percent, he said. | <urn:uuid:faea2053-6a43-4904-b178-c7a07fda2faa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/police-chief-slams-liberties-migrants/427587.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959531 | 573 | 1.617188 | 2 |
A person who is sleepwalking walks or makes other movements that seem purposeful in a state of partial wakefulness from deep sleep. Contrary to popular belief, sleepwalkers don't act out their dreams. Sleepwalking doesn't take place during the dreaming stage of sleep.
Sleepwalking (also called somnambulism) is common in school-age children. One study estimates that as many as 15% of children ages 5 to 12 years walk in their sleep at least once. Repeated sleepwalking is more common...Read more
Full Question: What do you think is the cause of waking up each morning with a migraine on my right side? I sleep on either side with one... Read more » | <urn:uuid:8d70cf04-45b6-4007-b0ef-22759cc1417c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthcentral.com/sleep-disorders/h/waking-someone-sleepwalking-up.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972939 | 143 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The real Google Glasses APR 06 2012
Since Google released the video for their augmented reality glasses the other day, people have been busy making videos that show a more realistic (or cynical) portrayal of how the glasses might work. Here are a couple of the better ones. First a version of the glasses with Google ads:
And this one gives new meaning to the phrase "banner blindness":
While not specifically about Google Glasses, this concept video by Keiichi Matsuda is also worth a look:
A satire on entertainment shows and our insatiable thirst for distraction set in a sarcastic version of a future reality. In this world, everyone must cycle on exercise bikes, arranged in cells, in order to power their surroundings and generate currency for themselves called Merits. Everyone is dressed in a grey tracksuit and has a "doppel", a virtual avatar inspired by Miis and Xbox 360 Avatars that people can customise with clothes, for a fee of merits. Everyday activities are constantly interrupted by advertisements that cannot be skipped or ignored without financial penalty.
(via jake & stellar) | <urn:uuid:1535f5bf-db9f-471a-8c56-d9b320ab3170> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kottke.org/12/04/the-real-google-glasses | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944499 | 224 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Throughout the Montenegro coast, the beaches are littered with stone and pebbles, covering most of the shoreline and also scattered amongst the sands of the softer beaches. But Ulcinj is home to only soft sand—its Great Beach is disadvantaged however because of its waters that range mostly from shallows to high waves. The soft sand and milky white water is perfect for a relaxing summer holiday.
Unlike other parts of Montenegro, Ulcinj has an Oriental flavor—the long-standing Ottoman presence in the area as well as the large Muslim population in the town.
The urban history of this town is interesting on its own without the
other attractions. Archaeological sites in the town suggest it may very
well be the oldest town in the Adriatic. The city was founded by the
Ancient Greeks as the town of Colhis in the year 6 BCE. Colhis was
captured and destroyed by the Romans in 163 BCE and rebuilt as Olcinium.
In the 5th century, an earthquake destroyed the settlement and it was
rebuilt as what is now the Old Town of Ulcinj in the 6th century. The
town has a long and interesting history including Greek, Roman and
In 1878, the town was conquered by the Montenegrins, and Ulcinj became a valuable harbor for the previously landlocked state.
The Old Town rises above the new suburbs of Ulcinj on a cliff protected
by tall Venetian walls, walls that provide the best view of the cove and
the hill behind it, which provides the foundation for the rest of the
city. Just below the wall lies the Small Beach, which is crowded by
locals throughout the summer season. There are two entrances into the
Old Town through the walls, one ascending from the sea and the other
from the new city.
The Church of St. Marije, a medieval church built in the 13th century
was converted into a mosque in 1693, evidence by ruins of a minaret
found nearby. Today, this building is used as a local museum.
The Bishop’s Palace was built in the 13th century and today houses the
Ethnographic Museum. Museum management, housed next door, was once the
office of Venetian customs, and houses a scale model of the city.
Just outside the town walls lies the Orthodox Church of St. Nikola. The
church was built in 1890 on the site of a medieval monastery. Nearby in
the same neighborhood visitors will find the Pashas mosque, built in
1719 and featuring Turkish baths, the Namzgah mosque, built in 1828, and
an 18th century Clock tower.
Just on the other side of the Small Beach, the land descends into the
sea and forms a cascade of flat rocks, making small beaches. One of the
best known, Ženska voda, or Women’s Water, was named after the healing
mineral spring that is rumored to help infertile women.
The majority of the population in Ulcinj and the bilingual signs
throughout the town evidence the fact. But the Oriental and Muslim
flavors of this town end at the border with Albania—Ada Bojana, an
island reserved for nudists, isolates the city, leaving it peaceful and | <urn:uuid:60f5d119-1ee7-4008-8eab-9af8770bae37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.montenegro.com/city/ulcinj | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96131 | 695 | 2.546875 | 3 |
The omega-3 fatty acids in fish are good for your heart. Find out why the heart-healthy benefits of eating fish usually outweigh any risks.
If you’re worried about heart disease, eating one to two servings of fish a week could reduce your risk of dying of a heart attack by a third or more.
Doctors have long recognized that the unsaturated fats in fish, called omega-3 fatty acids, appear to reduce the risk of dying of heart disease. For many years, the American Heart Association has recommended that people eat fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids at least twice a week.
But some people are still concerned about mercury or other contaminants in fish outweighing its heart-health benefits. However, when it comes to a healthier heart, the benefits of eating fish usually outweigh the possible risks of exposure to contaminants. Find out how to balance these concerns with adding a healthy amount of fish to your diet.
What are omega-3 fatty acids, and why are they good for your heart?
Fish contain unsaturated fatty acids, which, when substituted for saturated fatty acids such as those in meat, may lower your cholesterol. But the main beneficial nutrient appears to be omega-3 fatty acids in fatty fish. Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of unsaturated fatty acid that’s thought to reduce inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation in the body can damage your blood vessels and lead to heart disease.
Omega-3 fatty acids may decrease triglycerides, lower blood pressure, reduce blood clotting, boost immunity and improve arthritis symptoms, and in children may improve learning ability. Eating one to two servings a week of fish, particularly fish that’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids, appears to reduce the risk of heart disease, particularly sudden cardiac death.
Does it matter what kind of fish you eat?
Fatty fish, such as salmon, herring and to a lesser extent tuna, contain the most omega-3 fatty acids and therefore the most benefit, but many types of seafood contain small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.
Most freshwater fish have less omega-3 fatty acids than do fatty saltwater fish. Some varieties of freshwater trout have relatively high levels of omega-3 fatty acids.
Are there any kinds of fish you should avoid?
Some fish, such as tilapia and catfish, don’t appear to be as heart healthy because they contain higher levels of unhealthy fatty acids. Keep in mind that any fish can be unhealthy depending on how it’s prepared. For example, broiling or baking fish is a healthier option than is deep-frying.
Some researchers are concerned about eating fish produced on farms as opposed to wild-caught fish. Researchers think antibiotics, pesticides and other chemicals used in raising farmed fish may have harmful effects to people who eat the fish.
How much fish should you eat?
For adults, at least two servings of omega-3-rich fish a week are recommended. A serving size is 3 ounces (85 grams), or about the size of a deck of cards. Women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant and children under age 12 should limit the amount of fish they eat because they’re most susceptible to the potential effects of toxins in fish.
Does mercury contamination outweigh the health benefits of eating fish?
The risk of getting too much mercury or other contaminants from fish is generally outweighed by the health benefits that omega-3 fatty acids have. The main types of toxins in fish are mercury, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The amount of toxins depends on the type of fish and where it’s caught.
Mercury occurs naturally in small amounts in the environment. But industrial pollution can produce mercury that accumulates in lakes, rivers and oceans, which turns up in the food fish eat. When fish eat this food, mercury builds up in the bodies of the fish.
Large fish that are higher in the food chain — such as shark, tilefish, swordfish and king mackerel — tend to have higher levels of mercury than do smaller fish. Larger fish eat the smaller fish, gaining higher concentrations of the toxin. The longer a fish lives, the larger it grows and the more mercury it can collect.
Pay attention to the type of fish you eat, how much you eat, and other information such as state advisories. Each state issues advisories regarding the safe amount of locally caught fish that can be consumed.
Should anyone avoid eating fish because of the concerns over mercury or other contaminants?
If you eat enough fish containing mercury, the toxin can accumulate in your body. It can take weeks, months or even a year for your body to remove these toxins. Mercury is particularly harmful to the development of the brain and nervous system of unborn children and young children. For most adults, however, it’s unlikely that mercury would cause any health concerns.
Still, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommend that these groups limit the amount of fish they eat:
- Women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant
- Breast-feeding mothers
- Children under age 12
Pregnant women, breast-feeding mothers and children can still get the heart-health benefits of fish by eating fish that’s typically low in mercury, such as salmon, and limiting the amount they eat to:
- No more than 12 ounces (340 grams) of fish in total a week
- No more than 6 ounces (170 grams) of canned tuna a week
- No amount of any fish that’s typically high in mercury (shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish)
Can you get the same heart-health benefits by eating other foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids, or by taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements?
The evidence is stronger for the benefits of eating fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids than for using supplements. However, people who have heart disease may benefit from supplements of omega-3 fatty acids and should discuss this with their doctors.
Other nonfish food options that do contain some omega-3 fatty acids include flaxseed, flaxseed oil, walnuts, canola oil, soybeans and soybean oil. However, similar to supplements, the evidence of heart-healthy benefits from eating these foods isn’t as strong as it is from eating fish.
Article taken from www.mayoclinic.com
All content on this website is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. Always consult your own GP if you’re in any way concerned about your health.
If you enjoyed this article, you might like these: | <urn:uuid:5a7ec611-61cb-4302-afc4-14f5ddc06ceb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mediterranean-quality-care.com/2011/10/06/omega-3-and-a-healthy-heart/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946701 | 1,403 | 3.328125 | 3 |
CotD: Though not shown anymore because of racial overtones, Harmon-Ising’s “The Chinese Nightingale” is a classic tale from China ~
The Chinese Nightingale (1935) — Happy Harmonies Theatrical Cartoon Series
A mini-musical, telling in song (through a trio of Chinese girls) the fairy tale of a beautiful nightingale, beloved of the Chinese emperor, who is gladdened by its song. The emperor is moved to play his own song.
One day, the Japanese send a music box with a mechanical bird; the nightingale feels rejected and flies away to raise a family. But soon, the clockwork breaks down, and the emperor dispatches his crow to go look; meanwhile, the emperor grows sicker with the passing months. The nightingale is persuaded to return, at which time the emperor sings “Happy Days are Here Again.” | <urn:uuid:b54aa867-fd35-418e-9d82-0a80dcb65ee9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.bcdb.com/chinese-nightingale-1935-happy-harmonies-theatrical-cartoon-series-935/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945882 | 195 | 2.625 | 3 |
A jury in the Eastern District of Lousiana found last week that MGA Entertainment‘s “Laser Battle” board game which uses a laser beam and a series of mirrors willfully infringed U.S. Pat. No. 7,264,242, owned by Innovention Toys LLC. The jury set the amount of damages to $1.6 million. According to an article from Law360, this litigation has been going for more than five years, with many twists and turns along the way. Innovention’s attorney fees during this five-year saga will likely take a large bite out of the damages, but Innovention has stated that they will be pursuing additional enhanced damages for MGA’s willful infringement, potentially tripling the total damages they collect from MGA.
Innovention Toys markets its own game called “Khet,” in which players “move Egyptian themed mirrored pieces after which they fire their REAL (eye-safe) laser with the goal of blasting their opponent’s pharaoh to win the game.” I think that any of us that have aligned optical elements of a laser system on an optical table can immediately envision how the game works.
The company’s FAQ page seeks to manage the expectations of its customers by explaining that while the game’s Class II lasers, lower in power than most laser pointers, give “the neat effect of firing a laser to bombard your opponent’s pieces, you will not get the wow effect of seeing it melt or blow holes through the playing field.”
The game is played by optics students and researchers in breakrooms around the world, and a Khet tournament was held at the 2010 Photonics West conference. It also has been used in classrooms to teach some basic principles of light and optics. | <urn:uuid:b6b86f53-1ec7-4b8c-8946-5ee2c314012f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://photonicspatents.com/2012/11/26/mga-entertainment-liable-for-willfully-infringing-innovention-toys-patent-for-a-lasermirror-board-game/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972189 | 374 | 1.601563 | 2 |
In Use Over 60 Years The Therapy was discovered inthe United States in the 1920's by George S. Hackett,M. D. of Canton, Ohio and by two osteopathic physicians, Gedney and Shumann, in Philadelphia. The therapy never became widespread because the solution used is not a patented substance so there was no financial incentive for a pharmaceutical company to promote its use. A physician must be specially trained in the use of sodium morrhuate and the techniques.The patient must also have good biochemistry status to heal areas which have poor blood supply. Many people think that if they have no symptoms that they can heal their tendons, joints and ligaments. This is not true as biochemical problems can exist for many years before a symptom or tumor results.
The doctors recommended a customized detoxification program using natural methods to remove waste products left by drugs, pollutants, food additives and poor diet. Appropriate supplementation, bowel and dietary changes are also often recommended. Tendons and ligaments do not gain strength with exercise as many think. This is because there are no muscle fibers in a tendon or ligament. The non-surgical joint, tendon and ligament therapy is indicated for joint, tendon and ligament problems which exercise and all other methods fail to help. Although Medical Society guidelines do not permit public display of fees, the cost for this therapy is usually only a fraction of what a surgery costs and it also compares favorably with the cost of chair lifts, wheelchair braces, drugs and other aids which only help a patient live with the problem. The goal of the therapy is to permanently eliminate the patient's need for these devices and to regain independence. | <urn:uuid:91ac29b8-3ab1-4b29-90ae-d726ea42cfc5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mcdonaghmed.com/prolotherapy/how-long-has-prolotherapy-b.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962286 | 336 | 2.65625 | 3 |
PROFILE of Queen Elizabeth II. Tells about the speech she delivers to her subjects on Christmas Day, in which she underlines Christian themes. Although her public manner has a frozen quality, she is a different person in private with her family & friends. As a child she and her sister had an exceptionally happy home. She was born Apr. 21, 1926. Tells about the happy meeting & marriage to Prince Philip in 1947. Her teachers were chiefly her governess, Marion Crawford & Sir Henry Marten, provost of Eton College, near Windsor Castle. The sisters were also very fond of Nurse Bobo MacDonald. Philip provides support to his wife & yet is his own man in what Lord Mountbatten, his uncle & mentor, calls "a slightly outside role". The Queen is an agent of change and a reminder of permanence. Tells about some of the changes she has presided over at Court. In the past 25 years she has gone through several ups and downs in public acclaim. Tells about opposition to the monarchy. Discusses the Queen's income. Most people seem, to feel that the Queen is "good value". The Queen doesn't give interviews - though when abroad she often talks to reporters at press receptions. Tells about the 1969 TV film "Royal Family". Outside her job as Queen her chief interest is horses: riding, racing & breeding. Describes the ceremonies accompanying her opening of a new session of Parliament.
The Elder Daughter~II
by Anthony Bailey April 18, 1977
Newyorker.com has a complete archive of The New Yorker, back to 1925. The complete archive is available to subscribers in the digital edition. If you subscribe to the magazine, register now to get access. If you don't, subscribe now.
You can also buy online access to a single issue. Individual back issues are available for sale through our customer-service department, at 1-800-825-2510.
All articles published before May, 2008, can be found in “The Complete New Yorker,” which is available for purchase on hard drive and DVD. Most New Yorker articles published since December, 2000, are available through Nexis.
To search for New Yorker cartoons and covers, visit the Cartoon Bank. | <urn:uuid:e214cfe3-c27b-46e9-8111-94d2c757d270> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1977/04/18/1977_04_18_051_TNY_CARDS_000322594 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96307 | 459 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Martin Luther King Jr. was not a wealthy man. But he left behind a valuable legacy of intellectual property—books, speeches, manuscripts, sermons, letters and unpublished papers. Copyright law protects that property, and therein lies the origin of a bitter dispute over the ownership of King’s writings.
On the eve of the national holiday celebrating King’s birthday, his legacy is under attack, not by racists, Ku Klux Klansmen and segregationists, but by scholars, civil rights leaders and the media. The target of their attack is not King’s message but his family—his widow, Coretta Scott King, and their children.
Late last year, the New York Post indicted the family as King’s “ignoble heirs;” the New York Times accused them of “misplaced values,” calling their behavior “distressing” and “heartbreaking;” the Houston Chronicle smeared them as “grasping, greedy, tacky … and, worst of all, unworthy” of their slain patriarch. The attacks climaxed with a CBS “60 Minutes” broadcast in which William Rutherford, a former executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, feared that King “must be spinning in his grave.” Reporter Lesley Stahl joined the chorus, mourning that “the family has even been accused of killing the dream.” Killing the dream? What monstrous thing has the King family done to provoke such vicious criticism? It turns out that they’re under siege because they’ve chosen to protect what is rightly theirs—the property they inherited from King after he was assassinated in 1968. Under the Copyright Act of 1976, a federal law authorized by Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution, the rights to King’s writings belong to his heirs.
Like most intellectual property owners, the Kings protect and license their rights. In 1997, they licensed Time Warner Inc. to release a large quantity of King’s writings—many hitherto unpublished—in books and electronic media. The Kings also allow nonprofit and educational institutions to enjoy certain noncommercial uses royalty-free, and they make King’s works available for a fee to the media and other for-profit entities. They’ve licensed his voice and image for at least two television commercials.
But in 1993, the King family sued USA Today for publishing, without permission, the entire text of King’s most famous work—the “I Have a Dream” speech he delivered Aug. 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial. They sued CBS in 1996 when the network sold videotapes containing nine minutes of that speech. And they raised questions when a group with no connection to the family proposed using King’s name to raise tens of millions of dollars to erect a huge monument on the Mall in Washington.
These actions have provoked outrage. Brent Staples wrote in the New York Times that the family is trying to “corner the market” on King’s words, placing “profits above the national good.” The Houston Chronicle insisted that King’s life (and presumably his copyrights) “belongs to all of us.” Sweeping aside more than two centuries of property law, the Chronicle argued that “the standard that ought to apply here has little to do with what is legally permissible … it has to do with what is right.”
The Kings are guilty, say the critics, of three things: by enforcing their property rights, they limit the dissemination of King’s writings and thereby censor history; by earning profits, they dishonor their patriarch, who never cared about intellectual-property rights; and by licensing television commercials, they display poor taste. Those charges, in order, are illogical, false and irrelevant.
First, the family has no interest in suppressing King’s works, much less in censoring history. On the contrary, as their multimedia deals with Time Warner and others demonstrate, they want his works to reach the widest possible market. Ideas, facts and information about King are not the subject of the copyrights; they’re available to all. Thus, the Kings can’t prohibit authors from writing books and articles about him; professors from teaching courses about him; editors from publishing photographs of him; or producers from making films about him. What they can control are his actual words, which they are doing, but not in any way that suggests they’re censoring history.
Second, it is false to claim that King did not care about copyright. Unlike Leo Tolstoy, whose scruples against private property led him to throw his works into the public domain, King copyrighted his books. When he was alive, he sued a record company for releasing unauthorized recordings of the “I Have a Dream” speech. That hardly suggests that he meant his family to be bereft of the financial benefits that his works might afford them after his death.
Finally, the question of whether licensing television commercials is tasteful is subjective and irrelevant. Even if it did evidence poor taste, the property still belongs to the family.
This dispute over King’s works is not without its larger implications. Were they to carry the day, the critics would threaten the very foundation on which the law of intellectual property—indeed all property—rests. They advocate a de facto appropriation of King’s writings in the name of the “public interest.” That logic leads inevitably to the socialization of copyright, with authors subject to the tyranny of the majority. Such a regime would effectively destroy any expectation of copyright protection in the work of a public figure. Perversely, the more important a work, the less copyright protection it would deserve.
That the critics are waging their campaign in the name of the First Amendment only compounds their error. In so doing, they trivialize the amendment, transforming it into a burglar’s tool wielded by the media. Their theory amounts to opportunism in the name of the “public interest,” “newsworthiness” or the “right to know.” All property derives its value from the power to exclude others. The right to free speech does not include the right to take the speech of others for free. Reasonable people may disagree about the scope of copyright protection. But no one can deny that, under current law, King’s property is protected.
Ignoring property rights, a cornerstone of the liberty King fought to secure, is an inauspicious way to celebrate his birthday. His dreams may belong to the world, but his intellectual property belongs to his family. | <urn:uuid:9032648b-301f-4380-9795-ffce89f1d207> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/copyright-wars-kings-strike-back | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956938 | 1,383 | 2.4375 | 2 |
This article is an adaptation of Marios Kyriaziz explanation on Human biological Immortality.
The article describes how Human Biological Immortality will turn out to be a direct result of natural evolution. This natural process can be accelerated in various ways like via the concept of ELPIs (Extreme Lifespan Through Perpetual-Equalising Interventions).
Marios Kyriazis MD, Biomedical Gerontologist says that the change from evolution to natural selection after the Darwinian notion is a fundamental transition in biology. The Kuhnian paradigm shift might soon be seen. (Kuhnian paradigm shift = change in assumption and belief associated to human evolution).
Aging as a cause of death is a phenomenon that scientific doctrines are unable to explain. However, progress and new paradigm provide insight why it is important for human to live for centuries for human intellect to evolve. Death caused by aging, is considered as a premature reason for decease and should be altered if not even eradicated.
Our world operates through a very complex mechanism. For instance, organisms do constantly evolve to self-organise themselves into a higher level of dynamism. The whole universe ostensibly evolves in a similar way. Organisms do hierarchically progress to achieve exceedingly higher levels of complexity. Currently, the self-organisation of human neural tissues is considered as the most complex known evolution; human intelligence.
Since 14 to 20 billion years ago the universe began and the fundamental law of nature became prevalent. The gradual progress in the self-organization constantly occurred and organic life came to the existence some 4 billion years ago.
Since, 200 million years ago life became even more complex as the Darwinian Theory of evolution came to application. Living organisms began to evolve based on natural selection. Organisms slowly become more complex to reach higher levels of superiority. This progress constantly increased in pace. Besides, the modern human, (Homo sapiens sapiens), came to existence some 200 thousand years ago. Since then humans have steadily kept evolving and now we (humans) are even able to manipulate the evolution of the human species itself through technology.
The notion of Singularity is increasingly important when talking about exponential progress.. It applies to ‘Technological and development Singularities’. The notion behind singularity is that progress increase at an exponential rate.
“…the idea that the most complex of the universe’s extant systems (galaxies, stars, habitable planets, living systems, and now technological systems) use progressively less space, time, energy and matter (“STEM”) to create the next level of complexity in their evolutionary development”.
Video on: The Singularity of Ray Kurzweil
In other words, singularity explains that the progress occurring by natural selection of evolution will gradually become less relevant as technology and development of human intellects are taking the forerun.
Humans will change through the ‘Developmental Singularity processes. This implies that complexity will be reaped at a faster speed. It might not take long before digital-assisted biological development transcends humans into ‘transhumans’. This transition will take decades. However, it will no longer take thousands or millions of years to see ‘radical progress’.
The interesting thing is that, the progress in human intelligence has to be realised quickly to stay-in line with the order of natural laws of self-development. The whole theory on progress in human intelligence is based on the concept of human longevity. Technology is likely to make humans superior beings akin to some type of super humans with self-conscious and super-intelligent systems (like the internet).
This theory is contrary to that of the Darwinian evolution theory, which states that living creatures have to die fast to assure natural replacement. This notion is linked to the Disposable Soma Theory,
The evolution that occurs through natural selection is simply a function that produces things for a purpose and then naturally discards them. This assures that things constantly progress into more complexity organisms but with an end due to aging.
Death through aging can be ended if evolution via natural selection is stopped. It should also be noted that the natural evolution is a nasty process which perpetually seeks to increase complexity. This process will progress, even if it means the demise of the human species.
The possibility to achieve higher complexity with the use of technology-assisted human intelligence can but a stop to the rude natural end of life. Sustaining the life of neural tissues might be the secret to solve aging and to stop death.
Source: ELP Theory | <urn:uuid:21dc45ee-386f-46f4-a20b-458bbca7ff87> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.immortalhumans.com/human-biological-immortality-can-be-achieved-with-perpetual-equalising-interventions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922735 | 933 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Written by Robert Spencer
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Egypt’s new Muslim Brotherhood president, Mohamed Morsi, demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to protest the United States’ uncritical support for the new regime, which has promised to impose Sharia upon Egypt. In the days when the U.S. was the world’s foremost defender of freedom, such a demonstration would have been unthinkable: protestors held signs reading “Message to Hillary: Egypt will never be Pakistan”; “To Hillary: Hamas will never rule Egypt” and “If you like the Ikhwan [Brotherhood], take them with you!”
But instead of standing outside with those who were demonstrating for freedom against a radically repressive ideology, the Secretary of State was inside, having a friendly meeting with that repressive ideology’s foremost Egyptian exponent. It was a telling sign of how quickly America’s international stance has changed during the regime of Barack Obama. “Things change (at) kind of warp speed,” Clinton enthused to Morsi during their meeting. Indeed.
If Clinton had any comment on the demonstration, it was not recorded. During her meeting with Morsi she mouthed platitudes about the new Muslim Brotherhood government’s looming showdown with the Egyptian military, telling the President condescendingly that reaching a mutually acceptable agreement “requires dialogue and compromise, real politics.” She also assured him that the U.S. would do everything within its power to “support the democratically elected government and to help make it a success in delivering results for the people of Egypt.”
It wasn’t immediately clear whether or not by “delivering results for the people of Egypt,” Clinton was referring to freeing the Blind Sheikh, Omar Abdel Rahman, mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a man who had plotted to murder Americans in the hundreds of thousands. Soon after his election, Morsi announced his determination to work for the Blind Sheikh’s freedom; Clinton was almost certainly far too polite and determined to hew to the rules of realpolitik to rebuke Morsi for this unmistakable insult to the United States. To have done so would have been a completely unexpected reversal of the line the U.S. has taken since the beginning of the “Arab Spring” uprisings that paved the way for the Brotherhood to come to power in Egypt.
Nor is Clinton likely to have upbraided Morsi for the implied contravention of the principles of democracy in his recent restatement before an enthusiastic crowd of the founding principles of the Muslim Brotherhood: “The Koran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader, jihad is our path and death in the name of Allah is our goal.” But of course when Morsi finished nodding to Clinton’s platitudes, he no doubt went back to working on how to begin not making Egypt more democratic, but imposing Sharia upon it. After all, recently a Salafi leader, Yasser Borhamy, declared that the Muslim Brotherhood was planning to implement Sharia as the main source for Egyptian law. Noting opposition to Sharia in Egypt, Borhamy said: “What is disturbing in the Islamic Sharia law, is Sharia bothering anyone? We do not say ‘our views on Sharia,’ but we say that we want the Sharia law revealed by God. Would anyone be afraid of the Sharia that establishes justice, [public] interest and wisdom? This is very strange. How is it said that people are afraid of Sharia?”
By “Sharia law revealed by God,” Borhamy meant the Sharia that stones adulterers, amputates thieves’ hands, mandates death for apostates from Islam, and institutionalizes subjugation of women and non-Muslims.
Hardly democratic principles, but Clinton didn’t seem concerned during her meeting with Morsi. And even the likelihood that Egypt, long a recipient of American largesse, will become an enemy of America as it throws off the Camp David Accords and goes to war with Israel is unlikely to shake the entrenched core assumptions in Washington that got us into this fix. The Obama Administration rejects, as a matter of repeatedly stated policy, the idea that Islam has anything to do with terrorism, or warfare against unbelievers, or the legal subjugation of non-Muslims. An Obama official who opined that a Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt would likely be an enemy of the United States because of Islam’s core doctrines regarding the evil of the society of unbelievers would be reprimanded or fired outright for “Islamophobia.”
And so it fell to the handful of protestors outside the U.S. Embassy, rather than to Hillary Clinton, to state the obvious truths: that Egypt under the Muslim Brotherhood regime of Mohamed Morsi will begin to resemble the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, where Christians live in fear of being accused of “blasphemy” and either tortured and killed by a raging Muslim mob or arrested and imprisoned by a thoroughly Islamized law enforcement apparatus; or Hamas-ruled Gaza, which encourages a culture of rage and hatred toward Israel and glorifies the murderers of Israeli civilians as heroes. Even Egyptian journalists have noted with alarm the looming Islamization of the nation’s media, which would mean the end of the free press.
Israel, meanwhile, is taking necessary steps to defend itself from a country that has maintained an imperfect but nonetheless real peace with it for thirty years. Egypt under the Muslim Brotherhood is virtually certain to be a darker, bloodier, less hospitable place for women, non-Muslims, and anyone who dares to stand for a vision of society other than that dictated by Islamic law.
But the only ones who were concerned about all that on Sunday were the demonstrators outside the Embassy. Hillary Clinton certainly wasn’t.
Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and author of the New York Times bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad. His latest book, Did Muhammad Exist?, is now available.
Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: Click here. | <urn:uuid:08e96505-8507-4c56-8d92-bd7cf0337bd5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rightsidenews.com/2012071620257/life-and-science/culture-wars/hillary-clinton-blesses-the-brotherhood.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957092 | 1,266 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Established in 1882 by a small group of Benedictine monks, the Mount Angel Abbey is sited on a bluff overlooking vast tree lines and meadows of the Willamette Valley, just 40 miles south of Portland, OR. The 1920s church and monastery was built on the site of two previous monastery buildings that had each, in turn, been destroyed by fire. The Abbey has since added several buildings, including a library designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, forming a quadrangle at the heart of the hilltop community.
In 2006, the Abbey worked with Soderstrom Architects of Portland, OR, to develop a master plan that involved relocating parking off the hilltop and designating sites for a new bell tower, seminary building and other residential structures. The firm was subsequently awarded the contract to design a 110-ft.-tall bell tower housing a peal of eight cast-bronze bells.
The Abbey has had several bell tower proposals but the project was never completed due to the lack of funds. "When we went into their archives there were pastel sketches of the front of the church with what might have been a tower from the 1920s," says project designer and architect Andrew Burke. "There were also schemes from the 1950s and from ten years ago. The bell tower was really something the Abbey had imagined for the entire time. We wanted the new building to look like it had always been there, as if it were part of the original design of the monastery church."
"The building sits behind the entrance portico of the church because we felt that was a humbler position for the bell tower and it became apparent that we could solve some other problems," says principal in charge Henry Fitzgibbon, AIA. "The church didn't have public restrooms or accessibility to the triforium level and the seminary chapel in the basement. The bell tower's placement solved these ADA issues and provided new restroom facilities – it's sort of an all-in-one package."
Although the collection of existing monastery buildings doesn't adhere to any specific style, Romanesque details on the main church, such as the corbelled brick cornice and arched openings were repeated on the bell tower. New elements were also introduced to the design. The four elevations feature brick flutes connecting to a series of three arches directly below a Tuscan entablature constructed of GFRC (glass-fiber-reinforced concrete), which was treated with a glaze developed by Portland, OR-based Architectural Reproductions, to match the existing terra cotta. Double arches below the salvaged-clay tile roof are juxtaposed against smaller arches to maintain a balanced appearance between the taller height of the tower and the adjacent church.
Repeating the color scheme of the brick exterior, which matches the church and monastery building, required sourcing brick from three different manufacturers. "Normally, brick comes out to the site premixed and blended so you don't get big blotches of color but that's when it's coming from one manufacturer," says Burke. "We had a mason willing to blend the bricks onsite because there were six different colors of brick. It's a very subtle mix of colors and we were able to get a good brick match."
A concrete tilt-up structural system was selected for its ability to support the acoustics and weight of the eight bells. The 40-ft.-long concrete panels were cast onsite, hoisted into place and positioned in a staggered, self-supporting configuration. "The reason we went with a concrete tilt-up building was because we could not get the rigidity we needed out of a structural steel frame," says Fitzgibbon. "If the bells move even slightly the tone changes and the largest bell weighs over 8,000 lbs. so it would have moved too much with a steel structure."
In the base of the tower, an elevator provides access to the seminary chapel in the basement, the narthex and the triforium and monastery. "That was important because there was only one elevator and it's beyond the public area," says Burke. "It created a problem for visitors who wanted to see monks who were in the monastery infirmary – there was no way to get them there. The triforium connects to their infirmary so the elevator in the bell tower provided a new point of access."
Respecting the monastery's tradition of emphasizing plainness, the restroom and elevator lobby areas were kept basic. The tower shaft interior contains utilitarian ladders for maintenance of the bells. The service entry features a custom-designed teak door and light fixture, the latter of which was fabricated by Exton, PA-based Ball & Ball. "The program was fortunately generous enough to allow for certain custom-designed elements – the door and lantern – mainly because the bell tower doesn't have that many features so we wanted the few things that we have to be as memorable and appropriate as we can manage," says Burke.
The cast-bronze bells were fabricated by Aarle-Rixtel, Holland-based Petit & Fritsen Bell Foundry and were installed by Cincinnati, OH-based Verdin Company. Bricks were laid by Woodburn, OR-based Clem Fleck Masonry and were supplied by Bellevue, WA-based Mutual Materials; West Jordan, UT-based Interstate Brick; and Canton, OH-based Belden Brick. Other suppliers include Richmond, CA-based Maguire Iron Corp. (decorative iron hardware); and Farmington, CT-based Otis Elevator. The general contractor for the project was Portland, OR-based Robert Grey Partners.
After more than eight decades, Mount Angel Abbey's long-standing wish of constructing a bell tower has been realized and the Tower of the Visitation is now the central icon of the establishment. "The Abbey wanted the bell tower but they were not insistent that it be a specific design character," says Fitzgibbon. "We believed that it should blend with the church – feel as if it was part of the structure and I think we've been very successful.
—by Annabel Hsin
Original article: www.traditional-building.com
2007 © Soderstrom Architects, Ltd. All rights reserved
1200 NW Naito Parkway, Suite 410 Portland, Oregon 97209
503.228.5617| Site Map | <urn:uuid:027172b8-bc56-4fb6-b31c-b6c2b3372bfa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sdra.com/news/2011/wish-fulfilled.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981485 | 1,323 | 2.71875 | 3 |
If you've ever accidentally emptied your Recycle Bin instead of hitting "restore", you may have discovered that when you delete a file, you don’t actually delete it. You might also know that organizations where security is top priority overwrite deleted files 26 times with random data to ensure that no technology can read them.
There's a reason behind all this paranoia - even if you have deleted and overwritten a file, or deleted files and then formatted your hard disk, information could still be recovered. If you need to ensure that confidential client or personal information isn't accessible on a hard disk, here is how you can securely wipe your hard drive to prevent deleted data restoration.
Before you wipe your disk…
There is NO possibility of recovering data when you wipe the free space on your hard disk with one of the methods we talk about in this article. But it's also important to avoid destroying your files. So, go through this checklist to prevent getting the most horrible sinking feeling after wiping your hard drive:
- Make a backup of all the information on the disk if you need to (for example, if you are upgrading your computer and selling or donating the old one)
- Make sure you have the driver files for all your computer hardware
- Make sure you have all the serial numbers, passwords etc needed to re-register your software.
Third party programs for wiping your hard drive
The easiest way to completely wipe the free space on your hard disk completely is to use a third party program like Auslogics BoostSpeed's inbuilt Disk Wiper. It offers a simple, straightforward interface and a help file if necessary. The Auslogics BoostSpeed process for wiping free space left by previously deleted files takes just a few clicks.
If your hard drive is an ATA drive built after 2001, it most likely has an inbuilt utility for completely wiping your hard disk - Secure Erase. It overwrites every single cluster on the hard drive, erasing directories, bad clusters, clusters that have been previously partially overwritten... everything. However, you will have to know how to do things like "make sure the jumpers on the hard drives are correctly configured", "set the correct boot priority setting in the system BIOS", and "avoid setting the jumpers to CS (cable select)" - this is part of the readme file that instructs you how to use the utility.
Third party software for wiping your hard drive is by far the most user-friendly, failsafe option - and in many cases, like with Auslogics BoostSpeed, you have plenty of additional functionality also. | <urn:uuid:34b6a72f-5d7b-438b-b656-0137a42c57b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.auslogics.com/en/articles/wipe-hard-drive/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94502 | 530 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Orcs in Hobbiton
It is Autumn when they come to Bree and the inn is filled with half-Men, who fawn on them. One tries to be cavalier: "Ho lads, but you took your own time getting here. We've held this fat land two years now and thought to see you before." Norgush, who is not friendly this way, smiles and motions the fellow closer. Breaks his neck with an easy twist. The room is silent as the corpse hits the floor. In another room a woman is weeping.
"We have heard of your Sharkey in the Southeast," says Norgush. "We come to rendezvous."
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author. | <urn:uuid:5fd9040e-c7c2-4011-ac3b-f6547d693aaf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://henneth-annun.net/challenge/chapter_view.cfm?ngid=431&stid=7485&spordinal=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957065 | 276 | 1.554688 | 2 |
The Daily Weather Map has been published continuously
for well over a century. It began as the Washington Daily Weather
Map in the late 1800s at a time when weather maps were published at
most National Weather Service offices (then known as Weather Bureau offices).
See an example from 1899. Today
it is the sole survivor. At one time these maps were a primary information
source to the public. They were published and mailed locally and
received by customers the same day while the meteorological information
was fresh enough to be used to make decisions. By the mid 1900s, mail service
has changed and the Daily Weather Map
was generally received
by customers the next day. The meteorological information was stale
by then and its primary function became that of an archival storage.
Recognizing this, the NWS modified the publication and it became weekly
in the early 1960s and was reduced in size. While there was no longer
any attempt to deliver timely data, the new format was very convenient
for archiving. The weekly version was much smaller in format and
easy to bind into books or store in a loose-leaf binder. The maps could
easily be reviewed by interested individuals and a ready made set of basic
weather charts was widely available for illustrations in publications.
The widespread use of the Internet for the dissemination
of weather information led to changes in the distribution of the Daily
Weather Map. Beginning with the first issue published in 2003, the
Daily Weather Map became available on the Internet for viewing or downloading.
The publication is updated daily during the late morning with
charts from the previous day and is available at our online
Daily Weather Map page. The weekly
printed copy is also available for
download in both color and black and white formats. | <urn:uuid:023712b2-fafd-45a1-8d5a-5d7a05570c98> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/dwm/infodaily.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968152 | 367 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Breakfast in bed is lovely, really, but it’s over in mere minutes. This Mother’s Day, ask for gifts (or give them to yourself) that will make a lasting impact on your well-being and provide some of what all moms need more of: sleep, energy, support, relaxation, and fun. Each of the following suggestions can go a long way toward making motherhood less taxing and Mother’s Day more meaningful.
Clear your head (and protect your DNA)
You already know meditation can reduce stress by helping the mind to short-circuit habitual, negative stress responses. But research shows meditation has health benefits that extend all the way down to your very DNA. A 2010 study by the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain found regular meditators had greater activity of telomerase, an enzyme that protects DNA sequences called telomeres, than people who attended the same retreat center but didn't meditate. Earlier research by Nobel Prize–winning biologist Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, has linked human lifespan to telomere length, which is partly determined by your response to stress. All it takes to start meditating is five minutes, sitting quietly and listening to your breath. A great primer is Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation (Workman, 2010) by Sharon Salzberg, which includes instructions for a 28-day program and an audio CD with meditation instructions.
You likely won’t be surprised to hear that a 2010 survey found that working moms get less sleep than working dads. Although, sadly, you can’t bottle sleep and sip it when you need an extra dose—and caffeine doesn't count, since it doesn't provide true rest and can even keep you from getting the sleep you so desperately need—you can buy a bottle of sleep-encouraging aromatherapy. Aroma-To-Go’s Sweet Dreams blend combines lavender and chamomile essential oils in an easy-to-use roll-on. Keep one at your bedside and dab some on your temples when you’re ready to call it a night; then breathe deep and drift off.
Yes, you could save the money you’d spend on a sitter and stay home watching movies on demand. But you won't be doing your relationship any favors. Research shows couples who pursue novel activities—going to a restaurant they’ve never tried, exploring a new neighborhood—have stronger romantic feelings for each other than those who do the same things over and over. More recently, researchers found people who are working toward a goal report a higher level of relationship satisfaction that is also apparent to outside observers. For the biggest boost in romantic attachment, combine both tactics, suggest prominent relationship researchers Arthur Aron, PhD, Frank Fincham, PhD, and Greg Strong, PhD. Perfect example: Plan a backpacking or cycling trip and get in shape on weekend hikes or bike rides together in preparation. The regular excursions will provide a shared activity, while the trip will give you a goal to work toward and a novel experience to share.
Tea for you
It’s associated with better bone health, higher metabolism, and reduced risk of certain cancers. And in a major, newly published, 13-year Dutch study, the more tea people drank, the less likely they were to develop cardiovascular disease. Is there anything tea can’t do? Well, it can’t make itself. Enter an electric tea kettle: Simply fill with filtered water, flick a switch, and you've got hot water in less than a minute. Trust us, you will drink more tea. Some favorites: Zhi Sweet Desert Delight, a sweet-spicy caffeine-free brew of rooibos (red tea), cinnamon, anise, and cacao nibs; Organic India Tulsi Green Tea, an antioxidant-rich metabolism booster that also relieves stress (thanks to herbal tulsi); and The Republic of Tea Mango Ceylon Black Tea Bags, an energizing blend of black tea and mango blossoms.
Massage is no mere indulgence. It reduces muscle-tension-related aches and pains; it boosts circulation; and, according to a 2010 study performed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, it increases immune-cell circulation and reduces stress-hormone levels in the bloodstream. All that, plus it feels fantastic. Family members can contribute to buying you a gift certificate at a local day spa; if the total ends up being more than the cost of one massage, you’ll have a great incentive to book another appointment in a month or two.
Make time for friends
Motherhood can be isolating—the sheer amount of time and energy devoted to child rearing (not to mention working, working out, sleeping, and focusing on your major love relationship) can mean there’s little left over for friendship. But numerous studies suggest that friends simply make life better: In an Australian study, older adults with a tight circle of friends had a 22 percent lower relative risk for mortality. Harvard researchers have found that having a strong social network promotes brain function as people age. And one University of Virginia study found that even challenging obstacles (in this case, climbing a steep hill while wearing a weighted backpack) seem less daunting when shared with a friend. One of the best gifts you could give yourself is a regular date with a friend or group of friends; a steady tennis game, cup of coffee, or girls’ night out will sustain you through good times and bad, and may even help you live longer. Few items on your to-do list can claim the same importance.
Remember other mothers
Mother’s Day is all about you—mostly. It’s also an occasion to honor all the mothers in your family, including those who have come before you. Hope Edelman, author of Motherless Daughters (Da Capo, 2006), suggests keeping alive the memory of mothers who are no longer here by dedicating part of your Mother’s Day to reminiscing. “Tell a story to your kids about your mom or grandmother, or look at pictures together, or bake her banana bread recipe as a family activity,” she suggests. You’ll do more than honor your loved ones: Research has found that reminiscing with others—particularly about positive experiences—also produces a swell of positive emotions, including joy, amusement, and contentment.
How to choose the right adaptogenic herb
You take great care of your kids and your husband, but if your own health falls last on your list, consider boosting your reserves with an adaptogen, a family of herbs that benefit a variety of health challenges. “Adaptogens improve our resistance to stressors of all types, emotional and physical. They are a true mind-body therapy that can normalize a wide range of physiological functions,” says Tori Hudson, ND, a naturopathic physician in Portland, Oregon, and author of Women’s Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine (McGraw-Hill, 2008). Here’s a guide to which adaptogen might best support your health.
For “mommy brain:" rhodiola. “This herb has a long history of use in Eastern European countries and a fair amount of research showing that it improves memory, cognitive performance, and physical endurance,” says Hudson. Dose: 100–200 mg daily
To balance hormones: maca. If you suffer from irregular cycles, PMS, or symptoms from perimenopause or menopause, try this root, which has been a Peruvian-diet staple for generations. “Maca has something to offer women of all ages, and can be taken long-term,” says Hudson. Dose: Two 500-mg capsules daily of a supplement containing a standardized extract of Lepidium peruvianum.
To bolster your defenses: astragalus.If you catch every virus that crosses your path, try this herb, which boosts your immune system. Dose: 300–500 mg daily at the first sign of sickness until the illness has subsided
You want your children to read quality books—why settle for less for yourself? Here are a handful of exceptional books that explore the many moods of motherhood.
The Color of Water (Riverhead, 1997) was written by James McBride about his mother, Ruth McBride, an immigrant Polish Jew who leaves her family in Virginia, moves to Harlem, marries a black man, and ultimately raises 12 children despite racism and poverty.
Lit (Harper Perennial, 2009), is a riveting account of Mary Karr's spiritual awakening, which requires her to admit her alcoholism, make amends with her own mother, and learn how to be a single mother to her son.
My Hollywood (Knopf, 2010), Mona Simpson’s most recent novel, takes turns telling the story of Claire, a new mom and composer, and Lola, the Filipino nanny Claire hires to take care of her daughter while she tries to keep her career alive.
Deep Down True (Penguin, 2011) by Juliette Fay takes a sympathetic, realistic, and touching look at raising kids, dating, and friendship after divorce.
You may not want to do anything resembling a chore on Mother’s Day, but Tsh Oxenreider, founder of simplemom.net and author of Organized Simplicity (Betterway Home, 2010), advocates taking a few minutes to sketch out a two-week meal plan. “When you plan a menu, the stress of staring at the fridge at 5 p.m., wondering what to cook, is gone. You simply refer to your plan and start cooking.” It also requires you to shop for food only twice a month, and then it can lower your grocery bill since you can plan double- (or even triple-) duty for every ingredient you buy. Serve roast chicken one night, chicken salad another, and chicken noodle soup with homemade stock yet another. Best of all, she says, “Once you start the habit of menu planning, it takes only a few minutes and you’re done.” Isn’t Mother’s Day an auspicious day to start a habit that will make all other days easier (and more delicious)?
And, of course, chocolate
Trite as it may be, no self-respecting list of appropriate Mother’s Day gifts can omit chocolate. But we'd never suggest run-of-the-mill confections. Motherhood is often surprising, and sometimes bittersweet—your chocolate should be too. Theo’s organic, fair-trade Bread & Chocolate bar, with buttery artisan bread crumbs and sea salt, is complex enough torepresent the full spectrum of modern maternity.
About the author: Kate Hanley is the founder of msmindbody.com, the mother of two kids, and a major proponent of giving moms massage gift certificates for Mother's Day. (Hint, hint, honey.) | <urn:uuid:6bc9a636-ce59-41fd-9020-10ccab54e069> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://deliciousliving.com/print/holistic-ways-pamper-mom?page=4 | 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 | 0.931671 | 2,290 | 1.578125 | 2 |
A commodity is a raw, primary product which has not been manufactured or refined. It is a product that is traded internationally, to be used in, or converted to, mass produced products.
Commodities have a fixed price, that price being the cost of finding, mining or harvesting, and as a result, they have no differential value. If their price rises or falls, then it does so universally. The term ‘commodity’ came into English use in the 15th century, and derives from the French ‘commodité’, which means to benefit or profit. This in turn derives from the Latin word ‘commoditatem’, meaning fitness or adaptation. Commodities in the modern sense derive from the trading of agricultural products, whether that be animals, such as goats or pigs; or grain, such as wheat or corn. Commodities such as these were often regarded as a type of primitive currency, and were used to trade with other commodities, or purchase goods that were not commodities. Complex mazes of trade agreements between many countries throughout the world were common, with metals such as gold and silver being traded for wool, spices, and materials.
Commodities today include a range of basic energy sources, foodstuffs and precious metals, and are traded on the world commodity market under strict regulations. A number of commodity exchanges exist around the world, and on each commodity exchange each commodity has its own trading symbol, and its price is based on a specific measurement, such as a tonne or a ounce. Commodities specific to an exchange are traded using one universal currency, irrelevant of where the commodity trader is buying from or selling to. This is to avoid a confusing conflict between what is being traded, and the exchange rates of different currencies. The most commonly used currency is the US Dollar ($). This is regarded as the primary universal currency and can be easily exchanged in any country.
Commodities are also traded on a contractual basis, through what is called a commodity futures exchange. This is where a company or organisation agrees a contract to buy a commodity, which will be delivered to them at an agreed time in the future. Each commodity has an agreed set of months in which futures contracts can be delivered. Often these futures contracts can be bought and sold many times before the commodities they specify are delivered: this is the main way that participants in commodity trading make money, and also lose it.
A range of commodities are traded today, which may be split into a number of main categories. Sometimes commodities are classified broadly as hard commodities and soft commodities: hard commodities are products that are mined, such as oil or gold, while soft commodities are products that are grown, such as wheat and coffee.
However with the increasing number of commodities now being traded, it is perhaps more helpful to classify commodities more precisely, according to method of production or physical qualities. One category is agricultural commodities, which can include grains, pulses, livestock and other cultivated materials. Examples include corn, rubber, cocoa, sugar, soybeans and feeder cattle. Energy commodities, mostly based around gas and petrochemicals, include Brent Crude oil, heating oil, natural gas and the increasingly important ethanol. Metal commodities can encompass both precious metals and industrial metals: examples are copper, aluminium, silver, and zinc. The emerging category of environmental commodities includes products such as carbon emissions and renewable energy certificates. Indeed, there are many new commodities starting to be traded as technolgy advances, with nanomaterials and polyetylene being two recent examples.
Aside from these, other elements, metals and minerals may have an agreed value, and would therefore be traded as a commodity, however there is no universal market for them and therefore are not included as commodities, even though they may be traded globally. As global demand changes, though, some of these may gain the staus of commodities in the near future. | <urn:uuid:d9d65f1c-2747-41b1-bb88-41a79a6f1b48> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://howtotradecommodities.co.uk/commodities.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972844 | 798 | 3.625 | 4 |
Get Customized Quote from Glacial Energy
Glacial Energy, a District of Columbia Commercial Electric Generation and Transmission Supplier and Natural Gas Supplier, was formed in 2005 and is one of the nation’s fastest growing retail energy suppliers consistently providing competitive electricity rates and natural gas rates to commercial, industrial, and institutional customers in many of the deregulated states.
Glacial Energy is a District of Columbia commercial energy supplier, providing commercial electricity and commercial natural gas solutions to business and industrial customers of the following District of Columbia electric and District of Columbia natural gas utilities.
- Potomac Electric Power (PEPCO)
- Washington Gas & Light
In a deregulated state, the customer has the power to choose its retail electricity supplier or natural gas supplier. Deregulation creates lower commercial electricity prices and commercial natural gas prices without compromising great customer service.
Electricity is provided to you through a three-step process: generation, transmission, and distribution. New England's market gives you the ability to choose your electricity supplier. Electricity is still delivered over the same poles and wires and is not subject to choice.
- You now have the opportunity to shop for a new supplier based on your needs and preferences.
- You can compare prices and enjoy greater savings and service.
- You can also take advantage of unique supplier features.
Deregulation divides the commercial natural gas industry into 3 separate functions:
- Production of Natural Gas
- Natural Gas Supplier (Glacial Energy, an alternative gas supplier)
- Delivery of Natural Gas (Local Utility)
This allows you to choose your Natural Gas Supplier in Texas switch to a natural gas company that offers commercial customers lower natural gas rates and great customer service. | <urn:uuid:8c2a5c69-2836-4ae8-9f1f-fcadbba039ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.glacialenergy.com/district-of-columbia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904127 | 352 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Date of this Version
Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus is an important sport fish, particularly in the Great Plains. In Nebraska, a majority of anglers target channel catfish, and fishing activities are a vital part of the state’s economy. Lentic water bodies provide the primary fishing opportunity for catfish anglers in Nebraska. Despite the popularity and economic importance of channel catfish, little is known of its population dynamics or habitat requirements, and existing studies often profile river populations. Current standards for sampling channel catfish in lentic systems often yield inadequate catch to assess populations. The objective of this study was to utilize a recently developed sampling method, tandem-set hoop nets, to collect channel catfish in sufficient quantities to describe the effects of stocking and habitat variability on populations in lentic ecosystems. Three lentic ecosystems common to the Great Plains were considered: sand pits, flood-control reservoirs, and irrigation/power-generation reservoirs. The influence of stocking on abundance and condition of channel catfish varied with ecosystem type. In sand pits, stocking negatively influenced fish condition, and only frequent stocking positively influenced abundance. In flood-control reservoirs, stocking did not influence fish condition, but was associated with greater abundance. Stocking did not influence fish condition or abundance in irrigation/power-generation reservoirs. Additionally, there was evidence that mortality and growth rates varied with ecosystem type. In general, populations from irrigation/power-generation reservoirs were predicted to experience slower growth and lower mortality, whereas populations from sand pits were predicted to experience the fastest growth and highest mortality. Catch rates of channel catfish were substantially less in this study compared to previous records of tandem-set hoop net surveys, but hoop nets were more efficient than the current standard gear, experimental gill nets, at capturing channel catfish (i.e., 100 fish could be captured with fewer hoop net sets than gill net sets). However, catch rates and size structure of channel catfish in tandem-set hoop nets varied within the sampling season and between years. Furthermore, length-frequency distributions of channel catfish were dissimilar between hoop nets and gill nets.
Adviser: Kevin L. Pope | <urn:uuid:eba876b1-145d-438b-ae99-98d255b3ee5f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natresdiss/43/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946365 | 439 | 2.953125 | 3 |
When the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran from exile in 1979, he was welcomed by the coalition of merchants, intellectuals and clergy who led the shah's ouster. The ayatollah would swiftly disillusion many of them as he consolidated his power in the name of Islam, ordering women to wear veils and adopting a violent vision of jihad that paved the way for the Hezbollah suicide bombers.
In the eyes of Los Angeles-based religious scholar Reza Aslan, Khomeini's rise is a metaphor for the hijacking of his faith by power-hungry demagogues, self-serving clergy and the radical fundamentalists behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In Aslan's new book, "No god but God," he has become the latest of an emerging group of scholars who are turning to the Koran and the origins of Islam to oppose what they see as its misuse.
Aslan writes that the Koran, unlike the Iranian government, doesn't require women to veil. He points out that one of the prophet Muhammad's wives, Khadija, was said to be a merchant, and another, Aisha, led an army into battle -- high-profile roles that he and other scholars say call into question the religious basis for a number of repressive laws that, in Saudi Arabia, don't even allow women to drive. Proponents of the ultraconservative creed of Wahhabism, which is braided into the foundations of the Saudi state, might cast themselves as Islamic purists, but their Koranic interpretations are neither literal nor pure, Aslan and his fellow scholars say.
"What is taking place in the world right now is an internal battle of Islam," says Aslan, 33, a vivacious, curly-haired, blue-jeaned scholar in wire-rimmed glasses and a paisley shirt. "If we are going to have a reformation in the Muslim world, there must be a new interpretation of the Koran."
Many of the most repressive interpretations of Islam are not found in the Koran at all, Reza says. The edict calling for the stoning of adulterers, for example, was written by a follower of Muhammad named Omar in a hadith, a companion's account of Muhammad's actions -- something akin to the four gospels of the New Testament. Within two centuries of Muhammad's death in 632, there were 700,000 such hadiths, "the great majority of which were unquestionably fabricated by individuals who sought to legitimize their own particular beliefs," Aslan writes.
Most Shiites, the minority school of Islam that predominates in Iran, reject many of the hadiths because they discount the authority of the narrators, including Omar. The Sunni majority, however, revere Omar and have faith in most of the hadiths, and as such, the narrations played a great role in the creation of Islamic law.
Some experts find it optimistic, at best, to think that greater understanding of the Koran will temper the complex social and economic forces behind religious fundamentalism. Iran's much-celebrated reformist movement of the last decade did not preclude the election Friday of an ultraconservative, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- who, as mayor of Tehran, introduced separate elevators for men and women in municipal buildings -- amid widespread frustration over unemployment and corruption.
But scholars who are fighting scripture with scripture at the front lines believe the debate is posing a challenge to autocratic interpretations of Islam.
"There is quite a discussion right now in the Islamic world, a confrontation between modernity and tradition," says Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, in a translated telephone interview. "Many undemocratic governments are abusing Islam and Islamic teachings in order to justify their abuses of human rights and the principles of democracy.
"Many Islamic governments have tried to suffocate this debate, but they haven't been successful. It is growing every day, from Saudi Arabia to Algeria."
One of the factors fueling tension in the Muslim world, Aslan says, is the inevitable progression toward modernization and reform. In his view, the Sept. 11 terrorist attack was not primarily a clash with the West. It was an attempt by militant Islamic extremists to use the West as a polarizing force to galvanize support in a century-old struggle with Muslim moderates over the future of Islam.
"There's always going to be a backlash against modernism," he says.
The self-serving distortions of Islam espoused by terrorists and abusive governments are partly manipulative covers for such destructive forms of social control as fascism and authoritarianism, Aslan says.
"You have these small groups of extremists who, because they have such a loud voice, are allowed to frame the discussion," he says. "If [Osama] bin Laden wants to use the Koran to justify his murderous agenda, I'm going to use the same Koran as a counter-argument."
Saudi petrodollars have helped to underwrite the proliferation of the once-marginal strand of Islam, Wahhabism -- the creed that informed Bin Laden's conception of Islam. | <urn:uuid:cc9a835c-3715-4cf9-8643-6cf1bef92465> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jul/02/entertainment/et-islam2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962169 | 1,040 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Preppy is an iconic style based on elegance, grace, and understated glamour. The sense of nobility and belonging is what drives so many to don critter shorts and unnatural shades of green. But what would we preps be without our own icons to look up to?
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis had enough names to be a member of the royal family, and was regarded as such in her early years, living in the Hamptons and being named “debutante of the year”.
As she grew up, and married future president John F. Kennedy, she became a fashion icon. During her time as First Lady, she dictated the style of practically every woman in the country. Knee length skirts, pillbox hats, the A-line, sleeveless dresses that are so dear to our hearts; without Jackie O. our wardrobes would be blasé and lacking in her casual elegance. Even after the campaign in her more “wild” years she brought us Hermes scarves, big sunglasses, and bright colors.
Here’s a little more of her inspiration:
“I want to live my life, not record it.”
“Every moment one lives is different from the other. The good, the bad, hardship, the joy, the tragedy, love, and happiness are all interwoven into one single, indescribable whole that is called life. You cannot separate the good from the bad. And perhaps there is no need to do so, either.”
“I am a woman above everything else.” | <urn:uuid:3b2fa5de-65a9-47d5-a62d-71901093f1f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thedailycardigan.com/2012/07/09/427/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965202 | 335 | 1.515625 | 2 |
CDC Launches the "Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work" Program
Published: October 9, 2009
The Get Smart campaign seeks to educate the public about the proper use of antibiotics.
Once again it's that time of year when sneezing, sniffling, sore throats, and coughing affect us all and send many of us to our healthcare providers and pharmacies. What time is that, you ask? The cold and flu season. While many of us will search for ways to obtain relief from these symptoms, antibiotics are not the answer. CDC's Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work program (Get Smart) is educating pharmacists, healthcare providers and the general public about the importance of appropriate antibiotic use and the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic Resistance: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria to resist the effects of an antibiotic designed to treat infections. Every time a person takes an antibiotic, bacteria that normally live in our bodies are killed, but resistant germs may be left to grow and multiply. Repeated use of antibiotics can lead to an increase in dangerous bacteria that are difficult to treat. These are often referred to by the media as "superbugs."
Why is this important? Upper respiratory infections account for three quarters of all antibiotics prescribed by office-based physicians. Although prescribing rates for respiratory infections have decreased among office-based physicians in recent years, according to an August 2009 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, tens of millions of antibiotics are still prescribed each year for viral conditions that do not benefit from antibiotic therapy. Providers cite diagnostic uncertainty, time pressure on providers, and patient demand and expectations as the primary reasons why antibiotics are over-prescribed. "We ask healthcare providers to prescribe antibiotics only when the patient really needs them, and for people to take antibiotics only when needed and exactly as prescribed," says Lauri Hicks, DO, medical officer and director of CDC's Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work campaign.
Common infections that should not be treated with antibiotics are:
- Most coughs and bronchitis
- Sore throats (except for those resulting from strep throat)
- Some ear infections
When antibiotics fail to work, the consequences are longer-lasting illnesses, more doctor visits or extended hospital stays, and the need for more expensive and toxic medications. Some resistant infections can even cause death.
Decrease unnecessary prescribing
The Get Smart Team: Darcia Johnson, program officer; Becky Roberts, MS, public health specialist; and Lauri Hicks, DO, medical director.
CDC's Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work campaign seeks to increase awareness of the importance of appropriate antibiotic use by working with state-based appropriate antibiotic use campaigns, non-profit partners, and for-profit partners.
Objectives of GSW are to:
- Increase the knowledge of the general public and modify their attitudes and behaviors regarding appropriate antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance, including decreasing demand for antibiotics for upper respiratory infections among healthy adults and parents, and increasing adherence to prescribed antibiotics for upper respiratory infections,
- Decrease unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics for upper respiratory infections,
- Decrease sharing and saving of previously prescribed antibiotics, and
- Increase adherence to healthy behaviors to prevent acquiring an upper respiratory infection.
The take-home message of the campaign is that antibiotics will not cure viral infections and that pharmacists can play an important role in educating patients about appropriate antibiotic use. "During the flu pandemic it is more important than ever to recognize that antibiotic overuse is a serious problem and a threat to everyone's health," says Hicks. "It is important that patients and parents know that antibiotics do not treat flu, and at the same time, we ask healthcare providers, as well as pharmacists, to take the time to educate patients about antibiotic overuse. To help prevent getting sick, we ask everyone to wash their hands frequently, avoid close contact with people who are sick, and keep up to date with recommended immunizations."
Get Smart Retail Pharmacy Summit
Pharmacists and retail pharmacies are a wonderful community resource to patients and can provide much-needed information about when antibiotics work and when they don't. In order to reach pharmacists and retail pharmacy chains, Get Smart hosted a retail pharmacy summit on October 1, 2009 that brought together representatives from national retail pharmacy chains, including Rite-Aid, Kroger, Giant Eagle, and Giant/Stop and Shop, as well as non-profit and advocacy organizations focusing on appropriate use and infectious disease control, and many CDC staff and other external partners. This one-day meeting featured presentations and discussions on the latest science on antibiotic use and resistance, the important role pharmacists and retail pharmacies can play in educating patients, and specific and successful strategies to enhance social responsibility as well as profitability through partnerships with the Get Smart campaign. Attendees were excited to come together to discuss this issue and the role that pharmacists and retail pharmacy chains can have in educating patients on appropriate antibiotic use. At the end of the day, attendees pledged to "Get Smart" and share information from the summit with their companies and brainstorm ways to explore future opportunities with the program.
Get Smart Campaign
The Get Smart campaign was launched in 1995 as the National Campaign for Appropriate Antibiotic Use in the Community. In 2003, this program was refocused and renamed Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, in conjunction with the launch of a national media campaign. This program aims to reduce the rate of rise of antibiotic resistance by:
- Promoting adherence to appropriate prescribing guidelines among providers,
- Decreasing demand for antibiotics for viral upper respiratory infections among healthy adults and parents of young children, and
- Increasing adherence to prescribed antibiotics for upper respiratory infections.
The Get Smart program targets five respiratory conditions that in 1992 accounted for more than 75 percent of all office-based prescribing of antibiotics for all ages combined: otitis media, sinusitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, and the common cold.
The primary target audience for the Get Smart campaign is healthcare providers, as they are the gatekeepers – the ones prescribing antibiotics to patients. Parents of young children and otherwise healthy adults continue to be important audiences to reach with these messages. Pharmacists can also play an important role in educating patients about appropriate use, once an antibiotic has been prescribed, and can recommend over-the-counter alternatives to antibiotics for symptomatic relief.
Retail pharmacists, non-profit pharmacy organizations, advocacy groups and CDC staff attended the Get Smart Retail Pharmacy Summit on October 1.
The Get Smart program is comprehensive and includes a media campaign (including a virtual press kit and materials designed for Spanish-speakers and American Indian audiences), funding and technical assistance for several state and local partners to develop, implement, and evaluate local campaigns, as well as television and radio public service announcements (PSAs) for use in local markets.
Get Smart has produced a series of health education and behavioral change materials for patients, providers and pharmacists to promote appropriate antibiotic use. These materials include brochures, posters, and question and answer fact sheets for parents. Instructional sheets and a viral/symptomatic prescription pad are also available resources for healthcare providers.
CDC, in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, members of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Infectious Disease Society of America, and the American College of Emergency Physicians developed and distributed principles for appropriate antibiotic use for pediatric upper respiratory tract infections, and principles of appropriate antibiotic use for adult respiratory tract infections. These guidelines define appropriate prescribing and have been distributed to numerous state and local health departments, health plans, provider groups and others. | <urn:uuid:1dad4324-6623-40c9-a7d4-306a4e02b416> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cdc.gov/news/2009/10/getsmart/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928325 | 1,565 | 3.265625 | 3 |
It is a great irony to me that Calvinists are stereotyped as logic-driven. For forty years my experience has been the opposite. The Calvinists I have known (English Puritans, Edwards, Newton, Spurgeon, Packer, Sproul) are not logic driven, but Bible-driven. It’s the challengers who bring their logic to the Bible and nullify text after text. Branches are lopped off by “logic,” not exegesis.
Who are the great enjoyers of paradox today? Who are the pastors and theologians who grab both horns of every biblical dilemma and swear to the God-Man: I will never let go of either.
Not the Calvinism-critics that I meet. They read of divine love, and say that predestination cannot be. They read of human choice and say the divine rule of all our steps cannot be. They read of human resistance, and say that irresistible grace cannot be. Who is logic-driven?
For forty years Calvinism has been, for me, a vision of life that embraces mystery more than any vision I know. It is not logic-driven. It is driven by a vision of the ineffable, galactic vastness of God’s Word.
Let’s be clear: It does not embrace contradiction. Chesterton and I both agree that true logic is the law of “Elfland.” “If the Ugly Sisters are older than Cinderella, it is (in an iron and awful sense) necessary that Cinderella is younger than the Ugly Sisters.” Neither God nor his word is self-contradictory. But paradoxes? Yes.
We happy Calvinists don’t claim to get the heavens into our heads. We try to get our heads into the heavens. We don’t claim comprehensive answers to revealed paradoxes. We believe. We try to understand. And we break out into song and poetry again and again.
It’s not my commitment to the principles of Aristotelian logic that leads me to embrace the tenets of Calvinism; it’s my commitment to taking all of the Bible seriously and not being content to accept shallow harmonizations that don’t do justice to all of the truths in tension.
Roger Olson basically agrees with the role that logic plays in the two systems in his “Calvinism’s Conundrums,” chapter 8 of Against Calvinism [Logos] (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 175–79. It’s his commitment to logic that leads him to reject Calvinism: “I believe Calvinism has too many and too profound conundrums that have no apparent solutions” (175).
For more on the topic of logic, mystery, and harmonization, see also my post “Did the Incarnation Improve God?” | <urn:uuid:6796e284-26db-4fe7-b388-abb048f6a22d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://philgons.com/2013/02/piper-on-calvinism-arminianism-and-logic/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944067 | 603 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Anti-Catholic activist James Hormel still hopes to secure post to 97%-Catholic country
AUSTIN, Texas—As President Bill Clinton's controversial nominee for ambassador to Luxembourg waits to learn his fate, Catholic and family organizations continue to call on the Senate to reject him.
The nominee, James Hormel, a San Francisco philanthropist and major Democratic Party contributor, is a staunch supporter of homosexual causes and has been accused of anti-Catholicism by such groups as the Catholic Alliance and the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. He has also been criticized for his involvement in activist homosexual organizations and for a collection of homosexual literature in a center bearing his name at the San Francisco Public Library.
"Most Catholics I know would not have been disturbed by the fact that he is gay, but he is engaged in a highly activist role in the gay community and has shown contempt for those who do not share his views,” said Maureen Hogan, director of public affairs for the Catholic Alliance. “Any Catholic in their right mind should look at this guy and reject him soundly.’
The government of Luxembourg, a 97%-Catholic country, has approved the nomination.
Hormel's nomination was the only one not confirmed by the Senate by the end of 1997. It passed out of the Foreign Relations Committee and is now on the calendar for the full Senate's vote. However, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) has indicated that he has no plans to call for a vote in the near future.
Some of Hormel's opponents, in particular the Family Research Council, say that rumors are floating on Capitol Hill that Clinton plans to make a recess appointment of Hormel while Congress is on Easter recess. Such an appointment would allow him to serve for up to 14 months without congressional confirmation. No action had been taken however, by the time the Register went to press.
The White House has accused a group of Republican senators who have been blocking Hormel's confirmation of an anti-homosexual bias.
"There's only one reason he's being held up and that is the fact that he's gay,” said White House spokesman Barry Toiv.
His opponents, however, say their objections go far beyond Hormel's personal sexual preference.
Hormel, the 64-year-old heir to the Hormel meat-packing company fortune, offended Catholics in 1996 during a San Francisco “gay-pride” parade. Sitting in a broadcast booth as the parade was televised by a local television station, Hormel laughed and joked with the two commentators during an appearance by a group of transvestites who dress in nuns’ habits and refer to themselves as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. (The “drag queens” wear crucifixes and mock various aspects of the Catholic faith.)
"If we saw a prospective candidate laughing at racist or antiSemitic behavior, there would be no question about his nomination,” said Hogan. “It shows a real double standard.’
In a private meeting with Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.), the senator asked Hormel to repudiate the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Hormel refused to do so, according to a spokesman from Hutchinson's Capitol office. Hormel told the law-maker that he found the group to be humorous, the spokesman said.
The Catholic League wrote every U.S. senator asking them to reject Hormel's nomination, citing the parade incident and Hormel's refusal to repudiate the group.
"Any person who cannot find it within himself to quickly and decisively break with those who engage in religious bigotry has no legitimate role to play in representing the United States,” said William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, in a statement. “Had Hormel objected to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, he would have said so right on the air. At the very least, he would have told an inquiring Sen. Hutchinson that he unequivocally condemns Catholic bashing. But he did neither…. What Kenya.’
In addition to the charges of Catholic bashing, Hormel's critics are also disturbed by what they see as Hormel's activist homosexual agenda.
The divorced father of four who has vocally supported same-sex marriages is a co-founder of the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that promotes homosexual rights and has branded those with differing views as “hate groups.’
In addition, he reportedly gave financial backing to a documentary film called It's Elementary. The film, which was produced by a homosexual activist, is aimed at educators and offers advice and instruction on how to teach young children about homosexuality.
Additionally, opponents have
pointed to the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library. The collection of homosexual literature was established with a $500,000 gift from the Spam magnate.
The divorced father of four who has vocally supported same-sex marriages, is a co-founder of the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that promotes homosexual rights and has branded those with differing views as ‘hate groups.’
Included in the Hormel Center are publications of the National Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), which advocates the abolition of “age of consent” laws. The collection also contains books featuring descriptions andphotos of explicit deviant sex.
At least one publication contains a cartoon featuring the Virgin Mary that would be considered offensive to any Christian denomination.
Hormel supporters defend the collection, noting that many of the same publications could be found in the Library of Congress. In his own defense, Hormel wrote to the Senate in February stating that he had “no input or control” over the collection.
His explanation did not satisfy critics, however.
"The man's name is on this thing so he is associated with it,” said Steven Schwalm, a senior writer and policy analyst in the cultural studies department of the Family Research Council. “He's trying to wash his hands of this like Pontius Pilate.’
The Washington-based Family Research Council, led by Schwalm's efforts, have been Hormel's most vocal critics.
"His avocation has been the promotion of homosexuality, the demonizing of Christians, and subverting the laws and mores of this country,” said Schwalm.
In an effort to save his nomination, Hormel has promised that he would resign from the boards of homosexual organizations and not let his name be used for fund-raising purposes for homosexual causes. What's more, in a reversal of previous plans, he has said he would leave his longtime “partner,” Timothy Wu, in the United States.
The Luxembourg nomination is Clinton's second try at getting Hormel a diplomatic post. In 1995, the president nominated him for an ambassadorship to Fiji, a Muslim country with strict anti-sodomy laws. That nomination was withdrawn amid criticism.
"If this guy wasn't good enough for a Muslim country, he isn't good enough for a Catholic country,” said Hogan.
Dennis Poust writes from Austin, Texas. | <urn:uuid:7b5c510a-4649-45a7-b2af-e47cc94a9bbb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/groups_oppose_clintons_luxembourg_ambassador_nominee/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975005 | 1,504 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev will swap jobs next year with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Our correspondent looks at whether the change will affect U.S.-Russia relations.
Russia political analysts say it was no surprise that Vladimir Putin decided to run for president in next year’s Russian elections, replacing Dmitri Medvedev who is expected to become prime minister in a new government. The analysts say Putin is practically guaranteed a win because political opposition has been stifled and the Russian leadership controls most of the media.
Questions are being raised as to what affect a new Putin presidency will have on U.S.-Russia relations.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner recently gave this assessment.
"What’s ultimately important is that this is a matter, a decision - that is the question of who will be Russia’s next president - that’s a decision for the Russian people to determine," said Toner. "We, for our part, look forward to working with whoever is the next president, because we believe, clearly, that it’s in the mutual interest of the United States and Russia, and the world that we do work closely together."
Many analysts say relations between Washington and Moscow are good when compared with a low in 2008, when Russia fought a brief war with Georgia. Since then, under the Medvedev presidency, Washington and Moscow have signed a major arms control agreement, and there has been increased cooperation on such issues as Afghanistan, Iran and Libya.
Putin first won the presidency in 2000 and became prime minister after Medvedev became president in 2008. The announced job swap next year could mean Putin dominates the Russian government until 2024.
Robert Legvold, a Russia expert at Columbia University, describes the U.S.-Russia relationship as progressing slowly.
“But the other half of the story is that this is very vulnerable," said Levgold. "There is nothing guaranteed that the progress will continue. It can be upset by events that one or the other side, or both sides, react to awkwardly or in an exaggerated fashion, or maybe the events themselves will justify a harsh reaction.”
Legvold says the relationship could be affected by the outcome of the U.S. election.
“We know what the outcome will be in the Russian election," he said. "In Washington, in the Obama administration, the expectation is continuity in Russia policy, basic continuity coming out of the March elections. But I think it is very difficult to predict continuity coming out of the November 2012 U.S. election.”
Many experts agree with Legvold that there will not be any real change in U.S.-Russia relations with Vladimir Putin back as president.
Matthew Rojansky at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says Putin, as prime minister, if not calling all the shots, at least approved the key decisions related to U.S. relations.
“So for example, I don’t see New START [strategic arms agreement] being rolled back," said Rojansky. "I don’t see cooperation on Afghanistan being rolled back. The Libya [U.N.] resolution [imposing a no-fly zone] which Russia didn’t block was a difficult call and Putin certainly had reservations and you heard him expressing those reservations. But did he ultimately come to some kind of consensus with Medvedev? Clearly he did. I think the two of them operate as a unit.”
Rojansky believes that while the substance of the U.S.-Russia relationship may not change, the tone might.
“Obama has invested very heavily in his relationship with Medvedev," he said. "It made sense. It was relatively easy for him because he and Medvedev come from a similar kind of origin in the sense of both being lawyers, both being technology oriented, both being kind of globalists in their outlook. Putin just doesn’t have that. And I don’t see Putin and Obama pushing the relationship to be very active by sheer force of personality and interest in one another. I just don’t think that’s going to happen.”
The analysts believe one thing is for sure: the U.S.-Russia relationship has grown over the years to such an extent that they say a return to the tension-filled Cold War days is virtually impossible. | <urn:uuid:23f2795c-0510-4e80-a887-a45195158866> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.voanews.com/content/putin-presidency-unlikely-to-derail-us-russia-relations-131345683/146317.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970888 | 903 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Why is it important for peacebuilders to communicate peace in the media? Because policy decisions are shaped and formed in the media. This is where major decisions are deliberated on every conflict imaginable, from foreign wars to local laws related to violent crime. Every policy issue under the sun is first discussed in the media. Thus, if peacebuilders want to shape the course a conflict takes, this is the medium in which we must engage.This “Writing for the Media” Class offered by the…See More
The United States must come up with a realistic strategy to fight and win this war on terror. Simple use of force is not the answer here. A deeper understanding of the true nature of Islamic radicalism indicates a mushroom phenomenon in the making.See More
Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself or the work of your organization (no more than 3 paragraphs)
I am currently writing a novel about international human rights in Iran and the Middle East as well as a screenplay about the Filartiga case, perhaps the most significant case since the Nuremberg Tribunals.
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Please list the countries and/or regions in which you (or your organization) have direct and significant expertise
Iran, Israel, Middle East, Philippines, South America, Paraguay
What is your current country of residence (or location of your organization)?
What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?
Writer, Human Rights Activist, Lawyer
How many years professional experience do you have ?
Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise (or the primary sectoral areas of your organization) ?
Alternative Dispute Resolution, Conflict Resolution, Culture, Democratization, Diplomacy, Gender, Human Rights, Peacebuilding, Peacekeeping, Rule of Law, Security, Social Entreprenuership, Terrorism, Transparency, Violence Prevention
Which are your primary skills areas(or the primary skill areas of your organization)?
Advocacy, Communication, Monitoring, Training
What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?
Human Rights in Iran, Paraguay, Counter-terrorism, International Human Rights responses, Middle East, South America, alternatives to military action
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Imagine falling in love with a guy who is absolutely perfect. Then you find out that he's HIV positive. What would you do? Here's a story about a couple that's making it work ...
A young married couple, Gwenn Barringer and Shawn Decker, recently shared their touching and unusual love story on CNN.com. It reminded me of a friend of mine who I used to work with years ago who married an HIV-positive man, even though everyone in her life told her that she was crazy. Sadly, he died of the disease, but she doesn't regret loving him or marrying him.
Similarly, Gwenn and Shawn say they don't want HIV to mess with their love. Shawn, who contracted the virus from a blood transfusion as a child, is in good health, and doctors say that he has a good life expectancy ahead.
Yet, Gwenn admits that when she first met Shawn, she did have apprehensions, especially when she started to develop feelings for him: "I didn't think having what I thought was a difficult extra strain on a relationship would be worth it," she said. "Then you meet someone who you really like, and that changes your perspective. I would've never imagined it."
Married for five years, they are a "serodiscordant couple," which means one partner has the virus and the other does not.
"What we're seeing is it's no longer a terminal illness. People survive well with HIV," said Dr. Mark Sauer, director of the Center for Women's Reproductive Care at Columbia University Medical Center, in the CNN story. "There's a lot of discordancy. The majority of patients we've treated are males with HIV with partners who are HIV negative and want to stay that way."
So, how do they have sex? They use condoms, of course.
Dr. Charles Hicks, an associate professor of medicine in infectious diseases at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina says that condom use for these types of couples is essential, but told CNN that there are many such couples who don't bother. Shockingly, he says there's evidence showing that "lowering the viral load through HIV treatments and drugs could decrease risk. But this does not give HIV-couples 'free reign to behave irresponsibly.'"
What do you think you'd do in a situation like this? | <urn:uuid:a2aceb36-82e7-47d7-9748-4f93abff09cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2009/12/he-has-hiv-she-doesnt--and-the.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987162 | 489 | 1.742188 | 2 |
What Came of It
Who long continued deaf and dumb
To scoldings of her gentle ma,
And warning of her loving pa.
They tied a rag around her hand,
With many an earnest reprimand.;
They put it in a gunny sack,
And tied her hand behind her back,
And in their sorrow deep and ire,
They threatened her with whippings dire.
But all their efforts were in vain;
She sucked it still with might and main;
And finding they could never scare
Her into quitting, or ensnare,
They settled down in sheer despair.
And oh the troubles that did come
To all the inmates of that home !
The mother went off in a fit,
And has not yet come out of it.
One brother ran to Mexico;
The other joined a minstrel show;
The little sister cried and cried,
And slowly pined away and died;
The father took to drinking rum;
These dread disasters all did come,
Because this girl would suck her thumb.
__J. M. Cavaness.
Jayhawker Juleps, 3rd Ed.
J. M. Cavaness
(Chanute: Tribune Pub. Co. 1913) | <urn:uuid:adba95e4-28ed-4378-86a3-e1b7832f6d03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://skyways.lib.ks.us/poetry/juleps/whatcame.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957076 | 265 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Speaker uses volleyball as motivational tool
Bob Holmes single-handedly beat the 11th and 12th grade boys of Monroe High School in a volleyball match.
This was after beating a team of high school girls and before beating a team of teachers to demonstrate how one person can beat a crowd.
Holmes tours the country playing volleyball games and teaching kids about bullying, drunk driving and being safe. In that time he has performed for about 3.5 million people and won about 61,000 games against high school students and professional athletic teams.
After about an hour of engaging the students through volleyball and music, Holmes shared stories from around the nation about teenagers committing suicide, being harmed by drunk drivers and other hardships.
"I (play volleyball) because I don't want to see you dead and I mean it," Holmes told the crowd of about 900 students.
He advised the students to never give up, look ahead, stand alone if they must and encourage each other.
"You're much better off being an encourager," he told the students after sharing stories about teenagers whose lives were saved because of the kindness of others.
Holmes has been touring the nation since 1983. He started playing volleyball as exercise for his back and it grew from there.
He travels to schools and events every other week.
His volleyball games represent "one person beating the odds, standing alone," he said.
Holmes said he was sort of bullied as a child, but nothing bad.
"Things have just escalated," he said.
He enjoyed working with the students at Monroe High School.
"This was one of the best assemblies I've done," he said. When asked, he said that he does not say that about every school.
Sarah Webb, a multimedia and webpage design teacher, played with the group of teachers. They ended up losing to Holmes 21-19, but kept up with him for most of the game, even leading for much of it.
"It felt good," Webb said. She added that she felt a bit sore after the game.
She thought they could have won.
"It had a lot of impact," Webb said. "I think he really hit home."
During other assemblies, she said, the students will often continue to talk and not pay attention. During this assembly it was quiet and they were listening.
Senior Jermainy Hammond was on the team of boys who faced Holmes. He was one of the first players, before Holmes invited three more tall students and eventually all 11th and 12th grade boys.
Hammond thought the team could have won. They played well.
"It felt good," Hammond said. "I had fun."
Hammond said he had never been bullied and had never bullied anyone himself.
When asked what he would do if he saw someone being bullied, he said, "I would stop it."
He learned not to give up through the assembly and thought the assembly had an impact on many of his friends as well.
Hammond, a football, track and basketball athlete, will attend Johnson C. Smith in the fall on a football scholarship.
Holmes may have impacted many of the students. After the assembly, a few approached him asking for an autograph.
Anyone interested in booking Holmes for an assembly can visit www.beatbob.com. Holmes also encouraged people to visit www.vbholmes.homepagepays.com for a free gift from his organization. | <urn:uuid:f347334b-e509-4a71-a737-7d13f21f1cee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.enquirerjournal.com/features/x1733188862/Speaker-uses-volleyball-as-motivational-tool | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991308 | 711 | 2.53125 | 3 |
State Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta) may or may not be serious about this proposal, but given some of the other stuff that legislatures have done, mandatory drug testing of legislators prior to any vote might not be a bad idea.
Holcomb said his bill was a response to HB 668, which would require anyone applying for state assistance, and any other adults in that family, to take drug tests. Failing would mean denial or loss of benefits. A federal judge in Florida enjoined a similar law last year, finding the requirement was an unreasonable suspicionless search under the Fourth Amendment. According to the order, while the Florida law was in effect, the percentage of welfare recipients who had tested positive (two to five percent) was significantly lower than the percentage of illegal drug use in the general population (said to be about eight percent, allegedly).
Holcomb's bill, HB 677, would require anyone elected to serve in the General Assembly to undergo mandatory drug testing within three months of taking office or beginning any subsequent term. Failing would mean removal from office. "[W]e should lead by example," Holcomb said, and "shouldn't expect others to live by standards that we don't uphold ourselves." Holcomb insisted he was optimistic about his bill's chances, although my guess is he's probably aware of the solid GOP majority in the Georgia Legislature, which should ensure that nobody there is getting drug-tested anytime soon.
Just in case, though, his bill provides that it would take effect in July 2012 and would apply only "to members of the General Assembly elected on or after such date." Notice that it doesn't say "re-elected" on or after such date. But maybe it's just a coincidence that it arguably would not apply to him even if it did pass.
This is not an entirely new idea - in 2008, there were calls for periodic breath-testing of members of Australia's parliament, after a series of incidents in which drunken MPs engaged in embarrassing shenanigans (or whatever the equivalent Australian term is). Which gives me an excuse to mention one of my favorite legislative quotes, uttered by then-Premier Nathan Rees, explaining why he had asked a minister to resign: "I subsequently put it to former minister Brown late last night," he said, "that there are 'too many reports of you in your underwear to ignore.'" | <urn:uuid:68c449c7-4498-4af8-abdf-e96b00e1f6e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.loweringthebar.net/2012/01/georgia-bill-would-require-drug-testing-for-state-legislators.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984583 | 483 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Lawyer sues federal government for omitting rights check from new legislation.
by Dennis Gruending
Edgar Schmidt, a senior lawyer in the federal Department of Justice, has taken a courageous and highly unusual step. He has launched a court case against his employer for what he believes is its failure to protect Canadians against Parliament creating laws and regulations that could infringe upon their human rights.
On the day after Schmidt filed his claim with the court in December 2012, the department suspended him without pay and barred him from his office. That harsh action, in turn, did not amuse the Federal Court judge hearing the case. “The court doesn’t like that,” said Mr Justice Simon Noel. “We see that in different countries and we don’t like it… Canada is still a democracy.”
Knowledgeable observers are saying that Schmidt’s case and the department’s harsh reaction toward him speak to the erosion of democracy in Canada. In fact, a group called the Voices-Voix Coalition, has filed a submission with a United Nations working group in which it accuses the government of a whole range of transgressions against democracy. The UN group will hold sessions in April – May 2013.
Schmidt is (was) a senior lawyer whose duties since 1998 have included drafting and advising on legislation. He was, prior to his suspension in December, a general counsel and special adviser in the department’s Legislative Services Branch.
The basis of Schmidt’s case is as follows: The Justice Department is required by law to “pre-examine” new laws and regulations to ensure that they conform to the Charter and Bill of Rights, which exist to protect the fundamental freedoms and rights of citizens. Schmidt says that, in practice, the department has since at least 1993 had its lawyers apply only a flawed and minimal screening test. It does not identify and report on legislation that the department itself considers almost certainly to be illegal and unconstitutional.
In other words the department rarely, if ever, warns the Justice Minister about a bill that is likely to offend the Charter of Rights. Nor does the minister inform Members of Parliament of such a possibility before they vote on new legislation. In his statement of claim, Schmidt says that the department would not warn the minister even if it found there to be a 95 per cent chance that legislation does not comply with the Charter and Bill of Rights.
Schmidt says that he has over a period of years raised concerns about what he considers the department’s flawed practices. He has done that through various official channels, up to the deputy minister level — in both Liberal and Conservative governments. He says he has never received a satisfactory response and that he has gone to court as a matter of last resort.
Schmidt says the consequences of the department’s failure to act appropriately are serious. The state should be ensuring that it makes laws that it believes conform to the Charter and Bill of Rights. Instead, it is left to citizens, who usually do not have the resources, to discover and challenge such offending laws.
News reports following Schmidt’s court appearance referred to recent examples of judges striking down laws that they considered to infringe upon the Charter of Rights. These included sections of a law targeting human smugglers and another regarding the government’s new mandatory minimum sentences for gun violations.
Schmidt said in an interview with CBC Radio’s As It Happens that he does not like the term whistleblower because it sounds “shrill,” but that he believes the duties of a public servant can, in exceptional circumstances, demand more than simply doing what supervisors order.
He joins a growing line of public servants who have seen abuses of process and decided to go public. These individuals include: Joanna Gualtieri; Allan Cutler; Health Canada scientists Dr. Shiv Chopra, Dr. Margaret Hayden, and Dr. Gerard Lambert; Dr. Nancy Olivieri; and Richard Colvin, who was a diplomat in Afghanistan and repeatedly raised concerns about the potential for torture of prisoners handed over by the Canadian military to Afghan police.
Many of these cases occurred during the long reign of the Liberals between 1993 and 2006, but Schmidt is only the latest in a growing list of public servants who have been harassed, fired or ridiculed under the Conservatives.
On October 7, 2012, the Voices-Voix coalition submitted a report to the 16th Universal Periodic Review Working Group of the Human Rights Council. The group described its growing concern about the current government’s treatment of “human rights defenders, civil society groups and all those who exercise their democratic right to dissent.” The Canadian government, along with other countries, will be reviewed by the United Nations UPR in 2013.
Voices-Voix talks about a wide-ranging variety of actions taken by the government to disempower critics and to stifle dissent. Many of these actions are systemic, for example, the defunding that has targeted development organizations, women’s equality groups, and environmental organizations.
But the Voices-Voix submission also says that many of the government’s harassing actions have been targeted at individuals and are highly personal.
The report singles out the government’s extensive spying upon Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada. In 2007, Blackstock filed a human rights complaint accusing the federal government of willfully underfunding child welfare services to First Nations children on reserves.
The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network later used Access to Information requests to discover that the government sent its employees to listen in on between 75 and 100 meetings at which Blackstock was a participant. They monitored her every word and reported back to their bosses at Indian and Northern Affairs.
Government employees in that department and in the Justice Department also monitored Blackstock’s Facebook page, both during and after working hours. Her Status Indian file was accessed along with its personal information, including data on her family. Blackstock has responded by launching a complaint before the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which is scheduled to be heard in February 2013.
Voices-Voix makes a number of recommendations to the UN working group. In one of them, it calls on the Canadian government to stop vilifying and intimidating human rights defenders and social justice activists in Canada.
Indeed.© Copyright 2013, All rights Reserved. StraightGoods.ca | <urn:uuid:fd51220a-a7c8-4a3f-ae55-25cfe17acaf8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sgnews.ca/2013/01/21/protecting-rights-in-new-laws/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968226 | 1,306 | 1.882813 | 2 |
Virginia CompanyArticle Free Pass
Virginia Company, in full Virginia Company of London, also called London Company, commercial trading company, chartered by King James I of England in April 1606 with the object of colonizing the eastern coast of North America between latitudes 34° and 41° N. Its shareholders were Londoners, and it was distinguished from the Plymouth Company, which was chartered at the same time and composed largely of men from Plymouth.
In December 1606 the Virginia Company sent out three ships carrying approximately 105 colonists led by Christopher Newport. In May 1607 the colonists reached Virginia and founded the Jamestown Colony at the mouth of the James River. After some initial hardships, the colony took root, and the Virginia Company itself was reconstituted on a broader legal basis. A new charter in 1609 reorganized its governing structure.
In 1619 the company established continental America’s first true legislature, the General Assembly, which was organized bicamerally. It consisted of the governor and his council, named by the company in England, and the House of Burgesses, made up of two burgesses from each of the four boroughs and seven plantations.
Despite increasing prosperity in Virginia over the following years, the company’s role came under attack as internecine disputes among the shareholders grew and as the king himself became offended both by the trend toward popular government in Virginia and by the colony’s efforts to raise tobacco, a “noisome” product of which he disapproved. A petition submitted to the king, calling for an investigation of conditions in the colony, led to a trial before the King’s Bench in May 1624. The court ruled against the Virginia Company, which was then dissolved, with the result that Virginia was transformed into a royal colony.
What made you want to look up "Virginia Company"? Please share what surprised you most... | <urn:uuid:0624ff87-30d1-4fd3-bbde-edd63d93cebb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/347025/Virginia-Company | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974611 | 389 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Sorry if this is offtopic for the more knowledgeable here...
On 14-Jul-09, at 7:50 PM, Robert Kubrick wrote:
> By setting processor affinity you can force execution of each
> process on a specific core, thus limiting context switching. I know
> affinity wasn't supported on MacOS last year, I don't know if the
> situation has changed.
> But running oversubscription without process affinity might cancel
> the benefit of SMT because the OS will try to allocate each process
> to whatever core becomes available, thus increasing context switching.
This is a little over my head (i.e. SMT?). However, to explain, the
jobs were a gridded simulation, with the grid divided into 8, or 16
'tiles' . Each core gets a tile and passes info the the adjacent
ones. I would be very surprised to find out that the tiles were
changing cores mid simulation. Why would the OS do something so silly?
The machines were certainly still running other processes to keep the
operating system going. If you watch the cpu monitor, the total would
occasionally drop from 100% to 98% as some operating system process
kicked in, but in general the jobs were pegged, leaving little
opportunity for one core to decide to take over what another core was
Thanks, and if I'm incorrect about how the jobs get distributed
between cores, I'd be more than happy to be corrected. As I said, my
knowledge of this stuff is pretty abstract. | <urn:uuid:6cca66c4-35fc-45ac-9d5b-18b7d0109fc2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.open-mpi.org/community/lists/users/2009/07/9973.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954591 | 324 | 1.734375 | 2 |
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Today in Smithsonian History
The Enid A. Haupt Garden opens on a 4.2-acre quadrangle adjacent to the Smithsonian Institution Building and Arts and Industries Building. The garden includes urns, red-brick paths, lampposts and 19th-century-style furnishings; below it is a three-story underground museum, research, and education complex. The garden is named for its donor, Enid Annenberg Haupt, who contributed $3 million toward construction of the garden.More | <urn:uuid:d00f31dd-2986-4608-8815-1f3c72c8c1aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://siarchives.si.edu/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908096 | 114 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Davy Crockett's Marriage License Back to Tennesee
(CN) - A Florida woman was properly ordered to return Davy Crockett's marriage license to Jefferson County, Tennessee, a state appeals court ruled.
Margaret Vance Smith had possession of a marriage license issued to the legendary pioneer and Margaret Elder on Oct. 21, 1805.
The license was never executed, and it was returned to the Jefferson County Courthouse, in Dandridge, where it remained for more than a century.
Smith wrote to a member of the Jefferson County Historical Society that her uncle, Harry Vance, found the document while he served as chairman of the county court.
"Uncle Harry told Dad they were clearing out a lot of papers because of more room and space needed and he thought Dad 'would get a kick out of having that particular piece of paper," Smith wrote.
After her father died, Smith wrote, her mother passed the Crockett license on to her.
According to the Crockett legend, the marriage never took place because his intended eloped with someone else. One year later, Crockett married Polly Findley.
Smith took the license onto the PBS TV show "Antiques Roadshow" in 2006. Jefferson County then demanded that she return it, and Smith refused, saying the county clerk had discarded it as trash.
At trial in 2009, the court ruled that Smith must return the license because it is a "Jefferson County historical document."
As for her argument that the county trashed the document, the trial court stated: "That dog just won't hunt ... it just don't make sense that you can have all of the other documents immediately preceding that and subsequent to that, they're all still official county records, they're still in the clerk's office of Jefferson County."
Smith returned the license but appealed. Judge John McCarty wrote for the Knoxville-based Tennessee Court of Appeals that the license belongs to the county.
"The trial court properly determined that the county had carried its burden of proof in showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the Crockett license was more than likely unlawfully removed from the possession of Jefferson County," McCarty wrote. | <urn:uuid:43bab409-988e-4979-b071-8c286ea436a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/08/01/38616.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976458 | 453 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Environmental Challenges are Profit Opportunities, Says Roberts of World Wildlife Fund
STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS — “Companies still thinking about the environment as a social responsibility rather than a business imperative are living in the dark ages,” said Carter Roberts, President and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Roberts delivered the annual von Gugelberg Memorial Environmental Lecture at the Stanford Graduate School of Business on October 23, describing how a new era of global threats is changing the work of the world’s largest conservation organization, an organization that represents the concerns of its 6 million members in 100 countries.
What started as a mission to save animals — associated with the widely recognized panda bear logo—has morphed, by necessity, into a broader mandate to address the economics, the science, and the politics of conservation around the world, Roberts said.
Increasingly people’s livelihood needs and the consequences on the environment of global warming and resource scarcity have to be considered along with measures for species preservation and biodiversity, he said.
Conservationists used to worry about getting people’s attention and keeping it, said Roberts, “but now the facts are in: Climate change and increased resource scarcity will likely be one of the most disruptive forces in business since the Industrial Revolution.”
Many businesses commit to do the right thing environmentally, and then under pressure to enhance the bottom line they see initial steps fade away unless confronted by regulation. Roberts said, “My vision for saving the planet holds that you not only need to work with communities and governments but also the forces … that are driven largely by business. We will fail if we don’t change the behavior of business and how it touches the places we care about.”
Under Robert’s leadership, the WWF is partnering with Wal-Mart, Google, Coca-Cola, Ikea, and others to work with government institutions and indigenous communities to address environmental challenges and sustainable growth needs. With large corporations controlling 70 percent of the choices consumers make, such partnerships are the source of greatest leverage, Roberts said.
“The world is finally waking up to the fact that our lifestyle (choices) are threatening the very fabric of the planet.” The WWF’s most recent Living Planet Report estimates that current demands on the earth’s resources are outstripping what the planet can sustain, Roberts said.
“Most people don’t know it but deforestation and land degradation contribute about 20 percent of all C02 emissions. Ironically at WWF, we realize if we want to save the Amazon, we need to head to China.”
“If China catches up to U.S. standards of consumption it will require two planets to sustain our livelihood for the long run, and if the rest of the world catches up, it will require eleven,” he adds.
Instead of pointing fingers at countries such as China and India, the better choice is to help them invest in technologies and practices that will reduce their respective footprints. “The developed world is going to have a difficult time telling the developing world that they won’t be allowed to enjoy the same fruits of economic success and higher living standards,” he said.
The United States needs to view its own behavior in the mirror, Roberts said. “Consider a simple cup of latte. If we think about Starbucks’ footprint, we have … the amount of water to grow the sugarcane to make the sugar, process the milk, harvest the coffee, make the cup, the lid, and to produce the wrapper. If a company looks at the actual numbers, the water to produce a latte adds up to 208 liters per cup.”
“Add energy to transport the raw materials, electricity to grind the beans, brew the coffee, power the lights, the WiFi internet connectivity (in every Starbucks), the gasoline burned getting customers and employees to the store, and the message for companies is clear. They cannot just consider their own business operations when it comes to environmental impact. The way any business buys and sells products has repercussions around the world,” Roberts said.
“It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, the supply chain will include products from all around the world,” Roberts emphasized. “Whether we’re talking about fabric made in China, soybeans grown in the Amazon, palm oil harvested in Indonesia, biofuels created in Africa—companies will have to know how their products and the raw materials they use in their operations are affecting places, people, biodiversity, and the environment.”
These facts underscore the solid business reasons why sustainability is no longer just a nice thing to do, Roberts said. More importantly, conservation is a way of protecting business. “The smartest, most strategically focused companies are calculating climate change and resource risks into their operations. True visionaries know that if their business practices aren’t sustainable long term, their businesses aren’t either.” | <urn:uuid:4efa0089-e9ce-4237-ba4c-fee70c43836c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/headlines/VonGugel_Roberts.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934355 | 1,039 | 2.46875 | 2 |
In 1998 the United States fired cruise missiles at al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan to try to decapitate the group after it bombed two U.S. embassies in Africa. The United States knew about bin Laden and the whereabouts of his camps because, according to Steve Coll's Ghost Wars, "the National Security Agency had tapped into bin Laden's satellite telephone and kept track of his international conversations."
After the missile strike, according to the 9/11 Commission Report, a prominent newspaper revealed the United States' knowledge about bin Laden's phone. As a result, "al Qaeda's senior leadership ... stopped using [the satellite phones] almost immediately. ... This made it much more difficult for the National Security Agency to intercept his conversations." U.S. intelligence lost its most valuable source for tracking the world's most dangerous terrorist.*
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, emphatically could have been prevented if the United States was able to protect classified information. The newspapers' complicity in divulging classified information helped murder some 2,977 people.
I make this point now in response to those who believe the protection of classified information is unjust. There is an anonymous movement now among anarchist hackers to attack government and corporate websites to protest the prosecution of Julian Assange and defend WikiLeaks. Judging from the responses to my last post, in which I advocated the passage of a Secrecy Act, some readers of Foreign Policy would sympathize with the hackers.
The most common argument is that protecting information, and prosecuting offenders, is a violation of free speech. That is simply not true. The Supreme Court has never upheld First Amendment absolutism. There are legal and reasonable restrictions on what people are allowed to say, print, or broadcast. It is illegal to incite a mob to violence. It is illegal to libel others. It is illegal to make false claims in advertising about a product. It is illegal to utter profanity on broadcast television or radio. And it is, in fact, illegal to reveal information that would cause immediate harm to U.S. national security. This was uncontroversial during World War II, when sailors and their families were routinely trained that "loose lips sink ships."
You may quibble with the application of these rules (the rule about profanity seems more and more anachronistic), but it is flatly untrue that citizens or the press have the right to say absolutely anything, anytime, in any medium. Few should disagree with the principle that there are restrictions on speech; the debate is really where the line ought to be drawn and how to enforce it. I argue that we should actually try to enforce the principle at least a little when it comes to protecting classified information, which would be a significant change from our current habit of not enforcing it at all.
Once again, it goes without saying that the Obama administration needs appropriate oversight and accountability, which is why we have the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, among other organs. No doubt they need to work better. And perhaps there ought to be a standing body charged with reviewing the government's classification decisions. But the need to protect classified information is as obvious as our government's failure to do so.
*(Some newspapers have tried to debunk this story by claiming there was no specific leak of the information about bin Laden's phone, or that it had been leaked previously to no effect. Of course the newspapers have an interest in exonerating themselves. Their efforts are unconvincing. If their claims are true, it is actually more damning that the information about bin Laden's satellite phone stemmed not from a specific leak but from a general culture of impunity among the media to disclose intelligence sources and methods. And the August 1998 reporting plainly had an effect on bin Laden, even if the information had been reported earlier. Both the 9/11 Commission and Clinton-era NSC staffers Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon wrote in The Age of Sacred Terror, bin Laden stopped using his phone "instantly" after the publication of the story.)
Shadow Government is a blog about U.S. foreign policy under the Obama administration, written by experienced policy makers from the loyal opposition and curated by Peter D. Feaver and William Inboden. | <urn:uuid:4bb74a37-436c-4d81-b6b8-a3e344e9c4bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shadow.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/12/14/in_defense_of_secrecy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964829 | 862 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Please sign this petition against dolphin abuse. We urge the editors of The Daily Mail and The Sun to stop featuring stories that glamorize swimming with dolphins that help fuel the brutal trade in dolphins.
Thank you, Paul
To the editor,
RE: SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS – THE TRUTH
We the undersigned would like to see an end to stories that glamorize swimming with dolphins whilst hiding the truth behind the trade in wild caught, and captive dolphins.
Every time you publish a story of a celebrity or a footballer swimming with dolphins you are glamorizing the experience, and indirectly assisting to fuel the vile drive hunts which they are taken from.
When people visit dolphinaria / swim with dolphin experiences they are unknowingly supporting the capture and slaughter of dolphins from many areas of the world including Taiji, home of the brutal drive hunts which have been responsible for the killing over 500,000 dolphins for meat. The most attractive females are taken in captivity and distributed around the world, whilst the rest are killed. The drives are brutal and cruel. Pregnant females abort their young due to stress and many die of heart attacks and drown in the ensuing capture process.
12 bottlenose dolphins from Taiji were imported into Turkey. Dolphinaria are expanding in Spain, France, Dubai, China, Russia and India. With this comes less regulation and more abuse for dolphins.
NGO and individuals are working to end the capture and abuse of dolphins once and for all, but we need positive media exposure to drive down demand, so the business is not profitable. Only then can we stop the abuse.
Dolphins are highly intelligent creatures that live in strong family orientated pods which care and protect their young. These animals do not deserve to be kept in concrete pools for human amusement.
· A trained bottlenose dolphin can generate $1 million a year
· Many dolphins die due to the stress of capture and transportation
· Dolphins can die within a few months, or years because they never fully recover from capture, so the whole cycle is repeated
· Dolphins born in captivity have little success either
· Wild dolphins are far ranging animals, so a captive environment cannot replicate the ocean so cause behavioural abnormalities and illness
Please take a positive stand and help us stop the trade in wild dolphins.
Thank you, Paul Smith
If everything looks correct, click sign now. Your signature will not be added until you click the button below. | <urn:uuid:913efddd-ac6a-452e-a34f-c2259c0ec6b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-swimming-with-dolphins-stops-the-abuse/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940448 | 500 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Posted on 15 February 2012.
Relationships key to partnership’s ability to succeed, administrators said.
Building deeper relationships is what educators at both Shortridge Magnet High School and Butler University’s College of Education say is the next step in their part of the partnership.
COE partners with Shortridge for professional development, provides student teachers and holds certain classes at Shortridge.
Shelly Furuness, an assistant professor of education who taught a Butler class at the school, said Shortridge is an interesting case for COE students to study, since it is still developing its magnet and uses techniques such as town hall meetings and democratic classrooms that most students only read about in education textbooks.
“Shortridge has wonderful things to offer, unique things that are not happening anywhere else,” she said. “We don’t hear about those things often enough in the face of the negative news that’s there, because it’s easier to write about.”
Some of that negative news includes the termination of Principal Brandon Cosby in November, layoff notices to both vice principals and fears that Shortridge could face state takeover if it continues to fail to meet its test score goals. The school failed to make adequate yearly progress, as defined by the Indiana Department of Education, in 2010 and 2011.
Furuness said these concerns can frame how Butler students approach the school, and actually getting involved there helps students to confront their misconceptions.
“It helps them to see beyond the labels of urban school or failing school or troubled school,” she said. “When they talk to a student, they no longer see them as an IPS or urban kid.”
Anne Stanich, the English as a second language teacher at Shortridge, said that the partnership has helped give the high school students role models and increased their interest in college.
She said it could grow though, if there was more involvement after school and during extracurricular activities. One such after-school session was a photography program where students took photos and wrote around them. Stanich said this format was effective and allowed the Butler students to take on more of a mentoring role.
“After school, they’re more relaxed, it’s more fun, and we can do things that are more outside of the box,” Stanich said. “It would make that connection and bridge that gap, so they’re more willing to work on the academic portion.”
Jon Colby, the communications teacher at Shortridge, has had numerous student teachers observe in his classroom and said he is happy with the interaction he sees.
He said that while he appreciates any time Butler students come to his classroom, communication and consistency could be improved. He said sometimes requests come at the last minute.
“When we have that many people coming into our building,” he said, “it would be more advantageous to form a more consistent connection.”
Like Stanich, Colby said there are ways that Butler students could play a mentoring role, and the Shortridge students react to their teaching.
“Even if [student teachers] say the exact same thing I say, it’s good to reenforce what I say,” Colby said. “When I talk, it’s an old man talking, but when they talk, they’re a 20 year old. It’s different coming from them.”
Butler students at Shortridge
John Dimmick is a student teacher at Shortridge. He grew up in Indianapolis, where he attended a more suburban school and got a degree from Valparaiso University before coming to Butler to attain teaching certification.
While he was first introduced to Shortridge in an education class, he said being a student teacher in a school very different from his own was difficult at first.
“For the Butler students, it can be a slap in the face or a hard dash of reality,” he said. “But it’s a good taste to see what you’re going to face if you end up at an urban school.”
Dimmick said building relationships has been an important strategy for navigating the school.
“Relationships are huge, especially in a place like Shortridge,” he said. “Since they don’t have many resources, the focus isn’t just on academics, but personal and character development, and that’s all about relationships.”
Dimmick said that working at Shortridge has made him a better teacher.
“I was not convinced it was going to be the place for me, but it’s been an experience I definitely needed to have,” he said. “It gave me a good perspective on this side of education, one that is very different than what I experienced personally.”
Junior education major Shelbi Burnett said that while it can be difficult to navigate bureaucracy and implement programs at Shortridge, there is student interest. Burnett is working with other education students on an urban farming project that she hopes will contribute to the future both environmentally and educationally.
“Sustainability means both going green and that you have to create a structure and a framework for learning,” she said.
She said that while teaching in Indianapolis Public Schools can be “unpredictable,” programs and lasting involvement are the way to build the partnership.
Like Dimmick, Burnett said the experience has helped her better understand education.
“I’ve had a paradigm shift that education and learning can be a messy entity,” Burnett said. “These experiences have been invaluable to forming what I think education looks like and what it can look like.”
Katie Brooks, an assistant professor of education, is on the steering committee and has also worked with the School Change Project, which is funded by a five-year, $1.2 million federal professional development grant to work with teachers on how to reach bilingual children and better integrate them into the school.
She said she would like the partnership to become more like an exchange, where Butler professors teach at Shortridge and Shortridge faculty teach at Butler. She said this would help both sides become more comfortable.
“It takes a couple of years to build relationship and build trust,” Brooks said. “Sometimes there’s some suspicion around university people coming in, but I really think we’re starting to break down those assumptions.
While Colby said everyone he interacts with at Shortridge has the “more the merrier approach” when it comes to having Butler support, Furuness agreed with Brooks, saying that there needs to be an eye toward mutual involvement and benefit as the partnership progresses.
“I never want us to be viewed as people who think they have all the answers for what to do in somebody else’s school, but we are fortunate to have access to have a lot of resources,” Furuness said. “I don’t want them to feel like the partnership is necessary for their success. It’s necessary for our mutual success.” | <urn:uuid:d5265410-f19a-492b-8aff-233a6eced723> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thebutlercollegian.com/tag/college-of-education/ | 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 | 0.977728 | 1,505 | 1.828125 | 2 |
The Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASIA) was founded in October 1956, which was the earliest governmental research organization in the field of automation. Presently, CASIA has 317 staff members, including one academician, and 120 professors, associate professors and senior engineers. Besides, CASIA has 328 PhD candidates, 186 master students, and 31 post-doctors.
After its 50-year’s exploration and development, CASIA has shaped into an institute that focuses on three major R/D directions: complex information processing, complex systems control, and integrated systems, which are all of importance to the area of intelligence technology. CASIA has also evolved structurally into an institute that encompasses basic research, application research, and high-tech development, which support and complement each other. Presently, CASIA has five R/D departments, including the National Pattern Recognition Laboratory (NLPR), the National Engineering Center for ASIC Design (NECAD), etc., and 11 joint laboratories and engineering centers as well, including the Chinese-French joint laboratory (LIAMA), the Chinese-Korea joint laboratory, and those set up jointly with other social innovation units. In addition, CASIA has created more than ten spin-off high-tech enterprises such as the Beijing Zhongzi Group, the Beijing HanWang Technology, and so on.
Since its foundation, CASIA has made significant contributions to the economic constructions, social progress, science and technology development, and national security of the country. In the early days, CASIA made historic achievements in the control science and contributed to the A-bombs and H-bombs as well as the satellites. Since 1970, CASIA ahs obtained more than 500 R/D achievements, of which more than 140 received awards form the state and municipal governments or ministries, and has been granted more than 80 patents. CASIA has made substantial breakthroughs in complex science, biometrics, character recognition, speech recognition, IC analysis and design, intelligent robots, and integrated automation.
CASIA insists on its internationalizations. More than 200 of CASIA’s R/D staff are annually sent abroad on short-terms for scientific and technological exchanges. CASIA annually hosts more than 100 oversea guests for scientific visit, and chairs more than ten international conferences. Meanwhile, CASIA has actively worked in partnership with a number of internationally well-known research organizations and worldwide companies. In the co-operations with UK, France, Italy, Japan, and Korea, CASIA has explored three international collaboration modes, i.e., the Chinese-French mode in which CASIA carries out its basic research with the world first-class research institute, the Samsung mode in which CASIA works together with renowned worldwide company in high-tech area to promote industrializations, and the C-STAR mode in which CASIA participates in the international research network to enjoy resource sharing and fulfill standardizations.
Powered up by the Knowledge Innovation Pilot Project, CASIA is determined to build itself into an internationally well-known national research institute being normative and high efficient, democratic and harmonious, and with beautiful environment, and into an institute with strong scientific and technical innovation yet sustainable development ability. | <urn:uuid:a2ba5fee-4cbe-4e13-bf0f-70763c74bfae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://english.ia.cas.cn/au/bi/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954438 | 660 | 1.757813 | 2 |
The world’s richest mining entrepreneur and wealthiest man in Brazil, Eike Batista, is now also the largest holder of mineral rights in the South American iron ore-rich area of Mato Grosso do Sul, with 9,362.98 hectares under his control.
According to Correio de Corumba, the mining mogul owns that land both personally and through EBX Group, the holding Batista created in 1983 headquartered in Rio de Janeiro.
The exploitation of the subsoil mineral wealth of Brazil is done in two steps. First, the company must obtain an exploration license; then, it must commit to operating the potential mine.
However, since it can take a few years for a company to move on from phase one to exploration, it is crucial for firms operating in the South American country to have the “rights to access the land,” which prevents the territory in question to be explored by another company.
Eike, for example, is exploring for iron ore in the southwestern Brazilian state of Mato Grosso through EBX subsidiary MMX, in an area of 1611 hectares. The other 7,781 acres which, according to data from Brazil’s National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM), have no mining activities undergoing, are already reserved for the multibillionaire.
The figures, which came to light thanks to a new Access to Information Act, has caused some controversy in the country as Mato Grosso do Sul is a major tourist destination, famed for its natural beauty and a vast range pristine forests, rivers and waterfalls.
MMX Mineração e Metálicos S.A. ("MMX") is the only Brazilian iron ore mining company with integrated logistics listed on the Novo Mercado segment of the BM&FBovespa.
Read more on the world's richest miner >>
Image taken from YouTube | <urn:uuid:4dd92234-61c8-4b10-8a7c-7e29ee7c22f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mining.com/when-being-the-richest-miner-is-not-enough-eike-batista-becomes-largest-holder-of-mineral-rights-in-brazil/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943388 | 386 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Financing the efficient operation of any concern is never easy. When the necessary funds are sourced only from donations, and when the officers of the ‘business’ are all volunteers, the task is even harder! Nevertheless, through the generous efforts of many the ‘Hope Cove Life Boat’ is afloat and sailing. However, to keep the boat on a steady course, more help is needed.
Any charity, but especially ours whose sole purpose is to ‘protect and save lives’ encounters high running and maintenance costs to provide a first class service. Consequently to give you some idea of the sort of sums we need to raise annually, the following might be helpful.
Crew equipment includes a dry suit which costs around £350.00, a life jacket which costs around £400.00 and various accessories such as gloves, boots and protective under suits which together cost around £150.00. Each crew member will need this equipment, and at the moment there are 12 crew members! Additionally, there are around 6 shore based crew who need the protective clothing, so to provide all this is quite a hefty outlay for starters.
Each crew member needs a pager, which costs around £50.00 per year, a hand held radio which costs around £150.00, and there is of course, a variety of radio and electronic navigational equipment on the boat which costs in the region of £2000.00.
Professional services, such as legal advice, help with the very necessary insurance policies in place, and assistance with essential safety management systems incurs high costs, in excess of £10,000.00 per year. We also require specialist help with servicing of the boat engines, surveying the boat to maintain designated safety levels and the very important maintenance of our launching equipment including the tractor and trailer. Together, these cost around £2000.00.
Of course, one must never forget the fuel costs, and the replacement of simple but essential boat items such as towing ropes, anchors, flares, warps, first aid equipment, etc.
In addition to all of the costs above, one has to consider the eventual replacement of large capital items, in our case the boat itself. It is likely that a replacement could be in the region of £80,000.00, and may be needed in the next couple of years; therefore, we are prudently trying to build an investment fund to cater for this.
One doesn’t need a mathematical degree to work out the necessity of continual fund raising. Many individuals, groups, business concerns, based locally and much further afield have been tremendous with their support. However, much more is needed, and should you feel you can help in any way, no matter how small, do please get in touch. | <urn:uuid:d3a347bc-66cb-4764-ad21-617c23659ac0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hopecovelifeboat.org/?page_id=48 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970281 | 566 | 1.515625 | 2 |
It’s never too early or too late to prioritise fitness. Here are the perfect diets and workout regimens you need for your age.
A couple exercising together
Exercise has been proven to thwart a number of ageing factors — stress, obesity, heart disease and diabetes. But a 50-year-old’s body is not the same as a
20-year-old’s, and you can’t push it the same way. Now, experts share their opinion on how to find the perfect diet and exercise regimen for your age.
Older than 50 years
Diet: “You need smaller meals at this stage, but they should have the highest food value. Buy fresh or frozen food rather than canned. Make eating a social affair. This can remind you to eat regular and balanced meals, which will stave off illness, keep your senses sharp and increase energy,” advises Vikram Srivastava, health expert, Kartavya Healtheon, a health management company.
Fitness: This age requires you to be alert and careful about the choice of exercises. “Resistance training with light dumbbells can be done under expert supervision. Opt for brisk walks or stationary cycles,” says fitness expert Mickey Mehta. “Whenever possible, take the stairs or walk to the grocery store. Practise regular meditation for relaxation and focus,” says Srivastava, adding, “Weight exercises keep bones and muscles strong and improve mobility. If you cannot hold weights, do arm and leg repetitions without them.”
How it helps: “Just 30 to 60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise performed three to five times a week improves health and emotional stability. Regular exercise helps prevent common problems that come with age,” explains Srivastava.
Between 30-50 years
Diet: At this stage, with work and family taking priority, it is hard to find time for fitness activities. “This is the time to add carbohydrates to your meal,” says Srivastava, adding, “Oatmeal can reduce the risk of heart disease and lower cholesterol. Eat more salads and greens.” Atul Peters, director, Institute of Bariatric, Metabolic & Minimal Access Surgery, Fortis Hospital, emphasises a balanced diet, saying, “A balanced diet with adequate proteins, fats and carbohydrates is necessary.”
Fitness: “Focus on improving bone density and immunity,” says Mehta, adding, “Cardio workouts can include jogging, cycling, aerobics and swimming. Yoga and meditation are recommended for core strength and stability.” Srivastava adds, “Do cardiovascular workouts for 30 minutes to an hour three to five days a week.”
How it helps: Srivastava says “Regular exercise lowers the risk of functional limitations in middle-aged people. Moderate-intensity aerobic activities improve balance, strengthen muscles and prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”
Between 18–30 years
Diet: The great thing about being in this age group is that your body and its immune system are at their strongest. You can eat anything and everything as your body is capable of digesting it all. “But the ideal diet for an adult in this age group should comprise three to five small meals and snacks a day (about 250-300 calories per meal or snack),” says Srivastava. He adds, “Do not eat late at night, and avoid junk food and caffeine. Also, limit the intake of alcohol and soda. Give your body vitamins through fruits and vegetables, and protein and iron through lean meat and fish.” Peters says, “A high-protein diet provides the building blocks for
developing muscles and bones.”
Fitness: “Running should be at the core of any exercise for this age group. It helps build stamina and keeps you active. Those interested in bodybuilding can get into weight training,” advises Srivastava. “Do activities like brisk walks, cycling, trekking, or play outdoor games like cricket, hockey and tennis. You can also try power yoga and pilates for flexibility, balance and co-ordination,” adds Mehta.
How it helps: Running, jogging and aerobics help improve cardio-respiratory function and oxygen intake. “It increases the blood flow, burns calories and lowers the heart rate. Lifting weights or working out at a gym builds muscle strength, improves flexibility and adds lean muscle mass,” says Srivastava. “Exercise also improves concentration and overall focus,” adds Peters. | <urn:uuid:405d264b-e5c7-4555-b5d2-2300c8b0367f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Wellness/Know-what-s-the-best-exercise-for-your-age/Article1-998188.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937997 | 977 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Thirteen-year-old National Texting Champion Morgan Pozgar may be able to type "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in fifteen seconds, but the real question is — can she do it blindfolded? Elliot Nicholls, a 17-year-old from Dunedin, New Zealand has set a new record for speed texting without looking at the screen.
According to Spluch, Nicholls was able to text "The razor toothed piranhas of the genera serrasalmus and pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality, they seldom attack a human" in a record breaking 45 seconds without any mistakes.
Once his texting record is ratified, he may just get his name in the Guinness Book of Records for being the world's fastest texter. Check out the video to see him in action. Do you want to learn how to text faster? Check out geeksugar's tips on how to become a text-message champion! | <urn:uuid:d4ada585-1693-430a-980c-22fdf6d6020c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.geeksugar.com/New-Fastest-Texting-Record-Set-Teen-827128 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948352 | 209 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Hunter safety course in Palm Beach Co. offers traditional or online instruction
Monday, April 16, 2012
Media contact: Carli Segelson, 561-882-5703
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will host a free hunter safety course on April 21 and April 22 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Except for those who have successfully completed the online hunter education course, attendance on both days is required for certification. If you have completed the online course, print and bring your final Web report to the FWC course on April 22. It does not have to be notarized.
Students will learn about hunting laws, safe gun handling and hunter ethics/responsibility, among other topics, before taking the final test. The course also includes live-firing instruction on a shooting range.
Classes both days will be held at the Everglades Youth Conservation Camp, J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area, 12100 Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33412.
Participants can sign up at MyFWC.com/HunterSafety or by calling the FWC’s South Region Office at 561-625-5122. A statewide schedule of hunter safety classes is available at MyFWC.com/HunterSafety.
Anyone born on or after June 1, 1975, must pass an approved hunter safety course before purchasing a Florida hunting license. Parents or legal guardians must accompany children under 16 years of age to all classes. To participate in the live-fire exercises, children under 18 years old must present a parental release form signed by a parent or legal guardian. | <urn:uuid:9c303454-b04e-470c-a0d1-cfd0b56a4e56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://myfwc.org/news/news-releases/2012/april/16/hs-palm-beach/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915761 | 339 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Male hair loss can begin at any age, whether youíre 20 or in your 50s. In fact, a survey by the NHS revealed that a quarter of men start losing their hair before they reach their 30th birthday.
Many men arenít happy about going bald; it can impact negatively on their confidence and self esteem and as a result, many men seek out ways to prevent or treat male pattern baldness. Propecia is one such way that can pause hair loss and even encourage hair regrowth naturally.
What is male hair loss?
Male pattern baldness is the most common form of hair loss. With this condition the hair loosens on the scalp and eventually falls out. Itís easy to see if youíre suffering from male pattern baldness, because there is a specific pattern to the way in which your hair falls out. It starts to thin at the crown and at the temples, until the bald patch meets in the middle and creates a horseshoe shape.
What are the causes of hair loss?
Itís widely believed by many experts that male pattern baldness is caused by genetics, though itís really hard to find the exact cause of baldness. It is thought that hair follicles can be genetically more sensitive to an androgen called dihydrotestosterone, or DHT for short. This androgen shrinks hair follicles to such an extent that they are too small to replace lost hairs. The hair follicles havenít died, but they canít grow properly.
Other factors can cause hair loss, ranging from ageing, hormonal imbalances and illness or infectious diseases; to toxic substances and injury or impairment.
Treatments for male pattern baldness
There are three different ways to treat male hair loss:
Over the counter treatments
You can buy a range of natural supplements and creams over the counter. They claim to restore hair growth, but few have clinical data to support that.
The exception is Regaine. Itís a topical lotion that needs to be applied to the scalp twice a day to combat male pattern baldness. It slows hair loss and encourages hair to re-grow, but can be a pain to apply twice-a-day. This is only effective for genetic hair loss, and not male pattern baldness caused by other factors.
There are three main procedures which can cure male baldness, but they are expensive, invasive and may need to be repeated at a later date.
The most common procedures include hair transplants, which take hair from the back of your head and move it to the front of your scalp; scalp reduction, which can reduce a bald patch by removing a piece of scalp and stretching the area of thicker hair over it; or flap surgery, which stretches healthy scalp over a small area affected by male pattern baldness.
The first and only approved prescription male pattern baldness medication is called Propecia. Itís a daily medication used to treat baldness on the top or middle front of the head. It works by preventing the activity of DHT which shrinks hair follicles.
Clinical tests showed that 99% of men who took Propecia experienced no further hair loss. Two-thirds of people experienced significant hair regrowth when using it.
How can I tell which hair loss treatment would be best?
It depends on the type of hair loss you are experiencing because certain medications are only effective on certain types of baldness. You can use our online guide to find out which stage of baldness applies to you. Please include this information when you complete a consultation with one of our registered doctors, because it will help them to prescribe the most effective hair loss treatment for you.
Can I buy prescription hair loss treatments online?
If you suffer from male-pattern baldness you can buy medication online from HealthExpress.eu. First you must complete a consultation which will be reviewed by a doctor, who will prescribe you a suitable treatment that is safe for you to use. Our consultation is completely free, confidential and free from obligation to purchase the medication once your consultation is complete. | <urn:uuid:89265706-9893-407f-8b08-a037aa2522bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthexpress.eu/hairloss_info.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952446 | 836 | 2.640625 | 3 |
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Azeri President Ilham Aliyev today pardoned nine opposition activists imprisoned for attending anti-government protests last year that were inspired by Arab Spring revolutions.
The pardon decree, published on the presidential website, came weeks after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the Azeri capital of Baku and called for the release of all imprisoned opposition members.
Baxtiyar Haciyev, a Harvard-educated youth activist who was also jailed last year after using Facebook to call for anti- government protests, was released two days before Clinton’s visit on June 6.
Opposition parties and groups in energy-rich Azerbaijan staged rallies in Baku in March and April 2011 in an effort to replicate popular uprisings that drove out authoritarian leaders in Tunisia and Egypt. While the rallies didn’t threaten President Aliyev, police detained hundreds of protesters. About 16 of them were later imprisoned for disrupting public order and damaging private property.
To contact the reporter on this story: Zulfugar Agayev in Baku at firstname.lastname@example.org
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Hellmuth Tromm at email@example.com | <urn:uuid:c4ecaa29-f1f1-4dd2-a274-37e79c89b7ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-22/azeri-president-pardons-nine-imprisoned-opposition-activists | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950979 | 268 | 1.53125 | 2 |