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He is no Lincoln
Barack Obama can open his presidential campaign in Springfield, Illinois as Abraham Lincoln did. He can take the same railroad route as Abraham Lincoln did during Lincoln's final leg of his journey from Springfield to Washington D.C. for his inauguration. He can dine on replicas of Abraham Lincoln's White House china during the traditional congressional luncheon after his inaugural address. During his oath of office, he can even use the same Bible which was used by Abraham Lincoln in his first inaugural in 1861.
But, Barack Obama is no Abraham Lincoln!
Ironically, Obama is not paying homage to any former Democrat president, not even the Kennedy of Camelot fame, but instead, is emulating the greatest Republican president in American history.
How shall we count the ways that Barack Obama differs from Abraham Lincoln? President Lincoln respected the sanctity of life of all Americans, born and unborn. Obama promised during his presidential campaign that his first act as president would be to sign into law the abominably mis-named "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA) which would lead to the slaughter of tens of thousands of more unborn babies.
The infamous Roe v. Wade decision in January 1973 has resulted in the killing of almost 50 million innocent unborn babies and Obama's party has done everything possible to ensure there will be absolutely no restrictions contributing to America's own Holocaust. Obama's premier piece of legislation, FOCA, will ensure the unabated killing of the innocents.
Incidentally, hundreds of thousands of pro-life Americans will be marching up Constitution Avenue towards the United States Capitol Building (and Supreme Court) just 2 days after Obama's inauguration parade goes in the opposite direction from the Capitol Building to the White House. Sort of symbolic.
Considering that Barack Obama is America's first black president, or at least half black president, his signing the "Freedom of Choice Act" is an especially heinous act since some 33% of all unborn babies killed in America's abortion chambers are black. His signing this legislation will only lead to the murder of thousands more innocent black babies.
As one who has held 2 black children whose lives were saved during a pro-life "rescue" in the late 1980's -- they are now 20 years old and could even be at Obama's inauguration today -- at aborturaries which resulted in the arrest and jail time for all of us pro-lifers who did the "rescues," i.e. we were emulating Martin Luther King -- who would have been 80 years old yesterday -- in non-violent civil protests (peacefully blocking the entrances to abortion chambers,) Obama's promise to sign FOCA is especially abominable. No poetry intended.
No, Barack Obama is no Abraham Lincoln. | <urn:uuid:f61651d7-23dd-4b54-805f-8397129f8127> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cc.org/blog/he_no_lincoln | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96447 | 561 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Pick two people off the street at random, put them in a brain scanner, and look at the thickness of their corpus callosums – that’s the massive bundle of nerve fibres that connects the two halves of the brain. In all likelihood, you’ll find it’s much thicker in one person than the other. Indeed, some people can have up to three times as many nerve fibres in their corpus callosum compared with the next person.
According to Bruce Morton and Stein Rafto, psychologists used to think callosum thickness was largely explained by gender and left or right handedness. For example, one theory had it that men have a thinner connection between their hemispheres, thus causing them to have more specialised brains suitable for maths and the like. But literally hundreds of papers have now been published on the topic and the results have been completely inconsistent – some showing men have thinner hemispheric connectivity, others showing the opposite.
Morton and Rafto think these inconsistent findings are due to the fact callosum thickness is related to hemisphericity – which side of a person’s brain is dominant – irrespective of sex or handedness. To test this, they scanned the brains of 113 participants who also completed several tests of hemisphericity. These look not at handedness, but rather at which side of the brain is dominant. For example, one test measures whether a participant is more accurate at marking the exact mid-point of a line with their left or their right hand.
Morton And Rafto found the thickness of the callosum varied little between the sexes or between the left and right-handers (less than 3 per cent difference in each case), but varied significantly according hemisphericity, with right-brain dominant participants having a 10 per cent thicker callosum on average.
Thickness of the callosum was also independently related to something called ‘dichotic deafness’, a common characteristic of people with a left-hemisphere dominant brain . This is the inability of some people to hear two sounds presented simultaneously, when one sound is played to one ear and the other sound to the other ear. Such people can only hear the sound played to their ‘dominant’ ear, and Morton and Rafto found they too tended to have a thinner corpus callosum.
The results suggest that men and women with a left-hemisphere dominant brain have a thinner corpus callosum and so have less cross-talk between their two hemispheres. Besides dichotic deafness, the practical implications of a thin callosum are unknown. However, it doesn’t seem associated with intelligence – the two participants in this study with the thinnest corpus callosums and the two with the thickest, were all university professors with doctoral degrees.
Morton, B.E. & Rafto, S.E. (2006). Corpus callosum size is linked to dichotic deafness and hemisphericity, not sex or handedness. Brain and Cognition, 62, 1-8. | <urn:uuid:19128a48-39a9-49ba-9d02-2e4228d68db3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2006/10/brains-great-connector.html?showComment=1186515180000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957354 | 646 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Cranberries and Your Health
What makes cranberries healthy?
Cranberries contain nature’s most powerful antioxidant, proanthocyanidins Type A which are unique to cranberries. This compound has antioxidant and anti-adhesion properties which have been shown to help fight certain harmful bacterial.
How many sweetened dried cranberries should I eat in a day to get my antioxidants?
In order to receive the many health benefits of cranberries, you can eat as little as 1.6 oz. (40 grams) per day.
How do cranberries compare to other berries in terms of health benefits?
Cranberries contain more proanthocyanidin antioxidant than any other berry per serving.
How many sweetened dried cranberries do I need to eat to get the same UTI benefits as one 8 oz. glass of cranberry cocktail?
According to leading health researchers, 0.7 oz. of our sweetened dried cranberries is equivalent to an 8 oz. glass of cranberry juice cocktail with 27% juice.
More on Health Benefits
Why can’t I buy cranberries all year?
Cranberries are only harvested in the fall. We recommend stocking up around Thanksgiving and freezing some berries to use throughout the year.
How do cranberries grow?
Cranberries grow on vines that run along the ground. The vines produce a bud set where the actual berry is produced.
Where are cranberries grown?
Cranberries are grown in “bogs” or “marshes” – areas of wet, spongy ground. The bogs are generally surrounded by dams to aid in irrigation, flooding and harvesting.
Can I grow cranberries in my backyard/window box?
Cranberry plants have very specific soil and drainage requirements and generally do not fare well as “house plants.”
More about cranberry harvest and processing.
Cooking with Cranberries
What are some of the uses for cranberries?
There is a wide variety of uses for cranberries. They can be used in sauces, chutneys, relishes, dressings, juices, breads, muffins, cakes and cookies. Many people also use raw cranberries for crafts. They can be strung with popcorn for a natural garland and as a bright addition to wreaths.
How do I prepare cranberries for cooking?
Start by sorting out and discarding any soft berries and stems. Rinse the remaining berries in cold water, drain and use as the recipe directs. If using frozen cranberries, do not thaw them before using.
If a recipes states to use “1 cup cranberries, chopped”, measure the cranberries first and then chop them.
How long can I store fresh cranberries in the refrigerator? In the freezer?
Fresh cranberries can generally be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Cranberries freeze well and can last up to one year in the freezer. Do not thaw the cranberries before use. Just wash and pick them over discarding any bad berries, if any, and use them as you would use fresh.
Can I substitute sweetened dried cranberries for fresh cranberries?
Yes! If a recipe calls for one cup of fresh cranberries you should use ½ cup of sweetened dried cranberries.
Why won’t my cranberry sauce gel?
Boiling is a critical step in making cranberry sauce. It is advisable to cook the sauce for at least 10 minutes at a full boil. It is also important to let the cranberry sauce cool to room temperature.
Can I double the recipe to make more than one batch of sauce at a time?
It is not advisable to double the recipe because there are many factors involved and may affect the sauces ability to gel. We advise making separate batches.
Can I use less sugar in my cranberry sauce?
Yes, but the sauce will not be as firm as if it were made with the full amount of sugar.
How do I make cranberry sauce using an artificial sweetener instead of sugar?
Make the sauce as you normally would, but add the sweetener to taste after the sauce is completely cooled.
Can I dry cranberries using a food dehydrator?
Our sweetened dried cranberries are made using a heat infusion process. Many people have tried to dry cranberries at home with poor results.
For a collection of cranberry recipes. | <urn:uuid:0b37018c-9e3a-4ccd-b22c-c9bb3c4a8f90> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://decascranberry.com/cranberry-facts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936895 | 924 | 2.90625 | 3 |
To protect and serve police dogs
Today could be a landmark day for Socorro resident Susie Jean, who will be at the state Capitol to make a final push to get a bill passed through the Legislature that would make it easier for law enforcement agencies to purchase protective vests for dogs.
At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, March 16, Jean will help present two vests to the Las Vegas Police Department during a press conference at the Roundhouse. Later that day she’ll have the opportunity to address the Senate, which will be voting on the bill.
“I’m hoping it’s going to pass this year,” said Jean, who has made two previous efforts to get the bill through the Legislature.
The bill would change the purpose of the law enforcement protection fund to allow for the purchase of protective equipment for police dogs.
“As it exists, the law gives officers and police department funds for equipment, but it doesn’t have anything to do with canines,” she said. “Canine vests cost $1,500 to $2,000 and this would add them to equipment that can be accessed through that fund.”
HB 90 was introduced by Rep. Don Tripp, R-Socorro. It passed the House without a dissenting vote on Feb. 10. The bill has since passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee, which sent it on to the Senate floor.
Jean said she’ll be introduced by Sen. Howie Morales, D-Silver City, and then get a chance to address the Senate.
“I’m going to tell them how important it is for police dogs to be equipped with vests, and passing this bill would make New Mexico a model for other states to follow,” she said.
Jean said she started championing the cause after seeing a TV show that told the story of a police dog being shot and killed. Since then she’s raised money to purchase vests and worked with police departments around the country to get their dogs armored.
Jean said it would mean a lot to her for the amendment to be passed on Wednesday.
“I’ve vested 600 dogs in 41 states, 32 of them in New Mexico, and what a milestone it would be for me to get this bill passed here,” she said. “This has been a passion of mine for nine years and to get it passed in New Mexico, where I live, would be incredible.”
Another Tripp-sponsored bill that made it to the Senate floor is HB 42, which amends the Rural Electric Cooperative Act to allow for mail-in voting at the district level.
The RECA currently allows voting my mail only for co-op-wide elections. The amendment would enable co-ops to allow mail-in voting at district elections, but it would not require them to do so.
Tripp introduced the bill after members of Socorro Electric Cooperative passed a bylaw calling for mail-in voting to be implemented for all elections.
After the House voted in favor of the bill on Feb. 17, it passed smoothly through both the Senate’s Rules and Corporations and Transportation committees last week.
“Hopefully, we’ll see that one pass the Senate before the end of the session,” Tripp said on Monday, the first day of the final week of this year’s 60-day session.
The legislative session ends Saturday, and Tripp said lawmakers are scrambling to finish off this year’s business.
“Everything is accelerating right now, and everyone is getting down to work,” he said.
The biggest thing looming right now, Tripp said, is the budget, which was in the hands of the Senate on Monday.
“They’ll add amendments the House will probably not concur with; it will probably go to conference committee,” predicted Tripp, who serves on the Appropriations and Finance Committee and Legislative Finance Committee, which drafted the original bill.
Tripp said HB 79, another bill he sponsored, passed the Senate last week and is now on the governor’s desk. It provides for an appropriation of $20 million from the tobacco settlement permanent fund to the program fund for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, something Tripp said was necessary to balance the budget.
Tripp said three other bills he introduced probably wouldn’t make it through the legislative process before the end of the session. One addressed complaints for interfering with acequias, another had to do with interstate management compacts for endangered species, and the other would give procurement preference to veterans.
Contact T.S. Last | <urn:uuid:376ebeac-7a09-4571-a525-7c1668f88c48> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dchieftain.com/2011/03/16/to-protect-and-serve-police-dogs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957873 | 975 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Box Full of Influence v.1
I will admit, I am not a digger. I wish that I had the time to scour the interwebs for music, videos, gifs and the like. But sometimes, I do get on a kick and this week, I had robot on the brain. I have a rather large affinity for robots and I know, I am not alone on this.
In fact, Robots have been a cross cultural part of pop culture, film, history, art, dance, science, technology and so much more for a very long time. Early robots can be traced way back to the 1st century AD. Even in the world of Ancient mythologies, stories include descriptions of mechanical servants, and bronze characters, such as Talos, who guarded the Cretian island of Europa from pirates. Sure they aren't the kind of robots you think of today, and they were only in stories, but non the less, these are some our earliest forms of science fiction literature. Even before electronics were added to the mix, mechanical robot tools were being developed earlier than many of us typically think.
So why my rant? Its indisputable that the concept of robot has a major influence in the dance world of popping and funk style dances, and even liquid and digitz. Our bodies are mechanical objects, and when we look externally to find influences in how we can achieve unique and creative movements, its no wonder we turn to the incredible, not so edible, robot.
I decided it would be neat to show you a couple cool robot videos I found. Some are funny, some more scientific, and some just plain silly, but each one can provide a bit of inspiration. And that's what I hope to give you today. As you watch these videos, try to look at it from a dancer perspective. How, as a human, can you isolate as these robots are. And what does their character, teach you about yourself and the character you are when you dance?
Toward the bottom I have also included our human peers, to show you what can be accomplished and the effects of inanimate objects, in this case robots, has on the performing arts.
Johnny 5 Robot Music Video: Low Rider
If any of you are around my age, you know who Johnny 5 is. This video is a model robot, designed after Johnny 5. He isn't highly complex, but provides great isolation movements to explore.
Credit goes to Relic for finding this gem. It's a long vid showing the many features of this highly complex, intelligent robot. Pay attention to how he gets up from the ground, leans and moves around. So much concurrent isolating going on.
New version amazing robot asimo
You may or may have not heard of Asimo. Asimo or Advanced Step in Innovative MObility, was created by Honda back in 2000. It has a bit of a chimp gate to it. That or someone rushing to find a loo!
Robbie the Dancing Robot
I stumbled on this one not too long ago. I love old vintage robot toys. The video is cute, and of course relates to urban dance, so what’s not to like?
Robbie even has his very own facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001838611709&sk=wall
Ice Robot Comes To Life - By J.A.M.I.E.
What happens when you get an ice sculpting artist and implant a vision of producing a working robot in his mind? See below! The project apparently is a larger series done by Ballentine’s Human API Project. The fact that this project was sponsored by a whiskey/scotch company makes me even happier.
Self-Replicating Repairing Robots
If you dont get some kind of idea out of this video, reboot and try again. I wish my fingers were made up of these. If I ever lost my fingers in an accident, I would contact these guys for new fingers.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
And Now: Humans
Robert Shields and Yarnell in a Drama
Two masters at their craft. Robert Shields is a well respected mime from California. He received training from mime great, Marcel Marceau, and was one of the earliest mime street performers in San Francisco. Shields teamed up with, eventually marrying, Yarnell, a tap dancer and actress. Together they put together various shows and performances.
Robert Shields has an amazing ability to isolate and become a character. In the 3:30 minute mark he discusses the differences between a human being a robot, and a robot being a human.
Another one showing Shields and Yarnell doing robot.
Robert shields is still creating today. You can check out his work at http://www.robertshields.com/
Madd Chadd master of mechanical movement
I have had the opportunity to see Madd Chadd dance in person. As skilled, precise and meticulous as he looks on video, it is considerably that much better live. Some of the best Robot in the business.
Hip Hop Legend Mr. Wiggles in France!
How can I not drop one of the most well known OGs on here! My favorite part is around 1:10 where he just kills it with some super clunky robot.
I remember when I first heard of Poppin John when an earlier video came out in February 2010 or so.
Here is a newer clip showing some bad ass, high def robot coupled with some beatboxing. Very creative!
3OH!3 - ROBOT
Ok, I am not sure exactly how I feel about the song, but I kinda like it! The dance sequence at the end is a little weak, but its not what i am critiquing here. Its just a fun look at the use of robot in pop culture. In this case, an alcoholic, late night partying, robot with an attitude problem!
I’ll admit, some of this performance is a little hoaky, maybe because it has a bit of a kids feel to it. BUT, something diabolical exists in this performance. Check out the 4:00 minute mark. WTF. Look at the audience, they have no idea what to make of it. Talk about stunning your crowd!
Staircase Robots in Stockholm
Slim Boogie, Mr. Steen, Future & Rashaad in Stockholm, Sweden. Oh and there are some stairs too. Man, just watch these dudes make there way down the steps. So much fun to watch.
Josh.0 aka Josh “Ace” Ventura
Yes, it is Tosh.0’s doppelganger. I haven't known about Ace for very long. But between him and Madd Chadd, they are forces to be reckoned with when it comes to robot styles. Its all about being meticulous, and Ace does a fine job at it.
I also stumbled accross a pretty cool interview of Ace by Liquid Metal. Check it out!
One of the best scenes in this movie.
Robot Boys (Nick Nitro and Jeppe Long) In the future!!!
Some great work by Nitro Boys, Nick Nitro and Jeppe Long.
Got some cool vids to share? Post some cool robot influenced vids in the comments section and add to the archive! | <urn:uuid:448ed2de-cb05-4c8c-9da4-725dc0726e9d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.darkmattersquad.com/blog/box-full-of-influence-v-1-Robot-Invasion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958386 | 1,530 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Do duck quacks REALLY not echo?
Does the quack of a duck indeed. . . not echo?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
And with a shout-out to dedicated Loh Downer Patrick, who posed this deep philosophical question. One that, for a long time, has INDEED ruffled quite a few scientific feathers.
Acoustic specialists at the University of Salford, England, finally laid this avian controversy to rest . They placed a duck--her name was "Daisy"--really--into a reverberation chamber. They set up a microphone, and recorded some duck discourse. Sure enough--every quack had a subsequent quack-o.
Then they used their data to simulate the sound of a quacking duck flying past a cliff. This, they thought, SHOULD produce an echo.
But no! The echo was barely discernible.
Their conclusion? Quacks, however annoying, are relatively quiet. And unlike, say, a lion's roar, a quack is not only really short, but fades in time. Thus any slight echo sounds like part of the quack itself.
Not to mention that ducks are typically found in open, echo-resistant habitats, not reverberation chambers.
Talk about research that's truly daffy! And we MEAN that in a NICE way. | <urn:uuid:552d1161-3206-4724-a2fb-27c0bbdf2f08> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scpr.org/programs/loh-down-on-science/2008/09/01/24205/quack-o/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935148 | 288 | 2.65625 | 3 |
In order to arrive there,
To arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,
You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.
In order to arrive at what you do not know
You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.
In order to possess what you do not possess
You must go through the way of dispossession.
In order to arrive at what you are not
You must go through the way in which you are not.
T.S. Eliot 'East Coker' Four Quartets
These words from T.S. Eliot's poem are words for Lent. They describe the pattern that is so deeply embedded in our Christian faith: to rise to new life, it is necessary first to die. To experience Easter Sunday, there must first be Good Friday, and Easter Saturday. As Christians, we commit to follow Jesus on this way wherein there is no ecstasy, in the wild gamble that from time to time, resurrection will burst forth from the shadows to renew and restore us.
It may seem a strange leap, but it's this pattern that Paula Huston invokes in her chapter on work in this book 'The Holy Way' that I'm using throughout Lent. Her term for good work is 'right livelihood' - work and labour that is done from the best of motives, with love at its core. For this author, to find her true work, her 'right livelihood' took her through a path of having to displace work from the centre of her life, to destroy the idol that work was for her, in order to be able to see clearly what her work could be in God.
Huston tells the story of how at a young age she had a strong yearning, a motivation to reach or create a better world. As a very little child she longed to go to school, as she sensed that there she might learn what she needed to reach beyond her dissatisfaction with the world as it was. There was something of a vision there, motivating her, even though it was unformed. However, once she started on the path of achieving, achievement itself became the end and goal of her striving. She became the straight 'A' girl, needing to be the best.
As she got older, she realised that being exemplary included more than just scholastic achievement - it also included being an exemplary mother and wife. She ended up juggling her combined need to be the best at her job, a renowned writer, and a reliable and present mother. All of which left her exhausted, anxious, frustrated, and feeling under-appreciated. She writes: 'Increasingly I felt driven by something I could no longer control - something that had become more habit than vision. That original nameless longing for a better place had become so weakened by the long years of focusing on the means and ignoring the ends that the chances I'd ever find it had almost disappeared.'
What had happened for Huston was that the various spheres of her working life had become idolatrous. That is, her persona, her identity, her sense of worth, and all her waking energies were tied up in her success. She was far from 'right livelihood.'
It was through her meetings with the monks at the monastery where she went on retreat that she learned to change this pattern. And for her, the path to change was one of rest and then renunciation. She learned to work from a place of 'Spiritual Sabbath' - which is to say, the place of calm, rest and connection with God. She began simply by resting each evening with a glass of wine watching the sunset. This was different from the discipline of solitude that we talked about last week. This was simply rest and pleasure. A moment to step off the treadmill. She did this for four months.
Then, she was encouraged to write a list of all her obligations, all the responsibilities and duties in her life, and to reduce it by half...which for her meant turning down speaking opportunities, reducing her teaching schedule (and her pay) by a third, putting off her next book. As she did that, she noticed the fear - what would people think? What would happen to her career? How would she maintain her reputation as a reliable and productive person? These were real fears. As she followed through on the reduction of her 'list', she was shifted away from the centre of her world, of her active achieving life, and shifted away from the centre of her self. She says 'work had pretty much defined me...there wasn't a whole lot there, really, when you took the straight 'A's out of the equation...Would I simply disappear?'
The problem for this author wasn't that she worked hard, or was successful. The problem wasn't that she felt passionate about her job. The problem was that she was owned and controlled by her work. Rather than exercising her gifts in the service of God, and any real sense of vocation, she worked to succeed, and she succeeded in order to feel alive. She was enslaved by a habit of work for the sake of work.
The Christian Saint that she draws insights from in this chapter is Aelred, a Cistercian monk and abbott in the 12th Century. He was a busy man, running several monasteries, and called on to advise and mediate various affairs of Popes and monarchs. But he also knew, 'how to plunge his hands into soil and carry stones on his back, how to stop when stopping was needed, and how to discern what it was God had created him to do.'
Aelred worked from a vision of God as love. He believed that at our core, as people made in the image of God, we are all manifestations of that divine love. When we live close to that core, we move ever closer to the eternal 'sabbath rest' of God, which we read about in the book of Hebrews. In Hebrews 4 it says: 'So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God's rest also cease from their labours as God did from God's.' While this 'rest' exists as a promise, as a 'not yet', there are ways that we can live now from within that promise, experiencing even as we work and labour, 'rest to the soul, peace to the heart, and quiet to the mind.'
Whatever we do, there is a way of doing it as 'right livelihood', or as driven, dissatisfied, alienated slavery. And the difference is in who we work for, and with what vision. Do we work to stave off our own fears and compulsions? Do we work to find personal success and renown? Or do we work to contribute our labour to the good of this world, as people who carry God's love into every task?
The monk Aelred drew on the apostle Paul's metaphor of the body when talking about right livelihood. He wrote that no useful work is better or more worthy of honour than any other kind of work, for "each of us has his own special gift from God". Our gifts and talents are offerings that we make for the common good of our community and our world. We live in a society that rewards some jobs way more than others, with a discrepancy that I personally think represents systemic evil. How contrary to the idea of each of us as God's gifted creation, with something specific to contribute, is this fact that those who work cleaning our toilets are paid so meanly compared with those who use them. The message this sends to us and our children is that there are only some forms of work that are valuable, and only some people and some gifts that contribute to the wellbeing of our world.
What Huston discovered when she gave up some of her work tasks in order to gain perspective on them, was that it's not the famous achievers or the household names that ultimately sustain the world. Up to the elbows in dirt in her garden, she began to value the 'anonymous chores' - the cooking, cleaning, building, transporting, record keeping, drilling and digging acts that enable life for those who enjoy the limelight. And she realised that, as a creative writer, she could begin to see her craft, her art, as something done for its own sake, and for the value of what she created, not for the personal glory that it brought her. So she didn't need to fear a bad review, or even people ignoring her work, because she didn't need to invest her personal sense of worth or achievement in the thing she made. She could see herself more as a craftsman from past ages, who laboured on cathedrals, knowing they would not live to see the finished building.
When we see our work as our gift to be shared, rather than our special virtue to be recognised, we are set free from constantly having to court and sustain approval, and free from our own ambition. We are set free to love. We can love in a way that we can't do when other people represent competition, interruption, or a connection to be used in furthering our goals. And for all of us, whatever we are doing, our real work is to love.
If we would find our vocation, we must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy. To work from freedom and love, we must renounce work as an idol. To enter the rest of God, we must learn to labour from the place within us where God's image of love is strong. It is only in simplicity, freed from the drives and compulsions of our habits, that we can discover what our gift from God is, and how we are to use it in the service of others.
So, in practice, how do we step on to this way?
- We can honour our work with prayer, whatever we are doing. Whatever task, in whatever context, we can pray for God's presence and blessing, and seek glimpses of where God is in the midst of the working day.
- We can notice our relationship to rest - is it something we allow ourselves? We can practice Sabbath in whatever way works for us. Huston's Sabbath was a daily appointment with the sunset and her balcony. From that simple task of resting came the other insights she needed.
- We can ask ourselves in what way our work is a contribution to others, and in what ways it is serving ourselves. Are these aspects in balance?
- We can search our motivations and ask 'who is doing this work?' - is it the self that knows itself worthy in God, with love as our core and our goal...or is it the self that needs to succeed in this world's terms, and needs to be recognised?
- We can aim to have some aspect of our life where we work with our hands. Work done with the body reminds us that we are embodied people, and honours our body as a gift. Especially for those of us who spend many hours a day at a computer or a desk, thinking or talking. Can we honour the time spent in the garden or cleaning, or cooking, or fixing something, as also our good work?
- We can take time to join in the work of children, which is to play, and delight in this world.
- We can develop a practice of meditation, in which over time, we discover who we are when we are not doing anything, when we are not defined by our work, or social position, our relationships, or the personality that we think is us.
Jesus offered us an easy yoke. Not an easy life, but a life where our burden of work is shared with him. Through prayer and simplicity, there are rhythms that we can step into that are joyful and freeing, compared with the demands of our ego, our culture, and our compulsions. For some of us, to pick up this yoke will mean to renounce the heavy, but attractive yoke that we've been attempting to carry by ourselves. This is the discipline of Lent, as we look forward to the celebration of Easter, the eternal sabbath rest of God. | <urn:uuid:6b97da9e-30c3-44e1-84b5-8aac35dc8c92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cityside.org.nz/node/281 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984043 | 2,500 | 2.0625 | 2 |
By Carrie Cousins, APSE diversity fellow and night sports editor at The Roanoke (Va.) Times
Leadership is a choice.
Leadership is based on shared values and understanding.
What leadership is can be a little different for each individual.
These were the messages conveyed by Sheri Lynn Fella, a lecturer at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and leadership development consultant, during a seminar for the APSE diversity fellows in Indianapolis.
The first step in leader development is for potential leaders to do a little self-exploration, Fella said.
Define leadership for yourself, determine why you think leadership is important, understand things that challenge you as a leader and understand your values.
This set of core values will help a leader make decisions, lead a team and can influence how a person foes about his daily business. Core values are likely to influence the way a reporter writes a story, even if the person writing does not know it.
“Your values should guide your decisions,” Fella said.
A strong set of values that you follow and expect of followers will help you gain trust and commitment from a group.
“Do what you say you will do,” Fella said furthers explaining that this becomes even more important when times are tough. How a leader performs in moments of crisis will really define the type of person he is.
Every choice a leader makes along the way will define him and how others see and respond to him as a leader. Those choices can be what define a leader.
As a person develops into a leader, Fella suggests looking at a personal brand. What do you want people to think when they hear your name, she said to ask.
Each person’s leadership style can be different but also effective.
“You own that,” Fella said. “You are always you.”
Effective leaders also employ five practices that sound simple but can be challenging:
1.Model the way for others. Don’t ask things of your group that you are unwilling to do. Exhibit behaviors that you would like to see from others.
2.Inspire a shared vision. Leaders and the people who follow them have a common goal. Keep your group focused on achieving that success.
3. Challenge the process. Try things in a new way. Look for alternative solutions. Be proactive rather than reactive when looking for solutions to problems.
4.Enable others to act. One of the most rewarding parts of joining a group is interaction and collaboration. Allow members of your team to take the lead when they have a good idea. Shared leadership can have appositive influence on a team leader and other members of a group.
5.Encourage the heart. It all comes back to that set of values. Do what you feel is right and is in line with your values. Leadership is not always easy but at times should make you feel good.
Leaders must also work continually to help people find measures of success, Fella said. Value “small wins” and break down tasks into manageable bits and record that accomplishment.
Fella recommends a cycle of keeping tasks simple, giving constant feedback on progress, starting with the easy tasks first and celebrating success. This cycle will ensure that team members understand their shared vision and values and understand the plan going forward.
Understand that not every task of project will result in perfection. It is a leader’s responsibility to learn from that failure and motivate others to move on to the next task.
“Leadership is about learning,” Fella said. “It is an experience.”
Additional reading: Fella suggests a few sources for finding out more about developing leaders.
1.“Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” by Carol S. Dweck
2. Books from James Kouzes and Barry Posner, including “The Leadership Challenge”
3. “Leaders make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World,” by Robert Johansen
4.Books from Clint Sidle, including “The Leadership Wheel: Five Steps for Achieving Individual and Organizational Greatness”
5. Writings from the Institute for the Future at iftf.org | <urn:uuid:1f7a6021-81c6-413d-9518-25fcfc60b6ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://apsportseditors.org/newsletter/apse-diversity-fellows-leadership-is-a-lesson-in-values/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9517 | 888 | 2.703125 | 3 |
It might have been some strange daytime disco event or it might have been a red-carpet movie premiere. It was hard to tell on Tuesday afternoon in Bryant Park.
An actress in white patent stilettos posed on a red carpet as cameras surrounded her. Flanked by four male dancers who mimicked her every vamping move, she smiled and swung her hips for flash after flash as the 1977 Bee Gees staple “Stayin’ Alive” played in the background.
An onlooker might not have guessed that there was a more serious purpose to all this. The actress, Jennifer Coolidge, perhaps best known as the sultry mother in “American Pie,” was helping promote that most basic of lifesaving techniques, cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Many of the people snapping photos were workers, interns or volunteers for American Heart Association affiliates. And the red carpet was really a mat where about 40 volunteers were about to pummel the chests of plastic dummies to the can’t-get-it-out-of-your-head beat of “Stayin’ Alive.”
To most people, the song calls to mind John Travolta strutting down a Brooklyn street in “Saturday Night Fever.” But the heart association wants to give it another purpose: helping keep someone alive. At 103 beats a minute, its tempo almost perfectly matches the recommended rate for performing hands-only CPR — 100 chest compressions per minute with no mouth-to-mouth resuscitation necessary.
The American Heart Association says that hands-only CPR can be a simpler, more comfortable alternative to the conventional procedure, which involves hand compression and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
A D.J. turned up the music. A dozen dancers in wigs and loose white suits strutted in place, with gold-color necklaces that read “CPR” dangling from their necks.
“Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive,” the Bee Gees yelped. With every beat, the kneeling figures on the red mat pressed down on the inflated torsos, their arms straight and their hands layered one on top of the other.
The demonstration was intended to prove just how easy CPR can be.
In fact, according to the heart association, anyone can save a life simply by calling 911 and performing regular, forceful compressions in the center of the patient’s chest. (A slightly different technique is recommended for children.) Studies have shown that hands-only CPR can be as effective as conventional CPR, which combines mouth-to-mouth resuscitation with compressions. Both types can double or even triple survival rates if CPR begins in the first few minutes after a heart attack.
Nearly 400,000 Americans experience heart attacks outside a hospital every year, and almost 90 percent die, said Dr. Gordon Tomaselli, the president of the American Heart Association. If more people understood that they could perform CPR without much training — and without using mouth-to-mouth — the survival rate would rise significantly, he said.
“People’s main concern is that you’d hurt the person, but the guy’s already dead,” said Dr. Alson Inaba, a pediatrician and a professor at the University of Hawaii, whom the heart association credits with first using “Stayin’ Alive” to teach CPR. (He said he dreamed up the technique while flying home from a heart association conference in 2005.)
“Just push hard and fast and sing ‘Stayin’ Alive,’ ” instructed Dr. Inaba, who was at Bryant Park. “That’s it.”
Ms. Coolidge, who is known for playing clumsy, sometimes ditsy characters, like Paulette, the manicurist in “Legally Blonde,” said the heart association probably chose her for the campaign because even “people who are incapable like myself can do CPR.”
“But I did learn CPR,” she said. “The key is to not be intimidated.” | <urn:uuid:a52c360e-9088-4889-849a-5f50fe29fa18> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/a-lifesaving-lesson-with-a-70s-bee-gees-beat/?ref=americanheartassociation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953463 | 873 | 1.578125 | 2 |
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How We Decideby Jonah Lehrer
Synopses & Reviews
From the acclaimed author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist, a fascinating look at the new science of decision-making and how it can help us make better choices. Since Plato, philosophers have described the decisionmaking process as either rational or emotional: we carefully deliberate or we blink and go with our gut. But as scientists break open the mind's black box with the latest tools of neuroscience, they're discovering that this is not how the mind works.
Our best decisions are a finely tuned blend of both feeling and reason — and the precise mix depends on the situation. When buying a house, for example, it's best to let our unconscious mull over the many variables. But when we're picking a stock, intuition often leads us astray. The trick is to determine when to lean on which part of the brain, and to do this, we need to think harder (and smarter) about how we think. Jonah Lehrer arms us with the tools we need, drawing on cutting-edge research by Daniel Kahneman, Colin Camerer, and others, as well as the real-world experiences of a wide range of deciders — from airplane pilots and hedge fund investors to serial killers and poker players.
Lehrer shows how people are taking advantage of the new science to make better television shows, win more football games, and improve military intelligence. His goal is to answer two questions that are of interest to just about anyone, from CEOs to firefighters: How does the human mind make decisions? And how can we make those decisions better?
"What is going on in the brain of a pilot deciding how to handle an emergency or a man trying to escape a wildfire? Does reason or emotion rule our decision making? Seed magazine editor-at-large Lehrer (Proust Was a Neuroscientist) brings recent research in neurobiology to life as he shows that the view, dating back to Plato, of the decision-making brain as a charioteer (reason) trying to control wild horses (emotions) comes up short. As Lehrer describes in fluid prose, the brain's reasoning centers are easily fooled, often making judgments based on nonrational factors like presentation (a sales pitch or packaging). And Lehrer cites a study of investors given varying amounts of financial data to show that our inner charioteer also can be confused by too much information. Even more surprisingly, research shows that 'gut instinct' often does make better decisions than long, drawn-out reasoning, and people with impaired emotional responses have trouble coping with the decisions required in everyday life. Lehrer is a delight to read, and this is a fascinating book (some of which appeared recently, in a slightly different form, in the New Yorker) that will help everyone better understand themselves and their decision making." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Imagine yourself in the place of Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III, the pilot of US Airways flight 1549. A "double bird strike" has disabled your engines. You've asked an air controller to let you return to LaGuardia. You can head to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, or you can try to glide over the George Washington Bridge and ditch your Airbus A320 in the Hudson River. How do you choose?... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) In "How We Decide," Jonah Lehrer, a journalist with research experience, asks neuroscience to explain the deliberative process. Looking at a similar incident in which quick thinking averted an airline disaster, he writes that the pilot "used his prefrontal cortex to manage his emotions." The cortex overrides maladaptive responses, such as panic; people who reason well under stress have "high prefrontal function." Lehrer elaborates: "Studies show that neurons in the prefrontal areas will fire in response to a stimulus — such as the sight of some cockpit instrumentation — and then keep on firing for several seconds." That extra firing allows for fresh thought: "Once this overlapping of ideas occurs, cortical cells start to form connections that have never existed before, wiring themselves into entirely new networks." The prefrontal cortex then evaluates the insight and recognizes it as a solution to the problem. The process results in the transformation of old learning into a creative response to the crisis at hand. You head for the Hudson, and lives are saved. This explanation might be satisfying were it not for everything else we know about thought and feeling. For instance, Lehrer describes studies that show how "choking" at sports results from too much reasoning. Likewise, the "framing effect," in which our expectations cause us, for example, to overvalue cheap wine when it's served from expensive-looking bottles, results in errors in judgment attributable to a prefrontal cortex that's working overtime. Whole branches of psychology and economics arise from research revealing glitches in our rationality, tendencies to remain loyal to bad choices and to see patterns where none exists. And then there is extensive evidence that some judgments are best made on an emotional basis; indeed, many successful decisions — in the face of this defense, toss the football there — are made instantaneously, too fast for the newer, rational part of the brain to run through every step of the analytic process. Lehrer's method is to introduce research findings through dramatic illustrations, such as a crucial Tom Brady pass in a Super Bowl. Lehrer is prone to hyperbole — fans of Joe Namath's 1969 New York Jets might not agree that the New England Patriot's 2002 victory over the St. Louis Rams was "the greatest upset in NFL history" — but he's expert at both storytelling and hard science. "How We Decide" is always fascinating, which is not to say that the book is without problems. Lehrer does little to integrate science's contradictory findings. As he himself demonstrates, sometimes, like a quarterback, we should rely on gut feelings; sometimes, like a pilot, we should favor reason. And both capacities, arising from millennia of animal evolution, are fallible in the face of recent innovations, like marketing and advertising. Nor does Lehrer succeed in showing that linking mind functions to brain regions will allow us to make better assessments. About a pilot's genius, we might convey as much if we said that he remained calm and relied on his training and ingenuity. It never becomes clear that neuroscience can inform our decisions better than Socrates' division of the mind into appetite, reason and spirit. Joseph T. Hallinan, in "Why We Make Mistakes," takes the alternate route, reviewing comparable material — often the same studies Lehrer cites — and attending only to psychology. Explaining why we prefer plonk with a Chateau Lafite label, Hallinan refers to pattern recognition, fixed associations and skewed judgment. Lehrer goes further and reports that "only one brain region seemed to respond to the (apparent) price of the wine rather than the wine itself: the prefrontal cortex." Hallinan can be informative. For example, he is convincing when he writes that, contrary to what you've been told, you'll do better, on average, if you rely on second impressions and change your answers on multiple-choice tests. But for me, these books called up a hoary anecdote about a Harvard "final club," a fraternity that stored essays as well as exams. An undergrad gets an A on a biology paper enhanced by a colorful image of a fish. Next year, another kid hands in the same paper: A. Finally, a student, thinking to avoid detection, discards the drawing, resubmits the paper and gets it back marked: "B+ — where's the fish?" I know that it's mostly an example of the fallacious thinking that these two books warn against — a case of misleading "framing" in which elegant neuroscience, like a cut-glass decanter, exerts influence over a judgment about the worth of the content — but, however unfairly, after I read Hallinan, my mind went: "B+ — where's the prefrontal cortex?" Peter D. Kramer's most recent book is "Freud: Inventor of the Modern Mind." Reviewed by Peter D. Kramer, Washington Post Book World (Copyright 2006 Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group)
(hide most of this review)
"Should we go with instinct or analysis? The answer, Lehrer explains, in this smart and delightfully readable book, is that it depends on the situation. Knowing which method works best in which case is not just useful but fascinating. Lehrer proves once again that hes a master storyteller and one of the best guides to the practical lessons from new neuroscience." Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired and author of The Long Tail
"Cash or credit? Punt or go for first down? Deal or no deal? Life is filled with puzzling choices. Reporting from the frontiers of neuroscience and armed with riveting case studies of how pilots, quarterbacks, and others act under fire, Jonah Lehrer presents a dazzlingly authoritative and accessible account of how we make decisions, what's happening in our heads as we do so, and how we might all become better deciders. Luckily, this one's a no-brainer: Read this book." Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)
"Over the past two decades, research in neuroscience and behavioral economics has revolutionized our understanding of human decision making. Jonah Lehrer brings it all together in this insightful and enjoyable book, giving readers the information they need to make the smartest decisions." Antonio Damasio, author of Descartes Error and Looking for Spinoza
"Jonah Lehrer ingeniously weaves neuroscience, sports, war, psychology, and politics into a fascinating tale of human decision making. In the process, he makes us much wiser." Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational
From the acclaimed author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist comes a fascinating look at the new science of decision-making. Lehrer explores two questions: How does the human mind make decisions? and How can those decisions be made better?
About the Author
Jonah Lehrer is editor at large for Seed magazine and the author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist (2007) and How We Decide (February 2009). A graduate of Columbia University and a Rhodes Scholar, Lehrer has worked in the lab of Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Eric Kandel and has written for The New Yorker, Wired, Boston Globe, Washington Post, and Nature, and writes a highly regarded blog, The Frontal Cortex. Lehrer also commentates for NPR's "Radio Lab."
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Business » Strategy | <urn:uuid:3c7509fb-4875-4348-9d99-e87358eb09cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.powells.com/biblio/74-9780618620111-0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935334 | 2,291 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Our textbook publishing programme remains at the heart of the Routledge Law list. Law textbooks cover a wide range of legal subjects, across compulsory and optional modules of the standard LLB course.
Routledge Law Companion Website
Many textbooks from Routledge Law, including The English Legal System, Constitutional and Administrative Law and Equity and Trusts, are complimented by a Companion Website. Available features include:
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Fully customized content and design to suit the requirements of each individual textbook
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Companion Websites are accessible through the textbook product pages, or view the complete list of available companion websites.
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The Student Law Review continues to be the single most popular publication for law students. Published termly, three times a year, the Student Law Review provides up-to-date coverage across the entire syllabus. Written and edited by a team of acknowledged experts with many years’ experience of law practice and teaching, the articles manage to be accessible, clear and of a high academic standard. Concise case notes illustrate significant facts and the consequences of of recent judgements while changes to legislation are expertly summarised and explained.
For more information please visit The Student Law Review
Routledge are well-known for publishing books across the social sciences and humanities that challenge conventional wisdom, and provide new ways of interpreting the world. Routledge Law continues this tradition by offering a range of successful and distinctive research titles making available cutting edge and influential research by both established authors and up-and-coming academics.
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Routledge is one of the few commercial publishers who continue to publish and invest in specialised academic research. At a time when many publishers have chosen to focus almost exclusively on student textbooks, Routledge is committed to publishing important research produced by the academic community. Our research titles form part of the successful Routledge Research programme which is recognised by academics and libraries the world over, ensuring the books achieve a worldwide readership. | <urn:uuid:57c953ca-6372-4c9f-9365-32541e4273b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.routledge.com/law/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916934 | 616 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Social sharing: that is the concept mobile apps innovator Jonathan Stark said he is demonstrating with his “Jonathan’s Card,” a free download that is good for a free coffee at Starbucks.
No strings attached.
And this is cascading across the Internet today.
Want to repay a kindness? Stark also provided the how-to for adding value to his card, with a visit to the Starbucks’ site.
Before showing the card on a mobile phone to pay for a coffee, Stark suggested users visit his Twitter stream, where current balance is shown: $100 at 1.51 pm EDT, by the way.
Puzzled about the point of this? The experiment is garnering huge press coverage, mainly in tech publications today, but by tomorrow this will be in many mainstream media.
Stark said: “Based on the similarity to the ‘take a penny, leave a penny’ trays at convenience stores in the U.S., I've adopted a similar ‘get a coffee, give a coffee’ terminology for Jonathan's Card.”
Importantly, too, this also is an experiment in mobile purchasing where customers, literally, have nothing to lose because they are using Stark’s card to satiate their caffeine jones. | <urn:uuid:62dfc541-4519-4acc-87aa-d3868d22b2bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cutimes.com/2011/08/08/drink-up-the-java-is-free | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953727 | 266 | 1.929688 | 2 |
You’re going to laugh or roll your eyes. That’s OK, I expect it. Most of my peers have already figured this out, some people are brand new to the program and others (like myself) are short of the halfway point. Anyway, I just had a minor “ah-ha” moment. Thankfully, I managed to arrive at this point now, rather than a year from now. Frankly, this is an area that isn’t exactly taught, as it is more or less expected for us to “figure it out.” Well, I just “figured it out.”
While reviewing our unit content examples, I had a realization (or reflection) about time management when creating a process book. For the past two quarters, I had been evolving the design layout of my process books to serve more like an actual publication layout. With regard to the design of a process book, I entered our program with zero experience of having created one before. Therefore, my approach with designing a process book derived from my tendency to design a project: format, size, color, type, grid and aesthetic style were top priority. In essence, I realized that I have been spending way too much time on the design of the process book. Yes, this is a brain dead, obvious “ah ha” moment, but one of significant proportion.
I tend to overthink. Overthinking has often led to overlooking the obvious. However, overthinking is beneficial when experiencing and documenting a process. Rather than spending too much time formatting the design of the process book, I realized that I could be gaining much more insight into the process itself. Granted, I feel as if I have done this once before to a great extent. However, I’m not doing this on a consistent basis and it’s time to take the process to another level. After all, the process book is about the process!
What I realized is that I’m not documenting every step of the process. This had been addressed in one of the very first courses that I took, but with a rather vague emphasis. At the time, there wasn’t an exact reason as to “why” we should be investigating the process. Instead, the emphasis was “the process book is all about compiling as much information as possible.” One example of what I had considered an insignificant step in the process, is actually one of the most significant steps for myself: distractions.
Distractions can lead to other distractions, yet at some point, my mind stops and refocuses on the goal. Formally, this is known as synetics. My distraction in this case had been dedicating too much time on the design of the process book, although I never saw it this way until now. Allow me to explain a specific example of how this occurs and then compare it with what could be occurring instead:
Let’s say that I begin a concept map. Eventually, I need break or go to the bathroom. Sometimes I check email, doodle, pet my cats and (rarely) take time for a bike ride. I then revisit the concept map, but this is when “unnecessary” distractions occur, if is such a thing. Eventually, I return to the (pre-designed) process book, design the next section of the process book, scan or photograph the concept map, write, edit and revise my content, rearrange text blocks, change colors or supporting elements, reorganize my style sheets, shift pages around, establish a works cited section, change the leading here and there and finally export as a PDF.
Create a ultra-minimalist layout for all process books. It’s a balance of choosing strong, functional type, a versatile grid and one or two colors and not changing a damn thing. In doing so, I can now spend more quality time exploring the concept map and documenting the “unnecessary” distractions to include as a part of my process.
While I don’t feel that my design methodology lacks depth, the documentation process of conveying “a process” definitely does. I need to start capturing those insignificant moments by having better awareness at the time that it arises. Even if the moment leads nowhere toward the process, it provides very substantial documentation that I can reflect back on once the project is complete. For me, this is the best way to understand my own process and determine which areas need further expanding upon. | <urn:uuid:282d0cc7-c39c-4ff1-84af-f06cf2dade2f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.scad.edu/mhepwo20/2012/10/31/processing-the-process-book/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963956 | 928 | 1.796875 | 2 |
320-Slice CT Reduces Radiation Exposure by 90 Percent
February 24, 2010 - Researchers found that when using standard 64-detector row helical scanning as a benchmark, the effective radiation dose was reduced by 91 percent from 35.4 millisieverts (mSv) to 4.4 mSv using optimized 320-detector row volume scanning.
Researchers from Columbia University and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute conducted the study, published in the March issue of Radiology, in which they performed a coronary CT angiography exam, and determined that an imaging exam of the heart using the latest generation of CT technology exposes patients to as much as 91 percent less radiation than standard helical CT scanning.
Many coronary CT angiography exams are conducted on 64-detector row CT scanners, which can image four centimeters at a time. The latest generation of CT technology, a 320-detector row volume CT scanner, can image 16 centimeters - or the entire length of the heart - in a single rotation and within a single heartbeat.
In his study, Dr. Einstein and a team of researchers compared the radiation exposure incurred during a coronary CT angiography procedure using a 64-detector row helical scanning and volume scanning, using a 320-detector row volume CT scanner. Phantoms simulating the male and female body were imaged using six different scan modes.
Using standard 64-detector row helical scanning as the benchmark, the effective radiation dose was reduced by 91 percent from 35.4 millisieverts (mSv) to 4.4 mSv using optimized 320-detector row volume scanning.
"By imaging the entire heart in one piece, volume scanning eliminates artifacts due to seams or gaps between image sections," said Dr. Einstein. "Moreover, the x-ray tube is left on for only a brief duration, as little as .35 seconds."
According to Dr. Einstein, state-of-the-art CT technology emphasizes optimal image resolution with the ability to lower radiation dose through a variety of features and scan modes that adjust and modulate the dose based on the specific needs of the individual patient.
"As CT technology advanced from 16- to 64-slice capabilities, the radiation dose went up significantly," he said. "Today, technology development is going in the opposite direction, reducing radiation exposure."
Dr. Einstein emphasized that practitioners must pay careful attention to using the appropriate scan mode to obtain diagnostic information with the least amount of radiation exposure to the patient.
"Radiation Dose from Single-Heartbeat Coronary CT Angiography Performed with a 320-Detector Row Volume Scanner." Collaborating with Dr. Einstein were Carl D. Elliston, M.A., Andrew E. Arai, M.D., Marcus Y. Chen, M.D., Richard Mather, Ph.D., Gregory D. N. Pearson, M.D., Ph.D., Robert L. DeLaPaz, M.D., Edward Nickoloff, D.Sc, Ajoy Dutta, M.S., and David J. Brenner, Ph.D., D.Sc.
Disclosure: Dr. Mather is an employee of Toshiba America Medical Systems. Dr. Mather provided recommendations but had no control over the data included in the manuscript.
For more information: www.rsna.org
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- Toshiba Showcases Aquilion One CT System for Emergency Department Applications | <urn:uuid:27b9adc4-cf18-4a91-a22b-67278c2ffea6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dicardiology.com/article/320-slice-ct-reduces-radiation-exposure-90-percent | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906412 | 786 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Junior Talent on Display
The Dewsbury Rams Community Rugby League team have been out and about carrying out a six week coaching project at 5 local primary schools in the area.
The aim of the programme was to introduce the FUNdamental skills required to participate within tag rugby league to children in year 5 and 6, while at the same time introduce rugby league to children who may have never played it before.
At the end of the six week coaching block, inter-school tag festivals were held at Shaw Cross Sharks and Thornhill Trojans involving 140 children from Bywell, Chickenley, Hanging Heaton, Thornhill and Overthorpe primary schools. It is hoped that some of the children will want to continue playing rugby league and will join their local community club to help continue to grow the game in the area, and who knows, theymay even be playing at the Tetley's Stadium in a few years time!
Dewsbury Rams Community Coach James Stephenson said: "Over the last six weeks it has been great to see so many children involved. It is quite surprising how many of them didn't realise that there were local clubs where they could play rugby league. Hopefully our work with them has encouraged them to take up the sport and the links are now in place between the community clubs and schools." | <urn:uuid:63fe8040-797a-43e1-9a89-689132aa4dbf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/junior-talent-on-display | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983807 | 268 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Tips to cutting energy bills for retirees
Mar 23, 2012, 6 a.m.
When you are working and earning big dollars, a high electric bill is an annoyance. For retirees, however, a lower electricity bill can mean the difference between dining on hot dogs or filet mignon. The combination of escalating gasoline, heating oil and electricity prices can blow up a retiree's household budget.
There are ways, however, to lower electricity bills and other energy costs. Homeowners of all ages question the wisdom of fighting a high electric bill and/or other distressing energy costs. Fear not. Here are some simple, low-cost tips to enjoy a lower electricity bill.
Install more insulation. Only one in five homes built prior to 1980 have sufficient insulation. In the 1960s and 1970s (remember?), energy was cheap. Many homes even used electric heat, with thin wires in all walls and floors, to keep their castle toasty and enjoy a lower electricity bill. Today, if your home has insufficient insulation, it can generate an astronomically high electric bill as your heating and air conditioning systems work harder just to maintain the temperature you want.
Seal wall openings. Statistically, around 15 percent of air leakage issues involve wall openings. Homeowners can easily -- and cheaply -- use spray foam sealant (around $4 per can) around outdoor faucets, wiring and any other suspected wall opening. Installing foam gaskets (about $3 for 10) around indoor electric outlets and light switches eliminates most leaking air through walls. You can save up to $150 per year.
Re-caulk or weather-strip all windows and doors. Even properly installed windows and doors can create a high electric bill or increased heating/air conditioning expenses. A $5 tube of water-based acrylic caulk and low cost weather stripping can save you up to $200 per year.
Install a programmable thermostat. Heat or cool your home to the temperature you want, when you want by spending $45 to $100 and save up to $200 per year. Easy to install (only two wires to attach), these wonderful items can achieve a lower electricity bill by 20 percent for heating and cooling.
Seal and wrap your ductwork. Did you know that you lose up to 30 percent of air from your furnace or air conditioner through your ductwork? Sealing and wrapping ductwork with HVAC insulation could save you up to $400 a year.
According to the AARP, these and some other low cost tips can reduce that high electric bill to a manageable level for retirees on a tight budget.
Content Provided by Spot55.com | <urn:uuid:5bcc411d-0aa2-4ad6-abef-b507e09a8afa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lovinlife.com/news/2012/mar/23/tips-cutting-energy-bills-retirees/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931242 | 548 | 1.867188 | 2 |
City of Hope utilizes a variety of Web-based learning tools in their standard curriculum. Most faculty members at City of Hope participate in site specific treatment guidelines committees for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), which has come to establish the standard of care for a variety of malignancies. These and other Web resources are essential for today’s oncologist. Printed and electronic versions of numerous journals are available through City of Hope's Graff Library.
As stated previously, the NCCN guidelines are regarded as standard of care in the treatment of most malignancies. Refer to the clinican's site of this Web resource for straightforward algorithms and detailed didactics.
Fellows will regularly participate in journal club reviews of clinical trials published in this journal and in other prominent oncology publications. Electronic access is available to fellows through the Graff Library.
Connect to ASCO to find the latest clinical trial abstracts of relevance to your patients. City of Hope fellows have regularly earned honors for their presentations at ASCO Annual Meetings.
During the Harbor-UCLA experience, fellows are immersed in a plethora of amazing hematology cases. Refer to the ASH Web site to obtain up-to-date abstracts for your patients.
City of Hope is highly regarded throughout the community for its exceptional work in bringing the latest research to community clinicians. These activities are excellent learning opportunities for current fellows.
City of Hope encourages enrollment of all suitable patients in active clinical trials. City of Hope stands as one of the most active members of the Southwest Oncology Group and other national consortiums. Fellows gain valuable experience in clinical trial participation. | <urn:uuid:b1318cc6-ecb9-4d9f-9050-a4eec76d22ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cityofhope.org/education/fellowships-residencies/clinical/hematology-oncology-fellowship/Pages/Resources.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93297 | 338 | 1.554688 | 2 |
June 14, 2010 Back pain and leg pain may be caused by lumbar disk herniation. It may be necessary to treat the condition by surgery, if it persists. Patients who have a short period of sick leave before the surgery are more satisfied with the result of the procedure than those who are off work sick longer. This is the conclusion of a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
"The aim of the work described in the thesis was to discover factors that influence the result of surgery and to identify which patients have the greatest benefit of surgery," says Katarina Silverplats, doctor at the Department of Orthopaedics at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and researcher at the Department of Orthopaedics at the Sahlgrenska Academy.
A total of 183 patients were studied, and they were followed for up to 10 years after the surgery.
"One thing we found was that over 60% of the patients were still satisfied with the result of the surgery between 2 and 10 years afterwards, and nearly all had an improved quality of life than they had had before it," says Katarina Silverplats.
One surprising result was that patients who had been off work sick less than 2 months before the surgery were more satisfied with the result than those who had been off work a longer period. For example, approximately seven out of ten patients who had had a short period of sick leave were able to return to full employment, while the corresponding figure for those who had been off work more than 6 months was as low as one in four.
The mean age of patients who suffer from disk herniation is just over 40 years, and this group of patients is active in the labour market. It is therefore important that treatment starts as soon as possible.
"If it is decided that surgery is the preferred treatment for a particular patient, the procedure should be carried out within 2-3 months, in order to achieve as good as result as possible and the possibility of a rapid return to work. This requires a well-functioning healthcare system without long queues," says Katarina Silverplats.
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Travel Time Messaging on Dynamic Message Signs - Portland, OR
Oregon Department of Transportation
Table of Contents
2.0 Deployment Information
3.0 System Planning and Development
4.0 Data Collection and Processing
5.0 Travel Time Messaging
6.0 Public Outreach and Impacts
7.0 Issues Faced and How They Were Resolved
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Region 1 office is responsible for the operation and maintenance of Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) and the posting of travel time information to those signs on Portland area freeways. Supervision of such activities is conducted from its Regional Traffic Management and Operations Center (TMOC) located in downtown Portland.
ODOT began supplying travel time information to drivers via DMS in order to provide supplemental "customer service" benefits including: a) helping drivers make more educated decisions concerning route choice, b) reducing trip time related anxiety, and c) improving the public's perception of the usefulness of the DMS (e.g., the public is now provided with accurate travel time data instead of just a message stating "Congestion Ahead," or a blank sign).
The advanced traffic management system (ATMS) software used in Portland is a customized version of Georgia's NaviGAtor software. ODOT currently uses its ATMS software to post travel time data to three of the 17 DMS deployed in the Portland metropolitan area. Plans exist to post travel time messages on additional DMS in the system as more loop detectors are deployed. Research is underway to determine the manner in which the system can most effectively be expanded.
Although there is always a trained operator on hand to monitor the system for disruptions, all travel time calculations and DMS travel time postings are automatic in nature. This minimizes the need for ODOT staff to devote time to ongoing system management.
Communications between sensor (loop detector) sites and ODOT's ATMS system are conducted via fiber or dedicated phone line. Communications between the ATMS system and the DMS have in the past been conducted over dial-up phone-line; however, ODOT is now transitioning to support these communications over a gigabit Ethernet system.
Prior to deploying their ATMS, ODOT participated in scanning tours for ATMS operations software in Los Angeles, Houston, and Atlanta. The Georgia DOT made their NaviGAtor ATMS software available for use/modification in the Portland area.
Selecting a target audience helped ODOT to determine the travel time destinations and messaging format to be used. Four potential target audiences for DMS messages were examined:
- Local commuter - people that live in the area and drive the same route on a daily basis to and from work.
- Local non-commuter - people that live in the area, but their trip purpose is non-work related. They may be local commuters during the peak hours but local non-commuters during other periods.
- Non-local commuter - people that do not live in the area, but are still on a work-based trip. They are probably not familiar with the local road network or typical congestion levels. Truckers would classify as non-local commuters.
- Non-local non-commuter - these trips are made by people that do not live in the area and are most likely on a recreational trip. These people are not familiar with the local road network or typical congestion levels.
Due to the fact that local commuters represent the majority of vehicles during weekday hours and that their travel is generally more time critical than that of other drivers, ODOT decided that they would be the primary target audience for the travel time system.
ODOT also determined that no firm rule existed concerning the number of sensors needed to provide accurate travel times along a particular segment of roadway. They decided that decisions on the location/number of sensors should be based on criteria that included the geography of the roadway and locations along the roadway where bottlenecks and other traffic problems occurred. Using this information, ODOT staff made engineering judgments concerning the number and location of sensors to be deployed, based corridor-specific conditions.
ODOT currently calculates travel times based on loop detector data (collected once every 20 seconds). One problem with ODOT's loop detectors is that many of them are located around ramps, thereby limiting the system's ability to detect congestion in certain areas. Additionally, ODOT has lost numerous loop detector stations during road repaving operations. The repaving operations required led to the travel time system being shut down for much of 2004.
The system is largely automated and operators generally rely on the software's failure management subsystem to notify them if a problem occurs (e.g., a drop in data accuracy). Even so, operators spot check data and have the ability to inspect travel time messages posted to all three DMS involved in the system using ODOT CCTVs. Plans are currently in the works to make modifications to ODOT's travel time software to ensure that it accurately calculates travel times when an entire data collection station ceases to function or loses the ability to transmit its data to the travel time server.
ODOT is currently working with TRIMET (local transit agency) to conduct a probe vehicle test using TRIMET buses (approximately 750 vehicles) on limited access and arterial roadways.
Based on research conducted during the project planning period, ODOT determined that the accuracy of travel time data posted onto the DMS should not drop below a threshold of 70 percent1. When the system was turned on, the accuracy during free flow conditions was over 95 percent, while the accuracy during periods of congestion was approximately 70 percent. Recently, ODOT has been collaborating with Portland State University to determine the current accuracy level of the travel time data produced by its system. The results of this study will be available by June 2005.
Due to the difficulty of accurately estimating travel times, especially during periods of congestion, ODOT decided to display travel time messages in two-minute ranges (i.e., "Travel Time 7-9 Minutes") during most times, and in up to four-minute ranges during periods of heavy congestion. ODOT decided to use the type of messaging format displayed in Figure 1 in cases where there were two destinations to be displayed on a particular DMS. A similar format exists for DMS that display a single destination. In order to help reduce overall driver distraction, DMS messages are single-phase only.
Figure 1 - Example of Travel Time Information Posted to ODOT DMS
ODOT developed guidelines for deciding which destinations to post travel times to for each DMS. The guidelines that ODOT developed are:
- At least 50 percent of drivers passing a DMS should go to or through the destination posted on the sign,
- The destination should be well known to a majority of drivers, and
- The destination should be within three to 15 miles from the DMS (travel times for destinations greater than 15 miles are difficult to predict).
These guidelines were used in the design phase to select specific travel time destinations for each DMS.
ODOT uses their DMS to post a variety of messages. Where provided, travel time messages are the default message. However, ODOT posts messages to DMS according to the following hierarchy:
- Road closures and emergency situations
- Construction and maintenance operations
- Adverse weather conditions
- Special events information
- Travel time information
- Public service announcements
ODOT's system is capable of posting travel time information to the DMS 24 hours per day, seven days per week. However, results of a survey conducted during 2002 indicated that drivers did not want travel time data during free flow conditions. As a result, ODOT posts travel times when conditions depart from free flow.
ODOT conducted a traveler information survey around the time of system start-up in 2001, but has not collected any new information due to budgetary restrictions. Even so, they continue to receive a significant number of comments about the travel time messages on DMS via their "Tripcheck" website. Other feedback is generally informal (from interested stakeholders); especially those involved in the Regional ITS Transportation Committee. Overall, ODOT received positive feedback about the travel time messaging.
When ODOT began posting travel time messages, they received a call from the Oregon State Police indicating that the DMS were causing traffic to back up as drivers slowed down to read them. In response, ODOT began a press campaign to inform drivers about the travel time messages. This demonstrated to ODOT the importance of public outreach and the solicitation of customer feedback, activities which continue today through their "Tripcheck" website.
|Ensuring sufficient data quality||For the existing corridor where travel times are posted onto DMS, there is a high degree of confidence that the system is producing accurate forecasts. However, problems can occur when a particular sensor station isn't producing data. The system will still calculate travel times accurately when data comes from all stations (still works even if some loops at a station are missing). However, if an entire station is lost, the system doesn't account for it properly and provides shorter than actual travel times. As a result, ODOT wants to modify the travel time software to account for the loss of an entire station.|
|Inability to calculate travel times in certain areas||Don't yet have sufficient loop detector coverage to provide accurate data for posting on many DMS. ODOT is looking to use probe data from buses to provide additional data and otherwise expand the system.|
|Determining where sensor stations are to be located||No firm rule concerning how many sensors are needed along a give corridor. Looked at map to determine where bottlenecks and other traffic problems occur. Number and location of sensors depends on the conditions unique to each individual roadway - use engineering judgment based on corridor conditions.|
|Public awareness||Received calls from State Police stating that the DMS were causing traffic to back up as drivers slowed down to read them. In response, ODOT began a press campaign. It was also decided to use only single phase DMS messaging in order to reduce driver distraction.|
|Funding the system||Funding project through the STIP process - limited funding for capital construction. Have to compete with other activities for these resources.|
|Ongoing O&M||Ongoing issue - e.g., need to deal with impacts of road construction.|
- An automated system facilitates 24/7 monitoring of system operations. If problems occur, they can immediately be addressed from the TMC.
- It is advantageous to plan and deploy along one corridor at a time. This allows for the monitoring and validation of the existing system before taking it to other corridors.
- Plan for widespread detector deployment and data validation early in system planning.
- Ensure that data is provided in a manner that is useful/understandable to travelers (e.g., select destinations that are well known to the majority of drivers).
- Consider how travel time data might flow to other outlets (e.g., 511 telephone service or other public agencies).
Some of the information contained in the case study is taken from "Displaying Travel Times on Variable Message Signs: A Case Study in Portland, Oregon," by James Colyar, FHWA, May 2002.
1Kantowitz, B. H., Hanowski, R. J., and Kantowitz, S. C. (1995). "Driver Reactions to Unreliable Traffic Information," Proceedings of the ITE 65th Annual Meeting, pp. 673-676, Washington, DC: Institute of Transportation Engineers.
Federal Highway Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 7th Street, S.W. (HOP)
Washington, DC 20590
Toll-Free "Help Line" 866-367-7487
Publication Number: FHWA-HOP-05-048 | <urn:uuid:075273b8-138c-4073-ab02-c925d39a0025> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/travel_time_study/portland/portland_ttm.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937049 | 2,437 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Whenever conservatives push for developing more domestic energy, liberals respond by saying increased oil production, whether from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) or Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), would have no effect on prices. And they always trot out the same Energy Information Administration reports predicting that opening up ANWR would decrease the price of a barrel of oil by only 41 cents by 2026. For liberals, such precise predictions of commodity prices decades from now only build faith in the government’s numbers.
Conservatives know better. Conservatives know that if the government were any good at predicting prices, then communism would have worked. Well, guess what: Communism didn’t work, and the EIA can’t predict oil prices any better than a monkey with a dart. No … the monkey would be better.
For example, in 2005 the EIA made prediction for oil prices for every five years extending through 2025. On the low end, the EIA predicted the average cost of crude oil “will close at $33.99 at the end of 2005, drop into the $20 to $30 price range in the next 20 years and then close at $30 in 2025.” And EIA’s high-end prediction: “oil prices will close in 2005 at $43.63, then range between $30 and $37 the next 20 years and close at $35 in 2025.” On Monday the price of oil closed at $145 a barrel. So the EIA was only off, at the least, by 392 percent.
Back in the real world, markets yesterday reacted extremely positively to President Bush’s push to open drilling in the OCS. The Corner‘s Larry Kudlow reports:
Today, at a news conference, Bush repeated his new position, and slammed the Democratic Congress for not removing the congressional moratorium on the Outer Continental Shelf and elsewhere. Crude-oil futures for August delivery plunged $9.26, or 6.3 percent, almost immediately as Bush was speaking, bringing the barrel price down to $136.
Now isn’t this interesting?
Democrats keep saying that it will take 10 years or longer to produce oil from the offshore areas. And they say that oil prices won’t decline for at least that long. And they, along with Obama and McCain, bash so-called oil speculators. And today we had a real-world example as to why they are wrong. All of them. Reid, Pelosi, Obama, McCain — all of them.
Traders took a look at a feisty and aggressive George Bush and started selling the market well before a single new drop of oil has been lifted. What does this tell us? Well, if Congress moves to seal the deal, oil prices will probably keep on falling. That’s the way traders work. They discount the future. Psychology and expectations can turn on a dime. | <urn:uuid:5557dec5-1121-48cc-bb4f-28ff246937d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.heritage.org/2008/07/16/only-liberals-could-possibly-beleive-governments-good-at-predicitng-prices/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954023 | 603 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Jay Lynch was there at the beginning. As the head of Bijou Funnies, he published some of the most significant underground pioneers of the late-60s, including folks like Robert Crumb, Skip Williamson, Art Spiegelman, and Justin Green, while gaining notoriety in his own right as an artist in his own right, thanks to titles like Nard ‘n’ Pat.
With that in mind, the context for our conversation feels a touch strange. When I call him at his home in upstate New York, the artist is eager to speak about his latest work, Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever, a collaboration with Act-I-Vate artist, Dean Haspiel. It’s Lynch’s second book for young children under the Toon Books umbrella.
The connection between Lynch’s early career and his current children’s work is rather rather easily unpacked, however. Toon Books head (and New Yorker art director) Francoise Mouly approached Lynch to join the fold of her soon-to-be launched publishing house three years ago. The collaboration eventually resulted in Otto’s Orange Day, release by the company, earlier this year.
But Otto was hardly Lynch’s first work for children, the artist having spent a significant portion of his career working on contract for Topps—works like Wacky Packs and The Garbage Pail Kids—alongside fellow underground legend (and Mouly’s husband), Art Spiegelman.
We spoke to Lynch about Spiegelman, superheroes, and his days spent slaving away at in the My Little Pony mines.
Read the rest of this entry » | <urn:uuid:ec7c7167-05dc-4e6e-bf8c-ac046e5e0c53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thedailycrosshatch.com/tag/dean-haspiel/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965347 | 343 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The Frick Art Reference Library's book and photograph collections relate mainly to paintings, drawings, sculpture, and prints from the fourth to the mid-twentieth centuries by European and American artists. The decorative arts are a secondary area of collecting. Within these subjects the collections focus on the following:
- Auction sales
- Object history
- Catalogues raisonnés
- Technical analysis
Books and Periodicals
The book collection consists of more than 228,000 titles and 3,300 periodicals. Approximately 6,000 books are acquired annually through purchase and gift by museums, art dealers, private collectors, and authors. Books acquired as gifts or through endowed funds are acknowledged with bookplates and a credit line in the catalog. For gifts, complete the Gift Form to include with donated items.
For books and periodicals, search the catalog.
For more information, see the Collection Development Policy.
The auction catalog collection consists of more than 90,000 volumes. Catalogs from more than 1,000 auction houses in Europe, Australia, and the Americas, ranging in date from the eighteenth century to the present, are represented. Annotated catalogs and price lists, when available, have been acquired to provide additional sales information. The Library continues to add unique and rare catalogs of early sales. It participates in SCIPIO, a database listing auction catalogs and their locations in North America and Europe.
For auction catalogs, search the catalog.
The Photoarchive is a study collection of more than one million photographic reproductions of works of art from the fourth to the mid-twentieth century by artists trained in the Western tradition. The Photoarchive was founded first and foremost to facilitate object-oriented research; the documentation it offers traces the essential elements of the biography of the work of art — changes of attribution, ownership, and condition.
For Photoarchive materials, search the catalog.
To learn more about the Photoarchive, see Research > Photoarchive.
The electronic resources collection consists of more than 2,000 subscription databases and e-journals. Access to these databases and e-journals is only available onsite at the Library. Free Internet resources, which are available from any location, can be found through the Open Access Web sites in the Electronic Resources Finder of the catalog.
For electronic resources, search the Electronic Resources Finder. | <urn:uuid:1b2fe595-72c3-45b4-90b3-fe3a03e74b9b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.frick.org/research/library/collections | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909948 | 480 | 2.4375 | 2 |
A British Airways Concorde could become a leading London tourist attraction.
The retired supersonic aircraft, currently languishing at Heathrow, could find a new home near the London Eye on the River Thames as part of a £22 million new tourism plan, according to reports.
The scheme includes a double-deck concourse jutting out into the Thames outside the former County Hall building, with the Concorde on the top deck and a river boat landing stage underneath.
The aircraft made its last flight between New York and London in August 2000 – just weeks after the crash of an Air France Concorde in Paris killed 113 people.
Captain Les Brodie, who flew the last Concorde flight from Heathrow to Bristol in November 2003, reportedly said: “I think an easily accessible Concorde exhibit in London would help remind people of what we have achieved, and seeing it may inspire someone to do it again.” | <urn:uuid:8caefa6c-d86f-47d3-ba96-990f1b0e6ac5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2010/10/13/34902/london+could+have+new+concorde+attraction.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958344 | 189 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Free health care and enhanced social benefits come at a price. A more socially liberal government also brings a more financially liberal ecosystem as well. Stymied competition in the technosphere has always been a point of strong contention for Canadians. From anti-competitive pricing practices in the media-distribution business to a levy on physical media, America’s Hat continually receives the sharp end of the Loonie encrusted mace.
Canadians are a very connected population. 64% of the population uses a mobile phone, and in 2001 (StatsCanada) almost 50% of the country was connected via personal broadband. Interestingly, this connectedness is strictly controlled and maintained by a very small group of organizations. Canada is very exclusive when it comes to media-distribution service providers. While Bell, Telus and Rogers maintain nationwide cellular networks, their wired businesses tend to service specific regions of the country, with a fourth provider, Shaw, remaining insofar out of the cellular phone business. Heading up the West, Shaw and Telus manage Cable TV and telephone, respectively, while Rogers and Bell carry the same in the East. Until very recently, GSM cellular was exclusively Rogers territory, while Bellus (as it is so “affectionately” called) carried CDMA. With, in essence, a monopoly over their respective services, Canadians have been subjected to anti-competitive practices since the inception of service delivery. Recent entrants to the industry have attempted to shift the status quo, but due to coverage and adoption issues, newcomers such as WIND Mobile have yet to make a serious dent in the oligopolic market.
Currently, Canadian wireless providers offer 3G data that is capped post-paid at 5GB. While the combined network is among the best on the continent and capable of delivering service to over 90% of the population; Canadians are charged a substantial tariff by their providers, including up to $60 a month for their mediocre bandwidth limits. Combined with a “generous” voice plan, Canadians still cannot attain the attractive pricing that American providers have been touting as of late. Plans such as Sprint’s $99 unlimited package, leaves those North of the 49th parallel panting for more.
The price gouging is not only confined to the mobile market. The recent announcement of Netflix’s arrival to Canada has highlighted the broadband bandwidth issues that plague users from coast to coast. Rogers, who controls the cable Internet market east of Sault Ste Marie, has recently lowered their monthly data caps. Neowin has covered the changes in great detail, and quite obviously the changes are to protect their current investment in their own “On Demand” service that offers functionality similar to that of the American giant. Other providers offer soft-caps that either result in extra charges or a crippled connection until the end of a billing period. Western giant, Shaw, while offering a 25mbps connection, caps the user at 250gb a month while charging $4 short of a C-Note. As there is no competition between areas, the caps and pricing are just more hot coals on the road to connectivity. Furthermore the general market consensus on net neutrality is similar to that of the States, so high prices combined with crippled service are currently the norm.
The major issue seems to be with the de facto non-competition agreements between companies. With the privatization of the western telcos, and the deregulation of Bell in the East, the system was never designed with competition in mind. Telephone service in Canada was for a time, all about just making it happen, as the logistical difficulties involved discouraged overlapping expenditure, and government regulation further restricted the development of private enterprise in the industry. As the market has grown, the associated companies (whether it is cable, telephone, internet or wireless) seem to have maintained their regional affiliations rather than attempting to compete in regions historically controlled by other entities. This spread of service has enabled individual companies to set pricing relative to their profit margins rather than on a competitive scale, as is evident by the nearly even service pricing between areas and providers.
On the wireless side, Bell and Telus have recently begun to operate a cooperatively maintained HSPA+ network over much of their CDMA service area. Although supporting similar phones and offering true 3G services across much of the area they share with Rogers, prices have not yet fallen. Ideally with more than one provider offering service over a given area, individual providers may begin to set competitive pricing. Instead, companies cite infrastructure maintenance and expansion costs as the reason for their steadily increasing service costs. It is often argued that due to low market saturation and increased area, costs are increased, but if you were to peruse an actual total coverage map, it turns out that not only do our neighbours to the south manage infrastructure for many more clients, but also manage to do so over a larger contiguous area at a lower cost. Somehow the numbers don’t seem to add up.
Although high pricing and a definite lack of service variation between providers is frustrating to the consumer, it would be unfair to state that companies are not doing their part to drive innovation. With an expected LTE rollout in 2012, Bellus is set to have the most advanced network on the continent. Combined with the continual development of land based services such as Bell Fiber and its cable equivalents, Canadian users are not necessarily behind the eight ball. The ongoing net neutrality discussions coupled with a possible service shift due to smaller providers could be the push that is needed for fair delivery of the service desired by connected Canadians. In the meantime, it looks as though we will have to continue to grin and bear the current connectivity climate.
Image Credit: David Lea (Flickr) | <urn:uuid:beb8b17d-5848-4a8a-b0df-1a8efd855f42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.neowin.net/news/trouble-in-paradise-canadians-held-hostage | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962777 | 1,157 | 1.984375 | 2 |
The right lifestyle for you
Many people are envious. Why is that? Well, because they think that they’re missing out on some aspects of their life and they think when they see someone that the other person has more. It is a big problem and the reason is not that other people really have so much more than we do. The problem is that we feel that way. And this shows that we have some confidence issues. To have a lot of money, friends, time-consuming job and many kids might not be the best lifestyle for everyone.
I often meet people who envy others, especially, for the money. People believe that having money is the key to every problem and the possibility to be happy in life. What they forget is that having money is not that easy. You have to plan your expenses, too. You just have to be more careful, because if you lose the money you had it will be very painful – it’s one thing to lose $500 and quite another to lose $50000, right? Maybe, that’s why rich people often look very stressed out and reserved. They don’t trust anyone (and they really shouldn’t), because as long as you don’t have much money you don’t have to be afraid of those flattering faces. Now you don’t know who your real friend is. And it’s quite a problem to find a shoulder to cry on if you have a relationship issue, health problem and such (you will still have those problems, even if you’re rich!).
Another important thing is health. Today everyone is on a diet, tries to eat healthy food and do at least some amount of exercise. The result is still that many people are obese, depressed and don’t look fit. The root of this trouble is our emotional state – we live in a capitalistic culture that tells us only to work, and never to actually live and enjoy our life. Career is the key word of our century. Of course, we get depressed. Believe me, no matter what products you’ll use for your meals if you are upset it won’t help you to feel good. Try to find a balance for yourself – not every job is great if it brings a lot of money but you don’t have time for your family or yourself and feel guilty and exhausted at the end of the day. It can’t go on for long! Maybe, it’s better to have a moderately paid job but still be able to spend some time and money on other stuff.
For God’s sake, don’t buy anything a fashion magazine tells you to. It’s not for everyone, either. A fashion magazine teases you with the clothes you might be able to wear if you looked like Gisele Bündchen, or Heidi Klum. If you don’t, then you should carefully consider what you’re buying, because this is the main reason we end up having a lot of stuff in our closets we don’t really wear afterwards. You don’t have to follow every fashion designer – their designs are usually for celebrities who can afford to pull up their face onto their butt to look younger. You, don’t have the problem of constant worrying “What if the media will trash me tomorrow because of this wrinkle on my right hand?!” Relax, the best thing is when you can afford to look your age. It’s freaky to look like a robot after a plastic surgery. You can belong to the people who get old beautifully because they look happy! It makes them beautiful!
Spend time with real friends and not with those who want something from you. Yes, I agree it’s hard to find them. But at the end of the day you’ll get tired of all this useless talk about the things that don’t mean anything for you. Find a couple of friends that truly share your hobby, understand you job problems, have kids of the same age… Your communication with them will bring you much more. I can tell you because I’m enjoying the same when I see people who share my interests. Because if there are others who just pretend to be interested in me – I feel tension. And this tension is another kind of stress that makes us more dissatisfied with our lives. Nothing is better for you as seeing the person in front of you saying “Yes, you’re right! I thought the same just yesterday!” And you feel their sincerity.
Your right lifestyle = looking around (in magazines and internet) and selecting the things that are suitable for you, not for everyone else. Try what’s best for your life and you will feel happy and content.
If you can share your experiences with finding the right lifestyle I will really appreciate it!
Your lifestyle advisor, | <urn:uuid:3ee0fc4d-c204-4ebe-8f22-e02ed7f6e800> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://barbiefantasies.com/the-right-lifestyle-for-you/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970524 | 1,020 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Temple of Saint Sava (Belgrade)
The (Orthodox) Temple of Saint Sava (Serbian: Храм Светог Саве) in Belgrade, Serbia is the largest Orthodox Church Temple currently in use. The church is dedicated to Saint Sava, founder of the Serbian church and an important figure in medieval Serbia. It is built on the Vračar plateau, on the location where his remains are thought to have been burned in 1595 by Turkish Sinan Pasha. From its location, it dominates Belgrade's cityscape, and is perhaps the most monumental building in the city. The building of the church structure is being financed exclusively by donations. The parish home is nearby, as will be the planned patriarchal building.
It finishes Belgrade's line Kalemegdan - Trg republike - Terazij] - Beograđanka - Slavija - Temple of Saint Sava. The peak is 134 metres (439.6 ft) high (64 metres 210 ft above the Sava river); therefore the church holds a dominant position in Belgrade's cityscape and is visible from all approaches to the city.
The church is 91 m (298.5 ft) long from east to west, and 81 m (265.7 ft) from north to south. It is 70 m (229.65 ft) tall, with the main gilding|gold-plated cross extending for 12 more metres (39.4 ft). Its domes have 18 more gold-plated crosses of various sizes, while the bell towers have 49 bells.
It has a surface area of 3,500 square metres on the ground floor, with three alleries of 1,500 m2 on the first level, and a 120 m2 gallery on the second level. The temple can receive 10,000 faithful at any one time. The choir gallery seats 800 singers. The basement contains a crypt, the treasury of Saint Sava, and the grave church of Saint Hieromartyr Lazar, with a total surface of 1.800 m2.
The facade is done in white marble and granite and, when finished, the inner decorations will be done as mosaics. The central dome will contain a mosaic of Christ Pantocrator. To give a sense of the monumental scale, the eyes will each be about 3 metres wide.
The construction has progressed very slowly.
Three hundred years after the burning of Saint Sava's remains, in 1895, the Society for the Construction of the Temple of Saint Sava on Vračar was founded in Belgrade. Its goal was to build a temple on the place of the burning. A small church was built at the future place of the temple, and it was later moved so the construction of the temple could begin. In 1905, a public contest was launched to design the temple; all five applications received were rejected as not being good enough.
Soon, the breakout of the First Balkan War in 1912, and subsequent Second Balkan War and First World War stopped all activities on the temple's construction. After the war, in 1919, the Society was established again. New appeals for designs were made in 1926; this time, it received 22 projects. Though the first and third prize were not awarded, the second-place project, made by architect Aleksandar Deroko, was chosen for the building of the temple. Forty years after the initial idea, building of the temple started in May 10, 1935, 340 years after the burning of Saint Sava's remains. The cornerstone was laid by bishop Gavrilo Dozic-Medenica (the future Serbian Patriarch Gavrilo V).
The project was designed by Aleksandar Deroko and Bogdan Nestorovic, aided by civil engineer Vojislav Zadjina.
The building lasted until Second World War Axis occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941. The temple's foundation was created, and the walls erected to the height of 7 and 11 metres. After the 1941 bombing of Belgrade, all work ceased. The occupying German army used the unfinished temple as a parking lot, while in 1944 the partisans and the Red Army used it with the same purpose. Later, it was used for storage by various companies. The Society for Building of the Temple ceased to exist and has not been revived.
In 1958, Patriarch Germanius renewed the idea of building the temple. After 88 requests for continuation of the building—and as many refusals, permission for finishing the building was granted in 1984, and Branko Pešić was chosen as new architect of the temple. He remade the original projects to make better use of new materials and building techniques.
Construction of the building began again on August 12, 1985. The walls were erected to full height of 40 metres.
The greatest achievement of the building was lifting of the 4,000 ton central dome, which was built on the ground, together with the copper plate and the cross, and later lifted onto the walls. The lifting, which took forty days, was finished on June 26, 1989.
As of 2004, the temple is mostly finished. The bells and windows are installed, with the facade also completed. However, work on the inner decoration still needs to be completed. | <urn:uuid:63719af6-f01c-442d-899b-9937d14d5197> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Temple_of_Saint_Sava_(Belgrade)&oldid=55126 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972784 | 1,092 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Page 6 of 7
Then, holding all the actual LSD presented by the government in his right hand (seized from busts around the country), Weinberg made a grand sweeping gesture toward the stacks of blotter paper found in McCloud's home.
"That would fill a small room," he said. "This wouldn't fill a soup bowl.... That is a metaphor for the prosecution's whole case."
Before he finished, Weinberg made certain to address the cultural issue, the one unpredictable element of the trial: how the heartland jury would react to a San Francisco artist whose defense was that he operated a gallery paying tribute to LSD.
"Probably the one thing the evidence proves beyond a reasonable doubt," Weinberg said, "is that [Mark McCloud] lives a very different life than you."
In his rebuttal, Oliver wielded the "Welcome drug dealers come in back room" sign to remind jurors just how different. Then he coined a term for McCloud's argument and instructed them not to buy into it.
"This is the paper defense: 'It's just paper. I'm just different,'" was Oliver's interpretation.
For ten and a half hours, the jury considered the paper defense, and although there was no more testimony from unlucky secret agents or combative art critics, the case of United States v. Mark McCloud continued in its peculiarity even as both sides awaited the decision.
Once, the jury sent a question to Judge Fenner on a sheet of paper folded to the size of a quarter -- or a couple of hits of acid. At one point, Oliver and Weinberg bickered over what constituted a "representative" collection of framed art for the jurors to view. After they reached a compromise, Susan Matross, Weinberg's assistant, made one last addition -- a framed sheet displaying Saturday Night Live's tragic claymation hero, Mr. Bill.
"She likes Mr. Bill," Weinberg informed an annoyed Oliver. "She's a big Mr. Bill fan."
Later, after Fenner had dealt with another query from the deliberation room and returned to his chambers, the sounds of psychedelic-era Beatles rose from the prosecutor's laptop. With enough LSD paraphernalia in evidence to (if dosed) send the population of California soaring into the fourth dimension, the peaceful 1967 anthem "All You Need Is Love" played softly. Had Oliver's contraband CD been Jefferson Airplane or Pink Floyd, the world's supply of irony very well may have run dry.
The jury's final note informed Fenner that it had reached a deadlock and believed further deliberation would not help. When he requested more discussion, the jury returned with its verdict of "not guilty" fifteen minutes later.
Three days after his acquittal, Mark McCloud does not cower after his near-prison experience, does not concoct some weepy monologue about hoping to resume a life of art and quiet and love. Instead, he sits back at his San Francisco home and (after bestowing praise on his jury) digs into a passionate condemnation of the government's war on blotter paper, both treated and untreated.
"I want every LSD prisoner let go, whether they were a snitch or not," he says. "I want their property returned and a public apology from these people who took our right to consciousness without permission."
He speaks at a slow, languid pace that a sloth could transcribe, a pattern that might be irritating if the words themselves were boring. But Mark McCloud does not say boring things. He challenges the government and blasts the war on drugs. He claims he'll fight battles with his art, maybe even design a new sheet of blotter paper with Oliver's face on the front "and his ass on the back so you can spank it." McCloud says things like that. | <urn:uuid:ca094da8-9c26-4946-9d4c-1dd52bc945f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pitch.com/kansascity/adventures-in-wonderland/Content?oid=2163056&storyPage=6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966849 | 790 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The challenge of technological independence
This article appeared in Issue 6 of Khanya – Education through Technology – 2005
Khanya is approaching its fourth year of operation. During this period about 300 schools have been assisted in acquiring technology facilities, thousands of educators were trained to use technology as a teaching tool and hundreds of thousands of learners are already benefiting from state-of-the-art facilities at their disposal. The project has recently been honoured by receiving the Standard Bank CPSI Public Sector Innovation award for innovation in service delivery in the public sector. The award recognises the huge role that Khanya plays in improving the lives of many.
From all outward appearances, Khanya is indeed doing very well. It is, however, a dangerous period for a project of this nature since all the praise and accolades could make one complacent. A measure of introspection is therefore in order. What can we improve? What are the opportunities over the hill that we may not see at present?
Technology is changing at a rapid pace and this brings challenges of its own. Consequently, we need to examine constantly whether the best technology is being used to satisfy educational requirements. It is vital to continue asking: Has open-source technology matured enough to play a significant role in our technology offering to schools? What about alternative connectivity modes, such as broadband, wireless or satellite? Shouldn’t we move computers, data projectors and electronic whiteboards into classrooms, as opposed to, or in addition to, computer laboratories?
In order to answer these questions sensibly, Khanya will continue to experiment with new manifestations of technology, while looking at the rest of the world to learn from emerging best practice paradigms. There is enough flexibility within the project to incorporate the best modules to meet changing educational needs.
While we are moving ahead with putting technology in place, an important requirement is emerging that touches on the sustainability of the project. Who is going to manage and maintain these technologies in the future? It would be an impossible task for Khanya, or the agencies used by Khanya at present, to take care of all the technology needs of schools in the future. It is therefore necessary for schools to move towards technical independence- to accept responsibility for managing and maintaining their facilities. The goal should be that every school becomes autonomous as far as its technology is concerned.
What does technical independence mean? In the first instance, a body of technical knowledge must be established in each school. Educators must be empowered to have a full understanding of how to use technology as a tool in education; but a school also needs technical expertise to install, manage, replace, fix and manipulate the technology. Some schools are in the fortunate position of having a full-time LAN administrator dedicated to this task. Other schools need to consider how they are going to achieve such independence. Is it possible to assign this task to some of the educators as part if their portfolios? Could community members be involved? Could skilled learners play a role? Each school will have to consider its own circumstances while developing a road map towards technical independence.
Over the next few months Khanya will be assisting schools in consulting with all the relevant stakeholders to develop a tailor-made plan towards becoming technically independent.
For more published articles, click here.
- Full steam ahead
- “Kry” is ‘n vloekwoord
- Goeie bure verseker vreedsame naasbestaan
- In the spirit of empowerment
- The challenge of technological independence
- Creativity and innovation
- For the community, by the community
- Unlocking the computer room
- Gadget graveyards
- A Basket of Software
- The weakest link
- Reality check
- So far, so good
- Education has been in a downward spiral for some time ... has it now gone into free fall? Tweeted 1 day ago
- Whose responsibility is it to train teachers to use classroom technology? wp.me/p23NXx-6H Tweeted 1 day ago
- @markcarolissen Latitude allows for expanding the mind and to develop workable solutions ... I applaud you for using the opportunity. Tweeted 2 days ago
- @neiltyson @RichardDawkins Fortunately ample data is available in the physical world around us to support belief in creation and a creator. Tweeted 2 days ago
- Moving from a no-technology classroom to one that is rich in technology is not an easy journey ... but it's possible. Tweeted 2 days ago
A calender of all posts to date | <urn:uuid:84542b7a-7c7e-4c09-9f51-2701c48a550c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.e4africa.co.za/?page_id=184 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940813 | 935 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Will the world be facing a severe food shortage within the next few decades? According to a number of scientific studies, the answer is quite likely yes, unless conservation measures can be taken to reverse the over-pumping of groundwater. Much of the world food supply is grown by using groundwater for irrigation. Worldwide, aquifer levels are dropping rapidly because far more water is being withdrawn from them than rain and snow can replace. The highest rates of groundwater loss occur in China, India, California’s Central Valley, and the southern high plains areas of Western Kansas and the Texas Panhandle.
A University of Texas study published in May, 2012, indicates that groundwater depletion in the high plains and in California’s Central Valley threaten to cripple agricultural production in two of America’s most important food producing regions. Between 2006 and 2009, farmers in the Central Valley pumped out enough groundwater to fill Lake Mead, or approximately 8 trillion gallons (approximately 25 billion cubic meters). This rate of withdrawal far exceeds nature’s recharge rate. As a consequence, the water level in the underlying Central Valley Aquifer System has dropped 400 feet (120 meters) since the first half of the 20th Century.
The high plains states of South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas draw water from the huge Ogallala Aquifer. However, crop irrigation in the Texas Panhandle and Western Kansas, only 4% of the total high plains land area, accounts for one third of the aquifers water depletion. Since 1950, the level of the Ogallala has dropped 300 feet (90 meters). At the present rate of withdrawal, and with a low rate of replenishment due to local dry conditions, the southern high plains will not have enough water to support agriculture within 30 years.
The high plains and the Central Valley account for the much of the nation’s food supply, producing fruits, vegetables, and grains worth $57 billion annually.
Worldwide groundwater depletion rose 230% from 33 trillion gallons (126 billion cubic meters) a year In 1960, to 75 trillion gallons (283 billion cubic meters) a year in 2000. With global warming bringing longer and hotter drought periods, the natural recharge rate is expected to keep dropping, along with the water levels in the underground aquifers. 70% of groundwater withdrawal is used to irrigate crops. One simple way to conserve water is the use of drip irrigation instead of the flooding method presently used by many farmers. Unless such strict groundwater conservation methods are strictly adhered to by farmers everywhere, world food supply will decline while world population continues to expand, creating an inevitable food shortage crisis. | <urn:uuid:8c285c52-9357-45b2-976b-41b131928c3f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tsunaminaturaldisaster.com/tag/groundwater-depletion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914989 | 536 | 3.765625 | 4 |
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Giant Cellphone Bill Shocks Florida Woman
Celina Aarons' deaf brother communicates via text message. She usually pays about $175 a month for his cellphone. But when he went to Canada without an international plan, the bill was more than $200,000. A Miami TV station intervened, and now T-Mobile says Aarons only owes $2,500. She has six months to pay. | <urn:uuid:676d2318-da7d-434d-ab1c-d27a497f0a2c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://whqr.org/post/giant-cellphone-bill-shocks-florida-woman | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949508 | 100 | 1.578125 | 2 |
He moved on to Britain, where a smaller version was said to achieved an altitude of a 'half mile' in 1934. Zucker was deported from England for postal fraud, only to be detained by the government on return to Germany. Commitment to an asylum was avoided, but he pledged not to conduct further experiments. He emerged again in 1964, when the death of a boy during one of his experiments in Braunlage led to a general ban against rocket flights in West Germany. By the 1970's he was again selling fraudulent rocket post covers. He died in 1985.
Gerhard Zucker first came to public notice in 1931 when he began flying fireworks-type powder rockets on 'rocket post' flights in various villages in the region. In 1933 Zucker began touring Germany with his amazing 'operational rocket'. The recoverable cruise missile was 5 m long, had a thrust of 360 kg and a takeoff mass of 200 kg. Later versions were supposedly capable of cruising out 400 km from its launch point at an altitude of 1000 m and a speed of 1000 m/s. It could then return after having delivered a bomb payload or having taken reconnaissance photographs. In actuality the missile was only an enormous hull equipped with eight powder rockets.
Zucker showed up in Cuxhaven on the German North Sea coast in the winter of 1933, ready for a long-range demonstration (15 km, from the coast to Neuhaven Island). After being stuck in a ditch while being taken out to the field for a February launch attempt, the great day finally came in April 1933. A huge crowd of local folk and officials gathered to witness the event. After staggering 15 m into the air, the torpedo came crashing down. This did not prevent Zucker from touring other towns in Germany, attempting further rocket tests, and selling non-official 'rocket' postal covers supposedly carried by his rockets. In the winter of 1933/1934 he was said to have demonstrated his rocket to Nazi government officials. They later claimed that they wanted him to develop the rocket to carry bombs, which he claimed that he refused to do. He next appeared in England, where in May, 1934 he exhibited his rocket 'postal covers' at the London Air Post Exhibition. There he claimed that he wanted to interest the British government in his rocket. Photographer Robert Hartman agreed to be his publicist, and postage stamp dealer C H Dombrowski backed production of Zucker rockets in Britain. The group planned to make thousands of pounds on the sale of Zucker's 'rocket post'.
Zucker immediately began to claim there were many problems in replicating his 'successful' German flights. The Nazis had banned the export of proper rocket fuel. No one in England knew the secret of packing the powder cartridges. The runners of the launch ramp needed a special secret German lubricat. And so on. Mrs Dombrowski supposedly made an attempt to smuggle the secret rocket fuel out of Germany in her hat box, to know avail. It was said that Gestapo agents were watching every move of the trio. Using what he said was brilliant improvisation, Zucker built a (smaller) rocket using substitute materials (incuding butter for lubricants).
On the early morning of June 6,1934 Zucker, Dombrowski, a reporter and a photographer from the London Daily Express, a philatelic magazine editor, and Hartman met on a hilltop on Sussex Downs. After a first successful test launch without payload, two launches were made with postal covers. The observers guessed the rockets went as high as 400 to 800 m. Banner headlines the next day announced 'The First British Rocket Mail' and carried Zucker's claim that soon he would inaugrate regular one minute rocket post service between Dover and Calais.
The next step was to to impress the Royal Mail with the potential or rocket post. Zucker announced a demonstration firing of his rocket over 1600 m of water between the town of Harris and the Isle of Scarp. This smaller model airframe was 1.07 m long with a diameter of 18 cm. The solid fuel cartridge (a copper shell with asbestos lining) fixed inside was 55 cm long and 6 cm in diameter. The rest of the fuselage was packed with 1,200 pre-sold 'highly profitable mail covers'. Government officials watched on 31 July 1934 as the rocket exploded, blowing the burning payload all over the beach. Zucker diagnosed the cause as incorrect packing of the powder cartridges. The singed envelopes that were recovered only seemed to have a greater cache with collectors.
The British found Zucker to be a 'threat to the income of the post office and the security of the country'. He was deported to Germany, where he was immediately arrested by the Germans on suspicion of espionage or collaboration with Britain. He managed to avoid arrest and commitment to an asylum but was forbidden to make further rocket experiments. During World War II he served in the Luftwaffe, being invalided out in 1944. He returned to his home in Hasselfelde, which ended up being just within the Russian zone of occupation. He eventually moved a few kilometers onto the West German side of the border, became a furniture dealer, and resumed rocket experiments. A student was killed in Braunlage in 1964 during one such experiment. This led to a ban on non-military rocket launches in West Germany and the closure of the civilian spaceport in Cuxhaven. Nevertheless by the 1970's Zucker had resumed launching fraudulent 'rocket postal covers'. Having done a great deal to set back scientific rocketry in Germany, Zucker died at home in his bed in 1985. His widow and children returned to Hasselfelde after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
to a: 15 m to 300 m altitude. Launch data is: incomplete.
Status: Retired 1933.
First Launch: 1933.04.01.
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Give Us Your Poor, Your Unemployed, Your Dope Fiends
The Great Recession had one effect on Americans you don’t hear much about - regular illicit drug use increased by approximately 2.5 million users in 36 months, from 2007 to 2010. The year 2011 (the most recent data available) saw a slight decline to an estimated 8.7% (from 8.9%) of all Americans regularly using illegal drugs, but, as ConvergEx's Nick Colas notes, this is still 19.5 million people who would find it difficult to pass a pre-employment drug test. The NIH’s National Institute of Drug Abuse & Addiction 2012 survey found that 17.2% of unemployed adults are current users of illicit drugs versus 8.0% who are full-time employed. While this is certainly only a partial explanation of the current still-high domestic unemployment rate, it does highlight how well-intentioned state-by-state decriminalization of drugs such as marijuana can work against a better national employment picture.
Via ConvergEx's Nick Colas,
Drug testing is commonplace in American business. Every year, millions of employees and prospective hires submit to either random testing or required pre-employment screening. Passing is a prerequisite of employment for new hires and can lead to dismissal in the case of an existing employee. Whether you want a job as a truck driver in the Bakken or an investment banker in New York, chances are very good that you will have to submit to, and pass, a test for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, heroin/opiates and PCP. Put another way, the specimen cup is the gateway to employment.
One of the less-discussed features of the Great Recession relates to the same topic: more Americans became regular users of illegal drugs during this period than at any point in the last decade. A few salient datapoints from the last published National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2011):
- Some 22.5 million Americans reported using illicit drugs in the prior month. That is 8.7% of the over-12 year old domestic population, with the 2010 survey showing a similar 8.9% usage rate. Prior to the 2007 Financial Crisis and subsequent recession, that number was 8.0%.
- The entire pickup in illegal drug usage over the 2007 – 2011 timeframe is from an increase in reported use of marijuana. Seven percent of the over-12 population reported using the drug in the prior 30 days in 2011, up from 5.8% in 2007. Seizure data from the FBI, tracked by the U.S. Census, supports the survey results. In 2010 (most recently available data) U.S. law enforcement seized 4.5 million pounds of marijuana from smugglers, dealers and users, up from 3.0 million pounds in 2006.
- Among the unemployed, reported illicit drug usage was 17.2% of that population, versus 8.0% for their counterparts who are employed full-time. It is worth noting that the survey protocol is in-person, with participants answering questions by filling out a computerized questionnaire. They receive $30 for completing the survey. Given the sensitive nature of questions over illegal drug use, it is entirely possible that the survey understates such use – perhaps materially –despite assurances of anonymity and confidentiality.
Putting these two points – pervasive drug testing and rising rates of drug usage – together raises a useful question: how much of the current still-high rates of U.S. unemployment is due to prospective employees who cannot pass a drug test? It is a question that the Boston branch of the Federal Reserve actually highlighted in their contribution to the most recent Beige Book. One of their contacts mentioned that they were having trouble hiring low-skill workers, in part due to failed drug tests and quoted the source as saying that this problem, along with spotty attendance, “May result from behaviors developed during extended periods of unemployment.”
So how concerned are workers and prospective hires about the possibility of a failed drug test? To answer that question we went to the same place I imagine most of them go: Google.
Some observations using Google Trends (and several supporting charts immediately following the text):
- Searches for the phrase “Failed drug test” on Google have increased 2-5x from pre-recessionary levels in 2005-2006. Likewise, “Positive drug test” searches have doubled over the same period. Oddly, “Beat a drug test “ is roughly flat over the same period. Modern chemical testing is tough to “Beat” and users – drug and Google alike – may know that.
- The Google maps which highlight above-average levels of search volume by state show a clear correlation between state-level unemployment (table included) and “Failed”/”Positive” drug test search volume. High unemployment states such as Michigan and most of the southern USA are clearly also areas where Google sees a higher level of interest in these queries.
- California is a disproportionate contributor to the nation’s still-high unemployment picture, so it deserves special mention here. The most recent unemployment rate in California is 9.8%, well above the national rate of 7.8%. And Google searches for “Failed”/”Positive” drug test results are above average as well. But lest you think the state’s well-known medical marijuana laws have somehow seeped into broad enough usage to skew the unemployment picture, think again. There have only been some 66,000 cards issued for medical marijuana use since the inception of the current program eight years ago.
So, given the Google Trends data, it seems clear that an increasing number of Americans are concerned about how their drug usage may affect their employment prospects. At the same time, U.S. corporations are unlikely to change their policies towards the issue. The Department of Labor actively promotes drug testing on its “eLaws Advisors” website, chronicling both the costs (billions of dollars annually) and successes achieved by companies with stringent drug testing requirements for new and existing workers. That means that drug testing is not only a condition of any Federal employment, but also in safety sensitive jobs, where agencies such as the Department of Transportation hold sway.
The intersection of government drug policy and employment is in the recent trend for U.S. states to decriminalize marijuana possession. Recall that this is far and away the most popular illegal drug among Americans. As of January 2012, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington state, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Alabama, Ohio, North Carolina, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maine all have varying laws which make the possession of small amounts of marijuana either legal or subject to a de minimus penalty. In New York, for example, possession of 25 grams or less on a first offence is a $100 fine and considered a “Violation,” akin to a traffic ticket.
But for all these lessening of the strictures, marijuana use will still trigger a positive drug reading on the standard pre- and current employment urine test. The minimum standard used by most employers, courtesy of the U.S. government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), tests for:
- Cocaine in all forms
- Opiates such as Heroin
The critical issue is that while states might set their own laws, the Federal government still rates marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, alongside heroin, LSD and Ecstasy (MDMA). As recently as December 2012, both SAMHSA and the Department of Transportation - where drug testing is understandably important - reiterated that marijuana remains part of their established “Panel” (those five drugs mentioned above) and that they do not recognize any medical use or state exemptions for criminality. Even Colorado, which last November passed some of the most relaxed drug laws in the country, allows employers to continue to test for, and terminate/not hire, marijuana use.
In summary, drug use and testing does not (of course) explain the still high levels of national unemployment on their own. Issues of cyclical sluggishness and select structural issues still hold the reins here. But as policymakers struggle to keep the country’s unemployment rate on a downward trajectory, it does seem clear that national drug policy and state-level lawmaking are working at cross-purposes. With drug use among the unemployed at levels double their full-time employed peers (17% versus 8%), and marijuana use on a solid uptrend, national drug policy and macroeconomic priorities appear to be on different – and conflicting – tracks.
- advertisements - | <urn:uuid:83792666-53d3-460e-b364-9fcfcd512813> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-22/give-us-your-poor-your-unemployed-your-dope-fiends | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946298 | 1,784 | 1.71875 | 2 |
A mini-tornado has hit a Queensland coastal town as the state is battered by severe weather and flooding caused by the remnants of cyclone Oswald.
Premier Campbell Newman said the mini-tornado occurred around 1pm Brisbane time and caused heavy damage in Bargara, east of Bundaberg.
"Unroofing of various buildings around that town, power lines down and potentially an incident where a tree has gone down on a motor vehicle with, I believe two occupants," Mr Newman told reporters in Brisbane. Those two people were critically injured and are undergoing emergency treatment in Bundaberg Hospital.
"We have declared a disaster in that area."
Emergency services confirmed the mini-cyclone had cut a "swathe of damage" and officials were waiting for word on the condition of the male and female in the car.
Emergency Services Minister Jack Dempsey, who lives in Bundaberg, said 150 homes had been damaged at Burnett Heads.
The Brisbane Courier Mail was reporting 17 people were injured when the tornado hit the town.
Mr Dempsey said he could not confirm that number, but said a triage centre had been set up in Bargara to deal to tend to at least a dozen people injured by flying glass and other debris.
Mr Dempsey said East Bundaberg and small townships in the area had also been hit by mini-tornadoes, but it was not clear whether there had been several individual tornadoes or whether they were part of the same weather system. | <urn:uuid:bfd1af00-5d15-4125-a8ce-57742396b909> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nzherald.co.nz/news/print.cfm?objectid=10861608 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986809 | 302 | 1.625 | 2 |
Yesterday I quoted an 1848 anecdote about women in Pepperell seizing a Loyalist suspected of carrying “despatches from Canada to the British in Boston” in April 1775. Over the next half-century, other authors added to that story.
In an 1873 address in Dunstable, New Hampshire, Samuel T. Worcester filled in some information:
The maiden name of Mrs. David Wright, the heroine of the bridge guard, was Prudence Cumings, a daughter of Samuel Cumings, one of the first settlers of Hollis, and first town clerk. It appears from the Hollis records of “births and marriages,” that Prudence Cumings was born at the parish of West Dunstable, now Hollis, Nov. 26, 1740, and married to David Wright, of Pepperell, Dec. 28, 1761.In 1899, Mary L. P. Shattuck delivered a talk to the local D.A.R. called “The Story of Jewett’s Bridge,” which she published in 1912. (Here’s the text in P.D.F. form.) This appears to be the most comprehensive telling of the bridge story.
Shattuck collected two versions of the tale, one each from descendants of:
- the suspected Loyalist, Leonard Whiting (1740-1807) of Hollis; unlike some other men arrested for favoring the Crown, he stayed in the U.S., moving only as far as Cavendish, Vermont.
- Prudence Wright (1740-1823), the leader of the women at the bridge.
Another addition to the original tale isn’t possible to confirm through town records. It says Whiting was riding with another suspected Loyalist named Samuel Cumings, who recognized the voice of the woman shouting at them to stop—because Prudence Wright was his sister. Shattuck even quoted Samuel as saying, “Hold, that’s Prue’s voice, and she would wade through blood for the rebel cause.”
Yet a third addition to the tale was that Prudence Wright had actually overheard her brother (either Samuel or another one, Thomas Cumings) and Whiting discussing how they would ride to Boston and tell the British authorities about what the Patriots were doing. In this version, she organized the guard specifically to block them. And after hearing her voice, Thomas (in one version) left the area for good. That telling plays up family ties the most, and provides an even stronger justification for Wright’s actions.
I’m always dubious about stories that grow better over time without supporting documentation. And this tale strikes me as missing a particular type of evidence.
TOMORROW: The missing documents. | <urn:uuid:3f9af6c2-11cf-4901-b6f9-5b19f30c5bd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2010/08/prudence-wright-and-her-brothers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955642 | 581 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The Supreme Court
Hugo Black (1937-1971)
Hugo Black earned his law degree from the University of Alabama and then became one of Birmingham's leading trial lawyers. He set a goal of being elected senator by the age of 40. In the South, that meant he had to join the Democratic Party. He also believed that to be electable, he had to join the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which he thought was necessary to further his political career.
Just the Facts
Black's involvement in the KKK was very limited. He joined the KKK on September 13, 1923, marched in a few parades and spoke at meetings. His speeches were on liberty and encouraged the KKK to be a law-abiding organization. He opposed whipping and other violent activities of the KKK.
While Black was serving in his second Senate term, Franklin Roosevelt was elected president. Black became an ardent supporter of Roosevelt's New Deal programs and led the fight to help Roosevelt pack the court and change its opposition to New Deal legislation. Even though he lost the fight, when it came time for Roosevelt to nominate his first justice to the Supreme Court, he picked Hugo Black, knowing he would support him on the Court. During his four terms, Roosevelt appointed nine justices.
Black's appointment was opposed by Negro physicians of the National Medical Association because of his KKK connection, and a small group of blacks protested his appointment on the day of the Senate debate. The KKK connection had not come up during judiciary committee deliberations and, at that time, there was no proof of his membership.
Opposition to his appointment was also raised because he served on the Senate at the time a change was made in the Supreme Court retirement provisions. Since he could benefit from the change, some questions were raised about blocking his appointment. The Constitution forbids a Congressman from being appointed to a U.S. office for which benefits were increased by that same Congress. After intense debate, Black was confirmed by a vote of 63 to 16.
After Black took the Supreme Court oath, the newspaper Pittsburgh Post-Gazette exposed Black's KKK membership. There were major protests, but the issue was pushed to the side as war fears before World War II began to build in the country.
The McCarthy Era got its name from Senator Joseph McCarthy, who led a witch-hunt to expose people with communist views after World War II. Many who were proved to be members of the Communist Party lost their jobs. Anyone called before McCarthy's committee in the House of Representatives had to prove their loyalty to the country by naming other members of the communist party in order to keep their jobs. He accused Harry Truman of being soft on communism and portrayed him as a dangerous liberal, which helped to elect Republican Dwight Eisenhower as president.
Chambers v. Florida
Black's service on the Court proved that he was not a bigot. He opposed racial segregation and championed minority rights. One case that helped prove his position was Chambers v. Florida in 1940. Chambers was one of about 30 to 40 blacks arrested after an elderly white man was robbed and murdered in Pompano, Florida.
Some of the blacks were held in the Dade County jail and questioned for more than a week, sometimes throughout the night, until confessions were secured. The prisoners were not allowed to confer with an attorney or to speak with friends or relatives.
They were questioned one at a time, surrounded by 10 men. They were continually threatened and physically mistreated. After about a week of this type of treatment, four of them finally confessed in desperation and for fear of their lives.
Formal charges had not been brought before the confessions. Two days after the confessions, the four men were indicted and arraigned. Two pleaded guilty and two pleaded not guilty. One of the ones that pleaded not guilty changed his plea to guilty, leaving Chambers as the sole one to be tried. He was convicted of murder based on his confession and the testimony of the three other confessors.
The Florida State Supreme Court overturned the first conviction when it learned that the confessions were not voluntary and had been obtained by coercion and duress. After some court maneuvering, the case was moved to a different count and tried. Even with the change of venue the four men were convicted, so the Supreme Court of Florida upheld the conviction. The case was then appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court overturned the conviction of all four black men. In writing his opinion for the court, Black said:
Hugo Black staunchly defended the First Amendment right to free speech during the McCarthy Era. His support was so strong that some say he and his fellow justice William Douglas were under FBI surveillance during the 1953 Rosenberg case. The Rosenbergs were convicted as spies and electrocuted in 1953. The Supreme Court never heard the case. As we've discussed, four justices must vote in favor of hearing a case before being put on the docket. Hugo Black became sick before the conference was held to discuss the case and was not available to vote. Without his vote, there weren't enough votes in favor of taking the case.
Black became seriously ill and retired from the Supreme Court in 1971 after serving 34 years. He died eight days after retiring.
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Supreme Court © 2004 by Lita Epstein, J.D.. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. | <urn:uuid:14f1e3fd-af34-48ca-84cb-fd2b2568b433> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infoplease.com/cig/supreme-court/hugo-black-1937-1971.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991153 | 1,118 | 3.65625 | 4 |
On Fri, Mar 22, 2002 at 02:01:20PM +0000, Richard Poynder wrote:
> Thanks for the note. Is not the important distinction between disputes over
thanks for the prompt reply.
> proprietary software licences and open source licences that in the case of
> open source software it is difficult to prove financial loss? If a
> proprietary software company successfully proves infringement then it can
> ask the courts for damages for all the potential loss of sales/revenue
well, there are other legal remedies. in the mysql case one party (i'm
not certain of the players) was blocked from distributing their product.
regardless it is rare.
your article reprinted in the irish times discussed the financial risks
and exposure from using software licensed under the gpl. you did present
a number of opinions, which i appreciate, but you didn't present the
context which i think is unfortunate.
the net and the ease at which creative works can be copied and distributed
is a concern to a wide range of people. those groups have come up with a
variety of solutions. the riaa and mpaa have brought a host of lawsuits,
lobied for the dmca, and are now trying to force computer manufaturers
to enforce their licenses. closed source software companies have also
lobbied and influenced legislation like the dmca, ucita and software
patent law in europe. in addition they formed the bsa which tries to
enforce their licenses. this forces many companies to dedicate staff
members to license audits in order to comply with bsa audits - facing
"fines" if they fail to comply.
and while most of the laws i mention are confined to the united states,
similar laws (or in the case of the dmca, international treaties) have
been enacted or are in the pipeline to be legislated around the world.
those actions have real financial impact to companies across the globe
- even companies whose primary business is not related to computers or
that's the context the gpl lives in. i do think companies should
understand the gpl if they are using software under its license. for some
companies it might remove the possibility of using it. however they
should also understand what the alternatives offer. it's my experience
that companies are *not* well educated on *any* software licenses and
that they routinely violate those licenses. a company's financial risk
is not reduced by installing a single copy of visual c++ across a few
dozen developer workstations in lieu of gcc.
kevin at suberic.net buffy: come on, can't you put your foot down?!
fork()'ed on 37058400 giles: it *is* down.
meatspace place: orbit buffy: one of these days you're going to have to
http://suberic.net/~kevin get a grown up car. --inca mummy girl
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Indian Linux Users' Group? Try here. If you've read all this and aren't a lawyer: you should be! | <urn:uuid:39803267-8664-4860-b400-162d16e36a39> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linux.ie/lists/pipermail/ilug/2002-March/043877.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943434 | 764 | 1.75 | 2 |
SSidlovOther Things On My MindPremiumReviews:
Pompton Lakes, NJ
reply to jslik
said by jslik:Sorry, I didn't assume any such thing. When businesses have to pay fees, etc., they include it in the pricing. A goverment that 'runs like a business' gets the max fees possible. So that here in NJ the State isn't charging $7K for a lease running 20 years for powerlines through a park, there' charging 10X that for 5 years with increases. They are now as preditary as the business, and 'looking out for us' and our interests. The power company just goes before the board of utilities and says, 'look at all this money we pay in land leases, we can't make enough a of profit, can we raise our rates, please?" and the board says yes. We the consumer who was 'protected' get higher utility rates, while the government says that they now have money to regulate utilities without using tax payer dollars.
Your example assumes the savings from reduced/eliminated government fees/charges in a cable franchise would be passed along. .
Both business and government are corrupt from the viewpoint of the citizen. Now if this should lead to some other formulation for society's structure is a totally different question and a lot of that depends on your humanist view. | <urn:uuid:d0e22d03-8110-475e-a1f3-c35ffe017f9b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24807423- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950905 | 284 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Former high-ranking federal officials staged a mock cyber attack exercise in which a computer virus of unknown origin cripples 40,000 computers and key business systems at a major U.S.-based oil company the day after Thanksgiving. (Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images)
In case of a major cyber attack on critical networks, experts warn that deep reluctance among the governmental and private-sector organizations to share vital information could blunt a swift response.
A number of former high-ranking federal officials staged a mock cyber attack exercise last week. The scenario: A computer virus of unknown origin cripples 40,000 computers and key business systems at a major U.S.-based oil company the day after Thanksgiving. The virus also infects backup systems and systems storing data on the pressure and safety parameters for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Computer systems that direct the company’s trading operations also are down.
As a precaution, the CEO shuts down drilling in the Gulf, bringing one-fifth of the nation’s daily oil production to a halt. His first priorities:
Estimate the extent of the damage and prevent further impact.
Get operations back online as soon as possible because it’s the start of the holiday season and there are demands from the transportation sector and customers who need to heat their homes during the winter.
Work with the company’s lawyers to respond to U.S. and foreign regulators.
Sharing details about the attack with the FBI, Department of Homeland Security or the National Security Agency is last on the list.
“[I’m] not going to rush into sharing,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, who played the oil company CEO at the Washington Post-sponsored event. Alperovitch is co-founder and chief technology officer at CrowdStrike, a security startup firm.
He said he first needed to understand the regulatory impact and legal liabilities before contacting the Energy Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and others. There might also be civil liabilities from customers and potential impact on oil and stock prices if details of the attack got out.
As CEO, Alperovitch said he would likely contact the director of the FBI and share the malicious code to help determine who was behind the attack, but he would share little, if any, information about the impact of the attack and wouldn’t give the government access to the company’s network.
“I don’t need other folks in the kitchen,” especially those the company has no control over, he said.
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, who spoke at the event but did not participate in the exercise, said the government needs to get better at sharing cyber information, at various classification levels, to assist companies. Real-time information sharing is key, Napolitano said. Without it, efforts to secure critical cyber networks will be delayed.
When DHS learns of an attack days or weeks later, it can’t help mitigate the damage or alert other critical sectors of the attack, she said. It also delays forensics work to determine the source and intentions of the attack.
Former FBI deputy assistant director Steven Chabinsky, who played the role of FBI director, said information sharing with the company about the source of the attack would be slight initially. Chabinsky said some company officials could get limited security clearances to learn details about the attack.
The FBI would also ask for the company’s incident log files to gather more details about the attack, Chabinsky said. When asked how hard the FBI would press to get those files, he said the aim is not to revictimize a victim. While there are forceful means of getting information, Chabinsky said the goal is for the company to voluntarily share the information.
Several cybersecurity bills in the Senate and House attempt to address the bureaucratic hurdles that prohibit intelligence agencies from sharing classified cybersecurity information with companies and that discourage companies from sharing information with each other or the government.
One of those, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, which passed the House in April, would allow the government and industry to voluntarily share information about malicious attacks and viruses. Companies that share information under the bill’s provisions would be granted legal protections if they are subject to a cyber attack.
Many experts argue that absent incentives, such as tax breaks or liability protection, there are no benefits for some companies to share cyber threat information with the government, let alone their competitors.
Failed legislation introduced by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., in February would have provided liability protection for companies that met voluntary security standards yet still but fell victim to an attack. Jeffrey Ratner, a top aide on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, which Lieberman chairs, said he expects Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will reintroduce the bill during the lame duck session after the Nov. 6 elections. Potential changes to the bill have not been ruled out. | <urn:uuid:d0b1f438-5efd-43c5-b130-6bbe302c2a3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20121104/IT01/311040006 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948014 | 1,024 | 2.171875 | 2 |
On November 25,1950, the so-called “storm of the century” hit the eastern part of the United States, killing 353 and causing millions of dollars in damages. Also known as the “Appalachian Storm,” it dumped record amounts of snow in parts of the Appalachian Mountains. Record low temperatures were recorded in Tennessee and North Carolina even without the wind chill. In Mount Mitchell, NC, a temperature of 26 degrees below zero was recorded.
The precursor to the storm was the passage of an arctic cold front late on the 23rd into the 24th. The front passed through eastern Kentucky around midnight and the change in airmass was dramatic. Temperatures plunged from the 40s and 50s just ahead of the front to the teens just behind it. A thin but heavy band of snow accompanied the dramatic temperature drop behind the front with as much as 7 inches falling across southeast Kentucky on the morning of the 24th.
Temperatures across eastern Kentucky by the morning of the 25th were in the single digits and teens, and still dropping. Low pressure developed on the arctic front over the Carolinas on the 25th. Once that occurred, the storm quickly moved north, striking western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and West Virginia hardest. Many locations in those three states saw snowfall totals greater than 30 inches: 62” in Coburn Creek, WV; 57” in Pickens, WV; Steubenville, OH’s snowfall exceeded 44 inches with snowdrifts up to 25 feet.
Bitter cold also gripped the area with most locations recording temperatures in the single digits to near zero on the 24th and 25th. Middlesboro, KY bottomed out at 3ºF, Williamsburg, KY 1ºF, and Somerset, KY –2ºF. All still stand as record low temperatures for the month of November.
The storm was unique, however, because it featured not only extremely strong winds and heavy snow, but both record low and high temperatures. Buffalo ,NY saw no snow, but experienced 50 mile-per-hour winds and 50-degree temperatures.
Power was out to more than 1 million customers during this storm. It actually affected 22 states, killing 353 people and creating $66.7 million (1950 dollars) in damage. U.S. insurance companies paid more money out to their policyholders for damage from this storm than for any other previous storm.
Many buildings collapsed under the weight of 2 to 3 feet of snow. Roads were closed; trains and buses canceled. People could not leave their homes for days. Milk and bread and other delivery trucks could not get through. School buses were halted, and it was a joyous occasions for all students. Snow clearing was much different in those days also, since they used no salt on the roads.
“Although I was 11 months old, I remember the talk of the 1950 Snowstorm,” says Ray Mulrooney in the Weirton [WV]Area Museum & Cultural Center newsletter (Nov 23, 2009.) “My mother was with child and was worried that she could not get to the hospital in Steubenville. The streets were covered with 36 inches of snow and there were 6 foot drifts. Banfield Ave. was covered.
“Our house was a full block and a half from Rt. 7 which had been cleared by the Ohio National Guard. There was no way we could get to Rt.7 with out help. My father called the neighbors. They got out their coal shovels (not many had snow shovels in 1950) and started to dig. They had to put the snow to the side, so when they were done there were 8 foot walls along the path that my dad’s car would travel. The path went from our house to Rt7.
“My father, mother, and my mother’s mother cooked eggs and anything else that we could find to feed the shovelers. The Wilsons across the street fixed highballs to keep them warm.
“Soon my mother was on her way to Steubenville with her unborn child that I wanted to call ‘Stormy.’ The baby was not ready to enter this cold icy world, so my mother went to her aunt Anna’s house on 3rd Street in Steubenville. My dad got food for us and restocked the Wilson’s stock.
“The roads up the hill to the Ohio Valley Hospital were impassable, a day or two later my mother had to walk a few blocks to Gill Memorial Hospital that was near Aunt Anna’s home to have her beautiful little girl Janice Sharyn on November 29, 1950.” | <urn:uuid:88b218d7-25b3-43d2-9040-98ebb5d6bc9c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2010/11/thanksgiving-1950-the-snowstorm-of-the-century.html | 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 | 0.978545 | 972 | 3.328125 | 3 |
What is the Advertising Standards Authority?
The ASA is the body that regulates both broadcast and non-broadcast advertising and is:
…the UK's independent watchdog committed to maintaining high standards in advertising for the benefit of consumers, advertisers and society at large.
The ASA is funded by a levy on display advertising space, but it is kept independent of advertisers by a separate body responsible for setting and administering that levy. They receive no funding from Government. The levy is the only part of the system that is voluntary: advertisers can choose to pay the levy, but they cannot choose to comply with the Advertising Codes or the ASA’s adjudications.
There are distinct parts of the ASA: the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) (collectively known as the Advertising Codes or CAP Codes) who write the advertising codes; and the ASA, who apply them.
The ASA also run the Copy Advice service that give rapid free advice to advertisers to help them from falling foul of the Advertising Codes.
How the ASA works
By educating and training advertisers, the ASA tries to prevent problem ads appearing in the first place. They also monitor advertising to ensure standards are maintained. But they also rely on the public submitting complaints about ads they have come across.
When a problem advert is identified, they will work with the advertiser to resolve the problem. If the advertiser agrees to withdraw or amend the ad, their work is done. If the advertiser challenges the complaint, the ASA may conduct a formal investigation and ask the ASA Council to rule on it.
The ASA Council is the jury that decides whether ads have breached the Advertising Codes. Independently chaired by Lord Smith of Finsbury, the majority of its members come from outside the advertising industry.
These adjudications are published weekly on the ASA's website. If a complaint is upheld, the advertiser must withdraw or amend the ad and not use the advertising approach again.
What does the ASA cover?
The ASA's remit includes:
- Magazine and newspaper advertisements
- Radio and TV commercials (not programmes or programme sponsorship)
- Television Shopping Channels
- Posters on legitimate poster sites (not fly posters)
- Leaflets and brochures
- Cinema commercials
- Direct mail (advertising sent through the post and addressed to you personally)
- Door drops and circulars (advertising posted through the letter box without your name on)
- Advertisements on the Internet, including banner and display ads and paid-for (sponsored) search
- Marketing communications on companies' own websites and in other, non-paid-for space under their own control
- Commercial e-mail and SMS text message ads
- Ads on CD ROMs, DVD and video, and faxes
- We regulate sales promotions, such as special offers, prize draws and competitions wherever they appear
This is fairly broad and covers just about any printed or broadcast advert as well as sellers' own websites, banner/third party ads, including marketing communications on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook (see below).
For further information on what the ASA covers, see: What we cover (our remit).
For further information on what the ASA does not cover, see: Areas of complaint outside our remit.
Most advertisers comply with ASA rulings but the ASA also have a range of sanctions available to them.
- All rulings are published online, often leading to bad publicity for the advertiser
- Media owners and broadcasters refuse to run ads that break the rules
- Poster advertisers that break the rules on taste and decency and social responsibility can be required to have their posters pre-vetted
- Removal of Royal Mail direct mail discounts
Although there is no legal weight behind most of the ASA's decisions, the sanctions ensure that adverts are either withdrawn or amended.
For further information on how the ASA controls advertising, see: How is advertising in the UK controlled?
For further information on the ASA, see: Who we are.
Extended digital remit
From 1st March 2011, the ASA's remit was extended to cover:
- Advertisers' own marketing communications on their own websites and;
- Marketing communications in other non-paid-for space under their control, such as social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
This means that they will accept complaints about misleading claims on a seller's own website, which will allow us to tackle much misleading information at the source.
In addition to the above range of sanctions, new ones will be available to the ASA:
- Removal of paid-for search advertising — ads that link to the page hosting the non-compliant marketing communication may be removed with the agreement of the search engines.
- ASA paid-for search advertisements — the ASA could place advertisements online highlighting an advertiser's continued non-compliance.
The extension in the ASA's remit was formally announced on 1st September 2010, six months before it came into force. This six months was a 'period of grace' to allow the ASA to conduct training for advertisers, but also to give advertisers time to make any changes to their websites. However, it is clear that many have either been unaware of the ASA's extended remit, or have chosen to ignore it.
For further information on the ASA's extended digital remit, see: Landmark agreement extends ASA's digital remit.
Copy Advice service
ASA guidance is fairly clear and should be comprehensible to most advertisers. However, the ASA also runs a Copy Advice service to help advertisers with potential adverts before they are published. It is a free service that can be used by any potential advertiser, although any advice given by the Copy Advice service does not necessarily mean that an advertiser would win if a complaint was made about the resulting advert: the ASA Council has the final say.
The ASA's CAP website holds the CAP Codes as well as many help notes on a variety of subjects. The ones particularly relevant to complaints about misleading health claims include:
- AdviceOnline: Therapies: Chiropractic
- Help Note: Health Beauty and Slimming Marketing That Refers to Medical Conditions
- AdviceOnline: Use of the Term "Dr"
- Help Note: Substantiation for Health, Beauty and Slimming Claims
- AdviceOnline: Substantiation
The ASA also include their adjudications as part of their guidance:
ASA adjudications provide important guidance to advertisers on how the Codes are to be interpreted. They act as a transparent record of our policy for consumers, media, government, industry and society at large on what is and isn’t acceptable in advertising.
The CAP Code states:
3.1 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove all claims, whether direct or implied, that are capable of objective substantiation.
Relevant evidence should be sent without delay if requested by the ASA or CAP. The adequacy of evidence will be judged on whether it supports both the detailed claims and the overall impression created by the marketing communication.
This highlights several important points:
- That a marketer must hold documentary evidence before making any claims;
- That the ASA considers both direct and implied claims;
- That the ASA will consider both the detailed claims and the overall impression given by the communication.
Point 1 means that the chiropractor must hold the evidence at the time the claims are made and that they cannot be retrospectively substantiated or substantiated with studies published after the claims were made.
The ASA's guidance on Substantiation states:
Medical and scientific claims made about health and beauty products, including slimming products, food supplements and cosmetics, should be backed by evidence, where relevant consisting of trials conducted on human subjects (see Clause 50.1 (health and beauty products and therapies), 50.20 (vitamins, minerals and other food supplements), 50.24 (cosmetics), 50.26 (hair and scalp) and 51.1 (slimming)).
Specifically, the CAP states:
50.1 Substantiation will be assessed by the ASA on the basis of the available scientific knowledge
Additionally, Health Beauty and Slimming Marketing That Refers to Medical Conditions states:
Marketers should hold robust evidence for all claims.
All scientific knowledge should be taken into account and not just some evidence that happens to support a claim — it is the totality of good scientific evidence available that is important to the ASA.
From several adjudications, we have a very good idea of what the ASA considers robust evidence: controlled and randomised, methodologically sound clinical study or studies, which have been published in an internationally recognised peer reviewed journal.
If the advertiser doesn't hold that standard of evidence for claims they are making, why are they making those claims?
See this documentfor further information on acceptable evidence. (coming soon)
Making a complaint
See How to submit a complaint to the ASA for help in submitting a complaint to the ASA.
In broad terms, the following shows the various steps taken by the ASA in dealing with your complaint.
See Complaints procedures for information on how the ASA will deal with your compalint. | <urn:uuid:675a6107-377e-45c3-afd0-ecbaa4a73bfd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nightingale-collaboration.org/making-a-complaint/who-to-complain-to/advertising-standards-authority.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941618 | 1,891 | 2.25 | 2 |
Man sitting at the edge of a natural hot springs (Albert Normandin photo)
Kitimat has three natural hot springs within 100km/62mi of the town centre, which considering the vastness of Northern British Columbia, is practically next door.
However, not all are easy to get to: all of the hot springs are located on the ocean shores, and are accessible by boat or float plane only. Adventurers can, however, expect to soak in the naturally mineralized, soothing water, while taking in the wilderness views, and if lucky, watch eagles fly above and whales and seals play in the sea.
Seaside Hot Springs
The Weewanie hot springs are the closest to Kitimat, about 38km/23.6mi away from town, in Ursula Channel. The springs are located in a provincial park, in a semi-sheltered bay, and are surrounded by mountains. A short trail leads to the springs and a small rustic bathhouse. | <urn:uuid:59958caf-c432-44e2-84a2-7b11b00af925> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hellobc.com/kitimat/things-to-do/water-activities/hot-springs.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944795 | 205 | 1.546875 | 2 |
FAO warns of pesticide waste time bomb in poor countries
Agency running out of funds for cleanup operations - donor appeal
9 September 2004, Rome -- High quantities of toxic chemical waste from unused or obsolete pesticides are posing a continuing and worsening threat to people and the environment in Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, FAO warned today.
For example, it is estimated that the Ukraine has around 19 500 tonnes of ageing chemicals, Macedonia 10 000 tonnes, Poland 15 000 tonnes and Moldova 6 600 tonnes.
Stocks in Asia are currently recorded at 6 000 tonnes, a figure which does not include China, where the problem of pesticide waste is believed to be widespread. In the Middle East and Latin America together around 10 000 tonnes have been declared and countries are asking FAO increasingly for help.
"Affected countries are calling - ever more frequently and with greater urgency - for assistance to remove their obsolete pesticide stocks and prevent the further accumulation of toxic waste," said Mark Davis, head of FAO's programme on the Prevention and Disposal of Obsolete Pesticides on the occasion of an expert consultation held in Rome.
"Unfortunately, without additional funds from donor countries, FAO will be unable to respond to its member nations that need assistance because funding for an FAO programme on the prevention and disposal of obsolete pesticides is ending by the end of this year," he added.
Obsolete pesticides are left over from pest control campaigns. Stockpiles have accumulated because a number of products have been banned for health or environmental reasons, but were never removed and disposed of. Stocks remain where they are stored and often deteriorate to contaminate the environment and put people at risk.
The worst affected are frequently poor rural communities that may not even be aware of the toxic nature of the chemicals they are daily exposed to.
The waste sites contain some of the most dangerous insecticides like the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor and organophosphates.
The condition of obsolete pesticide stocks varies from well-stored products that can still be used in the field, to products that have leaked from corroded steel drums and other containers into the soil. Pesticide poisoning is common close to unmanaged sites.
The amount of obsolete stocks in 53 African countries is estimated at 50 000 tonnes, FAO said. FAO is participating in the Africa Stockpiles Programme (ASP), a multi-partner initiative, which aims to clear obsolete pesticide stocks from African countries and put in place measures to prevent the problem from recurring.
Nevertheless, several African countries that cannot benefit from the ASP in its first phase of activities are calling on FAO for immediate assistance.
"Countries such as Algeria, Cameroon, Somalia, Eritrea and Senegal are deeply concerned about the continuing severe health and environmental impacts of their obsolete pesticide stocks," Davis said.
With financial support from Japan, FAO has recently identified around 600 tonnes of obsolete pesticides in Mozambique, despite a previous clean-up. Japan has provided $850 000 for this project and has committed a further $1 million for clean-up and prevention.
The Netherlands has contributed about $8.9 million to FAO's prevention and disposal of obsolete pesticides and has pledged an addition $2 million to help with the Africa Stockpiles Programme.
"Clean-up and prevention measures urgently need to be combined. The awareness of a targeted and limited use of pesticides, respecting human health and the environment, needs to be urgently raised in many countries. More countries are showing a desire to address the problem of pesticide management and use," Davis said.
The clean-up of one tonne of obsolete pesticide waste costs around $3 500. Most developing countries do not have the facilities for safe hazardous waste disposal.
The present upsurge of locusts in Africa requires extensive control measures. Affected countries and FAO are making all efforts to ensure that this campaign does not result in further obsolete stocks and that effects on the environment are being reduced.
FAO has been the lead agency in dealing with obsolete pesticides in developing countries since 1994. FAO activities include initiating and coordinating national inventories, coordinating and monitoring disposal projects, publishing guidelines on prevention and management and public outreach. FAO also promotes and supports integrated pest management programmes and strong pesticide control measures.
Information Officer, FAO
(+39) 06 5705 3105
e-mail this article | <urn:uuid:c57b75ca-411c-4d6f-b468-f8d5b53d6765> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fao.org/Newsroom/en/news/2004/50119/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942823 | 927 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Human Powered Light BulbStatic electricity can do more than make your hair stand up...Harness the energy to power this tiny light bulb..Feet dragging is required... The static electricity generated by your body is enough to light up this tiny light bulb and make it glow!
Sure youve seen static electricity at work: static cling, bad hair days, a shock from a door knob - but now you can put all of that body electricity to good use and light a small neon light bulb. Body static electricity can be in excess of 10,000 volts - but amperage is so low, its harmless!
Hold on to one of the light bulb wires and walk across your carpet, dragging your feet as you go.. This builds up a charge of static electricity that discharges through the light bulb in your hand. You power the bulb!
Try it in a darkened room to see the full glow. You need to generate static electricity (think enough to get a small shock when you touch something metal.) That is how the bulb works. If you generate a large enough charge, the bulb glows in free air. The winter is usually when your house is closed up and air has less humidity, so that is when the bulb is most effective. You can also place the un-held bulb wire next to the human-powered light bulb, BUT NOT TOUCHING a metal object like a lamp or TV. This allows the static electricity from the device to discharge from your body through the bulb.
Electricity has never been more fun!
Ages 7 years and above.
|Country of Origin||No|
|Available for Gift Wrap||No|
- Caution - Use under adult supervision.
- Warning - Choking Hazard - Small parts. Not for children under 3 years | <urn:uuid:26cd9b0a-23d7-4b91-80b7-5fbaefa4cb6e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.onlinesciencemall.com/science-toys-kits-gifts/green-science-activities/human-powered-light-bulb-energy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908544 | 365 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Skim boarders, kayakers and folks just splashing around all seemed to have ventured out Sunday for a romp in the rain. Call it cabin fever — or just another weird Florida moment.
But be warned: Floodwaters also may pose serious health risks.
The waters are a problem when they contain fecal material, bacteria and viruses. And there is no sure way for the public to know if the flooded street or playground is safe.
Public health officials offer the following tips for staying and playing safe:
- Wash hands with soap and water after participating in flood cleanup activities or if you've splashed around in floodwaters.
- Avoid eating or drinking anything that has been contaminated with floodwaters.
- Do not wade through standing water. If you do, bathe and put on clean clothes as soon as possible.
- Avoid contact with floodwaters if you have open cuts or sores. If you have any open cuts or sores and cannot avoid contact with floodwaters, keep the wounds as clean as possible by washing well with soap to control infection. If a wound develops redness, swelling, or drainage, seek immediate medical attention.
- Wear rubber boots and waterproof gloves during cleanup if there is a backflow of sewage into your house. Remove and discard absorbent household materials, such as wall coverings, cloth, rugs and sheetrock. Clean walls and hard-surfaced floors with soap and water, and disinfect with a solution of 1/4 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water. | <urn:uuid:c0fa0ed3-9d71-4f24-a193-dff249f83b8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://clearwater.patch.com/articles/floodwaters-pose-health-risk | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948715 | 312 | 2.984375 | 3 |
When we study the succession of post-conquest English kings, we often forget that England might not be their primary interest. This may be the reason that William the Conqueror groomed his eldest son to inherit the Dukedom of Normandy and gave the English crown to a younger brother. Or was it because Robert, surnamed Curthose was a bit of a wastrel and couldn’t be depended on to manage his tempestuous new conquest?
Robert does not present a very appealing picture. He is described as short and fat with a heavy face, but at the same time it is said he was a powerful warrior, generous and bold and likeable. However, like the later Henry II and his eldest son Henry the Young King, poor Robert was given Normandy as his inheritance, but not allowed to rule or even receive any revenue with which to pay his followers. Nor did William share any of the spoils of his new kingdom of England with his eldest son. William expected him to be content with an empty title and bide his time until William was ready to die.
Robert had other ideas and bitterly reproached his father, to no avail. Finally, frustrated, impoverished, he surrounded himself with his friends who were also sons of nobles and wandered hither and yon, invoking aid from William’s tempestuous underlords and waging rebellion against his father. There is no doubt that he was also helped by the King of France, who was always ready to wreak havoc with William. Finally, the French King permitted Robert to occupy the castle of Gerberol on the borders of Normandy and France, and William had to take a firm stand against his errant son. Laying siege to the castle in 1079, William received his first ever wound, unluckily by the hand of his own son. At the same moment, an arrow killed William’s horse and he fell to the ground, expecting to receive the final death blow, but was saved by a loyal Englishman who gave up his own life. In the fighting that followed, even William Rufus was wounded defending his father, and the Conqueror retreated, leaving the victory to his rebellious son.
Humiliated, William retreated to Rouen and the rebellious Robert, perhaps in remorse, took his followers and passed over to Flanders. Although William was incensed, he listened to the arguments of the nobles in Normany, many of whom were fathers of Robert’s companions. They urged him to reconcile and he eventually agreed, receiving his son and friends and renewing the succession, as before.
When William the Conqueror died in 1087, Robert and William II made an agreement to be each other’s heir, but this arrangement was short-lived and the wily Norman barons sought to get rid of the stronger brother (the King of England) in favor of the weaker brother they thought they could control. In the following year, the rebel Barons fortified their castles in England and, led by William the Conqueror’s elder half-brothers Odo of Bayeux and Robert, Count of Mortain marched against William Rufus in the expectation that Robert would bring supporters from Normandy and join their forces. Alas for them, bad weather forced Robert back across the channel and the rebellion collapsed.
In 1096, Robert went on Crusade, not to return until five years later – too late to stop his younger brother Henry from taking the crown of England on the death of William II. He led an invasion that came to nothing, and eventually annoyed Henry so much that the new King of England invaded Normandy instead, capturing Robert in 1106 and imprisoning him for the rest of his life. Robert lived in captivity another 28 years and died in his early 80s. | <urn:uuid:b47afab5-e804-48d7-a359-274cd6831769> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mercedesrochelle.com/wordpress/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989357 | 769 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Whether you use Windows or OS X, Look at one of the configurations of the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 solutions. http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/RAID/Desktop/
Other folks like the QNAP RAID boxes.
RAID 0 (striping) is an excellent way to make access fast - and also an excellent way to lose all of your data should one drive in your RAID array crash.
RAID 1 (Mirroring) is slower access than RAID 0 but offers a level of redundancy & safety ( your data is copied onto two drives when it is written to the RAID array) in case a drive crashes. This also menas that if you have 4 2 TB drives you can only use 4TB for capacity.
RAID 5 is more ideal for general use as it combines striping (for speed) with parity checking. This means you can one of the four drives can crash but your data is safely distributed throughout the other three drives. In my hypothetical 4 x 2TB RAID array this also means you have greater capacity than in a RAID 1 set up , 6TB instead of just 4TB. It is not as fast as RAID ) but a lot more secure (in case you haven't notice, RAID 0 isn't at all safe.) Two warnings about RAID 5: If two drives at once crash your data is hosed; and the closer to full capacity you are in the system the longer the directory file structure rebuild takes.
RAID 10 (also known as RAID 1+0) combines Striping (speed) and Mirroring (redundancy) which keeps your data safer, but at the price of speed (compared to RAID 0 and RAID 5) and capacity (in the 4 x 2TB hypothetical , only 4TB are used for storage.
One more note: even though RAID 1, 5 & 10 systems have built in redundancy, that is not the same as backup, and you need to back your data to a second (and ideally third) place. A second (or Third ) RAID array can be part of your back up solution but storing your vital data on a single RAID array is an avoidable accident waiting to happen. | <urn:uuid:f22300cf-5119-4d6f-a784-23921e4b0d2c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=72926.msg579195 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940246 | 456 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Glasgow International College maintains the highest standards in teaching quality.
You can be confident in the education you will receive at the College for the following reasons:
- A Joint Academic Advisory Board made up of staff from the International College and the University of Glasgow has overall responsibility for academic standards.
- Glasgow International College has received British Accreditation Council accreditation.
- We develop our courses in collaboration with the University of Glasgow so that all our international students receive high-quality and comprehensive preparation for their future studies. Our courses focus on the exact subjects, the education and type of material that students will study at the University.
- The University of Glasgow regularly checks academic quality at Glasgow International College.
Academic support services
Learning Support Tutor – Your personal advisor
During your course you will meet your Learning Support Tutor once every two weeks in the first term and once every month when you are settled. The Learning Support Tutor’s job is to discuss the progress that you make in class and to encourage you to develop a disciplined, effective study habit ready for the University of Glasgow.
Studying towards a degree: the ultimate goal
We are firmly focused on helping you achieve your ultimate goal: progressing to the University. The College will arrange visits to your chosen department at the University and runs information sessions and activities with University staff. Glasgow International College will also discuss your progression options as your course results become available during your time at the College.
Adjusting to UK higher education
Classes at Glasgow International College are smaller and more personalised than standard UK university lectures, and this will help you to focus your efforts in class. You will get to know your tutor and classmates quickly so that you can feel confident about participating.
Assessments and reports…
You will need to get used to new system of educational assessment while at the College. Assessments will take place throughout your course to monitor and review your personal development. Mid-term reports will be provided, giving written evidence of your progress. These reports will help you to make the most from your studies and see any areas that require improvement. | <urn:uuid:23d6df98-40d6-403b-b792-96003974f573> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kic.org.uk/glasgow/about/teaching-quality/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937962 | 428 | 1.5 | 2 |
Great discussion today that began with the subject of classics and wandered far afield to include books on CD, books on E-readers, and lots of books that don’t exactly fall into the classic category.
Here are some of the titles:
Quincunx by Charles Pallister – a modern book that feels like it was written in Victorian days.
War & Peace – Leo Tolstoy
Little Woman – Louisa May Alcott – (which led to a mention of MARCH by Geraldine Brooks which is a modern title that follows the father in Little Women as he goes to war)
Age of Innocence and Ethan Fromm by Edith Wharton – with a mention of how different these two books are
Call of the Wild - Jack London
and books by:
Charles Dickens, William Faulkner, Arthur Conan Doyle (which led to a mention of the Mary Russell series by Laurie King which features Sherlock Holmes and his young assistant – first title in the series is The BeeKeeper’s Apprentice)
John Steinbeck, the two Brontes, Robert Benchley, Herman Hess, P. G. Wodehouse, Cervantes, Thomas Hardy, William Makepeace Thackeray, James Herriott, Jack Kerouac, Jules Verne, Edgar Allen Poe, D. H. Lawrence.
The Things they Carried by Tim O’Brien and The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers – both more recent titles but sure to be classics of the Vietnam and Iraq wars.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry – again sure to be a classic of the end of the settlement of the west as the two friends search for a place where civilization can’t quite find them.
Max Brand, Western Giant by William F. Nolan – the biography of the man known as the pulp king. He wrote nearly 400 westerns, created Dr. Kildare and wrote under 21 pseudonyms in another dozen genres.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker and books by Toni Morrison
Cold Sassy Tree – by Olive Ann Burns – a delightful coming of age story
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene (and a mention that this was a favorite of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor)
Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather (and My Antonia)
Books by Barbara Kingsolver (The Bean Trees, Animal Vegetable, Miracle, Poisonwood Bible, Prodigal Summer, Flight Behavior) – maybe not classics yet but we liked them
and the conversation moved on to more current titles:
short stories by Jill McCorkle – Crash Diet, Final Vinyl Days, Going Away Shoes
anything by Richard Russo
Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle – really nice to listen to on CD
The Art Forger – Barbara Shapiro (who will be at the Book Festival on April 13)
William Martin ( who will be at the book festival on April 13) – Harvard Yard, Cape Cod, Back Bay
Extraordinary – an end of life story without end – Michele Tamaren and Michael Wittner – Lynette said this one is hard to find but worth searching for – non-fiction
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan – Far more than simply a riveting read and a crackling medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity and to rediscover herself among the fragments left behind.
Cascade by Maryanne O’Hara – (who will be at the book festival on April 13)
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalb -This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a “book club” that brings them together as her life comes to a close.
YA titles by John Green including The Fault in our Stars and Looking for Alaska
and for mystery lovers
Books to Die For edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke – essays by current day mystery/thriller authors about their favorite titles – organized sequentially so you can start with some of the classic mysteries and read your way to the present day. | <urn:uuid:e29139a9-aeb2-4f6a-af8f-0bb6c0dfe0af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bagelsandbooks.com/tag/classics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923701 | 881 | 1.765625 | 2 |
War and folklore inspire artist Jane Lee McCracken. She tells Tamzin Lewis about her intricate Biro art.
THE first thing you notice about Jane Lee McCracken’s exhibition is the traditional wooden bed frame. Jane inherited it from her beloved grandmother and as it is currently on show, she, her husband and her wolf dog Lily are sleeping on an air-bed.
So why is the bed in the Customs House Gallery? Well, it makes perfect sense for a show called The Woodcutter’s Cottage, inspired by fairytales, forests and wolves.
Jane, who lives in South Shields, says: “I think fairytales were warnings to children about the brutality of life. Stories were explanations for things which people didn’t have scientific reasons for. They can be exceptionally brutal – like life is. But they can also be very beautiful. I hope to create images which are beautiful but which underneath reveal brutality. I like juxtaposing hope and beauty with darker forces.”
For this exhibition of work made since 2008, Jane wanted to create the imaginary world of an isolated fairytale woodcutter. His interests, like Jane’s, are stories, animals, nature and war.
She says: “I tried to imagine myself as a woodcutter living as a recluse on the periphery of Europe’s forests. He gets his perspective from TV and film. I imagine him sitting in his cottage at night making, for example, the quilt on the bed.”
As a child growing up in Edinburgh, Jane adored books and fairy stories and remembers shutting herself away with pens and paper and telling stories to animals.
She also became obsessed with travelling, as her father’s job with a pharmaceutical company involved regular trips aboard. He would always send Jane postcards and return with gifts such as Russian dolls and Swiss cuckoo clocks.
“As a wee girl, my father travelling to far-off countries really fired my imagination,” says Jane, 44. “My father was very interested in wildlife and that rubbed off on me too: I have a great love of animals. He had served in the RAF and liked to watch war films. For me it was great to sit and watch films with Daddy.”
Jane studied graphic design at the University of Humberside and freelanced as an illustrator before realising she wanted artistic freedom.
“I took a gamble and decided to give up illustration. I experimented with my work which took the best part of 10 years. During this period, I took shift work jobs so I could have plenty of time to fit in my art.” | <urn:uuid:ffc1d399-0dd0-43c1-8a56-b2afd5e795e3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.journallive.co.uk/culture-newcastle/2012/07/19/war-and-folklore-inspire-south-shields-artist-61634-31424740/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980193 | 554 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Spanish researchers, led by Pedro Carmona from the Instituto de Estructura de la Materia in Madrid, have uncovered a new promising way to diagnose Alzheimer's disease more accurately. Their technique, which is non-invasive, fast and low-cost, measures how much infrared radiation is either emitted or absorbed by white blood cells. Because of its high sensitivity, this method is able to distinguish between the different clinical stages of disease development thereby allowing reliable diagnosis of both mild and moderate stages of Alzheimer's. The work is published online in Springer's journal Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry.Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of adult onset dementia and is characterized by the degeneration of the nervous system. In particular, as the disease progresses, the amount of amyloid-ß peptide in the body rises. At present, the most reliable and sensitive diagnostic techniques are invasive, e.g. require analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (the liquid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord). However, white blood cells (or mononuclear leukocytes) are also thought to carry amyloid-ß peptide in Alzheimer patients. The researchers used two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy to measure and compare the infrared radiation emitted or absorbed by white blood cells of healthy controls, versus those of patients with mild, moderate and severe Alzheimer's disease. A total of 50 patients with Alzheimer's and 20 healthy controls took part in the study and gave blood samples. The authors found significant differences in the range of infrared wavelengths displayed between subjects, which were attributable to the different stages of formation of amyloid-ß structures in the blood cells. The results showed that, with this method, healthy controls could be distinguished from mild and moderate sufferers of Alzheimer's disease. The method is being explored as a tool for early diagnosis.
The authors conclude: "The method we used can potentially offer a more simple detection of alternative biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. Mononuclear leukocytes seem to offer a stable medium to determine ß-sheet structure levels as a function of disease development. Our measurements seem to be more sensitive for earlier stages of Alzheimer's disease, namely mild and moderate."
Infrared spectroscopic analysis of mononuclear leukocytes in peripheral blood from Alzheimer's disease patients. Carmona P et al (2012). Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry; DOI 10.1007/s00216-011-5669-9 | <urn:uuid:4a7ef03b-23d5-440d-81b4-0bf0132e5624> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/12480/Could-Alzheimers-disease-be-diagnosed-simple-blood-test | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927754 | 499 | 3.109375 | 3 |
It’s hard to find a natural solution to today’s overstressed world. The encouraging news is that lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), a plant native to the Mediterranean region, has been clinically proven to reduce anxiety by 49% and sleeplessness by up to 39% in as little as 15 days. What’s more, lemon balm produces these calming effects while also enhancing memory and attention!
Cyracos® lemon balm extract is prepared from special lemon balm chosen for its high concentrations of hydroxycinnamic and rosmarinic acids. These active lemon balm constituents appear to enhance mood and cognitive performance by exhibiting central nervous system acetylcholine receptor activity, including nicotinic and muscarinic binding properties in the cerebral cortex of the human brain.
Aside from relieving everyday stress and sleep problems, the anxiety-relieving properties of this plant extract may also offer smokers relief from the mental stress of quitting, aid in leveling mood swings, support female balance, and promote a feeling of satiety.
Relaxation-promoting effects of theanine
The Japanese have long known that theanine, an amino acid derived from green tea, is a natural relaxant that diminishes stress —without drowsiness, impaired thought, or other side effects.
Theanine produces tranquilizing effects in the brain in ways that have been compared to meditation, massage, and aromatherapy.
Theanine induces relaxation without causing drowsiness. In fact, studies show that theanine enhances the brain’s ability to concentrate, learn, and remember. Theanine also increases levels of serotonin and dopamine, critical brain chemicals that are depleted by various stress factors.
A host of health-enhancing benefits
Research shows that theanine has numerous health-enhancing effects, including protecting cognitive function. In studies of neurons in cell culture, theanine significantly reversed glutamate-induced toxicity, a major cause of degenerative brain decline.
Based on published data showing the multiple beneficial effects of lemon balm extract and theanine, Life Extension has combined these potent but safe nutrients into a formula called Natural Stress Relief.
The theanine used in Natural Stress Relief is Suntheanine®, the only pure form of L-theanine available worldwide and the only form protected by 40 internationally recognized patents and scientifically proven in clinical studies to be safe and efficacious. Independent laboratory analysis has verified that certain other products on the market claiming to contain “L-theanine” are only half L-theanine, the other half being a different form of theanine known as “D-theanine” which has not been scientifically evaluated in published studies.
1 Capsule, 30 servings per container
rice flour, vegetable cellulose, vegetable magnesium stearate
Take one capsule once or twice daily (morning and evening) with or without food, or as recommended by a healthcare practitioner.
Does Not Contain
This product contains NO milk, egg, fish, peanuts, crustacean shellfish (lobster, crab, shrimp), soybeans, tree nuts, wheat, yeast, gluten, or corn. Contains NO sugar, and no artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors, or preservatives.
Keep out of reach of children. Do not exceed recommended dose. Do not purchase if outer seal is broken or damaged. If you have a bad reaction to product discontinue use immediately. When using nutritional supplements, please inform your physician if you are undergoing treatment for a medical condition or if you are pregnant or lactating.
Serving Size is 1 Capsule*Daily Value (DV) not established.
Write a Review
Have you tried Life Extension Natural Stress Relief? Share your experience with others; Review this product here! | <urn:uuid:1abd94eb-fdfc-4654-b31d-de29eaae2ad6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.webvitamins.com/product.aspx?id=27761 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917033 | 788 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Original post on Las Vegas Review-Journal. By Henry Brean
It still won't be easy, but the hike to the top of the third tallest peak in the Spring Mountains is about to get a little easier.
A crew of 20 volunteers and six interns from the Student Conservation Association are wrapping up work on a new trail to Griffith Peak, which rises to 11,060 feet in the Mount Charleston Wilderness.
The official U.S. Forest Service trail replaces an old, user-created path to the peak that was steep, prone to erosion and posed a threat to the Mount Charleston blue butterfly and other rare bugs.
"Hikers were climbing up the ridge and trampling a lot of the host plants that the butterflies use as habitat," said Judy Suing, spokeswoman for Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.
The work, done mostly with shovels and hand tools, was planned and funded by the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership, a group of federal agencies that manage wilderness areas in the region. The volunteers are from Friends of Nevada Wilderness and other local conservation groups and hiking clubs. ...continue reading | <urn:uuid:af05c341-16a7-48ba-99cd-ebbf4ac9f17a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thesca.org/newsroom/sca-crew-wraps-work-new-trail-griffith-peak | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945054 | 221 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Massachusetts has long had some of the most excessive child support guidelines in the nation: for just one child, the father is ordered to pay close to 25% of his gross income, or more than 35% of his after-tax income, to the mother. This amount of money grossly exceeds the cost of raising a child, and there’s no obligation even to spend the money on the child, rather than the mother. As a result, the father often has a disposable income that is just a fraction of the income of the mother’s household.
But excessive as the guidelines are, the state courts are now promulgating a child-support schedule that radically increases the rates by 60 percent for middle-class households where the father and mother make similar amounts (like $40,000 each or $60,000 each). The guidelines are not rationally-related to the costs of rearing children.
The new guidelines are harmful to children, not just their fathers. Children spend up to a third of their time in their fathers’ care, yet Massachusetts’ child support guidelines financially destroy many divorced fathers, leaving them chronically broke and thus unable to provide their children a nice home to live in during visitation. The state child support guidelines give fathers little if any reduction in child support payments for the time and money they spend caring for their children during extensive visitation, even though such care reduces the child-care costs of the recipient mother and increases the father’s expenses.
This financial havoc can’t be justified by claiming that divorced fathers had it coming: most divorces in this country are no-fault divorces initiated by wives, rather than husbands (wives initiate about two-thirds of all divorces, according to data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics, and the many studies reviewed by Sanford Braver of Arizona State University in his 1998 book Divorced Dads: Shattering the Myths).
It is also frankly sexist: unlike nearby states, like Maine and Connecticut, where fathers have some realistic chance of getting primary or shared custody, in Massachusetts, trial judges tend to award primary custody to mothers over similarly-qualified fathers, even when the fathers are fit parents who have been very actively involved in the lives of their children. Everyone knows that these guidelines are intended to milk fathers to benefit their ex-wives (and their divorce lawyers). Prominent divorce lawyers like Richard Crouch have noted that in practice, child-support and spousal support laws are often applied in a sexist fashion.
As excessive as the child-support guidelines are, alimony is often awarded on top of it. Alimony is awarded in Massachusetts even to wives who have committed adultery or engaged in domestic violence. (Most states award alimony without regard to fault; a minority preclude alimony based on fault, such as adultery; and some states that generally ignore fault still forbid spouses who have perpetrated domestic violence to collect alimony. A few states, like California, even award alimony to low-income husbands, but in most states, courts are, in practice, much more willing to award alimony to wives (even those who are quite capable of supporting themselves) than to low-income husbands, even if the husband did something praiseworthy like working to pay his wife’s college bills).
I should note in closing that I am not divorced, have no child support obligations, and no personal or family history of entanglement with the family courts or divorce courts. My only connection to Massachusetts is spending three years earning a degree at Harvard Law School, and reading dozens of Massachusetts family-court cases. (Years ago, I also read the child support guidelines of virtually every state). | <urn:uuid:eb6bf604-76c6-4e84-954b-a334700a031a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.openmarket.org/2009/01/02/insane-massachusetts-child-support-guidelines/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971058 | 752 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Beaumont Residential Solar Power
A new, sure way, has come to California. In 1954 three men, D.M. Chapin, C.S. Fuller and G.L. Pearson discovered how to convert sunlight into electricity. It was revolutionary, but the process from those first solar cells to today’s accessible solar energy has been a long one. Today California leads the control in solar power development with over 78,000 solar projects in place. Over the last four years the price of solar installation has consistently gone down. It is a safe, efficient, and effective way to take care of our planet.
Verengo is leading the way across Southern California, bringing solar power to as many people as possible. From Los Angeles to Bakersfield, and now Verengo supplies Beaumont residential solar power. Verengo’s goal is to provide clean, energy efficient living to as many people as possible and in as many ways as possible.
With over six different certifications and memberships, including an Excellent Better Business Bureau Rating, you know that Verengo is a company you can trust. There are 250,000 clean energy contractors around the nation, and Verengo has been positioned in the top 60.
Now you’re asking yourself: how could you possibly afford to install solar panels in your home? Consider this, between incentives from the Californian government and the federal government, they could cover up to half of your solar installment costs! Verengo also ensures savings because they cover all aspects to make your home earth friendly. Consider Verengo’s “Whole House” approach, they know that the path to a truly green home is not just through solar panels. From natural insulation to new windows, Verengo has you covered from top to bottom. There’s no need to look anywhere else for your solar needs, Verengo is where it’s at.
Beaumont Solar Energy Systems
Beaumont Solar Panels
CALL NOW for a FREE Quote! 877-403-4355 | <urn:uuid:fcd1cfd2-8a51-4f51-8af7-2e041a065da1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.verengosolar.com/california/beaumont-residential-solar-power/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948225 | 437 | 1.757813 | 2 |
The Blacksmiths (translated from Middle English)
Black-smoked smiths in ash-smattered smocks,
Drive me to death with the din of their blows:
Such noisy nights man never had heard,
What knaven cries and clattering knocks;
The bent-nosed bumpkins crying Coal! Coal!
And blowing their bellows so all their brains burst.
Huff, puff, said that one, mmph, mmph, the other.
They spit and sprawl and tell many tales,
They gnaw and gnash, they groan together,
And keep themselves hot with their hard hammers.
With a bull-hide apron their bosom is covered,
Their shanks shackled, safe from the sparks;
Heavy hammers they have that are hard to handle,
& stark-stroked they strike on a steel-stocked anvil.
Bish, bosh, bash, their cacophonous clash;
Such doleful a dream may the Devil destroy it!
The master lengthens a little and lashes his lump,
Twines him two pieces and sounding a treble:
Tik, tak, hick, hack, tikat takit, tick, tock
Bish, bash, bosh that! Such a life they lead,
These mare-cloth armourers. Sorrowful Christ,
None at night can rest for them burning their water.
Note on the translation: The original text is dated late 14C early 15C, in the British Museum, from the (Earl of) Arundel collection, with the full id being B.M., Arundel MS. 292, f. 72b.
Desmond Swords was born in 1967 and is from Ormskirk, Lancashire. He has been writing for twelve years and has lived in Dublin since 2004. He participated in the Poetry Ireland Introductions Readings in 2006. He created and hosted the Patrick Kavanagh Celebration in the Palace Bar from 2005 – 2007 and is one of the organisers of the All-Ireland Live Poetry Slam. | <urn:uuid:095be982-071d-4cbb-970b-4230c0ec449f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://burningbush2.com/issue-three-2/desmond-swords/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941425 | 450 | 2.390625 | 2 |
8gb Microsd Memory: Tons of Storage in a Tiny Chip
May 16th, 2007
Samsung today has announced the highest capacity microSD memory cards yet, with a full 8 gigabytes of storage.
The high speed memory cards can store up to 2,000 typical MP3 tracks, 5 DVD quality movies, or 4,000 digital photos. The tiny microSD format is designed for use in mobile phones, PDAs, compact digital cameras and camcorders.
It’s amazing how far storage technology and miniaturization has taken us in recent years. Just a few years back, it would have taken 6,000 floppy disks to store the amount of data that is stored on these fingernail sized memory cards. | <urn:uuid:271883a0-565c-4e69-a9da-930ba9bbf1ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://technabob.com/blog/2007/05/16/8gb-microsd-memory-tons-of-storage-in-a-tiny-chip/ | 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 | 0.916035 | 151 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Being able to work out whether your volunteers need training and what their training needs are is a key skill for managers of volunteers and not-for-profit organisations.
This toolkit will help you identify volunteers training needs and determine whether training is the best way for the volunteers in your organisation to build their knowledge and learn new skills.
The Toolkit will be particularly useful for managers of volunteers and organisations with little or no experience of determining training needs. The two final sections are a guide to finding and choosing the right training. The kit uses four templates. Modifiable versions of these can downloaded separately. | <urn:uuid:b1eb4d69-08f6-4b9a-ba44-c55ee89a2967> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/Skills-and-Training/-Training-skills-resources/Do-your-Volunteers-Need-Training.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936313 | 120 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Standardized testing has hit kindergarten big-time, as principals and superintendents push reading and math curricula into earlier grades to improve the odds that students will later pass standardized tests that gauge school performance. But kindergarten tests are almost certainly counterproductive, according to a new report from the Alliance for Childhood, an advocacy group in College Park, Md., called "Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School." Pushing children to perform at a level they aren't old enough to handle increases behavior problems and failure rates and takes away from a focus on the importance of play, which is what 5-year-olds really should be doing. Playing is the best way to learn social skills and self-control—which just might result in kids deciding that they really like going to school. Plus academic testing of children under age 8 is not a reliable indicator of future achievement in school, according to the nine new studies in the Alliance report.
[Find out how outdoor play can head off "nature deficit disorder" in kids.]
Parents have more power to help a child cope with the downside of academic kindergarten than they may realize, up to the ultimate reaction-opting out. You can ask that your child not be required to take kindergarten tests, for instance. There will be plenty of time to be tested in the years to come. Four positive ways to deal with kindergarten testing:
- Be reassuring and encouraging about tests—and talk to the teacher about ways to reduce test-related stress.
- Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep and a good breakfast on testing day.
- Tell your child that tests do not measure how smart, able, or good a person is.
- Consider requesting that your kindergartner not be tested.
Parents can influence the system, too. I was surprised how receptive my kindergartner's teacher was to my fears that full-day academic kindergarten was too much too soon, even for a kid like mine, who is excited about reading and writing. It never hurts to ask-or to push for recognition of the importance of play. Strategies suggested by the Alliance for Childhood include:
- Talk to your child's teacher and principal about excessive testing. You may find they agree with you and will work with you to make changes.
- Talk to other parents about their experiences and observations. Work together to educate the community about the limitations and risks of testing young children.
- Ask the PTA or other parents' groups to organize a meeting on early-childhood education and alternatives to standardized tests, such as observation and work-based assessments.
- Find out if there is a district policy on the testing of young children. Ask that policies be adopted in line with professional recommendations on testing children under age 8.
- Talk to your pediatrician about the importance of play for healthy child development and how stressful school experiences affect children. Ask him or her to get involved.
- Write a letter to the editor, or post a comment on the school website or a parenting blog.
- Get help from early-childhood specialists at a nearby university or from the state or local chapter of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
I'm on a tear about the lack of play in early-childhood education; can you tell that my daughter's kindergarten grants just one 30-minute recess in a whole day? Play is essential for learning, and the importance of play holds for older kids, too. Even grown-ups need to play to be their creative, productive, and healthy best.
Need more convincing about the importance of play? Here are 5 ways to get more play in your child's day, as well as my conversation with psychiatrist and author Stuart Brown on what interviewing serial killers taught him about the importance of play. | <urn:uuid:b9236363-edf6-477b-80d3-498e4ec505fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/on-parenting/2009/04/07/kindergarten-tests-and-the-importance-of-play | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959423 | 774 | 3.140625 | 3 |
IN a letter to George Brandes, shortly after the Paris Commune, Henrik Ibsen wrote concerning the State and political liberty:
"The State is the curse of the individual. How has the national strength of Prussia been purchased? By the sinking of the individual in a political and geographical formula. . . . The State must go! That will be a revolution which will find me on its side. Undermine the idea of the State, set up in its place spontaneous action, and the idea that spiritual relationship is the only thing that makes for unity, and you will start the elements of a liberty which will be something worth possessing."
The State was not the only bête noire of Henrik Ibsen. Every other institution which, like the State, rests upon a lie, was an iniquity to him. Uncompromising demolisher of all false idols and dynamiter of all social shams and hypocrisy, Ibsen consistently strove to uproot every stone of our social structure. Above all did he thunder his fiery indictment against the four cardinal sins of modern society: the Lie inherent in our social arrangements; Sacrifice and Duty, the twin curses that fetter the spirit of man; the narrow-mindedness and pettiness of Provincialism, that stifles all growth; and the Lack of Joy and Purpose in Work which turns life into a vale of misery and tears.
So strongly did Ibsen feel on these matters, that in none of his works did he lose sight of them. Indeed, they recur again and again, like a Leitmotif in music, in everything he wrote. These issues form the keynote to the revolutionary significance of his dramatic works, as well as to the psychology of Henrik Ibsen himself.
It is, therefore, not a little surprising that most of the interpreters and admirers of Ibsen so enthusiastically accept his art, and yet remain utterly indifferent to, not to say ignorant of, the message contained in it. That is mainly because they are, in the words of Mrs. Alving, "so pitifully afraid of the light." Hence they go about seeking mysteries and hunting symbols, and completely losing sight of the meaning that is as clear as daylight in all of the works of Ibsen, and mainly in the group of his social plays, "The Pillars of Society," "A Doll's House," "Ghosts," and "An Enemy of the People."
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Document maintained at: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Drama/ibsen.html by the SunSITE Manager. | <urn:uuid:f3a01c7e-2be2-458b-89fe-8fd3eb7fe5c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Drama/ibsen.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960991 | 546 | 2.3125 | 2 |
French go slow over a bridge too far
But three months after its victory, in open competition with four other firms, all French, there is a hitch. Political and professional opposition in France means the result could be ignored; the final decision is said to rest with President Jacques Chirac. The Millau stretch of the motorway was always going to be controversial.
The town is at the conjunction of two valleys. The descent from the north and the ascent to the south afford views of mountains, forests and pastures, and frustration for motorists seething behind lorries.The beauty of the surroundings meant any road bigger or straighter than the present one would be contested on environmental grounds, however much Millau might be suffocated by traffic. It is not the decision to complete the motorway, nor the route chosen, that is causing most difficulties, but that the contract has gone to a foreign firm. References to aesthetic "shortcomings" of the design spill out occasionally but objectors are working almost entirely through the corridors of power. The contract has still not been finalised.
From the Millau office that is the hub of the A75 planning, Georges Gillet, head of operations, insists the "sensitivity" of the current stage of the contract is not a French-British problem, but, though he declines to say directly, a "French-French"
problem, and one France is likely to face increasingly as European markets become more open and competitive.
The brief, he said, was kept as wide as possible and was more than a simple design competition. The shortlisted firms had to decide first which of five proposed routes and bridge types they found most appropriate and design accordingly.The Foster design is for a 2,500m viaduct west of Millau; its tallest supports will be higher than the Eiffel Tower. A model of the light and elegant design resides in a glass case in the foyer of the office in Millau.
The official announcement in July said Foster had won on a combination of design, technical and environmental grounds and with an estimated cost "significantly" (said to be 30 per cent) less than most of the other submissions. Mr Gillet lauded the design as little short of an architectural and engineering marvel.
However, given the influential opposition that has subsequently made itself felt, how was the British firm able to win?
The deliberations of the jury are secret, and all that is known is that the decision was made by "an absolute majority" (ie it was not unanimous). But one factor may have been decisive.
In the competition to design the Millau viaduct, all the rules about public-works tendering, including appointment of international advisers and a mixed jury, appear to have been observed. As scandals in Paris and elsewhere show, this does not always happen, and it may have owed something to the fact that Mr Gillet, as design and works head for the whole of the A75's southern sector, was, unusually, given authority which passed across four regional boundaries. The pressure that could be exerted by politicians of any one region was thereby diminished.
Foster and Partners are no strangers to controversy in France. They recently faced down opposition to complete the Carre d'Art in Nimes, a big complex in a conservation area of the city centre. The scheme is acknowledged to have revived and enhanced an erstwhile forlorn part of the city.
The Millau viaduct, however, is a project of a different order. It has national, not just local or regional, significance. The head of the motorway project and local officials hope it will become an attraction in its own right and not just a six-lane traffic conveyor.
From officials at the Department of Road Transport, word is that the contract is being drawn up "as a matter of priority". Pressed about mooted difficulties, they concede there is opposition - "from some French architects" - but insist that the competition result stands.
In London, Foster and Partners acknowledge the delicacy of the project at its current stage but clearly hope the opposition will be overcome. Work on the Great Millau Viaduct is due to start in 1998, for completion, with the A75, in 2001.
That's some guestlist! Stunning images show huge dynastic wedding between Ultra-Orthodox Jewish families which attracted 25,000 guests
'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Bloody attack brings terror to capital’s streets
German chancellor Angela Merkel named most powerful woman in the world by Forbes - again
World news in pictures
Eyewitness gives extraordinary account of her confrontation with Woolwich attackers
- 1 'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Bloody attack brings terror to capital’s streets
- 2 Mothers' diets may harm IQs in two-thirds of babies
- 4 Eyewitness gives extraordinary account of her confrontation with Woolwich attackers
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page. | <urn:uuid:ebe621cf-ce51-4ef8-b38d-9359e7a45cd5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/french-go-slow-over-a-bridge-too-far-1358372.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966484 | 1,045 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Innovative technology unlocks the key words within your content
Try Grapeshot's power to extract value on your own web pages
Publishers recognise the value of automation and use central Content Management Systems (CMS) to regulate how journalists' texts are templated to the digital screen. Whilst each page is no longer manually crafted, many of the ad tags used to drive display advertising and direct response still entail manual efforts.
Some the manual work remains - different CMS templates are designed to arrange different sections of a website. It means "News" can look different to "Motor", as much as "LifeStyle" looks different to "Business". Therefore different articles get a different visual treatment according to the destination editorial sections in which they are to appear.
Making the article look pretty is one thing, but this editorial process has other consequences. Articles are often classified according to the sections of the site they inhabit, rather than based simply on the content that lies within the written word. Most stories have several angles. The "celebrity footballer" story can be both "Sports" and "News", and a "wind turbine" story can be "Politics", "Technology" and Business.
Grapeshot saves time and money by automatically assessing the words on each page and assigning them one or more category. It means one page has many categories - and these categories can be inserted inside an ad tag and sent downstream to the ad server - in the few milliseconds it takes to load a fresh page view.
Real-time categorisation means that an article can have one category for one page view, and another category for a second page view. The category can be swapped or switched depending on other variables - for example the type of ad you are selling.
The editor saves the time having to create and manage categorisation at the point an article is written, and instead the ad sales team can apply categorisation as the page is loaded, to introduce maximum flexibility to optimize the volume of ads sold and placed in each virtual channel.
Grapeshot distils the essence of a page using keywords, and these keywords power the real-time categorisation for display ad channels, but can also power the selection of products from merchant databases or affiliate networks.
Again, no human has to pre-define the words to make a request to a Kelkoo product feed, for example. Grapeshot does the analysis of the page automatically and in real-time puts the best keywords first.
Editors save time marking up content with query specific HTML tags. Grapeshot makes real-time calculations and can drive related product and content requests using its own algorithms.
Editors like to cross-link content as it drives more traffic around the site. But peculiarly they can only link to articles that are older than the one they are writing now. Seemingly no-one can link to the unknown future, only to the past archive of articles.
However users read articles both old and new, so it is algorithms that must calculate relatedness in two directions. An old story needs to have links to new articles, so that the user can see up-to date references that add value to the original story written, which they are reading many days after publication date.
Grapeshot looks at the essence of every page and determines the overlap between stories. This helps to identify the best match articles that match the current story being reading - whether the articles are older or newer than the publication date.
More significantly Grapeshot can isolate those stories that are "me-too" and very identical, from those other stories that are related, but digress into a different angle or emphasis. Thus, using advanced clustering algorithms, Grapeshot can introduce several different editorial angles on the one story - providing a breadth of subject matter for the reader to discover.
As an automated editorial service, Related Articles delivered by algorithms replace the burden on journalists to tag, categorise or link their content. Instead the words on the page do the hard work - and for sure - the content is king! | <urn:uuid:0167356a-1391-4dd6-a387-274338c0a12f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.grapeshot.co.uk/credentials/features/reducing-labour.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920213 | 832 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Trillium is committed to resolving conflicts between students and between students and staff. In order to support that commitment we’ve developed a process, drawing from essential conflict resolution principles of listening and stating needs. Click here to print out the Conflict Resolution flow chart.
We find that when a dispute or conflict occurs the following two choices are recommended as options to students and staff. We stress that choice A is often the most efficient for situations where it is not really necessary to stand up for yourself, such as confusion about a seat or a request from the teacher to move to a different location because student’s are talking. This chart is a poster in the classrooms.
Don’t react, or make a change.
Make a polite request to for the person to stop a specific action and give a reason why. “Please stop _______ because ________.”
Give the person a chance to respond.
If they don’t respond or respond negatively then use an “I statement”.”I feel _____, when you ______. Also, it violates my right to _____.”
Key questions to guide the conversation:
*Why is the person doing what they are doing?
*How can you compromise with each other?
If the conversation is not successful, you both can’t come to an agreement about resolving the conflict then find someone to help with a mediation and write up an agreement form. | <urn:uuid:42e00ac8-a581-469d-bf94-5d69f5cd77bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://trilliumcharterschool.org/about/democratic-education-2/conflict-resolution/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938076 | 299 | 3.609375 | 4 |
There were eras in human history whose great challenges lay in isolating chemical compounds, unlocking the structures of human genetic material and examining the hearts of dying stars. But the great challenge of our time is telling apart Muslim moderates and Muslim extremists.
Fly to Tripoli International Airport, take the Airport Highway into Tripoli, drive along the coast through all those towns and cities you heard about on the radio when the announcers were excitedly describing battles between the brave Libyan rebels and the despicable forces of the despot; Homs, Misrata, Sirte. Drive through the night while hugging the Mediterranean coastline until you reach Benghazi.
Benghazi is the city on whose behalf we went to war against Gaddafi. The imminent peril to Benghazi was the reason that Obama gave for the conflict. “We struck regime forces approaching Benghazi to save that city and the people within it,” he declared proudly. But the firepower that proved so potent in displacing and dismantling the Gaddafi regime could not protect Ambassador Stevens and the American consulate.
The Benghazi consulate’s own security forces had been stripped down to their bare essentials. Inside the compound, in their own barracks, were members of the February 17 Martyrs Brigade who were tasked with providing security for the consulate. The February 17 Martyrs Brigade is an Islamist militia affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The attackers firing off RPGs into the compound were members of Ansar Al Sharia, a spinoff of the February 17 Martyrs Brigade, associated with Al Qaeda.
On diplomatic paper the moderate February 17 Martyrs Brigade and the extremist Ansar Al-Sharia had nothing in common. In reality, the differences between the two militias were mostly cosmetic and the Martyrs Brigade had been contacted ahead of time by an Al Qaeda politician and asked to stand down while the attack took place.
A month later and a thousand miles away, the moderate Free Syrian Army and the extremist Al Nusra Front captured a missile base in Syria. The base was stocked with the rather popular S-75 SAMs which may be a bit dated, but had still managed to shoot down an F-111 over Libya back in 1981 and would make short work of most commercial airliners.
The Free Syrian Army is the force that almost everyone agrees we should be supporting. They are almost certainly the fighters that Obama is conveying weapons and trainers to. And the Treasury Department approved a license to provide direct financial assistance to the FSA. The Al Nusra Front however is linked to Al Qaeda and waves the black flag of the Caliphate. It considers the United States an enemy of Islam.
The rebel spokesman for the local franchise of the Brave Syrian People ™ explained, “We don’t distinguish between the groups Al Nusra and the other militias, as long as everyone is working toward one goal of ousting the regime.” Our beloved moderates were making no distinction between themselves and the extremists. By helping the Free Syrian Army, we were really helping Al Qaeda.
The missile base attack was not the first time that the Free Syrian Army and the Al Nusra Front had worked together. The exploits of the Free Syrian Army were often actually the work of the experienced Jihadi fighters of Al Nusra. When gullible Westerners thought they were applauding the daring acts of freedom fighters, they were actually cheering the fanatical murderous frenzy of their own enemies.
The S-75s of Aleppo won’t pose much of a threat to us because the Syrian Air Force promptly swooped in and blew the missile base to bits, thereby probably saving a few hundred or a few thousand American lives—not that they did it for that reason. The real mission of the FSA and Al Nusra however had been to dismantle Syrian air defenses on its northern border clearing the way for a Turkish invasion of Syria.
But there is no reason to worry about that. As the media incessantly inform us, Turkey is run by the moderate AKP Islamists. The moderate AKP Islamists proudly support Hamas, which is an extremist group, and they have ties to Al Qaeda, which is an even more extremist group, but that’s just because they’re all working toward one goal on behalf of the brave peoples of Gaza and Afghanistan to oust the Great Satan and the Little Satan.
To make moderate matters even more confusing, the Muslim Brotherhood regime which has taken over Egypt has been designated as moderate, and yet the only difference between the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza, better known as the immoderate Hamas, is the border between them. On one side of the border the Muslim Brotherhood is moderate while on the other side of the border the Muslim Brotherhood is extreme.
But let’s head back along the coast through Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Libya over to Tunisia, where the moderate ruling Islamist Ennahda Party has just had questions raised over its true degree of moderation by the release of a video that shows Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi collaborating with the Salafists on an Islamist takeover of Tunisia.
Ghannouchi’s previous declarations that America was the enemy of Islam while vowing to fight against it had been dismissed. His fatwa that “There are no civilians in Israel. The population– males, females, and children– are the army reserve soldiers, and thus can be killed” was just one of those genocidal remarks that did not discredit him as a moderate figure.
Tunisia was where the bloody Arab Spring had been born in a Muslim man’s fit of sexist pique at being slapped by a female police officer. Its enablers needed to believe that Ennahda was moderate while the Salafists enforcing Islamic law with their fists and storming the American embassy were the extremists. But instead, like their Libyan, Syrian and Egyptian counterparts, Tunisia’s moderate and extremist Islamists proved to be one and the same.
What is the true difference between the February 17 Martyrs Brigade and Ansar Al Sharia, between the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, between the Free Syrian Army and the Al Nusra Front, between the Salafists wearing suits in government buildings in Tunisia and Egypt, and the Salafists wearing robes and marching in the streets?
There are differences between them, but there are far fewer differences between these groups than there are between any one of them and us.
The Koran advises Muslims not to take Christians and Jews as friends, “for they are friends of each other.” When going on a safari through the Arab Spring, it might be well for us to heed that advice when it comes to all the moderate Islamists springing out of the grass.
We have no friends among the Islamist forces of the Arab Spring; only enemies who hate us moderately and enemies who hate us extremely.
Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: Click here. | <urn:uuid:ad62309c-d0dd-4cbc-980a-ac6f45d402d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenfield/the-real-difference-between-islamic-extremists-and-moderates/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973437 | 1,395 | 1.648438 | 2 |
When Dan Fitzsimmons looks across the Susquehanna River and sees the flares of Pennsylvania gas wells, he thinks bitterly of the riches beneath his own land locked up by the heated debate that has kept hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, out of New York.
"I go over the border and see people planting orchards, buying tractors, putting money back in their land," said Fitzsimmons, a Binghamton landowner who heads the 70,000-member Joint Landowners Coalition of New York. "We'd like to do that too, but instead we struggle to pay the taxes and to hang onto our farms."
While New York state has had a moratorium on shale gas development for four years while the Department of Environmental Conservation completes an environmental impact review, thousands of wells have gone into production in Pennsylvania. Both states, along with Ohio and West Virginia, overlie the vast Marcellus Shale deposit, which has been made productive by the advent of horizontal drilling and fracking.
In the middle of the debate over whether the gas unlocked by fracking is worth the risks of drinking water contamination and adverse health effects are the landowners who must decide whether to sell their mineral rights. Many are dairy farmers and many struggle under heavy debt.
While Fitzsimmons and others in his coalition look south and see the land of milk and honey, other farmers point to Pennsylvania as a case history for how the shale gas boom can be disastrous to agriculture.
Pennsylvania dairy farmers Carol French and Carolyn Knapp travel to other shale gas states giving talks on gas drilling. They tell of methane-contaminated wells; contractors destroying valuable timber for access roads; pipelines making cropland inaccessible; years of agricultural production lost and uncompensated; road damage that isolates families for weeks.
"I never in my wildest dreams envisioned the industrialization that comes along with this process," Knapp told an audience in Pittsboro, N.C.
Siobhan Griffin, who raises grass-fed cows in Westville, N.Y. and sells organic cheese, doesn't see gas as the answer. Rather, she fears for her cows if drilling comes to neighboring leased land. She points to Pennsylvania, where 28 cows were quarantined from sale after they drank wastewater, and Louisiana, where 17 cows died after drinking contaminated water.
Pennsylvania environmental regulators cited East Resources with a violation in 2010 in connection with the state Agriculture Department's quarantine. Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality fined Chesapeake Energy and Schlumberger Technology $22,000 each in connection with the 2010 cow deaths.
"I can't blame dairy farmers for signing," Griffin said, "because of the cheap food policy in this country. Farmers are stuck in the middle. They don't make enough margin to pay their bills."
While conventional dairy farms struggle, sustainable agriculture is growing, thanks to demand from New York City. Ken Jaffe raises grass-fed beef in the western Catskills and sells it to co-ops and high-end restaurants in the city, 160 miles to the southeast. He said gas drilling could destroy the livelihood of thousands of small farmers who cater to that market.
The Park Slope Food Cooperative, which buys upward of $3 million worth of products from upstate farms, has told farmers its members won't buy products from any area that allows fracking, because they fear contamination. Chefs for the Marcellus, a group of restaurateurs, is calling for a ban on fracking.
Members of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York passed a resolution in January calling for a ban on fracking.
But the 30,000-member New York Farm Bureau supports natural gas development "as long as it can be done safely," said spokesman Jeff Williams. "We've been working with DEC to get them to craft the strongest regulations in the nation."
Landowner coalitions say they're not relying solely on the state to protect their land, but have built extensive protections into their leases.
"I turned down an offer of $700,000 because the lease was really bad," said Jim Worden, who raises cows, corn, soybeans and oats near Binghamton. "We won't sign a lease that jeopardizes our family's future. It's not so much about money as about protecting yourself and the environment."
Fitzsimmons and other coalition members traveled to Albany recently to proclaim the rights of landowners to profit from their mineral resources and seek a halt to a growing movement of local drilling bans.
Dairy farmer Jennifer Huntington in Otsego County sued the town of Middlefield over one such ban because it prevented a planned conventional gas well on her land. A judge upheld the ban but Huntington plans to appeal.
"We would have used the royalties to update the anaerobic digester that we installed in 1984," Huntington said, referring to technology that produces methane fuel from manure. "We would have purchased a better oil seed press to more efficiently press soybeans for biodiesel. We would have invested in our farm, our land, and our employees."
With gas prices at record lows, Worden doesn't expect drilling to expand rapidly in New York even if the DEC decides to allow fracking. If he can't profit from gas, he said he'll find another way to make ends meet.
"It's a struggle, you know, but you just do what you need to do," Worden said. "You sell some trees, do firewood, or do some work for somebody else. Same as we always have." | <urn:uuid:333b5130-534c-47f2-95db-b8fb3a8148cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9USIJF02.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961431 | 1,132 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Your brain may not be a muscle, but you can work it like one to help prevent memory loss and other cognitive difficulties associated with aging. As your brain ages, it loses the ability to fight against substances and processes that can harm it, including free radicals and inflammation. Aging brain cells also gradually stop communicating with each other, which affects memory and thought processes. Research shows that B vitamins, including folic acid and niacin, are critical as low levels of this vitamin group are associated with a decline in brain function. Studies also show that a high-fat diet is bad for memory and learning, and that a low-calorie diet helps preserve them.
What You Can Do Now
Along with wise dietary choices, you can keep your brain cells in shape by challenging them daily: do crossword and word puzzles, study a new language or take a class in something that challenges you intellectually, join a site discussion group, volunteer for a cause you believe in, help teach illiterate children to read, attend lectures offered in your community, read a variety of newspapers and magazines from around the world on the Internet, or keep a daily journal.
Although it’s not clear exactly how much brain exercises can prevent memory loss and other cognitive difficulties, the results of several large studies provide much promise. In the landmark Nun Study from the 1980s, researchers tested the cognitive ability of 100 nuns who had written their autobiographies fifty years earlier. The scientists found that those who had lower language abilities were at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Another study of more than 800 Catholic clergy found that reading newspapers and engaging in other brain-stimulating activities reduced the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Don’t wait. Stimulate those brain cells today!
Category: Fight aging now | <urn:uuid:7246d598-ee10-4596-8233-49185c670c6e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mosthealthyfood.com/fight-aging/brain-exercises/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959526 | 363 | 3.28125 | 3 |
ELISA Test for Lyme Disease
The most common Lyme disease test is the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). This test has been available for Borrelia burgdorferi since 1984 and most commercial ELISA tests use a whole cell sonicate of the bacteria. The ELISA test detects antibodies to the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria that cause Lyme disease and results are usually reported in titers indicating the level of antibodies in the sample. The ELISA test is primed, using laboratory strains of Borrelia burgdorferi, by breaking down the antigens into fragments and embedding them in the side of the reagent vessel (such as a test tube). The patient’s serum (blood) or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is added and any antibodies contained in the sample which are specific to the test strain will bind to the antigens. This bond is indicated by special enzymes linked to the antigens which change color in the event of an antibody-antigen reaction. A high titer, of say 1:256, means that the sample requires considerable dilution, in this case one part serum to 256 parts water, before the reaction no longer occurs and no color change is detectable.
Sensitivity of ELISA Testing
The ELISA test is considered to have the highest sensitivity in detecting Lyme disease but a fairly low specificity, which is the reason that guidelines from bodies such as the CDC advise follow-up testing with a Western blot should the result of the ELISA test be either positive or indeterminate. Where an ELISA test is unavailable, an immunofluorescence assay can be performed but this is considered less reliable than the ELISA test by the CDC.
The original ELISA test involved in two-tier testing determines the serum antibody levels of immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G. These antibodies arise in response to infection with the IgM usually reaching detectable levels within two to four weeks and the IgG antibodies able to be detected between four and six weeks with a peak at eight weeks. The timing of ELISA tests for IgG and IgM is, therefore, very important in order to ensure that a relatively early-stage infection or late stage infection, where IgM levels may have dissipated, is not the cause of a negative result.
Advances in ELISA Lyme Disease Testing
A more recent ELISA test for Lyme disease take the form of the C6-peptide ELISA which detects IgG antibodies to the variable major protein-like sequence-expressed (VIsE) sixth invariate region (C6) peptide of the Borrelia bacteria. This test appears to be more sensitive and specific than previous ELISA tests particularly in cerebrospinal fluid samples. New generation ELISA tests aim to be more sensitive to the unique and specific Borrelia burgdorferi antigens such as OspA (31kDa), OspB (34kDa), OspC (23025kDa), 39kDa, and 93kDa.
Problems with the ELISA Test for Lyme Disease
In addition to the necessary timing considerations for the ELISA tests, it is also important that the test is primed with the appropriate strains of Borrelia bacteria for each case. With the standardization of most commercial testing this is rarely done meaning that false-negatives are much more likely to occur than with patient-tailored testing. Borrelia bacteria are highly heterogeneous with significant differences in surface proteins occurring during cell division amongst the bacteria. This is a survival technique employed by the bacteria to avoid detection by our immune systems and, as such, the antibodies produced in response to one strain of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato may not correspond to the outer surface proteins of a different strain.
Lyme Disease in Europe – Testing Times
The differences in OSPs found on Lyme disease bacteria poses problems for patients in Europe where several strains of Borrelia bacteria are known to cause Lyme disease, including B. afzelii, and B. garinii amongst others. All of these strains require inclusion in ELISA testing in Europe making a single test against a single antigen highly questionable. In the US and Canada a similar problem arises in that the laboratory strains used in the ELISA test may have significant polymorphic differences to the wild-strains of Borrelia burgdorferi, thus giving a false-negative in the presence of Lyme disease. Further research on the strains present in the current environment is required to ensure that all Borrelia bacteria capable of inducing Lyme disease are identified and are thus able to be incorporated into antigen testing.
Problems with Animal Testing
The majority of Lyme disease test centers in US laboratories rely on a strain of Borrelia bacteria known as B-31. This strain is injected into mice in the laboratory in order to then extract a monoclonal antibody to each antigen which can be used to determine the accuracy of the ELISA test. A further potential problem may be posed by the slightly different responses of the immune system of mice and humans, making it difficult to assess the accuracy of the test method. A mouse monoclonal antibody does have a different affinity to the B-31 strain, and presumably other Borrelia strains, than a human serum antibody which is why the American College of Pathologists carried out a study to determine the accuracy of ELISA tests using human sera. The results of their cross-laboratory study found an overall accuracy of just 45% for the 516 testing facilities investigated (Bakken, et al, 1997).
Is a Low Lyme Titer Actually Proof of the Immune System’s Hard Work?
Even assuming that no problems exist in using animals in Lyme disease research such as this, the increased specificity of the ELISA test can mean that a test fails to identify antibodies to strains similar to that being tested but not exactly the same. The ELISA test is also only able to detect free antibodies, meaning that those present in the sample that have already complexed with an antigen present in the patient will not show up in testing, thus leading to a false-negative. Somewhat counter-intuitively, those patients with high titers in an ELISA test are often considered to have a severe infection whereas those with low levels of antibodies may be classed as disease-free. In the latter case however, it may be that high levels of antigen have been successfully complexed by antibodies leaving few free antibodies to react with a test sample. Although the patient’s own antibodies may then successfully eradicate the infection this does not mean that their infection is not serious but it may, due to a negative ELISA test, simply be ignored. A high titer may actually indicate a stronger natural immunity rather than extreme infection.
Continue Reading –> ELISA Accuracy | <urn:uuid:92ebe392-d09d-4019-a2cb-51d5a07ca92c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lymediseaseguide.org/elisa-test-lyme | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930607 | 1,407 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Hedrick Smith Looks at the Past to Answer the Question: Who Stole the American Dream?
February 28, 2013
In his bestselling The Russians, Pulitzer Prize-winner Hedrick Smith took millions of readers inside the Soviet Union. In The Power Game, he took us inside Washington's corridors of power.
Now Smith takes us across America to show how seismic changes, sparked by a sequence of landmark political and economic decisions, have transformed America and all but eliminated the idea of shared prosperity.
Smith discusses his new book, Who Stole the American Dream? on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.
Starting with a provocative 1971 memo by corporate lawyer and future Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell - a "manifesto" that spurred the creation of pro-business, conservative institutions like the Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute -- Who Stole the American Dream? goes on to examine the accidental beginnings of the 401(k) plan (which has had disastrous economic consequences for many) and how the "New Economy" disrupted America's engine of shared prosperity.
Smith reveals how pivotal laws and policies were altered while the public wasn't looking, how Congress often ignores public opinion, why moderate politicians got shoved to the sidelines, and how Wall Street often wins politically by hiring over 1,400 former government officials as lobbyists.
In the process Smith explains how America lost the title of "Land of Opportunity."
Smith is a former reporter and editor for The New York Times and an Emmy Award-winning producer/correspondent for the PBS show Frontline. Among his books are The New Russians, The Media and the Gulf War, and Rethinking America.
Major funding for programs at the Kansas City Public Library is provided by a generous grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Admission is free. A 6 p.m. reception precedes the event. RSVP at kclibrary.org or call 816.701.3407. Free parking is available at the Library District Parking Garage at 10th & Baltimore. | <urn:uuid:c7b3fb76-ab12-4412-aeff-f3b7dae23e32> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kclibrary.org/press-release/hedrick-smith-looks-past-answer-question-who-stole-american-dream | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94361 | 431 | 1.828125 | 2 |
According to the census figures, Hinduism is the third largest religion in Britain and Ireland. Relationships between Christians and Hindus are therefore very important.
Some commentators stress that Hinduism is not a religion in the same way as, say, Christianity and Islam. Rather it is more a family of religions bound together by Indian Vedic Philosophy. The BBC's Religion and Ethics page gives more information about Hinduism.
The report Connecting British Hindus gives an overview of the nature in Hinduism in the United Kingdom.
Christianity's engagement with Hinduism is very old, however contemporary relations are often defined by the history of British rule in India and by Christian missionary religion.
Issues concerning missionary activity, conversion, caste discrimination and Indian politics all impact on Christian-Hindu relations. Dialogue between the two religions therefore aims to overcome misunderstandings and to develop relationships of trust that are respectful of difference.
In the summer of 2008, some of the churches endorsed a statement which lent support for the establishment of a renewed Christian-Hindu Forum.
Surrender to God in Islam, Christianity and Hinduism at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies | <urn:uuid:cfcdc287-b1de-46af-83d2-12e456edcf64> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ctbi.org.uk/CDLC/319 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922661 | 229 | 3 | 3 |
Two more Yosemite National Park visitors have been found with a mouse-borne virus blamed for the deaths of two people, bringing the total number of infections to six, state health officials said Thursday.
Anita Gore, a spokeswoman for California Department of Public Health, said the discoveries were made through the agency's investigation into cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome at the famed park.
The infections spurred park officials to close 91 tent cabins at Curry Village in Yosemite Valley, where five of the six infections occurred. Gore said one of the infected people may have been in another area of the park.
"Our investigation is trying to determine which area of the park that person visited," Gore said.
Over the past three weeks, two people have died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome after staying in cabins at Curry Village in Yosemite Valley.
Park officials said the double-walled design of the cabins that were closed Tuesday made it easy for mice to nest between the walls. The disease is carried in the feces, urine and saliva of deer mice and other rodents.
The two that died had stayed the so-called "Signature" cabins. Mike Gauthier, Yosemite chief of staff, said the design of the luxury cabins that are new to the park allowed for rodent infestation.
"We just weren't aware that design would lead to it," he said.
The illness begins as flu-like symptoms but can quickly affect the lungs. It can take up to six weeks to incubate. Five of the people who fell ill are known to have stayed in the tent cabins in June or July, and warnings have gone out to visitors who stayed in Curry Village in June, July or August.
The hantavirus outbreak occurred despite efforts by park officials to step up protection efforts last April. A 2010 report from the state health department warned park officials that rodent inspection efforts should be increased after a visitor to the Tuolumne Meadows area of the park fell ill.
The new hantavirus policy, enacted April 25, was designed to provide a safe place, "free from recognized hazards that may cause serious physical harm or death."
It came after the state report revealed that 18 percent of mice trapped for testing at various locations around the park were positive for hantavirus. The report said park officials should take steps to prevent mice from entering areas where people sleep.
"Inspections for rodent infestations and appropriate exclusion efforts, particularly for buildings where people sleep, should be enhanced," it said.
"We worked with Yosemite to evaluate risk and make recommendations to reduce the possibility of transmission to people," added Vicki Kramer, chief of the health department's vector-borne disease section. "That included reducing the number of mice, and excluding them from structures."
In 2009, the park installed the 91 new, higher-end cabins to replace some that had been closed or damaged after parts of Curry Village, which sits below the 3,000-foot Glacier Point promontory, were determined to be in a rock-fall hazard zone.
The new cabins have canvas exteriors and drywall or plywood inside, with insulation in between. Park officials found this week when they tried to shore up some of the cabins that mice had built nests in the walls. | <urn:uuid:ffa58e63-2c45-4f0b-8b8e-e7a9b20065df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/aug/30/2-more-yosemite-visitors-have-mouse-borne-virus/?ap | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976446 | 677 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Driven by producer and consumer demand, leading organic certifier BioGro has drafted New Zealand’s first organic standard developed specifically for local manufacturers of skin care products, hair treatments, decorative cosmetics and perfumery, waters, toiletries and household cleaning products made with organic ingredients. Until now, BioGro certified-producers in the health and bodycare sector have been measured against guidelines developed overseas which offer limited or no scope for input into the criteria. Nor do they incorporate expectations of New Zealand consumers.
The draft standard is available for public comment http://www.biogro.co.nz/index.php/invitation-to-comment until 27 June 2012.
BioGro’s CEO Dr Michelle Glogau says “Demand for organic health and bodycare has grown rapidly over the last decade, driven by consumer concerns about not only what they put in their bodies but also what they put on their bodies. .
Unlike the labelling of ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ food products which is regulated in many markets, the health and bodycare sector has been largely unregulated, and has attracted the attention of regulators and consumer groups who have voiced concerns about misleading claims of organic or natural cosmetics.
“We’re also responding to the needs of manufacturers who want to substantiate their organic claims and be audited against criteria which is relevant to NZ and their customers” Dr Glogau adds.
The tailor-made standard aims to guide producers towards meeting consumers’ expectations. Dr Glogau says “it will clarify for producers and consumers what constitutes an organic health and bodycare product in quantifiable terms. We hope it will encourage more NZ manufacturers to see certification as an important way to verify their organic claims.”
The proposed standard specifies the production requirements (treatments and practices) for organic health and bodycare products including the processing of raw materials, manufacture, labelling and composition. This forms the criteria used to audit producers applying for organic certification by BioGro.
The proposed standard demands that organic health and bodycare products meet BioGro’s organic principles and strict criteria which are transparent to all stakeholders. For example, products must contain a minimum of 95% organic ingredients with the remainder being natural and/or derived natural ingredients permitted by BioGro. They must be GM free and not tested on animals. No parabens, phenoxyethanol, coco betain ehanoalamides, alkyl sulphates (i.e. sodium lauryl sulphate), synthetic products, petrochemicals or synthetic fragrances are permitted.
Dr Glogau explains the process of developing NZ’s first organic standard for the sector. “We’ve had input from our health and bodycare technical committee which includes manufacturers/processors, industry experts, BioGro certification staff and auditors. It’s now time to hear what the organic sector, wider community and consumers think”.
Any public comments about the draft standard received by 27 June 2012 will be reviewed by BioGro’s Health and Bodycare Technical Committee and where appropriate be incorporated into the new Organic Standard before it is formally submitted to the New Zealand Biological Producers’ and Consumers’ Society for approval by its council. | <urn:uuid:06bf8d63-f161-4c2b-a2e7-d823e6f10c6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bio-gro.co.nz/index.php/in-the-news/entry/first-nz-standard-for-organic-health-and-bodycare-products-faces-public-for-comment | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942028 | 675 | 1.679688 | 2 |
The history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, and throughout its history, the Middle East has been a major centre of world affairs. When discussing ancient history, however, the term Near East is more commonly used. The Middle East is also the historical origin of major religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Middle East generally has an arid and hot climate, with several major rivers providing for irrigation to support agriculture in limited areas. Many countries located around the Persian Gulf have large quantities of crude oil. In modern times the Middle East remains a strategically, economically, politically, culturally and religiously sensitive region.[clarification needed] The Middle East expected economic growth rate is at about 4.1% for 2010 and 5.1% in 2011.
Territories and regionsEdit
Traditional definition of the Middle EastEdit
1 The figures for Turkey includes Eastern Thrace, which is not a part of Anatolia.
2 Under Israeli law. The UN doesn't recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
3 Includes the whole of the West Bank, according to the pre-1967 boundaries.
4 In addition, there are around 400,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, of which half are in East-Jerusalem.
Greater Middle EastEdit
- ↑ The 2007 Middle East & Central Asia Politics, Economics, and Society Conference University of Utah.
- ↑ "Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East & Central Asia" May 2006, International Monetary Fund.
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).| | <urn:uuid:fe225139-51c0-4bc0-8514-316244caba4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tfumux.wikia.com/wiki/Middle_East | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924733 | 317 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) has filed to reduce its natural gas rates in North Carolina and South Carolina. The new rates, if approved by the respective state commissions, would go into effect on February 1, 2013 and would reduce current residential natural gas rates by a range of approximately 7.5 percent to 9.5 percent. The proposed rate reduction would also save the average Piedmont Natural Gas residential customer approximately $8 to $10 on their upcoming February natural gas bill.
Piedmont's request to lower its rates comes in response to continuing moderation in wholesale natural gas costs - the costs that Piedmont pays for the natural gas it delivers to its customers. Since 2008, the wholesale cost of natural gas has been driven dramatically lower as a result of increased natural gas production from domestic shale gas supply resources. For Piedmont's typical residential customer in North Carolina and South Carolina, the reduction in natural gas rates since 2008 has been between 30 percent and 40 percent. As a result, a normal February natural gas bill for a Piedmont Natural Gas residential customer in 2013 would be approximately $45 - $75 less than the same residential bill in 2008.
This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation
to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this
article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from
a qualified investment adviser. More | <urn:uuid:a59f3aa8-c6c8-4d8a-badb-baba2547171b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Piedmont_Natural_Gas_files_for_reduction_in_natural_gas_rates_in_North_Carolina_and_South_Carolina/792eaac94004.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960298 | 302 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The G.I. Roundtable Series
site provides access to an experiment in text and design. As texts,
the AHA’s G.I. Roundtable series provides a unique insight into
a particular moment in time. The American Historical Association produced
the G.I. Roundtable Series to help win World War II. Or so they were
led to believe. In fact the U.S. Army sought the pamphlets as part of
a larger effort to prepare for the transition to the postwar world,
and represent a novel effort at social control.
At the same time, the site itself is an experiment, a test of design
and techniques in the presentation of history on the World Wide Web,
and the proper blending of primary sources and analysis.
The site is comprised of three main sections.
Section I: The pamphlets, reproduced
here for the Web. As primary documents, the pamphlets provide a unique
insight into what Americans were thinking about at the end of the war,
and how the recent past was seen as a prelude to the future.
Section II: A still-evolving selection of Background
documents and related readings is provided
to provide context on the origins and production of the series and the
historiography of the period on the web and in the books and articles
that still comprise the heart and sinews of our work.
Section III: Lastly, the site provides an extensive analysis
of the origins of the series, and how it fit into both the Army's
larger program of preparation for postwar changes as well as the larger
culture in which they were produced.
The site design and analysis have been produced Robert
B. Townsend, Assistant Director for Research and Publications at
the American Historical Association. However, please note that while
Association oversaw the original publication of these pamphlets, and
currently employs the author of the analysis, any opinions expressed
only reflect the views of their respective authors. | <urn:uuid:f4d5a161-7f93-404e-b760-9e439e4324ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://historians.org/projects/GIRoundtable/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936975 | 410 | 2.1875 | 2 |
1) Gasoline containers. I was driving slowly. The fuel gauge was about empty and I was trying to find a gasoline retailer. The next gasoline station was about five kilometers away so my target was a small time retailer which is selling gasoline and diesel packed in soft drinks PET and glass bottles. Yes! some entrepreneur are selling engine fuels in food bottles. I was unlucky not to found one selling diesel fuel.
2) Funnel. Plastic bottles are cheap and readily available funnels. To use, cut the bottom or at point just below the curve.
3) Soap container. This a bit confusing. I first saw PET bottles containing purified water. Juices and teas followed. Then soy sauce, vinegar, oil, honey and soap. The soap thing and the gasoline above are absurd. The same is true for laminated pouches.
4) Explosive device. More popularly known as molotov. Explosives, flammables or other reactive substances are place inside bottle with a wick for ignition. It is ignited before throwing to target. In the Philippines, it is used for illegal fishing and most are made of gin bottles.
5) Float. A single six liters mineral water bottle is enough to save someone from drowning – it serves as salbabida, a lifebuoy. Several small and large pieces can be tied together to serve as raft – a more durable alternative to wooden and bamboo raft.
6) Bags. The idea of some innovative entrepreneurs. Laminated juice pouches are cleaned, dried and stitched together to form hand bags of different designs and sizes.
7) Decorative arts. Some bottles are elegant enough to serve as flower bases or a little of creativity will make it suitable. A file of empty aluminum cans can be glued together to form statues, Christmas decors and novelties.
8) Decorative lightings. I saw many of these at Sonya’s Garden in Alfonso, Cavite. Bottoms of wine bottles are removed and incandescent bulbs of different colors are inserted. These series of bottle lamps guides most walks.
9) Children’s toys. Plastic bottle with few beads is a cheap baby rattle. Empty milk cans are good wheels for building toy cars.
10) Knife. Broken glass and a cut out piece of thin can are sometimes use for cutting. However, dangers from these things are likely.
11) Rolling pin. For a baker wannabe who forgot to buy a rolling pin, a wine bottle will do the job temporarily.
12) Walling and roofing. Large tin can of biscuits and oils are disassembled and flattened. They are used for fixing broken roofs and walls. Coke PET bottles packed with cement cocktails are long term alternative to hollow blocks.
13) Plant pots. Wanna have indoor plants? Get empty cans or plastic bottles. Open or cut it. Place good soils and healthy plants. This option is good if appearance does not matter.
14) Floods, pollution and ugly surroundings. Apparently, this is the most unexpected. Many are leaving every piece of empty bottle, carton and plastic just anywhere. Thinking he is the only one doing the bad habit and such will have no significant effects. | <urn:uuid:59ec2b9b-e883-40f5-812b-01ddc34f0480> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foodrecap.net/pack/unexpected-use/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949267 | 664 | 1.828125 | 2 |
- Special Sections
- Public Notices
The other night when I mysteriously picked up a pair of socks and tossed them in the dirty clothes hamper, my wife simultaneously tossed me a sardine from a can she had opened earlier in the day.
I thought to myself ... is she trying to reinforce good habits? I also thought she should have had crackers and mustard ready as well.
Just kidding. That didn't actually happen. Everyone knows that I have no bad habits to correct.
But I was reading a magazine story the other day about a woman journalist - Amy Sutherland - who had spent a year at an animal-training school and decided, according to the story, to apply the techniques she learned on her husband's annoying habits.
Sutherland wrote about her experiences in the New York Times and her piece became the most e-mailed story of the year - "What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love and Marriage."
Psychology has always intrigued me in a way that has never manifested itself in any particular deep understanding.
I watch jack-leg psychology at work at different times during the day - reverse psychology being the most frequent ploy. And psychology training gets its start at an early age. My oldest granddaughter is a master at finagling something from her little sister. Mallory doesn't even know she's being had.
But that's the secret of psychology, as I see it: getting something accomplished without someone feeling manipulated.
Sutherland came to the conclusion, and I assume my wife has as well, to ignore negative habits and reward positive ones. Some wives may have to use their imaginations.
I'm not opposed to using a little reward for something I like either. Linda makes a particularly good vegetable soup the day after we've dined on one of her fork-tender, crock pot roasts. I always compliment her roast, knowing full well that my taste buds are going to be rewarded a day or two hence. My mouth is watering as I write this.
Animal trainers use what is called the Least Reinforcing Scenario. To keep her husband from his annoying habit of hovering over her while she was cooking, Sutherland set out a bowl a salsa and chips at the other end of the room. Her marriage was happier and her husband enjoyed more and better snacks.
I can remember from my college days the discussion of Pavlov and his dogs. Stimulus and response had something to do with the mental picture created by a hound (Pavlov's dog) sitting there with a frothy mouth. Rats and other animals have been used in similar experiments as well. Humans just don't seem to catch on nearly as fast.
But the real secret to a happy marriage may be in not taking your partner's actions too seriously. After all, what's a misplaced pair of socks in the grand scheme of things?
Am I using psychology ... setting a standard where misplaced dirty clothes aren't a serious breech of marital bliss?
I'm sure I am. If my wife happens on this column, I'm hoping she continues to reward me (no matter how infrequent that is) instead of pitching a well-deserved hissy fit over an out-of-place pair of briefs.
Heck, I can live off sardines, but I prefer a little vegetable soup every now and then. Any good husband would. | <urn:uuid:f20ea943-91c2-40ed-a475-334c74ddde23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cknj.com/content/psychology-good-behavior | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97244 | 692 | 1.523438 | 2 |
10th Annual Youth and Justice Day in Pasco
More than 200 students from around the region were in Pasco Friday to learn about potential careers in the justice system.
Several lawyers, judges and corrections officers spoke to the students who come from economically disadvantaged and historically underrepresented communities.
The goal is the promote racial and ethnic diversity in the justice system so that there is a more diverse workforce representing the diversity of the community.
Students spent all day listening to speakers, acting out skits and asking the lawyers and judges questions about their work.
This is the tenth annual Youth and Justice Day. This year it took place at Columbia Basin Community College in Pasco. | <urn:uuid:e9ba55b1-a034-4b37-a8ae-aa94541737af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kvewtv.com/article/2012/oct/19/10th-annual-youth-and-justice-day-pasco/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97363 | 135 | 2 | 2 |
The Los Angeles Times used the Freedom of Information Act, best friend of taxpayers who want to know what public and private officials are hesitant to tell them, to obtain 1,600 pages of settlements the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation made with banks and their officials and others involved in questionable deals from 2007 through this year.
Many banks have paid substantial settlements, though in sums that typically are a fraction of the damages to which they might be subject in a legal action. But the FDIC, The Times reports, figures it’s better to save money on litigation and get a guaranteed settlement.
Consider Deutsche Bank, the world’s largest, which paid $54 million to settle claims that a subsidiary sold bad loans to another bank, which collapsed. It was one of the early tremors in what became the great 2008 financial quake that rocked the financial industry on its heels and brought the United States to the brink.
If the Deutsche Bank deal seems obscure, that was the idea. As part of the deal, the FDIC agreed, said The Times, to not issue press releases and not talk about it. No publicity is better than bad publicity.
Elizabeth Warren, now a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, was the founder of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has broad responsibility for looking out for average people. She believes the Wall Street firms who help put the nation in financial crisis should have to face the music in court, not quietly avoid unflattering attention.
The FDIC’s practices, to use a business term, are not best practices. The public deserves to know the whole truth of the deals that are being made to return a fraction of what was lost during the financial crisis. And if that reddens faces on Wall Street, so be it. | <urn:uuid:b44ee0f2-97ed-479f-9039-d67c30dfd33b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/15/2752549/fdic-on-the-hush-hush.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966815 | 355 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Some time ago I had the opportunity to talk to Ghislain Kaiser, the CEO and co-founder of Docea Power. Docea is a French, power and thermal analysis company. Their Aceplorer model is a common XML-based description for capturing power behavior from informal requirements. It then generates power intents according to the UPF (Unified Power Format) description, enabling power intent specifications to be created and managed at any stage of the design flow.
The company was founded in 2006. I asked Ghislain what made you tackle the ESL power problem?Ghislain
: I spent about 10 years at ST Microelectronic, mainly in multimedia groups and for the wireless market. At this time, I was a power expert and tasked with making the chips use less power. I needed to find new solutions and that required tools to help us improve the design. The first thing I did was to look at what tools existed on the market. We wanted to use things off the shelf where possible. Unfortunately I couldn’t find what I needed. I had a precise idea about what I wanted and decided to leave ST and create my own company. I knew what the market needed and there was no solution.Did you look at creating the tool inside of ST?Ghislain
: My first feeling was to create the tool outside just because of my entrepreneurial spirit. When I told my management about it, they tried to persuade me to create the tool within ST. I asked them – what will happen during the next reorganization? The first guy to lose his job will be me because the purpose of the company is not to create tools. It is to design chips. I also didn’t think it would be the best environment in which to do this and so with the blessing of ST, the company was formed.
So, you left ST. You were an engineer and then suddenly you are about to become the CEO of the company. How did you deal with that?Ghislain
: I have long had the entrepreneurial spirit so after about three years after starting at ST, I made the choice to go back to school and get an MBA. I didn’t know if it would be useful or not, but there was something inside of me that was sure that I would find the opportunity to create something. So, I didn’t have any experience managing a company, but I like challenge and I like learning new things. During the first year, when we were developing the tool, I had the opportunity to attend a one year course about how to manage a startup given by the best business school in France. They teach you how to raise funds, how to manage intellectual property etc. After that, you learn in the field.
You don’t need the same skills at the beginning of a startup as you do when you have $3 or $4m in revenue, or $10M or approaching an IPO. At each stage you need different skills. So you either learn very quickly or you need someone else to help you get that experience.
Did you try and get funding immediately or did you bootstrap for a while?Ghislain
: We decided at the beginning not to get funding. After one and half years I decided to look for some funds. When you start a company many people tell you to raise funds immediately. I was lucky to find a venture capitalist that was willing to invest in Docea. I had all of the term sheets in October of that year and the business plan showed that we needed funds by the end of the year. Three weeks later, the VC called me and told me that the business model for their seed fund has not been accepted by the bond holders. We would have been their first investment. So suddenly my source of funds disappeared. Luckily I had a plan B.
Plan B was to continue bootstrapping and to provide some services to finance the development of the tool. It worked. It may not work for everyone, but it worked for us. It allowed us to proceed without any funds for four years. In 2010 we decided to have first round of funding to deploy the tool worldwide. We had our first customer and the prospect of others. While I didn’t really want to raise funds, we had no choice in order to do the expansion. | <urn:uuid:adf4a72d-2c37-492d-92a9-a412a7d472ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/eda-designline-blog/4402151/Executive-interview--Ghislain-Kaiser--CEO-Docea-Power?Ecosystem=microcontroller-mcu | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983728 | 884 | 1.539063 | 2 |
While the Turkish military helicopter crash near the Afghan capital last week that killed 12 Turkish soldiers stirred debate in Turkey over the necessity of Turkish troops in the war-torn country, many experts believe Turkey needs to maintain a presence in many countries in order to protect its national interests, business and otherwise.
“The most important challenge for Turkey is to create a brand name for itself. You cannot separate the economy from politics, the marketing brand value of your country from the perception and image in public opinion. To enhance your brand value, you have to open up to the world and become engaged in issues that matter to you the most. Therefore you need to send troops if necessary to keep the peace in conflict areas as well as to promote your brand value,” İbrahim Öztürk, professor of economics at the İstanbul-based Marmara University, told Sunday’s Zaman.
“I am sure if you ask the people in Lebanon, Kosovo and Bosnia, they will say they would rather see Turkish troops stay there as part of the multinational task force to keep the peace,” he underlined, adding that other major powers are using troop contingencies in foreign lands as part of their power projections.
As part of its commitments to the UN and NATO, Turkey sent troops to South Korea (December 1950), Somalia (December 1992 and February 2009), Bosnia (December 1992), West Bank (February 1997), Albania (April 1997 and July 1998), Kosovo (October 1998), Afghanistan (October 2001), Congo (June 2006), Lebanon (September 2006) and Libya (March 2011). It still maintains a troop presence in some of these countries. Turkey has also sent troops to Cyprus and Iraq on its own using the rights that exist in the Zurich and London Agreements of 1959 as a guarantor state in the former and hot-pursuit rights across the border in the fight against terrorism in the latter case.
According to Article 92 of the constitution, it is Parliament that holds the authority to allow the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) to be deployed on foreign soil or a foreign military force to be based in Turkey. Turkish governments have obtained 35 resolutions from Parliament so far under this article, though a few of them were just precautionary ones and have never been used.
The last resolution Parliament approved was an extension for the deployment of naval vessels to help a NATO mission fight piracy along Somalia’s vast and lawless coastline for another year, on Jan. 25, 2012. In July 2011, Parliament approved a government request to extend for one year the Turkish military mission with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for the fifth time since 2006. The government has already signaled that it may seek authorization for Syria as well if the civil war escalates into a full-blow war in the region.
“Turkey is in Afghanistan to fulfill its legal responsibility under the NATO alliance agreement. With troops that have no mandate for a combat mission, you are standing by the Afghan people. You also take part in international peacekeeping missions for strategic reasons as well,” Rıdvan Karluk, dean of the faculty of economics and international relations at Anadolu University, told Sunday’s Zaman. “What is more, the historical and cultural ties that go way back with Afghans require you to be there,” he added, dismissing opposition parties’ questions concerning the Afghan mission as “hastily made statements devoid of logic.”
Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli said in a statement last week that the latest incident in Afghanistan, escalating violence in the war-torn country and the latest developments, which he described as “provocative,” all make it necessary to “reconsider our military presence there.” “The Turkish military did not go to Afghanistan to legitimize the occupation [of Afghanistan]. … We already have many problems, it is meaningless to lose lives elsewhere,” he said.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has also taken the crash as an opportunity to criticize the government for the Turkish mission in Afghanistan. “What are we doing in Afghanistan?” CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu asked on Sunday. CHP Aydın deputy Bülent Tezcan submitted a petition to Parliament, demanding Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan answer a series of questions about the mission in Afghanistan, ranging from Turkish causalities so far to the ongoing investigation into the accident.
Turkey has about 1,800 troops in Afghanistan and leads NATO operations in Kabul province. The force has suffered relatively few casualties because of its noncombatant role. In 2009, two Turkish soldiers, one of them a colonel, were killed in a traffic accident in northern Afghanistan. The crash was the deadliest in Afghanistan for NATO forces since August when 30 American troops died when a Chinook helicopter was apparently shot down in Wardak province in the center of the country. It was the deadliest one for Turkey since 2001 when troops were first deployed there.
Erdoğan has rebuffed criticism by the opposition and defended Turkish missions in Afghanistan and other countries. “You can be a great country if you have great goals. Our military presence abroad is a symbol of peace, brotherhood and confidence. How can you say Turkey should question its presence in Afghanistan? Those who have a broad vision should be proud of our military presence abroad,” Erdoğan said on Wednesday during his Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting.
“Who will be there if not Turkish soldiers?” Erdoğan asked, adding, “Everyone should act responsibly and conscientiously in order to avoid using the Afghanistan martyrs for political purposes.”
Hikmet Çetin, NATO’s former top civilian official in Afghanistan and a former foreign minister, also maintained that nobody can question the legitimacy of the presence of Turkish troops in foreign countries. “Turkey sent troops to Bosnia, Kosovo, Somalia, Lebanon and Afghanistan via decisions of Parliament and sanctioned by the UN and/or NATO,” he told Sunday’s Zaman, stressing that Turkey cannot stand by idly while so many things are happening in its region. “The fact that Turkey has the largest army in NATO after the US brings responsibilities for Turkey,” he said, recalling deep historical connections, especially with Afghanistan.
Çetin explained that Turkish troops in Afghanistan are not fighting the Taliban and not in the combat zone. Some troops provide security for provincial reconstruction teams Turkey has deployed in different parts of the country. “Turkey is poised to play an important role. Peace-building is not easy, and it takes patience and time,” he said, predicting that Turkish companies are best placed to reap the economic benefits once the country is stabilized. “Many Afghan officials used to come and tell me that they would rather see Turkish firms win the contracts there for reconstruction projects because Turkish firms finish projects on time, employ locals and deliver concrete results,” Çetin said. “If you take a risk during difficult times, the economic cooperation will bring very positive results when the situation is stabilized,” he added. Çetin predicted that Turks will be very much involved in the mining, agriculture and construction industries in Afghanistan.
AK Party Deputy Chairman Bülent Gedikli accused the critics, saying that these people who ask “Why are we in Afghanistan?” are in fact demanding that Turkey should adopt isolationist politics and become much more inner-oriented. “A country can only become a powerful player by generating values. Turkey has indeed generated new values for the international community and proved that Islam and democracy can very well be compatible in Muslim-majority countries.” he told Sunday’s Zaman.
Gedikli, an economist as well, pointed out the fact that local people are quite happy with the presence of Turkish troops, companies, schools, engineers and volunteers in these countries. “Turkey advocates justice, peace, democracy and stability in these countries. That is what we represent there, and people know about that,” he added. “The fact that our martyrs who fell in Afghanistan were engineers and technicians proved that Turkey is trying to help our Afghan brethren. Therefore, we have to look at the Turkish troop deployment from a broad perspective,” Gedikli stated.
In addition to troops, Turkey has also deployed police officers in a number of countries as part of training programs or part of its responsibility under a multinational organization such as UN. There are over 150 Turkish officers currently on peacekeeping missions in many countries, including Ivory Coast, Liberia, Congo, East Timor, Haiti and Sudan. Currently, 273 Turkish experts on the police force hold educational positions in police academies in 30 foreign countries, while about 400 foreign students attend training in Turkey’s Police Academy and higher vocational police schools.
According to a report published by the National Police Department in 2011, the department had offered training programs to 15,000 officers in 30 countries. The report indicates Turkey has so far trained 2,437 teaching experts in countries where it offers educational assistance to police departments, while 1,658 others were trained in fighting the narcotics trade. The government has also signed a number of bilateral training agreements in recent years mostly with African countries where the government is trying to boost its trade relations.
The bulk of training programs were allocated to the Afghan national police force, however. As part of efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, Turkey started training officers in the Afghan police force at the Sivas Higher Vocational Police School. The first 500 Afghan students, all high school graduates, came to Sivas in 2010, and the target is to educate and train 15,000 Afghans there. Turkey has also been training regular officers from the police force of northern Iraq since September 2010 at the request of the leader of the Northern Iraqi Regional Administration, Massoud Barzani. It is no coincidence that most of the countries to which Turkey has offered assistance in police training are on the target list of priority countries with which Turkey wants to cultivate economic and political ties. | <urn:uuid:2e73f1c0-543e-461c-b675-435fe16cf439> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?load=detay&newsId=275144&link=275294 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967457 | 2,097 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Science Scoops: And…Reflections of Earth's Climate
by Stephen James O'Meara
Wondering how Earth's climate may be changing over the years? Well, how about keeping an eye on the Moon? Yup. That's what researchers did in the late 1920s, and that's what Philip R. Goode (New Jersey Institute of Technology) and his colleagues did more recently. Actually, Goode and his team are not directly watching the Moon. Instead, they're watching sunlight that has been reflected off the Earth and onto the Moon's “bright” side when it just happens to be in shadow, a phenomenon called “earthshine.” You see earthshine best when the Moon is in a crescent phase; it's the “old Moon in the new Moon's arms.” In essence, the scientists are using the Moon as a mirror, one that will reflect changes in Earth's atmosphere.
Here's how it works. The amount of sunlight our planet bounces back into space reflects how much cloud, atmospheric dust, and snow is covering the Earth. Any radiation not being reflected is being absorbed. This means that if the Earth isn't being as reflective as normal, Earth's climate must be getting warmer.
As reported in Sky & Telescope magazine, Goode says that on average the Earth reflects 30 percent of the sunlight hitting it. But recently our planet seems to be a bit brighter than it was in 1994–95. What does this mean?
Is the Earth getting colder?
Well, stay tuned, because the earthshine measurements will have to continue for many more years before the researchers can draw any conclusions.
- In Lesson 2, you studied a diagram that showed the phases of the Moon as viewed from Earth. Why do you think that earthshine is brighter when the Moon is in a crescent phase? Write a sentence or two explaining your answer.
[anno: Answers will vary but could include that because a smaller portion of the Moon is lighted during a crescent phase, a variation in that amount of light might be more noticeable.]
- What are some of the other ways that people use or have used the phases of the Moon? List a few ways that people have used phases of the Moon.
[anno: Answers will vary but could include that some people have tracked time using the phases of the Moon. Some people believe that the full Moon causes strange things to happen, and they might alter their plans because of a full Moon.] | <urn:uuid:f82ffa84-c59b-4eaa-ad7d-096d5300f804> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eduplace.com/science/hmsc/5/d/cricket/cktcontent_5d102.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964973 | 515 | 3.953125 | 4 |
MARBL’s new collecting focus: African Americans in sports
Photo caption: A few of the items in MARBL's African Americans in Sports Collection are pictured here, including a publicity photo of boxer Joe Louis, a ticket stub from his 1938 match against Max Schmeling, a team photo of the Atlanta Black Crackers and a Hank Aaron media guide.
The Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL) recently announced a new collecting focus – African Americans in sports. The collection brings to light the effect athletes and others in the sports world had on the civil rights movement and their struggle to be recognized for the impact of their achievements on society.
“The general public, even to this day, believes that sports are a trivial endeavor, a form of entertainment or escapism – and that those who play must not be skilled at other things, because if they were, why aren't they doctors or lawyers?” says former NFL player Pellom McDaniels III, who is a MARBL consultant curator for the collection. “The complex meanings associated with African Americans participating in sports, which historically were used to assist in the community building process, have been lost.” McDaniels, who earned a master’s and PhD in American studies from Emory’s ILA, is also an author and an assistant professor of history and American studies at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.
McDaniels says many African American athletes were instrumental in the civil rights movement, including Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe, Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Curt Flood, and 1968 Olympic track and field medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos. While MARBL has collections related to African Americans and religion, the arts, literature and poetry, civil rights and other areas, there was precious little in the area of sports until recently.
The new collecting focus was sparked by the spring 2010 acquisition of the William Clyde “Doc” Partin Sr. collection, which includes Partin’s essays about baseball Hall of Famers Earle Combs, Frank Robinson, Babe Ruth and others, as well as posters, documents, signed baseballs, and a large collection of books about African American athletes. Randall Burkett, curator of MARBL’s African American Collections, says Partin, who died in 2009, was a beloved member of the Emory community. He served in the university's physical education department for more than half a century as a teacher, coach, athletics director, author and baseball game announcer. He also was an avid collector of sports history.
The African Americans in Sports collection currently consists of items purchased by Burkett at auctions, supplemented by materials from other MARBL African American collections and the Partin collection.
Some of the significant items in the new collection include:
- The 1897 edition of “Lives and Battles of Famous Black Pugilists,” held by only one other library in the United States.
- A publicity photo of boxer Joe Louis and a ticket stub from the Joe Louis/Max Schmeling fight in 1938.
- A rare first edition of historian Edwin Bancroft Henderson’s book “The Negro in Sports,” originally published in 1939.
- A color print of Tom Cribb knocking out Tom Molineaux at a London fight in the first half of the 19th century.
- A signed 1939 photo of Martín Dihigo, a two-time All-Star in the American Negro leagues and the only player to be inducted into the American, Cuban and Mexican Baseball Halls of Fame.
- A team photo of the Atlanta Black Crackers, the counterpart to the white Minor League Atlanta Crackers baseball team, active in the first half of the 20th century.
- Broadsides promoting games, and baseballs autographed by Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige, Buck O’Neil and other legendary players, from the Clyde Partin collection.
Burkett says that over the years Emory faculty members have taught courses about sports, racism and American culture, and they’ve visited MARBL seeking historical information. “This collection will have tremendous research value,” he says. “This is an interesting and important area, and there is a wealth of material that needs to be preserved.”
The new collecting focus was announced in May, when MARBL and the Emory Libraries hosted “What’s Next? A Symposium on Race and Sports in American Culture.” Panelists Mike Glenn, former NBA player; Gerald Early, director of the Center for the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis; and Earl Lewis, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Emory and African American studies professor, discussed race and sports and their impact on American culture and civil rights. McDaniels was the moderator. The symposium can be viewed on Emory’s iTunes U channel and YouTube page.
# # #
The Emory Libraries are an intellectual commons for Emory University, Atlanta and the world. They include the Robert W. Woodruff Library and the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL), as well as libraries for health sciences, law, theology, business, and Oxford College. Holdings include more than 3.7 million print and electronic volumes, 56,000-plus e-journal titles, and internationally renowned special collections.
Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate experience, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. Perennially ranked as one of the country’s top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report, Emory encompasses nine academic divisions as well as the Carlos Museum, The Carter Center, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, Georgia’s largest and most comprehensive health care system. | <urn:uuid:4a60753a-0aba-4e02-ba9c-92d9e053dd7f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://web.library.emory.edu/news-events/announcements/African-Americans-in-sports | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95499 | 1,221 | 2.828125 | 3 |
The Reference Frame: RSS AMSU: 2012 was 11th warmest year
As the preliminary data published two months ago indicated, the satellite temperature record RSS AMSU has indeed concluded that the year 2012 was the 11th warmest year on their 34-year-long record, rather close to the median.Global Warming Benefits Ratsnakes - Science News - redOrbit
That's not a good starting point for a hype about global warming – something that hasn't been seen for 15+ years at this point – so the climate fearmongers use a different strategy.
2012 was warmest year in U.S. on record
For years, the same people would be telling us that you should never look at America only which is only 2% of the globe, or only on Europe. All the inconvenient data from the regions (such as the warm 1930s in the U.S.) are just regional flukes. But when the global flukes refuse to collaborate, even regional flukes may be helpful.
Weatherhead said the environmental domino effect could mean a reduction in some native bird populations because the snakes he studies are important predators of birds’ nests. During the night, in addition to eggs and young birds in nests, adult females may also get caught unawares.It's a rule: Slight additional warmth must help species that you don't like and hurt species that you do like. | <urn:uuid:5486f3b1-6612-4269-b54c-cc4c90378a01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tomnelson.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-reference-frame-rss-amsu-2012-was.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950626 | 287 | 2.8125 | 3 |
The word ceviche may be derived from “escabeche,” the Spanish word for marinade. The dish most likely originated in Latin American coastal communities out of necessity: before refrigeration was readily available, any surplus of freshly caught fish was bound to go to waste after a day or two in the hot sun. Citrus was always abundantly available, its acid conveniently serving as both a cooking and preservation agent.
Peruvian ceviche is arguably the simplest and most classic form of the dish. This version uses lime juice and onion as a base and a firm–fleshed white fish, traditionally shark, sole or corvina (sea bass). Octopus and shellfish, particularly shrimp, clams and mussels, are also common ingredients depending on region. The Ecuadorian adaptation uses tomato in addition to citrus and is finished with a crunchy popcorn or nut garnish. Mexican ceviche gets an extra acidic boost from sliced onions and Panama adds heat with scotch bonnet (habanero) peppers.
Ceviche is to Latin America what sashimi is to Japan and crudo to Italy: an exhibition of the beauty of local seafood in its purest form. Unlike heat, which tends to alter seafoodís innate properties, acid gently poaches the fish, breaking down its muscle protein to the point where the once translucent skin becomes firm and opaque. This process is one of the best ways to showcase the flavor and texture of a truly fresh piece of fish.
The amount of time the seafood is allowed to marinate in the acid can make or break a ceviche. In the early days of ceviche, fish was left to marinate for several hours, but today the pickling times are almost entirely dependent on the type of fish being used.
In his eponymous restaurant in Dallas, Stephan Pyles serves a first course tasting of six ceviches, ranging from sea scallop with golden tomato to branzino with avocado and tomatillo. His traditional Ecuadorian Shrimp Ceviche is an exception to the raw fish rule. Shrimp must be marinated for several hours in order to cook through; Chef Pyles speeds the process along by steeping the shrimp in just boiled water before he marinates them in a lime-tomato mixture for 30 minutes, yielding a fully cooked but especially tender product.
Richard Corbo references Latin American flavors in his Tuna Ceviche with jicama, ancho chile peppers and cilantro, but he tones down the biting acidity characteristic of traditional ceviche by using the subtle sweetness of orange juice in place of more sour lime or lemon. The dish is similar to a tartar in that the tuna is chopped and mixed with jicama, cara-cara orange segments and olive oil infused with orange zest but the mixture is served on top of a caramelized agave syrup and orange juice glaze which gives it a distinct ceviche twist.
In his vegetarian version of ceviche, Hector Santiago quickly blanches hon shimeji mushrooms and celery before flash-pickling them in a lime-ginger marinade. The otherwise mild ingredients are transformed by the citrus treatment and become the stars of a bold dish that rivals any fish-based ceviche in the liveliness and verve for which it is known. | <urn:uuid:e773410b-f891-40a1-ba85-7ce859ad3160> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://starchefs.com/features/ceviche/html/index.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942826 | 689 | 2.34375 | 2 |
It was just about a year ago that I published the post – Great Summer Reading: Cause Marketing for Dummies – a review of the book Joe Waters (Selfish Giving) co-authored about cause marketing. So it seems fitting that this summer I'm reviewing Joe's knew book - QR Codes for Dummies.
QR Codes are powerful and highly versatile
As Joe notes in the book’s Introduction, QR codes “are the simplest of digital tools,” but they are “book-worthy” because they are powerful and highly versatile. The QR stands for “Quick Response” because they offer a quick way of connecting “the offline world with online content” via “a cell phone readable bar code.”
"Exploring possible uses for QR Codes"
In this book, along with offering insight into what QR codes are, how to create and use them, Joe also offers tips for “Making the Business Case for QR Codes.” And Chapter 7 includes a section on “Using QR Codes for Fundraising" that explains the “potential for QR Code use for causes, especially for fundraising.” He notes that “QR Codes are great ways to link people to additional information you want to share.” Here are just three of the examples Joe suggests:
- Make a donation: Link donors to a donation page with a QR Code
- Tell your story: Link to pictures, video, testimonials to share your mission with key stakeholders
- Sign a Petition: Use a QR Code to link supporters to a petition page
Are QR Codes Here to Stay?
In Chapter 9: Embracing a Readable Future, Joe admits that “No one knows what the future of QR Codes will be,” but as he notes earlier in the book, in 2011, 2.1 million users generated 2.7 million codes (via QRStuff.com), so they’re certainly proving to be popular right now. And as we move to a more mobile world, QR Codes can enable your supporters to link immediately with your website and provide a “quick response” when needed. In the final chapter, Joe offers “Ten Practical Uses for QR Codes” to consider – from “delivering real-time information” to “generating leads.”
Check out the book
If you want to know more about QR Codes or think they might be an effective tool for your organization, check out Joe Waters’ book – QR Codes for Dummies. It’s a slim summer read at 112 pages, but packed with information on what QR Codes are; how to create them; and how to measure your success.
Have you used QR Codes at your organization? Share the details in the comments below. | <urn:uuid:96aadb97-6e4f-44c9-8347-3251988fa10a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/2012/08/13/more-summertime-reading---qr-codes-for-dummies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927702 | 581 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Another entry in the Coen brothers eclectic oeuvre, the straight-faced remake of the 1969 John Wayne film was widely praised for its refinement of the earlier movie and reliance on the sharp dialogue of the Charles Portis novel upon which it was based. The directorial duo’s signature off-kilter tone was conspicuously absent, to the bafflement of some fans and the delight of critics, who remarked on the pair’s versatility. More praise, however, was lavished upon the film’s 14-year-old star. No matter how much one might love Jeff Bridges’ bibulous, debauched Rooster Cogburn—and this writer did—the precocious Hailee Steinfeld steals the show right out from under his ruddy nose.
Teenaged Mattie Ross has traveled from home to see to her father’s affairs after he is killed by one of his employees. Intent on wrapping up the bouquet of loose ends he has left behind as tightly as her painful-looking braids, she briskly settles his finances and sets resolutely about tracking down his murderer. She enlists the help of a reluctant U.S. marshall and rides off into the Arkansas wilderness after him. As the odd couple, joined by Texas ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), snipe and bicker, they bond in the way only two lone wolves can.
Check out Britannica’s coverage of some related topics, with a couple of interesting outside links:
* Read about the history of the western.
* Learn about Arkansas, ostensibly the setting of the film, though it was shot in New Mexico and Texas.
* Brush up on the Texas Rangers.
* Get some background on Rooster’s “little friend”…his ‘Peacemaker’ Colt .45.
* What exactly is a California gold piece? Find out what the coins stolen from Mattie’s father actually were. | <urn:uuid:e15ffe46-00fd-40d1-b5d1-82e1a23d983d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2011/02/true-grit-britannica-oscar-brief/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959227 | 408 | 1.585938 | 2 |
By Doug Dalsing
Roald Gundersen is a forester/architect with a background in environmental design, and the New York Times has said he "may revolutionize the building industry." The reason? At Whole Trees Architecture & Structures, Gundersen is charting new territory in architecture by using whole trees as structural elements in his residential and agricultural buildings. That's right, no milling—just a little bending, debarking, trimming, and cutting to fit, which he says results in roundwood that is stronger than sawn wood. Speaking to millennia of natural selection, Gundersen says, "Trees have an engineering structure developed over a very long time, so we have a lot we can learn from them." He's not just waxing philosophical—his ideas are backed by science. According to research conducted by the USDA's Forest Products Lab in Madison, Wis., a whole, unmilled tree can support 50 percent more weight than the largest piece of lumber milled from the same tree. "A tree is very different from wood," Gundersen says, waxing a little metaphysical. He practices sustainable forestry on a tract of land near Stoddard, Wis., from which he harvests his building materials. In the end, he holds a view on forestry that any eco-conscious and business-minded individual can appreciate. By culling thinner trees for his structures, "we're increasing the stand" and giving the forest value, he says. "Our forest is more like a garden than a mine." | <urn:uuid:dba93cde-9d6d-4626-b347-9b6f3e5425c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hardwoodfloorsmag.com/articles/article.aspx?articleid=1542&zoneid=6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96632 | 311 | 2.859375 | 3 |
The Princeton campus is a park-like setting that invites exploration. McCosh Walk, which passes south of the dormitory Buyers Hall, provides a treelined view across the campus from University Place to Washington Road.
Video stills by Steve McDonald
Video feature: 'A Brief Drive Inside'
Posted July 19, 2012; 12:00 p.m.
Princeton University's inviting 500-acre main campus has been traversed by students, faculty, the community and visitors for more than 250 years. Since the college settled into its Princeton location in 1756, tremendous change has occurred on the campus. Initially housed in Nassau Hall, the University now includes more than 180 buildings, some currently being built. Even as the campus has grown and evolved, its distinctive character — interwoven with its history — continues to look toward the future.
Play "A Brief Drive Inside" video.
The most common methods for exploring the park-like campus include walking, bicycling, skateboarding, longboarding and riding on the TigerTransit bus service.
This video, "A Brief Drive Inside," captures more than 50 iconic and new locations in a mere three minutes, offering a driver's view of the Princeton campus observed most commonly by pedestrians from walkways where automobiles are not usually permitted. | <urn:uuid:d28dd8f1-300f-46c4-8c86-6ee347b7dddf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S34/25/60A01/index.xml?from=2007-01-01&to=2007-02-01 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950305 | 264 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Guest Author - Alissa Moy
St. Patrick's Day is a fun holiday that is free of gift giving and large gathering pressures. This is a perfect holiday to celebrate with your preschooler, at home or with your preschool class. Here are ideas you can do with your preschool children to celebrate wearing of the green!
1. Don't just wear something (or everything) green- look for green items, too! Search around the house or classroom for green objects and gather them up. If you don't want to put all of your green goodies back, have your child draw a picture of each item, or write it's name.
2. Create and cook together by following an easy recipe. Try the recipe below for "Irish Punch":
1 1 large container (1/2 gallon) of green sherbet
1 (46 oz.) can pineapple juice
2 (12 fluid oz.) cans frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 liters ginger ale
Mix all items together in a punch bowl and enjoy! Your child can help pour in the items, and scoop the sherbet into the bowl.
3. Read and discuss "Green Eggs and Ham" together, by Dr. Seuss. Make the dish if you wish!
4. Bring out the green playdough and make green only creations. Green clay will work, too.
5. Using gold coins (inexpensive, plastic) have a "Pot O' Gold" hunt. Hide the coins around your home, classroom, recreation center, etc. and challenge the children to find them all.
6. Make a green salad with your preschooler. Using lots of green only vegetables, like lettuce, broccoli, cucumber, green peppers and zucchini, discuss the nutritional benefits of these green foods.
7. Play an outdoor game of "Catch the Leprechaun". Like tag, the Leprechaun is "it", and he or she needs to tag another to pass along the job.
8. Create a rainbow with your preschooler! First tear up pieces of tissue paper, in the colors of the rainbow, and sort them into plates or bowls by color. Next have your child or children draw an outline of a rainbow and note the colors on the rainbow with them, putting a colored dot in each section to indicate the color that belongs there. Then let your child glue on the appropriate colors along the rainbow design, using small dots of lue. They can crumble the paper a but to give it texture.
9. Make place cards for a family dinner (or classroom lunch) that are green. Give each wee folk (or big folk) an Irish name for the day. An example- Jennifer O'Smith.
10. Have fun creating hand print shamrocks! Here are the directions:
You will need:
Green paint (fingerpaint or non toxic tempura, washable)
Paper (heavy, cardstock preferred)
Print four green handprints in a circle, with palms outwards and fingers together. These are your leaves. Add a line with the side of your hand for the stalk.When the paint is dry, outline with black pen, or a parent or teacher can help doing this with a permanent marker.
Enjoy these lucky activities! | <urn:uuid:a3bb818e-ad61-4aa1-8ae3-f0037203ea96> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art13495.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912569 | 671 | 3.34375 | 3 |
With climate talks set to open Monday, African civil society activists are alarmed. The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zewani, who is the spokesperson for the African Union, is credited with saying that Africa will be ‘flexible’ in the negotiations.
This announcement would considerably weaken the hands of African negotiators who have taken a strong stance against the failure of developed countries to deliver on their moral and legal obligations for climate action.
Besides the highly vulnerable small island states, Africa is really set to be worst hit by catastrophic climate change. The impacts are already here: droughts and famines have raged in the Horn of Africa; a rise in unusual rains and floods; increased desertification. It is also uncontested that Africa will experience heightened levels of temperature increases above global averages, further compounding the damage.
These ominous predictions set the scene for the 17th round of UN climate talks, or ‘COP17’, due to open in Durban, South Africa, next week. The city itself sits under a thick cloud from its coal fired plants. Last year, South Africa’s public electricity company, ESKOM, received a huge loan from the World Bank to build one of the largest coal fired power plants in the world.
The World Bank is embedded in the financial architecture of climate change, and the inherent contradictions of South Africa’s energy policy in this vulnerable continent make it the ideal host for the contested COP17 talks.
The general feeling among people coming to Durban – official and non official – is that COP17 will not deliver anything significantly different from what came out of the ineffective negotiations last year in Cancún, Mexico.
Little surprise then, that some activists are wondering whether to bother engaging at all. On Wednesday I attended a fascinating debate at Dirty Energy Week hosted by Friends of the Earth South Africa, where a panel considered whether there was any point in civil society groups turning up.
Many feel that climate talks sap a lot of energy and only set the stage for catastrophic climate change in Africa and around the world.
The other side argued that if civil society does not engage with the UN talks, then that space would certainly be taken up by polluters and by those who see climate change not as a crisis but as a business opportunity, such as carbon traders.
Others characterised the continued participation of civil society at the UN talks as a manifestation of the ‘Stockholm syndrome’ where the kidnapped marries the kidnapper and would not see an open door of escape even if the door were wide open and unguarded.
Bobby Peek, Director of Friends of the Earth South Africa, sees the fight stretching far beyond the talks themselves. He compares the struggle against climate change to the mass efforts that saw the defeat of apartheid in South Africa.
‘Once again our communities need to organize, mobilise,’ he said. ‘We need to help build a new just and sustainable world that puts the interests and needs of ordinary people and communities first.’
The question is not so much whether COP17 will deliver an acceptable climate agreement, but whether the peoples’ uprisings in the world will echo in Durban. Are politicians prepared to listen to the demands of the people or will they only hear the polluters?
Will this be a Conference of Parties, or will it be a Conference of Polluters? Will carbon trading and its accompanying array of market mechanisms run rampant? Will the so-called Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) be finally seen as Corporate Development Mechanism, Corrupt Development Mechanism or Crimes Development Mechanism?
Nnimmo Bassey is Chair of Friends of the Earth International. | <urn:uuid:ddc88d6d-24d4-4f8b-abde-366f99e3db1a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newint.org/blog/2011/11/25/durban-climate-talks-worth-bother-cop17-nnimmo-bassey-foe/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945145 | 757 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Should Amtrak Be A Public-Private-Partnership?
The bill proposed by Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Bill Schuster (R-Pa.), chairman of the Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, would open the development of a high-speed service for the Northeast Corridor (NEC) to public-private partnerships. The plan includes separating and transferring the NEC from Amtrak to the Department of Transportation to create competition for high-speed and intercity passenger-rail services and infrastructure contracts.
In addition to cutting taxpayer subsidies and giving states greater control over intercity rail services, the bill will also open up other Amtrak long-distance money-losing routes to competition, and allow the private sector the opportunity to bid on any intercity route, according to this press release. “Both around the world and right here in the United States we have seen that competition works,” Shuster explained.
“When Virgin Rail began operating the West Coast Line in Britain, the company doubled the corridor’s ridership in six years and turned a profit. Here at home, in an open bid process, Veolia won over Amtrak for Florida’s Tri-Rail South commuter line at $97 million to Amtrak’s $162 million. Success and cost savings like this can happen here if we end the Amtrak monopoly on intercity passenger rail and open it to competition. Done right, what in the past has been a liability can become an asset, generating jobs, economic development, and value for hardworking taxpayers.”
Joseph Boardman, CEO of Amtrak, is doubtful that transferring the ownership of the NEC to the Department of Transportation will be in the best interest of transport. ”Any plan for transforming the Northeast Corridor (NEC) must make transportation the centerpiece of the effort,” Boardman said.
“The NEC is not just a piece of real estate—it is a major transportation artery and a vital component of the regional economy carrying more than 250,000 intercity and commuter passengers every day. We’re going to have to take a careful look at the proposal because we don’t want to run the risk of adopting something that won’t work, that compromises safety or that simply costs more than we can afford. We have a basic duty to the public to ensure that we’re looking after their interests, and the last thing the Northeast needs is a plan that’s poorly thought through and that doesn’t take key issues into account.”
Boardman is not alone in having reservations about the bill. Delaware lawmakers are also opposing the Republican measure. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), a former Amtrak director, reminded lawmakers that Congress created Amtrak in 1971 because private companies did not want to run unprofitable passenger trains. “Amtrak is not broken,” Carper added, “and I am not convinced that this proposal is the correct solution to Amtrak’s’ challenges.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) also explained that Amtrak has been improving operations and proving its value to the NEC. “While I wholeheartedly support public-private partnerships, I do not support selling off the entire Northeast Corridor to the private sector,” Coons said. “Amtrak service is too important to our regional economy.”
On a similar note, Rep. John Carney (D-Del.) supported private investments for the NEC but opposed selling off Amtrak’s most valuable public asset to private bidders. “Amtrak is best-equipped to modernize passenger rail service quickly and efficiently, as it is already working to do,” he added.
Hesitation was not only at the state level. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood demonstrated some uncertainty on privatizing the NEC as well. “The administration has serious concerns about any proposal to privatize Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor,” LaHood said.
In the meantime, President Obama’s high-speed rail initiative has been gaining ground with urban decisionmakers. At the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Baltimore this past weekend, the President’s plan to connect 80 percent of Americans to high-speed rail in the next 25 years gained approval from the nation’s mayors. The plan would dedicate $53 billion in high-speed rail investment in the next six years to support high-speed rail infrastructure.
“Our investment in high-speed rail will be significant,” Secretary LaHood explained. “But the cost of expanding roads and airports to accommodate a rapidly growing population over the coming decades will be even more costly, and it won’t solve the problem,” he added.
Lessons from Abroad: Public-Private Partnerships for Transport
Budget constraints, aging infrastructure, financing gaps and the availability of private capital are forces that bring public-private partnerships to the foreground in the United States, says a study by David Czerwinski of San Jose State University and R. Richard Geddes of Cornell University. The study was funded by the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI), for which Congressman Mica serves as an honorary co-chair. MTI is a University Transportation Center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration and by Caltrans.
The study looks at Australia’s experience with transportation public-private partnerships and the lessons it holds for the United States. Although the study focuses primarily on funding construction projects like bridges, tunnels and toll ways, the research offers important advice on how to allocate risks between public and private partners, in addition to strategies to control market power.
The study offers five key findings upon researching Australian transport public-private partnerships:
- Maintain a long-term working relationship with private partners. Contract closing does not mark the end of the relationship. In fact, it is the beginning of a partnership that will include large and small contract renegotiations.
- Public sponsors must enhance their own expertise with public private partnerships and consult with outside experts in order to effectively negotiate complex contracts with experienced private partners.
- Key performance indicators that carry financial penalties and rewards are important to maintaining and operating high-quality service.
- Concession lengths should be used strategically as a policy tool. Longer concessions may make it easier for private sector to raise capital and lead to favorable tax treatment, but they reduce flexibility for the public sector and reduce opportunities to inject competition.
- Create public “special purpose entities” to deal with the bidding process and initial contractual negotiations. The study cites Australian states as having successfully used government-created special purpose entities to deal with the early stages of these contracts. Upon contract closing, the ongoing administration can then be turned over to a government authority.
Based on these findings, the study offers three policy recommendations. First, plan for a long-term partnership, which is proven to assist “with the process of adjusting the contract to address change conditions.” The study also recommends investing in significant public-sector expertise and focusing on enforceable performance-based contracts.
Wiser Investments in Federal Transportation
The Bipartisan Policy Center’s new report, “Performance Driven: Achieving Wiser Investment in Transportation,” is also calling for leveraging private funding, in addition to state and local sources, to supplement constrained federal resources. Recognizing the current political and fiscal environment in which expanding federal expenditures for transportation is increasingly difficult, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Transportation Policy Project put together a performance-based reform proposal for federal transportation investments. “It is arguably more important than ever to ensure that all federal resources directed to transportation—albeit never enough to keep pace with the nation’s vast and growing transportation needs—are invested wisely,” the program says.
The report aims to reform, consolidate and scale the federal transportation program to maximize progress toward a set of clear national objectives, within a budget constrained by existing revenue levels. To accomplish this, the NTPP focuses on two immediate steps: to restructure the existing federal surface transportation program to be more performance-driven and to better leverage non-federal resources.
The key legislative recommendations include eliminating programs that lack a specific national purpose and streamlining more than 100 programs by either consolidation or elimination into 10 core programs. Of the programs suggested to be eliminated by the NTPP are High Priority Projects and Transportation Improvements, and the Appalachian Development Highway System. The report also recommends incentivizing investments that are able to leverage non-federal resources and rewarding states and metropolitan regions that secure sustainable revenues. Reducing restrictions, regulations and barriers to non-federal investments in transportation are also listed in the report’s key recommendations.
Read more of the study here.
What has been your country’s experience with public-private partnerships for transport? Share with us in the comments section.
Sustainable Cities Collective | <urn:uuid:0f8698c3-ae99-4590-9185-95269df30a59> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/thecityfix/26325/funding-transport-role-public-private-partnerships | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942072 | 1,859 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Dolphins receiver Davone Bess shares his inspirational story with Broward County schoolsby Ben Volin
This blog is by Post writer Ethan J. Skolnick, who caught up with Davone Bess on Tuesday.
Shrieking and cheering greeted Davone Bess’s appearance on an auditorium stage Tuesday, as the Dolphins receiver launched his “Bess Friends” mentorship program at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach.
“There wasn’t one time in my life where I didn’t think that I was going to make it,” Bess told the students.
Belief and hope were among the messages shared with students during a video about his life and his subsequent presentation. Bess spoke in depth about many of the tribulations in his life, some self-inflicted — including his shunning of his studies in an Oakland high school, his 15-month stint in juvenile detention for driving a car filled with stolen goods and a fight that led to a two-game suspension.
“If you make a mistake in life, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s over,” he told them. “I got a second chance and made the most of it.”
He went to the University of Hawaii, set records, and then signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted receiver and became a fixture in the offense.
His plan is to help kids, many from a similarly challenged background, make the most of their opportunities, too.
In addition to the presentations, which he will make at seven other area schools, Bess has partnered with the Broward County Public Schools’ Diversity, Cultural Outreach and Prevention department to provide peer counseling. Students participating in the initiative will be matched with children from elementary schools located in their communities, and will meet twice a month with a “Bess Friend.”
Bess concluded Tuesday’s program with a question and answer session, which got a little loud. Most wanted to know about his football career, moreso than the seven principles he had laid out for them to follow.
Still, he wasn’t discouraged, which wasn’t surprising for someone with his history.
“It’s all about changing lives, it doesn’t matter if it’s one or 100,” Bess said afterward. “Out of these 800 kids, if we impacted one of them, we did our job.” | <urn:uuid:110d9d1d-f159-4ded-bc35-9120e16b5495> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/thedailydolphin/2011/09/20/dolphins-receiver-davone-bess-shares-his-inspirational-story-with-broward-county-schools/?cp=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98292 | 517 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Warden was born in Newark, New Jersey and was raised in Louisville, Kentucky; his early jobs included lifeguard and nightclub bouncer. He also fought as a professional boxer under the name Johnny Costello. He served in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
Warden decided to pursue an acting career after leaving the military, and moved to New York City. He joined the company of the Dallas Alley Theater and performed on stage for five years. He made his television debut in 1948 in The Philco Television Playhouse and Studio One . He had an uncredited film debut in 1951 in You're in the Navy Now, a movie which also featured the debuts of Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson.
Warden had his first credited film role in Man with My Face in 1951. In 1952, he began a three year role in the television series Mr. Peepers. Warden's breakthrough role was his appearance in 12 Angry Men in 1957.
Warden has appeared in over one hundred movies during a career which is now in its sixth decade. Warden received an Emmy Award for his performance as George Halas in Brian's Song (1971), and was nominated for Academy Awards as Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Shampoo (1975) and Heaven Can Wait (1978).
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details | <urn:uuid:0f065106-f65e-4e84-b908-c789c4997dfe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/science_fair_projects_encyclopedia/Jack_Warden | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987267 | 306 | 1.5 | 2 |
Universities have been hotbeds of robotic experimentation. Most built their own from scratch, exploring techniques for moving, planning, and understanding the environment from sensors.
Beginning with Denning Mobile Robotics in 1983, companies sold ready-made autonomous research robots. Denning failed in 1997, but others have taken its place with increasingly sophisticated products.
Minsky, co-founder of MIT’s AI Lab, did pioneering work in neural networks, knowledge representation, linguistics and robotics. This arm is one in a series of manipulators built at MIT.View Artifact Detail
Professor Hirose’s research focuses on robots with animal-like movement: walking, crawling, swimming and slithering. He has also worked on designing robots to detonate abandoned landmines.View Artifact Detail
Moravec, who used the Stanford Cart for his PhD thesis, worked in computer vision and robotics. He also wrote on the inevitability of super-intelligent robots.View Artifact Detail
This 12-jointed arm moved like an octopus and could reach around obstacles. It was powered by hydraulics and controlled by a DEC PDP-6.View Artifact Detail
The snake-like Oblix moved by rotating its angled joints. Designed by Professor Shigeo Hirose as both an arm and a tethered rover, Oblix was sold commercially for industrial applications as the MOGURA robot arm.View Artifact Detail
The Centibots project, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), sought to prove that up to 100 robots could work together in urban settings to sense their environment and provide surveillance.View Artifact Detail | <urn:uuid:447456b1-ed8d-4d22-a585-7ec5e22e804d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://computerhistory.org/revolution/artificial-intelligence-robotics/13/293 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958482 | 335 | 3.234375 | 3 |
A digest of important news from sources selected by our local editors. Delivered weekday mornings.
The number of passengers who used General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee plummeted by nearly 18 percent in March compared with the same month a year ago, according to new data from the airport.
The total passenger count for March was 737,822, down from 896,158 in March 2011.
March marked the 10th consecutive month of declining passenger figures for Mitchell following a stretch of 21 consecutive months of record-breaking passenger traffic.
The decline is tied in large part to dramatic cuts in service by Frontier Airlines, which once had the largest market share at Mitchell. Frontier has implemented a series of major cuts at the airport and plans to cut service again in June, leaving the carrier with just seven daily departures from Milwaukee.
Read this week’s print edition of The Business Journal for an analysis of Frontier’s rapid departure from the Milwaukee market and its effect on local business travel.
Frontier is owned by Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings Inc. Republic purchased Frontier and Midwest Airlines, which had been based in Oak Creek, in separate deals in 2009. Frontier eventually absorbed the Midwest brand and operations.
The cuts by Frontier have dramatically altered the competitive landscape at Mitchell and have led to a reduction in flights and number of cities served by the airport, making it less convenient for business and leisure travelers alike.
The data from Mitchell shows that available airline seats in March slipped 17.8 percent to 925,206, down from 1,124,632 for the year-ago period.
Frontier began drastically cutting service at Mitchell in November 2011 and has continued to cut flights this year. The airline has shifted its focus to the Denver market, where it got its start and purportedly has a more loyal following.
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Laser tattoo removal has been safely treating patients for nearly three decades. It was not until the 1990's that Q-switched laser, the gold standard in tattoo removal, became the laser of choice for this procedure. Laser tattoo removal became much more effective with the advent of q-switched lasers for treatment.
Tattoo removal uses precise lasers that lighten or remove your tattoo by focusing or pulsing light on the ink particles, which then convert the energy to heat and break up into tiny pieces that are absorbed harmlessly by the body. All this can be accomplished without damaging the surrounding tissue.
Lasers produce pulses of light that pass through the top layers of the skin to be absorbed by the tattoo pigment. This energy causes this pigment to fragment into smaller particles that are then removed by the body's immune system. Laser tattoo removal is a safe, non-invasive method that targets only the ink and does not affect the tissue surrounding the tattoo.
If you have an unwanted tattoo you are a candidate for laser tattoo removal. The best candidates for tattoo removal will have fair-medium skin and black colored tattoos as the contrast between the skin color and the tattoo will mean fewer treatments are required to remove the tattoo.
Tattoo Removal is safe. The likelihood of getting burned increases in relation to three items. The darker your skin type, the higher the possibility of getting burned. Darker skin types absorb more of the laser energy naturally than lighter skin types to the risk are higher.
The darker the tattoo, the higher the possibility of getting burned. Very dark colors absorb lots of energy, creating heat near the surface of the skin and increasing the likelihood of a burn. Tattoo removal that is just starting - first or second treatment - has a higher likelihood for burns because the pigment is very dense and the practitioner has less understanding of how your tissue will respond. By using the q-switched lasers, you will minimize most risks and concerns.
The number of treatments depends upon the tattoo itself. Generally, results can be seen within a few weeks, although larger and darker tattoos may require more treatments than smaller, lighter ones. It will take more than one treatment to permanently remove tattoos using laser treatment.
Depending on the size and color of the tattoo two-ten treatment sessions may be required. The color of the tattoo will affect how many treatments are needed and each treatment will lighten the appearance of the tattoo.
The information on this site is not a substitute for diagnosis or treatment from a licensed medical practitioner. If you are experiencing a serious medical condition call your local emergency services or your doctor. | <urn:uuid:374c3703-96a9-45af-99a1-a299737ddafd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whereismydoctor.com/guides/dermatology-skin-care/tattoo-removal | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934606 | 527 | 1.632813 | 2 |
By Marcel Gagné
This article originally appeared in the November 2004 issue of Linux Journal
Performing at the Speed of Light
Note : Images have been scaled down. Click each one to see the full sized version.
You are right, François, computers and operating systems have come a long way. Not only do we have the good fortune to be running the operating system of the future today, but we can take advantage of faster machines than ever before. I remember with some . . . well, I hesitate to call it fondness, but I do remember my first x86 based PC. It was a turbo-charged XT with a processor that ran at 10 Mhz. I also spent a small fortune upgrading its RAM from 640K to 1024K by plugging in a couple of dozen chips into IC slots on the main board.
Quoi? Of course not, mon ami, while it was fun at the time, I would not give up the technology of today. That would almost be like giving up Linux for that other, less than stellar operating system. Hmm . . . . you know, François, it's interesting to think about just how far we have come. From megahertz processors to gigahertz in a just few short years! Where will we end up in another ten years? Yes, François, I suppose that faster than the speed of light may be possible, though I fear it may take somewhat longer, mon ami. Still, you have given me an idea.
Mon Dieu! Our guests are already here. François! To the wine cellar, immédiatement! Head to the north wing and check behind that new shipment of Bordeaux wines Henri delivered yesterday. You'll find a few cases of 2000 Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Vite! Forgive me, mes amis. Please sit and make yourselves comfortable. François and I were just discussing how far technology has come in the last few years. My faithful waiter brought up the idea of faster than light computing, certainly the ultimate in high-performance computing, this issue's theme. Even if we could have computers delivering information at beyond light-speed, we would still need to absorb at our own pace. One thing is for sure, we wouldn't see the stars zipping by as we read the latest online Linux Journal column.
In terms of high-performance, nothing beats the speed of light, at least not without some strange matter or access to a matter/anti-matter engine and some dilithium crystals. You can get that feeling by firing up your screen saver and selecting rocks if you are using xscreensaver or the OpenGL space in KDE's own list. How objects look as you approach the speed of light is a popular mainstay of science fiction films, but generally speaking we never get to see what it might actually look like. That was the inspiration behind Daniel Richard G.'s Light Speed!, a program designed to show precisely what happens to our view of an object as it approaches the speed of light. The program takes into consideration the various relativistic effects such as Lorentz contraction, red/blue Doppler shift, headlight effect, and optical aberration. The About page on the Light Speed! web site describes all these effects.
Ah, excellent François. You have returned. Please pour the wine. Mes amis, you are sure to enjoy this wine -- truly high performance strength, dark fruit flavors, a hint of coffee and mocha, and a long finish. Enjoy while we crank up the speed a bit.
Get your copy of Light Speed! at http://lightspeed.sourceforge.net. This is strictly a source package, but the build is very easy. You should be aware that you will need the OpenGL or Mesa development libraries loaded as well as the gtkglarea libraries. From there, it's a simple extract and build five-step.
tar -xzvf lightspeed-1.2a.tar.gz
su -c "make install"
Start the program by runnning lightspeed. You'll see a window appear with a three-dimensional lattice cube. In the upper right hand, an input box lets you enter a speed in meters per second. Start with something fairly high (you can also use the up and down arrow keys to increase or decrease speed with finer control). When you press Enter, the object will be accelerated to that speed with the resulting effects shown in the graphical window.
A cube getting distorted at it approaches the speed of light is only so interesting although you can create a more complex lattice by clicking File on the menu bar, selecting New Lattice and choosing the number of points in three dimensions. The real question on my mind was what happened to a spaceship as it approached the speed of light? Luckily, the Light Speed! website also has an objects download which you should also pick up. It contains three additional objects including a model of the starship from Star Trek Voyager (figure 1). To use a different model, just click File and select "Load Object".
One of the more interesting things you can do to extend this bit of (somewhat educational) fun, is to head over to the 3D Cafe at http://www.3dcafe.com where you will find lots of three dimensional models and meshes to experiment with. Don't limit yourself to spaceships though -- a race car approaching lightspeed is also fun to play with. Just keep in mind that only models with a 3DS (3D Studio) or LWO (LightWave 3D) extension will work for this.
Much as it's fun to imagine what really happens under these conditions, what we all really want to do is go flying through space at warp ten while the stars zip by, arriving at some distant world before we can empty another bottle of wine. For just such a trip, get your hands on Chris Laurel's Celestia from http://www.shatters.net/celestia/.
With Celestia, you can tour around our solar system, visit over 100,000 different stars, check out what's happening with various Earth launched spacecraft, and much more. Source is available on the site but there are also binaries for Mandrake, SUSE, and others available. If you can't find binaries for your distribution, never fear. Since this is an OpenGL project, you will need the 3D libraries but the build itself is just another extract and build five-step.
tar -xzvf celestia-1.3.1.tar.gz
su -c "make install"
To run the program, simply call celestia from your the command line or your command launcher. You'll want to know about a few keystrokes right now because they make the experience that much more fun. Pressing the letter L accelerates time by a factor of ten. Doing so puts your travel through space in motion relative to whatever object you have chosen for your point of reference. Pressing K decelerates time should you start going just a little too fast. Pressing Alt+C brings up the Celestia browser from which you can select objects of many flavors. At the bottom of the screen there are four radio buttons. Click the "With planets" button and a list of stars with known planets will appear. Want to visit the planet orbiting 51 Pegasi? Right-click on the object's name, select "Goto" and strap yourselves in for a faster than light trip to this alien world. Once there, right click on the star, 51 Pegasi, select "Follow" and you can watch the planet's orbit as you remain focused on the star.
Keystrokes also let you specify the representation of stars, from tiny pin pricks to fuzzy points to scaled discs. To find out what all the keystrokes do, click Settings on the menu bar and select Configure Shortcuts.
Celestia is a great program to just sit back and explore and well worth the download. Aside from stars and planets, you can visit spacecraft currently orbiting nearby worlds, like the Mars Global Surveyor Try heading for the spacecraft, click on Mars, then select follow (figure 2). Now accelerate time.) A number of major asteroids are also in the database if you'd prefer a trip to Eros.
Non, François, Eros is just a chunk of rock orbiting the sun and not the cabaret down the street. While you are busy thinking about things other than work, mon ami, perhaps I could have you refill our guests' glasses. A number of them seem to be getting a bit dry.
If zooming through space at or exceeding the speed of light is enough to turn your stomach, not to mention your face a few shades of green, then perhaps a more down to earth space-based approach is in order. Why not observe the stars and planets from the comfort of you non-moving seat? The best way to do this is with a great program called KStars, originally created by Jason Harris.
KStars is a desktop planetarium program that displays the locations of stars and planets on your desktop. Since KStars comes as part of the KDE desktop environment as part of the kdeedu package, you won't have to go looking too far to get your hands on a copy. Still, you can find the latest on the package by visiting http://edu.kde.org/kstars/ online.
KStars is amazing fun, but much more than a toy. With a database of the planets, 130,000 stars, 13,000 deep-sky objects, the planets and many asteroids, KStars is an astronomical treasure. With it, you can visually identify the position of stars, galaxies, nebulae, and other glories of the night sky. You can control what is displayed, zoom in on objects, and (I love this part), download images from online resources such as Hubble and the Space Telescope Science Institute. Just right click on an object of interest and the pop-up will offer you both additional information and links to high-resolution images of those objects when appropriate. Looking at figure 3, you can see my KStars session pulling up information on the Trifid Nebula.
When you start Kstars, it will assume your location as Greenwich, United Kingdom which is probably not what you want (unless of course, you live near Greenwich). Start by clicking Location on the menu bar and selecting Geographic. A dialogue box will appear with a world map. Click an area on the map close to where you live. This will provide you with a list of geographical points in a list to the right of the map. Make your selection and click OK. Should you happen to know your latitude and longitude, you can simply enter that at the bottom of the window.
There is a lot more to KStars than I can include in this short visit. For instance, KStars can control your telescope, locating and tracking objects. Furthermore, if you are into astro-photography, KStars can control CCDs (currently supporting Finger Lakes Instruments devices with others in development).
Mon Dieu! While it may not have happened at hyper-light speeds, it has certainly happened fast. Yes, I'm talking about the clock, mes amis, which is already telling us it is closing time. With talk of moving so quickly, it is at times like this that we can truly appreciate just sitting back under a starlit night, while slowly sipping a little more of this excellent Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Please, do be so kind as to refill everyone's glass one final time, then pull up a chair for yourself and just relax.
Until next time, mes amis, let us all drink to one another's health.
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Explanatory note to help the increase in the dioceses
(parishes, rectories, chapels, monasteries, convents, seminaries)
of the practice of continual Eucharistic adoration
to the benefit of all priests and priestly vocations
In the Apostolic Exhortation “Sacramentum Caritatis”, the Holy Father Benedict XVI has concretised the perennial teaching of the Church on the centrality of eucharistic adoration in ecclesial life, in an operational appeal for perpetual adoration addressed to all pastors, bishops, and priests, and to the People of God: “With the Synod Assembly, therefore, I heartily recommend to the Church's pastors and to the People of God the practice of eucharistic adoration, both individually and in community. (194) Great benefit would ensue from a suitable catechesis explaining the importance of this act of worship, which enables the faithful to experience the liturgical celebration more fully and more fruitfully. Wherever possible, it would be appropriate, especially in densely populated areas, to set aside specific churches or oratories for perpetual adoration. I also recommend that, in their catechetical training, and especially in their preparation for First Holy Communion, children be taught the meaning and the beauty of spending time with Jesus, and helped to cultivate a sense of awe before his presence in the Eucharist. (Sacramentum Caritatis, n. 67)
In order to support the Holy Father’s appeal, the Congregation for the Clergy, in its own solicitousness for the presbyters, proposes that:
1. each diocese appoint a priest who will devote himself full time – inasmuch as possible – to the specific ministry of promotion of eucharistic adoration and the coordination of this important service in the diocese.. Dedicating himself generously to such ministry he himself will have the possibility of living this particular dimension of liturgical, theological, spiritual and pastoral life, possibly in a place especially set aside for that aim, allocated by the bishop himself, where the faithful will be able to benefit of perpetual eucharistic adoration. As there are Marian Shrines, with rectors in charge of a particular ministry, adapted to the specific needs, it will be possible to have almost “Eucharistic shrines” – with priests in charge of them – irradiating and fostering the special love of the Church for the Holy Eucharist, worthily celebrated and continually adored. Such ministry, within the presbyterate will remind all diocesan priests, as Benedict XVI said, that “the secret of their sanctification lies precisely in the Eucharist. (…) the priest must be first and foremost an adorer who contemplates the Eucharist” (Angelus, 18 September 2005);
2. specific places be assigned to be reserved expressly for continual eucharistic adoration. To that end, parish priests, rectors, and chaplains be encouraged to introduce in their communities the practice of eucharistic adoration, both personal and communitarian, according to each one’s possibilities, and in a collective effort to enhance prayer life. Let everyone be involved, beginning with the children who are preparing for First Communion;
3. the dioceses that are interested in the project may look for appropriate subsidies in order to organize continual eucharistic adoration in the seminary, in parishes, rectories, oratories, shrines, monasteries, and convents. Help from Divine Providence will not be lacking in finding benefactors who will contribute towards suitable works to set in motion this project of eucharistic renewal of the particular Churches, such as: the construction or: adaptation of a place of worship for adoration within a large worship building; the purchase of a solemn monstrance or a noble liturgical vestment; the funding of liturgical-pastoral-spiritual material for such promotion;
4. the initiatives aimed at the local clergy, especially those in relation to the continuing formation of priests, be always permeated by a eucharistic climate, which will be favoured indeed by a congruous time dedicated to the adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament, so that it may become – together with the Holy Mass – the driving force for each individual and communitarian commitment.
5. the modalities for eucharistic adoration in different places may be different, according to the possibilities. For example:
· perpetual eucharistic adoration throughout the 24 hours;
· continual eucharistic adoration, starting in the early hours of the morning until the evening;
· eucharistic adoration from … to … of every single day;
· eucharistic adoration from… to… of one or more days a week;
· eucharistic adoration for special circumstances, such as Feastdays and recurrences.
The Congregation for the Clergy expresses its gratitude to the Ordinaries who will become promoters of this project, which will not fail to renew spiritually the clergy and the People of God of their particular Churches.
With the aim of being able to closely follow developments of something that the Holy Father desires, the individual Ordinaries who are interested in this initiative are kindly requested to keep this Dicastery informed on developments in relation to continual eucharistic adoration in their dioceses, indicating especially which priests and places are involved in this important eucharistic apostolate.
Should you need further clarifications on the matter, the Congregation for the Clergy will be quite willing to provide them..
From the Vatican, 8 December 2007
Solemnity of the of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
What is meant by “continual eucharistic adoration” is not only 24 hours a day uninterrupted adoration, but also continual adoration since the first hours of the morning until the last ones of the evening. The latter, in fact, will be more within the range of possibilities of priests and faithful of small communities. Obviously where the number of faithful is greater and there is willingness, the possibility of having the Eucharist exposed without interruption can be examined. | <urn:uuid:76e185d3-af9d-4f12-b918-319deaca2a86> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rorate-coeli.blogspot.com/2007/12/explanatory-note-to-help-increase-in.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93396 | 1,309 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Lá Fhéile Pádraig – St Patricks Day
What’s a Scottish Lass doing celebrating St Patrick’s Day you may ask. Well, my father’s side of the family is from the Western Isles – from Skye and Mull to be precise. And those islands have always had a strong cultural link with Ireland, in Celtic times the Western Isles were part of the same kingdom, Dal Riata, as what is now known as County Antrim. So I feel perfectly entitled to remember my Celtic origins and celebrate St Patricks Day. It’s also a good excuse to eat some of my favourite food – and since the lovely people at Bord Bia sent me a hamper of Irish food, I thought I should put some of it to good use.
Of course, faced with so much choice, it’s hard to know quite what to do! Especially as I really do love black pudding and white pudding just served in slices as part of a mixed grill or breakfast.
I got a bit carried away with the idea of cooking something Irish and top of mind was to make some Soda Bread. Why? Because everyone had told me it was easy – and I like things that are easy to make. I searched around a bit on the internet because I didn’t have buttermilk and discovered two or three recipes using soured milk or yoghurt as the ‘acid’ to work against the bicarbonate of soda and make the bread rise. And, in a fit of healthiness, I made my Soda Bread using Spelt Flour from Sharpham Mill.
The result was fabulous. For a start, it was easy to make a relatively SMALL quantity. Very important for a single person who eats out a lot. My adapted Soda Bread recipe makes a half pound loaf without any problem Which gives about 4 portions. Because it doesn’t have to be left to rise, it takes about 35 minutes from start to finish. So, you could easily make this fresh for breakfast! And, made with spelt flour it’s delicious. I suspect it might work better with a ‘healthy’ flour. Something that looks as if it is ‘Artisan’.
Now, I thought Soda Bread was a very old, traditional Irish recipe. But it turns out that’s not the case at all. Although it is now a national dish, baking soda originates from America – and so the use of soda bicarbonate as a raising agent only reached Europe in the 19th Century. So, it’s a bit like potatoes – something brought over to Ireland from the USA and adopted!
Having made my bread, my creativity seemed to vanish. I had some wonderful bacon and black pudding in the hamper – and you know, I just got a yearning for a simple cooked brunch. So, in the end, I put everything in the oven – the bacon over the black pudding to keep it moist – and just cooked it all for 15 minutes.
Perfect with a lovely cup of hot tea and some of my home made soda bread.
Yes I know this is a simple way to use the food I’ve been sent. But, there are times when the quality of the ingredients is good enough and you simply don’t need to do much. I’ve still got things to use up, but in the meanwhile I can go out and enjoy St Patricks Day with a full stomach and a warm heart.
With many thanks to Bord Bia for sending me such fabulous ingredients! Even if I did find them just too good to mess around with! | <urn:uuid:0d0962d9-f186-41b6-bc06-97e6c7c1d592> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.london-unattached.com/2013/03/st-patricks-day-and-a-special-breakfast/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966879 | 756 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Thursday, March 31, 2011 1:37:21 PM by Aishwarya Bhatt
New York, Mar 31 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Cesar Chavez is being honored throughout the United States for his contribution to the cause of the minority in the United States and his work in helping create the United Farm Workers.
Chaves who was born in Arizona grew up with his migrant family working in the farms. He dropped out of school after the eighth grade but he eventually overcame his lack of higher education to become an iconic figure in civil advocacy.
He famously spearheaded the grape boycott in the later part of the 1960s which eventually led to the recognition of the work of farm workers and caused their wages to be increased. On the civil advocacy front, he joined the Community Service Organization in 1952 and used the medium to urge his fellow Latinos to register to vote in the United States.
He formed the National Farm Workers Association with Dolores Huerta in 1962 and it later became known as United Farm Workers.
Chavez died at the age of 66 in 1993. His birthday, 31st of March, was made a state holiday in California in 2000 by then Governor Gray Davis. President Obama on Wednesday proclaimed the day “Cesar Chavez Day” urging Americans to observe the day with hard work and “appropriate services.” | <urn:uuid:c70fba7c-73c0-4b22-ac2f-5e4c4dfdb7d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newsessentials.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/today-is-cesar-chavez-day/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98449 | 272 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Aprepitant is an orally administered neurokinin 1 (NK1) antagonist with favorable effects in both acute and delayed phases of chemotherapy-induced emesis. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aprepitant under the trade name Emend®. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has internally generated a national coverage determination to determine if aprepitant is full replacement for other covered treatment(s) for chemotherapy-induced emesis. If aprepitant is determined to be full replacement, the CMS will then describe the circumstances where it is reasonable and necessary for Medicare beneficiaries.
The initial 30-day public comment period begins with this acceptance date, and ends after 30 calendar days. CMS considers all public comments, and is particularly interested in clinical studies and other scientific information relevant to the technology under consideration as well as comments on the appropriate benefit categories to which the technology should be assigned.
CMS is posting its proposed decision memorandum on the use of aprepitant for chemotherapy induced emesis. We are soliciting public comments on this proposed decision.
In addition, we are aware that aprepitant may likely have other uses beyond those consistent with the part B proposed benefit category determination. Beginning January 1, 2006 aprepitant for these other uses will be covered under Medicare Part D, the new prescription drug benefit created by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). As a result, aprepitant would be covered under part B for the indications specified in the proposed NCD and under part D for others. Based on the NCD guidelines, it will then be up to the provider to determine whether aprepitant is prescribed under part B or part D. Part D indications may likely represent the largest proportion of the use of aprepitant by Medicare beneficiaries. | <urn:uuid:4e2437da-5706-46b3-b001-9f893d84b178> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/details/nca-tracking-sheet.aspx?NCAId=133&NcaName=Aprepitant+for+Chemotherapy-Induced+Emesis&bc=gCAAAAAAEAAA | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906801 | 363 | 1.632813 | 2 |