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How do I grow that?
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As fun to look at as it is tasty to eat, eye-catching lime-green Veronica is an “Italian” romanesco type that holds its brilliant color even when cooked. The perfectly spiraled and very symmetrical heads have tightly beaded, pointed domes with a milder, sweeter flavor than standard cauliflower. It’s terrific used raw on antipasto trays, cooked or pickled – be sure to harvest the heads when small for the best flavor. A vigorous grower, carnival has excellent heat tolerance and is best as a Fall crop. 77 days to harvest.
Cauliflower is the most challenging member of the cabbage family to grow. The secret is to water and feed the young plants to ensure constant and fast growth during the cool season that they prefer. Place your cauliflower plants in the garden at 24 in. (60 cm) intervals in rows spaced 2 to 3 ft. (60-91 cm) apart.
• Choose a sunny location (6+ hours of sun) and dig a hole about two times as wide as your pot.
• Remove your plant from the pot by loosening the soil and tipping it out into your hand. Place your plant in the soil about as deep as it was in the pot.
• Refill the space around your plant with soil and press lightly to compact the dirt, keeping your plant firmly in the ground.
• Water immediately to settle the soil, and add more soil as needed, bringing it level to the rest of your garden.
Cauliflower heads must be shaded from the sun to maintain their color. Many varieties have long curled leaves that grow close to the head providing adequate shade. You can always tie up the loose leaves over the center of the plant to protect it from sunburn and create your own shade. Use rubber bands instead of string to allow for the expansion that comes with growing.
Cauliflower is susceptible to the same pests and diseases as other members of the cabbage family. To reduce the risks, avoid planting cabbage relatives in the same spot 2 years in a row.
The crop is ready to harvest when the heads are tightly formed and dense. Simply cut the head off the main stem, leaving about 2 in. (5 cm) of stem on the head. Use as soon as possible.
Cauliflower is a treat raw, especially good in veggie trays with a tasty dipping sauce or dressing. Cooking brings out the true flavor of cauliflower – try it stir-fried, sautéed, baked, steamed, boiled and even grilled.
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Current, not prior, depression predicts crack cocaine useJuly 14th, 2011 in Psychology & Psychiatry
(Medical Xpress) -- Women who are clinically depressed at the time they enter drug court have a substantially higher risk of using crack cocaine within four months, according to a new study. Because current but not past depression was associated with a higher risk of use, the study published in the journal Addiction suggests that addressing depression could reduce the number of women who fail to beat crack addiction in drug court.
"We found that current major depression increased the risk of crack use, but depression in the past year that had gotten better did not," said Jennifer Johnson, assistant professor (research) of psychiatry and human behavior in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and lead author of the study. "This suggests that if the depression remits, the risk of crack use goes down. Screening for depression and effective depression treatment may be important components of drug court services."
Addiction and depression are closely associated, said Johnson, who is also affiliated with Brown's Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. It isn't always clear how the two affect each other, especially at an urgent moment such as entry into the court system. Johnson set out to untangle the two by analyzing data gathered by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis as part of an HIV prevention study.
Among the 261 women in the study, 16 percent had a current major depressive episode and 40 percent had experienced a major depressive episode in their lifetime. Among the women currently depressed, 46 percent used crack during the next four months. Among women who weren't currently depressed, only 25 percent used crack in the next four months.
At the beginning of the study, the analysis statistically adjusted for whether women were using crack, which is highly addictive, and took the timing of the women's depression into account, said Johnson, who is also affiliated with the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights, a collaboration of Brown University and The Miriam Hospital.
Women who had been depressed at some time in the past, even in the last year, did not have an increased risk of crack use compared to women who had never been depressed, Johnson found. Women who were currently depressed, however, were significantly more likely to use crack than women who were never depressed. Furthermore, currently depressed women had nearly four times the odds of using crack during follow-up compared to women who had been depressed at some point in their past. The odds were nearly six times greater compared to women who were depressed within the last year, but not currently.
"It doesn't matter if they've been depressed in the past," she said, "only how they're doing right now."
The data hint that depression may have contributed to crack use in this population, Johnson said.
"It is well known that crack use can cause depression and depression can contribute to crack use," Johnson said. "However, in this study baseline depression [at the beginning of the study] was not associated with baseline crack use, but was associated with future crack use, suggesting that depression may have led to crack use and not vice versa."
If women in drug court can be successfully screened and treated for depression, Johnson said, the resulting reduction in crack use predicted by the analysis might benefit not only the women but also the community.
"The public ends up paying the cost of drug court and incarceration," she said. "Depression treatment isn't that expensive."
Provided by Brown University
"Current, not prior, depression predicts crack cocaine use." July 14th, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-current-prior-depression-cocaine.html
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How Could Proposed Local Aid Cuts Impact Needham?
Gov. Deval Patrick announced plans to cut the state's local aid for the current fiscal year. But what could that mean for Needham?
Earlier this week, Governor Deval Patrick's office proposed a series of cuts aimed at closing up a half-billion dollar budget gap. The bulk of the cuts come from spending cuts in the Executive Branch, but some affect local programs or education.
Many of these cuts will need legislative approval before they go into effect for the current fiscal year.
According to a press release about the proposal, "The governor’s proposed plan ensures virtually all impacted programs and services will receive no less funding than last year and that no cuts will be made to Chapter 70 education funding."
In particular, Patrick's proposal cuts $11.5 million from the state's Special Education Circuit Breaker reimbursement program, a move that the governor can enact without the legislature's approval.
That $11.5 million represents 4.75 percent of the overall Circuit Breaker line item in the state budget. In Needham, the expected FY13 Circuit Breaker reimbursement is $1,756,245, meaning a 4.75 percent reduction to that would impact Needham to the tune of about $83,000.
If Patrick moves forward with a proposed 1 percent reduction in the state's unrestricted local aid, which "funds municipal services including police and fire protection, parks, and public works," according to the state budget center. This cut would require approval by the legislature.
With the town getting about $1.3 million this year, a one percent cut would represent about a $13,000 loss.
Earlier this week, the Director of Financial Operations for Needham's Schools, Anne Gulati told Patch, "The state has not yet confirmed what the specific dollar reduction will be for Needham, but we do not expect the magnitude of the revenue loss to be significant."
Patrick's current budget gap plan includes $200 million from the Rainy Day Fund, bringing the total draw to $550 million in FY13 – leaving a balance of $1.2 billion. Massachusetts has the third-largest reserve fund in the U.S.
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“Photography through the microscope is extremely difficult and it goes beyond just attaching a camera to a microscope,” Tellus Curator Julian Gray said. “There’s issues with the light and getting the colors right and getting a sharp focus.
“A lot of the images that are winning images are images that [are] taken using fluorescent techniques and all kinds of different high contrast techniques that are not used in your normal high school biology lab or something like that. These are much more involved techniques and they involve a higher level of skill just to set up the microscope let alone to take the photograph. So the combination of all those things makes just taking the images very unique and Nikon recognizes that.”
Started in 1975, the Nikon International Small World Competition annually rewards the efforts of photomicrographers. This year’s winners, Drs. Jennifer Peters and Michael Taylor, captured an image of “the blood-brain barrier in a live zebrafish embryo.”
On display through April 17, the exhibit will be located at the beginning of Tellus’ education wing.
“These images are just every bit as unique as things that we see with the Hubble Space Telescope,” Gray said. “We’re just looking at the other end of the universe. We’re looking at the small world, which is the name of the contest, but it’s looking at our world a little closer and things that are all around us — insects and plants and seeds and snowflakes and sand grains. It just changes our perspective. These images are really great art and visually striking too.”
Encompassing 120,000 square feet at 100 Tellus Drive in Cartersville, Tellus is comprised of four main galleries — The Weinman Mineral Gallery, The Fossil Gallery, Science in Motion and The Collins Family My Big Backyard hands-on science gallery — a 120-seat digital planetarium and an observatory. A Smithsonian affiliate, Tellus has attracted more than 770,000 visitors since opening in January 2009.
“It’s pretty mind blowing, that ... four years have gone by. We opened to a lot of excitement,” Tellus Executive Director Jose Santamaria said. “We had a really great first year and we’ve been getting really strong visitation ever since.
“We had our second-best year last year so we’re still getting a lot of interest from the community, [which is] very exciting. Even though we’re turning 4, we have a lot of exciting things coming up,” he said referring to a moon rock specimen on long-term loan from NASA.
With its Vision for the Future capital campaign currently under way, Tellus is trying to raise $1.2 million to extend the museum’s offerings and in doing so provide new experiences for repeat visitors.
“Last month, we met the match from 3M,” Santamaria said. “They offered $100,000 if we would match that and we surpassed that. So we’re close to being halfway in the capital campaign. We’ve had a really successful four years but we wanted to continue being successful by bringing in new things.
“So the campaign is to bring new traveling exhibits and the campaign is also to upgrade the planetarium projector to ... produce some very exciting images. And it also is to bring in just more hands-on exhibits throughout the museum — so essentially new things. We want to continue to be fresh, to be exciting and to give people something new to see.”
The Nikon Small World Exhibit will be included in regular admission to Tellus — $14 for adults, $12 for individuals 65 and older, and $10 for children ages 3 to 17 and students with ID — and it will be free for museum members and active military personnel with ID.
For more information about the museum and its upcoming events and programs, call 770-606-5700 or visit www.tellusmuseum.org. To obtain more details on the capital campaign, contact Tellus Director of Development Adam Wade at 770-606-5700 ext. 414.
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The German Parliament will soon get to vote on a bill that would finally end single mothers’ complete monopoly of single fathers’ parental rights – barely. Read about it here (The Local, 7/4/12). As things stand now, if a single mother doesn’t want the father of her child to have any parental rights or access, she can easily prevent same. In order for him to have either rights or access, he must petition the court; if he does, the court sends the request to the mother for her approval. If she refuses, he’s out of luck. Period. She has complete veto power over his rights to his child and his child’s rights to him. In short, exactly as we find in every country I’ve ever written about, albeit more frankly in Germany than in some other places, fathers’ rights are in mother’s hands.
It’s been two years since a German Constitutional Court and the European Court for Human Rights ruled that Germany’s outrageous method of denying children any and all contact with their father at a mother’s whim violated, on the one hand the German Constitution and, on the other, basic human rights guaranteed by the country’s membership in the European Union. Why it took two years for the German Cabinet to put forward a bill to rectify the anti-father bias that’s been twice adjudicated to be illegal is anyone’s guess, but that’s what happened. And even now, it’s not like Germany is poised to enter the 21st century when it comes to equalizing fathers’ and mothers’ rights. Far from it.
[Justice Minister Sabine] Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger’s new proposal grants the unmarried mother automatic custody of her child, but allows the father the right to apply for joint custody at any time. This application is forwarded to the mother, and if she does not object, joint custody is to be granted with as little bureaucracy as possible.
If she does object, she must provide reasons why joint custody would put the child’s well-being at risk. These are then examined by a court, which has the power to deny the father custody if necessary.
If her reasons are not recognizably related to the child’s well-being, the mother’s objections can be rejected – this would include, for instance, that she only had a brief relationship with the father and does not want further contact.
So the father’s rights are still subject to the mother’s approval. Whether her objections will pass judicial muster doubtless will become a matter of routine as time goes by. Allegations of domestic violence or child abuse will likely get the dad tossed out of his child’s life for good unless they’re flagrantly false, whereas less serious claims may not suffice. But whatever the particulars, lawyers will figure out where the parameters of acceptable and unacceptable objections to paternal behavior lie. They will then instruct their clients accordingly.
But, assuming the Justice Minister’s bill passes, the salient feature of the legislation is that, once again, a father’s rights are subject not to his own behavior and not to the needs of his child, but to the approval and artful pleading of the mother and her lawyer.
And, once Mom has turned her imperial thumb down on the dad’s rights, what happens when Mom turns out to be abusive or neglectful herself. In this country and countless others, Dad will go to court to try to get custody or at least reduce her parenting time. Since he’s a father with rights, he can sometimes succeed. But once a German dad is told “nein” by his child’s mother, who is there to inform the court that the child is in danger? Not Dad.
Unsurprisingly, Madam Minister’s justification for her abysmally defective bill attempts to place the onus on fathers for the fatherlessness of German children.
Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, who drew up the bill, said she hoped the new law would encourage “fathers to take responsibility for their child.”
To say that’s an odd take on current German law is to understate the matter considerably. Let’s see. As things stand now, any single mother, regardless of how neglectful or abusive, can at any time for any reason or no reason simply cancel from her child’s life, the finest, most loving father on the planet. And of course many mothers do exactly that. The law erects an insurmountable barrier, in the form of a mother’s whim, between a single father and his child. And when her ruling is “no,” he’s the one who’s irresponsible according to Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger. The doublespeak doesn’t get much more blatant than that, but then such is the Orwellian world we enter when we pass through the doors marked ‘Family Court.’
The bottom line is that single German fathers will still be far behind much of the rest of the world even if this bill passes.
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New Primer Helps Identify More DNA Markers
DNA makers are important tools for identifying genes that control traits of interest to plant breeders, such as disease resistance or fruit quality. DNA markers are usually generated using “primers,” short segments of DNA that are used by geneticists to look for genes that control specific traits. In general, geneticists use random primers in their search for DNA markers, but that process is often long and arbitrary, and it can result in researchers spending a lot of time and money to identify just one DNA marker.
To streamline the process, Agricultural Research Service geneticist Amnon Levi and plant pathologist Pat Wechter have developed a new method for identifying DNA markers. They used genomic data to search for small pieces of DNA, called “oligonucleotides,” that are prevalent in watermelon genes and could be used as primers. Levi and Wechter believed that these new primers would generate a larger number of markers because they are more targeted than random primers.
Zhangjun Fei, an ARS-funded bioinformatics researcher at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research in Ithaca, New York, collaborated with Levi and Wechter and wrote a computer script to identify oligonucleotides that exist in high numbers in genes of watermelon. They named the new primers “high-frequency oligonucleotides targeting active genes,” or HFO-TAG for short.
Working from the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina, the scientists and fellow ARS and university colleagues tested their theory on 12 closely related watermelon cultivars. The researchers found that the HFO-TAG primers identified more DNA fragments than random primers did. Finding more fragments means researchers have a greater chance of finding DNA markers for genes that control desirable traits. And they don’t have to invest as much time and money to identify the markers.
Levi and Wechter are currently using the HFO-TAG primers to look for watermelon genes that control disease or pest resistance and fruit quality. The primers will also be useful in genetic studies and genetic mapping of watermelon.
According to the scientists, this simple and straightforward method can be applied to genetic studies of other plants as well as animals. A full description of this study has been published in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science.—By Stephanie Yao, formerly with ARS.
Amnon Levi and Pat Wechter are with the USDA-ARS U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, 2700 Savannah Hwy., Charleston, SC 29414; (843) 402-5326 [Levi], (843) 402-5318 [Wechter].
"New Primer Helps Identify More DNA Markers" was published in the July 2011 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
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When news happens, text SDE and your photos or videos to 80360. Or contact us by email and phone.
New designs for Southampton biomass plant revealed
THESE are the visions energy bosses hope could finally win residents round to the idea of a huge £300m power plant on their doorsteps.
The Daily Echo can today reveal the three new designs for a controversial 100 megawatt wood-fuelled power station at Southampton’s docks.
Helius Energy hopes it will be a case of third time lucky after its previous plans for a biomass plant sparked outrage from residents living just yards from the proposed “giant polluting tin shed”.
The firm will next week launch another consultation on its aims to bring a renewable energy facility to the city, capable of powering 200,000 homes. It will write to around 25,000 homes and businesses in Southampton and on the Waterside, as well as holding a string of public exhibitions to show off its plans and try to ease residents’ fears.
Bosses say they will listen to which of the marine, wave or hi-tech designs people like best before putting one forward to planners.
Last year, Helius’ controversial bid to build on land at Western Docks caused outrage from people living nearby, horrified at the “monstrous”
prospect of a 100mhigh chimney stack and other buildings towering over their homes. A campaign group, No Southampton Biomass, was quickly set up to fight the plans and gained support from hundreds of people. It even led to a protest march being held.
As well as the visual blot dominating the area, fears were raised about the safety of having a power station just 250m from homes in Millbrook and Freemantle following fires at similar plants around the country.
Campaigner Chris Jenkins, of Testwood Road, said last year: “Nobody wants this monstrosity anywhere near their homes. We will never give up our fight until they say they won’t come here.”
Politicians have also condemned the scheme. Southampton’s Labour group, which swept to power in last week’s council elections, made a pre-election pledge to fight the plant, which was also opposed by the previous Tory administration.
Labour said in its manifesto: “We will stand shoulder to shoulder with officers, political colleagues and most importantly the community against inappropriate developments in our city, such as the latest plans for the biomass power station.”
But because the scheme is classed as a “nationally significant infrastructure project”
the final say over whether it gets the go-ahead or not will not lie with councillors, but with the national planning inspectorate.
Helius, which has already revised its plans once but faced further criticism for failing to provide sufficient notice of public events, now says it has “significantly”
altered the proposals again.
Bosses argue the scheme will be good for Southampton.
The firm, which claims the plant will create 100 direct and indirect jobs and contribute around £10m a year to the city’s economy, said the new version would see the facility twice as far from the nearest residents, lower in height and with a smaller building footprint.
It is also hoping to engage with people by giving them the chance to influence which of the three architectdesigned approaches for the external design of the power station is adopted.
Paul Brighton, Helius Energy’s planning director, said: “We listened carefully to what people had to say in our consultation last year and we believe our revised proposals have really addressed those concerns.
“We are committed to carrying out a full and inclusive public consultation that gives people detailed information about our scheme so they can make their minds up based on the facts.”
It said its power station would save the equivalent of 470,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from being belched into the air compared to an average fossil fuel plant.
The consultation will run from May 14 to August 3, before Helius applies to the National Infrastructure Directorate of the Planning Inspectorate “later in the year”.
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Through the generosity of The Community Advisory Panel to Lyondell and Equistar, several new books are now part of the North Channel Library collection. These include: The Hogg Family and Houston: Philanthropy and the Civic Ideal by Kate Sayen Kirkland, Galveston: A City on Stilts by Jodi-Wright-Gidley and Jennifer Marines, In Ike's Wake: Southeast Texas Endures Hurricane's Devastation-a pictorial account by the Photojournalists of The Beaumont Enterprise and Galena Park: The Community that Shaped It's Own History by local authors Roger Leslie and Sue Elkins Edwards. These titles were selected to honor the memory of community leader, Mr. Kermit Reneau. We invite you to come to the Library to see these books. We also invite you to remember loved ones with memorial books. Please ask to speak to Branch Librarian, Carolyn Dial, about memorial books.
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July 21, 2011
HEART HEALTH EDUCATION GROUP DISCUSSES BENEFITS OF EXERCISE
COLUMBIA, Tenn. – The Healthy Hearts Education Group at Maury Regional Medical Center (MRMC) will discuss the benefits of exercise on Tuesday, August 2, in the medical center’s Private Dining Room One at 1 p.m. The group, which meets monthly at MRMC, encourages the public to attend this free event.
Jackie Hill, an exercise physiologist on the cardiac rehabilitation staff at MRMC, will discuss the types of exercises that provide the most benefit for heart health, the amount of exercise we need each day, and the importance of the warm-up and cool-down process.
“Studies by the American Heart Association show that exercising for as little as 30 minutes per day can help reduce our risk of heart disease,” Hill said. “Something as simple as walking can have a major impact on our heart health. We will talk about the benefits of physical activity and discuss the amount of time that should be spent on exercise each day.”
For more information on the Healthy Hearts Education Group at MRMC, call 931.381.1111, extension 4343.
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Many of you will remember the predecessor of the SUV as the family friendly Station Wagon. Many of us grew up in the back of one! I remember going to the drive-in with my parents and falling asleep in the back of our station wagon in sleeping bags that my dad brought along for my sister and me.
Have you ever wondered where the term station wagon came from? Well I did! Back in the Old West, wagon trains, stagecoaches and trains were the basic modes of transportation for the masses. Trains were by far the most comfortable and first choice for people whenever possible. The city of Denver was a mere "wide spot in the road" until the mighty locomotive starting bringing people to town by the thousands.
There were train stations throughout the west. Once passengers arrived at a local train station, they had to find a way to get their trunks and luggage to their respective hotel. As a courtesy, hotels would provide passenger buggy's with large cargo areas in the rear to carry their guests baggage. So, what you had was a passenger buggy with a wagon in the back for luggage. This wagon would make trips back and forth from the train station. Thus, becoming known as the Station Wagon!
With the invention of the horseless carriage (now known as the car) vehicles were built with a wagon in back to carry luggage (or kids) and the term Station Wagon remained intact. So... now you know!
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Editor's note: Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of "Jimmy Carter" and of the new book "Governing America."
(CNN) -- Most officials in Washington are dreading the consequences of falling off the fiscal cliff.
President Barack Obama and his advisers have met in the White House trying to figure out a deal that will protect them politically while avoiding the draconian deficit reduction option that will occur should the parties fail to reach agreement. And on Friday he traveled to a Pennsylvania toy factory to seek public support to pressure Congressional leaders to pass legislation extending tax cuts for middle-income Americans.
Obama is not the first president to confront the challenges of deficit reduction, one of the least pleasant tasks in politics because it forces elected officials to take things away from voters rather than do what they prefer: hand out benefits. In the next few days, the president would do well to look at how previous chief executives have handled this task.
In 1967 and 1968, in a period of united government and regionally divided parties, President Lyndon Johnson grudgingly undertook a brutal campaign to push through Congress a 10 percent tax surcharge and spending cuts to curb the growing size of the federal deficit that had resulted from spending on Vietnam.
Under pressure from Southern Democrats who controlled the key committees and their Republican allies, Johnson agreed to much steeper spending cuts than his advisers wanted him to so that he could get the package through the House and Senate.
Many liberals were furious with the president, believing that he had sold them out and placed their programs in jeopardy. But Johnson had become convinced that the deficit reduction passage was essential to stabilize the dollar in international markets and ensure that the federal government had enough revenue to keep most of his domestic programs intact.
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush undertook one of the most embarrassing about-faces in modern politics. Though he had promised in his 1988 acceptance speech, "Read my lips, no new taxes!" two years later Bush agreed with Democrats on a deal that implemented major restraints on spending while increasing taxes.
The decision caused a firestorm. "Read My Lips: I Lied" said the New York Post. Republicans like Congressman Newt Gingrich were furious with his decision. To overcome this opposition, Bush took to the airwaves, making a speech in which he directly appealed to citizens to build support for this. Bush watched as his approval ratings plummeted. Gingrich refused to have his picture taken with Bush at the Rose Garden and publicly criticized the president.
Three years later, President Bill Clinton took a stab at the deficit that continued to grow despite the 1990 deal. After the election of 1992 had made deficit reduction a major issue he used all his partisan muscle to push through Congress an increase in taxes for Americans earning $125,000 or more.
Clinton abandoned his campaign promise that he would not raise taxes on the middle class. He allied with fiscal conservatives such as Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve who were insisting on deficit reduction. The bill was hugely unpopular. Every Republican voted against the bill, along with some blue dog Democrats. Many liberal Democrats felt that he had betrayed them. The final package increased tax rates and enacted spending cuts.
Marjorie Margolis-Mezvinsky, a freshman Democrat who the administration pressured into casting the decisive vote in the House despite her knowing it would be politically devastating and despite her earlier opposition, lost her seat, as expected in 1994. "Goodbye Marjorie," Republicans had yelled when she voted. Clinton ended up benefiting politically from this controversial decision, as the economy boomed and deficit disappeared by the end of the decade, both providing his most lasting legacy.
Angering the base is clearly part of what lies ahead for President Obama. Johnson, Bush, and Clinton all cut against what core members of the party wanted to reach a deal.
At the most basic level, Obama will need to win enough House Republican votes for a deal and this will entail more cuts in domestic spending than liberals want to swallow. Equally important, the president will have to win over moderate Democratic senators who are nervous about reelection.
In addition to helping achieve compromises on specific numbers, angering the base also has symbolic value to the White House. The criticism from supporters demonstrates that a president is bending over backward, pushing as far as he can, thereby offering an incentive for the other party to shift closer to the center.
The president will also need to use the bully pulpit to sell the idea of sacrifice combined with the promise of growth. Obama must not simply work in closed rooms with House Speaker John Boehner. He must continue to take to the airwaves to build support for the bill. With regards to sacrifice, he must explain to voters why hard choices are necessary. He must tap into the legacy of Clinton by outlining the long-term economic rewards that could come from a good deal.
Obama must also consider breaking some promises that he has made along the way. Johnson started his presidency by reducing taxes and assuring Congress he would not raise taxes to pay for his program. Bush did the same, as did Clinton. But when dealing with major challenges this is necessary.
Effective politics is often about the need to be flexible. More than almost any other issue, deficit reduction requires this skill given that all the tradeoffs are unpopular. This might include being flexible on his assurances to avoid raising taxes on the middle class.
Finally, the president will need to employ all the partisan muscle that he has. In 1993, Clinton famously leaned on Democrats who were dragged along kicking and screaming. Politics ain't bean bag, as the saying goes, and Obama must act like a tough partisan to win.
Achieving a deal won't be easy and it won't be fun. But a deal is possible if the president throws all of his weight behind the effort.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Julian Zelizer.
© 2012 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
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Abu Dhabi TV reports from sea via Inmarsat
Media reporting on the military movements in the Middle East are depending on Inmarsat maritime and land based satellite services to ensure up to the minute and objective accounts are available to a global audience, including journalists working with Middle Eastern broadcaster Abu Dhabi Television, according to a company press release.
“This is what I am using to file my stories from sea. We are able to access the Internet to file stories and share information at virtually any time thanks to Inmarsat maritime services,” said Abu Dhabi TV journalist Abdullah Saafin, writing via Internet Chat from a US Navy ship on patrol in the Gulf.
“I can stay in touch with the station and keep updated with every move in the region, as well as contribute to our pool of knowledge. This means that the news station stays totally up to date.” Using services such as Inmarsat B, contributing journalists are able to share a ‘knowledge pool’ of up to the minute information, and therefore can table more informed questions and investigations.”
“If something happens at the UN, we are aware of it and can then reflect this information in the approach we are taking out here at sea. The result is that we are more informed with more up-to-date resources, and we can support a better quality of informed journalism,” comments Saafin.
Satellite technology is enabling the media to make more informed, and greater in-depth analysis of the events, as they happen, wherever these reporters might be. Inmarsat B is a global communications system that extends modern digital technology to the mobile satellite communications field.
Inmarsat B offers voice, telex, medium and high-speed data (64 kbps), and fax, for much less than the traditional Inmarsat A service. Inmarsat B appeals particularly to high volume users of voice and data. Typical industries that use the Inmarsat B service are offshore exploration, cruise-ships, deep-sea shipping and government agencies. Media applications for Inmarsat services are contributing to the very high current levels of demand for satellite bandwidth being seen in the Middle East region.
Network management specialists at Inmarsat and at Inmarsat Land Earth Station Operators (LESOs) are seeing very high peaks in regional demand from the region, as journalists from around the world file reports and stay in touch using Inmarsat’s maritime and GAN services as well as the high speed Regional BGAN service.
“Inmarsat is servicing high demand from media working around the entire region, and we are working hard to ensure that services are operating to the highest efficiency,” said Inmarsat regional director Samer Halawi. “Not just media, but also aid agencies and other NGOs are using Inmarsat services to support the requirement for reliable communications anywhere in the region.” — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
- Inmarsat offers enhanced high-speed data capacity over the Middle East
- Inmarsat: A celestial extension to terrestrial communication networks
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- Inmarsat and Nokia joined forces for Wireless LAN development
- Inmarsat launches 'next generation' of data communications satellite service
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Interviews | June 14, 2013 0 comments
Susan Nussbaum's debut novel, winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, is, as Rosellen Brown says, "a celebration of... Continue »
K. L. GoingDescribe your new book.
The Garden of Eve is a story about a young girl who is trying to figure out whether magic still has a place in her life. She's grieving the loss of her mom, who was her companion in story telling and imagining. Now she's left to forge a relationship with her practical, realist father who believes only in what he sees. Together they move to an old, abandoned apple orchard in upstate NY that is rumored to be cursed, and Evie meets a boy who claims to be dead. She also receives a mysterious gift for her eleventh birthday. Everything in her life is challenging her to decide if she can believe again or not. Evie must make her decision, and the reader must also make theirs.
This is a story that is as much about the mood as it is about the plot. The plot twists and turns, and the mood is twisted and dark, occasionally illuminated with brilliant light. There's a haunting quality, especially in the beginning, that was very fun to write. I hope readers will find themselves immersed in a world that makes them shiver and gasp and tingle with anticipation.
Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. I'd love it if he came knocking on my door when I least expected it, ready to lead me away on an adventure.
If you could choose any story to live in, which story would it be? Why?
Introduce one other author/illustrator you think people should read, and suggest a good book by him/her.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Why do you write books for kids?
Share an interesting experience you've had with one of your readers.
Make a question of your own, then answer it.
Who do you consider a hero and why?
I have a lot of heroes. I think it's really important to do good things in life. Not only for others but also for ourselves. When people have a chance to do good, it improves both their mental and physical health, yet we often forget how great it can feel. My heroes are the people who haven't forgotten but instead put doing good at the center of their lives. They not only improve the world we live in, but they remind me to follow in their footsteps.
A few of my heroes are: Jimmy Carter because he has done so much to promote peace, Al Gore because of the way he is teaching people to take care of the Earth, and Angelina Jolie because she is using her celebrity to adopt children and help people in need.
I'm a big supporter of unsung heroes as well. One of my favorite features on my web site is the Very Cool Person of the Month where readers send in nominations for people they think deserve recognition. People have nominated their friends, teachers, children, political figures... you name it! I always love reading about and, in some small way, rewarding people who make the world a better place. (If you have someone to nominate, you can send me an e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.org. I'd love to hear from you!)
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Your most pressing National Electrical Code (NEC) questions answered
All questions and answers are based on the 2008 NEC.
Q. Am I required to ground metal cover plates on receptacles and switches?
A. Yes, metal faceplates for receptacles and switches must be grounded. Section 406.5(B) requires that metal faceplates for receptacles must be connected to the circuit equipment grounding conductor. Although the NEC doesn’t specify how this is to be accomplished, Exception No. 1 of 517.13(B) for health care facilities permits the metal mounting screw(s) securing the faceplate to a metal outlet box or wiring device to be suitable for this purpose (Fig. 1).
For switches, dimmers, and similar control switches, the metal mounting yokes must be connected to an equipment grounding conductor of a type recognized in 250.118, whether or not a metal faceplate is installed. The metal mounting yoke is considered part of the effective ground-fault current path by one of the following means:
- Mounting screw. The switch is mounted with metal screws to a metal box or a metal cover connected to an equipment grounding conductor of a type recognized in 250.118 [404.9(B)]. Direct metal-to-metal contact between the device yoke of a switch and the box isn’t required.
- Equipment bonding conductor. An equipment grounding conductor, or equipment bonding jumper is connected to the grounding terminal of the metal mounting yoke. Exception: The metal mounting yoke of a replacement switch isn’t required to be connected to an equipment grounding conductor of a type recognized in 250.118 if the wiring to the existing switch doesn’t contain an equipment grounding conductor — and the switch faceplate is nonmetallic or the replacement switch is GFCI-protected.
Q. Please explain the grounding requirements for receptacles and equipment in patient care areas of health care facilities?
A. Wiring in patient care areas must comply with (A) and (B) of 517.13:
(A) Wiring methods. All branch circuits serving patient care areas must be provided with an effective ground-fault current path by installing circuits that serve patient care areas in a metal raceway or cable having a metallic armor or sheath that qualifies as an equipment grounding conductor in accordance with 250.118 [517.13], as shown in Fig. 2.
The metal outer sheath of AC cable is listed as an equipment grounding conductor because it contains an internal bonding strip in direct contact with the metal sheath of the cable [250.118(8)]. The metal outer sheath of interlocked Type MC cable is not listed as an equipment grounding conductor unless it contains a bare aluminum conductor that makes direct contact with the metal sheath of the cable [250.118(10)(a)].
(B) Insulated equipment grounding conductor. In patient care areas, the grounding terminals of receptacles and conductive surfaces of fixed electrical equipment must be connected to an insulated copper equipment grounding conductor. The circuit equipment grounding conductor must be sized in accordance with 250.122, and the wiring method must meet the requirements of 517.13(A).
Exception No. 1: Metal faceplates for switches and receptacles can be connected to the equipment grounding conductor by the metal mounting screws that secure the faceplate to a metal outlet box or metal mounting yoke of switches [404.9(B)] and receptacles [406.3(C)].
Exception No. 2: Luminaires located more than 7½ ft above the floor can be connected to the equipment grounding return path complying with 517.13(A), without being connected to an insulated equipment grounding conductor.
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Up this week are two areas of housing investment – new multi-family construction and remodeling – and a look at how people’s attitudes about housing are affected by personal experience.
What’s Bob the Builder Working on Now?
One of the clearest signs that the housing market is – and has been — suffering is that builders aren’t building a lot of new homes. Only when builders think demand for new homes is growing and that prices are going up will they pick up the pace. This week, the Census reported that housing starts remain in the doldrums: in September, builders started construction on new single-family homes at an annual rate of 425,000 homes. During the bubble years of 2003-2005, single-family construction averaged 1.5 – 2 million annually, and was 1 – 1.5 million in the years before that, so current rates are nowhere near even normal levels. But construction of housing units in buildings with 5 or more units – apartment buildings, mostly – has jumped to more than twice the rate at the bottom of the recession and is moving steadily upward.
Why are big buildings suddenly so popular? Well, rents are rising as more people choose to be renters by choice or out of necessity. As a result, more and more renters are fighting over whatever apartments are available. That said, this multi-family construction boom won’t put the brakes on rising rents just yet. It takes a little over a year between the start and completion of a typical multi-unit building, so you can expect rents to keep climbing for much of 2012.
Source: Census Bureau, Construction Statistics
It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know
As I’m writing this on Thursday afternoon, our downtown San Francisco office was shaken by a 3.9 earthquake – a minor rumble but enough to rattle the nerves of my colleagues who haven’t felt the earth move before. When it comes to housing, nerves work the same way. A new study looks at how consumer attitudes about housing have been rattled by price tremors in their neighborhoods. The people who are least confident that owning is a better financial move than renting are those who (1) live in neighborhoods with bigger price drops AND (2) have or knows someone who has recently experienced foreclosure or lost a lot of money in real estate. Meanwhile, people who live in neighborhoods with falling prices but who aren’t personally close to anyone hurt financially from housing remain bullish on housing. With the housing market, as with earthquakes, it takes personal experience to change your attitudes.
Why Are Home Makeovers So Popular Today?
Suffering rattled nerves about homeownership but frustrated that rents are going up? What’s a homeowner left to do? Remodel! Residential remodeling construction permits are higher now than even at the height of the housing boom in 2004 & 2005. While remodeling is seasonal – in every year permits peak in summer and dip in the winter – the number of permits in August 2011, announced this week by BuildFax, was 29% higher than August 2010. Granted, you could say, this jump just looks big when you compare it to the remodeling declines during the economic slump in 2008 and 2009, but the drop was nowhere near the plunge in single-family construction (see above). In other words, this surge in remodeling is more than a return to normal. So what does this all mean? Well, it’s a sign that people are sprucing up their homes because they’ve decided to stay put or are remodeling in order to sell. For homebuyers, more remodels could mean fewer homes for sale, but better pickings for buyers who can’t live without state-of-the-art lighting and a high-end commercial-style kitchen.
Link to BuildFax’s Remodeling Index0 comments
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Sunday Energy and Carmey Avdat Winery Helping Produce Israel’s First Solar Powered Wine
Green Prophet has already reported on Kibbutz Tzuba switching to wine production because of the decreased water needs of grapes. Now Israeli wine is going even greener, with solar power. This past Monday, Sunday Energy Ltd.(Isra’el’s leading solar energy service provider) announced that it hadcompleted installing a 50 kW Peak solar system on the roof of the Carmey Avdat winery located in the Israeli Negev desert.
Since the winery is located in an area that consistently gets a lotof sun, the installation on the 200 square meter roof of the winery isexpected to meet approximately 65 percent of Carmey Avdat’s annualenergy needs.
Thus making them Israel’s first solar powered wine producer.
Eyal Izrael, co-founder of the Carmey Avdat winery, said that thecompany intended to put the solar power to immediate use and that“thanks to Sunday’s excellent work installing our solar roof, ourwinery, starting with the 2009 vintage, will produce wine with the helpof solar energy. As a socially-responsible company, producing “green”wine was always a goal, and is an important step for us in reducing ourcarbon footprint and contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gassesemitted into the atmosphere each year.”
Hannah and Eyal Izrael have always respected the natural environmentof their vineyard, however, and as they describe on the Carmey Avdatwebsite, “we learned to listen to the voices of the desert and torespect it – but not to attempt to tame it.” They also describe howtheir winery is located on the site of an ancient vineyard from theNabbatean period – over 2000 years ago.
Sunday Energy CEO Kobi Dinar wrote about the project that “theCarmey Avdat installation required a unique skill set that only ourmulti-disciplinary team of engineers and architects was able toprovide, makind Sunday the obvious choice for this project.”
The Carmey Avdat solar roof project follows other tenders previouslysecured by Sunday Energy, such as the Tel Aviv municipality bid toinstall solar energy systems on school rooftops, the Kiryat Ono tenderfor installations on the municipality’s public buildings, the largest solar roof installation in the Middle East on the Ormat factoryin Yavne, and a planned installation on the Dalton Winery. SundayEnergy is also planning to construct solar farms across Israel over thenext 2-3 years.
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- The Solar Robots are Coming!
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WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) - Christine Lagarde can count on at least one thing Wednesday during her first news conference as chief of the International Monetary Fund: few softball questions.
The former French finance minister is under pressure on many fronts. Lagarde must convince the developing world that her IMF will be a more open place for non-Western nations. At the same time, she'll have to persuade her fellow Europeans to take painful steps to avoid a default by Greece.
Lagarde is taking over after a scandal, so she will have to restore confidence in the institution. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, her predecessor, resigned in May to fight charges that he sexually assaulted a New York City hotel housekeeper.
If all that weren't enough, Lagarde is the first woman to lead the global lending giant.
"The IMF top job has never been in the spotlight like it is now," said Kevin Gallagher, a professor of international relations at Boston University.
Economists and former IMF officials say Lagarde would do well to make a few points clear when she answers questions Wednesday:
__ Take a tougher line with Europe. She should show a willingness to push her former European colleagues to accept that a default and restructuring of Greece's debt may be necessary. European governments fear such an approach would harm European banks, which have lent billions to Greece's government.
The European Union and IMF provided Greece with a $159 billion billion bailout package last year - a third of that came from the IMF. Greece has received more assistance from the IMF, relative to its size, than any country in history. That has caused some grumbling among developing countries about favorable treatment.
"She needs to make it clear that she's taking off her French finance minister hat and putting on her global financial institutions hat," Gallagher said.
__ Change the subject away from Greece. One way to show her break from Europe would be to discuss issues other than the continent's debt problems. Many emerging economies, such as China and Brazil, are struggling with high inflation. They also want to know her plans for making the IMF a more open institution.
Eswar Prasad, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former IMF official, said Lagarde could start by making a firm commitment to changing the governing structure. She should be willing to give emerging markets more voting rights and increased representation.
She could also commit to diversify the fund's staff, both in gender and expertise. Gallagher said the staff is "stacked" with European and American economists. She could promise to add more economists from China, Brazil and other developing nations.
- Restore confidence in the institution. Lagarde will likely try to address the IMF's reputation as male-dominated and insensitive to the concerns of some female employees.
Lagarde "can pledge to make the place more gender-balanced, more respectful of people from different countries and backgrounds," Gallagher said. "Those kinds of things are key signals."
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Conversations on Teaching
Tuesday, January 22
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Bent Hall room 277A, Queens
This program is designed to explore some of the basic issues in
teaching at the college level: course planning, student engagement,
and classroom management. It may be particularly useful for those
who have less experience in the classroom—new full-time faculty,
new adjuncts, and administrators teaching for the first time. We
also feel that even experienced teachers would enjoy and profit
from this event. There is always something new to learn about
teaching, especially these days with so many exciting new findings
about cognition, innovative approaches to teaching, and new uses of
technology in the classroom.
We will beginning with a light breakfast and lunch will also be
If you have any questions please contact the CTL at CTL@stjohns.edu or ext. 1859.
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H.R. 2032 Purpose
To protect the interests of each resident of intermediate care facilities (ICFs/MR) for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in class action lawsuits by federally-funded entities on behalf of such resident, and in Department of Justice (DOJ) actions that could result in forcing such a resident from his/her facility home.
H.R. 2032 Summary
H.R. 2032 provides the following narrow and clearly defined rights to residents of Medicaid-licensed ICFs/MR or, where appointed, their legal representatives –
(1) In federally-funded class action lawsuits involving ICFs/MR, the right to receive notice and a time-limited opportunity to opt-out of the lawsuit before it is filed; and
(2) In DOJ actions involving ICFs/MR, the right, along with all interested parties, to be consulted during a DOJ investigation. If DOJ chooses to file a lawsuit, the residents would have a statutory right of intervention.
Why H.R. 2032 is Necessary
Class action lawsuits brought by federally-funded entities
* Advance notice and the right to opt out are not required under Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure because injunctive, not monetary, relief is being sought. The cases addressed here are unique in that they (a) involve only ICF/MR residents with profound developmental disabilities who cannot speak for themselves, (b) are brought on ideological grounds (for “community integration”) rather than to address safety, (c) involve one HHS program suing another, and (d) are authorized by federal statute. There are precedents for the Congress imposing special requirements in such cases, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, where Congress permitted collective action on behalf of only those who affirmatively chose to be part of the action. The bill applies narrowly to these cases; it does not amend Rule 23.
* These cases typically are brought without consultation with the families: “[P]arents and guardians were dissatisfied with the extent of P&A [Protection & Advocacy] communication with them before a settlement was proposed, citing problems such as not receiving notice of a family member’s inclusion in the class, which the parent or guardian opposed.” (Protection and Advocacy Agencies: Involvement in Deinstitutionalization Lawsuits on Behalf of Individuals with Developmental Disabilities, GAO-03-1044 (2003)). This behavior is grounded in disrespect for the families. In one letter to Rep. Barney Frank, P&A referred to families as “clueless.”
* For more than a decade, all federally-funded class action lawsuits involving ICFs/MR have sought “community integration” and often closure, even when the vast majority of the hostage class of residents opposed closure and despite well-documented, tragic outcomes (see e.g., “In State Care, 1,200 Deaths and Few Answers,” New York Times (Nov. 5, 2011) (reporting on 1,200 deaths from “unnatural or unknown causes” in group homes); see also, Widespread Abuse, Neglect and Death in Small Settings Serving People with Intellectual Disabilities, VOR (rev. August 2012) .
* The rights proposed by H.R. 2032 respect Congressional intent. The Developmental Disabilities Act (DD Act), recognizes that “individuals and their families are the primary decisionmakers” regarding residential services” (42 U.S.C. 15001(c)(3)), and the legislative history states that “[T]he goals expressed in this Act to promote the greatest possible integration and independence for some individuals with developmental disabilities may not be read as a Federal policy supporting the closure of residential institutions” (Statement of Managers, DD Act, March 21, 1994)].
Department of Justice actions
* DOJ also rarely includes residents, their families, and their legal guardians among stakeholders consulted during investigations, despite the fact these individuals are among the most informed stakeholders and are directly affected by DOJ actions (see e.g., actions in Virginia, Illinois, Arkansas, and Georgia). Intervention is expensive, as attested to by the fact that Virginia families recently had to spend $114,000 to intervene, successfully, in a DOJ lawsuit.
* In recent years, DOJ actions have been predominantly focused on community integration, calling these actions “Olmstead Enforcement.” Yet, the Supreme Court in its Olmstead decision did not mandate deinstitutionalization. Rather, the Supreme Court held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires consideration of individual choice in placement decisions, expressly cautioning against forced deinstitutionalization:
“We emphasize that nothing in the ADA or its implementing regulations condones termination of institutional settings for persons unable to handle or benefit from community settings...Nor is there any federal requirement that community-based treatment be imposed on patients who do not desire it.” Olmstead v. L.C. 119 S. Ct. 2185, 2187 (1993).
* When the families have been able to secure a seat at the table, the federal courts often have rejected DOJ’s attempts to deny choice and impose community placement on individuals:
“Furthermore, the Petitioners have a significant, protectable interest in receiving the appropriate care of their choice and protecting their rights under the ADA. See Olmstead v. L.C. ex rel. Zimring, 527 U.S. 581, 602 (1999) ("Nor is there any federal requirement that community-based treatment be imposed on patients who do not desire it."). (U.S. v. Virginia, May 9, 2012)(Order granting intervention to ICF/MR residents, as represented by their families/legal guardians, over objection of the Justice Department)
“Most lawsuits are brought by persons who believe their rights have been violated. Not this one . . . All or nearly all of those residents have parents or guardians who have the power to assert the legal rights of their children or wards. Those parents and guardians, so far as the record shows, oppose the claims of the United States. Thus, the United States [Department of Justice] is in the odd position of asserting that certain persons’ rights have been and are being violated while those persons – through their parents and guardians – disagree.” (U.S. v. Arkansas, June 8, 2011) (case dismissed). (In this case, the families did not have to intervene because Arkansas opposed DOJ’s lawsuit).
* DOJ persists undeterred and with continued disregard for resident and family input and opposition. In the last three years, DOJ has been involved in more than 40 matters in 25 states.
H.R. 2032 will not affect existing Federal protections for the care of people with ID/DD in residential settings
* The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sets forth 378 standards of care for the residents of ICFs/MR. CMS prescribes a comprehensive system of enforcement of those standards.
* Over the past 16 years, not one federally-funded class action has contained allegations of abuse in an ICF/MR. Even so, H.R. 2032 would not restrict P&A from filing lawsuits on behalf of any alleged victims of abuse in an ICF/MR.
* H.R. 2032 does not in any way restrict DOJ investigations and lawsuits involving conditions of care in ICFs/MR. It merely affords the residents a statutory right to be heard in any lawsuit.
* CMS does not have comparable standards of care for people with ID/DD who reside in the community.
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after the expulsion of Roger
Williams, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was rent far more widely
by another heresy with roots deep in the colony the "antinomianism"
of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson. A major reason for the crisis that Anne
Hutchinson's heresy posed for Massachusetts was that she occupied
a high place in the colony's oligarchy. Arriving in Massachusetts
in 1634, she and her husband lived close to Governor Winthrop's
mansion in Boston and participated in Boston's high society. A friend
of the eminent Reverend John Cotton, she first confined her religious
activities to expatiating on Cotton's sermons. Soon, however, Mrs.
Hutchinson developed a religious doctrine of her own, now known
as antinomianism. She preached the necessity for an inner light
to come to any individual chosen as one of God's elect. Such talk
marked her as far more of a religious individualist than the Massachusetts
leaders. Salvation came only through a covenant of grace emerging
from the inner light, and was not at all revealed in a covenant
of works, the essence of which is good works on earth. This meant
that the fanatically ascetic sanctification imposed by the Puritans
was no evidence whatever that one was of the elect. Furthermore,
Anne Hutchinson made it plain that she regarded many Puritan leaders
as not of the elect. She also came to assert that she had
received direct revelations from God.
to Williams' few Salem followers, Anne Hutchinson had rapid and
sweeping success in converting her fellow citizens. John Cotton
now became a follower of hers, as did young Sir Henry Vane, chosen
governor by the General Court in 1636, and Anne's brother-in-law,
Rev. John Wheelwright. Indeed, John Winthrop (deputy governor in
1636) wrote disgustedly that virtually the entire church at Boston
had become her converts. As bitter enemies of Anne, there remained
especially Winthrop and the senior minister of Boston, John Wilson.
Mrs. Hutchinson failed in her attempt to oust Wilson from his post,
but she did succeed in having him censured by his own congregation.
movement began, if inadvertently, to pose political problems for
the oligarchy as well. The conscription of soldiers for a war against
the Indians met resistance from Boston Hutchinsonians, on the ground
that the military chaplain, Rev. John Wilson, was under a "covenant
of works" rather than of grace.
forces moved first against the fiery Reverend Mr. Wheelwright; the
General Court narrowly convicted him of sedition and contempt in
March 1637. But the sentencing of Wheelwright was postponed. The
turning point of the Hutchinson affair came with the May election
of 1637, which the Winthrop forces managed to win by shifting its
site from pro-Hutchinson Boston to Newtown (now Cambridge). The
election pitted Sir Henry Vane against former governor Winthrop
and Thomas Dudley, running for his old post of deputy governor.
With the election turning on the Hutchinson issue, Vane carried
Boston but lost the other towns heavily. Winthrop, Dudley, and the
majority of the magistrates, or assistants, were carried by the
conservative, anti-Hutchinson faction a not surprising victory
when we consider that suffrage was restricted to the ranks of accepted
defeat spelled swift suppression for the antinomian heretics. Quickly
the new General Court passed a law that penalized strangers and
was directed against a group of Hutchinsonians known to be on their
way from England. Disheartened, Sir Henry Vane gave up the struggle
and returned to England. Seeing the way the wind was blowing, John
Cotton promptly deserted his old disciple, abjectly recanted his
"heresies," and at a Newtown synod denounced 91 antinomian opinions
as unwholesome or blasphemous. Vane was gone and Cotton an apostate,
but there was still the Reverend Mr. Wheelwright. The already convicted
Wheelwright was again hauled before the General Court and sentenced
to banishment from the colony. Wheelwright walked through the snows
to New Hampshire in the north, where he founded the settlement of
Exeter. When by 1643 Massachusetts had appropriated the New Hampshire
towns, Wheelwright fled to Maine. But by 1646 Wheelwright had recanted,
bewailed his own "vehement and censorious spirit," and was allowed
back into Massachusetts.
their fury on the major followers and isolated the leader, the Puritan
oligarchs proceeded to the culminating point of the drama: the trial
and persecution of Anne Hutchinson herself. There was no independent
judiciary in the colonies; the supreme judicial arm in Massachusetts
was the legislative body, the General Court, at this time a unicameral
legislature presided over by the governor. Anne Hutchinson was hauled
up for "trial," or rather public examination, before the General
Court in November 1637. Anne's enemies on the General Court duly
"tried" her, convicted her of sedition and contempt, and banished
her from the colony. Governor Winthrop summarized the proceedings
thus: "The Court hath already declared themselves concerning ...
the troublesomeness of her spirit, and the dangers of her course
amongst us, which is not to be suffered."
called for a vote that Mrs. Hutchinson "is unfit for our society
and ... that she shall be banished out of our liberties and
imprisoned till she be sent away...." Only two members voted
against her banishment.
Winthrop pronounced the sentence of banishment Anne Hutchinson courageously
asked: "I desire to know wherefore I am banished."
to answer: "Say no more. The court knows wherefore, and is satisfied."
It was apparently enough for the court to be satisfied; no justification
before the bar of reason, natural justice, or the public was deemed
Court now proceeded against all the leading Hutchinsonians, concentrating
on 60 Bostonians who had previously signed a moderate petition denying
that Reverend Wheelwright had stirred up sedition among them. Two
members of the General Court, both of whom had spoken up for Mrs.
Hutchinson at the trial, were expelled from the court and banished
from the colony. Many people were disfranchised, and 75 citizens
were disarmed, on the pretext that the Hutchinsonians were plotting
to follow the path of the German Anabaptists of old and rise up
in armed revolt. The "reasoning" as expounded by Dudley at the Hutchinson
trial was that the German Anabaptists had also claimed to
enjoy private revelations. Hutchinsonian military officers were
forced to recant, but the determined Captain John Underhill refused
to do so and was duly banished.
ordeal was still not ended. Spared banishment during the rugged
winter, she was imprisoned at the home of one of her major enemies,
and the elders attempted, throughout the winter, to argue her out
of her convictions. Finally, they subjected her to an ecclesiastical
trial the following March. Tormented, ill, and exhausted, Mrs. Hutchinson
momentarily recanted, but as she continued to be denounced, her
spirits returned and she put forth her views again.
To save himself
from the fate meted out to the other Hutchinsonians, John Cotton
now apparently felt that his personal recantation was not enough,
so he joined the pack rending Mrs. Hutchinson at the ecclesiastical
trial. This man, whom Anne Hutchinson had revered and followed to
the New World, now turned on her savagely, wailing that he had been
duped, denouncing her as a liar and for conduct tending eventually
ecclesiastical court then pronounced excommunication upon Anne,
and it was the peculiar satisfaction of the Reverend John Wilson,
her most bitter enemy, to deliver the sentence:
I do cast
you out and in the name of Christ, I do deliver you up to Satan,
that you may learn no more to blaspheme, to seduce and to lie,
and I do account you from this time forth to be a heathen and
a Publican ... therefore I command you in the name of Christ Jesus
and of His Church as a Leper to withdraw yourself out of the Congregation.
Anne Hutchinson had the last word: "Better to be cast out of the
Church than to deny Christ."
was undergoing imprisonment and subsequent excommunication, the
leaders of the Hutchinsonian movement gathered together to flee
the colony, and to prepare a home for themselves and Anne away from
the developing reign of terror in Massachusetts. On March 7, 1638,
19 men, including Anne's husband, William Hutchinson, gathered at
the home of the eminent Boston merchant William Coddington, one
of the wealthiest men in the colony and its former treasurer. In
a solemn compact, the 19 formed themselves into a "Bodie Politick,"
choosing Coddington as their judge.
first intended to go to Long Island or Jersey to make their home,
but they were persuaded by Roger Williams to settle in the Rhode
Island area. On Williams' friendly advice, Coddington purchased
the island of Aquidneck from the Indians, and founded on the island
the settlement of Pocasset (now Portsmouth). Anne, ill and exhausted,
joined her husband at Aquidneck in April as soon as her trial was
significance of Roger Williams' successful flight and settlement
of Providence two years before was now becoming evident. For Williams'
example held out a beacon light of liberty to all the free spirits
caught in the vast prison house that was Massachusetts Bay. By the
happy accident of the demise of the Council for New England, the
land south of Massachusetts Bay and west of Plymouth was free land,
free of proprietary and effective royal government alike. It was
a haven for religious liberty and for diverse sects and groupings,
and for an extension of the logic of liberty as well; for once liberty
is pursued and experienced, it is difficult to hobble its uttermost
When the ill
Anne Hutchinson arrived at her haven in Aquidneck, the many months
of persecution had left their mark and she suffered a miscarriage,
as did her beautiful young follower Mary Dyer, who had stood up
to walk out of the Boston church with the excommunicated Anne. The
Puritan leaders of Massachusetts Bay, preoccupied for years afterward
with the Hutchinsonian menace, characteristically gloated in righteous
satisfaction at the misfortunes of Anne and Mary. The theocrats
were jubilant and the Reverend John Cotton, Governor Winthrop and
the Reverend Thomas Weld all hailed Anne's and Mary's sufferings
as the evident judgment of God. It was typical of the Puritans to
hail the misfortunes of their enemies as God's judgment, and to
dismiss any kindness shown them by others as simply God's will and
therefore requiring no gratitude to those showing it.
Bay continued, indeed, in a state of hysteria over the Hutchinsonian
heresy for a number of years. Anne's followers and sympathizers
were fined, whipped, and banished, and five years later Robert Potter
was executed for being a Hutchinsonian. It was also typical that,
with Anne outside their jurisdiction, the Boston church leaders
should send a committee to Aquidneck to try to persuade her of the
error of her ways. If they could no longer inflict violence upon
Anne, they could at least badger and harass her. It is not surprising
that the beleaguered Anne gave the committee short shrift, kicked
it out of her home, and denounced the Boston church as a "whore
and a strumpet."
Anne was spiritual leader of the flock and Coddington temporal leader.
The Pocasset government was chosen by the assembled freeholders,
and, like Providence, the government had to consent to the arrival
of any newcomers to the colony. But Anne Hutchinson was becoming
more and more concerned for the principle of freedom of conscience
rather than for propagating her own religious views. She began to
see that Coddington and his associates were launching a new theocracy
of their own in the infant colony. For Coddington was "judge" of
the settlement, basing his decrees and decisions on the "word of
God," as interpreted by himself. And Anne began to chafe at the
state control that Coddington was increasingly imposing.
based his seizure of power on the flimsy legalism of his being the
sole name on the deed of purchase of Aquidneck from the Indians.
Therefore, he claimed for himself all the rights of a feudal lord
owning the whole island, owning and renting out the lots of all
the settlers, and asserting authority over all land grants.
At the beginning
of 1639, Anne Hutchinson led a movement that successfully modified
the Pocasset constitution; the change gave the body of freemen a
veto over the actions of the governor, and the right to elect three
"elders" to share the governor's powers. Thus, the increasingly
dictatorial rule of Coddington was checked.
reacted most ungraciously to this limitation on his power, and he
appointed a constable to keep watch on any "manifest breaches of
the law of God that tend to civil disturbance." Had Anne Hutchinson
fled the theocracy of Massachusetts only to see a miniature raise
its head in her new home?
April, the Hutchinson forces insisted, at the Pocasset town meeting,
on a new election for governor a demand that startled Coddington,
who expected to remain in office indefinitely and without the fuss
and bother of elections. Vigorous pressure by the freemen on Coddington
finally won the demand for elections, and William Hutchinson was
elected by a large majority. Coddington and his followers, including
Nicholas Easton, John Coggeshall, William Dyer, and John Clarke,
abandoned Pocasset and founded the new settlement of Newport, at
the southern end of Aquidneck Island.
Hutchinsonians adopted a new compact of government and changed the
name of the town to Portsmouth. Oligarchical distinctions were eliminated,
and all the male inhabitants signed the new compact. Provision was
made for jury trial, and church and state were at last separated.
There was no provision, for example, in the new civil compact about
the "word of God," the only rule by which Coddington had made his
decisions. Anne Hutchinson had been rapidly learning firsthand about
state persecution, and freedom of religion for all Christians was
now guaranteed. William Hutchinson was chosen new chief judge of
Coddington now mounted an armed attempt to rule over Portsmouth,
but was forcibly ejected by the Hutchinsonians. Soon, however, Coddington
was able to arrest William Hutchinson and order his disfranchisement.
Anne and her husband were again victims of harassment and persecution.
A year later,
on March 12, 1640, the two groups came to an agreement and the settlements
of Portsmouth and Newport (the latter by now being the larger of
the two) united, primarily on the libertarian principles of Portsmouth.
Coddington was chosen governor, however, and William Hutchinson
one of his assistants. The separate towns were allowed to retain
their autonomy, and the laws were to be made by the citizens rather
than by an oligarchy. And a year later, in May 1641, the Aquidneck
government declared, "It is ordered that none shall be accounted
as delinquent for doctrine."
had been officially decreed in Aquidneck. The settlements of Providence
and Aquidneck had raised the banner of freedom for all religious
creeds. In this free air, diversity of religion came to proliferate
in the colony.
Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, ruminating in the free air of Rhode Island
on the meaning of her experience, came to an astounding and startling
conclusion and one that pushed the logic of Roger Williams'
libertarianism far beyond the master. For, as Williams reported
in bewilderment, Anne now persuaded her husband to give up his leading
post as assistant in the Aquidneck government, "because of the opinion,
which she had newly taken up, of the unlawfulness of magistry."
In short, the
logic of liberty and a deeper meditation on scripture had both led
Anne to the ultimate bounds of libertarian thought: to individualist
anarchism. No magistracy whatever was lawful. As Anne's biographer
Winifred Rugg put it,
She was supremely
convinced that the Christian held within his own breast the assurance
of salvation.... For such persons magistrates were obviously
superfluous. As for the other, they were to be converted, not
To the Puritans
of Massachusetts, Aquidneck was an abominable "Isle of Errours"
and the Rhode Island settlements were "Rogue's Land." Massachusetts
began to plot to assert its jurisdiction over these pestiferous
settlements and to crush the havens of liberty. Indians were egged
on to raid the Providence and Aquidneck territories. Massachusetts
then shut off all trade with the Rhode Islanders, who were thus
forced to turn to the neighboring Dutch settlements of New Netherland
for supplies. A son and son-in-law of Anne's, visiting Boston, were
seized and very heavily fined by the authorities, and then banished
from Massachusetts on pain of death.
In 1642, soon
after his resignation from public office, William Hutchinson died.
Deprived of her husband and mainstay, disgusted with all government,
and deeply worried about Massachusetts's threatened encroachments
on Rhode Island (and knowing also that the Bay Colony was now regarding
her as a witch and therefore deserving of death), Anne decided to
leave once more. Taking a few members of her family and a few dozen
disciples, Anne Hutchinson left Rhode Island to go to Long Island,
in New Netherland, and finally to settle in the wilderness of Pelham
Bay. There, in late summer of 1643, Anne and her family were murdered
by a band of Indians, engaged in armed struggle with the Dutch.
William's and Anne's deaths were hailed and gloated over by the
Puritan oligarchy of Massachusetts Bay. To the unconcealed delight
of the divines of Massachusetts, Anne Hutchinson had, finally, been
physically destroyed; but the spirit of liberty that she embodied
and kindled was to outlast the despotic theocracy of Massachusetts
Bay. Perhaps, in the light of history, the victory in the unequal
contest was Anne Hutchinson's.
Even in the
short run, Massachusetts Bay was soon to meet again the spirit of
Anne Hutchinson the emphasis on the inner light, on individual
conscience, on liberty in the new sect of Quakers, a sect
joined by many Hutchinsonians, including William Coddington and
Mary Dyer, and in the Baptists, headed by Anne Hutchinson's sister,
Catherine Scott, and by the Hutchinsonian Dr. John Clarke.
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Posted 04 February 2012 - 03:00 PM
1. Lighting effects
- Phong, ward, oren-nayar, cell, bumps, gamma, HDR and tone mapping, etc.
2. Material effects
- Leather, plastic, metal, stone, minerals, crystals, etc.
3. Procedural effects
- Noise, sky, water, terrain, textures, etc.
4. Post-process effects
- Film grain, colour filtering, sepia, curves, emboss, edge detection, bloom, heat waves, etc.
5. Transition effects
- Slideins, cross-fade, zoom blur, wave, wiggle, dissolve, etc.
I'm sure there are other categories, but this would be a start towards an expansive shader library. Keep in mind this isn't just a shader dump, but rather each shader will come with the background theory, maths, and a down-to-earth explanation much like you would expect when reading a normal article here. For example, a shader on gamma correction would attempt to illustrate the power law by providing controls that allow the user to manipulate the gamma value to calibrate their monitor to a grayscale card. The article would then explain why that is an important process to maximize the user's gaming experience, giving examples of what a user would see with an uncalibrated monitor vs a calibrated one.
So it boils down to this.
1. Do you think this is worth while?
2. Can DevMaster support this style of interactive learning?
3. Other thoughts or concerns?
Posted 05 February 2012 - 10:42 AM
Posted 05 February 2012 - 02:08 PM
Posted 06 February 2012 - 09:34 AM
By the way we will need to do some kind of FAQ to get webgl running, doesn't work by default on most machines and we don't want a load of posts saying "this doesn't work, you are a bunch of ^*&^**687, I have a $30,000.00 rig and your code doesn't run"
Posted 06 February 2012 - 03:42 PM
There will be a note about system requirements to run the interactive demos along with some error checking and reporting, but I think anyone interested in game dev will need some level of competency.
- "Install the latest drivers for your video card"
- "What's a video card?"
* face palm *
Posted 07 February 2012 - 09:51 AM
You remember the famous tech support call ? Woman complaining her computer didn't work in a power cut?
Posted 12 February 2012 - 03:52 AM
I have attached some screenshots showing the current layout (still a WIP). I'm trying to keep it compact, with the width of the app set to 800 pixels (apparently that's the size of the article section here) and using a tab navigation system (UI is powered by jQuery). You can play with some shader settings, view the source, read the theory, and download the framework + shaders. At some point I'm hoping to see a table of contents with a listing of all the shaders and someone can just click and jump right into it. After they get what they need, the can browse for more.
Dia, the only thing I'm curious about is your policy on using iframes. I didn't want to manage a colossal HTML file with all that stuff in it, but I know iframe's are not considered best web practices, especially for search engines. Let me know your thoughts on that and/or how you want the final package to work out.
Posted 14 February 2012 - 07:49 PM
As you suggested, the preference is not use iframes, but let's see how well it works first with using the HTML directly, then we can look into alternatives if issues arise. If you have something working, we can try it out for the first article.
Posted 27 February 2012 - 07:13 PM
1. Basic Lighting
2. Old Film Effect
There's some text overlap issues in the vertex and fragment shader tabs. This is due to the way Notepad++ exports HTML files. I'm looking for a better solution. Source is downloadable if you're interested in that sort of thing. I haven't had a chance yet to write a high level document for the source, so it's up to your developer intuition and reading comments to figure things out
Any feedback you give will help me finalize this template.
Posted 28 February 2012 - 02:31 PM
Posted 28 February 2012 - 06:03 PM
I had to add a flag to the command line, apparently google has blacklisted gpu acceleration by default.
Anybody else using chrome will need --ignore-gpu-blacklist adding to the command line
Posted 29 February 2012 - 07:59 AM
Let's sync up privately to discuss how it will be published and perhaps we can try it for the first article (it doesn't have to be public yet, if it's not ready).
Posted 29 February 2012 - 12:07 PM
Dia, sure thing. Once I complete the high level dev guide for the source code and add in better error reporting for users without WebGL, I'll send you the first shader we can start off with.
Posted 29 February 2012 - 03:55 PM
17.0.963.56 m build by the look of it, don't know why they blacklisted GPU acceleration... makes no sense to me.
1 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users
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Warren Buffett once remarked that Andrew Beyer's classic horse racing book "Picking Winners" is instructive for investors. The basic idea is that investing, like horse racing, comes down to identifying superior fundamentals and making those your picks to win the race.
Predicting the future is tough but the companies that possess a durable economic advantage are most able to weather any headwinds that come along. From a probability perspective, these types of companies are the most likely to create value for shareholders over time.
How do you know that a company has such an advantage? The best indication is that it has a high ROIC, or Return on Invested Capital, compared to peers. Consider China Mobile (CHL) as an example of this type of power. Look at its ROIC compared to its rivals China Telecom (CHA) and China Unicom (CHU):
How is it able to achieve this? Size and focus. China Mobile is the biggest telecom in China with a market share of 65% of subscribers. Its competitors offer land line phones and cable services which require large capital investments. China Mobile does not need crews to install modems or to work on land lines. As a result, their margins are far superior to competitors.
|Net Profit Margin||2009||2010||2011||TTM|
If the industry declined in some way, then CHA and CHU would be hurt the most; CHL has enough room in its cost structure to absorb more cost or manage intensifying competition.
From a brand perspective, China Mobile has the 10th most valuable brand in the world according to the 2012 Brandz annual report published by research firm Millward Brown. This puts it ahead of top names like GE (GE), Walmart (WMT), and American Express (AXP) globally and first in the Chinese market. CHA and CHU are ranked 11th and 15th respectively in China.
China Mobile has a strong financial position to further strengthen its brand. It is almost double the size of its nearest competitor and has far more room in its cost structure to spend more. If each company spent the same on advertising as a percent of sales, the total ad spend dollars would be far larger for China Mobile, resulting in customers receiving CHL ads versus competitor ads at a rate of 2:1. Furthermore, if China Mobile diverted advertising from markets where it had a monopoly, it could outspend rivals in competitive markets by as high as 3:1. This is economic power and the reason why China Mobile has such a strong brand.
State of Telecom in China
There are two trends happening in China telecom right now: the continuing penetration of cell phones (the 2G crowd that never owned a cell phone before) and income elasticity where people are buying more sophisticated, pricier phones as incomes rise (the 3G crowd that now buys smart phones). These are the numbers:
|% of Population||2009||2010||2011||TTM|
As you can see, there is still 20%+ of the market that does not even own a cell phone altogether and there has been a further shift into 3G services.
China Mobile's margins have been compressing because its revenue per subscriber has been declining as competition has intensified. Further, Apple's (AAPL) iPhone is not available on its 3G network and China Mobile has resorted to subsidizing unlocked iPhones for use on its 2G network, eating into profitability. Between the iPhone issue and the revenue per subscriber issue, investors have become hesitant. The revenue per subscriber looks like it will be bottoming out in the next few years especially as more people start to use 3G data services. See below.
So why is all of this important?
Because there may be a good buying opportunity here. As mentioned, China Mobile currently does not have the iPhone. Anyone who has followed Apple recently knows that CHL could be the key to an even higher AAPL stock price than current levels. Investors in CHL are preoccupied with this idea that CHL is missing out on the iPhone wave coupled with the revenue issue, preventing them from seeing the bigger value picture.
The fact is, CHL earns a higher ROIC and will continue to earn a higher ROIC relative to its peers as competition increases. This is the horse to bet on if the price is right.
So here is the valuation:
I assume a 10% hurdle rate. The base rate in China is 6% as compared to 1.75% in the US. A recent academic paper by Pablo Fernandez estimated that the median market premium used in China is 7.1%. That makes a market discount rate of 13.1%. CHL has virtually no debt and the business is not particularly volatile. 10% seems about appropriate as compared to the market.
If you expect a continued compression of margins, you might use a Net Margin of 20% which would be lower than any of the previous 10 years by about 2.5%. Assume that the depreciation rate is about the same as the capex rate over the long term. Because the ROIC is high, I feel good that any incremental capex will create value anyway.
For sales, use a 5% growth rate for 10 years, which is below any rate from the previous 10 years by about 3.5%. CHL is bigger now and it gets harder to move the needle. However, there is still 20% of the country that does not even own a cell phone and that number continues to shrink every year. China Mobile is the biggest brand and, in some cases, has a monopoly on certain markets; it will continue to grow its subscriber base, increasing revenues. For the income elasticity trend, sales per user is likely to bottom out in the next few years and increase as more 3G (and 4G) customers use more data. Both of these facts and that China's inflation rate has been about 4% every year for the last twenty years makes a 5% sales growth rate a very reasonable assumption over the next ten years. This rate is far below any year's growth rate from the recent past.
With all these conservative assumptions and an ultra conservative terminal value you get a company value of ¥1.72 trillion, or $273 billion. The current market cap is $219 billion or about 20% less than this conservative valuation.
As a further kicker, the CNY/USD exchange rate has been strengthening over the years and is likely to continue this trend as Chinese purchasing power increases. This means that 1 CNY will buy more USD in the future than it does today. China Mobile does business in CNY; as CNY strengthens, the company will be even more valuable in USD, the currency in which this ADR is traded.
The bottom line is that CHL looks like a good investment at a price that is below a conservative valuation. This is the horse to bet on and at a favorable price. People are so concerned that it does not have the iPhone or that competition is intensifying but they have failed to realize that this company is in a good position to deal with it. CHL has significant market power and will likely deliver strong results into the future.
Disclosure: I am long CHL.
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German Utility Soured on American Water
Just as a planned sale of the largest private water company in the United States moves closer, potentially embarrassing records of high-level corporate meetings have surfaced detailing how the business failed to live up to expectations for the German utility giant RWE.
RWE has been moving forward to get the necessary state approvals so it can spin off American Water in an initial public offering sometime this year, just five years after paying $4.6 billion in cash for the business serving 18 million customers in 29 states. That sum was a 46 percent premium over the stock price, and expectations had been high for expansion and growth.
But according to the minutes of a meeting of the RWE supervisory board (equivalent to a corporate board of directors) on Sept. 16, 2005, the hopes that water would become the company's "most profitable and fastest-growing corporate division" were quickly dashed. Political resistance to privatization proved strong in the United States, where the vast majority of drinking and wastewater services are still run by local governments. And RWE underestimated the huge costs it faced due to outdated infrastructure and mounting U.S. environmental requirements.
In the minutes, RWE Chief Executive Harry Roels is quoted as describing the "difficult" situation in the United States, where the company was losing about 19 percent of its water volume through leaky pipes. There had been insufficient investment in the 10 years leading up to the purchase. At the company's current rate of investment, it would take 200 years to replace all the distribution lines that needed it, he said. Meanwhile, "Public resistance to privatization schemes of companies was growing," the minutes quote Roels as saying. "The regulatory requirements as regards reduction in contamination from the pipe network with the heavy metals arsenic and lead were steadily growing in severity. Here, too, the extra costs incurred could not always be passed on to customers." In fact, customers had responded to the company's rate hikes by cutting back on their use of water, thus reducing revenue.
"While at the turn of the millennium the capital market had still believed in the theory that utilities would have to evolve into global players, it now seemed that, in effect, there could no longer be any talk of globalization of the water market," the minutes quote Roels as saying. "Instead, the development to be observed was toward a regional focus of the water companies."
The business Roels detailed to the board, according to the minutes, bears little resemblance to the American Water that RWE described when it first announced its divestment plans on Nov. 4, 2005. Then, the company handout touted American Water's "strong platform for growth in an attractive market." RWE at that time said it was selling both American Water and its British division, Thames Water, to focus on its core electricity and gas business in Europe. In October 2006, the Australian private-equity firm Maquarie won an auction to buy Thames--the No. 1 British water company, which serves 15 million customers--for $14.9 billion, a 20 percent premium on the company's value. In the minutes, Roels also details difficulties in England, including an "obsolete" pipe system where 30 percent of the system's water is lost to leaks.
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The Oscar for Best Picture last month went to Argo, the Ben Affleck movie about the Canadian government’s help in spiriting U.S. diplomats out of Iran during the hostage crisis – which underscores the United States’ historic relationship with its closest ally, Canada. Back in the real world, however, the Obama administration is on the verge of severely damaging this strategic partnership with its poor handling of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
The State Department’s favorable draft environmental analysis, released on Friday, should pave the way for final administration approval of the pipeline. Of course, the State Department has already gone through this process once before. Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deemed Keystone XL to be in the national interest – only to have President Barack Obama shelve the project in January 2012, during the run-up to his re-election campaign.
If Secretary of State John Kerry reaches the same conclusion as Clinton, as expected in coming weeks, the ball will be back in Obama’s court and the ultimate decision on this important project will be in his hands.
Obama must weigh the thousands of high-paying manufacturing and construction jobs that Keystone XL would create in the United States against the pressure to reject the project from environmental groups, including the Sierra Club. If the Obama administration gives Keystone the thumbs-down, not only would the White House unnecessarily forgo a project that would lead to significant job creation, domestic investment and reduced government debt but it would also do great damage to Washington’s relationship with our neighbors to the north.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called approval of the $7 billion pipeline a “no-brainer.” Which gives you a clue what he would think of Obama if the U.S. president rejected the deal. Other high-ranking Canadian officials have made it clear that such an action would be a diplomatic slap in the face. They have asserted that the oil-sands production would then be brought to market elsewhere. Meanwhile, they say, the U.S. could continue purchasing crude oil from Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela, which Keystone XL could have replaced.
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Oregon State University Marine Geology Repository
The College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University, Corvallis, operates the OSU Marine Geology Repository for the US National Science Foundation. Established in 1972 as the OSU Core Laboratory, the repository has been funded continuously since 1976 as a national facility by NSF.
In 1990, the marine geology collections of OSU and the University of Washington were merged, and the facility was significantly expanded. This national facility now serves the community of scientists throughout the world. The mission of the repository is to preserve and distribute marine geological samples for scientific research and education.
The describing laboratory, completed in 1994, includes facilities for curation and sampling as well as a 36,000 cubic foot refrigerator to house the OSU sediment core collection. Facilities also include a core splitter, an automated reflectance spectroscopy logger, a core X-ray (Faxitron), magnetic susceptibility and photography equipment, large and small diamond saws and band saw, freeze dryer and freezers, and dissecting and petrographic microscopes.
The marine sediment and rock collection at the OSU Marine Geology Repository comes from all oceans. As of 2003, it contains over 13,000 meters of sediment from 5061 cores, more than 14,700 rocks from 509 dredges, 2200 Manganese Nodules, and 1537 sediment trap and 693 plankton tow samples.
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If you gravitate toward the good storytellers at family gatherings, tune in to radio stories or simply love to read a good yarn, we’ve got a great month lined up for you at the library.
April is Big Read month, the annual “one book, one community” celebration to encourage reading through one shared book experience. This year we’re suggesting all ages read the multi-generational title, “A Long Way from Chicago,” by Richard Peck.
This “novel in stories” is about a boy and his sister who leave Chicago each summer in the 1930s to visit their mischievous grandmother in rural Illinois. It’s full of poignant twists and clever storytelling.
This year we’ve turned Big Read month into a kind of storytelling festival, playing off the nostalgia, culture and entertainment of the 30s.
We’re starting with your own stories. In March, more than 40 Ozarkers recorded short, personal recollections for us. Beginning April 2 and each Friday in April, we’ll post 10 new stories on the site thelibrary.org/bigread/podcasts/. Transcripts will be posted in April. Radio station and project partner KSMU will air a story each Friday.
More April highlights:
Experience a big-screen event as it was during “The Golden Age of Hollywood” with retro snacks and the 1933 classic, “King Kong,” at 6:30 p.m. April 9.
Learn about popular music of the Great Depression from Christopher Lair, Evangel University music instructor, at 2 p.m. April 11 at the Library Center.
Hear Ozarks storyteller and journalist Marideth Sisco, from KSMU’s “These Ozarks Hills,” at 4 or 6:30 p.m. April 16 at the Brentwood Branch Library.
Catch the big-tent event, the chautauqua (shaw-taw-qwa) April 22-26 at the Library Center. Big Smith member Mark Bilyeu will play the music of Woody Guthrie 7 p.m. April 22; actors/scholars will portray giants of the 30s – Henry Ford at 6:30 p.m. April 23; Franklin Roosevelt and Will Rogers at 6:30 p.m. April 24; and evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson at 2 p.m. April 25. The guests will also conduct two workshops while they’re here.
Author Richard Peck caps the month with visits to the Library Center. April 29 is a 6 p.m., catered, fundraising reception and book signing, $25 for adults, $10 for ages 6-18. Tickets are on sale now at library branches.
Peck will tell us one more story for April, “From Grapes of Wrath to Grapes of Mirth,” at a free event and book signing at 7 p.m. April 30.
There’s so much more during the Big Read. Pick up a catalog of events, Bookends, or read it online and join us for the fun.
Find this article at
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Gisela Naomi Blume: Der Alte jüdische Friedhof in Fürth: 1607-2007; Geschichte - Ritten - Dokumentation publ.2007 by Druck & Papier Meyer, Südring 9, 91443 Scheinfeld, Germany. ISBN 978-3-89014-280-7
The old cemetery in the city centre, in Weiherstrasse, is enclosed within a large stone wall, which was renewed in 1993. When the cemetery was established in 1607 it was also used as a burial ground for the Jewish communities of Bamberg and Ansbach. Prior to 1607 the Fürth Jewish community had to use the burial grounds in Baiersdorf or Schnaittach. Desecration took place in 1928 and in 1938. In 1934, the remains of 60 children's graves were exhumed to be rebuired in another section for entirely spurious reasons. The original entrance gate was bricked up, many gravestones were smashed to pieces and sold to local stone masons. The mortuary was demolished. In 1941 a large pond was constructed in part of the cemetery to serve as a water reservoir for fire-fighting purposes. During an allied bombing raid in 1944 the north-easterly section of the cemetery received a direct hit and was largely destroyed. In 1949 the cemetery was restored as far as it was possible to do so. A memorial stone now serves to remind visitors of the desecration and destruction. The current appearance of this cemetery looks neglected.
The new cemetery contains a very large mortuary, including an apartment for the cemetery caretaker. Several memorial plaques were dedicated in memory of those who lost their lives during the Nazi era. The first of these was consecrated in 1947 and another in 1949. In 1997 addiitonal memorial plaques recording the names of 890 Jews from Fürth who were murdered during the Nazi era were fixed on a wall inside the mortuary. There is also a war memorial in honour of the Jewish solders from Fürth who died in WW1. This cemetery too was desecrated, for the first time in 1928 and repeatedly during the Nazi epoch. This cemetery is kept in very good condition.
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Surf photography is as thrilling as it is risky. Thoughts of getting devoured by sharks, having your bones broken or drowning in dangerous waters may be at the forefront of your mind, but all of these risks make the experience a lot more exciting. And, once you get that perfect shot, the adventure will be well worth it at the end of the day.
Surf photography is more than just taking lovely shots; for most photographers, it gives an amazing adrenaline rush and sense of fulfillment. If you’re interested in giving it a try, here are some useful tips from firsthand experience to guide you.
Recommended Equipment to Use for Surf Photography
There’s no need to buy the most expensive photography equipment to capture stunning surf photos. If you’re a beginner, Kodak and Fuji are ideal brands that make waterproof cameras. They’re inexpensive and reliable cameras to practice with in the waters.
However, if you prefer digital, you can go for digital underwater cameras made by Pentax and Olympus. These cameras produce great shots, and they’re rather affordable as well.
There’s usually a lag before a picture gets taken when using point and shoot digital cameras. To make better pictures, the trick is to determine the actual length of the lag time so you can estimate when to press the button. Keep in mind that proper timing is crucial in surf photography.
Water housings are another useful photography equipment. These are basically boxes designed to keep your camera dry. They can be created for different types of cameras from point and shoots to SLRs. The price ranges from $300 to $1,000 and above.
A helmet and a good pair of swim fins are also recommended equipment for surf photography.
Techniques to Apply in Surf Photography
Now that you know which equipment to use, the next important thing to learn is how to make wonderful shots. How do you take an exceptional photo? The answer is, it’s all about the lighting. Getting the right amount of lighting is the secret to capturing perfect shots. If you choose the right time of day to shoot, your photos will be much better.
Early morning sunlight typically yields the most amazing shots when it comes to surf photography. Many pictures that you see in magazines make use of early morning light called “front lit.” On the other hand, you’ll get “back lit” light if you choose to shoot around sunset time. This type of light is also great since it usually creates a silhouette of the surfer, and the colors look vibrant and breathtaking.
You should avoid shooting around the middle of the day since the light isn’t suited for surf photography. Instead, you can spend this time to take a break and enjoy surfing.
However, there might be times when the weather unexpectedly turns cloudy or overcast. In this situation, try to switch to black and white. You can still produce excellent shots by taking away the color.
Surfing The Nations
Shooting from Land
You might be wondering: Is it possible to try surf photography without getting yourself wet? Definitely yes. You can shoot from the beach so you don’t have to dip into the waters.
Here are a few tips to shoot from land:
- Try taking wide shots, which means you don’t always have to zoom in.
- Try shooting at different angles as you walk down the beach.
- Take advantage of depth of field.
- Try line up shots.
- Bring the viewer’s eye to the focus of your photo by using a tree branch or any object to crop the top of the photograph.
- Place an object or person in the foreground with the surfer in the background.
Use your creativity, and search for opportunities to shoot pictures in different ways.
Practice makes perfect so keep honing your skills. You’ll learn to get into the right position spontaneously as you go out more and shoot lots of surf photos.
Practice a lot, critique your work, and see where you need improvement. Take note of your mistakes. It’s is an effective way to improve your photography skills.
Surf photography is an enjoyable and exciting adventure for any amateur or professional photographer. Just remember to know your limits, and be careful. It’s alright if you don’t get those perfect shots on your first try. Keep practicing and have fun.
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Instead of being run by a handful of massive, price-fixing ‘cartels’, the Colombian drug trade, then and now, was characterized by a fluid social system where flexible exchange networks expanded and retracted according to market opportunities and regulatory constraints.
Abstract, “The Architecture of Drug Trafficking: Network Forms of Organisation in the Colombian Cocaine Trade,” in journal Global Crime, by Pennsylvania State University professor Michael Kenney, author of From Pablo to Osama: Trafficking and Terrorist Networks, Government Bureaucracies, and Competitive Adaptation.
American officials attributed the delays to cumbersome U.S. government contracting requirements, negotiations over exactly what equipment is needed, and the challenges of creating an infrastructure to deliver an aid package that spans four dozen programs and several U.S. agencies.
“U.S. Aid Delays in Drug War Criticized; Mexicans Seek ‘True Solidarity’,” Washington Post, April 5, 2009.
Look at almost any law enforcement organization — from local police to the U.S. Department of Justice — and you will see a classic bureaucratic structure not overly different from that of the Social Security Administration, the Postal Service, or the Boy Scouts. Responsibility, authority, and funds flow downward through a series of boxes. The bureaucracy’s being branches from the head of the agency or department at the top of a vertical pyramid down to the unit or squad at the bottom.
Add in the invisible external forces of the executive (president, governor, mayor) and legislative (council, legislature, Congress) decision-making process and you have a cumbersome beast. That beast then has to coordinate what it does with the other beasts thrashing around in the law enforcement underbrush, all of whom have historically been reluctant to share their turf.
A case in point is the implementation of the Merida Initiative, under which the United States is supposed to be helping Mexico fight its drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) to the two countries’ mutual benefit.
Last June, Congress appropriated $400 million. According to the Washington Post (April 5, 2009), the State Department announced in December 2008 that $197 million of that funding had been “released.” But the paper’s close examination “shows that just two small projects under Merida — the delivery of high-speed computer servers in December and an arms-trafficking workshop attended by senior U.S. officials at a Mexican resort last week — have been completed.”
Here’s one bureaucrat’s explanation quoted by the Post:
“We are moving as fast as we can, but we also have to do this right,” said Roberta S. Jacobson, who, as deputy assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, helped negotiate the Merida Initiative. “We are creating a $1 billion program essentially from scratch, and if we try and move faster than our own procedures — and those of Mexico — can manage, we risk the careful oversight and monitoring that we and Congress expect.”
Agility and speed are not strong points of such bureaucracies.
“Tom Diaz has worn out some shoe leather—much like a good detective—in gathering facts, not myths or urban legend. “
—Chris Swecker, Former Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.
“Few people know more about the subject than Tom Diaz and no single book tells the whole story better than No Boundaries. If you really want to know what organized crime in America looks like today, then read this alarming book.”
—Rocky Delgadillo, former City Attorney of Los Angeles
Order No Boundaries from Amazon.com
Contrast the speed and agility with which the DTOs operate. These guys move this kind of money — and more — around in suitcases. The $400 million Congress appropriated is chump change to drug barons. A former senior official of a federal law enforcement agency told me last week about a case in which the agency seized a suitcase with $250 million in cash. Monitoring of drug bosses’ conversation later revealed that they didn’t blink an eye–they took it as just a cost of doing a much bigger business.
Part of the difference between transnational criminals and bureaucracies is ruthlessness. Any DTO underling who took this long to deliver the proceeds would get a terminal headache — from a couple of bullets in the back of the head.
But the more important difference in the view of many experts is the way drug trafficking organizations — and many other transnational criminal organizations — are…well, organized.
Here, for example, is a description of drug trafficking organizations in the El Paso/Ciudad Juarez plaza, “a principal smuggling corridor and staging area for drug transportation to markets throughout the United States,” according to the April 2007 West Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis, published by the National Drug Intelligence Center:
Over the past few years, the structure of Mexican DTOs operating in the El Paso/Juárez plaza has changed from traditional hierarchical organizations to much more efficient organizations composed of decentralized networks of interdependent, task-oriented cells. For example, one cell may be responsible for transporting drug shipments across the U.S.-Mexico border, another for transporting drugs to U.S. markets, and another for laundering drug funds. The variety of relationships that these individual cells can have with one another as well as their insular nature, particularly for organizational heads, renders these DTOs more difficult for law enforcement to dismantle than DTOs with a traditional hierarchical structure. In addition, if the head of the DTO or cell leaders are identified and arrested, the decentralized, interdependent nature of these DTOs ensures that they can continue to operate unimpeded.
This segmented but integrated network is “flat,” compared to the Christmas tree bureaucratic structure. Yet, it still lends itself to the severely authoritarian rule of the narco bosses. “The leaders of these organizations…give the orders and expect them to be followed.” (Gregory D. Lee, Global Drug Enforcement: Practical Investigative Techniques, p. 288.) It’s like a giant, global LEGO factory set — the pieces can be custom designed, moved around, plugged in, and shifted to different shapes to meet different needs and respond to law enforcement pressures, all the while preserving operational security.
Here is how Michael A. Braun — former assistant administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) — described it in his March 12, 2009 statement before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:
The Mexican cartels’ ‘corporate’ headquarters are set up South of our border, and thanks to corruption, cartel leaders often times carry out their work in palatial surroundings. The cartel leaders manage and direct the daily activities of ‘command and control cells’ that are typically located just across the border in our Country. Those command and control cells manage and direct the daily activities of ‘distribution, transportation and money laundering cells’ all across our Nation.
The cartels operate just like terrorist organizations, with extremely complex organizational structures, consisting of highly compartmentalized cells: distribution cells, transportation cells, money laundering cells, and in some cases assassination cells or ‘hit squads.’ Many experts believe Mexican and Colombian drug trafficking organizations are far more sophisticated, operationally and structurally, then Middle Eastern terrorist organizations. In fact, some experts believe that Middle Eastern terrorist organizations actually copied the drug trafficking cartels’ sophisticated organizational model for their advantage. This sophisticated organizational model continues to thwart law enforcement and security services around the globe. Cell members are so compartmentalized that they possess little, if any knowledge of the greater organizational model that encircles and supports their nodes; therefore, they can share little of value when apprehended.
The DEA has long noted the intersection of terrorist organizations and drug trafficking:
For many years the…DEA special agents have recognized that terrorist organizations rely on drug traffickers as a straightforward, easy source of income to finance their political agendas. Drug traffickers, in turn, rely on terrorists to provide protection for their laboratory and drug distribution endeavors. Through protection rackets, extortion, or “taxation” of drug traffickers, terrorists receive the funds necessary to carry out their violent acts. (Lee, p. 287)
Nimble, quick, deadly — and aimed at you.
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Why do we sometimes rely on imagining we're in bed with someone else?
When you're with one person long enough, it makes sense that your creative instincts might kick in. "Having the same partner all the time can be mundane," says Kimberly Flemke, Ph.D., a couples and sex therapist at the Institute of Sex Therapy in Philadelphia. "Fantasizing can be harmless. Incorporate your partner into it to build a sexual connection." But Davidson warns against leaning on fantasy as a way to "put up with sex you don't enjoy." Once in a blue moon, it's fine, but depending on it may mean you're not connecting with your partner. If so, aim to restore intimacy—make a date to do something new together in and out of the bedroom.
Is it true that you're more apt to conceive if you have an orgasm during sex?
Hard numbers aren't available, but some research suggests an orgasm can increase the chances. "Various small muscle movements during orgasm can help conception," says Beverly Whipple, Ph.D., coauthor of The Science of Orgasm (Johns Hopkins University Press). "The contractions of the uterus propel sperm into the uterus and out to the fallopian tubes," where insemination takes place. (Fertilized eggs return to the uterus to settle in for the long haul.) The ideal time to orgasm is one to two minutes after he's ejaculated.
Why does a position work like a charm one day and fail miserably the next?
Humans crave variability. "We seek new stimulation for pleasure, but then we habituate to it," Foley says. Thus the importance of having a sexual repertoire, as opposed to one reliable move you can practically do in your sleep. Davidson likens the experience to being a singer who could hit a high note yesterday but can't today. "How warmed up are you? Is your mind wandering? Is something in the way?" she asks. The many variables include partners: "The guy you're with now has a different body; he might not do things the same," Davidson says. Jacquie Greaux, author of Better Sex Through Yoga (Broadway Books), concurs. "I love the expression I just learned: 'A different body every day,'" she says. "It means your body is governed by diet and stress, not to mention PMS and bad-hair days. It's vital to know how you get turned on, but try not to be so attached to a routine. Be open to new ideas in bed. Or in the shower. Or on the kitchen counter."
How infrequent does lovemaking have to be to make your marriage sexless?
"It's less about frequency and more about intentionality," says Foley, who believes the term refers to chorelike, passionless intercourse that also takes place rarely. That said, most experts feel that if you have sex with your spouse fewer than 10 times a year, your marriage probably fits the bill. Sadly, it's more common than you might think: Experts estimate 15 to 20 percent of married couples in the United States fall into this category. What often erodes intimacy is the stress of everyday life: bickering, petty resentments and housework score keeping. "Relationship issues follow you into the bedroom," Foley says. If couples deal with underlying issues in open, nonblaming conversations, chances are their sex life will also experience a nice revival. Start by telling your partner you love him and that you need to get some things off your chest. Being honest and sharing your feelings will foster closeness in and out of the bedroom.
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<urn:uuid:48416414-7fd0-418f-b74d-38a8f479524f>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.self.com/health/2008/07/sex-questions-answered?currentPage=2
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.96357
| 744
| 1.710938
| 2
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Beach House Family Shelter
Since 1921, Beach House has been a critical refuge for thousands of individuals at a time in their lives when they desperately needed a place to turn. A place to sleep. A place to begin again.
Beach House is a Goal Directed Living Program which provides residents with food, clothing referrals, personal hygiene items, transportation, a healthy, secure living environment.Make a Difference.
The Beach House began in 1921 when Mrs. Samuel (Helen Beach) Jones--wife of former mayor "Golden Rule" Jones-- recognized the need to establish a shelter for unprotected women and children. Prior to that time, homeless women were offered shelter in the Lagrange Street jail. Women from several women's organizations assisted Mrs. Jones in establishing Beach House. The first shelter was located at 547 Erie Street. The first floor of the shelter was for "wayward" girls and the second floor was the refuge for homeless women and children. The shelter was named in honor of the mother of Mrs. Jones, Harriet Beach, who was a defender of social justice. Beach House was managed and goverened by a Board of Directors known as the "Women's Protective Association."
Maintenance and upkeep for the historic 2-story structure built in 1867 are the responsibility of Beach House. Beach House received tax-exempt status in 1942, and received a charter from the State of Ohio as a non-profit corporation in 1963. The name, "Women's Protective Association was changed to "Beach House, Inc."
With the changing needs of our community, Beach House Family Shelter has expanded its role in providing housing to the homeless in the greater Toledo area. In 1982 the program began to include shelter for intact families (including the husband) and single parent fathers with children.
- access housing, employment and education assistance
- access medical, mental and spiritual health benefits
- learn basic living, budgeting, nutrition and self management skills
- participate in a goal directed living program
- establish supportive relationships
- take the steps necessary to ensure a successful re-entry into independent family living
- 22 beds, 2 junior beds, and 5 cribs
- six bedrooms on the second floor
- one bedroom for disabled residents on the first floor
- handicapped accessible facilities and entrance on the first floor
- three bathrooms for resident use
- large living room for socializing, learning, craft night, game night and a play area for children
- meeting area for group meetings
- resident phone
- privacy fence, alarm service and 24 hour surveillance in and outside
- playground and large back and side yard
- laundry facilities
- large dining room for family-style meals
- commercial range, refrigerator, freezers, dishwasher, and microwave oven
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<urn:uuid:dd443ab8-945b-4781-8776-52ca66a1bfae>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.beachhousetoledo.org/
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.964659
| 563
| 2.453125
| 2
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The Dawn of a New Generation: The Historical Evolution of Inter-Generational Conflict and Cooperation in Korean American Organizational Politics (Working Paper #55)
Angie Y. Chung, Center for Comparative Immigration Studies
Abstract: Drawing on these previous works and my own research data, the purpose of this article is to trace the historical evolution of Korean American organizations in Los Angeles within the context of ethnic power structures and to explore the various dimensions of inter-organizational conflict and cooperation as they have affected community politics in the post-1992 Los Angeles Riots era. While I argue that ethnic political structures in Koreatown have been formatively shaped by a variety of cultural, structural, and historical forces, my work emphasizes the central presence of what I call the traditional “ethnic elite”2 in influencing community discourse and determining the lines of conflict and cooperation in ethnic politics. In this study, “ethnic elite” refers to individuals and groups that occupy a higher status within the political infrastructures of an ethnic community because of their greater access to the human, financial, and/or social capital resources3 of that community.
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<urn:uuid:fc52c863-539f-4c74-8cb2-a4d346afafed>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://ccis.ucsd.edu/2004/10/the-dawn-of-a-new-generation-the-historical-evolution-of-inter-generational-conflict-and-cooperation-in-korean-american-organizational-politics-working-paper-55/
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.921054
| 228
| 1.578125
| 2
|
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A fifth person has died from a West Nile infection in California, which has had no deaths from the disease until this year, and officials are stepping up efforts to eradicate mosquitos.
The virus has spread across most of the United States since it was detected in New York in 1999. About 500 people have been infected so far this year, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The California Department of Health Services reported 116 infections in the state as of Wednesday, with most cases in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties. The latest victim, Richard Shaddox, 81, who died Tuesday, lived in San Bernardino County.
“That man was strong enough, he would have lived to be 100,” his widow, Yvonne, said Wednesday. “He didn’t use a cane, or a walker, nothing. Until the Nile got him, then he went from a cane, to a crutch to a wheelchair.”
Remove standing water
One of the primary breeding sources of mosquitos is stagnant, standing water, and on Wednesday the Los Angeles City Council gave preliminary approval to rules that would streamline fines of up to $1,000 a day on residents or businesses that fail to remove such water from their property.
The county’s largest vector control district can already levy such fines but the process takes several weeks. The council ordered the city attorney to draw up language for the law, which should be ready within weeks.
San Bernardino County has had an active West Nile campaign that has included removal of standing water and the spraying of pesticides.
The other victims in California were a 57-year-old man who died in Orange County in June, a 75-year-old man who died in San Bernardino County in July, a 91-year-old Los Angeles woman who died last week, and an 88-year-old Long Beach woman who died Monday.
© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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<urn:uuid:f7887f81-bbe7-44e0-a90a-16e9db63a5eb>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5694777/
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en
| 0.97706
| 424
| 2.265625
| 2
|
Who is writing about my topic ?
Who is likely to be writing about your topic?
- Popular press (news, magazines, websites, etc.)
- Scholars (journal literature, books, etc.)
- Both ?
Many resources focus on literature published in a specific field. So, you need to consider which disciplines are likely to be examining your topic.
While everyone will be writing about some aspect of prison, some may choose to look in databases focused on education, or psychology, or sociology, or film studies, based on their specific focus.
* Considering the above will help you select a resource to meet your needs. It's not all about keywords, but where you search. *Read more
Where are they writing about my topic ?
Consider the currency of your topic. Different types of publications serve different functions, and have different production timeframes (tutorial snippet on the information timeline, and the content focus of different types of resources).
Is anybody writing about my topic ?
It depends. Information doesn't exist in a void, generated on demand -- someone has to have created it.
If your topic is widely studied, or current news, finding topical materials won't be hard. On the other hand, just because you can imagine a topic, doesn't mean others are writing about/studying it.
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<urn:uuid:102cf486-b8ed-4d7b-bc1d-2fc690052e40>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/alacarte/course-guide/214-COLWRITR4B?tab=1222
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.945058
| 270
| 2.203125
| 2
|
Amnesty International today urged a criminal investigation into the role of former US President George W. Bush and other officials in the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” against detainees held in secret US custody after the former president admitted authorizing their use.And:
“Under international law, the former President’s admission to having authorized acts that amount to torture are enough to trigger the USA’s obligations to investigate his admissions and if substantiated, to prosecute him,” said Claudio Cordone, Senior Director at Amnesty International.Amnesty gives some background:
The USA ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) in 1994. Under UNCAT, in every case where there is evidence against a person of their having committed or attempted to commit torture, or of having committed acts which constitute complicity or participation in torture, the case must be submitted to its competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution.I know we've done this before, but let's do it again.
Failing to proceed with a prosecution on the basis that the accused held public office of any rank, or citing justifications based in “exceptional circumstances”, whether states of war or other public emergencies, is not permitted by UNCAT.
The United Nations Convention Against Torture was signed by Ronald Reagan and ratified by the Senate in 1994. And according to Article IV paragraph 2 of the US Constitution, which says:
This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.UNCAT is US Law. Torture is against US Law. Bush needs to be prosecuted.
Then there's the wingnuts who love love l-o-o-o-o-o-v-e the Constitution except when it gets in their way. Here's Peter King (R-NY):
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) on Wednesday defended the Bush administration’s use of waterboarding and said a Democratic colleague was “entirely wrong” to call for an investigation into the interrogation method sanctioned by the previous White House.Doesn't matter. Torture's still illegal. What part of that don't they get?
King, the presumptive next chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, pushed back against demands by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) for a probe into Bush-era waterboarding and asserted that President George W. Bush’s authorization of the practice “saved many, many lives.”
“Jerry and I are friends, but he’s entirely wrong on this,” King said in an interview with POLITICO’s Arena. “There would’ve been lives lost, and Bush deserves credit for what he did.”
And then King further distinguishes himself:
King suggested Bush “should get a medal” for authorizing waterboarding. King said cases like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind behind Sept. 11 who is currently awaiting trial, proved practices such as waterboarding were effective.No harm done, except to the rule of law.
“There was no harm done,” King said, referring to Mohammed. “In the big picture, to hold someone’s head underwater, the chance of permanent damage is minimal and the rewards are great.”
And our moral standing in the world.
No one is above the law. George W Bush is a war criminal. And Peter King is defending the indefensible.
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<urn:uuid:1bd4b365-9b6c-4584-ac96-0e77fc47cd71>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://2politicaljunkies.blogspot.com/2010/11/two-views-of-bushs-war-crimes.html
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.950725
| 786
| 1.820313
| 2
|
Connect to share and comment
A new lobby group modeled on America's NRA is pushing for Indians' right to bear arms.
With less than one officer per thousand people, India has one of the world's most understaffed police forces. And while it's true that a third of Indian districts are affected by terrorism and the crime rate is increasing, only a tiny fraction of that violence can be attributed to licensed guns. For instance, National Crime Records Bureau figures show that just 574 of 4,101 gun murders were committed with legal firearms in 2008 — while nearly 30,000 murders were committed with knives and other weapons. Moreover, only about 5.5 million of the 40 million odd guns in India are legal.
"If a guy can get [an illegal] katta for 200 [rupees], on what moral grounds can the government deny a law-abiding citizen a license for a gun on which he will blow a packet and [then face] all sorts of restrictions and encumbrances?" Singh said.
"An armed society is a polite society. I think if people are armed, other people will think twice before attacking them."
But in at least one court case, a judge has ruled that "the right to bear arms is embedded in Article 21 of the Constitution," which states "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law."
And NAGRI and others point out that the Arms Act itself was not written to restrict the ownership of weapons. It was drafted to repeal British regulations that disarmed the general population after the Uprising, or Mutiny, of 1857 — of which Gandhi himself wrote, “Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest.”
With that in mind, NAGRI stakes its own claim to the Mahatma's legacy.
"An armed society is a polite society," said Rai. "I think if people are armed, other people will think twice before attacking them. I think if a nation is armed other nations think twice before attacking them. This is how we get more ahimsa. This is how we get less lawlessness. This is how we get a better society."
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<urn:uuid:d249306d-7641-4e6c-8f2c-1e3aecbbd194>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/india/101214/gun-culture-national-rifle-association-charlton-heston?page=0,1
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.965918
| 470
| 2.1875
| 2
|
In two weeks, economic policymakers from around the world will gather in Washington, D.C., for the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings. As has been the case for the past five years, there will be much talk of economic crisis and of strategies to restore confidence, kick start growth, and create jobs. There is growing evidence that we are on the right track, but this agenda still requires much more work.
The meetings, though, also offer an occasion to look beyond the short term crisis-fighting measures. It is a chance for leaders to adopt a long-term perspective and assess where we stand and where we are headed.
If they do, they will see that today we are at a moment of historic opportunity. For the end of absolute poverty, a dream which has enticed and driven humanity for centuries, is now within our grasp.
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<urn:uuid:a562232a-a9cc-4e38-a821-b849d46115e6>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/category/tags/world-bank
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.959347
| 174
| 1.710938
| 2
|
You can find more information about our light bulbs here:Like the details?
Light bulbs and batteries that suit your budget
Check out our light bulbs and batteries at nice low prices. We have three main types of light bulbs - halogen, fluorescent and the latest LED (light-emitting diodes). They come in a choice of sizes and shapes - including fluorescent tubes and spotlight light bulbs. We also have different types of batteries, including environment-friendly rechargeable batteries and the chargers for them too. The charger even switches itself off when the batteries are fully charged. At the moment, you can use our halogen light bulbs and some of our fluorescent light bulbs with dimmers. In fact, by the time you read this, we may even have dimmable LEDs!
Light bulbs and batteries that suit the planet too
Lighting your home uses lots of electricity. This can cost you a lot of money and it doesn't make the environment very happy either. So today, the light bulbs we sell are more energy-efficient and last longer than the old, traditional ones. LEDs and fluorescent light bulbs use up to 80% less energy to produce the same light as a traditional light bulb, and they last much, much longer. Using more efficient light bulbs and rechargeable batteries are just a couple of ways you can save money and help the planet. You can find out more ways we can create a better future together on our 'People and the Environment' pages - see the link below.
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<urn:uuid:31cacd81-9998-4cf7-90c3-40acf9dc52f9>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/departments/living_room/10744/
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.926864
| 303
| 1.960938
| 2
|
by Daily Mail Reporter
July 11, 2010
Perhaps it was caused by a close encounter of the 3-D kind.
This sophisticated crop circle uses an optical illusion to give the
impression of a three dimensional cube.
The creators of the 200ft wide design in a field of wheat at Clay
Hill near Warminster, Wiltshire remain a mystery.
The area is known as the UFO capital of Britain after repeated
unearthly objects and numerous crop circle appearances
over the last few decades.
An amazing four-dimensional crop circle has appeared in field of
at Clay Hill, Warminster, Wiltshire
However, those hoping that the mysterious circle is a message from
another world or a sign of a spacecraft landing are likely to
Over a decade ago pranksters Doug Bower and Dave Chorley admitted
that they had created 200 crop circles mostly around Warminster.
Mr Bower explained that after sketching them out in his studio
workshop they would take a plank and rope to a cornfield where they
would walk around with the rope in ever-increasing circles and make
a passageway leading to another identical circle.
Not that this very down to earth explanation halted wild conjecture
about their origins.
The crop circle phenomenon started in Westbury, just three miles
north of Warminster in August 1980 and last month 200 crop circles
have appeared in one elaborate formation in the nearby village of
Some believe Westbury's proximity to the prehistoric stone circles
at Stonehenge and Avebury is the reason for the strange goings-on.
Others say it is because it lies on the confluence of two so-called
ley-lines, which link spots said to have 'mystical energy'.
Conspiracy theorists put them down to the proximity of Salisbury
Plain, home of secret military work.
Crop circle expert Steve Alexander said of the latest design:
appears to be a cube which involves the circle makers using
techniques other than just flattening the crop.'
This spectacular design has appeared 40 miles away
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<urn:uuid:78357ce6-99f0-4158-9a34-88ddd801f0d3>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/circulos_cultivos/esp_circuloscultivos25.htm
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.92807
| 428
| 2.59375
| 3
|
(Elavil is another name for this medication.)
What Is It?: This medication is used to make your pet feel less anxious when it is away from you (separation anxiety) or during certain frightening circumstances (thunderstorms, fireworks). Amitriptyline is also useful in stopping some bad behaviors such as urine spraying or excessive biting and chewing of skin. It is also used in birds to stop behavior problems such as feather picking.
How To Use: This medication is usually given one to two times daily. It may take several weeks before changes in behavior are seen. Do not skip doses. Amitriptyline must be mixed into a special dosage form when used in birds. Most birds will receive a liquid form that should be stored exactly as the pharmacist has recommended. Sometimes amitriptyline is mixed into a cream or gel that can be applied to the skin. This can provide similar results without the need to feed a tablet or capsule. Apply the product as directed by the pharmacist (usually to the inside of the ear(s)). Wash hands after applying.
Possible Side Effects: The most common side effects from amitriptyline are drowsiness, constipation, and dry mouth. Amitriptyline may also cause blood sugar to either increase or decrease in diabetic patients. Very high doses of amitriptyline can cause severe damage to the heart.
Warning: Some other drugs can interact with this medication so tell your veterinarian about any drugs or foods that you currently give your animal. Do not give new foods or medications without first asking your veterinarian.
Storage: Keep in the original container. Keep out of the reach of children. Capsules and tablets may be stored at room temperature. Some liquids should be stored in the refrigerator (see the prescription label.) Store all medicines away from excess heat and moisture. Topical creams may be stored at room temperature. Do NOT store in the bathroom.
Note: If you miss a dose give it as soon as you remember it. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue with the regular schedule. Do not give a double dose to make up for the missed one.
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<urn:uuid:e180bc21-42ad-4632-83bd-11c70baad811>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.thecompounder.com/healthy-pets/pet-meds-a-to-z/amitriptyline
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en
| 0.932539
| 447
| 1.96875
| 2
|
By Nick Gilbert
Robai has launched the Cyton Gamma, the highly advanced version of its Cyton robot arms. The Cyton Gamma has been designed similar to that of a human arm, thereby making it different from the standard industrial robot arms. Three axes have been included in each of the shoulder and wrist of the robot, while its elbow contains a single axes.
The arms are kinematically redundant due to the incorporation of these seven axes. Being kinematically redundant, there is a possibility of moving the axes in more than one manner for accomplishing a specific hand motion. This enables seamless navigation around obstacles with increased dexterity in a wide workspace. It however has limited industrial application owing to the computational complication of its control. This limitation can be overcome with Energid Technologies advanced control software.
The Gamma has a 15x18 cm footprint and its reach is similar as that of a human arm, making it compatible for any application. This new bi-handed version of the arm ensures achieving bimanual human tasks.
The arm can be linked to any standard computer via USB. Energid’s powerful Actin software enables easy and simple programming of the arm based on a graphical interface. Customer beta testing has been conducted in the arm for healthcare, manufacturing and remote inspection applications.
By supporting the Robotic Operating System (ROS), Robai enables designers to efficiently incorporate the arms with other ROS enabled devices. In addition, developer's kit for the Gamma is available from Robai, through which third parties can both develop and commercialize plugin apps.
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<urn:uuid:b366cc16-6024-42dd-a817-2c4dac279253>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.azorobotics.com/News.aspx?newsID=3043
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.927502
| 317
| 2.375
| 2
|
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has appproved a toll hike of 10 percent for cash-paying customers next year.
The commission's leadership says the rate increase 2-percent for those who pay with EZPass will result in toll-revenue growth of 3 percent.
That revenue growth is necessary to satisfy a $450 million funding obligation to the state.
Those are the numbers.
But the numbers can't override the larger issues and questions.
Why is the state in the turnpike tolling business? How do we know this rate hike is necessary just because of the costs of keeping roads and bridges on the turnpike system up to acceptable conditions? How do we know the state can manage the turnpike system more efficiently than private concerns? The Legislature had a chance to sell off the turnpike system to private concerns a few years ago and thumbed its collective nose at the idea. Why?
And, finally, how long will it take for the state to decide Interstate 80 needs to be tolled to raise more revenue to feed the highway monster and try again to slip that idea past federal authorities?
The next time you are traveling through a turnpike construction zone or bouncing on a bumpy stretch of it, remember that there are very few enterprises that private enterprise can't run more efficiently than government entities.
That sounds harsh, but the plain fact is that private enterprise is bound by a ledger sheet that determines survival and success. Government entities get to spend the money of other people.
It's simply human nature that private enterprise is going to be run with thrift and efficiency.
As long as there are roads, there will be the need to create revenue to keep them in acceptable condition. The future screams for a better way to accomplish that mission.
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<urn:uuid:0eb14433-da51-430d-a8d6-1405204e656e>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/581209/The-tolling-business--There-is-a-better-way.html?nav=5004
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.957664
| 364
| 1.914063
| 2
|
Time is an energy that flows in waves of quality
Time has quality which changes in cycles, flowing like waves of energy. Catching a good wave, at the right time puts that energy to work for you.
Good timing means starting at the right time. The quality of the moment is an energy that can either help or hinder you. A surfer waits for the right moment to catch a wave, whose energy takes him to the shore. In a similar way, using auspicious times to start means that you have the power of the moment backing you up, and helping you achieve your goals.
This is what the Panchang Time Planner helps you do.
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<urn:uuid:d17fc360-0d8c-4996-a4e3-83fe7fe7d4cc>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://panchang.com/learn/?tab=389&contentid=630
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en
| 0.954957
| 136
| 1.976563
| 2
|
The U.S. military is furthering its funding of unmanned
vehicles for combat. Just last week, DailyTech
reported on the U.S. Army's new SWORDS
unmanned robots which roam the Iraqi battlefield carrying M249 machines
guns -- and in turn put human soldiers out of harm's way. The military's latest
unmanned project leaves the desert behind in order to take to the skies.
The U.S. Navy on Friday awarded Northrop Grumman a six-year,
million USD contract to further develop the X-47B fixed-wing unmanned air
system (UAS). The funding for the Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier
Demonstration (UCAS-D) program will allow Northrop Grumman to conduct take-offs
and landings from the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
"We are proud of our legacy of innovation and
creativity in developing new combat capabilities and are pleased to be selected
to lead this revolutionary advancement in unmanned systems capabilities,"
said Northrop Grumman's Scott Seymour.
"The UCAS-D award is the culmination of several years
of effort with the Navy to show the benefit of melding the capabilities of a
survivable, persistent, long-range UCAS with those of the aircraft
carrier," continued Northrop Grumman's Gary Ervin. "The UCAS-D
program will reduce the risk of eventual integration of unmanned air systems
into carrier environments."
Northrop Grumman will build two X47-B aircraft for the U.S.
Navy -- the first of which will take flight during the closing months of 2009.
The company expects to begin the first carrier landings in 2011.
The X-47B, a sister-ship to the X-47A, has a
cruising altitude of 40,000+ feet and a combat radius of 1,500 nautical miles.
The stealthy vehicle can carry an internal payload of 4,500 pounds and can
travel at high subsonic speeds.
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The Ark of the Covenant appears in the Temple of Jerusalem on this sela of the third year (A.D. 134 to 135) of the Bar Kokhba War. The reverse shows a lulav and an etrog.
Judaea was one of the most troubled regions of the Roman Empire, and was the site of two great wars in which Jews tried to oust their Roman overlords.
The first conflict, known as the Jewish War or the First Revolt, was fought from A.D. 66 to 70; the second conflict, known as the Bar Kokhba War, raged from A.D. 132 to 135.
Though both wars were costly and humiliating to the Romans, they were far more harmful to Judaea and its people. The coinage of the Bar Kokhba War is extraordinary in many ways and continues to captivate collectors with its variety of denominations and types.
Curiously enough, the war occurred during the most stable and prosperous era in Roman history, the Pax Romana, highlighted by the reign of the Emperor Hadrian (A.D. 117 to 138), who otherwise behaved rather beneficently toward his subjects in the provinces.
Few can deny that Hadrian judged poorly when he “refounded” Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina, a Roman colony bearing his own family name, and when he announced his intention to erect a temple for Jupiter on the site of the holy Jewish Temple that had been leveled by the armies of Titus during the First Revolt. The Temple ground was held sacred, and the emperor’s plans to honor the chief god of the Romans helped to spark a Jewish revolt.
Military aspects of the revolt were led by Simon Bar Kosiba (Bar Kokhba), who is named “Simon, Prince of Israel” on some revolt coins. The spiritual leader was Rabbi Akiba, who is not named on coins. The role of another important man, named “Eleazar the Priest” on some coins, is not certainly known.
The first attacks by rebels in the fall of A.D. 132 caught the Romans off guard, forcing the Roman governor Tinius Rufus to evacuate Jerusalem and to take with him the 10th Legion. Thus began what the rebels described on their coins as “Year One of the Redemption of Israel.”
Soldiers from around the empire converged on Judaea during a three-year period to fight the rebels, with thousands of Roman troops dying as a result. However, perhaps a million Jews perished, and the Holy Land suffered great destruction, with more than 1,000 villages and outposts said to have been destroyed.
The rebels issued no gold coins, but produced an abundance of silver and base metal coins by withdrawing Roman coins from circulation and overstriking them with dies of their own creation. The surfaces of the Roman coins were hammered or filed to remove as much of the original design as possible, yet elements of the host coin’s designs usually survived these processes.
Researchers have determined that the host coins were not heated when they were overstruck, and that hinged dies were used, as the die axes are always vertical, usually aligned at 12 o’clock, but sometimes at 6 o’clock. Also, it is clear that some kind of collar was used in the minting of the silver coins, a technique previously not observed for the striking of ancient coins.
We are fortunate that the rebels’ coins bear inscriptions that range from the informative to the patriotic. Though the language is Hebrew, the letters are Palaeo-Hebrew, a script which had been out of general use for more than 500 years, perhaps chosen because of its archaic nature.
Some of the informative inscriptions record the year of issue. Those of the first year are inscribed “Year One of the Redemption of Israel” and those of the second have the legend “Year Two of the Freedom of Israel.” Most issues do not bear dates, and thus are assigned to the third and final year of the war.
Though the quantity of first-year issues was modest, volume increased significantly in the second-year, and the undated issues of year three were produced in large enough quantities that they are readily available to collectors today.
Additionally, “irregular” or “barbarous” coins are known. They presumably were struck at branch mints or under stressful conditions in army camps or besieged cities, as die links are known between the irregular and the regular issues.
Bar Kokhba coinage includes six distinct coin types, two in silver and four in bronze. The large “silver” denomination, called a sela, was overstruck on tetradrachms issued by the Romans in Eastern provinces. Strictly speaking, the sela is a billon coin since its host coins were struck in debased silver.
The designs of the sela did not change during its three years of issuance. Its obverse showed the Temple of Jerusalem containing the Ark of the Covenant, and its reverse shows ceremonial object(s): a lulav (a bound bundle of twigs and foliage), usually flanked by an etrog (a citrus fruit).
The small silver denomination, called a zuz, was overstruck on Roman denarii and provincial drachms of good silver. (A double-weight zuz is known by only one example, and must have been experimental.)
The zuz was produced with a pair of dies bearing combinations of two obverse and four reverse designs. The obverse bore a cluster of grapes or a wreath enclosing an inscription. The reverse features either a palm branch; a one-handled jug (usually flanked by a small palm branch); a pair of trumpets; or a lyre, a string musical instrument in the form of a chelys (stout, rounded body) or a cithara (tall, rectangular body).
The bronze coinage included one large denomination, two medium denominations and one small denomination, each with distinct designs. The large bronze was struck only in the first two years and is the rarest and most desired by collectors. It has on its obverse a patriotic inscription in a wreath, and on its reverse an amphora surrounded by a patriotic inscription that names the year of issue.
One of the medium bronzes has on its obverse a palm branch in a wreath and on its reverse a lyre. The other medium bronze — which is far more common than the other medium bronze — has on its obverse a vine leaf and on its reverse a palm tree. The small bronze coin shows on its obverse a grape cluster and on its reverse a palm tree.
Bar Kokhba coins are well documented in a die study by the late Leo Mildenberg, The Coinage of the Bar Kokhba War. This meticulous work illustrates an impression of every known die and records every die link that was known to Mildenberg at the time of publication in 1984. David Hendin’s Guide to Biblical Coins, now in its fifth edition, offers an accessible review of the Bar Kokhba coinage, and the book remains in print. ■
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U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2001 - Marshall Islands
|Publisher||United States Department of State|
|Publication Date||4 March 2002|
|Cite as||United States Department of State, U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2001 - Marshall Islands , 4 March 2002, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3c84d99218.html [accessed 22 May 2013]|
|Comments||The report entitled "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" is submitted to the Congress by the Department of State in compliance with sections 116(d) and 502(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended, and section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. The law provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, by February 25 "a full and complete report regarding the status of internationally recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A) in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B) in all other foreign countries which are members of the United Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human rights report under this Act." We have also included reports on several countries that do not fall into the categories established by these statutes and that thus are not covered by the congressional requirement.|
|Disclaimer||This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.|
The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a self-governing nation under the Compact of Free Association with the United States. The Constitution provides for free and fair elections and executive and legislative branches. The legislature consists of a 33-member Parliament (Nitijela), as well as a Council of Chiefs (Iroij), which serves a largely consultative function dealing with custom and traditional practice. The President is elected by majority Nitijela vote, and he appoints his Cabinet from its membership. The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, past governments have attempted to influence the judiciary.
Under the Compact of Free Association, the United States is responsible for defense and national security, and the country has no external security force. The national and local police forces have responsibility for internal security. These agencies honor constitutional and legal civil rights protections in executing their responsibilities.
The population of approximately 51,000 is of Micronesian origin and concentrated primarily on the Majuro and Kwajalein Atolls. The economy depends mainly on transfer payments from the United States. Coconut oil and copra exports, a small amount of tourism, import and income taxes, an open ship registry, a tuna preparation plant (locally referred to as tuna loining), ship chandelling, and fishing licensing fees generate limited revenues.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, and the law and the judiciary provide effective means of dealing with individual instances of abuse. There were occasional instances of denial of due process for detainees. Violence against women and child abuse were problems.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
There were no reports of the arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life committed by the Government or its agents.
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The Constitution forbids such practices, and there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison conditions, while Spartan, meet international standards, and the Government permits prison visits by independent human rights monitors.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observes these prohibitions.
Nonetheless, the Chief Justice of the High Court admitted in September that arbitrary detentions occur. There were several reported cases of arbitrary detention lasting over 24 hours in which persons were denied their rights to be charged or released within the specified time, or to be informed of the charges against them. It appears that such violations are due mainly to inefficiency. The courts and the Attorney General's office are working with the police to improve communication between the courts and police when suspects are detained.
Families have access to detainees, and detainees have the right to lawyers of their choice. There is a functioning system of bail, and the State will provide a lawyer if the defendant is indigent.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, in the past, the Government has attempted to influence judicial matters through legislative or administrative means.
The employment of a foreign national former high court judge, who had disagreements with the previous government, was terminated prematurely in June 1999, but he was appointed to the Supreme Court in May 2000. In his January 2000 inaugural address, President Note pledged to protect the independence of the judiciary, following the previous 4 years during which three chief justices resigned or were terminated by the Government. During the year, there were no known incidents of executive pressure on the judiciary. There are few citizens trained in the law. Therefore, the judicial system relies almost entirely on foreign citizens to serve on the judiciary and as public prosecutors and defenders. Since President Note was elected, the Government increased judges' salaries by 20 percent to enhance its ability to attract and retain qualified judges.
The judiciary consists of a Supreme Court with appellate jurisdiction, a High Court with general jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters and appellate jurisdiction over subordinate courts at the district and community levels, and a Traditional Rights Court with jurisdiction in cases involving matters of customary law and traditional practice.
The Constitution provides for the right to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforces this right.
There were no reports of political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The Constitution prohibits such actions, and the Government generally respects these prohibitions in practice.
2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally respects these rights in practice. In the past, government influence led to occasional self-censorship by the media in areas of political or cultural sensitivity; however, there were no known instances of self-censorship during the year.
A privately owned weekly newspaper publishes articles and opinions in both English and Marshallese.
There are two radio stations, one of which is government owned; the other is religious and offers news broadcasts from the Voice of America, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Australia. In the past, live broadcasts of the legislative session were interrupted when remarks were critical of the Government; however, this did not occur during the year. A government station broadcasts public service announcements. A cable television company broadcasts a variety of foreign news and entertainment programs and occasional videotaped local events.
The Government does not control or limit Internet access.
Academic freedom is respected.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for the freedoms of assembly and association, and the Government generally respects these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution provides for these rights, and the Government generally respects them in practice.
Beginning in 2000, the Government launched an alien registration drive to counter alleged increases in illegal entries by Chinese and other foreign nationals. During the year, the Government periodically conducted "sweeps" to locate and ultimately deport illegal aliens. In February the Government enacted regulations that reserve certain types of businesses only to citizens. In 1996 the Government sold "investment" passports to approximately 3,000 non-Marshallese to attract foreign investment; however, it halted this practice in 1997, following allegations of abuses and fraudulent passport sales (which conveyed citizenship). These "investment" passports are expiring, and the Government is examining its passports more closely and denying renewal in some cases, for example, if residency cannot be proved.
Although not a signatory, the Government adheres to the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and it cooperates with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. There are no recent reports of refugees. The Government has not formulated a policy regarding refugees, asylees, or first asylum. The issue of the provision of first asylum did not arise during the year. There were no reports of the forced return of persons to a country where they feared persecution.
3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
The Constitution provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercise this right through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage. Executive power is centralized in the President and his Cabinet. This group dominates the legislature as well. The Nitijela (Parliament) and mayors are elected by secret ballot every 4 years by citizens 18 years of age and older. The last Nitijela election was held in November 1999. On January 3, 2000, President Kessai Note was selected unopposed by the Nitijela from among its 33 members. The President subsequently selected 10 cabinet ministers from among the Nitijela members. There are no restrictions on the formation of political parties. Political activity by foreigners is prohibited.
The percentage of women in government and politics does not correspond to their percentage of the population; however, there are no legal impediments to women's participation in government and politics. Women's cultural responsibilities and traditionally passive roles and the generally early age of pregnancies can make it difficult for women to obtain political qualifications or experience. Nevertheless, a woman was elected to the Nitijela in the 1999 elections. Society is matrilineal, and those men and women who exercise traditional leadership and land ownership powers derive their rights either from their own positions in the family, or from relationships deriving from their mother's and sister's lineage. However, urbanization and the movement of the population away from the lands that they control is leading to a decline in traditional authority exercised by women.
4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigations of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
While there are no official restrictions, few local nongovernmental human rights organizations have been formed.
The women's NGO WUTIMI works on women's, children's, and family issues and is playing an increasing role in discussion of social issues. One of the WUTIMI leaders, for example, has been named to the Compact Renegotiation Team.
There is a government-sponsored committee to establish a local Red Cross chapter, and the Government hosted a Red Cross Conference on the Geneva Conventions in June. On October 4, the Nitijela ratified the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
No international human rights organization has expressed interest or concern or visited the country.
5. Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability, Language, or Social Status
The Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, place of birth, family status or descent, and the Government observes these provisions.
Spousal abuse is common. Domestic violence is not condoned in society, and most assaults occur while the assailant is under the influence of alcohol. The Government's health office provides counseling for reported spouse and child abuse cases but advises that many cases go unreported. Rape and assault are criminal offenses, but women involved in domestic violence are reluctant to prosecute spouses in the court system. Women's groups under the WUTIMI umbrella publicize women's issues and attempt to create a greater awareness of the rights of women. Violence against women outside the family occurs, and women in urban centers risk assault by going out alone after dark.
There is no legal age of consent; the law criminalizes only "forced" rape and does not specify sexual assault, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. There was some national debate regarding criminalizing sexual assault, domestic violence, and sexual abuse; however, the problem is complicated by cultural norms against talking about these subjects. In August two young men sexually assaulted an infant; they were charged with child abuse and sodomy. At year's end, both were free on bail awaiting further judicial action.
In September the Parliament passed a law making prostitution illegal; however, it exists on the Majuro and Kwajalein Atolls. The only truly organized prostitution is run by and caters to foreigners, primarily the crews of foreign fishing vessels. The Government is unaware of violence against prostitutes, although it assumes that it exists. The law does not prohibit sex tourism. There are no known instances of trafficking in persons.
Sexual harassment is not prohibited by law; however, it is not regarded as a problem.
The inheritance of property and of traditional rank is matrilineal, with women occupying positions of importance in the traditional system. No instances of unequal pay for equal work or of sex-related job discrimination were reported. However, while women workers are very prevalent in the private sector, many of them are in low-paying jobs with little hope of advancement.
The Government is committed to children's welfare through its programs of health care and free education, but these have not been adequate to meet the needs of the country's sharply increasing population.
Education is free, compulsory, and universal through eighth grade; there is no difference between the attendance rates of boys and girls.
It is estimated that up to 20 percent of elementary school age children do not attend school on a regular basis. The Government does not enforce the compulsory education law due to a lack of classrooms and teachers. The Government's enrollment report indicates that only two-thirds of those completing eighth grade attend high school. Of that number, 50 percent eventually graduate
The Government provides subsidized essential medical services for all citizens, including children.
Child abuse and neglect are criminal offenses; however, the awareness of children's rights remains low among the general population. The law requires teachers, caregivers, and other persons to report instances of child abuse and exempts them from civil or criminal liability as a consequence of making such a report. However, there are few reports and few prosecutions. Child abuse and neglect were considered to be on the increase.
Persons With Disabilities
There is no apparent discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, or in the provision of other state services. There are no building codes, and there is no legislation mandating access for persons with disabilities.
There are approximately 50 persons who could be medically defined as psychotic. When these individuals demonstrate dangerous behavior, they are imprisoned and visited by a doctor.
There were no reports of discrimination against persons with mental disabilities.
6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Constitution provides for the right of free association in general, and the Government interprets this right as allowing the existence of labor unions, although none has been formed to date. The Constitution does not provide for the right to strike, and the Government has not addressed this issue.
There were no strikes during the year. In spite of the absence of legislation on strikes, during 1999 there were strikes at the government hospital and the government-owned airline. Although the Attorney General's Office indicated that some of the strikers apparently were in violation of national labor laws, there was no retaliation against any of the strikers.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
There is no legislation concerning collective bargaining or trade union organization. However, there are no impediments to the organization of trade unions or to collective bargaining. Wages in the cash economy are determined by market factors in accordance with the minimum wage and other laws.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The Constitution prohibits involuntary servitude, and there is no evidence of its practice among citizens of the country. With the increasing presence of illegal aliens and the possibility that there is trafficking in persons, it is possible that forced or compulsory labor exists; however, there have been no specific reports of the problem.
During the year there were two separate reports of forced labor involving one Nepalese and one Sri Lankan citizen; one was a domestic worker and the other worked in a restaurant. The case of the restaurant worker was settled in a civil suit in January, and he returned to his home. The domestic worker's case was awaiting review by the Attorney General's Office at year's end; he continued to work in the country.
The law does not specifically prohibit forced and bonded labor by children; however, such practices are not known to occur.
d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment
Children typically are not employed in the wage economy, but some assist their families in fishing, agriculture, and other small-scale domestic enterprises. There is no law or regulation setting a minimum age for employment of children. The Government has not ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor.
The law does not prohibit specifically forced and bonded labor by children; however, such practices are not known to occur.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
A government-specified minimum wage is established by law, but it is not adequate to maintain a decent standard of living for a worker and family; however, in this subsistence economy, extended families are expected to help less fortunate members, and there are often several wage earners in each family. The minimum wage for all government and private sector employees is $2.00 per hour. The U.S. dollar is the national currency. The Ministry of Resources and Development oversees minimum wage regulations, and its oversight was regarded as adequate. Foreign employees and Marshallese trainees of private employers who have invested in or established a business in the country are exempt from minimum wage requirements. This exemption does not affect a significant segment of the workforce.
There is no legislation concerning maximum hours of work or occupational safety and health. On Sunday most businesses are closed, and persons generally refrain from working.
A government labor office makes recommendations to the Nitijela on working conditions, such as the minimum wage, legal working hours and overtime payments, and occupational health and safety standards in accordance with International Labor Organization conventions. The office periodically convenes board meetings that are open to the public. No legislation specifically gives workers the right to remove themselves from situations that endanger their health or safety without jeopardy to their continued employment, and no legislation protects workers who file complaints about such conditions.
Foreign workers are protected by the law in the same manner as citizens.
f. Trafficking in Persons
There are no specific laws concerning trafficking in persons; however, there is increasing suspicion that foreign-born Marshallese passport holders may be using the country as a staging point for trafficking. The Immigration Ministry, Attorney General's Office, the police, and religious communities all work on the problem. The eventual destination and fates of undocumented alien residents and prostitutes are unknown. There are no documented cases of nonresident aliens or prostitutes being trafficked to, from, or within the country during the year.
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'A swarm of bees in July isn’t worth a fly” but that’s when we got our bees. As a gardener, I would argue it is worth getting them whenever you can.
Granted, we had almost a year to wait until we had a stack of honey in the larder, but the sound of bees on a good summer’s day humming as they are working your garden takes a lot of beating.
I think they are a gardener’s ideal companion, the bees are as enthusiastic about your plants as you are, they get happily on with their pollinating and feeding, side by side with me doing my weeding, pruning and dead heading.
I am giving them a great range of plants and they are giving me a bit of their honey. In the winter you should leave them alone for long periods, which suits fair-weather gardeners too.
Being well on the way to being self-sufficient – bees seemed the logical next step, especially as we consume almost a jar of honey a week.
I hadn’t realised the bonus of home-made honey, we used to buy the regular, heat-treated kind. This treatment reduces its freshness and changes its composition.
My chemist son, who is heavily into nutrition, always used to buy bioactive honey, which has not been heated above 48C or pasteurised. It does have extraordinary antibacterial properties and manuka honey is especially associated with these. Now he raids the larder.
Many say that a lot of raw honeys are just as good as manuka, but because the more potent manuka honey is not to everyone’s taste it is now marketed mainly for healing.
Recent research says natural honey can even stop you snoring as its properties can reduce minor nasal-related infections. It contains antioxidants, pollen grains and other goodies too. It certainly makes the pigs’ day if I give them some honey comb.
For the first year, there is a fair bit to learn. A friend bought Beekeeping for Dummies but we joined the local beekeepers’ association, and my husband went on a course for six afternoons.
He was given a bee buddy, Richard, who pops over to offer reassurance and expert help. He is always at the end of a phone. It works brilliantly for us, and hopefully we are not too needy for Richard.
We bought a first hive and put it at the outer edge of the shelterbelt in the orchard. It is fairly sheltered, a warm spot and minimal bee air miles for the veg and fruit.
I regularly tend the wild flowers running around their hive and have few qualms about working close to the hive. If they sting you it kills them and other bees are attracted to the smell and may well come and sting you too. Not something that’s good for them, or you.
They do react strongly to smells. Aftershave can make them angry and they appear to react less favourably to natural male odours than female ones. My “earthy” smell after a day digging and delving causes precious little reaction, even on days when my husband reckons they are tetchy.
A friend mowed around his bee hive on a ride-on mower and the vibrations caused them to attack him, even following him into the house. They hate this sort of disturbance.
Bees certainly have moods and when you get to know them you can tell their mood by their buzzing. A few unfortunates acquire bad-tempered colonies, which they cannot keep, but this is rare.
Time-wise, I reckon they take about one-and-a-half hours to two hours a week of looking after during March to October.
We feed them a sugar solution at the end of September so they have enough honey stores to survive the winter. If we didn’t do this we would get less, or possibly no honey at all.
For most of the winter they are best left alone – if you open the hives you let the vital heat escape. They cluster to keep warm and sometimes fly out on a cleansing flight to remove waste and such like.
Occasionally it’s worth “hefting”, lifting the hive corners to see how much honey (food) they have.
In March on warm days they start to fly, looking for food among the wild cherries and blackthorn. Our wild cherry (Prunus avium) crops seem to have exploded, we now have huge, delicious, edible cherries and the birds leave my soft fruit.
In April the apples and pears are visited before the arrival of the rape in May. The bees will fly three miles or so to get this as it is extremely easy for them to harvest. The resultant honey is more crystalline and harder but delicious.
Other summer jobs include watching for them to swarm so you can entice them to a new hive next door (we now have two), seeing they are healthy, putting on more “supers” (chambers where they can form honeycomb) and then collecting the first batch of honey around June. This took a few hours over two days during which the kitchen became a little hot and sticky.
Apart from honey you can collect the wax and make candles, furniture polish, face cream or just barter it with the suppliers in return for foundation (wax sheets for making honeycomb).
Our first crop of 16 jars caused real excitement. We love it and are hoping for a similar-size second crop shortly. Though sadly, we are all still giving the pigs a good run for their money in the snoring stakes.
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Money Comes and Goes
This lesson printed from:
A budget is a plan that shows how much money comes in (income) and how much money goes out (expenses). We use a budget to make sure we have enough money to buy the things we need and really want. A budget also helps us set aside money for things that we can’t afford to buy right now. The money we set aside is called savings.
You will learn the different parts of a budget. You will also create a budget you could use to reach a savings goal.
Read the story Tim’s Turn to Learn and answer the questions on the worksheet. When you are finished, you will discuss the worksheet answers with your class.
Tim and Money Mouse reduced their spending in order to save money for the future. Another way they could have saved more money is by increasing their income. Read the story Heather Learns About Earning to find out how Heather increased her income.
Then, answer these questions about the story:
1. What was Heather’s problem?
2. How did she earn the money she needed?
3. What else might Heather have done to earn the money she needed?
Now that you know what income and expenses are, can you find the income and expenses in this budget?
A budget helps us keep track of our money so that we can use it on things we really need and want. A budget also helps us save for things that we can’t afford to buy right now. A balanced budget has money in (income) equal to money out (spending and saving).
Now it is your turn to create a budget!: www.econedlink.org/interactives/EconEdLink-interactive-tool-player.php?filename=em483_budget2.swf&lid=483
- Read the story, Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday. Discuss with your class what happened to Alexander’s money. Also discuss how you can keep from buying things that you don't need.
- Think of something special that you would like to save money for. Use the “Spending Tale” to keep a personal spending diary. Then create a budget that will help you reach your savings goals.
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Family Secret Comes To Light In 'The Flat'
DAVID GREENE, HOST:
A film called "The Flat" has made its way to the United States after becoming a hit in Israel. The movie is Israel's top-grossing documentary of the year, and it won that country's best documentary award. Los Angeles Times and MORNING EDITION film critic Kenneth Turan brings us his review.
KENNETH TURAN, BYLINE: The flat is an apartment in Tel Aviv belonging to Gerda Tuchler, the grandmother of director Arnon Goldfinger. When she dies at 98, seven decades after emigrating from Germany, the entire family gathers to decide how to dispose of the possessions of a lifetime. Everything changes with a shocking discovery: buried under decades of detritus, the family finds copies of Der Angriff, or The Attack, a virulently pro-Nazi newspaper edited by Joseph Goebbels himself and dating from 1934.
(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "THE FLAT")
ARNON GOLDFINGER: What is Nazi propaganda doing in my grandparents' flat? The newspapers tell the story of a Nazi who travels to Palestine. You can see him gazing from the ship at impish little Jews at the shore. But there are also pictures of Jewish pioneers drying the swamps, plowing the land...
TURAN: It gets even more unnerving. The filmmaker's grandparents were good friends with a Nazi Party functionary and his wife for years. The friendship resumed after World War II ended. The grandparents visited them in Germany, even though what the Nazis had done was well-known.
At this point, "The Flat" turns into a detective story, as Goldfinger follows up leads to try and figure out this friendship. He unearths family secrets so upsetting he isn't sure who to share them with. Some of the themes "The Flat" addresses have been dealt with before, like why one generation asks questions about the Holocaust that another generation does not.
But the director has more potent topics on his agenda. One is the human capacity to compartmentalize unpleasant information. The other is the reasons friendship can survive what would seem to be a devastating reality. No definitive answers are possible to the questions "The Flat" raises, which makes them all the more provocative.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
GREENE: Kenneth Turan. He reviews movies for MORNING EDITION, and also for the Los Angeles Times.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
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|HOME||WHY GLADEVIEW?||ABOUT US||CAMPUS LIFE||NEWS||CALENDARS||ADMISSION||DOWNLOADS||MULTIMEDIA||CONTACT US||LINKS|
Christian Education brings forth great benefits for children. It develops security through their values and beliefs which molds their character at an early age. This produces and guarantees a healthier mental and emotional life, more stability, and all the necesary tools to face their challenges in life in the most possible manner.
Luke 2:52 says: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
We see in this verse how education based on the Word of God, as set forth in the example of Jesus life, made Him grow in his intellectual area (wisdom), his physical area (stature) and in his spiritual and social areas (favor with God and Men).
This is our desire for your children, to offer them the best education possible!
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- Language Tips
BEIJING - Emma Jiang screamed with delight.
The Beijing worker had just successfully ordered a new washing machine online. She was excited about her purchase on Sunday because the day, dubbed Singles' Day, means massive discounts for consumers in China.
Singles' Day is based on the date November 11, or "11.11" - four "1"s. Young single people celebrate the holiday by eating together, sending gifts or shopping.
Alibaba Group, operator of China's biggest e-commerce platforms, launched a shopping festival on its consumer-oriented platform Tmall.com, highlighting big discounts.
The 27-year old Jiang bought her Haier XQB60-M918 washing machine at the online shop Haier, which opened on Tmall.com, for 999 yuan ($158.8), representing a 16.61 percent discount.
Sales on Tmall.com reached 13.2 billion yuan on the Singles' Day, the company announced on its official microblog.
Dubbed as China's biggest online shopping site, Taobao.com, which operates Tmall.com, also pocketed 5.9 billion yuan on Sunday. Taobao is affiliated to the Alibaba Group, which operates China's biggest online payment system, Alipay.
On Singles' Day last year, trade volume at Tmall.com reached 3.36 billion yuan ($533 million).
More than 100 million consumers logged on Tmall and Taobao to buy products on Sunday, according to Tmall's microblog account.
China has the world's largest population of Internet users, with 538 million people online as of June this year, according to the China Internet Network Information Center.
An iResearch report published earlier this year showed that in 2011, the total number of online shoppers in China stood at 187 million, representing an increase of 39 million year-on-year. The number also represents 36.5 percent of China's total Internet users for last year.
China's e-commerce market turnover in the first half of 2012 jumped 18.6 percent from a year earlier to 3.5 trillion yuan, according to statistics released last week by China e-Commerce Research Center.
China aims to quadruple its annual e-commerce volume from 2010 levels to 18 trillion yuan by 2015 on the back of growing domestic demand and consumption.
Direct employment in China's e-commerce topped 1.90 million people as of June 2012, and the number is expected to reach 2.65 million by the end of this year.
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Coral Algae Have "Eyes," Study Says
National Geographic News
|July 28, 2009|
The single-celled algae that set up house inside hard corals and give reefs their vibrant colors may be able to see, a new study says.
The algae—called zooxanthellae—have mysterious crystal-like deposits, which are made of uric acid, a common element in light-reflecting structures in insect and animal eyes.
The substance in the algae had been previously misidentified as calcium oxalate, which is often found in plants, the researchers say.
The algae's crystal clusters strongly reflected light in lab experiments, suggesting that "this is really a functional eye," study co-author Kazuhiko Koike, of Japan's Hiroshima University, said in an email.
Each of the single-celled orgamisms also contains a photoreceptor molecule, which creates an "eyespot."
Eyespots are light-sensitive patches that allow simple organisms, such as jellyfish and some other algae, to sense their environments.
(Related: "Brittle Star Found Covered With Optically Advanced 'Eyes.'")
Other types of dinoflagellates—one-celled aquatic organisms that include zooxanthellae—have at least four variations of eyespots, Koike said.
But he believes the newfound type of eyespot is unique to the coral-dwelling life-forms.
In shallow tropical waters of the world's oceans, zooxanthellae and reef-building coral polyps have evolved to be dependent on one another.
The corals' reefs give the algae natural havens and ingredients for photosynthesis.
The algae, in turn, create oxygen for the coral animals, remove waste, and provide nutrients necessary for survival.
Considering how crucial this partnership is, it may be that roving zooxanthellae use their eyespots to scope out the most desirable digs—a possibility "we think is quite interesting," Koike said.
Young corals, in turn, may be using unknown "attraction mechanisms" to entice zooxanthellae to inhabit the reefs.
What's more, coral-dwelling algae have eyes only when they are seeking their reef homes, Koike added.
The organisms lose their sight once they are living inside their hosts.
By contrast, other types of algae that live inside giant clams keep their eye-like structures while inside their hosts.
Koike speculates this could be because the clam-dwelling algae want to escape the grip of the clam, which "farms" the algae and eats some of them each night.
Overall, Koike added, the more scientists know about how corals and their resident algae pair up, the better the chances of preventing corals' ongoing decline due to climate change.
Warmer seawater often causes corals to eject their colorful zooxanthellae roommates, "bleaching" the reefs and leaving the nutrient-deprived corals to die slowly.
"We must understand how this relationship is initiated as soon as possible," Koike said.
Research appeared July 17 in the journal PLoS One.
|© 1996-2008 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.|
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National Aspiring Leaders Summit '08
In April 2008, twenty-eight inspired young Australians came to Canberra to participate in the second annual National Aspiring Leaders Summit. These young people represented twenty-eight communities from five Australian states and two territories.
The Summit explored a range of topics including leadership, communication and making a difference in the world. The Summit opened with two inspiring speakers - Dan Adams of The Oaktree Foundation and organiser of the Make Poverty History Concert, and Alischa Ross of YEAH (Youth Empowerment Against HIV/AIDS). These speakers and other guests inspired and challenged the youth delegates to consider deeply issues that face young people both in Australia and around the world.
The youth delegates were given the opportunity to reflect on their own values and what is important to their communities. From there they created a vision and later an Action Plan to conduct a project that would make a difference to the community they were from. Some young people chose to pursue this independently, while others chose to join with others.
The Summit also include some classic Outward Bound wilderness adventure experiences. An expedition and major Descent activity called the delegates to put into action the teamwork, leadership, communication and problem-solving skills they had developed. In addition to what they gained, this was an incredibly fun and memorable experience.
In reflecting on the Summit upon going home, Rachel Farley of Braidwood in New South Wales said:
"My experience at NALS08 was a life changing experience that I have cherished ever since! I have been able to implement my leadership skills into my school, community and workplace. I have learnt how to work as part of a team, encouraging others to find their leadership within".
Outward Bound staff involved in the program were inspired and impressed by the calibre of the young people who participated in this year's Summit. If this is the quality of leadership and committment to community possessed by the next generation, then Australia is in good hands.
The 2008 Delegates were:
Queensland - Emily Pugin, Jacob Settgast, Tim Blake
Northern Territory - Sarah Butler, Hamish Fejo
South Australia - Elke Cunningham, Jock Cameron, Rhys Parasiers, Daniel Wilson, Deanne Gibbs, Alison Green, Tasha Phillips, Trent Neindorf
Western Australia - Petch Folvig, Doug Bradford
Victoria - Lizzie Pereira, Casey Ward, Simon Menz, Rhys Cranney, Melissa Anania, Bridget Beaton
New South Wales - Courtney Barton, Jessica Muir, Zac Thomas, Amy Smith, Rachel Farley, Adam Corcoran, Prue Duncan
Australian Capital Territory - Louise Blessington
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Today on his blog Savannah Morning News columnist Bill Dawers examines a story, Ordinance aims to hike driver fines in Chatham County, published in his paper yesterday. In particular, Bill notes “the article is already spawning the same sort of pedestrian-bashing that begins anytime such ordinances are suggested.”
In fact, these types of comments show up reliably on any story having anything to do with pedestrians (or cyclists). The most offensive generally follow news of a person being killed by another person driving a car. The three most common themes are:
- People who get hit by cars generally deserve it.
- Increased jaywalking enforcement, instead of initiatives targeting drivers, will improve pedestrian safety.
- People should always use crosswalks and sidewalks, even when they do not exist.
It occurred to me that Bill and I have written a lot about pedestrian safety over the years. In reviewing my posts, I’m reminded that quite a few from the list below refer to his newspaper columns:
- The usual blaming of the victim follows latest pedestrian death
- Savannah’s Abercorn Street Extension is “Dangerous by Design”
- Acceptance of distracted driving revealed in warning to pedestrians?
- Local journalist makes the connection between street design and danger to pedestrians. Almost.
- Crash your car? No big deal. Get hit by a car? You’re a criminal!
- Jaywalking crackdown: What’s the goal?
- As jaywalking saga continues, public safety and public health questions remain unanswered
- Police use car vs. pedestrian crash to counter critics, warn walkers
- Rancor over jaywalking fines grows, but key question still unanswered
- Calling crashes “accidents,” even when they aren’t
- Truth, thoroughness needed in reporting on tragic traffic crashes
It can be discouraging to write about the same dangerous street designs, misguided law enforcement strategies, insufficient media coverage, and ignorant and mean spirited comments over and over. Still, there is reason to hope that our state can improve safety and usability for all users now that the Georgia Department of Transportation has adopted a Complete Streets policy.
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Vampires: The Legend Continues
BY STEVE WING,
I am a person who loves and respects all creatures on our planet. I
warthogs are beautiful, goats donít smell, and the bray of a donkey is music to my ears. I even think there is a place for leeches and mosquitoes (where that is I havenít found out yet!)
But, other than making a good horror story, what good can I say about the lowly vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) Vampires have long been the stuff that legends are made of. While some folklore is based in reality, many myths surround this diminutive creature.
Vampire bats do not come from or live in Romania. And they are NOT found in the United States. They are a New World tropical species ranging from Mexico south to Argentina. They mainly inhabit caves, but are also found in hollow trees, mine shafts and abandoned buildings.
And unlike the giant vampire bats we see in movies, true vampires are very small, about the size of your thumb. The grayishbrown bats have a wingspan of 8 inches and they weigh about 40 grams. In the wild they live to be 9-12 years old, but can easily live to be 20 years or older in zoos. They generally have one pup a year after a gestation of about 7 months. They live in colonies of 20-100 individuals, but can number as low as 6 or as many as 2000!
The common vampire bat is the only bat that can walk and hop on the ground and take off vertically.
It is true that vampire bats drink blood. No, they donít suck blood like in the movies, but they do make a small, sharp incision in an area of the skin where blood vessels are near the surface. Most of the time the animal being bitten does not even feel the bite. An anticoagulant in the vampiresí saliva delays the blood from clotting, allowing the bat to lap up the blood. The amount of blood taken by a single bat is not great and generally does not affect the sleeping animal. The real danger of vampire bites lies in the diseases and infections that may result. Rabies is a common disease transmitted by vampire bats. This occasionally has a detrimental effect on the cattle and horses that cohabitate with us. And yes, vampires do occasionally feed upon human beings.
Think that vampire bats have no redeeming value? Think again! Scientists have isolated an enzyme from the saliva of the vampire bat. This enzyme, named desmoteplase after the vampireís scientific name, has been developed into a bloodthinning drug that helps prevent strokes and heart attacks in humans. Clinical studies have indicated that desmoteplase could improve blood flow in the damaged area of the brain if it was given within nine hours after the onset of stroke symptoms. Although the drug is now made synthetically, we would not have discovered it without the vampire bat!
Steve Wing is the chair of the AZA Bat Advisory Group, which directs breeding programs and in-situ conservation efforts worldwide. He also maintains the North American studbook for the Rodrigues fruit bat.
photos courtesy of Houston Zoo, Inc.
This article was originally published in the Spring 2006 issue of Trunkline magazine.
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One of the most nagging worries that digital marketers struggle with is how to make every ad impression count. But in getting to the bottom of the digital advertising quagmire, one must first understand the truth about retargeting, how to use it properly, when it is misused, how it can inflate costs in the current media environment, and how it can compromise the value of digital ads to the detriment of many brands.
A retargeting overview provided by Nathan Woodman, COO for adnetik, started with the simple fact that retargeting happens without our knowledge most of the time. A user visits an advertiser web page where pixels place a cookie on the user's browser. From that point, the media provider can find users with that cookie, and ads placed on content to pixeled users drive them back to the site.
- The most prevalent form of behavioral marketing is retargeting.
- Your attribution methodology makes retargeting the most valuable optimization signal in digital media.
- Multiple retargeting providers inflate your costs in the current media environment.
According to Woodman, improperly used retargeting tactics often steal credit from effective marketing. In essence, it is stealing credit from other advertisers, Woodman said, and it can't be treated like other tactics in a digital advertising campaign. However, 14 of the Fortune 25 are using some form of retargeting, and there are ways, when combined with other strategies, to make it work properly and effectively.
Enter adnetik, an independent digital media trading desk and targeting partner with a proven record of optimizing display and video advertising to more effectively plan, purchase, measure, and deliver digital media. Adnetik goes beyond DSP platforms to provide real-time bidding and targeting capabilities to maximize client campaigns and focus on:
- Brand protection
- Intelligent buying
- True transparency
Additionally, adnetik's Audience Investment Management (AIM) platform provides precise real-time targeting and bidding techniques that avoid personally identifiable information and adhere to privacy standards. AIM provides:
- Behavioral targeting to match ads according to actual online user behavior
- Demographic targeting based on age, gender, and income obtained from site registration or by inference
- Geographic targeting by ZIP code, area code, market state, or country
- Look-alike segmentation that identifies consumers with similar, productive profiles
- Retargeting to find high-value consumers, wherever they are on the web
- Social proximity to expand reach through social influence
Woodman concluded by saying:
- Retargeting tactics are an extremely strong signal.
- Retargeting tactics steal credit from non-retargeting tactics.
- Alternate forms of targeting drive users into the retargeting line items and need to be measured in separation from retargeting.
Gretchen Hyman is editor-in-chief of iMedia Connection.
iMedia Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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January Term brought an abundance of unique classes to students here at Linfield.
Many students are now requesting more innovative class offering and hoping for the chance to learn in new, unconventional ways.
“The Art and Science of Brewing” taught by Brian Gilbert, associate professor of chemistry, is a chemistry course that focuses on the production and analysis of brewing beer.
“The greatest part of this class was that it was intended to inspire the students. Our professor set it up so we were exposed to not only the science aspect of brewing, but we learned about the art, culture and hard work that goes into the craft beer industry. We all walked away with a greater appreciation for quality in general and the hard work it takes to get there,” senior Libby Sturgess said.
When students signed up for the sociology class “Utopias and Dystopias,” they weren’t expecting to be taking a class on the zombie apocalypse. Luckily, everyone was pleasantly surprised.
Jeff Peterson, associate professor of sociology, gave students the unique chance to examine social issues like gender, race and socioeconomic inequality using zombies as a nonthreatening blank canvas to project society’s fears upon.
“I did prefer the unique subject matter to the more traditional kind because it allowed for us students to get more excited to learn about the material … because we get our fair share of traditional material throughout our fall and spring semesters,” junior Kyle Jones said.
These classes examined issues most classes would, but in a more stimulating and inventive way.
These innovative courses seemed to boost morale and increase student engagement in the classroom.
We applaud the professors who took a chance on a unique class and hope to see more in the future.
“I would like it if Linfield offered more unique classes because I believe it is beneficial to students because it allows us to become better-rounded through these unique courses and get out of our comfort zones,” Jones said. “More unique course offerings will lead to the excitement of students to learn and come to class, and that can only benefit Linfield in a positive way.”
Now, students are left wondering what exciting classes Linfield will offer next.
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If kamma is a speculative view then why did the buddha expound it as a fact not as a speculation?
Because the Buddha, as a good teacher, taught according to the mental abilities and understandings of the listener, pointing toward his own teachings. Kamma and reincarnation beliefs were entrenched in the culture of his time. He was knowledgeable and well-versed in all of the major philosophies and religions of his time and place, and conversed with persons who approached him using their own lexicon and base of understanding to point toward his own teachings. For example, when asked by a "naked dog-duty ascetic" and a "naked ox-duty ascetic" where they would be reincarnated, he pointed out that as one practices, so one goes: each would become a dog or an ox. His own (transcendent) teaching was that "kamma" is intention
(cetana). Our mental, verbal, and bodily actions follow our intentions.
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Perspective: Finding My Way to Electronic Health Records
Regina Benjamin, M.D., M.B.A.
The recent oil spill off the Gulf Coast may prove to be one of the great environmental challenges of our lifetime. It is yet another devastating blow to the Gulf region, a place I call home. My heart goes out to the people there who are concerned about how this latest disaster will affect their livelihood and their health. Though the full effects of the spill remain to be seen, already the health needs of Gulf Coast inhabitants are increasing during this time of crisis. Physicians in the area will need to adapt and find innovative ways to efficiently deliver health care for an already under-served population. I recall my experiences as a physician during the crises of Hurricanes Georges and Katrina and try to remember how I adapted.
The day after Katrina hit, I drove through Bayou La Batre, a small fishing village on the Gulf Coast where I practiced medicine for 23 years. The damage didn’t look so bad when I pulled up to my clinic. However, when I opened the door, I nearly fell sick from the smell of dead fish and crabs. Furniture had been tossed around the office every which way. All the patient information — all the paper records — were ruined. I remember thinking that I had tried to prepare for this kind of crisis and recalling that I had strongly considered moving to electronic health records (EHRs). But money was tight, as it was for many small practices throughout the country, and it eventually came down to a choice: I could either install an EHR system or pay the electricity bill. Searching for a source of courage, I recalled the reasons why I had chosen to become a family physician.
Like many physicians just out of school, I believed strongly in primary care — my mother, father, and brother had all died of preventable diseases. As a National Health Service Corps scholar, I now had the privilege of making a difference in a small community.
Bayou La Batre was my assignment. I was familiar with the town, since I had grown up in nearby Daphne, where my family has been since the early 1800s— the Seafood Capital of Alabama, a shrimping town, where people made their living on the water. But the seafood industry had been hurting, which meant that there was little money for health insurance or out-of-pocket copayments, and more important, that there weren’t enough primary care physicians.
Many of my patients spent most of their time on the boats, going out for 2 months at a time. Skipping from coast to coast was part of their job. I remember one patient who had been out for nearly 3 weeks and had used superglue to treat a gash on his hand. My patients had to improvise, and they had few medical options for managing their illnesses, whether acute or chronic. I felt I had arrived in the right place at the right time.
Well, perhaps it wasn’t exactly the right time. In 1998, Hurricane Georges made landfall in the Gulf Coast, causing over $100 million in damage to Alabama alone. My clinic was destroyed. Without a building in which to treat patients, my nurse Nell Bosarge and I spent the next 2 years driving my pickup truck to their homes. Eventually, I mustered the resources to rebuild the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic — on higher ground this time, and on 4-ft stilts. Meanwhile, we managed to save the drenched paper records of our patients by carefully drying them in the hot Alabama sun.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina came, again threatening to destroy the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic. We had 48 hours to evacuate the area and, given the new secure location of the building, saw no reason to pack away all the paper medical records. When I returned to the Bayou, the building had been destroyed by the water. Nell and I knew we had to get everything out of there, or else it would mildew. We spent just as much time clearing out the medical records — again placing them in the sun in 90-degree weather to dry them, carefully turning them over — as we did trying to salvage the structure of the place. This time, I could not make house calls to my patients’ homes, because the vast majority of their homes had been destroyed, too. Our staff set up a makeshift clinic in the auditorium of the local shelter, while volunteers and donations helped us prepare for a January 2 reopening.
Tragedy befell the Bayou Clinic once again, when, in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, just before our clinic was to reopen, a fire broke out and the clinic burned to the ground. This time, the precious patient records — the ones that Nell, the staff, and I had spent hours drying and recovering on two separate occasions — were completely destroyed. We were forced to rely on memory and intuition in treating our patients. Any information on allergies, coexisting conditions, and specific family history was now left to recollection.
Having lost the Bayou Clinic three times, I knew we had to have a better way of practicing. I needed to find a way to deliver high-quality health care to people who didn’t have a lot of money. From the experiences with the hurricanes and the fire, I knew we had to be able to evacuate the clinic quickly, while still safeguarding the vital patient information. Whereas I had previously decided against installing an EHR system because I couldn’t afford one, I now realized I couldn’t afford not to have one.
Our trials did not go unnoticed. Wonderful people from all over volunteered their time and money to help us rebuild. A generous donation from a private foundation supported our efforts through the Katrina Phoenix program, helping us rebuild our clinic with computer hardware, in coordination with a generous EHR vendor and with the help of good-hearted student volunteers from Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. They also provided us with support, teaching us how to use the system and helping to implement it in our practice. Needless to say, Nell and I were relieved when we turned on the switch and became a paperless office.
Though it is challenging to persuade some doctors and nurses to convert from paper records, “buy-in” was not an issue at the Bayou Clinic, since Nell and the rest of the staff were adamant about never having to “bake charts in the sun” again. The new system we implemented allowed us to easily track and document our patients’ histories; with a click of a button, we could send a prescription or remind patients of upcoming mammograms, thus improving the quality of care. Practicing medicine became easier for the clinicians and better for the patients.
With the availability of new incentive payments made possible by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), and assistance for the transition to electronic health records available from regional extension centers, small practices like mine now have the kind of support that I had — and fewer reasons to delay a decision that should have been obvious long ago.
Until the day we turned on our EHR system, I was still using pens with waterproof ink. It is a very good thing — for both me and our patients — that my fellow physicians and I don’t need to use those pens anymore.
Disclosure forms provided by the author are available with the full text of this article at NEJM.org.
Dr. Benjamin is the Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service, Washington, DC.
This article (10.1056/NEJMp1007785) was published on July 13, 2010, at NEJM.org.
Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
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The Pressure to Compromise
This devotional was written by Jim Burns What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? — Romans 6:15-16
The pressure to compromise our lifestyle is one of the greatest battles that comes our way. We all experience peer pressure, no matter what our age. The pressure to compromise makes a five-year-old scream a dirty word or a 16-year-old get drunk at a party. The same pressure forces a business executive to cheat on a business deal and then say, "Everyone does it."
A Christian is called to stand firm and not be seduced by peer pressure, even though sometimes it is very difficult to stand out in the crowd. Most of the time you'll feel better for keeping your principles, though there might be times when you will lose a friend, a job, or something else important to you. Christians are always called to stand on the side of righteousness even if it is unpopular to do so.
If you have trouble in withstanding the pressure to compromise, here are three principles that will help you through your day:
Make Micah 6:8 a verse to live by: He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
John 8:34; 2 Peter 2:19
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"Despite numerous efforts to engage LimeWire, the site's corporate owners have shown insufficient interest in developing a legal business model that adequately respects copyrights. While other services have come productively to the table, LimeWire has sat back and continued to reap profits on the backs of the music community. That is unfortunate and has left us no choice but to file a lawsuit to protect the rights and livelihoods of artists, songwriters and record label employees, as well as those companies building legitimate businesses based on music."
The lawsuit, filed in New York's southern district, cites Mark Gorton and Greg Bildon as both exerting substantial influence over LimeWire development and profiting handsomely from the commercialized "LimeWire Pro."
"Defendant Mark Gorton is a principal and the Chief Executive Officer of defendant Lime Wire LLC. He is also a member and the Chief Executive Officer of defendant Lime Group LLC. Mr. Gorton is the dominant influence in Lime Group LLC, and, along with Defendant Greg Bildson, in Lime Wire LLC. Mr. Gorton has been personally and substantially involved in and profits greatly from the design, promotion, marketing and distribution of LimeWire."
In building their copyright case, the RIAA lawsuit also documents that LimeWire encourages sharing, and punishes those who "freeload."
"Defendants have taken steps to ensure that LimeWire users "share" a large number of files on LimeWire, thereby maintaining the draw and reputation of LimeWire as a vast, unauthorized repository of commercial sound recordings...Indeed, Defendants further designed LimeWire to punish those users - called "freeloaders" by LimeWire - who do not "share" enough files with other LimeWire users."
The RIAA's lawsuit builds upon the "induce" copyright infringement standard, which was awarded to copyright holders by the Supreme Court in June
of 2005 (MGM vrs Grokster.) The lawsuit claims LimeWire "...induced and continue to induce infringement by, for example, aiming to satisfy a known source of demand for copyright infringement, including the market comprising users of other infringing services that were shut down or 16 compelled to block access to Plaintiffs' copyrighted works, such as Napster, Grokster, and Kazaa."
The RIAA also claims LimeWire actively induces copyright infringement by failing to implement filter unauthorized works and by profiting from an infringing business model. LimeWire was also accused of more traditional "Contributory Copyright Infringement", "Vicarious Copyright Infringement", and "Common Law Copyright Infringement." It should be noted that no other P2P developer has been sued for common law
"Plaintiffs' Pre-1972 Recordings are subject to common-law copyright protection under the law of New York. As the owners of valid common-law copyrights in the Pre-1972 Recordings, Plaintiffs possess the exclusive rights to manufacture, copy, sell, distribute, and otherwise exploit the recordings."
Many believed, as did LimeWire, that their open source nature would preserve their existence - at least for some time to come. LimeWire's open source nature may not save the company from the RIAA's onslaught, but it may save the Gnutella network. LimeWire's newest features and talent comes from the open source world; even if Lime Group vanishes tomorrow, development won't.
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Including children with disabilities at school: good for kids, or good for budgets?
Clayton remembers a case in point from her own experience as a therapist. She worked with a teen-aged boy with autism who attended regular classes at his high school. The student was extremely bright, but had a hard time containing his volatile emotions and acting appropriately in loud and crowded settings. But Clayton's recommendation that the school not require him to attend large, noisy activities was overridden by well-meaning administrators.
"They worried that singling him out in that way might be harmful to him socially," she said. "Ultimately, the child attended a very chaotic school assembly without additional supports and reacted aggressively, resulting in criminal charges."
Clayton said that for some children, full-time placement in a special education classroom with specifically trained staff, adaptive equipment and specialized learning materials might best meet the needs of the child. For other children, bringing speech or occupational therapy into a general education classroom might be more appropriate.
Policies and costs
There are roughly 7 million special education students in U.S. public schools, and their disabilities range from dyslexia and mild speech disorders to blindness, deafness, profound mental retardation, severe health problems and combinations of all of these. Special education — which requires trained teachers, special equipment, speech pathologists, physical therapists and psychologists — is financed through a bewildering combination of federal, state and local funds that varies widely from state to state and district to district.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average cost of educating a special education student is a little more than double the average cost for other students. A wide spectrum of expenses make up that per-pupil cost for special education, though. The majority of special education students receive minimal services, such as extra therapy for speech problems or accommodations to help with learning disabilities like dyslexia. Fewer than 20 percent of special education students have profound disabilities, but some of those students have an array of expensive needs. Their education costs can skyrocket to many times the cost of educating a typically-developing child.
All told, special education in the United States costs about $30 billion to $35 billion per year. Due to funding inequities in U.S. schools, access to those funds is uneven, and students with disabilities who attend school in low-income districts are unlikely to receive the same level of care as their more privileged peers.
"The challenges are great in serving kids in high-poverty schools, in all areas," said Melody Musgrove, director of special education programs for the U.S. Department of Education. "Special education is no exception. High-poverty schools are certainly a concern."
The federal requirement to educate special education students with their peers to the degree that is appropriate is applied unevenly, too.
"The statute is the same everywhere," said Musgrove. "It requires that children be educated in the least restrictive environment. But different states apply that standard of inclusion very differently."
For instance, a study released last August showed that the New York City Department of Education is making good progress toward reforms that will reverse its longstanding practice of segregating special education students in their own classrooms and schools.
Musgrove said that for most special education students, being educated with friends whose development is more typical is important for reasons that reach beyond social needs. When children who can achieve — like Devon — are segregated in situations where learning happens at a slow pace, their progress is held back. Many states have made it a priority to increase numbers of special education students in regular classrooms, and to improve outcomes on standardized tests, and that's important, Musgrove said.
Devon's family had to push for her chance to be the happy, popular student she is. Sean Adelman, an orthopedic surgeon, was planning to move to Florida for a job when Devon was old enough to attend kindergarten, but he changed his mind about the move because in Florida Devon would be bused to a specialized school where most students had profound disabilities.
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Kids Help Phone asks everyone to choose to make a difference in time for Bullying Awareness Week (November 12-18 2012)
TORONTO, Nov. 8, 2012 /CNW/ - Bullying can happen almost anywhere - in classrooms, on the schoolyard, on sports teams, and even at home, especially now as text messaging, social media, and online forums become a major part of how we communicate, reach out to each other and connect.
This November, Kids Help Phone is asking everyone in Canada to do something about all types of bullying by sharing this message through their social media networks and email signatures:
Bullying: it happens. Choose to make a difference. Stand Up. Step In. Reach out. Tell someone, or tell Kids Help Phone.
Bullying Awareness Week runs from November 12th to 18th. Empowering young people to stand up to bullying is not always easy. But we can all make a difference in the lives of young people everywhere when we take action like learning more about bullying; raising awareness about supports that are available to young people; and uniting to take a stand against bullying.
In a 2011 survey, Kids Help Phone found that, "as young people abandon email in favour of phone-based text messaging, text messaging [is now] the second most common platform for cyberbullying." Where social networking once was once ranked third, it now comes in first.
Adults must recognize that technology is an integral part of young people's lives and is here to stay. We now know that cyberbullying can't be solved simply by restricting young people's access to cell phones, computers, or other devices; often, the youth end up feeling alienated and alone instead. Many young people say that they don't tell their parents about cyberbullying because they are afraid of losing their technology privileges.
Kids Help Phone sought-after expertise
In May of this year, Kids Help Phone was an intervener in a case presented to the Supreme Court of Canada and the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights advocating to protect the anonymity and confidentiality of young people who are cyberbullied. The organization stood up on behalf of children and youth to reinforce to the Canadian government that:
- Cyberbullying has become an increasingly pervasive and damaging form of bullying. It also tends to co-occur alongside other forms of bullying, extending a young person's experience beyond the schoolyard and other outside environments and into the home.
- Canada should support environments where young people are encouraged to report cyberbullying in a safe manner, without fear of retaliation.
- We must create physically and psychologically safe spaces for all young people within the school environment, and especially for certain groups that have been shown to experience higher rates and more negative outcomes because of bullying, such as young people who are or are perceived as LGBTQ.
- The Supreme Court ruled that young people, merely by their age, need their identities protected in order to access relief from cyberbullying. You can read the entire Supreme Court decision here: http://scc.lexum.org/en/2012/2012scc46/2012scc46.html
Did you know:
- In 2011, Kids Help Phone saw a 10% increase in calls during Bullying Awareness Week
- The average Canadian elementary classroom contains at least one or two students who have experienced bullying
- 10% of the contacts Kids Help Phone receives over the phone and online relate to bullying
- 65% of youth who answered a Kids Help Phone 2011 survey reported that they had been cyberbullied
- 35% of youth who answered another independent Kids Help Phone online survey said they witness bullying on a daily basis, including at school, after school, and online.
- 1 in 5 middle school students report avoiding restrooms at school due to fear of being bullied.
- 87% of students in grades 8 to 10 reported witnessing school bullying in the past year.
- Bystanders can stop bullying: Studies have shown that bullying stops within 10 seconds more than half of the time when a bystander intervenes.
What Kids Help Phone is doing to support anti-bullying initiatives and Bullying Awareness Week - and how you can join in:
- During Bullying Awareness Week, gather with the kids in your life and take some time together to visit kidshelpphone.ca's new content on bullying and cyberbullying. The kids and teens websites will feature refreshed content for kids who have been bullied, witnessed bullying or have engaged in bullying themselves; new clinically-endorsed interactive games; and tools and resources designed to help young people plan for their own safety until they are able to reach out.
- Kids Help Phone joins Family Channel as the network celebrates its 10th annual Bullying Awareness Week with a comprehensive campaign encouraging Canadian students to Join the Stand UP! Network and stop bullying in their communities. Visit www.family.ca/StandUp to pledge to Stand UP! bullying pledge and download anti-bullying resources.
- On Monday, November 12, listen for the radio-release of "True Colours." Seven prominent Canadian recording artists - Jacob Hoggard (Hedley), Pierre Bouvier (Simple Plan), Lights, Kardinal Offishall, Alyssa Reid, Febe Dobson, and Walk off the Earth - cover Cyndi Lauper's classic hit to raise awareness about bullying and raise money for Kids Help Phone. The song will be available on iTunes on Tuesday, November 13, with proceeds from each download benefitting Kids Help Phone.
- On Friday, November 16, Family Channel will also air a bullying special at 5pm EST featuring Kids Help Phone professional counsellor Caitlin Parsons. The special will be followed by an evening of bullying-themed programming.
- Tune in to TVOKids on Monday, November 19 for a special edition of the Help Zone. Kids Help Phone counsellor Duane is co-hosting and he'll be answering kids' questions about bullying. Starts at 4pm EST.
- On Tuesday, November 20, the Toronto Argonauts host the Huddle Up Bullying Prevention Program presented by Tim Hortons, an anti-bullying initiative in Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto. A Kids Help Phone counsellor will be there to answer questions from kids and to hand out materials to the 1,000 young people expected to attend. To conclude the Bullying Prevention Day, recognized writer and speaker, Barbara Coloroso will share her insights on the bully, the bullied and the bystander; the evening starts at 7pm with a panel discussion featuring a student, parent, school administrator, police officer and a Kids Help Phone professional counsellor.
What our professional counsellors are saying
"Kids Help Phone hears from many young people who are impacted by bullying," says Alain Johnson, Clinical Director, Kids Help Phone. "Some of the youth who call us are experiencing bullying, others are bystanders, and some are bullies themselves. Empowering young people is important, because it helps them to change their situation. When we remind them that they have a choice to tell someone, to ask for help, or to reach out and be there for a friend or a classmate, it can make a big difference."
Bullying: Tips to help make a difference
- Educate yourself about all types of bullying: this includes verbal bullying, physical, social (e.g., gossip, purposely excluding others), cyberbullying, racialized and homophobic bullying (e.g., bullying someone based on the colour of their skin, or perceived sexual orientation).
- Talk about cyberbullying. Help kids understand that making negative comments online or via text message is hurtful, and that once those comments are made, they can exist online for a long time.
- Encourage them to be assertive, not aggressive. Fighting doesn't help anyone.
- Openly communicate that you will not take away their technology privileges if they confide in you that they are being cyberbullied. This is not the answer and will only make them less likely to tell you if something is happening to them.
- Be supportive. Don't minimize what your child is going through. Listen to your child and try to understand the impact the bullying is having on them, and assure them that you are on their side.
- Encourage young people to do activities that they enjoy and that help them to feel good about themselves, such as a favourite sport or hobby.
About Kids Help Phone
Kids Help Phone is a Canadian and world leader, known for our expertise in providing vital, innovative, and professional counselling services to children and youth. Since 1989 we have offered children, teens and young adults in Canada a critical lifeline of hope and support, through our free, anonymous and confidential service. Our professional counsellors support the mental health and well-being of young people ages five to 20, in urban, rural, and remote communities, by providing one-on-one counselling, information and resources online and by phone. Our internationally recognized, award-winning websites are considered a model of child-focused interactive design, and offer online counseling forums and engaging, therapeutic games, tools and information to encourage resilience and self-care. A community-based national charity, Kids Help Phone receives no core government funding and relies on community and corporate support to keep our essential service available. We're available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in English and in French.
To learn more about Kids Help Phone, please visit www.kidshelpphone.ca.
You can also follow us at:
SOURCE: Kids Help PhoneFor further information:
For more tips, and to set up an interview with a Kids Help Phone counsellor about Bullying Awareness Week, please contact:
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Posted 11 months ago
This is an interesting trench art aluminum box-- most likely made to hold cigarettes. It measures 4 3/4" X 3" and is a little less than 1/2" thick.
The top is period engraved with service locations from 1944 to 1945.
The box is also engraved to a US Army soldier: "William A. Rutherford" along with his service number.
I have not been unable to determine the soldiers unit and would like to find it. Rutherford was African American, which I thought would make the search a little easier, but I still haven't had success.
Any thoughts or help is appreciated.
Reproduction of these images in any form is not authorized.
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How many times can you "discover" water on Mars? Orbiting cameras found ancient, water-cut valley networks in the 1970s and young, presumably water-cut gullies in 2000. And in 2004, rovers discovered signs of acidic groundwater that occasionally oozed to the surface of ancient Mars (ScienceNOW, 23 March 2004) Now, the High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found another setting for the elixir of any past martian life, thanks to the unprecedented level of detail being returned by that camera.
The first new result from HiRISE was presented in San Francisco, California, today at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (which publishes ScienceNOW). Planetary geologist Chris Okubo of the University of Arizona in Tucson reported the discovery of cracks in layered sedimentary rocks exposed in Candor Chasma, a branch of the great Valles Marineris canyon system. HiRISE's 30-centimeter resolution--tens times better than the previous best--has provided stunning views of Mars since routine imaging began last November. In Candor Chasma, that enhanced detail revealed thin, straight, dark lines that cut across the light-dark layering of sedimentary deposits. Each cross-cutting dark line is surrounded by a light-toned "halo" a few meters across.
With dark, loose sand blowing around, the team could infer that the thin dark lines are low, sand-collecting fractures surrounded by higher, sand-shedding ridges. On Earth, such features form where water has flowed deeply through fractured rock. If the same thing happened on Mars, the mineral-laden water could chemically lighten the tone of surrounding rock and cement and strengthen it. Then weaker rock farther from the fracture would erode more easily, leaving a pair of ridges paralleling the fracture. The findings also appear online today in Science.
The martian details being returned by HiRISE are "making all of us geologists drool," says Marjorie Chan of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, who works on ancient fractures on Earth like those HiRISE found. Geologists both terrestrial and planetary could soon be feasting on such once-watery fractures. HiRISE has spied a set of likely fractures on the eastern rim and floor of Victoria Crater, conveniently enough, the same crater now being explored by the Opportunity rover.
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While the debate continues over man-made or natural causes, there's no debate about last year's temperature data: 2012 was the warmest year in the United States since record-keeping began back in the 1800s.
Temperature data for the United States shows a mean temperature for 2012 of 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit. The record is more than three degrees above normal.
The 2012 average bested the previous record, set in 1998, by more than a full degree.
Portland bucked the national trend. Temperatures here were near normal last year. However, 19 states did set all-time heat records for the year. July 2012 was the warmest on record for our country, and last summer was the second-hottest on record. Extreme warm temperatures far out-paced record lows.
The biggest impact of the record-warm year was the severe drought that gripped the nation's heartland. In addition, nearly one-third of the country coped with at least 10 days of 100-degree or hotter temperatures during the year. The year 2012 was the 15th-driest year on record.
So far this winter, much of the upper Midwest snow pack is well below normal. If the trend of little snow and below normal spring and summer rain continues, vital waterways such as the Mississippi river may not be able to support river commerce.
Watch for the drought to be a huge story this coming summer if Mother Nature does not deliver much needed precipitation.
More information is available at: www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/
KGW Meteorologist Rod Hill
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“ Chinese scientist appeals for funding to make Chinese journals OA — 05 Sep 2008
Zhu Zuoyan, a recently retired deputy head of the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC), has reportedly appealed for funding to make several Chinese journals open access (OA). To boost the country’s scientific journals, he urged to give priority to domestic science publications.
According to Zuoyan, government-funded open access journals could be a breakthrough for science publishing in China. He further stated that OA journals prioritise academic merits over commercial interests. A government-funded open access initiative would lessen or eliminate the cost of publishing, thereby allowing Chinese journals to attract more high-quality papers and improve their impact.
Zhu’s remarks come amidst criticisms that Chinese scientists are publishing more in overseas journals than domestic ones. According to a study by Wang Bingsheng, a leading physicist and editor of the journal Chinese Physics Letters, in 2006, over 80 percent of Chinese physics papers published in journals, listed in the Science Citation Index (SCI), were published in international journals.
Also, it has been observed that science institutions in China often assess the outputs of their scientists using the impact factors of the journals where they publish their papers. Many international journals have higher impact factors than domestic ones.
This trend among Chinese scientists to publish more in overseas journals, some say, may endanger the existence of the 5,000 scientific journals published in China.”
Source: Knowledgespeak Newsletter.
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Santa Barbara County Marriages
|Santa Barbara County Marriages, September 23, 2008 Copyright © 2007-2008, Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society.|
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
Marriage Records from 1850 to 1910
From "Record of Marriages Celebrated in the County of Santa Barbara since the passage of a law of the State of California dated April 22, 1850 requiring all marriages to be recorded in the Office of the County Recorder."
The source for the marriage record index contained herein originally was from the actual marriage license applications filed with the Santa Barbara County Recorder by the minister or official performing the ceremony regardless of the location of the ceremony. The application was then dated and the location entered along with the signature of the person performing the ceremony. The ceremony may have been performed in another county in California, and it was up to the minister or some other person involved in the ceremony to see that the document was delivered to the proper county office. Even though a marriage may have been performed in Santa Barbara County, the license may have been acquired and returned to another county.
Members of the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society used these license applications from which to extract the information by year beginning with 1850 for this Index. These indexes were first published in the Society's quarterly, Ancestors West, from Vol. I, 1974 through Vol. 12, 1985. In 2005 Society members began transcribing the previously compiled indexes from Ancestors West for Internet access thus sharing this information with the world.
Using the Index
· In the case of some minors who married under the age of consent, the recorded licenses may show by whom the consent was given.
· Indians without surnames are listed under "Indian" as the surname.
· Hispanic surnames can be confusing to the uninitiated since they sometimes constituted both father's name and mother's maiden name.
· Some of the abbreviations that were found in the records were: D. (Don); Da (Dona); Ma (Maria); Js. (Jesus); Ygn°, (Ygnacio, Ignacio, Ignacia); Ant°, (Antonio).
· Records for the years 1860-1861 are few. Only 3-4 records were found. This was confirmed by Dorothy Oksner who viewed the microfilm at the County Recorder's Office in 2007.
Compilers, typists and editors
For the early Index as published in Ancestors West 1974-1985 compilers, typists and editors were:
Margaret Coons Carlton M. Smith Margaret Stanholtzer Victor South
Alice Ovington Lillian M. Fish Norman Scofield Ruth Pelch
Doris Crawford Doreen Dullea Ann Earley Lorraine Laabs
Donna Tepper Virginia Paddock Justine Titus Harry Titus
Harry Glenn Karen Heritage Helen Miller Janet Lawler
Sandy Strickland Carol Kosai
Transcribers, editors and techies for the index herein based upon the printed copies in Ancestors West, working from 2005 to 2007 were:
Helen Rydell Connie Williams Carell Jantzen Emily Aasted
Kim Fults Dorothy Oksner Gary Matz
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Register with us or sign in
season.Rue is hardy, but if it should fail it's easily grown from seed sown outdoors in spring. Beware of its sap, though, as it can burn your skin on contact.More advice on growing herbsFollow Joe Swift's advice on growing basil from seed.Read more about
Foliage plays a central role in this window box, which means it looks good even before the citrus-coloured tulips and primroses burst into bloom in spring, adding a zesty splash of colour to your window ledge. September - OctoberFebruary - March20 minutesTulip bulbs x4Primrose p...
and miscanthus.Planting partnersGrow smaller varieties in patio pots and plant medium and tall varieties among herbaceous perennials in mixed borders. Improve the soil before planting, with home-made compost or well-rotted manure. Grow them in full sun
Sweet peas are the classic annual climber and look just as lovely in pots as they do in a border. 'Spencer Mix' has large flowers and long stems, good for cutting, but 'Cupani' and 'Painted Lady' are particularly good as their short stems give good coverage of the support and the...
Late-summer nectarAs some insects are still out foraging in late-summer, it's a good idea to provide food for them with nectar-rich, late-flowering plants.Plants for beesIn late-summer, many plants have finished flowering, but bees, butterflies and hoverflies are still on the win...
Any plant that's planted out in a bed, border or pot for a seasonal display, usually during spring and summer. The plants are then removed, making way for next season's display. Spring bedding is composed of spring-flowering bulbs, hardy perennials
lots of organic matterPrune lavender to maintain its shape, and take lavender cuttings by pulling off sideshoots and inserting them in trays of gritty compostCollect seed from border perennials and store in a sealed container in a cool place
and containersPlant wallflowers, pansies, forget-me-nots and other spring beddingLift and divide congested clumps of perennialsLift gladioli and store their corms after the flowers have fadedSow hardy annuals outside for early flowers next summerBuy spring
Choosing secateursImproving your lawnCutting a clean lawn edgeView a selection of vegetable plants Browse a variety of hardy perennials
Chris Beardshaw demonstrates how to lift and divide congested clumps of autumn-flowering Nerine bowdenii, and suggests growing Nerine sarniensis in a pot. springhalf an hourMore advice on growing flowersBrowse a selection of tender perennial plants
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me and my friends are starting a band but one problem is we only know how to use the guitar... we have drums at home but nobody knows how to use it. what do you think should i learn drums or bass??? by the way thre are three of us 2 knows guitar and one of us doesnt know how to play any instrument, can you suggest that my other friend just use the guitar my other friend who doesnt know anything might just use the drums (without learning) and i study bass? what do you suggest.. because my 2 other friends live in the province and they can't really study how to play other instruments... or what if we just leave bass how about 2 guitars 1 drums ???
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There’s something remarkably honest about the United Steel Workers of Montreal. Far from being a contrivance, their country and bluegrass music feels earnest and appropriate, and nowhere is that more obvious than in the new video for their song “Émile Bertrand.”
This elegy for the lost working-class life of Montreal’s southwest is named in honour of the Émile Bertrand restaurant, a snack bar at Notre-Dame and Mountain that was famous for its home-brewed spruce beer. It closed in 2006 when its owner, Barbara Strudensky, died of cancer, so the USWM filmed their video in Point St. Charles’ Paul Patates, which has inherited Émile Bertrand’s legacy — and spruce beer. “Dreamin’ just comes easy when work is just too hard to bear,” croon the USWM’s vocalists, Felicity Hamer and Sean Beauchamp, as the video cuts between present-day scenes of the Lachine Canal, St. Henri and Point St. Charles and historical photos of Griffintown.
There’s something about this landscape that invites nostalgia. Maybe it’s the unexpected tranquility of the canal and the brooding ghosts of industry along it. Five years ago, when I lived in St. Henri, I lay awake at night listening to the mysterious clanging of trains in the nearby railyards. Those solitary moments, more than anything, are what I remember about living in the city’s southwest.
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Published on November 14, 2012 at 5:37 AM
A recent video from the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) on global health and national security discusses the importance of military and non-military health partnerships with middle- and low-income countries, the American Public Health Association's "IH-Blog" reports. The video features commentary from leaders in security and health, according to the blog (11/9). A CSIS report titled "Global Health as a Bridget to Security" is available online (11/1).
This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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AN AGRO-ECOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE MANAGEMENT OF A SMUT DISEASE CAUSED BY USTILAGO KAMERUNENSIS ON NAPIER GRASS, PENNISETUM PURPUREUM, IN KENYA
G FARRELL1, SA SIMONS2 and AM JULIAN3
1KARI/DFID NARP II, PO Box 14733, Nairobi, Kenya; 2CAB Africa Regional Centre, PO Box 76520, Nairobi, Kenya; 3Natural Resources Institute, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK
Background and objectives
Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) is the major source of fodder for zero-grazed livestock in Kenya. In the early 1990s a new disease of the grass was brought to the attention of the Ministry of Agriculture by farmers. The pathogen was identified as Ustilago kamerunensis H Sydow and Sydow . It had been reported as a minor problem from other East African countries but has proved to be more severe and widespread in Kenya (affected plants produce a smutted inflorescence and biomass production is much reduced). This may reflect the presence of a more virulent strain, less-resistant Napier grass clones, or a greater use of the grass in Kenya. The grass has been heavily promoted for stall-fed animals since the 1960s, with a consequent increase in the area under cultivation. The overall objective of this investigation is to develop management strategies for Napier grass smut for smallholder farmers through an understanding of the pathogen's biology and ecology.
Materials and methods
A stratified two-stage random sample of 109 Napier grass plots was done in 1997 in a high-potential area (Kiambu District) of central Kenya, using qualitative and quantitative methods.
Results and conclusions
Of 3925 Napier plants examined, 171 (4.4%) had smut disease. The proportion of plots infected was 25%. Many farmers did not recognize that infected plants were diseased (they assumed that infected plants were a different species) and so the importance of the disease has probably been underestimated. Napier plants were wholly smutted (all stems on a stool infected) or partially smutted, in that only some of the stems showed signs of disease. It seems that this pathogen is partially systemic. The fungus is able to initiate disease within a stem but not to infect other stems on the same stool, i.e. infection is vertically systemic but not horizontally systemic. Experience suggests that removing diseased parts of a stool leads to disease remission within that stool, and could be recommended as a control measure. If plants can be partially smutted, it should be possible to relate the number of smutted stems to a loss value for biomass and hence develop a scoring system for smut disease severity. Spatial pattern analysis revealed non-clustering of plants in 72% of the plots, suggesting that plant-to-plant disease transmission is of minor importance, and that diseased plants do not act as major foci of infection within a plot. This suggests that the infection behaviour of U. kamerunensis is analogous to that of soilborne pathogens. A model of the proportion of smut was developed, based on a quadratic function of altitude, as the only significant parameter. This is the first published smut disease correlative model that uses environmental factors. To develop management advice for farmers, future work will investigate sources of inoculum (spore dispersal and distribution of infected planting material) and factors influencing the spread of the disease (such as soil amendments), and build on existing farmer practice in roguing diseased plants. It may be possible to recommend a fallow period if spore survival in soil is short. Longer-term control measures, as part of a basket of options for farmers, could involve resistant clones, alternative fodders such as Guatemala grass (Tripsacum fasciculatum), or fungicides. However, with such a traditionally low-input crop, farmers require methods of influencing the disease that are free or cheap.
1. Mordue JEM,1993. International Mycological Institute Biosystematics Services Report H380/93/YE1.
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Community 1x01: “Pilot”
“What is community college? Well, you’ve heard it’s all kinds of things. You’ve heard it’s loser college for remedial teens, 20 something dropouts, middle aged divorcees, and old people keeping their minds active as they circle the drain of eternity. That’s what you heard, however, I wish you luck!.”
The dean has just stereotyped many of the supporting characters into roles, and it turns out he is missing the full deck of cards to tell them how things will be different from these preconceived notions of self.
Jeff has not yet been cast in a type, but as soon as we meet him, we find that he is looking for ways to use people, and that is what we are doing too. How can we utilize him and all of these characters we are meeting for the first time, as mirrors for ourselves or models of antithesis? In his first three interactions, Jeff wants to use Abed to get to Britta, use Britta to get sex, and use his old acquaintance to cheat his way through the community college by being handed all of the answers. He is lead to believe that he might get them.
Soon, the study group meets for the first time, and Abed gives us our first Breakfast Club reference. The assigned thesis of the Breakfast Club’s essay was “who you think you are,” which is also our assignment here as engaged viewers. Which of these character stereotypes introduced in the beginning are we going to latch onto?
Jeff quickly distances himself from the group and rejoins his old acquaintance Duncan, who is a connection to his old life as a lawyer, when he was able to use his silver tongue to cheat the system. He still hopes that he can get all of the answers form this link to his past, but the only answer Duncan gives is a question of whether or not Jeff knows the difference between right and wrong. Jeff responds: “I discovered at a very early age that if I talk long enough, I could make anything right or wrong, so either I’m God, or truth is relative, but in either case: booyah.”
Jeff returns to encounter the rest of the study group, and Abed gives a second Breakfast Club reference. Jeff uses everyone and plays them off one another to throw the group into turmoil in hopes of extracting himself from the group once again. Abed delivers Bender’s speech from The Breakfast Club and stops the fight momentarily. The only person his reference elicits a response from is Jeff, everyone else becomes a silent observer. Jeff retreats again to finally retrieve all of the answers from his old acquaintance. When he returns, he must once again use everyone to attempt to get what he wants from Britta. He makes his first speech:
“We’re the only species on Earth that observes Shark Week. Sharks don’t even observe Shark Week, but we do, for the same reason I can pick up this pencil, tell you it’s name is Steve and go like this, and part of you dies just a little bit on the inside, because people can connect with anything. We can sympathize with a pencil, we can forgive a shark, and we can give Ben Affleck an Academy Award for screenwriting. People can find the good in just about anything but themselves.”
He goes on to recast everyone in the group in a new type. In the commentary, the creators explain this scene as follows: “He’s bringing them together [but] the character doesn’t mean it, but then again he’s not lying ‘cus the whole point of this character is supposed to be… the character doesn’t hate anybody, he doesn’t think that anybody’s a bad person, he’s too self-involved to care enough to judge anybody.”
In his speech, regarding Abed, Jeff states: “Abed’s a shaman. You ask him to pass the salt, he gives you a bowl of soup, because you know what? Soup is better.” The only person Abed connected with earlier during his film reference was Jeff, and we can see Bender (to whom the speech belongs in the film) as Jeff and perhaps the related story as symbolic of Jeff’s motivation. Jeff did confess earlier to the lunch lady: “I’m sorry. I was raised on TV, and I was conditioned to believe that every black woman over 50 is a cosmic mentor.” Though Abed does not change Jeff’s behavior with his references, he is attempting to reach him. To paraphrase Joseph Campbell, the job of the shaman is to determine what is wrong in the community, travel to the appropriate higher realm, commune with the spirits, and set it right quickly. The higher realm here is the collective unconscious of popular culture, and that is what the entire episode has been working in to set you at ease and help you connect better with the characters. When Abed shouted his reference, it was not at the group because they were not broken, but rather at Jeff who was breaking the group.
After the group is repaired by Jeff’s speech and Jeff is revealed to be a fake, he storms out with all the answers and Abed begins spouting a wider variety of pop culture references after him. Outside, Jeff tears open all the answers and rifles through a lot of nothing before coming to a single page bearing the word booyah. This recolors his speech before about his ability to manipulate truth and being God, which he ended with a “booyah.” His self addressing speech was a lot of nothing. This also hearkens back to the dean not having the cards to tell anyone how to overcome their perceived categorization in the community. Jeff has ultimately gotten no answers from his old way of life. The group comes out to find Jeff without all of the answers, and they begin to project themselves onto him and pull him back into their group.
In the opening of The Breakfast Club, the letter in response to “who you think you are” lists off the stereotype assigned to each of the members of the club and declares that they feel that they are brainwashed. However, at the end of the film the letter in response to the assignment has changed to reflect the fact that they all share commonalities. In the same way, the dean’s list of stereotypes in the beginning is eclipsed by our having found something relatable in each of the characters who form the study group by the end of the episode.
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Meant to simplify things for third party apps and websites
Google has said that its users can now use Google+ accounts to sign into third party apps and websites using their credentials from its social networking site.
Google said: "Whether you're building an app for Android, iOS or the web, users can now sign in to your app with Google, and bring along their Google+ info for an upgraded experience."
"It's simple, it's secure, and it prohibits social spam. And we're just getting started," the company said.
Google said that to sign in with Google+, users can use the same log-in information they use to sign in to Gmail, YouTube, or any other social network service, as well as Chrome. Users can now install the mobile app on their Android device upon signing in to a developer's website with Google+.
The company said Google+ doesn't let apps spray updates all over the stream, and app activity will only appear when it's relevant.
Google+, which was launched in 2011, had over 500 million users as of December 2012.
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Floating cities could become a reality if "seasteaders" like George Petrie have their way. The naval architect tells Jon White why havens far out at sea could redefine human existence
Editorial: "Moon? Mars? No, it's seaward ho!"
See more in our gallery: "Floating cities: The dream and the reality"
What exactly is seasteading?
Who among us has not looked at the current dysfunctional state of political systems and wished, "If only there were a deserted island where we could start over again". The bad news is there are no deserted islands that are not claimed by a jurisdiction, so the only way to have one is to build your own. That's what the seasteading community is hoping to facilitate.
We don't pretend to have the answers to how that island will be governed. We are trying to set up a laboratory that other people can use to do those ...
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How Much is 10kt Gold Worth
With this specially designed calculator, you can quickly and easily figure out how much 10 karat gold is worth. With the unending rise in gold prices, questions about how much bits and bobs of gold jewelry abound on the internet these days and seem to be very much on the mind of many a person. Avid jewelry buyers are only too aware how the price of 10kt gold jewelry has increased over the last decade. In fact, the price of solid gold has risen every year since 2001 and gold has been one of the best investments of the past decade. With prices so high, now could be the best time to get rid of any surplus or unloved pieces of 10kt gold you may have stored up.
Instant ‘How Much Is 10 Karat Gold Worth’ Calculator
How to Use The ‘How Much is 10kt Gold Worth’ Calculator
Simply enter the weight of gold in Troy Ounces or Grams. Be careful to choose the right unit otherwise you may be selling yourself short!
Next, look at the ‘Current Price of Gold’ box on the right hand side of the screen and enter the gold price into the form. Now just hit the ‘How Much Is Gold Worth’ button and get your instant quote.
If for example, you wish to calculate:
- How much 1g of 10kt gold is worth
Select ‘Grams’ & Enter ‘1’ in the ‘Quantity’ field.
- How much 10g of 10kt gold is worth
Select ‘Grams’ & Enter ‘10’ in the ‘Quantity’ field.
- How much 100g of 10kt gold is worth
Select ‘Grams’ & Enter ‘100’ in the ‘Quantity’ field.
- How much 1kg of 10kt gold is worth
Select ‘Grams’ & Enter ‘1000’ in the ‘Quantity’ field.
- How much 1oz of 10kt gold is worth
Select ‘Troy Ounces’ & Enter ‘1’ in the ‘Quantity’ field.
How to Calculate How Much 10 karat Gold is Worth
In order to calculate how much a collection of 10 karat gold is worth, one must simply know how much weight of it one has. Weight can be measured in grams but because precious metal prices are quoted in Troy Ounces, it is generally easier to work in these units of mass. 1 Troy Ounce is equal to 31.1034768 grams. Therefore:
To convert grams to troy ounces, use the formula:
Troy Ounces = Grams / 31.1034768
Purity is measured in Karats or Millesimal Fineness. Karats are a measure of gold purity where 24 karats represents 24 out of 24 parts gold. Thus 10 karat gold is 10 out of 24 parts which equals .416 or 41.6% pure gold. Millesimal Fineness is a more accurate measurement of purity since it is based on parts out of 1000. Thus 41.6% gold is a Millesimal Fineness purity of ’416′.
Therefore, the formula to calculate how much 10 karat gold is worth is:
(Spot Price of Gold * Weight of Gold (Troy Ounces)) * (41.6/100)
10 Karat Gold Jewelry
10 karat gold is 41.6% pure gold and is the minimum karat which is legally allowed to be described as gold jewelry in the US. The remaining percentage is made up of other metals such as nickel, silver, zinc or copper. Such metal mixes are known as alloys.
In most countries including the US, jewelry is rarely made from pure gold as it is too soft and not suitable for the purpose of everyday usage. 10kt gold is one of the lowest purities in which jewelry is commonly available and consequently is not a very valuable form of gold jewelry.
Generally, all jewelry bought from a reputable seller will be stamped with a ‘hallmark’ indicating the item’s purity. This may be ‘10kt’ as expected or ‘416’ as discussed above.
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Oscar®-winning filmmaker Michael Moore is known for his controversial movies, including Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11—the highest-grossing documentary of all time. Now, Michael is taking on the trillion-dollar healthcare industry in his film Sicko.
As he navigates this much-debated topic, Michael compares the medical coverage of insured Americans to the care received by residents of other Western nations with "socialized," universal healthcare systems. In countries such as Canada, France and the United Kingdom, patients do not have to pay medical fees out-of-pocket—healthcare is a government service.
According to the film, America's healthcare system is ranked 37th in the world. "When I saw that, [I thought]—I'm an American. I live in the greatest country on earth. I live in the wealthiest country on earth. We're number 37?" Michael says.
Sicko emphasizes that even American patients who have health insurance cannot always afford treatments because their claims can be denied—and Michael wanted to get people talking about it. "I think [there are] 250 million [insured] people thinking that, 'Well, everything's going to be fine,' [but] how many people have actually read their health insurance policy?" Michael says.
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Letter From Yemen:
Yemeni journalists face stiff challenges from an extremely restrictive press law and armed Islamic radicals.
By Sherry Ricchiardi
Sherry Ricchiardi (firstname.lastname@example.org) is an AJR senior contributing writer.
Shihab Al-Ahdal, editor of a feisty weekly in Sana'a, Yemen, carries two lifelines with him when he leaves the newsroom each day--a mobile phone that rings constantly and a handgun. As a safety precaution, the newspaper's name does not appear on the building; office doors always are kept locked.
Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, has been described as a "viper's nest of terror." Local journalists have trained themselves to operate on a high level of alert lest they fall prey to shadowy figures who believe killing infidels brings them closer to God.
Few reporters in the United States could fathom keeping an automatic weapon on hand to ward off attackers who might sneak past security guards. For staffers at Annahar, one of the few independent media voices in this remote Arab nation, threats from Islamic militants are as much a part of the routine as deadlines. To them, a Kalashnikov in the newsroom is an insurance policy.
Yemeni journalists are vulnerable on two fronts.
During an interview this summer, Al-Ahdal, flanked by two of his staffers--one of them a female reporter veiled in black--explained the struggle for press freedom in a land where editors face criminal prosecution for publishing information that "prejudices the Islamic faith." To remain in the government's good graces, journalists must report "within the context of Islamic creed," as outlined in a murky press law passed in 1990. Criticizing the president is listed among the 12 "prohibitions."
Reporters complain about being harassed, arrested, interrogated by the Press Prosecution Office, or the "Yemen Gestapo," as the PPO is known in media circles. In May, three journalists for a newspaper called the Week were convicted of violating "Yemeni morals and customs" when they wrote about men jailed for homosexuality, a taboo in the Arab state.
In Annahar's case, danger lurks from "extremist elements," as the editor describes Islamic radicals who often take issue with editorial content. Staffers are tormented with sinister messages that say, "We are in control. We can get you anytime."
"The threats are more serious because of who we are and what we stand for. We are viewed as a troublemaking newspaper," says Al-Ahdal with a hint of pride. "We take up issues other newspapers are afraid to raise." Anything considered anti-Islam is likely to spark a tirade. How worried is he about the threats? Worried enough, says Al-Ahdal, that "we have become our own bodyguards."
These journalists operate in a country of 19 million where bin Laden often is hailed as an avenging hero and anti-American sentiment has built to a crescendo over U.S. support of Israel and wars against Islamic Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. State Department advises against travel to Yemen and warns of senior al Qaeda operatives based in the mountainous interior.
The recent past bears out a need for caution. In December 2002, three American missionaries at a Baptist-run hospital in central Yemen were gunned down. It was reported that the man arrested for the murders said he killed the Americans "to get closer to God." In October 2002, the French oil tanker Limburg was attacked off the Yemen coast; one crew member was killed and 12 were wounded. In October 2001, terrorists blew a hole in the warship USS Cole as it was anchored near the port city of Aden, killing 17 American sailors. Over the past decade, more than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped.
That could explain why eight Yemeni soldiers were assigned to accompany us on a trip outside the capital of Sana'a despite our protests. One of them manned a large-caliber machine gun mounted in the back of a military truck. At least two, armed with automatic weapons, lurked nearby as we photographed and talked with locals in villages and ancient bazaars.
My husband, Frank Folwell, deputy managing editor for photo and graphics for USA Today, found men to be willing subjects. The sight of a camera sent women, peering at us from behind sheer veils, ducking for cover.
We had traveled to Yemen to conduct workshops for media professionals on such topics as investigative techniques, media ethics, writing strategies and news photography. We quickly learned that mingling with armed civilians was a way of life in one of the most impoverished countries in the Middle East.
Boys as young as 10 parade through marketplaces with Kalashnikovs slung over their shoulders. It is tradition for men to wear a jambiyya — a large, curved dagger — in a wide, intricately carved belt. Weaponry smuggled from Russia and China is hawked alongside wagonloads of lush melons. Revenge killings, particularly in tribal areas, are part of the daily news.
Despite the Wild West-style lawlessness, threats from militants and a media law rife with loopholes for government prosecution, members of the beleaguered press corps pound a steady drumbeat for change.
Reporting from behind the veil is one of the most visible signs of progress. Today, more Yemeni women than ever have cracked newsroom barriers, covering a range of beats from health and child care to drug smuggling and politics. Earlier this year, freelance reporter Rahma Hugira, 27, a high-profile champion of women's rights, organized the Yemen Female Media Forum "to improve qualifications and empower females to get into leadership positions in all phases of the media," she says.
Hugira's petite frame is shrouded in the traditional black abaya; her brow furrows as she describes the inequities and stereotypes. "The big issue for females: There is so much ignorance against us. We are accepted but not respected. That's the mind-set of the people," the reporter says. "I have a mind. Why do they deal with me differently [than they would a man]?"
One of her goals is to wipe out a mantra on state-run radio: "The woman is the home; the home is the woman." "If we had a strong female working for the radio station, we could change the programming, change the image," says Hugira, who has written about child trafficking and government corruption. Once she slipped inside a prison, posing as a family member, to interview al Qaeda suspects.
Another defiant voice emanates from Aden, the port that gained notoriety when terrorists rammed explosives into the USS Cole. Bashrahell Bashrahell, head of the international news desk for his family's newspaper, Al-Ayyam, was among the first on the scene that day. What the paper did afterward made media history in Yemen.
Three days after the attack, Al-Ayyam ran a photo of every American killed on its front page. "We got calls from readers who didn't expect the sailors to be so young," says Bashrahell. "This newspaper always has been
pro-American, pro-West, pro-values." After the 9/11 attacks, "We condemned it immediately and ran photos," says Bashrahell. "There was no backlash from government, because if they had attacked us, it would have angered America a lot."
The editor praises the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists for supporting Al-Ayyam against government persecution. Over the years, the newspaper has been sued for publishing false information, insulting public institutions, instigating terrorism and treason. In 2001, Bashrahell's father penned a thank you: "If it hadn't been for CPJ we would be writing this from our graves right now."
As Bashrahell talked from his glassed-in office overlooking the newsroom, reporters began filtering toward the back, kneeling on ornate rugs, bowing in unison during the evening call to prayers. "We don't believe in guns," the editor says above the eerie silence. "We ask everyone who comes in now to leave their weapons at the gate." ###
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BIOTITE, an important rock-forming mineral belonging to the group of micas (q.v.). The name was given in honour of the French physicist, J. B. Biot, who in 1816 found the magnesia micas to be optically uniaxial or nearly so. The magnesia-micas are now referred to the species biotite and phlogopite, which differ in that the former contains a considerable but widely vary ing amount of iron. Biotite is an orthosilicate of aluminium, magnesium, ferrous and ferric iron, potassium and basic hydro gen, containing small amounts of calcium, sodium, lithium, fluorine, titanium, etc., and ranges in composition between and Like the other micas, it is monoclinic with pseudo-hexagonal symmetry, and possesses a perfect cleavage in one direction. Biotite is, however, readily distinguished by its darker colour, strong pleochroism, and small optic axial angle. The colour is usually brown or dark-green; thick crystals are often deep black and opaque. The absorption of light-rays vibrating parallel to the cleavage is much greater than of rays vibrating in a di rection perpendicular thereto, and in dark-coloured crystals the former are almost completely absorbed. The specific gravity of biotite is, as a rule, higher than that of other micas, varying from 2.7 to 3.1 according to the amount of iron present. The hardness is 21 to 3.
Several varieties of biotite are distinguished. By G. Tschermak it is divided into two classes, meroxene and anomite; in the former the plane of the optic axes coincides with the plane of symmetry, whilst in the latter it is perpendicular thereto. Haughtonite and siderophyllite are black varieties rich in ferrous iron, and lepidomelane is a variety rich in ferric iron. Rubellane, hydrobiotite, pseudobiotite and others are altered forms of biotite.
Biotite is a common constituent of igneous and crystalline rocks : in granite, gneiss, and mica-schist it is often associated with muscovite (white mica), the two kinds having sometimes grown in parallel position. In volcanic rocks, and in nearly all other kinds of igneous rocks with the exception of granite, biotite occurs to the exclusion of the muscovite. In the dyke-rocks known as mica-traps or mica-lamprophyres biotite is especially abundant. It is also one of the most characteristic products of contact-metamorphism, being developed in sedimentary and other rocks at their contact with granite masses.
Although biotite (black mica) is much more common and widely distributed than white mica, yet it is of far less economic importance. The small size of the sheets, their brittleness and want of transparency render the material of little value. Large, cleavable masses yielding fine smoky-black and green sheets, sufficiently elastic for industrial purposes, are, however, found in Renfrew county, Ontario.
(L. J. S.)
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Two years ago, I had written a brief essay on Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) mystic Night Journey to Jerusalem and then further into Heaven which is commemorated by many Muslims today, 27 Rajab, al-’Isrā’ wal-Mi‘rāj. According to the Holy Qur’an (Q17:1) and aḥādīth the Prophet was taken to the “furthest mosque”, al-masjid al-aqsa,by al-Buraq, the mythical white-winged mare, and ascended to heaven from the Rock on the Temple Mount. The journey took place about one year before the Prophet’s hijra, 621 CE, and he testified afterwards to the Quraysh of Makkah what he had seen in Jerusalem. But what had he actually seen?
Fact of the matter is that during a rather short period of time, between 614 and 629, Christian almost three centuries long control over Jerusalem had been adjourned by Persian rule. In 614 Jerusalem had been besieged for 21 days by the army of Shah Khosrau II’s General Sharbaraz and after the city’s surrender most Christian inhabitants were massacred and all churches destroyed. Even the True Cross was taken as a trophy to the Capital Ctesiphon. But Persian reign lasted only until 629 when the Byzantine emperor Heraclius reconquered the city and returned the True Cross to the rebuilt Holy Sepulchre.
What the Prophet of Islam might have seen when for the first and last time in Jerusalem I had mainly derived from Oleg Grabar’s book on early Islamic Jerusalem, The Shape of the Holy (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 1996) which provides some computer-generated images of the city around 600 CE, one and a half decade before the Persian conquest. One has to assume that in 621, the year of the mystical Night Journey, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of Resurrection, and the Church on Mt. Zion commemorating the Last Supper and the large Church Nea Ekklesia of the Theotokos lay in ruins.
A few decades after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 638 CE, around 700 CE, the Umayyad Caliphs Abd’ al-Malik and his son al-Walid erected, in commemoration of Muhammad’s Night Journey, the Dome of the Rock (from where he ascended to Heaven) and the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, the site of Solomon’s First and post-Babylonian exile Second Temple, and Herod’s reconstruction which had finally been destroyed in 135 CE by the troops of Roman Emperor Hadrian.
Oleg Grabar, who has deceased last year, has co-edited with Benjamin Z. Kedar of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Where Heaven and Earth Meets: Jerusalem’s Sacred Esplanade (Yad Ben-Zvi Press, Jerusalem and the University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas 2009) which assembles an impressive panel of Christian, Jewish and Muslim scholars who present many unknown facts in three thousand years’ history and stunningly illuminate the unique historical, religious, spiritual, cultural, and political importance of this true interface between, focus of, the three monotheistic, revealed, religions (the not less-charged significance for Christians is derived from Jesus’ relation with and acts in Herod’s Temple). The for Jews significant Western Wall of the Esplanade is not forgotten in the account.
Due to the unsolved political situation of Israel occupying East Jerusalem, al-Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary, is seriously endangered. But there is hope. Grabar, in a personal statement concludes:
“There are legal and technical mechanisms for the preservation of what is deemed beautiful and historically significant, but the implementation of these mechanisms requires decisions about governance and responsibility which cannot be exclusively in the hands of political and religious authorities. Alternate possibilities, through UNESCO for instance, have failed so far. But, if one mediates on the eschatological component of the Haram as the space where Go[o]d will be made prevail and man will be judged, one can perhaps imagine that a space shaped by the Antique world long gone and constantly enhanced by the living culture of Islam could become a place for reconciliation and mutual understanding rather than of strife and contest. Hope springs eternal.” (Emphasis added.)
June 17, 2012 @ 17:20
Last modified June 17, 2012.
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Sosa-Carrillo-Fremont House is one of Tucson's oldest adobe houses, built around 1880 and home of the Carrillo family for ... More
Sosa-Carrillo-Fremont House is one of Tucson's oldest adobe houses, built around 1880 and home of the Carrillo family for over 90 years. Located on the grounds of the Tucson Convention Center downtown, the house has been restored using period furniture of the 1880s, featuring exhibits of Tucson lifestyles in the 19th century. Admission is free, but reservations are required for walking tours, which are only offered on Saturdays.
I'm a great-granddaughter of Leopoldo Carrillo. My father and oldest brother were born in the Carrillo House. The Carrillo-Jacobs' family occupied it for nearly 100 years before Urban Renewal destroyed many lives and families. Most all of the Carrillo-Jacobs' family members who grew up there are gone. But, going back time and time again it recaptures your soul and the warmth of the house soothes your loss. With the closure of the Musuem in Feb./2009 it only closed one door. We pray that the Sosa Carrillo Fremont House doesn open one day. Like Lalo Guerrero sang "You can take the Barrio away from a person.But you can't take the person away from the Barrio". This House is so important, so vital to the culture and history of what once was a thriving downtown. So many descendants, so many generations of the Sosa and Jacobs'-Carrillo are still a large part of this community. We all family,neighbors,community, and especially the Barrio await for the day that door opens and we all are received with open arms. Just the way we were greeted each time we would visit. This is my invitation to you. When the Sosa Carrillo Fremont House reopens you must go visit. I will be there with open arms.
Owner Tom Philabaum is renowned as one of America's best glass artists, with exhibits throughout the US, Mexico and Europe,
and his gallery, Philabaum Glass, reflects his position in the art world, exhibiting more than 100 nationally and internationally ...
As the biggest Catholic church in the city, St. Augustine Cathedral is one of the most splendid architecture with its
high interior, tall windows and dome. Built in 1896, and renovated in 1967, it is a particularly imposing sight ...
Built in 1927, the Temple of Music and Art is a proper cultural arts venue. Constructed in an elegant, Southwestern
style, the Temple breathes grace and class with its beautiful surroundings of cobbled stone, fountain–splashed patio, and quiet tree ...
*Terms & Conditions: Savings calculation is based on Flight + Hotel vacation package bookings for a 3 month period for 2 adults with a 2+ night length of stay compared to price of the same components if booked separately during same period. Savings will vary based on origin/destination, length of trip, travel dates and selected travel supplier(s). Savings not available on all packages.
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The provisions of this policy apply to the selection, distribution, inspection, maintenance and testing of portable extinguishing equipment. The requirements given herein are minimums. Portable extinguishers are intended as a first line of defense to cope with fires of limited size. They are needed even when a facility is equipped with automatic sprinklers, standpipe and hose, or other fixed protection equipment. Fire extinguisher training is provided by contacting the Safety and Police Office @ EXT. 5555.
The basic types of fires are Classes A, B, C, and D as defined in the following:
Portable fire extinguishers are classified for use on Class A, B, C, or D fires and rated by nationally recognized testing laboratories for relative extinguishing effectiveness. The classification and rating are based upon the preceding classification of fires and the fire-extinguishments potentials as determined by fire tests.
The character of the fires anticipated determines the selection of extinguishers for a given situation.
Fire extinguishers shall be provided for the protection of the building and for the occupancy hazard contained therein:
Extinguishers shall be conspicuously located where they will be readily accessible in the event of fire. They shall be located along normal paths of travel, including exits from an area. Fire protection and fire detection equipment shall not be obstructed.
The Physical Plant will recharge extinguishers needing to be recharged due to use or pressure leakage.
Extinguishers are to be visually inspected monthly by departmental personnel.
The Safety Office, along with the County Fire Marshall's Office, will review plans and determine the types and number of fire extinguishers required for new buildings. They will also designate the locations where extinguishers are to be installed and will install the extinguishers on request.
It is the responsibility of the using department to institute security measures to prevent losses due to theft. The Physical Plant will replace missing extinguishers.
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The Coalition government’s health reforms are moving ahead at speed, despite the reservations of NHS staff, trade unions and academics. Make no mistake, these are large scale reforms, and compare with the great (and very unsuccessful) reorganisation of 1974, the internal market reforms of the 1990s, and New Labour’s reforms in the aftermath of the NHS plan of 2000. However, the current reforms are in many respects a continuation of recent policy trends – increased use of the private sector and social enterprise, more competition and use of market forces, a greater emphasis on choice and personalisation, a stronger voice for patients and more accountability, greater responsibilities and autonomy for health organisations and professionals at local level and less interference from politicians, a focus on improved health outcomes, better joint working between health care, social care and public health bodies.
No one could disagree with the expressed desire to improve outcomes and create a service that is more responsive to patients. But as ever the devil is in the detail. And there is going to be a lot of detail. The Health and Social Care Bill, at almost 370 pages long, is four times longer than the Act of 1946 that created the NHS. Furthermore, it will spawn plenty of secondary legislation. The key question is how will it be implemented? NHS reform rarely goes to plan. History teaches us that reforms tend to hit problems and further changes are then required. The government has set a timetable for axing the very bodies that implement its NHS policies, while limiting the formal powers of central bodies, including the Department of Health. The key words are going to be capacity, accountability, and fragmentation.
There are already concerns about possible lack of capacity among the new GP commissioning bodies at a time when Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are going to be abolished. There are also worries about the capacity of the three central bodies – Monitor, the National Commissioning Board, and the Care Quality Commission – to regulate the NHS. Despite what ministers say, the temptation to intervene will be strong. The fragmentation of the system, local variations in service and individual service failures that arise will stimulate intervention from central policy makers and regulators.
Politically, the government has dug itself in a hole here. The announcement of health reforms in July was like pulling a rabbit from a hat. No one foresaw their magnitude. The Conservative leadership had worked hard to neutralise the NHS as a political issue and had successfully built up public trust in its health policies. The coalition with the Liberal Democrats made widespread reform even less likely, as they too had no plans for root and branch reorganisation. The result of this U-turn is that the NHS is back on the front pages providing plenty of ammunition for the government’s opponents. The spectre of large scale privatisation has been raised, amid greater suspicion about competition and markets, particular in the light of the banking crisis. One might ask: why should markets work in health care when they demonstrably failed in the financial sector?
The key tests for the reforms are: will they improve health outcomes, reduce health inequalities, improve partnership working, strengthen accountability and responsiveness to patients and the public, and improve efficiency (and in particular, achieve the £20 billion demanded in savings)? There are strong reasons for arguing that such a massive organisational reform will jeopardise all these objectives. It will cause major structural turbulence and will be expensive. It is also likely to distract from the urgent business of improving and protecting and promoting public health, which could be sidetracked as ministers concentrate on the organisational detail of NHS structural reform.
Post by Professor Rob Baggott, Director of the Health Policy Research Unit, De Montfort University
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On Your Side
Do security guards really keep people safe?
Jennifer Auh talks to a anonymous security guard. He reveals that some guards aren't exactly asked to protect the public. Video by IdahoOnYourSide.comvideo
Security guards are supposed to make many people feel safe. A string of bank robberies, that happened last month in Boise, would seem like a good reminder of why security guards are important.
However, one guard contacted us, and told us sometimes the guards just give people a false sense of security. He didn't want us to reveal his identity, afraid he might be putting his job on the line, so we will simply refer to him, as "J."
He works for Securitas Security Services in Boise. “J” said most security companies don't want the guards to fight back, unless they're the ones being attacked. He said if a suspicious person comes into the bank, they’re asked to stand back and call police.
According to “J,” all Securitas guards in Boise are asked NOT step in, during a dangerous situation, whether they're guarding a bank, a business or special event. He also said no guns are allowed, and Securitas guards in Boise aren't even allowed to carry a baton or a can of mace to protect themselves.
"I feel bad, because even employees and even customers think we’re there to protect and help them, but we're not," said he said.
According to "J," more than half of the guards, who work with him, have the same concerns. He said that’s why he contacted us.
We tried reaching out to the Securitas branch in Boise, but they directed us to the corporate office. Company leaders sent us this response to "J's" concerns.
Securitas Spokeswoman Lynne Glovka said "Actions of officers are dictated by client agreements and contracts we've signed with them."
We also checked the company handbook, and it plainly said that security officers may not possess any device or weapon, not even pepper spray or mace, unless authorized by the branch management.
“J” said he has yet to receive permission. "I don't want to carry a gun, but at least baton or a can of mace,” he said.
Glovka said the company has not received any formal complaints in the Boise area about this issue, but will look into J's concerns.
J said he hopes telling his story will motivate the company to make some changes to its policies. He said all security guards should be able to properly do their jobs with something to protect themselves and others.
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Back to Document
To lose weight, you need a sensible diet and regular exercise. When considering which weight-loss plan to follow, keep in mind these factors compiled by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases:
The plan you choose should reduce calories but not forbid certain foods or food groups.
The plan should include regular exercise. Be sure to check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.
The plan should aim for weight loss of three-quarters of a pound to 2 pounds a week.
The plan should offer specific ideas for how to keep the weight off after you lose it.
Martin Health System 200 S.E. Hospital Ave., P.O. Box 9010, Stuart, FL 34995 772.287.5200
Copyright © 2013
Martin Health System
is a not-for-profit, community-based health care organization
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The brainchild of several ex-Netscape execs, the Mountain View start-up Multiverse,
as the name suggests, isn’t a single online world, but a platform for creating games and other 3D experiences with the company’s development tools, which are then run on its servers. (Like Dark Horizons, a sci-fi MMORPG pictured here.) Version 1.0 was just rolled out yesterday, and though it’s too early to know how it’ll fare, one thing is official: after 4 years of being the only user-created 3D online world on the commercial market, Second Life now has competition.
The system and revenue model is markedly different from SL, however: instead of fostering user-created content in a single world, Multiverse is a network of worlds accessible by the client software. It comes with e-commerce tools built into the system, so developer’s can earn an income, while Multiverse makes money by taking a 10% cut of that revenue.
I haven’t yet had a chance to check it out first hand (the client is cantankerous with my Vista machine), but I’ll be keeping a close eye on its progress. Multiverse’s advisory board includes Avatar director James Cameron and some other Hollywood heavyweights, so you have to think movie-to-MMO tie-ins are planned. (Indeed, a Multiverse version of the cult TV show Firefly was announced last year.) What’s more, famed MMO academic Ed Castronova is already using Multiverse to develop the education-oriented MMO Arden.
My writing career has been tied up in Second Life on one level or another since 2003, so you might think I’d consider Multiverse a threat to my livelihood. Actually, I’m relieved. There are some truly impressive and popular mini-MMOs built within SL, like City of Lost Angels and Midgar, but they’ve largely succeeded in spite of Second Life, which is still far from ideal as a platform for game development. It’s never healthy for any one company to dominate a space for so long, and an active competition to attract and retain new users and developers can only benefit us all.
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Senate And Assembly Reach Agreement On Gas Tax Cap
Senator Cathy Young today announced that the Legislature has reached agreement on a plan to provide New Yorkers with relief from high gas prices by capping and reducing the sales taxes on gasoline.
The agreement would save New Yorkers as much as $450 million annually at the pump by capping the sales taxes at $2 per gallon. The bill would cap the State sales taxes on gas at 8-cents per gallon, effectively freezing the tax at the $2 per gallon rate. The State currently collects an average of 12-cents in sales taxes on a gallon of gas at current prices, this bill would cap the tax at 8-cents per gallon; localities collect between 12-cents and 15-cents per gallon from local sales taxes. The agreement allows local governments to opt in and match the State savings at the local level.
The cap on the State sales tax on gas would take effect on June 1, 2006. Local governments would have the option of passing a law to cap their local sales tax on gas at a fixed rate at or lower than the 12 to 15 cents per gallon they collect at today’s prices.
The measure will require that service station owners pass along the savings to consumers. The State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance, in conjunction with the Chair of the State Consumer Protection Board, would be charged with enforcing the cap. There would be fine of up to $5,000 per incident, per day, for stations that do not pass along the savings.
The 8-cent cap would be reduced proportionately should gas prices fall below $2 per gallon.
In addition, the agreement would:
> Provide consumers with a tax credit for the purchase of home heating oil that contains biodiesel fuel. The credit would be equal to the percentage of biodiesel contained in the fuel, i.e. a 10-cent per gallon credit for heating fuel containing 10 percent biodiesel;
> Create a tax credit for the purchase of energy efficient residential home heating systems. The credit would be equal to 50 percent of the purchase and installation costs, not to exceed $500; and
> Require the State Thruway Authority and NYSERDA to develop a plan to make alternative fuels, such as ethanol, available at Thruway service areas.
The Senate and Assembly will continue to discuss proposals to encourage the development and use of alternative sources of energy and encourage energy conservation and the purchase of energy-saving products and materials.
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This may seem like a no brainer, but when you have a bad day, remember: Pessimism can influence your susceptibility to illness, including cancer and cardiovascular disease, says Martin E.P. Seligman, author of Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being.
1. Optimists take action and have healthier lifestyles.Optimists believe that their actions matter, whereas pessimists believe they are helpless and nothing they do will matter. Optimists try, while pessimists lapse into passive helplessness. Optimists therefore act on medical advice readily, as George Vaillant found when the surgeon general’s report on smoking and health came out in 1964; it was the optimists who gave up smoking, not the pessimists. Optimists may take better care of themselves.
Even more generally, people with high life satisfaction (which correlates highly with optimism) are much more likely to diet, not to smoke, and to exercise regularly than people with lower life satisfaction. According to one study, happy people also sleep better than unhappy people.
Optimists not only follow medical advice readily, they also take action to avoid bad events, whereas pessimists are passive: optimists are more likely to seek safety in tornado shelters when there is a tornado warning than pessimists, who may believe the tornado is God’s will. The more bad events that befall you, the more illness.
2. Social support. The more friends and the more love in your life, the less illness. George Vaillant found that people who have one person whom they would be comfortable calling at three in the morning to tell their troubles were healthier. John Cacioppo found that lonely people are markedly less healthy than sociable people. In an experiment, participants read a script over the phone to strangers — reading in either a depressed voice or a cheerful voice. The strangers hang up on the pessimist sooner than on the optimist. Happy people have richer social networks than unhappy people, and social connectedness contributes to a lack of disability as we age. Misery may love company, but company does not love misery, and the ensuing loneliness of pessimists may be a path to illness.
3. Biological mechanisms. There are a variety of plausible biological paths. One is the immune system. Judy Rodin (whom I mentioned in the opening of the book), Leslie Kamen, Charles Dwyer, and I collaborated together in 1991 and took blood from elderly optimists and pessimists and tested the immune response. The blood of optimists had a feistier response to threat — more infection- fighting white blood cells called T lymphocytes produced — than the pessimists. We ruled out depression and health as confounds.
Another possibility is common genetics: optimistic and happy people might have genes that ward off cardiovascular disease or cancer.
Another potential biological path is a pathological circulatory response to repeated stress. Pessimists give up and suffer more stress, whereas optimists cope better with stress. Repeated episodes of stress, particularly when one is helpless, likely mobilize the stress hormone cortisol and other circulatory responses that induce or exacerbate damage to the walls of blood vessels and promote atherosclerosis. Sheldon Cohen, you will recall, found that sad people secrete more of the inflammatory substance interleukin-6, and that this results in more colds. Repeated episodes of stress and helplessness might set off a cascade of processes involving higher cortisol and lower levels of the neurotransmitters known as catecholamines, leading to long-lasting inflammation. Greater inflammation is implicated in atherosclerosis, and women who score low in feelings of mastery and high in depression have been shown to have worse calcification of the major artery, the trunk-like aorta. Helpless rats, in the triadic design, develop atherosclerosis at a faster rate than rats that demonstrate mastery.
Excessive production by the liver of fibrinogen, a substance used in clotting the blood, is another possible mechanism. More fibrinogen leads to more blood clots in the circulatory system by making the blood sludgy. People with high positive emotion show less of a fibrinogen response to stress than those with low positive emotion.
Heart rate variability (HRV), surprisingly, is another candidate for protection against cardiovascular disease. HRV is the short-term variation in beat-to-beat intervals, which is partly controlled by the parasympathetic (vagal) system of the central nervous system. This is the system that produces relaxation and relief. Accumulating evidence suggests that people with high heart rate variability are healthier, have less CVD, less depression, and better cognitive abilities.
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Sandy has hit some of us harder—much harder—than others. Children confronted with personal tragedy or near tragedy, or witnessing it second hand, will often ask their parents “How could God let this happen?” At times like this parents will often turn to clergy for advice. How can they best help their children?
My advice is always the same: Don’t say anything you yourself don’t believe. Most of all at times like this children need to feel safe. Speaking from your own personal place of religious/spiritual conviction will go a long way toward that end.
If your tradition offers more than one way of looking at events such as these, go with the one you feel most authentically aligns with your own personal belief. For instance, there is a statement in the Talmud “Ha’olam mitnaheg k’minhago,” “Nature follows its own course”—and that’s the explanation I give our own children. A warm, wet hurricane met up with a cold, snowy Nor’easter. That’s how it happened. And now our work is to do whatever we can to help each other, house each other, heal each other. (United Jewish Appeal has already established a Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund to which you may donate.)
Some of us have already had our power, light, heat, phone and internet restored. Others of us may be looking at another weekend or even week in the dark. PATCH has been doing a terrific job of keeping us updated on the storm and its aftermath. Check out the “Storm Hub” for your own community. To find out about other communities—in Westchester and in other affected counties and states—go to http://www.patch.com/ and search by state and community.
Pleasantville Community Synagogue is Open. Join us for heat, hugs, and something to eat. Services Friday night at 7:15 p.m., Saturday at 9 a.m. (meditation), Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. (services). Lunch for everyone - members and non-members welcome—with hot coffee and tea, Saturday at Noon.
Rabbi Mark Sameth is the spiritual leader of Joyful Judaism: Pleasantville Community Synagogue an inclusive, progressive synagogue—with members from 20 towns, villages and cities all across Westchester and “A Hebrew School Your Kids Can Love.” Read The New York Times article. Follow Rabbi Mark on Twitter . Weekly meditation at the synagogue every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. is open to the public; everyone—without exception—is welcome and warmly invited. OUR MEMBERSHIP DRIVE IS ON. See “Top Ten Reasons to Join PCS” at www.ShalomPCS.com.
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|Posted By:||Bishop Powell|
|Subject:||Re: COFFEE (Parker Co., TX)|
|Post Date:||June 11, 1999 at 06:46:30|
|Forum:||Coffee Family Genealogy Forum|
When Parker Co. was formed, a petition was created. It was written by one man, not signed by all, as we think of as a petition. The Coffees listed on the petition were spelled "Coffee" because of the spelling of the petition-maker. Their names should have been spelled "Coffey", and the "R.Coffee" (at least) was in reality "Richard Coffey", the man who later was the first settler of Concho County. Found this in archives in Austin. Petition-maker's grandson gave talk at historical society meeting. Accidentally came across it, and thought it might help you.
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Related BLS programs | Related articles
April 2011, Vol. 134, No. 4
Employment in leisure and hospitality departs from historical trends during 2007–09 recession
Eliot Davila is an economist in the Division of Current Employment Statistics, Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org
From the start of the second half of the 20th century till early 2008, employment growth in the leisure and hospitality industry had been interrupted only a few times by short and shallow declines. Industry job losses from the 2007-09 recession, however, were both severe and prolonged, continuing 6 months beyond the end of the recession
Employment in the leisure and hospitality industry 1 fell by 454,000 during the recession which began December 2007 and ended June 2009. 2 Like total U.S. employment, industry job losses did not coincide with those start and end dates. In fact, leisure and hospitality employment reached a cyclical peak in January 2008, 1 month after the start of the recession, and fell to a cyclical trough in January 2010, 7 months after the end of the recession. 3 The industry employment peak coincided with the peak in total nonfarm employment, while the industry employment trough preceded the trough in total nonfarm employment by 1 month.
Compared with the previous 2 recessions, the 2007–09 recession had a sizeable impact on employment in the leisure and hospitality industry. The reduction in jobs during the 2007–09 recession, as a percentage of pre-recession employment, was significantly greater than during the 1990–91 and 2001 recessions. Employment in leisure and hospitality fell by more than 2.2 percent on an annualized basis during the 2007–09 recession. By contrast, the annualized decline in employment during both the 1990–91 and 2001 recessions was roughly 0.4 percent.
Download full article in PDF
1 Consists of North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sector 71 (arts, entertainment and recreation) and NAICS sector 72 (accommodation and food services); the leisure and hospitality supersector will be referred to as an “industry” throughout this article.
2 The employment data used in this article are from the BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, a monthly survey of about 140,000 nonfarm businesses and government agencies representing approximately 440,000 individual worksites. For more information on the program’s concepts and methodology, see “Technical Notes to Establishment Survey Data Published in Employment and Earnings,” www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cestn2.htm (visited Feb. 17, 2011). CES data are available at www.bls.gov/ces/ (visited Feb. 17, 2011). The CES data used in this article are seasonally adjusted.
3 Recessions are identified by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). According to the NBER, the most recent recession began in December 2007 and ended in July 2009. The previous two recessions were from March 2001 to November 2001 and from July 1990 to March 1991. For a complete list of business cycle dates, consult the NBER webpage at www.nber.org/cycles/cyclesmain.html (visited Nov. 2, 2010).
Current Employment Statistics
Within Monthly Labor Review Online:
Welcome | Current Issue | Index | Subscribe | Archives
Exit Monthly Labor Review Online:
BLS Home | Publications & Research Papers
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Date: Thursday 18 August 2011
Excellent results for Northern Ireland students as more than ever choose to study A Levels
Students in Northern Ireland are increasingly opting for A Levels with entries reaching a record high of 32,582 this year.
The Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) has released figures for the performance of Northern Ireland students in this summer’s A Level examinations. CCEA presented the information on behalf of the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) representing the five main awarding bodies offering A levels here.
- The percentage of A* - A grades awarded to students has decreased slightly to 34.5% (compared to 35.9% in 2010).
- The overall pass rate has remained unchanged with 98.1% of grades awarded at A*-E again this year.
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects have remained among the most popular choices and continue to show strong performance.
Commenting on this year’s Northern Ireland GCE results Anne Marie Duffy, Director of Qualifications at CCEA said:
The figures released today show that our students have achieved a first class set of results. STEM subjects such as Mathematics and the Sciences rank among the most popular choices for Northern Ireland students and performance in these areas remains particularly strong. Overall, performance is comparable with previous years.
Our best wishes go to every student receiving their results this morning. We wish them every success in their endeavours, whether in further study or in the world of work.
The most popular subjects this year were Biology, Mathematics and English, followed closely by Religious Studies and History. The popularity of traditional subjects among students in Northern Ireland has been consistent year on year.
Generally, languages saw a decrease in entries with German down by 21.9% and French by 19.7%. Irish entries decreased by 6.8% whilst Spanish saw the only increase in language entries by 3.9%.
STEM subject entries remain healthy despite a small decrease in Chemistry and Physics. Further Mathematics entries increased by 33.1% followed by ICT (+7.9%), Biology (+7.5%), Mathematics (+3.6%) and Technology (+2.8%)
Females continue to perform better than males as 7.9% of the grades achieved by males were A* compared with 9.1% for females.
The performance gap between males and females achieving grades A* – E remains unchanged from 2010 at 0.7%.
This is fifth year in which applied A levels have been awarded and this year has seen a small rise in overall entries for these subjects, from 5,294 in 2010 to 5,379 in 2011.
Students or parents with queries about GCE results should contact:
Tel No. (028) 9026 1260
Search for answers from the Frequently Asked Questions section.
Northern Ireland GCSE results statistics will be made available on Thursday 25 August 2011.
A Level entries and results
2010 figures in brackets
|2011||NI||NI, England & Wales|
|Entries||32,582 (31,741)||867,317 (853,933)|
|%A*||8.6 (9.5*)||8.2 (8.1)|
|%A*-A||34.5 (35.9*)||27.0 (27.0)|
|%A*-C||84.2 (84.5)||76.2 (75.4)|
|%A* - E||98.1 (98.1)||97.8 (97.6)|
5 most popular subjects
|NI 2011||NI 2010|
AS Levels results and entries
|Entries||%A||%A – E|
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Chin augmentation is a common procedure performed to improve the balance of your facial profile and correct a "weak" chin or receding chin. A weak chin can make the nose seem larger or make the neck appear fatty and undefined. Chin augmentation with an implant is the procedure of choice for most patients with normally functioning teeth and jaw development. A chin implant gives more projection of the chin and a better shape.The surgeons at The MIAMI Institute will recognize the need for the addition of a chin implant, sometimes in combination with a Rhinoplasty and often recommend both procedures for ultimate patient satisfaction
"Symmetrical beauty is found in a beautiful jaw line"
For a chin implant (mentoplasty), the incision may be inside your mouth, along the crease that joins your lower lip and gums. For the jaw the implants are generally placed through the mouth with incisions inside the mouth, further back along the jawline, at the crease where the inside of your cheek and gums meet. Noticeable almost immediately, it will be obscured by visible swelling. It may take several months for swelling to fully go down.
Chin implants are made in various shapes and sizes. They are made out of both solid and semi-solid materials that have been used successfully for years. Although the results can be dramatic, the implants look very natural. Many MIAMI Institute patients report that after their chin implant surgery, people tell them that they look better, but they can't tell exactly why.
Facial Plastic Surgery
Medical Director - Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
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LexisNexis Guides: Legal Referencing - 4th Edition
|Author(s) :||Stuhmcke, A|
|Short Description :||Click here to see a sample chapter
This book is also available in eBook format.
Bundle the hardcopy with the eBook to save 75% on the 2nd copy.
|Published :||December, 2011|
The author provides clear commentary explaining the "hows and whys" of good legal referencing and writing. There is a highly valued chapter of examples and exercises which show students how to identify and avoid plagiarism in legal or other writing. The author also discusses referencing in compliance with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation, now in its third edition. Referencing to social media such as Twitter, Facebook, e-books and apps is discussed and 'how to' examples provided. Ancillary exercises including solutions will further support learning. Not only will this book be useful for early learning, but it will serve as an excellent ongoing reference in students' law studies.
About the Author
Professor Anita Stuhmcke joined the Law Faculty at the University of Technology Sydney in 1996. Prior to this, she lectured at the University of Western Sydney and worked as a solicitor for the law firm Freehill, Hollingdale and Page (as it then was). Anita completed a BA/LLB at Macquarie University and graduated first in her year from her undergraduate law degree. She then went on to complete a masters of Jurisprudence with Honours from the University of Sydney. Anita completed her PhD at the Australian National University - her thesis titled 'An Empirical Study of the Systemic Investigations Function of the Commonwealth Ombudsman From 1977-2005'. The thesis develops an original methodology to explore the relationship between the dual roles of system-fixer and individual complaint-handler performed by the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
A critical concern of Professor Anita Stuhmcke's research is to conceptualise the ways in which law operates as a continuum of effectiveness, the central premise being that black letter law is just one regulatory option available to policy makers. Consequently her scholarship straddles areas of social change which explore social exclusion and public access to services, such as the transition between being a citizen to consumer in public law; the impact of legislation on tort law and the ongoing issue of accessing reproductive services - especially with respect to surrogacy.
Academic support available on www.lexisnexis.com.au/Campus.
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Whatever the Supreme Court decides in June, the fight over Obamacare has already taught us tons about the character of the president and the men who seek to replace him. Call it the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. We’ll take them in turn.
The Good. The “good” is President Obama. The decision to go big and stay big on health care has been the most revealing act of Obama’s tenure. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and former economic adviser Larry Summers both told the president early on that, given the economic disaster he walked into, his legacy would be avoiding a second Great Depression. “That’s not enough for me,” Obama replied. At another critical juncture, when health care was stalled in Congress, Rahm Emanuel urged the president to scale his plan way back. Just cover all children, Emanuel counseled. It would be an important first step. Obama said no.
The president’s foes say this means the man is on an ego trip, out to secure his place on Mount Rushmore. But there’s nothing wrong and everything admirable in the quest for worthy fame; Lincoln talked about this impulse in his earliest speeches. That’s what motivates great leaders. I’ve always thought Obama’s persistence on health care was his finest hour.
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Transfer in Washington is directed by several statutes and follows the Policy on Intercollege Transfer and Articulation among Washington Public Colleges and Universities (Umbrella Policy) adopted in 1986, and the Transfer Task Force Transfer Agreement (Proportionality Agreement) adopted in 1994.
Transfer policy is implemented and maintained through the cooperative efforts of the state institutions of higher education, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, and the Washington Student Achievement Council with the support of many statewide within-sector and cross-sector groups and offices involved in aspects of transfer initiatives. Collectively, these groups constitute Washington's ‘Transfer Network.’ List of Transfer Network groups.
Options to maximize a student's successful transfer of credits between two-year to four-year institutions.
The Council serves as the state’s Transfer Liaison—a single, statewide point of contact for issues related to transfer.
Information about student transfer and movement between Washington’s two-year, four-year public and private colleges and universities, at-a-glance.
Transfer and Articulation Report 2013 - The Council submits a progress report on the development of transfer associate degrees to the Legislature each odd-numbered year. This report answers several key questions about transfer in Washington, addresses new degrees and initiatives, and makes a number of key recommendations.
The Role of Transfer Study - An update to a previous study on the graduating class of 2001 completed by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. The study examines Class of 2006 graduates by campus type, transfer status, pre-college enrollments (how many graduates who came through the community and technical college system took pre-college math or English courses), and two year degrees (how many community or technical college transfer students earned associate degrees, and what kind of degree did they earn).
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Yann Martel’s Life of Pi weaves philosophy, magic realism, meta-narrative, and good old-fashioned suspense into a ripping yarn — and when it was published in 2001, the critics, and readers, went wild. The book became a blockbuster in every sense of the word: It spent 57 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list, won the 2002 Man Booker Prize as well as a host of other international literary prizes, was translated into 40 languages, and has sold more than 7 million copies. A deftly imagined fable-cum-literary-quandary, the novel tells the story of a young Indian boy named Piscine Molitor who survives 227 days adrift on a lifeboat with an adult male Bengal tiger. Overnight, Life of Pi made Martel, a hitherto unknown Canadian writer, a literary sensation. Now the Ang Lee film version of the story — an Oscar contender that so far has grossed more than 570 million dollars worldwide — has brought Life of Pi to an even larger audience.
In 2007, firmly established as one of his country’s foremost literary luminaries, Martel found himself in the Visitor’s Gallery of Canada’s House of Commons to celebrate 50 years of Canadian funding for the arts. After a perfunctory greeting from the Minister for Canadian Heritage, the event was over. Martel was stunned. “Fifty years of building Canada’s dazzling and varied culture, done with in less than five minutes?” he wrote afterward. “Do we count for nothing, you philistines, I felt like shouting down at the House. Don’t you know that Canadians love their books and songs and paintings?” But instead of making a scene, Martel decided to act. “For as long as Stephen Harper is Prime Minister of Canada, I vow to send him every two weeks, mailed on a Monday, a book that has been known to expand stillness. That book will be inscribed and will be accompanied by a letter I will have written.” He began with Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilyitch. Harper did not respond.
Nor did Harper respond to subsequent literary gifts. Though Martel clearly knew, after a point, that he was writing into a void, the letters are charming. After a hundred books and zero responses, he ended the project with Proust’s In Search of Lost Time as the final recommendation.
Martel’s follow-up to Life of Pi, a Beckettian fable called Beatrice and Virgil was published in 2010, and the same critics who had loved Life of Pi turned savage. Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times called it “every bit as misconceived and offensive as his earlier book was fetching.” Ron Charles, writing in The Washington Post, pronounced it “so dull, so misguided, so pretentious that only the prospect of those millions of ‘Pi’ fans could secure the interest of major publishers.” And yet Booklist gave Beatrice and Virgil a starred review, and USA Today called it a “dark but divine” masterpiece. Whatever the assessment of the book’s merits, no one can accuse Martel of resting on his laurels: an allusion-laden Holocaust narrative whose cast of characters features a taxidermist, a famous novelist and a talking monkey who attempt to find their way across a gigantic striped shirt, Beatrice and Virgil is in fact about as unlike Life of Pi as it is possible for a book to be. Martel talked with Chapter 16 in 2012.
After two years on the “What is Stephen Harper Reading?” project, you really heard nothing at all from the PM?
That’s right. I sent the Prime Minister of Canada 100 books and 100 letters, and for all my efforts I got zero, zilch, nada, not a squeak from him in return. And yet I live in a democracy. My leaders are supposed to be accountable to me. The financial assets of politicians are supposed to be an open book, so that we know that they are not acting in self-interest against the public interest. Why shouldn’t their imaginative assets also be an open book? Don’t we want to know where our politicians get their dreams for us? After all, that is one of the roles of a leader, to say to us, “I have a dream, this is where I want to lead you.” And I don’t know how anyone can have great dreams for others if they don’t read literature. There’s no better tool to explore the human condition — life, people, the world — than the great novel. To have a leader who has never thought of life through the prism of literature scares me because that means they have only lived, and therefore only know, their single, narrow life.
And yet you did receive a handwritten letter from Barack Obama, telling you how much he enjoyed Life of Pi. If President Obama were to ask you for a reading list, what books would you urge on him?
I know what to suggest to someone who doesn’t read, having done so for close to four years. But President Obama reads, has in the past and continues to do so now, busy though he is, so I become more humble since President Obama and I are, in this case, equal readers. But considering what is happening in the Middle East right now, perhaps a novel or two by Naguib Mahfouz, the great Egyptian writer, would be a good idea.
At the beginning of Beatrice and Virgil, we meet the author Henry, who is trying to publish an unorthodox book about the Holocaust after publishing a critically lauded bestseller. One imagines you might have some experience with this particular situation. Did you also feel hemmed in by critical and commercial expectations after Life of Pi?
Not at all. Each book I’ve written has been an entirely new creative experience. I enjoyed the great and unexpected success of Life of Pi. What writer wouldn’t? To see my book connect with so many readers was a joy and a privilege. But then I moved on. I had another novel to write and sat down to write it, forgetting about Life of Pi. I had expectations about B&V, but these were entirely my own, different from the expectation of publishers, critics and readers. You have to let go, that’s one of the great lessons of life. I’m about to start work on my next novel, so I’m now in the process of letting go of B&V.
Every artist must find a way to cope with critical opinion, but you have encountered an unusually huge range of reactions — reviews which are absolutely transcendent, as well as reviews that are scathing. How do you account for the extremes of opinion that your work seems to inspire?
I mostly ignore critical opinion, good and bad. Art is a gift, the making of it, the receiving of it. So, like every artist, I create and then I give. What the world does with my gift — raise it up high or cast it down — is not my affair. For example, Beatrice and Virgil received an awful review from The New York Times’ Michiko Kakutani. She positively hated the novel, as did the reviewers for The Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle. What can you do? That was their reaction to my take on the Holocaust. That’s their affair. They didn’t want to go where I went.
In an interview on the Beatrice and Virgil website, you say you hope that the novel will expand the range of possible responses to the Holocaust. “I see Beatrice and Virgil as a mnemonic novel,” you write, “a novel that helps remember, but remember in a new way, so that a reader who’s read it will now think of the Holocaust when he or she sees a donkey, say, or eats a pear, or puts on a shirt, or sees a red cloth, and so on.” Can you elaborate on the idea of a mnemonic novel, or any art that functions as mnemonic?
Art does many things. In this case, I wanted to represent the Holocaust in a different way. We know a lot about the Holocaust. It is one of the most thoroughly investigated events in history. But not as much thought and research has gone into how it is represented, in other words, how we bridge the event then and where we are now. We don’t live between 1933 and 1945 anymore. We can’t capture that reality with the vividness of the present moment. So we need to make the Holocaust live in terms that are meaningful today. That means allowing the imagination in to pick and choose how to represent the Holocaust. This does not mean denaturing the Holocaust. To think so is to misunderstand the nature of art. Art gets to the essential core of an event without worrying about the external facts. Art is a shorthand, a very powerful shorthand. So it’s perfect to take on an historical event, one that is receding into the past. If a work of art successfully represents a past event, I’d call it mnemonic; in other words, it helps remember. With that artistic representation as a first remembrance, a reader can then go further, if he or she wishes, and read more, whether in a fictional or historical mode.
For more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee.
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CPSC recall alert
U.S. Divers and Aqua Lung Sport Brand is recalling 130,000 Santa Cruz Jr. Youth Snorkeling Masks.
Notches in the tempered glass can cause the lens to break under certain water pressure, posing a cutting hazard.
This recall involves Santa Cruz Jr. single paned, tempered glass youth snorkeling masks sold under the U.S. Divers and Aqua Lung Sport brands.
The masks were sold individually, with a snorkel or as a set with snorkel and fins.
The U.S. Divers logo or Aqua Lung Sport logo is on the top of the mask, as well as inset on the tempered glass lens. The tempered glass lens is also labeled as tempered.
This recall affects all Santa Cruz Jr. Youth Masks manufactured before October 2011. Masks manufactured before October 2011 do not have a production code on the edge of the frame, near the nose pocket.
Sold at: Academy, Dick,s, The Sports Authority and other sporting goods stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com and other Internet retailers from March 2011 through July 2012 for about $10 individually and $30 as a set.
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A soft unpasteurised
cow's milk cheese of France, Cendre d'Olivet is aged in wine
ashes for three months. The interior cheese emerges soft and white, with a strong spicy aroma. The cheese is named after the town of Olivet
on the Loire
river where it is made.
research source: cheese.com
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