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When Christians think of the Holy Spirit, echoes
of catechism answers often come to mind: the Third Person of
the Blessed Trinity, one in divine substance with the Father
and Son. But that Trinitarian doctrine was not defined until
the fourth century, and in the first days of Christianity the
picture was far less precise, especially in regard to the personhood
of the Spirit.
As for the witness of the New Testament, part of
the difficulty is that the concept of "spirit" has many facets:
the human spirit, angelic spirits, evil spirits and so on. In
addition, the Greek word for "spirit," pneuma, which
can also mean "wind, breath," is neuter, so that in passages
dealing with the Holy Spirit, the pronouns are literally "it,
its." Finally the roles attributed to the Spirit are varied:
It is like the mighty wind that moves the apostles to preach
at Pentecost; it gives life; it cries out in our hearts; it
is the source of charisms or special powers.
John—s Gospel shares much New Testament thought
and expression about the Holy Spirit; but it also makes its
own unique contribution, enhancing an appreciation of the Spirit
in the life of Christians and of the church.
In John alone the Spirit has the title Parakletos,
the gender of which is masculine, requiring personal pronouns.
(Elsewhere in the New Testament the term Paraclete is
featured only in 1 John 2:1, and there it refers to Jesus.)
The Paraclete Spirit is described in five passages, all in Jesus—
long discourse at the Last Supper, often accompanied by the
designation "Spirit of Truth," which also is peculiar to John.
As we shall see, the Greek parakletos has
different connotations and therefore is difficult to translate.
St. Jerome, faced with divergent older Latin renderings, decided
to settle for transliterating as paracletus in his Vulgate
Latin, and "Paraclete" is still the best choice for an English
Aspects of the Paraclete
Literally parakletos means "one called
alongside," particularly one called to help in a legal situation:
a defense attorney. A forensic or courtroom atmosphere can be
seen in words like "Advocate" and "Counsellor," also used to
translate parakletos. Actually there is a legal tone
to some of what Jesus in John says about the Paraclete; yet
the picture is more exactly that of a prosecuting attorney.
Jesus is going to die on a cross—in the eyes of the world judged
guilty and convicted. Yet after his death, the Paraclete will
come and reverse the sentence by convicting the world and proving
Jesus— innocence (16:8-11). He will show that Jesus did not
sin; rather the world sinned by not believing in him. He is
the one who is just or righteous, as shown by the fact that
he is not in the grave but with the Father. The judgment by
his enemies in putting him to death did not defeat him; ironically
it defeated his great adversary, the Satanic Prince of this
In a famous passage from the Old Testament Book
of Job (19:25), Job knows that he will go to death judged guilty
by all because of the sufferings visited on him; yet he knows
that his vindicator lives, namely, the angel who will stand
on his grave and show to all that he was innocent. That vindicating
spirit has the role of a paraclete, and Jesus now looks for
the Holy Spirit as his Paraclete.
Yet there is another role for "one called alongside."
Sometimes those who are suffering or lonely need to call in
someone to console and comfort them. This aspect of the Paraclete
is caught by the translation "Comforter" or "Consoler" (as in
Holy Comforter, and the Consolator optime of the Latin
hymn to the Spirit). In the context of the Last Supper Jesus—
disciples are sorrowful because he is departing; the promise
that someone just like Jesus is coming to take his place is
Nevertheless, the Jesus of the Last Supper who
prepares his disciples for the coming of the Spirit is also
realistic. The world will hate the disciples who have received
the Spirit of Truth (15:18-19) that the world cannot accept
because it neither sees nor recognizes that Spirit (14:17).
The disciples will be expelled from the synagogues and even
put to death (16:2-3). Yet because Jesus is with them, they
can have peace. "In the world you will have trouble; but take
courage, I have conquered the world" (16:33).
The Paraclete as Another Jesus
A major emphasis in the Johannine presentation
of the Paraclete is the likeness of the Spirit to Jesus that
enables the Spirit to substitute for him. (That is why the Paraclete
Spirit cannot come until Jesus departs.) Both come forth from
the Father; both are given or sent by the Father; both are rejected
by the world.
The Johannine Jesus claims to have nothing on
his own; whatever he does or says is what he has heard or seen
with the Father (5:19; 8:28, 38; 12:49). The Paraclete will
speak nothing on his own; he will take what belongs to Jesus
and declare it; he will speak only what he hears (John 16:13-15).
When Jesus is on earth and the Father in heaven,
whoever sees Jesus has seen the Father (14:9). When Jesus has
gone to the Father, whoever listens to the Paraclete will be
listening to Jesus. In short what Jesus is to the Father, the
Paraclete is to Jesus. Thus in many ways the Paraclete fulfills
Jesus— promise to return.
In one extraordinary passage (16:7) Jesus says
that it is better for his disciples that he go away,
for otherwise the Paraclete will not come to them. In what possible
sense can the presence of the Paraclete be better than the presence
of Jesus? Perhaps the solution lies in a major difference between
the two presences. In Jesus, the Word became flesh; the Paraclete
does not become flesh. In the human life of Jesus, visibly,
at a definite time and a definite place, God—s presence was
uniquely in the world; and then corporally Jesus left this world
and went to the Father. The Paraclete—s presence is not visible,
not confined to any one time or place. Rather the Paraclete
dwells in everyone who loves Jesus and keeps the commandments,
and so his presence is not limited by time (14:15-17). The presence
of God as the Paraclete means that there are no second-class
citizens: The Paraclete is just as present in the modern disciples
of Jesus as he was in the first generation.
That fact is particularly important when we consider
one of the principal activities of the Paraclete. The Paraclete
is "the Spirit of Truth" who supplies guidance along the way
of all truth (16:13). The Johannine Jesus had many things to
say that his disciples could never understand in his lifetime
(16:12); but then the Paraclete comes and takes those things
and declares them (16:15).
In other words, the Paraclete solves problems
by supplying new insights into a revelation brought by Jesus.
When God gave the Son, divine revelation was granted in all
its completeness: Jesus was the very Word of God. Yet on this
earth that Word spoke under the limitations of a particular
culture and set of issues. How do Christians of other ages get
God—s guidance for dealing with entirely different issues? The
Paraclete who is present to every time and culture brings no
new revelation; rather he takes the revelation of the Word made
flesh and declares it anew, facing the things to come.
The Role of the Paraclete in Christian Life
The Gospel of John took final written form about
the end of the first century A.D. This was a time when several
churches were developing an external teaching magisterium or
authority to guide those under pastoral care. For instance,
a speech in Acts 20:28-31 stresses the role of the presbyters
of Ephesus in protecting the faithful from strange perversions
The Pauline pastoral epistles also envision presbyter-bishops
who hold on to the true doctrine they have been taught (Titus
1:9) as a criterion for judging what is valid in any new approaches.
John, however, would place emphasis on the indwelling
Paraclete, the guide to all truth, given to every believer,
so that 1 John 2:27 can say in reference to the Spirit, "The
anointing that you received abides in you; and so you have no
need for anyone to teach you." There has been a tendency in
Christian history to allow one or the other of these approaches
to dominate; but as the sole approach each one has drawbacks.
Teachers whose only strength is to hold on to
the tradition may tend to regard all new ideas as dangerous.
The Spirit is a vibrant guide and would seem better adapted
to face the things to come. Yet when two believers who claim
the guidance of the indwelling Paraclete disagree, often neither
can acknowledge the possibility of being wrong, and so they
tend to split irreconcilably.
In the liturgy before the feast of Pentecost the
church reads Acts alongside John, and thus implicitly reminds
itself that guidance for Christians involves an interplay between
external instruction by well-grounded teachers and internal
movements of the Paraclete. Both factors are essential to enable
the church to combine valid tradition and new insights.
Another issue affecting Christian life at the
end of the first century was the gap caused by the death of
the eyewitness generation who constituted the living chain between
the churches and Jesus of Nazareth. For the Johannine community
the full impact of this issue would have come with the death
of the Beloved Disciple, the eyewitness par excellence (19:35;
21:24), a death that occurred seemingly just before the Gospel
was put in final form. How would the Johannine community survive
without its principal living link to Jesus?
The concept of the Paraclete/Spirit offered an
answer to this problem. If the Beloved Disciple had borne witness
to Jesus, it was not solely because of his recollections. After
all, the disciples had seen Jesus and not understood (14:9).
Only the post-resurrectional gift of the Spirit taught the disciples
the full meaning of what they had seen (2:22; 12:16); and their
witness was the witness of the Paraclete speaking through them
In particular, the profound reinterpretation of
the ministry and words of Jesus effected under the guidance
of the Beloved Disciple and now found in the Fourth Gospel was
the work of the Paraclete. Indeed, the Beloved Disciple was
in a figurative sense an "incarnation" of the Paraclete. And
the Paraclete would not cease activity when these eyewitnesses
had gone, for he dwells within all Christians who love Jesus
and keep his commandments (14:17). The Paraclete is the link
of future generations to Jesus so that in an essential way later
Christians are as close to Jesus as were the earliest Christians.
A third issue is the anguish caused by the delay
of Jesus— second coming. In the period after A.D. 70 the expectation
of Jesus— return began to pale. It had been associated with
God—s wrathful judgment upon Jerusalem (Mark 13), but now Jerusalem
had been destroyed by Roman armies and Jesus had not yet returned.
In particular, Jesus— return had been expected within the lifetime
of those who had been his companions (Mark 13:30; Matthew 10:23).
Some in the Johannine community had expected his return before
the death of the Beloved Disciple (John 21:23); yet this death
was now imminent or even a reality, and still Jesus had not
come back. That the delay caused skepticism is seen in 2 Peter
3:3-8 where the answer is given that no matter how long the
interval, the coming will occur soon, for with the Lord a thousand
years is as one day.
The Johannine answer is more profound. The evangelist
does not lose faith in the second coming but emphasizes that
many of the features associated with it are already realities
of Christian life (judgment, divine sonship, eternal life).
And in a very real way Jesus has come back during the lifetime
of his companions, for he has come in and through the Paraclete.
The Johannine Christians need not live with their eyes constantly
straining toward the heavens from which the Son of Man is to
come; for, as the Paraclete, Jesus is present within all believers:
their Advocate, their Consoler, their Guide to all truth.
Next: Israel—s Neighboring Nations (by Elizabeth | <urn:uuid:4bef2493-4d76-45ea-916d-b24caad4c3e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/SFS/an0598.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953382 | 2,867 | 2.65625 | 3 |
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A friend of mine said recently, “My body won’t respond like it used to and it really makes me angry.” That sums up as well as I can imagine the agony of the physical changes that contribute to the complication of midlife. Of the three “forces” that put pressure on people to become self-absorbed and discontent during their midlife years – career re-evaluations, physical changes, and developmental mandates – I believe that transformations in our body are the most difficult.
WOMENhave an “advantage” since they deal with physical changes throughout their lives. The monthly menstrual cycle makes change a “normal” part of their experience. Pregnancy brings great changes to a woman’s body (as well as to the marriage and family). Then peri-menopause announces the onslaught of the coming midlife years – which is also the most influential time of life. Finally, menopause is a dramatic time of change where symptoms can range from hot flashes to osteoporosis and cause discomfort, challenges, and a sense of interruption to a woman’s life. I’ve watched Pam wrestle with many of the symptoms for the past couple of years and I can tell it is unnerving. Out of the blue, she blurts out, “It is so hot in here. Are you hot? Is it just me or is it burning up?” It has obviously been very frustrating to her but it hasn’t surprised her. She knew it was coming and she researched it for months before it began. Her midlife friends had talked with her about “the change” that was coming for all of them. Her mom had talked about the way menopause had affected her life. Pam even wrote about it in books and spoke about it in conferences. Although it has not been pleasant, it was not unexpected for her. MEN have unique emotional struggles at midlife based on their lack of experience with physical change. Puberty is a big time of change, but from ages 18 to 40 things are relatively static since testosterone levels remain fairly steady. The obvious influence of this strength hormone includes bigger muscles, facial hair, a deeper voice, and generally a more aggressive approach to life. Testosterone makes men feel incredibly strong to the point of invincible as we become aware of a forcefulness of life that resides within us. Our legs feel strong, our arms feel strong, even our hair and fingernails feel strong. It seems we can take physical risks without fear because we will either avoid injury with remarkable agility or recover so quickly that any damage will be minor. In every competitive pursuit, physical challenge, problem to be solved, or business deal to be leveraged, men rely on strength.
For good and bad, men have a “strong” orientation in their sexual desires and are proud of the fact that they have a quick and strong response to sexual stimulation. It doesn't take much to raise interest and motivate them to perform with great energy and desire. Their eyesight becomes laser focused to the point they can spot a beautiful woman in the blink of an eye, and can even find beauty in their wives on their most unattractive days. The desire is like a fire sometimes, like a powerful engine at other times, and like a ferocious animal at others. It is seldom tame and gentle on its own. Left unchecked, it has the potential to consume a man’s decisions, get out of control and create damage. In fact, men must learn to be romantic and relational in order to direct their passionate power in a productive way, but they welcome the challenge. It is one of the greatest gifts and harshest companions in a man’s life.
Then it happens. We wake up one day without the same intensity – mysteriously it diminishes. Although we may have heard that our testosterone levels would change, we weren't really listening and certainly didn’t believe it would actually happen, and so we were ill prepared. I remember when it started in my network of friends, especially in “Fred’s” case. Fred had a heart attack the only way a forty-year-old can. He was driving home from work when a sharp pain started in his chest and radiated down his left arm. He thought to himself, I think I am having a heart attack. This is probably the last time I will be able to eat a meatball sandwich and the sub shop has a special – two for the price of one! Fred stopped to buy two sandwiches, he polished one off on the way home to pick up his wife, and the other on the way to the hospital. Sure enough, he had a heart attack and those were the last two meatball sandwiches he enjoyed!
Without warning the illusion of invincibility was shattered! We all wondered could that have been me? It wasn’t long before I started to notice changes in my own body. I was gaining weight even though I was eating and exercising the same as I had been, my reflexes slowed down, my stomach was getting rounder, my hair was subtly getting thinner, and my joints began to ache. For me, one of the most disconcerting changes was the loss of endurance. Up until 45 years of age, I went to bed at night because I knew it was important, but if needed, I could stay up all night to focus on tasks that had to be completed. Now, I found my body started demanding that I stop working every night – I was out of steam! Intellectually, I knew this was normal – but it didn't feel right! I became angry with myself and wanted things to return to “normal” so I started running more, but when the results failed to surface I started thinking, I wonder if something is wrong with me? I have always been able to keep my weight under control. I need to go see my doctor. When the doc told me this was normal for a man my age, I was crushed! I never thought anyone would refer to me as “a man my age.”
I then had to admit that my sex drive was going through its own transformation. The midlife sex drive is not what it used to be (evidenced by the deluge of erectile dysfunction commercials). I was still passionate about my wife but the sense of urgency was gone. Suddenly it was okay if we waited, frequency was no longer top priority. The pressing drive to have sex was replaced with a more contented desire to have satisfying encounters with Pam. I found sexual calmness to be a refreshing midlife gift. The odd thing was that the quick, strong sexual response from my twenties was gone – now I needed time to prepare. Women are supposed to need time and attention to get ready, not men. In my more mature moments it was easy to accept, but most of the time it felt strange.
A man who views the opportunity to learn new skills and enter a new season of love with his wife will discover a new depth in his marriage. He’ll find relational treasures and physical comfort with the one he’s traveled the entire intimate journey with. However, a man that cannot accept this time of change will panic over the diminishing sexual longing. He is afraid of feeling weak, feminine, or unable to perform; and may go looking for a new adventure to reignite his passion. He convinces himself it must be the familiarity of his long-term relationship rather than an actual change in his own body’s physical chemistry. If he acts on it, he finds a short renewal of passion – but it isn't long before it catches up with him. He cannot keep the same pace he did when he was young. The new round of sexual exploits includes failed attempts at intimacy which reminds him of his age. Eventually, he realizes it would be easier physically if he returned home. Sadly, it’s not always possible because of the damage he’s created during his fruitless pursuit of youth.
To keep from feeling frustrated about physical changes, you can work to:
be content with doing less.
practice marital relationship skills that include interaction, patience, and being with your spouse without the need to engage sexually.
place more value on influencing other people’s lives and less value on what you can accomplish with your own strength.
It takes focus, but gets more comfortable every year. I spent the 25 most productive years of my life relying on the strength God put in me. I now have to allow the skills of wisdom and insight to mature, rely on them, and share them freely with others over the next 25 years.
My daily prayer is, “Lord, help me make the transition from physical strength to wise influence with grace, dignity, and integrity.”
Pam often prays, “Father, please help me to be patient and loving as I ride the emotional menopause roller-coaster. Lead me in being a good example for those watching me grow up physically, and spiritually. Continue to remind me to choose joy in all situations.” | <urn:uuid:7c61fd8d-f366-4621-8163-fa56662ff42a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.midlife.com/index.php/free-resources/what-is-midlife/12506-my-body-is-talking-but-i-dont-like-what-its-saying-v15-12506 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982077 | 1,943 | 1.539063 | 2 |
For years, comic George Carlin has earned a handsome living reciting his list of “7 Words You Can’t Say On Television.”
There are more than seven words we won’t use in the Times Union, under any circumstances. But, there are other words we will use — after thorough discussion — that some people don’t like.
The other day I wrote about a reader’s complaint concerning the use of the word “diss.” (Scroll down to “Diss just in.”) Today, we move on to the word “suck.”
That’s a word that rarely would see print until about a decade ago. I remember when one particular older editor was aghast when he attempted to rule against using the word and was told by a slew of younger colleagues that the word was neither dirty nor uncommon in everyday speech.
“I can’t believe a ‘professional’ journalist would use the phrase ‘As much as saying this pains me, they don’t suck.’ Why don’t you explain to your readers the origin of that phrase? Are you pandering to the ‘cool’ crowd by showing your knowledge of common slang? You should be writing for one of those low-class ‘newspapers’ that would welcome your type of writing.”
Steve has been around the business as a writer and editor for enough years to develop a thick skin. So, he was able to respond in a thoughtful fashion. I share his response with you as an insight into what does go into one aspect of our craft:
“I’m sorry you found the word offensive. The entry for ‘suck’ in the Times Union Stylebook advises that discussion is required before the word is used, and I assure you that happened in this case. I can further tell you that use of the word, and acknowledgement of its capacity to dismay or shock some, has been a regular topic of discussion here for the 10 years I’ve worked at the Times Union.
“When I talked with editors about using the word in my restaurant column, we understood that some readers might be offended, but I argued that as the word is generally used and understood today, it does not have a sexual or vulgar connotation. Its meaning is generally understood, as the dictionary on my desk says, as: ‘slang: to be objectionable or inadequate. ‘I also meant it as something of a joke — the highest praise I could muster about the place was ‘it doesn’t suck’.
“Your note reminded me of a recent column by our Reader Representative, William M. Dowd … responding to a reader who compained about use of the word ‘dissed’ in a story. Dowd wrote:
” ‘One of the difficulties with ignoring popular words and phrases is a disconnect between our writers and their readers who use colloquialisms.
” ‘We tend to use them in features and ‘lighter’ stories when a casual language style is appropriate, bearing in mind such words and phrases should be familiar enough to be recognizable by those who prefer more formal language.
” ‘A word that at one moment in time is regarded as slang suddenly becomes sanctified for everyday use when a board of collaborators meets to update a dictionary. Not everyone likes or agrees with the process, but in a dynamic, polyglot language such as ours that borrows words and meanings from many cultures, it seems legitimate’.”
Note: For those of you who don’t know Carlin’s seven words but are dying to find out, they’re here along with a verbatim transcipt of that particular act. Be warned, they’re prominent and explicit. | <urn:uuid:fd298e73-dba2-4823-8ae0-3fa4a20ac1de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.timesunion.com/editors/category/language/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96763 | 813 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Making their American debut in the late-nineteenth century, these European imports were first released in Washington and California but are now found in huntable numbers in about a dozen Western and Midwestern states and most Canadian provinces. The first birds released in this country came from Hungary, so the gray partridge is also commonly known as Hungarian partridge, or Hun.
Gray partridge, which grow to just over a foot long and weigh about three-quarters of a pound, eat both cultivated grains and a variety of weed seeds, as well as clover and other green, leafy material. As is the case with pheasants and other upland bird species, young partridge feed heavily on crickets, ants, grasshoppers and other insects. They often inhabit the “margins” where agricultural fields and native shrub-steppe habitat meet. Classic Hungarian partridge country might be a field of corn or wheat stubble bordered or intersected by a couple of brushy draws or a gently-sloping hillside dotted with sagebrush. A small stream, pond or wetland nearby would likely make such a spot even more attractive to a covey of Huns.
To most hunters, the gray partridge doesn’t appear very gray at all. That’s because they’re most likely to see the bird’s rust-colored tail and reddish-brown back and wings as it flies straight away from them. If the bird is crossing, you may see the chestnut and gray bars along its flanks. A horseshoe-shaped mark of dark chestnut covers the lower half of the breast.
Like other upland species, young of the year partridge provide most of the fall shooting opportunities. Also like other birds, Hungarian partridge production fluctuates greatly from year to year. A warm, dry spring usually produces a good Hun crop; a cold, wet spring very few, and we have a lot of cold, wet springs here in Washington.
Gray partridge are the least abundant of Washington’s upland bird species, and hunters harvest only about 5,000 gray partridge a year, far fewer than any other upland bird. And, it’s a safe bet that many, if not most, of them are taken incidentally by hunters targeting pheasant, quail and chukar. If you want to hunt Hungarian partridge, though, there are ways to improve your chances.
First, cover a lot of ground. You won’t find dozens of birds in any one place; population densities simply aren’t that high, anywhere. Your best bet is to cover miles of decent partridge habitat in hopes of flushing a couple of coveys in a day. A well-conditioned, wide-ranging pointing dog is an immense help, and two well-conditioned, wide-ranging pointing dogs are just about twice as helpful. A gray partridge hunter, of course, must also be well-conditioned and wide-ranging.
Huns like to feed around the edges of grain fields and in patches of seed-bearing weeds and grasses. They tend to roost, hide and rest in hay fields, tall grass, brush patches and along fence lines. All the aforementioned places, then, are good places to look for birds. On windy days they may take shelter behind tree lines, fence rows, boulders, even buildings, or in narrow draws and on lee hillsides.
Huns tend to be more skittish than quail and other upland species, and may run or flush wild when a dog (or hunter) approaches. Some veteran partridge hunters prefer and recommend dogs that are trained to lock up on point as soon as they get a noseful of Hun scent, even if it’s some distance from a bird, rather than get too close and spook birds into flushing out of range. When a dog does lock up on Huns, the hunter should move in fast to shorten the shooting distance before the birds fly.
When flushed, gray partridge usually don’t fly high, but they may fly far, especially later in the season when they’ve had some hunting pressure. What’s more, after they’ve been flushed once, they’re likely to flush farther in front of you or your dog on the second approach, still farther out on the third. In other words, it’s a good idea to do all you can to make your first opportunity count. Although flushed birds usually stay together, the good news is that if you are able to locate singles or doubles after the first rise, they tend to hold better for a dog than coveys will.
Gray partridge aren’t big or particularly hard to knock down, but they are very good at distancing themselves from the end of a shotgun barrel in a hurry. An ounce and an eighth or ounce and a quarter load of size 6 or 7 ½ lead shot from a 2 ¾-inch 12-gauge shell or 3-inch 20-gauge shell will do the job for the 30- to 45-yard shots you’re likely to get on Huns. If you must decide between a 20-gauge and a half-pound-heavier 12, however, remember that hunting Huns is usually a matter of covering lots of ground in search of widely scattered coveys, and that extra eight ounces of shotgun may feel more like eight pounds by the middle of the day, not only while it’s being lugged around, but when it’s time to shoulder it and swing on a bird.
As for choke, an improved cylinder or modified choke will do the job if your first shot is a close one, but Huns get out to full-choke range quickly. For that reason, a double-barrel gun with a modified/full choke combination might be a good choice for Hungarian partridge.
A covey of Huns almost always rises in unison, so job one is to pick out a target and swing on it as quickly as possible. Yes, it may be tempting to “flock shoot” that reddish-brown cloud of whirring wings, but any veteran shotgunner will tell you that rarely produces good results, so lock onto a bird as you shoulder your gun and try to forget that there are any other birds in the air until yours drops (or flies out of range, or your gun is empty). With Hungarian partridge, trying for—or even thinking about—scoring a double usually produces no birds at all.
And remember that, since your target is usually flying straight away rather than quartering or crossing, the best lead is probably going to be under the bird. | <urn:uuid:85522480-220a-404c-b41f-62f83ee0cda8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/upland_birds/gray_partridge.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950035 | 1,398 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Housing landscape shifts to apartmentsPUBLISHED: 02 Aug 2012 22:30:00 | UPDATED: 03 Aug 2012 16:56:30PUBLISHED: 03 Aug 2012 PRINT EDITION: 03 Aug 2012
Haven, a Hampton development on the Yarra River in Melbourne’s Abbotsford.
By almost any measure, apartments are playing a growing role in the future of Australian cities. According to RP Data research, almost half of all housing sold in Sydney is now apartments. In Melbourne it is about 30 per cent and Brisbane 25 per cent.
The building pipeline of apartments is expanding while houses are declining. Approvals to build apartments were up by half in the year to June, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, while approvals for detached homes were down 7.7 per cent.
A big part of the reason is affordability. In Australia’s most expensive city of Sydney, the median apartment price is $480,000, while the median house price is $595,000.
“What’s really become a dominant feature is this growing conservatism in the market, where people are buying well within their means,” says Michael McNamara, managing director of valuation group Herron Todd White.
Another driver is the strong demand for rental homes close to the city, which is driving up rents. McNamara points to a 50 per cent increase in rents over the five years to 2011, according to census data. That’s making apartments, with their relatively higher yields, look more appealing for investors.
June quarter figures by Australian Property Monitors showed the sharpest rental increases were for apartments, not houses.
“Rents have been appreciating at a compound annual rate of 8.45 per cent,” McNamara says. “To put that in perspective, annual growth of household incomes over the same five-year period sat at a more insipid 3.5 per cent per annum. It has been unequivocally a landlord’s market over the last five years.”
There is a lingering perception that apartments don’t weather downfalls as well as houses, after developments in holiday areas such as Mandurah in Western Australia and the Gold Coast in Queensland plunged in value in recent years.
But investors are realising that in capital cities there is evidence apartments are actually holding their value better than houses.
“If you look at the long-term trends over the last few years, apartments haven’t seen as large a fall as houses,” says RP Data head of research Tim Lawless. “You could probably tie that back to the lower price point. Affordability is such a concern, particularly in Sydney, it makes a lot of sense potential buyers are doing the sums and prepared to sacrifice the backyard to live close to the city.”
Apartments are also often the choice for overseas investors, whose purchase options are limited by foreign ownership laws.
Changing social preferences are also playing a role as people marry later and delay having children for a range of reasons. The relative low-maintenance of apartments can appeal to families with both parents working.
Figures from the 2011 Census show how the nation’s 1.17 million apartments, or 14.3 per cent of the total housing stock, are finding a greater role in our urban fabric.
In the 10 years covered by three census reports, the percentage of the total stock of apartments occupied by lone person households actually fell, from 46 per cent to 42 per cent.
This was due to a greater take-up of apartments by families. Families occupied 41 per cent of the nation’s apartments in 2011, up from 35 per cent in 2001. There was a two percentage point increase in families with children living in apartments.
But there are a range of troublesome aspects to apartment living that are still being ironed out. In NSW the Office of Fair Trading is completely overhauling the state’s dated strata legislation to deal with issues ranging from lack of clarity over who should fix building defects, how to get owners to agree when it’s time to demolish a building that is past its use-by date, and the minimum qualifications for strata managers.
In NSW the Supreme Court is swamped with expensive court actions by apartment owners trying to get developers to foot multi-million dollar defect repair bills.
Expensive strata fees can partially make up for the money saved on buying an apartment instead of a house, and in the worst cases the politics and stress of dealing with a dysfunctional owners corporation can surprise new owners looking for a low maintenance lifestyle.
In the near term, demand for apartments will vary across the capitals. Unit rents actually fell in Brisbane over the June quarter, according to APM, suggesting there is still stock to be cleared after a building boom leading up to the financial crisis.
And forecasters such as BIS Shrapnel believe Melbourne is heading into oversupply, which will weaken the demand for apartments until excess stock is cleared. However, demand for apartments in Sydney is likely to remain strong due to low vacancy rates and a shortage of affordable housing.
About 31,000 units are expected to be completed in Melbourne over the next two years, so property watchers have been waiting for the city’s apartment market to tip into oversupply. After that time, however, slower population growth and fewer new apartments are expected to put downward pressure on prices and rents.
Developers say while buyers may take more time to sign on to a project, good products always sell.
Robert Papaleo of Charter Keck Cramer says most apartments in Melbourne’s supply pipeline will be finished in 2013.
“There is still activity in the market, although it has come back from the peak a few years ago,’’ Papaleo says. “Agents are having to work a lot harder to convert interest to sales.’’
Charter Keck Cramer expects more than 31,000 apartments to be delivered in Melbourne over the next two years.
Almost 10,000 will be within Melbourne’s city grid and Docklands. Another 9000 will be on the city fringe, about 7600 in the middle ring suburbs and about 800 in the outer areas.
Melbourne developer Hampton is not concerned about the potential for oversupply and says targeting the luxury market with multimillion-dollar units and three-bedroom townhouses has set its product apart.
Since forming Hampton in 2006, managing directors Paul Hameister and Steve Buxton have built more than $1.2 billion worth of upper-end mixed-use projects in the inner suburbs.
The pair have sold to buyers keen to take advantage of apartment living akin to a five-star hotel. They were among the first to include features such as rooftop cinemas, spas, lobby bars and business centres in residential developments.
About 30 per cent of their latest venture, on the banks of the Yarra River, sold in the first fortnight of marketing. Stage one, Eden, has a waiting list for three-bedroom units. Stage two, Haven, was redesigned with more three-bedroom units to meet demand.
Hameister says it is unusual for there to be so much owner-occupier demand for off-the-plan apartments, or demand for three-bedroom apartments, but the location and luxury standard was a factor.
At the cheaper end of the market, Melbourne developer Joe Russo of Caydon says purchasers are cautious, and sales gain momentum once construction begins. He says there was a rush to buy before the financial year end when Victoria’s first home buyers grant ceased. Those still looking were now taking their time.
The Australian Financial Review | <urn:uuid:1a952979-0f0a-4016-9cd4-6c0c7cb9a0e3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.afr.com/p/lifestyle/life_leisure/apartment_haven_as_housing_landscape_Alk7U07o0NeWh3vM8uAuBM | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966188 | 1,591 | 1.5625 | 2 |
In an era that demands greater accountability from teachers and stresses the importance of students' engagement in their own learning, course assessments hold the potential to have a positive and lasting impact in our middle and high schools. To do so, course assessments must be reenvisioned so they capture the real issues that impact student learning.
The goal of any educational system is for students to live up to their potential and move toward a hopeful future. To reach this goal, our teaching and learning environment must promote students' self-worth, ensure students are meaningfully engaged, and affirm that the information students are learning is both rigorous and relevant.
The iKnow My Class course assessment is designed to assess and address the conditions that inspire students to reach their fullest potential. It provides valuable information and formative assessment, which research acknowledges is essential for student growth and learning, to individual classroom teachers.
iKnow My Class is an online instrument for students in grades 3-5 (27 question survey) and grades 6-12 (two versions: short version has 20 questions, long version has 50 questions). The survey is anonymous and teachers receive results in real time. iKnow My Class allows for ongoing, formative assessment of student perceptions and engagement and allows teacher to make necessary midcourse adjustments. Teachers are encouraged to enhance the assessment by adding their own questions.
Next Practices is a new resource designed to enhance the teaching and learning environment. This online tool, available at no additional charge to all registered users, is designed to support student engagement in the classroom by providing suggestions and resources related to each question on the survey. Teachers can readily access Next Practices as they reflect on their survey results and use the resource to focus on areas in need of improvement and/or maintain areas noted as strengths.
Scale Validation of the iKnow My Class Survey
is a technical report of the validation process for the use of this survey as a measurement tool to operationalize selected constructs of and related to the Student Engagement Trust Model.
The iKnow My Class course assessment tool has been developed based on research and investigation into student engagement completed by Aspirations Unlimited International, the Successful Practices Network, and the Student Engagement Trust of the United Kingdom.
All three organizations strongly believe students need to have a voice in their education if they are to reach their fullest potential. | <urn:uuid:0be81610-0167-46c6-ba09-3c539fd3394a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iknowsurvey.com/iknowmyclass/?loc=US | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955272 | 470 | 2.3125 | 2 |
‘Picture North Dakota!' exhibit displayed in Gannon Gallery
Posted on 1/25/2011
Bismarck State College Gannon Gallery is showing photographs taken to archive life and culture for a State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND) project titled "Picture North Dakota!"
One hundred volunteers serving as Centennial Ambassadors coordinated the statewide project to document daily life in North Dakota the weekend of June 23-25, 1995. The project was organized to commemorate the SHSND's first 100 years.
The SHSND sent out 100 rolls of 35mm film to ambassadors, who took the pictures or arranged for a photographer. Picnics, living rooms, buildings, Main Street shopping, gardening, fieldwork and ball games were among the many subjects. One photograph from each participating county was selected for this exhibit, which runs through Feb. 15.
All photographs taken for the project are in three-ring binders accompanying the exhibit. Bob's Photo, Bismarck, donated photo enlargements. The Curtis Strand Memorial Fund through the North Dakota Heritage Foundation provided additional funding. | <urn:uuid:afba2626-00f3-4654-b2d1-b88680afe569> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bismarckstate.edu/news/Default.asp?NID=33 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935104 | 224 | 1.804688 | 2 |
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Fountain, City Park, Valley City, N.D.
Fountains; Parks; Benches; Flowers; Trees; Postcards;
Two women sit in the grass near a fountain in a park in Valley City. On the opposite side of the fountain, two men sit, looking at the women. Flowers are planted around the park, and the trees are green...
22 Mandan Indian stories recorded, transcribed, and translated by Robert C. Hollow. The following stories are available: First Creator and Lone Man Argue; First Creator and Lone Man Make the Land; The...
Historic exterior view, Dunn County Courthouse, Manning, N.D.
Courthouses; Government facilities; County government;
The Dunn County Courthouse in Manning, North Dakota is an example of the simple residential-like courthouse structure common west of the Missouri River. This particular photograph can be identified as...
Sakakawea statue, State Capitol grounds, Bismarck, N.D.
Sculpture; Capitols; Trees; Postcards;
A straight on view of the Sakakawea statue on the Capitol Grounds in Bismarck. Trees are visible in the background, and a small shrub is planted in front of the statue.
Bismarck High School, Bismarck, N.D.
Trees are planted along the sidewalk in this front view of Bismarck High School.
Henry Rock homestead, Heil, N.D.
Farms; Gardens; Farmhouses; Windmills;
A man and two women stand on the Henry Rock homestead near Heil, N.D. One of the women is holding a hoe or rake and is tending to items planted in the garden.
High School, Carrington, N.D.
Schools; Trees; Postcards;
A view of the high school in Carrington, N.D. Young and mature trees are planted around the building.
These texts are from Box 5 of the Robert C. Hollow Material and are located in a black 3-ring binder in Box 5 of the Robert C. Hollow collection. These texts were originally collected by Edward Kennard...
Public library, Grand Forks, N.D.
Public libraries; Libraries; Fences; Trees;
A view of the public library in Grand Forks. A wrought iron fence surrounds the building, and trees are planted in the boulevard between the sidewalk and the street.
Arikara medicine lodge, Fort Berthold, N.D.
Lodges; Healing; Trees;
A lone tree is planted in front of a medicine lodge located at Fort Berthold.
N.P.R.R. Depot, Bismarck, N.D.
Railroad stations; Hotels; Railroad tracks;
A view from the west showing the Northern Pacific Railroad depot in downtown Bismarck. Railroad tracks are visible in the foreground, and full, leafy trees are planted around the depot. Two people sit...
Custer's House, Fort Abraham Lincoln
Military facilities; Houses;
Several men and women stand and sit on the porch of the Custer House at Fort Abraham Lincoln. Small trees have been planted in the front yard of the house.
Concordia Lutheran Church, Crosby, N.D.
Postcards; Churches; Lutheran churches;
A view of Concordia Lutheran Church in Crosby, N.D. Trees are planted in front of the building, and another church is visible further down the street.
A.G. Burr residence, Bottineau, N.D.
Houses; Trees; Porches; Postcards;
A view of the A.G. Burr residence in Bottineau, N.D. A porch wraps around the house, and many trees are planted in the yard.
Julia Ole Bull's home, Elbowoods, N.D.
A view of Julia (Ole) Bull's home at Elbowoods, N.D. Trees are planted in the front yard.
George H. Fairchild residence, Bismarck, N.D.
Houses; Wooden buildings; Girls; Trees;
A view of the George H. Fairchild residence in Bismarck. Trees are planted in front of the house, and a girl sits on a fence separating the yard from the street.
North Dakota State Capitol, Bismarck, N.D.
Capitols; Flags; Government facilities;
A view of the old state capitol building in Bismarck. An American flag flies from the top of the building, and trees and shrubs are planted around the perimeter of the building.
Andrew Swanberg family in front of their home, Mandan, N.D.
Families; Children; Boys; Girls; Houses; Draperies;
Andrew Swanberg stands with his wife and chinldren, John, Henry, Imar, Esther, Emma, and Ida outside their house in Mandan. Several trees have been planted in front of the house, and other plants are visible...
Billings County Courthouse, Medora, N.D.
Courthouses; Trees; Fences;
A view of the newly completed Billings County Courthouse in Medora. Trees have been planted in front of the building, and the features of the North Dakota Badlands are visible in the background.
Bismarck Public Library, Bismarck, N.D.
A view of the Bismarck Public Library on Thayer Avenue. A car is parked next to the building and trees and shrubs are planted around the library's perimeter.
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June 13, 2012 — Close to two-thirds of North Dakota voters on Tuesday opposed a ballot initiative (Measure 3) that would have made it harder for the government to pass laws and regulations that indirectly impact religious practices, the Bismarck Tribune reports. With 70% of precincts reporting, 64.5% of voters rejected the measure, while 35.4% supported it, according to the Tribune (Smith, Bismarck Tribune, 6/12).
The measure would have amended the state constitution to say that government "may not burden a person's or religious organization's religious liberty." It also stated, "The right to act or refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief may not be burdened unless the government proves it has a compelling governmental interest in infringing the specific act or refusal to act and has used the least restrictive means to further that interest. A burden includes indirect burdens such as withholding benefits, assessing penalties, or an exclusion from programs or access to facilities" (Women's Health Policy Report, 6/12).
Proponents of the measure said it was needed to strengthen North Dakotans' rights to exercise their religious beliefs. Opponents -- including North Dakotans Against Measure Three -- warned that the initiative's vague wording would have permitted religious entities to not abide by laws prohibiting things such as discrimination and abuse.
If the measure had passed, North Dakota would have joined one other state with a similar constitutional amendment, as well as 11 other states that have enacted similar statutes, according to the Tribune (Bismarck Tribune, 6/12).
Tom Fiebiger -- an attorney and chair of North Dakotans Against Measure Three -- said in a statement, "We are grateful North Dakotans did the right thing and rejected this unnecessary and potentially dangerous Measure."
Planned Parenthood also released a statement after the initiative's defeat. The group commended voters for "a strong and clear no vote" affirming "that religious liberty is securely protected in the U.S. Constitution."
Christopher Dodson -- executive director and general counsel for the North Dakota Catholic Conference, which supported the measure -- said in a statement that the outcome would not distract from efforts to strengthen religious protections in the state (Lamb, Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, 6/12).
Debra Ness, publisher & president, National Partnership
Andrea Friedman, associate editor & director of reproductive health programs, National Partnership
Marya Torrez, associate editor & senior reproductive health policy counsel, National Partnership
Melissa Safford, associate editor & policy advocate for reproductive health, National Partnership
Perry Sacks, assistant editor & health program associate, National Partnership
Cindy Romero, assistant editor & communications assistant, National Partnership
Justyn Ware, editor
Amanda Wolfe, editor-in-chief
Heather Drost, Hanna Jaquith, Marcelle Maginnis, Ashley Marchand and Michelle Stuckey, staff writers
Tucker Ball, director of new media, National Partnership | <urn:uuid:7a00576a-1909-4077-8ccd-a3c8be3f93fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://npwf.convio.net/site/News2?abbr=daily2_&page=NewsArticle&id=33979&security=1201&news_iv_ctrl=-1 | 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 | 0.942382 | 618 | 1.539063 | 2 |
PS2 Sparks African War In The Congo?
Sure, Sony has sold 140 million PS2s worldwide over the past 9 years, but at what price?
If you're at all familiar with the film, "Blood Diamond," this situation is eerily similar... According to Yahoo! Games and an activist site called Toward Freedom, the need for a particular component in the PlayStation 2 once caused a "brutal conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo." Do you know what coltan is? It's an unrefined metallic ore which, when ground into a powder called tantalum, becomes an extraordinarily popular material used in all sorts of electronic equipment. They use it in cell phones, computers, and yes, even video game consoles like the PS2. Now, when Sony started to mass produce their system, they obviously needed a whole lot of coltan, and when that happened, all hell apparently broke loose.
The new and exhausting search for the material set Rwandan military groups and western mining companies into action, and because they needed so much, they allegedly forced "prisoners-of-war and even children" to work down in the coltan mines. Ex-British Parliament Member Oona King said- "Kids in Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms." Well, if that doesn't make you feel guilty, backing over your neighbor's kitten with your car probably won't faze you, either. When Sony required more tantalum to meet consumer demand, the price of the powder shot from $49/pound to $275/pound, which of course resulted in a widespread fevered search of the Congolese hills.
Researcher David Barouski had this to add:
"Sony's PlayStation 2 launch...was a big part of the huge increase in demand for coltan that began in early 1999," he explained. "Sony and other companies like it, have the benefit of plausible deniability, because the coltan ore trades hands so many times from when it is mined to when Sony gets a processed product, that a company often has no idea where the original coltan ore came from, and frankly don't care to know. But statistical analysis shows it to be nearly inconceivable that Sony made all its PlayStations without using Congolese coltan."
If you're wondering whether or not this may still be going on, it may be, but it won't have much to do with Sony's PS3. Sony has since said they won't use any tantalum from the Congo, and they further state that all current PS3s, PSPs and even PS2s do not use Congolese tantalum; they simply found the material in other countries. It's very difficult to tell what raw materials are used in the pieces of machinery we use every day, so it hardly makes sense to say Sony is the only corporation on earth that may have incited civil unrest for production purposes. It's an intriguing story, to be sure, and just goes to show how far removed from certain realities we really are...
7/25/2008 Ben Dutka | <urn:uuid:6a55f45a-eb14-4916-8a5e-45e995809da4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.psxextreme.com/ps2-news/4453.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960443 | 645 | 1.578125 | 2 |
In my current line of work (energy industry research), I come across quite a few government research reports, and generally I need to suspend my Austrian-ness and libertarian-ness as I read them in order to avoid getting frustrated. It's not that they're poorly written; in fact, they tend to be really well researched and thought out, and it's incredibly valuable to have access to them. But as one might gather from this post, there are sometimes little tidbits in them that make me want to pull my hair out. Moreover, they almost never make it a point to mention things like government failure, and are very often ignorantly perfectionist and guilty of the nirvana fallacy.
So I was very surprised to stumble across a report from the Congressional Budget Office, The Economics of Climate Change: A Primer, which described the problem facing policymakers like this:
The Earth’s atmosphere is a global, open-access resource that no one owns, that everyone depends on, and that absorbs emissions from an enormous variety of natural and human activities. As such, it is vulnerable to overuse, and the climate is vulnerable to degradation—a problem known as the tragedy of the commons. The atmosphere’s global nature makes it very difficult for communities and
nations to agree on and enforce individual rights to and responsibilities for its use.
With rights and responsibilities difficult to delineate and agreements a challenge to reach, markets may not develop to allocate atmospheric resources effectively. It may therefore fall to governments to develop alternative policies for addressing the risks from climate change. And because the causes and consequences of such change are global, effective policies will probably require extensive cooperation among countries with very different circumstances and interests.
However, governments may also fail to allocate resources effectively, and international cooperation will be extremely hard to achieve as well. Developed countries, which are responsible for the overwhelming bulk of emissions, will be reluctant to take on increasingly expensive unilateral commitments while there are inexpensive opportunities to constrain emissions in developing countries. But developing nations, which are expected to be the chief source of emissions growth in the future, will also be reluctant to adopt policies that constrain emissions and thereby limit their potential for economic growth -- particularly when they have contributed so little to the historical rise in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and may suffer disproportionately more of the negative effects if nothing is done.
The bolding in the above is mine. I honestly don't think I can think of another example of a central government publication being so good about acknowledging the power of spontaneous order and the need to avoid the Nirvana fallacy. So kudos goes to Robert Shackleton of the CBO's Macroeconomic Analysis Division, who wrote the study, for not sounding like someone who's ignorant of economic theory! I'm just starting to read through this report, but I'm already looking forward to hearing what he will have to say.
Those who have followed my work will be aware that I am generally hesitant to endorse the approach to the issue of climate change which treats the problem as a question about the most efficient allocation of social resources. It seems to me that efficiency considerations can only justify coercive and centrally organized social engineering in rather extreme situations, and I am not fully convinced that the specter of climate change qualifies (or that if it did, the currently popular policy approaches would be the appropriate way to handle the problem). And looking through the table of contents in Shackleton's report, it doesn't appear that he considers these issues. But this is typical in the mainstream discourse, and I am not entirely surprised -- I can't hold it against him.
However, I can hold it in favor of former CBO Director Peter Orszag, who mentioned my point of view in a presentation at Wellesley College in October. On the 13th slide of his presentation, Orszag wrote:
Alternative view: Valuation of future benefits should be viewed primarily as a decision about equity rather than as a traditional investment decision. But viewed as an equity issue, inconsistencies arise relative to how other intergenerational trade-offs are analyzed
Of course, I don't think Orszag is right to brush aside my approach in such a cavalier manner. And I certainly think that if "inconsistencies arise" when policies are considered from the standpoint of equity, then that seems like a problem for the views which are made inconsistent, and not the idea that policies should be based on equity. But the greater point is that at least Orszag is aware enough of what's going on to bring up this issue.
And this concludes my statist love-fest. You can all go back to your various degrees of distrust, dissent, and anarchist tendencies now.
Ugh. I take back all my love for Shackleton. Way to break my heart, man! Enjoy:
The atmosphere and climate are part of the stock of natural resources available to people to satisfy their needs and wants over time. From an economic point of view, climate policy involves measuring and comparing the values that people place on resources, across alternative uses and at different points in time, and applying the results to choose a course of action. An effective policy would balance the benefits and costs of using the atmosphere and distribute those benefits and costs among people in an acceptable way.
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ORIENTATION TOWARD THE EAST. Since the early days of Christianity, the east has been the point designated to be faced during prayers, both by the officiating priest and by the congregation. This has to be taken into account in building a church, so the altar must be placed in the eastern end, with the longer axis of the church running east to west. The APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS prescribe that "all rise up with one consent and, looking toward the east . . . , pray to God eastward." Al-Safi ibn al- ‘Assal, the thirteenth-century compiler of Coptic canon law, stated that "the congregation stand with their hands lifted up towards Heaven, and their faces directed towards the east."
The theological significance of the orientation toward the east is stressed at the beginning of the liturgy where the deacon directs the congregation to stand up and look toward the east, "to witness the Body and Blood of Emmanuel, our Lord, placed on the altar." The east is also associated with the sun of righteousness "arising from the east with healing in his wings" (Mal. 4:2) and with the Second Coming of Christ in glory to judge the living and the dead. This was described by Christ in the following terms: "For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be" (Mt. 24:27). When worshipers face the east, they affirm their anticipation of the last advent, in accordance with the words of the two angels to the disciples of Jesus at the time of His ascension, "This same Jesus, Who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into Heaven" (Acts 1:11).
The same subject has been treated by various church authorities throughout the ages. Saint BASIL THE GREAT links it with the
ancient homeland of man in Paradise, "It is according to an unwritten tradition that we turn to the East to pray. But little do we
know that we are thus seeking the ancient homeland, the Paradise that God planted in Eden, towards the East" (De Spiritu Sancto, p. 27). Saint EPHRAEM the Syrian (306-373) writes that "The Jews looked to Jerusalem in their prayers, for it was their holy country. As for us, the Paradise is our country which was in the East. Therefore we are ordered to look towards the East during our prayers." Saint GREGORY OF NYSSA (c. 330-395) considers the matter from a particular angle: "Such motion of orientation helps the soul to repent and seek the kingdom of God in her worship."
If the East stands for righteousness and light, the West is associated with ungodliness and darkness. Consequently, at the moment of the renunciation of Satan during baptism in the Coptic Church, the person to be baptized is required to look toward the West, and stretch out his right hand and say, "I renounce thee, Satan." Then he turns toward the East and, stretching both hands, says, "I join myself to Thee, Christ."
Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections. | <urn:uuid:10cc6273-ceef-439c-be30-98ed94663e64> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/cce/id/1492/rec/12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966271 | 679 | 2.609375 | 3 |
word dybbuk comes from the Hebrew verb ledavek, "to
cling." While the concept of an "evil spirit" is
common in Second Temple, talmudic and kabbalistic literature, the
term dybbuk only came into use during the 1700s.
The following selections comes to us from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research of E. European Jewry
As head of the Jewish
ethnographic expedition through the villages of Volhynia and Podolia from
1911 to 1914, Ansky came across the routine practice of exorcising dybbuks
among the Hasidim with whom he came into contact. A dybbuk is a
restless soul or evil spirit that "impregnates" a living person,
usually for a limited period of time, causing mental illness and creating
a separate personality for itself, and talking through that person's mouth.
This practice and other folkloristic material inspired his famous play
actress Paula Varter in a scene from The Dybbuk performed
by the Vilna Jewish Theatre Group, 1920
Set in Eastern Europe
in the end of the 19th century, Ansky's story revolves around a pair of
ill-fated lovers Khonnon, a penniless but
devout student of Jewish mysticism, and Leah, the young woman he adores
and is destined to marry. When Leah's greedy father breaks the marriage
contract to marry off Leah to a richer man, Khonnon dies instantly; his
soul, however, lives on as a dybbuk, entering Leah's body so to
gain possession of her love for all eternity. After various nefarious
deeds are revealed, the rabbi, aided by other rabbinical judges, finally
succeeds in exorcising the dybbuk, using incantations and rituals,
followed by blasts of the shofar. Leah, meanwhile, must confront
the choice between marriage to a man for whom she feels nothing or an
unworldly union with her dead lover's spirit.
was composed over the period 1912-1919, and its evolution outlived the
author himself. Ansky wrote the play in Yiddish (originally called Tsvishn
Tsvey Veltn) and translated it into Russian, continually making changes
in characters, motifs, and text. Once the play was completed, Ansky performed
readings and continued to make changes based upon his audiences' reaction.
The first production of the Yiddish play was by the Vilna troupe (1920)
Ansky lost the Yiddish original on his way from Russia to Vilna,
he translated the play back to Yiddish from Bialik's Hebrew version
adding his own changes. This latter version was the one performed
by the Vilna Theater group.
was further transformed by the great Hebrew poet H. N. Bialik, who completed
a Hebrew translation. Bialik combined the significantly different Yiddish
and Russian versions, and incorporated echoes and idiomatic expressions
from his own poetry. Many credited Bialik with significantly improving
the play. Even after 1919, the directors who staged the first productions
of the play had their way with its scenes, dialogue, structure. Bialik's
Hebrew translation, which first appeared in Ha-Tekufah, vol. 1
(1918), was performed by the Habimah company in Moscow, Tel Aviv, and
Productions in German,
English, Polish, Ukrainian, Swedish, Bulgarian, and French followed. The
Italian composer L. Rocca based an opera on the play, musical versions
by Renato Simoni and David Temkin appeared in New York, and movie versions
in Poland in 1938 and Israel in 1968.
for The Dybbuk program at the Habima Theatre Studio, Moscow,
Along with confusions
about the play's genre was it realistic or
fantasy? The Dybbuk was most frequently
criticized for containing too many different folkloric elements. Bialik
wrote: "I have the impression that as a collector of folklore, you
went around to all the rubbish heaps. There you collected fragments of
folklore and pieced them together like a tailor who takes bits of clothing
and rags, and makes of them a patchwork quilt."
Another critic, Z.
Voyslavski after seeing the Habimah production of The Dybbuk in
Berlin in 1927 wrote, "Take
a Hassidic tune, the cry of a Jewess giving birth, a Jewish cemetery with
crooked tombstones, an old shofar unfit for use, the curtain of an old
ark embroidered in gold, a goblet for havdalah. Mix them with a
little popular Hassidism and Kabbalah and
you have a nice batter for cooking."
Although there were
some who praised the play as true to the Hasidic home of its folklore,
Ansky was called a dilettante, his work an "ethnographic museum."
Werses.S. An-ski's "Between Two Worlds' (The Dybbuk):
A Textual History." in Studies in Yiddish Literature and
Folklore. Jerusalem: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1986.
from the memoirs of one Mark Rivesman
expressing his strong reaction to Ansky's reading of portions from
excerpt from The Dybbuk (a discourse by Reb Azrielke):
Day is a Day of Atonement. | <urn:uuid:0cbcefe3-e7b0-4e41-aa2f-a84e6fa15019> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jhom.com/personalities/ansky/dybbuk.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93445 | 1,172 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Marx-Engels Subject Archive
Marx and Engels on Philosophy
Early Philosophical Works.
Marx: 1841 - 1845
Engels’ response to Friedrich Schelling’s attack on Hegel, 1841. This work is recommended for the seasoned student of philosophy only. Wrriten before Engels had met Karl Marx, this is the earliest glimpse of how Marx and Engels arrived at their own approach to critique of Hegel’s philosophy.
For comments on this see The Expurgation of Hegelianism by Andy Blunden, 1999
Entitled “The Difference between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature”, this work is recommended for the seasoned student of philosophy only. In promoting Epicurus as against Democritus, we the young Marx already searching for a critique of Hegel. At the same time, in his exploration of these philosophers, Marx shows a profound understanding of the contradiction between the immediately given world of sense perception and the essence of our human relation with Nature.
For a short commentary on this see Marx’s Critique of Hegel by Cyril Smith, 1999
Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, Marx, 1843
Marx has copied each paragraph from the section of Hegel’s work on the State and written his annotations and commentary on it. This work shows the early development of Marx's criticism of Hegel, inspired by Ludwig Feuerbach, but with the outlines of his own critique beginning to appear.
Marx further develops these ideas in On the Jewish Question, and you can read
Hegel's Philosophy of Right and other commentaries on Hegel's theory of the state:
Hegel's First System, Herbert Marcuse 1941; Hegel's Theory of the Modern State, Shlomo Avineri, 1972; Hegel's philosophy of State, Z Pelczynski, 1984; The Young Hegel, 1938
Economic & Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844:
This is the first statement of Marx's critique of political economy. If you were to read only one article on philsoophy, this would be it. In this work Marx shows how money intervenes in the relation of person to person and establishes itself as an independent power over and above people, but nevertheless is nothing but a human power. These ideas are further developed in the 1844 Manuscripts which follow, eventually finding their mature form in Capital. These manuscripts were not deciphered until 1932.
Preface to Philosophical Manuscripts
Private Property and Communism
Human Requirements and Division of Labour
The Power of Money
Critique of the Hegelian Dialectic and Philosophy as a Whole
In the course of these manuscripts, Marx develops his critique of Hegel and of Ludwig Feuerbach and marks out the main outlines of his conception of communism. These are not easy reading, but you should return to them time and again as you learn more and more about Marxism
On the Jewish Question, 1844
This work is important for understanding the foundations of Marx’s view of history, the state and society.
This work comes out of Marx's earlier Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right. See: Hegel's Theory of the Modern State by Shlomo Avineri, and Marx's Theory of Alienation by István Mészáros.
See also, for a contrary view, Althusser on “The problem of Marx’s early works”
The Holy Family, 1845
This very polemical work written by Marx and Engels against the &145;Young Hegelians’ is hard going, but contains some readable passages. Try chapters II and III, and for a very brief history of philosophical materialism see Chapter VI
Theses on Feuerbach, 1845
In this single most famous and important work of Marx on philosophy, Marx puts forward 11 short theses defining the foundations of his view of human knowledge, practice and history.
The German Ideology, Karl Marx & Frederick Engels, 1845
This work was never completed or published. Its early chapters contain important statements of Marx and Engels’ position on philosophical materialism, method of investigation, history, class, revolution, etc., etc. The remainder of the work is scattered with gems on subjects as diverse and language, technology, agriculture, etc., etc.
Letter to Annenkov, 1846
Famous letter cautioning against mechanical or formal conceptions of “productive forces” and explaining his dialectical approach to the conception of these relations.
See The Violence of Abstraction: 2 Productive Forces, by Derek Sayer (1987).
Wage Labour and Capital, 1847
In this first systematic elaboration of his critique of political economy, Marx develops the basic concepts. Chapter 5 in particular makes it clear how Marx understands the concepts of political economy as a mystification of the relationships between people.
Hegel, Economics, and Marx's Capital by Cyril Smith (1998)
Preparatory work and early chapters of Capital.
Marx: 1852 - 1867
This study of the French Revolution marks a definitive point in the development of Marx and Engels' understanding of history and in particular the nature and position of the bourgeoisie. The first chapter in particular contains some famous formulations of the principles of historical materialism.
A speech by Marx where he outlines in a popular form his ideas about the conflict between the productive forces and the relations of production.
This is Marx’s preparatory work for Capital. When it was first published until 1953 and translated into English in 1973, it was a bombshell, for it showed irrefutably that as late as 1857, Marx was still working through Hegel's concepts in the development of his analysis of bourgeois society. Almost 1,000 pages long and barely structured it is not an easy read. However, there are a number of passages which clarify Marx's views on a range of important methodological problems.
The following chapters are of particular interest:
See Marx's Grundrisse and Hegel's Logic by Hiroshi Uchida (1988),
Dialectics of the Abstract & the Concrete in Marx's Capital by Ilyenkov
This Preface contains one of Marx’s most famous and succinct statement of his view of history and the meaning of philosophical materialism.
See Relations of Production, by Derek Sayer (1987).
Capital, I, 1867
The First four chapters include a number of important observations on philosophy, and the Afterword contains a well-known statement of Marx's relation to Hegel.
For various commentaries on philosophical aspects of Capital see:
Dialectics of the Abstract & the Concrete in Marx's Capital by Ilyenkov (1960), Marx's Capital, Philosophy and Political Economy by Geoff Pilling (1980), The Logic of Marx's Capital, by Tony Smith (1990)
Engels: 1878 - 1886
Eighty per cent of this book is made up of exceedingly boring refutations of the views of the now long-forgotten Eugen Dühring. However, in winding up on each theme, Engels puts forward his own view, often in extremely succinct and highly readable form. The sections below deal with some classic themes.
To get an idea of the controversy around some of Engels' formulations in this work see Leninist Dialectics & Metaphysics of Positivism, Ilyenkov 1979, Subject & Object In Hegel, Lukacs 1923, The Dogmatic Dialectic and the Critical Dialectic, Jean-Paul Sartre, 1960, Contradiction and Overdetermination, Louis Althusser, 1962.
On Dialectics, 1878
This pamphlet is a classic text, obligatory for all students of Marxism.
Short sketch of the Marxist conception of social class.
Dialectics of Nature, 1883
In this controversial book by Engels, he explains the basic ideas of dialectics by demonstrating how these relationships are manifested in our understanding of Nature.
Refer to the same works cited above in relation to Anti-Dühring, and the archive of a discussion list which includes a discussion around dialectics of nature.
This pamphlet, written by Engels after Marx's death, is probably the most readable, comprehensive and profound of Marx & Engels’ expositions of philosophy. The chapter on Feuerbach is not too interesting for us nowadays, but the other three together constitute a short three-part lesson in Marxist Philosophy.
Refer to the Ludwig Feuerbach Internet Archive.
Letters on Dialectics, 1844 - 1895
Engels’ fight against simplistic interpretations of Marx.
Engels: 1890 - 1894
Letter cautioning against metaphysical, formal or utopian conceptions of socialism.
Letter to J. Bloch, 1890
Famous letter cautioning against exaggerated or one-sided understanding of Marx's views on the materialist conception of history.
Letter to Starkenburg, 1894
Letter cautioning against a deterministic interpretation of historical materialism. | <urn:uuid:1af704fc-68ba-4392-bc61-00f9dad550a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/subject/philosophy/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908027 | 1,857 | 2.90625 | 3 |
The good news is that in his proposal are no cuts to key investments for early childhood education. The Governor has also committed to continue to fund the important Industry Partnerships program that provides employers the tools to improve and expand their workforce by bringing together companies committed to the development of their workforce.
The bad news is that revised budget plan impacts 80% of the 628 General Fund line items, of which 26% will be completely eliminated, including Classrooms for the Future, Office of Safe Schools Advocate, and Education for Indigent Children, among others.
Some of the major cuts include:
- $1 million reduction in the State Food Purchase
- $1 million reduction in Adult and Family Literacy
- $1 million reduction for Career and Technical Education
- Reductions in all of the state’s commissions (including $77,000 reduction for the Commission for Women, $48,000 for the Juvenile Court Judges Commission)
- $1 million reduction for Higher Education for the Disadvantaged
- Elimination of the Office of Safe Schools Advocate at a savings of $175,000
- $632,000 reduction for education at Youth Development Centers
- $170,000 reduction for Teen Pregnancy and Parenthood
- $2.6 million reduction for Homeless Assistance
- $1.309 million reduction for Evidence-Based Prevention (Safe Children)
Please ask your legislators to preserve the Governor’s numbers on child care and Industry Partnerships and to reverse the cuts to important programs such as Adult and Family Literacy, State Food Purchase, Teen Pregnancy and Parenthood, and others.
Tell your legislators that particularly in these tough economic times programs that help Pennsylvanians with job training, child care, education, and general support, are programs Pennsylvania cannot afford to cut. | <urn:uuid:1ba1234d-2ea5-49cb-99a2-84583b6b3257> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pathwayspapolicyblog.com/2009/06/rendell-announces-new-round-of-budget.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948898 | 366 | 1.726563 | 2 |
The story of the homeless man with the radio voice, Ted Williams, is all over the Internet and news channels. It really shows promise as a story about failure because of alcohol and drugs and a rise because of prayer and a drive to show his mother, before she passes, he is back on track. He appears to be successful in marketing himself, even though he is down. But I have to ask, why was he still homeless?
Many people are homeless because they have mental health problems. Many people are homeless because they have substance abuse problems, and that can be a result of the mental health problems. Many people are poor because their financial situation, not due to drugs and alcohol, became dire.
Ted Williams said he fell to the demons of alcohol and drugs. But is that situation "solved" or to put another way, is he in recovery? Before businesses offer him compensation for Williams' vocal talents, they should make sure his demons are under his heel. They need to ask, "Are your demons conquered"? And they need to verify. | <urn:uuid:d9bff186-370c-4f7b-a97d-722e4323f35e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://darkstarspoutsoff.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/01/nice-story-but-are-his-demons-conquered.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988398 | 214 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The MakerBot Replicator 2
Colours currently available: green, red, black, orange, yellow, natural, white, blue (glow in the dark)
The MakerBot Replicator 2
What is 3D Printing?
3D printing is the process of creating physical objects by building layers of quickly-hardening material one on top of the other. This technology has been around since the 1980s, used mostly by engineers and industry designers.
3D Printing at Dalhousie Libraries
Dalhousie Libraries has purchased a MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer. This printer is based on the technology developed through Adrian Bower’s RepRap project.
The Makerbot Replicator is located in the Help Desk area of the Killam Library Learning Commons. It uses PLA plastic: an organic, eco-friendly, corn-based plastic. The current colours available are posted above. The cost of printing a 3D model is $1 per hour of printing time.
Preparing your 3D File for Printing
Your 3D file must be in STL, or stereolithographic file format, for printing. Most 3D modeling programs, such as AutoCAD and Rhino3D, will export 3D files to this format. If your 3D program does not export to the STL format, you can use the MeshLab freeware available on the Killam Library Learning Commons computers to convert your file to STL format.
Your end product cannot exceed the Replicator’s maximum build size of 225 x 145 x 150 millimeters, or 8.9 x 5.7 x 5.9 inches. Build time cannot exceed four hours.
Printing Your STL File
Picking up Your Model
Go to Help Desk in the Learning Commons of the Killam Library to claim your model. You will be given a receipt for your model listing the print cost. Take this receipt to the Circulation Desk to make your payment. Return to the Help Desk with your signed receipt from Circulation to receive your printed model.
What to expect:
● Slight imperfections, such as the small indents at the base of this object, are expected.
● You must anticipate the possibility that your model won’t come out as smoothly as it looks on your computer screen.
The Replicator 2 is best at printing objects designed from the ground up. Objects that contain extreme overhangs—or where large parts of the object are suspended in mid-air—will not print as well as objects without overhangs.
Errors in a 3D print depend on a number of factors:
● Was the STL file too complex?
● Was there something wrong with your 3D software program’s settings?
● Is PLA plastic a suitable material for printing this object?
Create a 3D model from scratch
There’s a wealth of 3D modeling software out there that can use to create a digital object. Some are easier to use than others.
SolidEdge (Dalhousie subscription) ), is an advanced software program which allows users to create complex 3D models.
FreeCAD and OpenSCAD are two free CAD (computer-aided design) software packages available online. If you’re new to 3D modeling, you may want to try Sketchup 8. It’s fairly easy to use, and has an export to STL plugin.
Download an STL file
There are a number of places where you can browse and download 3D models. Here are two examples:
Makerbot’s THINGIVERSE.COM: users can submit their 3D models to this database to make them available for free downloads. Since it is a Makerbot website, many of these objects print well on the Replicator.
shapeways.com is a searchable database of 3D model designs for purchase. Many of the 3D models on display on Shapeways require the precision of higher-end 3D printers, able to deal with overhangs and print materials other than plastic.
Use Dalhousie Libraries’ 3D repository
Browse 3D models, as well as upload and download your own creations or derivatives, which are available around the world.
3D scan a physical object
Another aspect of this pilot project is making 3D scanning available to our library patrons. A NextEngine 3D scanner will soon be located at the Killam Library, which can be used to create 3D models of physical objects. | <urn:uuid:4324b704-9fa1-4447-a36e-6a257b89d81b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://libraries.dal.ca/locations_services/services/3d_printing.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907549 | 926 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Trying to simplify your life?
|June 22, 2012||Posted by Kelly under Simple Living|
It seems to be something many are trying to do with their lives, simplify it and enjoy what is important to them. After doing a lot of reading, I’m noticing that simplifying isn’t a “one size fits all” plan (even though there are plenty of books, websites and experts that say it is). People are different, their lives are different, their goals are different, and what makes them happy is different.
I am no expert, but after a lot of reading and thinking, here are some simple thoughts on simplifying.
- Make a list of what in your life stresses you out, takes time away from what is important to you, or you would simply like to simplify.
- Use that list to create a plan. If books cause you stress because they are stacked everywhere, make a plan that makes you happy and that you can work on when time allows. For me, paper clutter causes a lot of stress, so I’m going to work on a plan to reduce the paper clutter, create a plan to deal with it on a regular basis, and create a sorting system that works for me.
- Don’t rush yourself. It took time to have a cluttered, complicated life, it will take time to make is simpler and less cluttered.
- Don’t compare. Everyone is different and everyone has a different level of simplicity. There are thousands of blogs, experts, and websites devoted to reducing clutter. Use them for inspiration, but don’t compare yourself or feel that those goals should be your goals. Remember the goal of reducing clutter and simplifying your life is to have more time to enjoy what is important to you, stress less, and enjoy your life… comparing yourself and then feeling bad about not matching up, won’t help reach those goals.
- Create a system that works for you. Set goals, but do what feels best for you, for the timeline to reach those goals. For example, I try to work on something every day, but your life may only allow you to work once a week or once a month. I like lists, but maybe a note on your ipod works better for you. Some people like charts or posters to keep on track.
- There is nothing wrong with a “reward” when you accomplish a goal. Make it something that fits within your goals. For example, if your goal is to keep only the books that fit on the bookcases, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to reward downsizing your books with buying another book. Instead maybe take a book off the shelf and spend the afternoon reading in the park.
I am no expert, but I hope you take away from this list that your goals are important, your successes are important, and nothing anyone else does will take away from your accomplishments! | <urn:uuid:6084b055-1b39-43bc-92d5-17a80a04c217> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mysimplewalk.com/trying-to-simplify-your-life/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971291 | 611 | 2 | 2 |
In addition to the principle aquifers of the Thames Basin, several minor aquifers are present.
These aquifers are not significant in terms of water resources but they are locally important and may support unique ecological habitats.
The minor aquifers of the Thames Basin are shown on the hydrostratigraphy table.
Additional information about some of the more well-known minor aquifers is provided below.
The Corallian Group forms a south-west to north-east trending limestone ridge between Swindon in the south-west and Aylesbury in the north-east.
The Corallian deposits form a multi-layered minor aquifer with a highly variable lithology comprising limestones, sandstones and mudstones.
Aquifer porosity and borehole yields are also highly variable. The contrast in permeability resulting from the varied lithology gives rise to considerable spring flow and perched water tables.
Groundwater from the Corallian in the Thames Basin supports unique and ecologically important habitats such as saline springs in the Ock valley and calcareous fen near Marcham.
The Upper Greensand Formation is comprised of both poorly consolidated and cemented sands and is separated from the Lower Greensand Formation by the Gault Clay.
The Upper Greensand Formation is frequently in hydraulic continuity with the overlying Chalk aquifer and the two units behave as one.
Springs which issue from the base of the Upper Greensand are thought to derive from Chalk groundwater regionally.
There are places within the Thames Basin however where marls at the base of the Lower Chalk keep the Chalk and the Upper Greensand separate.
There is an extensive covering of river terrace deposits within the Thames Basin associated with the River Thames itself and the rivers Kennet, Ock and Lee.
The large number of sand and gravel quarries within the Thames Valley is a reflection of the economic importance of these deposits to the aggregate industry.
The river terrace deposits are also of hydrogeological importance; with high porosity and high permeability the sand and gravel deposits provide a large storage volume within flood plains.
The distribution of this storage has a particular bearing on river flow characteristics and bank storage with implications for drought and flood resilience and river-aquifer nutrient exchange.
Contact Stephanie Bricker for further information | <urn:uuid:6cf2d09b-85ee-4067-82d7-ca119b4b0c0b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/groundwater/waterResources/thames/minor.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935766 | 479 | 3.421875 | 3 |
If you’ve ever wanted to forge, cast, or smelt metal, this project is right up your alley. It’s a 30 kVA induction heater built by [bwang] over on Instructables. It gets hot enough to melt and forge steel, iron, and aluminum.
An induction heater operates by surrounding the object to be heated with a coil carrying high frequency AC current. Basically, the entire setup acts like a huge transformer with a shorted secondary. To get these currents into a workpiece, [bwang] used a TL494 PWM controller as an oscillator. The output of the TL494 is filtered and amplified a few times to generate a huge amount of AC current.
Larger versions of [bwang]‘s induction heater are found in foundries and forges all across the land; even though this small version sucks down 50 A out of a dryer or stove outlet, induction heating is very efficient. We’re actually wondering why we don’t see many home blacksmiths using induction heating, so we’ll leave that for our readers to discuss in the comments.
[sessions] reminded us of this induction heater from a few years ago. A little smaller, but still usable. | <urn:uuid:031d07bb-3771-4858-bc9d-597c26111a3c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hackaday.com/tag/metalwork/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914732 | 259 | 2.515625 | 3 |
In the wake of the Obama Administration’s decision to take a hard line on bailout funding for G.M. and Chrysler, there’s been a lot of talk about why there seems to be a double standard at work in the way the Administration is dealing with the automakers and the way it’s dealing with the banks. This may well be a premature conclusion: it’s not obvious that the Administration won’t adopt a tough line with at least some banks after the stress tests are completed next month. But to the extent that there does seem to be a difference between the Administration’s strategy for dealing with the two industries, there is an obvious explanation: it’s relatively easy to see how the banks can return to profitability, while it’s much harder to see how the automakers can become profitable again, at least in the absence of the kind of radical restructuring you’d get through bankruptcy or some kind of deal with the bondholders.
The money the government has been giving the automakers has been going not to shore up their capital base, but literally to pay their bills. In the absence of government aid, the automakers would have had to shut down their factories because of their inability to pay suppliers and workers. That’s not true of even the most troubled big banks, which are having no problem meeting their debt payments or paying their bills: the government’s aid has gone instead to replenish their capital and allow them to stay in regulatory compliance. That doesn’t mean the government’s aid was not essential, but it was different: the money the government gave G.M. has already gone out the door, while in the case of the banks it’s still, for the most part, sitting on their balance sheets (which is where it’s supposed to be).
More important, it’s not obvious that that was going to change any time soon. G.M. and Chrysler have been losing money for years, and market share for literally decades. While they were successful in the nineteen-nineties, thanks to the S.U.V. and truck boom, it’s been a long time since they were able to make money consistently on cars. So one could imagine a scenario in which these companies required regular infusions of government money just to stay afloat. It’s that scenario, I assume, that Obama’s hardline approach is intended to avert.
The banks are a different case. With interest rates as low as they are now, the profit margins banks earn on their loans are significantly higher, so that on an operating basis they’re likely to make money this year. Those gains will probably be cancelled out by the losses on their past bad bets, but the argument would be that, going forward, one can see the banks making money without government assistance (except, of course, for the regular, and massive, government assistance they get in the form of deposit insurance and the ability to borrow money directly from the Fed). That doesn’t mean that the banks will ever be as profitable as they were in the heyday of the housing bubble: in fact, we don’t want them to be as profitable as they were, since that was an artifact of excessive leverage and foolish risks. But they don’t need to be that profitable to return to relative health. And, before last year, the big banks were profitable every year since the early nineteen-nineties. I was in favor of bailing out the automakers a few months ago, and my inclination, with the economy as weak as it is and good middle-class jobs as hard as to come by as they are, would be to do everything we can to avoid sending G.M. into bankruptcy this time around. But from a purely economic point of view, it’s not irrational to take one approach with the automakers and another with the banks. | <urn:uuid:4bbbe04a-32fe-4af5-a16c-89ba404af066> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/jamessurowiecki/2009/03/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980347 | 809 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Central Washington Hospital Hospice Volunteers are special people who provide essential services and support to our patients and their caregivers. Your presence can help ease those painful times that the terminally ill and their loved ones must face.
Volunteers may fulfill any number of roles, including:
- Offer respite to caregivers
- Provide companionship and socialization
- Assist with errands
- Assist with correspondence or other activities they may wish to attend to
- Prepare meals
- Assist with office work
Volunteers participate in a 20-hour training course covering Hospice history, philosophy, the interdisciplinary team approach, communication skills, grief and loss, universal precautions, safety in the home and spirituality. This training prepares you how to best accommodate the needs of the patients and families.
Following the training, volunteers are asked to provide 2-4 hours of service per week with patients and/or families, and attend monthly volunteer meetings.
For more information, call 509.662.1511, ext. 2663 and ask for the Hospice Volunteer Coordinator. | <urn:uuid:06522664-af3a-40a6-91e9-006b21752b75> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://webtest.cwhs.com/hospice/volunteer.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928109 | 216 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The College Council met with representatives from the University to discuss student safety issues regarding lighting on campus, emergency phones, and communication between the University Police force and students. The meeting, which was held last Wednesday night, focused on revamping Common Sense, the safety pamphlet given to incoming students in the fall.
Council members felt that the newsletter should be handed out, but that supplementing the paper would be the most effective way of preventing crime and increasing student awareness of important telephone numbers, contact persons at the University, and locations of emergency phones. Council members also pointed out that many students do not know where to turn for safety information.
Rudolph Nimocks, executive director of the University police department, and Sheila Yarbrough, assistant dean of student services, attended the question-and-answer style meeting. Both said that they think using some of the ideas the Council members gave them will help.
“This is an organ that tries to meet the needs of students and faculty,” Yarbrough said. Possible supplement ideas included quarterly emails containing important safety information to be sent to all University students, increasing communication between resident advisors and University Police, and info-boards around campus for security tips and alerts. Students felt that the Common Sense newsletter was too big, containing too much information, especially for incoming students.
“It’s pretty difficult to tailor-make information to fit everyone.” Nimocks said.
Another main concern was retrofitting emergency phones. Nimocks explained that it is too expensive to replace all the old student phones with more up-to-date versions, but that the old phones have been recently re-painted. He also made clear that there are numerous safety phones around Hyde Park but that many students are unaware of their existence. The locations of the emergency phones along with other important safety information can be found online at www.uchicago.edu/commonsense.
Addressing concerns that the campus is not well lit at night, Nimocks stated that twice a year members of the University police force walk through campus checking to make sure all areas are well lit, not just by campus lights, but by city street lamps as well. He made clear that student concerns are being taken into consideration.
Dean Armstrong, a representative from the Quality Lighting Coalition, a collective of students, faculty, and staff, commented that the University could have a more attractive, safer campus by implementing modern lighting standards. “We feel that the university has forgone these standards,” Armstrong said. | <urn:uuid:9f9b7dfe-13d8-4c16-916c-f5f53499d97e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chicagomaroon.com/2002/02/01/sg-and-ucpd-talk-safety/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968872 | 510 | 1.875 | 2 |
The security prompts began popping up on iOS devices on Wednesday, according to Ars Technica. Users are met with a prompt that states "Security Info Required."
After being shown the message, users are asked to select from a number of security questions and provide personal answers. Users are also prompted to provide a backup e-mail address in case the primary address associated with their Apple ID is compromised.
The changes are meant to curb fraud and phishing attempts that have been used for many years to hijack iTunes accounts. Because credit card information is tied to a user's account, nefarious people will steal and resell accounts, allowing people to buy content like music, movies and applications on someone else's dime.
This week's changes are only the latest in a series of measures by Apple over the years to improve security associated with iTunes accounts. Some of the steps taken include requiring users to verify their account information when they log into new devices, and upgrading passwords to make them more complex with varying characters.
Screens via The Next Web.
Some users have by the new security prompts appearing this week, and have expressed concern on the Apple Support Communities website that the alerts could be bogus phishing attempts. However, the revised measures have been proven to be legitimate, and Apple has admitted they are part of an ongoing effort to bolster security.
[ View article on AppleInsider ] | <urn:uuid:8e0ae475-b4a1-4e88-b85b-d7d04f853b6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.appleinsider.com/t/148919/apple-improving-itunes-account-security-with-stricter-requirements | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956771 | 278 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Reporting by ChildFund Philippines
ChildFund Philippines, joining other organizations and stakeholders from the government, academe, and the development sector, is reaffirming its resolve to reduce child labor in sugarcane fields.
Child labor is pervasive in this largely agricultural nation. Children begin working in the sugarcane fields at an early age. They are exposed to scorching heat, dangerous chemicals and machetes.
ChildFund Philippines is one of six implementing agencies of ABK3 LEAP: Livelihoods, Education, Advocacy and Protection to Reduce Child Labor in Sugarcane. The four-year project, headed by World Vision Philippines, is being funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. The other implementing partners are Educational Research and Development Assistance Foundation Inc., the Sugar Industry Foundation Inc., Community Economic Ventures Inc. and the University of the Philippines’ Social Action and Research for Development Foundation Inc.
Launched Feb. 29, ABK3 LEAP aims to lift 52,000 children out of the unsafe labor conditions found in the cane fields. The project will provide education opportunities for children, sustainable livelihoods for their parents and youth employment services among other services across 11 provinces.
“The production of sugar generates significant income for the Philippines,” says Gloria Steele, Mission Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). “Yet, sadly, sugarcane farmers and their families make up some of the poorest households in this country. Even more sadly, it is not uncommon for the children in these households to start working in the cane fields as early as six years of age.”
Katherine Manik, ChildFund Philippines national director notes that ChildFund has a long history in child protection programs. “ChildFund Philippines is privileged to have been part of the ABK initiative from its first project,” she says. “Now on its third ABK project, ChildFund reaffirms its commitment to help these vulnerable children lead better lives.” | <urn:uuid:99b5bfcc-d24c-4bc3-a32e-f06a14471792> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.childfund.org/2012/03/15/renewing-the-fight-against-child-labor-in-the-sugarcane-fields/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=9916d21231 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941972 | 407 | 2.484375 | 2 |
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Current Projects (click a headline to read on)
The InARoaD award recognizes exemplary projects that have made real impact on transport in developing countries; that are innovative, sustainable and represent good practices in this field. Earlier this year Transaid received an Honorable Mention in road safety category for its Professional Driver Training Project in Zambia.
Eighty percent of the Malagasy population live in difficult to access, rural locations which can only be entered by secondary roads, waterways, or paths. Some of the most remote locations in Madagascar can be inaccessible up to 6-8 months of the year due to the rainy season. Transaid uses its expertise to provide those communities with access to health care, ultimately reducing very high maternal and child mortality rates.
Transaid recently joined forces with AMP (Agence de Médecine Préventive) in Benin, West Africa, to improve vaccine distribution and help reduce child mortality from vaccine-preventable disease, in concordance with Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets.
In June Transaid organised the first ever behaviour and attitude change workshop for 100 commercial freight drivers. This was part of the World Bank road safety project that is working to promote cooperation between the road transport operators and the public authorities along the Central Corridor in Eastern Africa which covers Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
In 2010 Transaid was approached by the Malawian organisation, the Landirani Trust, and asked for an advice on the use of bicycle ambulances for transferring patients in rural areas. Since then Transaid has been working with the trust supporting their mission to help orphaned children in remote villages of Lilongwe district to get to health facilities.
Each day in Zambia, eight women die due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth*. Transaid has been working since 2010 to improve child and maternal health in this country through the MAMaZ programme (Mobilising Access to Maternal Health Services in Zambia).
In a large USAID funded project to improve access to child and maternal health care in rural Madagascar, Transaid's focus is emergency transport for pregnant women and children under five, improving drug supply chain, health worker mobility and access to remote communities.
Wincanton seconded two health and safety experts to the Tanzania Professional Driver Project in Dar es Salaam to conduct a health and safety audit for Transaid’s partner organisation the National Institute of Transport (NIT).
Transaid took part in a workshop funded by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in November 2011 which brought 15 Ugandan Cooperatives from a variety of products together to share their experiences and challenges faced when accessing transport
Earlier this year, National Express sent two driver trainers to Tanzania to work with Transaid partner organisation the National Institute of Transport (NIT) and to kick-start the training of bus driver trainers. Following on from this initial support two more driver trainers visited the training centre in the capital of Dar es Salaam in August. | <urn:uuid:f2cd69dd-5baa-4a86-ad64-4454bdb5ee4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.transaid.org/ | 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 | 0.947316 | 619 | 1.664063 | 2 |
OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI/AFP/Getty Images
Passengers wait before boarding a flight on April 20, 2010 at Orly airport, south of Paris. The two main airports in Paris will progressively open today to allow around three-quarters of scheduled international flights to operate, a French government minister said. Air traffic remained seriously disrupted across Europe as a cloud of ash released from Iceland's volcanic eruption forced many countries to close their airspace.
Attention airline passengers: your complaining has paid off. Starting tomorrow, the nation’s new tarmac delay rule goes into effect. If (when?), domestic flights are delayed beyond three hours, airlines will be fined up to $27,500 per stranded passenger. Carriers will also be required to provide food and water for passengers within two hours. There were nearly 900 ground delays of at least three hours between February 2009 and February 2010, according to the latest government figures. Airlines including Delta, American and Continental have requested certain exceptions. So far, these requests have been denied and transportation secretary Ray LaHood is promising strong enforcement. Passenger advocate groups are cheering, but airlines warn there may be more cancelled flights as a result. Can cash-strapped airlines afford this? Will it be an improvement for travelers? Or might it cause even more travel nightmares?
Michael Cintron, Director for Consumer and Travel Industry Affairs, for the International Airline Passengers Association
Amy Cohn, Assistant Professor, Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, College of Engineering | <urn:uuid:1fbec1be-a714-4493-a733-ce5871708f34> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2010/04/28/13489/tough-tarmac-delay-rule-goes-into-effect-thursday/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943606 | 307 | 2.125 | 2 |
Does Outreach Case Management Improve Patients' Quality of Life?
OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether enhancing standard aftercare with an outreach case management intervention would improve patients' quality of life.
METHODS: A sample of 292 patients discharged from an inpatient psychiatry service at an urban general hospital were randomly assigned either to an intervention group (N=147), which received outreach case management services in addition to standard aftercare service, or to a control group (N=145), which received only standard aftercare services. The follow-up period was 15 to 52 months. Individuals in both groups were reinterviewed by an independent research team about 21.6 months after discharge. The groups were compared using 39 measures of quality of life. The interviews elicited information about patients' physical well-being and competence in performing activities of daily living; their emotional well-being as shown in emotional expressiveness, sadness, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse; and their interpersonal relationships, living arrangements, friendships, income maintenance, and employment.
RESULTS: No difference was found between the groups on any of the quality-of-life variables.
CONCLUSIONS: Outreach case management was not associated with improved quality of life. (Authors)
Type of Resource: | <urn:uuid:8888c555-7f81-4182-a982-2bbc69422c8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://homeless.samhsa.gov/(S(x5qgutfmnv1veljek4ouzl55))/Resource/Does-Outreach-Case-Management-Improve-Patients-Quality-of-Life-23421.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951935 | 255 | 1.648438 | 2 |
This story is from the category Legal
Date posted: 21/03/2007
Beat officers, pounding the streets in the UK, have unleashed a new, AR-inspired weapon on the war on crime.
A great many of them, will now be equipped with helmet-mounted cameras, highly visible, and recording everything they see, day or night. They will record images of violent or anti-social behaviour, which will be admissible in court, returning to the days when a bobby?s word was believed.
The Home Office is testing them nationally, to assess whether they can increase conviction rates for Britain?s already heavily overcrowded prisons. It is looking likely that they will become standard issue kit for every police force.
Each camera weighs about 25oz, or comparable to an AR helmet. Unlike standard AR it does not ?yet- overlay the officer?s vision, merely replicates it exactly. Each camera costs ?1,700 and is made by a Plymouth based firm, Audax.
The cameras can produce high-quality digital video or stills and record sound. They affix to existing police helmets and is worn level with the eyes. A tiny, three-strand wire links the boardmarker-sized camera to a 4in screen worn on the belt on which recorded footage can be played back without interrupting recordings.
The device can record 400 hours of footage but must be recharged every 12 hours. The film can be downloaded on to a computer or on to a DVD for use in court.
Police say the cameras, which can also fit on car visors, are particularly useful for filming disturbances.
As an additional security measure, every recorded frame is watermarked as genuine, and the casing is tamper-proof. Unless the watermarking is in place, the frame cannot be considered genuine, preventing bogus recordings in court.
The deterrent effect alone is significant. The camera?s high visibility, worn at football matches, or large events, serves as a deterrent to trouble before it even starts.
Several police authorities are now considering giving the cameras to other agencies such as leisure centre staff who could capture crimes on film before the police are even called.
See the full Story via external site: www.silicon.com
Most recent stories in this category (Legal):
01/05/2013: Cispa bill on cyber security passed by the US House | <urn:uuid:d5ffb149-84be-4986-83c9-4cbd70afd511> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.virtualworldlets.net/Archive/IndividualNews.php?News=1943 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945452 | 491 | 1.765625 | 2 |
On Monday night, I was sitting at home in Melbourne, Australia watching and waiting to see the impact of Hurricane Sandy as it approached the East Coast of America, on the other side of the world.
The first place I looked was Instagram. Knowing the app has a massive East Coast user base, I was hoping to find an up-to-date picture from people there on the ground. However, following the #sandy and #frankenstorm hashtags, I was disappointed to be hit with memes and selfies. (At one point, users were posting up to 10 images per second with the hashtag #sandy.) Locating original and verifiable photographs in this gigantic pool seemed useless.
My next step was to head over to the This Is Now site, which pulls in live Instagram feeds from 12 large cities worldwide. Clicking on New York, I was again swamped by images, with only a handful giving me any real perspective into how those posting were facing the approaching hurricane.
At this point, I decided that if I couldn’t find a useful Instagram feed, I’d have to create and curate one. I knew valuable photos were out there, they just had to be found and featured. Using Nitrogram, an Instagram moderation tool, I created a customized feed: I could select and track a handful of tags (including #frankenstorm, #hurricanesandy, #sandy and #flood); moderate the photographs as they came through and disregard the memes and fakes; and, finally, embed the curated feed into the Mobile Photo Group blog and share it with interested readers.
Little did I know what I was getting into. Like Alice, I tumbled down a rabbit hole lined with Instagram pics. Each time I refreshed the feed I would get hundreds of new images, coming through every four to 10 seconds depending on the time of day. I started selecting pictures, one by one, searching for images that gave me a flash of insight into what was happening on the ground. They didn’t have to be pretty, or professional, they just needed to be relevant and real.
Trigger-happy to begin with, I soon realised that some photos didn’t look right, seemed a little exaggerated, or appeared multiple times in the feed. Working on the fly, I developed a rough verification check to weed out less pertinent images, which included:
While by no means a perfect system, I was able to weed out the junk and showcase the most relevant photos. (The next day I saw articles appearing on the big sites, like Mashable and Huffington Post, exposing fake photos which were doing the social media rounds – I’d rejected nearly all of the offenders the night before.)
Transfixed by the feed, I watched as the rain became heavier, the winds picked up and the sea barrelled first into Atlantic City, then New Jersey and finally New York. I saw people fumbling for candles and cuddling their terrified pets. And I witnessed a few venture into the blackened city night to capture the empty streets. The following morning, I saw the destruction and the shock.
Amazingly, while I was selecting pictures, other people found and followed my feed. In the first 24 hours the blog post received more than 10,000 views (about 9,500 more than Mobile Photo Group gets on a good day). A re-post on Boing Boing even knocked us offline momentarily, our bandwidth spent.
In the past two days, and with the assistance of other Mobile Photo Group members, the feed has featured over 300 photos documenting Hurricane Sandy. The feed is more of a mosaic than a complete picture, but it provides multiple insights into the significance of the event as experienced by some of the many thousands of Instagram users in the hurricane’s path.
In my view, a feed like this – featuring contributions from many photographers, amateur and pro alike – does not rival traditional photojournalism but it does complement it. It gives us insight into an event in real time, and allows for spontaneity and chance.
What do you think?
You can follow the live feed on the Mobile Photo Group website here.
Misho Baranovic, @mishobaranovic, has worked as a photographer for many years and is prominent in the emerging practice of mobile photography. His street photography has been exhibited internationally and in 2011 he held his first solo exhibition, New Melbourne, in Melbourne, Australia. He is a founding member of the Mobile Photo Group, and the author of iPhone Photography. | <urn:uuid:64edcee3-34b2-4dfd-aa36-0cab6a9de1fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://connect.dpreview.com/post/0914189863/tracking-hurricane-sandy-on-instagram?comment=4884656421 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969164 | 932 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Measles, Mumps, Rubella Antibody
Does this test have other names?
Rubella antibody, German measles antibody, hemagglutination inhibition (HAI), rubeola antibody, antibody titer
What is this test?
This test looks for antibodies to three diseases: measles, mumps, and rubella.
The test can find out whether you are immune to the three diseases. All three are quite contagious. If you've had them or been vaccinated against them, your immune system made antibodies to fight the viruses that cause them.
If you are planning to become pregnant, it's important to know whether you have these antibodies. If a woman develops rubella during the first three months of her pregnancy, it could cause birth defects.
Measles is also called rubeola, and rubella is also called German measles or three-day measles.
Why might I have this test?
You might have this test if you are planning to become pregnant or are pregnant.
You may also have this test if you are a health care worker, because you may come in contact with children and adults who have measles, mumps, or rubella. If you don't have immunity, you can get vaccinated.
You may need this test if you are a college student to prove that you are immune to measles, mumps, and rubella.
You also might have this test to diagnose measles, mumps, or rubella. Symptoms of measles include congestion, cough, fever, and a rash all over your body. Some people don't have the classic symptoms but have measles antibodies in their blood. Symptoms of mumps include swollen parotid or salivary glands, fever, and headache. Symptoms of rubella include fever and a rash.
What other tests might I have along with this test?
Your doctor may also order a swab test of the throat or a spinal fluid test to diagnose mumps.
What do my test results mean?
Many things may affect your lab test results. These include the method each lab uses to do the test. Even if your test results are different from the normal value, you may not have a problem. To learn what the results mean for you, talk with your health care provider.
Your body makes two rubella antibodies: IgM and IgG. If IgM is found in your blood, you may have had a recent infection. If IgG is present, it could mean that you had a rubella infection in the past or that you had a vaccine. These antibodies mean that you have protection you need.
The findings for rubella antibody are given in ratio form:
HAI less than 1:8, means you have no immunity to rubella
HAI greater than 1:20, means you have immunity to rubella
Findings for measles antibody:
If you have IgG antibodies in your blood but no IgM antibodies, it could mean that you are immune to measles or had the infection previously.
Findings for mumps:
How is this test done?
The test requires a blood sample, which is drawn through a needle from a vein in your arm. For a newborn, the sample may be taken from the heel or umbilical cord.
Does this test pose any risks?
Taking a blood sample with a needle carries risks that include bleeding, infection, bruising, or feeling dizzy. When the needle pricks your arm, you may feel a slight stinging sensation or pain. Afterward, the site may be slightly sore.
What might affect my test results?
Your results may be affected by how soon you are tested after being infected or vaccinated.
How do I get ready for this test?
You don't need to prepare for this test. | <urn:uuid:b75d5e88-f00e-48e9-a9f1-b3d56db30f2f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.grhealth.org/GhsuContentPage.aspx?nd=810&type=500&parm1=mmr_antibody&parm2=167 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95749 | 778 | 3.296875 | 3 |
April 21, 1855|
Clarksboro in East Greenwich Township, New Jersey
|Died: January 14, 1931
Utica, New York
|Batted: Right||Threw: Right|
|May 1, 1879 for the Buffalo Bisons|
|Last MLB appearance|
|September 10, 1892 for the New York Giants|
|Career highlights and awards|
Abram Harding "Hardy" Richardson (April 21, 1855 – January 14, 1931) was a second basemen and outfielder mostly, who played in the Major Leagues for a number of teams throughout the 19th century. Most of Richardson's career was with the Buffalo Bisons (1879–85). He batted and threw right-handed.
Richardson played every position at some point, but was known for his play at second base with Buffalo when he was a member of the "Big Four," a star infield that consisted of Richardson and his teammates Dan Brouthers, Jack Rowe, and Deacon White. It was a desire to secure the services of the "Big Four" that led the Detroit Wolverines to purchase the Bisons franchise for $7,000 in 1885. They won Detroit the National League pennant and the World Series in 1887.
Richardson's best season probably came in 1890 with the Boston Reds of the Players' League, when he had 181 hits in 555 turns at bat, a .326 batting average, while also compiling a career-high 13 home runs and 146 RBIs. He also picked up 42 stolen bases and score 126 runs.
In a game against Philadelphia on July 20, 1883, both Richardson and Rowe were memorably credited with home runs when outfielder Conny Doyle was unable to find balls they hit into a deep section of grass in the left field corner.
Richardson was involved in another unusual circumstance in a game against the Chicago White Stockings on August 13, 1884. Chicago's George Gore singled to lead off the game, and Chicago manager Cap Anson instructed him to avoid the double play at all costs. Accordingly, when King Kelly followed with a ground ball, Gore tackled Richardson at second base before he could complete the relay throw. The umpire called both the batter and the runner out, and Anson protested the ruling so strenuously and stridently that the umpire forfeited the game to Buffalo. This ruling was met with disapproval by the Chicago crowd of approximately 2,000, and after extensive discussions, the two teams agreed to resume a game which had been postponed earlier in the season, as a way of placating the dissatisfied fans. In this second game, Anson decided to give his players a personal demonstration of the right way to break up the double play. He reached first base, and when the next batter hit a ground ball to Richardson, Anson shouted and waved his arms while running to second in an effort to interfere with Richardson's throw. Possibly flustered by this display, Richardson in turn struck Anson square in the head with his throw, which was delivered hard enough that it bounced all the way into the grandstands. A woozy Anson was forced to leave the game.
In a 14-season career, Richardson compiled a .299 batting average with 70 home runs and 822 RBIs in 1331 games. He had 205 career stolen bases and 1120 runs scored. Richardson had 1688 career hits in 5642 at bats.
- Led the league in hits in 1886 (189)
- Led the league in home runs in 1886 (11)
- Top 10 in the league in triples 7 times in his career (1879, 80, 81, 85, 86, 87, 89)
- Led the league in RBIs in 1890 (146)
In Popular Culture
- Richardson was referenced in the October 31, 2010 episode of Boardwalk Empire by the fictional character Nucky Thompson as having an autographed catcher's mitt signed by Richardson when he was a child. It was stolen from him by other older, bigger kids. After his father made him fight two older boys to get it back Nucky was beaten unconscious and spent 11 days in the hospital.
- 1887 Detroit Wolverines season
- List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
- List of Major League Baseball home run champions
- List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
- James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Simon and Schuster, 2003, p. 513. ISBN 0-7432-2722-0
- Fleitz, David L. Cap Anson: the grand old man of baseball, McFarland, 2005, pp. 122-123. ISBN 0-7864-2238-6
|National League Home Run Champion
(with Dan Brouthers) | <urn:uuid:5878bbde-cef5-4d64-b856-ac51817b5da3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardy_Richardson | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96303 | 1,013 | 2.203125 | 2 |
| ||Education costs money, but then so does ignorance. Congratulations on deciding on the former! With the global slowdown, this is the best time to upgrade your skills so that you are ready when the economy picks up again. Moreover, most banks give educational loans for the entire amount quite easily, so its easy to finance your education and pay back once you find your new job or even during your course from investment income. || |
How much will an education cost?
The cost of education has increased by leaps and bounds in India, while most of the western world has had a slower education inflation over the years. The costs can vary considerably depending on the course and university/college you choose. The expense categories you are likely to have are below. Make sure you have considered every one before arriving at the final cost:
- Entrance fees, seat booking etc. - if there is an entrance exam for the course, you should plan for all the exams you have to write, associated travel etc. Also, if you are applying to multiple schools, then some might charge you an upfront payment to book your seat once the results are declared. If you end up getting through a better college, you might lose this amount and it can be significant.
- Tuition fees - this would most likely form the bulk of your expenses, but some universities do cover these expenses if you quality for a scholarship or receive assistantship.
- Books, other educational material, and stationery - in some universities, this cost is included as part of the tuition fees. If the college does not provide text books and other material, make sure you account for this through your research as this could be a significant expense, especially for post-graduate courses in India or abroad. You can always skimp by taking up a library membership or using the college library.
- Laptop/Computer, Internet, Software - many universities now expect you to have a laptop. Find out if the university includes this in your fees or provides laptops are reduced rates. Also, student editions of software are significantly cheaper.
- Living expenses - some colleges insist on students staying at the college, while some don't provide for it. If available, opt for this as this can save you a lot of expenses and time. If you are staying outside, make sure you account for transportation, food etc.
- Uniforms, formal wear etc. - if you are planning on a professional course, this can be a significant expense, so make sure you account for it.
- Placement services - if the college has its own placement cell, this expense is factored into your fees. If you have to go on a job hunt yourself, make sure you account for travel costs, hiring a placement professional etc.
- Travel - for most courses, you have to travel for seminars, interviews, internship etc. This can add up to a significant expense and you should budget for this, especially post-graduate and professional courses.
Saving for an Education
Once you've arrived at the cost of education, its time to plan to reach that goal. Click here to make your budget to find out how much disposable income you have at this time that you might use to finance or save for an education. Be sure to adopt a realistic savings plan for you that you can afford and sustain on a long term basis.
Once you know how much you can save, use our How-tos listed above to find out how much you can expect your savings to reach by the time you need it and how much loan you can afford.
One way to save for education for a young child is to take out a Child Insurance Plan.
The earlier you save, the better. When a child is born if you put aside some amount of money every month, you will have a lump sum amount at the child's 18th birthday available for his/her university expenses.
Have more questions about planning an education? InvestmentYogi's experts are here to help.
Prepare your personalized financial plan taking your unique financial situation and goals in mind. Apply NOW! | <urn:uuid:539673fb-26e6-4f6b-b495-93efeb9ca1a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.investmentyogi.com/financial_goals/planning-for-an-education.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9604 | 829 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Plot The game starts with Jack (the default name for your character) taking care of his grandfather's farm. The player gets two and a half years to make the farm a blossoming success. At the end of the time period, his father evaluates his progress and the game will end, unless the player achieves the best ending.
Gameplay The game has several different aspects including farming, husbandry, women wooing, and a few other things.
Farming Farming takes place on Jack's farmland. There must be a section of farmland cleared in order to start any farming.
To remove weeds, simply pick them up and throw them or chop them with a sickle. To remove rocks, equip the hammerand bash the rock until it disappears (the small ones will only take one hit whereas the big ones will take longer). To remove stumps, equip the axe and hit the stump until it disappears. Destroying stumps will also add lumber to your supply. All tools can be found in the tool shed located just beneath the chicken coop.
A good amount of space to clear is enough for a three by three grid. Once cleared, take the hoe and plow the allotted area you wish your crops to go on. For everything but crops that continually grow like corn and tomatoes, three by three is ideal. For continuous crops, leave a space empty in either the center or a space touching the center. Once plowed,grab a seed bag and stand right in the center of the plowed area and toss the seeds. Seeds can be bought in town. Once planted, grab the watering can and fill it with water (you fill it by standing by a pond of water and hitting the action button) and water each section with a seed on it. Watering must be done every day until the crop is ready to be harvested. Please note that watering is unnecessary if it's grass. Grass will keep growing on it's own throughout all seasons except winter.
To harvest crops, simply pick them up when ready to harvest and throw them in the shipping bin located next to the farm's exit. To harvest grass, use the sickle on the grass and it will be placed as fodder in the silo automatically.
To destroy crops, use the sickle on them. To destroy grass, use the hammer on the piece of grass you want to get rid of.
Husbandry Husbandry can only take place once enough fodder has been stored and enough money gathered to buy either a chicken or a cow. Once those two prerequisites are met, it's time to let the animal abuse begin.
Taking care of chickens Chickens are relatively easy to take care of. All that needs to be done is to feed them, keep them out of harms way, and take their eggs. To feed them, take fodder out from the doo-hickey on the left-hand side of the coop and toss it on top of the long row at the top of the screen. For each chicken possessed, only one piece of fodder needs to be placed. Once that is done, take any eggs laid by chickens and either place them in the shipper on the lower left-hand part of the coop or on the incubator on the lower right-hand part of the coop. Once placed in the incubator, the egg will take three days to hatch. Only one egg can be in the incubator at a time.
It's relatively simple to keep chickens out of harms way if they are kept cooped up. However, if they are kept outdoors on a continual basis, a number of things could happen. First of all, if they are not kept within the confines of a fence, they can be eaten without any sort of way to protect them otherwise. The other thing to worry about is the weather. If it rains, hurricanes, or snows while the chickens are outside, they can get ill and not produce eggs. With these risks, it's easy to question why people keep livestock outside, but the reason is simple: you don't have to worry about feeding them if they are outside. In other words, its saved fodder.
If you get tired of your chickens at any time, you can sell them for a profit. The same can be done for cows.
Taking care of cows
The brush and milker can be bought from the tool shop, while the miracle potion can be bought from the livestock dealer.
The biggest women wooing times are during festivals, specifically the Flower, Harvest, and Star Night Festivals. For the Flower Festival, buy the woman of your choice perfume and dance with her. For the Harvest Festival, dance with the woman of your choice. For the Star Night Festival, go to the location where the woman of your choice will be that night.
Once women wooing has reached critical mass (you can tell by sneaking a peak at her diary) and you'd like to settle down, buy the blue feather of happiness from the peddler on Sunday and propose to the lady of your choice. Make sure you have the upgraded house or she won't move in. | <urn:uuid:51ccf70f-55fd-45c4-8a29-6db9516985b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.playr.org/play/harvest_moon/226/12035410 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957027 | 1,042 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Ultimate Boot CD is a collection of Freeware and Free Software tools for PC diagnostics and maintenance. Included are tools for BIOS editing, CPU and memory testing, boot management, data recovery, peripheral and system inventory, and hard drive partitioning, cloning, wiping, diagnostics, and low-level editing. All tools boot and run from the CD.
GroundWork Monitor Community Edition can give you insight into your computing infrastructure, allowing you to see the current and historical states of all your computers: servers, desktops, and laptops, all of your network devices, all of your services (like TCP/IP and Web services), and all of your applications (like mail servers and database apps). You can choose to be alerted when something goes awry via pager, SMS, email, or phone, and even set up automatic restarts or fall-overs.
Lynis is an auditing tool for Unix (specialists). It scans systems to detect software and security issues. Besides security-related information, it will also scan for general system information, installed packages, and possible configuration mistakes. The software is aimed at assisting automated auditing, software patch management, and vulnerability and malware scanning of Unix-based systems.
check_logfiles is a plugin for Nagios which checks logfiles for defined patterns. It is capable of detecting logfile rotation. If you tell it how the rotated archives look, it will also examine these files. Unlike check_logfiles, traditional logfile plugins were not aware of the gap which could occur, so under some circumstances they ignored what had happened between their checks. A configuration file is used to specify where to search, what to search, and what to do if a matching line is found.
MyConnection Server is broadband testing software which measures connections for bandwidth speeds and connection quality for time critical applications such as VoIP, Video conferencing, and IPTV. It helps organizations assess networks for deployment of new/additional services and identify and resolve last mile customer connectivity problems with little need for the customer to assist in the resolution process. A network route testing component details the path of the connections and where packet loss and latency occur, including discovery of multiple routes to a destination. Remote Test Agents enable technical staff to customize and interactively manage the bandwidth testing process and perform extended quality testing over hours or days to address and resolve intermittent problems as required. Satellite Servers establish additional connection testing points at the application edge to accurately test actual application network paths.
Zoom is a low-overhead graphical and command line profiler for Linux. Profiles are system-wide, precise down to the instruction level, and capture complete backtraces of C/C++/ObjC/Fortran/Assembly code. This lets you see exactly where time was spent, what code was running (user or kernel), and how that code was called. Drill down into a specific symbol, and Zoom shows source and assembly annotated with general and processor-specific tuning advice. It saves profiles as a single, self-contained session file that can be emailed or attached to bug reports. This lets you share what you find with colleagues or archive it for later review. Zoom also supports remote network profiling and scripting, making it ideal for embedded or server systems and automated workflows.
Pantheios is a C/C++ logging API library. It offers an optimal combination of complete type-safety, very high efficiency, genericity, and extensibility. It is simple to use and extend, highly portable (platform and compiler independent), and it upholds the C tradition of only paying for what you use. Pantheios supports logging of message statements of arbitrary complexity, consisting of heterogenous types. Pantheios supports filtering of log messages based on severity level.
memtest86+ is a memory tester which is based on memtest86 v3.0, and provides an up-to-date version of this useful tool, which aims to be as reliable as the original. It has been fixed to work on AMD64 systems, and also properly detects all current CPUs and motherboard chipsets. It supports ECC polling for AMD64, i875P, and E7205, and displays some useful settings for the most popular chipsets.
check_mysql_health is a plugin for the Shinken (Nagios) software that allows you to monitor a MySQL database. Among the list of metrics are time to login, index usage, bufferpool hit rate, query cache hit rate, slow queries, temp tables on disk, table cache hit rate, connected threads, and many more. Requirements are either a DBD::mysql Perl module or a MySQL client package.
The ERPXE project simplifies the process of installing and customizing a multi-boot PXE server. Over 100 different plugins are available for download, including Windows, WinPE, Hiren’s Boot CD, Acronis True Image, Symantec Ghost, FOG, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, CentOS, openSUSE, Gentoo, RIP Linux, Slackware, Backtrack, PartedMagic, and many more. | <urn:uuid:71e65a6a-2a17-45d8-a845-191b30b22b9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freecode.com/tags/diagnostics?page=1&sort=popularity&with=&without=1175 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911352 | 1,048 | 1.585938 | 2 |
The Google Code in 2011 contest is nearly over and once more it was a great success for Limesurvey. Besides lots of awesome work done by our student porting the upcoming 2.0 version to the "Yii" MVC framework some further work was done which we want to present here:
1. One of LimeSurvey’s Google Code-In 2011 projects that didn't include actual programming involved analyzing the statistical data about visits to the www.limesurvey.org website using Google Analytics. LimeSurvey uses Google Analytics to collect a wealth of information about the countries its users are from, their language preferences, their browser preferences, and what pages they view. Full results from the project can be found here.
The data from Google Analytics showed that in the last two years the number of monthly visits to www.limesurvey.org have nearly doubled. In the month of October, the website was visited by people in 185 different countries. Firefox is the most popular browser among users by a large margin. The most common source of visitors is the Google search engine, and the most visited pages other than the main page include the English instructions, demo, and downloads page.
2. One of our students developed a small survey for us to collect more information about the question type usage (fill it out here). The results were analysed by another studend and can be looked at here.
3. To demonstrate the use of certain feature we have created several demo surveys which you can import using the "import" tab when creating a new survey at the Limesurvey admin backend:
- Download Limesurvey Array filter demo survey
- Download Limesurvey Assessments demo survey
- Download Limesurvey Conditions demo survey
- Download Limesurvey Question attributes demo survey
- Download Limesurvey Quotas demo survey
4. To gather some more user feedback, GCi students have created several surveys. Please take some time to fill them out:
- Limesurvey question type usage
- Limesurvey feature usage
- Limesurvey user interface survey
5. Other tasks included translation updates of the most important manual pages to German, French and Spanish or extending existing English documentation.
Feel free to extend the first version of the Limesurvey glossary we created and check out the new "How to create a good survey" tips (please add your thought there!).
We want to thank all students who have helped us, you did a great job! | <urn:uuid:0ce1e2cc-fd0f-4f2a-9e96-d07793708272> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.limesurvey.org/fr/component/content/article/1-general-news/232-google-code-in-2011-some-results | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920567 | 519 | 1.523438 | 2 |
COARSE GRAINS: U.S. feed grain ending stocks for 2012/13 are projected higher this month as lower expected exports outweigh an increase in projected domestic usage. Corn exports are projected 50 million bushels lower based on the sluggish pace of sales and shipments to date and prospects for more competition from Brazil. Corn use for ethanol production is unchanged, but corn use for sweeteners and starch is raised 20 million bushels, boosting projected food, seed, and industrial use. Projected corn ending stocks are raised 30 million bushels. The projected range for the season-average farm price for corn is lowered 20 cents at the midpoint and narrowed to $6.75 to $7.65 per bushel. Reported monthly prices received by farmers to date continue to reflect forward sales made at prices below prevailing cash market bids.
Usage changes for 2012/13 are also made this month for sorghum and barley. Sorghum feed and residual use is projected 25 million bushels lower, but offset by a 20-million-bushel increase in food, seed, and industrial use and a 5-million-bushel increase in exports. Projected barley exports are lowered 1 million bushels, based on indications of slower-than-expected shipments. Barley ending stocks are increased by the same amount. The projected range for the sorghum farm price is lowered 15 cents at the midpoint and narrowed to $6.70 to $7.60 per bushel. The barley farm price range is narrowed 5 cents on each end to $6.15 to $6.65 per bushel.
Global coarse grain supplies for 2012/13 are projected 2.1 million tons higher as a decrease in beginning stocks is more than offset by a 2.9-million-ton increase in production. Lower 2012/13 beginning stocks mostly reflect an increase in 2011/12 corn exports for Brazil and revisions to the Paraguay corn series that lower 2011/12 corn area and yield.
Global 2012/13 corn production is raised 2.1 million tons with increases for Brazil, Mexico, India, and Ukraine more than offsetting a reduction for Argentina. Brazil production is raised 1.5 million tons based on higher reported area and yields for the first-season crop and good early prospects for second-season corn. Mexico production is increased 0.8 million tons with higher reported area for the summer crop. Production is raised 0.6 million tons for India on higher area as indicated by the latest sowing progress reports. Ukraine production is increased 0.4 million tons on higher reported yields. Argentina production is lowered 1.0 million tons as persistent dryness in January and early February lowers yield prospects, particularly for late-planted corn.
Global 2012/13 production is also higher this month for sorghum, barley, oats, and rye. Sorghum production is raised 0.4 million tons for Mexico with higher area and yields for the summer crop, but lowered 0.2 million tons for Australia with reduced prospects for area and yields. Global barley, oats, and rye production are up a combined 0.6 million tons on larger reported crops for the FSU-12 countries.
Global coarse grain trade for 2012/13 is higher mostly reflecting increased imports of barley for Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Tunisia and higher sorghum imports for Mexico and Japan. World corn imports and exports are raised only slightly, but significant shifts are made among countries. Corn imports are raised for EU-27 and China, but lowered for Egypt, Syria, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. Corn exports are raised for Brazil and Ukraine, but lowered for the United States and Argentina. Global corn consumption for 2012/13 is lowered with a reduction in world feed and residual usage. Corn feed and residual use is lowered 2.0 million tons for Brazil, 1.0 million tons for Egypt, and 0.4 million tons for Argentina, but raised 2.0 million tons for EU-27 and 0.5 million tons for China. Global corn ending stocks for 2012/13 are projected 2.1 million tons higher with the largest increases expected for Brazil and the United States.
Coverage, Analysis of the Feb. 8 USDA Reports
See all of the data, coverage and analysis of the WASDE and Crop Production reports. | <urn:uuid:9f4be93e-d8be-4a7c-ba26-cbf7e30ede79> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.agweb.com/article/wasde_world_corn_production_up_2.1_million_tons/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945306 | 876 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Last year, my close friend, Scott Bird, and I finally took the leap out of our steady nine-to-five careers into entrepreneurship after years of only talking about starting a business. The company we started, Bungolow, features private flash sales for high-end Latin American hotel bookings. We founded the company in July 2011 and launched the beta version of our website four months later.
Bird and I met in high school in Rockville, Maryland, but we find ourselves about 5,000 miles from the Washington, D.C. suburb – in Santiago, Chile. What brought us here was a program called Start-Up Chile, an impressive initiative by the Chilean government to make Chile the innovation hub of Latin America. To achieve that goal, Start-Up Chile provides entrepreneurs from all over the world a one-year work visa, co-working space, networking opportunities and $40,000 in equity-free. In return, the participating entrepreneurs spend at least six months in Chile engaging with aspiring local entrepreneurs while building their own companies.
With our graduation from the program behind us, we still find ourselves living abroad while working on our business. It turns out that there are incredible benefits to building a company abroad.
Recognizing new opportunities
Living in a foreign country allows you to pick up on very intriguing business opportunities. Coming from the United States, we have noticed many business models and technologies that have yet to crop up in Chile but that would be very successful if implemented here. In fact, some fellow participants in the program have launched additional businesses in Chile based on new opportunities they recognized.
Chile is very developed when it comes to the spectrum of developing economies in the world. The many less-developed countries in Latin America or elsewhere would have even more opportunities.
I feel like I stick out when I’m simply walking the streets in a foreign country, based on some of the looks I get from the locals. But this sticking out can be helpful while starting a business in a foreign country. Being a foreign entrepreneur has helped me land meetings that I normally would not have landed and get some publicity that I may not have received otherwise.
The reason is that someone building a business in a foreign country is interesting. Interesting gets you noticed, and getting noticed is a tough task when trying to grow a business.
Expanding your network
Obviously, participating in a program like Start-Up Chile has been amazing for expanding my network. The program brings in hundreds of entrepreneurs from all over the world, and I have become close with people from all different backgrounds. However, even without the help of a program like this, an entrepreneur in a foreign country will have no problem expanding their network.
Local businesspeople are happy to help connect us to others and to provide advice. We work in a co-working space alongside local entrepreneurs who are not in the same program as us. Every week, we attend networking events where we meet likeminded people in the area.
The three benefits I listed above – recognizing new opportunities, getting noticed, and expanding your network – are all business-related and do not even begin to address the personal benefits that go along with living in another country: learning about other cultures, engaging with people from different backgrounds, and spending time outside of your comfort zone to name a few. With the personal benefits being a given, the benefits to starting a business in a foreign country are also very significant and well worth trying. | <urn:uuid:bdd5c7e7-747c-4a1a-80ee-2e6fca49b4f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://socialexpat.nymgo.com/?p=1253 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967186 | 700 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Effects of mild winter will be felt throughout the year
Published: Monday, February 11, 2013 at 8:25 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, February 11, 2013 at 8:25 p.m.
Gainesville may be enjoying a warm winter, but the traditionally cold season isn't over yet.
Cold temperatures could make a comeback this weekend, possibly bringing a light freeze with them, said Jason Hess, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Jacksonville. Hess expects a cold-air blast this weekend, with lows dipping below freezing on Sunday and Monday morning.
Winter ends along on March 19, and Gainesville could experience a cold snap or two before then. But the area has seen fewer freezes than average this season, and zero hard freezes.
The average date of Gainesville's final freeze is Feb. 24, although the latest freeze ever recorded was on April 17, 1962, Hess said.
The area usually averages 14 days of below-freezing temperatures, but so far it has only had eight such days this winter.
This season, there have been no hard freezes, which generally occur when the temperature falls below 26 degrees.
Typically, Gainesville averages four hard freezes in winter. In January 2010 during an especially cold winter, there were 11 hard freezes.
This year's mild winter means more mosquitos will survive the season, said Paul Myers, health administrator for the Alachua County Health Department. A warm winter paired with the drought the area has been experiencing is particularly helpful to diseases like West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis, Myers said.
Birds and mosquitoes are overwintering together and jointly using increasingly limited surface waters, thus encouraging the spread of the diseases, Myers said.
In Levy County, a person died from Eastern equine encephalitis in January, he said, showing that, although their activity is lower during winter, these disease-carrying mosquitoes are likely still in the area.
“We really didn't have the hard freezes that would kill off the mosquitoes,” he said. He said he expects it will be a rough summer for people in terms of mosquitos and suggested people continue to take precautions.
As for local plant life, the mild winter will encourage trees and other plants to bloom early this year, said Mark Siburt, the city of Gainesville arborist. Many are blooming already because of the warm temperatures.
However, these early bloomers could be killed by any cold snaps that swing through in the next couple of weeks during the final phase of winter, he said.
Some trees could still partially bloom, but the buds frozen by the cold wouldn't bloom again until next year. Smaller trees are more likely to be rendered completely bloom-less by a cold snap.
Contact Morgan Watkins at 338-3104 or firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:75c21d83-fcfa-4eb5-835f-1354486fc7b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gainesville.com/article/20130211/ARTICLES/130219931/-1/TOPIC0319?Title=Effects-of-mild-winter-will-be-felt-throughout-the-year | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961866 | 592 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Twelve Orange County cities will share $8 million for traffic signal synchronization projects to improve efficiency on the area’s most heavily congested roadways. The Orange County Transportation Authority voted this week to deliver the first funds for the projects.
Seventeen major streets are scheduled to undergo signal synchronization. The total scope of the project is expected to include more than 500 signals along approximately 140 miles of roads.
“This is an exciting milestone, and we are very happy to start delivering on the promises made under the renewed Measure M to cities throughout Orange County,” said OCTA Chairwoman and Fifth District Supervisor Patricia Bates. “These are the first in what will be a long list of signal synchronization projects to make the lives of our residents better over the next 30 years.”
Signal synchronization is a system that times traffic signals to maximize the number of green lights for drivers during the hours of heaviest road use, ensuring that vehicles are moving in the most efficient manner. Recent pilot projects reduced travel times for drivers on Oso Parkway in Mission Viejo by up to 30 percent and on Euclid Street in Fullerton by up to 25 percent.
The funds will be delivered through the Measure M2 half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, which was approved by 70 percent of voters in 2006. The tax, which officially began on April 1, is expected to bring in $15 billion over the next 30 years.
Apart from Fullerton and Mission Viejo, the other cities that will receive funds are Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Habra, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Santa Ana.
OC METRO, April issue: '2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe'
OC METRO, March issue: 'BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo and Infiniti QX56'
OC METRO, February issue: '2011 Audi A8' | <urn:uuid:551ebfec-a0da-40a8-a985-0967e226ff39> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ocmetro.com/t-Tranportation_Authority_signal_synchronization_project_roads_traffic-6_15_11.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937019 | 399 | 1.5625 | 2 |
At A Glance: Tulsa Public Schools
•Nearly 43,000 students in 88 schools
•42,150 reimbursable meals served daily
•74% free and reduced
•Breakfast participation increased 4.3% during testing weeks, April 10-25, when Brain Foods were served
•60 elementary schools served Brain Foods at both breakfast and lunch
•Brain Foods menus increased offerings of fresh fruits and protein while decreasing or eliminating high sugar items
Since 2002, when No Child Left Behind was signed into law, the importance of testing in schools has increased as administrators try to meet academic standards to receive federal funding. In the nearly 43,000-student Tulsa (Okla.) Public Schools, Child Nutrition Services teamed up with the district’s brain-based learning teacher—a teacher who develops educational techniques based on current psychological and neurological research in order to provide a classroom environment that is conducive to learning—to offer foods during testing weeks that, it is hoped, would increase students’ memory and attention, enhance learning and, ultimately, increase test scores.
Concentration: “This whole thing started when an administrator asked if we could serve grapes at breakfast during testing week because research had shown grapes helped a lot with things like concentration,” says Lisa Griffin, the district’s child nutrition coordinator at this Sodexo account. From this simple question, a new program was launched: Brain Foods. “I asked him if there were any other foods that the research had found to be helpful, and he said to contact Lynn McKenney. I did and that’s how Brain Foods started.”
For her part, McKenney, pathwise specialist—a teacher who supports new teachers in their first two years in education—and the district’s brain-based learning teacher, says: “We didn’t want our foods to fight against efforts the children were making in the classroom. We know that food and nutrition builds brain function, so we wanted to do something to complement what the teachers were doing in the classrooms with nutrition.”
During testing weeks, foods that were proven by research to increase the brain’s cognition, memory and alertness were substituted for the regular offerings. “Most of the foods we wanted were high in antioxidants and also high in fiber, so that there is a slow release of glucose and not a fast one that causes the blood sugars to vary,” Griffin says. “We also wanted foods high in protein, which is good for keeping the blood sugars level so students can perform well.”
Smart changes: For breakfast, Griffin says, “We normally have juice because that’s what kids tend to like and purchase. But with Brain Foods, we put out more fresh fruit, including the requested grapes, apples, oranges, bananas and blueberries. We made sure that all cereals were low in sugar. We had all whole-wheat toast instead of white and whole-grain muffins, and removed Pop Tarts. Lastly, we added more high protein foods.” She says about 30% of the breakfast menu offerings were modified to qualify as Brain Foods. Breakfast menus were changed in all 88 schools in the district and breakfast participation during testing—April 10-25—increased by 4.3% from February and March.
“For lunch, we emphasized more of the whole-grain foods and the higher protein foods that are lower in fat,” she says. “We had just started our produce bars in March, and those have a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, so that worked right into the concept of Brain Foods.” Other lunch changes included adding a low-fat turkey sandwich on whole-wheat bread and an increase in beans, fresh cucumbers, cauliflower, mandarin oranges and sweet potatoes. Lunch menus were changed in 60 elementary schools—secondary schools’ lunch menus were not changed because their testing schedule was different than elementary schools.
In her role as pathwise instructor, McKenney assists new teachers, provides professional development and does some in-class instruction, including piloting an assessment clinic in three schools to teach brain-based learning techniques for students to use during testing. One part of the clinic was teaching students about the importance of eating nutritious foods and drinking warm water to keep the brain hydrated and alert. “In doing this clinic, we thought, we really need to extend this to foodservice and make it district wide,” she says. “We thought people really needed to know which foods were good for their brains and that helped to prompt Brain Foods.”
Marketing support: To market the menu changes, Griffin first contacted all principals to get their support. She then took the idea to the students and parents through the district’s phone messaging system, The School Connects, which calls every parent and plays a prerecorded message. In the cafeterias, Griffin and her staff of 460 placed signs at the point of service advertising the offerings as Brain Foods that would help increase attention and memory. Both Griffin and McKenney say their efforts didn’t go unnoticed by the students. “The students said they were very pleased that we would make an effort to help support them, and that we felt they could do a good job,” Griffin says. “Lynn said it really made a difference in their self-esteem just knowing that someone was supporting and encouraging them.”
Because of the success of Brain Foods, Griffin says the program will continue next year with a few alterations. “One principal asked the cafeteria manager to continue doing Brain Foods throughout the year. I’m thinking that next year, we are going to take a good look at this because it shouldn’t just be for testing. It should be all the time to promote learning,” she says. “Food is going up in price, so we are going to have to look at what we can do. We are looking for creative ways to get more fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains into our program.”
Other changes in the foodservice department for Brain Foods will be increasing the number of options that are high in antioxidants and further eliminating entrees that are higher in fat, because those tend to make students tired. McKenney also wants to see the Brain Foods menu become a permanent addition.
More involvement: Other changes to Brain Foods will include getting more departments within the district involved. “This all happened so fast. We didn’t have enough time to get everything together this year, but we are hoping to do that next year,” Griffin says. “The PE department head said that next year she is planning on having all her PE teachers work with the kids on exercises that work with both parts of the brain, which research says helps.” Additional research suggests music such as Mozart helps children concentrate and peppermint awakens the senses, aiding in alertness. “I started thinking that we needed to have Mozart played on the buses and some peppermint that the custodians could put in the rooms,” she adds.
McKenney adds, “Teachers have the ability to change brains through classroom instruction, and with Brain Foods we can do the same thing with nutrition within a school site.” | <urn:uuid:c80038ce-81ba-480e-93a3-58a1181ecd20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foodservicedirector.com/trends/health-and-wellness/articles/brain-foods?quicktabs_most_viewed_tabby=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982304 | 1,505 | 3.015625 | 3 |
|Birthname||Dali i Domenech, Salvador Felipe Jacinto|
|born on||11 May 1904 at 08:45 (= 08:45 AM )|
|Place||Figueras, Spain, 42n16, 2e58|
|Timezone||GMT h0e (is standard time)|
|Astrology data||20°13' 02°28 Asc. 22°15'|
Spanish surrealist painter, original and eccentric, truly one of a kind. He imbued his life with the fertile imagination that he displayed in his art.
The son of a notary, Dali was given the same name as a brother who died at the age of 21 months, nine months and ten days before Salvador's birth. He was given his dead brother's clothes to wear and his toys to play with and reminded that he would never replace the lost sibling. Dali came to believe that he was the reincarnation of this older brother.
From the time he was a toddler Dali was scratching out drawings. He had the first exhibition of his paintings at age 14 in the municipal theater of his home town, Figueras, Spain. Another exhibit followed six months later, bringing critical praise of his talent. His behavior was not socially acceptable, however, and he often attacked other kids in school. Although his teachers found him impossible to deal with, his parents encouraged his attention-getting behavior and approved his narcissism. By the time he was in junior school he was bizarre in his dress and manner as he was in his behavior. At 16, he lost his mother who had adored and indulged him. His dad was already involved with his mother's sister, who lived with the family. They later married but Dali never accepted the situation.
After he was expelled from school, his dad allowed him in 1922 to enroll in the Madrid School of Fine Art. Initially a model student, he soon regarded his contemporaries and tutors both as inferiors. His shyness and fears almost crippled him. Terrified of everything, he was afraid to cross the street by himself and was completely unable to face the challenge of public transportation. He could not buy new shoes because of his phobia about exposing his feet, and he carried talismans to ward off evil spirits. He was expelled twice from the art academy, first in 1924 when he was suspected of rousing his fellow students to revolt, and again a year later for refusing to take an exam. He never obtained his diploma.
While in Madrid, Dali belonged to a group of young Spanish intellectuals and wrote essays, poems, critical analyses and stories as well as painting. He formed two genuine friendships that lasted his lifetime; the wealthy and gifted poet Federico Garcia Lorca and the future filmmaker Luis Buñuel, with whom he made two surrealistic films. Dali’s closeness with the handsome young Lorca was shadowed only by the fact that the homosexual poet wanted a more intimate relationship than the virginal and avowedly heterosexual Dali was willing to explore. (Some accounts state that they had an ill-fated and brief affair.)
Dali’s early canvasses depict the landscape of the Costa Brava, particularly the streets and harbor of Cadaqués and the nearby fishing village of Port Lligat which were to become lifetime themes. In 1927-28 he produced his first dreamscape which would define his ability to transform the world of outer images to reflect his inner world of fantasy and dreams. His 1929 Paris exhibition featured surrealistic, dream-like landscapes and weird images that were gripping and notable. With a personality that was as different as his work, he claimed that he could remember his prenatal experiences and the terrible trauma of birth.
He produced many of his legendary pieces between 1929 and 1939. Dali's picture appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine in 1936 when he was 32 years old. His long, thin mustache waxed into bizarre shapes became a defining image. He traveled around the world with the jet-set crowd, living in the U.S after 1940 and in Spain in his later years. His painting began incorporating a growing fascination with history, religion, and science, some on huge canvasses, and his flair for antics helped gain an international reputation as a talented, witty showman whose often outrageous statements could enchant and sometimes offend his audience. He reportedly once told a woman that he enjoyed eating dates for dessert because his then-sticky fingers could wax his mustache, enabling it to stand erect. When she inquired whether the practice attracted flies, he responded “My most paradisiac moment is when I am lying naked in the sun covered with flies like a piece of carrion.” He went on to differentiate between good flies and bad, announcing that dirty flies “have bellies bulging with mayonnaise.”
Throughout his young adult years, Dali suffered bouts of severe hallucinations and hysteria because he could not find a suitable partner prepared to act out his erotic fantasies. Though his imagination had no boundaries, he found the physical sexual act repellent, and later in life was said to have indulged in auto-eroticism and voyeurism. In 1929 he met Gala*, a Russian woman who left her native country shortly after the beginning of the Revolution. He was dazzled from the moment of their meeting and so besotted that for their second meeting he designed a special "Dali uniform" that included clothing cut to shreds, blood-stained armpits and knees and a noxious smell that he created by mixing fish glue and goat manure. Gala was enchanted. The summer after they met, she and her husband, the French poet Paul Eluard and their nine-year old daughter visited Dali in Spain. The poet and his daughter left alone. Dali married Gala, nine years his senior, in 1934, a marriage that lasted 47 years. She is credited with aggressively taking charge, providing him the tranquil and disciplined framework that allowed him to mature as an artist. She was the love of his life, a combination mother-manager-model. She appeared in many of Dali's later works.
Through his own carelessness, a proliferation of fake paintings attributed to him flooded the art market in the 1970s and 1980s. His marriage was not without reports of quarrels, and Gala began spending much of her time in her own country house where Dali could not go without a written invitation. When Gala died in 1982 at the age of 87, Dali went to pieces. He moved into her home, became a recluse and stopped eating. He dwindled to 98 pounds and, seemingly determined to die, was badly burned when his bed caught on fire. On the verge of insanity, he believed himself unable to stand or swallow and suffered from severe malnutrition. He developed Parkinson's disease and, for the last eight years of his life, suffered the mental deterioration that is symptomatic of Alzheimer's disease.
He rebounded briefly when there was a worldwide fuss over his 80th birthday in 1984. The last passion of his life was the museum Teatro-Museo Dali, the very same but transformed theater where he held his first exhibit at age 14. Dali died on January 23, 1989, at 10:15 AM, in Figueras, Spain.
(*Gala - or Helena Dimitrijewna Djakonowa - is said to have been born on September 7, 1894.)
- friend relationship with Bunuel, Luis (born 22 February 1900)
- lover relationship with Lorca, Federico Garcia (born 5 June 1898). Notes: Ill-fated affair
- sibling relationship with Dali, Salvador Galo (born 12 October 1901)
- Death of Mother 1920 (Mom died of cancer)
- Work : Published/ Exhibited/ Released 1926 (First exhibited)
- Relationship : Meet a significant person 1929 (Gala)
- Relationship : Marriage 1934 (Gala)
- Death of Mate 1982 (Gala died)
- Death, Cause unspecified 23 January 1989 at 10:15 AM in Figueras, Spain (Age 84)
chart Placidus Equal_H.
B.C. in hand from Juan Trigo
Same in autobiography "The Unspeakable Confessions of Salvador Dali" by H. Gelen. Same in Biography: Maryle Secrest, "Salvador Dali, The Surrealist Jester," Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1986.
- Traits : Personality : Creative
- Traits : Personality : Eccentric
- Traits : Personality : Personality vulnerable (Needy of attention, approval)
- Traits : Personality : Unique
- Diagnoses : Major Diseases : Alzheimer's/Senility (Mental deterioration started after Parkinson's)
- Diagnoses : Major Diseases : Parkinson's (Dibilitating and mental deterioration)
- Family : Childhood : Family distant (Loathed his father)
- Family : Childhood : Memories Bad (Compared to dead brother)
- Family : Relationship : Marriage more than 15 Yrs (48 years)
- Family : Relationship : Number of Marriages (One, lasting)
- Family : Parenting : Kids none
- Lifestyle : Social Life : Travel (World-traveled)
- Passions : Sexuality : Voyeur
- Personal : Death : Long life more than 80 yrs (Age 84)
- Vocation : Art : Fine art artist (Surrealist)
- Notable : Extraordinary Talents : For Imagination (Painter)
- Notable : Famous : Historic figure (Unique in art field)
- Notable : Famous : Top 5% of Profession
- Notable : Book Collection : Culture Collection | <urn:uuid:274eaf75-2be6-4ce7-b9d1-037bf9526abc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.astro.com/wiki/astro-databank/index.php?title=Dali,_Salvador&oldid=83926 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982351 | 2,015 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Visualisation and Mantra
By Lama Zangmo
Today I am meant to explain visualisation and mantra recitation to you. You are regularly doing this here so I am assuming that you know quite a lot about it already. I don’t think I have anything new to say. I always feel like everything I am saying is something people know already but maybe it’s just good to hear things again and again so that eventually we remember.
The whole purpose of the Vajrayana and the deity Practices is to develop pure outlook. That’s the view and the basis of what we’re trying to do. It’s actually called 'taking the result as the path'. So what that means is that we accept the fact or the idea that we are already Buddhas. We’re already Chenrezig, we’re already Tara, we’re already a Buddha but, on a day to day level, we’re obscuring that, polluting it. That’s the problem: we’re polluting this purity that is already there. So it’s not like we’re trying to create, or imagine, or identify with, something that isn’t there already. We’re saying 'This is who I really am. This is truly who I am.' We can relate to this because it’s what we really want to be like. This is what we’re aiming for when we’re practicing, that purity and Buddha Nature. So it’s the goal. Our ultimate goal is Buddhahood, even though it’s almost too big to think about. Like Rinpoche said the other day, talking about Enlightenment is too much. But when we do Practice, these Vajrayana visualisations, that is what we’re doing. We’re trying to generate this pure outlook of everything - of ourselves, of all beings, body, speech and mind; and of the environment. We’re saying that everything is essentially pure: the body is the deity; all sound is their mantra; and the environment is their mandala (palace or pure realm).
So the training is about identifying with that, and becoming familiar with it. So we’re taking as a basis the fact that we have Buddha Nature and that it’s just temporarily obscured by lots of concepts and habitual patterns. We don’t feel like Buddha, we don’t feel like Chenrezig when we’re caught up in our day to day life and activities. We feel sometimes quite far from being a Buddha. But through these practices we are remembering that purity and habituating ourselves to think more positively and to identify with it.
In the texts it’s said that Buddha Nature is like a diamond that’s been buried in the ground, under the house of a very poor person who’s been living in poverty for lifetimes and lifetimes. Then they hear about this treasure and so they begin to dig until they catch a glimpse of it. But still it might be covered with layers of dirt and so they clean it - first with heavy implements, but gradually using finer tools and, finally, polishing the treasure.
So it is with our spiritual practice. This treasure (Buddha Nature) has been there all along and through Practice we get closer to it. We know that it’s there because people we can trust have told us about it and because we can sometimes catch a glimpse of it ourselves. And this is what we are saying in Vajrayana Practice: ‘I am truly the deity’ and so I choose to identify with that not just in Practice sessions, but in all aspects of daily life, since everything is the union of emptiness and appearance (or clarity). So Vajrayana Practice is reminding us of the illusory, non-solid nature of appearances, which is what we are constantly covering up with concepts, thoughts and labels: all our habitual ways of judging. And it is also training us to be in the moment in a state of clarity beyond this habitual conceptualisation.
So most of our Practice involves the creation stage, ie visualisations and the recitation of mantra. The completion stage is where we dissolve all of that into emptiness: dissolving ourselves as the deity or, if we’re visualising a deity in front of us, dissolving that deity into ourselves and then resting our mind in the state of clarity and emptiness. In the context of pujas this stage can be very short, although the Six Yogas of Naropa (Dream Yoga; Clear Light; Illusory Body; Tumo; Bardo and Powa) are also Kagyu lineage completion stages Practices, covering all aspects of daily life (and death).
To help purify appearances and go beyond the neurotic aspect of 'I', or ego, whichever Practice we are doing, our visualisations should have three qualities: clarity; purity and Vajra Pride.
So, when we have a clear view of the deity, this helps us to purify the way we perceive appearances, so we can see them (and ourselves) as less solid and ordinary: more like a rainbow in space or the moon reflected in water, transparent and insubstantial. And gradually, by visualising in this way, we can reduce our clinging to appearances as real and solid. At the same time, by developing Vajra Pride (truly identifying with Buddha Nature and gaining confidence in it) we counteract our ordinary sense of self and ego-clinging.
In the beginning, however, we tend to think: 'Why do I have to do all of these busy practices, when my mind is already so busy?' But this is a very skilful way of using our energy - by channelling it into all of the different details involved in the Practice - using very disciplined conceptualisation to overcome conceptualisation (like homoeopathy!) until we develop the ability to rest our mind in a state of total clarity, Mahamudra.
The benefits of these practices are huge if we really become very familiar with them. A powerful Practice - in life and in the Bardo - is to think that everybody and everything is the deity and the more we practise this, the more natural it becomes to maintain this purity of outlook and the easier it is to overcome fear and the negative emotions that are cause for rebirth in the lower realms.
Similarly, since mantras come from the realisation of great Bodhisattvas, they also carry great power and blessings - not just for those who recite them but also for those who hear them. It’s said, for example, that if animals hear the Mani mantra it’s like sowing the seed for a good rebirth. So if we see animals that are dying, if we come across sick animals and we recite the mantra to them, wishing for them to have a good rebirth, then we are linking them up with the Dharma in that way.
The Mani mantra and the Kalachakra mantra are said to have very strong blessing power. For example, when Akong Rinpoche does geomancy these are the mantras he uses. I’ve seen him in different places where he’s been asked to use divining rods to see if the geomancy is OK.
I remember seeing him in one place. A woman had asked him to check out her shop. She had a New Age shop with all these different sorts of electrical cash machines, music machines and he checked out the general geomancy of the shop to see if this was a good and positive layout. He used a set of divining rods and every time he passed a certain place in the shop, between the electrical machines, they would swing very strongly. He kept going past it and showing there was some kind of electrical current there that wasn’t very beneficial. Then, to demonstrate the power of the mantra, first he put one person in between and then again he tried it with the rods and again they showed the same reading as before. Then he took an Om Mani Padme Hung mantra and he laid it over their back. Right away it blocked the current so when he walked through there was no current anymore.
He did the same thing with a protection cord, one of those protection cords we get in the Empowerments, and showed how - when a protection cord was worn - the negative reading was not there. He showed it with his own Gau. So when I saw that, I was amazed to see this completely clear result of the power of the mantra.
It is said that these mantras liberate through hearing, through seeing, through touching, through meditating on them. So for that reason it’s good to listen to them, to meditate on them, touch them. For example, in coffins we can lay them on people who have died as a help and support for that person. Especially the Mani mantra.
Some of the mantras we recite silently, some it is good to recite aloud so others can hear them. A lot of them are meant to be recited fairly silently so that only we can hear them. So this helps us to use our speech in a positive way. | <urn:uuid:2ac18d85-f187-49fc-a9e0-70682d7bed99> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.samyeling.org/index/visualisation-and-mantra | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961049 | 1,914 | 1.5 | 2 |
Although much of the recent regulatory attention has been on prudential issues, increasingly focus is now also falling on consumer protection – as regulators seek to help customers make informed investment decisions and to buy investment products that best suit their needs.
With this in mind, the G20 has endorsed a Financial Standards Board report on consumer finance protection and also appears committed to the OECD’s consumer protection principles.
Consumer finance has emerged as a key focus of consumer protection in the US, where the Dodd-Frank Act has created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (among other measures) in order to enhance consumer protection and mortgage reform. As new issues emerge, additional rules seem likely to come into force.
In Europe, a host of regulatory initiatives – including the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2 (MiFID2), packaged retail investment products and the Retail Distribution Review – have been implemented to protect banks’ customers.
However, in Asia (particularly in Hong Kong and Singapore), the focus is very much on retail investment rather than banking products – largely as a result of the ‘Lehmans mini-bond’ debacle.
An opportunity for banks?
For banks, the data, systems and process implications of these regulations are substantial and onerous.
Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that with banks across the world fighting to retain and attract customers at branch level, optimize rather than reduce associated costs and to improve their sales and their overall customer service experience, these regulatory developments may offer opportunities to gain valuable commercial insight – insight that could lead to increased revenue.
Regulators are also currently determined to ensure investors comply with the relevant tax authorities – and to use tax as a means of paying for some of the costs of the global financial crisis.
To this end, there has been a lot of activity in traded markets regulations – even if slower and less globally consistent than was promised.
Specifically, the Dodd-Frank Act in the US and the MiFID2 and EMIR legislation and other regulations in Europe will all impact the structure of the traded markets – in particular how derivatives are cleared, settled and reported.
To a considerable extent this is a global issue, as evidenced by similar discussions over centralized clearing of over the counter (OTC) derivatives coming out of major Asian markets such as Australia and Hong Kong. | <urn:uuid:92d13b7c-0846-4029-8c80-d06763d34daa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kpmg.com/Global/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/evolving-banking-regulation/Pages/customer-protection-and-investor-conduct.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960293 | 468 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Garrett Winegar (1702-1756)
Garrett Winegar, the only son of Ulrich and Anna, was born in Germany in 1702. He traveled with his family to New York, lived 14 years in the East Camp previously described, and then settled in Amenia in 1724. He was naturalized in 1716 under the name of Hans Gerhard Weyniger. He married Catherine Snyder, another Palatine immigrant, in about 1725. Garrett had 14 children, nine boys and 5 girls. Our ancestor is Ulrich(3).
Garrett is frequently referred to as Captain Winegar and probably served in the British Army. He was confirmed Ensign of the South Company of the Train Band of Sharon Connecticut in May, 1745, and Captain of the same in October, 1747. In about 1739, he purchased 300-400 acres in Sharon, Connecticut, and built a grist mill. This was the first mill in the area and ground grain that the settlers ate. He held a number of positions in the community and was considered intelligent and well educated, mostly in German. He was very friendly with the Indians, by whom he was regarded with greatest respect and many times defended them against the injustice of his white neighbors. In his death, he charged his children to never allow an Indian to go from their door in want of food. He died of Bilious Cholic at the age of 54 and was buried with his parents in the Amenia Cemetery.
One of Garrett’s sons Hendrick built a mansion in Amenia in 1761. It became know in the area as the Winegar House and survived until about 2000 when it collapsed under a load of snow. An effort by Winegar descendants to raise money to preserve it was unsuccessful. The pictures below show the house as it was before and after the collapse.
Garrett owned one slave named Tom. In his will he referred to Tom as “a faithful and good tenant my will is that when he is unable for service he shall be maintained out of my estate comfortable as long as he shall live and not be sold out of my family nor from this house if any of my family living there.” In the 1790 census his son Conrad is showed owning one slave. This is 35 years after Garrett’s death and may or may not be the same man. No other records I have seen show slave holding among the Winegars.
Dr. Thomas Young
Thomas Young practiced medicine in the Oblong (Amenia) for 11 years. At one time he lived in Garrett’s home and met Garrett’s daughter Mary, whom he later married. While living in Amenia, Young became friends with Ethan Allen. He became convinced that Dutchess County was not doing enough to stop the British from interfering in colonial affairs. He moved to Albany and actively opposed the operation of the Stamp Act and then moved to Boston. As war approached he became a member of the Committee of Correspondence. Other than Samuel Adams, he was the most active member. He spoke at the Old South Meeting House on December 16, 1773 a few hours before the tea was thrown overboard. Young was the only member of the Boston Tea Party who was not disguised as an Indian.
When friends learned of an attempt to kidnap Young and take him to England to be tried for treason, he escaped to Philadelphia where his family joined him. Here he became secretary of the Whig Society and associated with a small group of radicals who with the counsel of Benjamin Franklin framed the constitution of Pennsylvania. He died in 1777 from an illness contracted while caring for wounded and sick soldiers.
Thomas Young is credited with naming the state of Vermont, as well as Amenia.
After her husbands death, Mary Winegar disposed of her property and took most of her pay in Continental currency, which became worthless, and she became penniless. This was a common occurrence among several of our ancestors.
Ulrich Winegar (3) (1729-1812)
Ulrich was the third son of Garrett. He married Anna Nase about 1748. Possibly because of a conflict with his brothers, he built his own grist mill about a mile northof the one built by his father. He was not very successful in business and was frequently quite poor. At times he was supported by his son Ashbel (our Ancestor).
Ulrich served as a Sergeant in the French and Indian War. He and Anna had 5 sons and two daughters. His wife died, and he remarried Sarah Tolles. It is interesting to note that Sarah is a direct descendent of Roger Alling, a Bliss ancestor. He died in 1712 in Nassau, Rensselaer Co., New York at the home of Ulrich (5), his grandson.
Ashbel(4) Winegar (1754-1809)
Ashbel, a house carpenter, was born in Amenia. He married Elizabeth Carr and had nine children, Ulrich (5) being our ancestor. He served in the Revolutionary War in both the 6th Regiment, Dutchess County Militia and in the 4thRegiment, Albany County Militia. He is in the 4th Regiment records as Ashbel Vinigar. Dutchess County was very important to the revolutionary effort. It is located on the Hudson River, which was the main route between British forces in Canada and in New York City. Whoever controlled the river had a major advantage. Those living in the county had to take a loyalty oath to either the Brittish or the Colonials. The population was divided with approximately one-third supporting the British. James Fennimore Cooper’s novel, The Spy was set in this area and time. | <urn:uuid:6cfe1def-1bd7-45bd-921b-a83a714959ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jimwinegar.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/more-winegars-in-the-1700s/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989234 | 1,180 | 2.59375 | 3 |
The More »Nahe valley, a rolling landscape of vineyards interspersed with historical vintners' huts, is one of the oldest German wine regions after the Moselle valley. The 4,500 hectares of wine country flanking the Nahe river are blessed with a wide diversity of soil types. Rocks including porphyry, Bunter sandstone, slate, weathered volcanic stone, clay, loess and loam lend the wines pleasantly complex bouquets. Alongside chardonnay, müller-thurgau, silvaner and traminer grapes, some delightful varieties of pinot blanc and pinot gris are grown in this region – and most notably, a host of top rieslings. Some 35 wine-growing villages offering regular tastings and wine festivals form a series of tempting stops along the route. The scenery is also inviting, with historical reminders of the region's past and sites of natural beauty such as the Rotenfels rock face or the nearby Soonwald nature reserve. For visitors seeking a local day out, the Nahe valley contains a myriad of castles such as Ebernburg Castle, as well as palaces, abbeys, ruins and the Rheingrafenstein rock face and castle ruins. Salinental valley with its salt evaporation works is also located here. No matter what you feel like doing, whether you're into sport, wellness or maybe the finer pleasures of life, the Nahe valley has something for everyone, 365 days a year. | <urn:uuid:520f0e29-730e-4b44-9e3d-3a694b6c9291> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.germany.travel/tr/eglence-dinlenme/turistik-caddeler/nahe-wine-route.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942971 | 312 | 2.109375 | 2 |
peak fossil fuels by 2017
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Aug1-10, 07:29 PM
... These policies make little economic sense; the homeowner does not have to pay for his share of the infrastructure, as you point out, and he does not have the overhead of grid maintenance.
Also, unless the residential solar is heavily cleaned up by batteries, the power quality is lousy (large variation on a time scale of seconds). As more and more solar comes online, this is likely to become a problem for the utilities. | <urn:uuid:5aaeb219-87b3-479c-b891-9a9e3a7bec45> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=2823076&postcount=77 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95456 | 106 | 1.632813 | 2 |
May 14, 2008
Gov. Ritter Signs Historic Farm Animal Welfare Measure
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed landmark legislation prohibiting two controversial factory farm confinement methods. Specifically, the new law will phase out gestation crates and veal crates — individual cages that confine breeding sows and veal calves.
The measure came as the result of negotiations by The Humane Society of the United States and Colorado agricultural groups. S.B. 201 was introduced by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, and House Agriculture Committee Chair Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison. Gov. Bill Ritter, Agriculture Commissioner John Stulp, and Colorado State University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Dr. Bernard Rollin played crucial and leading roles in the negotiations.
"Americans demand humane treatment of animals, including animals raised for food. With this measure, adversaries turned into allies to advance animal welfare concerns," stated Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "Through cooperation, progress on this important issue can indeed belong to everyone."
S.B. 201 gained support in both the House and Senate, with the House approving it 59-4 and the Senate approving it unanimously.
"This legislation is proof that humane groups and agriculture interests can work together to find common ground and move toward better treatment of farm animals," added Professor Bernard Rollin, who has worked closely with humane organizations and agricultural groups and played an instrumental role in the negotiations. "The movement toward ending abuses such as gestation crates and veal crates is unmistakable, and states elsewhere should follow this example."
S.B. 201 phases out veal crates within four years and gestation crates within 10 years. It also jumpstarts a process, to be administered by the Agriculture Commissioner, to allow for ongoing dialogue between agriculture and animal welfare groups.
The HSUS has officially withdrawn a ballot initiative petition on the same subject, which would have also phased out the confinement of egg-laying hens in battery cages. The HSUS, Colorado agriculture groups and Commissioner Stulp agreed to continue to have dialogue on that issue.
- Nearly 150,000 breeding pigs are confined in gestation crates in Colorado. While the state has no current veal industry, its sizable dairy industry could potentially attract veal operations, and the veal crate provision was a pre-emptive measure.
- Gestation crates are barren, two-foot-wide individual metal cages so small, the animals cannot even turn around. Veal crates are narrow wooden stalls that prevent calves from turning around or lying down comfortably. The calves are typically chained by their necks and suffer immensely.
- Colorado is now the first state in the country to ban the use of gestation crates and veal crates by action of a state legislature. Florida, Arizona and Oregon have prohibited gestation crates. Arizona has prohibited veal crates. And a California measure to prohibit veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages recently qualified for November's ballot.
- Smithfield Foods, the largest U.S. pig producer, is phasing out gestation crates, and the American Veal Association voted to urge the entire veal industry to phase out veal crates. Colorado-based chain Chipotle already refuses to buy any pork from producers that use gestation crates. Chains such as Safeway, Burger King, Carl's Jr. and Hardees have also implemented policies to reduce their reliance on gestation crate pork.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — on the web at humanesociety.org. | <urn:uuid:eb85101f-0a3a-40b7-a958-4c9139dc4d6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2008/05/gov_ritter_signs_farm_animal_measure_051408.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941845 | 772 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Without the Bush tax cuts of 2001, 2003 and 2008 and the Obama tax cuts of the last few years, median after-tax household income would be about $1,750 a year lower than it is. All of those tax cuts, of course, face an uncertain fate, because they are scheduled to expire at the end of this year.
If they do expire, they would make a major dent in the medium-term budget deficit, as I explain in a news analysis for this weekend’s Sunday Review section. But the expiration would also make a serious dent in income for many households.
Already, the last decade has not been good for household income (except at the top of the distribution). Median income grew slowly between 2002 and 2008 – much more slowly than in other recent economic expansions – and then fell sharply in the recession.
Pretax median income last year was still 6.2 percent below its 2000 peak, according to inflation-adjusted numbers from Moody’s Analytics. After-tax income fell only 1.3 percent between 2000 and 2011, thanks in large part to the tax cuts, which, for better or worse, are now at risk.
The effects of the looming expiration of the tax cuts – as well as the looming cuts to domestic and military spending – are examined in an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and another from the Heritage Foundation.
The Tax Policy Center, in previous work, has analyzed the effect of the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, as well as the so-called patch for the alternative minimum tax.
The center has also looked at the effect of the expiration of the payroll-tax cut, the largest of the Obama tax cuts. (Note, though, that the numbers in its document refer to the effect over 10 months, not a full year.) | <urn:uuid:8c717768-891d-4ce1-bacb-cdd27b5baf1c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/sizing-up-the-impact-of-tax-cuts-and-their-end/?ref=economy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971699 | 371 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Pearson Foundation Announces GO GREEN! Challenge
Today we launched the New Jersey GO GREEN! Challenge, a video public service announcement (PSA) competition for students designed to raise awareness among young people, educators, and policymakers about the importance of clean, renewable energy sources.
The New Jersey GO Green! Challenge is open to all Garden State residents between the ages of 13 and 18. To enter, students must produce a 30-60 second video PSA that explains the need for renewable, carbon-free energy that comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat.
The Grand Prize winner will receive will receive an Apple iPad and an invitation to join New Jersey public officials and Pearson executives at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the solar panels at Pearson’s Cranbury facility, one of the largest installations of its kind in the U.S. Two runner-ups will also be chosen. The best PSA entries will be featured online at www.pearsonfoundation.org.
“More than ever, young people are using media and technology to make their voices heard,” said Pearson Foundation President and CEO Mark Nieker. “The New Jersey GO GREEN! Challenge is a great way to engage students around the challenges and opportunities of clean energy. We look forward to seeing what the Garden State’s young people produce.”
Labels: go green | <urn:uuid:f4913427-7352-4ba9-9439-92ea2b5aafcf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.pearsonfoundation.org/2011/09/pearson-foundation-announces-go-green.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915343 | 295 | 2.140625 | 2 |
The Oakland Museum of California offered a $12,000 reward Wednesday for the safe recovery of a stolen gold-encrusted jewel box - the latest in a series of thefts involving Gold Rush-era artifacts across the region.
The box stolen Monday depicts images of early California history and was originally a wedding anniversary gift from a San Francisco pioneer to his wife in the 1800s, museum director Lori Fogarty said.
It's the size of a small shoebox and weighs about three pounds.
Oakland city officials have said the box was valued at more than $800,000, but Fogarty said it was difficult to put a price on the artifact.
"It's very difficult to assign value to something like this," she said. "But I can say it's a treasure of our collection and a critical piece in our holdings."
It was the second major theft in as many months from the popular Gallery of California History exhibit at the Oakland museum. Gold nuggets and other historic artifacts were taken in November. Police believe the same culprit may have committed both thefts.
Fogarty said the high price of gold - which was selling Wednesday at about $1,657 an ounce - might have prompted the break-ins.
"We don't know if it's related to the value of gold, if that is what the burglar is interested in," Fogarty said. "But that's certainly one of our fears."
Nonetheless, the precious metal appears to have made targets of sites that house historical items. In September, a state mining and mineral museum in the Sierra foothills in Mariposa was robbed of an estimated $1.3 million in gold, precious gems and artifacts by thieves armed with pickaxes.
In February, thieves smashed a lobby display case at the Siskiyou County courthouse and made off with large chunks of gold. Both sites are in California's Gold Country, where people from around the world came in the mid-1800s to strike it rich.
Four people have been arrested and charged in the Mariposa case.
Gold Rush memorabilia and items remain attractive to collectors because of the romance and myth associated with the era, said Gary Kurutz, a special collections curator at the California State Library in Sacramento.
"There are so many great stories associated with it - the letters, the diaries, the rare books, the prints and of course the actual gold nuggets," he said.
Gold can be melted down, making it easy to fence. But Kurutz said someone would have a harder time offloading a jewel box like the one taken on Monday.
"You would not be able to take it to an auction house or any responsible antique dealer," he said. "They would know immediately that this is hot."
Elsewhere in the nation, about $400,000 in gold pieces were stolen from a museum in New Jersey two years ago, and a gold bar worth about $550,000 was taken from a Florida museum in 2010. That gold had been recovered from the shipwreck of a Spanish galleon off the Florida Keys.
Steve Keller, chair of the American Alliance of Museums security committee, said smaller museums that have gold on display are vulnerable to theft, although he did not include the Oakland museum in that category. | <urn:uuid:45c040d0-7d3b-43ab-b534-63c5cf668147> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/09/reward-offered-for-jewel-box-taken-from-museum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973592 | 670 | 2.078125 | 2 |
- uploaded: Oct 28, 2011
- Hits: 434
Federal prosecutors and former astronaut Edgar Mitchell have reached an agreement over a camera Mitchell brought home from his 1971 Apollo 14 moon mission. Mitchell said the camera was a gift from NASA, and earlier this year he tried to auction it through the British firm Bonhams. NASA says the camera is US government property and sued Mitchell to get it back after learning in March it was up for sale. In papers filed Thursday, the US Attorney's Office in Miami stated Mitchell will give up any claim to the 16 mm motion picture camera and agree to return it to NASA. NASA will in turn give it to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington for display within 60 days. Both sides will pay their own legal expenses. A judge was expected to sign off on the settlement in the coming days. Mitchell's attorney Armen R. Vartian said his client decided the settlement was the best way to resolve a conflict with NASA. "I think both sides saw the lawsuit as something that should not continue," he added. Mitchell is one of 12 humans to have walked on the moon. He later received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The camera was one of two that went to the moon's surface on the Apollo 14 mission, which Mitchell piloted. During the mission, Mitchell and Alan Shepard spent hours collecting nearly 100 pounds of lunar samples. They also demonstrated that astronauts could walk long distances safely, covering about two miles on one expedition. Shepard's attempt at swatting a golf ball on the ... | <urn:uuid:769f8725-f0f3-4008-ae3b-45ba6b4f5d69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/80858/Prosecutors_Settle_With_Apollo_Astronaut_Edgar_Mitchell_2011/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980051 | 309 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Tell Congress to Pass Clean Energy Tax Incentives
We need Congress to pass critical tax incentives for renewable energy that would create thousands of jobs and boost American competitiveness in the global economy. Clean energy tax incentives like the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind and the Advanced Energy Project Credit (48C) have created jobs, and extending these incentives will create many more.
However, failure to act on these important tax credits threatens the very jobs we need right now. Failure to extend the PTC alone would cost nearly 37,000 jobs — half the jobs in the wind industry alone.
Take a minute today to send a letter to your members of Congress urging them to extend and renew critical renewable energy tax credits like the Production Tax Credit, Investment Tax Credit, and Section 48C to keep good jobs and put renewable energy on a level playing field. | <urn:uuid:da73dc11-df93-4a90-a6e8-2ebef3598271> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/6475/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7523 | 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 | 0.942283 | 172 | 1.75 | 2 |
On 19-21 July, over 350 officials from 90 countries, 56 UN bodies as well as other stakeholders met in Solo, Indonesia, for the High-Level Dialogue on the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development. The meeting served as a forum to provide input into the Rio +20 preparatory process, of which the institutional framework for sustainable development (IFSD) is one of the Rio Conference’s two major themes.
From the three-day meeting, three major areas of interest emerged above the rest, and were identified as instrumental to the strengthening of the IFSD: integration, implementation and coordination. The strengthening of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was also a widely debated topic.
Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of Rio + 20, expressed his satisfaction with the meeting, stating in his concluding remarks that whilst the understanding of IFSD had long been blurry, "it is now clearer - thanks to Solo."
The meeting was divided into five sessions concentrating on the respective issues: Assessing the Progress to-date and the Remaining Gaps in Implementation of the Outcomes of the Major Summits on Sustainable Development; Strengthening, Transforming and Reforming the Intergovernmental Institutions; Promoting Sustainable Development Governance at the National and Local levels; Strengthening International Support to National-level Sustainable Development Governance and Emerging Issues: Can the Existing Institutional Framework Adequately address them?
Professor Gusti Muhammad Hatta, Minister of Environment of Indonesia, chaired the meeting and produced an outcome document summarizing the three-day debate into seven key points which he referred to as the ’Solo Message’.
The Message called, first and foremost, for renewed political commitment which can be effectively translated into implementation. It stressed the need for the three pillars of sustainable development, namely economic, social and environmental, to be brought on par with one another, and hence the need to strengthen the presently lagging environmental pillar in order to achieve greater integration across the three areas.
The need to enhance cooperation at the international level also gained widespread consensus. This idea was complemented by various statements calling for a stronger and more bottom-up approach to compensate for the UN’s tendency toward a top-down approach. Strengthening and developing national and regional strategies was envisaged as a solution to the severe lack of implementation and integration of policies. Improving implementation was considered under various aspects and the provision of adequate funding was also one of the major discussion points, along with the need for capacity building and technology transfer.
A point of discussion that received particular attention was the need to strengthen UNEP. Participants re-iterated consensus on the issue and discussed several options, including a specialized agency status for UNEP, establishment of a World Environment Organization (WEO), and instituting piecemeal reforms within the existing structure.
To address the problems of coherence and coordination the re-establishment of an interagency committee, to be named the High Level Committee on Sustainable Development, was proposed, acting as a sub-committee to the Chief Executive Board (CEB). It was further discussed whether UN Water, UN Oceans and UN Energy should be included as sub-committees of the High-Level Committee or whether these were to stand on their own and merely linked to the latter.
The need to coordinate with International Financial Institutions was also discussed. In this regard, the idea of making the Global Environmental Facility , the major financial mechanism for multilateral environmental agreements, a member to the CEB was put forward. Similarly it was suggested that the proposed High-Level Commission on Sustainable Development (see below) include the Bretton Woods institutions as full-time members.
The issue of scientific fragmentation was also raised and one of the proposals considered was that of the creation of an Intergovernmental Panel on Sustainable Development .
Various speakers called for the strengthening of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), given its perceived lack of effectiveness due to its status as a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and subsequent inability to require action from its decisions or report directly to the General Assembly. The need to assign a higher place in the UN hierarchy to the CSD was also called for. In this respect elevating the CSD to a General Assembly Council was a proposition that was thoroughly debated, although it was recognized that this would require strong political support.
The strengthening of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) was also discussed, for some as an alternative to transforming the CSD into a Council, and for others as a complement to the latter. The need for regional bodies to assume a more prominent role was explored, although it was recognized that before recommendations can be made on this topic, there is a need for a full analysis that would not be ready in time for the Rio +20 Conference, but discussions could focus on delivering for the post-2015 agenda.
Other than the above points, noted in the Solo Message, and raised throughout the five panels, each meeting contributed to providing specific solutions pertinent to the panel’s topic.
To access background materials and some of the presentations delivered at the meeting please click here .
To access the discussion paper produced please click here .
The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or “Rio+20”) opened 20 June 2012, gathering 191 UN Member States and observers, including 79 Heads of State and government, about 10,000 representatives of Major Groups, and more than 30,000 other participants (parliamentarians, mayors, UN officials, chief executive officers, etc). Its outcome document – entitled “The Future We Want” – was already informally agreed upon by Member States on 19 June – after intensive informal negotiations – but was officially endorsed and adopted by Heads of State at the conclusion of Rio+20 on 22 June.
The World Summit of Federated States and Regions took place on 19 June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, bringing together more than 110 representatives of subnational entities from across the globe to showcase the mobilization of federated States, regions, provinces and other subnational authorities around the issues of a green economy and sustainable development. Organized by the host State of Rio de Janeiro, in partnership with Regions-United/FOGAR, the network of regional governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4SD), and the Climate Group
Engagement and advocacy by civil society organizations, both during the official Conference and its lead-up process, centred on, among other themes, the relationships between climate change and women’s empowerment. Held at the off-site official venue, the Arena da Barra, three side events in particular theorized, brainstormed, and shared knowledge around the interlinkages of ecology, economy and the struggle for women’s rights and gender equality.
On 18 June, on the eve of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20), the Agriculture and Rural Development Day (ARDD) – a joint effort by more than 15 organizations – was organized to promote concrete steps towards sustainable food systems. | <urn:uuid:2cd3b810-4f70-4a9f-93dd-828d84c1f5f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.un-ngls.org/spip.php?page=arioplus20&id_article=3526 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958259 | 1,452 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Internet memes come and go over night and are often filling up Facebook news feeds, Tumblr sites, Reddit, Pinterest boards and more. When a meme is done well, it’s not only fun but can be highly valuable in the social media marketing sphere as a form of content. They are also a great reminder of the importance of staying on top of the news and trends.
So what exactly is a meme? A meme (rhymes with cream) is basically highly viral content online that has a quick rise to popularity, but usually burns out just as quickly. Simply put, it’s the latest Internet phenomena.
The word “meme” was first introduced in the 1970s by Richard Dawkins as a description for a cultural element that’s picked up by new people. But in the Internet age it’s usually a photo or illustration with a funny caption running along the top and bottom. Part of the proliferation of photo memes is that they are easy to make. There are several websites that allow you to load your own image or use one from their library and add a caption.
Memes can also be viral videos, animated gifs, content mash-ups and more.
McKayla Maroney is a U.S. gymnast that earned a silver medal at the Olympic games. It was anticipated that she would have won the gold medal, but a fall in the vault competition put her in the second position. Her scowling expression during the medal ceremony made her a prime candidate for meme fame. A Tumblr blog was created with Photoshopped images of Maroney placed with Buzz Aldrin on the moon, Sistine Chapel, college graduation and more.
Maroney got in on the fun by posing with her teammates Aly Raisman and Kyla Ross standing in bathrobes outside of swimming pool with the famous sneer and the caption, “The pools closed… We’re NOT impressed.” The photo was then tweeted by Raisman, bringing even more attention to the meme.
Bobak Ferdowsi became famous overnight for going against the image most people conjure up when they think of a NASA scientist. Ferdowsi grabbed the attention of those watching the Mars Curiosity landing because of his punk rock style Mohawk. The flight director for the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity mission went into work that morning with just 200 followers and within a few days shot up to more than 40,000 followers.
His non-conformist style, youth, good looks and rocket scientist smarts are fulfilling the “hot nerd” fantasy of women everywhere. Ferdowsi is getting marriage proposals left and right on Twitter and was a trending hashtag. Captioned images of Ferdowsi have been popular on Tumblr and throughout social media. Ferdowsi hopes to use this new fame to do more public outreach to help with science education.
Memes can also be a great way to build political images. Texts From Hillary was a popular meme back in April based on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a series of fictional text messages. After 32 posts over the course of one week, it gave her a more hip image makeover. The meme creators were able to get 83,000 Facebook shares, 8,400 Twitter followers, over 45,000 Tumblr followers and news stories from around the world.
Vice presidential running mate Paul Ryan is the latest political figure to get the meme treatment. A Tumblr blog called “Hey Girl, It’s Paul Ryan” has been created. It’s full of political pick-up lines like “Hey girl, let’s get fiscal.” It follows the same “Hey Girl” formula with images of actor Ryan Gosling that has been popular for a few years now.
Some other popular memes this year have been Angelina’s Leg Bomb, Ridiculously Photogenic Guy and Condescending/Creepy Wonka. Songs like Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” and Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” have received the biggest music based meme following this year.
There isn’t an exact equation to follow when creating a meme or trying to create something that will go viral. But making sure the content is incongruous, funny and relevant to the times are key to helping it spread through the social networks. People want to directly or indirectly participate in memes because it gives them a fun way to comment on current culture and their own personal values.
What’s your favorite meme?
About the author
Early on Kellie realized she wanted to pursue a career helping businesses with their communication needs. She interned as a reporter during high school at a local paper and served as editor-in-chief of her college paper, leading the team to several national awards. But that was just her younger years. Kellie has led public relations efforts for major brands in hospitality, consumer goods and non-profit sectors, helping them secure placements in top media outlets including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and 20/20. Outside of work you will find Kellie jet setting around the world, doing art projects and enjoying all that Utah has to offer. Kellie graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in mass communications with an emphasis in public relations and hospitality and tourism. | <urn:uuid:853feec7-b7a9-4371-a33b-992f6ca84028> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prmarketing.com/blog/whats-the-deal-with-memes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962032 | 1,106 | 1.820313 | 2 |
For many church members the term gospel-centered is equated with evangelism-centered. It is not a surprising mistake since many in our churches have not been taught, biblically, how the gospel applies to the Christian life beyond conversion.
Timothy Keller and Zondervan have teamed up to produce Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything (DVD). The DVD is an eight-session course on the gospel and how it is lived out in all of life – your heart, workplace, community, and the nations – taught by Keller himself. The sessions are 8-11 minutes each, while the entire DVD is about 90 minutes total. The sessions are designed to be accompanied with a study guide, which reviews each lesson, develops the content, and asks discussion questions (240 pages).
If you are familiar with Tim Keller, whether through his sermons, talks, or books, then the first three sessions – (1) The City, (2) Heart, and (3) Idolatry – will be very familiar to you. They are vintage Keller, so to speak. The rest of the sessions seem to be developed from the foundation of the first three. Below is a quick summary of the 8 sessions:
- The City. Many people know Keller to be an advocate for urban ministry, or city-centric. The motive behind this lesson is not to recommend we minister only in cities, but that we should recognize that in the grand scheme of God’s plan for saving his people and redeeming creation, he has worked through the life and culture of the cities.
- The Heart. Keller talks about three ways to live, which is based on the material from his book Prodigal God. He uses the parable of the Prodigal Son to display how people can either be legalistic (relying on your efforts or abilities for acceptance with God), antinomian (despising God’s ways in order to do it your own way) or grace-centered. Keller shows how the gospel instructs us to live in the third way.
- Idolatry. Similar to much of the material from Counterfeit Gods, Keller uproots the “sin beneath the sin.” Idolatry is the lusts of our desires that turns our allegiance from God to the created world. We need overriding affections for God in order to expel the idols of the heart.
- Community. For Keller, the context for change – real biblical change – is only found in Christian community.
- Witness. At this point, we begin to see why Keller began with The City. We are part of God’s work of change in the world, to bring about an “alternate city,” one that shines forth, even in the dark crevices, the grace of the gospel.
- Work. Session 6 is probably the most practical of the 8. Keller offers real help for the nitty-gritty life of everyday Christians to work as those who works for the Lord, not for ourselves or others.
- Justice. Keller helps us to see that working for the good and justice of others is the right response to God working on our behalf for the forgiveness of sins.
- Eternity. God started in a garden, Keller observes, but he ends in a great city. Because the cross was the tree of death for Jesus Christ, we can have the tree of life for eternity as a citizen in the City of our God.
Its not too difficult to see why Gospel in Life is a helpful new resource. The sessions are short enough to watch in one sitting, allowing time to unpack the material using the study guide. Its ideal for adult small group or sunday school settings. While the sessions are simple, they are also profound explanations of how the gospel affects all of life.
The tendency for pastors and seminary students familiar with Tim Keller may be to respond, I’ve heard this before! Yet, for many in our congregations, how the gospel applies to the Christian life beyond conversion is a mystery. Terms like gospel-centered or gospel-driven have little-to-no meaning. Resources like this one puts content into these terms, so they are not simply by-words from the pulpit.Tags: The Christian Life, The Gospel | <urn:uuid:589d5a9b-140b-408c-b985-3ab27c7db19a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tgcreviews.com/reviews/the-gospel-in-life-grace-changes-everything-dvd/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947159 | 882 | 1.515625 | 2 |
By CHRISTOPHER B. KENDE, an aviation attorney and member of law firm Cozen O'Connor, and JENNIFER B. JACOBSON, an associate, who have represented airlines in passenger-disability
and personal-injury litigation
For one, airlines need to ensure that disability and medical coding in the reservation record is clear and communicated correctly between airline staff and travel agents to avoid confusion and improper conduct.
Employees should also receive training to deal with special needs passengers and adopt procedures to handle medical injuries frequently associated with the disabled.
Case in point: A passenger required assistance to descend the steps of a portable staircase used by an airline to disembark, but, because of improper coding in the passenger's record, no assistance was available at the arriving gate.
The passenger tried to descend the steps alone, fell and seriously injured herself. Better communication would have avoided this problem.
Proper staff training on etiquette for interacting with disabled or wheelchair-bound passengers, both on the ground and on board, can also be effective in minimizing liability when things go wrong.
Although there are numerous arguments available to rebut Air Carrier Access Act of 1986, claims or limit exposure to pecuniary losses under the Warsaw Convention, this is clearly a highly emotionally charged and complex area of aviation law.
Public relations concerns and the potential for highly unfavorable media publicity may militate in favor of resolving such claims early, rather than becoming involved in high profile and often costly litigation.
But developing strong policies upfront to handle these situations will be your best defense.
April 1, 2009
Copyright 2009© LRP Publications | <urn:uuid:e15e52f2-f6ce-40c8-b64c-8d84c12b82e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.riskandinsurance.com/story.jsp?storyId=193288726 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94479 | 332 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Is Doomsday 2012 For Real?
I’m sure you have heard about December 21st, 2012. Most of us know it has something to do with the Mayan Calendar. Who discovered it? Will the world end on that day? Will we go through some galactic change? Does our planet align with other planets and float through the center of the Milky way?
In 2008, a poll revealed that 16 percent of Americans answered “yes” when asked if they “truly believed an apocalyptic event would occur” on the famed date.
Let’s look at a few of the facts before we buy a truck load of furniture with no payments until 2013, shall we?
It is important to note that December 21, 2012 is not a date in the Mayan Calendar. The Mayan date to which December 21, 2012 refers is often notated as 18.104.22.168.0 in the Mayan Long Count calendar. Anyone who says that the Mayan Calendar end date means that it is the end of the world is using pure speculation.
So, why then this date getting more attention as the day draws near? If you Google “2012″ with “disaster” or “doomsday” you’ll find nearly 3 million websites dedicated to scaring your little survival pants off.
Let’s look the origin of this thing. The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 — hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.
Was the warning of earth’s demise included in this Mayan Calendar? Fueling the hype is the fact that Decemeber 21, 2012 falls on the winter solstice and marks the first time in 26,000 years that the galactic alignment of the sun and the earth with the center of the Milky Way will occur. Many believe this crossing of the galactic equator could cause the earth’s poles to shift, which would be a really bad thing.
Since recorded history only goes back about 6,000 years, we have no idea what happened the last time earth just “played through” the center of the galaxy.
So, who were the Mayans? Did they really have some ancient insight into the future? Here’s a few few things we do know:
- The Mayans occupied Mesoamerica, which today is the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Some of the ruins still remain.
- In 700 A.D. they were 50,000 strong, great warriors, and had over 3,000 buildings. Then, they just simply vanished.
- They were obsessed with time and calendars, painstakingly charting cycles of the moon, sun, stars, and Venus. And they actually had uncanny accuracy. They did it without the help of computers, telescopes, or calculators.
- Windows were carefully placed in their homes so that the sun would shine on certain objects at a precise time of the day.
Without telescopes or any other apparatus, Mayan astronomers calculated the length of a lunar month to be 29.53059 days. Overall, the 2,000 year old Mayan calendar is believed to be more accurate than the 500 year old Gregorian calendar we use today” – Lawrence Joseph, historian.
Just this week NASA released a statement: “The world will not end in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.” Whew!
In Sioux Falls, we don’t hear as much about December 21st, 2012 as most places. Maybe we’re just a little more sensible, down-to-earth, and a little more skeptical about the end-of-world predictions. After all, Y2K was a giant fizzle, right?
We have learned that many Sioux Falls night clubs are hosting “end of the world” parties on December 21st. Well, at least it’s a Friday night. Just, please, don’t act like it’s the last night on the planet. That could get ugly.
Me? I prefer to rely on Matthew 24:36 which says:
But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” | <urn:uuid:c615d6e2-4d6c-4b02-8d67-70a2e1408356> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://b1027.com/is-doomsday-2012-for-real/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959742 | 960 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Northern & Central Midwest
National News - From NGA Editors
Keeping Cut Flowers Fresh
One of the joys of having a flower garden outdoors is being able to bring some of that beauty indoors. Whether you have a cutting garden from which you can harvest armloads of fresh flowers or...
Frogs and Fungicides
As scientists note a worldwide decline in amphibians, they have come to consider that these animals are perhaps our environment's "canary in the coal mine," giving us early warning of...
Zinnias have long been garden favorites for their bright blossoms and easy culture. But many have one big drawback- susceptibility to fungal diseases. Now gardeners who want a dose of hot color...
All the Dirt on Tomatoes
Tomato season is coming to a close for gardeners in many parts of the country. But until frost hits, it's time to harvest and enjoy fresh tomatoes, and perhaps preserve some of the bounty for...
In the Garden
As I walked the neighborhood the other day, I noticed several trees with yellowing or reddening leaves. This usually leaves me a bit melancholy since I know winter is coming, but I realized that it is too early to see fall colors.
This is the time...
Read more »
Flower Garden Bulbs Doug Green's website Flower Garden Bulbs is a great place for information about individual...
Bulb Forcing Bulb Forcing by Art Wolk will appear on shelves next winter. This is a great source for anyone...
Read more »
- Renovate Lawn
- Divide Perennials
- Plant Spring Bulbs
- Prepare New Beds
- Plant Greens | <urn:uuid:0d321d64-0eb8-415e-887b-5fc68eea7fe9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.garden.org/regional/report/arch/3575 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943491 | 342 | 1.953125 | 2 |
This article gives a short summary of activities required for successful implementation and publishing of Android product and might be helpful for those who are planning to release the first application to Android Market. As a base for this article I've taken an application which was recently released to market so now I can take a moment and share my experience with Android community.
My first Android-based application Kids Alphabet has been recently released on August 10, 2010. This article gives a short summary of activities required for successful implementation and publishing of Android product and might be helpful for those who are still planning to release the first application to the market.
Since first Android SDK was introduced to developers in the far 2008 I participated in 1-st Android Developers Challenge as a member of Intelliarts mobile solutions team, created a set of Android applications as a freelancer and finally got to the point when I decided to create an own product.
I had a few ideas of potentially asked-for application on Android Market but I selected the easiest one to be my first application which would pass the "Product Idea to Product Success" road. Such a decision was made because a short-term project gives almost the same experience in Android product creation process as a long-term one, besides it reveals all the potential problems that might occur during application implementation and publishing.
Application Idea proof
Before starting an implementation of your idea it worth to spend some time and take a closer look on alike applications that are already published on various Android Markets. There are so many Android developers around the globe that it might turn out that the same idea was already implemented. But that doesn't mean that you should immediately forget this idea and choose another one. Instead, investigate how popular are those applications, what might be done better, what unique features you might provide to the users of your application. Depending on investigation results you should decide whether it still worth to create the better and cost-effective application than those ones available on Market or maybe choose another idea.
User Interface design
This is probably one the most important activities as the fist impression of the end-user about your application comes from UI. Don't hesitate to invest some money and hire a designer who will help you to organize our thoughts about application UI, create few prototypes in order to chose the most pretty and usable one. Remember that potential buyers of your application won't even look on it if it have an ugly design no matter what unique and useful features does it provide.
Implementation and Testing
Implementation phase is the most interesting from the developer's point of view as it implies the actual development work on application. While every developer can spend as much time as needed to create a perfect application the stark reality says that we don't have too much time for that. The number of applications published on Android Market grows extremely fast, there are a hundreds of new products being posted on Market every day. So you should take that into account if you don't want to find out on the pre-release day that somebody has already implemented and published almost the same application. For example, it took me about three months to create a first release of Kids Alphabet application but during that time there appeared approximately 5 applications with the alike idea on Android Market, which means that potential buyers of my product might have already purchased another applications.
Of course, while developing the application really fast you shouldn't forget about testing - reasonable amount of time should be spent on application testing as if application crashes or works unexpectedly the end-user will probably remove it and place a low rating. It would be great if you perform a beta-testing of your application. In case you're planning to sell the product and you don't want to share fully functional application you might create a Lite version and let other Android developers give it a try. Thus you might get a really important feedback before releasing your application and fix critical issues if any were found during beta-testing.
Full vs. Lite version
A lot of developers use the practice of publishing both Full and Lite versions of the application to Android Market. There are several articles describing how to implement a Lite version of Android application, the most common approaches are:
- Reduce the amount of features which user might use in a Lite version - it looks to me that this approach doesn't apply to big applications with a bunch of functionality as the user would likely want to see all those features before purchasing your product. Such approach applies best to the games development where you might limit the number of levels available in Lite version.
- Allow fully-functional application usage for a trial period - this approach is easily circumvented by installing an application once again after the trial period has expired. I'd not recommend to use it.
- Setup a server which will contain a database of phones that have already used their trial period - while this approach is quite secure it requires set up of web service.
I've created one more approach which I used for a while in my product: the fully functional application limited to 15 minutes usage per day. While this approach gives users ability to try all available features that application provides it still doesn't allow to use application in full strength. This method also doesn't have the weakness of trial period based approach as reinstalling the application won't grant full access to application features for another trial period. I have to say that I finally decided not to publish the Lite version of product on Android Market as all paid applications can be evaluated during 24 hours after purchase and canceled if the user didn't like them.
Publishing your application
This is probably the most exciting moment of the overall Android product development process - you've finished your application and is ready to show it to the whole world. Keep in mind that creating a publisher account on Android Market requires from 3 to 5 days. So if you're planning to make the release on particular day, for example before Christmas, and you didn't setup an Android Market account yet then you should take a time and perform this in about a week before release.
Huge part of work is done at this point but since the moment you've sell the first copy of your application you should think of customers maintenance. The good idea would be to create at least a simple application site which provides a possibility for customers to contact you in case of any questions/problems. Remember that providing good services for your customers is also a part of Android application developer's work.
The goal I set myself at the very beginning of the product development was reached. While of course some mistakes were made during creation of my first Android product this experience will be reused in further projects.
Hopefully this information would be helpful for other developers ! | <urn:uuid:29fbae3d-a79b-4355-8d8a-0dc65ef56969> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.androidpit.com/Kids-Alphabet-an-Android-based-application-released-story-from-the-frontline | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966427 | 1,338 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Within the context of every employment relationship the parties have duties they must conform to if the contract is to remain enforceable. These duties can be set out in the contract but even if they are not they can be implied. The most common duties are:
- Not to destroy the relationship of trust and confidence between employer and employee.
- To take care of the employee’s health.
- To abide by the terms of the contract.
- To give the employee the right to obtain redress of any grievance.
The duties have been developed through case law decisions that determine the extent of the duty and the tests to confirm that it has been adhered to. An employer who breaches any of the duties breaches the contract itself and this gives the employee the right to take a breach of contract claim to the courts. | <urn:uuid:ee79e24c-721e-4881-8170-511798be81f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eclipse-ifa.com/site/knowledgebank/ifa_mzone_hr_empd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949789 | 165 | 2.296875 | 2 |
|How advocacy and lobbying happen at EU level - 1. Know your target|
Page 2 of 4
1. Know your targetThe main institutional actors to lobby on European issues are: the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Council, the Economic and Social Committee, National Permanent Representations in Brussels and National Governments.
This is the key target of influence because it initiates legislation. The Treaty of Lisbon envisages that the Commission should consult widely but no system of accreditation for Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) is foreseen as it is the case in other international organisations like the Council of Europe or the UN.
For the moment, there are three forms of consultation used by the European Commission:
The Commission has adopted “General principles and minimum standards for consultation of interested parties”. For more information.
The European Parliament
If the NGOs are not satisfied with the EC's legislative proposal, they can lobby Members of the European Parliament for amendments to the text. This is a key task for Culture Action Europe, especially since the Parliament’s role has increased over the recent years in parallel to the increase of its competencies (in adopting legislation; monitoring the activities of the Commission and deciding the budget).
European Parliament website
The European Council
This body is considered to be the most non-transparent of all decision-makers and the most difficult to lobby from Brussels because its members can be effectively influenced only at national level. That requires having effective partners nationally that are committed and skillful enough to transfer the policy agenda to the national decision-makers. Thus, as Culture Action Europe always maintains, the national governments remain very important in terms of political communication in Europe.
European Council website
The Presidency of the EU
It is also very important to lobby the rotating presidency on specific key issues, if the country holding the Presidency for six months is willing to take it on board and make it one of its priorities. To do so, you need to talk to national contacts, at early as a year before the Presidency starts. Note that some organisations (e.g. Amnesty International and the larger NGOs) submit papers to the Presidency stating what their policy or legislative expectations are from it.
List of Presidencies on the European Council website
The Permanent Representations to the EU
These are very useful information and contact channels. Culture Action Europe does not have close contacts with all 27 Perm Reps but is of course eager and willing to pursue specific contacts on the basis of members’ interests and networks.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
The EESC works with the NGO networks and it is useful in terms of information and contacts. A Liaison group has been established between the Committee and the Brussels based platforms as a structure for political dialogue on different initiatives of common interest. Culture Action Europe is a member of this Liaison group. However, note that some civil society platforms are strongly questioning the representativeness of the EESC in terms of civil society participation.
The EESC website | <urn:uuid:d665f6e9-538b-4c28-b2a5-1d197001fcfe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cultureactioneurope.org/lang-en/advocate/advocacy-and-lobbying-at-eu-level?e4b73c3745ac4bc374714928e835769b=d192ec0ef0ca867cfcbfd07b7fdedf2a&p=1-know-your-target&e4b73c3745ac4bc374714928e835769b=d192ec0ef0ca867cfcbfd07b7fdedf2a | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934493 | 620 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Superstorm Sandy sent residents along the East Coast running for cover this week. For those households that count animals among their family members, the storm brought an extra worry: What do I do with my pet?
The Swobodzien family of Wall Township, New Jersey, was faced with that potentially life-altering question as the storm approached.
The Swobodziens' 5-year-old cockapoo, Penny, is black with a white chest and, at only 12 pounds, the runt of her litter. "She is also my fourth daughter," said Arletta Swobodzien. The family's neighborhood was one of the first in the area to evacuate before Sandy hit, so they searched for options to keep Penny with them while they cleared out.
"We went to the first shelter and I told them, 'We have a dog at home, can she come here?' They said no. Make sure she has food and water, leave her," said Arletta. "When they said leave her, I just couldn't help it, I cried."
Gulf Coast residents faced the same dilemma seven years ago. Hurricane Katrina left countless family pets dead, stranded or homeless. When faced with the decision to leave their animals behind, some people decided to stay, and some may have perished because of that choice, said Tim Rickey of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"People would never evacuate a home and leave behind their children or their spouse," said Rickey, senior director of field investigations and response at the ASPCA. "Pets are family members. Society continues to evolve, and local governments know now that if they don't consider the animals, they may be putting residents in danger."
Lessons learned on the Gulf brought about the 2006 Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act. The PETS Act made it mandatory for local and state governments to include plans for pets in their emergency procedures and opened the gates for FEMA funds to be put toward the welfare of animals in disaster zones.
"After Katrina and with the PETS Act, we have tremendous support now from the USDA, FEMA and the federal government that just did not exist in 2005," said Rickey.
Niki Dawson of the Humane Society of the United States said local governments have been encouraging people to take pets with them when they evacuate, which helps prevent some of the dangers pets faced during Katrina.
Both animal welfare agencies applauded New York City for mandating that all city shelters and transit allow pets entrance leading up to and during the superstorm. "It is a model that we hope the rest of the nation follows in the future," said Rickey.
The PETS Act gives first responders and pet owners more to work with, but ultimately local governments must decide what provisions to put in place. That could mean anything from relying on local animal shelters to investing in mobile pet rescue units.
"Most animal shelters run at 100% capacity even when it is not a disaster situation, which means they couldn't possibly take in private pets. But under the PETS Act, that state will have fulfilled their obligation," said Dawson.
The second line of defense comes in the form of volunteer networks and non-government groups. The ASPCA, in partnership with Petsmart Charities, has set up a distribution center in Syracuse, New York, and contributed more than 4,000 supplies to local rescue groups, primarily in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. In New York City and on Long Island alone, the ASPCA now has more than 400 owned animals sheltered in 40 evacuation centers.
In addition to shelter assistance, helping animals means getting out in the field. The ASPCA has two transport trailers and three water rescue teams on standby. The Humane Society has responders in New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Delaware. They are joined by hundreds of other organizations and many dedicated volunteers.
When animal rescue groups can't get out in the field, they increasingly turn to social media. In Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, storm refugees could find pet-friendly shelters by following the Humane Society on its media platforms. Twitter has allowed for quick communication.
When the Humane Society found out via Twitter that a Connecticut town instructed residents to leave pets behind during a mandatory evacuation, the society sprung into action and persuaded local officials to open up an animal shelter to owned pets and change the evacuation notice.
"That community and those officials should be commended for turning on a dime to accommodate the needs of their community," said Dawson.
Local response to the PETS Act may vary, but there are universal guidelines that all pet owners should follow during a storm, said Rickey: "Keep your pets on a leash and close to you. There may be contaminated water and spoiled food. It is critical that pet owners should have a backup number outside of your region available. Make sure you have a crate and leash, so you can always move quickly."
Back in Wall Township, Arletta Swobodzien eventually found a shelter for her whole family, including Penny. As the clouds gathered overhead, a volunteer piled the family into his car to retrieve their dog, just before the worst of the storm hit.
"I don't know what we would have done," Swobodzien said. "When the girls got to see her, it was amazing." | <urn:uuid:568b1e11-d271-4d29-ad74-ccef267f368d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.local10.com/thats-life/Superstorm-Sandy-sends-pets-scurrying/-/1716786/17218600/-/ipo9v6/-/index.html | 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 | 0.970158 | 1,098 | 2.09375 | 2 |
The oxygen content of Oxy-Water is 5 to 7 times higher than that of regular bottled water and up to 10 times higher than that of some tap water. The Oxy-Water people do not use only use less than perfect reverse osmosis membranes or mere filters to create their base water, they use steam distillation. Not only does distillation remove everything but the water from the water, but it removes any vibrational "memories" as well. I often discuss water as possessing the proven quality of "memory." Filters and reverse osmosis membranes cannot erase the structural memories that the Japanese scientists are photographing in water crystals, but distillation can blank water back to it's pure unrecorded and unadulterated state.
Why Distilled Water? From the Oxy Water web site: "The distillation process removes every kind of bacteria, virus, parasite, pathogen, pesticide, herbicide, heavy metal, and inorganic material, and prepares water to accept and retain the maximum amount of oxygen possible. When ingested, water attracts and dissolves toxins and inorganic mineral deposits stored in our joints, organs, arteries, and nerve tracts, pulling them into our blood to be carried to our excretory organs for discharge. Distilled water is an excellent natural solvent. You should know that the human body cannot absorb inorganic materials available in plain tap or spring water: These minerals need to be converted first to an organic state for human assimilation. This is achieved only after they pass through plants, not water. Simply put, we need the purest water possible to carry what the body's cells need plenty of...Oxygen.
A recent study concluded each hemoglobin molecule in the blood requires 40 molecules of water to transport efficiently one molecule of oxygen to the cells. An inadequate amount of water can cause the hemoglobin molecule to actually repel oxygen. [And 80% of all Americans are estimated to be clinically dehydrated.] Pure (distilled) water "wets" the hemoglobin molecules, allowing them to more effectively pick up and transport oxygen throughout the body. The tiredness many people feel after eating is a result of oxygen being consumed during the digestive process, which diminishes the oxygen available to the rest of the body. "It seems as though some questions have arisen regarding the ability of the human body to absorb oxygen in water. The oxygen in the OXY-WATER is absorbed instantly through the mucosa of the mouth just as homeopathic remedies and nutrients are. Actually, the moment the water touches the inside of the mouth (especially under the tongue), the transference of information present in any substance begins to absorb. I recommend anyone who wants better health to drink OXY-WATER." Dr. Theresa Dale, Ph.D., N.D. Sports Oxygen is critical for muscle function. Proper oxygenation allows the body to produce and supply ATP to the muscles, giving them strength and elasticity. A lack of oxygen (hypoxia) causes the body to produce an oxygen-deficient form of ATP called lactic acid. This reduces the efficiency of the muscles and can lead to cramps, pulls, strains, etc. Unfortunately the popular heavily advertised energy drinks contain ingredients that trigger the digestive juices, causing oxygen to be transferred to the digestive tract to enable digestion. This reduces the amount of oxygen available to the rest of the body, especially the brain and muscles. Other ingredients in energy drinks, such as sugars, cause a short-lived energy burst. The "crash" which occurs after that initial surge can leave an athlete with less energy than if they had not had the drink in the first place. Couple that with oxygen loss due to digestive processing and it is understandable why most serious athletes choose pure oxygenated water. Pure (distilled) water requires no digestion. The distilled water used in Oxy-WaterTM is the absolute purest available and is completely compatible with the hydration demands of the body. The oxygen in Oxy-WaterTM is quickly absorbed into the body from the instant it comes in contact with your mouth tissue, and continues throughout the digestive tract."
The Oxy Water Process
The Oxy Water people start with filtration and ozonation, and then add distillation, and then refrigeration and high pressure oxygen saturation to build their water. These methods are not used by most oxygenated water bottlers because they are more costly, but the Oxy water people feel there is no substitute for quality. They then go even further and use a few more proprietary methods with their oxygenated water building process in order to help keep the oxygen content high in their bottled water. Unlike the products from some other companies, all you get with Oxy Water is water and oxygen. Here is the summation of a study of Oxy-Water presented to The American College of Sports Medicine in June of 2001. Abstract #945 Effects of Oxygenized Water on Percent Oxygen Saturation and Performance During Exercise. A Jenkins, M. Moreland, T.B. Waddell, B. Fernhall, FACSM. The George Washington University, Washington, DC. "Individuals who are highly trained may benefit from the use of oxygenized water to increase percent oxygen saturation during acute bouts of intense exercise and possibly prolong time to fatigue. Even small increases in oxygen saturation may be significant in highly trained individuals and elite performers."
Oxy-Water FAQ From the manufacturer
"Isn't there already oxygen in water?
Yes, but.Oxy-Water has been able to develop a proprietary method of infusing oxygen into water without causing a molecular change. We can cause this physical change in the water without the addition of any chemicals.
How can you prove that the molecular compound of H2O can hold a gas?
The presence of this oxygen has been supported by an independent laboratory that, prior to testing Oxy-Water, did not believe that oxygen could be trapped in water. The oxygen found in Oxy-Water is the same oxygen that you receive from medical personnel in the event of illness. We use NO chemicals to create an alleged oxygen increase.
How can H2O be physically altered to hold more oxygen?
What some "experts" have the tendency to over look (many times to their embarrassment) is that between the H2O molecules there are voids that can be filled with other microscopic substances. With the proper equipment and strictly controlled process, it is possible to remove the "stuff" between the molecules and replace it with oxygen gas. Using a special technique, Oxy-Water is then able to trap that gas between the molecules so that it will be immediately bio-available to the body. This process has been called "oxygenized" to differentiate it from "oxygenated" or "super oxygenated".
How difficult is it to put oxygen into the water?
It is NOT difficult to put oxygen into water. The difficulty is to keep the oxygen in the water so that is available to those who consume it. Oxy-Water's method of increasing oxygen in water has been found to be one of the most stable methods, which can be used. This guarantees the consumer a beneficial oxygen supplement at consumption. Some companies claim high oxygen content at the point of bottling, but are unable to maintain it for any appreciable length of time. Oxy-Water has tested its product after being bottled for 16 months and found it to still contain over 3 times more oxygen than normal bottled water.
Do you have independent analysis that confirms the presence of extra oxygen?
Yes, the Atomic Absorption Laboratory tested Oxy-Water and found the oxygen content at 34 ppm, over two weeks after the bottling date. They were so surprised that in a letter to us they said, "We didn't think it was possible to increase the dissolved oxygen in water but, you proved us wrong". Since then we have improved our technology and are carrying 40 to 45 ppm of oxygen.
>How long will the oxygen say in the bottle?
We have tested no production water that contains more the 20 to 25 ppm of oxygen after several weeks in the bottle, in spite of their claims. The excuse that their oxygen can not be measured should be looked on with great skepticism." | <urn:uuid:04e90758-55b4-4609-8069-49803b528ee0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oxygenamerica.com/xoxy-water.aspx?pageSelection=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95122 | 1,669 | 3 | 3 |
I had an interesting copyright experience this morning.
I follow Violet Blue’s blogs — and when she went to the Forbes Web Disruptor’s conference, she recorded a panel discussion as a video feed. She mentioned in her comments that she wanted to strip it back to only audio, but the software she was using couldn’t handle a file that large. Since I usually listen to lectures and panel discussions while exercising, I stripped it, transcoded it to mp3 and loaded it on my mp3 player.
It was a good panel, and several people made interesting points, but someone else can write about that. What made me pause is that I had the file available, and could have easily made it available to whoever wanted it. Instead – I ended up putting it away in a private directory and sending her a link. Even that was technically unlawful. As things stand, I am being exposed to potential legal liability for trying to help out someone I admire who’s stuck out back of the beyond with marginal software. Somehow, I don’t think that this was what any of the lawmakers involved in copyright intended.
If damaging cooperation among people who respect each other’s work is not the intent of copyright (and I’m fairly certain that it’s not), than how can we fix the problem? That’s a much more interesting question, and answering it means taking a long hard look at how we reward people for creating works of value or beauty. In this context, that means thinking about the social nature of cooperation.
In a way, much of this gets back to some of the things Richard Stallman wrote about software. The key to his writings is a belief that people’s willingness to cooperate and share is one of the human attributes that holds society together. No matter what you have to say about his other beliefs, that basic premise is difficult to disagree with. This leads to some interesting situations — for example, the fact that Bittorrent works for infringing content, socially, says something about people. One of the things that it says is that people will continue to work together, to share things they value with each other, even in the face of personal risk. In effect, my personal benefit ends the moment I have a complete copy of whatever I am downloading – whether that’s a song, a movie, or a program. Any time I continue to stay connected to the network, I increase my personal risk without any direct personal benefit. The system continues to work because of a personal belief that I should “give back” to the community.
Law and society are interconnected systems. Changing one will, over the long term, always have an impact on the other. In situations where changes in society overturn unjust laws, or where good leadership leads to laws that promote a society that is more just – these effects can be extremely good. In other situations, such as where repressive laws have been used in an attempt to stop positive social changes or social resistance has stopped necessary legal reform, things have been less positive. In either case, it’s important to remember this effect when you look at changes in the law, whether those changes are historic or anticipated.
In the case of file sharing networks, the law and society are at odds. The question we have to ask at this point is to what extent we are willing to suppress socially beneficial behavior (sharing) to get a socially desirable benefit (compensation for media companies and, indirectly, artists). This is not a case where any of the absolutes come into play — it’s not about life and death, it’s about money. Money is important, and so are social institutions – but let’s be realistic about what we’re dealing with. Legislation is always a process of deciding to give up some of one thing to get more of something else. It is our responsibility as citizens to ensure that our government makes a good bargain, and to correct it when it fails. I don’t know what the correct balance is, but I know that the current system has failed and it’s time to reassess it starting at the beginning.
Update: She decided not to sue me | <urn:uuid:9d876ac2-3d1c-4105-9831-f5035616505d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jricher.com/category/writing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96522 | 867 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The online grocery business is heating up once again, with a very big player quietly entering the arena-Amazon.com.
This past summer, the company began delivering groceries to select suburbs in the Seattle area. Dubbed Amazon Fresh, the service offers fruits and vegetables, fresh, frozen and non-perishable items and an assortment of natural, organic and specialty brands. Orders are filled at a refrigerated warehouse outside Seattle, placed in temperature-controlled totes and delivered by one of Amazon's 12 trucks. That's right, no UPS-Amazon is handling its own transportation.
The company is offering a pre-dawn delivery option that appears to be a big hit with customers. Place an order online by 9:00 p.m. and find your groceries on your doorstep the next morning. Just like the milkman. It's a great idea, since Amazon can max out its trucks and routes and avoid traffic-and have an eight-hour delivery window. Groceries can also be delivered during designated times during the day or picked up locally.
Amazon is testing the concept; company officials have not commented on when, or if, they will expand the service. But in recent years, the company has been increasing its food offerings on its Web site, starting with gourmet foods in 2003. Last year, Amazon opened its Grocery Store, which delivers food in conjunction with local merchants. Books and CDs may come and go, but everybody's got to eat, right?
This isn't Amazon's first venture into the online grocery world-in 1999, the company invested more than $42 million in HomeGrocer.com, which serviced the Seattle and Portland, OR suburbs. HomeGrocer.com was purchased by Webvan Group for $1.2 billion and we all know how that ended.
You might wonder why Amazon would want to go where so many others have failed. It turns out, Webvan and the rest were ahead of their time. The online grocery business is actually booming. Jupiter Research predicts that the segment will grow 15 percent annually over the next five years. Online grocery sales rose 32 percent to $4.4 billion in 2006 and are expected to climb to $5.5 billion in 2007.
Leaders include Peapod, a division of Ahold. Peapod, the most successful online grocer, reports an annual sales growth rate of 25 percent and has delivered more than 10 million orders. Fresh Direct, a pure play which serves the New York City metropolitan region, has delivered more than 5 million orders. These are just two of the seemingly successful online grocers that are figuring out how to make it work.
Can Amazon compete with these companies? It's hard to say. Amazon has a strong reputation and brand recognition goes a long way. Why not order some groceries while you're buying other stuff on Amazon.com? But, we all know that the last mile is the toughest-especially when it comes to perishable and temperature-controlled products. It will be interesting to see if Amazon takes it to the next level. | <urn:uuid:0e612f94-8a03-4ff6-93a0-5f85913f29e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foodlogistics.com/article/10315853/the-new-kid-in-town | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961642 | 622 | 1.59375 | 2 |
ate-innovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Greil-Marcus-007.jpg” alt=”" width=”460″ height=”276″ />On September 14, author and music critic Simon Reynolds will do a keynote speech on the topic of Do It Yourself in pop culture, looking at the history as well as current times and even to the future. Earlier this year, the author of a.o. Rip It Up and Start Again and Retromania did an extensive interview
for a profile in The Guardian with another heavyweight in music journalism: Greil Marcus, or, as Reynolds writes: widely considered the greatest living rock writer. Marcus wrote such classics as Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music, Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century and Dead Elvis: A Chronicle of a Cultural Obsession.
The lengthy talk, Reynolds talked to Marcus during the course an entire afternoon about his entire career, has now been made available as a transcript on The Los Angeles Review of Books. Greil talks about his childhood
and his father, about how & when he started as a music writer and that his wife has 'an absolute bullshit detector'. An interesting part about his book Mystery Train: “[The book] grew out of my dropping out of graduate school in 1973 and realizing that I wasn't going to write my dissertation and deciding, “Well, I'll write a book about rock 'n' roll.” I wrote a book proposal and it wasn't a whole lot more than “I will answer all your questions about rock 'n' roll.” It was totally incoherent! But at the end of the book proposal it said that — after I had gone all over the map, and got totally lost probably — there would be a chapter consisting of five- to ten-page essays on a few performers, as a demonstration of how you could write in depth about specific performers. And of course that became the whole book, once I got the rest of the garbage out of my system. Mystery Train is a group of essays on a few performers who seemed to me linked, to be struggling with the same kind of storytelling challenge.” | <urn:uuid:6209d350-4ac9-4357-ab5b-3351eef7dce9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://incubate-innovation.org/tag/mystery-train/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968899 | 462 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Farmers Markets offer in season, local produce to communities nationwide.
Promoting access to fresh and nutritious foods for the millions of Americans who participate in nutrition assistance programs is a top priority for USDA. We’re happy to announce that we’re emphasizing our commitment to promoting healthy food choices by giving more SNAP participants the ability to spend their benefits at farmers’ markets. Starting this month, we are making $4 million dollars in funds available to equip farmers’ markets with wireless point-of-sale equipment. Read more »
We left the cool warehouse with sticky shoes and smelling of spoiled bananas, but also with a warm feeling for having helped the North Texas Food Bank in Dallas ensure healthy, fresh food for their clients. Hundreds of cases of bananas had been donated, but when food bank staff checked the produce it was too spoiled to be used. However, the sturdy produce boxes could be salvaged for further use, so 32 USDA volunteers from the Food and Nutrition Service Southwest Regional Office and USDA Risk Management Agency rolled up their sleeves to empty and then reassemble the boxes. This was a great opportunity for us to work together with other USDA employees and see the food bank in operation first hand. The project was part of the January 12th USDA National Day of Service honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Read more »
RA Ludwig, Texas Department of Agriculture Todd Staples, Deion Sanders and Former NFL Athlete/Hall of Famer review activities that are planned for the children at Sanders’ youth camp.
On July 6th, I attended an event to kick-off this season’s Summer Food Service Program in Texas and to celebrate the state’s third annual “Mayor’s Challenge” to end child hunger during the summer. The event was held at NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders’ youth camp in Duncanville, Texas. Read more »
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Thursday (center), corperation for national and comunity Service CEO Patrick Corvington and Bread for the City President George Jones announced at Bread for the City, on April 29, 20ll in Washington, DC, that the USDA will become champions to end hunger and innovative partnerships to address hunger, especially among children USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
In 2009, nearly 1 million children simply didn’t get enough to eat in the United States. It’s a startling statistic but one that we can change, and you can help. Today, USDA launched a series of new online tools and volunteer initiatives to increase the number of individuals, organizations, and governments actively working to end childhood hunger. These tools will help you to get involved and become a champion to end hunger in your community! We can end hunger if we all work together. Whether you represent a non-profit, faith-based organization, state or local government, school, private company, or you’re an interested and passionate member of the public, it’s time to get involved and take action. Read more »
Last summer, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), in collaboration with the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), released the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at Farmers Markets: A How-To-Handbook. The handbook assists farmers’ market operators and direct marketing farmers in determining the steps necessary to become authorized to participate in SNAP and, subsequently, the steps related to managing participation.
It includes tips and guidelines on how to make the program work successfully for vendors and customers. The handbook also features a list of resources, a glossary of important terms, and several case studies from farmers markets that have successfully implemented EBT technology. AMS’s USDA Farmers’ Market Directory is available online to locate farmers’ markets that accept nutrition assistance program benefits. Read more »
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) teams up with the Mendocino Food and Nutrition Program to provide needy families with nutritious meals at the Fort Bragg Food Bank.
As Americans struggle to feed their families during these tough economic times, communities are relying on food banks to provide nutritional meals for disadvantaged households. For the northern California community of Mendocino County, residents in need are finding help in the Fort Bragg Food Bank, run by the Mendocino Food and Nutrition Program, a local nonprofit. Read more » | <urn:uuid:9f2c11e5-3c17-40b8-ab7e-fe78a123a25e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/food-and-nutrition-service/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93637 | 899 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Even though it may seem that this text has an unusual title, still it is hard to capture with a few words what is connected to this date.
Sunday 17th February at 15:39hrs, Kosova became a country and the place is now called Republic of Kosova. Kosovar assembly members, with the absolute number of votes (109) have approved the Declaration of Independence, where Kosova was declared a Sovran and Independent country.
This day will be written with golden letters in the calendar of the newest country of the world. This day marks the end and the beginning of a new era.
This is the line between a Kosova with an undefined status and Independent Kosova is drawn. In this day a new life will start, now only for the citizens in this country but also for the whole region. Kosova will be a stability factor. The Kosova’s assembly decision is with no doubt, a historical one; with its statement it declared the will of all Albanians. It also contains the entire struggle throughout the history that has been done for the Independent Kosova. At the same time, in the Assembly of Republic of Kosova it has been said that all the citizens will be equal, that from the Independence nobody should be scared, but also forgiveness should be done, with the purpose that in the future all of us will live better than up till now. Now we don’t have much time to celebrate.
Starting from today February 18th, a battle to change a lot of things within the state will begin, but also to position and stabilize Kosova in the international map. The struggle will be in two directions – internal and external. Alongside the democratic development, inter ethnic tolerant reports and the material wealth fare, a hasty duty is the preserving of stability. Especially cause the new country can face itself with provoking and different barriers. There are still people in Balkans that want to see Kosova with tensions and unstable. But within a short time those people understand that they were wrong.
Kosova will look totally different and worthy of entering amongst stabile and perspective countries. As such it will be inside important international institutions. So all the struggle and our goals for the future melt in this very day of February 17th. In the day, which will always be a day of celebration?
Therefore in this case, a simple word id enough, Happy Independence. While I am writing this information to you the Republic of Kosova has been recognized by USA, England, France, Italy, Turkey, Albania and Afghanistan, while the recognition continues. | <urn:uuid:d64a5672-dfd7-420d-aacf-fe12fc5d815d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.netpor.org/esp/noticies.php?ordre=725 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957203 | 526 | 2.21875 | 2 |
|Jeff Landis||617.728.4446 x146
JFF Brings NASA Resources to Community College Green Curricula
Degree programs at three colleges to include NASA data and tools
Boston, MA (November 16, 2011) -- Jobs for the Future (JFF) and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) are introducing NASA’s cutting-edge contributions in climate change science to community college green sector curricula as part of a new project launched this month called Building a Diverse, Green Workforce. The project builds on The Greenforce Initiative, a partnership between JFF and NWF to improve green career pathways for underrepresented students and connect campus sustainability to hands-on training opportunities. The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is also a partner in the new project.
Edgecombe Community College in North Carolina, Wayne County Community College in Detroit, and Wilbur Wright Community College in Chicago are all piloting the new curriculum in at least nine courses, engaging up to 180 students over two years.
“Despite the slow growth economy, employment opportunities continue to increase in many clean economy sectors and sustainability skills are becoming more important for economic competitiveness,” said Maria Flynn, vice president at JFF. “Through this project, we will strengthen the skill sets that adults attain in their green career training programs while also supporting the development of workers who are knowledgeable about and prepared for well-paying STEM careers.”
“Disseminating NASA data and tools through community college training programs will help us expand these resources to a broader audience, while helping to prepare students for employment or graduate study in technical fields related to climate change,” said Dr. Lin Chambers, NASA project scientist. “By engaging underrepresented and underserved populations within these programs, the project will also cultivate greater diversity, a core value of all NASA education programs.”
To promote greater access and success for students at different skill levels, Building a Diverse, Green Workforce focuses on credit coursework that leads to green job-related certificates and degrees; workforce training programs endorsed by green sector employers; and basic skills programs for students not yet ready for college credit-level work. The curriculum will be adapted from the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA Climate Change Connections, which incorporates NASA mission satellite data with ground-based observations for use with high school students and teachers.
“Climate change, and the challenges it brings, will touch every corner of the American economy, and we must address it in kind at the career training level,” said Kevin Coyle, vice president of Education Programs, National Wildlife Federation. “We are excited to help that process along by adapting our teaching tools using more technically advanced NASA learning opportunities and resources more appropriate for community college faculty and students.”
This national project was made possible in part by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.
NASA contributes to national efforts for achieving excellence in STEM education. By lending its resources in climate system science, it hopes to improve the quality of the nation’s STEM education and increase the level of climate literacy and engagement of the public.
About Jobs for the Future
Jobs for the Future identifies, develops, and promotes new education and workforce strategies that help communities, states, and the nation compete in a global economy. In over 200 communities across 43 states, JFF improves the pathways leading from high school to college to family-sustaining careers.
About the National Wildlife Federation
Since its formation in 1936, National Wildlife Federation has worked with affiliates across the country to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for future generations. NWF seeks to engage and educate its four million members, partners and supporters with a focus on restoring habitat, confronting global warming and connecting people with nature. To learn more about NWF's work with colleges and universities to improve green training and sustainability, visit the Campus Ecology Program. | <urn:uuid:a919e4c2-f092-4ce1-829a-816f0ea4c197> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jff.org/media/news-releases/2011/jff-brings-nasa-resources-community-coll/1359 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918666 | 801 | 2.28125 | 2 |
You can listen to the guys who predict doom for our economy. You can listen to those who predict world recession. Or you can look at some facts. When you do, you might come to more positive conclusions.
I am not saying all is rosy. However, some of these facts look pretty encouraging.
Our Gross Domestic Product rose 3.2 percent last quarter. Our exports were particularly strong. Those are good figures. Those who predicted we would be knee-deep in recession by now have red faces.
The number of people filing for unemployment benefits has declined for a few weeks. Another encouraging sign.
The median family income is gradually moving up, after it was stalled. The average family is gaining more disposable income gradually. Good signs.
We should see inflation slow down. That will be welcome by most Americans. We have already seen gasoline prices drop. World oil prices have fallen about 40 percent. Heating oil prices are slipping. Almost all consumers will be happy with this.
Meanwhile the companies that make and ship our products will welcome the lower energy prices too.
Oil is not the only commodity whose price has fallen. The price of wheat has fallen. So has corn’s. And soybeans’ price. And cotton’s. And cocoa’s. (Think candy bars.) And coffee’s. And prices on a range of the metals that go into our various products.
In other words, the prices of things that caused inflation to go up are now going down.
House prices are down, as you know. For sellers, of course, this is bad news. But for buyers and renters it is good news. These prices will likely stay low for a while. This is because we have millions of unsold houses on the market. Many of them are new and unoccupied.
Here is another encouraging trend. Our dollar is strengthening against many currencies. Yes, it will make our exports more expensive. But it will also make many or most of our imports less expensive.
I have not seen the figures, but we will be seeing foreign money come into the U.S. To be invested in our stocks and bonds. Foreigners will shift money here because our economy looks to be strengthening. Unlike European and other economies. Many will invest in our stocks. They figure the improving economy will boost profits in various companies. So they are buying stocks of those companies now.
They also figure if our economy expands our Fed will have to raise interest rates. Rising interest rates help the dollar further. For foreigners it is nice to have money in the U.S. when the dollar is strengthening.
Now most Americans don’t pounce on their computer to dig out the day’s commodity prices. Most do not know the price of nickel today. Nor do they care if it fell 5 percent in a day.
Most Americans cannot tell you if our GDP or our dollar is up or down. In fact, most Americans are not aware of the figures contained in this article. Millions of them live paycheck to paycheck.
Many have grown disgruntled. Not because those figures moved against them. They have been unhappy because they have run out of money. The gas price increase took some. Higher food and clothing and everything prices took their money. At the end of the week or month they knew they had less than they had at the end of the week or month a year ago.
Between incomes edging up and inflation edging down and gas prices declining, they ought to feel a little more comfortable in months ahead. That process has already begun. The last two readings on consumer confidence about the future were higher.
If you feel inclined to be optimistic, you will find me at the head of the parade.
From Tom ... as in Morgan.
For more columns and for Tom’s radio shows (and to write to Tom): tomasinmorgan.com. | <urn:uuid:5609fdcc-a1b3-4d04-b8c9-f5fba38223f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.evesun.com/news/stories/2008-09-08/5115/At-the-head-of-the-parade/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964612 | 800 | 1.554688 | 2 |
As members of Congress pledged Thursday to revive legislation to save the financially ailing U.S. Postal Service, a Washington think tank announced it will conduct an independent study of how the quasi-government agency could cede much of its operation to private companies.
The review by the nonprofit National Academy of Public Administration will analyze the benefits of restoring the agency’s financial health by using a “hybrid” model, which would farm out to the private sector postal operations other than the last delivery mile. A letter carrier would still drive or walk that last part, dropping letters and packages in mailboxes.
Source: Washington Post. Read full article. (link) | <urn:uuid:03395967-f56d-4265-9775-c1e3a14fa0c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reason.com/24-7/2013/01/04/think-tank-to-analyze-privatizing-postal | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941104 | 136 | 1.640625 | 2 |
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See class lists and photos from each school, and look for a special section in Monday's edition.
The Port of Bremerton (PoB)has leased the Harper Pier from DNR (The State)for the last 30 years. Money was spent on upkeep $400,000 since 2000, but believe it or not wood and steel in sea water has a tendency not to last for centuries (built in late 1880 and rebuilt in 1919). It became unsafe for public use late last year. The PoB does not own the pier, the tidelands, or property nearby. Note that statement, the PoB does not own any property or tidelands the pier is on, or the pier itself. You want to complain to someone, talk to your county commissioners and Olympia elected officials who have ignored the potential for decades, yet are the owners of the property and tidelands.
The Bremerton Marina has the potential to make a profit, as difficult as it may seem to some. Harper Pier on the other hand will not only cost for replacement, but future maintenance, electrical bills and capital repairs will come from the PoB taxpayers. I do not see Harper Pier making a profit anytime in the future, but will it bring enjoyment to those who do use it? What is that worth in dollars?
The PoB is working to try to get funding from grants, donations, and gifts to replace the Harper Pier. Done right it will not cost PoB taxpayers to replace the pier except for staff time spent and the upkeep would become part of the regular budget planning. The PoB would not own the pier or the land nearby, that is still County & State.
Is it a good project? If you have used Harper Pier you probably love having it available. If you have no idea where Harper Pier is then you probably think you have no concern if it gets replaced or not, you just do not want tax money spent on something you will never use. Those decisions are part of being a taxpayer, voter, property owner and resident in Kitsap County and Washington State. Frankly, I would have heartburn spending 1.5 million PoB taxpayer dollars on a project where the PoB does not own the property or tidelands for the use of the public. I think that is more a responsibility of Olympia and the County.
No matter which what you want, communicate with the elected officials. County Commissioners, State Senators and Representatives can help by guiding funding to the project. Maybe the PoB needs to be out of the picture and the County and Olympia work on the project for the economic development of the Harper area.
Again it is one thing to blitch, it is another to actually participate in the community. Get involved and let are elected officials know where you stand.
Roger GaySouth Kitsap
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100% of the dollars donated are distributed to local food banks.
Find searchable data, including public employee salaries, crime stats and more. | <urn:uuid:11f21bc0-5726-4efd-add4-f05990322670> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kitsapsun.com/comments/reply/?target=61:376621&comment=571750 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948514 | 681 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Personable robots, advanced prosthetics and entrepreneurship figure prominently in campus visit.
MIT researchers have created a microbial ecosystem smaller than a stick of gum that sheds new light on the plankton-eat-plankton world at the bottom of the aquatic food chain.
The work, reported in the January print issue of American Naturalist, may lead to better predictions of marine microbes' global-scale influence on climate.
Through photosynthesis and uptake of carbon compounds, diverse planktonic marine microorganisms --Â too small to be seen with the naked eye --Â help regulate carbon flux in the oceans. Carbon flux refers to the rate at which energy and carbon are transferred from lower to higher levels of the marine food web, and it may have implications for commercial fisheries and other ocean-dependent industries.
The MIT study is one of the first detailed explorations of how sea creatures so small --Â 500,000 can fit on the head of a pin --Â find food in an ocean-size environment.
Besides showing that microbes' swimming and foraging is much more sophisticated and complex than previously thought, the work also indicates that organic materials may move through the oceans' microbial food web at higher-than-expected rates, via a domino effect of resource patch formation and exploitation, said co-author Justin R. Seymour, postdoctoral fellow in the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE).
Using the new technology of microfluidics, Seymour and colleagues Roman Stocker, the Doherty Assistant Professor of Ocean Utilization in CEE, and MIT mechanical engineering graduate student Marcos devised a clear plastic device about the size and shape of a microscope slide.
Depending on the organism being studied, nutrients or prey are injected with a syringe-based pump into the device's microfluidic channel, which is 45 mm long, 3 mm wide and 50 micrometers deep. "While relying on different swimming strategies, all three organisms exhibited behaviors which permitted efficient and rapid exploitation of resource patches," Stocker said. It took bacteria less than 30 seconds, for example, to congregate within a patch of organic nutrients.
This new laboratory tool creates a microhabitat where tiny sea creatures live, swim, assimilate chemicals and eat each other. It provides the first methodological, sub-millimeter scale examination of a food web that includes single-celled phytoplankton, bacteria and protozoan predators in action.
"Rather than simply floating in the ocean and passively taking up the chemicals required for growth, many microbes exhibit sophisticated behaviors as they forage in an environment where patches of nutrients and resources are few and far between," Seymour said.
Oceanographic ecological research has typically taken place at much larger scales because of the difficulty of measuring the behavioral responses of small populations of microorganisms in very small volumes of seawater.
"To understand how environmental fluctuations affect the ecology of populations, it is imperative to understand the foraging abilities and behavior of marine microbes at environmentally relevant scales," the authors wrote.
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation. | <urn:uuid:b41e807d-c1c5-4ac8-982c-30a997a0bf19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/mini-ecosystem-1215.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934802 | 626 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Respond to this
Re: String tree...
8/15/2012 7:51 PM
Paul Warren (15310) wrote:
is there a point to a string tree
As far as I know it is to even the tension over the nut between strings. Without it, the down force would be less on the D and G strings making it possible for those strings to jump out of the nut when played hard.
String trees are usually only on basses with more than two tuning machines to one side of the headstock. Fender and MM are examples. Basses with 2x2 tuners don't have them. | <urn:uuid:5a0e9ed6-6333-4821-9d4c-34b9e38d32f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.activebass.com/m906794--String-Tree | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956807 | 130 | 1.632813 | 2 |
A school of Blue Tang fish swimming together off the Caribbean island of Bonaire. It has long been assumed that the schooling behavior of fish evolved in part to protect animals from being attacked by predators.
Credit Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images
Starlings fly over the Piazza Venezia as night falls in Rome.
By tricking live fish into attacking computer-generated "prey," scientists have learned that animals like birds and fish may indeed have evolved to swarm together to protect themselves from the threat of predators.
"Effectively, what we're doing here is we're getting predatory fish to play a video game," says Iain Couzin, who studies collective animal behavior at Princeton University. "And through playing that game, through seeing which virtual prey items they attack, we can get a very deep understanding of as to how behavioral interactions among prey affect their survival."
Refinance activity continues to boom, fueling the home-loan market. Low interest rates have created a class of "serial refinancers" — those lucky enough to borrow at lower rates — and given them new opportunities to spend their freed up cash.
Settlement attorney Robert Gratz never used to be on a first-name basis with his clients.
"In the past, our practice was such that you'd see people, and that was the end of it," he says.
Gratz now sees the same faces all the time, of clients refinancing again and again — these days in the mid-3 percent range.
For more: Why does the government subsidize crop insurance in the first place? We try to answer that question in our latest podcast.
The federal government spends about $7 billion a year on crop insurance for U.S. farmers. Policies are sold by private companies, but the government sets the rates, so the companies can't compete on price.
People enjoy a sunny day on the beach in Knokke, on Belgium's North Sea coast, in April 2011. This summer, the weather hasn't been as nice — and resort owners and officials are feeling litigious over a pessimistic weather forecast.
Parts of Europe are experiencing extremely rainy weather this summer. But some tourist towns in Belgium and the Netherlands say their season has been blighted too — not by bad weather but by bad weather forecasting.
The mayor of the Belgian seaside resort of Knokke says it's a crime that tourism there is down this year. He means that literally. | <urn:uuid:4b5883e4-7abe-4994-815c-00fa851a7fdb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://krvs.org/npr-news?page=2858 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968886 | 504 | 2.53125 | 3 |
You don’t have to pack your diet with mega amounts of fiber to prevent colorectal cancer: Eating a few common foods like brown rice just a few times a week can significantly lower your chances of colon polyps, growths that could lean to colon cancer, a new study finds.
When people chowed down on brown rice at least once a week, they reduced their risk of colon polyps 40 percent, according to research from Loma Linda University recently published in Nutrition and Cancer.
The study also found eating legumes—plants that bare their fruit in pods, like peanuts, green beans, and edamame—at least once a week reduced the risk of colon polyps by 33 percent. Noshing cooked green veggies once a day reduced risk by 24 percent, and eating dried fruit 3 times a week reduced risk by 26 percent, when compared to other subjects who ate these foods less frequently.
More from MensHealth.com: 7 Additional Cancer-Fighting Foods
“These foods have cancer-fighting properties that help protect against the formation of colon polyps,” said the study’s lead author Yessenia Tantamango, M.D.
And that’s important, considering that colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in America. A man’s risk of developing the disease is about 1 in 20 during his lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.
Feel free to eat these foods more often than the recommendations above. “We found that the more often you eat brown rice, legumes, cooked green vegetables, and dried fruit, the lower your risk,” says Tantamango.
So what is it about these foods that make them so efficient at keeping out colon polyps? The answer: Fiber. These foods are chock full of it. “Fiber contains Butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid, that stops the growth of cancer cells,” explains Alexandra Caspero, R.D., and owner of the nutrition consultation service Delicious Knowledge. Brown rice is higher in fiber than white rice, and dried fruit contains more fiber per serving than whole fruit (though Caspero says fresh fruit is just as good for you).
Antioxidants also come into play. “Vegetables, fruits, and grains contain anti-cancer agents, like antioxidants. Antioxidants fight against negative compounds in our body that cause harm,” says Caspero.
More from MensHealth.com: 6 Ways to Prevent Colon Cancer
To include more of these cancer-fighting foods in your diet, try this easy summer salad recipe from Caspero.
Recipe: Brown Rice Summer Salad
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup celery, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Mix all salad ingredients together. Then, whisk together dressing ingredients:
3 tbsp. olive oil
Juice of 1 large lemon
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
Pour dressing over the rice salad. Toss salad. Let sit for 2 to 3 hours for the best flavor. When ready to serve, add in 1 bunch of chopped basil and parsley.
More from MensHealth.com: Colon Cancer Screening Options | <urn:uuid:808fc7b2-8400-4b74-a530-630f75ce8dcc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.menshealth.com/foods-that-fight-cancer/2011/08/15/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925203 | 728 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Random House, Inc. Celebrates Black History Month
Originally established as Negro History Week in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, a noted African-American author and scholar, this event evolved into the establishment of February as "Black History Month" in 1976.
Since 1926, The Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History has established the national theme for the month-long celebration. This year's theme is "From Slavery to Freedom: The Story of Africans in the Americas."
Click here for a list of books from Random House, Inc. you can incorporate into your class activities.
For more information on Black History Month, and for some additional resources, here are a few websites we recommend:
The Black History site at the Library of Congress
A website tracing the history of Jim Crow
The Biography Channel's Black History Month website | <urn:uuid:5c8fa174-7c1a-412c-af87-4934421e57d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.randomhouse.com/highschool/2007/02/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920603 | 175 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Glaze Recipe Etiquette
Many recipes are already posted on this network, and you can search for them yourself by typing in the name in the SEARCH box at the upper right hand corner of all of our pages. A thousand or more are listed on the Sankey glaze database which is also posted on this network. With the Sankey database, which is an enormous web page, you need to go to the edit menu of your browser and select "Find", then type in the glaze name you are searching for. Look down the page with the "Find Next" button until you've checked all the possibles. The next step would be to do a Google search of the Internet for the recipe you're looking for. If you find the recipe, it would be generous and helpful to post it on our network yourself, giving credit to the source where you found it.
If these three techniques don't turn up the recipe you seek, THEN it is a reasonable thing to request one of our members to either post the recipe on the network or to email it to you. Asking for recipes without due diligence on your part is like asking someone else to do your job for you. It will not enhance your reputation.
Cone 6 Glaze Recipes
As a starting point, here is a list of online sources of cone 6 glaze recipes.
Group 1 - Having both photographs and commentary on the glazes.
- John Post generously shares his glaze research, and coats his simple forms with spectacular glazes. He has extensive information on a technique of glaze testing.
- Alisa Clausen has the most extensive photo-documented cone 6 glaze test collection (on flicker) that I have found. Most of the recipes are for cone 6 glazes. The right column of her page links to groups of glaze tests. Her source of recipes is largely the Sankey Glaze Database which is available right here on our network.
- John Anthony's Red Hill Pottery has some great shots and notes on his tests of many published recipes.
- June Perry does extensive glaze testing and shares her results generously on her Website.
- James Jacobs has a set of ^6 recipes with pictures on his Website. Caution -- all of the photos of finished examples were fired in reduction. He says only the cobalt blues and heavy iron formulas would be useful in oxidation.
Group 2 Recipes not as well documented as Group 1
- The clayart discussions at potters.org are a prodigous source of ^6 glaze recipes, but you won't find pictures here. Some of the discussions give links to Websites with pictures, but generally you will only find recipes and written descriptions of glaze characteristics. The SDSU ceramicsweb glazebase seems to be offline. The creator of GlazeChem glaze calculation software downloaded the entire glazebase in 2001, and has it available for downloading in GlazeChem format. I've extracted the cone 6 recipes and commentary and converted it to a Word document. Here is a link for you to download the 275 page document - CeramicsWebClayartCone6Glazes.doc
- Lakeside Pottery has an extensive list of their glaze recipes, but they refer you to their gallery to see the glazes in use without a one-to-one match up of recipe to picture. These appear to be worth exploring as they produce some very nice pieces.
- Val Cushing had an article in the June 1977 issue of Studio Potter that listed a number of his recipes for glazes and engobes (or slips). Note that a number of the glazes utilize Barium Carbonate which in the intervening years has fallen from grace for its toxicity. It would be prudent not to use these glazes on the interior or mouth contact surfaces of table ware or cookware.
Group 3 Recipes lacking significant documentation.
- I have a collection of them in a Word document totalling 61 pages. I am posting the document here for you to download and test as you like. If you do test any of them, please report your results in detail here. Good Luck. collectedglazes.doc
Let's see if our members have any interest in sharing glaze recipes. If you want to post a recipe, please follow the following guidelines.
- Use the conventional 100 unit batch formula and the full descriptive names of all ingredients.
- Include the source of the recipe
- Include application methods, best thickness of application, and cautions about defects you've encountered
- Include any special firing techniques
- Post a picture of the fired glaze
- If known, include the coefficient of expansion, and the clay body you've used with the glaze.
Please do not post recipes from copyrighted sources. | <urn:uuid:9771d2c3-4e22-40f3-8311-ed21f0168ff6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cone6pots.ning.com/page/cone-6-glaze-recipes | 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 | 0.951979 | 981 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Topeka Speaker Mike O'Neal and other Republicans pledged support Thursday for a proposed rule that would require spending cuts to offset any new increases as the Kansas House prepares to begin its first significant budget debate.
The rule, which supporters call "pay as you go" or "paygo," is similar to a measure Congress approved last year. It would prohibit members of the Kansas House, during debate by the entire chamber, from proposing amendments to appropriations bills adding spending to one part of the budget without coupling that with a cut in another part.
"We've got to have a balanced budget, and so if you're going to be serious about wanting to add money, then you ought to be serious about finding a way to pay for it," said O'Neal, a Hutchinson Republican.
But opponents are already lining up a possible constitutional challenge if the rule is approved. House Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat, said he is researching whether the proposed rule violates the state constitution by limiting legislators' power to appropriate state funds. He wouldn't rule out a court challenge.
"There is nothing that is more important that we do here than allocate expenditures, and the roughly 25,000 people that I represent deserve to have a vote on what that amount is going to be," said Davis, who's not an Appropriations Committee member. "The speaker has a majority of votes to do whatever he wants, and I don't see why this is necessary."
Congress operated with rules in the 1990s that said spending increases or tax cuts had to be offset so the federal deficit wouldn't increase, but the rules became looser and members often found ways around them before enacting the 2010 version in a law that also raised the limit on the federal debt. Democrats frequently cited "paygo" principles in opposing tax cuts proposed by Republicans.
The Kansas House's version of "paygo" is designed to limit spending. The state already can't run a deficit, and legislators are already limited in what revenue-raising provisions they can slip into budget bills. Tax hikes, for example, must be approved separately.
Some House Republicans have wanted such a rule for several years but haven't found enough support, even with a GOP majority. Last year's elections left the Legislature more conservative, and the House's 92-33 Republican majority includes 33 GOP freshmen, many sympathetic to the tea party movement's focus on fiscal restraint.
The House expects to debate rules for the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions by early next week and put them in place before debating a bill to trim spending from the current budget. The set of rules drafted by a House committee includes the new "paygo" requirement.
Davis said the rule would give too much power over spending issues to as few as a dozen House members — enough for a majority on the budget-writing Appropriations Committee. He said once the committee decides how much the state should spend overall, members won't be able to revise the figure during debate.
The state faces a projected $550 million shortfall between anticipated revenues and current spending commitments for the fiscal year beginning July 1, although legislative researchers are preparing to revise the figure in light of better-than-expected tax collections in January.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback wants to get started on closing the gap by cutting spending in the current budget and allowing the savings to roll over into the next fiscal year. But debating a bill without a "paygo" rule in place would allow the House to be less aggressive than its Appropriations Committee in reducing overall spending.
The Senate doesn't have a "paygo" requirement, though Majority Leader Jay Emler, a Lindsborg Republican, said there's an unwritten rule that members who propose to increase spending should propose a way to pay for it.
And while Brownback, a former U.S. senator, is staying out of the debate over the House rule, he told The Associated Press, "I think those have been useful tools federally."
GOP leaders have complained for years about the House's willingness to add money to spending bills, even when members acknowledge the state doesn't have the revenues to cover it. And members of both parties have grumbled about "gotcha" amendments designed to generate recorded votes to use against them in campaigns.
O'Neal said the new rule would save time by eliminating frivolous or political amendments, and Appropriations Committee Chairman Marc Rhoades, a Newton Republican, called it "a no-brainer" because of the state's budget problems.
Freshman Rep. Terri Lois Gregory, a Baldwin Republican, also favors the new rule.
"I think this will be much more transparent, and I think that we owe it to our constituents, that they see, 'Where is this money going to come from?'" she said. | <urn:uuid:4a49ec4a-24d9-47d0-bc2d-53a9ddd7549d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/feb/03/kansas-house-gop-seeking-limit-spending-proposals/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974457 | 966 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Copying and Sharing Recorded Music (The Dos and Don'ts of Copyright Law)
Unfortunately, digital technology has a dark side. The ability to make perfect digital copies of music, in conjunction with the ability (via the Internet) to share such copies with hundreds of thousands of people, has created a copyright-infringement nightmare of epic proportions for the recording industry (and, potentially, the film industry). The industry has responded by taking legal action against file-sharing programs (eg, Napster and Grokster), as well as against some of those individuals who download music without permission of the copyright holder. These actions, in combination with some recently enacted legislation, are likely to have a profound effect on our use of recorded music and movies. My goals in this article are twofold: to explain 1) the basics of copyright law as they apply to the copying of CDs and DVDs, and 2) why these laws are so critical to the future of audio and video technology.
What is a copyright?
We live in a physical world, which we learn about and experience through our senses. In contrast, copyrights inhabit a world that is only partly tangible; this world goes by the fancy term intellectual property. (The other three components of intellectual property are patents, trademarks, and trade secrets.) In general terms, copyrights cover what may be described as creative works, including: literary works; musical works (including lyrics); dramatic works; pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; motion pictures; sound recordings; and architectural works. The purposes of copyrights constitute something of a delicate balancing act. On one hand, copyrights protect the artistic expression of ideas; on the other, they serve the public good by providing an incentive for artists to make their works public.
The U.S. Constitution provides Congress with the power to grant copyrights and patents, and the First U.S. Congress passed the first US copyright act in 1790. Copyright laws have changed considerably in the intervening centuries; the last major overhaul took place in 1976, with numerous smaller modifications occurring since then. The specific laws governing copyrights are contained in Title 17 of the U.S. code (footnote 2).
The rights provided to the holder of a copyright depend to some degree on the nature of the protected work. In the case of recorded music, the copyright holder has the exclusive right to make copies, to distribute copies (by sale, transfer of ownership, rental, etc.), and to perform the copyrighted work publicly (either in concert or by playing the recorded version on the radio). The operative word here is exclusive: That is, only the copyright holder, or those authorized by the copyright holder, have the right to copy, distribute, etc., the recorded music. Copying or distribution by anyone other than copyright holder, or those authorized by the copyright holder, constitutes an act of copyright infringement. Those who infringe a copyright are subject to civil and/or criminal penalties, depending on the nature of the infringement. (Certain exceptions are discussed below.)
From numerous Internet discussions in which I have participated, it is clear that many individuals resent being told what they can and cannot do with their CDs; their attitude seems to be, "It's my CD, and I'll do with it as I darn well please!" Interestingly, a CD does not actually belong to the individual who purchased it—at least not entirely so. It is useful to consider a CD (or DVD) as two separate entities, one tangible, the other intangible. The purchaser of a disc owns the physical disc itself (ie, the polypropylene, aluminum, etc.), and can do with it as she wishes: use it as a coaster, play Frisbee with it, or smash it in an act of political defiance (if such is her bent). However, the purchaser of the disc does not own its contents—the music or movie—which belongs instead to the copyright holder. (As a general rule, the purchaser of a creative work does not obtain rights to the copyright, except in those instances where there is a special provision granting transfer of those rights.) Thus, one entity owns the physical disc, another the contents. Because the owner of the disc does not own its contents, there are restrictions as to what he or she can do with those contents; copyright law establishes those restrictions. Like it or not, that's the law.
If the exclusive rights held by copyright holders smell to you like a monopoly, you've got a good nose. Copyrights and patents are legal monopolies, granted by the government for finite periods of time (footnote 3). Although the rationale behind granting a monopoly was to encourage artists to share their creations with the public, it was recognized hundreds of years ago that absolute exclusivity might hinder free expression. For example, it would be difficult for a scholar to comment on a book if she were unable to quote a relevant passage. In response to this problem arose the notion of "fair use," the key element of which is that certain forms of copying of literary or musical works are not infringement, provided that the copying is "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching...scholarship, or research." (footnote 4)
A few points about fair use should be noted. First, fair use is not granted automatically. Rather, someone must first claim infringement by another, and the alleged infringer would then claim the right of fair use. Ultimately, a federal court must decide whether the copy falls within the bounds of fair use. In reaching this decision, the Courts consider a number of factors, including 1) the purpose of the use, 2) the nature of the protected work, 3) the proportion of the work that is being copied, and 4) the effect of the use on the potential market for the copyrighted work. It bears repeating that fair use is intended to promote education, commentary, and the like; it is not intended to allow carte-blanche copying. The second point, which is relevant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (see below), is that while the courts themselves have at times spoken of fair-use "rights," fair use is not a right in the sense of the right to vote. Rather, fair use may better be thought of as a defense against charges of copyright infringement (footnote 5). However, some have argued that fair use is an essential right because it balances the monopoly afforded copyright holders.
Personal copies and the Audio Home Recording Act
For many years after passage of the Copyright Act of 1976, home taping of music was not deemed to have any special status "beyond the normal and reasonable limits of fair use" (footnote 6). In other words, the home taping of music recordings was entitled to fair-use exemption if its intended use was, for example, commentary or education. In 1992 Congress passed the Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA), which permits the manufacture and use of analog and digital recording devices, provided that they are not used for commercial purposes. Is this important? You bet your sweet CD burner it is! It is AHRA that allows us to make backup copies of CDs for our own use. For example, because of AHRA, it is not an act of copyright infringement to make a backup copy of a CD for use in your car or truck, or to protect the original from your kid's peanut-butter-and-jelly–encrusted fingers. However, as we'll see later on, some recent additions to the law may, in certain instances, effectively supersede AHRA.
Footnote 1: I would like to acknowledge helpful discussions with many friends and colleagues, in particular John Dieffenbach, JD; Damin J. Toell, JD; and Gregory Silberman, JD.
Footnote 2: www.copyright.gov/title17.
Footnote 3: Based on legislation enacted in 1998, the duration of copyrights for works created by individual authors is equal to the life of the author plus 70 years. For works made for hire (ie, works created by employees or under contract, such as films and newspaper articles), the duration is 95 years.
Footnote 4: Ibid.
Footnote 5: 203 F.Sup.2d 1111.
Footnote 6: H.R. ReP.NO. 94-1476 (1976), reprinted in 1976 U.S.C.C.A.N. 5669, 5679. | <urn:uuid:d34fc96e-59f0-4945-ba90-fa1f7ed265bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stereophile.com/reference/905copy/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948528 | 1,720 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Toronto Notebook: XVI International AIDS Conference
Kaiser's Jackie Judd Interviews Science Reporter Jon Cohen
August 17, 2006
Jackie Judd: Jon Cohen, welcome back.
Jon Cohen: Thanks, Jackie.
Jackie Judd: This is the last full day of the conference and I know what caught your attention this morning was the epidemiological report on Uganda. How was it?
Jon Cohen: Yeah, there has been a lot of excitement over the years about Uganda's ability to bring down their prevalence, the percentage of people in the population infected, and Uganda had a horrible explosion in the '80s that did indeed come down. Many people have attributed that drop in part to their aggressive campaign, "No Grazing Campaign" is what it has been called, a behavior change.
Jackie Judd: The ABC program.
Jon Cohen: The ABC program and, in fact, the U.S. government has held this up as a model. Look at what Uganda has done. And the new study was very sobering. It suggested in one district, a very large study over many years, that the prevalence is not going down. It seems to be going up in the incidence, the number of new infections per year. In 40- to 49-year-old men it is steeping increasing over the past five years.
Jackie Judd: Do they know why?
Jon Cohen: They have some ideas but no they don't. I mean, one idea is that people lose their partners and they become widows, or widowers, in this case. There is also, as we all know in every country in the world, older men look for new partners and that happens but that wouldn't have changed over time necessarily. So no, at this point they really don't know why.
Jackie Judd: And can a study for one district really be representative of what is happening across the country?
Jon Cohen: That is a very good point. You have to be careful whenever you extrapolate from one study to an entire country. And the study in that same session from India that showed just the opposite, that in India, this one district study showed that, in fact, there were fewer infected people, a lower prevalence than the government figures suggest, but India has 1 billion people. How do you go from one place to the whole place? Of course you can't.
Uganda, there is a little more security because it is a smaller country. You can be a little more confident then, and it should be an important thing for people to look at in Uganda now, because it underscores a really important point. You can have success against HIV, but you've got to maintain whatever it is that got you that success or the virus is going to take off again. You are never done.
Jackie Judd: A couple of other things that caught your interest today: One an update, something we talked about earlier in the week, and that is the integrase inhibitors.
Jon Cohen: Right. Right now, there are a number of HIV drugs on the market, anti-HIV drugs that hit the virus in different ways. Integrase is a new way to hit the virus, a new battlefront. Merck has the product that is furthest in development and today, in the next hour, they are going to reveal the results from a 24 week study. They earlier revealed results from 10 days into this same study and it is basically holding out. And this is a study in people who have never received anti-HIV drugs before.
Merck had another study showing the drug worked remarkably well in people who failed everything, but this is in people who have never taken anything, and it looks to be holding up. So there is a lot of excitement about the characteristics of this drug and the safety and efficacy look good right now.
Jackie Judd: Has Merck made an announcement about the availability of the drugs?
Jon Cohen: They did. They are doing what is called an expanded access program so people can contact them who are interested in getting the drug early. It hasn't received FDA approval, but many people who have failed every drug, they are dying, they need some hope. This is hope for them that they possibly could get this drug and it might work for them.
Jackie Judd: Is that a significant development for people who can't find drugs that work for them?
Jon Cohen: Yeah. These are called expanded access programs. They have saved a lot of lives. Now the drug might fail or the drug might have some horrible toxicity but, you know, if you are very ill, you will take a chance on something that looks promising because you don't have other options.
Jackie Judd: You also heard today a young woman from Russia speak, Sasha Volgina, an HIV/AIDS activist. What was her message to the conference?
Jon Cohen: Very powerful about how her country isn't helping injecting drug users enough, both in preventing infection and in offering them treatment. This is a pattern seen throughout the world.
I have met with injecting drug use communities in Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean. I have seen it all over the place. What happens is, and this is the case in Russia, we know that science has shown that a package called harm reduction, which is you offer drug substitution like methadone people are familiar with, but there are other drugs, needle exchange programs, counseling, you can stop the spread in injecting drug use populations. I mean, you can bring it down next to nothing. Canada has a very aggressive program in Vancouver that is trying to do this. Well, Russia doesn't allow methadone maintenance programs, and that is what she was hitting on very hard, saying that is a great way to help stop the spread of HIV. Science shows that it works. Why doesn't my government do this?
Jackie Judd: In the pecking order of what groups are most discriminated against in the world of AIDS, IDUs at the top, would you say?
Jon Cohen: Yeah, injecting drug users in most every country I have been to are extremely hard for governments to embrace. It is illegal in most places. They are often connected to crime. They are, yeah, I would say they are the most discriminated against, unless you are a transgender injecting drug user. I think they would be a female also, you know, and put it all in with somebody who is very poor and a criminal, yeah, you start getting right, an incarcerated injecting drug use transgender would probably be the most discriminated against.
Jackie Judd: [LAUGHTER]
Jon Cohen: But yeah, absolutely, as far as a group and what is important is that outside of Africa where there really isn't a lot, in sub-Saharan Africa, there is not a lot of injecting drug use. Outside of there, we have heard estimates that 30-percent of the new injections in the world are injecting drug users.
Jackie Judd: Let's step back for a moment, Jon, and I know you talked to Pedro Kahn today, who is from Latin America. He is the incoming president of the International AIDS Society, which is the sponsoring organization of these conferences. What was his view of how things went this week?
Jon Cohen: Well, we spoke specifically about how things have gone in the talks about Latin America and being that he is from Argentina, it's an issue that is near and dear to his heart and he was just shocked there were so few talks about his region of the world.
Jackie Judd: How could that be?
Jon Cohen: Africa and Asia overshadow Latin America and the Caribbean and there are a lot of talks in U.S. and Europe and wealthy countries that can invest in a lot of studies, but Latin America and the Caribbean just haven't received big talks. In the little rooms, there is stuff happening, but he was very disappointed that there wasn't more.
Jackie Judd: And so he clearly sees Mexico City in 2008 as his opportunity?
Jon Cohen: Yeah, it is going to be all different. Oh yeah, that is going to be the point in time, that Latin America and the Caribbean get on the agenda. Mark my words, if you're going to invest in something, invest in that. [LAUGHTER]
Jackie Judd: Well, let's wrap up Toronto forum.
Jon Cohen: Sure.
Jackie Judd: If every conference has a signature or a moment that, years from now, will be remembered or identified with 2006 Toronto, what is it here?
Jon Cohen: Ironically enough, it is the opening. It is Bill and Melinda Gates coming out and saying we care about this issue, here are our thoughts about this issue and by the way we have $62 billion dollars that we are looking to spend, so, you know, money does talk. They are not just filled with words. They have spent $2 billion already from their foundation on AIDS and this community is listening because they think the Gates' can really help shape things in the way governments and the way non-governmental organizations really. And even these multilaterals like U.N. organizations, they can't do what the Gates can do. The Gates can say, we want to do this, and tomorrow they can do it and everybody here knows that.
Jackie Judd: Okay great spending the week with you, Jon.
Jon Cohen: With you, too, Jackie.
Jackie Judd: Do it in Mexico City.
Jon Cohen: I look forward to it.
Jackie Judd: Talk to you then.
Jon Cohen: Okay.
Jackie Judd: Thank you.
kaisernetwork.org makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of written transcripts, but due to the nature of transcribing recorded material and the deadlines involved, they may contain errors or incomplete content. We apologize for any inaccuracies.
This article was provided by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Visit the Kaiser Family Foundation's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services. | <urn:uuid:1b0184b6-0c38-4c92-a473-a52764550ec3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thebody.com/content/art6982.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975733 | 2,077 | 1.539063 | 2 |
August 3, 2011
Kenmore Mercy Hospital, a member of Catholic Health, was recently awarded a special certification from the Joint Commission for its stroke care program. The northtown facility is the first of the healthcare system’s hospitals to receive the Advanced Primary Stroke Center certification, which recognizes its cohesive approach to fostering better outcomes for stroke patients.
As the nation’s most trusted healthcare standard-setting accrediting, certifying and regulatory body, the Joint Commission conducted an extensive, on-site review of Kenmore Mercy’s stroke care program in July.
During the site visit, Joint Commission’s expert reviewers looked for compliance with standards of care specific to the needs of patients and families, including infection prevention and control, process improvement, leadership and medication management.
“Certification as an advanced primary stroke center from the Joint Commission informs our community that we have staff with the clinical expertise, technology and quality of service to effectively diagnose and treat stroke patients 24/7,” said James Millard, President & CEO of Kenmore Mercy Hospital.
The Joint Commission’s Advanced Primary Stroke Center Certification Program is based on the Recommendations for Advanced Primary Stroke Centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and American Stroke Association guidelines. Certified Advanced Primary Stroke Centers are held to high standards in the areas of quality, safety and patient care outcomes.
As a New York State Designated Stroke Center since 2006, Kenmore Mercy Hospital has also met the State’s stringent guidelines for stroke care. This includes:
“Kenmore Mercy’s certification reinforces Catholic Health’s efforts to improve access to high quality stroke services for residents throughout Erie County and beyond,” said Holly Bowser, Vice President Neuroscience and Vascular Service Lines for Catholic Health. Both Sisters of Charity and Mercy Hospital’s plan to pursue Joint Commission certification for their stroke programs.
Stroke is the nation’s third leading cause of death and the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States. Each year about 700,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke, with someone suffering a stroke every 45 seconds. There are approximately 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today.
Stroke warning signs include: sudden confusion, slurred speech or difficulty understanding; sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arms or legs, especially on one side of the body; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; and sudden severe headache without cause. | <urn:uuid:5ebe9393-2b4a-43e1-869d-7f58f55160ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chsbuffalo.org/AboutUs/News/2011/Kenmore-Mercy-JointCommission | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93195 | 522 | 1.585938 | 2 |
NEW YORK-The New York Police Department tightened security along several blocks of the city as private envoys beelined for East 47th Street and First Avenue. There, 121 heads of state and representatives from the UN's 193 members gathered to convene the 2011 General Assembly.
President Barack Obama made his appearance at the UN on Sept. 21, urging a return to peace talks between Israel and Palestinians while retaining U.S. support for Israel. He promised to veto any Palestinian application to the UN Security Council: "I am convinced that there is no shortcut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades. Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the UN."
For others in the Middle East, the president pledged U.S. support for countries that "transition to democracy," specifically Libya, Syria, and Yemen. The floor opened for general debate that day.
But the livelier stage seemed to be New York's streets, where activists hoped to direct international attention to their causes with organized events.
One block from UN headquarters a dozen Sudanese men wearing horns and feathers danced around a circular collection of skulls to the sound of another dozen women singing in their native tongue. The performance was part of a four-hour protest against the Khartoum regime-the Islamic government that many say is fueling the war and genocide devastating several regions of Sudan.
On Sept. 17, police shut down the notorious Wall Street Bull due to "A Day of Rage," a protest designed to condemn corporate control of the U.S. political system. Police set up barricades along Wall Street to keep protesters retained in a small park off Broadway where they gathered in circles with posters and guitars, cheering on break dancers and public speeches.
Most of them had the same complaint. Alex Holmes, 26, explained: "I feel that the influence that a corporation has on Congress and lawmaking ... is far more influential than all of our voices combined." He had an interesting solution: "Only allow everyone to donate one dollar to presidential campaigns," he said. "That will put everyone on the same playing field."
With his debt plan, unveiled Sept. 19 during a partisan speech in the White House's Rose Garden, President Barack Obama bluntly threw down a policy gauntlet ahead of next year's elections. Before an occasionally chuckling audience, Obama both outlined his $1.5 trillion in new taxes and lectured Republicans that raising taxes on the wealthy "is not class warfare. It's math."
"We can't just cut our way out of this hole," said Obama, who left Social Security untouched and threatened to veto any deficit reduction plan that does not include new revenues: "It's only right we ask everyone to pay their fair share."
House Speaker John Boehner laid down his own marker during a speech to the Economic Club in Washington on Sept. 15. Tax increases, Boehner said, "are off the table. It is a very simple equation. Tax increases destroy jobs." Further complicating the fiscal landscape, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a Sept. 20 report, reduced its global growth forecasts, warning that the unsolved debt crisis is pushing the United States and Europe back into a recession. "Policy indecision has exacerbated uncertainty and added to financial strains, feeding back into the real economy," the report said. | <urn:uuid:d21e84fe-409f-49b0-a443-5e60f7577445> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldmag.com/2011/09/un_theater | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963859 | 673 | 1.703125 | 2 |
This image is a view of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) as seen by the lander's Robotic Arm Camera. This image was taken on the afternoon of the 116th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (September 22, 2008). The mast-mounted SSI, which provided the images used in the 360 degree panoramic view of Phoenix's landing site, is about 4 inches tall and 8 inches long.
The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.
Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter. | <urn:uuid:32d94425-8e05-4c71-8b62-d26fdd7a1a20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11222 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917993 | 193 | 2.828125 | 3 |
|The Bloody Baron|
Slytherin House Ghost
The Bloody Baron (late 10th century — early 11th century) was a wizard who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Founders' time and was Sorted into Slytherin house. After Hogwarts, he fell in love with Helena Ravenclaw, but she did not love him. He was sent by Rowena Ravenclaw to find Helena in Albania, but Helena refused to return with him and so he killed her. When he realised what he had done, the Baron stabbed himself with the same knife and died. Since then, he is one of the ghosts that haunts Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the ghost of Slytherin house. Covered in Helena Ravenclaw's blood to this day, he earned himself the moniker of "Bloody Baron".
At the age of eleven, the Baron became part of one of the first generations of students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland, which, at that time, was still being run by its original Founders. He was Sorted into Slytherin House and was educated in the magical arts by Salazar Slytherin for the seven years that followed.
- Helena Ravenclaw: "He tracked me to the forest where I was hiding. When I refused to return with him, he became violent. The baron was always a hot-tempered man. Furious at my refusal, jealous of my freedom, he stabbed me."
- Harry Potter: "The Baron? You mean —?"
- Helena Ravenclaw: "The Bloody Baron, yes. When he saw what he had done, he was overcome with remorse. He took the weapon that had claimed my life, and used it to kill himself. All these centuries later, he wears his chains as an act of penitence… as he should."
- — Helena Ravenclaw tells Harry Potter the story of her and the Baron's death.[src]
Later on in his life, Helena, after stealing a diadem belonging to her mother that increased the intelligence of the wearer, ran away to Albania. Around this same time, Rowena fell fatally ill, although legend has it that it was a broken heart, possibly caused by her daughter abandoning her. Rowena ordered the Baron to go after her, which he did, eventually finding her hiding in a forest. After he had found her, the Baron tried to compel her to return with him, but she refused, and, in a fit of rage, he killed her. Overcome with grief, he proceeded to take his own life with the same weapon he used to stab Helena.
- "Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood."
The Baron, as well as Helena, now known as the Grey Lady, both returned from the dead as ghosts, and returned to Hogwarts Castle, where they became the house ghosts of their former Houses, Slytherin and Ravenclaw respectively. The Baron has been remorseful of his actions ever since, and carries heavy chains as a sign of penance. Nobody else seems to know why he is covered in blood, not even the other Hogwarts ghosts, excluding the Grey Lady. For unspecified reasons, presumably related to his apparently violent, dangerous nature, the Baron has gained Peeves's respect and is the only one, besides Professor Dumbledore, who can give him orders.
1991—1992 school year
- "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost."
- —Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, Gryffindor house ghost during the Start-of-Term Feast.[src]
A while before midnight on 12 September 1991, the Bloody Baron passed twice by the Fat Lady's Corridor, frightening Neville Longbottom, who was sleeping in the corridor because he had forgotten the new password to get into Gryffindor Tower.
In the evening of 4 June, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, all under the Cloak of Invisibility, were intercepted by Peeves who threatened to call Argus Filch if whoever that was there did not show themselves. Harry Potter, in a hoarse whisper, proceeded to impersonate the Baron.
1992—1993 school year
- "They passed a group of gloomy nuns, a ragged man wearing chains, and the Fat Friar, a cheerful Hufflepuff ghost, who was talking to a knight with an arrow sticking out of his forehead. Harry wasn't surprised to see that the Bloody Baron, a gaunt, staring Slytherin ghost covered in silver bloodstains, was being given a wide berth by the other ghosts."
- —Description of Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington's five-hundredth Deathday Party.[src]
1994—1995 school year
- Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington: "You're lucky there's a feast at all tonight, you know. There was trouble in the kitchens earlier."
- Harry Potter: "Why? Wha' 'appened?"
- Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington: "Peeves, of course. The usual argument, you know. He wanted to attend the feast — well, it's quite out of the question, you know what he's like, utterly uncivilized, can't see a plate of food without throwing it. We held a ghost's council — the Fat Friar was all for giving him the chance — but most wisely, in my opinion, the Bloody Baron put his foot down."
- — Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington tells Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger of the ghost council about Peeves.[src]
In the afternoon of 1 September, 1994, the Hogwarts ghosts gathered to decide whether Peeves should be allowed to attend the Start-of-Term Feast. The Fat Friar wanted to give him another chance, but both Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington and the Bloody Baron decided against it. As a result, Peeves wreaked havoc in the kitchens, spilling soup all over the place and scattering pots and pans everywhere.
1995—1996 school year
- Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington: "I would not go that way if I were you. Peeves is planning an amusing joke on the next person to pass the bust of Paracelsus halfway down the corridor."
- Harry Potter: "Does it involve Paracelsus falling on top of the person's head?"
- Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington: "Funnily enough, it does. Subtlety has never been Peeves's strong point. I'm off to try and find the Bloody Baron… he might be able to put a stop to it… see you, Harry."
- — Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington encounters Harry Potter.[src]
During the Start-of-Term Feast, on 1 September 1995, Ronald Weasley managed to inadvertedly insult Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, by saying the ghost was afraid of the Bloody Baron when he said he would never dream of seeking an argument with the Baron.
A week later, on 7 September, Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington looked for the Baron to see if he could dissuade Peeves from dropping a bust of Paracelsus on top of anyone who passed the corridor in which the bust stood.
1996—1997 school year
- Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington: "He is here. Professor Dumbledore returned to the school an hour ago. I had it from the Bloody Baron, who saw him arrive. He appeared, according to the Baron, to be in good spirits, though a little tired, of course."
- Harry Potter: "Where is he?"
- Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington: "Oh, groaning and clanking up on the Astronomy Tower, it's a favourite pastime of his —"
- Harry Potter: "Not the Bloody Baron — Dumbledore!"
- Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington: "Oh — in his office. I believe, from what the Baron said, that he had business to attend to before turning in —"
- — An exchange between Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington and Harry Potter.[src]
In the early hours of 22 April, 1997, the Bloody Baron saw Albus Dumbledore return to the Castle from one of his missions to find Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes, and reported it to Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. He later retreated to the Astronomy Tower where he liked to groan and clank.
- "The Bloody Baron was the Slytherin ghost, a gaunt and silent spectre covered in silver bloodstains."
As a ghost, the Baron was very pale, pearly-white and slightly transparent. He had wide, staring, black eyes and a gaunt face. He dressed in robes covered in silver bloodstains, and carried chains in a final act of penitence for having murdered Helena Ravenclaw. He also sported a curly powdered wig and carried his sword. He spoke in a hoarse whisper.
Personality and traits
- Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington: "Well, now, you shouldn't take that attitude. Peaceful cooperation, that's the key. We ghosts, though we belong to separate houses, maintain links of friendship. In spite of the competitiveness between Gryffindor and Slytherin, I would never dream of seeking an argument with the Bloody Baron."
- Ronald Weasley: "Only because you're terrified of him."
- — An exchange between Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington and Ronald Weasley.[src]
During his lifetime, the Baron was described by Helena Ravenclaw as a "hot-tempered man". He insisted on having his way in interactions, responding with violent uncontrolled anger when contradicted. As a ghost, he was frightening and most people did not seem to enjoy his presence, not even his fellow ghosts. However, he seemed to have a cordial, if not friendly, relationship with the ghost of Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington, despite Ronald Weasley's allegations of the latter being "terrified" of him. The Baron seemed to be intolerant towards Peeves, who was scared of him, and could not bear his lack of civilisation, putting "his foot down" over the Poltergeist's presence in the 1994 Start-of-Term Feast. He also seems to have a great deal of House pride; before Harry Potter's arrival at Hogwarts, Slytherin had won the House Cup for six years in a row, and the Baron had become "unbearable" according to Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington.
Behind the scenes
- The Bloody Baron is the only Hogwarts house ghost in the books without any on-'screen' dialogue.
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the Bloody Baron is portrayed by Terence Bayler.
- In the films, the Baron is depicted as being quite mirthful, in stark contrast to the solemn and quite terrifying character in the books. In the video games, however, the Baron resumes his "book" persona.
- In all of his media appearances, the Bloody Baron appears in late seventeenth century attire. This wardrobe was chosen for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, when the Baron's death date was uncertain. This, of course, is not consistant with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in which he is revealed to have died in the early eleventh century.
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the Bloody Baron resembles Captain James Hook (as played by Dustin Hoffman) in the film Hook. Coincidentally, that film features Maggie Smith, who plays Professor McGonagall, as well as a music score by John Williams.
- The Baron is encountered in the PC/64 version of Philosopher's Stone walking the labyrinthine dungeon corridors where Professor Snape sends Harry Potter to find four crucial potion ingredients. In the next gen version of Chamber of Secrets, the Baron can be seen walking the path from the dungeons through the entrance hall to the teacher's lounge corridor, every night, the chilling sound of his footsteps echoing through the hall each time as he approaches.
- In the video game version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets it is mentioned he cannot speak.
- In the credits of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, his name is misspelt as "Bloody Barron".
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Appears as a ghost or a spirit)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (Appears as a ghost or a spirit)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Appears as a ghost or a spirit)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Appears as a ghost or a spirit)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (Appears as a ghost or a spirit)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Appears as statue)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Appears as a ghost or a spirit)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game) (Appears as a ghost or a spirit)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game) (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Appears as a ghost or a spirit)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Appears as a ghost or a spirit) (Consoles and PC versions)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Given Hogwarts was founded in around 993 A.D. and that the Baron attended it within Rowena Ravenclaw's lifetime, he must have been eleven by or after the school's founding. So, the earliest date he could have possibly been born is 982.
- ↑ He killed himself after his seven years at Hogwarts, and given the earliest he could have started at the school is 993, his earliest possible death year is 1000.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Chapter 7 (The Sorting Hat)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Chapter 10 (Halloween)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "If a teacher is head of a house, can we assume that they were sorted into those houses when they were students at Hogwarts? Is that also true for the house ghosts? So was Snape a Slytherin?" on J.K.Rowling Official Site
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 31 (The Battle of Hogwarts)
- ↑ Wizard of the Month
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Chapter 23 (Horcruxes)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Chapter 9 (The Midnight Duel)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) - PC version
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Chapter 16 (Through the Trapdoor)
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Chapter 8 (The Deathday Party)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) - PC version
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Chapter 12 (The Triwizard Tournament)
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Chapter 21 (The House-Elf Liberation Front)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 11 (The Sorting Hat's New Song)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 14 (Percy and Padfoot)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) - Chapter 13 (Nick and Other Residents) | <urn:uuid:27d58655-bbbe-4b25-96c7-fcbab0819e51> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Bloody_Baron?diff=next&oldid=769235 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952273 | 3,515 | 2 | 2 |
When Britain lost control of Egypt in 1956, Prime Minister Anthony Eden said he wanted the nationalist president Gamal Abdel Nasser "destroyed… murdered… I don’t give a damn if there’s anarchy and chaos in Egypt". Those insolent Arabs, Winston Churchill had urged in 1951, should be driven "into the gutter from which they should never have emerged".
The language of colonialism may have been modified; the spirit and the hypocrisy are unchanged. A new imperial phase is unfolding in direct response to the Arab uprising that began in January and has shocked Washington and Europe, causing an Eden-style panic. The loss of the Egyptian tyrant Mubarak was grievous, though not irretrievable; an American-backed counter-revolution is under way as the military regime in Cairo is seduced with new bribes and power shifting from the street to political groups that did not initiate the revolution. The western aim, as ever, is to stop authentic democracy and reclaim control.
Libya is the immediate opportunity. The Nato attack on Libya, with the UN Security Council assigned to mandate a bogus "no fly zone" to "protect civilians", is strikingly similar to the final destruction of Yugoslavia in 1999. There was no UN cover for the bombing of Serbia and the "rescue" of Kosovo, yet the propaganda echoes today. Like Slobodan Milosevic, Muammar Gaddafi is a "new Hitler", plotting "genocide" against his people. There is no evidence of this, as there was no genocide in Kosovo. In Libya there is a tribal civil war; and the armed uprising against Gaddafi has long been appropriated by the Americans, French and British, their planes attacking residential Tripoli with uranium-tipped missiles and the submarine HMS Triumph firing Tomahawk missiles, a repeat of the "shock and awe" in Iraq that left thousands of civilians dead and maimed. As in Iraq, the victims, which include countless incinerated Libyan army conscripts, are media unpeople.
In the "rebel" east, the terrorising and killing of black African immigrants is not news. On 22 May, a rare piece in the Washington Post described the repression, lawlessness and death squads in the "liberated zones" just as visiting EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, declared she had found only "great aspirations" and "leadership qualities". In demonstrating these qualities, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the "rebel leader" and Gaddafi’s justice minister until February, pledged, "Our friends... will have the best opportunity in future contracts with Libya." The east holds most of Libya’s oil, the greatest reserves in Africa. In March the rebels, with expert foreign guidance, "transferred" to Benghazi the Libyan Central Bank, a wholly owned state institution. This is unprecedented. Meanwhile, the US and the EU "froze" almost US$100 billion in Libyan funds, "the largest sum ever blocked", according to official statements. It is the biggest bank robbery in history.
The French elite are enthusiastic robbers and bombers. Nicholas Sarkozy’s imperial design is for a French-dominated Mediterranean Union (UM), which would allow France to "return" to its former colonies in North Africa and profit from privileged investment and cheap labour. Gaddafi described the Sarkozy plan as "an insult" that was "taking us for fools". The Merkel government in Berlin agreed, fearing its old foe would diminish Germany in the EU, and abstained in the Security Council vote on Libya.
Like the attack on Yugoslavia and the charade of Milosevic’s trial, the International Criminal Court is being used by the US, France and Britain to prosecute Gaddafi while his repeated offers of a ceasefire are ignored. Gaddafi is a Bad Arab. David Cameron’s government and its verbose top general want to eliminate this Bad Arab, like the Obama administration killed a famously Bad Arab in Pakistan recently. The crown prince of Bahrain, on the other hand, is a Good Arab. On 19 May, he was warmly welcomed to Britain by Cameron with a photo-call on the steps of 10 Downing Street. In March, the same crown prince slaughtered unarmed protestors and allowed Saudi forces to crush his country’s democracy movement. The Obama administration has rewarded Saudi Arabia, one of the most repressive regimes on earth, with a $US60 billion arms deal, the biggest in US history. The Saudis have the most oil. They are the Best Arabs.
The assault on Libya, a crime under the Nuremberg standard, is Britain’s 46th military "intervention" in the Middle East since 1945. Like its imperial partners, Britain’s goal is to control Africa’s oil. Cameron is not Anthony Eden, but almost. Same school. Same values. In the media-pack, the words colonialism and imperialism are no longer used, so that the cynical and the credulous can celebrate state violence in its more palatable form.
And as "Mr. Hopey Changey" (the name that Ted Rall, the great American cartoonist, gives Barack Obama), is fawned upon by the British elite and launches another insufferable presidential campaign, the Anglo-American reign of terror proceeds in Afghanistan and elsewhere, with the murder of people by unmanned drones - a US/Israel innovation, embraced by Obama. For the record, on a scorecard of imposed misery, from secret trials and prisons and the hounding of whistleblowers and the criminalising of dissent to the incarceration and impoverishment of his own people, mostly black people, Obama is as bad as George W. Bush.
The Palestinians understand all this. As their young people courageously face the violence of Israel’s blood-racism, carrying the keys of their grandparents’ stolen homes, they are not even included in Mr. Hopey Changey’s list of peoples in the Middle East whose liberation is long overdue. What the oppressed need, he said on 19 May, is a dose of "America’s interests [that] are essential to them". He insults us all.
Source: John Pilger, 26 May 2011 | <urn:uuid:8eabcb3a-00b9-4bd2-b8a9-5bb1e51bd08c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wakeupfromyourslumber.com/blog/sullivan/welcome-violent-world-mr-hopey-changey | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951759 | 1,256 | 2.25 | 2 |
DURING a recent trip to Sumatra's Lingga Island, I got the opportunity to take a closer look at the relics of the Riau-Lingga Sultanate located near the city of Daik.
The Riau-Lingga Sultanate which once extended across southeast Sumatra, the Riau Islands and much of the southern part of Malaya reigned over the glorious Malay empire before its rule was abruptly cut short by the Dutch in 1911.
The writer's interest in the sultanate was piqued by the story of Tengku Abdul Rahman Tengku Mohamed Yusoff, who says to have descended from the Riau-Lingga royalty.
Tengku Abdul Rahman's story appeared on a Malay website in Singapore, an island state that was once known as Temasik and was part of the Riau-Lingga Sultanate.
However, all that remains of the sultanate now are artefacts and monuments in the city of Daik in Lingga.
On my visit to Daik, I came across the ruins of a palace that had once formed the centre of the Riau-Lingga empire.
It was sad to see that only some pillars and part of a staircase of the original palace now stand as testament to a great empire with which even the British and the Dutch had once established treaties.
The palace, known as Istana Damnah, was built around the 1860s during the reign of Sultan Sulaiman Badrul Alamshah.
According to Lazuardy of the Lingga Province Cultural and Tourism Department, Istana Damnah was one of three palaces built by the rulers of Riau-Lingga the other two being Istana Kenanga and Istana Kedaton all of which are located within Pulau Lingga.
Although other palaces built by the rulers of this kingdom have been mentioned in the annals, their numbers and locations have yet to be ascertained.
"Damnah" is the combination of two Malay words "dam" which means "far", and "nah" which means "really". Therefore, "Istana Damnah" literally means a palace located "really far".
And sure enough, this place is located 20km away from the city of Daik, Lazuardy explained to Bernama.
As in the heydays of the Riau-Lingga Malay Sultanate, Daik is still the principal city and continues to be an important economic centre for the Malays.
According to Lazuardy, the Istana Damnah grounds measured 100 metres to 150 metres and housed two buildings, with the building in the front serving as the main palace while that at the back constituted the private residence.
He described the main palace as comprising five halls: Balai Rong Seri, where the Sultan met with dignitaries; Balai Titah, where the Sultan had audience with the people and emissaries; Balai Peraduan, where the Sultan rested with his consort; Balai Gambang, where he held confidential meetings; and Balai Lintang, where funerals were conducted.
In the early 1900s, Sultan Abdul Rahman II Muadzam Syah abandoned Istana Damnah as well as the other palaces around Kota Daik and shifted the sultanate's capital to Pulau Penyengat.
"The remnants of Istana Damnah still stand strong, even though they were made from a mixture of clay, sand, chalk and egg yolk. However, the building was desecrated when people started stripping down the building material, which they considered 'advanced' then, to strengthen their own homes."
"Now only the site, the collapsed staircase and some pillars remain, while the palace's original building material can be found in the old homes here," he pointed out.
In 2003, the Indonesian government took some steps to conserve these relics, which can serve as a reminder of the now-extinct Riau-Lingga Malay Sultanate. For attracting tourists, the government has built a replica (pictured) of the Istana Damnah beside the original site.
Lazuardy noted that the Linggam Cahaya museum highlights many of the spectacular attributes of the Riau-Lingga Sultanate.
"There are many cultural items made of copper, manufactured in the nearby village of Kampung Tembaga literally named after the material in Daik. The production of these items flourished between 1832 and 1841.
"The items include the pahar (a storage case for small items), tepak sireh (a storage case for betel leaves and gambier nuts), talam (tray), keto (bin) and bon (sewing box)," he remarked.
Apart from the copper items, the museum displays weapons such as keris (dagger) and tombak (spear), traditional musical instruments, and old coins and pottery that were manufactured during the prime of the Riau-Lingga Malay Sultanate.
Even though the Riau-Lingga Malay Sultanate faded into history after Sultan Abdul Rahman Muazzam Shah refused to sign a treaty with the Dutch, the artefacts and monuments that remain stand testament to the glorious Malay empire that once existed in this region.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Feel free to comment on this article using your Facebook account. By submitting your comment, you agree to the Terms and Conditions for the use of this comments feature, as stated here. | <urn:uuid:9fcbdc76-e99f-4366-8d5a-ffe1a0558b43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bt.com.bn/travel/2012/05/20/istana-damnah-long-lost-legacy-riau-lingga-malay-sultanate | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964764 | 1,165 | 2.671875 | 3 |
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Environmental Justice Overview
Residents in our underserved neighborhoods face multiple barriers to food security, safe and affordable housing, and meaningful employment. Poor residents living close to industrial facilities and freeways are often exposed to more air pollution and environmental stressors than those living in San Francisco’s more affluent neighborhoods. These barriers and burdens will only grow more challenging as the effects of global warming unfold. While climate change affects everyone, it disproportionately hurts those with the fewest resources. The EJ Program is building capacity and resources in the City’s poorer neighborhoods so that every community in our City is a healthy and sustainable place to live and work.
San Francisco is habitat for 800,000 people – meeting needs for space to work, play, and learn; for food, water, and air; for community with local flora and fauna. SF Environment provides support for urban agriculture and forestry and green buildings, helping residents and businesses harness environmental opportunities. | <urn:uuid:d1894dcb-845a-4175-bbe1-6a678b5f7fd6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfenvironment.org/environmental-justice/overview/environmental-justice-overview | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940995 | 195 | 3.140625 | 3 |
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String Quartet No. 2, Op. 68Item #: HL.50484234
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Composed by Dmitri Shostakovich.
Set of Parts. DSCH. Voicing/Format: Parts. With BOOK. 8.75x11.5 inches. 94 pages. Published by Dsch. (HL.50484234)
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Dmitri Shostakovich's 15 string quartets are among the jewels of chamber music literature. The retail prices on these DSCH editions are much more affordable than previous editions. String Quartet No. 1 in C Major (50484232) dates from 1935. String Quartet No. 2 in A Major was composed in 1944. The scores are full size (9 x 12) and easy to read, as opposed to smaller study scores. | <urn:uuid:7442e6bb-67b5-4da1-8990-fefbbe05a08f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.activemusician.com/item--HL.50484234 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906731 | 193 | 1.664063 | 2 |
The engineers and scientists at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory [NHMFL] in Florida, announced this week that they had successfully tested a new resistive electromagnet that produces a magnetic field strength of 36 tesla (360 kilo-oersted), breaking the old record of 35 tesla (350 kilo-oersted) previously held jointly between the NHMFL and the Grenoble High Magnetic Field Laboratory in France.
The device is actually an upgrade to an existing electromagnet, and uses a special coil design called a Bitter solenoid, in order to generate the intense magnetic field. This design, first invented by Prof. Francis Bitter while working at MIT prior to World War Two, consists of stacks of copper plates, instead of wire coils, in order to carry the massive currents that are required for the electromagnet. The working inner bore of the new magnet is approximately 32 mm [1.25 inches] in diameter.
The increment from 35 T to 36 T came from creating a new arrangement of the copper plates in the Bitter solenoid. The researchers at the NHMFL plan to apply this new arrangement and upgrade the rest of the electromagnets at the lab, in order to increase the overall magnetic output of each. As an added bonus, according to laboratory:
[t]his cost-neutral modification means a higher magnetic field can be created using the same amount of power, 20 megawatts. By comparison, the magnet at the Grenoble High Magnetic Field Laboratory achieves its 35 tesla using 22.5 megawatts of power.
To put this into context, 20 megawatts of electricity is enough electricity to power around 6,000-7,000 average American homes. A 2.5 MW saving in electricity [equivalent to the power produced by a commercial scale wind turbine these days], for the same magnetic output, is therefore pretty significant. During a visit to the NHMFL a few years ago, I was told that the laboratory is required to give plenty of notice to the local municipality in Tallahassee before switching on their electromagnets, because of the massive current draw on the local grid that they cause.
It was in a very high field electromagnet of this type, that the famous picture of the floating frog shown here, was taken some years ago. The strong diamagnetic effect of the electromagnet, on the water molecules in the frog’s body, is enough to counter the effects of gravity. When not levitating amphibians and other objects, researchers use these types of very strong electromagnets for physics and materials science research. | <urn:uuid:ca9515d0-09fb-4e4d-ab9e-18db29502db4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.terramagnetica.com/2010/01/08/usa-reclaims-world-record-magnet/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933699 | 541 | 3.125 | 3 |
Vote to pass a bill that establishes royalty payments and requires permits for mineral mining operations and imposes penalties for environmental protection violations.
Prohibits patents from being issued for mining claims or millsites after the passage of this act, unless the application was filed before September 30, 1994 (Sec. 101).
Requires royalty payments of 8% of gross income from mining a claim on Federal land, or 4% of claims on Federal land that existed prior to the passage of this act (Sec. 102).
Requires an additional $50 fee for every mining claim, millsite, or tunnel site located before September 30, 1998 or after the passage of this act (Sec. 103).
Prohibits certain areas from being open to the location of mining claims, including wilderness study areas, areas of critical environmental concern, areas included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and any area included in maps made for the Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation Final Environmental Impact Statement, Volume 2 (Sec. 201).
Allows states or Indian tribes to petition the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw tracts of Federal land from the operation of mining laws in order to protect values such as watersheds that supply drinking water, wildlife habitat, cultural or historic resources, or scenic vistas important to the local economy (Sec. 202).
Requires a 20-year operations permit from the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture before mining is allowed on Federal land that may disturb surface resources such as land, air, ground water, surface water, fish, or wildlife (Secs. 302-304).
Requires operators of permits to provide financial assurance to cover the cost of restoration and reclamation of lands within the permit area and all water that may require treatment or other management of environmental hazards (Sec. 306).
Allows the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to determine regulations for mineral activity operations and reclamations, addressing issues such as the protection and replacement of topsoil; stability of surface areas; prevention of erosion; minimization of acidic, alkaline, or metal-bearing liquid drainage; removal of structures and roads; and restoration of fish and wildlife habitat (Sec. 307).
Establishes the Locatable Minerals Fund within the Treasury of the United States, to include a Hardrock Reclamation Account for the restoration of land and water resources affected by past mineral activities (Secs. 401, 411).
Allows the Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of Agriculture to halt mineral activities if the claim holder is in violation of environmental protection requirements and does not take steps to remedy the violation within 30 days, and to issue penalties of up to $25,000 per violation, plus $1,000 per violation for each day the violation has not been corrected (Sec. 506).
Sets the amount of the fine for operating mineral activities without a permit at $5,000 to $50,000 per day of violation or imprisonment up to three years for the first conviction, and a fine over $10,000 per day or up to six years imprisonment for any additional convictions (Sec. 506). | <urn:uuid:3cc1198f-d381-40f7-ae67-25f3e48b4fe3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://votesmart.org/bill/5747/16162/16886/hardrock-mining-and-reclamation-act?flavour=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926141 | 627 | 2.375 | 2 |
Turning Back the Clock on Parkinson's
By JAMIE TALAN
Like many people with Parkinson’s disease, Donald Rosenfelt had been swallowing a standard fare of medicines for 30 years to keep his shaking limbs and slowed speech in check. So he was surprised last fall when a neurologist took one look at him and said, “Get deep brain stimulation.”
Mr. Rosenfelt, 73, an attorney from New Jersey, had no idea what the doctor was talking about. But deep brain stimulation, a technique that involves implanting electrodes in the brain, has not been much of a secret in the world of medicine. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of essential tremor in 1997 and Parkinson’s five years later, almost 40,000 people worldwide have gone into the operating room and emerged with a hole or two in their skulls and electrodes in brain tissue connected to a pacemaker-like battery pack in their chest.
Most, like Mr. Rosenfelt, have Parkinson’s disease. A recent study conducted at veterans hospitals across the country and published in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that Parkinson’s patients who had undergone deep brain stimulation had improved significantly more than those who received the best medical treatment. Patients also felt the difference, reporting a better quality of life.
But the procedure was not without cost. The lead author, Frances M. Weaver of the Edward Hines Jr. V.A. Hospital in Chicago, said that 40 percent of the patients who had undergone deep brain stimulation had experienced at least one adverse event. “Most were infections at the site of the electrodes or the battery pack,” Dr. Weaver said. “And almost all of them had to have the device removed and replaced at a later time once the infection resolved.”
Of the 256 patients followed for six months, those who had deep brain stimulation also had more falls than those on medications. “One explanation is that the deep brain stimulation patients felt better and were more apt to think they could return to previous activities,” Dr. Weaver said, adding, “One patient felt so good that he tried some handiwork on his roof, fell and broke both his legs.”
Earlier studies have found that intracranial bleeding can occur after surgery, as can slurred speech or a soft voice. Other patients do not benefit simply because the settings on the stimulator are never correctly adjusted. If the procedure does not work, the electrodes can be turned off and the battery pack in the chest cavity removed.
The V.A. study confirmed, however, what doctors had long been seeing in their practices: that the steady electrical currents of deep brain stimulation can virtually eliminate the fluctuations in symptoms that occur once the effects of Parkinson’s medicines begin to wear off. The study also proved that age should not be a factor in determining who could benefit from deep brain stimulation. Over all, about 70 percent of Parkinson’s patients derive some benefit from the procedure.
Mr. Rosenfelt noticed the change right away. When the brain stimulators were in place and turned on, “the tremor was gone,” he said. “I could move freely. I began running again.”
His friends on the golf circuit were equally amazed, as was one judge who hugged him in the halls of the courthouse after seeing him steady on his feet. “I must have looked like death,” he said.
Parkinson’s disease hits one region of the brain and involves one major brain chemical, dopamine, making it a good candidate for many types of experimental therapies, including embryonic stem cells and gene therapy. But so far, those techniques have not been successful.
Deep brain stimulation works only if patients have been responsive to standard Parkinson’s medications like L-dopa — even though such medications usually stop working over time and can cause their own movement problems. No one knows why the stimulation works, but scientists suspect it normalizes aberrant activity in the globus pallidus and subthalamic nucleus, areas of the brain that are the primary targets for deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease.
It has been more than 14 years since the first Americans signed on for what, at the time, was experimental surgery. For years, the operation was usually conducted on only one side of a patient’s body. Today, doctors experienced in deep brain stimulation do both sides at the same time and are performing the surgery earlier in the disease process.
“When we did one side at a time, patients were less satisfied,” said Dr. Ron L. Alterman, a brain surgeon and specialist in movement disorders at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.
Patients will benefit from deep brain stimulation if they have responded to Parkinson’s medications, he explained.. “We can make their ‘on’ times longer,” he said, referring to the times when symptoms are under control, “and their ‘off’ times shorter.”
Deep brain stimulation specialists say that good results rest on proper patient selection. Neurosurgeons must work with neurologists to make an accurate diagnosis of Parkinson’s, ensuring that patients are still responsive to L-dopa replacement therapy. It is also critical to work with medical teams with a lot of experience in deep brain stimulation surgery and the sometimes lengthy follow-up required to get the settings just right.
Dr. Alterman said that medical teams should also do an extensive evaluation to rule out dementia and other thinking problems associated with the movement disorder. Parkinson’s patients who are cognitively impaired are not candidates for the procedure.
While patients over 70 have benefited from deep brain stimulation, Dr. Alterman said that the risks of surgical complications seemed to increase after that age. Doctors will also not provide deep brain stimulation for patients with other medical problems that could increase their risk for problems during surgery.
Medtronic, based in Minneapolis, makes the only F.D.A.-approved deep brain stimulation device. It is now being tested for treating other disorders, including depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and for awakening brain regions in people who have spent years in a minimally conscious state. Most of the patients involved in those uses of the device have embraced the technology after traditional options have failed.
Data confirm that many Parkinson’s patients are still seeing benefits more than five years after the stimulators were turned on. And doctors can point to several patients who are still getting benefits at 10 years out, though the battery pack has to be replaced over time.
Still, deep brain stimulation is not a cure, and it does not stop Parkinson’s from progressing. As Dr. Alterman put it, “We are temporarily turning back the clock for these patients.” | <urn:uuid:e8327b7f-47d8-43a8-97b7-d41fb551408e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nytimes.com/ref/health/healthguide/esn-parkinsons-ess.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972804 | 1,409 | 2.171875 | 2 |
CBNNews.com - We are right in the middle of cold and flu season and the average American gets two colds a year, while kids can get up to ten.
Here is some advice on avoiding them:
First, wash your hands more often. That is the best way to prevent the spread of cold viruses.
Then, get more sleep.
A recent study from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh found that people who slept less than seven hours a night were three times more likely to develop a cold as those who slept eight hours or more.
Research shows that good sleeping habits help support a healthy immune system and that keeps colds and other illnesses away. | <urn:uuid:726218ef-b520-44f0-81ed-2b88f1868c30> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2009/January/Fighting-Cold-and-Flu-Season-/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967613 | 136 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Drive by a local wetland on an early spring evening, and if you're lucky you'll hear a harbinger of the changing season - the clear chirping chorus of tiny frogs known as spring peepers, classified by biologists as Pseudacris crucifer.
Few themes in literature are more alluring than the lost world. Places such as Atlantis, Shangri-La, Conan Doyle's "Lost World", and now the bestselling "The Lost City of Z" conjure up images of strange landscapes, exotic civilizations and hidden treasures.
Ecologists study phenology, which is the orderly progression of seasonal events in nature, such as the springtime arrival of migrating birds, the first chorus of spring peepers in vernal pools, and the development of tree colors each autumn
Despite the fact 60 percent of us in Dutchess County drink groundwater every day, and all of us eat food irrigated by ground water, very few people know where it comes from, where it goes, or that groundwater is full of life
Thankfully, the argument about the reality of global climate change seems finished. The majority of the public now joins the consensus of climate scientists, who have furnished compelling proof that the planet is warming and that humans are at least partly to blame.
What if our children could recognize the birds, plants and insects in their backyards as well as they know the brands of shoes on their feet or the secret weapons they need to get to the next level in a video game?
If you ever saw "Star Wars," you'll remember the trash compactor scene: Trying to escape from the Imperials, Luke and his friends duck into what turns out to be a trash compactor, where things go from bad to worse.
New York state is taking an essential step to deal with invasive species, one of the most damaging and difficult environmental problems of our time, by proposing to limit the importation of ballast water into the state.
Dengue (pronounced DEN-ghee) fever is caused by a virus spread by mosquitoes. It was formerly called "break-bone fever" because it causes excruciating pain to the muscles and joints of its human victims.
We tend to think of nature as having reliable patterns; the leaves turn color each autumn, seasonal birds come and go. But there are also examples of sudden, unexpected changes in the environment around us.
Specific trails and roads on our 2,000 acre research campus have been designated for public access, and our grounds provide visitors with a unique opportunity to connect with nature and view local wildlife. | <urn:uuid:572d7f03-130f-473f-a0f8-8e2b0e2ca193> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.caryinstitute.org/newsroom?page=14%2525252C3%25252C1%252C3&field_news_cat_tid=All&field_rel_issues_nid=All | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966803 | 525 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Title: "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business"
Author: Charles Duhigg
Publisher: Random House, 2012; 400 pages; $28
Many of us crave to change something about our behavior. We want to eat less, spend less, watch less TV. We wish we could exercise more, save more, spend more time with our families. If you’ve ever tried to make any such changes in your own life, though, you have probably already encountered the subject of New York Times writer Charles Duhigg’s new book, "The Power of Habit."
It’s not at all strange for dieters to find themselves autopiloting to the bakery or the bag of chips, nor for smokers to spend decades trying to overcome the sheer force of the cigarette habit.
Duhigg takes a hybrid approach to illuminating the power of habit, and how we can all use that power to change our lives and our organizations.
He breaks down the science of habits into the essential findings that hold the keys each of us can use to understand and systematically transform the habits that largely drive our lot in life, while offering a series of vivid stories from the business world and from the individual lives of relatable people to illustrate and inspire.
Here are four of Duhigg’s compelling takeaways for readers who seek to assert control over their own behavior and the outcomes they achieve at work and in life:
1. Habits are a result of the brain’s constant mission to save effort. The number of impulses, functions, operations and outputs the brain must calculate and create just to execute an action as simple as brushing our teeth or backing our car out of the driveway is stunning, Duhigg points out.
In order to have the opportunity to rest or to think about other things while we’re moving through our daily lives, our brains are constantly unconsciously on the prowl for ways to save effort. (This also allows us to operate with smaller brains than we’d be able to otherwise, handy for getting our heads out of the birth canal.)
Habits are created when our brains create a mental/behavioral autopilot switch for a given chunk of actions.
2. A simple, three-step loop is responsible for forming every one of our habits. Duhigg teaches readers that first always comes a cue, which is "a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use." After the cue comes the physical, mental or emotional routine, which is followed by a reward, "which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future."
After being repeated over time, these cue, routine, reward loops became ingrained — so much so that the cue-reward link creates anticipations and cravings that render the routine a permanent habit.
3. There is a golden rule of habit change. Duhigg declares a rule of thumb that scientists, football coaches and 12-step programs all operate by, which is that "you can never truly extinguish bad habits." Rather, says the golden rule of habit change, "to change a habit, you must keep the old cue and deliver the old reward but insert a new routine."
The game-changing, life-changing, potential of "The Power of Habit" is that it readers on a deep dive into the realm of precisely how to understand their cue-reward associations and replace old, destructive habits with new, desired routines.
4. Focusing on a single "keystone habit" is essential to successful change. Duhigg shows examples ranging from Alcoa to Olympian Michael Phelps, to an everyday woman who stopped smoking and debting and turned her life around very quickly, using these stories to illuminate the power of focusing on implementing a single keystone habit or "small win" to drive much broader change initiatives.
"Small wins," Duhigg explains, "fuel transformative changes by leveraging tiny advantages into patterns that convince people that bigger achievements are within reach."
For those who truly crave to change their habits, their teams’ routines and their lives, this book offers well-founded hope and simple, concrete tools that have been proven to work, over and over again.
Tara-Nicholle Nelson is author of "The Savvy Woman’s Homebuying Handbook" and "Trillion Dollar Women: Use Your Power to Make Buying and Remodeling Decisions." Tara is also the Consumer Ambassador and Educator for real estate listings search site Trulia.com. Ask her a real estate question online or visit her website, www.rethinkrealestate.com.
|Contact Tara-Nicholle Nelson:|
|Letter to the Editor| | <urn:uuid:ef2e09e8-0315-4262-8f96-7d0114fa9110> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inman.com/2012/04/10/change-your-routine-change-your-life/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931666 | 982 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Interview with National Academy of Sciences Member Philip Skell, Part Two
Editor's Note: Dr. Philip Skell sadly passed away on November 21, 2010 at the age of 91. Casey Luskin wrote an obituary in his honor at Evolution News & Views. In 2007, Dr. Skell had kindly agreed to participate in a series of interviews, which we are pleased to share with IDTF followers once again.
On this episode of ID the Future, National Academy of Sciences member Phillip Skell shares his story of becoming a Darwin-skeptic with Casey Luskin, explaining how his experience in antibiotic research and the questions he posed to his colleagues inspired his 2005 article in The Scientist, "Why Do We Invoke Darwin?: Evolutionary theory contributes little to experimental biology."
Philip S. Skell was Emeritus Evan Pugh Professor at Pennsylvania State University and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Skell was a signer of Discovery Institute's "Dissent from Darwinism" list.
Add to Playlists | <urn:uuid:d7e32700-d21e-4414-aa76-fe43cbbf57d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://intelligentdesign.podomatic.com/entry/2012-06-06T13_36_13-07_00 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958616 | 215 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Foods That Burn Fat
Dieting seems to be a difficult route for many of us to take. The plans are confusing, the exercises difficult to imitate and the motivation too hard to find – what’s a dieter to do?
Thankfully, science has tried to make it a little easier on us by discovering that some foods are actually good for burning fat – even without a special diet plan.
Adding foods that burn fat to your diet can not only help you achieve a slimmer physique, but they can also ensure that you don’t have to work too hard.
Foods that burn fat are sometimes surprising while others make sense because they’re so healthy to begin with. Here’s a list of the various foods that burn fat and why they’re supposed to work:
Foods that Contain High Levels of Vitamin C
Because the body requires vitamin C to burn fat, eating foods that are high in vitamin C is said to help metabolize fat faster and make losing weight less difficult.
You might want to try eating more oranges, pineapple, grapefruit, lemons, limes, green peppers, red, peppers etc. These foods that burn fat are tasty and have few calories too to help increase the health in your diet.
Foods High In Fiber
When you eat more fiber, your stomach thinks that it’s fuller than it actually is. And while this isn’t quite like foods than burn fat, it lessens the amount of overall calories that you can ingest, which leads to fat loss.
You’ll want to choose foods like complex carbohydrates, beans, carrots, etc. when you’re looking for high fiber foods. Even just adding a high fiber cereal in the morning can help boost your fat loss efforts.
While tea doesn’t really fall into foods that can assist in fat burning, it certainly can help you find a slimmer new you. Because green tea contains caffeine, it’s a natural stimulant that can help your body burn more calories while at rest – meaning that you can burn fat without doing a thing.
But it also includes ECCG compounds that are also supposed to help boost your metabolism as well. You can find green tea supplements as well as normal tea bags in your local grocery store.
According to new research, it seems that dairy products are the latest foods that burn fat. Studies have shown that dairy suppresses a fat producing hormone called calcitrol.
By drinking two to three glasses of low fat milk each day or eating a few servings of low fat cheese or yogurt, you can help to suppress that hormone and make fat burning a breeze.
Hot and Spicy Foods
When you eat foods like jalapenos or hot peppers, you stoke the fat burning fires in your body. What happens is that a chemical is released into your body that increases your metabolism, if only for a short while.
By eating more spicy foods that burn fat, you can have tasty meals without the added guilt. Just add a little Tabasco sauce to your eggs in the morning or to your soup at night for all the kick your body needs.
Drink Plenty of Water
Water helps to rid the body of toxins and chemicals that make be slowing down your overall metabolism.
By drinking at least six glasses a day, you can make sure that your digestion is running smoothly and that anything that shouldn’t be in your body is eliminated.
This water intake will also help you feel full longer, which allows you to eat less and lose more weight. Many times our hunger is really just thirst in disguise.
High Protein Foods
Protein - While you might already think this because of the Atkins Diet, protein is thought to help increase your metabolism. Eating protein rich foods that burn fat will help you give your diet an edge. All you need to do is choose low fat protein items (and this includes soy-based items if you’re vegetarian) for each meal of the day.
Foods that burn fat are tasty and easy to add to your daily diet. With a little diet renovation, you can create a daily eating plan that’s working for you, instead of against you. | <urn:uuid:3abde5d5-9316-4989-bef6-f71ce5e7140a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.24hrfitness.co.uk/nutrition/foods-that-burn-fat.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955847 | 868 | 2.15625 | 2 |
If there’s anything frustrating about American politics at this moment, it’s the disappearance of mass unemployment as an area of elite concern. Now that joblessness is on the decline, Washington has moved away from efforts to further address the problem, despite the fact that unemployment isn’t expected to reach pre-recession levels for another four years.
You can say the same for Washington’s attitude towards growth. Gross domestic product increased by 3.1 percent in the third quarter of 2012, up from 1.3 percent in the second quarter, and 1.9 percent in the first. Average GDP for the year will probably fall near 2 percent.
Compared to the rest of the world, this is a solid recovery. But compared to what we need to close our output gap and begin to return to normalcy, it’s far from adequate. Despite this, neither Congress nor the White House seem interested in finding ways to generate more growth. Instead, both are preoccupied with austerity, with Republicans pressing for large entitlement cuts—having pocketed more than a $1 trillion in discretionary spending cuts—and Obama working to craft a “grand bargain” for long-term deficit reduction.
Deficits are not a problem for the United States right now. But even if they were, the current search for “balance” is short-sighted. As Annie Lowrey points out for The New York Times, higher growth—and lower unemployment—would vastly simplify our quest for a sustainable budget:
A ballpark estimate suggests that if the economy were to grow one percentage point more than expected in each year over the next 10, the deficit would shrink by more than $3 trillion. That would be more than enough to set the ratio of our debt to our annual economic output on a comforting downward trajectory. Moreover, it would happen without making cuts to a single program, like Medicare or food stamps, or without raising a single dollar of additional tax revenue.
And you don’t have to have such a large boost to growth to see dividends. An extra tenth of a percentage point every year for the next ten years would reduce the long-term deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars. Washington’s deficit hawks aren’t unaware of this—Lowrey notes that most plan debt reduction plans include a boost of short-term stimulus—but it isn’t a place of emphasis. People like Alan Simpson and organizations like “Fix the Debt” have little to say about our best path to fiscal sanity—more growth and lower unemployment.
All of this is to say that what’s missing from much of the conversation is an awareness that the deficit is a symptom of our broader economic problems—high unemployment and sluggish growth. In an ideal world, Congress would be open to hundreds of billions in new stimulus, since this is what the economy needs to shrink the gap between what we can produce, and what we’re producing. As it stands, stimulus is politically unfeasible. But what we could do is sideline deficit reduction as a priority for the federal government. That way, at least, we could avoid jeopardizing the recovery we have.
But with Republicans pushing the debt ceiling as a way to force further spending cuts, even that seems unlikely. Add to that the budget sequester, and you have a situation where the United States is almost certain to see more sluggish growth his year, as a result of this austerity.
And of course, sluggish growth (and a stagnant labor market) translates to further budget difficulties, which only increase the pressure for more cuts and greater cuts to the services people need.
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(If there's one thing we know about comment trolls, it's that they're lazy) | <urn:uuid:2d3c1d0f-08f1-4524-93d5-b59177041029> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://prospect.org/article/what-economy-needs-growth-washington-isnt-talking-about-it | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950147 | 775 | 1.90625 | 2 |
The great wines of Burgundy, Alsace, Loire, Northern Rhone, Barolo, Mosel, Austria, Hungary and Slovenia use only one grape variety, while those of Bordeaux, Southern Rhone, Languedoc, Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Portugal are blended from many grape varieties. One can easily draw a line separating the blenders from the purists… but the line is not straight: neither geographic latitude nor Winkler index (GDD) correlate to this distinction. What if it all came down to how hazy the sky is?
Looking at a map of the great European wine areas – those with a not too recent history of superb winemaking – one could easily draw a curved line separating the generally more northern areas, emphasizing the purity and completeness of single varietal wines, from the southern areas, whose wines achieve comparable complexity by blending several grape varieties. The line is curved, because climate is influenced not only by latitude but also by winds, seas, microclimates, etc.. This paper results from a speculative but reasoned inquiry to see if I could identify a climate parameter that correlated well with the distinction between blending areas and single varietal areas. | <urn:uuid:8b6baa5d-0648-4e8b-8164-bb632118ab73> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thewineblog.net/tag/latitude/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911419 | 247 | 2.96875 | 3 |