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WE'RE more connected than ever, but technology is actually driving us apart, a new survey has found.
The OPSM Future Vision Report found older adults are worried technological advances will wipe out human interaction by the end of the century.
But young people are happy, and feel the world is a better place, thanks to advances such as email and the internet, the study of 1000 adults found.
Older people blame today's youth, putting the decline of community down to Gen Y's self-centredness, greed and decline in morals.
Already there are signs our sense of society is breaking down, as two-thirds of young people admit they don't know people living around them.
This doesn't bother them, though, given almost two-thirds of all people would prefer peace and quiet to having friendly neighbours.
And, despite 90 per cent of people worrying about "soul-less machines", one in three would still like to see robots replacing humans.
Men are also more optimistic, with two-thirds feeling the world is a better place, compared with little more than half of all women.
Social analyst David Chalke said people were "nostalgic for the sociability of the past, such as service from someone in a friendly local store who takes the time to help".
"This feeds into the concerns about its further erosion in the future," Mr Chalke said.
"Technology is widely regarded as beneficial, but brings with it the perceived downside risks of further automation and depersonalisation."
Sacha Kaluri, director of the Australian Teenage Expo, said there was often a communication gap between older and younger people.
"Younger people are often intimidated by making phone calls in favour of Facebook," she explained.
Avondale Heights mum Sonya Karras said her family had every "i" device going.
Her daughter, Chloe, "often just wanted to message instead of speaking directly".
"She sometimes does feel nervous about calling, and I have to encourage her to pick up the phone," she said. | <urn:uuid:8f285496-6b48-4520-b883-0520341e3753> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news.com.au/technology/modern-technology-keeps-us-tuned-in-but-turned-off/story-e6frfro0-1226583804430 | 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 | 0.979079 | 424 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Today we gathered together to pay tribute to the life of our brother, Philip Andrew Doty. I wish to share the four lessons his life has taught us, as mentioned in his eulogy. God bless.
Anyone who knew Philip for even a brief span of time came to realize quickly his affinity for books. And, in my reflection my brother’s life, I realized, Phil’s life is a novel worth reading. Not because he has done extraordinary things…he is no superhero; nor has he made great contributions to better the society we live in. Though, he has done wonderful things, to be sure.
What make his life a compelling one are fundamental to any good novel: first, there are lessons the story teaches you about life…about love…about character and the human spirit; and second, when the last page is read and the book is closed, the reader has one or two unanswered questions that will only be answered by time.
Today, I would like to share my Cliff notes view into my brother’s life; a life worthy of celebration. And together, let us allow him be our teacher of some life lessons that will make us smile. I think in understanding this lasting legacy he has given to all of us, it may help us to wait patiently until the unanswered questions that linger on in our thoughts are answered.
Philip Andrew Doty was the fifth born of the Doty clan’s seven kids. He entered the world on October 3, 1964. I remember Philip as a quiet kid, reflective, as though he was always in the middle of working out a problem in his head. He was often lost in thought…and it has happened more than once that his doddling got him into trouble. Imagine my mother going shopping with seven kids in tow, telling us to stay close. She could turn around for a minute and Philip would be gone! It didn’t matter whether we were at a shopping center or amusement park, it happened more than a couple of times, Philip was lost. We’d usually find him after much worry sitting on the counter of lost and found eating an ice cream cone! I’m not even sure he was aware he was lost until someone asked him where his mother was. So comfortable was he with himself.
Part of his wondering off was due to his insatiable curiosity. He liked to know a lot of things. This made him a great companion, easy going, even in his childhood, whether playing street ball, hide and seek, building blocks. He enjoyed being with others; it didn’t matter much what the activity was, whether playing dolls with his sisters, or making purses (I talked him into doing); sports, just sitting in Church with dad entertaining himself with a set of Dad’s car keys – he seemed content to do or play what the other wanted, such was his nature. He had a real gift for making the person, whose company he kept, feel important. I’m sure each of you has specific examples where you have experienced this for yourself, where Philip taught our first life lesson: Enjoy your time with others. He so enjoyed the company of those he loved – friends and family alike.
He was always willing to play the other’s preferred game, or go where they wanted to go. To him, it didn’t matter; what did matter was, to do those things together. And he cherished these memories in his heart.
As Philip grew, he discovered a companion who would be a constant for him – books. Some of my earliest memories of Philip are of him with a book in hand, and, any moment he was not playing, he could be found reading. I’m sure as he grew and had a family of his own, there were discussions about books; in moving, how many boxes of books, where to put them, or store them… His inquisitiveness held no bounds and he would read anything, although he had his favorites, history, military stories, spirituality and language (how many times would we go somewhere, only to see Philip with a French or Spanish pocket dictionary make the trip too!).
His eclectic tendencies toward books were symbolic of his openness toward people. He didn’t mind that people were different, and it was the differences that drew him into other cultures and places. But it was not always that way. He told the story how, in his basic training he had gone along with the thinking of some of the men who talked badly about certain people. He had repeated some of these things in front of our parents and, when my mother confronted him about it:
“All the wisdom of a 19 year old…I think back on that moment as one of the most shameful and regretful things I’ve ever thought or said of another human being. And even more horrifying, did I ever contaminate anyone else with this poison I spread? I pray to God that I never did. The Book of Proverbs, 8:7 states, “My mouth utters truth; wickedness is abhorrent to my lips.” For sure, wickedness was indeed on my lips during that period of my life. I pray it will never find its way there again!”
Philip recalled this event, one that deeply shaped his understanding of who he was, and what he wanted to be. It made a strong impact on his future dealing with people who were different than himself. It is here, he sets the example for our second lesson of life: be slow to judge others, and quick to love them. I remember many occasions where he would greet strangers with much respect, particularly those of other cultural backgrounds.
He had made a choice, which shows his great humility, to embrace others before rejecting them. I have never known Philip, following this brief year or two of his youth, to have anything bad to say about anyone. Although he was soft spoken, whenever a conversation turned to the worse, he would either change the subject, defend the person, or, if this weren’t possible, simply disappear like that small child losing himself in the supermarket. He took to heart the words of Proverbs, not to speak untruths of anyone. Many of us have witnessed this quality about Philip, which is one reason he was much admired by those who knew him.
While Philip was in the Navy, we always enjoyed his moments on leave when he would spend a few weeks at home. My Dad would always introduce Philip during these visits to some of the local women, hoping his son would fall in love with one of them. Susan was working at the Post Office in Nipomo at the time, and, when Philip came home on leave they would spend time together riding horses or visiting local sites. Philip knew he found his helpmate, his life-companion. Philip was a good husband, and accepted gratefully his growing family. He always felt blessed to have two children, Jacob and Lizzy, and was always concerned that they would grow to know right from wrong, and to be protected from a social environment that tries to take away our innocence while still very young. His obituary states his love for his family so well. It reads, “If Philip prefaced a statement with “my son” or “my daughter,” there was an unmistakable air of warmth and pride in his voice. All of us who knew him realized that everything he did, he did for or with his family.” He loved his family more than life itself.
He wrote about an event that happened, not long after he was diagnosed. He was trying to reconcile why God would allow this; not that he was not willing to be subjected to disease, but that he feared not being able to be there to help his children become strong adults. He happened to tune into a radio station that wasn’t his regular one. A father was being interviewed; whose five-year-old daughter had the same diagnosis as Philip:
“I came across a channel, which I had never listened to before, and they were speaking with the father of a five year old girl…The newscaster asked the man how a father deals with a terminally ill child, and he responded that it’s indescribable, and that he would give anything to trade places with is daughter. I thought to myself that I could not imagine what this poor father lives with every day, and that I was with him in that I would happily take on a disease like this to spare my wife or kids.”
Philip’s love for his family was that way. He loved deeply, and did all he thought best to protect what he loved most. This our third lesson of life from Philip – a lesson of sacrificial love. To love at all costs. I am certain that you, Susan, Jacob and Lizzy, know how much Philip, as a husband and father loved you. I also know that one of his deepest prayers, was that God will finish the work he allowed Philip to begin. To protect and care for you, and love you even more than Philip could do himself.
Philip wrote in his reflection about the little girl and her father that was willing to changes places, that he was ‘willing to take this bullet for the team.’ This is the greatest love that can only be outdone by the sacrificial love of God himself who let his only begotten Son – Jesus – die on the Cross for us.
This brings us to the last of Philip’s lessons for us, one that can only be known and fulfilled completely between him and God, but it is worth exploring for us, who might be going through the same struggle. The struggle to understand the role of faith and God.
Phil thought a lot about God throughout his life. He wrote of his fond memories of going to church as a child, his love of the songs and ritual. He intuitively knew there was a Creative Force active in his life, and tried in many ways to make sense of what it was. He was baptized and raised Catholic, and in his teenage years, like so many do, he wondered away from the religion of his youth, not rejecting God, but uncertain of the expression that resonated in him. In his travels while serving our Country – which he loved dearly – he encountered many cultures and religions. In Japan, he was introduced to Buddhism; in Turkey he learned about Islam. And, he reasoned that there were a lot of similarities between the major religions of the world. Something kept him from embracing any of them fully. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in God – he most surely did.
A turning point for him was his time stationed in Turkey. He had the opportunity to study the Bible and to take a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He of course, being a lover of history enjoyed the pilgrimage immensely due to the historical significance alone. He accepted anew Jesus as his Lord and Savior in the waters of the Jordan. It lead to his study the Old Testament, reasoning:
“I really felt connected to this Man (Jesus), and wanted to know more about what he thought and taught. Maybe I should look back at what Jesus taught in the Old Testament, rather than focus on the texts many decades to thousands of years after the Messiah’s time on earth.”
When he and Susan returned to the States, and Philip was at the Monterrey language academy, he began to study more in earnest the Hebrew Scriptures and the people of Israel. He took a class, the “Introduction to Judaism”, and Philip shared:
“At this point I was still sitting on the post, unsure of whether this man named Jesus was the Son of God…for a religious Jew, the Hebrew Scriptures that he believed and trusted his faith in God…for us Christians, and the concept of Heaven and Hell, redemption, and the fight for our eternal souls, it seemed much more than just studying what we know of the New Testament. There had to be so much more involved. So, I continued to search.”
He was drawn to Judaism. He enjoyed the service, the music, the lessons. He liked the familiarity of “breaking bread and wine at the conclusion of Friday night services…Very enjoyable and spiritual time for me.”
He found his home in Judaism, and saw himself “a Jew in heart if not by Jewish law.” He concludes his search for faith, reasoning, “…above all, I believe absolutely in our Creator, who made the entire universe, and all of the laws of nature that our Creator established. I have complete faith in His wisdom, His reasoning of life and death, and that I do not know…or can even remotely conceive what God really has planned. I know that we all live and die, and that death is nothing to fear. And that only our Creator knows when that time comes.”
One of his favorite books was this one (an interlinear Hebrew-English Old Testament). He had a large print edition that he read regularly, and this smaller copy. When I last saw Philip, he handed this Bible to me and pointed to the index card, saying, “This is the most important part of the whole scriptures for me.” When I opened to the page, it was marked Job 42:1-6, which comes near the end of Job’s trials. It reads:
Job said in reply to the Lord, “I know that you can do everything. that nothing you propose is impossible for You. Who is this who obscures counsel without knowledge? Indeed, I spoke without understanding of things beyond me, which I did not know. Hear now, and I will speak; I will ask, and You will inform me. I had heard You with my ears, But now I see You with my eyes; therefore, I recant and relent, being but dust and ashes.”
This is our fourth lesson of life: Philip, in the midst of his suffering, his losing ‘everything’, handed all of it back to God, in trust. He understood that the Creator – God – is a God of Mercy. In his own confusion of faith, his struggle to reconcile Christianity with Judaism, he still believed that this too, God in his greatness will understand.
If he was standing with us here now, Philip would be able to teach us so much about the journey each of us must make to discover the Truth of God according to our capacity. He had no doubt that God would be waiting for him at the end. This is our final lesson of life – to be like Philip, and search out the meaning of our own relationship with our Creator.
Philip, our Son, brother, husband, father, coworker, our friend. We thank God that we were honored to share this first volume of your life; that by knowing you, we have become better human beings, and may we always honor your memory by following your example, until that Glorious day when we will again embrace and laugh, with no more pain; only perfect happiness and love.
May you rest in God, my brother, may his unending light shine upon you. May you rest in peace. Amen. | <urn:uuid:623f6e25-c7ff-4440-9bbc-117f3523eb08> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nunspeak.wordpress.com/tag/four-life-lessons/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990973 | 3,162 | 1.632813 | 2 |
|After the Phone Call
What Happened to George Smoot After the Nobel Committee Called
|Contact: Lynn Yarris, firstname.lastname@example.org|
Just about every scientist fantasizes about receiving that phone call from Sweden and winning a Nobel Prize, just as probably every actor or actress dreams of winning an Oscar. But what happens after the phone call? Based on Berkeley Lab astrophysicist George Smoot's experience, what immediately happens are more phone calls. A lot more phone calls.
The call came in at around 2:45 a.m. on Tuesday, October 3, 2006. A man with a polite voice and a Swedish accent informed George Smoot that he had won the Nobel Prize in Physics, along with NASA scientist John Mather, for their 1992 results from NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite. COBE provided the first substantial experimental evidence for the Big Bang theory of cosmology.
The first question from Smoot, who had a new cell phone and an unlisted number, was: "How did you get my phone number?"
Despite two subsequent callers, including a friend, Smoot suspected a prank until he actually confirmed the news on the Nobel Prize website at around 3:00 a.m. He promptly e-mailed his family and called this writer.
And then the fun began.
Because of international time differences, reporters from the British and European media are well into their day when the Nobel announcement goes online, and they are anxious to meet deadlines. Reporters with deadlines are a relentless lot, like computerized solicitors or erroneous fax machines.
From about 3:30 a.m. on, the phones of both Smoot and this writer (whose Berkeley Lab number was listed) did not stop ringing. The Lab scheduled a formal press conference for 10:00 a.m., which was in and of itself a logistical challenge, but while 10:00 a.m. was early enough for most Bay Area reporters, TV camera crews showed up as early as 4:30, hoping to get tape for their 5:00 a.m. newscasts.
Smoot intended to be at the Lab by 7:00 a.m., but the phone calls kept him so tied up he was lucky to make it in shortly before the press conference. Before he faced the media, Smoot got words of advice from Berkeley Lab's director Steve Chu, who won the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for his development of optical traps for single atoms.
The press conference was held in an auditorium packed with television camera crews, photographers, reporters and well-wishers from the Lab and University, including Director Chu and the Chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley, Robert Birgeneau. The Chancellor was effusive in his praise for Smoot: "The entire campus community is enormously proud of George's achievement and joins me in sending him hearty congratulations."
In short order, the Chancellor extended to Smoot a number of invitations, mostly for fund-raising events. But he also invited Smoot to toss the coin in the Cal-Oregon football game the following Saturday and offered him seats in the Chancellor's box for the game, which was held on Homecoming Day.
(At the game, Smoot would take on the job of "mike-man," leading the fans in a series of cheers. Smoot himself was on the receiving end of cheers; when he took the field Cal fans began chanting "Nobel Prize! Nobel Prize! Nobel Prize!" Perhaps inspired by Smoot's cheerleading, the Golden Bears would go on to conquer the Ducks by a score of 45-24.)
In his own remarks at the press conference, before Smoot took questions from reporters he expressed his gratitude to the Laboratory and to the University of California for "providing the scientific freedom and culture of research" that make long-term experimental efforts like his possible.
"It's no wonder the Free Speech Movement started at Berkeley," he said. "For us it was the Free Science movement: pick out the best science you can do and do it. That was so liberating, the thing that really made it so that I could think about science that was out of the ordinary and into a new field."
Smoot also thanked the U.S. Department of Energy and NASA for their financial support of his work, and to the taxpayers in general. "You guys paid for this," he said, gesturing to the audience. "I figured it out once, and it was like $3 for every person in the country."
Throughout the first hours after the phone call from Sweden, Smoot repeatedly stated that this Nobel Prize was for a team effort, involving a large number of scientists and engineers and support staff. Despite the crush of calls from the media and well-wishers, he took the time early that Tuesday morning to send an e-mail message to all the members of the COBE project. The message read in part: "This award is shared by the two team leaders John Mather and George Smoot but is representative of the work done by all on the project and recognizes the importance of COBE as a keystone mission from cosmology."
In his book, Wrinkles in Time, first published in 1993, Smoot insisted over the publisher's objections on including an appendix in which he listed more than 1,500 contributors to the research. The list included Giovanni De Amici, Jon Aymon, Charles Lineweaver, and Luis Tenorio, coauthors on the Astrophysical Journal paper of 1992 that first reported the COBE experimental results.
During the day, in the course of dozens of interviews and conversations, Smoot acknowledged many other scientists with whom he collaborated, such as physicists Rich Muller and Paul Richards (who was John Mather's thesis advisor), and those who helped in the never-ending battles for funding, such as Robert Birge and Pier Oddone, previous directors of Berkeley Lab's Physics Division, and former Berkeley Lab directors Andy Sessler, Dave Shirley, and Chuck Shank. He also gave high praise to the work of Saul Perlmutter and other members of the Supernova Cosmology Project headquartered at Berkeley Lab, and he paid special homage to his mentor, the late Nobel Laureate Luis Alvarez.
Of course there were parties. At noon that day there was a reception for Smoot, hosted by his immediate colleagues in the Physics Division and INPA, the Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics. In the cafeteria at 3:00 p.m., Director Chu and the Lab hosted a champagne celebration featuring surprise appearances by both Shank and Oddone, who had been Berkeley Lab's director and deputy director respectively when the COBE results were first announced. Director Chu made a toast and noted that even with the addition of Smoot, there's still space on the Lab's Nobel Laureate wall for a few more prize-winners. Following the Berkeley Lab reception, Smoot was whisked down to campus for a UC Berkeley reception. He did not make it back home until around 7:30 p.m., which presented a problem.
Throughout the frenzy following the Tuesday morning call, Smoot had expressed on several occasions his concern about a midterm exam he'd scheduled for his freshman physics class on Wednesday, which he'd not yet fully prepared. Education and his teaching duties have long been top priorities for Smoot.
Two years ago he began a partnership with Berkeley Lab physicist Michael Barnett and the Particle Data Group, who had led the development of the award-winning Particle Adventure educational website, to create the Universe Adventure, a website designed to teach current theories and supporting evidence for the history, structure and fate of the universe. With help from Rollie Otto of Berkeley Lab's Center for Science and Engineering Education, and with funding from the Bechtel Corporation, the website is now up and running.
Smoot is also in discussion with UC Berkeley about donating his Nobel Prize money to the campus to provide fellowships for postdocs and grad students, pending matching funding donations. His desire is "to encourage and help outstanding young people to enter scientific research."
But what came first on Tuesday the 3rd was preparing the midterm exam on thermal physics for 174 students. The night after the phone call that woke him up before 3 a.m., Smoot stayed up until 3 a.m. Wednesday to finish preparing his exam. (Tuesday he'd posited that in winning the Nobel Prize, "Perhaps now my students will pay more attention to me." Perhaps they do: their overall scores on the midterm were much better than for the previous exam.)
In the opening of Wrinkles in Time, Smoot wrote: "There is something about looking at the night sky that makes a person wonder." Smoot looked at the night sky, wondered, and then devoted his life to finding answers. The reward was a phone call from a polite Swedish man.
After the phone call, he says he wants to continue to teach and do research, but now, with his new celebrity, he adds: "I want to be an ambassador for science and help pave the way for the next generation of scientists."
All of this should be possible, thanks to that phone call. | <urn:uuid:b57f059e-47b3-477c-87ed-6e952a99e6c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/sabl/2006/Oct/4.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 | 0.972279 | 1,888 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Influences on Japanese demand for wood products
- Wood use in Japan stems mostly from residential construction, which rivals the United States market in terms of number of housing starts, and presents tremendous market opportunities for overseas producers of structural wood products.
- Post & beam type of construction dominates, but markets for North American-style platform-frame construction are steadily growing.
- Several trends related to wood use are driving the demand for structural wood products in Japan, including the growing importance of high-performance, aesthetically pleasing wood products, the adoption of platform-frame building technologies and engineered wood products, and the emergence of a pre-cut component manufacturing sector.
- Changes are under way in the markets for non-structural wood products for interior applications as Japanese consumer tastes shift towards the use of lighter coloured softwoods and western styles.
- Changing demographics (population stability and an increasing proportion of elderly persons) are having an impact on the use of wood in Japan.
- Changes in regulatory requirements regarding housing in Japan, including the Government Housing and Loan Corporation, the Building Standard Law and the Housing Quality Assurance Law, will have a considerable impact on wood products imports and business relations.
- The future of wood product imports to Japan will be characterized by further global competition, the potential for increased trade protectionism, the need for high performance wood products and systems, and growth in the repair and remodelling market.
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Wood raw material – production, trade and consumption
- Roundwood was in oversupply in Europe in 2000 following the extensive windthrow from the December 1999 storms, which mainly affected France, Switzerland, Denmark and Germany.
- The storm damage had these effects on roundwood markets in the EU/EFTA subregion in 2000: an acceleration of production and exports by 12% and 50% respectively, a 30% drop in prices, and a 19% increase in net imports.
- Despite the surplus windthrow volumes in 2000 in western Europe, exports of wood raw material to western Europe from CIS as well as from central and eastern European countries increased rapidly by 13% and 8% respectively.
- A change in traditional roundwood trade flows is occurring in the UNECE region as evidenced by a significant decrease in Germany's net trade with countries of the EU/EFTA subregion owing to a sharp increase in roundwood imports from the CIS since 1995.
- Roundwood production and consumption in the CIS increased significantly, by nearly 60% from 1998, although it had decreased annually since the beginning of market reforms.
- Incomes from expansion of roundwood exports from CIS and “Other Europe” countries are increasingly used to improve obsolete machinery leading to increased productivity and medium-term domestic purchasing power.
- While the United States lost some market share in Japan, industrial roundwood trade between the United States and Canada is increasing.
- Production and consumption of roundwood in the UNECE region both rose almost 5% in 2000, to reach 1.3 billion m3 in 2000, mainly because of the storm damages in Europe; however, removals remain still well below the supply potential of the forests.
- Roundwood exports and imports both increased in UNECE region in 2000 by roughly 18%, while net exports expanded same time by 22%.
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Sawn softwood – consumption, production and trade
- In 2000 in the UNECE region, production of sawn softwood reached a new high of 264 million m3, a 1.6% increase over 1999.
- Nordic countries’ production and exports were at record highs in 2000, and shipments of further processed sawn softwood products are increasing.
- Nordic countries' and Austria continue to see growth in exports of sawn softwood outside of the EU/EFTA region, especially to Japan.
- Growth in exports from central and eastern Europe, 13% from 1999 to 2000, is considerably higher than the export growth rate in the EU/EFTA subregion of Europe of 4%.
- Sawn softwood exports from Canada to the United States made record highs in 1999 and 2000, representing roughly 35% of total United States consumption.
- Canadian exports of further processed sawnwood products, including wood furniture, reached record levels in 2000.
- United States exports of sawn softwood continue near their decade lows of 1998, at less than 3 million m3, due to increased domestic consumption and reduced production.
- United States imports from South America and Europe are at record levels.
- Expiration of the Canada – United States Softwood Lumber Agreement in March 2001 has created much apprehension for Canadian producers, leading to a drop in shipments and higher prices.
- While Japanese import volumes of sawn softwood remain considerably below the 1997 peak of over 10 million m3, Japan remains an important market for supplier regions around the globe. Canada has maintained market share in Japan, while the United States lost market share, and Sweden, Finland and Austria enjoyed spectacular gains.
- Sawn softwood production and trade increased sharply to record levels in France, Germany and Switzerland following the December 1999 windstorms and sawnwood prices weakened.
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Sawn hardwood – consumption, supply and trade
- Consumption of sawn hardwood in the UNECE region continued to rise to an all-time record through 2000, driven by improved economic conditions, particularly in the United States.
- Sawn hardwood production in the UNECE region increased by 4.1%.
- Sawn hardwood production in the United States reached an all-time record level in 2000 but, based on early reports, may have fallen by up to 25% in the early part of 2001.
- Trade in hardwoods was at record levels in 1999 and continued to accelerate during most of 2000 throughout the UNECE region.
- Prices of logs and sawnwood produced in the region advanced, although much more so in North America where the domestic and export demand was exceptionally strong and only towards the end of 2000 showed any sign of easing.
- European production of sawn hardwood in 2000 responded to increased demand and improved prices and swelled with the recovery of storm-blown timber at the beginning of the year and demand from Asia.
- Eastern Europe emerged as a more significant supplier of sawn hardwoods greatly assisted by the continued strength of the dollar and weakness of the euro currency.
- Globalization of hardwood markets continued to play an increasingly important role, well demonstrated by the influence of such countries as China in the global supply and demand equation.
- Rationalization in the furniture industry within and outside the UNECE region is changing the supply and demand profile for sawn hardwood.
- The first half of the 2001 market saw a sharp downturn in demand levels and prices in North America and Europe.
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Wood-based panels – supply, trade and consumption
- Panel markets in the UNECE region out-performed all other forest products market sectors in 2000.
- A price collapse hit the structural panel markets in North America and Europe in 2000.
- In the EU/EFTA countries, total consumption of wood-based panels increased 6.7% to a record high of 45.2 million m3, confirming the recovery of the sector.
- In the Russian Federation, consumption of wood-based panels was up by 19.3% and reached 3.6 million m3, confirming the recovery of the sector.
- Although North American structural panel prices staged a rebound in the spring of 2001, the economic recovery of the sector is overshadowed by sluggish demand and further capacity additions.
- In 2000 and 2001, a strong dollar disadvantaged North American structural panel exporters vis-à-vis European and South American suppliers.
- High profits in oriented strand board (OSB) in the past and predictions of further gains in market share vis-à-vis plywood have induced North American and European interests to build more capacity, fostering conditions of oversupply.
- OSB market share in North American commodity sheathing (for roofs, floors, and walls in homes) passed the 75% level at the expense of softwood plywood.
- Future market growth of OSB in North America is increasingly predicated on gains in residential remodelling, do-it-yourself purchases and other non-housing applications.
- European OSB production rose about 20% from 1999 and four more plants are being built.
- Turnover in capacity is occurring in all branches as newer, high-capacity plants drive out older, smaller operations with higher unit costs.
- European particle board markets are recovering as new capacity is absorbed and several older plants are phased out.
- European production of MDF rose by 15% in 2000, but capacity growth will ease in 2001 following major expansions.
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How Dads Can Stay Involved
Ideas for connecting with your kids at every age
Go on a walk with your child, and collect leaves or other objects that reflect the changing seasons.
Create habits that help you connect with your wife and kids, such as phone calls from work or special "daddy" time when you walk through the doorway at the end of the day.
Post pictures of your children where you'll see them on the way home from work (on your car dashboard, for example). As you look at the pictures, tell yourself, "The next few hours are the most important in my entire day."
Tell your child a funny story, using voices, motions, facial expressions and sound effects to make it come alive.
What causes laughter and silliness in your daughter? What brings that mischievous grin to your son's face? Find out, and then capitalize on it for the benefit of your relationship.
Get on your child's level — squatting, kneeling or lying on the floor — when talking to or playing with him or her.
Carve out a few hours when you can give your child focused attention, doing nothing other than getting to know him or her better.
Read a book with your child, asking lots of questions as you go.
Be the one to jump up and help when your child has a need. Those are priceless opportunities — and Mom probably could use a break!
Clear some time this weekend, and ask your child, "What would you like to do together?"
At your child’s sports events, make it your goal to be conspicuously and contagiously positive. Set the tone with lots of encouragement and fun.
Regularly walk or drive your child to or from school.
Bring home a funny joke or stunt that you can enjoy with your children.
Ask what skill your child would like to learn in the next year, then commit yourself to help him or her in that area.
Go for a drive with your child, just to get away and spend time together.
Do something special for milestones in your child's life, such as his or her 10th birthday.
Be involved in your child's education — including helping with homework, practicing for sports or other activities, and attending school meetings and events.
Volunteer for a day or half day at your child's school.
Start regular daddy-daughter dates or one-on-one outings with your son.
Commit to a vigorous outdoor activity over the weekend with your kids. Push the limits, and be creative.
Listen to music that your child enjoys — keeping an open mind.
Keep "dating" your daughter and scheduling fun activities with your son on a regular basis.
Figure out how to have fun with your teen by immersing yourself in his world for an afternoon. Hang out together, read a book she likes, play his games, listen to her stories.
Connect with other adults who play an important role in your child's life — coaches, teachers, youth leaders — and compare notes on how your child is progressing.
Shock your son or daughter by doing something together on his or her "turf" — skateboarding, playing hoops at the park, going to the mall.
Plan special rite-of-passage events when your child reaches milestone ages like 13, 16 and 18.
Tell your child you'll pay if he goes to a movie with you. Afterward, ask questions about the film's themes.
published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2009 Carey Casey. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:25a6d460-7ba8-4152-8890-f3fa553701bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/parenting_roles/the_involved_father/how_dads_can_stay_involved.aspx?p=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963751 | 737 | 1.96875 | 2 |
The number 13 is not an unlucky number, as any competent numerologist will tell you. It is a so-called master number, but not a principle master number, as is 11, which is one of the big ones.
So, where 13 being unlucky is just as much off the wall as any other way of messing with numbers. Besides, you cannot escape the progression of the natural numbers. Skipping 13 on the elevator doesn't mean there is no 13th floor. There is. Live with it.
Finally, again as any competent numerologist will tell you, messing with a number because you don't like it doesn't work.
But then the modifier word is "competent". There are none, AFAIK!
There is a funny story about the Steinway nomenclature. A Steinway "B" is around 7" long, and is pretty big, so "B" stands for big.
The Steinway "D", the great, 9' Concert Grand, so,it's called the Steinway D.
Care to guess why?
The "D" in Steinway "D" means Damn Big!
It's a wonderful machine on which to perform. When you sit at one and hit a key, or a handful of keys, it is as immovable as a slab of marble attached to the ground. The feeling is uncanny.
I have one with superstition, however. The problem is I'm being lied to. Of course, if they generate version 13, then abandon it for 14, well then, what can I say? No lies, no superstition.
If Adobe calls it 14, I'll call it 14.
Well, over the years and versions, Adobe coders have expressed a sense of humor, with little credits and easter eggs, but somehow, I do not see that one coming.
However, Corel did get weird with their logo for Painter 9:
That creeped a lot of folk out, and was very contentious amongst old-time Painter users. Maybe Jason is not THAT far fetched.
Yeah, that graphic was a real bone of contention. I think that the forum filled the server to capacity, just with comments on the logo, and no one ever got around to talking about the actual software.
I think that I would have loved to be a "fly on the wall," when that graphic was presented and defended. Must have been an interesting meeting.
Have not upgraded, so I cannot comment on version XI - maybe toes too?
I just just imagine the clamor (should such really happen... ), as the PrPro and AE forums still have complaints that those programs, in their current versions are ONLY 64-bit. Now, with the suites, Adobe DOES throw in PrPro and AE CS4, which are 32-bit, but several users have bought the standalones, and not read the OS requirements, and now are miffed. Rather like when Adobe issued several programs, that required the SSE2 instruction set. Heck, that was years ago, and we still see posters with older AMD chips, complaining about it.
At least they are not shooting for a 256-bit OS, at least at this time.
PS - one thing that the little "jokes" and easter eggs show is that Adobe coders DO have a sense of humor - just don't tell the development team about that though. Here's a blast from the past:
Oh, heck yeah they have good senses of humor. Adobe must be a nice place to work. One of the first "easter eggs" I remember discovering was the Big Electric Cat (Photoshop 6.0?), though I'm sure virtually every version has something special hidden away. Here's the Photoshop CS5 splash screen if you hold down the proper combination of keys... Note that the aforementioned cat is in the rabbit's painting...
Yeah, the "big electric cat" was one of the early ones, that I recall.
Seems there was something in PS version 4 (not CS 4), where if when the credits had run, the right key combo brought up some funny stuff. Memory is just cloudy now, and I cannot recall what it was, or the key combo.
From time to time, Photoshop User magazine will mention an easter egg, but someone needs to put together a chart with the version numbers and key combos, plus their timing. Heck, I'd go back and install some older versions, just to see what was "inside the box."
Alt screens go back to the beginning.
(It's just missing CS3-CS5)
Thanks for that link.
I am still looking for the reference to what I seem to recall as an "office party" photo, but could be wrong that it was in PS version 4. Do you recall any group photos?
I found some group portraits in PrPro 2.0, but could never get the key combo to work for the "pets" photos, though they do appear in the rolling credits there.
I just started a thread in The Lounge, on Adobe Easter Eggs, and am still doing research.
Your link brought back a lot of memories, plus introduced some new ones. Guess that I was too busy using some of those versions, and never bothered to search the Help>About key combos. I did see where Merlin appears in Layers Palette in PS CS2.
Can't believe no one has properly answered this. The answer is simple: the next Photoshop will be Photoshop CS6 version 13.0. Adobe doesn't skip version thirteens; Illustrator CS3 was 13; Flash Player 11 plays SWF format version 13.
Europe, Middle East and Africa | <urn:uuid:4f9d7336-a478-4397-bf04-32731f2f2e6f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.adobe.com/thread/891781?start=0&tstart=0 | 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 | 0.966996 | 1,179 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Armstrong 'snubs' member of U.S. Congress
Apollo 11's 'first man on moon' refuses to sign autograph for House Speaker
Apollo 11 astronaut and the first man on the moon Neil Armstrong refused to sign an autograph for U.S. House of Congress speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to news website rollcall.com.
California Democrat Pelosi reportedly asked the publicity-shy former astronaut to autograph something for her son.
The pair were at an event marking the 40th anniversary of Armstrong's "giant leap for mankind," held at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington last Tuesday.
"I'm sorry, I don't do that anymore," was Armstrong's purported response.
Armstrong famously refuses all autograph requests - no matter how powerful the person asking for it - apparently fearing forgeries and those making large amounts of money from his signature.This will be good news to autograph investors. The continued rarity and finite supply of Armstrong signatures has seen it fetch prices of around £5,000. | <urn:uuid:be2907b2-6cef-4bbc-9c15-681d47df4776> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.paulfrasercollectibles.com/section.asp?catid=73&docid=191 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951827 | 213 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Mon March 11, 2013
In Noma's Norovirus Episode, Ignored Emails Get Some Blame
Days after news spread that Danish restaurant Noma, three-time winner of Restaurant magazine's "World's Best Restaurant" title, was blamed for a norovirus outbreak in which dozens of diners fell ill, the restaurant has issued a public response and sought to clarify its handling of the situation.
And while noroviruses are "perhaps the perfect human pathogens," as The Journal of Infectious Diseases reports, it also seems that Noma could have spared some of its diners from the pathogens if its staff had read emails from health inspectors. Once it received the message that patrons were falling ill, the restaurant closed for two days to address the issue.
As we reported Friday, Denmark's food agency, Fødevarestyrelsen, says that a Noma staff member spread the illness, resulting in more than 60 patrons suffering from diarrhea and nausea.
While The Copenhagen Post reported that 67 people became ill, the restaurant and the Danish food safety agency agree the number is 63. Noma says it regrets the incident, and it has been "in direct contact" with customers who ate at the restaurant in the time in question, between Feb. 12 and Feb. 16.
According to the official inspection report, a Noma employee became nauseous on the night of Friday, Feb. 15, after work. The restaurant says the staff member "was a carrier and did not show any symptoms of the virus" — something we take to refer to the worker's time on the clock. The restaurant's management say they've long had a policy in place that requires sick employees to stay home.
A day earlier, on Thursday, Feb. 14, the agency had sent an email to Noma informing it that its diners were reporting serious health problems. But the restaurant acknowledges that it didn't read its mail that day.
Noting that members of its staff come from all over the world, Noma said that "unfortunately there was a slight delay as the email was picked up initially by a non-Danish speaking member of the team and wasn't responded to until Monday after the weekend service."
In its report, the food agency says that Noma has pledged to have an employee who speaks both English and Danish to read its mail. The restaurant has also posted the final report on its exterior, along with providing a prominent link on its website.
While the official report noted that there was no hot water for employees to wash their hands in the kitchen's prep area, Noma clarifies that it has four sinks on the two floors of its kitchen, and one of those — in the prep area — lacked hot water. We noted in our original post that the restaurant quickly had a plumber fix that sink.
But as alert readers of our original post noted, washing hands with hot water is in itself not sufficient to rid a kitchen of norovirus. The inspection report cited the restaurant's work to disinfect its kitchen with chlorine and to throw away all food that had been handled. Noma says it closed for two days so it could reset its kitchen.
"As a precaution the kitchen and restaurant have been deep cleaned several times following Health Inspection guidelines," chef Rene Redzepi wrote on Noma's website. "This has been done on top of the overall cleaning, which takes place several times a day."
Noma also says it has tested staff members for norovirus and has been in touch with its customers.
"When the first results came in, indicating norovirus, guests were informed and offered either to return as our guests or to be fully refunded," a statement from the restaurant reads. "We are delighted that many guests have already accepted the offer to return to noma."
The restaurant, which became a hit for its creative reimagining of Nordic cuisine, received a warning from the Danish food agency. A check of the restaurant's online reservations calendar finds that it is in its normal state: completely booked. | <urn:uuid:c256de17-67ad-48cc-9c16-138fe72ffdc5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wvxu.org/post/nomas-norovirus-episode-ignored-emails-get-some-blame | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986561 | 828 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Just a few hundred metres offshore from Nassau, capital of the Bahamas, stands one of the world’s busiest tourist resorts. Hotels, a golf course, casinos and even a reconstructed medieval French cloister are incongruously scattered on its 277 hectares. It used to be called Hog Island, a scrubby wasteland named after the semi-wild pigs that foraged around its interior. Its makeover came in 1962 when the US entrepreneur Huntingdon Hartford II persuaded the Government to change its name to Paradise Island and built a bridge, unleashing a torrent of tourism-related investment. More recently, South African billionaire Sol Kerzner has invested in the strikingly pink Atlantis Resort and Casino; reclusive residents have included Howard Hughes and the Shah of Iran.
The Bahamas’ transformation from subsistence farming to mass tourism took place over the 20th century but really accelerated from the 1960s onwards. Today the islands welcome over three million tourists annually, with the industry accounting for more than 60 per cent of GDP and over half of employment. Growth in the 1990s was largely fuelled by hotel construction, but the trade gap widened steadily, as food, fuel and machinery were imported.
The glittering attractions of Paradise Island are mirrored in other resorts, especially on the larger islands of New Providence and Grand Bahama, which cater primarily to US tourists. Cruise ships are also big business, with the Bahamas featuring on most itineraries out of Miami. But many of the 700 islands and 2,000 cays that make up the archipelago are either uninhabited or have much smaller-scale tourism.
The proximity of these small islands to the United States (Bimini is only 50 miles from Florida) has shaped their history. Loyalists founded settlements after the American War of Independence, bringing their slaves with them, while from the 16th century pirates used the isolated cays as bases. The British imposed colonial rule in 1717, but it was American trade, legal and illegal, that underpinned the economy. Arms and supplies were smuggled to Confederate forces during the American Civil War, making the fortunes of the ‘Bay Street Boys’, the white merchant élite operating out of Bay Street, Nassau.
But it was booze that really lined the merchants’ pockets when the Bahamas became the favoured departure point for Prohibition busters such as Bill McCoy (‘the real McCoy’) who smuggled rum and whisky to thirsty 1920s America. Economically dominant, the white traders stalled the advent of democracy, preventing adult suffrage until 1961. Soon afterwards the firebrand black politician, Lynden Pindling, shot to power, promising a fairer deal for the majority.
Pindling, who died in 2000, became synonymous with corruption (he engagingly described himself as ‘less than perfect’), even though allegations against him were never proven. Yet during his period in office, the Bahamas became notorious for another illicit trade - the smuggling of cocaine into the US. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s sleek and speedy ‘cigar boats’ plied the waters between the islands and Florida, with US coastguards overwhelmed.
The CIA continues to describe the Bahamas as ‘a major trans-shipment point for illegal drugs’ and is also concerned that undocumented refugees from Haiti and Cuba use the islands as stepping stones towards the US. A large Haitian community, meanwhile, does the dirty jobs that Bahamians prefer to avoid.
Few of the visitors to Paradise Island see these murkier sides to the Caribbean dream, though residents in more isolated islands such as Abaco have complained of growing drug smuggling. In this sense, the Bahamas is merely doing what it has done for most of its history: supplying American demand.
|Leader||Prime Minister Perry Christie.|
|Economy||Gross national income (GNI) per capita $14,960 (Haiti $480, United States $34,870).|
|Monetary unit||Bahamian dollar.|
|Main exports||fish and lobsters, rum, salt, chemicals. Main sources of income are tourism, financial services and ship registration.|
|People||308,000. People per square kilometre 30 (Dominican Republic 177). Many islands and cays are uninhabited, with two-thirds of the population in New Providence.|
|Health||Infant mortality 13 per 1,000 births (Cuba 7, Haiti 79). Water and electricity supplies are good. Health problems are related to over-consumption rather than poverty, while hiv/aids is prevalent.|
|Environment||Tourism has destroyed some mangroves and wetlands, but the Government has taken steps to restrict development in ecologically sensitive areas.|
|Culture||British colonialism competed for two and a half centuries with North American influences. A majority black population, descended from slaves, was marginalized for centuries, but the political, if not economic, power of the white minority was broken from the 1960s.|
|Religion||Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%. Many North American religious groups are active, and every village boasts several churches.|
|Language||English (Haitian Creole spoken by migrant population of around 50,000).|
|Sources||State of the World’s Children 2003; World Bank; IMF; Caribbean Development Bank 2002; Minority Rights Group; Caribbean Tourism Organization.|
||The days of the ‘Bay Street Boys’ are over, and there is a significant middle class. Poverty is largely confined to the Haitian community, which occupies shanty towns.|
||Projects to develop agriculture and industry have done little to reduce dependence on tourism. The Bahamas is highly vulnerable to downturns in the US economy.|
|Position of women
||Women are increasingly prominent in the professions and top jobs, although politics is still male-dominated. Domestic violence is a problem, according to women’s groups.|
||At 96%, the official literacy rate reveals sustained Government spending on primary education. Problems exist with Creole-speaking Haitian children.|
||There is no censorship or political violence, although undocumented migrants complain of heavy-handed raids by immigration officials.|
||69 years (Cuba 76, Haiti 53).|
|NI Assessment (Politics)
||The excesses of the Pindling years are a thing of the past and the current Government is attempting to regulate state finances and proceed with a limited privatization programme. Prime Minister Christie was elected on a promise to crack down on crime and drugs but has come under fire from critics for failing to achieve results. While by no means radical, the Government has to balance the competing demands of the tourist industry and ordinary Bahamians, and in doing so enjoys majority popular support.|
This first appeared in our award-winning magazine - to read more, subscribe from just £7 | <urn:uuid:f6f55a0f-e54a-4c25-b0ec-29f09cfd0afd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newint.org/columns/country/2003/04/01/bahamas/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945154 | 1,415 | 2.390625 | 2 |
No Man's Land
By Tim Murphy
'In Iran, we don't have homosexuals, like in your country...we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have it.'
-- Remarks by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a speech at Columbia University, September 24, 2007
Nima, a lanky 29-year-old artisan from Tehran, doesn't exist. Neither does his shaggy hair or scruffy beard nor his brown eyes, anxiously tracking the February snow falling onto the lunar landscape. Sitting on this night bus heading to Ankara, the only thing next to me is a big, fuzzy sweater, a faded pair of jeans, and sneakers. Although they retain the shape of a man, in the eyes of Iran, there is no man there. Even here, in Turkey, where Nima and other gay Iranians have fled, they are refugees, caught in perpetual dawn. Passing through or, at any rate, not really there. The only thing that is clear is the sound of Nima's voice as he tells his story.
Nima and I talk frankly about being gay, since our fellow passengers are all Turkish and seem unlikely to share Nima's facility for English. But we still say 'g' for gay just in case. Nima's stories are stretched as taut as a bowstring between the past and the future. They exist as memories and as hope, but few of them are in the present tense. In Turkey, Nima is in a holding pattern. He hasn't had sex in a year and a half, longer than he's been in Turkey. 'Just a lot of jerking off,' he chuckles. Nima likes bears. For the past few years, he's been chatting with a guy in New Hampshire, and when he pictures where he'd like to end up, he thinks maybe Boston. Like any exile, he misses his family, though he's terrified of his father, a retired bank manager. He tells a story of bringing his father tea in a vessel he'd made, only for his father to turn on him, shouting, 'Don't bring me tea in that fucking thing!' We laugh at the story -- it's so awful it's funny -- like two schoolboys telling horror stories late into the night. But this one's true. If Nima's dad knew he was gay he'd try to kill him.
Around 10 p.m., we pull into Ankara's bus depot. It's still snowing, and Nima is nervous about his appointment in the morning. As an asylum seeker, he must convince investigators for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that his homosexuality and his government's persecution entitle him to refugee status. It's an audition for salvation. 'My friends told me to shape my eyebrows to look more 'g,' ' he says, 'but that's not me.' He pauses and asks me anxiously, 'Do you think I should?' I tell him he should just be himself and tell the truth.
Over the past several years, hundreds of LGBT people have escaped the repressive autocratic regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran, forming a small but colorful jetty in the stream of fleeing religious minorities and political dissidents. Many are resettled in Kayseri, a religious, dull, flat city in the middle of Turkey, sort of the Turkish equivalent of Topeka. The town, overlooked by snow-capped Mount Erciyes, is an expanse of mostly new blocky buildings whose pastel colors barely relieve their monotony. It's a prosperous city, religious and frumpy -- far from the sexy, nightclubby flash of Istanbul. Thousands of refugees live in dingy flats behind the pastel facades, hoping to find a permanent home in this or another country. Among them, there are a few dozen LGBT asylum seekers who, even among these exiles, are exiled.
Life in Turkey is better, but not good. The state -- though blessed with a secular government -- is almost entirely Muslim. Outside the main metropolises of Istanbul and Ankara, the country is, in some places, more conservative than parts of Iran. In Kayseri, though head scarves aren't mandatory, many women wear them anyway. If everything goes smoothly, refugees will spend two or three years in this semi-existence before moving on to the United States, Canada, Australia, or Europe. It's an interminable wait. Leery of an influx of foreign labor, Turkey won't give refugees work papers or financial or social assistance, even while making them pay taxes. Refugees are corralled into smaller cities where, perhaps, they are easier to monitor. LGBT refugees are doubly vulnerable. They are discriminated against by merchants, landlords, and employers not only for being Iranian, but for being gay. Yet, in comparison to Iran, Turkey is a square deal.
To most Americans, Iran is a Saturday Night Live punch line of Muslim backwardness. Since 1979, it's been ruled by clerics with beards and gowns who enforce the draconian strictures of Sharia, or Islamic law. But for Iranians, especially gay Iranians, there is little to be laughed at. Being busted having gay sex or simply being at a gay party is punishable by arrest, flogging, or death, depending on the whims of the basijis, the country's loathed paramilitary morality police, and of the Islamic courts. Some human rights groups estimate that more than 4,000 LGBT people have been executed in Iran since the late 1970s. In 2005, international outrage flared when two teenage boys were hanged in the Iranian city of Mashad; the state claimed it was for raping a younger boy, but it was widely believed to be because they were gay. (Similar horror stories have emerged out of Shiite enclaves in Iraq, such as Sadr City in Baghdad, where two dozen men or boys believed to be gay have been murdered by death squads or family members enacting 'honor killings.')
But for Nima and the other refugees here, Iran is still home. It's not just a place of persecution and fear, it's the land of their friends and families and of the rich Persian culture of poetry and art that predates the ayatollahs by millennia. Nostalgia and memories for the texture and fabric of the lives they left behind make life in Turkey even more difficult. 'We're in a twilight zone,' Nima says. 'We're not in our home, and we're not where we want to be. It's so hard.'
'O you who've gone on pilgrimage --
where are you, where, oh where?
Here, here is the Beloved!
Oh come now, come, oh come!
Your friend, he is your neighbor,
he is next to your wall --
You, erring in the desert --
what air of love is this?
-- The 13th century Persian poet Rumi,
I Am Wind, You Are Fire
On Valentine's night in Kayseri in an apartment filled with secondhand furniture, cigarette smoke, and house music, a dozen gay refugees drink beer and smoke a hookah. There are five gay men -- Nima, Babak, Arad, Payam, and Parsa -- five lesbians -- Sahar, Diba, Sara, Setarah, and Elnaz -- and two trans women, Sheyda and Artin. They are all in their 20s and 30s, and have been in Turkey anywhere from a few days to well over a year. Artin -- who calls herself trans and wears long, dark hair and a five o'clock shadow -- entertains us with her tale of the 'straight' Turkish boyfriend she met on the street here, not such an unusual occurrence despite Kayseri's overall chilliness toward LGBT people and refugees. Artin's sexcapade is hilarious. 'I've realized I'm a transsexual who's a top,' she concludes. Everybody laughs. For most of these refugees, primarily middle-class and from the big cities of Tehran and Shiraz, Turkey is their first time outside Iran -- and their first time publicly socializing with the opposite sex, something forbidden in Iran. Still, even at this private gathering of friends, the men and women sit apart. There is something still clandestine and uneasy about the party. Despite the 180-bpm music and the chatter in their native language of Farsi, there are long spells of silence. Displacement hangs like hookah smoke in the air. It could be because I'm there and any attention could bring danger to the families of these men and women. I can't even say Nima's real name without endangering him. They remain as nameless as they are homeless.
According to its website, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, based in Geneva, helps 'people restart their lives. Today, a staff of around 6,500 people in more than 116 countries continues to help 31.7 million persons.' Among the 31.7 million refugees are victims from Darfur and Iraq whose plights make the Iranian LGBT community's situation look tame by comparison. So here they sit, in limbo in Kayseri, for who knows how long. | <urn:uuid:605c9200-45c9-4898-af6a-3d7035a2d951> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.out.com/news-commentary/2009/05/31/no-mans-land | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968435 | 1,896 | 1.539063 | 2 |
A coal power station in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Martin Meissner / Associated…)
A group of international scientists is sounding a global alarm, warning that population growth, climate change and environmental destruction are pushing Earth toward calamitous — and irreversible — biological changes.
In a paper published in Thursday's edition of the journal Nature, 22 researchers from a variety of fields liken the human impact to global events eons ago that caused mass extinctions, permanently altering Earth's biosphere.
"Humans are now forcing another such transition, with the potential to transform Earth rapidly and irreversibly into a state unknown in human experience," wrote the authors, who are from the U.S., Europe, Canada and South America.
If current trends continue — exploding global population, rapidly rising temperatures and the clearance of more than 40% of Earth's surface for urban development or agriculture — the planet could reach a tipping point, they say.
"The net effects of what we're causing could actually be equivalent to an asteroid striking the Earth in a worst-case scenario," the paper's lead author, Anthony Barnosky, a professor of integrative biology at UC Berkeley, said in an interview. "I don't want to sound like Armageddon. I think the point to be made is that if we just ignore all the warning signs of how we're changing the Earth, the scenario of losses of biodiversity — 75% or more — is not an outlandish scenario at all."
Global population just passed 7 billion and is expected to reach 9.3 billion or more by 2050. "By the year 2070, we'll live in a hotter world than it's been since humans evolved as a species," Barnosky said.
Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels is making the ocean more acidic, and less hospitable to sea life. By midcentury, humans could have altered more than half the world's land surface.
The swiftness of climate change is likely to outpace the ability of species to adapt, especially as natural habitat becomes more fragmented, Barnosky said.
All this could produce a biologically impoverished Earth that would rob humans of vital ecological services such as insects that pollinate crops, forests that provide clean water, and tropical species that are the source of new drugs.
"We have created a bubble of human population and economy … that is totally unsustainable and is either going to have to deflate gradually or is going to burst," said co-author James Brown, a distinguished professor of biology at the University of New Mexico. "If it's going to burst, the consequences are really going to be grim for people as well as biodiversity and the rest of the planet."
Forty years ago, the Club of Rome think tank caused a stir when it argued that there were limits to world growth. In 1968, Paul Ehrlich, now a professor of population studies at Stanford University, warned of the dangers of overpopulation in his book "The Population Bomb."
"This is what scientists saw in the '60s and '70s," said Mikael Fortelius, a professor of evolutionary paleontology at the University of Helsinki in Finland and one of the paper's authors. "We've never been quite sure when it would happen. We're there now."
Human influence on the planet has become so pervasive that some scientists have argued in recent years that Earth has entered a new geologic epoch, the Anthropocene.
Predicting the timing and exact nature of sweeping planetary change is difficult because of the complexity of biotic systems.
"We may have already passed the tipping point or we may not get an early warning" that it is near, said co-author Alan Hastings, an ecologist and distinguished professor in UC Davis' environmental science department.
The authors got the idea for their review at a 2010 UC Berkeley conference devoted to the concept of a global tipping point.
They looked at evidence of past dramatic shifts in Earth's biosphere, such as the end of the last glacial age, when ice disappeared from nearly a third of the planet's surface, or the lethal changes in the atmosphere that accompanied periods of intense volcanic activity. The consequences usually included mass species extinction, altered food webs and the emergence of new dominant species.
To avert a grim future, or at least make it less grim, the paper calls for significant reductions in world population growth and per-capita resource use, more efficient energy use, less reliance on fossil fuels and stepped-up efforts to protect the parts of Earth that have so far escaped human dominance.
"I'm not personally particularly optimistic," Fortelius said. "I think we had to speak up. We have to say what we see. Whether it will have any impact, I really don't know." | <urn:uuid:3ee5ecf7-f38e-407e-9552-086a75fceb5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/07/local/la-me-0607-global-tipping-20120607 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95429 | 978 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Posted on July 29th, 2012 No comments
Before implementing radical social theories as the Communists tried to do in Russia in 1917, its always a good idea to try them out on a modest scale that doesn’t involve murdering anyone. That goes double if the radical social theory in question has a strong appeal to those whose tastes run to saving the world. The speed at which human reason runs off the track varies in direct proportion to the complexity of a hypothesis and the lack of repeatable experiments to confirm it. Unfalsifiable hypotheses are born off the track. Data in support of the above may be found in a letter Benjamin Franklin wrote to Robert Morris in 1783, when he was serving as our Minister Plenipotentiary in France. Referring to some resolutions against taxation adopted in town meetings he wrote,
Money justly due from the people, is their creditor’s money, and no longer the money of the people, who, if they withhold it, should be compelled to pay by some law. All property, indeed, except the savage’s temporary cabin, his bow, his matchuat, and other little acquisitions absolutely necessary for his subsistence, seems to me to be the creature of public convention. Hence the public has the right of regulating descents, and all other conveyances of property, and even of limiting the quantity and uses of it. All the property that is necessary to a man for the conservation of the individual, and the propagation of the species, is his natural right, which none can justly deprive him of; but all property superfluous to such purposes, is the property of the public, who, by their laws, have created it, and who may, therefore, by other laws, dispose of it whenever the welfare of the public shall desire such a disposition. He that does not like civil society on these terms, let him retire, and live among the savages! He can have right to the benefits of society, who will not pay his club towards the support of it.
Of course, in the meantime we’ve carried out numerous repeatable experiments that seem to demonstrate quite conclusively that government policies intended to implement such ideas are undesirable because they don’t work. In the end, they don’t serve the “welfare of the public” because they fail to take the behavioral idiosyncracies of our species into account. Does that mean that Franklin was stupid? Far from it. As his experiments with electricity demonstrate, he had the mind of a true scientist. The comments in his autobiography about influencing others to accept new ideas might have been lifted from a 21st century textbook on moral psychology. More importantly, his combination of brilliance and common sense were an invaluable guide and support to our Republic in its infancy.
The point is that even the most brilliant human beings can easily delude themselves into believing things that are not true, and even things that in the light of later experience seem palpably silly. We are not nearly as smart as we think we are. The next time some wildly popular messianic scheme for saving the world inflicts itself on mankind, it’s “enlightened” proponents would do well to keep that in mind.
As for old Ben, the quote above was more the product of exasperation than sober thought. Robert Morris was the great financier of our Revolution. Read the fine biography of him by Charles Rappleye, and you’re bound to wonder how we ever beat the British. Morris used all of his great intelligence, experience, and personal credit to somehow keep Washington’s army fed and clothed, in spite of the fact that the states whose independence he was fighting to win refused to be taxed. His reward for all his tireless work was to be viciously vilified by pathologically pious super-revolutionaries like Arthur Lee and his brothers, men who deemed themselves great defenders of liberty, but who actually provided more “aid and comfort” to the British than Benedict Arnold ever dreamed of. Franklin was well aware of their mendacious attacks on Morris, and their bitter resistance to any attempt to create an effective national government capable of collecting the taxes necessary to support the war effort at a time when the paper money we had relied on in the early years of the Revolution had become nearly worthless. Their type should be familiar, as there are still ample examples among us today. The fact that they provoked such a cri de Couer from Franklin should come as no surprise.
Posted on August 18th, 2010 No comments
A number of papers have turned up in the scientific literature lately concerning innate aspects of human mental processes that can impair our ability to discover truth, such as this one by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber. Not unpredictably, the human mental processes described in these papers have been conflated with “reason,” spawning a meme about the limits thereof. A representative artifact of the phenomena recently appeared in Newsweek, entitled “Limits of Reason.” Expect more of the same. No matter that there are obvious differences between “reason” defined as a systematic method for discovering truth and “reason” defined as a mental process specific to human beings, the notion that there are “limits to reason” is so seductive that many people are unlikely to notice. For example, blind religious faith becomes more justifiable if “reason” is useless. Moral biases of every stripe can be fobbed off as “legitimate” if the power of “reason” to challenge them is denied. The “Age of Reason” itself can be dismissed with a hand wave as an effort in futility.
Well, memes eventually run their course, and I doubt this one will be any different. Meanwhile, I will continue to favor reason as the most effective, albeit occasionally flawed, means of discovering truth. So far no one has come up with anything that is demonstrably better. | <urn:uuid:686f92c9-3838-4df8-b426-405388d0d5ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://helian.net/blog/category/reason/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975246 | 1,221 | 2.046875 | 2 |
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How to effectively tackle poor performance and create sustainable improvements. | <urn:uuid:65fe1490-8112-48d0-8b70-e968c42bf41f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.summittraining.co.uk/management-leadership-development/coaching-skills/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910244 | 339 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Oak Harbor High School students help fifth-graders put on a pirate musical that’s history in the making
By REBECCA OLSON
Whidbey News Times Staff reporter
February 5, 2013 · Updated 3:03 PM
With the help of pirates, students at Oak Harbor High School and Broad View Elementary School forged a dramatic relationship. Together, they put on a musical last week to the excitement of friends and family.
“Pirates: The Musical” featured more than 100 fifth-grade students performing on the high school stage. Fifth-grader Niyah Reid played the main part in the musical, which featured just one adult: Oak Harbor School District Assistant Superintendent Lance Gibbon, who shared his singing talent.
The musical tells the story of a young stowaway, played by Reid, who wants to become a pirate. Packed with singing competitions and laughs, the play was fun for all the students, said Renee Hall, Broad View Elementary School music teacher.
When she first had the idea for a musical, Hall called Charles Smothermon, high school teacher and coach for the Oak Harbor High School Drama Club, to ask if his students would be willing to help. To her surprise, the high schoolers had discussed how to get involved with younger students at a meeting before she called.
“Before I’d even asked, they had the idea in their head to help elementary students,” Hall said. “It’s history in the making. Elementary schoolers have never put a musical on the new stage (at the high school).”
Superintendent Rick Schulte wanted the younger kids to have the experience of performing on a real stage, Hall said. It hasn’t been without its hurdles, though, with scheduling dates and getting the kids to the high school.
To begin the process, 16 high school students came to Broad View Elementary to divvy up the tasks.
“They’re spending their own time. It’s not during school, it’s after school. It’s pretty cool they’re willing to do that,” Hall said.
Together, high school students and about 120 fifth-graders worked on creating costumes and sets, as well as learning lines.
“They all have to work together to put on the show,” Hall said. From the experience the students have learned, “Teamwork. Hard work. They have to multi-task … and just a love for drama and music put together,” Hall said.
“It’s been a real rewarding experience, challenging and very fun,” said Hailey Pearce, president of the OHHS Drama Club. “The Broad View kids are very excited to be able to put on such a performance and we’re all so happy to see it.”
“I’m hoping that they like this so much they’ll join art,” Hall said of the fifth-graders, adding that she hopes the students take part in everything from dance to band to art. “That’s what we need, a colorful world like that. That helps them shine.”
It wouldn’t have been possible without help from the community, Hall said. Walmart donated $50 for costumes and makeup and staff helped with costumes and set. Nicolette Harrington, Broad View art teacher, contributed tremendously, Hall said.
“She has been instrumental in getting all the props painted, the backdrops. It was really cool to work with the art teacher on this,” Hall said.
“This stuff is really fun. The kids have had a wonderful time,” she added.
Contact Whidbey News Times Staff reporter Rebecca Olson at email@example.com or 360-675-6611 ext. 5052. | <urn:uuid:fdc73ed6-f2ab-4593-95dd-5e15ed5814bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/community/189914411.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967443 | 815 | 1.828125 | 2 |
History is often written by victors but losers could also have their own version, but then who listens to them. Wrong? I doubt if there is or there will ever be a universal agreement of the account of a particular event especially where there were winners and losers or merely a truce (no victor no vanquished) as in the case of a war or ordinary (armed) conflict.
History is more complicated where there was no clear cut winner as in the case of a war or where a truce was imposed by a superior but interested power. The warring but subdued parties tend to maintain their different positions, lie low and wait for the next available opportunity to restate their claim or strike again. And God helps such a society if there are recalcitrant elements who strongly believe in the cause.
Even where there were clear cut winners but the losers were not vanquished, the tendency is there for the die-hards on the losers’ side to either reject the history as presented by the victors and write their own version or see the majority account from a jaundiced perspective. Whichever side the historian was coming from, I am of the strong view that when history is written by a participant observer or an active participant facts are often presented from a subjective point of view. Don’t you think so? But then is it possible to have an unbiased observer present the story of an event as divisive as a war without compromising the truth/facts and fairness/justice?
I can not claim to know the rules of writing history as I am just a professional journalist, but then even as journalists, we are historians, only that we write history in a hurry. In our everyday reports we write about and document events of the day as they happen in the most objective manner prescribed by the ethics of journalism. In journalism facts are sacred just as objectivity and fairness are paramount. When facts are being presented as in the case of a news story, there is no room for personal opinion and the writer must be fair to all concerned and objective in his/her presentation. Even in interpreting the facts and commenting on the event, the writer has to be objective and fair taking in all the parameters and the circumstances.
Because whatever we write as journalists form part of the raw materials ‘real’ historians will use in future while reporting and analyzing the events of the present, care is always taken to include all the above stated elements in our everyday reports. I believe no less is expected of an historian, who, with the benefit of hindsight, time and access to other sources apart from media reports should be able to present a more balanced and objective view of history.
So when renowned Professor of Literature and world acclaimed novelist Professor Chinua Achebe decided to put pen to paper recently and write on his recollections of events as they happened between 1967 and 1970 when Nigeria fought a bitter 30-month civil war to remain one, one would have expected the literary giant to be fair to history, the participants in that unfortunate episode in the life of our country and the future generation of Nigerians by presenting events as they happened not just from his point of view but THE WAY THEY WERE without bias, especially as he was a participant observer (active participant?) in the failed project called Biafra.
To refresh our memory, Biafra was an attempt by the then South east region of Nigeria to secede from the country following wide spread killings of mainly Igbos and other South easterners in northern Nigeria by some elements in the north in the mid/late 60s, partly in retaliation for the murder of the mainstream political leadership in the north in the first military coup, believed to have been spear headed by military officers of Igbo extraction and which in execution, deliberately or inadvertently spared main stream Igbo political leaders including then Nigeria’s president Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe.
Following the failure of the Igbos under their charismatic leader late Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu to break away from Nigeria, Ndigbo, both young and old, dead or alive have been made to believe that the failure of that project was due largely to Yoruba betrayal and in particular Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s refusal to make true his purported promise to Ojukwu that once the south east secedes Yoruba would also pull out western Nigeria. This is not only not true but Ojukwu also admitted before his death that there was no such pact between Awolowo and himself, but some mischief makers among Ndigbo would rather sustain this for whatever reason.
And as if this anti-Yoruba feeling among Nidigbo was not enough, some of the policies of the then Federal Military Government of General Yakubu Gowon that brought the war to an end and which were unpalatable to Biafra and Ndigbo both during and after the war were blamed on Chief Awolowo who served in that administration as vice chairman, Federal Executive Council and Federal Commissioner for Finance.
Two of such policies, stopping food delivery to Biafra and currency change/pegging the amount payable to bank depositors from the south east after the war affected Ndigbo badly both during and after the war. Awolowo being at the centre of implementation of the policies had been blamed severally for this setback by Ndigbo leaders then and even now, but we know that the man couldn’t have done it alone, at least not without the knowledge and support of Gowon as Head of State and Commader-In-Chief. But nobody is blaming Gowon.
And following the furore generated by the implementation of these policies and its adverse effect on his political career/fortune, especially in the run up to the second republic, Awolowo had repeatedly explained his role during the war and the government policies of that time as far as he was concerned both in one of his books as well as in media interviews. His position on this matter as well as other issues are well documented in different forms for any well meaning historian interested in truth, justice and fairness and most importantly in the unity and well being of this country to consult before putting pen to paper to write on such a sensitive topic as the Nigerian civil war.
Professor Achebe the great writer decided to follow the trend by blaming Chief Awolowo in his new book on the civil war, for the so called starvation policy of the Gowon administration that prevented food aid delivery to Biafra and thus ‘starved’ millions of Ndigbo to death during the war, without looking at the overall picture of the main objective of the Nigerian government then and most importantly Awolowo’s explanation.
Whether Awolowo was right or wrong is not even my position here, I am worried that as a writer/historian, Achebe had conveniently ignored some facts which he could have access to if he wanted or in fact had access to but chose not to use, to present history the way he wanted it and not necessarily the way it is. This is unfortunate and could end up creating more problems for us as a people and a nation than solve.
In a country with intense ethnic rivalry, reopening old wounds in the name of history or putting the record straight will do more damage than good. For the children of that period on both sides of the war who are now in their 40s and 50s trying to extend handshakes across the Niger, Achebe’s memoir will make such an effort difficult and if we ( I am in that generation) can’t do it then how do we convince our children to see Nigeria as one and be their brother’s keeper irrespective of where they found themselves.
If we continue to write this kind of history there would be no end to such and the division and bitterness will continue. There are serious questions that could be asked on both sides, especially Biafra even on this so called starvation policy. It is convenient to blame the other side always for our failure or problem without looking inward first. Why were the initial food convoys to Biafra hijacked and diverted by Ojukwu to feed his soldiers at the expense of the ordinary Biafrans? Why did Ojukwu and in general, Biafra go to war when they were either not ready or prepared for the consequences of failure. The atrocities of Biafra on Nigeria have been documented and nobody is talking about that. Shouldn’t Achebe spare a thought also for those who suffered under Biafra both in Nigeria and even inside Biafra? There are so many whys, ifs and whats that could be asked but they will lead us to no where and they are better forgotten.
History as I said here last week is good to the extent that it will serve as a useful guide to a better future. If the history will divide or destroy us why remind us? See what history has done and is doing to Israelis and Palestinians and other Arabs in the Middle East. The history of imperialist Japan is still causing trouble with China and the Koreans north and south. So as fathers of our nation Achebe and co should sow seeds of a united and prosperous Nigeria before they leave us. We wish them long live and prosperity. Awolowo is gone, let him rest in perfect peace. Enough of this kind of history. | <urn:uuid:f4fd41ef-62f2-4197-a81c-53ab6a1857a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thenationonlineng.net/new/columnists/history-what-history/ | 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 | 0.976897 | 1,931 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Sonar causes (temporary) deafness in dolphins
One unlucky bottlenose
Exposure to military sonar may cause temporary hearing loss in bottlenose dolphins, scientists at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology have found.
Tests on a captive dolphin indicate exposure to sonar at high, prolonged levels can cause temporary deafness for as long as 20 to 40 minutes — but only if the dolphin stays close to the source of the sonar for several minutes.
In the past decade, numerous beachings of whales, dolphins, and porpoises have been blamed on navies pinging sound pulses into the oceans and listening for the echoes to detect enemy submarines and mines. In particular, mid-frequency active sonar has been fingered as injuring marine mammals and causing some to run aground.
A paper published in the Brit journal Biology Letters today, scientists have reported the first controlled study on the effects of sonar in dolphins.
One very lucky dolphin in an open-water pen was fitted with suction cup sensors to monitor its brainwaves as it was made to listen to recordings of real naval mid-frequency sonar played progressively louder.
When the pings reached 214 decibels underwater* and were repeated, the data showed the dolphin had become temporarily deaf. Other sensors showed the dolphin's breathing rose significantly when the sonar was switched on.
Hearing was typically restored after 20 minutes, but sometimes took as long as 40 minutes. Aran Mooney of the University of Hawaii said the deafening results are akin to a "rock-concert effect" for the mammal because the real-world equivalent of the results would require a dolphin to be just 40 meters from the source of the sonar and remain there for about 2.5 minutes. That's an unlikely scenario for a wild animal, the paper reports, unless there's some unusual conditions involved. For example, sound traps like underwater caverns on the sea bed or a layer of warm water at the oceans surface could cause sonar to bounce around a smaller area.
This could explain why dolphin beachings are relatively rare compared to how often mid-frequency sonar is used in military exercises.
The paper notes additional studies are needed to see how the sonar affects wild animals that aren't used to noise experiments. ®
*203dB above the water would instantly ruin your hearing at best. Under water, it's roughly the equivalent of 170dB in the air (like a gunshot 1 meter away — but that's still loud as hell). | <urn:uuid:95b336fc-cd6c-48a2-b9f2-ca183f188745> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/09/study_loud_sonar_can_cause_temporary_hearing_loss_in_dolphins/print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957846 | 511 | 3.46875 | 3 |
I always lament the end of a month: its rush to be over, its unfinished business, its losses and gains—now history. In contrast, tomorrow’s new page features hopeful squares waiting to be filled. Winters return might bring the same sadness if it were not for my companions on the prairie.
Skeletons of plants, once in bloom, line the driveway and on into the expanse beyond. At first glance they meld into brownish sameness but there are as many variations of hue and girth and height as there are in people.
The spindly switch grass always catches my eye with its long sturdy spine, minute seeds and pale, gracefully arching foliage. This amazing plant often stands upright even through winter’s snow. The big bluestem still towers but its characteristic crows feet are more like tufts, without their dangling seeds. In their old age they seem to have lost some height. Most of the thousands of feathery seeds have flown from the little bluestem but the stalks take on an almost maroon glow. In the summer I could hardly find Canadian rye but now that all green is gone, I see the heavy seed heads bending beautifully. The Indian grass stalks have also lost their seeds but continue to look regal, especially when the early morning light gives them a bronze hue.
Most wildflowers are only little button heads denuded of their seeds but the milkweed pods retain their skeletal remains. I love the way the brittle tear-shaped pods twist on the stem, making artistic arrangements.
I don’t know what goes on within the dying stalks or what’s happening to their long roots below the ground past the frost line. Do they have capillary systems like trees? How do they store the nutrients needed to grow again? But after ten years in this place, I know this much: the flowers and the tall grasses are really only hibernating within their seeds—ready to grow again when warmth, moisture and sun usher them back in spring.
A day comes every season when winter is in the air. All denial, based on unseasonable balmy days and abundant sunshine, fades into gray skies and damp air. It has nothing to do with official dates—those of us who live close to nature just know. On Sunday my husband urged me to take our usual afternoon walk but one glance out the window gave me the chills. Not to be shamed by my preference for warm and cozy, I bundled up. We avoided the woods as several shots had been heard from hunters getting ready for opening day. Looking over the lake from the dock we spotted a large bird gliding through the steely sky—and soon realized it had to be an eagle.
High above us, the splendid bird gave us a show. The sky showed slight variations in hew so that when the eagle soared and floated on the wind currents, it often passed a lighter spot. The movements were so carefree and playful. Shivering from the cold breeze, I should have been walking briskly, but couldn’t take my eyes away from him. I wanted to hold onto what no photograph could portray even if we had been close enough to try. I carry the image of one elegant bird that lifted my spirits by bringing a little “shine” on the day when I knew, from my head down to my boots that winter had come.
And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His Hand.
Michael Joncas, 1979 – “On Eagle’s Wings” | <urn:uuid:d4338130-30c1-46fd-bcb8-708b707c97ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.carolrottman.com/1/category/winter/1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965105 | 761 | 1.742188 | 2 |
MUSGRAVE, William (d.1597), of Hayton, Cumb.
Available from Boydell and Brewer
Family and Education
1st s. of Thomas Musgrave of Hayton, marshal of Berwick, by Elizabeth, da. of William Lord Dacre of Gilsland. m. bef. 1546, Isabel, da. and coh. of James Martindale of Newton, wid. of Humphrey Dacre, at least 2s. 1da. suc. Fa. 1542.1
J.p. Cumb. 1559, 1571-87, sheriff 1562-3 1573-4,1592-3; commr. to survey forts and castles on borders 1580-1.2
Musgrave was granted livery of his father’s lands in February 1542 and took advantage of the general pardon at the beginning of Mary’s reign, but he is not known to have played any part in the affairs of his county before 1559 when he became a justice of the peace and one of its representatives in Parliament. The explanation of this sudden emergence into public life can be found in his connexion with the Dacre family. William Lord Dacre, the warden of the west march and head of one of the oldest and most powerful families in the north-west, was his maternal grandfather; his wife was a Dacre by her previous marriage, and his fellow-Member for the county was Leonard Dacre, the lord warden’s second son. In 1562 Musgrave became sheriff and for some years thereafter served infrequently on commissions of lunacy and of inquiry post mortem, but it is noticeable that he was dropped from the commission of the peace soon after 1559, not to reappear as a justice until 1571. Possibly his connexion with the Dacres, once an asset, became a liability. Because of his part, with two other Musgraves, in a riot led by Francis Dacre in Carlisle in 1568, he was arrested and ordered by Lord Scrope, Lord Dacre’s successor as warden, to appear before the Council in London. John Aglionby of Carlisle, one of the two friends who stood surety for his appearance in the sum of £200 each, had earlier been described as ‘not staid’ in religion and several of the Dacre family were known to be similarly unreliable. Possibly Musgrave shared their conservative religious views. He did, however, keep clear of the northern rebellion and the treasonable activities of Leonard Dacre, though in 1571 Cuthbert Musgrave alleged that he had had ‘much and often conference’ with the traitor and been a ‘daily practiser’ with him.3
In a border county the gentry, whatever their views, were required to take part in its defence. Musgrave participated in a reprisal raid into Scotland in 1570, and ten years later was a commissioner to survey the border forts and castles. However, in a report on the musters of light horsemen made on Walsingham’s orders in 1583, Musgrave and a neighbour were said to have defaulted in the number of horsemen they should have produced, pleading a recent raid against them as their excuse. A note in the margin — in Burghley’s hand — urged that they should be ‘treated withal’.4
The Star Chamber suits brought by Musgrave and Cuthbert Musgrave in 1571 seem to have been the culmination of a long-standing quarrel that had been given new life by the indictment of Cuthbert Musgrave’s son for a minor offence at quarter sessions when William Musgrave was on the bench. To the charges and counter-charges the parties laid against one another, Cuthbert Musgrave added the complaint that, as part of the quarrel, he and his tenants had been subjected to raids by unknown Scots. This had an echo in 1588 when a widow, Jane Briscoe, alleged that her house had been attacked and plundered by a band of Scots procured and guided by certain of Musgrave’s tenants. A further petition from her in 1591 claimed that nothing had been done to restore her possessions and that she was still pursued by threats and open violence.5
Musgrave died 18 Aug. 1597, his heir being his second son, Edward. Some of his property was to go to Isabella, daughter and heiress of his deceased first son Thomas.6
Ref Volumes: 1558-1603
Author: A. M. Mimardière
- 1. Hutchinson, Hist. Cumb. ii. 289; LP Hen. VIII , xvi. 267; Req. 2/265/69.
- 2. St. Ch. 5/M18/29; Border Pprs. i. 35.
- 3. LP Hen. VIII , xvii. 57; CPR , 1553-4, p. 411; 1563-6, pp. 35, 489; 1566-9, p. 133, 155; CSP Dom. Add. 1568-79, pp. 55, 57; SP 15/14/22(1); Cam. Misc. ix(3), 50; C. Sharp, Memorials of the Rebellion , 231; St. Ch. 5/M18/29 and M30/34.
- 4. CSP Scot. iii. 130; Border Pprs. i. 99.
- 5. APC , xvi. 360; xx. 347.
- 6. C142/253/75. | <urn:uuid:367e33b2-7238-4e03-b252-ce8fea48d4b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/musgrave-william-1597 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978391 | 1,187 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Alongside the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly which will focus on accelerating progress towards the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, there will be six round-table sessions, co-chaired by two Heads of State or Government, at which there will be active participation of four representatives of NGOs and civil society.
The round-table meetings have the overarching objective of “Making it happen by 2015”, and each one will focus on a different theme:
- Round-table 1: Addressing the challenge of poverty, hunger and gender equality.
- Round-table 2: Meeting the goals of health and education.
- Round-table 3: Promoting sustainable development.
- Round-table 4: Addressing emerging issues and evolving approaches.
- Round-table 5: Addressing the special needs of the most vulnerable.
- Round-table 6: Widening and strengthening partnerships.
NGO and civil society speakers have been chosen by the President of the General Assembly with consideration of the recommendations and criteria submitted by his Task Force.
Andriy Klepikov will be speaking at Round-table 5 – addressing the special needs of the most vulnerable.
Summaries of the deliberations of the six round-table sessions will be presented orally by the chairpersons of the round-table sessions or their representatives during the concluding plenary meeting of the High-Level Plenary Meeting.
We hope to report further on Andriy’s presentation in The Loop in October. | <urn:uuid:822a8e4d-1212-4738-9450-30316c92a208> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aidsalliance.org/NewsDetails.aspx?Id=685 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921973 | 313 | 1.976563 | 2 |
HATTIESBURG – For
more than a decade, the Marian Anderson String Quartet, the only
professional African-American string quartet in the world, has brought
inspiration and hope to every segment of American society.
The University of Southern Mississippi, in cooperation
with the city of Hattiesburg, Hattiesburg Public Schools, the Mississippi
All-State Orchestra, and the Mississippi Orchestra Teachers Association,
will present the Marian Anderson String Quartet in concert at 7:30
p.m. April 8 at Bennett Auditorium on the Southern Miss campus.
In addition to the public performance, the quartet
also will be performing to a packed house of Hattiesburg Public
School students at 9:30 a.m. April 12.
"We have asked this wonderful ensemble to come
to Hattiesburg as part of the Mississippi All-State Orchestra program,
held at Southern Miss April 7-9," explained Dr. Jay Dean, music
director for the Southern Miss Symphony Orchestra. "We want
to share the talents of this group with as many schoolchildren as
possible while they are here."
With performance venues ranging from concert stages
to presidential inaugurations, the quartet continues to uphold its
mission to create new and diverse audiences for the field of chamber
Marianne Henry, a founding member of the group, said
the musicians first came together as friends. Once they saw the
response they were getting from minority audiences, they soon realized
their role model potential.
Vrita Delaine, assistant to the vice president for
student affairs at Southern Miss, calls the performances an "opportunity
of a lifetime." She added, "To host such a group as the
Marian Anderson String Quartet is the chance of a lifetime to showcase
the diversity of music that will serve to encourage minority students
to stick with their goals and dreams of playing string instruments."
On September 30, 1989, the members of the Marian Anderson
String Quartet, then known as the Chaminade Quartet, came together,
unaware that they would soon change history. In 1991, the quartet
won the International Cleveland Quartet Competition, becoming the
first African-American ensemble in history to ever win a classical
To highlight this singular achievement, the quartet
members asked permission from the great American contralto Marian
Anderson to use her name as their own. Anderson responded with heartfelt
approval and in a memorable show of gratitude, the newly named Marian
Anderson String Quartet played for its legendary namesake and her
nephew, conductor James DePriest.
The group's artistic endeavors have brought them to
such venues as New York's Tully Hall, the Corcoran Gallery, the
Library of Congress, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the University
of Southern California and the Chateau Cantanac-Brown in Bordeaux,
The Marian Anderson String Quartet has been quartet
in residence at City College of New York and California State University-Los
Angeles. Having recently completed a graduate fellowship program
at the acclaimed Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in
Houston, Texas, they are the ensemble in residence at Texas A&M
University and Prairie View A&M University.
Tickets for the April 8 concert are $10 for adults
and all students will be admitted free. Tickets may be purchased
through the Southern Miss Ticket Office at (601) 266-5418 or 800-844-8425
or online at www.usm.edu/tickets. For more information, call the
symphony office at (601) 266-4001. | <urn:uuid:5295d7b7-b904-4072-acab-5c204196cde7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usm.edu/news/archives/older/prnews/mar05/mariananderson.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926633 | 759 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The eastern end of Cameron Valley, located south of Duke Street and west of Holland Lane, was highly industrialized in the mid-20th century. Southern Railway operated Cameron Yards there with several tracks and a small roundhouse, and Newton Asphalt, a building supply company and a concrete manufacturer were also there.
In the early 1960s, Stanley Asrael and Ben Ettleman opened a junkyard at 2324 Mill Road, leasing the land from Southern.
They already had two other scrap operations in Alexandria: Madison Junk at 708 North Henry St. and Alexandria Junk at 400 South Patrick St. Both processed metal, newspapers and even old rags. The facility on Mill Road, described in a 1963 ad as a New spacious modern yard, would become known as Alexandria Scrap. Alexandria Scrap covered about 10 acres, employed about 40 to 50 people, and in the late 1960s took in around 150 to 175 cars a day.
This industrialized area began to change around 1980, with new office buildings under construction and plans for a new Metro station. Some Alexandria city leaders saw the potential high-rise development and pressured Alexandria Scrap, seen in this 1972 photograph, to close down. But the company had a lease with Southern until 1992 and remained there until 1989, when it shut down completely.
As city leaders had envisioned, the property was soon redeveloped. Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. District Courthouse and other high rises now stand on the grounds of the old scrap yard in what has become known as Carlyle and Eisenhower East.
Out of the Attic is provided by the Office of Historic Alexandria. | <urn:uuid:0f98ffa9-171d-40bf-a3f0-b8a13b0d435f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://alextimes.com/2010/07/out-of-the-attic-14/3/?sort=id&dir=DESC&pagenum=42 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979837 | 338 | 2.234375 | 2 |
This examination was developed according to the New Standards Type Grading Conference Model by the PUMP Algebra Working Group for the PUMP Algebra Project.
You are told that tomorrow you are to order cellular phone service for all the officers in your company. Your boss tells you that she will be providing you with the necessary information about the amount of "airtime" (number of minutes of phone time) per month that each officer will need. She also informs you that she will have this information for you about an hour before you must present your report and decision to the President of the company. Furthermore, she makes it very clear that your future with the company will depend on how well you perform this duty.
Knowing that you will need at least an hour to just put your report together, you contact the local cellular phone company. They give you the following information about their three available services.
To prepare for tomorrow you must do a mathematical analysis of these three different plans. This analysis should include defining variables, writing equations, making tables, constructing graphs, finding slopes and intercepts, and finding points of intersection. Your boss suggests that you look at these plans over a range of airtime from 0 to 500 minutes per month, and how much airtime that you can get per month with each of these plans for a total cost of $100. She also makes it very clear that you must include the range of airtime for which each plan is the cheapest.
PRODUCE THIS ANALYSIS!
Any work you do today, will be collected at the end of the period and can be used tomorrow to produce your report.
One hour before the meeting where you will present your recommendation for cellular service, your boss provides the following data about the company's employees and their projected cellular phone airtime use.
Use this information and the analysis that you made yesterday to write a report recommending which of the three plans your company should use for their employees. You may recommend one plan or different plans for different employees, but you must support your recommendations with mathematical information from your analysis. Your boss has also directed you to include in your report reasons why you believe that the solution that you have recommended is the best for each group of employees and the company. (Your boss reminds you to make sure to include the range of airtime minutes per month when each of the plans would be cheapest!!)
PRODUCE THIS REPORT! | <urn:uuid:9e217795-13df-458e-9cb5-3f53812bb10d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://act.psy.cmu.edu/awpt/2nd-final.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958526 | 491 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Maximize Your Workouts With An HRM
Do you work out religiously without feeling any fitter? Maybe you're training too hard -- or not hard enough. Our bodies build endurance and speed at specific exertion levels, which are measured by our heart rates. Strapping on a heart rate monitor can keep you within the correct level of exertion, 100% of the time, so that you don't end up wasting your energy going nowhere on your goal.
"Athletes should train specifically in their aerobic and anaerobic zones," says Jordan D. Metzl, M.D., assistant attending physician in the division of sports medicine at the New York City Hospital for Special Surgery. "Going beyond those ranges fatigues muscles, but doesn't burn fat effectively or build endurance." If you're trying to burn fat, keep your heart rate under 70% of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR).
calculate your max heart rateTo find your MHR, subtract your age from 220. This will tell you how many beats per minute your heart can pump during hard exercise. If you're 30 years old, for example, your MHR is 190 beats per minute, so for maximum fat burning your heart rate should be under 133 beats per minute.
The aerobic zone -- 70% to 80% of your MHR -- is just right for building endurance, and you should be able to maintain this effort for long periods of time -- even hours. The anaerobic zone -- 80% to 89% of MHR -- builds muscle and speed but can only be managed for minutes at a time. Consequently, the bulk of a workout should be in the aerobic zone.
Working out in your anaerobic zone will help raise your anaerobic threshold (AT) -- the point at which the oxygen supply to your muscles starts to dwindle and lactic acid begins to build up. A higher anaerobic threshold allows you to run or bike harder and faster without hitting the wall caused by excess lactic acid buildup. (For more info on raising your anaerobic threshold, read "Take Your Fitness Level Up A Notch.")
great heart rate monitorsStaying within a specific zone -- be it fat burning, aerobic or anaerobic -- is a snap with a heart rate monitor. Just plug in your bpms (beats per minute), and the monitor will signal when you've strayed off the mark. It's the perfect training partner, so take the pulse of the latest heart rate monitors:
Polar M52 is a cool gray-faced monitor is packed with cardiovascular goodies. It tests fitness, prescribes training zones, and determines calories burned per workout. It even begs you to use it, beeping if it's ignored for three days. The thin band is great for a small wrist and the ergonomically crafted sensor strap is comfortable enough for everyday wear.
Suggested retail price: approximately $170 US.
Freestyle Circuit Seven is tough enough to withstand being crushed against rocks and other outdoor hazards. Big buttons make setting heart rate zones a snap, even with gloves on. The woven-nylon wristband is the bomb, but doesn't have enough eyelets to fit a small wrist. Large numbers are easily seen from a bicycle handlebar, and the rubber mount is included.
Suggested retail price: approximately $200.
Schwinn HRM-II is a bike-friendly heart rate monitor. Big numbers, simple display, and a bright light make heart rate training a breeze. The touch of a button reveals average heart rate and time of day. The Velcro band stays secure, and it can be worn on your wrist or bike (handlebar mount included).
Suggested retail price: approximately $150.
Get Your Revolutionary Muscle Building Guide here. | <urn:uuid:a33f9457-7799-45d7-9859-a8bc33bc2258> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding_100/122_fitness_tip.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920506 | 773 | 2.75 | 3 |
XU Faculty Member Awarded a Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics Award for Exemplary Mathematics Teaching
Dr. Debora Kuchey Awarded the 2012 Kenneth Cummins Award!
Dr. Debora Kuchey from Xavier University's Department of Childhood Education and Literacy is the recipient of the 2012 Kenneth Cummins Award. The award is given by the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM) for Exemplary Mathematics Teaching to a college level teacher of mathematics or mathematics education. In Dr. Kuchey’s classes, preservice and in-service teachers not only learn how to teach mathematics but also to overcome their own personal insecurities and misconceptions about mathematics. Her teaching extends well beyond the classrooms at Xavier. Dr. Kuchey tutors students in local urban and Catholic schools and conducts professional development for teachers. She is an active scholar in the area of mathematics education and has published numerous articles for the Ohio Journal for School Mathematics and has also made contributions to the Mid-West Educational Research Journal and the Journal of Family Studies. In summary, Dr. Kuchey’s teaching and scholarship enhance the early childhood, middle childhood, and graduate mathematics education programs. | <urn:uuid:d16542c2-6f4e-46bb-9d15-0ef8e2ad0614> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.xavier.edu/news/XU-Faculty-Member-Awarded-a-Ohio-Council-of-Teachers-of-Mathematics-Award-for-Exemplary-Mathematics-Teaching.cfm?grp_id=647 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92116 | 244 | 1.953125 | 2 |
BITI'S 2013 budget has been praised as "pro-people" and "pro-poor".This is because of its generous and very important investments into education and health.
The only criticism that has been voiced has been by ZANU PF which has pointed out that there is insufficient investment into agriculture. However, one important question is: Can the budget bring about economic growth in the immediate and medium term? In the longer term the investments into education and health will pay off in higher level productivity, but there is little hope that the 2013 budget will bring about economic growth very soon.
In every economy, and Zimbabwe's is no exception, investment is inevitably led by its Government. The government's policies and strategies are followed by the national private sector and by outside investors. The main indicator of government's policies and strategies is the budget. The budget tells what the government is aiming to achieve. The main objective of Zimba-bwe's 2013 budget is to please the people in power. This is clear from the massive investment of US$20 million for foreign travel for the office of the president and cabinet. Given that the cabinet comprises about forty people, it means that an average of US$500 000 is invested in the travel of each member of the Cabinet. This is surely excessive, when compared to the US$35 million for the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), the main market for communal and resettlement farmers. There are approximately 1.8 million Communal farmers, and 150 000 small scale Resettle-ment farmers, this gives about 1,95 million farmers who are catered for by the GMB. This means that the budget is planning to spend US$17,95 on each of these farmers. It is therefore no surprise that Zimbabwe can no longer feed itself, but instead has to import most of its food. Honourable Minister Biti tells us in his 2012 mid-year fiscal policy review statement, p.112, that Zimbabwe imported US$515.6-58 million of food between January and May 2012.
Presumably the amount spent on the full year is roughly double this amount. Failure to fund purchase of farmers' food crops by the GMB means that farmers do not have enough money to spend on seeds and inputs for the next year's crops as banking facilities for farmers is very limited. The 2013 budget provides US$4 million for Agribank. You don't need to be a brilliant mathematician to see this is not enough. The result is that lower income farmers who are the food producers of the country are inadequately financed to provide the food for the country.
Some political analysts believe that the failure of the government to fund agriculture adequately is due to the MDC-T's policy to prove that the Land Resettleme-nt programme after 2000 has proved to be a failure, forcing the country to import massive amounts of food. Whether there is actually such a deliberate policy and strategy is of course unknown, but what is painfully obvious is that the government's investment into the GMB is very far from adequate, making it impossible for most small scale farmers to produce enough food for the country. Of course Biti alone cannot be blamed for this under-investment into the GMB, as the Budget is approved by both cabinet and parliament. If government is to target economic growth, it should begin by reviewing its budgetary priorities. Moving some funds from foreign travel by the cabinet to the GMB might make a real difference to next year's food production. Agriculture remains one of the most important industries in the country, and funding it better will definitely bring an increase in economic growth.
In addition to savings from the Cabinet's Foreign Travel, there are many other areas where savings can be effected. The largest area for savings is the number of civil servants. The number has increased from 161 932 in 2000 to 235 841 in 2011, an increase of 73 909 civil servants in eleven years. This is a 45,6 percent increase. The average salary for these civil servants in 2011 was US$2720 per annum. A policy to stop filling posts as they fall vacant will lead to a natural contraction of the civil service. Assuming that there is a five percentvacancy rate in the civil service, this would entail a saving of US$19,355 million (using 2011 figures). This saving could be provided to the GMB, and would certainly boost food productivity in the country, with a knock on effect on other industries which are heavily dependent on agricultural productivity. Civil service employment costs comprise 68,5 percent of the 2013 budget. It would be wise if this could gradually be reduced, to say 55 percent of the budget, leaving more room for economic growth.
The government has used the civil service as a way of providing employment. However, this is not a wise and sound way of generating employment creation, unless more civil servants can be engaged in production and can increase their own productivity. This is not necessarily possible if, for example, agricultural extension workers do not have the wherewithal to carry out their duties.
They may have no transport to visit the farmers they are responsible for. The farmers concerned may not have seeds or fertiliser, or access to ploughing services. Instead of increasing the number of civil servants, government should provide the existing civil servants with the tools, equipment and materials to do a good job. Providing poor pay for large numbers of civil servants will also not enhance civil service efficiency.
The under-funding of productivity is not a Biti problem. He is only continuing a trend that has been a characteristic of government for several decades.
The question is whether government can in the future plan its Budget in such a way as to boost productivity and so attract national and foreign investment. There is no possibility that national and foreign investors will invest when the government itself is not investing in productivity.
Dr Fay Chung is an educationist and founder of Women's University in Africa. | <urn:uuid:31dd0136-9f43-4247-ad3f-9078a4914cb2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://allafrica.com/stories/201301171262.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966379 | 1,202 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Xeno (pronounced 'Zeno' ) trumpets are designed for those who want power and projection as well as a big warm sound. Developed from more than 30 years' research with leading artists throughout the world, Xeno trumpets incorporate their dreams, their experience, and their talents—as realized through the skills and ideas of some of the world' s best designers and craftspersons. Traditional hand-craftsmanship augmented by cutting edge manufacturing technology has created an extraordinary quality of unprecedented consistency. The Xeno' s heavyweight construction produces a solid tone core for a rich strong sound that won' t spread or break up no matter how hard you push it. It blows freely and comfortably, while still providing enough air resistance for quick response and superb tonal flexibility. And the hand-hammered one-piece bell gives an agile, quick response with a beautiful tone. Xeno Bb trumpets offer a choice of bore sizes; medium large for versatility, and large for a broad sound with plenty of power. Bell material options for Bb and C Xenos include; yellow brass - for clear sound with strong projection, and gold brass – for warmer, deeper sound. | <urn:uuid:bf728b9f-fa03-45df-b5da-69574d152dc2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usa.yamaha.com/product_archive/winds/ytr-8445gs/?mode=model | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945142 | 239 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP)
Chief Evaluation Office
- Reports written off of review of existing documents, such as funded grant applications or existing curricula.
- Process and Implementation Evaluations focus on program implementation and operation and can answer questions regarding program effort, identify processes or procedures used to carry out the functions of the program, and address program operation and performance.
- Quasi Experimental Evaluations use comparison groups rather than randomly-assigned control groups as the baseline or counter factual against which to measure net program impacts. Sources for such comparison groups include eligible non-participants in the same community, individuals similar to the participants from an existing database that contains the outcome measures of interest, or individuals in a matched comparison site who would have been eligible for the program if it were in that site.
- Random Assignment uses a lottery system to randomly assign participants to the experimental group (treatment group) or to the control group. Participants in the treatment group can participate in the program or activities being evaluated. Participants in the control group cannot. The lottery system ensures that participants have an equal chance of being in the treatment or the control group. Although random assignment is the best way to ensure comparable groups, it is not appropriate or possible in every situation, such as when it would be illegal or unethical to deny treatment to participants.
- Statistical Studies use existing data to examine research questions or hypotheses and determine if outcomes were likely to have occurred by chance alone.
- Survey Research is a method involving the use of questionnaires or statistical surveys to gather data about people and their opinions or behaviors. | <urn:uuid:c5675c4c-2e08-4a36-bdf0-5587429c8ab3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dol.gov/asp/evaluation/methodology/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919876 | 324 | 2.3125 | 2 |
You cleanse and moisturize and exfoliate and use toner. So why are you still plagued by adult acne? There are some causes of adult acne that you simply can't control - like genetics or hormonal fluctuations.
But surprisingly, adult acne can often be triggered by things you can control, like certain day-to-day habits and some of the items and products that you use every day.
Adult acne trigger: Over-cleansing
When it comes to skincare, there is such thing as "too much of a good thing." Cleansing your skin is a vital part of preventing acne breakouts, but brisk, over-zealous washing and scrubbing can irritate your skin and worsen acne. Better to wash gently twice a day with a mild soap or cleanser.
Adult acne trigger: Hair and skin products
Unfortunately, some products used to perfect and beautify your skin and appearance can actually cause acne breakouts. Watch out for products that are oil-based, like some sunscreens or hair pomades. Check labels for the terms "non-comedogenic" or "non-acnegenic" - these products are less likely to cause acne.
Adult acne trigger: Pillowcases
Do you ever stop to think about what's left behind on your pillowcase after a night's rest? You may not know it, but each night you're likely leaving behind remnants of dirt, oil, sweat, as well as traces of cosmetics and hair products. Be sure to wash your bed linens weekly - or more frequently if your hair and/or skin are oily, or if you experience frequent night sweats.
Adult acne trigger: Contact
Sometimes, adult acne can be triggered by the physical contact of items against your skin. And the contact could come from anywhere, like when you wear a bike helmet, a chin strap, or tight shirt collars - or even when you touch your own face frequently. Try a hands-off policy and keep potentially irritating items away from your skin.
Did you find what you were looking for on our website? Please let us know. | <urn:uuid:58c9831d-9b34-4095-b40b-6d05004858e3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chealth.canoe.ca/channel_section_details.asp?text_id=6449&channel_id=2003&relation_id=11996 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942405 | 432 | 1.78125 | 2 |
World sea attacks surge with more violent pirates
Thursday, April 14, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Sea piracy worldwide hit a record high of 142 attacks in the first quarter this year as Somali pirates become more violent and aggressive, a global maritime watchdog said Thursday.
Nearly 70 percent or 97 of the attacks occurred off the coast of Somalia, up sharply from 35 in the same period last year, the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur said in a statement.
Attackers seized 18 vessels worldwide, including three big tankers, in the January-March period and captured 344 crew members, it said. Pirates also murdered seven crew members and injured 34 during the quarter.
"Figures for piracy and armed robbery at sea in the past three months are higher than we've ever recorded in the first quarter of any past year," said the bureau's director Pottengal Mukundan.
He said there was a "dramatic increase in the violence and techniques" used by Somali pirates to counter increased patrols by international navies, putting large tankers carrying oil and other flammable chemicals at highest risk to firearm attacks.
Of the 97 vessels attacked off Somalia, he said 37 were tankers including 20 with more than 100,000 deadweight tonnes.
International navies have taken a tougher stance against pirates, with the Indian navy alone arresting 120 mostly Somalian pirates over the past few months. The U.S. and other nations have also prosecuted suspects caught by their militaries, although some were released as countries weigh legal issues and other factors.
Mukundan said the positions of some of the attackers' mother ships were known and called for stronger action to be taken against these mother ships to prevent further hijackings. Pirates held some 28 ships and nearly 600 hostages as of end-March, the bureau said.
Elsewhere, nine attacks were reported off Malaysia and five in Nigeria in the first quarter.
Last year, there were 445 pirate attacks worldwide, a 10 percent rise from 2009. Pirates seized 53 vessels and captured a record 1,181 hostages in 2010, almost all of them off the Somali coast. | <urn:uuid:e12b6c51-2596-4fb3-abcd-add3e380998f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newstribune.com/news/2011/apr/14/world-sea-attacks-surge-more-violent-pirates/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971394 | 442 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Progress for proposed co-located CHP and pellet plants
Plans for a 34 MW combined-heat-and-power (CHP) facility that will be co-located with a pellet plant are moving along in Fair Haven, Vt., despite continued development suspension of an identical plant in a nearby town.
Beaver Wood Energy had proposed to build the additional plant in Pownal, Vt., about 70 miles north of Fair Haven. Although the company saw considerable opposition to the Pownal project across the local community and neighboring town of Williamstown, Mass., Tom Emero, managing director of development and operations for Beaver Wood Energy, has said the decision to put the project on hold is not related to the negative local feedback.
Rather, he said, it is because Vermont currently has an appetite for only one power project of the proposed size.
Nine months after sliding the Pownal project to the back burner, Emero said the company is on schedule with the Fair Haven facility. “We’re in the middle of the permitting process, with our air permit expected any day,” he said.
When complete, heat and steam generated at the cogeneration plant will be used to support the 110,000-ton-per-year pellet plant’s manufacturing operations, and excess heat will be used to fuel 10 acres of local greenhouses. Electricity produced will be enough to power 34,000 homes.
Emero anticipates construction of the plant, which the company expects will annually inject $35 million into the local economy through taxes, wages and business activity, to begin late this year or in early 2013. He added that community support for the project has been and remains very positive. | <urn:uuid:28cf6b8a-2b54-41c4-b601-660d63cfd1d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/6048/progress-for-proposed-co-located-chp-and-pellet-plants | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954189 | 356 | 1.523438 | 2 |
In middle school, grades 6-8, the curriculum focuses on grammar, vocabulary, composition, literature and drama. Students participate in a full-scale dramatic production every other year. Grade 8 students also produce a school newspaper throughout the year.
Spanish and Latin
All students in grades 6-8 study two foreign languages, Spanish and Latin, and in grades 7-8 they participate in the National Junior Classical League’s National Latin Exam.
Social Studies focuses on the Ancient World in grade 6, the Early Modern World in grade 7, and the American Experience in grade 8. All students participate in National Geographic GeoBee, and in grades 7 and 8 students are able to take a history-based field trip to Washington D.C. and Williamsburg, or New York and Boston.
Although there are two mathematics streams - grade level and accelerated - all students in grade 6 study advanced mathematics; grade 7 studies Pre-Algebra and Algebra; and grade 8 studies Algebra. Students may participate in various local mathematics competitions.
Students study Earth Science in grade 6, Life Science in grade 7 and Physical Science in grade 8. Every year each grade takes a week-long science field trip: grade 6 goes to AstroCamp, grade 7 to Pali Mountain Institute, and grade 8 to Catalina Island Marine Institute. All Middle School students participate in the annual Science Fair and present their projects to the school community.
Every student has access to a school-owned Apple laptop computer, which they use for projects and class work. All students are exposed to and work with basic typing, word processing, Power Point and Excel programs.
Art and Music
Students have weekly art classes and have music classes twice per week. Depending on their interests and abilities, students are placed either in the strings division (Orchestra) or the winds division (Band). All students participate in the annual art show and two musical concerts during the year.
All students participate in physical education twice a week, and participation on afterschool competitive sports teams is not dependent upon tryouts. All are welcome!
In addition to science and social studies field trips, grades 6-8 students also enjoy field trips to local museums and libraries, and presentations by invited speakers at regularly scheduled assemblies. Students participate in class meetings, health and fitness education, geography and current events discussions, and practice public speaking and debate skills.
Students in grades 3-8 take the Educational Records Bureau standardized test in the spring. Students in grades 4-8 may attend Study Hall from 3:00-4:30 p.m. four days a week
High School Application and Acceptances
Beginning in the second half of grade 7, students, parents and administrators meet frequently to discuss local high schools, the application process, testing and test preparation, interview skills, and visitation programs and schedules. Many admissions directors from local high schools also visit our independent school to provide information about their schools to The Gooden School students in grade 8 class.
Students are regularly accepted to the following local high schools: Alverno, Don Bosco Tech, Flintridge Preparatory School, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, La Salle High School, Loyola High School, Maranatha High School, Mayfield Senior School, St. Francis High School, Webb Schools, and Westridge School. | <urn:uuid:17add90b-5ee0-482c-b2d0-0644b2db4e75> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.goodenschool.org/content.php?pgID=279 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939099 | 673 | 3 | 3 |
Temptations itself is not a sin, it's our attitude towards it that matters. We are approved by God on the basis of our faithfulness in the temptations that we face in our daily life. ∙ The only two things that we are told about the thirty...―
Do you belong to this world? Do you live as people of this world? No this is not a trick question. When there is jealousy among you, and you quarrel with one another in (1Corinthians 3:3 NIV) say this proves … Continue reading →―
I posted in 2009 a blog that the man who was wrapped in the Shroud of Turin was found to be suffering from Leprosy and on this ground was dismissed as one not belonging to Jesus Christ. ∙ Now there is another controversy raging on this...―
…ecce homo… – John 19:5 (Latin Vulgate) Basically there are three kinds of novels: novels where everything is made up (e.g. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), historical novels where the author aims to be as accurate as possible...―
El Greco: Christ carrying His cross (1580). Image courtesy of Wikipedia. ∙ Joel Kontinen ∙ It is not always easy to follow Christ. The cost of discipleship can be very high, especially in some parts of the world. ∙ Recently, a...―
The shedding of blood of Jesus Christ on the cross was a factor in order for us to receive forgiveness for our sins and acceptance into the presence of God.".....without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb 9:22).LIFE IS IN THE ...―
Share on Facebook What Did Jesus Teach about the Bible? by David Roach It’s relatively common to encounter professed Christians who say they love the Bible but don’t think it’s entirely true. This has occurred famously in church history, as when ...―
Water and the Christian life are closely linked. We are all baptized into Jesus. On top of that the imagery of walking into the water in faith to or with Jesus is a beautiful mental picture for me of what is walking with Jesus. Britt Nicole. ...―
Who Earned The Right All Gave Some; Some Gave All The Following Story is A Good Reminder for me: My Dad, Father-in-law, both Grandfathers, all four of my Uncles on my Mom’s side, and one of my Uncles on my Dad’s side, not to mention...―
Ride Those Waves! Giants in the Land Series Part III Key Scriptures: Matthew 8.23-27 – ‘And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was...―
Share on Facebook Why did God make salvation such a narrow path? GotQuestions.org Question: "Why did God make salvation such a narrow path?" Answer: In Matthew 7:13–14, Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the ...―
someone got the giggles during his photo shoot~OUTFIT DETAILS~Shirt: Brooks BrothersPants: ...
I had every intention of posting this week's Menu Plan when I got home from my high school ...
Dulu ∙ di kantor tempat penulis kerja it ada website perusahaan yang kita ∙ ... | <urn:uuid:6e1e6d4a-3ff3-4ccf-ba20-f32ed7a4dc00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bloggers.com/topics/jesus-christ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952327 | 724 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Today, the number of homeless children in Russia is estimated to be between one and five million. Despite these shocking figures, the issue hardly appears on the political or public agenda. While government policy toward homeless children continues to be executed sporadically and essentially irresponsibly, the proportion of the Russian population living outside the law continues to grow, portending the possibility of a future crisis. IMR's Olga Khvostunova reports on youth homelessness in Russia today.
The prevalence of homeless children is a social and cultural phenomenon that generally arises during periods of acute social, economic, and political instability, such as international military conflicts, civil wars, famines, and in the wake of natural disasters. In the modern world, this phenomenon is most commonly related to economic crisis and the prevalence of poverty, domestic violence, and child abuse. Problems such as these cause guardians to kick children out or bring about children running away voluntarily.
A critical mass of homeless children is, unequivocally, a symptom of erosion at every level of society, from family structures to major government institutions. Experts attest that it marginalizes adults and children that live outside of the status quo. One of its greatest dangers is that children who live on the streets, surviving off money they usually acquire illegally, tend to form subcultures, developing worldviews and values that contradict traditional norms.
They have their own laws and morals, their own justice and reprisals. They travel a lot, but don't see much. They are not aggressive, but they are suspicious. They like ice cream and Coca Cola. I would ask them about their future. They didn't know how to respond because they don't think about it. They don't believe they have a future.
Award-winning photographer Sergey Maksimishin
In the long term, the prevalence of homeless children leads to the growth of the crime rate, drug abuse, and HIV incidence, thus undermining the foundations of society at large. Some even point out that child homelessness rates are the indicator of the level of national degeneration.
The phenomenon of homeless children has affected almost every country at one time or another. For example, in 1848, it was documented in Britain by Lord Ashley, who, as head of the British Mine Commission, reported that in and out of London, there were at least 30,000 “naked, filthy, roaming lawless and deserted children.” Despite the pervasiveness of this social ill, up until now, there has been no precise, universally-accepted definition of ‘street child’. The general understanding is that this refers to a child who lives on the street, separate from their family, and not controlled by adults in any way. In Russia, there is also the term ‘neglected children’ (beznadzornie), which refers children who communicate with their guardians, but spend most of their time outside of their homes, on the street. The English terms ‘street children’ and ‘homeless children’ cover both meanings.
The vague terminology is part of the reason there is no accurate statistical data on homeless children worldwide. According to a 2005 UNICEF report, the estimated number is around 100 million. China, India, Brazil, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Russia are currently among the countries where the issue is most acute.
It's impossible to say for sure how many children live on the streets of Russia, since even official estimates vary greatly – from 1 million to 4-5 million (based on the data from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and various NGOs). According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, in 2010, 2.17% of Russian children were homeless, which would put the number at 600 thousand. Compared to 2001, the number has doubled in the past ten years alone.
Homeless children are not new for Russia. A great number of them flooded the streets of Russian cities during the First World War (1914-18). The problem only grew worse after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and further deteriorated during the civil war (1917-23). According to various estimates, in the early 1920s, there were between 4.5 and 7 million homeless children in Russia.
Homeless children. Moscow, 1930s.
It was impossible to ignore these outrageous numbers, so the young Soviet government turned the fight with child homelessness into a political priority. Due to the task’s complexity, the efforts took almost ten years to be successful, and measures that were not entirely humane had to be implemented to this end.
The Council for the Protection of Children, formed in 1919 and led by Anatoly Lunacharsky, the People’s Commissar of Enlightenment, was the first Soviet organization to tackle the problem of homeless children. This organization’s two major objectives were feeding children and providing them with medical services. Two years after its foundation, the Council joined efforts with the Commission on the Improvement of Children’s Lives, overseen by the Director of the Cheka, Felix Dzerzhinsky. In 1925, Dzerzhinsky created a public organization called Friends of Children, which aimed at fighting illiteracy among the homeless. It also helped homeless children search for family members and oversaw orphanages. Bureaus for the social and legal protection of minors were created in many schools across the country. During the 1920s, hundreds of child welfare institutions such as emergency shelters for young orphans (doma rebyonka), orphanages, and special boarding schools, were founded; the first working labor colonies and labor communes were created around the same time, as well. With these joint efforts, by the end of 1928, the official number of homeless children in the USSR was down to 300 thousand. In 1935, the Council for the People’s Commissars reported that mass youth homelessness had been eliminated.
The second peak of the child homelessness in the USSR came during the Second World War. From 1941 to 1945, the number of the children living on the street grew from 220 to 800 thousand. The responsibility for resolving the issue was placed in the hands of the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD). One of their measures was the establishment juvenile delinquency divisions. The police were supposed to detain homeless children, bring them to police stations, and register them. Shelters for such children were also established at the same time. Detained homeless children were allowed to spend up to two weeks at such shelters, during which time the police would try to contact their parents and find out if the child could be returned to his or her family. If it was impossible, children under 14 were placed in orphanages or special boarding schools; those over 14 were sent to work at industrial or agricultural enterprises.
After the war, the Soviet system for supervising orphan children consisted of the following: First, children were brought to shelters. Newborns and toddlers up to 3 years old would be placed in emergency shelters for young orphans (doma rebyonka), while older children (ages 4 through 17) would be sent to orphanages and special boarding schools. If a child had disabilities, he or she would be institutionalized in a special care or psychiatric facility. After reaching the age of 18, graduates from the orphanages and boarding schools were left to their own devices, while the disabled were transferred to special care institutions for adults.
Although this system seemed to work well, many today point out that in the Soviet times, information on the incidence of child abuse, drug addiction, and suicide was suppressed. The government didn’t recognize domestic violence or abuse in special care institutions. Another problem was that the Soviet police did little for children who had allegedly run way from their families. If a parent was located, the police would send them home without questioning them or investigating the possibility of domestic violence, abuse, or neglect. There were no therapy or rehabilitation programs for abused children who were subsequently victimized by street life.
Since the early 1990s, Russia has seen a new wave of youth homelessness. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the social and economic crisis that followed has led to major cutbacks in government spending on education, including after-school programs, school health centers, summer programs, and centers for extracurricular activities. The rate of alcohol and drug abuse among teenagers has increased dramatically, as have delinquency and suicide rates, which are likely related to the growing incidence of domestic violence. By the mid-2000s, government spending on education per child dropped to half of the rate in 1990. Experts estimate that over 1.5 million children currently do not attend school. | <urn:uuid:73912069-c19f-4cfa-ba39-e2d467d40443> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.imrussia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=245%3Abesprizorniki&catid=56%3Asociety-a-trends&Itemid=103&lang=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97772 | 1,766 | 3.03125 | 3 |
The trial of Robert Allen Stanford, accused of running a massive $8 billion Ponzi scheme, has again been delayed on the advice of Stanford's doctors. Stanford, who suffered injuries in a prison altercation in September 2009, needs more time to rehabilitate and recover from an addiction to prescription drugs following the prison beating. The trial, originally scheduled for September 12, will now start in January 2012.
Stanford is accused of running an elaborate scheme in which investors were promised high rates of return on certificates of deposit issued by Stanford International Bank through the Stanford Group Co. Prosecutors have accused him of misappropriating over $1.6 billion of the funds collected in the scheme, and a receiver has been appointed to marshal assets for the estimated 7,800 victims.
As the Ponzi Tracker recently noted, the SEC voiced its opinion that investors in Stanford's scheme were entitled to compensation from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation ("SIPC"), which aims to compensate investors in failed brokerage firms. Should the SIPC refuse the SEC's request, the SEC has indicated it is prepared to file a lawsuit to compel such action. | <urn:uuid:30727d9d-235d-45bd-a129-57075fb1ca18> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ponzitracker.com/main/2011/6/22/stanford-trial-delayed-again-until-january-2012.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967928 | 227 | 1.5 | 2 |
A friend of mine recently decided to reinvent himself as a .Net developer. Any programmer can pick up C# .Net pretty quickly. He works in an enterprise environment, and so I suggested he look into MVC and Entity Framework (EF), as they are Microsoft answer to the Rails stack. I prefer working with Rails, but the enterprise space is dominated by the MS stack, so learning MVC and EF is worthwhile.
I decided to through together video showing how easy it is to get something off the ground using MVC/EF. I hope you can learn something from the videos, but I think the most important thing to take away from these videos is a list of what can be done, for very little development cost, using MVC and EF.
The videos are of fairly poor quality. I spent hours trying to get Cam Studio to record half as well as QuickTime does on my Mac, and this was the best I could come up with, but if you view in full screen you should be able to view the text fairly easily.
Pause the video if necessary to read captions. Forgive the the meandering nature of the topics covered. Also the videos are of fairly poor quality. I spent hours trying to get Cam Studio to record half as well as QuickTime does on my Mac, and this was the best I could come up with, but if you view in full screen you should be able to view the text fairly easily. Vimeo provides an option to download the full size original file too, so maybe take advantage of this for even better quality.
I was doing this totally live, with no rehearsal (edit: actually edited out about 3 minutes from a total 1.75 hours of footage). In fact you will see a bunch of mistakes I make as well; I didn’t edit these out, as they are likely errors that new .Net Web App developers will run into. I wish more programming videos would leave the errors in, as a developer can learn a lot from them.
What should you have for a background? You should have some C#, as I don’t cover anything on C#, other than touching on Lamda/Linq, and MS-MVC special syntax used. The more you know about databases, the more you will get out of the video, but the only required knowledge is that you know what a relational database is.
The best way to view these videos is by using vimeo’s hubnut player here. Unfortunately the hubnut iframe does not work with this host, so I can’t embed the vimeo hubnut player. However, I can just embed the videos one by one.
Start by creating the DB here:
Build your application in 27 minutes:
Examples of slightly more advanced things you will want to do in your web app (Part 1):
And Part 2:
note: When I say MVC, I mean the branded web framework owned by Microsoft, not the design pattern made famous by the Gang of Four, though MS’s MVC is loosely based on MVC.
edit: If you find the text quality poor on the embedded videos, just download the full video from vimeo. | <urn:uuid:b8c573ac-fac3-4086-aec6-c5a7ad05f70b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://educatedsquirrel.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967915 | 658 | 1.515625 | 2 |
The German Diplomatic Files
The German Diplomatic Files represent an important collection of documents concerning the governmental dealings between the United States and Germany over the course of Franklin D. Roosevelt's tenure in office, from 1933 to 1945. The time frame is significant, for on January 30, 1933, just two short months before FDR was inaugurated as the 32nd President of the United States, Adolf Hitler assumed the chancellorship in Germany. The year 1933, then, marks the beginning of the Nazi period in German history, an era characterized by domestic oppression, anti-Semitism and terror, coupled with the increasingly vociferous demand on the part of Hitler's government for the alteration or removal of the restrictions placed on Germany under the terms of the peace treaty that ended World War One -- the Treaty of Versailles. For the next six years, the Nazis insistence on the revision of the Treaty of Versailles would result in a steady increase in international tensions that was regarded with increasing alarm in Washington. Ultimately, all efforts to settle German grievances by peaceful means, such as British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's controversial policy of "appeasement" failed, and on September 1, 1939, the Nazi's initiated World War Two by launching a massive attack on Poland. It would take another two years, however, before the United States would find itself in a formal state of war with Germany. In the interim, U.S.-German relations grew steadily worse as the Roosevelt Administration offered growing material and naval support to the British war effort and U.S. suspicions about Nazi subversive activities in the Western Hemisphere increased.
Relations with Germany also suffered as a consequence of Nazi behavior at home. On November 16, 1938, for example, U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull recalled the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Hugh R. Wilson, in protest over "Kristallnacht" -- the Nazi pogrom against the Jews. The Germans responded in kind, and from this date forward, until the German declaration of war on the United States on December 11, 1941, matters at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin and the German Embassy in Washington were handled by the two nation's respective Charge d'Affairs.
The documents in these files are drawn from the Diplomatic Series in the President's Secretary's Files. They reveal much about German-American relations and the U.S. response to the dramatic events that were unfolding in Germany and Europe in the years leading to World War Two. They also contain information about the war in Europe between 1939 and 1941; intelligence reports on Hitler and other Nazi leaders; information about Nazi activities in South and Central America; as well as material on U.S.-German trade. There are no records for the years 1942-43, when there was very little if any contact between the two governments, but the files resume again in 1944 in anticipation of an Allied victory. The 1944-45 files contain a good deal of information about U.S. proposals for the treatment of Germany after the war, including the controversial Morgenthau Plan and other significant postwar material. | <urn:uuid:1ed356b2-79de-47a5-a900-72fb67f1993e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/GERMAN1.HTML | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954644 | 625 | 3.75 | 4 |
Fiji is bracing for more strong winds and heavy rain as a tropical cyclone bears down on already flood ravaged areas.
The Metservice says cyclone Daphne is moving through the ocean off to the west of Fiji. Western parts of the country will catch the edge of the gale-force winds, but rain brought by the cyclone will be more widespread.
Around 11,000 people have already been evacuated from their homes in the Western Division, after flooding has killed four people and left people without running water or power.
Flights to flood-hit Fiji resumed this afternoon but the Government is warning against non-essential travel as the cyclone moves in.
Air Pacific announced it had resumed flights to the rain-ravaged holiday destination shortly after an empty Air New Zealand 747 aircraft left from Auckland Airport to pick up stranded passengers from Nadi airport.
However, flights this evening have again been cancelled as the cyclone approaches.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade recommends if people have concerns for family or friends in Fiji they should attempt to contact them in the first instance. Failing that, they can contact MFAT by phone on (04) 439 8000.
Inia Seruiratu, from the Ministry of Provincial Development, has urged Fijians to stay out of flood waters, including those living near flood prone areas.
This follows concerns that some people were still crossing flooded waters to buy cigarettes and other items from shops.
A Government barge was earlier deployed to the Western Division carrying 120,000 litres of water to assist hotels along the coastline and the Nadi district.
The Fiji Roads Authority has confirmed that the Navo bridge remains open to single lane traffic only.
The Land and Water Resources Management senior engineer Frank Alhambra said the water level is expected to normalise within two to three days and evacuees can be expected to return to their various homes once water has receded.
Police officers have been sent to evacuation centres to maintain security and the Fiji Military Force will also assist if necessary.
Are you facing disruption to your Fiji travel plans over Easter or the school holidays? ONE News would like to hear from you. Please email us at firstname.lastname@example.org
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said there are 433 New Zealanders registered as being in Fiji, 118 of these in Nadi.
Prime Minister John Key says the Minister of Foreign Affairs has made it clear that New Zealand will provide support for Fiji if required.
Key told Breakfast MFAT is monitoring the situation in Fiji which is very serious.
He said that if required, New Zealand would provide the likes of emergency food and blankets for people in rural parts of Fiji where lives have been lost and people's homes devastated.
Key said if absolutely required New Zealanders would be evacuated from Fiji but they may well be in conditions that are quite stable for them.
The Government is monitoring that situation, he said.
Hundreds of anxious holiday-makers have had their holidays postponed by the devastating floods during a peak tourism season.
Stranded traveller Kylie Morris had her flight to Nadi rescheduled for tomorrow morning after almost touching down in the holiday destination on Sunday.
She, along with three friends, were on a flight that had to make the six-hour round-trip back to Auckland moments before landing in Nadi.
"We even saw Fiji, saw the Tarmac, and promptly turned around and came back home," said Morris.
"Even if we landed the reality of being able to get to where we're staying and being able to buy food or water or anything like that is probably fairly difficult at the moment."
House of Travel's Brent Thomas said the agency has more than 700 holiday makers booked to visit Fiji in the next week.
"This is obviously a key time for people going up to Fiji. There are only four weeks of the year people get away for holidays and this is one of the special ones," said Thomas. | <urn:uuid:f85c54cf-bfc7-4180-8c52-40d37579b1c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/fiji-facing-more-floods-cyclone-daphne-approaches-4810563 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973266 | 815 | 1.609375 | 2 |
A group of 4-year-olds was gathered in a Sunday School class in Chattanooga. The teacher looked at the class and asked this question: "Does anyone know what today is?" A little girl held up her hand and said, "Yes, today is Palm Sunday." The teacher exclaimed, "That's fantastic, that's wonderful. Now does anyone know what next Sunday is?" The same little girl held up her hand and said, "Yes, next Sunday is Easter Sunday." Once again the teacher said "That's fantastic. Now does anyone know what makes next Sunday Easter?" The same little girl responded and said, "Yes, next Sunday is Easter because Jesus rose from the grave" and before the teacher could congratulate her, she kept on talking and said, "but if He sees his shadow… He has to go back in for seven weeks." | <urn:uuid:1134a56b-dc43-4e91-8556-8ba19a200ae0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biblestudytools.com/pastor-resources/illustrations/easter-11601078.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984242 | 172 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Vinpocetine is a derivative of Vincamine, naturally occurring in Crioceras longiflorus. Clinical studies suggest that it facilitates cerebral metabolism by improving cerebral blood flow, increasing glucose and oxygen utilization by neurons and concentration of neurotransmitters involved in the process of memory formation. Clinical studies have also shown that Vinpocetine may help to maintain healthy microcirculation in the inner vital organs of ears and eyes. Research has shown that the effects of this compound go beyond mere prevention and turn it into a Powerful Memory Enhancer.
Vincamine is a purified extract of Vinca Minor L. (Periwinkle plant). Used as a cerebral vasodilator for enhancing mental alertness, it increases blood flow to the brain and improves its oxygenation. The original use of this plant goes back to European traditional home remedy with a series of various applications. This herb is well known and widely used in popular medicine as an important component of herbal teas against nervousness in the elderly suffering from insomnia, anxiety and aggressiveness.
Vinburnine, a natural occurring product found in the plant Hunteria eburnea P., obtained by semi-synthesis from Vincamine, is a muscle oxygenator. Clinical trials show the effects of Vinburnine especially in oxygen release from red blood cells.
Covex obtains Vinburnine through semi- synthetic process and distributes it worldwide as a high quality bulk raw material. Its main application as a dietary supplement is to boost the metabolism of glucose inside the muscle. Every training athlete or person doing fitness exercises can obtain maximum muscle performance by taking vinburnine as a catalyst of physical work. | <urn:uuid:ec33c308-e540-40d0-b19a-967380b85787> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.covex.com/index.php?url=products | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927972 | 344 | 2.109375 | 2 |
In 1963, America learned a painful lesson when Pennsylvania Station, an architectural treasure that Senator Daniel Moynihan described as “the best thing in our city,” was torn down and replaced with a dreary complex that includes an office building and Madison Square Garden. The rail station, to this day the nation’s busiest, was moved underground into a claustrophobic warren of artificially lit passageways and bleak waiting rooms. While there has been an active campaign since the 1990’s to rectify the mistake by creating a new and worthy station a block away, the $1 billion-plus project remains stuck in political gridlock.
But the sad saga of Penn was by no means an isolated incident. Almost like a rite of passage, cities across the country embraced the era of Interstates, Big Macs, and suburban sprawl by tearing down their train depots. (Frequently, they just did the Joni Mitchell thing and put up a parking lot.) But time and experience are showing that train stations are vital organs in a healthy city, and removing them deadens the entire organism. The lesson is especially stark at the moment, as cities around the country face the challenge of rebuilding the infrastructure for regional high speed rail networks. Chicago–once abundantly blessed with grand stations–is today bouncing around ideas for a new high speed rail depot.
One lesson of this legacy is that what replaces a well designed and centrally located rail depot is rarely of equal worth to the city. Following is a tour of 10 great depots that were lost to demolition orders–plus one more that might be still–and what stands on those sites today.
1. NEW YORK CITY: PENNSYLVANIA STATION
THEN: “The best thing in our city,” according to Sen. Daniel Moynihan
WHAT’S THERE NOW: The new Penn Station is a dingy labyrinth beneath an ugly arena
2. MEMPHIS – UNION STATION
When this city’s Union Station opened in 1912, it was the largest stone structure in town. But when the U.S. Postal Service announced that it needed new land in the city in the late 1960s, the magnificent building was chosen for demolition because it no longer attracted the crowds that it had once brought into the city. Any interest in saving the structure itself was ignored.
These days Memphis is expressing interest in being part of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor.
THEN: A grand Beaux Arts depot for a thriving city
WHAT’S THERE NOW: A windowless postal facility surrounded by barbed wire
3. ATLANTA – TERMINAL STATION
Atlanta was once the largest rail crossroads in the south. Travelers could get virtually everywhere quickly and conveniently by rail. Built in 1905, Terminal was the grand portal to the city. It had two Italianate towers and a huge train shed behind. When the station was razed in 1970, it was replaced by a government office building. These days Atlanta’s intercity rail depot is a small former commuter rail station located far north of downtown, adjacent to a 16-lane highway.
Recently, Georgia governor Sonny Perdue–after scouting the passenger rail systems in Spain and China–has enthusiastically embraced the idea of a high speed rail network for the southeastern US. Of course, Atlanta would be a network hub–and very likely in need of a suitable depot.
THEN: A fitting portal to a regional capital
NOW: A government office building
4. BIRMINGHAM, AL – TERMINAL STATION
In 1909, Birmingham opened its grand Terminal Station, which united the train services of six operators. The two block-long Byzantine-styled complex had 10 tracks, and when opened was the largest of its kind in the South.
Yet this station — which served a peak of 54 trains a day in 1943 — by 1969 only was seeing seven daily arrivals. As a result, the city chose to demolish the structure that year. Although the land was originally intended for a new federal building, a highway was built there instead.
Today, Birmingham is slated as a primary stop on the designated high speed rail corridorlinking New Orleans and Atlanta.
THEN: An impressive and centrally located depot
NOW: A connector highway
5. CHICAGO: GRAND CENTRAL STATION
Perhaps more than any other American city, Chicago’s destiny has been a result of its transportation links to the rest of the country. As such, it had something of an abundance of train stations. Even while it still has four commuter terminals inside the Loop, knocking down impressive stations like Grand Central did not yield much for the city. The site of this former station, prime real estate on the banks of the Illinois River, is still a vacant lot after nearly four decades.
THEN: Located on the banks of the Chicago River, the beautiful station with ornate marble floors, Corinthian columns, and a fireplace. It served travelers to DC and many other cities.
NOW: A vacant lot
6. CHICAGO: CENTRAL STATION
This 13-story Romanesque structure was built in 1893 and demolished eight decades later. Like former Grand Central, the site remains undeveloped to this day.
THEN: A well-designed depot in the heart of downtown on the shore of Lake Michigan(Pic)
NOW: Undeveloped land at the edge of Grant Park
7. ROCHESTER: NY CENTRAL RAILROAD STATION
Rochester’s principal train station opened in 1914, with New York Central Railroad connections to New York, Albany, and Buffalo. The elaborate curved brick exterior made a prominent mark on downtown. But the decline in passenger traffic emptied the station by the late 1950s, and the building was razed in 1965. In its place? A parking lot.
THEN: A local architectural triumph and an important part of the local infrastructure
NOW: A parking lot and an unappealing Amtrak facility
8. ATLANTA: UNION STATION
After being built in 1930, the smaller of Atlanta’s train depots was demolished in 1972.
THEN: A centrally-located secondary depot serving a large city
NOW: A parking lot
9. BOSTON – NORTH STATION
Boston completed its Union Station in 1895, but tore it down only thirty years later to build the Boston Garden basketball arena. Which is to say, the city lost a beautiful neoclassical structure for its train services, replacing it instead with a basement of a stadium. When the Garden itself was demolished for a new arena in 1995–the mellifluously-named TD BankNorth Garden–North Station was renewed as an underground facility (still, sadly, not directly linked to the city’s larger South Station). While it’s easy to pick on the new Garden’s bland design, the new building is at least a vital and economically productive part of the city’s fabric. The fact that North Station fell so long ago, might have something to do with this.
THEN: An important portal for commuter and intercity rail travelers traveling to or from points north
NOW: The new Garden and an underground rail station
10. SAVANNAH: UNION STATION
Completed in 1902, the Savannah Union Station stood on the west end of downtown with its two Spanish Renaissance towers marking its presence on the historic city’s skyline. For blacks in the city, Union Station was the center of life. All that changed, however, in 1963 when building the depot and much of the neighborhood around it was bulldozed to make way for the tail end of an Interstate.
If Gov. Sonny Perdue gets his way, Savannah will someday reclaim its rail heritage and become a stop on an HSR link between Atlanta and Jacksonville.
THEN: An attractive and well-used depot in the center of town
NOW: Feeder ramps at the tail end of a highway
11. DETROIT – MICHIGAN CENTRAL STATION
Unlike the other stations on this list, Michigan Central is still standing. But if the Detroit city council gets its way the station, which was the 1912 encore act by the same team of architects that designed NYC’s Grand Central (itself almost a victim of the wrecking ball until the US Supreme Court intervened in 1978), will be demolished. Ironically, the city council wants to use funds from the stimulus act–the same piece of legislation that provided $8 billion to begin building a high speed rail network–to do the dirty work on Michigan Central.
Though it has suffered two decades of vandalism and disuse, the depot remains well worth saving. With a bit of imagination it could be part of Detroit’s future as a hub on the Midwest regional HSR network.
THEN AND NOW: The building was the second act of the architects who designed NYC’s Grand Central Terminal. But will it be demolished now as Grand Central almost was in the ’70s (even years after the epic mistake of tearing down Penn)? | <urn:uuid:3786ad68-6616-488f-b0ce-7c63dfc87564> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infrastructurist.com/2009/06/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955822 | 1,886 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Untitled, a point of view
I'm out of country for the month of May and taking a vacation from my regular column. I received this short story from a reader and thought I'd share it with you. It captures the essence of revisited values for many of us who have chosen to live the rest of our lives in Mexico:
An American businessman stood at the pier of a coastal Mexican village where a fisherman had just docked. Inside the small boat were several yellow fin tunas. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of and size of his fish and asked how long it had taken to catch them.
"Only a little while," the fisherman said.
The American asked why he hadn't stayed out longer and caught more fish. The Mexican replied that he had enough to meet his family's immediate needs.
The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, Señor."
The American scoffed. "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But Señor, how long will all this take?"
"Fifteen to twenty years."
"But what then, Señor?"
The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."
"Millions, Señor? Then what?"
"Then you would retire. You would move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings, where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos." | <urn:uuid:93047a2d-db2c-4f32-9ee4-b879783a6639> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1604-untitled-a-point-of-view | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980871 | 530 | 1.539063 | 2 |
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Women became the center of the 1970s mainstream, from The Runaways and Heart to Fleetwood Mac and Donna Summer. The gains of the feminist movement throughout the 70s enabled women working in all areas of the music industry to assume more control over their careers.
Influential Female Musicians of the 1970s 6 people in this group
The 1980s and '90s were an era of leather and lace, larger-than-life hair, the sexy guitar solo, and men competing with the ladies in the cosmetics department. In conjunction with the release of Adam Shankman's musical film Rock of Ages, explore the group who "Built This City (on Rock 'n' Roll)," felt "Invincible" and were "Wanted Dead or Alive."
Rock of Ages Artists 18 people in this group
Famous Capricorns 498 people in this group | <urn:uuid:b08caef6-c7af-4b86-a3f0-a760e00840a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biography.com/people/pat-benatar-213028/photos | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947724 | 215 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Adjusting strings and pickup height
Gilmourish Adjusting strings and pickup height
Pictures of David’s Black Strat and the new Signature models seems to stir up some confusion regarding what the correct string and pickup height might be. I get a lot of questions about this so I’ll try to clear up some misconceptions.
If you look closely at David’s Black Strat or the new Signatures you’ll see that his pickups appears to have been set fairly low. The neck pickup is barely above the pickguard and the middle and bridge pickups seem to be lower than what’s recommended by Fender. The reason for this is that David’s pickguard is .120 of an inch, which is roughly twice as thick as the 1-ply plates on 50s Strats and slightly thicker than the 3-plys featured on 70’s models and newer. In other words, – using David’s setup as a reference for your 50’s Strat with a thin 1-ply plate may give you a completely different result than what you intended.
Keep in mind that David might prefer a slightly different setup than what you’re used to or prefer. In an interview with Guitarist magazine (June 1986) he reveals: “I often have the nuts lowered on my guitars, because I like the action as low as possible without buzzes and rattles“. As a rule, the pickup height is fixed to the string height but within this rule, there are many nuances based to personal taste, playing style and how you want the pickups to interact with the effects and amp. David also have different pickups on his Black Strat with different output that requires slightly different height. Personally I prefer the action a bit higher than what’s recommended.
Fender recommends that on a vintage style neck with a 7.25” radius, the bass strings should be 2mm off the neck (about 5/64 inch) and the treble strings 1.6mm (about 4/64 inch). Tune to pitch and measure the height between each string and the fret (not wood) on the 17th fret. Adjust the height if needed by fine tuning the height on each bridge sadle. This setup might be too low for some but it’s a good starting point for making your own adjustments. Do one string at a time and be sure to retune it between each adjustment so that you’ll see and feel the correct height. Here’s a tutorial showing the proceedure.
Having the strings too low might cause some fret buzz (this might also be caused by worn frets or a curved neck, or lack of curve) and you might find it hard to do bends etc. An action that’s too high might make it hard to play properly and the strings might also ring and vibrate too much. Find the setup that you’re comfortable with.
Every now and then you need to check the curvature of the neck. Inside each neck there’s a metal bar – the truss rod. This makes sure that the neck has the right preasure and curve. If this is out of balance you’ll get bad intonation and fret buzz. This is common and caused by temeprature changes, humidity, presure changes (going from 09 to 010 adds about 6 kilos to your neck) and it’s easy to adjust. Here’s a tutorial showing the proceedure.
Fender recommends that vintage style pickups (CS54, Fat 50s, CS69, SSL1, SSL5 etc) should be set slightly tilted with 2.4mm between the pole piece and the bass strings and 2mm between the pole piece and the treble strings. Measure the height by pushing down the strings on the very last fret next to the body.
- (left neck – right bridge) As you can see, the neck pickup is slightly off the pickguard on the bass side. As the strings are higher towards the bridge the middle and bridge pickup is further off the pickguard.
- (left bridge – right neck) Here’s the treble side of the pickups. You can see how they’re titled higher than on the bass side.
However, this method only works if you prefer the standard string height suggested by Fender. If you want a higher action the only way to set the correct pickup height is to use your ears. Too low and you’ll loose much of the lower frequencies and attack. Too high and the tone gets too boomy and slightly “punctured” like you’ve added too much compression. You’ll also notice ringing overtones caused by magnetic interference.
When you’ve found the sweetspot, you need to balance the output volume between all three pickups. Use a clean tone on your amp and switch between all pickups until you’ve matched the volume. Be careful that you don’t loose your self here and adjust the height too much and need to start all over again.
Keep in mind that other pickups like active EMGs, humbucker etc requires a different setup. See the brand’s homepage for details. You also want to have alnico 5 pickups (like CS69) slightly closer to the strings than alnico 2, which has a higher output. | <urn:uuid:14e68a7d-2d19-45af-a57c-fecbff881e9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/pickup-forum/39258-whats-best-pu-height-cs-69s.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936755 | 1,112 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Having just finished jury service, I thought I might say a word on IP crime. This is area of law that I don't practise but it is one that my tenant, Lois Cole-Wilson, does.
States that are members of the World Trade Organization are required by art 61 of TRIPs to provide for criminal procedures and penalties to be applied at least in cases of wilful trade mark counterfeiting or copyright piracy on a commercial scale. Remedies must include imprisonment and fines sufficient to provide a deterrent, consistently with the level of penalties applied for crimes of a corresponding gravity. In appropriate cases, remedies are to include the seizure, forfeiture and destruction of the infringing goods and of any materials and implements the predominant use of which has been in the commission of the offence. Members may, but are not bound, to provide for criminal procedures and penalties to be applied in other cases of infringement of intellectual property rights, in particular where they are committed wilfully and on a commercial scale.
On 30 Jan 2003, the EC Commission proposed criminalizing all serious IPR infringements in a directive on measures and procedures to ensure the enforcement of intellectual property rights but that was opposed by various member states, including the UK, and did not appear in the legislation actually adopted (Directive 2004/48/EC). Not to be deterred, the Commission has reintroduced the possibility again in a proposal for a directive on criminal measures aimed at
ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights (see "Porridge for Patent Infringement?" 22 Aug 2005). This proposal does not appear to enjoy anything like universal support (see "Porridge for Patent Infringement No 2" 19 Oct 2005).
The DTI's Innovation Report "Competing in the Global Economy: The Innovation Challenge" proposed greater co-ordination between the Patent Office, police, local authorities and others in combating counterfeiting and piracy with the result that an IP Crime Group has established which has published a National IP Crime Strategy.
One of the the things that appears to have resulted from the strategy is a useful list of IP offences on the Patent Office website "At a Glance 'Guide to Offences'". These are enforced primarily by local authority trading standards officers who by and large do not have enormous resources. Further information on the topic is at Trading Standards Central.
Anyone wanting to learn more of this subject should call Lois on +44 (07901) 835701 or email her on Loisekcw@aol.com | <urn:uuid:b8e6c754-7633-44b8-95f9-46db02f0fadd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nipclaw.blogspot.com/2005/11/ip-crime.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946746 | 507 | 1.757813 | 2 |
I have recently moved from the Tri-Cities area to the beautiful Sunshine Coast.
The invasive Himalayan balsam, also known as policemanís helmet, has destroyed many beautiful areas in the Lower Mainland. It especially likes taking over stream side areas and woodland trails. It is a very aggressive plant with exploding seed pods that scatter seeds a great distance. The seeds are able to survive under water and up to 18 months. Large stands crowd out all of the local foliage and actually are quite ugly.
I was dismayed to see this aggressive invasive thriving in gardens in Lower Gibsons. The plant has rather pretty, purple flowers resembling snapdragons, but gardeners should be aware that this is a plant that will destroy much of our beautiful Coast.
Here is a link to the provincial invasive plant website (www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/invasiveplant.htm). As this plant is not really established, we are in the fortunate position to eradicate it before it is.
I hope our gardeners take note and remove this invasive before it becomes a huge problem. It has already spread from the gardens to the seashore below Marine Drive and I am sure these seeds will travel far from there.
Linda Ruiz, Gibsons | <urn:uuid:faebabaf-9a45-4a32-aa7c-fa77a2b95ae7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.coastreporter.net/article/20120817/SECHELT0303/308179985/-1/sechelt/a-new-weed-in-town | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960824 | 263 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Fast little loans
Although not yet a common feature within SA, internationally the concept colloquially known as “garden leave” is not uncommon.
In short, garden leave may be incorporated into an employee’s employment contract to address the circumstance wherein an employee is given notice or, more typically, resigns, and is obliged to serve all or part of his/her notice period away from the workplace and market place (ie, in the garden).
Simultaneously, the employer is exempted from providing the employee with work during the notice period.
Garden leave should not be confused with a restraint of trade which is a “restrictive covenant” which may have application on completion of the period of garden leave.
During the period of garden leave the employee is still subject to the normal terms and conditions of employment which ordinarily apply, and the employee continues to receive their remuneration as they are technically still employed.
Furthermore, the employee may not enter the premises of the employer, contact suppliers, clients or colleagues, and may not start working for another employer.
More often than not, employers incorporate a garden leave clause into a contract of employment for the following reasons:
l The arrival of an employee who has resigned at a competitor is delayed, thereby providing the employer with an opportunity to reinforce prevailing business relationships in anticipation of possible overtures emanating from the erstwhile employee under the umbrella of the competitor.
l Current confidential information ages during the period of garden leave thereby limiting the competitor intelligence value such information may have for the competitor.
l The employee is restrained from competing with the employer during this period.
Skilled workers, however, have a right to work (even though in common law, generally, there is no right to work).
This right is premised on the fact that their skills and competencies may deteriorate should they not be afforded an opportunity to exercise their skills.
Historically, English case law has tended to uphold the validity of garden leave clauses, even in light of so-called skilled employees, although more recently, English courts have been less sympathetic to this argument.
It has been argued that garden leave clauses are a more effective method of protecting confidential employer information than restraints of trade.
An employer may not require an employee who is not subject to a garden leave obligation to remain at home for the duration of the remainder of their notice period; this would amount to a breach of contract by the employer.
In such circumstances, the employee would be entitled to terminate the employment contract before the notice period is completed and commence employment with the employer.
Given the complexities surrounding restraints of trade and the dilemma of enforcing such restraints, employers may be increasingly inclined to elect rather to pay their employees to sit in the garden for a period of time prior to commencing subsequent employment with a competitor.
l Book a Seta-accredited Conducting Disciplinary Hearings workshop for June 5 and 6. Phone 011 476 1620, e-mail firstname.lastname@example.org, or visit www.tonyhealy.co.za | <urn:uuid:09db374f-df2e-4ac4-b149-798b2769fe8a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iol.co.za/jobs/labour-law/waiting-out-your-leave-in-the-garden-1.1302293?showComments=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957589 | 634 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Nephthys by Luca Volpe
Item Number: BA5990
Following the great response from his first book "HORUS" Luca Volpe returns with his second work "NEPHTHYS". In this ebook Luca Volpe has incorporated many psychological aspects and basic methods to create mindblowing experiences that are 100% surefire!! All of the effects come complete with script and performance tips.
Here are the routines that are included in the book:
DOUBLE PREDICTION : An incredible headline prediction with a very clever method! Easy to do and invisible to the spectator!!
PHOTO CONNECTION : You call a spectator on stage and hand him a sealed envelope, you tell him that there is something special inside. You ask him to phone his friend and to pass the phone to you. Once his friend is on the phone, you ask him to name a famous city from anywhere in the world, for example he will answer VENICE. The spectator on stage opens the envelope and finds a photo of VENICE!
DIRECT BOOK TEST (No gimmicked book test) : A spectator is called on stage and you ask him (or her) to choose one of three books (no gimmicked books!) Once he has chosen, you ask him to open at any page he wants and to read the first word on the page. You take a blank business card, write something down and put it on the table. He tells you the word and turns the card to see the exact same word written on it. You ask him to open the book at the same page but to read the last word this time. You take the card that is on the table and on the other blank side you write something, again this word will be exactly correct. You tell him to turn to the page after the one he chose and to read either the first or the last word on this page, without fishing or anything suspicious, you tell him the same word that he is thinking!
SIXTH SENSE REVISITED : Call a spectator on stage, tell him to take a coin behind his back and to hold it in one of his hands, you also do this at the same time. He then brings his hands out in front and you do the same in front of you. Ask the spectator to open the hand that holds the coin and you then reveal that you hold the coin in the same hand as the spectator. You do this 3 times in a row!
REMOTE VISION : The person on the other end of the telephone is asked to imagine a simple image. You then draw something on a piece of paper. Afterwards you take a picture with your mobile phone that you send to him via MMS. The person opens the MMS to find the exact duplication of the image that he was thinking of.
DEJA WORDS : A spectator chooses a random word from a packet of different words under hypnotic suggestion. An envelope, that was present on stage throughout, is opened to reveal the word that was chosen by the spectator. At the end of the experiment the spectator believes to have been hypnotized.
USING THE MONOTONE OF THE VOICE : A tool that will enhance your performance by using the tone of the voice.
Here is the foreword by Alexander Marsh :( http://www.psychomagic.co.uk )
"So, I'm sat here with a lovely mug of warm Tea and no less than three chocolate biscuits. Luca has just sent me a copy of this, his latest work and after reading it I am instantly reminded of how impressed I was the first time I read Luca's work.
He seems to effortlessly combine simple and direct methodology with easily understood plotlines to create an astounding effect on his audience. I encourage you to take note of Luca's work and how he achieves his effects; it's a lesson in keeping things simple, clean and effective. Although there are a couple of close-up and 'in the parlour' effects here, Luca's work really shines when it comes to stage effects. It's a rare treat to find a performer who creates original effects for the stage, let alone publishes them.
An enjoyable element of Luca's writing is that he doesn't waste space by telling you how he thinks you should present each effect. He explains the basic effect as seen by the audience and then takes you through his methods for achieving this - his methods often being the most direct manner to achieve the desired outcome - leaving the window dressing to you and your own unique, interesting style. I know it's become something of a cliche these days but these are effects for the working performer. If your audience rarely changes, i.e. you don't perform often for new audiences whom have never seen you before; then this work may not be for you.
If, on the other hand, you perform regularly for strangers, actively seek new work, and want people to talk about you and the amazing things you can do, then this book will not disappoint. So sit back, grab a cup or glass of your favourite beverage and enjoy the fact that you will soon be performing the impossible."
Pages: 40 - Size: A4 (8.25" x 11.7") - Saddle Stitched - Black and white photographs | <urn:uuid:75d2c507-e27e-4514-9f8a-4f1687f7aa78> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://themagicwarehouse.com/BA5990/Nephthys-by-Luca-Volpe.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968359 | 1,087 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Twitter is a social media and, like all social media, people struggle to come up with ideas to make money from it. Twitter is also a broadcast media, with a permission basis – someone broadcasts something and followers have signed up to see that broadcast. Hashtags helps people find tweets on a common topic.
So, add up “broadcast media” and “want to make money from it” and you get “advertising”. Promoted tweets, in fact.
Before you go, “Psshaw!” and dismiss the entire concept, remember that Google gets 97% of its revenue from advertising – you know, those AdWord thingies - and it is the biggest advertising agency in the world (sorry, DDB Worldwide). It earned about US$22.9 billion in 2009 from advertising. Twitter isn’t exactly the same, of course, but whereas Google makes it easier for people to find things, Twitter is about topics or conversations – something that advertisers won’t have an issue dropping in on. After all, if the conversation is about coffee, surely Starbucks would have something to contribute?
And now, completely devoid of irony, my first ever tweet announcing a blog update. | <urn:uuid:977b4c3f-512d-48c1-9def-dcf8ed38b6e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://unsubject.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/the-future-of-twitter/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952528 | 252 | 1.632813 | 2 |
There's dog craziness, and then there's Giant Dog Craziness, the culture and cult of giant, tremendous, enormous -- 100 pounds and up -- dogs.
Giant dogs eat special foods in greater quantities, sleep in special super-sized beds, require bigger, tougher toys along with more powerful harnesses.
They're also gentler than many other breeds, subject to more joint problems, and sadly, tend to die at a much younger age -- 6 to 10 years.
The biggest dog in the world is actually two dogs, one who's the tallest and another who is the heaviest. How big are they? Find out ahead but hint: They can definitely take you.
Also here are dogs that tower over shopping centers, squeeze into houses, lick the top of refrigerators, and get terrorized by smaller, fiercer dogs. Plus, the ginormous dog poop that got away.
Follow Rabid on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@prsatran | <urn:uuid:1dd51909-a4d7-4541-b521-8e38ccd4e41e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabid/giant-dog-craziness_b_1828005.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949347 | 203 | 1.90625 | 2 |
It is our nation's capital, so I can understand if there is some pressure to change a name that some people consider an racial/ethnic slur.
"Landry built the 4-3 defense around me. It revolutionized defense and opened the door for all the variations of zones and man-to-man coverage, which are used in conjunction with it today." —Sam Huff
"...Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds." R.W. Emerson
I'm not singing for the future
I'm not dreaming of the past
I'm not talking of the first time
I never think about the last ~The Pogues
The Washington Liars. That about sums it up.
Wouldn't be surprised if Washington's dumbass mayor suggests the "Washington Obamas" since everyone worships Obama here in DC like he is God.
He's right -- they should change their name. It is racist.
Blackhawk is not racist. It was the name of one of the local tribes in the eastern Illinois area.
If a team is called the Braves, that is not racist either, it refers to a young warrior.
redskin in effect refers to a rather derogotory description of the hue of many Native American people...I do understand the decades of history thing, but Franchises on the Pro level can and do change their nicknames.
Sonics to Thunder and now the Hornets to Pelicans (LOL)
In all seriousness the PC thing has really morphed into something overly done and ridiculous. But I am sure the Skins can come up with something that keeps all parties from crying.
The Washington Senators, read: Liars, was brilliant IMO. Sense they have Wizards, Mystics and Nationals switching up to a "political" or "government" name might be Ok.
NFL Championships : 1927 1934 1938 1956
Super Bowl Champions: XXI XXV XLII XLVI | <urn:uuid:2cd29389-f15a-4155-a0a1-d159e8fcfd45> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boards.giants.com/showthread.php?26995-Mayor-of-DC-wants-Redskins-to-change-name&p=663318&viewfull=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947005 | 394 | 1.5 | 2 |
Robber flies are voracious predators of other insects. The robber flies have a distinctive cleavage between the eyes on the top of the head and many have hairs on the front of the head called a mystax. The robber flies wait on foliage for prey to fly by. The robber flies are swift and agile flyers that attack their prey in the air. The legs have sharp spines and the ends of the legs have sticky pads called pulvillae that secure the prey. The robber fly has sharp sclerotized mouthparts that form a syringe-like tube that can pierce the prey. The robber fly injects digestive fluids that quickly subdue and paralyze the prey.
Flying insects attacked by robber flies often struggle and thrash about.The mystax prevents the thrashing prey from contacting the head of the robber fly and prevents the prey from doing major damage. Robber flies will return to the perch to finish their meal. Robber flies are common in Indiana and often will land on hikers. Robber flies typically do not bite people. However they should be handled carefully because they will bite if they are threatened. | <urn:uuid:c947ce7d-3bbf-4183-b5a5-e0443994a0e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://livingwithinsects.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/robber-flies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957223 | 230 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Child prodigies evoke awe, wonder and sometimes jealousy: how can such young children display the kinds of musical or mathematical talents that most adults will never master, even with years of dedicated practice? Lucky for these despairing types, the prevailing wisdom suggests that such comparisons are unfair — prodigies are born, not made (mostly). Practice alone isn't going to turn out the next 6-year-old Mozart.
So finds a recent study of eight young prodigies, which sought to shed some light on the innate roots of their talent. The prodigies included in the study [PDF] are all famous (but remain unidentified in the paper), having achieved acclaim and professional status in their fields by the ripe age of 10. Most are musical prodigies; one is an artist and another a math whiz, who developed a new discipline in mathematics and, by age 13, had had a paper accepted for publication in a mathematics journal. Two of the youngsters showed extraordinary skill in two separate fields: one
Blog Posts by Maia Szalavitz
- Maia Szalavitz | Time.com – Tue, Jul 10, 2012
Child prodigies evoke awe, wonder and sometimes jealousy: how can such young children display the kinds of musical or mathematical talents that most adults will never master, even with years of dedicated practice? Lucky for these despairing types, the prevailing wisdom suggests that such comparisons are unfair — prodigies are born, not made (mostly). Practice alone isn't going to turn out the next 6-year-old Mozart.Read More »from What child prodigies and autistic people have in common
- Maia Szalavitz | Time.com – Thu, Jun 28, 2012
The war on drugs is driving much of the global AIDS pandemic, increasing new infections among injection-drug users in the U.S. and elsewhere, according to a new report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy.
The commission — led by a distinguished panel including the former presidents of Mexico, Poland, Colombia, Brazil and Switzerland, along with Virgin Airlines entrepreneur Richard Branson, the former chair of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker, and former Secretary of State George Schulz, among others — finds in its report that about one-third of all new infections outside of sub-Sarahan Africa occur in injection-drug users.Since the 1990s, effective public-health strategies to curb HIV transmission in drug users have led to drops in new infections in most countries. But over the same time period, seven countries have seen a 25% increase in new infections. Not coincidentally, five of these countries — mainly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia — employ aggressive drug war Read More »from How the Global War on Drugs Drives HIV and AIDS
- Maia Szalavitz | Time.com – Tue, Jun 19, 2012
Commonly used baby soaps and shampoos, including products from Johnson & Johnson, Aveeno and CVS, can trigger a positive result on newborns' marijuana screening tests, according to a recent study. A minute amount of the cleansing products in a urine sample — just 0.1 milliliters or less — was found to cause a positive result.Read More »from Baby soaps and shampoos trigger positive marijuana tests
Researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, began studying the issue after an unusually high number of newborns in their nursery began testing positive for marijuana exposure. Newborn screening for marijuana at hospitals, particularly among babies of women who are considered at high risk of drug use, is not uncommon: at U.N.C. Chapel Hill, 10% to 40% of newborns are tested.
Positive results can precipitate an investigation by child welfare authorities. "We really did this to help protect families from being falsely accused," study co-author Dr. Carl Seashore, a pediatrician in the U.N.C. Chapel Hill newborn nursery, told My Health News Daily.
Contrary to previous findings, a large new study finds that family meals may have little effect on reducing teen drug use long-termBy Maia Szalavitz | Time.com – Thu, Jun 7, 2012
Few would disagree that sitting down to dinner together as a family is a good thing. It can help families eat healthier, encourage meaningful conversation and according to some addiction researchers, it even keeps kids from using drugs.Read More »from Do family dinners really reduce teen drug use?
Indeed, dining together has been so widely touted as a critical anti-drug measure that the fourth Monday in September has been designated "Family Day — A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children" and is observed in all 50 states. In 2009, President Barack Obama even recognized Family Day in an official proclamation.
“America’s drug problem is not going to be solved in courtrooms or legislative hearing rooms by judges and politicians. It will be solved in living rooms and dining rooms and across kitchen tables — by parents and families,” declares Joseph Califano, the founder of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, which created Family Day, on the center's website.
(SPECIAL: 'Healthy' foods that really aren't: Nutritionists weigh in)
- William Holt - 1 hr 25 mins ago
- Vera H-C Chan - Thu, Mar 21, 2013 | <urn:uuid:6beb51b0-e3e8-4999-b438-026f8d2d27e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/author/maia-szalavitz-20120607/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946056 | 1,103 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Sustainability assessment in food and farming systems – conventional, organic and beyond
Farming and food systems change due to changes in policies, trade, climate, farming communities and many other factors. The overall objective of the proposed course is to introduce participants to the theories and practices of assessing and improving the sustainability of changing agricultural and food systems.
The students will be introduced to theoretical understanding, practical tools, conceptual frameworks, as well as principles and regulations influencing current agricultural and food system policies and their practical application.
The course will introduce students to overall concepts of sustainability and its different aspects in terms of ecological sustainability (environment and production), social sustainability, economical sustainability and institutional sustainability.
The pedagogical approach is based on a concept developed over the series of earlier NOVA Courses, organized by the NOVA Agro-ecology group, consisting of a pre-course assignment, experiential learning platform, research-based learning, lectures and high degree of interaction during the course. Ownership and responsibility for the learning process will strengthen the participants’ competences in reflecting, describing and developing their own research.
The proposed course will include lectures representing four themes which all represent aspects of sustainability, and seeing it in short and long term perspectives:
- Understand the aspects of sustainability from a theoretical point of view
- Understand sustainability in different practical contexts and understand practical assessment tools
- Agriculture and sustainability – how can agricultural systems and policies connected to agriculture be viewed in relation to sustainability on short and long term basis?
- Food systems and sustainability – how can the way in which agricultural production and produce are organized in food markets and systems be assessed in relation to sustainability?
2012-09-09 15:00 - 2012-09-14 15:00
contact course leader
contact course leader
NOVA University Network
Kontakt och mer information: | <urn:uuid:78f72311-92e0-48e3-ab56-b6d15672677c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.slu.se/sv/centrumbildningar-och-projekt/epok-centrum-for-ekologisk-produktion-och-konsumtion/kalender/2012/9/nova-phd-course/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922639 | 378 | 3.109375 | 3 |
In these uncertain times, what advice does a leadership trainer have for leaders? “Relationships are the key,” says Michelle Thompson, director of leadership and professional development for Janus Capital Group.
“Managers dedicate time to what's on their to-do list, but they don’t spend enough time building relationships within their team and across team boundaries. Especially in times like these, team members are looking to their leader for cues. Don’t run around with your hair on fire. Spend some time just talking.”
Thompson earned her master’s degree in information learning technology in the School of Education and Human Development in 2000. She built a learning and development department at Janus, and it now is ranked No. 1 in the country by the American Society of Training and Development (see Thompson’s career path).
Denver-based Janus, hit hard by the tech bubble, decided in 2005 that a sustainable business model requires not just a focus on what results are achieved, but how they are achieved. Thompson was brought on board to create leadership development programs as part of this culture shift.
The programs built by Thompson and her team are intense and optional for Janus employees. Even so, in 2007, 95 percent of employees took part in a training opportunity. The programs are successful because she and her team built them to meet top leadership’s strategic goals and to meet the expressed needs and desires of the trainees themselves (see elements of a successful organizational development program).
The Janus leadership and professional development group continues to branch out, creating programs tailored to employees in different stages of their career path and working in different parts of the world. Thompson believes professional training opportunities are becoming more important as Generation Y and Millennials take their place in the work force. They typically are not content to bide their time while climbing the ladder. Giving them opportunities to learn, grow and make valuable contributions keeps them engaged and reduces turnover, she said.
Thompson’s career path
Michelle Thompson went from mental health worker to CEO advisor.
Thompson earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and started her career at a psychiatric facility for children. “It was exhausting,” she says. She filled in for new employee orientation and found a new calling. “I eventually became a one-person training department and decided to get my master’s degree.”
With the master’s in information learning technology from the School of Education and Human Development in 2000, Thompson was well-positioned for a career in organizational development. She went to Echostar to train call center employees. Every two weeks, she stood before a new batch of trainees. “It gave me a chance to hone my skills and see quickly what techniques work and which ones don’t.”
She went on to design training programs for a dot-com company that faltered in the tech bubble and continued on with Nextel. Then, with ample experience in the classroom and in course design, she was ready to build the professional development department for Janus.
Thompson and a group of organizational development leaders in the Denver area meet regularly. Ideas and strategies are swapped, helping her stay on top of her game. She also is a student of Janus’ strategic plan so that she speaks the same language as the executive team.
Thompson, who looks younger than her years, says she is fortunate the Janus leadership team also is youthful. But even when an executive gets that puzzled “who are you to be telling me” look, her broad background gives her the war stories she needs to cement her credibility.
Elements of a successful professional development program
Janus Capital Group’s professional development team members hone their skills in “the Thunderdome.”
That is what they call the sessions at which their colleagues critique each other’s course designs. Team leader Michelle Thompson, who periodically endures a turn in the hot seat, says the team respectfully but honestly questions the strategies and tactics of each new program. The exercise not only ensures better training programs, it builds team cohesion.
The Janus leadership and professional development team was rebuilt in 2005. A new performance management program was implemented at Janus, so supervisors and managers were asking for training. The resulting five-month “Essential Leader” program was so on target that word of its success floated up to the top executives at Janus. One was so impressed that he suggested expanding leadership training to people being groomed for leadership. The result was “Emerging Leader” and “Executive Leader” programs. The team also developed “Evolving Leaders” for graduates of the earlier program who want to keep improving their leadership skills.
The programs use case studies, in-class activities and between-class practice—all evidence-based strategies in adult learning. Top Janus executives come in to make presentations, which keeps them engaged in the leadership learning culture. Thompson and her team also are plugged into Janus’ succession planning, which informs their leadership programs. All programs are designed in-house, eliminating vendor contracts and ensuring programs steeped in Janus’ business.
Formal training is only the tip of the professional development iceberg at Janus. Thompson says their philosophy is that 70 percent of development occurs on the job, 20 percent in networking and feedback and 10 percent in formal training. Employees are told they are responsible for their own development, and they are given a road map. An excerpt:
- On-the-job development opportunities include leading meetings, helping train a new employee and taking on a project.
- Networking and feedback opportunities include joining professional groups, developing a mentor relationship and asking for feedback from peers
- Formal training opportunities include in-person and online classes and outside seminars.
Thompson says Janus has become a “learning organization,” one in which the development of its members and the sharing of knowledge is part of the culture. Such a culture needs continuous nurturing, however. “You have to keep the idea in everyone’s consciousness, including top leadership,” she says. | <urn:uuid:1969e9b4-657e-48f6-b5cf-461010e6272a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ucdenver.edu/about/newsroom/CUDenverMagazine/morenews/Pages/TimeforLeadership.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974275 | 1,267 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Vatican City, Mar 1, 2004 (CNA) - In his Message for the 19th World Youth Day, published today, Pope John Paul II reminds young people that “only encountering Jesus will give full meaning to your life.” “Do not let yourselves be distracted in this search. Persevere in it because your full realization and happiness are at stake,” the Pope wrote in the message entitled “We want to see Jesus.”
In the text dated February 22, Feast of the Chair of Peter, the Holy Father reminds that “the desire to see God lives in the heart of every man and woman” and calls young people to “let yourselves look into Jesus’ eyes, so that the desire to see the light, to enjoy the splendor of Truth may grow in you.”
“Do you, dear young people, want to contemplate the beauty of this face? This is the question that I ask you on this World Youth Day, 2004,” which will be celebrated on April 4, Palm Sunday. “Do not answer in a hurry,” he continues.
“Before anything, think about it in silence. Let this ardent desire to see God, a desire sometimes suffocated by the noise of the world and the seductions of pleasure, emerge from the depths of your heart. Allow this desire to emerge and you will have the marvelous experience of encountering Jesus,” he added.
“If you learn how to discover Jesus in the Eucharist, you will know how to discover Him also in your brothers and sisters, especially in the poor. The Eucharist, received with love and adored with fervor, becomes a school of freedom and charity to carry out the commandment of love.”
See you at Cologne
After recalling that at the end of the Holy Year of Redemption in 1984 he presented young people with a large wooden cross that “has traveled to different countries since then in preparation for World Youth Days,” the Pope affirmed that “this year, on the 20th anniversary of this event, the cross will be solemnly welcomed in Berlin, and from there it will make a pilgrimage all over Germany, reaching Cologne next year” where World Youth Day will be celebrated.
“Your peers expect you to be witnesses to the One Whom you have found and who gives you life. In the reality of daily life, become fearless witnesses to a love that is stronger than death. It is up to you to accept this challenge!”
“Put your talents and your youthful ardor at the service of announcing the Good News. Be enthusiastic friends of Jesus who present the Lord to everyone who wants to see Him, especially to those who are far from Him. You should feel responsible for evangelizing your friends and all your peers,” he concluded.
Denver, Colo., Mar 1, 2004 (CNA) - Two days before the release of the national survey on sexual abuse of minors by clergy in the U.S. Church, the Archbishop of Denver issued a letter indicating the number of substantiated abuse cases in the diocese.
The Feb. 25 letter, signed by Archbishop Charles Chaput and Auxiliary Bishop Jose Gomez, also emphasized the diocese’s commitment to maintain a zero-tolerance policy regarding allegations of abuse.
The results of the unprecedented national survey, conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and released Feb. 27, indicated that 109,694 clergy served in the U.S. between 1950 and 2002. Of these, about four percent or 4,392 were accused of sexual abuse. The total number of abuse claims in that period was 10,667.
The letter, issued by the Archdiocese of Denver, offered the faithful here a better understanding of the prevalence of sexual abuse in the diocese and the ways in which the problems were being handled.
The letter indicated that 1,402 priests served the Archdiocese of Denver between 1950 and 2002. Of these, 647 were diocesan priests. In this period, allegations against seven priests (or about 1.1 percent of priests) were substantiated. These cases involved 21 victims.
"This is a painful statistic, but it reinforces our resolve to prevent this terrible sin in the future," said the letter.
Since 1950, the archdiocese paid $997,730 in counseling and settlement costs in connection with allegations of sexual abuse of minors.
"All of these funds have come from insurance," the bishops assured. "No Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal funds have been used for this purpose."
During the same period, 755 religious order priests served in the archdiocese. However, all allegations made against religious order priests were referred to the priest’s order for investigation.
"No priest with a record of sexual misconduct with children is in ministry in the Archdiocese of Denver," the bishops assured.
"We want to reconfirm that the Archdiocese of Denver does not and will not tolerate any abuse of a child by any member of the clergy or any Church employee," said the bishops. "It is important to note that any credible allegation against a priest, diocesan or religious, results in his immediate removal from ministry."
The letter also informed the faithful of the archdiocese’s policy that requires criminal background checks for all clergy, church employees and seminarians. In addition, "psychological screenings and careful formation in priestly chastity play a key role in our seminary training,"said the letter. "Safe environment programs will be an important element of our Church life into the future."
Last month the Archdiocese of Denver reported that it was found in full compliance with all of the provisions of the 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, adopted by the USCCB in June of that year.
Washington D.C., Mar 1, 2004 (CNA) - Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” has become a box-office smash in the United States, bringing in 117.5 million dollars in its first five days, according to studio estimates Sunday. The film post the second-best five-day figures for a movie opening on Wednesday, behind last year's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" at $124.1 million and ahead of "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" at $105.6 million.
“The Passion” was also the seventh-best three-day opening ever, behind "Spider-Man" at $114.8 million and such Hollywood blockbusters as "The Matrix Reloaded" and the first two "Harry Potter" movies.
Despite the sometimes vicious attacks by critics, Mel Gibson has begun considering his next Project which, according to his associates, may focus on the story of a martyr.
The success of the movie has rocked the film-making industry because of its limited marketing and exaggerated controversy. Film critics were especially polarized, with a little more than half praising the film and the rest mercilessly attacking Gibson’s work.
Nevertheless, turnout was massive at cinemas across the country and online forums such as Yahoo! were inundated with positive comments on the movie.
Sources with ICON Productions informed CNA that the response has been so positive that despite the attacks, Gibson is considering the possibility of making another movie that would promote Christian values.
This time it could be the story of a Jesuit martyr whose name was not revealed.
Vatican City, Mar 1, 2004 (CNA) - Pope John Paul II called on Catholics to transform Lent into a “a generous match of solidarity towards” the children.
In reflections that traditionally precede the Sunday Angelus prayer with the faithful in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope spoke of his Message for Lent 2004, “in which I wished to recall, in a special way, children, who are often the innocent victims of man’s evil deeds.” Noting that children were special for Christ, he said, “May this time of the liturgical year be transformed into a generous match of solidarity towards these little ones, especially those in the most grave danger and difficulties.”
The Pope said that in the Gospel of this first Sunday of Lent, Christ, “sustained by the Holy Spirit, withdrew to the desert where he remained for forty days. The Gospel account tells us of the three well-known temptations which are an echo of the old deception that Satan used to make our ancestors fall.”
“But Christ, the new Adam, overcame them, rejecting decisively His tempter: ‘It has been said; You shall not tempt the Lord your God’. Jesus’ victory over evil assures us that we will not yield at the moment of trial if we remain united to the Spirit,” he explained.
“Dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to pray for this intention. I also ask you to accompany me spiritually in the retreat that will start, as they do every year, this evening” in the Vatican, the Pope concluded.
Vatican City, Mar 1, 2004 (CNA) - Pope John Paul II called the international community to work on behalf of Haiti, shortly after former President Jean Bertrand Aristide fled the island.
After praying the Angelus with the pilgrims assembled in St. Peter’s Square, Pope John Paul remarked on “the worrisome and painful news that is coming to us from Haiti. In the face of such a situation I feel the duty to invite all Haitians to have the courage and humility to make those decisions that are necessary for the good of the country.”
“While I encourage the diplomatic work of the international community and I ask for a generous commitment on the part of humanitarian organizations, I send a special blessing for the beloved Haitian people,” he added.
Paris, France, Mar 1, 2004 (CNA) - In an interview published Friday by the French daily “Le Figaro”, Mel Gibson addressed criticism that “The Passion of the Christ” is “the gospel according to Mel,” saying the film is faithful to the Gospels.
“I don’t believe I have betrayed the Gospels, I believe I have been faithful to them,” said Gibson, adding, “The Gospels are true. I base my faith on the testimonies of these Gospels.”
Gibson said he wished to tell the story of the Passion without pretense so that everyone might understand that Jesus Christ “died for the sins of all men for all time.”
“Some people, especially in past eras, accused the Jews of killing Jesus Christ, but we are all brothers in guilt,” he said, underscoring as well that “the Vatican has condemned all forms of racism and anti-Semitism.”
Gibson reiterated that his desire to retell the life of Jesus began 12 years ago. “I had gotten to such a level of personal anxiety that it really was time for me to stop and question myself. That’s what happened, thanks to my faith and to the special attention I gave to the Passion, the heart of the Christian faith. That’s how I came back to life,” he explained.
Vatican City, Mar 1, 2004 (CNA) - The Holy See announced Pope John Paul II’s general prayer intention for March, which is devoted to indigenous populations.
His intention is: “That the land, culture and all the rights of the indigenous populations of the world may be respected, so that true harmony between them and those among whom they live may be attained.”
His mission intention is: “That, in Africa, cooperation between missionary Institutes and local Churches may grow, with respect for the variety of gifts.”
Birmingham, Ala., Mar 1, 2004 (CNA) - Six months after the ordination of their denomination’s first openly homosexual bishop, Alabama Episcopalians have voted for a resolution to reject same-sex marriage and the ordination of homosexual bishops.
At a special state diocese meeting, Feb. 28, officials voted 208-140 to adopt a resolution, declaring that "blessings of same-sex unions and ordinations of non-celibate unmarried persons are not part of the common life of this diocese," reported the Associated Press.
The resolution was in reference to the August ordination of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who has lived with his male partner for years. In a show of protest, five Alabama churches have held back contributions to the national church.
Alabama Bishop Henry N. Parsley told AP that the vote "expresses disagreement, but not division" with Robinson’s ordination. He added that there are no plans to split from the national church.
Cambridge, England, Mar 1, 2004 (CNA) - Harvard University will launch the largest privately funded embryonic stem-cell research project to date, reported the Boston Sunday Globe.
The Harvard Stem Cell Institute, which will be launched at a scientific conference April 23, will fundraise about $100 million.
Embryonic stem-cell research has been the center of much debate and controversy in government and in the scientific community since it requires the destruction of human embryos, a procedure condemned by the Catholic Church and pro-life organizations.
President George W. Bush’s policy of limiting federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research based on ethical considerations has not prevented several U.S. universities from moving ahead with the research and raising private funding.
The University of Wisconsin, the University of Minnesota and the University of California at San Francisco have been financing the research privately. In 2002,
Stanford University received a $12-million donation to conduct cancer research by creating human embryonic stem-cell lines. Last week, the governor of New Jersey said the state would give Rutgers University $6.5 million for embryonic stem-cell research.
Mexico City, Mexico, Mar 1, 2004 (CNA) - The president of the Mexican Bishops Conference, Bishop José Rábago, warned this weekend that the Catholic Church rejects assisted reproduction and considers it immoral.
“In vitro fertilization is most certainly considered immoral by the Church,” Bishop Martín told reporters at the conclusion of Mass in the Cathedral of León, Mexico.
“It’s not my teaching, there is a very clear document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which effectively deals with this subject and points out that it is to be considered immoral,” he explained.
Bishop Rábago underscored that the Church considers immoral artificial insemination either with the sperm of the husband or with that of another man.
“We can speak of two types of fertilization, one takes place with the sperm of a man who is not the husband of the woman, and in this case we are dealing with true adultery. But we can also speak of fertilization which takes place with the sperm of the husband, and this also has an immoral connotation.”
“The relation between man and woman as ordained in nature by God demands that reproduction be the result of a loving encounter between man and woman in the bonds of marriage,” added Bishop Rábago.
Although he pointed out the Church sympathizes with couples who are not able to bear children, Bishop Rábago stressed it is preferable to chose adoption in such cases. | <urn:uuid:c4d1efbe-2c76-4ae4-9d47-87879457f82a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/archive/2004/03/01/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960488 | 3,227 | 1.75 | 2 |
Claim: You can direct money to hunger relief simply by clicking a button on a web site.
Origins: Over the last few years we've seen a plethora of altruistic appeals circulate on the Internet, each one claiming that you could donate money to a worthy cause or right some terrible injustice — at no cost to you — merely by taking some simple action, such as forwarding an e-mail message. (See our Jessica Mydek page for one example.) All of these messages were hoaxes — until The Hunger Site came
At The Hunger Site, you can "donate" money to hunger relief simply by clicking a button. How? The Hunger Site, the creation of John Breen, a 42-year-old computer programmer from Bloomington, Indiana, was funded by various companies who sponsored the site for a day. Every sponsor donated the approximate cost of 1/4 of a cup of food to the United Nations' World Food Program for each user who clicks on the site during the day. (If multiple companies were sponsoring the site, the amount of food donated was multiplied by the number of sponsors.)
Breen created the site in June 1999 as a personal project to help deal with hunger in developing countries, and the response was soon so overwhelming that he spent most of his time administering the site even though he received no income, loans, grants, or donations to compensate him for his time and effort or pay his expenses. Eventually The Hunger Site became part of GreaterGood.com, a shopping portal where customers could direct up to 15% of the cost of every purchase to causes they selected. GreaterGood.com ceased operations in July 2001, and The Hunger Site was temporarily shut down until CharityUSA.com took over its operations a few weeks later. Other sites also offer similar means for visitors to aid various charities: | <urn:uuid:4c29438b-e7ee-4db3-a674-37a445e6c332> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://snopes.com/inboxer/charity/hungersite.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977447 | 370 | 2.15625 | 2 |
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, researching and writing for another teaching website I hope to launch sometime this year. One issue I’m confronted with is preaching. In current protestant church practice the sermon is largely regarded as the central activity of the church. In fact a great many people believe that church just isn’t church without a proper sermon delivered by the right kind of person.
What is the biblical basis for the central role of preaching in the life of the church?
Albert Mohler points to just 2Tim 4:2 in this post. In this post he says:
Preaching did not emerge from the church’s experimentation with communication techniques. The church does not preach because preaching is thought to be a good idea or an effective technique. The sermon has not earned its place in Christian worship by proving its utility in comparison with other means of communication or aspects of worship. Rather, we preach because we have been commanded to preach.
Preaching is a commission–a charge. As Paul stated boldly, it is the task of the minister of the gospel to "preach the Word, . . . in season and out of season" [2 Tim. 4:2]. A theology of preaching begins with the humble acknowledgement that preaching is not a human invention but a gracious creation of God and a central part of His revealed will for the church. Furthermore, preaching is distinctively Christian in its origin and practice. Other religions may include teaching, or even public speech and calls to prayer. However, the preaching act is sui generis, a function of the church established by Jesus Christ.
The passage in it’s entirety is:
Preach the message, be ready whether it is convenient or not, reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and instruction.
(2Ti 4:2 NET.)
At first blush I’m a little confused. If I was to write an article on what I think is the central activity of the church I’d probably want to find more than one bible verse. Constructing theology is tricky business. It is dangerous business to build a case on one verse. I could build a case for another activity that perhaps could be central to the life of the church based on 4 passages.
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
(Rom 16:16 NET.)
All the brothers and sisters send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
(1Co 16:20 NET.)
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
(2Co 13:12 NET.)
Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss.
(1Th 5:26 NET.)
I know I’m being silly but this illustrates a point. We can’t pick just any group of passages of the bible and make what they talk about central in the life of the church.
We have lots of examples of Jesus and Paul preaching. People say we should preach because Jesus preached. Yes Jesus and Paul preached but they used a lot of other mediums as well. We see things like discussion, debate, and teaching. We really can’t cherry pick some examples and say this has to be central in the life of the church today.
Jesus picked and mentored 12 men, quite a lot is written about that, perhaps mentoring should be central? We have a very strong command from Jesus sending the apostles to go out and make disciples. Jesus sent out his disciples on little mission trips and eventually the apostles covered much of the known world, perhaps missions should be central?
Neither of the two common words translated preach actually define the medium used. One means to share the gospel (euaggelizo) and one means to proclaim something (kerysso).
Here is an example of euaggelizo in Peter’s one on one meeting with the Ethiopian eunuch.
Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached [euaggelizo] Jesus to him.
(Act 8:35 NASB)
In this example is pretty clear that the word euaggelizo is more about the sharing of a specific message than the method it is shared in.
What about kerysso?
We proclaim [kerysso] Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.
(Col 1:28 NASB)
Most of the time the NASB renders kerysso as preach but in this case the translators render it “proclaim.” Just like euaggelizo the word kerysso doesn’t define the medium. One can kerysso or proclaim something through a sermon, monologue, published writing, blogs, dialogue, art, music, debate, teaching etc… In Colossians 2 Paul is saying Jesus is being proclaimed/heralded/announced and one of the mediums listed is teaching.
The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament says the following:
1. kerýsso and Other Words for Proclamation.
The NT uses many words for the proclaiming of the Christian message, e.g., légein, laleín, martyreín, didáskein. It is a mistake simply to render such terms, and kerýssein itself, by “to preach.” Fundamentally kerýssein is the declaration of an event.
Kerysso is the word used in 2Tim 4:12. It seems shaky to the point to 2Tim 4:12 as evidence that one specific medium should be central in the life of the church when the words used in the passage don’t explicitly define the medium.
Does the context of 2Tim 4:12 imply something resembling the practice of the modern sermon? Most translators seem to think so as they render the word kerysso “preach” but not all do. The NRSV and the NJB render kerysso “proclaim” and I think it fits better.
Here is the passage with a little more context.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim [kerysso] the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.
(2Ti 4:1-4 NRSVA)
It seems to me that Paul is telling Timothy to be ready to proclaim the message in any situation he finds himself in. Be ready to do it by convincing people, rebuking and encouraging. To proclaim it with patience in teaching. I don’t know that it fits as well to say that Paul is telling Timothy to be ready at all times to engage in a 30 minute exposition of scripture to a quiet audience.
The one word that does describe contemporary preaching is oratory, but we don’t see that word used in connection with ministry.
Where this whole investigation gives me pause is many of the people who believe wholeheartedly in preaching also believe wholeheartedly in proper biblical exegesis. I just haven’t seen the solid case for making preaching central in the life of the church. Now just because I don’t think it should be central doesn’t mean I think it is unbiblical or illegitimate. | <urn:uuid:113014d5-15c3-45db-bbe5-5cfd410e4c9e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://graceworks.ca/?p=1961 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941239 | 1,606 | 1.96875 | 2 |
In a way, the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford recognizes a fact that Ron Sider has written on and I have thought about for a long time. In “A New Take on Tithing,” Claude Rosenberg & Tim Stone write:
Too often, individuals make decisions about how much money to donate to charitable causes on an ad hoc basis. As a result, many people give less money than they can actually afford. If the affluent contributed as much to nonprofits as the authors believe they can, charitable giving in the United States would increase by $100 billion a year – enough to solve many of the world’s most pressing problems.
Sider has previously written: “If American Christians simply gave a tithe rather than the current one-quarter of a tithe, there would be enough private Christian dollars to provide basic health care and education to all the poor of the earth. And we would still have an extra $60-70 billion left over for evangelism around the world.”
The Stanford estimate is about one-third higher than Sider’s estimate with regard to how much extra charitable income there might be if the tithe were rigorously implemented. Part of the difference might be due to the fact that there are somewhat different sets of people under examination. The Stanford estimate is primarily based on “the affluent,” while Sider is talking about “American Christians” in general (clearly there is significant but not complete overlap).
But another aspect of the difference might in fact be the nuance of the Stanford piece’s analysis, and one of its key points: charitable giving should not be based simply on take home pay. Under what they call the “old tithe,” the following seems to be the case, “When people tithe, they typically base the amount they give on their income alone, not on their income and investment assets.”
Of course, assuming that at first the investment asset seed money was take home pay, the tithe would have already been applied to those funds. In essence, the “new tithe” is a double application of the tithe, the second time pertaining to profits earned with money to which the tithe had previously been applied.
Whether or not you think this sort of double tithe is appropriate, the Stanford piece does raise the important question of the responsible stewardship of investment profits. And while at first Sider’s estimate may seem more conservative than the Stanford estimate, if you take into account Sider’s endorsement of a graduated tithe, Sider’s model would end up being much more stringent in terms of its expectations (the graduated tithe is the idea that as income increases, so should the percentage of giving increase, eventually to 100% above a certain threshold).
Some may object that the new double tithe or the graduated tithe, or even the old tithe itself is too legalistic, too stringent, or both. To that I have two things to say.
First, let’s put the level of giving in perspective. Whether or not you think the tithe is a biblical requirement, it is valid as a consistent baseline measure. According to Barna’s research, “The proportion of households that tithe their income to their church – that is, give at least ten percent of their income to that ministry – has dropped by 62% in the past year, from 8% in 2001 to just 3% of adults during 2002.” In addition, “9% of born again Christians tithed their income to churches in 2004,” and “When contributions are examined as a percentage of household income, giving to religious centers represents about 2.2% of gross income.”
Second, even if you agree with Russell Earl Kelly, Ph.D., that the tithe is not a biblical requirement, it is a far more difficult case to make that the tithe is “unbiblical” or anti-Scriptural. The category of adiaphora would apply here, I think. So, for example, the assertion that the New Testament does not explicitly endorse or teach tithing does not necessarily mean that Christians cannot practice it or that it is “wrong” to tithe. | <urn:uuid:f242d679-ab09-48e2-98db-daa16d602c1c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.acton.org/archives/1181-tithe-and-tithe-again.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970596 | 883 | 2.015625 | 2 |
The business of dissecting electronics
The lowdown on teardowns
Ripping apart smart-phones reveals their true cost
GADGET-LOVERS the world over are already salivating at the thought of getting their hands on Apple's much-hyped tablet computer, which is expected to be revealed on January 27th. Most of them just like the idea of playing with a new high-tech toy. But a few have darker designs. They cannot wait to rip the device apart, analyse its design, identify its parts and calculate how much it costs to make.
These “teardowns”, as they are called, are common practice in the electronics industry, and are usually performed in-house. Now, however, more of this activity is being outsourced to specialised firms such as iSuppli and UBM TechInsights. Their findings provide a glimpse into the inner workings not just of individual devices but also the fast-growing consumer-electronics business itself.
Derek Lidow, iSuppli's boss, says companies that design and market gadgets sometimes hire firms like his to tear apart and analyse products whose manufacture they have outsourced to others. Some customers simply want to know why their competitors, often of Chinese provenance, can be so cheap—either to prove suspicions of dumping or to show their own engineers how to do better.
With a smart-phone, for example, iSuppli starts by looking at how its 1,000 or so parts are put together. Apple has the most creative and dense designs, says Andrew Rassweiler, who heads iSuppli's teardown service. But its rivals are catching up fast. The design of Google's recently launched phone, the Nexus One, made by HTC of Taiwan, is almost as advanced as that of the latest iPhone.
The next steps in a teardown are identifying the parts and calculating the costs of materials and assembly. Components, especially memory chips, have continued to fall in price. This is why the first iPhone model cost $218 to build and the latest only $170, despite its superior performance. Assembly costs are minimal—just $6.50 for the current iPhone. Even though the parts in high-end smart-phones differ widely, their total construction cost often falls in a narrow range of $170-180 (see chart). Makers apparently set a budget and see what they can fit in, says Mr Rassweiler.
Most smart-phones' retail prices (before operator subsidies) are around $500-$600. Not all of the difference is profit. There are many other costs, such as research, design, marketing and patent fees, as well as the retailer's own costs. But the big gap between the cost of building a smart-phone and its price in the shops should widen further as ever more previously discrete components are packed on to a single main microchip. Howard Curtis of UBM TechInsights predicts that as software and mobile services come to represent more of a smart-phone's overall value, this too will widen the gap between manufacturing costs and selling prices.
What this gap demonstrates is that for smart-phones, like most other electronic devices, most of the value lies not in manufacturing but in all the services and intellectual property it takes to create and market such products. That is something for politicians to ponder: instead of making empty promises about saving ailing manufacturers they might instead consider how best to promote the growth of high-value service industries. | <urn:uuid:7cdd66c0-b13c-4d0d-a542-b52b4b8c7ada> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.economist.com/node/15330744 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970458 | 716 | 2.375 | 2 |
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Public Relations is a broad field that spans all industries and businesses. PR graduates can be found representing professional sports teams, global clothing manufacturers, Hollywood production studios, energy companies, hospitals, international non-profits and small businesses. This wide variety of opportunities is due to the fact that PR people are professional communicators, and all organizations, big and small, must communicate with a variety of audiences in order to succeed.
The School’s undergraduate program in PR prepares graduates to successfully enter the public relations field.
The primary role of a PR practitioner is to create, maintain and build relationships with an organization’s publics. To accomplish these tasks, practitioners may write news releases, organize grassroots organizations, plan events, create newsletters, lobby government officials, form coalitions among organizations or maintain a presence in social media outlets.
Research is also an important part of PR. Creating surveys and organizing focus groups are common techniques used to gain insights into what groups of people believe and think. Based on the information gathered from these tools, practitioners create strategic communications plans aimed at changing attitudes and perceptions held by mass audiences. A number of concepts from psychology play an important role in this process.
PR practitioners are ethical. Being misleading or lying can not only damage the reputation of a practitioner, but it can also damage the reputation of whatever organization the practitioner represents. Because of this, practitioners are often forced to make difficult decisions and guide organizations though ethical dilemmas. Due to occasional conflicting interests between an organization and its publics, a PR practitioner bridges these gaps, sometimes being an advocate for the organization, while other times advocating on behalf of the publics to executive management. | <urn:uuid:9802c32f-0076-40ed-9f22-8aed10651980> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://masscomm.vcu.edu/public-relations/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92771 | 350 | 2.390625 | 2 |
The most eye-opening demonstration at the NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference last week was from Adobe’s David Salesin (Sr. Principal Scientist) and Todor Georgiev (Sr Research Scientist), who showed their Plenoptic Lens along with software for processing the resulting images.
There was a gasp of amazement from the audience when we saw what the process is capable of. We saw an image refocused after the event.
For anyone who has ever taken an out of focus picture – which I guess is everyone – the immediate reaction is to want one NOW. Another appealing idea is to take an image that has several items of interest, but at different depths, and shift the focus from one to another.
So how does it work? It starts with the plenoptic lens, which lets you “capture multiple views of the scene from slightly different viewpoints,” said Salesin:
If you have a high resolution sensor then each one of those images can be fairly high resolution. The neat thing is that with software, with computation, you can put this together into one large high-resolution image.
In a sense you are capturing a whole 4D lightfield. You’ve got two dimensions of the spatial position of the light ray, and also two dimensions of the orientation of the light ray.
With that 4D image, you can then after the fact use computation to take the place of optics. With computation you have a lot more flexibility. You can change the vantage point, the viewpoint a little bit, and you can also change the focus.
To resolve that, to take these individual little pieces of an image and put them together into one large image from any arbitrary view with any arbitrary focus, it turns out that texture mapping hardware is exactly what you need to do that. Using GPU chips we’ve been able to get speedups over the CPU of about 500 times.
Note that the image ends up being constructed in software. It is not just a matter of overlaying the small images in a certain way.
There is a good reason NVIDIA showed this at its conference. Suddenly we all want little cameras with GPUs powerful enough to do this on the fly.
I guess this demo is likely to show up again at the Adobe MAX conference next month.
There’s another report on this with diagrams here. | <urn:uuid:d47bb7b7-223d-4111-938d-266a8f175505> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itwriting.com/blog/3216-adobes-plenoptic-lens-enables-refocus-magic.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955997 | 483 | 2.515625 | 3 |
South American Bushmaster
Scientific Name: Lachesis mutas
The name Lachesis stems from a Fate of Greek mythology that assigned a man the length of his life, giving tribute to the lethal power of the bushmaster’s venomous bite.
With a max length of about 10 feet, the bushmaster is the longest viper in the world and the largest of all venomous snakes in the western hemisphere.
STATUS: The conservation status of wild populations is unknown but numbers are likely decreasing due to deforestation.
HABITAT: The bushmaster makes its native habitat within the forests of northwestern South America, residing in such countries as Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia.
DIET: This snake typically feeds on the small mammals of the forest, using its heat sensing pits to detect nearby warm-blooded animals.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Ranging from six to 10 feet in length, the bushmaster is one of the longest venomous snakes in the world. The head of this snake is broad, distinct from its more cylindrical neck and rest of the body. The body of the bushmaster is typically colored a yellowish, reddish or grey-brown ground color with dark brown or black patches that form triangles along its back. Around the dark triangles is a row of scales usually lighter in color, providing a sharp contrast between the black/brown triangles of its back and the brown, yellowish color of the rest of its body.
The Rattle of Silence
Even though the tail and colors of the bushmaster resemble those of the typical rattlesnake, the sound emitted by the bushmaster is different. Acting like a rattlesnake, the bushmaster will shake its tail rapidly when alarmed by an intruder; however, no sound is produced from this shaking from which its species name muta is derived. Instead of having a rattle on its tail to warn incomers, the bushmaster vibrates its tail across the leaves of the forest floor, creating a stirring sound comparable to that of a “rattle.”
Widely considered a shy species, nonetheless, the bite of the bushmaster has proven to be one of the most deadly of snake bites and coupled with the rapid striking speed of the snake, it has the ability to kill almost anything that crosses its path. | <urn:uuid:4dc7cb1c-7b2b-4025-96d2-9ee49d035f11> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lazoo.org/animals/reptiles/bushmaster/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945673 | 484 | 3.625 | 4 |
Probably not, if you have an Android phone.
According to malware researchers at F-Secure Labs, the number of active mobile threat families and variants initially spiked in the winter quarter, with Android’s share jumping from 49 out of 74 known threats to 96 out of 100, with the balance being related to Nokia’s essentially mothballed Symbian platform.
That was enough to rouse a tweet from the rarely used account of Apple’s head of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller, who linked to the report with the brief admonition “be safe out there.”
However, F-Secure’s new report for the latest quarter shows Android now accounts for 136 out of 149 known threats, or 91.3 percent of all malware activity (up from 79 percent in 2012).
The other threats remained related to Symbian, with zero discovered for Blackberry, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile/Phone or Apple’s iOS. The research noted that mobile threats are overwhelmingly motivated by profits, with 76.5 percent designed specifically to con users out of money, rather than seeking to just cause damage.
(via Apple Insider)
There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters. These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the news gathering activities undertaken by The A.P. during a two-month period, provide a road map to A.P.’s news gathering operations, and disclose information about A.P.’s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know.
– Gary Pruitt, President and CEO of the Associated Press, outraged by the seizure by the Federal government of the records for more than 20 telephone lines of its offices and journalists, including their home phones and cellphones. It said the records were seized without notice sometime this year. The ability and willingness of the government to seize data and records without notification must stop. Particularly, in the case of journalists, seizures adversely affect free speech and freedom of the press.
Seal of the United States Department of Justice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Department of Justice is seeking to keep secret a memo written by the Office of Legal Counsel which claims that the FBI can request records from telecommunications companies without issuing national security letters or warrants in advance. In other words, the DOJ claims a right to side-step both the warrant and NSL process based on a memo which is not public. In effect, the DOJ is relying on secret law, which is among the techniques of repressive, totalitarian regimes. It is simply wrong to continue to create such secret laws in a democratic country supposedly governed by the rule of law.
They do this notwithstanding a redacted a DOJ Office of Inspector General report questioning the legality of such information requests. Check out page two of the text of the report. You can read chapter and verse of this action which is being challenged by the EFF.
In a brief filed on [in March] (PDF), EFF continued its fight against secret surveillance law, asking the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to order the release of a secret opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC).
The opinion was generated as part of a lengthy Inspector General investigation (PDF) into the FBI’s use of unconstitutional National Security Letters, so-called “exigent letters,” and other illegal methods of obtaining customer records. The OLC’s opinion provides the federal government with the authority to obtain private call-detail records in “certain circumstances,” without any legal process or a qualifying emergency, and despite federal laws to the contrary. So far, the DOJ has refused to disclose what those circumstances are, and has even refused to disclose the statute on which the government bases its purported authority.
EFF has long argued that, when the government interprets a law in a way that shapes or affects the rights of the public, the public is entitled to know what that interpretation is. Hiding the government’s interpretations of public laws – especially when those interpretations are unlikely to be tested in court – constitutes the perpetuation of “secret law.” But secret law has no place in a democracy; on Friday, we asked the D.C. Circuit to affirm that simple principle and to order the government to disclose the OLC’s legal interpretation.
The formal opinions of the OLC are among the the most obvious, and pernicious, examples of government secret law. OLC has the authority, delegated by the Attorney General, to issue legal opinions and interpretations that are binding on other Executive branch agencies. Over the past decade, OLC opinions have provided the legal authority for some of the federal government’s most controversial (and, ultimately, illegal) practices: torture, warrantless wiretapping, and – more recently – the targeted killing of American citizens have all found legal “justifications” in OLC opinions. The Executive branch has also shrouded these opinions in secrecy.
Logo of the FBI Counterterrorism Division (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Based on the remarks made by a former FBI counterterrorism agent, it appears so…
Over the past couple days, cable news tabloid shows such as CNN’s Out Front with Erin Burnett have been excitingly focused on the possible involvement in the Boston Marathon attack of Katherine Russell, the 24-year-old American widow of the deceased suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. As part of their relentless stream of leaks uncritically disseminated by our Adversarial Press Corps, anonymous government officials are claiming that they are now focused on telephone calls between Russell and Tsarnaev that took place both before and after the attack to determine if she had prior knowledge of the plot or participated in any way.
On Wednesday night, Burnett interviewed Tim Clemente, a former FBI counterterrorism agent, about whether the FBI would be able to discover the contents of past telephone conversations between the two. He quite clearly insisted that they could:
BURNETT: Tim, is there any way, obviously, there is a voice mail they can try to get the phone companies to give that up at this point. It’s not a voice mail. It’s just a conversation. There’s no way they actually can find out what happened, right, unless she tells them?
CLEMENTE: “No, there is a way. We certainly have ways in national security investigations to find out exactly what was said in that conversation. It’s not necessarily something that the FBI is going to want to present in court, but it may help lead the investigation and/or lead to questioning of her. We certainly can find that out.
BURNETT: “So they can actually get that? People are saying, look, that is incredible.
CLEMENTE: “No, welcome to America. All of that stuff is being captured as we speak whether we know it or like it or not.“
Full details at The Guardian.
With each new eyebrow-raising court judgment and federal fine levied against Google, it becomes ever more clear that this is a company hell-bent on innovating first and asking questions later, if ever. And its vision, shared with other California technology companies, is of corporate America redefining societal privacy norms in the service of advertising companies and their clients.”
– Milo Yiannopoulos, in the article Google Glass and Surveillance Culture.
Surveillance is harmful because it can chill the exercise of our civil liberties, especially our intellectual privacy. It is also gives the watcher power over the watched, creating the the risk of a variety of other harms, such as discrimination, coercion, and the threat of selective enforcement, where critics of the government can be prosecuted or blackmailed for wrongdoing unrelated to the purpose of the surveillance.
– Neil M. Richards, the article The Dangers of Surveillance, published in the Harvard Law Review. (via The Quotation of the Day Mailing List)
Reuters is reporting the following:
The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a massive database that contains financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, according to a Treasury Department document seen by Reuters.
The proposed plan represents a major step by U.S. intelligence agencies to spot and track down terrorist networks and crime syndicates by bringing together financial databanks, criminal records and military intelligence. The plan, which legal experts say is permissible under U.S. law, is nonetheless likely to trigger intense criticism from privacy advocates.
Enough is enough. There is no legitimate reason for allowing intelligence agencies full access to every American’s financial transactions. How is such sharing not a violation of citizen’s rights to privacy? Financial crimes can be investigated by financial regulators and the FBI. Opening the books to the CIA and the NSA is another matter entirely.
An en banc Ninth Circuit 8-3 ruling on Friday held that border agents may not perform forensic searches of travelers’ laptops and other electronic devices absent reasonable suspicion of illegal activity. Currently, the Federal government claims that it can search such devices without any suspicion of illegal activity, and they do so routinely.
Here is an excerpt from the ruling:
The relevant inquiry, as always, is one of reasonableness. But that reasonableness determination must account for differences in property. Unlike searches involving a reassembled gas tank, or small hole in the bed of a pickup truck, which have minimal or no impact beyond the search itself—and little implication for an individual’s dignity and privacy interests—the exposure of confidential and personal information has permanence. It cannot be undone. Accordingly, the uniquely sensitive nature of data on electronic devices carries with it a significant expectation of privacy and thus renders an exhaustive exploratory search more intrusive than with other forms of property.
After their initial search at the border, customs agents made copies of the hard drives and performed forensic evaluations of the computers that took days to turn up contraband. It was essentially a computer strip search. An exhaustive forensic search of a copied laptop hard drive intrudes upon privacy and dignity interests to a far greater degree than a cursory search at the border. It is little comfort to assume that the government—for now—does not have the time or resources to seize and search the millions of devices that accompany the millions of travelers who cross our borders. It is the potential unfettered dragnet effect that is troublesome.
We have confidence in the ability of law enforcement to distinguish a review of computer files from a forensic examination. We do not share the alarm expressed by the concurrence and the dissent that the standard we announce will prove unmanageable or give border agents a “Sophie’s choice” between thorough searches and Bivens actions.
More here and here.
Your TSA is intimidating and scaring children. Watch this video of a 3 year old disabled child being told she will need a pat down and her wheel chair will have to be tested.
And notice that the agents immediately say it is illegal to film what happens at a checkpoint. This is not true, although the TSA has now removed the page on their website that provided the following:
TSA does not prohibit the public, passengers or press from photographing, videotaping or filming at security checkpoints, as long as the screening process is not interfered with or slowed down.
Further, in a ruling by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in 2011, the right to film government officials was affirmed.
The filming of government officials engaged in their duties in a public place, including police officers performing their responsibilities, fits comfortably within these principles [of protected First Amendment activity].
Gathering information about government officials in a form that can readily be disseminated to others serves a cardinal First Amendment interest in protecting and promoting the free discussion of governmental affairs.
It takes quite a lot of fear to make a child say repeatedly that she really doesn’t want to go to Disney World.
Full details here.
The Department of Homeland Security is claiming that it is fine for DHS to stop anyone within 100 miles of the US border, without any suspicion or warrant, and search all the data on all their devices. And this decision was made by the DHS office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which is supposed to protect civil liberties, not grant carte blanche for invasions of privacy.
Are you kidding me? I wasn’t aware that the requirements of the Constitution are “blacked out” in a 100 mile ring around the US border. I live within 100 miles of the Canadian border so I assume DHS could come to my house and scan my computers, tablets and phones without specifying any cause whatsoever.
The ACLU did an analysis of the number of people living within this border zone.
What we found is that fully TWO-THIRDS of the United States’ population lives within this Constitution-free or Constitution-lite Zone. That’s 197.4 million people who live within 100 miles of the US land and coastal borders.
Nine of the top 10 largest metropolitan areas as determined by the 2000 census, fall within the Constitution-free Zone. (The only exception is #9, Dallas-Fort Worth.) Some states are considered to lie completely within the zone: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Is this really where we want to be as a country?
More from Wired.
At a time when there’s a virtual arms race of church leaders trying to redefine their theology and ecclesiology better to fit a series of demographic shifts and cultural transformations, why have I not heard any of the soi-disant pioneers call attention to the tremendous loss to the internet’s future, to the beneficiaries of digital innovation, to the ‘public’ of the public domain? Why have they not soberly and humbly taken up the question of where the churches stand relative to the enclosure of common goods by indefinitely-extended copyright periods? Why have they not, at the very least, reminded their blogging, Facebooking, tweeting, tumbling, pinboarding, SMSing, iPod-listening audience that Aaron was agitating on behalf of the very digital affordances that have made their movements possible?
* * *
The theological ramifications of technology are only just beginning to receive searching theological attention. My colleagues Jana Bennett and Brian Brock have written books about it, Alan Jacobs has been at it for a long time, and I pitched in my essay; but when a force of digital nature (as it were) falls silent, stills, stops, one might anticipate at least a murmur of theological deliberation about what’s at stake, how we cane to this pass, how churches might take a deep breath and rethink their relation to copyright and the commons, to digital technology and the increasing centralisation of digital power (exemplified by the intensification of government authority to examine, collect, and redeploy all manner of digital data from emails to browser histories, without a warrant). Without for a moment minimising other concerns about other dimensions of human well-being — does not this concern touch the lives of far more people than are even inchoately aware of it, who are at risk of being made an example by a zealous investigator or a self-righteous media corporation?
– from an essay written by A. K. M. Adam. It is time for morality to have a seat at the IP table. For example, why should publicly-funded scholars and researchers allow their work to exist solely behind paywalls?
There’s nothing like a debate over warrantless wiretapping to clarify how the two parties really feel about government. On Friday, the Senate voted to reauthorize the government’s warrantless surveillance program, with hawkish Democrats joining with Republicans to block every effort to curtail the government’s sweeping spying powers.
As the Senate debated the renewal of the government’s warrantless wiretapping powers on Thursday, Republicans who have accused President Barack Obama of covering up his involvement in the death of an American ambassador urged that his administration be given sweeping spying powers. Democrats who accused George W. Bush of shredding the Constitution with warrantless wiretapping four years ago sung a different tune this week, with the administration itself quietly urging passage of the surveillance bill with no changes, and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) accusing her Democratic colleagues of not understanding the threat of terrorism.
“There is a view by some that this country no longer needs to fear an attack,” Feinstein said.
– Adam Serwer, writing in Mother Jones.
If you are interested, here is the floor statement by Senator Ron Wyden who argues for reasonable limitations on the powers of the bill, and a transparent discussion of how the bill is actually being implemented.
A new (at least to me) window into the TSA is called “Taking Sense Away” and is authored by a former TSA screener. Great inside stories including submissions from other screeners. Here is short example:
This one comes from Eric, who I believe is a current or former screener, given the very insider-y feel of his proposed addition to the Insider’s TSA Dictionary (I will update all the best proposed additions to the Insider’s TSA Dictionary in one lump post somewhere down the road). At any rate, after his proposed dictionary entry, he went on to say:
…I can’t argue with anything you say on your blog, and even if I could, I probably wouldn’t. However, I do feel like it’s akin to poking a crippled, retarded bear with a sharp stick.
The Wall Street Journal conducted an investigation that shows that many online retailers access information about visiting customers, including their locations, and use that information to set the price that each customer pays. In addition, the Journal says that on average, customers visiting a website from a high income location tend to get lower prices than those visiting from a low income location.
I tend to think that this is unfair, unless the difference in prices reflects actual different costs of doing business. So, a price might be higher in high tax areas, for example. | <urn:uuid:ba5e3c8c-2a6e-4420-8741-4e2403c3e6be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freer.com/bits/tag/privacy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945815 | 3,764 | 1.851563 | 2 |
NAB CEO Gordon Smith Delivers Keynote Address at 2011 NAB Show
Let me add something else to Eddie's premise.
This new advancement called broadcasting is technologically astute, because it uses much less spectrum to reach more people. The axiom of its existence is that its signal goes from one to everyone...rather than one to one as cell phones do. So, in terms of spectrum use, it is a much more efficient technology. Technologically agile, beneficial to the community and free - so what's not to like?
Well, the so-called "new media" for its own purposes would have people and policymakers believe broadcasting is still living in the Howdy Doody era.
So, as they say, we have issues. And let me begin with the one that most threatens broadcasting in the coming year.
At NAB, we're not worried about technology - we're excited about the digital world that is re-inventing broadcasting. We're not worried about revenues - broadcasting has bounced back from the worst recession in history.
But we worry about those who would damage our business. And about government in a rush, or over-reaching - that, we worry about.
Less than two years ago, broadcasters gave up more than 25 percent of TV spectrum and spent $15 billion transitioning from analog to digital television. That was our cost of leaving Howdy Doody analog and moving to high definition and multi-channel digital. We embraced this digital future so that we could offer dazzling HD programs and multicasting; so we could offer consumers more choices and deliver content on different platforms, such as sending video to smartphones, tablets and laptops.
We spent these billions because we knew we needed to remain relevant to new generations, who expect to get their content on the go. Now, less than two years later, wireless companies want ANOTHER 40 percent of TV spectrum.
Hey...we already gave at the office! So we are in full battle mode to protect broadcasters from being forced to give up spectrum involuntarily.
If a station simply can't make it and it volunteers to sell its spectrum, that's fine - as long as it doesn't harm another station that wants to stay in business and is excited about the future. The problem is that what is voluntary for the former could become involuntary for the latter. It concerns us that the FCC could forcibly relocate a broadcaster, crowd channels closer together, reduce their coverage, destroy innovation for viewers, increase interference, or otherwise degrade their signal.
This endangers our digital future, and violates President Obama's promise to prevent a world of digital haves and have-nots.
Ladies and gentlemen, there is not enough spectrum in the universe to replace our one-to-many broadcast system to a one-to-one transmission architecture. Even the wireless companies themselves concede they will need to eventually use some of their spectrum in a broadcast-type architecture, specifically for sending mass appeal video content to smartphones.
Broadcasting already has the architecture, and it's worked for more than 60 years. What sense does it make to take spectrum that is being used efficiently and use it less efficiently?
Is that a public good?
--Continued on page 3
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Today in Radio History
The history of radio broadcasting extends beyond the work of a few famous inventors.
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This high-visibility and high-traffic area got the full acoustic treatment.
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Also in the May Issue
- Remote Access and Site Connectivity: Wireless
- Standards of FM Allocation and Interference
- Side by Side: Mic Processors
- Field Report: Deva Broadcast DB4004
- Field Report: APT WorldCast Systems Horizon NextGen
- New Products
- 20 Years of Radio magazine: May 1994 | <urn:uuid:35ee0a0b-e5bc-4506-815c-bc7e2d33e00f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://radiomagonline.com/convention_news/nab_show/gordon-smith-keynote-nab-2011-0413/index1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956039 | 856 | 1.53125 | 2 |
We have been blessed with a blast of winter and the children are cooped up and ornery. I was hoping spring was officially here, but these 4 inches of snow prove me wrong. After playing Ring-Around-The-Rosey and London Bridge until my throat and bumper hurt, I decided to unleash the paint.
Painting is one of our favorite past times in this little part of Nebraska. It will keep the children contained and creating for hours. They love to mix the colors, try different techniques, and fill page after page with images from their imagination. VERY fun.
We have used water colors a lot this winter and I didn't want the mess of acrylic paints. I decided to "bubble" paint. You mix a bit of liquid watercolor paint, a teaspoon of liquid dish detergent or hand soap, and water in a large shallow bowl or pan. Be creative and swirl different colors together and name the "new" colors. Tap into your inner Jackson Pollock and unleash the passion. Mix and give each kid their own straw.
Give each child their own bowl and a piece of paper, instruct them to blow bubbles in their bowl. They will love this part! Remind them to blow and not drink.
Bubbles should fill their bowl in no time. Take a piece of paper and gently blot the top of the bubbles. This will leave a circular pattern on the paper. Keep blowing and blotting until the paper is full.
Change colors if you wish. This will make it more colorful and the colors might mix. This is an excellent time to discuss primary colors and the color wheel if you feel inclined.
I have included a link and image so you can see what liquid watercolor looks like. You could use food coloring, but that will stain! | <urn:uuid:66dfed7f-5f46-43fd-8f6f-69bc1c736891> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.plaingraces.com/2011/03/bubble-painting.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955598 | 366 | 1.960938 | 2 |
Time to end snobbery in wine–among owners
Mr. ___ is the owner of a winery in California. It’s not necessary to identify him any further because there are many proprietors like him; hence he’s merely a surrogate for an entire group. He’s very wealthy. In fact, after he made his money, he bought his way into the wine industry, as many have done both before him and since. He now fancies himself part of an elite group, and to tell you the truth, his wines, with one or two exceptions, are pretty damned good.
Mr. ___ hires the best viticultural and winemaking team available and presumably pays them top dollar. As a result, his vineyards are impeccable, a fact he takes pride in. The same cannot be said of some of his neighbors, though, who don’t have his money and can’t afford to keep their rows of vines as pristine looking as a painting. Mr. ___ looks down on them. “They don’t have a lot of money, and so they can’t cut it,” he says dismissively. “When you’re used to drinking the best wine in the world”–this, he told me, after relating his love affair for Romanée-Conti and similar wines of luxury—“you can’t screw around, you make the wine best you can. If you let the weeds go [in the vineyard] and the tonnage, you get a watered-down product that can be good, but not great.”
He went on and on in this vein to disparage his “hippie” neighbors who farm the “old” way, all the while dropping names like Robert Parker and Wine Spectator and other icons of the snobocracy. It was very distasteful to me, because I’ve seen this attitude a lot, especially in Northern California but occasionally in more liberal Santa Barbara, and it always rubs me the wrong way because it goes against the grain of the democratic [small “d”] spirit I think should pervade and unite the wine industry, especially in California.
I mentioned this to another, younger winemaker, who knows Mr. ___, although not well. Let’s call him Mr. Good. Mr. Good has a vineyard nearby Mr. ___’s. He (Mr. Good) didn’t come into the industry with a wad of cash in his pocket, he scrimped and saved and built his now successful business from scratch. He also knows, and is friends with, the “hippies” whose vineyard and winery practices Mr. ___ criticized. “Look,” he says, “those guys were doing it [i.e., farming grapes and making wine] when nobody else was. The reason we’re all here, including Mr. ___, is because of the hippies. And now you have the super-wealthy coming in, because of them. Are there weeds in the oldtimers vineyards? Sure. I have weeds in my vineyards. But you know who’s making the best wines up here? It’s…” and here he names a vineyard, farmed by one of the hippies, who sells to an out-of-area winery whose wine, believe me, is simply spectacular [as are those of Mr. Good].
This snobby elitism that runs through the industry like a vein of lard has always bothered me. You see it among the very wealthy who really do act like they’re the one percent who can’t be bothered to notice their less-fortunate neighbors, much less befriend them or find anything to like about their wines. But I can tell you, as a critic with wide experience, a wine’s quality cannot definitively be related to the amount of money it cost the proprietor to produce. As Mr. Good pointed out concerning the hippie vineyards, “Sometimes grapes from them can be more compelling” than grapes from the most meticulously farmed, David Abreu-style vineyard.
What makes a bottle of wine fabulous and memorable simply isn’t the amount of money that is lavished on it. Yes, money can elevate an under-performing wine to adequacy and even a degree of greatness, simply because money can supply cosmetic improvements, as in a style makeover program on T.V. But money can’t buy soul. A very great vineyard transfers its qualities to the wine in ways so mysterious that, centuries after writers started trying to define precisely how, the answer still eludes us. It might even be said that a very great vineyard can be “improved” in ways that rob the wine of an essential personality the land wishes to impose, in favor of the owner’s stamp. These are metaphysical, angels-dancing-on-pinheads concepts, of course; but what we should be able to agree on is to get rid of the class-based snobbism in wine that really makes it so much less of a pleasant space than it ought to be, that allows a wealthy owner to dismiss his neighbors so cavalierly without being able to appreciate what makes their wines different–not worse–than his own. | <urn:uuid:8cbfd93d-06e3-4937-8871-cc05613b77c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2012/12/20/time-to-end-snobbery-in-wine-among-owners/ | 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 | 0.977281 | 1,127 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Eyes on Animals is given permission by the transport company VAEX to observe the loading of piglets onto one of their livestock trucks today. The piglets will be transported to fattening farms in Germany. Today the piglets will be loaded from two different Dutch farms. Eyes on Animals has already watched the loading of "slaughter" pigs, and acknowledges that loading piglets is much calmer. Because they are still young, curious and very agile, they allow themselves to be moved forward easily. The piglets today were moved in small groups of 20 at a time and in a calm manner towards the inside of the transport truck. Even when foreign piglets were mixed with the group before being loaded, there was very little fighting or exitation. Hierachical fighting is a very serious welfare problem during the transport of older pigs, particularly slaughter-age boars. Moving pigs in a calm manner, always in small groups, and giving them time to explore the new territory helps reduce their stress during loading. Eyes on Animals was very satisfied with the VAEX workers today, who proved to use natural animal behaviour to move them, instead of prods and shouts. Eyes on Animals is impressed with the transparent and open way Vaex has been working these past 1,5 years and would like to thank them, plus the owners of the two Dutch farms for their respectful and warm welcome to Eyes on Animals and for answering all of our questions and concerns. Vaex was long known as a transport company getting into trouble with foreign veterinarian and police inspectors, as well as NGO inspectors that previously trailed their trucks. We are very happy to see that Vaex is turning around its reputation and taking many significant and conscious steps to improve the welfare of the animals it transports. We wish to congratulate them for this. | <urn:uuid:34d38267-2c35-402a-a4d2-f5a54a107ef8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eyesonanimals.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=186%3Ainspection-of-loading-of-piglets-onto-a-livestock-truck-from-company-vaex&catid=135%3Atransport&Itemid=285&lang=en_US.utf8%2C+en_US.UT | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980641 | 360 | 1.585938 | 2 |
No one answered until little Mary stood up and said, 'Ma'am, you should not be asking sixth-graders a question like that! I'm going to tell my parents, and they will go and tell the principal, who will then fire you!'
Mrs. Lim ignored her and asked the question again, 'Which body part increases to 10 times its size when stimulated?'
Little Mary's mouth fell open.
Then she said to those around her, 'Boy, is she going to get in big trouble!'
The teacher continued to ignore her and said to the class, 'Anybody?'
Finally, Billy stood up, looked around nervously, and said, 'The body part that increases 10 times its size when stimulated is the pupil of the eye.
Mrs. Parks said, "Very good, Billy."
Then she turned to Mary and continued...
"And as for you, young lady, I have three things to say...
One... you have a dirty mind.
Two... you didn't read your homework.
And three... one day you are going to be very, very disappointed!" | <urn:uuid:8bde9edb-45ab-477c-bab1-9a6e05b39629> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://edikdolotina.blogspot.com/2008/11/ten-times-normal-size.html?showComment=1227270600000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980501 | 230 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Faithless Electors Even if Bush wins Florida, Gore could still win the election. The scenario here: Gore's campaign lobbies electors pledged to Bush, making the case that, contrary to what Al has been saying, the presidency in fact is a popularity contest, and don't they want to change their vote to reflect the will of the American people? The electors meet to vote December 18, and some of them could become very popular before then.
Why it will happen: While electors are in some states legally bound to vote who ever won their state, the penalty for not doing so is straight out of Hawthorne: The deserters are branded "Faithless Electors" and, presumably, shunned by their party. Hard time in Leavenworth this ain't. Meanwhile, think of the nice incentives the Gore (or Bush, if it swings that way) people could offer to switch.
Why it won't: These electors are, by definition, party men, and while a few have changed their votes over the years, it's never been a decisive vote more like the odd elector casting a symbolic vote for a personal preference.
Dueling Electors Say a recount shows that Gore won Florida. Or that Bush takes Iowa or Wisconsin, two close states that could be heading for a re-reckoning. In that case, each party could send their electors to Washington, each claiming to be the true slate. Far-fetched? It happened before, in 1960, when Hawaii at first went for Nixon, then after a recount came in for Kennedy. Two slates went to Washington to vote, and it was up to then vice president Nixon, in his role as president of the Senate, to pick which one got to vote (having already lost anyway, he let the Kennedy slate vote). This is advantage Gore. Since Congress meets two weeks before the President is inaugurated, Gore will still be vice president
An Electoral College Tie There's a further possibility if only enough electors switch to produce a tie. In this case the House votes for the winner under a "one state, one vote" formula. In this scenario, Bush probably wins; Republicans control the delegations from 28 states.
Mutually Assured Destruction Or we could head straight into nuclear winter: Both sides dispute results in a number of states, and send challenges into the courts. We get revotes, recounts, and endless grist for talk radio. This could take months to sort out; in the meantime, President Clinton will have headed off to a Hollywood career. In this case, with no clear president named by January 20, the Republicans win again, at least in the short term; the acting president in case there is no president or vice president to fulfill the duties is (remember your civics classes) the Speaker of the House.
Which means that the Republicans' ultimate ace in the hole is a man who owes his job to the fall of Newt and Bob Livingston. Meet the 43rd president of the United States Denny Hastert. | <urn:uuid:65dd962e-0bc8-4182-a2fb-7dfcdaa35402> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,87449,00.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968909 | 613 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Last semester, Fartun Dirie, a junior geography major, got inspired in Dr. Paul Lorah’s (Geography Department, College of Arts and Sciences) Human Geography Class, where she was introduced to “mental maps,” geographic visual tools used to show how people perceive their environments. Later, with the help of a Summer Housing Grant through the McNair Scholars program, and advising guidance from Lorah, Dirie was able to develop her idea of mental mapping Somalis living in the Twin Cities.
In her project, “Mental Maps: Gaining Insight Into the Diverse Somali Perceptions of Residential Desirability in the Twin Cities,” Dirie, who was born in Somalia, studied how Somalis perceive the Twin Cities’ landscape in terms of residential desirability.
Dirie presented her research at the 2012 GIS/LIS Consortium annual conference, held Oct. 3 to 5, in St. Cloud, Minn., where she was awarded the undergraduate scholarship and first-place presentation award with cash prizes totaling $1,000.
To start, Dirie had to do some research to locate the areas with the highest concentration of Somalis, first identifying sections with the highest density of African Americans then narrowing that field to solely Somali residents. Eventually, she found the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in south Minneapolis, and University Avenue between Rice and Hamline streets in St. Paul to have the highest density of Somalis.
Her data collection method was grass roots in style. Dirie randomly approached patrons – 68 in all, who varied in age from 18 to 70, of which about 40 percent were women − of various mosques, Somali community centers and Somali-owned businesses, all located in her pre-identified areas of high density, and asked each of them to color in a simple template mental map of the Twin Cities that she created: Red to mark geographical areas they would like to live if they had complete freedom to choose, blue to mark the areas they did not find desirable, and gray to mark the areas in which they spend most of their time.
What Dirie discovered was heartening.
“What I found very interesting was that many of my survey participants did not list a place where they wouldn’t want to live on their mental maps. This shows that, generally speaking, Somalis view the Twin Cities in a positive light,” she said.
Participants also marked 103 areas where they would consider moving, which is significantly higher than the 78 areas participants noted they would not move to. This is further evidence that Somalis find more areas desirable than undesirable in the Twin Cities.
Her findings reinforce Minnesota’s (particularly the Twin Cities’) reputation as the “de facto Somali capital of the United States,” she said. While doing background research, Dirie found that in 1994 there were virtually no Somali-owned businesses in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Today there are more than 550.
Somalia’s history provides insight into these figures. An east African country, Somalia has been mired in war and political instability for more than two decades. After civil war broke out in 1988, resulting in the 1991 overthrow of the dictatorship government, many Somalis fled to neighboring African countries and elsewhere, including the United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 100,000 Somalis now live in the United States, and at 32,000, Minnesota has the highest Somali population in the country.
“Like many Somalis, my family and I moved to the United States to flee the war in Somalia,” Dirie recalled. Her family moved to the United States in 1994 when she was 2, settling first in Pennsylvania before heading west to Minnesota during the state’s Somali boom.
“My parents moved to Minnesota specifically because they wanted to live among a thriving Somali community,” she said.
City vs. Suburbia
Her results also showed that while most Twin Cities’ Somalis spend the majority of their time near downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis, regardless of where they live, they have diverse views on the areas they consider residentially desirable. While some Somalis indicated they preferred urban areas to suburban, there also were many Somalis who preferred the opposite.
Dirie acknowledged that she would have liked to have incorporated additional socio-demographic factors − such as number of years living in the United States, level of English fluency and mode of transportation − into her study, but due to time constraints she chose to focus on just two: income and education level.
These factors illuminated a striking difference among Somalis with regard to who finds the suburbs residentially desireable.
Dirie found that the higher one’s income, the more likely he or she was to mark the suburbs red (for desirable). Fifty-five percent of her subjects with incomes greater than $35,000 indicated they find the suburbs desirable, compared with 42 percent of those having incomes between $20,000 and $30,000, and 25 percent of those who make below $20,000. The same could be said for education: Forty-eight percent of college-educated participants indicated they find the suburbs desirable, compared to 33 percent of those with high school educations and 11 percent of those with little to no schooling.
Dirie said one explanation may be that “as Somalis climb higher on the socio-economic ladder, they acquire more resources and capital, which may make it easier for them to assimilate.”
Regarding the urban centers of Minneapolis and St. Paul, income and education did not factor significantly into desirability.
Even among those subjects with the highest incomes and educations of those surveyed, Dirie found “a considerable number who preferred to spend most of their time downtown even if they don’t live there.”
In addition to filling out mental maps, Dirie asked participants to answer a few demographic and open-ended questions to help her understand the factors that inform their decisions in choosing where to live. The majority indicated that good schools and educational opportunities attracted them to an area. Others factors cited were safe neighborhoods, proximity to family, ethnic network and job opportunities.
Mapping her own future
Lorah, Dirie’s adviser on the project, called her “thoughtful and enthusiastic.” He added, “New students have the ability to gain insight into culture by modeling data in a GIS environment. She gets the theory, she has strong technical skills, and she uses both in creative ways. I’m looking forward to finding out what her next project is going to be.”
And so does Dirie.
“Research at St. Thomas was a great experience! While finishing up my research, I realized my work is never really over. I found myself left with even more curiosity and many more ideas and topics I hope to research in the future.”
With two years of undergraduate work still to go, she already has begun to map her own future.
“My plan is to attend graduate school for either geography or public health and obtain a Ph.D. I’m interested in studying migration as well as GIS (Geographic Information Systems) technology and its applicability within fields like public health,” she said.
“After completing my doctorate, I hope to work in international development. I’m still very interested in studying mental maps. I think it would be really interesting to see how people’s perception of their environments influences areas such as urban planning, community development or even health care accessibility. ” | <urn:uuid:fc352ec2-7154-40d7-9506-fccf047d83dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stthomas.edu/news/2012/11/07/fartun-dirie/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970911 | 1,575 | 2.34375 | 2 |
First, you should generally be thinking of a percentage of the availible space for a maximum, rather than a set number of pixels. For a minimum, pixel count is more understandable as there may be a minimum amount of data you need to present.
As for how big is too big, it all depends on what you're doing. If your modal requires any sort of information on the "lower" pane, the modal should ideally be as small as possible and movable, a good example of this is the "post tweet" modal on Twitter's web app.
Modals are generally supposed to be small, focused tasks where other information is unnecessary; confirmation dialogs, log in screens and similar. As such they should almost always be as small as possible.
I do however disagree that modals should never ever cover most of the screen; the Print modal in Google Chrome is a great example of a full-screen modal. The Print Screen shows a full preview of how the page will print and gives a sidebar full of options; in this case being able to see the main page is more of a distraction than anything. This is a pretty rare case, and generally modals should be much less than all of the screen, but it can make sense.
If you do need to make an almost full screen modal, do consider if it should be it's own page rather than a modal; in the Chrome example it makes sense that it's a modal. Chrome's Print dialog is completely tied to the current page. If this is not the case and instead the modal is a completely separate and complex page it may need it's own page rather than a second level modal. But it's hard to recommend which is better without more specific details of your use case. | <urn:uuid:51014330-61a1-4c10-a551-0f0d3f74915a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/30544/max-height-of-a-modal-dialog-window/30547 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951236 | 366 | 1.71875 | 2 |
An online journal about visual art, the urban landscape and design. Mary Louise Schumacher, the Journal Sentinel's art and architecture critic, leads the discussion and a community of writers contribute to the dialogue.
No Walk in the Park
Milwaukee has a new story to tell and, as it did eight years ago with the unfurling of Santiago Calatrava’s wing for the Milwaukee Art Museum, there’s a desire to tell it with architecture.
The new narrative goes something like this: postindustrial city on one of the world’s largest bodies of freshwater becomes global leader in water-related research, industry and education.
It's a noble idea, that the waterways around which our city grew, that first brought industry to life here, would give birth to new forms of industry and growth.
Milwaukee is already home to more than 120 water-related companies, including many of the largest in the world, as well as the University of Wisconsin's Great Lakes Water Institute and the new water-law curriculum at Marquette University Law School.
The notion that Milwaukee’s Midwestern, can-do spirit would be directed toward forward-looking water technology and address pressing, global issues of sustainability is wonderfully auspicious.
It is auspicious enough for a lakefront icon, many now argue. A proposal for a $30 million headquarters for UWM's new School of Freshwater Sciences, the first school of its kind in the world, and the Milwaukee 7 Water Council, is gathering support from community leaders.
The proposed site for the symbol of Milwaukee as "water hub" is the now shuttered Pieces of Eight restaurant and what might be the one of the last possible spots for a significant structure on the downtown lakefront.
The idea is backed by UWM Chancellor Carlos Santiago and Mayor Tom Barrett, but the discussion to date has focused primarily on the validity of the new narrative rather than how it's told with architecture.
Tomorrow, however, public dialogue about the site officially begins with a hearing before the Harbor Commission (City Hall, room 301-B, 6 p.m.), which must approve the plan before it goes to the Common Council. The proposal is for a structure of no more than two stories and roughly 50,000 square feet, about half the size of Discovery World.
So let’s take a look at the implications for the lakefront, the most defining characteristic of our city, and its development, one of the highest expressions of democracy we have.
It would be easy to underestimate the importance of this prime sliver of the Municipal Pier because of its small footprint and the forgettable restaurant that’s been there since 1969. But this largely forgotten patch of land happens to be in the heart of what was conceived at least 15 years ago as a cultural campus, a concentration of museums and attractions on the lake.
It is flanked by Discovery World and MAM, with Summerfest close at hand and the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum just up the bluff.
It's a remarkably tricky spot. By the nature of the siting and its proximity to the art museum, the new school would have to match MAM’s level of architectural excellence while also providing an understated scrim to the museum’s exuberant, postmodern building. It would also have to partner visually and spatially with Discovery World, which sits quite a bit closer, not to mention the lake itself (more on that in a bit).
And these may be the least of the challenges.
Unfortunately, our so-called cultural campus has no singular sense of place. It is, in fact, a mess.
The road into the complex, east of Lincoln Memorial Drive, has the feel of a confused side street or dead end that peels off in happenstance toward the art museum, Discovery World and Summerfest, in turns.
In fact, the connection back to the city — from Summerfest all the way to the War Memorial — is terribly incongruous because development in recent decades has emphasized buildings rather than spaces.
While our cultural institutions have brought a great wealth to the lakefront, they've eroded spatial connections along the way. Even in the early 20th century, when the shoreline was a melange of muddy parks and railroad tracks, the sloping pathways down to the water provided a progression of spaces and vistas — the very thing that makes public places artful.
Then, the 1957 Saarinen War memorial building, as gorgeous as it is, eliminated grand staircases to the lake. By jutting out toward the lake, the David Kahler addition to the Saarinen effectively sliced the lakefront in half from what was then its center, providing a front door to our prized cultural institution that people struggled to find.
The Calatrava addition to the art museum, though sensitive to the horizontality of the lake, created a fundamental, block-long barrier to the water and an inelegant connection to it.
The Summerfest grounds, of course, feel separated, confined and car-centric. And Discovery World, while an ingenious visual complement to the art museum and its Dan Kiley-designed gardens from various vistas, both close and far, also stands stubbornly apart with a west-facing entrance.
Today, the natural point of entry for our cultural campus has shifted south, placing the crossroads squarely in front of the proposed new school. To plan a new building for this critical spot without addressing its role in pulling the surrounding spaces together and knitting it all back to the downtown would be a throwing in of the towel.
The artificial lines of the pier, set down decades ago, also warrant some consideration. Should they, for instance, more closely resemble the natural contours of the shoreline?
Consider, too, that the site may be the last place on the lakefront where a building of architectural significance would be appropriate and the value of the land becomes apparent. With the possible exception of expansions for the war memorial and art museum, it’s hard to imagine the green areas farther north reimagined with architecture.
Still, projects like the Freshwater Sciences school, with such intense buy-in, can serve as the kind of catalyst needed for change. The city is working on updating its now more than 15-year-old master plan for the lakefront, which might be serendipitous timing.
Members of the Water Council making their case have compared what they hope will be Milwaukee's new “front door to the world” to projects such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, Calif. (right) or the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego, among others.
What most of these buildings have in common, though, is outstanding, water-related programming rather than architecture that addresses the sensory qualities of water in the way that Louis Kahn's gesture to the Pacific Ocean at the Salk Institute in San Diego does (left), for instance.
Architects around the world are capitalizing on the lessons learned during a period of experimental formalism while moving into a period of innovative, if more restrained, environmentally conscious building. And projects such as the (temporary) Blur Building in Switzerland by Diller + Scofidio, among others, exemplify a rich global dialogue about the intersection of architecture, land and water (below, right).
In other words, it may be the perfect time for the the global aspirations of the unique-to-the-world school of Freshwater Sciences to be equalled by its architecture. It may be a perfect time for a school that is fundamentally about new solutions for sustainability to embody those ideals in its own building, asking the question -- can a project be sustainable in an iconic and beautiful way?
With that in mind, another question UWM should attempt to answer on the front end is what LEED standards the project will aim for?
In the end, the question to be asked is not only whether such a noble venture warrants an icon on the lake. I think -- though it may be a leap of faith -- it does. The question is also about the potential experience of the lakefront, our populist playground.
Why wouldn't we, for example, create an urban park, a showcase for public art, architecture, engineering and landscape design that would conceptually tie together the worlds of art and science that buttress the site in the form of the art museum and Discovery World? Why not create our own version of Chicago's Millennium Park, which is visited by millions every year?
Also, shouldn't the cultural institutions we build have a timelessness appropriate to the water's edge? Will a school with labs and classrooms have the same timeless quality as an art museum in 50 years or a century? While there are plans for walkways and exhibition spaces, the public’s interaction with the proposed school seems too incidental as it is conceived now.
If it is to be built, the school should transcend a symbolic gesture in its design, engineering and experience. It shouldn't be a place of learning for a few. It should be a place of beauty, delight and enlightenment -- for everyone. | <urn:uuid:fb795743-3c92-4ce8-822a-299237de34c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/entertainment/46262867.html?page=1&_escaped_fragment_=page=1%26pageSize=10%26sort=oldestfirst%26comment=22822817 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948078 | 1,886 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Big business vs. small at edge of ‘cliff’
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WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans aren’t the only ones at odds over how to fix the country’s fiscal problems. Big businesses and small ones have very different views on whether changes to personal income taxes or corporate taxes should be part of the fix.
Groups that represent American businesses are in a bind. Some of their members declare their business income through their personal income taxes, and they are staring at the possibility of higher tax rates on the top tiers of personal income. Yet big corporations would be unaffected by higher tax rates because they pay corporate — not personal — income taxes. They’re rooting for a lowering of the corporate tax rate.
So what’s good for some businesses might not be for others.
“There is no difference, really. They want the same thing — lower rates, certainty, simplification and sound transition rules,” insisted Bruce Josten, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the influential group’s top lobbyist.
The National Association of Manufacturers takes a similar public tack, preferring for now to avoid talk of competing visions among its members. “It’s hard to talk about a hypothetical,” said Dorothy Coleman, the association’s vice president of tax policy. “Right now, we are very much focused on going to the Hill and spreading our members’ concerns.”
Manufacturers want Congress to avoid the “fiscal cliff” of expiring tax measures and pending spending cuts, which if left unchanged this month could send the economy skidding downward.
“We’re going to lose jobs, we’re going to probably go into a double-dip recession, and it’s going to set us back about 10 years,” Coleman warned regarding the cliff.
The most-immediate threat for many businesses is letting the Bush-era tax cuts on personal income expire at the end of December. President Barack Obama wants to extend them for everyone but the top 2 percent of earners. That might be good for middle-class Americans, but it could hurt many of the roughly 4.5 million business owners who are “S corporations,” whose business earnings are declared as personal income on their 1040 tax forms like most people’s pay.
In a Nov. 27 letter to congressional leaders from both parties that spells out the competing interests, 42 trade associations whose members mostly declare their business earnings through their personal taxes pleaded for lawmakers to avoid pitting them against corporate interests.
“There is no economic or political justification for reform that lowers marginal tax rates on corporations while raising either marginal or effective tax rates on the 95 percent of businesses structured as pass-through entities,” said the trade associations, whose members range from grocers to truckers to general contractors.
For big corporations whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and who donate heartily to political campaigns, there’s ambivalence about the tax plight of smaller businesses. They’re rooting for a deal that averts the fiscal cliff with a temporary measure that promises a comprehensive overhaul of the tax code.
In that event, corporations hope to knock down the corporate tax rate, which is higher than in most developed nations, to somewhere around 25 to 28 percent. In theory, they’d agree to give up myriad tax loopholes in exchange for a lower rate, but already many are scrambling to try to lock in their existing preferential treatment.
Big banks that underwrite mortgages fear that a deal that would cap or end the tax deductions homeowners enjoy on mortgage interest. Similarly, equipment manufacturers worry about any deal that slows the ability of their buyers to depreciate assets. The chamber’s Josten said $5.5 trillion to $7 trillion in depreciable assets are outstanding: Examples are fleet vehicles, tractors and office buildings.Abrupt changes to tax rules could hurt companies that have made long-term investments under the current tax laws.
“You cannot flick a light switch on and off and say. ‘Take this,’ ” Josten said. | <urn:uuid:83f57949-e126-4f8f-9b7a-6686b02c26cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/12/09/big-business-vs--small-at-edge-of-cliff.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953003 | 925 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Andrew Nisker, a Canadian director, decided to check what happens when you don't throw the garbage away and leave it at home. His good friends, the McDonald family volunteered to keep the garbage at home for 3 months and keep track of their garbage. The result of this fascinating experience is the film 'Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home'.
This film was released three months ago and already gets a lot of media attention and already was seen by many people all over the world, and even more important - it moves many people to think about their garbage and take action!
I wanted to learn more about the film and its vision and interviewed the creator and director of the film, Andrew Nisker -
There was a garbage strike in 2002 and I walked through a park where the trash piled up and started to think about all the waste we generate. I started to wonder what would happen if the garbageman stopped picking up my trash. Would that have a profound impact on my consumption habits?
So instead of subjecting myself to self imposed garbage strike, I found some willing victims (the Mcdonald family) who were willing to succumb to my experiment and keep their trash for three months. I figured if I could document the process and share it with audiences they too might start to think about the impact their lifestyles is having on the environment. The film is not just about garbage its about all the waste a typical household creates by driving, cleaning, eating…
What was the thing that surprised you the most during the making of the film about garbage and its environmental impacts?
I realized that we create a lot more trash then we think we do and how easy it is to cut that trash output. Anybody can take a pollution audit and say “ what can I do to change and create less pollution?”.
When I clean my house, can I get rid of those chemical cleaners and use more natural ones? When I buy take out food, can I bring my own container? Can I drink tap water instead of bottled water? When I get a new car can it be more fuel efficient or better yet can I get rid of it all together?
Aren't you afraid that by focusing on the environmental impacts of individuals, you're giving companies and governments the legitimacy to continue in their acts? shouldn't we first demand from companies and governments to make changes because of their ability to significantly influence our lives?
I say do both. Demand but lead by example. The only way governments and business big and small are going to change is by pressure from below. By voting and voting with your pocket book, governments and corporations will have no choice but to change. Every vote counts and every choice you make during the course of the day matters, as far as the environment is concerned. The most important thing is to realize you have the power to make a difference. Take it as a personal challenge and have fun making the changes you believe are important.
I saw your interview with Fox News, where you explain that the film doesn't try to make people abandon their modern lifestyle, but rather than that, just wants people to reexamine their lifestyle and start thinking about things differently. Do you think that we can really achieve significant results from taking small steps (like stopping using plastic bags)? don't you think we need a more radical change in the way we live and consume?
Radical change would be nice but its not realistic. Underwhelming not overwhelming people with the issues at hand will lead to positive results. Like the title of the film says, THE REVOLUTION STARTS AT HOME. Taking small steps at home, as I point out in the film make huge difference.
How did the film changed the McDonald family? are they still good friends of yours?
Yes, they are good friends and they have gotten rid of one their SUV’s. Stopped drinking bottled water, using plastic bags and are much more environmentally aware of the impacts of their lifestyle. They avoid over packaged goods. Have gotten rid of chemical cleaners. Simple steps that over the course of a year add up to a big savings for the environment.
You want the film to be more than just a film - you want it to make a difference and you try to distribute it in a very unique way that is using social networking to spread the word about the film. How is that working for you? how many people have already seen the film? can you give us few examples how the movie inspired other people to make a difference?
Since the release of Garbage! a mere 3 months ago over 70 communities have screened the film world wide, 20,000 visitors have come to our website at www.garbagerevolution.com , over 2000 people have joined our mailing list, Super Channel licenced the film for nation broadcast in Canada, it has been programmed for the 2008 Hot Doc’s film festival , sold over 1000 dvd’s through the online store and at local screenings and over 100 schools, universities and colleges have bought the film throughout the English speaking world.
We don’t want people to just see Garbage! we want our audience to take action and join our online community and help us have our film screened world wide by hosting screening parties.
We also want viewers to upload videos that inspire others to change. Tell us what you are doing to reduce your environmental impact.
Here are some example of how the film has inspired our audience…
Tappening – is a movement to put an end to bottled water. It was inspired by Garbage! They have over 1.9 million pages view on their site thus far and have sold ten of thousands of reusable water bottles.
Catherine Porter a reporter for the Toronto Star who interviewed me about the film was inspired by the west Virginia coal story and went down to Coal River Valley, Wv and wrote an expose for the paper.
Fleming college held a coffee cup garbage audit to reduce coffee cup waste after viewing Garbage!
A group of students at a local high school where the film was screened is now pressuring their cafeteria to get rid of disposable plates.
There are more examples with video on our website at http://www.garbagerevolution.com/
What would an acceptable "garbage footprint" be for a family like the McDonald family?
I don’t know. Everyone is different and its not for me to tell others what is acceptable.
If people do the best they can to decrease their trash"garbage footprint" - what's next? what would you recommend they do further?
Get others to do the same. Host a screening party and share you experience.
You end the film with an optimistic message and a sense that we can change things. I actually finished watching your film and felt very gloomy after seeing all environmental damage that we're doing without noticing it. How did you manage to stay so optimistic?
My son represents the future for me and I can only be optimistic about the world he about to inherit. It’s not easy knowing what I know but I know we are finally starting to change. Remember when I started this film in 2003 green ideas were dismissed by mainstream media. 2007 was the year the Green revolution arrived and it is here to stay.
How did the making of this film influenced you (and your garbage) personally?
I have curbed my drinking of bottled water by 95%; I purged my home of chemical cleaners; I use my car less and walk more. I think about everything I buy and choose products based on packaging and how they are manufactured.
Garbage 2 is going to be a film made up of user generated content submitted to our site. A film by the people for the people so I encourage everyone to take action and tell us what you are doing to change your world. The best pieces of content we will put together in a video mash that
will hopefully inspire others to change the lifestyle for the sake of future generations.
Thank you Andrew!
Raz @ Eco-Libris | <urn:uuid:2ccfce14-08ef-46cc-b6a4-b7ea1460f8c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ecolibris.blogspot.com/2008_03_13_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972573 | 1,633 | 2.375 | 2 |
The Blame the Community Reinvestment Act Industry, by Dean Baker (Creative Commons License): One of the major occupations for economists these days is blaming efforts to help poor people for the housing bubble and bust. The main villains in this story are Fannie Mae, Freddic Mac, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). A reader recently sent me another work in this proud tradition.
I just did a quick reading of the paper, but it seems that the smoking gun in this one is that banks subject to the CRA appeared to do more lending in CRA tracts in the periods where their lending behavior was being scrutinized by regulators. Just to remind folks, the CRA requires banks to make loans in the areas from which they were taking deposits, in particular focusing on areas that are disproportionately African American or Hispanic. The authors take this timing result, which is especially pronounced in the peak bubble years of 2004-2006, as evidence that the CRA played a major role in the pushing of bad loans on moderate income people. As they note, the loans issued in these tracts in these periods had a much higher default rate than other loans.
It's not clear that this gun is smoking quite as much the paper implies. First, it is important to remember that the biggest peddlers of subprime loans were mortgage lenders like Ameriquest and Countrywide. These lenders were for the most part not subject to the CRA since they were not banks (they raised money through the capital markets, not by taking deposits). Therefore the CRA was not a gun to the head of these lenders forcing them to make bad loans.
However even for the banks to whom the CRA did apply the evidence in this paper is less compelling than it may seem. Let's assume that banks do care about their CRA ratings for the reasons mentioned in the paper. (The CRA rating would likely be a factor that would come up when a bank was interested in a buyout or merger.) Let's also imagine that banks time their loans to CRA tracts so that they can show more loans in the periods where their compliance is being reviewed. Let's also hypothesize that in total the CRA doesn't get banks to make any more loans to CRA tracts than they would otherwise.
In this case, we would get exactly the sort of pattern of lending found in this study. Banks that are subject to the CRA would refrain from focusing on CRA tracts when they know no one is looking. Then when the light is on, they would make a stronger effort to make loans in the neighborhoods covered by the CRA. If banks engaged in this sort of timing of loans to CRA tracts, we would find that loans during CRA review periods were higher than in other times, even if there was no net increase in loans as a result of the CRA.
As a practical matter, I would be surprised if the CRA had no effect whatsoever on lending to the covered tracts. But it's not clear how this paper can distinguish a timing effect from a situation where banks actually increased lending to CRA tracts beyond what they would have done without the law.
In the process of prosecuting the case against the CRA, the paper produces some exonerating evidence for Fannie and Freddie. It finds that the CRA effect was strongly associated with private securitization because the investment banks had lower standards than Fannie and Freddie. It comments on this finding:
"We conjecture that banks are more likely to originate loans to risky borrowers around CRA examinations when they have an avenue to securitize and pass these loans to private investors after the exam."
And, just to remind folks, the FHA became almost irrelevant in the peak bubble years, with its share of the market dwindling to almost nothing. At the time it was derided as an outmoded relic since the private sector was so much more efficient in providing loans to low and moderate income families.
Anyhow, I don't think there is any doubt that the efforts to push homeownership went seriously awry in the bubble years. Many of the organizations that encouraged moderate income families to buy homes at badly inflated prices as a wealth building strategy should be wearing bags over their heads for the next three decades. But there is no escaping the fact that the main motivation for issuing the bad mortgages was money: the banks were booking huge profits in these years. And no believer in the free market can think that bankers have to be told by government bureaucrats to go out and make money. | <urn:uuid:a1e59ca6-370f-4814-9de1-30a72097732a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2013/01/the-blame-the-community-reinvestment-act-industry.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985411 | 906 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Whether you’re an avid exerciser or just getting started, maintaining an exercise routine can be tough. These tips can help you get over the slump and make those workouts part of your life rather than something you dread.
Do you often feel like you don’t have the time or energy to get in a good workout? I promise, I know the feeling. Some mornings when my alarm goes off, all I want to do is unplug it and snooze for an extra hour instead of heading out for a run. It got especially hard when I started marathon training. As the runs got longer, my start time had to get earlier and earlier to keep my running schedule from interfering with my work day.
These little tricks helped me immensely during marathon training, and they’re definitely the reason that I’ve been able to keep up a regular running routine now that there’s nothing that I’m training for.
1. Drink less booze. This might seem like a no-brainer, but the night before your workout, skipping the booze in favor or water can make a big difference. Even low levels of dehydration can impact your workout, and you’ll have a much easier time exercising if you didn’t drink the night before. If just water seems a little boring, try whipping up a healthy mocktail, so you won’t feel left out.
2. Try intervals. If you’re getting tired of your routine or you feel like you’ve hit a plateau, working in some interval training can kick things into gear. Intervals are simple to do: you rotate between an easy and difficult pace. For example, on our Friday runs, my partner and I do two minutes of running as fast as we can, then two minutes of walking for our three mile route.
3. Take it outside. If you’re used to working out at the gym, try taking your workout outdoors. Walking, running, cycling, or even yoga outside is a whole different experience than inside a gym with all of the fluorescent lighting. One of the hardest runs I had during marathon training was on a treadmill, and it was less than half the distance of most of the runs in that training program.
Next: Even more motivational workout ideas!
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers. | <urn:uuid:687fae96-a905-40b5-82d3-ace7562d07e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.care2.com/greenliving/7-ways-to-jumpstart-your-workout.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955194 | 502 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Licking Heights' Barrington named National Merit semifinalist
Licking Heights High School guidance counselor Rahsaan Simmons was not surprised that senior Brennan Barrington is a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist.
"He's super bright," Simmons said. "He's one of those out-of-the box thinkers."
Simmons said Barrington is particularly talented in science classes. He scored a 35 on his ACT test, which included a perfect science score.
Simmons said Barrington's performance on the PSAT, a preparatory test for the SAT, placed him in the running for a National Merit Scholarship. He said Barrington scored an 80 in critical reading and an 87 in math, placing him in the 99th percentile in both categories, and a 71 in writing, placing Barrington in the 98th percentile.
Simmons said Barrington is inquisitive and tutors students preparing for the ACT. He said Barrington has also worked with NASA programs and is taking all post-secondary classes at the Ohio State University.
"He's just involved in a lot in the field of science," Simmons said.
Barrington said he is looking to attend MIT or the California Institute of Technology.
If neither of those works out, he said he will consider attending Yale or Cornell.
"I'd like to do something in physical science: aerospace or nuclear," he said. "I've always been a big space person."
Barrington said he particularly is interested in researching new technology for lighter-than-air aircraft.
"There's all kinds of potential," he said, as fuel prices rise, making heavier aircraft less cost-effective.
Currently, Barrington is enrolled in Calculus II, microeconomics and introduction to Java programming at Ohio State. Outside the classroom, he enjoys soccer, Quiz Bowl and volunteer projects.
The National Merit Scholarship Corp. on Sept. 12 announced the names of approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. According to a press release, these high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million.
To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship , semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition.
About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
Three types of scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2013.
Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 $2,500 scholarships. About 1,000 corporate-sponsored scholarship will be provided by approximately 240 corporations and business organizations for finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located.
In addition, about 200 colleges and universities are expected to finance about 4,800 scholarship awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.
National Merit Scholarship winners for 2013 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April. | <urn:uuid:aad7efc1-f19f-4c9f-9c45-842039f63ae9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/lickingcounty/news/2012/09/14/licking-heights-barrington-named-national-merit-semifinalist.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961029 | 642 | 1.640625 | 2 |
ZAGREB — The Obama administration is looking for a new group of Syrians to lead the rebellion against President Bashar Assad. It says the Syrian National Council (SNC) has shown itself unable to unify the opposition and end the Assad family’s four decades of rule.
The SNC long looked to be the foundation of a transitional authority to replace President Assad. But Washington has watched with frustration at the opposition's personality-driven leadership and its failure to incorporate more minority Alawites and Kurds. They can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition, said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"They can be part of a larger opposition, but that opposition must include people from inside Syria and others who have a legitimate voice that needs to be heard," Clinton said, adding that Syria needs opposition leaders who represent everyone.
"It is not a secret that many inside Syria are worried about what comes next. They have no love lost for the Assad regime, but they worry, rightly so, about the future," said Clinton. "And so there needs to be an opposition that can speak to every segment and every geographic part of Syria."
That, she said, comes from inside Syria.
"This cannot be an opposition represented by people who have many good attributes but have, in many instances, not been inside Syria for 20, 30, or 40 years. There has to be a representation of those who are on the front lines, fighting and dying today to obtain their freedom," said Clinton.
The push from the Obama administration comes as more local governance emerges in areas controlled by the rebel Free Syrian Army. Steve Heydemann, who directs Middle East programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace, said the new leadership in these areas have credibilty.
"They pose some very interesting new possibilities for how civilian control might emerge in Syria from the bottom-up rather than from the top-down or from the outside-in," he said.
Politicians outside Syria increasingly risk being eclipsed by FSA fighters, he added.
"One of the big challenges to the political opposition now is that the leadership of the FSA has moved its headquarters inside of Syria. And it increases the perception that the civilian leadership is out of touch, not in direct contact with the people who are on the front lines of this revolution."
Heydemann said the Assad regime sees limits of foreign military support for its opponents.
"They are feeling emboldened. They feel as if Russia, China, Iran, Hezbollah are very firmly on their side. They sense the prevarication of the international community in increasing its support for the opposition. And they feel that gives them the advantage. I'm afraid that their calculus in that regard could turn out to be correct," said Heydemann.
Still, Clinton said Washington is not giving up on the mediation efforts of United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. | <urn:uuid:e7e2d4e2-5b59-4704-bcee-a83d803a3352> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.voanews.com/content/us-looking-for-new-civilian-leadership-in-syrian-opposition/1537371.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971021 | 604 | 1.726563 | 2 |
National Guard Asbestos
The National Guard is the oldest branch of the U.S. military and serves both its state and federal governments. Its members are just as likely to serve in their home communities as they are overseas in combat situations. So National Guard asbestos exposure has always been a risk on two fronts.
National Guard asbestos exposure can occur when personnel use military equipment made with asbestos. Additionally, National Guard asbestos exposure can also occur while assisting in local disaster recovery efforts.
National Guard Asbestos Concerns
Any buildings damaged in a disaster area may contain asbestos products, the fibers of which infiltrate the cloud of dust and debris that result. For example, the cloud of dust that hung over Manhattan for days following the September 11 attacks contained large amounts of dangerous asbestos fibers. National Guardsmen sent in to help people in disaster areas such as this have an increased risk of becoming sick from National Guard asbestos exposure.
If you or a loved one served between 1930 and 1980, were deployed to either combat or disaster sites, and have since become sick with an asbestos cancer such as mesothelioma, National Guard asbestos exposure may have occurred.
National guard asbestos exposure, as well as exposure in other military branches, was so widespread during this time period that the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) listed military personnel as one of the top job categories for possible asbestos exposure.
Indeed, veterans and mesothelioma have become quite connected in recent decades. And the long latency period of this deadly disease means that a veteran remains at risk for years after an initial exposure to National Guard asbestos, Army asbestos, Air Force asbestos or any other military contact with the mineral.
Your Legal Options Following National Guard Asbestos Exposure
If you or a loved one has suffered National Guard asbestos exposure that resulted in mesothelioma, there may be legal action you can pursue against the makers of the asbestos product that harmed you.
Speak to a mesothelioma attorney at Sokolove Law today to learn more mesothelioma symptoms and the possibility of pursuing a National Guard asbestos lawsuit that could result in a significant monetary settlement.
You can also find more information about mesothelioma and asbestos awareness here at Mesothelioma Help Now. | <urn:uuid:88187819-033f-425b-ab6d-73abb849aa63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mesotheliomahelpnow.com/national-guard-asbestos | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952285 | 462 | 3.046875 | 3 |
• Michigan cut $350 million from state programs this year.
• Facing a $1.7 billion deficit, state agencies have been ordered to cut an additional 8 percent.
• Tax changes are being considered.
Ethel McCauley passed out while driving near Muskegon last August. Her car careened across five lanes of traffic and smashed into a utility pole. Rescue workers used the jaws of life to extract the 88-year-old woman from her vehicle.
Thanks to a pilot state program called Single Point of Entry for Long Term Care, her son and daughter-in-law, Floyd and Cheryl McCauley, received guidance from a counselor trained in navigating the long-term care system in placing Ethel in an assisted living center in North Muskegon.
But the three-year-old program that helped them and 55,000 other families find suitable caregivers within the Medicaid system was ended by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, D, and the legislature in June as part of $350 million in budget cuts. Effective Oct. 1, Granholm has proposed another 8 percent in state agency cuts to address the worst deficit in 50 years.
“In the face of a $1.7 billion state deficit, the legislature could be forced to wipe out virtually every human service Michigan continues to offer to resolve that deficit,” said Steve Gools, senior state director of AARP Michigan.
Among the program cuts so far:
•Single Point of Entry for Long Term Care: When the governor cut the remaining $2.1 million of the state’s $6.3 million annual share, federal matching funds evaporated and the program ended May 31. The state and federal governments had split the annual cost of the $12.7 million pilot program.
• No Worker Left Behind: $7.8 million was cut from the $130.6 million federal-state program that helps retrain workers who have lost their jobs.
•Medicaid: $20 million was cut from the state’s $1.6 billion share of the federal-state Medicaid program. That reduced payments to doctors, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Chiropractic, vision and dental services were eliminated.
The dramatic spending cuts have prompted groups like AARP and UAW to lobby lawmakers in person, send e-mails, produce surveys and host rallies calling on the legislature to reinstate or preserve vital services.
Three tax proposals have drawn the most attention:
1. Closing tax loopholes estimated to be worth $400 million. Granholm has proposed closing loopholes worth $230 million.
2. Expanding the 6 percent sales tax to cover services such as haircuts and lawn care. It would raise an estimated $1.6 billion a year—but the legislature hastily repealed a previous effort two years ago in the face of widespread opposition.
3. Replacing the state’s 4.35 percent income tax with a graduated income tax. It would raise an estimated $600 million but would require a constitutional amendment that would have to be approved by voters.
The Michigan League for Human Services estimated a graduated income tax could reduce the tax burden on more than 90 percent of taxpayers. AARP and other coalition members support the graduated tax as the most equitable way to generate revenue.
“With our current flat tax, we are taxing individuals below the poverty level at the same rate as millionaires and billionaires,” Gools said.
A recent poll showed strong public support for the graduated tax.
“We need revenue solutions, not more cuts,” said Sharon Parks, director of the Michigan League for Human Services.
The option that appears to have the best chance is closing tax loopholes. A coalition, including AARP, is calling for the reform. Cheryl McCauley said there is a need to restore services such as the Single Point of Entry program.
“I couldn’t navigate the system by myself,” she said. When she finally found help, “You wouldn’t believe the relief I felt physically and emotionally.”
Maureen McDonald is a freelance writer living in Detroit, Mich. | <urn:uuid:83951f52-bb58-4bb9-a1bc-b899ed03b432> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-06-2009/michigan_tax_reform.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 | 0.955324 | 850 | 1.710938 | 2 |
In a March 18 Washington Times column, Robert Knight attacked anti-bullying legislation, claiming "the federal government is going to whip local schools into line using its vast fiscal powers" and calling the legislation "a politically correct form of bullying. To oppose this abuse of power implies you actually want these poor kids to be harassed."
Knight also used the column to launch anti-gay attacks on Obama administration Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings and columnist Dan Savage:
Ms. Speier's new school-bullying idea mirrors President Obama's recent interest in the subject. On March 10, he held an "anti-bullying" conference at the White House. Besides "safe schools czar" Kevin Jennings, invitees included anti-Christian homosexual activist Dan Savage, who attained some fame in 2000 for claiming to have licked the doorknobs of pro-family Republican candidate Gary Bauer's office in hopes of giving Mr. Bauer the flu. Now that's the kind of participant we should have at every anti-bullying conference, if only as a role model.
The government, under the auspices of three federal agencies, has created a website dedicated to ending bullying. Paraphrasing Mrs. Higgins, here's the site's underlying philosophy: 1) Homosexual behavior is equivalent to race, 2) any kind of sex is morally positive, and 3) expressing any conservative moral beliefs leads to bullying. What a neat formula for suppressing dissent.
Knight further attacked opponents of Rep. Peter King's anti-Muslim "radicalization" hearings:
Speaking of bullying, Ms. Speier was in rare form along with other Democrats on March 10 at Rep. Peter King's Homeland Security Committee's hearing on radicalization of U.S. Muslims.
She rebuked the committee for focusing on Islamic terror instead of expanding it to "Christian" terrorist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan or the violent anti-abortion group Army of God, and she assailed some witnesses.
Given Ms. Speier's fiery demeanor toward anyone who conveys the idea that radical Islam is more of a threat than, say, a Baptist ladies knitting club, it's no wonder Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy D. Baca almost fell over himself praising Islam as a religion of peace and unloading nuggets like this:
"The Muslim community is no less or no more important than others, as no one can predict with complete accuracy who and what will pose the next threat against our nation."
As I said, watch out for those ladies and their knitting needles. OK, that's not fair. Ms. Speier and Sheriff Baca were talking about groups that actually commit violence. But given the threat we face, the moral equivalence is still stunning. | <urn:uuid:1258e074-6c56-460a-be80-4ad3501af458> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mediamatters.org/blog/2011/03/20/washington-times-knight-uses-anti-bullying-legi/177750 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941599 | 555 | 1.609375 | 2 |
In-Home Childcare Employment Issues
In This Article:
Also as an employer, you have various legal responsibilities of which you need to be aware. You may be required to withhold certain payroll taxes, sometimes called nanny taxes, from the nanny's paycheck, and pay them over to the Internal Revenue Service. You may be liable for state taxes as well. There also are state and federal statutes that apply to the business relationship between you and the nanny, perhaps in much the same way that your own workplace may be regulated.
Please keep in mind that this article is meant only as an overview of your potential tax and legal liabilities. Consult a tax expert or lawyer for specific advice on what you are or are not required to file or pay if you hire an in-home childcare provider.
The Employment Agreement
Once you have settled on your preferred nanny candidate, it is advisable to formalize your professional relationship with an employment agreement. Unlike the application, this should be a comprehensive document, with as many terms of your agreement memorialized in writing as possible. The main reason to have a contract with specific terms is to help prevent your nanny from accusing you of breach of contract if you decide to terminate the employment relationship. A discussion of some of the more important parts of the agreement follows.
Be sure to specify the people who are to be bound by the agreement. This means the nanny, you, and your spouse (if applicable). Include the addresses of all parties.
Responsibilities of the Childcare Provider/Job Description
Describe what tasks you want the nanny to perform relative to the job of providing childcare. (Additional housework is discussed in a later section.) Be thorough in including the general categories of activities you wish the nanny to undertake, but leave flexibility in the particulars. For instance, require that the nanny facilitate learning, but do not limit the methods by which she can accomplish this. Provide examples of educational activities, but state that the list is not limited to those that are specified.
Start Date/Contract Term
Differentiate between the date the contract is entered and the date that employment is to start. If they are two separate dates, both should be included in the contract. The agreement date is the date that the employment relationship is entered. The start date indicates when the nanny's care-giving responsibilities and the parents' duty to pay the nanny begin. Also, provide either an end date or a specific time period for the life of the agreement. A one- or two-year term is fairly typical.
Wages should be very specific. The pay rate should be expressed in hourly, daily, or weekly terms. If the nanny may be expected to provide babysitting services above and beyond her normal work hours, overtime pay should be designated in writing. If possible, explain in the contract the circumstances under which overtime work would be requestedfor example, the amount of advance notice that the nanny could expect before being called upon to stay late at work.
Employment taxes in the nanny situation are discussed in this article. For purposes of the nanny agreement, you will want to set out which party is responsible for remitting the necessary taxes from the nanny's pay to the proper state or federal agency. Certain taxes must be withheld by the employer while others may be paid by either party on behalf of the nanny. The latter type of tax can be withheld and paid over by the employer only if the nanny agrees.
More on: Childcare
Copyright © 2005 by Linda H. Connell. Excerpted from The Childcare Answer Book with permission of its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.
To order this book visit Amazon.com. | <urn:uuid:fec54f28-784c-4f57-a911-5a208d928094> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://life.familyeducation.com/working-parents/child-care/40381.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956211 | 756 | 1.703125 | 2 |
1882. A compilation of choice extracts from other writers, with a few paragraphs by Holcombe, on the subject of the life of God in the human soul. The intention of this book is to see how the life of religion in external things may be energized and sanctified by the habit of spiritual contemplation and prayer.
The extracts from Fenelon and Madam Guyon do not cultivate the spirit of mysticism, however, they are in full accord with the practical teachings of Swedenborg.
show more show less | <urn:uuid:e66c35d3-feb3-47ca-a0ba-8c651e51a6b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.textbooksrus.com/search/bookdetail/default.aspx?isbn=9781169698055 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929183 | 106 | 1.96875 | 2 |
May 21st, 2013 World Day for Cultural Diversity May 22nd, 2013 National Maritime Day May 22nd, 2013 World Biological Diversity Day May 25th, 2013 African Liberation Day May 26th, 2013 Trinity Sunday May 27th, 2013 Jefferson Davis Birthday May 27th, 2013 Memorial Day May 29th, 2013 International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers May 30th, 2013 Corpus Christi May 31st, 2013 World No Tobacco Day June 1st, 2013 Statehood Day June 3rd, 2013 Jefferson Davis Birthday June 4th, 2013 World Day for Child Victims of Aggression June 5th, 2013 World Environment Day June 6th, 2013 Isra and Mi'raj June 8th, 2013 World Oceans Day June 11th, 2013 Kamehameha Day June 12th, 2013 World Day Against Child Labour June 14th, 2013 World Blood Donor Day June 14th, 2013 Flag Day June 16th, 2013 Father's Day June 17th, 2013 Bunker Hill Day June 17th, 2013 World Day to Combat Desertification June 19th, 2013 Juneteenth June 20th, 2013 World Refugee Day June 20th, 2013 West Virginia Day June 21st, 2013 June Solstice
Exact copy of the Gladius (sword) used by General Maximus in the Hit Film “GLADIATOR”.
DESCRIPTION: The Roman Gladius Sword was a short and powerful weapon designed primarily for stabbing and jabbing enemy soldiers at extremely close quarters. Roman soldiers were impeccably trained how to use the Gladius and the Battle Shield together to inflict injury and death upon all adversaries. The Gladius was the primary battle weapon of the Roman foot soldier. From the blood-soaked gladiator arenas to the brutal carnage of the battlefields, “Gladiator” offered an unflinching look at the honor and savagery required of Roman Warriors. Equally unflinching were the film’s prop designers who paid homage to the era with weaponry crafted in beautifully authentic detail and design. The Sword of Maximus, an exact preproduction of the sword used by General Maximus in the film, showcases this attention to authenticity. Mirror-polishedstainless steel double-edged blade, specifically drawn and tapered to encourage severe and lethal wounds. The hilt runs a glorious gamut of textures, materials and tones: brass-adorned wooded guard and ball pommel bookend in striking off-tone contrast the milky elegance of the imitation ivory grip. Comes with a belted, leather-wrapped wooden scabbard. Scabbard is brass-accented at throat and tip. Great item for the historical collector!
"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, Loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next!"
The Series "SPARTACUS": Betrayed by the Romans. Forced into slavery. Reborn as a Gladiator. The classic tale of the Republic’s most infamous rebel comes alive in the graphic and visceral new series, "Spartacus: Blood and Sand." Torn from his homeland and the woman he loves, Spartacus is condemned to the brutal world of the arena where blood and death are primetime entertainment. But not all battles are fought upon the sands. Treachery, corruption, and the allure of sensual pleasures will constantly test Spartacus. To survive, he must become more than a man. More than a gladiator. He must become a legend.
Overall Length with Scabbard: 40”
Blade Length: 30”
Blade Material: High Carbon Stainless Steel
Blade Sharpness: Blade is Sword Sharp (NOTE-Swords are never razor sharp. This sword is not a toy, if miss used it can cause injury or death)
Blade Type: Double Edged,Tapered Point, the blade has been constructed with the traditional cross section rhombus design.
Handle:The handle of the sword is imitation ivory with a golden medallion in the middle of the grip. The ball pommel is beautifully recreated with golden leaves enclosing the richly dark wood
Guard: The guard is wood with steel fittings.Printed on therimof the fitting is SPQR (Rome in Latin).
Scabbard: Belted, Leather Wrapped Wood with brass accents. It begins with a golden scabbard throat. the drag of the sheath features the tradititional ball point design. the three carrying straps are leather with a steel hooked fastener. The carrying rings attaching the leather straps to the scabbard are solid with laurel leaves and a lion head worked into the steel.
Sword Condition: Brand New, Shipped in Factory Box
WEIGHT: 2 lb. 10 oz
SHIPING WT.: 6 lbs.
Picture of item is provided by manufacturer/supplier. Picture is for advertisement purpose only. Shipping includes Insurance Fee $2.60 and Handling Fee $4.00. + Postage
NOTE: Payment is due at the end of sale/purchase. I prefer Pay Pal. I accept all major credit cards and echeck. It normally takes 4 working days for echeck to clear. As always all products are 100% satisfaction guaranteed. Insurance (if noted)is included in the S&H. I charge a flat rate handling fee for all domestic sales as follows: HANDLING = (pulling item, checking item for flaws, packaging as per shipper’s polices) $4.00. SHIPPING = Insurance (if noted) + Postage. POSTAGE isdependant on item’s size, weight and destination. Buyer is responsible for shipping &handling fees. RETURN POLICES: If after initial inspection product is found to be defective or damaged in shipping, return in unused condition, in original packaging, with all the paper work, instruction sheet, parts list, manual, packing material etc. Return must be double boxed (the sellers shipping box with all the items in the sellers shipping box are to be placed in a box furnished by buyer for return to seller) Place a copy of the invoice inside the buyer's box and a R.M.A. label on the outside box, buyer must contact seller within 3 days (Based on Delivery Confirmation) of receipt of product for exchange or full credit unless otherwise noted. A 20% restocking fee will be charged for any non-defective return. NOTE: Buyer must contact seller for return instructions prior to returning product. Buyer failsany of thesesteps return can not be accepted.
INTERNATIONAL SALES: I charge a flat rate handling fee for all International sales as follows: HANDLING = (pulling item, checking item for flaws, filing of forms and special packaging as per shipper’s polices) $14.00. SHIPPING = Postage. Buyeris responsible for S&H plus all taxes, fees, tariffs etc... Seller is not responsible for items sold internationally once they leave his control.NO RETURNS ON INTERNATIONAL SALES. PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR FURTHER DETAIL.
Summary of My Selling Policies
METHODS ACCEPTED: I Prefer Pay Pal, I accept all major credit cards and echeck. NOTE: No personal checks accepted OTHER: Payment is due at the end of sale/at time of purchase. After 7 days, non-payer notice sent. Negative response is left for buyer.
STATE TAXES: Taxes applicable on some items, will be noted in description and appropriate area of sales form. HANDLING & PACKAGING FEES: Continental United States $4.00 INTERNATIONAL: HANDLING, DOCUMENTATION & PACKAGING FEES: $14.00 Buyer is responsible for all DUTIES, LICENSES, TAXES, TARIFFS, CUSTOMS FEES etc.
WHERE SHIPPED: Cont. United States only SHIPPING OPTION: UPS Ground-available in U.S. COST $: Dependent on item weight, size and destination INSURANCE: Included, exceptions will be noted
TRACKING: Included when applicable SHIPPING OPTION: USPS Priority, USPS 1st Class available in U.S.
COST $: Dependent on item weight, size and destination INSURANCE: Included, exceptions will be noted
TRACKING: Included when
ALL POSTAGE FEES, both to you and back to us are the responsibility of the purchaser
WHERE SHIPPED: International SHIPPING OPTIONS: USPS PRIORITY INTERNATIONAL, UPS STANDARD PREPAID (CANADA), UPS EXPEDITED PREPAID COST $: Dependent on item’s weight, size and destination INSURANCE: If available charged to buyer TRACKING: Included if available
WHEN SHIPPED: Shipment occurs within 5-6 days after payment received and processed. E-checks normally take 4 working days to clear. FREQUENCY OF SHIPPING: Shipments happen every day except Saturdays Sundays and Holidays. INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENT: Allow 10 to 15 days delivery time
BUYER RESPONSIBLE: for knowing the International and local shipping/receiving laws pertaining to his/her country and town
Refunds & Returns
CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES ARE RETURNS ALLOWED: Only if different from description, and only within the continental United States. CONDITION OF RETURNED ITEMS: As Received at time of delivery to buyer
TIMING OF RETURNS: Items can be returned within 72 hours of receipt of item. Verified by tracking info. ALERT SELLER BEFORE RETURNING: Returns accepted only with an RMA number. RESTOCKING FEE: Yes, 20% NOTE: No WARRANTIES given or RETURNS accepted on all INTERNATIONAL SALES, NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ITEMS LOST OR SEIZED by AUTHORITIES
BEST WAY TO CONTACT ME: Email I NORMALLY RESPOND WITHIN: 24 hours
DAYS I AM OFF: Weekends and Holidays
offer WITH CONFIDENCE Read my policies on my Seal stwithpolicies
Order Acceptance Policy
By placing an order the purchaser represents to knivesiwant that he or she is 18 years or older and will be in compliance with all laws and regulation applicable to the purchase, ownership, carrying and use of this knife. Purchaser must be legally able to order merchandise in your state or jurisdiction. When purchaser places an order you represent that the merchandise you purchased can legally be ordered and owned in your state, county, or city which is your residence. Laws concerning knives vary from state to state. Please check your local laws which might affect the legality of your purchase. Knivesiwant does not represent or warrant that any purchaser may legally purchase or own the merchandise being ordered. Knives and related merchandise are dangerous and should be used properly and not for any illegal purposes. Use good common sense when using any cutlery or related merchandise. The purchaser warrants that he/she will do all that is reasonable to keep knives and related merchandise out of the hands of minors and immature individuals for their own protection. When you purchase from knivesiwant you agree to assume all risks and liability related to and arising from your ownership and use of the merchandise. Purchaser agrees to identify and hold harmless any and all claims brought by any person or entity against knivesiwant related to and or arising from the purchase, ownership, or misuse of this merchandise. Whether you buy in person, by mail, by fax, by phone or the internet, this binds the purchaser, his assigns, heirs, transferees, and representatives to hold harmless knivesiwant from risk and illegal or improper use of the merchandise. | <urn:uuid:db405dfb-7ddb-477d-8f39-4496a4388c28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.holidays.net/store/General-Maximuss-ROMAN-GLADIUS-SWORD-_350517699977.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908781 | 2,479 | 3.03125 | 3 |
( Originally Published Early 1900's )
Miss Lucy opened the paper with trembling fingers. "`A great cavalry fight at Brandy Station! General Lee's telegram. Killed and wounded. " Her three nieces came close to her. "It's not a long bulletin. . . . Thank God, there 's no Cary ! "
She brushed her hand across her eyes, and read on. "We have few particulars as yet. The fighting was severe and lasted all day. The loss on both sides is heavy. Our loss in officers was, as usual, very considerable. Among those killed we have heard the names of Colonel Hampton, brother of General Wade Hampton. Colonel John S. Green, of Rappahannock County, and Colonel Williams, of the Eighteenth North Carolina. The latter was married only one week ago. General W. H. F. Lee, son of General Lee, was shot through the thigh. Colonel Butler, of South Carolina, is reported to have lost a leg. From the meagre accounts we already have we are led to conclude that the fight of Tuesday was one of the heaviest cavalry battles that has occurred during the war, and perhaps the severest ever fought in this country."
Molly drew a long breath. "Let's turn the sheet, Aunt Lucy, and look for Vicksburg."
"A moment!" said Judith. "I saw the word `artillery.' What does it say about the horse artillery ? "
"Just that it made a brilliant fight. A few casualties there are the names."
Judith bent over and read. "You always want to know about the horse artillery," said Molly. "I want to know about everybody, too, but until you've heard about the artillery your eyes are wide and startled as a fawn's. Is there somebody whom you like "
"Don't, Molly!" spoke Miss Lucy. "Don't we all want to know about every arm ? God knows, it is n't just our kith and kin for whom we ache!"
"Of course not!" said Molly. "I just wanted to know "
Judith looked up, steady-eyed again. "So did I, Molly! I just wanted to know. The paper says it was a brilliant fight, and every-body did well those who've ridden on, and those who are lying on the leaves in the woods. And it gives the names of those who are lying there, and we don't know them only that they are names of our brothers. Vicksburg, read about Vicksburg, Aunt Lucy!"
Miss Lucy read. "We have received the Jackson Mississippian as late as the twenty-seventh, since when there has been no reliable in-formation from the besieged city. We have, however, from prison-ers, Northern papers as late as June the first. We quote from them.
"`Washington, June first. Midnight. Up to one o'clock to-night no additional intelligence had been received from General Grant's army later than the previous dispatches of the twenty-eighth, when it was stated that Grant's forces were progressing as favourably as could be expected, and Grant had no fears of the result.'
"Well, I hope that he may yet acquire them," said Unity.
"`Chicago, June first. A special dispatch to the Times dated, "Head-quarters in the Field. Near Vicksburg. May twenty-third," says, "But little has been effected during the last thirty-six hours. Over a hundred pieces of field artillery and several siege guns rained shot and shell on the rebels' works yesterday. The mortar fleet took position behind De Soto Point and bombarded the city during the entire day." '
"Oh," cried Molly. "Oh!"
" `On the right General Sherman has pushed Steele's division squarely to the foot of the parapets. Our men lay in a ditch and on the slope of a parapet, inside one of the principal forts, unable to take it by storm, but determined not to retire. The Federal and Rebel soldiers are not twenty-five feet apart, but both are powerless to inflict much harm. Each watches the other and dozens of muskets are fired as soon as a soldier exposes himself above the works on either side ' "
"Oh, I hope that Edward thinks of Dιsirιe and all of us!"
"If there's need to expose himself he will do it and Dιsirιe and none of us would say, `Think of us!' Go on, Aunt Lucy."
"'Nearly the same condition of things exists in McPherson's front, and his sharpshooters prevent the working of the enemy's pieces in one or two forts. A charge was made yesterday (Friday) morning on one of them by Stephenson's brigade, but was repulsed. Two companies of one brigade got inside, but most of them were captured. The forts are all filled with infantry. Our artillery has dismounted a few guns and damaged the works in some places, but they are still strong ' " "O may they stay so!"
"`General Joe Johnston is reported to be near the Big Black River in our rear, with reinforcements for the besieged army. General Grant can detail men enough for the operations here to keep Johnston in check.'"
"Oh, always their many, many troops!"
"'General McClernand was hard pressed on the left yesterday, and sent for reinforcements. General Quinby's division went to his assistance at four o'clock. The contest continued until one of our flags was planted at the foot of the earthworks on the outside of a rebel fort, and kept there for several hours, but the fort was not taken.'"
"`McClernand's loss yesterday is estimated at one thousand killed and wounded. The fighting grows more desperate each day. The trans-ports are now bringing supplies to within three miles of our right.'"
The group on the Greenwood porch kept silence, then "What from Tennessee ? "
"`A cavalry fight at Franklin. Infantry not engaged. A general battle is, however, considered imminent.'"
Molly put her head down in Judith's lap and. began to cry. "Oh, I want to see father! Oh, I want to see father! Oh, I miss him so!"
Unity knit very fast. Miss Lucy sat, the paper fallen beside her, her fine, dark eyes on the distant mountains. She saw the old, peaceful, early-century years again, and her brothers and herself, children again, playing in the garden at Fontenoy, playing in the garden here at Greenwood, going into town in the great old coach, watching Mr. Jefferson pass and Mr. Madison. She saw her brilliant girlhood set still in so shining, so peaceful a world! .. . The old White and her ball-gowns, and the roses and serenading...
The leisurely progresses, too, from great house to great house, and all in a golden, tranquil world. She saw her beautiful father and mother and a certain lover whom she had had, and her brothers wonderful and gallant. And now the first three were dead, and long dead, and Warwick was with Lee at Culpeper, and Fauquier, yesterday in "the severest cavalry battle yet fought on this continent," and Warwick's son, Edward, fighting in a city besieged ! Everywhere kinsmen and friends, fighting! And the gaunt and ruined country, the burning houses and the turned-out fields, the growing hunger, want no longer skulking, but walking all the highroads, care and wounds and sickness, a chill at all hearts and a lessening of the sunlight! "I have lived out of a gold world into an iron one," thought Miss Lucy.
The old Greenwood carriage came round to the door. Judith kissed Molly and rose, Unity with her. It was their day at the hospital. Isham took them into town, Isham thin and sorrowful, driving the old farm-horses, muttering and mumbling of old times and new. The day was hard at the hospital, though not so hard as there had been days. Soldiers from the Wilderness still choked the rooms, and there was sickness, sickness, sickness! and so little with which to cope with sickness. But it was not so crowded as it had been, nor so desperate. Many had died, and many had grown well enough to go away, and many were convalescent. There were only fifty or so very bad. The two young women, straight and steady, bright and tender, came into a long ward like twin shafts of sun-light.
The ward wanted all the news about Brandy Station it could get, and all the news about Port Hudson and Vicksburg. Cavalry in the ward got into an argument with Artillery, and Infantry had to call the nurses to smooth things down. A man whose arm had been torn from the socket fell to crying softly because there was a piece of shell, he said, between the fingers and he could not get it out.
" `Nerve ends ?' Yes, Doctor, maybe so. . . Then, don't you reckon the nerve ends in my arm out there in the Wilderness are feeling for my shoulder ? Oh, I feel them feeling for it!"
Down the line was a jolly fellow and he sang very loudly
"Yankee Doodle had a mind
Some of the soldiers from the Wilderness, falling wounded in the brush which was set on fire, had been badly burned before their comrades could draw them forth. One of these now, lying wrapped like a mummy in oil-soaked cotton, was begging pitifully for morphia and there was no morphia to give.
"I come from old Manassas with a pocket full of fun; I killed forty Yankees with a single-barrelled gun "
Forenoon, afternoon passed. The nurses dressed and bandaged wounds, bathed and lifted, gave the scanty dole of medicines, brought and held the bowls of broth, aired the wards, straightened the beds, told the news, filled the pipes, read and wrote the home letters, took from dying lips the home messages, closed the eyes of the dead, composed the limbs, saw the body carried out to where the pine coffin waited, turned back with cheer to the ward, dealt the cards for the convalescent, picked up the fallen checker-piece, laughed at all jokes, helped sick and weary Life over many a hard place in the road, saved it many a jolt.
At six o'clock, the two from Greenwood left the hospital. Out-side they saw, on the other side of the street, a small crowd gathering about a bulletin board. They went across as folk always went across when there was seen to be a bulletin. The crowd was largely composed of country people, old men, women, and boys. It parted be-fore the ladies from Greenwood and the two came close to the board. A boy, standing on a great stone beneath, alternately mastered, somewhat slowly, the writing, then, facing around, delivered it in a high young voice to the crowd.
A farmer, bent and old, touched Judith's sleeve. "Miss Judith Cary, you read it to us. I could do it spryer than Tom there, but my eyes are mighty bad."
"I don't mind," said Tom. "They've got so many words that were n't in the reading-books! You do it, Miss Judith."
Judith stepped upon the stone. The board held an account of the 'battle of Brandy Station, later and fuller than that in the morning paper. She read first it was always read first the names of the killed and wounded. It appeared that this crowd had in them only a general interest. There were murmurs respectful and pitying, but no sudden sharp cry from a woman, no groan from a man.
"Further particulars of the fight," read Judith. "The enemy attacked at daybreak. They had with them artillery with which they proceeded furiously to shell General Stuart's headquarters.
The cavalry fighting was desperate and the loss on both sides heavy. We had only cavalry and the artillery in action, the enemy having retreated before our infantry arrived. The fight lasted all day and was conducted with extreme gallantry. Many individual acts of heroism occurred both among officers and men. The horse artillery gathered fresh laurels. The spirit of Pelham stays with it. A gunner named Deaderick
"A gunner named Deaderick, a strongly built man, held at bay a dozen of the enemy who would have laid hands upon his gun which had been dismounted by a shell striking the wheel. Almost singly he kept the rush back until his comrades could replace the gun, train, and serve it, when the attack was completely repulsed and the gun saved "
Judith finished reading. The crowd thanked her. She stepped from the great stone and passed with Unity to where the carriage waited. Isham touched the old farm-horses; they passed out of the town into the June country bathed in sunset light.
For a while there was silence, then, "Judith," said Unity, "I am a talkative wretch, I know, but I can be silent as the grave when I want to be! Where is Richard ? Is he in the horse artillery ? "
"I have never seen you when I did not think you beautiful. But back there, standing on that stone, of a sudden you were most beautiful. It was like a star blazing out, a star with a voice, and some-thing splendid in that, too. Judith, is he that gunner you were reading about ?"
"Yes oh, yes!"
"Well, you don't often cry," said Unity, crying herself. "Cry it out, my dear, cry it out. We have such splendid things nowadays to cry for ! "
Judith dried her tears. "No, I don't often cry. . . . Let it rest, Unity, between us, silent, silent "
That night, at Greenwood, she opened wide the windows of her room, till the moonlight flooded all the floor. She sat in the window seat, in the heart of the silver radiance, her hands clasped upon her knees, her head thrown back against the wood. Before her lay the silver hills; up to her came the breath of the garden lilies. She sat with wide, unseeing eyes; the mind exercising its own vision. It gazed upon the bivouac of the horse artillery; it saw the two days ago battle; and it saw tomorrow's march. It saw the moving guns, and heard the rumbling of them; saw the column of horse and heard the tread, marched side by side with that gunner of the horse artillery. Mists arose and blurred. There was a transition. Judith's mind left the South. It travelled under Northern skies; it sought out and entered Northern prisons. It saw Maury Stafford; saw him walking, walking, a stockaded yard, or standing, standing, before a barred window, looking out, looking up to the stars that shone over Virginia. . . . The prisons, the prisons, North and South, the prisons! Judith fell to shuddering. "O God -- O God! Even our enemy show him mercy!"
Off in the distance a whip-poor-will was calling. The sound was ineffably mournful; the whole night saddened and saddened. The odour of the lilies laid waxen fingers upon the heart. The high, bare sky was worse than a vault hung with clouds. The light wind came like the sigh of an overladen heart. Judith moved, sank forward on the window seat, and wept. | <urn:uuid:bcd819ea-cf53-4eaf-9bcd-a71f41047b88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oldandsold.com/articles29/civil-war-10.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982284 | 3,291 | 2.59375 | 3 |
About the Authors
David W. Ball
Dr. Ball is a professor of chemistry at Cleveland State University in Ohio. He earned his PhD from Rice University in Houston, Texas. His specialty is physical chemistry, which he teaches at the undergraduate and graduate levels. About 50% of his teaching is in general chemistry: chemistry for nonscience majors, GOB, and general chemistry for science and engineering majors. In addition to this text, he is the author of a math review book for general chemistry students, a physical chemistry textbook with accompanying student and instructor solutions manuals, and two books on spectroscopy (published by SPIE Press). He is coauthor of a general chemistry textbook (with Dan Reger and Scott Goode), whose third edition was published in January 2009. His publication list has over 180 items, roughly evenly distributed between research papers and articles of educational interest.
John W. Hill
Dr. Hill is professor emeritus from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls. He earned his PhD from the University of Arkansas. As an organic chemist, he has more than 50 publications in refereed journals, most of which have an educational bent. He has authored or coauthored several introductory level chemistry textbooks, all of which have gone into multiple editions. He has also presented over 60 papers at national conferences, many relating to science education. He has received several awards for outstanding teaching and has long been active in the American Chemical Society—both locally and nationally.
Rhonda J. Scott
Dr. Scott is a professor of chemistry at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee. She earned her PhD from the University of California at Riverside and has a background in enzyme and peptide chemistry. Previous to Southern Adventist, she taught at Loma Linda University and the University of Wisconsin–River Falls. In the past 10 years, she has made several presentations at national American Chemical Society meetings and other workshops and conferences. She has also been very active in the development of teaching materials, having reviewed or contributed to other textbooks and test banks. | <urn:uuid:24ab766a-f686-48a0-9c01-ab71576b3b42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/2547?e=gob-chab | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972934 | 411 | 1.734375 | 2 |
This week's book giveaway is in the General Computing forum. We're giving away four copies of Arduino in Action and have Martin Evans, Joshua Noble, and Jordan Hochenbaum on-line! See this thread for details.
Hi. I have been studying Java for about 4 months and I'm preparing for the first certification exam (035). I don't like anything about MS and that's exactly the reason I'm not stuying .NET, even the county I live in, is MS territory (what I mean is that 99.99% of the computers here work under Windows).
MS has always been characterized for...how to say it?...they never invent anything but beutiful buttons with blue and pink colors and make averything easy for final users. It seems that Java hasn�t been out of reach and they copied almost everything and put all together in their framework, making connections to DB with 2 or 3 right clicks, which decreases a lot the amount of hours you have to use programming any application, right?
What is the future of Java? Is it still worth to study Java? Can Java still compete with .NET? is there any way to speed up the development of an application?. Is MS going to "eat" Java with its new copy(sorry: .NET)
Sorry if this is a very long story just to ask that, and sorry if my english is not very good.
Here is another recent thread where this was discussed. There are plenty more sych threads here, so feel free to look around. I'm going to close this one -- feel free to go over there and continue this if you want. | <urn:uuid:09d24199-40ef-410a-8bfc-9a7195a62ada> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.coderanch.com/t/397421/java/java/Java-NET | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960441 | 339 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Details: Gauguin was a French Post-Impressionist who traveled the glove, sailing the South Seas and living in Peru, Martinique and Paris among other places. He said that he wanted to escape European civilization and explore the Tahitian culture to give his paintings a deeper meaning, with hidden rituals and myths. This is a 12 Month Calendar
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer. His bold experimentation with colouring led directly to the Synthetist style of modern art while his expression of the inherent meaning of the subjects in his paintings, under the influence of the cloisonnist style, paved the way to Primitivism and the return to the pastoral. He was also an influential proponent of wood engraving and woodcuts as art forms. | <urn:uuid:5eaf4c9e-3ce0-4b79-821a-f7684ceac447> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.posterrevolution.com/gallery/item.cfm?ID=687844 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972023 | 203 | 3.375 | 3 |
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT -- January 25, 2012 at 5:30 PM EDT
The Power of the Telenovela
Romance. Drama. That's what drives telenovelas, Latin American soap operas, one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the world, with hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.
Telenovelas -- literally television novels -- have some things in common with their American cousins, the daytime soap operas. Telenovelas have their roots in Latin America, starting as graphic novel representations of classic literature and stories, later evolving into radio programs.
When soap companies started radio dramas to sell cleaning products to housewives in the 1930s, they established programs in Cuba as well. But when American companies could no longer sponsor programs in Cuba, there was a diaspora of talented Cuban actors, writers and producers that scattered through Latin America and began melding the American product with Latin American storytelling.
But unlike U.S. soap operas, which ran for decades, telenovelas have a contained story arc, ending after a few seasons. This makes them highly marketable and exportable, says Diana Rios, associate professor of communication sciences at University of Connecticut. They air every day, making them highly profitable to advertisers.
Some are aired only in the country they are produced, but others such as "Yo Soy Betty, La Fea" ("Ugly Betty") are redone and adapted for dozens of other countries.
There are some common running themes in telenovelas -- love lost, mothers and daughters fighting, long-lost relatives, love found. Telenovela audiences, however, like their stories with all the loose ends wrapped up and a happy ending -- a big wedding finale is common.
"Things have to be cleaned up so the audience has satisfaction. They won't worry about Maria -- did she find true love, her true mother or her true father," Rios said.
But for those few seasons, these telenovelas have the attention of millions of viewers, said Dr. Michael Rodriguez, a UCLA primary care physician who works with the Latino community, making them a good vehicle for educational messages. (Read how telenovelas are used to spread health messages.) And unlike U.S. soaps, which are marketed to women, telenovelas are family programs.
"More than half of [Latinos] are watching them," Rodriguez said, "I remember myself watching them with my mother. In fact, I still do watch them when my mom is visiting."
They are a cultural touchstone, especially for Spanish speakers across the globe. Popular story arcs like long-lost family members resonate with Latinos whose families may have emigrated. Religious references will appear in several of these series, another touchstone to the predominantly Catholic Latino population.
For Latinos, watching telenovelas is often a way to keep in touch with their friends and family, especially those who have emigrated.
"It's a conversation piece," said Rios, "Latinos in the U.S. can talk about shows with people back in Latin America. ... I've had conversations with friends and they'll say, 'Oh, look at that. One of my relatives had something like that happen to her.'"
Jesus Fuentes, the executive producer of "Encrucijada: Sin Salud No Hay Nada" ("Crossroads: Without Health There is Nothing"), said that viewers find themselves in these characters.
"You see the characters and you say, 'I'm that one, but I could be that one, and I wish I could be that one,'" he said, "It's like a house of mirrors."
And while long-running soap operas such as Guiding Light and One Life to Live in the United States are being canceled, telenovela viewership in the United States is booming with 5.6 million people tuning in across the country versus 2.9 million soap opera viewers, according to Nielsen data.
And in the coming decades analyzing and studying the impact of telenovelas will be even more relevant as the United States' Latino population continues to grow, said Rios. "[Telenovelas] are here to stay, and there's just going to be more of them," she said. "But they do have an impact and they are important to the Latino community."
Telenovelas by the Numbers:
"La Reina," a telenovela launched in 2011 by Telemundo, had a record $10 million budget, according to the Hollywood Reporter. It costs an estimated $50 million to produce U.S. soap operas annually, according to the LA Times.
Colombian telenovela "Yo Soy Betty, La Fea" has been adapted for series in 17 other countries: India, Turkey, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Belgium, Serbia, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Philippines, China, Poland, Brazil, Georgia and the United States as "Ugly Betty."
Season-to-date, (Sept. 19 to Dec. 25, 2011) telenovelas in the United States averaged 5.7 million viewers a week, according to Nielsen data. Of those viewers, 3.1 million are age 18-49.
By comparison: Season-to-date (Sept. 19 to Dec. 25, 2011), soap operas on the U.S. broadcast networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) averaged a combined 2.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Of those viewers, 889,000 are age 18-49.
Also, check out Telenovelas Provide Platform for Public Health Messages
For the record, "Crossroads" is funded by Colorado Health Foundation, which is also an underwriter of the NewsHour. | <urn:uuid:7897729c-ca7c-4bae-ad72-08721afa31b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/01/the-power-of-the-telenovela.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963743 | 1,197 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Surfers... I wanted to let you all know that Rehoboth beach is trying to propose a treated sewage outfall dump that will send poo only 9,000 feet off of our coast. We need all of the support that we can get to try to steer them in the land application direction. Please send in your written comment to the town and let them know how it affects you and your family. This is also a huge problem for anyone around the area that owns a business and relies on tourism for a way of living! Tourist don't want to swim in dirty poo poo just like we don't want to surf in it!!!:
Thanks for posting this info and yes, this is a very important issue that everyone should be aware. Not only is the ocean not a dump, let's not treat it like one. If you need more information ever, visit surfrider.org/delaware .
The Delaware Chapter of Surfrider Foundation is very involved in this issue and we need your help! You can also find us on Facebook! | <urn:uuid:0537c58d-bbe8-4f84-b736-29609ed11d19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.swellinfo.com/forum/showthread.php?6409-Surfers-We-Need-Your-Help!!!!!!&p=46265 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974802 | 218 | 1.539063 | 2 |
A new method based on dispersion equations is described to express the spectral resolution of an applied charge-coupled device (CCD) Czerny-Turner Raman instrument entirely by means of one equation and principal factors determined by the actual setup. The factors involved are usual quantities such as wavenumber values for the laser and the Raman band, the diffraction grating groove density, the second focal length, the angle between the incident and the diffracted light, and the full width at half-maximum (FWHM) value of the signal on the detector. A basic formula is derived to estimate the spectral resolution of the Raman instrument. An essential feature of the new method is a proposed way to compensate for non-ideality (diffractions, aberrations, etc.) by use of a hyperbola model function to describe the relationship between the width of the entrance slit and the image signal width on the CCD. The model depends on the spectrometer magnification and a diffraction and aberration compensation factor denoted as A. A could be approximated as a constant that can be determined by the experimental method. The validity of the new expression has been examined by measuring the band width of the 1332.4 cm−1 diamond Raman fundamental band, excited with two quite different wavelengths (a deep ultraviolet 257.3 nm laser line and a visible green 514.5 nm line). A low pressure mercury line at 265.2042 nm also was applied to give further verification of the given expression. A useful method to find true Raman band widths is also provided. A final finding was that the known significant changes in spectral resolution along the Raman shift axis make static recording and synchronous (extended) scanning modes differ significantly with respect to their resolution properties; this feature has been often overlooked in many contemporary works reporting Raman spectra. A reason for this is that many Raman bands are too wide to show the effect.
Vol. 7, Iss. 11 Virtual Journal for Biomedical Optics
Chuan Liu and Rolf W. Berg, "Determining the Spectral Resolution of a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) Raman Instrument," Appl. Spectrosc. 66, 1034-1043 (2012) | <urn:uuid:c5f22631-fa47-453c-83d1-de2b66973770> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.opticsinfobase.org/as/abstract.cfm?uri=as-66-9-1034&usertoken=%7Btoken%7D | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928903 | 465 | 1.804688 | 2 |
|September 2006||Vol. 11 Issue 3|
Do I lose my appetite because of a stomachache, or do I lose
my appetite due to a stomachache?
That’s a trap I often see writers fall into, particularly when reading scholarly works. Too often, writers want to use the more formal sounding “due to” when they should be using “because of.”
According to Kelli Trungale of the University of Houston-Victoria, “due to” modifies nouns and often follows “to be” verbs (is, was, were, am, etc.).
Example: My loss of appetite was due to a stomachache.
In this case, “due to” modifies “stomachache” and follows the to be verb, “was.”
“Because of,” on the other hand, modifies verbs.
Example: I lost my appetite because of a stomachache.
In this case, “because of” modifies the verb, “lost.”
A good rule of thumb: use “because of” if you can answer the question, “Why?” without a complete sentence.
Why did you lose your appetite? You’d answer, “Because of a stomachache.”
So which phrase should you use?
I recommend “because of” in most situations. Why? Look at the first example again. Notice that the only verb is “was,” a rather weak, to be verb. In the second example, however, “lost” is a verb and much stronger than a to be verb.
And don’t get me started on the empty phrase, “due to the fact that . . .” This phrase almost never adds anything to your sentence except three more words and a touch of pomposity.
Thanks to Lois Edwards for suggesting this topic.
Kevin Leigh Smith, email@example.com
Do you have a Grammar Trap idea? Do you want On Target to cover a topic that interests you? E-mail your ideas to Kevin Leigh Smith | <urn:uuid:23baaf0a-a1b8-4947-bd1c-40765906d292> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/agcomm/ontarget/0609/Grammar_trap.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910834 | 463 | 2.34375 | 2 |
THE TROLLEY STOP
High Speed Interurban or Inter-city Trolleys Connect Many Major U.S. and Canadian Cities
Interurban Trolley Lines Spread Across North AmericaIt wasn't long after the city or urban street railways were electrified, that companies were formed to provide frequent, inexpensive, high speed trolley service between cities, all over the United States and many parts of Canada. These larger, and much faster inter-city trolleys, were called interurbans.
IMAGE-CLICK HERE >>>Early 20th century interurban train which was operated by the Coeur D'Alene & Spokane Railway in the State of Washington. (Postcard from the collection of Rick Russell)
Interurban Trolleys Have Many Advantages Over Steam Railroads
In the late 1800's and early 1900's, the interurban trolley lines spread very rapidly, competing against the steam railroads for inter-city passengers in many areas of North America. The interurbans had several advantages over the steam railroads.
IMAGE-CLICK HERE >>>Interurban trolleys of the Ohio Electric Railway, meet at the interurban station, on West Market Street, in downtown Lima, Ohio. (Postcard from the collection of Rick Russell)
At one time, Indianapolis, Indiana had the world's largest interurban terminal. It was located right in the downtown area.
IMAGE-CLICK HERE >>>Opened in 1904, the great "Traction Terminal" in Indianapolis, Indiana, grew to become the largest interurban railway terminal in the world. In its heyday, this terminal hosted some 7 million passengers a year, and 500 interurban trains a day, from all over the state of Indiana, and as far away as, Louisville, Kentucky. (Postcard from the collection of Rick Russell).
Interurban Trolley Lines Also Provided Freight Service
Many interurban trolley lines supplemented their income from passenger service, by providing car load (CL), and less than car load (LCL) freight and package delivery services. Many merchants and manufacturing companies, depended on the fast, frequent service provided by the interurban trolley lines, to deliver their goods to customers in the cities, towns and rural areas, they served.
IMAGE-CLICK HERE >>>Indiana Railroad trolley freight motor (used to carry LCL freight and packages), hauling a box car (for car load freight) into the freight station in Muncie, Indiana. (Photo from the collection of Rick Russell)
In the 1930's Some Interurbans Upgraded Equipment to Attract Passengers
In order to compete against the automobile and buses, some interurban trolley lines made an attempt to stay in business, by purchasing modern, lightweight, more economical, high speed equipment.
IMAGE-CLICK HERE >>>Lehigh Valley Transit Company #1030, formerly Indiana Railroad Company #55, shown arriving at "Arundel Station" at the Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport, Maine. (Photo by Rick Russell)
Click on "RAPID TRANSIT RD." here to Continue your ride through the history of the trolley era.
Unless Otherwise Noted, All Text, Pictures & Graphics On This Site Are
Copyright ©1998 [Rick Russell] All Rights Reserved
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This Site Copyright © 1998 Rick Russell
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It is purportedly the baseline belief of the Secular Right that the major goal of conservative or reactionary politics should be to 'save' Western Civilization.
Yet this is not a coherent belief, nor is it possible, nor is it desirable.
Western Civilization is not a 'First Thing' as C.S. Lewis defined it; it is not a primary aim: it is a secondary outcome.
Western Civilization is not the kind of thing that can be 'saved', or defended, or anything else.
Whatever 'it' is (whatever 'Western Civilization' legitimately includes or excludes) nobody created Western Civilization on purpose - it is a by-product.
And, as Lewis said in his essay 'First and Second Things' (see link above) - if you do try to aim directly at attaining or defending a Second Thing as if it was a First Thing, then you will both fail to achieve and save it; and also end by actively destroying it.
The big problem is that it is precisely Western Civilization which created Communism, Socialism, Liberalism, and Political Correctness; 'modern art'; 'human rights'; pacifism - it is Western Civilization which is destroying itself.
The counter currents have always been there - at least since the Great Schism of a millennium since - and the counter-current has now overwhelmed the main current.
The self-destroying aspects of the West have always been there, and they permeate or are woven-into the whole.
Western Civilization has always been changing - not merely superficially, but deeply. It has never been stable - not even for two generations in a row.
The West is continually becoming more abstract, more specialized, less Christian.
There is no evidence that The West ever could be stable - and everything suggests the opposite.
Furthermore, all of those abstract attributes which the Secular Right wants to preserve in Western Civilization are complicit in the decline: freedom of choice/selfishness; democracy/ mob rule; freedom of consciousness/ secularism; philosophy-science/ rational bureaucracy; art/ subversion; freedom of lifestyle/ moral inversion; kindness/ cowardice; an open and accessible mass media/ the primacy of virtual reality ... the whole lot.
The West is perpetually in transition: it has no essence: it is evolutionary.
Those who set out their stall on defending 'Western Civilization' are therefore either defending a process (markets, democracy, 'the Open Society'), and an evolutionary process which might lead anywhere, including to self-destruction of Western Civilization (as, in my opinion, it already has)....
Or else they are really defending some other bottom line entity that is not Western Civilization and would quite likely dispense with Western Civilization at some point in the future: e.g. a nation or group of nations, a race, a ruling lineage (e.g. of monarchs, or castes)... the preservation of which might well necessitate at some point dispensing with what are currently 'Western values'.
In other words, if you favour a process (like democracy, sexual freedom) you must be prepared to sacrifice an entity (like a nation or a race): if you favour an entity you must be prepared to dispense with processes.
So, I am saying that it is strictly nonsense - and destructive nonsense - to claim to be defending Western Civilization.
People can only get away with this absurd claim to be defending Western Civilization (get away with it in their own minds, as much as the public arena) because Western Civilization is so obviously collapsing so fast; and because this process is being accelerated by an evil, blind and insane politically correct elite who apparently must be opposed - somehow - although with little chance of short-term success.
But the Secular Right is trying to keep its cake and to eat it: to retain the residual and declining bits of modernity, the counter-currents that it personally values (especially sexual freedom); but at the same time to dispense with what is now the (dominant) flow of modernity.
So, there is a pressing need for defence of the Western social system against imminent threats to survival, and to fight the present and future-looming succession of political crisis - each of opens Western nations to their enemies and any of which is sufficient to destroy it.
(Indeed, a major source of conflict on the reactionary right is which of the many lethal problems approaching the West will be the first actually to kill the West. There are so many dangers of such great dangerousness, that we don't really know which is the most pressingly dangerous!)
But deeper than this is the relentless and almost-wholly successful use of distraction and indifference to deal with the existential realities of the human condition, the use of media technologies and virtual realities as an alternative to having meaning and purpose in life.
The Secular Right is, I am afraid, merely Saruman attempting to use Sauron's Ring to fight Sauron; all its tactics to defend what it regards good are simultaneously (but in other places) strengthening the forces of destruction.
There is enough to suggest that the Left is indeed the main line of a Western Civilization which is pre-programmed to self-destruction; while the Right is merely imposing temporary corrections which save the West in the short term but only at the cost of entrenching its long-term and underlying errors.
The West cannot be saved.
There is nothing to save; and anyway The West has self-destruction built-in, woven-in, pervasive.
How can you save something which so much wants to kill itself?
Take your eye off Western Civilization for just a moment and it will be swinging from the rafters with its own belt around its neck... | <urn:uuid:f169bdf7-a34e-4466-ac28-76597c24fb69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://charltonteaching.blogspot.com/2010/12/should-western-civilization-be-saved.html?showComment=1292772945533 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946676 | 1,177 | 1.5 | 2 |
Cool Move, Penguin
If further proof were needed that nobody reads anymore (even through earbuds), new research shows that they can't even be bothered to steal books. Still, concerns over intellectual property rights were cited when Penguin Audio pulled its 150 audiobook titles offered over eMusic from the service. "Our main responsibility is to protect our authors," says Penguin Group CEO David Shanks.
eMusic, which sells its MP3 files without DRM protection, hired San Francisco-area piracy monitoring firm BayTSP to check for its audiobook files on BitTorrent networks. None were found, prompting eMusic CEO and president David Pakman to comment, "Their research is proof that eMusic customers are unlikely to engage in file-sharing activity."
However, there is evidence of the pirating of audiobooks, according to BayTSP's Jim Graham. "BitTorrent tracker sites recognize that audiobooks are popular enough to have their own special category," he says. While Shanks is firm about proceeding cautiously until he is certain that his authors' works will be protected, Pakman points to consumers' needs as driving the industry. "We believe that audiobook publishers understand that the future of their business is digital," he says. "If they want to expand the market they need to offer their content in a format most desired by consumers - one that can be played on the devices actually owned by customers." According to Pakman, "the only such universally compatible format is MP3." | <urn:uuid:e957a55b-aeef-49ae-ad78-57beb8237dda> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/73640/cool-move-penguin.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978703 | 302 | 1.570313 | 2 |
The Importance of Patient Satisfaction
The cost of providing health care is escalating at an alarming rate. With challenges ranging from rising malpractice costs to physician turnover, medical practices must maximize resources and make tough choices in order to remain profitable. It is precisely these challenges that make improving patient satisfaction so critical. Here are some important ways that improving patient satisfaction can make your practice more successful and profitable:
- Reduce malpractice costs
- Decrease patient defections
- Decrease negative word–of-mouth advertising
- Increase patient referrals
In addition, improving patient satisfaction leads to increased productivity. Physicians and staff often spend a lot of time reacting to complaints and dealing with non-compliant patients, which negatively impacts office efficiency. By contrast, satisfied patients are easier and more rewarding to care for, take up less physician and staff time and are more compliant. Improved patient satisfaction decreases the length of patients’ visits and wait times, reduces treatment costs and increases patient volume.
“The moment we started paying attention to patient satisfaction, by looking at the data and focusing on improvement, our claims experience dropped significantly.”
-CEO, Cardiovascular Institute of the South
The cost of medical malpractice litigation has increased at almost 12% annually since 1975, and it is estimated that 65% of all physicians will be sued at some point in their career. Poor communication is the number one reason patients file medical malpractice lawsuits – and it’s also a primary component of patient dissatisfaction. Satisfied patients are more likely to forgive perceived care mistakes and are less likely to sue.
According to a study in the American Journal of Medicine, physicians ranked in the lowest 1/3 of the Press Ganey database were 110% more likely to have malpractice suits brought against them than those with top satisfaction survey ratings.* They also attracted more than double the number of unsolicited complaints. The same study found that there was a 6% increase in complaints associated with a 1-point decrease in physician satisfaction ratings. Improving patient satisfaction is key to reducing malpractice costs.
*(Source: Stelfox, H.T. et al., “The Relation of Patient Satisfaction with Complaints Against Physicians and Malpractice Lawsuits.” American Journal of Medicine. 2005. 118: 1126-33.)
It costs your practice money every time a patient leaves for a competitor. In fact, a conservative 5% dissatisfaction rate among patients can cost a physician $150,000 in revenue.* According to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, physicians with patient satisfaction ratings in the lowest 20% are nearly four times more likely to experience patient turnover than physicians in the top 20% .**
A high level of patient satisfaction leads to greatly increased customer loyalty, which is the single most important driver of long-term financial performance in a medical practice. Satisfying your current patients costs less time and money than attracting new ones – not to mention that the best form of advertising to attract new patients is positive word-of-mouth from existing clients.
*(Source: Drain, M., & Kaldenberg, D.O., “Building patient loyalty and trust: The role of patient satisfaction.” Group Practice Journal. 1999. 48(9), 32-35.)
**(Source: Rubin, H.R. et al. “Patients’ ratings of outpatient visits in different practice settings: Results from the Medical Outcomes Study.” JAMA. 1993. 270(7), 835-840.)
According to studies done by the Technical Assistance Research Programs (TARP), for every irritated customer who complains, 26 do not. However, they still have grievances, and six of them have serious problems. How many times have you told the waiter everything was fine even though your food was disappointing? The reality is that you probably don’t know how many dissatisfied patients you have because most people don’t complain when speaking with you or your staff in person.
According to consumer surveys, a person who has had an unpleasant experience with a business will tell nine or 10 other people. Approximately 13% will tell more than 20 people.* Rather than take that chance with your practice, let Press Ganey help you improve your patient satisfaction scores.
*(Source: "Managing Consumer Complaints - Responsive Business Approaches To Consumer Needs." Office of Consumer Affairs, U.S. Department of Commerce.)
If your patient complains on a real-time survey, you still have a chance to win them over. Of those who complain, most will come back if you can resolve their issue quickly. Better still, if a patient has a complaint resolved quickly and courteously, she wants to tell others about her good fortune and her good sense. Speedy complaint resolution can help you keep present customers and attract new ones by changing word-of-mouth advertising from negative to positive.
A customer who has had a good experience with a business will tell an average of five other people, some of whom will become new customers.* Your satisfied patients can become your best source of new business.
*(Source: "Managing Consumer Complaints - Responsive Business Approaches To Consumer Needs.” Office of Consumer Affairs, U.S. Department of Commerce) | <urn:uuid:326634e3-832e-4475-b67c-b637bbdbef90> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://medpractice.pressganey.com/the-importance-of-patient-satisfaction-pages-176.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948378 | 1,077 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Gilbert, AZ --(Ammoland.com)- The first ever scholarly analysis of knives and the Second Amendment has been accepted for publication by the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform. Researched and written by highly respected Second Amendment legal scholars David Kopel, Clayton Cramer and Joseph Edward Olson, the article makes the case that “Knives are clearly among the ‘arms’ which are protected by the Second Amendment.”
This supports one of the foundations for Knife Rights’ efforts to protect our rights, “Essential Tools – Essential Rights.”
As the abstract notes, “Under the Supreme Court’s standard in District of Columbia v. Heller, knives are Second Amendment “arms” because they are “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes,” including self-defense. Bans of knives which open in a convenient way (bans on switchblades, gravity knives, and butterfly knives) are unconstitutional. Likewise unconstitutional are bans on folding knives which, after being opened, have a safety lock to prevent inadvertent closure. Prohibitions on the carrying of knives in general, or of particular knives, are unconstitutional.”
Knife Rights applauds these scholars for this long-overdue effort. This is a great start on the sort of scholarly works that needs to be done to assist in potential legal cases down the road. The arguments made and supported in this article will also support our legislative efforts to roll back knife bans and oppose proposed new restrictions on knives. The initial draft of the article has been posted online. Go to the Social Science Research Network site to download the 37-page article.
Just a note of caution, for those unfamiliar with the process. This is the initial submission draft of this article. It will now go through an exhaustive peer review and editing process. Revisions will be posted online during that process. Only after that entire rigorous review process has been completed will the final version of the article be published. So, just to reiterate, this article is not published at this point and should not be relied upon for any legal effort, or for that matter, arguing with a cop who has arrested you for carrying a particular “illegal” knife. Having said all that, these scholars are leaders in the field and I wouldn’t expect any substantive changes.
Knife Rights (www.KnifeRights.org) is America’s Grassroots Knife Owners Organization, working towards a Sharper Future for all knife owners. Knife Rights is dedicated to providing knife owners an effective voice in public policy. Become a Knife Rights member and make a contribution to support the fight for your knife rights. Visit www.kniferights.org | <urn:uuid:0234f0bc-b360-425c-a036-0d2799648953> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ammoland.com/2013/04/knives-and-the-second-amendment/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942529 | 559 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Have a happy 4th of July everybody!
Richard Drumm The Astronomy Bum
The impending celebration of Independence Day comes about four months after the powerful Texas Board of Education voted to undermine one of our Constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms; namely, that of religion. Freedom of religion goes hand-in-hand with separation of church and state. The government is neither to establish religion nor prevent it from being practiced, according to the First Amendment. The Texas School Board’s recent acts of textbook censorship and revision of American history suggest that a Christian Taliban is on the rise.
Unfortunately, the extreme religious right is of the belief that our government is based on Christianity and should be recognized as such publicly. Often, the arguments are given that the founders were Christian men and the laws of the land are based upon the Biblical ten commandments. Although the founders in general did attend Christian churches of one kind or another, they wisely realized that the populace was religiously diverse and that no particular religion or sect should be formally recognized. Our laws and their antecedents basically agree with the ten commandments, but so have the laws of most civilizations throughout history. Non-Christian religions all teach similar rules of morality. They were all drawn from human experience down through the ages.
The thinkers who formulated the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were deists, not theists, and were inspired by the ideals of the Enlightenment movement in England and Europe. Among the leaders of that movement were Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet), Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Denis Diderot of France, and Francis Bacon, Isaack Newton, and John Locke of England. Americans Thomas Paine, Ethan Allen, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and Alexander Hamilton accepted the tenets of Enlightenment philosophy. These men believed in a creator, but not so much in the tradition of the familiar Hebrew/Christian God. They referred to that creator with terms such as “the First Cause”, “the Creator of the Universe”, “the Divine Author of all Good”, “the Grand Architect”, “the God of Nature”, and “Divine Providence”. The Declaration of Independence uses exactly this kind of wording, speaking of “Nature’s God”, “Supreme Judge”, and “divine Providence”; all echoes of enlightenment terminology.
Orthodox Christians, if they think about it at all, usually consider deists not to be Christians because, even though deists believe in a creator of the universe, they base their beliefs on reason rather than faith, rejecting supernatural revelation. According to the deist view, once creation was accomplished, the creator essentially no longer took part in directing the course of events. By and large, deists don’t believe in the Trinity; communication with God; the miracles described in the Bible; or the divinity (via the incarnation), virgin birth, atonement, resurrection, or ascension of Jesus.
Thomas Jefferson was raised in the Anglican Church, which was the Church of England in colonial America. He spent his school-boy years at the Reverend James Maury’s academy and his college years at William and Mary, both Anglican institutions, and he attended Anglican and Episcopal churches with some regularity all his life. Yet he was proud of his authorship of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which disestablished the Anglican church as the official church of Virginia, thus removing it from its chief source of income, which was from taxes on the public. Authorship of that statute was one of the three things that he requested to be inscribed on his grave monument (none of the three were to be his political offices, even his service as President of the United States).
While in Philadelphia, he attended Joseph Priestly’s Unitarian church and probably would have done so in Virginia, if one had been available. Priestley had founded the Unitarian Society in London in 1791, three years before immigrating to America. Jefferson had entered many notes from the writings of the leaders of the Enlightenment into his copy books at William and Mary and found that he greatly admired Priestly’s similar philosophy. While Jefferson served as a member of the Board of Visitors of William and Mary, he helped to abolish its divinity school and replace its two professors with professors of science and law. Jefferson did revere Jesus, but as a great religious reformer, teacher of ethics, and as a moral example to, not as a savior of, mankind. In his later years, he produced an edited version of the New Testament, from which he redacted the “corrupted” passages, which he considered to be illogical and unreasonable, added by partisan priests promoting their new religion. The resulting “Life and Morals of Jesus” was published after his death. We often call it the “Jefferson Bible”.
Now, seemingly unaware that our Constitution is a secular, not religious, document the reactionary members of the Texas Board of Education push Creationism as an opposing view and they have downplayed Jefferson to just a few short sentences in their approved history books. To see why his ideas provoke such fear, one need only read Jefferson:
"I have sworn on the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."
--to Benjamin Rush, 1800
"I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others."
--to Edward Dowse, 1803
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty Gods or no God."
--in Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-83
"Whenever... preachers, instead of a lesson in religion, put [their congregation] off with a discourse on the Copernican system, on chemical affinities, on the construction of government, or the characters or conduct of those administering it, it is a breach of contract, depriving their audience of the kind of service for which they are salaried, and giving them, instead of it, what they did not want, or, if wanted, would rather seek from better sources in that particular art or science."
--to P. H. Wendover, 1815
"I am really mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, a fact like this [i.e., the purchase of an apparent geological or astronomical work] can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too, as an offense against religion; that a question about the sale of a book can be carried before the civil magistrate. Is this then our freedom of religion? and are we to have a censor whose imprimatur shall say what books may be sold, and what we may buy? And who is thus to dogmatize religious opinions for our citizens? Whose foot is to be the measure to which ours are all to be cut or stretched? Is a priest to be our inquisitor, or shall a layman, simple as ourselves, set up his reason as the rule for what we are to read, and what we must believe? It is an insult to our citizens to question whether they are rational beings or not, and blasphemy against religion to suppose it cannot stand the test of truth and reason. If [this] book be false in its facts, disprove them; if false in its reasoning, refute it. But, for God's sake, let us freely hear both sides, if we choose."
--to N. G. Dufief, 1814
" .. I am myself an empyric in natural philosophy, suffering my faith to go no further than my facts. I am pleased, however, to see the efforts of hypothetical speculation, because by the collisions of different hypotheses, truth may be elicited, and science advanced in the end."
--to George P. Hopkins, 1822
"History I believe furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose."
--to Baron von Humboldt, 1813
"And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this most venerated reformer of human errors."
--to William Roscoe, 1820
Regarding the University of Virginia, which he founded:
"This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it."
--to Thomas Cooper, 1814
"… a professorship of theology should have no place in our institution."
--to John Adams, 1823 | <urn:uuid:b4f27fe8-ed2a-45e7-9278-8a84d4fc4533> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theastronomybum.blogspot.com/2010/07/notes-on-freedom-of-religion.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963303 | 1,921 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Incipit Tractatus de virtutibus herbarum.
Venice: Impressum Venetiis per Joannem Rubeum & Bernardinu fratres Vercellenses, anno domini 1509 die xv marcii. An anonymous compilation from classical, Arabic and medieval sources, first published in Mainz in 1484 and variously known under titles: Aggregator practicus de simplicibus; Herbarius in Latino; Herbarius Moguntinus; Herbolarium de virtutibus herbarum . Mistakenly attributed to Arnaldus de Villanova--Cf. Johnston, S. H. Cleveland coll. p. 13. Third ed. to be printed in Venice, 4th in Italy. References: Nissen 2310; Johnston, S. H. Cleveland coll. 25. Lacks final, blank leaf. Ms. notes throughout; some cropped.
This 1509 edition of the Latin Herbarius was printed in Italy and featured 150 woodcuts of plants with text on their medicinal uses. It was written for an audience who had little or no access to doctors, and thus copious illustrations were deemed necessary. These decorative woodcuts were not, however, suitable for field identification, since they were stylized drawings rather than exact reproductions.
There are two major sections of this work: a first part which contains descriptions and the medicinal uses of 150 plants which grew in Germany, and a second part which lists the medicines and herbs available in German apothecary shops and from spice merchants. Each plant was assigned a vernacular German name in addition to the traditional Latin one.
Subjects: Medicinal plants; Vegetables; Pharmacopoeias. | <urn:uuid:5bb26cf0-27c3-4475-b4a6-d151875db15e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.asu.edu/lib/speccoll/patten/html/49.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919154 | 353 | 2.3125 | 2 |
onLine weblog archive
Friday, June 02, 2000
On this page, where the the style of the little red square is declared as the style attribute of the DIV, the alert that pops up correctly displays the "top" attribute of the DIV's DOM object.
On this page, where the the style of the little red square is declared as a #style, the alert that pops up is empty.
I have never seen this problem before, where styles declared as an attribute are treated differently by the browser than styles declared in <STYLE> tags. Does anybody out there have an explanation?
Thursday, June 01, 2000
The best way to combat the stereo-types that are developing is to be smarter about how we use Flash. Think about the problem that you are trying to solve before you open Flash and start working. Is Flash the only solution for that problem? Is Flash the most effective solution? Can you solve the problem with HTML? Think about the work you do and remember that what you put on the web is not for you, but for your visitors
SOAP will succeed where Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) and Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) have failed because it is simple, Internet-friendly, based on XML and is implementation-independent.
The attacks are a sudden twist of fate for the protocol that over the past nine months has been hyped as the foundation of the next phase of wireless communications -- specifically, enabling the wireless web.
Wednesday, May 31, 2000
I really don't think it's a problem. I actually think it's quite useful. Sometimes you want to bring the user out of their computer. Like when playing a game or something. You want an experience that isn't distracted by Excell spreadsheets or anything.Who would argue with that? My own problem with full-screen sites is not that they are doing something they shouldn't do, but that they do not typically give adequate warning about what is going to happen. It breaks user expectations rather significantly to have all browser interface elements suddenly snatched away without warning, and I'm sure it creates a feeling of frustration in most users who are not aware of the keyboard shortcut to close a window. If you want to provide a full screen experience for users, I think you really need to explain how it works and how the user can exit. | <urn:uuid:a6946fc4-f0d4-4dd8-83fd-9a9526bc6cd5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.glish.com/archive.asp?file=2000_05_28_archive.xml | 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 | 0.961648 | 485 | 1.53125 | 2 |