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Black olives with legs
November 10, 2012 6 Comments
While searching the open red-cedar woodland at Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge back in September, I rather regularly encountered these darkling beetles (family Tenebrionidae) that I recognized as the species Eleodes tricostata. I really wanted to photograph the first several that I found, but I soon abandoned this idea because they just… wouldn’t… stop… crawling! Not that I’m impatient and couldn’t wait one out if I put my mind to it, but what I was really after was more photos of the beautifully black Cicindelidia obsoleta vulturina (Prairie Tiger Beetle) population that I had just found there. It would take most of the afternoon before I finally got the nice, closeup photos of the tiger beetle that I wanted, and as I started to leave the site I found yet another of these darkling beetles… just sitting there! The beetle didn’t move at all as I took first a few lateral profiles, then moved around to the front for the face shots that I so love, and finally back to the side for even more profiles. I was even able to remove the stick that the beetle had siddled up against to improve the composition of the profile shot and then place it behind the beetle as a backdrop in the frontal shot. Another lesson in why it pays not to waste too much time with uncooperative subjects when others are available.
I already knew about this species because I have encountered it several times before in my travels across the western states, but most memorably during my first visit to the Great Plains back in 1986 when I saw large numbers of this species and the related E. suturalis crossing the highway in front of us during the early evening hours in south-central Kansas. I’d never seen such en masse movement by large beetles, and although I’ve seen both of these species numerous times since I’ve not seen another such migration. Eleodes is the largest genus in the family in North America but occurs exclusively in the western states. Famous for their skunk-like head-stand when disturbed, Triplehorn et al. (2009) note the genus name is derived from Greek and means “olive-like.” This is certainly the case for most of the other members of the genus—mostly black and shiny, the larger species resemble “black olives with legs”; however, this species has not quite such aspect. Rather, its dull color, depressed fusiform shape and elytra with distinct, tuberculate costae (Triplehorn et al. 2009, Bernett 2008) make it immediately recognizable amongst the dozens of congeners that are likely to be found co-occurring with it in the different parts of its wide range.
Although the normal range of this species covers the Great Plains from Canada to Mexico, its eastern limit of distribution is still incompletely known. There are some historical records from western and central Iowa, but it was only recently that Maxwell & Young (1998) reported the species for the first time from east of the Mississippi River in Wisconsin. Seeing this report made me wonder if I might be able to find the species in Missouri also; however, those authors noted that the Wisconsin population was encountered exclusively in open habitats with exposed soil surfaces and sandy soil in close proximity to shrub and tree cover. No such habitat exists in western Missouri, and although tiny remnants of sand prairie habitat remain in the southeastern lowlands of the state they lack significant shrub and tree cover and are instead vegetated primarily by grasses and forbs.
Bernett, A. 2008. The genus Eleodes Eschscholtz (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) of eastern Colorado. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 81(4):377-391.
Maxwell, J. A. & D. K. Young. 1998. A significant eastern range extension for Eleodes tricostatus (Say) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). The Coleopterists Bulletin 52(1):90–92.
Triplehorn, C. A., D. B. Thomas, and E. G. Riley. 2009. The genus Eleodes Eschscholtz (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in Texas. The Coleopterists Bulletin 63(4):413-437.
Copyright © Ted C. MacRae 2012 | <urn:uuid:86f0eb61-1291-4e64-88dc-7e8facf37f03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://beetlesinthebush.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/black-olives-with-legs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948464 | 932 | 1.945313 | 2 |
A conversation at the International Poultry Scientific Forum looks at the use of glycerol and heat to lower feed mill energy use as we consider research presented by Kansas State Graduate Student and Research Assistant Erin Mader
Danisco's Janet Remus discusses a project which identifies Phosphorus content variations in grain sources by location, updating information decades old which is even more important with today's DDGs diets.
Corn and poultry producers throughout the country share heightened
concern about mold levels with this year's crop. I talked with Dr. Andy
Yersin, director of research and development for Kemin Agrifoods North America, about the mycotoxin issues we're dealing with this year. | <urn:uuid:2a49d5e7-2768-4cf6-854a-32d8c3d94310> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.poultrycast.com/view/2010-international-poultry-expo-feed-quality | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918735 | 142 | 2 | 2 |
Timor (tēˈmôr) [key] [Malay, = east], island (1990 est. pop. 3,900,000), c.13,200 sq mi/34,200 sq km, largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sundas, in the Malay Archipelago. Timor is divided politically between Indonesia and East Timor (Timor-Leste). The island is long, narrow, and almost wholly mountainous. Rice, coconuts, and coffee are grown, and stretches of grassland support cattle. There are oil and gas fields off East Timor's southern coast. The inhabitants are of predominantly Malay and Papuan descent.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish themselves in Timor; their claim to the island was disputed by the Dutch, who arrived in 1613. By a treaty of 1859, modified in 1893 and finally made effective in 1914, the border between the Dutch and Portuguese territories was settled. In World War II, Timor was occupied (early 1942) by the Japanese. With the creation of the Republic of Indonesia in 1950, Dutch Timor became Indonesian territory and is now part of Nusa Tenggara Timur province.
In 1975, Portuguese Timor declared itself independent as East Timor. Indonesia invaded, however, and annexed the region. Sporadic guerrilla warfare continued into 1999, when Indonesia agreed to permit a referendum in which voters chose independence. Pro-Indonesian militias and the army subsequently engaged in a campaign of terror and brutality, but under international pressure Indonesia asked for UN peacekeepers, and, following a period of transitional UN administration, East Timor became independent in 2002.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on Timor from Infoplease:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Indonesian Political Geography | <urn:uuid:497d5b4b-896e-4b55-8f6d-ca77399200b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/world/timor.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945805 | 386 | 3.703125 | 4 |
Bozhou TCM’s summer study programs are designed to give students studying TCM an tangible advantage in their exams and course work over fellow students. Learning is taken out of the classroom with direct hands on teaching to small groups of students.
Our language course is tailored to TCM needs and you will have regular chances to practice with local doctors although a translator will always be on hand during ECA’s (extra curricular activities) and in the classroom.
Bozhou is well known in China as the capital of TCM. Its history dates back to AD224 with Hua Tou pioneering the use of anesthetics in early operations with local herbs. Bozhou has remained one of the principle cities of TCM since that time. | <urn:uuid:7555d933-f203-4bec-a868-ccaf35460f65> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bozhou-tcm.com/traditional-chinese-medicine-about/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974478 | 152 | 1.703125 | 2 |
One of the reasons I love editorial illustration so much is that I get to learn about all sorts of things I wouldn't think to look into otherwise. Last week I got to learn about the cultural roots of the banjo. I had no idea that black slaves brought the instrument and its music to America. Here's a link to the article.
I wanted to show the luxurious plantation houses of the sweltering south and the crystal-clear lakes and humbly built cottages of the Appalachian mountains. Banjos have been in many different hands. Minstrel shows are a rather awkward bit of American history but an important bit nonetheless. I knew I wanted to include it but I definitely didn't want it to look offensive.
The art director got back to me later to say that the article's title was "Many Shades of Grey", just at the time I was trying to decide how to colour the illustration. So I went with it! | <urn:uuid:5d5c22f1-2d3d-4ddd-84e8-0629e49a1d03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://juliaminamata.blogspot.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980194 | 192 | 1.921875 | 2 |
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s House of Representatives has rejected a bill to raise the state’s minimum wage.
By a vote of 77-69 along party lines, legislators on Tuesday shot down a proposal to raise the minimum wage from $7.50 to $8 an hour over the next two years.
Republican lawmakers argued that the bill would hurt businesses, while Democrats said low-wage workers could use the extra money.
Rep. Kerri Prescott told the Kennebec Journal that Maine has raised its minimum wage in eight of the past 10 years.
Maine is one of 17 states with a minimum wage that is higher than the federal rate of $7.25 an hour. | <urn:uuid:54b1a16b-5152-4d87-8f7e-cd284557fbae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bangordailynews.com/2011/05/25/politics/state-house/lawmakers-reject-bill-to-raise-minimum-wage/?ref=relatedBox | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95334 | 146 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Anne of Green Gables, the much loved Canadian novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery about a spunky, red-haired orphan, will make its return to Canadian television.
The eight novels of the series, which were published from 1908 to 1921, still resonate with modern fans, who can connect to the character, Anne Shirley, and her quest for a place to call home on Prince Edward Island. The books have sold 50 million copies worldwide, and have been credited with giving readers a peaceful and inviting slice of Canadian life. It has also spawned countless theatre and musical adaptations, cartoons, films and television shows, making Anne one of the most globally recognizable Canadian brands.
The show has not been remade for television since an ugly dispute in the late 1990s between the Montgomery estate and Sullivan Entertainment, who had the television rights to the franchise during the 1980s and 1990s.
Montgomery’s granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler, lashed out against the company for failing to pay royalties, and Sullivan responded with a defamation lawsuit, which was eventually dismissed in 2004.
The Montgomery family quietly took over the television rights four years ago. Now, they say, it is time for a modern retelling of the literary classic.
“It’s been almost 30 years since Anne was on television in a miniseries format,” Butler said in a statement. “I think it’s really time for a new interpretation. I’ve been wanting to do this for years.”
Butler has selected Breakthrough Entertainment, a Toronto-based TV company, to take on the stories. This time, the Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc., is expected to work closely with the production, which is set to begin in the Maritimes in summer 2013.
While the show will still be a period piece, producers are already envisioning ways for the series to be relevant to a contemporary age.
“Our lofty goal is to tell the stories, channeling Kate, that Lucy Maud Montgomery would tell in the present day,” said Joan Lambur, an executive producer at Breakthrough. “She was clearly ahead of her time in telling a story about a female hero who is not afraid to be loud and bold at a time when girls were expected to be the opposite.”
The new series was officially announced on Monday at the Banff World Media Festival. The 13-part miniseries is expected to be the first time that all eight Anne books will be used as a narrative base for a show. | <urn:uuid:4b46c342-7698-436e-9f1a-d7d3aefde371> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/06/11/anne-of-green-gables-to-return-to-television/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976222 | 523 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) is the world governing body for the sport of sailing, officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
ISAF is responsible for:
- the promotion of the sport internationally;
- managing sailing at the Olympic Games;
- developing the Racing Rules of Sailing and regulations for all sailing competitions;
- the training of judges, umpires and other administrators;
- the development of the sport around the world; and
- representing the sailors in all matters concerning the sport.
The principle members of ISAF are the 'Member National Authorities' (MNAs) and the 'Class Associations.
The MNAs are the national governing bodies for sailing around the world and all their contact details are available in the MNA section.
Over 100 Class Associations are members of ISAF which means they are entitled to hold a World Championship - more information about the different types of boat and board is available in the Classes and Equipment section. | <urn:uuid:e40049de-0a91-456f-b956-31d7bd8808fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sailing.org/about/isaf/index.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937048 | 203 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Topography, Climate, and Vegetation
The Yucatán Peninsula is a low, undulating, limestone platform that is still
gradually emerging from the sea. While the portions around Tikal have been above sea
level for perhaps 10 million years, the northern tip of the peninsula, around Mérida,
Yucatán, was under the sea until perhaps a million years ago. Northern Yucatan is low
and relatively flat with no surface rivers or streams.
At 17° to 21° north latitude, the peninsula sits within the "outer tropics"--an area where rainfall is generally substantially less, and more seasonal, than in the truly wet equatorial rain belt.
With this modest, highly seasonal rainfall, vegetation of most of the Yucatán Peninsula is dryish tropical, broadleaf forest, rather than wet, evergreen rainforest. Rainfall is highest at the base of the peninsula and northward along the eastern shore, diminishing greatly to the north and west. Hence, from 3 meters of rain yearly in some portions of Guatemala and Belize, rainfall drops to less than 1 meter in the dry northwest corner of the peninsula near Merida, Yucatán. The forest varies in concert, being tall, complex, and only partly deciduous in the wetter areas, and reducing in stature to a low, deciduous, thorn-forest in the peninsula's dry northwestern regions.
As is generally true in the tropics, rainfall in the Maya Forest follows the march of the sun, lagging behind somewhat, as it passes overhead twice yearly. There is a dramatic wet season/dry season cycle, with rains beginning in May or June, peaking in September, and waning thereafter. A severe dry season holds sway from February through April.
The facts in this article are based on information
from the following:
A portrait of The Peregrine Fund's Maya Project: ecological research, habitat conservation, and development of human resources in the Maya Forest ...link
The Yucatán Peninsula separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. It includes part of Mexico, the nation of Belize, and Guatemala's northern territory of El Petén. This website focuses on the Mexican portions of the peninsula. This includes three Mexican states - Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo.
Rocks along the coast are of Pleistocene and Holocene age, while older Miocene and Eocene deposits are exposed farther inland. Caves and karst features are common in nearly all parts of the Peninsula. The most notable karst feature is the
cenote. Cenote is derived the Mayan word "dzonot" and refers to any subterranean chamber that contains permanent water. While some cenotes are vertical, water-filled shafts, others are caves that contain pools and underwater passageways in their interior. (Facts in this para from
Yucatan from Space
A spectacular photograph of the peninsula taken from space. It includes Guatemala
and Belize. ...link
Both photos are courtesy of Visible Earth, NASA. | <urn:uuid:ab16d256-e37c-49b9-87c4-20b02386b766> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yucatanwildlife.com/places/peninsula.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936215 | 643 | 4.34375 | 4 |
Maybe this will go down in the history books as one of the bigger accomplishments in Seattle’s tech industry. Well, let’s hope not. On Sunday afternoon, Seattle startup Cozi set a Guinness World Record for the longest line of rubber ducks. Why?
We’re still trying to figure that out.
The line — formed in Seattle’s Magnuson Park — stretched for one mile and included 17,782 tiny yellow rubber ducks. Orchestrated by the family calendar startup Cozi, the PR stunt supposedly was created to encourage “all families to get their own ducks in a row.” It is part of a larger marketing campaign that the startup is running this summer, which now moves into the “lucky duck” photo contest. Winners will be chosen this summer after snapping photos of themselves and the rubber ducks at locations around the globe.
Guinness World Record adjudicator Kimberley Patrick made it official at about 1 p.m.
“Not only was it beautiful and amazing to see thousands of ducks in a row, it was great to see so many families working together to achieve a Guinness World Record,” said Partrick after certifying the record. | <urn:uuid:d3f56f9a-1e27-45df-bb3e-994bd82c6d5c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.geekwire.com/2011/seattle-startup-cozi-lines-17782-rubber-ducks-sets-world-record/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956431 | 248 | 1.625 | 2 |
If you've got an eye for crisp video, surely you've wished the high-definition signal being pumped into your living room was even better. The signal quality appears to have good days and bad days, and you may have even wondered if the same HD channel looks better on cable, satellite, or FiOS.
According to one man's test, the differences in quality can be extreme. Ken Fowler, an HD-enthusiast and frequenter of the AVSForum site, compared screenshots of Comcast HD cable service and Verizon HD FiOS service in Virginia. The shots were taken at the exact same time and the same channel. The pixelated, blurry picture shown here is of the Comcast version of the Music HD channel (the Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist).
Check out his sample-size-of-one study to see the differences between
his Comcast HD signal and FiOS signal on several (but not all) national
high-def networks. Though the differences are shocking, remember to
take them with a grain of salt since Fowler only tested his own set-up.
Fowler says Comcast recently began recompressing high-def signals
coming from content providers so that three channels can be squeezed
onto each 38.8Mbps of bandwidth. It used to be just two channels per
38.8Mbps. All cable carriers must insist upon some amount of
compression to make room for more HD channels, but the idea is to do so
with technologies that don't sacrifice quality. —Rachel Rosmarin
Copyright © 2013 Bonnier Corp. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. | <urn:uuid:9cfd23b6-07af-4d6e-88cd-42e21a013528> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article/compressed-signals-make-me-depressed?quicktabs_1=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944033 | 338 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The 2.5 million hectare Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra site comprises three national parks: Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. The site holds the greatest potential for long-term conservation of the distinctive and diverse biota of Sumatra, including many endangered species. The protected area is home to an estimated 10,000 plant species, including 17 endemic genera; more than 200 mammal species; and some 580 bird species of which 465 are resident and 21 are endemic. Of the mammal species, 22 are Asian, not found elsewhere in the archipelago and 15 are confined to the Indonesian region, including the endemic Sumatran orang-utan. The site also provides biogeographic evidence of the evolution of the island.
Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park
Justification for Inscription
Criterion (vii): The parks that comprise the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra are all located on the prominent main spine of the Bukit Barisan Mountains, known as the 'Andes of Sumatra'. Outstanding scenic landscapes abound at all scales. The mountains of each site present prominent mountainous backdrops to the settled and developed lowlands of Sumatra. The combination of the spectacularly beautiful Lake Gunung Tujuh (the highest lake in southeast Asia), the magnificence of the giant Mount Kerinci volcano, numerous small volcanic, coastal and glacial lakes in natural forested settings, fumaroles belching smoke from forested mountains and numerous waterfalls and cave systems in lush rainforest settings, emphazise the outstanding beauty of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.
Criterion (ix): The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra represent the most important blocks of forest on the island of Sumatra for the conservation of the biodiversity of both lowland and mountain forests. This once vast island of tropical rainforest, in the space of only 50 years, has been reduced to isolated remnants including those centred on the three nominated sites. The Leuser Ecosystem, including the Gunung Leuser National Park, is by far the largest and most significant forest remnant remaining in Sumatra. All three parks would undoubtedly have been important climatic refugia for species over evolutionary time and have now become critically important refugia for future evolutionary processes.
Criterion (x): All three parks that comprise the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra are areas of very diverse habitat and exceptional biodiversity. Collectively, the three sites include more than 50% of the total plant diversity of Sumatra. At least 92 local endemic species have been identified in Gunung Leuser National Park. The nomination contains populations of both the world’s largest flower (Rafflesia arnoldi) and the tallest flower (Amorphophallus titanium). The relict lowland forests in the nominated sites are very important for conservation of the plant and animal biodiversity of the rapidly disappearing lowland forests of South East Asia. Similarly, the montane forests, although less threatened, are very important for conservation of the distinctive montane vegetation of the property.
This serial World Heritage site comprises three widely separated nationally protected areas along the Bukit Barisan mountain range, which runs along the western side of the island of Sumatra. The sites are Gunung Leuser National Park in the northern provinces of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and Sumatra Utara; Kerinci Sablat National Park in the south-central provinces of Sumatra Barat, Jambi, Sumatra Selatan and Benkulu; and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in the far southern provinces of Sumatra Selatan, Bengkulu and Lampung, partly bordering the south-west coast.
The composite site, straddles the equator along the Bukit Barisan mountain range. This runs 1,650 km down the western side of the island studded with active volcanoes. The eastern side of Sumatra is predominantly lowland and in the past has periodically been linked to the Asian mainland.
Gunung Leuser National Park in the north is 150 km long, over 100 km wide and is predominantly mountainous. It covers most of the West Barisan, West Alas and East Barisan ranges and is almost divided by the Alas valley graben. Kerinci Sablat National Park in the centre extends 350 km down the spine of the Bukit Barisan. Three-quarters of the park is steep. Its highest point is the magnificent Gunung Kerinci - at 3,805 m, the highest peak in Sumatra and highest volcano in Indonesia. It is active. Nearby Gunung Tujuh is an outstandingly beautiful crater lake at 1,996 m. Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park is also 350 km long but only 45 km wide on average. The northern two-thirds are mountainous, averaging 1,500 m with a high point at Gunung Pulung of 1,964 m. The southern half is lower; 90 km of it is a peninsula and the park borders the sea for half its length. Dozens of rivers originate in the park and there are several lakes and hot springs.
The Indonesian archipelago contains 10% of the world's flowering plants and Sumatra, the third largest island, is the location of the Sumatran Islands Lowland and Montane Forests Ecoregion and part of the WWF's Sundaland hotspot. Its forests are among the largest tropical rainforests in South-East Asia, comparable with those of Borneo and Papua New Guinea.
Animal diversity in Sumatra is impressive, with some 180 mammal species in the nominated sites, and some 450 bird species.
Sumatra has a high level of endemism, which is well represented in the nominated sites. It is evidence of the land bridge/barrier between the Sumatran biota and that of mainland Asia due to changes in sea level. Some of the animal distributions may also be evidence of the effect of the Mount Toba tuff eruptions 75,000 years ago. The Sumatran orangutan for example, is not found south of Lake Toba nor the Asian tapir north of it. The altitudinal range and connections between the diverse habitats in these areas must have facilitated the ongoing ecological and biological evolution. Key mammals of the parks are the Sumatran tiger, Sumatran rhino, orangutan, Sumatran elephant; also Malayan sun-bear and the endemics Sumatran grizzled langur, Hoogerwerf's rat. Rare birds noted in the site's nomination are Sumatran ground cuckoo, Rueck's blue flycatcher, Storm's stork and white-winged duck. Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC | <urn:uuid:576c721e-09ac-4a9b-9003-58531a42f3b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1167/?assistance=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909803 | 1,396 | 3.40625 | 3 |
“Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”
This is the new, expansive definition of rape approved by the FBI last week, which will more accurately reflect how sexual assaults are tabulated by the government in its Uniform Crime Report. The FBI’s working definition of “rape,” created in the 1920s, had been roundly criticized by everyone from police chiefs, sex crime investigators, and victims’ advocate for only defining assault as “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.” That definition entirely left out male victims and ignored incidents when the victim was penetrated against his or her will orally, anally, with an object, and under the influence of drugs or alcohol (such as being roofied). As a result, the number of sexual assaults released by the FBI’s annual crime report drastically under-reported the crimes perpetrated in the country.
I was surprised and dismayed to read on CNN, however, that all reporting to the FBI’s is voluntary. That means the nation’s 18,000 police stations are not obligated to report sexual assault to the federal government, which again will skew the data.
Contact the author of this post at Jessica@TheFrisky.com. Follow me on Twitter at @JessicaWakeman. | <urn:uuid:fd201463-b6ab-4bba-9e58-209b13d0f43e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thefrisky.com/2012-01-09/new-definition-of-rape-approved-by-fbi-director/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971116 | 301 | 2.46875 | 2 |
chiggerArticle Free Pass
chigger (suborder Prostigmata), also called scrub mite, harvest mite, bête rouge, or chigger mite, the larva of any of approximately 10,000 species of mites in the invertebrate subclass Acari (the mites and ticks). The name is also erroneously applied to an insect better known as the chigoe, jigger, or jigger flea.
Chiggers range in length from 0.1 to 16 mm (0.004 to 0.6 inch). The external skeleton is thin and discontinuous. Certain species have eyes, others have none. Spiracles, or breathing pores, when present, are at the base of the first pair of appendages or elsewhere on the front part of the body.
Some species are terrestrial in habit, while others live in fresh or marine water. Chiggers may be predators, scavengers, parasites, or plant feeders. Various chiggers are pests of man, either as parasites or as carriers of disease. Attacks of chiggers often result in a dermatitis accompanied by intense itching.
In North America the common chigger that attacks humans is Eutrombicula alfreddugèsi (also called Trombicula irritans). This species occurs from the Atlantic coast to the Midwest and southward to Mexico. The tiny larvae easily penetrate clothing. Once on the skin surface, they attach themselves and inject a fluid that digests tissue and causes severe itching. The surrounding tissue hardens, forming a tube.
After feeding, the larva drops to the ground and sheds its external skeleton to become a nymph and finally an adult. Nymphs and adults are not parasitic on vertebrates but feed on plant materials and perhaps other arthropods. Eggs are laid singly on the ground or on leaves or stems of low-growing plants.
Other species of chiggers that were formerly considered to be members of Trombicula but usually are now classified as separate genera include Eutrombicula splendens and E. batatus of North America. In Europe Neotrombicula autumnalis attacks not only humans but also cattle, dogs, horses, and cats. In the East Asia certain species of Leptotrombidium carry the disease known as scrub typhus.
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The chemical character of the ground waters in Meade County is shown by the analyses given in table 7. The analyses were made by Robert H. Hess and Elza O. Holmes in the Water and Sewage Laboratory of the Kansas State Board of Health. Forty-four samples of water were collected from representative wells in all parts of the county but mainly from wells in the Meade artesian basin. Most of the wells sampled derived their water from the Ogallala or Meade formations or from alluvium, but a few of the wells, tapped the Permian, Laverne, and Kingsdown formations. In addition, three samples of surface water (A, B, and C) were collected, and analyses of water pumped for public supplies at Fowler, Meade, and Plains have been supplied by the State Board of Health.
The fluoride content of the waters was determined by the Modified Sanchis method, and the other constituents given were determined by the methods used by the U. S. Geological Survey.
Chemical Constituents in Relation to Use
The following discussion of the chemical constituents of ground water has been adapted from publications of the United States Geological Survey.
Total dissolved solids--The residue left after a natural water has evaporated consists of rock materials with which may be included some organic material and a little water of crystallization. Waters with less than 500 parts per million of dissolved solids generally are entirely satisfactory for domestic use, except for the difficulties resulting from their hardness and, in some areas because of excessive iron corrosiveness. Waters having more than 1,000 parts per million are likely to contain enough of certain constituents to produce a noticeable taste or to make the water unsuitable in some other respects.
The concentration of total dissolved solids in well waters collected in Meade County ranged from 190 to 2,169 parts per million. The waters from all but five of the wells contained less than 500 parts per million of dissolved solids, however, and are suitable for most ordinary purposes. Five wells yielded waters containing between 500 and 1,000 parts per million of dissolved solids, and the water from one well (160) contained more than 1,000 parts.
Hardness--The hardness of water is the property that generally receives the most attention, and it is commonly recognized by its effects when soap is used with the water in washing. Calcium and magnesium cause practically all the hardness of ordinary waters. These constituents are also the active agents in the formation of the greater part of all the scale formed in steam boilers and in other vessels in which water is heated or evaporated.
In addition to the total hardness, the table of analyses shows the carbonate hardness and the noncarbonate hardness. The carbonate hardness is that due to the presence of calcium and magnesium bicarbonates. It is removed almost completely by boiling. In some reports this type of hardness is called temporary hardness. The noncarbonate hardness is due to the presence of sulphates or chlorides of calcium and magnesium, but it can not be removed by boiling and has sometimes been called permanent hardness. With reference to use with soap, there is no difference between the carbonate and noncarbonate hardness. In general, the noncarbonate hardness forms harder scale in steam boilers.
Water having a hardness of less than 50 parts per million is generally rated as soft, and its treatment for removal of hardness under ordinary circumstances is not necessary. Hardness between 50 and 150 parts per million does not seriously interfere with the use of water for most purposes, but it does slightly increase the consumption of soap, and its removal by a softening process is profitable for laundries or other industries using large quantities of soap. Waters in the upper part of this range of hardness will cause considerable scale in steam boilers. Hardness of more than 150 parts per million can be noticed by anyone, and if the hardness is 200 or 300 parts per million it is common practice to soften water for household use or to install a cistern to collect soft rain water. Where municipal water supplies are softened, an attempt is generally made to reduce the hardness to from 60 to 80 parts per million. The additional improvement from further softening of a whole public supply is not deemed worth the increase in cost.
The hardness of the samples of well water from Meade County ranged from 128 to 898 parts per million. The softest water analyzed was from well 291 in the Ogallala and Permian, and the hardest water obtained was from well 160 in alluvium and Kingsdown. Of the 50 samples analyzed 47 percent had a hardness between 100 and 200 parts per million, 36 percent had from 200 to 300 parts, and 11 percent had from 300 to 400 parts. Only 6 percent of the samples had a hardness in excess of 400 parts per million.
Iron--Next to hardness iron is the constituent of natural waters that in general receives the most attention. The quantity of iron in ground waters may differ greatly from place to place, even though the waters are from the same formation. If a water contains much more than 0.1 part per million of iron, the excess may separate out and settle as a reddish sediment. Iron, which may be present in sufficient quantity to give a disagreeable taste and to stain cooking utensils, may be removed from most waters by simple aeration and filtration, but a few waters require the addition of lime or some other substance.
Most of the water from wells in Meade County contained more than 0.1 part per million of iron. Five samples contained between 1.0 and 2.0 parts per million of iron, and seven samples contained more than 2.0 parts. The water from well 333 had the highest iron content (8 parts per million) of the waters analyzed.
Fluoride--Although determinable quantities of fluoride are not so common as fairly large quantities of the other constituents of natural waters, it is desirable to know the amount of fluoride present in waters that are likely to be used by children. Fluoride in water has been shown to be associated with the dental defect known as mottled enamel, which may appear on the teeth of children who drink water containing fluoride during the period of formation of the permanent teeth. It has been stated that waters containing 1 part per million or more of fluoride are likely to produce mottled enamel, although the effect of one part per million is not usually very serious (Dean, 1935, pp. 1,269-1,272). If the water contains as much as 4 parts per million fluoride, 90 percent of the children exposed are likely to have mottled enamel and 35 percent or more of the cases will be classified as moderate or worse.
Less than 1 part per million of fluoride was determined in 76 percent of the samples collected from Meade County, and the remaining 24 percent contained from 1 to 2 parts. The maximum fluoride content of 2.0 parts per million was found in a sample of water from well 291.
Water for irrigation--The suitability of water for use in irrigation is commonly held to depend mainly on the total quantity of soluble salts and on the ratio of the quantity of sodium to the total quantity of sodium, calcium, and magnesium together. The quantity of chloride may be large enough to affect the use of the water and in some areas other constituents, such as boron, may be present in sufficient quantity to cause difficulty. In a discussion of the interpretation of analyses with reference to irrigation in southern California, Scofield (1933) suggested that if the total concentration of dissolved salts is less than 700 parts per million there is not much probability of harmful effects in irrigation use; but, if it exceeds 2,100 parts per million, there is a strong probability of damage to either the crops or the land, or both. Water containing less than 50 percent sodium (the percentage being calculated as 100 times the ratio of the sodium to the total bases, in equivalents) is not likely to be injurious, but if it contains more than 60 percent its use is inadvisable. Similarly, a chloride content of less than 142 parts per million is not objectionable, but more than 355 parts per million is undesirable. It is recognized that the harmfulness of irrigation water is so dependent on the nature of the land, the crops, the manner of use, and the drainage that no hard and fast limits can be adopted.
All but four of the samples of water collected in Meade County are well within the limits suggested by Scofield for safe waters for use in irrigation. Water from wells 276, 291, and 299 contained respectively 702, 816, and 827 parts per million of dissolved solids. Well 160 contained 2,169 parts per million of dissolved solids and probably would not be suitable for irrigation.
The analyses of water given in table 7 show only the amounts of dissolved mineral matter in the water and do not indicate the sanitary quality of the water.
More than 50 percent of the population of Meade County is dependent on private water supplies from wells, and every precaution should be taken to protect these supplies from pollution. A well should not be located where there are possible sources of pollution nor where surface water can descend to the water table. Every well should be constructed so as to seal off all surface water. As a general rule, dug wells are more subject to contamination from surface water than are drilled wells, owing mainly to the fact that generally they are not effectively sealed at the surface. More than 95 percent of the wells in Meade County are drilled wells.
Relation to Stratigraphy and Structure
The quality of ground waters in Meade County is closely related to the deposits from which the water is obtained, and, to a lesser extent, to the structure of these deposits. The influence of structure on the quality of the water is shown by the relatively high chloride content of ground water along the Crooked Creek and Fowler faults. The waters from wells 160, 191, and 199 contained respectively 325, 289, and 315 parts per million of chloride. Such concentrations of chloride are unusually high for this county and probably were caused by brines migrating upward along the fault zones from the underlying Permian rocks.
The typical quality of water in the five principal water-bearing formations in Meade County is shown in figure 11, and is discussed below.
The range in concentration of significant mineral constituents in waters from the four principal water-bearing formations in Meade County is given in table 8. Owing to the fact that only one unmixed sample of water from the Permian redbeds was analyzed (fig. 11), it was not included in this table. Also waters from the Kingsdown silt and from the alluvium are considered together. With this exception, only unmixed samples of water are included in the table.
Table 8--Range in concentration of total dissolved solids, hardness, fluoride, and iron in water from the four principal water-bearing formations of Meade county, in parts per million.
|Fluoride (F)||Iron (Fe)|
|Kingsdown silt and alluvium||6||2,169||354||898||220||1.5||0.7||7.1||*|
* Less than 0.15 part
Permian redbeds--Water is pumped from Permian rocks only in the southeastern part of the county. The water contains a large amount of calcium and sulphate and therefore, generally, is excessively hard. These beds are cemented by iron oxide, but the water has a low iron content because iron present as the ferric oxide is relatively insoluble.
Ogallala formation--The Ogallala formation on the whole yields water of better quality than the other water-bearing formations in Meade County. The total dissolved solids and total hardness of the Ogallala waters are appreciably lower than in the waters from the Kingsdown silt and alluvium and somewhat lower than in those from the Meade formation. Although there is but slight difference in the iron and fluoride content of the various waters, the Ogallala waters compare favorably with the others.
Meade formation--On the basis of only seven analyses, it appears that the Meade waters are only slightly higher in total solids and hardness than the Ogallala waters. In general, the quality of water from the Meade formation is somewhat inferior to that from the Ogallala formation.
Kingsdown silt and alluvium--The quality of waters from the Kingsdown silt and from the alluvium shows the greatest range of any ground waters in the county. The total solids and hardness of waters from these formations in general are considerably higher than waters from either the Ogallala or Meade formations. The iron and fluoride content of waters from the Kingsdown and the alluvium is approximately the same as in waters from the Ogallala and compares favorably with waters from the Meade formation.
Kansas Geological Survey, Geologic History of Kansas
Comments to firstname.lastname@example.org
Web version February 2004. Original publication date Dec. 1942. | <urn:uuid:4ae0b777-054f-44d8-b4b8-ad1498da85f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kgs.ku.edu/General/Geology/Meade/11_quality.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951161 | 2,687 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Of course, the world has changed. Though he is respected and revered by many of his people, the officials of the new government barely tolerate him. Moreover, it is not like the old days. The people are struggling to make a living and Fama, while trying to help, cannot, as he no longer has any power or authority. He manages to acquire another, younger (and, he hopes, more fertile) wife and returns to Salimata. While she goes through the motions of accepting this woman, she is very bitter and there are frequent physical fights. However, before he can do anything to resolve the matter, he is arrested. Apparently he had had a dream about a fellow Malinké who had become a minister but had tried to plot against the government. Had Fama revealed this dream to the authorities they might have prevented the plot, so Fama, along with many others, is sentenced at a kangaroo court to twenty years in prison. He accepts his punishment till, one day, the President comes to the prison camp and releases all the prisoners who have to participate in a parade to the glory of the President and his magnanimous behaviour. Fama leaves the parade and goes back to his country but only tragedy awaits him.
While Kourouma clearly has some sympathy for Fama, there is no doubt that he feels Fama is out of touch with modern realities. But his main bile is reserved for the post-independence government, with its single party, its almost stereotype African president (whom we will meet in his later work, En attendant le vote des bêtes sauvages (Waiting for the Vote of the Wild Animals; Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote)), its restrictions and, of course, its corruption. The book was, naturally, not well received in the Ivory Coast but for those of us not implicated in that government, it is a fine work. | <urn:uuid:cae6cf7a-5d61-4b8c-93b7-7001b033c0c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.themodernnovel.com/ivoirian/kourouma/soleils.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986515 | 389 | 1.617188 | 2 |
WebMD Medical News
Daniel J. DeNoon
Laura J. Martin, MD
Oct. 5, 2011 -- Most people with serious illness -- and half of their caregivers -- may not get the care they need.
The support chronically ill patients and their families need is called palliative care. It's a team-based approach that adds layers of support and coordinates the often fragmented medical services patients need.
The focus isn't limited to patients who are dying. Palliative care actually can improve survival for seriously ill patients. The approach not only helps patients but also saves money. More and more hospitals are deploying palliative care teams -- but not enough to meet the need.
To highlight the issue, a new report grades states on how many of their hospitals provide palliative care. It's based on a survey of 2,489 U.S. hospitals by R. Sean Morrison, MD, director of the National Palliative Care Research Center, and Diane E. Meier, MD, director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care.
Morrison and Meier find that 85% of large hospitals with more than 300 beds and 63% of U.S. hospitals with more than 50 beds have a palliative care team. That gives the nation an overall "B" grade.
But just having a palliative care team doesn't mean patients in these hospitals always get palliative care.
"Now a patient does not get palliative care unless the primary doctor requests a consultation from the team," Meier tells WebMD. "In this stage in the evolution, families and patients need to be informed consumers and need to demand the quality of care they should have."
Meier's organization recently commissioned a poll showing that nine out of 10 people don't have any idea what palliative care is. But once it's explained to them, 92% of people say they would want it for themselves or for their loved ones.
Doctors are focused on treating patients' illness. An oncologist, for example, is working with all his or her might to treat a patient's tumor. He or she may not ask about your trouble sleeping, your skin rash, your depression, or the fact that your spouse is exhausted by taking care of you and your children.
"It is difficult," Meier says. "If you or a family member are ill, you don't feel empowered. You are exhausted and you are scared. You don't feel like fighting this broken health care system. But at this stage of palliative care, this is exactly what you have to do in many hospitals."
Of course, you can't get palliative care from a hospital that does not offer it.
Morrison and Meier graded states on the percentage of hospitals that have palliative care teams. They counted only hospitals with 50 or more beds, as palliative care savings may not offset costs for very small hospitals.
States got an A for having palliative care teams in 83% or more of their hospitals, a B for 61% to 80% of hospitals, a C for 42% to 60% of hospitals, a D for 28% to 38% of hospitals, and an F for 0% to 20% of hospitals.
States receiving an A grade
States receiving a B grade
States receiving a C grade
States receiving a D grade
States receiving an F grade
SOURCES:Center to Advance Palliative Care: "Report Card: America's Care of Serious Illness."Diane E. Meier, MD, director, Center to Advance Palliative Care; director, palliative care institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York.
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The Health News section does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information. | <urn:uuid:527eaf88-741b-4be9-8445-42b088d21ea7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fox23news.com/webmd/pallativecare/story/Nation-Gets-B-for-Hospital-Support-Care/m1q0DKuWAUqQkAMoVlFaVA.cspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967029 | 802 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Sometimes I get carried away with writing about other things and forget why I originally started this site. I started it because I am living without a car in a city which was was originally designed around horse carriages and trolleys. Then the guys in the white shirts and bowties came in during the 50s, 60s and 70s and tried to make the city all modern and sleek with expressways, highway ramps, and fast roads. Take my example of Cold Spring Lane and trying to walk from the light rail station to Roland Park. On a smaller scale, try walking the short distance from the Fitzgerald apartments to Penn Station. It’s like trying to peel an apple with an Orange Juice maker.
But you know what? It’s better than the alternative. I drove the car I sold for 3 years. It was a Prius. Reasonably affordable to maintain and probably the most fuel efficient car on the road. This is what I spent on the car during that time:
- $1500 on maintenance, including things like oil changes and tires
- $3600 on insurance
- $1000 on gas
- $200 on parking
That’s not including the actual price of the vehicle, tax, and tags. I’d rather not even add these numbers up. 33% of Baltimore’s population doesn’t own a car, and this is mostly why. For me, it’s a choice. For most of that 33%, they just can’t afford it. Extrapolate this scenario across the country, especially in the suburbs where a car is a necessity, and a huge amount of time and money (on average, about 20% of annual earnings) is spent on something which has questionable long term value and a bunch of negative externalities. I’m also willing to bet a good chunk of people who buy new-ish cars stretch themselves financially to have them. In an economy with persistent high unemployment, rising poverty rates, and tepid recovery, the American Dream needs to shift to something more sustainable.
But there is cultural pressure to own things in the U.S. And cultural norms often outweigh logic. In a great book by Everett Rogers called Diffusion of Innovations, which I read at Clemson University under the tutelage of Dr. Anne Dunning, Rogers breaks down the process of adopting a new idea into five stages; Knowledge, Persuasion, Decision, Implementation, and Confirmation. While this process is too boring to explain here, a key point is that research shows people are influenced by mass media and interpersonal channels, with interpersonal channels being extremely influential during the persuasion stage.
I can lay out the cost benefits of being car free, but if everyone in your social circle owns a car, how likely is it that my words will stick? Not very. While there are infrastructure barriers to walking, biking and transit use, social marketing may have just as much influence over travel behavior as building a new bike lane. And changing behavior is more difficult than hiring a director to do a shot of an SUV on a mountaintop. | <urn:uuid:1830e951-524a-4b5f-b163-152f4459e740> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://carfreebaltimore.com/?tag=finances | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96622 | 636 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Recruited from the ruling elite's Alawite sect, the pro-regime militiamen known as "shabiha" are believed to be carrying out some of the most ghastly attacks of the Syrian uprising, allowing President Bashar Assad's government to deny direct responsibility for the crimes.
The U.N. says there are strong suspicions that pro-Assad fighters were responsible for at least some of the carnage during a weekend massacre in Houla, bringing fresh attention to the shadowy fighters who appear to be taking on a bigger role in Syria's bloody conflict.
More than 100 people were killed in the massacre, many of them women and children who were gunned down in their homes. Damascus has unequivocally denied any role, blaming the slaughter on terrorists—the same term it uses for rebel forces in the country.
Many Syrians say the shabiha are more terrifying than the army and security forces, whose tactics include shelling residential neighborhoods and firing on protesters. The gunmen, they say, are deployed specifically to brutalize and intimidate Assad's opponents.
The origin of the word shabiha is murky, although some have speculated it comes from "shabah," the Arabic word for "ghost." Others say it signifies someone with a "long reach."
Even if the shabiha are responsible for Houla, however, there is no clear evidence that the regime ordered the massacre. There is no obvious chain of command from the regime to the shabiha, and it is difficult to assign blame for much of the country's bloodshed because the violence has become so widespread and chaotic.
Besides the government-sanctioned violence, rebel fighters are launching increasingly deadly attacks on regime targets, and several massive suicide attacks this year suggest al-Qaida or other extremists are joining the fray. Syria severely restricts the media in the country, making it difficult to gain a credible account of events on the ground.
Still, shabiha gunmen have a long history in Syria, dating back to Assad's father and predecessor, Hafez, who ruled Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000.
Under Hafez Assad, shabiha gangs were armed through the military units commanded by Hafez's brother, Rifaat, and their criminal exploits included racketeering, theft, blackmail and armed robbery. They also operated extensive smuggling rings, ferrying weapons, drugs, electronics and cigarettes to neighboring states.
Mousab Alhamadee, an activist based in the central province of Hama, said the shabiha appear to be operating increasingly as rogue elements, without direct orders from on high.
"The shabiha are more and more out of government control," he said, and said the Houla massacre appeared to be a case in point.
"This massacre embarrassed the regime a lot," he said. "The regime tries to avoid such crimes because of pressures from the international community and Russia."
Still, the links with the regime remain strong. Alhamadee said he notices shabiha in areas that are newly taken over by government troops.
"They move behind the troops, and their jobs is to rob and loot," he said.
The presence of shabiha is exacerbating dangerous sectarian tensions in Syria, where Alawite dominance has bred smoldering resentment.
Sunnis make up most of Syria's 22 million people, as well as the backbone of the opposition. The opposition insists the movement is entirely secular, but some reports suggest religious tensions are boiling over.
Activists say as many as 13,000 people have been killed in Bashar Assad's crackdown on the uprising, which began in March 2011, and the death toll rises every day.
Syria is not the first country to use gunmen to carry out its dirty work. During Egypt's revolution, pro-regime gangs enjoyed at least tacit approval from the state, or elements of it, disbanding as quickly as they formed.
Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard is backed by a vast volunteer paramilitary force known as the Basij, which acts as pro-government monitors in nearly every neighborhood and can be unleashed as street-level muscle for the ruling system.
Basij members were called out in 2009 to help crush protests after the disputed re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but were mostly armed with clubs and batons to disperse and intimidate crowds. Some international rights groups, however, accused Basij gunmen of several killings during the unrest.
But shabiha fighters have a tighter link to the Syrian regime than patriotism or protecting the privileges they enjoy under Assad's rule.
Because most shabiha fighters are Alawites, their loyalty to the regime is assured—in part out of fear they will be persecuted if the Sunni majority gains the upper hand.
An offshoot of Shiite Islam, the Alawite sect represents little more than 10 percent of the population in Syria. Assad has long pushed a strictly secular identity in Syria but now is relying heavily on his Alawite power base to crush the uprising.
Some Syrians blame the regime for the shabiha violence, even if the gunmen never received direct orders from Damascus.
"We do not differentiate between the shabiha and the regime's security forces," Ahmed al-Qassem, an activist and Houla resident, told The Associated Press. "Saying that the shabiha were responsible for the massacre in Houla does not absolve the government forces from responsibility. They are one and the same."
AP writers Bassem Mroue and Zeina Karam contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:cd1e9717-26dc-4f56-9ecd-794c35bd8e92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eveningsun.com/nationworldnews/ci_20752579/pro-regime-syrian-gunmen-take-larger-role | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973892 | 1,134 | 2.28125 | 2 |
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5 Summer Home Safety Tips You Need to Know
5 Tips for a Safer Summer
By Meri-K Appy
President of the Home Safety Council, PARADE
Summer is a great time for outdoor fun and home improvement projects, but it's also a time for accidents in and around the home. Whether you and the kids are playing in the pool or you're mowing the lawn, follow these tips for a safe and healthy summer.
How to Mow the Lawn
First, make sure your children are at a safe distance from the mower. Then prevent injuries with the following:
Hearing Protection: Noisy power tools like lawnmowers and weed whippers can produce sound levels higher than 85 decibels and can damage your hearing. Options range from the most basic ear plugs to more substantial earmuffs.
Eye Protection: Proper safety eyewear is also a must to protect yourself from projectiles and debris that the lawnmower may kick up. Choose some that offer UV protection for outdoor tasks. There are some great options now that are designed for performance and comfort and they’re stylish too.
Be Careful with Chemicals
This time of year, homeowners may be using many products that could be poisonous, especially for children and pets. These include things that are used outside to care of the lawn, garden, pools and spas.
Read the labels of products you buy and keep in your home. If you see the words, “Caution,” “Warning,” “Danger,” “Poison” or “Keep Out of Reach of Children,” be very careful and store these products in a place where children cannot see or touch them, using child safety locks or latches.
When using harsh products such as chemicals and pesticides, follow directions. For example, use gloves, eye goggles and respirators if the label says so.
Be Safe Swimming
Maintain a singular focus when supervising children in the water. Designate a “Water Watcher” – a responsible adult to actively supervise children without being distracted. No phone calls, text messages, reading a book or magazine.
Install a fence that goes all the way around the pool, is at least four feet high, and has a self-closing and self-latching gate. Keep the pool locked when no adult is on duty to supervise.
Only use the grill outdoors; position the grill well away from siding, deck railings, out from under eaves and overhanging branches and a safe distance from play areas and foot traffic.
Keep children and pets away from the grill area by declaring a 3-foot “kid-free-zone” around the grill.
Take Time to Take Precautions
This is the time of year that people are doing more home improvement and maintenance projects around the house and you should always think about having the right tools in your toolbox. That includes safety products.
It’s as simple as making sure you have protection products on hand, such as safety eyewear, hearing and respiratory protection, and then USE them! People can check out options designed with fashion, function, comfort and affordability in mind at www.3MTEKK.com. | <urn:uuid:4341bb60-8633-4662-a3a9-3b0224b6ff69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mauinews.com/page/dataFeeds_parade.display/ID/563030/PID/5/5-Summer-Home-Safety-Tips-You-Need-to-Know.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947216 | 678 | 2.234375 | 2 |
- Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive hundreds of simultaneous participants.
- Records are kept and updated for most sports at the highest levels, while failures and accomplishments are widely announced exercise However, professional sport is a major source of entertainment.
- "Sport" comes from the Old French desport meaning "leisure". American English uses the he English terms "athlete" and "athleticism".directly cognate with the English terms "athlete" and "athleticism".
- The headquarters of the Campo Grande Football Club where situated on the second floor of the Pinto da , the Gavazzo brothers participated Roquette, José Stromp and other sporting enthusiasts.
- It became evident that there was a split between members who felt the club who felt the club s should focus on social events and porting aspectst and that of the boys of Campo Grande.
Sporting has been a major contender in the Portuguese Liga since its inception. The club's football department has developed.More...
most popular sport in Portugal and the Portuguese Liga is the most important sports championship, where the top teams.More...
Sporting's Academy was also the first and only sports academy in Europe to receive the – a quality certification awarded.More...
Generally known as a hot-bed for talented young footballers, Sporting is the only club in the world that has developed.More...
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Generally known as a hot-bed for talented young footballers, Sporting is the only club in the world that has developed two FIFA World Players of the Year through its academy.
Luis Figo, who received the award in started training in the academy at age 13. Cristiano Ronaldo, the winner in began at age Paulo Futre World Players of the Year through.
Sports have been increasingly organized and regulated from the time of the ancient Olympics up to the present century. Industrialization has brought increased leisure time.
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The internet has grown phenomenally over recent years, and it presents great opportunities to everyone.
There are many ways to take advantage of these opportunities, and one of them is to sell things. That statement, of course, begs the question – sell what? Well, almost anything you can think of. Not only that, but you can sell to a customer on the other side of the world, too, the only slight drawback being how long your product will take to reach that customer. That’s not too much of a problem because international postal services today are very efficient, and customers are more than happy to wait for a quality item.
Sell Your Skills
You may have decided to sell, say, your hand-knitted soft toys; you’ll have done your market research by studying what the big-name stores are selling, taking into account seasonal variations, and you will most likely have sounded out family and friends for their opinions. You will have worked out costs, taking into account not only materials, but your time (which you must include, even if it’s a hobby you enjoy), and decided on a pricing structure that makes it worth your while, but doesn’t scare potential customers away.
Many different ways exist to sell your wares via the internet. There can’t be many people who haven’t heard of eBay. This is a great way to sell things, either directly or by auction, but the site takes a cut from your sales to pay for hosting your advert. Etsy, another online store, works in much the same way, but is more specifically aimed at arts and crafts products and, like eBay, takes a percentage from your sales. The big drawback with either of these sites is that you are in direct competition with others who are selling similar products, and their prices may influence how you price your own items. One way around that is to have links on these sites that takes visitors to your shop but, if they buy that way, the site-owners will still take their cut.
There is a better way to sell your product; it allows you to stay in control of your store, to set your own product prices, and, best of all, it doesn’t expect you to sacrifice a percentage of your profits to keep your marketplace operating. You do your own marketing in the form of unique write-ups, without having to follow a set format, and you can keep those write-ups fresh and up-to-the-minute as trends change. You can even link your store to your Facebook or Twitter page, so increasing your traffic. All you have to do is choose a user-friendly website builder that includes an ecommerce option; it will cost you little by way of set-up fees and maintenance, and could pay for itself in no time at all.
Some examples of great website builders offering this option are shown below; they all provide excellent guidance and easy-to-follow instructions, and will have your store operating within hours. All you have to do is add the pages you need, upload photos of your products, add attractive descriptions, and set your prices. As you start building your site, all the instructions you need, for adding the ecommerce option as well as all the other features, will be just a click away.
Many of today’s online store owners may have started their internet business quite by accident; this is particularly so with people who are good at handicrafts such as sewing, knitting, crochet, woodwork, jewellery-making, and so on. They may have spent many years making items as gifts for family and friends, or to sell at local fund-raising events. Their much-loved hobby will have progressed to the stage where someone has admired an item they have made, and placed an order; from there, word will have spread, and further orders will have been placed, and that crafty person may have wondered whether or not to open a shop of their own.
The best way to own a shop is to start your own online store; this is simple to do and, best of all, need not cost too much money. Just remember to choose a website builder that offers the ecommerce option, which enables you to add a virtual shopping cart into which your customers can place their purchases, along with a checkout with payment options. PayPal is one of the most trusted methods of transferring money online, so always make sure that that option is available. It’s simple and quick; just what you and your customers want.
There are lots of downsides to opening a ‘real’ shop, not just the running costs such as rent, rates, insurances, and utilities, but also other expenses like staff wages and so on. After all, you won’t be able to produce what you sell if you have to stand behind a counter dealing with customers, so you will need at least one member of staff to run the shop while you produce the products, probably from your own home. Operating from home in this way is ideal because the work can be tailored around other commitments.
There are a few stages to complete as you add pages to your site; here are the essentials, along with a few suggestions for extra pages that will enhance your store, and your product:
Name your store: Ideally, your online store’s name should reflect the product you are selling.
Home page: this is where you will introduce your store and your products. It’s the first page a customer will see when they visit your store. Keep the wording simple, because long write-ups don’t appeal to everyone, especially those who are visiting several sites looking for a particular item. They will want to get straight to the products. You will also need at least one eye-catching photo on this page, showing a sample of your product. The home page is your ‘shop window’ so make it as attractive and inviting as you can.
‘About me’ page: This is where you will put a profile of yourself, and this can be as personal as you wish. Some online store owners keep it simple; others will be more elaborate, perhaps describing their family situation, how they learnt their craft, and so on. Personalise it by adding a photo of yourself and, if you want, the place where you do all your crafting.
Online Store: This is the exciting bit; it’s where you will list your products, along with photos and descriptions and, of course, prices. Make your photos as clear and as colourful as possible, using props if necessary, to showcase your wares. For example, if you are selling, say, knitted teddy bears, you could display several of them on a picnic rug, with a few plates of sandwiches. For jewellery, you could find some slender architectural twigs from the garden, plant them in a pot, and hang necklaces and bracelets from them. You will soon start coming up with display ideas of your own and, if you devise something unique or quirky, it could become your ‘signature’. Another thing that you could offer to your customers is the products in kit form, at a slightly lower price, so that they can make their own versions. For a knitted toy, for example, this should include an illustrated pattern, the yarn in the amount and colour required, stuffing material, and any embellishments such as ribbons, buttons, and so on. Packaged in an appealing way, this option could increase your sales with minimum effort on your part.
For all hand-crafted products, you should add a description of the materials used, cleaning and care instructions, and safety information if relevant.
Contact Form: This will allow people to ask any questions they may have, or to discuss a custom order with you.
Customer Feedback: Invite your customers to tell you what they thought of their purchases, and post the results on this page. Potential customers will find this very useful.
Blog: Many websites include a blog. This can be about any aspect of your craft and the items you are selling; keep it relevant to your online store.
Links: You can link to all sorts of other sites here, including other online stores, and blogs. You’ll find that other blog-owners link back to you, and this will increase your visitor numbers. Before long, you’ll have a number of followers, and that number will grow.
How to Pay, Postage Information, and Terms: this should include methods by which your customers can pay for their purchases, an idea of postage and packing costs, or an online calculator so that they can work it out themselves, and clear guidance on how you will deal with returns in the event of any problems. Customers would also appreciate an idea about how soon they can expect you to dispatch their order. Additional information could include how you package products. A lot of sellers today make a point of saying that they use recycled envelopes and packing materials; in our environmentally-friendly age, this may make a difference to your customer numbers. Another way to attract customers is to offer free postage under certain criteria, which could be, for example, on orders over a certain value; or you could offer a discount for bulk purchases. If you offer either or both of these, make sure it is stated on the home page, too. Similarly, if you take commissions, add this to the home page, as well.
As your online store grows, so will the recognition of your product, and you will soon find that what was once your favourite hobby has turned into a new-found career, with a great future. To make the very best of this opportunity, you need the right website; there are plenty of great website builders out there that will make this easy for you; before very long, you’ll have wondered why you didn’t do it years ago. | <urn:uuid:3a83a777-53b9-4f4e-92a8-d7d8c790d28a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.website-builder.net/blog/create-your-own-online-store-in-minutes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963329 | 2,042 | 1.757813 | 2 |
October is finally upon us, and I, for one couldn't be happier. But you'd expect that of me, wouldn't you--being the curator of The Vault of Horror, and all. In recognition of the month that brings us Halloween, the horror highlight of the calendar, I'm bringing you a special series that will explore the very heart of the holiday by taking a look at its distant history. You won't find anything here about Ben Cooper costumes or the Great Pumpkin, as awesome as those things may be. Rather, The Shadow of Samhain will be all about the pre-modern folklore, superstitions and traditions that have helped shape All Hallows Eve into what it is today.
Look for a series of special guest posts over the course of the next four weeks--but for now, I'll be starting things off myself with a look at an ancient legend that has long fascinated me...
From the oceans off Northern Africa they came--a twisted and evil race of sea-faring demons whose origins are lost to the mists of time. In Celtic lore, they were believed to have been the first settlers of the Emerald Isle of Ireland, and they ruled it once with cruel fists of iron. They were the Fomoire, or Fomorians; and their story is tied in directly with the Celtic festival of Samhain, precursor to Halloween. In fact, it can be argued that the linking of Halloween with all things frightening may actually find its origin in this terrible and horrifying race of monsters.
A breed of malformed and misshapen atrocities whose existence was believed to have far predated that of man himself, the Fomorians were a bizarre mix of human, animal and otherwise unnatural elements. They were varied in appearance. Some might possess the head of a horse and the body of a man, for example; others might appear to be giant fish with legs to walk on land with; some boasted a multitude limbs or eyes, while others might have only one of each; and still others might actually appear beautiful to the human eye, although their souls were just as black as those of their uglier brethren.
They were a warlike species--an inspiration, in some respects, for the race of orcs found in the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien--and legend had it that any people attempting to settle in Ireland were forced to contend with them and their bloodthirsty ways. The first to try were a group called the Partholons, who met their ghastly end when the Fomorians unleashed a deadly plague upon them. Next were the Nemeds, a tribe which found itself immediately enslaved by the monstrous masters of Ireland.
The connection of the Fomorians to Samhain begins here, as it was believed that each year on this day, October 31, the Fomorians demanded their annual tribute from the Nemedian people living amongst them. This tribute would typically include not only cattle but also small children, sacrificed to keep the Fomorian demons at bay. Thus, the practice of animal and human sacrifice many believe was once part of Celtic Samhain ritual was in part a commemoration of the days when the Fomorians came around to collect their yearly payment and satisfy their bottomless bloodlust.
The age of the Fomorians in Ireland was an evil time looked back on with dread. It lasted many generations, but at last approached its end with the arrival on the island of another race of beings, not quite as ancient as the Fomorians, but still older than humanity. They were the Tuatha Dé Dannan, a beautiful clan of god-like beings who wielded powerful magic, and whose coming was reportedly heralded by a mysterious fog that blanketed Ireland for days. Much as the Fomorians seem to have played a part in Tolkien's imaginings, so too did the Tuatha, resembling nothing so much as the majestic Elvish race described in the author's writings.
The Tuatha managed to co-exist with the Fomorians for a time, dividing the land amongst them, and even intermarrying with the ghastly creatures on occasion in order to further diplomatic relations between the two groups. Nevertheless, all this was a ploy, as the Tuatha awaited the opportunity to rid the land of the tyranny of their demonic neighbors.
This opportunity came in the form of one Lugh of the Long Hand, grandson of the hideous cyclops Fomorian chieftain, Balor of the Strong Blows. The result of a union between a comely Fomorian and a Tuatha, Lugh was beautiful in appearance, and discarded upon birth by Balor, who believed the child a threat (a common trope in ancient folklore). Taken in by the Tuatha, Lugh grew to become their savior.
The routing of the Fomorians from Ireland came on the day when Balor's detachment of tribute gatherers appeared at the castle of the Tuatha, demanding their unspeakable payments of cattle and children. Lugh butchered the Fomorians where they stood, leaving only a handful to skulk back to Balor's tower stronghold, located on a small island off the northwest coast, to tell the tale. Enraged, Balor mustered his Fomorian armies to make war against the mighty legions of the Tuatha, led by his own grandson.
That would be the final Samhain on which the Fomorians would ever lay claim to any Irish land. On the plain at Mag Tured, in the Connacht region of Ireland, the Fomorians and the Tuatha De Dannan waged a fierce, epic battle. The demons took an early advantage, slaying many of the proud Tuatha, until Lugh slaughtered his grandfather in one-on-one combat. Leaderless, the Fomorians fled, and were completely wiped out by the Tuatha, save for a mere four of them, forced to take refuge in Balor's tower.
Ireland had at last been freed from the yoke of these unspeakable creatures, and on the very feast day of Samhain on which they had wreaked their worst yearly terrors upon the land. The remaining four would stay far off the coast in Balor's stronghold--bizarre, ancient curiosities to be avoided by any sailing those waters; a lurking remnant of the fearsome hordes that had once ruled Ireland without mercy. The Tuatha would come to rule from then on, and after they eventually vanished into obscurity and legend, man would at last come to live on the land once fought for by gods and demons.
Among the Celts, and particularly the Gaels who would come to dominate Ireland in the Iron Age, the harvest festival of Samhain was associated always with the Fomorians. Whatever its origin in reality, whether inspired by some tyrannical human tribe, or fabricated completely out of thin air, the legend of the Fomorians loomed large over Gaelic culture. The horrifying tribute collected each year; the bloody battle of Mag Tured--Samhain was an annual reminder of these things. Perhaps then, despite the many positive aspects of the festival, this was why there was also such an element of deep-seated terror attached to it. A "race memory", if you will, of events that existed only in the realm of folklore. Or did they?
The Fomors by John Duncan, 1912
The Fomorii by Andrew L. Paciorek
Daghda by A. Fantalov, 1998
Lugh by Mickie Mueller
Combat of Balor and Lugh Lamfada by Miranda Gray, 1995
Fomorian by Rowena Morrill
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Do you ever feel like you are completely overwhelmed? With everyday work tasks, family obligations, household tasks and personal responsibilities, it’s not unusual to find yourself feeling a little (or a lot) stressed out at times. This time of year is always difficult for me, especially with trying to get back into the swing of things after the holidays. I’ve found that a few minor changes to my daily schedule can make a huge difference in my stress level.
10 Tips for Overwhelmed Moms
1. Go to bed. I mean it. Don’t stay up late to finish that tv show or talk to people on Facebook. Go to bed. When you are feeling overwhelmed, your body needs rest.
2. Drink lots of water. Being dehydrated can affect you in a multitude of ways. It can cause a lack of energy, a lack of mental clarity, and physical aches and pains. Of course, everyone has a different suggestion for how much water you actually need, but you should definitely be taking in a minimum of 10 cups of water each day. And no, coffee, soda, and tea don’t count, even though that have water in them.
3. Eat well. Just like with getting enough water, a lack of essential nutrients can affect you both mentally and physically. Make sure you are eating a balanced diet, and if you think you aren’t getting enough vitamins and minerals, take a supplement. Many people tend to eat junk when they are stressed, and that just makes things even worse. Your body can’t function properly if you aren’t giving it the fuel it needs!
4. Write it down. If you are anything like me, you have a million things going through your head at any given moment. That is stressful and can be physically exhausting! Write down all the things you are thinking about, so that you don’t have to obsessively worry about forgetting them. Whether you use a notepad or some sort of app on your phone, get it out of your head and down on paper. You’ll feel better right away, trust me.
5. Let things go. If you are really overwhelmed, then let some things slide that you normally wouldn’t. It won’t hurt anything for the bathroom to get cleaned another day, or for the laundry to sit in a basket until tomorrow. Sometimes you just need to take a break.
6. Ask for help. Often times, others are more than willing to help us if we just ask. It’s not a sign of weakness, and it doesn’t mean you failed. No one is perfect, and sometimes we need a helping hand. Ask your friend, neighbor, spouse, or children (if they are old enough) to help you out with specific tasks that are crowding your plate.
7. Re-evaluate your priorities. Are you trying to do too many things at once? Even if they are obligations that you really enjoy, if you’re trying to be the room parent for two kids, a Sunday school teacher, soccer mom, PTA board member, and more, you might be taking on too much. Figure out what is MOST important to you, and politely let go of the rest. Things won’t fall apart with out you there to run the show, I promise. If you need help figuring out what your most important priorities are, Bernice from The Stressed Mom has put together a great ebook called Find Your Balance with activities to help you do just that! It’s only $4.99 and well worth it!
8. Make time for yourself. Even if it’s just 20 minutes in the tub after the kids go to bed, or an hour with a favorite book during nap time, be sure to set aside that time just for you. Going to the grocery store alone does not count, by the way. You need to have time each day where you can do nothing other than relax. Doing #3 helps a lot before your “me” time, otherwise you’ll be thinking about that stuff the whole time, which kinda defeats the whole purpose.
9. Spend time with your family. Just taking an hour or two to really be in the moment with your family can be really rejuvenating. Put away your phone, and get off the computer, and just be in the moment with your partner and children. Play a game, talk about your favorite past vacation, tell silly jokes, make cookies together, do whatever you want! You may be surprised by how relaxed and fulfilled you’ll feel just from spending that quality time together.
10. Know when to get help. Sometimes a feeling of being overwhelmed is a more than that. Sometimes it can be a sign of depression. Depression is nothing to be ashamed of, and it’s something that can be managed and even defeated with help. If you are feeling overly stressed, tired, sick, angry, or even feeling nothing at all, you may want to talk to your doctor. If you don’t have the ability to pay for a counselor, contact your local mental health office or local churches, as there are many free and low cost organizations that provide counseling services.
In addition to the tips above, I have put together a list of posts from a few of my favorite bloggers that I think you may find helpful. These are all moms that have been there and know exactly where you are coming from, and all of them offer great tips to help you lower your stress level and hopefully do away with that feeling of being overwhelmed.
1. Bernice from The Stressed Mom encourages others to utilize chore charts, for both adults and children, to help reduce stress. One point that she makes that applies to almost all mothers is this: “One major cause of stress for moms is the fact that we try to do everything ourselves.”
2. Kathleen from My Best of Both Worlds opens up about the mommy guilt she felt when she went back to work after the birth of her child. She shares this simple sentiment, that I think speaks volumes: ”There is no shame in having help.”
3. Ashley from Crunchy Frugalista talks about all of the different “hats” we wear each day. She says something that I think we can all relate to, “some days I wake up feeling frazzle because there just isn’t enough of me to go through the day!”
4. Darcy from Darcy and Brian put together 5 helpful tips for new and expectant moms. My favorite is “don’t stress when things don’t go as planned.“
5. Laura from Day By Day In Our World shares about having “me” time in this post. I love this quote, “Yes, you can carve out time for yourself. BUT, it might not be how you envisioned.”
6. Desiree from Stress Free Baby asks you to really think about what it means to have a good day, and shares a beautiful, thought provoking video about being grateful for each day that we are blessed with.
Do you find yourself feeling overwhelmed some days? What do you do to help reduce your stress level? Please take a moment to share your tips below, I’d love to hear what you have to say! | <urn:uuid:b994fcac-010e-4a98-a54a-fc1e13e22fed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thebizymommy.com/2013/01/12/tips-for-overwhelmed-moms/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961614 | 1,532 | 1.539063 | 2 |
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Citing Sandia as the model to mimic, Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., is urging Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Michael Anastasio to seek funding to expand non-weapon areas such as nonproliferation, energy security and energy renewables. The issue, Udall said, is the shrinking nuclear weapons footprint in the country. “The administration has decided it can be shrunk down and still be effective,” he said. “Los Alamos has the biggest share and so it can take the biggest hit of the three labs (LANL, Sandia and Lawrence Livermore). My vision is to try to get the lab to diversify in a number of ways that they are already doing on a small scale.”Udall said he has spoken with Anastasio about the "Sandia model" on several occasions. About six years ago, Sandia saw the shrinkage coming and decided to get out in front of it, Udall said, adding they came down from some 75-percent weapons to 50-percent weapons. They’ve done it in such a way that they’re now diversified, so this latest shrinkage is going to be minimal, maybe just 70-80 jobs, he said. “I told Mike (Anastasio) he needs to get out there and hustle for the lab like Sandia did – to work with various agencies in the government to grow these areas,” Udall said during an interview Wednesday at the Los Alamos Research Park.
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Policy-makers won’t have to debate this year whether Arizona needs to accelerate freeway and road construction — the importance of such projects is a foregone conclusion.
Instead, their arguments will center on the means to hurry things up, whether it’s raising taxes, an increase in borrowing limits or opening the door to privately owned toll roads.
Transportation offi cials say the discussion is already happening at local and state levels, a sign that improving Arizona roadways is likely to be among legislative priorities in 2007.
“It’s much more of a frontburner issue,” said Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman Doug Nintzel. “We see that as a good thing.”
Among those who already have weighed in on the matter is Sen. Jay Tibshraeny, R-Chandler, who has said lawmakers need to explore the possibility of “public-private partnerships” as a way to solve the state’s growing transportation demands, adding that toll roads are just one of several possibilities.
Nintzel said the concept of privately built and operated toll roads has regained prominence on a national level in recent years, but with a modern twist.
A Federal Highway Administration report issued in December touts what the administration calls “congestion pricing,” a way of leveraging market forces to reduce the amount of unnecessary traffi c congestion during peak hours.
The idea is to have variably priced toll roads or lanes in which prices go up during peak traffic hours and down at offpeak times. The report notes that the same strategy has been used with success by airlines, wireless phone companies and power utilities.
“There is a consensus among economists that congestion pricing represents the single most viable and sustainable approach to reducing traffi c congestion,” the report says.
Other leaders are looking to more traditional means of funding transportation projects. Gov. Janet Napolitano has said she is contemplating changes to state law that would extend the term of highway bonds from 20 years to 30 years, allowing ADOT to borrow more money.
Sen. Robert Burns, R-Peoria, plans to introduce a bill Tuesday that would transfer $450 million from the state’s “Rainy Day Fund” to a transportation fund meant to accelerate freeway construction projects.
Another possibility would be increasing state taxes that pay for new roads. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, has said he is weighing the option of replacing the current gasoline tax with a general sales tax that would generate more funds over the long term.
Lawmakers also are likely to consider several bills intended to make Arizona motorists safer. Richard Fimbres, director of the Governor’s Offi ce of Highway Safety, said his priorities include passing a stricter seatbelt law, tougher standards for teen drivers, a booster-seat amendment that extends the applicable age and weight, and a law requiring liquor sellers to register people who buy kegs of beer.
The keg bill, supported by Students Against Destructive Decisions and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, would increase accountability for adults who buy kegs for underage drinkers, Fimbres said.
Ericka Espino, MADD’s executive director in Arizona, said her group will support a number of bills designed to reduce alcoholrelated fatalities and deaths among teenage motorists.
by the numbers
Here are some interesting numbers from recent legislative sessions:
164 Length in days in last year’s legislative session
82 Original goal of leadership
170 Length in days of longest session (1992)
393 Bills signed by governor in 2006 session
3 Number allowed to go into law in 2006 without her signature
43 Number of vetoes in 2006
1 * Number of line-item vetoes in 2006
* Outcome of lawsuit over legality of line-item veto — upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court, which said the governor exceeded her legal authority | <urn:uuid:80f43766-ada6-45b0-b0e1-7d6f2b619e67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/news/article_715f4a24-8aea-523d-9a20-b60b47fc0e02.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952672 | 804 | 1.765625 | 2 |
There is one thing that is pretty common on almost all scooter and even some larger bikes, the handlebars. In most all cases where a bar measures larger than 22.2mm/ 7/8”, from the center of the bar to the controls it will taper down to the 7/8”/22.2mm controls. This allows for most all grips and controls to work between many types of bikes. This also allows them to be used with many types of bar stems to hold on to the bars as well. Grips are also all universal, so you have choices in rubber to foam to add as much hand grip and/or comfort as you need or want. Some gauges are also universal, as reading head temperature, water temperature, RPMs, fuel level, and lambda (air/fuel ratio) readings are all standardized in many cases. It’s usually the sensors themselves than can be specialized to the gauges.
Lights and their controls can also be universal or be used between manufacturers, but some wiring may need to be done to make them work. There may also be some bracket fabrication required to make a light fit or work, too. There are also universal lights that only require a power and a ground to work. Flasher Relays are fairly universal, but even adapting them isn’t much of a challenge if you’re good at crimping wires together. A couple of spade terminals and connectors will even allow you to retain the OEM connector most of the time.
If there is a common theme in any universal part it is this: Adapt or Die! Even if a part is universal, there may be adapters, brackets, wiring, or even fabrication required to make a part work. Manufacturers try to plan for every possible bike for every situation they can think of. However, this is impossible considering most of these parts are sold all over the world for bikes of several manufacturers and even model changes between a single bike model in several countries. I would make it a kin to guessing the lottery in several countries and some of those countries may be 4 numbers, some maybe 6, some may use letters.
Universal parts aren’t always perfect either. You may have to trim them to fit, clean them up, or even paint them. Again, they are designed as universal parts, so some fit and finish is required to make them work. This is also the case where if you don’t know what you’re doing, it will be better to hire someone who does. If you can’t wire up lights, you can’t paint, or you have never turned a wrench in your life, this may not be the best time to learn; but even so, this isn’t always the case. If it is a part that requires you to tighten a bolt or a nut, yeah, anyone could do it. However, painting, cutting, and wiring are completely different animals. Those issues are things someone with experience should handle. So don’t be afraid of universal parts or having to stick with one aftermarket manufacturer, it’s all about making your bike yours! | <urn:uuid:a5834a57-a38c-41b5-9018-79b2ea7f578d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prlog.org/11974471-universal-parts-use-them-on-any-scooter.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966557 | 648 | 2.125 | 2 |
At 59 pages, it’s hardly Jacob’s longest book, but it may be his most personal.
“Benno Jacob: Scholar and Fighter,” part of the Jewish Miniatures series, is the story of a leading German rabbi — Jacob’s grandfather — who was an outspoken foe of anti-Semitism. He escaped Nazi persecution to resettle in London and became one of several leading figures who shaped modern Jewish biblical studies.
The book, which is published by Hentrich & Hentrich in Berlin, is available in German and English, and can be obtained in Europe, where Benno Jacob was better known, as well as North America.
Rabbi Ron Symons has publicly criticized the new draft Wet Water Plan just released by the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) for its lack of green component.
The plan lays out ALCOSAN’s strategy for checking sewage overflows into waterways, as it is required to under a 2008 consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
But environmental groups, including one with which Symons is associated, have criticized the draft plan ALCOSAN has put forward.
According to Essential Public Radio (EPR), Symons said the plan is too expensive and doesn’t include any green infrastructure.
“I believe that we need to have green options that will help us to better appreciate the world in which we live, to better protect it,” Symons, a partner in the Clean Rivers Campaign, was quoted by EPR as saying.
Clean Rivers Campaign is an education and advocacy program that raises awareness of the storm water runoff and sewage overflow issues in Allegheny County.
Indeed, even ALCOSAN is not happy with the $3.6 billion plan, which would triple rates on its customers while meeting all EPA standards. It hopes to renegotiate the consent decree to use the less expensive $2 billion plan, which would fall short of the standards while still doubling rates.
ALCOSAN is taking public comments through Oct. 19. The next public meetings on the draft are set for Thursday, Aug. 16, 6:30 and 9 p.m., at the Sheraton Station Square. Refreshments will be provided.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, a Jewish American film producer and CEO of Dreamworks Animation, is behind the critically acclaimed show, “How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular,” which will premiere this month in the Consol Energy Center, Downtown.
Based on the Academy-Award nominated movie, “How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular,” it features 23 dragons, some with wingspans of up to 46 feet, Viking warriors and world-class circus artists and acrobats, to perform against a state-of-the-art, wall-to-floor immersive projection measuring more than 20,000 square feet.
The show will run from Aug. 23 to 26. In addition to his work in the animated film industry, Katzenberg is a trustee of many nonprofit organizations, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Together with DreamWorks Animation, Katzenberg founded the DreamWorks Animation Academy of Inner-City Arts in 2008. Among his film credits are “Shrek,” “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda.”
Contact Dicks Sporting Goods, the Consol Center or Ticketmaster for tickets and show times.
Several Jewish Pittsburgh couples have established education funds benefiting area agencies, schools and congregations, according to the Jewish Community Foundation.
The Foundation reported in a recent e-letter that Robert and Lillian Brent, Barbara and David Burstin, Dr. Solomon and Sarah Goldberg (z”l), Woody and Nancy Ostrow, the Rudolph Family, and Edgar and Sandy Snyder have created funds to support Adat Shalom, Community Day School, Hillel Academy, Edward and Rose Berman Hillel Jewish University Center, Temple Sinai and Yeshiva Schools.
The funds are intended to ensure that Jewish schools will have the funds they need to attract and retain excellent educators, provide strong programming, and make scholarships available so that every child has the opportunity for a quality Jewish education.
Chosky Family Foundation is sending 43 area incoming high school juniors to Israel as counselors-in-training (CITs) for a three-week Israel adventure.
The CITs will be in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Caesarea and the Jewish Federation’s Partnership2Gether communities of Karmiel and Misgav.
Through the program, the CITs will develop leadership skills, preparing them for their work ahead as counselors and advisors at Emma Kaufmann Camp next summer.
The trip is also being subsidized by I-Connect, a scholarship program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, administered by the Agency for Jewish Learning. Each CIT is eligible for a $1,750 merit-based scholarship for this opportunity. | <urn:uuid:3e4625ba-1772-40b6-b289-427a91b64786> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thejewishchronicle.net/view/full_story/19765472/article-Metro-Briefs-August-9?instance=home_news_metro_right | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948754 | 1,029 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Penn Gets Recycled Caps and Gowns...Can Georgetown?
U Penn recently signed a deal with Oak Hill, a company that produces 100% recycled caps and gowns here in the US.
That's right, just as you graduate to a new level of your life, plastic bottles will graduate into a new existence right along with you.
According to the Oak Hill website, if 100,000 students wore the GreenWeaver gowns at their graduation, approximately 2.3 million plastic bottles would be kept out of landfills (23 bottles per gown). This would mean that Georgetown would save about 35,000 plastic bottles at graduation.
Even better, according to Tree Hugger, Oak Hill plans to donate money to the campus environmental group for each gown purchased. Penn's done it as part of a new climate initiative. With the increasing responsiveness here on the Hilltop, is the climate right? | <urn:uuid:80812201-431e-4576-8b04-b033146e8196> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://guecoaction.blogspot.com/2009/09/penn-gets-recycled-caps-and-gownscan.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96038 | 192 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The ark is placed in the tabernacle. Sacrifice is offered. David blesseth the people, disposeth the offices of Levites, and maketh a psalm of praise to God.
So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent, which David had pitched for it: and they offered holocausts, and peace offerings before God.
And when David had made an end of offering holocausts, and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
And he divided to all and every one, both men and women, a loaf of bread, and a piece of roasted beef, and flour fried with oil.
And he appointed Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to remember his works, and to glorify, and praise the Lord God of Israel.
Asaph the chief, and next after him Zacharias: moreover Jahiel, and Semiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mathathias, and Eliab, and Banaias, and Obededom: and Jehiel over the instruments of psaltery, and harps: and Asaph sounded with cymbals:
But Banaias, and Jaziel the priests, to sound the trumpet continually before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
In that day David made Asaph the chief to give praise to the Lord with his brethren.
Praise ye the Lord, and call upon his name: make known his doings among the nations.
Sing to him, yea, sing praises to him: and relate all his wondrous works.
Praise ye his holy name: let the heart I of them rejoice, that seek the Lord.
Seek ye the Lord, and his power: seek ye his face evermore.
Remember his wonderful works, which he hath done: his signs, and the judgments of his mouth.
O ye seed of Israel his servants, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
He is the Lord our God: his judgments are in all the earth.
Remember for ever his covenant: the word, which he commanded to a thousand generations.
The covenant which he made with Abraham: and his oath to Isaac.
And he appointed the same to Jacob for a precept: and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
Saying: To thee will I give the land of Chanaan: the lot of your inheritance.
When they were but a small number: very few and sojourners in it.
And they passed from nation to nation: and from a kingdom to another people.
He suffered no man to do them wrong: and reproved kings for their sake.
Touch not my anointed: and do no evil to my prophets.
Sing ye to the Lord, all the earth: shew forth from day to day his salvation.
Declare his glory among the Gentiles: his wonders among all people.
For the Lord is great and exceedingly to be praised: and he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.
Praise and magnificence are before him: strength and joy in his place.
Bring ye to the Lord, O ye families of the nations: bring ye to the Lord glory and empire.
Give to the Lord glory to his name, bring up sacrifice, and come ye in his sight: and adore the Lord in holy becomingness.
Let all the earth be moved at his presence: for he hath founded the world immoveable.
Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be glad: and let them say among the nations: The Lord hath reigned.
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all things that are in them.
Then shall the trees of the wood give praise before the Lord: because he is come to judge the earth.
Give ye glory to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
And say ye: Save us, O God our saviour: and gather us together, and deliver us from the nations, that we may give glory to thy holy name, and may rejoice in singing thy praises.
Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel from eternity to eternity: and let all the people say Amen, and a hymn to God.
So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, Asaph and his brethren to minister in the presence of the ark continually day by day, and in their courses.
And Obededom, with his brethren sixty-eight: and Obededom the son of Idithun, and Hosa he appointed to be porters.
And Sadoc the priest, and his brethren priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place, which was in Gabaon.
That they should offer holocausts to the Lord upon the altar of holocausts continually, morning and evening, according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel.
And after him Heman, and Idithun, and the rest that were chosen, every one by his name to give praise to the Lord: because his mercy endureth for ever.
And Heman and Idithun sounded the trumpet, and played on the cymbals, and all kinds of musical instruments to sing praises to God: and the sons of Idithun he made porters.
And all the people returned to their houses: and David to bless also his own house. | <urn:uuid:d85329a5-c07f-40b7-85b2-6ffb0f482220> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://drbo.org/x/d?b=drb&bk=13&ch=16&l=34 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969203 | 1,164 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Guelphs and Ghibellines
Guelphs and Ghibellines (gwĕlfs, gĭbˈəlēnz, -lĭnz) [key], opposing political factions in Germany and in Italy during the later Middle Ages. The names were used to designate the papal (Guelph) party and the imperial (Ghibelline) party during the long struggle between popes and emperors, and they were also used in connection with the rivalry of two princely houses of Germany, the Welfs or Guelphs, who were dukes of Saxony and Bavaria, and the Hohenstaufen (the name Ghibelline is supposedly derived from Waiblingen, a Hohenstaufen castle). The rivalry between the German families, both of which had large holdings in Swabia, dates from their rise to power under Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. The struggle began in earnest with Henry the Proud and his son and successor, Henry the Lion, and last flared up with the election of Otto IV as Holy Roman emperor. In Italy the party names were perpetuated by two rival factions that for many years plunged the country into internal warfare. The names were first used in 13th-century Florence to designate the supporters of Otto IV (a Guelph) and the Hohenstaufen Frederick II (a Ghibelline). The terms, however, soon lost their original significance. Among the Ghibellines were Ezzelino da Romano, Castruccio Castracani, Della Scala of Verona, the Montefeltro family of Urbino, and the Visconti family of Milan (although Milan itself was Guelph). Unlike the noble families, towns seldom had fixed party loyalties, although Milan, Florence, and Genoa were usually Guelph; Cremona, Pisa, and Arezzo were usually Ghibelline. Venice remained neutral. In Rome the Ghibellines were represented by the pope's enemies, notably the Colonna family, and by the republicans. In S Italy the terms were rarely used, although the Angevin kings of Naples were strongly Guelph. In Florence, after the Ghibellines had finally been expelled in the late 13th cent., the Guelphs soon divided into Blacks and Whites. By the 15th cent. the names fell into disuse. At no time did either party clearly represent any particular political doctrine or social class.
See O. Browning, Guelphs and Ghibellines (1894); T. F. Tout, The Empire and the Papacy, 918–1273 (8th ed. 1924, repr. 1965); R. E. Herzstein, ed., The Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages (1966).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on Guelphs and Ghibellines from Fact Monster:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Italian History | <urn:uuid:e1fb570c-60b7-4e42-8965-30612de0b589> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/history/guelphs-ghibellines.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962646 | 639 | 3.796875 | 4 |
By CAROLYN CUI
In the global rice market, a big and surprising buyer has emerged: China.
For decades, China's booming rice production enabled it to sell far more rice than it bought. But the world's biggest consumer of the grain has become a major importer.
In 2012, the country bought a record 2.6 million tons of milled rice, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That was a sharp acceleration of a trend started in 2011, when China bought 575,000 tons. China had been a net importer of rice in just four of the previous 50 years.
The move has caused confusion and debate within the rice industry as analysts and traders try to determine the reason behind the sudden demand and what it may mean for food prices and the global economy.
Some analysts said they believe the buying spree is being driven by soaring demand from Chinese consumers. They say that even though China has bolstered production for nine years in a row, it isn't enough to feed its population. If true, the purchases may be the beginning of a major, enduring shift in the global rice market. They say this could spark worries about whether there is enough of the staple to go around, keeping prices elevated.
"If this year's pace continues, the concern is whether the rest of the world will be able to make up for the shortage of China's rice demand," said Cheng Fang, a senior economist at the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO.
Others suggest there is a simpler reason. They say prices for rice set by the Chinese government are much higher than equivalent grades on the global market. That is creating a profitable trade for Chinese buyers who scoop up the rice from places such as Vietnam, Pakistan and India and then sell it at higher prices at home.
The trade has become more profitable in recent months. In mid-December, the average import cost for Vietnamese rice was about $410 a ton, and similar rice could be sold in China for about $635 a ton, traders said.
"You've essentially got two split markets," where farmers sell to the government but consumers buy from overseas, said Thomas Pugh, a commodities economist at Capital Economics, a London-based research firm. As a result, a lot of the government-purchased rice has been stockpiled, instead of being processed and consumed, he said. Once the price gap narrows, the imports will fall back.
Whichever argument is correct has big implications for rice prices. If the demand is driven by rising consumption, the shift could propel rice prices higher over the next few years or decades, analysts said. If the purchases are a response to government pricing policies, it could leave global prices vulnerable should those policies reverse.
For now, prices are most often set between governments and large merchants. In the U.S., the rice-futures contract has been moving in a narrow range for the past year, largely because China doesn't buy rice from the U.S. Some U.S. rice farmers have noticed and are pushing the USDA and Chinese authorities to allow U.S. rice to be sold in China.
The direction of prices is important because rice is the main staple of more than half the world's population, making its price a focus of attention for world economists.
A rise in rice prices also tends to drive up prices of other grains such as wheat and corn.
In 2008, a spike in rice prices triggered price increases in other major grains, which led to a global food crisis, sparking riots and political turmoil in many countries.
Most rice-consuming countries are big producers, too, leaving the global trade at just a small fraction of total production. In 2012, only 37.3 million tons of rice changed hands, representing 7.7% of global supply, FAO said. China consumes about 140 million tons a year, so any swing in its trade would have a huge impact.
Some analysts at the FAO are trying to get a better read on China's rice stockpiles. They say the rising imports, and high domestic prices, suggest that stockpiles may not be as high as previously thought.
The rising imports have caused the FAO to question its own estimate of China's rice inventories. Currently, the group projects that China will have 93.7 million tons of rice in storage at the end of September. This would be enough to feed China for 8.5 months—the highest on record.
"We think the estimate is probably too high," Mr. Fang said, adding that the FAO is working with the Chinese government and will revise the data after conducting field surveys and analyses. There is no official data on China's grain stockpiles, as much is hoarded by individual farmers and difficult to count.
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture also suggest that buying is partly driven by a fundamental need for more rice. The department estimates that China's demand will exceed production by 1 million tons in 2013, leading to another year of big imports next year. By the end of the July-June season, it sees China's ending stocks at 45.85 million tons, or less than four months' supply.
Write to Carolyn Cui at firstname.lastname@example.org
A version of this article appeared January 8, 2013, on page C1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: China Rice Imports Unsettle Market. | <urn:uuid:0a063ec4-96a7-45f6-827e-ffce9a61f2c4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://topics.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323706704578228052284001608.html?mod=WSJ_hp_editorsPicks_4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965675 | 1,122 | 2.296875 | 2 |
- a little devil or demon; an evil spirit. 2. a mischievous child.
- UNITED STATES
- Meat Purchase Specifications (IMPS) for meat and meat products. an approved program by the MGCB may contain the letters "IMPS" on the product label.
- IMPS: An Interactive Mathematical Proof System
- imps provides relatively large primitive inference steps to facilitate human control of exploring, applying, and extending the mathematics in the data base.
- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
- (IMPS) for meat and meat products. The complete IMPS series includes the following ten . H.
- Imp Strategy
- Imp Strategy. IMPS - TEAM GAME. In a team game you and your partner sit N/S at one table, and the other pair of your team sits E/W at the other table.
- Imps give Stockport a 1-1 battering
- The Imps lead early on through Power and throughout the course of the game hit the woodwork twice, had two goals disallowed and missed numerous chances against a Stockport side who scored with their only realistic chance on target during the game.
- Imps-ressive win for Reds
- Such was their superiority they would have won by a cricket score if not for the heroics of Imps keeper Joe Anyon, who pulled off a string of vital saves.
- Lincoln's long wait for a win is over
- The Imps have had to wait since March 12th for a victory but a brace from substitute Kyle Perry secured the points. It certainly wasn't an easy victory for the Imps though as Joe Anyon had to provide several impressive saves to secure the points.
- Netherlands Juniors Win Gold
- The final score was 145 imps to 68. The winning team was Berend van den Bos, Joris van den Lankveld, Aarnout Helmich and Gerbrand Hop, with Kees Tammens as nonplaying captain.
- Internet Miniature Pinscher Service, Inc. (IMPS)
- Aug 10, 2009 Assisting Miniature Pinschers in need by providing foster care, transport, adoptive homes, and veterinary care.
- IMPS - The Relentless
- Fan film in progress. Chapter one available for download.
- The Smurfs - Home
Imps is described in multiple online sources, as addition to our editors' articles, see section below for printable documents, Imps books and related discussion.
Suggested Pdf Resources
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Great care has been taken to prepare the information on this page. Elements of the content come from factual and lexical knowledge databases, realmagick.com library and third-party sources. We appreciate your suggestions and comments on further improvements of the site.
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rl circuit impulse response | <urn:uuid:7f67d006-9c63-4145-8cca-98cdc86489be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.realmagick.com/imps/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915204 | 609 | 1.648438 | 2 |
In addition to President Obama’s decisive Electoral College victory tonight (popular vote wise, we remain quite split), voters in several states weigh-in on some interesting ballot measures:
For the first time in US history, voters, not the courts, approved same-sex marriage laws, with successful campaigns in Maine and Maryland , and a close contest still unfolding in Washington . In Minnesota , voters are considering a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between one man and one woman. While most Catholic leaders and bishops largely sat out the contest this time around in Maine, many were vocal and active in the other three states.
In Massachusetts, voters appear to have narrowly rejected a ballot question that would have legalized physician-assisted suicide. A broad coalition formed to campaign against the question, including Cardinal Sean O’Malley and liberal lay Catholics including Vicki Kennedy and columnist E.J. Dionne . Interestingly, the Massachusetts Medical Society joined in opposition to the bill, citing not moral concerns but fear over potential abuse of the elderly or disabled. Given the close vote, it will be interesting to see if the backers of the ballot question work in those protections and try again.
Voters in California are considering abolishing the death penalty, where opponents ran a campaign based not on morality or ethics, but the extravagant cost to the state’s beleaguered budget. Early returns show the repeal effort faltering.
Maryland voters approved by a large margin a version of the DREAM Act, offering in-state tuition rates to the children of undocumented immigrants. The Catholic Church in that state offered support for the question.
Another milestone in presidential elections: no white Protestant was on either ticket. Catholics who attend Mass weekly went for Romney 58%-41%, while those Catholics who attend Mass less frequently went for Obama 55%-43%, nearly the same rate as 2008 when Obama beat Sen. John McCain. Obama won 68% of Jewish voters, down from 78% in 2008. Latinos went for Obama 70%-30% and African-Americans 90%-10%. (See more on polls here .)
Finally, history was made in New Hampshire , where both US Senators, both members of Congress, and the governor will all be women. | <urn:uuid:ea0e7760-566e-4afb-828a-b5e6ab01be1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://americamagazine.org/print/content/all-things/hot-button-ballot-questions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957209 | 452 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Shape Art: Mix Art with Geometry!
Does the idea of taking your child to a museum sound daunting? Is the local art mecca too far away, or not too keen on pint-sized patrons? Create your own museum! Not only will your child get a chance to look at some pretty amazing art, you can teach some important concepts about shapes in the bargain.
If you’ve got a kindergartener, it’s likely that he can already recognize the basic shapes. But can he identify them by their attributes? Does he know that a triangle has three sides, or that a square is a square (not a rectangle) because it has four sides that are all the same length? Getting comfortable with the shapes and their attributes is a founding concept for understanding more abstract geometry later on. Here’s a fun way to sneak in some geometry, in an artistic way.
What You Need:
- A computer
- Water colors
- Black permanent marker | <urn:uuid:1f28c854-16ef-4fb8-80d7-37f68609c1d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.education.com/activity/article/Shape_Art_Kindergarten/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934458 | 201 | 3.546875 | 4 |
The unraveling of the Maid of the Mist on Canadian shores began with a question: Why was the government renewing a long-term lease for the iconic boat tours without seeing if any other companies had better proposals?
It's just as legitimate a question on the U.S. side of Niagara Falls.
The controversy in Ontario lingered for four years before finally forcing open the long insulated Niagara Parks Commission in Ontario and leading to a competitive bidding process for the boat tours for the first time in its history.
What the parks commission in Niagara Falls, Ont., got was a lease that will bring in substantially more revenue than the deal done without competition.
It's a lesson that could be learned on this side of the border.
Back in New York, State Parks a decade ago quietly struck a 40-year deal with the Maid of the Mist Corp. to continue offering the famous falls tours from Niagara Falls State Park.
The unusual deal was done without public bidding or public hearings – based on the fact, state officials have since said, that the company was a “sole-source provider” because it held the rights to store its boats in Canada.
Here was the state's dilemma: There is a dock on the American side of the Niagara River below the falls but no existing place to store boats during the icy winter months.
Flash forward to February, when the Ontario government chose California-based Hornblower Cruises to offer the boat rides from the Canadian shore to the falls starting in 2014, throwing the future of local Maid of the Mist Corp. and its lengthy lease with New York State into question.
It was a situation the state could have seen coming.
Now, faced with the possibility of losing the boat tours from an already fragile tourism industry in Niagara Falls, N.Y., the state has crafted a new arrangement in which the Maid of the Mist Corp. will invest $32 million in building a U.S. winter storage area at the base of the former Schoellkopf Power Station.
The deal, done without competitive bidding, will amend the Maid of the Mist's existing contract with State Parks, giving the state more revenue and the opportunity for better access to parts of the gorge.
But why not open the opportunity to other proposals? Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in a news conference earlier this month, called it a “unique circumstance” – an answer that begs for more explanation when you're talking public dollars.
The crux of the deal seems to be that the Maid of the Mist has promised to keep the New York boat tours running without interrupting its typical summer schedule. If it can't do that, according to its new agreement with the state, the company could risk losing its contract.
“The state's priority has always been to ensure uninterrupted tour boat service for visitors to Niagara Falls,” said State Parks spokesman Dan Keefe. “The Maid of the Mist has a binding contract with State Parks to provide that service.”
It may be the best path to keeping the tours running in New York. But without seeking other proposals, the state will never know if there was a better way.
Part of the allure of Niagara Falls is that it is shrouded in mist and mystique. Public contracts at the falls shouldn't be.
It's a lesson the Canadians have already learned. | <urn:uuid:5ede2ceb-7c5f-4026-85f9-4fde0548c780> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.buffalonews.com/Article/20121217/CITYANDREGION/121219339 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961656 | 686 | 1.945313 | 2 |
ABSTRACT: To develop a high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of ketamine and norketamine in blood and urine.
The compounds were extracted from blood or urine by liquid-liquid extraction using toluene after blood or urine was adjusted pH to 14. The extracts were analyzed by HPLC.
Linear limits of ketamine and norketamine determination in blood ranged from 0.05 microg/mL to 10 microg/mL (R2 > 0.9993) and in urine ranged from 0.01 microg/mL to 200 microg/mL (R2 > 0.9995). Limits of detection (LODs) for ketamine and norketamine were 0.006 microg/mL and 0.003 microg/mL (S/N > or = 3), respectively. The mean extraction recovery was over 82.4% and its coefficients of variation were less than 10.0% for ketamine and norketamine. Concentration-time curves and urinary drug velocity curves of ketamine norketamine were obtained by determinations of them in blood and urine in rat using the developed method.
The method is sensitive, simple, rapid and suitable for determination of ketamine and norketamine in blood and urine for toxicological and clinical pharmaceutical analysis.
Fa yi xue za zhi 03/2008; 24(1):38-42. | <urn:uuid:7c4b2649-486d-4268-ab13-2df01d6ee18f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.researchgate.net/researcher/31771661_O_Lin-Chuan_Lia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926452 | 295 | 1.789063 | 2 |
involves working with word meaning and understanding text. Currently, “direct screenings in the
areas of vocabulary and comprehension have yet to be developed for elementary learners”
(Mesmer & Mesmer, 2008, p. 289). Fuchs and Fuchs go on to...
selection on the high school level, 18% of the participants were independent, 32% were instructional, and 45% were frustrated. Even though the same percentage scored on the instructional level for both types of selections, the results varied in...
The researcher also suggests that service should be central to the university mission. The
line between academic and student affairs should be very blurry with regard to service. The rank
and tenure process should reward faculty who choose to...
The tasks completed in order to meet the goals of this study were to administer the
AIMSweb language arts curriculum-based measurements and the kindergarten teacher
questionnaire using the following procedures to ensure reliability...
of the entire text being read was 7.17 out of 10. Students rated the validity, effectiveness, and accuracy of the test at 7.42, with the same number reflecting their agreement of the test results. They comprehended the texts at a high level...
The research methodology was multi-phased, with the initial phase being a pilot
study of the survey instrument, followed by structural equation analysis of the final
survey data. The objective of this...
As required by the Southern Utah University Department of Graduate Studies in
Education, all necessary Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements were met throughout the
conduct of this research study. Furthermore, additional requirements of...
the Perry country and finally reached the herd. Walt Cox was herding the sheep at that time and he was in bed asleep when Henry arrived so Henry hobbled his horse out and woke the herder long enough to tell him they would have to get up early the...
Overall Effectiveness of DRP Test
Since this study is concerned with determining the validity, effectiveness, and accuracy of these two tests, the participants’ responses were averaged together. They rated the overall effectiveness, validity,...
The data collected during this thesis study offered information pertaining to the academic
gains of kindergarteners at a local elementary school. These data can be used to determine
which ability group shows the most progress...
U.S. Embassy 32
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding firm that provides services in
investment banking, investment management, and security services to major corporations
and organizations around the world (About, 2009). They analyze...
Students in this group rated the text difficultly at 4.67 out of 10. For the most part, students read the entire text selection: nine out of 12 students read every word on the page. The average for the entire text read was 9.3 out of 10, a very...
The Human Element 42
analyzed. These dimensions include communication styles, authority associations, unity within the group, community roles, loyalty to the organization, relationship to the environment, and placement of values.
The model was...
end of the allotted time, the evaluator recorded the correct number of answers for each test. The
scores were then transferred into an online database provided by AIMSweb. When the scores
were entered after the August assessments, the database...
DRP with an average of 7.32 out of 10. Students in this group did not find the QRI test as valid, effective, and accurate as the DRP - only 8.23 out of 10.
Overall Effectiveness of QRI Test
Among all three groups, the average rating for the...
The Human Element 43
since the only significant difference between the two communities is their culture, additional support for the model’s practical application can be applied. Details and proof of these differences were noted in the study and...
The Average Number of Points Scored for Letter Naming Fluency Measurement
Leveled Group August January May
Below-Grade Level 3.39 27.17 44.44
On-Grade Level 19.76 45.16 55.97
Above-Grade Level 42.67 57.33 74.61
Figure 1. Average Points...
Table 4.8 DRP Post Survey Results – Group S
GROUP S - DRP
1. Confidence in reading skills and comprehension
2. Before the test, seriousness about taking test
3. After the test, seriousness of taking test
4. Did you...
grade level group of students made the next highest amount of progress, averaging a 17.28 point
increase; and the on-grade level students made the least amount of progress with a 10.68 point
increase. Overall, the group who made the most...
follows: Paul Whetman, Weldon Bittick, Harold Hiskey, Jack Carpenter, MacRay Cloward, Tom Cardon, and Lee Fife. A donation from the Cedar Cycle Club of $639.85 was received. It is to be used for bleachers at the proposed "bike track. " Mar. 18,... | <urn:uuid:acee99a7-24d9-448e-a2da-11de6158a32c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://contentdm.li.suu.edu/cdm/search/searchterm/Group/mode/all/order/subjec/page/2 | 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 | 0.946699 | 1,056 | 2.4375 | 2 |
What is PTSD?Nearly 70 percent of Americans will be exposed to a traumatic event in their lifetime, and an estimated 20 percent of those will develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, according to the PTSD Alliance.
Symptoms range from flashbacks to emotional numbness
Such traumas could include combat, sexual or physical abuse, a terrorist attack, a serious accident or a natural disaster, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD.
Developing PTSD depends on many factors, including the intensity and length of the trauma, if someone close was killed or injured, how near one was to the event, the intensity of the person's reaction, how much control the person had of events, and how much support the person received after the event.
Symptoms of PTSD — such as anxiety, feeling "on edge," feeling numb or avoidance behaviors — disrupt life and make it hard to continue with daily activities, the National Center for PTSD reports.
The National Center identifies four types of PTSD symptoms:
* Reliving the event. Intense memories of the trauma return in the form of nightmares or flashbacks, triggering the original feelings of fear and horror.
* Avoiding situations that are reminders of the event. Some people actively avoid situations or people that trigger memories of the trauma. They stay very busy and do not seek help.
* Feeling numb. PTSD sufferers can have difficulty expressing feelings, cultivating relationships, enjoying activities previously liked, or even remembering the trauma itself.
* Feeling keyed up. People with PTSD may feel jittery or as though they are always on the lookout for danger. They may be angry or irritable or have trouble concentrating or sleeping.
More information is available at www.ptsd.va.gov .
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD | <urn:uuid:5dd49d7c-956b-4d1b-840b-287c6e68cb96> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/story.php?story_id=16797 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944771 | 376 | 3.484375 | 3 |
The Teacher’s Bible Commentary has been one of the widely-used reference tools for Sunday School teachers for over twenty-five years. From the idea stage, this commentary was designed to meet the week-to-week needs of men and women who have the awesome responsibility of leading others in the study of God’s Word. The contributors to this commentary are competent scholars who are both skilled communicators and loyal to God’s Word.
The Teacher’s Bible Commentary is designed to make it easy for any reader to grasp the central meaning of a passage of Scripture quickly. Difficult passages are dealt with in separate sections, giving the user the option of dealing with the difficulty or moving on.
- Title: The Teacher’s Bible Commentary
- Editors: H. Franklin Paschall and Herschel H. Hobbs
- Publisher: Broadman & Holman
- Publication Date: 1972
- Pages: 830
About the Editors
H. Franklin Paschall was president of the Southern Baptist Convention and the pastor at the First Baptist Church in Nashville, TN.
Herschel H. Hobbs also served as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He was the pastor of First Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, OK, from 1949 to 1972 and the vice president of the Baptist World Alliance from 1965 to 1970. A graduate from Samford University, he also received a Master's in Theology and a Ph.D. in New Testament Interpretation at Southern Seminary. He is the author of My Favorite Illustrations in the Broadman & Holman Preaching Resources Collection (18 Vols.). | <urn:uuid:605d3116-8490-4bbf-907b-b4f9098dc8ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.logos.com/product/7293/the-teachers-bible-commentary | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946345 | 330 | 2.28125 | 2 |
We hear so much noise about the areas known historically as Judea, Samaria and Benyamin which were recently retagged as the West Bank in order to make them sound less Jewish. We hear about the need for the Palestinian Authority to be granted full autonomy of an independent nation with complete control over this West Bank as well as Gaza. Part of the problem with this presentation is that the Palestinians have two completely separate, mutually exclusive, actively competitive, viciously antagonistic governing agents with Hamas controlling and ruling over Gaza while the Palestinian Authority Fatah organization controlling and ruling over Area A the West Bank. Hamas is led by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh while the Palestinian Authority leader is President Mahmoud Abbas. Since the two factions split after the Hamas violent coup which placed them in control of Gaza in June 2007, all efforts to reunite the two groups have utterly failed. Part of the problem is that Hamas is based in Islamic religious governance while the Palestinian Authority is aligned with Fatah which is secular socialist governance and such philosophies are very much similar to oil and water, they do not mix well. The power struggle between these two groups drips with the avarice and hatreds such that the resultant atmosphere is not conducive to healthy economic policies therefore depressing economic growth potentials due to crippling corruption. The situation has resulted in totally failed governance in almost every category which has become completely reliant on foreign generosity lurching from one financial catastrophe to the next. Such poor governance constantly leads to the need to plead to the world for emergency funding. This has resulted in high unemployment for the Palestinian Arab people living under the direct controlling rule of either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority in either Gaza or Area A in the West Bank. Yet there is one group who has 100% employment as the Palestinian Authority places every Palestinian terrorist or criminal who has been sentenced to prison in Israel, whether they are members in the PLO, Fatah, Hamas, or any other terror related group, where they receive some of the highest salaries which are directly proportional to the number of Israelis they were able to maim and murder. This would almost be the guaranteed condition over the entire areas of Gaza and the West Bank should the entirety of these areas be placed under solely Palestinian governance.
Should anybody desire to find a more optimistic and promising atmosphere where the overwhelming majority of the people are employed and making significantly higher salaries resulting in a higher standard of living, one need not leave the West Bank, one simply needs to visit the areas where modern governance encourages economic ventures and the size and scope of government is limited. These areas are not under either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinians living in these areas are largely employed with comparatively no unemployment when compared to the Palestinians living in Area A. The major difference in the condition for these Palestinians is they live among Israeli settlers. Much of the world decries the supposed conditions under which Palestinians are forced to live in areas where they share the lands with the Israeli settler who are mostly Jewish. There are so numerous different origins of the Israelis living in Samaria and Judea that any attempt to stereotype them as just religious Jews is not only pointless but in complete denial of reality. The Jews who have chosen to live in what the world refers to as the West Bank consist of religious and secular Jews, Israeli Arabs both Christian and Muslim, Secular Jews, Zionist Jews, Jews seeking a more relaxed atmosphere in which to live, farmers, people working locally as well as many whose work is in Tel Aviv who commute, IDF soldiers, physicians, nurses, computer programmers, entrepreneurs, and people from every walk of life one can find. There is a major Israeli University in Ariel called, oddly enough, Ariel University.
But what is most interesting is the completely impossible situation under which the Jews and Palestinian Arabs face living close to each other with all the serious relationship problems which are the constant fare in the mainstream media coverage of the Jewish settlers living beyond the Green Line. For the best example of how all of this has an effect, all one need do is visit Ariel University, Barkan Industrial Park, Shahak Industrial Park, and the other industrial parks, farms, vineyards, wineries, business parks, and other businesses and witness a bit of the truth about the Israeli controlled areas of Judea and Samaria. What becomes evident very quickly is that there is no distinction between Jews, Muslims, Christians and those of other religions, Jews and Arabs, Asian ancestry and European ancestry, or religious and secular. Approximately half of the employees along with their supervisors and management in both large and small industrial enterprises are West Bank Arabs employed there right next to West Bank Jews. The same goes for students and professors to a great extent at Ariel University. Throughout the main settlement areas of the West Bank the Jews and Palestinian Arabs live and work together in harmony without any trouble, violence, oppressions or any of the myriad of misconceptions that spring from a media more interested in forcing the issue of the oppressor Jews dispossessing the unfortunate Arab victims of Jewish hegemony. The fact that the Palestinian Arabs who live and work among the Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria have a much higher standard of living is a little secret of which the mainstream media refuses to inform the world. The fact that the rule is cooperation and an improved life for those Palestinians fortunate to reside in the developed mixed Jewish and Arab areas and that the terrorism and violence are the exception must be suppressed as there exists an entire industry based upon the Jewish oppressions of the Arabs. The problem is people living and working in harmony just does not sell newspapers or newscasts anywhere near as well as explosions and violence. The real truth is that the standard of living for the Palestinian Arabs throughout Gaza and the West Bank was among the fastest growing GDP of anywhere in the world from 1973 through 1992. Then, starting in 1993 when Yasser Arafat returned and the very same Palestinians were placed in a semi-autonomous self-ruled areas under the Palestinian Authority the GDP and standard of living reversed and has continued to drop ever since. The wonderful and hopeful truth which the media insists does not exist is that where Palestinian Arabs live together in relative harmony and mutual tolerance with Jews in Area C of the West Bank, sharing the advantages of the rule of law and entrepreneurial opportunity live better lives than their Palestinian brothers living in Area A and Gaza where the leadership is under the Palestinian Authority or Hamas which consist of dictatorial regimes. If people throughout the world truly wish the best of possibilities for the Palestinian people, perhaps they would be better able to decide where to place their efforts after taking an actual investigation of the separate Areas in the West Bank and Gaza and ask the Palestinians who reside within and amongst the Jews in Area C and those living in Palestinian autonomous areas of Area A and Gaza and then decide which group lives a more productive and preferred life. Finding the truth would definitely be an eye-opening experience which would likely deliver a viewpoint not covered by the mainstream media and actually actively hidden by the mainstream media.
Beyond the Cusp | <urn:uuid:9e9d241b-0659-4233-af1e-b0b7f9f5b2f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://beyondthecusp.wordpress.com/category/religion/christians/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959689 | 1,409 | 1.570313 | 2 |
In 2007 the Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee was established to provide advice and recommendations on developing effective measure to avoid or minimize impacts to wildlife and their habitats related to land-based wind energy facilities. The Committee is comprised of 22 members representing federal, state, and tribal governments, wildlife conservation organizations, and the wind industry.
The Committee's guidelines are founded on a "tiered approach" for assessing potential impacts to wildlife and their habitats. This allows developers to identify potential problems at each stage of development. To find contact information and to download the guidelines and recommendations, visit the USFWS Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee homepage. | <urn:uuid:63ddb2a5-9e80-4824-b617-e053602d058b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.windustry.org/resources/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-wind-turbine-guidelines | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921298 | 128 | 2.625 | 3 |
Harassment & Hostile Work Environment
Has Your Boss Been Harassing You?
New Jersey and New York Workplace Harassment Law Attorneys
Employers in New Jersey and New York have an obligation to provide a workplace that is free from harassment. Indeed, both federal and state law prohibit harassment based on your race, age, gender, pregnancy, mental or physical disability, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, or any other protected category. Harassment is illegal when it creates a hostile work environment and would cause a reasonable person of the same protected category to feel humiliated or intimidated such that the terms and conditions of employment are altered.
Like discrimination, however, harassment is only unlawful in New Jersey and New York if it is based on a legally protected category, such as your race, age, sex (gender), pregnancy, mental or physical disability, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation, or military/veteran status. Accordingly, “equal opportunity offenders,” or bosses that equally mistreat all employees regardless of their protected categories, generally speaking, may not be guilty of unlawful workplace harassment, depending on the circumstances.
To be legally actionable in New Jersey and New York, workplace harassment also has to be “severe” or “pervasive.” Severity deals with offensiveness of the act(s) in question, while pervasiveness deals with their frequency. As a result, one extremely severe act of harassment, or a series of relatively minor actions, can create a hostile work environment, and therefore can be legally actionable harassment. However, a limited number of relatively minor acts might not be enough to give rise to a harassment claim.
Examples of actions which can be part of a hostile work environment can include physical touching and assaults, inappropriate or insulting comments and jokes, racial, sexual or other epithets, explicit emails or pictures, excessive yelling, screaming or swearing, less desirable job assignments, undeserved verbal or written reprimands, and other offensive or demeaning conduct that is motivated by your race, age, gender, pregnancy, mental or physical disability, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, or any other protected category.
Harassment need not be committed by a supervisor or manager in order to be actionable. Employers have an obligation to protect employees from all forms of workplace harassment, and under certain circumstances, employers may be held liable for the actions of non-supervisory co-workers who commit harassment.
Sexual harassment is one of the most common types of unlawful workplace harassment. Sexual harassment is actually harassment due to your gender or sexual preference. It occurs when an employee is subjected to unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature. There are different types of sexual harassment. For more information, please see our sexual harassment page.
If you believe that you have suffered from workplace harassment and/or a hostile work environment, please contact a New Jersey or New York employment attorney online, or call us to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced employment lawyers . We have offices in Essex County, New Jersey and New York City | <urn:uuid:7abbb39f-e64d-430b-b6aa-1226c29b657a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenjemploymentlawfirm.com/harassment-hostile-work-environment.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923992 | 639 | 1.71875 | 2 |
View Full Version here: : perseids meteor shower reminder
10-08-2009, 11:46 AM
just a reminder that the perseids meteor shower peaks on 12 August
loads of radio reflections already being received ...
zenith hourly rates are high for this shower so even if its cloudy you can still take part!
Thanks Simon for the heads up, had actually forgotten about this lot.
Just wondering about the peak of the Perseids shower. This will be early in the morning of the 12th? And will it still be an impressive show during the night of the 13?
10-08-2012, 07:43 PM
We won't see it in Australia :( Too low on the horizon.
11-08-2012, 05:01 AM
Hi Iceman is this the case for this year only, or does the visibility gradient change from year to year and sometimes we do get a glimpse? I found this link at NASA ....
11-08-2012, 11:49 AM
Also the Radiant Point viewed from SE QLD at 4;30am, note a 1/3 luminated waning cresent moon along with Juup within a half a degree going by stellarium.
But yeah, interesting the comet stream is among the widest so to speak as it is runs along the earth orbit rather than cut through it, meaning the peak of the shower can last for a day or two going by the pevious link, post - ourkind ! :thumbsup:
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2013, vBulletin Solutions, Inc. | <urn:uuid:2970c811-7d18-4d67-984b-2e79d570f347> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/archive/index.php/t-48504.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908259 | 335 | 1.742188 | 2 |
New York State Assembly
One immediate takeaway from the federal Court’s congressional redistricting plan and ruling is that incumbency protection (i.e., seniority and residence) should not be a factor when crafting a judicial plan (or any truly independent redistricting plan). The ruling, however, will have no influence on the bipartisan redistricting commission proposed in the recently passed legislation amending the state constitution.
Everyone recognizes that bid rigging of cement or traffic light contracts are the work of organized crime. However when elected officials rig our state and city elections to ensure that every incumbent gets reelected, no one calls their deliberate strategy criminal and organized.
Newspaper editorials and good government groups push for individual fixes to our crisis in local government – for example, public financing of state campaigns. But, no one says outright that our right to representative democracy has been hijacked. Local elections have become the “ins” verses the “outs” and the process has been rigged to block any of the “outs” from winning. Our local elections have become so noncompetitive, that, behind public view, most incumbents, regardless of party or reform beliefs, work together as the “ins” to keep the outs “out.” | <urn:uuid:c760d4eb-e3e9-4352-b12e-429983c6e1de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.r8ny.com/taxonomy/term/548 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951456 | 257 | 1.632813 | 2 |
The long awaited HIPs (Home Information Packs) are coming this June 1st but surprisingly only 45% of British homeowners actually know what they mean! A fish4homes poll reveals a worrying third (36%) think HIPs is a new strain of hayfever allergy whilst 1 in 10 (9%) believe it relates to an undesirable sexually transmitted disease! The research further reveals the full extent of the HIPs confusion as a bewildered 6% of homeowners believe you are likely to contract osteoporosis in the hipbone with HIPS and a deluded 4% of those questioned opted for modern day hippies. For homeowners already in the know, intense debate continues to surround HIPs and it’s relative value in the long run. Aside from the hype over whether HIPs will be a help or a hindrance to the property market, fish4homes has created the ‘Get HIP Shape Plan’ to help clear the chaos for homeowners and buyers across the UK: The fish4homes ‘Get HIP Shape Plan’ What do you need? • Get a HIP Title – prove you have legal right over the land or property • Get a HIP Sale Treatment – provide the sale description of the property that you are selling • Get a HIP Energy Performance Certificate – provide a certificate which reveals how efficient your home is on a scale of A-G in order to comply with the carbon emission statement • Get HIP Standard Searches – prove you have searches documents e.g. local authority searches, drainage or water searches, or proof you have ordered these • Get a HIP Index – provide documents relating to whether your property is Leasehold or Freehold What will it cost me? • A HIP cost of approximately £450 Who can give me a HIP? • Any HIP friendly organisations such as estate agents or solicitors What else do I need to know? • A HIP house survey is not compulsory but if you do want one, then you need to pay for a Home Content Report at a cost of £200 • If you have a house on the market without a HIP then you will be fined £200 • If you put your house on the market before 1st June and sell within a year then you will be exempt from requiring a HIP David Newnes, Managing Director of YOUR MOVE estate agents comments: “As widely reported in the media there still appears to be a significant lack of consumer understanding about HIPs despite attempts by Government to publicise them. This is not helped by the continued uncertainty about their introduction following the announcement that further parliamentary debates are to take place in the run up to 1st June”. Mark Cooke, National Sales Director fish4homes, adds: “It’s startling to see just how confused many homeowners are about HIPs and what they need to do to keep on the right side of the law. Our fish4homes ‘Get HIP Shape Plan’ provides a handy check-list of key pointers so that our customers can get in great shape for HIPs this summer.”
During the rumbustious debate today in the House of Commons on the Tory motion to scrap Home Information Packs, the shadow environment spokesman suggested that “the countries largest HiPs provider (Spicer Haart) has confirmed that they only have enough Domestic Energy Assessors to undertake 40% of their work”.
It remains to be seen whether this is typical of other HiP providers or just confined to HiPs.co.uk. | <urn:uuid:580a3f62-524c-4681-8026-1ea6b601c0c4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://henrypryor.com/blog/2007/05/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944771 | 710 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Last week’s crisis in Greece and the “fat-fingered” plunge of the stock market (someone may have typed a “b” instead of an “m” for million when placing a sell trade) turned into a wakeup call and a white knuckle moment for the rest of us. I think American’s tendency to ignore events away from our shores, will end if we see any fallout from Greece and the other Mediterranean countries that surround it.
The issue of the day is Greece’s debt problems and the fear that what goes on in Greece won’t stay in Greece. Standard and Poor’s downgraded Greece’s rating to BB –what we call junk in my world–and since S&P defines the BB rating as having “speculative fundamentals with the security of future payments only moderate” it just doesn’t seem so bad on the surface. The problem is that the usefulness of bond ratings are almost no help anymore to those of us trying to make informed decisions for our clients.
We also know that other countries like Spain, Portugal, and Italy are having their own particular problems. Spain, a huge economy in the region witnessed a downgrade of their rating to AA. Unemployment tops 20% in the country and the debt in the private sector is 178% of the country’s GDP.
Not exactly sub-prime, but not exactly prime-steak either.
So what does it all mean to us?
It may be a harbinger of our own fate as we have our own overblown budget issues. We will be something like $1.3 trillion in the red this year and we may end up looking down the nose of our own ratings gun.
It isn’t gonna be easy either. 3.4 million Americans have been out of work for more than one year, and their unemployment benefits are starting to run out. 57,000 in NY and 130,000 in Florida have just received their last paycheck and Goldman Sachs predicts that 400,000 people per month will start losing benefits. Paying the unemployed costing a lot of borrowed money and the question remains as to whether it is politically viable to continue to cut off so many voters from their checks.
Multiply this by so many other Governmental hand-outs and you get an idea of the difficult decisions which will eventually have to be made.
It’s vitally important to remember however, that the U.S. is not Greece or Spain or any other country for that matter. We have a unique way of doing business and I would be very careful not to fall into the trap of being permanently negative on America’s future. Being overly negative can be detrimental to your investment health.
All this being said, my idea that the U.S. economy is in what I referred to as the “summer-season”, means that economic growth is strong and getting stronger and we should continue to plant our investment “seeds” while the growing season persists.
We will have to watch to see if this investment summer’s season is shorter than most. If it is, we may have to harvest earlier than usual.
For the moment let’s hope that what happens in Greece stays there. | <urn:uuid:19166bd3-b2b6-47f1-ac03-a7f2fd4ed19a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bocaratontribune.com/market-commentary/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960845 | 681 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Discover Technology!!! Summer Camp for grades 6 and 7
We are having our second annual Laurier Technology Camp this year at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Seconday School. This unique and exciting opportunity is designed for the student who is interested in technology and may take some tech courses in highschool or are at least interested in learning more about the fascinating world of Tech. We know that the future for so many young adults involves apprenticeships, trades and technical training. We would like to give students the opportunity to try exploring the various types of technology.
As you can see from the attached flyer, students will explore Construction, Manufacturing, Transportation and Communication. We will of course, begin each part of the program with thorough safety training in each shop area. The teachers involved with this unique and exciting venture are seasoned professionals and have over 65 years of teaching experience between them.
Students who are planning to consider Laurier as their secondary school and are in grades 6 and 7 are the target audience for this camp. This summer program is partially funded by the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) to provide an opportunity to heighten awareness of Technology programs in London Schools as well as across the entire Thames Valley District School Board.
We have been able to keep costs down to a minimum of $20.00 for the week to help offset some of the costs in the operation of this camp. Lunch will not be provided until the final day (Friday) where we will have a pizza party. Drinks are included. Parents will be expected to drop off and pick up their children within 15 minutes of the beginning and ending of the camp day.
If you have any questions about this great opportunity, please feel free to call us at Sir Wilfrid Laurier SS at 519 452 2840. Direct inquiries to Erica please.
Technology Department Head
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Seconday School | <urn:uuid:592c68aa-4000-4a9c-9c96-7c256b1b1a60> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tvdsb.ca/news.cfm?story=8354&school=83 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95959 | 382 | 2.359375 | 2 |
New York City bans sugary drinks of more than 16 ounces
Updated: September 13, 2012 - 11:35 am
They say the proposal strikes at a leading cause of obesity simply by giving people a built-in reason to stop at 16 ounces: 200 calories, if it's a regular Coke, compared to 240 in a 20-ounce size.
For someone who drinks a soda a day, the difference amounts to 14,600 calories a year, or the equivalent of 70 Hershey bars, enough to add about four pounds of fat to a person's body.
Beyond the numbers, some doctors and nutrition experts say the proposal starts a conversation that could change attitudes toward overeating.
While there are many factors in obesity, "ultimately it does come down to culture, and it comes down to taking some first steps," said Dr. Jeffrey Mechanick, a Mount Sinai School of Medicine professor who has studied the effect of government regulation on the obesity epidemic.
Soda makers and sellers say the plan unfairly singles out soft drinks as culprits for the nation's fat problem, represents an overweening government effort to regulate behavior and is so patchy as to be pointless.
Because of the web of who regulates what, it would affect a belly-buster regular soda sold at a sports arena but not a 7-Eleven Big Gulp, for instance.
An average New Yorker goes to the movies about four times per year and buys concessions only twice, said Sun Dee Larson, a spokeswoman for the AMC Theatres chain.
"We firmly believe the choices made during the other 363 days have a much greater impact on public health," she said in a statement.
Thursday's vote is unlikely to be the final word on the proposal.
A soft-drink industry sponsored group called New Yorkers for Beverage Choices - which says it has gathered more than 250,000 signatures on petitions opposing the soda plan - is considering a lawsuit and exploring legislative options for challenging the plan if it passes, spokesman Eliot Hoff said.
It's not clear what legislative routes there may be: City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said Wednesday she's not interested in trying to block the expected health board vote, though she has said she isn't a fan of the soda idea.
The rule wouldn't apply to lower-calorie drinks, such as water or diet soda, or to alcoholic beverages or drinks that are more than half milk or 70 percent juice.
Enforcement would be conducted by an existing corps of city restaurant inspectors.
A violation would lead to a $200 fine.
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"Katie" weekdays at 4pm on ABC7 followed by Leon Harris and Alison Starling on ABC7 News at 5. Click here to find out more about "Katie!" | <urn:uuid:4e954618-f63f-408f-990f-ae93cdc02bb8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/09/new-york-sugary-drink-ban-to-curb-overeating--79813_page2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949125 | 584 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Monkeys were introduced in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm as one of the sapient races on the Lost Isles. Monkeys are a distant relative to the pygmy. They have been enslaved by the pygmy race to mine Kaja'mite. The Kaja'mite has affected the monkeys and granted them extra intelligence.
|Specialization (upon taming)|
|The Monkey eats|
|The Monkey comes with|
|All pets come with|
Though hunters can respec their pet monkeys into Ferocity or Tenacity, they are inherently Cunning. In addition to the abilities that come standard with all pets (, , ), and those given to their natural or retrained specialization, all monkeys are given the following:
The subspecies below can be tamed by hunters. Most monkeys below come in a variety of colors that include black, brown, dark grey, and grey. Exceptions to colors are noted, as well as those that can only be trained by goblin players on the Lost Isles.
- N [5-6] (Lost Isles)
- A H [6-7] (Lost Isles)
- N
- N [26-27] (Black and Dark Grey only)
- A H [31-32] (Black only)
- A H [52 Rare] (Black with fez)
- N
Mobs with levels can be tamed by hunters.
- Patch 4.0.6 (8-Feb-2011): Added as a tamable pet family. | <urn:uuid:b57a0bdd-4ad7-4f36-b988-319b7a3e3dff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wowwiki.com/Monkey | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942633 | 317 | 1.75 | 2 |
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By Ian Rowley After trudging through Tokyo Station trying to find his track for what seemed like hours, Allen Doyel knew for sure that he wasn't in Kansas anymore. "Finally, I got on the right train, but got off at the wrong stop and wandered around some more," says the 25-year-old law student from Lawrence, Kan. Lucky for Doyel, the Japanese are nothing if not courteous. "In the end, I pointed at a map and a guy took me four blocks out of his way to help me to the hotel."
With its combination of breathtaking scenery, vibrant cities, great food, and unique culture, Japan should be a top draw for international travelers. But when it comes to tourism, the world's second-largest economy is a notorious underperformer. Japan hosted just 7.3 million visitors last year—and nearly 30% of those went there for business. In fact, the Land of the Rising Sun ranks a lowly No. 30 in terms of visitors globally, says the World Tourism Organization.
Now, Japan faces a golden opportunity to work its way up the league tables. Global interest in all things Japanese has been piqued by sushi, anime, manga comics, and movies such as Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation and Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima. And while the yen has appreciated in recent weeks, it's hovering near a 22-year, inflation-adjusted low against the dollar, while the euro, sterling, and other currencies have been soaring. So for Americans a vacation in Japan can now add up to less than a holiday in Europe. In Tokyo, you can jump on the metro for just a buck, compared with $8 for a rush-hour ride on London's Tube. And a Starbucks tall latte will set you back $3.10, vs. $4.72 in Paris.
Problem is, Japan isn't really profiting from these trends. One reason is historical: With its export-driven economy, the country has never needed to woo visitors as a source of foreign exchange. Tourism accounts for just 2% of gross domestic product in Japan, compared with 11% in Spain. While the number of visitors from other Asian countries has been rising, Americans and Europeans are getting scarcer. That's perhaps in part due to a problem that Doyel faced: The language barrier is close to impenetrable, and many streets in Tokyo don't have signs—even in Japanese, let alone English.FORGETTABLE SLOGANGovernment efforts to promote the country's charms have been halfhearted at best. In 2003, then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi launched a scheme to double tourism to 10 million by 2010. But Japan's $30 million budget last year was less than half what Hawaii alone spent on tourism marketing in 2006. And many critics say the ads are ineffective. Early spots featured Koizumi (would more Americans visit France if President Nicolas Sarkozy asked them to?). And then there's the forgettable slogan: Yokoso! Japan—even though few foreigners know that "Yokoso" means welcome in Japanese. "A catchphrase that targets foreign tourists should be self-explanatory," says Isao Shiozawa, president of Osaka University of Tourism. "Otherwise, it's nonsense."
Japan's big travel companies, meanwhile, are more focused on domestic travelers than international visitors. JTB and HIS, the top two agencies, get less than 2% of their sales from foreigners. Today, there's easier money to be made providing vacations for Japan's baby boomers, who are starting to retire and have cash to spend. "If hotel owners can fill rooms with people that speak the same language and whose tastes they know, there's no need to take on all the extra work finding out what an American or English person likes to eat," says Neil Riley, who runs Japan Worldwide, a travel agency that specializes in ski packages pitched at Westerners.
American visitors seem to be especially tough customers. Their numbers actually fell 1.8%, to 403,300, in the first half of 2007. But those who do make the trip rarely go home dissatisfied. Overnighting at a Buddhist temple, taking in a sumo wrestling match, and a side trip to Kyoto are among Doyel's highlights. If only Japan were better at spreading the word. Says Doyel: "I haven't seen any advertising in the U.S. showing you all the neat stuff here." With Hiroko Tashiro in Tokyo | <urn:uuid:b76054dc-e507-4b0d-84ff-75d3f2deada0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-09-02/land-of-rising-tourism-hopes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958113 | 947 | 1.554688 | 2 |
“Green Cars” means something different now… than it did when I began to drive.
Today “Green Car” might means this….”Small is beautiful”.
45 years ago a “green car” meant something like this!
“Bigger was better!”
Thinking about this change can help us cash in on green investing.
Actually buying a car like the GTO would have been a pretty good investment.
Rare cars had really good appreciation for many years… but the green, very non green, GTO above can tell us more about where to invest in “Environmental Green.” A change in green mentality can show us how to spot special investing value that goes way beyond collecting antique cars.
This was my first car.
This was a 1958 Chevy Bel Air. I bought it in 1963, used… for $895. This forced me to get a job…. busing dishes at a steak house in Portland, Oregon. That car sort of set my lifestyle for decades… a solid member of the “one car per person” society.
I lived a mile from an isolated levy on the Columbia River… so yes, I drove my Chevy to the levy.
No more! Bye Bye Miss American Pie is a more appropriate tune since Pontiac is about to die. What could be more American Pie than a Pontiac?
I know because this was my second car…
a 1966 Pontiac Tempest LeMans Sprint.
These pictures from www.cardomain.com brought back fond memories. I can list every car I have ever owned in order… it’s a guy sort of thing… but this is not the point here.
That Pontiac had a special new Pontiac – built 230 cubic-inch overhead cam six power plant, the only such engine found in an American production car at that time. This was available in this Sprint option package on two-doors with a four-barrel, high-compression 207 horsepower version, marketed as an alternative to higher-priced European sport sedans, which had similar OHC engines.
This motor was hot and was fuel efficient! Here is a picture.
Then the idea of smaller more fuel efficient engines was lost. The gas guzzling GTO with a huge eight cylinder took over and this type of engine became hot. Europe’s idea of smaller, high performance fell to the idea of … just plain… BIG.
Bigger is better. Faster is good. Power is king. These became the American ideals and most of us (boomer) guys and gals bought into it.
This led society down an incorrect, unsustainable path of consumption worth mentioning now because of Pontiac’s recent death.
A recent BBC News article entitled “Pontiac RIP” by Nick Holland tells the tale.
Here is an excerpt from that article:
The GTO transformed Pontiac into a muscle car brand.
Pontiac has become the highest-profile victim of the crisis in the American car industry. The decision this week by General Motors to discontinue the brand shocked a generation of petrol heads who fell in love with the all American muscle cars the company developed in the 1960 and 70s.
It is a great shame that one of America’s iconic brands is having to be removed from the automotive scene
We are talking about cars like the Pontiac Firebird, The Grand Am and the GTO.
Like Route 66, roadside diners and baseball all of these vehicles have become genuine artefacts of U.S. culture.
“If ever a car company defined swagger – Pontiac was it,” says Peter DeLorenzo who runs the Autoextremist.com blog.
“Pontiac delivered cars to the market bristling with a maverick, edgy appeal and genuine soul – a commodity so far removed from most of Detroit’s products then that it was striking,” he says.
Things began to change when the company employed John De Lorean, who later founded the ill-fated De Lorean Motor Company, as its new head of engineering in 1956.
Pontiac started test driving a saloon car fitted with powerful V8 engines.
However, the vehicle did not meet General Motors’ corporate guidelines because they were considered too fast and breached an agreement with other manufacturers within the GM group to avoid building performance cars.
Regardless of that, a handful of the cars were built and Pontiac salesman drove them around to test public reaction. They got 5,000 orders.
Once the board at General Motors found out, the GTO was born.
The popularity of the car encouraged the company to transform itself into a performance brand.
Alongside the GTO the company developed the Grand Prix and the Firebird during the 1960s, all of them muscle cars.
The demise of Pontiac is a clue… the end of a wasteful non sustainable way… plus it’s part of this economic slowdown that signals huge socio-economic changes.
The global financial correction has pushed equity markets down everywhere and ended as time Magazine puts it, “the end of excess”.
American society revered big. Bigger was better. The more one had… the bigger the house… the faster the car… the greater the consumption… the more a consumer was respected.
Perhaps no more. Now being environmentally sensitive is cool.
This creates a distortion because green shares have been especially hard hit.
There is a reason for this. A USA Today article entitled “Going green can cost too much green” by Alan Gomez may help explain why.
Here are excerpts from this article:
Going green isn’t easy, especially during a recession.
For two years, the city of Durango, Colo., bought electricity for all its government buildings from wind farms. The City Council ended that program this year, reverting to electricity derived from coal-burning plants and saving the cash-strapped city about $45,000.
“It’s very hard for us to lay off an employee to justify green power,” City Manager Ron LeBlanc said. “Those are the tradeoffs you have to face.”
Across the country, government agencies are either cutting or shrinking programs that use or fund renewable energy projects. Green power — from wind farms, solar power or other renewable energy sources — remains more expensive than traditional power sources.
As budgets shrink, some people have had to scale back their green ambitions.
Pennsylvania passed a comprehensive energy plan last July that included a $100 million program to encourage people to invest in solar energy. The Pennsylvania Sunshine Program would provide reimbursements to homeowners and small business owners who installed solar electric and solar hot water projects.
The program has yet to begin, and the state will start with only $30 million in grants, according to Scott Dunkelberger, executive director of the Commonwealth Financing Authority, which administers the funding of Pennsylvania’s economic development programs. “We just want to take on the debt that we need,” he said.
That has left some in Pennsylvania waiting.
Buyers and investors have been backing off green because of short term financial concerns. Yet the huge long term problems of sustainability have not been resolved. Driving old Pontiacs might be cheaper in the short run then building new energy efficient cars… but returning to “Gitiup Little GTO” will not solve the problem’s of the high energy costs that those dual quads consume nor deal with the pollution coming from the twin exhausts.
Wise investors with a medium and long term view can gain extra value by investing in the value created by distortions in green shares that are vital to society in the long term… but depressed more than the norm right now due to short term economic concerns.
One example of this is that a no car trend is also growing. Excerpts from A New York Times article entitled “In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars”
by Elisabeth Rosenthal.
VAUBAN, Germany — Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up their cars.
Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” — except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs, and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two places to park — large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space, for $40,000, along with a home.
Ecuador has some green potential in this way because Ecuador has a great import law for cars. You cannot import used cars to Ecuador. You can only import new cars only…ie. in 2009 a 2008 or newer. This helps keep junkers, gas guzzlers and smokey, old wrecks off the road.
Merri and I encourage people to forget the car in Ecuador… for several reasons.
First, it is a hassle.
Second, the taxes are high for imported vehicles. The norm for taxes for a regular car is near 50% and as the price of the car rises…so does the percentage of tax. Cars over $100,000 have a 100% tax.
Third, hiring a car with driver (this what Merri and I do) is really inexpensive. Cars used for commerce (i,e. taxis) can be imported into Ecuador tax free. Gas is cheap (about $1.50 a gallon) and drivers do not earn a lot. These facts often make it cheaper to hire a car with driver than to own a car.
Using a car and driver avoids getting lost. You eliminate the legal hassle of fender benders and provide employment. Very few of the many people I know who have moved to Ecuador have a car.
Learn more about Ecuador cars at Driving in Ecuador
Owning one’s car is ingrained in the North American mentality. I am reminded of this every time I drive through a city during commuter hours. There are miles upon miles of individuals each sitting in one car.
I understand this… the minute I turned 16 I had to get a car… a big one that was fast.
That mindset was an error that the world (and many individual budgets) can no longer afford… so say bye bye Miss American Pie and so long Little GTO. Invest in green and when possible do what you can to eliminate one person… one car.
Learn more about green investing at our upcoming International investing and business courses.
July 24-26 IBEZ North Carolina
Oct. 9-11 IBEZ North Carolina
Nov. 6-8 IBEZ Ecuador
Nov. 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Nov. 11-14 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour
Attend any two Ecuador courses or tours in a calendar month…$949 for one. $1,349 for two.
Attend any three Ecuador courses or tours in a calendar month…$1,199 for one. $1,799 for two.
You can read the entire article “Going green can cost too much green” at www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2009-05-03-greencities_N.htm
You can read the entire article German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/earth/12suburb.html?_r=1&th&emc=th | <urn:uuid:cbc06f5f-cc17-4798-9257-d56f5748d3dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.garyascott.com/tag/commonwealth-financing-authority | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952295 | 2,445 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Queen Elizabeth spoke to her nation in the Annual Christmas address, as reported by The Telegraph:
"This past year has been one of great celebration for many. The enthusiasm which greeted the Diamond Jubilee was, of course, especially memorable for me and my family.
"It was humbling that so many chose to mark the anniversary of a duty which passed to me 60 years ago. People of all ages took the trouble to take part in various ways and in many nations.
"But perhaps most striking of all was to witness the strength of fellowship and friendship among those who had gathered together on these occasions."
The eight minute 40 second broadcast, with a camera on the Queen speaking, also includes music and video footage from the past year with special focus on the Olympic Games.
While the video was carefully and skillfully produced (for the first time, in 3-D), it is also a unique moment in what it offers:
The Christmas address is one of the rare occasions when the Queen does not turn to the Government for advice but is able to voice her own views.
It also has a strong religious framework and this year the Queen spoke about the story at the heart of Christmas - the birth of Jesus.
"A young mother and a dutiful father with their baby were joined by poor shepherds and visitors from afar. They came with their gifts to worship the Christ child," she said.
"From that day on, he has inspired people to commit themselves to the best interests of others."
The Queen concludes with a reflection on the hymn "In the Deep Mid-Winter", and then the hymn is sung by The Military Wives Choir. | <urn:uuid:6fe3e847-948f-4f6a-a593-31dc86418648> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/anglican_communion/queens_christmas_speech.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98259 | 342 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Hi thornbush,"Can 'Buddhism' then be without the same trappings of Western mentality and culture? Can the Dharma brethren in the West bring the same Buddha Dharma to the East without Western culture?
Is not the 'Buddhism' supra-culture?"
Of course, these questions are in process and yet to be answered. I’m American, and in the U.S. it’s doubtful that there will be ONE answer. Rather there will probably be many answers and many variations. But, overall, my short answer is that a ‘cultural container’ seems essential for Buddhism to thrive within a group of people.
In addition to the issues you raise, in the U.S., there is also the issue of “cross training” and cross teaching. Teachers from one discipline (say, Zen) are invited to run retreats in sanghas of other disciplines (say,vipassana). And students also cross train in sanghas other than their home group. Nobody seems yet to have an idea where all this is going.
And, at least in the U.S., there are the two big issues of the relationship of Buddhim to Western Psychology and to Western science. The development of the relationship with psychology is further along and has been much written about.“I have heard many laments from some Westerners on how warped Buddhism has been with its 'Eastern' flavor…,”
IMS, Insight Meditation Society is an interesting case to look at. When they first started more than 30 years ago, they began with a stripped down version of the teachings in an attempt to make it more accessible to Western students--and culture. They removed any “Eastern flavor.” It was a practical, secular approach that seems to have been successful. However, over time, some of the culturally ‘difficult to accept’ or ‘problematic’ teachings for Westerners, such as Literal Rebirth and Karma, that were left out or de-emphasized in the beginning, have now been restored to the IMS approach and teachings. In the natural course of their practice they came to the realization that Rebirth for example was not an “Eastern flavor,” but rather an essential teaching of the Buddha.
On the other hand, there wasn’t, and to this day isn’t, much bowing or chanting there, which perhaps are seen as purely cultural approaches. (*this is all info from a year and a half ago.)
And IMS has an occasional “retreat for scientists.” But this retreat is not designed for scientists to determine whether or not Buddhism can fit into the Western scientific model, but rather for people who happen to be scientists to learn about Buddhism from a Buddhist perspective. So in this case Buddhism is given the dominant position over the cultural issue.
“can Buddhism, in the West, then be practised without the Western Culture?”
To me, practically speaking, no, Buddhism cannot exist outside of a ‘cultural container’ and still be relevant to the culture at large. Somehow, each culture must adapt to Buddhism and at the same time formulate an approach that is effective within the particular culture –while carefully preserving the essential elements of the Path. But the important thing to me is that the experiment at IMS indicates that Buddhism is effective enough to survive explorations and integration intact. At IMS they seem--for cultural reasons--to have practiced successfully without some of the teachings, and then came naturally in the course of practice to discover the truth of those teachings, integrating them and evolving--as an organization that is a microcosm of larger culture.
So the process is more of an integration of culture and practice, not an either/or thing.
Just my two cents. http://www.dharma.org/
And a talk by one of the founders, Joseph Goldstein, "Karma" (and rebirth), that shows what they are now teaching:http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/96/talk/2309/ | <urn:uuid:1f078457-e8ec-49d9-b1d2-6099195b82f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?p=5530 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960679 | 848 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Here's a link to a popular article about research on textiles recovered from Qumran, the site of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
It seems the Qumranites dressed exclusively in white linen, just like Josephus' descriptions of the Essenes.
The article exaggerates, in my opinion, the amount of debate about the identity of the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The majority of scholars have been convinced that they were Essenes almost since their initial discovery, although there have always been a few dissenting voices that have gotten more press coverage than their theories necessarily merit.
The idea of the Qumran site having been a fortress is not new: however, it was not built with defensive fortifications, and there is little in the area that the vicinity that the Romans would have been interested in defending (for example, see this article).
There are many lines of evidence that converge to identify the Qumran community as an Essene settlement. This latest contribution of data from textile studies is a welcome confirmation of what most Qumran scholars have already believed. | <urn:uuid:2a4a17a7-f592-438e-94ed-df12128c6187> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thesacredpage.com/2011/11/new-developments-in-dead-sea-scrolls.html | 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 | 0.968834 | 217 | 2.28125 | 2 |
In just about every speech at their 2008 convention, Democrats promised voters that a change in the White House would, in Barack Obama’s formulation, restore “our moral standing” in the world. Replace the unilateralist cowboy at the top with a humbler multilateralist, and the path would finally be cleared to fix vexing international issues such as curbing carbon emissions and dealing with the mullahs in Iran. Like many of the party faithful’s long-nurtured beliefs, this hope has disintegrated on contact with reality.
“America is losing the free world,” said a January headline in the Financial Times. While that statement is exaggerated, the sentiment behind it has been gaining traction around the globe, especially in the wake of the climate conference debacle in Copenhagen. It’s not just that the less confrontational American president has been unable to deliver results. He can’t even get his phone calls returned.
“On the last day of the [Copenhagen] talks, the Americans tried to fix up one-to-one meetings between Mr Obama and the leaders of South Africa, Brazil and India—but failed each time,” Gideon Rachman wrote in the Financial Times piece. “The Indians even said that their prime minister, Manmohan Singh, had already left for the airport. So Mr Obama must have felt something of a chump when he arrived for a last-minute meeting with Wen Jiabao, the Chinese prime minister, only to find him already deep in negotiations with the leaders of none other than Brazil, South Africa and India.”
It was easy for many Democrats to believe, during the nightmare years of “freedom fries,” that George W. Bush alone was to blame for the diplomatic prickliness between, say, Washington and Paris. But the basic conditions for American foreign policy have more to do with America’s outsized position in the world than with any particular politicians. Bill Clinton tangled constantly with the French, and now a visibly irritated President Nicolas Sarkozy has gone within a year from vying for Obama’s attentions to taking (in the words of a competing politician) an openly “anti-Obama position.”
Obama’s approach was supposed to produce a more cooperative Tehran and Moscow, fewer terrorists in the Muslim world, and vast new initiatives to fight global poverty. Instead, Iran has murdered dissenters while speeding up its nuclear program, Russia hasn’t discernibly budged even after the U.S. abandoned its missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland, a Muslim suicide bomber was stopped at the last minute from blowing up a plane over Detroit on Christmas, and global gatherings have produced even less concrete action than usual.
These developments illustrate a phenomenon that has been playing out across a variety of public policy areas: Progressive Democrats, after being outfoxed by Ronald Reagan, triangulated to the policy margins by Bill Clinton, then routed under the first six years of George W. Bush, are having many of the nostrums they championed during the wilderness years tested in the real world for the first time in decades. The initial results of this long-delayed peer review have been a shock to the progressive system.
The Copenhagen crackup was a dream killer in more ways than one. Not only did the breakdown give the lie to the notion that a cranky Texas oilman was the single greatest impediment to international cooperation and enlightened environmental policy; it laid waste to the argument that yoking the developing world to a “do as we say, not as we did” policy of energy consumption will somehow prove to be an economic and environmental “win-win.” If that’s true, the leaders of India and China—the latter of which has been serially praised for its green-energy initiatives by the likes of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman—certainly don’t believe it. No amount of international do-goodism is going to prevent countries from acting in what they perceive to be their own self-interest.
Obama and the Democrats have been peddling a similar win-win line about the creation of up to 5 million “green jobs” in America, through a combination of cap-and-trade carbon permits, home weatherization, clean coal, higher gas mileage standards, environmental regulation, and various renewable-energy mandates. The “green jobs” political juggernaut has been credited to Van Jones, who was obliged to resign as Obama’s “Green Czar” last summer after reports surfaced that he’d signed a petition supporting an investigation of Bush’s involvement in 9/11. What’s interesting about Jones’ beautiful-sounding concept is that even its chief supporters admit there’s no evidence the theory is true. Which is hardly surprising, since most of Obama’s proposed environmental policies involve making energy more expensive while using more tax dollars to subsidize expensive clean energy sources. As The New Yorker put it in a long, flattering profile of Jones in January 2009, “the mechanics of creating green jobs—or even what jobs should qualify for the title—have yet to be worked out.”
The debate over these phantom jobs, against a backdrop of double-digit unemployment, will likely suck up the political oxygen in Washington after the protracted health care debate finally wheezes to a close. But Americans already have found empty pots at the end of other Democratic rainbows.
The $789 billion stimulus package of February 2009, thanks to a theoretical “multiplier” that would convert federal dollars into more than their worth in job creation, was supposed to (according to administration economists) “create or save” 3.5 million jobs and prevent unemployment from reaching as high as 9 percent by the end of 2010. Instead, joblessness shot through the 10 percent barrier before the end of 2009, and the government’s own tracking of the jobs allegedly created or saved has become a laughingstock with its double counting and imaginary ZIP codes.
What about the lobbying scourge that Democrats (like all good opposition parties) opposed so vociferously in 2008? Progressive theory holds that regulation of K Street, as opposed to a cutback in overall regulation, is the key to “change the culture of corruption” in Washington, as candidate Obama repeatedly promised to do. How’d that work out in practice? In December Politico reported that “Washington’s influence industry is on track to shatter last year’s record $3.3 billion spent to lobby Congress and the rest of the federal government—and that’s with a down economy and about 1,500 fewer registered lobbyists in town.”
In the truer-believing regions of the progressive political world, the broad agenda of carbon price hikes, centralized health care, greater regulation, increased taxes, and government-mandated diversity in boardrooms are not just sound and moral policy. They are inherently popular, if only the usual obstacles to justice and reform can be neutralized or removed. Back when he was still considered a plausible stand-in for “the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party” (enough to win 2.7 percent of the presidential vote in 2000, much of it from progressives disgruntled at New Democrat policies), Ralph Nader insisted on a daily basis that his agenda was essentially “majoritarian.”
Such fantasies can serve as a salve when you live on the margins of the policy debate. And as long as you remain on the sidelines, the underlying proposals tend to go largely unchallenged. But now that progressive economic thought has its first real foothold in Washington since the 1970s, many long-marginalized ideas are being dusted off for real-world testing, from taxing stock transactions to “getting people out of their cars.” If we’re lucky, those debates will take place before the ideas are cemented into law. Better yet, maybe the growing unpopularity of central planning will dissuade the enthusiasts from inflicting their experiments on the rest of us in the first place.
Matt Welch (firstname.lastname@example.org) is editor in chief of reason. This column first appeared at Reason.com. | <urn:uuid:2c146b66-c0f1-4df6-9af5-3e5fdd2b855d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reason.org/news/show/1009462.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963221 | 1,701 | 1.828125 | 2 |
A new book containing Marxist agitprop has been written for pre-schoolers, EAG News reports:
OAKLAND – Is your three-year-old preschooler chanting ‘union power’ these days? She might, if author Innosanto Nagara has his way.
Nagara wrote “A is for Activist,” a book supposedly geared for the children of the “99 percent.” In other words, a new vehicle has been developed for leftists to begin indoctrinating children.
“It’s pretty awesome to hear a three-year-old saying ‘union power,’” Nagara said in a YES! magazine interview.
But union power and student activism aren’t the only goals. Consider these other letters and how they are applied in the book:
- B is for banner, as in a protest banner hanging off a construction crane
- L is for LGBTQ, as in Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered and Queer
- T is for Trans, as in transgendered
- Z is for Zapatistas, as in Mexican revolutionary leftists
Heady stuff for preschoolers, but the indoctrinators believe the tykes are old enough to learn the basics of revolutionary thought.
Just a heads up for you parents of little ones in preschool. If one of my kids ever came home from shool chanting, “union power!” I’d make them go stand in the corner.
Then I’d switch schools. | <urn:uuid:68c100eb-0c5d-4bd0-a396-c1b1b97bc944> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://moonbattracker.com/wordpress/?p=7404 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967124 | 323 | 1.953125 | 2 |
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Here is Germany was made to prepare soldiers who had not seen combat to go to Germany for the US occupation after the May 8, 1945 unconditional surrender.
The film was, however, never used for its intended purpose.
Here is Germany was a 1945 propaganda documentary film directed by Frank Capra. Like its companion film, Know Your Enemy: Japan, the film is a full-length exploration of why one of the two major Axis countries started World War II and what had to be done to keep them from "doing it again".
This movie is part of the collection: Feature Films
Director: Frank Capra
Production Company: Office of War Information
Audio/Visual: sound, black & white
Keywords: WWII; Propaganda; Frank Capra
Contact Information: www.k-otic.com
Creative Commons license: Public Domain
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|Other Files||Archive BitTorrent|
who has made music in intro?
Dr Feel Rotten -
Subject: Like it or not this is happening again
The right wing parties are the next version of the Nazi’s who use nationalism and hatred of "immigrants" and anyone they don't
like. Sarah Palin anyone?
Subject: Cool Movie--When Viewed In Context
This movie would do a good job of making a high-school-age American enlisted man (who hadn't seen combat) very suspicious of the postwar Germans.
That naive kid would have every reason to be suspicious. Germany was dirt poor immediately postwar--and the young GI would be quite the target for exploitation.
But after that young kid meets that special German girl . . .. Oh, it's all over then.
Subject: here is germany
this is a nice download for a not-so-nice movie. sure, nazis weren't nice people, but it doesn't mean that just because most germans whose family members were nazis they are instinctively evil. i mean, there were the red faction army in the 70s and 80s, but did they create a major war after world war 2? no. nowadays, it seems that many ex-nazis are sorry for what they believed and their younger relatives are studying their dark past.
another thing, it is obvious that the american army at that time were twisting german history-- in an unflattering way. i've noticed that some of its "reenactment" scenes were actually taken from german movies (namely "kolberg") and germany's war history according to them sounds (and probably is) senseless. in the end, it was not only the germans who the americans blame for distorting the truth and manipulating its people, but also it was the americans who unethically control its soldiers. but for that reason, it must be watched. they must see this by eveyone because they must also know the other face of history's protagonists.
Subject: Famous 1950's Jews
All of these Jews had huge hits on TV during then 1950's, you inane revisionist perverts.
Sure, there was some anti-semitism in the 1950's, but not everybody was racist, you retards.
Subject: Take the time for a little history!
Most of the reviewers have either not viewed this film or have no idea what it was. It was propaganda "with that word used in a neutral sense." It was also wartime (not post war) propaganda, by the noted Frank Capra, who did other such films, e.g. "Why We Fight."
"Wartime" means it was done before the end of the war. Most of the film would be documentary footage, some of it by Germans or their allies. There was very little getting Americans riled over Japan after Pearl Harbor. American soldiers were not overly motivated to kill Germans, get invovled in a European War. Many had German roots. The North African invasion embittered American troops and gave them an enemy as did the KIAs with the home front..
Wartime also meant that there was no ready footage of atrocities not yet widely known,
Some of the comments border on stupid ignorance. No Anti-Semitism at the time? The post-war fim Gentlemen's agreement depicted American double standards, precluding Jews from many hoels. In m Home city and where I live now there are (what were) Jewish Country Clubs because of exclusion from Gentiles-only facilities. Housing covenants excluded Jews from many neighborhoods. One of the objections to some late 40s, early 50s television reflected to some degree the involvement of Jews in entertainment. But there was also Jewish theater because of exclusion ary policies. The ADL was fonded after the lynching of Jewish man in Georgia.
Molly Godberb was funny in the 40s, but how interesting the reference to 50s television. That in part was because the "network" either needed to be live or filmed. Sound recording wored for radio. In television, it was the kinoscope, look it up. As television spread more widely, the picture started to change. Not that there were no Jews in entertainment.
The difference here is someone who was born during the Roosevelt period can remember all of this. Along with bombings of synagogues in the South. Perhaps you needed to be ther.e
And blacks. The film painted a picture of equality for all, when it did not exist. Some of the fire for civil rights came from veterans who had fought as men but treated at home as "boys" no matter what their accomplishments.
AS propanganda, there was clearly an airbrurshing of our own faults, presenting an America as seen by many Americans, not the reality of others
As for Hingerty, He's a Holocaust denier, which in itself establishes him as a hate monger. "The criminal: state of Israel? The United States should talk after 8 years of Bush war and indiscriminate torture. Rendition? Our criminal class modeled their programs on the Nazi "Nacht und Nabel," people taken in the night who disappeared without a trace, enemiesof the state or offenders of some petty Nazi.
If someone's father went to Dachau when it was a DP camp, that's because after we released (and more) the inmates, the Americans used as a DP camp - DP refers the the tends of thousands of stateless refugees left in the wake of the Gernan war and murder machine.
Dachau was not a death camp, but thousands upon thousandx died there, from starvation, typhoid, gunfire, etc. It was the only camp that ran from 1933-1945 and its use from the beginning was for poltiical opponents. . The leaders of the Social Democratic Party had to go into exile after Hitler took over after many were murdered. . The SPD was too democratic and too modern for Nazi taste. Communists were imprisoned and killed, or just killed. Typhod in the campas? Of course, but what was the death rate among the German guards and staff. None or next to it. Germans (odd use since the Jews had once been Germans) only died of prison diseases when they themselves were placed in similar circumstances.
If you pushed a newspaper that was critical, you might get a warning(much as Bush threaten news organizations) or you'd be on your way to Dachau. It was a camp for political prisoners. The "work" in Arbeit Macht Frei" was an ironic statement. There were actual work camps where, including at the death camps, where slave labor worked until they died. German v-2 were built by slave labor who died at extraordinary rates through German policies and health practices. What made Dauchau of consequence for the U.S was that after a prisoner was killed in its early days, a local prosector (with brass cojones) brought charges.
Hitler personally ordered an end to that and Dachau guards were free to do as they wished, under orders. Theresienstadt was a Potemkin village, its inmates required to give a show, hoping to somehow suvive the next trip, to Auschwitz. What kind of an idiot doesnt know that. Read Ian Kershaw or Richard Evans.
There is nothing that can be said for someone so foul and deranged to say that Adolph Eichman was "much maligned" because he was a Jewish savior. You've clearly never read the trial transcript.
This was supposed to a film review. I thnk it's important that some of the posters read something about the context of the Capra propaganda series.
Except for the storm trooper cretins, you won't have to change your views so much as understand what was happening amid the society of that time. American society has changed, to a considerable extent because of the unplanned effect of war.
You should then try to watch these and other propaganda films. A good American film, was the "Battle of Midway," by John Ford, who entered the Navy in 1934 and worked with Hollywood photographers during actual combat. Ford was made Captain during the war and promoted to Rear Admiral.
The Navy started the war without any black offiers and it promoted only a few to the officer ranks, primarily to dea with "negro issues" and deal with the black media. There were black women WAVES during the war. Almost all of them were forced out of the Navy. The Navy had only six black officers in 1948, AFTER it began to get pressure from Truman. Annapolis produced its first black Annapolis in 1949.
The career of Hyman Rickover is a study in anti-semitism and a tribute to his pluck that he excelled and survived. JImmy Carter helped that first Annapolis grad, the ran cross country for USNA by warning off the bullies, something that same grad recalled when the USNA named a building for him. Carter also worked for Rickover, having passed his screen.,
Subject: Zionism in Poswar era
The reason noone mentioned Jewish suffering is because it just didnt happen to the extent that Spielberg and The modern criminal state of Israel would have you believe. Noone has ever found any gas chamber. EVER. The Poles claimed that they used electrified floors to kill them. Immediately after the war my father was with OMG in Munich. He went to Dachau and saw it, but he said it was just a DP camp. at that time. During the war it was a work cam. Typhus epidemics raged thru these camps. True and many died as a result. Maybe they would have preferred to stay in Berlin or Dresden? Theresienstadt, had a pool, theater, a lot more than the German civilians had. Also Adolf Eichman who has been much maligned went to see the Zionist leaders several times, he spoke hebrew. He was able to procure many visas for these people. The Nazis and the future government of Israel were in bed together. Anything that caused troubel for the English was a plus. Sending Jews to Palestine was considered a good idea. When England refused to allow them in, the camps filled up. There also hasnt been any documentation found to this day that authorized any sort of Jewish extermeination policy. In view of the recent behavior of the Israeli government, it seems that there is a concerted effort to "justify" their atrocious behavior. There is no jusitifcation for murdering the Palestinians, stealing their land.
Subject: Sorry, but...
Robin1990, from what you poted I can tell that you were neither alive nor Jewish in the 1950's.
There was plenty of anti-semitism in the US then.
There were mill;ions of Jews in Europe before World War II, and look what was done to them there.
"I suppose this reflects the prevailing anti-semitism in America at that time".
I know that there were many racists in America back then, But seriously, Most Americans accepted jews. Basically everybody on 50's TV was jewish!
Subject: This is pure propaganda nothig more
"Everybody has equal rights..." Did you saw any black people?
Subject: Why it wasn't mentioned that the victims were Jews
Genocide of Jews was unique to Nazism, while this film is a more general attack on German militarism in all its forms: "You faced the 'Nazi' menace, your father's generation was threatened by the 'Huns', while in your grandfather's time there were the 'Prussians'. The Nazis, the Huns, the Prussians. Three different names for three generations of Germans, each trying to impose their will on others by force."
Before Nazism, the most antisemitic country in Europe was Russia.
Subject: oops, forgot one little thing...
How amazing that a film intending to detail every crime of the Germans can't bring itself to mention the persecution of the jews. The German crimes against the Italians get more mention(!).
I suppose this reflects the prevailing anti-semitism in America at that time. A lot of Americans watching this film probably wouldn't have thought persectuing jews was such a bad idea.
Still, it's an effective film and gives you a brief, Cliff Notes history of German militarism. | <urn:uuid:677ccad5-0cf4-4b04-9fb2-950164655fc7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archive.org/details/HERE_IS_GERMANY?start=1679.5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976714 | 2,860 | 2.140625 | 2 |
How sweet it is: A sugar terminology guide
A sugar by any other name is confusing. Here's a breakdown of common sugar terms and what they mean.
Wed, Jan 16 2013 at 10:01 AM
Sugars are the simplest form of carbohydrates and are the building blocks of other complex carbohydrates. They are mostly monosaccharides or disaccharides, meaning they contain either one or two sugar molecules.
Sugar is absorbed in the small intestine where it passes into the bloodstream. The level of sweetness and ability to raise blood sugar levels varies depending on the type of sugar molecule. You may find one or more of these in mostly pre-packaged processed foods, drinks, gums and candies, especially diet products and foods marketed to diabetics.
Here's a list of common sugar terms:
Fructose: Fructose, also known as fruit sugar, is one of three monosaccharides (glucose and galactose are the other two) and is commonly found in foods. It is a nutritive sweetener, meaning it contains calories. “Along with sucrose (table sugar), it is used to make up high fructose corn syrup, which is added to many commercial foods for taste and other reasons,” says Rachel Begun, MS, RD, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Natural food sources of fructose include fruits and vegetables, honey, molasses, maple syrup and agave nectar. Much attention has been paid lately to fructose, and its increased presence in the food supply has coincided with an increase in obesity.
High fructose corn syrup: (HFCS) is a man-made sweetener found in a wide range of processed foods, from condiments and cereals to crackers and sauces. It also sweetens most regular (non-diet) soda. HFCS used in foods is 50 to 55 percent fructose. Chemically, it’s identical to table sugar (sucrose), which is also 50 percent fructose. Produced by adding enzymes to corn syrup, it’s a cheaper alternative to sugar that also functions as a preservative. There is some controversy around high fructose corn syrup, with concerns about its role in increasing obesity, especially among children.
Glucose: This is sugar in its simplest form. One of the three monosaccharides, it is a building block of dietary carbohydrates, such as corn, rice and wheat, which are then broken down by the body to make glucose, the primary energy source used by the body. Everything has to be converted to glucose before it can be used by the body for fuel. Glucose can also be made commercially from the breakdown of these starches, and is used as a sweetener in the food supply. Glucose raises your insulin faster than other sugars. Refined glucose is best avoided, and it’s not typically found in food products.
Dextrose: Dextrose is another form of glucose. It can be produced synthetically from starches, such as corn, wheat and rice. In the U.S., it is mostly made from cornstarch. “It is used as a sweetener and color-enhancer in foods, and is commonly added to cereals, baked goods and candy,” says Begun. There is no benefit to having dextrose, except when dealing with diabetes. Then, a person may be given dextrose or glucose to get blood sugar up quickly.
Maltrose: Also called malt sugar, maltose is a type of sugar made from two glucose molecules. High maltose corn syrup is another common name for it, the result of processing corn in a different way. Maltose is an important component in the process of creating fermented barley that can be used to brew beer.
Lactose: Lactose is a disaccharide made from glucose and galactose. It is the natural sugar that gives milk its sweet flavor. Many people are lactose-intolerant, experiencing gas, diarrhea and stomach upset when they consume dairy. This happens because they don’t have the enzyme to properly digest it. Lactose-intolerance is especially common in African and Asian populations. Many people avoid or reduce their dairy intake as a result.
Galactose: One of the two simple sugars, along with glucose, that make up the protein lactose, which is found in milk and dairy products. Galactose can be toxic in high levels. Found also in sugar beets, gums and seaweed, galactose is less sweet than sugar.
Invert sugar: Also known as inverted sugar syrup, this is similar to honey, maple syrup and high fructose corn syrup in that it is sucrose (table sugar) that has been separated into glucose and fructose. It has a longer shelf life than crystal sugar and a sweeter taste. It is found in many commercial food products including cereal, granola bars, toffee, candies, gums and baked goods.
Sugar alcohols: Sugar alcohols are low-calorie alternative sweeteners that have a lower glycemic index than table sugar and will not raise your blood sugar as rapidly. You find them in sugar-free candy and baked goods with names like maltitol, xylitol and sorbitol. These sugar alcohols aren't actually sugar or alcohol, but some are extracted from plants (sorbitol from corn syrup and mannitol from seaweed), but they are mostly manufactured from sugars and starches. They taste similar to sugar yet not as sweet. Sugar alcohols aren’t absorbed by the body and they don’t promote tooth decay, so they are frequently found in chewing gum and diet candies. “The big drawback of sugar alcohols is that many people experience bloating and gas,” says Begun.
Related sugar stories on MNN: | <urn:uuid:41ed7d9d-acac-48f6-8daa-5558a38136e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/how-sweet-it-is-a-sugar-terminology-guide | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956864 | 1,218 | 3.765625 | 4 |
The model of Mbombela Stadium in the foyer at R&L Architects in downtown
Cape Town would look out of place almost anywhere else. True, the 1:333 scale is
eccentric, the vivid patterning of the seats candidly mirrors zebra skin and the
structural pylons resemble- to use their collective noun- a tower of giraffes.
But it is the bright weave of myriad tiny glass beads from which the model is made
that positively locates it in South Africa. Mike Bell, a partner at the firm, gave an
explanation of the making of this homespun model that could serve as an
analogy for the architectural project it describes. The model-maker was found
working on a Cape Town street corner. He was given the plans, sections and 3D
images, a quick lesson with a scale rule and then left to work it out. The result is
not only an accurate representation of the building in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga
Province, but a beautiful work of art that captures something of its unusual
evolution and distinctive character.
" Quite quickly the form started to happen…and started screaming out 'I'm a giraffe!' "
Superficially the African symbolism in the building is very explicit and that was
always the intention. The zebra-patterned seats follow a rectilinear plan that is
bevelled slightly at the corners to maintain an intimate sense of enclosure. In
keeping with a very tight budget and a FIFA brief that requires a smaller, 40,000
seat capacity, the levels are very simple and the sight-lines clear throughout.
Between the seating bowl and the roof a continuous six meter gap allows natural
ventilation and frames a view of the surrounding bush and mountains.
Supporting the roof 18 four legged pylons are minutely modified to resemble a
ring of abstracted giraffes standing smartly around a canopy of acacias.
The design process reveals a
correspondence between the architect's desire to “maximise the
and the structural lessons of the form that inspires it, however contrived that may sound. “It's one of those great
things where the form and the function really are not parting from one another and
are in fact assisting each other. Quite quickly the form started to
happen…and started screaming out 'I'm a giraffe!' It came together so nicely
from there; we had to do very little to make it look like that. Even to the point
where it was the engineer who wanted it to have four legs. It is a very stable
structure and I guess so is a giraffe.”
(CONTINUED FROM PROJECT PAGE...)It should be added that being so close to the
Kruger Park means it must be one of the few buildings on earth that can get
away with using a structural form that conjures so uncannily one of the nature’s
most elegant animals.
Also in the foyer is a wall painted in bright chevron patterns reminiscent of those
seen adorning huts of the Ndebele tribe in the neighbouring Limpopo Province.
The effect is carried through to the stadium's internal spaces, from designs on the
car-park walls to bold colour-coding to the circulation routes and changing
rooms. This reference to the region is as honest and unsentimental as the
response to the savannah site; “[the Ndebele patterns] are not very old- I think
from about the 50s when the domestics would go home for Christmas and their
madames would give them pots of bright paint.”
However, the site has seen its fair share of controversy, particularly concerning a
wetland that was bulldozed as the site for schools which were themselves
flattened to make way for the stadium. The failure of the municipality to begin
rebuilding those schools in the former wetland and claims of internal corruption
have not helped answer the critics who insist that the impoverished province has
better claims on the R1.3 billion budget. Nonetheless from a design perspective
the budget has been a real success, coming in at a fraction of Cape Town's
projected R4.3 billion. The smaller size is an advantage as is the consistently
warm climate. But the insistence on using durable (the design team demanded
'bulletproof') local materials, South African expertise and a range of
environmental innovations demonstrates the money-saving utility of
architectural design and creativity. The use of local materials was a 'green'
constraint that the design team placed on itself: “When we were designing the
roof we asked the question: ‘what is the biggest pipe we make in South Africa?’
We found it was a 320mm pipe and so we decided - that is as big as we are going
go!” In the
longer term the use of solar panels, water and heat harvesting and a
simple, hardwearing construction will reduce maintenance and running costs.
"I just had this feeling that at the moment when Mandela appeared in the stadium the movement dissolved because the reason for its existence just stopped for the bulk of those guys"
This added value is matched for the architects by the implicit worth of the
building itself, not least since they experienced at first hand the 1995 South
African rugby world cup victory which has recently been dramatised in the film
Invictus. Mike Bell remembers that being in the stadium allowed him to witness
'an incredibly powerful event.' The return on investment in South Africa is
clear; “There was a political movement of staunch conservative Afrikaners called
the AWB [the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging]. And I just had this feeling that at the
moment when Mandela appeared in the stadium the movement dissolved
because the reason for its existence just stopped for the bulk of those guys.
Apparently when one of them saw Mandela walk into the stadium he said in a
thick Afrikaner accent “I think I'm crying!”
This potency places responsibility on the designers; “[the experience] taught me
the power of the stadium - it actually goes beyond the mundane and takes you
into another level. That's why the memory is important because you can connect
the memory with a physical element - which is where the giraffes came in. There
was always a desire to have some memorable feature, so when you leave there is
a recognisable image in your mind.” This theory seems to hint at another local
influence since it corresponds to the form of totemism by which indigenous
tribes seek to connect a physical entity with the memory of their origins by
splitting up into clans that are personified by animals.
The result is as an honest and successful expression of African architecture as
may be found anywhere on the continent. The proof is in the fact that, as Mike
Bell says, “You cannot easily put this stadium into any other country.”
Editorial , London
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Widespread Pain and Fatigue Common Symptoms
Widespread chronic pain is the most common symptom of fibromyalgia. However, patients typically experience multiple symptoms. Below are the most common:
- Tender points: Tenderness and pain in a number of tender points is a classic symptom. Tender points are often confused with trigger points, which are associated with myofascial pain syndrome. Trigger points are more localized, and tender points are associated with the generalized pain of fibromyalgia.
- Widespread pain: The pain associated with fibromyalgia isn't confined to tender points. It is most often widespread and significant, and may be described as shooting, aching, and burning. Your muscles may throb and twitch.
Most patients experience the worst pain in the morning. Certain factors—such as poor quality sleep, cold or humid weather, anxiety, and too much or too little activity—worsen pain. This pain limits your range of motion, which is one of the reasons fibromyalgia is often grouped with rheumatoid arthritis.
- Fatigue: People with fibromyalgia experience a crippling, intense form of fatigue. It's not fatigue in the sense where you feel tired after a long day at the office. It's such a potent type that many people feel equally as tired when they wake in the morning as they did when they went to bed the night before. For this reason, fibromyalgia is often connected to chronic fatigue syndrome. Such exhaustion tends to aggravate other symptoms, especially pain.
In addition to pain and exhaustion, many fibromyalgia sufferers report having:
- Problems sleeping: Research shows that fibromyalgia patients experience bursts of brain activity in the deep stages of sleep. These disturbances prevent patients from achieving a restful and restorative night's sleep.
- Anxiety and/or depression: Mood disturbances and depression are often associated with fibromyalgia. This could be because emotional trauma is a possible cause of the condition. Also, since the symptoms can be so painful, many fibromyalgia sufferers become socially isolated.
Pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and depression are the most common fibromyalgia symptoms. But you may also experience:
- Difficulty concentrating and remembering—sometimes referred to as the "fibro fog"
- Pain during and after exercise
- Painful menstrual periods
- Sensitivity to touch, light, and sound
- Stiffness when you wake up or when you've been in one position too long
Many conditions overlap with fibromyalgia, though researchers have yet to determine the precise correlation. These common "co-existing" conditions include:
- Irritable bowel syndrome (abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, diarrhea, and/or constipation)
- Irritable bladder (increased urinary frequency)
- Migraine headaches
- Raynaud's Syndrome (also known as Secondary Raynaud's, this occurs when blood circulation to the surface tissue of the hands and feet is temporarily decreased, usually causing cold or numbness)
- Restless legs syndrome (a nervous system disorder that causes periodic leg and/or arm movement)
- TMJ or temporomandibular joint disorder (characterized by facial muscle pain, usually in front of the ear, temples and/or neck, caused by jaw movements)
It's important to remember that fibromyalgia is a misunderstood condition, and it is often incorrectly diagnosed as a similar disorder (such as rheumatoid arthritis). To ensure that you are correctly diagnosed, pay close attention to all your symptoms—no matter how subtle. You may find it helpful to keep a diary to record day-to-day pain severity. You'll then be better able to accurately talk about your fibromyalgia symptoms with your doctor. | <urn:uuid:abb423c9-904d-44bd-b923-d37d39d68f23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/fibromyalgia/fibromyalgia-symptoms?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=spineuniverse | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944836 | 774 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Currents. Discussion »
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA Over two hundred American Indian people from the San Francisco Bay area gathered on Sunday to remember American Indian Movement leader Russell Means at the Oakland International House. The memorial service was sponsored by AIM-West.
Means, Lakota, passed away from throat cancer on October 22 at this home in Porcupine, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He was 72.
Members of the Irish Republican Army were among the non-Indian crowd who came to pay their respects to Means' memory.
Means was one of the major figures in the American Indian Movement during the time is its peak during the 1970s.
During that decade, he and Dennis Banks, Ojibwa, were thrust into the national scene when they led takeovers of the Bureau of Indian Affairs building in Washington, DC in late 1972 and then Wounded Knee in late February 1973.
A New Generation Steps Up to the Challenges
“Russell Means will be remembered as a great individual who not only began things, but was around long enough to finish many of his projects. Because of that, thousands of people have learned to carry on the Movement,”
Dennis Banks, AIM co-founder
said Dennis Banks, co-founder of the American Indian Movement, who arrived from Japan late last week to be present at Sunday's memorial service.
“I opened the ceremony with a traditional Ohlone song. I am very active in AIM. Russell Means has always been a hero to me. I am a second generation member of AIM,”
commented Luther Candelaria, Ohlone, a traditional dancer and singer.
“When Russell came here, it was always a privilege to dance for him.”
AIM-West allowed members of the audience to share their memories of Means to end the event.
“He was a great leader my family knew Russell since the late 1940s. He came out of the projects in Vallejo. We know the Means family. My brother went to school with Russell. Our families were the only Native American families in Vallejo, California at that time. Russell was a great leader among American Indian people,”
said Norman "Wounded Knee" DeOcampo.
photo credit Arthur Jacobs;
posted December 10, 2012 8:10 am est | <urn:uuid:36085037-f6f6-4f59-8659-03ed58bb9035> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nativenewsnetwork.com/aim-leader-russell-means-remembered-sunday-in-california.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977295 | 508 | 2.296875 | 2 |
It stands to reason that if you hold an annual energy awareness campaign and competition involving 25 student residences, the folks living in Ozone House might shine.
Yet since the first “Do it in the Dark” contest in 2007, Ozone House failed to finish first.
Students living there this year were determined to break the losing streak.
"We banned the use of the clothes dryer, unscrewed unnecessary light bulbs, unplugged everything that was not in use and only turned on lights when absolutely necessary," said Kyle Lanzit '13. "And keeping the house at a balmy 65 degrees is standard practice."
Their efforts paid off. Ozone House claimed the top prize in the six-week contest to see which residence could reduce its energy consumption. Since the competition began last month, the 12 members of the house at 1294 Lenox Road reduced energy consumption by 30.86 percent. Dickens (315 Seward Place), with a 29.94 percent reduction and Golub House, with a 16.67 percent reduction, finished second and third, respectively.
The winning house receives a plaque and two prizes that will be raffled off among residents at the first U-Sustain meeting of Spring Term at 12:50 p.m. April 10 in Old Chapel.
Winners also will be treated to a dinner at Breazzano House catered by a restaurant selected by Ozone residents, who can share their energy conservation methods with students in other living spaces, including Greek, Minerva and theme houses, residence halls and apartments.
"It's fitting that Ozone House finally won," said Sustainability Coordinator Meghan Haley-Quigley ’11, who worked closely with Fred Puliafico, assistant director of Utilities Management, Ngozi Onyiuke ’13 and Annie Nelson ’15 in overseeing the competition. "They were frustrated they had never won and worked hard to pull it off."
And though the contest is over, Haley-Quigley hopes the message gets recycled.
"The competition is a great reminder to all of us to make adjustments to our everyday life with hope that once the competition ends, the behavior will carry forward," she said. | <urn:uuid:922b65b2-df63-471a-bdff-357212fada61> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.union.edu/news/stories/2013/03/lights-out-ozone-house-wins-do-it-in-the-dark-.php | 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 | 0.968323 | 453 | 1.71875 | 2 |
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We have one position available for CNC Lathe and Vertical CNC Mill Programmer / Operator in New Bern, North Carolina. We are a shop that specializes in short run machining projects using 3rd and 4th axis machines to manufacture industrial parts as well as custom machining and job shop work to meet our customers' needs. Programmer / Operator: Work includes layout, set up, operating and making tool ...
Full job description at Monster
Posted Thu 16th May
RNs (registered nurses) have many opportunities for employment. They may work for hospitals, doctors' offices, nursing homes, schools, or government agencies. As an RN, one must directly care for patients as well as supervise other healthcare professionals, such as orderlies, medical assistants, and other nurses. One of the requirements of the job includes the stamina of enduring long, irregular hours at work. There is always a demand in the workplace for a qualified and dedicated RN.
Learn how to write a resume, find relevant examples of resumes, read through resume help, and then create your resume.
Search through RN jobs by State on Flipdog!
Learn how to write an effective registered nurse job description in order to generate more qualified leads. | <urn:uuid:c4a91b4c-8709-4c36-bb52-dc3959214141> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.flipdog.com/jobs/eastern-greenville/programmer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951014 | 257 | 1.585938 | 2 |
- World News
- In Pics
For decades, scientists have endeavored to resolve the paradox of Pakistani Test cricketer Shahid Afridi, in stubborn and insolent contravention of the laws of physics and biology, refusing to age a day beyond 18 years, 3 months and 21 days ever since his ODI debut on October 2, 1996.
Attempts by physicists and mathematicians to rationalize the Afridi conundrum, as it is now referred to in scientific circles, within one of the standard theoretical frameworks of physics, whether it be String Theory, Newtonian Mechanics, Relativistic Physics, the theory of Electromagnetism or Quantum Mechanics, have been in vain. Biologist’s attempts to explain the phenomenon have also met with the same fate.
“The Afridi conundrum continues to confound and frustrate the scientific community, like a jagged piece that just refuses to fit into the otherwise perfect jigsaw puzzle. It’s almost as though Shahid bhai were mocking us for failing to explain his agelessness even after throwing the kitchen sink of science and math at it. We tried every technique, man, including modeling Shahid’s biological evolution as a stochastic differential equation that was solved using MIT’s supercomputer but always ended up with a lemon for our labours,” lamented leading MIT based theoretical physicist, Leonard Bertsimas, who has been at the forefront of efforts to resolve the Afridi conundrum.
However, physicists can breathe easy henceforth. A budding mathematics student from IIT Kharagpur, Tarun Vector, may have a simple yet elegant explanation, for the so called Afridi conundrum.
Tharun posits that Afridi performs an arithmetic hack to convince himself that he’s forever 18. The simple hack goes like this:
Although questions arise about Afridi’s arithmetic skills to be able to perform such a hack, this seems to be the most plausible explanation of his constant age, thus obviating the need to revisit the theoretical foundations of physics or biology.
Yale University has offered Tarun Vector a fellowship to study Mathematical Psychology for this gem of a discovery about one of the unsolved mysteries of aging.
(Reported by special correspondent, Anoop Dixith) | <urn:uuid:78c30190-5f3c-45ea-98c5-2580cd2a1f11> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theunrealtimes.com/2012/08/22/iit-student-resolves-paradox-of-shahid-afridi-not-aging-beyond-18/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949357 | 481 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Men, listen up. You might start reconsidering your daily soda intake after reading this next report.
According to a study out in Sweden, men who drink as little as one soda beverage a day have a greater risk of contracting prostate cancer. If this applies to you, take a step back from the Pepsi, asap. The report claims that the cancer is discovered after symptoms start showing up, and not during the normal pre-screening analysis.
The increased risk goes up as far as 40%.
More information in the video below: | <urn:uuid:45f31020-12f6-45ee-b3d0-c3fb86b05660> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vibe.com/node/127058 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959957 | 110 | 2.03125 | 2 |
More Images of Cepheus B
Labeled Image of Cepheus B
A new study suggests that star formation in Cepheus B is mainly triggered by radiation from one bright, massive star (HD 217086) outside the molecular cloud. According to the particular model of triggered star formation that was tested -- called the radiation-driven implosion (RDI) model -- radiation from this massive star drives a compression wave into the cloud triggering star formation in the interior, while evaporating the cloud's outer layers. This labeled version of the image shows important regions in and around Cepheus B. The "inner layer" shows the Cepheus B region itself, where the stars are mostly about one million years old and about 70-80% of them have protoplanetary disks. The "intermediate layer" shows the area immediately next to Cepheus B, where the stars are two to three million years old and about 60% of them have disks, while in the "outer layer" the stars are about three to five million years old and about 30% of them have disks. This increase in age as the stars are further away from Cepheus B is exactly what is predicted from the RDI model of triggered star formation.
X-ray (NASA/CXC/PSU/K. Getman et al.); IR (NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA/J. Wang et al.))
Chandra X-ray and Spitzer Infrared Images of Cepheus B
X-rays from Chandra and infrared data from Spitzer reveals a beautiful scene of star formation within our Galaxy. There are hundreds of very young stars inside and around the cloud -- ranging from a few millions years old outside the cloud to less than a million in the interior -- making it an important testing ground for star formation. By combining the data from these two observatories, researchers have shown that radiation from massive stars may trigger the formation of many more stars than previously thought..
(Credit: X-ray (NASA/CXC/PSU/K. Getman et al.); IR (NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA/J. Wang et al.))
Return to Cepheus B (August 12, 2009)
Cepheus B with Scale Bar
(Credit: X-ray (NASA/CXC/PSU/K. Getman et al.); IR (NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA/J. Wang et al.) | <urn:uuid:ebbf8119-fe2b-4d81-835b-18d0bb477184> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2009/cepb/more.html | 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 | 0.903897 | 529 | 3.671875 | 4 |
The Boone, N.C.-based non-profit group Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture received a $1.1 million grant from Heifer USA to strengthen the local food system in what is known as the High Country region of North Carolina. The Seeds of Change Initiative is a multi-year program that will build upon the emerging local food movement to foster economic development and improve access to nutritious, locally produced food among under-served populations.
According to the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, North Carolinians spend $35 billion on food every year. If 10 percent of that money was spent locally, the state would gain $3.5 billion in sales. The grant will support efforts to strengthen the economies of communities across the North Carolina High Country who are choosing to reinvest in local farmers and food producers.
The first phase of the initiative, including organization, assessment and planning, was awarded to the Appalachian District Health Department and Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture with technical assistance from the Center for Participatory Change. Phase two includes four years of funding for implementation of projects that support the goals of the Initiative.
The High Country region, includes Alleghany Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties in North Carolina, and Johnson County, Tenn.
Wind for Schools Program to Install Turbine at Watauga High School
Watauga High School in Boone, N.C., is making a new addition to their campus, a 2.4 kilowatt Skystream 3.7 wind turbine as part of the Wind for Schools program. A ribbon cutting is set for Dec. 14. Watauga High School is one of seven schools in the state that will receive a free turbine through the nationwide program that moved to North Carolina last year. Sundance Power Systems of Asheville, N.C., will set up the seven turbines.
Local Politicians, Community Members Cheer 1.2-megawatt Solar Farm in Mount Airy, N.C.
More than 140 people attended the opening celebration of the Mayberry Solar Farm in Mount Airy, N.C. The Mayberry Solar Farm, built on six acres owned by the town and leased to O2 Energies will feed the Duke Energy grid, helping to meet the requirements for the North Carolina Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. Joel Olsen, the founder and director of O2 Energies, says the six-acre solar farm created 100 local jobs, involved 30 contractors, and will generate power for hundreds of homes and small businesses.
University of Kentucky Students Say ‘Shut Down Coal Boilers’
Students and environmentalists at the University of Kentucky in Lexington are joining with the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. With the goal of shutting down nearby coal-fired power plants and replacing it with renewable energy, the group is presenting to the university’s Board of Trustees’ finance committee and campus chiefs. Because of the university’s connections with the coal industry, the group acknowledges renewable energy could be a hard sell. A feasibility study could determine the possibilities of using geothermal, solar and other forms of renewable energy in the future. | <urn:uuid:a6d3b217-0b81-4a4b-8289-a183ec3e7a42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://appvoices.org/category/voice/2011-issue-6-decjan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938407 | 632 | 2.078125 | 2 |
atherosclerosisArticle Free Pass
atherosclerosis, chronic disease caused by the deposition of fats, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances in the innermost layer of endothelium of the large and medium-sized arteries. Atherosclerosis is the most common arterial abnormality characterized as arteriosclerosis, which is defined by the loss of arterial elasticity due to vessel thickening and stiffening. The precise mechanisms of atherosclerosis are not completely understood, but there is evidence that in some people the condition can begin in childhood with the formation of tiny “fatty streaks,” or streaks of fat deposition, in the arteries. As the endothelium is infiltrated by more and more fatty materials—primarily low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), protein-lipid complexes that serve as a vehicle for delivering cholesterol to the body—immune cells called macrophages are drawn to the site to scavenge the materials. When filled with lipids the macrophages become known as “foam cells,” which later die and accumulate in the endothelial lining. Other materials are also deposited in the lining, including salts of calcium and other minerals, smooth muscle cells, and cellular debris of varying composition. This causes the initially tiny lesions to enlarge and thicken to form atheromas, or atherosclerotic plaques. These plaques may narrow the vessel channel, interfering with the flow of blood. Endothelial injury, either as a result of lipid deposition or as a result of another cause, may also be accompanied by the formation of fibrous caps of scar tissue. These areas of scar tissue make the vessel walls less elastic, with one consequence being an increase in blood pressure. Thick plaques that severely occlude an artery can significantly decrease the flow of blood to vascular beds in tissues served by the artery, thereby causing severe tissue damage. In addition, a disturbance to the endothelium may result in the formation of a blood clot (thrombus) at the site of a plaque, likewise obstructing the channel or breaking loose from the site and causing a catastrophic blockage elsewhere.
Atherosclerotic lesions frequently are found in the aorta and in large aortic branches. They are also prevalent in the coronary arteries, where the condition is called coronary heart disease (also called coronary artery disease or ischemic heart disease). When atherosclerosis affects the coronary arteries, which bring oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle, it can decrease the supply of blood to the heart muscle and result in chest pain known as angina pectoris. The complete occlusion of one or more coronary arteries can cause the death of a section of the heart muscle (myocardial infarction, or heart attack). Atherosclerotic lesions of the cerebral vessels may lead to formation of blood clots and stroke.
A family history of cardiovascular disease, smoking, stress, obesity, and high blood cholesterol levels, particularly in association with LDLs, are among the factors that contribute to an increased risk of developing atherosclerosis. Men develop atherosclerosis more often than women, and individuals with diabetes mellitus have a significantly higher incidence of the disease.
Certain drugs can reduce the risks associated with atherosclerosis. These include statins, which reduce the level of cholesterol and fat in the blood, as well as anticoagulants and other drugs such as aspirin, which prevent formation of blood clots. In large arteries such as the aorta or carotids, sections obstructed by atheromas can be removed surgically and replaced with synthetic materials. Atherosclerotic plaques can also be removed from the carotid circulation by atherectomy, in which the fatty deposits are carefully removed by a tiny knife inserted into the vessel via a catheter. In the case of occluded coronary arteries, the lives of countless cardiac patients have been saved by coronary bypass surgery, in which sections of blood vessels from other parts of the body are used to route blood flow around the obstructions. Some occlusions can be opened by balloon angioplasty, in which a catheter is inserted to the site of obstruction and a balloon is inflated in order to dilate the artery and flatten the plaque deposits. Passages opened in this way frequently reclose over time, but the chances of this occurring can be reduced significantly by the insertion of expandable wire-mesh stents as part of the angioplasty procedure. Some stents are “drug-eluting,” that is, coated with a drug that inhibits the kind of cell growth that leads to reclosure.
What made you want to look up "atherosclerosis"? Please share what surprised you most... | <urn:uuid:3b7539e3-a852-44d7-9648-740635fd4feb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/40908/atherosclerosis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945943 | 968 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Virtual Tours of Tourist Attractions and Locations
Tourism brings in valuable income to any town, city and some in some countries it is the main source of income. Virtual tours can give added value to a website promoting an area. Town centre tours are becoming increasingly popular as an additon to still images.
A virtual tour can be overlaid with information about the area and it's attractions showing telephone numbers , prices, street plans, restuarants and hotels. | <urn:uuid:d165e15b-6ec3-471c-9ef3-a68e920aa6be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.innerview.co.uk/virtual_tours-of-tourist-attractions.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931953 | 95 | 1.679688 | 2 |
One down, two more to go? On Wednesday a Russian Internet service provider took down the last master server that controlled compromised computers as part of the Grum botnet, the world's third-largest spam network responsible for more than 17 percent of unsolicited email.
If the botnet stays down, only two more spam networks need to be shuttered to make permanent a significant drop in unsolicited email, said Atif Mushtaq, senior staff scientist at security firm FireEye. If security researchers and Internet service providers can shut down the top two botnets, Lethic and Cutwail, spammers may never recover, he said.
"When it comes to spam botnets, this strategy is truly working," Mushtaq said. "If you take the worldwide spam level and you compare it to the level in 2008 before the McColo takedown, it is a fraction of its previous level."
The Grum takedown came thanks to details of the botnet published by FireEye earlier in July and a flaw in the botnet's architecture that made its operation contingent on three servers -- two in Panama and a third in Russia. One server had already been taken down or otherwise shut down by its operators. But as of earlier this week, the Internet service providers in Panama and Russia remained uncooperative, according to FireEye. Compared to cooperative Dutch network providers, who had taken out a good part of the botnet by shuttering two secondary servers, the contrast was stark.FireEye and other groups raced to apply pressure to take down the remaining master servers, before the spammers could modify their infrastructure and save their botnet.
Good news came on Tuesday, when pressure from the Internet community led the Panamanian provider to disconnect the master server in that country. Because each server managed its own segment of the botnet, closure of the master server resulted in a large segment of the botnet losing its marching orders.
However, the bot herders moved quickly and began pointing secondary control servers to six new master command-and-control systems in the Ukraine. | <urn:uuid:701bf6c1-2fb1-451e-a412-036934bdc7fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infoworld.com/t/anti-spam/grum-botnet-takedown-puts-spam-the-run-198176?source=rss_security | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961829 | 419 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Deep Carbon Observatory seeks to discover secrets of carbon inside Earth
Todd McLeish, 401-874-7892
URI faculty among international team of scientists
NARRAGANSETT, R.I. – March 11, 2013 -- The Deep Carbon Observatory, a decade-long $500 million research project to discover the quantity, movement, origin, and forms of carbon deep inside the Earth, has released a landmark 700-page book, Carbon in Earth, which outlines questions that will guide the program through 2019 and beyond.
The research program, which includes URI scientists Steven D’Hondt, Katherine Kelley and Dawn Cardace, is investigating the movement of deep carbon in the slow convection of the mantle, the percolating fluids of the crust, and the violent emissions from volcanoes. It is searching for the ancient origin of deep carbon and the formation and transformation of its many forms, ranging from gas and oil to diamonds and deep microbes.
The Deep Carbon Observatory is also making a significant commitment to an international engagement and communications effort, led by Sara Hickox and Sunshine Menezes at URI’s Office of Marine Programs and funded through a grant to the Graduate School of Oceanography from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
The new book, details of the Observatory program, and a new website (www.deepcarbon.net) were announced on March 4 at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.
Ninety percent or more of Earth’s carbon is thought to be locked away or in motion deep underground—a hidden dimension of the planet as poorly understood as it is profoundly important to life on the surface, according to scientists.
D’Hondt, a URI professor of oceanography, co-authored a chapter in the new book and is a member of the Observatory’s Deep Life Directorate, which is discovering and describing the microbes and viruses that live in the deep ocean and beneath the ocean floor and how they interact with deep carbon cycles.
The variety of bacterial life at extreme high-pressure depths worldwide constitutes a subterranean “Galapagos,” he said, adding that such subsurface life comprises a large portion of Earth’s total biomass. DNA has unearthed a marvel of diversity among deep single-celled microorganisms. And deep fungi, organisms with complex cell structures in the marine subsurface, have been a scientific surprise.
“Given the extraordinarily low rates of respiration, subsurface microbes must reproduce very slowly, if at all,” said D’Hondt. “They take at least hundreds to thousands of years to reproduce and it's conceivable that they live without dividing for millions to tens of millions of years.” Still to be determined, he noted, is the extent to which these organisms are “microbial zombies, incapable of being revived to a normal state.”
Cardace is also working with the Deep Life Directorate. She has established a series of serpentinite groundwater monitoring wells in northern California that enable her to characterize the rock, water, gases, and microbiological communities and monitor any changes taking place.
“In many ways, Earth's deep subsurface habitats are similar to those of the early Earth when the first cells were assembled,” said Cardace, assistant professor of geosciences. “Studying modern life in blocks of Earth's mantle can inform our understanding of how life arose.”
Kelley is a member of the Observatory’s Reservoirs and Fluxes Directorate and is investigating the dissolved carbon dioxide in the lavas that form the Earth’s crust at mid-ocean ridges. An associate professor of oceanography, her project aims to figure out how much carbon is held in the Earth's mantle, beneath the oceanic crust, and assess how much escapes to the oceans and atmosphere during submarine volcanic processes at these ridges.
“We are measuring the dissolved CO2 contents of rapidly-quenched natural volcanic glasses from global mid-ocean ridges, with the ultimate goal of making these measurements on the complete collection of more than 10,000 submarine glass samples in the Smithsonian collection,” she said. “But CO2 is actually very insoluble in liquid magma, so it is usually partially lost to degassing very deep in the crust, long before volcanoes erupt at the sea floor. We are hoping to find examples of lavas that have not degassed their CO2, but such samples are rare.”
The Deep Carbon Observatory is expected to create a profound new understanding of this planet and others, shedding unprecedented light on Earth’s highly active subterranean environment, the globe’s oldest ecosystem. It hopes to answer such questions as: How much carbon is stored inside Earth, what are the reservoirs of that carbon, how does carbon move among reservoirs, how much rising carbon is recycled from the surface, and did deep organic chemistry play a role in life’s origins?
“Of the 88 naturally occurring, long-lived elements on Earth, carbon stands alone,” said Robert Hazen, executive director of the Observatory. “No other element contributes so centrally to the well-being and sustainability of life on Earth, including our human species.” | <urn:uuid:33bef7e1-01e2-44c8-934a-ec530c16d410> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uri.edu/news/releases/?id=6568 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927505 | 1,095 | 3 | 3 |
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Prevalence of Dental Fluorosis in School Children of Jodhpur City
Jitender Solanki1, Jyothi Dundappa2, Nagendra Babu K3
Assistant professor1 Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry Vyas. Dental College and Hospital, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
Assistant professor2 Department of Periodontics & oral implantology Vyas. Dental College and Hospital, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
Reader3, Department of Periodontics, Dental college, Azamgarh, UP
Aims and objectives: The present study was carried out to know the prevalence of dental fluorosis and the relation of dental fluorosis at varying degree of fluoride concentration in drinking water among the study subjects. Material & methods: The study population was selected by stratified cluster random sampling methodology. A total of 1810 school children were screened for dental fluorosis. Data was entered into computer and analyzed using (SPSS 11.5 version). Chi square test was used for comparison of fluorosis and various levels of fluoride concentration in drinking water. Results: It was observed that number of children affected with dental fluorosis increases with the increase in level of concentration of fluoride in drinking water. The results of the study indicated that dental fluorosis exists irrespective of levels of fluoride concentration in drinking water.
Key words: Dental Caries; Dental Fluorosis; Jodhpur; School Children
Oral diseases are the most prevalent chronic diseases worldwide and are an expensive burden to health care service providers. In most of the developing and under developed countries, the prevalence of dental caries and unmet treatment need is very high. About 5 billion people worldwide experience dental caries which is presented in various forms of discomfort at different stages of its clinical presentation.1 The scenario is different in developed countries where in recent years rapid changes have occurred in the prevalence of oral diseases. In the past decade a substantial decline in dental caries has occurred among children of several developed countries2 mainly USA and several European countries.3 Fluoride has been recognized as one of the most influential factor responsible for the observed decline of caries among children as well as adults of these countries. Fluoride plays a key role in the prevention and control of dental caries. The excellent work of Trendly. H. Dean and his collaborators, showed the association between fluoride in drinking water and the occurrence of disturbances of tooth formation (mottling of enamel or dental fluorosis), they also found association between fluoride in drinking water and reduction in caries experience. Since then the use of fluoride in optimum level has been a central issue in all programs seeking to harness its unique property to control and prevent dental caries. India is among the 23 nations around the globe, where health problems have been reported due to excessive fluoride in drinking water. In India occurrence of fluoride in ground water has been detected in 17 states. The country has a sizable number of people with high fluoride content in their blood; Uttar Pradesh ranks first in this regard. Highest natural fluoride level concentration reported being 38.50 mg/l in Haryana.4 In the Ganga alluvial plain, fluoride contamination has been reported by Indian state and central groundwater departments in a few districts like Unnao, Kanpur, and Agra.5 Jodhpur city comes under Jodhpur Tehsil of Jodhpur district of the state Rajasthan. The city has public water supply but still most of the population depends on ground water for their daily activities. People who consume ground water have higher chances of developing dental fluorosis because of the higher level of fluoride in deep ground water of the city as reported by the water department of Jodhpur district. No study showing the prevalence of dental fluorosis has been carried out in this region, keeping this in mind the study was under taken to know the prevalence of dental fluorosis among school going children in Jodhpur city.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Study population: Jodhpur is divided into 31 municipal wards according to the Census Report of 2001.The study population was selected by stratified cluster random sampling methodology. Sample size was determined by the formula based on the study population x = 4pqxN e2 (N-1) + 4pq Based on sample size slightly higher sample size of 1810 was selected to compensate for any kind of error during calculating the prevalence or permissible error. Sampling procedure: This study was conducted in Jodhpur city in two phases. In the first phase drinking water samples were collected from various sources from all the 31 wards and taken for estimation of fluoride. Fluoride estimation was done by chemical procedure at the water works department near kudi ka pul pali road, Jodhpur. Rajasthan. Later 31 wards in the city were divided into three groups on basis of varying fluoride concentration in drinking water, ‘below optimum level’ 9 wards, ‘optimum level’ 13 wards, ‘above optimum level’ 9 wards. Among 31 wards in Jodhpur city, there are 121 primary schools and 104 high schools as per the record in the District Education Departments. Schools from each fluoride group were randomly selected. A total of 1810 children of 5-6 years and 12-13 years old were examined out of total study population of 15, 500 children of the specified age groups, 605 from below optimum level, 603 from optimum level and 602 from above optimum level group. Children selected were permanent residents of Jodhpur city (since birth), aged between 5-6 and 12-13 years. Those suffering from any systemic illness, uncooperative or taking any type of oral abuse were excluded from the study. Before scheduling the present survey ethical clearance was obtained from institutional ethical clearance committee to conduct the study, also official permission was obtained from higher authorities at district level. Data collection: The structured Proforma was used to access dental fluorosis in the school children of Jodhpur city. The examination for dental fluorosis was carried out by the investigator who were assisted by a trained assistant during the examination (According to WHO Oral Health Survey Basic Methods 1999). Data was entered into computer and analyzed using (SPSS 11.5 version). Chi square test was used for comparison of fluorosis and various levels of fluoride concentration in drinking water.
The study subjects comprised of a total of 1810 school children aged 5-6 year’s and 12-13 year’s. They include 1003 (55.4%) males and 807 (44.5%) females. There were 856 (47.3%) subjects of age 5-6 year’s and 954 (52.7%) subjects of 12-13 year of age. Age and sex wise distribution of study subjects in relation levels of fluoride concentration in drinking water. Below optimum level (<0.7ppm) consisted of 333 (55%) males and 272 (45%) females. Out of 333 males included in this level 165 (52.7%) were 5-6 year old and 168 (57.7%) were of 12-13 year’s and out of 272 (45%) females in this level 148 (47.3%) were 5-6 year and 124 (42.6%) were 12-13 year old children. (Table 1) Shows prevalence of dental fluorosis according to levels of fluoride concentration in drinking water 29 (4.7%) subjects in below optimum level, 42 (7%) subjects in optimum level and 270 (44.8%) subjects in above optimum level were found to have dental fluorosis respectively. (Table 2) At above optimum level of fluoride concentration there were 110 subjects with dental fluorosis score 2 (very mild) and 77 subjects with fluorosis score 3 (mild). Where as only 3, 18 and 10, 12 subjects in the optimum level and below optimum level were found to have very mild and mild fluorosis score respectively. This difference was found to be highly significant (p<0.05). (Table 3) In 5-6 year old subjects it was found that at above optimum level there were 44 subjects with dental fluorosis. Where as only 4 and 5 subjects in the optimum level and below optimum level were found to have dental fluorosis respectively. This difference was found to be highly significant (p<0.05). (Table 4) In 12-13 year old subjects and it was found that at above optimum level there were 66 subjects with dental fluorosis. Where as only 9 and 25 subjects in the optimum level and below optimum level were found to have dental fluorosis respectively, this difference was found to be highly significant (p<0.05). When age and sex wise relation of dental fluorosis and level of fluoride concentration in drinking water was seen. It was observed that the children affected with dental fluorosis increases with the increase in level of concentration of fluoride in drinking water.
Fluoride plays an important role in caries prevention due to its cariostatic potential, however the excessive uninterrupted intake of fluoride for longer duration can have deleterious effect on teeth and bone’s leading to dental fluorosis or skeletal fluorosis. It is also documented that even at optimal level and below optimum level of fluoride in drinking water, dental fluorosis can be seen (Saravanan et al 2008)6. The prevalence of dental fluorosis in 5-6 and 12-13 year children was 11.44% and 25.47% respectively, irrespective of the level of fluoride concentration in drinking water. It is evident from the study that there is an increase in prevalence of dental fluorosis with increase of age, this finding was consistent with the findings of Larsen et al (1987)7reference missing, National Oral Health Survey and Fluoride Mapping (2002-03)8, Akpata et al (l997)9. This pattern might be due to increase exposure to other sources of fluoride, such as fluoride tooth paste and other fluoride prophylactic measures, consuming more of fluoridated water. However gender wise comparison of prevalence of dental fluorosis showed no statistical difference between male and female. When the dental fluorosis score of the children residing in areas with different level of fluoride concentration in drinking water in this study were compared it was found that children residing in area with the level of fluoride concentration in drinking water above optimum level had more dental fluorosis 270 (44.84%) as compared to children residing in areas with level of fluoride concentration in drinking water below optimum level 29 (4.7%) or optimum level 42 (7%). That might be due to the availability of fluoride to those children from drinking water and other sources of fluoride which exceeds the tolerance dose of fluoride against dental fluorosis. Findings of our study corresponds well with the finding of National Oral Health Survey and Fluoride Mapping (2002-03),8 Akpata et al (l997).9 In the present study, it was found that 37.2% of children residing in areas of above optimum level of fluoride concentration in drinking water had very mild to moderate dental fluorosis, where as only 5.4% of children residing in area with fluoride concentration of optimum fluoride level had very mild to moderate dental fluorosis and 3.9% of children residing in area with below optimum level of fluoride concentration in drinking water had very mild to moderate dental fluorosis. Where as in a study carried out by Grobler et al (1998)10 it was found that children residing in areas with high fluoride concentration in drinking water area had moderate to severe dental fluorosis in comparison to areas with optimum level of fluoride concentration in drinking water and below optimum level of fluoride concentration in drinking water. When the prevalence of dental fluorosis was correlated with the concentration of fluoride in drinking water, it was found that the number of children affected with dental fluorosis increases with the increase in level of concentration of fluoride in drinking water this finding is in correlation with the findings of Budipramana et al (2002)11, Neurath Canton (2005).12 In the present study it was observed that dental fluorosis is existed in very mild to moderate fluorosis form irrespective of the level of fluoride concentration in drinking water.
Dental fluorosis existed in very mild to moderate fluorosis form irrespective of the level of fluoride concentration in drinking water.
1. Park K. Parks Textbook of preventive and social medicine. Banarasi Das Bhanot. Publishers Jabalpur. 18th Ed, 2005.
2. Robert H, Selwitz, Ruth E, Nowjack Raymer, Albert Kingman Driscoll WS. Dental Caries and Dental Fluorosis among school children who were lifelong residents of communities having either low or optimal levels of Fluoride in drinking water. Journal of Public Health Dentistry.1998; 58: 64-70.
3. Fantaye Wondwossen, Anne Nordrehang Astrom Kgell Bzorvatn, Asgeir Bardsen. The relationship between Dental Caries and Dental Fluorosis in areas with moderate and high Fluoride drinking water in Ethiopia. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2004; 32: 337-344.
4. Rajiv Ranjan Jha. Fluoride rise in UP water alarming, Times of India Friday 02 January 2004.
5. A K Misra, A Mishra, Premraj. Escalation of groundwater fluoride in the Ganga alluvial plain of India. Research report Fluoride. 2006; 39, (1):35-38.
6. S.Saravanan, C Kalyani, MP Vijayarani, P Jayakodi, AJW Felix, S Naqarajan, P Arunrnozhi, V Krishnan. Prevalence of Dental Fluorosis among primary school children in rural areas of Chidambaram Taluk, Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India. Indian Journal of Community Medicine.2008;33, (3).
7. M. J. Larsen, E. Kirkegaard and S. Poulsen. Patterns of Dental Fluorosis in a European Country in Relation to the Fluoride Concentration of Drinking Water. J Dent Res. 1987; 66(1):10-12.
8. National Oral Health Survey and Fluoride Mapping 2002-2003 Dental Council of India 2004) New Delhi.
9. Akpata ES, Fakiha Z and Khan Z. Dental Fluorosis in 12- 15 years old rural children exposed to Fluorides from well drinking water in the hail region of Saudi Arabia. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 1997; 25: 324-327.
10. S. R. Grobler, A. J. Louw and T. J. Van W. Kotze. Dental fluorosis and caries experience in relation to three different drinking water fluoride levels in South Africa. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2001; 11: 372-379.
11. E. S. Budipramana, A. Hapsoro, E. S. Irmawati & S. Kuntari. Dental fluorosis and caries prevalence in the fluorosis endemic area of Asembagus, Indonesia. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2002; 12: 415- 422.
12. C. Neurath Canton. Tooth decay trends for 12 year olds in non-fluoridated and fluoridated countries. Fluoride. 2005; 38 (4):324-325 research report. | <urn:uuid:c5102457-fec5-4e2d-9d78-925c0075d169> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nacd.in/ijda/volume-03-issue-03/134-prevalence-of-dental-fluorosis-in-school-children-of-jodhpur-city | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94718 | 3,223 | 3.078125 | 3 |
I originally thought that I had the correct answer for this, by using the Basic Bond Formula and setting the two bonds equal to each other, and it worked. But then that I saw I had used a wrong r value. So I reworked it and now can't find the right answer..
A 6% $1000 par-value bond maturing in 8 years and having semiannual coupons is to be replaced by a 5.5% $1000 par bond, also with semiannual coupons. Both bonds are bought to yield 5% nominal interest convertible semiannually. In how many years should the new bond mature? Note both bonds have the same price as well as the same yield.
I have the problem set up with these variables for the Basic Bond Formula:
Bond 1: C=F=1000, j=.025, r=.03, n=16, P=?
Bond 2: C=F=1000, j=.025, r=.0275, n=2x, P=?
Hey guys I figured it out before anyone posted, so I figured I'd at least share the answer:
I set it up to find the P of bond 1, then used that P in bond 2 to find n.
That's how I set it up earlier when it wasn't working, but I must have just done a calculation wrong. | <urn:uuid:52787cfc-264a-46ae-bc34-672e30306ac8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reddit.com/r/actuary/comments/18bovg/fm_bonds_being_replaced_with_other_bonds/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96013 | 286 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Finally, they overreached. All too often, Congress’s Cold Warriors thwart changes in U.S.-Cuba policy and obstruct U.S. relations with Latin America – always with “red menace” rhetoric (think Obama and “appeasement”) at the ready. Few stand up to oppose them, which is costly to our national interest and the U.S. image in the region.
Consider the torment of Mari Carmen Aponte. She was confirmed this week as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador after years of obstruction. A Washington lawyer by training, a Hispanic activist born in Puerto Rico, she had ample qualifications to serve as Washington’s representative in San Salvador.
At the outset her nomination was stalled in the Senate due to decades’ old allegations about her relationship – that ended almost 20 years ago -with an man accused of being a spy for Cuba’s government. After months of delay and politically-charged accusations, President Obama gave her a recess appointment that lasted through the end of 2011. Until a cloture vote ended debate in the Senate this week, her nomination was given up for dead.
During her tenure in El Salvador, she built bridges to political figures and civil society leaders across that polarized society’s political spectrum. She hosted President Obama’s visit to El Salvador and another by Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Unlike ambassadors in previous decades, she is fluent in Spanish. Despite her interim appointment, Mari Carmen Aponte was effective, and she was applauded by Salvadorans, left and right.
And yet, the Cold Warriors played her nomination like a cat toy.They ignored her qualifications, her performance, and the centrality of the U.S.-El Salvador relationship – because they have an exaggerated sense of ownership of over U.S. policy, they oppose our relationship with El Salvador’s progressive left government and, frankly, because they could.
Finally, a political light bulb was illuminated over the heads of United States Senators with electricity provided by 400,000 voters in Florida of Puerto Rican descent.The obstructers, who, in their minds, stood on principle, suddenly adopted the “principle” of flexibility. Her nomination carried by a 62-37 margin, just enough to beat a filibuster. It should come as no surprise that Senator Marco Rubio of Florida switched sides and supported her to avoid undermining Latino relations in the Sunshine State in a very important presidential election year.
The Cold War Warriors will undoubtedly be back – attacking the State Department for giving Cubans visas to visit the U.S., attacking travel to Cuba, castigating Cardinal Ortega and the Catholic Church for negotiating with President Castro, raising alarms about security threats posed by the ALBA countries – because that is what they do.
They’re not always wrong.We share their concern for Cuban human rights activists recently detained in Cuba for their testimony phoned in from the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, one of whom was allegedly beaten, and are deeply concerned by reports at the deteriorating health of Alan Gross.
But they remain wrong about the big picture: wrong about the U.S. embargo against Cuba, wrong about engagement with nations with which we disagree, wrong about bullying nominees in pursuit of their own narrow political interests.
It’s great that someone had the good sense to remind Latinos in Florida that an eminently qualified nominee who shares their Puerto Rican heritage was being denied an appointment as ambassador by a willful minority that is still re-litigating the Cold War a generation after the Berlin Wall came down.
Let’s hope the light bulb stays on as a reminder that the best way to respond to people trying to intimidate you using really dated and foolish arguments is to stand up against them.
ING NV, a Dutch bank which faced charges of violating U.S. law primarily by doing business with Cuba, has settled its case and agreed to pay a fine of $619 million, reports the Associated Press. The settlement includes stipulations that prevent further action against the company by the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), all of which were investigating ING’s practices. A press release by the Treasury Department called the fine the “largest ever settlement reached in a sanctions case,” and said that the alleged violations involved a number of countries including not just Cuba, but also Iran, Myanmar, Sudan and Libya, Cuba Standard reports.
According to Treasury’s release, ING moved money through the U.S. financial system for Cuban and Iranian clients, and attempted to hide its involvement by intentionally deleting information regarding the transactions. The Treasury Department said that records indicate ING routed some $1.6 billion through U.S. banks illegally. ING was charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which empowers the President to regulate international trade in reaction to foreign threats, and the Trading with the Enemy Act, a part of the legal architecture which restricts trade with Cuba.
“Antunez,” the Cuban dissident José Luis García Pérez was detained and allegedly beaten after he testified by video conference before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from the U.S. Interests Section in Havana last Thursday, reports CNN. His wife, Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera, stated by phone that she was briefly detained when she attempted to see her husband, and that her husband was beaten and pepper-sprayed in his cell.
García Pérez was released from detention in the Villa Clara province four days later, and stated that he is free pending a trial on charges of “spreading false news, resistance, disobedience and assault,” reports EFE. He said that he could face up to ten years imprisonment for those charges.
According to news accounts, a second dissident who testified before the Committee was put under house detention.
In response to news of García Perez’s arrest, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Senator John Kerry stated:
I want to be crystal clear that I strongly condemn any efforts to intimidate Mr. Perez or any other Cuban citizen into silence. I echo the calls of my Senate colleagues, demanding an end to repression in Cuba and urging international observers to conduct an investigation into his detention.
Cuban authorities have made no comments regarding Mr. Perez’s detention.
In a statement released Wednesday, Peter Kahn, a lawyer for Alan Gross, stated that the Cuban government is withholding the results of medical tests performed on Gross and that Gross’ health is worsening, reports the Associated Press. Kahn sent a letter Monday to Mr. Jorge Bolaños, the Chief of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, to request the most recent test results so they can be reviewed by U.S. doctors.
On Thursday, the Obama administration called on the Cuban government to release Gross from custody due to health problems. Victoria Nuland, a State Department spokesperson, stated that Gross suffers from arthritis and is no longer able to walk about his cell, and reiterated requests for Gross’ medical records, reports Reuters.
A Miami federal judge approved an expedited timeline for Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht to challenge a new Florida statute that bans government agencies from contracting with firms that also do business in Cuba and Syria, reports the Associated Press. A hearing is scheduled for June 25th. The Florida-based subsidiary of Odebrecht is requesting that the judge issue a temporary injunction to prevent the law from taking effect on July 1, because the legislation could cause the company to lose billions of dollars in contracts. The suit claims that the legislation is unconstitutional because only the federal government has the power to set foreign policy, a principle affirmed in Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council in 2000.
The government of President Raúl Castro dismissed Medardo Díaz Toledo, the Minister of Information and Communication, and Tomás Benítez Hernández, the Minister of Basic Industry, a move announced without explanation in state newspaper Granma. Maimir Mesa Ramos, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Information and Communication, will replace Díaz Toledo, who will be reassigned to the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces. Alfredo López Valdés, Vice Minister of Basic Industry, will be promoted to Minister and Hernández will be reassigned to “other tasks.”
The dismissal of these officials comes after reports of corruption investigations and arrests in those sectors, though no official explanation was given, reports the Associated Press. Such investigations have been a priority in Cuba since President Castro declared his public crusade against corruption.
The number of Cubans connecting to national state-controlled intranet increased by over 40% in 2011, while mobile phone use increased 30%, reports Reuters. Cuba’s National Statistics Office (ONE) reported that in 2011, 2.6 million Cubans out of the total population of 11.2 million were using the Internet (though most use the state-controlled Intranet), up from 1.8 million in 2010. ONE also reported that there are 783,000 personal computers in the country and about half are state-owned. According to the report, as of 2011, 1.3 million Cubans use mobile phones, an increase from 1 million in 2010.
Despite these significant increases, the United Nations International Telecommunications Union rates Cuba as the worst provider of telecommunications in Latin America. A fiber optic cable was connected from Venezuela to Cuba in February 2011 to provide Cuba with faster Internet downloads and the ability to simultaneously handle millions of phone calls. Though Venezuelan officials have reported the cable is working, Cuba’s government has made no mention of the cable of late and there is no evidence that it is working.
Cuban state TV announced that 1.16 million Cubans, around 10% of the population, are suffering from water shortages, reports EFE. Havana is one of the areas most affected by the shortage, largely due to a deteriorated water supply infrastructure. Cuba’s National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) reports that 50-58% of water distributed throughout the country fails to reach its destination due to leaks in supply pipes. In the report, the INRH said it is implementing a project to restore water pipes in 11 Cuban cities, adding that the project is “very complex” because “difficulties have accumulated for years.”
Cuba’s government announced a plan to increase renewable energy production by 12% over the next eight years, reports EFE. The new plan will work to develop forest biomass, biogas, sugarcane, solar, wind, and hydraulic energy as sources of renewable energy, with the sugar industry acting as a significant contributor to the plan. In 2011, Cuba produced almost four million tons of petroleum and natural gas, which was primarily used to generate electricity.
If successful, offshore drilling operations currently taking place off Cuba’s coast could also give a huge boost to domestic oil production and lessen dependence on Venezuela, which provides subsidized oil to Cuba in an oil-for-doctors program.
Cuba experienced an increase in air pollutants from November 2008 to April 2010, according to data collected by Cuba’s national surveillance network, state newspaper Granma reports. Increased levels of sulfate and nitrate emissions from local industries in Cuba caused the air quality to deteriorate, leading to higher incidences of acid rain in the eastern provinces of Holguín, Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba. According to the article, the Center for Pollution and Atmospheric Chemistry (CECONT) in Cuba is in the process of determining the maximum amount of emissions for sectors that are most responsible for the deterioration in air quality in an effort to decrease air pollution.
CUBA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS
Rodrigo Malmierca, Cuba’s Foreign Trade Minister, met with French business representatives during a stopover in Paris on the way home from his recent tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait, reports Cuba Standard. According to a Cuban government press release, the meeting, held at the headquarters of MEDEF International, a public-private business organization, was an opportunity to continue negotiations following a visit by a MEDEF delegation to Cuba in March.
Sri Lankan President in Cuba
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is visiting Cuba, reports Sri Lanka’s Daily News. A Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between the two countries to enhance academic cooperation in the study of International Relations. President Rajapaksa will continue on to the Rio+20 Summit afterwards, reports AFP..
S. M. Krishna, India’s External Affairs Minister, traveled today to Cuba to meet with Cuban leadership and chair the annual Latin American and Caribbean Regional Heads of Indian Missions Conference in Havana, reports Indian Express. The conference will take place June 16-17. Krishna will also discuss bilateral, regional and international issues with Bruno Rodríguez, Cuba’s External Affairs Minister, and meet with other Cuban leaders during the trip.
Around the Region
The Senate confirmed Mari Carmen Aponte, President Obama’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, this Thursday after a lengthy approval process, the AP reports. Aponte’s confirmation came six months after her appointment was considered dead due to Republican opposition.
After Central Florida’s Puerto Rican residents pressured Senator Rubio (R-FL) to support Aponte, who is Puerto Rican, he broke ranks with conservative Republicans to ensure her confirmation, reports the Orlando Sentinel. Republican Senators originally opposed Aponte citing rumors that a former boyfriend was a Cuban spy, and criticizing an op-ed she wrote during her recess appointment as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador defending gay rights.
President Obama’s recess appointment of Ms. Aponte ended in December 2011. The Senate voted 62-37 Thursday to stop debate and move towards approving Aponte. The White House issued a press release in which President Obama expressed his support for Aponte and his confidence that she will continue to have a positive impact on the U.S. relationship with El Salvador.
Mariela Castro on Ending Embargo & Swapping Cuban Five for Jailed U.S. Contractor
Alan Gross, an interview with Democracy Now!
Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro, calls on the U.S. to release five Cubans jailed for spying on anti-Cuban militants in Florida in exchange for Alan Gross, a U.S. citizen jailed in Cuba: “I want the Cuban Five to go back to Cuba and for Alan Gross to go home,” [Mariela] Castro says. “I want an end to the financial, commercial and economic blockade that violates the human rights of the Cuban people, and the normalization of relations between both countries.”
Cuba’s cardinal under fire for comments , Paul Haven, the Associated Press
“For months, Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega has been under fire: called a lackey and political ally of Raul Castro’s communist government, asked to resign over his treatment of protesters and ridiculed in Miami as a snobby elitist. Now, Cuba’s Roman Catholic Church is fighting back. Church officials on the island have launched a full-throated defense of their leader, and Catholic publications have harshly denounced his critics. Analysts say the increasingly virulent back-and-forth is extremely unusual on an island where the church has traditionally preferred to exercise influence quietly, behind the scenes.”
Cuba’s next step on capitalist road: advertising, the Associated Press
“For decades there’s been no such thing as a commercial radio or TV spot in Cuba. Ditto for billboards, website banner ads, and newspaper classifieds. It can be a refreshing change from the global marketing onslaught, but the lack of traditional advertising opportunities creates a problem for the thousands of budding entrepreneurs who have embraced President Raul Castro’s push for limited free-market reform. It’s one thing to open your own business, but how to let potential customers know you exist?” | <urn:uuid:e021a1f8-4db1-4cc6-8b81-af5b63642a75> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cubacentral.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/cold-warriors-in-the-congress-and-the-lessons-of-overreach/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959046 | 3,347 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Health and Social Care Act
On Tuesday 27th March 2012, the Health and Social Care Bill gained Royal Assent from the Queen to become the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and is now law.
It is the single most extensive reorganisation of health services since the NHS was founded over 60 years ago. As a Bill, it underwent over 200 hours of Parliamentary scrutiny and was subject to over 1,000 amendments.
The core principles of the Act aim to allow doctors and nurses will be able to tailor services for their patients, give more choice to patients over how they are treated, and reduce bureaucracy in the NHS.
Throughout the Bill process, the Patients Association was very involved in ensuring that the patient voice was always heard in the debates. We worked with MPs, peers, the Department of Health, the NHS Future Forum and other bodies, telling them what patients were most concerned about in the Bill.
So what does the passage of the Health and Social Care Act actually mean?
What the coalition wanted:
• GPs to take responsibility for £60bn of NHS funds
• Competition to be extended to more NHS services
• Reduced bureaucracy and fewer managers
• An increased role for the private sector
• Backing from every professional group involved.
What they have had to compromise on:
• NHS professionals such as hospital consultants and nurses being given greater say in spending
• Competition limited to quality not price
• More managers to look into perceived risks
• All providers to be assessed for their suitability to run services.
The shape of things to come:
• Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) replacing primary care trusts
• CCGs deciding upon care for patients, advising them where to go for treatment and paying the bills
• Some of the day-to-day control of the NHS passing to the new NHS Commissioning Board, which will manage the CCGs at a national and local level
• Responsibility for public health issues like obesity, smoking and alcohol abuse being handed to local councils
• All hospitals becoming foundation trusts and competing for treatment contracts from CCGs
• The cap on how much hospitals can earn from private patients rising from as little as 1.5% to 49%
In May 2011, in responses to concerns about the Bill from patients and professionals, the Government announced a pause in the progress of the Bill through parliament. We decided to take stock and carried out a survey and six independent Listening Events to find out your views about the proposed changes to the NHS. Over 1,000 patients, carers and members of the public responded to our survey and our Listening Events were attended by over 200 members of the public. We found that patients do want improvements to the NHS, with a reduction in bureaucracy and waste, but that they don’t believe the reforms will achieve this. Patients also want a stronger local voice, but feel the proposal for HealthWatch as the mechanism to achieve this will not work, as it is not resourced properly and is to be carried out by volunteers. The move to ‘any qualified provider’ and GP commissioning are also seen by patients to be moving the focus away from patients and towards the commercial side of healthcare. Shared decision-making and choice are welcomed by patients but they need to be backed up by information so that patients are empowered to be involved in their healthcare. To read our report on the Listening Events and survey click here.We could not have achieved our Listening Events without the help of our members and also our wonderful Ambassadors who helped coordinate the Events. Our thanks go to:
And Sheila Try
To read our Listening Exercise report, please click here
Commissioning of the majority of services will move from Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and fall to groups of GP practices, called GP consortia (renamed as Clinical Commissioning Groups). Many callers to our Helpline are concerned about GPs holding 80% of the NHS budget and are worried that GPs will be spending so much time balancing the books that they will be spending less time with patients. Patients are also concerned that GPs will buy in the cheapest service instead of the one that offers the most clinical benefits to patients.
We did......a survey of GP consortia and a round table meeting to pull together a Blueprint of what good patient engagement looks like when commissioning services.
Public Bill Committee
We also submitted our responses to the Bill committee regarding the reforms. You can read more about our submissions to the Public Bill Committee here. | <urn:uuid:9c37f1d0-355f-4ad6-a514-ed4743f014f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.patients-association.com/Default.aspx?tabid=92 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963354 | 920 | 2.390625 | 2 |
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE CZECHOSLOVAK AND CUBAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICESCITATION SHARE DOWNLOAD
get citationThe report introduces Czechoslovak's assistance in the Operation MANUEL after the isolation of socialist Castro regime. Cuba looked for alternative routes in Europe in order to promote and influence the revolutionary movement in Latin America. Czechoslovakia assistance in the operation is of a strictly technical nature and its intelligence service is doing its utmost to protect the interests of the country by securing all technical matters. The report says that terminating the assistance was not possible for both practical and political reasons-- all direct flights between Czechoslovakia and Cuba would be suspended and a drastic cooling off of relations between two governments. Czechoslovak's refusal in assisting the operation would be interpreted as a political decision to suspend assistance to the national liberation movement in Latin America countries. However, the reports says that the assistance of Czechoslovak intelligence service to the operation is in no way amounts to agreeing with its political content and constitutes a minor aspect of intelligence work. The Soviet intelligence was also involved in organizing the operation in Moscow and offered assistance to its Cuban counterpart."Cooperation between the Czechoslovak and Cuban Intelligence Services" January 11, 1967, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, Archives of the Ministry of the Interior, Czech Republic, Prague. Obtained for CWIHP by Oldrich Tuma and translated for CWIHP by Ruth Tosek. http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/112974
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Appendix to ref. No. A/00/10-67
Excerpt from the report
“Cooperation between the Czechoslovak and Cuban intelligence services”
/submitted to the Minister of Interior under ref. No. A/0028/10-67 to the Head of the 8th Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, on January 11, 1967
Assistance in ensuring the Operation MANUEL
The main reason for introducing this operation was the isolation of Cuba which became even more acute following the revelation of the socialist nature of the Castro regime. The severing of relations between Latin America and Cuba was accompanied by breaking off transport communications and, in their attempt to promote and influence the revolutionary movement in Latin America the Cubans had to look for alternative routes through Europe, where US attempts to isolate Cuba were not successful. In the initial stage of the operation we assisted in securing the conspiratorial transit of a group of Venezuelan partisans who were returning in December 1962 from a training session in Cuba. This one-off request by our Cuban friends, which tested the security of the transit, was followed by a request for assistance for other groups of Latin Americans as well; for the long-term this was confirmed in the negotiations mentioned above. The number of participants in transit varies depending on the international situation and on the internal conditions in Latin America. Between the inauguration of the operation and the end of November 1966 the Czechoslovak intelligence service enabled 753 participants to pass through Czechoslovakia in transit.
(Note: up to 1.11.1967, the total number had risen to 913).
Our assistance in the operation is of a strictly technical nature and it involves the following:
a) the resident's office of the Czechoslovak intelligence service in Havana receiving information from the Cuban intelligence service about the arrival of participants in Czechoslovakia, together with the necessary data which it passes on to the centre and, in accordance with its instructions, acts in collaboration with the Cuban representatives on current problems and shortcomings, discovered in the implementation of the operation in Prague;
b) two appointed officials of the Czechoslovak intelligence serviced in Prague, legalized to participants of the operation as employees of an unspecified Cuban organization who are directly responsible for the technical aspects of the transit.
The composition of the participants varies and reflects the situation in the national liberation movement in Latin America, the organizational strength and role of its individual sections. The view which individual communist parties hold on armed struggle is demonstrated by their more active or less active role in the selection of participants (in the past the Communist Parties of Colombia, Guatemala, Venezuela and, to some extent Argentina carried out the selection themselves); the views of these parties are also demonstrated by the attitude they adopt to the operation as a whole. The predominant orientation of Cuba on the subject of armed struggle is demonstrated by the fact that in its search for allies it does not concentrate merely on forces with a socialist orientation and, whenever it finds itself in conflict with communist parties, it also uses other organizations and trends, at times even fractional, anti-Party (pro-Chinese) and nationalist groups when selecting participants. This explains why in addition to sincere revolutionaries (including members and officials of Communist Parties), the groups of participants even include people with tendencies to adventurism, others who see their participation as a tourist venture and even those who belong to hostile agencies. Even though on arrival in Cuba participants have to undergo training in special centres before being selected and have to go through a screening waiting period, they have included a number of outright agents of enemy intelligence services (according to the information provided by the chief of the training centre, a Dominican participant betrayed in 1964 and publicly renounced his revolutionary activities at a press conference). That same year an official of the intelligence service, responsible for the preparation of participants from Central America, defected from Cuba. The Czechoslovak intelligence service has no possibility of exercising any influence on the selection, and the Cubans themselves claim that they, too, are not able to influence the selection since this is regarded as the exclusive responsibility of individual organizations of the national liberation movement in Latin America.
The Operation MANUEL is a complicated and politically sensitive affair primarily because its operation is at times in outright contradiction with the line of Communist Parties in Latin America and places Czechoslovakia into the position of a transfer station for revolutionaries sent out; articles about Czechoslovakia in this sense have already appeared in the foreign press. Our participation has taken this danger into consideration and every effort is being made to protect the interests of Czechoslovakia; the logical conclusion is the need to protect those involved in the operation and the undeniable fact that they are for the most part sincerely progressive people who at times make political mistakes. The Czechoslovak intelligence service has neither the right nor the possibility to judge any objections which communist parties raise against the operation. The leaderships of certain communist parties have reservations regarding the selection of the participants, but many of their members and officials have used and still use the transit routes under the operation, judging by the fact that many participants are demanding contacts with comrade Fortuny (Guatemalan CP), comrade Carreras (Venezuelan CP), comrade Otero (Bolivian CP) and that in October 1966 the Argentinean Communist Party even dispatched one of its officials to Prague to deal with the transit of a group of participants.
The Czechoslovak intelligence service is doing its utmost to protect the interests of Czechoslovakia by securing all technical matters concerning the people in# transit. By verifying, possibly adapting chosen travel routes, by offering basic instructions on the regime of travel at transit locations, by confiscating damaging material (Cuban passports, propaganda material, etc.), in rare instances by modifying faulty travel documents, we are reducing the risks to a minimum. The disclosure of certain working methods to possible enemy agents is balanced by the protection of honest participants in the operation against being revealed.
Calling off our assistance in the Operation MANUEL would not solve the major risks for Czechoslovakia; on the contrary, these risks would only become greater. The choice of Prague as a transit station for the participants in the Operation MANUEL has been determined by objective conditions of international links with Cuba, which do not depend on us. Apart from our airlines, the only other companies flying to Cuba are Cuban airlines, Soviet Aeroflot, the Spanish Iberia and Mexican airlines; of these only flights to Prague and Moscow are suitable for the purpose of the operation. Consequently, if we should stop taking part in the operation, its participants would pass through Prague as ordinary passengers and would receive their instructions from the Cuban residentura in Prague which is not capable of handling all their requirements as well as the Czechoslovak intelligence service is able to do by using all its professional and technical facilities. The fact that the handling would be done by the Cubans themselves in no way reduces the responsibility and vulnerability of Czechoslovakia as a transfer station for the transit of the participants in the Operation MANUEL on their way to Latin America. Unprofessional handling only substantially increases the risk.
The necessity for a professional solution of the problems is borne out by many examples; even in the recent past when the above-mentioned official of the Central Committee of the Argentinean CP, who was ignorant of the situation and was not prepared to allow anyone to interfere with his work, caused complications which could have seriously endangered participants abroad.
The total and definite cessation of the operation is out of the question since this could be carried out only by suspending all direct flights between Czechoslovakia and Cuba and by a ban imposed on the activities of members of the Cuban intelligence service at the Cuban Embassy in Prague, in other words, by resorting to acts hostile to the Cuban Republic.
Apart from these practical aspects, it is essential to consider also the political aspects since the mere refusal to offer further assistance to the Operation MANUEL would result in a drastic cooling off of relations with Cuba, not only with regard to the Ministry of Interior but as a whole, because leading Cuban representatives regard the Operation MANUEL as a commitment of fundamental significance towards the national liberation movement; the highest representatives, including Fidel Castro, deal with participants prior to their journey abroad and our refusal would be interpreted as a political decision to suspend assistance to the national liberation movement in the countries of Latin America.
Updating the report as of 1.11.1967
Prospects of the operation:
The liquidation of certain partisan centres, the arrest or betrayal of participants (in part possibly under the psychological influence of setbacks suffered by the movement of late) have given counter-revolutionary groups in the countries of Latin America and in the US further material on the course of events in connection with the Operation MANUEL. It cannot be ruled out that people who have been infiltrated by the enemy to participate in the operation, as agents will be exploited for propaganda purposes so that their revelations would further step up the campaign directed both against Cuba as well as the socialist camp countries. This tendency can be confirmed by the case of the traitor Caraquela who allegedly contacted the Venezuelan authorities in October last year and whose testimony was used in August 1967 as one of the documentary materials for the negotiations of the Organization of American States on “the Cuban subversive activities in Latin America”. A detailed account of the travel routes used by the participants in the Operation MANUEL contained in his testimony, as well as certain cases of betrayal in the past, demonstrate that the operation is and will be under surveillance so that the hopes of its participants for an unrecorded return to their mother countries are relatively small. The deterioration of the situation and the increasing risks of the operation emerge also from the makeup of the travelling participants. While during the first years they consisted mostly of people of good qualities, expertise and devotion to the revolutionary movement, it is increasingly evident that nowadays more and more people using the route are of lower intelligence and to an increasing extent even those for whom it is likely that a paid trip across Europe to Cuba is a far stronger motivation than interest in the revolutionary struggle.
One must, therefore, expect further arrests of participants, regardless of whether they have travelled in the past or are travelling at present, and it is likely that as a result of such repression the transit of many more people through Czechoslovakia and the assistance provided during their clearance for dispatch will be exposed. In this connection, one must expect that Czechoslovakia may again be accused of tolerating the operation or supporting it outright.
Position of the Soviet intelligence service:
At meetings of representatives of the 1st Administration of the Ministry of Interior and of the Soviet intelligence service held in Moscow in June 1967 discussions took place on the assistance which the Soviet friends are offering the Cuban intelligence service. It became clear in the talks that the Soviet friends, too, participated in organizing the Operation MANUEL in Moscow. Our political evaluation is in full accord with the assessment of the Soviet friends, and the Soviet friends participate in the operation since this is inevitable in the same way as the Czechoslovak intelligence service. Essentially they do not wish to create complication which would be unavoidable in the event of a refusal and the Cubans would see this as a fundamentally negative response to help for the national liberation movement in Latin America.
Operation MANUEL- the Czechoslovak intelligence service sees the operation as a practical expression of Cuban theoretical concepts on the decisive role of armed uprisings in developing countries that have become the foundations of Cuba's foreign policy and have been enshrined in the conclusions of the Tri-continental Conference last year in Havana. This line does not take fully into consideration the objective situation in the Latin American countries, and instead of concentrating on well-considered political work, oriented at risky armed activities which cannot count on broader political support, gamble with human and material resources, frequently compromise and isolate progressive forces and cause considerable moral and political damage. Basically, this line comes close to the Chinese understanding of the tasks and forms of the work of the international communist movement and is, consequently, backed by certain factions in the Latin American countries. The assistance which the Czechoslovak intelligence service provides the Operation MANUEL is in no way amounts to agreeing with its political content and constitutes no more than a marginal and minor aspect of intelligence work. That is why special officials have been selected for its implementation; we are consistently isolating this activity from the work of the I. Administration of the Ministry of the Interior. The actual handling of the operation involves various matters of a technical and operational nature, which are open to question and require a tactful approach when dealing with the Cuban intelligence service.
In the light of this unfavourable political character of the operation and with a view to the objective situation, a choice must be made between the following two options in our approach to the Operation MANUEL:
Terminate our assistance in the organization of the Operation MANUEL in view of the above-mentioned political nature of the operation, which provokes complaints by representatives of communist parties in Latin America and damages Czechoslovakia. This measure would have to be conveyed and explained to the Cuban side on an appropriate political level either in Prague or in Havana (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and not by liaison officials of the intelligence services.
Advantages of termination:
a) We would put an end in part to complaints raised against Czechoslovakia on an international level.
b) We would get rid of all responsibilities for its technical organization; we could release two of our special officials and we would save the expenses incurred by the sojourn of the participants in Czechoslovakia. The financial savings would, however, not be substantial since the Cubans themselves cover the decisive part in hard currency e.g. travel expenses, accommodation in hotels (unless our conspiratorial apartments are used), food, purchase of clothing, etc.
Disadvantages of termination:
a) The termination of our assistance would have a considerable political impact since the Cuban Government regards the operation as a fundamental form of assistance to the national liberation movement in Latin America. Refusal to offer assistance would, therefore, not be connected only with the Ministry of Interior and the intelligence service but with the overall attitude of Czechoslovakia and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia to the national liberation movement and towards Cuba, and would inevitably be reflected in a general acute worsening of relations between states.
b) The operation would continue without our participation. The Cubans themselves would organize it and its participants would act as tourists in Czechoslovakia, or as normal passengers on international airline flights. The operation could be terminated in an effective manner only by radical steps directed against Cuba, for example, by suspending flights to Cuba, introducing strict controls of the Cuban Embassy in Prague and restricting its activities, etc. – otherwise it is impossible to stop the transit.
c) Risks for Czechoslovakia would diminish neither in relations with communist parties nor in relations with capitalist countries because Prague would continue to be the halfway stop on a transfer station and Czechoslovakia would be accused of at least tolerating the operation.
d) There will be increased risks for the participants of the operation in view of inadequate instructions, travel with two passports (up till now passports have been exchanged in Czechoslovakia where Cuban passports which were taken away from the participants were returned to our friends), travel with flawed documents and an inadequate knowledge of travel routes as well as of the control regime at transit localities outside Czechoslovakia.
e) Apart from an enemy agency, the operation will be exposed by the exposing of honest participants that will occur because of the said shortcomings. Such exposures could well be used in propaganda against Czechoslovakia whereas reports by enemy agents are generally concealed in view of their security and cannot be used for propaganda purposes straight away.
Continue assistance to the Operation MANUEL, while fully aware of its adverse political aspects and take the following measures:
1) Discuss the situation with representatives of Latin American communist parties which are affected by the operation (through the International Department of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Communist Party), learn their main comments and suggestions for eliminating or reducing risk factors. Inform them of our position as a travel crossroad towards Cuba and the consequent impossibility of preventing the transit of participants in the operation without taking hostile steps against Cuba (suspending flights, control and restriction of the activities of the Cuban Embassy in Prague, etc.); this would be accompanied by jeopardizing mutual relations and in the final analysis would reinforce the adventuristic tendencies of the Cubans.
2) Discuss the Operation MANUEL at Party level with representatives of the Cuban Communist Party with a view to improving the selection of participants and excluding persons who have not been approved. Explain the fundamental risks, which are unjustifiable for all parties involved (Cuba, the national liberation movement in Latin America and Czechoslovakia) and do not make up for the possible contribution which these people are able to offer the revolutionary movement.
3) Agencies of the Czechoslovak intelligence services – the resident in Havana – will discuss the following organizational measures with the Cuban Ministry of Interior:
a) Not increasing the number of participants dispatched in light of the realistic possibilities of the existing travel channels. Adapting the number to the concrete international situation, which may require limiting or at moments of crises total temporary termination of the operation;
b) Reducing the size of groups to 3-4 and a maximum of two nationalities, not to send family members of the participants but instead leave the organization of their travel to the Cuban Embassy in Prague;
c) Improving the quality of travel documents, provide better briefing when contacting our staff in Prague and improve all material facilities.
4) Increase the control and improve the quality of the registration of participants in transit by technical measures. | <urn:uuid:982e8673-cef9-437f-9e65-11f40090f60e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/112974 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958813 | 3,935 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Virginia Newspaper Project
The Virginia Newspaper Project is part of United States Newspaper Program, a national effort to locate, describe, inventory, preserve, and provide public access to the United States imprint newspapers housed in the commonwealth.
The Virginia Newspaper Project is sponsored by and headquartered at the Library of Virginia. Using grant funds made available through the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Virginia Newspaper Project was established at the Library of Virginia in 1993. The University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary, and the Virginia Historical Society have served as co-sponsors.
A Bibliography of American Newspapers cataloged and inventoried by the Virginia Newspaper Project. For current newspaper titles, please search the main catalog for the most up to date holdings information.
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Search Foreign Imprints | <urn:uuid:da9f31b1-64a4-4d74-9e42-fa31b1d5ffae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/vnp/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926318 | 177 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Post Secondary Options
“I chose my school based on my schedule at the time of enrollment. I was newly injured and had surgeries scheduled that would hinder my ability to attend a physical campus.”
When choosing a college, consider what is important to you and take into account your individual goals, preferences, support needs, and financial resources. There are many great choices available to you, and you can increase the likelihood of making the best choice for you by thinking about:
- Do you want to go to a two- or four-year college or university, a technical school, or an on-line program?
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- How important is:
- Campus size
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- The number of students in each class
- The degree programs available
- School location
- Admissions requirements
- Graduation rates
- Services to veterans
You may not get everything you want in one college, so you will have to prioritize what is most important to you. | <urn:uuid:0a414829-88b1-402e-82fb-c92805cb4fc1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wearevirginiaveterans.org/Vets-on-Campus/College-Entrance/Post-Secondary-Options.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96637 | 211 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Montana - Fishing, Guides, Charters, Bait Information
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For those interested in fishing in the state of Montana, United States, you'll find 15,178 bodies of water where fishing may be possible, such as Browns Lake, Clark Canyon Reservoir and Little Bitterroot Lake among many others. Fishing for Bullhead, Brook Trout or Brown Trout or one of the other 24 fish found in this state? We can help you find the fish, tell you what they're biting, and who's catching them. So get your fly fishing gear, baitcasting setup, trolling equipment, or spincasting gear out and find your new favorite fishing spot in Montana. All that, including links to your local fish and wildlife websites, record catches for a location, photos, GPS coordinates for where they are biting, and so much more. So what are you waiting for? | <urn:uuid:b8e18645-ec1e-454f-ad7a-6412daf0ca2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hookandbullet.com/s/fishing-montana/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90124 | 358 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Hope in the deep
The Fiji Times
Saturday, October 22, 2011
DAKUWAQA will be a happy fish, so too his keepers.
The ancient shark god ù who Fijians believe still roams our waters and upholds his end of the bargain to protect his people and their livelihood in the reefs ù may finally see his deal with humans on paper.
The Ministry of Primary Industries' Department of Fisheries and Forests will forward a proposal, which is being drafted, to Cabinet soon for legislation to ban the commercial fishing and trade of sharks and their parts, including fins.
If it is passed, new legislation could be in place before year's end.
The Gone Turaga Bale na Tui Cakau, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, who has a strong traditional link to the shark god, has given his support for a national shark sanctuary in his capacity as the traditional leader of the Tovata Confederacy.
His yavusa Ai Sokula (clan) comes from the lineage of the Gone Mai Wai, whose twin was a shark and is known as Dakuwaqa, also referred to as the Gone Mai Wai.
Ratu Naiqama's Cakaudrove Province is already a shark sanctuary, from the Somosomo Strait across to the other side of Vanua Levu and to the furthest islands North.
The people of Cakaudrove have an obligation to protect the sharks, who they believe, will in turn protect them and the reefs which they feed on.
Like Ratu Naiqama, the heads of the Kubuna and Burebasaga confederacies also support the designation of Fijian waters for shark conservation.
Traditional leaders have given their support to the Fisheries Ministry, as well as the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) and the Pew Environment Group, non-profit organisations that next week will step up the campaign to raise community awareness about the importance of sharks in Fiji.
Matt Rand, the director of Global Shark Conservation for the Pew Environment Group, said a national shark sanctuary in Fiji would be a huge victory "for these animals".
"This action would close down a major hub in the Pacific for the trafficking of fins and highlight Fiji as home to the world's second-largest shark sanctuary," he said in a joint statement from CORAL and Pew.
The proposed Fiji National Shark Sanctuary, encompassing the country's 1.3-million-square-kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone, will be the first of its kind in the West Pacific.
It is modelled after similar conservation measures in the Marshall Islands, Palau, the Maldives, Honduras, the Bahamas, and Tokelau.
According to the Fisheries Department annual reports, the country's exports in 2003 were 180 tonnes of shark products.
Most of Fiji's sharks' fins are exported.
Traditionally Fijians don't eat sharks but this has changed in recent times with shark meat being used for fish and chips and sold to unsuspecting people. With the rise in the trade of fins, shark meat used to be sold openly at the Suva Market.
This changed slowly as awareness campaigns led by Sharkman Ratu Manoa Rasigatale and members of CORAL went across the country to schools and villages.
"We made a presentation to all the roko from around Fiji at their meeting at Nadave and they have given us their 100 per cent support. We are gaining momentum and look forward to the day we have legislation to protect sharks," said Rasigatale.
"Fijians must treasure this cultural link with the sharks. They have protected us all this time and it is time we stood up to protect them from the greed of people."
Rick MacPherson, the conservation programs director at CORAL, said Fijians have a long history of supporting locally managed-marine areas.
"This strong cultural connection to the reefs makes our job easier as we work alongside the Fijian community to develop an effective sanctuary for sharks that benefits both the marine ecosystem and the people who rely on it," he said in a statement.
"This shark movement is an excellent opportunity for us to use our resources to unite a nation to protect marine ecosystems."
Sharks are significant to the health of coral reefs.
Shark scientist Demian Chapman, PhD, from the Stony Brook University in New York, provided an assessment of the sharks' fin trade for fisheries officials in Suva and highlighted the need to protect the ancient predators.
"A reef without sharks is a sick reef," Mr Chapman said in the statement.
As top ocean predators, sharks regulate the populations of prey species and potentially the overall health of the ocean, according to Mr Chapman.
Falling populations of these animals might even lead to general coral reef decline.
"There is a clear empirical association between thriving shark populations and healthy coral reef ecosystems," he said.
Mr Chapman found that the sharks' fin trade in Suva includes the sale of thousands of fins from sharks that are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, such as scalloped hammerhead (endangered) and silky, blacktip reef, and bull sharks (all near threatened).
His assessment also found trade in fins from shark species that live and breed on the reef, and are important for ecotourism.
Earlier this year, the Australian Institute for Marine Studies found that reef sharks in Palau contribute nearly US$18 million annually to the national economy through diving and associated tourism activities.
A similar analysis in French Polynesia found that an individual lemon shark has a lifetime value of more than $US300,000, a significantly higher figure than if it had been caught for its fins.
"A living shark is worth far more than a dead shark," said Mr Rand.
On Monday, the awareness campaign steps up with its launch at Suva's Village 6 Cinemas by the Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
It includes the screening of a 30-minute documentary called Shark Hope.
It is about the plight of Fiji's sharks and efforts to protect them, chronicles their importance to Fiji's culture through myths and stories, as well as the critical role they play in maintaining a healthy marine environment.
The film features Ratu Naiqama and Sharkman Rasigatale, a Fijian cultural icon, former senator, and reality television personality.
Support shark conservation and the protection of Fiji's reefs. Send your comments to firstname.lastname@example.org
Fji Times article: http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=183911 | <urn:uuid:7ffd4405-ec40-4315-9b0e-15635e7d67d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oceanconservationscience.org/media/2011/mc_2011.10.22.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952576 | 1,395 | 2.03125 | 2 |
all about bicycling in the Netherlands
The longest cycle bridge of South-Holland. That’s how the media introduced the brand new 600 meter (1968.5ft) long cycle bridge that was opened on 26th October last. It connects the town of Spijkenisse to the Rotterdam Port area to the north. Building had started in April 2010 and this new bridge cost 21 million euros. It was paid for by the “stadsregio” (Rotterdam metropolitan area) and the province of South-Holland.
The cycle bridge is called Hartelfietsbrug (Hartel cycle bridge) because it crosses the Hartelkanaal (Hartel canal). A spokesperson called the new bridge a big improvement for cyclists because it makes cycling more convenient and safer since this bridge puts cyclists further away from car traffic than the original separated cycle path right next to the busy road on the existing bridge did.
But he is also crystal clear about another reason, which is that the road for motorised traffic has to be widened from three lanes (two single lanes and one alternate lane) to a road with four lanes (two lanes in each direction). Because the road cannot handle the increasing motorised traffic. Removing the cycle path from the existing bridge gives exactly enough room for the extra lane.
To a cynic or someone with a ‘glass-half-empty-mentality’ this could be seen as “proof” that the Dutch are actually car-centric and that all they want is ‘getting cyclists out of the way of car traffic’. But is that really how you should see this?
Well no of course not. What you see here is how the integral transport approach in the Netherlands works. The goal of the approach is to make transportation in a region possible. Transportation has to be understood in the broadest sense of the word. Cycling is one part of it and so are public transport, professional transport and private motorised transport. If there is a problematic bottleneck in one part of the system (local) governments will look for a solution in the entire system. Improving cycling conditions can lead to less congestion so Dutch authorities do indeed build cycling infrastructure to decrease (motor)traffic congestion. Just this week a network between Rotterdam, Delft and some smaller municipalities was finished. This network of 15 kilometers (9 miles) of new fast convenient and safe cycle paths, with 12 new bicycle tunnels, was built “to reduce congestion on the roads and to contribute to a better health for the people of the province of South-Holland“. See article (quirky Google translation).
In this case it was thought best to build a new cycle bridge and use the room on the old bridge for the expansion of the road. Earlier I showed you an example where motorised traffic was diverted and more room for public transport and cycling was created.
Hartelfietsbrug does not look very spectacular but looks deceive. It was built in between the car bridge and a storm surge barrier. Because of the latter it was impossible to drill a foundation so the bridge was screwed on and glued to that storm surge barrier. This had never been done on such a large scale.
To reach this bridge I had to cycle from the nearest railway station. Which was in Vlaardingen-Oost, about 12 kilometers away. The ride took me through the Beneluxtunnel of which you could see my video earlier. The ride took me also through the large Rotterdam port area with all the petrochemical industry. It is interesting that the large oil refineries can be reached by good cycle infrastructure. Even though it was the middle of the day so there are not many people underway, I did see some employees arrive to and leave from their work at those oil refineries by bicycle! The area is not very scenic to say the least. But I filmed the full 25 kilometer (15.5m) ride and you can see it at ten times the original speed.
The province of South-Holland opened a website about this bicycle bridge. (Dutch but Google Translate does a good job here).
This post was first published on the blog A View from the Cycle Path on Thursday 15 December 2011
The original 2 comments:
Hi i am always impress how dutch all the time are Improving all the cyclepaths in all cities. I´am from Bogotá Colombia called a model for so many developed countries for cycling and so many times named after copenhaguen and amsterdam like the third cycling city, and i think we are pretty far away to be one. Yes here is impresive that in a 8 million people almost 6 or 7% of all trips are made by bicycle, but our infrastructures is ineficient despite is the best quiality in america, we have so many challengues but we are improving and making things like this bike tunnel below a Bus rapid System that some people are calling like the more near thing we ahve similar to dutch standars. i hope we still work in this path that is complicated but can be done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lw27h2F8WM&feature=youtu.be
19 December 2011 04:36
I have crossed the old bikepath on this bridge and when you go over it you really wonder why they complain in groningen about the berlage bridge. The bridge over the Hartelkanaal is steep!
24 December 2011 20:29 | <urn:uuid:5a66af35-9394-4529-9786-b07ee60e3a8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/hartelfietsbrug-near-rotterdam/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965354 | 1,149 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Published in Hepatitis Weekly, September 25th, 2000
Medical investigators at the Saga Prefectural Hospital Koseikan conducted a retrospective study of 547 patients who had been diagnosed at the hospital with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from 1989 to 1998.
The investigators defined three types of follow-up routines. Those who had made regular medical visits and had ultrasounds and laboratory tests for serum markers (alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)) performed at least every four months were delegated to the regular follow-up...
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Bruce Springsteen Reveals Bouts Of Depression
As Bruce Springsteen‘s career skyrocketed in the early ’80s, he struggled with depression and self-isolation stemming from his complex relationship with his father. This news, and many others, are revealed in an extensive piece in the new issue of the New Yorker.
Although Springsteen has never been considered an autobiographical songwriter, his issues at the time should have been evident to anybody who analyzed his lyrics for running themes. However, they have never been laid out as bare before. Friend and biographer Dave Marsh reveals just how deep Springsteen’s depression was.
“He was feeling suicidal,” Marsh said. “The depression wasn’t shocking, per se. He was on a rocket ride, from nothing to something, and now you are getting your ass kissed day and night. You might start to have some inner conflicts about your real self-worth.”
In 1982, Springsteen began therapy to try to work it all out, which has continued to this day. He credits analysis with helping him deal with the cycle of self-loathing that shows up in songs ranging from ‘Adam Raised a Cain’ to ‘Dancing in the Dark.’
At 15,000 words, the piece, by David Remnick, is almost as long as a Springsteen concert, but it’s a fascinating portrait of the star. Set against the backdrop of the rehearsals for the ‘Wrecking Ball’ tour, it offers great insight into his life and his career. | <urn:uuid:5d79b194-fbdd-4889-b2ca-20dc089471f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://1069therock.com/bruce-springsteen-reveals-bouts-of-depression/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981155 | 331 | 2.078125 | 2 |
The reviewers surveyed medical literature on the preventive use of Bactrim -- one of several brand names for the generic medicine cotrimoxazole -- for children to ward off common infections that can be deadly to a person whose immune system is weakened by HIV.
Dr. Kate Grimwade, with the Heart of England National Health Service foundation trust in Birmingham, led the review of the drug and found "a significant mortality benefit."
Grimwade's review appears in the most recent issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.
To be included in the Cochrane findings, a study had to be a randomized clinical trial. Grimwade's search turned up only one trial that passed that litmus test: a study of 534 HIV-positive children in Zambia.
The study found 33 percent fewer deaths in the group of children who received cotrimoxazole versus the children who were not treated with the antibiotic. The children prescribed cotrimoxazole also were hospitalized less. Those positive results held true "across the board" for children in all age groups and in different stages of HIV illness, Grimwade said.
Every medication has side effects, and the trial did uncover some adverse reactions from cotrimoxazole. Still, Grimwade said the Zambian study shows that the drug is a safe precaution against opportunistic infections in HIV-positive children.
The new review is being released as health policy makers anticipate updated recommendations on cotrimoxazole from the World Health Organization. In May 2005, the WHO gathered HIV/AIDS experts from around the world -- including Grimwade -- to pore over the scientific evidence on the preventive use of cotrimoxazole for people with HIV.
Nine months later, Grimwade said despite concerns over drawing conclusions from one study there is now much more consensus. She said, "the new WHO guidelines will likely recommend its use in both infected adults and children."
"In the latest discussions, there's no talk of further studies. It's basically accepted now," she added. The results from the single trial are so strong, Grimwade said, that many people believe that it is unethical to use a placebo in children to further investigate the preventive use of the drug.
Dr. Marco Antônio de Ávila Vitória, a medical officer with the WHO's Department of HIV/AIDS, also said preventive use of cotrimoxazole is gaining wide acceptance.
"It's a very cheap strategy," he said, "and the drug is very available, a lot more available in many areas where antiretroviral drugs are not around."
Cotrimoxazole is not a substitute for antiretroviral treatment, but the antibiotic may be a good stopgap measure until comprehensive HIV/AIDS care is available, or a way to extend the time until a patient needs anti-retroviral drugs, Vitória said.
Vitória said many discussions at the WHO summit centered on which settings would best benefit from preventive cotrimoxazole treatment given their health care infrastructure and ability to monitor and respond to possible side effects.
The WHO updated recommendations -- scheduled to be released early this year -- will provide some guidance for countries as they make their own decisions, Vitória said.
The recommendations include guidelines on monitoring toxicity and when to begin cotrimoxazole treatment given the child's age, whether the patient has symptoms of HIV disease and the strength of the patient's immune system.
Kate Grimwade at 44 121 424 2358 or firstname.lastname@example.org
Grimwade K, et al. Cotrimoxazole prophylaxis for opportunistic infections in children with HIV. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006, Issue 1.
The Cochrane Collaboration is an international nonprofit, independent organization that produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health care interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions. Visit http://www.cochrane.org for more information.
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:0a4293b6-568f-4e24-a368-1cf7c8b4db66> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychcentral.com/news/archives/2006-01/cfta-ldg012306.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939656 | 924 | 2.984375 | 3 |
The realization of how relative happiness is became very apparent to me some years ago when I was in the burn department.
One day a new patient came to the burn department — Miri, a teenage girl. Miri was 17 and her boyfriend just informed her that he was leaving her for someone else. As passionate as only teenagers can be, she went to the bathroom, slashed her wrists and poured bleach on them. As luck had it, when she was brought into the emergency room, Dr. Batya Yafe was there, an amazing woman and specialist in both plastic surgery and microsurgery who was able to reconstruct Miri’s blood vessels and take care of the damaged skin on her wrists.
A few weeks later Miri was a functional teenager again, but with second degree burns on her wrists. Relative to the rest of us, this was a relatively minor injury, but I am sure it was still very painful. The first few weeks were a serious adjustment for her – switching from being an active teenager in love to a patient in the burn department surrounded by these awful smells and many people in tremendous agony is not easy for anyone and particularly not for an idealistic teenager. The amazing thing was to see her a few weeks later and in the months to follow when she would come back to visit us. She seemed like a new and altogether person. She was happy, energetic, and with an appetite for life.
The scars that Miri carried on her wrists must have made her feel immensely different in the world outside the burn department, a constant reminder of her time spent in the burn department and the events that brought her there. I also suspect that these scars acted as a permanent reminder of what could have been, and her relative fortune in life. Was her newfound happiness related to the negative experience in the burn department? I imagine that Miri’s injury and her weeks in the burn department adjusted her perspective on life. Both the struggle she had with her burns, and the comparison to the other people in the burn department must have dwarfed her perceptions of her romantic trouble in comparison.
The burns on her wrists really helped Miri, and more generally I think that injuries that “work best” in giving people a new perspective on life are those that continuously act as a reminder of their relative happiness — even once the initial injury is over. Miri’s wrists, or losing a leg, for example, are promising on these grounds because the loss can act as a permanent reminder. And so are deep burns (the superficial ones are not as good because they can disappear with time). Lets be clear — I am not advocating burning people who are not very happy with their lives and letting them struggle with the pain and agony of burns, the slow recovery, and the comparison to other less fortunate individuals — but I do think that ironically such negative experiences can actually improve the outlook people have on life and their motivation for living.
So, as we plan for 2011 maybe we can find ways to be happy without any serious injuries.
Happy new year | <urn:uuid:f881e5cd-c2f3-4aab-a7f8-1484b99cb546> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://danariely.com/2010/12/27/burns-and-happiness/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98787 | 621 | 1.75 | 2 |
Joel Avey, an eleventh-grader at McCallie School, has won second place in a Law Day essay contest sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association.
This year's first place award went to Matthew Street of Memphis, a senior at First Assembly Christian School in Cordova. Students placing in the top two slots received cash prizes for their winning entries. In addition, their essays will be displayed at the TBAs annual convention in Nashville on June 2-5.
Each year, the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division holds a statewide art and essay contest in conjunction with Law Day, a national day set aside on May 1 to celebrate the rule of law.
Established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958, Law Day provides an opportunity for young people to learn about the law and the American judicial system and an opportunity for lawyers to serve their communities.
The theme of this year's contest was Law in the 21st Century: Enduring Traditions, Emerging Challenges, which asked students to consider how society can honor long-standing traditions in the law while addressing new issues and situations that might challenge old ways of doing things.
The Tennessee Bar Association is the largest professional association in Tennessee with more than 10,000 members. Founded in 1881, the TBA provides opportunities for continuing legal education, professional development and public service. The TBA's dedication to serving the state's legal community is evidenced by its membership roll, which represents the entire spectrum of legal practice: plaintiff and defense lawyers, corporate counsel, judges, prosecutors, public defenders, government lawyers and legal services attorneys. | <urn:uuid:b85a8087-930b-4420-9d3f-986435b321d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chattanoogan.com/2010/5/25/176500/Chattanooga-Teen-Places-In-Annual.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961806 | 320 | 1.703125 | 2 |
After a meal, much of your energy and blood flow is focused on digestion, so I wouldn't recommend exercising right after a meal. A light snack of fruit or cheese would probably be ok though. If you want to maximize fat loss during the workout, then don't eat anything several hours before hand that is high in sugar or refined carbohydrates since these will raise your bloodsugar and insulin levels. If your bloodsugar is high, then your body doesn't need fat for fuel. If your insulin level is high, then fat metabolism is effectively blocked.
The tragedy of science is the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact. T H Huxley
It depends on what kind of working out you are doing and what your goal is. For aerobic activity, it's best to fast for an hour or so before... maybe have a small snack like carrots or hard boiled eggs (something with low carb content) so you're not hungry while you work out. That will help your body burn fat instead of carbs. Then eat something afterward... light, of course.
If you are lifting weights, you will want to eat somehting with a decent amount of carbs about an hour before hand so you have the energy and stamina to work hard, and eating something high in protein immediately afterward helps build the muscles (I found a protein shakes work best in this capacity. Easier to carry around than a lunchbox full of eggs, too).
Keep your body lean, your blood clean and your mind sharp. -Rollins
I have actually been reducing my exercise (it was consuming disproportionate amounts of my time), but I have always found that a short jog or swim in the morning before eating anything at all really helps to jump-start my metabolism for the rest of the day. You will maybe find that afterward, you are not even hungry, but try to eat a little something, ok?
Then I like to do a late afternoon or evening workout as much time as I can fit in after dinner. Anyway, in the very least, I recommend the morning work-out route, because it will really help to get you going. You will notice more energy and you will feel warmer all day (it's the metabolism!) as well as being less hungry.
[This message has been edited by LilBear21 (edited 06-06-2001).] | <urn:uuid:101e7292-d433-4025-9357-a9fa6478c1e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthboards.com/boards/diet-nutrition/31045-excercise.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966767 | 479 | 1.757813 | 2 |
6th Jul 2012, 15:11
Hello Airbus Jockeys out there! Im going to change the operator. So I'm getting type rated on the A320 family (currently 737 with the old company). Looking forward for some nice mnemonics and mind-helpers for all the systems and limitations. Do you have some nice ones which could help me?
Thanks (from a ex boeing driver)
6th Jul 2012, 15:44
The most useful one is W.T.F.I.I.D.N?
6th Jul 2012, 16:01
try Smartcockpit, loads of useful stuff on there. Mnenomics are only going to be useful for your operators SOP's really as everyone operates the Airbus slightly differently to standard.
Get a good grip of the flight control laws and protections that are available before you start your rating - they'll help massively, the QRH is also a bit of a boggle - especially landing distance calculations so have a good look through those and try to understand them.
6th Jul 2012, 18:38
Theres a FMGC trainer out on the internet (somewhere) which I would recommend having a play with.
Also the website usebeforeflight is pretty good for learning drills etc.
As for things to help you remember the systems, I just remember the slog of learning it all and don't remember coming up with anything fun or helpful sadly! If anyone can to help someone understand the bus, I think they'd be rich!
6th Jul 2012, 18:46
A good idea would be to pay attention to the course lessons. | <urn:uuid:cce5ff0e-d64c-4c23-8930-0f4efbfa7d01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/t-489887.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949096 | 340 | 1.890625 | 2 |
The word legend exudes a sort of mystery and awe when we think about the verbal accounts of people, places and things. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the word legend is a story retold through time that is popularly regarded as history but is not verified. Unlike some folk lore stories that are passed down from generation to generation, the living legends within the motorcycle culture are real, well known and rich with facts, and if you ask anyone who rides a motorcycle they will tell you that these living legends are not lore and they are primarily responsible for how the world of motorcycles and the motorcycle culture has blossomed into the lifestyle that millions live every day.
The first living legend is the Harley Davidson motorcycle itself. The Harley motorcycle is more than a two-wheeled transportation vehicle; it is a proud symbol of American engineering, design and craftsmanship. Since 1903 the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company has been the leader in both popularity and engineering in the motorcycle industry worldwide, and ever since 1914 when the first V-Twin engine was produced, this one of a kind engine has been often duplicated in look but never surpassed in engineering, or quality.
The rich heritage of the Harley Davidson extends far beyond building their motorcycles for the general public, because in times of war they devoted an entire division to developing hardworking and dependable service motorcycles for use by the military in WWI and WWII, as well as local police departments, State police and municipal service. In 1908 the Detroit police department took possession of the first Harley Davidson police motorcycle and within a few short years Harley Davidson was delivering their motorcycles to hundreds of police departments and law enforcement agencies across the Untied States.
As the American public saw these beautiful Military and police motorcycles in action, on newsreels, and read about them in their local newspapers, a deep desire and hunger to be the proud owner of these one of a kind American motorcycles was not only patriotic, but the desire to experience the freedom, excitement and wonder of the open roads atop a Harley Davidson motorcycle was so great that it was almost like a silent calling that beckoned the masses saying “come ride me and experience a freedom you have never known before!”
The Harley Davidson Motorcycle found its way into competitive racing, motorsports entertainment, and stuntmen performing at traveling sideshows, carnival’s and the Ringling Bros & Barnum and Bailey circus even had a motorcycle attraction called the “Globe of Death” that drew large crowds to see their death defying act.
As the years went by the Harley Davidson name was synonymous with quality, craftsmanship and the proud symbol of hardworking Americans. Maybe this is one of the reasons that made the Harley Davidson motorcycle the most sought after motorcycle around the world. There are defiantly many reasons why the Harley is so popular; in the early years the cost of a Harley was substantially less expensive than an automobile, and in later years when gas prices skyrocketed riding a motorcycle was a financially responsible means of transportation, but without a doubt, there is nothing like the sound, feel and freedom of riding a Harley, and that is why so many people will ride nothing less.
During the late 1940’s and early 1950’s the Harley Davidson motorcycle also earned itself the reputation of not only a hard working military and law enforcement service vehicle, but with so many young men riding them with their stylish leather jackets, slick hair, and badboy attitude, the Harley was now also considered a rebel to those with a more conservative outlook on life. Hollywood filmmakers depicted this rebel attitude in the 1953 movie “The Wild One” staring Marlon Brando, and Lee Marvin. In retrospect the antics of this motorcycle gang are mostly tame, but during the 1950’s such behavior was considered out of control during these mostly conservative years in America and around the world. But even so, that rebel attitude fueled the ever-growing popularity of the Harley Davidson motorcycle.
This new breed of freedom and adventure seekers rapidly grew into groups and enthusiasts around the world and soon local groups and clubs sprung up all across the U.S. One of the largest groups is the Harley Davidson Owners Group, or HOG, as it is commonly known. In the early days, these groups primarily consisted of working class Americans who worked hard all day and played as equally hard at night, the weekends and when ever they could find the time. There were motorcycle events happening that local promoters developed to help this new class of people gather, have fun and discuss ideas and issues, all the while reinforcing this newly created culture of man and machine.
Over the years the Harley Davidson has had some ups and downs, mainly due to economic strife that not only hindered Harley Davidson, but also plagued America in general. A few financial set backs could not break the honest hard working spirit of the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company, and when hard times came knocking on the door of Harley Davidson, the company simply tightened it’s corporate belt and kept doing what they had been doing from the very start; building the finest American motorcycles for the hard working people who demanded only the best.
As social perceptions began to shift, it wasn’t long until the mystique of the Harley motorcycle and being in the wind attracted people from all walks of life. Look around at your local bike show and you are sure to see doctors, lawyers, and many other professional types mingling with the crowd who have discovered the freedom from getting on the road and experiencing life riding a Harley.
Over 108 years later the Harley Davidson is still vibrantly alive and regarded as the leader of motorcycle technology worldwide. Many other manufactures have spent millions and millions of dollars in research and development to design a motorcycle that looks, sounds and rides like a Harley in an effort to capture a market share of people who want to ride a low, sleek and classy V-Twin motorcycle that has that unique engine rumble of a Harley, and while they continue, nothing matches the quality, design and engineering of an American made Harley Davidson motorcycle, while this original legend lives on…
Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorney – We Ride We Care We Win – Ride On!
If you or a loved one has been hurt in a motorcycle accident, you need to protect your rights with a top motorcycle injury lawyer. Call 1-800-424-5377 to learn why you need a Motorcycle Accident Attorney on your side. Rob Fleming is a Freelance writer for hire with over 10 years experience in Developing unique website content, Website Marketing, and SEO techniques. He has authored hundreds of powerful articles on building site authority and driving traffic to websites. | <urn:uuid:b793a22d-ebcc-4338-9e44-0053331c8098> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.russbrown.com/motorcycle-lawyer-blog/3232/harley-davidson.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968065 | 1,348 | 2.390625 | 2 |
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Top 5 quotes from Aldous Huxley
"Those who believe they are exclusively in the right are generally those who achieve something."
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Cooperatively owned by journalists and readers,
La Marea, Spain's radical new monthly magazine, operates out of a narrow, lime green office space in southeastern Madrid, in the working-class stronghold of Vallecas. There is a small foyer with a couch to receive visitors; some cramped desks with three second-hand computers bought at 70 Euros apiece; and a back room with a tiny kitchenette and one sprawling glass-and-mosaic table where the staff holds meetings. There is no charge for rent because La Marea's editors worked out a deal with the small Web business that agreed to share its space: They cover the monthly 100 euro electricity bill, and that is all.
Call it publishing on the cheap. And call it Spain's new experiment in print media for a society fed up with debt crisis, polarized and ineffective politicians and the increasing corruption of government by corporate power.
People say here that now, unlike a few years ago, family dinner discussions routinely center around financial and banking crimes, collusions between government leaders and big business, privatizations and cuts to public services like health care - not to mention the 25 percent jobless rate, a level unseen since the death of dictator Francisco Franco nearly four decades ago. Spain now reportedly has the third-highest poverty rate in the European Union, behind Bulgaria and Romania.
So it's in this context that a handful of journalists seized an opening. Building on the social and political momentum generated by Spain's 15M movement - known to many abroad as the Indignados, which began in May of 2011 and continues to campaign against bank bailouts, unlawful foreclosures and a raft of financial and political crimes - editor Daniel Ayllon says the publication is "one more piece in the process, where journalism professionals enter in this chain of social change."
"We're in an emergency here - education, pensions, they're cutting everything," he says. Yet, says fellow editor Thilo Schaefer, the strategy this time isn't to shout about injustice "like another loud, angry leftist voice" singing to an audience of activists, but to "prove and make the point with facts - to reach a broader public."
"If we want to change something, we have to direct it to everyone, not one sector. The big debate happening here is about politicians, how they need to fight back against the markets. But hey," says Schaefer, evoking a core argument made at Occupy Wall Street more than one year ago, "we're saying the markets are part of you and you are part of the markets - when former ministers are hired by huge energy and financial corporations, and when the public is left paying the bill for all the bankers who messed things up."
The Launch Issue
La Marea, which means The Tide, isn't actually a magazine, but it's not quite a newspaper either: It's a compact hybrid monthly, 64 pages long, on full-color tabloid-sized newsprint that is now being sold for three euros a pop at kiosks in the nation's three largest cities: Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. In bookstores and news shops elsewhere, from Valladolid to Huesca, and from Malaga to Seville, people are quickly snatching up the January launch issue, which totaled 25,000 copies and went on sale the Friday before Christmas. The February edition, Issue #2, is due out on January 25.
In its editorial principles, La Marea states its commitment to "the defense of the public, of equality and secularism; of economic justice, historic memory, dignified work, the environment, the right to housing and free culture ... also to social movements and democratic regeneration." The inaugural issue features a bold, mustard-yellow cover with a drawing of a politician, a banker and a white-robed priest passing on stilts above a crowd of people, and headlined, "Laws at the Service of Capital: The Collusion Between Governments, Banks and Big Business Translates into Standards that Harm Society." The lead story explores the revolving door between big business and politicians, singling out members of both the ruling Popular Party and the opposition Socialist Party for explicit ties to the highest corporate levels in the banking, energy, telecommunications and other industries, and sets a clear tone for the issue.
Divided into two halves - the "blue" half features hard news analyses, reports, info-graphs and investigative features, while the "pink" half examines issues through a more cultural lens. The debut issue of La Marea includes stories about hiring irregularities, favoritism and nepotism at the Cervantes Institute, Spain's leading foreign cultural institution; the privatization of Spain's water supply by three corporations; curbs on civil liberties in the EU through increased drone use and other spy technology; and citizen efforts to craft a new Spanish Constitution.
There are stories from correspondents abroad like the one from Quito, about Ecuadorians who have returned home from Spain due to the foreclosure crisis; from Athens, about Greeks' new financial and community strategies to cope with the crisis; and from Belgium, about the closure of a Ford auto plant that cost 10,000 jobs. Spanish economist Antonio Banos offers an opinion piece entitled "2013: Year of the Acceleration" that predicts an expanded debt crisis and stronger public resistance to austerity. There are reviews of films, theater, music and books (David Graeber's Debt: The First 5,000 Years is a hot read in Spanish, as is Joseph Stiglitz's The Price of Inequality). One section of La Marea, called "Rompeolas" (Breaking Waves), highlights cooperatives and projects of communities building a new economic future.
Can a Cooperative Challenge the Media Establishment?
The debt crisis and years of recession have hit Spanish media hard: Some 70 news outlets have closed in the last four years and a reported 9,000 journalists are currently without work. The founders of La Marea also found themselves out of work when Publico, the left-leaning newspaper they worked for, folded in bankruptcy last February. After an unsuccessful attempt by employees to buy back the paper, Schaefer, then its deputy foreign editor, and Magda Bandera, its culture editor, helped raise 33,000 euros through the crowd-sourcing site verkami.com (Spain's equivalent of kickstarter.com). They launched Mas Publico, a 32-page paper that hit Spain's streets during the May 15 movement's one-year anniversary last spring.
But the activist tone wasn't what they wanted. Another left-oriented newspaper published in Madrid, called Diagonal, already served that purpose. La Marea's seven editors, who range in age from their mid-20s to mid-40s, all came from experience working in mainstream media. They wanted to give a more savvy, professional expression to the social movement whose militancy had galvanized the country - and had served as the forerunner of Occupy Wall Street, which followed four months later - but whose message and popularity, much like the US movement's, faced steep decline. "We don't have to tell people how to think; we don't have to manipulate," says Bandera
"We just put the data out there. The reality is very clear. With sober language and militant ideas, we can reach people."
Getting the publication off the ground - and then, making it profitable - poses a unique challenge to La Marea because of its strict adherence to an ethics code, which bars it from accepting advertising by banks, corporations or businesses with any record of foul play, financial, political or otherwise.
But what's most unique about La Marea's bid to crack the mainstream - tempting readers away from El Pais, La Vanguardia and the other corporate-backed party-supported giants of Spanish media - is its far-sighted social structure and business model: a 100 percent worker-owned cooperative.
Collectively owned by its seven founding editors and dozens of socios, or members, who support it financially, La Marea operates on a non-hierarchical basis without any boss or chief editor. All decisions are made collectively by the editorial team through an assembly process. Once the paper begins to turn a profit, it will put to a vote with its reader-shareholders whether to distribute the dividends or to reinvest the money back into the company. The supporting members, says Schaefer, "really feel that it is theirs."
"It's a collective effort," says editor Ayllon, "a co-op of workers and readers where the readers directly support the effort and take a stake in the paper." Ironically, perhaps, it made the most business sense to found La Marea as a print publication, rather than as a web site. "It's for practical reasons: [Print] is an income source," says Ayllon, who worked formerly as a freelance correspondent for Spanish media in New York.
"It's really not a noble 'print project,' or something romantic. As a weekly we can be profitable. People in Spain buy papers on the weekends. We believe that deep, real reflective analyses and investigations on paper have a future."
With some 23,000 followers on Twitter and 100,000 unique monthly visitors to www.lamarea.com - which receives a quarter of a million total page views a month - the magazine's online presence plays the complementary role of helping diversify readership, build the brand, and increase subscriptions and a membership base. A tablet version of the magazine is coming soon.
But print is paramount. And in this sense La Marea poses a two-fold experiment: one, to engage Spanish readers not with entertainment and partisan political chatter, but with serious, truthful analyses that disrobe the corporate-government alliance which is profiting by selling off the country's public services like health care, education and the rest. And two, to prove that a cooperative funding structure can survive, and sustain itself, in the realm of high-level independent journalism. "We're selling two things: information and the cooperative model," says editor Bandera.
The author of nonfiction books about the Balkans and Iraq, as well as a book of short stories, Bandera, 42, brings a powerful personal story to her role in co-founding La Marea: Just over one year ago she underwent treatment for breast cancer. "If you survive something, it is to live - to feel you put your energy into things you believe in. That is to be alive," she says.
"We had to coordinate, cooperate, collaborate. I dreamed we could do this."
A younger writer and editor on the staff, 25-year-old Berta del Rio, with bright blue eyes and an emphatic voice, echoes the purpose they have undertaken, and why it is important that it succeed. "I'm a journalist because I believe in change, in optimism - because a press that unites people behind a theme is possible. And it's the moment to build it," she says. "It seems incredible that a small group can produce media - as though it's something only for big business. But we see that we can, that we can swim against the current, can open eyes and reveal a space of freedom. We're debating ideas, not ideology. Both parties failed and our press serves to reflect on that [failure] and present new alternatives, to learn from history. It's the way to fight against established power" in the way that previous generations did under Franco, she adds.
She then switches to English and concludes with the words one hears uttered more and more often these days, in Spain and elsewhere:
"Yes we can!"
This article was published jointly with Occupy.com. | <urn:uuid:6cd652bc-0f31-45ae-926a-80255e16a862> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://truth-out.org/news/item/14102-spains-rebellion-moves-to-print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9583 | 2,403 | 1.734375 | 2 |
This is a book for people who will not be their old self again and for all those for whom, at least now, getting better isn’t possible. This is a book that most reassuringly says even to those people, “You too are going to be okay–even if you never recover your health!” -Sylvia Boorstein
Author Toni Bernhard (who is participating in this book club!) tells us, in the preface of “How To Be Sick,” that she wrote this book “to help and inspire the chronically ill and their caregivers as they meet the challenges posed by any chronic illness or condition, including: coping with symptoms that just won’t go away, coming to terms with a more isolated life, weathering fear about the future, facing the misunderstanding of others, dealing with the health care system, and for spouses, partners, and other caregivers, adapting to so many unexpected and sometimes sudden life changes.”
In the section of the book titled How Everything Changed, we first read about how Toni got sick, and then how–to her surprise and bewilderment–she stayed sick.
- How long did it take you to realize that you had a chronic illness, and that life just wasn’t going to go back to the way it ‘used to be’?
- Once it became clear that you were living with chronic illness, did you or anyone else in your life experience feelings of denial?
- Did you ever refuse to make certain changes, even though you could see that participating in some of your usual activities/routines was doing more harm than good?
This post is part of RA Guy’s Book Club for “How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers,” by Toni Bernhard. For a complete list of discussions, please click here. | <urn:uuid:956132b8-8b37-4fc2-9515-889c4d9c6eaf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rheumatoidarthritisguy.com/2012/01/how-to-be-sick-discussion-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964635 | 400 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Lorri Neilsen Glenn is a poet and essayist with four collections of poetry, the most recent being Lost Gospels (Brick Books, 2010). She was Poet Laureate for Halifax from 2005-2009, and lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her collection of essays on grief and loss will be published this fall by Hagios Press.
Learn more about her work at http://www.writers.ns.ca/writers/N/neilsenglennlorri.html. Lorri may be contacted at lorrineilsenglenn(at)gmail(dot)com.
"I can be in the alley of a large urban centre, hiking Signal Hill in Newfoundland, or watching from the windy shore in Valparaiso, turn, and stop: arrested by an image, a landscape that seems true, the sound of a voice, a constellation of color and shape that invites a closer look. Sometimes the moment is unsettling, but always it is compelling.
Stunned, breathless, pierced: such moments, too, can strike me when I am reading other writers. A few pages into poet Bronwen Wallace’s The Stubborn Particulars of Grace, for example, and I was overtaken. It’s not until now, years later, that I realize why.
Wallace was a Canadian poet and short story writer who died in 1989 at the age of 44. The collection of her poetry that moved me so profoundly lights up the stubborn particulars of the here and now – of this, this, and this – in the lives of truck drivers and abused women and teenaged boys, of a parrot in the North or bones upturned in the field, of a woman singing alone in the house on a Saturday afternoon. As an ethnographer, someone who studies cultures, I am curious about meanings we invest in things and places, about the bonds we make. Now, a decade after first reading her work, I see how Bronwen Wallace’s example matters even more in our literary culture: she reminds me how little we celebrate foremothers.
Wallace’s writing was work on the threshold-- it collapsed boundaries and borders, created connections in a world in flux, allowed the intimacy of the everyday to slow-dance with philosophy. She was an activist, a tireless political worker for autoworkers and battered women, among others, and her poetry and fiction bring their breath and their voices up close to our ears, alert us to their despair and their hard-won joys, without a hint of preaching.
Several of my Canadian writer friends knew Bronwen Wallace well; a few studied with her, sat around kitchen tables with her. Friends tell me she was complicated, flawed, brilliant, generous, and no-nonsense. When I turned to writing poetry at the late age of 50, I knew little of the literary landscape and its critical shifts. I came to Wallace’s poems without any preconceptions, struck by the generous sweep of thought that curls back to tuck in detail, the lift, sway and propulsion of Wallace’s lines, by a mature conversational voice that belied a fierce intelligence and canny attention to craft. And by her wit-- an open-heartedness that allowed the whole world in. Wry, but not ironic. Her work spoke eloquently about who she was in the world, and what mattered to her.
Added to my bookshelf in those early days were the works of Lucille Clifton and Sharon Olds—all the poetry I’d read to that point, really, was in the tissue-thin pages of Norton anthologies in survey courses. I’d found few foremothers there, aside from the usual: Emily Dickinson, or if we were lucky, Elizabeth Bishop. I knew nothing. Now, years later I see how Wallace’s work pointed me to the work of other Canadian poets—the widely-anthologized Margaret Atwood and Gwendolyn MacEwan, yes, but more, so many more whose names weren’t the first to come to the lips of the book-buyers of the world. Poets whose work you might not find in a small library or in an airport bookstore, but whose ideas and voices, like ocean or rock or boreal forest, are the abiding and forceful presences that deliver us and carry us forward.
In Canada, Wallace’s poetry, like Carol Shields’ fiction, brought the complexities of the domestic and the personal to the forefront. Wallace did not shy away from clear-eyed unsentimental stories that might make others squirm; for her, as for Shields, these moments were not ‘merely domestic’ or –worse – ‘solipsistic’ or ‘confessional.’ They were essential, and they were not to be dismissed.
Women tend not to occupy the public sphere, even now in 2011. In large part, we find self-promotion distasteful, feel awkward about trumpeting our prizes or our publications shamelessly on social network sites. When asked to review or respond to others’ work, we prefer to sit with the poems and let them steep, to think about the writer and her winding path into her work, to consider the fresh insights and perspectives she brings to the wider conversation. Because that’s it, after all; in the noisy world of publishing—a world that seems to have become a three-ring circus in Times Square—we long for the silence and the slow grace of word, thought, and human spirit coming together. We long for the resonant connections that drew us to poetry—to any form of writing--in the first place.
Wallace is only one foremother--we each have our own to celebrate in our communities and cultures. I have drawn courage from Wallace’s work, and daily I try to stay open, as she did, to the stubborn particulars of the here and now.
Outside is the barking marketplace, the thrust and parry of gatekeeper battles, the petty jostlings of egos and toxic discourse that find their way into the air we breathe. As Wallace writes, “How can any of us know/what will speak for us or who/will be heard?” Here, now, I am speaking, through Bronwen Wallace’s work, for the gifts of random testimonies and slow discoveries, for essentials of the spirit her work leaves for us, for the grace found in the one and the many. Here, now, I am speaking for our conversations across time with literary foremothers. For testimonies, and those singular, ordinary moments of connection we create now on the trail, in the street, at the door, and at the kitchen table. "
Note: if you'd like to know more about Wallace, please click here (link via Lorri).
This post first appeared on the Women Doing Literary Things site. | <urn:uuid:8436841e-cfbe-4ad2-80ca-2e6d4fae8459> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shewrites.com/profiles/blogs/women-doing-literary-things-sometimes-a-moment-by-lorri-neilsen | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956879 | 1,439 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Please be aware that this discussion guide may contain spoilers!
Do you believe that Mallorys headaches were real? Was he a "malingering coward"? Hawke agreed with Cassidy that he was a malingerer, but Mellas felt differently (maybe he was "out here too long"... they "kept sending him back" (p. 453). Why do you think Mellas felt that way? Was it political? China despised Mallory (p. 218) and wanted to tell him to act like a man, but he knew that the "headaches" would help him further his "cause." Did racial attitudes play a role in the treatment, analysis, and perception of the headaches?
Mellas asks Hawke shortly after they meet whether he has "had racial problems here in the company." Hawke answers, "Naw, not really" (p. 29). Is Hawke downplaying the problem, or is his belief rooted in something else?
Mellas refers to the "political implications" of Parkers hair being too long. He also wonders about the timing of this enforcement of military etiquette. What are the political implications of the incipient "afro"? Do you think the situation should have been handled differently? How? Did Cassidys involvement (after wanting to string his "ass... up to the nearest fucking tree") exacerbate the situation? What choices did the officers have?
The author states that "the secret could be revealed only by crawling into the jungle and meeting it there" (p. 85). Do you think it is possible for "the secret" to be revealed, and if so, what might it be? Relate this to Hippys looking for "something out there for us to be here," for "just anything... so it all made sense" (p. 113). Does Mellass assertion that, for the uninitiated, "the bush should, and would, remain a mystery" (p. 538) relate to this question?
What compelled Vancouver to "take point" every time, despite the fact that it "scared him" (p. 199)? Why was he considered the soul of the company? Consider also when the company was forty feet above the river, Vancouver "without being told... wrapped the rope around his waist, walked out backward over the edge, and disappeared" (p. 236).
Why do you think that it was so important for Mellas to recover Vancouvers sword?
How, and to what extent, do you think race influenced Mellass decision to select Jackson as squad leader? Do you believe that he could be characterized as Mellass "nigger"? Why did Mellas finally tell Jackson that "he blew it" when they conducted their honest discussion on race (p. 433)?
Hawkes tin (pear can) cupwhich had been with him "since I got here"was considered to contain the "ever flowing source of all thats good and the cure of all ills." It induced smiles and was characterized as "sweet and good." What is the significance of the tin can cup? How is it similar to Vancouvers sword, and why were they both so important to Mellas?
Do you think that Simpson is a sympathetic character? Did he drink because he felt the "responsibility for a lot of lives"? Do you believe that he put soldiers at risk to further his career and to "move his little pins in the map" (p. 170)?
What do you think of Annes attitude toward Mellass commitment to honor his "sacred oath to the president"? (Recall that Anne reminded him that he had considered the president a "manufactured image"). Do you agree with Anne that Mellas had a "weird concept of morality" (p. 207) that compelled him to keep that promise? Should he have consulted her, and do you think it would have changed his decision? Do you think that Mellass belief that she really never wanted to see him again was accurate (p. 330)? How do you feel about Annes behavior the night he came to see her before he shipped out? To what extent do you think the cultural and political climate was responsible for her reaction?
Mellas expressed some bitterness toward women and even admits to really hating "women at some level" (p. 210). How much do you think his experience with Anne accounts for this? Hawke also "hurt badly" because his woman was opposed to the war. Do these women fundamentally misunderstand the men? Do they simply have a different outlook? Mellas also longs for a woman to reach the "lost, lonely part of him." Later, he finds himself wanting to "merge" with Karen after she recovers Vancouvers sword (p. 522) and talked to him as a real "human being who cared" (p. 512). How do you reconcile this with the bitterness? Do you think that the absence of women from their daily lives engendered and sustained this bitterness?
Why did Hawke consider Mellas a "politician" (pp. 12, 282, 451)? Do you think Hawke felt that it was a positive characteristic? What might it have to do with his belief that modern war had become too technical and too complexand Vietnam in particular had become "too political" (p. 13)?
Mellas experienced "overwhelming joy" and was "overflowing with an emotion that he could only describe as love" when he was reunited with his platoon. As they began to engage in the ensuing battle, he was "frightened beyond any fear"a "brilliant and intense fear," which helped to "push him over a barrier whose existence he had not known until this moment," and he surrendered himself completely to the "god of war within him" (p. 351). What attributes would you give to this "god of war"? What else might it represent? Are the fear and surrender instinctive reactions to an intense confrontation with mortality? Is the god of war a protector or an evil creation of man ("participation in evil was a result of being human... without man there would be no evil" or good) (p. 500)?
While Mellas was retrieving Pollini and they rolled downhill, he hopes "with every roll" that "it was Pollini and not him who would catch the bullet" (p. 354). Do you think that his guilt over that hope, his wish for a medal, and the KP discharge, contributed to the thought that he had inadvertently killed Pollini? "The fact that Pollini was dead didnt make the desire for a medal wrong, did it? Whats fucking wrong with wanting a medal? Why did Mellas think it was bad? Why was he so confused? How did he get this way? From where did he dredge up all these doubts? Why?" (p. 361).
Mellass existential crisis (pp. 398-400) when he saw himself as a "collection of empty events that would end as a faded photograph above his parents fireplace" and perceived that his worth was "the joke," resulted in comforting and calming him. What contributed to this new insight? Was it a successful breakthrough on the guilt he felt over Pollini? Did he really know "beyond any ability to lie to himself" that he had killed Pollini, or would he "carry this doubt with him forever" (p. 359)?
What do you think Mellas believed about the value of a medal? Do you think he may have ultimately shared Hawkes feeling that "they dont seem so fucking shiny... when you see what they cost"? Do you think that Mellass ambivalence toward medals is overcome in the end?
What made Hawke leave his post without permission to return to his company who were surrounded by the NVA?
Following the last assault on Matterhorn, Mellass mind is "filled with troubling images...Hippy, crippled. The insane pushing. The stupidity. The blood pumping from the new machine gunners leg. Jacobs throat. For what? Where was the meaning?" (p 489). How much do you think the answer to this question explains why the author wrote the book? Does the act of writing (and the art of the novel) involve creating meaning that can make us feel and change? Were your attitudes and feelings about the Vietnam War and war in general transformed by the experience of reading this book?
After thinking about how "brave and wise" he realized Janc had been when he defused a volatile racial situation, what makes China "know" that it would be impossible for Janc to be his friend (p. 313)?
The youth of the soldiers is repeatedly emphasized by the author. He references "dead American teenagers" and "dead Vietnamese teenagers" (p. 491). "Two bodies not on the planet twenty years, one living and one dead" are poignantly airlifted away (p. 238). When Fracasso entered to lead a platoon, Mellas "knew" that what "three teenagers" decided in the next five seconds could mean Fracassos career and maybe even his life (p. 269). Considering that Fitch (Company Commander) was twenty-three, Hawke (Executive Officer) twenty-two, and Mellas (Platoon Commander) twenty-one, and many (if not most) grunts (Hippy) were eighteen and (Janc and Jackson) nineteen, how did you feel about the relative youth of the characters as you read? Does this recognition of young people fighting and dying for a policy they have had little or no influence over change your outlook on the Vietnam War, a draft, or war in general?
Why do you think Mellas said that killing the injured enemy would "be murder" (p. 256)? Do you think the fact that he "glimpsed the grimace of pain and fear" followed by crying that "cut through Mellas like a shaft of steel" is what made him pause? Why did he switch off his safetypoint his gun at the kids head, then switch the safety back on and say "We cant"? Do you think it was because he "didnt have the guts"? Is that why he later started sobbing and saying to Hawke and Fitch, "Im so sorry. Im so fucking sorry"? Who do you think he was apologizing to and for what?
Vietnam veterans were stigmatized by the failure to distinguish between a foreign policy and the soldiers serving the government (and its citizens) by executing the policy faithfully. How much do you think this book has helped you to understand this and empathize with those who served? The author has spoken of the "wound of misunderstanding" delivered by those who directed their antiwar feelings at those who fought the war. His hope is to be understood and to bridge the chasm that has divided America. Do you think this book has helped to do that? How?
What do you feel was the most emotional event in the book? Why did it affect you so deeply?
Semper Fi ("Always Faithful") Mellas recalls a discussion "at his eating club with his friends and their dates one night after a dance. They were talking about the stupidity of warriors and their "silly codes of honor" (p. 324). As he watched Marines run across a landing zone "running possibly to their deaths," he realized that "something had changed" and that meaning and life would be given to the "silly code of honor." What changed? What does this code mean to you? Did your attitude toward the code change after reading the book? Does loyalty and commitment transcend race and class? How?
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - "It is glorious and honorable to die for one's country."
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori. -from "Dulce et Decorum Est"by Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen died fighting in World War One when he was twenty-five. What do you think Mellas would have thought of the idea that it was an old lie that it was glorious and honorable to die for ones country? Explore the conflict and contradictions involved in fulfilling a civic obligation, honoring a sacred oath, or following ones conscience. If you witness your brothers and sisters fighting and dying for a cause you do not believe in, what choices do you have and on what basis do you make them?
Mellas substitutes "Bravo" for "Christ" in a modified and drunken mystery of faith formulation ("Bravo has died, Bravo is risen, Bravo will fight again" p 556). He raises a glass (consecration) above his head and says "Mea Culpa" (Confiteor/confession of sins). Hawke follows by "solemnly" making the sign of the cross and saying "Absolution." (The Catholic encyclopedia defines absolution partly as "that act of the priest whereby, in the Sacrament of Penance, he frees man from sin. It presupposes on the part of the penitent, contrition, confession.")
Mellas then invokes the saying (Dulce et decorum ) in a mock religious ceremony (p. 556) and "anoints those around him with ceremonial movements" while chanting the latin phrase. Hawke "knelt down" and McCarthy "solemnly" offered him communion.
What do you think the author is suggesting here? Are "the Colonel, the "three" and the do-nothing Congress" (trinity) (p. 556) the ones who must bear the guilt for the "sins" of war? Are the soldiers absolving themselves and thereby recognizing the glory and honor in what they did?
Fiction: Going After Cacciato by Tim OBrien; Fields of Fire by James Webb; Meditations in Green by Stephen Wright; In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason; The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien; The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh; Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
Nonfiction: If I Die in a Combat Zone by Tim OBrien; Dispatches by Michael Herr; A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo; In Pharaohs Army by Tobias Wolff
Reading group guide by Ed Conklin
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Grove Press.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth... | <urn:uuid:0bbfa77f-1ee2-4b42-9f51-123f325932d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookbrowse.com/reading_guides/detail/index.cfm/book_number/2415/matterhorn | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979416 | 3,083 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Scientific discoveries and innovative technologies impact our lives every day. New advancements hold great potential to benefit society and continue to provide hope for a better tomorrow. Cure based research inspires the community and is a key component to better health care and disease prevention. Texans must understand, embrace and support the research efforts across Texas to realize the benefits of this important work.
The most promising new era of medicine is upon us thanks to dedicated doctors, scientists, engineers, and clinical research teams across our great state and beyond. Texas Cures is uniting the community to support their efforts and creating new visibility for advances in the field that are changing the way we approach disease and injury for millions of people around the world today.
Who We Are
Texas Cures Education Foundation (TexasCures), a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization based in Austin, Texas, was founded for the purpose of advancing knowledge of the life-saving work that doctors and researchers perform every day on behalf of patients and their families.
Texas Cures facilitates stem cell public education for the betterment of healthcare and the growth of companies, research hospitals and institutions, charities, and volunteer patient group organizations that include a broad range of regenerative medicine stakeholders.
What We Do
Texas Cures strives to synchronize and coordinate the diverse regenerative medicine community in a unified and influential organization of one voice for the ultimate benefit of patients suffering from incurable disease and debilitating injury.
Texas Cures advocates for responsible public policy and encourages legislative and regulatory proposals that expand access to stem cell clinical applications. Texas Cures also fosters relationships to enhance and encourage strategic funding collaborations with Texas based research teams and institutions. | <urn:uuid:87c124eb-0774-4c9a-8d73-f62ffc8a8be4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://texascures.org/about | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933301 | 335 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Goals for 2008-09
- Develop the plan to achieve requirements of the Presidents Climate Commitment.
- Capitalize on student interest in this subject both in and out of the classroom.
- Continue the auditing process by determining which of the following audits, or similar audits, should be conducted, and complete the audit. Possible audits include: solid waste, printing services, purchasing, transportation and parking, water runoff, student activism and participation, curriculum/ environmental education, dining services.
- Follow up on recommendations made in the energy audit.
- Obtain a budget for the group for use in: joining professional organizations (ASHEE costs $1000/year); sponsoring events such as the National Campus Sustainability Day; sending students or faculty to conferences | <urn:uuid:88f0f0c9-24f9-4bfa-8c57-efc323e36b11> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.webster.edu/sustainability/goals.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915686 | 154 | 1.757813 | 2 |
I've read lots of articles discussing the environmental, economic, and health benefits of eating local food. These benefits are wonderful, and I like that I'm helping out the planet, local farmers, and my own health with my locavore lifestyle. But these aren't the reasons why I choose to buy local.
I buy the majority of our food each week at farmer's markets for one simple reason...because I enjoy it immensely.
First of all, I love farms. When I was a little girl, my babysitter moved her family from the suburbs of New York to a farm in Pennsylvania. I have fond memories of visiting the farm, shelling peas for dinner and eating grapes still warm from the sun directly off of the vines. And then there was the summer when my parents sent me to Farmers Camp at Muscoot Farm. I milked cows and collected eggs from chickens and worked in their garden...it was the best camp ever.
|Old Barn at Muscoot Farm|
|The First Asparagus of the Season|
It makes me happy buying eggs and milk and cheese from farmers who talk lovingly about their chickens and cows and goats (and often have photographs of their wonderful animals to show me!) I've seen enough documentary footage of the inhumane treatment of animals living on large-scale factory farms to haunt me for a lifetime.
I often discover things at the Farmer's Market that I haven't seen anywhere else...purple carrots, golden beets, colored eggs, unusual herbs, hand-crafted raw milk cheeses...every trip to the market is an adventure!
The food just tastes better. Fruits are sweeter, and veggies are crisper when they are picked the day before you buy them (instead of being picked and then shipped across the country or around the world to then sit on grocery shelves for who-knows-how-long, waiting for you to buy them).
|The Most Carroty-Tasting Carrots I've Ever Eaten|
And last (but definitely not least)...I love shopping at farmer's markets because it inspires me as an artist. It's amazing all the brilliant colors, unusual shapes and remarkable textures that can be found in foods that are locally grown!
|Yellow Oyster Mushrooms...I'll be drawing these!|
Every locavore has their own reasons for eating locally grown foods....these are mine. Hopefully I've inspired you to eat more local foods! | <urn:uuid:f51b7bf0-3acf-4290-bd06-904834a8acad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thinkglobalartlocal.com/2012/05/portrait-of-artist-why-local.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964351 | 502 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Congratulations to Dr. John Berberian
Professor of Chemistry Dr. John Berberian has received a three-year, $302,228 individual National Science Foundation Research in Undergraduate Institutions (NSF -RUI) grant. His project, entitled "RUI: The Study of Molecular Motion in Simple Glass Forming Liquids" investigates the forces involved in the amorphous- crystalline behavior of simple glass forming materials above and near the glass transition temperature.
Dr. Berberian has a long and distinguished history of more than 35 years of obtaining grants from the NSF and other funding agencies. The current grant is further tribute to John's demonstrated and acknowledged expertise in dielectrics, as well as his track record of performing this research with undergraduates, most of whom have gone on to graduate school and are in prominent positions in academia and industry.
SJU Chemistry Students Present at 2012 ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia, PA and Win Awards
From left: Booby Carden, James Ohane, Dr. Peter Graham
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. Peter Graham and Chemistry majors Bobby Carden ('14) and James Ohane ('14) presented a poster at the 244th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society held in Philadelphia on August 20, 2012. Dr. Graham and his students presented a poster entitled "Synthesis and reactivity of tungsten and molybdenum carbon dioxide complexes" in the Division of Chemical Education Poster Session.
From left: Jessica Kesler, Luke Serensits, Andrew Kusterbeck, Dr. Jean Smolen
Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Jean Smolen and her research students presented two posters on August 20, 2012 at the meeting. Alex DeBernardo ('14), Andrew Kusterbeck ('14), and Drew Kaneps ('13) presented a poster entitled "Role of cysteine concentration and particle size in the reductive dissolution of goethite and the subsequent transformation of nitrosubstituted compounds" and Anna Feairheller ('11), Jessica Kesler ('12), and Luke Serensits ('14) presented a poster entitled "Determination of water quality indicators in the Belmont water supply and Saint Joseph's University campus." Anna recently earned her M.S. in Education after previously earning her B.S. in Chemistry in 2011. Jessica earned her B.S. in Chemistry in 2012, and she is currently completing her M.S. in Education at Saint Joseph's.
Certificates of Appreciation were awarded to Jessica Kesler and Andrew Kusterbeck for their posters, which were judged outstanding for material content and for manner of presentation given before the Division of Chemical Education.
From left: Avery Vilber, Alaina Stockhausen, Brady Werkheiser
Brady Werkheiser ('13), Avery Vilbert ('13), and Alaina Stockhausen ('15) represented the Molloy Chemical Society at the meeting and presented a poster entitled "ACS Student Affiliate Chapter the Molloy Chemical Society from Saint Joseph's University". Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. Jose Cerda serves as the Molloy faculty advisor.
Congratulations 2012 Chemistry and Chemical Biology Graduates!
Above: Saint Joseph's University Class of 2012 Chemistry and Chemical Biology Graduates
American Institute of Chemists Award for Scholastic Achievement
Above: Senior Chrissy Ott with SJU Interim President John W. Smithson
Christine (Chrissy) Ott was recently named this year's recipient of the American Institute of Chemists Award for Scholastic Achievement at Saint Joseph's University. Chrissy was selected for this award in recognition of her academic ability, leadership, and professional promise. Chrissy has been Summer Scholar for three summers, and she recently presented her research results at the 2012 American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Diego, CA. She has also served as a Chemistry tutor, a Chemistry TA, a member of University Singers, the president of the Molloy Chemical Society, and a volunteer at Inglis Foundation. Chrissy is also an accomplished equestrienne.
Chrissy will begin doctoral studies in Chemical Biology at the University of Delaware as a National Institutes of Health Pre-Doctoral Scholar. Congratulations Chrissy!
American Chemical Society Scholastic Achievement Award
Above: Senior Andi Fritz with SJU Interim President John W. Smithson
Andrea (Andi) Fritz is this year's recipient of the American Chemical Society Scholastic Achievement Award at Saint Joseph's University. A resident of Johnstown, PA, Andi was chosen for the award based on his high academic achievement and research accomplishments. Andi's honors at Saint Joseph's include being named a Summer Scholar; an Eagles Fly for Leukemia Scholarship; a Pennsylvania State Senate Commendation for Community Service; induction into the Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society, the Alpha Epsilon Delta Premedical Honor Society, and the Sigma Xi Research Honor Society. Andi has also volunteered for the American Cancer Society, the Kyle and Rose Epilepsy Foundation, and Conemaugh Mentoring in Medicine.
Andi was recently featured in the Saint Joseph's University HawkEye and in the online Commencement Newsroom. The story may be viewed here:
In the fall, Andi will begin pursuing her M.D. at Drexel University. Congratulations Andi!
Molloy Chemical Society Presents at the Philadelphia Science Carnival
Above: Philadelphia Science Carnival Participants Dan Trainer, Lei Li, Avery Vilbert, Chrissy Ott, Jackie Castorino, EuTchen Ang, Brady Werkheiser, and Ian McKendry
The SJU Molloy Chemical Society presented at the Philadelphia Science Carnival on Saturday, April 21st at Logan Circle on Ben Franklin Parkway. Members of Molloy gave an exciting demonstration of a hydrogen peroxide and calcium iodide reaction. The crowd was thrilled as they experienced the dynamic power of this exothermic reaction.
Reynolds Group presents at Spring 2012 ACS National Meeting in San Diego
Above: Reynolds Group members Chrissy Ott and Kim Nguyen present at the Spring 2012 American Chemical Society national meeting in San Diego, CA
Chrissie Ott and Kim Nguyen presented the results of their research with Dr. Mark Reynolds at the 243rd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego in March 2012. Chrissy's and Kim's poster was entitled "Site-directed mutagenesis studies of conserved residues in the heme domain of smfixL: Insights into the oxygen sensing mechanism of heme-pas proteins" was presented" and represents several years of the students research in the Reynolds group. Chrissy was a three year Summer Scholar and Kim a two-year Summer Scholar. The SJU Summer Scholars Program pairs students with a faculty advisor who supervises their work.
Philadelphia American Chemical Society Section 12th Annual Student Poster Session Thursday, February 23, 2012
Above: The Cerda Group at the Philadelphia ACS Section Poster Session (l to R); Andi Fritz, Emily Amendola, Dr. Jose Cerda, Jackie Castorino, Michale Gallagher
Two of Dr. Jose Cerda's research students won awards at the Philadelphia American Chemical Society Section 12th Annual Student Poster Session on Thursday, February 23, 2012 at Temple University. Emily Amendola '12 and Michael Gallagher '12 won third place and honorable mention, respectively, for their research poster presentations. Emily's poster, entitled "An Electrochemical Method used for Probing the Interactions between Distal Residues and a Heme-Bound Fluoride in Heme proteins" reported on the pH dependence of the midpoint potential of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in the presence of fluoride. Michael presented a poster entitled "An electrochemical study of heme-pyridine and heme-saffranine interactions". Michael's research was focused on using a compound called hemin to model the interactions creating free heme. Hemin is an iron-porphyrin ring with a chloride ion bound to the iron and tends to aggregate in solution, so an organic solvent that can help dissolve and displace aggregated heme would be best for creating six- coordinate heme.
Dr. Rao Awarded 2011 Merit Award for Teaching
Above: Chemistry faculty member Dr. Usha Rao receives her Merit Teaching Award from SJU Interim President John W. Smithson
Dr. Usha Rao was awarded a Merit Award for Teaching at the 2011 Fall Awards ceremony. Dr. Rao has been teaching in the Department of Chemistry and in the Environmental Science Program at Saint Joseph's University since 2000. During this time, Dr. Rao has developed numerous new courses in Chemistry and Environmental Science and she is a now a two-time of a Merit Teaching Award at Saint Joseph's University. Congratulations Usha!
Interested in being a Teaching Assistant?
Students interested in becoming a Chemistry Laboratory Teaching Assistant should contact John Longo, Chemistry Laboratory Coordinator, at firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:6adff13f-13bc-4ad2-89a6-e30bafe700c4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sju.edu/int/academics/cas/chemistry/chemnews.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921619 | 1,842 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Here at Lamberton we have a unique opportunity and are working to preserve a part of the community's heritage--the Hanzlik Blacksmith Shop.
The building affords the opportunity and experience to view what is described as a gathering place of the community. Many came here to have horses shod, learn the events of the day and to share some good natured kibitzing.
The Hanzlik Shop has been a blacksmith shop in Lamberton since 1895 - 1897. As far as information the society has been able to gather, this building was built by George Nigg Sr. and Paul Schaffran and they purchased some needed tools from an "old timer." They in turn sold this shop and its contents to Anton Hanzlik and in 1920 his son. George "Gabby" joined him in the business. George continued the firm with the interior and exterior virtually intact until he slowed down about 25 years ago, but continued to visit the shop daily until his death. All the tools are intact, the wooden floor has shown wear as many horses walked over the interior and many plow shares were laid on the floor after sharpening their points. The forges were modernized over the years in that electricity was used to blow air on the coals. All the tools are intact, the wooden floor has shown wear as many horses walked over the interior and many plow shares were laid on the floor after sharpining their points. The forges were modernized over the years in that electricity was used to blow air on the coals. One anvil has been repaired after it was broken by a heavy sledge hammer. An English anvil remains intact adjacent to the forge area where the ssmithy pounded the hot metal in the desired shape.There are numerous pieces of machinery used to make wagon wheels and spokes, Some pieces of machinery no one has been able to identify nor can comprehend what they were used for. It is a warehouse of a long-ago lost art. The Lamberton Area Historical Society invites you to this National Treasure!
Artist - Blacksmith Association of North America home page
Lamberton Area Historical Society President Emily Hagedon---phone 507-752-7086 | <urn:uuid:dfa1b051-c382-4614-be9c-1901285459b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rrcnet.org/~lambrton/blacksmith.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980064 | 450 | 1.820313 | 2 |