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The Scriptures teaches that ALL days are ordinary workdays, unless the Word of YHWH deems them otherwise. With no adding to or taking away from the Word, all days are ordinary days except the ones He designates as worship days. For example, the Scriptures teaches us that after six workdays we are to rest.
For example, on the seventh Moon, the New Moon is a worship day:
Ez.46:1-31 Thus saith the master YHWH; the gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new Moon, it shall be opened.
And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.
3466 Hightower Tr.
Conyers, Georgia 30012 USA
Or call (770) 483-8542 | <urn:uuid:14e394a2-7f2c-450f-b7ec-12877314357c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lunarsabbath.org/true%20sabbath.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93385 | 239 | 1.710938 | 2 |
- Posted March 26, 2009 by
This iReport is part of an assignment:
An hour without power
During earth hour I plan to do something really scary!
My original plan was to do some stargazing. It would have been perfect, lights out and a new moon. However the weather forecast calls for rain that night.
1) Download horror movie
2) Check my supply of chocolate based sustenance, make myself some hot tea
3) Check that my laptop is fully charged
4) Turn off all the lights
5) Watch the horror movie.
And to day I found out there are instructions for everything including how to watch a horror movie.
So I decided to share them with all the horror virgins out there.
Should you decide to try this out, Wikihow has some helpful step by step tips on how to do this properly:
Many people really hate scary movies, but at the same time, they love to see them for the scare factor alone. A way to stop getting scared is by watching the non-gory ones, the ones with a great deal of suspense, and slowly move into the most frightening and gory ones. Keep in mind that gory does not mean scary and the movies are not necessarily scarier when they're gorier. Some horror movies without blood are actually scarier than some of the really gory horror movies.
- If your really scared, you can watch the movie through your fingers.
- Cover your eyes when scary parts.
- Peek through your fingers slowly, and then cover your eyes again.
- Keep saying to yourself, "This is not real!"
- Watch the commercials on how the movies were made. Notice how the scenes were created so you can know how unreal the movie really is.
- When there is suspenseful music playing, brace yourself. Something loud, horrific and gory is probably going to happen.
- Never watch alone if the movie is really scary. Watch it with people like your family members or friends. This will help.
- Look away when someone is being killed.
- The best way not to get scared is just not to watch a horror movie.
- Try laughing at all the unrealistic parts. (Example: Bad effects for blood, unrealistic bodies, etc.)
- If your easily intimidated, then buying drinks and snacks probably isn't the best idea.
- If you find yourself not being able to fall asleep or have to sleep with the lights on, after watching a scary movie, then maybe you should just not watch one.
- Seizures can occur to people that have quick reactions to scary things. Know about this before watching it especially the horrific thrillers. (For example, a saw.)
- Watching a movie while the lights are on isn't reccomended. Afterwards, you might be too afraid to turn off the lights.
- Try to pay attention to the basics of the plot so you can discuss the film later with your loved one.
- Don't complain too much. If you are patient and pleasant, you may be able to 'trade' this outing for a movie you want to see at a later date.
- If you are at home or with a group of people who feel the same way about the movie, be sure to talk and joke a lot. Having a group is much better than being alone. Misery loves company!
- If you're a fan of chips, you can try buying melted cheese and dipping them in the cheese.
- Remember, if you're watching with younger viewers, make sure that the movie is age-appropriate. Expect some distractions from the kids - they are not just little adults. Kids sometimes fidget if there are parts of the movie that seem to "drag" for them.
- Try out some smoothies - they're delicious and healthy.
- Invite your boyfriend or girlfriend over.
- If you invite your friends over, make sure you bring movies they all will like.
- Buy or rent two or three movies so you can chill out or watch with friends longer.
Things You'll Need
- A film capturing device
- A sense of humor
- Paper for your comedy script
- Money for movie making necessities | <urn:uuid:a1eb8e1d-7738-46f7-9fe6-419dfc746498> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-235944 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94937 | 874 | 2.515625 | 3 |
I . WHAT' S HAPPENIN G TO GLOBA L CLIMATE ?
Warm current i reduces Peruvian > fish catch by
45 per cent
criticise the GCMs of the early 1990s for their over-prediction of the average surface temperature rise. What Singer and others such as Frederick Seitz, past President of the US National Academy of Sciences, patently failed to mention, however, was the modellers' awareness that the 'extra' greenhouse gases were not the whole story and that their models, to be one step closer to reality, need ed to take on board the effect of 'offending' atmospheric aerosols. By realising that the sulphur dioxide emitted with the burning of fossil fuels has had a cooling effect on the Earth's surface through reflecting incoming light back out to space, the modellers at the UK's Met Office's Hadley Centre are now able to get good corre lations with the records of past surface temperatures. Once again the discrepancy has been cleared up: the model shows a warming of little more than 0.5°C since 1860, just as has been found from measurements on the ground.8
In fact, the upward trend in temperature over the past 130 years has been in fits and starts rather than being a steady increase. The reason for the jerkiness becomes clear once the industrially-gen erated sulphate aerosols are included, which, in sharp contrast to the greenhouse gases, with an atmospheric lifetime of roughly 50 to 200 years, have an atmospheric lifetime of two weeks at most, together with a distribution that is extremely patchy. When indus trial activity is high, for instance during the two World Wars, the emissions of sulphur go up, and since their effect on the atmos phere is immediate but short-lived they tend to dominate in the short-term. When high industrial activity is followed by a slump, as in the Great Depression, the concentration of atmospheric sul phur rapidly falls and the impact of the greenhouse gases comes shining through. We therefore have the paradoxical situation that cooler periods in the past resulted from greater industrial activity and warmer periods from economic and industrial recession. Clearly, as we institute sulphur-scrubbing to reduce sulphur emis sions on an international basis, in accord with the Helsinki Proto col, the skies will become clearer and the full warming impact of the added greenhouse gases will be revealed.
Even as the theories of the small band of climate change scep
tics are being demolished, discrepancies or lack of correlation between carbon dioxide levels and climate over the past few hun dred years are still being manipulated as evidence that our current greenhouse gas emissions cannot be correlated with global warm ing. One notable claim is that the Sun is largely responsible for such 'natural' fluctuations in climate through variations in sunspot activity. Thus, a shorter cycle of around nine years, compared with the average 11-year cycle, is generally associated with greater sunspot activity and there is evidence that those periods coincide with warmer surface temperatures, such as in late Roman times and in the Middle Ages. By the same token, periods of cool sur face temperatures, such as between AD 1400 and 1510, a period known as the Sporer minimum, and the Maunder Minimum of the seventeenth century - when the Sun's brightness fell by at least 0.4 per cent - coincided with low sunspot activity.9
As various scientists have pointed out, the sunspot cycle is now months shorter than it was one century ago, implying more solar activity and presumably a warming. But, far more important than the actual length of the solar cycle is the number of sunspots in evidence at any one time, and they have been declining since 1960 - an indication that the Earth should be getting cooler, at least on the surface. Hence, the only possible remaining reason for the warming is the rise in greenhouse gases which are now swamping fluctuations in sunspot activity.
Still, climate change sceptics argue that climatic changes we may be witnessing today are a consequence of natural phenomena - such as El Nino. Whilst El Nino is normally a natural phenom enon, its recent extreme manifestation is highly likely to be the consequence of severe aggravation by human activities, including human-induced global warming and tropical forest destruction. In fact, according to some climatologists, i f natural variability were the overriding factor, far from causing warming, it would current ly be leading us into a period of cooling — a glacial. Writing 20 years ago, those climatologists were basing their argument on what was known of the Earth's orbiting around the Sun - known as the Milankovitch Wobble. The Earth's orbit shifts from being
The Ecologist, Vol. 29, No 2, March/April 1999 WE'R E CHANGIN G OUR CLIMATE ! WHO CA N DOUB T IT ?
The Rise of Greenhouse Gas Concentrations Atmospheric concentrations - the accumulation of emissions - of greenhouse gases have grown significantly since preindustrial times as a result of human activities. Carbon dioxide concentrations - the most important greenhouse gas apart from water vapour - has increased more than 30 per cent from 280 ppmv (parts per million by volume) in the pre-industrial era to 365 ppmv by the late 1990s. The current rate of increase is around 1.5 ppmv per year. Unfortunately, a large proportion of the carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere remains there, warming the planet, for around 200 years. Methane - on a weight-per-weight basis some 20 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide - has
more than doubled its concentration, from 700 to 1,720 parts per billion, by volume, (ppbv), primarily because of deforestation and the growth in rice and cattle production. Natural gas leaks are another source. Methane's residence time in the atmosphere is relatively short approximately 12 years. Nitrous oxide, associated with modern agriculture and the heavy application of chemical fertilisers, has increased from preindustrial levels of 275 ppbv to 310, with a current annual growth rate of 0.25 per cent. On a weight-per-weight basis it is more than 200 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas compared with carbon dioxide. Its residence time in the atmosphere is around 120 years. The chlorofluorocarbons, CFC11 and
CFC12, both with growth rates of 4 per cent per year during the past decade, have now reached levels of 280 parts per trillion by volume (pptv) and 484 pptv respectively. They have a 'greenhouse gas potential' that is many thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide on a weight-per-weight basis, and they remain in the atmosphere from several thousand years.
When we take the residence time in the atmosphere of the different gases and their specific effectiveness as greenhouse gases into account, carbon dioxide's contribution is some 55 per cent of the whole, compared with 17 per cent for the two CFCs and 1 5 per cent for methane. Other CFCs and nitrous oxide account for 8 and 5 per cent respectively of the changes in radiative forcing.
circular to elliptical over the course of 100,000 years. Its tilt varies too, from 21.8 to 24.4 degrees over a 40,000-year period and is currently tilted at 23.44. The more tilted the Earth the greater the impact of the seasons. Which hemisphere is closest to the Sun dur ing its summer or indeed winter varies over a 25,000-year cycle. The northern hemisphere is now closest to the Sun during its win ter and furthest away in the summer, which means that it receives approximately 5 per cent less summer sunshine than it received 12,000 years ago. The Earth's current trajectory is one which has more in common with a cooling period and therefore we should be heading towards another ice-age. Recent history of the Earth sug gests that ice-ages last 90,000 years with 10,000 years of interglacial. On that basis the timing is right for the development of another ice-age. The current spate of warming is therefore indica tive that new factors - human emissions of greenhouse gases and mass deforestation - have been introduced which are counteract ing and even overwhelming the consequences of a natural process.10
Waiting fo r 'more certainty ' cannot be an optio n The handful of climate change sceptics enjoy repeating the mantra that too many uncertainties exist in the science of climate change and that these must be eliminated before we take economically 'costly' mitigating action. Such arguments are false and in leading to prevarication they are extremely dangerous: all the evidence of the IPCC has been properly peer-reviewed by the best climatolo gists in the world and it shows without doubt that global warming is a human-induced phenomenon that has a significant statistical base. The only elements of uncertainty concern the precise effects global warming will have on the rest of the Earth's climate-stabil ising systems, and the speed with which changes will occur. But that must not be used as a reason for delaying action. Quite the opposite, for such uncertainty encompasses the possibility of high ly disruptive, extremely long-lasting climatic change. The longer we delay reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, the more likely it is that the warming we have set in motion will increase to the extent that it causes new factors to come into play - such as the collapse of the planet's natural greenhouse-gas-absorbing sinks, which will in turn feed back on the warming process, causing cli matic changes that are potentially catastrophic and effectively irre versible for centuries i f not millennia to come (see 'How Climate Change Could Spiral Out of Control', p.68).
I f such effects were unleashed, we would not be able to return rapidly to where we were by simply switching off the emission of greenhouse gases and deforestation that caused the impact in the
first place. For, once carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere, between 40 and 60 per cent of it remains there for a historically long period - some 200 years when the carbon sinks are in healthy operation.
Waiting for 'more certainty' or more damage to occur is an extremely dangerous and irresponsible position to take for anoth er reason. The radiative thermodynamic physics of the greenhouse effect are such to cause a long delay between the emission of car bon dioxide into the atmosphere and the time when the effects on the climate actually manifest themselves. Hence, the CO: that we emit and accumulate in the atmosphere now will only act on the climate 50 to 80 years in the future. Conversely, climatic changes, such as temperature increase, extreme weather events and damage to crop yields that we are experiencing today, are occurring in response to the CO: that we emitted half-a-century or more ago when atmospheric concentrations were much lower than they cur rently are. It therefore follows that in 50 to 80 years from now, we will experience incomparably more damage than today.
Our politicians should therefore understand that i f they only take action proportionate to the damage they see now, they will dramatically and catastrophically underestimate the damage that will actually take place, and they will hence underestimate the degree of action that is needed to avert it. Measures to prevent such severe climatic disruption cannot therefore be taken soon enough. The reality of climate change and the need for preventive action is now inescapable - no one should doubt it.
Simon Retallack is guest editor of this special issue of The Ecologist. Peter Bunyard Science Editor of this special issue is the author of Gaia In Action: Science of the Living Earth. His forthcoming book on climate change is called The Impact of Global Warming.
References: 1. IPCC's Second Assessment Report, Summary for Policymakers, Cambridge
Univeristy Press, 1995. 2. Ross Gelbspan, The Heat is On, Addison Wesley, 1997. 3. Ross Gelbspan, Climate change: local and global, article 1998. 4. Climate Change, The IPCC Scientific Assessment, Processes and Modelling,
WMO/UNEP, 1990. 5. Stephen Hume, The Vancouver Sun, December 30, 1998. 6. Frank Wentz, Matthias Schabel, Nature, Vol. 394, p.661, August, 1998. Also see
James Hansen et ai, Science, Vol. 281, p.930 and Jeff Hecht, New Scientist, August 15, 1998. 7. Martin Jarvis, British Antarctic Survey, Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 103,
p.20 774. 8. UK Climate Impacts Programme: Technical Report No. 1, The Met Office, October
1998. 9. John Eddy, Solar History and Human Affairs, Human Ecology, Vol. 22 Nol , 1994. 10. David Waugh, Geography: an Integrated Approach, Nelson, second edition, 1995.
The Ecologist, Vol. 29, No 2, March/April 1999 | <urn:uuid:269f8df6-ef3d-4f4b-88c9-49e34c097785> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://exacteditions.theecologist.org/browse/307/308/5399/3/14?dps=on | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942873 | 2,665 | 3.015625 | 3 |
DOWNLOAD NEWTON SANS FONT (v 02.2013).
The Chymistry of Isaac Newton Project collaborated with the Unicode Consortium's Technical Committee to introduce a large number of common sixteenth and seventeenth-century alchemical symbols into the Unicode Standard. Our Alchemy Unicode Proposal was officially adopted in 2009-10 and incorporated in Unicode 6.0 and later. The Newton Sans font supports all of the symbols in the Unicode Alchemy plane, which includes symbols that were in regular use in printed publications in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Newton, however, used many alchemical symbols that were not commonly used in the alchemical literature in the seventeenth century. He also used another large set of typographical and editorial marks, including conventional symbols of Latin and English abbreviature. The Newton Sans font also includes these symbols, all of which are documented on our Symbols page. They reside in the private use area, E000-EFFF, with some symbols residing in the Miscellaneous Symbols area, 2600-26FF.
Download the open source Newton Sans font for use in research and writing. Save the ZIP file to your machine, uncompress it, then copy the .TTF file to the Fonts folder. The font will appear in your font selection lists as Newton Sans Regular and can be used in word processing programs. | <urn:uuid:1b8db3bc-3b93-4da1-bf8d-d8acf382eff5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/reference/font.do | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921613 | 272 | 1.90625 | 2 |
This purity, this innocence, this non-dreaming consciousness, is what is known as enlightenment – the awakening. For centuries spirituality all over the world, East or West, has said that man is asleep. Jesus says this, Buddha says this, the Upanishads talk about this: man is asleep. So while you are asleep in the night you are just relatively more asleep; in the day you are less asleep. But spirituality says that man is asleep. This has to be understood.
What is meant by this? Gurdjieff, in this century, emphasized this fact that man is asleep. “In fact,” he said, “man is a sort of sleep. Everyone is deeply asleep.”
What is the reason for saying that? You cannot know, you cannot remember who you are. Do you know who you are? If you meet a person in the street and you ask him who he is and he cannot reply, what will you think? You will think that he is either mad, intoxicated, or just asleep. If he cannot answer who he is, what are you going to think about him? On the spiritual path everyone is like that. You cannot answer who you are.
This is the first meaning when Gurdjieff or Jesus or anyone says that man is asleep: you are not conscious about yourself. You do not know yourself; you have never met yourself. You know many things in the objective world, but you do not know the subject. Your state of mind is as if you had gone to see a film. On the screen the film is running, and you have become so absorbed in it that the only thing you know is the film, the story, whatsoever is appearing on the screen. Then if someone asks you who you are, you cannot say anything.
Dreaming is just the film – just the film! It is the mind reflecting the world. In the mirror of the mind the world is reflected; that is what dreaming is. And you are so deeply involved in it, so much identified with it, that you have completely forgotten who you are. This is what being asleep means: the dreamer is lost in the dreaming. You see everything except yourself; you feel everything except yourself; you know everything except yourself. This self-ignorance is the sleep. Unless dreaming ceases completely, you cannot awaken unto yourself.
You might have felt it sometimes while looking at a film for three hours, and suddenly the film stops and you come back to yourself. You remember that three hours have passed, you remember that it was just a film. You feel your tears… you have been weeping because the film was a tragedy to you, or you were laughing, or you were doing something else, and now you laugh about yourself. What nonsense you were doing! It was just a film, just a story. There was nothing on the screen – just a play of light and shadow, just an electrical play. Now you laugh: you have come back to yourself. But where were you for these three hours?
You were not at your center. You had moved completely to the periphery. There, where the film was moving, you had gone. You were not at your center; you were not with yourself. You were somewhere else. | <urn:uuid:4bc8b0f4-ad3e-4e17-9a58-ea3d88acb7b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.osho.com/library/online-library-deeply-dreaming-asleep-f2d93294-4fa.aspx?p=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988346 | 673 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Tatiana Rostovtseva graduated from a high school that the state of Texas ranked academically unacceptable. But Rostovtseva had noticed problems at overpopulated and underfunded Bryan High School and had been thinking seriously about education reform even before her school received a poor rating.
"I decided to go into education reform to help high schools like my own," says Rostovtseva, a learning and organizational change major.
While at Northwestern Rostovtseva has worked for the past four years as a teacher's aide with kindergarten students at Oakton Elementary School in Evanston through the America Reads program.
During the summer after freshman year she worked with middle school students in Houston through the Breakthrough Collaborative, a national nonprofit program that helps a diverse group of middle school–age students get ready for college prep experiences. It uses a students-teaching-students model to place high school seniors and college students in 29 school settings around the country. Rostovtseva worked with inner-city students in Houston who were unable to perform at grade level. The goal of the summer program, Rostovtseva says, is "not just to catch them up to their peers but to get them ahead."
During the summer after sophomore year, Rostovtseva did research in Accra, Ghana, on nursery schools in the West African nation. She received funding from the School of Education and Social Policy and Career Service's Summer Internship Grant Program. She taught and consulted at Idea and Ideology, a family-run nursery school in Accra, helping to develop a standardized curriculum with individualized instruction plans.
While in Ghana Rostovtseva looked for ways to connect Idea and Ideology with schools in the States. "I brought back local crafts, such as Kente cloth, glass beads made in the Cedi Bead Factory and woodwork, to Oakton Elementary so that the kids could see and feel things from Africa. I felt that it was important for them to be able to touch things," she says. At the time Oakton was piloting an African-centered curriculum, which, Rostovtseva says, "shows the African American students immediate role models. It shows them that they can do great things."
"The curriculum is not only for African American children," she says. "For those without African heritage, it's great to have role models that are African or African American. And the region's history and culture are so fascinating that they capture the attention of all students."
Rostovtseva has studied other cultures as well. Seeing and working with students from all around the globe has allowed Rostovtseva to see the possibilities of different educational practices.
The summer after junior year Rostovtseva, also a Slavic languages and literature major, wrote and implemented a new curriculum to teach conversational English to schoolchildren at a recreational-educational summer camp outside of her hometown of Nizhny Novgorod in Russia. She also spent two quarters during junior year studying European social welfare systems in Ireland. Next year Rostovtseva plans to travel to India to work with a nonprofit educational organization on an American India Foundation Service Corps Fellowship.
"I think it would be fantastic if we developed more collaboration in education, especially across national boundaries," Rostovtseva said in an interview with SESP's News Center.
— Fathima Khan (WCAS09) | <urn:uuid:c6ab0a5e-3511-44aa-9639-3dee140baad4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/summer2009/cover/seniorwatch_sidebar/sidebar28_print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973938 | 710 | 2.375 | 2 |
The orange tree is the most common tree grown in the world. It is thought that the orange tree originated in South East Asia. They are now widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical climates. Brazil is the largest orange producing nation. It also produces the most orange juice.
Vitamin C belongs to a class known as vitamins soluble in water. This means that it is not stored in the body and must be replaced either through diet or supplements.Taking a vitamin C supplement does not offer same protective benefits as drinking a glass of orange juice, and eating a whole orange is even better.
Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant for our body as it neutralises the effects free radicals. Free radicals in our body can cause damage such as ageing and cancer because of the damage they cause our cells.
Oranges are packed with other nutrients including phytonutrients, fibre, folate, vitamin A and B1, potassium and calcium. They are also good for preventing kidney stones and can reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Oranges have a shelf life of about a week at room temperature and one month if refrigerated. The best way to store oranges is loosely, in an open or perforated plastic bag. If you are going to store your oranges in the fridge, their scent may be absorbed by meat, eggs and dairy products.
Like many fruit and vegetables the orange has much of its goodness in its skin, but often the skin is thought to harbour much of the pesticides used in the production process. Oranges cannot be artificially ripened and must be mature when picked. Ripe oranges often have some green or yellow-green colour in the skin.
So, if you are starting to see some of the winter time bugs coming through your house it could be a great time to make an autumn kumara and orange salad followed by the classic orange almond cake with greek yoghurt for pudding?
Mummy to Three Small Boys | <urn:uuid:62a9075e-ab6f-4b9d-a318-a828e62a9d6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.munchcooking.com/2012/06/orange.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960457 | 394 | 3.046875 | 3 |
As the Supreme Court gets ready to hear cases on same-sex marriage next month, dozens of high-profile Republicans have signed onto a brief in a show of support for gay couples to legally wed.
The amicus or "friend of the court" legal brief, first reported by the New York Times, includes signatures by close advisers to former President George W. Bush as well as former governors and two members of Congress.
Next month, the Supreme Court will hear two separate oral arguments on challenges to Proposition 8, the voter-approved same-sex marriage ban in California, as well as the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a 1996 congressional law that says for federal purposes, marriage is defined as only between one man and one woman.
Because of DOMA, certain benefits--such as federal tax, Social Security, pension, and bankruptcy benefits--do not apply to gay and lesbian couples legally married in those states that allow such unions.
Ana Navarro, Republican strategist and CNN contributor, was one of the signatories of the amicus brief, which is aimed to influence conservative justices on the high court. As of Monday night, the brief had 75 signatures.
"I'm not going to discuss the brief in respect to the Court, but on the issue itself, equality is something I deeply believe in," Navarro said. "Denying that the issue of marriage equality has changed, is being on the wrong side of history and on the wrong side of love and commitment."
The legal brief is at odds with the Republican Party's platform, which opposes same-sex marriage and defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The legalization of same-sex marriage in nine states (and Washington, D.C.) has been "an assault on the foundations of our society," according to the GOP 2012 platform. Same-sex marriage, the platform reads, challenges an "institution which, for thousands of years in virtually every civilization, has been entrusted with the rearing of children and the transmission of cultural values."
But the Republican opposition effort, in part spearheaded by former Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson, who served in the Bush administration, argues that same-sex marriage aligns with the party's family values by creating a two-parent home for children. It also promotes conservative staples such as "limited government and maximizing individual freedom," the Times reports.
Former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman is one of the names on the list, a Republican source familiar with the brief confirmed. While he stated support for civil unions during his unsuccessful White House bid for the 2012 election, he did not come out in favor of same-sex marriage until he penned an op-ed last week for the American Conservative Union. | <urn:uuid:66913f3e-349b-4837-802f-34af703cd99b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wtae.com/news/politics/Top-Republicans-sign-brief-supporting-same-sex-marriage/-/9680976/19088378/-/kjkb9rz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964789 | 555 | 1.632813 | 2 |
In a series of 12 focus groups hosted by Rutgers University Center for Executive Leadership in Government (CELG) between April 2009 and May 2010, mayors and business managers of medium size cities in New Jersey explored their options in keeping their towns viable.
The State of the State For New Jersey municipalities, fiscal year 2011 is likely to present the worst financial environment since the Great Depression. Public opposition to tax hikes, already at an all time high, is increasing in intensity. Concomitantly, the state’s structural debt and underfunded obligations combine with constrained tax revenues to demand budget reductions. In a cascade effect, the resulting state spending cuts in municipal and school aid create additional revenue pressure at the municipal level. Not only are tax revenues and state aid decreased in this fiscal year, municipalities also face the imposition of a new 2 percent property tax levy cap on remaining property tax revenue sources. Further, many contractual obligations and expenses exceed the legislatively imposed tax levy caps to create a perfect storm of revenue decreases.
Not all New Jersey municipalities are in the same situation. Some have fared better than others, but all the focus group participants were cutting back. In our conversations they discussed two categories of coping strategies. The first line of defense is the traditional set of tools, rewind and replay tactics that keep the present alignments in place—just smaller. And the fall back position that attempts to change the mix of what is delivered, who delivers it and who pays for it.
Traditional Cost Cutting In the third year of recession, all mayors and business managers report that they have employed traditional cost cutting strategies to the point of diminishing returns. The local officials used line item reductions, across the board program cuts and service contract revisions in the first and second years of the recession to deal with lower revenues. The traditional tools used by all administrators and politicians looked the same, and fall into three major categories (Table 1).
Eliminate Waste and Abuse This strategy for cost reduction is exhausted after three years of recessionary cuts. Redundancy is gone. Assistant business administrator positions are gone. Much of what served as a check on administration, or a training ground for new administrators has been eliminated.
Personnel Cuts Personnel is the single biggest line item in all of the participants’ budgets and, beginning in Fiscal 2009, personnel cuts topped the list of actions taken to reduce costs. All municipalities reported considering one or more of these four strategies for cutting personnel.
- Furloughs are a popular short term tool to reduce, not eliminate, costs. But furloughs delay grappling with the bigger issue of program cutbacks. And furloughs burden employees by reducing income, without reducing workload.
- Lay-offs are used by about half of the participating municipalities. Some of these layoffs were the result of outsourcing. Most reported that the negative impact on morale outweigh the small cost savings. Many reported labor contract restrictions.
- Retirements are increasing. Fearful of pension fund changes, more public service employees are retiring earlier. The impact is the acceleration of pension obligations, and the loss of institutional memory.
- Attrition management is used in every municipality. By not back-filling positions after retirements and attrition, municipalities reduce headcount without layoffs. Part-time employees then fill the jobs at a lower cost.
Delaying Capital Expenditures Delaying big projects is a step taken by most municipalities. Participants alluded to the increased future cost of deferred maintenance on infrastructure, but with few exceptions, most municipalities made the cuts anyway.
Economic Development In an effort to enhance the tax base some municipalities have focused on economic development. Those municipalities who successfully recruited commercial and retail business during boom years have some relief from solely relying on property tax. However, for those towns in the midst of redevelopment efforts, projects have stalled as access to capital has been constrained by the recession.
But by Fiscal 2011, mayors and business managers caution that the traditional tools of cost savings have become unsustainable and counterproductive. Loss of employees, stressed remaining employees, loss of institutional knowledge, lost practical experience and deteriorating infrastructure have begun to negatively impact the communities.
Redesigning Cost Cutting The ‘reset’ strategies kick in after the traditional modes of cost cutting are exhausted. These strategies are geared toward changing the relationship between the community and their government. The proposed cost saving arrangements may change who is delivering the service, who pays for it, or the rules about spending and taxing. (Table 2)
Consolidation Since forever, New Jersey officials and citizens have been discussing consolidating towns, but, as our history and our focus group participants say, it just is not going to happen. Regardless of promised cost savings, the participants rejected it anyway. New Jersey residents, for a multitude of reasons, oppose consolidation.
Shared Services All of the focus group participants reported some strategy for sharing services among adjacent municipalities. Two counties governments have begun to deliver services previously delivered by cities and towns, which has reduced the cost to the municipalities. Reportedly, success of shared service strategy depends upon the costs structures of the jurisdictions.
The Legislative Tool Kit The Legislature holds statutory control over all taxation in the state and sets limits on taxes at all levels of government. The newly imposed 2 percent cap on property taxes exacerbates the revenue shortfalls at the local level. While the property tax cap exempts cost increases in health care, pensions and debt service, contractual obligations are not exempted. Between state spending mandates, and contractual obligations for uniformed officers and represented workers, municipal costs are increasing far greater than the 2 percent cap. Expense reduction is not enough.
Unfunded mandates are a source of extreme financial pressure. The mandates transfer the burden and cost– without money to cover the associated costs. And because these services are mandated, they are not on the bargaining table when cuts need to be made.
The legislative tool kit, an amalgamation of policy reforms, is being assembled now but the municipal officials have doubts about what will make it through the Legislature and what good it will do if passed. They point out
that these reforms will not provide any short term relief to budgets. Although the tool kit reforms are welcomed by municipalities, they are not a solution for this crisis. They are long term efficiencies.
New Revenue Sources The creation of new revenue sources translates into new or different citizens contributing to the municipal coffers. Fee for service arrangements might find citizens paying for services that previously were taxpayer supported. Most of the focus group participants grappled with decisions about what services ought to be user supported and what ones ought to be government’s responsibility. Other mayors suggested allowing local entertainment and dining taxes so municipalities can benefit from downtown revitalization projects.
The Process of Coping New Jersey municipalities are between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Local officials are dependent upon property taxes for revenue. They have no alternative authority to raise revenues beyond the tax levy cap. At the same time, the municipal contractual and statutory expenses are growing faster than the revenue. The state holds the authority to impose service delivery standards and regulations on the municipalities, and has done so while capping the absolute funding available to meet those service delivery requirements.
The state has been reticent to consider any rules that grant local governments more freedom and flexibility from state rules. The mayors and business managers feel they are carrying the burden of making the really hard decisions. The participants did not see the state as a partner; rather, in many cases the state is seen as an adversary. The mayors and business managers attending these focus groups spoke with great frustration and concern about the state’s rules that severely limited their options. Further, many officials decried the perceived lack of confidence the state displayed in the municipal officials and they riled at the lack of communication that they see as characterizing the state behavior toward the municipalities.
There was a consistent theme running through the focus groups that the public and the state governments are in denial about the magnitude of the problems facing municipalities. And citizens’ service expectations are disconnected relative to the resources available. The budgets may close this year, but there are unattended structural gaps emerging that can overrun the municipalities. Municipalities are being pushed into the ‘reset’ mode of governing where we will see a realigning of the costs and benefits of local governments. Without exception, the local leaders envisioned a different landscape for local governments in the future. s
The Center for Executive Leadership in Government would like to acknowledge New Jersey League of Municipalities Educational
Foundation, particularly Michael Cerra and Louise Wilson, for the support of the study Moving up in a Downturn: Management Strategies for Governing in a Recession. The CELG would also like to thank the mayors and municipal managers who shared their experiences and providing information about the skills required of appointed and elected officials in the new fiscal world. Kathe Callahan, Dennis Ng, and Alan Zalkind provided significant contributions to this project. Leila Sadeghi provided support in conducting the focus groups. The CELG gratefully acknowledges funding for this research provided by New Jersey Natural Gas. | <urn:uuid:5fc4b013-7b3d-4964-9fe8-f20088a4b30c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.njslom.org/magazine/2011-02/pg-4.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94605 | 1,837 | 1.960938 | 2 |
The critics universally respected his work. One of them said: “His presence will be assured in the museums of the future.” Another called him, “One of the uncontestable masters of our epoch.”
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany called him “One of the greatest glories of the entire world.”
He was a friend of Eugene Delacroix. “All of us will be forgotten,” Delacroix said. “But he will be remembered.”
In the 1880s, when Van Gogh was secretly hoping to sell a painting for 50 francs (about the price of a three day’s stay in Paris for a tourist), our mystery artist sold a canvas for 840,000 francs. His paintings were by far the most expensive in France in the later part of the 19th century.
Who was he? Please vote in the poll at left. Answer and results on Saturday.
Thanks, R.K., J.M. and M.C. | <urn:uuid:ba588dab-81f3-4aff-b31e-1c6b690849ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/02/mystery-artist.html?showComment=1233830940000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973785 | 217 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Based on the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition, this volume leads readers through a penetrating study of Saint Paul's Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, using the biblical text itself and the Church's own guidelines for understanding the Bible. Ample notes accompany each page, providing fresh insights and commentary, as well as time-tested interpretations from the Fathers of the Church. These helpful study notes make explicit what Saint Paul's Letters often assume. They also provide rich historical, cultural, geographical, and theological information pertinent to these Letters.
Customer Questions & Answers: | <urn:uuid:a08906d5-7b92-42b8-9d0f-f3cae4618b69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://answers.christianbook.com/answers/2016/product/170902/ignatius-press-ignatius-catholic-study-bible-galatians-and-ephesians-questions-answers/questions.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90425 | 114 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Cleveland was one of America’s 10 largest cities in 1950. By the 2000 Census it wasn’t in the top 30. And from 2000 to 2007, only New Orleans - devastated by Hurricane Katrina - lost more of its population. Today, the remaining residents face unemployment rates from 10 to 12 percent across the Cleveland area. Comedian Drew Carey, host of The Price Is Right, has seen enough and wants to revitalize his hometown. “I would like everybody in Cleveland to have rich kids’ syndrome, where they feel guilty that they had all of these opportunities,” Carey says.
To help create those opportunities and set the stage for a Cleveland renaissance, Carey and Reason Foundation found policies and ideas that have already been tested and proven in other cities. Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey offers the city a path to fix its public schools the way inner-city Oakland did; to generate infrastructure revenue and reduce the cost of government through public-private partnerships like Indianapolis and Chicago; and to attract skilled workers, entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies like Houston, one of the country’s fastest growing cities.
“We began looking for ways to improve Cleveland,” says Reason.tv’s Nick Gillespie, host of the videos. “But the lessons here can also help renew other struggling American cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh.”
Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey will release videos and solutions all this week at http://reason.tv/cleveland. Here is an overview of each episode in the series:
The Decline of a Once-Great City
Episode 1, Released March 15
In the opening video, Carey describes his love for Cleveland, its history, its woes and why he launched this project: “As you know, I’m from Cleveland, Ohio. I love Cleveland, Ohio. I based my whole career on being from Cleveland, Ohio. And you also might know that Cleveland, Ohio, is going through some tough times right now. The economy is in trouble, the schools are in trouble, and people have been leaving the city in droves for a long, long time. And it is not just Cleveland. It’s a lot of cities in the country that are having the same problems. I went to the folks at the Reason Foundation and I said is there any way we could come up with some ideas to help save Cleveland. And we looked at some best practices of cities across the country and we wanted to know if we applied them to Cleveland, would it do any good? The series is called Reason Saves Cleveland. I hope you like it.”
The video can be viewed online at http://reason.tv/video/show/1040 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=096pjEOrdK4.
Fix the Schools
Episode 2, Released March 15
The Cleveland Municipal School District spends over $14,000 per student. Yet only 54 percent of students graduate from high school and the district is failing to meet 27 out of 30 Ohio performance standards.
“Your choice is go to a Catholic school or get the hell out of town and raise your kids somewhere else. That’s not much of a choice at all,” Carey says in the Reason.tv video. “It would be best for the parents and families to have a choice to send their kids where they want. Make the schools compete against each other.”
Reason Foundation’s new policy brief, Ten Ideas to Fix Cleveland’s Schools, calls for turning all failing schools into charter schools, giving principals complete control over school budgets and “backpack” funding that follows kids to the school of their parents’ choice. The complete policy brief is online at http://reason.org/news/show/fix-cleveland-schools.
The video is online here: http://reason.tv/video/show/1041.
Episode 3, March 16
With all of its problems should Cleveland’s government be running shopping markets and golf courses? “No, of course not,” Carey says.
A Reason Foundation policy brief accompanying this video calls for privatizing 10 government-run services and facilities in Cleveland, including:
- Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport. Several U.S. airports, including Chicago’s Midway, are examining this option. Heathrow and Gatwick in London, Rome, Sydney, Melbourne and Frankfurt are some of the major private airports in the world.
- Downtown parking meters and garages. Chicago received a $1.1 billion upfront payment from a private company who leased the city’s garages and meters for 75 years.
- Garbage and Solid Waste Services. Over half of all US cities have already privatized all or some of their solid waste services.
The policy brief, Ten Privatization Opportunities for Cleveland, is here: http://reason.org/news/show/cleveland-ten-privatization.
Improve the Business Climate
Episode 4, March 17
Take Cleveland’s municipal income tax, add a lot of burdensome regulations and red tape and you’ve found why so few businesses set up shop in Cleveland and why so many are leaving town.
This video compares Cleveland and Houston. The latter is one of the fastest growing cities in America and home to 29 Fortune 500 companies (second only to New York City). Houston is thriving without any state or local income taxes and very few zoning rules or restrictions.
“It’s a bottom line thing for businesses. They want lower taxes and less red tape. Simple as that.” Carey states in the Reason.tv video. “My only experience in running a city is Sim City, the computer game. I know that when you raise taxes, all the Sims leave the city. ”
Encourage Bottom-up Redevelopment
Episode 5, March 18
While the city crumbled, Cleveland taxpayers were paying huge amounts to subsidize stadiums. The next big taxpayer-funded boondoggle is the new convention center. “I didn’t know Cleveland was such a bustling convention city,” Carey points out. “Take that Vegas!”
“Spending billions on big-ticket redevelopment has utterly failed to revitalize the city’s economy,” says Gillespie. “It’s time for Cleveland to realize that bottom-up projects driven by the actual residents and private-sector investors are the best was to build a vibrant city for the long haul.”
“We can all make our own decisions. We all want to live our own kind of life,” Carey declares. “We don’t need a centralized government tell us what to do all the time and tell us, you know, what color to paint our house and what we can put where. We’ll decide on our own. We’ll work it out with our neighbors on our own.”
Bring Back the People
Episode 6, March 19
Cleveland has lost more than half its population since the 1950s. Yet the city still boasts affordable neighborhoods, a rich history, and diverse ethnic and cultural scenes. This video shows there is still hope for Cleveland to once again become a destination where people flock to pursue the American Dream.
Reason.tv is an online community showcasing the best libertarian videos on the Internet. Reason.tv gives you the opportunity to create videos, share videos and suggest topics for Drew Carey Project documentaries. For more information, please visit www.reason.tv or http://www.youtube.com/reasontv.
About Reason Foundation
Reason Foundation is a nonprofit think tank dedicated to advancing free minds and free markets. Reason Foundation produces respected public policy research on a variety of issues and publishes the critically-acclaimed monthly magazine, Reason, and its website www.reason.com. For more information, please visit www.reason.org.
Chris Mitchell, Director of Communications, Reason Foundation, (310) 367-6109 | <urn:uuid:fdaea495-6708-432f-8fde-848e9986e580> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reason.org/news/show/1009624.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938143 | 1,674 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Does Accuracy Improve the Information Value of Trials?
This paper develops a model where products liability trials provide information to consumers who are not parties to the litigation. Consumers use this information to take precautions against dangerous products. A critical assumption is that consumers cannot differentiate between firms that have never been sued and firms that have been sued but settled out of court. In this framework, we show that perfectly accurate courts do not maximize information to consumers and thus welfare, contrary to Kaplow and Shavell (1994). More accurate courts provide more information only if producers go to trial. Greater accuracy, however, encourages producers of dangerous products to settle and hide their type. When courts are perfectly accurate, all low quality producers settle. And given the lack of any information from trials about bad types, consumers (rationally) fail to take precautions. If consumer precautions are relatively more efficient than producer precautions, our conclusion stands even when firms can invest in improving the safety of their products. | <urn:uuid:9b41d979-e5b3-40fb-9971-3fe4c7e1c76e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/research/anup-malani-does-accuracy-improve-information-value-trials | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93568 | 193 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Foreword by Bjarne Stroustrup
Software is generally acknowledged to be the single greatest obstacle preventing mainstream adoption of massively-parallel computing. While sequential applications are routinely ported to platforms ranging from PCs to mainframes, most parallel programs only ever run on one type of machine. One reason for this is that most parallel programming systems have failed to insulate their users from the architectures of the machines on which they have run. Those that have been platform-independent have usually also had poor performance.
Many researchers now believe that object-oriented languages may offer a solution. By hiding the architecture-specific constructs required for high performance inside platform-independent abstractions, parallel object-oriented programming systems may be able to combine the speed of massively-parallel computing with the comfort of sequential programming.
Parallel Programming Using C++ describes fifteen parallel programming systems based on C++, the most popular object-oriented language of today. These systems cover the whole spectrum of parallel programming paradigms, from data parallelism through dataflow and distributed shared memory to message-passing control parallelism.
For the parallel programming community, a common parallel application is discussed in each chapter, as part of the description of the system itself. By comparing the implementations of the polygon overlay problem in each system, the reader can get a better sense of their expressiveness and functionality for a common problem. For the systems community, the chapters contain a discussion of the implementation of the various compilers and runtime systems. In addition to discussing the performance of polygon overlay, several of the contributors also discuss the performance of other, more substantial, applications.
For the research community, the contributors discuss the motivations for and philosophy of their systems. As well, many of the chapters include critiques that complete the research arc by pointing out possible future research directions. Finally, for the object-oriented community, there are many examples of how encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism can be used to control the complexity of developing, debugging, and tuning parallel software. | <urn:uuid:90b64f58-b668-479f-9e2d-8df09fee5fc1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mitpress.mit.edu/books/parallel-programming-using-c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925691 | 408 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Story URL: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=216865
Story Retrieval Date: 5/20/2013 5:23:51 PM CST
Walk through Auburn Gresham just north of the Dan Ryan Woods and you’ll find a striking building that looks as if it was imported from Rome a century or so ago – four columns facing 80th Street.
One might almost expect to hear Gregorian chants coming through the windows, but jutting off to the side there’s a modern addition that’s all glass. This is not a monument to days past. This is a living building.
This building is owned by the Archdiocese of Chicago, but it’s not a parochial school. It is a school, though. Welcome to Chicago International Charter School’s Ralph Ellison campus.
Ellison underwent a leadership change this past year and its faculty thinks the long-struggling school is finally on the right path.
But that raises two key questions about school performance as CPS considers which schools end up on the close list: Should the standards for charters be higher than neighborhood schools? How much time should CPS give charters to achieve success?
The glass at Ellison seems tied to a larger theme: transparency.
For one, the students all have clear backpacks.
Kim Hinton, the school’s director, explains this is a security measure used in place of metal detectors that ensures safety without conjuring the feeling of a lockdown. However, it’s Hinton, in her first year as director, the charter network’s term for administrators, who really represents this theme of transparency, something the school has not always thrived at in the past, according to its staff.
Hinton explained that teachers were not involved in making decisions, which took place behind closed doors by school leadership. Since being elevated to the position of director, she has tried to increase communication with teachers.
“Last year was the second year of a leadership change that had just taken place, and I would say communication at that time was suffering. Expectations were not clear. A clear vision was not set. A common goal was not set. If that’s not enough, there was not full transparency across the school,” said Hinton, who joined the school’s faculty last year as associate director after a long career in traditional public schools in Chicago.
During that time the school’s academics suffered. Only 15 percent of the school’s students met state standards on the Prairie State Achievement Examination in 2012 compared to the CPS average of 31.5 percent. The school’s average ACT score was 16.2, which is below the district’s average of 17.7.
The school’s graduation rate still exceeded the district’s rate by more than 17 percentage points.
The change in leadership was part of an improvement plan Chicago International created for the school. Marc Malone, a guidance counselor who has worked under four different directors during his time at the school, said that Hinton’s more collegial approach to leadership has benefited students and teachers alike.
“Students and faculty and staff aren’t going to buy into a vision until they feel that they’re valued,” he said.
Joyce Pae serves as Hinton’s associate director. She is one of the few teachers who have been at the school since its founding in 2006. The school has suffered high teacher turnover rates, and nearly half of its current faculty is new. Pae’s willingness to stay at the school stemmed partly from her desire to see the school find its path.
“I would joke that Ellison is like the Chicago Cubs of high schools. Every year you were like, next year, next year, next year. And now I’m realizing, no, it’s like the Boston Red Sox. Everything is gelling and it’s happening so much faster than I expected,” Pae said.
Last week CPS recommended closing two charter high schools, Aspira Charter School’s Mirta Ramirez campus and Betty Shabazz Charter School’s DuSable campus, for poor academic performance.
“Each school, whether neighborhood or charter, must provide students with the rigorous, high-quality education they need to thrive,” said CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett in a statement released to the media.
“I am an advocate for every child in our District and will demand on their behalf that we hold every school accountable for their academic growth and take action when needed. These are tough choices, but they must be made in order to help our children succeed,” Byrd-Bennett said.
The Board of Education will vote on the district’s recommendation at its meeting this Wednesday.
The Chicago Teachers Union has been critical of public funding going to privately run charter networks, which it warns do not always deliver on their ambitious goals.
“Absolutely not worth the risk, CTU has been screaming,” said Stacy Davis Gates, a union representative. She said that money invested in charters could have been used to improve neighborhood schools instead.
Hinton is the first person to admit that Ellison still has a long way to go. She doesn’t try to hide that fact. In touring the campus she is as quick to show classrooms in which students are struggling just as often as the ones in which they are thriving.
A bored student has his head down in a math class and the teacher walks over and quietly prods him to follow along. In another room a student-led discussion about George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” eventually results in the students coming to a consensus that the pigs represent communist leaders and not the proletariat.
“Because I know where we can be and know where we’re going, it’s hard for me. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m sad or I’m down, but it’s hard for me to be happy with where we are,” Hinton said. “I’m not content. But we’ve gotten a lot better.”
Some of the changes have been simple.
For example, seniors who get accepted to college now get to wear a special gold shirt with their names emblazoned to show their accomplishment. Ariel Green, a senior who has been accepted into the University of Illinois, was excited about the recognition the shirts represent.
“You did something right,” Green said, “so you’re actually noticed.” She said the sight of her shirt has motivated some of her friends to work harder.
How much time do charters, or neighborhood schools for that matter, need or deserve to achieve student success? Aaron Pollack, the chair of Ellison’s humanities department, cautioned against the expectation that schools can find a winning model in a year’s time.
“The commitment to this growth mindset within the context of all the pressures schools face today to deliver short-term, it’s really a leap of faith on her part. That is risky in today’s reality when it comes to schools and accountability,” Pollack said. “To change a place long-term and sustainably it takes time, but people don’t want to hear that.”
CPS is one of only several bodies that will be assessing Ellison’s academic progress due to Chicago International’s unique structure. Chicago International has a contract with the school district, but the school is actually run Civitas Schools, one of several school management organizations hired by Chicago International.
Civitas has set short-term and long-term goals for Ellison. For example, it expects to see juniors improve an average 2.6 points on the ACT test from fall to spring this year. These smaller goals contribute to a larger vision for the school’s improvement in the next five years.
Chicago International refers to its schools and the five management organizations that oversee them as a portfolio. The theory behind this model is that Chicago International’s office in the Loop can handle administrative tasks, allowing schools to focus on educational matters, said Kate Proto, a spokeswoman for the charter network.
The Chicago Teachers Union has argued that this portfolio model lacks transparency and does not ensure student achievement at all sites.
“In a way, it’s the most extreme version of charter schools,” said Pavlyn Jankov, a researcher for the Chicago Teachers Union. “This is one way for charters to effectively have long-term access to students yet rifle through management organizations.”
“They become sort of the middleman in between CPS, which is a district oversight body, and the management organizations that they hire,” Jankov said.
While the academic goal-setting is universal across Chicago International’s portfolio, each school management organization crafts a unique vision. ChicagoQuest, for example, is experimenting with a fantasy game model in which students’ learning goals are framed as missions as part of a quest.
Chicago International’s West Belden campus in Belmont Central, overseen by Distinctive Schools, has seen great success. The elementary school, which is also on the site of a former parochial school, saw more than 90 percent of its students meet state standards on Illinois State Achievement Test in 2012. This is with a population of students that is 95 percent low-income.
Chicago International said that West Belden is an example of how a school that initially struggles can achieve at a high level when given time to develop.
Linda Sullivan has taught at the school since its founding 11 years ago and has said that it has changed tremendously.
“The first three years were very rough,” Sullivan said. She said that the school struggled to maintain discipline at the outset, which hindered academic performance.
“Early on when we were struggling we realized that part of getting control was to implement [stricter rules]. It was almost an old Catholic school mentality,” she said. “We had to go back to the basics.”
There’s no question the school is orderly. The announcement that recess would take place indoors, due to an event at the adjacent parish, was met with cheers from a first-grade class when their teacher passed out a word game work sheet.
Tanya Diaz, the mother of a kindergartener and a second-grader at the school, appreciated that the school stresses behavior. She even smiled when sharing how her 5-year-old son had to serve an hour-long detention when he misbehaved.
“That’s just life, teaching them life,” she said. “At 5 years old you’re already molding yourself. You need to know if I do this that there’s going to be a consequence to that.”
Diaz has been impressed with the individual attention her children receive at West Belden, which she feels is unique.
Lisa Meyer, the school’s director, explained that the school prioritizes small group learning. Classroom teachers collaborate with resident teachers in training and specialists for English language learners and special education, allowing learning to take place in smaller groups so that students get more individual attention.
The campus is small, and by embracing this model the teachers make sure to use every inch of space. The hallways are filled with students sitting down with teachers for more targeted learning.
Diaz noted that the smaller class sizes compared to neighborhood schools helped her decide to send her kids to a charter school. She plans to have her children attend Chicago International schools through high school.
The Chicago Teachers Union has actually argued that charter school funding takes money away that would otherwise allow neighborhood schools to implement that same model, said Stacy Davis Gates, a union representative.
“It means we can neglect models that work. We know small class size works, but it also costs money,” she said. “How about we think about lowering class size?” | <urn:uuid:d860b4e8-eaf5-4125-ab4d-f7e16283c583> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=216865 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972646 | 2,547 | 1.75 | 2 |
If you blinked you may have missed it, but President Obama held a small, impromptu Twitter town hall yesterday in Iowa to answer questions and help craft a to-do list for Congress. The event is part of an ongoing White House initiative headed up by its digital strategy team to connect with voters and concerned citizens—and hopefully blur the lines between online and offline activism.
The president is no stranger to this format—he did his first town hall with Twitter's Jack Dorsey last July and has tried to stay one step ahead of most politicians in the digital game, participating in Google hangouts and even joining Spotify. Yet, while Obama decided to (quite literally) roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty responding to tweets in real time, it begs the question, just how effective is this type of engagement?
May 24, 2012
While one-to-one engagement between any citizen and sitting president creates an invaluable connection with the executive and a concerned potential voter, Twitter remains a peculiar format for policy engagement. The questions posed to President Obama throughout the town hall were complex in nature, meriting equally complex responses, not exactly the perfect format for the 140 character burst.
President Obama did as well as he could: "Facts are that a modest increase in taxes for wealthiest doesn't hurt economy; 90s boom, 2000s slowed. Not like we haven't tested," but the engagement rate for the event appears modest in terms of retweet engagement (typically a sign of successful message outreach).
The event averaged just 107 retweets, as reported by 140elect.com , a firm tracking political trends on Twitter. To be fair, the localized Twitter meet-up was not highly publicized; but its viral impact could have been a lot stronger, argued 140elect co-founder Zach Green, who blames poor tweet messaging.
On his blog, Green argued that context surrounding a tweet is the most important factor of engagement and that a string of contiguous policy tweets might get lost in the scrum of one's crowded Twitter feed. "Each tweet must stand alone," Green wrote on his blog. "Twitter is about placing ideas into discrete packages." | <urn:uuid:fe4b4a07-d80d-4c59-9074-70bb1bc6012a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adweek.com/print/140770 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969905 | 435 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Handing Antipoverty Policy Back to the Poor?
Article first published online: 25 JUL 2008
© 2008 New York Academy of Sciences
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Volume 1136, Reducing the Impact of Poverty on Health and Human Development: Scientific Approaches pages 333–341, June 2008
How to Cite
Banerjee, A. V. and Duflo, E. (2008), Mandated Empowerment. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1136: 333–341. doi: 10.1196/annals.1425.019
- Issue published online: 25 JUL 2008
- Article first published online: 25 JUL 2008
- antipoverty policy;
- local control
The current trend in antipoverty policy emphasizes mandated empowerment: the poor are being handed the responsibility for making things better for themselves, largely without being asked whether this is what they want. Beneficiary control is now being built into public service delivery, while microcredit and small business promotion are seen as better ways to help the poor. The clear presumption is that the poor are both able and happy to exercise these new powers. This essay uses two examples to raise questions about these strategies. The first example is about entrepreneurship among the poor. Using data from a number of countries, we argue that there is no evidence that the median poor entrepreneur is trying his best to expand his existing businesses, even if we take into account the many constraints he faces. While many poor people own businesses, this seems to be more a survival strategy than something they want to do. The second example comes from an evaluation of a program in India that aims to involve poor rural parents in improving local public schools. The data suggest that despite being informed that they now have both the right to intervene in the school and access to funds for that purpose, and despite being made aware of how little the children were learning, parents opt to not get involved. Both examples raise concerns about committing ourselves entirely to antipoverty strategies that rely on the poor doing a lot of the work. | <urn:uuid:985f22fb-dfb5-4fc8-bb15-9c331399c8a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1196/annals.1425.019/abstract?globalMessage=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946192 | 420 | 2.28125 | 2 |
There's a growing conviction among scientists that a lifestyle that is good for your heart and your overall health can also considerably reduce your risk of Alzheimer's, said Bill Thies, vice president for medical and scientific affairs of the Chicago-based Alzheimer's Association. Among them are:
- Know your medical numbers--blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar--and get them treated. All three have been linked to an increased risk of dementia. Diabetes may increase the risk of Alzheimer's by 65 percent, according to a recent study.
- Get some physical exercise. Studies show that active older people have a lower risk of Alzheimer's. A University of California, Los Angeles, study found that walking about 1 mile a day cut the risk of cognitive decline by 13 percent. The Canadian Health Study also found that regular walking reduced the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
- Eat a diet that favors fish and vegetables and avoids fats. Martha Clare Morris of Rush University Medical Center found that people who eat more fish and vitamin E-rich foods have a lower chance of developing cognitive impairment and dementia.
- Stay connected to society. This is a particular problem for older people who have lost relatives and friends. Their risk of dementia increases.
- Stay mentally active. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that people 75 years and older who read, danced or played board games or musical instruments had a reduced risk of dementia. Crossword puzzles also appear to help.
- Avoid toxins, such as cigarette smoke and excessive alcohol.
- Keep your weight within normal limits. Studies show that overweight people are more prone to Alzheimer's.
- Reduce psychological distress, especially depression, through exercise, meditation or medication. Rush's Wilson found that depression may be an Alzheimer's risk factor.
"All of these things will be good for your health, no matter what," Thies said. "My grandfather retired at 65, and like everyone else he just sat around because the next thing you did was die.
"People who are 65 now are saying, `Well, I'm ready to start my next career.' The only way you're going to be able to do that is if you remain functional, and that's a combination of the mental and physical abilities that you've preserved."
People who live to be 100 and older usually don't have Alzheimer's, heart disease or any of the other chronic disorders associated with aging, said Dr. Thomas Perls of the Boston University School of Medicine and director of the New England Centenarian Study.
They have really good genes in addition to healthy lifestyles, he said.
"There's a lot of evidence to show that for the rest of us, we have an average set of genes to get us to our mid- to late 80s in very good health," Perls said.
"The reason that many of us develop age-related diseases at younger ages has much to do with what we do with our bodies," he said. "We live on average about 10 years less in this country than what our genes are capable of achieving for us."
Brainteasers may be one of the most potent weapons against Alzheimer's. Growing evidence indicates that mental gymnastics that stimulate the construction of new connections between brain cells may buffer the destructive effects of the disease.
Muscles grow stronger through physical exercise, but the brain's exercise is learning, which sparks the construction of new connections, said Pittsburgh's Nussbaum.
Scientists refer to the formation of new synaptic connections as building "brain reserves." The idea is that as brain reserves increase, they make many more connections than a person can afford to lose to disease before memory loss occurs.
The gradual destruction of connections and the subsequent death of brain cells mark Alzheimer's.
"Learning things that are a challenge can certainly delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease by years," Nussbaum said. "You can slow the course once it's started, and it's never too late to start. The final question is going to be how much of an impact will this have in maybe stopping it altogether. We don't know that yet." | <urn:uuid:c3740e60-a580-4b7b-a349-f74584369d1d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-06-07/news/0406070126_1_attacks-in-middle-age-heart-disease-brain/2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962194 | 833 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Warren County’s 175th Anniversary Planning Committee, in conjunction with the 75th Anniversary of the Warren County Courthouse, is happy to announce the unveiling of a commissioned painting by renowned artist Mort Kunstler. The work titled “On to the Shenandoah” is an action packed painting that captures Stonewall Jackson in front of the old Warren County Courthouse, pushing his troops through the streets of Front Royal to gain control of the strategic bridge over the Shenandoah River to cut off any Union advance to Winchester. This is the first print of a two part series honoring the contributions of Front Royal and Warren County to Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign.
The Planning Committee for Warren County’s 175th Anniversary is happy to announce that the additional merchandise commemorating the celebration is now available. In addition to the two flags that are available, citizens will now be able to purchase Anniversary lapel pins, ornaments, and limited edition Matchbox trucks. All merchandise is available for purchase through the Warren County Treasurer's Office in Suite 800 of the Warren County Government Center.
In 2011, Warren County will celebrate the 175th Anniversary of the County. As part of the celebration, a Planning Committee has been established to plan and execute the events of the celebration. The Committee is comprised of one representative from each election district, along with representatives from the Warren Heritage Society, Front Royal-Warren County Visitor’s Center, and Warren County government.
As 2011 begins, so does Warren County's celebration of our 175th Anniversary! From our official founding on March 9, 1836 to today, we have a developed a rich history that our community can not only be proud of, but one that we can pass along to future generations. Our Planning Committee has developed a variety of events that will take place throughout 2011 and we encourage everyone to come out and take part in the celebration! Learn about our history, enjoy the present, and become an active part of our future! | <urn:uuid:71cfede2-d2c5-4864-9b30-673e9ef9d50d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.warrencountyva.net/175th-Anniversary-Homepage/175th-Front-Page/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935655 | 404 | 1.664063 | 2 |
If you’re ever tempted to take the notion of intelligent design seriously, consider the flounder.
Or the halibut, or the sole (Dover, rex, or petrale), or the small but tasty sanddab. Any member of the Order Pleuronectiformes will do. All living species of flatfish start out life as normal, bilaterally symmetrical bony fish, with one eye on each side of their bodies. Then as they mature, one eye migrates around to join its partner. The side with the eyes becomes the top side; the eyeless side, on which the fish rests on the substrate, the bottom. Sometimes, as in the sanddabs, both eyes wind up on the fish’s left side; sometimes, as in typical soles, flounders, turbots, and the Pacific halibut, on the right. California halibuts swing both ways. In some species the skin of the eyeless side loses its pigment, becoming fish-belly white; the eyed side has a camouflaging pattern that can change to match its surroundings.
Now, if you were the Supreme Being, is this how you would go about creating a flatfish? What a Rube Goldberg solution! It’s even worse than the famous thumb of the giant panda, which is actually a repurposed wrist bone; the pseudodigit doesn’t move into place after the panda is born.
It’s not as if this were the only design option, anyway. Before flounders and their ilk made their appearance, as indicated by the fossil record, there was already a perfectly functional flatfish model in the form of the skates and rays. As Richard Dawkins wrote in The Blind Watchmaker: “They are like sharks that have passed under a steam roller, but they remain symmetrical and ‘the right way up.’” When a bat ray is born, it already has a clearly defined top side, where both eyes are, and a bottom side, where its mouth is. Granted, the arrangement prevents it from seeing what it’s eating, but it has other senses that compensate for this handicap. And it’s worked well enough to last more than 100 million years.
None of which prevented some of Charles Darwin’s contemporaries from using flatfish as an argument against natural selection. “…if the transit was gradual, then how such transit of one eye a minute fraction of the journey towards the other side of the head could benefit the individual is far from clear,” wrote St. George Jackson Mivart in 1871. “It seems, even, that such an incipient transformation must rather have been injurious.”
Fortunately, flatfish have a decent fossil history, and the evolutionary transition from bilateral symmetry to their present state can be reconstructed—just like the transition from primitive hoofed mammals to whales, or from dinosaurs to birds.
The most recent piece of evidence came to light in a museum collection in Vienna, in a slab of limestone that formed 50 million years ago when a warm sea covered what is now northern Italy. This, 15 million years after the demise of the dinosaurs, was a time when the bony fish were undergoing serious diversification. Oxford researcher Matt Friedman discovered that the slab contained the well-preserved remains of a flatfish in the making. The fish, which he named Heteronectes (“different swimmer”), had a flattened body like a modern pleuronectid, but with one eye on each side like a conventional fish.
This was not Friedman’s first encounter with a fossil protoflatfish.
(Much of what follows is borrowed from an article by Carl Zimmer in the journal Evolution Education Outreach.) Working on his dissertation at the University of Chicago in 2008, he was struck by an illustration of an odd-looking fish called Amphistium, also about 50 million years old. Friedman tracked down an actual specimen and used a CT scanner to reveal anatomical details obscured by the rock matrix. Amphistium had an eye on each side, but one was higher on the fish’s head than the other. As he examined still more specimens, he became convinced that these were adult fish, not juvenile flatfish preserve with the wandering eye in transit. Then came the discovery of Heteronectes, a member of a still earlier flatfish lineage.
Friedman speculates that the ancestors of Heteronectes had a tendency to lie flat on the seafloor, propping themselves up with their downward-facing fins. They could still see with the downward-facing eye, but not well. Mutations that moved the eye even slightly toward the top of the head were favored by natural selection, eventually leading to the modern two-eyes-on-one-side model.
Dawkins again, writing 25 years before either of those transitional forms turned up: “The whole skull of a bony flatfish contains the twisted and distorted evidence of its origins. Its very imperfection is powerful testimony of its ancient history, a history of step-by-step change rather than of deliberate design…[E]volution never starts from a clean drawing board. It has to start from what is already there.” | <urn:uuid:67a2c5ae-d223-4324-be11-029fe7f9ccec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2012-07-06/article/39942?headline=WILD-NEIGHBORS-Wandering-Eyes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967038 | 1,101 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Deep Fry Turkey
Don't make the same old turkey for Thanksgiving! Deep fry a turkey instead! Try one of these delicious variations.
Cajun Deep-Fried Turkey
1/2 cup kosher salt
Stir salt, herbs and peppers together. Mix until well blended. Use 1/2 to 2/3 cup for a 10-12 pound turkey. May be stored for several months in an airtight covered jar.
Remove the giblets and neck, rinse the turkey well with cold water and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Take care to dry both inside cavities. Place in a large pan and rub the interior and exterior of the bird with seasoning mix. To allow for good oil circulation through the cavity, do not truss or tie legs together. Cut off the wing tips and plump little tail as they may get caught in the fryer basket. Cover pan and place in refrigerator overnight.
Place the outdoor gas burner on a level dirt or grassy area. Never fry a turkey indoors, in a garage or in any structure attached to a building. Do not fry on wood decks, which could catch fire, or concrete, which could be stained by the oil. (Safety tip: have a fire extinguisher nearby for added safety.)
Add oil to a 7 to 10 gallon pot with a basket or rack. At the medium-high setting, heat the oil to 375 degrees F., (depending on the amount of oil, outside temperature and wind conditions, this should take about 40+ minutes).
Meanwhile, place the turkey in a basket or on a rack, neck down. When the oil temperature registers 375 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer, slowly lower the turkey into the hot oil. The level of the oil will rise due to the frothing caused by the moisture from the turkey but will stabilize in about one minute. (Safety tips: to prevent burns from the splattering oil wear oven mitts/gloves, long sleeves, heavy shoes and even glasses. It is wise to have two people lowering and raising the turkey.)
Immediately check the oil temperature and increase the flame so the oil temperature is maintained at 350 degrees F. If the temperature drops to 340 degrees F. or below, oil will begin to seep into the turkey. Fry about 3 to 4 minutes per pound, or about 35 to 42 minutes for a 10-12 pound turkey. Stay with the cooker at all times as the heat must be regulated.
When cooked to 170 degrees F. in the breast or 180 degrees F. in the thigh, carefully remove the turkey from the hot oil. Allow the turkey to drain for a few minutes. (Safety tip: allow the oil to cool completely before storing or disposing.)
Remove turkey from the rack and place on a serving platter. Allow to rest for 20 minutes before carving.
NOTE: Use only oils with high smoke points, such as peanut, canola or safflower oil. To determine the correct amount of oil, place the turkey in the pot before adding seasoning and add water until turkey is covered. Measure the amount of water and use a corresponding amount of oil. Dry the pot thoroughly of all water. Makes 12 servings.
Per serving (5.9 ounces each): 1g carbohydrates; 0g fiber; 45g protein; 21g fat; 1116mg sodium; 129mg cholesterol; 383 calories
-- Recipe courtesy of the National Turkey Federation. Recipe was developed by Janet Trent of Sanford, North Carolina. The recipe was a finalist in the 1999 North Carolina Turkey Cooking Contest, sponsored by the North Carolina Turkey Federation.
Next: Ginger and Rosemary Deep Fried Turkey | <urn:uuid:83a3011e-fc74-4b23-b95b-c0cf82c35ac4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sheknows.com/holidays-and-seasons/articles/4017/cajun-deep-fried-turkey-and-more | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92032 | 747 | 1.648438 | 2 |
I’d like to make the case that asparagus, as a crop, is a prophetic vegetable. How the global asparagus industry has changed gives us a window on how the rest of the US fresh produce market is likely to change over time.
We Americans Love Asparagus, but…
As you can see in the graph above, Americans doubled our per capita consumption of asparagus between 1997 and 2008. That is a good thing because this delicious vegetable is high in nutrients like vitamin K, folate, vitamin C, vitamin A… and also contains healthy phytochemicals like glutathione and rutin. Asparagus is still a relatively small part of our vegetable consumption at 1.2 lbs/person compared to broccoli at 5.9 lbs, sweet corn at 9.2 lbs, or fresh tomatoes 18.5 lbs (USDA data). But what is interesting is that during the same time period that we doubled our consumption, the acres of asparagus grown in the US has dropped in half. Why the disconnect? There are several factors involved and many of them represent trends and drivers that will probably effect many other categories in the future.
Asparagus Is A Labor-Intensive Crop and We Americans Can’t Seem to Rationalize Our Farm Labor Policy
We seem to be unable to have a civilized conversation about immigration policy in the US let alone actually institute a sane guest worker system for the people who do so much to tend our fruit and vegetable crops. Because of this, labor is sometimes scarce, sometimes costly and fraught with potential legal issues for farmers. This is increasingly problematic for all labor-intensive crops, but particularly so for asparagus. During asparagus harvesting season in the spring, the shoots have to be carefully selected and cut as they emerge from the ground. No one has perfected a mechanical harvester that can do the job, so relatively skilled pickers are needed 7 days a week. Asparagus is a perennial crop which means that to start a new block, a grower needs to be confident that he/she will be able to find and pay for all that labor for many years (10-20) to justify the commitment of time and money to a new planting. Our political dysfunctionality is a big component of the uncertainty that is undermining farmer’s confidence and thus their decision about planting. Combine that with demographic trends, and look for a food future where only crops that can be harvested mechanically will prosper.
Politics Have Influenced Where Asparagus is Grown
The US government funded research and support to develop asparagus as a crop for South American farmers with the goal of giving them alternatives to growing drug crops. They also created an Andean Trade Preference. This was quite successful in the 1980s with relatively small growers selling to processing companies that exported canned and frozen product. The industry stagnated in the 1990s as those processed markets shifted to China. To survive, the asparagus industry started to shift to fresh exports and this tended to favor larger players as is always the case for fresh produce that is sold to distant customers with strong leverage. Consolidation is already a long-term trend in US fresh produce, and it will continue both here and at our import sources. Sourcing from China will be a continuing trend as it is now for many organic commodities that are not perishable.
The Peruvians Have Learned How to Cultivate Asparagus Year-round
The most successful asparagus cultivation has been in special micro-climates in the “rain shadow” of the Andes mountains, particularly in Peru. Here there is land for planting where there is NEVER any rain. There is irrigation water available. Some sources have been in elaborate irrigation systems for thousands of years. However, there are concerns about its sustainability because of climate change or excessing pumping from some aquifers In any case, it turns out that asparagus can be tricked into going dormant most times of the year by inducing drought stress. This allows the Peruvian growers to have different fields set up to be harvested at different times. There are not places in the US, Mexico or Canada that have the right combination of dryness and temperature to do this, so Peru supplies our market for most of the year when North American pickings are not available. Many people are advocates of “seasonal” produce consumption, and it is important, but the reality of consumer behavior is that we learn to eat things in greater quantities when we can count on them being available. This and retail marketing tendencies will continue to favor year-round offerings.
Growing Asparagus Local Sounds Like A Great Idea, But…
Asparagus is actually a vegetable that is better suited than most to local production. It can grow even in relatively cold places as long as it has a good summer to store energy in its underground “crowns” that then enable it to push up as new shoots for the several week harvest window. Many states used to be significant producers of asparagus including places like New Jersey, Michigan, Washington, Illinois and Indiana. One of the most advanced asparagus breeding efforts in the world was at Rutgers in New Jersey. Asparagus will be an important test of the strength of the “Local” and “Seasonal” food movements. There are many factors that will militate against these goals for asparagus, not matter how good it sounds (and it would be really great and fresh).
First of all, agricultural labor supply is even a bigger uncertainty in many of these regions. Also, who would make a 15-20 year commitment to a piece of land near a city that could have development potential? Asparagus would not be a good candidate for a U-Pick because you really need to know what you are doing when harvesting or you compromise the life-span of the crowns.
People like to blame “Big Ag” or “Industrial Farming” for the trends in our food supply. Asparagus is a good example of how what really happens is driven by forces such as economic realities, consumer behavior, retailer leverage, politics and weather. Farmers, at any scale, must simply respond to these drivers or go out of business.
Here is a challenge for a grocery retailer that wants to make a public commitment to local production. Give someone the financing and long-term contract that would allow them to devote some land to the production of local asparagus. Set the contract pricing in such a way that the labor will be available and affordable.
Graphs of trends from USDA-ERS and USDA-NASS made by Steve Savage
You are welcome to comment here or to Email me at email@example.com | <urn:uuid:d4624d46-89d1-4f6d-b6a7-8f86f6e4a182> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sustainablog.org/2010/12/asparagus-growing-science-politics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956732 | 1,386 | 2.34375 | 2 |
I love the simple elegance of 1 John and the Gospel of John. I don't really
*care* if contemporary writers would have judged this to be "good Greek", I
read it out loud and let John's pregnant phrases sink in.
hmmmmm. . . . May I jump into this conversation, at midstream, and
ask what hopefully will be a simple question?
I understand from conversing with my classics buddy at Yale that
Greek as simple as the Greek of John's gospel would still have been
difficult to read by the 'average' person linving, for example, in Ephesus.
This leads me to aks a question that I have been pondering over long and
hard: What do we *know* about the literacy rate in the Greco-Roman world to
be able to say who could or could not read Greek?
PS: when replying, please reply back to me directly since I only
receive the digest form of B-Greek and ioudaios. | <urn:uuid:9435f5f0-666a-445b-8cc2-389f35b44654> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/archives/96-11/0162.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949866 | 214 | 1.679688 | 2 |
You are in for a treat! Not only are we offering a giveaway but you have nine more chances to win at the sites we are teaming up with…
We are all about adding in the joy of art in our homeschool. And what a fun way to view beautiful pieces of art – holding copies of them right in your hand. Playing a game? Even better! As a parent, I am very impressed with the quality of Art Ditto by Birdcage Press. The children are very impressed with the fun factor.
- Brilliantly-colored cards. Glossy and thick – will stand the test of my rough and tumble household.
- Simple memory game with benefit of learning famous pieces of art.
- Includes 48 tiles – so younger ones can play with just a few and older children can be challenged by using the whole set.
- Easy enough for children to play independently.
- Eight (8) art collecting cards that show details on one side and full paintings on the other.
- Cards include names of famous artists (hooray! A supplement to our homeschool studies).
- Find the matching tiles and collect them on the cards.
- The cards give a visual of how different artists depict birds, boats, cats, flowers, horses and more.
You might be interested to know:
- Art Ditto won the Creative Child Game of the Year Award as well as the Parents’ Choice Recommended Award.
- Art Ditto is also available in an American Art version. (Which Rachel at at Finding Joy is reviewing)
- You can browse all the Birdcage Press art products here.
Conclusion: Playing Art Ditto over and over makes us interested in all the other products from Bird Cage press. Click over to their site for more detail and to browse other games in the art category. We loved Art Ditto so much that we ordered Go Fish for Renaissance Artists to compliment our Tapestry of Grace studies.
Happy faces! Play memory games! Collect your favorite art! And as a homeschool parent, enjoy a high-quality, educational resource for your homeschool.
Find Art Ditto and many more wonderful educational products via the Birdcage Press website.
- Join the Birdcage Press mailing list for future promotions.
- Birdcage Press also has digital products. We particularly enjoy the My Bird World app!
- You can follow Birdcage Press on Facebook.
*Special shipping discount code on all orders: IN12 is good until 3/31/12
Please note: I received this Art Ditto game in exchange for a review. I always give my honest opinion and love to share our family’s experiences when reviewing a product.
Now for the giveaway! The giveaway will only run through Sunday, February 26th. The winner will be announced Monday, the 27th. Birdcage Press is kindly offering one (1) Art Ditto game to our readers.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
More Chances to Win! The Curriculum Choice is joining with these wonderful sites in reviewing Birdcage Press products. Be sure to visit each blog to find out about more of these great resources. Plus enter to win a different game or product at each site!
Spell Outloud — Choice of Egyptian Art Cards or Battle Cards-Military Jets
Finding Joy — Choice of Wild Cards – North American Birds or Art Ditto Game.
Jimmie’s Collage –Choice of Impressionist or Renaissance Art Game
Mama’s Learning Corner — Renaissance Art Game
Handbook of Nature Study — Wild Cards-Backyard Birds
Harmony Art Mom — Choice of Go Fish for Art or Art Close-Up Cards
Hodgepodge — Go Fish for Wildlife – Sea Creatures
Tricia has been homeschooling for over a decade now. She faces a daily dose of chaos balancing the needs of five children from preschool to middle school (and playing educational games) at Hodgepodge. | <urn:uuid:927b71f9-1a64-4db1-97e6-da28e5a47475> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thecurriculumchoice.com/2012/02/birdcage-press-art-ditto-game-review/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924013 | 821 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Historic Oak View County Park offers programming for history lovers of all ages!
Reservations are required in advance for any staff-led program. To reserve programs at Historic Oak View County Park, please call Sara Drumheller, Assistant Park Manager, at 919-212-7695. Reservations cannot be made via email.
For Elementary School Students (Grades 2–4):
Historic Oak View offers educational programming Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–noon. Your students will receive three great programs in one trip!
All of Oak View's programs are written to comply with the Social Studies requirements in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study!
Program fees (instituted July 1, 2011) for these curriculum-based programs are $8/program/class, so $24 per set of three programs for each class that visits (and we can accommodate up to three class-sized groups, or about 90 students per day). Please note: Fees are waived for Title I schools.
Choose three programs from this list to customize your program:
- From Field To Fiber: During this interactive program, presented in the early-20th-century Cotton Gin House, students will learn about the history of cotton in North Carolina. They will even get to try their hand at picking cotton! (Weather permitting)
- All in a Day's Work: This program focuses on chores that were done in and around the farm's barn, with hands-on activities including milking a cow, feeding the horse, slopping the pig, and collecting eggs. (All activities use fake animals!) Students will learn how farms today differ from those smaller family/local farms of the past like Oak View, and will learn about farm work by examining some barn-related artifacts.
- Change Over Time: Through an interactive presentation in Oak View's Farm History Center, your students will learn about 400 years of agricultural history in North Carolina and visit a real sharecropper's cabin.
- In the Farm’s Kitchen: This program will allow students to explore the daily work done in the farm’s kitchen through hands-on and sensory activities. Students will try their hands at butter making, and cleaning laundry with a scrub board and lye soap!
Exhibit Tour of Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War.
Unfortunately, we are now at capacity for tours of this exhibition. However, the exhibition is open to the public and visitors are welcome to view it on their own.
Also available for early elementary-age students, but for smaller groups:
History Hike: This one-hour program offers a docent-led tour of the old farmstead, including all of the buildings and the pecan grove, gazebo and water tower, examining what life would be like for a child growing up on the farm. Along with the property tour, this is the only program offered on the weekends. This option is especially popular for Scout groups, homeschools or small track-out groups.
The fee for the History Hike is $15 per group.
For Middle School and High School Students or Adult Groups:
Historic Oak View Property Tour: Learn about the past of a Wake County farm on the Oak View property tour. Tour group will visit the 1855 farmhouse and detached kitchen, the livestock barn, carriage house and turn-of-the-century cotton gin to learn about the changing face of farm life in Raleigh from the mid-19th century until today. Watch the past come alive as you hear stories from the many Raleigh families that lived at Oak View and made their living off its land.
The fee for a property tour is $15 per group.
Self-Guided Tour through OnCell!
Visitors to Historic Oak View County Park can use their cell phones to tour the park free of charge, and at their own pace! Visitors are able to tailor their tour to the aspects of Oak View's History that interest them most. The tour will share information about each of the historic structures on the grounds and provide a historical context for more than 200 years of Oak View's history. Additionally, the tour will offer stories about the families who made their homes and livelihoods here. Stop in the Farm History Center when you arrive to pick up your brochure containing an OnCell Tour insert (which gives you all the stop numbers) and get started on your personal tour!
The OnCell tour is FREE (regular cell carrier charges may apply). For more information, please call the main park office at 919-250-1013.
The park buildings are open 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1–5 p.m. on Sundays. The park grounds are open from 8 a.m. to dusk.
Other Self-Guided Opportunities
Historic Oak View County Park also offers several activities for small groups or families, which can be "checked out" in the Farm History Center (our visitors' center). These self-guided activities allow you to see all the buildings on the property on your own, free of charge. Ask any staff member about these fun activities!
We have “B.W.'s Artifact Adventure” for young audiences (early elementary age), which features a workbook (that you keep at the end of your activity) to guide your 'adventure' around the property and to discover what artifacts are.
Our “Get Your Bearings” Compass Activity for older kids (upper elementary students), allows kids to use a compass to 'get their bearings' at Oak View to lead from one place to the next! (Please note: This self-guided activity requires a short (5–10 minutes) set-up time, so we encourage you to let us know if you plan to use this activity, so we can have it ready for you when you arrive and you won't have to wait while we set it up!)
Adventure Backpack Series
The “Antebellum Era Backpack” features interactive activities and an instructional guide to provide families with fun ways to learn about the Antebellum Era. Children will learn about architecture, slavery, education, fashions and pastimes through roleplaying, crafts, games and educational projects.
The “Barnyard Friends Backpack” is a preschool-friendly adventure that teaches children about animals and life on the farm through games, play and exploration. | <urn:uuid:92eafc8f-cba4-4237-89bb-0c61a443db6e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wakegov.com/parks/oakview/programs/Pages/default.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944884 | 1,319 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Roseman: Western Union ordered to repay 93-year-old scam victim
Explore This Story
Harry Zborowski is 93 years old. When he got a call from his granddaughter saying she had been in a car accident in Montreal, he agreed to send $4,200 to her right away.
He went to Western Union, as instructed. But when his granddaughter called the next day to ask for more money to hire a lawyer, he became suspicious.
Why didn’t she call her father, who was a lawyer, to ask for help? A call to his granddaughter’s home confirmed that she was still in Toronto.
This is known as the grandparent scam. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says it’s one of the most frequent crimes reported by callers.
Rhoda Margles, 87, received a similar call and found it quite convincing. Here’s how she describes it.
“A hysterical voice came on, saying, ‘This is your grandson. I was in a car accident and broke my nose, which is why my voice sounds strange. They put me in jail because they say I was drunk.’
“Then, a man took the phone, saying that he was a court-appointed lawyer. My grandson was being held in Laval, Quebec, pending the payment of $2,200.”
Margles was suspicious. Her grandson lived in New York and was a responsible 27-year-old, who didn’t drive after having had a few drinks.
Only when the man told her to wire funds by Western Union did she hang up and call her daughter, learning that her grandson was fine and not in Quebec.
You rarely get a refund after using a money transfer service, even if you report a crime immediately. It’s like sending cash in the mail.
Western Union Canada has started an education campaign with a new website, giving tips on how to spot and avoid different types of fraud.
Harry Zborowski’s daughter, Sylvia Kestenberg, thought Western Union didn’t do enough to protect her elderly father from fraud. She hired a lawyer and sued the company in small claims court.
The court ordered Western Union to pay him $4,380 (including the $180 money transfer fee), plus $5,000 in legal costs.
“The issue of grandparent fraud is obviously a significant one,” wrote Deputy Judge Gina Papageorgiou in an 18-page judgment. “The elderly are some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
“In my view, there was absolutely no question that the defendant was liable and yet it put Mr. Zborowski to the time and expense of attending at trial. Mr. Zborowski is 93 years old. He is the quintessential victim and he is further victimized by having to bring this proceeding.”
The company didn’t live up to its legal duty of care, the judge said.
The Western Union agent at the mall should have asked more questions when Zborowski said he had to send money to his granddaughter right away.
The company said that the money was given to someone in Montreal who provided proper identification. But the family learned that the payee’s name had been changed from Jodie Rosen (the granddaughter) to Sean Cooper.
Western Union breached its contract with Zborowski by not paying the money to Rosen as requested, the judge said.
“Consumer protection is a shared responsibility,” said Andrew Silver, a company spokesman, when asked for comments. “Consumers have a role in being the first, last and best line of defence against fraud.”
So, if a loved one asks for help in an emergency far from home, remember that it could be a sign of fraud. Confirm the facts before wiring any money.
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Zoocasa to feature property listings, realtor information. | <urn:uuid:4ee580b1-fbc6-47b0-af8a-8ae6cb1e83c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thestar.com/business/personal_finance/spending_saving/2012/09/21/roseman_western_union_ordered_to_repay_93yearold_scam_victim.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979114 | 941 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Thousands of nesting Bonin petrels were buried alive. Petrels nest in underground burrows. The petrel population at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge has grown exponentially since rats were eradicated over 10 years ago.
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge; AMNWR; Birds; Marine birds; Coastal environments; Islands; Biology; work of the refuge; Aleutians; Aleutian Islands; Delarof Islands
2006, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologistsclimb the cliffs of Ulak Island searching for seabird burrows. Information gathered is used in determining the health of particular bird species in the refuge | <urn:uuid:f090d5ed-ff77-4ce6-95cf-be598e8763cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/search/searchterm/burrows/mode/all/page/5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901477 | 131 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Water, sun and wind: Morocco has launched an ambitious programme to harness the elements to produce "green" electricity to reduce its dependence on energy imports.
And eventually it even hopes to export the energy produced.
Lining the hills of Dhar Saadane, 126 windmills overlook the city of Tangiers, in what site manager Loubna Farabi says is the largest windmill park in Africa.
King Mohammed VI himself launched the site in June, one of the first steps towards Morocco's avowed aim of exploiting renewable energy sources. It has a capacity of 140 megawatts (MW).
But to get that green energy requires a lot of money up front, especially when you are dealing with relatively new technology.
What has helped however, is the growing interest along the southern Mediterranean coastline among not just businesses but some European governments.
This has sparked interest in the Mediterranean to develop one of the region's most abundant resources: the sun.
Ten years from now, by 2020, the plan is to generate 20 gigawatts (GW) of power in solar power across the southern Mediterranean countries, a quarter of which could be exported from Morocco into Europe.
Morocco's project then, as ambitious as it is, is only part of a much larger plan put together by the 46-nation Union for the Mediterranean, which comprises the 27 European Union members and 16 Mediterranean countries.
For Mohammed Yahya Zniber, secretary general of Morocco's energy ministry, this represents a real economic opportunity for the country.
And Energy Minister Amina Benkhadra puts it this way: by diversifying its energy sources Morocco can ensure energy security.
The growing demand for energy in Morocco, on average up 6.5 percent a year, makes that argument all the more convincing.
At the moment, Morocco is importing more than 95 percent of its primary energy materials -- oil, coal and gas -- for the country's energy needs. And it imports 18 percent of its electricity from Spain.
And while the country's leadership has not ruled out looking at nuclear power, for the moment it has set itself the ambitious goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in its total output to 42 percent by 2020.
The plan is to share that out equally between hydroelectric, wind and solar energy: the wind park at Dhar Saadane then, is just one link in the chain and not enough in itself to meet the wind energy targets.
Morocco wants to produce 2,000 MW in wind energy alone by 2020 and for the moment, its windmills are only producing 280 MW year -- and that will require an investment of some 2.2 billion euros (three billion dollars).
It will also have to build three dams to increase its hydroelectric production to 2,200 MW by 2020, said Zniber at the energy ministry.
But the real work will have to come in solar energy, a resource that until now has been underexploited.
Morocco is putting 6.6 billion euros into plans to produce 2,000 MW in solar energy by their stated deadline, said Mustapha Bakkoury, president of the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN).
And given the amount of sunshine the kingdom enjoys, Morocco can expect to get a good return on its investment in this area, said Bakkoury: for the yield from its site would be 20 to 30 percent than equivalent installations in Spain.
Five sites have been chosen for this part of the programme, the first of which will be developed in Ouarzazate.
Deep in the heart of Morocco, the desert city is perhaps better known for some of the films that have been shot there: from David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" to "Star Wars" and Ridley Scott's "Gladiator".
The plan is to have the Ouarzazate producing 500 MW by 2015. Morocco will put the first part of the project out to tender before the end of the year.
The problem with solar energy, said Bakkoury, was that it was a lot more expensive that conventional energy.
"This effort could only be justified if we put it in a larger economic context: the aim of the solar plan is to establish a real economic sector."
Explore further: Qatar bails out Germany's Solarworld | <urn:uuid:5fbd6423-af28-4f9a-a2d6-b49f23a98b5a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://phys.org/news205682382.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953278 | 886 | 2.609375 | 3 |
FAQ about Chinese Visa Application
Many frequently asked questions about Chinese visa application are listed.
China and Visas
The PRC follows the international system and issues visas according to its laws and regulations which may be modified from time to time.
Number of Entries / Validity / Duration of Each Stay
1. Single, Double and Multiple Entry Visas
2. Validity (Enter Before)
3. Duration of Stay (After Entry)
There are a very few situations where no visa is required for entering mainland China.
72-hour Visa-free Transit
Passport holders from 45 countries are exempted from visa to transit in Beijing and Shanghai from Jan. 1, 2013.
Visa on Arrival (Issued at Entry Ports)
There are certain emergency situations which will permit aliens to get a visa on arrival at entry ports of mainland China.
Types of Chinese Visa
Tourist Visa (L) Issued to aliens who are going to PRC for tourism, family visiting or other private affairs.
Business Visa (F) Issued to aliens who are invited to PRC for a business visit, an investigation, a lecture, scientific-technological & cultural exchanges, short-term furthering studies or intern practice less than six months.
Student Visa (X) Issued to aliens who are going to PRC for study, furthering studies or intern practice longer than six months.
Work Visa (Z) Issued to aliens who are going to PRC for a post or employment, and to their accompanying family members.
Transit Visa (G) Issued to aliens who are going to a third country in transit of PRC.
Crew Visa (C) Issued to crewmembers involving international-based transportation by trains, airway and ships and their accompanying family members.
Resident Visa (D) Issued to aliens who are going to reside permanently in PRC.
Journalist Visa (J-1, J-2) Issued to foreign journalists for the purpose of reporting from PRC.
Chinese Visa Application
Application in Your Own Country
Application in China (Renewals and Extension)
Application in a Third Country & Regions
Fees, Overstaying & Visa Agents
Visa Mail Service
Holiday Schedule of Chinese Embassies/Consulates
Visa Cancellation & Airline Regulations
Mutual Visa Exemption between PRC and Foreign Countries
Visa to Hong Kong SAR & Macau SAR
Hong Kong Visa
Hong Kong Visa Application
Non-Visa to Hong Kong for Foreign Countries/Areas
Chinese Residence Permit
Temporary Residence Permit
Policy about Family Visit Visa/Temporary Residence Permit
Permanent Residence Permit
Requirements for Permanent Residence Permit
Marriage Registration in China
It explains the basic rules that foreigners need to know about marriage registration in China.
Required Forms for Download
Visa Application Form of PRC
Supplementary Visa Application Form of PRC
Hong Kong Visa/Entry Permit Application Form
Macau Visa Application Form
Physical Examination Record for Foreigner
Affidavit of Marital Status
Application Form of Notarization and Legalization
Foreign Student Visa Application Form JW201
Foreign Student Visa Application Form JW202
Application Form for Chinese Government Scholarship
TravelChinaGuide provides the following information to help foreign travellers understand about obtaining visas for China and some of the rules for foreigners to stay in China. The information is accurate to the best of our knowledge. However, there is considerable complexity as there are several visa types; visas can be applied for in your own country, in China, or in a third country; the rules vary according to your nationality, and the regulations can be changed at any time.
The information is relevant to holders of ordinary passports. If you hold a diplomatic or service passport, there are different rules and you will need to get advice from your employer.
Wherever you are in doubt about your visa situation, you should contact your local Chinese office that issues visas, such as Chinese Embassy in Washington DC, USA, Chinese Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, Chinese Embassy in London, UK.
The visas we are talking about here are 'entry visas', those which are part of the permission for a person to enter a foreign country. US citizens can contact Travel Visa Pro to order Chinese Visa. Services start at $39 and you can get Chinese visa in just 6 hours. Call them 24/7, toll-free 888-470-8472.
Mostly, a visa is a permit granted before travelling to enter a country, usually for a fee. However, the visa is only an indication to immigration officials that you have satisfied certain conditions. On arrival, the immigration official has the power to approve or disallow your entrance to the country. So, when you arrive you can be told that you may not enter. This can be for many reasons including a belief that there is something wrong with the passport or the visa, you do not have enough money, you plan to work when the visa does not allow this, or that you are in some other way 'undesirable'. There is normally nothing you can do about it and you will not be permitted to enter. This poses problems for airlines and in turn for passengers – see the heading Airline Rules
Sometimes, a visa can be issued at the border when you arrive. This is half way between being a true visa and a 'no visa required' situation. There are not many situations where this is available for entry to China.
Chinese Visa Application Requirements
Application Requirements at Embassy/Consulates of PRC in USA
Application Requirements at Embassy/Consulates of PRC in UK
Application Requirements at Embassy/Consulates of PRC in Canada
Application Requirements at Embassy/Consulates of PRC in Australia | <urn:uuid:b03d219f-26be-4d22-87ea-9d2d0dd58e86> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912419 | 1,194 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude
Publication Date: February 10, 2009
And Alice is Alice.
And Gertrude and Alice are Gertrude and Alice.
And you are welcome to join them for tea. But beware, for there you will find a bear in a chair, just barely scary. And here is a beard with a man attached to it. And then, of course, some words might appear, uninvited , but delighted in spite of their lightbulbs. But, but, but, but - that doesn't make any sense! Yes!
In a story inspired by the oh-so-modern groundbreaking writing of Gertrude herself, not a lot makes sense. Even so, the oh-so-popular author Jonah Winter, and the ever-so-popular illustrator Calef Brown, and the most popular poodle of all time, Basket, invite you to enter the whimsical world of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.
Jonah Winter is celebrated author of many picture book biographies including Barack, which was a New York Times bestseller. His other books include Here Comes the Garbage Barge, Sonia Sotomayor, and others. A poet and a painter, Mr. Winter lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
"Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude puts the fun front and center, both in the lives of the artists it describes, and in its emulation of its titular writer's style." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"'Thank you for this cow' the story ends but it is really just beginning because readers will want to go back to the words and the colors and the tea and Alice and Gertrude and having bright, sparkling fun with words and colors and tea." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Taking his title from Gertrude Stein's famous saying about a rose, Winter (Frida) crafts a Steinesque 'word portrait' of the modernist author." -- Publisher's Weekly | <urn:uuid:27f48394-5590-432d-80de-6c663b00c416> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781416940883?aff=kirkus_reviews | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925954 | 439 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Making the move to a care facilityBy Mayo Clinic staff
Original Article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alzheimers-disease-blog/MY00661
- With Mayo Clinic health education outreach coordinator
Angela Lunderead biographyclose window
Angela LundeAngela LundeAngela Lunde is a dementia education specialist in the education core of Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Abigail Van Buren Alzheimer's Disease Research Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
The transfer of information about dementias, as well as understanding the need for participation in clinical trials, is an essential component of the education core.
Angela is a member of the Alzheimer's Association board of directors and co-chair of the annual Minnesota Dementia Conference. She is a member of the Dementia Behavior Assessment and Response Team (D-BART), a multidisciplinary outreach service assisting professional and family caregivers in understanding and managing difficult behaviors often present in dementia. She facilitates several support groups, including Memory Club, an early-stage education and support series, and more recently, helped to develop and now deliver Healthy Action to Benefit Independence and Thinking (HABIT), a 10-day cognitive rehab and wellness program for people with mild cognitive impairment.
Angela takes a personal interest in understanding the complex changes that take place within relationships and among families when dementia is present. She is particularly interested in providing innovative and accessible ways for people with dementia and their families to receive information and participate in valuable programs that promote well-being.
"Amid a devastating disease, there are tools, therapies, programs and ways to cope, and it is vital that families are connected to these resources," she says.
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May 14, 2013
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May 1, 2013
- Alzheimer's individual living in the moment — in happiness
April 16, 2013
- Take the time to find gratitude: You'll be happier, healthier
April 3, 2013
- Gratitude is the one pill everyone should be prescribed
March 19, 2013
April 21, 2009
Making the move to a care facility
By Angela Lunde
Several of you recently have asked the really tough question, as Bess did last month: "When, and how, do we make the decision to put her (our mother) in a special Alzheimer's unit?"
The reality of persons diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or a similar progressive dementia is that many will ultimately need to make a move because they need more care than can be provided at home.
Families can sometimes lose sight of the fact that the demands of full-time caregiving are more then any one person can realistically manage. Understandably though, they may resist the thought of moving a loved one to a care facility.
In making the decision of when to move, there are no right or wrong answers. All caregivers, families, and persons with dementia are unique and will have different circumstances. Friends, doctors, and individual family members will each have opinions about when or if someone should be moved.
However, for most of you the decision to move a loved one is based on a combination of practical, psychological and/or medical reasons that may include one of more of the following:
- Caregivers own health is being compromised (including sleep deprivation).
- Caregivers own physical limitations (lifting, mobility).
- Caregiver is experiencing loss of work and/or the inability to manage other household or family responsibilities.
- Sufficient respite support or qualified home care are not available or become unaffordable.
- Symptoms of the disease are evident and challenging to manage at home (incontinence, aggression, paranoia, wandering).
- Person with disease needs more supervision than can be provided at home.
- Home environment is no longer safe (negotiating stairs, getting in and out of bathroom, narrow doorways).
- Person with disease is becoming more dependent with more activities of daily living such as eating, dressing, bathing.
- Person with disease is experiencing weight loss, dehydration or simply refusing to eat.
- Proper medication management is compromised.
- Person with disease no longer recognizes home as home.
Even when a thoughtful decision is made to a move a loved one, caregivers are bound to feel sadness, grief, fear, and probably plenty of guilt. These feeling are normal. Caregivers may feel guilty over not upholding old promises to parents or spouses, or they may fear what others will think or say, or fear that the care will be inferior. In addition, the decision underscores the inevitable decline of their loved one, resulting in further sadness and grief.
Once the move is made, many families say it was harder than they had imagined, and that they probably waited too long. The degree to which you can reasonably adjust to the transition is often associated with the planning that was done before the move. In other words, accepting the move seems to be less painful when families feel that they took the time to explore options and then made the best decision they could.
Keep in mind that the role of caregiver doesn't abruptly end once a loved one lives elsewhere, it just changes. You still play a vital role as your loved one's caregiving advocate. However, without direct care responsibilities, you can resume with renewed appreciation the time you spend with other loved ones.
Finally, if you love someone with Alzheimer's disease, remember you are entitled to have a life of your own. Taking care of yourself is a gift to your loved ones as well as yourself. You simply cannot meet every demand. Your thoughts and feeling are normal. You feel guilty because you love.
"The promise to always keep mother at home might have been made with the best intentions and hopes, but inherent in that commitment is the idea that the family will do what is best for Mother. It may be a promise that should be broken, because keeping mother at home may not be best for her."
— from "The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's Care"blog index | <urn:uuid:c402310a-4e34-4ce6-bc1d-6b73adb3743d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alzheimers-disease-blog/MY00661/METHOD=print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950487 | 1,256 | 1.75 | 2 |
Week 3 of our journey through 44 weeks of Witchery turns our attention to the athame. All the cool religions have a ceremonial dagger
I think we all know what an athame is, and the general purpose of it, so I’m not going to go over that again. Instead, I think I’m going to write a bit about making/decorating your own athame.
Handmade tools are believed to have more inherent power than those that are mass-produced. However, not all of us have the skill to forge our own blades or the available funds to pay someone else to forge a one of a kind athame for you.
This can present a bit of a pickle for those of us who seek to have a corporeal tool in our hands during ritual. Many folks will turn to a wooden, earthenware or ceramic blade for their athame. That just doesn’t work for me, though.
There are other tools that have the energy that calls to a material such as wood or ceramic. For me, the blade needs to be metal. Not necessarily steel; many who work with the fay will not use a material that contains iron, and that’s just fine. Copper and bronze are perfectly valid options if you can find them.
The effort required to make your own tools and hunt down the materials is a devotional work in and of itself. And the athame is definitely not the easiest one to create.
I found a couple of useful tutorials online, and a bunch of places that sell many types of double edged blade blanks. The blade doesn’t need to cost a fortune, either. Prices seem to range from roughly $10 up to well over $100 if you’re in the market for a rare piece or a Damascus blade. The $10 – $20 blades may not be master forged, but they look like a quality steel product for our purposes.
Being mindful of the sort of Craft you practise, and your preferred correspondences can help you to create a truly unique athame. Perhaps a specific type of wood treated in a specific manner would serve your magic better than a handle made of bone or antler. Rope, ceramic, glass or any other material that has special meaning to you can be fashioned into an athame handle.
Once the knife is put together, any number of other decorating techniques can be used to further personalize your athame. Add stones, shells, runes, inscriptions or whatever else you think is needed to make it truly one of a kind.
When you finally have your athame completed, cleanse, consecrate and it’s ready to cut the veil between worlds.
*There is some debate within the community on the subjects of sharpening/blooding your athame. I have always believed that you need to do what you feel is the right thing. Consecration methods are highly personal. If your tool demands blood to bind it to you, then so be it.* | <urn:uuid:6a35935c-dd1d-4002-a8fa-2e82cc8cf16b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://paganperspectives.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/ww-tools-athame/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943258 | 620 | 1.796875 | 2 |
WordPress has become known far and wide for its user-friendly blogging services that include a really great core features list. Part of what it offers is an expansive selection of fonts for you to choose from, which can be inserted into your blog content to allow you to create an easy-to-read – or just cool-looking – typeface for your post.
That is all pretty great. But that doesn’t mean it will immediately be what it was you were hoping for. In fact, you might be disappointed to see that you can’t generate the look you want with what WordPress has on file as standard.
The good news is that WP is more than just customizable through the actual program. It is also ripe for easily installed plug-ins that tailor-make your features list and give you more control over your theme and effects. They are free, functional and usually updated on a regular basis, as well.
If you are hoping for a little more than the basic fare, check out these excellent plug-ins for typography upgrades.
If you like to use TrueType, you will love this plug-in. It allows you to easily replace any headers with images from that format. If you have used Image Headlines, you will already be familiar with this program. It was a rework of the original, and the same basic interface was used.
2. Drop Caps
A drop cap is a capital letter at the beginning of a page, chapter or article that is larger than the rest of the font, usually in bold or with a layered font. This is done for various publications, such as printed books or newspapers. It is a professional standard and can really give your blog a more sophisticated look. This plug-in lets you put in the drop cap on any post.
This is another plug-in meant to get you around censorship laws in countries that are sensitive to stringent obscenity or anti-activism/information laws. You can select what words you want to be converted into images, and it keeps them from showing up in searches. However, you will still be able to use the rest of the posts for drawing traffic or directing people to your site, since the entire post isn’t converted.
I have always rather liked the look of pull quotes on media websites, such as BBC News. It is when you select a quotation from a source in the story and put a box of the text, larger than the rest, on one side of the screen. Magazines also use this method of highlighting certain portions. Simple Pull Quote lets you create both the quote box itself and the layout of the post around it without breaking the lining.
This plug-in is somewhat controversial, but helpful. It works by converting the entire post of text into a PNG image. This makes it unreadable by search engines and bots, which are designed to find buzz words and report back to their source on the content. While this can be used for nefarious purposes, it can also be a matter of privacy or even security. For example, if you have a PNG converted post, it won’t come up in searches from countries that block Internet content, for example, in China or Iran.
This is becoming a popular plug-in for people who like more control over their blog fonts. It has a huge catalog of features, such as spacing control, CSS hooks for character styles and various fonts available for use. It is a little advanced, but easy to work once you get the basics down.
One of the easiest ways to provide editing options for text, this plug-in creates two whole new rows of options to let you generate effects, characters, fonts and layouts. You can also add in formatting tables and customize it.
The name may look like someone smashed his or her face into the keyboard on accident, but the plug-in is great. It is another full editing application that gives you more typography options than the kitchen sink. But you can see the end result in a preview in the actual post as you type, so you can check the lines and breaks, as well as the look, before you save or publish.
This plug-in works more like a macro, automatically making typography changes in your posts as you go. For example, it changes hyphens without spaces to en dashes and hyphens with spaces to em dashes.
Do you have a plug-in we didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments! | <urn:uuid:73bb3ef9-1ba7-448a-929b-ce89b0944c23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pelfusion.com/how-to-improve-readability-of-your-wordpress-blog/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951475 | 915 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Solution: Local Agriculture
Supporting the Massachusetts Food Policy Alliance
As the new administrative support for the Massachusetts Food Policy Alliance (MFPA), Project Bread is one of 30 farms and related health and food organizations whose goal is to bring together diverse stakeholders across the food system, from farmers to consumers, to create a sustainable, systemic, effective, and inclusive food policy for Massachusetts.
“Our goal in actively supporting the MFPA,” says Ellen Parker, executive director of Project Bread, “is to create and support communications among farmers, low-income families, health and public health advocates, and environmentalists in new ways that benefit all of us. Through these relationships, we can create a win-win for local farmers and for hungry families needing fresh food.
Farm to School
Since 2004, Project Bread has worked with the Massachusetts Farm to School Project to ensure that low income children have access to fresh, local produce at summer meal sites. Through this collaborative effort, Massachusetts Farm to School connects farmers and Summer Food Service Program sponsors while Project Bread provides seed money for these programs to utilize the fresh product. During the summer of 2010, approximately 20 summer sponsors purchased local produce through this initiative.
In 2010-2011, Project Bread is partnering with the Massachusetts Farm to School Project and the Farm Bureau Agricultural Preservation Corporation to bring the first Massachusetts Kindergarten Initiative to Worcester. This pilot program will connect 300 kindergarteners from four low-income neighborhood schools with school nutrition professionals and farmers to learn about where their food comes from. The project includes fresh, local snacks for taste testing, field trips to local farms, in-class nutrition education and workshops, including cooking demonstrations by Project Bread’s Chef Kirk, for parents.
Farmers’ Markets are one of the easiest ways to access local, fresh produce. Massachusetts had 228 markets in 2010 – ranking sixth in the country.
Yet farmers’ markets can feel inaccessible to families struggling with their food budgets. To make purchasing fresh food easier, 52 of the state’s farmers' markets accepted EBT cards (SNAP/food stamps) in 2010. | <urn:uuid:e68c09aa-9365-44a0-9be5-7298a686855e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.projectbread.org/site/PageServer?pagename=abouthunger_solutions_localagriculture&JServSessionIdr004=ur8z6pm2u1.app201a | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923324 | 426 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Professional Skills Program
Berkeley Law offers a range of courses explicitly designed to introduce students to the theory and practice of professional lawyering skills. Professional skills are those skills generally regarded as necessary for effective, responsible and reflective participation in the legal profession. Professional skills include legal research and professional writing skills, counseling skills, interviewing skills, litigation skills, transactional skills, negotiation skills, mediation skills, legal drafting skills, legal problem solving skills, legislative drafting and lobbying skills, and other legal practice skills. Professional skills courses teach these skills in multiple ways, but always include using experiential learning techniques, including actual or simulated client representation.
Beginning with the 2010 fall entering class, all students must take a professional skills course, a live-client clinic, or a field placement, in their second or third year.
The required First-Year Skills Program includes the Legal Research and Writing course, which is taught in the fall and introduces students to the basics of the court system, how to read cases, how to locate and select precedent, and how to write an objective legal memorandum. In the spring, students take the Written and Oral Advocacy course, which teaches further research techniques, persuasive writing skills, and how to write a brief to the court. Students then argue their position in front of a judge in a moot court setting.
A wide range of Elective Skills Courses are available to 2Ls and 3Ls. In these courses, students receive instruction, prepare and perform their role-play exercises, and then receive substantial feedback. Many of Berkeley Law's skills courses are taught by experienced practitioners; others are taught by lecturers in residence. These classes are usually smaller-sized, and require a different kind of preparation and participation than traditional classroom courses.
Berkeley Law also sponsors various competitions, including the James Patterson McBaine Honors Moot Court Competition and external advocacy competitions. | <urn:uuid:1b568367-a6d3-42d3-bd1b-8c6f38167d37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.law.berkeley.edu/177.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944336 | 381 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Wong, Martha, 1939-;
Texas--Politics and government;
Houston (Tex.)--Politics and government;
Asian Americans--Social conditions--Texas--Houston;
In 1993 Martha Wong was the first Asian American elected to the Houston City Council, and in 2003, she became the first Asian American woman elected to the Texas Legislature. In this interview, Martha answers questions about her career and her life...
Michel Moore talks about how he, as the city of Houston Mayor's Chief of Staff, his staff, and the city of Houston in general, handled the influx of evacuees from the city of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
Jones, Edith Irby, 1927- ;
African American women physicians -- Texas -- Houston -- Interviews;
African American women physicians -- Texas -- Houston -- Biography;
Southern states -- Race relations -- Anecdotes;
African Americans -- Social...
Dr. Jones talks about growing up in Hot Spring, Arkansas as a poor and ambitious girl, the events that shaped her life, her years in medical school, her career as a physician in Houston, and her life as a civil rights activist. | <urn:uuid:971af700-e7fb-48c3-a8cf-d37a73a69120> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/cdm/search/searchterm/Clothes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937726 | 237 | 2.3125 | 2 |
DO SOME media companies threaten global security? After 11 September 2001 the misreporting in the United States media of international issues has contributed much to popular support for war. According to recent surveys by the University of Maryland, 60% of Americans - and 80% of the audience for television’s Fox News - believed at least one of these false statements: 1) weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq; 2) there is evidence of a link between Iraq and al-Qaida; and 3) world public opinion favoured the US going to war in Iraq. The more viewers watched Fox, the more likely they were to believe these claims (1).
For Jeff Cohen, who directs the media watchdog organisation Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (Fair), the study shows that "If a lie is big enough, and repeated enough, it will eventually pass for truth". These false truths have consequences, notably making President George Bush’s radical foreign policy legitimate to those people who could vote him out of office.
Journalist John Nichols claims: "If we had an honest, get-to-the-truth media, George Bush would not be president, and we would not be at war in Iraq." Not long ago this might have been empty rhetoric. But 2003 was a watershed in media activism, and today Nichols, a leader of the reform group Free Press, speaks as part of a vigorous movement challenging the structure and composition of US journalism.
Bernie Sanders, Representative for Vermont, says: "For the first time in US history, corporate control over the media is a political issue." His Congressional colleague Maurice Hinchey adds that media reform "is the most critical issue currently facing the American people. It’s about controlling the debate, and the foundations of democracy are at stake." What could motivate real media reform in a nation where 10 enormous corporations dominate the news business? What might a movement accomplish?
Last year two events inspired millions to protest in the US: uncritical war coverage by the commercial news outlets and the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) hugely unpopular decision to further deregulate the media industry. In November 2003 Free Press held the largest ever media reform conference in Madison, Wisconsin. It drew 2,000 people, including progressive leaders such as Jesse Jackson (Democratic candidate in 1984 and 1988), Bernie Sanders, John Sweeney (leader of the AFL-CIO) and the popular historian, Studs Terkel. Just as ecologists made the environment a crucial policy issue 30 years ago, these activists are politicising the media. Already the campaign is making a difference, but you’re unlikely to see it on US television or read about it in the mainstream press.
The FCC has long determined US media policy, implementing technically complicated policies that receive almost no public scrutiny, since commercial news companies prefer to keep the rules that govern them out of the news. But under the leadership of Michael Powell (son of the secretary of state, Colin Powell), the FCC went too far, endorsing legislation that allows large conglomerates to expand their share of the market.
Consumer groups had little access to the FCC; and when the Centre for Public Integrity (CPI) investigated the public records at the commission, it found that much of the information was over nine years old and useless for policy research. Yet in the eight years before the crucial 2003 policy decision, the telecommunications and broadcast industries - the companies that the FCC is supposed to regulate - spent nearly $3m on more than 2,500 all- expense paid trips for FCC members and staff to Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Rio and other places. To Charles Lewis, head of the CPI, it was clear that "the FCC had been in the grips of the industry".
While the FCC was preparing to make its decision on deregulation official, 2 million Ameri cans - an unprecedented number - wrote letters to the commission, 99% of them opposing deregulation. Two of the five FCC commissioners, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, listened to this democratic wish and voted to preserve the existing ownership limits. But Powell, Kevin Martin (a former official in the Bush campaign) and Kathleen Abernathy (a former telecommunications executive) ignored public concerns. On 2 June 2003 the FCC released its ruling, which allowed newspapers to own television stations in the same city, and granted broadcast companies the right to buy additional local and national television stations. According to Adelstein, it was "the most sweeping and destructive rollback of consumer protection rules in the history of American broadcasting".
Democrats were not the only dissenters. Republican Congressional leaders who had always supported Powell and deregulation understood the size and significance of the response to the FCC, and many changed their position. In 1997 the conservative Mississippi Senator Trent Lott had fought to place Powell on the FCC. But in June 2003 Lott said: "With too much concentration, companies no longer have to be competitive with rates or product. There would be less incentive to produce something fresh, something different, something priced reasonably or something that caters to another point of view. Already in some markets, advertisers and customers have no choice but to use one particular media outlet . . . This already limited or nonexistent choice will be re inforced or made worse by the FCC’s latest rules . . . Big national print chains already have virtual monopolies in some placesŠ Expanding concentration of media ownership may be in the best interest of huge Washington or New York-based media giants, but it would not be in the best interest of media consumers."
By September 2003 both the House and Senate, though Republican controlled, had voted to overturn the FCC decision. But the White House, threatening to veto any change, pressured Congress to accept a compromise that legalised the holdings of News Corporation (which owns Fox) and Viacom (which owns CBS and UPN), which had previously exceeded the ownership caps. The final Congressional bill preserved cross-ownership permission and allowed a company to own the largest television stations and the major newspaper in a single market (2). The will of US citizens - and even of Congress - was thwarted by a backroom deal.
But the fight at the FCC is just beginning and Congress will soon revisit the regulation question. Michael Powell’s radical agenda has had the unintended consequence of making media policy a major political issue, and both congressional and presidential candidates will have to address the issue in the November 2004 elections. Jeff Cohen, who has been working on media politics for 15 years, says: "Never before has the FCC seen a more unified, coherent, and effective campaign." Senator Lott thinks Americans care deeply about television, radio and even the press, and are upset about the lack of quality and diversity in the current commercial offerings. Bernie Sanders reports that his constituents in Vermont are more likely to attend political meetings about media than about any other issue.
With good reason. Americans feel the effects of media concentration every time they turn on radio or TV. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 deregulated the radio market so thoroughly that the number of station owners decreased by 34% in seven years, and one company, Clear Channel, now operates some 1,200 stations. In some cities one company operates most local stations, and residents have a hard time finding what they want to hear. Local television is similarly endangered. Adelstein says: "Today about 14% of programming on local television stations is paid infomercials. So we may be getting tighter abs [abdominal muscles], but we’re getting flabby democracy."
This is nowhere more evident than in the Iraq war coverage. Before the war the US media failed to represent the majority of Americans, who opposed attacking Iraq before weapons inspections were finished and without broad international and United Nations support. Even today the media remain unwilling to recognise the death and devastation caused by the invasion: they rarely report on civilian casualties in Iraq or Afghanistan because, as Colin Powell says, "We don’t count the enemy dead." But, even more seriously, major news organisations cooperate with the Pentagon to sanitise the war: they rarely print or broadcast images of dead US soldiers and the "transfer tubes" that carry them home; and they provide few reports on the number of seriously injured troops.
Amy Goodman, host of the popular radio show Democracy Now, put out by independent outlet Pacifica, argues: "If we saw for a week in this country what the rest of the world saw - and I’m not just talking about al-Jazeera, I’m also talking about the difference between CNN and CNN International (3) - Americans would not support this war . . . But most of our reporting looks like a military hardware show. The media are beating the drums of war. And their lies take lives." John Stauber, co-author of Weapons of Mass Deception and editor of the website PRwatch.com, claims: "The war effort could not have taken place without the complicity of the media."
When the war began record numbers of viewers turned to BBC television news for more accurate coverage. At the Madison conference, US Representative Tami Baldwin complained: "As a member of US Congress, I often have to turn to the foreign press to get deep and reliable news and information not just about Iraq, but about other issues too." Jesse Jackson says the variation in national public opinion about the conflict was largely attributable to differences in reporting: "We have underestimated the impact of media control on our struggle . . . Why were there bigger demonstrations against the war in Europe? Because they have better information about the war. Fox and Clear Channel are organising war rallies. Our media was in bed with the tanks. But we cannot find the truth, and that’s why we’re here."
Activists are now focused on the urgent problems in Iraq and the FCC, but their project is not just to return the industry to its pre-2003 condition. John Nichols says: "Rolling back what the FCC did is not enough. It only gets us back to 2 June, when we were in an illegal war with an unjust media." Free Press director and scholar Robert McChesney argues that the US has long been in the grips of media monopolies, so the long-term goal of the movement is to transform the field to a more democratic public sphere. Breaking up conglomerate control is the first aim. Next they need to win more generous government funding for public broadcasting and larger subsidies for non-profit media.
Free Press, with national organisations such as Fair, Media Access and Media Channel, and hundreds of local activist groups now emerging, recognise many obstacles lie before them. But their leaders have been galvanised by the past year and they are ready for a long battle. | <urn:uuid:a68c4f99-d8f2-4c0c-9d83-62213c627bfe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mondediplo.com/2004/04/13medias | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959302 | 2,177 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Obama’s Story with Moral Imagination
On Wednesday, Alexis eloquently wrote about the rhetorical situation in Arizona following the Tucson shooting. President Obama spoke later that evening at a memorial service for the victims. It was as if the president—or at least his speechwriters, or his speechwriters’ interns—had read Alexis’s point that “[w]hat we need is discourse that revises the immediate reality we cannot abide and creates in its place a reality that better reflects the country we want.”
Of course, Obama couldn’t change the past. He couldn’t change the present, either. Even he, the rhetorically gifted (or at least oriented) president, said, “There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts.” But he could talk about the future—and by talking about it, start drafting the next chapter.
I chose this book-ish metaphor for a reason. Obama told us a story on Wednesday night because stories are how we make sense of our experiences. It’s how we figure out the country we want. As Deborah Schiffrin, a sociolinguist at Georgetown, puts it:
“[O]ur identities as social beings emerge as we construct our own individual experiences as a way to position ourselves in relation to social and cultural expectations.”
If we are social beings by telling stories about our own lives, we are a social unit—a nation—by telling a story about all of our lives. Obama, as president and headlining speaker, was responsible for telling this story. So he talked about Judge John Roll’s daily attendance of Mass, George and Dorothy Morris’s fifty-year honeymoon, and nine-year-old Christina’s recent election to her school’s student council. Even Fox News said that he delivered these anecdotes “tenderly.”
But this collective story meant nothing without its moral. And Obama made sure that the moral of this story was absolutely clear.
In George and Dot, in Dorwan and Mavy, we sense the abiding love we have for our own husbands, our own wives, our own life partners. Phyllis — she’s our mom or our grandma; Gabe our brother or son. (Applause.) In Judge Roll, we recognize not only a man who prized his family and doing his job well, but also a man who embodied America’s fidelity to the law. (Applause.)
And in Gabby — in Gabby, we see a reflection of our public-spiritedness; that desire to participate in that sometimes frustrating, sometimes contentious, but always necessary and never-ending process to form a more perfect union. (Applause.)
And in Christina — in Christina we see all of our children.
Actually, the “moral imagination” that Obama exhorted us to expand is less about imagination and more about conformity to “social and cultural expectations.” But a story can make a moral more compelling.
Update: It’s been several days since I wrote this post, but I want to share with anyone just now reading it how difficult it was for me to write about Obama’s remarks. Our blog usually focuses on recent, even unfolding, examples of public rhetoric. But sometimes a rhetorician might not have enough emotional distance from an event to offer a fully evaluative analysis, as I didn’t here. You’ll notice in my analysis that I didn’t evaluate the effectiveness of what Obama said; instead, I focused on the effectiveness of how Obama said it. I would be able to write a different post today, and I hope sharing this gives some insight into the analytic process.
If you want to know more:
- For an accessible introduction to narrative studies, I recommend The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative, available on Amazon.
- The quote from Schiffrin comes from her 1996 article “Narrative as Self-Portrait: Sociolinguistic Constructions of Identity” in Language in Society.
- You can read the official transcript of President Obama’s remarks here.
- You can watch the video of President Obama’s remarks here.
- Read four different assessments of President Obama’s remarks at The Daily Beast.
- The Guardian compares the word choices of President Obama’s remarks and Sarah Palin’s statement here. Click on the first graphic in the article to see the word cloud for each. | <urn:uuid:27562a41-6a80-440f-8320-14d042d3ae84> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://silvertonguetimes.com/2011/01/14/obamas-story-with-moral-imagination/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941696 | 944 | 2.25 | 2 |
Egypt's Political Mayhem
By: Amina Abou Shehab Translated from Al-Khaleej (U.A.E.).
Arabs have proven that they cannot be the decision makers, even in their own version of democracy. It has proven to be a path in which communities lose their civility and cohesion, devolving into a pre-societal conditions and revert to the rule of the jungle. Everyone—throughout all sectors of society—is in a state of war, replete with disharmony, disintegration and violent conflict. The same is true on the political level, as politics and social relations are part of a dependent relationship in which they are constantly affecting one another.
About This Article
Egypt's election committe upheld its decision to ban three leading candidates from next month's election yesterday, sparking accusations that the army is clinging to power. Amina Abou Shehab asks why the road to democracy is so chaotic for Arab nations—and argues that the political mayhem reflects the uptick in senseless violence across the country.Publisher: Al-Khaleej (U.A.E.)
A War Between All
Author: Amina Abou Shehab
First Published: April 12, 2012
Posted on: April 17 2012
Translated by: Kamal Fayad
Categories : Egypt
Thus an innocent question arises: Why does it seem that these anomalies are necessary conditions for Arab countries heading towards democracy? Why is it a democracy built upon disintegration, division and violence against society?
If we attributed the horrendous chaos affecting societies to the wars and violence that was necessary to introduce democracy—such as in Libya and Iraq—then how can we explain the hostile and divisive societal state in countries where change occurred peacefully, such as Egypt? The details of what is occurring in Egyptian society during the transitional phase towards democracy have been lost amidst the political developments that busy those studying the Arab Spring. Compiling these details into a cohesive image reveals that society is headed towards the rule of the jungle, as some Egyptian pundits have put it, and portends the loss of another civilized Arab society. This is reminiscent of the fate of Iraq, which had always stood as a symbol of Arab civility.
Throughout the day, a private Egyptian channel covered the successive developments of fierce street clashes between young people caused by a dispute that two young men had over a soda bottle. This incident is an echo of the individual and collective acts of violence that are spreading unfettered throughout society, where the incidences of murder, theft, assault and abduction have risen to dangerous levels.
If civility means respect for the law, then according to experts in criminology and security, the only law currently respected in Egypt is the one taken into your own hands. This entails illegal profiteering through violence and the appropriation of other people’s materials via extortion. A prominent expert in security issues, Dr. Fouad Allam, says that profiteering as a result of ransom payments has become widespread in Egyptian society. The trend started with demands for ransom money for stolen cars, but it has evolved into ransoms for children kidnapped from playgrounds. Parents fear that their children will be abducted; girls are being raped before being released for ransom. Even men are being kidnapped—with the help of women—and held for ransom, similar to what happened to music composer Salah al-Sharnoubi.
Violence in Egyptian society has reached a level where university students are forced to carry knives and sticks to protect themselves. Among the signs of society’s slide into a state of confrontational chaos is the evident animosity that social institutions hold for one another. They wait for opportune times to exact revenge and assault others. Take, for example, the case of some sports teams and their supporters, which necessitated that matches be canceled outright.
The society of security, safety and peace—as described in the Koran in a passage that claims people “enter [Egypt] in peace and security”—is completely different today. Its characteristics have changed, with fights and murders occurring for the smallest and most trivial of causes: An Egyptian Pound, a bottle of soda, a soccer ball. Even more dangerous is the fact that confrontations between members of society and the state’s institutions and representatives have become daily and commonplace, such as last week's clashes in Salloum, where two died after protestors clashed with the military. To this social commotion one can add the accusations of treason, blasphemy and religious ideological mobilization as a result of the so called democratic elections. This kind of language has been rampant and accusations of treason have covered the pages of Egyptian websites.
What sort of free will and political choice does the silent majority of society possess while it suffers from insecurity and the hardships of daily life? Does this majority have the right to democratically participate in a process when the outcome is predetermined, where politicians are completely detached from the people? This is a raging conflict that threatens our future, in which societal powers are mobilized to fight the hellish conflicts that political powers wage against each other.
A political fight to determine the outcome of the presidential elections parallels a social one; a battle for an individual title that will be decided abroad more than locally. This is not democracy in the given sense of the word; it is a raging “dog-eat-dog” power struggle.
This article, which was originally published on April 12, was truncated to reflect the election commission's decision to ban 10 candidates from the upcoming presidential elections.
|Back to news list| | <urn:uuid:471cbda9-dcc5-4cfc-aad1-47f41dbe4684> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2012/04/a-war-between-all.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961135 | 1,136 | 2.125 | 2 |
Earlier last week, I took part to a panel discussion on the topic of Human Rights and Climate Change. Besides me, Maria Tiimon Chi-Fang and Maina Talia spoke about the impacts of climate change in Kiribati and Tuvalu. Both of them highlighted similar stories, describing how raising seas and more frequent extreme events were threatening the livelihood and cultures of their community. The slide show that both had prepared involved neither fancy powerpoint tricks nor sophisticated visuals. But the simple pictures projected on the large screen behind me were sufficient to tell a powerful and touching story, the story of communities struggling to deal with the consequences of climate change in situations where adaptation is no longer an option. Trying to concentrate on my own upcoming presentation, I felt my head spinning, shaken by the deep meaning of these images. I wondered if I could still dare to walk to the podium and deliver my short introduction to advocacy efforts to strengthen the recognition of human rights implications in these talks, or if I should simply ask the audience to spend 10 minutes in silence and reflect on what the testimony of Maria and Maina should mean for our actions during the next eight days.
A few days later, Naderev Saño (the Philippines’ climate commisionner) shook all negotiators at the climate conference, reminding the audience of the devastating effect that typhoon Bopha was having on the communities of the archipelago.
After several days spent in the sterile conference halls of Doha, his intervention brought the human element back into the discussions, warning that the legacy of this conference will not be measured in dollars and tons but rather in lives lost or undignified. Since then, most of civil society and particularly the youth attending the COP have expressed their solidarity with the Philippines, echoing Naderev’s message: “Please … let 2012 be remembered as the year the world found the courage to … take responsibility for the future we want. I ask of all of us here, if not us, then who? If not now, then when? If not here, then where?”.
When the climate convention was first negotiated in the early 90s, climate policy was all about mitigation, as most still perceived climate impacts as a distant threat. But governments failed to take adequate action and the climate change become more tangible. During the past decade, the climate negotiations have thus seen a rebalancing between the objective to mitigate dangerous climate change and the need to adapt to ongoing impacts. But as illustrated by the examples outlined above, climate impacts have outpaced responses by governments and many local communities are now in situation where adaptation is no longer sufficient. Discussions have thus been ongoing since 2010 on the adoption of a framework to compensate “loss and damages”. Loss and damages has become the “moral compass” of the climate talks, touching on fundamental values such as human dignity and human rights. The conference in Doha was expected to conclude these talks with a mechanism to provide support for vulnerable communities already impacted by climate change.
The opportunity for such a mechanism to be adopted in Doha is however threatened tonight, on the final hours of the negotiations, as the EU and the US have been fearcily pushing back against the proposals put on the table. Just a few weeks after Sandy hit the East coast of the US, with related costs expected to reach 60 billions of dollars, US negotiators are mobilizing all their resources in order to prevent any adequate solution to be discussed to address the needs of other countries wrecked by similar events but lacking the resources to mitigate their human and social costs.
Witnessing his civil servant actively obstructing the conclusion of the loss and damage discussions here in Doha, one wonders whether President Obama really meant that he would only care for the impacts of climate change on US citizens. Only a few hours are now left in Doha for a positive decision to be taken on this particular issue. As images of Maria and Maina’s communities threatened by the sea keep unwinding in my mind, I wonder if President Obama will accept that his legacy be marked with such a shameful stain. Were Obama to have a global vision of human dignity, he would have to urgently request his Special Envoy to step out of the way and allow the rest of the world to move one step forward towards a solution to loss and damages.
About the authorSébastien Duyck
Passionate environmental advocate, PhD student (Human Rights and Environmental Governance). Following particularly UNFCCC, UNEP and Rio+20 processes | <urn:uuid:6248cec7-44ef-48e9-a424-6c930ebaf7c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://adoptanegotiator.org/2012/12/07/a-lost-reputation-a-damaged-legacy-as-us-refuse-to-protect-human-dignity-beyond-its-borders/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957542 | 921 | 2.375 | 2 |
Careers and Internships
How to Apply: Finding the Right Job
- Tutorial on creating a resume in USAJobs (PDF)
- Resume and application tips
- Tips on describing your experience and skills
- Interviewing tips
- Glossary of federal terms
- FAQs from USAJobs.gov:
From U.S. Office of Personnel Management:
How Federal Hiring Reform
Will Affect the Application Process
President Obama signed a memorandum in May 2010 directing the Office of Personnel Management and other federal agencies to take measures to reform federal hiring procedures. Specifically, federal hiring reform will:
- eliminate the requirement to complete short written essays about your knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs);
- allow you to apply with a résumé and cover letter;
- improve the quality and speed of hiring; and
- notify you about your status after submitting your application.
Want USAJobs.gov to send you an email whenever a job vacancy is posted?
- Sign in to USAJobs.gov or create an account. Once you have done that...
- Go to USAJobs's Create a New Saved Search page.
- Scroll down to "Agency Search"
- Select "Other Agencies and Independent Organizations" at the very bottom of the list of agencies.
- Under "Then sub agency" select "Environmental Protection Agency" then click on "Add >>"
- If you want to narrow your search at this point, select location, salary range, occupational series, etc.
- Be sure to give your search a name (bottom of the page).
- Under "How often do you want to Receive E-mail Notifications?", consider checking "Daily" since many positions may only be open for two weeks.
- Then click on "Save Search" at the bottom of the page.
You can also view the "Saved searches tutorial'' (PDF) on USAJobs.gov.
Virtually all EPA jobs, including paid internships, are posted online through USAJobs.gov. You can use USAJobs to upload your resume, browse open EPA positions, and apply for jobs across the United States.
How to Apply
On this page: Finding the Right Job
On other pages:
How do I begin my search for EPA jobs? You can view a list of jobs currently open on our Current Job Openings page. If you'd prefer to see a list of current openings on the USAJobs website,
- Go to EPA's page on USAJobs at epa.usajobs.gov.
- Ignore the "What" and "Where" boxes; click on "Search Jobs."
- You will see a list of all current EPA job vacancies. Use the content on the left side of the page to narrow your search by job category, grade, salary, and/or posting date.
- If the search results do not return any jobs of interest, new career opportunities are added each week. Note the "Create Saved Search and email me jobs" feature on the left.
USAJobs also provides an Advanced Search feature, which allows you to search by keyword, title, pay grade or salary range, series number, location, agency, occupational series, type of work, and work schedule. The Advanced Search will allow users to narrow search results to specific applicable positions. USAJobs also provides PDF tutorials with information on how to use the Advanced Search and Saved Searches features:
Note that you don't need to create an account in USAJobs.gov just to browse jobs. You will only need to create an account if you want to upload an existing resume, create a new resume, or apply for a specific position.
What information is included in federal job announcements on USAJobs.gov? Each federal job opening on USAJobs includes its own ID number, known as a vacancy announcement number. You must reference it on all of the materials you submit with your application. The listing may also provide the series and grade of pay, promotion potential of a vacant position, geographic location, major duties associated with a position, eligibility of a candidate, and descriptions of what qualifications are needed and how candidates will be evaluated.
How do I know when I can apply? While browsing jobs in USAJobs.gov, you may see the "Open Period" -- the period of time within which you can apply for any given job listing. The Open Period can be as short as three days or can stretch for up to a month for senior-level and hard-to-fill positions. Most staff-level positions are open for two or three weeks. You must submit your application online via USAJobs before the end of the Open Period. Applications for each vacancy must be received by 11:59 PM EST of the announcement closing date. Any required documents must be submitted with your application online. If applying online poses a hardship for you, contact the Human Resources Officer listed on the vacancy announcement at least three days prior to the closing date of the announcement.
How much will I get paid? Each announcement will specify the range of pay. Most EPA employees receive basic pay under the General Schedule (GS) and some receive locality pay. Locality pay is the basic pay, plus an increase designed to address pay comparability between federal and non-federal jobs in the metropolitan area where the job is located.
What are the benefits offered by the federal government? You can learn more about federal government job benefits on these pages:
- USAJobs page
- Office of Personnel Management pages:
- EPA Benefits page
How can I apply if I don't have access to the Internet? If you do not have access to the Internet, you may be able to rely on publicly available resources to access USAJOBS. In most communities, Career One Stop centers and public libraries provide Internet access free of charge. You may be required to register before using these facilities, depending on the policy of the library or One Stop center you are visiting. Find a Career One Stop center in your area.
How do I know if I'm eligible for a particular position? Each job announcement will state who may be considered and who may apply. Look under the "Who May Be Considered", "Qualifications Required" and "Key Requirements" sections of each announcement. In addition, you can review basic qualifying information for federal jobs by visiting the Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards website.
Are there special hiring processes for certain candidates? Yes:
Some positions may only be open to candidates who have “status” based on current or previous federal employment. Federal employees are usually hired initially as "career-conditional employees," meaning they must work continuously for three years, when they "reach status", gaining career tenure under permanent employment. They are then referred to as "career employees" or "career permanent employees." The first year of a career-conditional appointment is a probationary period, which allows your supervisor to evaluate your performance and fire you without undue formality, if necessary.
Veterans' preference: Learn more on our veterans page.
- Noncompetitive eligibility (NCE): Returning Peace Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers, Public Health Service Officers, and 30%-or-more-disabled veterans are considered to have a certification of NCE. Candidates are are not guaranteed a job, but EPA and other agencies can hire them outside of a formal competitive announcement process for a vacant position. Under NCE, an agency can hire a returning volunteer who meets the minimum qualifications for the position, without going through all of the formalities of the competitive process (including posting a vacancy announcement, screening or interviewing candidates, or going through the others steps that are involved in the standard recruitment process). All that is required is that the agency has a classified position and an available opening, and that the candidate meet the minimum qualifications for that position.
Note that the ability to be non-competitively hired to a traditionally competitive position lasts for just one year after you have left Peace Corps or AmeriCorps VISTA (in certain cases, the allotted one year time limit can be extended for two more years if you are in military service or decide to pursue a higher educational degree).
For more information: | <urn:uuid:16341ab0-13bd-4967-b3a4-77f8ec191b63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.epa.gov/ohr/careers/apply.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906708 | 1,698 | 1.953125 | 2 |
LAS VEGAS -- Many people who have tried Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system without a touchscreen have hated it because of the inability to use touch and swipe commands to get things going. Now, a company has made a digital pen to allow people to use Windows 8 on their old monitors for less than the cost of buying a new touch-enabled computer.
The device was unveiled this week at the International CES, an annual showcase in Las Vegas for the latest smartphones, tablet computers and other consumer-electronic devices.
WHAT IT IS: E Fun, a West Covina-based company, has come out with the Apen Touch8, a cordless pen that works in tandem with an attachment that plugs into the Windows computer's USB port.
HOW IT WORKS: The attachment, which is really an infrared and ultrasonic receiver, clips magnetically to the side of the screen, which can be as large as 17 inches diagonally. The pen emits an infrared beam out of its tip. The receiver attachment sends the pen's signals to the computer, which interprets its precise location.
Pushing down on the pen results in a separate ultrasonic signal, which is equivalent to a touchscreen sensing when you are touching it. Just like that, you can swipe and tap your way through Windows 8. The pen runs on a watch battery, which should last about 500 hours and is replaceable.
WHY IT'S HOT: Windows 8, Microsoft's effort to make desktop and laptop computers work more like tablet computers,
AVAILABILITY: The pen is to go on sale in North America by the end of March for $80. | <urn:uuid:6756600f-a723-417b-97ad-cc32523b8f18> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.siliconvalley.com/ci_22332964/ces-pen-turns-any-windows-8-monitor-into | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955863 | 337 | 1.789063 | 2 |
BOSTON — BOSTON (AP) - The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has determined that a 17th century Dutch painting in its collection was once owned by a Jewish art dealer who died at the hands of the Nazis in World War II.
The Boston Globe reports the museum has agreed to pay restitution to Walter Westfield's heir but will keep the Eglon van der Neer painting.
The sum to be paid to Westfield's family was not disclosed. Fred Westfield, who lives in Tennessee and is Walter Westfield's nephew, told the newspaper the family was appreciative of the way the museum handled the matter.
Walter Westfield was killed at Auschwitz. Investigators believe the painting was likely stolen by the Nazis. The MFA purchased it for $7,500 from a New York art dealer in 1941. | <urn:uuid:94bd49bd-d474-467a-9905-1057ae2e2a50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/jun/27/boston-museum-to-pay-restitution-keep-painting/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977286 | 169 | 2.359375 | 2 |
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The Healing Power of a Child’s Imagination: Nine Therapeutic Tools
Friday, February 22, 2013 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM (PST)
Camarillo, United States
This workshop is based on the bestselling book The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success and introduces foster parents and other out-of-home caregivers to the healing power of children’s imagination. Nine innovative imagination tools – enhanced by music, relaxation skills, drawing, and journal writing – will be demonstrated through case analysis, revealing how physical, behavioral, and emotional concerns can be effectively addressed. Participants will learn practical applications for helping children and adolescents in out-of-home care such as relieving stress, overcoming anxiety and fears, coping with loss and death, reducing sleep disorders, increasing concentration, and decreasing anger/acting-out behaviors. A focus will be on specific strategies to support children in out-of-home care in developing self-worth, maintaining safety, and making healthy life decisions.
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
(1) Integrate strategies to address behavioral/emotional challenges for children in out-of-home care
(2) Implement activities to reduce stress, anxiety, and acting out in the foster or group home setting
(3) Promote the creative expression and healthy life decision for children in out-of-home care
Workshop hours will be from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm (lunch on your own). Check-in will begin at 9:30am
About the presenter
Charlotte Reznick, Ph.D. is a child educational psychologist, an Associate Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychology at UCLA, and author of the LA Times bestselling book The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success. In addition to her private practice, she consults internationally on the strategies to reduce stress and anxiety for children.
Meets requirements for 4 hours of MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCS, CYC-P and PSYs CEUs. (Group Home Administrator CEUs are pending approval)
This workshop meets the qualifications for 4 hours of continuing education credit for licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs), Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs), Licensed Educational Psychologists (LEPs), and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCCs) as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families; Provider 2522).
This workshop meets the qualification for 4 hours of continuing education credit for Child and Youth Care Professionals (CYC-P) as required by the Child and Youth Care Certification Board. Content domain: Applied Human Development
Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
This workshop is pending approval by the California Department of Social Services for 4 hours of continuing education credit for Group Home Administrator recertification (Vendor GH: 2000166-730-2)
If you require assistance due to disability or other special needs, please let us know in advance so that reasonable accommodations may be made.
When & Where
Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families
Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families is one of the largest providers of mental health services for children and families on California’s central coast. We serve over 430 families daily, many of whom have faced abuse and neglect, severe emotional disturbances, mental health challenges, multiple out-of-home placements, and a variety of other challenges.
Our campus and community services include: Emergency Shelter, Residential Treatment, Non-Public School, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Health Services Clinic, Therapeutic Behavioral Services/Intensive Behavioral Services, Wraparound, and Emergency Crisis Response.
Visit www.casapacifica.org for more information. | <urn:uuid:cb026f60-4f4e-4d18-9fc3-f05ef71a63ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4927653745/es2img002/?rank=4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903296 | 860 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Grief and Children with Special Needs:
with special needs may express their grief and feelings differently, but their grief is still just as powerful.
Keep these strategies in mind when
working with these students:
Be open and honest. Use appropriate words such as “dead” and “death” and avoid
euphemisms. Don’t lie to the child or tell half truths.
· Beware of telling a child that the person is “just
Be available to listen, to talk or simply spend time with the child.
· Be patient
as the same questions may be asked over and over again.
· Allow the child to show their grief in whatever way
they want, as long as it is safe. Some want to just ignore it and have fun. That is okay too.
Enable the child to say goodbye and see the body of the person who died if at all possible, and encourage
parents to allow that. Research shows that when children see the body, they show less behavioral acting out in the future.
Don’t exclude the child from helpful rituals of death, which will help them understand someone
important in their life has died. Children with developmental disabilities need more concrete rituals and
explicit directions, and simplified activities.
· Rituals that are abstract may be confusing, frustrating
and of little value.
· Please don’t try to protect the children from
grief, but rather try to support and reassure them, acknowledge their losses and help them to find healthy ways to express
Often those who lack the grief vocabulary to talk about feelings, tend to express their feelings through
Avoid too much change at this confusing and distressing time, if possible.
Always give LD children space and time to express feelings.
Some helpful ways to help bereaved children with
1. Look together
at photographs of the person who has died and share memories.
2. Sending greeting cards to the family,
Encourage the grieving child to wear an article of clothing that may be a linking or comfort object to
the person who died or is gone.
Having a pillow or blanket made from person’s clothes helps too.
5. Listen to the
person’s favorite music
Make a book about the person who died
7. Light a candle on special days and
Make a memory box. Child chooses what memories go inside.
9. Read books,
Badgers Parting Gifts: sadness and joy in memories
10. Prepare them for the funeral, how to behave, what they will experience.
Grief issues specific to people with autism:
Each person with autism will react individually to bereavement and the approach to support needs to be
a unique as the individual.
· People with autism may share the common responses to
death and bereavement such as denial, anger and despair.
· The grieving process of people with autism may be profoundly
affected by their disabilities.
· Skilled support is an important factor in helping individuals
move through their grief.
It is difficult to generalize how each child will experience loss through death, but such
a loss can give rise to phobias, fears, obsession, lack of understanding, and resistance to change, which can be considered
by others to be inappropriate reactions or even callous indifference. Children on the Spectrum depend on
the security of familiarity. Often these children may have difficulty to find words to express their feelings, which is why
goodbye rituals are so important.
It is important to balance how much information is given. Too much or too little information may make it difficult
to voice concerns or ask the right questions. There is the chance that the person will develop clinical
anxiety and/or depression.
When to refer to a professional:
· They deny that anyone has died, or act as if nothing
They threaten or talk of suicide (particularly difficult as many with autism also suffer with depression
and may generally have thoughts to suicide)
· They become unusually and persistently aggressive or
engage in anti-social behavior.
· They become withdrawn and socially isolated.
Remember that those with a very
limited number of close relationships experience the death of a friend or family member sometimes as a catastrophic loss and
the idea of re-investing in other people is very difficult. Many of these children become highly attached
and dependent to their teachers or school staff so when a staff member leaves the job or has died, it may
be very difficult for the child.
Staff needs to empathize and not try to make the person “get over it”. Encourage the
students’ family to allow them to ‘see the dead body’ to help them understand that the death is irreversible
and that he/she is not coming back. Staff can anticipate reactions, listen and read cues, intervene, ask
how the person feels, talk about the deceased and explain the normal grieving process. Encourage the child
to keep a feelings diary to help deal with all of the feelings. Commemorating anniversary days by developing ritual can help
provide the children a time to remember and help cut down on obsessive behaviors.
Continue routines, keep decision making to a minimum and encourage
connections. Returning to school or work after a loss can be very stressful. Some worry about their surviving parent at home
is directed at the person who shared the news of the death or it may be generalized. Anger may also be apparent when activities
provided by the deceased are no longer available. Enable students to express this anger without hurting themselves, others
or property, for example using exercise or a punching bag.
some won’t react at first or reacts in a way that is different that you would expect.
Discuss with children that it is common to feel it was “their
fault” someone died, get headaches, feel numb, ask many questions, worry etc. Remind them that they
need social support and help, someone to talk to and a place to remember.
“We should never underestimate, and we
cannot overestimate, the simple power of acceptance, affirmation and validation. It is the key to supporting grief.”
Guidebook on Helping Persons with Mental Retardation Mourn by Jeffrey Kauffman (2005)
and Don’ts for School Staff:
· Offer time (brief but regular meetings can
mean a lot)
· Be available to listen
Talk about the good and bad memories
a student’s feelings
· Say “I don’t know” in relation
to questions you really don’t have the answer for.
students to cry
· Watch for behavior changes
Be aware of previous bereavement and/or depression
sensitive to beliefs and cultural backgrounds
· Use rituals
Assume that the person with autism can cope without support
Thing they do not ‘feel’ the loss
their thoughts or views on the death
· Use cliche's such as ‘You need to be
strong’ or ‘You are coping well’
· Make new or sudden changes to the routine
Think that you cannot support them
Helpful Rituals for Developmentally Disabled Grievers
The use of photographs in ritual.
Have students sit in a circle and pass around a photo of the person
who died and share memories. If the child is non verbal the facilitator can share the memories “for the child”
about the loss.
storytelling in ritual.
Write a story about the person who has died in collaboration with the individual with the
of memory objects in ritual.
Put a group of objects together that remind them of the person who
died, such as photos, books, clothing articles, papers etc. For someone less verbal, let child choose what goes in pile. Leave
the objects for several days. Limited time for those easily distracted.
Use of Drawing in Ritual.
the child draw a picture of the person who died or memories of the person and share it with others. Even if the child has
limited fine motor skills, encourage the child to draw what he/she remembers.
Use of Music in Ritual.
to music that the person who died liked or that reminds her of the person who died. The song may relate to the person’s
job or personality trait. Can listen, or move to music or draw.
Use of Writing in Ritual.
The child can write or dictate a letter to or about the
Perhaps provide child with a letter with sentence starters.
Use of Stones in Ritual.
Share a memory of the person and then place a small stone in a decorative
fountain or paint the rock or write a word on it. Take time daily to remember the person.
Use of Daily Memory in Ritual.
an activity that the person used to do with or to the child. This may be self-care or taking a walk, cooking or playing a
game together. As the teacher does this activity intentionally talk about the person who has died. This can occur immediately
after the death or delayed for weeks. Pay attention to student’s cues in order to help the child in the healing process.
(Adapted from : Helping People with Developmental
Disabilities Mourn: Practical Rituals for Caregivers by Marc
A. Markell, PhD, 2005) | <urn:uuid:f5929022-61ae-4dd9-899f-6d2f90739f8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://griefspeaks.com/id96.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939868 | 1,952 | 4.0625 | 4 |
The six month warrant of fitness check may be a thing of the past under reforms being looked at by the government.
Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee's thrown up a host of ideas around vehicle licensing reform, with the aim of saving millions in unnecessary costs and times for both households, businesses and the government.
In the spotlight is our inspection system, which he says is one of the most frequent in the OECD.
Under the current system a warrant's required every six months unless your car is less than five years old - then it's an annual check.
The AA is pleased the licensing system is getting the once over.
But spokesman Mike Noon says any changes must be based on the evidence.
"Particularly in terms of things like the certificate of fitness and the warrant of fitness - foremost we're keeping road safety in mind, when we're looking at the review of these."
Mr Noon says such areas haven't been looked at for a long time.
"In Australia we don't have warrant of fitness checks. In New Zealand we have warrant of fitness checks every six months.
So it is possibly timely to look at the frequency of these checks, and the processes that we're using."
Mr Brownlee wants to make sure the 5.5 million warrant inspections a year which cost car owners around 250 million in inspection fees, are justified.
As for the likelihood of inspections becoming less frequent, Mr Brownlee says it's too soon to say.
Warrant of Fitness rules around the world
- Each state has different rules. Although there are small differences between states, cars being registered must be tested for roadworthiness. In New South Wales vehicles more than five years old must pass an annual safety test.
- Cars older than three years must pass a Ministry of Transport (MOT) test. Vehicles are then tested annually.
- All cars older than four years must undergo a National Car Test (NCT). Cars older than 10 years must be tested every years. Cars under 10 years old only need to be tested every two years.
- Cars older than four years must be tested every two years.
- Cars older than three years must be tested every two years.
- Each state has different rules. Seventeen states have either annual or biannual testing, while other states require vehicle inspection when cars are sold or when registered from another state. The majority of states have periodic emissions tests for vehicles.
- Cars must be tested for roadworthiness before it can be registered with a new owner. There are no further checks required.
- Cars older than three years must pass a safety test, called a Shaken, every two years. | <urn:uuid:96ae2423-0e1a-4632-b29a-c7ee4fa31910> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10795220 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963292 | 543 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Go back to Part I, Chapter 8, Sec. 6 Go back to Table of Contents
For many concretes, self-desiccation results in the creation of empty capillary porosity within the cement paste microstructure, accompanied by a decrease in achieved hydration, an increase in internal stresses, and an increased propensity for early age cracking. One solution to this problem for low water-to-cement ratio concretes where external curing is ineffective has been the development of internal curing. In internal curing, water reservoirs, typically being either fine lightweight aggregates with a high moisture content or superabsorbent polymer particles, are distributed uniformly throughout the concrete microstructure and undergo desiccation themselves, while maintaining saturated conditions within the hydrating cement paste. Since these reservoirs typically contain pores that are much larger than those in the hydrating cement paste, the internal stresses are significantly reduced and early age cracking can be avoided. To date, these internal reservoirs have been filled with water only. Here, it is proposed to fill them with solutions of chemical admixtures such as shrinkage-reducing admixtures or corrosion inhibitors. Two possible advantages of the autogenous distribution of chemical admixtures over delivery by conventional addition to the mixing water are the mitigation or avoidance of possible detrimental interactions between chemical admixtures and a potentially more efficient delivery of admixtures that are partially absorbed by the cement during hydration and in the resulting hydration products. Preliminary results for the FLAIR (Fine Lightweight Aggregates as Internal Reservoirs) system are presented for the case of a shrinkage-reducing admixture. It is envisioned that the FLAIR technology will have the greatest applicability to chemical admixtures that effect the properties of the hardened concrete (as opposed to the fresh concrete), such as shrinkage-reducing admixtures, corrosion inhibitors, and admixtures employed to mitigate alkali-silica reactions. | <urn:uuid:1727c371-42fc-45b1-a659-5fb2051a453d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ciks.cbt.nist.gov/~garbocz/4th_lund/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942412 | 388 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Florida beaches moving up on Dr. Beach best beaches in the U.S. list
Coming in at No. 4 is St. George Island State Park near Apalachicola and at No. 8 is Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne.
Images from St. George Island State Park near Apalachicola in Florida's Panhandle. (Florida State Parks)
The Sunshine State nabbed two of the Top 10 spots for 2012 with St. George Island State Park near Apalachicola at No. 4 and Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne at No. 8 Both beaches moved up two spots from the 2011 list. Of course, the thing about the list is once you win, you're no longer eligible for the list.
The annual Top 10 list now in its 22nd year, is put out by Dr. Beach, aka Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, Director of Florida International University's Laboratory for Coastal Research, before Memorial Day each year.
Last year's winner was Siesta Beach, a stretch of sand on on Siesta Key along Florida's Gulf Coast near Sarasota. It's a barrier island southwest of Sarasota that had been stuck on the Dr. Beach list at No. 2 for two years, but earned top honors last year.
So out of 22 years, Florida's been No. 1 nearly a third of those years with Siesta Beach in 2011, Caladesi Island State Park north of Tampa in 2008, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Petersburg in 2005, St. Joseph Peninsula in Port St. Joe in 2002, St. Andrews State Park in Panama City in 1995, Grayton Beach State Park in Santa Rosa Beach in 1994 and Bahia Honda State Park on Big Pine Key in 1992.
Other Florida beaches that have made the Top 10 in the past six years, but not on this year's list include Barefoot Beach Park in Bonita Springs and Lighthouse Point Park in Ponce Inlet south of Daytona Beach.
Of the two beaches ranked in 2012, Leatherman had this to say:
No. 4: St. George Island State Park Florida panhandle. The Florida panhandle beaches are back as oil from the BP spill has vanished, and the sand is squeaky clean (just rub your feet on the sand and hear them squeak). The brilliant white sands and clear waters of St. George Island were fortunately not even impacted last summer. Stingrays are sometimes resting in the shallow waters so shuffle your feet when entering. Birding and fishing are very popular activities here.
No. 8: Cape Florida State Park Key Biscayne, Florida. Cape Florida State Park, located at the south tip of Key Biscayne, provides clear, emerald-colored waters and gentle surf. This fine, white coral sand beach is great for swimming, as waves are knocked down by a large sand shoal offshore. In addition, the Cape Florida Lighthouse allows for a breath-taking view of this beautiful beach.
Leatherman ranks beaches using 50 different criteria from quality of sand to safety.
The full 2012 list is as follows:
1. Coronado Beach San Diego, California
2. Kahanamoku Beach Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii
3. Main Beach East Hampton, New York
4. St. George Island State Park Florida panhandle
5. Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii
6. Coast Guard Beach Cape Cod, Massachusetts
7. Waimanalo Bay Beach Park Oahu, Hawaii
8. Cape Florida State Park Key Biscayne, Florida
9. Beachwalker Park Kiawah Island, South Carolina
10. Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks of North Carolina | <urn:uuid:bb85bae6-3050-4aad-887f-3df83429ebc4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/os-florida-dr-beach-top-10-beaches-2012-list-052912,0,297564.story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921044 | 759 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Cheppi (bland taste) kheeri (kheer in Marathi means ‘payasam‘ or ‘pudding’, the dish I am referring to is ‘kheeri‘ the difference may be because there is no sugar in it) is a festival dish. At my native it is usually prepared as the offering to god on the next day of Janmashtami. (I explained about Janmashtami rituals yesterday, I have uploaded some of the pictures that I had clicked last year on Janmashtami).
On Janmashtami all the decorations are done as shown here, the next day, some rituals are followed to take out these decorations. The poojari (or bhatmam) goes to the places where he had kept the saligram and bala-krishna statue previous day. He does the pooja and offers ‘cheppi kheeri‘, ‘cow’s milk’, ‘venti randayi‘ to god. After the offerings are done, bhatmam takes off the decorations and takes his saligram and bala-krishna statue back with him. The tulsi and other decorations are discarded near ashoka katte(a round stone structure beneath the tree where the poojas are offered).
‘Venti randayi‘ is a side dish prepared by cooking chana and colocasia leaves and stems (venti literally means stem) in coconut gravy. Usually a few pieces of leaves are tied into knots and put into the dish, this is the specialty of the dish). Following is the picture of the leaves being cut (taken during Janmashtami 2005 at my native, last year I didn’t know I would be writing this post, otherwise I would have taken the detailed pictures).
Cutting colocasia leaves and stems for ‘venti randayi‘
‘Cheppi kheeri‘ looks like Rice congee, but since coconut or milk is used, it looks completely white. The main aroma of this dish comes from ‘turmeric leaves’ (haldi panna). These leaves are grown at home and usually used in variety of dishes for their aroma. (I do not think these are available outside India).
1 cup dosa rice (or any normal white rice)
3/4 cup fresh coconut
1-2 turmeric leaves
Cook rice. Grind coconut with enough water to smooth paste. Add this paste to rice and cook. Tie each turmeric leaf into a knot and add to the dish. Cook for around 5mins.
People like it to eat with or without salt. The leaves are discarded while eating.
Serves : 3
Preparation time : 15mins | <urn:uuid:de2b3136-2763-48b3-835f-c4184240f566> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2006/08/17/sugarless-rice-puddingcheppi-kheeri/ | 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 | 0.956064 | 594 | 2.125 | 2 |
the doll games
THE DIFFICULTY OF REMEMBERING [HOW COLLABORATION WORKED]
P: Theres so much we dont remember, as I just said twice without the Record button on.
S: And as I was going to reply: well thats the weird thing about memory, you remember these high points as you skim over them in your mind, and they are always there so you sort of assume the rest of it is there too. And then you try to remember what the rest of it is, and it isnt there. Weve said this before, but I think its important that we make part of the work be our investigation of failure and doubt and loss and gaps, and our inability to reconstruct and remember. Because in a way our relationship to the doll games is as much made up of our distance from it and its sort of mysterious egg-like enclosure in our pastso we have to kind of talk about what it means to us now, and why were still interested in it, and how thats different from what it meant to us then.
P: I was also thinking there are more recent episodes we could talk about, like when we started the project before a couple years ago, and when I got obsessed with Harvey and started taking all those Polaroids, because Harvey somehow was the doll who best embodied my relation to all that stuff in his sort of ridiculousness and poignancy. I mean, now we have this whole new history of talking about this and thinking about this.
S: Yeah, so we dont present Doll Games as this work that just sprung into existence complete. Especially since were interrogating the whole method of collaboration, which we are having to reinvent in order to do the doll games project.
P: And thats also something we should be reflecting on, how the collaboration is going, and how it is different or similar to the collaboration of the doll games themselves, how it repeats elements or doesnt, in ways that we might have to work out. Like right now Im holding the tape recorder for the first time!
S: I know! So we might also have to embarrassingly investigate aspects of our own relationship, or at least include in the thinking about it our knowledge of our resistance to investigating features. Like my being the boss, and controlling things, but also our having this self-imposed moral guideline of equality.
P: Thats one of the things that I wonder about, because I know I didnt feel like I was not an equal participant, but Im sure that you were the one that guided the stories, because thats just what you did. And since I dont remember much about my role I end up really seizing on the material artifacts we have, like doll writings that I did, as evidence of what I was doing.
S: Well it was really organic and we did both contribute, so it wasnt like you were my puppet, but I was conscious of manipulating things, trying to make you feel like you were doing things freely when sometimes I was forcing them on you.
P: Like what? Like decisions about plots and characters?
S: I dont know, its more a general feeling I have about things we did together than a memory about the doll games, but Im sure it played into the doll games.
P: I remember mostly the time when I became resentful, and a bad collaborator, because I felt that I wasnt equal.
S: You mean in the doll games?
P: No, later. I think as long as the doll games were going on I had no real consciousness of that. The only thing I remember I might have felt towards the end was some anxiety about making sure that Melanie was just as good as Mara. Thats the only thing I can access at all, which makes me think that it was a little bit later, after the doll games, when I really started having issues and feeling oppressed by you being always the one who the guide of our adventures.
S: I was completely oblivious to it too, except that I did have a certain amount of cunning; I felt at times that I was making things happen but making you think that you were making them happen. And so I also felt guilty about those things, although I think in the doll games we were so bent on the same ends that although I do remember maybe being a more energetic generator of plot ideas, and overriding you sometimes because I had such a brilliant idea, that was something we both were perfectly happy with because we wanted the best ideas. So you were happy too. I mean I always thought that was the case.
P: Yeah, I think I was.
S: But then you said recently that maybe the sex aspect of the doll games had been completely my idea, and that you didnt know if you even understood it at first, and that made me wonder if I had completely been oblivious to your relationship to the doll games all along, and was just making you an unwitting participant in all these elaborate scenarios that were entirely my own obsession. But I always thought it was totally mutual.
P: Well I think both things might be true. You were creating the world, and it was my world. I had no resistance to it, so even if I didnt really understand why we were having this kind of game in the beginning, I was perfectly happy. I obviously learned the rules and got into it. Its strange, because I know it was your sexual fantasy life that we were working out first and most explicitly, and I dont know how it impacted mine, or what I would have done on my own. I have no way of knowing that. But its not like I felt like I was participating in some alien ritual, it was more like just with everything we did together as kids, you were older and you knew what the right thing to do was before I did. So it wasnt like there was even a possibility that my right thing might be different, I didnt start thinking that until much later. Until high school, I think.
S: I was thinking about that when Carol was talking about Nikola and Reed playing. Reed can barely talk yet, and Nikolas sort of leading him around the house going "No, the game has to go like this, you say this now" and he willingly does it. And I was thinking oh, of course, thats just what happens when one kid is older, shes thinking on a different level than the other kid, so naturally she leads the way. But I still have this sort ofwhen we were kids we just thought of ourselves as equals, so I had this idea of myself as bossy, and sort of a mixture of feeling pleased with myself that I had better ideas and feeling bad that I forced things on you. When really it had nothing to do with my particular character, even though it became that.
P: I dont even remember thinking of you as bossy until later, the issue didnt come up until later and I dont think its that my will was being trampled on and I finally realized it, I think its more that there was a developmental point when I needed to have my own will and it occurred to me that we might not be just collaborators on a single project, that that might not be the whole way that life is. And that was the traumatic part, the earlier part wasnt traumatic. I completely trusted you to come up with the right things that we should both do.
S: Theres a right way and a wrong way to play a doll game, and I know what it is!
P: I dont actually remember it the doll games so much as with something like drawing, where you would come home withwhere suddenly it was important for us to draw things anatomically correct, for example. And it hadnt been before. But I would just think, "of course." | <urn:uuid:ae028523-f213-4b98-85de-939f32e7e823> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ineradicablestain.com/dollgames/t21-difficulty.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991581 | 1,600 | 1.554688 | 2 |
I've been told that vodka will get colder than ice if stored in the freezer. Is that true?
Vodka and ice will have the same temperature if stored in the same freezer. But unlike water, vodka will not freeze. Vodka contains a high percentage of ethanol, which has a freezing point of minus 117
Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more. | <urn:uuid:1b7bf06f-010f-4231-8874-4408b94c9657> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2002-05/does-vodka-get-colder-ice-if-stored-freezer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928906 | 118 | 1.859375 | 2 |
AfriGeneas Free Persons of Color Forum
FPOC Robert Wright, Campbell, VA 1816
PAR #: 11681603
Abstract: In 1806, with a license from the Clerk of Court in Campbell County, free black Robert Wright married Mary Godsey, a free white woman. They were married before a "regularly Licensed Minister of the Gospel." In January 1815, Mary eloped with a white man, William Arthur, carrying "a negro Girl and other property belonging to your petitioner." Wright overtook the two in Liberty, and persuaded his wife to return, but in November 1815, the two eloped again, this time fleeing to Nashville, Tennessee. Although he knew there was a law against interracial marriage, Wright asserts that his marriage was "valid and binding." As a result, he seeks a divorce.
Messages In This Thread | <urn:uuid:24cb3128-ba5b-4acf-b01f-0670efefaef3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.afrigeneas.com/forum-fpoc/index.cgi/md/read/id/2936/sbj/fpoc-robert-wright-campbell-va-1816/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967962 | 177 | 2.109375 | 2 |
In his excellent Sepia Saturday post last week, CrazyasaCoolfox spoke of tangible history. He was referring to a small corner chair which featured in a couple of old family pictures and which still exists within the family. Such objects that are handed down are tangible history : physical things that provide a direct link to the past. The pictures we feature in our Sepia Saturday posts are also examples of tangible history : objects that were once lovingly handled by distant generations and carefully saved and passed down from one generation to the next. They were saved and shared because it was felt that they said something important. They recorded times of joy or triumph and occasionally times of sadness and loss. The fact that we can still share these emotions today is witness to the tangible nature of photographs as historical conduits. To see what tangible history will be shared this week take a look at the people who are participating in Sepia Saturday Week 24 (Saturday 22 May 2010). To join in the fun simple put a post together based on an old photograph and sign up to the Link List below. | <urn:uuid:8378a48e-ca70-4284-a28c-d70652e37876> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2010/05/sepia-saturday-week-24.html?showComment=1274499681083 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974129 | 213 | 2.3125 | 2 |
There are few things that New York City shares with Cuba. But the devastation left by Hurricane Sandy unites them in a pretty dreadful way: The storm’s devastation was at least as bad in Cuba as in New York. The Cuban government has not issued as yet an estimate of the extent of the damage, and, given the difficulty of valuing assets in a country without markets, we may not get it ever—at least not a reliable one. However, we can guess the order of magnitude of the devastation in Cuba and compare it with the estimates of the damage in New York.
We can build our guess based on a comparison with the destruction caused by Hurricane Dennis in 2007, which was valued by Fidel Castro at approximately $1.4 billion. Even if Sandy was a Category 2 hurricane, inferior in the ranking of destructiveness to the Category 4 Dennis, the damage caused by the two monsters was similar. According to Cuban government estimations reported by Cuba Hurricanes.org, Dennis damaged 120,000 homes and destroyed 15,000 of them. About 24,000 roofs were completely wrecked and 60,000 were partially destroyed. After Sandy, local authorities cited by CBS News reported that it damaged 150,000 homes in Santiago and Holguin, of which 17,000 were totally destroyed. Over 46,000 homes lost their roofs totally or partially. Thus, if we assume that the similarity in the number of houses destroyed translates into a similar loss, the damages caused by Sandy could be guessed at about $1.4 billion.
If this were the case, this would represent 2.4% of Cuba’s GDP, estimated in $57.5 billion by the CIA Factbook. This is quite similar to the New York City’s loss. According to the official estimate, New York City’s GDP was $1.3 trillion in 2010 while the losses caused by Sandy have been widely estimated at around $20 billion. The ratio of the latter to the former is 2.3%, or approximately the same as the Cuban estimate. Thus, New York City and Cuba seem to have shared not just the tragedy of being in Sandy’s path but also the cost of the damage it caused relative to their population’s income. | <urn:uuid:37ed193a-27b8-4f86-a26f-7b6ab759d90b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://qz.com/22803/hurricane-sandy-hit-cubas-gdp-as-much-as-new-york-citys/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979384 | 457 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Understanding the Different Types of Sleep Disorders
If you have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting enough of that valuable REM sleep, then you might suffer from a sleep disorder. There are different types of sleep disorders, each with their own set of identifying factors. It is important that you understand these differences before attempting to treat your sleep disorder, as there is an equally large number of sleep disorder treatments, and not all are suited for every type of disorder. If you feel that your sleep troubles are in need of some real attention, then you must study up. Here is a guide to understanding the different types of sleep disorders:
This sleep disorder is so common, it’s likely you have heard yourself and most everyone you know complain about it at some time or another. As a matter of fact, about sixty million Americans report experiencing insomnia. Simply put, insomnia is the inability to sleep. It may result from a number of circumstances, including jet lag, stress, or a change of diet. Insomnia often goes away on its own, after the aggravating factor subsides; however, sometimes it takes intervention to cure insomnia, either in the form of a natural remedy such as Valerian Root or professional help.
If you have breathing problems that wake though repeatedly throughout the night, then you likely suffer from sleep apnea. Sleep apnea occurs when the breathing airway is obstructed, and is generally accompanied by heavy snoring (although heavy snoring is not necessarily indicative of sleep apnea). It can lead to depression, a lack of mental functioning, personality changes, and respiratory arrest. If you have sleep apnea, then you most definitely should seek the advice of a trusted physician to get the condition under control.
Restless Leg Syndrome
Also called RLS, restless leg syndrome is exactly what it sounds like: your legs simply cannot rest. You feel a constant sensation of needing to move your legs, which inevitably disrupts your ability to fall into relaxation mode (or sleep). RLS is occasionally coupled with periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), which can greatly aggravate the situation. The neuro-transmitter dopamine is thought to regulate these behaviors, and RLS treatment usually involves medications that regulate dopamine.
[box type="note"]As you can see, sleep disorders are not at all alike. They involve different mechanisms and require different treatments. If you feel that you have a sleep disorder, then your best bet is to study up on your symptoms and then consult with a physician for the best treatment options possible.[/box]
About the Author: Nickolas Mosgrove loves writing about health and wellness and studies several common disorders. He used to suffer from sleep apnea but after losing weight no longer needs to wear his CPAP. He enjoys reading medical blogs and recommends Yeastinfection.org by Eric Bakker to anyone interested in how candida can affect your health. | <urn:uuid:99d720eb-b03b-4cf4-bda8-79dabc8676c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hivehealthmedia.com/understanding-types-sleep-disorders/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953313 | 588 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Newer models may save fuel, but consider the carbon footprint involved in manufacturing them.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Q: Is it better to drive an older, well-maintained car that gets about 25 miles per gallon or to buy a new car that gets about 35 miles per gallon?
– Edward Peabody, via e-mail
A: It definitely makes more sense from a green perspective to keep your old car running and well-maintained as long as you can – especially if it’s getting such good mileage. There are significant environmental costs to both manufacturing a new automobile and adding your old car to the ever-growing collective junk heap.
A 2004 analysis by Toyota found that as much as 28 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions generated during the life cycle of a typical gasoline-powered car can occur during its manufacture and transportation to the dealer; the remaining emissions occur during driving once its new owner takes possession.
Regardless of which result is closer to the truth, your current car has already passed its manufacture and transport stage, so the relevant comparison has to do with its remaining carbon footprint compared with that of a new car’s manufacture, transport, and driver’s footprints – not to mention the environmental impact of disposing of your old car or selling it to a new owner who will continue to drive it. There are environmental impacts even if your old car is junked, dismantled, and sold for parts and scrap.
Don’t forget that the new hybrids – despite their lower emissions and better gas mileage – actually have a much larger environmental impact in their manufacturing compared with nonhybrids. | <urn:uuid:89d03dbf-6f08-43e3-8ab7-c1b2c5809d43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.csmonitor.com/Environment/Living-Green/2009/0116/earthtalk-when-is-it-best-to-buy-a-more-fuel-efficient-car | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966466 | 336 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Home > News & Events > Press Releases
Agencies Issue Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina:
The member agencies of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors today announced the release of LESSONS LEARNED FROM HURRICANE KATRINA: Preparing Your Institution for a Catastrophic Event. The booklet relays financial institutions' experiences and lessons learned in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that other institutions may find helpful in considering their readiness for a catastrophic event.
Financial institutions face a wide variety of disasters across the United States that could have potentially devastating consequences. Following Hurricane Katrina, institutions' existing disaster recovery and business continuity plans generally worked well in enabling institutions to restore operations swiftly. However, the unprecedented destruction and aftermath of the hurricane caused major disruptions that exceeded the scope of some institutions' disaster recovery and business continuity plans. Major hardships faced by these institutions included the following:
Financial institutions demonstrated great resiliency, working together to create solutions that allowed them to successfully operate under very difficult circumstances and to assist customers and communities in recovering from the hurricane.
The lessons learned booklet is
available on the FFIEC's web site
at www.FFIEC.gov as well as on each agency's
web site. Insured depository institutions will soon receive a hard copy
or an electronic copy of the
# # #
|Last Updated email@example.com| | <urn:uuid:9ae0efd8-2682-4a19-9b52-1edde7e15332> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fdic.gov/news/news/press/2006/pr06059.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921046 | 301 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Land, resources and self-government agreements combine land claim and self-government into a single agreement. These agreements describe certain Aboriginal and Treaty rights in relation to land, resources and self-government. In addition to bringing clarity to Aboriginal ownership of land and resources, these agreements define the jurisdictions, authorities and responsibilities of Aboriginal Governments.
Self-government agreements are intended to implement the Aboriginal party’s inherent right to self government. As such, self-government agreements describe the structure of Aboriginal government(s), at potentially both the community and regional levels, and describe the powers and responsibilities of the self-government(s).
Land and resources agreements (sometimes referred to as land claim agreements) provide clarity and certainty in relation to Aboriginal and Treaty rights over land and resources. These agreements bring clarity with respect to the Aboriginal party's ownership title of land and resources, cash compensation, royalties from resource development, harvesting rights and rights to participate in the regulation of the land, water, and environment.
The Aboriginal governments in the process of negotiating land, resources and self-government agreements are: | <urn:uuid:b2b42bf2-74fa-41b3-bf47-e56e3f2e4bc4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.daair.gov.nt.ca/_live/pages/wpPages/Selfgovernmentlandclaims.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936756 | 218 | 3.546875 | 4 |
Medscape Today has an article featuring "The Most Significant Medical Advances and Events in 2011." The list includes things like some FDA drug warnings; the fact that the Supreme Court will review the health care reform law; some finding about cellular phone use and brain activity; withdrawal of propoxyphene from the market; and new listings of top hospitals.
To which I say, "Bah, humbug!" Most of the things mentioned have had and will have little or no impact on you, me, our relatives and friends as we seek to get care or avoid care.
What are the most significant advances and events? They are the ones that have occurred by communities, patients, and clinicians in their home towns or their home regions that demonstrate the potential for real improvement in clinical care. These are the ones that save lives now. These are the ones that empower patients to be true partners with their caregivers and vice versa. These are the ones that have nothing to do whatsoever with government mandates, accreditation actions, and the like.
These are the ones that occur because, by strategy or opportunism, well intentioned and thoughtful people modestly work together to reorganize the work in hospitals and other settings.
Examples from this blog are:
1 -- A patient named Christian who persuaded a nurse to allow him to administer his own dialysis, and who then trained others, transforming care in a Swedish hospital.
2 -- Peter Pronovost and colleagues document that reducing central line infection rates in Michigan also lowered costs.
3 -- Glen Cove hospital achieves 1223 patient days without a central line infection.
4 -- The one million people of Saskatchewan allocate $5 million per year of government funds to establish and maintain a Health Quality Council, an independent agency that measures and reports on quality of care in Saskatchewan, promotes improvement, and engages its partners in building a better health system.
5 -- The University of Michigan Health System demonstrates the power of adopting a Lean process improvement philosophy and generously shares its experience with the world.
6 -- Jeroen Bosch Hospital in the Netherlands celebrates the opening of a new building by enthusiastically endorsing transparency of clinical outcomes.
7 -- Aided by the Vermont Oxford network, thousand of neonatologists create state consortia to to set statewide targets and objectives, compare best practices, and understand the variability in clinical practices across and within institutions.
8 -- The SCAD ladies band together and influence the direction of medical research.
9 -- The Sepsis Alliance presses for greater awareness of this deathly clinical syndrome.
10 -- The Manukau District Health Board in New Zealand propounds the following philosophy:
What we need to do if something goes wrong is pull back from the instinct to place blame and instead think more deeply about the contributing factors. We need to think about how the system got us to where we are and where the faults in it lie. | <urn:uuid:ec7eaf9f-3322-4ac8-905d-48c7414bead3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/2011/12/really-most-significant.html?showComment=1324914710154 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943657 | 584 | 1.757813 | 2 |
This week’s #FriFotos theme on Twitter is ‘Home’. Tomorrow people, all around the world, will be tweeting images reflecting this theme throughout the day. Search for the #FriFotos hashtag and you’ll see them.
It’s certainly got me thinking of the great variety of homes I have visited over the years from the Palace of Thanjavur in India where I dined with the Raj or a stately home in England now open to the public to a simple hut in Senegal or even the re-constructed homes found at Singleton Weald and Downland Museum in West Sussex. Not forgetting one of my favourites, the wonderfully ostentatious Brighton Pavilion that was once the home of the Prince Regent.
And then there are those that are homeless, some by choice, such as the eternal traveller, but most by the circumstances they find themselves in.
Sometimes when I photograph a home it is the building itself that interests me but that is certainly not always the case. Looking back over my photographs of people’s homes in West Africa (Senegal and The Gambia) they are more about the people in the homes than the homes themselves. I guess it is the people who make a place ‘home’. | <urn:uuid:842063f1-7a2a-4aad-b67f-6f228323b40e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://travelwithkat.com/2013/03/07/home-frifotos/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950937 | 264 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Check out the cars that have helped define James Bond over nearly 50 years of films.
James Bond movies may be all about the girls and the gadgets, but don't forget the cars. As the movie franchise celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2012, join us for a look at the James Bond movie cars through the years.
The first Bond car was a Sunbeam Alpine, used by Sean Connery in 1962's "Dr. No."
The Bentley Mark IV was briefly used in 1963's "From Russia With Love."
Sean Connery was behind the wheel of the Aston Martin DB5 in 1964's "Goldfinger" and the 1965 film "Thunderball." The car had cameo appearances in "GoldenEye" (1995) and "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997).
The Toyota 2000 GT was used in 1967's "You Only Live Twice."
The Ford Mustang Mach 1 was driven in 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever."
The AMC Hornet X was driven in 1974's "The Man With the Golden Gun."
The Lotus Esprit S1 was used by Roger Moore in 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me."
The Lotus Esprit was back for Moore in 1981's "For Your Eyes Only."
Timothy Dalton's Bond drove an Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volange in 1987's "The Living Daylights."
Pierce Brosnan driving a BMW Z3 in 1995's "GoldenEye."
Brosnan was given a BMW 750iL in 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies."
One of the BMW 750 iL's features in film was that it could be driven by remote control on Bond's cell phone.
In 1999's "The World Is Not Enough" Brosnan was upgraded to a BMW Z8.
Brosnan's Aston Martin V12 Vanquish is chased by a Jaguar XKR in 2002's "Die Another Day."
Daniel Craig, portraying James Bond his first time out in 2006's "Casino Royale," was behind the wheel of an Aston Martin DBS.
The Aston Martin DBS also was featured in "Quantum of Solace," Craig's second stint as Bond in 2008, but was replaced by the DB5 for 2012's "Skyfall."
Sign up for Breaking News, Daily Headlines, Severe Weather Alerts & more! | <urn:uuid:0d8383cb-03d2-4ef5-8c9c-d35515057289> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kjct8.com/news/2012-autos/2013-autos/-/15283396/8281902/-/xvwngdz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966301 | 477 | 1.632813 | 2 |
It is not uncommon for a sister to fear that her life is out of control, that her relationships are unbalanced, or that despite her best efforts, she has no idea how to find peace. Very often there is something for which she longs, but cannot name. She craves firm boundaries and also the kind of accountability that will ‘make her’ live as the woman she knows herself to be deep inside. But she is also afraid to reveal this part of herself. The idea of obedience resonates with her on the deepest levels: intellectually, sexually, and spiritually. She senses that she needs obedience in her life because nothing else is working.
She has doubts though. She questions this need and wonders if it is a weakness, or worse, a flaw. She may wonder: Is this desire normal? Does this desire make me different from others?
If any part of this rings true for you, you are not alone. We have been there.
As watchful sisters, we believe that the fruits of obedience offer the greatest rewards while also ensuring that we are pleasing to those around us. Obedience allows us to follow the intention of our community: to be watchful for opportunities to offer ourselves. We firmly believe that anything is possible through obedience: Marriages are saved. Excess weight is lost. Wounds are healed. Fears are overcome. Bad habits are broken. Negative attitudes are let go. Compassion is cultivated. Love multiplies. Limits are tested. Wisdom and clarity come. There are very few ways to match the capacity for growth and watchfulness that come from embracing a life of obedience. And not obedience to a ‘leader’ or a book, but obedience to an instinct, a calling.
Is that possible? The dilemma many of our sisters share is this: Where do i begin? Who, or what, do i obey? How do i fulfill this desire to be obedient?
After some reflection and practice you will learn the answer to this question. Our community helps member-sisters identify the opportunities for obedience that are already present in our lives, and provides each of us with opportunities to explore obedience thoughtfully in a safe environment using various modes of formation.
Embracing a life of obedience will open you to a cyclical process of growth. Some sisters say it often feels like a two-steps-forward-one-step-back process. Living through periods of calm followed by periods of testing is not uncommon. Many stumble along the way and are helped up again by others who have also stumbled. This process of growing through obedience is not easy and may often be distressing, but it is always beneficial. Each cycle builds upon the previous cycle, and patient practice often brings clarity and wisdom. With this understanding a new capacity to hold ‘more’ is realized and, over time, you discover the course of your whole life has been altered through obedience. | <urn:uuid:b1fe9bfc-32b3-4f63-a04a-aebf761a6c0d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://watchfulness.org/resources/a-life-lived-in-watchfulness/formation/obedience/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963957 | 593 | 1.75 | 2 |
They have learned that China can have a greater impact on Taiwanese voters through trade and making people feel richer than by threats -- even threats to fire missiles -- which had been China's electoral tactics in previous Taiwanese elections, particularly when a pro-independence candidate looked popular enough to win.
Indeed, fearing the popularity of Lee Teng-hui, who ran in the 1996 presidential election on a pro-independence platform, China's People's Liberation Army actually fired missiles close to the nearby coast of Keelung. But this saber rattling backfired. Lee won.
The presidential election on Jan. 14 was the first of the transfers of power in China and Taiwan that will take place this year. Later this year, China's President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao will be succeeded by men chosen by the Communist Party long ago. Avoiding new tension with Taiwan appears to have been a calculated decision by China's leaders as they begin their own -- perhaps not yet fully settled -- changing of the guard.
For almost two decades, Taiwan's presidential elections have attracted global attention not only for the robustness of Taiwan's democratic culture but also for the perennial question of whether the winner would seek formal independence for Taiwan. This time, Tsai Ing-wen, the woman nominated by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), mounted a late charge on the Kuomintang incumbent, Ma Ying-jeou. But China did not bluster as Tsai surged in the polls.
Instead, China did all that it could to boost Ma, who has presided over a massive increase in economic ties with the mainland. For example, China provided cheap airplane tickets to roughly 400,000 of the 1 million Taiwanese living on the mainland to enable them to return home to vote. Given that Ma won by 800,000 votes, this tactic may not have been decisive, but it most likely played a considerable part in determining the outcome.
Paradoxically, the strong performance of James Soong Chu-yu of the People First Party, which split from the Kuomintang, helped Ma by giving voters a second alternative to him. And America's quiet instructions to all candidates to avoid nationalist provocation undoubtedly also played a role in dampening tension with China -- another factor that probably benefited Ma.
As part of China's new “soft” approach to Taiwan, Wen emphasizes “conceding interests” to Taiwan. In Taiwan's south, long a DPP stronghold, that approach appears to have paid off. The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between China and Taiwan has enabled farmers and fishermen in southern Taiwan to prosper by selling agricultural and fisheries products to the enormous Chinese market, and the Kuomintang received higher support in the region than in past elections.
Of course, promoting economic interaction with Taiwan is not China's ultimate goal; unification is. China's government appears to believe that Ma's victory is a step in this direction.
But economic integration is one thing, and political integration quite another. After experiencing the benefits of democracy and freedom of expression, the Taiwanese are unlikely to want to settle for anything less than the open society that they have today. Indeed, with increased contact between Taiwan and the mainland, ordinary Chinese could begin to envy the modern democracy that the Taiwanese people have built -- and spread the idea of an open society to the Chinese mainland. Ma's role in his second term should be to serve as just such an evangelist for democracy in China.
Well aware of this “danger,” China is implementing five policies. The first is to expand the ECFA, so that more Taiwanese companies feel its benefits. Second, and similarly, China will try to shake up the DPP's base by further targeting the commercial interests of Taiwanese farmers and fishermen in the south. Third, China will emphasize common Chinese culture in order to reduce Taiwanese fear of unification. A fourth goal is to win over young legislators elected during this presidential election. Finally, China will seek to prevent the use of the name Taiwan and force the international use of the awkward name “Chinese Taipei.”
But the greatest issue affecting cross-strait relations is the Chinese economy itself. Signs of decline in China's economy, which has racked up double-digit growth for decades, would affect all of its Taiwan policies. When Shanghai stocks fell by about 20 percent last year, Taiwanese stocks fell by a similar amount almost simultaneously -- proof of how synchronized the Chinese and Taiwanese economies have become. China will not be able to get its way if the profitability of this synchronization breaks down.
So, will Taiwan become more like the mainland, or vice versa? To ask that question is to reprise a debate that was heard when Hong Kong and Macau reverted to China, but that is seldom encountered nowadays. Whether serious moves toward unification change that fact will depend on the effectiveness of China's soft-power approach, which cannot be limited only to the attractiveness of its economy if it is actually to succeed.
*Yuriko Koike is Japan's former minister of defense and national security adviser. © Project Syndicate 2012. | <urn:uuid:07eaa145-5d20-40b8-ad20-a5c534abdf14> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=270384 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961575 | 1,038 | 2.0625 | 2 |
“Reading has given us countless inhabited spaces”
Dreaming through books and in houses.
Walter Benjamin, The Arcades Project, #Dream House, L1, 1 #Antiquity*
The entrance to the panorama of Gropius is described as follows:
“One enters a room decorated in the style of Herculaneum; at its centre the passerby is drawn for a moment to a basin inlaid with shells, in which a small fountain is splashing. Straight ahead, a little flight of stairs leads to a cheerful reading room where some volumes are displayed.”
Erich Stenger, Daguerre’s Diorama in Berlin (Berlin, 1925) pp. 24-25.
Why a fountain in a covered space is conducive to daydreaming has yet to be explained. But in order to gauge the shudder of dread and exaltation that might have come over the idle visitor who stepped across his threshold, it must be remembered that the discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum has taken place a generation earlier, and that the memory of the lava-death of these two cities was covertly but all the more intimately conjoined with the memory of the great Revolution. For when the sudden upheaval had put an end to the style of the ancien regime, what was here being exhumed was hastily adopted as the style of a glorious republic; and palm fronds, acanthus leaves, and meanders came to replace the rococo paintings and chinoiseries of the previous century.
The house shelters daydreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace.
Words are little houses… to go down to the cellar is to dream, it is losing oneself in the distant corridors of an obscure etymology.
*Benjamin does tagging. | <urn:uuid:c794783b-cc39-4d66-a538-7cfeb6929033> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://read-only.tumblr.com/tagged/benjamin | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949583 | 386 | 2.625 | 3 |
Nature News has a good profile on M.S. Swaminathan and portrays a balanced view of the current state of India's "ICT for rural development" initiatives.
Still, what we have are anecdotes. After more than a decade of ICT for development initiatives, shouldn't we have hard data already?
Ashok Jhunjhunwala, head of the Telecom and Networks Group (TeNeT) at the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai, [...] says that the dozens of ICT projects across the country are a series of ongoing experiments, “some of which have worked”, he says, but “most of which haven't”.
“You'll hear about a village where ICTs have helped farmers get a better price for grain, or a village where someone has got better access to health care, but these are all anecdotal cases and don't represent the majority of ICT projects,” says Jhunjhunwala. | <urn:uuid:801f98b4-694f-4f77-8a37-fb65e84261b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://communed.blogspot.com/2007/10/from-wheat-to-web.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973102 | 200 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Industrial Robots with Image Processing in the Photovoltaic Industry
Adept Technology, Inc. Posted 08/06/2008
As in many other sectors, the trend towards automation in the photovoltaic industry is inexorable. The only way for the industry to be successful along a wide front is by permanently lowering its production costs.
The photovoltaic industry already has a potential that not only warrants but encourages the use of automation technology. Using industrial robots brings shorter processing times, lower wage costs, less breakage and therefore higher cost effectiveness. In recent years most manufacturers who have invested in this technology have done so with great success.
But many of the robotics systems still in use today lack the most important of the five human senses and work ‘blind.’ The number of tasks that a ‘blind’ robot is precluded from performing is obvious. A 'seeing' robot can flexibly pick up, recognize and measure wafers, solar cells and even whole modules and then place the gripped objects with great precision and speed.
Back in the 1980s the food industry was already reaping the benefits of integrated image processing by using robots for its packaging and sorting activities. Even then pastries, chocolates and rolls were being picked and sorted by conveyor belt. This requires object and position recognition functions as well as synchronizing the robot with the moving object. The essential factor has been the integration of image processing and robot control into one logical unit. Each function can access all the data it needs from other functions at any time and in the space of a few milliseconds. The camera focus of the image processing is calibrated to the robot's coordinate system internally. The complex and inflexible communication protocols required by most external systems are virtually eliminated.
There is hardly another sector in which change and innovation take place at shorter intervals than in the photovoltaic industry. The dimensions of cells and modules are constantly changing. Wafers are being made ever thinner to save on precious silicon. The necessary processing steps are continually evolving and manufacturers now have to build flexibility into the design of their production plants to be sure of a guaranteed future. This more or less forces them to use robotics systems. The fact that product commitment in the use of robotics lies purely in the software does have advantages. It means short response times for making changes and introducing new variants. The software for new variants can be thoroughly tested in the laboratory, well away from the production line. That usually means the production of new variants can start quickly and easily. Set-up times for product upgrades are eliminated anyway with software variants and plants are easily duplicated, since once the software has been created it can easily be copied to different production lines.
If a company decides that it wants to use robotics across the board, it will need to set standards within the framework of a management decision. Some of the important questions that the robotics suppliers of the future will have to consider in their decisions are:
- Does the manufacturer have different types of kinematics (parallel kinematics, SCARA robots, 6-axis, linear axes) to meet all future requirements?
- Does the manufacturer offer effective support with programming its systems?
- Does the manufacturer also supply a powerful image processing system that has been developed for use with its robots and is this easily configured?
- How quickly can I get hold of spare parts?
- Does the manufacturer offer special training for programmers and operators?
- Is the documentation available in different languages?
“The use of robotics in the solar industry is becoming increasingly important as manufacturerers strive to lower their costs by creating solutions for the efficient production of solar cells and modules. As they adopt automation it is vital for manufacturers to choose reliable partners and efficient products right from the start," said Ruediger Winter, director sales Europe at Adept Technology, Inc.
Today around 35% of all the robotics systems Adept Technology Inc. supplies have integrated image processing and around 20% of all robotics systems are supplied to the photovoltaic industry. Be it high-speed parallel kinematics, linear axis combinations, SCARA robots or elbow robots – all gain a high degree of flexibility with image processing. | <urn:uuid:35aa5cad-9dd8-4399-81c0-78f095c23ac3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.robotics.org/content-detail.cfm/Industrial-Robotics-Tech-Papers/Industrial-Robots-with-Image-Processing-in-the-Photovoltaic-Industry/content_id/801 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949793 | 855 | 2.515625 | 3 |
- This article is about cheese curds as a regional delicacy. For general information about the dairy product, see curd. For information about the role of curds in cheese processing, see cheese.
Cheese curds in cuisine, or cooking, are the solid parts of soured milk either eaten alone or used in various regional dishes, mostly in Canada and the northeastern and midwestern United States. They are sometimes referred to as "squeaky cheese".
Cheese curds are little known in locations without cheese factories because they should ideally be eaten within hours of manufacture. Their flavor is mild, with about the same firmness as cheese, but with a springy or rubbery texture. Fresh curds squeak against the teeth when bitten into, a defining characteristic due to air trapped inside the porous material. This "squeak" has been described by the New York Times as sounding like "balloons trying to neck". After 12 hours, even under refrigeration, they lose much of their "fresh" characteristic, particularly the "squeak". Keeping them at room temperature can preserve the squeakiness.
The curds have a mild flavor and are sometimes somewhat salty. The American variety is usually yellow or orange, like most American Cheddar cheese, but doesn't require the artificial coloring. Other varieties, as in Quebec, Vermont, or New York State, may be naturally un-colored.
Fresh cheese curds are often eaten as a snack, finger food or an appetizer. They may be served alone, dressed with an additional flavor, or with another food, such as a small smoked sausage or piece of cured pork, with the elements skewered together on a toothpick. Examples of flavorings applied to fresh curds include jalapeño chili peppers, garlic, various herbs, or spice blends such as Cajun seasoning, with garlic and dill on cheddar curds being a popular combination.
Fried cheese curds
In the Midwestern United States (primarily in Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota) they are a local delicacy. Deep-fried cheese curds are often found at carnivals and fairs, and often local non-chain fast-food restaurants and bars, as well as a few chain restaurants of local origin, such as Culver's. Deep-fried cheese curds are covered with a batter, like that used for onion rings, or are breaded and placed in a deep fryer, they are commonly served with a side of ranch.
In some areas, deep-fried cheese curds are also known as cheeseballs.
Cheese curds are a main ingredient in poutine, a dish consisting of french fries topped with fresh cheese curds, covered with brown gravy and sometimes additional ingredients. The dish originated in rural Quebec, Canada, in the late 1950s. Several Québécois communities claim to be the birthplace of poutine, and one oft-cited tale credits Fernand Lachance as inventing the name. The sauce was allegedly added later, to keep the fries warm longer.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cheese curds|
- Heidi Knapp Rinella (2006-11-15). "Taste of the Town: Squeaky cheese curds spotted in valley". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
- Ryan List (2002-10-21). "Cheese squeaks in your mouth". Ludington Daily News. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
- Louisa Kamps, "Cheese Curds," NY Times, October 17, 2004
- Tillamook Cheese Factory FAQs
- Belleville, Kansas Dairy Queen website | <urn:uuid:c5bed185-8f6e-477d-b3d2-049d941f5594> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_curds | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942112 | 756 | 3.171875 | 3 |
TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie created his Santa Monica, California-based company as a vehicle for giving away shoes to needy children, but should the Texas entrepreneur be looking ahead to selling the company and using the money to pursue other philanthropic goals?
TOMS, an abbreviation of “Tomorrow’s Shoes,” is based on a simple concept: for each pair of shoes sold, a pair is donated. Mycoskie, 33, conceived his “One-for-One” business model on a trip to Argentina, when as a volunteer on a shoe drive, he witnessed how a simple pair of shoes could change a child’s life (read original story here).
“Many of the kids’ feet I saw were really badly cut up and infected and just really gross, for lack of a better word,” said Mycoskie, who also noticed how much trouble the non-profit organization he was helping had in getting the right size shoes for the kids, as they were completely reliant on donations. “It dawned on me that instead of looking at this as a charity thing, which is what they were doing, why not look at it from a business perspective and create a business where you sell a pair of shoes and give a pair.”
In the first year Mycoskie sold 10,000 pairs of his South American-inspired canvas espadrilles, which retail for $45. Conversely that meant he was able to give away the same amount to kids in Argentina. Mycoskie refused to give specific revenue figures, but said it’s easy to extrapolate his overall minimum revenues since his 2006 launch – based on 400,000 giveaways at an average cost of $45 – as roughly $18 million.
To date, TOMS has been entirely bootstrapped by Mycoskie, who would prefer to keep it that way. He said the orders are still essentially processed as they come in, allowing him to carry little in the way of inventory. | <urn:uuid:1d324a43-d4f2-4350-8802-039218f9d118> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.reuters.com/small-business/tag/toms-shoes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98343 | 416 | 2 | 2 |
| September 2008
Challenge: Vancity reached its carbon neutral target in April 2008 and to celebrate, Vancity is encouraging their staff to reduce their carbon footprint even more by running an internal contest call “Cut the Carbon”. In the past 8 months, Vancity staff have been challenged to cut their carbon from various parts of their work and home life. They were in need of eight posters that would illustrate their “Cut the Carbon” campaign.
Solution: Ballistic Arts designed a series of “Cut the Carbon” posters that illustrated green behaviours such as “Recycling Paper” and “Alternative Transportation.” | <urn:uuid:d5d69ac6-0972-41fd-a07b-c8eb6f629239> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ballisticarts.com/2008/09/vancity-cut-the-carbon-posters-design/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982122 | 136 | 2.03125 | 2 |
The moment they’re born, beetles of one species join forces for a curious drill.
The larvae hatch out of their eggs and together, as a group, climb to the tip of the plant. There, they secrete a sex pheromone that attracts a male of a bee who tries to couplate with the ball of larvae. They jump on him. He flies away carrying the little buggers.
When he finds a female to mate with, the larvae jump ship and go away hithhiking on her. When she goes back to her nest they disembark, eat the nectar she collected and her eggs before their final metamorphosis.
Arthropods are known to hitch rides on other animals, including larger arthropods, but this is the first documented case of a group hithchiking together. | <urn:uuid:8e6bcfa9-1326-4f94-bebe-52376a9483b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2006/09/12/cooperative-hithhiking/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972471 | 171 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Passover Foods and the Passover Kitchen
Knowing what is kosher for Passover
An essential reason for the removal of hametz is to fulfill the commandment of biurhametz (burning the leaven). This in turn symbolizes the preparedness of Jews to experience gastronomic inconveniences while preparing for the redemption. Reproduced with permission from Teaching Jewish Holidays: History Values and Activities (A.R.E. Publishing Inc.).
Removing all leaven (hametz) from the home is part of making a home kasher l’Pesach--kosher for Pesach. In addition to removing any leavened foods, all utensils that came into contact with hametz may not be used during Pesach or on the day preceding Pesach [unless they were “kashered”--made kosher for Passover].
Two special sets of utensils, flatware, and dishes are used for Pesach: one for milchig (dairy) dishes and one for fleishig (meat) dishes. [The same rule applies year-round, with non-vegetarian households maintaining two sets of utensils, flatware, and dishes; maintaining two separate, additional sets for Passover means that many kosher households have four sets in total.]
All cooking, food preparation, and eating surfaces are scoured and usually covered for the duration of Pesach. The refrigerator is likewise cleaned to remove all traces of hametz. The care and the extent that Pesach preparations are made depends on the fervor with which a person celebrates Pesach. Some people do not prepare the home for Pesach, but refrain from eating anything that is hametz, while others meticulously follow all of the rules and regulations.
Many foods are labeled kasher l’Pesach. Each year the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America publishes a directory of Passover products that are recognized by them as kasher l’Pesach. In the choice of foods, there is also a wide range of observance.
In addition to bread products containing leaven, there are a few other foods that are not eaten on Pesach. The basic rule is that any product that is fermented or can cause fermentation may not be eaten, including five grains: wheat, rye, barley, oats, and spelt. Any food or drink that is made from one of these grains or that contains one of these grains, even in very small quantity, is considered hametz.
Ashkenazic Jews follow the custom of not eating rice, corn, peanuts, or other vegetables in the pea family, treating them as hametz because these products swell when cooked and so resemble a leavening process. [These are called ‘kitniyot’ (beans). Traditionally, Ashkenazic authorities consider kitniyot to be part of the forbidden foods on Passsover, but technically these items are not hametz.] Neither the grains nor any of the flours or oils made from them may be used. Sephardic tradition allows these products to be eaten. [In Israel, the Conservative movement has also allowed these products to be eaten even by Ashkenazim on Passover.] | <urn:uuid:db79f12c-94ee-4a4e-a12b-e50bc7abc035> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Passover/At_Home/Food_and_the_Kitchen.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937658 | 663 | 3.265625 | 3 |
NCTA: The Professional Organization for The Real Christmas Tree Community
The National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) is the national trade association representing the Christmas tree industry. NCTA represents more than 700 active member farms, 29 state and regional associations, and more than 4,000 affiliated businesses that grow and sell Christmas trees or provide related supplies and services. Members are located throughout North America, as well as in South America and Europe. It is estimated that those affiliated with the NCTA produce roughly three-quarters of the farm-raised Christmas trees in the United States.
The need for a recognized, nationwide Real Christmas Tree community – with the desire to have its voice heard – has never been stronger. The NCTA represents the Real Christmas Tree community with one voice to protect and advocate on the industry's behalf.
NCTA's vision is that a farm-grown tree is a part of every Christmas celebration.
NCTA's mission is to protect and advocate for the farm-grown Christmas Tree industry.
The National Christmas Tree Association will:
- Conduct its affairs with honesty and integrity
- Advocate for all segments of the industry
- Include members and state/regional associations in issue and policy development
- Communicate fully and accurately with members, state associations and related industries on a continuous and timely basis | <urn:uuid:badee677-361e-46fa-a7ee-da28da5e8f64> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://christmastree.org/dnn/AboutNCTA.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950852 | 267 | 1.53125 | 2 |
You are hereMawddach Sea Monster
Mawddach Sea Monster
During the last twentieth century there have been a few experiences that have led to suggestions that the Mawddach Estuary at Barmouth may be the home of a sea monster. According to Mysterious Wales by Chris Barber a local woman claimed to have found four large footprints in the sand, described as being ‘as big as an elephant’s’. In 1937 a crocodile like animal was witnessed by a Harlech man as it walked along the river bank and on 2 March 1975 six schoolgirls described a creature they saw in broad daylight. ‘It had a long neck and a square face and a long tail with a flipper at the back and its skin was black and patchy’.
The Paranormal Database briefly mentions the creature and its various descriptions, saying they range from ‘the traditional sea serpent to a creature resembling a giant turtle with an egg shaped head and two spines jutting from its back.’
Is there a creature in the Mawddach Estuary and around the coast of Barmouth and if so, why does each description differ? | <urn:uuid:718c88c8-64bc-44ba-8ce4-d9b7ee1191e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/wales/gwynedd/cryptozoology/mawddach-sea-monster.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972106 | 241 | 2.515625 | 3 |
A wonderful piece of a forgotten time...
Advantages: Great writing, loveable characters and wonderful plot.
Disadvantages: Different language style may prove a problem
First of all, I have to say, I am a massive fan of Jane Austen. So, you will have to forgive me if I ramble on about how great she is.
This is one of the two better known of her book - the other of course being Pride and Prejudice. This isn't because o ...
rosieemma91 03.08.2008 ∑ Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Sense and Sensibility (Penguin Classics) - Jane Austen | <urn:uuid:1e4be8d7-5a3a-4204-8efd-69cc70248abf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ciao.co.uk/Audio_Books_5302122_2-s | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923871 | 150 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Abyei — The United States' Ambassador to South Sudan, Susan Page, visited Abyei, a key fertile oil-producing area that is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan on Tuesday.
The status of the area is one of the main issues still to be resolved after South Sudan seceded from Sudan last year. Page is visiting the area to acquaint herself with both security and humanitarian in the area.
After Sudanese troops took control of the area in May 2011, just two months before South Sudan's independence, over 100,000 people were displaced. Now that returnees are beginning to return.
Community leaders and the returning displaced persons took the opportunity of Page's visit to urge the international community to provide immediate assistance to help rebuild their lives.
Traditional leaders in the area expressed disappointment about what they claimed was the failure of the United Nations and the African Union to exercise pressure on Khartoum to implement UNSC Resolution No 2046 and Resolution 1990, which demanding complete withdrawal of all Sudanese and South Sudanese forces from the area.
Despite South Sudan's independence last year, the status of the fertile oil-producing region remains unresolved. A referendum on the issue was due to take place in January 2011 but the two sides could not agree on who was allowed to vote.
South Sudan's governing Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), which commands support of the indigenous Ngok Dinka, limits the definition of those resident in Abyei to members of the nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms.
In the Abyei protocol of the 2005 peace deal that ended decades of conflict the two sides agreed that members of the nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms and other Sudanese who were "resident" in Abyei were allowed to vote.
The leadership of Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) interprets this as allowing the Missiriya tribe - an Arab nomadic group some of whom enter the area with their cattle looking for water pasture land for their animals for part of the year - to also be allowed to vote.
The nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms were transferred to Kordofan province, now part of north Sudan, in 1905 during British rule. The status of Abyei is one of the many issues being discussed between the two sides in Addis Ababa.
Luka Biong Deng, a Chief Representative of South Sudan's president Salva Kiir Mayardit in the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee, commended Page's visit and hoped it would allow her to get first hand information on the situation.
Mathiang Mijak, a teacher who returned to the area one week before the town was taken over by the Sudanese army in May 2011 told Sudan Tribune that he wondered why his people have been subjected to repeated displacement and subsequent destruction each time the two parties fail to agree on the status of the area.
"We, the Ngok Dinka people; do not feel that that someday, Khartoum may cooperate and agree to accept a final settlement of the status of our area through peaceful dialogue", said Mijak.
"All we see is destruction while international efforts being exerted appear to be bearing negligible impact on the Sudanese relations with the west. I see these efforts as just waste of time, energies and resources. I say so because how many agreements have been signed with Khartoum and not implemented.", asked Mijak.
He argued that the presence of the Sudanese troops in some parts of the area is negatively contributing to the voluntary return of the displaced.
Chief asks for assistance
Paramount Chief Kuol Deng Kuol, said in an interview with Sudan Tribune that he stressed the need for international community, particularly the government of United States of America and the Security Council of the United Nations and her allies, to draw up "clear action plans" to resolve the dispute over the area.
"We, the people of Abyei appreciate the role played by the United States government in bringing peace during the North-South [Sudan] conflict in which our people participated. This support should not stop. It needs to be continued to help our people get complete freedom to live in peace so that we can rebuild our lives and way of living", said Kuol.
He said the people of Abyei have seen no peace and stability despite the 2005 peace deal.
"As you can see this is not the way it was before it was invaded in 2011. It was a complete town. There were buildings, there were institutions, there were schools, and there were health centers but all these have been destroyed. Nothing is left as you can see. The Sudanese armed forces and allied militia groups have taken everything," Kuol told the visiting US ambassador.
He said that he wondered why forces loyal to the Khartoum government destroyed everything in Abyei if they have legitimate claim on the area.
"They are like raiders. They do not come with intention to stay because they know the area does not belong to them. This is why they take away everything they can carry and destroy what they cannot take", he explained appealing for US support to help rebuild the area.
Destruction of Abyei town
Sudan Tribune toured the town and witnessed that all the mud built and grass thatched houses had been razed to the ground. Returnees say they are living in fear that the Sudanese military and its aligned forces may attack the town again as it has done twice since 2005.
Among the few buildings left standing are the national security and police service offices. All corrugated iron houses, including the Catholic Church, have had their roofs looted leaving the walls open to direct heat and rain.
The Ngok Dinka Paramount Chief Kuol Deng Kuol, explained that those who have managed to return to their original villages north of Kiir River are in serious need of food, shelters, medicine and water as all the hand pumps and other water points had been totally destroyed.
He commended the Ethiopian peacekeeping forces in the area, who are there under a UN Chapter VII mandate, for providing adequate security and having effectively deployed their forces all over the Abyei Area. | <urn:uuid:60d35c58-27cf-4284-87e4-6976e5ea3b0f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://allafrica.com/stories/201207050018.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972733 | 1,265 | 2.1875 | 2 |
A battle not worth winning
Tony Abbott remains firmly in the Catholic Church tradition. Photo: Andrew Meares
The Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, and the leader of the Greens, Christine Milne, were shaped by the same Christian tradition. They were both raised as Catholics, went to Catholic schools and by the time they were at university in Sydney and Hobart respectively, they were both residing in Catholic university colleges.
Since then things have changed dramatically. The former is still firmly within that tradition while the latter, like so many others, has moved on. They now have very different relationships with the church that nurtured them. One is known as Captain Catholic while the other is now vehemently criticising the church.
The tenor of these relationships, often centred on Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, offers insights into both Catholicism and contemporary Australian politics. Abbott's relationship with Pell has been a close one with the politician once describing Pell as his confessor. For Milne, on the other hand, both Pell's persona and his attitude to environmental issues represent what's wrong with the church she has left.
At a time when Abbott has played down his positive relationship with Pell, Milne, following the example of former leader Bob Brown, has ramped up her disagreements with him into a public statement of her disappointment with her former church. She accuses it of undue concentration on defending Catholic education while neglecting the big social justice issues of the day. The subsequent headline was ''Church puts cash before conscience''. In return Pell repeated his earlier claims that the Greens were ''anti-Christian'' and had a bitter hostility to Catholic teaching and church schools.
The dynamics of Catholic politics have a striking gender component to them. Across the world this has led to particular tensions between women and the church, including the current dispute between the Vatican and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, representing female religious orders in the United States. These tensions are largely not about the church's refusal to allow even discussion of the ordination of Catholic women to the priesthood but rather the whole style and priorities of the church. The priorities of the conference include not just the environment but a deeply ecological approach to spirituality itself.
In Australian politics Abbott has been in the vanguard of the dramatic drift of Catholics into the Liberal Party. This is a phenomenon that he himself as spoken about and it is now a given. Abbott is the third Catholic federal Liberal leader in a row after Brendan Nelson and Malcolm Turnbull and the Liberal frontbench contains many others.
Women Liberal MPs have been part of this Catholic drift, including my sister-in-law Trish Worth, but they have generally not been as prominent. Partly this is because fewer women in general have reached the upper reaches of the parliamentary Liberal Party than in Labor and the Greens (to the dismay of reformers within the Liberal Party), but there is more to it than that. It is tempting to speculate that the twin impacts of the part played by questioning nuns in the socialisation of Catholic women and the gender dynamics inside the church have combined to produce this outcome.
This means that there are plenty of once-Catholic women federal MPs with views not unlike those of Milne, a fact that I confirmed when I conducted a series of confidential interviews with Catholic backbenchers and cross-benchers a few years ago. This research was published in Australian Quarterly magazine under the title ''Catholics in Federal Parliament''. Other former federal MPs with a similar background, such as Labor's Susan Ryan, have reflected in their memoirs on these questions of gender, church and social justice.
In Australian politics today there are no points to be gained either in so-called religious crusades or crusades against religion whatever your personal position. It is much more strategic just to leave the issue alone. While such crusades may be well received by your own close supporters, they don't win votes in middle Australia. They may even antagonise some mainstream voters.
Abbott has learned this. He has of course been deeply irritated when church leaders have criticised him and has often responded vigorously in kind. But now, while he makes no secret of his Catholicism it has been far less in evidence in his public remarks since he became leader. That course of action was helped by the demise of Kevin Rudd who was his sparring partner on things religious.
There has been far less sparring with Julia Gillard on this topic despite their differences. He is very co-operative with Catholic agencies and avoids conflict with them by and large. The controversial education question is handled by his Catholic offsider, Christopher Pyne.
The Greens haven't learned this lesson yet. The twin issues of education funding for Catholic schools and same-sex marriage threaten to wreck any relationship, though at the federal level at least some Catholic agencies maintain sympathetic working relationships. Undoubtedly the Greens feel under public attack from the church through some leaders and agencies.
Meeting fire with fire in such circumstances is certainly one option, adopted recently by the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, in his fiery dialogue with the mining magnates, Peter Forrest, Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer.
Nevertheless often such public spats are fruitless or even counter-productive. The official Catholic positions on opposition to same-sex marriage and support for private schools are not going to change. Cardinal Pell remains their most prominent spokesperson.
Milne, like Brown before her, would be wiser to avoid personal clashes with him and instead concentrate on building and strengthening links on many other social justice issues with appropriate church leaders and agencies.
John Warhurst is an emeritus professor of political science at the Australian National University. | <urn:uuid:675ed9e7-bd43-46f4-a121-72fe526f0af6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.canberratimes.com.au/opinion/politics/a-battle-not-worth-winning-20120912-25suq.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982323 | 1,133 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Rebellion of Lucifer
Yeshua explains in detail Lucifer's confrontation with Heavenly
Mother and Heavenly Father, and what resulted from his rage.
Lucifer's Confrontation with Elohim
1 As you know, though it seems
incomprehensible to you because of the Celestine Light of Elohim in your
hearts, many of the spirit children in the land of Xeon, in the kingdom
of Koropean, rebelled against our Father and Mother who told them they
were free to choose their path each day and for eternity.
2 Our spirit brother Lucifer
desired to compel everyone in both spirit and flesh to know only good to
insure that all would come to the Celestine Realms once they had
transited a physical life. But not for the benefit of others did
he propose this, but to gather glory for himself.
3 But I was there and I told
Lucifer that those who would return, having never been allowed to make
mistakes and given the choice of light over dark, sometimes choosing
wrong and then repenting, would be no further progressed in their souls
than they were before they were born into the physical.
4 And that it was for this cause
that the spirit children of the Father and the Mother would be given
mortal bodies of flesh; that they would be free to choose their path,
and progress and learn from their experiences, to taste sin and overcome
it; to gain faith and become more then they were in Xeon.
5 Nor would they ever be alone in
emptiness, for always they would recognize the Celestine Light and
always would it call to them in their hearts, and always would the
foundational commandments of the Elohim be inscribed upon their souls
that they would forever be inclined to walk the path of light.
6 And great was the anger of
Lucifer to have his plan of salvation rejected. He told me, “If
you and the Father and the Mother will not agree to that which I have
decreed shall be, then I shall gather the hosts of Xeon and come upon
you and banish you from the Koropean kingdom and forever block the way
back that those from the kingdom of the Elohim can never return here
7 And so he tried, and he
persuaded many with his words to believe as he did, and many were those
who followed him until a great war of pain and anger was building in the
Koropean realms, between those who followed Lucifer and those who
remained true and faithful to the Elohim.
8 But our Father and Mother told
those who loved them to cease to argue and contest, and they allowed
Lucifer and his horde to come to the gate of the sacred sanctuary where
the Elohim dwelt when in the realm of Koropean.
9 And it came to pass that the
horde of unclean spirits poured over the land up to the very gates of
the sanctuary where the Father and Mother sat awaiting them.
10 But great was their surprise
when they came before our Mother and Father with all of their might and
rage and demanded they depart from the Koropean realms, and the Father
and Mother merely looked at each other with love and smiled with sad
11 Then our Father stood up in
all of his majesty and our Mother stood beside him in all of her
magnificence, and they faced Lucifer and the evil horde of Xeon.
12 And our Father said unto them,
“All of our children have been given the freedom to choose their path
that they might eternally progress and become more than they are.
You who say you want to be forced forever upon the path of light, do you
not recognize that even now you have chosen the path of darkness and
upon that path you shall become less than you are?”
13 And our Mother spoke saying,
“We have created worlds of less light than the ones you have known, less
than the ones for which you were intended to dwell upon in wonderful
14 Now you have a different
harmony calling to you, one you have chosen. A harmony of the
other darker worlds, and to those you must now go; not because we
command it, but because you can no more resist it, for it is the place
that calls to your soul. It is your resonance.”
15 Lucifer screamed with anger at
the words of our Father and Mother and incited his horde into a frenzy,
so much so that the Koropean realm shook with the crescendo of their
16 And he spat out his words with
hatred saying, “It is the two of you and your first born son who will
leave this place now and return to the realm of the Elohim. You
are not wanted or welcome here any longer, nor are your words, or your
teachings or your pious commandments.
17 You are but three and we are
many. Together, our power, my power, is greater than yours, so
depart now and never return!”
18 Then our Mother took three
steps forward toward Lucifer who stood not far from her, and he stepped
back a step as she came up to him.
19 She looked into his eyes
without speaking and he held her gaze. She shook her head
slightly, “No Lucifer, your power is not greater. Nor do you even
have an inkling of the immensity of the power of the Celestine Light of
20 As she spoke every soul in all
the realms heard her voice. And she said, “By our love you were
created as were the misguided souls that follow you. And by our love all
the heavens and all the Earths were created and all things that exist,
even this immensity of the Koropean realm you call home and seek to bar
us the creators from. Where is your power Lucifer? What speck of
dust have you created?
21 Do not doubt that by our word
all things could also be destroyed, in the blink of an eye, even you.
But we love you, even in our sadness at this what you have done.
And we would not and could not destroy that which we love.
22 It is only because of our love
and by our command to the Celestine Light that you remain here now in
our presence that you may gain a full understanding of the magnitude of
23 It is you Lucifer, and all
those who have followed you that shall now depart from the Koropean
realms, for your resonance has changed and there is no longer a place
here for you.
24 But we leave you with our
eternal promise: that even for you there is a way back into the
25 Once again Lucifer threw a fit
of rage but this time the horde that had followed him remained silent
for they were cowed by the brilliance of the light that emanated from
the Father and the Mother and the words of truth our Mother had spoken.
A fear came over them for that which they had done.
26 Our Father came and stood
beside our Mother and said unto Lucifer, “You have lost the Celestine
Light that you had when we created you, that was freely given to you
with love. You have tainted your soul with a great darkness, as
have all those who followed you, and darkness cannot abide the light.
It is time for you to go now to the worlds we have prepared for those
who choose paths of darkness.”
27 “I will not go!” Lucifer
screamed in anger. “It is you who must leave this instant!”
28 “Or what Lucifer?” asked
the Father. “You only have power in your own imagination and among
the beguiled souls who have believed in you. Over those who follow
the Celestine Light, you have no power, nor could you ever have.
You stand now before the Lords of Light, only because we have granted it
to be so.”
29 Then our Mother spoke again
saying, “And we grant it no more Lucifer. We now release the hold upon
the Celestine Light that has allowed you to stand in our presence.
Begone now to the worlds of darkness that beckon to you.”
30 A brilliant light began to
emanate from our Mother and Father. It was white but tinged with
rainbow colors throughout, scintillating like a million tiny jewels. It
spread forth over Lucifer and over all the horde that had followed him
until it was so bright that nothing but the light could be seen.
31 Then in a last burst of
brilliance it was gone, and with it Lucifer and all that had followed
him down the dark path.
Eternal Progression from the Lower Kingdoms
32 Some were pulled to one shadow
world and some to another, each according to the amount of Celestine
Light that remained in their soul.
33 Unto this world in the Datarz
kingdom, were called some of those of the greatest darkness, who
devolved from the spirit children of substance and awareness that they
were and became these unaware blobs of darkness you see now.”
34 “Can they ever become more
than this? wondered Ya'akov, son of Cleophas.
35 “Yes,” Yeshua answered. “All
things are given the opportunity to have eternal progression, each in
the manner that has been given for it.
36 About every thousand years as
time is kept on this Earth, the Raval are restored to the land of Xeon
by our Mother and Father, to the spirit bodies that they had before they
were compelled by their darkness to their world of darkness. They
remain for a time in their former form in a segregated part of Xeon.
37 They have no memories of their
time as Raval, but they know what happened to them. They have full
memories of all that occurred during their rebellion and they can see
all that has transpired since they were banished from the light by their
darkness. And they can see those who did not rebel both in the
Koropean and Salanha kingdoms, and all they have become and how far they
have progressed since that time.
38 Each cycle that they are again
in the form of a spirit child of our Father and Mother, they remember
all of the previous times this has occurred.
39 During the time when they are
again in a spirit form of substance, heart and mind, they have the
opportunity to sincerely repent of their past sins and make amends.
40 If they repent with sufficient
humility and restitution to change the harmony of their soul and the
balance of light and darkness therein, they will never again devolve
into a Ravel.
41 Instead they will be drawn to
one of the other shadow worlds, perhaps in the Scarnz or Qaorroz
kingdoms; far less than the Earth you call home, but a place of much
greater light and substance than this world we are now visiting.
42 Now I think you have learned
all you need to know about this place so let us return again to your
43 Yeshua asked Miriam to give
her crystal to anyone she chose that they could open the portal.
She handed it gently to Cephas who was standing near her.
44 Yeshua pointed to the spot
where they had come through, saying, “Draw the diagram in the air as you
saw Salome do and say the Celestine word of power that I gave to you.”
45 Cephas did as Yeshua bade and
the shimmering blue gateway immediately opened before them spinning in a
46 Cephas turned back to look at
Yeshua and he nodded for him to proceed, so he stepped through the
portal and was followed by all of the Apostles, Salome, Miriam and | <urn:uuid:5d279c9a-5df6-4f9d-aee6-a13f4c2a75fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://revelationbible.org/Rebellion_and_Fall_of_Lucifer.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976716 | 2,549 | 1.929688 | 2 |
May 1966: The first Short Term
Around the time the Beatles sang “Eight Days a Week,” Bates was pondering ways to squeeze even more work from students and faculty. One idea, debuting in 1965-66, was a three-year graduation option. Accelerated students could take extra courses during the fall and winter semesters then attend a special May-June semester each year. The College called it the “4/3 option”; the Mirror had a better name: “an academic endurance race.”
Business and busy-ness were goals of the plan. Keeping faculty and facilities at work longer would increase institutional efficiency. For the student, the three-year option would trim a year of tuition payments, and, for those going on to graduate school, eliminate a rung of the ever-lengthening educational ladder. In a nod to Bates’ work ethic, the catalog also noted that a long summer vacation could be a “considerable waste of time” for some students.
But the law of unintended consequences ended up ruling the day. The three-year option retreated from prominence by the late ’60s, while Short Term quickly became a freewheeling intellectual, social, and recreational jamboree under new Bates president Hedley Reynolds.
By 1969 Short Term was a permanent part of the academic program for all students, having already found its way into campus culture, as noted in a series of Short Term memories offered by the 1968 Mirror editors:
“Sunbathing behind Page…spring Popham…post-spring sports depression…a peculiarly unbalanced sex ratio…Camp Batesie T-shirts…small, friendly barbecues…trips to Reid State Park…after-supper volleyball…Ford Foundation seminars….studying in the Den…socializing in the libe…bio trips to Puerto Rico…weekends in Boston…bermudas in June…religion seminars in NYC…graduation in the Chapel.”
And it was desperately needed. As early as 1967, Professor of Physics Robert Kingsbury saw the benefit of a slower-paced semester. “Students could go off chasing ideas,” he told The Bates Student in an article titled “Students require ‘leisure to learn.’” The hurried and jam-packed academic program of the mid-1960s was not serving students, he added. “Students find themselves without the time to contemplate the ideas presented to them in various courses, or to follow up leads that suggest themselves.”
In fall 1966, The Bates Student asked a few three-year students to review the initial Short Term:
The initial shock of an empty Quad, of the same classes five days a week, and of a roaring crowd in the Den at 9:30 was frightening. Those first few days in May I was convinced that the next two months would be at best painful. By the end of June I knew that the Short Term had been very enjoyable and worthwhile. I especially liked having just a few courses five days in a row. There was no break in the continuity of the material, and with only two or three subjects it was easy to stay organized and keep up with the work. The whole atmosphere was enjoyable and relaxed. Social life got off to a slow start, mainly because we tried to continue the usual Batesie activities. The few of us learned, along with leader Larry Brown, that cookouts, folk sings, trips to lakes, organized dances in the Den and coed everything, from tennis tournaments to pool to volleyball free-for-alls after our coed suppers, were a lot of fun. We had to improvise our social life, and that made it better. Camp Bates is not Bates College. It has a totally difference organization, social life and atmosphere. But it’s great. — Nancy Grose ’69
Taken by itself (with no intended inferences one way or another for the 4/3 totally), the 1966 Short Session was delightful so far as I personally was concerned. After all, being through for the day at 9 a.m., no Saturday classes, Martindale’s fairways in fine shape and lakes full of smallmouth bass, how could I miss? The quality of the students, at least student performance, was clearly above par, the atmosphere relaxed, and there was a moratorium on committee meetings and a minimum of other peripheral distractions for both faculty and students. — George Fetter, professor of sociology
Short Term was an excellent time for practice and dedication to sport. With no worries about assignments, classes or hour exams one could practice as much as three times a day getting into the best shape possible. Despite all this the season was still hurt by the loss of those who could not stay because the extra time provided better chances for better jobs and more money. — Paul Williams ’69
I discovered the unique experience of enjoying my studies in a relaxed, summer atmosphere. The small, close-knit student body and faculty seemed to relish a new type of non-grind semester. Everyone appeared to be able to cope with their work. My marks even improved. — James Levine ’69
I liked the concentration of classes, the “long” two-day weekend, the opportunity to graduate in three years, but there were very few courses offered, virtually none at advanced levels, and there was much free time which perhaps could have been constructively utilized had there been more students, particularly upperclassmen, on campus. — Sid Gottlieb ’69
An answer to the question “What did you think of short term?” It was a delicious dessert with leisure to enjoy the delights of each bite after a two-course meal which had to be consumed so rapidly that it was neither enjoyed nor digested. We have an old-fashioned rule in our house that we cannot have dessert without first properly eating the main course. — Arthur Brown ’69
- H. Jay Burns, Office of Communications and Media Relations | <urn:uuid:d04696e0-34e8-42a1-94fe-6086b828fe0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bates.edu/150-years/months/may/first-short-term/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975187 | 1,244 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Crews from the Somerset Rural Electric Cooperative, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Fish & Boat Commission worked to straighten and reposition the osprey nest at Lake Somerset Thursday morning. Predators were starting to attack the nest because the pole was leaning. Crews took advantage of the lowered lake — due to a leaking dam — to straighten the pole. The osprey is a fish-eating bird of prey.
Operation osprey nest
Operation Osprey (Photo by Len Lichvar / February 14, 2013) | <urn:uuid:00c30748-1d1f-487c-b11e-6c6b15341343> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailyamerican.com/news/somerset/da-ot-operation-osprey-nest-20130214,0,7946115.story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962389 | 107 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Women and Religious Groups in Yemen
This article, about women and religious groups in Yemen, was previously published in Yemen Today. It examines a recent incident where religious groups opposed a minimum marriage age law by putting it in a historical perspective, and analyzes the usage of Shari'a (Islamic Law) and Constitution by religious groups against the women's movement in Yemen.
"The law has no basis in Shari’a ... Our constitution stipulates that all legislations must be derived from Shari’a.” Hence, “the law is unconstitutional and must be retracted.”
This was the line of reasoning adopted by religious groups against a law recently passed by the parliament. In and of itself, this argument stands completely logical and valid. But when the law in question is one that aims at ensuring the welfare of society by setting a minimum marriage age of 17 for girls and boys, the above argument becomes unacceptable as it goes completely against the fundamental ethos of justice that must govern our reasoning. Appalling as they are, such reactions by the supposed mantle-bearers of Islam come as no surprise when one is familiar with their historical precedents.
Historical PrecedentsThe earliest concerns expressed by religious figures over the advancement of women in Yemen began in the 1930s. Responding to emerging desire among Adeni families to educate their girls, clerk Ahmed Mohammed Saeed emphasized (and set what later became a social convention) that girls must only be educated in religious studies and matters suitable to their “nature,” in order for them to become more adept “wives and mothers of the future.”
Two religious figures, both graduates of Al Azhar University in Cairo, became dominant voices in the 50s and 60s against women’s public participation in Aden: Sheikh Mohammed Al Bayhani and Sheikh Ali Ahmad Bahamish. Al Bayhani published a book in 1950, “Ustadh Al Mar’a”(“The Woman’s Teacher”), in which he upheld conservative views on several topics concerning women. Between 1948 and 1950, Bahamish published a religious and social newspaper “Al Dhikra” (“The Remembrance”) which was the mouthpiece of the Islamic Welfare Society. One of the paper’s editors wrote in 1950, responding to discussions of granting political rights to women: “I say it…and I say it with strong emphasis: The woman is a creature for the home only; if granted alleged political rights, then woe to the men. Woe to them from a coming era.” During the same period, a religious figure in Sana’a, Abdul Wasi’i Al Wasi’iy, published the book, “Al Burhan wa Al Hujja Fi Wujoob Ta’at Al Zawja” (“The Proof and Argument for the obligation of the Wife’s Obedience” [to her husband]), preaching similar conservative views on women’s social roles and duties.
An incident that caused great outrage among religious groups was when, in 1959, six female activists removed their veil and marched down the streets of Aden, rebelling against what they perceived as backward and hindering traditions. Not only did religious figures strongly protest, they declared an emergency meeting and, interestingly, approached the British colonial authorities for help in containing what they perceived as the beginning of moral chaos (The British refused to interfere). When journalist Mahia Nagib founded the female journal Fatat Shamsan (“The Maiden of Mount Shamsan”) in 1961, religious groups and mosque imams in Aden mounted a campaign against the journal, threatening its founder and accusing her of blasphemy. And in 1969, they assaulted judge Hamida Zakaria, who had also been running a family program on TV, opposing her appointment as a judge and deploring her appearance on TV as causing fitna (moral disorder).
The socialist regime in the south provoked further religious opposition during the 70s with its radical social and economic policy measures that aimed at empowering women, especially its secular 1974 Family Law. This caused outrage among many Yemeni conservative and religious groups, not only within Aden, but even within Yemeni communities based in Saudi Arabia who reacted by broadcasting their opposition and demonizing the socialist regime through radio stations. The mid-70s in the north also witnessed a rise of Islamist opposition to organized women’s activity. In 1974, a group of Islamists took over and closed down the Yemeni Woman’s Association in Sana’a, which had been providing basic literary lessons, craftwork training, and running a radio Family Program. The Association remained dysfunctional until it was re-opened in 1979 by activist Raufa Hassan.
The Islah Party and other conservatives managed to influence the 1992 Family Law which was only a slightly improved version of the conservative northern 1978 Family Law of the former Yemen Arab Republic. In the same year, Islah organized a huge conference where several unsigned working papers addressing the woman’s questions demanded behavioral codes for women, including hijab, separate educational facilities, and restrictions on travel without a male guardian. In 1997, a new conservative and regressive family law draft was secretly proposed and passed in Parliament without notice, but women later persuaded the president not to sign the bill. The Women’s Studies Center at Sana’a University was ransacked, closed down, and its director threatened, by religious groups in the late 90s. More recent examples include the 2008 fatwa issued against calls for facilitating women’s political participation through a quota system and the fatwa issued last month against the minimum marriage age set by the Parliament.
In light of the brief historical survey above, the recent efforts by religious groups to retract the marriage age law come as part of a continuous effort to employ religion in defining women’s social and political realities. One common underlying rationale that informs religious and conservative reactions is the assumption that women’s roles are pre-defined according to their nature or biology. Hence, women’s education, work, public participation, and other life opportunities, are made subject to this socially constructed rather than naturally determined constraint. Another common rationale (or rather, fear) is that allowing women to practice their full autonomy will lead to social disorder and chaos. There are also the readily hurled accusations of blasphemy and/or association with ill-intentioned Western agendas at anyone who voices disapproval of the status quo.
Focus on Women and Gender Relations
Regarding the recent marriage age debate, Assistant Secretary-General of the Islah party Mohammad Assadi said that “marriage age is an Islamic rule and political parties cannot intervene in such affairs.” As we notice from this statement and from past incidents, there has always been a particular effort by religious groups in Yemen to influence the family law. More specifically, to ensure that it remains closely governed by the Shari’ah, as opposed to other areas (such as education, business, or labor) that regularly, and with no objections, undergo amendments that are largely secular in nature. This persistence of governing matters related to women and gender relations by Islam is best explained by Eleanor Doumato: “The woman issue has assumed a place of unprecedented importance in the definition of Islamic values and Islamic behaviors, mainly because in the rush of development and the infusion of Western culture, there is little else of symbolic value that is so visible, and no other group in society whose behavior can so easily by controlled, and no other challenge to religious values that threatens male identity or affects people’s lives so personally.”
One of the main arguments presented during the recent marriage age debate was that “marriage age has no Islamic basis” and that “setting a marriage age for girls is [therefore] a restriction of what Shari’a permits.” Indeed, religious scriptures are silent on marriage age, just like they are on many other daily matters. But what’s interesting is how this silence in the case of marriage age is arbitrarily interpreted as “permission” by Shari’a. This arbitrary Shari’asim with respect to family laws, along with the constant assertion that such laws are divine and immutable, presents a central challenge to those attempting to reform family laws. This challenge is particularly powerful because such religious efforts, according to Amira Sonbol, “represent a patriarchal hegemony that is supported by traditions, conservative clerical classes and state power structures.” We must realize that Muslim family laws are the products of socio-cultural (often patriarchal) assumptions and juristic reasoning about the nature of relations between men and women. They are, as Mir-Hosseini asserts, “man-made juristic constructs, shaped by the social, cultural and political conditions within which Islam’s sacred texts are understood and turned into law.”
Patriarchal interpretations of Islam, or Shari’a, and their portrayal as sacrosanct, have a long historical tradition that is not only particular to Yemen. Two sets of explanations for their existence (and persistence) are found in Islamic feminist (and no, this not an oxymoron) scholarship. They are best summarized by Ziba Mir-Hosseini: “The first set is ideological and political, and has to do with the strong patriarchal ethos that informed the classical jurists’ readings of the sacred texts and the exclusion of women from production of religious knowledge, and their consequent inability to have their voices heard and their interests reflected in law. The second set of answers is more epistemological, and concerns the ways in which social norms, existing norms, marriage practices and gender ideologies were sanctified, and then turned into fixed entities in fiqh. That is, rather than considering them as social, thus temporal institutions and phenomena, the classical jurists treated them as ‘divinely ordained’, thus immutable.”
Conservative and religious groups in Yemen have always had an ambiguous relation with the state. Their recognition of state legitimacy fluctuated with the degree to which they perceived the state as serving their interests. Arguably, the biggest fear of those groups is that the state and its goals becomes a higher authority than religion and the kin group, particularly in matters pertaining to women’s status, as had happened during the southern socialist regime. In addition to family law, another site of tension between the state and religious groups is the constitution. Pre-empting the total loss of their long held authority to the state, religious and conservative groups assured that the new 1990 post-unification constitution made Shari’a as the sole source of legislation. This was further emphasized to the public masses, during the 1992 Islah conference, through slogans such as “The Quran and the Sunna Supercede the Constitution and Laws.” Then, in 1994, another layer of assurance was created with the addition of Article 31 to the constitution declaring: “Women are sisters of men.” This article upholds the authority of the kin group and perpetuates the cultural norm that typically regards females as inferior and subordinate to their male siblings and relatives. Today, with enough comfort in the authority guaranteed to them by the constitution, religious groups seem to recognize the legitimacy of the state and its constitution like never before. So much so that, in addition to claims of Shari’a non-compliance, claims of constitutionality, or otherwise, have become an expedient recourse for religious groups (like we’ve seen in claims of the marriage age law being unconstitutional).
Towards a “Good Life”
Shari’a, in its religious usage from the earliest period, as Fazlur Rahman notes, has meant “the highway of good life”. And indeed, Shari’a court records from the Ottoman Empire reveal how people had faith in the “good life” Shari’a assured them. As Amira Sonbol asserts from her studies of those records, “the system was flexible and provided an avenue for the public to achieve justice and litigate disputes rather than to enforce a particular philosophy of social laws and norms formulated by the State.” It is time that we re-establish this purpose of Shari’a, or any governing system for that matter. We’ve mastered the skill of deploying our constitution expediently and our Shari’a arbitrarily. Let us now learn to use this skill towards achieving humane and truly Islamic goals of equality, integrity, welfare, justice, and “good life,” for all Yemeni citizens. | <urn:uuid:35a59ed3-29c7-4ef5-8f11-515361c6735a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://imow.org/community/stories/viewStory?storyId=3315 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966232 | 2,602 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Most men don’t give much thought to their prenatal care, but, according to male-fertility experts, what guys do now could make the difference between becoming a dad or not.
Unlike women -- who have all the eggs they will ever have when they’re born -- men produce sperm all day long. Sperm takes about two to three months to fully mature, so a guy’s behaviour during the past 90 days will affect the baby he makes today, or whether he can make one at all, said Dr. Sijo Parekattil, director of urology at Winter Haven Hospital, where he specializes in male infertility.
Although society tends to focus on women when couples can’t conceive, about half the time it’s the guy’s fault, said Parekattil, who will be among several infertility and adoption experts speaking Saturday at a free conference in Lake Mary, Fla.
Among the more common sperm-killing behaviours guys engage in are keeping cellphones in pants pockets, and working with laptops on their laps, which raises sperm temperature.
Other behaviours not conducive to fatherhood are smoking; excessive drinking; frequenting saunas and hot tubs; wearing tight underwear; using recreational drugs, including marijuana; taking male supplements; and getting sick. Studies show that such behaviours can reduce sperm quality and quantity.
Ashok Agarwal, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, has conducted several studies on the effects of cellphone radiation on sperm. In one lab study, he found that the viability of sperm exposed to cellphone radiation for one hour dropped by 11 per cent compared with control samples.
His research also found that sperm count, motility and viability dropped more as cellphone exposure went up.
"Cellphones emit radiation, which can potentially harm the sperm in men who carry their phones in their pockets or on their belts," Agarwal said. "We believe these harmful effects are due to the proximity of the phones to the groin area."
A bout with the flu can lower sperm count, too, which is why experts recommend that men trying to have children get flu shots. Chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, also take their toll. Obesity can foster low sperm counts because excess fat causes men to produce more female hormones, Parekattil said.
When men take male supplements, including anabolic steroids, their bodies think they’re making too much testosterone and shut down the testicles, which actually atrophy, Parekattil said. Once guys stop taking supplements, sperm production can take a year to resume.
"A man’s lifestyle can impact the DNA organization inside the sperm and the surface properties of the sperm, which are critical for penetrating the egg, fertilizing it and helping the embryo get to full term," said Dr. Michael Witt, a urologist and male-fertility specialist who divides his time between Winter Park, Fla., and Atlanta.
Avoiding these sperm-unfriendly behaviours and conditions are sometimes all men need to do to give their sperm a boost, Witt said.
Besides having a better understanding of how lifestyle and anatomical stresses can affect sperm, men trying to become dads also benefit from another advance in male infertility: in-home sperm-test kits.
Although the home tests aren’t as sensitive as those in the urologist’s office, they’re a lot more convenient and less embarrassing than giving a sample at the doctor’s office.
A normal sperm count is about 40 million motile sperm per ejaculation, according to the World Health Organization. Most men produce that well into their 70s. However, of those men who have problems with infertility, about 10 per cent to 15 per cent make no sperm, and an additional 30 per cent have low sperm.
Among all men, about one in seven has a varicocele, in which excess blood vessels impair the count and quality of sperm, Witt said. Surgery to remove the veins often restores fertility.
Like 15 per cent of American couples, Clay and Wendi Harris of Orlando, Fla., couldn’t have a baby, despite trying for five years.
"We were tested seven ways to Sunday" to look for the cause, Clay Harris said.
After five failed rounds of in vitro fertilization, they had just about given up. Then tests showed that Harris, 38, had a sperm count in "the midrange." However, Witt reviewed Harris’ sample and thought the sperm quality would improve if he had varicocele surgery.
In November 2010, Harris had the surgery, and afterward, "my sperm count went through the roof. It skyrocketed to 90 million."
Now, the Harrises are expecting a baby boy in early February.
"When we go for our weekly ultrasound," said Clay Harris, "we just stare at the baby on the monitor and hold hands."
Article: 11th November 2011 www.vancouversun.com
Check your sperm count with our male fertility test | <urn:uuid:f70a7594-dd70-4d03-9d80-2807e777e624> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.prideangel.com/?tag=/sperm+fertility | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962543 | 1,041 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Ninty -Five Pages makes this the largest Route 66 website in the world! We provide our visitors with information to help them plan an adventure on the Historic Mother Road of America. Route 66 is now 86 years old, and most of it between Chicago and California is still in good drivable condition, with many of the old attractions, dining and lodging facilities having been restored or preserved. It's the "Real" America! Also known worldwide as "America's Longest Attraction", a Roadtrip on Route 66 is an unforgettable adventure for the whole family, so why not visit all or a part of Route 66 this year! Become a Friend and Member of our Chamber and help us Preserve, Protect, Promote and Make Route 66 History! Thanks!
In addition to promoting Travel and Commerce along Historic Route 66, we post links to Route 66 Events, Activities and Special Interest Happenings. Please check the links below and VISIT 66 !
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" In 1927, Cyrus Avery formed the U.S. Highway 66 Association to promote travel on this "new" highway. In 1970, that organization became the "Main Street of America Association" which later closed it's doors in 1976. Thirty two years later, the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce was formed to provide continuing international and domestic promotion of America's most famous highway, and you can be a part of this Historic effort. Please join our Chamber and make history with us."
Chamber Founder and Director Ron Hart gives talks to civic organizations, business clubs, schools, etc. through-out the U.S. about America's most famous highway, Route 66.
Chamber Projects have been underway for over five years and are funded entirely by our members.
Route 66 Chamber Projects include the promotion of better directional signage, making communities more RV-Friendly, encouraging more Route 66 Welcome Centers, developing ways to attract heritage tourism to the Route, linking all Cities, Chambers, CVB's and State 66 Associations to share
The Route 66 Chamber of Commerce is always promoting the Mother Road
statistical data on travelers, working with overseas Chambers and Associations to encourage group visits, communicate with state governors and federal officials to encourage restoration and preservation efforts, and most importantly, helping our members attract more visitor traffic and increasing overall commerce along Route 66. | <urn:uuid:149cc6c8-662b-473b-8f1d-df1284795517> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://route66chamberofcommerce.homestead.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945624 | 473 | 1.59375 | 2 |
At the southwestern end of the region, just north of the Finger Lakes, lies the small city of Oswego (pop. 19,195). Straddling the mouth of the Oswego River, overlooking Lake Ontario, Oswego operated as an important fort and trading post throughout the 1700s. During the American Revolution, Oswego served as a haven for Loyalists fleeing the Mohawk Valley, and remained in British hands until 1796. Named the first freshwater port in the United States in 1799, Oswego protected the supply route to the naval base at nearby Sackets Harbor during the War of 1812.
Today, Oswego continues to function as a Great Lakes port and is a major sportfishing center.
Fort Ontario State Historic Site
Presiding over Lake Ontario is Fort Ontario (1 E. 4th St., 315/343-4711, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Tues.–Sat. and 1–4:30 p.m. Sun. May–Oct., adults $4, children under 12 $2). Originally built by the British in 1755, the site was attacked and rebuilt four times, with the present-day fort constructed between 1839 and 1844.
During World War II, Fort Ontario served as a sort of emergency refugee center/internment camp for victims of the Nazi Holocaust. The only one of its kind for European refugees in the country, the center invited 874 Jews and 73 Catholics to relocate here, but upon arrival, the refugees were placed in a fenced-in compound and told not to leave. The shocked refugees were interned for a total of 18 months.
Today, Fort Ontario has been restored to its 1867–72 appearance. Costumed guides interpret the lives of the men and civilians who once lived here.
H. Lee White Marine Museum
Oswego’s most delightful tourist attraction is the White Marine Museum (foot of W. 1st St., 315/342-0480, www.hleewhitemarinemuseum.com, 1–5 p.m. daily Sept.–June, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily July–Aug., adults $7, children 5–12 $3, children under 5 free), a sprawling, hodgepodge affair filled with everything from archaeological artifacts to mounted fish. One exhibit focuses on Lake Ontario shipwrecks, another on the city’s once-thriving shipbuilding industry, a third on the legendary “monsters” of the lake, a fourth on the region’s strong abolitionist history. Most everything in the museum has been donated, which gives it a folksy appeal. Outside, a World War II tugboat and a derrick barge invite exploration.
Built in the late 1860s, the Richardson-Bates house (135 E. 3rd St., 315/343-1342, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tues.–Fri., 1–5 p.m. Sat., adults $4, seniors and children over 12 $2) is a regal Italianate mansion still equipped with 95 percent of its original furnishings. The five plush period rooms downstairs are arranged according to photographs taken around 1890, while upstairs, succinct exhibits explain the history of Oswego County. The museum is run by the Oswego County Historical Society.
On the lakeshore about 15 miles northeast of Oswego lies Selkirk Shores State Park (Rte. 3, 315/298-5737), equipped with a beach, hiking trails, and 148-site campground. For reservations, call 800/456-CAMP.
The ever popular Rudy’s (Washington Blvd. on the lakeshore, 315/343-2671), a quarter-mile west of the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Oswego, specializes in fish and chips, and fried scallops and clams.
© Avalon Travel and Sascha Zuger from Moon New York State, 5th Edition | <urn:uuid:84cf4f2d-28ea-4486-907d-ef2c7fd26762> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://moon.com/destinations/new-york-state/the-adirondacks/the-thousand-islands/oswego | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926976 | 843 | 3.21875 | 3 |
New food safety legislation will regulate backyard gardening.
Bloggers on Monday, November 29th, 2010 in postings to the Internet
Food safety law to regulate your backyard garden? No, it doesn't.
We've received several e-mails from readers asking us about new food safety legislation pending in Congress. They wanted to know if it is true that the bill would regulate backyard gardening.
They sent us several claims promoted by various bloggers. Here's how a website called NaturalNews put it
"Senate Bill 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, has been called 'the most dangerous bill in the history of the United States of America.' It would grant the U.S. government new authority over the public's right to grow, trade and transport any foods. This would give Big Brother the power to regulate the tomato plants in your backyard. ... This tyrannical law puts all food production (yes, even food produced in your own garden) under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security. Yep -- the very same people running the TSA and its naked body scanner / passenger groping programs."
This kind of statement takes a real concern about the bill -- that it might impose excessive regulation on small farmers -- and blows it up into a fabrication.
First, a bit about the legislation: Congress decided to act after several notable cases of people being sickened by contaminated foods, such as eggs that were subject to a major recall earlier this year. One out of four Americans are sickened by tainted food each year and 5,000 die, according to the National Center for Infectious Diseases. The bill gives the Food and Drug Administration -- not the Department of Homeland Security -- expanded powers to inspect facilities and trace food-borne illness. (The Department of Homeland Security is mentioned in the bill in respect to regulating food imported from overseas and in preventing intentional poisoning of the food supply.) It also allows the FDA to impose mandatory recalls after illness outbreaks, instead of asking companies to comply voluntarily.
Consumer advocates said the bill was a common-sense step forward. Others expressed concern that the law was too broad: it asks the Secretary for Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, to develop specific regulations about how the increased inspections would work.
Peter Van Doren of the Cato Institute reviewed a similar bill passed by the House of Representatives last year, and said he was concerned that the language in the House bill was overly broad. "The question of how much or little is encompassed by this language seems open to differing interpretations and would be the subject of much jockeying when the actual regulations implementing the law were written," he said.
The Senate took up the issue more recently, and, to allay concerns about small growers, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., offered an amendment exempting most local food providers and small farmers from new federal regulations as long as the growers complied with local rules and their produce was not connected to active outbreaks of illness.
The Senate accepted the amendment and approved the overall bill 73 to 25 on Tuesday. The House must now approve it, either outright or through conference committee, and the President must sign it before it becomes law.
So will Big Brother be trailing around behind you in his Wellingtons next spring as you set out your seedlings?
We reviewed the Senate version of the bill carefully and read ongoing news coverage of the food safety law. Nowhere could we find mention of backyard gardens being included. In fact, the Senate version, even prior to Tester's amendment, said regulations must be developed that prioritize food facilities that pose the highest risk to public safety. That would imply that not all facilities would receive the same level of scrutiny.
Additionally, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analysis of the bill makes no mention of widespread inspections in its cost estimates. "Based on the inspection schedule specified, CBO estimates that this bill would require about 50,000 domestic and foreign food facilities to be inspected in 2015," said a CBO report. Meanwhile, the National Gardening Association estimates that 36 million households participated in food gardening in 2008.
Finally, we checked in with a few groups that followed the legislation's development closely. We interviewed Scott Openshaw, director of communications for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents major food companies and tracked the legislation closely. He said the pending legislation will not apply to home gardeners.
"Backyard gardens will NOT be affected in any, way, shape or form by the food safety bill. Zero, zilch, zip, nada," Openshaw told us via e-mail.
Another person who followed the bill closely was David Plunkett, a senior staff attorney for food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest; he too said that backyard gardens were not part of the bill. Plunkett pointed us to a line in Section 105 the Senate bill that said the rules "shall not apply to produce that is produced by an individual for personal consumption."
In rating this statement, we see no evidence to support the claim that backyard gardens would be regulated under the food safety bill. There might be legitimate concerns about small growers, but even those have been addressed in the Senate version of the bill. At any rate, concerns about small growers are quite different then the claim that backyard gardens will be regulated. We find no evidence to support the claim and rate it Pants on Fire.
Published: Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 at 4:16 p.m.
Thomas, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, accessed Nov. 30, 2010
Congressional Budget Office, Cost estimates for S 510, accessed Nov. 30, 2010
The National Center for Infectious Diseases, Food-Related Diseases, accessed Dec. 1, 2010
Sen. Jon Tester, Senate overwhelmingly passes Food Safety Bill with Tester’s amendment, Nov. 30, 2010
McClatchy Newspapers, House vote expected this week on food-safety bill, July 27, 2009
Billings Gazette, Food safety bill vote delayed, Nov. 18, 2010
USA Today, Foodmakers backing $1.4 billion food-safety bill, Nov. 29, 2010
Grist, Risk, bacteria, and the tragedy of food-safety reform, Nov. 29, 2010
Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, A stale food fight (New York Times op-ed), Nov. 28, 2010
Consumers Union, letter to Senate in support of the food safety bill, Nov. 29, 2010
Consumers Union, food safety releases, various dates
National Gardening Association, Garden Market Research
Center for Science in the Public Interest, Historic Food Safety Bill Clears Senate, Nov. 30, 2010
E-mail interview with Scott Openshaw, director of communications for the Grocery Manufacturers Association
E-mail interview with David Plunkett, senior staff attorney for food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest
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- Shop the PolitiFact store for T-shirts, hats and other PolitiFact swag | <urn:uuid:ba3c7f46-c5c6-4f15-bb49-eab3767c4a01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/dec/01/blog-posting/food-safety-law-regulate-your-backyard-garden-no-i/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947623 | 1,659 | 2.078125 | 2 |
BCPC Weed Review highlights technology solutions to compensate for product losses
To view the presentations given at the Annual Weed Review click here
Over 80 delegates attended the 49th BCPC Annual Weed Review chaired by Dr Gordon Anderson-Taylor, Bayer CropScience, and held at PGRO, Peterborough on 24 October. The Review addressed technology solutions for product losses.
“Despite the various regulatory challenges, loss of herbicides and ongoing build-up of resistance to current products the presentations made at this meeting demonstrated a range of innovative approaches being taken to address all of these critical issues,” said Gordon. “Weed control remains one of the most important factors to maintain sustainable food supplies and our landscape environment, and whilst a somewhat neglected area for funded practical research, both researchers and the industry in general are clearly investigating and in some cases adopting new technological approaches in order to ensure that we can maintain adequate control of weeds in the future.”
Peter Lutman, Rothamsted Research set the scene by assessing the weatherconditions affecting farming during the 2011/2012 season. Drought and poor performance from pre-emergence herbicides caused problems with weed control in the autumn. Although the spring started well, a cold, wet April meant early sown crops failed to grow and slugs were abundant. With cool wet weather continuing into June and July this affected crop growth and grain set.
Peter assessed current funded research projects on weeds and weed control. “Only a very few substantial projects are now being carried out, funding is limited, there is no long-term strategy for projects and about 30% is short-term work being done by PhD students,” he said. “It is now time for us to consider how we get more strategic funding into weed research.”
The review then considered a completely different approach to weed control in oilseed rape with the recently introduced ‘Clearfield’ Production System. “Here we use high yielding herbicide tolerant hybrid seeds which have the ability to resist certain herbicide modes of action not otherwise used in rape,” explains Jon Williams, BASF. “Rather than a pre-emergence / post-emergence programme, this programme uses one application of a metazachlor plus imazamox product plus an adjuvant, post-emergence up to growth stage 18.”
“This has great benefits as it shifts the timing of application away from the really busy time on farm, it also plays a key role in good establishment of oilseed rape,” says Jon. “More importantly, it targets emerged weeds and offers excellent control with the broadest weed spectrum including cruciferous weeds compared to current herbicide standards. It is critical that the metazachlor plus imazamox product is only used on Clearfield hybrids and it is also important that best practice is adopted in rotational management to minimise seed losses.”
There is concern over the potential risk of water contamination from some key active ingredients for weed control in oilseed rape. Ron Stobart, NIAB TAG, outlined a project that evaluates a new approach using carefully-directed control methods between crop rows. Using simple shielding and guidance systems plots were treated inter-row with glyphosate using a narrow nozzle. Trials were also done integrating inter-row treatments with an over-row selective application. This delivered excellent weed control between and within the rows with little or no crop damage. “The results have been encouraging and no impact on yield has been seen in our studies,” says Ron. “We now need to look at width of equipment and speed of application. This is an alternative approach of controlling weeds in oilseed rape which could well be considered for other products used inter-row.”
Bracken covers an area of about 1.5m ha in the UK. It causes problems not just to agriculture by taking out grazing, but it also obstructs footpaths, harbours ticks and disease and creates a monoculture threatening biodiversity. The bracken’s underground extensive rhizome system is the biggest problem, sending up new fronds. “The current control system comprises a two-stage process,” explains Simon Thorp from The Heather Trust. “Primary control is to spray asulam by helicopter with a follow-up treatment using hand lances in the second year. Asulam is unique in terms of its selectivity for bracken and that it can be sprayed from the air but due to concerns about the impact on water and the environment it failed to gain approval after appeal in September 2011 – the end of the use-up period is 31 December 2012.”
“Leaving bracken to run rampant is just not an option,” says Simon. “Alternative control options are ground based spraying; weed wiping; cutting; crushing; low level equilibrium grazing and biological control methods but asulam has always been very effective in providing long-term control. We hope that the formation of The Bracken Control Group will help raise awareness of the threat posed by bracken and that there will be sufficient support to enable the continued supply of asulam products from the start of 2013 until re-registration of the product can be achieved in the future.”
2011/2012 has been a particularly difficult season with thick stands of black-grass being seen around the country. Lack of control has been attributed to tough environmental conditions and increasing resistance. “The bad news is that resistance does not go away,” warned Richard Hull, Rothamsted Research. “The good news is that there are things that can be done. Delaying drilling for example has been shown to give a 39% reduction in black-grass plants. Results from spring cropping are even more significant reducing plant numbers by 88%. The main thing is to assess your black-grass problem and know what works on your farm”.
A session on bio-herbicides conculded the Review. “We have an interest in finding bio-rational solutions for controlling of weeds between rows and in organic pre-planting/drilling weed management,” explained Emma Garrod from Produce World, leading grower of fresh vegetables. “Hand weeding options are very labour intensive and costly so engineering application systems and bio-herbicides are the best solution for our farming business.”
Lynn Tatnell, ADAS Boxworth went on to explain a new research project SCEPTRE (Sustainable Crop & Environmental Protection – Targeted Research for Edibles). “The aim of the project is to fill the gap from the loss of actives, identify crop safe actives and develop sustainable integrated pest management systems,” explained Lynn. “We found that perennial weeds are particularly challenging to bio-herbicides; however, from the pot work trials, one or two products look very promising. We will extend the work into field trials next year with repeated applications and also look at bacteria based products and mixtures.”
|26 October 2012| | <urn:uuid:84a9c83c-7d1b-486c-9b16-cb3f4283378f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bcpc.org/press_BCPC-Weed-Review-highlights-technology-solutions-to-compensate-for-product-lossestions_227.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951318 | 1,461 | 1.75 | 2 |
Absentminded or Alzheimer's?
Most of us are more likely to be absentminded than have Alzheimer's disease, but how can you tell the difference, and how can absentmindedness be overcome? WebMD gives you 6 tips to tackle this frustrating problem.
Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario
You've lost your car keys again, your eyeglasses have disappeared into oblivion, and you walked around the mall parking lot for half an hour the other day before you could remember where you parked your car. Are you on a slippery slope to Alzheimer's disease? Or are you simply a victim of today's hectic world, in which all of us have too many things going on at once, and the minute details of our day-to-day lives are easily forgotten?
Most often, the frustrating problem of absentmindedness is to blame, and to solve it, you simply need to clean out the clutter in your life that is causing lapses in memory and train your brain to remember the things you so often forget. But occasionally, the early stages of Alzheimer's may be the culprit. Experts tell WebMD how you can tell the difference, and how absentmindedness can become a thing of the past that you've long -- and happily -- forgotten about.
When Absentmindedness Strikes
"The basis of absentmindedness is a failure between memory and attention," says Daniel Schacter, PhD, author of The Seven Sins of Memory. "Usually when you are being absentminded, it's that your conscious processing is focused on something other than the task at hand; you are thinking about something else."
When you are thinking about something else, explains Schacter, the details, whether large or small, fall through the cracks of your memory.
"For example, in my book, I give the example of Yo Yo Ma, the cellist," says Schacter. "He gets in a cab in NYC and puts his $2.5 million cello in the trunk. When he arrives at his destination, he pays the cabbie, gets out of the cab, and walks off, leaving his cello in the trunk. In this situation, it's a failure of attention at the time when memory retrieval is necessary."
For most of us, it's not a $2.5 million dollar cello we need to give attention to, it's little things that usually cost a lot less but may be as equally important to everyday life.
"Absentmindedness usually includes things like, 'I can't find my glasses around the house,'" says Schacter, who is also a professor and chairman of the psychology department at Harvard University.
Whether it's glasses or car keys, or a cello, the busier you are, the more likely you are to be absentminded.
"We are all living in a multitasking society," says George T. Grossberg, MD. "Many people just have sensory overload, in which they have too many things going on at once, making them more likely to be absentminded."
Absentmindedness, explains Grossberg, is akin to a personality trait; most likely, an absentminded person would say he or she has been that way their whole life, constantly trying to juggle tasks, and inevitably, some tasks get forgotten. But as people age and tend to get busier, that trait seems more pronounced as people deal with increasingly hectic schedules.
"As people get older and busier with their careers and families, they may be more absentminded, but a defining characteristic of this is that it does not interfere with a person's ability to successfully conduct his or her life," says Grossberg, who is the director of geriatric psychiatry at the St. Louis University School of Medicine.
When absentmindedness does interfere with a person's ability to function on a daily basis, then it's a sign that something beyond a busy schedule or lack of attention to detail may be to blame.
"We worry about the individual who isn't able to recall previously learned and stored pieces of information, not just on demand, but later, when those things don't come back at all," says Grossberg. "For instance, someone who misplaces their keys and gets frustrated and runs around looking for them may be absentminded. On the other hand, the individual who misplaces their keys, doesn't know they are lost, and then forgets what they are for, that's a much different level of impairment."
In people who may be suffering from the first signs of Alzheimer's, explains Grossberg, it becomes obvious that absentmindedness isn't the only problem.
"In addition to the forgetfulness, other things are occurring that can be warning signs of Alzheimer's disease," Grossberg tells WebMD. "There are difficulties with speech, problem solving, and planning. There are changes in the ability to write, or to comprehend instructions."
With Alzheimer's, these changes are occurring in such a way that they are affecting a person's ability to conduct their day-to-day life successfully.
"I recently saw a patient who was brought in by her family," says Grossberg. "She was in her early 80s. The first warning sign of Alzheimer's was that they kept getting phone calls, several weeks in a row, from department stores and restaurants. Their mother was leaving her purse behind at the different places she went. The alarm sounded because not only did their mother not know where the purse was, she didn't even know it was missing."
Signs like these indicate Alzheimer's disease and usually warrant a trip to the doctor's office for further evaluation and treatment, Grossberg explains. But for general absentmindedness, there are easy solutions that can help solve this frustrating problem.
To tackle the annoying problem of absentmindedness, try these simple tips that will help you remember:
As annoying as absentmindedness can be, it can also easily be overcome. Start by making your life a little easier, and you'll find that you can forget about having trouble with memory again.
Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox FREE! | <urn:uuid:057964eb-df0e-45c3-9eea-4e6133fb18aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52136 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97132 | 1,252 | 2.484375 | 2 |
|Reviewed by Amira van Kerk
You should continue on this thought - how he had to change once the white man came into his country and made him learn the things he thought were best and forced him believe in the things he believed in. And therewith destroyed his life.
|Reviewed by E T Waldron
|I'm uplifted by the beauty of this poem
and the majesty too! I'm saddened by the fact
that it was disrupted, people should be allowed
to live their countries own culture without
|Reviewed by Lady Peg (Reader)
|I loved this poem...|
|Reviewed by Karla Dorman, The StormSpinner
great strenth and power in this insightful, wise write--well done
(((HUGS))) and love, your sister in america, karla. :)
please give my regards to your wife and little girl :)
|Reviewed by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
|wow, abdi-noor...this poem absolutely blew me away! a MASTERFUL write; very well done!
(((HUGS))) and much love, your friend in america, karen lynn in texas. :D
hope all is well with you, my friend!
|Reviewed by Debashish Haar (Reader)
|Reviewed by Gwen Dickerson
|I love this poem, its strength and dignity! Its author has great insight and respect for this Gulu type man, his lifestyle and his habitant. Great poem, Abdi-Noor!|
|Reviewed by Mr. Ed
|Gulu's simple life sounds marvelous. I often wish we could return to such days.|
|Reviewed by Sandie Angel
|Interesting write! Well-done!
~ Sandie Angel a.k.a. May Lu ~ | <urn:uuid:5a03db74-00c0-421b-9d87-39b7d03b0fd6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewPoetry.asp?id=106131&AuthorID=12041 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953208 | 385 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The Boats and Ships ClipArt collection offers 761 illustrations of ships and tools used on ships, knots, anchors, and navigational aids such as compasses, lighthouses and buoys.
The Anchors ClipArt gallery provides 23 illustrations of various types of anchors used throughout the ages.
The Ancient Ships ClipArt gallery offers 46 images of ships that were used in ancient times, mostly for the purpose of war.
The Buoys ClipArt gallery provides 19 illustrations of various styles of buoys and similar devices.
The Compasses ClipArt gallery offers 30 illustrations of this essential navigational device. Compasses are used to show magnetic north, south, east, and west, and are often used by ship captains, hikers,…
The Harbors and Wharfs ClipArt gallery offers 18 views of support facilities for shipping such as harbors, wharfs, and dry-docks.
The Human-Powered Boats and Ships ClipArt gallery offers 57 illustrations human-powered vessels and tools such as oars and paddles.
The Knots ClipArt gallery offers 119 illustrations of different types of knots, showing detailed steps on how to handle the rope or thread and tie the knot. Although many of the knots included in this…
The Lighthouses ClipArt gallery offers 28 views of lighthouses along with the instruments and lenses they contain.
The ClipArt gallery of Miscellaneous Ship Illustrations offers 119 views of nautical tools and instruments, rigging, ship ornament, and practices.
The ClipArt gallery of People Traveling by Ship includes 15 illustrations of men, women, and children on a voyage.
This transportation ClipArt gallery offers 100 illustrations of steam-powered ships, including many images of the original steam boat built by Robert Fulton.
This transportation ClipArt gallery offers 196 images of wind-powered ships, which move by using the wind that blows against the sails of the ship. | <urn:uuid:8b5b8894-23be-4a1f-bdb8-05e3fa550593> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/galleries/764-boats-and-ships | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94761 | 390 | 2.984375 | 3 |
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The way your baby cries can tell you how the baby is feeling. It can also alert you to the baby’s needs. This sheet will help you understand what it means when your baby cries, and what you can do to help.
It’s normal for babies to cry. Sometimes the baby just wants to be held. But if the crying doesn’t stop, look for a cause. Common causes of crying include:
Discomfort (such as a wet diaper, clothes that are too tight, feeling too hot or too cold, or gas pains)
A stuffy nose, which can make it hard for the baby to breathe
Stress or overstimulation (especially common in preemies)
Crying can be the baby’s way of telling you there’s a problem. The baby trusts you to respond to crying and fix whatever is causing the problem. Figuring out what’s wrong may take some guesswork from you. If holding the baby doesn’t help, here are some other things you can try:
Try feeding, in case the baby is hungry. To help prevent gas pains, burp the baby about every 5 minutes while feeding. Also keep the baby’s head higher than the rest of the body while feeding.
Check the baby’s diaper. Change it if needed.
Give the baby a warm bath. Or, hold a damp, warm towel on the baby’s stomach for a little while. The heat soothes the baby’s muscles and can help relieve cramps.
Rock or walk with the baby. Motion is soothing.
Wrap the baby snugly in a blanket. This is called swaddling. It makes the baby feel safe and secure. (See the box later on this sheet to learn how to swaddle your baby.)
Hold the baby against your bare chest. Skin-to-skin contact can be comforting to the baby.
If the baby has a stuffy nose, use a bulb syringe to clear it. (Your baby’s doctor or nurse can show you how to do this.)
Check for signs of illness, such as fever or diarrhea. If the baby seems sick, call the doctor.
In an infant under 3 months old, a rectal temperature of 100.4°F (38.0ºC) or higher
In a child 3-36 months, a rectal temperature of 102°F (39.0ºC)or higher
In a child of any age who has a temperature of 103°F (39.4ºC) or higher
A fever that lasts more than 24 hours in a child under 2 years old or for 3 days in a child 2 years older.
Your child has had a seizure caused by the fever
Wrapping your baby securely in a blanket (swaddling) helps the baby feel warm and safe. Here is one method:
Fold a square blanket diagonally to make a triangle. Turn the triangle so the flat base is at the top and the point is at the bottom.
Lay the baby on top of the blanket with his head over the straight base of the triangle and his feet over the point.
Pull one side of the triangle all the way over the baby’s torso and tuck it under the baby’s body (Figure 1). A baby is most comfortable with his arms folded over his chest. You can pull the blanket over the baby’s arms to keep them contained. Or, you can leave one arm free so the baby can suck on his fingers. (Try not to wrap the baby with his arms straight down by his sides.)
Bring the bottom of the blanket snugly over the baby’s feet and all the way up to his neck (Figure 2).
Wrap the other side of the triangle across the baby’s chest (Figure 3).
After your baby is swaddled, check often for the following:
The blanket stays secure. A loose blanket can cover the baby’s face and cause suffocation.
The baby is not overheated. If your baby is hot, remove the blanket and use a light blanket or sheet, and use a lighter blanket or sheet, and swaddle again. | <urn:uuid:107baff5-1409-44a3-92a4-5b6d70f083fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.einstein.edu/einsteinhealthtopic/?articleId=88444&articleTypeId=3&healthTopicid=-1&healthTopicName=HealthSheets | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919951 | 905 | 3.109375 | 3 |
It’s been a while since I’ve done a post on regional Italian food, so I’m making up for that little fact by talking about Abruzzo. Plus it gives me the added benefit of using my brank spakin’ new Macbook. Yay me!
As one can see by the map to the right, Abruzzo falls smack in the middle of the East Coast of Italy. It doesn’t get all the play that Tuscany or Liguria gets in regard to its food, but it still can hold its own.
Much like a fair amount of Italy, the Abruzzo region has plentiful coastlines and mountains. What this means is that there’s the seafood dishes and the hearty dishes. Oh, and did I mention the pasta?
As we get further south in Italy, pasta is given greater importance. Abruzzo is the perfect example of that with their maccheroni alla chitarra (guitar pasta) made with a tool known as chitarra (guitar). This pasta maker is made of a wooden frame strung with parallel steel wires which the pasta dough is pushed through. This cuts the dough in the characteristic shape of spaghetti. From there the pasta is combined with any number of items, including tomatoes, lamb or even beans.
The area is also known for their spicy hot dishes, and the use of peppers to attain that level of heat. Dishes such as “agnello all’arrabbiata” (angry lamb) demonstrate this prediliction of the local folks. It’s difficult to dislike a cuisine that entitles the dish as “angry”.
In the coming weeks, expect four recipes from this region including one dessert. I promise to get cooking sometime soon, I promise.
(Pic courtesy of Wikipedia) | <urn:uuid:6ec7785f-13df-499a-8122-2c5d1d27d56b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://accidentalhedonist.com/abruzzo-the-spicy-italian-region/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952577 | 388 | 1.5625 | 2 |
A Tremendous Gospel Message Tremendous Gospel Message! Condemned by the Law of God but saved through the Blood of Christ! Redeemed from the Law O happy condition, Jesus has died and thee is Remission!
Great Sermon! Acts 3 verse 21.
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Christ is not going to reign on earth for the millenium, then go back to heaven then come again and wind the world up.
see the ancient book,TheRise and Fall of Papal Rev. Robert Fleming 1701.
Scottish presbyterian minister.
Great lessons. A message delivered for the Sunday School workers. About the comprimise with Liberalism of the Presbyterian churches in the first half of 20th Century, about the need to have a Confession of Faith, about the Westminster CF and Shorter Catechism. With a discussion of some parts of the Catechism.
Glorious! Christ's humbling of Himself will be always greater than my humbling of myself, because He, God, humbled Himself for us, but we are asked to humble ourselves before the Creator and God of all, which is understandable. Christ's humbling of Himself will shine forever as glorious, not my humbling of myself! | <urn:uuid:059d340f-8f31-46c1-9509-dda749880ead> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fpcaudio.org/source_comments.asp?sourceid=martyrs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937932 | 286 | 1.515625 | 2 |
The voice of the Spirit is described in the scriptures as being neither loud nor harsh, not a voice of thunder, neither a voice of great tumultuous noise, but rather as still and small, of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it can pierce even the very soul and cause the heart to burn. The Spirit does not get our attention by shouting ("How Does The Spirit Speak To Us?", New Era, Feb 2010, from an address to new mission presidents from June 1991).
In the same address he said:
When we experience a spiritual communication, we are wont to say within ourselves, “This is it. Now I understand.”
In these two quotations, it is interesting that Elder Packer does not talk about emotional feelings. I have had plenty of times in my life when I’ve felt the influence of the spirit. And sometimes I have also felt great emotion. It took me some time to realize the difference for me.
I get emotional about a lot of things. I weep at movies. My kids joke that I cry often in church. When I used to travel more, I’d weep at the AT&T commercials they showed on my international flights (and I’d want to call my kids right then). Knowing that I weep easily, I have had to learn to avoid assuming that tears meant spirit.
Elder Packer’s second quotation above is the key for me. “Now I understand.”
I can point to specific times in my life when I have been able to say this. Marking my experience at those times, I’ve come to understand how the spirit speaks to me. Here is one of those experiences:
During my freshman year at BYU, I came to know some of the issues surrounding the prophet Joseph Smith. I had a roommate whose dad was not a friend of the church, and my roommate and I spent a lot of time talking about his concerns. I had by then had enough of my own experience to accept Joseph’s first vision and the Book of Mormon as true. But I was fuzzy on pretty much everything else. As I studied that year, I got more and more concerned about my own testimony.
As the time to put in my missionary papers drew near, I knew I wanted to serve. I resolved, consciously, to put my concerns about Joseph on a shelf, trusting my conviction about the first vision and the Book of Mormon. When I attended the temple for the first time, and subsequently during my time in the LTM (shortly before its re-birth as the MTC), I felt peace there. When I came to the temple for my own endowment, I felt the same peace I’d felt as a child at our family’s sealing.
After my mission, I continued to consider my concerns about the prophet Joseph and the things I could not piece together. I still felt unsettled, but continued onward, trusting what I knew to be true and hoping for resolution of the rest.
This particular moment of enlightenment was not emotional. It was not a booming trumpet that proclaimed the truth. I did not feel a rushing of wind. I did not see a vision. I simply understood what I had not understood moments before.
Update: Please see my second entry in this series, "Once more, with feeling" | <urn:uuid:d15ac229-db48-44fd-8268-19b1b989cbc6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://alatterdayvoice.blogspot.com/2011/12/feeling-spirit.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981583 | 693 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Three Symptoms That Could Signal a Stroke
If you feel a sudden transient numbness or become unusually inarticulate, pay attention. Such symptoms may signal a stroke -- or the increased risk of a stroke -- in many more people than previously thought.
According to research published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine, nearly 18 percent of Americans who've never been diagnosed with stroke have temporarily experienced one or more of the red flags, including sudden lack of feeling on one side of the body, sudden loss of vision, or sudden inability to express themselves. "These symptoms can be considered warning signs," says Virginia Howard, epidemiologist and lead researcher at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. | <urn:uuid:fce52e09-e5be-464e-86bb-9e0598f85841> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thirdage.com/heart-health/three-symptoms-that-could-signal-a-stroke | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945569 | 138 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Granma (Cuba) Culturales 12/14/09
“Gary Lucas under the skin of Dracula”
Article and Interview by Michel Hernandez
The US guitarist Gary Lucas defied the gods and brought back to life one of the darkest and most terrifying creatures in the literature of horror. Sprung from the imagination of the Irish writer Bram Stoker, Count Dracula did not need to rise from his coffin in order to return from the [realm of the] dead, nor did he have to sink his fangs into any sensual female necks. He did it through the guitar of this legendary musician, who, like the most celebrated vampire from Transylvania, ha been “condemned” to immortality.
Lucas, former member of the emblematic band Captain Beefheart, and co-author with Jeff Buckley of famous songs such as Grace and Mojo Pin, arrived last Friday at the Chaplin Cinema to provide music for the Spanish version of Dracula (1931), directed by the North American George Melford.
With more than 20 records, Lucas is one of the world-class cult guitarists. During his career, he has shared the stage with sacred monsters of rock and roll such as Patti Smith – the great punk poet –, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and Frank Zappa, among many others. And if we’re talking about monsters, we can’t fail to mention his work at the head of the band Gods and Monsters, whose name was borrowed from the film The Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
Described by the New York Times as “the guitarist of a thousand ideas,” he has blended with a goldsmith’s passion different genres from all over the world, ranging from gospel music, to Indian music, blues, electronic and experimental.
His attraction to the legends of the creatures that inhabit the other world has led him to create movie sound tracks for live performance accompanying screenings of fantasy or horror movies that have made history. One of his most outstanding productions was the music elaborated for the film The Golem (1920), by the German director Paul Wegener, and he also created Sounds of the Surreal and Monsters of the Id. Nominated once for the Grammy, Lucas has added a “new chapter of horror” to his career, with his accompaniment to Dracula on his trip onto the screens of the Latin American New Cinema Festival.
What moved you to put music onto a mythical personality such as Dracula?
“Though it’s about a horrible personality trapped by destiny, I like Dracula because since i was a little boy, I was attracted by vampires. I saw them as very exciting and I loved vampiresses because they seemed to me very erotic. The horror movies they make today, unlike the cinema of another time, are unpleasant, too graphic and bloody. They show everything and leave nothing to the imagination.”
What is the moment in your career that you remember with most satisfaction?
“The collaboration with Jeff Buckley was my most exciting because with Lou Reed and Iggy Pop I was mainly an advisor. But with Jeff, I was creating something new in the world. Many people still come up to me and talk about the tunes we made together. This is the most important feeling I can have as a musician and a human being: to find people whom I have been able to influence through my songs.”
A group of well-known US musicians has recently demanded from Obama that they stop using music as a form of torture in the Guantanamo Naval Base…
“I fully support that demand. It’s outrageous that songs that have been designed to bring pleasure should be converted into instruments of torture. It’s really diabolical. The blockade of Cuba is also terrible. I hope that that policy changes. Hopefully, Obama will know to do the right thing, and end it.”
What do you find attractive in Cuban music?
“I have listened to Buena Vista Social Club a lot, and I love Company Segundo, apart from this presentation at the Festival, I would love to perform a concert in Cuba.”
What are you principal creative concerns?
“I want to continue my work. I have been on this path a long time and I love this life of creating spectacles. That’s my happiness. Recently I made a blues record with an Indian artist (Najma Akhtar). I am always interested in knowing new musicians from every country and seeing how the music evolves.” | <urn:uuid:5f8c88ff-7703-41bb-a282-469408af8be8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://garylucas.wordpress.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974847 | 936 | 1.53125 | 2 |
EU "very concerned" by Naples garbage as it mulls new sanctions
Jun 28, 2011, 14:42 GMT
Brussels - The European Union's top environment official said Tuesday he was 'very concerned' by Italian authorities' failure to deal with a garbage crisis in Naples, and warned he risked having 'little choice' but to pursue sanctions.
The garbage crisis in Naples - with litter again piling up on the city's streets - has resurfaced over the past days, despite repeated commitments by authorities to clear the mess.
'I am very concerned that so little, if any, progress has been achieved since 2007 when the European Commission was obliged to open an infringement procedure against the Italian Republic,' EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said in a statement.
Potocnik declared himself 'encouraged' by pledges from Naples's newly-elected mayor, Luigi de Magistris, to rectify the situation.
However, he warned that the absence of improvements 'leaves the (European) Commission with little choice but to actively pursue the infringement procedure.'
Italy would have two months to explain itself, after which the commission would have the power to ask the EU Court of Justice to slap heavy fines on it for failing to comply with a 2010 ruling on the garbage crisis.
Earlier this month, Naples daily Il Mattino reported that the procedure would be launched as early as September.
Read more about Italy | <urn:uuid:eab1a7e0-1d86-4f7f-ae40-5501ba51b4cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/news/article_1648108.php/EU-very-concerned-by-Naples-garbage-as-it-mulls-new-sanctions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956081 | 289 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The Big Bite of CITES
Last week, the CITES Parties considered including four shark species in Appendix II of CITES: the oceanic whitetip shark, scalloped, great, and smooth hammerhead sharks, and the porbeagle. The Parties had a heated debate on the appropriateness of CITES to protect sharks but also the wasteful nature of shark finning. Senegal, for example, stated that, after the shark is finned, “the rest of the shark is thrown back to the sea – what a waste!” Senegal mentioned that the fin only accounts for two percent of the meat of the shark, and pointed out that the rest of the shark could be used to combat malnutrition throughout Africa. Egypt, a co-sponsor of the porbeagle proposal, said that “[i]f we continue business as usual, shark will not exist anymore.”
China and Namibia, two opponents to these proposals, maintained that fins are difficult to identify, particularly since fins from different species are shipped together. Pew Environment Group, however, noted that it has published an identification guide on shark fins to address this very issue. Opponents also claimed regional fisheries management organizations should manage fisheries, not CITES, and that Parties would have difficulties implementing a high seas permit regime.
Due to the clear divide in the room, the Chair called for a vote on all shark proposals with all of them unsurprisingly taken by secret ballot. To list a species, the proposal needs a two-thirds majority. The oceanic whitetip shark proposal passed by a slim three vote margin, the hammerhead proposal by four votes, and the porbeagle by five.
After each of the votes, at least twenty-four Parties joined the US in showing their dislike for secret ballots by announcing their vote for the record. Most Parties that announced their vote indicated that they voted “yes,” but Chile announced that it voted “no” for the porbeagle. These voting announcements reflect how many parties value transparency. The number of voting statements grew after each proposal to the point that the mood in the room grew jubilant. Observers endlessly clapped for the success of the listings and the growing number of voting statements.
Supporters of shark conservation left the room energized, but their work was not done. With such a slim margin, they needed to prepare for the final plenary session of the meeting, when Parties could potentially open debate and vote again to reject the proposals. After a couple of tense days of continued work, however, the Parties rejected motions to open debate on the oceanic whitetip shark and the hammerhead proposal.
At last, the tide has changed. With these votes, the CITES Parties said loud and clear that they are no longer willing to sit idly by while RFMOs do little to manage shark populations sustainably. They are now willing to use the permit regime of CITES to protect species from overutilization due to trade. These listings will not stop trade, but they will require Parties to determine that trade is not detrimental to the survival of the species. That may be difficult to do. As such, CITES should begin the process of limiting trade in shark fins and other shark products.
- Mandy Rude and Victoria Johnston | <urn:uuid:77e3f7d7-25ec-4778-b7c8-14d0e6d23705> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ielpblog.tumblr.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955786 | 683 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Lecture: Concept Over Craft
Lecture by Gijs Bakker
Wednesday, March 4th, 19:00
California College of the Arts
Design and Craft Lecture Series Spring 2009
Since the beginning of Gijs Bakker’s career in 1965, Bakker has sought to free himself from the heavy tradition of the jewellery field, seeking independence both artistically and economically. Without clients and commissions, Bakker could experiment, giving full attention to the concept, and become radical. Bakker was able to reach this freedom by having two directions in his career – experimental jewellery and industrial design.
The natural outcome was a conceptual approach. Bakker developed his own criteria for his work, asking: what is the meaning?, what does it say in the political and social context of today?, and, who is it for?
The limitations within craft, being oriented towards material and technique, do not align with Bakker’s attitude. For Bakker, it is always the concept which dictates the material and the technique to visualize the concept in the most ideal way, based on his subjective opinion, of course.
San Francisco campus, Timken Lecture Hall
1111 Eighth Street (at 16th and Wisconsin)
All lectures are free and open to the public.
Call 415.703.9563 or visit www.cca.edu/calendar to confirm dates and times.
Selected lectures are available at iTunes U: www.cca.edu/itunesu.
CCA’s new college-wide Design and Craft Lecture Series brings artists, designers, and theoreticians from around the world to lecture and participate in academic life on campus. Its founding curator is Professor Donald Fortescue, chair of the Furniture Program.
The Design and Craft Lecture Series is funded by the Wornick Endowment Fund.
Generous support for CCA public programs in San Francisco has been provided by Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund. | <urn:uuid:1705fd30-efa4-4ec7-b8b0-82490bf0ca95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chihapaura.com/news/lecture:_Concept_Over_Craft | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953473 | 410 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Tag Archives: Chicago
Voting Rights in America
The UNEDITED version – The last Paragraph in Bold was left out of the Tribune.
Aug. 6 is a sobering anniversary for those of us who care deeply about the health of our democracy. When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law on that day in 1965, and when President George W. Bush renewed it in 2006, they were trying to prevent barriers to voting. It is tragic that efforts to bar millions of Americans from casting ballots have instead accelerated in recent years.
A new proposal in Congress to shift Tuesday voting to Saturday and Sunday by 2014 is a good idea whose time has come. The Weekend Voting Act, sponsored by Congressmen Steve Israel (D-NY) and John Larson (D-CT), deserves bipartisan support. Weekend voting will finally give busy Americans a chance to vote without squeezing another errand into their hectic work days.
It may surprise most Americans to learn that we don’t vote as much as our counterparts around the world. Europeans, Canadians and South Americansall vote more than we do. Our election schedule contributes to this discrepancy – nearly every other democracy votes on a weekend or on a holiday. | <urn:uuid:c7086398-9b8f-47de-8f97-6010808ed5b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.davidorr.org/tag/chicago/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95587 | 245 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Launched nine years ago by a law professor, Creative Commons has been
cited an alternative to traditional copyright models.
It offers a range of licenses so that content creators can share
their work but still protect it -- retaining attribution rights and
a say in where it can be used.
Now Lisa Green, Chief of Staff at Creative Commons tells
Wired.co.uk we have reached "critical mass" and it is time for
creative and policy makers alike to commit to Creative Commons or
face a "mess" in years to come.
The organisation, which was founded by law professor Lawrence Lessig, has launched a
book called 'The Power of
Open', which includes profiles of and testimonials from
people who use Creative Commons. Among them are Frances Pinter of
Academic, which is now licensing its research publications for
free on the web under CC licenses; and author and
BoingBoing founder Cory
Green points out that, as of 2010, 400 million things were
licensed on the web under a creative commons license, but there are
many who believe that copyright in the digital world will either be
stringently guarded or abused with abandon. They don't see that
there's an alternative. She says: "Creative Commons is a middle
ground. It's not that we're giving up on DRM and are saying that it
can't be done, it's just that we believe it shouldn't be done.
Legally sharing leads to innovation, to new business models."
But surely piracy is just easier -- and also ingrained in web
culture now? Green argues that this may be the case, but people
will often opt for free but legal content over pirated content.
Professional photographer Jonathan Worth agrees: "I
was brought up on the notion that you build up this massive library
of images and this will turn into your pension. I was watching what
I was earning going down but I was seeing more of my pictures
online than I had ever seen.
"I decided I should allocate time to police the internet. I
would track down the people who were using my images; send a
vitriolic email; and inevitably would receive a teary email back
from some 12-year old in the middle of America who really loves
Heath Ledger and had used my picture because she wanted to start a
fan site for him. I'd end up sending an email saying I was sorry
and then would get one back saying they were sorry too. I'd end up
sending them a print to make everything better. But I realised that
this couldn't go on."
On the advice of Doctorow, Worth tried a CC license -- he sold
limited editions prints of an
image of the author but also made the image available online on
a Creative Commons on an attribution only basis. He made £800 on
that image. "Everything changed from there", he says.
By relating Worth's, and other user experiences, Green hopes
that the new publication will encourage people to at least try
Creative Commons for themselves (and maybe pause before hitting the
bittorrent download button). Says Green: "There's a message that we
are trying to get to policy makers -- that there's not only two
paths. There is a middle path between the two. It's the future for
digitally based business models." | <urn:uuid:4283aee2-5557-460c-a5e0-faf5578c3101> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-06/29/creative-commons-book-launch | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964114 | 706 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Syria releases political prisoners
Syria has released hundreds of political prisoners as part of an amnesty meant to calm mass protests which have been underway since mid-March.
Activists say as many as 500 people were freed, among them protesters who had taken part in the weeks of demonstrations against president Bashar al-Assad.
Their release was part of an amnesty for political opponents announced on Tuesday.
But opposition leaders have rejected the move as an empty gesture.
Anger at the Syrian regime has flared again at the funeral of a young boy who was tortured and beaten before being murdered allegedly by Syrian forces.
The government denies the boy, Hamza Ali al-Khateeb, was tortured.
But his funeral sparked more protests among mourners and international leaders have condemned his death.
Australia says Mr Assad should be referred to the International Criminal Court to stand trial. | <urn:uuid:88b15664-166f-43c9-9705-59ec711eb489> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-06-02/syria-releases-political-prisoners/2742038 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986554 | 174 | 1.75 | 2 |