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Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist wrote a post for Women’s History Month titled “Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.” There is a topic for each day of the month of March to commemorate the “fearless females” in our families. The topic for March 12 is “Working Girl: Did your mother or grandmother work outside the home?”
I’ve written before about my paternal grandmother Helen Pendleton going to work at the Staten-Converse Store in Valdosta when she and her daughters moved in with her mother-in-law after the death of her husband Wiley Thomas in 1918 during the flu epidemic. I don’t think she worked after she married my grandfather Albert Pendleton. My maternal grandmother Leona Redles didn’t work outside the home.
In a previous post I wrote about my mom going to work for my dad at the family business after all of us children were in school. She worked for him until the early 1970s when the family business closed down. After this, she went back to college and got her nursing degree. She worked as a nurse for 15 years before retiring.
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The word "foundries" uses 9 letters: D E F I N O R S U.
No direct anagrams for foundries found in this word list.
Words formed by adding one letter before or after foundries (in bold), or to definorsu in any order:
a - furanoside
All words formed from foundries by changing one letter
Browse words starting with foundries by next letter
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MSDE Strategic Plan
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) exemplifies energetic leadership and innovative products and services to improve public education, library services, and rehabilitation services.
The mission of MSDE is to provide leadership, support, and accountability for effective systems of public education, library services, and rehabilitation services.
We provide quality products and services to all customers.
We embrace the mission of the department as the basis for our program and professional objectives.
We believe in our obligation to be accountable to our customers and to use public resources effectively.
We believe people are our greatest resource and are committed to their growth and development.
We believe cultural diversity, mutual trust, respect, open communication, and celebration of achievements are essential to a productive organization.
Public Education Priorities
The achievement of all students will reach the State standards for satisfactory and excellent for the Maryland Learning Outcomes and Core Learning Goals through instruction and support services to students.
Maryland's educators will continuously refine, develop, and demonstrate knowledge and skills that ensure all students achieve or exceed established performance standards.
Accountability & Assessment
Clearly stated rigorous standards for school and student performance will guide the teaching, the learning processes, and measure their progress.
State Educational Leadership
The effective and efficient MSDE capacity to manage programs, personnel, and resources is critical to the quality of Maryland public education.
Division of Library Development & Services Priorities
Marketing and Public Relations
Identify and develop the services and products that meet the information needs of the public library community. Ensure that key decision makers and the local community are aware of library services and issues.
Services to Children
Use the emerging issues, trends, and research related to reading and technology in order to enhance services to children and families in the local library setting.
Connection to Digital Information
Expand and enrich the capacity of Maryland residents to connect freely to electronic, digital information resources through the Sailor Project.
Library Services to The Blind And Physically Handicapped
Provide quality library services to meet the reading and information needs of blind and physically handicapped residents of Maryland.
Division of Rehabilitation Services Priorities
Expand and enhance employment opportunities for persons with disabilities through the use of innovative program initiatives.
Disability Claims Adjudication
Adjudicate Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability claims in an accurate, timely, and cost-efficient manner.
Expand and enrich the availability and provision of assistive technology services which supports outcomes in independent living and employment.
Community Rehabilitation Services
Assist and promote the continued development of community-based rehabilitation services responsive to the needs, abilities, and informed choices of our consumers.
Consumer/Stakeholder Input and Participation
Support and encourage consumer/stakeholder input and participation in the independent living and vocational rehabilitation programs.
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Most of the people in American folk knew, Bill Clinton was called the “First Black President” by Toni Morrison in “The New Yorker”.
Barack Obama has been dubbed as the “First Gay President” by Andrew Sullivan in the “Newsweek” most recently.
And the “First Female President” was rewarded by Dana Milbank in “The Washington Post”.
But no matter which man or woman wins the next election — Obama or presumed challenger Mitt Romney — he may well go down in history as the “First Robot President”.
Yes the “First Robot President”. A robot will govern the country. This is not because people have found each guy to be robot-like on occasion — though they have. As far back as 2009, “Fox Nation” posted a video featuring Obama's never-changing smile and asking, "Is Obama a Robot?"
And Romney is often ribbed about his robotic behavior. As Greg Gutfeld of Fox News said that Romney's "flaws are robotic malfunction that prevents him from seeing words beyond their basic utility, like 'Robby the Robot' from Lost in Space, he sees no emotional import in his phrasing, so even when he's right, he sounds wrong."
No. The next human being in the White House may be called the First Robot President because he will be reckoning with the increasing influx and influence of robots in our everyday lives.
It is noticed that robots are everywhere. They are working on farms and coffee. Often we can find that the robots are often cleaning our houses too.
We are suddenly surrounded — by dancing droids, soccerbots, robot cars and drones and even clothrobot that do all kinds of work for us and watch our every move.
To support the development of robotics can be viewed as denigrating to the work of humans; robots take jobs from people. On the other hand, to rant against the research and development of robotics could be viewed by voters as shortsighted, and unimaginative.
So, how do the candidates feel about robots? During his first term, Obama has shown great ardor for the R2D2 population. He has rallied the Roomba types by launching the National Robotics Initiative that provides up to $70 million in research grants for robotics. "Robots are working for us every day, in countless ways," according to the White House. "At home, at work, and on the battlefield, robots are increasingly lifting the burdens of tasks that are dull, dirty or dangerous. ... But they could do even more."
"Robotics can address a broad range of national needs such as advanced manufacturing, logistics, services, transportation, homeland security, defense, medicine, health care, space exploration, environmental monitoring and agriculture." One exponent suggests.
Because robot is labor saving and man cannot be employed where the robots work. The world will soon be Robot world. You will talk and share your love, your hatred, your sadness and your happy life. But will the communication process go? Because they talk or do what ever they are put to in program files.
Will it work as human with emotions?
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Legendary lensman Jim Marshall passed away this week in New York City. Self promotion and ego inflation are the very currency of rock and roll, so one should view any claims of 'greatest anything' with major chunks of salt. But in this case...
Personally, long after I was exposed to his work, I was heartened to learn of his connections to two of my heros: Henri Cartier-Bresson, who was a huge influence on Marshall, and John Coltrane, who gave him his first high profile gig; if you need more biographical info, start with remembrances in the L.A. Times, or Rolling Stone, or head to the man's website, for it's the legacy that speaks the loudest. Consider only these facts: he accompanied Johnny Cash on the Folsom Prison show, and during the Beatles final show at Candlestick Park, San Franciso in 1966, he was the only photographer with full backstage access.
His most famous photos are iconic, the infamous shot of Johnny Cash flipping the bird, Bob Dylan rolling a tire down the street, Hendrix at Monterey Pop, Miles Davis in the boxing ring, and on and on...what astounds me is how many photos of his I knew and didn't directly associate with him until (sometimes many) years later.
He is among a very small circle that wrote the Lingua Franca of rock photography, adhering to Cartier-Bresson's theory of 'the decisive moment'. His shadow in the rock world is so towering that it's easy to forget his documentation of the Civil Rights Era, as well as his Appalachian trips. He considered himself a photo journalist, as opposed to a celebrity photographer, and his taking rock and roll seriously directly contributed to our taking rock and roll seriously.
One of his collections was called 'Trust', and that will stand...He had their trust, and he had ours.
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real hardware router VS linux router
mike-nanog at tiedyenetworks.com
Thu Feb 19 17:56:14 CST 2009
Steve Bertrand wrote:
> Ryan Harden wrote:
>> While you could probably build a linux router that is just as fast as a
>> real hardware router, you're always going to run into the moving pieces
>> part of the equation.
> Not if you boot directly from USB key into memory with no disk drive.
I am sorry, but this is wrong. A USB Key is another 'PC Architecture'
that DOES NOT WORK for network devices. There is NO positive mechanical
force to keep that thing inserted, and the way a USB Key would hang off
most devices with a USB port, would put it at very high risk for being
accidentally bumped / disconnected. Secondly, there are still many many
PC Architecture boxen that still do not boot correctly from USB.
More information about the NANOG
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Image from REA
DARROW THE CYNIC
In many ways Donald R. Richberg and General Johnson came off the victors in their public quarrel with Clarence Darrow. The defenders of NRA proved easily and conclusively the gross inconsistencies of Mr. Darrow’s reasoning, but they did not thereby validate the National Recovery Act and other measures of the Roosevelt recovery program. By exposing the addled thinking of Mr. Darrow, they have gained nothing in constructive defense of the follies of the NRA and its underlying philosophy.
It seems to be fate that the cause of opposition to administration policies falls into the hands of the Wirts and Darrows. They snatch the spotlight and the big headlines, while the calm, well-reasoned criticism of Ogden L. Mills is shunted into the background.
Mr. Darrow’s social philosophy has been shaped by his past experiences as an advocate for the accused, the oppressed, the unfortunate. He has become the champion of the underdog.
In a battle between society and a coupled of murderers, Mr. Darrow indicts society and excuses the criminals. A man of this type of mind would be expected to have a low opinion of the possibilities of human nature.
You might expect him to say, as he did say, “All competition is savage, wolfish and relentless and can be nothing else. One may as well dream of making war lady-like as of making competition fair.”
Mr. Darrow overlooks the fact that all advancement in social justice has consisted in applying workable rules for the enforcement of fair play — not perfect rules, by any means, but workable rules. They are ever being amended in an effort to reach a greater degree of fairness. As wolfish instincts become refined and sublimated better rules are accepted. We still have a long way to go, but we have certainly made a lot of progress in the last three centuries.
The most amazing thing about the Darrow report is that, while he is a professed cynic regarding human nature as applied to rules regulating fair competition, he advocates socialism, or socialized control of industry, which is based on the highest faith in mankind.
Mr. Darrow lacks the faith that business can ever be made to compete on a fair basis; yet he is willing to repose faith in a bureaucratic control over the lives of 120,000,000 persons.
Socialized industry means nothing less than the control of industry in the hands of a few tyrants. If takes a prodigious amount of faith in human nature to approve such a system.
Socialism, or socialized control of industry, to be successful, must presuppose: (1) That the leaders who battle their way to the top (through ruthless competition for leadership) will be not only superman, but also spotless, selfless characters; and (2) that the great mass of individuals will not be spoiled by the multiplicity of government props and aids that will surround them.
A people whose life is ordered for them by a small group of alleged supermen cannot retain the moral fibre of a people who are left to use their own initiative and invention.
A realist would concede that human nature is capable of great things, but in order to bring out the most and the best in him the individual must be left as far as possible a free agent, unhampered by manifold interferences from a paternalistic government. Political freedom means freedom for the individual to develop.
The question the country must settle is, how far, under our modern industrial set-up, must we go in ?? ???? down regulatory laws in order to protect individual liberty? What is the bare minimum of regulation consistent with modern conditions?
We believe that the National Recovery act, the Securities act, the Stock Exchange regulations bill and the other measures go far beyond the necessary minimum of regulation.
President Roosevelt and his advisers think that NRA and present legislation does not go far enough. There the ???? ?? ????ed, and it should be fought out along these lines.
Fitchburg Sentinel (Fitchburg, Massachusetts) May 22, 1934
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- For the Trill symbiont of the same name, please see Dax (symbiont).
Crewman Dax was a Megazoid Starfleet crewmember serving aboard the USS Enterprise-A under Captain Kirk.
In 2293, Dax was briefly suspected of participating in the assassination of Klingon chancellor Gorkon, but his innocence was proven by the unusual shape of his feet, which would not fit into the magnetic boots that were believed to have been used to commit the assassination.
The boots had actually been planted in Dax's locker by Lieutenant Valeris. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
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Deer Population a Challenge for Area Forests
March 2, 2013 8:00 am - Potomac Local News
By CHARLES SMITH
Prince William Conservation Alliance
Many residents in Northern Virginia understand the need to change land use practices to stop or minimize habitat destruction and preserve good examples of our native plant communities. An increasing number of people also support combating the spread of non-native invasive species to include problem plant species and insects such as gypsy moth, which can strip tree foliage and cause their death.
These two conservation priorities remain tremendously important, but there is a critical need to add another: controlling populations of white-tailed deer.
People arrived in North America over 13,000 years ago. Once our species arrived, we, not wolves and mountain lions, gradually became the top predator controlling populations of large herbivores. Many of those species eventually went extinct. The white-tailed deer nearly joined their ranks by about 1900, with very few deer left in the state.
In the mid-20th century, Virginia joined many other states in reintroducing white-tailed deer to supplement the few deer left and increase numbers for sport hunting. From the 1950s through the 1980s two things happened that greatly contributed to the increase in the number of deer. First land use shifted away from agriculture toward suburban and urban uses.
Contrary to commonly held beliefs, suburban landscapes do not take away deer habitat – they create it. Deer are adaptive animals. Suburban development creates preferred edge habitat for deer, and human landscapes provide high concentrations of edible plants close to the ground where the deer can get to them. You can grow more deer in suburbia than you can in a purely forested landscape.
The second major factor is that few people hunt. Deer are a prey species that requires predation to control their populations. Without predation they can double their numbers in as little as one year. With almost no hunting pressure in suburban areas and declining hunting pressure in rural areas, deer numbers have skyrocketed state-wide. In many areas of the state, deer population numbers are at more than three to eight times the densities that native plant communities can sustain.
The result is that our remaining forest ecosystems are decimated. Deer eat everything native with few exceptions. They eat almost all of the non-woody plants in the forest as well as all shrubs and trees within their reach and the majority of the acorns and hickory nuts. They have now removed most vegetation from many of our forests below 5 feet.
The results include the disappearance of most of our forest bird species in many areas due to loss of the understory, the loss of many of our woodland wildflowers, and a change of our forest stand composition to a few species such as tulip tree, American beech and red maple that have smaller seeds and appear to be less palatable to deer.
As our forests are oversimplified we lose native species, non-native invasive plants explode and become the dominant understory. Once the existing trees die, there will be little to replace them.
In 2008 the USDA Forest Service began to make dire predictions about eastern forests due to the over-browsing by white-tailed deer. The problem is so severe that even if we could reduce the number of deer immediately to within ecologically sustainable levels, it would take many decades if not centuries to recover our native plant communities.
If we act soon we can retain enough native plant stock and seed that many species could recover within remaining forests and repopulate surrounding areas over time.
It is time for residents and local governments in Northern Virginia to join with USDA Forest Service, the Virginia Natural Heritage Program, large landowners and managers elsewhere in Virginia, the Maryland Native Plant Society and others in supporting and urging efforts to reduce and manage the number of white-tailed deer in order to protect our native plant species, the communities in which they live and the animal species they support.
Charles Smith is a member of the Prince William Wildflower Society and Prince William Conservation Alliance, and the Natural Resource Management and Protection Branch Manager for Fairfax County Park Authority.
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THE VIEW THAT ATHENS AND JERUSALEM represent two very different and antagonistic sources of Western civilization has long been a feature of the Western tradition. It dates back at least to Tertullian’s passionate second-century polemic against Greek philosophy. Those Enlightenment thinkers who preferred Greek reason to Hebrew revelation confirmed it resoundingly. And again just over a century ago, again from the side of Athens, the culture critic Matthew Arnold boiled down his civilization to two fundamental forces:
And to give these forces names from the two races of men who have supplied the most signal and splendid manifestations of them, we may call them respectively the forces of Hebraism and Hellenism. Hebraism and Hellenism, - between these two points of influence moves our world.
Today as well — arguably to the greatest extent since the Enlightenment — the camps of religion and culture view each other with a deepening mutual distrust.
It is no trivial matter then to deny the necessity of this antagonism, to claim that it is based on a tragic misunderstanding, and to suggest moreover that our culture’s health depends on overcoming it. An ambitious new work by the Biblical scholar and philosopher Dr. Yoram Hazony, The Philosophy of the Hebrew Scripture, makes this point audaciously, and would deserve consideration even if it achieved nothing more. In fact, perusing the footnotes, one discovers that almost every claim is precisely situated within the labyrinthine debates of contemporary scholarship. But it’s the invisibility of its erudition and the unabashed scope of its argument that gives the book its appeal.
Largely structured around the divisions of philosophy introduced by Aristotle, the work is an extensive, though unevenly convincing, introduction to the Bible read as reason. Its central thesis is that the Biblical authors, no less than Parmenides or Plato, pursued and cultivated a philosophical worldview embracing everything from metaphysics to politics. Hazony contends that the reason/revelation dichotomy — that is, the distinction between God-given truth and that truth which results from the independent labor of the mind — is irrevocably foreign to the Hebrew Scriptures. While explicitly opposing the Christian position, his reading is equally independent of the Jewish exegetical tradition. The Biblical text is approached as if for the first time, like some unfamiliar work of wisdom belonging to a previously unknown and exotic people.
After carrying out a minimalist reconstruction of the Biblical authors’ identities and intentions, what remains is just the text — a unified Hebrew Bible replete with inner-textual complexities and meanings. Hazony indentifies a number of prominent and recurrent literary devices whose descriptions he borrows from literary theory. Understanding the text’s deepest meanings is possible only by taking in the whole at once. “It is only later — sometimes much later,” he writes, “that the standpoint of the author about a given character or event comes to light.”
The story of Cain and Abel furnishes an important example with implications for Biblical ethics and politics. As here interpreted, the brothers represent the types of the farmer and the shepherd. Cain is usually remembered as the Bible’s first murderer and the founder of its first city. Nevertheless he began his days innocently as a faithful adherent of God’s injunction to Adam and his descendents to “serve the land” and to “live by the sweat of his brow.” The loyal, plodding Cain even made the first thanksgiving sacrifice to God, of produce, and did so apparently on his own initiative. His shepherding brother, Abel, rather than working the land himself as demanded of his father, employed his livestock for that purpose. And rather than living from the sweat of his brow, lived the free, unsettled life of the shepherd.
Yet Cain’s sacrifice famously pleases God not at all, while Abel’s is accepted. Hazony’s radical explanation of this scene informs much that comes later in the book. God, he argues, does not in fact always want obedience; on the contrary, God very often rewards open rebellion.
Here, as elsewhere in Scripture, it transpires that God is not particularly impressed with piety, with sacrifices, with doing what you are told to do and what your fathers did before you. He is not even that impressed with doing what you believe has been decreed by God. All these things, which Cain has on his side of the ledger […] are worth nothing if they are not placed in the service of a life that is directed toward the active pursuit of man’s true good.
Hazony identifies a Biblical preference for the shepherd and his untamed freedom of thought and action over the farmer’s settled ways — a preference that becomes increasingly sophisticated and subtle in later stories. For example, his reading of the story of Joseph (reminiscent of Thomas Mann’s epic), recurs to this theme. Joseph is a master of political economy whose greatest achievement involves the agricultural salvation of Egypt — a state in Roman times called the “world’s grain-bin.” This is to say that Joseph was a prince in a great farming empire. He does not win his father’s highest blessing, leadership of his brothers and the nation that will spring from them. He has faith — he trusts and obeys — but he lacks the shepherding virtues of independence and readiness to just rebellion.
The Bible’s preference for the shepherd holds a systematic significance, across the fields of ethics and politics. God is not exclusively concerned with blind obedience to his commandments. Faith is but one virtue among many. The shepherd’s innovation and freethinking liberty is ultimately preferable to the pious conservatism of the agrarian. God insists on:
examining one’s allegiances and obligations each time anew, each time from the vantage point of an outsider, a ‘stranger and sojourner’ (as Abraham calls himself after 62 years living in Canaan) who owes nothing and has committed to nothing that cannot be reconsidered in light of one’s independent judgment as to what is really right.
Hazony’s effort to show how revealed law fits his natural law model is too brief and not entirely convincing. But the insight into Biblical disobedience does not suffer for this weakness. Successful rebellion, against both God and man, appears throughout the Biblical corpus as a major reiterated theme. Contrasting a Biblical ethics of individualism with the moral centrality of the state in Greek philosophy yields the surprising conclusion that obedience is rather more a Greek than Hebrew virtue.
The chapter on the Bible’s political philosophy picks up this thread. If Plato and Aristotle were concerned chiefly with describing the best state, the Biblical authors were concerned with other, deeper problems as well: the problem of having a state at all, of controlling the dual human tendency toward anarchy and imperialism. They were concerned with national unity and division, and above all, with striving to maintain freedom without inviting wickedness. Considering Biblical episodes from the story of the tower of Babel to the prophets’ pleas before the people not to set a king above them, it becomes clear why both Hazony and Matthew Arnold identify statism with Greek rather than Biblical thought.
Yet despite their continued preference for the ethics of the shepherd, Hazony argues that the Biblical authors ultimately decide for a nation-state. The book of Judges describes the failure of the prophet-judges to rule over pre-state Israel, and is meant to show how a state became necessary in ancient Israel. In so doing, it provides a philosophical account of what makes a nation-state good. For instance, the Biblical state emerges as an essentially limited state – for the first time in history. It is a state seen through the shepherd’s eyes, subject to the prophets and the critical “word of God” in their mouths.
Matthew Arnold maintained that “the uppermost idea with Hebraism is conduct and obedience.” Having rejected this claim, Hazony addresses the other side of Arnold’s dichotomy: “the uppermost idea with Hellenism is to see things as they really are.” Here too Hazony argues that the Bible has been systematically undervalued, but finds himself on somewhat shakier ground.
The biblical theory of knowledge presented is based chiefly on a reading of the book of Jeremiah and borrows heavily from pragmatism and Thomas Kuhn’s theory of paradigm shifts. Neither knowledge nor truth are mystical or absolute; they are rooted in imperfect and limited human experience and are confirmed, if at all, only in the fullness of time. The arguments here suffer at times from intellectual overextension, noticeable in the incongruity of Hazony’s philosophical vocabulary. Does Jeremiah’s insistence that societal corruption is reflected in the systematic misemployment of words really amount to “a critique of language”? Are the prophets’ impassioned harangues really “orations”? Such descriptions are not wrong, but they raise a great many unanswered questions. Yet here, too, are interesting and important ideas. There are stimulating observations on the nature and role of prophesy, on truth, on the imperfect nature of God, and on the notable absence in the Hebrew Bible of esoteric knowledge.
The thesis that the Bible can be read as a book of reason is at least partially convincing. And if, as Hazony claims, “the word of God is continuous with human wisdom,” there is no need to deny a special revelatory status to the Bible as well. Yet one does feel that something of the real difference between the Bible and Greek philosophy has been lost in translation. How is it that science and art belong so naturally to ancient Greece and yet seem quite foreign to ancient Jerusalem? Or that no wild-eyed prophets lamented the fall of Athens? This question receives no clear answer. Perhaps Matthew Arnold was wrong in thinking that the highest legacy of Athens is true thought and that of Jerusalem right action. But that hardly justifies the conclusion that those legacies are the same.
The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture may not invalidate the ancient divide between Athens and Jerusalem, but it succeeds in the hardly more modest goal of reappraising the value and meaning of the Biblical legacy; one is left with a compelling new way of thinking about it. Hazony succeeds therefore in the most important way: by developing ideas destined for common currency.
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The developed world has conveniently branded China the scapegoat for the failure of the Copenhagen summit to deliver a deal to stop climate change. While this spin is deplorable, China only deserves so much sympathy, muses Greenpeace China's...
Greenpeace China’s Tom Wang describes his dismay at how NGO’s are being treated at the Copenhagen climate change talks and wonders what this means for the transparency of the negotiations.
Greenpeace China's Yang Ailun is in Copenhagen lobbying delegates at the climate change conference to make a strong and fair deal to stop climate change. This is her take on why loving your country means wanting the best possible climate change...
Two big issues have been coming up again and again this week in Copenhagen: money and trust. These may be a smokescreen for the much larger issue of what targets developed or developing countries take on but they are important regardless.
As we enter the second week of negotiations at the Copenhagen climate change talks, we are all hoping delegates stop squabbling and start working together to stop climate change. What else are we thinking about?
As a child I once watched the television broadcast of an anti-apartheid demonstration held in New Zealand, just before a rugby match that violated the international sports boycott against apartheid South Africa, writes Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace...
While the politics heats up on the third day of the Copenhagen climate change summit, Greenpeace China's Tom Wang receives a love letter.
Developing countries, including China, are angry about a leaked document which, they say, allows developed countries to shirk the necessary emissions cuts to stop climate change. What does this mean for a Copenhagen deal?
We've been working all year towards Copenhagen. Now it's finally started. Here is Greenpeace's statement at the state of play on the first day.
Just three days before the UN Copenhagen climate change summit opens, Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper visits Beijing. We thought we’d take the opportunity to tell him what we think of his criminal decision to mine tar sands, one of the...
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© 2012 GREENPEACE
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Regulatory fallout from the housing crash, the Credit Card Act of 2009 and the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are making the daily duties of a loan officer look increasingly more like those of a compliance officer. Below are the most burdensome, difficult and confusing current regulations and proposed rules facing credit union lending officers today.
Credit Card Look Back
The credit Card Act of 2009 required institutions to continuously review and monitor the business reasons behind raising a cardholder’s interest rate or the institution’s overall interest rates. For example, if a member’s credit score decreases due to a job loss or other event and the credit union raises his or her interest rate, regulations require a review of the member’s credit score six months later to see if it has improved. If it has, the credit union must lower the rate accordingly. Additionally, if a credit union increases its credit card APRs across the board or in any risk-based category, it would have to document the business reasons for the increase and re-evaluate the decision after six months to ensure the business reasons are still valid.
“One big issue is there’s no end time, so theoretically, these reviews will go on indefinitely into the future,” said NAFCU Director of Compliance Steve Van Beek.
The CFPB released a compliance bulletin April 17 stating the agency will apply the disparate impact doctrine to the institutions it regulates, which includes the three largest credit unions, when assessing if they violate the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The NCUA has jurisdiction over most credit unions when it comes to fair lending auditing, but the Department of Justice has said it will actively investigate discrimination complaints it receives from CFPB or any source, like consumer groups.
Disparate impact occurs when a lender’s practices or policies are appearance neutral but have discriminatory effects. Basically, it lowers the standard of proof to enforce lending discrimination laws. If the NCUA follows suit, it could create problems for credit unions that have fields of membership that restrict lending to a limited geographical area or a specific group that may not reflect the diversity fair lending laws require.
Many are familiar with the Department of Justice’s suit against former mortgage giant Countrywide, but CUNA Mutual Director of Compliance Bill Klewin said the department’s civil rights division also pursued discrimination charges against the $69 million Nixon State Bank of Nixon, Texas.
“It doesn’t matter how large or small you are, if you are violating ECOA, the Justice Department will look at you,” he said, adding that litigation could be extremely destructive to a credit union’s reputation.
One potential form of discrimination the Federal Reserve has warned its supervised institutions about is related to maternity leave. Some lenders refuse to consider a woman’s employment status or income if she applies for credit while on maternity leave. Such a policy may violate the ECOA on the basis of sexual discrimination and may also violate Regulation B, which prohibits using assumptions related to the likelihood that any person would receive interrupted or diminished income as a result of raising children.
The Fed suggests lenders mitigate risk by not assuming a woman won’t return to work after childbirth and to ensure that underwriting standards treat maternity leave applicants equal to other applicants on leave.
The Federal Reserve’s most common regulation citation in 2011 was a violation of Regulation B that prohibits a lender from requiring the signature of a spouse, unless the applicant does not qualify for credit and the spouse chooses to provide credit support.
Adding to the confusion about credit and spouses is a mandate from the Credit Card Act that prohibits credit card issuers from considering household income when a nonworking spouse applies. Under the rule, which went into effect Oct. 1, 2011, only an individual’s own income can be considered. That means stay-at-home parents without significant outside income can no longer qualify for credit cards or establish their own credit history independent from their spouses.
It could get even more confusing. The CFPB may look at the rule, because it affects consumer access to credit and may be discriminatory.
Equal Housing Lender
During its March board meeting, the NCUA created a new requirement for credit unions to display a new equal housing lender poster that updated the NCUA’s address from the Office of Examination and Insurance to the NCUA’s Office of Consumer Protection. The new poster was declared effectively immediately but added a caveat for compliance “within a reasonable amount of time” because the NCUA had not yet created a new poster. This has left many credit unions wondering about the NCUA’s definition of reasonable amount of time and when the posters will be available.
NCUA spokesman John Zimmerman said the new posters are expected in early May.
The most mind-bending proposed regulation is the CFPB’s efforts to consolidate Truth in Lending and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act disclosures. NAFCU President/CEO Fred Becker called the proposal is a step in the right direction but said conflicting requirements inherent in the two statutes might make the task impossible.
The proposed consolidation could require credit unions to fill out the RESPA portion of the settlement document, which would be problematic because most credit unions lack expertise when it comes to the back end of residential real estate transactions.
CUNA Mutual’s Klewin said the disclosure consolidations will cause credit unions “to spend quite a bit of time understanding the rules,” as well as creating a lot of new work for data processors and documents providers.
The CFPB is not only consolidating TILA and RESPA disclosures, it’s also overhauling the appearance of mortgage disclosures, implementing the so-called “tabular” format that has already been applied to credit card disclosures. Tabular forms require that items of most interest to consumers be published in a table or box, separated from other text in the disclosure.
“The Federal Reserve did consumer testing on this form and it showed it was easier for consumers to see the information in a tabular format,” said NAFCU’s Van Beek. “But, I don’t think they tested how long it will take for credit unions to get their systems to convert these disclosures to the tabular format.”
Van Beek said the process will be similar to changes made in credit card disclosures two years ago, when tabular formats were mandated for late payment warnings. Credit unions had to undergo major system changes to meet the requirement, and had to put a lot of marketing projects on the backburner until new forms were created. Ambiguity is a problem, he said.
“There’s really no instruction manual that comes with these disclosures, usually just a 500-page regulation,” Van Beek said. “The Federal Reserve and CFPB have model forms, but publishing a model form and providing information on how to replicate the model are two different things.” For example, he said, there is no clear mandate on exact font size expected by the CFPB.
When it was formed, the CFPB inherited regulations from seven other agencies, and republished them in its section of federal code. That means 13 regulations now have different code designations, which requires credit unions to make changes to their policy manuals, training, and verbiage.
Additionally, the CFPB has made technical changes to applications, disclosures and other required information for consumers, including required credit card disclosures used to refer consumers to the Federal Reserve for more information regarding how to effectively manage debt. Consumers should now be referred to the CFPB. Credit unions have until Jan. 1 to make the changes, but there are several tweaks to be made in several areas.
Fair and Accurate
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 primarily provides the right for consumers to obtain a free copy of their credit report once each calendar year and guards against identity theft. However, a provision requires lenders to provide a disclosure to borrowers if they do not qualify for the advertised as low as rate.
The FTC and Federal Reserve Board further refined the disclosures requirement in late 2009 by stating consumers must be given adverse action notices if they are denied credit, but lenders must only provide the risk-based pricing notices if the borrower is granted credit at terms less favorable than what others receive.
According to the Department of Justice, the Service Members Civil Relief Act mandates that lenders must provide active duty service members, which include National Guard members deployed for 30 days or more, with credit payment flexibility if they are unable to make regular payments. Additionally, lenders may not change the terms of an existing credit arrangement or file adverse reports relating to creditworthiness.
Klewin said credit unions have struggled to understand when to apply the act, which allows service members to postpone or suspend outstanding credit card debt and mortgage payments, among other things.
Credit unions don’t typically offer the kind of products that would be regulated by Department of Defense, but “it should be on the radar screen for those with members on active duty,” Klewin said.
The 2007 regulations protect service members and their families from high-cost, short-term loans by limiting fees and interest. Specifically, the regulations limit interest charged on payday loans, vehicle title loans and tax refund anticipation loans to 36%.
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Design and art have a lot in common. They both involve skill, tremendous amounts of creativity and often, but not always, some element of business. Even with their differences purpose, master designers have been likened to artists in the past, and an upcoming show at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art blurs these lines even further.
The Art of Apps is an exhibition that hopes to showcase the greatest user interface designers of our time, in celebration of Internet Week NY. The show, which opens on May 14th, features the likes of Danny Trinh of Path, Matias Corea of Behance, Andrew S. Allen of Paper, Mark Jardine of Tweetbot, Jon Slimak of Piictu and Andy Thompson of Cameo.
HW: How were the exhibiting designers chosen? How did they respond to your invitation?
Vinh: We looked for the apps doing the most interesting work at the intersection of social, creativity and mobile. All of our participants hit at least two of those three criteria. However, at the end of the day, what we wanted more than anything else were apps that looked fantastic, that showcased the very best of what’s possible in the app form.
All of the designers we talked to were eager to be involved; I literally didn’t have to persuade any of them to take part. I think there’s a real feeling out there that apps are becoming something of their own, something that’s becoming less and less like ‘web design’ every day. So having the chance to help crystallize that thought was very appealing to them, I’m guessing.
HW: Will there be more shows like this in the future?
Hindman: We certainly expect to do more of these shows. the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
HW: Can you describe how the “pieces” will be presented?
Hindman: The space, Soho Digital Art Gallery, is unique in that it is fully equipped with LED screens on the walls. The Art will be displayed on the screens.
HW: What are the goals of this exhibition?
Rojas: Great apps often feel complete and polished in a way that websites often don’t, something which obscures the process of experimentation, iteration, and (sometimes) failure that goes into making them. Creating an amazing user experience for an app — one where the device itself almost melts away — requires a thoughtfulness and cleverness that can be hard to find. We wanted to showcase examples of some of the smartest, best-designed apps we could find, as well as give a peek into how they get created in the first place.
You can visit the show starting May 14th at 10AM in NYC. For more info, check out the link below.
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Richard Collins is one physician who practices what he prescribes. He's a gourmet chef who usessoy as a staple in a high-protein, low-fat menu.
Called the "cooking cardiologist," Collins is also director of The Heart Institute in Omaha, NE. He's convinced that soyfoods have helped his patients live longer.
Four years ago, The Heart Institute was the first in the nation to stress that heart disease can be reversed. Research had indicated that a high-protein, low-fat soy diet may have a lot to do with that.
"But, I decided, before I put a patient through a soy diet, I would try it myself," Collins remembers. "I lost 20 pounds, had more energy and felt better."
Now he's busy teaching patients how to reduce their fat intake and increase the amount of protein they consume. "They're no longer 'fat-tigued,' " he quips.
More than 2,600 Americans die each day from heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. And Collins, as a practicing cardiologist, is seeing more heart attacks in younger people.
He is especially concerned with the increase in number of pre-menopausal women suffering from the deadly disease.
"Prevention is the key to winning the fight against heart disease."
Although Collins travels extensively, giving cooking seminars to doctors, patients and others, he hopes his video, "Soy Healthy Cooking," can reach more people.
The video comes with a brochure of 45 recipes mentioning soy brands that are distributed nationally. That's so cooks can more easily find necessary ingredients. Recipes range from pasta and pizza to apple crisp and chocolate mousse. His version of an egg-and-sausage, fast-food breakfast sandwich, which usually contains 29 grams of fat and 400 calories, holds only 4 grams of fat and 250 calories.
"It tastes great," he adds.
Collins recommends replacing some high-fat foods with products such as tofu, soy beverage and soy flour. But don't just cut up some tofu, stir-fry it with vegetables and decide it doesn't taste good.
Instead, find recipes that are much like what you may already be making. Just substitute a fourth of the all-purpose flour with soy flour, or put soy beverage instead of cow milk in your oatmeal.
He says consuming at least 30-40 grams of soy each day makes a difference healthwise. That can be achieved by drinking a chocolate tofu "smoothie," adding tofu in place of meat or cheese and using soy beverage or part soy flour when baking.
Start putting soy in three or four meals a week, he suggests. But know that not all soy foods are beneficial. Highly processed soy foods, such as soy protein concentrates, don't provide needed health benefits.
Once you've made soy work in your recipes, he recommends two servings of soy per day, plus five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables -- and limiting foods high in fat.
Collins' video gives research and nutritional information. It also shows Collins preparing various dishes from his recipe booklet.
To order, call 800-869-4956. The cost is $17.95 plus $4.95 shipping and handling.
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Our Balalaika Prima has the traditional 3 strings and measures approximately 27 inches in length. The scale length is 430 mm. The body has the classical triangular shape. The back is slightly bowed and made with stave construction in two tones of rosewood. The darker back contrasts with the light colored wood of the soundboard. The Balalaika strings are tuned above middle C to: A, E, E (1st-3rd). The 1st string is the thinnest, and lays over more frets than the 2nd & 3rd strings. Use a piano or electronic tuner as a reference for tuning. The tension on each tuning peg can be adjusted by tightening or loosing the screw on the top of the peg. To play, the left hand notes the strings while the index finger of the right hand strums high on the soundboard near the neck. The dark rosewood on the soundboard is decorative but also protects the soundboard from the strumming. The Balalaika most likely evolved from the Oriental dombra, which is still played in present-day Kazakhstan. Knowledge of the dombra most likely spread to Russia by Mongol trade and conquest. After undergoing structural changes, the Balalaika was embraced by Russians. It is said that the Balalaika embodies the Russian people's character, with its ability to switch from happiness to sadness with ease. It was common for the peasant ballads, composed for the Balalaika, to irreverently poke fun at the authority of the times. For this reason there were times when the Balalaika was banned by both the Orthodox Church and the State.
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because national standards in the three subject areas have had different timelines, varying degrees and types of influence across subject areas are to be expected at any one time.
Three core channels exist within the education system through which nationally developed standards can influence teaching and learning. These channels of influence are (a) curriculum; (b) teacher development; and (c) assessment and accountability.
The channels of influence are complex and interactive, and differ across subject-matter communities. In other words, the channels operate differently within mathematics, science, and technology, creating different opportunities for—or barriers to—influence by the standards. Jointly or separately, the channels may alter the way standards are understood and realized. Public, political, and professional reactions can also affect these channels and shape the way standards reach and influence teaching and learning.
Variability within the education system implies that students and teachers are likely to experience different influences, depending on locality, resources, participant background, and other factors. Consequently, educational effects of national standards are unlikely to be monolithic. Instead, there may be effects that are constructive and others that are counterproductive, some weak, and others strong.
The task for research—and hence for this Framework—is to help identify and document significant standards-based effects, as well as overall trends and patterns among those effects. That is, the task is to provide evidence-based descriptions of the channels and mechanisms through which those effects take place and determine what conditions may be associated with particular effects.
The ultimate focus is on the changes in students’ knowledge and abilities that have occurred since standards have entered the system and that can be reasonably attributed to the influence of the standards. As part of this, it is essential to consider how standards have affected the achievement of all students, including those who were previously underrepresented in mathematics, science, and technology.
Eventually, nationally developed standards will be judged
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So it turns out that Osama Bin Laden’s final video was to the people of the Middle East, encouraging them to rise up against their corrupt leaders and take control. It is not clear when this video was shot but he is reported to have said:
I think that the winds of change will blow over the entire Muslim world, with permission from Allah…So, what are you waiting for? Save yourselves and your children, because the opportunity is here.”
There is of course the important question as to whether Bin Laden went, was killed, at the right time, having served his purpose in God’s grand design. But, as most people will no doubt recognise, it seems that both Al quaeda and the West that they are fighting have a similar value – that of the self-determination of the Muslim people. The conflict would appear to be over how that value is best implemented.
It just so happens that I am reading Kwame Anthony Appiah’s “Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers”. By a complete coincidence – or is it – I have got to the bit where Appiah argues that this precise point:
The fact that both Palestians and Israelis – in particular, that both observant Muslims and observant Jews – have a special relation of Jerusalem, to the Temple Mount, has been a reliable source of trouble. The problem isn’t that they disagree about the importance of Jerusalem: the problem is exactly that they both care for it deeply and, in part, for the same reason. Mohammed, in the first years of Islam, urged his followers to turn toward Jerusalem in prayer because he had learned the story of Jerusalem from the Jews among whom he lived in Mecca. Nor…it is an accident that the West’s fiercest adversaries amoung other societies tend to come from among the most Westernised of the group…We all know now the foot soldiers of Al Quaeda who committed the mass murders of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were not bedouins from the desert; nor unlettered fellahin.”
Appiah goes to describe the wider pattern of independence movements – how it was the Western-educated bourgeoise who built the independence movement in his own Ghana, how India’s independence was led by an Indian-born South African, British trained lawyer (Ghandi), an Indian who wore Savile Row suits and sent his daughter to an English boarding school (Nehru) and another ‘Indian’ who joined Lincoln’s Inn and became a barrister at the age of 19 (Jinna). Even Colonol Gaddafi’s own sons and President Al-Assad of Syria are Western-educated.
Appiah cites Caliban, the original inhabitant of the island commandeered by Prospero in Shakespeare’s Tempest:
You taught me language and my profit on’t
Is, I know how to curse.
Osama Bin Laden, therefore, is arguably in the mould of every other ‘freedom fighter’ in that he shares some common values (not all of them) with his enemy. Though he was raised a devout Wahhabi Muslim, he attended a top secular school, he studied economics and business administration and he possible gained a degree in civil engineering or public administration. He also had an interest in reading, in particular Field Marshal Montgomery and Charles De Gaulle, and football, in which his favourite position was centre forward and he supported Arsenal FC.
The irony is that the more we in the West is interested in spreading our values, whether it be democracy, freedom or McDonalds, the more likely that they will sow the seeds for more conflict against us. So perhaps we should see Al Quaeda has a compliment, rather than a threat, to our own way of life.
Appiah, Kwame Anthony (2006). Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers. Penguin Books, London. pp78-80
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Science subject and location tags
Articles, documents and multimedia from ABC Science
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
Genetically engineered bacteria could make cellulosic ethanol cheaper to manufacture, researchers report, in a finding that may unlock more energy from the waste products of farming and forestry.
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
US researchers are developing a car tyre that warns the driver it's about to go flat.
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To Cultivate Peace: Agriculture in a World of Conflict
by Indra de Soysa & Nils Petter Gleditsch, with Michael Gibson & Margareta Sollenberg
In this article we examine the post–Cold War pattern of conflict with a focus on the role of agriculture. In developing countries, the primary sector of the economy is dominant. Closely linked to basic human needs, it is directly affected by environmental degradation and by violence. The agricultural sector is subject to strong governmental intervention in most countries, and can easily suffer from capricious politics.
The conditions of food production and distribution is a good arena for observing the interaction of politics, economics, and environmental issues as they influence violent conflict – how it is generated, how it is escalated, how it is contained, and how it is resolved. We conclude that the rehabilitation of agriculture is a central condition for development, reducing poverty, preventing environmental destruction, and for
reducing violence. Poor conditions for agriculture hold grave implications for socio-economic development and sustainable peace. We also see good governance as crucial in building healthy conditions for agriculture, and thus in breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, scarcity, and violence. The central issues are not merely technical: they relate directly to the way human beings organize their affairs and how they cope with natural and man-made crises.
Practising Food Democracy by Neva Hassanein
There is a tension regarding the potential of the alternative agro-food movement to create meaningful change. From one perspective, individual and organizational actors working to change the dominant food system need to be engaged on a daily basis in political and social struggles and accomplish what is presently possible given existing opportunities and barriers. From an alternate view, such pragmatism is woefully inadequate for achieving the complete transformation of the food and agriculture system that many movement actors and academic analysts see as necessary. This paper examines some of the issues underlying this tension. It is argued that the ‘‘sustainability’’ of food and agriculture systems is understandably a contested concept because it inevitably involves
both conflicts over values and uncertainty about outcomes. These same characteristics make democracy the method of choice for the alternative agro-food movement, and this paper discusses the emerging concept of ‘‘food democracy’’ in order to elaborate upon its
practical utility with respect to collective action. The existing alternative agro-food movement is the main source of the pressure to democratize the agro-food system. While the movement in the United States (and elsewhere) is very diverse in terms of organizational forms and strategies, there are important opportunities for developing coalitions among various groups. Lastly, food democracy is discussed as a pragmatic method for transforming the agro-food system.
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A bacterium that causes appendicitis and gum disease has been detected in colon tumors, according to new research that suggests it may set the stage for colorectal cancer, the second-deadliest malignancy. Only lung cancer kills more people each year.
If the finding can be validated by larger studies, fusobacterium might one day be used to prevent and screen for colorectal cancer, currently detectable through colonoscopy or tests for the presence of blood in the stool. fuscobacterium also might play a role in determining the prognosis of colorectal cancers and shaping their treatment, according to two research teams independently reporting a relationship between the rod-shaped microbe and cancers of the lower digestive system.
Fuscobacterium is a known player in disorders characterized by inflammation, such as gum disease and appendicitis. Scientists have tied some strains to two inflammatory bowel diseases, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, both of which elevate the risk of colon cancer. In addition to promoting inflammation, fuscobacterium has other qualities that make it a formidable foe: it invades tissues and it's sticky, which helps explain its presence in the dental plaque that clings to tooth enamel.
A Canadian research team found significantly more fuscobacterium RNA (a type of genetic material) in colon tumors than in healthy tissues from the same people. That surprised the investigators because fuscobacterium is a rare inhabitant of healthy guts and "has not been previously associated with cancer," said Robert Holt, a senior scientist with the British Columbia Cancer Agency Genome Sciences Center and associate professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
A U.S. group compared tissues lining cancerous and healthy regions of patients' colons, looking in each for stretches of the microbes' DNA (another type of genetic material).They theorized that if bacteria and viruses were involved in the development of colorectal cancer, the quantity of the microbes in tumor tissue would differ from the quantity in adjacent healthy tissue. Indeed, looking first at tissues of nine people, and then 95 more, they found a spike in fuscobacterium species, especially fuscobacterium nucleatum, fuscobacterium mortiferum and fuscobacterium necrophorum in diseased tissue.
"Tumors and their surroundings contain complex mixtures of cancer cells, normal cells, and a variety of microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses," said Dr. Matthew Meyerson, co-director of the Center for Cancer Genome Discovery at the Dana-Farber Cancer Center in Boston and senior author of the second study. "Over the past decade, there has been an increasing focus on the relationship between cancer cells and their 'microenvironment,' specifically on the cell-to-cell interactions that may promote cancer formation and growth."
Both studies will be published online Tuesday in the international journal Genomic Research.
Holt and Meyerson said their findings couldn't discern whether fuscobacterium infection causes colon cancer, or fuscobacterium infection and inflammation develop because of colon cancer. Meyerson said additional studies comparing bacteria in the tissues of cancer patients and healthy people could demonstrate whether there are more fuscobacterium species in the intestines of colon cancer patients than in the intestines of the general population.
Earlier this year, British researchers published in the International Journal of Case Reports and Images the case of a 72-year-old man with rectal cancer whose abscessed liver contained fuscobacterium nucleatum. They called their findings "the first incidence in literature of colonic cancer in association with fuscobacterium nucleatum."
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The Curved Planks
by Yves Bonnefoy, translated from the French by Hoyt Rogers, with a foreword by Richard Howard
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 229 pp., $24.00
There was a time in this country when every poet and student of literature read some French poetry. To both sophisticates and provincials, Paris was the eternal capital of everything that was new and exciting in the arts. Modern poetry was unimaginable without Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Mallarmé, and many lesser figures whose poems were imitated and continued to be read. Pound, Eliot, Stevens, and other modernists, one learned, owed an immense debt to French poets. Fifty years ago, almost everyone one met in literary circles had some familiarity with the work of Apollinaire, Saint-John Perse, and Paul Valéry. Young poets read Wallace Fowlie’s Mid-Century French Poets, where they encountered the poems of Max Jacob, Jules Supervielle, Andre Bréton, Paul Éluard, Robert Desnos, and Henri Michaux. New translations kept appearing. I recall a volume of poems by René Char that came out in 1956, which listed W.C. Williams, Richard Wilbur, William Jay Smith, Barbara Howes, W.S. Merwin, and James Wright as translators. Yves Bonnefoy’s own poems came soon after. In 1968, the Ohio University Press published On the Motion and Immobility of Douve, his first book in English translation.
Later all that changed. In the 1960s, American poets discovered Spanish, German, Polish, Russian, and South American poetry and stopped reading the newer French poets who were nowhere as interesting as Neruda, Vallejo, Parra, Milosz, Herbert, Brodsky, Enzensberger, Ritsos, Holan, Szymborska, Celan, and good many others. While history and the fate of the individual human beings caught in its turmoil mattered for these poets, the same cannot be said for the French. Preoccupied with the very act of writing, convinced that words only speak themselves and have no hold on reality, their anxieties had more to do with the theories of language then in fashion among literary critics in France, for whom the study of poetics was more fascinating than the finished poem.
To think of writing as merely a game of language may seem like a bleak prospect, and yet the delightful poems by Raymond Queneau, Jacques Roubaud, and other members of the experimental group Oulipo demonstrate that it doesn’t always have to be. Still, a view that regards poetry as a closed system, a private language, and an autonomous reality, is not only extremely limiting, but mistaken. The surprise is that so many French poets in the generation after René Char were attracted to academic theories that reduced their mother tongue to little more than a dead language. Not Bonnefoy. For him, poems do take us beyond words in their capacity to recall to us the life we share and the experiences we have in common.
Bonnefoy was born in 1923 in Tours. His father was a railroad worker whose job involved assembling locomotives and his mother was a teacher, as her own father had been. Although he started to write at an early age, he went on to study mathematics and philosophy at the University of Poitiers and the Sorbonne. In Paris, after the war …
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This lection is, of course, one of the prime passages used and preached on during the Christmas season. The challenge is to say something fresh but yet familiar and reassuring about it.
An important exegetical perspective that needs to be kept in mind is the Matthean text tells the story more from the angle of Joseph's perspective, while the Lukan birth narrative tells the tale from the perspective of how things affected and were seen by Mary. What the two narratives have in common is interesting: 1) a birth in Bethlehem, even though the family is from Nazareth and Jesus would be called Jesus of Nazareth; 2) a virginal conception; 3) a pregnancy during the engagement period caused through the agency of the Holy Spirit; and 4) Joseph resolves to accept Jesus into his life and family, as is shown by subsequent events.
Though it has become fashionable in some scholarly circles to suggest the story of the miraculous conception of Jesus has analogies with the stories about the births of Emperors or Kings, in fact this is not really accurate. A story about a god coming down and raping a human woman is of a very different ilk than the story of a miraculous virginal conception through the power of the Holy Spirit, not through any sort of intercourse.
Furthermore, the story in Isaiah 6 about a virgin conceiving, while compatible with our story in Matthew 1, does not in fact specify a virginal conception. It simply says a nubile woman of marriageable age, who was indeed a virgin, would conceive and give birth to a child. Unlike Matthew 1, that text does not specify the means by which the virgin is impregnated, and all indications are that early Jewish were not looking for, nor did they think, Isaiah 6 predicted a miraculous conception.
This explains the shocked reaction of both Joseph in Matthew 1 and Mary in the Lukan account. The assumption a Torah-true Jew like Joseph must have made is Mary got pregnant in the usual manner, hence his decision to divorce her quietly. It took further divine intervention in the form of a dream to head off that disaster, and the disgracing and shaming (not to mention the potential stoning) of Mary. In short, the potential scandal in this story, and the lack of a clear prediction of a virginal conception in Isaiah 6 or parallel in other birth narratives, means this story arose from an historical incident in the life of Mary and Joseph, and then was explained with the aide of the text of Isaiah 6. The First Evangelist uses Isaiah to provide proof that this surprising and unprecedented event was, in fact, a fulfillment of Scripture and all along a part of God's plan for human redemption.
Some background information about early Jewish marriages helps the exposition of this text. In the first place, engagement in this culture was a formal contractual matter, usually decided on by the two fathers in question (i.e. it was an arranged marriage), and was, in fact, the first stage of the marriage itself, to be complete some months hence by the formal wedding ceremony. The reason Matthew says that Joseph had resolved to "divorce" a woman he was only engaged to, is because engagement then was a legally binding contract, unlike engagement in the West today.
Secondly, we need to understand in that patriarchal culture, the birth of the first born son was all important and crucial to the family line and property transfer. The fact Joseph is prepared to give up the right to sire his own first born son and accept and even name Jesus (Yeshua/Joshua means "Yahweh saves") says a lot about the character of Joseph. It leads to the oddest genealogy ever in Matthew 1:1-17 in which Jesus is shoehorned into Joseph's genealogy by putting Mary into that genealogy despite the fact that it is a patrilineal genealogy (x begat y...).
This is a narrative of surprising and unexpected events and suggests a God of unexpected actions. Finally, Matthew 1:25 is a crucial conclusion to our passage and suggests Mary and Joseph did not have marital relations until after the birth and naming of Jesus. The stories thereafter (see e.g. Mark 3:21-35 and Mark 6 and the parallels in Matthew) suggest Mary and Joseph, being good early Jews, went on to have numerous children, both boys and girls the natural way who are rightly called Jesus' brothers and sisters. In short, Matthew's Gospel affirms the virginal conception of Mary, but not her perpetual virginity, or for that matter her own immaculate conception by her mother. Those ideas are found only in much later Catholic traditions.
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Homework is an integral part of the da Vinci program. Each da Vinci teacher provides students and parents with specific homework expectations. Homework is expected to be turned in by the due date, and generally is not accepted late.
It is important that students attend school on a daily basis. They should arrive at the school no earlier than 8:30 AM. Hallways/classrooms are open at 8:40 AM. Classes begin at 8:55 AM, and students are dismissed at 8:32 PM.
Computerized grade reports are sent home every three weeks for parents to examine and sign. Report cards are issued at the end of each12-week grading period. Parents are encouraged to contact da Vinci staff members at home or at school if additional information or a conference is desired.
The discipline expectations for da Vinci students can be characterized as "structured but fair." Students and parents are informed about the da Vinci staff's expectations and consequences at the beginning of the school year. By working together with students and parents, the da Vinci staff believes that a positive learning environment can be developed and maintained.
Parent participation in the da Vinci Middle School is an important part of the alternative school program. Parents are encouraged to visit the school, to assist in instructional activities, and to participate in the Kelly Middle Schools PTO. The school's resources are available for after-school use by parents and the community.
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How do you do....it? Thread, Encrypt the Server??? in Technical; A Governor at one of our schools is pushing for us to encrypt the server. We've installed a security cage ...
9th November 2011, 03:30 PM #1
- Rep Power
Encrypt the Server???
A Governor at one of our schools is pushing for us to encrypt the server. We've installed a security cage to the server to fix it to the floor but they want to go a step further.
Has anyone actually done this? I imagine rebuilds or repairs to the server would be problematic post-encryption and also that there would be a performance overhead to take into account.
Anyone have any other suggestions why this is a bad idea?
Thanks in advance
IDG Tech News
9th November 2011, 04:11 PM #2
I await correction from another member, but I have never encountered a single school that encrypts their onsite servers. There would certainly be a performance hit, and disk maintenance on servers is hard enough due to RAID complexities without throwing encryption in as well. Most encryption systems will require a password to be entered at the server on reboot, with the exception of BitLocker.
If the governor is concerned about physical theft, the cage and normal building/server room security should be more than sufficient. If it isn't, you need to think about why the building security is so bad. Who do they think is going to go to that much trouble to steal the server? They are harder to fence than projectors, desktops, and laptops, most of which will be far easier to remove by the car-full before they even get near the server room.
I suspect the governor may think that encrypting the server will prevent against remote intrusion, which of course it won't.
To be blunt, a governor should not be able to make this sort of operational policy decision without (at the very least) strong evidence to back up the need for it.
9th November 2011, 04:29 PM #3
Personally, I'd be telling the governor where he can take his opinion (and it won't be very bright there either). It is not their role to push for things like this - that's why the school employs you.
9th November 2011, 04:49 PM #4
There will be a performance hit (probably reasonably small and easily absorbed) and additional complexity involved in server backup / restore and credentials management. Encryption could make you more vulnerable to any physical disc corruption, so the risk that you will need to fall back on a backup increases.
On the other hand, if the server IS stolen then you perhaps won't be explaining to the ICO why all your data fell into the hand of Daily Mail journalists. I don't think the suggestion is as whacky as others seem to think. If it was suggested at my place of work I'd be delighted that a governor was that interested in the IT infrastructure and I'd try and have a constructive conversation about the pros and cons and what real security benefits we might get for what trade off in operational complexity.
9th November 2011, 04:53 PM #5
Think that sums it up the best!
Originally Posted by Hightower
9th November 2011, 05:12 PM #6
I'm less of the opinion that it's a whacky idea in principle, but I think it's definitely the wrong solution for the problem (if a genuine problem even exists).
Originally Posted by pcstru
I'd also be delighted to have an interested Governor, but not a paranoid one, which on the face of it seems to be the case here.
9th November 2011, 05:20 PM #7
Someone on the inside? Perhaps poor disposal practices? Maybe just a very very determined and skilled thief? As good as physical security of such important assets tends to be, it's not impossible that they will end up in the wrong hands. And the problem here is that risk is probability AND consequences. We are custodians of some very very sensitive information. If some of that ended up in the wrong hands, the consequences for the data subjects could be very serious. Can you really be too paranoid?
Originally Posted by AngryTechnician
9th November 2011, 05:22 PM #8
Ok so anybody using "cloud services" for email etc... should be asking if Microsoft/Google encrypt their servers?
9th November 2011, 05:25 PM #9
Based on "the server" (singular) and "security cage", I would say the governor has valid security concerns regarding the safety of the data, but his proposed solution will have a hardware and training cost. Is this a "server sat in a classroom / random office" scenario?
Having the data stored in a secure manner (locked server room with audited and limited access) meets data protection obligations.
Having the data sat unencrypted in a classroom / office where anyone can walk in and touch the server doesn't. If I can poke it with a finger, I can get your data if it isn't encrypted.
Talk to the bloke and ask about his concerns.
9th November 2011, 05:28 PM #10
I'd guess that the level of physical security between a Google data center and a primary school server (which is what OP sounds like) probably differs.
Originally Posted by plexer
Decently configured encryption (with appropriate precautions and encrypted backups) might be cheaper in the primary school scenario.
9th November 2011, 05:29 PM #11
Anyone using cloud services should be doing due diligence to satisfy themselves that security and resilience is appropriate for the task. It's one of the problems with "cloud" - how do you actually tick those boxes and provide the evidence to back up that box ticking. I think a lot of people are buying into cloud services and they think that merely writing a cheque somehow guarantees that services providers are behaving responsibly or that simply writing the cheque absolves them of responsibility - "well, I was paying for the service, surely the data WAS safe??".
Originally Posted by plexer
9th November 2011, 05:51 PM #12
It sounds like you have pretty good physical security in place already - (better than many others in fact).
Using Bitlocker would require a TPM chip in your server (in an ideal situation at least) and this would prevent the need for a password on boot - all the same you would have a small (few percent) drop in disk performance.
Backup shouldn't be a problem as your backup system will be backing up the files/folder while the server is running and as such just sees the data a normal.
Once you run into any kind of issues with your server (say the OS won't boot and you need to use Windows PE to change something) encrypting it will case MASSIVE problems in getting anything fixed.
So as others have said I would speak to your Governor and find out what he is actually looking to achieve - the way I see it SMTs/ect are there to give you problems to solve/ideas to implement but are not there to decide how you do it.
One other thing to throw into the mix would be notebook PC encryption - they are a lot more portable than any server and as such present a much greater risk to data loss.
9th November 2011, 06:20 PM #13
If I was going to implement this, I'd go for a block-level encryption system that could provide standard-looking storage volumes for virtual machines running on the server. That way, once you'd booted the server and typed in the passcode or whatever to enable the encrypted volumes, you could start / restart virtual machines as much as you liked.
Originally Posted by InspireICT
9th November 2011, 06:35 PM #14
To be blunt, and speaking as a governor, a governor is supposed to be involved in strategic decisions regarding the school not operational ones.
Originally Posted by AngryTechnician
It is not the governor's role to recommend encryption of the server. The Governing Body, or a delegated committee, may investigate IT security, but it should not be a governor acting alone.
@InspireICT I've attached a part of the "Academies Financial Handbook" regarding the risk register every academy is required to have. The GB puts this together as a strategic document to work out the impact of risks to the academy. There's an explanation of how it works first
I suggest that you do a mini version detailing the various risks to your area... You need to think about threats to network and data security at your school and what their impact would be.
e.g. "Virus risk/corruption of data risk" might have a likelihood of 3 and an impact of 5 (say)... definitely a "Treat" situation.. with the Control Procedures giving info on your monitoring of anti-virus and backups
Other risks you could have are:
Failure of 1 or more servers,
theft of 1 or more servers,
Hacking of 1 school network,
Loss/theft of laptop/computer/flash drive
It doesn't need to be a massive document. Submit it to the Governing Body via the Clerk and offer to come and talk to the GB so that they ask questions. Hopefully it will manage this governor out of the way. (All communication with the GB should be through the Clerk. Your office staff will tell you who/how)
I would suggest you show it to your line manger/HT before you pass it to the clerk. It will at least show that the risks have been considered and are being managed.
4 Thanks to elsiegee40:
AngryTechnician (14th November 2011), GrumbleDook (14th November 2011), InspireICT (14th November 2011), pcstru (9th November 2011)
14th November 2011, 04:04 PM #15
First and foremost can I just point out that a number of members here are governors or have been governors. From speaking with governors in schools they range from those who have an interest in IT through to people designing infrastructure to run data centres which house MOD systems. Try not to jump to conclusions and definitely do not take the attitude that they should keep out of *your* server room. It is not yours ... it is the school's and governors do have a strong line around the strategy of schools.
However, there is a difference between a governor deciding something and a governor working on the strategy for something.
Encryption is not out of the realms for consideration, but the DPA principle 7 says all ...
If the risk assessment shows that you have taken all reasonable action (security cage, etc) and it is still felt that encryption is needed then you can also make sure you also assess the other things which introduce risk ... insecure buildings (the location of the machine is in an area which it could be snatched by a visitor, the room is on the ground floor with a window next to the street, etc) are sometimes a risk and the school can balance out the cost of an improved server (or servers) which means there would not be a performance hit against the cost of improve building security. An assessment by the school insurers will also help here. If the building is insecure then there are more problems than just the server not being encrypted ...
Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.
Remember ... it is often not just a single problem when people talk about encryption or security ... and any solution should be part of a whole school strategy / policy.
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I'm looking for information on James Faircloth, born about 1760 in Montgomerry or Anson Co., N.C. James was living alone in Anson County in 1790. He later moved to Canarrus, Iredell and finally to Ashe County. He had at least four children including Henry S. Faircloth born 1801 and possibly Andrew Jackson Faircloth. Need information on James', Henry S. and Andrew Jackson Faircloth's children. Did the S. in Henry S. stand for Silver ?
Andrew Dennis Fairclothkd4tdn@bellsouth.net
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Photo Credit: Flickr user eclecticlibrarian
Much has been written of late about the relatively low quality of academic research in the journalism and mass communication field. Since this is a critical time, the dawn of a new age of communication, there’s much to learn. The research gap is a major source of disagreement between professionals and scholars. Professionals argue that much research is unreadable and, frankly, useless. If you take the time, scholars counter, you’ll find important insights.
Why do we care about research? It’s important to the future of journalism education because publication in the so-called peer-reviewed journals traditionally has been the number one criteria for faculty promotion and tenure. Yes, research beats teaching.
In the professional world, journalism that makes a difference is measured by actual impact -- by the jailed people who are freed, by the criminals who are jailed, by new laws or policies that save lives or stop government waste. This “community service” (as it is called) is not given the importance it deserves at universities. Publishing in academic journals is what counts, even if it does nothing to further how journalism serves America. (See Geneva Overholser’s blog about “what’s missing” in the debate about journalism schools.)
Let’s look at the details: Three main journals boast the word “journalism” in their titles. Citation research, the tracking of how often scholars quote each other, paints a grim picture of these three. None of the three is considered among the most cited or prestigious of the journals in the communications field, nor in the social studies field at large.
For this comparison we used the helpful databases built by Thomson Reuters, which tracks thousands of journals and citations. The three journals in question all are published by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication: Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Journalism & Mass Communication Educator and Journalism & Communication Monographs.
Of the three, only Quarterly has been selected for inclusion in the “Web of Science” database, and to receive a Journal Impact Factor in Journal Citation Reports. Educator was rejected in January 2010 but is up for re-evaluation in January 2013. Monographs is currently under evaluation. Having only one of the three “journalism-titled” journals in the database is not a good start.
To qualify for the database, Thomson Reuters considers: 1. The journals’ publishing standards 2. Editorial content 3. International diversity and 4. Correct metadata. A journal that has never been cited, for example, would not be picked up by Thomson Reuters.
We checked the Quarterly against all the communication journals in the dataset. Given how much it produces, how much was it cited in 2011? The Journal Impact Factor ranked Quarterly 48 of the 72 communication journals. Considering the importance journalists place on their profession -- “bedrock of democracy” – being in the bottom 50 percent would not sit well. Of the 2,943 social science journals, Quarterly ranks 1,950, according to impact measure. (The Journal Impact Factor, Thomson Reuters says, can be “used to provide a gross approximation of the prestige of journals to which individuals have been published.”)
Is there a conspiracy against communication journals? Do social scientists simply not like journalism or communication? Hardly. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking (number 1 out of 72 communication journals when ranked by Journal Impact Factor) ranks in the top 10 percent of all social science journals, again using citations in 2011. Note the words cyber and social networking in the title. We desperately need to know the social science of engagement and impact in the digital age.
Another benchmark that can be used to rate journals is Google Scholar. It lists the number of times articles or publications have been cited. In our Sept 4. search, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly produces 7,730 results, Journalism & Mass Communication Educator produces 1,140 results and Journalism & Communication Monographs produces 284 results.
These are bad numbers when you consider that there are 7,149 full-time and 5,162 part-time professors, who should be reading and quoting each other. But they get worse when you realize that only some of the articles are cited at all. The chart below is from SCImago Journal & Country Rank, which also tracks citations. Every year, at least half of the Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly articles are totally uncited. The latest year on record shows no citations for a whopping 69 percent of the articles. Remember, the Quarterly looks to us like the best of the three “journalism journals.”
Is it really wise to base tenure and promotion upon journal articles that are never cited? It’s difficult to imagine working journalists promoted for writing stories no one ever mentioned.
Perhaps the good research is really good. At the 2012 convention, the Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication gave out a thumb drive with the “best” scholarly articles from decades of the journals. We reviewed them. Alas, for the most part, they seemed derivative, obvious or obtuse. To quote a senior journalism educator: “There are three categories of research these days: 1. Who cares? 2. No shit! 3. I don’t have any idea what you are talking about.” To be generous, perhaps we should add a category: “4. Needs more work, but there might be something there. (Or, Close But No Cigar.)”
Some of the “Research You Can Use,” listed on the AEJMC web site seemed to fit into Category 4: The social responsibility of news organizations, gatekeeping, agenda-setting and “framing” all seemed close. But in the lens of today’s explosion of social and mobile media and its attendant participatory culture, only such classics as Marshal McLuhan’s “Media is the Message” and Walter Lippmann’s “Public Opinion” seem to hold water. Yes, media gives us a picture of the world. Media types effect messages. But it’s all different now in the digital age.
Valiant educators over the years, such as Del Brinkman (formerly of Knight Foundation) and currently Michael Schudson of Columbia University, have tried to find and translate important scholarly work, and in the journalism field its tough slogging. One reason: The most quoted journalism notion in the past decade, the one media mogul Rupert Murdoch famously repeated to what was then named the American Society of Newspaper Editors, did not come from a journalism journal of any type but from Marc Prensky, who showed “digital natives” really think differently than the rest of us. Hopefully, Emily Bell of the Tow Center at Columbia will stay on those lines as she develops applied research capacity. And the great teams at Missouri, the University of North Carolina and elsewhere keep producing important work (even if it isn’t published in the journals we are writing about today).
How do the editors of the journalism journals react to being ignored, in relative terms, by other scholars? They say they aren’t marketing themselves well enough. They say they don’t get enough funding for research. They say some articles aren’t meant to be quoted (they actually created a category of these, which cuts down on the embarrassment of having more than half of the articles in a given year not cited at all.) If you mention this blog to a prominent scholar you will be regaled with the shortcomings of citation studies, just as scholars who can’t write clearly will go on ad nauseam about the short-comings of the Flesch readability test.
We wrote Dr. Daniel Riffe at the University of North Carolina, editor of the most-cited journalism journal, the Quarterly. Here’s what we asked:
1. What do you think of citation studies – specifically the Thomson Reuters impact scale -- that rank the Quarterly 48 of 72 in the communications field?
2. The SCImago Journal and Country Rank, from the Scopus database, says nearly 70 percent of the articles in the Quarterly are not cited at all. If that is accurate, why is that?
3. Are journal citations in general a good measure of the quality of a journal? Why or why not?
4. What would you say to those who argue that the quality of the Quarterly and the AEJMC journals should be significantly improved? If that needs to happen, how could that be done?
5. Is there any piece of research – cited or uncited – that you think proves the value of the Quarterly in its mission of keeping up with the latest developments? Are there, for example, any of the AEJMC-cited “Research You Can Use” items that are especially illustrative?
Dr. Riffe, Richard Cole Eminent Professor at UNC/Chapel Hill, said he would answer as soon as time allows but noted his journal work is “on hold” due to the start of a new semester.
Meanwhile, let’s ponder the advice from America’s great early journalist, the writer and statesman Benjamin Franklin: “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead & rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing." Since so many journalism and communications professionals endeavor to do the later, the least scholars can do is to try harder to do the former. Being promoted and getting a lifetime job guarantee for writing things no one cites is just un-American.
By Knight Foundation's Eric Newton, senior adviser to the President, and Amber Robertson, special projects contractor
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The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity
, Jul 27, 2006
- 409 pages
From Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian Culture, History and Identity brings together an illuminating selection of writings on contemporary India. India is an immensely diverse country with many distinct pursuits, vastly different convictions, widely divergent customs and a veritable feast of viewpoints. Out of these conflicting views spring a rich tradition of skeptical argument and cultural achievement which is critically important, argues Amartya Sen, for the success of India's democracy, the defence of its secular politics, the removal of inequalities related to class, caste, gender and community, and the pursuit of sub-continental peace. 'Profound and stimulating ... the product of a great mind at the peak of its power'
William Dalrymple, Sunday Times 'One of the most influential public thinkers of our times...This is a book that needed to have been written...It would be no surprise if it were to become as defining and as influential as work as Edward Said's Orientalism'
Soumya Bhattacharya, Observer 'The winner of the 1998 Nobel prize in economics is a star in India ... he deserves the recognition ... shows that the argumentative gene is not just a part of India's make-up that can easily be wished away'
The Economist Amartya Sen is Lamont University Professor at Harvard. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998 and was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge 1998-2004. His most recent books are The Idea of Justice, Identity and Violence and Development as Freedom. His books have been translated into thirty languages.
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — For the 15,000 people who waited in a brilliant sun for up to six hours last week for President Barack Obama to speak, a little trip to the polls on election day is nothing.
In modern politics, rallies are both a test of endurance and a show of support for candidates, but they also test the resilience of public safety workers assigned to keep order and protect health.
At Obama's rally Thursday, dozens of people needed medical attention, many of them for dehydration. They were penned into a shadeless basin about 50 feet wide that stretches about 150 yards north from Richmond's Carillon tower in Byrd Park.
But for 37-year-old Daquan Reinhardt and his 11-year-old son Dakari, it was worth it to see the president they support in person.
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Did you like this article? Vote it up or down! And don't forget to add your comments below!
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In Out of the Jungle, Thaddeus Russell (a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University and current Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Barnard College) explores the motivating factors of Jimmy Hoffa: what influenced him to become the most feared union man ever -- from poor beginnings in a small Indiana coal town during the depression, through WWII to Robert Kennedy’s obsession with stamping out organized crime, which led to Hoffa's jail sentence and his expulsion from the Teamsters.
When writing biography, the writer must be careful not to let his opinions show and make the subject seem more human and perhaps sympathetic. Russell manages this quite well, explaining Hoffa's humble beginnings as well as his downfall in a neighborly voice without sounding gossipy or preachy. An extensive bibliography is attached, but things are not so cluttered within Out of the Jungle that readers feel that they are being talked to instead of included within a story. Russell has a smooth and unassuming writing style, which always leads to good reading and makes this book especially pleasurable despite its gritty contents.
For many reasons, Jimmy Hoffa will always lurk in the minds of millions of Americans. His dynamic personality, ruthless attitudes and merciless desire to gain more money for himself and his fellow Teamsters makes his legend popular even today, over 25 years after his disappearance. But it’s the disappearance that Hoffa will be remembered for most. Without that spectacular ending, Hoffa would have, eventually, faded into the background to be remembered by few or none. Though Russell doesn’t explore the "whodunnit" aspect of Hoffa’s life, he does go deeply into psyche of what made Hoffa what and who he was; that alone makes Out of the Jungle a good read.
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Good Ethics = Good Therapy
Oaths against participating in torture and executions
The Department of Psychology of Earlham College
WHEREAS psychologists in the United States, through their major professional organization, the American Psychological Association (APA), have adopted a set of ethical principles that includes the principle of Beneficence and Nonmalfeasance (Principle A), which declares that psychologists should strive, in their work, "to do no harm" and should "seek to safeguard the welfare and rights of those with whom they interact" and the principle of Respect for People's Rights and Dignity (Principle E), which declares that psychologists should "respect the dignity and worth of all people" and explicitly recognizes that "special safeguards may be necessary to protect the rights and welfare of persons or communities whose vulnerabilities impair autonomous decision making"; and
WHEREAS the United States military and Central Intelligence Agency are widely recognized and acknowledged to have incarcerated a number of persons in foreign detention centers without the due process of law ordinarily afforded by international human rights treaties and standards and to have subjected many of these detainees to forms of interrogation banned under international law, including some forms of torture; and
WHEREAS attention has recently been drawn to the fact that psychologists have been involved in the interrogations of incarcerated persons in such detention centers, and in some cases have contributed to the development of extraordinary forms of interrogation including torture; and
WHEREAS the American Psychological Association adopted a resolution on August 19, 2007 that, while condemning torture, continues to allow coercive interrogations so long as these interrogations do not cause "significant pain or suffering" or "lasting harm," and that continues to allow psychologists to participate in interrogations in foreign detention centers in which internationally recognized due process of law is not afforded, and that in continuing to permit these violations of Principles A and E of the APA Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct, serves to legitimize the above mentioned violations of human rights and to undermine the moral authority and stature of psychology as a profession, and that, moreover, fails to recognize that decades of research in social psychology demonstrates that situational factors, especially in highly ideological and isolated settings, can be predicted, over time, to undermine the resolve of well-intentioned individuals, including psychologists, to resist institutional pressures to misuse authority;
The Department of Psychology of Earlham College therefore resolves
1. that the direct or indirect participation by psychologists in interrogations of prisoners incarcerated in foreign detention centers that do not afford prisoners internationally recognized due process of law is unethical; and
the American Psychological Association should prohibit the participation
of psychologists, directly or indirectly, in interrogations in these
Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Adopted by General Assembly resolution 3452 (XXX) of 9 December 1975
1. For the purpose of this Declaration, torture means any act by which
severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally
inflicted by or at the instigation of a public official on a person for
such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or
confession, punishing him for an act he has committed or is suspected
of having committed, or intimidating him or other persons. It does not
include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental
to, lawful sanctions to the extent consistent with the Standard Minimum
Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
Any act of
torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
is an offence to human dignity and shall be condemned as a denial of
the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and as a violation
of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights .
No State may permit or tolerate torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. Exceptional circumstances such as a state of
war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public
emergency may not be invoked as a justification of torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Each State shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Declaration,
take effective measures to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment from being practised within its jurisdiction.
The training of law enforcement personnel and of other public officials
who may be responsible for persons deprived of their liberty shall ensure
that full account is taken of the prohibition against torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This prohibition
shall also, where appropriate, be included in such general rules or instructions
as are issued in regard to the duties and functions of anyone who may
be involved in the custody or treatment of such persons.
Each State shall keep under systematic review interrogation methods
and practices as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of
persons deprived of their liberty in its territory, with a view to preventing
any cases of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
Each State shall ensure that all acts of torture as defined in article
1 are offences under its criminal law. The same shall apply in regard
to acts which constitute participation in, complicity in, incitement
to or an attempt to commit torture.
Any person who alleges that he has been subjected to torture or other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by or at the instigation
of a public official shall have the right to complain to, and to have
his case impartially examined by, the competent authorities of the State
Wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture
as defined in article 1 has been committed, the competent authorities
of the State concerned shall promptly proceed to an impartial investigation
even if there has been no formal complaint. Article 10
Where it is proved that an act of torture or other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment has been committed by or at the instigation
of a public official, the victim shall be afforded redress and compensation
in accordance with national law.
Any statement which is established to have been made as a result of
torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
may not be invoked as evidence against the person concerned or against
any other person in any proceedings.
NAEMT Position Statement on EMT and Paramedic Participation in Capital Punishment
Adopted June 9, 2006
Historically, the role of EMTs and paramedics has been to promote, preserve and protect human life. NAEMT’s EMT Oath is based on the basic principles of saving life, respect for human life and the non-infliction of harm to all recipients of emergency medical service care. The EMT Oath is a guide for the EMT and paramedic code of conduct and stipulates that the EMT or paramedic “follow that regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of patients and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous.” The obligations to rescue, save and preserve life are part of the essential trust relationship that the EMT and paramedic have with all people in a community and should not be breached even when legally sanctioned.
Participation in capital punishment is inconsistent with the ethical precepts and goals of the EMS profession.
NAEMT strongly opposes to all forms of participation, by whatever means, whether under civil or military legal authority.
EMTs and Paramedics should refrain from participation in capital punishment and not take part in assessment, supervision or monitoring of the procedure or the prisoner; procuring, prescribing or preparing medications or solutions; inserting the intravenous catheter; injecting the lethal solution; and/or attending or witnessing the execution as an EMT or Paramedic.
The fact that capital punishment is currently supported in many segments of society does not override the obligation of EMTs and Paramedics to uphold the ethical mandates of the profession.
NAEMT recognizes that endorsement of the death penalty remains a personal
decision and that individual EMTs and paramedics may have views that
are different from the official position of the profession. Regardless
of the personal opinion of the EMT or paramedic on the appropriateness
of capital punishment, it is a breach of the foundational precepts of
emergency medical services, and a violation of the EMT Oath, to participate
in taking life of any person.
MOVEON.ORG'S DECLARATION AGAINST TORTURE
Whereas torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
We therefore unequivocally declare that the U.S. must:
Frequently Asked Questions
© 2000 - 2010 www.psychceu.com all rights reserved.
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Heart of a Snake
In early 2006 Leinwand ordered 20 baby pythons from a reptile supplier and set up a colony in an empty laboratory downstairs from hers. For the first experiment, she drew blood from a couple of snakes, fed them a big rodent meal, then took another sample. The post-meal blood looked like a cardiologist’s worst nightmare. “The blood became so filled with fat that it was almost milky,” Leinwand recalls.
In humans, fat in the bloodstream tends to produce fatty deposits on arterial walls and in the heart itself. Yet when Leinwand inspected the snakes’ hearts, she could not find any accumulating fat deposits. She realized that whatever chemical was strengthening the heart was also preventing the buildup of fat. She still had no idea how the pythons did it or whether the process would work in other animals, but she was determined to find out.
Part of the issue was settled when Cecilia Riquelme, a postdoc in Leinwand’s lab, drew blood from recently fed pythons and applied it to a dish of living rat heart cells. Within two days the cells had grown significantly and were filled with helpful proteins and enzymes. Riquelme’s simple experiment suggested that mammals, perhaps including humans, could benefit from the heart-bolstering chemical machinery of pythons.
Leinwand was emboldened to identify that machinery in python blood. It was no easy task: Blood contains thousands of compounds, and any combination of 2 or 20 could have held the secret to heart health. So she isolated compounds in pre-meal blood samples and looked to see if their concentrations shot up after feeding. Whenever she found a candidate, she injected it into mice, hoping their hearts would grow.
After two years and dozens of dead ends, Leinwand finally found a compound that strengthened mouse hearts. She tried it on unfed pythons too, and it triggered the same effect, as if they had consumed a giant meal. The crucial recipe was a mixture of myristic acid, palmitic acid, and palmitoleic acid, all of which were isolated from the milky part of the blood that Leinwand had observed in her first experiment. Ironically, a trio of fatty compounds held the key to strengthening the heart, which in turn
prevented other fats from clogging up the works. Leinwand’s results appeared in Science last October.
Now Leinwand wants to observe python blood’s effect on at-risk test subjects. Over the next several months she will breed mice with high blood pressure and inject them with the key fatty acids. She hopes the trial will show that a python-inspired pill could treat heart
failure by reversing damage and adding heart muscle. Leinwand is also injecting healthy mice to see if python blood can prevent symptoms of heart failure before they start.
Although human drug trials are several years away, Leinwand has cofounded a company to fund her research. Her colleagues hope this work will keep her occupied for a long while. “Everyone has made me promise not to bring another exotic animal into the lab,” she says. “They think one is enough.”
Pythons are not the only exotic animals whose body fluids have inspired serious drug research. A variety of outlandish reptiles, arachnids, and mammals also have
the potential to overturn their frightening reputations and help fight disease.
Gila monsters These nearly two-foot-long lizards use their poisonous bite to prey on small animals in the southwestern United States. But scientists figured out how to harness the monsters’ venom, and in 2005 the Gila-inspired drug Byetta was approved as a treatment for type 2 diabetes.
arantulas Scientists at the University of
Buffalo discovered a compound in tarantula saliva that could disable the faulty mechanism that destroys healthy muscle in some people with muscular dystrophy. The researchers are now raising money to start a small-scale clinical trial.
Vampire Bats The saliva of these blood-consuming predators contains an anticoagulant, dubbed draculin by the researchers who found it, that can dissolve blood clots. A new drug based on that chemical, currently in human trials, could give doctors more time to treat people who have just suffered a stroke.
–Mary Beth Griggs
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Planet's Reverse Orbit a New Twist in Old Evolutionary Story
by Brian Thomas, M.S. *
The Wide Area Search for Planets (WASP) project has discovered a planet that orbits backward, against the rotational direction of its star. Methodological naturalists think collisions or near-collisions are the causes of unusual cosmic phenomena like this. But this reverse-orbit observation adds to a growing list of astronomical features that should not exist if collisions and other random physical processes are all that could have caused them.1
The planet was named WASP-17, the seventeenth planet identified by WASP astronomers at the Geneva Observatory. They were looking for faint, periodic “blinks” that occur when planets or planet-like object pass in front of stars when they discovered that this planet was orbiting the “wrong” way. The vast majority of planets and satellites, including all of those in the solar system, orbit in the same direction that their stars rotate. They could think of no better explanation than that “a near-collision may have created the retrograde orbit.”2
Not only is the likelihood of this happening remarkably slim, but it conflicts with the anti-supernaturalistic, but popular, conception of planetary origins known as the “nebular hypothesis.” This proposes that planets formed spontaneously from spinning dust rings, which clumped and condensed near to newly formed stars. The resulting planets ought to therefore continue orbiting in the same direction as that of the rotating dust and debris around the stars.
But WASP-17 doesn’t.
Assuming for a moment that the nebular hypothesis is true, how exactly could a mere near-collision have reversed WASP-17’s direction? At approximately 159 earth masses, the planet would have required a tremendous outside force to slow its orbit and then reverse it, all without tearing the planet apart or bumping it from the vicinity of its neighboring star. Such a feat would have required septillions of Newtons of force, applied carefully enough to keep the planet from being destroyed. The chances of a flyby mass of some kind having performed this powerful, yet precise, operation are vanishingly small.
MIT astrophysicist Sara Seager told Space.com, “There's always theory, but there's nothing like an observation to really prove it.” But when it comes to the nebular hypothesis theory, there’s actually nothing like an observation of a phenomenon like WASP-17’s reverse orbit to really disprove it.3
- Thomas, B. Can Cosmic Collisions Create? ICR News. Posted on icr.org February 20, 2009, accessed September 11, 2009.
- Bryner, J. and R. R. Britt. Newfound Planet Orbits Backward. Space.com Science. Posted on space.com August 12, 2009, accessed September 11, 2009.
- Coppedge, D. 2008. Nebulous Hypotheses. Acts & Facts. 37 (2): 15.
Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.
Article posted on September 18, 2009.
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Patient Safety & Product Quality
A Note from David E. I. Pyott, CBE
Chairman of the Board,
President and CEO
Some years ago, I was fortunate enough to hear the story of a young man with an extraordinary story. This story begins when one morning, this man woke up with his neck pulling so hard to one side that it became literally stuck there, impossible to move and accompanied by a searing pain. This condition ultimately robbed him of his normal, day-to-day life – his head and neck were positioned so awkwardly that he couldn’t read, drive, or even look someone in the eye. In fact, the pain and anxiety was so intense that brain surgery was once considered a treatment option. After many misdiagnoses, he was told that he suffered from cervical dystonia (CD), a little known condition that afflicts approximately 125,000 others across the country1. To help with the symptoms of cervical dystonia, he was treated with an experimental new drug at that time -- BOTOX® (onabotulinumtoxinA), a product that Allergan has developed over the last 20 years for many different therapeutic indications. While there is no cure for cervical dystonia, BOTOX® treatment helped him regain some of the control of his neck muscles. However, this isn’t a story about BOTOX® – BOTOX® happened to be the reason the story was told to me. This story is about strength of character and rising to the challenge.
This story actually reflects a lot about what we have always aimed to do here at Allergan. This person took a seemingly impossible situation and turned it into a beacon of hope for others. That, in essence, is why we come to work each day and do what we do at Allergan. All of us who work on the drugs and treatments developed by Allergan know that ultimately, we can make a real, positive difference in patients’ lives. We never lose sight of that. We stand by our corporate philosophy – “Our Pursuit. Life’s Potential.”– understanding that life’s potential can’t be met without an uncompromised view and commitment to patient safety and product quality.
It’s a fact that all medications, treatments and medical devices come with certain risks to the patient. That’s why when you watch commercials for pharmaceutical products, you often hear a lengthy description of the potential side effects of the particular drug being advertised. These risks are meant to be examined and ultimately weighed against the benefits of a particular treatment by physicians and patients, but first and foremost, it’s our job, the job of the drug and medical device manufacturers, to minimize those risks to the greatest extent possible at the outset. On the following Web pages, we invite you to learn more about the specific ways we ensure the safety and maintain the high standard of quality of Allergan’s products. You’ll learn about how patient safety fits within our research and development goals; how we assess the risk of our products and the importance of talking about risks and benefits of our products with your physician, and; the ways we go about ensuring the quality of our products throughout the manufacturing process.
In the video above, you’ll hear from a number of our dedicated employees about their own personal pursuits to meet life’s potential – to be true “thought” leaders and passionate individuals who devote their time to improving quality of life – and are pillars of our corporate commitment to patient safety above all else.
In closing, we hope you enjoy learning a bit more about what we do and the many steps we take to protect people like you and the countless others who use and depend upon our products. “Our Pursuit. Life’s Potential.” is not just a motto – it’s the guiding principle we at Allergan follow each and every day. It motivates and inspires us and keeps us focused on what’s important – pursuing the highest quality, safest products that will make a difference in lives around the world.
David E.I. Pyott, CBE
Chairman of the Board, President and CEO
BOTOX® (onabotulinumtoxinA) & BOTOX® Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA) Important Information
BOTOX® is a prescription medicine that is injected into muscles and used:
- to treat overactive bladder symptoms such as a strong need to urinate with leaking or wetting accidents (urge urinary incontinence), a strong need to urinate right away (urgency), and urinating often (frequency) in adults 18 years and older when another type of medicine (anticholinergic) does not work well enough or cannot be taken.
- to treat leakage of urine (incontinence) in adults 18 years and older with overactive bladder due to neurologic disease who still have leakage or cannot tolerate the side effects after trying an anticholinergic medication
- to prevent headaches in adults with chronic migraine who have 15 or more days each month with headache lasting 4 or more hours each day in people 18 years or older
- to treat increased muscle stiffness in elbow, wrist, and finger muscles in people 18 years and older with upper limb spasticity
- to treat the abnormal head position and neck pain that happens with cervical dystonia (CD) in people 16 years and older
- to treat certain types of eye muscle problems (strabismus) or abnormal spasm of the eyelids (blepharospasm) in people 12 years and older
BOTOX® is also injected into the skin to treat the symptoms of severe underarm sweating (severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis) when medicines used on the skin (topical) do not work well enough in people 18 years and older.
BOTOX® Cosmetic is a prescription medicine that is injected into muscles and used to improve the look of moderate to severe frown lines between the eyebrows (glabellar lines) in adults younger than 65 years of age for a short period of time (temporary).
It is not known whether BOTOX® and BOTOX® Cosmetic is safe or effective to prevent headaches in patients with migraine who have 14 or fewer headache days each month (episodic migraine).
It is not known whether BOTOX® and BOTOX® Cosmetic is safe or effective to treat increased stiffness in upper-limb muscles other than those in the elbow, wrist, and fingers, or to treat increased stiffness in lower-limb muscles. BOTOX® has not been shown to help people perform task-specific functions with their upper limbs or increase movement in joints that are permanently fixed in position by stiff muscles. Treatment with BOTOX® is not meant to replace your existing physical therapy or other rehabilitation that your doctor may have prescribed.
It is not known whether BOTOX® and BOTOX® Cosmetic are safe or effective for severe sweating anywhere other than your armpits.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
BOTOX® and BOTOX® Cosmetic may cause serious side effects that can be life threatening. Call your doctor or get medical help right away if you have any of these problems any time (hours to weeks) after injection of BOTOX® or BOTOX® Cosmetic:
- Problems swallowing, speaking, or breathing, due to weakening of associated muscles, can be severe and result in loss of life. You are at the highest risk if these problems are pre-existing before injection. Swallowing problems may last for several months
- Spread of toxin effects. The effect of botulinum toxin may affect areas away from the injection site and cause serious symptoms including: loss of strength and all-over muscle weakness, double vision, blurred vision and drooping eyelids, hoarseness or change or loss of voice (dysphonia), trouble saying words clearly (dysarthria), loss of bladder control, trouble breathing, trouble swallowing. If this happens, do not drive a car, operate machinery, or do other dangerous activities
There has not been a confirmed serious case of spread of toxin effect away from the injection site when BOTOX® has been used at the recommended dose to treat chronic migraine, severe underarm sweating, blepharospasm, strabismus, or when BOTOX® Cosmetic has been used at the recommended dose to treat frown lines.
Do not take BOTOX® or BOTOX® Cosmetic if you:
are allergic to any of the ingredients in BOTOX® (see Medication Guide for ingredients); had an allergic reaction to any other botulinum toxin product such as
Dysport® (abobotulinumtoxinA), or
Xeomin® (incobotulinumtoxinA); have a skin infection at the planned injection site.
Do not take BOTOX® for the treatment of urinary incontinence if you:
have a urinary tract infection (UTI) or cannot empty your bladder on your own and are not routinely catheterizing.
Due to the risk of urinary retention (not being able to empty the bladder), only patients who are willing and able to initiate catheterization post-treatment, if required, should be considered for treatment.
Patients treated for overactive bladder
In clinical trials, 6.5% of patients (36/552) initiated clean intermittent catheterization for urinary retention following treatment with BOTOX® 100 Units as compared to 0.4% of patients (2/542) treated with placebo. The median duration of catheterization for these patients treated with BOTOX® 100 Units was 63 days (minimum 1 day to maximum 214 days) as compared to a median duration 11 days (minimum 3 days to maximum 18 days) for patients receiving placebo.
Patients with diabetes mellitus treated with BOTOX® were more likely to develop urinary retention than non-diabetics.
Patients treated for overactive bladder due to neurologic disease
In clinical trials, 30.6% of patients (33/108) who were not using clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) prior to injection, required catheterization for urinary retention following treatment with BOTOX® 200 Units as compared to 6.7% of patients (7/104) treated with placebo. The median duration of post-injection catheterization for these patients treated with BOTOX® 200 Units (n=33) was 289 days (minimum 1 day to maximum 530 days) as compared to a median duration 358 days (minimum 2 days to maximum 379 days) for patients receiving placebo (n=7).
Among patients not using CIC at baseline, those with MS were more likely to require CIC post-injection than those with SCI.
The dose of BOTOX® and BOTOX® Cosmetic is not the same as, or comparable to, another botulinum toxin product.
Serious and/or immediate allergic reactions have been reported. These reactions include itching, rash, red itchy welts, wheezing, asthma symptoms, or dizziness or feeling faint. Tell your doctor or get medical help right away if you experience any such symptoms; further injection of BOTOX® or BOTOX® Cosmetic should be discontinued.
Tell your doctor about all your muscle or nerve conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), myasthenia gravis, or Lambert-Eaton syndrome, as you may be at increased risk of serious side effects including severe dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) and respiratory compromise (difficulty breathing) from typical doses of BOTOX® or BOTOX® Cosmetic.
Tell your doctor if you have any breathing-related problems. Your doctor will want to monitor you for any breathing problems during your treatment with BOTOX® for upper limb spasticity or for detrusor overactivity associated with a neurologic condition. The risk of pulmonary effects in patients with compromised respiratory status is increased in patients receiving BOTOX®.
Cornea problems have been reported. Cornea (surface of the eye) problems have been reported in some people receiving BOTOX® for their blepharospasm, especially in people with certain nerve disorders. BOTOX® may cause the eyelids to blink less, which could lead to the surface of the eye being exposed to air more than is usual. Tell your doctor if you experience any problems with your eyes while receiving BOTOX®. Your doctor may treat your eyes with drops, ointments, contact lenses, or with an eye patch.
Bleeding behind the eye has been reported. Bleeding behind the eyeball has been reported in some people receiving BOTOX® for their strabismus. Tell your doctor if you notice any new visual problems while receiving BOTOX®.
Bronchitis and upper respiratory tract infections (common colds) have been reported. Bronchitis was reported more frequently in people receiving BOTOX® for their upper limb spasticity. Upper respiratory infections (common colds) were also reported more frequently in people with prior breathing-related problems.
Autonomic Dysreflexia in Patients Treated for Detrusor Overactivity Associated With a Neurologic Condition
Autonomic dysreflexia associated with intradetrusor injections of BOTOX® could occur in patients treated for detrusor overactivity associated with a neurologic condition and may require prompt medical therapy. In clinical trials, the incidence of autonomic dysreflexia was greater in patients treated with BOTOX® 200 Units compared with placebo (1.5% versus 0.4%, respectively).
Human albumin and spread of viral diseases. BOTOX® and BOTOX® Cosmetic contains albumin, a protein component of human blood. The potential risk of spreading viral diseases (eg, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease [CJD]) via human serum albumin is extremely rare. No cases of viral diseases or CJD have ever been reported in association with human serum albumin.
Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including if you: have or have had bleeding problems; have plans to have surgery; had surgery on your face; weakness of forehead muscles, such as trouble raising your eyebrows; drooping eyelids; any other abnormal facial change; have symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI) and are being treated for urinary incontinence. Symptoms of a urinary tract infection may include pain or burning with urination, frequent urination, or fever; have problems emptying your bladder on your own and are being treated for urinary incontinence; are pregnant or plan to become pregnant (it is not known if BOTOX® or BOTOX® Cosmetic can harm your unborn baby); are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed (it is not known if BOTOX® or BOTOX® Cosmetic passes into breast milk).
Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Using BOTOX® or BOTOX® Cosmetic with certain other medicines may cause serious side effects.
Do not start any new medicines until you have told your doctor that you have received BOTOX® or BOTOX® Cosmetic in the past.
Especially tell your doctor if you: have received any other botulinum toxin product in the last 4 months; have received injections of botulinum toxin such as
Xeomin® in the past (be sure your doctor knows exactly which product you received); have recently received an antibiotic by injection; take muscle relaxants; take an allergy or cold medicine; take a sleep medicine; take anti-platelets (aspirin-like products) or anti-coagulants (blood thinners).
Other side effects of BOTOX® and BOTOX® Cosmetic include:
dry mouth, discomfort or pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, neck pain, and eye problems: double vision, blurred vision, decreased eyesight, drooping eyelids, swelling of your eyelids, and dry eyes. In people being treated for urinary incontinence other side effects include: urinary tract infection, painful urination, and/or inability to empty your bladder on your own. If you have difficulty fully emptying your bladder after receiving BOTOX®, you may need to use disposable self-catheters to empty your bladder up to a few times each day until your bladder is able to start emptying again.
For more information refer to the Medication Guide or talk with your doctor.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see BOTOX® full Product Information including Boxed Warning and Medication Guide.
Please see BOTOX® Cosmetic full Product Information including Boxed Warning and Medication Guide.
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The arrival of group of Japanese winemakers in London last month was the culmination of three years work aimed at convincing them, and latterly us , that there just might be a future for Japanese wine beyond their island nation. Sake , beer and even schochu we expect, but wine? Most of what has until now passed for wine in Japan has either been imported or grape concentrate fermented in Japan, the latter bearing no more resemblance to the real article than Armani made in Taiwan. Most, but not all. With its dynamic restaurant culture, including more sommeliers than any country in the world, the Japanese are taking wine to their hearts. Imports and domestic blends apart, there is a growing appreciation of the genuine home-grown product derived from the native koshu grape.
It’s still a tiny industry with just 480 hectares supplying the 80 wineries in the picturesque Yamanashi Province an hour and a half by rail north-west of Tokyo. Koshu was a favourite of the Shogun during the Edo period of the 17th to 19th centuries. An attempt to reinstate it by sending two ex-samurai to Bordeaux in the 1870s to study winemaking led to the beginnings of the modern industry. It’s only recently though that koshu has started to enjoy a surge in popularity. One winery, Grace, even employs the services of a top Bordeaux white wine consultant, Denis Dubourdieu.
As well as competing for space normally occupied by rice paddies, table grapes and people, the vigorous, pink-skinned koshu has to surmount the challenges of humidity, rain and fertile volcanic soils. As a result, the vine looks like a small tree with its branches and leaves spreading out like a carpet on a high pergola, ‘according to the height of the owner’, says Haruo Omura of Rubaiyat Marufuji with a nod and a wink. Koshu produces appetizing wines that are fresh, light and mostly dry, sometimes floral, with a passing resemblance to chablis or muscadet and the moderate alcohol and mouthwatering acidity of riesling.
The fact that koshu is self-evidently suited to Japan’s superfresh fish gastronomy encouraged Lynne Sherriff MW, a consultant to the Yamanashi winemakers (koshuofjapan.com), to show off 15 koshu wines at London’s Kyoto-style Umu restaurant. All were dry, mostly made in stainless steel with just a couple fermented in barrel. The traditional kaiseke tasting menu, prepared by the head chef Ichiro Kubota, contained six fish based courses, varying from the simplicity of a brill, bluefin tuna and squid sashimi, to a bewildering assortment of 10 bite-sized bonnes bouches, each an explosion of flavour: black bean, herring roe, baby sardine, prawn, sea kelp, white fish, halibut, kinkan citrus, water chestnut and sea cucumber ovary.
The wines were served in groups of three, with a variety of styles from drier and lighter, to fuller and richer and, in the case of the oak-fermented whites, smoky. Each group had its star, most notably Grace Winery’s water white chablis-like, mineral 2008 Koshu, a fresh pear, Alsace-like 2009 Yamanashi Koshu and a savoury, dry 2008 Diamond Koshu. The most encouraging aspect of the tasting was a demonstration of how appetizing and well-matched the best of these subtle dry whites were with the food. We may not be seeing Japanese koshu on supermarket shelves or in the high street any time soon, but there’s no good reason why their appearance, when it happens, need be confined to Japanese restaurants alone.
Something For the Weekend
2003 Viña Decana Reserva, Utiel-Requena
A blend of Spain’s tempranillo with a smattering of French varieties, this is a smooth, mellow, cherryish red from Spain’s south with some of the vanilla undertones of rioja and a moreish drinkability at an affordable price. £4.99, Aldi.
Under a Tenner
2008 Ebenezer & Seppeltsfield Shiraz, Barossa Valley
From St.Hallett of Old Block Shiraz reputation, this chip off the old block punches above its weight with vanilla and coconut oak aromas, and powerfully concentrated, ripe blackberry fruit underscored by a beguiling smokiness. £9.99, Marks & Spencer.
2007 Château Ste Michelle Cold Creek Chardonnay
This stylish chardonnay from Washington State could so easily be mistaken for top-flight Meursault with its complex less-derived nuttiness and finely balanced, opulent, peachy fruit flavours. £19.99, Wholefoods, Kensington; Berkmann Wine Cellars (02076094711; £17.99 for Independent readers collecting).
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BY PETER HAKIM
Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers once said that United States could never have a sensible foreign policy as long as one of its political parties opposes free trade while the other shows little regard for multilateral institutions. Events today in Washington make him look prescient. The World Bank remains in turmoil because the Bush Administration gives greater importance to its loyalty to the Bank's diminished president than it does to the health of the institution. A Democratic-led Congress may soon upend the US trade agenda in Latin America.
Clearly, Washington's trade strategy was stumbling before the Democrats took control of Congress in January. Its most ambitious goal-a hemisphere-wide free trade area-has long been stalled, while opposition to free trade has stiffened in both the US and Latin America. Still, the trade agenda has been one of the few elements of recent US policy that has produced some significant advances.
When Bush took office in 2001, Mexico was the only Latin American country in a free trade arrangement (FTA) with the US, and negotiations had only just begun for a second accord with Chile. Today, the US has FTAs with 11 Latin American nations, although the fate of three of them — with Colombia, Peru, and Panama — is still uncertain as they await ratification by the US Congress.
One or more of these FTAs may eventually be ratified, but none as it was initially signed. The new Democratic leaders of Congress will not allow a vote on them unless stronger labor protections and a few other items are added. What the Democrats most want is for the FTAs to require US trade partners to adopt the standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO). The Bush Administration and key congressional Democrats are now negotiating the issues, but the outcome is very uncertain. Both sides are less concerned about the Colombia, Peru, or Panama FTAs, than they are about the precedent that will be set for future trade treaties.
If Democratic and Republican leaders in Washington can find common ground, then the governments of Colombia, Peru, and Panama will each have to decide whether the labor conditions are acceptable or not. It will be a take it or leave it situation. None of the three countries will not be able to secure any significant changes.
Finally, the new provisions will have to gain formal legislative approval in each country. Even with the new provisions, there is no guarantee that the FTAs will be ratified by the US Congress. The vote will be tight. The six-nation Central American Free Trade Accord (CAFTA) passed Congress by only two votes, with only 15 (of more than 200) Democrats voting yes . Sure, the labor protections will attract more Democratic support — but some Republican votes will be lost. Moreover, President Bush and the Republican leadership of Congress are politically weaker and more divided — and less able to deliver votes — than at the time of CAFTA's passage.
The Colombia FTA is in greatest danger. Some in Congress are intent on showing their concerns about recent developments in Colombia by opposing the FTA, even as they appear likely to vote for renewed support for some form of Plan Colombia (which has a more robust constituency because it involves anti-terrorist, anti-drug funding, not support for increasingly unpopular free trade arrangements).
The Colombia government should do what it can to make clear that it is not indifferent to US concerns and is working to address them, but that will not change many FTA votes at this point. The disagreements in Washington, it is discouraging to note, are only marginally about US policy in Colombia or Latin America. They mostly reflect internal debates about trade and globalization, about whether the US should be a more or less open economy, and about how the US should be treating its own workers during a period of rapid technological and institutional changes.
Hardly anyone in Washington would disagree that US-Latin American relations have badly deteriorated during the past half a dozen years of a Republican Administration. It is ironic that now, with the Democrats having taken over Congress, the situation may become worse. By turning down or delaying indefinitely the FTAs, Congress will make the US appear even less reliable as a partner and ally, even on an issue it has strongly advocated. Unfortunately, that just does not seem to be an important concern in Washington.
Peter Hakim is president of the Inter-American Dialogue. This column originally appeared in El Tiempo, Colombia.
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|United Nations University - Work in Progress Newsletter - Volume 15, Number 1, 1998 (UNU, 1998, 12 pages)|
By Hans van Ginkel, Rector, The United Nations University
Hans van Ginkel has been interested in the interactions of technology and society since he studied the roots of Chinese tin mining in Malaya as a graduate student at Utrecht University in the early 1960s. A human geographer and historian by academic training, Dr. van Ginkel, has been strongly interested in science policy and its potential impact on human settlements. In 1986, he was named Rector Magnificus at Utrecht, in which post he was deeply involved in various European cooperative education endeavours, particularly in the area of sustainable development. After serving on the UNU governing Council, he was appointed the University's fourth Rector, a post he assumed on 1 September 1997. We present here some highly pertinent thoughts about the response of higher education to the information revolution, in an age of knowledge-intensification. They are excerpted from his speech on the university in the 21st century entitled "University 2050: The Organization of Creativity and Innovation," delivered in London in 1994. - Editor
One of the major processes that characterize our age is the growing intensity of knowledge - in society at large, and, following from that, in our scholarship. This has particular implications for those technological advances - in computerization, telecommunications, and other components of the Information Revolution - which might be deployed in furthering scholarship and passing it on. Indeed, advances in modern technology feed the intensity - the computer can perform calculations in minutes that would take an unaided scientist a lifetime. Perhaps the best metaphor for modern knowledge intensity is the stock exchange trader whether in Tokyo, London, New York to Bangkok - dealing with the whole world, using many telephones at the same time, with constantly updated information on computer screens in front of him.
Universities have not quite reached that level - yet! - but clearly science and scholarship do also function electronically at a world level. Personal computers, E-mail, television and fax machines have effectively shrunken our planet. The message that, centuries ago, required weeks to pass only from London to e.g. Venice now takes only seconds for much greater distances. At the same time, the volume of information transmitted, has multiplied beyond all recognition.
The increase in knowledge intensity is marching hand-in-hand with another important modern process. This is the acceleration, the "up-scaling" if you like, which is pitching societies into new trajectories, new life styles and new expectations. A host of forces are moving societies at a speed triple or quadruple that of only a few decades ago. More and more, every part of the human endeavour is connected, at some level of stratification, as it becomes easier to cross cultural, political and geographical borders. Science might term this process "autocatalytic" the rate of increase speeds up as the processes catalyze themselves.
Leading academics have always pushed back frontiers, not only in the sense that the limits of human knowledge and ability are expanded, but also as political and geographical borders are continuously bridged. As part of the progress of globalization combined with a general up-scaling of political, cultural and economic entities, universities and research institutes are working together more and more on a much broader range of activities. The swelling cost of ground breaking research only encourages this trend.
This process of globalization, combined with a melding together of our experiences and perspectives, will only intensify. Opportunities for communication are multiplying at a sensational rate. We may still prefer to talk face-to-face than on the telephone - especially when talking to someone who comes from another culture. However, the stock market traders gave up on this a long time ago, and many academics are already in everyday contact with colleagues around the world, without ever having seen them. E-mail allows them to stay in better contact with someone sharing research interests in Australia or Venezuela than with another academic in the same building, whose hair colour they may know, but not his or her research topics.
Unity in Diversity
It seems to me that globalization will inevitably lead to greater social and cultural unity. But this will not be the unity envisaged by Napoleon two centuries ago, with the same laws and the same straight roads stretching right across Europe. It will be, and indeed ought to be, a unity in diversity, based on the principle of subsidiarity. This will also apply to universities in a big way. The have a tradition of diversity stretching back to their origins. But modern processes argue that universities will become increasing interlinked and bound to one another, while continuing to identify themselves as distinct from each other; being part of an increasingly global academic community at the same time trying to serve the region and country they are part of in the best ways.
Increasingly important, in the technologically-linked modern world, will be the network to which one belongs - it will contribute directly to the attractiveness of a university and its international position. Indeed, it is possible that international networks will form the basis of the university of the future. However, I do not think it will be long before the larger universities have set up institutes abroad, and we can see this in number of institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom already. The university will become an international business, in every sense. Many existing universities will come under the hammer during the process, but that is old news. The university has always been an evolving entity - in Europe stretching back to Bologna and in China and the Arab World eve, further to the monasteries and mosques where knowledge was once kept alive.
Impact on Knowledge Itself
The increasing knowledge-intensiveness of society and science has enormous import for the state of knowledge itself For one thing, more and more knowledge will be produced: estimates say the amount of knowledge now doubles every five years. At the same time, the shelf life of knowledge will decline rapidly. I think 'it indicative, in a recent study, that US publications cited in the patent rolls in 1975 were eight years old on average, but only six and a half years old on average 10 years later.
The whole concept of education will shift as a result of this knowledge intensification, and this will have a fundamental influence on universities. The increasing importance of learning throughout the course of one's working life will play an important role.
Already, I think we are seeing the knowledge-intensive economy replacing the work-intensive and the capital-intensive economies. As a result, academia is gaining a progressively stronger influence on society. The Dutch Government is one of those to have already stressed the importance of academia to society, remarking in one paper:
"Today we are witnessing waves of important discoveries. They are so significant that some people even compare them to those of the first industrial revolution."
This has become now a leading idea in European Union policymaking. The influence of scholarship on civilization is expressed very recognizably in the influence of technology on civilization. The IRDAC report, "Skill shortages in Europe," published in 1990, goes into this in great detail. Many other writers have also stressed this. In the United States, the Clinton-Gore administration has sought to stimulate the development of a national information structure. The intensification of scholarship pervades all stages of the academic process in some regions.
The Power of Technology
The knowledge-intensification of science and scholarship will increase technology's capacity to distribute and develop knowledge. Without wishing to become involved in any Azimov-type speculation here, it would not appear, to my mind, to be an unreasonable claim that during the next 50 years unbelievable developments in the area of artificial intelligence technology will take place. We should certainly not underestimate the consequences of this for both scholarship and society. Much depends, therefore, on the question of how quickly we can achieve a better understanding of what intelligence actually is. But rather than plunging wholeheartedly into this classic philosophical debate, I shall restrict myself to making a few general points:
First, it is important to remember that the future does not begin at any specific moment. There are always processes and developments. Think of the increasingly technological society in which we live. The first PCs came onto the market only in the late 1970s, only a blink in history's eye. Now we could not live without them. If computers were suddenly made illegal, civilization would collapse in a single day.
Second, consider the so-called "thinking machine." Raymond Kurzweil of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has written a thoroughly admirable book, Intelligent Machines, to which Marvin Minsky, Daniel C. Dennett and Douglas R. Hofstadter also contributed. Kurzweil piles prediction upon prediction. He expects that by the turn of the century there will be "telephones answered by an intelligent telephone answering machine" and "speech-to-text machines which translate speech into a visual context for the deaf."
Kurzweil's vision of the teacher's future is interesting: one in which "computers dominate the educational environment (and) courseware is intelligent enough to understand and correct the inaccuracies in the conceptual model of the student." Kurzweil also predict that, in the long run, or between 2020 and 2070, there will be a truly intelligent machine. In technical jargon, this would be a machine, which passes the Turing test, and therefore achieves the level of human intelligence.
The thinking machine therefore no longer belongs to the realm of the imagination. In fact we see them around us already. Super computers scan and analyse the heavens and medical research is no longer conceivable without high-tech apparatus. Interactive videodisks and other educational tools are being rapidly developed.
Artificial intelligence is on the rise, just like virtual reality. It would not surprise me at all - in fact, I think it likely - that in a few decades we will have artificial intelligence that not only conducts a large amount of independent research, but also simultaneously decides what should be done with the results, that both collects and distributes knowledge independently.
Ultimately, the most important factors in the future of the university are flows of knowledge, which develop themselves and interlock. In other words, self-developing knowledge systems. It is more than 10 years since Patrick Winston, also from MIT, proclaimed the idea that you can never obtain from a machine more than you put into it. That notion seems already to have been superseded.
The prospect of self-developing knowledge systems might be a little frightening - and I haven't even mentioned biological knowledge systems. But this is not a simple question of whether man will be outstripped by machines. Human knowledge and insight will, in my opinion, develop further during the coming decades, which means that it is not really a case of thinking in terms of winners and losers. One thing people will do, at any rate, is concentrate more on directing and mastering the flows of knowledge. This will require techniques beyond anything we now know, far more complex than the Knowledge Engineering I have just discussed.
Knowledge is ultimately the most important raw material, and it is, at any rate, the only one, which can be continuously enriched. It is the most important thing which man is capable of adding to nature. Or, to paraphrase Descartes: "We think, therefore we are."
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Paul Cruickshank: I think that another attack of some form in the United States will probably happen, but I think it’s very unlikely to be anything near the scale of 9/11. Al Qaeda might have more recruits now than at the time of those attacks, but it’s much more difficult for them to launch an operation in the United States. People in the United States are much more alert to the threat. The general public is much more alert to the threat. The United States has spent billions of dollars on homeland security. It’s much more difficult for Al Qaeda to push operatives into the United States. The American Muslim community has very low radicalization rates. They’re well integrated. The American dream really does have resonance with this community. Two-thirds of them earn over $50,000 a year. They vote in elections at a higher rate than the average American. They’re doing very, very well. So the real threat to the United States moving forward is probably an Al Qaeda operation which is gonna come from outside – maybe from Europe. People in Europe have visas to go into the United States. They can gain entrance very easily. The 9/11 operation was using European operatives. You saw an airline attack in . . . Sorry. You saw an airline plot in the summer of 2006 which would use British operatives who could go into the United States on a visa waiver program, get into those airplanes, use liquid explosives. So the real concern is you’re gonna get an attack coming from outside the United States; but that is more difficult to put together than it was at the time of 9/11 because of those higher alert levels running through the United States right now.
Recorded on: Jan 14 2008
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Points of Interest
In Los Angeles are the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and its Broad Contemporary Art Museum; the Museum of Contemporary Art; and historical, movie, industrial, and science museums. The large Music Center includes the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (1964), with four theaters; the Ahmanson Theater; the Mark Taper Forum; and, across Grand Ave., Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall (2003), home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Also downtown is the monumental Our Lady of the Angels cathedral (2002), designed by Raphael Moneo, and Caltrans District 7 headquarters, designed by Thom Mayne. Los Angeles has botanical gardens and many parks, including Griffith Park, with a zoo and an observatory (including a planetarium). The La Brea Tar Pits are famous for Ice Age fossils. Other area attractions include the Santa Anita and Hollywood Park racetracks, Knott's Berry Farm, and Disneyland (at Anaheim). The motion-picture and television industries, the proximity of many resorts, theme parks, and beaches, and a climate that encourages year-round outdoor recreation attract millions of tourists annually. Among the city's many educational institutions are the Univ. of Southern California; the Univ. of California, Los Angeles; two California State Univ. campuses (Los Angeles and Northridge); Occidental College; Loyola Marymount Univ.; Pepperdine Univ.; and the Colburn School of Performing Arts.
In 1982 the Los Angeles area gained its second National Football League franchise (the other being the Rams) when the Oakland Raiders moved to the city. In 1995, however, the Rams moved to St. Louis, and the Raiders subsequently returned to Oakland, Calif., leaving the city without a professional football team. In baseball, the National League's Los Angeles Dodgers and the American League's Anaheim Angels represent the area. The metropolitan area also has two National Basketball Association teams (the Lakers and the Clippers) and two National Hockey League teams (the Kings and Anaheim's Mighty Ducks).
Sections in this article:
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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It gets worse. The Pakistani government has ceded vast stretches of the country’s laughably misnamed Federally Administered Tribal Areas to enemy forces. And after SEAL Team 6 found Osama bin Laden hiding in plain sight just outside Islamabad, Pakistan expelled two-thirds of the U.S. military personnel assigned to training the Pakistani army in counterinsurgency. If Islamabad truly were on America’s side in the war on terror, then that action is akin to firing your surgeon and oncologist after they have excised a brain tumor.
That brings us to the most damning piece of evidence against the Pakistani security, military and intelligence apparatus: Osama bin Laden was permitted to live—for years—in a mansion just miles outside Pakistan’s capital, in a city that serves as a garrison for Pakistani troops, a host to the Pakistani military academy and a retirement destination for Pakistani military brass. It’s impossible to believe that Pakistani military and intelligence personnel in the area—or government officials in nearby Islamabad—were unaware that the most wanted man on earth was living next door.
Some say that all of this is a function of an intense power struggle between the Pakistani military and civilian government—and within the military itself. That may be true, but excuses and motives and root causes don’t change the reality of what is happening in Pakistan and/or what Pakistan is allowing to happen.
In fact, if Pakistan’s civilian government is unable to prevent its U.S.-equipped security, military and intelligence apparatus from firing on U.S. helicopters and unable to order its U.S.-equipped security, military and intelligence apparatus to apprehend America’s enemies, then that means Pakistan’s civilian government is not really in charge of its security, military and intelligence apparatus. If, on the other hand, Pakistan’s civilian government is ordering its security, military and intelligence apparatus to fire on American choppers, fund Haqqani terrorists and hide al Qaeda’s founding fathers, then it is an enemy regime. Neither alternative is particularly comforting.
The point of this recap is simple: Perhaps someone down in the NATO chain of command—or somewhere higher up in the U.S. chain of command—has had enough with Pakistan’s duplicity and sent a message last weekend. If so, that someone has brought Americans and their government closer to understanding that Pakistan is part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
Alan W. Dowd writes on defense and security issues.
Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: Click here.
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Be cholesterol-smart, stop your worries and have a look at the real facts.
Do not make the same mistake as I did. Years ago, after a medical checkup, my doctor told me that my cholesterol level was too high and that I should care about it. I did. What I knew then was that the main source of cholesterol in food is animal fat. Soon after the checkup I began to dislike eggs. That is, I still liked them but I thought I shouldn't like them any more.
What I did not know then was the fact that only about twenty percent of the cholesterol in human blood comes from food, and that about eighty percent of it is produced by the body itself. The body maintains a cholesterol level according to its needs, and if less comes in from food, it increases the production. So I could have enjoyed my eggs, sunny side up, scrambled, soft boiled or whatever - my body just would have curbed the cholesterol production a little bit.
This is the first thing a cholesterol-smart person should know.
The second thing to know is that the link of cholesterol levels to heart attacks is only weak (see my post commenting on a 0.7 percent risk increase) and that it does not say anything about a cause. We do not know whether cholesterol is the real culprit or just a bystander. In dubio pro reo.
The third thing to know is that cholesterol is a vital substance for the body, otherwise it would not produce it. One important example is the need of cholesterol at the beginning of life.
And here is one more example of this kind: A high cholesterol level comes along with a lower risk of gastric cancer in a Japanese study: For every one millimol per liter cholesterol increase, the risk of gastric cancer decreases by 0.8 percent - about the same amount as seen in the mentioned heart study, but in the opposite direction.
This is not to say that cholesterol does prevent gastric cancer - to say it once again, a link or correlation does not imply a cause. And yes, we should be aware that the incidence of gastric cancer is not the same in Japan as it is in other parts of the world. This said, we conclude that there is also some good news about cholesterol, besides the fact that the bad news may be not so bad after all.
Photo credit: flickr.com/photos/snowriderguy/17018201/
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The intense exchanges that human mothers share with their newborn infants may have some pretty deep roots, suggests a study of rhesus macaques reported online on October 8th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.
The new findings show that mother macaques and their infants have interactions in the first month of life that the researchers say look a lot like what humans tend to do.
"What does a mother or father do when looking at their own baby?" asked Pier Francesco Ferrari of the Università di Parma in Italy. "They smile at them and exaggerate their gestures, modify their voice pitch—the so-called "motherese"—and kiss them. What we found in mother macaques is very similar: they exaggerate their gestures, "kiss" their baby, and have sustained mutual gaze."
In humans, those communicative interactions go both ways, research in the last three decades has shown. Newborns are sensitive to their mother's expressions, movements, and voice, and they also mutually engage their mothers and are capable of emotional exchange.
"For years, these capacities were considered to be basically unique to humans," the researchers said, "although perhaps shared to some extent with chimpanzees." The new findings extend those social skills to macaques, suggesting that the infant monkeys may "have a rich internal world" that we are only now beginning to see.
The researchers closely observed 14 mother-infant pairs for the first two months of the infants' lives. They found that mother macaques and their babies spent more time gazing at each other than at other monkeys. Mothers also more often smacked their lips at their infants, a gesture that the infants often imitated back to their mothers.
The researchers also saw mothers holding their infant and actively searching for the infant's gaze, sometimes holding the infant's head and gently pulling it towards her face. In other instances, when infants were physically separated from their mothers, the parent moved her face very close to that of the infant, sometimes lowering her head and bouncing it in front of the youngster. Interestingly, those exchanges virtually disappeared when infants turned about one month old.
Why so soon, you might ask?
"It's quite puzzling," Ferrari said, "but we should consider that macaque development is much faster that of humans. Motor competences of a two-week-old macaque could be compared to an eight- to twelve-month-old human infant. Thus, independence from the mother occurs very early… what happens next in the first and second month of life is that infants become more interested in interacting with their same-age peers."
The findings offer new insight into the origins of such mother-infant behavior. "Our results demonstrate that humans are not unique in showing emotional communication between mother and infant," the researchers wrote. "Instead, we can trace the evolutionary foundation of those behaviors, which are considered crucial for the establishment of social exchange with others, to macaques. Mutual gaze, neonatal imitation, infant gestures, and exaggerated facial gesturing by mothers are distinctive signs in macaques, as well as in humans, of interpersonal communication and perhaps even a mutual appreciation of others' intentions and emotions."
The researchers include Pier Francesco Ferrari, Universita di Parma, Parma, Italy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; Annika Paukner, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; Consuel Ionica, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; and Stephen J. Suomi, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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At a press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York, Ms. Maude Barlow said that she is critical of the participation of companies that sell bottled water in the UN Global Compact. On October 21, 2008, Ms. Barlow was named senior advisor on water issues by the President of the 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Ms. Barlow said: "It will not surprise you to know that we have called the Global Compact bluewashing or greenwashing. But bluewashing in terms of wrapping the United Nation’s good housekeeping seal of approval around corporate behaviors that we don’t think always change." (see video here).
Ms. Barlow denounced so-called "water hunters" – companies that take water from aquifers and "put it in plastic and sell it all over the world". Moreover, she said she opposes bottled water and that she believes that companies like Coca Cola, PepsiCo and Nestlé cannot claim to be or become "water neutral". Ms. Barlow wants to continue to fight the bottled water industry.
In July 2007, the Global Compact launched the CEO Water Mandate. According to the Compact, "the CEO Water Mandate is a unique public-private initiative designed to assist companies in the development, implementation and disclosure of water sustainability policies and practices." Nestlé, Coca Cola and PepsiCo have all endorsed the CEO Water Mandate.
At the last working conference of the CEO Water Mandate in August 2008, the concept of water neutrality was mentioned by several endorsers. We look forward to learning how the CEO Water Mandate is going to address the issues raised by Ms. Barlow.
Source: Inner City Press (10/12/2008).
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redundant words and/or phrases. Watch for “nodded (his
head)” or “thought (to himself).” The words
in parentheses are redundant and should be omitted. Likewise,
there are “lift (up),” “shrugged (his shoulders)”
and others that tend to be sore spots for many editors.
words that contribute nothing to a sentence’s meaning. One such
common word is “that.” Read your sentence without a suspicious
word; if the meaning is clear without the suspected word, drop
I Am and What I Offer:
I learned independently how to write and edit my own web pages.
Through trial and error I fine-tuned my website until I now consistently
place in the top ten Google and Yahoo rankings for my primary search
terms. I attract business regularly from around the world for my
manuscript editing services (I was Stephen King's first editor)
and I'm now marketing my website editing and search optimization
skills for special clients.
Neither I nor any other legitimate professional can guarantee that
you'll rank in the top ten of any major search engine rankings,
therefore my editorial fees are modest. Common sense tells me that
if I apply the same editing logic to your site that I incorporate
into my own your rankings should increase over time.
Granted, there's a risk involved in paying anyone to fine-tune your
website but you'll find me to be an honest man who delivers quality
website editing and search engine optimization services.
I Can Do For You
I don't build websites from scratch; I'm not a developer. You'll
need to have a website up and running to utilize my services.
I'll fine-tune your website editorially and give your words a professional
feel, then I'll recommend search engine optimization changes in
line with what I've done with my own website.
Don't expect your website to look dramatically different; search
engine optimization is performed with virtual invisibility.
a slick corporation with lengthy contracts and difficult to understand
written agreements. I prefer to do business the simplest, most straightforward
Neither do I have flashy academic credentials with respect to my
website editing services. I learned website development from the
ground up. I'm a one-man operation who desperately needed an Internet
presence years ago but couldn't afford a professional to design
my website. My home-grown website has yielded powerful results over
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Archive for category Natural Healing
Millions of men experience problems with erectile dysfunction each year. In the past, erectile dysfunction (also called impotence) was regarded as an inevitable part of getting old. With the exception of certain herbal treatments and natural libido enhancers known in limited cultural areas, there was no cure for male sexual dysfunction.
Fortunately, due to medical research, it is now clear that erectile dysfunction is not just a side effect of aging; it is a physiological problem which can be treated with medications, natural remedies, and changes in personal habits.
*What is impotence?
Impotence is the lack of ability to have an erection or to maintain it for the length of time necessary to achieve ejaculation. This common problem can affect men at any age, and almost all men will experience impotence at some time.
*What causes erectile dysfunction?
There is no single cause for erectile dysfunction. Achieving an erection involves a complex series of physiological events; in order for an erection to occur, the body is required to coordinate nervous system responses with tactile sensations, emotional triggers, and signals from certain hormones. If any of these events are disrupted, impotence is likely to occur.
- Underlying health problems are responsible for an estimated 90% of erectile dysfunction cases. The following health issues are well known for leading to male impotence:
> Cardiovascular disease;
> Spinal injuries and surgery;
> Enlarged prostate;
> Radiation treatments for prostate cancer, which can cause nerve damage to the penis;
> Hormone imbalances (such as low levels of testosterone). Read the rest of this entry »
You may not be aware of it, but your body has a tremendous capacity to heal you.
So why doesn’t it?
Because you’re out of balance!
Once you’re back in natural balance, true natural healing is possible.
So what does out of balance mean, and how do you put yourself back into balance?
You only have to look as far as nature to see what natural balance is. Living the stressful life that is the mainstay of modern day human existence is probably the main contributing factor for your lack of balance.
I’m not necessarily promoting the idea that you give up your job and live in the bush. You can do anything and remain in natural balance.
It’s how you handle things that shows up your balance, or lack of.
Most people don’t handle things very well. You might get angry or defensive when someone criticises you. You don’t take enough ‘you’ time, time to relax or reflect. You may not be eating well. You may be partying and drinking too much.
Natural healing can only come about when you consider you as an entire entity. Your thoughts, your physical challenges, your feelings are all connected. If you have been taken physically ill, it’s more than likely because you didn’t listen to your inner self, which was telling you to slow down, or get another job, or get out of your current relationship. Read the rest of this entry »
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(CNNMoney.com) – The Senate on Thursday raised the cap on how much the government can borrow to a record level.
Getting just enough votes to pass, the Senate voted 60-39 to increase the debt limit to $1.9 trillion. That would push the ceiling to $14.294 trillion from the current $12.394 trillion. Sixty votes were required for passage.
But it's not a done deal. The bill now needs to be sent back to the House for a vote, where passage is still in question, according to Congressional Quarterly.
A $1.9 trillion increase is expected to cover the Treasury's projected borrowing needs through at least early 2011, and in any case well past the November mid-term elections. Debt limit votes are always politically difficult and not ones lawmakers seeking re-election like to take.
The ceiling reflects the level up to which the Treasury Department is allowed to borrow. If the ceiling is ever breached, the country would effectively be in default. That can hurt bonds, the dollar and creditors' portfolios.
The Senate legislation also included an amendment that seeks to rein in the growth rate in U.S. debt by putting in place statutory pay-go rules.
A pay-go law would require lawmakers to find ways to pay for proposed tax cuts or spending increases by raising taxes or reducing spending elsewhere in the budget.
Pay-go rules don't actually reduce the debt load already accrued, but they put the brake on future increases - a helpful first step, budget experts say.
The effectiveness of pay-go rules, however, depends on their parameters. The strongest form would not allow any policy to be exempt.
The amendment passed by the Senate, however, exempts some expensive measures, such as the cost of a permanent extension of middle class tax cuts.
It would also exempt the Medicare "doctor fix" for 5 years and the extensions of relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax and the estate tax for two years.
The passage of the debt limit increase had been called into question for weeks as a group of a dozen-plus moderate Democrats, including Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., threatened to vote against any large increase until a credible process to address future deficits was put in place.
A proposal cosponsored by Conrad and Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., the budget committee's top-ranking Republican would have created a statutory bipartisan fiscal commission to come up with recommendations for tax increases and spending cuts
Had it passed, Congress would have been required to vote on the commission's recommendations by the end of this year.
President Obama during his State of the Union address on Wednesday said he would create a bipartisan fiscal commission by executive order.
Obama's panel is a weaker version of a commission because Congress won't be required by law to consider the presidential commission's recommendations or to vote on them.
Conrad and several of the moderate Democrats who had been resisting the increase earlier ended up voting for it on Thursday.
Conrad said he got written assurances that Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., would bring the presidential commission's recommendations to a vote before the end of the year.
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Perhaps you have attempted trying to find toenail fungus infections upon the internet? If you have, then you must be aware of exactly how tragic this could be. You wouldn’t would like any kind of fungi to build up on your toe nails specifically if you understand what this can lead to. The key is to prevent this particular through occurring inside the to begin with. If it nevertheless finds out a solution to your toenails, you have to remember that there are toenail fungus treatment accessible.
Signs or symptoms of toenail fungus usually results in the most detrimental. At first, you may not genuinely discover this particular in addition there’s no soreness whatsoever. It will begin to show staining, failing and actually blackening of the toe nails. Anytime not treated, this is will eventually result in soreness at the toe nails. Finding the correct treatment is a must in order to save your toe nails.
Finding toenail fungus treatment isn’t that hard. People think that you will find treatments which do not function but usually they do. For treating this condition, you should mainly get rid of the fungus. The bodily results this has may afterwards end up being eliminated. You’ll have to watch for few of times till the entire nail develops away. Begin looking regarding treatment in your own home. Believe it or not, you will find some thing in your kitchen area that can help together with your problem. Consider your own pot of white vinegar as well as saturate this particular inside a plastic bath tub. Saturate your feet for 25 minutes inside a 3 components white vinegar to at least one part drinking water combination. This really is sufficient in order to kill bacteria and stop this particular through distributing. This particular should be carried out every day but when it’s as well powerful for your skin, you can test in order to get this particular carried out almost daily.
You will find prescription medications or even medications which are prescribed through doctors. The most typical types are usually Lamisil as well as Sopranox. Since they’re used by mouth, these kinds of function through heading collectively the bloodstream strea, as well as guides in order to the contaminated area. It will destroy the fungus that is current in your scarves. Obtaining this can need A few months for it to fully get rid of the infection.
Topical ointment toenail fungus treatments will also be a well known selection for the majority of. When compared with dental medication, these function a lot more upon the fungus because it continues the involved area. You will find those to include urea to make sure that the toenail as well as the skin can easily soak up the lotion. It is suggested to file the toe nails to make sure that this particular treatment will work faster.
In case you have reasonable transmissions, don’t need to use serious toenail fungus treatments. Maybe you may use anti-fungal lacquer to prevent this particular at the initial phases. They are employed much like your normal toe nail shine every day. Following a 7 days, you just have to remove it with alcoholic beverages as well as start using a new coating. You can test Penlac simply because treatment. Though the photos of toenail fungus infections may frighten a person, it is possible to avoid them. This is what you should carry out. In the event that you are not able to perform this particular, a minimum of you will know there are toenail fungus treatments accessible. Save your valuable toes from all of these extreme results and then try to treat the infections quick.
- Jen Hopkins
No related posts.
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See this page in: Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia)
“The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?” (Proverbs 18:14
“I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word” (Psalm 119:25).
There are numerous biblical references to depression, one of the human race's most common and distressing afflictions. It is likely that the first humans to experience depression were Adam and Eve, after they sinned against God.
Examples of people in the Bible who suffered bouts of depression
- Abraham (Genesis 15)
- Jonah (Jonah 4)
- Job (Book of Job)
- Elijah (1 Kings 19)
- King Saul (I Samuel 16:14-23, etc.)
- Jeremiah (Book of Jeremiah)
- David (Psalms 6, 13, 18, 23, 25, 27, 31, 32, 34, 37-40, 42-43, 46, 51, 55, 62-63, 69, 71, 73, 77, 84, 86, 90-91, 94-95, 103-104, 107, 110, 116, 118, 121, 123-124, 130, 138, 139, 141-143, 146-147)
— “I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. …I groan because of the turmoil of my heart” (Psalm 38:6,8
Read David's prayer
Depression due to guilt
CAIN, son of Adam (having disobeyed God)
“Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.’”
—Genesis 4:6-7 (NIV)
DAVID, King of Israel (having committed adultery was depressed until he confessed his sin)
“When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah.”
Release from depression caused by guilt came from confession and seeking God's forgiveness…
“For I said in my haste, ‘I am cut off from before Your eyes’; Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications When I cried out to You. Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, And fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. …I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”
—Psalm 31:22 - 32:2, 32:5 (NKJV)
David's humble prayer for forgiveness (an example for us all)
“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight; That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. …For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart; These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:1-13, 16-17—NKJV
When you're depressed, place your hope in God.
“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. …For You are the God of my strength…” (Psalm 42:5, 43:2—NKJV).
|“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
—Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13—NKJV)
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy; meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:4-8—NKJV).
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).
Although things may be difficult, Christians can avoid deep depression.
“We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed… Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 16-18—NIV).
Remember what Jesus Christ went through for us. Remember what the apostle Paul experienced, yet remained focused on the eternal rather than the temporary. When we maintain faith and keep our focus on God's love and the hope He has given us for eternity, Christians can weather the storms of life. It can be done.
Paul — “…I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”
—2 Corinthians 11:23b-28 (NIV)
“I have been crucified
; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God
, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
When the Israelites were depressed, God called them to put their faith into action.
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
Answers to related questions
[ If this information has been helpful, please prayerfully consider a donation to help pay the expenses for making this faith-building service available to you and your family! Donations are tax-deductible. ]
Author: Paul S. Taylor of Films for Christ
Copyright © 1999, 2010, Films for Christ, All Rights Reserved - except as noted on attached “Usage and Copyright” page that grants ChristianAnswers.Net users generous rights for putting this page to work in their homes, personal witnessing, churches and schools.
Christian Answers Network
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Author: Shawn R. Griffith
About This Book:
The U.S. imprisons more people than any other country in the world, ever in the history of humanity. It takes a person who has experienced the mistakes of criminal justice from behind the barred doors and razor...wire fences to share and understand the solutions to our broken system. With recidivism rates ranging from fifteen to seventy percent, and the U.S. debt burden in the trillions, the general public deserves a detailed account of the mistakes being made in our criminal justice system and the common-sense solutions to fix them. Facing the U.S. Prison Problem, 2.3 Million Strong accomplishes this with a no-nonsense perspective from a rehabilitated ex-convict after serving 20 years in prison. The book is not only unique because the author is a released, rehabilitated felon, but also because it illustrates the growing development of a non-profit corporation, called the Prisoner Family Union, Inc. This is not only a book; this is a movement which has the potential to change the criminal justice system as never before seen.
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Some economists have argued that American drive is based on the principle of “the sky is the limit.”
This is what motivates us to do our best so as to climb the corporate ladder all the way to the top. Break the glass ceiling, we urge our female counterparts, and you, too, can be the queen of your corporate domain.
But aren’t we mixing metaphors here? Are motivation and competition not based on a questionable assumption about scarcity and abundance? Are we fighting to get a bigger piece of the same pie or is the pie ever-increasing in size? How these questions are answered makes a big difference in how to view competition.
When I taught my first Business Ethics course, I asked the students to tell me how much money they dreamed of earning when they graduated. “The sky is the limit” came up, and most were unwilling to put an upper-limit on their earnings. We spent two hours listing all their spending fantasies so as to come to a figure that would satisfy them all.
I don’t recall the figure, but it was well within reason of high-end earners. Asked to pledge right then and there to give away to charity every dollar they earned beyond that figure, whatever it was, adjusted for inflation, they all looked puzzled and declined my invitation. Pledging wasn’t as popular then as it is today with Congressional representatives.
If there is no limit on how much one can spend? Does it mean that the pie is indeed ever-increasing in size? Does that also mean that there is abundance in the world? Put differently, should we simply abandon the presumption of scarcity — there isn’t enough to go around — as a limited and limiting idea?
Empirically speaking, is there abundance? Given what we read in the business news or hear on television networks, it seems that we hardly have enough resources to feed ourselves. Is this hype real or fabricated? If it’s not real, why would anyone want to fabricate anxiety-driven views of scarcity?
Instead of speculating on the motives of others, whatever benefits may be in store for them personally or institutionally, let’s focus on the supply and demand curves economists like to refer to. If demand increases, we are told, and supply remains the same, prices will go up (only so many houses right next to The Broadmoor). If supply increases while demand decreases, prices go down (too many apples that begin to rot). But what if supply remains unlimited, like the air in the sky (even though they sell air-rights in New York City)? What if everything is abundant?
There aren’t enough jobs, the unemployment rate keeps going up, and the economy cannot grow without more jobs being created. How does the idea of abundance work here? We have plenty of natural resources, energy and agriculture, that can be more fully exploited. What prevents a more abundant exploitation? Is it regulations?, Then reduce them. Is it production technologies?, Then invent more of them. Is it distribution channels?, Then expand roads and rivers.
What about environmental concerns? What about other costs? Investments in our abundant natural resources, including human ingenuity (in the form of education and intellectual property), should be seen in the broadest context. When seen as such, we would realize that our defense costs, for example, could be converted to the development of domestic energy sources so that we wouldn’t have to protect the seas around the world to ensure safe oil transportation to our refineries.
Instead of worrying about scarcity, we should think about our abundance, the blessing of having enormous energy and food and intellectual resources. With this in mind, we can enact local and national policies that would make sense for the long run, that would improve the health of the economy.
So, when El Paso County is worried about “fracking” (hydraulic fracturing), it should not only look at the actual deaths from this process (none on record so far), its ongoing technological evolution (more time + more use = improved methods), but also look at the price in human lives we have already paid right here at Fort Carson, when soldiers who were sent to Iraq of Afghanistan didn’t make it back.
It may be a global economy, it may be a “flat world,” as Thomas Friedman reminds us, but it’s the local economy that pays the price for national policies. If we could supply our own energy needs right here, why should we import them from across the world? If we can eat the food farmers grow right here, why would we want to ship it across the continent? This is no xenophobia, just common sense.
Raphael Sassower is professor of philosophy at UCCS and believes in the abundance of our blessings. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org Previous articles can be found at sassower.blogspot.com
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Thermal Analysis During the Commercial Phase for a Large Global Life Sciences Company
Our client’s lyophilized protein diagnostic product had been successfully launched and sales exceeded expectations. Therefore, they were facing the decision whether to expand their lyophilization capacity (and by how much) to meet demand. However, they suspected their formulation and lyophilization cycle had not been optimized due a low collapse temperature of -48°C and lower than expected yields during commercial production. They sought a collaborative partner who could assess their current lyophilization cycle and recommend meaningful (rather than small incremental) changes. They wanted to minimize formulation changes, reduce cycle length, increase yields and improve quality. Because the partner would be suggesting changes to a top selling product, they realized choosing a reputable partner was key to making their case for improvement to internal stakeholders.
As an initial step of what was to become a much larger lyophilization cycle development project, thermal analysis by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and freeze dry microscopy (FDM) was performed on the current formulation to determine the critical thermal temperatures and pressures. This data was then compared to the existing lyophilization cycle parameters.
DSC thermograms produced using two methods failed to identify critical temperatures – neither glass transition nor eutectic melt. Working collaboratively with the client, it was theorized that the unusually low protein concentration of <10 mg/mL might make it difficult to detect a low-energy thermal event, such as a glass transition, using DSC.
FDM results were unique as well due to the low protein concentration and the resulting freeze-dried product was lacking in structure and substance and exhibited a very thin and spongy nature. However, the onset of collapse was found to be -48°C/37mTorr and complete collapse occurred at -40.5°C/37mTorr. Other noteworthy findings were:
- A change in the morphology of the freeze-dried layer was observed in addition to the presence of bubbles at the sublimation front. The phenomena indicate the melt of at least one component of the solution and speculation that the physical changes were indicative of a glass transition not detectable by DSC.
- At full collapse, there was no longer any observable structure to the freeze-dried layer.
- A large temperature range between the onset of and full collapse is unusual. It is possible the lack of significant structure and/or the presence of multiple proteins in the formulation may have contributed to a complex collapse process. .
Thermal analysis results indicate that a lyophilization cycle:
- Should ensure the product is frozen to at least -60°C to make certain the ice and interstitial space are solid.
- That product temperature at the start of primary drying should be approximately -53°C.
- That a chamber pressure of less than 10 mTorr should be maintained to ensure pressure differential between the vapor pressure of ice at this temperature and the vapor pressure at the condenser.
The current lyophilization cycle which consumes 60+ hours in use is not optimized. The current dilute formulated solution, low fill volume and low collapse temperatures of the product result in critical temperatures that are not readily achieved by commercial lyophilizers, result in low freezing and primary drying temperatures and vapor pressures resulting in a low sublimation rate. These are the drivers for the very long and difficult to control freeze dry cycle and low product yield. BioConvergence suggested the client change their formulation by adding a bulking agent that would yield a discernable cake structure during freeze-drying and increase the collapse temperature to a level achieved by most commercial lyophilizers.
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Loose shown within Kent
|- London||34 miles (55 km) NW|
|Sovereign state||United Kingdom|
|Ambulance||South East Coast|
|EU Parliament||South East England|
|UK Parliament||Maidstone and the Weald|
Loose (pron.: //) is a village some 2 miles (3 km) south of Maidstone, Kent, situated at the head of the Loose Valley. The village and the Loose Valley form the Loose Valley Conservation Area. The fast flowing River Loose which rises near Langley runs through the centre of the village and once supported a paper making industry, evidence of which can still be found today. An area around the village is also known as Loose but Loose village itself is based in the Loose valley and extends along Busbridge Road towards Tovil.
Loose is believed to take its name from the Loose stream, which 'loses' itself for several miles under ground from the point where it rises in Langley. (Edward Hasted: Hlosan in Saxon, signifying to lose or be lost).
Kent's History
Loose originates from Saxon times but its main period of development was during the Industrial Revolution when Loose, Boughton Monchelsea and Bockingford developed around the seven mills which were driven by the Loose stream. There are several remains of the mills, including millraces at Leg O'Mutton pond, Gurney's Mill, Loose village mill in Bridge Street, the mill ponds at Little and Great Ivy mills and further down the valley in Crismill and Hayle, where the old paper mill stands with its only remaining chimney. This site has now been redeveloped as housing. Further south are disused mine pits where ragstone was once mined, some of which was sent sent for use at the Tower of London. South along the Loose Road (A229), terminating at the Post Office, ran a tram track which transported Loose residents to and from Maidstone.
Old Loose Hill descends into Loose village and the valley, the hill being so steep that in the 18th and 19th century consecutive landlords of The Chequers public house kept horses which were hired out to help haul carts to the top of the hill. The road is still lined with haul stones around which ropes were tied to help relieve he horses of the weight of the carts. Across the stream from the Chequers is Brooks Field.
In the village the Brooks path, a picturesque causeway along the Loose stream which joins the two ends of the village, divides the mill pond which once fed the village mill. All Saints church, of the Diocese of Canterbury, overlooks this section of river. A local tradition has it that if one sticks a pin in the old Yew tree in the churchyard then runs around it anticlockwise at midnight one will, if one looks through a small window above the Charlton memorial against the church wall, see a vision of a woman killing a baby. The Reverend Richard Boys was vicar here and also chaplain of St Helena during Napolon Bonaparte's exile on the island. The Reverend Boys is buried in the churchyard.
To the east of the village is the Loose Viaduct, attributed to Thomas Telford and built in 1830 to carry the Maidstone to Hastings road (the present day A229) across the Loose Valley. The village has two public houses. The Chequers is in the valley beside the river and The Walnut Tree is on the main A229 opposite Loose Infant school and Loose Junior school; separate schools but sharing the same site. A third pub, The Kings Arms, was closed in 2005 and is now a private house.
World famous 'Gonzo' illustrator Ralph Steadman lives in Loose, and the 'Beechgrove Garden' (BBC Scotland) presenter Carole Baxter was born in Loose
Loose is pronounced 'Looze' to rhyme with booze.
See also
- Loose Stream article
- "Historic Kent - Villages and Towns". historic-kent.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- "Napoleon's chair found in storage", BBC Kent, 6 July 2009
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Loose, Kent|
- Loose Amenities Association
- Loose Swiss Scout Group
- All Saints' Church Loose
- BBC Kent page about Loose
- Photos of Loose on Flickr
- Loose Women Morris Dance Team
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HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Geoffrey Canada on Thursday told more than 1,000 people at the Von Braun Center his stories of struggle growing up in South Bronx and his success as CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone.
The latter has landed him on "60 Minutes" twice, the cover of Time magazine as one of the most 100 influential people in the world and even on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
While the "60 Minutes" spots and the Time cover were thrills for Canada, it was his appearance on "Oprah" that enamored him to his family, he said.
"Oprah did the worst thing possible," he said. "She sent me seven tickets to the show and everyone in my family thought they were in the top seven," Canada said, drawing hearty laughter.
While Canada was entertaining, his message about the future of America's children was sobering: "No one's coming to save your kids. If you don't do it, no one will. There is no super hero."
Canada, who starred in the documentary movie "Waiting for Superman," may be the closest thing to an educational hero in America. More than 20 years ago, he decided to save the kids of Harlem, most of whom dropped out of school at early ages and landed in prison as teenagers.
His was among the first charter school efforts in the nation and now has 11,000 children enrolled "from cradle to college."
"Once they come into our program, we are there for them," Canada said. "We are a constant."
In an interview later, he said if he had to do it again, he would have purchased as much property as possible in Harlem so he could have "affordable housing" for the college students in the program.
"As Harlem has been reformed, housing prices are off the chart," he said. "Before, we only had a few students in college, but now we have hundreds."
While college is the ultimate goal for all of the kids in the program, he said every step, from pre-school to high school, "is important."
The comment that drew the loudest applause was: "If a teacher can't teach, they should find another career. I didn't say hang them. Why is (teaching) the only profession I know when your ability to do the job does not measure up, you can keep your job? Nobody knows why."
The crowd was a diversity of ethnic, socio-economic and educational backgrounds who came to hear what the education reform messiah had to say. He did not disappoint.
"It was very powerful and moving," said Michael Lundy, president of the Huntsville Housing Authority.
Canada was introduced by his long-time friend and former martial arts sparring partner Ernie Wu, president of ERC, one of the event sponsors. Wu is a long-time financial supporter of the Harlem Children's Zone.
Wu, the son of immigrants who came to America with $100 each in their pockets, believes in what Canada is doing.
"It just kills me there are a vast number of kids who don't know the American dream and if they did know, they wouldn't believe you," said Wu.
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Perhaps the worst part is that frequently grades become the goal and overshadow learning. Teachers sometimes use grades to coerce students to comply. Teachers do things like not giving credit for math work done in pen, even if the work is exemplary. Students use grades as an excuse for not doing work. Students will not investigate a problem further bacause they know it will not be tested.
And yet, grades persist. I think they can play an important role in education. Students and parents need feedback about their accomplishments, they need advice about how to improve, and they benefit from legitimate praise and criticism.
Allow me to share two very personal experiences that are vivid memories of my grade school days. For two years in a row, I was told by the music teacher that I could not sing. (She was right.) I was then instructed to mouth the words as the other children sang. As I grew up, I realized that I love music, but I can't sing, so I don't try. I have been told by several people that anyone can learn to sing. I don't believe them, because I was told at a very young age that if I sang, it would interfere with the singing process in class. I can't do singing. The second experience happened in eighth grade when my social studies teacher was trying to explain inflation. I rasied my hand and asked a question about the consequences of inflation. He looked at me and said, "You must be really good at math." Fifty years later, I remember that moment in class; I have devoted my life's work to mathematics.
Both teachers were assessing my work. Neither assessment had anything to do with grades. My grades in school were never very good because I frequently didn't comply with the teacher's wishes about how to do the work (I really liked doing math with a pen, for example). But I did learn and so consider myself to have had a good education in spite of all those C grades.
When I started teaching, I had the good fortune to be in situations where I had the freedom to decide how grades were going to be given. I spent a lot of time thinking about it, tried many plans, and eventually hit on one or two that worked. I think my grading schemes helped me become a better teacher. I would like to share some of my thoughts about grades in the next few blogs.
I have always thought that in order to earn a good grade, a student should demonstrate knowledge of the subject and the ability to apply that knowledge in a variety of situations. That means that each assessment should include some routine exercises to see if the student has learned the basic material, problems right out of the book with different numbers. The students should also be expected to do problems similar to some of the really hard problems that we did in class. And the student who wishes to earn an A ought to demonstrate the ability to apply the information from the unit, as well as from the entire course studied so far, to a new situation. So, my tests are usually about 50% routine problems, 25% difficult problems that are similar to problems they have worked on , and 25% original problems. I give them one period to work on the problems unless they are legally entitled to more time. I carefully look at their work and give credit for correct mathematics relevent to the problem.
Solving a difficult problem takes time, and there is often a certain amount of luck involved. A promising approach may lead to a dead end through no fault of the problem solver, while an equally promising approach may work just right. If we intend to assess out students' success as problem-solvers, we must ask them to solve problems on tests, not just do exercises. That in turn influences how we associate a grade with work done.
I would like to know who decided that 95% was the benchmark for excellent work and what sort of work were they thinking of. Nothing I can think of that is reasonably difficult can be done correctly 95% of the time. The best baseball players that ever lived were successful at getting on base if they could get on base 40% of the time. Most players don't even come close, because hitting a baseball is very hard to do. A 30% success-rate is outstanding.
One of the national standards of excellence in the U.S., the Advanced Placement test, gives only five grades: 5,4,3,2, or 1. In order to get a 5, a student needs to get approximately 72% of the test correct. That level of excellence will often earn college credit for the course in question.
P.J reminded me about Dr. Paul Sally's rubric: "If you're getting 50%, you're doing well." Dr. Sally taught Honors Analysis at the University of Chicago. No one ever accused Dr. Sally of having low standards.
That brings me to another thought about grades. My first two years I computed grades two ways. I kept track of total points earned by students, and I also assigned a letter grade to each assessment and then used the letter grades to determine a final grade. It became apparent theat the letter grade method was far superior in two respects. First, students always seemed to have a feeling for where they were. Second and more important, the letter system was fairer, the letter system meant the grade was less influenced by a really bad test, and the letter system allowed me to assign points to problems without regard to making the total come out to a pre-specified number.
Another principle I followed without exception: Every problem was worth the same number of points. I didn't want students to have to worry about how much time to spend on this one or that one bacause one problem was worth more points than another. I did want my students to look the problems over and work the ones they were most confident about first. Since I established the cutoff points, this was a very good and fair policy.
The point is that the elephant is there, and it matters. Grades influence our effectiveness as teachers, and we must spend considerable time and effort working out systems that enhance our teaching, emphasize the things we think are important, inform parents and students about the quality of their work, and are even-handed and fair.
Next time I will share with you some specific things that worked for me. Until then, please reflect on the grading policy that you are using and how it alters your ability to teach mathematics. No matter what you think, it does make a difference.
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A corrected version of the story is below:
Human rights groups say they found women and children subjected to abuse at a public psychiatric hospital in Guatemala's capital.
The investigation was conducted by the Human Rights Office of the Archbishop of Guatemala and Disability Rights International, and the findings were submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Executive Director Nery Rodenas said Friday that the probe found patients in the Federico Mora hospital suffering from a lack of medical attention, along with abuse by staff and inmates from a neighboring prison who were allowed into the hospital. The commission called for Guatemala to swiftly address conditions in the hospital.
Investigators found more than 300 children and adults at the facility. It said it found that newly admitted minors were kept in isolation cells, and patients in locked cells had died of preventable
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The nine gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12 are demonstrations of God's matchless grace at work in the world, as well as evidence of His powerful presence in the midst of His church. They are manifestations of the sovereignty and provision of God that people can actually see, hear, and experience with their senses. And they testify to the crucial truth that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior of the world.
All Christians can receive and exercise these gifts of the Holy Spirit. Derek Prince shows how to discover and live in the spiritual gifts God has given you, so you may:
- Experience God's power personally.
- Demonstrate distinct manifestations of the Spirit in your life.
- Increase your effectiveness in the body of Christ.
- Become a conduit of God's grace.
- Defeat satanic powers.
- Do miracles in the name of Jesus.
- Strengthen and encourage your fellow believers.
- Live in God's will.
- Bring deliverance, healing, and hope to the world.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not a luxury. They are a necessity for living out the purposes and plans of God. As we receive the spiritual gifts God wants to give us, we can demonstrate His manifold grace and power everywhere we go.
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If your intention is to have students manifest their potential, you need to do more than stuff their heads with facts on the one hand, or provide them with unstructured freedom on the other. You need to provide students with appropriate guidance that motivates them to think and motivates them to create -- an environment that supports their intellectual and creative efforts.
Debates about educational reform invariably polarize participants. Is school meant to provide a liberal education or ready students for careers? Is testing useful or counterproductive? Is there a classical canon to be taught or is that canon sexist, racist and otherwise inappropriate? Do students need to learn more math and science, even if art classes must be sacrificed, or is a healthy dose of the arts too valuable to lose? And so on.
Even when there is agreement, there is always the problem of funding the proposed change. Maybe everyone agrees that a given magnet school or charter school is a great idea. That school still must be funded. Maybe everyone agrees that providing several language classes, rather than just one, is a fine idea. Those classes still must be funded. Maybe everyone agrees that providing more science labs is a good thing. Those labs still must be funded. Budgetary concerns can bring even consensus to its knees.
Into this breach, we have a small but valuable suggestion to make. Between us, my wife and I have 45 years of classroom teaching and school administrative experience. In addition, I've worked -- first as a therapist and for the last 15 years as a creativity coach -- with thousands of creative and performing artists. Out of those experiences, we have a simple, doable suggestion to make with regard to radically reimagining the education of children. Let's let our children actually think for 45 minutes a day.
Let's call these 45 minutes "the thinking module," though it can be called anything you like -- the thinking period, the idea block, the creativity class, and so on. This thinking module can be incorporated into a public school day, a private school day, a home schooling day, or a family day. Yes, something has to be sacrificed to obtain 45 minutes out a finite day, but creating thinking modules is such a valuable, low-cost, nonideological idea that the sacrifices involved are well worth the benefits.
What happens during those 45 minutes? Students are invited to think big. They aren't taught critical thinking skills or the principles of formal logic. They aren't asked to create compelling arguments or innovate or brainstorm or problem-solve. Rather, they are invited to think big. The relentless focus is on thinking big. As side benefits, they learn critical thinking skills, how to create compelling arguments, and so on. But those benefits accrue because they've been actually thinking and not because they have been taught certain principles or strategies.
The facilitator of the thinking module does not need to know anything about "divided middles" or "syllogistic reasoning" or "remote associates." Rather, she needs to be comfortable with -- or, to begin with, at least able to fake being comfortable with -- providing students with genuine permission to think. This involves helping them propose big questions worth answering, helping them embrace complexity and helping them honor not knowing. She should expect to feel a little nervous facilitating this module, as there is no curriculum to teach or information to impart. After a little while she will come to understand her job and be thrilled by the results.
What would actually go on? The facilitator might pose a large question, have students write for 20 minutes in response to the question and then ask for volunteers to read their responses. There is a beauty and a power in spending 45 minutes this way. For fourth graders, a big question might be, "When is it okay to lie?" For seventh graders, a big question might be, "How do you decide if you should or shouldn't support a war that your country is engaged in?" For ninth graders, a big question might be "How do you decide if space exploration is or isn't an important societal goal?" For 12th graders, a big question might be, "Is happiness the opposite of sadness?"
After each student reads his or her response, the facilitator need do nothing more than say, "Thank you." She may want to do more because the student's response gives her the opportunity to chat about some thinking skill or principle -- for example, that new evidence may cause you to change your mind -- but that "more" is not required or needed. This simple procedure of putting a big question on the table and reporting on your thoughts without fear of criticism or judgment are the essential ingredients of an effective thinking module.
If you like this idea of a "thinking module," propose it. Bring the idea to the principal of your child's school. Lobby for it. It is a cost-effective, apolitical, easy-to-implement strategy with the power to transform our students, at least for one hour of the day, from drudges to thinkers. Don't our children deserve that hour?
Follow Eric Maisel, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ericmaisel
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Should we be worried about pesticides in groundwater contaminating the water we drink and the food we eat?
According to many public health and environment officials nationwide, the answer is yes.
In the last year and a half, public interest law firm Earthjustice has filed four federal lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency concerning the use of pesticides.
Many of the pesticides at the center of those legal battles are the same pesticides that recently surfaced as cause for concern in the state of Oregon. Of seven pesticides highlighted as contaminating groundwater in Oregon -- three of which are listed as possibly or likely to cause cancer by the EPA -- only two are are not subjects of Earthjustice's pending lawsuits.
"There are several pesticides on the market that pose extreme risks to human health -- through the water, air and food," said Joshua Osborne-Klein, an attorney for the Earthjustice. "Our lawsuits say that the EPA has not fully assessed these risks."
Concerns about groundwater come at the same time as several safety concerns -- whether about tainted peppers or the presence of drugs in drinking water -- that have left many people wondering what else is in our food and water that we don't yet know about.
Used largely to irrigate crops, as well as by more than half of the people in the United States as drinking water, groundwater is a critical natural resource for people throughout the country.
But according to information posted on the EPA's Web site, it is also "highly susceptible to contamination from septic tanks, agricultural runoff, highway de-icing, landfills, and pipe leaks." Contamination from pesticides is among those concerns. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, about 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used in the United States every year.
To prevent contamination, the EPA carries out several programs to ensure both people and the environment stay healthy.
The EPA helps ensure hazardous materials are properly stored, transported and disposed of so they don't leak into groundwater. The federal agency also works with regions and states to ensure drinking water is safe, making certain that laboratories that test water samples are certified by the EPA or the state and have periodic audits to ensure they're up to par.
The EPA also maintains a database, called for in the Safe Drinking Water Act, to monitor contaminants in the water. It also also collects data on contaminants that are believed to be in drinking water, but not yet regulated by health-based standards under the law, and reviews that list every five years.
Still, some say efforts under way are not enough.
"We should be doing a lot more to protect our groundwater," Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch, told ABCNews.com. "There just has not been a willingness to classify some of the pesticides or to look at the human health effects," she said.
Hauter said part of the problem comes down to politics.
"Especially we've seen it during the last eight years, the manufacturers of these chemicals have some influence over the way that the Environmental Protection Agency assesses them," Hauter said.
"Looking at pesticides has become very politicized. EPA hasn't been doing what they need to do," she added.
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Rima Marrouch: “Killing is a reality: the thoughts of Syrian defector”
Abu Obeida is a defector from the state military who joined the Free Syrian Army in December. He tells us how it feels to take part in violent clashes, and what it means to shoot a fellow Syrian. An interview by Orwa al-Moqdad* and Rima Marrouch.
The interview shows the conflicting feelings and dilemmas that many Syrians share. In the last year the violence in Syria was primarily one-sided from the government. As the Free Syrian Army is conducting offensive attacks, however, both sides are killing Syrian citizens. The views of Abu Obeida provide personal insight to the conflicting feelings of a fighter when he takes the life of another person.
Abu Obeida’s first fight began in an area of greater Damascus, when a group of about ten people protected a demonstration and clashed with security forces. In his own words:
“Fear is what controlled me when I went out with the FSA for the first time.
When it starts, all the heaviness disappears under the sound of bullets. It’s similar to being in narcosis. Your brain works to do different things. It’s attempting first to protect you and then to make you kill too. It’s a state of mind; if you don’t kill you will die.
When the clashes are over, your brain returns to full consciousness, and brings with it fear. The narcosis is over. You see bodies of your friends and think, ‘Is it possible that something like this will happen to me?’
I killed many people.
When you kill from a distance, you see that the person falls because of the bullets. You don’t feel anything, as if his presence has no value in this hell that both of you have been thrown into.
But when it is from a close distance and you see his pain, it is terrifying. You feel bitterness; I took this man’s life. It causes weird contradictions: strength and fear. Strength raises a big question in your mind: ‘Why did I take this man’s life?’
When you are the killer, the situation changes dramatically. The man’s death makes you feel that he is the victim and you are the perpetrator.
You can see in his eyes his dreams, his wife, his children, and his home. It is a common desire that is more sincere than anything else happening. In the end, which one of us doesn’t want to go back home?
I ask myself if I’m still a normal man after all this. I try to show to people that I am, but I know that I’m not the same person I was.
But when the revolution is over, my war will end. I will leave my weapon and go back to my normal life, because I had a life before the revolution. I want to continue my studies and fulfill my dreams. But if the same injustice that we are living in now happens again, I will go back and fight.”
*Al-Moqdad is a Syrian writer and journalist
Edits: Andrew Bossone
An extended Q&A (in Arabic) with Abu Obeida was published in Syrian online weekly Souriatna
Rima Marrouch is a Syrian-Polish freelance reporter. She was brought up in Homs in the 90s, when Homs was a happier place. She has reported from Libya and Syria for the LA Times. She also worked for the “Committee to Protect Journalists/Middle East and North Africa Program”. Today, she is based in Lebanon, in Beirut.
You can follow Rima on Twitter and write her under @RimaMarr.blog comments powered by Disqus
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Dr. Shirley Robinson Sprinkles
The StoryCorps mobile booth is in Austin this month collecting stories from your fellow central Texans; we’ll be airing those stories every Monday and Wednesday morning here on KUT and archiving them here.
After spending many years in classrooms across the country, Dr. Shirley Robinson Sprinkles is now semi-retired and living in Austin with her husband Leo. Though born in Texas, Dr. Sprinkles spent many of her formative years in Arizona, where she attended the all-black Dunbar school before desegregation came to Tuscon in 1951, resulting in her moving to the Mansfield school as one of only two African-American students.
The educator and author visited the StoryCorps mobile booth recently and shared some memories of those school days.
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Notepad++ is a free source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages. Running in the MS Windows environment, its use is governed by GPL License.
Based on the powerful editing component Scintilla, Notepad++ is written in C++ and uses pure Win32 API and STL which ensures a higher execution speed and smaller program size. By optimizing as many routines as possible without losing user friendliness, Notepad++ is trying to reduce the world carbon dioxide emissions. When using less CPU power, the PC can throttle down and reduce power consumption, resulting in a greener environment.
Included plugins (Unicode):
Included plugins (ANSI):
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Erikson is committed to your success, not just in the classroom but also in your early childhood practice. That’s why we provide personalized services and resources to support your study.
Academic advising at Erikson is close, personal, and ongoing. Before registering for courses, you’ll meet with your faculty adviser to review your planned program of study. You will continue to work closely with your adviser throughout your course of study to make sure your studies are on track and aimed to meet your professional needs and goals.
When you enter your internship, you will have the comprehensive support of an internship adviser, a supervisor at the internship site, and the required integrated seminar to help you get the most out of your practical experience.
Writing tutors program
Erikson offers an important academic resource for students seeking to strengthen their writing skills. More on the Kathy and Grant Pick Writing Program
Multicultural student affairs
The office of Multicultural Student Affairs supports the academic success of students of color, LGBT, international, and male students at Erikson Institute. Its programs, services, and networking events focus on enriching students’ experiences and encouraging cross-cultural dialogue on campus.
Multicultural Student Affairs works closely with faculty, staff, and alumni to continually support African American, Asian American, Latina/o, Native American, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, international and male students. Throughout the school year, there are a variety of events focused on multicultural student affairs and social justice.
Services for students with disabilities
Erikson is committed to extending its educational opportunities to all students and to compliance with all federal, state, and local laws regarding accommodation of the disabled. Prospective or enrolled students with disabilities should contact the vice president for administration and enrollment as soon as possible to request accommodation.
Edward Neisser Library
Erikson students and alumni have access to a wide range of information services and resources through the Edward Neisser Library. Our library’s knowledgeable staff and specialized collection provide valuable support to the intensive study and rigorous research that are Erikson’s hallmark. Visit the Edward Neisser Library
Computers & technology
Erikson students enjoy state-of-the-art learning technology. Our campus features wireless network access, built-in audiovisual projection in every classroom, and the latest technology in the library and computer labs. More on computers and technology
Housing & transportation
Though Erikson does not provide housing for its students, we do provide many resources to help with the housing search. Erikson also provides discounted public transportation through the CTA U-PASS program to eligible students. More on housing and transportation
Registration & student records
The Registration and Student Records Office maintains all student academic records and is the place to turn with address or name changes and questions about course registration, policies related to transfer of credit, obtaining official transcripts, and more. The registrar is also responsible for Erikson’s academic calendar and for setting, communicating, and enforcing all academic policies.
The Student Accounts Office applies financial aid loan disbursements and Erikson grants directly to your account, as well as issuing statements with your account balance. Payments are made by mail. Tuition is due on the first day of classes for the term. However, students may also choose to enroll in a payment plan and make monthly payments. For more detailed information on tuition, fees, and payment procedures, consult Erikson’s most recent Bulletin [PDF] or visit our campus portal at my.erikson.edu (login required).
Because Erikson requires on-campus students to have basic health insurance coverage, we provide access to a United Healthcare plan for those who do not already have proof of coverage. More information on student health insurance
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Volume 5, Number 2—April 1999
Risk for Ebola Virus Infection in Côte d'Ivoire
To the Editor: In Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire, where a new strain of Ebola virus was isolated (1), the World Health Organization is conducting a project to identify the reservoir of the virus and evaluate the risk for its emergence in local populations. In March 1998, we conducted qualitative and quantitative surveys of the villagers' awareness of and risk for Ebola infection. In four villages close to Taï National Park (4 km to 10 km), we carried out structured interviews with 150 villagers and in-depth interviews with 17 villagers and three traditional healers.
Of the 150 villagers participating in the structured interviews, 18.0% had heard of Ebola (90.7% had heard of yellow fever). Of those aware of Ebola, 96.3% thought it life-threatening; 65.4% of them thought it preventable. When ill, 81.2% of the respondents generally relied on traditional healers or herbal medicine. During in-depth interviews traditional healers discussed their treatment practices. In one treatment, an incision is made on the skin and medicinal herbs are applied to the incision. Such traditional practices were implicated in the spread of Ebola virus in Gabon, where a traditional healer and his assistant (who were infected with Ebola virus) were suspected of spreading the virus to their patients through an unsterilized blade (1). The same practices would seem to pose a risk for virus transmission in Côte d`Ivoire.
Even though officially Taï National Park is protected from human activities to preserve its natural ecology, 84.0% of the 150 respondents to our survey often hunted or farmed in the park, 62.2% had encountered chimpanzees, and 53.3% had eaten chimpanzee meat. According to the in-depth interviews, chimpanzee meat is available at bush meat markets and is thought safe for eating, even though primates infected with Ebola virus have been linked with human cases (2,3).
Our survey results show that, even though no large-scale Ebola outbreaks have occurred in this area, villagers living near the park are at particularly high risk for infection because they are not aware of Ebola and do not know that their local customs and behavior may be putting them at risk. To prevent future Ebola epidemics in Africa, information, education, and communication (IEC) programs should be established (3). Moreover, further sociocultural studies on perceptions and behavior should be conducted in addition to exploring the nature of the virus and its cycle in the wild (2,4,5).
- Georges AJ, Leroy Em, Renault AA, et al. Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreaks in Bagon, 1994-1997. Epidemiologic and Health Control Issues. J Infect Dis. 1999;179(Suppl1):S65–75.
- Le Guenno B, Formenty P, Wyers M, Gounon P, Walker F, Boesch C. Isolation and partial characterisation of a new strain of Ebola virus. Lancet. 1995;345:1271–4.
- Morris K. Facing up to tomorrow's epidemics. Lancet. 1997;349:1301.
- Georges-Courbot MC, Lu CY, Lansoud-Soukate J, Leroy E, Baize S. Isolation and partial molecular characterisation of a strain of Ebola virus during a recent epidemic of viral haemorrhagic fever in Gabon. Lancet. 1997;349:181.
- Tukei PM. Threat of Marburg and Ebola viral haemorrhagic fevers in Africa. East Afr Med J. 1996;73:27–31.
Suggested citation: Kunii O, Formenty P, Diarra-Nama J, Nahounou N. Risk for Ebola Virus Infection in Côte d'Ivoire [letter]. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 1999, Apr [date cited]. Available from http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/5/2/99-0232.htm
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Sir Simon Rattle
Magdalena Kožená, Jonas Kaufmann
For many, it is the operatic event of the season: Bizet’s Carmen at the Salzburg Easter Festival with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle. In a highly anticipated debut, Magdalena Kožená sang the role of Carmen for the first time in a staged performance. At her side, an outstanding tenor of the younger generation, Jonas Kaufmann, as Don José. After the festival, the musicians present their interpretation to audiences in both the Philharmonie in Berlin and in the Digital Concert Hall.
Carmen is one of the most fascinating figures in the operatic repertoire: sometimes erotic, sometimes cool, sometimes spontaneous, sometimes calculating – a factory worker and smuggler, she reigns like a queen over her people with a magical aura. A heroine like this was unacceptable to audiences in Bizet’s time. Similarly, the plot was too direct, too drastic and appeared un-operatic. But it is exactly these characteristics that ensure the opera’s enduring popularity.
The music comes across as authentic as the characters. Even if its gorgeous melodies and colourful flair appeal to almost everyone, Bizet never tries to curry favour with audiences. The score was probably best characterised by Friedrich Nietzsche: “This music seems to me to be perfect. It ... is evil, subtly fatalistic; at the same time it remains popular .... Have more painful, tragic accents ever been heard on the stage? And how are they obtained? Without grimace! Without counterfeit coinage ! Without the imposture of the grand style!”
Notes on Bizet’s Carmen
Georges Bizet’s Carmen is the most frequently performed opera in the world today, outstripping even Mozart’s Magic Flute and Puccini’s La Bohème. Yet its premiere at the Paris Opéra-Comique on 3 March 1875 was such a critical failure that many biographers consider the composer’s early death to have been an indirect, if not direct, result of this fiasco. The 36-year-old Bizet died on 3 June – exactly three months after Carmen’s premiere – though more likely from the complications of an abscess and a rheumatically diseased heart than from a “broken heart”. The premiere audience received the work coldly and the reviews were scathing. The music was described as bizarre and incoherent, but the chief thrust of the attacks was directed at the piece’s vulgarity and immorality. Carmen was given 37 times until 13 June 1875 – often to a half-empty auditorium; 13 further performances in the following season were not much more enthusiastically received.
A day before his death Bizet had signed a contract with the Vienna Court Opera, where Carmen was produced on 23 October 1875, but with alterations that would leave a lasting mark on the work: Bizet’s student friend Ernest Guiraud replaced the original dialogue (spoken, in accordance with the Opéra-Comique’s traditional practice) with recitative and added a ballet arranged from other works by the composer. This version remained the basis of most performances well into the 20th century. Not until 1964 did the musicologist Fritz Oeser reconstruct an “original version, critically revised after the sources”, which forms the basis for this evening’s performance. After the staging in Vienna (where the influential critic Eduard Hanslick’s withering assessment of the work as “semi-art” did nothing to alter its success, or lack thereof), others followed in cities including Brussels, Marseille, Lyon, St. Petersburg, London, Dublin, New York and Naples. In many of these productions, the title role was taken by the original Carmen, Célestine Galli-Marié. In April 1883, eight years after its premiere, Carmen finally returned to Paris and the Opéra-Comique. Initially the eponymous heroine was sung by Adèle Isaac, but she was so poorly received by audiences that the theatre’s director Léon Carvalho brought back Galli-Marié for the revival on 27 October. Her sizzling stage presence now contributed to the previously unappreciated work’s triumph. 22 December saw its 100th performance, 21 October 1891 the 500th, and 23 December 1904 the 1000th.
If you take into account all the plans, fragments and works he later destroyed, Carmen was actually Georges Bizet’s 30th stage composition. On 22 May 1872 his one-act opera Djamileh had its premiere at the Opéra-Comique. It was only moderately successful and disappeared from the repertoire after eleven performances, but “what gives me more satisfaction than the opinion of all these gentry”, he wrote to his pupil Edmond Galabert on 17 June 1872, “is the absolute certainty of having found my path. I know what I am doing. I have just been ordered to compose three acts for the Opéra-Comique. Meilhac and Halévy are doing my piece. It will be gay, but with a gaiety that permits style.” Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, most famous for their collaboration with Jacques Offenbach, were one of the most successful librettist teams on the Paris stage. They gladly took up Bizet’s suggestion of adapting Prosper Mérimée’s novella, which had appeared in 1845 in the Revue des deux mondes. Fascination with the heroine – one of world literature’s first femmes fatales – attracted the composer as much as the story’s exotic setting in Seville.
A prime influence behind the craze for Spanish songs in France at that time were Sebastián de Iradier’s collections L’Echo d’Espagne (1858-59) and Fleurs d’Espagne (1864), which contain not only “classics” like La paloma but also the habanera El arreglito that inspired Bizet in the composition of Carmen’s famous habanera “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle”. The Spanish elements in his score – from the seguidilla “Près des remparts de Séville” to the fandango-like Chanson bohème “Les tringles des sistres tintaient” and the malagueña in Act IV – all evince careful research and stylization without ever lapsing into folk cliché. Using augmented intervals, chromatic blurring of the major/minor tonality and polymelodic layering, Bizet brilliantly manages to suggest a Spanish exoticism that perfectly suited the prevailing Parisian musical taste. The score also offered enough modernisms, however, to put off the conservative public. The hyper-chromaticism, at the very edge of functional tonality, in the Smugglers’ Chorus “Prends garde de faire un faux pas!” that begins Act III would have sufficed to brand the composer as a partisan of “music of the future”, which is precisely what the wagnérien critic Adophe Jullien did.
“I know what I’m doing,” Bizet wrote, and there is indeed hardly another opera that “functions” as perfectly as Carmen. Along with the “stylish gaiety” that Bizet envisaged, it displays the “light, flexible” beauty that Friedrich Nietzsche experienced and the “operetta-like clarity” that Attila Csampai and other writers have attributed to the opera. In 1931, the Austrian philosopher-historian-critic-actor Egon Friedell even claimed in his Kulturgeschichte der Neuzeit that “this work, which weds Spanish passion to French grace and elemental vitality to playful high spirits, is in fact the idealized operetta”. Among other virtues, the drama unfolds with exemplary directness and strictness – without flourishes, without exaggerated emotions, without psychologizing. Had the accolade “opera of all operas” not already been bestowed on Mozart’s Don Giovanni, it could easily have been coined for Bizet’s Carmen.
And so it wasn’t so much the music that caused Carmen to fail but rather the title figure herself, who outraged the self-righteously prudish public: “Don’t you see that all these bourgeois didn’t understand a single word of the work I’ve written for them?”, exclaimed the despairing Bizet when a young colleague congratulated him on the “success” of his opera. And in the press it wasn’t only Carmen’s “obscenity” and “vulgarity” that were criticized, but also the intensity with which Célestine Galli-Marié had incorporated them on stage: “She is the incarnation of vice, and even in the sound of her voice there is something lewd,” wrote Léon Escudier in L’Art musical, while François Oswald in Le Gaulois maintained that her performance was “on the brink of provoking a ban by the police”. Meilhac, Halévy and Bizet even underscored these traits by contrasting Carmen with her polar opposite, the pure, innocent type of woman represented by Micaëla – a character not found in Mérimée.
Carmen is an archetype – in a sense the female counterpart to Mozart’s Don Giovanni: “sexuality itself”, as Theodor W. Adorno writes in his Fantasia sopra Carmen, “primeval and pre-intellectual”. She is a surface for the projection of all men’s erotic fantasies: passionate, instinctive, mysterious and uninhibited. The other – if you like, “modern” – side of the character is the freedom and accountability with which this emancipated, uncompromising woman takes responsibility for her actions. In the history of opera she belongs somewhere between Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata and Alban Berg’s Lulu: perpetrator and victim rolled into one, thus counterbalancing the public’s abhorrence and its fascination. Carmen contravenes the “convention of opera” – to quote Adorno again – that “cannot do enough to express its envy of the colourful and unfettered lives of those who are outlawed from the bourgeois world of work, condemned to hunger and rags and suspected of possessing all the happiness which the bourgeois world denies itself in its irrational rationality.”
Translation: Richard Evidon
Jonas Kaufmann studied singing at the Academy of Music in his native Munich. Even while he was still a student, he was already appearing in comprimario roles at the Bavarian State Opera and the Theater am Gärtnerplatz. He also attended masterclasses with Hans Hotter and Josef Metternich. It was, however, with Michael Rhodes that he perfected his vocal technique. A prizewinner in the 1993 Nuremberg Mastersingers’ Competition, he was a member of the Saarbrücken State Theatre from 1994 to 1996. Since 2001 he has been closely associated with the Zurich Opera. His wide-ranging repertory has taken him to leading opera houses in Europe and the United States of America as well as the Salzburg and Edinburgh Festivals and important concert halls all over the world. During the present season he has enjoyed great personal success as Bizet’s Don José at La Scala, Milan, in the title role in Massenet’s Werther at the Opéra Bastille in Paris and as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. For his performances as Wagner’s Lohengrin at the 2009 Munich Opera Festival he was voted Singer of the Year by the German-language magazine Opernwelt. Among the conductors with whom Jonas Kaufmann has worked to date are Sir Colin Davis, Riccardo Muti, Michael Gielen and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. An important part of his schedule is devoted to lieder recitals with his regular accompanist Helmut Deutsch, with whom he has appeared throughout Europe and as far afield as Japan. Jonas Kaufmann made his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker in December 2003 in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust under the direction of Charles Dutoit. He was last heard here in the Philharmonie in February in a lieder recital with works by Franz Liszt, Gustav Mahler, Henri Duparc and Richard Strauss.
Magdalena Kožená, was born in Brno (Czech Republic) and studied there at the local conservatory and also with Eva Blahová in Bratislava. A winner of many competitions, including the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg in 1995, her first engagements were at the Janáček Theatre of the National Theatre in Brno and at the Prague Spring International Music Festival. Since then, she has appeared in Paris at the Théâtre du Châtelet (in the female title role in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice), at the Opéra Comique and at the Théâtre des Champs Élysées (Mélisande), at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (Varvara in Kátja Kabanová) and at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin in productions of Der Rosenkavalier and the Chabrier opera L’Étoile. Well known for her interpretation of Mozart roles (Cherubino, Idamante, Sesto, Zerlina), Magdalena Kožená has appeared at many major festivals such as Edinburgh, Salzburg, Aldeburgh and at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. She is also acclaimed world-wide as a concert and Lieder singer, accompanied by pianists such as Daniel Barenboim, Yefim Bronfman, Malcolm Martineau and Mitsuko Uchida as well as leading orchestras and conductors. In 2003, Magdalena Kožená was awarded the title “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French government; Gramophone voted her “Artist of the Year” in 2004. Since September 2003 she has performed many times as a soloist with the Berliner Philharmoniker, most recently in Berlin in January 2012 with songs by Dvořák, Ravel and Mahler, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.
Genia Kühmeier studied in her native city at the Mozarteum University Salzburg and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna where her teachers included Marjana Lipovšek. After her debut at La Scala in 2002 as Diane in Gluck's Iphigénie en Aulide, she sang the role of Inès in Donizetti's La favorite at the Vienna State Opera in 2003, where she was a member of the ensemble until 2006. With a repertoire that includes works by composers such as Haydn, Mozart and Salieri, Beethoven, Bizet, Wagner and Strauss, Genia Kühmeier has performed at, among others, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, at San Francisco and Los Angeles Opera, De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, at the Salzburg Festival and the RuhrTriennale. As a concert soloist with leading orchestras and major conductors such as Sir John Elliot Gardiner, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Mariss Jansons, Seiji Ozawa and Sir Roger Norrington, and also as a performer of Lieder, the soprano has made appearances all over the world in renowned musical capitals and festivals. Genia Kühmeier worked together with the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2008 and 2009 at the Salzburg Easter Festival in concerts conducted by Sir Simon Rattle and Franz Welser-Möst, singing roles in works by Haydn, Mozart and Verdi.
Kostas Smoriginas began his studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre at a young age. After moving to London in 2005, he represented his country at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. He completed his training at the Royal College of Music, then in 2007 in the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where his roles included Alidoro in La Cenerentola, the Marquis d’Obigny in La traviata, Angelotti in Tosca, Zuniga in Carmen and Bello in La Fanciulla del West. Other successes came in the role of Tomsky in Pique Dame, in Brahms’ Requiem in Budapest and as Baron Duphol in La traviata in Aix-en-Provence. He recently made his debut at La Scala in Milan as Masetto in Don Giovanni. His regular concert repertoire includes the Requiems by Verdi, Mozart and Fauré, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Janácek’s Glagolitic Mass and the great works of Russian composers. He received high critical praise for his debut at the BBC Proms in Stravinsky’s Les Noces under Ed Gardiner’s leadership at the Royal Albert Hall. In these performances of Bizet’s Carmen, Kostas Smoriginas appears with the Berliner Philharmoniker for the first time.
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UK & World News
Cost Of Raising A Child Soars To £222,000
The cost of raising a child from birth until their 21st birthday has rocketed to £222,000, according to a study.
The overall figure is more than £4,000 up on last year and £82,000 more than a decade ago - an increase of 58%.
The most expensive areas to raise children over the past decade remain London (£239,123), the South East (£237,233) and the East of England (£233,363).
Families in the South West have seen the biggest hike in costs, now paying £10,077 more per child than they were 10 years ago.
Education and childcare remain the biggest costs, with 76% of parents forced to make cutbacks to meet the financial demands of raising their offspring, the survey for insurer LV= found.
The cost of education, including uniforms, after-school clubs and university costs has rocketed from £32,593 to £72,832 per child in the last decade - a 124% rise. This does not include private school fees.
Childcare costs alone have risen by 61% from £9,613 in 2003 to £6,738.
From birth to the ages of 21, parents spend an average of £19,270 on food and £16,195 on holidays per child.
Of the 2,013 mums and dads that took part in the poll, some reported feeling under pressure to keep up with the latest technological advances, even for children as young as three years old.
More than a quarter of parents (27%) had bought their child an electronic gadget in the last 12 months, with 16% buying a laptop or tablet computer.
On average, they revealed they spent around £302 on gadgets for their children.
The survey found costs have risen in all areas of expenditure apart from clothing, which has seen a 5% drop since 2003.
LV= spokesman Mark Jones said: "The cost of raising a child continues to soar and is now at a 10-year high. Everyone wants the best for their children but the rising cost of living is pushing parents' finances to the limit.
"There seems to be no sign of this trend reversing. If the costs associated with bringing up children continue to rise at the same pace, parents could face a bill of over £350,000 in 10 years' time."
Hello, regular commenting on Orange News and Sport pages closes on Thursday 30 May 2013. We will continue to provide a commenting facility on major news and sport events on orangeworld.co.uk. Contact us via http://oran.ge/OWfeedback if you have any further questions. Thanks.
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A well-known Professor of International Affairs at the University of Colorado Boulder once said that 1,000 years from now, the United States of America would be remembered for three things: baseball, rock and roll, and the modern research university.
The entrepreneurial spirit that has fueled our country's development was born in the dormitories and laboratories of universities like CU. It was here that Coloradans from all kinds of backgrounds, histories, and communities came together to learn the necessary skills to be successful in this country and build a prosperous future for themselves and their children.
CU students could not be more proud of our university. However, we are all very concerned for the state of higher education in this state and country. Colorado has slipped to 48th in higher education funding amongst the 50 states. A decade ago, America led the world in the number of students graduating from college; now we rank 12th in that category. We need to do better as a nation if we are going to continue America's tradition of innovation and prosperity.
The work we have before us to make higher education more affordable and accessible is daunting, but there are actions that we take right now to make sure that we are properly investing in the young people of this country and, in doing so, investing in our future.
This week, the U.S. Senate heard a bill that proposes to keep the current interest rates on Stafford Loans at 3.4 percent. If Congress does not act by July 1, this rate will increase by double the amount to 6.8 percent. Two weeks ago, President Obama called on Congress to stand up for students and prevent this crippling rate hike from going into effect. We echo the president's call and urge Congress to pass this bill immediately.
Current student loan debt stands as the largest component of private debt in this nation, exceeding credit card debt. Americans owe over $1 trillion on our student loans, an average of $25,000 per person. This is $1 trillion that could have been spent stimulating our economy and creating new jobs instead of being spent to pay off the education of our future workforce -- a vital component to keeping America's competitive edge in this new millennium.
As our closest friends and peers near graduation this week, we cannot help but to wonder if the next great innovator in American business, education, government, or technology is among them. However, a mountain of student loan debt may defer that person's achieving their aspirations. The dream this student had hoped to bring to reality would be delayed until if and when their student debt is repaid. These dreams of our peers are part of the larger American dream, and without them we cannot hope to achieve long-term prosperity.
It is time to reclaim the American dream, and we can start with our public universities. At a time when American student debt is astronomical -- exceeding unprecedented levels -- we, as a community and a nation, need to actively fight to ensure that American universities and American students are the best in the world.
It's time to invest in America again. Join us in our fight to keep higher education affordable by calling or writing your representative or senator and telling them not to double our rate!
Brittni Hernandez is the CU Student Government President, Tyler Quick is Vice President for External Affairs, and Logan Schlutz is Vice-President for Internal Affairs.
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Filed under: Auctions
On April 11, William J. Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers will hold an auction featuring an important Imperial Russian silver box, among other antiques and fine art.
The Russian silver and enamel covered box with a gilt interior has an enameled scene of an 1883 painting, "A Boyar Wedding Feast," by Konstantin Makovsky, signed I.P. Khlebnikov, and measures 1½ by 2½ by 35/8 inches.
Besides being a beautiful work of hand craftsmanship, the silver box is also interesting because of the circumstances surrounding its sale a year and a half ago. In fact, this is the second time William J. Jenack will be selling the silver box because the winning bidder the first time around refused to pay for his purchase.
Indeed, in September 2008, the box was sold at a William J. Jenack auction to a phone bidder for $400,000, which was the result of a heated competition that involved several members of the live audience and half a dozen phone bidders from around the country.
The box, which then had an estimate of $4,000 to $6,000, attracted a great deal of pre-sale attention. "Needless to say, no one anticipated the response that the box achieved," says William J. Jenack, auctioneer and owner of William J. Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers. "The comparables in the marketplace at that time, never reflected numbers that we were able to accomplish at that time."
Before the box even went up for auction, the auction house received countless calls from interested buyers around the country. "We had people submitting offers to purchase the box before the auction," says Jenack. "Some of the offers were so large---in the $70,000 to $90,000 range---that we realized our pre-sale estimate was way off the mark."
During the 2008 auction, Jenack noticed many people in the audience he did not recognize. The bidding opened at $40,000 and the bidding bounced around the audience until it reached $100,000 when phone bidders entered the competition. "The people in the audience gave up at $150,000 and the phone bidders carried the bidding to $400,000," recalls Jenack.
The silver box was sold for $400,000 (not including a buyers premium of 15% and any applicable taxes) to a phone bidder, who was a Long Island, N.Y.-based dealer who specializes in Imperial Russian works of art.
"The buyer later contacted us to see how much the amount would come to," says Jenack. "We provided him with that information and sent him an invoice." Subsequently, the dealer defaulted on the purchase, and litigation ensued.
In early March, a New York Supreme Court Justice awarded damages against the defaulting purchaser of more than $497,398, representing the successful bid, taxes and buyer's premium. The decision is currently the subject of an appeal in New York State courts.
"Now we have to sell the box again," says Jenack. "Whatever it brings will be deducted from the total that the dealer owes us."
The box is important because it was made by Khlebnikov, who was a craftsman who worked for the House of Fabergé, the jewelry firm in Imperial Russia that designed elaborate jewelry, silver and the famous Easter eggs for the Russian Tsars. Khlebnikov is known to have created objects on his own, such as this piece, without the Fabergé seal of approval. The Khlebnikov box has a pre-sale estimate of $100,000 to $400,000.
The April 11th auction will also highlight Period American, French & Chinese furniture; Chinese & African works of art; American & Continental paintings & prints including signed works after Nikolai Egorovich Sverchkov, Milton Avery, Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, Bruno del Favero, Rolph Scarlett, Florence Kroeger, Charles Zacharie Landelle; animation art; fine & costume jewelry; small collection of stamps including Duck stamps; door stops; art pottery; Victorian porcelains; Vatican Papal Grand Cross Set of Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem; fossils including a fine ammonite (15 ½ x 18"-approx. 60 lbs) and decorative accessories.
Previews will be held at the William J. Jenack auction facility located at 62 Kings Highway Bypass, Chester NY 10918 on April 7th from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm; April 8th from 2:00 pm to 5:45 pm; April 9th and 10th from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm; and on the day of sale from 9:00 am to 10:45 am. For further information contact (845)469-9095 or email email@example.com. The catalogue for the sale will be available on-line Friday, April 2nd.
The auction, which will be held live in William J. Jenack gallery, will also be held simultaneously online at www.liveauctioneers.com. It will take place on Sunday, April 11 beginning at 11:00 am. The William J. Jenack website is www.jenack.com.
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Afro-Latinos You Should Know About
06/17/2011 - 16:30 | 0 Comments|
In honor of Juneteenth—Sunday’s holiday commemorating Texas slaves being the last to find out that they’d been emancipated, thus sparking an annual holiday that celebrates African American heritage—we thought we’d add some Latino flavor to the mix. Here are just a few Afro-Latinos whose lives and accomplishments are worth celebrating.
The little Cuban girl with the big voice who won a cake in a radio contest grew up to be the undisputed Queen of Salsa. Through her wonderfully brash voice and indomitable spirit, she brought salsa to a worldwide audience. No wonder thousands attended her public funerals in several cities.
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Discovered: Radiation worries are expanding Fukushima children's waistlines; birds respond to music like humans; chemo changes the brain; asparagus each day keeps the hangovers away.
Nuclear disaster linked with childhood obesity. Children from Fukushima have the highest obesity rate in all of Japan, and researchers suspect that fears over last year's nuclear disaster have a lot to do with the extra poundage. Japanese government researchers found that parents and school officials in the region aren't letting kids outside due to concerns over radiation. This imposed sedentary lifestyle is making them put on more weight than any other kids in the country. The researchers culled this data from 700,000 children across Japan aged five to 17. [The Guardian]
Birds get all emotional over music, too. Don't tell us you've never gotten a lump in your throat when Whitney hits that high note in "I Will Always Love You." If you haven't, you don't know what it means to be human—or what it means to be a bird, apparently. Neuroscientists at Emory University have found that birdsong affects regions of birds' brains associated similar to the neural reward system seen when humans listen to music. "The neural response to birdsong appears to depend on social context, which can be the case with humans as well," says lead researcher Sarah Earp. "Both birdsong and music elicit responses not only in brain regions associated directly with reward, but also in interconnected regions that are thought to regulate emotion." [Wired]
"Chemo brain" causes confusion in cancer patients. We already knew chemotherapy to be a brutal treatment for a brutal disease, causing horrible nausea, fatigue, and hair loss. Now we know that it also compromises brain function, leading to something oncologists calls "chemo brain." West Virginia University professor Jame Abraham estimates that about one in four chemotherapy patients has trouble with short-term memory, dealing with numbers, and staying focussed. By doing PET/CT scans on breast cancer patients before and after starting chemo, Abraham and her colleagues were able to see decreased bloodflow in regions associated with these cognitive functions. "The study shows that there are specific areas of the brain that use less energy following chemotherapy," one of the researchers says. "These brain areas are the ones known to be responsible for planning and prioritizing." [Discover]
Asparagus as the new hangover cure. Instead of a little hair of the dog that bit you in the morning, try garnishing your cocktail with a spear of asparagus. OK, that does sound kind of nasty, but it makes scientific sense according to a new study by Korean researchers from the Institute of Medical Science and Jeju National University. They found that certain amino acids in the vegetable can lower the toxicity of alcohol. But you'll have to eat an oft-neglected part of the asparagus to get the desired effect: "The amino acid and mineral contents were found to be much higher in the leaves than the shoots," says lead researcher B.Y. Kim[Grist]
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An App for NYC Subway Art
A trip to the Big Apple warrants a host of touristy activities: a carriage ride in Central Park, a pastrami sandwich at Carnegie Deli, a musical on Broadway, a skate at the Rockefeller Center, and so forth. While locals and well-traveled guests know the city has infinitely more to offer than a cupcake at Magnolia Bakery and a shopping trip down Fifth Avenue, it’s impossible not to indulge in at least one cliché activity when exploring the teeming city streets. New York’s Metropolitan Transit Agency has teamed up with app maker Meridian to create an app, and a personalized experience, for the sight-seeing artist.
The app curates 237 works from the MTA’s Arts for Transit program which decorate the sub-levels of the New York City Subway, the Long Island Railroad, the Metropolitan North Railroad, and the MTA Bridges and Tunnels. Smart phone users access information and history about each piece as well as directions (which are navigated turn-by-turn for select sites) to each work.
“We get lots of positive feedback about our art collection,” Sandra Bloodworth, Director of MTA Arts for Transit and Urban Design, said in a press release. “It’s a part of riding the train that people love. Now we’ve made it easier to find out more about the collection. We’d already posted a significant amount of information about our art online, but with this app, it is as if you have a museum in the palm of your hand.”
Meridian is familiar with these kinds of venues. The mobile software company specializes in working for location-based businesses,including museums, retailers, and hospitals. This not only makes the new app a way of organizing information about the artworks but also a way-finder for tourists and locals alike.
“The app serves a dual role, not only as a glossy, digital art compendium, but also as an indoor navigation aid,” Kiyo Kubo, CEO of Meridian, said in the press release. “New Yorkers have access to a huge collection of world-renowned art, and we are delighted to be able to showcase the art using the same unique and innovative mobile technology we use for many museum clients.”
The app organizes the artwork by subway line and by artist. Art enthusiasts can look up works by emerging and established artists (Roy Lichtenstein and Sol Lewitt are among the contributors), while novices or scheduled travelers can find pieces near specific stops. New schematic maps are in the works, and the app is available for both iPhone and Android users.
Add it to the must-see list.
Photos from design boom
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The Kenyan parliament is considering a motion that would remove the country from the Rome Statute and end its obligations to the International Criminal Court.
There is a wave of discontent rising within the Kenyan legislature against Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and the International Criminal Court.
A day after the announcement that six-prominent Kenyans are marked to face charges at The Hague, Kenya's Parliament discussed a motion that would see it withdraw its signature from the Rome Statute and disavow the authority of the international court.
The motion was put forward by Isaac Ruto, a member of Kenya's Orange Democratic Movement Party, who is seen as a close ally of suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto, one of the suspects named by the prosecutor.
Isaac Ruto told VOA the motion had significant support in the parliament, and a member of Speaker Kenneth Marende's staff said he thought the vote could go either way.
The "Hague Six", as the suspects are being called, include three members of ODM and three members of PNU, Kenya's two leading political parties. That fact has led many politicians, including Cabinet Minister Njeru Githae to dismiss the prosecutor's cases as politically motivated. "We think Ocampo has politicized this issue. We think there is a game here being played, where some candidates are being knocked off to give room for other candidates in 2012," Githae said.
According to Article 127 of the Rome Statute a country must wait at least one-year after submitting a written request to the Secretary General of the United Nations, before leaving the court.
Proponents of withdrawal from the ICC are framing the matter as an issue of sovereignty. There has been a recent push in Kenya to establish an independent court to try the 2008 chaos suspects, and many feel a local trial would be better for the country.
Kenya tried in 2009 to establish a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission to delve into the violence, but controversy surrounding the body's chairman crippled the commission, and indefinitely stalled its work.
Some within parliament believe the push for local trials is simply aimed at dodging indictment. MP Martha Karua reminded the house of the strong support for the ICC investigation with the passage of the International Crimes Act in 2008. She warned opponents, to some laughter, that they would not be able to withdraw from Kenya's legal system if indicted locally.
The motion has been delayed on procedural grounds. There is disagreement regarding whether a motion can legally repeal an international treaty.
Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo called the motion unconstitutional. Under Kenya's new constitution, any international treaty signed previously becomes part of Kenyan Law. Some in Parliament believe it would take an amendment to the constitution withdraw from the ICC.
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Be nice to your little brother: he could be the mastermind behind your next cool iPhone application.
The 'Doodle Kids' application has been downloaded more than 4,000 times from the Apple Web site in the past two weeks. Users simply trace their fingers across the iPhone to create their artwork, then shake the screen to erase when finished.
"I wrote the program for my sisters, who like to draw," said the fourth-grader, whose siblings are 3 and 5 years old.
The Singapore-born Lim is fluent in six programming languages and started using the computer at the age of two, according to Fox News. He has since written more than 20 programs.
Lim's father, Lim Thye Chean, works at a local technology firm and also writes iPhone applications.
"Every evening we check the statistics e-mailed to us to see who has more downloads," he said.
Lim, who likes reading science fiction books, said he is in the middle of creating another iPhone app, a game called "Invader Wars."
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The precise causes of autism aren’t fully understood, but experts agree that a combination of genetic, developmental, and environmental factors contribute to risk of developing the disorder. Imbalances in certain brain neurotransmitters are a focus of research as well, with the goal being to identify and correct these brain chemistry abnormalities in children with autism allowing for normal relationship development and social functioning.
NAC may help normalize brain chemistry, but it is not known if more normal brain chemistry translates into more desirable behaviors. To study this question, researchers enrolled 33 children (ages three to eleven years) with autism spectrum disorder into a 12-week study. Half the children were randomly selected to take NAC, and half received a placebo.
The children in the NAC group were given 900 mg once daily for four weeks, followed by 900 mg twice daily for four weeks. During the final four weeks, 900 mg of NAC was given three times per day. The children’s behavior was tracked using the Aberrant Behavior Checklist, which is a standardized tool for assessing problem behavior in subjects with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
At the end of 12 weeks, the children in the NAC group had significant improvements in their Aberrant Behavior Checklist scores for irritability compared with children in the placebo group. There were no significant differences in side effects between the NAC and placebo groups.
People with autism spectrum disorders are reported to be more irritable than other people, and this study suggests that the dietary supplement N-acetyl cysteine may lessen irritability in children with the disorder. The study was small, so it makes sense to proceed with caution if you would like your child to try NAC. Keep the following in mind before doing so:
(Biol Psychiatry 2012;71:956–61)
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HELENA — U.S. Sen. Max Baucus told wilderness advocates Thursday that he is still undecided about taking their proposed Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act to Congress.
Conservationists tout the proposal as a compromise among varied groups aimed at keeping development and road access on the front at its current levels.
They propose adding more than 50,000 acres to the Bob Marshall Wilderness and almost 17,000 acres to the Scapegoat Wilderness. Another 208,000 acres would be designated a conservation management area intended to protect current uses.
The scenic region where the Rocky Mountains meet the plains stretches north of Lincoln toward Glacier National Park.
Supporters say that grazing rights and access would remain the same, and a promise will be made not to cut the number of miles of roads and trails open to motorized use.
The Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front says its plan would also retain over 300 miles of trails and roads and offers some flexibility for new bike trails in the future.
Baucus opened a Helena forum on the issue on Thursday by saying he wasn't ready to carry their proposal in Congress, but he hinted that he may do so in the future.
"I have not made a firm decision on whether to introduce this proposal yet," Baucus said. "I will do what I think is right. And I think you won't be displeased."
Baucus said he wants to listen to more comments from the public before committing to sponsoring the plan.
Baucus also on Thursday stopped in Augusta and Great Falls to hear from locals about the proposal. Another session was scheduled Friday for Choteau.
Joe Perry, a Brady wheat farmer who said he recreates in the Rocky Mountain Front area, said he hopes the proposal will once and for all end recurrent arguments over road access and development.
Wilderness advocates are getting far less than they want in order to broker a deal with other interest groups, like public land ranchers and backcountry horseman.
He said it protects from unwanted change from outside interests.
"I call it freezing in time what we have right now," Perry said.
The project has been in the making for years, and has been modified over that time such as when almost 30,000 acres in the Helena National Forest were dropped from a proposal to satisfy Lincoln residents.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast a drop in exports in its December World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates released last week.
The report projects a 100 million bushel reduction in U.S. corn exports, dropping its export estimate to 1.9 billion bushels. The report cited increased exports from China and Ukraine as the reason for the reduction. Although the export number fell from the November forecast, corn exports are still expected to outpace last year by approximately 85 million bushels. The reduction in exports was matched by a 100 million bushel increase in stocks, now forecasted at 2.4 billion bushels. The carryover represents 52% of global corn stocks.
"Despite the projected reduction in exports, corn growers will still export more corn than last year," says Paul Bertels, National Corn Growers Association director of biotechnology and economic analysis.
The WASDE report projects Chinese exports to rise to 6 million metric tonnes (MMT) (236 million bushels), up 3 MMT (118 million bushels) in November. The higher forecast is a result of a 4 MMT increase in Chinese corn production, which is expected to hit 130 MMT. Although the Chinese government does not publish carryover projections, USDA estimates them at 26.3 MMT, or 22% of global stocks.
A report released Tuesday by the USDA Economic Research Service says although exports were slow during the first months of the new marketing year, corn exports should pick up. The slow start was caused by consequences of Hurricane Katrina, which caused port closures in New Orleans and barge and rail bottlenecks.
"The 2005/06 U.S. corn export estimate is still up over 3 million tons from last year, and corn sales in the rest of the year are expected to be strong," the report adds.
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The cause of the splits is invariably irregular watering. When the tree suddenly gets a hefty drink following a period of drought, the apples quickly expand, which often leads to the skin cracking. The fruit usually produces a corky, scab
Pears ripening on the tree are damaged by wasps excavating holes into the soft, juicy flesh. The holes are initially created by hungry birds, then wasps are attracted by the juice and move in.Pears that are still on the tree display hollowed out cavities, often with wasps still i...
Just as your fruits are beginning to ripen, grey mould (a fungus called botrytis) can ruin them. Small brown spots form on the skin, then spread over the whole fruit, turning it soft and brown. As the fruit deteriorates, a fuzzy grey layer of mould
compost and keep them in a bright place to ensure they germinate.Chilli seeds e.g. 'Cayenne'Good quality seed compostSmall pots x2ClingfilmJanuary - May10 minutes to sow the seedsJuly - AugustFill two small pots with seed compost. Water the compost
More advice on growing fruitMake the most of summer raspberriesGrow early strawberriesGrow blueberries and cranberriesEnjoy a long season of raspberriesBrowse a variety of fruit
Monty demonstrates how to plant autumn-fruiting raspberries, and offers tips on soil preparation, planting depth and spacing. October-NovemberMore on growing raspberriesHow to enjoy a long raspberry seasonVideo advice ongrowing raspberries
Watch Monty Don as he experiments with a new method of growing summer-fruiting raspberries, which claims to yield fruit in the first year.springMore on growing raspberriesRead Lila Das Gupta's blog on growing raspberriesMaking the most of summer
Forcing rhubarb by covering the crowns will encourage the plants to make early growth. These forced stalks can be harvested for use in cooking when they are 20cm - 30cm long and make a useful substitute for fruit when there is little else in store
As soon as your strawberry plants have finished fruiting it's time to clear away all the straw or matting to discourage slugs and snails from nibbling at the plants. It's also a good time to raise some new plants from their abundant runners
Monty Don demonstrates how to plant tomatoes in grow bags and pots in the greenhouse at Berryfields, including advice on getting the most from grow bags, and when to put tomato plants outside.springMore advice on growing tomatoesGrowing tomatoes in a grow bagGrowing tomatoes in p...
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“We are pleased that researchers from four different technology directorates of Air Force Research Laboratory participated in this meeting, helping to build cross-disciplinary and cross-directorate ties,” Berman noted.
The Molecular Dynamics program has produced many important advances for the Air Force including the Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL), now the centerpiece of Airborne Laser system, novel propellants, and computer models that predict conditions and improve performance of vehicles in space.
The program has also supported the research of several Nobel Prize winning scientists.
The objectives of the molecular dynamics program are to understand, predict, and control the reactivity and flow of energy in molecules.
This knowledge will be used in atmospheric chemistry to improve detection and control of signatures; in high-energy-density matter research to develop new energetic materials for propellants and propulsion systems; in chemical laser research to develop new high-energy laser systems; and in many other chemical systems in which predictive capabilities and control of chemical reactivity and energy flow at a detailed molecular level will be of importance.
Areas of interest in atmospheric chemistry include the dynamics of ion-molecule reactions relevant to processes in weakly ionized plasmas, atmospheric heterogeneous chemistry in aircraft and rocket exhausts, gas-surface interactions in space, and reactive and energy transfer processes that produce and affect radiant emissions in the upper atmosphere.
Research on high energy density matter for propulsion applications investigates novel concepts for storing chemical energy in low-molecular-weight systems, and the stability and sensitivity of those energetic molecular systems.
The coupling of chemistry and fluid dynamics in high speed reactive flows is also of interest. Research in energy transfer and energy storage in metastable states of molecules supports our interest in new concepts for chemical lasers.
Materials-related research includes the study of the synthesis, structure, and properties of metal-containing molecular clusters and nanostructures.
Interest in nanostructures has particular emphasis on nanoscale systems in which the number of atoms or specific arrangement of atoms in a cluster has dramatic effects on its reactivity or properties.
Also of interest are sensitive new diagnostic methods for detecting individual molecules and probing nanostructures.
Fundamental studies aimed at developing basic understanding and predictive capabilities for chemical reactivity, bonding, and energy transfer processes are also encouraged.
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"...The current combination of insurgency and popular revolt is not new for Syria and has been successfully repressed in the past. What the government could not expect this time was the fallout from the Arab Spring. But even as the Syrian regime faces mounting political, socioeconomic, military and international pressure, it also has specific strengths that can keep it afloat for a long time. For one, the sectarian nature of the ruling class, the armed forces and security services promises to prolong the confrontation. At the same time, the Syrian opposition is divided between relatively secular forces and Islamic fundamentalists, and between actors based at home and abroad.
So as long as the Syrian regime muddles through, it will do so primarily for internal reasons, not because of external support. If and when the regime disintegrates or transforms, it will be the result of a complex combination of weakening institutions, economic collapse, spiraling and increasingly extreme insurgent and counterinsurgent violence and, to some degree, external pressures.
Most external stakeholders, including the United States and Russia, and probably all remaining moderate constituencies within Syria, have a genuine interest in a middle-ground political solution and a more manageable political transition. None of the Geneva mediators are content with the current bloodshed, which has become increasingly intractable, or have any workable plan for dealing with the fallout that could result from the collapse of the present system.
This is why the Annan plan appeared to be an optimal option, not just for Russia but also for other key international players, including the United States. There might have been hopes in some quarters that the time window granted by Annan's plan would allow the situation inside Syria to evolve toward a more decisive outcome, including the possibility of a regime reshuffle. This could have produced more favorable conditions for conflict management without raising the controversial issue of external intervention. But any expectations for a palace coup have proved unrealistic. In particular, the core of the Syrian armed forces and security services is an inseparable part of a tightly integrated ruling caste and is likely to stand by the government until the very end. The fact that the latest round of talks on Syria was expanded to include a call for a national unity government — a demand shared by all participants — provides acknowledgement of this reality.
The Geneva conference was inconclusive apart from suggesting a renewed cease-fire and broad guidelines for the "Syria-led" process to form a transitional government with the participation of the opposition "by mutual consent." International mediators still have two main options on the table. The first is to further emphasize the international community's united push for intra-Syrian dialogue on the formation of a coalition government and to search for coordinated ways to press and persuade both parties to negotiate while refraining from dictating the composition of that arrangement. This is the option presently supported by Russia. In a way, this strategy builds on the logic of the Annan plan: It buys more time in the hope that an internal shift in Syria's government or a change in the international context will allow for a solution that does not involve external military intervention.
The other option, favored by the United States and its Western and Gulf allies, is to try to dictate the revamp of the regime from the outside — but with few means to reinforce it. Also, in contrast to Libya, Syria's "smart authoritarianism" system is not completely conditioned on the personality of President Bashar Assad or even his clan but is run by a sectarian ruling caste. Sidelining or replacing Assad would be symbolically important, but it would not transform the ruling caste. Interestingly, this may imply that Assad, as a relatively weak figure, might at some point be spared even by his own caste on the condition that the ruling group is left largely intact. Hopes to gradually marginalize hard-liners in the ruling minoritarian group and in the ranks of the opposition ignore the fact that power and moderation do not go hand in hand in today's or tomorrow's Syria — with or without Assad."
Monday, July 2, 2012
Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 11:43 AM
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a transcendent entity that cannot be subject to space and time. However, this does not mean that one cannot know the Quadrangod. He/She/It/They/Them is/are full of glittorious majesty as well as physical fitness. You can call upon the Quadrangod by assuming one of the four (4) positions. Here are the positions:
1. Bending over and staying down which is similar to the act done on an airplane but, different because it is directed to the Quadrangod.
2. The Shiva
3. The pretzel not to be confused with the one George W. Bush almost choked on.
4. The Dicle, not to be confused with the Unforgivable which is a position of the anti-Quandrangod, also known as Boompahgod.
One of the more orthodox of following the Quadrangod is called the way of the Rawr.
Bobby: Are you doing the Dicle towards Quadrangod?
Sally: Of course.
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Lasers, already used for everything from price scanning at the supermarket to eye surgery, now are likely to dramatically change the construction, large-scale manufacturing, remote sensing and defense industries. A new National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report* predicts "tremendous" applications for laser scanning devices, also known as LADARs (for Laser Detection and Ranging) and argues for a vigorous effort to create next-generation LADAR---a coffee-cup-size device with millimeter accuracy. The results, says study director William C. Stone, "could be comparable to the advances achieved when computers were first matched with machinery."
Industry has used LADAR systems, which create three-dimensional images of areas and objects, since the late 1970s. Recent advances in microchip lasers, optics, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and computers, however, have increased LADAR's speed of data acquisition, range accuracy and reliability, as well as reduced its size and costs. LADARs now are used to generate topographic images, to survey the depths of large bodies of water, and as three-dimensional documentation of construction when building plans are not available. Manufacturers also are beginning to use LADARs as a tool to recreate critical machine components from single examples.
NIST is testing LADAR as a tool for remote management of construction sites and for navigating unoccupied military vehicles. (The latter research could soon lead to collision-avoidance advances for civilian automobiles.) To spur greater LADAR industrial use, NIST also is working to develop test objects for LADAR performance standards so industry can have confidence in laser scanning readings and comparison of systems. Other LADAR research currently under way at NIST includes work on rapid, long-range automated identification systems for remote scanning and inventory of construction materials; automated LADAR-based docking systems for building construction cranes; and basic scientific and engineering research that will enable development of miniature, high-resolution, low-cost, next-generation LADAR systems.
Source: Eurekalert & othersLast reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
-- Albert Einstein
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Protecting children from abuse and neglect is a community responsibility. Most adults want to help children and their families, but are unsure how to get involved. Often, it can be as simple as helping out a neighbor who needs a break by watching his or her child for a few hours. At other times, you may have more serious worries or suspicions that a child may have already been harmed or neglected. Figuring out next steps can be a difficult and confusing process. What is most important is to not let discomfort and confusion interfere with helping children be safe, even if you must reach out to others for professional help.
In most states, professionals who work with children in any capacity are identified as “mandated reporters” and are required by law to report suspected child abuse or neglect. Approximately 18 states define mandated reporters more broadly to include any citizen who suspects that a child is being abused or neglected.
No matter your state laws, learning the appropriate ways to respond to suspected maltreatment and becoming an informed and involved community member are important first steps toward protecting children. Remember, it is the responsibility of all individuals and community members — not just mandated reporters — to respond to the suspected maltreatment of any child. Trust your instincts. Just as we all know to call 911 in a medical emergency, we need to have an action plan for times when we suspect children are being abused or neglected.
Among the most frequently identified reasons for not reporting are lack of knowledge about child abuse and neglect and lack of familiarity with state reporting laws. Other reasons people don’t report include:
Although these feelings are understandable and it can be frightening to respond to suspected child abuse and neglect, the consequences of not reporting your worries to child welfare professionals could be seriously detrimental to a child’s safety. In some cases, they might even be life threatening. So don’t be afraid to call and ask for help. Your call will help child welfare professionals determine the most appropriate response, including whether or not an assessment or investigation of the situation is needed and what further supports may be beneficial or necessary. A trained set of eyes on the situation may be the best response when other efforts have failed or the seriousness of a situation requires it. It is not your responsibility to investigate, it is your responsibility to be involved and contact appropriate professionals when you have heightened concerns. The safety of a child is at stake.
An excellent way to help improve a situation for a child and create connections within your community is to become comfortable involving yourself in the lives of others. Whether it is helping to alleviate stressful situations you see in public places, such as helping a parent with a small child get through the checkout line at the grocery store, or offering to listen to an acquaintance who seems aggravated with his or her children, your support in even the smallest ways can make a huge difference in preventing possible harm to children.
Report your suspicions to your local child abuse or child protection hotline. Again, everyone has the right and responsibility to report any incidence of suspected child abuse or neglect at any time. You do not need to have “evidence” or actual knowledge of abuse when you make a report; all you need is reasonable cause, suspicion or belief based on your observations. Information to support your concern may include your firsthand observations or beliefs, your professional training or experience, or statements made to you by the child or parent. The more specific and concrete information you can provide, the better.
It is also important for you to know that all states have laws that protect reporters from legal liability as long as reports are made in good faith.
To report suspected abuse or neglect, contact your local child welfare agency. Depending on where you live, this agency might be called Department of Social Services, Children and Family Services or Human Welfare. The contact number for your local child welfare agency can be found online at http://www.childwelfare.gov/ If you feel that the child is in an emergency situation, however, call 911 or your local law enforcement agency immediately.
The person who responds to your call will ask you several questions in order to provide the assessment or investigative team with sufficient information. Keep in mind that you do not need to know all the answers to make a report; you just need to be as comprehensive, specific and clear as possible with what you do know. Questions you may be asked include:
Although anonymous reports can be made in every state, child welfare agencies generally discourage anonymity for many reasons. First, knowing the identity of the reporter can help the child welfare worker gather information during the investigative process to ensure the child’s safety. Second, if the case goes to trial, the child welfare worker may need to rely on the reporter to be a crucial evidentiary witness.
Unfortunately, many child welfare agencies are severely underfunded and understaffed. Typically, reports of child abuse and neglect are prioritized based on whether the child is in immediate risk or danger. Be patient. You may have to call more than once. If you do, make sure you let the agency know that it is not your first time making a report on the family in question.
The state or county agency that provides child protective services has the legal authority and obligation to assess, investigate and evaluate reports of child abuse and neglect and to provide services when needed. During the early investigation stage, child welfare workers are responsible for determining:
If the child is in immediate danger, the child welfare worker may place him or her under emergency protective services, which may include in-home support and supervision or the temporary removal of the child to a safe alternative environment (e.g., with other family members or in foster care). If the child is removed from the home under these circumstances, the court and family must be notified and an emergency/temporary custody review hearing must be held,typically within 48 to 72 hours.
If the child welfare worker determines that there are safety concerns -- yet it is safe to leave the child in the home -- the worker is responsible for creating a plan to keep the child safe in that environment and for organizing or providing any needed support for the child and the family. Support may come from a variety of sources, including extended family, local community organizations and child protective services.
After a more comprehensive assessment, the child welfare worker must determine whether abuse or neglect occurred. If the allegations of abuse or neglect are substantiated, the child protection agency and/or courts will evaluate the case and determine what level of intervention is necessary. Interventions are dependent on the severity of the circumstances and may include voluntary assistance and services, court-ordered supervision and services, out-ofhome placement and -- as a last and complicated intervention -- termination of parental rights.
If a court orders the child to be removed from the home and placed under the supervision of the child welfare agency, two important federal laws come to bear. Both the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (P. L. 105-89) and the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P. L. 96-272) legally mandate child welfare workers to make “reasonable efforts” to reunite the family whenever possible and establish timeframes for achieving this goal or another permanency solution. If, after a thorough investigation, it is determined that the child is in need of substitute care, the child may go to live with other relatives (“kinship care”) or in an alternate care arrangement (e.g., foster care). The child would remain in this placement arrangement until it is determined that the child is no longer in danger in the home or until services can be provided for the child and family to ensure the child’s safety.
In some cases, it is necessary for law enforcement to file criminal child abuse charges, depending on the nature and severity of the abuse or neglect. The range of legal penalties for child maltreatment varies from therapy for the perpetrator to incarceration.
One difficult conflict arises with the reporter’s desire or need to know the outcome of the report, versus the family’s right to privacy and confidentiality. Usually, if you are a family friend, neighbor or relative, and not part of the child welfare professional community, you will not receive detailed information about the report.
The child welfare agency may let you know whether the circumstances have been evaluated and whether the case has been opened for further investigation. Many times, however, child welfare agencies are overburdened with high caseloads and too many time demands, and therefore are unable to contact you with information regarding whether the allegations were substantiated. You may request information regarding the status of your report if the agency does not provide it voluntarily.
In some states, professionals who are mandated to report are provided greater detail due to their continued legal obligation, their role in assisting or treating the child and their ability to monitor conditions that might further endanger the child. Thus, most state laws entitle mandated reporters to be informed of the findings of the investigation and the services being provided to protect the child.
While only a small percentage of reports turn out to be deliberately false, some cases become classified as “unsubstantiated,” which means there was not sufficient information regarding the allegation or the identity of the family to confirm abuse or neglect based on the state’s legal criteria. Some cases are classified as unsubstantiated if no court action was taken and voluntary services were provided to the child. Criteria for substantiation vary among states because there is no uniform national system for case reporting.
Finally, on behalf of children everywhere, thank you for caring!
Children, Youth, & Families Department, Child Care Services Bureau. (1998). Reporting child abuse — It’s everyone’s responsibility. South Deerfield, MA: Channing L. Bete Co., Inc.
Tondrowski, J. (in press). The legal framework for child protective services. In C. Brittain & D. E. Hunt (Eds.), Helping in child protective services: A competencybased casework handbook. New York: Oxford University Press.
1. State laws regarding child abuse reporting vary and are revised continually. Contact your local child protective agency for information about the laws in your state.
2. Timeframes for an emergency or temporary custody review hearing are established by law. Contact your local child protective agency for information about the laws in your state.
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Chapter 45.—In Adams First Sin, Many Kinds of Sin Were Involved.
However, even in that one sin, which “by one man entered into the world, and so passed upon all men,” 1166 and on account of which infants are baptized, a number of distinct sins may be observed, if it be analyzed as it were into its separate elements. For there is in it pride, because man chose to be under his own dominion, rather than under the dominion of God; and blasphemy, because he did not believe God; and murder, for he brought death upon himself; and spiritual fornication, for the purity of the human soul was corrupted by the seducing blandishments of the serpent; and theft, for man turned to his own use the food he had been forbidden to touch; and avarice, for he had a craving for more than should have been sufficient for him; and whatever other sin can be discovered on careful reflection to be involved in this one admitted sin.
Rom. 5.12Rom. v. 12
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Are there any robust performant libraries for indexing objects?
Objects would have bounds themselves, rather than being represented by points; and an object could therefore be in more than one compartment if the index divides things in fixed sized partitions.
It would need frustum culling and visiting objects hit by a ray as well as neighbourhood searches.
I can find lots of articles showing the math for the component parts, often as algebra rather than simple C, but nothing that puts it all together (apart from perhaps Ogre, although apparently PyOrge doesn't expose the octree). Surely hobby game makers don't all have to make their own spartial indices?
(I am sitting down writing my own sphere-sphere, sphere-ray, ray-aabb, cone-aabb, cone-fustrum, aabb-fustrum and octree implementation; surely there is a better way i.e. someone has already done this and make a nice package?!?!)
(Python or C/C++ w/bindings preferred)
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The University of South Carolina’s Moving Image Research Collections is excited to announce the launch of its Digital Video Repository site: mirc.sc.edu
This pilot site provides access to more than two hundred moving images from a diverse set of collections, including the Fox Movietone News Film Collection, the Roman Vishniac Collection of cinemicroscopy, the Chinese Film Collection, and home movie collections dating back to the 1920s. And we’re adding more all the time!
MIRC will continue to develop the Repository this fall, enhancing user interactions and improving the digital preservation layer. Click here to learn more about the project timeline and here to learn about the related Fox Movietone News Digitization Project.
In the meantime, we invite you to explore the site, and ask you to bear with us as we continue to develop and test it. We look forward to your valuable feedback.
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B y Derek Liebig
For the second time in less than a month, flooding has caused local officials to declare a state of emergency.
Mayor Peter Telisky declared a state of emergency last week for areas of the village still inundated by flood waters.
The decree was made on Friday, May 23 and ended yesterday.
The order was made in advance of the opening of the New York State Canal System, which was scheduled to open for boat traffic last weekend.
It was feared that the movement of vessels through the canal and Locke 12 could raise water levels even higher and create waves that would compound problems associated with the flooding in the village’s north end.
Because of the state of emergency, Lock 12 remains closed to recreational traffic. Commercial and non-recreational traffic is being evaluated on a case by case basis.
A tug boat bound for Crown Point was granted passage Monday morning and Supervisor Richard “Geezer” Gordon said the vessel passed through without incident or creating a wake.
Both local marinas remain closed until water levels drop.
Bill Cook, director of the Washington County Department of Public Safety said he toured the community, as well as Fort Edward, with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the New York State Office of Emergency Management last week to assess the damage to private and public property.
“We are trying to determine if we meet the threshold for assistance,” Cook said.
That required minimum threshold for assistance is $199,607 in public property damage, but Cook said preliminary estimates are far short of that threshold.
He said other than one house there really hasn’t been much major damage to the structure of local buildings.
Mayor Telisky said at last week’s board meeting that the village continues to look at types of assistance that may be available.
“It’s going to be tough for Whitehall. I don’t know, we’re going to follow it,” he said.
He didn’t rule out the village helping with clean up efforts after water levels finally do drop, which according to some reports could be awhile.
Water levels continue to be nearly 2.5 feet above flood levels at approximately 102.6 feet, and it doesn’t appear it will change soon.
Thunderstorms and periods of rain are forecasted to persist through the weekend.
The silver lining: representatives from the National Weather Service (NOAA) in Burlington said thunder storms typically don’t as have much of an impact on water levels as widespread consistent rain.
Even if Whitehall can dodge some of the rain drops, it may take as much as a month before water levels drop below flood levels.
“It’s a long process for it (Lake Champlain) to recess,” said Cook. “It’s a bad scenario, there’s no place for the water to go. It’s going to be a long time before waters get to normal levels.”
A representative from the NOAA said Lake Champlain drains to the north near Rouses Point and tends to take awhile to do so.
“It’s very slow, it’s going to take awhile, maybe as long as another month,” he said.
Sunny, dry weather could expedite the process some, but not much.
The area has been flooded since the end of last month, an unprecedented amount of time on the lake.
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A same-sex married couple fights the U.S. Government's efforts to force them to live a continent apart
Other obligations prevented me from writing today, but I wanted to encourage people to watch the below four-minute video. MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts has been one of the very few American journalists covering the plight of same-sex binational couples under the Defense of Marriage Act and, in this segment, he interviews U.S. citizen Josh Vandiver and his legal spouse, Henry Valandia, a native of Venezuela (they were legally married last year in Connecticut). Because DOMA expressly bars the U.S. government from granting immigration rights to the same-sex spouses of U.S. citizens based on their spousal relationship (the way the U.S. Government routinely grants such rights to the opposite-sex spouses of American citizens), Valandia faces deportation back to Venezuela — meaning Vandiver would be forced to live thousands of miles and a full continent away from the person with whom he wants to spend his life (their Congressman, Rep. Rush Holt, has been actively attempting to stop Valandia’s deportation and to help enact legislation providing for immigration rights for such couples).
I genuinely can’t comprehend how any person could watch this video — and there are tens of thousands of couples in the same situation — and support this outcome; that includes — perhaps especially — “small government” conservatives incessantly insisting that the Federal Government should not be intervening in people’s lives and making decisions for them. Imagine if you were barred from living on the same continent as the person you love most and had to watch your own government try to deport them from your country all because they’re not the gender the government decrees you should have for your spouse (the group Stop the Deportations suggests actions here for those so inclined):
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Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
Credit: AP/LM Otero
Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
Credit: AP/Matt Rourke
A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
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Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite
Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster
O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
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Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
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When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin
A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
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Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah:The Prophet said, "Whoever eats garlic or onion should keep away from our mosque or should remain in his house." (Jabir bin 'Abdullah, in another narration said, "Once a big pot containing cooked vegetables was brought. On finding unpleasant smell coming from it, the Prophet asked, 'What is in it?' He was told all the names of the vegetables that were in it. The Prophet ordered that it should be brought near to some of his companions who were with him. When the Prophet saw it he disliked to eat it and said, 'Eat. (I don't eat) for I converse with those whom you don't converse with (i.e. the angels)."
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A Colorado State student who suffered a traumatic brain injury during Operation Iraqi Freedom is slated to graduate in May.
The leading provider of customized sports protection announced a new line of supplemental head padding (SHP) on Wednesday aimed at athletes and recreational users.
A soldier who suffered a traumatic brain injury when hit by friendly fire was still able to help wounded soldiers find safety.
Intracranial-pressure monitoring is the standard of care for patients with a traumatic brain injury.
Female lacrosse athletes are suffering concussions during games yet leagues throughout the United States do not require the athletes to wear helmets.
Those that suffer a brain injury on the left side of the brain could be at greater risk of developing a hospital-acquired infection, a new study from researchers at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation found.
Traumatic brain injuries can be caused by a bump or jolt to the head and have long-term serious effects on a person’s life.
A 19-year-old woman went to Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, New York, for an endoscopy – a procedure in which a small camera is inserted in the throat.
A lot of attention has been given to brain injuries in the NFL recently.
Many military veterans are suffering from traumatic brain injuries due to concussions sustained during wartime.
with your questions or referrals. For a free consultation, call 1-888-895-2080 or complete the form:
Transmission of information to you from this website or receipt of documents or messages from you through this website does not create or establish an attorney-client relationship between you and Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, P.C., nor is the information considered private or privileged. You should not rely on this web site as a source of legal advice. Legal advice of any nature should be sought from legal counsel.
- Colorado State student slated to graduate in May despite traumatic brain injury May 15, 2013
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- Soldier awarded Silver Star now helping others with TBI symptoms May 14, 2013
- Study states no major difference in two care methods for TBI May 14, 2013
- Some athletes left unprotected from head injuries May 13, 2013
- Lawsuit numbers increase regarding disease that causes brain, spinal cord injuries October 29, 2012
- Mild TBI can kill brain tissue, study states May 6, 2013
- Researchers: One concussion can cause long-term effect on brain May 6, 2013
- Brain injured Americans may have a harder time finding a job May 6, 2013
- AAN issues new guidelines for concussions May 6, 2013
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Stress, Behavior and Environment May Modify Our DNA
Scott Johnson, The Oakland Tribune, Calif.
Posted Aug 9, 2012
This is an excerpt from reporter Scott Johnson's blog, which focuses on the effects of violence and trauma on the community.
It has been pretty well established now that smoking can cause cancer, that poor diet and exercise can lead to obesity and heart problems, and that stress can cause physical and mental health problems. And for a long time, science has told us that each of us has a chance to start over, in a sense, that the behaviors of our parents can't or won't affect our ability to shape, to a large degree, our own futures. But a spate of research over the last few years has changed that view.
This field of research is looking at how things like changes in our behavior and the environments we live in can exert small but powerful modifications to the chemical field that surrounds our DNA. This chemical field is called the epigenome, and it surrounds our genes like an exoskeleton. Think of it as the software that helps power the hardware of our genetic makeup.
What scientists are finding is that things like stress, trauma, violence and unhealthy behaviors like smoking can change some of the chemical markers in the epigenome. When this happens, scientists say, it can turn on or off the genes that affect our health, our ability to regulate stress and our body's response to disease and pathology. What's more, these scientists say, these changes can be passed along to offspring. This is a profound realization. What it potentially means, this research tells us, is that our behavior and the environments we live in could have lasting consequences for our children, and this is the important part -- even if our children are never themselves exposed to those same situations.
So, for example, if I live in a chronically violent neighborhood and as a result I develop a high level of toxic stress and PTSD, it may change my epigenome by altering the chemical markers that sit around my genes. These changes, in turn, may result in the gene that helps me regulate stress being "turned off." This could potentially affect my ability to cope, my response to stress, my socialization skills and my response to other people. OK, fair enough. But the new research is also telling us that these changes could potentially be passed on to my offspring.
Several recent studies have also shown that the adult onset of illness, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, mental illness, anxiety and a host of other pathologies can be directly tracked to the prevalence of certain kinds of stress in childhood.
The good news is that the epigenome is flexible and dynamic, in contrast with our DNA which is hard-wired and inflexible. So just as epigenetic chemical reactions can turn certain genes "off," a change in behavior or environment can also signal to the chemicals a change of course. Genes can be turned on again. The process can be reversed or altered.
This is encouraging, of course, but the mechanics at work on a molecular level also remind us of just how important it is to think more deeply about the environments we create, especially for the most disadvantaged among us.
This research has some far-reaching consequences, which I'll be writing about more in these pages in the coming weeks. Should we think differently about the way our neighborhoods look now, because we know that they are affecting us on a molecular level, even though we can't see it? Does this raise questions about how insurance companies compensate us? What about our behavior? Are there unseen legal ramifications? And what, exactly, will our children inherit from us. And what we have unknowingly inherited from our own ancestors?
If your own neighborhood doesn't look different to you now, it probably should.
Contact Scott Johnson at 510-208-6429 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
©2012 The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif.)
Visit The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif.) at www.insidebayarea.com
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VNT Poised for Breakthrough Interventional Applications With Its Next-Generation Drug-Coated-Balloon Technology
February 11, 2013 — Vascular Nanotransfer Technologies (VNT) says it has developed the industry’s most versatile drug-coated-balloon (DCB) platform designed to deliver a wide variety of drugs for best-in-class DCB applications.
“We are the first drug-coated-balloon technology capable of nano-encapsulation of different antiproliferative drugs designed to achieve optimal therapeutic tissue levels over time,” says VNT’s CEO, John A. Williams. “We are truly the world’s first drug ‘eluting’ balloon platform.”
While Williams declined at this time to disclose the company’s initial application of its DCB platform technology “because we are talking to a number of strategics,” he explained that the company is able to produce nanocrystals of a wide variety of drugs that are encapsulated within organic nanocarriers and uniformly deposited on the surface of VNT’s balloon.
Prior to VNT, Williams was president and CEO of Ovatech LLC. Previously, he was CEO of Cappella and Physiometrix. Earlier in his career, he was employed by Medtronic (Andover Medical) and Johnson & Johnson. A serial entrepreneur with both operational and fundraising successes, Williams has: led a successful IPO; raised more than $80 million for his companies; and sold three of his companies for handsome profits.
According to Williams, VNT is focused solely on drug-coated balloons, which are emerging as the ideal therapeutic tool for patients with coronary in-stent restenosis (ISR) and peripheral vascular disease. However, despite the success of first-generation DCBs in clinical trials, they exhibit significant limitations related to the precision of drug delivery and tissue retention, raising concerns about overall vascular safety. There is a need for the development of reliable coatings that allow for controlled drug delivery at a lower dose and minimal dislodgement of the coating into the distal vessel.
“There are currently no DCBs approved for use in the U.S.,” says Williams. “While current DCBs show great promise, there are regulatory concerns about the limitations of balloon coating technologies to maintain a reproducible dose throughout the balloon length and thus precisely transfer a drug to the targeted blood vessel tissue. VNT’s proprietary balloon coating addresses these limitations.”
VNT’s proprietary nanocoating technology makes possible DCBs that are designed with enhanced drug delivery and performance characteristics compared to currently marketed DCBs, according to Williams. “We expect to begin site enrollment imminently for VNT’s First-In-Man clinical trial with our initial application, which we cannot disclose at this time.”
There are currently no DCBs approved for use in the U.S. While current DCBs show great promise, there are FDA concerns about the limitations of balloon coating technologies to maintain a reproducible dose throughout the balloon length and thus precisely transfer a drug to the targeted blood vessel tissue. VNT’s proprietary balloon coating addresses these limitations; in vivo data are extremely promising.
VNT’s Scientific Advisory Board is comprised of three eminent cardiologists: Juan F. Granada, M.D., executive director and chief scientific officer, Skirball Center for Cardiovascular Research at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF); and, assistant professor of medicine, Cardiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons; Gregg W. Stone, M.D., director, Cardiovascular Research and Education, Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy (CIVT) at New York Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF); professor of medicine, Columbia University Medical Center; and, Co-Director, annual “TCT” symposium; William A. Gray, M.D., Director, Endovascular Interventions, Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy (CIVT) at New York Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital; associate professor, Columbia University School of Medicine; reviewer: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), and Circulation.
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With election day less than two weeks away, and the presidential race being as tight as it is in many battleground states, it's hard not to think about the wacky scenarios that could bring an unexpected electoral victory--or even a tie--between President Obama and Mitt Romney. When you crunch numbers, there are many impossibilities that suddenly start to look very possible.
One scenario that both Republicans and Democrats acknowledge could happen is that Mitt Romney could win the popular vote but lose the White House. This would basically be a reverse scenario of the 2000 election, when Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore won more votes overall but lost the election, because George Bush beat him in the electoral college.
Breaking down the numbers, Romney has a more difficult path to winning the electoral college than Obama, assuming our current projections hold true. Even if Romney wins Ohio, Florida, and Virginia, the three biggest battleground states still up for grabs, it still doesn't bring him to the 270 electoral votes needed to declare victory. So long as Obama holds onto the smaller battleground states, many of which he's leading in the polls, the president would still beat Romney.
There's also the nuclear, though unlikely, scenario that the president and Romney could tie. One of the quirky things about the electoral college is that there's an even number of votes, 538 total. While it's never happened before and is not likely to happen this year, it's possible that Obama and Romney could tie with 269 votes each. If this did occur, the incoming Congress in January would act as the final tie-breaker to decide the election, with the House of Representatives choosing the next president and the Senate selecting the vice president. So, how exactly would this ridiculous situation play out?
In the House of Representative, a special vote would be called in which each state's delegation would cast one vote for the next president--so one vote per state. Republicans currently hold the majority of 33 state delegations in the House, and the upcoming election isn't expected to result in significant changes to the partisan majorities of state delegations. So, in this scenario, Mitt Romney would almost certainly win the vote and become the next president.
In the Senate, each senator would hold on vote in deciding on the next vice president. Democrats hold a slight majority in the current Senate, but it's possible that the scale could tip in the Republicans' favor in the upcoming election or that there could even be a 50-50 partisan split. Imagine this: If there were a 50-50 split, the president of the Senate would be the tie-breaking vote. In this laughable scenario, Vice President Joe Biden, who conveniently happens to be the president of the Senate, would be called in to vote for himself!
Check out this week's Top Line as we break down the electoral numbers to show you how these wacky scenarios could actually happen, or create a fantasy electoral college result of your own with our interactive fantasy map.
ABC's Jordyn Phelps contributed to this episode.
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I'm sure most people have read this story (or some version of it) about how fMRI scans have "detected intentions" in people's brains. I sincerely hope that this conclusion isn't what's published in the actual study, as it doesn't at all follow from the data. I'll prove this by constructing some alternate claims which are equally well-supported by the same data.
(1) Intention type-identity: One pattern of brain activity (call it "stateA") is the intention to add the two numbers, one pattern of brain activity ("stateS) is the intention to subtract the two numbers.
(2) Intention type-identity with contrast: StateA is the intention to add the two numbers rather than subtract them, stateS is the intention to subtract the two numbers rather than add them.
(3) Intention type-identity of contradictories A: StateA is the intention to add the two numbers, stateS is the intention to not add them.
(4) Intention type-identity of contradictories B: StateA is the intention to not subtract the two numbers, stateS is the intention to subtract them.
(5) Purpose type-identity: StateA is the purpose to add the two numbers, stateB is the purpose to subtract them.
(6) through (8): as per (2) through (4), with "purpose" instead of "intention".
(9) through (12): as per (1) through (4), with "plan" instead of "intention".
And so on, and so forth. And, let's not neglect the possibility that there are different ways of constructing the types that are being identified. And the possibility that functionalists are right and the possible identities seen on the brain scans may be explained due to some unobserved similarity between the structures of the brains of those examined. And the possibility that there's really some unobserved intermediary acting between the intention (or other mental state) and the state of the brain. Etc. Etc. Etc.
In short, what we have here is a classic case of (radical) underdetermination of theory by data. What gets the conclusion out -- (1), the type-identity of intentions with patterns of brain activity -- is the data plus a set of contentious philosophical claims in the realms of philosophical psychology and philosophy of mind. It's the contentious claims that are really at stake. The data, although interesting in their own right, won't settle a damn thing. Anyone who thinks different is fooling themselves.
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By LA Weekly
By Henry Rollins
By Weekly Photographers
By Shea Serrano
By Nate "Igor" Smith
By Dan Weiss
By Erica E. Phillips
By Kai Flanders
If you were forced to guess, what do you suppose the average life expectancy of a nightclub is? Two years? Ten years? How about a club that lasts 30 years?
That's how long nightclub entrepreneur John Lyons and his brother Patrick ran a nightclub in Boston alternately known as Boston-Boston, Metro, Citi and Spit — before settling on the name Avalon.
If the name sounds familiar, it's because on Vine Street, just north of the newly appointed W Hotel complex, you'll find one of L.A.'s oldest nightlife venues, a former vaudevillian theater with the same name as its sister spot back East. Although the building, originally christened The Hollywood Playhouse when it opened in 1923, has only been an Avalon for eight years, it is already proving to be one of the most durable club brands in a city where hot spots come and go faster than you can say, "I'm on the guest list."
"The thing that attracted me to this building were its bones," explains Lyons, who is seated in the backroom office of the club, while the rumble of bass vibrates the pipes against the wall.
An enormous man who offers up a giant hand to shake when introduced, he seems better suited physically to be a bouncer than a club owner. "It had good infrastructure for doing the kinds of performances I like, but it had fallen into disrepair."
Anyone who has ever attended a party at the Palace, Avalon's former name, understands the disrepair Lyons is referring to. At the time, pretty much all of Hollywood Boulevard was in a similar state. First Lyons cleaned up the joint. Then he began fixing the sound.
"All of the room's acoustics were meant for voices to project from the stage without amplification," he recalls. "No one had ever really addressed that for modern use. People over the years had tried many things to mitigate that problem, and it always involved putting in more speakers and turning it up louder, which in fact exacerbated [the poor sound]."
If you've been to Avalon recently, you know that sound is no longer a concern. The venue now has what might be the city's best sound system. Lyons developed the speakers, also named Avalon, in partnership with manufacturer EAW, to create a system specially made for dance clubs. Since then, Lyons has built one of the premier sound installation companies in the country — John Lyons Systems. He often hangs speakers in his competition's venues. He recently ended a two-year stint spent mostly in Las Vegas, installing sound and lights for the clubs in the new City Center complex.
Lyons is a "tinkerer" at heart, a penchant that has served him well during his storied club-operating career. Beyond its sound, Avalon also stands apart in its lighting design, run by former U.K. World Light Jockey champion Richard Worboys. For Avalon attendees, many of whom have been coming week after week for years, the constantly evolving visual spectacle keeps things fresh. Lyons is so enthralled with the technology in his venue that he stops midway through the packed throng of sweaty dancing boys at the weekly gay night, Tiger Heat, just to point out the new multicolored spotlights onstage.
Avalon is indeed a multipurpose venue, hosting everything from occasional Live Nation concerts to frequent private VIP bashes. But Avalon is best known for its Saturday-night party, Avaland, one of America's biggest temples for big-name DJ worship. It's fitting that Lyons presides over the weekly super-DJ ritual. His former club, Axis in Boston (located next door to the original Avalon) hosted U.K. superstars Sasha and Digweed on their first American adventures. It might not be Lyons himself calling up the world's biggest DJs to come play his venue, but his connections certainly don't hurt in securing the talent.
"I appreciate that [John] always wants to step things up at Avalon and keep the club ahead of the curve," says promoter Damian Murphy, founder of long-running dance-promotion company Liquified, who does actually book the talent.
Recently, Avalon brought in a former competitor as co-promoter, Dave Dean from Giant. It's clear that the competition hasn't affected the two's current working relationship.
"Having known John for the better part of a decade, I still find I learn something from him in every situation," Dean relays in an e-mail. "There's not another large club owner in L.A. who is as tuned in on the current market."
The ever-evolving promotions team also includes White Lite Productions, which hosts the Friday-night Control party, which takes a younger slant on the megaclub phenomenon, booking everything from hipster electro (Steve Aoki) to dubstep (Rusko), disco (Hercules and Love Affair) and party rap (Amanda Blank, Kid Sister). The newfound success on Friday nights is notable for those who often wondered why a club as renowned as Avalon sat dark on many weekend nights.
"It's more profitable to have a handful of really large events, and then go dark," Lyons says, explaining that the club had just enough special events booked Fridays to make running a regular club night impractical. So why the change of heart?
"I used to always say, If you want to fill a club, you could always have 25-cent beers and a wet T-shirt contest, but I don't really want to be in a room that's doing that," he offers as explanation before bringing up his early time at Avalon Boston, when it was called Spit and hosted the nascent punk- and new-wave scenes. Thirty years later, Lyons still enjoys promoting new music. "I like having the breeding ground for new talent. We made a commitment to it and said we're just going to block out the calendar and go for it."
The more time you spend with John Lyons, the more you want to hear his stories. This is the guy who bought his first club from Studio 54 impresarios Steve Rubel and Ian Schrager after their arrest for tax evasion. Lyons recalls a time when dance clubs had a live drummer to play along with the records to make up for the lack of low end in pre-sub-woofer loudspeakers. He's a guy who opened the first House of Blues in Boston with pal Dan Akroyd (an investor in Avalon).
These days, you might catch the friends together at Bardot, the lounge on the top floor of Avalon, where Lyons' favorite event takes place every Thursday: A weekly open-mic gig that invites everyone from American Idol's Ryan Starr and Australian electro-pop star Sam Sparro to perform a sort-of live karaoke. Lyons is particularly enthusiastic about a still-unknown singer named LP, who regularly performs.
Even in his 60s, Lyons still closes out his club, staying until the last drawer is counted and the last security guard hands in his walkie-talkie. With such longevity, it's little wonder his clubs survive in a world where the competition comes and goes.
"I never understood paying too much attention to what the competition is doing," he says. "I'd rather take that time and energy and put it into improving my own business."
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Semantics and Syntactic Representations
gal2 at kimbark.uchicago.edu
Sat Dec 4 15:21:31 EST 1993
In article <2dgd63$lv9 at agate.berkeley.edu> lmk2 at garnet.berkeley.edu (Leslie Kay) writes:
>In article <2dftqe$d33 at truffula.fp.trw.com>,
>Harry Erwin <erwin at trwacs.fp.trw.com> wrote:
>>in the ionic currents associated with K0 systems in the brain. At the same
>>time, Walter J. Freeman has recently presented evidence that his KIII
>>model of the olfactory system generalizes to all the sensory modalities.
>Although we hope this is true, really he has shown that primary sensory
>cortices: visual, auditory, and somatosensory, show post stimulus regions
>where spatial patterns of activity measured at the surface of the cortex
>can be discriminated as to which stimulus they are produced in response to.
>In other words, the spatial patterns exhibited in the olfactory bulb also
>occur in the other primary cortices and in the prepyriform cortex (primary
>olfactory cortex). They occur in response to a meaningful stimulus of
>the same modality as the cortex.
Two easy questions:
1) Can you give a reference for this work? Has it been published yet?
2) I have been reading some of the more recent and less technical
papers coming out of Freeman's lab, but I have not yet found any
explanation for the Kn notation that is used to refer to various
models. Can one of you refer me to a explanation of this notation or
explain it briefly here?
A harder question:
Leslie, I have been curious for a while about your and/or Walter
Freeman's attitude toward the "enactive" paradigm proposed by
Francisco Varela, Evan Thompson and Elanor Rosch in _The Embodied
Mind_ (1991) and elsewhere. Your research is quite compatible with
their reasoning, yet I have only seen their work alluded to once in
sources comimg out of Freeman's lab. That one reference was in a
short paper by Christine Skarda (1992) in a collection co-edited by
Varela himself, _Understanding Origins_, which was in fact a direct
reply to his recent book:
#Varela's critique of problem solving and representation, and his
#emphasis on what he terms "enaction", I take to be another way of
#getting at a view of perception that Freeman and I have developed on
#the basis of olfactory processing.
And what you wrote at the end of your previous post:
>actually, this is still hypothetical and my work in progress, but I would
>like to stress that this is probably not a "translation" and pattern
>matching process. These sensory processing areas can be seen as a
>dynamical system where each part contributes to the whole system
>entering a state which is the perception, thus dispensing with the need
>for pattern matching.
. . . is also compatible with the enactive paradigm. (I may be
projecting into this paragraph quite a bit, but it seems that you
would probably find enactivism agreeable.) But is there some
criticism of this paradigm that I am missing? Or perhaps such grand
conclusions are simply not appropriate in a strictly neuro-
physiological context? (What about "Representations: Who needs them?"
(1990), then, which could easily have touched on Varela's work?)
Here is a nutshell summary of enactivism, taken from "Ways of
coloring: Compartative color vision as a case study for cognitive
science" by Thompson, Adrian Palacios and Varela, 1992, BBS 15(1).
#The enactive view of perceptual content is . . . different from both
#the "externalist" view that perceptual content is provided by distal
#physical properties and the "internalist" view that perceptual content
#is provided by subjective qualities (qualia). According to the
#enactive view, the contents of perceptual states are to be type-
#identified by way of the ecological properties perceived, and these
#ecological properties are to be type-identified by way of the states
#that perceive them. One should not be put off by this circularity,
#for it is informative. To specify perceptual content for a given
#animal we must investigate the relevant environmental properties, and
#to determine the relevant environmental properties we must investigate
#the sensory-motor patterns of activity that constitute the animal's
#perceptual states. . . .
#According to enactivism, color is neither a perceiver-independent
#property, as in objectivism, nor is it merely a projection or
#property of the brain, as in subjectivism. Rather, it is a property
#of the enacted perceptual environments experienced by animals in their
#visually guided interactions. Unlike computational objectivism and
#neurophysiological subjectivism, this does not lead to an
#eliminativist position regarding color: Color is not divested of its
#phenomenal or experiential structure in favor of spectral reflectance;
#nor is it divested of its extradermal locus in favor of neural states.
#Instead, color is a property of the extradermal world understood as an
#animal's environment, a world that is enacted by animal-environment
#codetermination. Thus we arrive at the view announced at the
#beginning of this paper, according to which color is both ecological
(I hope this query does not seem rude; I am merely curious about your
and your lab's attitude toward this theory.)
* What's so interdisciplinary about studying lower levels of thought process?
<-- Jacob Galley * gal2 at midway.uchicago.edu
More information about the Neur-sci
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USFWS News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 27, 2008
Contacts: Tom MacKenzie, 404/679-7291
Bill Pearson, 251/441-5870
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Critical Habitat Designation for the Alabama Sturgeon
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the Alabama sturgeon, a species listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The proposed designation for the sturgeon includes one contiguous unit of river channel in portions of the Alabama and Cahaba rivers in the Mobile River Basin, Alabama. The unit encompasses 245 miles of river channel in the Alabama River and 81 miles of river channel in the lower Cahaba River, for a total of 326 miles of river channel.
The public is invited to comment on this proposed critical habitat designation, published in today's Federal Register. The Service will accept comments postmarked on or before July 28, 2008.
Copies of the proposal and maps are available on the website at http://www.fws.gov/daphne, or by contacting Jeff Powell, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1208-B Main Street, Daphne, Alabama 36526 (telephone 251/441-5858; facsimile 251/441-6222).
When the Alabama sturgeon was first added to the list of threatened and endangered species in 2000, the Service determined that critical habitat was prudent but not determinable due to lack of information on the species' biological and habitat needs. Shortly after the listing, the Alabama-Tombigbee Rivers Coalition filed suit in federal court alleging several defects in the listing process, including failure to designate critical habitat at the time of listing.
As part of this case, the court ordered the Service to submit a revised prudency determination and, if prudent, a proposed rule designating critical habitat to the Federal Register by May 16, 2008, and a final rule by May 16, 2009. The Service reviewed available data on the Alabama sturgeon and two closely related species, the pallid and shovelnose sturgeons. It also considered historical and current habitat conditions where Alabama sturgeons have been collected to identify specific areas that meet the definition of critical habitat.
Critical habitat is a term used in the Endangered Species Act that refers to specific geographic areas with features that are essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and that may require special management and protection. A critical habitat designation does not establish a preserve or refuge nor does it affect individual citizens, organizations, states, local governments, or other non-federal entities that do not require federal permits or funding. Critical habitat does not include existing developed sites within the proposed unit such as dams, piers or marinas.
As a listed species under the Endangered Species Act, the Alabama sturgeon is already protected wherever it occurs, and federal agencies are required to consult on any action they take that might affect the species. Designating critical habitat will provide non-regulatory benefits to the sturgeon by informing the public of areas that are important to the species' recovery and identifying where conservation actions would be most effective. The designation of critical habitat also will help the sturgeon by ensuring that federal agencies and the public are aware of the habitat needs of the species.
When determining areas to designate as critical habitat, the Service considers physical and biological habitat features that are essential to the conservation of the species. These features include space for individual and population growth and for normal behavior; cover or shelter; food, water, air, light, minerals, or other nutritional or physiological requirements; sites for breeding and rearing offspring; and habitats that are protected from disturbances or are representative of the historic geographical and ecological distributions of the species.
As part of designating critical habitat, the Service also takes into account the economic impact, as well as any other relevant impacts, of specifying any particular area as critical habitat. The Service may exclude any area from critical habitat if it is determined that the benefits of excluding it outweigh the benefits of including it, unless it is determined that excluding the area as critical habitat will result in the extinction of the species. The Service will publish an announcement in the Federal Register to notify the public when the draft economic analysis is available for review and comment. Once the draft economic analysis is available for comment, the Service will hold a public hearing on this proposed action and the draft economic analysis, should one be requested.
After the designation of critical habitat, the Service's consultations under the Endangered Species Act with federal agencies, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, are not expected to change substantially. The consultations will require assessment of potential impacts to critical habitat. However, these consultations were already required because of the presence of Alabama sturgeon in the rivers that are being proposed for designation. Recommended flows for the Alabama sturgeon remain the same as the levels the Service consulted on prior to the designation. Therefore, the Service does not anticipate that management of flows within the river will change as a result of the designation.
Please submit any comments on the proposed critical habitat designation within 60 days, by July 28, 2008. These comments may be submitted through one of the following methods:
- Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
- U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R4-ES-2008-0058; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
E-mail or faxes will not be accepted. All comments, including personal information, on http://www.regulations.gov
Written requests for public hearings may be submitted, using the same methods, within the next 45 days, by July 11, 2008.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov
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The most important question of the twenty-first century is: Why did Jesus Christ come and die? To see this importance we must look beyond human causes. The ultimate answer to the question, Who killed Jesus? is: God did. It is a staggering thought. Jesus was his Son! But the whole message of the Bible leads to this conclusion.
The Hebrew prophet Isaiah, centuries before Christ, said, “It was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10). The Christian New Testament says, “[God] did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all” (Romans 8:32). “God put [Christ] forward . . . by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:25).
But how does this divine act relate to the horribly sinful actions of the men who killed Jesus? The answer given in the Bible is expressed in an early prayer: “There were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus . . . both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place” (Acts 4:27-28). The scope of this divine sovereignty takes our breath away. But it is also the key to our salvation. God planned it, and by the means of wicked men, he accomplished it. To paraphrase a word from the Jewish Torah: They meant it for evil, but God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20).
And since God meant it for good, we must look beyond human causes to the divine purpose. The central issue of Jesus’ death is not the cause, but the purpose—the meaning. Human beings may have their reasons for wanting Jesus out of the way. But only God can design it for the good of the world. In fact, God’s purposes for the world in the death of Jesus are unfathomable. I will try to describe fifty of them, but there will always be more to say. My aim is to let the Bible speak. This is where we hear the word of God. I hope that these pointers will set you on a quest to know more and more of God’s great design in the death of his Son.
Why was the death of Jesus so powerful? He was convicted and condemned as a pretender to the throne of Rome. But in the next three centuries his death unleashed a power to suffer and to love that transformed the Roman Empire, and to this day is shaping the world. The answer is that the death of Jesus was absolutely unique. And his resurrection from the dead three days later was an act of God to vindicate what his death achieved.
His death was unique because he was more than a mere human. Not less. He was, as the ancient Nicene Creed says, “very God of very God.” This is the testimony of those who knew him and were inspired by him to explain who he is. The apostle John referred to Christ as “the Word” and wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1-2, 14).
Moreover he was utterly innocent in his suffering. Not just innocent of the charge of blasphemy, but of all sin. One of his closest disciples said, “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). Add to this the fact that he embraced his own death with absolute authority. One of the most stunning statements Jesus ever made was about his own death and resurrection: “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (John 10:17-18). The controversy about which humans killed Jesus is marginal. He chose to die. His heavenly Father ordained it. He embraced it.
God raised Jesus from the dead to show that he was in the right and to vindicate all his claims. It happened three days later. Early Sunday morning he rose from the dead. He appeared numerous times to his disciples for forty days before his ascension to heaven (Acts 1:3).
The disciples were slow to believe that it really happened. They were not gullible. They were down-to-earth tradesmen. They knew people did not rise from the dead. At one point Jesus insisted on eating fish to prove to them that he was not a ghost (Luke 24:39-43). This was not the resuscitation of a corpse. It was the resurrection of the God-man into an indestructible new life. The early church acclaimed him Lord of heaven and earth. Jesus had finished the work God gave him to do, and the resurrection was the proof that God was satisfied. This book is about what Jesus’ death accomplished for the world.
It is a tragedy that the story of Christ’s death has produced anti-Semitism against Jews and crusading violence against Muslims. We Christians are ashamed of many of our ancestors who did not act in the spirit of Christ. No doubt there are traces of this plague in our own souls. But true Christianity—which is radically different from Western culture, and may not be found in many Christian churches—renounces the advance of religion by means of violence. “My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus said. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting” (John 18:36). The way of the cross is the way of suffering. Christians are called to die, not kill, in order to show the world how they are loved by Christ.
True Christian love humbly and boldly commends Christ, no matter what it costs, to all peoples as the only saving way to God. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). But let it be crystal-clear: To humiliate or scorn or despise or persecute with prideful putdowns or pogroms or crusades or concentration camps is not Christian. These were and are, very simply and horribly, disobedience to Jesus Christ. Unlike many of his so-called followers after him, he prayed from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
The death of Jesus Christ is the most important event in history, and the most explosive political and personal issue of the twenty-first century. The denial that Christ was crucified is like the denial of the Holocaust. For some it’s simply too horrific to affirm. For others it’s an elaborate conspiracy to coerce religious sympathy. But the deniers live in a historical dreamworld. Jesus Christ suffered unspeakably and died. So did Jews.
I am not the first to link Calvary and the concentration camps—the suffering of Jesus Christ and the suffering of Jewish people. In his heart-wrenching, innocence-shattering, mouth-shutting book Night, Elie Wiesel tells of his experience as a teenager with his father in the concentration camps of Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald. There was always the threat of “the selection”—the taking away of the weak to be killed and burned in the ovens.
At one point—and only one—Wiesel links Calvary and the camps. He tells of an old rabbi, Akiba Dumer.
Akiba Dumer left us, a victim of the selection. Lately, he had wandered among us, his eyes glazed, telling everyone of his weakness: “I can’t go on. . . . It’s all over. . . .” It was impossible to raise his morale. He didn’t listen to what we told him. He could only repeat that all was over for him, that he could no longer keep up the struggle, that he had no strength left, nor faith. Suddenly his eyes would become blank, nothing but two open wounds, two pits of terror.1
Then Wiesel makes this provocative comment: “Poor Akiba Dumer, if he could have gone on believing in God, if he could have seen a proof of God in this Calvary, he would not have been taken by the selection.”2 I will not presume to put any words in Elie Wiesel’s mouth. I am not sure what he meant. But it presses the question: Why the link between Calvary—the place where Jesus died—and the concentration camp?
When I ask this question, I am not thinking of cause or blame. I am thinking of meaning and hope. Is there a way that Jewish suffering may find, not its cause, but its final meaning in the suffering of Jesus Christ? Is it possible to think, not of Christ’s death leading to Auschwitz, but of Auschwitz leading to an understanding of Christ’s death? Is the link between Calvary and the camps a link of unfathomable empathy? Perhaps only Jesus, in the end, can know what happened during the “one long night”3 of Jewish suffering. And perhaps a generation of Jewish people, whose grandparents endured their own noxious crucifixion, will be able, as no others, to grasp what happened to the Son of God at Calvary. I leave it as a question. I do not know.
But this I know: Those alleged “Christians” who built the camps never knew the love that moved Jesus Christ toward Calvary. They never knew the Christ who, instead of killing to save a culture, died to save the world. But there are some Christians—the true Christians—who have seen the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ and have been broken and humbled by his suffering. Could it be that these, perhaps better than many, might be able to see and at least begin to fathom the suffering of Jewish people?
What an irony that Christians have been anti-Semitic! Jesus and all his early followers were Jews. People from every group in Palestine were involved in his crucifixion (not just Jews), and people from every group attempted to stop it (including Jews). God himself was the chief Actor in the death of his Son, so that the main question is not, “Which humans brought about the death of Jesus?” but “What did the death of Jesus bring about for humans—including Jews and Muslims and Buddhists and Hindus and nonreligious secularists—and all people everywhere?”
When all is said and done, the most crucial question is: Why? Why did Jesus come to die? Not why in the sense of cause, but why in the sense of purpose. What did Christ achieve by his death? Why did he have to suffer so much? What great thing was happening on Calvary for the world? That’s what the rest of this book is about. I have gathered from the New Testament fifty reasons why Jesus came to die. Not fifty causes, but fifty purposes. Infinitely more important than who killed Jesus is the question: What did God achieve for sinners like us in sending his Son to die?
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When I ask someone to describe their organization's structure, the response is almost always some variation on the classic Organization Chart or Facility Tour.
In the org chart, "the service team reports to the project leader, who reports to the business services manager, who reports to the director of information services, who reports to the CIO who reports to the CEO and the board." Or, "We've got purchasing over here, accounting there, research at the 6th Street offices, marketing here, production out back with shipping at the east end of the building and receiving at the south. The service department is through those doors, and reception is out front by the executive offices."
What's interesting is that neither approach comes close to capturing what the organization actually does, how they actually do it, who actually works with whom, and how the organization actually makes money or otherwise fulfils their mandate.
When you look at the FLOW of work through an organization, using process maps, flow charts, value stream maps or other tools, you always find that the way the work actually gets done has very little to do with the Org Chart or the department-centric Facility Tour.
Work is messy. Work crosses departmental boundaries. The relationships that really matter day-to-day are NOT the relationships so diligently plotted on the org chart. The way the work really flows through the organization does NOT conform to the discrete departments we so rigorously manage.
A key first step on a continuous improvement journey is to start describing your organization's structure in terms of flow, in terms of what actually happens, in terms of who actually needs to interact with whom, and what information exchange is necessary to make everything function. This is cross-discipline cooperation, this is value-stream management, this is "we're all in this together" rather than "my department saved 6% this quarter."
Many businesses don't have a clear map of even their most important processes. Most workers don't really know how they fit into the system, into the flow of value to the customer. If you've never looked at these Lean principles and tools, you are falling behind your global competitors.
Take a look, and start thinking of your organization in terms of "How we do what we do", rather than "Who reports to whom" or "What department am I in."
Welcome to the One-Screen World
2 hours ago
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- Date submitted: 1 Nov 2011
- Stakeholder type: Major Group
- Name: Reality of Aid Asia Pacific
- Submission Document: Download
Asia Pacific CSO Statement on Development Cooperation for Sustainable Development 15-17 August 2011 Bangkok, Thailand
Poverty and marginalization have increased significantly through multiple crises in food, employment, environment and economy, fundamentally exposing the failure of the free market model of development. The systemic proportions of these crises have not only aggravated the situation of the poor and marginalized but also threatens to further worsen their conditions as the financial crisis centered in the advanced countries continues to unravel with severe consequences for the rest of the world.
Rather than seize the opportunity presented by the current crisis to break from the failed neoliberal development strategy that has dominated official policies and programs for over three decades, political leaders are making a renewed push for corporate-led growth of the global economy. We in civil society urge our governments and international institutions to abandon the current model of development in favor of new approaches that are people-focused, rights-based, democratic and ecologically sustainable. In simple terms this means a model of development that directly responds to the people?s needs ? including realizing their right to food, land, free education, and access to health services and overall human development. A radical transformation of existing power relations within and among countries lies at the very basis of such a new system.
The 4th HLF in Busan presents an opportunity to reform the existing aid architecture to embrace sustainable and people-centered development approaches, which is essential in pursuing a new development path and abandoning the failed models of the neo-liberal era. Only by empowering the poor and marginalized to claim their rights can a development path be built that is both successful in alleviating poverty and sustainable in the long term.
Reforming the ODA regime requires strong political will, drive and leadership to take on entrenched interests and inertia. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) play a crucial part in the reform process representing the voices and carrying the demands of the impoverished and marginalized. Consequently, if Busan is to achieve any meaningful result there is a need to first reaffirm the crucial role of civil society as development actors in their own right, while strengthening their roles and increasing their space in development processes through institutional changes.
In fulfilling these roles and claiming their space, CSOs around the world are calling on donors and governments gathering at Busan to:
Fully evaluate and deepen the Paris and Accra commitments through reforms based on democratic ownership.
Strengthen development effectiveness through development cooperation practices that promote human rights standards and focus on the eradication of the causes of poverty and inequality.
Affirm and ensure the participation of the full diversity of CSOs as independent development actors in their own right.
Promote equitable and just development cooperation architecture.
In addition to these CSO Key Asks, civil society from the Asia Pacific that gathered during the Regional Conference on Development Models: Promoting a Transformative Agenda on Sustainable Development in Bangkok, Thailand from August 15- 16, 2011 are also calling for the following:
On Private Sector for Development
The current thrust towards inviting private sector participation in development ? including through private-public partnerships (PPP) ? must not erode government?s obligation to ensure the right to development of the people.
Private sector involvement in ODA-funded programs and projects should be development effective. At the minimum, private sector actors in development should abide by existing standards on human rights, accountability and transparency.
PPPs should focus on public goals including poverty eradication, social equity and environmental protection rather than the pursuit of private profits.
Private sector participation in development should be subjected to public scrutiny and accountability. There should be democratic people?s participation at every stage from needs identification, risk assessment to project or program implementation and evaluation.
Public funds and aid money that go to the private sector should promote sustainable livelihoods and catalyze productive economic development of small-scale enterprises and cooperatives that provide direct and immediate benefits for the poor and marginalized.
On Climate Finance (CF)
CF must be development effective. The parameters for financing for climate justice and environmental justice must be defined within the frame of genuine sustainable development, biodiverse ecological agriculture, human rights and genuine peoples? participation especially of marginalized sectors including indigenous peoples.
CF should be over and above traditional aid flows (development aid) and it should be adequate and predictable
The World Bank should not be allowed as manager/trustee of the Green Climate Fund. The greening process should not be used as a tool to impose policy prescriptions.
No to market-based mechanisms, including carbon trading and ODA-financing for large scale biofuel production that adversely impacts the environment
Governance of CF should be democratic, participatory, transparent and focused on the global South.
On South ? South Cooperation (SSC)
South-south cooperation or cooperation among developing countries should: 1) ensure the well-being and development of the people of cooperating countries; 2) follow existing international frameworks and conventions on human rights; 3) observe transparency and accountability and ensure people?s meaningful participation throughout the undertaking.
Strengthen the UN?s role in monitoring and setting norms for SSC. The role of other stakeholders including parliaments and other elected bodies should also be strengthened.
SSC should prioritize cooperation on common issues and problems of peoples of the South such as hunger, poverty, migration and climate crisis, among others.
People?s cooperation and people?s solidarity efforts should be supported by governments as part of South-south cooperation (SSC)
There is an urgent need for a development model that would provide enduring solutions to the systemic crisis that beset us today. Development policies in the past have been guided by the free market paradigm, evade redistribution of wealth and ignore the social dimensions of development. Its failure to deal with recent crises has emphasized the need for a development model that prioritizes people?s well-being.
Given these challenges, the HLF in Busan must advance to development effectiveness, and tackle other urgent development challenges confronting the world today. To have lasting relevance, Busan should usher in a new development cooperation architecture that is inclusive, democratic, equitable, sustainable and just. CSOs have a crucial role in ensuring that these calls are heard and that Busan truly contributes to eliminating the causes of poverty and promotes people?s sustainable development.
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| | What is the Most Common Mistake New Entrepreneurs Make?
Undercapitalization of their business.
Great – what does that mean? That means that a business fails because of poor financial planning and because of not having enough capital in place to cover operating expenses. Basically you go into business, start advertising, get your extra phone line, get the necessary office supplies and equipment, etc. and if you don’t achieve microwave results, you will find yourself in a situation a few months down the road where you cannot afford to continue operating. The end result is you are finished before you even get started.
Many internet and network marketers do not come from a business background and are lured in by promises of a turnkey system, where you simply plug in and follow the leader so to speak. This is one of the great things about internet marketing in many cases; however that system needs to be complete with a business plan. Your sponsor should be able to sit down with you and conduct a six month business plan that leaves nothing to chance. Every expense should be accounted for, and a conservative estimate of your income should be used so as to project your overall success six months out. Once these steps are taken, you are now able to decide how best to capitalize your business so that you know exactly how much you are spending each month to operate and where that money is coming from.
There are numerous ways to capitalize your business i.e. small loan, home equity loan, credit card convenience check (typically with a low interest rate for 6 months) and your sponsor should also be able to identify these for you so that you have a number of options available. Be sure to spend some time exploring your options to come up with the best possible solution for you.
If you are researching network marketing companies, do your due diligence and make sure to include in your list of questions whether your sponsor will conduct a business plan with you. If you are starting out in other avenues of e-commerce or internet marketing, it might be wise to consult with a financial planner or an accountant. Whatever business you choose to get involved with, make sure you capitalize your business. It is an ingredient that could be, and in many cases is, the single most important key to your success.
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Micro Telcos - Business Models for Rural Access?
This month's Technology Salon approached last-mile connectivity problems from an entrepreneurship standpoint. What are the barriers to creating small, possibly local-only telcos using various technologies, and how can those scale through investment, international development assistance, or franchising?
The on-the-ground situation is good connectivity in urban and peri-urban areas, often including land-line support as well as mobile coverage. As you get further out into rural areas, coverage dwindles; without populations large enough to support (currently) the cost of installation and maintenance of a cell tower, the large firms are not interested. The telecom industry is often dominated by 3-4 large companies, often heavily regulated and/or in cahoots with the government.
We're taking as a given that communications are essential to further economic development, sustainable local development, and that access (be it voice-only, voice + SMS, or ideally full Internet access) is a, if not "the", best tool for communities to help themselves, and create a self-determined path to prosperity. (Of course, there's also a risk of being overwhelmed by the firehose of the culturally and morally diverse full force of the Internet, but it seems unlikely that any community will jump straight from zero to broadband, everyone's-connected status overnight).
Rural areas in the United States encountered similar problems during our own roll out of telecommunications, and created rural telcos at first, and eventually were connected thanks to the Universal Service Fund. The Fund model was often suggested as a path forward for expanding rural access; as was simply requiring rural access as part of the licensing requirements with the government.
We see in the wild today many pilots and entrepreneurial attempts to bridge this gap, from the Grameen Village Phone style projects (which help if there's cell coverage but no cell phones) and more ambitious (and expensive) WiMax in Vietnam; but none of the micro-telco projects has fully caught fire and scaled up or spread out where there is no infrastructure available. As the hardware prices and complexity drop, it seems like there should be some business plan that could provide connectivity and be a good business for a local entrepreneur.
Costs and compatibility are one problem - the cheapest wireless handsets by a wide margin remain GSM cellphones, with wifi and WiMax phones trailing behind. The wifi/wimax systems are easier to put together for a local phone system, but GSM phones are cheaper and could integrate better into existing telco networks over time. Regardless of the handsets, the backhaul system remains expensive and requires either scale or other paid services to link a rural telco to the national system.
Other barriers are more business-model related than technical, involving government regulations and competition from the large telcos. Once a micro telco has grown to achieve a sustainable scale that could spread, the government or the existing companies (or both) step in to regulate, tax, block and/or compete.
Competition from the large telcos still provides the community access, but impedes the spread of the franchise/entepreneural idea. The business model is less attractive to other entrepreneurs if its success also means its impending doom, with a short timeframe to recover the original equipment costs before loss-leading competition, or rent-seeking regulation, shows up.
The ability for the business model to scale through spread (not just size) is critical to continuing to expand access into underserved regions.
There are a few ways that Micro Telcos could continue to provide value even after large telco GSM rollout in an area; making them more attractive business models to adopt (and spread).
Once their program has proven the demand and brought in a large telco, the microtelco could sell its userbase to the larger business and invest in value-added services using the presumably more reliable access that the large telco brings to the area. This could be moving to providing local data services, cybercafes and training/workshops on relevant local usage scenarios for those. If the micro telco was constructed using mostly mobile or transportable technology, it could move further out to stay ahead of the connectivity wave. It's likely that the microtelco will have already built out additional features for no other reason than to be profitable in an environment where a large telco won't (or can't) be.
This helps co-opt the large telcos and involve them rather than competing with them; and absorbs the risk of expanding into rural areas. At the same time, this avoids the problems of the business model of providing intentionally lesser service to rural subscribers; namely making it clear that rural subscribers are of less value than their urban counterparts. Their initial service may in fact be less reliable, but it will be locally operated during the proving phase, and hopefully upgraded and improved over time.
There is no clear path forward for micro telco success. Much depends on the local government and existing large telco providers, as well as demand and constantly-changing technology prices. The ongoing task for now is finding and sharing business models that are showing success and gracefully managing the transition to working and/or competing with large telcos.
Check out another writeup back at TechnologySalon.org
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One of popular person in Indonesia is The President of United States of America : Barack Obama. Yep.... it because Obama ever lived in Indonesia in 1967 in Jakarta from ages six to ten. He also attended local schools in Jakarta, including Besuki Public School and St. Francis of Asisi School.
Even he only stayed for four years in Indonesia, but for many people in Indonesia, he left a lot of great memories. So when he has been elected as The President of United States of America, many people celebrated it. Since then, Barack Obama has become popular person in Indonesia.
There are some interesting happen right after Barack Obama has been selected as The President of United States of America :
1. Similarity with Obama :
When Obama has elected, Ilham Anas - one of Indonesian that been born in Bandung on January 25, 1974 - become famous. Why? Because he has a lot of similarity with Obama. This photographer that recently lived in Bekasi has an identical face with Obama. Not only face, but also the way he talks, acts, even body language... everything is exactly same (sometimes we wonder if he is actually Obama's twins).
Because of the similarity, Anas has become a superstar. Not only in Indonesia, but also in other country. He also been selected as a commercial star in Philippines. And he played as Barack Obama.
2. Obama's Statue :
On December 2009, a statue of Obama when he was a kid been made and put in Menteng Park, about 150 meters from Menteng Elementary School, the place where Obama's took his study while in Indonesia. Edy Chaniago - the designer of the statue - finished the statue in 2 month using US$ 10,000 of budget. However, the statue of Obama - that been known as "Barry Dreams Come True" statue - had became controversy because many people think that Obama had not give any contribution to Indonesia, either when he was staying in Indonesia or after become the President of States. After several months of controversy, finally the statue been moved to Menteng Elementary School. And since March 2010, the statue can be seen at the field of that school.
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