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Why Attend 4-H Great Lakes & Natural Resources Camp?
Top Ten Reasons to Attend This Camp
- Have fun in the great outdoors doing camp activities such as fishing, boating, swimming, hiking and having a campfire!
- Learn about and enjoy Great Lakes ecology and Michigan’s diverse natural resources.
- Explore natural resources management issues and what you can do to help.
- Find out about careers related to the Great Lakes and natural resources.
- Learn from Michigan State University faculty, MSU Extension program staff and others who are also natural resources experts.
- Discover environmental education projects that you can do at home.
- Make new friends from across the state and learn about where they are from.
- Enjoy a chance to be independent from your family in a safe, friendly environment.
- Learn new ideas, skills and techniques you can use for the rest of your life.
- Develop your leadership abilities.
More Opportunities for Returning Campers
If you’re a returning camper, you’ll be able to participate in the “regular” camp activities, plus these extras:
- Take a night hike.
- Try out advanced scientific techniques.
- Take on extra leadership roles.
- Be amazed as you notice things you may have missed or didn’t have time to participate in when you attended camp last time.
- Strengthen your skills and qualifications to become a camp counselor in future years.
How Camp Helps in School
The educational experiences at camp help prepare, reinforce and enrich what youth have already studied and will study at school in the future related to biology and earth sciences based on the expectation established by the Michigan Department of Education. Through a variety of camp sessions, youth will be exposed to four of the five Michigan science curriculum standards in earth science and three of the five standards in biology for grades 8 to 12. To learn more, visit the following resources:
- Michigan Science Curriculum High School Content Expectations (Grades 8-12) Addressed by 4-H Great Lakes & Natural Resources Camp
- Michigan Department of Education Merit Curriculum — Science
In preparation for implementation of the new high school graduation requirements, the Michigan Department of Education, in collaboration with partners across the state has developed Course/Credit Content Expectations to provide all educators with a common understanding of what high school students should know and be able to do at the completion of each credit/course.
MSU Pre-College Scholarship Opportunity
Campers who enter eighth, ninth or tenth grades following their involvement are eligible for nomination to apply for a $2000 MSU Pre-College Achievement Scholarship. Campers will be invited to apply based on criteria such as attitude, behavior and active participation. The funds will be applied toward the first year at MSU as a degree-seeking student. For more information, visit the 4-H Scholarships area of this site. | <urn:uuid:c109e42b-d4b2-48c9-a1c4-da82d140557d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://4h.msue.msu.edu/events/glnrc/why_attend | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926376 | 600 | 2.46875 | 2 |
US President George W. Bush:
A seminal figure in the struggle for freedom, President Meri provided a moral compass to the Estonian people, ably leading them through the challenges that faced an Estonian republic that regained independence after a half-century of oppression.
The New York Times:
In contrast to the office of prime minister, Estonia's post-Soviet presidency was conceived as a largely ceremonial position. Mr. Meri, however, routinely tested the elasticity of the job. In 1994, for instance, Mr. Meri negotiated a treaty with President Boris N. Yeltsin of Russia securing the withdrawal of the last Russian troops from Estonia.
International Herald Tribune:
Among ordinary Estonians, Meri, also a writer and film director, was a beloved, charismatic father figure, whose dry humor and sharp wit only added to his charm.
More broadly, he saw himself as a kind of public conscience, rather like Václav Havel in Prague, a figure who could stand above political squabbling and urge the maintenance of basic standards of behaviour. Meri’s greatest asset to Estonia remained as an international figurehead. A polyglot, endlessly curious, full of humour, Meri charmed foreign visitors, who readily forgave his famous inability to stick to a timetable. He firmly asserted what his life’s work had proved: that Estonia had the right to call itself a fully European nation, historically tied to the West.
On a state visit to Lithuania in the late 1990s, he stopped his official convoy, asked a girl in the street if he could borrow her bike and cycled off to find a much-loved bookshop. On another occasion, he found the coffee served at a City lunch in London so unpleasant that he stopped the convoy again, this time for an espresso at Pret A Manger.
Radio Free Europe:
He grew up in the Estonian missions in Paris and Berlin, learning French so well that several French presidents went out of their way, in clear violation of protocol, to have him seated next to them at dinners in Paris. His German was reputedly so good that several Baltic German families said they were sure that somehow, somewhere there was German in his background. But his father, who at the end of the 1930s was serving as Estonia's deputy foreign minister, insisted from the start that his oldest son learn English and corresponded with him in that language both whenever he was away from home and even, on several occasions, from a cell in the Lubyanka. And possibly as a result of his perfect command of English and his father's enthusiasm, Meri was to the end of his life the most consistent supporter of an Atlanticist perspective for Estonia and her neighbors.
Being 6ft 4in and fluent in six languages, he could not fail to stand out at any international function. Whether he talked in English, French, German or Finnish, few would have realised how much of his background knowledge had come from books hidden during Soviet occupation or from listening illegally to short-wave radio stations.
Finnish President Tarja Halonen:
The Finnish nation lost in Lennart Meri a close and sincere friend and the world, a great statesman who was one of the leading architects of the post-Cold War world.
During Lennart Meri’s time as president Estonia has greatly changed. This was in no uncertain terms achieved by the president of the country whose role in the main was connected with presenting a certain image of the country in the international community. Meri managed to create an image of Estonia in the world that was far from Soviet. It is surprising that a man who lived virtually his whole life in the Soviet Union, starting in Siberia, managed to retain a semblance of European politics. The president of small Estonia was known in different international forums for his smart suit, black tie and decent manners. A man from Tallinn!
Urmas Paet, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs:
Those who visited him at his home in the suburb of Nõmme, even in the old days, remember how he would, from time to time, grab from the bookshelf a French dictionary of diplomacy, inherited from his father, a pre-war Estonian diplomat. As a person who had, already in his childhood, breathed the air of international politics and had become infected by the virus of foreign policy, it was easy for him to grasp the challenges of the new times. When he became minister of foreign affairs, his motto became: "New times require new people!", and the result was, that soon a new Estonian foreign service, staffed by extremely young and talented people, came into being. Its growth and development remained close to his heart until the end. | <urn:uuid:3fc3a6f5-b439-4ed9-b522-09fe833126d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://palun.blogspot.com/2006/03/more-meri.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982644 | 972 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Dick Steinberg has resided in the city of Brookfield for 35 years. He served 34 years as municipal judge and has been an attorney for 50 years. He enjoys tennis, golf, biking and creative writing, which includes legal issues, sports, government and people.
He'd love to hear from you. Click here to send him an e-mail.
Civil Discourse by Webster is defined as such. Civil is to conform to the normal standard of politeness. Discourse is conversation. Here are some time tested ideas.
1. LISTEN AND LEARN. To listen is not only polite but it is necessary to understand the conversation as a whole. | <urn:uuid:4e326816-1b7c-43bd-81ec-b05803f1c0a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brookfieldnow.com/blogs/communityblogs/43483372.html?action=blog_archive&startDate=02-01-2011&endDate=02-28-2011&blogID=43483122 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981992 | 135 | 1.859375 | 2 |
MARY JO WHITE, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of
New York, announced that RAYMOND TORRICELLI, a/k/a "rolex,"
the head of a hacker group known as "#conflict," was sentenced
today to four months in prison and four months of home confinement for,
among other things, breaking into two computers owned and maintained by
the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations Jet Propulsion
Laboratory ("JPL"), located in Pasadena, California, and using
one of those computers to host an Internet chat-room devoted to hacking.
Chief United States District Judge MICHAEL B. MUKASEY also ordered TORRICELLI
to pay a $4,400 in restitution to NASA.
At his plea to five separate charges on December 1, 2000, TORRICELLI admitted
that, in 1998, he was a computer hacker, and a member of a hacking organization
known as "#conflict." TORRICELLI admitted that, operating from
his residence in New Rochelle, New York, he used his personal computer
to run programs designed to search the Internet, and seek out computers
which were vulnerable to intrusion. Once such computers were located,
TORRICELLI's computer obtained unauthorized access to the computers by
uploading a program known as "rootkit." According to the Complaint,
"rootkit" is a program which, when run on computer, allows a
hacker to gain complete access to all of a computer's functions without
having been granted these privileges by the authorized users of that computer.
According to the Information and Complaint, one of the computers TORRICELLI
accessed was used by NASA to perform satellite design and mission analysis
concerning future space missions, another was used by JPLs Communications
Ground Systems Section as an e-mail and internal web server. According
to the Complaint, and his plea allocution, after gaining this unauthorized
access to computers and loading "rootkit," TORRICELLI under
his alias "rolex," used many of the computers to host chat-room
According to the Complaint, TORRICELLI admitted that, in these discussions,
he invited other chat participants to visit a website which enabled them
to view pornographic images and that he earned 18 cents for each visit
a person made to that website. According to the Complaint, TORRICELLI
earned approximately $300-400 from per week from this activity.
TORRICELLI also pled guilty to intercepting usernames and passwords traversing
the computer networks of a computer owned by San Jose State University.
In addition, TORRICELLI pled guilty to possession of stolen passwords
and usernames which he used to gain free Internet access, or to gain unauthorized
access to still more computers. According to the Complaint, TORRICELLI
admitted that when he obtained passwords which were encrypted, he would
use a password cracking program known as"John-the-Ripper" to
decrypt the passwords.
In addition, TORRICELLI pled guilty to possessing stolen credit card numbers,
he admitted obtaining from other individuals and stored them on his computer.
TORRICELLI admitted that he used one such credit card number to purchase
long distance telephone service.
According to the Complaint, much of the evidence obtained against TORRICELLI
was obtained through a search of his personal computer. According to the
Complaint, in addition to thousands of stolen passwords and numerous credit
card numbers, investigators found transcripts of chat-room discussions
in which TORRICELLI and members of "#conflict" discussed, among
other things, (1) breaking into other computers (a practice known as "hacking");
(2) obtaining credit card numbers belonging to other persons and using
those numbers to make unauthorized purchases (a practice known as "carding");
and (3) using their computers to electronically alter the results of the
annual MTV Movie Awards.
Ms. WHITE praised the investigative efforts of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Computer Crimes
Division; the New Rochelle, New York, Police Department; and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
TORRICELLI, 20, lives in the New Rochelle, New York.
Assistant United States Attorney JOSEPH V. De MARCO is in charge of the | <urn:uuid:a1ac9dc3-7eb0-4a81-8f24-333d87e2b037> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/press-releases/2005/gascaConviction.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94393 | 943 | 1.65625 | 2 |
New OB/GYN guidelines urge annual wellness visits
Obstetricians and gynecologists want women to keep coming to them for annual exams, even though women are no longer advised to get yearly Pap tests to screen for cervical cancer.
In new guidelines published Monday, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists makes the case for an annual "well-woman" visit and continues to recommend annual pelvic exams for women older than age 21. But the doctors' group also says "no evidence supports or refutes," the value of the internal exam for finding signs of cancer or other problems in women with no symptoms. So the final decision is up to women and their doctors, the group says.
The guidelines come a few months after it, the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and several other groups said most women need a Pap smear only every three years, starting at age 21, and can get them even less frequently after age 30 if they also get tests for the cancer-causing human papillomavirus. Women with no history of problems can stop Pap tests at 65, the groups say.
But a Pap smear, in which cells are scraped from the cervix, is not a pelvic exam and a pelvic exam is just part of a preventive visit, the gynecologists' group says.
"Many women refer to going to see their gynecologist as going in for their Pap smear," says Gerald F. Joseph Jr., vice president of practice activities for the college. "But there are many other things involved."
An annual visit can be used to check blood pressure and weight, update immunizations, counsel patients on healthy lifestyles, screen for sexually transmitted infections and other health problems, perform breast exams and build relationships between doctors and patients, the group says.
But many experts now question the use of special annual appointments for such purposes, says Ateev Mehrotra, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine who has studied annual preventive visits to gynecologists and other doctors.
In a study published in 2007, he found 17% of U.S. women, about 19 million, had a yearly preventive visit with a gynecologist, accounting for 26% of all visits to gynecologists. Average cost for each visit: $136.
"We estimate that about $8 billion a year is spent on preventive yearly physicals of all kinds," he says. "The question is whether we could spend those $8 billion more wisely." Studies do show people who get annual check-ups are more likely to get needed tests and other services, he says, but it may be more efficient for patients to get those services when they come in for other reasons or for computer systems to remind patients and doctors when they are needed.
Judy Norsigian, executive director of Our Bodies Ourselves, a nonprofit group that publishes health advice for women, says: "I don't believe the value of the annual gynecological exam has ever been proven," and that there's no reason for women without abnormal bleeding or other problems to get pelvic exams every year.
Yet Joseph says a woman of reproductive age benefits from building a relationship with a doctor who may do everything from treating vaginal infections to delivering babies to counseling on sexual difficulties.
He says he does not expect the regular pelvic exam to disappear soon: "Many women are not going to feel comfortable unless they have the traditional pelvic exam they have grown up with, even though the studies don't show in general that it makes a huge difference to their health." He says "it's a ritual," and many women are reassured when a doctor finds no obvious abnormality, which is what usually happens.
The exam, done with a speculum and a doctor's hand, does sometimes lead to the discovery of cancer or other problems, he says. But it also can lead to false alarms and unneeded follow-up tests or procedures, he says. Studies have not shown whether the benefits outweigh the risks, the group acknowledges.
The guidelines say pelvic exams:
• Are not recommended for girls and women younger than age 21 who have no symptoms. (Girls ages 13 to 15 are urged to come in for counseling and vaccines).
• Are not needed to get a prescription for birth control pills.
• Are not needed to screen for sexually transmitted infections, because urine samples and external vaginal swabs can be used.
• Are always appropriate when patients have menstrual disorders, vaginal discharge, infertility, pelvic pain or menopausal problems such as abnormal bleeding or vaginal dryness.
The group also recommends women have their breasts examined by a doctor every one to three years starting at age 20 and then every year after age 40. That's in line with recommendations from several other groups, though the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says evidence for such exams is unclear. | <urn:uuid:6e8a8716-6b80-45f6-9167-ab6a7d4d89dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-07-23/gynecology-guidelines/56444394/1?csp=34news | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967048 | 994 | 1.875 | 2 |
Who you are, what you hold dear, what upsets you, and what underlies your decisions are all connected to your personal values.
Our values reflect what is important to us. They are a shorthand way of describing our individual motivations. Together with our beliefs, they are the causal factors that drive our decision-making.
Understanding our values helps us to understand why we may act or react the way we do. Living your values can make you feel in balance. In contrast, going against your values may make you feel as though you are not being true to yourself.
The personal values assessment is simple survey that takes just a few minutes of your time and provides a wealth of information and exercises in the report to help you understand your values.
After taking your assessment, explore more about your values here. | <urn:uuid:dd1630d5-46e0-478e-ab45-c4c67bfe55a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.valuescentre.com/pva/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937078 | 164 | 2.40625 | 2 |
The Employment Standards Act is the law that contains basic rules about employing people and working. Both employees and employers have rights and
responsibilities under the Act.
Does the Act cover all employees in Ontario?
Most employees are covered by the provincial legislation. However, employees working in industries that fall under Federal jurisdiction, such as, Post office, Banks, Railways, Radio stations, Airlines, Television stations etc. are not covered.
If you are currently employed with the company, you may be able to file a claim with a request that your name not be disclosed. The Act protects you when you are exercising your rights under it.
Section 14(1) of the Act states:
Despite any other Act, wages shall have priority over and be paid before the claims and rights of all other unsecured creditors of the employer, to the extent of $10,000 per employee.
This section prevails over other provincial Acts to the extent that they that they purport to grant a different level of priority for the employee’s wages, or to grant priority over wages to some competing claims.
In matters of insolvency, this section gives wages as defined in section 1 priority over all unsecured creditors of the employer (including the Crown) to the extent of $10,000 for each employee.
However, this section does not give priority over the claims of secured creditors of the employer such as trade creditors or suppliers. A secured creditor is one with an interest in the debtor’s property to secure payment or performance of an obligation.
It should also be noted that because “wages” under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 includes vacation pay, the amount of vacation pay deemed to be held in trust under section 40(1) will be included in the $10,000 amount that is given priority under section 14(1). However, the deemed trust status under section 40(1) confers a greater priority over other creditors with respect to the vacation pay component of the $10,000 than the priority afforded under section 14(1).
Section 14(2) of the Act states:
Subsection (1) does not apply with respect to a distribution under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada) or other legislation enacted by the Parliament of Canada respecting bankruptcy or insolvency.
This section clarifies that the provincial guarantee of wages under section 14(1) does not extend to the Federal Legislation concerning bankruptcy and insolvency as it is presently enacted or in future if the Canadian Parliament so chooses.
If you or the employer disagrees with the investigating officer’s decision, both parties have a right to appeal to Ontario Labour Relations Board within 30 days of the officer’s decision. The Board appoints a referee to hear the appeal. It does not cost the employee to request an appeal but the employer may be required to deposit monies in trust with the Ministry of Labour if it is found to be owing. The referee decision is final and binding on both parties.
In the past, the Ministry was very aggressive in defending the rights of an employee and would send a legal counsel to represent the employee at the Board’s hearing to deal with the matter. It rarely does so now. Obviously, the employer has advantage over the employee in these circumstances. The question arises, should the employee also engage the services of a professional? It is my view, employee’s may not engage such services at the officer’s level hearing but may do so at the at the referee level hearing, particularly, if the issues are complex.
It is important that if a hearing has been scheduled, the employee must attend such a hearing to present evidence to support its position or to contest the employer’s evidence, otherwise, the officer or the referee may rely on the evidence of the employer to render a decision.
This information is provided for guidance only and should not be considered as a legal advice.
If you have further questions regarding your entitlements under the Act, please send your questions by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.org or by fax at (905) 331-1805. | <urn:uuid:afbd869f-a4d9-48e0-a831-270e27caa68d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mybindi.typepad.com/employment/2011/08/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953103 | 852 | 1.945313 | 2 |
News tagged with aggressive behaviour
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause pain or harm. Predatory or defensive behavior between members of different species is not normally considered "aggression." Aggression takes a variety of forms among humans and can be physical, mental, or verbal. Aggression should not be confused with assertiveness, although the terms are often used interchangeably among laypeople, e.g. an aggressive salesperson.
There are two broad categories of aggression. These include hostile, affective, or retaliatory aggression and instrumental, predatory, or goal-oriented aggression. Empirical research indicates that there is a critical difference between the two, both psychologically and physiologically. Some research indicates that people with tendencies toward affective aggression have lower IQs than those with tendencies toward predatory aggression. If only considering physical aggression, males tend to be more aggressive than females. One explanation for this difference is that females are physically weaker than men, and so need to resort to other means.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
There is a link between use of anabolic-androgenic steroids and reduced mental health later in life. This is the main conclusion of a new study on elite male strength athletes that researchers from the University of Gothenburg ...
Psychology & Psychiatry 8 hours ago | not rated yet | 0 | <urn:uuid:c0da0c28-393d-4092-8dfb-736c5d8d77be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://medicalxpress.com/tags/aggressive+behaviour/sort/liverank/1w/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939076 | 296 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Fort Snelling's round tower
|Location:||Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA|
|Nearest city:||Across Mississippi River from Saint Paul, at 7th Street Bridge, St. Paul, Minnesota|
|Architect:||Colonel Josiah Snelling|
|Governing body:||Minnesota Historical Society|
|Added to NRHP:||15 October 1966|
|Designated NHL:||19 December 1960|
Fort Snelling, originally known as Fort Saint Anthony, was a military fortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota River and Mississippi River in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a National Park Service unit, includes historic Fort Snelling.
The Minnesota Historical Society now runs the fort, located atop a bluff along the river. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources runs Fort Snelling State Park, protecting the land at the bottom of the bluff. Fort Snelling once encompassed both parcels.
Lieutenant Zebulon Pike in 1805 acquired Pike's Purchase, 100,000 acres (400 km²) of land in the area. Significant settlement began in the late 1810s. Following the War of 1812, the federal War Department built a chain of forts and installed Indian agents between Lake Michigan and the Missouri River. These forts primarily protected the northwestern territories from Canadian and British encroachment. The Army founded Fort Saint Anthony in 1819.
Colonel Josiah Snelling commanded the 5th Infantry Regiment (United States). Its soldiers constructed the original Fort Saint Anthony from 1820 to 1824. During construction, most soldiers lived at Camp Coldwater, which provided drinking water to the fort throughout the 19th century. The post surgeon began recording meteorological observations at Fort Saint Anthony in January 1820, beginning one of the longest near-continuous weather records in the country. Upon its completion in 1825, the Army renamed the fort as 'Fort Snelling in honor of its commander and architect.
Frontier post
The soldiers at the northwestern frontier outposts denied persons other than citizens of United States of America commercial use of the rivers, kept American Indian lands free of white settlement until treaties permitted it, enforced law and order, and protected legitimate travelers and traders. At Fort Snelling, the garrison also attempted to keep the peace between the Ojibwe and Sioux (Dakota) people.
Colonel Snelling suffered from chronic dysentery, and bouts of the illness made him susceptible to anger. Recalled to Washington, he left Fort Snelling in September 1827. Colonel Snelling died in summer 1828 from complications due to dysentery and a "brain fever."
John Emerson purchased the slave Dred Scott in Saint Louis, Missouri, but he later worked at Fort Snelling and lived at the fort with Dred and Harriet Scott during much of the 1830s. Missouri Compromise then made slavery illegal in Minnesota Territory. Life of Dred Scott in Minnesota led to the infamous United States Supreme court case Dred Scott v. Sandford.
The establishment and population of towns of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota diminished the need for a forward frontier military post in the region. The Army sold Fort Snelling to Franklin Steele in 1858 for $90,000. (Fortunately for Steele, the deal included 8000 acres (32 km²) later annexed into south Minneapolis.)
Civil War and afterwards
During the American Civil War, however, Franklin Steele leased Fort Snelling back to the War Department for use as an induction station. In fact, it was used as a concentration camp during the Dakota War of 1862, where hundreds of women, children, and elders were held captive on Pike Island through the winter of 1862-63. After the war, Steele leased the land around Fort Snelling to settlers, and the town of Minneapolis began to expand. The town of Minneapolis incorporated a city in 1867. United States Army regulars meanwhile returned to Fort Snelling. Fort Snelling dispatched forces to protect the interests of the white colonizers on the frontier from the Dakota people, west to the Rocky Mountains. Soldiers from Fort Snelling fought in the Indian Wars and the Spanish American War of 1898.
Through World War II, the War Department chose Fort Snelling as the location for the Military Intelligence Service Language School to teach the Japanese language to Army personnel. The War Department constructed scores of buildings for housing and teaching, and the school processed three hundred thousand soldiers.
Second decommissioning
The War Department decommissioned Fort Snelling on 12 October 1946, and various federal agencies took parcels from the grounds of the old fort. The majority of the structures fell into disrepair. In 1960, it was listed as a National Historic Landmark.
Fort Snelling nevertheless continued to serve as headquarters of United States Army Reserve 205th Infantry Brigade comprised three light infantry battalions and attached field artillery, cavalry, air defense artillery, combat engineers, and supporting logistics units throughout the Upper Midwest. The Defense Department deactivated this role in 1994 as a part of force-structure eliminations. Over the decades, the Army interred many deceased Minnesotan soldiers and other members of the United States Armed Forces at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Some military facilities continue to operate around old Fort Snelling.
The Minnesota Historical Society meanwhile converted the area of the original walled fort into an educational establishment, rebuilt to resemble its original appearance, and staffed during the spring, summer and early fall with costumed personnel interpreting life at the early post. Although restoring and re-creating the original fort assures its survival as a historical artifact for the foreseeable future, many briefly used buildings of the fort gradually fell into serious disrepair and neglect. In May 2006, National Trust for Historic Preservation added Upper Post of Fort Snelling to its list of "America's Most Endangered Places." Some restoration on historic Fort Snelling, however, continues underway: crews removed the flagpole from the iconic round tower and will placed it in the ground, a change since its opening as a historic fort.
Geography and transportation
The fort is located on Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory, an unincorporated area and division of Hennepin County lying just east of the city of Richfield. It is also adjacent to the cities of Minneapolis, Bloomington, Saint Paul (across the Mississippi River), and Mendota Heights (across the Minnesota River). The fort is located at the eastern end of the territory, near the confluence of the Mississippi River with the Minnesota River.
Fort Snelling unorganized territory contains numerous military and other federal facilities. These facilities include historic Fort Snelling, its cemetery, and the Minneapolis Veterans Health Administration Medical Center. Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport, however, includes most of the land area of the unorganized territory. According to the United States Census Bureau, this unorganized territory has a total area of 17.2 km² (6.7 mi²). 16.5 km² (6.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it is water.
As of the census of 2000, 442 people reside in the unorganized territory. The population density is 26.8/km² (69.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the unorganized territory is 94.57% White, 3.62% Black or African American, 1.36% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, and 0.23% of other races. 0.45% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The population is spread out with 4.5% from 25 to 44, 33.0% from 45 to 64, and 62.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 69 years.
Airport and economy
In 2009, as Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines merged, Delta removed all employees from Building A, the previous headquarters of Northwest in Eagan, and all employees who remained in the Minneapolis were moved to Building C, which was renovated. Facilities within the building include the Compass Airlines corporate headquarters, which moved there on December 16, 2009. the Regional Elite Airline Services headquarters, and Delta SkyBonus offices.
Prior to its disestablishment, Republic Airlines (1979-1986) had its headquarters in Building C. At one time Mesaba Airlines had its headquarters in the Fort Snelling UT. At one time MAIR Holdings had its headquarters in the UT.
See also
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2006-03-15.
- "Fort Snelling". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
- "Historic Fort Snelling: A Brief History of Fort Snelling". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
- "Fort Snelling State Park Upper Bluff Reuse Study" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. November 1998.
- "Urban Connections - Minneapolis". USDA Forest Service. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
- Marilynn Larew (March 15, 1978). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Fort Snelling (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2009-06-21 and PDF (6.55 MB)
- "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- "delta air lines' farmers market-building c." Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport. Retrieved on January 19, 2012. "Location: MSP Airport-Delta Building C, North Side near Compass Airlines Entrance"
- "Fort Snelling UT, Hennepin county, Minnesota." (Archive) U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on December 19, 2009.
- "Expanded Branch and ATM Access Comes to the Twin Cities." Wings Financial. Retrieved on January 19, 2012. "Delta Air Lines Bldg. C* 7500 Airline Drive Minneapolis, MN"
- "Blood Drive | Delta Air Lines Bldg C." Memorial Blood Centers. Retrieved on January 19, 2012. "Street: 7500 Airline Drive City: Bloomington State: Minnesota Country: USA"
- Niemela, Jennifer. "Delta reaches deal on Minnesota jobs." Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. Tuesday December 16, 2008. Retrieved on January 19, 2012.
- Grayson, Katharine. "Delta CEO: We'll consolidate MSP office space." Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. Friday June 12, 2009. Last modified on Monday June 15, 2009. Retrieved on January 19, 2012.
- "About Us." Compass Airlines. Retrieved on December 18, 2009. "7500 Airline Drive Suite 130 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55450"
- "CR-7010-Docket.pdf." Unity and Strength For Workers. Retrieved on January 19, 2012. "Regional Elite Airline Services 7500 Airline Drive C079 Minneapolis, MN 55450-1101"
- "Contact us." Delta SkyBonus. Retrieved on January 19, 2012. "SkyBonus® MS3-746 7500 Airline Drive Minneapolis, MN 55450"
- "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 30, 1985. 111.
- "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 23–29, 1994. 106. "Head office: 7501 26th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55450, USA"
- "2001 Annual Report." MAIR Holdings. Retrieved on August 16, 2011. " 7501 26th Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55450"
Further reading
- Historic Fort Snelling. Minnesota Historical Society.
- TimePieces Timeline: 1819 U.S. Outpost. Minnesota Historical Society.
- America's 11 Most Endangered Places: Fort Snelling Upper Post
- Photos of Upper Post
- Anfinson, John O. (2003). River of History: A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fort Snelling|
- Three Score Years and Ten - Life-Long Memories of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and other parts of the West, by Charlotte Ouisconsin Van Cleve. Published in 1888, from Project Gutenberg
- Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Department of Veterans Affairs Official webpage
- Minneapolis VA Medical Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Official webpage
- Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Official website
- NHL summary
- National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form - includes description and details on buildings
- Historic Fort Snelling page of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area's website | <urn:uuid:af7513a2-a8a0-434b-806a-64811a973ffa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Snelling,_Minnesota | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90865 | 2,631 | 3.34375 | 3 |
IRS sending tax fraud message
IRS investigating, prosecuting anyone who commits fraud
The IRS is sending a serious message to criminals just as the 2013 federal tax-filing season begins -- if anyone commits tax fraud they will be investigated and prosecuted.
Federal agents announced last week they took action against nearly 400 people suspected of involvement in identity theft to commit tax fraud.
It's all part of a year-long IRS crackdown that was a result of a massive nationwide sweep targeting identity thefts in 32 states.
The effort targets thieves taking other people's information, filing a false return so they can steal the tax refund.
As tax season begins this year, the IRS wants to be clear there's a heavy price to pay for perpetrators of refund fraud.
"The IRS has identified over a million incidents of identity theft just in the last filing season," tax manager Timothy Raines said.
Last week, the IRS announced 109 arrests, 189 indictments, court complaints and information, plus 47 search warrants.
The January crackdown pushes the total number of identity theft investigations to more than 14,000 since the start of the fiscal year.
The IRS released a map on Thursday that shows the bulk of the enforcement actions on fraudulent reporting took place on the East Coast and in the Midwest.
"People filing taxes for other people, people claiming refunds that they really don't deserve or aren't theirs, under-reporting of income," Raines said.
The IRS is stepping up its effort to pursue and prevent refund fraud and identity theft, putting several new security measures in place this tax season.
"One of the things they implemented was if you're a victim of identity theft and you've notified the IRS or they've contacted you, they will provide you a very special PIN number," Raines said.
To help taxpayers, the IRS has a special section on IRS.gov on identity theft issues like how to protect yourself, YouTube videos and tips for victims.
Copyright 2013 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:7daf8512-9466-4edf-b757-b3005ae23ac5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news4jax.com/morning-show/IRS-sending-tax-fraud-message/-/1875838/18492628/-/format/rsss_2.0/view/print/-/v2msi7/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960161 | 424 | 1.554688 | 2 |
US government, music industry websites taken offline in web attack
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The day after several major websites staged a mass blackout over proposed United States anti piracy legislation, namely the (SOPA) and the (PIPA) proposals, members of online activist group have knocked US , Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI), 's (RIAA) and (UMG)'s websites offline in apparently coordinated web attacks. Several other websites such as BMI.com were also taken offline.
At about 4:15 p.m. Twitter, members of Anonymous claim responsibility, saying the attacks are a response to the FBI's seizure and shutdown of file-sharing website , and in protest against the American anti-piracy laws. The group calls this "the largest attack ever by Anonymous" with over 5,600 people participating in the attack.both www.justice.gov, www.fbi.gov, and www.universalmusic.com went offline. Shortly after 5:00 p.m. the RIAA's website also went dark. At the time of this report, all three websites are still offline. Just after 6:00 p.m., Universal Music Group shut down their website for "maintenance." In postings to
"The government takes down Megaupload? 15 minutes later Anonymous takes down government & record label sites. Expect us," stated a message from 'YourAnonNews' on Twitter. Another member of Anonymous toldthat there are more attacks to come.
Megaupload was a file-sharing website boasting over 50 million visits per day. On Thursday the FBI seized and shutdown the website, arresting its founder and three other people. A total of seven people connected to the website were arrested and indicted on charges that include copyright infringement, racketeering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Authorities say Megaupload allowed individuals to download movies "often before their theatrical release, music, television programs, electronic books, and business and entertainment software on a massive scale." They also claim the website was costing entertainment industry copyright-holders "well in excess of$500 million" in damages.
Related news
"Wikipedia, Reddit in 'blackout' against SOPA, PROTECT IP laws" — Wikinews, January 17, 2012
- Anthony Ha. "Anonymous Reacts to Megaupload Takedown With “Largest Attack Ever”" — , January 19, 2012
- RT News. "RT America News twitter feed" — , January 19, 2012
- David Kravets. "Feds Shutter Megaupload, Arrest Executives" — , January 19, 2012
- "Anonymous launches largest attack ever, crippling government and music industry sites" — , January 19, 2012
- YourAnonNews. "YourAnonNews Twitter feed" — , January 19, 2012
- @RT_America. "RT America News twitter feed" — , January 19, 2012 | <urn:uuid:37b73926-f693-488e-804d-9f64461d7280> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/US_government,_music_industry_websites_taken_offline_in_web_attack | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950537 | 603 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Bourtoom, T. (2008) Edible films and coatings: characteristics and properties. International Food Research Journal, 15 (3). ISSN 1985-4668
Edible films and coatings have received considerable attention in recent years because of their advantages including use as edible packaging materials over synthetic films. This could contribute to the reduction of environmental pollution. By functioning as barriers, such edible films and coatings can feasibly reduce the complexity and thus improve the recyclability of packaging materials, compared to the more traditional non-environmental friendly packaging materials, and may be able to substitute such synthetic polymer films. New materials have been developed and characterized by scientists, many from abundant natural sources that have traditionally been regarded as waste materials. The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive introduction to edible coatings and films by providing descriptions of suitable materials, reviewing their properties and describing methods of their applications and potential uses.
|Faculty or Institute:||Faculty of Food Science and Technology|
|Deposited By:||Yusfauhannum Mohd Yunus|
|Deposited On:||25 Nov 2008 23:56|
|Last Modified:||30 Mar 2010 08:16|
Repository Staff Only: item control page | <urn:uuid:3bb45417-ca1c-4285-ac1c-f426afd3e774> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/732/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913031 | 260 | 2.53125 | 3 |
There are various ways to keep your eyes healthy and keep them protected from the harmful materials in the environment and in our daily lives. But just how much do you know about what you can do to keep your eyes healthy? Use these 6 healthy eye tips from your eye doctor:
- Watch what you eat – Eating foods that are high in antioxidants helps prevent a variety of eye diseases and ensures you maintain healthy vision. Incorporate more antioxidant rich foods into your diet. Some foods that are high in antioxidants include:
- Fruit including blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums, pomegranate, etc.
- Beans including small red beans, red kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, etc.
- Vegetables including kale, red cabbage, peppers, spinach, lemon, red beets and artichoke
- Spices including cloves, cinnamon and oregano
If your vision has been affected or if you require eye care visit Dr. Charles Breen, ophthalmologist, at 7370 Turfway Rd. 3rd Floor, St. Elizabeth Medical Office Building, Florence, KY 41042.
This article is provided as an information resource and is not intended to replace advice from a qualified ophthalmologist. In all cases, contact your ophthalmologist for advice on any matter referenced in this document before making any decisions. | <urn:uuid:f956f601-6d3a-4b4c-9679-e9a7c2694874> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://charlesbreen.com/whats-new/6-healthy-eye-tips-from-your-eye-doctor/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923998 | 286 | 2.84375 | 3 |
The Graduate Program in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources prepares students for career opportunities and cooperative ventures with federal and state agencies, private industry, and nearby horticultural institutions. The program strives to generate research designed to solve problems encountered in the study, production and manipulation of plant species and in evaluating various aspects of the plant sciences including plant production, physiology, culture and taxonomy.
Admissions and Degree Requirements
In addition to the general Graduate School Requirements, potential candidates must have an undergraduate degree in plant sciences or the equivalent, with (30) credits from the following list of courses: General Botany, Horticultural Plant Materials, Statistics/Biometrics, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Field Crops, Forage Crops, Ecology, Plant Systematics, Soils, Entomology, Weed Science, Genetics, Plant Physiology, Molecular Biology, Plant Pathology and Plant Propagation.
Course Descriptions
Master of Science Degree Program in Plant Science
The Masters Degree in Plant Science is designed to prepare students for advanced study in plant culture, physiology, management and/or systematics. The degree requires a supervised research program and a thesis. A total of 31 credit hours are required for the degree, including 22 hours of course work and 9 credit hours of research.
The Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources is housed in the W.W. Baker Building, which contains classrooms, offices, and laboratories that support the program. Other facilities include the Claude E. Phillips Herbarium and a 6,000 square foot Research Greenhouse. The Claude E. Phillips Herbarium, with ca. 145,000 specimens, contains the largest collection of preserved plant specimens at any historically black institution and is a premier center for studying plant diversity, human uses of plants, and the conservation of rare plants. A research greenhouse is located on the north side of the Baker building. Several fields and research plots are located on the campus grounds. Hickory Hill Farm, used for forage and animal research, is located approximately 7 miles away in Cheswold, Delaware.
The faculty in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources are dedicated to their fields of study and have diverse backgrounds. Their specific areas of research interest include plant systematics, plant physiology, tissue culture, forage production, forage utilization, and minor crop production. Active research programs exist within these areas and offer graduate students many opportunities for active learning and discovery. | <urn:uuid:6f5b6fa7-7961-4e74-892b-9bac496e170f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://desu.edu/print/191 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924523 | 491 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Antlers Away! Toronto’s Vanishing Urban Moose
Once upon a time in Toronto, blurting out “Hey, nice rack!” could get a guy slapped. Then the moose came… 326 fiberglass Bullwinkles, scattered across the city, artistically decorated and auctioned off to corporate sponsors. A decade later, only a few dozen of the street beat bleaters remain. Who will be the last moose standing?
A Great White North Hope
(image via: Pelican47)
Want to attract the Olympics? Use moose as your bait. That, in a nutshell, was the driving force behind one of Toronto’s more a-moose-ing boondoggles – we’d call it a white elephant but, you know… Anyway, the year was 2000 and the bigwigs at City Hall were looking at ways to spend money. “Spend”, not save; this is Toronto, understand, and being a wannabe World Class City means you don’t do things on the cheap.
Toronto’s bureaucrats, elected councillors and (especially) mayor “Mega Mel” Lastman were feelin’ fine and dreaming big. Y2K came and went without catastrophe, and opportunity came knocking when Toronto put in a bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games. That the games would be awarded to Beijing, China was pretty much a foregone conclusion at the time but hey – being in the running gave city boosters just the excuse they needed to, well, boost the city’s profile. Introduce moose!
Rack ‘Em Up!
Why moose and not, say, beaver? Though the latter is arguably animal kingdom’s most Canadian of creatures, the dammed rodents are just too small for the project’s intended purpose: to act as statutory templates for artists to paint and subsequently attract notice. One might consider using giant beavers but anyone watching the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver know how that worked out.
(images via: Uncommon Photographers)
Nope, moose were to be the muse, and besides: other cities had already proven the concept. Remember Cows on Parade (Chicago, above), Pigs on Parade (Seattle) and the “Big Pig Gig” (Cincinnati)? No? Never mind, Toronto was determined to break the mammalian mold with “Moose In The City”… and to anyone who immediately thought of “Sex and the City”, for shame!
Toronto’s urban landscape underwent a moose-sterious transformation between April and October of 2000 as plastic pasture prowlers, alone or occasionally in pairs, even an uber-freaky moose in shark’s clothing began to occupy boulevard medians, wading pools, storefronts and parkettes from one end of the Megacity to the other. Goodbye Hogtown, hello… Moose Jaw? Moosonee? Moose Factory? Er, Moosessippi?
(image via: Boldts.net)
Perhaps the most famous of the paired moose were a loving couple painted up to resemble Mayor Mel Lastman and his wife Marilyn – we’re sure she was thrilled. The matrimonial moose were mounted on the front lawn of Toronto’s Old City Hall. A tracking website called Moose… The Documentary lists Mel Moose as “missing” but Marilyn Moose as “located”. Sorry, Marilyn.
Horns A Plenty
The original Moose was designed by Charles Pachter and all 326 originally were fitted with the woodland ungulate’s trademark antlers. Unfortunately, the antlers’ add-on construction worked all too well in reverse: most of them were stolen by souvenir hunters within just a few weeks.
(image via: Boldts.net)
When the city was told of the problem they immediately announced rewards would be paid for any antlers turned in… you can probably guess how that bit of genius worked out. Only a rare few moose mounted in difficult or impossible to access niches, say, on a diving board overlooking the reflecting pool in Nathan Phillips Square, managed to hang on to their horns.
For the most part, horny moosehead hat-racks excepted, the metro moose were well received and quickly ingratiated themselves into Toronto’s multicultural urban fabric. The artists commissioned to paint and decorate the moose sometimes knew where the sculptures would be installed, thus enabling them to tailor their designs to match their new addresses. The Lucky Moose of Dundas Street West is a perfect example, gazing out over Toronto’s downtown Chinatown from his/her perch of the Lucky Moose Food Mart… located in Lucky Charm Moose Village, of course.
(image via: Googoojue)
Even Blythe thought the Lucky Moose was worth notice, as the photo above taken in the summer of 2010 shows.
“With the click of a mouse, you can buy a moose!”
Or at least, you could. The Moose in the City campaign had another hoof to drop, and for 2 weeks in January of 2001 about 150 of the fiberglass moose not already corporately owned or sponsored were auctioned off. The Great Moose Auction was designed to benefit 75 local Toronto charities and offset some of the multi-million dollar cost of the Moose in the City project. Though the Great Moose Auction was expected by some to raise up to $3 million, the actual results were far off that lofty goal: just $1.4-million ended up being raised.
Not all the auction winners were fat-cat corporations, which has led to a number of moose sightings in and around Southern and Central Ontario. The examples above now hail from downtown Toronto (top) and a lakefront cottage in Muskoka.
Yet another facet of Moose in the City was the international exposure Toronto would receive and, hopefully, add a little luster to the city’s Olympic bid. Though the latter was a long shot, the former did pan out with nearly 5.5 million total worldwide website hits. Online bidders from across North America and as far away as Shanghai, China, placed winning bids – these moose have roamed far beyond their home range.
(image via: Travel Webshots)
On the other hand (hoof?), the “Global Moose” above, painted by artist Fraser Paterson, looked out on the world from the friendly confines of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
The Moose Are Loose
Depending on who’s doing the counting, between 20 and 50 moose still stand their ground more than 10 years after their much-heralded debut. Some have been repositioned and repainted, others have suffered a less dignified fate. Take the dusty veteran above, spotted in July of 2007 foraging among the recycling bins behind the Ontario Science Centre. Originally painted by artist Shawn Galea, “Time Moose Scape” looks much the worse for wear, even if he IS wearing a suit and tie.
(image via: Urban Moms)
Speaking of being the worse for wear, there’s the World Famous Moose, located outside the McDonald’s Canada headquarters just off the Don Valley Parkway. This rather gaudy moose was clowning around in situ as late as November of 2010, meaning he’s frozen his sesame seed buns off over a number of Canadian winters. Fries with that?
(images via: Googoojue)
Here’s our weary world traveler Blythe again, checking out the McMoose while adding a dash of cute gothic charm to the scene’s general air of creepiness.
Much more fortunate (and dignified) is the fully antlered-out Mountie Moose, who wears a toothy grin to match his natty RCMP uniform and stands on guard for thee just outside the entrance of Toronto’s CN Tower. Call him the mother (father?) of all moose if you like; they just don’t get any more Canadian than this. Beauty, eh! | <urn:uuid:8584f91e-f800-40d3-9234-c27f3e393743> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://weburbanist.com/2011/02/27/antlers-away-torontos-vanishing-urban-moose/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956949 | 1,702 | 1.875 | 2 |
DC's "Dark Knight" emerges from the shadows in this ultimate guide. "Batman The World of the Dark Knight" reveals every twist and turn in the caped crusader's story. This ultimate guide traces Batman's entire career, with full details of his incredible adventures and battles, his allies and enemies. It's packed with information on how the "DC Comics" character developed through the decades, with a detailed timeline of key events in the life of Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman. "Batman The World of the Dark Knight" includes full-colour comic book artwork. This is an essential collectible for fans of Batman and "DC Comics".--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. | <urn:uuid:c331a1ef-a51b-4979-9dbd-7cc1ecb68ae9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.amazon.ca/Batman-The-World-Dark-Knight/dp/0756692490 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933719 | 149 | 1.75 | 2 |
Allan Weiss interview at Hiroshima Peace Park,
Honwaka Elementary School Museum August 6, 2011.
Allan Weiss, a Louisville attorney and peace activist, describes his vision for Peace Postcards. Since the inception of the Peace Postcards program, over 7000 cards have been returned from people around the globe—each expressing their vision for a peaceful world.
Interfaith Paths to Peace’s ongoing project of collecting “Peace Postcards” from around the world is celebrated at the Muhammad Ali Center, Louisville Kentucky
Photos from Morocco April 2011 | <urn:uuid:b163540a-75d2-47b5-b4e9-1ef7f895da69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.peacepostcards.org/media/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92352 | 113 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Romanticism’s Long Shadow
Classical music is replete with stories of composers who gave us many great works for which posterity is most grateful, but for whom we are left to wonder what might have been had they lived longer. One such story is that of Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940). Born in Durango, Mexico, Revueltas studied in Mexico City, Austin, Texas, and Chicago, spending much of the 1920s in the United States. He spent the '30s in his native Mexico (apart from a tour of Spain in 1937), and was assistant conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de México from 1929-35.
Like many 20th-century composers, he ended up composing film scores, doing so for a half-dozen Mexican films. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra performs his suite from a score for the 1935 social protest movie Redes ("Nets"). Scored for a rather small ensemble, Redes is one of his most "serious" pieces of music, given the largely grim subject matter of the film.
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) lived some 29 years longer than Revueltas and produced many more works, having begun to move toward modernism late in life. Yet it was during this time that he composed what became one of his most beloved and romantic works: the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in A Minor, Op. 43, for piano and orchestra (1934).
The last of Niccolò Paganini's 24 Caprices for Violin has been the subject of variations by Brahms, Lutoslawski, Blacher, Paganini himself and even Andrew Lloyd Webber, but the best-known variations remain those of Rachmaninoff. His Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini has little in common with contemporaneous works that showed a decidedly colder, more modernistic touch than to be found heretofore in Rachmaninoff. The 24 variations form something of a piano concerto, with three discernable sections reflecting the traditional fast-slow-fast concerto structure. The 18th variation has long been excerpted for separate performance and recording. By far the most famous, Rachmaninoff once chided that the 18th variation was "one for my agent."
Robert Schumann (1810-56) had another tragically short life; as prolific and talented as he was, we must wonder what he would have produced in old age. Along with Mendelssohn and Schubert he was one of the founding fathers of the Romanticism that Rachmaninoff brought to a close. Indeed, like his successor, Schumann was one of the masters of the piano of his time. Uncomfortable all his life with larger forms such as symphonies or concertos, his works in these genres nonetheless contain moments of great beauty, showing Schumann to be quite the quintessential Romantic.
His Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120, though last in number, is not his final symphonic effort, having originated immediately after he composed his first symphony in 1841. But it remained unpublished for another 12 years, owing to Schumann's tinkering and revisions. In its final version, the D Minor Symphony is far and away the most formally innovative of the four. Indeed, Schumann once considered calling it a "Symphonic Fantasia," as all four movements are played without a break.
These works will be performed by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Carlos Miguel Prieto, joined by pianist Horacio Gutiérrez for Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody.
At Uihlein Hall on Nov. 14 and 15. | <urn:uuid:ef606e7a-e871-4191-a1c2-cc84bb039649> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://expressmilwaukee.com/article-4441-romanticismrss-long-shadow.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970194 | 782 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Politics Without God?: Reflections on Europe and AmericaGEORGE WEIGEL
At the far western end of the axis that traverses Paris from the Louvre down the Champs Elysées and through the Arc de Triomphe is the Great Arch of La Défense. Designed by a sternly modernist Danish architect, the Great Arch is a colossal open cube: almost 40 stories tall, faced in glass and 2.47 acres of white Carrara marble.
The arch's three-story high roof also houses the International Foundation for Human Rights. For President François Mitterrand planned the Great Arch as a human rights monument, something suitably gigantic to mark the bicentenary of the French Revolution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Thus, in one guidebook, the Great Arch was dubbed "Fraternity Arch." That same guidebook, like every other one I consulted, emphasized that the entire Cathedral of Notre-Dame would fit comfortably inside the Great Arch.
All of which raised some questions, as I walked along that terrace in 1997. Which culture would better protect human rights and secure the moral foundations of democracy? The culture that built this rational, geometrically precise, but essentially featureless cube? Or the culture that produced the gargoyles and flying buttresses, the asymmetries and holy "unsameness" of Notre-Dame and the other great Gothic cathedrals of Europe?
Those questions have come back to me, if in different forms, as I've tried to understand Europe in recent years. How, for example, should one understand the fierce argument in Europe over whether a new constitutional treaty for the European Union should include a reference to the Christian sources of European civilization? Why did so many European intellectuals and political leaders deem any reference to the Christian sources of contemporary Europe civilization a threat to human rights and democracy?
Was there some connection between this internal European debate over Europe's constitution-making and the portrait in the European press of Americans (and especially an American president) as religious fanatics intent on shooting up the world? Was there a further connection between this debate and the fate of Rocco Buttiglione's candidacy for the post of Commissioner of Justice on the European Commission?
Understanding these phenomena requires something more than a conventional political analysis. Nor can political answers explain the reasons behind perhaps the most urgent issue confronting Europe today — the fact that Western Europe is committing demographic suicide, its far-below-replacement-level birthrates creating enormous pressures on the European welfare state and a demographic vacuum into which Islamic immigrants are flowing in increasing numbers, often becoming radicalized in the process.
My proposal is that Europe is experiencing a crisis of cultural and civilizational morale whose roots are also taking hold in some parts quarters of American society and culture. Understanding and addressing this crisis means confronting the question posed sharply, if unintentionally, by those guidebooks that boast about the alleged superiority of the Great Arch to Notre-Dame: the question of the cube and the cathedral, and their relationship to both the meaning of freedom and the future of democracy.
To suggest that Europe is living through a "crisis of civilizational morale" is a very broad description. Let me raise some specific issues that point toward that conclusion — and to the necessity of a cultural, indeed theological, analysis of Europe's situation today.
— Why, in the aftermath of 1989, did Europeans fail to condemn communism as a moral and political monstrosity? Why was the only politically acceptable judgment on communism the rather banal observation that it "didn't work"?Probing to the deeper roots of Europe's crisis of civilizational morale is important for understanding Europe today and for discerning whatever promising paths of European renewal there may be. Getting at the roots of "Europe's problem" is also important for understanding a set of problems Americans may face in the not-too-distant future. And that means that both Europeans and Americans must learn to think in new ways about the dynamics of history.
During 13 years of research and teaching in east central Europe, I've been impressed by what might be called the Slavic view of history. You can find it in a great thinker who lived in the borderland between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, Vladimir Soloviev, who challenged the fashionable nihilism and materialism of the late 19th century.
You can find it in 19th-century Polish novelists, poets and playwrights, who, breaking with the Jacobin conviction that "revolution" meant a complete rupture with the past, insisted that genuine "revolution" meant the recovery of lost spiritual and moral values. You can find it in such intellectual leaders of the anti-communist resistance in east central Europe as Karol Wojtyla, Václav Havel and Václav Benda, who all argued that "living in the truth" could change what seemed unchangeable in history.
Rather, "history" is driven by culture — by what men and women honor, cherish, and worship; by what societies deem to be true and good and noble; by the expressions they give to those convictions in language, literature and the arts; by what individuals and societies are willing to stake their lives on.
Poland is one embodiment of this way of thinking, which Poles believe has been vindicated empirically by their own modern history. For 123 years, from 1795 to 1918, the Polish state was erased from Europe. Yet during that century and a quarter the Polish nation survived with such vigor that it could give birth to a new Polish state in 1918. And despite the fact that the revived Polish state was then beset for 50 years by the plagues of Nazism and communism, the Polish nation proved strong enough to give a new birth of freedom to east central Europe in the Revolution of 1989.
How did this happen? Poland survived — better, Poland prevailed — because of culture: a culture formed by a distinctive language, by a unique literature, and by an intense Catholic faith (which, an its noblest and deepest expressions, was ecumenical and tolerant, not xenophobic, as so many stereotypes have it). Poles know in their bones that culture is what drives history over the long haul.
This "Slavic view of history" is really a classically Christian way of thinking about history, whose roots can be traced back at least as far as St. Augustine and The City of God. Yet, it is the Slavs who have been, in our time, the most powerful exponents of this "culture-first" understanding of the dynamics of the world's story. ...
World War I, the Great War, was the product of a crisis of civilizational morality, a failure of moral reason in a culture that had given the world the very concept of "moral reason." That crisis of moral reason led to a crisis of civilizational morale that is much with us today.
This latter crisis has only become visible since the end of the Cold War. Its effects were first masked by the illusory peace between World War I and World War II; then by the rise of totalitarianism and the Great Depression; then by World War II itself; and then by the Cold War. It was only after 1991, when the 77-year-long political-military crisis that began in 1914 had ended, that the long-term effects of Europe's "rage of self-mutilation" could come to the surface of history and be seen for what they were — and for what they are.
The damage done to the fabric of European culture and civilization in the Great War could only been seen clearly when the Great War's political effects had been cleared from the board in 1991. Recognizing that damage for what it is brings into sharper focus the contemporary European cultural and political situation and its lessons for the United States.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's insight into the meaning of the Great War reinforces the intuition that we should look to the realm of culture for a deeper explanation of the currents of history. So let us take a first step in reading history the old-fashioned way — St. Augustine's way — through lenses ground by the tools of theology. And that brings us to another Christian analyst of modern European history.
Henri de Lubac was one of 20th-century Catholicism's most distinguished theologians. Like other Europeans who had witnessed the Continent's travail during the first four and a half decades of the century, Father de Lubac was haunted by the question, "What happened?" Or, perhaps more to the point, "Why had what happened, happened?"
This, de Lubac suggested, was a great reversal. In the classical world, the gods, or Fate, played games with men and women, often with lethal consequences. In the face of these experiences, the revelation of the God of the Bible — the self-disclosure in history of the one God who was neither a willful tyrant (to be avoided) nor a carnivorous predator (to be appeased) nor a remote abstraction (to be safely ignored) — was perceived as a great liberation. Human beings were neither the playthings of the gods nor the passive victims of Fate. Because they could have access to the one true God through prayer and worship, those who believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus could bend history in a humane direction. History was thus an arena of responsibility and purpose.
Yet what biblical man had perceived as liberation, the proponents of atheistic humanism perceived as bondage. Human freedom could not co-exist with the God of Jews and Christians. Human greatness required rejecting the biblical God, according to atheistic humanism.
This, Father de Lubac argued, was something new. This was not the atheism of skeptical individuals. This was atheistic humanism — atheism with a developed ideology and a program for remaking the world. As a historian of ideas, de Lubac knew that bad ideas can have lethal consequences. At the heart of the darkness inside the great mid-20th century tyrannies [of] communism, fascism, Nazism, Father de Lubac discerned the lethal effects of the marriage between modern technology and the ideas borne by atheistic humanism.
He summed up the results of this misbegotten union in these terms: "It is not true, as is sometimes said, that man cannot organize the world without God. What is true is that, without God, he can only organize it against man." That is what the tyrannies of the mid-20th century had proven — ultramundane humanism is inevitably inhuman humanism. And inhuman humanism cannot neither sustain nor defend the democratic project. It can only undermine it or attack it. ...
The argument over acknowledging any Christian contribution to the democratic civilization of the 21st century may have clarified the understandings of "democracy" and "human rights" that shape contemporary European high culture and the political elite in the Brussels-Paris-Berlin axis, but it also raised serious questions about Europe's capacity to defend its democracy, morally and philosophically.
If democratic institutions and procedures are the expressions of a distinctive way of life based on specific moral commitments, then democratic citizenship must be more than a matter of following the procedures and abiding by the laws and regulations agreed upon by the institutions. A democratic citizen is someone who can give an account of his or her commitment to human rights, to the rule of law and equality before the law, to decision-making by the majority and protection of the rights of minorities. Democratic citizenship means being able to tell why one affirms "the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, democracy, equality, freedom and the rule of law," to cite the preamble to the European constitution. Who can give such an account?
Here is one of the richest ironies involved in the question of the cube and the cathedral. The original charge against Christians in the Roman empire was that they were "atheists": people who were "a-theos," people who had abandoned the gods of Rome and who were thus a threat to public life and public order. To be a-theos was to stand outside and over-against the political community.
The "Christophobia" of contemporary European high culture turns this indictment inside out and upside down: Christianity cannot be acknowledged as a source of European democracy because the only public space safe for pluralism, tolerance, civility, and democracy is a public space that is thoroughly a-theos.
It is all very strange. For the truth of the matter is that European Christians can likely give a more compelling account of their commitment to democratic values than their fellow Europeans who are a-theos — who believe that "neutrality toward worldviews" must characterize democratic Europe. A postmodern or neo-Kantian "neutrality toward worldviews" cannot be truly tolerant; it can only be indifferent.
Absent convictions, there is no tolerance; there is only indifference. Absent some compelling notion of the truth that requires us to be tolerant of those who have a different understanding of the truth, there is only skepticism and relativism. And skepticism and relativism are very weak foundations on which to build and sustain a pluralistic democracy, for neither skepticism nor relativism, by their own logic, can "give an account" of why we should be tolerant and civil.
to this thin account of tolerance —
we should be tolerant because it works better —
there is the argument for tolerance given by Pope John Paul II in his 1989 encyclical
letter on Christian mission, Redemptoris Missio [The Mission of the
Redeemer]. There the Pope taught that "The Church proposes; she imposes
nothing." The Catholic Church respects the "other" as an "other"
who is also a seeker of truth and goodness; the Church only asks that the believer
and the "other" enter into a dialogue that leads to mutual enrichment
rather than to a deeper skepticism about the possibility of grasping the truth
today is that the Church recognizes, publicly, that acts of coercion undertaken
in its name were offenses against its own true doctrine. That is why, on March
12, 2000, Pope John Paul II led a "Day of Pardon" at St. Peter's Basilica.
This was not an exercise in Catholic political correctness, nor was this pandering
to approved victim groups. This was confession: an acknowledgment of sin and a
plea for divine mercy that recommitted the Church to live the truth it professed
about the freedom of the human person.
George Weigel. "Politics Without God?: Reflections on Europe and America." Zenit (December 24, 2004).
Above are excerpts from an address given by George Weigel at the Gregorian University in December.
George Weigel's major study of the life, thought, and action of Pope John Paul II, Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II (Harper Collins, 1999) was published to international acclaim in 1999, and translated into French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Czech, Slovenian, Russian, and German. The 2001 documentary film based on the book won numerous prizes. George Weigel is a consultant on Vatican affairs for NBC News, and his weekly column, "The Catholic Difference," is syndicated to more than fifty newspapers around the United States.
Copyright © 2005 George Weigel
Not all articles published on CERC are the objects of official Church teaching, but these are supplied to provide supplementary information. | <urn:uuid:5a239a91-8677-4ada-bef2-a79909842673> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://catholiceducation.org/articles/politics/pg0130.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959714 | 3,184 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Seals fall underneath the category of animals known as “pinnipeds”. They share this category with Sea Lions, but are two completely different animals!
There are 33 different species of seals that inhabit waters and coastal environments all around the world. The infamous Leopard Seal haunts the waters of Antarctica, while Gray Seals and Harbor Seals can be found in coastal regions in the Northeast America. Seals also come in all shapes and sizes. Depending on the species, they can be anywhere from 4 feet in length to 16 feet (the largest, Elephant Seal).
There are 6 main categories that seals fall into that we will explore. They are the crabeater, fur, leopard, ross, southern elephant, and weddell. Only few species of seals can move smoothly from sea to land, and move around competently. Only about 20% of their lives are spent on land. | <urn:uuid:46f9b0ff-856e-4da9-b679-b6d30685ef33> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oceanofrandomness.tumblr.com/archive/2012/2?before_time=1328811717 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951449 | 185 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Ambitious work presenting crucial scientific milestones through the experimental devices that recorded, measured, or otherwise enabled them.
Don’t worry that the history of science will be couched solely in terms of gimmicks and doodads, however. Crump (Solar Eclipse, not reviewed) knows that hardware alone, no matter how ingenious or shockingly simple, can't carry this kind of rendering. Technical details can add intrigue, as in the 1895 example of Wilhelm von Röntgen impulsively thrusting his own hand into the path of an unknown beam (the first X-rays), then marveling in the eerie glow as its skeletal shadow appeared against a backdrop. But what really fascinate here are Crump’s incisive and lively vignettes animating the personalities of scientists who often struggled against long odds. Sure, there’s some math, but it’s confined to real numbers and simple computation. The author’s deftness at capturing the tenor of the times helps make what could otherwise have been a dry cataloguing of events a fairly engaging read, for example, the disdain of the scientific community for rocketeer Wernher von Braun as a mere “engineer” who never gave a second thought to the kinds of horrific war machines his technology might enable. There are a few monumental goofs to consider as well: When Greece's intellectual demigod Aristotle publicly sniffs at the intuitive notion of his predecessor Democritus that matter must be composed of infinitesimal particles, Crump tags it as a single act that deferred any real advancement in a key theoretical branch until the day in 1909, some 2,000 years later, when New Zealander Ernest Rutherford revealed and defined the atomic nucleus. One might quibble with Crump’s decision to structure this in parallel pathways as opposed to a central chronology, which results in an annoying if necessary level of chapter cross-referencing. A companion CD with hyperlinks and a searchable time line would help validate this approach.
A largely satisfying highlight reel suggesting that if you slept through high-school physics, it might well have been the teacher's fault. | <urn:uuid:3bed7e05-2aa7-41cb-b114-3eb73d59a40d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/thomas-crump/a-brief-history-of-science/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93281 | 441 | 3.015625 | 3 |
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If you want to attend graduate school, you will need to take the Graduate Records Examination (GRE). The GRE is a multiple-choice standardized test given by the Educational Testing Service at testing centers throughout the United States and Canada.
Graduate programs will use your GRE test scores to decide if you are ready for graduate-level work. It is accepted at more than 3,200 graduate and business schools. Admissions and fellowship panels use GRE scores to supplement undergraduate records, recommendation letters, and other qualifications for graduate study.
There are two main categories of GRE tests: the GRE general test and GRE subject tests. Some graduate programs may require subject tests for students who have extensive backgrounds in eight areas: biology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, chemistry, computer science, literature in English, mathematics, physics, and psychology.
The General GRE test is the one most often used for graduate school entrance, and it has three parts: 1) Analytical Writing, which measures critical thinking and analytical writing skills; 2) Verbal Reasoning, which measures reading comprehension skills and verbal and analogical reasoning skills; and 3) Quantitative Reasoning, which measures a person’s problem-solving abilities, focusing on basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis.
The GRE test is offered throughout the year. You will want to take the test early in your graduate school application process in order to ensure that your scores will be available before the school’s admissions deadline.
Last Updated: 03/27/2013
|© 2013 Copyright. All rights reserved. | TestTakingCentral.com| | <urn:uuid:f70242ee-5fb4-42db-8da2-5e5ae7fe84b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.testtakingcentral.com/gre-test.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924822 | 347 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Investors fear end of world as we know it
The prospect of another recession, combined with the fallout from a Greek exit from the eurozone, could cause chaos that would rapidly spill over to US financial markets.
With earnings season coming to a close, and the Facebook (FB) IPO having delivered entirely the wrong kind of "pop," U.S. financial markets now are increasingly likely to find their fate being shaped by two unpleasant scenarios: "taxmageddon" and "drachmageddon."
A foretaste of things to come hit the market Tuesday, in the shape of two pieces of news that rocked investor confidence.
First came news on the "taxmageddon" front: the Congressional Budget Office announced that the U.S. economy is likely to lapse into another recession early next year if automatic spending cuts go into effect as planned and if no action is taken to extend a package of tax cuts first implemented nine years ago. Effective tax rates for most Americans, as well as for businesses, are set to jump, as will the rate at which dividend income is taxed. Also looming on the horizon is an end to a payroll tax cut holiday and a whole host of spending cuts on which politicians appear unable to agree.
If Republicans and Democrats can't agree on an alternative path forward, the CBO warned, then the economy will, lemming-like, run straight off the "fiscal cliff" and cause the economic recovery to grind to a halt. The agency predicts the economy will shrink by 1.3% in the first half of 2013 if everything is left untouched; if Congress manages to pull itself together and extend the tax breaks while eliminating spending cuts, the economy could create two million jobs in 2013, while growing at a rate of 4.4%.
It's a stark dilemma -- how to properly balance growth and fiscal health -- and it is one that already is making investors extremely uneasy. The closer we come to the November elections, the more it is likely that those jitters will shape the direction of the stock market, regardless of who wins the White House or ends up dominating Congress, since neither party seems prepared to give way on these issues, which already have come close to shutting down the federal government.
Not ominous enough? Well, there is the ticking time bomb now being referred to as "drachmageddon," or the prospect that Greece will abandon -- or be forced out of -- the eurozone in the near future. European politicians, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, have taken to the airwaves to huff and puff about the apparent wish of Greek voters to possess and simultaneously devour their cake. "They cannot just vote for saying, 'could people just carry on giving us some money so we do not have to change anything,'" Britain's Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke (a former chancellor of the exchequer) pointedly warned, cautioning the Greeks against the ramifications of electing "cranky extremists."
The news on "drachmageddon" -- or the possibility that the Greeks will wake up one morning this summer to find that the euros in their bank accounts have been swapped back into drachma, their pre-euro currency -- wasn't any better today. An EU summit is scheduled to take place in Brussels, but leaders aren't speaking with a single voice in the discussions with Greece. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has signaled some willingness to compromise, but her views still remain poles apart from those of her newly elected French colleague, French President Francois Hollande.
While the CBO report spooked stock market investors Tuesday, contributing to the fact that the trading session's early rally sputtered and stalled, headlines that former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos sees the risk of Greece leaving the euro as "real" and that the country is pondering its options only made matters worse. "It can not be excluded that preparations are being made to contain the potential consequences of a Greek euro exit," Papademos told Dow Jones Newswires.
A recession is bad enough -- but we have been through those before and worked our way out of them again. A recession combined with having to cope with the fallout from a Greek exit from the eurozone would cause chaos that would rapidly spill over into the rest of Europe and its major trading partners in North America and Asia.
There appear to be no contingency plans in place to either avoid or to cope with what might follow, and some ugly scenarios are possible. One involves the impact Greece's exit might have on Spain, which rapidly would take Greece's place as the weakest nation in the eurozone and which is in the midst of its fourth attempt to contain a national banking crisis. Will Europe's political leaders have the political will and the economic firepower to bail out entire nations the way that the U.S. bailed out its financial institutions? It is on questions of that scope and nature that the fate of all global financial markets -- including the U.S. stock market -- are likely to rest throughout the summer.
Suzanne McGee is a columnist at The Fiscal Times. Subscribe to The Fiscal Times free newsletter.
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shell games, using derivatives to gloss over true debt figures and misconstrue them as loans and/ or currency swaps, enabled Greece to appear clean enough on its debt-to-GDP ratio to join the ECU.
It all went well enough until too much debt added to the money already missing from the books (or disguised as assets), which made the cantilever swing too farl thus,the dissembled became the obvious.
The Real SOLUTION: The EU must sue Goldman Sachs to be able to make recovery. What G-S did was fraud; blatant violation against sovereign entities' requirements for transparency, accuracy and accountability. This would be "win-win"; Greece could 'break even' , and G-S (the infamous vampire squid of all time) would be bankrupted once and for all, Plus the European Union could be reimbursed, if only pennies on the dollar.
Yes, the world has changed, the best computer is the winner. New player in the game.
It's that simple.
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Bargain hunting gives silver a boost after a nasty dive in overnight markets. But worries about rising interest rates and a possible U.S. debt downgrade gives the metal a boost.
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Top Stocks provides analysis about the most noteworthy stocks in the market each day, combining some of the best content from around the MSN Money site and the rest of the Web.
Contributors include professional investors and journalists affiliated with MSN Money.
Follow us on Twitter @topstocksmsn. | <urn:uuid:2046bb59-1e1b-4686-9c4f-613d6ebe0919> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=e5d4db98-1673-43e8-8c39-a6f723e9ea57 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950136 | 1,523 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Abstract We investigate the use of the short-lived fallout radionuclide beryllium-7 (7Be; t1/2 = 53.4 days) as a tracer of medium and coarse sand (0.25 – 2 mm), which transitions between transport in suspension and as bed load, and to further evaluate the effects of impoundment on seasonal and spatial variations in bed sedimentation. We measure 7Be activities in approximately monthly samples from point bar and streambed sediments in one unregulated and one regulated stream. In the regulated stream our sampling spanned an array of flow and management conditions during the annual transition from flood control in the winter and early spring to run-of-the-river operation from late spring through fall. Sediment stored behind the dam during the winter quickly became depleted in 7Be activity. This resulted in a pulse of “dead” sediment released when the dam gates were opened in the spring which could be tracked as it moved downstream. Measured average sediment transport velocities (30 – 80 m/d) exceed those typically reported for bulk bed load transport and are remarkably constant across varied flow regimes, possibly due to corresponding changes in bed sand fraction. Results also show that the length scale of the downstream impact of dam management on sediment transport is short (~1km); beyond this distance the sediment trapped by the dam is replaced by new sediment from tributaries and other downstream sources.
Salant, N.L., Renshaw, C.E., Magilligan, F.J., Kaste, J.M., Nislow, K.H., Heimsath, A.M., The use of short-lived radionuclides to quantify transitional bed material transport in a regulated river, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 32:509-524, 2007. | <urn:uuid:6b601f2f-88d2-46b1-8946-f8acae72680e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dartmouth.edu/~renshaw/isotope_lab/research/the-use-of-short-lived.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948887 | 373 | 2.125 | 2 |
Mainly I use two kinds of electrolytics, Nichicon PW which is a low impedance cap. For power supplies and other general duties. Also Nichicon KL series which is a low noise cap for use in the signal path of amps and the like. Most pioneer caps will have a code on them I.E. CE04 or such, these are replaced with PW series. As a general rule of thumb, The small sky blue caps and small orange are low noise, black and medium blue are low impedance. Of course Panasonic are just as good but harder to find. Go to Mouser.com and put in your values and you will usually find a PW or KL in that size. For large capacitors it pays to shop around. I recently did an amplifier and Mouser wanted $200 for one capacitor. Newark got me both caps for the same price. I just had to wait for the pair to come from England. | <urn:uuid:45443351-f93c-4ef9-8f73-6f1119fc0459> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=55&p=372541 | 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 | 0.957231 | 187 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The Tanzanian media have in recent months been awash with mouth-watering reports confirming the discovery of indications massive reserves of oil and/or natural gas off the eastern African coastline – all the way from Kenya to the north to Mozambique to the south, with Tanzania lying strategically somewhere in between.
The latest such reports originated from Oslo on Thursday last week, and had Norwegian oil company Statoil and US-based ExxonMobil Corporation announcing that they had come across a large natural gas deposit off Tanzania’s coast.
It was stated that the discovery of 3 trillion cubic feet of gas in well 2,400 meters under the sea was Statoil’s seventh major find in just over a year and appreciably boosted the region’s hydrocarbon potential.
Now, Statoil operates the licence on 5,500-square-kilometre block on behalf of the state-owned Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation and holds a 65 per cent stake, while ExxonMobil Exploration has 35 per cent.
Although doubtless an inspiring story, this was just part of the picture. The background information it may be worth having includes the fact that ExxonMobil is one of the most profitable companies in the world and makes no secret that it is on a money mission – and that it has been extremely successful in accomplishing that mission.
This should not come as a surprise, as the corporation’s mission statement talks about being committed to being the world’s premier petroleum and petrochemical company and therefore continuously achieving superior financial and operating results while simultaneously adhering to high ethical standards.
Energy and Minerals minister Sospeter Muhongo was understandably all smiles as he briefed the media on the new Statoil/ ExxonMobil find. What citizen of a “poor” country would act to the contrary in the face of similarly heartwarming circumstances?
But we have no doubt whatsoever that the good geology professor boasts enough expertise and experience to know that a country blessed with an abundance of natural resources such as minerals, wildlife and sources of water that never dry up is not necessarily also an economic colossus to be reckoned with.
We can bet he can cite dozens of case studies to support this proposition, among the ready examples being oil-rich countries most of whose citizens are languishing in abject poverty in part characterised by high levels of unemployment and functional illiteracy as well as lack of basic needs.
All we mean to say is that Tanzania ought to be especially vigilant as it seeks to assert its position as a giant in the oil and natural gas industry, etc., lest it too finds itself falling prey to the proverbial resource curse – also known as the paradox of plenty.
As has long been established, this is the sad and embarrassing situation in which countries and regions richly endowed with non-renewable resources like minerals and fuels tend to have less economic growth and worse development outcomes than countries not as fortunate.
Some of the reasons for such an eventuality are corruption, failure to negotiate favourable terms with international investors or “partners”, and blatant mismanagement of the very resources that would have made meaningful development possible.
One only hopes we are indeed vigilant enough. | <urn:uuid:2a1823bc-36b2-4590-9381-b17cb343d1c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php/e/frontend/frontend/functions/function.fopen?l=42812 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958492 | 649 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just flick a switch and make your shyness go away? No more worrying about what others think about you, no more embarrassment in front of other people. You could just relax and feel comfortable and confiden......more
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just flick a switch and make your shyness go away? No more worrying about what others think about you, no more embarrassment in front of other people. You could just relax and feel comfortable and confident, the way you probably think everyone else feels.If you struggle with shyness, you’re all too familiar with the feeling of not knowing what to do or say, and you’ll do anything to avoid feeling that way. But, most likely, you also know that you’re missing out on a lot?friendships, potential relationships, and fun. You’ve chosen this book because you’re ready to stop hiding behind your shyness and start enjoying everything life has to offer.
The worksheets and exercises in The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook for Teens will help you learn to handle awkward social situations with grace and confidence, so you can make real connections with people you want to get to know. Based in proven-effective cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the skills you learn will also help you speak up for yourself when you need to and stop dreading class projects that put you on the spot. Actually, there’s no aspect of your life that this workbook won’t help. So why let shyness rule your life one day longer? Let this workbook guide the way to a more confident, outgoing you.
Jennifer Shannon, LMFT, is clinical director and cofounder of the Santa Rosa Center for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Santa Rosa, CA. She is a diplomat of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.
Illustrator Doug Shannon is a freelance cartoonist. He illustrated The Two-Step, a book that has been translated into several languages. He authored the nationally syndicated cartoon strip Claire and Weber from 1997 to 2000.
Foreword writer Christine A. Padesky, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and director of the Center for Cognitive Therapy in Huntington Beach, CA. She has more than thirty years of experience using cognitive behavioral therapy and is coauthor of Mind Over Mood and other books. www.mindovermood.com
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** Most Oversize orders are delivered within 1-4 weeks. Some orders may take 6 weeks to be delivered. | <urn:uuid:c7b1225e-c73d-4db7-9457-2ae05b815735> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/The-Shyness-and-Social-Anxiety-Workbook-for-Teens-CBT-and-ACT-Skills-to-Help-You-Build-Social-Confidence-Paperback/6213779/product.html?recSet=65af94a5-c14f-4426-b238-99349082ea3c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933638 | 658 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The West Valley City Council, in a 5-1 vote, approved Tuesday an anti-discrimination ordinance similar to those recently passed in other Utah cities.
About 60 people attended the meeting at City Hall. Rep. Janice Fisher, D-West Valley City, and about seven others spoke in favor of the proposal to protect gay and transgender residents from housing and employment discrimination. No one spoke publicly against it.
The ordinance will go into affect Tuesday when Mayor Mike Winder signs it during a 4 p.m. ceremony at City Hall hosted by Equality Utah, a nonprofit gay advocacy group.
Winder called it a "historic day" for the state's second largest city. As a Mormon, he said supporting the ordinance is following in his Christian beliefs to treat people the way you would want to be treated.
"It was the right thing to do," Winder told the crowd.
Councilman Corey Rushton agreed, saying it was about time city leaders pulled their heads out of the sand and demand "equal protection" for all residents.
"It's unfortunate when we have to legislate niceness," Councilman Steve Vincent said.
Councilman Russ Brooks, who was the only member to vote against the ordinance, said he's been on the council for 14 years and the issue had never come up until Salt Lake City brought it up. It seems like West Valley City is just "following the streams that go down the river" and being "like our big sister Salt Lake City," he said.
"We're being asked to do something that we're not ready to do," he said, adding it might be more work for the city.
Several of the people who supported the ordinance were affiliated with Equality Utah.
Todd Olsen, an Equality Utah board member, said the ordinance will show that "West Valley City treats everyone equally and fairly."
Larry Gonzalez, a West Valley City landlord, said the ordinance is "necessary."
Stacia Ireland, a West Valley City resident, taught in area schools for 30 years. She said she knows the city's growing diversity, but it's not just about including people's various traditions and cultures.
"Diversity is not just in skin color," she said. "We are all tax paying citizens and deserve the same protection."
Winder suggested the ordinance at an annual planning retreat in January.
The 12-page ordinance is essentially a compilation of Salt Lake City's two anti-discrimination measures on housing and employment, passed in November.
Violations by West Valley City landlords with four to 20 units, or by employers with 14 or fewer workers, will carry a $500 fine. The fine will be $1,000 for landlords with 21 or more units or employers of 15 or more workers.
Salt Lake County, Park City and, most recently, Logan also passed similar measures. Other local governments, including Ogden, Taylorsville and Summit County, are considering similar ordinances. | <urn:uuid:a3d81508-4cde-4631-b3eb-a5908b402250> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_15207364 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972346 | 600 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Front Page Titles (by Subject) FALSITY OF HUMAN VIRTUES. - The Works of Voltaire, Vol. IV (Philosophical Dictionary Part 2)
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FALSITY OF HUMAN VIRTUES. - Voltaire, The Works of Voltaire, Vol. IV (Philosophical Dictionary Part 2)
The Works of Voltaire. A Contemporary Version. A Critique and Biography by John Morley, notes by Tobias Smollett, trans. William F. Fleming (New York: E.R. DuMont, 1901). In 21 vols. Vol. IV.
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FALSITY OF HUMAN VIRTUES.
When the Duke de la Rochefoucauld wrote his “Thoughts on Self-Love,” and discovered this great spring of human action, one M. Esprit of the Oratory, wrote a book entitled “Of the Falsity of Human Virtues.” This author says that there is no virtue but by grace; and he terminates each chapter by referring to Christian charity. So that, according to M. Esprit, neither Cato, Aristides, Marcus Aurelius, nor Epictetus were good men, who can be found only among the Christians. Among the Christians, again, there is no virtue except among the Catholics; and even among the Catholics, the Jesuits must be excepted as the enemies of the Oratory; ergo, virtue is scarcely to be found anywhere except among the enemies of the Jesuits.
This M. Esprit commences by asserting that prudence is not a virtue; and his reason is that it is often deceived. It is as if he had said that Cæsar was not a great captain because he was conquered at Dyrrachium.
If M. Esprit had been a philosopher, he would not have examined prudence as a virtue, but as a talent—as a useful and happy quality; for a great rascal may be very prudent, and I have known many such. Oh the age of pretending that “Nul n’aura de vertu que nous et nos amis!”—None are virtuous but ourself and friends!
What is virtue, my friend? It is to do good; let us then do it, and that will suffice. But we give you credit for the motive. What, then! according to you, there is no difference between the President de Thou and Ravaillac? between Cicero and that Popilius whose life he saved, and who afterwards cut off his head for money; and thou wilt pronounce Epictetus and Porphyrius rogues because they did not follow our dogmas? Such insolence is disgusting; but I will say no more, for I am getting angry. | <urn:uuid:9741b648-d6cc-4bae-ac6c-ff008c055127> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=353&chapter=54795&layout=html&Itemid=27 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942644 | 614 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Reasons to Breastfeed
The abundance of good things in mother's milk offers your baby lifelong benefits.
If someone were to offer you an elixir that could help protect your new baby from bronchitis, ear infections, pneumonia, diarrhea and urinary tract infections, would you want to know more? If you knew that the effects of this concoction would last into your child’s teen-age years, reducing his risk for obesity, diabetes, allergies, asthma and high blood pressure, would you just have to have it? If the same potion might boost his IQ, wouldn’t you rush out to find it now?
Well, stay put, for this power-packed product is close to home (or should be soon): It’s breast milk. And while you might think it’s premature to start thinking about breastfeeding now, studies show that by making a commitment to it while you’re pregnant, you’ll boost your chances of providing your baby with the best possible nutrition and disease-fighting factors. Need more convincing? Here’s what we know about the woman-made miracle that is breast milk.
It will make your baby healthier
For years, scientists have been teasing out the ingredients that make breast milk the ideal food for infants. To date, they’ve discovered close to 200 compounds that fight infection, help the immune system mature, aid in digestion and support brain growth — nature-made properties that science simply cannot emulate.
“There is just no way to put all of those properties in formula,” says Michael Georgieff, M.D., professor of pediatrics and child development at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Indeed, the numbers say it all. Infants who are solely formula-fed have an 80 percent increased risk of developing diarrhea and a 70 percent increased risk of developing ear infections, according to a study by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of more than 1,600 mothers and their infants. Those babies who received only breast milk fared the best, but a little formula didn’t hurt, says study author Sara Beck Fein, Ph.D., a consumer-science specialist at the FDA. “The more breast milk an infant received, the better,” she says. “But as long as more than half of the feedings were breast milk, the risk of ear infections or diarrhea was not greatly increased.”
Important long-term benefits include a reduced risk for asthma, allergies, childhood obesity and some childhood cancers. But there’s more. “Data show very clearly that if an infant is exclusively breastfed for four months, the probability of childhood-onset diabetes is greatly reduced,” says Ruth A. Lawrence, M.D., a pediatrician and neonatologist and director of the Breastfeeding and Human Lactation Study Center at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, N.Y.
Indeed, the more scientists learn, the better breast milk looks. A study in The Lancet shows that teen-agers who were born preterm and breastfed for their first month of life had lower blood pressure than those who received formula. The difference was enough to reduce the risk for heart attack and stroke later in life. Observational studies indicate that these findings also may apply to children born full term, says study author Atul Singhal, M.D., a member of the Royal College of Physicians and the Medical Research Council’s Childhood Nutrition Research Centre in London.
It may make your baby smarter
In addition to making your child healthier, breastfeeding may also make him smarter. In fact, the advantage that breastfeeding provides for brain development is striking, Georgieff says. A 1992 Lancet study reported as much as an eight-point increase in IQ among breastfed preemies. A 1999 analysis of 11 studies on childhood intelligence, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed more conservative but still-significant results: Full-term babies who were exclusively breastfed until at least 8 weeks of age gained three IQ points over infants who were formula-fed; preemies gained more than five points.
“The available data suggest that a three- to five-point increase in IQ would significantly increase academic performance, decrease dropout rates from school, and result in higher incomes and social adjustments,” says study author James W. Anderson, M.D., professor of medicine and clinical nutrition at the VA Medical Center and at the University of Kentucky, both in Lexington.
You will benefit, too
Benefits for the nursing mother are just as impressive. The hormones released during breastfeeding curb blood loss post-delivery and help the uterus shrink back to size. And some nursing moms report that they burn calories like crazy, helping them back into their favorite jeans.
Long term, the nursing mother has a lowered risk for premenopausal breast cancer, the kind that strikes before age 50. The benefit begins to show with three to six months of breastfeeding and increases the longer that nursing continues. The risk for ovarian cancer is also reduced for women who breastfeed.
By now, you should have no question that breast milk is one power-packed beverage. So as you begin planning for your baby’s future, make a commitment to nurse him for as long as you can. It will do both your bodies good. | <urn:uuid:6a2451f4-50d9-4249-9c76-99fde6d53816> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fitpregnancy.com/motherhood/breastfeeding/reasons-breastfeed | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964038 | 1,096 | 2.53125 | 3 |
According to Volvo safety officials, one in every three traffic fatalities in Europe is alcohol-related. To help reduce this number, Volvo has developed 'Alcoguard', which uses fuel-cell technology to accurately read a person's blood alcohol level. In order to start a vehicle, the driver must blow into a wireless hand-held unit. If his/her blood alcohol level is higher than 0.2 g/l, the car will not start. Volvo hopes this technology will help lead to a change in the general attitude towards drinking and driving, resulting in the elimination of alcohol-related road accidents and deaths. | <urn:uuid:f27027ac-494a-49de-a1ca-27971ba7bfb5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.automotoportal.com/article/volvo-alcoguard-video | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942167 | 125 | 2.921875 | 3 |
In 1900 there were 14 mills in the Deer Park area. One of the largest was the Gimmell Mill on Dragoon Creek. Mr. Gimmell was the first to own a car on Wild Rose. It was a Cadillac purchased which he purchased in 1907.
The Garden Spot mill was located about where the Deer Lake and Short roads intersect near the present John Nordby home.
Of the many mills in the area, it was the Standard Lumber Coompany that grew the largest. In 1900 it employed 35 men. The employees even had their own Brass Band. It is noted that they traveled to Wild Rose on Wednesday, May 30, 1894, and played several numbers for the Memorial program held on that day. The mill moved from its site west of the railroad tracks before 1910. Logs were stored in the mill pond.
Deer Park pine Industry was purchased by Potlatch Forests July 1, 1956. The mill averages 250 employees compared to 75 in 1914. At that time the mill owned 16,000 acres of timberland, now 100,000 acres (1970).
Medical needs in the early days were taken care of by the people living at home, but for anything serious there was a doctor at Chattaroy. This was Chattaroy about 1900 with Dr. Smith and his buggy with his store in the background.
As the mills in the area grew so did the town. In 1908 Louis Olsen soon built the hotel building. He occupied the lower floor where his mercantile store employed 8 people. Even though the store had no electric lights the store had a cash carrier to tranport the money up to the office. The old building was later moved to the back of the hotel and was used by the Arcadia Orchard Company and then by Louis Olsen Jr.s general contracting business.
The Charles Sheuffler General Merchandise store was down Main Street about where the Tri County Tribune is located(1970).
The early settlers were religious. Many traveled all the way to attend the Church. But, in 1890 religious services were held each Sunday at the Crawford Boarding House near the corner of Railroad Ave. and 4th Street. The original church was completed in 1895 and was named the Open Door Congregational Church. The financial statement showed that the building was paid for and dedicated without a dollar of debt. The men of Short's Lumber Mill helped the cause with donations through automatic payroll deductions. It is told that the bell of the Church was given by a Father Ells who also formed the Tshimakain Mission in 1838.
Mr. Short also donated the land for the Woodlawn Cemetery where he was laid to rest
The Kelly house is still an imposing one. It was occupied by the Kelly family until O. G. Follevaag purchased it. The home is now owned by the Steve Parkins family who moved it from its original site on Main Street.
O.J. Kelly could be labled the Father of Deer Park. Besides building the first store he donated the land for the Kelly Cemetery where he is buried.
Mr. Kelly's wife was a Methodist so he donated the land for this church also. First services were held in 1910 and included a fellowship room in the Church. First services for the Methodist Church were held in the old school house which they purchased and used for a church.
Louis Olsen Jr. was the major builder of that day, also built this residence for Mr. Parks, co-owner with him in an Artifical Stone Company. The house is unique in that it had hollow concrete walls made by the stone company. The Lonnie Shaw family resides here today.(1970)
Deer Park is still growing and building in 1970. The new homes being built now are not as large as those built in the early days but they are beautiful and full of modern convienences. This one belongs to Warren Clary and was built by his son-in-law, Bob Dyck.
The newly growing community needed schools for its young. This school house in Deer Park was taught by Mrs. Grove. "The History of Spokane County" states in that 1900 there were 75 scholars enrolled in the public schools with prospects of a large increase in the near future. Accordingly they were planning to add another room to the school house and employ two teachers.
An example of the volume produced by these small mills can be seen in this picture of the Swenson Mill. Mr. Swenson also ran a business establishment in Deer Park.
Or they were stocked nearby during winter weather.
The finished lumber was stacked outside ready to be shipped. In 1914 Walter Leuthhold purchased the mill. It had twenty six miles of railway line running through the valley to haul logs. Horse drawn sleighs were still being used during the winter. Deer Park Lumber Company was a pioneer in the change from horses to horsepower in the logging industry. Trucks were used on an experimental basis as early as 1917.
Deer Park Pine still offers complete service as there is a retail office that can be seen at the right end of the building in this picture.
The interior of Dr. Smith's store is typical of the time. Patients had to pass through the store to visit the Doctor.
The Hotel Building was the first three story building in Deer Park and still is the only one. Today (1970) it houses business offices, beauty shop and a tavern on the main floor.
Here is a view of that block today(1970).
The Chuch looks little different today except it rests in the shade of larger trees. This door is now a back door. In 1907 the congregation found need for a larger church and the first addition was built and in 1909. The front door was changed when Railroad Ave. was no longer the main street of town. William Short was very instrumental in building this church and it was on these steps that he departed this earth.
Fine houses were springing up in Deer Park. This splendid example was built in 1899 by O. J. Kelly. It boasted a windmill for pumping water for the first indoor plumbing in a residence in town. The barbershop was the first to have running water becaus a few enterprising young men ran a pipe line up to the railroad's water tank to tap their water supply.
That site is now occupied by this new modern grocery store(1970). The city hall can be seen in the background where the barn and the windmill of the Kelly house once stood.
Kelly was of the Catholic faith and he donated the land for the old church which was built in 1912 and located to the left of the new one shown in this picture. St. Mary's Presentation Parish was dedicated in 1968. It contains the stained glass windows from the old church.
Much building was going on in 1910 and many fine homes were built. Among them this fine home built by Louis Olsen Jr. for his brother Olaf about 1912. Olaf was the Telegrapher in town and ran the depot. Later he worked in his father's butcher shop before being employed by the Arcadia Orchard project.. It is today the Don Lindh home.
Not all houses were as elaborate as these however. This home near twin mountain built about 1910 was large and functunal, serving its purpose well for the Gray family who resided there. Its years of use now being over, it stands today as a reminder of the past.
The old School was made into a residence after being used as a the Methodist Church building. It stood for years next to the Lauer Funeral home but was just recently moved to a new site.
A larger school was built where this one now stands. It was a two story white structure which served the grade school needs until 1928 when the first part of this brick structure was built. A larger structure was not needed because there were so many rural schools serving the area. At one time there were four of these within a two and a half mile radius.
One was the Twin Mountain School located about 10 miles from Deer Park which was built around 1900. There wer many others included Burroughs, Wild Rose, Williams Valley and the Forreston School north of town. These were amoung the earliest. There were many others, too numerous to mention which schooled the children well in the 3 R's. | <urn:uuid:1c4686d4-7baf-444b-85ae-7f55f8db05d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cdphs.org/dp-etta-may-2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991865 | 1,704 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Submitted by: Br'er Rabbit
Big Lost Cove Cliffs are closed to climbing due to the local falcon population
DescriptionP1: Climb directly up between two water grooves passing a #2 Camalot placementand five bolts to a bolted belay (a few 10 moves).
P2: Continue up between the grooves, past five more bolts, and one white tricam placement, then up a steeper section to a belay on a tree ledge (sustained 10).
Rap: Move Right and rappel from double bolts on the top of Jiffy Pop Queen.
Location50' right of Joke the Chicken, at the leftmost end of the main cliff in an overlap.
ProtectionA #2 Camalot and a few draws for P1.
A white tricam and a few draws for P2.
Maybe a smattering of other small gear in case you find something else.
Paralleling...Ryan on P2. Paul and me cowering at the belay.
CommentsBr'er Rabbit Jun 15, 2009
Pitch one is straight forward with a #2 camalot placement at about 25' and four or five more bolts over a total of around 140'.
Pitch two is five bolts with one placement between the first and 2nd that cuts the runout in half...a white tricam in a shallow horizontal.
1st pitch has a few easy 5.10 moves mid pitch, with a hard, high-step if you take the right groove to the belay. Taking the left groove yields a couple moves a letter grade or two easier than the right groove, but is challenging nonetheless and more sustained.
2nd pitch is consistently sustained with much of the climbing at easy 10 or harder. Stemming the grooves tames the technicality a bit, but at the cost of burning calves.
A fall on this route would be LONG and slabby, but not incredibly dangerous as the granite is very smooth. Typical spacing between bolts and the few placements is around 20'.
Belay in a horizontal above on medium to large cams. Move climber's right to anchors on a neighboring route. Two double rope rappels to the ground.
Paul Barnes Nov 10, 2009 Rating: 5.10
Killer face and friction climbing on P1...followed by an exciting exercise in classic Cashiers Valley watergroove stemming on P2.
Probably a little bit better protected than most of the other stuff at BG...but still...DANG! Don't fall.
jeep gaskin Sep 2, 2011
i place a 0 tcu and a #1 rock equalized between bolts 1 and 2. at bolt 3 you'll have to do a couple hard moves beginning with the bolt at your shoes. the crux is at bolt 4 and the fall is safe. use every option in both grooves and the hunk between them. there is a #2/3 camalot placement after the last bolt on pitch 2. the belay is on cams, 1 to 2 inches. the rap line, if you're facing out is just beyond the bush to your left. don't go to the ratty tree and belay. you'll just have to down climb to the rap anchors.
© 2013 Mountain Project Inc. | <urn:uuid:331bb56e-b802-454d-ba81-f783d942be70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mountainproject.com/iPhone?action=showRoute&id=106462496 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928241 | 692 | 1.640625 | 2 |
An excerpt from www.HouseOfNames.com archives copyright © 2000 - 2013
Where did the English Froggatt family come from? What is the English Froggatt family crest and coat of arms? When did the Froggatt family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the Froggatt family history?The name Froggatt has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in the township of Froggatt in the county of Derbyshire.
Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Froggatt have been found, including Froggatt, Froggert, Frogat, Froggat and others.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Froggatt research. Another 366 words(26 lines of text) covering the years 1620, 1778, and 1800 are included under the topic Early Froggatt History in all our PDF Extended History products.
More information is included under the topic Early Froggatt Notables in all our PDF Extended History products.
Some of the Froggatt family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. Another 109 words(8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products.
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Froggatt, or a variant listed above:
Froggatt Settlers in the United States in the 19th Century
Froggatt Settlers in the United States in the 20th Century
The Froggatt Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Froggatt Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.
This page was last modified on 8 August 2012 at 21:02.
houseofnames.com is an internet property owned by Swyrich Corporation. | <urn:uuid:38317404-8912-49d2-a4ae-e2f096abc3db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.houseofnames.com/froggatt-family-crest?a=54323-224 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954531 | 528 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Borrowing journalistic postures they smash formats with humour or with poetry. Playing with oxymoron and manipulating images, they bend and move points of view reclaiming their subjectivity … What are the strategies of these contemporary artists who in gathering up information melt and remap the world?
At the Science PO conference in Paris (1),Valéry Grancher, a visual artist active in the digital sphere postulated the following:“From the time an artist questions a world topic, their efforts are necessarily political.”
“All artistic efforts are political by nature,” confirms Lebanese performer Rabih Mroué over the course of two weekend symposia inaugurating the work “The Missing People”(2) at the Pompidou Centre. “The artist that positions themselves as a political activist misses the target because he’s speaking to the masses, but an artistic act addresses the individual.” | <urn:uuid:71fa28fc-e9b9-4d9a-839f-e97a947b6098> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.orevo.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918835 | 195 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Viewing Topic: BiographyView All
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by Loren Mendell
The unlikely story of America's original shock-jock — Petey Greene — who battled the system and his own demons during a time of civil unrest in the nation's capital.
by Neil Berkeley
Raised in the mountains of Tennessee, Wayne White found success as one of the creators of the TV show, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, which led to more work designing some of the most arresting and iconic images in pop culture.
by Gordon Quinn, Bob Hercules, Joanna Rudnick, and Keith Walker
Bill T. Jones: A Good Man follows the Tony Award-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones as he conceives and executes a dance production based on the life of Abraham Lincoln. The New York Times claimed that Jones's "portrayal of Lincoln is likely to scandalize as many people as it delights."
by Robert Levi
The composer of "Take the A-Train" and other Duke Ellington hits, Billy Strayhorn struggled with obscurity and prejudice as a successful gay man in the tumultuous middle of the 20th century.
by Freida Lee Mock
A profile of bestselling author, humorist, recovering alcoholic, born-again Christian and single mother Anne Lamott.
by Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer
Despite his achievements as a master strategist and tireless activist in the Civil Rights Movement, Bayard Rustin was silenced and imprisoned — largely because he was an openly gay man in a homophobic era.
by Frank Popper
Follow the 2004 Missouri Democratic primary to replace retiring former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt from inside the campaign of Jeff Smith, a 29-year-old part time political science teacher.
by Brett Morgen
Mixing animation and archival footage, Director Brett Morgen’s Chicago 10 explores the buildup to and unraveling of the protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the 1969 conspiracy trial that followed.
by Shola Lynch and Phil Bertelsen
In 1972, black congresswoman Shirley Chisholm ran for the Democratic Presidential nomination, launching a groundbreaking campaign that united an unlikely coalition of supporters from every walk of life.
by Sharon La Cruise
A look at the life of African American political activist and newspaper publisher Daisy Bates.
Women and Girls Lead, Independent Lens | <urn:uuid:18d81479-122b-4862-b42a-8dbbced0ddea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://itvs.org/films?region=4&topic=37 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914968 | 491 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Top 10 Coolest Solar Vehicles
Solar? Yes please. Only if there was more of it and it was more efficient. This is our list of the top 10 coolest solar vehicles to date. Some are practical, some down right expensive and others straight up wacky. But what is really important is that they’re all setting a precedent for everyone in the fossil burning vehicle business to follow.
This is a total DIY project, but hey, it’s a solar powered vehicle, right? The solar panels can be folded away during driving making it completely street legal. When it’s parked they can be unfolded and the battery juiced from the sun’s rays.
The Sunraycer was built in 1987 in just 10 months. It’s covered with 8800 solar cells that produce up to 1500 watts of power. It won the world’s first race featuring solar powered vehicles and achieved a speed of 109 km/h (65mph) over 3005 km. The following year it achieved a top speed of 75.2mph, destroying the previously held record.
It’s really a kit, but you can’t knock an all solar powered bicycle, right? Sure, you could pedal, but why not take the extra help, especially when it has no carbon emissions. The bike can move at a speed of up to 19mph by way of it’s 500 watt electric motor. You can score a completed bike for about $1,250 or opt fo the kit which costs $775.
This thing costs a whopping $9k, but that’s the price you pay for a little luxury and a clear conscious. The roof features 72 photovoltaic cells that increase its range by up to 33% between charges of a standard electric golf cart. That means you can play 10 rounds of golf before it needs to be plugged in, or you can just leave it in the sun for 15 hours and you’ll be all set.
This things takes records, period. It weighs less than 190 kg and can achieve a top speed of 90.87 kmh. Enough said.
Hit the ‘leap’ for the remaining 5
This is the first commercially available high performance solar vehicle. It boast 21 square meters of solar cells. The passenger sits directly behind the driver, who can accelerate the vehicle to a top speed of 120 kmh with a range of 110 km. Unfortunately, we don’t think any have been built.
This little car is the smallest solar powered vehicle. It measures 33×22×14 millimeters and has a tiny electric engine.
The dude that built this apparently sold his entire motorcycle collection and house to fund the project. The result? The world’s first sun powered motorcycle with a range of 50 miles. It took him more than 2 years to build.
We’ve covered the Planet Solar boat in the past. It’s the largest of its type and rocks 1600 square feet of solar panels. It’s cost its maker more than $25 million to build and took its first ocean voyage this past March.
This plane just completed its first 24 hour flight. It’s a single person vehicle powered by 12,000 solar cells. It’s inventor is now planning for an around the world trip. | <urn:uuid:06033eff-da1e-4beb-bf0d-25f81d9ccb3c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gadgetreview.com/2010/07/top-10-coolest-solar-vehicles.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956876 | 687 | 2 | 2 |
Californians who move to the suburban edge relish the open brush, steep ravines or dense forest: Ah, they think, now I'm living next to nature. Then come the coyotes, mountain lions and, especially, wildfires.
When the fires are out, and their land has either been spared or devastated, understandably the last thing on their mind is how much the state's taxpayers have shelled out in the battle. According to the legislative analyst's office, it fell to state government to protect 88% of the private property affected by last year's catastrophic wildfires. These residents and businesses gain extraordinary benefit each year from a high-tech firefighting program costing $590 million a year at this point, not to mention from the individual firefighters who put their lives on the line.
Last year, the state finally began to ask the hard question: Who bears the cost when people choose a particularly risky place to live? It's increasingly a problem as flatter suburban areas fill in and development pushes into rustic hills and canyons where fighting fires is more difficult and dangerous.
The Legislature's common-sense response was that both the property owners and taxpayers in general pay. People have a right to live where they want and still enjoy public services. But they also should bear a bit of the burden for extraordinary services. Thus last year the state passed a law to assess $35 per parcel on property that it must protect against wildfires -- almost a third of all California land. The small fee would raise a little more than $50 million a year.
Republicans persuaded Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to withdraw this already approved fee from his budget proposal, demanding its repeal as a "hidden tax." Firefighting is basic public safety. Even the most conservative politicians don't want to cut it. The edge-dwellers who would pay the modest annual fee benefit from state firefighters, while most urban and suburban households have never seen a state fire crew in the flesh.
If the Republican legislators have their way, the state would make up the full firefighting amount out of the general fund. That could happen -- though it's hard to see how this year -- but a cash-strapped fire service might also have to trim purchases of valuable equipment and delay maintenance. Last week, the joint legislative budget committee's majority Democrats moved to restore the fee.
Its fate is uncertain even as fires rip startlingly early scars across the state's mountainsides, threatening homes and sending state firefighters into action in Santa Clarita and elsewhere. Republicans should remember the historical GOP philosophy that individuals take responsibility for their actions, rather than relying on the state. The fire fee would, in modest part, do that. | <urn:uuid:76e70c03-2dfe-40ea-9899-61b6961d8fe3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jul/23/opinion/ed-firefee23 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963877 | 541 | 1.890625 | 2 |
SOS meets every Sunday at 3 PM at City Island Library
April 5, 2009
Every Sunday, 3:00 p.m.
Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS) at the City Island Library in Daytona Beach
Founded by James Christopher, SOS is the world's largest non-12-step, non-religious, non-spiritual addiction recovery program. It is overseen by an International Advisory Board of people with expertise in the field of addictions of all kinds. There is no spiritual or religious content. To learn more, please visit www.secularsobriety.org/ . or call 386-671-1921
Tampa: Call 813-849-7571
The following is the basis of almost all recovery program in the United States -- EXCEPT SOS:
The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous:
1 We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable.
2 Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3 Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4 Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5 Admitted to God , to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6 Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7 Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings .
8 Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9 Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10 Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11 Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12 Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps , we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
From: ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS The Story of How many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism NEW AND REVISED EDITION (Second Edition) ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS PUBLISHING, INC NEW YORK CITY 1955 pp. 59-60 | <urn:uuid:62c87a1c-1f2a-4894-842f-36360de2e936> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.centerforinquiry.net/daytona/news/sos_meets_every_sunday_at_3_pm_at_city_island_library/rss/news/daytona | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942191 | 493 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Calls back evolutionary gender theory
Changing connections Women speak to their male partners less often as they grow older and turn their attention to a younger generation, according to an unusual study.
The findings back evolutionary theory about the role of women in the survival of the genes, according to the probe by researchers in Britain, Finland, the United States and Hungary.
The investigators tracked the origin and destination of two billion mobile phone calls and text messages among 3.2 million people over seven months.
The changing web of contacts showed how men and women's social strategies mutate over time, according to the paper which appears in the journal Scientific Reports.
"This suggests that the intimate structure of human social networks are driven much more by women's interests than by men's," says Robin Dunbar from Oxford University's Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology.
"Men are more casual in their social relationships, whereas women know what their social goals are and go for them."
Women spent more time communicating with the opposite sex when they were of childbearing age, the scientists write.
After the age of 45, women tended to shift their attentions to a much younger female - presumed to be a daughter - as their focus shifted to grandchildren.
Men's most frequent contact throughout their lives was consistently with their wife or girlfriend, although they made fewer calls than women did.
Co-author Kimmo Kaski of Finland's Aalto University says the results were "maybe sort of obvious", but this was the first evidence borne out by actual data.
The researchers knew only the age and gender of the subjects, the duration of their calls and the number of messages sent, as well as their postal codes.
The information was provided by an unidentified phone company in a European country. Identities and other data were withheld. | <urn:uuid:46737315-6f8a-4c99-b56c-6a3ec319e185> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/04/20/3482273.htm?topic=human | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977837 | 368 | 3.015625 | 3 |
ABSTRACT: An estimated 610,000 new cases of myocardial infarction (MI) and 325,000 recurrent MIs will occur this year in the United States, accounting for 1 MI every 34 seconds. Despite the advances in acute coronary syndrome management, recurrent events and the mortality associated with acute coronary syndromes are also high. There is clear evidence that knowledge, competence, and performance gaps exist among clinicians, contributing to the lack of adherence, premature discontinuation, and the increased risk of cardiovascular events in patients. As primary care clinicians manage these patients during the chronic phase of treatment, educational activities addressing identified gaps were developed and presented nationally. Outcome measurements using pre-, post-, and follow-up surveys showed that knowledge, confidence, competence, and performance significantly improved resulting in better patient outcomes as reported by activity participants. Thus, continuing medical education activities developed with the clear goal of changing clinician behavior can be effective in improving outcomes among patients with coronary artery disease.
Critical pathways in cardiology 03/2012; 11(1):1-9. | <urn:uuid:be4364bf-9e99-4a51-819c-bece30161cc3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.researchgate.net/researcher/71419070_Christopher_P_Cannon/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942267 | 215 | 2.140625 | 2 |
How can the British PM and other leaders use social media to their advantage?
Senior executives and other important folks have a peculiar relationship with social media. A study earlier this year found that 80% of people thought executives who use social media are better equipped to lead their organisations. Yet other studies found that just 30% of senior executives have any social media presence, and just 10% of CIOs use social media.
So news this week that UK prime minister David Cameron has joined Twitter should be a good thing, right? Perhaps.
Substance over style
Any social media presence should have a clearly defined purpose. This is especially true for senior people with incredibly busy lives. When every minute of the day has to be accounted for, you need to make sure your time is achieving results.
So what is the purpose behind David Cameron’s Twitter account? It’s hard to know for certain, but it needs to be more than just the desire to be ‘cool’.
Tip #1: Figure out what it is you want to achieve, and then measure how often you achieve that.
Measure the right things
Ok, measurement. It’s a hot topic on social media as many people get it so wrong. Nowhere more so than in politics. It seems that politicians see their number of Twitter followers as an indicator of their popularity with voters. Sort of like the ultimate social proof.
One problem is that this encourages shady behaviour. After all, it’s much easier to acquire Twitter followers than it is voters. You only have to ask a certain high ranking US politician, who magically gained a few hundred thousand earlier this year!
Tip #2: Don’t get bogged down with chasing followers. Use Twitter for something more meaningful than faux popularity.
A bit of authenticity would do no harm in reclaiming some credibility for the political classes.
Here’s the problem with over-screening: if people expect the tweets to be anodyne rubbish then it defeats the point of the account. For sure, exhibit good judgement with what you share, but you have to be authentic to succeed on social media.
Tip #3: Be honest and authentic with your account
Talk a little, listen a lot
The popular line is that politicians are public servants, here to serve us. Social media should make this come true because it allows ordinary people to interact directly with those in power.
Will this happen with the Cameron account? I’m not so sure. So far he’s only following a handful of fellow politicians. Time will tell whether he replies to messages or engages in conversation with his followers.
Social media isn’t a broadcast medium, it’s a relational medium. You win when you use it to engage with your audience, soliciting their thoughts and ideas. Sadly, too many still use it to push out messages in the same way they’ve always done via television and other outbound media.
Tip #4: Talk a little, listen a lot. Use the account to engage with your audience and set an example of interactivity.
Of course it’s early days. Let’s hope David Cameron (and leaders in general) clock onto the truly interactive potential of social media, for the sake of the British population and the world.
Recap: 4 tips for Twitter success:
- Have a clear purpose
- Don’t chase followers
- Be authentic and run the account yourself
- Talk a little, listen a lot
Our guest blogger Adi Gaskell is a blogger and community manager. He specialises in community cultivation and using social media to create organisations. He has written on this topic for publications such as HRMToday, Professional Manager, Business Works and the Chartered Management Institute. He is also a regular on the UK speaker circuit, talking about the power of social media. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. | <urn:uuid:e370ea4b-8cfa-48e1-9bb8-af402139bc50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.digitaldoughnut.com/feeds/feeds/4-ways-for-david-cameron-to-succeed-on-twitter | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938872 | 812 | 1.679688 | 2 |
The Levitts transformed the landscape by using fast, assembly-line techniques to build inexpensive homes. Mrs. Pikus continued to work with Levitt's company in communities around the country.
Mrs. Pikus graduated from Burlington City High School in 1935 and worked as clerk at the Haines & Haines insurance company before marrying William J. Pikus in 1936. She later juggled raising six children and working from home as an interior designer.
In the late 1950s, Mrs. Pikus and a partner opened the Town & Country Dress Shop. She operated the store for five years and then began working with Levitt.
When her work with the developer ended, Mrs. Pikus turned her attention to Burlington City's deteriorating downtown. She bought two buildings on High Street, the center of the historic district. Mrs Pikus refurbished the buildings, opening a store called Antique Row in the 1970s. The move was a critical part of the downtown's $2 million revitalization.
"She was such a good friend to the city of Burlington," Mayor Herman Costello said. "She had a great feeling for the city's past, and she was outspoken in what should and shouldn't be done with a given building. More times than not, she was right."
City officials called on Mrs. Pikus for advice on design elements, and she handpicked furniture, trimmings and fabrics. At the time of her death, she was involved in the design of the new municipal building.
Mrs. Pikus was a member of the Women's Club of Burlington and the Burlington City Historical Commission. She was chairwoman of the Burlington City Charter Commission during the 1970s, and she had been a member of the Burlington County and Burlington City Historical Societies
Her husband died in 1991.
Surviving are sons Lawrence and John; daughters Marianne Dodge, Eugenia Sonstein and Kathryn Shaw; and 17 grandchildren. Son Joseph preceded her in death.
Friends may call from 9 to 10 a.m. today at the Page Funeral Home, 302 E. Union St., Burlington City. A Funeral Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. today at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, 223 E. Union St., Burlington City. Burial will be in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Burlington City.
Contact staff writer Kristin E. Holmes at 215-854-2791 or email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:abaa1862-09e1-41fb-8949-0d08c36338d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.philly.com/2003-03-26/news/25474166_1_william-levitt-buildings-sample-homes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974508 | 505 | 1.53125 | 2 |
January 30, 2013
Repression was the Duvalier family business in Haiti. The many crimes of these dictators against their own people are well documented. But the story most often repeated is how “Mama Simone” Duvalier had air-conditioning installed in the National Palace so that she could comfortably wear her fur coats, in a tropical nation where poverty increased as wealth was concentrated in the ruling family’s inner circle.
We read that and think: How obscene! No wonder they had a revolution.
Unfortunately, income inequality is a problem in the United States, too. Global Post has a nifty function where you can see how the gap between rich and poor in your area compares with the situation in other nations. President Barack Obama’s home city of Chicago has a similar income gap to Rwanda.
Maybe that was on his mind when he said in his inaugural address: “For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class.”
There’s nothing wrong with being rich. I’d be fine with the rich getting richer if the poor weren’t simultaneously getting poorer. As I’ve previously written, the rate of extreme poverty in the United States has doubled since 1996. By extreme poverty, I mean a person living on about $2 a day. Meanwhile, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service tells us that the top one percent of households hold about a third of the nation’s wealth.
I am neither a politician nor an economist. I offer no macro solution to this problem. But I can offer some micro ones. Extreme poverty in itself creates barriers to employment and self-sufficiency. People need help over those barriers, many of which seem like small things to those of us who are more fortunate. “Handouts” have a negative connotation. We hear that they are a “Band-Aid” solution. When you are bleeding, a Band-Aid is a wonderful thing. In addressing extreme poverty, we must first stop the bleeding.
There’s a mom and baby in South Florida who were homeless. The mother worked with an agency that got them shelter and also offered her a training program to become a certified nursing assistant. She still could not afford the diapers her childcare center required. But thanks to the Junior League of Boca Raton’s Diaper Bank, she has an ongoing supply of diapers and is able to work. My friends at The Diaper Bank in North Haven, Connecticut, provided a wounded Army veteran with diapers for his son. That enabled the man to go back to school for job training.
As a social worker who spent much of her career working with families in extreme poverty, I know what a big deal the little things can be. Imagine sending your kids to school in dirty clothes because you can’t afford detergent. How well would you do in a job interview if you had to show up in an old tattered suit? How far could you stretch your food stamps if you had to shop at a corner store because you had no way to get to a supermarket?
The United States is often called “The Land of Opportunity.” It will take some work for us to deserve that title again. We need to tackle some big issues. In the meantime, though, you might find some small issues to tackle in your own community to make sure that your most vulnerable neighbors really do have an opportunity to thrive.
Follow Joanne Goldblum on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jgoldblum
This article was originally published in The Huffington Post on January 29, 2013. | <urn:uuid:c8156acf-f22d-4fa6-8931-ca01a69e0043> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://diaperbanknetwork.wordpress.com/category/government-policy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975834 | 776 | 2.078125 | 2 |
(05-15) 04:00 PDT Sacramento --
California could force Facebook and other social-networking sites to change their privacy protection policies under a first-of-its-kind proposal at the state Capitol that is opposed by much of the Internet industry.
Under the proposal, SB242, social-networking sites would have to allow users to establish their privacy settings - like who could view their profile and what information would be public to everyone on the Internet - when they register to join the site instead of after they join. Sites would also have to set defaults to private so that users would choose which information is public.
Currently, some sites, like Facebook, have default settings that make certain information - such as photos, biographical information and family information - available to everyone on the Internet after a user registers, unless the user changes those privacy settings.
And while Facebook itself has not told the Legislature it is opposed to , the bill's author, Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, said the social-networking giant has worked in "stealth mode" to oppose it.
The legislation would require that privacy controls be explained in "plain language." Willful violations of the law would result in a $10,000 fine for each violation.
"You shouldn't have to sign in and give up your personal information before you get to the part where you say, 'Please don't share my personal information,' " Corbett said.
The bill also would require a social-networking site to remove personally identifying information of a user if requested and by the request of a parent of a user under 18.
But the measure is facing a strong push back from online companies arguing that the bill is unconstitutional and unworkable and that such a measure actually would decrease privacy for people who use social networking. The bill passed through a legislative committee last week and is headed to the Senate floor, where it will face an intense assault from the industry.
Tammy Cota, the executive director of the Internet Alliance trade association that includes Google, eHarmony, Match.com, Facebook and other companies, said the law would have myriad unintended consequences.
The bill "would force users to make decisions about privacy and visibility of all information well before they even used the service for the first time, and in such a manner that they are less likely to pay attention and process the information," Cota wrote in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which approved the measure.
Opponents argue that could lead to users setting privacy settings they don't fully understand and making public information they want to keep private.
When a new user signs up for Facebook, the default settings shares with "Everyone" a user's status update, photos and posts, biographical information, favorite quotations and family and relationships that are entered into the site. They are available to everyone on the Internet.
The bill would affect more than just Facebook, as the bill defines a social-networking site as an Internet site where a user can construct a public or partly public profile that connects to other users and that allows for viewing and traversing the user's own list of connections and those of others.
While much of the focus is on the social-networking giant, Cota said the proposal also would have a large effect on dating websites.
But Facebook is facing extra criticism from Corbett, because while the company has not stated it is opposed, a company lobbyist handed talking points opposing the measure to some members of the committee prior to the hearing. Those included calling the legislation a "serious threat" to the company's ability to do business in California.
"It's very strange to have opposition in a stealth position," Corbett said.
Stealth opposition also violates the code of conduct for the Institute of Government Advocates, the association that represents lobbyists and lobbying firms at the state Capitol. The code of conduct states, "A member owes a public officeholder an obligation to inform the officeholder of the member's planned opposition to a proposal by the officeholder prior to the member's active opposition."
Facebook's spokesman Andrew Noyes said, "Any legislative or regulatory proposal must honor users' expectations in the contexts in which they use online services and promote the innovation that fuels the growth of the Internet economy. This legislation is a serious threat both to Facebook's business in California and to meaningful California consumers' choices about use of personal data."
Facebook is currently embroiled in scandal after it was revealed this week that the company had hired a big-time public relations firm to plant negative stories about its archrival Google in the press.
Privacy settings on sites like Facebook are difficult for the average user to understand and navigate, said Nicole Ozer, technology and civil liberties policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.
She said Corbett's bill "would take the pressure off each individual to understand every setting and what it means to change the setting."
Ozer said people use Facebook and sites like it to engage in social and political activities and are not necessarily posting information because they want to share it with the whole world. She noted that even if information is private to other users, it is not private to Facebook and that it can still be used for marketing and advertising purposes.
But concerns about the impact of the measure, and whether it would drive Internet businesses out of the state, is resulting in opposition among some lawmakers. Sen. Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, said a single mid-level manager who willfully violates the provisions for just 1 million users would expose a company to $10 billion in fines.
Facebook has more than 500 million active users worldwide, though the measure would apply only to those users in California. Corbett said her measure would apply to businesses even outside the state, but Blakeslee questions that.
He also said Sacramento is the wrong place to address online privacy.
"I think it is certainly something that should be addressed at the national level. That's the appropriate place to deal with Internet laws," he said.
E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:2bd6cc3d-16c1-42f1-886e-c13c2ad3ca84> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Social-networking-sites-face-new-privacy-battle-2371641.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959043 | 1,251 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Natural sunlight and a slice of lime could potentially be the answer to the global water crisis, affecting millions of individuals worldwide who do not have access to water filtration services. Found to effectively remove all detectable levels of harmful bacteria such as E. coli, sunlight and lime work together as powerful disinfectants. Perhaps the most amazing part is that it only takes 30 minutes for this effect to take place, making it extremely fast as well.
The news could also prove useful for many first world citizens, who may not have access to water purification systems while traveling or even just looking to reduce their bacteria content in local water. While certainly no substitute for a powerful reverse osmosis or carbon filter with regards to the removal of heavy metals and other chemicals, the health-promoting combination can aid any water supply. In fact, adding lime or enjoying water with lemon is an extremely effective way to fight unwanted fat and boost your immunity.
On a larger scale, many countries are continually searching for ways to reduce the death toll from water-related illnesses. As a result of drinking seriously contaminated water, half of all hospital visits are a result of rampant bacteria and other water contaminants. On par with actually boiling water and other household treatments, lime and sunshine offer natural methods of combating the death toll as well as the infection rate — all at an extremely inexpensive price. Kellogg Schwab, the author of the study from Johns Hopkins University, explains:
“For many countries, access to clean drinking water is still a major concern. Previous studies estimate that globally, half of all hospital beds are occupied by people suffering from a water-related illness,” he said.
The news echoes announcements made by other nations who are continually turning to natural and sustainable alternatives in order to preserve the health and wealth of their citizens. In a monumental move, the political head of the New Zealand islands of Tokelau announced back in 2011 that Tokelau would soon be abandoning traditional energy sources (diesel, gasoline, kersone) in favor of coconut oil and sunlight. The alternative energy plan alloted 93% of the power generation burden to photovoltaic solar arrays, with the remainder placed on biofuel derived from coconuts. | <urn:uuid:ede26f3c-dad3-46cd-9383-01f3cfc67b97> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trueactivist.com/sunlight-and-lime-naturally-purify-water-could-solve-global-water-crisis/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943747 | 449 | 3.171875 | 3 |
by Celine Ramstein
There was more huffing and puffing on Capitol Hill this week over the Environmental Protection Agency’s new mercury standards.
Once again, lawmakers are attacking the EPA’s plan to regulate mercury from power plants, creating a false dichotomy between the economy and public health.
Railing against the standard during a Senate subcommittee hearing on the health benefits of the standard, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) called it “the most costly rule in the history of the EPA; one that typifies President Obama’s war on affordable energy.”
As one of the fiercest opponents of environmental regulations, it’s not a surprise that Inhofe counts oil, gas and electric utilities among his top five political donors — receiving over $600,000 in campaign contributions from those sectors since 2007.
Perhaps that’s why, despite analysis from the Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Congressional Research Service, and the North American Reliability Corporation showing that the EPA rule will not threaten the electricity system, opponents like Inhofe continue to make grossly inaccurate claims.
So what are the facts? We’ve detailed them numerous times before. But the attacks on smart, effective environmental and public health standards are only picking up. It’s important to be armed with good information in order to combat the attacks:
- A CAP Analysis found that 22 members of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a coal industry coalition which is leading the charge against the rule, has nearly $18 billion in cash reserve which could go towards scrubbers and other equipment necessary to slash these pollutants.
- The Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Congressional Research Service, and the North American Reliability Corporation have all done analysis showing that the rule will not threaten Americans’ access to reliable electricity.
- Studies by the Center for American Progress and Ceres found that many of the plants already have the capability to meet the air toxics rule.
- The EPA concluded that increase in electricity price increase would be relatively small and would actually account for the harmful costs of pollution on the public.
- The Economic Policy Institute determined that the rules would yield a net increase of 84,500 direct jobs by 2015.
- The rules go into effect in 2015 and the utility Exelon has testified that three years is enough time to implement pollution control technology.
- EPA also makes a fourth year option widely available.
- Opponents’ predictions of high costs are likely overblown. History shows that estimates of reductions costs under earlier pollution laws are always higher than the actual costs. For instance, In 1989, the EPA calculated that complying with the acid rain program would cost $2.7 billion to $4.0 billion but a decade later, an EPA analysis found that the actual cost was substantially lower at $1 to $2 billion per year.
History has proven that it is possible to maintain a strong economy and strong environmental standards at the same time. The political arguments we hear today simply don’t reflect reality.
Celine Ramstein is an intern on the energy team at the Center for American Progress. Arpita Bhattacharyya and Stephen Lacey contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:f03865bf-78aa-421f-8885-15191c96aebd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/04/19/467671/lets-get-the-facts-straight-over-mercury-standards/?mobile=nc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936814 | 663 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Archive for March, 2012
There is so much about autism that we do not understand, that I suspect in the future autism education will be radically different from how it is today. For instance, I recently read an excerpt from a study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology. Researchers found preliminary indication that people with autism have a greater than normal capacity for processing information, even from rapid presentations of information.
Parents of autistic children have long suspected this; after all, becoming hyper-attached to a particular topic is considered a classic symptom of autism. What the research did unveil is that these skills could be particularly useful in the IT world which demands focus as a key to success. I think that specialty training courses for autistic individuals wanting to break into IT would be magnificent. It would certainly give more adults on the spectrum an opportunity to have careers and thus support themselves rather than being dependent on family and friends.
While browsing the Internet for new articles on autism, I came across a news release from the Kennedy Krieger Institute. They recently published preliminary results of a national survey examining the impact of bulling on children on the spectrum. A troubling 63 percent of children with autism have been bullied, which is three times more than their siblings who are not on the spectrum.
I cannot say that I was totally surprised by the findings. Many autistic behaviors are alien to non-spectrum children, who may use the differences as a reason to tease or bully an autistic child. What was more surprising is that some of the autistic children surveyed were bully-victims, in that the child on the spectrum may have been perceived as bullies themselves. This, researchers explained, can happen when an autistic child who is particularly sensitive to touch might lash out over being bumped into, or some similar slight that a child not on the spectrum might brush off.
Aspies For Freedom (AFF) is an autism awareness and autism rights movement founded by Amy and Gareth Nelson. Gareth has Asperger syndrome and has frequently been critical of efforts to cure autism. To Gareth, being on the spectrum is not negative; there is no need for a cure, he believes.
He is supported by people such as Arthur Caplan who said, “There are many in the autism and Asperger’s community, like the newly formed Aspies For Freedom, who worry that the minute a genetic test appears, it will spell the end for a lot of future geniuses…Maybe there will be fewer Thomas Jeffersons or Lewis Carrrolls – remarkable thinkers who also fit the profile for Asperger’s.” AFF certainly adds a new dimension to autism research and bioethics.
Vaccine damage is a controversial subject. Thousands of claims have been filed in federal court alleging vaccines to be the cause of ailments and syndromes, including autism. No legitimate study has ever found vaccines to be the cause of autism.
That being said, a court once did rule in favor of a child who developed autism like symptoms after receiving nine childhood vaccinations (five shots). The court did not conclude that the vaccine caused autism; it concluded that the vaccine was in some way responsible for exacerbating a pre-existing mitochondrial disease. This is a very rare occurrence, but parents should still ask questions before they vaccinate their children.
Even parents who faithfully vaccinate their children sometimes skip the chicken pox vaccination. Chicken pox, for those of us who have experienced the unpleasantness, is viewed as “no big deal.” While most of us can shake it off in a matter of weeks, for some groups it can be deadly.
For example, I got chicken pox when I was only four years old and passed the disease onto my father who was in his early 30s at the time. While I had a fever and was itchy, my dad’s experience was ten times worse and put him out of commission for a long time. As a result of our infections, we are both at risk for shingles, which is far more painful and can result in some nasty side effects like postherpetic neuralgia.
Insurance behemoths Cigna and Healthnet have agreed to cover behavioral therapy as a form of treatment for autism for residents of California. This follows in the footsteps of Blue Shield which added behavioral therapy to their list of acceptable treatments just last month. With behavioral therapies costing between $50,000 and $100,000 annually, the insurance coverage is welcome to families struggling with such an enormous financial burden.
The agreement comes as a result of Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing of bill SB946 last year. The bill mandates insurance companies to cover treatments for autism and other developmental disorders. The bill goes into effect this July 1, so it is no wonder that insurance companies are coming on board now.
It is a widely held misconception that thimerosal causes autism. Thimerosal was used as a vaccine preservative. The thinking was by a now discredited doctor that there was a causal relationship between the rise in vaccination and the rise in autism diagnoses.
The truth is thimerosal has not been used as a vaccine preservative for many years. While thimerosal has been removed the number of autism diagnoses has not dropped off. In fact, it can be argued that the number of cases has risen (although “risen” is not exactly the right word as it is entirely likely that the number of cases hasn’t gone up, but the ability to accurately diagnose someone on the spectrum has improved). With thimerosal denied as the culprit, parents and researchers need to continue to press for answers.
For several years, members of the scientific community have found links between autism and neurotoxins and bacteria found in the gut. For instance, in 2004, a study was published by the head of the Food Microbiology Sciences Unit at the University of Reading that stated: “We have good evidence to show that children with autism have a gut flora which produces toxins, and that neurotoxins and bacteria in the gut are producing this metabolite.”
To combat this harmful gut flora, taking probiotics has been recommended. Certain probiotics – which introduce healthy bacteria – may combat clostridium which is a harmful bacterium. Probiotics, in conjunction with cleanses, may help restore balance to a digestive tract.
There is so much that is not known about autism. It seems that nearly every week there is a new study out revealing some new fact not previously known. For example, autistic children born in the 1990s are more likely to have gastrointestinal problems than autistic children born in the 1980s.
This has led some parents to remove gluten and dairy from their autistic children’s diets. Some parents claim this has eliminated many behavioral issues, but most parents who see a difference claim that it only eliminates GI tract problems – which are still a great relief to the parents and children. To cleanse the body of other toxins, try chelation, such as PCA-Rx. | <urn:uuid:8a6ce601-4343-4bcd-b248-7182057e9946> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.helpyourautisticchildblog.com/date/2012/03/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974153 | 1,438 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Over the years, the Rescue Mission has faced leadership and organizational changes, giving it an interesting history of survival. In its early years, the Springfield Rescue Mission was a strong Christian-based organization, focusing on feeding, sheltering and clothing men living on the streets or traveling from town to town. For the most part, these were men who had abandoned their families and were addicted to alcohol. The Rescue Mission, then and now, reaches out to the least, the last and the lost – meeting physical and spiritual needs through the presentation of the Gospel, relying on God through the public to support our work.
By 1938, the Springfield Rescue Mission had weakened in its witness for Christ and Cummings Memorial became the dominant homeless shelter in the community. Cummings Memorial Inc. began as a Christ-centered organization and continued in full operation until January of 1997, when it was closed for health and safety reasons. With a decline in emphasizing spiritual needs for the homeless by Cummings, a group of seven laymen form a local church bound together to establish the Springfield Gospel Mission in 1951, bringing God back into the healing process of meeting spiritual and physical needs of poor people. They began with meager financial resources and the faith that God would provide for their ongoing needs. Basic services of a cup of coffee or soup and a chapel service were offered to those who would come for assistance. In 1958, this same group of Christian men changed the name back to the Springfield Rescue Mission, which continues today as a Christian non-profit human service organization.
In 1997, the Springfield Rescue Mission acquired the former Cummings Memorial property and began the legal process of dissolving the Cummings Memorial, Inc. name, and expanding the Springfield Rescue ministry to offer more beds for emergency shelter and transitional living programs.
Today, the culmination of these three organizations make up over 100 years of service to the homeless, addicted and poor. Although the Springfield Rescue Mission experienced many changes over the years, it remains a Christ-centered organization, reaching out and touching lives with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the determination to seek God’s will for its future. Men, women and children seek the many services provided at the Rescue Mission daily.
1892 - This ministry began over a laundry on Stanford Street on September 15.
1927 - Celebrated 35 years of ministry with the Superintendent Alexander of the Water Street Mission, as guest speaker.
1930's and 1940's - The Rescue Mission went through a difficult period and Cummings Memorial began work with the homeless.
1940's - Fanny Crosby, a famous hymn writer ministered here.
1951 - The Springfield Rescue Mission was rechartered by seven lay people from Grace Baptist Church.
1962 - Purchased the former Y.W.C.A. building at 19 Bliss St.
1974 - Became a member of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions.
1988 - Two programs established:
1989 - Two programs established:
1990 - Three programs established.
1994 - "Growing Together Toward Excellence" Certification with the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions (AGRM)
1995 - Learning Center established.
1997 - Springfield Rescue Mission obtained the Cummings Memorial Building at 148 Taylor Street.
2000 - Kitchen renovation completed.
2002 - Two programs established:
2004 - Renewal of "Growing Together Toward Excellence" Certification with AGRM
2006 - New Development Office
- Women's and children's shelter ministry.
- Renovation of current facilities or relocation for greater ministry growth.
You must have a user name and password to access the Friends of the Friendless members blog. To find out the requirements and request a user name please email us. | <urn:uuid:318e8eed-dbce-4f17-8fb3-7a6bd1ee9f20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hope4springfield.org/about/history | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955024 | 739 | 2.46875 | 2 |
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Sen. Ron Wyden is pledging to renew and expand the federal subsidies to timber counties known as Secure Rural Schools.
The Oregon Democrat says that for the next year or two, he wants to renew the payments that brought $105 million to Oregon in 2012 as part of $346 million that went to 729 counties nationwide. As a permanent solution, he wants to go beyond timber country and extend similar payments to rural counties with federal lands and waters being tapped for mining and energy.
"If we are serious about reducing the risk that rural America becomes a ghost town, we've got to find a way to get those communities off the fiscal roller coaster," Wyden said in an interview.
Secure Rural Schools was first enacted in 2000, and has now expired, with final payments going out this year. The idea was to make up for timber revenues lost when national forests cut back logging to protect fish, wildlife and clean water.
As budgets got tighter, Wyden managed to win renewals by expanding the area receiving funds. This latest renewal would expand the subsidies more than ever.
Josephine County Commissioner Simon Hare, for one, is not happy with the idea. He says Wyden's pledge to renew the payments makes it likely voters will turn down a tax increase on the May ballot to restore deep cuts to law enforcement. Hare adds he would rather have Congress focus on producing more timber from federal lands, such as the plan to increase logging on what are known as the O&C lands in Western Oregon.
"The senator is, frankly, out of touch with what is going on here on the ground and with what we need," said Hare.
For more than a century, counties have received a quarter of the revenue from timber sold on national forests. The money goes to roads and schools. In Oregon, 18 counties get even more money from the so-called O&C lands, which reverted to the federal government after the Oregon & California Railroad went bankrupt. Since the 1930s, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has shared half the revenues from timber cut on O&C lands with 18 Oregon counties. That money goes to county general funds.
After a year of struggling with deep cuts to law enforcement and other county services, Josephine, Curry and Lane counties have all put tax measures on the May 21 ballot to fill the gap left by the loss of the timber payments.
Wyden said the bill is his top priority and he would use his chairmanship of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to push it. He has teamed up with Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
"These investments are the lifeline that keeps teachers in the classroom, lights on at the road department and emergency crews on the job in Montana counties," Baucus said in a statement. "And they are rightfully due to rural counties that are home to large areas of federal lands. Now is not the time to pull the rug out from under them."
Just how it will fare in the House remains in doubt. Any new spending must pay its own way by raising new revenue, or cutting somewhere else. The federal budget already faces tough budget cuts through the automatic process known as sequestration. And three members of the Oregon delegation are pressing an alternative plan calling for increased logging on the O&C lands.
Rep Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., said as long as Wyden's plan leads to more exploitation of natural resources on federal lands, it would have a chance in the House.
"That's the only way it would have a chance in the House of Representatives," Schrader said. "I think the senator understands that."
Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson, who has opposed his county's tax increase proposal, favored Wyden's proposal.
"I think this is a step in the right direction to involve a much broader group of people throughout the country to right this wrong," he said.
Curry County Commissioner Dave Itzen echoed Hare's reservations, saying any money would be welcome, but Wyden's pledge would make it harder to persuade voters to support a tax increase, with no certainty it would provide enough money to restore services. A permanent solution would be more logging on federal lands that produces revenue for the counties, he said. | <urn:uuid:3b15d8c4-f510-4901-be5d-12a3430b0e77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://washingtonexaminer.com/wyden-pledges-renewed-timber-county-payments/article/feed/2074232?custom_click=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975118 | 879 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Jinisha Patel, a sophomore, will attend a Tech Summit at the White House.
Jinisha Patel, a sophomore at NJIT, will attend a Tech Inclusion Summit at the White House.
Patel, a computer science major, was one of 12 college students from across the country chosen to attend the summit by the White House. She was nominated by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), a group she has belonged to since high school.
During the summit, speakers will discuss how to ensure that young people, especially minorities, women and girls, have the chance to study technology and work in the technology sector.
The White House says the purpose of the summit is to “broaden the talent base in the technology fields that will fuel American innovation and drive creative new applications of technology.”
Patel will speak at the summit about why it’s important for young women to study technology and how she developed her passion for computer science.
She’ll be in elite company. The special guests at the summit are Todd Park, Assistant to the President, U.S. Chief Technology Officer; Michael Strautmanis, Deputy Assistant to the President, Senior Advisor for Strategic Engagement; and Mitchell Kapor, Board Member, the Level Playing Field Institute, a nonprofit that works to eliminate the barriers faced by underrepresented people of color in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Also during the summit five newly formed private-sector initiatives will announce their efforts to engage more youth in developing technology. After the event, Patel will meet the representatives from each of the initiatives, who will offer her feedback and support on her studies and her career.
Asked if she was nervous about the summit, Patel smiles unperturbedly.
“I’m excited, not nervous,” she says, “When you have a passion for a subject, you have the confidence to talk about it in public.And I love computer science and programming. It’s a great honor to be going to the White House and I hope girls and young women who want to study computing and technology will be inspired by my story.”
Patel’s story is one about overcoming a gender stereotype to pursue her passion. By her own admission, in early high school she was a “slacker.” But in her junior year she elected to take a programming class: an introduction to JAVA. Her love for programming helped her ace that class and inspired her, in general, to excel in school. In her senior year, she took an AP computer science class and graduated with a high GPA.
She attended a community college for a year and last year transferred to NJIT. At her community college, she recalls, she once asked her computer science professor for extra work. She was doing well in class and wanted to stay challenged. He refused to give it to her, she says.
“I could see that he didn’t think I was smart enough to handle the extra work,” Patel says. “But I ended up tutoring the boys in the class. Because I was a woman the professor didn’t see how intense I was about programming.”
Patel grew up in India, where in her town, she says, computer science is still a “male-oriented career.” But while back in India, when she was a little girl, she got lucky. Her mother rented a small house to a family who had a computer. She was 7-years old then, and it was the first computer she ever saw. She loved the computer so much that she became a frequent visitor to the tenant’s house. Her mother saw how much she loved that computer and bought her one of her own. She spent endless hours on that computer, teaching herself what would later become her academic major and path in life.
Her first semester at NJIT had an inauspicious start. Her mother died in August, right before the semester began (her father died when she was 4-years old). She had to return to India for the funeral and returned to NJIT behind in her studies. She survived, though, and this semester she’s found her groove, academically and socially.
"Jinisha has already made a mark through her strong passion for computing, with a particular emphasis on helping and encouraging women students to learn from each other,” says James Geller, Chairman of the Department of Computer Science. “She represents some of the best in our new generation of computing mavens.”
She’s doing well in her classes and getting involved in events related to her major. For instance, she’s part of a team participating in a programming Hackathon hosted by NJIT and sponsored by AT&T and Juniper. She’s also trying to organize a Microsoft International Women’s Hackathon at NJIT. She’s already been featured on Micrsoft's Research Website.
In addtions, she's developing a mobile app called TechChicks for the National Center for Women & Information Technology. She is working with 30 girls nationwide, all winners of NCWIT awards, to build a social App Engine that will build a community of women in the field of technology. The app project, for which Patel is the project lead, is sponsored by a $10,000 Motorola Mobility Empowerment Grant. The center even featured her in a Flashtalk video:
And she already has an internship lined up for this summer. She'll work as a software development intern for Cisco Cystems, in San Jose, Calif.
So whereas last semester began for her with a blow -- her mother’s death -- this semester began with a blessing: an invitation to the White House. It’s all coming together for her – she loves her computing science professors and her current classes, and later today she’ll take a train to Washington, D.C. -- to visit the White House.
“It’s the best feeling in the world to be invited to the White House,” she says, blushing at the thought of it. “Again, I just hope my story inspires other tech-minded girls and women to study technology.” | <urn:uuid:98f0824b-619b-4c22-bb65-d26c91ce4db5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.njit.edu/features/student/jinisha.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973844 | 1,305 | 1.554688 | 2 |
SUBMARINE SAFETY: Spending significant amounts of time underwater requires substantial effort to preserve the safety of a submarine and its crew. Nuclear-powered submarines can spend months underwater and therefore require systems to maintain a livable on-board environment. One way to generate oxygen is by the electrolysis of water -- using electricity to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen. The air in the vessel also must be filtered to remove carbon dioxide that builds up. Many of today's models are designed with multiple hulls, which allow designers to combine the best shape for streamlined travel with the best shape for withstanding the pressure of deep water.
ABOUT THE BENDS: Decompression sickness occurs when bubbles of dissolved gases concentrate in the blood. It can occur when divers resurface too quickly to allow their bodies to acclimate to changing pressure conditions when returning to the surface. Joint pain is one of the major symptoms, but decompression sickness can also affect the skin, brain, inner ear, nervous system, and lungs. Divers typically plan their ascents carefully to avoid the most severe symptoms, which include paralysis and death.
The American Physical Society contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report. | <urn:uuid:a79daf26-9f85-45c0-a543-465315654513> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aip.org/dbis/APS/stories/20095.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931545 | 245 | 3.765625 | 4 |
A new warning to would-be burglars is being distributed to residents who are a part of the community Neighborhood Watch programs.
According to Lt. Bob Hancock, coordinator of the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office Neighborhood Watch program, residents who have established a watch network in their community can now display a blue-and-gray sticker on doors or windows of their home which designate the watch program.
“In bold, blue lettering they warn, ‘This is a neighborhood watch home. Your suspicious activity has already been observed and 911 has been notified,’” according to Hancock.
“The stickers act as a deterrent to crime when placed near an entrance or in a conspicuous place on the home,” he said.
One of the foundations of the national watch program encourages active involvement in a participating community.
“The program is in thousands of communities nationwide and boasts a proven record of success of deterring crime and catching criminals in the act,” Hancock said.
For more than two years, Hancock has presented programs in a number of areas of the city and county, establishing the Neighborhood Watch networks and teaching residents of their specific network how to protect their community.
“The Sheriff’s Office currently has active groups in more than 40 neighborhoods with hundreds of active participants,” Hancock said.
Hancock also provides useful information on ways residents can make their homes safer so they are a less attractive target to burglars.
“Many are inexpensive, such as trimming or removing shrubbery around entrances to the home,” Hancock said.
“To get started, a member of the community will be needed to sample whether sufficient interest exists and to plan the organizational meeting if the neighborhood is ready to begin. Organizational meetings include other ways of preventing crime and a visual tour of the Sheriff’s Office,” Hancock said.
Anyone who would like more information about becoming a crime prevention partner with the BCSO and establishing a Neighborhood Watch program can contact Hancock at 728-7321. | <urn:uuid:781de607-fa14-436c-b58b-3ede8b0b4e61> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://clevelandbanner.com/pages/full_story/push?article-New+signs-++The+neighborhood++is+watching%20&id=19941864 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953984 | 421 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Assistive Technology of Alaska (ATLA) is Alaska’s only comprehensive assistive technology (AT) resource center. AT can be the key to greater independence and productivity for people in their home, school, community, and/or place of employment. ATLA provides demonstrations, information, and device loans to help Alaskans make informed decisions and select the AT that best meets their needs.
To enhance the quality of life for Alaskans through assistive technology.
ATLA is a nonprofit organization specializing in assessments, assistive technology, and technology training services. We work with government, business, education, health services organziations, and individuals to provide accessible and cost-effective technology solutions to promote independent living and success.
Our agency believes in the right of consumers to make informed choices. We also believe that everyone should:
• have the opportunity to achieve his or her maximum potential.
• have the opportunity to share knowledge, express feelings, and be heard.
• be able to actively participate in his or her own learning.
• have access to the tools that can provide them with a way to read, write, communicate, and learn.
• work in partnership to effectively enhance an individual’s quality of life through independence.
“Communication is the essence of human life.” - (Daniel Webster)
ATLA provides information, resources, demonstrations, loans, and the ability to purchase the following devices and/or software:
• Aids for daily living
• Aids for Blindness & Low Vision
• Augmentative or Alternative Communication (AAC) devices
• Computer access devices and software
• Devices for Deaf & Hard of Hearing
• Aids for Environmental Controls
• Aids for educational needs
Filed under: About Us | Comments Off | <urn:uuid:68fe8dd2-189a-4e87-8dfb-5a49f3c21cb6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.atlaak.org/?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=50&Itemid=78&limitstart=12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920706 | 372 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Alpha & Omega Ministries Apologetics Blog
Six Points On Luther's "Epistle of Straw"
04/03/2007 - James SwanAlmost five hundred years after the fact, Roman Catholics still scrutinize Martin Luther. One the most popular quotations from Luther is the infamous "epistle of straw" remark, directed at the canonicity of the book of James. It really is amazing how frequently this citation appears. It is usually brought forth as proof one must believe an infallible church authored an infallible list of infallible books. Without this, one subjectively decides which books are canonical, like Martin Luther supposedly did in the sixteenth century.If you find yourself in dialog facing this quote, there are a few facts and arguments you should know.
First, this quote only appears in Luther's original 1522 Preface to the New Testament. After 1522, all the editions of Luther's Bible dropped the "epistle of straw" comment, along with the entire paragraph that placed value judgments on particular biblical books. It was Luther himself who edited these comments out. For anyone to continue to cite Luther's "epistle of straw" comment against him is to do him an injustice. He saw fit to retract the comment. Subsequent citations of this quote should bear this in mind.
Second, detractors are keen on selectively quoting Luther's preface to James. Most often cited are only those comments that express negativity. If one takes the times to actually read Luther's comments about James, he praises it and considers it a "good book" "because it sets up no doctrine of men but vigorously promulgates the law of God." Rarely have I seen Luther detractors inform a reader Luther praises James, or respects God's law. On the other hand, I have seen many Catholics insist Luther was either morally corrupt or an antinomian. Luther though insists James is worthy of praise because it puts forth Gods law.
Third, Luther does appear to have held lifelong doubts about the canonicity of James, but it wasn't because he was purely subjective as Roman Catholics claim. He did not whimsically dismiss Biblical books simply because he did not like their content. Luther was aware of the disputed authenticity of the book. Eusebius and Jerome both recorded doubts to the apostolicity and canonicity of James. Luther did not consider James to be James the Apostle. He wasn't alone in this. The great humanist Scholar Erasmus likewise questioned the authenticity of James, as did Cardinal Cajetan, one of the leading 16th Century Roman Catholic scholars.
Fourth, it is true Luther had a contextual problem with the content on James. He saw a contradiction between Paul and James on faith and works. Some conclude Luther missed the harmonization between these two Biblical writers, but this isn't true either. Luther's great biographer Roland Bainton pointed out, "Once Luther remarked that he would give his doctor's beret to anyone who could reconcile James and Paul. Yet he did not venture to reject James from the canon of Scripture, and on occasion earned his own beret by effecting reconciliation. 'Faith,' he wrote, 'is a living, restless thing. It cannot be inoperative. We are not saved by works; but if there be no works, there must be something amiss with faith' " [Here I Stand, 259]. In The Disputation Concerning Justification, Luther answered this spurious proposition: Faith without works justifies, Faith without works is dead [Jas. 2:17, 26]. Therefore, dead faith justifies. Luther responded:
"The argument is sophistical and the refutation is resolved grammatically. In the major premise, 'faith' ought to be placed with the word 'justifies' and the portion of the sentence 'without works justifies' is placed in a predicate periphrase and must refer to the word 'justifies,' not to 'faith.' In the minor premise, 'without works' is truly in the subject periphrase and refers to faith. We say that justification is effective without works, not that faith is without works. For that faith which lacks fruit is not an efficacious but a feigned faith. 'Without works' is ambiguous, then. For that reason this argument settles nothing. It is one thing that faith justifies without works; it is another thing that faith exists without works. [LW 34: 175-176].Even though Luther arrived at the harmonizing solution, it is probably the case that the question of James' apostleship out-weighed it. One cannot argue Luther was never presented with a harmonization between Paul and James. He seems to have granted the validity of it, yet still questioned the canonicity of the book.
Fifth, its important to point out the double standard at play when Catholics bring up Luther's opinion on James. If it comes up, hypothetically grant the validity of the Roman Catholic Church declaring the contents of the canon. Then point out Erasmus, Luther, and Cajetan formed their opinions and debated these issues previous to the Council of Trent's declaration. The New Catholic Encyclopedia points out,
"According to Catholic doctrine, the proximate criterion of the Biblical canon is the infallible decision of the Church. This decision was not given until rather late in the history of the Church (at the Council of Trent). Before that time there was some doubt about the canonicity of certain Biblical books, i.e., about their belonging to the canon."Erasmus, Cajetan, and Luther had every right within the Catholic system to engage in Biblical criticism and debate over the extent of the Canon. All expressed some doubt.Their's was not a radical higher criticism. The books they questioned were books that had been questioned by previous generations. None were so extreme as to engage in Marcion-like canon-destruction. Both Erasmus and Luther translated the entirety of Bible, and published it.
Finally, Luther says he cannot include James among his chief books "though I would not thereby prevent anyone from including or extolling him as he pleases, for there are otherwise many good sayings in him." These are hardly the words of one claiming to be an infallible authority or a "super-pope" (as one Catholic apologist used to claim). This points out an important flaw in Catholic argumentation. Some actually argue as if we think Luther was an infallible authority. Luther didn't think he was, and I've yet to meet a Protestant who considers him anything more than a sinner saved by grace, imperfect, yet used by God during a crucial period in history. | <urn:uuid:0307e20f-a364-45a2-ac03-eb2a2e01b409> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=1892 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966566 | 1,355 | 2.375 | 2 |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The catalytic reforming of liquid fuels offers an attractive solution to supplying hydrogen to fuel cells while avoiding the safety and storage issues related to gaseous hydrogen. Existing catalytic support structures, however, tend to break down at the high temperatures needed to prevent fouling of the catalytic surface by soot.
Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed porous support materials that can withstand the rigors of high-temperature reforming of hydrocarbon fuels.
"These novel materials show great promise for the on-demand reforming of hydrocarbons such as diesel fuel into hydrogen for portable power sources," said Paul Kenis, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Illinois and a corresponding author of a paper to appear in the August issue of the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
To be useful for hydrocarbon fuel reforming, a catalyst support must have a high surface area, be stable at high temperatures, and possess a low pressure drop.
"Our new materials satisfy all three key requirements," said Kenis, who also is a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. "They have a large surface area created by a network of interconnected pores. They can operate at temperatures above 800 degrees Celsius, which prevents the formation of soot on the catalytic surfaces. And they have a low pressure drop, which means it takes less pressure to push the fuel through the catalyst."
To fabricate the supports, the researchers begin by placing a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mold onto a flat surface, forming a channel about 500 microns wide that is open at both ends. A slurry containing polystyrene spheres 50 nanometers to 10 microns in diameter is then allowed to flow into the channel from one end by capillary action.
"Once the slurry reaches the other end of the channel, the spheres begin to pack together as a result of solvent evaporation, and the packing process continues toward the inlet end," Kenis said. "After the packing process is completed, we remove any remaining solvent, which leaves a sacrificial template consisting of a bed of closely packed spheres."
Next, the researchers fill the spaces between the spheres with a low-viscosity, preceramic polymer-based liquid. After low-temperature curing, the mold is removed, leaving a stable, freestanding structure.
Lastly, the cured ceramic precursor is pyrolyzed at 1,200 degrees Celsius for two hours in an inert atmosphere. "The polystyrene spheres decompose during the pyrolysis process," Kenis said. "The end result is a silicon carbide or silicon carbonitride replica with a tailored structure of interconnected pores."
The overall size of the replica can be precisely tailored through the dimensions of the mold, Kenis said, while the pore size can be tailored independently by the size of spheres used in the sacrificial template.
To demonstrate the use of these materials as catalyst supports, the researchers coated samples of the porous structure with ruthenium. The structure was then incorporated within a stainless steel housing, where it successfully stripped hydrogen from ammonia at temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius. In work not yet published, Kenis and his colleagues incorporated the structure in a ceramic housing, which enabled the successful decomposition of ammonia at operating temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.
The researchers also showed that the silicon carbide and silicon carbonitride structures are stable at temperatures as high as 1,200 degrees Celsius in air, thus showing their promise to perform fuel reforming at temperatures where fouling of the catalyst by soot does not occur.
While the demonstration was performed on a microscale reformer, the material could be used for large-scale reformers, Kenis said, with improvements in the fabrication processes.
Source: Eurekalert & othersLast reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
It is never too late to give up your prejudices.
-- Henry David Thoreau | <urn:uuid:332ada89-13e0-4ac2-8959-ffcf8e09d6b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychcentral.com/news/archives/2005-07/uoia-css072705.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921596 | 845 | 2.75 | 3 |
9 STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
courses leading to the University courses which lead up to Engineering Degrees as well as that required for the Five Year Normal course.
The chemical laboratory is equipped with everything essential to a course in general chemistry.
A complete set of individual apparatus is supplied each student, and the stock of chemicals and rare elements is complete in all particulars. Hoods, generators, water and ventilation are all arranged in the most convenient manner.
The Demonstration Room is fitted up with the most approved apparatus, raised seats, desks, hoods, tanks, and electrical connections. The room is also provided with shutters to the windows, so that class work requiring darkness may be carried on during the day time.
Each of the laboratories is fitted up in the most approved manner.
The shops are equipped with modern tools and machines for turning, scroll sawing, general carpentry, and blacksmithing.
Collections are being made of Indian relics, minerals, plants, and animals. The design is to build up a museum that will fully illustrate the geology, mineralogy, natural history, and archaeology of southern Utah.
LIBRARY AND READING ROOM
The library is furnished with the standard works in literature, history, pedagogy, science and commerce, besides miscellaneous books and public documents. The best American magazines and journals, and the leading newspapers of the State are also provided.
All students have access to these from 8:30 a. m. to 5:00 p. m. on school days. By special arrangement, students may have access to the library on Saturdays. No charge whatever is made for use of the books and magazines. For the year 1906-7 the library will have a great many volumes added to it. | <urn:uuid:355d9038-9b9e-42f2-93df-7e8e5d01d3c4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://contentdm.li.suu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/catalogs/id/589/show/540/rec/9 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943112 | 362 | 2.671875 | 3 |
|New International Version (© 2011)|
For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.
King James Bible
For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
American Standard Version
For Jehovah is a great God, And a great King above all gods.
Young's Literal Translation
For a great God is Jehovah, And a great king over all gods.
Psalm 95:3 Additional TranslationsClarke's Commentary on the Bible
For the Lord is a great God - Or, "A great God is Jehovah, and a great King above all gods;" or, "God is a great King over all." The Supreme Being has three names here: אל El, יהוה Jehovah, אלהים Elohim, and we should apply none of them to false gods. The first implies his strength; the second his being and essence; the third, his covenant relation to mankind. In public worship these are the views we should entertain of the Divine Being.
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psalm 86:8-10 Among the gods there is none like to you, O Lord; neither are there any works like to your works...
Psalm 96:4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
Psalm 97:9 For you, LORD, are high above all the earth: you are exalted far above all gods.
Psalm 145:3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
Jeremiah 10:6,7 For as much as there is none like to you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might...
Psalm 47:2 For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
Psalm 48:2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble...
Jeremiah 46:18 As I live, said the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea...
Jeremiah 48:15 Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, said the King...
Daniel 4:37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment...
Malachi 1:11,14 For from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles...
Psalm 135:5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
Exodus 18:11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
Isaiah 44:8 Fear you not, neither be afraid: have not I told you from that time, and have declared it? you are even my witnesses...
Jeremiah 10:10-16 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble...
Psalm 95:3 Parallel CommentariesGods GreatGods GreatTHE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica®.
Psalm 95:3 Mobile Bible
Psalm 95:3 Bible Suite
Psalm 95:3 Biblia Paralela
Psalm 95:3 Chinese Bible
Exodus 18:11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly."
Psalm 48:1 A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
Psalm 96:4 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
Psalm 97:9 For you, LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
Psalm 135:5 I know that the LORD is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.
Psalm 138:1 Of David. I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; before the "gods" I will sing your praise.
Psalm 145:3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. | <urn:uuid:72b14293-3237-4064-84f7-4d7d61eaa225> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://biblehub.com/niv/psalms/95-3.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941149 | 1,017 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Canadian Medical Association Journal 180(12):1196-1197 (2009)
Health Canada contemplates providing food industry with "discretionary" authority to fortify junk foods
Eric Beauchesne and Wayne Kondro
Fortified junk food, from potato chips to energy bars to fruit-flavoured drinks, may soon be appearing on grocery store shelves across Canada.
But it’s still junk food, warn dietitians and other health professionals, who fear that a Health Canada proposal to allow vitamin and mineral (iron, calcium, etc.) additives in high-calorie food with little nutritional value will increase its consumption by a populace already prone to obesity and diabetes.
The department’s thinking behind the proposed policy change — which would leave it to the discretion or choice of food manufacturers to fortify their products — is that if people are going to eat junk food they may as well get the nutrients.
The amendments to the Food and Drugs Regulations were scheduled to be published in the Canada Gazette on Mar. 31, but Health Minister Leona Aglukark yanked them for further review. "She balked at the prospect of being labelled the Fortified Junk Food Queen," says a Health Canada official.
Another official adds that there continues to be a "serious split" within the department about the merits of fortifying junk food. Some believe that it would spur growth of the processed food industry and provide a health benefit for consumers, while others warn it would promote greater consumption of junk food.
It also remains to be seen how much pressure the processed food industry can put on government departments and cabinet to proceed with the regulatory change, the official adds.
Certainly, there appears to be little appetite within the nutrition community for discretionary fortification.
Dietitians of Canada supports the fortification of foods when there is a "clear public health need," says Lynda Corby, a registered dietitian and public affairs director of the association.
But it does not support leaving the decision to fortify foods to industry. "There is a potential — if high-fat, high-energy foods are fortified with vitamins (or) minerals at the discretion of the industry — for Canadians to choose these foods in place of healthier whole food options, which may add to the obesity problem in Canada. We feel that children and youth are particularly vulnerable to this practice."
Health Canada’s rationale for discretionary fortification doesn’t hold water, argues Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director and coowner of the Bariatric Medical Institute, a weight-management centre in Ottawa, Ontario.
"I’m not aware of a rash of micro- or macronutrient deficiencies in the population that need rapid correction," Freedhoff says. "I can appreciate that if there were some sort of massive public health crisis of vitamin deficiencies, giving the food industry the ability to fortify foods would be a useful plan of action but given that we’re all fine, this is really misguided and panders to the food industry."
"The food industry’s job is to sell food and not to protect health. To allow them to discretionarily fortify food is worrisome," Freedhoff adds, saying that it would invariably lead to fortification of foods whose consumption nutritionists would not want to encourage. "Yet, with the fortification, the food industry will have ampleammunition with which to advertise how helpful their food has now become. And we know that front-of-package health claims do, in fact, influence consumer behaviour. ... Therefore, it might steer people to choose less healthy options. It might influence people to consume more of a less-healthy option. And the worst-case scenario is that it influences people who are already eating healthy foods to choose, highly-processed, less-healthy options."
But Health Canada spokesperson Christelle Legault states in an email that "some stakeholders have repeatedly expressed concerns that the existing regulations are overly restrictive. These stakeholders have indicated their concern that case-by-case amendment of the regulations is a lengthy process that inhibits the development of new products and limits access by Canadianconsumers to foods with added vitamins and mineral nutrients, including products that are readily available in other countries."
Background Health Canada documents indicate the department doesn’tconsider the move a health risk, although some vitamins and minerals can produce adverse effects if consumed in excessive quantities.
"Discretionary fortification, the optional addition of any nutrient from a defined list of vitamins and minerals over defined ranges at the discretion of manufacturers, is expanded to allow for a wider range of fortified products which would provide for more food sources of nutrients without increased risk to health," the department states (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/vitamin/faqs-eng.php).
Focus group testing also indicates that fortification would not lead to increased consumption of junk foods, Health Canada added. "Those who already consume ice cream or carbonated beverages indicated that they might choose the fortified counterpart if there was no difference in any other aspect of the food includingtaste and price, but they did not indicate they would consume more."
For the food industry, the changes would harmonize Canadian policy with the more relaxed regulations in the United States, which allow such products as Goldfish crackers fortified with calcium.
Proponents argue that the move would facilitate trade. A major industry group that has advocated the policy change, Food and Consumer Products of Canada, refused comment on the proposals before they are announced publicly by Health Canada.
Spokesperson Catherine Baker says that "when the regulations come out we’d be more than happy to talk about them." | <urn:uuid:1fb0c841-88ea-4325-ac16-2c7dde25c39b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bmimedical.ca/news/nutrition-policy/health-canada-contemplates-providing-food-industry-with-discretionary-authority-to-fortify-junk-foods.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956238 | 1,163 | 2.5 | 2 |
|New Century Version (NCV)
||New International Version (NIV)
23 Jesus went to the Temple, and while he was teaching there, the leading priests and the older leaders of the people came to him. They said, "What authority do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?"
23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"
|Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (New Century Version Online Bible)
||Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) | <urn:uuid:cd4158fb-ab7c-4399-9e46-7d25ade4cdba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/passage.aspx?q=matthew+21:23&t=ncv&t2=niv | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956172 | 214 | 2.015625 | 2 |
What a difference a year makes. In the case of CodePlex, Microsoft's open-source code-hosting site, a year has seen Microsoft make serious progress toward real open-source savvy. The site has more than 120,000 registered users and 7,500 projects.
I've noted for years that open source should be an opportunity for Microsoft, not a threat. Windows, for example, should be the world's biggest open-source platform, but it's not, and Microsoft has only itself to blame for this.
But perhaps the rising popularity of CodePlex can help change this. The numbers, as called out by Microsoft's Peter Galli, are impressive:
- Visits to CodePlex more than doubled in 2008 to more than 19 million;
- New registered users were up more than 70 percent to more than 66,000;
- The number of new projects more than doubled to 4,542 in 2008; and
- Microsoft refreshed the underlying CodePlex software 12 times in 2008, introducing a range of new features.
Beyond sheer statistics, however, Microsoft learned to manage open source responsibly in 2008. Microsoft progressed through fits and starts, releasing projects like Sandcastle as "open source" without actually providing the source. Microsoft's open-source team, led by Sam Ramji, however, quickly fixed the problem and has largely managed to avoid similar subsequent snafus.
In this and in other ways, Microsoft is maturing in its perspective of open source. Microsoft has struggled for years with open source's non-existent acquisition fee, but it has simultaneously grown less surly and more realistic about competing with open source.
Open source is one of Microsoft's greatest opportunities, if it would just seize it. Open source gives Microsoft (and every other vendor) an efficient, nearly friction-free method to get one's software into the hands of the widest group of potential buyers. In a recession, the company that has the most people trying its software will almost certainly be the one that has the most people buying its software.
Why not have that software run on Windows? Or tie into SQL Server? Or SharePoint? This is Microsoft's opportunity and, if CodePlex's growth is any indication, it's one that Microsoft is starting to take seriously.
You can follow me on Twitter at mjasay. | <urn:uuid:97c5c10f-3f8c-427e-88ee-9a6452ec0d5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10150714-16.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954704 | 475 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Weight loss can wait
Lifestyle | Angela Lu
As gyms across the country fill up today with people eager to fulfill New Year’s resolutions, a new study may change Americans’ views on those extra pounds they’re so eager to lose.
Researchers at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found people who are merely overweight—with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9—actually have lower mortality rates than those of normal weight, defined as having a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9.
The study also confirmed the severely obese, with a BMI of more than 35, have a shorter life span than people of normal weight. But those who are mildly obese, with a BMI of 30-34.9, die at comparable rates to people of normal weight.
Previous studies also found this so-called “obesity paradox,” but this is the most comprehensive analysis done so far. The study, published online Tuesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, compiled 97 studies analyzing almost 3 million people from the United States and eight other countries. A total of 270,000 people died during the studies.
On average, overweight people were 6 percent less likely to die during the studies than those of normal BMI, while extremely obese people were 29 percent more likely to die.
The paper did not make any recommendations or explain why the overweight people had a higher rate of survival.
“Our goal is really to summarize existing information and not conclude what people should do, other than follow good health practices, no matter what their weight,” study lead author Katherine M. Flegal told the Los Angeles Times.
Some argue the results are inconclusive because BMI is not an accurate measure of body fat or heath risk, as having more muscle mass may increase a person’s BMI. Others argue that being thin, especially in old age, is a sign of having a serious illness, which also skews the numbers.
But in an accompanying editorial, obesity researcher Steven B. Heymsfield of Pennington Biomedical Research Center explains how carrying a few extra pounds might be helpful. While packing on too much fat can lead to health complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart attacks, having a little extra fatty tissue may provide extra energy reserves during serious illnesses and extra cushion to protect bones during falls.
Heymsfield also suggests that people who are overweight are often treated more aggressively by their doctors for blood pressure or cholesterol problems than people of normal weight, leading to earlier detection of health problems.
And so, the best news for those of us who may have overeaten this holiday season: “Not all patients classified as being overweight or having [mild] obesity...can be assumed to require weight loss treatment,” Heymsfield wrote. “Establishing BMI is only the first step toward a more comprehensive risk evaluation.”
Copyright © 2013 God’s World Publications | <urn:uuid:36927313-3b3d-4781-8562-e6027eadcdd5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldmag.com/mobile/article.php?id=24799 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959002 | 608 | 2.859375 | 3 |
The Washington Post talking about how we all need universal IDs.
an effective solution would be to issue tamper-proof, biometric ID cards — using fingerprints or a comparably unique identifier — to all citizens and legal residents
And lest you think that we will require them for everything we do, I’ve assembled a partial list of what they’ll be required for and not.
They will be required for (partial list):
Driving a car, renting a car, buying a car, buying any goods, getting Internet service, getting electricity hooked up, all services and utilities, air travel, boat travel, train travel, bus travel, automobile travel (passenger), going through security at airports and all gov’t facilities, when talking to any gov’ t official, when paying taxes, when being arrested, when being released from jail…
They will not be required for (full list):
Voting, running for President. | <urn:uuid:4ff89357-8a43-4b6a-8ff4-1cc4e33fe433> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.imao.us/index.php/2013/02/your-papers-please/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908615 | 198 | 1.671875 | 2 |
The European Union hopes its support of power line communications (PLC) will help overcome technical hurdles and lead to greater competition in the broadband market.
The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, is a key sponsor of the Open PLC European Research Alliance (Opera), which is part of its Broadband for All programme, said Michael Koch, a member of the PLC initiative and vice-president of strategy and regulation at Powerplus Plus Communications.
More than 35 European energy companies, telecommunication equipment manufacturers, consultancies and universities are meeting in Madrid this week to detail the four-year Opera project, which aims to develop a uniform European PLC standard.
"We already have a number of proprietary systems in use around Europe, each with their strengths and weakness," Koch said. "For power line communications to become a viable business, standardisation is essential."
PLC technology transmits data signals over electricity lines. While some of the early systems have delivered internet access at speeds up to 2Mbps, others in the pipeline promise data rates of up to 10Mbps and more.
The technology is designed to support other applications, such as telephony, automatic meter reading, security and home-appliance networking.
Although PLC competes head on with wire-based digital subscriber line and wireless Lan technologies in the local loop, the commission is particularly keen to harness the technology to extend broadband service in structurally weak and rural areas.
A few years ago, Germany emerged as a hotbed of PLC development. Several regional electricity companies entered the power line fray, including Eon, EnBW Energie and MVV Energie.
Eon has since abandoned the PLC market, claiming the technology is too complicated and costly to deploy, with little chance of seeing a return on investment any time soon.
Siemens had also hoped to be at the forefront of PLC technology, but left the market in 200, citing regulatory delays and a lack of European standards.
In 1999, Nortel Networks pulled the plug on its PLC activities in the UK, claiming the technology would remain a niche product at best. Like Eon, it saw little chance of recouping the millions of dollars needed to develop reliable products and market the service.
"We are establishing committees that will be working closely with European and other international standardisation bodies." Koch said. "One of our primary goals is to move away from proprietary systems."
Opera members includes Ascom Systec, Main.net Communications and the Mitsubishi Electric Information Technology Centre Europe.
John Blau writes for IDG News Service | <urn:uuid:53bf59d4-79bb-4a04-baca-3ed5bf16c99e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240054411/Europe-launches-power-line-internet-initiative | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940848 | 534 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Front Page Titles (by Subject) SECTION 2.—RELATIVE DIMINUTION OF THE VARIABLE PART OF CAPITAL SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE PROGRESS OF ACCUMULATION AND OF THE CONCENTRATION THAT ACCOMPANIES IT. - Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Volume I: The Process of Capitalist Production
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SECTION 2.—RELATIVE DIMINUTION OF THE VARIABLE PART OF CAPITAL SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE PROGRESS OF ACCUMULATION AND OF THE CONCENTRATION THAT ACCOMPANIES IT. - Karl Marx, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Volume I: The Process of Capitalist Production
Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Volume I: The Process of Capitalist Production, by Karl Marx. Trans. from the 3rd German edition, by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling, ed. Federick Engels. Revised and amplified according to the 4th German ed. by Ernest Untermann (Chicago: Charles H. Kerr and Co., 1909).
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SECTION 2.—RELATIVE DIMINUTION OF THE VARIABLE PART OF CAPITAL SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE PROGRESS OF ACCUMULATION AND OF THE CONCENTRATION THAT ACCOMPANIES IT.
According to the economists themselves, it is neither the actual extent of social wealth, nor the magnitude of the capital already functioning, that lead to a rise of wages, but only the constant growth of accumulation and the degree of rapidity of that growth. (Adam Smith, Book I., chapter 8.) So far, we have only considered one special phase of this process, that in which the increase of capital occurs along with a constant technical composition of capital. But the process goes beyond this phase.
Once given the general basis of the capitalistic system, then, in the course of accumulation, a point is reached at which the development of the productivity of social labour becomes the most powerful lever of accumulation. "The same cause," says Adam Smith, "which raises the wages of labour, the increase of stock, tends to increase its productive powers, and to make a smaller quantity of labour produce a greater quantity of work."
Apart from natural conditions, such as fertility of the soil, 8c., and from the skill of independent and isolated producers (shown rather qualitatively in the goodness than quantitatively in the mass of their products), the degree of productivity of labour, in a given society, is expressed in the relative extent of the means of production that one labourer, during a given time, with the same tension of labour-power, turns into products. The mass of the means of production which he thus transforms, increases with the productiveness of his labour. But those means of production play a double part. The increase of some is a consequence, that of the others a condition of the increasing productivity of labour. E.g., with the division of labour in manufacture, and with the use of machinery, more raw material is worked up in the same time, and, therefore, a greater mass of raw material and auxiliary substances enter into the labour-process. That is the consequence of the increasing productivity of labour. On the other hand, the mass of machinery, beasts of burden, mineral manures, drainpipes, 8c., is a condition of the increasing productivity of labour. So also is it with the means of production concentrated in buildings, furnaces, means of transport, 8c. But whether condition or consequence, the growing extent of the means of production, as compared with the labour-power incorporated with them, is an expression of the growing productiveness of labour. The increase of the latter appears, therefore, in the diminution of the mass of labour in proportion to the mass of means of production moved by it, or in the diminution of the subjective factor of the labour process as compared with the objective factor.
This change in the technical composition of capital, this growth in the mass of means of production, as compared with the mass of the labour-power that vivifies them, is reflected again in its value-composition, by the increase of the constant constituent of capital at the expense of its variable constituent. There may be, e.g., originally 50 per cent. of a capital laid out in means of production, and 50 per cent. in the labour-power; later on, with the development of the productivity of labour, 80 per cent. in means of production, 20 per cent. in labour-power, and so on. This law of the progressive increase in constant capital, in proportion to the variable, is confirmed at every step (as already shown) by the comparative analysis of the prices of commodities, whether we compare different economic epochs or different nations in the same epoch. The relative magnitude of the element of price, which represents the value of the means of production only, or the constant part of capital consumed, is in direct, the relative magnitude of the other element of price that pays labour (the variable part of capital) is in inverse proportion to the advance of accumulation.
This diminution in the variable part of capital as compared with the constant, or the altered value-composition of the capital, however, only shows approximately the change in the composition of its material constituents. If, e.g., the capital-value employed to-day in spinning is 7/8 constant and 1/8 variable, whilst at the beginning of the 18th century it was ½ constant and ½ variable, on the other hand, the mass of raw material, instruments of labour, 8c., that a certain quantity of spinning labour consumes productively to-day, is many hundred times greater than at the beginning of the 18th century. The reason is simply that, with the increasing productivity of labour, not only does the mass of the means of production consumed by it increase, but their value compared with their mass diminishes. Their value therefore rises absolutely, but not in proportion to their mass. The increase of the difference between constant and variable capital is, therefore, much less than that of the difference between the mass of the means of production into which the constant, and the mass of the labour-power into which the variable, capital is converted. The former difference increases with the latter, but in a smaller degree.
But, if the progress of accumulation lessens the relative magnitude of the variable part of capital, it by no means, in doing this, excludes the possibility of a rise in its absolute magnitude. Suppose that a capital-value at first is divided into 50 per cent. of constant and 50 per cent. of variable capital; later into 80 per cent. of constant and 20 per cent. of variable. If in the meantime the original capital, say £6,000, has increased to £18,000, its variable constituent has also increased. It was £3,000, it is now £3,600. But whereas formerly an increase of capital by 20 per cent. would have sufficed to raise the demand for labour 20 per cent., now this latter rise requires a tripling of the original capital.
In Part IV. it was shown, how the development of the productiveness of social labour presupposes co-operation on a large scale; how it is only upon this supposition that division and combination of labour can be organised, and the means of production economised by concentration on a vast scale; how instruments of labour which, from their very nature, are only fit for use in common, such as a system of machinery, can be called into being; how huge natural forces can be pressed into the service of production; and how the transformation can be effected of the process of production into a technological application of science. On the basis of the production of commodities, where the means of production are the property of private persons, and where the artisan therefore either produces commodities, isolated from and independent of others, or sells his labour-power as a commodity, because he lacks the means for independent industry, co-operation on a large scale can realise itself only in the increase of individual capitals, only in proportion as the means of social production and the means of subsistence are transformed into the private property of capitalists. The basis of the production of commodities can admit of production on a large scale in the capitalistic form alone. A certain accumulation of capital, in the hands of individual producers of commodities, forms therefore the necessary preliminary of the specifically capitalistic mode of production. We had, therefore, to assume that this occurs during the transition from handicraft to capitalistic industry. It may be called primitive accumulation, because it is the historic basis, instead of the historic result of specifically capitalist production. How it itself originates, we need not here inquire as yet. It is enough that it forms the starting-point. But all methods for raising the social productive power of labour that are developed on this basis, are at the same times methods for the increased production of surplus-value or surplus-product. which in its turn is the formative element of accumulation. They are, therefore, at the same time methods of the production of capital by capital, or methods of its accelerated accumulation. The continual re-transformation of surplus-value into capital now appears in the shape of the increasing magnitude of the capital that enters into the process of production. This in turn is the basis of an extended scale of production, of the methods for raising the productive power of labour that accompany it, and of accelerated production of surplus-value. If, therefore, a certain degree of accumulation of capital appears as a condition of the specifically capitalist mode of production, the latter causes conversely an accelerated accumulation of capital. With the accumulation of capital, therefore, the specifically capitalistic mode of production developes, and with the capitalist mode of production the accumulation of capital. Both these economic factors bring about, in the compound ratio of the impluses they reciprocally give one another, that change in the technical composition of capital by which the variable constituent becomes always smaller and smaller as compared with the constant.
Every individual capital is a larger or smaller concentration of means of production, with a corresponding command over a larger or smaller labour-army. Every accumulation becomes the means of new accumulation. With the increasing mass of wealth which functions as capital, accumulation increases the concentration of that wealth in the hands of individual capitalists, and thereby widens the basis of production on a large scale and of the specific methods of capitalist production. The growth of social capital is effected by the growth of many individual capitals. All other circumstances remaining the same, individual capitals, and with them the concentration of the means of production, increases in such proportion as they form aliquot parts of the total social capital. At the same time portions of the original capitals disengage themselves and function as new independent capitals. Besides other causes, the division of property, within capitalist families, plays a great part in this. With the accumulation of capital, therefore, the number of capitalists grows to a greater or less extent. Two points characterise this kind of concentration which grows directly out of, or rather is identical with, accumulation. First: The increasing concentration of the social means of production in the hands of individual capitalists is, other things remaining equal, limited by the degree of increase of social wealth. Second: The part of social capital domiciled in each particular sphere of production is divided among many capitalists who face one another as independent commodity-producers competing with each other. Accumulation and the concentration accompanying it are, therefore, not only scattered over many points, but the increase of each functioning capital is thwarted by the formation of new and the subdivision of old capitals. Accumulation, therefore, presents itself on the one hand as increasing concentration of the means of production, and of the command over labour; on the other, as repulsion of many individual capitals one from another.
This splitting-up of the total social capital into many individual capitals or the repulsion of its fractions one from another, is counteracted by their attraction. This last does not mean that simple concentration of the means of production and of the command over labour, which is identical with accumulation. It is concentration of capitals already formed, destruction of their individual independence, expropriation of capitalist by capitalist, transformation of many small into few large capitals. This process differs from the former in this, that it only presupposes a change in the distribution of capital already to hand, and functioning; its field of action is therefore not limited by the absolute growth of social wealth, by the absolute limits of accumulation. Capital grows in one place to a huge mass in a single hand, because it has in another place been lost by many. This is centralisation proper, as distinct from accumulation and concentration.
The laws of this centralisation of capitals, or of the attraction of capital by capital, cannot be developed here. A brief hint at a few facts must suffice. The battle of cempetition is fought by cheapening of commodities. The cheapness of commodities depends, cœteris paribus, on the productiveness of labour, and this again on the scale of production. Therefore, the larger capitals beat the smaller. It will further be remembered that, with the development of the capitalist mode of production, there is an increase in the minimum amount of individual capital necessary to carry on a business under its normal conditions. The smaller capitals, therefore, crowd into spheres of production which Modern Industry has only sporadically or incompletely got hold of. Here competition rages in direct proportion to the number, and in inverse proportion to the magnitudes, of the antagonistic capitals. It always ends in the ruin of many small capitalists, whose capitals partly pass into the hand of their conquerors, partly vanish. Apart from this, with capitalist production an altogether new force comes into play—the credit system.
In its beginnings, the credit system sneaks in as a modest helper of accumulation and draws by invisible threads the money resources scattered all over the surface of society into the hands of individual or associated capitalists. But soon it becomes a new and formidable weapon in the competitive struggle, and finally it transforms itself into an immense social mechanism for the centralisation of capitals.
Competition and credit, the two most powerful levers of competition, develop in proportion as capitalist production and accumulation do. At the same time the progress of accumulation increases the matter subject to centralisation, that is, the individual capitals, while the expansion of capitalist production creates the social demand here, the technical requirements there, for those gigantic industrial enterprises, which depend for their realisation on a previous centralisation of capitals. Nowadays, then, the mutual attraction of individual capitals and the tendency to centralisation are stronger than ever before. However, while the relative expansion and energy of the centralisation movement is determined to a certain degree by the superiority of the economic mechanism, yet the progress of centralisation is by no means dependent upon the positive growth of the volume of social capital. This is the particular distinction between centralisation and concentration, the latter being but another expression for reproduction on an enlarged scale. Centralisation may take place by a mere change in the distribution of already existing capitals, a simple change in the quantitative arrangement of the components of social capital. Capital may in that case accumulate in one hand in large masses by withdrawing it from many individual hands. Centralisation in a certain line of industry would have reached its extreme limit, if all the individual capitals invested in it would have been amalgamated into one single capital.10
This limit would not be reached in any particular society until the entire social capital would be united, either in the hands of one single capitalist, or in those of one single corporation.
Centralisation supplements the work of accumulation, by enabling the industrial capitalists to expand the scale of their operations. The economic result remains the same, whether this consummation is brought about by accumulation or centralisation, whether centralisation is accomplished by the violent means of annexation, by which some capitals become such overwhelming centers of gravitation for others as to break their individual cohesion and attracting the scattered fragments, or whether the amalgamation of a number of capitals, which already exist or are in process of formation, proceeds by the smoother road of forming stock companies. The increased volume of industrial establishments forms everywhere the point of departure for a more comprehensive organisation of the co-operative labor of many, for a wider development of their material powers, that is, for the progressive transformation of isolated processes of production carried on in accustomed ways into socially combined and scientifically managed processes of production.
It is evident, however, that accumulation, the gradual propagation of capital by a reproduction passing from a circular into a spiral form, is a very slow process as compared with centralisation, which needs but to alter the quantitative grouping of the integral parts of social capital. The world would still be without railroads, if it had been obliged to wait until accumulation should have enabled a few individual capitals to undertake the construction of a railroad. Centralisation, on the other hand, accomplished this by a turn of the hand through stock companies. Centralisation, by thus accelerating and intensifying the effects of accumulation, extends and hastens at the same time the revolutions in the technical composition of capital, which increase its constant part at the expense of its variables part and thereby reduce the relative demand for labor.
The masses of capital amalgamated over night by centralisation reproduce and augment themselves like the others, only faster, and thus become new and powerful levers of social accumulation. Hence, if the progress of social accumulation is mentioned nowadays, it comprizes as a matter of course the effects of centralisation. The additional capitals formed in the course of normal accumulation (see chapter XXIV, 1.) serve mainly as vehicles for the exploitation of new inventions and discoveries, or of industrial improvements in general. However, the old capital likewise arrives in due time at the moment when it must renew its head and limbs, when it casts off its old skin and is likewise born again in its perfected industrial form, in which a smaller quantity of labor suffices to set in motion a larger quantity of machinery and raw materials. The absolute decrease of the demand for labor necessarily following therefrom will naturally be so much greater, the more these capitals going through the process of rejuvenation have become accumulated in masses by means of the movement of centralisation.
On the one hand, therefore, the additional capital formed in the course of accumulation attracts fewer and fewer labourers in proportion to its magnitude. On the other hand, the old capital periodically reproduced with change of composition, repels more and more of the labourers formerly employed by it.
[10.] Note to the 4th German edition—The latest English and American "trusts" are aiming to accomplish this by trying to unite at least all the large establishments of a certain line of industry into one great stock company with a practical monopoly.—F. E. | <urn:uuid:36fcf25b-128d-4f49-8a38-e40607bfbba6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=965&chapter=9511&layout=html&Itemid=27 | 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 | 0.940523 | 3,932 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Hi Readers! Here’s a feisty post from Ellen Seidman, a New York mom whose blog is Love That Max. She’s also hoping to win a blogging contest at Parents Connect, so if you like what you read, go vote for her here. (Hey, why not help each other out?) Onward! — Lenore
WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER by ELLEN SEIDMAN
The other day, I was Twitter-ing with a mom of another kid who has special needs, and she asked me how protective I was of Max. I wrote, “Not very. If his NICU experience didn’t kill him, nothing will.” I think I may have shocked the hell out of her, but it’s true.
My little boy, Max, had a stroke at birth. And, yeah, until he was born, I didn’t know that babies could have strokes at birth either. But he did. And it put him at risk for all kinds of terrifying things. We were told he might never walk, he might never talk, that he could have mental retardation, and that even vision and hearing problems were a possibility, because of the brain damage. He could have cerebral palsy, too. A doctor told us we could sign a Do Not Resuscitate if we chose to.
As depressed as I was during that first year following his birth, I went into overdrive doing whatever I could to help him. My husband and I got him therapy up the wazoo. We fed him fish-oil supplements, to feed his brain. We tried alternative stuff including hyperbaric oxygen treatment, which entailed either myself or my husband and Max lying in some claustrophobia-inducing tube infused with 100 percent pure oxygen, to spark dormant brain cells. My husband and I used to joke that we were all going to be geniuses.
Max progressed on his own timeline but, most importantly, he progressed. He walked at three. He said some words at four. At seven, he still can’t quite talk, but his vocabulary is growing and he has a cool iPad app that speaks for him. He has trouble using his hands, but he manages. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy but it’s mild and it’s just an f-ing label. Max kicks butt.
As focused as I’ve been on therapy, I’ve been pretty relaxed about potential health hazards in his life. I mean, yes, we babyproofed the house, he wears a bicycle helmet when he rides his little tractor and I don’t let him play in traffic or anything. But when he was a baby, I didn’t care all that much if he, say, ate a dustball. These days, I don’t obsess about him catching colds or other icky stuff from other kids. I don’t freak out if he bangs his head. So what if he has McDonald’s for dinner two nights in a row? At least he is getting calories because man, this kid is skinny (when you have cerebral palsy, your muscles burn calories faster). I just can’t worry about the little things that could go wrong, because I have some really big, bad things to worry about.
I have a child who went through hell at birth. He is doing amazingly well for himself. He has his physical issues, but is basically healthy and not medically fragile. He survived a massive stroke. He is a fighter. Just like his mama. — E.S. | <urn:uuid:2339d87d-e034-4beb-9bd3-85933257cad1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.freerangekids.com/guest-post-special-needs-free-range/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986952 | 759 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Woolly Spider Monkeys seen in REGUA, Brazil
Sightings of the critically endangered Woolly Spider Monkey, Brachyteles arachnoids, also known as the Muriqui, have been recorded on the 6,500 ha Reserva Ecological de Guapi Assu (REGUA) situated in Três Picos State Park in Brazil.
Observations of the Muriqui have occurred on a number of trails throughout the reserve and group sightings indicate that there is a healthy population of males, females and young. A group of 15 individuals was seen in April 2007 on REGUA's red trail.
The Muriqui is the largest primate within the Neotropics and is Brazil's largest endemic mammal species. Their total range is now limited to fragments of Atlantic forest and they are usually found at the higher altitudes within the REGUA reserve. They are very arboreal, rarely descending to the forest floor, and often feed by hanging from the branches of a tree with their prehensile tail. Young leaves, fruits and seeds constitute a large part of their diet. The world's total population is estimated to be in the region of 1,000 individuals.
The combined area protected by REGUA, Três Picos State Park and Serra dos Orgãos National Park provide continuous forest cover of approximately 60,000 ha, which is large enough for several separate populations of Muriqui to survive without direct competition, although they do not show signs of being territorial.
Little is known about the lifespan and habits of the Murique but, with further research and surveying, REGUA hopes to be able to help increase the understanding of Muriqui ecology and to establish how many occur on the reserve. | <urn:uuid:1c6c0f15-d340-4385-9751-889bf79d94a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldlandtrust.org/news/2007/09/brazil-woolly-spider-monkeys-seen-in.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960389 | 356 | 3.3125 | 3 |
‘They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.’
Benjamin Franklin wrote the above at a time when the American colonies were struggling to establish themselves as democratic communities free from the arbitrary power of the British Crown. He was warning against the temptation to bargain away some degree of autonomy in order to secure peaceful terms with the king. Crucially, it was a warning against political naivety as much as lack of principle: the belief that safety can be bought at the expense of liberty is a false one. Not only do those who try to make such a transaction deserve neither liberty nor safety; in the long run they get neither. This is because to be unfree is to be insecure, since one is not in control of one’s own destiny.
Franklin’s words are regularly quoted as a warning against giving up civil liberties for the sake of security in the context of the ‘war on terror’. And it is true that if we compromise our freedoms in response to terrorism, we not only sacrifice the very thing we claim to be protecting, but we render ourselves less secure in the longer term. If anyone can be arrested and detained without charge, for example, how can we feel safe either as individuals or as a democracy? We can reassure ourselves with the cliché that ‘if we have nothing to hide we have nothing to fear’, but liberties that depend on the discretion and good graces of the state are not liberties at all.
While the erosion of civil liberties in recent years is a serious problem, we do not live in a police state, and despite the fears of some commentators, nor is a police state imminent. There is a deeper problem with the counterposition of liberty to security, however, that is at once more abstract and more urgent: we do live in a state in which freedom is undervalued and misunderstood. Now as in Franklin’s time, naivety and thoughtlessness are at least as dangerous as simple cowardice and opportunism.
Franklin employs a commercial metaphor: liberty as something to be traded for safety, or, by implication, any other desirable abstract noun. It captures well the naivety with which liberty is often discussed, the failure to understand what freedom really means. Freedom cannot be traded, and nor can it be taken to the bank to be safeguarded while we get on with our lives: securing rights in law, while crucial, counts for little if we do not believe in freedom. Freedom is a way of life.
To illustrate this, consider another variant of the fetishised understanding of liberty. Politicians often tell us that ‘with rights come responsibilities’, as if these are two distinct sorts of thing, one tethered to the other. In fact, rights are responsibilities, our own, not to be qualified by the authorities. Put simply: to the extent that we act freely, we are responsible for our actions. We don’t need politicians to saddle us with additional responsibilities. Unfortunately the prevailing idea today seems to be that we are granted the right to free speech, for example, provided we agree to exercise it ‘responsibly’ by avoiding causing offence. That is no freedom at all.
If we really have free speech, then we, and not the state or anyone else, are genuinely responsible for what we say. We can choose to cause offence, and live with the real consequences rather than artificial ones imposed by the state. Speaking freely might upset cosy consensus and change the way others think; it might make us unpopular, or indeed cause people to lose respect for us or distrust us in future. It is up to us to make that calculation and behave accordingly. It is not up to the state to impose constraints on speech for the sake of security, social cohesion, or anything else: that is the opposite of responsibility.
Again, such constraints are not only an affront to liberty, but counterproductive in their own terms. In the absence of free speech, consensus is artificial; mutual respect a charade. Politically correct speech codes don’t resolve conflict or foster conviviality: they suppress differences of opinion and engender resentment. Worst of all they rob us of the real responsibility we have as free actors in society, burdening us instead with artificial constraints.
The erosion of civil liberties as a response to terrorism is only the most obvious example of how society tries to buy safety at the expense of freedom. In recent years, amid confusion about the meaning and value of freedom, many more mundane constraints have begun to stifle everyday life in Britain. The streets are surveilled by cctv and often uniformed wardens in addition to the police, while measures to contain ‘antisocial behaviour’ effectively criminalise targeted individuals in unprecedented ways. Bans on smoking and drinking in public places take responsibility away from all of us in the name of safety and etiquette. But such measures not only curtail individual freedom; the safety they buy is of a dubious sort. Proliferating safety signs in public places, as well as notices prohibiting this, that and the other, symbolise a diminishment of personal responsibility and an increasing deference to anonymous authorities. We are not so much safer as simply more supervised.
Perhaps the most pernicious example of such constraints is the vetting of all adults who routinely come into contact with children. Not only teachers, but volunteers working with children, and even parents looking after their children’s friends in many circumstances, are required to have Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks and to be registered on a national database. In the name of safety and child protection, millions of adults are treated as potential child abusers. Worst of all, we are encouraged to internalise this ‘safety first’ attitude, and to value an official stamp of respectability over the genuine trust and mutual respect that develops informally between friends, colleagues and neighbours.
Absolute security is of course impossible. But we are surely safer when we take responsibility for ourselves and one another than when we defer to abstract authorities. And true responsibility requires liberty, the freedom to make our own judgements and to act on them. Without such autonomy, we are at the mercy of whomever has power over us, dependent on their beneficence.
For the same reason, the only reliable foundation for liberty is not the state – the seat of power, however liberal – but society itself, those very friends, colleagues and neighbours in whom we put our trust. A general and mutual recognition of the value of liberty is the best guarantee that individual rights will be respected, and the only true basis for the rule of law. Freedom constituted in this way cannot be traded away or compromised, precisely because it is not a set of principles maintained by those in power, but instead a way of life.
Franklin’s warning remains relevant not only because the questionable dictates of national security threaten to undermine individual rights, but also because mundane safety concerns and a culture of risk aversion sap the spirit of freedom from everyday life. Freedom as a way of life means more than defending liberty; it means practising it. Liberty itself is a duty as well as a right, and it requires both wisdom and courage. Any attempt to compromise freedom in the name of safety represents a failure of both: a failure to understand the meaning of freedom, and a failure to accept responsibility for it. We are capable of better, of managing our own lives and our dealings with others without deferring to the authorities in the name of health and safety. Essential liberty, with all the risk it entails, is the stuff of life. | <urn:uuid:c13df517-b561-43a5-b658-a018b709a424> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.culturewars.org.uk/index.php/site/article/you_cant_buy_freedom/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95629 | 1,554 | 2.75 | 3 |
Tierney’s Skepticism at the New York Times
Posted by Jerry Kang on November 19, 2008
Recently, John Tierney who writes a Science column in the New York Times has shown great skepticism about the concept of implicit bias, how it might be measured (through the Implicit Association Test), and whether it predicts real-world behavior. See, e.g., Findings column (Nov. 17, 2008). I write to make provide praise, critique, and cultural commentary.
First, praise. I praise Tierney’s skepticism, which is fundamental to critical inquiry generally and good science especially. Serious, critical inquiry is why most of us got into academics, and it’s why you the reader are reading this blog.
Second, critique. But skepticism should not be one-sided. Tierney’s columns suggest that one side is just asking for good, skeptical science, whereas the other side is pushing along a politically correct agenda recklessly. That is hardly fair and balanced. To take one example, Tierney gives prominent weight to Prof. Phil Tetlocks’ criticisms of the implicit bias research. But let’s probe further. In an article by Tetlock and Prof. Gregory Mitchell (UVA Law) attacking the science, the authors suggest that one of the reasons that Whites may perform worse on the Black-White IAT is because of a phenomenon called “stereotype threat”. They write that Whites “react to the identity threat posed by the IAT by choking under stress–and performing even worse on the IAT, thus confirming the researchers’ original stereotype of them.” 67 Ohio St. L.J. 1023, 1079 (2006).
For this “choke under threat” explanation, Tetlock and Mitchell cite a single study. Moreover, they do not turn their powerful skepticism against this body of work, launched by Prof. Claude Steele at Stanford, which explains why negative stereotypes can depress test performance. This body of work, if taken as seriously as Tetlock and Mitchell do in a throw-away line, challenges the use of standardized examinations in university admissions. But I doubt that that’s what Tetlock and Mitchell would call for, as a matter of policy. So why not be methodologically pure and go after the stereotype threat work with equal vigor and skepticism? Instead, they deploy “stereotype threat” science without raising an eyebrow, since it fits their arsenal of critique of the “implicit bias” science.
The general point is that it’s facile to think that one side has the scientific purists — just seeking good data and good science, and the other side has the political hacks. And self-serving reasoning no doubt infects us all, on both sides. This is why we should trust long-run scientific equilibrium and be skeptical of both aggressive claims and their backlashes.
Third, cultural commentary. The readers’ comments to the Tierney articles are fascinating because they largely give no deference to scientific expertise. From the large N of 1, those who have taken the IAT conclude that the test must be nonsense and raise myriad confounds (without bothering to read the FAQs that explain how stimuli are randomized, etc.) If geneticists were debating the meaning of some expressed sequence tags or if astrophysicists were debating new evidence of dark matter, I wonder if readers would bother to chime in aggressively with their views. “I have plenty of genes, and that view about inheritability is nonsense!” “I’ve seen stars, and if I can’t see ‘em they must not exist!”
I suggest that we feel so personally connected to race and to gender (most of the comments focus on race) and are so personally invested in not being biased that we feel compelled toward such participation. Again, if some “coffee increases likelihood of ulcers” study came out, would people write in: “I drink coffee, and I don’t have an ulcer!!!” I don’t think so. What does that say about our current cultural moment? Perhaps it reveals a sort of intellectual prejudice-a proclivity not to take race research seriously, as nothing more than personal opinion, regardless of the scientific and statistical bona fides.
* * *
Look, science always involves conflict. And in the long run, there’s no reason to think that this controversy won’t be resolved through the traditional scientific method and reach a long-run equilibrium consensus. But getting there has already been rocky and will continue to be. Maybe the implicit bias work, which is far more extensive than just the implicit association test (IAT), will turn out to be nothing more than “intelligent design”–just ideology (in that case religious) wrapped up in pseudo-science. Or, and I think this is far more likely, it will be another inconvenient truth that is established, as global warming ultimately was: We are not as colorblind as we hope to be, and on the margins, implicit associations in our brain alter our behavior in ways that we would rather they not. Certainly the balance of peer-reviewed studies in number and quality point in that direction.
In the end, time truly will tell. The real question is which side will maintain its scientific integrity when the results come in.
Full disclosure: I’m a co-author of Mahzarin Banaji, whose work is discussed in Tierney’s pieces. You can read my implicit bias work at:
This entry was posted on November 19, 2008 at 12:01 am and is filed under Implicit Associations, Law, Naive Cynicism, Social Psychology. Tagged: Backlash, IAT, implicit bias. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. | <urn:uuid:5a68f25b-efce-4f4c-8b31-7bf8b38ee0bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thesituationist.wordpress.com/2008/11/19/tierneys-skepticism-at-the-new-york-times/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=eb8d9d939c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940845 | 1,235 | 1.601563 | 2 |
As the war in Afghanistan begins its tenth year, the American public – and even the Obama administration – seems divided about America's purpose there.
Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom
The war in Afghanistan is worth fighting if it is fought properly. Substantial US interests are at stake. For one, US withdrawal would encourage the jihadists. But it’s not worth it if we persist in fighting the wrong way.
For two elections, Democrats have said that Afghanistan is the “good” war, from which the “bad” war in Iraq was distracting us. Indeed, our focus on Iraq did render Afghanistan an “economy of force” theater. While the situation improved in Iraq after the 2007 “surge,” it deteriorated in Afghanistan – which President Obama promised to rectify.
Last year, Mr. Obama announced that he would increase the number of troops in Afghanistan by 30,000, fewer than the generals wanted, but enough to credibly pursue a population-centric counterinsurgency strategy of the sort that had improved the situation in Iraq. But during the same speech in which he declared the Afghan surge, Obama announced that the United States would begin to withdraw after 18 months. In an instant, this statement undermined the surge’s whole purpose. As former commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Conway observed, intercepted Taliban communications indicated this decision was “probably giving our enemy sustenance,” suggesting to insurgents that they could simply “wait out” the Americans.
If Obama doesn’t intend to fight the war properly – by resourcing the strategy of Gen. David Petraeus – he should say so, and cut our losses. But as Bob Woodward’s new book, “Obama’s Wars,” illustrates, he seems to have adopted the discredited approach of Robert McNamara during Vietnam: to fight the war in accordance with the political interests of the Democratic Party, rather than the US as a whole – especially the troops he is sending to war.
The war in Afghanistan is worth fighting only if it can be justified in terms of some larger strategic purpose. The Obama administration has failed to articulate any such justification. This is not surprising: No such justification exists.
But nine years after President George W. Bush launched his global “war on terrorism,” there is no evidence to suggest that the use of armed force on a large scale over a protracted period of time will reduce that threat. If anything, the past decade shows that the occupation of Islamic countries by Western forces, in fact, serves to exacerbate antagonism toward the West.
By waging a war on terror, we actually play into the hands of our enemies. Expending scarce resources at a prodigious rate – at least a trillion dollars so far – we weaken ourselves. Meanwhile, American professions of benign intent in Afghanistan, along with our claims to know what “they” need – freedom and democracy – ring hollow.
The perpetuation of the war in Afghanistan serves one purpose only: to camouflage our strategic confusion.
Fighting on in Afghanistan (and expanding Western military operations in Pakistan) creates the pretense of purposeful activity where none exists. So the “war on terror” takes its place alongside the “war on drugs” and the “war on poverty” as one more monument to Washington’s folly and fecklessness. Simply trying harder next year won’t produce a result any different from this year. | <urn:uuid:c269a885-c889-4be6-b99d-f16de87faa4a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.csmonitor.com/Commentary/One-Minute-Debate/2010/1013/Is-the-war-in-Afghanistan-still-worth-fighting | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953768 | 720 | 2.390625 | 2 |
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Silver City is Idaho's premier ghost town. Although not actually deserted as there are a number of private owners of homes and cabins, the town still retains its ghost town feel and appeal. Much of the architecture is original and has the good ole western feel. The main picture on this page is simply an oversite of Silver City. The Masonic Hall, First built for the purpose of planning mill with the addition of a social room on the second floor, was a multi-purpose building. The building was purchased from Tom Jones, the owner of the mill, in the middle 1870's by the Masonic Lodge. It was later remodeled in 1892. The Catholic Church of Our Lady of Tears was first built in 1896 by the Episcopal Church and finished in 1898. The building was used by the Episcopal Church for about a year and a half and then services were held whenever it was convenient. There are seventeen windows in the main part of the church which were from Chicago, and were made of rolled Cathedral glass. In 1928 the building was given to the Catholic Diocese of Boise. In 1930, the statues and bell from the church were taken to the Joyce Ranch on Stinker Creek to prevent further vandalism, and all but the bell were washed away in a flood in 1943. The bell was later found, repaired and hung in the Oreana Church of Our Lady, where it is still in use. The Idaho Standard School, built in 1892, was utilized for all grades up through high school. The school began with three teachers, one for each level (i.e. elementary, intermediate, and high school). The school was supported by tax revenue from local saloons. Numerous notable Idahoans attended school at the Idaho Standard School. The upstairs of the building is inherently used as an annual meeting place for the Owyhee Cattlemen's Association. While the downstairs is utilized as a museum. The Sommercamp Saloon was first built in 1866 to be a saloon and brewery. It had many uses over the years as a candy store, saloon, and even apartments. On Christmas Day in 1907 it burned down due to a fire. The building was later rebuilt in 1908 and was first used as a furniture store and later as a storage place for a grocery store. It is now a private residence. Hawes Bazaar was bought in 1885 by Richard S. Hawes and was first utilized as a restaurant. Richard Hawes moved to DeLamar in 1894 and later returned to Silver City in 1899 and reopened the store. After Richard Hawes died in 1932 his two sons carried on the business until the store closed in 1942. After WWII ended Mrs. Lillie Hawes Leonard moved to Silver City and turned the store into a souvenir shop. The building is now owned by Mrs. Leonard's granddaughter and family and is used as a private residence. The Silver Slipper was first the office of a dentist named Randall. Around 1900 one side became a candy store which was owned by E. Francis Gray, and the other side was a jewelry store run by John W. Rowett. The building later became the Owyhee Abstract Office of John St. Clair and was used partly for an office by J.E Dickens. The office later moved down the street and John and Myrtle Shea bought the building and sold office supplies there. The building was later sold to Robert Nelson and it was turned into a Saloon called the "Mint Bar." It was again sold in the 1930's and became the "Silver Slipper, a saloon which was only open for a short period of time. It was reopened in the 1960's as a small restaurant and gift store and was operated by the Floyd Tegnell family before becoming a private residence. In 1889 Meserve M. Gretchell took over the Gretchell drug store and post office from his uncle. In 1898 he became a partner in the firm Shea as a proprietor of the Idaho Hotel while managing the drug store at the same time. The building is inherently owned by Ed Jagels and is open at times as a shop and a museum.The Odd Fellows Hall, built in the 1870s, was first designed to be an apartment house. It was bought out by Dave Adams in 1880 and was known as the Adams Building. In 1901 it became a telephone office until 1905 when it was moved to the Model Pharmacy. The Odd Fellows Hall was bought by the I.O.O.F and the Knights of Pythias, and was turned into a dance Hall with a stage for the orchestra. The lodge was later removed and it became the sole property of the I.O.O.F. In 1967 this Lodge was declared as "Historical" and has held meetings there twice a year ever since. The Knapp Drug Story was first owned by Charles Knapp and his son Arthur and was used as the Model Pharmacy. It was known as one of the finest drug stores in Idaho at the time, in 1896. The building became the telephone office in 1905 and joined Idaho City and Jordan Valley in 1893. To this day, there are still a few phones in Silver City listed on the Melba Exchange. Next is the Idaho Hotel. It was built in 1866 by J.K Eastman with three stories and a bath house. Later in 1869, running water was piped into the hotel. An addition to the building occurred in 1871, adding a bar and fixed up rooms in the Old Idaho Exchange. A porch and offices were added with other improvements. In 1873 after a cannon was shot off in the town one-third of the windows in the hotel broke, more remodeling began with additional improvements and additions. The hotel was sold to Tim Regan in 1875 who later sold it to S.T.N. Smith in 1889. In 1970 the building was purchased by Ed Jagels and reopened for business. And finally, the County Office Building. In 1873 the editor of the Owyhee Avalanche, W.J. Hill, lived in the building. The first daily paper in Idaho was issued in this building in 1874. The building was later sold with the newspaper as living quarters for successive editors. The building was later used for offices of the county judge and the superintendent of schools and the county assessor until 1917. The building later was owned by Tom and Lillian Mock and became a saloon. It was purchased by Paul and Pat Nettleton in 1974 and was transformed into a private residence and gift shop. Reference from "Interesting Buildings in Silver City, Idaho". By: Helen Nettleton Further is the Stoddard House. A man named John (Jack) Stoddard moved to Owyhee county after the Civil War, and found his fortune by kicking a rock and discovering the first rich lode near DeLamar. This house was later built by him and his wife. This house was built using very expensive resources in order to reflect the wealth and luxury that the Stoddard's laid hold of. Some of these luxuries included fancy wooden trim, wall-to-wall carpeting, and wallpaper in the master bedroom and on the second floor. Around 1940 William, Stoddard's son sold the house to an owner who removed and sold the furnishings and decorations. A few years ago the house was once again sold to its present owner. There is also a picture of an old outhouse which is merely supported by random boards, and is protected by a metal roof. The third picture is of a recently built building behind the Masons Hall. Then there is the Brewery Vat. It was first set up by Will Hawes and was utilized as one of the huge vats used in the brewery which stood in front of the ice house down the street. Will Hawes, the builder of the Brewery Vat died later on in 1968. There is a picture of the grave of Oliver Hazard Purdy who was born on September 12, 1824 and died on June 8, 1878. Reference from "Interesting Buildings in Silver City, Idaho".
Building submitted by Helen Nettleton
Silver City - May 22, 2012
names of building are still wrong
pat ihli - Sep 02, 2010
Pretty close but who every did the typing from Helen's book got a few things wrong.
1. The part about the school house, Owyhee Cattlemen using the up stairs and a museum down stairs. It was the other way around.
2. It is stated that the Owyhee County building was later owned by Tom and Lillian Mock, their last name was Rock.
Doug SW - Aug 13, 2010
We're working to fix the order of the description and pictures.....check back soon.
Comment on This Building
The BAP is an education project, not a commercial site. All pictures on this website were taken by BAP participants unless otherwise noted. Student research was compiled from interviews with building owners, architects, and/or occupants, with help from preservation experts in the community. We try our best to do quality research but we cannot guarantee the veracity of our oral and historical research. If you see an inaccuracy, please help us by emailing BAP advisor Doug StanWiens at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:9fc2ba83-e2a6-4d0a-b54b-1447d7f5865a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boisearchitecture.org/structuredetail.php?id=228 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98985 | 1,904 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Above is a map of a little known secessionist chapter in American history, called the Northwestern Confederacy. Southerners hoped the northwestern states (which then was Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa) might also secede from the United States and form their own nation; or join with the south. There was actually a very practical reason for the northwestern states to do this. Many of their goods traveled down the Mississippi to market. Since the Confederacy controlled the southern half of the river, the Northwest needed good relations with the south in order to avoid economic hardship.
The idea was centered in Indiana, where even governor Thomas Hendricks said in 1862, "The first and highest interest of the Northwest is in the restoration and preservation of the Union but if the failure and folly and wickedness of the party in power render a Union impossible then the mighty Northwest must take care of herself and her own interests." So the idea of a Northwestern Confederacy had the support of many farmers—but they weren't alone. The northwest also had its share slavery proponents, and people who just wanted to end the war any way possible. Certainly, the creation of a Northwest Confederacy would have weakened the north and almost certainly ended the war.
Then again, the idea was considered treasonous.... which may be the main reason support didn't grow to any sort of tipping point. | <urn:uuid:c3e037ab-5f17-48c0-bf5f-b7d1f1743b97> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://loststates.blogspot.com/2011/08/northwestern-confederacy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976588 | 275 | 3.78125 | 4 |
Qatar, a tiny, wealthy and very image-conscious country in the Persian Gulf, is not having a good week.
First, major news outlets published stories about vitriolic Facebook pages calling on Qatar residents to protest against Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa al Thani and his regime. Feb. 27 is the day, one said. Well, that day came and went.
Then, just over the weekend, human rights groups broke the news that a Qatari blogger has been detained and being held incommunicado by authorities. The fear is that the blogger, Sultan al-Khalaifi, is at risk of torture or other ill treatment.
Concurrently, journalists in Qatar seem to be rebelling against the lack of a sorely needed media law to protect freedom of speech and a free press.
Yet, as people across the Middle East rally against their regimes, Qatar appears to be the only country in the Arabian Gulf to escape unscathed by the politics. And not just because the country, run by a benevolent Emir, has a very persuasive police force.
A handful of blustering Facebook pages aside, there is no way people in Qatar are going to take to the streets to protest against the regime, and there are a dozen reasons why. Here are just a handful:
Firstly, there are no starving Qataris. There aren't even any Qatari taxi drivers or janitors.
Qatar is a welfare state that financially-speaking really takes care of its people, who account for about only make up 15% of the population. The 350,000 nationals also enjoy an average per capita income of $75,000 annually.
Secondly, many of the expats here also enjoy the benefits of living in a rich country. Unemployment is .5%.
Crime is almost non-existent. While dashing to Arabic class at Berlitz one evening when I first moved here, my husband accidentally left the keys in the ignition, the car running and the doors unlocked. We didn't realize the folly until an hour and a half later, when we returned to our car, which was still there. And why shouldn't it be? There are cameras everywhere, and anyone with a residency permit knows Qatar has our blood, fingerprints and chest X-rays on file.
It is true that living here is not cheap. Qatar imports almost all of its food, so frequent trips to the grocery store can be prohibitive for someone on a budget.
Transportation costs also continue to rise, especially after the government suddenly raised petrol prices this year. But per liter, gas is still cheaper than soda.
And the government does heavily subsidize gas, electricity and water for all of the nation's 1.6 million residents.
Qatar's Emir has also put the profits reaped from its vast natural gas reserves to use in other ways, investing billions of dollars of it into education, healthcare, culture and of course, the upcoming FIFA World Cup in 2022.
That said, there are certainly things to complain about.
For one, Qatar suffers from a gaping gender disparity due to its large migrant worker population. Women account for just 20% of the population, which can make for some uncomfortable social situations.
But women are free to work, drive and run for council elections (whenever those will be held). In Education City, where six US universities have set up shop, among other educational institutions, the number of female graduates actually outpaces the number of male graduates in many schools.
Things aren't as rosy for Qatar's uneducated residents. Human rights groups have constantly criticized the treatment of migrant workers here. Last summer, the US State Department put Qatar on a "watch list" for laws that it says promotes human trafficking. And according to one study, the average laborer works 60-hour weeks and make about $3,945 a year.
Government officials have also been promising residents a new press law and council elections for years, without results. Just this week, a spate of columnists jumped from one local newspaper to another in hopes that their criticisms of the country would actually get published. The move prompted a fiery article in the Peninsula, a local English-language newspaper that has recently become more critical of the government.
And there are residents here who are not happy about Qatar trying to be friends with everyone. The Facebook groups that have popped up rail against the US base here, First Lady Sheikha Mozah's public presence and Qatar's informal ties with Israel.
Still, Qataris are for the most part known for living a comfortable lifestyle, and most wouldn't dream of making a public stink about what they consider to be in-house problems in their country.
In fact, the mere thought of political action seems to have upset more than inspired people here. More than one Qatari on Twitter has protested any discussion of protest in Doha -- not necessarily a good thing, but nonetheless an indication of what the locals are thinking.
As for the majority expat population, those who don't like it here can always leave (fairly easily, for the most part). And those who want to stay wouldn't dream of rallying for fear of deportation.
So come March 16, expect Qatar to remain the only Gulf country free of public protests. Expect amazing.
Follow Shabina S. Khatri on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dohanews | <urn:uuid:fcdf3ceb-ea9e-4a02-8013-2794e8d6063c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shabina-s-khatri/qatar-why-protests-wont-h_b_830129.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964281 | 1,097 | 1.867188 | 2 |
British Columbia earthquake and tsunami safety is uncertain. Since the Japan disaster, tsunami fears have risen to new levels and Canadians are wondering if the same disaster could occur in their home regions. This should be considered a wakeup call for the residents of Vancouver Island, the gulf islands, and the lower mainland.
A good number of British Columbians on the eastern side of Vancouver Island, the gulf islands, and the neighbouring mainland are under the misconception that should the worst happen, they are protected by Vancouver Island.
It should be noted that in 2007, warning signs for tsunamis were put in place in the low-lying areas of Nanaimo. The average person in this region and the gulf islands as well, would be wise to pay head to these signs and consider it a wakeup call. These areas are in fact exposed to the same type of devastation that can be incurred by these natural disasters, similar to those in the northern reaches of Japan.
It is commonly acknowledged by scientists that an earthquake of a similar magnitude to the Japan quake will hit the Queen Charlotte Fault off the west coast of British Columbia at some point in time.
However, the estimate is that a resulting tsunami would not reach the Nanaimo area for approximately three hours after a large quake hit the west coast, and the tsunami waves would have expended a significant amount of energy and decreased to a smaller size by then.
So by virtue of location on the protected part of Vancouver Island, Nanaimo should receive sufficient warning before an incoming tsunami reached the city and surrounding areas. The exposed west coast areas of Tofino, Uclulelet, and Port Alberni would not be so lucky.
There is a factor that people are not aware of, so they should not assume that because they have shelter from the open Pacific Ocean, that they are not in harm’s way.
A B.C. Hydro study prepared a few years past concluded that a possibility exists for an earthquake, in the magnitude of 7.5 or higher, to occur which has the potential to activate a gigantic undersea landslide of the built-up and unstable sediments at the entrance to the Fraser River.
Approximately ten thousand cubic metres of sedimentary materials are flushed down the Fraser River to its mouth each second accumulating over seventeen million tonnes every year.
A high magnitude earthquake could trigger a massive landslide of this sedimentary material and create huge tsunami waves marching across the Strait of Georgia directly to the Gulf Islands and the east coast of Vancouver Island. The timeline for this occurrence would be mere minutes.
The study performed simulations which indicated that should a sufficient amount of the sediment, maybe as small an amount as seven hundred and fifty thousand cubic metres, eighteen metre high tsunamis could be created and suddenly flow towards Galiano and other Gulf Islands.
The waves would reduce down to about five metres high by the time they reached Nanaimo, inundating the low-lying areas.
In such an occurrence, no systems for early warning would provide sufficient time to warn people in these areas to go to higher elevations because estimations are that the time between the actual underwater slide and the tsunamis hitting these areas would only be ten minutes.
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- tsunami vancouver | <urn:uuid:4c9a12f0-8a17-46e1-b3a4-b3d4a03050b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oneplusonedirect.com/british-columbia-earthquake-and-tsunami-safety-is-uncertain/852796/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950386 | 724 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Why this eagerness to please Malaysia?By Solita Collas-Monsod
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo, now headed by Jamalul Kiram III, who can trace his lineage at least 500 years back (the sultanate was founded in 1465)—how many Filipinos can go back that far?—still strikes me as a tragic institution, the victim of greed, opportunism, and indifference particularly during the second half of its history.
Only consider: There was Spain, which forced it to accept Spain’s sovereignty over “Jolo and its dependencies,” then turned around and ceded North Borneo (which was not a dependency of Jolo but had been awarded to the sultanate by the Sultan of Brunei in 1685 in gratitude for the former’s help in quelling a 10-year rebellion that had devastated Brunei) to Britain under the so-called Madrid Protocol among Spain, Britain and Germany. It must be pointed out that Spain did the same thing to the Philippines: It ceded us to the United States even if we were no longer the former colonizer’s to cede.
Then there was Britain, which first declared in 1883 that it assumed no sovereignty over Borneo, but then five years later made a protectorate of North Borneo, and finally in 1946 (10 days after Philippine independence, mind you), annexed North Borneo as part of the British Dominions, in spite of formal reminders in the interim by the US government that Sabah (the other name of North Borneo) was not Britain’s, but belonged to the Sultanate of Sulu.
And then, of course, there is Malaysia, which, 135 years after the Sultanate of Sulu leased North Borneo to a private British company (later known as the British North Borneo Co.), is still paying the sultanate essentially the same rent as in the original agreement (later slightly modified because of additional territory). Last year, for example, the Sultan received a little over P200,000 as lease payments for the whole of Sabah.
Sabah’s land area is over 73,000 square kilometers. Do the arithmetic: The Sultanate of Sulu is paid something like P2.74 per square kilometer in rent. For the Reader’s delectation, one square kilometer is equal to one million square meters.
And has the sultanate gotten better treatment from the Philippines? On the whole, unfortunately, the answer has to be NO. President Aquino and President Gloria Arroyo never even bothered to acknowledge, much less reply to, the letter they each got from Sultan Kiram III, who was not even asking for help with regard to Sabah.
President Fidel Ramos, if one recalls correctly, was in favor of renouncing the Philippine claim to Sabah (without consulting the Sultan); President Cory Aquino’s administration vowed to resolve the matter one way or another—and did not; President Ferdinand Marcos, after his disastrous, bungled attempt (Operation Merdekah) allegedly to invade and take over Sabah, announced in 1977 at an Asean meeting (again without consulting the Sultan) that the Philippines would renounce its claim to Sabah (he did not follow through).
The only President who made serious attempts to claim Sabah, it seems, was President Diosdado Macapagal. And with him we can begin to identify the good guys who appeared in the odyssey of the Sultanate of Sulu.
The United States must take a bow as one of the good guys. As mentioned above, it gave formal reminders to Britain that Sabah belonged to the Sultanate of Sulu, and it was an American, former governor general Francis Harrison, who denounced Britain’s act of annexing North Borneo 10 days after the Philippines gained its independence, as an act of “political aggression.”
But it was not until 1962 that the Philippines (under Diosdado Macapagal) tried to flex its muscles, with Indonesia an ally (Indonesia wasn’t too keen either on North Borneo being part of the Malaysian Federation, seeing as almost the rest of Borneo is part of Indonesia). And here another good guy must be identified: journalist Napoleon Rama, whose series of articles in the Philippines Free Press titled “North Borneo Belongs to Us” raised an uproar and galvanized public opinion.
Then there was Jovito Salonga, who led the legislature’s support for the cause. Macapagal even wrote then US President John F. Kennedy, presumably seeking his help, and began talks with Britain (not much happened). Not so trivia: Macapagal mentioned in his letter that Sabah is only 18 miles from the Philippines and 1,000 miles from Malaya (the Malayan peninsula).
The move to end Malaysia’s “hegemony” obviously petered out. But what I cannot understand at this point is why our government seems to be unduly anxious to please Malaysia. When the Philippines was to host the Asean, then Sen. Letty Shahani introduced a bill in the Senate proposing to give up our claim to Sabah. (This was stopped in its tracks by Jovito Salonga, who said that any giving up of claims must be conditioned on the protection of the proprietorial rights of the Sultan of Sulu. When the Malaysian king came a-visiting, there was also another move to give up our claim, but Congress apparently refused to cooperate.)
This eagerness to please is particularly puzzling, because Malaysia has been, if anything, rather arrogant insofar as the Philippines is concerned. One remembers that 1,200 Filipino domestic helpers were rounded up in a Catholic church in Malaysia as they were attending Mass. But never mind religious sensibilities. What about its arrogance with regard to the peace talks, trying to tell us what to do or what not to do? Or, the latest, its refusal to turn over Aman Futures’ Manuel Amalilio?
Is some self-respect on our part too much to ask?
More from this Column:
Short URL: http://opinion.inquirer.net/?p=47461 | <urn:uuid:4cb68a07-ff2b-4dec-b977-41d69f29fd95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://opinion.inquirer.net/47461/why-this-eagerness-to-please-malaysia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964639 | 1,316 | 1.96875 | 2 |
When the Society received a call about a huge number of cats at a Hillside, N J home, it was beyond any other incident we have handled in the past not only by the sheer numbers, but the inaccessibility to various areas of the house to rescue over 95 cats. The numbers included pregnant cats, teen-age kittens, many nursing kittens that were inexplicably placed with mothers who already had litters they were feeding. Traps have been placed in areas of the house to continue to remove the remaining few that are there. All of the cats have been examined by our veterinary technicians and all were infested with fleas, ear mites and intestinal parasites.
The rescue has taxed the Societyıs resources and we are in urgent need of cat beds, cat food, rescue groups and adoptive homes. If you can offer help, please contact us.
Read more about the the Hillside cats and other felines in need. | <urn:uuid:0acedfe2-90da-4a01-b2e1-b2b0896b0f2c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ahscares.org/showarchive.asp?id=91 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983766 | 189 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Thanks to the many books on open innovation and to the prominence of open-source software projects such as Linux, most executives have at least a passing familiarity with the subject. Its central idea is that when companies look outside their own boundaries, they can gain better access to ideas, knowledge, and technology than they would have if they relied solely on their own resources.
Some executives may even be familiar with the many variants of open innovation, a number of which stray a considerable distance from traditional "closed" models of innovation management. Despite the familiarity of these ideas, persistent doubts and misunderstandings often make it hard to generate value from them. At one extreme, many people ask whether distributed models of innovation aren't notoriously hard to control, manage, and commercialize. At the other extreme, open innovation may seem to be mostly about narrowly defined joint ventures or transactions to acquire intellectual property created by others. If so, what's all the fuss about?
In truth, except for narrowly scoped forays (such as the licensing of technology) outside the confines of the enterprise, few top executives believe that they understand how best to create value with the open model of innovation. This uncertainty prevents many of them from taking advantage of the very real opportunities it presents.
The lack of confidence is understandable: although the roots of open innovation go back at least as far as the Italian Renaissance—when networks of apparel businesses in Piedmont and Tuscany were responsible for rapid innovation in techniques for producing silk and cotton fabric—today's variants on the model are anything but mainstream. That's why companies must visit the peripheries of today's commercial and scientific worlds to recognize the patterns that emerge across very diverse domains.
Such patterns reveal intriguingly promising "networks of creation" (or "creation nets"), where hundreds and even thousands of participants from diverse institutional settings collaborate to create new knowledge, to learn from one another, and to appropriate and build on one another's work—all under the guidance of a network organizer. These diverse participants often work in parallel and then fight and learn among themselves when the time comes to integrate their individual efforts into a broader offering. The most widely publicized example may be the development of the Linux kernel by the open-source software movement. But creation nets are also visible in more unexpected fields and places, from the development of motorcycles in China and of consumer electronics products in Taiwan to the world's big-wave surfing beaches, where networks of sports enthusiasts push the technology and techniques required to ride 60-foot-plus waves, and the places around the globe where thousands of amateur astronomers operate telescopes tied together by the Internet to find and monitor celestial events.
These examples of open innovation are not undiscovered. Yet few if any observers have pulled back from individual examples or stories to analyze the broader principles and mechanisms underlying the success of creation networks. Those principles and mechanisms, once understood, suggest specific moves that companies can make to profit from this ambitious form of open innovation and to create greater value than more conventional models of innovation can.
Why creation nets matter
The case for creation nets has its foundation in the speed of change in today's global economy. In times of relative stability, a given stock of knowledge can create value indefinitely. If others acquire that stock, they can put it to work competing with its creators. During times of accelerating change, by contrast, the lifetime value of knowledge shrinks rapidly because it becomes obsolete more quickly. Now the game is using it to connect more rapidly and effectively with others in the creation of new knowledge. Rather than jealously protecting existing stocks of knowledge, institutions should offer them to others as a way of gaining access to broader knowledge flows.
Of course, knowledge doesn't really flow—it tends to be "sticky." Unlike information, which can be codified and disseminated more readily, knowledge tends to reside in individuals and is very context specific. You need close relationships with diverse sets of people and institutions when you want to create new knowledge jointly and deliver innovations to the market.
Narrower approaches to open innovation typically fail to create and encourage these rich, sustained interactions and collaborations. Joint ventures, for instance, typically involve a limited number of participants, but creation nets mobilize hundreds or thousands. The licensing of technology involves arm's-length transactions, but creation nets rely on long-term relationships. Some open-innovation initiatives focus on collaboration with lead customers; creation nets involve a broader range of participants, such as specialized technology providers, talented amateurs, suppliers, and customers.
The need for closer relationships with a broader set of participants brings with it a number of practical difficulties, however. Trust—in many ways the system's lubricant—can be hard to establish. What's more, large, distributed groups of people and institutions create their own difficulties. As Mancur Olson points out in The Logic of Collective Action, large groups of people don't work together easily toward a common goal. They may have different preferences and different tolerances for costs and effort. Some want a free ride. Others find it hard to determine who has made which valuable (or not so valuable) contribution. These problems, which arise even in narrowly scoped corporate alliances, multiply as the number and type of participants increase. In fact, the more diverse the participants, the thornier the issues.
As we shall see, the institutional mechanisms of creation nets help overcome these very real difficulties and provide for the diverse kinds of collaboration needed to support sustained innovation in a world of far-flung knowledge and talent.
How creation nets work
Although creation nets thrive in many different parts of today's global economy, they may not be fully visible to casual observers. Many Western executives, for example, go to original-design manufacturers (ODMs) such as Lite-On Technology and Compal Electronics, which are based in Taiwan but have expanding operations in mainland China, to source designs for a wide range of consumer electronics and high-tech products. From the perspective of these executives, they are dealing with a single outsourcing provider. Yet behind the scenes, the ODMs are mobilizing large creation nets to push the performance envelope of the products they design.
Executives stand in awe of Apple Computer's brilliant design for the iPod, for example, but overlook the important role that another company, PortalPlayer, performed behind the scenes. Before being approached by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, PortalPlayer had already mobilized a broad network of specialized technology providers to solve the challenging problems of delivering high-quality audio in relatively inexpensive small devices.
Creation nets work by mobilizing hundreds or thousands of independent entities in the pursuit of distributed, collaborative, and cumulative innovation. The creation nets orchestrated by ODMs, for example, can bring together myriad highly specialized component and subsystem vendors from different business ecosystems, including disk drive manufacturers in Singapore, lens designers in Japan, semiconductor designers in Taiwan, and software engineers in Bangalore.
Mobilizing such a range of participants requires a precise set of institutional mechanisms to make clear who assembles the network, who can participate in it, how disputes will be resolved, and how performance will be measured. Creation nets thus begin with a network organizer, in the role of gatekeeper, which decides who participates in the network. ODMs, for instance, rigorously scrutinize not only the technological capabilities of prospective participants but also whether their corporate culture promotes collaboration and risk taking. The network organizer could be an individual, a small core team (as in the case of many open-source software initiatives), or a corporation or some other kind of large institution. Whatever it may be, it defines simple and informal participation protocols, such as how to resolve disputes and measure performance. An ODM, for example, will define clear performance milestones during the design process but allow participants to devise creative new ways of delivering the level of performance the client desires.
Creation nets typically organize their activities into modular processes, which make it easier to incorporate large numbers of participants and to give them the freedom to innovate within their own module of activity. Well-defined interfaces make it easier to coordinate activity across modules. The modularity of creation nets thus allows many participants to innovate in parallel and to pursue, simultaneously, a variety of ways of meeting a project's requirements.
While creation nets are loose in one dimension—the freedom to innovate—they are remarkably tight in another: defining clear "action points" when participants must come together and deliver outputs. Where inconsistencies or incompatibilities exist, participants must make clear choices to produce an integrated product or offer for use by others. If the design of the electronics in a digital still camera's sensor depends on the auto-focus functionality of the lens, for example, the two subsystem designers need to resolve any issues together.
Creation nets also rely on long-term incentives to motivate and align participants. To be sure, many creation nets are explicitly commercial, rewarding them with short-term cash or contracts for delivering successful innovations. But participants find that the real reward of even a commercial creation net comes in the longer term: by joining it, they can get better faster by working with others rather than alone. For this reason, participants are motivated to do the right thing in the near term rather than pursue opportunistic short-term profits—a cooperative mindset helping them to overcome many of the challenges to broad-based collaborative activity that Mancur Olson and others have described. Successful creation nets must therefore focus on building long-term relationships with participants and on creating opportunities for repeated interactions that demonstrate the value of cooperation.
Building and participating in creation nets
To harness the institutional mechanisms that give creation nets their power, executives will have to master new management approaches. Four are particularly relevant: choosing appropriate ways to coordinate the activities of the network, balancing local innovation with "global" integration, designing effective action points, and establishing useful performance feedback loops.
Choose the right approach to coordination
Although creation nets share many characteristics, they differ in notable ways—for example, the degree of diversity among their participants. Open-source software initiatives and extreme-sports networks, two of the best-known examples of creation nets, bring together participants who share relatively extensive sets of practices. Such groupings, which we call "practice networks," rely on looser forms of coordination.
Other types of creation nets—the design networks assembled by ODMs in Taiwan, for example, or the apparel production network created by Li & Fung in China—mobilize participants with very different practices and experiences. As a result, these networks, though still far too loose for the comfort of most executives of large enterprises, require more active forms of coordination. We categorize this subset as "process networks," a type of organization we have written about extensively to illustrate innovative ways of tapping into distributed expertise.
Because of the diversity among the participants in process networks, their organizers play a more active role in mobilizing them—specifically, the part of orchestrator: recruiting participants into the network and then deciding which of them will be involved in each creation initiative, the specific role they will play, and the performance requirements they must satisfy.
In contrast, practice networks are coordinated much more loosely, both for recruiting participants and for managing specific creation initiatives. Network organizers tend to focus their coordination activity on the integration stage of the creation process, when the contributions of the participants are brought together and incorporated into a consistent or compatible release.
The general point is that executives must carefully consider how great a diversity of skills and experiences their creation networks require and then tailor their coordination approaches accordingly.
Balance local innovation with "global" integration
Some creation nets of all types involve looser forms of management. Others are managed more tightly. To strike the right balance, it is important to differentiate among three primary challenges in the creation process:
accessing and developing highly distributed talent
providing appropriate contexts for the participants to come together and engage in collaborative experimentation, tinkering, and innovation
effectively integrating the creations of diverse participants into shared releases
Looking at the way creation nets address each of these challenges, you begin to discern interesting blends of emergent behavior (which occurs and evolves spontaneously, without an active, centralized manager) and managed behavior. Managed behavior is most pronounced at the integration stage, when the contributions of distributed participants must come together in a consistent or compatible release or offering. At this point, governance structures become critical to resolve differences that are often deeply held. Some of the greatest insights and innovations emerge as diverse parties clash and seek to address one another's concerns. In contrast, the aggregation and development of talent tend to be shaped more by emergent behavior, especially on the periphery of creation nets, which often rely on loosely organized environments (such as local business ecosystems and online forums) to attract, identify, and assemble talent.
Often, a creation net's collaborative experimentation, tinkering, and innovation activities are the least actively managed ones—perhaps the most challenging aspect for executives of traditional companies to embrace. After all, isn't the whole purpose of creation nets to drive innovation? If so, shouldn't the network organizers devote most of their time and attention to that? Surprisingly, the answer is no.
It is in this respect, perhaps, that creation nets represent the biggest break with more conventional approaches to open innovation. Executives are understandably tempted to develop detailed blueprints of what they require from their partners. For the sake of innovation, they must resist that temptation.
Design effective action points
Organizers of a creation net play their most active role at the integration stage. In fact, the success of such nets hinges on the use of this stage as an action point to focus and align the efforts of diverse participants that must now come together and hand off their work to others, which either build on it or integrate it into a consistent or compatible release. By specifying when these activities must occur, the performance requirements that each participant must meet, and the protocols for escalating and resolving disputes, the network organizers create the institutional mechanisms necessary for productive friction.
The essential point is that diverse participants must confront and resolve any significant differences in approach. Rather than determine outcomes by developing blueprints, the designers of effective action points specify high-level performance requirements and give the participants a substantial degree of freedom in meeting them. Greater freedom means a greater opportunity for divergence, especially in those parallel innovation initiatives, involving many participants, that modular approaches to management make possible.
When incompatibilities emerge across a product's modules or subsystems, the network organizer encourages the relevant participants to swarm the problem and resolve it on their own. Each participant understands that its designs will be included in the next release only if they work well with other parts of the product. Participants must therefore continually identify and make trade-offs between optimizing the performance of their own components and the broader performance requirements of an integrated product. On the margin, the ability to work effectively as part of a broader system determines which components are integrated into the final release.
Establish performance feedback loops
Although creation nets may use much looser management techniques than more traditional approaches to open innovation do, they operate successfully in some of the most demanding global markets imaginable, from fashion apparel to enterprise software. Loose management doesn't mean sloppy performance; on the contrary, these creation nets perform at a very high level. More important, they continually improve their performance at a faster pace than conventional enterprises can match.
How? In part, the answer is the tight focus on relevant performance requirements. But something more is involved. Successful creation nets build explicit performance feedback loops to give participants a much better idea of how they are doing. Even in relatively loosely organized open-source software initiatives, the participants receive rapid feedback from others who have used their software. In these projects, the broad adoption of software modules ranks among the key drivers of status. Participants monitor this performance metric not only for their own software contributions but also for those of others, and they strive to learn from programmers whose modules gain the greatest acceptance.
To establish these performance loops, network organizers focus on three key design principles. First, they encourage rapid movement from concept to prototype. The faster participants can come up with prototypes, the easier it will be to test their performance, especially in concert with other components and subsystems. Second, the organizers define early and frequent rounds of performance tests so that participants gain early insights into performance issues and can make changes rapidly to solve any problems that arise. Finally, they establish broad-based communication mechanisms so that everyone in the creation net gains access to performance data quickly and easily.
Getting there from here
The case for open innovation is clear: in today's rapidly moving world, companies can ill afford to retain outmoded closed models of innovation management. The case for creation nets as the best form of open innovation should also be clear: the institutional mechanisms embedded within them help to overcome its thorniest challenges. Furthermore, these networks focus solely on creation, so they promote innovation more than do stand-alone corporate enterprises, where executives must reconcile the competing demands of managing both innovation and routine operations.
Yet the case for creation nets does not extend to every corporate situation and endeavor. They work best in areas with three attributes: uncertain demand for goods and services, a need for the participation of many different specialists if creation and innovation are to occur, and rapidly changing performance requirements in the marketplace. In these areas, creation nets have their most distinctive value: the ability to mobilize dispersed and diverse talent for innovation in a flexible way, whatever the scale.
If these criteria do apply, executives must choose whether to participate in an existing network or to organize a new one. Too often, their instinct is to organize a new network. Those that try to do so late in the day may underestimate the network effects involved and wind up struggling to attract the attention and resources of relevant participants.
Once executives have decided to participate in or build a creation network, they will need to revise some corporate structures, aspects of corporate culture, and management and leadership practices, which often stand in the way of harnessing the network's full potential. Most institutions have been organized around push models of resource mobilization, but effective participation in a creation net requires a different skill set, focused on building, deploying, and managing pull models.
At a more fundamental level, leadership teams will have to challenge conventional ways of thinking within their own groups and companies. One natural reaction to an accelerating pace of change is a desire to turn inward and tighten control in an attempt to protect what already has value—for instance, by strengthening a company's patent protection or limiting the number of business partners that have access to a company's intellectual property. Creation nets require a different way of thinking, built on the recognition that the key to success in a rapidly changing world is understanding how and why knowledge crosses institutional boundaries. This in turn requires an even more fundamental shift in mindset: managers must move their focus beyond narrow efficiency gains and recognize that increased flexibility will help them embrace and explore the possibilities that uncertainty creates.
A creation net gives executives an opportunity to amplify open innovation's potential, but they can realize it only by challenging dominant ways of thinking. Those who do may, at long last, close the gap that has made open innovation a seductive mirage and an exercise in frustration for many of the companies that have tried to exploit its promise. | <urn:uuid:83f5ca3e-24f5-4c0e-878a-583a3e12b7db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/innovation/creation_nets_getting_the_most_from_open_innovation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937202 | 3,909 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Serious Eats: Recipes
French in a Flash: Asparagus Parmesan Pain Perdu with Homemade Tomato Jam
What's in a name? According to Shakespeare, not a whole lot. But does Shakespeare really know everything? To me, there are two kinds of names that are of the utmost fascination in the culinary world: the dishes a nation names after itself, and the dishes nations name after other nations. It seems to me there should be some great linguistic professor like Henry Higgins raring to study this complex, absolutely loaded subject.
My story begins when I was a student in Paris when I was fifteen. Paris was easy to love. But after yet another Gruyère crêpe from the crêpe man near the Tuileries garden, I just wanted a taste of home. I found a pizza shop, and being the good New York girl that I am, I immediately went in for a slice. The pizza was rectangular, and as it does in Europe, it had been sitting under a glass case all day. The disappointment overwhelmed me. OK, I consoled myself, the shop is clean, and when in France.... I looked up at the pizza selections and spotted "Pizza Americaine" right away. "American pizza!" I exclaimed. Oh, thank goodness! Where is it? I look around and around the little shop for a great round pie, bubbling up with marinara and mozzarella, but alas, there was none. I spoke to the man across the counter in French, "Qu'est-ce que c'est, votre pizza americaine?" He then pointed to a little square slice under the glass and started enumerating the toppings: onions, ham, mushrooms, tomatoes, corn, and hard-boiled eggs. I was so desperate that I just started laughing. I had never once seen a pizza in America with a hard-boiled egg on it, much less corn.
On the reverse side of the affair, take French toast. The French toast that we know is thick, snowed with sugar, and drowned in maple syrup. Delicious. But if you were serving it to a poor, lost, homesick Frenchman, he'd probably burst out laughing. In France, "French toast" is known as Pain Perdu which translates to lost bread because it came about as a way to use up day-old bread. It is not a breakfast item. Instead, it is a nursery dessert, served as a comforting sweet finish to a meal, in the way that bread pudding would be served. I usually make mine from brioche, and serve it with a sweet syrup flavored with orange flower water.
This week, I wanted to do a little Franco-American fusion and bring pain perdu to the brunch table--in a definitely savory version. Thick, crusty slices of round peasant bread are quickly dipped into a custard of eggs and half and half that has been salted, peppered, and piled with grated Parmesan cheese. Stalks of asparagus roasted with rosemary are pressed into one side of the bread, and then the Asparagus Parmesan Pain Perdu is cooked over a low flame, where the bread crisps and turns golden, and the Parmesan toasts and melts and fills the whole house with a salty, nutty aroma. For something sweet, but savory too, I serve homemade tomato jam on the side. This dish is unusual and unorthodox, but it's delicious and different and so easy I was actually surprised myself.
Maybe Shakespeare was right after all. So long as I get to eat Pain Perdu, I don't really care what it's called. Especially if the American moniker calls it French.
About the author: Kerry Saretsky is the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family's classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way. | <urn:uuid:b6aca7a2-b6ad-455a-ba98-8d9f80f1838b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/05/print/french-in-a-flash-asparagus-parmesan-pain-per.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964365 | 797 | 1.5 | 2 |
Tony Awards Quiz: Part Two
It’s Tony season and who better to educate us about the wonderful world of theatre than Thomas S. Hischak, author of The Oxford Companion To The American Musical: Theatre, Film and Television. Hischak is a Professor of Theatre at the State University of New York College at Cortland. He is the author of sixteen books on theater, film, and popular music as well as the author of twenty published plays. In The Oxford Companion To The American Musical Hischak offers over two thousand entires on musicals, performers, composers, lyricists, producers, choreographers and much more. In the quiz below Hischak questions your Tony knowledge. Post your answers in the comments section. We will post the answer sheet later today.
1. The Tony Awards are named after actress and director Antoinette Perry (1888-1946), founder of the American Theatre Wing. What was her long-running comedy hit, later turned into a successful feature film starring Jimmy Stewart?
2. Name the musical star, ever a tabloid presence for her many marriages, battles with substance abuse, and ability to poke fun at her own image, who caused quite a stir in 1977 when it was discovered that, due to the strenuous dancing in the show, parts of her singing were prerecorded. She won the Tony anyway.
3. Although The Phantom of the Opera won the Best Musical and six other Tonys in 1988, the Best Book and Best Score went to another musical that season. A 2002 revival, which added three little pigs, won Best Revival of a Musical. Name the musical.
4. The 1956 Tonys were the first in which musicals were nominated. Before that only a winner was announced. Damn Yankees won over what Rodgers and Hammerstein musical? Maybe if Julie Andrews—who auditioned but was told by Richard Rodgers to focus on getting the part of Eliza Doolittle instead—had stayed with the production, it would have had better luck.
5. Although The Producers cleaned up at the 2001 Tony Awards, winning most of the major awards, an earlier musical is the only one to win Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Director and all four musical performance Tonys for a musical. The earlier show could clean up again at the 2008 Tonys, in a different incarnation. Name that show.
6. In 1999, Parade was the only nominated musical with a book; the other three nominees were revues. Which one won? Hint: Ann Reinking and Chet Walker channeled another choreographer in numbers such as “Razzle Dazzle”, “Bye Bye Blackbird” and “Big Spender”.
7. What 1950s musicals won eight Tony Awards but was not revived on Broadway for fifty years? When it was, Donna Murphy lost to Idina Menzel for Best Actress in a musical.
8. It sometimes happens that someone is nominated for two different musicals in one season. For what two shows, impressive in very different ways, was Trevor Nunn nominated for Best Director of a Musical at the same Tony Awards ceremony?
9. Four girls and two boys were nominated together for the Best Featured Actress Tony for what 1959 musical?
10. “What worst piemaker in London has hosted the most Tony telecasts?” | <urn:uuid:642da140-6b07-44ae-8bd6-6280dc614c71> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.oup.com/2008/06/tony-awards-quiz-part-two/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974852 | 696 | 1.570313 | 2 |
ChristianAnswers.Net WebBible Encyclopedia
(1 Cor. 12:28)
the powers which fit a man for a place of influence in the church; “the steersman’s art; the art of guiding aright the vessel of church or state”
- chiefs of Asia
- government of God
- Millennium—government by God for 1000 years on Earth
- VOTING—Do Christians have an obligation to vote? Answer
- SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE—When did the government pass this law and where can it be found? Answer
- Where should Christians draw the line in trying to make the U.S. a Christian nation? Answer
There is a line a nation crosses in violating the free exercise of religion, as well as the freedom of conscience. In America, this “line” has shifted over the years. Where is it now?
- Should Christians seek political power or should we only focus on evangelism? Answer
In the often shady world of politics, it is usually the last place a Christian wants to be. But should Christians really be focused on seeking political office? Here are some thought-provoking reasons why Christ’s ambassadors should not shy away from being the public’s ambassadors in government.
- PATRIOTISM—Does being a Christian mean that I should be patriotic? Answer
- POLITICAL CORRECTNESS—How important is it? Answer
- MORALITY—What part should morality play in politics? Answer
- CHARACTER—Does character matter in political leaders? Answer
The scandals surrounding America’s political leaders raise the question of whether character matters in a leader. This topic is dealt with from a Biblical and American historical point of view.
- THE TEN COMMANDMENTS—Does American government need the Ten Commandments anymore? Answer
The Ten Commandments have become a hotly debated topic in America’s public spotlight. Here is a historical and current-events overlook concerning the most popular set of rules delivered by God over 3,000 years ago.
- What role should the Bible and Christianity play in America? Answer
It is often stated that there is a “separation of church and state,” disallowing Christianity from influencing our nation in matters of public interest. Is this type of censorship valid and beneficial to the United Sates?
- Questions and Biblical answers on social issues and government | <urn:uuid:2931fcd6-ae0f-44c2-a5d9-2ed922963686> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/governments.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926431 | 503 | 2.265625 | 2 |
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Bette Davis adds her own fuel to the fire of Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano (1984), an intimate documentary portrait that utilizes a long and candid interview with the actress herself. Along with an array of clips that demonstrate Ms. Davis' range from Jezebel (1938) to Dark Victory (1939) to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) are numerous recollections from former co-stars like Anne Baxter who played the scene stealing upstart to Davis' theatre star in All About Eve (1950). But the documentary's real punch comes directly from Davis. Her recollections provide an inside look at the highs and lows of her Hollywood career and give insight into the woman behind the revered actress. And as she did throughout her movie career, Davis holds nothing back, stating upfront, "I really am too much."
First, Davis recalls her 1930 screen test for Samuel Goldwyn in New York. Though deceptively demur on the surface, the young actress was already harboring a determined and ambitious underside. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Davis had a self-described Puritan upbringing. So for her screen test, the young actress wore a long dress. When the producers asked to see her legs, Davis at first refused, batting back, "what have my legs to do with whether I have talent or not?" But eventually Davis gave in - at least as far as it suited her. She rolled the skirt up a few inches at a time, until she reached her knees. And there it stopped and so did the Goldwyn audition. Instead, Davis signed a three-month contract with Universal. Apparently her virtuous image played no better there, as the head of studio reportedly said of a Davis picture, "who would want to get her at the fade out?" After nine months in Hollywood, Bette Davis' contract was not renewed.
The actress was literally packing her bags to go home when the call came. The caller identified himself as George Arliss, but Davis thought it was a prank. When she was finally convinced that it indeed was veteran leading man Arliss on the other end of the phone, Davis agreed to a meeting at Warner Bros. Arliss immediately got Davis cast opposite him (as an extremely young romantic interest) in The Man Who Played God (1932). The movie successfully launched Davis' movie career and Warner Bros. picked up her contract. And in 1935, Davis would be nominated for and win her first Oscar® for her performance as an alcoholic actress in Dangerous.
Still, it wasn't all smooth sailing. In Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano, Davis reflects on what she calls "bad movieswith bad scripts and bad directors." Included on the list, she names Parachute Jumper (1933), Bureau of Missing Persons (1933) and Housewife (1934). So frustrated was Davis with the lack of good script offerings, that she walked from the studio and fled to London. Warner Bros. of course sued. Davis lost the legal battle but got a pay raise - and better roles. In 1939 alone, she made these memorable pictures - Juarez, The Old Maid, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex and Dark Victory. It was the latter film that Davis claimed came closest to being the most satisfying experience, one that best realized the potential of the story, acting, character and setting.
Davis' last movie under contract to Warner was Beyond the Forest (1949), a picture Davis never wanted to make to begin with. She played a bored wife married to Joseph Cotten (who she felt was too attractive for the part) who hopes to snag a millionaire. Two days before filming ended, Davis called Jack Warner and negotiated an out for her contract. She would complete work on Beyond the Forest if, at its conclusion, Warner would release her from contract. Davis had made over 50 films for Warner Bros. in 18 years, and could no longer abide the lack of script approval. She likens it to growing up and leaving home; it was time to go.
Her post-WB life included the backstage drama All About Eve, written and directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, who Davis credits with resurrecting her career. There was also the cult hit What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? opposite off-screen rival Joan Crawford. Both films earned Davis Oscar® nominations. She received eight nominations over her career and took home the Oscar® twice. Davis called the awards "her blood, sweat and tears" and said, "[she] had never not been honored or thrilled to receive an award."
Producer: Geoffrey Baines
Film Editing: Dave King
Cast: Ian Holm (narrator), Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Anne Baxter.
BW&C-60m. Closed captioning.
by Stephanie Thames | <urn:uuid:e5c5d40c-42a2-4e37-a451-be54b46d55ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/5775/Bette-Davis-The-Benevolent-Volcano/articles.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973393 | 989 | 1.664063 | 2 |
You might not have noticed, but today marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. Yes, 200 years ago today, President James Madison declared war against Britain, its Canadian colonies and its Native American allies.
Our Forgotten War?
In the U.S., the War of 1812 is sometimes overlooked, squeezed out by sexier conflicts like the American Revolution and the Civil War.
But in its time, the War of 1812 was a pretty awesome affair, as a piece in the BBC reminds us. It was the first time the United States declared war against a foreign nation. It resulted in a British army torching the White House and much of Washington, DC. And a British attack on Baltimore’s Fort McHenry in 1814 provided the inspiration for our national anthem. The bullet-torn Star-Spangled Banner, which flew above the fort that day, still resides in the Smithsonian.
One Hell of a “Sailabration”
Baltimore is one city that marked the bicentennial well: it held a week-long festival called “Sailabration,” featuring period and modern warships from all over the world.
An elderly lady named Martha was certainly moved by the event: ”I have lived here all my life and I am proud of where I’m from,” she told the BBC. ”When I see the news and think about everything I’ve seen in my lifetime, the world is so complicated. But I’m part of something big and bold, and we may not always agree but we are all Americans.”
A “Sailabration” photo gallery from The Washington Post is available here.
North of the Border
In Canada, the anniversary is drawing more attention. The War is generally credited with establishing a Canadian identity, although some historians disagree with that assessment. As Elaine Young of Guelph University told the CBC: “We have this Canadian pre-occupation with finding our identity, looking to the past to find out who we are, then moulding it to fit who we are as a nation now . . . [Canadians] always need to find some sort of defining moment and right now it’s the War of 1812.”
The CBC reports that the Canadian government has spent $27.3 million for bicentennial events. Toronto, which American troops burned during the war, has been preparing its festivities for five years.
The CBC piece also contains a look back at previous celebrations of the war’s anniversary in Canada. One fascinating — and sad — tidbit: the moment in 1914 when Chief Hill of the Iroquois Six Nations said in a public address that Canada treats its natives unfairly. “We are sorry to mingle complaints with this celebration,” he remarked, “but it seems to be the only place that we can get a hearing.” | <urn:uuid:ee87ca69-fef1-43ad-b4e8-12cc8d52a95b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.latitudenews.com/story/in-marking-war-of-1812-allies-celebrate-fighting-each-other/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953949 | 605 | 3.546875 | 4 |
Central Government Act
Section 52(1) in The Mines Act, 1952
(1) Annual leave with wages. Every person employed in a mine who has completed a calendar year' s service therein shall be allowed, during the subsequent calendar year, leave with wages, calculated,-
in the case of a person employed below ground, at the rate of one day for every 2[ fifteen days] of work performed by him, and
in any other case, at the rate of one day for every twenty days of work performed by him. | <urn:uuid:41d83993-f680-4f52-b2d2-35aadfda4010> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://indiankanoon.org/doc/1391758/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962896 | 109 | 1.5 | 2 |
Word Origin & History
1844, from Eur(opean) + Asian. Originally of children of British-East Indian marriages; sense of "of Europe and Asia considered as one continent" is from 1868. Eurafrican, similarly formed, was coined 1890 by anthropologist D.G. Brinton to designate a "race" of dark-skinned people inhabiting both sides
of the Mediterranean; it was used 1920s to describe the "colored" population of S.Africa, and 1960s with ref. to political situations involving both continents. | <urn:uuid:2a7ccf87-e775-438e-97de-c339dd2e54c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eurasian | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965187 | 114 | 3.265625 | 3 |
The Thanksgiving Habit
J. R. Miller, 1904
The annual Thanksgiving Day in America, has grown to be a national festival. It is a day of rejoicing. It summons all the people to gratitude. It is fitting that a people who have received untold blessings, should set apart one day on which all should recall their mercies, think of God as the Giver of all and express their grateful feelings in words of praise.
But it is not intended that the other three hundred and sixty four days shall be empty of thanksgiving, because one is named as an especial day of rejoicing. We cannot crowd into any one day—all the thanks of a year. Indeed, on no one day can we be grateful for another day. No one person can give thanks for a whole company of people. So no one day can give thanks for any but itself. All the days should be thanksgiving days. Any that is not, lacks something, and stands as imperfect days in the calendar. We are told that we may count that day lost in which we do no kindness to anyone. In like manner may be set down as a lost day that one in which no songs of gratitude rises from our hearts and lips to God.
Anybody can be thankful on one day of the year. At least it ought to be possible for even the most gloomy and pessimistic person to rouse up to grateful feeling, on the high tide of an annual Thanksgiving day. No doubt it is something to pipe even one little song in a whole year of discontent and complaining—the kind of living with which some people fill their years. God must be pleased to have some people grateful even for a few moments in a long period of time, and to hear them sing even once in a year. But that is not the way He would have us live. The ideal life is one that is always thankful, not only for a little moment on a particularly fine day. "Praise is lovely," that is, beautiful—beautiful to God. The life which pleases Him is the one which always rejoices.
Nowhere in the Bible can we find either ingratitude or joylessness commanded or commended. All ungrateful feelings and dispositions are condemned. A great deal is said in disapproval of murmuring, discontent, worrying, and all forms of ingratitude. Again and again we are taught that joy is the keynote of a true life. It is not enough to rejoice when the sun shines, when all things are going well with us, when we are in the midst of prosperity; we are to rejoice as well when clouds hide the blue sky, when our circumstances seem to be adverse, or when we are passing through sufferings.
In one of the Psalms, the writer says: "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." He had learned to sing in the hours of pain—as well as in the times of gladness. That is the way the Christian should live—nothing should hush his song or choke the voice of thanksgiving and praise.
The only way to get thanksgiving into its true place in our lives—is to have it grow into a habit. A habit is a well worn path. There was a first step over the course, breaking the way. Then a second person, finding the prints of feet, walked in them. A third followed, then a fourth, until at length there was a beaten path, and now thousands go upon it.
Likewise, one who has been full of miserable discontents, utterly lacking in gratitude, gets a new Divine impulse, and one day is really grateful for a few moments. The impulse comes again, and again he let his life flow toward gratitude. Persisting in the disposition, his heart returns again and again to its gladness, until by and by it has been lured altogether away from the old beaten paths of discontent, discouragement, and unhappiness, and runs always in the ways of thanksgiving.
If we find that we have been leaving thanksgiving out of our lives, if we have been allowing ourselves to grumble instead of praise, if we have indulged in unhappiness instead of in gladness—we should instantly set about the breaking of a new path, a thanksgiving path. It will not be easy at first, for gloomy dispositions when long indulged persist in staying in our lives. But they can be conquered, and we should not pause in our effort until we have trained ourselves entirely away from everything that is cheerless and ungrateful, into the ways of joy and song.
There are many encouragements to a life of thanksgiving. For one thing, it makes life much happier. The person who indulges in fretting and complaining—is missing much that is loveliest, both in character and in experience. The tendency of such a life is toward gloom and depression, and these qualities in the heart soon show themselves on the face and in the manner. Light is the emblem of a beautiful life—but ingratitude is darkness rather than light. If we would be happy—we must train ourselves to be grateful. Ingratitude makes life dreary for us.
Another reason for cultivating the thanksgiving spirit, is because of its influence on others. Nobody loves a sullen person. We are exhorted to think of "whatever things are lovely," and cheerlessness is not lovely. If we would have people like us, if we would attract them to us and have good influence over them—we must cultivate happiness in all our expressions. There are many people who have formed the habit of unhappiness. They may be good and honest—but they have not learned the lesson of gladness. And they are not helpful people. They are not diffusers of joy.
We are as responsible for our faces—as we are for our dispositions. If we go about with gloom on our countenances, we will cast shadows over others and make life harder for them. No one can be a real blessing to others, until he has mastered his gloom and has attained the thanksgiving face. No one can be of very much help to others, if he carries discontent and anxiety on his countenance. We owe it to our friends, therefore, as well as to ourselves, to form the habit of thanksgiving.
There are those who have learned this lesson so well, that wherever they go they make happiness. Their lives are blessings.
It ought not to be hard to train one's self to be grateful. There would seem to be reason enough in every life, for continual thanksgiving. True, there are days when things may seem to go wrong—but it is only in the seeming. There is not doubt that all our circumstances bring blessings, which we may have if we will. The hardest experience of any day, enfolds in it, a gift from God—if only we receive it in faith and love. We think of the sunny days as being good days, and we call unpleasant weather bad. But if we understood it, we would know that God sends to the earth just as rich blessings in His clouds—as He does in His sunshine. The clouds bring rain, and after the rain all nature appears clothed in fresh beauty. A simple, childlike faith sees God in everything, and is ready always to give cheerful thanks, even when the reason for the thanksgiving may not be apparent.
Indeed, we shall some day see that many of the richest and best blessings of our lives, have come to us through experiences and circumstances which to us seemed adverse, and from which we shrank. There is an old promise which says that to those who love God—all things work together for their good. All we have to make sure of—is that we keep ourselves in the love of God. If we do this, everything which comes to us will bring its enriching in some way, and out of the painful things—our lives we will gather the best blessings and the deepest joys.
We shall not have many miles at the most—of the rough, steep road. In a few years we shall have gone over it all, and shall have come out into a place where there shall be nothing to vex or disturb us. And such gladness waits for us, such blessing, that one hour there—will make us forget all the sorrow and pain and toil of the way! | <urn:uuid:8ac1004f-c135-4064-a7d2-0e82f29e3b78> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gracegems.org/Miller/thanksgiving_habit.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971176 | 1,726 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Fukushima Daiichi crisis: Simulation
Events at unit 126 August 2011
A PC-based simulator used to analyze the event evolution at Fukushima Daiichi unit 1 has produced results broadly consistent with reported data. In particular, it found that had TEPCO not acted to inject seawater when it did, further core meltdown and even vessel penetration would have been likely. By Li-Chi Cliff Po
Fukushima Daiichi unit 1 is a General Electric BWR 3 rated 460 MW electric (1380 MW thermal). Units 2 through 5 are BWR 4s rated at 784 MWe (2381 MWt). Outside the reactor pressure vessel (RPV), there are two recirculation loops with pumps. Jet pumps inside the RPV downcomer enhance the core flow for better efficiency. All units have Mark I containment (that is, steel liners plus concrete drywells and torus-shaped suppression pools). Combined, the drywell and wetwell make up the primary containment vessel (PCV). There are safety/relief valves (SRV) to discharge steam from the steam line to the suppression pool during an over-pressure or forced depressurization condition. The outside housing is called the reactor building or the secondary containment. During only extreme over-pressure conditions, the operator may decide to open the drywell and/or wetwell vents. The consequences of such an action will be severe, since the containment air is already highly contaminated.
The emergency core cooling system contains a steam-driven high-pressure coolant injection (HPCI) system. It is also named the reactor core isolation cooling (RCIC) system in GE’s later designs. This system is triggered by a low reactor water-level signal and acts initially to draw water from the condensate storage tank. When that tank’s content is exhausted, it begins to draw from the suppression pool. It provides for coolant makeup either until battery depletion or until the suppression pool heats up enough to lose its suction head.
There is another isolation condenser system. After an isolation event, steam from the reactor steam dome is led into a heat exchanger located high up in the reactor building. The steam in the tubes gets condensed and returns to the core, so the reactor never loses its inventory. Water in the heat exchanger tank’s secondary side is heated and boiled off in a few hours, and therefore requires a low-pressure source of makeup water.
On the active side, the diesel generator-powered residual heat removal (RHR) pumps are triggered by a low reactor water-level signal to inject water via the low-pressure coolant injection (LPCI) mode. In this mode, large-volume flow is used to re-flood the core after the reactor pressure is lowered by either a pipe break or forced depressurization. The same RHR pumps may be used to cool the suppression pool operating in the torus-cooling mode or to depressurize the containment in the containment spray mode. There is also an independent low-pressure core spray system also drawing water from the suppression pool. Heat exchangers are lined up to remove the heat. Service water is used to cool the secondary side, which also requires AC power.
Description of events
The earthquake, which struck on the afternoon of 11 March 2011, caused an instant loss of offsite power and a reactor shutdown at Fukushima unit 1. The Richter scale-9 shock exceeded the plant design limit of 8.2. Onsite emergency diesel generators began to provide AC power for residual heat removal, but the diesel tanks powering these generators were soon knocked out by the tsunami. From that point on, limited DC battery power provided for lighting and some control functions of the emergency cooling systems. A complete station blackout (SBO) then followed, leaving no means for coolant makeup and heat removal.
In the immediate aftermath of the Fukushima emergency, the author used a PC-based simulator (PC-TRAN) to analyze the event evolution. The simulation run assumed boundary conditions starting from a SBO induced by an earthquake and a tsunami, followed by the venting of the over-pressurized containment unit and the later injection of seawater. The key transient variables, such as pressure, temperature, water level, and (most importantly) extent of core-melt and radiological release, are projected.
This article’s focus is limited to unit 1. The outcomes for units 2 and 3 are similar in nature with slight variations in individual event timing and the extent of core damage . A simulation of the events at the Fukushima unit 4 spent fuel pool has also been carried out , and is discussed briefly.
The first four hours
Below are outlined the events that were conducted during the first four hours of the simulation. These events are based on the sequence of events reported by the Nuclear Industrial Safety Agency of Japan in a 21 March 2011 report .
Immediately after the earthquake hits, the reactor manually scrams and both recirculation pumps, all main feedwater pumps, and the reactor coolant clean-up system are shut off. The turbine bypass valve is isolated on loss of condenser vacuum and the main steam isolation valve closes. The RCIC and isolation condenser system start when the reactor water level falls to below a designated set point, L2 (see Figure 4).
At 3360 seconds all AC-operated systems stop working as the emergency diesel generators have been damaged by the tsunami. According to NISA’s later report , the DC battery for the RCIC was flooded by the tsunami. So the isolation condenser was the only system to remove the decay heat. But its secondary side water inventory boiled dry around the same time. (A TEPCO spokesperson told NEI that it connected a diesel-driven pump to the secondary side of the isolation condenser and started pumping in water. But the pump ran into trouble after several hours and stopped working. The spokesperson said that had the workers been able to continue to pump water in, the disaster might have been avoided, or at least would have provided more time to get the situation under control.)
Figure 1 shows PCTRAN Fukushima unit 1 model NSSS mimic in the first hour; the isolation condenser and RCIC are working to remove the decay heat.
Four hours from the initiating event (14,400 seconds) the first band of safety relief valves are cycling to maintain the RPV pressure at around 74 bar. The containment pressure increases slowly by the relief valves’ steam discharge into the suppression pool (Figure 2). The drywell air temperature increases slightly because of the flipping of the vacuum breaker between the drywell and wetwell. The vacuum breaker is a free-hanging hinge that balances the pressure difference. The temperature of the suppression pool water increased because of the reactor steam discharge from the SRV. In the first four hours the fuel remained under water so its temperature remained constant, as illustrated in Figure 3.
Venting and seawater injection
No plant data could be collected from the later part of day 1 (March 11) until early morning of the next day. At that point the operators noticed that PCV pressure was becoming high enough to threaten failure, so they decided to depressurize. Our assumptions in the simulation led us to depressurize the RPV by opening the first set of SRVs at 43,100 seconds and the containment vent valve at about 59,000 seconds (Figure 5). In reality, according to later reports, the Fukushima staff actually sent one volunteer to hand-crank the valve in a very high radiation area.
Regardless, the venting of the RPV caused the hydrogen concentration in the PCV to increase. The subsequent venting of the PCV will have caused the hydrogen concentration in the reactor building (secondary containment), to increase as well (Figure 6). Ideally when venting of the primary containment takes place, material should go directly through the stack to the atmosphere. However in the case of Fukushima unit 1, there was no power for the fans to push the mixture of hydrogen, nitrogen, steam and fission gas (noble gases, iodine-131 and caesium-137) mixture through the piping, so a leak could have occurred from the piping into the reactor building. At 89400 seconds the sound of an explosion was heard. At this time the simulation shows that the concentration of hydrogen in the reactor building had exceeded 10%, making an explosion chemically possible.
Figure 7 shows that by 60,000 seconds the average temperature of the fuel had reached 2500°C, the melting point of uranium. Fuel melting would have likely begun at the centre of the core. Please note the temperature is in logarithmic scale for easy comparison with the original containment temperature. The simulated temperature transient agrees with the TEPCO report dated 15 May . At 106,440 seconds seawater injection into the core began via the fire water line. The simulation assumed large quantity and no leakage at the vessel bottom. More recent reports have indicated lower water levels than expected, suggesting that injected water may have drained out. Because we have no way to determine the leakage size, we have terminated the simulation run without going any further.
Near the end of the simulation (56,000 seconds), the containment mimic (Figure 8) shows that there is near entire core-melt. This finding is consistent with the later disclosure (15 May) by the Fukushima authorities .
Moreover, our sensitivity study shows that delaying the seawater injection time would result in complete melt through the vessel bottom and even corium-concrete interaction (CCI) in the drywell floor. Until now, there has been no evidence that such an event has occurred. If the injected water has actually leaked out of the RPV and stayed in the drywell bottom pedestal, it would have quenched the debris and prevented CCI from occurring. At this moment without further evidence from the plant, all of the above scenarios are quite possible.
Unit 4 spent fuel pool
Another significant event, the loss of coolant at Fukushima unit 4’s spent fuel pool, caused clad oxidation and radiological release.
Micro-Simulation used its SFP mimic to analyze the events that happened at Fukushima unit 4 on 18 March. The scenario assumed that the pool was filled with fuel that was freshly unloaded as well as fuel from previous cycles. Their combined decay heat was removed by the cooling systems.
The simulation shows that upon a loss of cooling or coolant event, the pool will heat up to boiling. Continued boiling would expose the top of the fuel assemblies. Heating up of the exposed fuel could in turn lead to cladding oxidation and radiological gas release [see also p16].
The scale of radiological release from a spent fuel pool could be even more serious than from a reactor, since a pool contains many more assemblies than a core. In addition, cracks can develop at the bottom of a spent fuel pool—especially in the cases of Mark I and II containments where the pool is located high above ground.
Based on the simulation, the author feels that a supplemental system, with its own water storage and lines to outside make-up tanks, should be installed to spray water on fuel pools in case coolant is lost. Its piping and power supply should be independent and hardened to assure effectiveness in adversity. With this in place there would be no need for helicopters or fire engines, both of which were employed at Fukushima.
The simulations described above were carried out using PCTRAN, PC-based nuclear simulation software for nuclear power plant training and analysis. Since its introduction in 1985, PCTRAN has been constantly upgraded and expanded. The current scope of the software covers severe accidents and dose release in performance as well as numerous types of PWR and BWR plant designs, including Generation III plants.
PCTRAN models have been supplied for BWR 2 plants at Oyster Creek in the United States and Tsuruga 1 in Japan. Several BWR 4 and 6 models have also been supplied for plants in Taiwan (Chinshan and Kuosheng), Switzerland (Liebstadt and Muehleberg), and the United States (Hope Creek and River Bend). Each one went through detailed benchmarking and verification. A modest modification of the specifications for those models in size and power level allows us to accurately model the Daiichi unit 1 plant.
PCTRAN has been installed at over 100 utilities, research organizations, and government agencies. Since 1998, it has been used by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) annual Advanced NPP Simulation Workshop as one of the sample models in the curriculum. Recently, one model of VVER-1000 simulator was ordered by the IAEA and delivered to Vietnam for its first plant, to be built by Russia.
Li-Chi Cliff Po is the founder and president of Micro-Simulation Technology, a PC-based simulation software developer in Montville, New Jersey, USA. He worked for GPU—the owner of Three Mile Island—for 20 years in its post-accident modification.
The present analysis marks the first time that a simulation tool has been used to analyze what has happened during a nuclear power plant emergency according to a brief set of boundary conditions. The results appear to be reasonable and consistent with later disclosures. At this moment of a couple months after the event, new findings are still being released. Extensive analytical work over all four of the worst-affected units, and the use of other sophisticated tools, are necessary to reach complete understanding of the events at Fukushima.
Micro-Simulation Technology, Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 PCTRAN Analysis: http://www.microsimtech.com/downloads/Fuku3.htm, visited 16 May 2011 | <urn:uuid:9fe1be69-6b0d-4967-8a1f-2fe0a4562925> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.neimagazine.com/features/featureevents-at-unit-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950878 | 2,814 | 2.859375 | 3 |
March 22nd, 2007
The line of ships at the Al Basra Oil Terminal (ABOT) stretches south to the horizon, patiently waiting in the searing heat of the Northern Arabian Gulf as four giant supertankers load up. Close by, two more tankers fill up at the smaller Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal (KAAOT). Guarding both terminals are dozens of heavily-armed U.S. Navy troops and Iraqi Marines who live on the platforms.
Rumors are rife among suspicious Iraqis about the failure to measure the oil flow. "Iraq is the victim of the biggest robbery of its oil production in modern history," blazed a March 2006 headline in Azzaman, Iraq's most widely read newspaper. A May 2006 study of oil production and export figures by Platt's Oilgram News, an industry magazine, showed that up to $3 billion a year is unaccounted for.
Almost four years after the DFI was created, officially logged crude sales have generated more than $80 billion. The U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) managed the DFI from the immediate aftermath of Saddam's removal until June 28, 2004, when the CPA was disbanded. During those 14 months, the CPA spent $19.6 billion of Iraq's DFI funds. The three succeeding governments have been officially in charge of the DFI revenues, although the influence of the U.S. military and political advisors has remained significant throughout. In the 32 months after the CPA left, the three governments spent $47 billion more.
Lieutenant Aaron Bergman, the U.S. Navy officer in charge of Mobile Security Squadron 7 at ABOT, says export authorities have "guesstimated" how much is being sold, with a back-of-the-envelope formula: Every centimeter a tanker lowers into the water equals 6,000 barrels of oil cargo.
This is the second in a series on the failure of reconstruction in Iraq. The first article, on healthcare in Iraq, may be read here: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14290 To contact the author, e-mail email@example.com | <urn:uuid:81812944-e6b0-44c0-b9f1-26889ac7f4ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mparent7777.blogspot.com/2007/04/mystery-of-missing-meters-accounting.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950602 | 458 | 1.984375 | 2 |
This is the last week to see Extended Collapse, an installation at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art by the architects Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo, who together are partners in Seattle's Lead Pencil Studio. It's a shame they're not better known for their extraordinary work, which brings an artistic sensitivity to subject matter that is convetionally architectural. Their recent appearance on the cover of Architect magazine, seated in Daniel's vintage pickup, was at least a step in the right direction.
(Disclosure: they are friends.) It doesn't help that they tend to work outside of the media spotlight, far from the East Coast. Their largest work to date, Maryhill Double, was in rural Oregon.
The idea for Extended Collapse was to return markers of the museum's original life as a movie theater into the gallery context. The effect is jarring, conjuring thoughts about the nature of history, preservation, and reuse. The ghostly remnants—a marquee, orchestra seating—suggest a sense of poetic loss, a kind of wistfulness that has always been a characteristic of their work.
I wish there were more major institutions that took chances on this kind of work. As Han noted in an interview about the project, "museums generally treat architecture as a didactic subject rather than an idea or medium." That's accurate. Monographic and thematic surveys have always served as the backbone of museum schedules. More recently, with the global economy and environment in crisis, there has been a welcome new focus on projects that promote the social impact of design.
Educating the public should remain a critical function of our leading institutions, but it shouldn't preclude the exploration of artistic projects that illuminate and enrich our lives in less programatic ways. This type of curation takes serious guts: projects by architects "dabbling" in artistic waters, or artists "dabbling" as architects, are ripe for critical attack—quite often justified. So be it.
A few weeks ago, my colleague Alexandra Lange asked for suggestions on how to reinvigorate the Cooper-Hewitt. Here's one: Activate that extraordinary and underutilized backyard with installations that do more than supplement the shows going on within. | <urn:uuid:92993f94-63cd-47d0-ba9b-750e404b59b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=30748 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961106 | 453 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Me your humble athiest:I am an athiest, I use to believe in Jesus, but that is silly because, imaginary gods aren't real.
Righteous Dude:Jesus loves you, when you say that you use to believe in Jesus, you were probably just going thru the motions, did you have a personal relationship with jesus?
Me your humble athiest:Yes, but I came to realize that my relationship was imaginary.
Righteous Dude: If you had a real personal relationship yada yada yada
Me your humble athiest:Told him my life story....reasons why I believed...how I came to realize that fear makes us create a lot of imaginary gods and monsters, and that the only real monsters are you and I, and that an imaginary god isn't going to do anything about that...etc.
Righteous Dude:I dont think you had a personal...........yada yada yada
That doesn't include my personal relationship with Aristotle. Because he's real and I talk to him every day, and if you don't take my claim seriously then you're a closed-minded bigot. It takes more faith to not have a relationship with Aristotle than it does to have one. I will logic for your id.
You mean Freud? Yes, he's a prophet. Christians have prayer. Philosophistians have logic. Religious people pray for your soul. I logic for your id, with the power of Freud the Prophet, psychoanalysis be unto him.
Quetzalcoatl shrank himself and sits on my shoulder and talks to me. He's also invisible, but he told me that a deadbeat dad is nobody to have a personal relationship with. So I told Jesus to take a hike. XD
The Q man is also friends with Buddha. Buddha agrees. | <urn:uuid:aec95c1d-140b-4e86-993f-b4133aaec7e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thinkatheist.com/forum/topics/you-never-had-a-personal?xg_source=activity&id=1982180%3ATopic%3A49671&page=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976265 | 379 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Yesterday Dave Briggs spotted that Stoke were looking for a new web editor, somebody to be ‘the councils (sic) on-line champion’. And they’re not alone in allocating a specific resource, Hull’s recent restructure included a new e-communications role with a similar brief. Both these roles are in Communications.
This prompted a discussion on Twitter (Storify here).
Brief conversations like these are one of the great side effects of using Twitter. But not everybody will see those tweets. So I thought I’d try to start capturing interesting exchanges in case there’s some value to those outside the conversation (the Alpha(Local)Gov post was originally prompted by something similar).
So what follows is my adding a bit of flesh to the opinions communicated in 140 characters. As you might have seen if you’ve looked at Storify, the discussion asked whether Communications is the right location for ‘social media’ (although neither role is Twitter Tsar).
First up the reasons why comms is the wrong place…
Public sector comms teams receive their share of criticism around being focused on marketing, clinging onto a broadcast mentality and being risk averse in the name of reputation management. The conclusion is that such teams will never achieve the benefits that are obvious to the choir because these are alien cultures to the ones needed when encouraging listening and engagement.
Another criticism relates to the future of the web in an organisation. To be fit for purpose digital activity needs to be considered equal to the traditional, offline, access channels. In focusing on this issue as part of the debate on channel shift, SOCITM have called for the web to be embedded within customer services rather than placed into a Comms (or ICT) silo. After all, who is better equipped to answer queries or communicate information than those on the front-line?
On the flip side you could argue that these roles have been created in comms teams because that’s a very logical place for them to be. Communications teams have historically been at the heart of their organisations for both internal and external purposes; they have cultivated relationships and have an appreciation of the council in macro rather than micro. As a result they are well situated to be the people providing the lead and the steer on a better use of the web.
And evidence suggests they already are providing that lead. Many, if not all, of those officers who are trailblazing and providing sparks of inspiration are drawn from Comms teams with successes that show it is possible to work in comms and not focus on broadcast or marketing.
It shouldn’t be a surprise! Although the web is clearly useful in giving cheaper transactions and providing clearer information it’s also a great opportunity to vocalise the often under appreciated narrative of the public sector. 24 hour experiments in Manchester and Walsall have used Twitter to paint their pictures and now Walsall100 will attempt to stand on the shoulders of many platforms to weave a richer tapestry. Story telling is a natural fit to the skills of a Communications team, would any of these have happened without their leadership?
Does it matter?
The jobs in Stoke and Hull could be important steps for these councils but the ambition could (should?) be that much of what those roles look like today are rendered obsolete. Success for these jobs would be making digital the default and embedding social media and web tools into service delivery across the organisation so that such discrete roles are no longer necessary.
In that world the reacting to customer service related queries via the relevant web channels becomes part and parcel of the job. Such operational activity is different to the strategic need these jobs are advertised to meet. In asking for an ‘on-line champion’ they’re looking for someone to build the necessary relationships and explore the possibilities with themto create a more future proofed and digitally effective organisation. They’re looking for a leader to facilitate culture change rather than simply someone who can tweet.
But that leadership will only be possible with the right mandate. It doesn’t matter where this job is located or how it is structured if what’s lurking behind the scenes are organisations committed to a marketing focused, broadcast heavy, tightly controlled digital presence. If they’re working for someone who is committed, supportive and enthused themselves then maybe these roles have a chance of putting the web at the heart of their organisations? | <urn:uuid:06d68c7e-a5fb-4b38-878e-9da7f83b1499> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bm.wel.by/2011/05/17/where-should-they-sit/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951266 | 911 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Texas Department of Health Immunization Information
This site provides information about the minimum state vaccines required for Texas public school entrance or attendance.
Note: The external links on this page are neither owned nor maintained by TEA. They are provided as a service to the public. The opinions expressed on the sites may not reflect the positions of the Agency. All URLs listed in this site have been tested for accuracy. Content accuracy and appropriateness, however, cannot be guaranteed over time as websites and their contents change constantly. The Agency takes no responsibility for difficulties which may result from the use of any website listed herein. Please notify the Webmaster if you find any dead links or inappropriate material.
Page last modified on 4/25/2010. | <urn:uuid:c2c50a77-94e0-4e73-b27f-9383d13542aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=842&ekfxmen_noscript=1&ekfxmensel=e9f6cb525_620_2147483682 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929184 | 148 | 1.828125 | 2 |
The findings contradict an essential paradigm of diabetes therapy ? that… (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles…)
Preliminary experiments in a handful of people suggest that it might be possible to reverse Type 1 diabetes using an inexpensive vaccine to stop the immune system from attacking cells in the pancreas.
Research in mice had already shown that the tuberculosis vaccine called BCG, prevents T cells from destroying insulin-secreting cells, allowing the pancreas to regenerate and begin producing insulin again, curing the disease.
Now tests with very low doses of the vaccine in humans show transient increases in insulin production, researchers will report Sunday at a San Diego meeting of the American Diabetes Assn.
The Massachusetts General Hospital team is now gearing up to use higher doses of the vaccine in larger numbers of people in an effort to increase and prolong the response.
The findings contradict an essential paradigm of diabetes therapy — that once the insulin-secreting beta cells of the pancreas have been destroyed, they are gone forever. Because of that belief, most research today focuses on using vaccines to prevent the cells' destruction in the first place, or on using beta cell transplants to replace the destroyed cells.
The new findings, however, hint that even in patients with long-standing diabetes, the body retains the potential to restore pancreas function if clinicians can only block the parts of the immune system that are killing the beta cells.
The results are "fascinating and very promising," said immunology expert Dr. Eva Mezey, director of the adult stem-cell unit at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. But Mezey noted that the results had been achieved in only a small number of patients and that they suggest the vaccinations would have to be repeated regularly.
The key player in the diabetes study is a protein of the immune system called tumor necrosis factor, or TNF. Studies by others have shown that if you increase levels of TNF in the blood, it will block other parts of the immune system that attack the body, especially the pancreas.
To raise TNF levels, Dr. Denise Faustman of Massachusetts General Hospital and her colleagues have been working with the BCG vaccine, known formally as Bacille Calmette-Guerin. BCG has been used for more than 80 years in relatively low doses to stimulate immunity against tuberculosis. More recently, it has been used in much higher doses to treat bladder cancer.
Faustman first reported her findings in mice in a 2001 paper in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, but scientists reviewing her findings for that journal were so skeptical that she was not allowed to refer to "regeneration" of the pancreas in the paper. Instead, she was told to say "restoration of insulin secretion by return of blood sugar to normal."
In 2003, she published a report in the journal Science in which she was able to use the word "regeneration," but that finding was met by an "explosion of skepticism," she said. Nonetheless, by 2007, "six international labs had duplicated the mouse experiments," she said. "We needed to move forward into humans."
In the human trial, Faustman and her colleagues studied six patients who had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes for an average of 15 years. They were randomly selected to receive either two doses of BCG spaced four weeks apart or a placebo.
Careful examination of those receiving the vaccine showed a decline of T cells that normally attack the pancreas. It also revealed a temporary but statistically significant elevation of an insulin precursor called C-peptide, an indication that new insulin production was occurring.
"If this is reproducible and correct, it could be a phenomenal finding," said Dr. Robert R. Henry of UC San Diego, who chaired the scientific program at the meeting. It suggests that once the destructive immune response is controlled, the body has the capability to produce more insulin, he said.
One of the patients receiving a placebo also showed a similar elevation of C-peptide, but that patient coincidentally became infected by Epstein-Barr virus, which is known to induce production of TNF.
The concentrations of BCG that the team used were much lower than they would have liked, but were the highest the Food and Drug Administration would permit, Faustman said.
She said she is now negotiating with the agency to use higher levels, which should produce a more pronounced effect, and to enroll more people.
The research is funded by philanthropists, primarily the Iacocca Family Foundation. | <urn:uuid:b2853b2b-5f1e-4c09-b6ed-87b5eeaeea9b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/25/health/la-he-bcg-diabetes-20110625 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964593 | 938 | 3.125 | 3 |
The America's Farmers campaign is an advocacy program celebrating U.S. farmers through communications, awards and special programs that highlight the importance of modern American agriculture.
This campaign features real farm families doing what they do every day – growing not only our food, but also our economy and our quality of life here in America. We're all connected to agriculture and it’s time we, as a nation, learn more about the industry that provides for us every day.
Monsanto is proud to work alongside farmers as they work to provide food, clothing and energy for our growing world. And as a U.S.-based agriculture company, we believe it is our responsibility to help tell the real stories of America's farmers.
America’s farm families have a great story to tell – and we want to help them tell it. That’s what the America’s Farmers campaign is all about.
Their story has been told on TV, on the web and across America. Now it's time for you to meet the farm families from the America's Farmers campaign. It's a chance for you to get their real stories. | <urn:uuid:86043230-3432-4dc6-b089-38ab6b08168e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://americasfarmers.com/about/campaign/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966641 | 232 | 1.59375 | 2 |
7 Ways to Avoid Being a Victim of Cyber Stalking
Following these tips from Mrs. Stun Gun can greatly reduce your risk of attracting a cyber stalker.
1. Never specify gender when registering online. In fact, only use your first initial so your name doesn't give your gender away.
2. Never give out personal information through the internet unless you are confident in the site.
3. Don't use your real name for your screen name or user ID.
4. Use a gender neutral screen name.
5. Don't share any personal information in online public spaces such as social media. I know this is the opposite of many social media sites, but having your whole life on the net is just asking for trouble.
6. Change your online passwords on a regular basis.
7. Don't sign or fill out guest books. They are simply a tool for gathering information and you don't know who is gathering it.
Although these tips sound obvious, Mrs. Stun Gun feels that they are a prudent reminder that women need to be cautious in an online world. Unfortunately, she has sold many stun guns or TASER® products to women that have become victims of stalkers they originally met over the internet. Don't be the next victim.
For additional articles on personal safety with an emphasis of safety for women, please see the blog at Mrs. Stun Gun.com. | <urn:uuid:7d59db36-30ef-4ec2-8d8d-92d1c5fa776c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mrsstungun.com/article_14/7-Ways-to-Avoid-Being-a-Victim-of-Cyber-Stalking.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924772 | 285 | 1.59375 | 2 |
This week I received one book in the mail - and I purchased a few bargains at Half Priced Books. It is a rather eclectic group of books, but all of them I am very excited to start reading.
Impressionism: Art Leisure and Parisian Society by Robert L. Herbert I first obtained this book from my local library, but after reading through the table of contents, I knew that I wanted to have a copy of my very own (which I ordered from Alibris books). The Impressionistic paintings focus on the years that I am most interested in using for my story (early 1860s to mid 1880s), and I love the way the book is structured according to content, rather than chronologically by author. The categories include:
- Paris Transformed
- Cafe and Cafe-concert
- Theater, Opera, and Dance
- Parks, Racetracks, and Gardens
- Suburban Leisure
- At the Seaside
Tales from Shakespeare by Tina Packer As I mentioned in my Sunday Salon post yesterday, I went to a Shakespearean Tea which featured scenes from As You Like It (I plan to post a summary of this event sometime later this week). Since I was not at all familiar with the play, I had planned to do some summary reading before attending. As luck would have it, I found this lovely book with a fairly detailed summary of several of the Bard's popular plays geared toward a middle-grade audience. Not only did this book prove valuable to me yesterday, but I plan to use this in my classes to introduce the Shakespearean unit. I think the more students know about the play before they begin to read it, the more they will understand it.
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo I simply cannot tell you how many classic children's books I found yesterday for a dollar. At one point I think I had about 10 in my basket (such delightful reads as Crispin by Avi, Harriet the Spy by Fitzhugh, Wind in the Willows by Grahame, The Royal Diaries (Elizabeth 1) by Lasky, and Catherine, Called Birdy by Cushman). But I decided that I would limit my purchases to just one. I have never read this book, and yet it receives high acclaims from all ages.
Vincent van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan While my Impressionist research ends around 1882 - before van Gogh appeared on the scene, I have always admired this artist's work and simply could not pass up another one dollar bargain. I also thought that by reading a book on this particular artist, it might give me ideas how to structure my own story.
So there you have it. Not my typical collection of books --- no current best-sellers or tried-and-true classics, but never-the-less books that I am very excited to read at my leisure.
Did the mailman bring you any literary treasures this week? | <urn:uuid:b0a386d6-3857-4a18-b641-c468233940ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mycozybooknook.blogspot.com/2010/04/mailbox-monday-42610.html?showComment=1272295817981 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968833 | 618 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Building adaptive capacity to cope with increasing vulnerability due to climatic change in Africa – A new approach
Journal Article, Draft
Open / Free access
Twomlow, S.; Mugabe, F.T.; Mwale, M.; Delve, R.; Nanja, D.; Carberry, P.; Howden, M.
Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C (2008) 33 (8-13) 780-787 [doi: 10.1016/j.pce.2008.06.048]
The world community faces many risks from climate change, with most scenarios indicating higher temperatures and more erratic rainfall in Africa. Predictions for southern Africa suggest a general decrease in total seasonal rainfall, accompanied by more frequent in-season dry spells that will significantly impact crop and livestock production, and hence economic growth in the region. The hardest hit will be the rural poor in the drier areas, where crop failure due to drought is already common and chronic food emergencies afflict the region in most years. Lessons can be learnt on how the rural poor currently cope with the vagaries of climate and these can be used to help them adapt their current production systems to the future threats of further climate change. But this assumes the institutions that work towards the economic empowerment of the rural poor have the requisite skills to understand their current coping strategies and how adaptation can be facilitated. A new initiative led by Midlands State University and the Zambian Meteorological Office proposes that improving the ability of institutions that train the ‘Future Change Agents’, who will subsequently support smallholder communities in adapting their agricultural practices to current climate variability, is the first step in building adaptive capacity to cope with future climate change. The capacity of African scientists, regional organizations and decision-makers in dealing with the issues of climate change and adaptation will be enhanced on a continuing basis, and the impacts of their agricultural development programs improved. | <urn:uuid:bf93febe-6145-4c89-bc7c-503d7757c579> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/Output/183618/Default.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906657 | 389 | 2.453125 | 2 |
hist-games: Dominos, Cards
kuijt at umiacs.umd.edu
Sun Jul 20 06:35:35 PDT 1997
On Sat, 19 Jul 1997, Jeff Singman wrote:
> > I'd be interested in historical references on Dominos, and suggested
> > games... Any thoughts ?
> I did look into this a bit a while back, & the evidence suggested that the
> game dated to the 18 or 19c (I can't remember precisely). A single domino
> was found with the Mary Rose wreckage (early 16c), but it seems likely to
> have found its way there much later.
Michael Dummett wrote a short piece in the history section of his "Game of
Tarot" (a book I heartily recommend) dating the introduction of dominos in
Europe to the 18th century (p35). Dummett's scholarship is impeccable.
I concurr; the Mary Rose domino seems to be an infall.
> On a different topic, I have been searching over the years for a decent
> deck of cards suitable to 16 or 17c use. One outfit in Texas produces
> rather a handsome deck, but it is spoilt by the presence of numbers and a
> back-pattern, both obtrusively inappropriate for a deck of the period. I
> usually end up using an 18c repro--but have to leave out the Ace of spades
> since it includes the name of King George--obviously not a great option
> either! Does anyone know of any decent alternatives?
I make (used to make) two playing card decks, one German-suited based upon
the Stukely deck (16th century), and one French-suited based upon the deck
from Lyon, c.1515. The Stukely-type cards are shown in a number of books,
including some in figure 25b of Hoffman's book "The Playing Card"; the
Lyon deck is shown in figure 44a of the same book.
Hoffman, Detlef, _The Playing Card, an illustrated history_. Edition
Leipzig, 1973. (Edition Leipzig seems to be the publisher; the publisher
information in the front of the book is sparse, and does not include an
I don't make the decks much any more -- too much bloody work; I've
probably made 200 of each of them. In theory I'd be interested in having
the decks commercially printed, as the Texas guy did with his design; I
haven't looked into this yet.
If you want 17th century decks, the one available from Williamsburg is
very good, I think. It is an early 18th century deck, but probably as
close as you're going to get without making one yourself. It has no back
pattern, and no corner indices. The ace of spades is still marked,
though, but you could easily enough buy two decks and hand-mark the deuce
of one to be an ace, then substitute it into the deck you want to have no
George Rex ace. Playing cards get bent and lost all the times, and
substituting one from another partial deck had to have been done then, as
now, when a deck has a spoiled or lost cards.
David Kuijt / Dafydd ap Gwystl in the SCA
I wrote a short piece five or six years ago on acquiring period card decks
that surveys the commercially-available card decks and their dates.
Some of the information is a little dated, but you may still find it
useful. Here it is below:
Acquiring Period Card Decks
You need appropriate playing cards to play period card games.
Modern decks, with their corner indices, two headed court cards, and
modern design, are unsatisfactory. Luckily it is fairly easy to find
period card decks. Some artisans in the SCA already produce them in
small quantities, and many reproductions of period card decks are
available through some mail-order companies.
To assist the reader in acquiring period card decks, here is a
short review of a number of decks that are available commercially.
Medieval Miscellania (7006 Raleigh Rd., Annandale VA 22003) carries
some of them, as do many other merchants in the SCA. Most of the
decks described below are available through U.S. Games Systems (179
Ludlow Street, Stamford CT 06902. "Best of Cards" Catalog $2.00).
The Tarot decks, in particular, can sometimes be found among the
morass of Ryder-Waite and other divinatory decks at game or hobby
stores. All prices listed for decks below are based upon the
U.S. Games Systems catalog, and may change.
Many of the commercial decks I review below are reproductions
based on surviving decks from after 1600. Playing card designs became
static in the 16th century, and went through long periods without
significant changes thereafter, so reproductions of post 1600 card
decks are often similar (or identical, in some cases) to decks that
were used in the 16th century.
In addition to the commercial decks, some few SCA artisans make
period-design card decks. I make a French-suited deck and a
German-suited one. Mistress Niccola Sebastiani, of Myrkfaelyn in the
East Realm, makes a beautiful German-suited deck. These decks (hers
and both of mine) are hand printed on thick paper; mine are colored by
stencils. If any artisans reading this want advice or assistance in
creating their own deck, I would be more than willing to help.
French Suited Cards
I. Hardy deck (inexpensive) 52 cards, French suits
- excellent reproduction of 18th century cards
These cards are available at Colonial Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Va). They are a beautiful
reproduction of the standard English and Rouen pattern that dates back to the middle or late 16th
century. They are also packaged in a manner very close to that used in the 16th century.
La Pucelle ($7.50) 52 cards, French suits
- reproduction of a deck attributed to Jehan Personne of Lyon in 1493
A good deck, somewhat spoiled by the addition of modern corner indices.
Louis XIII ($7.50) 52 cards, French suits
- reproduction of a deck by Jean Volay of Thiers around 1640
A good deck, based upon designs that go back to the early 16th century, somewhat spoiled by the
addition of modern corner indices.
Henri IV ($7.50) 52 cards, French suits
- reproduction of a deck attributed to Vincent Goyrand of Paris around 1600
A good deck, again somewhat spoiled by the addition of modern corner indices.
Guyenne ($7.50) 52 cards, French suits
- reproduction of 18th century Bordeaux deck of Jean Grossard
The original designs are close to period, but the deck is slightly spoiled by the addition of modern
German Suited Cards
Modern German playing cards (inexpensive) 48 cards (no Ace), German suits
- Modern, but some decks are acceptable
It is hard, but sometimes possible to find modern decks of German suited playing cards. Most of these
decks have both corner indices and double-headed court cards, however. If you can, find a deck with
full-figure court cards and stylized iconography and costumes.
Spanish Suited Cards and Spanish Suited Tarot Cards
Modern Spanish playing cards (inexpensive) 48 cards (no 10), Spanish suits
- Modern, but most decks are acceptable
There are a number of modern decks of Spanish playing cards that are suitable for use. The Naipes
Experience Co. (Richmond, Va--sorry, but I have no further address) produces one such deck. These
decks have unobtrusive corner indices and full-figure court cards.
Gotica ($7.50) 40 cards (missing 8,9,10), Spanish suits
- excellent reproduction of 17th century Spanish cards
This deck is exactly suited for the games Primero, Tressette, and Ombre. It is a standard design
traceable back to the 16th century, and appropriate for anywhere south of the Alps at that time. Sadly,
I have heard that the manufacturer is no longer producing this deck. If you can find one, buy it.
Tarot de Paris ($14.00) 78 cards, Tarot (Spanish suits + permanent Trump suit)
- reproduction of an early 17th century Tarot deck from Paris
Another excellent Tarot deck, reproducing the oldest complete Tarot deck. The original dates back to
around the 1620s.
Italian Suited Tarot Cards
Tarot Rhenan ($12.95) 78 cards, Tarot (Italian suits + permanent Trump suit)
- reproduction of 18th century Tarot deck
This is a fine deck, related to the Tarot de Marseilles. The design is perfectly appropriate for period
Tarot de Jacques Vieville ($12.95) 78 cards, Tarot (Italian suits + permanent Trump suit)
- reproduction of Jacques Vieville's deck of around 1650
An excellent Tarot deck. Also perfectly appropriate for period card games.
Swiss 1JJ Tarot ($7.50) 78 cards, Tarot (Italian suits + permanent Trump suit)
- a modern deck
The iconography on this deck derives directly from the Tarot de Marseilles, and is acceptable. If you
can't find any reproduction decks (e.g. Tarot de Paris, Vieville Tarot) then this deck is fine. The
Swiss 1JJ Tarot is also very common--most "Tarot" displays at game or magic stores will have this
deck. If you can get a good version of the Tarot de Marseilles, which is also common, choose that
instead of the Swiss 1JJ Tarot.
Visconti-Sforza ($30) 78 cards, Tarot (Italian suits + permanent Trump suit)
- superb reproduction of a middle 15th century hand-painted Tarot deck
Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. Four cards were recreated to replace missing cards in the original deck.
This deck is attributed to the workshop of Bonifacio Bembo, around 1447.
Cary-Yale Visconti ($30) 86 cards, Tarot (Italian suits + permanent Trump suit)
- superb reproduction of another middle 15th century hand-painted Tarot deck
Also gorgeous. 19 cards were recreated to replace missing cards in the original deck. This deck has
male and female Knights and Pages, giving it 86 cards instead of the normal 78. This one is also
credited to Bonifacio Bembo, around 1445.
Vandenborre Bacchus Tarot ($12.00) 78 cards, Tarot (Italian suits + permanent Trump suit)
- reproduction of a 1770 Belgian Tarot deck
This deck seems to be a good approximation of one of the common patterns for France in the late 16th
Tarot of Marseilles ($12.95) 78 cards, Tarot (Italian suits + permanent Trump suit)
- there are many decks with this name. The Boechat/Heron deck is a reproduction from 1761.
Any deck with this name has the Tarot de Marseilles pattern, which dates back into period. The
Boechat/Heron deck is the best one, reproducing a block-printed and stencilled deck. Fournier's
"Marseilles Tarot" is perhaps the worst, being a redrawing and interpretation by a modern artist.
Versions of this deck are very popular and easily found.
Tarot Classic ($12.00) 78 cards, Tarot (Italian suits + permanent Trump suit)
- modern deck
This deck is similar to several period decks, including the Vieville Tarot and Tarot de Marseilles. The
Coins suit is called pentacles, and the Baton suit is called Wands, but it is (minimally) acceptable if you
can't find anything else.
Variant Suited Cards
Hofamterspiel ($30) 48 cards, Variant suits (arms of Bohemia, France, Germany, and Hungary)
- superb reproduction of a 1445 block-printed and hand-painted German deck
The variation in sizes of these cards is reproduced as well as the (simply beautiful) iconography, so
they are not easy to play with. Further, there are no "number" cards in the normal sense--each suit
portrays 12 different court positions or jobs, from King down to beggar. If I owned only one deck,
this would be it.
Jost Amman (price unknown) 52 cards, Variant suits (Books, Printer's Balls, Vases, and Flagons)
- exact reproduction of Jost Amman's 1588 deck
Beautiful. If you find this deck, buy it. (Mine was a gift--I don't know where it was purchased). A
superb example of late German engraving.
Mantegna Tarocchi ($30) 50 cards, Variant suits (5 suits of 10 cards each)
- excellent reproduction of a 1465 odd copper-engraved deck
This deck is useless for playing card games, but has some really nice artwork. The suits are (in
order): the Conditions of Man, Apollo and the Muses, Liberal Arts, Cosmic Principles, and
Firmaments of the Universe.
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Amending the Public Safety Act
While the attention of the media has been focused on the selective revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from certain areas of Jammu and Kashmir (this can be done by the state government by denotifying certain areas under the Disturbed Areas Act), the state government has gone ahead and announced amendment to another much-reviled law — the Public Safety Act (PSA).
The state Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here okayed promulgation of the ordinance titled “The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (Amendment) Ordinance 2011” thus approving among other recommendations that a minor (under 18 years of age) would no longer be detained under PSA. Besides, the detention period under PSA shall be reduced from the existing one year to three months in case of public disorder and from otherwise three years to six months in a case involving security of the State. However, in both situations there is provision for revision and the detention period can be extended to 1 year and 2 years respectively.
The ordinance was necessitated since state legislature is not in session, it would be now send to Governor for his consent and promulgation. The ordinance provides that a detainee under PSA would be communicated in his/her own language about grounds of detention and all the formalities for slapping PSA on an accused shall be completed within six weeks instead of eight weeks as was given under the existing provisions of the Act. Besides, Chairman of Public Safety Advisory Board can be appointed for two terms only.[GK]
There will always be question marks about the impact of reducing the detention period under the PSA because the state government has been known to invoke the PSA against suspects immediately after they are released, whether on completion of the detention period or by the orders of the court. For instance, state police recently slapped PSA on Dukhtaran-e-Millat’s notorious chief, Asiya Andrabi for the seventh time since 2008. The court quashed her detention orders under PSA thrice and issued release orders in her favour but she has always been rearrested immediately.
But the real plus here is the increase in the age limit of detainees to 18 years. The state authorities have long been pilloried for treating boys above the age of 16 as adults and detaining them without trial under the PSA (and ordinary criminal law), holding them in regular prisons along with the adult prisoners. This step must be welcomed by all parties, irrespective of their political positions.
The amendment to the PSA is a good political move by the state government. It is both a reward to the Kashmiris for the peaceful summer for 2011 and an incentive to replicate this normalcy in the following years.
But the question remains. How do we assess this normalcy? What are the indicators of this return to normalcy? The first and foremost is the lack of violence, both due to terror strikes and by street protests in the Valley this year. Second, end of Hizbul Mujahideen as a terror group. Third, elimination of the top Lashkar-e-Taiba leadership in Kashmir. Fourth, the estimated number of active militants in the Valley, which are barely a fraction of the thousands a few years ago. Sixth, nearly 11 lakh tourists visited Kashmir this year. Seventh, Germany revised its travel advisory for Kashmir and other countries may follow suit. Eighth, overwhelming participation by the locals in Panchayat elections.
We can add another indicator to this list now. It is the must-read story in Outlook magazine of ex-militants, who had exfiltrated to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, are hoodwinking the ISI to return to their homes in Jammu and Kashmir. This year has seen at least 16 ex-militants arrive on the Indian side. According to Jammu and Kashmir police, there are some 3,000 Indian Kashmiris eager to return from PoK. This proves that not only is indigenous separatist militancy virtually dead in Kashmir, the hardcore ex-militants are now seeking their future in a peaceful and normal Jammu and Kashmir.
Finally, all these indicators are a testimony to the tremendous effort put in by the security forces to bring the situation to this stage. Only an ungrateful nation would choose to forget their sacrifices and even worse, demonise them, as the counterinsurgency in Kashmir moves towards a political endgame. As we keep moving forward, let us not leave anyone behind. | <urn:uuid:76841e4e-125e-4721-825f-9800f666200f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pragmatic.nationalinterest.in/tag/normalcy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952381 | 926 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Analyzing Assessing and Revising
Connecting to History and Culture
Communication and Collaboration
From 1803 until 1805, explorers Lewis and Clark set out to map and explore land obtained through the Louisiana Purchase. Sacagawea, a Shoshone Native American, served as an interpreter and guide on the expedition. One of her prized possessions was her wampum belt, or girdle. Although wampum were used as currency by the Europeans, Native Americans used wampum belts to record history and tell stories. In this lesson, students explore this Native American craft and design and create their own belts.
Learn about Sacagawea and her importance to the success of the Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery expedition.
Define wampum and its use in European economy.
Recognize that wampum belts are used as a method of Native American communication.
Write a description of a prized possession and what its loss would mean.
Create a simple wampum pattern using computer technology.
Create a group pattern using a mathematical grid system. Teaching Approach
Group or Individual Instruction
What You'll Need
Review the history of Lewis, Clark, and the Corps of Discovery. Possible resources include:
Prior Student Knowledge
Students should be familiar with:
Explorers Lewis and Clark (which can be taught as part of this lesson)
Large Group Instruction
Obtain or print ¼-inch graph paper. Test virtual wampum belt maker.
Resources in Reach
Here are the resources you'll need for each activity, in order of instruction.
photograph of Native American and wampum belts located under 'Resources in Reach'.
2. Ask follow-up questions about the photograph.
What do you see in this photograph?
Who might this individual be? (
The individual is a Mohawk Indian in Canada displaying his wampum belts.)
What is on display?
What are they made of?
What are the predominant colors?
How do you think they were made?
What do you think they represent?
3. Read excerpt from
The Indian girl who led them, Sacajawea by Amy Jane Maguire Focus specifically on page 69 as it relates to Sacagawea and her wampum belt or girdle. (Start at “One of Bird-woman's best cherished” … end at “so much as giving up her girdle.”)
4. Ask follow-up questions about the excerpt.
Who was Bird-woman?
What is a girdle (in this context)?
How do you think she felt when she gave up something that meant so much to her?
What is a prized possession?
What do you have that you consider to be a prized possession?
5. Have students write a short essay on a personal prized possession. The essay should contain two paragraphs. The first should discuss the prized possession and why it is important to the writer; the second should describe how the writer might feel if he/she had to give up the prized possession.
1. Introduce or review Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea, and the Corps of Discovery. Explain that Sacagawea was critical to the Corps’ success in traveling through new lands. She communicated with Native American tribes along the way, introduced the Corps to native plants for food and medicine, and guided the explorers over land she was familiar with but that was new to them. (The level of detail for this part of the lesson will depend on curriculum objectives for this age/grade level.)
2. Introduce the making of wampum beads and their origin. Wampum (wampumpeage) are white shell beads made from the whelk shell and blue/purple shell beads made from the quahog shell. Show photos of the two shells in the gallery named 'Shells Gallery' located under 'Resources in Reach'.
3. Introduce use of wampum as currency for Europeans. The Europeans who had come to current-day United States used wampum in place of coins. The blue beads were twice as valuable as the white beads. The Native Americans, however, did not use them as currency between tribes. They only used them to trade with the Europeans.
4. Introduce use of wampum belts as a means of communication for Native Americans. Native Americans used wampum belts to record history, tell stories, and communicate information. They were prized possessions among Native Tribes and often used in ceremony. (Show photograph of Mohawk Native American and wampum belts again.) Wampum belts were made on a weaving loom. Show illustration of Native American weaving loom located under 'Resources in Reach'.
1. Make a virtual wampum belt with a geometric pattern. Have each student weave a virtual wampum belt using one type of blue bead and one type of white bead. Print the designs. (Note to teacher: the virtual wampum belt maker limits students to a design that is 8 beads wide by 50 beads long.)
2. Have students determine the monetary value of their wampum belts. Each student should determine the value of his or her belt using the following ratio:
6 white beads : 3 blue beads : 1 penny
Count the blue beads. Count the white beads. Use the ratio to determine the monetary value of each color. Add them together.
For example, if the student’s belt contains 200 white beads and 200 blue beads, the value would be:
200 blue beads = 200 / 3 = 66.7 pennies = 67 pennies
200 white beads = 200 / 6 = 33.3 pennies = 33 pennies
(Calculations that end with a .5 of higher should round up. Calculations that end with a .4 or lower should round down.)
Total = 67 + 33 pennies = 100 pennies = $1.00
Have each student exchange his or her belt with another student to double-check the calculated value.
Arrange the class’s belts from lowest value (more white) to highest value (more blue). Remind students that blue beads were rarer and had more value to the Europeans.
3. Explain that these patterns can tell stories or communicate messages. Show students the Iroquois flag located under 'Resources in Reach', which is based on a wampum belt weaving. Ask students: What does the flag symbolize? What was the designer trying to communicate?
4. Create a wampum belt that communicates information or tells a story. Divide the class into teams. Each team should design a blue and white wampum belt using graph paper. Suggest that the design use an odd-number of beads for the width and length so that the design will have a center. The design must fit on one sheet of graph paper.
1. Create a wampum belt exhibit. Display the wampum belts designs in the classroom.
2. Have students write a story based on a wampum belt design. Assign each student to one of the designs (not his or her group’s design). Students should write a story inspired by the design. (There is no right or wrong story.) Post the stories near the original designs.
3. Reflect on the stories. Have each group read and discuss the stories that were inspired by its design. Were they successful in communicating the information they wanted to communicate? What could they have done differently?
4. Present each wampum belt and the story behind it. The group should present its original design and the story to the class.
Use the assessment rubric to assess your students work. You may find this rubric under 'Resources in Reach'.
The National Standards For Arts Education:
Grade 5-8 Visual Arts Standard 1
Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
Grade 5-8 Visual Arts Standard 2
Using knowledge of structures and functions
Grade 5-8 Visual Arts Standard 3
Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas
Grade 5-8 Visual Arts Standard 4
Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
Grade 5-8 Visual Arts Standard 5
Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others
Grade 5-8 Visual Arts Standard 6
Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines
Language Arts Standard 1
Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
Language Arts Standard 2
Uses the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing
Language Arts Standard 3
Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions
Math Standard 1
Uses a variety of strategies in the problem-solving process
Math Standard 9
Understands the general nature and uses of mathematics
Historical Understanding Standard 2
Understands the historical perspective
Common Core/State Standards
Select state and grade(s) below, then click "Find" to display Common Core and state standards. | <urn:uuid:0441493a-503c-4250-ab8e-b4190e111fe7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/lessons/grade-5/Lewis_And_Clark_Prized_Possessions.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921683 | 1,860 | 3.359375 | 3 |
|Scientific Name:||Psephurus gladius|
|Species Authority:||(Martens, 1862)|
|Red List Category & Criteria:||Critically Endangered A2cd; C2a(i); D ver 3.1|
|Reviewer/s:||Pourkazemi, M., Zhang, H., Du, H. & Smith, K.|
The population of the Chinese Paddlefish decreased due to historical overfishing and habitat degradation. In 1981, the construction of the Gezhouba Dam in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River blocked the migration route of this species, preventing adult fish moving to the upper reaches of the river to spawn. Only two adult specimens (both females) have been recorded since 2002, despite recent surveys to re-discover the species. Juveniles were last recorded in the lower reaches of the river in 1995. It is expected that there are less than 50 mature individuals left in the wild and this species is assessed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct), though more extensive surveys are needed in areas across the species range in order to confirm whether or not individuals of this species remain.
|Range Description:||The Chinese Paddlefish is endemic to the Yangtze River (including the brackish water of the mouth) in China.|
|Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.|
From the mid-20th century the population of the Chinese Paddlefish decreased significantly. Incidental capture data between 1982-2008 from the upper, mid and lower sections of the Yangtze River indicate the largest number of this species found during this period was in 1985, when 32 individuals were captured in the lower section (below the Gezhouba Dam) (Zhang et al. 2009). In 1995 juveniles of this species were recorded below the Gezhouba Dam of the Yangtze River (Chen 2008).
Two specimens (1.2 kg weight, 47 cm tail length; 1.3 kg weight, 50 cm tail length) were found in the Chongqing reach in 1992 (Chen 2007). In 2002, a female Chinese Paddlefish (body length 330 cm, weight 117 kg) was captured in the section of Jiangsu Nanjing, Yangtze River. Urgent attempts were made to save this individual, but it only survived in captivity for 30 days. On Jan 24th, 2003, a female (body length 352 cm) was accidentally caught in Yibin, Sichuan Province China (upper stream of Yangtze River). It was captured, tagged with an ultra-sonic tag and released by Dr. Wei’s team of the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences. Unfortunately, after 12 hours of tracking, communication was disconnected. Between 2006 and 2008, Dr.Wei’s team used a number of boats to deploy 4,762 setlines, 111 anchored setlines and 950 drift nets covering a stretch of 412.5 km of the upper Yangtze River in a bid to catch the fish, but they failed to catch a single individual (Zhang et al. 2009). The team also used hydroacoustic equipment that beams sound through the water to create a picture of the river and anything in it. This identified nine possible targets, of which two could be paddlefish (Zhang et al. 2009). This species is considered to be the verge of extinction. Artificial reproduction has not been successful.
|Habitat and Ecology:||
This paddlefish is considered anadromous (spends at least part of it's life in the sea and migrates upriver to reproduce). This species occurs in broad surfaced main streams of large rivers, staying usually in middle and lower layers of the water column, and occasionally swims into large lakes. Its spawning period is in March and April. Spawning sites are located in the upper reaches of the Changjiang River. Available information also indicates that spawning took place in the lower Jinsha River between Shuifu and Yibin (Liu and Zeng 1988; Li et al. 1997).
The largest specimen recorded was 7 m in length and weighed over several thousand kg.
The Chinese Paddlefish has historically been overfished. The long-life history of this species (e.g. late sexual maturation and large size) means the population will take a longer time to recover from depletion.
In 1981 the Gezhouba Dam was built in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, blocking the migration route of this species and preventing adult fish moving to the upper reaches of the river to spawn.
Fries of P. gladius form schools along the river, thus becoming easily captured in traditional Chinese fishing nets and set nets (Zhang et al. 2009).
P. gladius is listed as a first-class state protected animal in China. Due to its endemicity and rarity, this species possesses significant academic and economic importance. This species was listed on CITES Appendix II in 1998.
An integrated rescue programme was initiated in 2005. This extensive programme hopes to re-discover this species. It is also investigating habitat and plans to conduct studies on foraging behaviours and instigate captive breeding programmes, propagation for release, preservation of genetic resources, and even cloning (Zhang et al. 2009).
The “Protective Laws of Aquatic Products Resources” should be implemented and increased awareness of the significance of the protection of the species is needed (Wei Qiwei et al. 2003).
Current studies hope to investigate artificial breeding with the hope of releasing captive bred fries into rivers, ponds and reservoirs. The success of this work depends upon finding wild adult specimens.
|Citation:||Qiwei, W. 2010. Psephurus gladius. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 May 2013.|
|Feedback:||If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided| | <urn:uuid:d8a0486d-7ba3-469c-b90f-f40d76d3e0aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/18428/0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914295 | 1,288 | 3.015625 | 3 |