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'The Way' vs. many ways
by, 05.07.2009 at 06.54 AM (654 Views)
'The Way' vs. many ways may be better understood just with this one scripture:
Proverbs 16:25 (AMPL)
There is a way that seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death.
Many good intentioned, well-meaning ppl have justified their beliefs and behaviors, but usually in 'their own strength!' I believe that is called 'man's own works.' And it is more than obvious that man's own works wont get him to God and in fact usually results in man's pride in self.
Those with good intentions, many being good stewards of God's creation (altho they wont call it God's creation!), are well-meaning such as the environmental fascists and PETA-maniacs, but put the creation before mankind, and in fact will 'kill ppl' for their deep-seated 'noble' beliefs.
Romans 1:25 (AMPL)
Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature (or creation) rather than the Creator...
So good intentions and being well-meaning doesnt mean you are on 'the right path!'
I heard some teaching once that tried to make sense out of 'going to heaven' based on the many scenarios of ppl's knowledge of God. Basically it said,
"Those before the Law (or without the laws of Moses) will be judged on 'their conscience.' Those after the Law or with the knowledge of the laws of Moses will be judged by that Law. And those after the Law and with the knowledge and acceptance of the work at the cross will be judged under Grace!"
This makes sense when ppl think about all the ppl in the world that haven't either heard the O.T. Laws or the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In addition to that line of thought, many 'believers' have come thru the 'ministries of man' and have suffered ship-wrecked faith after those men have fallen (usually from pride or lust), and reject the modern, formal church of today. I have come thru the fall of not only many big-name evangelists, but also local pastors and priests during my walk on this earth, and have come to accept this scripture in keeping my eyes off of man:
Thus says the LORD, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind.."
I have seen man after man, and woman after woman, fall over time with the pride coming from self and the lusts of the flesh, and DO NOT put my eyes upon man----I do not worship man other than the Son of Man, and even tho highly respecting the Apostle Paul (having written 1/2 the N.T.), I admire that saint, but even he admitted the 'Thorn in the Flesh' that was given him by God (persecutions & afflictions wherever he went--keep reading, folks!) to keep him from elevating himself from the revelations given to him by God.
So, the best advice that I can give newbie Christians and those who have suffered ship-wrecked faith by having their eyes on mankind, is... DONT! And in that respect, you will never be disappointed and will have your eyes on the Son of Man, who is now sitting as the Son of God in His power.
After some digressing, bear with me folks, for here is 'my' bottom line in getting on the path to God: Do you want to be judged under your conscience or your own righteousness, of which the word says that 'all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God;' or by the O.T. Law, which says that 'no flesh will be justified' after the cross (Galatians 2:16 "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified); or...., take the grace 'Get out of Jail FREE' card, having on 'His robe of Righteousness, and not being judged worthy by our own works?!!'
To me, there is NO option... | <urn:uuid:d0a4b141-d337-43a4-bdfb-c77ac428f037> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/entry.php?b=724 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965546 | 919 | 1.625 | 2 |
Bring plenty of sunscreen and waterproofs - and don't forget a sunhat.
A nice strong but snuggly rug/blanket is essential. It's great to sit on during the day and great to wrap them up in during the evening, as is plastic sheet to sit on if it gets wet.
A wheelbarrow, off-road wagon or other form of push/pull impromptu transportation for young children is useful. Not only can it help you cart about all that you need to cater for every child-related eventuality, it will also relieve those inevitably tired little legs. The Festival site is massive, kids will get tired and unless you are happy to carry them for a long time, you need some transport.
Bring pre-packed drinks in reusable bottles and canteens.
Avoid a trek to the toilets in the dead of the night by bringing a bucket with a tight fitting lid (you may find it useful too!).
A first aid kit (with first aid cream, bandaids, wipes, insect repellant, sunscreen, etc) is essential.
Bring biodegradable wet wipes - they are useful for everything from your daily wash, wiping hands before eating and wiping bums. Make sure to dispose of them properly and pack them out!!
Pack plenty of snacks and breakfast bars. It will save on washing up, save a load of cash for better things and they also come in handy for the bedtime "I'm hungry" calls.
There are quieter, less crowded family camping areas for those with young children. Go to the info booth for information about these areas or check the festival site map.
Make a plan for being a responsible parent or guardian. Keep adult-related activities away from vicinity of children.
Minors and children MUST be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times while at the festival.
Big crowds can be daunting for children, to avoid separating from them, give your kids the same advice you would if you were anywhere else: don't go off with strangers or anyone without telling you first. If they get lost, have them ask for help from a security guard, any Festival staff with a radio, another adult with children, or to go straight to the Information Booth or Kids Village areas.
It's really helpful if children have their parent's mobile number on them - write it in marker pen on your child's arm, so we can contact you, but not their name. If you don't have a phone just the name of the area you are camped in is helpful.
If you lose your children ask for advice at any festival area, or from any Festival official. Found kids will be taken to the Info Booth.
Parents and guardians should make arrangements within your group of friends and partners for someone to be supervising your children at all times, even in the Kidz Village.
Sunday May 20th, 2012 5:14PM - Start of eclipse 6:30PM - Maximum Eclipse (lasting 4min 40sec) 7:36PM - End of eclipse | <urn:uuid:c0f3d9d7-c4df-4be3-a159-dc558d089289> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pyramideclipse.com/arrival/festiquette/kidtips/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945277 | 621 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Veterinarians work at the intersection of animal and human health. The intricate connections between people, animals, and our environment create a set of challenges that link the health and well-being of each group to the other. This dynamic—and the need for more people who are qualified to address the burgeoning challenges associated with it—are at the root of a gift from the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation to Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
Created for the purpose of protecting and improving the welfare of animals of all kinds with a focus on cats and dogs, the promotion of veterinary programs, and the protection of wildlife, the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation has awarded the College of Veterinary Medicine a $300,000 grant to be distributed evenly over three years. The resources will be used to support experiential learning as well as research in the areas of shelter and conservation medicines.
“John and Jane shared their lives with a number of animals and enjoyed nature very much,” said Marsha Sterling, Chair of the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation. “Jane established the Foundation to honor her husband. In doing so, she has given us a rare and wonderful opportunity to consider the entire spectrum of animal care. When we learned from fellow Trustee Dr. Marnie FitzMaurice of the potential opportunities to fund work in the areas of shelter medicine and conservation medicine, we realized that we could honor the Wiederholds’ wishes by inspiring students to pursue these avenues of the profession—as practitioners and as researchers.”
Each year, college faculty will be invited to submit proposals for programs and research investigations that will provide additional and innovative opportunities for veterinary and post-veterinary students to engage in hands-on work or conduct basic or applied research that fosters a greater awareness of issues related to animal welfare and environmental conservation. Programs may be conducted during the academic year or over the summer and may address some of society’s most critical needs: pet overpopulation, wildlife preservation and conservation, and animal cruelty, to name a few.
“I continue to be grateful to the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation for their ongoing interest in supporting conservation and shelter medicine programs at Cornell,” said Michael I. Kotlikoff, Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell. “The Foundation’s support has a significant impact on the College’s work to train students and to advance knowledge in areas that serve the world’s most vulnerable animals. Together, we are preparing a new generation of professionals who will explore the interdependent relationships that exist between all species and our habitat. Through these initiatives, our students will learn first-hand how these relationships affect the health of animals wild and domestic, and sustain a well balanced environment.” | <urn:uuid:30fb8e6d-1ff5-490e-bd0e-dc3b5774631b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vet.cornell.edu/news/wiederhold.cfm | 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 | 0.933066 | 594 | 2.125 | 2 |
Principal Asenath Andrews has been like a surrogate mother to thousands of teen moms in Detroit. When she first started working with pregnant teens, Andrews taught in a school that was more a space where girls waited to give birth rather than an institution of learning. Dismayed by an early education program that consisted of a giant crib for the babies who weren’t given up for adoption, she decided to create a healthy environment for teen moms and their children by founding the Catherine Ferguson Academy in 1986.
Today, students drop their children off at the on-site nursery before going to class. Throughout the day, Andrews, an ever-present authority, peppers the girls with sayings like, “When you had a baby only the baby came out, your brain didn’t.”
Principal Andrews built the Academy through pure innovation, designing unorthodox curricula when necessary. She aims to rebuild the girls’ self-esteem in order to show them their lives aren’t over because they’re teen moms. In fact, she tells her students they’re even more responsible now for educating themselves, so they pass along the value of education to their children. A unique requirement of the school, for example, is that each girl must be moving on to higher education before graduation.
The teaching staff at Catherine Ferguson Academy works to instill a sense of sustainability through an inventive urban gardening program. At first, Andrews had the new mothers grow small vegetables behind the Academy, but as the school expanded so did the garden—now a full-fledged working farm. They sell their vegetables and raise rabbits, cows, and goats.
Andrews also emphasizes a global perspective in learning. Many of the girls would never have left the 50-mile radius of their neighborhood had she not started sending small groups of students abroad. Their first trip was to South Africa. When the girls returned, they were asked about the most important part of the trip. One girl responded, “My son will never be a neighborhood boy, he will be a boy of the world because his mother has gone outside of the United States, so his life is now a life of international perspective.”
Like the tough but loving mother she is, Principal Andrews ends every day with this announcement over the loud speaker: “When you leave here today, you should be smarter than you were when you got here, because smart is what you get, not what you are.”
Kavita Shukla, co-founder of Fenugreen, has developed a product that has the potential to revolutionize the food industry. FreshPaper, a five-inch square sheet of paper infused with edible ingredients, proves you can keep produce fresh for up to four times longer than has so far been possible. Mothers of Invention is sponsored by Toyota. | <urn:uuid:f760b8a1-f455-4811-ba4e-7c3c9a70ad1c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/06/saving-teen-moms.html | 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 | 0.972337 | 575 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Remember the joy you felt on your wedding day? Whether your wedding was recent or years ago, it's important to reflect on the promises you made that day. Mary and Jesus' role at the wedding of Cana are a good reminder of the little things you can do to deepen your marriage relationship that have a big impact.
Learn it! Learn effective tips and strategies for exploring Bible Stories at home by viewing this short, informative video.
See it! See what others have shared about doing this or similar activities. Be the first to share your experience of this activity. See "Share It" just below.
Share it! Help us build our library of faith experiences. Share your reflections on this Bible story by writing a comment (see below), or upload a photo or video of the two of you here. (You must login first.)
Allow up to 48 hours for your comment or file to be approved. Your comment will appear below. A link to your uploaded file will be posted under "See It" just above. | <urn:uuid:3fa40270-e40f-44b8-9848-0c4674d4f8b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vibrantfaithathome.org/index.php/young-adult/ritual-a-tradition/kite-confession/88-adult--couple/95-wedding-feast-at-cana | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945724 | 208 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Nadav remembers the case of an American couple visiting Kruger on a mission to see a leopard for the first time in their lives. The solitary, elusive cat is one of the most difficult animals to spot in the wild, but thanks to the site, Nadav says, the couple got lucky on their first day at the park.
"People go there for years and don't even see a leopard and they saw two leopard cubs in one day," he says. "They said they could have gone home that afternoon and still be so happy. And when they got home finally, they told all their friends of how they had such an amazing time in Kruger."
But while members can report movements of any wildlife whilst scanning the open savannah, there is one animal whose whereabouts is banned from the site.
"We don't ever share rhino sightings because of the poaching," explains Nadav. "It's a huge problem, there's poaching more or less every day."
Rhino poaching rates have soared in recent years in South Africa -- according to the country's officials, more than 450 rhinos have been killed this year.
Latest Sightings carries telephone numbers where people can directly report rhino poaching, says Nadav, who encourages his followers to keep an eye out for hunters.
Earlier this year, he was informed by a member about an injured rhino caught in a poacher's snare in Kruger. Nadav immediately passed on the details to a park ranger in order to prevent the animal, which was bleeding around its neck, from becoming an easy target for hunters. The ranger rushed to the scene and managed to save the stricken animal.
"If you see any suspicious activity then you can share it to us and we create awareness," says Nadav.
Read: Wildlife puts Tanzania on the tourist map
The 16-year-old schoolboy, who wants to pursue career in IT in the future, was born in Israel in June 1996 and moved to South Africa when he was eight years old. Like many teenagers, he also loves soccer and tennis and plays drums in his school band. | <urn:uuid:c590c07d-722f-44a9-bf1b-7aa4c2914487> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.koco.com/news/money/technology/School-boy-s-website-tracks-safari-wildlife/-/9843786/17953668/-/item/1/-/eu34obz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982306 | 434 | 1.90625 | 2 |
The Fifth Root Race—In Ascendancy
By PMH Atwater, LHD
There’s no getting around it: a sense of destiny permeates the young adults, teenagers, and children of our world. And there’s no culture or society devoid of sacred stories that predicted this—the rise and dominance of what is often referred to as the Fifth Root Race.
The term root race refers to the gene pool in the human family. In older, esoteric literature and in legend, terms like life streams, life waves, new people, or even advanced beings were used to describe groups of folks who were decidedly different from their parents and grandparents. The more there were, the more assuredly they bore the mark of evolution–physiological and psychological traits characteristic of gene mutation.
DNA alters over time as a result of how people respond to the needs and stressors of their environment; these changes can be accelerated if transformative events, such as near-death experiences and spiritual breakthroughs, occur in numbers large enough to jumpstart the evolutionary process. Once the new traits overspread land masses and population groups, a genetic “makeover”–a species-wide-alteration–can result. That shift is now happening. Think of it as an update within the human family.
Of the many versions of root races that have emerged, the most well-known are from Theosophy (through Blavatsky, Leadbeater, and Powell), and from Edgar Cayce. The Theosophical version names seven progressions of such evolutionary change, beginning around 18 million years ago with the entry of spirit into matter (the First Root Race) and ends around 8,000 years hence when humankind is said to transcend the need for schools and social structures like what exists today (the Seventh Root Race). Cayce, however, spoke of that initial appearance of the First Root Race as happening further back in time?around 4.5 billion years ago. Curiously, he pegged the rise of the Fifth Root Race between 1998 and 2015. No one knows why he never mentioned any other evolutionary leap beyond that.
The timespan applied to a root race is considerable. For instance, the Fifth, according to Theosophical records, covered the years 10,000 BCE to 3,000 BCE in right-brained megalithic cultures and 3,000 BCE to 2,400 CE in left-brained modern cultures. The prediction is that during this period consciousness separated into two hemispheres–East and West–would fuse back together; a global leap in species refinement. This prediction, together with Cayce’s approximate dates of 1998 - 2015 for the entry period, is enough to necessitate that we take a deeper look.
Reconstruction of Neandertaler
at Neanderthal Museum - Wikipedia
Always, when trying to verify predictions, movements, and cycles, look for correlations—the microcosm always reflects the macrocosm, and vice versa. Since 1982, the following has either been newly discovered, revealed, or occurred en masse: Fifth Communication Wave (personal computers); Fifth Brain (the heart); Fifth Brain Wave Frequency (gamma); Fifth Basic Force (torsion waves); Fifth Destiny (the rise of female power); Fifth Discipline (businesses as learning centers); Fifth Element (ether); Fifth Dimension (freed from time/spaces states, intention rules).
Toss the labels of indigo, crystal, starseed, rainbow, and psychic, as they mislead and exaggerate (also discard “golden indigos”). Then, bunch together the characteristics these labels supposedly describe, and you have the pattern of the “new” kids—a pattern around for a while in the gene pool of the human family that has finally overspread landmasses—and moved into ascendancy.
PMH Atwater, LHD, is one of the original researchers in the field of near-death studies, having begun her work in 1978, after having three such experiences of her own. In 2005, she was awarded the Outstanding Service Award from the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS), and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Transpersonal Hypnotherapists (NATH), as well as an honorary degree in Therapeutic Counseling from a school in Sri Lanka. She is the author of several books including We Live Forever; Death Experiences: The Rest of the Story, and her latest Children of the Fifth World. She is a featured presenter at the upcoming 82nd Annual A.R.E. Congress— Building a New World from the Inside Out: Living Christ Consciousness in Virginia Beach from June 16-21, 2013. | <urn:uuid:8022e9e5-db6e-42fa-a325-85bbf5e83e1a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/blog.aspx?blogmonth=2&blogday=1&blogyear=2013&blogid=445 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933929 | 964 | 2.6875 | 3 |
After your child is arrested or receives a citation for court, law enforcement will send their investigative reports to the District Attorney’s Office. That office will review the reports and decide whether or not to file a petition charging your child with a crime. If your child was detained when arrested, the Probation Department will generally notify you of your child's court date. Otherwise, your child’s court date is listed on the citation.
First Hearing: Detention Hearing
At the first hearing, your child’s attorney will receive a copy of the police report. If your child is detained, an attorney can ask the judge to release your child. This is called a "detention hearing," and the judge can keep your child detained, release him on house arrest, or release her outright.
If the case is not filed within 48 court hours of your child’s detention, your child is entitled to be released. If the case was timely filed, only a judge has the power to release a juvenile. Juveniles are not entitled to bail. If the judge does not release your child at the detention hearing, an attorney can request it later only if a "change of circumstance" exists which the judge did not realize earlier.
Admit or Deny Charges?
Your child either admits or denies the charges in a petition. The safest course of action at the first hearing is to deny the petition. This gives an attorney time to work on the best outcome for your child’s case.
Juvenile court judges have a very wide-range of potential alternatives when faced with a child accused of committing a crime. More so than adult court, juvenile court judges have a wide-range of potential outcomes when faced with a child accused of committing a crime. Some examples of these outcomes include but are not limited to:
A diversion program in the criminal justice system run by a police department, court, a district attorney's office, or outside agency designed to enable offenders of criminal law to avoid criminal charges and a criminal record
A youth detention center, also known as juvenile hall, is a secure residential facility for young people, often termed juvenile delinquents, awaiting court hearings and/or placement in long-term care facilities and programs
If a child aged 14 or over is accused of a felony crime, the juvenile court can transfer the case to adult criminal court. Trying a child as an adult is a very serious matter and is most common in cases where there are allegations of violence.
A punishment given out as part of a sentence which means that instead of jailing a person convicted of a crime, a judge will order that the person reports to a probation officer regularly and according to a set schedule.
Talk to an Attorney
If your child was arrested, you may be nervous about what could happen to your child. It is important that you work with an attorney experienced in juvenile defense work. Your child needs an attorney who knows juvenile law, not a criminal defense attorney who occasionally handles juvenile cases. The Juvenile criminal defense attorneys at Marcie Gardner have that experience. | <urn:uuid:024e3508-5936-4ff0-b764-954fa3c5836c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/criminal-defense/juvenile/criminal-process-arrest-sentence.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95766 | 623 | 2.21875 | 2 |
And so, we can view the 7 Women’s Empowerment Principles within the context of Jeju’s cultural heritage:
“Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality”: For Jeju, place emphasis on the traditionally matrifocal and egalitarian cultural principles, reviving and even modernizing the goddess mythology;
“Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination”: For Jeju, emphasize the traditional communal labor practices and reorganize them to fit modern society; also, support and increase the current peace and human rights initiatives;
“Ensure the health, safety, and well-being of all women and men workers”: For Jeju, expand upon the “eochongye” model of collective economics which also provides for the well-being of its workers, including retirees and those in need; and, provides support to those of lesser skill;
“Promote education, training and professional development for women”: For Jeju, continue to emphasize the Confucian value of lifelong education; provide a variety of business and leadership courses for women [such as a recent training course for female CEOs and entrepreneurs, provided by Jeju Small and Medium Business Administration];
“Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women”: For Jeju, this is also an expansion of the “eochongye” model, in particular as it relates to the diving women’s economic cooperatives and decision-making processes; additionally, emphasize Jeju women’s self-reliance and independence, and provide networking opportunities;
“Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy”: For Jeju, re-conceptualize the island-wide system of small villages with their local councils, applying ideas of “town hall” and “community” also to city life and provincial governance; secondly, make the best use of strong community bonds known as ‘kwendang’; thirdly, support relevant NGOs and similar structures, and develop new ones as needed;
“Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality”: For Jeju, utilize and perhaps even coordinate the island’s numerous research institutes [NGOs, private and public] and government initiatives.
Each principle can be supported by an existing or traditional feature of Jeju’s culture, if highlighted and enhanced for this purpose. This also reorders features of Jeju’s traditional culture in modern terms, which may serve the purpose of cultural preservation and encourage a renewed value of traditions.
There is no need to invent new ways of empowering women. Nor is it appropriate to import methods from another, remarkably different culture.
Rather, a strengths-based model such as this begins with an analysis of the culture within which women are to be further empowered, looking at both positive and negative features of that culture.
Then, for maximum results and cooperation among both women and men, we must creatively build upon that foundation – finding methods to strengthen women’s position in the society which draw from the attributes that women already have, and other methods to understand, decrease and ultimately eliminate those features which stand in their way.
The most important consideration should be the cultural features to be found in each region.
On Jeju, it has been said for some time that Seolmundae Halmang, the island’s giant, grandmotherly, yet all-powerful creator Goddess, is sleeping.
In the words of Korean scholar and mythologist Koh Hea Kyoung, from her nationally recognized 2010 book on Jeju’s creator goddess Seolmundae, “In the Beginning was the Goddess”:
“Discovering great goddesses from the beginning of the world and reviving them in today’s world is my dream as well as the path to a new era – when reason and emotion, humans and nature, and men and women can co-exist in true harmony.”
For the empowerment and equality of Jeju women, to the benefit of both women and men: it is time to awaken Seolmundae Halmang. | <urn:uuid:f9a42bac-3717-4723-b014-9e9a9e159db2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://drannehilty.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938028 | 874 | 2.75 | 3 |
A chemical peel uses various types and strengths of acid to effect a controlled burn on the upper layers of the skin. By removing these damaged outer layers, a fresher, more youthful complexion is revealed. Most chemical peels are performed on the face. Only the lightest peels, such as those with glycolic (gly-CALL-ick) acid, can be used to rejuvenate other areas like the chest, hands, and back. Light peels don't penetrate very far, they are used to treat superficial lines and spots. Their effect is temporary, though results can be prolonged by using topical anti-aging products and a strong sun block. Medium peels give more significant results and require more recovery time, usually up to a week or more. Most medium-strength peels use TCA (T-C-A), or trichloroacetic (try-kloar-oh-uh-SEET-ick) acid. Lines and age spots will show more improvement after a TCA peel. The strongest chemical peels are those performed with phenol (FEE-nawl). Lines, spots, freckles, and other blemishes are dramatically reduced with a phenol peel, but its after-effects are also more severe. You may experience extreme swelling the first few days, and redness which slowly fades over weeks or months. The results of a phenol peel are long-lasting. However, the risk of complications is also greater, so deep peels should only be performed by an experienced doctor.
©2006 Crossroads Mobile. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:082d7284-31a8-453a-964e-9a33de0afdfc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.9wsyr.com/guides/beauty/surgery/story/Chemical-peel/JsItlJ1FZ0ujmYaPe7mmGg.cspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943455 | 341 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Barack Obama’s election as US President, launch of Wikipedia and emergence of the iPhone have been listed among the 10 most influential moments on the Internet in the past decade, the annual Webby awards said.
Other events singled out by the New York-based International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which has presented the annual Webby awards since 1996, were the Iranian election in 2009 when protests demonstrated the power of Twitter and other social network in reshaping democracy.
“The Internet is the story of the decade because it was the catalyst for change in not just every aspect of our everyday lives, but in everything from commerce and communication to politics and pop culture,” said David-Michel Davies, the executive director of The Webby Awards, in a statement.
It said, “The recurring theme among all of the milestones on our list is the Internet’s capacity to circumvent old systems and put more power into the hands of ordinary people.”
Some of the most influential Internet moments of the decade on Webby’s list are — US presidential campaign in 2008, Iranian election protests in 2009 when Twitter proved vital in organising demonstrations and as a protest too, Wikipedia, the free open-source encyclopaedia, Facebook opens to non-college students and Twitter takes off in 2006 and the iPhone debuts in 2007. | <urn:uuid:da44682e-7883-4f2a-879d-d5d7b1b9097e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/internet/us-election-iphone-among-decades-top-10-internet-moments/article51827.ece | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936866 | 276 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Since I’ve talked about Chinese food for many times, this time, I would like to show you some typical Chinese food from my home town Shandong, and the food there called “Lu Cai” (Shandong Cuisine).
My home town Shandong province is a peninsula surrounded by Bo Sea and Yellow Sea, so of course, there are various seafood for people to choose. For the people who live in the west of this province, inside the mainland, we can also get the fish in Yellow River which go through the peninsula and then flows into the sea.
Classic Shandong Cuisine : Sweet and Sour Carp (photo by 小松鼠)
“Lu Cai” used to be No.1 of the traditional Chinese food classified by districts. The dishes are characterized by fresh, salty tastes and different kinds of soup. The slicing technique is very important for the chef, they treat the materials like a work of art, and try to make them looks perfect. Sometimes the containers for the food is as important as the food. When you cook the food, most of the dishes ask for high temperature in a short time to keep the original taste and nutrition of the ingredients.Green onion, ginger, and garlic are the three most essential spices for Lu Cai, and they will be stir fried when you start a dish.
Sweet and Sour Shrimp for New Year Dinner
My father preparing for the New Year Dinner
Tofu Box (photo by 酒鬼老狼)
By the way, remember “Kung Pao Chicken”? The person who created this dish used to be a officer worked in Shandong in Qing Dynasty, but that dish wasn’t known by many people then. After that he was promoted to Sichuan province, and the dish “Kung Pao Chicken” becoming famous after it was combined with a spicy flavor.
Do you like green onion? Have you ever seen a green onion as tall as a kid? It is a famous product of my hometown, and it can be eaten raw with sweet bean sauce, it’s a little bit spicy, but it tastes good!
Green Onion We Eat Every Day (photo by 齐鲁晚报) | <urn:uuid:efe42bc8-6ce3-41f6-a9f4-8e560ab11aa7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.willamette.edu/worldnews/2012/02/28/%E6%BC%AB%E8%B0%88%E9%B2%81%E8%8F%9C-something-about-lu-cai/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967007 | 482 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Modern lives seem full of all sorts of noise, some of which not only corrupt a clean signal and prevents it from being understood, but also are dangerous to our ears. The purpose of the noise cancelling technology is to cancel or at least minimize unwanted sounds.
VOXTECH provides a range of products which try to block the sound at the source instead of trying to prevent the sounds from entering our ear canals.
How does it work? Sounds travel through the air or through liquids in the form of waves, and each of those waves has a particular shape. Noise cancelling technologies first rely on small microphones that detect the sounds in a given environment. A digit signal processor determines what sound wave is required to cancel the unwanted sound wave and then it creates that sound and amplifies it through speakers or headphones. One way to understand this is to imagine a ‘positive' sound and a ‘negative' sound created at virtually the same time, and these two sounds cancel themselves out thereby bringing the listener closer to silence. | <urn:uuid:cddf6465-3483-4151-b16d-631a3413d681> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.voxtech.com/Capabilities.asp?MID=34 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943943 | 206 | 2.953125 | 3 |
It is wonderful to see individual states supporting celiac disease awareness. This April, Alaska became the latest to pass a resolution recognizing May as Celiac Awareness Month. Governor Sean Parnell and Senator Cathy Giessel are applauded for their efforts to advance celiac disease awareness.
(Juneau) – A resolution to proclaim May 2012 as Celiac Disease Awareness Month, SCR 16, was signed by the governor, Sean Parnell, today.
Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, an advanced nurse practitioner, sponsored SCR 16 after being approached by a constituent of hers, Brandy Wendler, also a nurse practitioner, who was diagnosed 4 years ago. Together, they wanted to bring greater public awareness to a disease that is much more common than many realize, and often goes undiagnosed. Mrs. Wendler reported, “Statistics tell us that 1 in 133 people have Celiac Disease, which is three million Americans, yet 97% of them do not know it.” May is also National Celiac Disease Awareness Month.
“I appreciate the Governor signing off on SCR 16,” Sen. Giessel said. “Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune disorder which results in a variety of digestive symptoms. It is frequently misdiagnosed, based on its symptoms, and can lead to malnutrition and other health problems in a person who is suffering from it.”
Gluten, a protein found in grains like wheat, barley and rye, is present in baked products but is also used in hundreds of processed food products, medications, and sometimes in common things like cosmetics. There is no cure for Celiac disease; symptoms are only alleviated by complete avoidance of gluten.
Rep. Peggy Wilson, R-Wrangell, also a registered nurse, carried the resolution in debate on the House floor. “Even as a nurse I was surprised at the high percentage of people with Celiac disease that aren’t aware they have it,” Rep. Wilson said. “I believe that this resolution will heighten awareness to reduce this percentage. I was proud to be a cross-sponsor of this important resolution.”
House Minority Leader Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, who also supported the resolution, said, “For those of us with Celiac disease, we know the importance of raising awareness of the disease and its symptoms. Recognizing the symptoms and seeking treatment can really improve a person’s well-being.”
“Our goal is to help Alaskans by increasing public awareness of this under-diagnosed disease,” Sen. Giessel said. “It’s amazing how many Alaskans have talked to me about having Celiac disease since I introduced this resolution. Extrapolating from national estimates, there are probably 5,000 Alaskans who could have Celiac disease, most of them unaware of what’s causing their symptoms, and who could be helped by a heightened awareness of it.” | <urn:uuid:934e05ee-c0c7-4e18-b12c-d75c5aae6061> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://glutenfreeworks.com/blog/2012/06/07/alaska-passes-celiac-awareness-month-resolution/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977693 | 630 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Coverage by Nobuhiro Hosoki
Story : Promoting praise and cooperation rather than fear and punishment, Buck Brannaman becomes one of the most well-respected horse trainers in the industry.
Opens June 17, 2011 (Limited 6/17)
Runtime:1 hr. 28 min.
Interview with a horse trainer Buck Brannaman
(Q) : So do you find that different kinds of horses you have different kinds of relationships with or you find that it's consistent? Talk about the secrets.
(Buck Brannaman) : Well you know, as far as horses go people will ask about one breed versus another, and you know I have to tell you, I really don't have any prejudice one way or another. I treat every horse at face value, kind of how he is as an individual. And that's the cool thing about horses is they don't have prejudice. They don't care if you're tall or thin or if you're dark or if you're light, or if you're rich or you're poor, if you're handsome or not so handsome. They don't care about that. They care about how you make them feel, and if that's the only damn lesson that someone learned from horses they'd be way ahead of the game.
(Q): Do you find that different horses respond to different kinds of touch or different tones?
(Buck Brannaman) : I often talk about presence, and some people that have worked stock dogs, say border collies, dogs will have a presence in working stock. There might be two dogs that are exactly the same size, one dog will have quite a bit of presence. He'll walk into a pen of sheep and boy, they're all paying attention to him and they honor him. And then you might have a dog the same size without much presence that the sheep will chase him out of the pen. And that's true with horses and people as well, but the human theoretically is supposed to be the smart one.
(Q) : That I doubt.
(Buck Brannaman) : As a horseman you'd get a sense of what kind of presence you needed for the situation. You may have a horse that has been sort of spoiled and he's disrespectful that you may need to have the presence as if to appear to be 10 times your size. But then five minutes later you might be dealing with a horse that's very timid and very fragile and very emotional that you might need to have the presence of being one tenth your size.
And it's for the human to be able to adjust that, and a lot of it is your posture and your body language and the way you move around the horse that gives him the message whether or not he should be threatened or not threatened by you. Well of course you're trying not to be threatening at all, but the way you present yourself on one you might have to adjust it on another horse in order to be able to fit the situation. My teachers used to tell me you need to learn to adjust to fit the situation. Don't just do what you've always done because it might not always work.
(Q) : I think that's true in the broadest sense, right?
(Buck Brannaman) : Yes it is.
(Q) : I was just curious, when you have a conflict with some of the people do you take a similar approach as with horses?
(Buck Brannaman) : Yeah, I do, particularly someone who might be maybe difficult to be around. You'll get some people that just sort of get caught up in a lifestyle of they create conflict and they deal in conflict and they're making war with other people constantly. Well then they're sort of wired in a way that they set you up to kind of pull you in because they know how to deal with you in a real adversarial relationship.
But I might think of it like this, that I try to treat someone not how they are but how I'd like them to be. And you've got to be careful not to get pulled into something and play they game they're always used to playing. So a lot of times you can sort of take them off their game by approaching them in a way that they're not used to. Maybe they don't even deserved to be approached that way, but they might really appreciate it in the end that you maybe give them a little extra rope to work with.
(Q) : Did you find in making the film there were moments where you were able to apply your philosophy to the process of making the film?
(Buck Brannaman) : Well you know I have to say it really wasn't that difficult in the process with Cindy, because early on I said "The way we have to do this is I'm not going to be your actor and I'm not going to stand on a mark for you to focus everything the way you want it, and I'm not going to rehearse it and I'm not going to do it over, because things happen in the moment in working with horses and once that moment is passed it's gone forever."
So I said "You're going to have to be kind of clever and learn how to anticipate some of the cool things that happen with these horses so that you're in the right place at the right time." So it made it especially challenging really to be able to film something like that and have it work, because it's hard enough when you're doing a feature film and you can tell the actors exactly where they're supposed to stand and where they're supposed to do their business. And she didn't have that luxury in doing this and by golly, she did a good job.
(Q) : Especially when the horses aren't there that are trained to perform, they're there to be themselves. So they're being themselves and that's what she's got to document, as opposed to when you do a movie like "The Horse Whisperer."
(Buck Brannaman) : Exactly.
(Q) : Did you have to do anything to get the horses sort of to stay or behave in any way that suited the camera situation?
(Buck Brannaman) : No. No, she just filmed life like it is for me. So it made it to where other than having to pack an extra microphone on me that was about the only inconvenience. I was kind of glad to get that second microphone out of my pocket after two and a half years, but other than that I didn't have anything different in my life really. And I sort of got kind of used to those guys being around and kind of got to be friends with them, and I kind of missed them after the left, actually.
(Q) : How did you meet Director Cindy? Did she own the horses?
(Buck Brannaman) : I first met her years ago at a clinic here on the East Coast, and I don't even remember where. I want to say Pennsylvania.
(Q) : You go everywhere, don't you?
(Buck Brannaman) : Yeah. You name it, I go there. And then I didn't see her again for four or five years, and then she came to a clinic in Texas with her aunt, and there was kind of a little handful of ladies there and I knew the other ladies pretty well, so we spent a little bit of time together. We'd have dinner in the evenings after the clinic and they were kind of a pretty good bunch of gals, kind of fun to be around, so we'd visit a little bit in the evenings. And then she ended up going to a friend of mine's ranch in Montana, McGuiness Meadows Ranch as a guest, and that's where she sort of came up with the idea of doing this documentary.
To be honest with you there were a few people over the years that asked me about doing a documentary, and I just said "Fine, go ahead and do a documentary, but just leave me out of it." And why I said yes that day, I guess I just trusted her. We were friends by that point and I knew that she wouldn't do anything to disappoint me, that she really had a great intention. Yet still it's a little risky letting someone tell the story of your life when you've devoted your life to trying to do something good. Someone could just tell the story wrong and wreck years of devotion. But thank goodness she did me right.
(Q) : Well let me hit you with three fairly simple questions. You had a rough background in your youth. I want you to tell me a little bit about how that affected what you learned. Also, was there a little irony in going back to Sundance with having had your relationship with Redford? And then I'll have a third one when you answer those two.
(Buck Brannaman) : Well starting off, of course my childhood was pretty dark, and we touched on it some in the documentary. It goes a little bit more in depth in my book, "The Faraway Horses." Yeah, that put me in a position to where I had empathy for horses, understanding that some of these problems people cause with horses, it may just be something that they think he's kind of being naughty or that he's trying to do something personally to him, and it's not that, it's not personal with the horse.
He really just want to survive, he's really just trying to save his life. And I think from my background it gave me an empathy for horses that are troubled that I feel for them in a different way. If you've seen something through those kind of eyes you look at things differently. You don't have contempt for a horse that's troubled. Everybody has baggage, everybody has things that they've had to deal with in their life, and it can be something positive depending on how you use it.
(Q) : Was it kind of interesting to come back around? There you are at Sundance.
(Buck Brannaman) : It was kind of different for me because it's not like I blend in real good there, you know.
(Q) : I thought everybody's a character there so you fit right in.
(Buck Brannaman) : Bob Redford and I have remained friends over the years, and we genuinely like each other. By the time we were done doing the film we really felt like we had created a friendship out of the deal. I got to spend a little bit of time with him, got to see him a little bit while I was in town, which was nice because he's busy being himself and I'm busy being me so we don't get to see each other too often. So that was nice, that was kind of a bonus. And Bob was so…I think he was real proud that someone had done this and done a good job at it. I appreciate that.
(Q) : Your brother, Smokey, you guys suffered a traumatic experience when you were children. The movie didn't cover much of Smokey towards the end, so I was wondering how he is now.
(Buck Brannaman) : When he got out of high school, unlike me – I always knew what I wanted to be in my life – he didn't know for sure. So the choice he made was he joined the Coast Guard and he spent 25 years in the Coast Guard and retired from that. And he got married and raised a family and his kids are all grown up now and out of school, and he was a successful dad. He has a comfortable life, he has a nice life. He's done okay.
(Q) : Have you met other whisperers? There's supposedly the dog whisperer, I don't know if there are any camel whisperers or I don't know what other kind of whisperers. There was camel racing in Qatar where we got to go to the camel races too.
(Buck Brannaman) : After Nick wrote that book and Bob did the movie of course that became a term that nobody had ever heard of before and of course it became something for a lot of people to hand their hat on. Now there are ghost whisperers; I don't even know what the hell that is. But no I haven't met the dog whisperer, this Cesar, but I've seen the show some and I have to tell you I think I'd probably like guy. He kind of makes sense.
(Q) : I saw the humorous point of saying the camel, but actually there were the camel trainers, and they're supposed to be such difficult animals that the reason I mention it is that on the same day that we met the horses we also met camels. And I was thinking jeez, I wonder if you could apply it to other difficult animals, I mean that or llamas or whatever else.
(Buck Brannaman) : Yeah, I think you probably would.
(Q) : I was really serious, I wasn't just joking.
(Buck Brannaman) : I mean I'm not so interested in riding a camel around doing what I do.
(Q) : They're supposed to be tough though.
(Buck Brannaman) : But if that was what I had to do, if that became my job handling them, I absolutely would approach them philosophically the same way I do horses. My old teacher Tom Dorsey said "I think you can probably learn anything by these three words: observe, remember, and compare." So I might have a starting place because of my experience with horses, but if I use those three words I don't think it would probably take too long before I'd be getting a little bit accomplished with a camel.
(Q) : So going forward in the future, as we always often end with, what's next? You've done your book, you've had this happen, are there other plans? Can you teach other people this or is it something that's intuitive?
(Buck Brannaman) : I mean that's my life is teaching other people this, and there is a younger generation of people coming up that hopefully, if I do my job, they may end up better than I am. I hope they do. As far as some of the other things, my deal with my book is really not going to be done until we get a film done on that, which there are some opportunities kind of presenting themselves now, so I think there's actually going to be a film that goes over more so in depth of the kids' story, my brother and I when we were younger. And it's really the attention's come to it because of this documentary.
People seem to be real interested in it and I'm real glad for Cindy because she worked real hard on this and really tried to do a good thing, rather than just do a film. She tried to do a good thing and frankly, I hope that maybe through this there might be some people that watch that and think "You know what? I might be able to be a foster parent just like Betsy Shirley was." Gee, that'd be a good thing too. | <urn:uuid:ffdeea90-10f0-4faa-85c2-85f0f7768921> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hosokinema.com/buck.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987917 | 3,155 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Apple has won an EU-wide preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet. A similar ban on another device, Samsung tablet Galaxy Tab 10.1 – was introduced in August 2011.
First, the ban throughout the EU to function, and then was limited to Germany. In 2011, Samsung was able to circumvent the ban by releasing an updated version of the device. It is called the Galaxy Tab 10.1N. Apple tried to find a violation in this unit, but the court disagreed with the company. The subject of disagreement between Samsung and Apple is the shape of devices. Tim Cook’s Company says that the South Korean manufacturer borrows her decorating decisions and apply them in their products. The dispute started in April 2011 in the courts of several countries. Tablet Galaxy Tab 7.7 was announced in September 2011. Externally it is a flat device with rounded corners in the case of plastic. Weighing in at 335 grams Galaxy Tab 7.7 is considered one of the lightest Tablet Samsung. | <urn:uuid:942ed124-ab8c-4786-83d0-dc9925bc6a14> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forcetoknow.com/hi-tech/apple-wins-case-and-samsung-galaxy-tab-7-7-banned-in-europe.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973731 | 210 | 1.578125 | 2 |
I think that, to fully grasp the scope and power of play, we need to go beyond ourselves, to learn to include other, stranger players. Some of the teachers who have helped me understand the true breadth of the field of play are students of animal behavior. People like Marc Bekoff and Jonathan Balcombe, for example, who help us understand animals as feeling beings, are amply represented on this site. Today, I am pleased to introduce Analee Newitz, another student of animal behavior, who, in her article “Corvids: The Birds Who Think Like Humans,” brings us evidence of yet another connection to another species of players. That connection: the possibility that they, like us, have minds. Not just brains, but, like us, minds. Here’s a taste of her thinking, from a much longer article that I hope will move you as it has myself:
“…crows and other corvids have a theory of mind, which allows them to understand and anticipate the behavior of other creatures around them. This is why, for example, crows are able to figure out that it’s a good idea to scavenge for food on the Seattle ferry between cars — they’ve seen people toss food out the windows before, and anticipate they’ll do it again. It’s why scrub jays know that the crows are watching them to try to steal their peanuts. Crows also use tools, bending sticks to turn them into hooks for retrieving food.
“They play, as you can see from this video of a crow surfing on a snowy roof in Russia.
“And they’ll even feed other animals, as this pet crow does with his dog and cat pals.
“Their highly-developed brains — different from mammal’s but no less complex — seem capable of planning for the future (caching), guessing at motivations and acting accordingly (re-caching food) and problem solving (tool use).
“Do crows, jays and other corvids share with humans the ability to know themselves and know other creatures too? Or are they merely acting on instinct, which we mistake for more complex thought patterns? It’s impossible to say for certain. But there is no doubt that they are extremely intelligent, social animals, who count humans among those creatures they are willing to trust.” | <urn:uuid:76cabb23-7690-4cbf-947d-e47929973b0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.deepfun.com/fun/2012/12/a-theory-of-mind/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965092 | 499 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities.
The law states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."
In this context, sex discrimination includes sexual harassment, sexual assault and sexual violence by students, employees or third parties. Sexual violence is defined as a sexual act perpetrated against a person's will or when a person is incapable of giving consent.
Cleveland State University is committed to providing an environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex. Resources are available for students and employees to address concerns pertaining to sex discrimination, including sexual misconduct.
Title IX Coordinator Yulanda McCarty-Harris, J.D. has the primary responsibility for the resolution of discrimination complaints by faculty, staff and students, including Title IX complaints.
To review the University's sexual harassment policy, click here.
For a sexual harassment FAQ, click here.
For information on community support, educational resources and filing complaints, click here. | <urn:uuid:bf422bb1-8ae2-466f-b2e7-573a72f34580> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://csuohio.edu/offices/affirmativeaction/sexualharassment.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910229 | 232 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Our Promising Future
Currently, Union College is in the process of building a new facility for the Division of Science and Mathematics. The new building will include eleven dedicated lab spaces, four lab/lecture spaces and seven research labs for faculty and student research. In addition, there will be two configurable classrooms for lecture and team learning, fourteen faculty offices and four student study spaces. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2012, and should be completed in the summer of 2013. To learn more about this project, click here.
Jorgensen Hall, located at the south end of the Union College campus, houses the Union College Division of Science and Mathematics. The design of Jorgensen Hall reflects the heavy emphasis within the science and mathematics division on practical learning. In fact, more floor space is given over to teaching laboratories than any other single purpose, including classrooms.
The three above-ground floors of Jorgensen Hall are distributed between the three major scientific disciplines, with biology on the top floor, chemistry on the second floor, and physics, along with mathematics and engineering, on the first floor. Adjacent to the south-side of Jorgensen hall is a greenhouse that is also used by the biologists.
The Joshua C. Turner Arboretum
The Joshua C. Turner Arboretum was the brainchild of Professor Gilbert McMillan. It was founded in 1981 with Dr. McMillan as the curator, and named for Joshua Turner who was the Union College grounds keeper for many years. It must have been a wonderful occupation, for he lived to be more than one hundred years old.
The arboretum is affiliated with the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum along with more than forty other sites across the state. The goal at the time of the founding was to have at least a hundred different trees and shrubs by the time of the Union College centennial celebration in 1991. That goal was exceeded, but lamentably, Dr. McMillian did not live to see it.
The arboretum is dynamic and requires constant care. Plans for the future include having more colorful shrubs, an even greater variety of trees, and several "gardens" such as a prayer garden and a prairie garden.
We may take this gem for granted, but we would sorely miss it if by disaster or neglect we should lose it. Learn more about the trees in the arboretum. | <urn:uuid:3b891f4e-55d5-4152-aa40-7e1c9f140924> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ucollege.edu/academics/science-and-math/facilities | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964774 | 497 | 1.9375 | 2 |
IFAW and lobstermen team up to protect North Atlantic right whales by replacing 3,250 miles of dangerous lobster gear
Yarmouth Port, MA, 20 September 2004 IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare) today kicked off a project to make Massachusetts coastal waters some of the most whale-safe in North America.
The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered animals in the world only about 300 remain and one of the biggest threats to its survival is the accidental entanglement in fishing gear.
Traditional rope that connects lobster traps floats upward like the humps on a camel, creating a dangerous tangle under the water for whales to swim through. Right whales get entangled in the rope when they are diving and feeding, jeopardizing their ability to breathe, eat, swim and mate.
Nearly three quarters of the North Atlantic right whale population shows scarring or other signs of injury from fishing gear and nearly one dozen North Atlantic right whales have been entangled over the past two years.
"Many of the whale entanglements are fatal and, in the case of the North Atlantic right whale, every single death threatens the survival of the entire species," said Fred O’Regan, president of IFAW. "North Atlantic right whales are literally on the verge of extinction and two of the most critically important habitats on the east coast are right here off of Massachusetts."
IFAW’s project will remove up to 3,250 miles and 220 tons of lobster rope off the coast of Massachusetts and replace it with whale-safe lobster gear. The pilot project is a unique collaboration between IFAW, Congressman Bill Delahunt (MA), Senator Edward M. Kennedy (MA), the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) and the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association (MLA).
"Innovative projects such as this one are a model for fisheries work," said Paul Diodati, director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. "Only by balancing the concerns of environmentalists and fishermen are we able to protect our valuable natural resources."
IFAW is providing a subsidy to Massachusetts lobstermen to replace old gear with whale-friendly gear. If laid end to end, the amount of line IFAW is replacing would stretch from Boston to San Francisco. This is a pilot project, which can be replicated in other fishing areas in New England and around the world.
In February 2004, the U.S. Congress approved a $660,000 appropriation to help fund IFAW’s whale-friendly gear replacement project and approximately 300 Massachusetts lobstermen are participating in the program.
"I think this will be a major step in reducing entanglements, especially serious ones, while at the same time assisting lobstermen in meeting the financial challenge of modifying their gear," said Gary Ostrom, Vice President and spokesperson for the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association.
About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare):
Founded in 1969, IFAW works to protect animals and their habitats. With offices in 15 countries around the world, IFAW works to protect whales, elephants, great apes, big cats, dogs and cats, seals, and other animals. To learn how to help animals, please visit www.ifaw.org.
# # #
For more information, contact:
Chris Cutter (IFAW)
Tel: (508) 737-4623
For more information visit www.ifaw.org | <urn:uuid:c434c918-e03a-44bf-a6fa-fe0f942a6226> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.enn.com/press_releases/28/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911245 | 709 | 2.53125 | 3 |
The Agricultural and Environmental Research department at Cotton Incorporated provides research and technical services to cotton growers, ginners and their support industries. The department's objective is to improve the profitability of cotton through the creation and utilization of knowledge. It achieves this objective through outreach and research at leading Universities and other research facilities in a wide range of disciplines.
A vast range of grower controlled variables are studied in Cotton Incorporated sponsored projects.
The Cottonseed Research and Marketing Program strives to maximize cotton-grower profit from seed
Several cross-discipline technologies are evaluated from an engineering systems-based approach
Cotton is susceptible to a wide range of insect pests
All agricultural research conducted at Cotton Incorporated emphasizes profitability
Plant-parasitic nematodes cost cotton growers more, in chemical control expenses, direct damage through root feeding
Without weed control, a farmer might make a few bushels of corn or soybeans, but a producer could make no harvestable cotton
Financial support of basic and applied research continues with our overall aim to improve lint yield and fiber quality and stress tolerance. | <urn:uuid:2a51cc9f-9270-4cba-b659-8753ab081fd6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cottoninc.com/fiber/AgriculturalDisciplines/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929486 | 221 | 2.109375 | 2 |
By Jon Miller | Post Date: June 24, 2012 5:09 AM | Comments: 0
There is a popular quote by Taiichi Ohno which has always bothered me. Unless you are completely new to Lean, you've seen it.
...by attacking waste within the processes across this time line. Too often this is taken as the marching order or purpose of the Toyota Production System, a.k.a. Lean. The problem with this quote is that it is almost never introduced in context. Taken alone today, one could think that Toyota is to this day working on reducing its lead times in a single-minded fashion. Certainly the minimization of waste and the speeding of the call-to-cash cycle remain important, but they are in no way "all we are doing".
The quote is popular because of its simplicity. Often we find it treated as a credo, that according to St. Ohno all we need to do is to look at the time line, cut out waste and shorten the call to cash cycle, and good things will follow. While following this approach is almost never a bad idea, to avoid missteps on the Lean journey by taking ill-advised shortcuts, this quote needs to be understood in context.
It was in the mid-1980s, after he had retired from Toyota and was serving at Toyoda Gosei where he was serving as chairman, that Taiichi Ohno answered a question:
"What is Toyota doing now?"
This question came more than three decades after Taiichi Ohno began experimenting on the gemba with production control and industrial engineering methods that became the Toyota Production System. This question was posed roughly three decades ago. Taiicho Ohno answered this question somewhere halfway between the beginning of Toyota's lean journey and today.
So what are we to make of his words that in the mid-1980s "all we are doing" was "reducing the time line" by reducing waste? Perhaps we can answer this question by asking also "What was Toyota doing in 2001?" There was a supply chain-wide cost reduction effort aimed at taking cost out at the product design level. This seemed to be working well until around 2007 when due to falling quality, cost was added back into the system in the form of 1,000 additional engineers. This was a correction in a rare misstep by Toyota, having focused too much on the short-term at the cost of the long-term. Today Toyota is redoubling its efforts to strengthen its core.
We can look further back and ask, "What was Toyota doing between 1950 and 1980?" Far from working on kaizen activities focused on lead-time reduction, in the early days there was an intense focus on productivity to meet increasing demands without hiring or capital investment. This is well-documented, as "The goal was ten-fold higher productivity" in Taiichi Ohno's writings. Then as now, cost reduction was forefront.
The context of Taiichi Ohno's exploration of a more rational system was Toyota's emergence from bankruptcy, lack of access to capital to meet growing demand, and a need to raise output using their minds instead of money. These were the factors guiding the development of the Toyota Production System. After the oil shock of 1973 the challenge became to reduce costs even with limited volumes, as well as to begin expanding the Toyota Production System across their supply chain in earnest. As Japan emerged from a slow-growth period into another growth period, variety became more important to the consumer, requiring further kaizen. Perhaps the production control, logistics and inventory management systems had been near-perfected by the 1980s when the question was posed to Ohno, and Toyota had shifted the focus of kaizen to various other business processes and wastes adding to the time line and trapping cash.
Over the years there was also a fierce focus on quality improvement, in order to overcome Toyota's early struggles in delivering a quality product to the U.S. market Their fervent adoption of Dr. Deming's teachings is well-known. Although tremendous work was done to stabilize and improve quality using TWI, standardized work, QC circles, statistical quality control, the invention in 1961 of the andon system for workers to stop the line, and the quality engineering tools that are only just reentering the Western consciousness via design for Six Sigma, there is no equivalent quote from Taiichi Ohno stating that "all we are doing is looking at the process and reducing variation..." Perhaps this is because Toyota was the student rather than the teacher in the quality field, in contrast to the field of modern production control, supply chain and logistics management, which hey largely reinvented.
We could do this decade by decade and gain important insights, but there is no need. It is enough to understand that the application of kaizen changes during the course of our journey. The far destination may not change, but the changes to the climate and landscape beneath our feet requires that we adapt. Still it is a pity that there was no follow up question to Ohno's reply about "All we are doing..." A simple, "Why?" would have enlightened us about the context and purpose of what Toyota was doing in the 1980s, and what it means for each of us today.
We need to question easy answers, ask "why?" and take a broad, deep and honest look at our own operation. We need to ask the right questions. The answer to "What is Toyota doing now?" may not be the answer you need to follow to begin or advance your Lean journey. The answer to what they were doing in the 1980s needs to be understood in context. We must understand our own situation and needs so that we can test the foundations and build up our management system.Comments are moderated to filter spam and inappropriate content. There may be a delay before your comment is published. | <urn:uuid:3cd7d26a-73a7-4498-bec1-6214a390ba4c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gembapantarei.com/2012/06/placing_a_popular_taiichi_ohno_quote_in_context.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980399 | 1,192 | 1.859375 | 2 |
the Impact of IT Investments
Tucker, CFO of the $1.3 B adhesives manufacture H.B. Fuller, finds, "
We can't really understand all of the benefits that will come from electronically
enabling our business. We know that as we standardize on technologies
we will grow our business. The benefits will probably come from places
we don't expect to see them". Tucker states that the problem with financial
analysis of technology investment is, "Technology investments can impact
organizations in many ways. When we can associate operational metrics
with technology investments we have another tool to measure if we are
getting positive results."
is a hypothetical example of how operational metrics or Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs) might be associated with the cash flow projections for
an IT project.
A company plans to install Radio Frequency/Bar Coding in its
main warehouse. The project's cash flow projection is based on 1) enabling
the company to carry lower inventory, thus reducing working capital
and 2) reducing the staff required during peak shipping hours. For the
IRR calculation the value of the lower working capital and the lower
staff salaries are put in monetary terms. In other words, the projected
dollar savings will be estimated and used to justify the project. Let's
assume that the payback period for the investment is projected to be
3 years. If all the conditions that are in place today remain static
for 3 years, the company will be able to measure if the project met
the cash flow/financial projections. But if the number of SKU's shipped
from the warehouse change or shipping volume goes up or down the cash
flow impact will be skewed. The company could develop KPI's that are
associated with but not the same as the cash flow/financial measures.
Here are some options:
- Units shipped per man hour
- Orders shipped accurately
- Warehouse inventory turns
- Orders shipped on time
- Time it takes to ship standard orders
- Average days of inventory on hand
of the KPI's we've developed can be easily turned into monetary terms.
But the KPI's we've suggested are indicators of more effective use of
working capital or better utilization of labor. No KPI will be perfect
nor will KPIs be immune from the impact of changing business conditions.
However, if the underlying business assumptions change, the cash flow
projections may be critically flawed but the KPI's can still be relatively
reliable indicators of the impact of an IT project.
is Part Two of a two-part tutorial. Part
One discussed the difficulty using ROI to evaluate an IT Investment.
Supply Chain Investment Problem
emerging problem with traditional financial analysis and IT investments
involves the expanding scope of IT projects. Today, companies are increasingly
making IT investments that impact the cash flows of themselves, their
suppliers, and customers.
financial analyses justification for an IT project traditionally has been
confined to the improvements in cash flow that accrue to the company that
is doing the project as it is extremely hard to put into monetary terms
the long term benefits that accrue from supply chain improvements. This
is another opportunity to use KPI's to measure the impact of an IT project.
It is relatively easy to develop KPI's that measure supply chain metrics
like lead time requirements, supplier responsiveness to change orders,
or the reliability of customer service information.
software technology improves, the benefits to a single company in a supply
chain will be even more difficult to measure in financial terms. Companies
will need to increasingly rely on KPIs that are associated with the financial
projections they used to justify IT investment.
the free spending era of IT is over. Unfortunately, the traditional financial
measures that companies use to make investment decisions are only partly
applicable to IT investment. Companies that have a strategic imperative
to gain competitive advantage through investment in IT infrastructure
should look to develop KPI measures that can be indicators of the financial
performance of their IT investments. In the long run, IT project KPIs
may be the best indicators for IT managers to use in evaluating the results
of their IT investments.
"Bill" Friend and Olin Thompson are consultants who specialize
in the application of IT to business problems in the process industries.
Bill is a principal of WR Friend & Associates (www.wrfriend.com)
and has over 25 years executive experience in food and chemical manufacturing
and can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.
has over 25 years experience in the software industry and is the founder
of Process ERP Partners (www.processerp.com).
He can be reached at email@example.com
They co-write a monthly column for Food Engineering (www.foodengineeringmag.com)
and are the co-founders of the Food, Chemical and Life Science CIO Forums
which are found at www.foodcioforum.com, | <urn:uuid:088be64b-0a9e-4c1e-89cf-3d4182ed6d47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/is-roi-king-in-evaluating-it-investments-part-2-measuring-the-impact-of-it-investments-16710/ | 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 | 0.919077 | 1,039 | 1.960938 | 2 |
One of the most isolated islands in the world, Easter Island - located roughly halfway to Tahiti - offers visitors an array of treasures to explore. From the famous Moai to beautiful beaches and caves, Easter Island is the place to travel to if you're looking for a unique vacation!
Book your flights to Easter Island with LAN.com, and experience this gem within the South Pacific. LAN offers multiple flights to Easter Island each week, departing from both Santiago and Tahiti - so you'll be able to get the flight you want when it's convenient for you.
|The Moai at Easter Island|
Most famous for the Moai - giant stone busts that were carved centuries ago - Easter Island, Chile also offers travellers an enigmatic holiday experience by way of fascinating cave systems, hidden beaches, and simply stunning scenery. Visit this remote island in the South Pacific, and you'll see that it's well worth the trip!
Easter Island's cave network is extensive and well worth exploring. Visitors will be able to find both 'official' and 'unofficial' caves on the island, many of which are situated near Ana Kakenga. Explore these caves as part of a tour, or on your own - but remember to practice caution and carry a torch, as some of the caves fall deep and can be slippery on the edges!
Easter Island also features two white sand beaches: Anakena on the north side, as well as an un-named, hidden gem along the southern shore of the island (near Ahu Vaihu). Visitors can scuba dive near the islets Motu Nui and Moti Iti, located about 1 km south of Easter Island. It's also possible to rent gear or join a guided snorkelling tour on Easter Island.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that Easter Island is very small, making it simple to get around. You can rent a car, or opt to travel by dirtbike, bike or horse.
|Anakena beach||The Moai||Easter Island|
|RAPA NUI NATIONAL PARK
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this national park on Easter Island offer stunning views of diverse natural surroundings.
Easter Island is most famous for these archaeological features, giant stone busts carved centuries ago. They can be found all along the coast of the island and are free to see!
This 300-foot volcano remnant on Easter Island provided the stones from which the Moai are made. Visitors can also see various stages of Moai carvings in partially finished figures.
Book your flight to Easter Island, Chile with LAN.com, and experience the many mysterious qualities of this remote island. With multiple flights to Easter Island each week, getting there is easier than you may think! | <urn:uuid:790ed908-1f42-4365-8ac5-e76fdc444f88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lan.com/en_us/destinations/south_america/chile/easter_island.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942121 | 569 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The assessment of the quality of simulations, Jones (1995) observes, entails the conceptual judging of three notions:
- Consistency — is the simulation consistent within itself?
- Balance — is it balanced or does it allow for passive observation?
- Plausibility — is the scenario/situation (such-and-such) plausible?
The three concepts tend to fuse in that what may be implausible also tend to be inconsistent and as result lack balance.
Plausibility does not equate to “does the simulation imitate real life?” — Simulations are not meant to be imitations or simplifications of real-life. However, simulations allow for analogies, metaphors and upside-down realities/reversed positions. Plausibility does not restrict roles to being human.
Jones (1995: 62) caution designers about inconsistency as result of ‘author-muddling’. Often designers ‘improve’ simulations after try-out for publication purposes; assuming the final version is better. However, alterations may cause imbalances, which may impact on plausibility.
Jones, K. 1995. Simulations, a handbook for teachers and trainers. 3rd edition. London: Kogan Page. | <urn:uuid:6fffd291-0278-404c-a414-427183db12fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychsoma.co.za/learning_in_vivo/2011/10/quality-assurance-of-simulations.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905931 | 255 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Palestine – The Death of Hope: The Case for One State
by Oz Katerji
“How much longer is the world willing to endure this spectacle of wanton cruelty?” – Bertrand Russell, 1970.
The dream of a “Palestinian state” lies shattered and torn, existing only in the imaginations of those who refuse to see how far we have fallen from the dream of equal rights for every man. In truth it died long ago, like an abusive stepfather forced onto its people, its shadow looming large over the Middle East, the scars it left in its wake so deep it will take generations to heal.
Nothing I have encountered in my life sums up hopelessness better than the abject suffering of the Palestinians. I have traveled the world and some of the dire poverty, war and destitution I have encountered has led me to believe that cruelty seems to be an inbuilt default setting for us as humans. It stuns me how often situations such as famine and poverty in the third world could be rectified with substantial investment and access to universal education and healthcare. US President Jimmy Carter has said “Palestinians are deprived of basic human rights, their land has been occupied, then confiscated, then colonised by the Israeli settlers,” and that Palestinians are “treated more like animals than human beings”.
However no amount of money or education can lift the Palestinians out of the catastrophic existence they find themselves subjected to. The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated places on Earth with a population of over 1.6 million people living in a space no larger than 360 sq./km and nearly 40% of that population living below the poverty line. They live under a blockade in what is essentially an open-air prison with no way of leaving; often areas have little or no access to electricity, clean water or basic sewage systems.
That is just the Gaza Strip; the people of the West Bank suffer a similar fate on top of having to deal with the daily humiliation of living under occupation. It doesn’t stop there, in Lebanon alone there are over 400,000 Palestinians living in refugee camps under similar conditions. The same is true of many of the neighbouring Arab countries. They live with no access to employment, education, healthcare or citizenship as they sit and wait for a dream of returning to a homeland most of them will never see.
There are 4.7 million Palestinian refugees living outside of the occupied territories registered with the UN. Most of them live below the poverty line in semi-permanent refugee camps. Quite frankly their situation is pretty bleak. Under international law they are all entitled to return home. Their population numbers are swelling and no Israeli government has remotely entertained the notion of ever allowing these Palestinians to return to the lands they were forcibly expelled from in 1948 and 1967.
The powers that be, largely successive US, Israeli and EU governments would have the world believe that a solution is close and on the table and these issues are all to be worked out in negotiations. Anyone close enough to the situation can tell you this is a total myth – this is bullshit. I will try to break it down to its most basic elements.
International law states that the Palestinians are entitled to a state with full control over its territory as defined by the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital city and full right of return for all the displaced refugees. This is what is known as the two-state solution. No Israeli government has ever supported this option despite the fact that it is what the Palestinians are entitled to under international law.
I don’t expect you to take my word for it, the Palestine Papers are a series of confidential diplomatic documents that were leaked to Al-Jazeera detailing the failed negotiations over the past 20 years, in them all the evidence is clear that none of the Israeli governments that have passed have ever been committed to creating a sovereign state of Palestine. The papers show years and years of Palestinian desperation, offering most of Jerusalem, dividing the West Bank into cantons and even sacrificing the right of return (something which the Palestinian Authority has no right to concede), maintaining Israeli control over any future state and yet the Israelis still said no. The two sides are engaged in endless inconsequential peace talks for the sole purpose of allowing the Israelis the time they need to fully colonise Palestinian territory as a land for all the Jews.
One look at a map of the West Bank alone will show the magnitude of the problem, there are 500,000 Jewish settlers illegally living there dotted all across the land. The land is entirely segregated, with highways only accessible to Jews which Israel claim is a matter of security. How any sane person can claim that a road can only be driven down if you are of a certain faith and then claim this is not a racist proposal is beyond me, but this is neither here nor there.
The facts on the ground are pretty clear – the settlements encroach deep into Palestinian territory and the Israeli government has invested billions of dollars in creating infrastructure within this territory and has never shown any intention of dismantling the settlements for the future of a Palestinian state. Quite the opposite, it continues to expand them. This is the key reason for the negotiations; they are being used as a stalling tactic so Israel can irreversibly change the facts on the ground to make a future Palestinian state completely unviable.
In fact, the official Israeli position is that the land is not even occupied, it is merely disputed. The recently published Levy Report is paving the way within Israel to completely legalise the occupation and approve the process of legitimizing Israel’s settlement expansion activities. This is based largely on the claim that Israel occupies land that had no sovereign claim over it. Many pro-Israel lobbies also use this argument, including the Anti-Defamation League, however international law is very clear on this issue. Under the law of occupation, it makes no difference whether or not Jordan had sovereign claim to the territory before it was occupied. The binding definition in the Hague Regulations of 1907 establishes that “Territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army.”
The Israeli Prime Minister on countless occasions has also stated that Jerusalem will never be divided, despite the fact that East Jerusalem is considered by the international community to be part of a future Palestinian state. The Right of Return? Forget it, the Israelis will not accept any situation that allows an influx of Arabs that would damage its demographic hold over the land.
Let’s also discuss the “security” argument. Despite Hamas being the elected government of the Gaza Strip, Israel will not have dealings with them because they consider them to be a “terrorist organisation”. What I’m sure many of you don’t know is that Israel was actually founded by similar terrorist organisations such as the Haganah and the Irgun, the latter of whom carried out the King David Hotel bombing in 1946 killing 91 people. Once Israel was established in 1948 these organisations were then assimilated into the Israeli Defense Force and became the country’s national army and one of its leaders Menachim Begin became the country’s Prime Minister. Also, Israel claims it separates the populations for this reason, but if this is true, why is it also approving of settlements further and further into Palestinian territory? And why does it allow its citizens to live in flashpoints like Hebron, deep in the heart of Palestinian communities, surely the most dangerous place for an Israeli to live? The truth is that Israel cares more about colonising land than it does the genuine security of its people.
On top of this, Israel states it cannot deal with an organisation that calls for its destruction and insists that the Palestinians accept Israel as a Jewish state. However, there are many elected members of the Israeli Knesset who openly go on record calling the Palestinians a “cancer” and many of them also wish to expel the Palestinian population in an act of ethnic cleansing similar to that of 1948 in which 500 Palestinian villages were raised to the ground. For those labeling Hamas extremists, you need to look no further than the current Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, who even staunch Israel supporter Martin Peretz of the New Republic labels a Neo-Fascist and is known to publicly hold racist views.
I’m not by any means supporting the views of Hamas, I’m just saying that the view Israel wants to portray of a liberal society fighting against extremism is not an accurate portrayal of events. The violence and hatred between these two people is cyclical, one hatred cannot exist without the other.
The increasingly desperate situation for the Palestinians is that the two-state solution is now dead in the water. Despite the fact that Palestinians are pushing for it in the UN General Assembly and it is the only solution proposed by the international community, the facts on the ground mean that Israel can no longer step back from the precipice. It has no desire to dismantle its infrastructure in the West Bank and allow the Palestinians a right to self-determination. Let’s not even get into the difficulties faced by splitting a future state between two territories, Gaza and the West Bank.
The hopelessness of the Palestinian situation grows and their aspirations for self-determination seem further away now than they ever did before. Even in the event of the UN granting the Palestinians a state, what does it change? The settlers aren’t going anywhere. In a poll by the Truman Institute 21% of Settlers said that if Israel was to attempt to dismantle the settlements they would “resist it by all means”, presumably taking up arms. That doesn’t exactly bode well for the future of the two-state solution does it?
The truth of the matter is it is near impossible for a two-state solution to ever be approved by an Israeli government that is worryingly veering further and further to the right. Even if by some miracle a Palestinian state was pushed through the Knesset from pressure from the international community, it will most likely be a state with very little sovereignty, its security and resources still controlled by Israel, no right of return and very few settlements dismantled. Even then, the measure would result in many settlers taking whatever measures they considered necessary to hamper any attempt to dismantle their illegal settlements.
Just as a large portion of the Palestinian population becomes more religiously fundamentalist, so too does an increasingly large section of Israeli society. The Jewish right wing believe that Israel has been given to the Jews by God and no amount of international law will matter one fucking iota to them. Try presenting a creationist with years of documented evidence for evolution for similar results.
The two-state solution is dead. And I won’t miss it. I am an atheist, a secularist and a believer in civil rights for all human beings on this planet. The idea of a state founded on religion is abhorrent, whether that is Saudi Arabia, Iran or Israel. No one is saying the Jewish people do not deserve a place to live, but why should anyone be forced to accept that a country should discriminate against people based on their religion. The Law of Return grants any Jew the right to live and work in Israel, whilst at the same time Israel denies rights to millions of people born within the country for not having the same creed. What kind of justice is that? Why should the Palestinians be forced to live on their knees with no rights to self-determination? The time has come for those of us who believe in equality to make our voices heard.
The only solution on the table has been the two-state solution, it is the only matter ever discussed in the international community, but it is one that none of us will live to see established. Surely as humanity we should be striving for peace and equality. Surely the only justice would be a land that does not discriminate against people because of their religious beliefs. A land in which everyone is given a vote and an equal share. Democracy.
The problem for Israel is that no matter how much they build or how much land they annex, 5 million Palestinians won’t go away. In fact their population numbers are growing at rapid rate. That tends to be the problem populations living in abject poverty with little education or employment. Religious extremism grows rampant and people breed, having children is the only pastime for many of them. If the two-state solution is dead, then what is left?
Israel, whether it is ready to admit it or not, has essentially already annexed the West Bank. The land of Greater Israel is not so much of a Zionist dream anymore as the Apartheid reality on the ground. Israel fears admitting this reality the most because it spells the end of the idea of a Jewish state. Don’t take my word for it though; in October this year President Jimmy Carter said Israel had abandoned a two-state solution for a “Greater Israel” and that it was moving towards an “inevitable Apartheid”. Even Ari Shavit, who has referred to Netanyahu as a “visionary of the two-state solution” has also described the occupation as “intolerable” and referred to the settlements as a “disaster”
The recent report in Haaretz by Gideon Levy says it all, 58% Israelis polled believe Israel already practices Apartheid and 69% of the population oppose giving voting rights to Palestinians. If that isn’t Apartheid I don’t know what is.
We have seen it all before in South Africa. Before that we had the American civil rights movement. People without a voice demanding freedom and liberty. The reason Israel will not accept the Palestinian population is simple. Demographics – that is the key here. Israel exists as a Jewish state because of demographics.
There are roughly 6 million Jews living in Israel and roughly 1.5 million Israeli Arabs. There are roughly 5 million Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories. Add those populations together and you have your answer 6 million Jews against 6.5 million Arabs.
What do we mean by a one-state solution or a bi-national state? Essentially a land of Greater Israel, with all the occupied territories officially considered part of Israel. As I have been arguing, this is pretty much already the case. The key issue is the Palestinian citizens of that land are not entitled a vote in order to maintain a Jewish majority and Jewish control over the lands. That cannot be considered to be justice in any sense of the word. Like the American civil rights movement and the South African struggle against Apartheid, all citizens of this world deserve a right to live equally and free from oppression.
Even high-ranking Israeli politicians agree that this is the eventual outcome of this situation. Israeli defense minister and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said as long as “there is only one political entity called Israel it is going to be either non-Jewish or non-democratic. If this bloc of millions of Palestinians cannot vote, that will be an Apartheid state.”
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, “If the two-state solution collapses,” Israel will “face a South African-style struggle” and he said as soon as that happens “the State of Israel is finished.”
This does not mean for one second I agree with endangering the rights of Israel’s Jewish citizens either. More importantly they should have rights that equal those of their Palestinian neighbours. Everyone should have the right to freedom of religion (as much as I disagree with religion in the first place) and those freedoms should be constitutionally enshrined. However, as I said before, declaring a Jewish state or an Islamic state giving privileges to one group over another is amoral.
What faces the Palestinians in the one-state solution is pretty terrifying too. With Israel refusing to create a two-state solution, their opposition to allowing Palestinians to live and vote amongst them is even greater. If the past is anything to go by, there will only be more and more bloodshed as the dream of a Palestinian state flickers and dies and is replaced by a dream of living a life of equality.
A New Hope Rises from the Ashes
What amazes me is that despite Israel understanding this demographic threat to its “Jewishness” it is still moving full speed ahead to create a Greater Israel by annexing more and more of the West Bank whilst denying the Palestinians a “just” state and as John Mearsheimer puts it, its racist ideology is “effectively helping Israel commit national suicide.”
Sadly, as justified as this solution sounds in theory, in practice there will continue to suffer terribly at the hands of the Israelis for generations to come. However, eventually there is a hope that the Palestinians will eventually get their rights to self-determination, largely due to Israel’s unwavering desire for an Apartheid state has put it on course for total self-destruction.
Hopelessness describes the situation pretty well if you ask me. The only two options on the table are a crippled state forcing the Palestinians to stay living on their knees, or Apartheid with a civil rights struggle that will take decades. In any solution there will most likely be heavy casualties on both sides and what purpose does it all serve? There are those of us who live in hope of a day when all men can live side by side equally, in peace and with religious differences finally put to bed. But sometimes that road seems so long, and the light at the end of that tunnel is so far away that I don’t think any of us will ever live to see it. | <urn:uuid:f5e6d940-5118-4d4d-8367-9b426b955048> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ozkaterji.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/94/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962092 | 3,615 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Bone X Rays
Bone x rays are a diagnostic test in which ionizing radiation passing through the bones being examined enables an image to be produced on film.
Bone x rays are ordered to detect disease or injury to the bone such as broken bones, tumors, and other problems. They can determine bone density, texture, erosion, and changes in bone relationships. Bone x rays also evaluate the joints for diseases such as osteoarthritis.
Precautions should be taken to protect patients from unnecessary exposure to radiation. Patients should be shielded with lead aprons as much as possible. Women of childbearing age who could be pregnant should not have x rays of their trunk or pelvic regions. The fetus is especially
X rays are a common diagnostic test in which a form of energy called x-ray radiation penetrates the patient's body. In bone x rays, electrical current passes through an x-ray tube and produces a beam of ionizing radiation that passes through the bone(s) being examined. This produces a picture of the inside of the body on film. The physician reads the developed x ray on a wall-mounted light box.
Digital x rays are a new type of x ray in which conventional equipment is used to take the x ray but the image is produced via computer. In a digital x ray, the image is created on a reusable plate. After being read by a laser reader, the information is sent in digital form to a storage unit connected to a computer network from which the radiologist reads the x ray. An electronic report can then be sent to the patient's physician.
Problems with bones that x rays can detect result from injury or from disease caused by a malfunction in the patient's bone chemistry. Bone injuries, especially broken bones (fractures), are common and can be accurately diagnosed by bone x rays. X rays are especially helpful in diagnosing simple and incomplete fractures which can't be detected during a physical examination. X rays can also be used to check for bone position in a fracture. Some bone diseases can be definitively diagnosed with bone x rays while others require additional tests.
Osteoporosis, a common bone disease, can be detected in bone x rays but other tests are then ordered to determine the extent of the disease. For osteomalacia and rickets, a blood test and x rays of the affected bone are usually definitive; in some cases a bone biopsy (microscopic analysis of a small ammount of tissue) is also done. In a rare bone disease called Paget's disease, x rays may be used in conjunction with bone, blood, and urine tests to make a diagnosis. In another rare bone disease, fibrous dysplasia, bone x rays or a bone biopsy (microscopic analysis of a small amount of tissue) are used to confirm the diagnosis. Bone x rays are definitive in diagnosing osteogenesis imperfecta. For osteomyelitis, bone x rays are used in conjunction with a blood test, bone scan, or needle biopsy to make the diagnosis. For arthritis, x rays of the bone are occasionally used in conjunction with blood tests. In bone tumors, bone x rays are helpful but they may not be definitive.
Bone x rays are performed by a technician or radiologist, and interpreted by a radiologist. They are taken in a physician's office, radiology unit, outpatient clinic, or diagnostic clinic. Bone x rays generally take less than 10 minutes. There is no pain or discomfort associated with the test, but some people find it difficult to remain still. The results are often available in minutes.
During the test, the patient lies on a table. The technician taking the x ray will check the patient's positioning and place the x-ray machine over the part of the body being examined. After asking the patient to remain motionless, he or she steps out of the area and presses a button to take the picture.
The patient is asked to remove clothing, jewelry, and any other metal objects from the area being x rayed. If appropriate, a lead shield will be placed over other body parts to minimize exposure to radiation.
The patient can immediately resume normal activities.
The human body contains some natural radiation and is also exposed to radiation in the environment. There is a slight risk from exposure to radiation during bone x rays, however, the amount of radiation is small and the risk of harm is very low. If reproductive organs are exposed to radiation, genetic alterations may occur. Excessive or repeated doses of radiation can cause changes in other types of body tissue. No radiation remains in the body after the x ray.
Normal bones show no fractures, dislocations, or other abnormalities.
Results that indicate the presence of bone injury or disease differ in appearance according to the nature of the injury/disease. For example, fractures show up as clear breaks in the bones, while osteoporotic bone has the same shape as a normal bone on an x ray but is less dense.
A Manual of Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests. 5th ed. Ed. Francis Fishback. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1996.
"Tumors and Tumor-Like Lesions of the Bone." In Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment, 1996. 35th ed. Ed. Stephen McPhee, et al. Stamford: Appleton & Lange, 1995.
"FDA Approves Bone Density Measurement Device." Women's Health Weekly 23 (Mar. 1998), 13.
Tanner, Lisa. "New Radiology Saving Money-And Maybe Lives." Dallas Business Journal, 20 (25 July 1997): 23.
Wu, C. "Nylon May Take X Rays into Digital Age." Science News, 150 (3 Aug. 1996): 70.
"Bone Fracture," and "Osteporosis: Improved Detection and Treatment." ThriveOnline. 15 Apr. 1998 <http://thriveonline.oxygen.com>.
Lori De Milto
Arthritis—A disease of the joints that arises from wear and tear, age and less often from inflammation.
Osteogenesis imperfecta—Also called brittle bones, this is a condition present at birth in which bones are abnormally fragile, brittle and break easily.
Osteomalacia—A disease in which bones gradually soften and bend.
Osteomyelitis—An infection of the bone marrow and the bone.
Osteoporosis—A disease which occurs primarily in post-menopausal women in which the amount of bone is reduced or skeletal tissue wastes away.
Paget's disease—A disease, whose cause is unknown, which is generally found in older people. Symptoms include bone pain, bowed legs, curves spine, and broken bones. Another name for this disease is osteitis deformans. | <urn:uuid:7bb6918a-96af-4b5c-aa39-5b5226df3516> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/bone-x-rays | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920684 | 1,389 | 4.09375 | 4 |
Mel Smith is a popular, university-educated actor and comedian who started taking the painkiller, Nurofen Plus (12mg of codeine/tablet)-- and taking, as many as 50 tablets a day. Taking these kinds of drugs to excess can lead to gastrointestinal problems, inflammation of the stomach, chronic constipation, abdominal bloating and liver damage. The habit landed Smith in a hospital with two burst stomach ulcers.
Among other adverse effects, many drugs of abuse have been known to cause nausea and vomiting soon after use. Cocaine use can also cause abdominal pain.
Drugs that can affect the gastrointenstinal system:
As a result of scientific research, we know that addiction is a disease that affects both brain and behavior. | <urn:uuid:70df073b-f686-49af-b29e-28af25786283> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/medical-consequences-drug-abuse/gastrointenstinal-effects | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945144 | 154 | 1.90625 | 2 |
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only.
I was just on Press TV with Gabriel Talmain, professor of economics, and Shabbir Razvi, economist. Both men are based in London, a fact that explains a linguistic mishap I had that was baffling, infuriating, then finally amusing. We’ll get to it.
Asked about the Barclays manipulation of interest rates scandal, I more or less said,
Barclays is accused of deceiving regulators and the public, but as a major player in the US/UK banking cartel, all they do is deceiving and defrauding the public. This is a criminal network that has bankrupted much of the world. Barclays is being fined $450 million, but that’s merely a symbolic gesture, for show. They’ll make that back soon enough through their many other criminal rackets. It is a systemic problem.
Even when these banks are not breaking the laws, they are acting like criminals anyway, because the laws themselves are criminal. Banks are allowed to control the money flow and interest rates, and lend you money they don’t even have, so it’s a debt based system that enslaves everyone, from individuals to municipals to entire countries. These banks inflate your cost of survival while deflating your standard of living, and there’s no escape from this as long as we allow them to generate money out of thin air, as debts.
This Barclays story is getting little coverage in the US, and most Americans don’t understand the issue anyway. They also see it as merely a UK problem, but these Wall Street and City of London banks are all connected. The Federal Reserve and Bank of England are like a two-headed monster destroying much of the world. Recall how the Fed gave Barclays nearly a trillion dollars in a secret bailout. That’s criminal!
A trillion dollars! Objecting, Shabbir Razvi basically stated that it was too outrageous to believe. He had never heard of Barclays being handed anything close to this figure, and as he talked, with authority and some indignation, I suddenly started to doubt what I had just said. Did I misremember? Answering, I corrected myself by declaring, what I really meant was nearly a billion, not a trillion.
After the show, I checked my notes and realized I was right the first time, that it was $868 billion, to be exact. I could have kicked myself for backtracking and blunting my message, though later I discovered that Shabbir Razvi was also right. You see, a trillion in American English has twelve zeros, while the English trillion has eighteen!
1,000,000,000,000,000,000 vs. 1,000,000,000,000
Boxing promoter Don King once noted, “If you can count your money, you ain’t got none.” Like an increasing number of Americans, I can count all of my cash, several times, in a minute or two. I can probably do it with one hand. I can easily lay out my net worth on a paper plate, with enough real estate left over for baked beans. My stock portfolio is chicken. With trillions and billions such alien concepts, most Americans don’t freak out when robbed of such galactic amounts by Barclays, Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs or Wells Fargo, etc., at least not nearly as much as they would should a pickpocket deprive them of a buck or two.
The inflated costs of your education and housing, for example, are caused by banksters, but they pose as rescuers when they give you loans that will take an entire life to repay, and since all dollars enter circulation as debts, and since interest must be paid on these debts, without corresponding (non-debt) dollars made available, defaults are built into the system. In the best case scenario, you become a slave. In the worst, you’re dispossessed.
Whether you’re Greece or a recent college graduate, you don’t dare defaulting on loans, because you can’t imagine life beyond debts. Banksters are chaining Greece to them with additional loans, so Greece can service them into eternity. Privatized central banking is a perpetual debt machine.
Squeezed hard by financial rapists, you may have to put off marriage, or come out of retirement. In their mad greed, sometimes banksters even destroy themselves, though it is rare, too rare. Wall Street veteran Michael J. Marin recently committed suicide in court after being convicted of setting fire to a $2.5 million house he could no longer afford. A Yale graduate, Marin worked in Japan for Salomon Brothers, Lehman Brothers and Merril Lynch. Attempting to expose his sordid profession, Marin self-published a book, Fluctuations! The inside story of how Wall Street !@#$%& Asia Without a Kiss. So there you go. Young, old, black, white, brown or yellow, we’re all being reamed repeatedly by Wall Street and the City of London, with or without a kiss, not that many would want to tongue these pigs.
Banksters control our politicians and lives, fund wars and launder drug money. What Eisenhower called the military industrial complex should be updated to the military banking complex. Though scammers and slave masters, banksters pose as benefactors, providers and civic leaders. In my city, the basketball and hockey teams play at the Wells Fargo Center, and the baseball squad at Citizens Bank Park. In the UK, top soccer sides compete in the Barclays Premier League.
With London’s militarized celebration of triumphant Capitalism just around the corner, this Barclays scandal won’t be but a blip in our collective memory. Numbed by endless nonsense, we’re outraged by nothing and forget everything. Only two years ago, many thought that British Petroleum might not survive the Gulf of Mexico disaster, but now, it is fully back, and even billed as a “sustainability partner” of the upcoming Olympics. Eco-wrecking BP is a green company, because it says so.
Don’t think about the dying planet, needless war or a collapsing economy. Instead, pay attention to the kicked, thrown or hit balls. Admire the arabesque or uppercut. Keep tracks of sport scores instead of blood-boiling numbers that are ruining our lives. They’re cooked and massaged anyway.
Linh Dinh is the author of two books of stories, five of poems, and a novel, Love Like Hate. He’s tracking our deteriorating socialscape through his frequently updated photo blog, State of the Union. | <urn:uuid:90602d19-0cb0-4922-b3a5-d40289074fd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/07/04/banking-on-zeros/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961658 | 1,408 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Margaret Gregory was a poet and painter, and an active member of the RWA. A year after her death in 2011, her son, musician Will Gregory, is presenting a retrospective exhibition of her paintings and drawings.
A combination of key works charting the last 30 years hang alongside previously unshown pieces from Margaret’s own collection as well as remarkable pictures unearthed from her studio. The exhibition recreates a flavour of Margaret’s much-loved studio including the easel and palettes she used as well as the photographs and cuttings from which she took inspiration.
Featuring her diaries, sketchbooks and the poetry she wrote, Will has curated a very personal show, providing a rare insight into the life of this powerful, poetic and visionary artist. | <urn:uuid:7b378285-6432-4939-9af2-f235249f4290> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rwa.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/2012/02/exhibitions-margaret-gregory/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978953 | 159 | 1.601563 | 2 |
What Happened to Poor Man's Pâté
Now frying, the breakfast specialty of North Carolina's mill towns
Photo: Chuck Shuford
Livermush. There, I've said it. As repugnant an appellation as that is, it's about as accurate a description as can be packed into one word to describe this geographically challenged working class food. Unless you've lived in North Carolina at some point in your life, it's unlikely you've ever heard of it, much less tasted it. The livermush story begins in the mid 1700's when available land in the upper colonies grew scarce and German farmers, including my ancestors, hit the Great Wagon Road which ran down Virginia's Shenandoah Valley into the western Piedmont of North Carolina. They brought with them a type of pork mush made from hog scraps called scrapple that is still found in the mid Atlantic states. For the uninitiated, scrapple is a mixture of leftover meat parts and flour (frequently buckwheat flour) cooked in a meat stock until it thickens. It is then allowed to set and made into a loaf, like polenta. I grew up eating the better tasting, but unappetizingly named, descendant of that food.
Livermush is definitely populist fare, so don't expect to find recipes in the Junior League Cookbook. Early settlers made it in cast iron pots and stirred with wooden paddles, incorporating whatever bits of the hog had not been used previously. A regional food born of necessity and hard times, its popularity is thought to have grown during the Civil War when anything edible was valued. Now electric agitators and stainless steel steam kettles are used, but the primary markets are still the mill towns and small rural communities of North Carolina.
The author, age 5, with dog Bullet
near Mooresville, North Carolina (1952)
When I was a child, there were mom and pop groceries in the mountains and in the western Piedmont that made their own livermush but almost all have disappeared. An exception is Walsh's Grocery in Connelly Springs, NC, where they've been making livermush since 1934. A meat market in my hometown steered me to them by offering "They say it's the best around.��? David Walsh stands ready to tell you about how his grandfather and father built the business. They usually make around 300 lbs. per week, and it is all sold in the store. Walsh says that a major supermarket chain wants them to make 15,000 lbs a week for its stores but he refuses. "Don't want to work seven days a week.��?
What ingredients invite loyalty to this strange sounding food? The primary component is hog liver "“ at least 30% by law to be classified as livermush. As for other hog parts, it really varies from company to company but don't expect anything below the head. Yep, that includes the snout. One operator told me that they use only "the liver and the skin.��? After cooking to a proper mush, the mixture is placed in a pan and cooled until it is firm, then sliced into one pound loaves for sale. Livermush is generally flavored with sage, salt, pepper and cornmeal, which to my mind is the foremost culinary blessing in this swinely concoction. I have never had a food that was battered in cornmeal and dropped in hot, bubbling oil that wasn't lip smacking.
There is a product very similar to livermush called liver pudding; the confusion between the two is not unlike the confusion between sweet potatoes and yams, even though the difference is not as great between the pudding and mush. In fact, one livermush producer told me that there is actually more variance in taste between the different livermushes produced by the five existing commercial producers than between livermush and liver pudding. Two methods can be used to distinguish these dishes. The first involves ingredients. Liver pudding generally does not use cornmeal but rice or various other cereals as a binder. The second method, to my mind, provides a more accurate distinction. Draw a line north to south through North Carolina roughly following the path of the Yadkin River. Anything east of that line is called liver pudding; anything west of the line is livermush. I was advised by one producer that the closer they get to the mountains, their livermush begins to outsell sausage.
Livermush comes precooked but is finished in a skillet and served crispy
Photo: Chuck Shuford
Even though you buy livermush already cooked, it still should be fried in order to get a crispy outer crust. This is universally accepted. The joy of eating is not about taste alone. Gastronomic pleasure is heightened by the other senses as well, so having the sensation of that crunch immediately before you bite into the creamy liver center heightens the gustatory experience. Livermush is primarily eaten as a breakfast food: served with grits and eggs or slathered with mustard and placed between halves of a steaming biscuit. A restaurant in Charlotte, NC, is known to offer a livermush and feta omelet. For some reason, we rarely ate livermush for breakfast in my family but frequently had it for supper with pinto beans and cornbread.
Its proponents believe that livermush is a food for the Gods; its detractors lean toward "abomination��? as a descriptive term. I've witnessed debates over the subject as fierce as any among devotees of North Carolina's two barbecue styles -- Eastern and Lexington. I have a cousin who can turn down country ham or sausage but is first into the plate when livermush is served. She believes it should be "savored delicately as a pinnacle of Southern culture.��? A friend raised in the same town began to describe it in a manner I thought complimentary, comparing it to foie gras, but then completed his sentence with "and tastes as I imagine foie gras eaten and fully processed by the goose.��? (This is far from a compliment.)
For the record, my own taste buds tell me that the truth lies somewhere between those extremes, though leaning comfortably on the tasty side. In fact I find myself most in agreement with North Carolina chef and food writer Sheri Castle, who grew up eating livermush in the North Carolina Mountains and admires the taste but stopped eating it "because I learned to read.��? Livermush is certainly high in Vitamin A and Iron, but a 2 ounce slice contains 90 calories, 40 of them from fat. And if you're one of those people who need to boost your cholesterol level, that 2 ounce slice will provide 17% of your daily cholesterol requirement.
Another popular livermush presentation (pass the mustard, please)
Photo: Chuck Shuford
Shelby, N.C., mayor Ted Alexander, on the other hand, touts livermush as the "world's most perfect food.��? It may be only idle speculation that his opinion was influenced by the fact that two livermush producers are located in Shelby and for almost 20 years they held a Livermush Expo that drew thousands to the city. While there are no preservatives or chemical additives on the production end, I wouldn't say that about what goes into the hog. Given the corporate hog raising practices today, my biggest nutritional concern is what remains in the liver when it leaves the hog.
This debate over the toothsome quality of this dish captures what is perhaps the key, compelling livermush question. Is one's love of livermush a culinary preference or a deep seated geo-culinary orientation? My own unscientific but extensive survey, tells me several things. If you weren't raised on livermush, you probably will not develop a taste for it. In fact I haven't met anyone from out of state who relishes it. The closest I came to an out of stater saying something polite about this dish was a statement from a native east Tennessean. John Shelton Reed, an esteemed sociologist of things Southern, has taught at the University of North Carolina since 1969 and is writing a book on North Carolina barbecue, so he has a fondness for pig. His take on livermush? "I've only eaten it once. It was OK. It was fried nice and crisp. I like liver, anyway. But I haven't sought it out since.��?
The second thing my survey tells me is that if you're a native Tar Heel but Episcopalian, it's not likely to be a part of your world. Finally, if you're Southern Baptist or Methodist or if your family members worked in the textile mills or had grease or dirt under their fingernails after a days work, you love the stuff and don't hold with people talking bad about livermush.
None of this should be surprising. Every culture has its prized foods that outsiders can't stomach. Scotland has its national dish, haggis: sheep's heart, liver and lungs minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and boiled with a stock in the animal's stomach for approximately an hour. You won't find that on the menu even in the North Carolina Highlands.
The specialty of Drexel, North Carolina: mush on a stick
Photo: Keith Massey
Fortunately people have a sense of humor about this mongrel meat. Drexel, NC, a mountain community of 1,900 dependent upon textile and furniture industries for most the 20th century, has a Livermush Festival sponsored by the First Church of God. The festival owes its existence to Pastor Tony, an Arizona native who was offered livermush by his adoring parishioners shortly after his arrival. Unfortunately, Pastor Tony couldn't make it slide down his gullet. There was a good natured give and take and one day the pastor made a joke about it from his pulpit. Out of that joke came the festival, which draws 800-1,000 people with its theme "Everything but The Squeal.��? Their most successful product? Livermush on a stick, which is livermush rolled in a batter, skewered and fried. Pastor Tony says, "We can't make enough of it.��? He then offered, "Maybe livermush slushies are next.��?
As far as I can tell, there are only five commercial livermush producers on the planet, they are all located in North Carolina, and all remain family owned and operated. Two of these (Mack's and Jenkins) are located in Shelby in the southwestern part of the state and a third (Hunter's) is 45 miles north in the mountain community of Marion. In the piedmont city of Greensboro, you'll find Neese's, a company also known for its sausage, and in tiny China Grove, it's Corriher's. Even more important to those of us raised on this culinary oddity who no longer live in the Tar Heel state is the fact that distribution is limited almost exclusively to North Carolina .
What is the future for a popular but very local working class food in the age of fast food chains wed to national menus? The producers who have boosted sales owe that increase to a market that's geographically expanding "“ it's not that current markets are eating more livermush.
Phyllis Hunter Harmon, whose father started Hunter's livermush in 1955, offered disarmingly open comments about their business to a stranger who happened to inquire. Hunter's serves five rural counties and has ten employees. Seven of those ten are family "“the four children of the founder who all have ownership and three grandchildren. In the week before I spoke with her at the end of August, Hunter's had produced 20,000 lbs of livermush, but in times past they have produced 30,000 or more pounds per week. It's not that people like livermush less but increasingly they eat at fast food restaurants where it isn't served. Plus the demographics of the state are changing. Between 1990-1998 North Carolina had a net gain of over 500,000 domestic migrants, a large portion of those coming from upstate New York. I tossed that little gem to an old buddy from North Carolina recently and he winced, stared at me and said in a plaintive drawl "Well, hell, that can't be good for livermush.��?
Harmon doesn't necessarily see a bright future for her father's company unless they dramatically change their marketing. The heart and soul of this company, she explained, has been the mom and pop restaurants and locally owned markets. "This is the way we started, and my dad, (now 83) believes that is who we should serve.��? They try to stay in the smaller population centers and even those places are changing. They used to sell 650 lbs. a week to a catering service that sent trucks out to the nearby mills and factories, but now there are few factories and the catering service has vanished.
Photo: Chuck Shuford
While I and almost everyone I interviewed emphasize frying, the title of this article refers to this morsel as a pâté. This is not a lightly chosen moniker. Perhaps this story from my son offers a hopeful future for this strange little food that has nourished many a millworker and farmhand. "The restaurant was semi high dollar with a bistro atmosphere and I ordered a pâté appetizer. When it came out, it was served cold over a bed of greens and drizzled with a roasted pepper aioli. I took a bite and it was a really familiar taste. When I inspected the dish I noticed that the pâté wedges were triangular as though cut off a rectangular loaf and then halved diagonally. And the pâté had the telltale livermush bumps on the outside. I knew the chef and when he came out I asked him if he sold much of his pate. He said that it was a new addition to the menu but it was catching on fast. I then recommended that he take away the bed of greens and aioli and serve with a dinner roll and some French's mustard because it reminded me a lot of the cold livermush sandwiches my granny used to eat. He gave me a quick nervous look and then went over to talk to the manager. Our dinner was paid for by the restaurant and the chef made sure to send over a nice bottle of wine to go with the rest of the meal. Nothing more was said.��? | <urn:uuid:186f7d70-3686-409c-bae5-bc49ff54fcfe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailyyonder.com/what-happened-poor-mans-p-t | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978145 | 3,134 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Have you heard of the Eat-Clean Diet? It’s really not a diet at all, it’s a lifestyle. It’s healthy eating the whole foods way. I’ve been reading the book and the cook book. The author has a lot of good information about whole foods and how to lose a few pounds.
Eating whole foods has become a lifestyle for our family. It began with my first son, eight years ago and it’s evolved to where it is now. It’s kept unwanted pounds from creeping up on my husband and I both. We have sweets the whole foods way; I bake with white whole wheat flour and olive oil or butter and raw sugar. I emphasize, it took us eight years to get where we are today.
When you have an active lifestyle, like most modern families with children, freezer cooking whole foods is the way to go. Cooking and freezing lean protein sources, like beans, chicken or lean pork and very little lean red meat will not only save your pocketbook, but it will save you much time. Check out my post on chicken kabobs to see how much chicken I really did prep.
I’ve already implemented many of the author’s ideas about eating-clean: shopping the perimeter of the store, cooking protein sources ahead of time, eliminating soda, eat a variety of food sources and read food labels. There are many more ideas in the book and cookbook which may be available at your local library. I like to check the library or preview borrowed books before I purchase. I gleaned many baking ideas and I plan to post a few recipes from this cookbook.
In a nutshell, eating-clean is eating God’s way-in the most natural form possible. Your body is God’s temple and you are you eat. You’re striving to eat “back to the basics” without the food additives and preservatives. You can do this by carefully reading food labels at conventional grocery stores, shopping at natural stores like Earthfare or Greenlife, and cooking and freezing homemade items made with minimal ingredients. I prefer the latter method because it’s time saving, cost effective and healthy for my family.
What clean-eating goals have you set for yourself or your family this year? I’m baking nearly all of our bread and trying new cracker recipes. How about you? | <urn:uuid:931d6721-31e7-4dbc-9832-ecf92c745511> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://momonamission.me/tag/eating-gods-way/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963753 | 498 | 1.625 | 2 |
College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be, By Andrew Delbanco
Princeton University Press, 240 pages, $24.95
Visit any campus bookstore, and in addition to lighthearted tracts on applied calculus and hoodies made in China, you will see a baby jumper emblazoned with the school’s logo—a sign of how anxiously and superstitiously Americans hope that their kids, still capable of only gurgling and monkey reflex reactions, will one day go to college. It is this glossily promoted hope that Columbia University professor and social critic Andrew Delbanco explores in a book that, despite its title, is no work of prescriptive policy. Wonks may be disappointed at the lack of charts and tables, but Delbanco explores American higher education in a manner befitting a scholar of Melville and the Puritans, with a humanist’s belief in lessons from history and in asking what the right thing is to do.
The first American colleges were built on the British model, he reminds us, from which ancient features—dorm living, put-upon teaching assistants, study-day benders—survive today. Almost from the outset, though, deans of what would become the Ivy League universities held the building of civic pride and moral soundness in America’s ruling citizenry to be their highest goal, even higher than the training of ministers, as had been the norm in Mother England. “The American college was conceived from the start as more than narrowly ecclesiastical,” Delbanco writes, “with the larger aim, as the historian Samuel Eliot Morison put it, to ‘develop the whole man—his body and soul as well as his intellect’ toward the formation of a person inclined to ‘unity, gentility and public service.’”
Not everyone could join these well-rounded ranks, of course. For a long time, American schools were not too academically choosy, instead picking out the sons of gentlemen farmers, the new republic’s base of power. Top schools stayed blue-blooded well into the 20th century. The gates finally flew open almost 70 years ago, with the GI bill sending to college millions of men who otherwise wouldn’t have dreamed of it, and millions of women and minorities eventually following suit by the mid-1970s. Since then, the pressures and rewards surrounding college have only grown.
Despite these advances, Delbanco thinks that colleges, as they’ve struggled to meet societal expectations that may be impossibly high, have lost their moral center. But not for the reasons that Tom Wolfe was able to easily gather rich source material for all the sex in I Am Charlotte Simmons. The institutions themselves, in Delbanco’s view, no longer take time to nudge students toward an active sense of civic belonging. The college experience has been subsumed by the exhausting demand for quantifiable measures of achievement—grades easily inflated, majors chosen with an eye for high salaries post-graduation. Of the subjects studied, science sits at the top of the heap (admissions brochures feature Swedish-minimalist computer labs and humanoid robots), while business students are rewarded for their pragmatism with gleaming facilities, a subtle butter-up in the hopes of a future gift. When politicians talk about higher education, too, they mean the need to compete. All the while, there’s rarely a mention of college’s qualitative benefits to either a young person’s life or to society. “Science has an enormous advantage in the competition for university resources,” Delbanco writes. “It has the ability to demonstrate progress—an ability of inestimable value in a culture that has always been more forward-looking than retrospective. ... It poses a severe challenge to the humanities—at least to the extent that humanists remain concerned with preserving truth by rearticulating it rather than advancing truth by discarding the old in favor of the new.”
When answering the question of what college at its best can do, or at least used to do, Delbanco, a secular Jew, often circles back to an age when religion, with its moral concerns, held a more prominent place: “The era of spiritual authority belonging to college is gone. And yet I have never encountered a better formulation—‘show me how to think and how to choose’—of what a college should strive to be: an aid to reflection, a place and process whereby young people take stock of their talents and passions and begin to sort out their lives in a way that is true to themselves and responsible to others.” Still, he is a realist anchored in the present and aware that many, perhaps even most, of today’s students will go through school neither interested in nor ever encountering that old-fashioned sense of a community of learning.
Reading this book made me recall the question I used to ask myself as an English major only a few years ago. What was the utility in spending entire class hours discussing the assonance of a line of poetry or the dualities of a character’s thought? I believed I was studying how to bring precise words to feelings and thoughts about life and death and what sometimes seemed a gaping chasm between myself and others. Yet if I am honest, when I defended the humanities to a chemistry major, it was in my generation’s lingua franca: a touch of cynicism, a rat-a-tat elevator pitch. Talking about staring up into the silvery cascade of leaves on a tree and knowing the joy of Wordsworth’s “spot of time” is not something you mention in polite company these days.
Delbanco also makes a fair case that young people today are less interested than they used to be in both public service and a certain understanding of inner life that used to be called introspection. Yes, the millennial generation famously uses the tools of social networking to found all manner of idealistic enterprises. But our feeling of connection to an overarching greater good is a bit wanting; if democracy is a garden that needs tending, a lot of us seem to hope it’s a Chia Pet—give it a bit of water and leave it alone.
College has always been a microcosm of society, so a book about it is also about how we’re doing as a country. The inspiration for Delbanco’s book was his teaching of an undergraduate course on equity and access to higher education. In a nutshell, they’re shrinking. True to his argument’s genesis, Delbanco mixes a cocktail of fact, anecdote, and ponderous musing for the most disinterested, hair-twirling student. Pell grants cover a fraction of what they did in 1976, when the program was founded. The chance that kids whose family’s income lies in the bottom quartile will go to college is one in five. If you’d like a reason why income inequality exists in an increasingly service-driven American economy, these are good starting points. Quoting the social and literary theorist Walter Benn Michaels of the University of Illinois at Chicago, who has called top-tier universities “our primary mechanism for convincing ourselves that poor people deserve their poverty,” Delbanco goes on to add that “few people inside or outside academia would say such a thing openly, at least not without softening it with protestations of humility, but the fact is that many people secretly—or not so secretly—believe it.”
Only a few years ago, students my age believed, not so secretly, in the meritocratic fantasy that success would come our way by virtue of our having done time in the collegiate womb. After the crash, we wondered if we had made a great mistake in throwing ourselves full-force into debt. We’re still not sure how things will turn out.
Yet there’s another reality, and it’s unlikely to change. Those who end up running things in this country will continue, without exception, to be people who went to college; everyone else will end up living by their rules. For this reason, it seems only right that these training grounds of tomorrow’s powerful keep a place for students who know the life-preserving difference that a social safety net can make. Maybe it’s even good for those in power to have had their minds stretched by the briefest bout with thinkers who have asked, “Why do we wage war?” And “Is this all happenstance, or is there a plan?”
In his poem “Digging,” Seamus Heaney ruminates on the lives of his peat-digging father and grandfather. Heaney, a college man, recognizes that his life will not be like theirs. But it will be ever informed by their experience:
But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I’ll dig with it.
If the daughters of soybean farmers and mortgage brokers were to gather with the sons of factory workers and lawyers to discuss this poem, the result might not train a 21st-century workforce. But there are worse visions of a country, and far worse uses of a college afternoon.
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December 25, 2011
The Art of the Patent
A patent disclosure often describes the drawings, which are required "where necessary for the understanding of the subject matter sought to be patented." 35 U.S.C. 113. Kevin Price celebrates the art form in The Art of the Patent. The book is a nicely done picture book, and well thought out, though slight. The text is juvenille, written for junior high school level, both in content and gee-whiz attitude. The opportunity to explain the craft of patent illustration is foregone. This would have been a much better book with more maturity, and truer appreciation of skill by exposition, rather than mere illustration. That might have made the book a reference worth returning to, rather than something consumed in a sitting or two, and then left on the shelf. That said, it is the perfect book for the lobby coffee table of a patent prosecution firm. Perhaps that was the target audience all along.
December 22, 2011
Consider an apparatus claim to an "assembly," with structures "bonded" to each other at surfaces (4,884,631). One would construe the claim to be of a single thing. But the courts are disingenuous, exercising bias by nuanced misconstruction. In this case, that the claimed assembly "must be separate parts," when the claim clearly states otherwise. The asserting plaintiff: a mere patent holder. The defendants: household name corporations Sony & Lenovo, neither American, but both large corporations facing a court-despised species: "patent troll." Now there's an excuse for injustice.
December 18, 2011
The patent office's failure to deliver renders the post office an amateur shambles, leaving the PTO pros at incompetence. Then there are the courts, which use case law as a subterfuge, rather than the creation of a body of consistent case law, as the legal profession naturally expects. In understated outrage, Hal Wegner considers a recent case of chemical obviousness before the patent board (BPAI).
December 12, 2011
The corrupt plutocratic governance in this country saves its skin from mass revolt by long-con shading: maintaining the appearance of playing it jake, while keeping the dice loaded for the money players when it matters. The courts in patent cases do this through nuanced rulings, with the assistance of double-speak case law. When a dumb judge steps over the line of indiscretion, it is checked by slicker fixers from above. Case in point: New Jersey Judge William ("Little Willie") Martini, who likes his martini dry, but made a ruling that was all wet.
December 8, 2011
Construction Equipment Company (CEC) sued Powerscreen for infringing 5,234,564, which claims a construction site debris sifter. "The district court ruled that the '564 patent was valid, enforceable, and willfully infringed by Powerscreen, and entered final judgment... The Federal Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment. Constr. Equip. Co. v. Powerscreen Int'l Distrib. Ltd., 243 F.3d 559 (Fed. Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1148 (2001)." That should have been the end of it, but it was only the beginning. The USPTO and CAFC demonstrate an abject disregard for the law and the constitution, as the anti-patent juggernaught rolls on, leaving only debris from intellectual property.
December 2, 2011
Teva sued AstraZeneca for infringing RE39,502, claiming drug treatment for lazy meat eaters (dyslipidemia). But AstraZenaca had manufactured the patented drug first. Summany judgment of anticipation was the defendant's remedy. Teva complained that it deserved the patent because AstraZenaca hadn't appreciated what it had done. No need for that, the CAFC reminds. | <urn:uuid:9b8dae42-ab29-4591-94ae-23a6ea99e1ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.patenthawk.com/blog/2011/12/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934048 | 809 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Ray Kroc is one of the men most responsible for shaping modern America: his ideas and designs for transforming McDonald’s from the 228-unit chain of restaurants in 1961 into the massive company he’d built by his death on January 14, 1984 have changed the landscape of cities, towns, and highways around the country.
He bought the Padres in 1974. After his death, Bud Poliquin of the San Diego Evening Tribune wrote:
Ray Kroc was many things. Philanthropist. Entrepreneur. An internationally known figure. But beyond all of that, beyond the fortune he accumulated through his development of the McDonalds restaurant chain, he was a hot dog-eating, peanut-shelling, foot-stomping baseball fan.
Yes, Ray Kroc , the feisty owner of the Padres and the man who saved major league baseball in San Diego , was always a fan. And in that sense, he was just like anybody else who ever stood up to stretch during a seventh inning.
“I am not buying the Padres to make money,” he said in 1974 upon acquiring the then-woeful National League club. “I’m buying the Padres because I love baseball. The Padres will be my hobby.”
Over the years, his hobby came to be embraced by this city. The Padres, it seems, with the Dick Williamses, Steve Garveys, Goose Gossages, Garry Templetons and Terry Kennedys, have finally become contenders. The coming season could be the most interesting one of them all.
And, sadly, Ray Kroc won’t be there. A part of us is gone. San Diego’s greatest fan and one of baseball’s best friends will be missed.
That October, with the Cubs and Padres meeting in the NLCS, the Union Tribune’s Wayne Lockwood wrote:
The Cubs, a team that held his devotion for 75 years, has reached post-season play for the first time since 1945.
And the Padres , a franchise Kroc saved for Southern California in 1974 when it was signed, sealed and all but delivered to Washington, D.C., will be there with them. A team that never before finished in the first division has won the National League West. . . .
Padre players, with the initials “RAK” on their uniforms, literally played this season with their hearts on their sleeves.
“I wish he could have held on until we made him proud of us,” said Kurt Bevacqua.
“Ray did so much to try and win a pennant here,” said General Manager Jack McKeon. “I wish he could have lived to see it happen.”
“My only regret is that he didn’t get to see the club win a championship,” said Ballard Smith, the Padres’ president and Kroc ‘s son-in-law. “But I think he knows about it.”
It is difficult to believe otherwise. They were so close, these two, the owner and the team. Each filled a need for the other.
Without Ray Kroc , there would be no Padres. The troubled team already had been sold conditionally by founding owner C. Arnholt Smith to Washington grocery-chain owner Joseph Danzansky when Kroc read of its availability in a Chicago newspaper.
“I thought to myself, ‘My God, San Diego is a gorgeous town. Why don’t I go over there and look at that ballpark?’ ” he said later.
Soon Buzzie Bavasi, then the Padres ‘ president, received a telephone call informing him that a “Mr. Kroc” might be interested in purchasing the team.
“How many people are in Mr. Kroc’s group?” Buzzie inquired. “Mr. Kroc is the group,” came the icy reply.
Eventually, a bargain was struck. The one-man group purchased this team for $12 million, and things were never quite the same for either again.
Equipment trunks already packed for shipment to Washington were unpacked. Bubblegum cards showing Padres players in Washington uniforms became collectors’ items.
Ray Kroc, at 72, finally owned a baseball team. It wasn’t the Cubs, whom he earlier had attempted to buy from the Wrigley family, but it was all his. “My hobby,” he called it. “My very expensive hobby.”
It soon became evident that the Padres were also his love. And, like most love affairs, this one had its rocky moments. Ray Kroc was, above all, a fan of his team — a trait that endeared him to other fans but not always his players or the hierarchy of baseball.
On opening night of his first season, Kroc seized the public-address microphone in the eighth inning of a 9-2 loss to Houston and announced, “I have never seen such stupid ballplaying in my life.”
The crowd of more than 40,000, which obviously agreed, roared. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn was less amused. He suggested Kroc apologize for being right.
Kuhn later was to fine the Padre owner $10,000 for admitting that he might be interested in signing such players as Goose Gossage and Graig Nettles, should they become free agents. Ironically, in this championship season, both Gossage and Nettles finally became Padres .
“Baseball has brought me nothing but aggravation,” Kroc said at the time of the fine. “It can go to hell. The fun in it is all gone for me.”
But he didn’t mean it.
The man would grow angry, but never for long. He enjoyed himself too much for that.
“One can only offer a baseball team three things — hard work, money and patience,” he said. “I have a lot of the first two, but not much of the third.”
He would grow impatient with his players, especially several expensive free agents who did little to earn their keep. But when Steve Garvey hit a grand slam to beat the Giants, Kroc cried.
“Baseball players are like your own children,” he said. “They break your heart at times, and they make you love them at other times.”
Here’s a chronology of Kroc’s time as Padres owner that the Union Tribune put together after his death:
1974 — With the Padres on the verge of being sold to a Washington, D.C., group, Kroc purchased the financially troubled club in January for a reported $12 million and vowed to keep the team in San Diego. A lifelong Chicago Cub fan who had failed in earlier attempts to buy the Cubs, Kroc said he made the transaction “because I needed a hobby.”
On Apr. 9, while the Padres were on the brink of losing a 9-5 decision to Houston in the season opener at San Diego Stadium, Kroc took the public address microphone in front of 39,083 fans. ” … I’ve never seen such stupid ballplaying in my life,” he said.
1976 — Despite the fact he wasn’t a hockey fan, Kroc purchased the San Diego Mariners of the World Hockey Association because, he said, “I felt the city deserved professional hockey as well as baseball and football.” The team lost a reported $1.4 million in his first year as owner and Kroc subsequently relinquished the franchise.
Hoping to turn the Padres into contenders, Kroc delved into the free-agent market for the first time. He signed Rollie Fingers and Gene Tenace of the three-time World Series champion Oakland A’s to multi-year contracts totaling more than $3 million.
1979 — Kroc was fined $100,000 by Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn after publicly stating that he would pursue Cincinnati’s Joe Morgan and New York Yankees’ Graig Nettles if they were available in the upcoming free-agent re-entry draft. Kroc paid the fine and said “baseball can go to hell.”
Shortly after the incident, Kroc turned over the Padres’ administrative duties to his son-in-law, Ballard Smith. Still irate over the fine and having suffered his first in a series of strokes later that year, Kroc kept a low profile on the club’s day-to-day baseball operations from that moment on.
1982 — On the evening of Oct. 2, Kroc celebrated his 80th birthday in a gala celebration prior to a Padre game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. More than 43,000 fans came out to salute the man who nearly nine years earlier had saved the sport from leaving town.
Later, in the club’s biggest acquisition of its history, All-Star first baseman Steve Garvey was lured south from Los Angeles and the rival Dodgers for a reported $6.6 million over five years. Kroc was said to have taken some part in the negotiations.
1983 — In 4-1 victory over San Francisco July 3, Garvey hit a grand slam home run with Kroc in attendance. It marked the first time the owner had witnessed one of his players accomplish such a feat. According to Smith, Kroc wept with joy as he watched Garvey circle the bases.
Suffering from his diabetes and the effects of his numerous strokes, Kroc entered Scripps Clinic in La Jolla Dec. 5.
1984 — The Padres pulled their second free-agent coup in successive years by signing reliever Rich “Goose” Gossage to a reported five-year, $6.25-million deal Jan. 6. Later that day, Gossage visited Kroc in the hospital.
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Welcome to Current TV
Japan shows signs of rising from recession
The rebound in April-June came after the world's second-largest economy contracted for four consecutive quarters, as consumer spending inched up and exports surged in cars, video recorders and other electronics goods, Kingo Toyoda of the Cabinet Office said.
Japan had sunk to its worst ever quarterly contraction in the October-December quarter, when its gross domestic product, or the value of a nation's goods and services, shrank at an annual pace of 13.1 percent.
But Japanese manufacturers have benefited from recovering demand in China and other emerging markets. Government stimulus measures have also helped, such as cash handouts and incentives to boost the purchase of ecological products.
Exports grew 6.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, marking the highest growth since April-June 2002 when Japanese shipments expanded 6.4 percent.
Economists warned that the recovery could quickly run out of steam because salaries were plunging in the fallout from the economic woes that have battered this nation since the global financial crisis. The lift in spending from ecological incentives also aren't expected to last for long.
During the quarter through June 30, compensation for employees dipped 1.7 percent, the data show, while consumer spending edged up a weak 0.8 percent.
Japan's housing investment continued to lag in that period, plunging 9.5 percent on quarter, the government said.
Also Monday, the government said in revised data that the economy had slid 3.2 percent in the fiscal year through March 31, following 1.8 percent growth in the previous fiscal year, ending March 2008.
Export-dependent Japan has been hit hard by the recent plunge in global demand. Major companies such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp. have cut thousands of jobs and suspended factory lines. The jobless rate hit 5.4 percent in June, a six-year high.
Up to the early part of last year, Japan had been eking out moderate growth in between periods of slight contractions, as it slowly emerged from a decade-long stagnation.
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Room Home > Older Students>
Resource Room - Tips for a working model
Susan Jones, M. Ed. 2/99
1. Be Prepared. Before you
meet the students, examine their IEPS to figure out how you're
going to meet their needs. This may mean being aggressive
in being allowed to find out the students in your courses
-- you are *not* a regular education teacher who knows that
you'll be teaching "Physical Science" fourth period
with a predetermined school system's curriculum. You cannot
really plan anything until you've seen the individual needs
of your students.
Take a good look at those IEPs. If three students with emotional
problems need a place to unwind, it will be impossible for
you to simultaneously provide an "undistracting environment"
for LD/ADD students to complete tests or assignments. If three
different students need individual or small group remediation
for different subjects, and the IEP states that each student
will get "50 minutes a day" of that service, you
may be overtaxed in your lesson planning and may find it hard
to claim that you are complying with the IEP. Before it's
December and you realize "things aren't working,"
anticipate these kinds of conflicts. Make room arrangements,
paraprofessional schedule arrangements, student schedule or
IEP changes, or other adjustments if need be.
2. Establish communication routines early
and thoroughly. Connect with the students' other
teachers, and get creative in figuring out a way to establish
regular communication with a minimum burden on either of you.
One of the great frustrations for a resource room teacher,
the student and parents, is finding out that a student has
done poorly in a class when it's too late to do anything about
it. Don't hope that a system "will evolve,"
or assume that if you haven't heard anything, that everything
is fine - even if the student tells you it is.Have
a system in place and give the student positive feedback early,
instead of waiting for someting negative and reacting to it.
3. Be Proactive.Decide how
you're going to evaluate student performance -- and tell them
on the first day of class. Just as the IEP has "measurable
progress," insist that your students learn and do measurable
things in your class. Provide a chart for weekly or daily
grades and do what it takes to make sure that your students
are getting something out of resource class -- and can see
what they've gotten.
3. Be Provocative.Expect your
students to learn from school. Some of your students will
be very adept at avoiding responsibility; many have very low
expectations. If you can't make the connection through their
regular classes, provide other things for them to learn in
4. Avoid the "enabling" trap.
"Matthew effect" is the phrase used to describe
how students with mild handicaps get further and further behind
their peers, as "the rich get richer, the poor get poorer."
Resource rooms, unfortunately, can aggravate this tendency.
When a student is being 'helped' through assignments and tests,
and not held accountable for actually learning the material
in them, then only the appearance of learning is happening.
Other students will be learning content from that same assignment
and integrating what they learn into what they already know.
Too often the "helped" student learns that school
is a place to make people think you're doing what they want
you to, that other people learn but you don't, and that you
need to be shepherded through your classes. Often, assignments
can be creatively modified to make them meaningful, without
simply reducing the quantity of work involved.
5. Avoid the "give them a fish"
trap.Teachers in middle and secondary school often
assume that if a student hasn't learned basic skills in reading
and math by that point, that it's not worth investing any
more time in learning those skills. The student may be assigned
to the resource room to compensate for the reading the student
is assumed to be unable to acquire. This is a gross injustice
to the child. Middle school students, high school students,
and adults have been successfully taught to read.
Unfortunately, the older the student, the more intensive
the program needed and the longer it will take to make gains.
It's highly unlikely that this instruction can be successfully
accomplished in a resource room setting. If the primary barrier
to a student's success in other classes is a specific skill,
especially in middle school, then placement in the resource
room may not be appropriate, although it is common. Meeting
with the parent(s) and others on the IEP team and finding
a way to teach the student those skills can be the difference
between a future college graduate and a future illiteracy
Learning Activities for the Resource Room
These activities are for students who "don't have nothin'"
or are "going to study." Depending on just how much
structure the students require, you may assign point levels
to various tasks (which can be individually adjusted) so that
the student knows how much s/he has to complete to achieve
a certain grade on a daily (or more frequently if necessary)
or weekly basis. If students keep an ongoing notebook of their
resource room work, they can see progress, especially if they
do a lot of work in one area.
Learn to study. Instead of
"looking at notes," there are many active ways to
study. Student can be graded on things such as illustrated
flashcards for words they're learning, or paraphrased notes,
or oral quizzes on the material they reviewed, especially
if you can give a quiz after fifteen minutes of active studying.
Skills Database from Muskingum College has many, many
Practice basic skills. That
doesn't sound too exciting, but often students would pick
out one of my "basic Math review" sheets -- and
since they couldn't do the same sheet twice, they ended up
doing progressively more challenging work but staying at their
"comfort level." A good secondary spelling program
can also help -- if a student learns the "i before e"
rule all of his teachers may thank you!
Learn something else of interest.
Some students will work on an independent 'project'
in a subject of interest -- especially if they are provided
with structure and feedback throughout the process. Find out
in advance about upcoming projects and give the student the
chance to get a jump on assignments that can otherwise be
overwhelming. I have had students who decided they wanted
to learn all the states and capitals, and scheduled the number
they were expected to learn each day; others used blank maps
and atlases to learn where countries were. Another student
did an extensive report on the nine planets - that wasn't
copied from the encyclopedia. It's amazing what students will
do when they have choices and expectations.
Learn to keyboard. Keyboarding
is a tangible, marketable skill and one that can be learned
relatively independently. Odds are reasonably good that there's
at least one old typewriter or computer suitable for learning
to keyboard somewhere in your building or school system. http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/technology/product_list/keyboarding_skills.htmllists
many keyboarding programs (software and book form) and products
which have been used successfully with people with learning
disabilities and/or motor skills challenges.
Learn from commercial comprehension materials.
There are many, many products designed to appeal to
"at risk" or "reluctant" readers. Be aware,
though, that often the reading levels of these materials is
still beyond the independent reading levels of your students.
Don't add to the humiliation by giving a student "special"
materials -- that they still can't read. Look for materials
that actively engage the students. Vocabulary
exercises on this site may be appropriate for some students.
Weekly Reader has an "Extra"
magazine for middle and secondary special needs students that
has many activities and interesting articles. At least as
I write this, you can go to http://www.google.com,
click on the "news " tab, and type in a word such
as dyslexia, and students can read and summarize current articles
- and learn how the media perceives people with learning disabilities
and attention deficit disorder.
Learning Materials for the Resource Room
Student Dictionary - these dictionaries have definitions
that make sense to students. Collegiate dictionaries tend
to have definitions which you still have to "translate"
into comprehensible terms. Students who had been unwilling
to work independently on vocabulary or learning terms for
other classes often change their attitude when it becomes
possible to do the assignment.
Supplies are negotiable. If you are not going to have a way
to supply them, you will have to deal with students who do
not have the materials to complete their work. Some teachers
have been known to require a shoe as collateral.
Always have appropriate activities available, and students
are more likely to accept that their choice is *what* academic
work to do, not *whether* they do academic work. While I'm
not a big fan of word searches for learning content (most
of my students did not so much as read the words, much less
think about what they meant), they are an option (I assigned
a low point value to them).
If possible, get copies of the texts they use in other classes,
or other books on those topics. You can have the students
apply study skills learned in your class to materials they
may be held responsible for learning. If you want to discourage
them from relying on you to provide the books when they could
and should bring them themselves, you can stipulate that if
they use your book, they must do your assignment. As with
bringing other supplies, though, you may wish to choose other | <urn:uuid:457da852-63f9-45ab-9afc-fa66194673d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.resourceroom.net/older/resourceroomtips.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94378 | 2,148 | 3.265625 | 3 |
India is on the verge of being declared polio-free.
For the first time in history, India will be free from the viral disease for a full year as of 13 January and could be taken off the “endemic” country list by the World Health Organization as early as mid-February.
“This is absolutely unprecedented, there’s no denying it,” said Deepak Kapur, chairman of the Rotary International PolioPlus Office. “However, the biggest threat is reimportation of the virus and complacency. We must remain extremely vigilant if India is to remain polio-free.”
India will be removed from the list subject to pending samples of people suspected of having the disease turning negative and if no further cases of polio are detected in the coming weeks.
Immunization drive: A file photo of a Pakistani girl getting polio drops at the Attari railway station in Punjab. Even if India achieves non-endemic status, there are threats of re-importation from neighbouring countries.(HT)
Caused by a virus transmitted primarily through contaminated food and water, polio is a highly infectious disease that can lead to irreversible paralysis. More than half its victims are children under the age of three. The fatality rate among those who become paralysed is 5-10%. Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where the disease (Types 1 and 3) is still endemic. Type 2 has already been globally eradicated.
In order for a country to be taken off the endemic list, they must be polio-free for at least 12 months. India’s last reported polio case was of a two-year-old girl in West Bengal on 13 January 2011. In 2010, there were only 42 reported cases, down from 741 in 2009. If India successfully achieves the 12-month milestone, it will be the first country to be taken off the endemic list since Niger and Egypt in 2006.
Lieven Desomer, Unicef’s chief of polio, credits the leadership of the Indian government, which dedicated nearly $2 billion towards eradication efforts, cooperation among partners Rotary, Unicef and the World Health Organization, the introduction of bivalent vaccines (that immunize against both the T1 and T3 virus), and recent strategies targeting vulnerable population such as migrants and Muslims as critical factors contributing to the success.
“The leadership and partnership on the part of the government of India has been critical,” Desomer said. “India contributes more than 80% of the budget needed to do this—and that’s quite extraordinary.”
Also See | India Nears Polio-free States (PDF)
India is, however, far from being safe in the fight against polio. Even if it achieves non-endemic status, there are threats of re-importation from neighbouring countries. While India may not have any reported cases in 2011, Pakistan had roughly 189, Afghanistan 74 and China reported 21 cases, according to data made public by the Polio Global Eradication Initiative.
Desomer also sounds a warning on complacency.
“It’s not finished. We know there’s a lot of movement across borders, so India needs to work very hard to make sure that if the virus finds its way over the border, it does not result in an outbreak,” Desomer said. “The government of India has to treat every case of polio as a public health emergency. This is not the time to lower our guard.” While India may be declared a non-endemic state this year, it will have to remain polio-free for an additional two years in order for the region—which includes Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor West—to be officially declared polio-free. “This progress is very encouraging and has reassured us and the world that with intense, focused efforts polio virus transmission can be stopped and the strategies applied are sound,” said Hamid Jafari, project manager for the World Health Organization’s National Polio Surveillance Project. “India must now capitalize on this progress and secure polio eradication. Complacency is not a luxury the programme can afford; continued high-level vigilance for polio, emergency preparedness and ongoing intense immunization will be essential for rapid detection and elimination of any circulating polio virus.” | <urn:uuid:43162d25-b12e-4b16-b938-f69041c297eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.livemint.com/Politics/bGNMriBkNsVdwZTXloFSkJ/India-on-verge-of-being-declared-free-of-polio-vigilance-ur.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948347 | 921 | 3.109375 | 3 |
A class consolidating the experience gained in year 1. Pursue a more individual route, resulting in a body of work reflecting students' concerns. One-to-one tutorials to learn a range of skills from practising artists. Basic materials included. This course allows you to develop the skills and sense of critical reflection acquired in stage 1 of the City Lit fine art course. It provides a framework for you to explore and develop your own fine art practice. Emphasis will be on personal development in a supportive environment, with continual feedback and evaluation of the work you produce. To join the course it is recommended that you have completed stage 1 of the City Lit fine art course or equivalent. Interviews and portfolio checks are arranged for entry to the course so that we can give you all the information you need and make sure the level is right. It will be assumed that you have an aptitude with drawing and some experience of working with a range of other materials. You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety information, and will be invited to take part in group discussion. You should be able to use numbers and be able to do simple measurements and calculations. Please look at the rest of the course outline carefully to decide if you may benefit from support in your English and Maths skills to help you to take part fully in this class. | <urn:uuid:7b2bb69b-23fc-4845-a0e5-7f445c1735d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/event/24553064-city-lit-fine-art-course-year-2-at-city-lit | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940811 | 279 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Going further down the gutter
Are we rendering George Orwell obsolete by introducing Maltesespeak instead of doublespeak? The possibility that the Government will fall this evening centres on a simple, age-old fact. A vote will be taken on a motion of confidence – that for the House to go into committee to consider the Finance Minister’s Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.
Of all the procedural motions the Government can put forward that are motions of confidence, this evening’s money bill is the major one. In every assembly based on the Westminster model, the opposition votes against the government on a motion of confidence. If that were not the case there would be no opposition but a de facto coalition government.
We do not have that, not between the Nationalist and Labour side. We have rarely had it, in fact. The Nationalists know that well enough. They have always, but invariably, voted against the government on a motion of confidence.
It beats the imagination, therefore, why they are suggesting that the Labour Opposition has some sort of obligation to support the Government this evening. It is even more surprising that an old institution like the Chamber of Commerce should implicitly come up with the same argument.
Government, Chamber and others are taking this extraordinary wrong stance because if the Government is defeated this evening the Budget motion will not pass and will have to await the outcome of a general election. In that scenario the Government can do – and be exhorted by the likes of the Chamber to do – a simple thing: call an election within the shortest legally possible time, which is five weeks. Instead the Government signals it is planning to take the full allowable stretch – almost three months. If it does that it would be for purely partisan reasons, to give itself time to recover lost ground.
It would behove the Chamber and others to come out strongly against that. Will it, will they? It would also behove the Chamber to tell its members and other employers to pay the statutory wages increase from January 1.They have to accrue for it, in any case. Will it?
The political game is once again dividing across class lines. Labour is being brought into the confidence motion insanely and unnecessarily. It is precedence and the voting numbers that will count. If there is a voting majority against the Government, it would fall. Full stop. If Franco Debono makes it to the House and keeps his word, if all Opposition MPs make it to the House and none is prevented by sickness, the Government will be as dead as the dodo.
It will become a caretaker government until the election is held. It will publish a legal notice which will allow government spending to be carried out on the same basis as last year. Government revenue will also be kept at that relative level, so the excise duty tax increases will have to be reversed.
It will not be the end of the world, the end of Malta. Five weeks – the minimum – will pass; three months, if Lawrence Gonzi chooses to be partisan to the end, will also pass. No Maltese enterprise will close. Very simply, Malta will live a few weeks of unusual history, being governed by a defeated government which anyhow lost its majority and its moral authority months ago.
What will remain, the general election aside, will be lessons to be learnt.
Could the Prime Minister have behaved differently towards not just Debono but also those of his ministers who have brought the Government into administrative disrepute? Was he weak not to sack one or two ministers and reshuffle out of logical leadership choice, and not because he was forced to do so by the stubbornness of a junior MP, who after all was right on a number of issues?
Was there need for so much bloodletting and for the creation of Maltesespeak as a new form of doublespeak which shoves Maltese politics further down the gutter?
Was there, really? | <urn:uuid:66ca0b05-03ae-412b-95ea-6088173972de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20121210/opinion/Going-further-down-the-gutter.448961 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96691 | 801 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The Volvo Group's vision is to become the world leader in sustainable transport solutions. As one of the Volvo Group’s core values, environmental care is at the heart of our business. By continuously introducing safer and more efficient products and pioneering solutions, the Volvo Group reduces the environmental impact of the use of our products.
We take the environmental impact at all stages of the product lifecycle into account – from the first sketches on the drawing board, throughout its service life until it is recycled. At the same time, energy-efficient products and solutions mean significant savings for our customers. We also strive to improve efficiency and minimize the negative impact from our own production. The long-term ambition for our production is to become carbon dioxide neutral.
Determined to be part of the solution
We are committed to significantly reducing our environmental impact, and to raising awareness about environmental issues among our stakeholders and society at large, especially those issues related to the transport industry. We develop products and services that help our customers and other stakeholders to minimize their environmental footprint.
Environmental care - a core value
"Environmental care" is one of the Volvo Group’s core values. In 1972, during the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, we launched our first environmental position on mobility and the environment. Since then we have continuously communicated and trained employees and management on environmental responsibility issues. Today, environmental issues are an integral part of our vision, business strategy and daily work.
Improving environmental performance in production
In total, Volvo Group has 65 production facilities in 20 countries. Regardless of size and location, all of our production units must comply with our minimum requirements for environmental performance. Our long-term ambition is to make our plants carbon dioxide neutral.
Environmentally enhanced products
Approximatly 90 percent of the total environmental impact of Volvo Group’s trucks is generated during use, mainly through fuel consumption. Fuel consumption also represents a large cost for our customers.
We focus our product development on increased energy efficiency and engine and vehicle technology for renewable fuels. Lowering the operating costs makes business and environmental sense; it improves the profitability of our customers while reducing the environmental impact.
Attitudes and behavior are important factors for sustainable transports. We therefore offer services and solutions that help customers to use our products in the most efficient way. | <urn:uuid:ecde8995-2f6a-4f9d-860f-e84f639ba9b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.volvogroup.com/group/global/en-gb/responsibility/environmental_responsibility/Pages/Default.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938615 | 473 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Keep in mind this functionality is not free. Raw pointers when handled correctly suffice in situations where the 'shared-ness' is not needed or cumbersome. Some game design books talk about using all smart pointers but most talk about using raw pointers and shared's only when absolutely necessary. Shared pointers are notoriously slower (obviously) and this might make or break some projects. However these pointers should not be created in performance critical loops but even using pre-created boost::weak_ptr's requires a call to lock(). You must check the result of lock() prior to using the returned shared_ptr and then branch execution based on the result. For me it is an issue of both and. I definitely see the benefit of smart pointers in production code and have written several containers and classes that use it, but I also see the complexity that they do add. Even boost's implementation, although quite simple once you get used to it, is not all that straightforward. The documentation for them as well is hideous. It took me some time to figure out how to force the pointers to go out of scope b/c the documentation was so unclear. Another issue I have with boost is that it is templated. I realize it has to be but the problem is that templates cause all versions of Visual Studio Intellisense to just about croak. In my experience MSVS will rarely, if ever, provide any Intellisense past weak_ptr::lock() and rarely shows anything for boost::shared_ptr. I realize this is MSVS's fault as it pertains to templates but for the time being it does make working with them, and boost, a pain.
Whatever you do, though, be sure to always use smart-pointers, and generally speaking, RAII techniques. There's absolutely no excuse for managing raw pointers "by hand"...EVER!!! | <urn:uuid:4fd637c1-096f-4cc5-9a7f-5dcb8553cd6e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cboard.cprogramming.com/cplusplus-programming/122985-goto-2-print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955057 | 376 | 1.929688 | 2 |
I am not an expert on presentation skills. I don’t think many medical people are. Medical people often aren’t practiced at slide presentations. It’s not something we do every week, but we do have to do it every few months. Most of us never get to be highly skilled or highly practiced, and we rarely repeat a presentation. Furthermore, criticism is often directed at the facts we present, rather than the method of presentation.
I attended and presented at our hospital research awards last night. I saw 13 great presentations on the varied projects undertaken here over the last 12 months. Here is my collation of what those presentations taught me.
- Assume your audience is not interested or doesn’t care about your topic Â
- Address your audience
- Look to the audience, not at the screen
- Less explanation is more
- Answer the question
- If you need thinking time, tell the questioner they asked a good question
This is harsh, but realistic. You need to tailor your presentation for someone who is falling asleep and is not interested. So it has to be simple, visually accessible and clearly explained. Clarity will not frustrate those who are interested. But it is folly to make your presentation too complicated for those who don’t care.
People will pay more attention to relevance. So if you are addressing a group of surgeons, explain how your project is clinically applicable. If you are addressing basic scientists, tie your topic back to mainstream growth factors, or pathological practices that they might work with.
It is very tempting to read off your slides, but it is awful to watch. Read from your notes, or the computer screen if you can get it facing the right way.
Excessive explanation can get boring, and make it seem more complicated. Inadequate explanation can be cleared up in question time.
If a question is unexpected, your answer is probably going to be rubbish and hard to understand. The first thing out of your mouth should be the answer - “yes”, “no”, “we don’t know” or “That is a limitation of the study.” Then the botched explanation you go into will make more sense.
If you do this for every question, you look like an idiot, but it can be effective once or twice.
- If you use a Mac, make sure your theme uses Windows safe fonts
- Don’t use a standard, recognizable powerpoint theme
- Simple themes are best.
Three out of fourteen presentations were prepared on a Mac, and they all had their fonts converted to Courier. Luckily, we noticed with enough time to fix it. (I was one of these).
We all use Powerpoint. We all know all the themes. It looks cheap and tacky. Avoid.
A plain white background is classic. A plain black background looks great in a dark room, and adds emphasis to your data, as it appears with no border.
Diagrams and Images
- Avoid complicated diagrams
- Think about adding more images
- Reproduce complicated images from journals or online to describe pathways or associations
- Use flow charts or concept maps where possible
- Don’t reproduce tables from external sources
- Use captions and annotations on images
- Use full size images for impact
No one is going to work hard to understand what the diagram means. They don’t care that much. Simplify as much as possible
Any slide with only writing can be difficult to focus on. Given that, why not give them a picture to look at? Either use a picture from your project (a photo of equipment, or a photo of a histology slide or gross specimen) or find a relevant image on a free stock photo site. Don’t use clip art.
If you can get a digital copy of the image, it will look better than what you create yourself
Complicated concepts are difficult to understand, even if written in point form. A flow chart or concept map helps the audience to understand complex relationships or processes.
They are unreadable when projected as the font loses clarity. Rewrite the table instead.
Captions prevent you from manually orientating the audience to the image. Write a caption next to anything you are likely to point at with the laser pointer.
One of the presenters used full size images of immunology stains to point out detail. It was very effective as there was no clutter, only the image.
Using graphs and charts
- All graphs should look the same
- Use the minimum amount of “ink” in charts
- Avoid 3d and shading effects on graphs
- All graphs should have error bars and comparisons should have significance values
- Each experimental group should have a consistent colour or format in all graphs
Although you may use scatter plots, histograms or box plots for different reasons, try to minimize the different types of graphs. And ensure they are all the same colour and layout. Headings and legends should be consistently labelled.
Anything unnecessary to the message should be removed.
They can be bad maths, and see point 2.
This is one of the few ways colour can be used to enhance the clarity of line graphs or histograms. For example, your normals should always be pink, your shams green, treatment 1 orange etc, regardless of which two you are comparing. This means people only have to read the legend once, and makes charts more visually accessible.
- If presenting research or a journal club article, your last slide should be “Implications of this data”
- Don’t write full sentences on slides.
- Avoid words of more than one syllable wherever possible
- Keep data on each slide to a minimum
- Avoid lengthy explanations of background and basic theory
- Don’t include anything that you are uncomfortable with on a slide
- Your conclusion slide must be able to be read from the back of the room
If it is not your last slide, it will be your first question. (This was one of my mistakes too).
The role of slides is to keep your audience focussed on what you are saying. They should be readable in one glance.
See above. All the words you would use in a scientific article can not be read in a glance, so are of no use to your audience. You may say them, but avoid writing them
If a slide has three graphs, then it is usually better to use three slides to display them, and spend the same total time on each.
Too much time on background means less time for results and discussion. (Yes, I did this one too). The audience needs to understand your study, not design it.
When you get nervous, the first thing you will do is apologize for it.
This may be the only slide your audience reads. If they haven’t been paying attention, they will use it to ask questions. No full sentences. Lists and point form works well. Consider a table if the results can be displayed in groups.
Presentation skills is a big thing in business. People present every day, and become very skilled at it. So there is lots of information out there for us part-timers who wish to improve our performance.
Do you have any clunkers you have recently learnt? Share your presentation advice or links in the comments.
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- Medical software I couldn’t do without After a discussion on the Twitter, I got thinking about... | <urn:uuid:0b6b5351-442a-40a2-8b81-fa103f9e8181> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://applequack.com/2008/11/28/how-to-prepare-a-medical-presentation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934137 | 1,649 | 2.296875 | 2 |
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eso8714 — Organisation Release
eso8713 — Science Release
eso8712 — Science Release
15 July 1987: The discovery of what may be the first true binary quasar has been reported by a European-American team of astronomers using a combination of optical, spectral, and radio observations. The pairs of nearly identical quasars, separated by only 4.2 arcseconds projection on the sky, have a redshift of 1.345, corresponding to a distance of some 12 billion light-years from Earth (according to the standard cosmological distance scale) and are apparently associated with the radio source PKS 1145-071 in the constellation Crater .
eso8711 — Organisation Release
Astronomers and Physicists Meet at ESO at the First Full-Scale International Conference on Supernova 1987A
8 July 1987: The first full-scale, international meeting about the bright Supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) was held at the European Southern Observatory in Garching near Munich on July 6 - 8, 1987. ESO was a natural meeting place in view of the many different observational studies of SN 1987A which have been carried out at the ESO La Silla observatory.
eso8710 — Science Release
3 July 1987: The first observations of a long-lived radioactive isotope outside the Solar System indicate that the Universe may be younger than previously thought. Using one of the world's most powerful spectrometers, located at the ESO La Silla observatory in Chile, Professor Harvey R. Butcher of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, has detected for the first time the radioactive element Thorium-232 in stars. A comparison of its abundance in old and young stars failed to show the expected differences. This means that the total age of Thorium-232 in these stars must be smaller than about 10 Gyr , instead of the previously estimated 16 - 18 Gyr.
eso8709 — Science Release
eso8708 — Organisation Release
25 May 1987: An exhibition about the European Southern Observatory will be open to the public at the Heysel Planetarium, Brussels, Belgium, on June 6 - 15, 1987 (all days, also during the weekends, from 10:00 to 16:30). It has been organized in a collaboration between ESO, the Brussels Planetarium and the Belgian National ESO Committee.
eso8707 — Science Release
14 May 1987: In these days, northern astronomers have reason to envy their colleagues in the south. By chance, the two main events in observational astronomy at this moment both occur deep in the southern sky and they can therefore not be observed from the astronomical centres in the northern hemisphere.
eso8706 — Science Release
31 March 1987: “This supernova is different from all others observed so far".That is the unanimous conclusion of astronomers who have observed supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with ESO telescopes since the explosion in late February (see ESO 04/87 and ESO 05/87). The collective results from the ESO La Silla observatory of no less than 38 astronomers have now been submitted to the European journal Astronomy & Astrophysics where they will appear in six "Letters to the Editor'' in the May(I) 1987 issue. These articles cover astrometry, optical and infrared photometry, polarimetry, optical and infrared spectroscopy and high-resolution spectroscopy; they are immediately available in ESO Preprint no. 500 (March 30, 1987) which can be obtained by request to the ESO Information and Photographic Service.
eso8705 — Science Release
3 March 1987: One week after the explosion of a bright supernova (1987A) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (ESO 04/87), and after intensive observations at the European Southern Observatory and elsewhere in the southern hemisphere, it is now possible to draw several important conclusions about this unique event.
eso8703 — Science Release
26 February 1987: Stars do not live forever - they are born and they die. All stars are born by contraction of matter in large interstellar clouds of gas and dust, but they do not all die in the same way. Heavy stars appear to end their active lives in gigantic supernova explosions (eso8608) while less massive stars (like our Sun) follow another path.
eso8704 — Science Release
eso8702 — Science Release
5 February 1987: A European group of astronomers has discovered an extreme example of `quasar-like' activity in an otherwise normal radio galaxy. What is most remarkable in this case is that the activity occurs not at the galaxy's centre, but in its halo at a distance of about 30000 light years from the centre. This important result, which is based on observations at the ESO La Silla observatory, opens new and exciting lines in galaxy research .
eso8701 — Science Release
eso8611 — Science Release
4 December 1986: An unusual "astro-detective" investigation came to a successful conclusion today, when a long lost planet in the solar system was finally found again. This planet which carries the name "MALLY" and the number "1179" had been missing for 55 years, and was last seen in 1931. Its faint image was now identified on photographic plates obtained with the ESO Schmidt telescope during a dedicated search programme. The accurate orbit of MALLY in the solar system has now been determined, ensuring that MALLY will never be lost again. This work was carried out by Drs. Lutz Schmadel of the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut in Heidelberg, FRG, and Richard M. West of the European Southern Observatory.
eso8610 — Science Release
5 November 1986: For the first time, an accurate and direct determination of the diameters of the outermost planet Pluto and its moon, Charon, has been made. On the basis of measurements of light changes during eclipses, Pluto was found to have a diameter of 2200±140 km. Charon is approximately half the size; the diameter is 1160±100 km. Charon moves in an almost perfectly circular orbit around Pluto; the orbital period is 6.38 days and the mean distance is 19400 km.
eso8609 — Organisation Release
4 October 1986: The ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) project has passed an important milestone on its way towards realization. This week, more than 80 leading scientists and engineers from the ESO member countries (and beyond) made a detailed assessment of this ambitious project, which aims at the construction of the world's largest optical telescope. There was unanimous agreement that the present concept is near the optimal, that it is technologically feasible and can be realized within approximately 10 years after funding has been decided upon, and that it will allow European astronomers to perform new and spectacular investigations of the universe, unparalleled elsewhere. Completion is aimed at in 1997 but part of the VLT may become operational already in 1993.
eso8608 — Science Release
13 May 1986: Detailed observations of a bright supernova in the peculiar galaxy NGC 5128 = Centaurus A, have led astronomers at the European Southern Observatory to believe that this galaxy is much closer to us than previously thought. It is the nearest, strongly radio-emitting galaxy and is as such an object of crucial importance in modern astrophysical research. The revised distance is 7 - 10 million light years or only 3 - 4 times farther away than the Andromeda Nebula. Cen A may therefore even be an outlying member of the Local Group. The total radio emission energy corresponds to the conversion to pure energy (annihilation) of a mass equal to 10.000 suns.
eso8607 — Photo Release
6 March 1986: This spectacular image of Comet Halley, rising above the eastern horizon, was obtained at the La Silla observatory during the morning of February 22. It was made by superposing 6 exposures (total 9 min.) with the wide-field CCD camera which was specially designed for the study of Comet Halley. The image measures 5.5 x 9 degrees across and covers the 500 - 1100 nm spectral region (green near infrared). Each pixel (image element) measures 31 x 31 arc-seconds.
eso8606 — Organisation Release
Showing 961 to 980 of 986 | <urn:uuid:6dcf7669-566d-49a6-b4aa-45c54e307861> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eso.org/public/news/list/49/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928657 | 1,756 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Diamond Core Drills
Diamond Drilling Glass
To achieve the best results in drilling glass the following points should be taken into consideration:
1. A drill press or stand drill will always give better results and longer drill life than hand held drilling.
2. In an ideal world the peripheral working speed of a diamond core drill for glass would be about 5 metres per second, representing about 9500 revolutions per minute (rpm) for a 10mm drill. As most standard electric drills are made to run at a maximum of 3500 rpm it’s clear from this that we can’t achieve optimal drilling speeds until we are drilling with a 28mm drill.
As most manufacturers today make core drills that will operate sufficiently from 1 metre per second we can run a 6mm drill on a machine running at 3500 rpm. Consequently, every drill size smaller than 6mm isn’t running efficiently in a standard electric drill and requires special care, i.e. plenty of coolant (very cold water preferably with a cooling additive), a drill stand or some means of holding the drill in a steady position and sufficient coolant pressure to ensure that the contact area is kept clear of debris.
3. Most drills from 3mm up are core drills, that is to say a drill with a hole in the centre to allow coolant to flow freely. For drills up to 6-7mm it’s necessary to ensure that the core remains free of debris and this can be achieved either by using a high pressure coolant supply or regularly removing the drill from the work to allow the coolant to flush the work area and clear the core of the drill.
4. Don’t forget that you are essentially grinding glass and not drilling in the traditional sense. Your greatest enemy is heat build-up as this will lead to micro cracks in your work and possibly premature drill tip failure.
5. Never drill constantly. Always lift the drill out of the work at very regular intervals, the smaller the drill diameter the more often.
Types of Drills
Sintered diamond core drills, unlike plated drills, have diamond content throughout the tip of the drill, so as it wears down you can run it through a dressing stick and expose new diamonds. This extends the lifespan significantly. Other advantages are apparent in the speed and efficiency of drilling. These drills are the choice of professionals and represent the best value and performance per hole.Advantages:
- Multiple layers of diamond
- Super smooth finish
- Longest lasting drill
- Most cost effective
With sintered drills, it is however important to have a continuous coolant feed through the centre of the drill to prevent damaging the drill and the work. It is also highly recommended that you use a drill press. We offer sintered drills with a Belgian 1/2 inch connection. We also offer adaptors to match your specific water feed system.
Electro-plated drills are a single layer of diamond or CBN, mixed in a nickel bath deposited onto a substrate for maximum diamond or CBN exposure. Diamonds sit only on the surface. When this diamond portion is peeled off, the diamond drill will slow down, drill on the side or stop working altogether.Advantages:
- Least Expensive
- For small volume cost effective
- A little less sensitive to heat build-up
Varying with application and material, an average electroplated diamond core drill will last you 60 to 100 holes. Electroplated drills cost less, and at first glance may seem like the most cost effective alternative. However depending on your application, they will cost you more in the long run.
Solid shaft drills for use in small high speed drills (Proxon or Dremmel). These drills are nickel plated and the best method of drilling is by having the glass submerged in coolant. Be very careful when using electric drills, make sure they are low voltage (with transformer) and well earthed or even better use a high speed air driven drill.
Dressing sticks made from silicon carbide or alumina oxide (soft bond) are usually used for dressing diamond tools. Sintered diamond drills must be used with the diamonds exposed properly through frequent dressing. Otherwise, the diamond matrix will glaze over.
The drill will begin to tear rather than grind which is very destructive. Tearing caused from unexposed diamonds creates friction. This causes uneven wear and heat cracks in the drill as well as the material being drilled, resulting in premature wear and will eventually destroy the drill. The more a diamond tool is dressed the cooler it will drill or cut.
When added to water synthetic water soluble coolant will improve your overall diamond drilling operation by as much as 30%. Plain water evaporates at 100°C. Temperatures at drilling zones reach 250°C.
Water evaporates before it cools the diamond drill & material resulting in shorter Diamond drill life. Use of coolant reduces micro cracks associated with overheating, improves drilling speed, increases drill life and improves surface finish. | <urn:uuid:c3370581-ffef-4ea5-8ed3-1c535cbe1b1d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.creativeglassshop.co.uk/diamond-core-drills-cms-27.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919969 | 1,029 | 2.1875 | 2 |
I have been taught that the Ka`bah in Mecca – al-Masjid al-Harâm – is the true qiblah. Kindly help me to understand why the Prophets like Jesus, Jacob, and Solomon (peace be upon them) did not pray towards the Ka`bah?
The qiblah before the time of our Prophet (peace be upon him), and for some time after his being sent, was Bayt al-Maqdis, Jerusalem.
Thereafter, Allah ordered his Prophet (peace be upon him) to change the qiblah to al-Masjid al-Harâm in Mecca.
Allah says: “We see the turning of your face (for guidance) to the heavens. Now shall We turn you to a qiblah that shall please you. Turn then your face in the direction of the sacred mosque (al-Masjid al-Harâm). Wherever you are, turn your faces in that direction.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 144]
Before that, the Ka`bah had been a place for people to walk around during their pilgrimage.
I do not know of any qiblah in history other than these two. Whoever follows the Prophets, including Muhammad (peace be upon them) and had prayed to Bayt al-Maqdis, then he was a believer and was fulfilling the command of Allah. However, after Allah changed the qiblah, all prayers should be directed to al-Masjid al-Harâm. This is what must be done if a person believes in Islam and follows the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This is because Islam has abrogated the Law of all the previous manifestations of the religion.
Allah says: “The foolish among the people will say: What has turned them from the qiblah which they formerly observed? Say: ‘Unto Allah belong the East and the West. He guides whom He will unto a straight path.’ Thus We have appointed you a middle nation, that you may be witnesses over mankind, and that the Messenger may be a witness over you. And We appointed the qiblah which you formerly observed only that We might know him who follows the Messenger from him who turns on his heels. In truth, it was a hard (test) save for those whom Allah guided. And never would Allah Make your faith of no effect, for Allah is Full of Pity, Merciful toward mankind.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 142-143]
Source: Islam Today
-- Al Arabiya Digital | <urn:uuid:d073ec44-f3c0-40fc-b2da-b37e4c71f87d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.islamonline.com/news/print.php?newid=538650 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9673 | 546 | 2.703125 | 3 |
- See rouet. (Wiktionary)
“After managing to get his hands on a little corned beef hash and a few slices of fried potatoes without being hassled too much by Gary and the twins, he went back to his Cadillac bedroom, rewet the gunnysacks, and slept until it was quite dark.”
“I had a bad habit uv puttin my contacts in my mouth to rewet them.”
“Do not leave sponges on the side of the tub or sink where they will repeatedly be rewet.”
“In the bitterly cold towns on the northern border, the coaches used to break the surface of the lake with hatchets and hand out basins of water to the kids, so they could rewet the surface of the ice and smooth it down.”
“When he dunked the stocking back into the tub to rewet it, Rebecca took off, but he chased after her and quickly caught up.”
“From time to time, rewet the towel or washcloth in cold water.”
“He rewet his brush, and sketched another blurred area on the wood.”
“If ware becomes too dry, it is best to throw it out, as trying to rewet it usually takes longer than starting over again.”
“I cannot give the reason why, but, as a general rule, bromide prints tone better if the print has been dried after washing and rewet just before toning.”
“Mis fit was re writing US Policy during his campaign kind of like w rewet his campaign promise not to nation build”
These user-created lists contain the word ‘rewet’.
Allophonic homographs. Words that are pronounced at least 2 ways, having different senses. 'august' and 'polish' are less ambiguous since capitalization make the correct pronunciation clear (at lea...
words of mass (or minor) destruction
Looking for tweets for rewet. | <urn:uuid:ca8937bb-5bad-4a61-a31b-0580923af48f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wordnik.com/words/rewet | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973574 | 445 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Spring is in bloom, and here comes those allergies..
Welcome to the April 2010 issue of the Health Matters Newsletter. The Health Matters Newsletter is published on a monthly basis on the Health Center home page, and is linked to the weekly Campus Report. The purpose of the newsletter is to share information, regarding pertinent medical issue and health and wellness suggestions with the students, faculty and staff here at SUNY Fredonia. Here are the topics for this month:
Spring is in the air. The snow has melted, the grass is starting to get greener, and everything is beginning to show its new blossoms. Although spring brings out the beauty in nature, those of us who have spring allergies know that this beauty can bring on some not so pleasant symptoms such as sniffling, sneezing, watery eyes and a runny nose. In this newsletter, we are going to discuss allergies, and what we can do about them.
What are allergies?
Allergies are a reaction by the body’s immune system to normally harmless substances, such as pollen, mold, animal dander, etc. The allergy causing substances are called allergens.
How do allergies occur?
Your immune system is your body’s natural defense against infection and other foreign material. Before you can have a reaction to a particular substance, your immune system must first be sensitized to it. This means that your body has to have been exposed to the substance at least once before. Once sensitized, your body will react every time you have contact with that substance. Many substances can cause an allergic reaction. Here are the most common ones:
- Animal Dander
- Dust and dust mites
- Insect stings
These allergens may cause different kinds of allergic reactions. The most common allergic conditions are hay fever (sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes). Some can cause a skin rash. And others can cause an asthmatic type reaction with wheezing and chest tightness.
- Airborne allergens such as mold and pollen of trees, grasses and weeds cause hay fever.
- Pollens, molds, and house dust can trigger asthma attacks.
- Allergic reactions of the skin can have many possible causes. These irritants, such as hair and skin products, nickel in jewelry and belt buckles, dyes in leather or fabric and poison ivy and oak, can cause an allergic reaction when they touch your skin.
- Food, such as shellfish, eggs, milk, nuts, and peanuts can cause allergy symptoms as well. These can range from a simple rash or stomach ache to difficulty breathing and chest tightness.
Why do some people get allergies and others do not?
It is not known why some people develop allergies to certain substances. Allergies run in families, but not every family member may be allergic to the same thing. The type of reaction to a certain allergen can be different as well. Some people can have a simple sniffle or rash, others the reaction may be more severe. This type of a reaction is called anaphylaxis. It is a life threatening emergency that can affect breathing and circulation within several minutes. Insect stings, certain foods, and drugs such as penicillin are some of the more common causes of severe allergic reactions.
What are the symptoms of allergies?
The symptoms of an allergic reaction depend on the type and severity of the reaction. Common symptoms of an allergy are:
- Watery eyes
- Stuffy or runny nose
- A rash or hives (raised, red, itchy areas on the skin)
- Stomach cramps
Some of the symptoms of a severe allergic reaction are:
- Fast pulse
- Trouble breathing, including wheezing
- Nausea and vomiting
- Swelling of the lips, tongue, or throat
- Pale, cool, damp skin
- Drowsiness, confusion, or loss of consciousness
How are allergies diagnosed?
Your healthcare provider will ask you about your history of symptoms and examine you. There are tests to find out which allergens are causing your symptoms. For most people, the best tests are skin scratch tests. For these tests, your provider looks for reactions to tiny amounts of suspected allergens placed under your skin. In some cases you may have blood test to help find what you are allergic to.
To identify a food allergy, your provider may suggest that you try to find which foods cause a reaction by avoiding certain foods for a while. Then you can carefully try eating these foods again, one by one, to see if your symptoms come back.
How are allergies treated?
Mild symptoms may not need treatment. Or, depending on the type of allergy you have and your symptoms, your healthcare provider may prescribe:
- Steroid medicine
- Quick-acting, inhaled bronchodilators to treat breathing problems
In some cases, your provider may suggest allergy shots. A mixture is prepared that contains the allergens identified in your allergy testes. The mixture is injected into your skin in tiny but increasing amounts over the course of many months. Over time, the shots make you less sensitive to the allergens. Usually after 4 to 6 months of allergy shots you will begin to have relief from your allergies. You will probably need to continue these shots for 2 to 3 years, sometimes longer.
If you have severe allergies, your provider may prescribe an EpiPen emergency kit for you to carry with you at all times. The kit contains a ready-to-use syringe of epinephrine. If you have a severe allergic reaction, someone with you can give you a hot of this medicine to counteract the allergy symptoms until you get medical care. The kit is not intended as the sole treatment of an allergic reaction. It gives you to time to get to a medical provider for treatment. If you have a severe allergic reaction, you need to call 911 right away. Use an EpiPen if you have one. Teach family members and coworkers how to help you if you have a severe reaction.
How long does an allergic reaction last?
The effects of an allergic reaction depend on how much you have been exposed to an allergen and how severe your allergy is. You may have symptoms for several minutes, hours or days. Some people outgrow their allergies. Others may have allergies all their life.
How can I take care of myself with allergies?
- Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions.
- Try to avoid the things you are allergic to.
- If you tend to have severe allergy reactions, ask your provider about carrying medicine with you, such as an EpiPen, for emergency use. Wear an ID, such as a Medic Alert bracelet, that lists your severe allergies.
How can I help prevent allergies?
There is no known way to prevent allergies. If your family has a very strong history of allergies, you might try to avid your family’s most common allergens.
Cigarette smoke can make hay fever and asthma symptoms worse. You can help your symptoms by not smoking. It also helps to avoid being around others who are smoking. Children living in homes with smokers are more likely to develop asthma.
Where can I get more information about allergies?
- The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology offers a variety of services. They can provide educational materials, pollen count reports and maps, and a physician referral directory. Call 800-822-2762 or visit their web site at http://www.aaaai.org.
- The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of American offers educational programs and services. They also offer asthma and allergy support groups across the country for adults, parents, teens, and caregivers. Call 800-727-8462 or visit their web site at http://www.aafa.org.
- The American Lung Association offers educational materials and support group information. Check your local telephone listing for a chapter near you, call 800-586-4872, or visit their web site at http://www.lungusa.org.
- The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network is a worldwide network that provides educational materials, allergy alerts, and research studies related to food allergies. Call 800-929-4040 or visit their web site at http://www.foodallergy.org.
By DJ Schier
I’m sure that it will come as no shock to anyone who is reading this that some college students like to drink and party on the weekends, and even on some school nights. Everyone jokes around that they could potentially have a problem when it comes to drinking, but take it light heartedly. In all reality, college is where young adults can become alcoholics and don’t even care.
On April 8th, 2010 was National Alcohol Screening Day, where awareness for alcoholism and alcohol related facts were given out nationwide through lectures and interactive presentations. The point of the day is for people who think they have alcohol problems or who are too ashamed to admit they have a dependency problem is to have them be educated and find the confidence to seek help and treatment if they so desire. Another goal of the day is to just educate people about the effects alcohol and alcoholism can have on you.
The reason this is so important to college kids is because according to the National Alcohol Screening Day Website, 1700 college students die each year from alcohol related incidents. Approximately 600,000 college students have been unintentionally injured due to alcohol and almost 700,000 have been assaulted by someone who has been under the influence of alcohol. At least 44% of college students drink more than 5 drinks when they go out on any given night. These statistics are from a few years ago, so I am sure that numbers have increased since.
This is not at all very shocking to me, because even here at SUNY Fredonia, incidents like this do occur. Many programs and rules are set in place for alcohol, but college students still abuse them. We have the judicial system that deters drinking, but that can only go so far to stop drinking. Unfortunately, binge drinking still occurs no matter what age you are or if you live on or off campus.
For all those who have been effected by alcoholism, whether it be a friend, family member, or maybe even yourself, you can always go and talk to the counselors at the Counseling Center in LoGrasso. Also, if you think that you might have a problem or think a friend of yours has a problem, you can go and talk to the counselors as well, who can help you out any way possible. With your help, we can make those statistics go down in the upcoming years and hopefully have a positive impact at SUNY Fredonia.
Alcohol: What You Don't Know Can Harm You
Going off to college is a monumental step in the life of a young adult. It is a stage of life marked by change and exploration. You move from your parents home into a dormitory or student housing unit, meet new friends, and discover what it truly is to be out on your own, making your own decisions, including the decision to drink alcohol. For many students, drinking is seen as a rite of passage, as part of having fun, of lowering social inhibitions.
Alcohol abuse is now a widespread problem on the nation's college campuses. The consequences of excessive drinking by college students are more significant, more destructive and more costly than many parents realize. Studies show that four out of five college students drink alcohol. Two out of five report binge drinking (defined as five or more drinks for men and four or more for women in one sitting). One in five students report three or more binge episodes over a period of two weeks.
Statistics to make you think before you take another drink.....
Death: 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes.
Injury: 599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 each year are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol.
Assault: More then 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 each year are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.
Sexual Abuse: More than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 each year are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.
Alcohol Does the Body Bad.......
Brain: Before a person feels "drunk", alcohol has already stopped messages from going to the brain. Even small amounts of alcohol affect judgment and reaction time. When you can't think clearly, it's hard to make good decisions. Your brain may take as long as 48 hours to return to normal after a big night of drinking. Long term, heavy drinking can cause permanent damage to the brain. It can cause problems with memory, thinking and concentration.
Coordination and Balance : Even small amounts of alcohol can affect coordination and balance. This makes it easier to fall or get into an accident.
Lungs: Heavy drinking affects the immune system, making it easier to get lung infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.
Liver: The liver cleans poisons, including alcohol from the body. The more alcohol a person drinks, the harder the liver has to work. People who drink regularly for many years can have serious liver damage and may even get liver cancer. If the liver is damaged badly enough, it can stop working, causing the person to die.
Stomach: Alcohol irritates the stomach. A little can cause nausea. A lot can make you vomit. Excessive drinking can cause ulcers in the stomach which may eventually bleed.
Pancreas: The pancreas helps regulate the body's blood sugar levels. Long term heavy drinking can lead to inflammation of the pancreas causing severe abdominal pain, malfunction, and eventually death.
Do you really know how much you had to drink???
Most people don't know what counts as a standard drink, and therefore, don't realize how many standard drinks are in the containers in which these drinks are sold.
For beer, the approximate number of standard drinks in:
12 oz can/bottle = 1 standard drink 16 oz can/bottle = 1.3 standard drinks 22 oz can/bottle = 2 standard drinks 40 oz can/bottle = 3.3 standard drinks
For malt liquor, the approximate number of standard drinks in:
12 oz malt liquor = 1.5 standard drinks 16 oz malt liquor = 2 standard drinks 22 oz malt liquor = 2.5 standard drinks 40 oz malt liquor = 4.5 standard drink
For table wine, the approximate number of standard drinks in:
A standard 750 ml (25 oz) bottle of wine = 5 standard drinks
For 80-proof spirits or "hard liquor", the approximate number of standard drinks in:
a mixed drink = 1 or more standard drinks a fifth (25 oz) = 17 standard drinks a pint (16oz) = 11 standard drinks 1.75 L (59 oz) = 39 standard drinks
Past the point of possible no return......
Excessive drinking can be hazardous to everyone's health!!! Some people laugh at the behavior of others who are drunk. Some think that it's even funnier when they pass out. As you are laughing about the drunk who has passed out in the corner, there a couple of things that you should know.
It is common for someone who has indulged in an excessive amount of alcohol to vomit since the alcohol is an irritant. Alcohol depresses nerves that control involuntary actions such as breathing and the ability to gag (which prevent choking). Typically, one of the biggest concerns when someone vomits, and is unable to control their gag reflex to prevent choking, is aspiration of the vomit. When vomit is aspirated, the lungs are flooded with foul material which blocks the ability for oxygen to get in and out. If not treated, this could eventually lead to death .
Common myths about sobering up include drinking black coffee, taking a cold bath or sleeping it off or walking it off. These are just myths. The only thing that reduces the affects of alcohol in your system is TIME. And time is something that you do not have enough of when you are suffering from alcohol poisoning. | <urn:uuid:ae237cb3-54f3-408a-9882-bcb0ec1840bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fredonia.edu/healthcenter/newsletters/2010April_Allergies.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951629 | 3,342 | 3.375 | 3 |
The heyday of blockbuster drug discoveries may be gone, but 2012 turned out to be the best year in recent memory for new drug approvals, offering the promise of help for patients and big sales opportunities for drug makers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the green light last year to 39 new drugs, for diseases that include cancer, HIV and cystic fibrosis, the highest number of approvals since the mid-1990s.
The outlook for 2013 is almost as sunny. Regulators are on track to approve as many as 36 novel drug compounds able to generate U.S. sales of $9 billion in 2018, says Michael Latwis, director of corporate research for Decision Resources.
It isn't easy to predict which drugs will beat expectations by enough to boost the stocks of a pharmaceutical giant. Barrons.com picked five candidates that have a high probability of getting regulatory approval in 2013 and advancing the treatment of a serious illness. They each have the potential to deliver annual sales of more than $1 billion – in layman's terms, to become blockbusters. Even at a pharmaceutical giant such as Merck & Co. (ticker: MRK), with annual sales of more than $45 billion, that's real money.
Of course, the FDA is unpredictable. And while more Americans may afford prescriptions under the Affordable Care Act, even innovative therapies can flop if insurers don't pay, doctors don't prescribe and patients don't use. Just look at the disappointing sales of the obesity drug Qsymia, and the 50% drop in drug maker Vivus's (VVUS) share price since July.
"It's always a challenge," says Decision Resources' Latwis. "Things never get easier for the drug industry."
Other companies have had better luck. Of the five drugs highlighted by Barrons.com last year (see Weekday Trader,"5 Big Drugs for 2012," Jan. 25, 2012), the FDA approved four in 2012: The blood thinner Eliquis, Kalydeco for cystic fibrosis, tofacitinib for rheumatoid arthritis and the HIV medication known as the Quad.
Here's our list of five of the most promising new drugs for 2013, and their top-line potential.
BG-12 isn't the first oral treatment for multiple sclerosis. But big expectations for the drug have pushed the stock price for Biogen Idec (ticker: BIIB) 120% higher over the past two years, and shares now trade at $146, or 22 times forward earnings.
BG-12 delivered robust results in clinical trials and few side effects. That gives it a leg up over Gilenya, a rival oral therapy from Novartis (NVS) now facing safety worries.
Biogen also sells the injectable multiple sclerosis drugs Avonex and Tysabri. Oral medications are easier to take and can cut treatment costs by eliminating the need to buy equipment used to administer intravenous drugs.
Critics say early estimates for BG-12's are too aggressive. Still, annual sales could reach $4 billion by 2019, says Cowen & Co. analyst Eric Schmidt.
Canagliflozin could be the first of a new class of diabetes drugs to hit the U.S.
Known as an SGLT2 inhibitor, Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) canagliflozin lowers blood sugar levels by increasing glucose excretion in the urine. And so far clinical trials show the drug works alone or with existing treatments, and helps patients lose weight.
Scheduled for approval in mid-2013, canagliflozin is J&J's first diabetes medication. But there are potential roadblocks: A similar drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and AstraZeneca (AZN) has been delayed due to safety worries.
Also, there are unpleasant side effects, including increased risk of urinary tract infections and raised cholesterol, says Barclays Capital analyst Tony Butler. Still, he sees sales reaching $1 billion by 2018.
Merck hopes suvorexant could help 70 million sleepless Americans catch a few winks.
Merck's drug blocks chemical messengers called orexins that help keep the brain alert, letting patients fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, while also minimizing grogginess the next morning. Another potential advantage: Studies suggest patients could use suvorexant longer than current therapies.
Insomnia is an enormous market, though littered with generics and the remains of failed efforts by other big drug makers.
Also, suvorexant may not be available until 2014 because, as a controlled substance, it requires assessment by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Still, Barclays's Butler sees sales in 2017 peaking at $1.5 billion.
T-DM1, developed by Roche (RHHBY), combines two old drugs to deliver a powerful one-two punch to cancer cells.
Called a "drug conjugate," it attaches a chemotherapy drug to the breast cancer therapy Herceptin. The Herceptin attacks HER2 proteins on the surface of the cancer cell, while also delivering a poisonous payload that enters the cell and kills it.
T-DM1 isn't a cure. In studies it did delay worsening of a form of breast cancer with fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy. And its approval – expected in February -- could lay the groundwork for a potential series of new cancer treatments.
Meanwhile, T-DM1 sales could reach $2 billion by 2018, according to analysts from Cowen.
Also called sofosbuvir, GS-7977 is the wild card on our list. Though many expect FDA approval in early 2014, the market for hepatitis C drugs – at $5 billion and growing – may push regulators to act sooner.
Hepatitis C affects 180 million people globally, outpacing AIDs and HIV. The demand for better treatments has several big drug makers fighting to be the first to deliver an all-oral drug regime.
Gilead Sciences (GILD), with GS-7977, could win that race. In trials, the drug was superior to the current treatment regimen, which includes injections of the drug interferon. That fueled big hopes and helped Gilead's share price rise 80% last year.
Analysts at Cowen expect Gilead to file for FDA approval during the second quarter, and see annual sales reaching $4 billion by 2016, or 23% of the $17 billion top line Wall Street expects Gilead to generate that same year.
Of course, sales forecasts can be wildly optimistic, thus the old adage "buy the approval and short the launch." Government austerity in Europe is pressuring drug prices. And with increasingly complex compounds filling research pipelines, it's hard to handicap regulators.
If these five drugs can meet expectations, however, they could be just what the doctor ordered.
Five Drugs to Watch
|Drug||Maker||What It Treats||Peak Yearly Sales*|
|BG-12||Biogen Idec||multiple sclerosis||$4 billion|
|suvorexant||Merck & Co.||insomnia||$1.5 billion|
|T-DM1||Roche||breast cancer||$2 billion|
|GS-7977||Gilead Sciences||hepatitis C||$4 billion|
Sources: Barclays Capital, Decision Resources, Cowen
*Projections for BG-12 reflect 2019 sales. Canagliflozin and T-DM1 estimates reflect 2018 sales. Suvorexant projections reflect 2017 sales. GS-7977 estimates reflect 2016 sales.
• Barclays Capital and/or one of its affiliates has had investment-banking relationships with Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co. during the past 12 months, according to disclosure statements from Barclays Capital. The firm has an Overweight rating on both stocks.
• Cowen & Co. has an Outperform rating on shares of Gilead Sciences, Biogen Idec and Roche Holdings. | <urn:uuid:364ebb7d-d543-4e1f-9db4-a26811facb36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052748703792204578217532798022170.html?mod=BOL_hpp_popemail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921184 | 1,665 | 1.5 | 2 |
Fair Italy, the land of song and cradle of the Arts, has been so often written about, and so well described both in prose and in verse, that I feel there is a presumption in my attempting to say anything fresh of that classic land, its art treasures, and its glorious past. But within the last few years a new Italy has sprung into existence--the dream of Cavour has been realized; and, contrary to all predictions, she has evinced a union and cohesiveness so complete as to surprise all, and possibly disappoint some who were jealous of her.
St. Jean de Maurienne--Epierre--Paris--Notre Dame--French immorality--La Manche--"Dear old foggy London"--Reflections and conclusion 330
FAIR ITALY. THE RIVIERA
Introduction--Charing Cross--Dover--Submarine Channel Tunnel--Calais --Advantages of travelling second class--Superfluous examination of luggage--Paris--Dining à la carte versus table d'hôte--Noël--An Officer's Funeral--Lyons--Scenery of the Rhone--Constant changes in the landscape--Want of proper accommodation at the railway stations-- Defective lighting of railway carriages
If any person is desirous of putting forward a good excuse for spending a few weeks on the continent, the climate of the British Isles at any time of the year, but more particularly between November and May, will always justify his so doing. To exchange the damp and fog that too frequently form the staple of the weath | <urn:uuid:8be9fbc1-d76f-4f4c-b951-cf25fc80aa4f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://manybooks.net/titles/devereuxw2395923959-8.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93398 | 328 | 2.109375 | 2 |
→ 04 Aug 12 at 7 pm
not only are we made of light, but we also generate light, a beautiful phenomenon. That individual, literal light radiates from deep within our bodies. It also streams right through from outside to the inside of us, and our external barriers. Because we consist of light, our energetic boundaries are nothing more or less than light. Our auric field actually consists of twelve different bands of light, which are pictured here. | <urn:uuid:71b8b6de-ae7d-411e-ae37-71e83459db47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dew-rite.tumblr.com/tagged/energy-bands | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960934 | 92 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Emma is one of 400,000 Haitians still without permanent shelter in Haiti
Photo: Ludwig John Duvilaire/ActionAid
“I have been afraid of bad weather since the earthquake of January 2010,” 56-year old Emma Joseph told the ActionAid team as Haiti began picking up the pieces after Hurricane Sandy.
Living in Tet Source camp, Mariani, just outside of Haiti’s capital Port au Prince, Emma is one of 400,000 Haitians still without permanent shelter since a devastating earthquake struck the small island nation in January 2010.
She describes what it was like when Hurricane Sandy hit:
After the earthquake, I had to move on this camp site because my house got destroyed. Here my family and I are vulnerable to the rain, the cold, the heat and winds. Hurricane Sandy brought the rain, the cold and winds at once, it was a nightmare.
“With all the families on this site, we spent hours trying to patch up our tents whilst heavy rains and high winds were tearing them apart like paper sheets.
“We could not even protect babies and children from getting wet. The worst is that we had to stay in this situation for two nights and three days.”
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Haiti's most vulnerable families are facing huge challenges explains Emma:
In addition to the tents that are ripped, we now have no money to buy food and we fear a cholera outbreak due to the unsanitary conditions that we are left in.
"Because Port-au-Prince was shut down for three days, a lot of the women could not go out on the streets to sell whatever small products they had [usually food spices]. Now the products are all ruin and cannot be sold. This leaves us in a severe financial situation,” she ends with a sigh.
The Haitian Government has declared a month-long state of emergency following Hurricane Sandy. The United Nations has said that over a million people are facing food insecurity as a result of the devastation caused, with risk of serious malnutrition in the south.
The ActionAid Haiti team is working with some of the communities hardest hit to provide food and hygiene kits to help prevent cholera, to replace damaged shelters and is working to secure funds to support the response.
ActionAid Haiti is building semi permanent houses for 150 families to reduce their vulnerability in the face of future disasters. ActionAid is also planning to create ‘safe havens’ - solid community structures in or near camps - so that people like Emma, who are still without homes, have somewhere dry and secure to take shelter when severe weather strikes.
Since the earthquake of 2010, ActionAid Haiti, with the support of several major donors and supporters around the world, has been working with 6 communities living in camps to improve their situation with food, hygiene kits, psychosocial care and livelihood support such as cash for work. | <urn:uuid:d1614222-5518-496d-90d1-d11563b62f95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.actionaid.org/shared/surviving-sandy-emmas-story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968489 | 596 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.
Thomas Carlyle (17951881)
The most unhappy of all men is the man who cannot tell what he is going to do, who has got no work cut-out for him in the world, and does not go into it. For work is the grand cure of all the maladies and miseries that ever beset mankind,honest work, which you intend getting done.
THOMAS CARLYLE, inaugural address as rector of the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, April 2, 1866.Carlyle, Critical and Miscellaneous Essays, vol. 6 (vol. 29 of The Works of Thomas Carlyle), p. 455 (1899, reprinted 1969). | <urn:uuid:95b3b3c5-52e5-4bb8-a923-28d624798924> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bartleby.com/73/2024.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916519 | 160 | 2.09375 | 2 |
You can compile and run your C/C++ programs in Ubuntu also by using DOSBox Emulator. First of all you have to download DOSBox Emulator from USC [Ubuntu Software Center].
Then you have to mount you home directory by typing "mount c ~". Then you have to put your already installed TC directory in your home directory. You can install your TC also. Here I put my TC directory in home and open it as shown in snaps.
Now your TC is ready for work. | <urn:uuid:0a63c677-fcf6-4ea8-a8f0-b7821c331023> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://daksh21ubuntu.blogspot.com/2012_03_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948834 | 103 | 1.5 | 2 |
A long time ago and far away, there was a drought and resulting famine on the island of Sicily. The people were desperate for sustenance. It was during the Middle Ages and there was no Red Cross or United Nations rescue efforts. As they watched their crops fail and their families starve, the people turned to prayer. The Patron Saint of Italy is St. Joseph and it was through his intercession that they prayed for help.
When the heavens finally opened up and the rain replenished the land the people were very thankful to their patron saint for answered prayer. They built an altar, adorned it with breads, fish and sweets and dedicated it to St. Joseph. Thus began the tradition of St. Joseph altars in Sicily.
Now Italians and Christians around the world continue the practice that recalls the devotion of the Sicilian people and their gratitude for the end of the drought that almost destroyed their way of life.
Tradition has it that those who build a St. Joseph’s Altar must beg for foods and supplies from neighbors and businesses. The time and money that go into building the altar are also considered sacrifices. After the tribute of gratitude the leftover foods are distributed to the less fortunate.
The foods brought to the altar are also steeped in symbolism. Many times candles are lit in remembrance of loved ones who have passed away. There are variations on the theme from place to place but there are some common characteristics of all St. Joseph Altars. Almost every component of the altar symbolizes some religious belief or story.
The altar is always constructed with three levels of presentation. This represents the Holy Trinity or the Holy Family. A statue or picture of St. Joseph is placed on the top level. The altar is embellished with palms, breads, fish, sweets and wine. Since the feast takes place during Lent, meats are not used. Red, green and white are prevalent in the decorations since these are the colors of the Italian flag. Italian recipes prevail in the preparation of the items. The tables are arranged in a cross shape to symbolize Christ’s death on the cross.
Altar breads are made in various religious shapes such as crosses, chalices, and hearts. Since St. Joseph was a carpenter there are often shapes that bring that profession to mind, such as a ladder or hammer. Some of the altar breads are dried, toasted with sugar and sprinkled atop spaghetti as part of the meal that is consumed. The crumbs are symbolic of St. Joseph’s sawdust. Some people save the crumbs and toss them into a storm to prevent destruction.
The wine on a St. Joseph’s Altar symbolizes the miracle that Jesus performed at the wedding at Cana. A large fish placed on the table symbolizes the miracle of Christ feeding the multitudes with five loaves and three fish. Heart shaped pastries symbolize the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Legend and tradition have it that visiting St. Joseph altars is “lucky”. During the famine that struck Sicily in the Middle Ages humans were reduced to eating fava beans, a food normally fed to the animals. They felt they were lucky to have at least those beans to eat when there was nothing else. A fava bean carried in one’s pocket is said to prevent “going broke”. A fava bean placed in a pantry is said to prevent one from ever going hungry. Traditionally each person who visits a St. Joseph’s altar is given a bag with a fava bean, a prayer card and some sort of cookie or pastry from the display that has been blessed by a priest.
Steeped in tradition and prayer, the St. Joseph’s Altar is a community celebration and when held in churches or reception halls (as space permits) the public is invited. The act of sharing the food is one of gratitude for the end of the famine those many years ago in Sicily, and for continued blessings received today. The centuries old custom of creating St. Joseph’s Day altars is a great showcase of Italian foods and a magnificent gesture of charity and faith.
The pictures are from the Seventh Annual St. Joseph’s Altar of 2012 at St. John the Baptist Church in Zachary, Louisiana. | <urn:uuid:02761d9e-89e8-49e8-afd8-18064cd73ec8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weekdayrambler.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973017 | 883 | 3.296875 | 3 |
The tapestry dominating the two-story teal-blue wall above Lily Sazz Fayter's piano looks custom-made for that spot.
But the striking eight by nine foot hanging, given to her by her late paternal grandmother Ilona, has not always enjoyed such a place of honor.
At one time, the tapestry lay in tatters, buried in mud, and stained with the boot prints of SS soldiers -- much like the millions of Jewish families whose lives were muddied and ripped apart by the Holocaust.
Lily's family was among them, losing members of three generations to indiscriminate Nazi bullets, the gas chambers of Auschwitz, freezing temperatures, hunger, disease and other horrors of Hitler's campaign of extermination.
One who survived was Ilona, who emerged from the Second World War minus her husband, her younger boy, two of her three brothers and both her parents. Ilona -- a woman of 44 -- was not sent to "the showers" like her barely teenaged son Leslie, shot in an abandoned brickyard like her crippled mother or hauled off the cattle train like her blind old father.
Ilona had already survived tuberculosis at 15, the Spanish flu epidemic of 1919, and the loss of her husband Sandor Gutlohn, who was conscripted early in the war and taken to Ukraine where he died of a heart attack in 1942.
Young Leslie, a sweet boy who could not imagine the evil that prevailed, ran ahead.
In May 1944, when the Jews in her Hungarian home town, Miskolc, were rounded up and disposed of, Ilona's 18-year-old son Paul was loaded onto one of the Nazis' infamous trains. Young Leslie, newly 13 and probably a sweet boy who could not imagine the evil that prevailed, ran ahead through the confusion of the crowded platform to try to save his mother a seat on the train, but was prevented from rejoining her.
All she could hear was him calling out, 'Mother, Mother!'" Lily Sazz Fayter intones dispassionately, as she reads the details from a sheet prepared by her sister and based on an interview with their grandmother. Later, "Ilona would hear from a woman in the barracks that Leslie had been in the same train car as her and had gone straight to his death in the gas chamber."
Ilona endured four months at Auschwitz, the indescribable horrors of which -- the disease, the filth, the hunger, the indignities -- are well chronicled. She was working as a laborer -- laying bricks, building roads, cleaning soldiers' quarters -- when the camp was liberated in the spring of 1945.
As the war ended chaos reigned. Roads and bridges had been destroyed and the weak, sick, displaced, traumatized Jews who survived the camps were hundreds of miles from the homes and families they'd left.
Alone with no idea of the fate of her loved ones and no way to get home, the emaciated Ilona stayed on at Auschwitz for another month.
Alone with no idea of the fate of her loved ones and no way to get home, the emaciated Ilona stayed on at Auschwitz for another month. Eventually she managed to get to an uncle's house in Budapest where son Paul arrived four days later. It was a joyous reunion, but Paul and Ilona were the only ones left.
He too had been in a concentration camp, where his job had been to shovel bodies out of the gas chambers and into the crematoria. She was barely 90 pounds; he was frail and weak at 19, would lose his teeth prematurely and suffer ill health for the rest of his life, which ended in 1979 at the age of 53.
The two made their way back to Miskolc, and it is there, Lily believes, that Ilona found the tapestry. Although the details are unclear, it would appear that the tapestry had been part of the family's furnishings and had been damaged or destroyed by the SS soldiers who were using their home as an outpost.
"What I never got straight was whose family the tapestry was in to begin with," says Sazz Fayter. "I only know that when she came back, this thing was strewn on the ground in the mud. There'd been a lot of rain and the soldiers were using her books as stepping stones over the mud."
As Lily speaks, sitting in the shadow of the bold Torontali-patterned tapestry, one can almost picture her beloved "Nagymami," the broken, battered Ilona, coming upon the remnants of her once-happy home and stooping to pull the filthy piece of fabric out of the mire. A skilled needleworker, she mended the holes and tears as best she could, using whatever thread was available in that lean post-war period under communist rule. Close inspection reveals her fine stitchery and the mismatched colors of her repair job.
Ilona remarried in 1946 to Sandor Szasz, a neighbor who had lost his wife to the Holocaust. A year later, her son was introduced to 15-year-old Vera Spitzer, who'd been interned at the Theresienstadt camp in Czechoslovakia. She was one of the few young survivors of the Holocaust, in which nearly two million young children were killed outright or died during their imprisonment.
It was love at first sight and they married in the spring of 1948, the groom 21 and his bride just 16. Paul, who carried his father's surname, took on his stepfather's name of Szasz because Gutlohn sounded too Jewish. The newlyweds moved in with Ilona and Sandor, who were farming, and Ilona taught her daughter-in-law the wifely skills of cooking and managing a household. A baby, Susan, arrived in 1951.
But the troubles of this family, which had already endured more suffering and hardship than one lifetime should hold, were not over yet. Hungary's political climate was threatening, and the family was uprooted to a suburb of Budapest so Paul could work in an agricultural commune and Vera in a communal farm and greenhouse operation while Ilona cared for little Susan.
Paul and Vera bundled up their five-year-old daughter and fled in the night to the Austrian border.
A month after the outbreak of the Hungarian revolution in November 1956, Paul and Vera bundled up their five-year-old daughter and fled in the night to the Austrian border, armed with a sedative-filled hypodermic needle in case the little one needed silencing. They ended up in Vienna where they secured refugee visas, took the train to Le Havre and boarded a Cunard ship bound for Halifax.
Vera was seasick throughout the arduous North Atlantic crossing in January, and was greeted with walls of snow and another train trip, this one to Montreal.
Sandor and Ilona got their visas a year later and arrived in Montreal, probably bringing the family's meager possessions with them, including the tapestry. The family eventually moved to a Beamsville fruit farm, and expanded with the birth of daughter Lily in 1960.
"With Vera working on the farm, it was Ilona who cooked, baked, helped Susan with her homework, and cared for Lily," Sazz Fayter continues reading. "She and Sandor lived downstairs, Paul, Vera and the two girls lived upstairs in the old house."
Sazz Fayter, who changed her name from Szasz to Sazz for professional reasons, remembers the tapestry hanging on the wall in that house, but wasn't aware of its significance until Ilona and Sandor moved to a retirement home in Hamilton. That's when Ilona passed it on to her granddaughter.
"When she was moving, she didn't have room for it, so she gave it to me and told me the story behind it," says Sazz Fayter. "I had the room for it and I was a little closer to her than my sister. I was really moved. It will always be a prized possession of mine."
The tapestry, which may date from the early 1900s, is probably not particularly rare or valuable, Sazz Fayter speculates.
"They probably aren't that uncommon in Hungary. I'm sure these things survive quite well when they're not trod upon."
Ilona was an "amazing" woman, says Sazz Fayter -- friendly, smart, cultured, "an incredible homemaker" and a spectacular cook who blended Hungarian foods with Jewish influence, specialized in pastries, goulash, stuffed peppers, challah and other comforts, and invariably burned herself while making her dobos torta, a spectacular chocolate and candy-coated layer cake.
In deference to her new husband's allergies, Sazz Fayter recently took the tapestry to a dry cleaner's where she nervously signed a waiver releasing them from any responsibility for damage. But it came back defiantly in one piece, its colors bright, its shape maintained.
Ilona's tapestry has survived far worse.
Reprinted with permission of The Hamilton Spectator; photo by Gary Yokoyama. | <urn:uuid:5e5fb988-20c8-44d9-8696-28d880a1f684> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aish.com/ho/p/48962121.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986239 | 1,905 | 1.96875 | 2 |
POWELL PEACE FAILURE: MID-EAST TENSIONS SURELY TO RISE
DEBKAfile 17 April 2002
"That US Secretary of State Colin Powell wound up his 10-day ceasefire mission in the Middle East without once mentioning its object is a measure of its failure. Asked by a reporter at his final news briefing in Jerusalem Wednesday, April 17, what happened to the ceasefire, he said the word was not relevant.
Sent to calm the Middle East storm and let the Bush administration complete its war plans against Iraq undisturbed, Powell leaves behind a furious caldron. A multi-fronted war looms large, while the threat of an oil embargo against the US and Israels friends has expanded. Iran and Iraq hope to rope in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela too. In Beirut, even the five-day lull in Hizballahs cross-border attacks against northern Israel is not attributed to Powells efforts, but rather as a gesture of goodwill in advance of prime minister Rafiq Hariris White House interview with President George W. Bush Wednesday, April 17.
Powells final two-hour session with Yasser Arafat Wednesday in his besieged headquarters in Ramallah left the Palestinian leader boiling over with rage and threats. 'My situation,' he spat out to reporters, 'will be reflected in the stability of the whole region!'
The US Secretary emerged from the confrontation tight-lipped.
By the last day of his trip, the serious erosion in Americas military and diplomatic clout in the region could not be concealed. The US secretarys tour took him to Morocco, where he met King Mohamed VI as well as the vacationing Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah; to Damascus, for talks with President Bashar Assad; to Beirut, for a meeting with Haririi; and to Ramallah, to see Yasser Arafat. He cautioned them all, excepting Abdullah: If you keep going as you are and disregard American wishes especially its demands to restrain terrorism - prepare for a full-fledged showdown with Washington.
However, the US secretarys diplomatic efforts to come up with bridging formulae between US and Arab positions not to speak of common US-Palestinian ground got nowhere.
Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak went so far as to call off his meeting with Powell on his way home to Washington, announcing he was 'indisposed'. Mubarak, like other moderate Arab leaders, fears that a display of sympathy for American positions could lead his regime into perilous waters.
In private conversations with Jordans King Abdullah and Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, the US secretary made no bones about the imminence of regional war clouds.
At his final news conference in Jerusalem Wednesday, shortly after his interview with Arafat, Powell laid down the prerequisites for progress towards a comprehensive settlement:
-- The Israelis must end settlement and occupation. Sharon, he said, had given him a timeline of around a week for Israels military withdrawal from re-occupied areas, excepting for Arafats compound in Ramallah and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The Israeli prime minister said reservists would be sent home next week;
-- The Palestinians must renounce terror and violence especially of suicides, because they holding the peoples dreams of peace and statehood hostage. This is an indispensable condition for progress and a strategic choice Arafat must make;
-- The Arabs must transform Saudi Crown Prince Abdullahs peace initiative to reality, as well as condemning and combating terrorism, including funding and incitement;
-- The international community must help America persuade the Palestinians and Arab leaders to renounce their support for terrorism.
In short, Powel translated the blunt Bush ultimatum to world leaders into Middle East language, namely: If you are not with us in the battle against global terror, you are against us. So if you sink further in that swamp, youre on your own.
DEBKAfiles sources sum up the US secretarys efforts at his two most time-consuming stops: Jerusalem and Ramallah
Powell failed to convince Sharon to keep Israels responses to suicide attacks low key. Israel, said the prime minister, would meet multi-casualty suicide attacks with larger and more devastating military punishment than even the Jenin operation. However, the US secretary acknowledged that Washington had gained a better understanding of the link between Arafat, the launch of his Intifada and the militant postures of Iraq and Iran. The need to cut that link had led the Bush administration to its final decision, the first steps of which were approached before Powell left the region, to wash its hands of Arafat as Palestinian leader and to headhunt a replacement.
The significance of this decision transcends Palestinian national considerations and the Israel-Palestinian conflict; it is a key brick in the plan to transform national borders and relocate populaces that the Bush administration aspires to achieve in the Middle East and Persian Gulf, a plan we have referred to in previous reports.
Arafat refused to hear of any action to restrain terrorist action against Israel especially the suicide attacks. The moment Powell has gone, therefore, the Palestinians will make every effort to overcome the severe curtailment of their capabilities, imposed by Israels three-week military operation against Palestinian terrorist strongholds on the West bank, and unleash a fresh suicide offensive. As American reporters left his besieged headquarters in Ramallah Wednesday, the Palestinian leader stopped them with a diatribe: 'What do you Americans think? Do you think it is acceptable for me not to be able to go out of this door? Dont you understand it will reflect on the stability of the entire Middle East?'
The trouble for Arafat is that the Americans do understand the threat his war and terror offensive pose for the Middle East. That is why they may have asked Israel to ease his conditions, but not to end his isolation." | <urn:uuid:648f21af-a7e8-4934-b60f-6e15684b8a88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cuttingedge.org/na/na199.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959354 | 1,193 | 1.570313 | 2 |
But the current tilt toward agricultural sophistication has not occurred without controversy. Indeed the development of genetically altered seeds has yielded a bumper crop of hotly debated public issues ranging from the economic to the environmental. David Miller explains in this report on the state of the biotech industry.
Seed companies have made biotech products a staple of their marketing mixes while farmers have become more careful about their seed purchases. Barring the introduction of products with new traits, the giant leaps in sales experienced in the mid-90s appear to be at an end.
Jerry Armstrong is Pioneer Hi-Bred's corporate vice president of North American Sales.
Jerry Armstrong, Pioneer Hi-Bred: "We see the biotech sales really, percentage wise, holding pretty steady. The thing we do see though is we see farmers taking their own situation, looking at the input cost, what's right for their farm, how they'll use the grain, will they sell the grain, or will they feed the grain and checking with their local grain originators to see okay, how should we handle this and what should we plant and what makes the best economical decision for me."
And biotech market leader Monsanto has also been encouraging the "know before you grow" mentality. Brett Begemann is Monsanto's Vice President of U.S. Branded Products.
Brett Begemann, Monsanto: Now with Round up Ready corn, which is yet to receive EU approval, we have an aggressive channeling program in place for responsible stewardship of introducing that product before we have EU approval. And in that case, we encourage those growers to insure that they have a market for the product before they plant the seed.
But not all has gone well for the industry over the past year. A study conducted at Iowa State University demonstrated that non-target insects, like Monarch butterfly larvae, can be killed by Bt corn pollen that is actually meant to destroy corn borers. Despite the apparent support to a preliminary study conducted at Cornell University in 1999, scientists continue to warn about drawing any conclusions from these tests until further research is done.
Phil Clap, GE Food Alert: The have known for three to four weeks now that Starlink has made it into the food supply.
Both the regulatory and grain handling systems took it on the chin last year when Starlink corn, which was only approved for use in animal feed, made its way into the human food supply. Aventis Crop Science, the maker of Starlink, purchased all the remaining seed it could find and gave test kits to processors to help prevent any further contamination. But grain processing leaders like ADM continue to test every load.
The processing giant has also begun to do what was before thought to be too costly if not physically impossible:
segregate GMO and Non-GMO products. ADM has begun to separate roundup ready and conventional soybeans for its European customers.
Larry Cunningham is ADM's senior vice president of corporate affairs.
Larry Cunningham, ADM: They want them to come from conventional soybeans instead of from Roundup Ready soybeans. So we've had to put a mechanism in place where we can identity preserve from the farm all the way through our manufacturing facility to the customer... pure soy protein made from non-GMO soybeans.
For its part, the Environmental Protection Agency discontinued issuing "animal feed only" permits for GMO grains.
Even with attempts at preventing contamination of the non-GMO food stream, the fiasco was influential in pushing US corn exports down by 4%.
Still, the biotech industry can boast a positive effect on the environment. Farmers have reduced the amount of chemicals sprayed on the land. And what chemicals are sprayed can now be more directly targeted at specific bugs or weeds.
A recent US EPA study concluded the impact of biotech products on the environment is relatively benign. And tests by seed companies reveal the DNA used in creating these super plants does not appear in the muscle tissue of chickens or cattle fed biotech grains.
And public opinion surrounding transgenic foods appears to be changing. In the late 90s, Monsanto attempted to introduce its line of GMO seeds into the European market. Already nervous and upset by the "mad cow" scare, anti-GMO groups like Greenpeace helped influence Europeans to reject the new grains. Over the past two years companies like Monsanto have begun to talk with its detractors in an attempt to mend fences and assuage fears.
Whether the general attitude change of biotech giants like Monsanto will influence a world searching for more plentiful and cheaper food remains to be seen. But a recent survey conducted by the INRA, a French-based agricultural research firm, shows the hard-line resistance in European Union countries may be weakening. The study reports two-thirds of French citizens say they would be willing to purchase foods with genetically modified ingredients if they were properly labeled.
The apparent willingness of the French to purchase these products has not changed the policy of many wholesale buyers in European countries. As an example, British grocery stores do not stock items containing any genetically modified grains.
In the United States, even in the light of high profile food debacles like StarLink corn, consumers are not particularly concerned about the composition of what they eat. Surveys continue to confirm that price has more of an influence on food purchases than content.
Survey data not withstanding, food processors continue to operate on the assumption their customers do not want biotech ingredients in their food. Frito-Lay, Gerber, Heinz, and McDonald's, most of whose raw ingredients are grown on contract, continue to refuse to use any GMOs in their product lines.
But there was always the promise that one day there would be products available with more consumer-centered traits. Researchers have promised fruits, vegetables and grains containing extra vitamins or vaccines but none have brought a commercially viable product close to market until now. In January of this year, Professor Ingo Potrykus of Switzerland and Professor Peter Beyer of Germany presented a strain of rice they genetically engineered to contain increased levels of vitamin A to the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines for further testing. Their rice, a product of more than 10 years of research, and funded in part by a grant from the Rockefeller foundation, has been nicknamed "Golden Rice." In third world countries, where rice is a staple, Golden Rice could help decrease malnutrition and blindness. Though the earliest the transgenic rice is expected to be available for commercial release is 2003, the biotech industry has rallied around the new product. As an example, Monsanto will donate its map of the rice genome and is waiving royalty fees on all of its patented technology to help bring the rice to market.
The future continues to look bright for the industry. Products containing vaccines or higher levels of vitamins and minerals remain in the research phase. And by 2003, Pioneer and Monsanto are expecting to release a line of GMO corn that is resistant to root worms. Good, bad or indifferent, as long as the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, biotech crops will continue to be part of the food equation.
For Market to Market, I'm David Miller. | <urn:uuid:092bc9d1-5748-4ac3-a54d-f59395af367f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iptv.org/mtom/story.cfm/feature/8152/mtom_20010420_2632_feature | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953706 | 1,438 | 1.992188 | 2 |
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Mount Rainier killing
National Parks are dangerous places to enforce the law
Mount Rainier will remain closed through Thursday after the fatal shooting of ranger Margaret Anderson on Sunday.
The tragedy underscores a little-known fact about the country's most beautiful landscapes: They're also home to some of the highest rates of assault on law enforcement.
Bob Binnewies, a former superintendent of Yosemite National Park, recalls his first ranger job back in 1961 at Old Faithful in Yellowstone.
“I was issued a vintage .38 caliber, World War II revolver, and I had my badge and that was pretty much the extent of law enforcement training for rangers in those days,” Binnewies says.
Park rangers now receive the same training as FBI agents and U.S. Marshals.
'City goes to the forest'
Jeff Ruch heads Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a whistle-blower group that tracks assaults on Forest Service, Park Service and Fish and Wildlife officers.
“The city is coming to the forest, and you've got a very thin green line of law enforcement officers who are having to respond,” Ruch says.
In 2008, a Forest Service police officer was shot and killed on duty in the Olympic National Forest. Yet Ruch says the federal government fails to keep data on these attacks.
Through Freedom of Information Act Requests, his organization found that the rate of assault on law enforcement in the nation's parks and forests hit an all time high in 2009.
On the Web:
Copyright 2011 Northwest News Network | <urn:uuid:7c725b88-03a6-48e1-9616-b325bcf857b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kplu.org/post/national-parks-are-dangerous-places-enforce-law | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956476 | 331 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Egyptian Opera House to Celebrate Nubian Music Pioneer
The Egyptian Opera House will hold an art and cultural ceremony on February 27 in commemoration of the Nubian music innovator Ahmed Munib.
“The celebration comes as part of the Opera House program for celebrating the prominent Egyptian musicians who enriched music and singing movement in Egypt like the features held in honor of the late singers Mohammed Fawzi and Farid al Atrash.” The head of the Opera House, Samir Farag, told the London based Arabic daily al Sharq al Awsat.
He added, “Many poets and singers who worked with the late composer will participate in the commemoration. Singer Yahya Khalil will sing few songs composed by Munib for the singers Alaa Abdel Khaleq, Mohammed Munir, Hasan Abdel Mageed, Ahmed al Salami and the son of the late composer Khaled.”
The Opera House celebration has come in appreciation of the leading Nubian musician for his discovery of the Nubian heritage as one of the most important sources for the Egyptian cultural heritage. He deserved to be called pioneer of the Nubian music as he made out of it a modern Egyptian music that became international and achieved big success at the international festivals.
Munib in collaboration with the late Sudanese singer Ali Koban had the credit in discovering many singers including Mohammed Munir and Hasan Abdel Mageed. Moreover many singers including Mohammed Fuad and Abdel Khaleq sang his songs -- Albawaba.com | <urn:uuid:5546a02d-0858-4eb7-859b-9610375004fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.albawaba.com/entertainment/egyptian-opera-house-celebrate-nubian-music-pioneer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954881 | 313 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The other day, I wrote about the extremely moving holocaust memorial at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. As we have just observed Yom HaShoah, I have two additional holocaust related items to highlight.
The first is a series of photos from PopChassid that give a different view than the normal depressing stuff one sees about the holocaust. These photos are special because they show not the defeat but the optimism — the hope that survived even the worst of times.
The second is an article about Judaism in Germany today. Berlin’s Jewish Museum has a new exhibit called “The Whole Truth”. There are a number of exhibits that force Germans to consider their attitudes towards Jews. The most controversial is one where a Jewish man or woman sits inside a glass showcase and answers questions from visitors who approach. Is this the right way to bring Jews and Non-Jews together? Some German Jews are eager to participate. Other leaders demur. “For many, Jews are not friends or colleagues at work. Jews are people from TV or from history books. So that places, automatically, Jewish individuals behind an exhibit glass in a museum in the heads of the German population.” Thoughts?
Music: Music Is Better Than Words (Seth MacFarlane): “You’re The Cream In My Coffee” | <urn:uuid:57a1958f-34d6-4f26-9cb7-3e71b5a1ef7f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cahighways.org/wordpress/?cat=46 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947714 | 276 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Life Can Be a Pain without Chiropractic
That pain in your knee is often what doctors call patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). Simple activities such as running, jumping, or going up and down stairs can contribute to knee pain, which means that most of us will eventually suffer from some form of PFPS.
It has been suggested that PFPS can be relieved by sufficient stretching and lengthening of tight structures around the patella (the kneecap). A study in the Journal of the Neuromusculoskeletal System investigated this potential intervention in 30 patients with PFPS.
Patients were divided into two groups: The first group received "patella mobilization" (extension of the knee with pressure and movement applied for 10 minutes, followed by patellar adjustment in the direction of restricted movement); the second group received detuned ultrasound as placebo (five minutes of ultrasound, but with the intensity set at zero).
Patients receiving mobilization had positive improvements in PFPS symptoms compared with the placebo group. The authors note that this type of conservative care may be useful when combined with other treatment options such as exercise, orthotics and activity modification. If you're suffering from knee pain and would like to know more about nonsurgical approaches to relieving your pain, contact your doctor of chiropractic.
Rowlands BW, Brantingham JW. The efficacy of patella mobilization in patients suffering from patellofemoral pain syndrome. Journal of the Neuromusculoskeletal System 1999: Vol. 7, No. 4, pp142-49. | <urn:uuid:2fb0c1f5-f60d-4c22-bd94-440a331acb4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chiroweb.com/mpacms/chirofind/article.php?id=357 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946797 | 330 | 2.53125 | 3 |
I meet parents of a wide spectrum of children in my business. They usually know “something is different” long before a Specialist becomes involved. Invariably they walk the path alone for a long time with partners, parents, doctors etc brushing it off and discounting their inner knowing. (Which is hugely unfortunate as I tend to subscribe to the theory that Mother Knows Best when it comes to your own child).
I was intrigued to learn that young children who are having problems with phonics, and particularly with blending sounds, may not necessarily be dyslexic but hyperlexic. These young children are able to read complete words at a very early age but struggle to communicate. Although they can read an ever-increasing number of words, their level of comprehension remains at their own age level.
It may be that the child is on the autisic spectrum or has suffered some sort of injury to the brain. This can obviously be very frustrating for the child and the parents.
At The Book Mums, we would suggest books that contain a lot of pictorial evidence to support the vocabulary being used. Picture books designed to be read to the young obviously help a hyperlexic child not only read themselves but, more importantly, understand the meaning of the text being used.
Non-fiction titles with graphics, flaps, photos, or diagrams will also help the child to better understand the concept behind the language and in turn aid their communication.
There are even Illustrated Dictionaries for English, Maths, Science ..
Here is a very interesting article from Speech and Language expert Sara Staunt on the Great Ormond Street website. There is also a great blog from a Hyperlexic parent sharing her own journey and knowledge.
If you would like some suggestions of appropriate titles from the Usborne Publishing list for your own child, please do get in touch. I hope this was useful and would love to hear your comments. | <urn:uuid:d1fa9f40-7991-495f-b724-6c1103166124> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thebookmums.co.uk/tag/dyslexia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972105 | 393 | 2.390625 | 2 |
A three-way socket on my bedside lamp gave out recently, but not without first overheating and causing a burned-phenolic-like odor.
When I disassembled the lamp socket, I noticed black material around the point of contact between the aluminum socket shell and a hollow brass tube that was press fit, or swaged, into place. This fitting connects the shell to power-line neutral. Perhaps a loose fit or differences in thermal expansion of materials caused a slow increase in resistance between the brass and aluminum. That resistance led to a hot spot. (This socket, shown below, did not have UL or CSA logos.)
This type of three-way socket has a third contact, which remains rigid and touches a conductive ring on the bottom of a bulb. It makes contact by digging into a contact ring on three-way bulbs, but it lacks resilience. After a while, the resistance between this off-center contact and the ring on a lamp base increases. That resistance can lead to arcing, overheating, and a bad odor, if not a smoldering socket. I have replaced many sockets because of this design shortcoming.
It's a shame that the move to LED lights hasn't sparked ideas for new types of lamp sockets and a new lamp-base style that overcomes design problems. Automotive lamps provide good examples of simple sockets that make bulbs easy to install and extract and ensure good connections. Manufacturers mold the wire contacts into the glass base, and the socket comprises simple contacts. Some automotive lamps use a molded plastic base instead. Contact-on-contact wiping action and resilient metals help ensure low-resistance paths.
Perhaps someone could design a practical and safe push-in/pull-out socket for LED bulbs. This type of socket would simplify changing bulbs, too. Vaulted ceilings require an extension pole with either a wire basket for globular bulbs or a suction cup for flood lamps. If you use a helical CFL bulb in high places, you might have to fashion your own tool to insert and extract them. And if the glass bulb separates from the socket, you must haul out a ladder.
Mismatched materials, cheap manufacturing techniques, and inattention to quality could lead to disasters. For lamp sockets, at least, it's time for a new approach to design, materials, and manufacturing quality. Also, look for UL and CSA markings before you buy electrical products. | <urn:uuid:63a33d27-91c8-43f8-9c5e-7580c7b1e523> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1367&doc_id=241948&f_src=designnews_node_3059_section_1367 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92564 | 496 | 2.5 | 2 |
As an individual with disabilities, one of the most important skills I learned was how to be an advocate. This means the ability to stand up for yourself and others to protect our equal rights. It is an important lesson to learn because we are the guardians of our own rights.
I am a huge supporter of self-advocacy, something I have done for years from school to adult life. It has become second nature to me.
The first step is to know what the disability issues are and what is needed. The second one is to educate yourself on disability laws and protected rights. A good advocate has excellent communication and listening skills.
Also, keeping good records while becoming a master at negotiating will also help. In order to promote positive change through activism we must work together while respecting one another. There is no better feeling than being able to speak up for yourself or others to make a positive impact.
This is why I am so excited and honored to be the chairperson for the fourth annual Wheel Walk at Stanley Park in Westfield. The committee is filled with dedicated activists with the same goal of bringing awareness to accessibility issues.
The event is on June 9, starting at 10 a.m. with a walk through the accessibility trail with a barbeque. This event is a celebration of the strides that have been made in making the park accessible for people with disabilities.
The Wheel Walk is a perfect example of a community coming together to support the simple fact that everyone has the right to fully enjoy and benefit from using the park.
Carrie Barrepski can be
reached at email@example.com | <urn:uuid:a38318f6-d675-4d08-a41f-e5efdba84c69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.masslive.com/living/index.ssf/2012/04/carrie_writes_4th_annual_wheel_walk_at_stanley_park_raises_disability_awareness.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971165 | 337 | 1.882813 | 2 |
The man owns and manages 175 apartments across Baltimore. According to the article he and his company have been issued with more than 20 notices of violation and compliance orders. The Maryland Department of Environment has reported that at least one child has been found with elevated lead blood levels at the properties under investigation.
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) provides the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the authority to require reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements, and restrictions relating to chemical substances and/or mixtures. The TSCA addresses the production, importation, use, and disposal of specific chemicals including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos, radon and lead-based paint.
According to the EPA, “Lead is a toxic metal that was used for many years in paint and other products found in and around our homes. Lead also can be emitted into the air from industrial sources and leaded aviation gasoline, and lead can enter drinking water from plumbing materials. Lead may cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children six years old and under are most at risk.”
Sussex Environmental Health Consultants, one of the premier lead testing and consulting firms in the Mid-Atlantic region, provides lead testing services to ensure people are not exposed to this toxic metal. “Simple testing procedures can prevent needless exposures and prevent the legal ramifications and lawsuits that can occur from failure to test suspect materials,” reported Susan White, Ph.D., CMC, President of SEHC.
SEHC recently cosponsored a public outreach video on lead that can be seen at:
To learn more about lead or how SEHC can provide services to protect people from lead and IAQ dangers, please visit http://www.sussexenvironmental.com, email susan.white@
# # #
About Sussex Environmental Health Consultants, LLC
SEHC is a certified woman owned business that provides environmental and health and safety consulting services. The company is located in the Mid-Atlantic and services clients nationwide. SEHC provides solutions to clients ranging from homeowners to international Fortune 500 corporations. | <urn:uuid:a54403c2-66a5-45b5-87b0-6ab414a0f40d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prlog.org/11608287-baltimore-landlord-pleads-guilty-to-violations-of-the-toxic-substances-act.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 | 0.949692 | 445 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Here’s a few quick pictures for those of you curious about swapping out the nib of your Pilot Prera for the lovely italic nib on the Pilot Plumix. Possibly you want to make your handwriting fancier
or maybe you dropped the nib on a hard tile floor; whatever the reason, here’s how I did it.
I started with the Prera for this demonstration simply because it was closer to the camera when I started taking pictures. If you haven’t done this before, maybe start on the far cheaper Plumix (or Pilot Penmanship, if you’re looking to swap on an extra fine nib); the motion is the same. Hold the barrel in one hand. Hold the nib and feed with the other (I prefer putting my thumb under the feed and my index finger on top of the nib). Slowly pull the nib and feed out, and perhaps try gently twisting the barrel as you do so if it seems stiff. The nib and feed should come out, and you’re halfway done. If you started with the Plumix, keep the nib on hand and set the rest of the pen to the side.
Take the second pen, and do the same thing to get the feed and nib out. Though I swap the nibs, I like to keep the feeds with their original pen, but that’s probably not necessary.
Take the feed you want to put in the Prera and the nib you want to be on the Prera. Put the nib on top of the feed; the feed is notched on the top and sides in such a way that you’ll know when it’s on where it should be.
Hold the nib and feed together in one hand, the barrel in the other, and slide them together until they stop. From what I can tell, there’s no particular way the feed and nib have to line up with the barrel, so there’s no big worry. If you’ve done this all correctly, you should have a Pilot Prera with an italic nib. If you’ve done this incorrectly, I absolve myself of all responsibility. | <urn:uuid:50b47791-2cee-4acf-b4d6-52f63d120df8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nopenintended.wordpress.com/tag/change-nib/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94454 | 445 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Tired of running on a treadmill or “climbing” stairs to nowhere? There are different (and, yes, fun) ways to stay in shape that are far from the same old workout routine. Case in point, CrossFit.
A change from boot camp, CrossFit is gaining popularity. What is it? According to Rob LaBar of CrossFit Boynton Beach, it is “consistently varied, functional movements executed at a high intensity.”
For the variety part, each day starts with the WOD (workout of the day). The workouts are the same all day long, but change daily, so the body doesn’t get used to the routine and the person doing it doesn’t get bored. LaBar says the variety is one reason people try CrossFit. “They are out of shape and can’t stick to a routine. Going to the gym gets boring.”
CrossFit focuses on strength and endurance with limited equipment (barbells and boxes) and some gymnastics moves (pull-ups and ring dips).
If you think you’re not fit enough to handle CrossFit, LaBar says it is used by everyone from college athletes to average people, and each class includes students at all fitness levels. “Scalability is the key,” LaBar says. “Every workout can be modified for the individual.” For example, he says, while an athlete in the class does a clean and jerk with 135 pounds, a 55-year old grandmother will do the same thing, but with a 22-pound empty bar. The movements are the same, but the level is modified for the individual. For best results, LaBar recommends three days on, one day off.
There also is a level of competitiveness to the routines, because they are timed, to see who can do it faster, which allows people to push beyond what they thought they were capable of and get better results. (561-702-4844, crossfitboyntonbeach.com) | <urn:uuid:c8bf1082-5288-478d-82b3-09f6ff3f8bf4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.palmbeachillustrated.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.details&ArticleId=2419&returnTo=author | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955212 | 427 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The Amelia Island Museum of History invites you to its 3rd on 3rd Street presentation on Friday, May 17th at 6 pm. Historian and author Gylbert Coker will be discussing surveyor George Clarke, who platted the city of Fernandina for the Spanish in 1811, and later took part in handing off Fernandina to the United States. Dr. Coker has done extensive research into the Clarke family, completing a book on George’s mother Honoria. Her next book will focus on George Clarke, including his time on Amelia Island. This program is free for members, with a suggested donation of $5 for nonmembers. For more information contact Gray at 261-7378 ext 102. | <urn:uuid:d7209fa5-fa20-45e1-be8f-bc4394cc8a77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ameliamuseum.org/3rd-on-3rd/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952793 | 145 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Cement is one of the core industries which plays a vital
role in the growth and expansion of a nation. It is basically a mixture
of compounds, consisting mainly of silicates and aluminates of calcium,
formed out of calcium oxide, silica, aluminium oxide and iron oxide. The
demand for cement, being a derived one, depends primarily on the pace
of activities in the business, financial, real estate and infrastructure
sectors of the economy. Cement is considered preferred building material
and is used worldwide for all construction works such as housing and industrial
construction, as well as for creation of infrastructures like ports, roads,
power plants, etc. Thus, it can said to be a significant contributor to
the Government's revenue collection and a pillar of overall planned development
of an economy.
In India, the foundation of a stable Indian cement industry
was laid in 1914 when the Indian Cement Company Ltd. manufactured cement
at Porbundar in Gujarat. In the initial stages, particularly during the
period before Independence, the growth of the sector had been very slow.
The indigenous production of cement was not sufficient to meet the entire
domestic demand and accordingly, the Government had to control its price
and distribution statutorily. Also, the large quantities of cement had
to be imported for meeting the deficit in the economy. However, with liberalisation
and introduction of several policy reforms, the cement industry has been
decontrolled which gave impetus to its pace of growth. It has made rapid
strides both in capacity/ production and process technology terms. Today,
it is one of the most advanced and pioneering sectors in the country.
Cement is a basic material input which facilitates the promotional and
developmental efforts, at a fast pace, in the areas of infrastructural
set up and other construction related works. Since it is a decontrolled
commodity, its production and prices are largely governed by economic
factors, like, demand and supply, cost of raw materials and other inputs,
production as well as distribution costs.
The Indian cement industry is extremely energy intensive
and is the third largest user of coal in the country. It is modern and
uses latest technology, which is among the best in the world. Only a small
segment of industry is using old technology based on wet and semi-dry
process. Also, the industry has tremendous potential for development as
limestone of excellent quality is found almost throughout the country.
In other words, it is experiencing a boom on account of overall growth
of the Indian economy, cost control continuous technology upgradation,
etc. This has immensely helped it to conserve energy and fuel as well
as to save materials substantially.
In India, the Department
of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), under the Ministry
of Commerce and Industry, is the nodal agency for the development
of cement industries, that is, it is involved in monitoring their performance
at regular intervals and suggesting suitable policy incentives, as per
the requirement. The Department is responsible for formulation and implementation
of promotional and developmental measures for growth of entire industrial
sector in general and of some selected industries like cement, light engineering,
leather, rubber, light machine tools, etc. in particular. It is involved
in framing and administering overall industrial policy and foreign direct
investment (FDI) policy as well as promoting FDI inflow into the country.
It plays an active role in investment promotion through dissemination
of information on investment climate and opportunities in India as well
as by advising prospective investors about various policies and procedures.
Some of the rules and orders, administered by DIPP, relating
to the cement industry are:-
India is the second largest manufacturer of cement in the world. It is engaged in the production of several varieties of cement such as Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (PBFS), Oil Well Cement, Rapid Hardening Portland Cement, Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement, White Cement, etc. They are produced strictly as per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications and their quality is comparable with the best in the world. At present, the Indian cement industry comprises 134 large cement plants with an installed capacity of 173.08 million tonnes and more than 350 operating mini cement plants with an estimated capacity of 11.10 million tonnes per annum, making a total installed capacity of 184.18 million tonnes. Cement production during the year 2007-08 is estimated at 178.79 million tonnes. During the period April - December, 2007, it has been 126.27 million tonnes registering a growth of 6.97 per cent over the corresponding period of 2006-07. During the same period, India exported 4.61 million tonnes of cement and clinker.
The industry has been actively pursuing various avenues
to improve its productivity and energy efficiency. There has been all-around
upgradation of technology in all sections of the plant like mining, process,
equipment and machinery, packaging and transportation. Adoption of modern
techniques like photogrammetry and remote sensing has enabled the industry
to discover virgin limestone. Advanced equipments like hydraulic excavators,
surface miners, large wheel loaders and mobile crushers have helped the
industry in increasing its productivity considerably. Several large and
small cement companies are also actively considering their expansion plans
in order to accelerate the growth and demand for the sector. The major
players in this area are ACC, Gujarat Ambuja Cement Limited, Grasim Industries
and Ultratech, India Cements Limited, Jaiprakash Associates, JK Cements,
etc. Improvement in cement industry has found ready markets in Bangladesh,
Indonesia, Malayasia, Nepal, Middle, East countries, Burma, Africa and
South East Asian countries.
However, the industry still faces a number of constraints
in terms of high cost of power; high railway tariff; high incidence of
State and Central levies and duties; lack of private and public investment
in infrastructure projects; low quality coal and inadequate growth of
related infrastructure like sea and rail transport, ports and bulk terminals.
In order to overcome such obstacles and utilize excess capacity available
with the cement industry, the Government has identified the following
thrust areas for increasing its demand, namely:- (i) Housing development
programmes; (ii) Promotion of concrete highways and roads; (iii) Use of
ready-mix concrete in large infrastructure projects; and (iv) Construction
of concrete roads in rural areas under Prime Ministers Gram Sadak Yojana.
The Department has been undertaking several measures like
setting up of institutes/ councils for enhanced development of the industry.
For instance, the National
Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB) has been constituted as an apex body dedicated to continuous research, technology development and transfer, education as well as scientific, technological and industrial services for the cement, related building materials and construction industries. It acts as a preferred technology partner to such sectors in the sustainable development of a better infrastructure and housing. NCB carries on its activities through its units located at Ballabhgarh, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar. NCB's activities are channelised through its following six programme centres:
- Cement Research and Independent Testing
- Mining, Environment, Plant Engineering and Operation
- Construction Development and Research
- Industrial Information Services
- Continuing Education Services
- Quality Management, Standards and Calibration Services
Another important being, the setting up of a 'Development
Council for Cement Industry' under the Industries
(Development & Regulation) Act, 1951. The Council promotes the
development of the cement industry in India, through various measures,
by providing funds for developmental projects. The source of funding the
activities of the Council is the cess collected by it from the cement
manufacturers in terms of Cement
Cess Rules, 1993. The various projects of this Council are:-
- Base Level activities of NCB and R&D projects initiated by it for the development of the cement industry.
- Projects for improvement of the productivity of the industry by reducing cost.
- Projects for optimum utilisation of raw materials.
- Projects for modernisation of cement plants.
- Projects for improvement of environment.
- Projects for standardisation and quality control programmes.
- Projects for development of bulk supply and distribution of cement.
- Projects for training and upgradation of the skill of the personnel in the cement industry.
During 2007-08, the Council has received an allocation of Rs. 3.50 crore for making expenditure on the above activities.
Besides, in order to improve and supplement the industry's performance, the Department has constituted a 'Working Group on Cement Industry' for the formulation of the 11th Plan. The report of this working group emphasizes the importance of bulk cement transportation, use of ready mix concrete and reduction of taxes and levies on cement. It also seeks regulatory support for creating framework for co-processing of wastes, co-generation of power and enhanced support to R&D activities to align the technology regime with the best of the world. As per the working group report on the industry, the cement demand is likely to grow at 11.5 per cent per annum during the 11th Plan and cement production and capacity by the end of the 11th Plan are estimated to be 269 million tonnes and 298 million tonnes, respectively, with capacity utilisation of 90 per cent. To attain the targeted capacity addition, an investment of Rs. 52,400 crore would be required during the 11th Plan. Achievement of such targets is crucially dependent on factors like adequate availability of limestone, coal, power and facilities for transport of limestone.
Thus, the Indian cement industry has strong capacity base
and produces quality cement which meets the global standards. It has achieved
a tremendous success in technological upgradation and assimilation of
latest technology. There is also great scope for increase in export of
cement. More importantly, the gap between its demand and supply has been
reduced to a very large extent and the sector is likely to witness higher
growth in the coming years. All this indicates that the cement industry
has an important role to play in the Indian economy. Owing to booming
housing sector, global demand and increased activity in infrastructure
development such as State and National highways, there exists ample investment
opportunities in the industry. It has been attracting the top cement companies
from all over the world and promoting more mergers and acquisitions for
its overall growth. | <urn:uuid:0bba4bea-ffc2-49c3-857b-24fd76407724> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://business.gov.in/Industry_services/cement.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93739 | 2,213 | 3.25 | 3 |
The Mexican spotted owl, a threatened species with habitat in the Sacramento Mountains, now has a revised recovery plan approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The plan, unveiled Monday, includes language that now recognizes the need to manage some forest landscapes to minimize the effects of large wildfires, which the amended plan considers to possibly be the greatest current threat to the owl.
"Indeed, several large fires have burned in owl habitat since 1996," the plan states. "Management recommendations are most conservative within PAC's (Protected Activity Centers for the spotted owl), but by no means advocate a 'hands-off' approach. The Recovery Team recognizes situations exist where management is needed to sustain or enhance desired conditions for the owl, including fire-risk reduction, as well as monitoring owl response. Mechanical treatments in some PACs may be needed to achieve these objectives."
Fire hysteria added
"It's one-dimensional," said Bryan Bird with the WildEarth Guardians, a group that has long advocated protections for the Mexican spotted owl. "It focuses disproportionately on fire risk to the bird. And it almost entirely ignores the need to monitor the numbers of owls in the wild."
Bird said by making the fire threat to the spotted owls the number one concern now, the Fish and Wildlife Service has taken the easiest conclusion.
"But when you go to the science, it's showing the owl is perhaps not as badly harmed by fire. In fact
Bird said he felt the revised plan was "driven by this fire hysteria to some degree." But he added he did not want to discount the reality that fire is very threatening to people and their communities.
"And obviously Ruidoso's seen the worst of that but as far as the owl goes, I think that it just focuses too much on (fire) as the only threat and that it also fails to require tracking the birds numbers and then watching to see if its numbers are increasing or decreasing."
To de-list the spotted owl, a stable or increasing occupancy would have to be shown. Bird said a stable or increasing population trend should be the approach.
He said WildEarth Guardians is looking closely at the revised plans and weighing options.
U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M. 2nd Congressional District, a frequent critic of the Endangered Species Act, said the plan points to prudent logging to in part reduce fires, as being good for the owl.
"Two decades ago the Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Mexican spotted owl under the Endangered Species act, effectively ending logging in New Mexico and putting thousands out of work here and across the nation," Pearce said in a prepared statement. "Now we see that approach was wrong all along, and that the FWS was making decisions not rooted in sound science but driven by politics, Washington lawyers and extreme interest groups. In the Final Recovery Plan for the Mexican spotted owl, the FWS indicates that responsible thinning is actually good for owl populations."
Pearce said the forest management practices on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation show that both timber jobs and owl populations can flourish.
"I've always been against clear cutting, but I'm strongly in favor of the responsible logging that will keep forests healthy, replenish valuable underground aquifers, restore watersheds vital to New Mexico's ecosystems and communities, cut down on forest fires and the cost of fighting them, allow the owl population to flourish, provide economic stability for small mountain communities, and bring good jobs and economic growth back to New Mexico," Pearce added.
The recovery plan however cautioned that forest thinning might not benefit all PACs.
"On the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico, forest personnel conducted an assessment of fuels treatments needed to ensure community protection, firefighter safety and ecological functionality in the WUI (wildland-urban interface)," the plan states. "The Lincoln National Forest Capability Assessment evaluated several options, including intensive treatments applied across essentially the entire forest landscape because most all of the Lincoln National Forest is considered to be WUI including owl nest stands. This approach could involve significant risk to the Mexican spotted owl population in the Sacramento Mountains. This owl population comprises the bulk of the population in the BRE EMU (Basin and Range-East Ecological Management Unit). The BRE EMU appears to receive little if any immigration from other populations but it may serve as a source population for smaller populations within the region. Thus, implementation of this approach to fuels reduction in the WUI could seriously endanger owls within this EMU."
While the more than 400-page plan notes some Mexican spotted owl habitat in the southwestern United States could be thinned without compromising the bird, "in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico, however, intensive landscape-wide treatments aimed at ensuring community protection, public health and safety, and ecological functionality have the potential to impact a large percentage of known PACs in the BRE EMU."
The Mexican spotted owl was listed as a threatened species by the FWS in March 1993. The bird nests and roosts in forested areas with multilayered, unevenly aged trees, and in steep, rocky canyon areas. The forest types believed to be the most important to the owls are mixed conifer, pine-oak and riparian habitats.
At the time of the species' listing the chief threat was considered commercial timber harvesting, the Fish and Wildlife Service reported.
A recovery plan had been completed in October 1995, but updates on the owls' status and experience in implementing the original plan prompted revisions.
A project to help acquire additional information about the Mexican spotted owl in the local area may soon begin. Quentin Hays, a wildlife biologist attached to ENMU-Ruidoso, said in October that he and other groups and individuals involved in the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program were awaiting a potential grant next spring for commercial logging within spotted owl territory, followed by a three-year research study to evaluate the effects on the owls. | <urn:uuid:99b06d93-d523-44a3-bad0-b1b28773c390> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ruidosonews.com/ci_22219003/spotted-owl-recovery-plan-revised?source=most_viewed | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96164 | 1,208 | 2.65625 | 3 |
The first project supported by SoliBad took place in Indonesia, with concrete assistance to an orphanage founded by an Australian woman in Bali (www.careforkidsbali.com).
Most of the daily needs for the orphans (44 children) are now provided by Private donors and the children live in a peaceful environment and supervision, with general teaching provided by the municipal school on the outskirts of Denpasar. However they don’t have enough means to ensure their integration into working life once they have left the orphanage: not all children have individuals “sponsors” who could pay them some additional training requested to find a job out of the orphanage.
A program to help this integration via a computer training has been implemented with funds collected by SOLIBAD since June 2010 : Solibad has covered the costs of hiring a computer science teacher for the whole year and will again in 2012 and 2013. This aid should enable the older people to leave the orphanage with sufficient experience to qualify for inclusion in working life.
This project is sponsored by Taufik Hidayat, 2004 Olympic champion and 2005 World champion and one of Badminton’s legends.
The latest news
May 20th, 2013
With the help of Solibad we were able to buy 11 computers and one Mac Book which is available to each child at any time of the day. They use them for all their activities (homework, play games, listen to music, take pictures, internet …). They have access to courses in modules and form groups of nine children during their working sessions and computer classes.
Most are at school in the morning and are practicing several activities in the afternoon such as cooking, make some jewelry, drawing or play games invented by people in charge of them (role playing, choreography, dance, etc …). Children do not have time to get bored and are very well supervised, thus forming a real family !
November 26th 2012
The class divide by 3 different group depending on the level. There are about 30 kids now in all classes.
“The children are VERY happy to get this opportunity. We all hope to see you again when you come to Bali.Thank you Solibad from the bottom of our heart for the continues support on our computer class” said Aries, Manager at Jodie O’phea | <urn:uuid:c4de9ad4-191d-425b-b570-ba46bb287b63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.solibad.net/proj/care-for-kids-bali-indonesia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954898 | 486 | 1.679688 | 2 |
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Sun January 27, 2013
Survey finds most Michigan doctors ready to take new patients if Medicaid expands
Most Michigan doctors say they are prepared to take on a wave of new patients -- if the state approves an expansion of its Medicaid program.
Under the Affordable Care Act, nearly 300,000 more people could be added to the state's Medicaid rolls next year.
Marianne Udow-Phillips of the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation says the nonprofit group surveyed 1,500 Michigan physicians.
"Overall, 81% of primary care physicians say they're going to expand their practices to take new patients come 2014," Udow-Phillips says.
The CHRT study says 55 percent of primary care physicians in Michigan say they currently accept new Medicaid patients. Among those who don't currently take new Medicaid patients, most physicians said they would also take newly enrolled Medicaid patients.
Udow-Phillips says the biggest enrollment is expected in Wayne, Oakland, McComb, Kent and Washtenaw counties.
"If the state decides to expand Medicaid, everybody who is at or under 138 percent of poverty becomes eligible for Medicaid," she says. "And we expect that a large number of those who will become newly eligible for Medicaid will be single adults who are childless."
The Medicaid expansion would be 100 percent federally funded for the first few years; by 2020, the state would pay 10 percent of the costs.
Udow-Phillips says another 400,000 residents could be added to the Medicaid program by 2020.
State participation in Medicaid expansion is voluntary. Governor Snyder has not indicated whether he supports the expansion; he's expected to announce his position when he presents his budget proposal early next month. | <urn:uuid:03955e75-b7a2-44e7-8994-b73ba2add6f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://info@michiganradio.org/post/survey-finds-most-michigan-doctors-ready-take-new-patients-if-medicaid-expands | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95921 | 361 | 1.71875 | 2 |
“Doc” Davenport 1925-2013
In May of 2005, The Legal Genealogist drove down to Holmdel, New Jersey, to try to get some help with research into the earliest known ancestors of the Baker family from which I descend.My target for the trip was John Scott “Doc” Davenport, Ph.D., then a spry 80 years of age.
Doc was the Grand Old Man of genealogical research for that branch of the family that was and is known as the Pamunkey Davenports. This Davenport branch, from which we both descend, traces back to Davis Davenport, a landowner in the Pamunkey Neck region of Virginia (hence the designation “Pamunkey Davenports”)1 in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
We can definitively place Davis in that area from a survey made by James Taylor, surveyor of King & Queen County, Virginia, dated 29 May 1696, which identified Davis Davenport’s Plantation and Landing on the Mattaponi River.2 We know Davis was still alive in 1704 when he was assessed on the Virginia Quit Rents roll for 200 acres.3 And he had died by 1735 when his son Martin mentioned in his own will that he had inherited land from his father Davis Davenport.4
Doc’s descent from Davis Davenport through son Martin is well-documented, both by genealogical records and by DNA. My own is more circumstantial: we have good reason to believe that the Dorothy who married Thomas Baker around 1716 in Virginia was a daughter of Martin Davenport.5 And I wanted to meet with Doc because he was the acknowledged expert as to the ins and outs of these Davenports — and he himself was convinced that Dorothy Baker had been Dorothy Davenport before her marriage.
So I headed off to Holmdel that bright weekend day, determined to secure Doc’s help in making the case for Dorothy as a Davenport. I mean, I had an agenda. In boldface and italics. And I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
And before I left his home many hours later, I’d been snookered. Taken for a ride by this lovely gentleman. Conned into agreeing to edit what ended up as a 900-plus-page, multi-part, CD publication called The Pamunkey Davenport Papers : The Further Chronicles of the Pamunkey Davenports,6 a complete reworking of the family history Doc had first produced in 1998.7
Over the next weeks, and months, and years, Doc and I fought over the Chronicles. We fought over some assumptions that he’d made, and some that I’d made. We fought about what to put in and what to leave out. We fought over whether there was enough evidence to connect one generation to another. We even fought about typefaces and fonts.
He thought I was silly for insisting on transcribing documents as they were written, with words misspelled and all, rather than “what they meant.” As if, he sniffed, preserving those misspellings mattered. I thought he was silly for thinking that every time the DNA didn’t match the paper trail, it necessarily meant Mama was playin’ around. As if, I’d sniff, there’d never been an undocumented adoption or a child who took his stepfather’s name.
Oh we battled. And we growled. And we occasionally snarled.
And I loved every minute of it.
To this day, I have no idea how my agenda got co-opted into Doc’s agenda. And to this day and as long as I may live, I am and will be forever grateful that it was.
What I learned from Doc, about the Davenports, about the Bakers, about good genealogical research, about good writing, about life, about history, about family, and about the love cousins who first met each other on the Internet can have for each other… I couldn’t begin to document all that I owe to Doc Davenport.
So it is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to report there will be no more battles with Doc in this lifetime. We got the word yesterday that we lost him last Friday, at the age of 87. His memorial service is scheduled for this evening in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, near to where he and Dorothy, his bride of 64 years, settled to be near a daughter and her family.
I can’t be there in person, but I will surely be there in spirit.
Rest in peace, John Scott Davenport (August 12, 1925 – January 11, 2013).
Road crew boss and fellow traveller down the Davenport family history road.
- “Pamunkey Neck is that long finger of land running northwest to southeast between the Pamunkey-North Anna River and the Mattaponi River, ending at their confluence to form the York River.” “Who are the Pamunkey Davenports?,” The Pamunkey Davenports of Colonial Virginia (http://www.pamunkeydavenport.com/ : accessed 15 Jan 2013. ↩
- Waller Family Papers, 1667-1816, Accession #260356, Library of Virginia, Richmond. ↩
- Louis des Cognets, Jr. (comp.), English Duplicates of Lost Virginia Records (Princeton, NJ: p.p., 1958), 149-156, 157-160, 163-171. See also Annie Laurie Wright Smith, compiler, The Quit Rents of Virginia, 1704, reprint (Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Publ. Co., 2004), 24. ↩
- Rosalie Edith Davis (compiler), Hanover County Court Records, Wills, Deeds, Etc., 1733-1735 (Manchester, Mo. : p.p., 1979), 339. ↩
- I’ll get around to writing that up another day. This isn’t about my Bakers today, or even about the Davenports. It’s about Doc. ↩
- John Scott Davenport, Judy G. Russell, Linda E. Davenport, The Pamunkey Davenport Papers : The Further Chronicles of the Pamunkey Davenports, CD-ROM (Charles Town, W.Va. : The Pamunkey Davenport Family Association, 2009). ↩
- John Scott Davenport, The Pamunkey Davenports of Colonial Virginia : An Approximated Four-Generation Lineage from the Patriarch Davis Davenport of King William County (Hopkinville, KY : Pamunkey Davenport Family Association, 1998). ↩ | <urn:uuid:1878ea0b-bfb9-4e05-8c8c-ec036bb4481b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://legalgenealogist.com/blog/2013/01/16/rip-john-scott-davenport/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947097 | 1,447 | 1.726563 | 2 |
President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the troubled Southeast Asian nation of Burma Monday, calling on the country's leaders to continue reforms that have, in less than a year, set it on a path toward respectability in the international community.
"Reforms launched from the top of society must meet the aspirations of citizens who form its foundation," Mr. Obama said in a speech at Yangon University in the capital, Rangoon. "The flickers of progress that we have seen must not be extinguished - they must become a shining North Star for all this nation's people."
Source: CBS News. Read full article. (link) | <urn:uuid:953e0a74-47b3-46ad-a09a-5cc1a9deb80f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reason.com/24-7/2012/11/19/obama-something-stirring-in-burma | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963146 | 135 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Depending on where you’re from around the country, you may have heard people use different terms to describe what most people understand a “garage sale” to be. So here’s a quick glossary we made up for the fun of it.
Yard Sale – You bring out items that you’re selling and arrange them in your front or back yard for buyers to come check out.
Garage Sale – Utilizing your garage space indoors and driveway space outdoors, arranging items that you’re selling for buyers to check out.
Tag Sale – A term most notably used in the eastern / northeastern part of the US, essentially meaning the same thing as a garage or yard sale. The term “Tag Sale” is derived from the use of small price tags hanging by string or yarn affixed to the item for sale.
Moving Sale – Count on finding lots of big, bulky items like furniture and small appliances at these types of sales.
Junk Sales – (or rummage sale) They can be a blast because you never know what you’ll find. For most it’s just junk, for others, “one persons trash is another persons treasure.”
Estate Sale – The “crown jewel” of second-hand sales. A complete liquidation of an estate or home. Generally estate sales are professionally organized, coordinated and run. Often times appraisers are brought in ahead of time to accurately price valuables such as antiques, art and furniture. Everything but the kitchen sink must go, even the kitchen cleaners under the sink are usually sold.
Virtual Sales – Items posted online for sale for lack of physical selling space and just about anything goes! | <urn:uuid:4f8e5d72-dc80-4609-8810-24309be6f2c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tagsellit.com/second-hand-social/name-your-sale/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938844 | 358 | 1.789063 | 2 |
American painter John Sloan (1871-1951) was a pioneer realist. He specialized in city street scenes, New Mexican subjects, and the nude.
Born in Lock Haven, Pa., on Aug. 2, 1871, John Sloan was taken to Philadelphia as a child. After he finished high school, he worked for booksellers and dry-goods dealers. He studied briefly under Thomas Anshutz at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and in 1892 was employed by the Philadelphia Inquirer as a newspaper artist. Robert Henri encouraged him as a painter, and he was influenced by Japanese prints. In 1895 he moved to the Philadelphia Press, for which he drew full-page color pictures until 1902. His early paintings were street scenes, somber in color, vivid and direct in execution. These were first exhibited in 1900 in Chicago and Pittsburgh, and he was included in a New York group show in 1901.
Sloan married in 1901 and in 1904 moved to New York. For many years he supported himself as a magazine illustrator and, after 1906, as a teacher. A series of 10 etchings of city life in 1905-1906, rich in content, often with undercurrents of humor or irony, found no purchasers. Though his work was seen in these years in the Carnegie International Exhibition and the National Academy of Design, more often than not his pungent and unidealized urban scenes were rejected by academic critics. It was in part his rejection by the academy in 1907 that caused Henri to withdraw from that organization. Sloan was one of the group of painters called "The Eight," whose exhibition at the Macbeth Gallery in 1908 called attention to the radical subject matter and vigorous execution of five of the painters—Henri, Sloan, William Glackens, George Luks, and Everett Shinn.
Sloan and his wife joined the Socialist party in 1910, and he became art editor of its magazine, The Masses, to which he contributed some of his most compelling drawings. In 1910 and again in 1913 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the New York State Assembly. He withdrew from the party in 1914 but remained on the staff of The Masses for 2 more years. He sold his first painting in 1913 to Dr. Albert C. Barnes. He was well represented that same year in the celebrated Armory Show but was too completely a representational artist to have much sympathy for the new European movements exhibited there.
Sloan was an active teacher at the Art Students League and served as its president in 1931. He was president of the Society of Independent Artists from 1918 until his death; this organization staged large, no-jury, no-prize shows from 1917 until 1944.
From 1914 to 1918 Sloan spent the summers in Gloucester, Mass., where he painted landscapes as well as people. He traveled to the Southwest for the first time in 1919, and for the rest of his life spent long periods in Santa Fe, N. Mex., where he built a house in 1940. The life of the Indians, the ceremonial activities of the Spanish inhabitants, and the dramatic desert landscape provided powerful new subjects. In 1931 he was active in organizing a large exhibition of Indian tribal arts.
After about 1930 Sloan painted no more city scenes but became increasingly concerned with studies of the nude. The late paintings are monumental and technically innovative. In contrast to the direct execution of his earlier work, these are carefully constructed with monochrome underpainting, upon which an elaborate surface of bold cross-hatchings in color gives startling relief.
The power of Sloan's personality is well conveyed in Gist of Art (1939), a compilation of statements made to his students which were recorded by Helen Farr, who became his second wife, in 1944. Sloan died on Sept. 7, 1951, in Hanover, N.H.
Sloan's Gist of Art (1939) is an eloquent statement of his attitudes and methods, with interesting comments on his own works. Sloan's New York Scene: From Diaries, Notes and Correspondence, 1906-1913, edited by Bruce St. John and introduced by Helen Farr Sloan (1965), describes Sloan and his world. Lloyd Goodrich, John Sloan (1952), published in connection with an exhibition at the Whitney Museum, is the best critical study. Van Wyck Brooks, John Sloan: A Painter's Life, is a sympathetic personal account. Guy Pène du Bois, John Sloan (no date), is a brief but useful picture book. There are interesting personal sidelights in Bennard B. Perlman, The Immortal Eight (1962).
Loughery, John, John Sloan: painter and rebel, New York: H. Holt, 1995.
Scott, David W., John Sloan, New York: Watson-Guptill, 1975. □ | <urn:uuid:1f7ea263-37e9-44eb-9558-194f7a76b911> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://biography.yourdictionary.com/john-sloan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984394 | 999 | 2.5 | 2 |
High Velocity Brainstorming|
Breakthrough Thinking in the Fast Lane
High Velocity Brainstorming is a deeply engaging, masterfully facilitated creative thinking session that helps aspiring innovators originate and develop breakthrough ideas.
Most people we know — our friends included — claim they already brainstorm. Perhaps they do. But in our experience, there is a often a huge gap between the concept of brainstorming and the act of brainstorming. Indeed, the word "brainstorming" has been totally abused in our culture. Like the words "post-modern" and "natural," it has lost its meaning. Meeting with a few friends to talk about a business deal? "We're brainstorming." Tossing a few ideas around over cappuccino? "Brainstorming." Kicking around an idea or two for cutting costs? "Brainstorming." Well, not really.
What most people call "brainstorming" is, in fact, often just a veiled attempt to influence others, a self-appointed opportunity to sell ideas, peddle opinions, or simply play out a lifelong ambition to dominate a group. "Brainmisting?" Maybe. "Braindrizzling?" Sure. But not brainstorming. Uh uh. No way. Real brainstorming is very different. Real brainstorming is a meeting of the minds — or more precisely, a meeting in the realm just beyond the mind — a place where brilliance and breakthrough wait to be discovered.
Idea Champion's High Velocity Brainstorming service cuts through the fluff of traditional brainstorming by tuning into the five key drivers of successful group ideation:
1. Problem Definition: Long before a session, we'll interview you and a cross-section of key stakeholders to make sure you have identified the real question to brainstorm — not some unreasonable facsimile. (Sometimes our clients' need for output is so strong, they forget to get the input they need to align around a common challenge.)
2. Custom Design: Your team is unique. Your goals are unique. Your company culture is unique. That's why the design of your brainstorming offsite should be unique. Which is exactly what Idea Champions will do as a prelude to your offsite. (FYI: In the past 20 years of leading ideation sessions for all kinds of organizations, no two have ever been the same.)
3. Session Facilitation: Leading a brainstorming session is a lot like herding cats. Participants are usually all over the place. Left brainers and right brainers. Extroverts and introverts. Thirty year veterans and dewy-eyed new hires. And just about everyone is infatuated with their own ideas. (PS: That's why you pay us the big bucks.)
4. Brainstorm Report: Brainstormers love "throwing spaghetti against the wall to see if it sticks." Not that there's anything wrong with that now, is there? Well, not as long as the spaghetti gets collected at the end of the day and made appetizing in some way. Translation? Within 72 hours of a High Velocity Brainstorming session, Idea Champions will provide you with a clearly written, impeccably organized document summarizing all of the ideas generated at your offsite. No consultant speak. No boilerplate mumbo. No BS. Just good, ol' fashioned food for thought.
5. Follow-Up: Ideas, concepts, and intellectual capital are invisible. You cannot see them. You cannot touch them. You cannot measure them. They exist in the Platonic realm of formless possibility. We, on the other hand — the Idea Champions consultants who facilitate High Velocity Brainstorming Sessions — are not invisible. We do not live in the Platonic realm. We live in Upstate New York and we will — with your permission — follow up your High Velocity Brainstorming session in whatever way works for you:
- Post-session conference calls with your team
- Phone coaching with project champions
- Follow up sessions with sub-groups
- Free the Genie (virtual brainstorming)
- Brainstorm facilitation certification trainings | <urn:uuid:4fa7c2b7-5a5b-4f62-8dd6-eb979fc0963c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ideachampions.com/high_velocity_brainstorming.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921012 | 837 | 1.5 | 2 |
We have witnessed amazing events on television – mostly via Al Jazeera – in which puppets of power are being pushed away and a new world born. They say these are youth revolts and call them spontaneous eruptions of demands for civil liberties and democracy. Yet across North Africa, everywhere from the streets to the factories to the universities, there are strong, established and radical organisations. In the story we are told the liberties and democracies demanded are, of course, ‘like ours’. The newly humanised ‘Arab street’ is compared with 1989 and the triumph of ‘freedom’ over authoritarianism. This all seems like the kind of transition they wish to see. A shift to ‘stable’ democracies, where wealth isn’t redistributed, where hierarchies and inequities go unchallenged and, most importantly – the oil flows. So notes of caution are issued: rights must be respected – the right to property the most sacrosanct of all.
Pause this scene – what is unfolding?
A re-activation of the ‘colonial machine’ of power emerges in the distinction between ‘us’ and ‘them’. These revolts can – and frighteningly most probably will – allow for the reappearance of these methods of domination onto these oil rich territories, continuing the extraction of valuable resources and labour. It happened back then, in the world after the Second World War, when most of the colonies in Africa became independent, and there is no reason to believe it will not happen now. In the world after the 2008 financial crisis, the colonial machine is enabled to complete its task: to clear the political grounds and prepare the terrain for another cycle of displacement, dispossession, and death.
The question at stake, then, is whether the movements can maintain momentum, continue to mobilise and stay organised. If not, new regimes will likely [re]appear, similar to the ones so recently pushed from power. The newfound self-confidence of the people will fight to co-exist with a recomposed elite that remains suspicious and fearful of the people. If the mobilisations continue we might see the establishment of parliamentary democracies. But there is another option, that of a continuing revolution; tearing open the economic and political structure, refusing the dying Pax Americana and instituting another way of living together beyond both an empty democratic theatre and an economic system built on blood and sweat, that profits only the few. It is within this choice that our hopes and dreams lie. The images that we see, of those that are not us, promise so much.
If we desire to be more than mere spectators, we need to get closer and closer to the screen and finally crack the looking-glass. It may be that making a collective newspaper is as much about investigating the behind-the scenes practices, the mechanics of working together, as it is about the finished product. What can we learn from ‘doing’ together? Which of our own experiences might prove useful to all of the other clusters of people out there learning, like us, what it means to create collectively? In grappling with these questions, we trip up a lot, we argue over what should be printed in The Paper and over what we want it to become.
In the next edition (Edition One) we will be paying attention to ‘Fear and Disobedience’. How is fear used to govern and rule and how, through resisting the discipline, violence and laws imposed on us, can we stand together and feel strong? As we look around us – at university lecturers balloting for strike action and at trade unionists, workers and students preparing for the 26 March demonstration – we gain courage from the sense that our own squabbles, terrors, jokes and projects might be part of something bigger – something that demands to be taken seriously. | <urn:uuid:71c96328-8840-4af7-ad05-3100c60ff78c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unicommon.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2641:the-paper-zero-issue&catid=140:materials&Itemid=337 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94827 | 787 | 1.898438 | 2 |
With so many advaced features Androids, iPhones and Windows smartphones offers, they become indispensable in our daily life. However with all this it raises new issues in terms of security of our personal and professional data. Surprisingly, there is a very little literature on the subject. In this TheTechJournal tutorial, I will give you my own tips and suggestions on which apps you should be using on your Android phone in order to be sure you data is safe and secure.
The Main Risks For Your Data
When you walk every day with smartphone inside your pocket, without even noticing you also carry an important part of your digital privacy and professional life. Without being too aware, what was left before on computer at home or at work now finds itself exposed to the sight of everyone. Whatever your smartphone operating system is, you can’t be 100% sure that your data is safe. So that’s by you always need to have some additional security tools next to those by default you have on your phone.
Below three applications which I suggested only to Android users will certainly help you protect and raise your data security to higher level. All these apps are tested for several weeks on a Galaxy S and I have seen no slowdowns or lessening of autonomy.
App #1: Smart App Protector
First level of protection by my choice will certainly be the Smart App Protector, which will allow you to choose to lock certain applications that you consider sensitive. In summary, when opening an app, a code, unlock symbol or pattern which you previously setup is required. As you decide what you want to lock, you’ll quickly find that this app has a lot of great options e.g.:
- replacing the lock function that Android offer by default
- lock sensitive applications in case of theft or phone usage without your knowledge (banking apps, Google checkout, etc…)
- better compartmentalize your work and private life (would you accept that some colleagues can access your photos, email or social networks while you leave your phone unattended?)
- prohibit the app installation without your knowledge (cookies for example)
There are several applications with similar functionality, but I prefer Smart App Protector because of its ergonomics, its self-protective functions and advanced settings.
This app however is not free but also very cheap with cost of $1.4 and you can find it on the Google Play / Android Market. However if you don’t want to spend money on that a free version is also available, but you will quickly switch to the paid version to remove the ad on the unlock screen and access the advanced settings of the application unlock code.
App #2: AVG Mobilation
Security suites popping up on the smartphone market. But before talking about viruses or malware (I’m still not fully convinced by the reality of this threat), some vendors offer features that might be called “last chance” for lost or stolen smartphones. One of apps/tools that caught my attention is AVG Mobilation because once installed, you will have the access via their website (web portal “Findr”) to remote control following features on your Android phone:
- ability to lock the entire phone and display the message of your choice on the screen
- opportunity to make your phone ring so you can detect where its located, even if it is in silent mode
- ability to delete data on the phone
- ability to enable geotagging to locate the phone using Google Map
- SIM card protection
You will also get the free antivirus solution and its has following features:
- control links while browsing Web
- scan on demand and ability to parameterize periodic scans to look for malware and security holes
There are other alternatives, but AVG seems to me that best meet the needs (including the ability to display a message on the screen and monitor the SIM card), not to mention its price because it’s completely free and you can get it from Google Play / Android Market.
However there is also a paid version which should bring you nothing more. One of the features that is included in paid version is equivalent of Smart App Protector (previously suggested above), but less comprehensive and more expensive.
App #3: MyBackup
The golden rule in computing: BACKUPS. Think you already backup your PC to an external drive, what about your smartphone? Other users of Android we’re off to the last point with a distinct disadvantage compared to Apple fans who can synchronize their iPhone with iTunes. While I feel that the ideal solution does not exist yet, MyBackup seems to be one of the most satisfactory solutions today because:
- ability to backup to SD card or Internet account
- backup applications and personal data
- ability to schedule automatic backups
- ability to keep several different backups
- restoring backups (attention and this is the problem when restoring applications, the link with the Android market is not rebuilt, so impossible to make updates to applications after restoration)
- 2 apps available depending on whether you are root or not
Unfortunately this app is not free but it also doesn’t cost too much, only $5; but you will be 100% sure your data is safe and secure backup in case of failure. You can get this app from Google Play / Android Market.
There you go! Those are my suggestions which, by my opinion are more then enough to protect your data. If you have any additional apps which I maybe missed feel free to leave your suggestion in comment section below.
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Diet, Vegetarianism, And Cataract Risk, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, May 2011
It was an analysis of one of the large EPIC* trials (EPIC-Oxford), and included "27,670 self-reported nondiabetic participants aged ≥40 years."
"In this cohort of predominantly health-conscious British residents, there was a strong association between diet group and cataract with a progressive decrease in cataract risk in high meat eaters to low meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. This progressive decrease in cataract risk was seen for both men and women but appeared to be confined to participants aged ≥65 years at recruitment. Overall, compared with meat eaters who consumed ≥100 grams (~3.5 ounces) meat and meat products/day, fish eaters, vegetarians, and vegans had approximately 20%, 30%, and 40% lower risk of cataract, respectively."So, compared to people who ate the equivalent of about a hamburger a day (and no other meat - no bacon, deli meat, chicken, etc.):
"We showed that vegetarians and vegans had a significantly lower risk of cataract than did meat eaters, predominantly in the elderly, with a progressive decrease in risk in parallel with the amount of meat and other animal products in the diet."
"We found no difference in cataract risk between regular dietary supplement users and other participants."
- Fish-eaters (pescatarians) had a 20% lower risk
- Vegetarians had a 30% lower risk
- Vegans (no eggs or dairy) had a 40% lower risk
Here's Greger's video:
* European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) | <urn:uuid:4aef9667-ed66-4f00-b614-01f60b0efebf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fanaticcook.blogspot.com/2012/07/vegetarians-show-reduced-risk-for.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963311 | 368 | 2.0625 | 2 |
13 For His Last 24: Tomfoolery with Multiple Endpoints
Voros looks past the numbers.
In a recent column, Dayton Daily News columnist, Hal McCoy,
argued that if Juan Castro was on another team besides the Reds, he would be
a starter. Most of his argument centered on Castro?s glove-work, but he also
contributed the following:
?He (Castro) hit .292 in his last 14 games.?
This is a simple and easy to understand example
of the multiple endpoint fallacy. The multiple endpoint fallacy gets its name
from its tendency to make one of several possible valid reference points, look
like a single reference point. In the above example, the selection of 14 games
was not the only possible time frame that could have been chosen. Why not 15
games? 16? 30? Half a season? Two games?
In the first game in that series of 14 games,
Castro went 2 for 4. In the game the day before, Castro went 0 for 4. If he
had chosen the last 15 games, his average would have been .269. In fact, tacking
on any number of games onto that 14 lowers his batting average for the
series. In other words, 14 games was chosen for the specific purpose of making
Castro?s hitting seem as good as possible.
Now, frankly, this is a minor transgression.
One of the reasons why you see multiple endpoint arguments so often is that
as human beings they?re hard for all of us to avoid using. Whenever we have
belief, we tend to see all information in a manner consistent with that belief.
If we believe the Red Sox are going to win the World Series this year, we will
naturally tend to give more weight to information in support of that belief,
than the information that contradicts it.
There?s a famous example of this (its fame
is probably due to the ease with which it can be done in a classroom). You gather
a group of 30 or so people. Then you ask each person to say his or her birthday
aloud. When a birthday gets repeated, say for our purposes April 17th,
the person conducting the ?experiment? says, ?What are the chances that two
of the 30 people in this classroom would both be born on April 17th??
He has made the prototypical multiple endpoint argument. It is, in fact, fairly
rare to survey a random group of 30 people and find that two have a birthday
of April 17th. However it is not at all rare (in fact with 30 people
the chances are well over 50%) to survey those people and find two people with
the same birthday. The idea is that it didn?t necessarily have to be April 17th.
It could have been, September 9th, August 17th or January
23rd. The April 17th date was not a necessary condition
of the result, so it shouldn?t be treated like one.
Here?s an absurd and humorous example from a reader of the Skeptic?s Dictionary,
who is relating a ?psychic experience? he had about his parents? new cat: http://www.skepdic.com/comments/psi4com.html
"...I got a mental image of a furry white cat, perhaps a Persian, with
piercing blue eyes and the kind of a ?wide? face that many long-haired cats
seem to have?
"This morning, I got those cat pictures from my brother. It turns out that
the cat is grayish brown, very short-haired and delicately built with a slim,
angular face (a bit like a Siamese), and yellow eyes.
"Now, my question is this: how do you account for the fact that even though
many, if not most, cats are multi-colored, I knew straight away that this particular
cat was all one color?"
So far I?ve only shown examples that are either,
not very important, or completely silly. But while multiple endpoint arguments
are often simple to construct, they are often hard to identify and are often
used in much more serious and important matters. Here?s a quote from an AP report
last November concerning Bud Selig?s testimony before a Senate committee, ?Selig
cited statistics that only three of 189 postseason games since the 1994-95 strike
were won by teams that didn’t have payrolls among the top half.?
That seems like hard evidence that there is a competitive balance problem.
But think about all of the possible ways you could measure the relationship
between competitiveness and payroll. Selig cites postseason games. Why postseason
games? Why not regular season games? Why not only games where a low payroll
team faced a high payroll team? Selig cites the period from 1995 until now.
The strike seems like a logical marking point, but what exactly changed from
1993 to 1995 to suddenly give the high payroll teams a big advantage? Couldn?t
you make the argument that it?s used simply because the relatively low payroll
Phillies racked up a large number of wins in the 1993 postseason? And why exactly
is it the top half? The Seattle Mariners won five games in the 2000 post-season
despite being 14th out of 30 teams in opening day payroll (just a
hair above the ?half? line).? And how is payroll calculated, anyway? Do they
use opening day payroll, the total amount of money paid out, or just the annual
salaries of the players on the team as the season ends? And is payroll the right
measurement to use? Isn?t the issue really maximum possible payroll? After all
it would speak very poorly of GMs if there wasn?t a real connection between
payroll and winning, even under a completely balanced system. Why not use a
?market size? measurement? How about using the city?s population?
The point is not that Selig is necessarily wrong, just that the measurement
he used is loaded in his favor. If he gets to choose the variables, time period,
method of evaluation and relevant data, naturally the side he favors is going
to have the most favorable ?endpoints? used in the presentation. As Rod Fort
testified, ?...let’s remember that focusing on a particular point in time without
any historical reference can make a problem appear larger than it really is.?
This is doubly true if the period of time under scrutiny is the end of a cycle.?
And that is the problem with multiple endpoints.
It uses a period of time, or a section of data, that doesn?t necessarily represent
the whole of the relevant periods of time and data. It isn?t that the people
who use them are being dishonest or are necessarily ?wrong,? only that the statement
seems to mean much more than it actually does.
So for every graph you see or every stat you
hear, imagine what they would look like if you extended the time period or the
qualifications just a little bit more. You might be surprised.
Posted: March 20, 2001 at 06:00 AM | 2 comment(s)
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Heads up Chrome users! Google has just made its Chrome browser even more secure. Announcing the good news on its blog, the company says that it is now supporting Secure Sockets Layer or SSL for omnibox searches on Chrome without the need to sign into Google. That’s right, you won’t have to sign-in in order to enjoy the security benefits of SSL encryption. The update starts with Chrome 25, which is currently in Google’s dev and beta channels.
In case you didn’t now, having your content over SSL would mean a secure and private search experience. It also ensures that malicious users who might want to intercept people’s internet traffic won’t be able see their queries. It’s important to note that Firefox already made the switch to SSL for all Google searches in July last year. Apple did also the same thing with Safari in September last year. It’s rather ironic that Google just made the switch today.
Perhaps it wanted to attract more Chrome users to sign-up to its services in the past. Nevertheless, this is good news for users who don’t have enough time to log into Google. “Users shouldn’t notice any changes. If anything, their searches will be slightly faster due to Chrome’s implementation of the SPDY protocol, but there should be no other user-visible effect,” says Google software engineer Adam Langley.
Digg Reader Announced To Be Digg's Official Google Reader Replacement
New Chrome Beta Brings Richer Notifications Outside Of Browser
Bing News Gets A New Visual Carousel
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Our pets are important members of our family and we will do everything we can to keep them safe. What will we do when disaster strikes and we are no longer in control? What will we do to ensure our safety and our pets’ safety? BE PREPARED.
Whether you plan to evacuate or take shelter in your home, make sure you have a plan for you and your pets. FEMA recommends having an emergency supply kit for your family, including your pets. This way, if you need to get out quick, you have all your important necessities in one place. Also, it is a good idea to develop a buddy system with neighbors, close friends, and relatives in case you are unable to take your pet with you. If you must evacuate, do not leave your pets behind. They will most likely be unable to survive on their own or you may not be able to find them when you return. If you take your pets with you, have a plan on where to go. Some hotels may not take pets, so have a boarding facility lined up if needed. Make sure you have a rescue alert sticker to allow people to know you have pets inside your home; include the types and number of pets, your veterinarian's name and their number. If you evacuate with your pets, if time allows, write "EVACUATED" across the sticker.
Click to fill out a form to recieve a FREE sticker from the ASPCA. Also, check your local pet stores.
What is needed in your pet’s emergency kit?
FEMA recommends having two kits. In one kit, put everything you need to stay where you are and make it on your own. The other kit should be smaller and lightweight if you and your pets need to get away.
Below is a list of items that should be included in your pet’s emergency kit:
·Food – keep at least 3-7 days of food in an airtight, waterproof container. Don't forget feeding and water dishes.
·Water – store at least 3-7 days of water specifically for your pets, in addition to your needs.
·Medicine and medical records – keep an extra supply of medicines your pet takes on a daily basis and a copy of their medical records in a clean plastic bag or waterproof container.
·First aid kit – include at least cotton bandage rolls, bandage tape, scissors, antibiotic ointment, flea, tick and heartworm prevention, latex gloves, isopropyl alcohol, and saline solution. It may be a good idea to purchase a pet first aid reference book to include in the kit. ** You may purchase a first aid kit from the ASPCA store online.
·Collar with ID tags, harness or leash – your pet should wear a collar with its rabies and identification tag at all times; keep an extra set in your kit.
·Important documents – in addition to medical records, keep a copy of registration papers, adoption papers, and vaccination documents in a waterproof container.
·Crate or Pet carrier
·Sanitation – Pet litter and a litter box should be included if needed; also bring newspapers, paper towels, plastic trash bags, and household chlorine bleach to provide for your pet’s sanitation needs. You can also use bleach to purify water by using 8 drops bleach per gallon of water. Stir well and let stand for 30 minutes before use. Don’t use scented bleach or those with added cleaners.
·A picture of you and your pet together – if you become separated, a picture of you and your pet together will help you document ownership and allow others to assist you in identifying your pet. Include detailed information about species, breed, age, sex, color and distinguishing charateristics.
·Familiar items – Include favorite toys, treats or bedding in your kit; familiar items may reduce the amount of stress for your pet.
·Flashlight, a blanket for scooping up fearful pets
**It is a good idea to make a emergency kit for the human members of your family as well. Include: Batteries, duct tape, flashlight, radio, multi-tool, tarp, rope, permanent marker, spray paint, baby wipes, protective clothing and footwear, extra cash, rescue whistle, important phone numbers, extra medication and copies of medical and insurance information.**
Have a plan for what you will do in an emergency. If evacuation is necessary, plan in advance where you will go and how you will get there. Develop a buddy system with neighbors, close friends and relatives to care for or evacuate your pet if you are unable to do so. Make sure your “buddy” is familiar with your pet’s needs and knows where their emergency kit is. It is also a good idea to designate a special place in your area and one farther away for you to meet in case of an emergency. Keep a list of emergency numbers; in this list, include some veterinary clinics near the areas you will plan to evacuate to. Microchip your pet- If they get lost, the microchip is a permanent implant that can help reunite them with your family if you get separated.
If you would like to learn more information on preparing yourself for an emergency situation for you or your pets, visit www.ready.gov
The ASPCA also has great information for exotic pets such as birds, reptiles, and small animals. | <urn:uuid:e6120093-f52c-4d83-85b2-0333e73d8b20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dutchforkanimalhospital.com/page.asp?key=47&mkey=47 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935736 | 1,110 | 2.65625 | 3 |
NEW ORLEANS -- To coastal scientists, releasing thousands of gallons of fresh water into southern Louisiana's briny swampland would help revitalize wetlands that have vanished over the years.
To St. Bernard Parish oysterman Sam Slavich, the thought is like a noose tightening around his livelihood. Freshwater diversions that were opened to repel crude from the 2010 BP oil spill may have contributed to 70% of his oyster harvests dying.
A repeat of that could put him and dozens of his oyster-harvesting colleagues out of business for good, he said.
"Oysters are part of our culture," said Slavich, a third-generation oysterman. "You need to really think carefully before doing anything to jeopardize the continuance of that species."
A sizable chunk of the $4.5 billion the Department of Justice recently fined BP for its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be headed to Louisiana soon to kick-start coastal restoration projects, some of which have been drawn up for years but lacked funding, according to state coastal officials.
At the top of the list: river diversions that would siphon fresh water from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers and send them into marshes that have been mauled over the years primarily because river levees kept fresh water out of the marshes, said Garrett Graves, director of coastal activities for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican. The BP oil spill further battered the coast, he said.
Resistance to the projects from oyster harvesters and other commercial fishers - who warn the fresh water could kill oysters and chase off the speckled trout, blue crab and other staples of the state's seafood industry - underscores the challenges faced with spreading billions of dollars in BP fines and settlements across a diverse Gulf Coast still reeling from effects from the spill.
"Huge waste of money," Dean Blanchard, owner of a Grand Isle seafood processor, said of the diversion projects. Besides threatening oysters, the fresh water won't be able to keep up with the flow of salt water entering the marshes and could pose a greater flood threat to communities in the lower stretches of the state, such as Grand Isle, he said.
Graves said the diversions would close when a storm nears and would not flood lower communities.
"I don't believe in messing with the river," Blanchard said. "They keep cutting holes in it and it's going to kill a lot of people some day."
If approved by a federal judge, the plea agreement between BP and the Justice Department will send $1.2 billion of the criminal fines to Louisiana, where it would go to fund projects in the state's coastal master plan â?? a comprehensive, 50-year, $50 billion blueprint for saving Louisiana's rapidly disappearing coastline, Graves said.
Graves said he has heard the opposition to some of the projects. But faced with a coast that has lost more than 2,000 square miles of land â?? an area the size of Delaware â?? since the 1920s, state officials have no choice but to stick to the master plan, he said.
"You have two choices: You move the oysters, or you move the people," Graves said. "In 100% of those cases, we're going to move the oysters."
One of the key projects set to be funded with BP money is a controlled diversion on the west bank of the Mississippi about 30 miles downriver from New Orleans, Graves said. The $500 million project, known as the Mid-Barataria Diversion, would be capable of sending fresh water into surrounding marshes at a rate of up to 250,000 cubic feet per second â?? enough to fill the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in eight minutes â?? although the diversion would rarely be opened that high, he said.
That area has witnessed some of the most dramatic land loss, and the freshwater infusion would help replenish surrounding marshes, said John Lopez, executive director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. The wetlands serve as an important buffer against hurricanes and protect cities such as New Orleans from debilitating storm surges, he said.
Oysters require a delicate balance of fresh and salt water to survive, said Tom Soniat, a University of New Orleans oyster biologist. Flushing the area with fresh water could debilitate oyster beds that have taken harvesters years to build, he said. Unlike fish and shrimp, oysters are attached to hard surfaces on the seafloor and can't be relocated easily.
For Slavich, the diversions threaten a family business that began in 1902 when his grandfather migrated from Croatia to St. Bernard Parish. Large influxes of fresh water could finish what the BP spill started and shutter the family business, he said.
"It's great we got funding. Funding is important - but you have to use the funding to do the right thing," Slavich said. "This has the potential to be very detrimental."
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Read the original story: Louisiana river project sparks contentious debate | <urn:uuid:09e0f9f0-4e8e-4066-9218-b02c625f2570> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/usatoday/article/1767233 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967397 | 1,064 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Russian painter and designer of Polish birth. After graduating in 1906 from art school in Kiev, Exter married in 1908 and went to Paris, where she studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. The following year she rented a studio in Paris and became acquainted with Picasso, Braque, Guillaume Apollinaire, Max Jacob and with the Italian Futurists Filippo Marinetti, Giovanni Papini and Ardengo Soffici (with whom she shared a studio in 1914). In Paris she also attended the Vasil’yeva Free Russian Academy, where Fernand Léger gave two important lectures on modern art. In the years 1909–14 Exter travelled extensively between Paris, Moscow and Kiev, playing an important role in disseminating Cubist and Futurist ideas among the Russian avant-garde. She participated in many important avant-garde exhibitions in Russia and the Ukraine, including David Burlyuk’s Link (Kiev, 1908), the first and second Izdebsky Salons (Odessa, 1909–10; Kiev and St Petersburg, 1910–11), and the first and last shows of the Union of Youth in St Petersburg (1910 and 1913–14). She also exhibited in Paris at the Section d’Or (1912) and at the Salon des Indépendants (1912 and 1914), and in Rome at the International Futurist Exhibition (1914).
In Exter’s work the gradual assimilation of Cubist and Futurist ideas was never divorced from a decorative interest in colour and rhythm. This is clear in works such as Composition (Genoa) (1912–14; Cologne, Mus. Ludwig), where the cityscape is fragmented into a system of small geometric planes, enlivened by variations of tone and colour. In Firenze (1914–15; Moscow, Tret’yakov Gal.) fragments of urban architecture are more boldly juxtaposed with passages of brightly coloured patterning to create a taut and dynamic composition analogous to the work of Exter’s friends Robert and Sonia Delaunay.
From the summer of 1914 Exter was based in Russia, exhibiting with the avant-garde at the exhibitions Tramway V: Pervaya futuristicheskaya vystavka kartin (‘Tramway V: The first Futurist exhibition of paintings’; Petrograd, March 1915) and Magazin (‘The store’; Moscow, 1916). Her paintings became totally abstract, exploring a personal interpretation of Malevich’s Suprematist style. In Colour Dynamism (1916–17; Cologne, Mus. Ludwig) the interpenetrating geometric elements seem to explode outwards from the core of the composition, while the sense of dynamic energy is reinforced by contrasts of black, white and strong colour, of curved against rectilinear shapes, and by the vibrant freedom of the brushwork.
In 1916 Exter began working for Aleksandr Tairov’s Kamerny Theatre in Moscow. Her experiments in theatrical design included treating the costumes almost as abstract sculptures, reducing the set to movable three-dimensional geometric forms and using mobile coloured lights to dramatize the effects (e.g. the set for Innokenty Annensky’s Thamira Khytharedes, 1916; some costume designs in Moskow, Bakhrushin Cent. Theat. Mus.). She introduced a more dynamic organization of the stage, using complex arrangements of brightly coloured curtains to intensify the action (e.g. the set for Oscar Wilde’s Salome, 1917; costume and set designs in Moskow, Bakhrushin Cent. Theat. Mus.), and also used bridges to create different levels for the action (e.g. the set for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, 1920–21; set designs and some costume designs in Moskow, Bakhrushin Cent. Theat. Mus.; see 1986 exh. cat. for illustrations of Exter’s set and costume designs).
Exter’s pedagogical interests developed in Odessa, where from 1917 to 1918 she taught four- to eight-year-olds the abstract study of form and rhythm. She then taught in Kiev (1918–21), and among her students were Isaak Rabinovich (1894–1961) and Pavel Tchelitchew. Exter’s studio also produced decorations for the revolutionary festivals of May Day 1918 and the first anniversary of the October Revolution, and enormous abstract designs for agitprop ships travelling on the River Dnieper.
In 1921 Exter moved to Moscow and joined the staff of the Higher Artistic and Technical Workshops (Rus. Vkhutemas), where she taught for a year. In 1921 she contributed to the important 5×5 = 25 exhibition, together with Aleksandr Vesnin, Lyubov’ Popova, Aleksandr Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova. Exter showed five paintings, each called Planar and Colour Structure, which she described in the catalogue as ‘colour constructions based on the laws of colour’. A characteristic work from this period is Construction (1922–3; New York, MOMA), which uses the flat application of black, white and primary colours and shows a great simplicity and purity in the arrangement of the geometrical elements. Formal contrasts combine with the diagonal composition to create an effect of dynamism and spatial ambiguity.
Exter was one of the most experimental women artists among the avant-garde of 1910–30, but she was not affiliated to any particular movement. She never shared the Russian Constructivists’ involvement with real materials, their disdain for easel painting or their ideological and utilitarian objectives. Yet she did accept the idea that art could contribute to everyday life, and in 1921 she began working in fashion design. She produced some very economical and austere prototypes for mass production, but in general her designs were decorative, individualistic and within the traditions of haute couture. In 1923 she was one of the artists responsible for the painted decorations on the pavilions at the All Russian Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow. She designed and decorated the International Pavilion, and together with Vera Mukhina and Boris Gladkov produced a superstructure of brightly coloured skeletal arches and steps for the kiosk of the newspaper Izvestiya. That same year she began designing the sets and costumes for the Martian scenes in the film Aelita, based on the novel by Aleksey Tolstoy and produced by Yakov Protozanov. Her sets were spatially exciting, using multi-coloured structures (sometimes skeletal openwork constructions) and expressive mechanistic imagery. Her tubular costumes exploited the transparency and vibrancy of new materials such as celluloid (see Lodder, pls 5.7, 5.8 and 1972 exh. cat., pp. 27, 28, 31).
In 1924 Exter emigrated and settled in Paris, teaching with Fernand Léger and in her own studio. She returned to a figurative style of painting, producing still-lifes influenced by Purism. She worked extensively in the theatre and continued to experiment, beginning, at this time, to make inventive theatrical puppets. In 1929 she used tubes of light to create an elegant, almost dematerialized spatial setting for the ballet Don Juan (set design in Moskow, Bakhrushin Cent. Theat. Mus.) produced by Elsa Kruger in Cologne.
From Grove Art Online
© 2009 Oxford University Press | <urn:uuid:cbd15f64-8696-4d44-8c56-f0e70f699ad9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=1784 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933867 | 1,589 | 1.820313 | 2 |
The Edgar Degas wing of the NGA houses nearly 50 original wax and mixed-media sculptures by Degas, including the most well-known of his sculptures, "Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen."
These sculptures, which are made from a mixture of beeswax and modeling clay, are off gassing and decaying their bronze casting - deteriorating from the inside out.
Purafil's CCCs, a passive monitoring technology, are housed within the cases housing Degas' sculptures to determine the concentration and types of gases originating from the sculpture material. Purafil's OnGuard 2000 Atmospheric Corrosion Monitors are used within the wing to continually measure the real-time effects of corrosion, as well as temperature, relative humidity, and differential room pressure.
Once a thorough assessment has been completed, Purafil will be able to identify the problem gases and establish a solution to remove those gases from the air.
Publication date: 08/01/2005 | <urn:uuid:bd3ab41f-4323-433d-8b1a-96b05734bb5c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.achrnews.com/articles/print/purafil-protects-the-national-gallery-of-art | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950892 | 199 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Question: Any suggestions on diet for a 12 year old cat who is dreadfully overweight? The vet and I have been struggling with this problem for years. He just continues to add on the pounds no matter what he is fed, which is both dry and canned.
Answer: Thanks for writing in. Here are a few tips:
1) Figure out your cat’s ideal body weight. Most domestic shorthair cats should weigh between 8 and 10 pounds.
2) Work with your vet to calculate how many calories (called his resting energy requirement) he needs at this ideal body weight.
3) Most cats must eat only 75 to 80% of this calculated value in order to get the weight loss started in earnest.
Here is my article on Weight Loss Tips for more information: The “Fat Cat” Dilemma.
Good luck and hope this helps.
Dr. Donna Spector
Answers provided to pet owners by Dr. Donna Spector should be considered information and not specific advice. Answers are to be used for general information purposes only and not as a substitute for in-person evaluation or specific professional advice from your veterinarian. Communications on this site are very limited and should never be used in possible cases of emergency. Halo, Purely for Pets will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any information or content contained in a blog or article post. If you have consulted your veterinarian and if you are still concerned about your pet’s condition or if your pet has chronic, complicated or undiagnosed problems, Dr. Spector can offer consultations for you and your veterinarian via www.SpectorDVM.com. | <urn:uuid:cfb83754-118a-4e12-af66-eae703a8dd4b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.halopets.com/2012/11/19/diet-for-a-old-cat/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948259 | 342 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Imus and Virginia Tech
By: Thomas E. Brewton
The inconsistency of atheistic materialism. There’s more there than Marx allowed for.
Our thoroughly secularized society explains events and behavior, human nature itself, as the product of the material conditions of living and earning a living, in accord with the Marxian thesis.
In The German Ideology Marx and his colleague Friederick Engels wrote:
As individuals express their life, so they are. What they are, therefore, coincides with their production, both with what they produce and with how they produce. The nature of individuals thus depends on the material conditions determining their production.
Present-day liberals therefore deny the concept of a higher law, of timeless moral truths emanating from God the Creator of the universe. They fancy themselves capable of restructuring society, and human nature in the process. Hence the endless stream of new Federal welfare-state programs. In the liberal view, economic and social problems can be cured only by bountiful application of the most materialistic of all things: money.
School massacres, of which Virginia Tech is the latest and deadliest example, predictably are thought by liberals to result from a material factor: the availability of firearms. In liberal theory, make guns unavailable, and you change human nature.
Zero consideration is given to Judeo-Christian teaching that evil exists in the world and that it can be combated only with God’s help. Zero consideration is given to morality.
Liberals ignore the inconsistent fact that no massacres occurred prior to the Baby Boomer student anarchism of the late 1960s and 1970s. Students of that era were so knowledgeable that they told their professors what to teach, and it had to be “relevant.” Relevance turned out to be destroying the historical traditions and moral standards on which the United States was founded.
Note that it was the complete absence of standards, what liberals call “tolerance,” that prevented the Virginia Tech authorities from inquiring into the character of the assassin, even after his behavior and his classroom work had profoundly alarmed some of his teachers and fellow students. In a good, liberal society of moral relativism, anything goes. It’s not permitted to question people’s standards or actions (unless, of course, they are conservatives).
The Imus case exemplifies a different sort of inconsistency in liberals’ materialism, as well as their hypocrisy.
On the one hand, liberal media icons like the New York Times’ Frank Rich and other authors happily and repeatedly appeared on the Imus show. They raised no objections to Imus’ grossly distasteful remarks, because exposure to his large radio audience did wonders for their careers and their book sales.
On the other hand, when Imus characterized the Rutgers women’s basketball team as prostitutes, liberals had to denounce him. He was offending the black voting community, which liberals’ regard as their private property.
This is what is known as moral relativism. With no moral standards, if I like it, it’s OK; if you don’t like it, as the liberals say, “Get used to it!”
Initially Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson focused their condemnation on Mr. Imus and ignored the almost universal use of identical language by black men in describing women. When that inconsistency was pointed out, rap musicians and record producers quickly defended such language as simply the “reality” of the street.
Liberals in this case ignored the Marxian doctrine that material conditions surrounding people determines their nature and their actions. Why was everyday language of black men Ok when they uttered it, but altogether unacceptable when Imus used it?
Cosby denounced such aspects of the prevailing black social culture, he was attacked and ridiculed by liberals, both blacks and whites (see “Bill Cosby Collides With the Liberal Establishment”).
The only liberal “standard” appears to be materialistic regulation of economic behavior and the absence of all restrictions on hedonism and sexual promiscuity.
Thomas E. Brewton is a staff writer for the New Media Alliance, Inc. The New Media Alliance is a non-profit (501c3) national coalition of writers, journalists and grass-roots media outlets. His weblog is THE VIEW FROM 1776 http://www.thomasbrewton.com/
Thomas E. Brewton is a staff writer for the New Media Alliance, Inc. The New Media Alliance is a non-profit (501c3) national coalition of writers, journalists and grass-roots media outlets. | <urn:uuid:bed552e5-1f06-4ca7-aaa2-249cdfcc2500> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thelandofthefree.net/conservativeopinion/2007/05/03/imus-and-virginia-tech/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954068 | 943 | 1.820313 | 2 |
The town takes its name from Nuestra Señora del Refugio, the last Catholic mission established by Spanish Franciscan missionaries in 1793 to take Christ to the Karankawa Indians and bring the Karankawa to Christ.
During its first half-century of existence the mission and the town underwent constant upheaval. During this time, it went from being Spanish to Mexican to Texan and finally to American.
Through it all it remained Catholic.
After the original mission fell into disrepair and was abandoned, Irish Catholic settlers came into the area and, together with remaining Mexican Catholic families, revived the church as Our Lady of Refuge.
Later, in 1886, a second Catholic church was established in the small community and named St. James the Apostle. Today, although other Christian denominations have established churches in Refugio and an ecumenical spirit thrives, its Catholic identity remains strong.
But, Refugio’s modern identity is equally tied to its school’s exploits on the football field. Mention Refugio to any sports fan in Texas and immediately the comeback is “great football teams.” Indeed, the Refugio Bobcats have earned accolades far and wide for their success through the years, climaxing with their second state championship last year.
Bridging the town’s native and modern histories are five altar servers at Our Lady of Refuge, who also are members of the 2011 Bobcat state championship team. They are equally proud of their Catholic Christian faith and the faith they place on their fellow Bobcat team members.
“Almost all my teammates are Christians. We may not be of the same religion, but God plays a positive part in our lives and in the game,” 17-year-old senior defensive back Cameron Sternadel said. “I think without our faith in God we would not be the individuals and team we are today. We try to give our best in practice, in our games and in our everyday life.”
Sternadel, along with seniors John Wesley Shipp, Jack Gumm, Brett Davis and Colton Carroll, all proudly wear their state championship rings while they serve on the altar at Our Lady of Refuge on Sunday. Their pastor, Father Philip Panackal, is equally proud of them.
“These boys are loved by all and their presence at the altar makes a difference,” Father Panackal said. “They help the parish in all its activities and their leadership qualities are a great reward for our parish and the community. They are role models.”
Shipp, an all-state defensive lineman and altar server since the sixth grade, said he’s got “Father Phillip’s back no matter what.” He goes to Father Panackal for advise on Sunday, just as he does to his football coach during practice. When all is said and done, however, Shipp points to God for his and his team’s success.
“I wake up in the morning and I pray for giving me another day; I go to bed and I pray for giving me another safe day,” Shipp said. “He is really the main coach. Thanking Him and praying for Him for allowing you to do to the best of your ability. He is the main one in all of this.”
Gumm, who has been an altar server since he was six-years-old, credits his Catholic faith with helping him and his team’s success.
“As Catholics we learn not to judge, to see stuff from other people’s perspective. It keeps teammates together, dedicated to the team,” the strong outside linebacker said.
“We put a lot of time into altar serving,” said senior receiver Brett Davis who has been an altar server since he was in the fifth grade. “It is really important in our lives. It really has shaped us in a good, positive way. It has brought us closer in relationship to God as a team and as family.” | <urn:uuid:71a8a603-d560-4b07-ad49-de042854dc0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mysoutex.com/view/full_story_refugio/20905332/article-Friday-night-stars-grounded-in-their-faith-every-day- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980691 | 843 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Do you have chocolate binges or sweet cravings you cannot control? I do all the time but I’ve learned how to control them with Organic Cacao Hemp Seed Butter and shortbread cookies. What? Yes, I just wrote shortbread cookies. This is one treat that is good for you, will satisfy your sweet cravings and make your stomach feel satisfied so you’ll be less likely to overeat or go on a sugar binge.
Shortbread cookies are made with butter and butter contains Arginine , which may play a role in treating several health conditions. Arginine, a basic amino acid, converts to nitric oxide, NO, when ingested and is an important “cell signaling” molecule that has a vital role in many biological processes. It is the intercellular signal that controls vascular tone (hence blood pressure), insulin secretion, airway tone, and peristalsis. Nitric Oxide is also involved in the growth of new blood vessels, aids in the development of the nervous system and is believed to function as a retrograde neurotransmitter that is important in learning and brain function. Disclaimer: Arginine in shortbread or supplements should never replace any traditional medications or treatments prescribed by your doctor for these health problems.
Some kinds of shortbread contain nuts, and Arginine is also found in many types of nuts, including peanuts, walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts and pecans. While a couple of shortbread cookies won’t increase your intake in Arginine significantly, combining them with other sources of arginine may be effective for health reasons. Other foods that contain arginine include coconut, raisins, brown rice, oats, sunflower seeds, raw cacao and hemp seeds.
Hemp seed protein contains all 21 known amino acids, including the 9 essential amino acids that adult bodies cannot produce naturally. Proteins are considered complete when they contain all the essential amino acids in sufficient quantities and ratios to meet the body’s needs.
Speaking of Arginine, Nitric Oxide, raw cacao and hemp seeds, Hippie Butter Organic Cacao Hemp Seed Butter is made with raw, 100% organic hemp seeds, cacao, cashews, agave nectar, sunflower oil and sea salt!
So go ahead, satisfy your sweet cravings and treat your body right. Take one heaping tablespoon of Hippie Butter Organic Cacao Hemp Seed Butter and spread it over one homemade shortbread cookie for a delicious gourmet treat that’s a great way to get the healthy benefits of Arginine and stop chocolate and sugar cravings in their tracks, plus, hemp seed protein will halt future sugar cravings throughout the day.
Simple Shortbread Cookies Recipe: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/shortbread_cookies/
Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies Recipe: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Gluten-Free-Shortbread | <urn:uuid:05b4bf44-5182-471e-8d93-20dc8b0c9d26> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.hippiebutter.com/how-i-stopped-my-cravings-for-sweets-and-ended-my-chocolate-binges/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9218 | 621 | 1.695313 | 2 |
DEVELOPMENT OF IMAGING TECHNOLOGY FOR FOOD SAFETY AND SECURITY
Location: Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit
Title: Effect of spectrally mixed pixels on detection of cecal contaminated broiler carcasses
Submitted to: International Journal of Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: December 29, 2007
Publication Date: January 29, 2008
Citation: Windham, W.R., Heitschmidt, G.W., Lawrence, K.C., Park, B., Smith, D.P. 2008. Effect of spectrally mixed pixels on detection of cecal contaminated broiler carcasses. International Journal of Poultry Science. 6(12):955-959.
Interpretive Summary: On-line visual and manual inspection of fecal contaminated chicken carcasses is conducted by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to ensure a safe meat supply to consumers. The inspection processes is both labor intensive and prone to human error. The USDA Agricultural Research Service has developed a method in conjunction with a technology called hyperspectral imaging to detect feces on poultry carcasses. To further improve the method it is necessary to test its ability to detect very small (10 mg and less) fecal contaminants on chicken carcasses. Mathematical models developed for small contaminants were able to detect 100% of the chicken carcasses contaminated with 5 and 10 mg of fecal material. The models only detected 75% of the 2 mg fecal spots applied to the carcasses. The models also detected some very small spots on uncontaminated skin as feces (false positives). However, contaminants of this size do not increase bacterial counts of broiler carcasses. The very small false positives detected are in the same size as the 2 mg fecal spots and thus can be ignored. The system will aid FSIS in inspection of fecal contaminated carcasses.
Detection of small masses (i.e. 10 mg and less) of fecal contaminants on broiler carcasses presents a significant challenge when using a multispectral imaging system. In contrast to the spectrally noncontiguous multispectral imagery, hyperspectral imagery can be seen as a single image with a contiguous spectrum of reflectance values associated with each image pixel. On a broiler carcass, the spectra may be recognizable as feces provided the contaminant fills or almost fills the pixel in the corresponding scene. Pixels partially filled (i.e. mixed pixels) by a contaminant result in a spectral signature that is a mixture of feces and carcass skin. Mixed pixels with small fecal masses on broiler carcasses can be problematic to accurately detect. The objective of this study was to determine whether hyperspectral imagery offered an improved detection rate of cecal contamination of known mass (2 to 10mg) relative to multispectral imagery. On each of three replicate sample days, twenty-four eviscerated, pre-chilled broiler carcasses were collected from a commercial processing plant. Cecal contents from the same flock were also collected and used to contaminate the carcasses. Carcass halves were first imaged uncontaminated and then imaged again after cecal contents (2, 5, or 10 mg) had been applied to the carcasses. Contaminants were predicted by decision tree (DT) and mixture tuned matched filter (MTMF) classifiers, and results compared. The DT classifier, applied to the multispectral imagery, detected 63, 80, and 100% of the cecal mass applied at about 2, 5, and 10 mg, respectively. The low detection accuracy of the 2 and 5 mg mass was due to some contaminated mixed pixels that either went under-detected or in some cases undetected altogether (false negatives). The MTMF classifier, applied to the hyperspectral imagery, detected 88% of 2 mg ceca and 100% of the 5 and 10 mg contaminants. At an applied mass of about 2, 5, and 10 mg, the MTMF classifier detected 55, 52, and 53%, respectively more cecal contaminated pixels than the DT classifier. The DT classifier incorrectly identified 104, 59, and 56 false positives on carcasses contaminated with about 2, 5 and 10 mg of ceca. On average, these false positives occurred on 36% of the carcasses. The MTMF classifier detected far fewer false positives on 15% of the carcasses. | <urn:uuid:afcebc21-539f-4923-98cd-ae491e5aa711> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=220929 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90366 | 932 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Tonight, the father sat atop a pile of sandbags, and tipped a coconut half to drink from it watery milk. He put the shell down, and with his hand shielding the sun’s glare, he again took up his watch. Through gray mornings, through sun-baked days that slipped into silver twilights, he sat; he watched. Waiting yet when the first stars of night hung onto twilight.
‘And so,’ he thought. ‘Another day without my son.’
The father’s face was etched with the furrows of the many years of which his eyes had given over their color. His face reflected his sad longings, both for his son, and for the hut that he and his boy left behind when they were herded up and drug to this refugee camp called a hamlet, by these round-eyes from across the sea. Mixed up in his thoughts were his forsaken hut and his lost son. One intertwined with the other, and they both wrestled with his creature struggle for survival; his time on earth too lonely and sad to go on, versus an indomitable ure to live.
On the days when despair blackened his thoughts, the father told himself that his hut had long been overtaken by the rapacious growth of the mountain jungles. ‘Yes, and there will be a sapper behind every tree and My-My (American) bombs overhead. My son is lost and so I have no one to go back with me.’
But on the days when his need to live emerged strong, the father’s heart filled with longings that took him back to the abandoned hut. He loved most the hut’s mossy roof studded with wildflowers. When he thought of it, involuntarily, his hands wavered in the air. In his thoughts, his hands were running across the velvety moss of the hut’s roof. On those bright days of wildflowers and his son’s spontaneous laughter clear and true in his mind, the father took despair and processed it into faith. He saw his hut just as it was when he and his boy left it…on a beaten path, and protected by the long shadows of the Sip San Mountain. And the most happy moment in his dreams? Inside the hut, under the roof of moss was his son, no longer lost as he was on the days of his father’s despair; those agonizing days when his father saw quite clearly that he was gone.
But hope and despair were weak compared to the father’s overwhelming emotion…to sit on the riverbank and wait. Wait with his gaze stretched out across the horizon and down the river to time.
Gently, did he call to the boys at the river’s edge: he saw them beating schools of tiny fish into hand-held, bamboo nets, “Have you seen my boy?”
They called back, “In a dugout canoe round a ben of the river.”
“Many days ago.”
‘Yes, that could be my son,’ thought the father but he couldn’t be certain.
Yesterday, a fisherman on a sampan that floated by told the father he had seen a young man being captured by Kurilian pirates, and taken downstream to work the rubber plantations recently overtaken by the Viet Cong.
So many false sightings, so many conflicting stories; the father grew more confused every day. But his fierce, inexplicable, infinite patience kept him on the riverbank.
He was still there at dusk when the fishing boys headed for their village. On the riverbank searching and waiting when drifts of monsoon clouds dusted the moon. And while he was waiting, the father fell asleep to dream into the night. In his dreams, the river churned into a spunky water child that skipped over rocks. It swirled with foamy shoals of fish, then deepened into currents too wild for him to overcome.
Wakened by his own sobbing, the father knew before he could bring himself to say it, either silently or aloud; yes, his son was gone.
Bio: Susan Dale writes regularly for print magazines WestWard Quarterly, Pegasus and Hudson Review. Online she has poems and fiction on Eastown Fiction, Tryst 3, Word Salad, Pens On Fire and Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette to name a few. In 2007, she won the grand prize for poetry from Oneswan.
- Notes From The Flash Fiction Underground (pittsburghflashfictiongazette.com)
- Fiction: Number One Son by Guy Hogan (pittsburghflashfictiongazette.com) | <urn:uuid:e52f2bda-09da-4fb4-8f42-a0609b15ce48> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pittsburghflashfictiongazette.com/tag/father/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986138 | 979 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Last week, the world didn’t so much lose an island, as gain a phantom island. To map-lovers, the former is a regrettable but increasingly common occurrence , what with rising sea levels and all. The latter, on the contrary, is an exciting event, all the more since it was presumed extinct. We assumed that scientific rigour and satellite imagery had shone a bright enough light on the shadow of cartographic doubt, in which phantom islands thrive. The Age of Un-Discovery had been closed for good, we thought. We thought wrong.
A phantom island can be defined as ‘An island once believed to exist, and accordingly depicted on maps, but of which the existence was later disproved, and its cartographic representation removed’. These fallacies started infesting maps by the dozen during the Age of Discovery, when explorers sailing for regions unknown mistook their fevered ambitions, or a random fog bank, for islands that weren’t there .
Some of these phantom islands lingered on maps for centuries, at least partly, it seems, because they had such a great hold on the imagination of generation after generation of sailors. But eventually, they were proven not to exist. Gone from today’s maps are places with such captivating names as the Isle of Demons, Estotiland, the Island of the 11,000 Virgins, and Hy-Brasil . All of these and more were un-discovered, removed from nautical charts, and added to the select club of Phantom Islands.
The most recent member of that club, as far as we could tell, was Sannikov Land . It was presumed to lie in the Arctic Sea off Siberia, ever since the Russian explorer Yakov Sannikov in 1811 reported a ‘bluish fog’ to the northeast of the New Siberian Islands. Distant mirages of the island were subsequently observed by the Baltic baron Edward Toll in 1886 and 1893, before their false promise lured him to his death in 1902, on a third expedition. Finally, the Soviet ice-breaker Sadko found only frozen sea where the island ought to be, relegating it to the Phantom Island Hall of Fame.
Sannikov Land, the phantom island, also became a fictional island when it was chosen in 1926 as the setting for a Soviet science fiction novel of the same name (Image here at Wikimedia Commons).
That was in 1937. And that seemed to be the very fag-end of the Age of Un-Discovery.
Cue to 21 November 2012, as the Australian RV (Research Vessel) Southern Surveyor puts into port at Brisbane, after a 25-day exploration of the tectonic framework for the easternmost Coral Sea, in the Pacific Ocean between the eastern coast of Australia and the French territory of Nouvelle Calédonie. The ship’s crew, marine geologists from the University of Sydney, have a strange tale to tell. During their expedition, they noticed that the sea floor beneath an island in the French part of the Coral Sea is recorded as 4,600 feet (1,400 m) deep. That seems odd. So they go and check it out.
The lens-shaped fleck of land, 15 miles (24 km) from north to south and 3 miles (5 km) across, is marked as Sandy Island on the ship’s nautical charts (and on Google Maps), and as Sable Island in the Times Atlas of the World.
The Southern Surveyor approaches the island’s supposed location with great care, lest it runs aground. But the ship’s instruments consistently indicate a depth of 4,600 feet. And when it arrives at 19°15' S 159°55' E, there is no island, only ocean. How is this possible? Did Sandy Island perhaps fly away, like the fictional island of Laputa in Gulliver’s Travels ?
With the benefit of hindsight, Sandy Island’s appearance on Google Maps - since removed - provides a clue to its non-existence. Its presence there was more of an absence: a black rift in the undulating blues of the Coral Sea, as if someone punched a hole in the very fabric of Google Maps itself. It’s hard to see how nobody - or, more precisely, no satellite - was able to spot this anomaly before. And it’s incredible that it took a good, old-fashioned look-see to discover Sandy Island’s non-existence. For its supposed size was considerable: at 45 square miles, it would have been almost exactly double the area of Manhattan.
Sandy Island as a - now unnamed - rift in the fabric of the Coral Sea (taken from Google Maps).
“How did it find its way onto the maps? We just don’t know”, mused Dr Maria Seton, the expedition leader on board the Southern Surveyor.
Early press reports mentioned that Sandy Island had been struck off some nautical charts, notably the French ones, but had appeared on others, including the Australian ones, since “at least the year 2000”. Some experts opined that Sandy Island had been a relatively recent glitch, imported into cartographic databases when analog maps had been digitised. Perhaps a (literal) bug had been squished between the paper map and the scanner? It could explain the curious, hole-in-the-map appearance of Sandy Island on Google Maps. Or could it be a ‘trap island’, analogous to the ‘trap streets’ sprinkled across London’s A-to-Z and other street maps to identify unauthorised copying?
Both theories crumbled as much older maps of Sandy Island surfaced. A librarian in Auckland, New Zealand located it on a chart of the Pacific Ocean, published in 1908 but first compiled in 1876. The island was sighted in that year by the British vessel Velocity. The chart includes a warning that helps explain why it included even doubtful sightings of land: Caution is necessary while navigating among the low-lying island of the Pacific Ocean. The general details have been collated from the voyages of various navigators extending over a long series of years. The relative position of many dangers may therefore not be exactly given.
The Coral Sea in particular is rich in treacherous reefs that lurk just beneath, or barely above the ocean’s surface. Take for instance the Chesterfield Islands, an uninhabited archipelago in French territorial waters, west of Sandy Island’s supposed location. The Chesterfields are a collection of about a dozen islets, some still shifting, and numerous reefs, spread out over an area 75 by 45 mile (120 by 70 km), but totalling less than 10 km2 (6 sq. mi) in dry land. Apart from the occasional visits by guano harvesters and whalers in the 19th century and meteorologists in the 20th, these shipping hazards have generally been shunned by seafarers .
In such a tricky environment, it’s understandable that the precautionary principle is maximally applied. This explains why a cluster of potential dangers to shipping to the east of New Zealand, consisting of Wachusett Reef, Ernest Legouvé Rock, the Jupiter Breakers, and Maria Theresia Reef, is still a fixture on most nautical maps, even though they appear not to exist. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Until an obstacle’s existence is positively disproved, it stays on the map.
When in doubt, leave it in: the cluster of South Pacific reefs that is either dangerous or non-existent (taken here from Wikipedia).
But that only deepens the mystery of Sandy Island; for it seems the Southern Surveyor’s recent un-discovery was already the second time that the island’s existence was disproved.
In 2000, a group of radio amateurs headed to the Chesterfield Islands on a so-called DXpedition, hoping to find the remotest dry land possible from which to send a ham radio message. In order for the Chesterfields to qualify, they scoured its surroundings for land, found Sandy Island on the map, but not where it should be in the ocean. Perhaps because this allowed the radio amateurs to proceed with their über-nerdy expedition, their un-discovery of Sandy Island didn’t receive as much worldwide attention as it merited. The original report of their expedition does mention that Sandy Island is marked on some maps, but not on others, and quotes a Senior Editor of National Geographic Maps as saying that their cartography is “hopelessly outdated for this area”, and would be updated ‘soon’.
Which still leaves the question: When and by whom was Sandy Island first put on the map?
One source mentions the French navigator Joseph Bruny d’Entrecasteaux as the discoverer, in 1792, of several islands in the area, among which one he called Ile de Sable (Sandy Island). The British whaler Velocity then re-reports it in 1876 as Sandy Island, but indicates that it may in fact be ‘islands’, noting several groups of surf waves. Possibly the Velocity is confusing an island in d’Entrecasteaux’s report with the Chesterfields to the west. Even the discovery phantom islands can be subject to international rivalry. Another source has not the Frenchman d’Entrecasteaux, but the British Captain Cook survey the island in 1772, before the Velocity re-maps it in 1876.
A more interesting question regards not Sandy Island’s past, but the future of Un-Discovery. Is its non-existence, in our age of eyes in the sky, and computers that can crunch more data than can be contained in a shipful of logbooks, a fluke? Or are there many more islands out there waiting to be un-discovered?
One final note on Sandy Island: it does really exist. At least, another curious island of (almost) the same name does. Sable Island (also from the French Ile de Sable) is a giant dune far off Canada’s Atlantic Coast, the bane of transatlantic shipping, and home to a tribe of wild horses. See #387 for more on this remarkable place.
Many thanks to Vlad Atanasiu and G. Ockeloen for sending in information on Sandy Island.
Some examples of islands that disappeared naturally: Bermeja (off Mexico), New Moore Island, a.k.a. South Talpatti (disputed between India and Bangladesh). See this episode of Borderlines for a discussion of Okinotorishima (south of Japan) and Ferdinandea (south of Sicily), islands that have trouble staying afloat.
Another possibility: famous, otherwise meticulous cartographer fills in empty space on map with places referenced in unverified stories, unwittingly creating phantom islands that will outlive him by many decades. See #116.
See #64.
Interestingly, the icebreaker Sadko - itself named after a Russian mythical hero - gave its name to an island, one of the 90-odd ones in the Nordenskjold Archipelago, in the Kara Sea north of Siberia.
If you zoom out enough, it’s still there, though.
One of the many shipwrecks in the area was the whaling vessel Prince of Denmark, which ran aground in 1863. Its crew used its wooden planks to construct a rescue vessel, which was baptised, with an admirable sense of humour, considering the circumstances, Hamlet’s Ghost. The crew sailed it to Brisbane, leaving 11 native crewmen on Chesterfield Reef with 18 months’ worth of provision. No record survives of their eventual rescue. | <urn:uuid:308ed6c4-d540-4c34-9f45-7846014751c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/588-no-land-ho-sandy-island-and-the-age-of-un-discovery | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950216 | 2,474 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Three Kings Day celebrated with parades, performances
Published: Sunday, December 30, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, December 28, 2012 at 2:30 p.m.
Disneyland is marking Three Kings Day in a big way this season, another milestone in the mainstreaming of a holiday that is beloved in Latin America and other cultures around the world.
The Christian holiday — also known as Twelfth Night or Feast of the Epiphany — takes place Jan. 6, ending the 12 days of Christmas. Many Hispanic communities in the U.S. celebrate Three Kings Day with parades and performances depicting the biblical story of three kings following a star to find the baby Jesus, bringing gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh.
Disneyland spokeswoman Michele Himmelberg said the theme park in Anaheim, Calif., “launched the Three Kings Day celebration last year as a test. It was a big success, particularly with the Hispanic community, and we're expanding it this year to a larger area.”
The park will host Three Kings Day on Jan. 4 to 6 at the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree in Disneyland's Frontierland. There will be Mexican folklorico dancing, mariachi musicians, photo ops with Disney characters and bilingual hosts offering face painting, crown making and other children's activities. Food carts will serve sweet corn tamales, chimichangas, Mexican hot chocolate and king cake, which is a round, sweet, doughy cake called rosca de reyes (king's ring).
“I love the fact that Disney is doing this,” said Evette Rios, a correspondent with ABC's “The Chew,” who grew up celebrating Three Kings Day with her Puerto Rican parents in Brooklyn, N.Y. “It means a lot. This is the changing face of America. We are becoming more open to different holidays and traditions. I don't have a homogenous view of what America is, and I'm glad Disney doesn't either.”
As a child, Rios said, she'd leave a dish of water under her bed for the three kings' camels — “actually for the horses because there were no camels in Puerto Rico” — along with grass to represent hay. The next morning, she'd find small toys hidden in her shoes, gifts left by the kings.
Rios still celebrates the holiday by attending a parade in East Harlem in Manhattan organized by El Museo del Barrio, a museum devoted to Latin American and Caribbean culture. The colorful parade, in its 36th year, includes costumed actors, floats, bands and real camels. It's always held on a weekday — this year Jan. 4 — so schools can participate.
In Miami, three kings of basketball — Heat superstars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh — are grand marshals of the 43rd annual Three Kings parade in the Cuban-American neighborhood of Little Havana. The parade is scheduled for Jan. 20 along Southwest Eighth Street.
The holiday has a French accent in New Orleans, where Twelfth Night kicks off carnival season, culminating in Mardi Gras. Each Jan. 6, the mayor and leaders of top Mardi Gras krewes — organizations that host carnival parades and balls — meet at historic Gallier Hall to serve king cake, which in New Orleans is called galette des rois and is iced in purple, green and gold, the colors of Mardi Gras.
Both the French and Mexican cakes have a toy baby representing the Christ child baked inside, but Mexican king cakes are usually topped in Christmas colors of red and green, colors also found in the Mexican flag.
Ricardo Cervantes, co-owner of La Monarca bakeries in Southern California, says they sell thousands of king cakes from their stores in East Los Angeles and the largely Hispanic city of Huntington Park. But surprisingly, sales also are strong at a Santa Monica location “in more of an Anglo neighborhood. People who are not Mexican, they are intrigued,” he said. “We also get a lot of people now bringing a cake into the office.” A new La Monarca opening this month in Pasadena also will carry king cake.
Huntington Park hosts a large Three Kings celebration, as does Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles, a block-long historic attraction showcasing Mexican culture where a candlelight procession takes place each year.
Other Three Kings Day celebrations around the country include a parade in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago; a bilingual performance of the biblical story that's been staged for more than three decades at the GALA Theatre in Washington D.C., and festivities at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas and The Children's Museum of Houston. Schools in Hartford, Conn., which has a large Hispanic population, close when the holiday falls on a weekday.
New Mexico's tribal communities, called pueblos, host ceremonial dances on Three Kings Day in a tradition that dates back centuries to the influence of Catholic missionaries in the Spanish colonial era. Jan. 6 also is when new tribal officials are installed in a ceremony called the blessing of canes or transfer of canes. In Santa Fe, N.M., a play about the three kings has been performed annually for more than 50 years by the Caballeros de Vargas, a Catholic service organization.
In Tarpon Springs, home to a large Greek-American population, the Feast of the Epiphany is marked with a Jan. 6 event called the Cross Dive, where teenage boys dive into a bayou to retrieve a wooden cross. | <urn:uuid:43696b42-856d-4669-b98e-46864e7c2ea3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gainesville.com/article/20121230/WIRE/121229643/0/FRONTPAGE | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941249 | 1,173 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Sourdough refers to a bread made by using a starter made of sugar and a natural yeast. If the starter is moved to a new location it will change over time to the local variety of natural yeast.
It has a distinctive tangy or sour taste similar to vinegar.
San Francisco is known for its sourdough breads and sends the starter yeast around the United States for home bakers. The starter has a limited life since it will be replaced by the local yeast variety over time. | <urn:uuid:c1a6b301-c8e5-40ff-9590-3d577a163d46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.conservapedia.com/Sourdough | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959055 | 102 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Illegal marijuana used by 10 per cent of fibromyalgia patients
People who suffer from fibromyalgia (FM) – a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain – are turning to the streets for marijuana to relieve their pain. A new study published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research, led by Dr. Mary-Ann Fitzcharles, a rheumatologist at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), reveals that 13 per cent of FM patients use cannabinoids for relief from symptoms such as widespread pain, fatigue, and insomnia; 10 per cent buy cannabis illegally for these reasons. These people tend to have poorer mental health, and are often on additional prescribed medications that could result in negative drug interactions.
“Fibromyalgia affects up to three per cent of the population and is more common in women,” says Dr. Fitzcharles, who is also a professor of medicine at McGill University. “Unfortunately, FM pharmacologic treatments for pain have modest results, prompting some patients to self-medicate with more non-traditional therapies, such as marijuana.”
Dr. Fitzcharles and her colleagues assessed cannabinoid use in 457 FM patients being treated at the MUHC Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit. They determined that 13 per cent of participants used cannabinoids, which can include legal pharmacologic preparations, to help manage pain, fatigue, and insomnia, and 10 per cent of all patients studied bought cannabis illegally. Men were more likely to turn to marijuana more than women, and marijuana users were more likely to have an unstable mental illness and display opioid drug-seeking behaviour. Additionally, marijuana users had a 77 per cent unemployment rate, which researchers believe may be a result of ineffective pain control or a more serious functional disability.
Little research has been done in the area of FM prevention. What is known, is that actively participating in self-care management, which includes exercising and staying in the workforce (patients who work do better probably because they are not focusing on their pain) can contribute to better outcomes for FM patients.
“While self-medicating with cannabinoids may provide some pain relief to fibromyalgia patients, we caution against general use of illicit drugs until health and psychosocial issues risks are adressed,” says Dr. Fitzcharles. “Physicians should also be alert to potential negative mental health issues with these patients using illicit drugs for medical purposes, and that some cannabis users may be dishonestly using a FM diagnosis to justify self-medicating with illegal drugs.”
About the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)
One of the world’s foremost academic health centres, the MUHC offers exceptional and integrated patient-centric care, research, teaching and technology assessment. Affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University, it is highly committed to the continuum of care in its community. The partner hospitals of the MUHC—the Lachine Hospital, the Montreal Chest Institute, the Montreal General Hospital, the Montreal Neurological Hospital, the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Montreal Children's Hospital— value multidisciplinary service throughout the lifespan, innovative technologies and practices, strategic partnerships and leadership in knowledge transfer. The MUHC is currently carrying out a $2.35-billion Redevelopment Project on three sites—the Glen, and the Montreal General and Lachine hospitals—designed to provide healthcare professionals with an effective environment in which to ensure patients and their families benefit from The Best Care for Life. The sites are also anchored in best sustainable-development practices, including LEED® and BOMA BESt guidelineswww.muhc.ca muhc.ca/construction
Public Affairs & Strategic Planning
McGill University Health Centre
marc-antoine [dot] pouliot [at] muhc [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (marc-antoine [dot] pouliot [at] muhc [dot] mcgill [dot] ca) | <urn:uuid:803adcab-6728-4808-a321-b7428ce330f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://muhc.ca/newsroom/news/illegal-marijuana-used-10-cent-fibromyalgia-patients | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936287 | 809 | 1.875 | 2 |
Submitted by: F. G. G. [name deleted]
Alleged victim: the author
State party concerned: the Netherlands
Date of communication: 15 April 1986 (date of initial letter)
The Human Rights Committee, established under article 28 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
Meeting on 25 March 1987,
adopts the following:
Decision on admissibility
1.1 The author of the communication (initial letter of 15 April 1986 and subsequent letter of 28 October 1986) is F. G. G., a Spanish seaman who, in 1983, was dismissed together with 222 other foreign sailors by a Netherlands private shipping company. The reasons for the dismissals put forward by the company were that the foreign seamen's knowledge of Dutch was not sufficient and that the company was forced to reduce its work force because of economic difficulties. The author points out in this connection that most of the foreign seamen had been employed for over 15 years and that no Netherlands national was dismissed.
1.2 The author states that under Netherlands labour law the Arbeidsburo (an agency of the Ministry of Labour) must state whether a dismissal may or may not take place and, in that connection, must hear both parties before taking a decision. He alleges that at the time the company requested permission for his dismissal he was not properly informed of his rights, but only told that he would have to make his submission to the Arbeidsburo within 14 days. Being at sea at the time and not having an opportunity to seek counsel, this requirement, he states, was very difficult for him to comply with.
1.3 The author claims that in the circumstances which he describes he was denied the right to equal treatment before the law and the right to equal protection of the law. In support of his claim he encloses copies of various documents, including a report from the National Ombudsman, a submission by the dismissed seamen to the Cantonal Court (court of first instance) in response to a submission made to the Court by the shipping company, a letter addressed to the Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands concerning the dismissal of the foreign seamen, certificates concerning the author's prior satisfactory employment with other Netherlands shipping companies, correspondence between the author and the Ministry of Justice concerning the author's application for a residence permit in the Netherlands and a decision of the Ministry of Justice declining to grant a residence permit to the author.
2. By its decision of 1 July 1986, the Working Group of the Human Rights Committee transmitted the communication to the State party concerned under rule 91 of the Committee's provisional rules of procedure, requesting information and observations relevant to the question of admissibility of the communication.
3.1 In its submission under rule 91, dated 29 September 1986, the State party describes the factual situation in detail and argues that the communication is inadmissible because of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies and also on the ground of incompatibility with the Covenant.
3.2 With regard to the author's claim about his dismissal, the State party states that F. G. G. "was employed as a seaman by NedLloyd Rederijdiensten BV, Rotterdam". The continuing recession and the considerable overcapacity of the world fleet, together with sizeable operating losses by the company, necessitated a radical reorganization within NedLloyd, entailing a reduction in the number of employees. It was decided by NedLloyd that 209 shore-based staff and 222 crew members would have to be dismissed. In 1983 NedLloyd applied to the director of the Local Employment Office in Rotterdam (the competent government body) for dismissal permits as it was obliged to do under article 6 of the Labour Relations (Special Powers) Decree promulgated by the Netherlands Government in 1945. In the absence of a mutual agreement between the employer and the employee, employment may not be terminated, under the said article, without a permit from the director of the Local Employment Office. With a few exceptions, the permits applied for were granted by the director on 28 September 1983. NedLloyd then proceeded to dismiss those concerned, including F. G. G. One hundred and twenty of the dismissed seamen, including F. G. G., subsequently issued a writ of summons, dated 13 February 1984, asking the Rotterdam Cantonal Court to declare their dismissal null and void and to order that they be reinstated in their jobs because their dismissal had been manifestly unreasonable. Netherlands courts are competent to make such an order under articles 1639s and 1639t of the Civil Code. The dismissed seamen claimed in this action that the criteria used in selecting those who were to be dismissed were discriminatory. The Cantonal Court reached a provisional decision in respect of this case on 13 June 1984, against which the dismissed seamen, including F. G. G., and NedLloyd lodged an appeal. The judicial proceedings are still in progress. In relation to the proceedings concerning his dismissal by NedLloyd, F. G. G. invokes "the right to be fairly and equally treated before the law", while in relation to the proceedings concerning the granting of the dismissal permit by the director of the Local Employment Office, he invokes "the right to have full information and the opportunity to defend himself".
3.3 With regard to the admissibility of F. G. G.'s communication, the State party addresses two questions:
"(a) Does the application relate to violation by the Kingdom of the Netherlands of rights and freedoms embodied in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and is the application compatible with the provisions of the Covenant?
"(b) Have all domestic remedies been exhausted?"
3.4 The State party submits that it is not clear which of the rights and freedoms embodied in the Covenant F. G. G. deems to have been violated. If F. G. G.'s invocation of "the right to have full information and the opportunity to defend himself" is intended to refer to article 14, paragraph 1, of the Covenant, the State party argues that it is not well-founded, "since he invokes this right in respect of the procedure whereby the dismissal permit was granted by the director of the Local Employment Office. This procedure does not, however, constitute "the determination of any criminal charge' or of 'rights and obligations in a suit at law' to which article 14, paragraph 1, refers. The application cannot therefore be said to relate to violation of this paragraph of the Covenant."
3.5 In respect of F. G. G.'s invocation of "the right to De fairly and equally treated before the law", the State party observes that
"If this is intended as an invocation of article 26 of the Covenant, then in so far as this article is invoked in respect of F.G.G.'s dismissal by NedLloyd the Netherlands Government ... takes the view that article 26 of the Covenant does entail an obligation to avoid discrimination, but that this article can only be invoked under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant in the sphere of civil and political rights. The scope of article 26 of the Covenant is not necessarily limited to those civil and political rights that are embodied in the Covenant. (The Netherlands Government could, for instance, envisage the admissibility under the Optional Protocol of a complaint concerning discrimination in the field of taxation.) But the Government cannot accept the admissibility of a complaint concerning rights which are not in themselves civil and political rights, such as economic, social and cultural rights. The latter category of rights is governed by a separate international covenant. F.G.G.'s complaint relates to rights in the economic and social sphere, which fall under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Articles 2, 6 and 7 of that Covenant are of particular relevance here. That Covenant has its own specific system and its own specific organ for international monitoring of how States parties meet their obligations. It deliberately does not provide for an individual complaints procedure. The Government considers it incompatible with the aims of both the Covenants and the Optional Protocol that an individual complaint with respect to the right to equal treatment as referred to in article 2 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights should be dealt with by the Human Rights Committee by way of an individual complaint under the Optional Protocol based on article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Government therefore takes the view that the application submitted by F.G.G. does not relate to any violation by the Kingdom of the Netherlands of rights and freedoms embodied in that Covenant and that it is not compatible with the provisions thereof."
3.6 With regard to the question whether domestic remedies have been exhausted, the State party observes:
"The civil proceedings brought by the seamen in connection with the dismissal by NedLloyd of F.G.G. and his fellow employees ... are still sub judice. The [Rotterdam] Cantonal Court has not yet made a definitive decision with regard to the seamen's claim. Among the issues raised in these proceedings is the lawfulness of the granting of the dismissal permit. Article 26 of the Covenant is one of the provisions invoked by the seamen. The definitive decision of the Cantonal Court will be open to appeal before the District Court whose decision is open to appeal in cassation before the Supreme Court. The Government therefore takes the view that with regard to F.G.G.'s application domestic remedies have not yet been exhausted."
4.1 In his comments of 28 October 1986, the author contends that the State party's submission is incomplete. He adds the following facts:
"l. From 24 October 1963 to 8 September 1971 I worked on Netherlands based ships.
"2. From 9 September 1971 to 7 August 1976 I worked on Netherlands based ships for transport on inland water (Rhine).
"3. From 7 August 1976 to 22 September 1983 I worked on Netherlands based ships (NedLloyd Company).
"4. I was registered at the Rotterdam Municipality from 24 April 1972 until 4 August 1978 when, without my knowledge, I was erased from the register of municipal inhabitants.
"5. On three different occasions until 1983, I requested official permission to establish myself in the Netherlands, which was not granted, although I fulfilled all the requirements imposed under the Netherlands law for foreign seamen (no criminal/political record either in Spain or in the Netherlands~ more than seven years of employment on Netherlands based ships ...; employed and registered in a given Netherlands municipality)."
4.2 With regard to his claim to be a victim of discrimination, he stresses that
"The people fired were all foreign workers ... According to the Netherlands Labour Relations Act, when dismissals may take place, the Labour Employment Office must take into account the following elements:
"(a) Seniority (first in, last out);
"(b) Representation (persons to be fired must be proportionally represented among different 'workers stratas at the company branch'). That means candidates to be dismissed must be selected among persons of different age, mastership, experience, education, etc;
"(c) Workers to be fired have the right to ask for an alternative job at the same company/subsidiaries, if there are vacancies.
"All of these elements are stated at the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) signed by the Netherlands Labour Unions and the Companies. The CAO was agreed five years before we were fired and any foreign seaman with more than three years of service was automatically included in it, independently of whether the seaman was a member of a given union or not."
4.3 The author argues that none of the above-mentioned criteria were taken into account by the Labour Employment Office at Rotterdam. He further states:
"The Minister of Labour produced a letter (dated 23 September 1983) to the Director of the Labour Employment Office, stating that in the specific situation of the foreign seamen ('NedLloyd Case') the principles of seniority, and representation must not be applied. A new criteria, completely unknown to us and which was not present in the CAO was implemented: the criteria of the place of residence for foreign seamen. That means, seamen could be fired if they could not prove that they had a residence on Netherlands soil. Never before was the place of residence an element to determine whether workers could be fired.n
5.1 Before considering any claims contained in a communication, the Human Rights Committee must, in accordance with rule 87 of its provisional rules of procedure, decide whether or not it is admissible under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant.
5.2 With regard to article 5, paragraph 2 (b) of the Optional Protocol, the State party has argued that the civil proceedings concerning the author and the other seamen are still sub judice before the Rotterdam Cantonal Court. An adverse decision by that court would be appealable to the District Court, whose decision in turn could be tested in cassation before the Supreme Court. Accordingly, the Committee finds that domestic remedies have not been exhausted.
6. The Human Rights Committee therefore decides:
1. The communication is inadmissible;
2. This decision shall be communicated to the author and to the State party. | <urn:uuid:20ce1ba1-45bc-4239-8e5f-2ea4b0e9db14> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/undocs/session42/209-1986.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962117 | 2,727 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Many downtowns are full of Oregon heritage
The Oregon Heritage Commission issued a precedent-setting report that identifies individual and collective challenges facing Oregon heritage and proposes comprehensive solutions. Some of the issues are internal challenges, while others are the result of outside factors, including national trends.
In Oregon and other states, the different sectors underneath the heritage umbrella typically operate within their own self-imposed boundaries. They are aware of and use each other’s resources, but typically do not co-develop programs or solve problems together. This report, however, looks at Oregon’s heritage comprehensively, with the greatest emphasis on museums, historic preservation, historic cemeteries, historical societies, local heritage efforts, archives, and archaeology.
The full report, its appendices, and research are found below. | <urn:uuid:e7a11e41-7cdb-4971-9aff-78bdacc48cd8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oregon.gov/oprd/HCD/OHC/pages/vitality.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938439 | 163 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Rio de Janeiro, known as Cidade Maravilhosa (the Marvelous City), has been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Five natural, 20 cultural and one mixed site (both natural and cultural) were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List this year, which now stands at 962 sites across the world.
The status was granted in recognition of the city's urban, coastal and mountainous landscapes. UNESCO said this unique geography "encompasses the key natural elements that have shaped and inspired the development of the city: from the highest points of the Tijuca National Park’s mountains down to the sea."
The carnival capital is known for its beaches, mountains, football, music and its well-preserved tropical rainforests. Its most famous landmark is Christ the Redeemer, the world’s largest Art Deco statue. It stands at the peak of the 700-metre Corcovado Mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park, with arms outstretched over the city.
Other landmarks include the cone-shaped Metropolitan Cathedral, located in downtown Rio and Sugarloaf Mountain at the mouth of Guanabara Bay.
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