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Yes, the anniversary of another naval battle that rarely receives passing mention. The battle of Memphis, fought on June 6, 1862 was one of the few purely “naval” fleet actions of the war (that is not involving participants on firm ground). I put naval in quotes because the odd collection of warship at Memphis included a flotilla of Army rams, commanded by Colonel Charles Ellet (only recently commissioned as such, by the way).
I’d planned a “then and now” post for the Civil War Navy Blog, along the lines of that done for Plum Point Bend. But I’m behind schedule due to demands cutting into my creative time. Perhaps at later, non-sesquicentennial date. NUMA has a page discussing the wrecks left behind at Memphis (with a bit on the Sultana which sank in the same reach of the river in 1865). The map indicating the changed river channel is reasonably accurate. However I’d put a grain of salt with regard to the wrecks and locations. Memphis, Mound City (Arkansas), and Hopefield were busy river ports before, during and after the Civil War. The bends above and below Memphis were known for strong currents and bad snags. More riverboats than we might count came to grief there. Furthermore, the Arkansas side of the river in particular was the site of several repair and salvage activities. So there are remains of many old steamboats, in addition to anything left from the war.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal has a good article (for a news venue) discussing the Battle of Memphis. The wording of the headline is worth pondering – “…destroyed the Confederate river navy but spared the city.” I guess one can say that. Given the defenseless nature of Memphis itself. But who am I to argue with a grabbing headline?
The article mentions a surrender re-creation held today, at none other than Confederate Park, on the bluffs overlooking the riverfront. The park has an interesting history of its own, tied into reconstruction and reconciliation.
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ROME, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A woman who helps care for 200 cats among Rome's ancient ruins says she will fight plans to evict the cats from Largo di Torre Argentina square.
Silvia Viviani, 73, a co-founder of Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, has been helping care for cats for 19 years in the place where Julius Caesar was assassinated more than 2,000 years ago. The sanctuary is one of several cat colonies that exist among Rome's tourist attractions but Italian officials have concluded the felines at Torre Argentina are squatters, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
Viviani's organization converted a subterranean makeshift storage shed, formerly used by archaeologists, into a facility where volunteers operate computers, provide medical care for cats and greet tourists.
After the sanctuary requested it be connected to Rome's sewage system, Italian government officials, along with some city administration officials, said the sanctuary had no business operating in such a historically significant location, the newspaper said.
Viviani ridiculed the notion that the cat sanctuary might damage Italy's heritage any more than foreign invaders did when they sacked the Roman Empire.
"What the barbarians have done, I don't think the cats could do," she said. "I don't think the cats can scratch the ruins more than a fire, more than an earthquake or something like that."
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National Security Adviser Jim Jones and Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, resumed START talks with the Russians in Moscow on Thursday. Remarkably, the negotiations are not backstopped by an existing treaty still in force. The old START treaty expired on December 5, 2009. The U.S. verification team left Russia’s ICBM production facility in Votkinsk the day the treaty expired; mutual agreement to other verification measures can no longer be assumed. As of January 2010, we have an agreement in principle by presidents Obama and Medvedev to reduce nuclear warheads, but we don’t have a binding treaty.
It’s hard to characterize this as anything but a step backward. Although the 2002 “SORT” Treaty remains in effect until 2012, it differs from START in containing no verification provisions. Russia has participated in it largely to acquire a bargaining position against Bush’s missile-defense plan for Europe; but Obama obviated that negotiating dynamic by renouncing Bush’s plan in September. With much now riding on the 2010 START negotiations, we bring few bargaining chips. The Russians have an incentive to keep us in talks because that will effectively suspend U.S. decisions about modernizing our nuclear forces, but they now have no incentive to make important concessions. Their demands, meanwhile, will be unpalatable to the U.S. Senate, which warned Obama in December that the ratification of a new treaty will be contingent on a plan for modernizing our forces.
The conditions are thus developing for an impasse in START negotiations. In the interim, we are without a functioning plan for strategic stability. With his September decision on the European missile site, Obama rejected the Bush concept of centering our global security on American national missile defense. The fallback position – the one the Russians continue to favor – is a rough balance of strategic nuclear forces; but the START treaty has expired. There is no basis for demanding compliance with it.
Instead of a plan, what we have at present is inertia. Trusting to inertia is always a risky policy, particularly when wild cards are already in the picture. China’s subtle policy shift on strategic stability last week is a change in conditions that will affect the relevance of a bilateral arms-reduction process just as much as it affects the postures of the START parties.
Obama isn’t to blame for all the conditions that have developed since 1991 – but he is accountable for abandoning our previous strategic-security policies without replacing them. His focus on reducing nuclear warheads is a noble goal, and by no means unrealistic. However, the uncompensated loss in 2009 of both the START treaty and our plan for a comprehensive national missile defense has proved that his focus is too narrow. With five nuclear-armed Asian powers and Iran trying to become the sixth, there is nothing America needs more than a comprehensive concept for strategic security. At the moment we don’t have one.
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I posted this several times and i'll say it again
.In the quotations below, Western writers have used the word Muhammadanism for Islam. The word
Muhammadanism connotes worship of Muhammad, an absolutely unworthy statement for any learned man to use. Prophet Muhammad's mission was to propagate
the worship of the One and Only God (in Arabic Allah), the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. His mission was essentially the same as that of
earlier Prophets of God. In the historical context, many such terminologies about Muhammad, Islam, and Muslims were borrowed from earlier European
writings of the Eleventh to the Nineteenth century, a time when ignorance and prejudice prevailed. The quotations below attest to the facts.
Thomas Carlyle in 'Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in History,' 1840
"The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only."
"A silent great soul, one of that who cannot but be earnest. He was to kindle the world, the world’s Maker had ordered so."
A. S. Tritton in 'Islam,' 1951
The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a sword in one hand and the Qur'an in the other is quite false.
De Lacy O'Leary in 'Islam at the Crossroads,' London, 1923.
History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of sword upon
conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated.
Gibbon in 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' 1823
The good sense of Muhammad despised the pomp of royalty. The Apostle of God submitted to the menial offices of the family; he kindled the fire; swept
the floor; milked the ewes; and mended with his own hands his shoes and garments. Disdaining the penance and merit of a hermit, he observed without
effort of vanity the abstemious diet of an Arab.
Edward Gibbon and Simon Oakley in ‘History of the Saracen Empire,’ London, 1870
"The greatest success of Mohammad’s life was effected by sheer moral force."
“It is not the propagation but the permanency of his religion that deserves our wonder, the same pure and perfect impression which he engraved at
Mecca and Medina is preserved after the revolutions of twelve centuries by the Indian, the African and the Turkish proselytes of the Koran....The
Mahometans have uniformly withstood the temptation of reducing the object of their faith and devotion to a level with the senses and imagination of
man. ‘I believe in One God and Mahomet the Apostle of God’ is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity
has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honors of the prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue, and his living precepts
have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.”
Reverend Bosworth Smith in 'Muhammad and Muhammadanism,' London, 1874.
"Head of the State as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without the Pope's pretensions, and Caesar without the
legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a police force, without a fixed revenue. If ever a man ruled by a right
divine, it was Muhammad, for he had all the powers without their supports. He cared not for the dressings of power. The simplicity of his private life
was in keeping with his public life."
"In Mohammadanism every thing is different here. Instead of the shadowy and the mysterious, we have history....We know of the external history of
Muhammad....while for his internal history after his mission had been proclaimed, we have a book absolutely unique in its origin, in its
preservation....on the Substantial authority of which no one has ever been able to cast a serious doubt."
Edward Montet, 'La Propagande Chretienne et ses Adversaries Musulmans,' Paris 1890. (Also in T.W. Arnold in 'The Preaching of Islam,' London 1913.)
"Islam is a religion that is essentially rationalistic in the widest sense of this term considered etymologically and historically....the teachings of
the Prophet, the Qur'an has invariably kept its place as the fundamental starting point, and the dogma of unity of God has always been proclaimed
therein with a grandeur a majesty, an invariable purity and with a note of sure conviction, which it is hard to find surpassed outside the pale of
Islam....A creed so precise, so stripped of all theological complexities and consequently so accessible to the ordinary understanding might be
expected to possess and does indeed possess a marvelous power of winning its way into the consciences of men."
Alphonse de LaMartaine in 'Historie de la Turquie,' Paris, 1854.
"Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a more sublime aim, since this aim was superhuman; to subvert superstitions which had
been imposed between man and his Creator, to render God unto man and man unto God; to restore the rational and sacred idea of divinity amidst the
chaos of the material and disfigured gods of idolatry, then existing. Never has a man undertaken a work so far beyond human power with so feeble
means, for he (Muhammad) had in the conception as well as in the execution of such a great design, no other instrument than himself and no other aid
except a handful of men living in a corner of the desert. Finally, never has a man accomplished such a huge and lasting revolution in the world,
because in less than two centuries after its appearance, Islam, in faith and in arms, reigned over the whole of Arabia, and conquered, in God's name,
Persia Khorasan, Transoxania, Western India, Syria, Egypt, Abyssinia, all the known continent of Northern Africa, numerous islands of the
Mediterranean Sea, Spain, and part of Gaul.
"If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great man
in history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws, and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers
which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples, dynasties, but millions of men in
one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and the souls.
"On the basis of a Book, every letter which has become law, he created a spiritual nationality which blend together peoples of every tongue and race.
He has left the indelible characteristic of this Muslim nationality the hatred of false gods and the passion for the One and Immaterial God. This
avenging patriotism against the profanation of Heaven formed the virtue of the followers of Muhammad; the conquest of one-third the earth to the dogma
was his miracle; or rather it was not the miracle of man but that of reason.
"The idea of the unity of God, proclaimed amidst the exhaustion of the fabulous theogonies, was in itself such a miracle that upon it's utterance from
his lips it destroyed all the ancient temples of idols and set on fire one-third of the world. His life, his meditations, his heroic revelings against
the superstitions of his country, and his boldness in defying the furies of idolatry, his firmness in enduring them for fifteen years in Mecca, his
acceptance of the role of public scorn and almost of being a victim of his fellow countrymen... This dogma was twofold the unity of God and the
immateriality of God: the former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is not; the one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other
starting an idea with words.
"Philosopher, Orator, Apostle, Legislator, Conqueror of Ideas, Restorer of Rational beliefs.... The founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one
spiritual empire that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than
Mahatma Gandhi, statement published in 'Young India,'1924.
I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind.... I became more than ever
convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter
self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his
fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle.
When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of that great life.
Sir George Bernard Shaw in 'The Genuine Islam,' Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936.
"If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay Europe within the next hundred years, it could be Islam."
“I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to
possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him - the wonderful
man and in my opinion for from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savior of Humanity."
"I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would
bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as
it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.”
Michael Hart in 'The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons In History,' New York, 1978.
My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was
the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the secular and religious level. ...It is probable that the relative influence of
Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. ...It is this unparalleled combination of
secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history.
Dr. William Draper in 'History of Intellectual Development of Europe'
Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born in Mecca, in Arabia, the man who, of all men, has exercised the greatest influence upon
the human race... To be the religious head of many empires, to guide the daily life of one-third of the human race, may perhaps justify the title of a
Messenger of God.
Arthur Glyn Leonard in 'Islam, Her Moral and Spiritual Values'
It was the genius of Muhammad, the spirit that he breathed into the Arabs through the soul of Islam that exalted them. That raised them out of the
lethargy and low level of tribal stagnation up to the high watermark of national unity and empire. It was in the sublimity of Muhammad's deism, the
simplicity, the sobriety and purity it inculcated the fidelity of its founder to his own tenets, that acted on their moral and intellectual fiber with
all the magnetism of true inspiration.
Philip K. Hitti in 'History of the Arabs'
Within a brief span of mortal life, Muhammad called forth of unpromising material, a nation, never welded before; in a country that was hitherto but a
geographical expression he established a religion which in vast areas suppressed Christianity and Judaism, and laid the basis of an empire that was
soon to embrace within its far flung boundaries the fairest provinces the then civilized world.
Rodwell in the Preface to his translation of the Holy Qur'an
Mohammad's career is a wonderful instance of the force and life that resides in him who possesses an intense faith in God and in the unseen world. He
will always be regarded as one of those who have had that influence over the faith, morals and whole earthly life of their fellow men, which none but
a really great man ever did, or can exercise; and whose efforts to propagate a great verity will prosper.
W. Montgomery Watt in 'Muhammad at Mecca,' Oxford, 1953.
His readiness to undergo persecution for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as a leader, and
the greatness of his ultimate achievement - all argue his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems that it solves.
Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad.... Thus, not merely must we credit Muhammad with
essential honesty and integrity of purpose, if we are to understand him at all; if we are to correct the errors we have inherited from the past, we
must not forget the conclusive proof is a much stricter requirement than a show of plausibility, and in a matter such as this only to be attained with
D. G. Hogarth in 'Arabia'
Serious or trivial, his daily behavior has instituted a canon which millions observe this day with conscious memory. No one regarded by any section of
the human race as Perfect Man has ever been imitated so minutely. The conduct of the founder of Christianity has not governed the ordinary life of his
followers. Moreover, no founder of a religion has left on so solitary an eminence as the Muslim apostle.
Washington Irving 'Mahomet and His Successors'
He was sober and abstemious in his diet and a rigorous observer of fasts. He indulged in no magnificence of apparel, the ostentation of a petty mind;
neither was his simplicity in dress affected but a result of real disregard for distinction from so trivial a source.
In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerful and weak, with equity, and was beloved by the
common people for the affability with which he received them, and listened to their complaints.
His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory, as they would have done had they been effected for selfish purposes. In the time of his
greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from affecting a regal state, he
was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonials of respect were shown to him. If he aimed at a universal dominion, it was the dominion
of faith; as to the temporal rule which grew up in his hands, as he used it without ostentation, so he took no step to perpetuate it in his family.
James Michener in ‘Islam: The Misunderstood Religion,’ Reader’s Digest, May 1955, pp. 68-70.
"No other religion in history spread so rapidly as Islam. The West has widely believed that this surge of religion was made possible by the sword. But
no modern scholar accepts this idea, and the Qur’an is explicit in the support of the freedom of conscience."
“Like almost every major prophet before him, Muhammad fought shy of serving as the transmitter of God’s word sensing his own inadequacy. But the
Angel commanded ‘Read’. So far as we know, Muhammad was unable to read or write, but he began to dictate those inspired words which would soon
revolutionize a large segment of the earth: "There is one God"."
“In all things Muhammad was profoundly practical. When his beloved son Ibrahim died, an eclipse occurred and rumors of God 's personal condolence
quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have announced, ‘An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to attribute such things to the
death or birth of a human being'."
“At Muhammad's own death an attempt was made to deify him, but the man who was to become his administrative successor killed the hysteria with one
of the noblest speeches in religious history: ‘If there are any among you who worshiped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is God you Worshiped, He
lives for ever'.”
Lawrence E. Browne in ‘The Prospects of Islam,’ 1944
Incidentally these well-established facts dispose of the idea so widely fostered in Christian writings that the Muslims, wherever they went, forced
people to accept Islam at the point of the sword.
“The greatest ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about”
edit on 14-5-2012 by DumbTopSecretWriters because: (no reason given)
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Giving Tuesday | VideoSarahbeth Ackerman | 11/27/2012
"We do spend a lot of time as a society really focused on what`s the best deals and how can I get all of this shopping done?" said Stacy Nordstrom of Souris Valley United Way.
Souris Valley United Way is reminding the community what the holidays are really all about by raising awareness for giving donations that will better the City of Minot.
"We just wanted to make sure we had a say to take a step back and really think about what does our community need, how can we really help people out and really bring the spirit of the holiday back," said Nordstrom.
Just a few dollars to donate could go toward a hot meal for the elderly or even a years worth of reading material for kids.
"We are helping feed people, help protect and inspire children, really make our community safe, keep our families stronger, make our community a better place for everybody," said Nordstrom.
With the growing population, Souris Valley United Way needed to think about expanding their efforts.
"This year we have a larger goal than ever before, because our community has grown a lot and definitely the the number of children we have in our community, the number of opportunities to help and also the needs is a lot greater than before," said Nordstrom.
Their goal this year is to raise $675,000 and they reached 40 percent of that goal so far.
If you want to give back to the community you can visit www.svunitedway.com.
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Task force/Reader Conversion
|The task force process is completed. Some task forces may be reconstituted to discuss incomplete issues.
Please discuss on the Village Pump.
Note: Research and analysis has been moved to Reader conversion.
Fewer than 1% of all readers contribute to the Wikimedia projects. This small group of individuals is predominantly male, with advanced graduate degrees, between the ages of 18-30, and single. As such, several groups are under-represented in the community, including: women, subject-matter experts in specific fields, older adults, and those with less formal education.
Wikimedia's mission--which encourages the free sharing in the sum of all knowledge--appears to require that as many individuals as possible contribute what they know to the projects. The goal of this task force is to develop a strategy for converting readers into editors and to identify groups with a high potential to add value to the Wikimedia projects.
The task force should develop answers to these questions:
- What is the goal of increased participation and increased diversity of participation?
- What are the factors currently preventing readers from contributing to the Wikimedia projects? What particular factors might have begun to inhibit participation in 2006, when we know it began to stagnate?
- What key groups are under-represented, and why? How has their absence affected the Wikimedia projects?
- What key features/changes offer the greatest potential to increase participation, particularly from under-represented groups with a high potential to add value to the projects? (e.g., building awareness, technology solutions, cultural/community solutions)
- What 2-4 major strategic opportunities for investment would have the most impact on increasing participation (particularly from under-represented groups with potential to add value to the projects)?
- Who is needed to support this strategy (e.g., Wikimedia Foundation, chapters, individual volunteers, external partners), and what do they need to do?
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As is the case with most things that are important, we as a society have done a very bad job of developing an effective conversation about Global Warming. The vast majority of electronic and real ink that I see spent on the discussion of Global Warming (outside of the peer reviewed literature) is not even about climate or climate change. Rather, it is about talking about climate change, the politics of climate change, critique of the rhetoric about climate change, clarification, obfuscation, complaining, accusing, yelling or belly-aching, and the occasional threat of violence. And today, dear reader, I’d like to give you some more of that! (Well, some of it. There will be no threats!)
I was having a conversation the other day with a colleague, and we talked about a lot of different things mainly having to do with science education. He is a fellow scientist, there is some overlap in our training, and we are both members of the same secret scientific society which, of course, I can’t tell you about. During this conversation he was moved, appropriately, to warn me that his view of Global Warming might be different than mine; he does not see global warming as the number one problem facing species diversity and survival. Since he is one of the world’s experts on global insults to species diversity, I took heed.
We continued our conversation and I quickly realized that we had pretty much the same view. Mainly, the importance of Global Warming vis-a-vis species diversity and survival, relative to other human-caused insults to the planet, is unknown. The power in my Blog Cave is out at the moment, so I can’t look this up, but my friend Emily Cassidy recently noted that some large number … over half? … of the terrain not otherwise covered with ice (as in polar caps) or water (as in lakes, and of course, the oceans) on this planet is in use for agriculture. A big chunk of that is range land (because that takes up so much space) but a lot of it is monoculture.
The scale of human modification of the land for agriculture is astonishing. On a recent trip to the southwestern part of Minnesota, I saw field after field after field of corn and nothing but corn other than the occasional housing development or swamp. Then we got to our destination, a prairie restoration project, and there was this one plot, the edges of which could be easily seen from any point on that plot. The plot was heavily invaded by invasive species, and there on this plot were dozens of plants of a certain prairie clover which was busily going extinct.
Regionally, the nighttime humidity is measurably higher than it has been known to be in the past because of all this corn, which lets a lot of water out of its cells during the dark hours, relative to the native grasses.
So on this patch down in southwestern Minnesota we have climate change in the form of shifted humidity, nearly complete habitat destruction because of agriculture, and invasive plants and animals running around. There is also global warming. There are warmer winters, more frequent severe storms and flooding, and much higher summer temperatures.
All these things matter. Which maters most? Does it matter which matters most? Are we going to do something differently if we find out that the list of insults to our plant, in order of importance, is 1) invasive plants; 2) anthropogenic global warming; 3) habitat loss vs 1) anthropogenic global waraming; 2) habitat loss; 3) invasive plants?
No, and there are several reasons. First, there are things we can do and things we can’t do, depending on who we are. On that visit I spoke with some of the people in charge of saving that nearly extinct clover plant. They saw the situation as pretty hopeless, but they were trying, and they probably could not have put their energy usefully into something else. You could, if you like, go down there and demand that they stop trying to save the clover and instead start working on a windmill, or start raising money to buy back some farmland and restore it to native prairie. But it will not work. Wild plant lovers will spend their time with wild plants, other conservationists will work on the habitat loss, and if the deniers would let us get on with it, there are things we can do in the State Legislature to help with the AGW problem.
The other “problem” with “Global Warming” is the focus on “Warming” as though the big problem was simply ambient temperature. If that was true all we would need to is wear a lighter jacket in the spring and do some land management magic to let the Minnesota Moose, who can’t live here any more because of the shifting habitats, migrate north up to Canada. But the problem is different than that. There are three major problems with AGW that are not as simple as things getting warmer: Redistribution of energy, redistribution of the form of water, and ocean acidification.
The redistribution of energy is related to the changes in water (which I’ll note in a moment) and is, of course, related to the warming itself. Habitats are determined by patterns of weather, and climate is the long term manifestation of weather phenomena. But what is weather? Mainly, weather is what happens when excess solar heat that builds up along the equator, on land, in the air over the land, at sea, and in the air over the sea, moves towards the poles mainly as masses of moving air or water. Winds are driven by this differential in heat, and ocean currents are driven by heat differential as well as the winds. (This is a simplification of course.) It gets pretty darn complicated when you add in continents and mountains and stuff, and of course the earth’s spin is a factor, and the tilt of the earth causing a seasonal effect, etc. etc. But the main thing that is going on is the movement of solar energy from equatorial regions towards the poles. With a heated up atmosphere the basic pattern may be the same but the details may be quite different. Or, the basic pattern of this process may change dramatically. We don’t know the full range of possible changes, but it does appear that some regions become much drier at the same time that the atmosphere becomes much wetter. So, wet regions may get wetter, and dry to medium dry regions get more severe storms, so they don’t really get wetter (storm waters tend to run off) but they do get messier.
So, on my visit to southwestern Minnesota, had I stood there long enough, I would have probably been more likely to be hit by a severe thunder storm or even a tornado. Hey, wait a minute … as I recall we WERE hit by a severe thunderstorm on that trip. See?!?!?
The redistribution of forms of water may be more important with respect to humans. During any given year, water on Earth is distributed in several different forms on average. There is ocean water, glacial water, winter snows and ice, water frozen in the permafrost, water in fresh water bodies or groundwater, and water vapor in the air. Where the water is and in what form feeds back to climate conditions (glaciers cool things down by reflecting away sunlight, for instance). One of the outcomes of long term AGW is the movement of lots of frozen water into the oceans. If enough of this happens, a significant proportion of the earth’s human population will have to move away from the coast lines. Also, the ecology of coastlines will change. Long term low energy estuaries will be opened up to the sea if sea level rise is fast enough, and although they will reform later when sea level stabilizes, there is evidence that certain kinds of habitats will become very rare.
To me, Ocean Acidification is the biggest unknown but at the same time possibly the biggest problems. Adding CO2 to the global system increases CO2 in the sea water, and this increases acidity. Under these conditions, organisms that rely on a lower acidity to build their “skeletons” may simply become very rare or go extinct. These organisms, at the moment, are responsible for making some of our Oxygen out of CO2, and they are at the base of the oceanic food chain. Breathing and eating are important. These activities may become disrupted because of Carbon being added to the system.
Speaking of carbon, consider the costs of separating fossil carbon from its molecular crypts in oil, coal, and gas as part of our use of energy. The other day I cleaned the deck of my front porch. It was covered with a layer of black soot. Thank you very much Big Giant Coal Burning Plant that lives upwind from us, and thank you very much to all the trucks and cars and everything else. But at least we don’t work at a coal mine; but others do, and suffer for it. This fossil carbon, with its energy-storing bonds that we break to make fire, is unevenly distributed across the planet. So, being humans, we go to war over it now and then, sometimes just economic war, often real fighting wars. The process of getting this carbon out of the ground and into your lungs or on you porch is also one of the most important money making operations on the planet. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting soot. Well, everybody gets the soot, or the global warming, or the ocean acidification, but the rich get to enjoy themselves a bit more on this toboggan slide we’re on.
The thing we call “Global Warming” is real, and it is caused by humans, and it matters. But it does not exist in isolation, the “Warming” part of it is important but not the only part that matters, and it is not our only problem. Some people think global warming either irrelevant or good, because they don’t mind a bit more warm weather. But that is not what global warming is about. Species diversity is probably threatened more by agriculture, via habitat loss, and possibly by invasive species, than by global warming. But global warming is not chopped liver. All these things are on the list of critically important problems. The only way to solve these problems is with the intelligent and effective implementation of well formed science policy on the local, national, and international levels, with that policy derived from good science supported by a well informed citizenry.
So, how do we do that?
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On January 29, 1861, Kansas became the 34th state to enter the union. Kansas began its path to being part of the United States of America with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Thomas Jefferson violated his own beliefs around federal power because the deal with France was too good of an opportunity to pass up. In one sweeping act, Jefferson doubled the size of the United States. 'Bleeding Kansas' was a troubled territory during the Civil War period and gained entry to the union as a free state amidst a great deal of turmoil.
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The conviction rate for every kind of crime is in free fall, engendering a breakdown of law that no republic can survive
Even criminals, back in 1953, seemed to be soaking in the warm, hope-filled glow that suffused the newly free India. From a peak of 654,019 in 1949, the number of crimes had declined year-on-year to 601,964. Murderers and dacoits; house-breakers and robbers — all were showing declining enthusiasm for crime. Large-scale communal violence, which had torn apart the nation at the moment of its birth, appeared to be a fading memory. Bar a Calcutta tram workers’ strike, which had paralysed the city for three weeks, there was no large-scale violence at all.
The sun wasn’t shining in the stone-clad corridors of New Delhi’s North Block, though, where police officials had just completed the country’s first national crime survey — the National Crime Records Bureau’s now-annual Crime in India.
India, they concluded, faced a crisis of criminal justice. For one, India faced a crippling shortage of police officers. Then, poor training standards meant “there had been no improvement in the methods of investigation”. “No facilities exist in any of the rural police stations and even in most of the urban police stations for scientific investigation,” the report went on, “there had been a fall in the standard of work”. The result, Crime in India, 1953 recorded, was plain: intelligence capacities had diminished; cases were failing; criminals walking free.
Last month, the Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association, a New Delhi-based human rights advocacy group, brought out a stinging indictment of policing in independent India. In studies of 16 cases involving the Delhi Police’s élite counter-terrorism unit, the Special Cell, the report found evidence of illegal detention, fabricated evidence and torture. Each case, the report states, ended in acquittal — but not before protracted trials destroyed the lives of suspects.
Delhi Police officials have responded by arguing that the report cherry-picks cases where the prosecution collapsed. Sixty eight per cent of the 182 individuals tried for terrorism-related crimes from 1992 have been convicted. In addition, they claimed to have secured convictions in six of the 16 cases of illegal possession of arms and explosives.
This line of defence is profoundly wrong-headed. Even if there was evidence that even one of the 16 suspects was framed or wrongfully prosecuted, that in itself would constitute a scandal. The Delhi Police’s failure to initiate an independent review of the cases does the force no credit.
In using the cases to argue that terrorism related prosecutions are driven by communal malice, though, the JTSA study falls into serious errors of its own. The stark truth is that convictions for every kind of crime are in free fall, engendering a state of criminal injustice no republic can tolerate and hope to survive.
Figures on rape prosecutions graphically demonstrate the need for caution before making the deductive leap that the police are simply framing innocents to serve communal biases, or hide their incompetence. In 2003, less than a quarter of alleged rapists were eventually convicted. In most Indian rape prosecutions, the testimony of victims is key. To suggest that the high levels of acquittals are evidence of the framing of suspects by the police would be to suggest that a large percentage of women who file rape complaints are lying — a self-evidently ridiculous proposition in our social context.
It is entirely possible that another kind of police bias — against women — might account for this high level of acquittals; male-chauvinist police officers would, after all, conduct poor investigations. It isn’t only alleged rapists, though, who are being acquitted in record numbers. Kidnapping convictions have fallen from 48 per cent in 1953 to 27 per cent in 2011; successful robbery prosecutions from 47 per cent to 29. In 2003, less than a third of completed murder trials ended in a conviction; in 2011, the last year for which data has been published, the figure remained under 40 per cent (see table).
Thus, a 30 per cent conviction rate in terrorism cases — a widely-used figure, albeit of uncertain empirical provenance, that also finds mention in the JTSA report — would be entirely consistent with the overall police record. From the NCRB’s crime data, this much is evident: if the Delhi Police have indeed secured convictions in 68 per cent of terrorism cases since 1992, it is a sign of stellar competence.
Interestingly, the police have had stellar results in explosives and arms cases, where cases revolve around material recoveries: half or more of all prosecutions since 1983 have ended in convictions. This points us in the direction of the real malaise. Investigators seem good at sniffing out hidden guns and bombs, sometimes after crudely beating information out of suspects, but not so competent in the complex process of marshalling a chain of credible evidence.
This is not to suggest that there is no bias in policing. In 2010, the last year for which NCRB data on India’s prison population is available, 17.74 per cent of the 125,789 convicts in the country’s prisons were Muslims — somewhat higher than their share of population, which the 2001 census put at 13 per cent, and is now estimated to be over 14 per cent. The overrepresentation of Muslims among prisoners facing trial was even more marked: 22.2 per cent of 240,098 that year shared this religious affiliation.
Evidence of bias
These figures make clear that Muslims are not only disproportionately likely to be convicted for an offence but also more likely to be arrested for a crime for which they are eventually acquitted.
For two reasons, though, it is unclear that communal chauvinism alone accounts for this overrepresentation. First, Muslims were significantly overrepresented among the prison population in some States with a record of non-communal administration. In West Bengal, for example, 5,722 of 12,361 prisoners under trial were Muslims — a staggering 46 per cent, against a share of the general population of around 25 per cent. Uttar Pradesh had 15,510 Muslim prisoners under trial, out of a total of 55,872 — 27 per cent — though the religious community made up less than 20 per cent of its population in 2001.
West Bengal’s numbers were not dramatically different from highly communalised Gujarat. There, 18.3 per cent of prisoners under trial in 2010 were Muslims, who make up just 9 per cent of the population. Even Gujarat did better than Maharashtra, where a staggering 32 per cent of prisoners under trial, and almost 31 per cent of convicts, are Muslims — though just over 10 per cent of the population are of that faith.
Muslims, secondly, aren’t the most overrepresented category in Indian jails. Just over 1 per cent of India’s 365,887 undertrial prisoners and convicts held post-graduate qualifications; three quarters were either illiterate or had failed to pass the 10th grade. Three-fifths of Bihar’s 5,260 convicts serving time in 2010, for example, belonged to the Scheduled Tribes, the Scheduled Castes or the Other Backward Classes — a pattern evident in many States. Muslims are among the poorest and most educationally deprived segments of India’s population, a fact of significance.
Finally, local factors — for example, the historic character of organised crime in Mumbai or Ahmedabad — might have played a role in the making of these figures, too. It ought to be no surprise that Hindus would account for a high share of terrorism suspects in Manipur or Assam; nor that Muslims might be overrepresented in Jammu and Kashmir or Sikhs in Punjab.
High quality empirical studies to establish just how much communal bias influences the criminal justice system are desperately needed — and their absence is evidence of the chronic deficits in the policing system as a whole.
The bottom line is this: even as far too many innocent people are ending up suffering punishment for crimes they never committed, even greater numbers are walking free after perpetrating hideous acts of violence.
Every word of the authors of the 1953 Crime in India could be republished in a crime survey today without emendation. The police remain understaffed, under-trained and under-equipped to conduct meaningful investigations.
Little has been done to address chronic deficits in staffing either. Last year, the Union Home Ministry told Parliament it had pushed up the ratio of police officers to the population to 174:100,000, inching towards the global norm of 250:100,000 or more, and up from a painfully-anaemic 121:100,000. It neglected to note, though, that its claims were based on the 2001 census; adjusted for population growth, the ratio is still an appalling 134:100,000.
Forensic facilities also remain rudimentary and training is cursory: it bears recalling that the forensic evidence that links 26/11 gunman Muhammad Ajmal Kasab to his handlers in Pakistan emerged as a result of work by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, not India’s police. The central academy for police investigation skills proposed in 1953 still doesn’t exist.
Ever since 26/11, there has been big talk on police reform — but precious little action. The results are evident, scarring the life of every citizen.
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Grandparents will get key role in family splits: Shake-up to ensure they keep in touch with youngsters
Grandparents should be able to maintain contact with their grandchildren after a family breakdown or divorce, ministers will say today as they unveil a huge shake-up in family law.
Parenting agreements between separating mothers and fathers will be amended to emphasise the important role grandparents play in children’s lives, Government sources said.
The Daily Mail revealed last week that the rights of fathers following a family breakdown are to be dramatically strengthened in the most radical changes since the 1989 Children Act.
Ministers argue grandparents should be able to continue to see their grandchildren following a family breakdown. Changes are being planned to the 1989 Children Act
The Act is to be rewritten to make courts protect the rights of millions of children from broken homes to have a ‘full and continuing relationship’ with both parents.
Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke will confirm the Government is to reject the central recommendation of a report on family justice, which concluded there should be no change in the law.
Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke reveals the government is rejecting a report's recommendation
The move will be welcomed by fathers’ rights groups, who have argued for years that the family courts are biased in favour of mothers.
The Government’s response to the report, by former businessman and Whitehall mandarin David Norgrove, is also expected to set out proposals to recognise the role of grandparents.
Ministers have decided against creating a new legal right to access for grandparents following warnings it could dramatically complicate family disputes that end up in court – a decision likely to anger some campaigners.
But a Government source said guidance on parenting agreements between separating mothers and fathers would be amended to ensure that grandparents were included.
Ministers say many more custody and maintenance disputes should be settled using independent mediators, rather than in the adversarial family courts, and are to provide millions of pounds in extra funding for mediation.
A source said: ‘Children get a huge amount of love and support from grandparents. That’s why we will do what we can to ensure that grandparents can remain part of their grandchild’s life if their mum and dad separate.
‘Parent agreements are made between mother and father, usually with an independent mediation service. Government issues guidance on how they should be done and what we’re talking about is a change in that.
‘The Government is going to consider how parent agreements can be amended to help emphasise the need for other family members such as grandparents to be involved.’
Ministers say it is a scandal that there is ‘little or no’ recognition of the vital role grandparents play in society. Research suggests they are increasingly relied upon by parents for help with childcare and family finances, and by older children for advice and support.
Today, the Government will announce plans for a new ministerial working group to draw up details of the changes. Most significantly, ministers will rewrite the 1989 Children Act in a bid to remove any ‘legal bias’ in favour of either parent.
Fathers are not expected to get an automatic right of access written into law. But, except in cases where a child’s welfare can be shown to be at risk, courts will be placed under a duty to ensure children have an ‘equal right to a proper relationship with both parents’.
Ken Sanderson, of the group Families Need Fathers, described the decision as a ‘victory for children’.
But in an unusual move, Mr Norgrove said it was a matter of ‘regret’ that ministers were backing calls for children to be granted new rights to see both their parents in cases of separation.
He said there was a danger of repeating the experience of Australia, where the creation of a right to ‘shared parenting’ following separation led to long delays in sorting out custody disputes.
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IT Security threats are on the rise. The figures speak for themselves. In Q2 2012, the Kaspersky IT Threat Evolution Report shows:
- Over 1 billion threats detected
- 89.5 million URLs serving malicious code detected
From McAfee, we know that at the end of Q2 they had over 90 million samples of Malware in its database (a significant increase from under 60 million in July 2011). Of greater concern, the report confirms an increased focus on the Internet from organized crime, giving rise to what the McAfee report aptly calls “crimeware as a service”.
Ensuring IT Security objectives are met is a key component the Board’s Governance function. Failures in IT security have far reaching consequences for an organization, ranging from interruption of activity to loss of public trust. The associated costs have the potential to be very high, including damage to a company’s reputation.
Organizations have known of the security threat for years. A 2007 study from McAfee shows that 33% of respondents said a major security breach could put their company out of business. From Sony (who lost an estimated 1.25 billion from a cyber atack) to the smallest start up, nobody is safe. To put things in perspective, The 2011 Norton Cybercrime Report estimated global losses of $400 billion a year and one million victims a day.
This makes it important that all parties involved in IT Security, from IT Security managers to Board members, know what they are facing. It is a war, and the only way to win is following Sun Tzu’s advice “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
In this particular situation, the enemy has many faces and is fighting on many fronts:
- Via complex organizational structures(even as real corporations), offering a full suite of cyber-crime products and services, these syndicates have well prepared professionals and boards directing them, which makes them a difficult opponent. It is a battle between two corporate competitors, one of whom is not bound by any rules.
- Small criminal operations are actively trying to make quick cash from insufficiently protected systems.
- Hacktivism is becoming a legitimate means of protest. Although widely covered in the news, the Anonymous hacking group is by no means the only hacktivist group out there.
- Increasingly complex, but easy to obtain malware written by sophisticated programmers that sniff and exploit known unpatched vulnerabilities, that “script kiddies” can buy on the Internet but use effectively with minimal technical knowledge.
- Almost universal Internet access and web presence, which allow for multiple points of access.
Information is today’s most sought after asset. Whether it is corporate espionage or stealing personal data and money, cyber crime is on the rise. Is your organization prepared to defend itself?
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NAG Numerical Components
Produced by experts for use in a variety of applications, the NAG Library is the largest commercially available collection of numerical and statistical algorithms in the world. With over 1,600 tried and tested routines that are both flexible and portable it remains at the core of thousands of programs and applications spanning the globe.
The NAG Library is so widely used and trusted because of its unrivalled quality, reliability and portability. Whether it is a single PC or a cluster of the world’s largest supercomputers, the NAG Library has the numerical capabilities to fit your model. The NAG Library is available for use with many programming languages and for many platforms and operating systems. For more specific product information, library content and availability click on the product links on the left menu.
Who is it for?
If you want to add mathematical and statistical functionality to your applications or if you have complex mathematical problems to solve, the NAG Library will provide a host of benefits. The NAG Library is embedded in thousands of applications and programs in industries as diverse as:
|Research & Development||Telecommunications|
|Finance||Life and Earth Sciences|
Features & Benefits
|Business Benefits||Key Features|
|Speed up application development
The NAG Library now provides a subset library that is thread-safe, allowing developers of multi-threaded applications to have complete confidence in the product.
Available as a set of DLL (Dynamic Link Libraries) for use on Windows systems
The validity of each component is tested on each of the machine ranges for which the product is available. Only when an implementation satisfies our stringent accuracy standards is it released. As a result, you can rely on the proven accuracy and reliability of the components to give you the right answers.
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Blood donations up in Alaska
ANCHORAGE - Until Sept. 11, Jim Decker had given blood only sporadically through donation campaigns at BP, where he works as a corporate lawyer.
Then came the terrorist attacks. Like thousands of other Americans, Decker felt compelled to give blood that very day. By 6:45 a.m., he was standing at the doors of the Anchorage-based Blood Bank of Alaska. Altogether, 270 first-timers were among the 708 Alaskans who showed up that day - five times the usual number.
Decker, who has become a member of the blood bank's board of directors, said he plans to continue donating regularly. But he doesn't have much company. Only about 15 first-timers have returned following the required 56-day waiting period between donations, blood bank officials said.
"We appreciate that people came here because of a national tragedy, but there are tragedies here, too," blood-bank spokesman Greg Shoemaker said.
Still, overall donations are up considerably for the state's only blood-collection source. The blood bank is affiliated with America's Blood Centers, a network of nonprofit blood centers in the United States and Quebec, Canada.
The Alaska branch has satellite centers in Wasilla and Soldotna and a bloodmobile.
In September, the bank collected 2,187 units of blood, 375 more units than the previous September. October donations fell to 1,923 units, still a 165-unit jump over the previous October. The blood bank needs 2,000 units a month to meet the needs throughout the state, said Shoemaker.
None of the blood collected in Alaska ever made it to the East Coast, Shoemaker said. The New York Blood Center, an affiliate, collected 5,000 units the first 24 hours, which turned out to be more than enough.
"Tragically, as time went on, they realized there would be no survivors who would need the blood," Shoemaker said.
Anthrax ruled out in Juneau mail carrier
JUNEAU - The Centers for Disease Control has ruled out anthrax in a Juneau postal worker who developed a suspicious rash on her nose, according to a post office spokeswoman.
The postal worker, who was not identified, went to the emergency room at Bartlett Regional Hospital two weeks ago for treatment of the rash, and doctors put her on Cipro as a precaution, said Connie Lightner, post office spokeswoman in Anchorage.
The hospital did not test the woman for anthrax but sent a photograph of the rash to the CDC, which ruled out the bacteria after analyzing the image, she said.
"They did not identify it as anthrax," Lightner said.
The employee, a mail carrier at the Mendenhall Valley branch, has been on sick leave for two weeks, she said.
Skater's Cabin rehab contract awarded
JUNEAU - The U.S. Forest Service has awarded Phase 3 of the Mendenhall Campground/Skater's Cabin rehabilitation contract to Channel Construction Inc.
Phase 3 includes reconstruction of the Skater's cabin picnic site, replacement of vault toilets, a handicapped-accessible ramp to the lakeside beach, shoreline stabilization, a trail connection to the Mendenhall Campground and a drinking water source faced with rustic stone.
The site will be closed during construction, but the West Glacier road and trailhead will remain open. The contract is scheduled to be completed by Jan. 31.
Juneau Empire ©2013. All Rights Reserved.
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From the article:
About 48 women are raped in the Democratic Republic of the Congo every hour, a study has claimed.
The study, due to be published in the American Journal of Public Health in June, found sexual abuse was rampant not only in conflict areas but also in the home, with nearly one woman subjected to some form of sexual abuse every minute.
The DRC has been racked by war, with rapes widely documented in the conflict-hit east of the country. However, the study suggests the problem is bigger and more pervasive than previously thought, and goes further in documenting domestic sexual abuse.
It found 1,152 women are raped every day – a rate equal to 48 per hour. That rate is 26 times more than the previous estimate of 16,000 rapes reported in one year by the United Nations.
"Not only is sexual violence more generalised, but our findings suggest that future policies and programmes should focus on abuse within families," the study's researchers said.
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It is with great joy that we announce the release of this introductory Chalan set for the 10 Thaats of the North Indian music system. After the release of Raagopedia, we received numerous requests for more Chalans. Panditji then began a new book of Chalans. And although it started out as a single book, with each raagas' Chalan being limited to roughly two staff lines, it quickly grew as Panditji could not leave any portion of the expansion in a scaled down form. Thus the seven volume Chalan set was born.
Presently, Chalans for all 650+ raagas given in the Raagopedia, and about 60 Rare Raagas have been composed and notated. Each volume has an average of 100+ raagas and is approximately 300 - 350 pages in length. Due to the colossal nature of this Chalan work, plans are underway to release it on a 2 CD ROM set. Please enquire for more details and availability. All Chalans have been notated in Staff and Sargam. As with any written form of music that is unmetered, we recommend you keep the basic note values as shown. Play everything slowly, and absorb the various bends and twists. These can latter be speeded up to create numerous taans (licks) and musical compositions. Try to experiment, practice fluidity rather than a regimented playback pattern, and give equal time values to each quarter note.
Don't be afraid to pause, particularly on notes that offer resolution or ones that come at the end of a musical phrase. We have tried to suggest where you should pause by using half notes or whole notes and fermatas. So keep your eyes on the note values when reading the staff!
By their inherent nature, some raagas are controvercial, and there are various schools of thought on their practice. Whenever a shadow was cast on any technical issue related to a particular raaga, a separate segment in the Chalan was set aside to cover that variation.
Some beginning raaga theory and notation information has been included and a glossary has been added at the end.
All Chalans are in the Key of C. We do stress that these cassettes are computer playback of the written notations and not virtuoso performances. They sound great but their purpose is to educate the listener on the raaga's Sargam and, through that, its progression and expansion. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a system which allows a computer to enable playback of musical sequences through systhesizers.
In order to further understand the South Indian system, We have, on the next page, included the Chart of 72 South Indian Melaas (Melaas are the Carnaatic counterpart to North Indian Thaats). Some believe the present 10 Thaats were selected from these 72. Although opinions differ on this it is a fact that the Carnaatic Mela scheme is very comprehensive.
On the chart we have marked the North Indian corresponding Thaats. For example Hanumat Todi Mela is N. I. Bhairavi Thaat, and Mechakalyaani Mela is N. I. Kalyaan Thaat. The complete work on the 72 Melaas with recorded Kritis is presently being prepared. Please enquire for details and availability.
Finally, we would like to thank all of you that have shown enthusiastic support for these projects. Special thanks to Ralph Abraham for his ever present helping hand in reading and editing these pages. We would also like to acknowledge and thank Robben Hixon for his untiring help in creating the Sargam fonts for our publishing program, and most of all a special thanks to the rest of the Batish family members that have kept the Publishing and Recording portion operating allowing us to concentrate fully on these works.
Shiv Dayal Batish
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June 1, 2008 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have shown that children under 3 years old who have a brain tumor called diffuse pontine glioma (DPG) appear to have a better outcome than older children with the same cancer.
Results of the study, which appear in the advance online publication of the journal "Cancer," are important because clinicians have long believed that DPG was universally fatal. Moreover, it was assumed that clinicians had simply misdiagnosed the disease in children who responded to treatment and survived.
"Our findings show that children under 3 years with DPG can potentially respond better to treatment than older children," said Alberto Broniscer, M.D., assistant member in the St. Jude Department of Oncology and the paper's first author. "Unlike other previous studies in young children where the diagnosis of DPG was based on either CT scans or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the diagnosis of all our patients was based on MRI only. CT scans are not able to differentiate between DPG--a tumor that occurs in the brainstem--and other tumors, which originate in the same area with a better prognosis."
The researchers reviewed the medical records of 10 patients under 3 years of age with DPG. The median age of these patients was 2.2 years, and the median time between symptom development and actual diagnosis was 2.5 months. All children had the diagnosis of DPG based on radiological review of their MRIs at diagnosis.
All of the children received treatment--two with radiation, six with radiation plus chemotherapy, and two with chemotherapy only. Four of the children died, but six have survived for at least two years following this therapy, which is ineffective in older children with similar tumors. Based on these findings, the St. Jude team calculates that 45 percent of children under 3 years treated for DPG will survive for at least three years without experiencing tumor growth, and 69 percent of such children will survive.
From these results, the investigators concluded that distinct biological characteristics of DPG in children under 3 years compared to older children might account for their better response to radiation and chemotherapy. The researchers point to a similar finding with a type of glioma that originates in the cerebrum: Young children with high-grade gliomas originating in the cerebrum seem to have a better prognosis when compared to older children. Different biological properties also seem to play a role in the latter case.
Brainstem gliomas account for 10 to 15 percent of all brain tumors in children; and DPGs account for 80 percent of brainstem tumors in childhood. Although MRI revolutionized the diagnosis of DPG, no significant improvements have occurred in its treatment in children during the past 20 years, according to St. Jude researchers. The long-term survival of children with DPG has remained less than 10 percent despite treatment with radiation and chemotherapy.
The St. Jude team is now collecting tumor samples and performing extensive molecular analyses in order to gain a better understanding of the biology of DPGs in children. "We believe that the more we learn about DPGs, the more likely we will be able to design more effective treatments for children of all ages with this tumor," Broniscer said.
Other authors of the paper include Fred H. Laningham, Larry E. Kun, David W. Ellison and Amar Gajjar (St. Jude) and Robert P. Sanders (formerly of St. Jude).
This work was supported by a Cancer Center Support CORE grant from the National Institutes of Health, Musicians Against Childhood Cancer, the Noyes Brain Tumor Foundation, the Ryan McGhee Foundation and ALSAC.
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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Elizabeth Keckley: Mary Lincoln’s remarkable dressmaker
Gloria Reuben as Keckley in the film Lincoln
When a former slave turned professional dressmaker and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln published her memoir, Behind the Scenes, in 1868, she received a vitriolic response.
One reviewer in Washington called Elizabeth Keckley “treacherous,” asking: “What family of eminence that employs a Negro is safe from such desecration? Where will it end?” What a difference 145 years make.
The memoir is ensconced as a literary treasure, and, in the most recent pop-culture outbreak of Lincoln fever, Keckley is logging significant time onstage, on-screen and on the page — where her remarkable life has allowed other writers to explore the complicated intersections of race and power in 1860s America.
“She had always prided herself on her integrity and dignity, and to suddenly be dismissed as a lowly servant telling tales was quite a shock,” said Jennifer Chiaverini, whose novel Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker (Dutton, 352 pages, $26.95) is being published today.
Keckley’s rise from slave to independent businesswoman for the elite would be fascinating had she landed in the White House next to Chester Arthur. That she was privy to the halls of power during the most fateful moments in the Union’s history makes her that much more compelling.
In Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, Gloria Reuben plays Keckley in a limited role but steals a pivotal scene. Tony Kushner, who wrote the screenplay, said that his and Spielberg’s decision to focus the story on the inner workings of the federal government restricted their ability to include black characters, and that Keckley’s “entirely plausible” access to the president allowed for “a very important opportunity to have a black character talk directly about slavery to Lincoln.” Kushner called the moment “in many ways the cornerstone of the film.”
Born to a slave and her master in Virginia in 1818, Keckley bought herself and her son out of slavery in 1852. Chiaverini’s novel picks up the story in 1860, after Keckley had moved to Washington, where she set up shop and was soon making dresses for the wives of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, among other powerful Southerners.
Soon after Abraham Lincoln was elected president, Keckley became personal fashion consultant to the troubled first lady.
“Elizabeth had spent 38 years as a slave,” Chiaverini said, “and she had, just for her own survival, learned how to deal with difficult white women, to put it bluntly.”
Paula Vogel — whose play
A Civil War Christmas, which recently closed in New York, prominently features Keckley and Mary Lincoln — said most of the history written about that time was “war-centric and Lincoln-centric, but the truth of the matter is that people had to carry on, and all of these individuals became equally remarkable at functioning.”
Chiaverini, the author of 21 novels, said that as she was researching earlier books set during the Civil War, she kept coming across secondary sources that relied on Keckley. After reading the memoir, which Keckley published three years after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln pushed Mary Lincoln out of the White House, Chiaverini was inspired to imagine the many intimate day-to-day moments between the seamstress and the first lady that were left out of it.
Jennifer Fleischner, an English professor at Adelphi University, has written the most comprehensive historical account, Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly. (The title of her 2003 book uses an alternative spelling of Keckley’s name; both versions appear in the historical record.)
“The fact that she’s portrayed at all” in recent popular depictions of the era “is a real change,” Fleischner said.
The film Lincoln got Keckley’s presence in the family’s private quarters “just right,” said Fleischner, who added that she wished the film had included a longer look at her autonomy.
“She was doing a lot of stuff during that time other than sitting next to Mary Lincoln or mourning her son,” Fleischner said. (Keckley’s son died in the Civil War.) “If you’re going to show someone like Keckley, at least show her going home once in a while to have a real life.”
That busy life included the founding of the Contraband Relief Association in 1862. That organization helped freed slaves with housing, clothing, medical care and other necessities. Frederick Douglass, among others, offered his support.
“If the white people can give festivals to raise funds for the relief of suffering soldiers,” Keckley recalled thinking in her memoir, “why should not the well-to-do colored people go to work to do something for the benefit of the suffering blacks?”
That she steadily negotiated a life among whites and blacks makes Keckley a contrast to Lincoln himself, according to Kushner.
Lincoln’s time in Illinois, a state with a severe code that enforced segregation and limited immigration of blacks, meant that “by the time he arrived in the White House, he had far less experience with slaves or free black people than many of the people in his government,” Kushner said. “He was on a steep learning curve. He spoke honestly and openly about that lack of familiarity.”
Speaking generally about the large number of “extraordinary characters” in that period of history, Kushner said his original draft of Lincoln ran to more than 500 pages and included several scenes with Keckley that ended up being cut.
“There’s a possibility I might write more about her in the future,” Kushner said. “Gloria and I have talked a lot about other moments that we could look at.”
One thing Keckley shared with Lincoln was pragmatism. According to Fleischner’s book, Keckley “had her eye on sewing for the new inhabitants of the White House — whoever they might be — and she would not have jeopardized her success by being open about her political views."
In 1860, as political tensions mounted, Jefferson Davis’ wife, Varina, offered to bring Keckley to the South with them.
“I preferred to cast my lot among the people of the North,” Keckley wrote in her memoir. “I parted with Mrs. Davis kindly, half promising to join her in the South if further deliberation should induce me to change my views.”
Mary Lincoln’s mood swings, however, occasionally strained their friendship, just as they strained the presidential marriage. While in 1867 Mary Lincoln would write to Keckley, “I consider you my best living friend,” the falling-out they had over the memoir — which included some of the first lady’s personal correspondence — was painful for both of them.
Keckley “wrote impassioned, apologetic letters to Mrs. Lincoln but never received so much as a single word in reply,” Chiaverini writes.
In this she is sticking to the historical record. Keckley and Mary Lincoln never spoke again.
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With Valentine’s Day behind us, sometimes we can forget about showing love to our kids on a daily basis in tangible ways. Here are some easy ways to do that!
“Genuinely embrace their creativity – even if it doesn’t fit your definition of creativity. If it is drumming, give them the opportunity to play. If it is art or poetry, give them the tools they need to exercise that. Expressing their creativity is an expression of who they are. If we deny them that, we deny them the opportunity to grow into their own person.” – 12 Most
Go on “Dates” with Your Kids
“Going out for frozen yogurt at those popular FroYo bars is fun. Adding your toppings is so much fun. This is a perfect date night activity with your daughter. Going out for ice cream would be fun too. For some reason, you feel less guilty about eating frozen yogurt.” – Long Wait for Isabella
“If there’s a splash park near your home, take her there often. She will be drawn to the water like a duck to a puddle.” – From Dates to Diapers
Eat Dessert for Breakfast. Just Because You Can.
Send Fun/Funny/Seasonal Foods in Their Lunches.
Celebrate a Weird Holiday.
March 10 is “Middle Name Pride” Day. February 27 is “Polar Bear Day”! (Ideas for polar bear books and activities.)
“What could be better than Fairy Tale Day? Once upon a time there was Fairy Tale Day and we all lived happily ever after, the end. Great day to read some famous Fairy Tales to your kids.” – Squidoo, Weird February Holidays
What do you do to show your kids love every day?
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Sunday, August 31, 2008
This weather here makes everyone wet and sticky.
I should be having a whale of a time. I'm in a birding paradise, in a small and easy-to-navigate town where people actually drive sanely, and fall migration is in full swing, with the promise of dozens more lifers just outside the door. But most of the time the very idea of going outside repulses me.
Why? It's sticky here.
Not just slightly humid, the way it was in central Orange County for most of the summer. Not just a bit hot. I'm talking 90-degrees with 90% humidity sticky. Walk-to-the-mailbox-and-return-90-seconds-later-drenched-in-sweat sticky. And I don't even want to talk about how I must look to my students after walking across campus from my office to the lecture hall.
I am miserable, and everyone else around here looks dry, well-groomed and happy. "Welcome to Florida," they say sweetly whenever I mention the weather. "Don't worry, by November, it'll be really nice out."
Compounding the misery are the mosquitos. Yup, they exist back in the OC. But not in the mind-blowing density that they do here. And I am cursed with a taste mosquitos crave.
Last week, I came back from Palm Point Park with five ping-pong-ball-sized welts on my left arm. So when I set out with my local birding mentor today, I made a point of slathering myself with bug repellant. This worked for about an hour, until we hit the Bolen Bluff trail at Paynes Prairie State Park, a usually reliable spot to find migrating warblers.
We only got two—an American Redstart (these are common here), and an Ovenbird (a lifer for me). But I did see swarms of mosquitoes in concentrations previously unimaginable to me. OC birders are familiar with the swarms of non-biting gnats lingering over the front ponds at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. Imagine those swarms at about twice that density, then turn them into aggressively buzzing and biting mosquitoes. In 90 degrees of nearly liquefied air.
There probably were tons of birds out there, but I was too itchy and panicked to see or hear most of them. (Besides, it's hard to hear any birds over the constant drone of mosquitoes.) I did hear something that I swore sounded like a Bell's Vireo, but perhaps I was subconsciously homesick for some nice, dry, coastal sage scrub, and thus hallucinating.
The other factor making birding such a sticky proposition are the large number of spiders, many of which build huge webs across trails, just at face level:
This is a Golden Silk Spider, and is just as big as it looks—its body is over an inch long. It gets its name from the yellow web it weaves, which is strong enough to catch birds. I accidentally walked through one such web yesterday, and found myself ensnared in sticky yellow strands with a thickness and texture somewhere between dental floss and Silly String. Thankfully, these spiders are not venomous, and not aggressive towards people—but the moment I got home, I threw my clothes into the hamper and jumped into the shower.
Despite all this, I managed to get a few lifers this weekend: White Ibises, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Eastern Bluebirds, Carolina Chickadees, and Eurasian Collared-Doves. I should be happy and grateful—and I am—but I'm also hot and itchy. And worried about contracting malaria. And sticky.
But some of the birders are going out again tomorrow morning to look for fall migrants, and have invited me along. And I'm going.
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Updated Sept. 22, 2005 at 8:50am: see comments re: seedling establishment in recent years.
Long-time readers of Botany Photo of the Day will recall a previous photograph of the female flower of this plant. Here is an image of the fruit taken five months later, from the Alpine Garden at UBC.
Five-leaf akebia, or chocolate vine, is native to southeast Asia. Introduced in 1845 to the eastern United States as an ornamental, Akebia quinata has revealed a tendency to be invasive in that region (all of the groundcover in that photograph). The individual plants at UBC are prolific growers (though almost 20 years old),
but seedlings have never been noted and seedlings have now been noted in recent years (see comments) despite favourable conditions nearby.
I've disturbed the fruit in the lower mid-left to show the black seeds. The gelatinous substance surrounding the seeds is edible, and tastes mildly sweet.
In BPotD news, I think the email notification is fixed regarding yesterday's future-dated postings problem. I'll confirm that it's working sometime in the next few days. If you're an email subscriber, you missed yesterday's posting on Hordeum jubatum, so please be sure to read it (the first comment also has an explanation of the future-dated postings problem).
Also, during correspondence with Apple, I learned that they felt that the Botany Photo of the Day Widget is best categorized under “webcam” (and they've moved the Astronomy Picture of the Day Widget there), so here's the direct link: Botany Photo of the Day Widget. If you're a Macintosh Tiger user, download and install it to get BPotD on your Dashboard daily!
Photography resource link: For inspiration, the photography of Ross Wordhouse, self-proclaimed “panoscape” photographer.
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On Monday last, I went to Charles de Gaulle airport with members of the Association d'entraide aux minorités d'Orient (Organization supporting minorities in the Orient) or AEMO, to meet family members of people wounded in the October 31 attack on the Baghdad cathedral. At the request of the French government, AEMO members had found the wounded in various Baghdad hospitals, and the government had brought 53 people out in an air ambulance on November 8. With me was the lone surviving priest, Fr. Raphaël Qatin, and some of the wounded awaiting their relatives. Our volunteers have cared for them daily since then, a huge burden on the little NGO I've presided over since its inception, designed to locate Iraqis threatened personally with death for reasons of faith. We have helped mostly Christians, but also Muslims and Mandaeans as well.
As eleven tired travelers strolled out of the customs area, laden with the belongings they could take, the reunions were joyful and terribly sad. One woman, awaiting the 17-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son she hadn't seen since November, was trembling and weeping as she waited. Weeping because her son had never been told that his father is dead, dead of his wounds. She dreaded telling him. It could wait a day, she told me in broken English. Fr. Raphaël embraced an elderly man, red-faced and crying unashamedly, whose son Fr. Wasim Tabeeh was the first to die. As he tried to convince the assailants to leave the church, they threatened him. When he pleaded that they take him and leave his parishioners alone, they opened fire and actually cut him in two with concentrated AK-47 shots. The gentleman will find his wife, resettled in another city in France. A family of five children and their father impatiently awaited to leave and find their mother and wife, still recovering from her wounds.
Until these people came, we located such people qualifying for refuge in France, helped them come to France, and get re-settled. AEMO volunteers have welcomed Iraqis to France and refuge since 2008 -- some 1300 in all. For the first time that we have picked people up at the airport, a squad of police surrounded us until we got everyone into waiting vans, while a little further away, French commandos with automatic weapons stood alert. They hadn't forgotten, at least.
As for Fr. Raphaël, he is still recovering from the bullet that blew through his spleen and other organs, as well as the deafness from the grenades and suicide vest explosions. He told me that he will not return to Baghdad, as he had first thought. "Now I am a citizen of the world," he said, ironically. We chatted about an eventual trip to the United States, to tell his story.
So that people not forget ... Egypt and Libya have overtaken these people in the news cycles, as well as all the Iraqi Christians who remain in that country. But they keep coming, keep fleeing, keep praying, keep dying. We are still waiting for all the family members and the more lightly wounded Syriac Catholics to join us here.
Please, Gentle Reader, do not forget.
Follow Bishop Pierre Whalon on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bppwhalon
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We’re excited to announce next week’s matching gift campaign with One Day’s Wages (ODW); a grassroots movement of people, stories, and actions to alleviate extreme global poverty. ODW promotes awareness, invites simple giving, and supports sustainable relief through partnerships, especially with smaller organizations in developing regions.
Beginning Monday, May 13th at 9:00AM P.S.T we will be raising funds for The SOLD Project’s Family Camps and Anti-Trafficking Awareness Programs. All donations will be matched up to $2,500.00.
The two-day camp offers parents and their children (primarily teens) the unique
opportunity to discuss points of conflict and collaborate together on solutions in a
supportive environment. Through culturally relevant group activities, families are offered
a structured place to intentionally connect with each other for, as many past participants
noted, the very first time.
Parents and children work together on communicating expectations and responding to
conflict in the Positive Discipline session. Speakers teach on how our behavior affects
others and the negative side effects of physical punishment. In the Breaking and Healing
session, the pattern of family violence and its seemingly endless cycle are explored. Both
parents and children are given the opportunity to discuss their family’s history, explore
what forgiveness may look like in their own homes, and brainstorm how they can each
help “step outside the cycle” of generational violence.
As ironic as it may seem in the sex capital of the world, sexuality is not discussed in a
Thai family structure, leaving children vulnerable in their lack of understanding about
their bodies and how to respond to touches from others that make them uncomfortable.
The consequences of little to no education in this area has disastrous, lifelong
consequences in Thailand when a lack of education and a need for income is coupled
with “opportunity” in the nearest city’s Red Light District. The camp’s anti-trafficking
portion discusses “body safety” with the children. From song-and-dance to role-playing
how to respond to uncomfortable scenarios to drawing body maps, the children are
equipped with an understanding about the individual rights they have.
We’ll be holding two camps (one in October 2013 and another in January 2014), each of which costs $2,500.00. Our hope is that at the end of this campaign we are able to cover the cost for both of these camps.
Between Monday, May 13th and Saturday, May 18th we’re asking you to donate one day’s worth of your wages. That amount will then be doubled, up to $2,500.00. 100% of your donation will be used towards Trafficking Awareness Family Camp.
Just one day’s worth of your wages will fund the awareness of a child at-risk. So please, plan ahead to give. And stay tuned – more information on HOW will go live on Monday morning.
Older generations like to bemoan younger generations for not being aware and not being involved, but we at The SOLD Project would like to show you that this isn’t always the case! We’d like to introduce you to some high schoolers who have taken it upon themselves to not only become informed about social issues, but to also form a club in which they raise funds and take time to educate their peers about the issues as well. The Girl Effect club, as they have dubbed themselves, recently became supporters of The SOLD Project. They are awesome and we are honored to have them in our corner. We hope you’ll enjoy getting to know them as well!
We’ve asked them to share a little about themselves, and here is what they’ve said:
What is the “Girl Effect” club? What are your missions and aims, and what are some things you do?
The Girl Effect Club is relatively new, only a few months old but it started when my friend [Rachel Ketola] and I [Kendall DeVries] noticed that there was a problem with the way that women are viewed around the world. The Girl Effect is an established movement that aims to leverage the potential of teen girls to change their social and economic dynamics by providing them with real, powerful and relevant resources. Rachel and I were very inspired by the movement and founded a club at our own high school to not only support women in developing countries, but to positively impact our peers. There is little acknowledgement of gender issues in our generation and we find many of our friends blatantly accepting degradation.
We also wanted to bring more awareness of prostitution, oppression in foreign countries, and the importance of education for girls around the world. Our mission for the Girl Effect club is to educate our school and community about women’s issues locally, nationally and globally. We have weekly meetings to discuss these issues and start each meeting with a TED Talk (they are awesome!!) oriented around women’s issues. By having both girls and boys in the club, we challenge common ideas about sexuality together and work to advocate empowerment for all. The ultimate mission is to shift people’s consciousness, inspire individual and community action, and ultimately, transform culture so everyone, regardless of gender, can fulfill their potential.
We also educate our community by holding movie nights. The first movie our club showed was called Miss Representation. We had a great turn out and plan to show a documentary called Rape for Profit at the beginning of June to raise more money for the SOLD project!
How did you find out about The SOLD Project? What prompted you to get involved in fundraising for The SOLD Project? How was the money raised (and approximately how much)?
We found out about the SOLD Project the old fashioned way, by searching the Internet! We just wanted a small nonprofit that we knew would use the funds to benefit the cause, and your site and cause appealed to us! It was part of our initial plan to put together a fundraiser to benefit girl’s issues, and when we found you, we came up with our fundraising plan and went with it! We sold different color elastic hair bands. The school absolutely loved them, our slogan was “Educate a girl, Change her world, Buy a hair tie”. We sold for about two weeks, and raised about $160, I know it isn’t much, but we intend to fundraise more!
What are some specific things, if any, you’d like to see the money go towards, and how do you see it aligning with your club’s broader aims?
I asked the club members, and they all agreed that it would be cool if the money went to girl’s education, but really anything that benefits the kids would be just fine to us as well!
Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to help! I am very passionate about this subject and other social issues.
Thanks to the overwhelming contributions of our fabulous supporters, we’ve been able to break ground on a second building at The SOLD Project Resource Center!! This has been a dream of ours for a long time now, and finally, it is becoming reality.
In this new building, we will have:
- two new classrooms (including a computer lab)
- a meeting/counseling room, to conduct meetings with the kids’ families & other visitors
- office space
- small kitchen/cafe area
With this new building, it frees up space in the original building, where the downstairs area will be converted to a library space.
Exciting stuff!! We can’t wait to show you what it looks like when it’s finished!
Thank you again to all our fantastic friends and donors. This would not be possible without each and every one of you and your support!
The SOLD Project has made it onto Girl Effect Headlines! The Nike Foundation’s philanthropic site, The Girl Effect, frequently highlights organizations that are doing groundwork to help empower girls and raise up entire communities. We’ve just been featured!
You can check out the article here:
and then, please, spread the word!!
Happy Thai New Year from all of us at The SOLD Project!
We at The SOLD Project are always inspired when young people take initiative and find ways to use the resources they have to make a difference. Sarah Desatnick is one such impassioned individual. As a Girl Scout, Desatnick is driven to demonstrate her leadership abilities and desires to work in ways to help uplift local communities. She has chosen The SOLD Project as part of her aim in this endeavor. I’ll let her tell you, in her own words, why.
Living in the town of Basking Ridge New Jersey, where everyone has comfortable houses and plenty of food, it made my heart break hearing about these beautiful children in Thailand who have nothing. I did not, however, want to just sit here and feel sympathetic. I wanted to help them receive an education and achieve their goals. I wanted to be able to say I helped make a difference in someone’s life. The fact that one organization, the SOLD Project, can make such a great impact on one community is unbelievable. I want to be able to make that type of difference helping one child at a time. Plus, getting to work with such role models as Rachel Goble is just the cherry on top.
My older brother, who is currently 21 years old, has a very severe disability. This certain disability impacts his ability to walk and talk, and he been in and out of the hospital his whole life. He goes to a special school that is a Hospital and Education facility. He has the support of our family and the help from the nurses and doctors. It does not seem fair that we can provide my brother the help he needs while these healthy children in Thailand do not have the help and support to even get an education themselves. I want to help change that. I want those kids to reach for the stars and follow their dreams.
Each pencil, backpack, or notebook I collect is one more step to giving a child a better education. With all the supplies that are donated, I will package them into the backpacks. Each child’s backpack will include pencils, notebooks, pens, and binders. My goal is to help as many of the children in these villages as I can. The SOLD Project, with help from others, is making a tremendous difference. I want to do all I can to support the SOLD Project and the great work they are doing.
Sarah, your work is invaluable and it is inspiring to see a young person such as you get involved in helping to improve the lives of our fellow human beings. Thank you!
When Zoey, one of our volunteers, mentioned last July how quickly the kids participated in her activities, it first caught my attention. As the year progressed, I began to see more and more how lively and free the kids were becoming, but it wasn’t until the Christmas party–when a quiet 17-year-old sang two songs in English by herself in front of a crowd of 200 people, and a 15-year-old with an obvious medical condition led several dances front and center, and when a young boy whose parents often let him know how little they care made friends with all the Singaporeans–that it struck me how much the kids have grown in confidence in the past two years. Where they were two years ago is like night & day compared to where they are now.
When I first started teaching at SOLD, I had all kinds of academic goals for the kids (based on ideas born of my own experience growing up in the U.S. and the requirements for success we tell our young, middle class, educated kids). Those plans quickly fell apart when I realized some of the basics I had taken for granted in my sheltered life were not so basic for these kids. Like the courage to try. Even an activity as basic as coloring was daunting to many of these kids who were terrified of doing anything, for fear of doing it wrong.
I started to realize that before I could teach them that holy grail of “critical thinking” I had to teach them something more basic: to believe in themselves. To believe they are worthwhile and that they can do things worthwhile. I have a theory, you see. I have a theory that in order to teach them life skills, I need to first teach them that, as human beings, they are worth having skills. Because why do we teach “critical thinking” in the first place, if not so kids can use that skill of analysis to protect themselves later in life? So that when a politician sells them an unbelievable story, they’ll have better instincts. So that when a trafficker comes to call, they’ll know this person is not their friend. We can’t tell them what to say and do in every situation life will confront them with. But we can arm them enough to be careful where they place their trust and to learn to ask questions, instead of following blindly. We teach it to help them protect themselves – but first they must believe they are worth protecting.
Last year went a long way towards building their confidence. This year, I’m continuing with that theme in their education this year, teaching them life skills that might be useful, but that also helps them see their self-worth and value as individuals and human beings, with the hope that if they learn to value themselves, they will be less likely to let themselves get into trouble. We’ll cover things like: how to maintain body health & hygiene, how to cultivate healthy relationships (both with family and significant others), healthy and honest ways to manage conflict in a relationship, and even one for our boys on what it means to be a man.
But before we begin with such heady topics, we started with one on self-esteem. We started with a trust exercise – you know the one where people pair up and you have to let yourself fall backward and trust the other person will catch you? We did that one. The kids were giggling and having a ton of fun, but it was challenging too, and it was obvious who had a harder time trusting. We had them take note of what went through their heads: how it seemed hard or impossible at first, but they had to control their fear, and once they did, they could do it. We said that’s like any challenge in life: your brain might tell you that you can’t, but if you can control your thoughts, you’ll find all kinds of things you can do. But just like how you had to trust the person behind you, you have to create a relationship of trust with yourself, to know that you can do it.
I think they got the picture, and the trust exercise seemed to be a good way to show them viscerally what we were talking about. We made lists of things they liked about themselves (with some kids, this part seemed like I’d given them a tough exam they hadn’t prepared for, for all the hard thinking they were doing), and lists of things that made them happy. We sang songs (Whitney Houston’s Greatest Love of All), and made a rubber band chain, with each link in the chain representing something that made them happy. We told them to add a link each time something happened to make them happy, and one day it could grow quite long, and if there comes a day when they don’t feel good about themselves, they can look back at their happy chain and remember all the things that made them happy.
Then we finished with a showing of the movie Brave. We popped popcorn for them, and they had a grand ol’ time. At the end, we asked them a few questions about what they noticed in the movie. One answer they gave was that they loved the relationship between the mother and daughter best, and they liked how the mother and daughter were able to solve their problems by taking the time to understand each other.
They’re smart cookies, these kids.
– Jade Keller
Education Program Manager
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Good points, rotrhed. A robot that is rejected because of its appearance is hardly functional. In that sense, some of the robots we're seeing in Japan ARE a case of form following function. Same for Heather Knight's robot, called Data. I've said this previously, but when Data spoke at the Freescale Technology Forum last year, the 2,000 engineers in that room fell silent. That speaks volumes about robotic acceptance and, therefore, about form following function.
An android would be designed to function in "Human space" with interfaces to the environement using similar algorithms as a human body. some might be augmented for example such as the aability to see better or in the dark or hear better and possibly communicate using radio in addition to human like speech. A robot would be more likely to be designed wtih little or no functionality in human space but be capableof interacting with its environment such as welding robots and military drones.
"Form follows human functions with specialization and or augmentation" might be a better way to describe androids.
Note that as we move toward biomimetics to mimic natural functionality, there a good examples where nature has few or no matching examples of man-made devices, such as the wheel bearing allowing unlimited rotation. While eons of iteration has resulted in systems that are well-suited to the tasks necessary for survival (what ARE all those little mini- fins on a shark?), many tasks we have invented (spraying paint) do not match any that have shaped human evolution and so should result in a different form.
Two points I think not yet made, regarding how 'human-like' DOES follow function:
1) In (almost) all examples of human form provided here so far, it DOES follow function: the response by the user (e.g. acceptance by an elderly patient being aided) is a critical part of the function. Gratuitous effort to provide human traits is unwarranted, but if guiding what the user imbues to the robot better serves the function, it is not only warranted but required for the better product.
2) the ability to operate products and tools designed for humans is absolutely necessary, to leverage AVAILABLE manually operated equipment. While automated folk lifts and paint sprayers can be procured when available and affordable and lead time permits, a single robotic system capable of operating any/all of the human-use tools already in hand -- without re-design or re-capitalization of ALL of them -- can be VERY valuable. Of course humans do this already, but robotics to augment or replace humans (with the benefits of greater strength and no fatigue and repeatability [6 sigma] and instant/perfect training and perfect data logging and no panic and ...) is appropriate for dull tasks and for dirty/dangerous environments (such as Fukushima or in a burning house). Note also that mobility in environments designed for humans, but made unsuitable for humans (radiation, temperature, atmosphere, etc), requires the ability to operate common mechanical devices that humans use without notice that wouldn't already be automated (such as stairs, door knobs, doors, drawers/cabinets/access panels, keyboards, etc, etc, etc). I offer that this may be greatest unserved market, but the issue here is the FORM of the system and not the autonomy (as most cases I immediately envision could be well served by remote operation).
That's a good question, Ivan -- especially now that Google had commandeered the term Droid. What I found is that an android is an automated system that resembles humans or has human characteristics. A robot is simply an automated system. Though I also found definitions for robot that said robots have human characteristics.
Good point, Tool-maker. As automation becomes more sophisticated, I think it replicates human physical action less and less. At a certain point, automation efficiencies requre thinking outside human movement. Continual improvement seems to take a non-human-movement path.
Thanks, Tool_maker. Yes, we humans are rather frail. Backs, knees, and hips seem to require regular maintenance, and in the case of hips and knees, replacement. Robots go through shorter evolutionary changes than humans.
Jon, I like your porpoise example. This question presupposes that humans are correctly constructed for our purpose, what ever that is. Obviously we are not or we would not have to use tools to perform virtually any task. If my robot is to lift and rotate an automobile engine what human do I use as a model?
Robots shall have to use tools made for human use, threrfore a hand similar to the humans is necessary. All conveyances require feet and legs, including some wheelchairs. It would then be prudent that if robots are to take over a lot of difficult human duties, using human tools, and using human conveyances to arrive at work sites they should then be as human as possible as not to gather a curious crowd or create any other kind of disturbance.
By experimenting with the photovoltaic reaction in solar cells, researchers at MIT have made a breakthrough in energy efficiency that significantly pushes the boundaries of current commercial cells on the market.
In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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Transcript | UN Secretary-General: Free 'Opposition Leaders, Rights Defenders'
31 Aug 2012 23:25
It is a great pleasure for me to have this opportunity of addressing a very distinguished group of professors and particularly young people.
I thought that most of the audience would be young people. I now realize that this is [also] a mixture of distin[guished] scholars.
As the secretary-general of the United Nations, I have been addressing many different groups of people. Do you know who would be the most difficult group of people to speak to? [T]he group of professors. What can I say to the professors who are teaching? I was taught and educated by professors.
So you are the eminent professors in every aspect of studies, and I really hope that this opportunity briefly maybe will give us some opportunity of addressing the issues of our common concern, [our] common interests for the future of [the] young generation and particularly, since you are going through a very important transition toward a greater democracy [and] social and economic development, while you have to address many challenges.
This is a basic purpose -- normally, whenever I visit, wherever I visit some countries, I normally meet the presidents, prime ministers, [and] foreign ministers, so the agenda are more or less fixed. We always talk about international peace, regional conflicts, or development issues, or human rights issues. But from them, I take more or less fixed positions which I have and they have their fixed positions. But I want to have some inspiring ideas and good ideas from young people and also some professors who would have some good professional visions for the United Nations, the Iranian government, and people who could work together.
As you know, I am visiting Iran for the first time as the secretary-general of the United Nations. This is a great opportunity for me to participate in the Non-Aligned [Movement] summit meeting, and I sincerely congratulated the leadership of the Iranian government. This will provide a good opportunity for them to raise their political profile in the international community, and also demonstrate their moderate and constructive leadership in the international community.
I really wanted to speak with you about your path as a country, your place in the family of nations, and your potential for the future, because I believe in this country's future.
My first relationship with Iran dates back to 1974. I stayed here in Tehran for about 40 days as a young diplomat. [Now] I couldn't recognize anything, because there was a huge change. I never saw, at that time, such huge high-rises and apartments. It has become a very crowded but vibrant society.
Then after that, as vice-minister, I visited here in 2000. And this is my third visit, but the first visit as the secretary-general, [so] this is quite meaningful.
As I said, I really wish to have this kind of meeting in a café or some other place rather than this fixed venue, but I would like to have some broader exchange of views.
Let me begin by expressing my deep sadness for all of the victims caused by the recent earthquake in the northwestern part of Iran. I express my condolences. My resident coordinator and the disaster risk reduction experts have visited the site of the earthquake. The United Nations stands ready to help your people, as always.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me just tell you frankly. Many people when I decided to come just advised me, "Why are you going there? That country has a lot of problems, why don't you just stop?" But I thought that, you know, as the secretary-general, believing in the power of engagement, power of diplomacy, I thought that I have the responsibility to visit any member state of the United Nations.
And, moreover, this meeting of the Non-Aligned [Movement] summit [...] where 120 countries are participating, this is a great opportunity for me to engage not only Iranian people but also many other leaders here. In fact, I have been meeting many people and tomorrow I am also going to meet many leaders.
I believe in stating concerns directly and finding peaceful solutions to even the most difficult challenges.
I believe in the values of the United Nations.
That is why I am here, and I [have felt] very much appreciated by [the] Iranian people and the government leadership, and also by members of the Non-Aligned Movement. That makes me happy to be here.
I have also a strong sense that the people of Iran know what kind of society they wish to build. I wanted to come and encourage you, to know what are your aspirations and how the United Nations can work together [with you].
I very much welcome to see for myself directly, personally, a country that figures prominently in the global awareness.
Persian cultural and artistic traditions have enriched humanity for centuries -- many hundreds and thousands of years. Your poetry is unrivaled in its imagery and depth of feeling. In fact, yesterday my resident coordinator, Ms. [Consuelo] Vidal, was telling me how much she was impressed by this artistic language of Persian. Persian language itself is a poem, so whoever or whenever you speak the Persian language, it sounds and looks like poems. I agree with that. Your architectural wonders have filled people with awe -- from the explorers of old to travelers today.
Iranians are rightly proud of these achievements.
As one of our founding members of the United Nations, Iran also has a long history with the United Nations. Through the years, we have worked together on many issues of concern. [...]
Today, we look out upon a global landscape full of challenges. A prolonged economic crisis worldwide, a jobs crisis, climate change, a rising tide of intolerance.
One thread runs through whatever solutions lie ahead: the need for more effective international cooperation.
We need every country to see the national interest in the global interest. When national leaders and peoples only talk and care [for] their national interests, you cannot expect that the international community will be able to have harmonious development and prosperity. We need every country to put its best face forward for global concern and global prosperity.Here in Iran, poverty and maternal mortality are down -- that's good. Literacy for girls is up. Women now make up more than half of all university [students] in Iran -- that's again fantastic. This welcome trend must continue with women entering an ever-broader range of professions and fields of study. We'll discuss this matter through an exchange of views, but there are many areas that we have to do more when it comes to women.
In a larger sense, I believe Iran would benefit from fully drawing on the activism of civil society.
Of course, unleashing the potential of civil society means accepting its diversity of views, even when these views might seem challenging to authorities. Social activism and critics should never be conflated with national security and seen as a threat to the society or the state.
I have grown up in a country [South Korea] where all this democratic transition has formed through a very turbulent period. We were, at least, under [a] military dictatorship, thoroughly [for] two years, but before and after even, there were a lot of social and political turbulences. [South Korea was effectively under military rule for almost 27 years, from May 1961 to February 1988.] So they always tried to identify the causes of [criticism from] social, civil society with the national security priorities. I think it should not be confl[a]ted with the national security.
I know that the state of the economy is at the forefront of concerns; rising prices, declining economic opportunity, a lack of jobs. I know this is hitting young people particularly hard.
Expanding opportunities for youth is a generational imperative.
This is especially true in a place like Iran, which has one of the youngest populations in the world, with more than 60 percent of the population under the age of 30. So you are very young people, on average.
You are also a highly networked society. Well over half of your population uses the Internet, again, led by young people.
With freedom and space, Iran's young people can be a primary engine for driving your country's progress and standing.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In order to build a future of opportunity and hope for all of the people of Iran, important issues must be addressed and universal values upheld.
The United Nations and the international community are fully behind the people of Iran in your long struggle for democracy and human rights.
The first human rights charter was developed by Cyrus 2,500 years ago. This [is] something [that is] very commendable and you should be very proud of.
Today, Iranian scholarship and Islam itself offer a rich and pluralist tradition of interpretation and application of the law, and I encourage Iran to allow greater space for different and divergent perspectives to play out in public debate.
Many other countries with strong Islamic traditions have in this way found a path to complying with international standards, for instance on the use of corporal punishment or the death penalty, while remaining true to their Islamic identity and values.
I welcome the efforts by Iran's judiciary to prevent the execution of juvenile offenders. But I encourage further steps to restrict and even abolish the death penalty in law and practice.
Many other human rights challenges remain, civil and political rights, due process, and discrimination against women and minorities.
Restricting freedom of expression and suppressing social activism will only set back development and plant the seeds of instability.
It is especially important for the voices of Iran's people to be heard during next year's presidential election.
That is why I have urged the authorities during my visit this time to release opposition leaders, human rights defenders, journalists, and social activists to create the conditions for free expression and open debate.
I also urge Iran to strengthen cooperation with the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations, in particular the special rapporteur. I have discussed this matter with your leadership.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Serious questions also persist over nuclear issues.
It is in Iran's interest to take concrete steps to build international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program.
That is why I urge Iran to uphold its responsibilities as a U.N. member state and party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, NPT, and to comply with relevant Security Council resolutions.
And I urge all parties in the region to recognize the need to resolve this situation through diplomatic and peaceful means. This is what I discussed with [Majles Speaker] Dr. [Ali Ardashir] Larijani and also Foreign Minister [Ali Akbar] Salehi yesterday and also today. They both assured me that they are optimistic about the prospect of negotiation.
Provocative and inflammatory remarks and threats should be avoided by all means and all parties.
Under the Charter of the United Nations, all member states have a clear obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any other state.
Every country has a responsibility to exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from any hostile behavior that could inflame tensions and further complicate the search for peace.
Let us remember that it was Iran itself, 38 years ago, [that] proposed the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.
Efforts that would lead to a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction are already under way. I have appointed a special envoy, and he is now working very hard to convene [a] meeting before the end of this month. This represents a unique opportunity for all states in the region to constructively address common security problems on an equal level.This is clearly in the interests of all states and a goal well worth pursuing.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I believe we can make progress on all of these challenges and more.
Our collective responsibility is to build bridges of mutual understanding. This is the very heart of the Alliance of Civilizations, which is an initiative by the United Nations, an initiative inspired by Iran itself through [the] Dialogue among Civilizations [promoted by former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami]. This is what your country has proposed. All nations should be true to that higher calling.
I remember that when I was working as the chief of staff to the president of the General Assembly in 2001 and 2002 -- this was right after September 11 -- this Dialogue among Civilizations was convened in the General Assembly. And it was a very important, meaningful, and constructive meeting of the General Assembly at that time, right after September 11.
As you know, [there] is another issue; the U.N. General Assembly has condemned Holocaust denial. Anti-Semitism has no place in the 21st century. Likewise, Islamophobia, a new word for an old phenomenon, is equally defamatory.
When leaders or ordinary people utter such sentiments, it is they who are diminished. When academic institutions or think tanks lend their support to pseudo-scholarship, they are betraying their own principles.
Ladies and gentlemen,
My purpose today is to highlight the cost of Iran's current trajectory, both at home and in the international arena.
Any country at odds with the international community is one that denies itself much-needed investment and finds itself isolated from the thrust of common progress.
Any country at odds with itself deprives itself of its people's energy and goodwill, and sets the stage for future instability.
I understand that Iran has suffered at the hands of external actors. You went through a terrible war with your neighbor. You have felt unduly singled out.
But I also know that you can overcome the current difficulties and build a better future.
At the entrance of the United Nations there is a magnificent carpet -- I think the largest carpet the United Nations has -- that adorns the wall of the United Nations, a gift from the people of Iran. Alongside it are the wonderful words of that great Persian poet Saadi. I quote:
All human beings are members of one frame,
Since all, at first, from the same essence came.
When time afflicts a limb with pain
The other limbs at rest cannot remain.
If thou feel not for other's misery
A human being is no name for thee.
End of quote.
This wise counsel is as relevant today as when it was written nearly 800 years ago.
One thing I am very proud of is that the Iranian government has been making a tradition to provide very nice woven carpet portraits of the secretaries-general of the United Nations, starting from Trygve Lie, the first secretary-general, up to me. And I always feel very proud whenever I see this portrait of myself; it looks much more handsome than I am. And I really thank you for that nice gift. It's not to me but to the United Nations. It will be there as long as the United Nations exists, and I thank you very much.
Again if I may quote this poet Saadi's words, those words motivate me to stand alongside all those here seeking more justice, more opportunity, and a greater say in shaping their own destiny.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let us all, most of all, make constructive contributions to global problem-solving at a time of such profound challenge and change.
Thank you very much for your attention. Thank you.
Original content copyright © 2012 Tehran Bureau
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Catch Phrase (game)
|This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2009)|
|Players||4 or more|
|Age range||12 and up|
|Setup time||< 1 minute|
|Playing time||10 min to 15 min|
|Skill(s) required||Team play|
Game components
Initially, the game consisted of a timer and a plastic disc that displayed one word at a time. Later, stand-alone electronic devices with built-in random lists of word phrases were made available.
Game play
The game is played in two teams. The goal for each player is to get their team to say the word or word phrase displayed in the disc. One member of a team starts the timer and tries to get his or her team to guess the displayed word or phrase. A clue-giver can make any physical gesture and give almost any verbal clue, but may not say a word that rhymes with any of the words, give the first letter of a word, say the number of syllables, or say part of any word in the clue (e.g., "worry" for "worry wart"). When the team guesses correctly, the other team takes its turn. Play continues until the timer runs out. The team not holding the disc when time runs out scores a point. They also have one chance to guess the word or phrase, with team members allowed to confer; a correct answer earns a bonus point. The first team to score 7 points wins.
Original version
The older version of the game contains discs with 72 words on each side. The word list is advanced by pressing a button on the right side of the disc apparatus. A timer beeps at an increasing rate before randomly buzzing, signaling the end of turn. A scoring sheet is provided.
Electronic versions
A later version, also known as Electronic Catch Phrase, is an electronic game (a device similar in appearance to the original version) with integrated phrase list, timer, and scoring. The game unit has a LCD screen to display the words and buttons to start the timer, advance play, and assign points to teams. Teams must guess the entire phrase as displayed.
A second edition of the electronic game with a changed appearance has a backlit LCD screen and a visual score display rather than the auditory score system.
Word list
The electronic version's word list contains 10,000 words, which are categorized:
- "Everything" – all 10,000 words in the game
- "Tech/Inventions" – Anything that has been invented through the ages, from ancient history to modern times
- "History Buff" – History, politics, wars, civics, and things in the present that will become history
- "Entertainment" – Movies, music, books, actors, singers, authors, as well as fun activities
- "Sports/Games" – Sports and games of all sorts, leisure activities
- "Geography" – Places, both geographically and answers to the question "where?"; Also things that are usually found in a particular place or region
- "Transportation" – Methods of transport, as well as things seen while travelling
- "Around the House" – Household items
- "Food/Drink" – Foods and drinks, cooking terms, ingredients, restaurants, other food items
- "Plants/Animals" – Plants, animals, items made from plants or animals
- "Family" – A subset of the words appropriate for children, no adult themes or terms
Advanced players and teams tend to forgo the game board. Instead, one person is assigned as the score keeper and tallies the points along the way.
Elimination Variation
A fast-paced and fun variation for large groups is to have multiple teams and play elimination style. Players split up into teams of two and are arranged in a circle, with teammates facing each other.
- The team starting the round will pick a category and announce it to the group. Play starts as soon as the timer is started. The player must then get their teammate to correctly say the phrase by following the rules of normal play regarding clue-giving.
- If a team guesses the phrase correctly, the device is passed to the player to the left as quickly as possible, without restarting the timer, and no point is scored.
- If a team has the device when the buzzer sounds, the round is over and their team scores a point.
- An answer that has started before but ends after the buzzer sounds (buzzer beaters) will count as long as it is correct.
- If the buzzer sounds during a pass, neither team scores a point. A pass occurs from the time one team gets the phrase correct until the second team begins giving a clue.
- When a team scores a certain amount of points they are eliminated from play, and play continues until only one team is left. The amount of points required to eliminate a team from play can vary depending on the size of the group. For instance, larger groups may find that the game moves faster if they play single eliminaton.
Since teams are often passed the device with little time left they are forced to try to guess the phrase as quickly as possible as each point they earn moves them closer to elimination. This adds a frenetic pace to the game (especially when the timer starts ticking fast and you know you only have seconds left) and things can get exciting very quickly. To make things a little easier, each team may be allowed to skip one phrase per turn if they think it is too hard to describe in the time available. Each time the timer runs out, the team left holding the device can change the category if they so desire and must announce the new category to the group before starting the next round. The category cannot be changed once the timer has started.
It is considered good sportsmanship for the passing team to skip to the next phrase before passing the device as quickly as possible to the next team, and to start giving clues as soon as possible after receiving the device. If a player waits an unreasonable amount of time (decided by the group as a whole each time an infraction occurs) before passing the device, or before beginning to give clues after receiving the device, that player's team will receive a point and the round ends.
The game is similar to Taboo, also from Hasbro, in which a player tries to get his or her teammates to guess words without using the word in question or five related words.
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Spanish priests in the New World were once a little wary of chillies – considering them an aphrodisiac and something which could inflame passions and therefore possibly a creation of the devil. They preached against indulgence in something “as hot as hell’s brimstone”. The opposition by the priests may have helped chillies gain popularity.
Chillies are known to be helpful against hypertension and against pain. They are antimicrobial and aid salivation. It is thought that capsaicin is an effective defense against a fungus that attacks chili seeds. In fact, experiments have shown that the same species of wild chili plant produces a lot of capsaicin in an environment where the fungus is likely to grow, and very little in drier areas where the fungus is not a danger. Perhaps a liking for chillies is one of the key features distinguishing humans from other mammals. Family legend has it that my own liking of chillies results from my grandmother coating my thumb in chillie powder as an infant to try and stop me from sucking it!!
But the list of medicinal benefits that chillies can provide is growing.
Now comes evidence in a new paper that chillies are effective against sinus inflammations as well.
Jonathan A. Bernstein, Benjamin P. Davis, Jillian K. Picard, Jennifer P. Cooper, Shu Zheng, Linda S. Levin. A randomized, double-blind, parallel trial comparing capsaicin nasal spray with placebo in subjects with a significant component of nonallergic rhinitis. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 2011; 107 (2): 171 DOI:10.1016/j.anai.2011.05.016
The authors conclude: This is the first controlled trial demonstrating intranasal capsaicin, when used continuously over 2 weeks, rapidly and safely improves symptoms in rhinitis subjects with a significant NAR component.
Hot chili peppers are known to make people “tear up,” but a new study led by University of Cincinnati allergy researcher Jonathan Bernstein, MD, found that a nasal spray containing an ingredient derived from hot chili peppers (Capsicum annum) may help people “clear up” certain types of sinus inflammation.
The study, which appears in the August 2011 edition of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, compares the use of the Capsicum annum nasal spray to a placebo nasal spray in 44 subjects with a significant component of nonallergic rhinitis (i.e., nasal congestion, sinus pain, sinus pressure) for a period of two weeks.
Capsicum annum contains capsaicin, which is the main component of chili peppers and produces a hot sensation. Capsaicin is also the active ingredient in several topical medications used for temporary pain relief. …. This is the first controlled trial where capsaicin was able to be used on a continuous basis to control symptoms. It is considered a significant advance, “because we don’t really have good therapies for non-allergic rhinitis,” says Bernstein, adding that in previous trials the ingredient was too hot to administer without anaesthesia.
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This project is just getting under way, and thus its impact is yet uncertain.
impact statement issue
The field of population health has been characterized by attention to: (1) multiple determinants of health, recognizing medical care and individual behavior but highlighting the importance of social determinants of health, and (2) health disparities between population groups. One major component of the project, titled Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health (MATCH), is to conduct and disseminate county rankings across the United States. These rankings are likely to be based on multiple determinants of health (including social, structural, and environmental factors) and incorporate information about the distribution of health (health disparities) in communities. Increasing awareness of and concern about social determinants and health disparities will be essential to ensure that these efforts are successful in promoting multi-sectoral investments to improve population health and reduce disparities.
impact statement response
We began work on this project last year by conducting a review of literature on persuasive message strategies for policy change. We are now in phase 2, collecting data on message strategies that have been used by existing campaigns working on this issue. Phase 3 (formative research) and phase 4 (summative evaluation research) will continue over the next three years.
impact statement summary
The goal of this research is to develop and test messages to raise public awareness of and concern about social determinants of health and health disparities. We aim to identify best practices for messaging and to disseminate a message design “toolkit” for use in local communities to mobilize action toward community health. These goals will require the development and empirical testing of innovative strategies that highlight non-medical and non-behavioral determinants of health. Different messaging strategies may be needed for different stakeholders, which include both the general public (via public opinion) and policymakers (across sectors).
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Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Homelessness is a situation in which a person does not have a permanent place of residence. This is distinguished from nomadic cultures where that condition is considered normal. The problem of homelessness is most prevalent in the poor sections of large cities and suburbs.
There are a number of causes of homelessness. In areas with high unemployment many may not be able to find jobs, and thus pay for a permanent residence. In other areas many homeless may be employed, but paid such a low wage that they cannot afford decent accommodation. Some studies suggest, paradoxically, that rent control and other housing regulations, laws created with the express intention of increasing housing affordability actually result in increased homelessness by reducing the supply of housing. Social changes, such as the movement to recognize the rights of those considered mentally ill, could lead to increased homelessness, as such people can no longer be arbitrarily rounded up and committed to mental hospitals.
A number of homeless suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction, or mental illness, all of which make it difficult to maintain employment. Many of these problems may stem from sexual abuse, physical abuse, or other trauma. Many long-term homeless people in the United States, for instance, served in the military. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates that more than 299,321 veterans are homeless on any given night. Physical disabilities which make work difficult or impossible are also common among homeless people.
While many homeless do have paying jobs, others have to find other methods to make money. Begging or panhandling is one option, but it is illegal in many areas and brings in varying amounts of money. Note that just as not all homeless people panhandle, not all panhandlers are homeless. Another option is busking by performing tricks, playing music, drawing on the sidewalk, or offering some other form of entertainment. In Britain many sell copies of The Big Issue, a magazine started to offer homeless (and recently-homeless) people a way to make legal income.
In many cities, people who busk, panhandle, or visibly sleep outdoors are harassed by authorities. This trend is referred to as the criminalization of homelessness. It is often motivated by urban development and pushes towards gentrification.
Homeless shelters operated by government, churches, or charities work to provide temporary housing to the homeless. While some shelters also provide food, others must turn to food banks and soup kitchens for nutrition. Other services provided by some shelters include health clinics , clothing and personal items, employment assistance , counseling and other social services. However, there are a number of complaints about the safety and quality of homeless shelters. Subsidized housing is a more expensive solution that some believe might end the cycle of homelessness.
Statistics for Developed Countries
The following statistics indicate the approximate average number of homeless people at any one time. Each country has a different approach to counting homeless people, so comparisons should be made with caution.
- European Union: 3,000,000 (Unicef 1998)
- United States: 750,000 (Unicef 1998)
- Canada: 200,000 (CBC News December 1998)
- Australia: 21,000 (Unicef 1998)
The number of homeless people worldwide has grown steadily in recent years. In some Third World nations such as Brazil, India, Nigeria, and South Africa, homelessness is rampant, with millions of children living and working on the streets. Homelessness has become a problem in the cities of China, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines despite their growing prosperity, mainly due to migrant workers who have trouble finding permanent homes and to rising income inequality between social classes.
Causes of homelessness
- Parents, relatives or friends not being able or willing to provide accommodation;
- Relationship breakdown;
- End of assured shorthold tenancy.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details
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TURIN Animal attraction has been very good to author Aline Alexander Newman.
Its reflected in her latest book, Animal Superstars And More True Stories of Amazing Animal Talents published by National Geographic Childrens Books.
She also has written more than 50 cover stories for National Geographic Kids magazine. And she has written for Boys Life, Highlights, Cricket, American Girl and other magazines. Her topics mainly focus on animals. Mrs. Newman wrote the February cover story for National Geographic Kids: Do Animals Love each Other? Eight True Tales of Animal Affection.
The author also writes for Guideposts magazine, which focuses on inspirational stories for adults.
Mrs. Newman, of East Road, developed a love of animals while growing up in Utica. The first animals she cared for were three baby mice, which she fed with an eye dropper.
Many of Mrs. Newmans published magazine stories delve into the characteristics of animals, such as their personalities and intelligence.
Last year, the editorial staff at National Geographic childrens books decided to put a line of kids books together based largely on those anecdotal stories I wrote, Mrs. Newman said. These stories are much longer.
Animal Superstars is Mrs. Newmans second book in the series. The first, Ape Escapes! And More True Stories of Animals Behaving Badly was published last year.
Among the three tales in the Superstars book is one about Tuna, the rock star. The cat is in a Chicago-based all-feline band. Tuna plays percussion and cowbell.
But apparently, being a cat, Tuna isnt in the band solely for the fun of it.
They have to be fed treats pretty often, Mrs. Newman said.
The two other stories involve a dog that rides motocross and Dunkirk Dave, Western New Yorks groundhog version of Punxatawny Phil.
Mrs. Newman, a certified teacher, taught home economics full-time at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central School and the defunct Oneida Junior High School. Except for five years, when she and her husband, Neil, lived in Fulton, Mrs. Newman has been substitute teaching at South Lewis Central School since 1984.
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North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il has died. A couple of days, perhaps, after the Dear Leader passed, the state news agency informed the people, citing Kim’s “overwork” on behalf of North Koreans and related “mental and physical strain.”
Strain at least some of which can be attributed to the work required to maintain the country’s standing, for some ten years running, at last or second-to-last on Reporters Without Borders’s World Press Freedom Index.
That work—the tireless editing, troubleshooting and caretaking of his country’s media workers— is painstakingly documented in a 170-page book, The Great Teacher of Journalists, published in Pyongyang in 1983 (eleven years before Kim succeeded his father) in English by the DPRK’s Foreign Languages Publishing House. (Get your copy at Amazon for $24.50). Imagine the strain of “plac[ing] the pressman at the zenith of happiness and glory”—it’s in the book!—of “constantly giving them meticulous guidance in spite of the heavy pressure of the task of leading the revolution and construction.”
Indeed, the book confirms, “the annals of the care with which the dear leader Comrade Kim Jong Il has guided and looked after the men of the press are replete with moving stories,” like that time he sent wedding gifts to a newspaper editor, unexpectedly showed up at the marriage party, and refused a cushion to sit on. Or, when, “having read the first galley proof [of a newspaper piece], the dear leader clearly showed how to correct the article,” by re-focusing the piece “on the noble personality of the great leader.” Or, that one time he “corrected” something in a reporter’s notebook. Or how, (and, this is a chapter title), “A Reporter [Was] Saved Miraculously from the Jaws of Death”—by Kim Jong-il.
Can you say the same for your editor? (Mine merely handed me a copy of this book and told me to “write something” about it right away. No “meticulous guidance” on the proper tone for a piece about a red-covered book of propaganda produced to bolster a Dear Leader’s inevitable inheritance of power from a Great Leader, which later came to pass, along with widespread famine and the detonation of two nuclear devices — with the news hook being said Leader’s death, possibly of a heart attack. Light tone, then?)
Well, what might we learn from the Dear Editor? And, was he really so very different from yours or mine?
Selected Journalism Counsel from Kim Jong-il
No one reads long
Thanks to the Dear Leader’s stewardship, “writings in the Party paper have also been put on the right track,” in that “in the past they were long with a poor content, but now they’re short and contain rich material.”
(And yet, this is from the same Editor who, readers are later told, once changed a newspaper headline from “Love is Like the Sunshine” to “Noble Love that Made a Longstanding Intellectual’s Life Brilliant,” sub-hed, “An account of the Great Leader Training Comrade Kang Young Change into Revolutionized Intellectual, a Leadership Official of the Country.”)
On puff pieces
“Giving prominence to these typical men is an effective method of imbuing people with loyalty to the Party and the leader,” Kim Jong-il explained.
On dressing the part
Kim Jong-il questioned why “telecasters in Korean attire appear in the programmes for coal miners,” advising that telecasters “should wear Korean dresses in the news hour, but they had better put on simple dresses and act like agitators when encouraging people to increased production.” In short, they should be “dressing themselves to suit the programmes and circumstances.” (Remember this, Matt Lauer, next time you reach for the Wayfarers while reporting on a college student’s murder trial appeal).
On not boring viewers
His instruction “brought about a new change in the standpoint, posture, ideological viewpoint and way of thinking of the announcers who speak to the public through microphones” (which, we have a few of those folks stateside, too). Specifically: “Inanimate, inert and dull speech would be unable to rouse people vigorously to the revolutionary struggle and the work of constriction Announcers’ voice itself must give an impulse to rush forward.” (Lean forward?)
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Eliminating the digital divide and ensuring that all students reach technology literacy by the end of 8th grade are also key goals of the legislation. The state must show evidence of ongoing technology integration into all schools’ curriculum. Although the legislation does not mandate an assessment, the Florida Department of Education has elected to show leadership and support development of a tool that can help with evaluating student technology literacy. Once the tool has been developed, Department leadership and district staff will have opportunities to review the resource and determine if it can meet specific needs.
The NCLB goal for complete technology integration in the curriculum reiterates the same requirements business and industry have begun to expect from employees. The widespread use of technology throughout the workplace has made it clear that our school students must be fully equipped to utilize these resources during their education in order to increase productivity now and prepare for the future in the work force. With the integration of technology into classrooms and lessons, students must be able to use technology as a tool to assist them in learning.
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We have three key priorities areas of work:
IUCN aims to mobilize the communities working for biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and poverty reduction in common efforts to halt biodiversity loss and apply nature-based solutions to global challenges.
We have three key priorities areas of work:
Valuing and conserving nature
Biological diversity (‘biodiversity’) is essential for human well-being. Its elements – ecosystems, genes and species – sustain the life support systems of this planet.
Biodiversity provides food security, human health, clean air and water; contributes directly to local livelihoods and economic development. Yet, despite its fundamental importance for life on this planet, it continues to be lost.
Better knowledge about biodiversity, the threats it faces and the conservation measures that can be taken, help drive action. IUCN has a long history of providing credible and trusted knowledge on biodiversity, notably through the expertise of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) and the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA).
Our focus is generating knowledge that directly leads to policy influence and conservation action on the ground. A key priority is to expand the taxonomic coverage of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species by assessing plants, invertebrates and fungi to make it truly representative of biodiversity as a whole.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Ecosystems will complement the information provided by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and will help embed conservation into land use planning and national development.
As well as promoting the economic values of biodiversity, IUCN will continue to promote the cultural and other intangible values of nature. As The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study shows, it will be more expensive to continue with business as usual than to deal with the consequences of further biodiversity loss. IUCN promotes the incorporation of biodiversity values into development and planning as well as into private sector and government accounting systems.
IUCN has a long history of working with the biodiversity related conventions - in particular, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Heritage Convention and the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species. IUCN is continually asked by governments to help implement these conventions and their policies.
Fair and effective governance of nature's use
Natural resource governance is defined as the norms, institutions and processes that determine how power and responsibilities are exercised, how decisions are taken and how citizens participate in natural resource governance.
People everywhere depend directly or indirectly on biodiversity for their well-being. Nature is a precondition for growth and prosperity of human societies. There is growing evidence that the direct economic value of this support is enormous though not well recognized.
Studies suggest that natural resources regularly and directly contribute 25% – 30% of many rural and coastal peoples’ household income in low and middle income countries.
However, the State has tended to retain authority over natural resources excluding or heavily regulating local control. The direct consequence of this is that nature’s benefits are not fairly shared and, in many situations, natural resources are poorly managed.
This area of our work contributes to recognizing and respecting the rights of people who live close to and rely on nature. We help governments, communities and the private sector put in place credible and robust measures to improve natural resource governance – both policy making and implementation.
Nature-based solutions to global challenges
IUCN promotes the use of nature-based solutions in tackling global challenges such as climate change, poverty and food security.
Healthy forests and peat bogs purify water for us. Coral reefs act as storm-buffering breakwaters. Mangroves form sea walls that protect shorelines and communities from natural disasters. Well-managed estuaries boost food security, jobs and incomes for millions. Nature does all this for us and, if properly nurtured and maintained, it does so largely for free.
We show how protecting and restoring ecosystems, particularly forests, can help reduce carbon emissions and help people adapt to the impacts of climate change.
IUCN works with many partners in projects that put nature at the centre of efforts to improve the quality of life using a people-centred approach and fair distribution of resources.
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Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant line-up
- Thu, 31 May 2012
- Add Comment
Current Rating 2.5 (2 votes)
CMB 9 was built as a motor torpedo boat for the Royal Navy in 1916 and is the only one of her type left in existence. She will join the forces boats as part of the historical vessels section of the flotilla.
Photo taken by Robert Morley
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21 Apr - Final Call at South Georgia
RRS Ernest Shackleton Diary
Position at 1200 (UTC - 3 hours): 52° 43'4 South 048° 56' 6 West
Next destination: Mare Harbour, Falkland Islands
ETA: Monday 22 April
Distance to go: 359.9 nm
Total Distance Sailed this Season: 23680.4 nm
Current weather: Overcast, with occasional patches of blue sky
Wind: Sou-sou'westerly Force 7 - 8
Barometric pressure: 997.7 mb
Sea state: Long swell on the beam, causing heavy rolling
Air temperature: 2.2°C.
Sea temperature: 3.7°C.
Current, frequent weather observations reported back to BAS Headquarters in Cambridge is used to plot the ship's current position and recent track. Meteorological data are also available from this page. The callsign of RRS Ernest Shackleton is ZDLS1.
A LETTER HOME
I hope the weather with you is nice. After last week, I don't even want to mention the weather we have been having, but Uncle Bert would have a fine time growing his watermelons down here ! I had better not say any more or you will get the idea that our horrible sub-Antarctic weather is all that I have to tell you about.
Do you remember the last time I wrote last week, we were stuck off Elsehul near to Bird Island and we were all getting pretty bored of just hanging around doing nothing in-particular ? Due to the nature of our operations - or should I say 'lack of operations due to nature' - we needed for it to get better before we could launch our boats and work the station on the Island. Would you believe that it was not until Wednesday morning that I at last woke up to find that the wind and the swell had died down significantly and we could start to do something ? Monday and Tuesday were just awful and we had to go back to sea because the anchorage where we were staying got too rough, but on Wednesday, we went right around the Island so that we could start to work cargo with the base on the South Side.
Not working cargo at the start of the week, did not mean that I had any more time to write to you. I was still very busy onboard. Some of my colleagues decided that we should break the monotony and have a 'games' evening. So we were all busy 'making' a twister game ready for Tuesday night. It was a really fun night, mum.
First, the 'board' was drawn and it was the back of some table covering which had the coloured spots drawn onto it. Then we made a 'flipper wheel' from the old roulette wheel we found onboard. (see previous diary). This made a sizeable and very clever Twister board that up to 6 of us could play, climb, sprawl and fall all over at once.
Above: Right Foot to Yellow and Left Hand to Crimson !!! Click on the images for a larger version.
There were other games too. The 'bottle game' had Steve Radio Officer stretching with all his strength to push the bottle out as far as possible. And conversely, the 'box game' had Chris the Electrician going as low as his form would allow to pick up the ever-shrinking box with only his teeth !
Top: Steve the Radio Officer shows his strength in the Bottle Game.
This is what happens when a bunch of FID's get to fathom the depths of boredom on the Ernest Shackleton. It was an enjoyable distraction for the evening and there were many champions and many more 'chumpions' too!!
However, Wednesday morning we started to work. At first, our Chief Officer, Antonio would only put our Fast Rescue Craft (FRC) in the water, but after a trial run into the shore and past the big iceberg in the mouth of Jordan Cove, it was decided to launch the Tula workboat. Tula made easy work of the short distance from the ship to shore and in 3 runs had uplifted all the Bird Island cargo and waste, and landed all the Bird Island cargo and stores and collected 6 personnel who were going home after completing their time on the station. Mark Jessop is notable in having completed 2½ years in the place. Alcatraz in the USA is probably a comparable size to Bird Island, but I believe you could get 'time off' for 'good behaviour' at Alcatraz. Not so, Bird Island! It was all over so quickly though, that I believe Mark didn't even get the time to regret leaving his home of the past 2 years. He has since had time to ruminate on it as he sits quietly reading in the Red Room.
REPORT FROM THE NAVIGATING BIRD-WATCHER !
Our two calls at South Georgia were both places of renown, though for different reasons. Grytviken has a whaling history all of it's own, and Bird Island on the other hand is home to at least 24 species of birds. Toni, Murdo and I went in the FRC to take some fresh provisions and check out the swell in Bird Sound.
Having seen the Sound from the comfort and safety of the bridge of RRS Ernest Shackleton, on the way to the anchorage, all I could see was a mass of tumbling waves. White water everywhere. Needless to say it had calmed by the time we went - but there was still a short and very steep swell - I was very glad we were in the FRC - but even then, it did make hard work of it. At the crest of a wave, you see close ahead the crest of the next and inbetween this, deep 'U' shaped trough which you more-or-less fell into ! - All good fun!!
Having decided to wait for a further improvement in the sea conditions, I pounced on the opportunity to go gallivanting and had the good fortune to have as a guide, resident ornithologist Richard from Bird Island.
The terrain is really odd - small frozen streams at the foothills and tufts of hardy tussock grasses (like what you'd see on a sand dune) all about the area of a dustbin lid, about 2ft high. So they're like stepping stones all the way up ! And don't slip off - they're surround by soft knee-deep bog. So when you DO slip a hoof off the tussock mound, you tend to immediately put weight on the other hoof ! Which now also gets stuck ! Having extricated oneself, both lower legs (now very aromatic indeed) are now a wholesome shade of brown. The things we do for science !!!
I was amazed how high some of the fur seals manage to get. Infact they're very nimble and don't have to worry about losing a boot in the mire. I also became acquainted with their moods - the young pups are inquisitive and flop over to you for a look-see whereas most of the mothers growl at you - stay at arms length ! The ones that hiss are having a bit of a bad-hair day and you should go no closer !
Any remaining notions I had at the seals being the doe-eyed cuddly mascots dissolved when Richard told me that their mouths are highly infectious. Bites must be treated by antibiotics within 24 hours or you can easily loose a finger, hand, or possibly an arm ! In the sealing days you could die from a bad bite.
At the top of the hill, I might as well have been in Heathrow Terminal 4 (International Departures). Albatross ! Wing span of 11ft taxiing all around the place ! The 747 of the bird fleet. Ones that were 'parked' generally had a brooding chick beneath them. Very cute and not so little either, though with spring banded beaks that you definitely do not want to get a 'first hand' view of. The adults were remarkably calm with lovely grey/white plumage. In a week long foraging trip they have been known to cross some 8000 nmiles (ie from UK to the Falklands), so they really are expert navigators. That's their limit though scoring less well on maths and general knowledge !!!
Seeing them at take-off is quite a spectacle - teetering to and fro' with wings fully extended, it's a case of 'cleared for take off' . Brakes off, maximum thrust from 2 'webbed feet', bounce 5 or 6 times, wings giving it maximum effort to get every last little bit of lift and slowly, unsteadily they clear the ground.......and not a Rolls Royce Gas Turbine in sight!! Airbus should really have a look at these guys for efficiency in flight!!
Their nests are mounds of moss and grass with a bowl in the top for the chick. The sides are so smooth that they look like they've been kept by a groundskeeper.
On the other side of the Island we met resident Bird Islander, Daff at the 'hut'. BAS have pioneered a remote monitoring system called a 'nest balance' It basically a nest on a balance(!) When the parent lands it can determine the weight of the catch from a foraging trip. Weight changes as the chick grows and passes through the different phases of growing . It records every 10 minutes or so allowing a detemination of the rate of growth of the chicks.
All the data is collated weekly and downloaded to be analysed. Around the hut were mainly Black-Browed Albatrosses like their cousins all perfectly preened. We also saw some light petrels which tend to 'talk' to one another in a series of squeaks and squawks that is just like a conversation.
Time was running out so we had to retrace our steps across the shingle and boulders that make up the upper hills on Bird Island I had an amazing view of Tonk (the mountainous hill overlooking the station). Time didn't allow an extensive tour but the brief walk I had at least gave me a good idea of how much there is on offer at Bird Island.
After waiting 5 days to get into Bird Island, we completed the work in only 5 hours. Then we departed and headed back for King Edward Point. It was fun to 'play chicken' with 2 minke whales on the way back. I figured they would 'swerve' first and so they did. One moment they were right in front of the ship's bow and then next, they veered off to the left ( port ). Wish you could have seen it mum!
Back in King Edward Point, the new base, we only had a little more cargo to load including the big containers. But first, Electrician Bob, was able to land ashore his pride and joy - the Tom Lamont.
Tom Lamont arrives back home in Grytviken after World Tour!
No - not an ageing rock star but the twin cylinder vertical steam pump (manufactured by Thomas Lamont Engineers of Paisley - Scotland) that was taken from the base back in January 2001 for restoration. Avid readers of our web site may remember - from the Jan 4th 2001 edition - that we had taken a steam pump from the Grytviken whaling station with the intention of restoring it to working condition for display in the whaling museum at South Georgia. It had been discovered in the whaling station engineering workshop's coal shed before being ignominiously dragged from it's resting place of many years by a dumper truck. Once back on board it was stripped of the many layers of rust and coal dust to reveal that it was seized solid - so much so that the initial survey showed that it would be better employed as an addition anchor for the ship!
Many hours of stripping the unit down - cleaning everything off and where necessary - manufacturing new parts followed. The only real saving grace was that someone had coated the main steam cylinders with some awful smelling thick black glue (perhaps whale oil?) which had preserved the steam cylinders and pistons. The same cannot be said of the water valve chest and cylinders where over 3 full buckets of rust were removed before the valves could even be seen! Slowly the parts came back together and eventually we had enough assembled to try and turn the whole thing over on compressed air. The air line was connect and there was a big sigh of relief all round when the valve was open and "Tom" wheezed back into life once again. Initially the up and down pumping action was a little on the jerky side but several hours of running to "ease things in" gave us that wonderful sewing machine action that these pumps are renowned for. Eventually the air pressure could be reduced as low as 15 pounds per square inch (around 1 bar) and the pump would happily run all day with rhythmic steam engine sounds emitting from the exhaust port. Ah - the sweet sounds of success!!!
Getting it going again was only part of the brief - the next hurdle to overcome was to make it look presentable enough to be displayed in the museum. To achieve this - many of the parts had to be dismantled again so that the internals could be painted. A chance encounter on the internet with a previous employee of the pump manufacturer revealed that the factory original paint was a shade of green. This was described as "lighter than the green on lawn mowers but darker than the green on Land Rovers" - not a lot to go on there! A paint company was contacted in the UK who came up with a colour used on early Land Rovers - so two cans of paint were purchased. Unfortunately it has proven impossible to get the paint to the ship due to crew changes all being carried out by air flights. I don't think that the airlines would be very happy with 2 litres of highly inflammable cellulose paint being carried as hand baggage! With the external painting attempts thwarted for the present - parts were manufactured to allow the pump to be displayed in the best manner. Perspex covers were made to replace all the cover plates on the pump end so the valve assemblies could be displayed and a handsome new plinth manufactured on which to mount the whole assembly.
On April 11th 2002 the pump was finally swung ashore to the base at King Edward Point ready to be transported around the bay to the museum for eventual display. There wasn't a limo available for such an important journey so the base fork lift truck was deemed a suitable alternative. During the 14 month rebuild period it has travelled some 40,577,3 nmiles (plus those not allowed for during the North Sea Summer 2001), and has visited South America, England, Scotland (the country of it's birth) and even Norway (home of the whalers who used it) - all in all quite a World Tour for such a humble steam pump. We now wish it a long and happy retirement in the care of Pauline and Tim Carr who run the museum for the South Georgia Government.
Above: Tom's 'fanclub' mob him at his 'hotel', the executive flight ashore, and his own personal 'limo' awaits him shoreside. Click on the images to enlarge them.
Many thanks to the engineering staff of the Shackleton for their sterling support , the various FIDs who gave their time, the deck department for transport and stowage and of course to Tim and Pauline, the Museum curators, who gave us the opportunity to carry out such a task. Watch this space for a future full colour supplement showing Tom in his new surroundings!!!!!
Bob Roullier ETO.
So Mum, you remember me telling you that King Edward Base was the best Base in the world ? This visit I actually got to look around the new Base now that it is being 'lived in' and has all the comforts of home. I haven't changed my mind at all. As the South Georgia Fisheries Protection Officer, Pat Lurcock says ; he pities those who visit KEP on the way down to work for 2½ years in Halley, or Rothera. !! They really are 'spoilt' at KEP and anything else might be considered second best. Fantastic accommodation, great views AND they continue to get ship-visit's throughout the winter which can mean fresh fruit and vegetables and mail !
But don't take my word for it, mum, look at the photos.
On arrival Thursday, everybody that could, took advantage to go walk-about across to Grytviken and beyond. Of course it was raining, miserable, chilly and dull. But it did not stop everybody going out and getting wet. The deck crew were busy in the hold and finished work late that day with still a little more to load in the early morning, so they had time only to wash up, eat a bite of supper before going over to the KEP boatshed where the 'winterers' were having a 'farewell to arms' disco. We congregated around the dance floor and had drinks and conversation before the dancing really took off around 11.00pm I believe the last hardy soul crawled to bed about 3.00am whilst I was good and turned in before midnight. Honestly mum, I did !
I even visited the Dentist this week. Penny the Dentist was very, very busy seeing people's teeth before departing the Bases, but not too busy to see me too. She was drilling away all day alongside in KEP and I don't think she got ashore once apart from the farewell disco in the evening. Poor girl. She's very good, - but I still had to have 2 fillings! I know, I know, I should cut down on the chocolate !!!
Would you believe that on the day of departure - Friday, the sun came out for us. The wind was freshening and probably blew away the drizzle that we had all the previous day, but Friday was delightful. In the sunshine, the new base looked squeaky clean and bright and afforded us a great view as we left Cumberland Bay. Of course, the wind brought more swell and for the rest of the week the Ernest Shackleton has been pitching and rolling away and making us all feel pretty ill again.
There were plenty of whales to be seen on the way out to sea leaving South Georgia way behind. Minke whales, Fin whales and even some bottle-nosed whales (orca's ??) were reportedly seen from the bridge.
And now we head back to the Falkland Islands, to Mare Harbour and even to Port Stanley later in the week. The Falkland Islands put their clocks back this weekend, so the ship has done the same and we got an extra hour in our beds last night. That's great. It's not so good when you 'lose' an hour of sleep as you cross the Atlantic back towards England and have to make up the 5 hour difference between Stanley time and London time. But that is about all the news I have for you for this letter. I hope to see you again real soon, and pass my love to Auntie Flo'.
Much love and kisses,
Forthcoming events: Arrive Mare Harbour, on Monday 22nd and offload all waste and cargo not destined for the UK. After approximately 2 days, transit around the East Falklands to Port Stanley for a brief stay and then depart for the Transatlantic crossing.
Contributors this week: Many thanks to Bob Roullier and Tom Lamont for the Pump Story, to Alan the Nav's for his Bird Island report and to Bertie Brittlethwaite for his letter to his mum.
Diary 28 will be written on 28th April 2002 and should be published on 29th April 2002
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release May 22, 2009
PRAYER FOR PEACE, MEMORIAL DAY, 2009
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
For over two centuries, Americans have defended our Nation's security and protected our founding principles of democracy and equal justice under law. On Memorial Day, we honor those who have paid the ultimate price in defense of these freedoms.
Members of the United States Armed Forces have placed our Nation's safety before their own for generations. From the first shots fired at Lexington and Concord to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, these brave patriots have taken on great risks to keep us safe, and they have served with honor and distinction. All Americans who have enjoyed the blessings of peace and liberty remain in their debt.
As we remember the selfless service of our fallen heroes, we pray for God's grace upon them. We also pray for all of our military personnel and veterans, their families, and all those who have lost loved ones in the defense of our freedom and safety.
Today, as we commend their deeds, we also bear a heavy burden of responsibility to ensure that their sacrifices will not have been in vain. This means that, as we uphold the ideals for which many have given their last full measure of devotion, the United States must never waver in its determination to defend itself, to be faithful in protecting liberty at home and abroad, and to pursue peace in the world.
In respect for their dedication and service to America, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved on May 11, 1950, as amended (36 U.S.C. 116), has requested the President to issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer. The Congress, by Public Law 106-579, has also designated 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the National Moment of Remembrance.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 25, 2009, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time to unite in prayer. I also ask all
Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. I urge the press, radio, television, websites, and all other media to participate in these observances. I also request the Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff until noon on this Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States, and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. I also request the people of the United States to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the customary forenoon period.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
# # #
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Health Watch - Warmth: Makeshift Heat
Health Watch is a Public Service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.
This week on Health Watch, we’re talking about staying safe while staying warm. Previously, we discussed the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. One major cause of carbon monoxide poisoning is using makeshift methods to heat the home.
Dr. Paul Pepe, chairman of emergency medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says ovens and stovetops should never be used to heat the home. Doing so could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning or burns or could start a fire. If you use space heaters, keep them away from children, pets and flammable objects such as drapes. Before using the fireplace, make sure the flue is clear of obstructions such as leaves or branches. When using a fireplace or wood stove, make sure the room is well ventilated. Don’t use charcoal grills or stoves designed for outdoor use indoors.
Visit www.utsouthwestern.org/emergency to learn more about UT Southwestern’s clinical services in emergency care.
Health Watch is heard Monday through Friday nationwide on ABC Satellite Radio. Call your local radio station and ask if they carry the program.
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National History Day (NHD) in Montana, "Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History"
Monday, November 21, 2011
By Julie Saylor
National History Day in Montana
REVOLUTION, REACTION, REFORM IN HISTORY
The Montana Historical Society cosponsors National History Day (NHD) in Montana.
Spearheaded at MSU-Billings, NHD is a competition open to students grades 6-12. Students are challenged to research a historical topic of their choice related to an annual theme (this year’s theme is “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History”). They use their research to produce a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance or website.
This year, there will be two regional competitions—one in Billings (likely March 17, but exact date to be confirmed) and one at Travelers Rest State Park in Lolo (March 31)—as well as many school and classroom competitions. The Montana Historical Society will be hosting the statewide competition in Helena on April 21, 2012. Winners of the statewide competition will be eligible to participate in the national competition in Washington, D.C.
More information on National History Day is available through the Society’s website: http://mhs.mt.gov/education/HistoryDay.asp. This page provides links to state and national NHD pages as well as ideas for Montana topics that fit this year’s team, from “Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow” to the “Missoula Free Speech Fight of 1909.” In addition to suggesting topics, historians at the Society have provided preliminary bibliographies to get students started on their research.
Tom Rust (State Coordinator), Michael Scarlett (Assistant State Coordinator), and their staff are happy to lend personal assistance to teachers looking for help integrating National History Day into their curriculum, who have questions about how to set up a classroom competition, or just want more information about the program. You can find their contact information here: http://mtnhd.weebly.com/staff-and-contact-information.html.
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Twin Cats Always Mirror Each Other in Sleep
Scientists are baffled by twin cats, Merry and Pippin, who reportedly always sleep in an exact mirror image of one another.
“Even if we place them in disparate starting positions or in separate rooms, they somehow always wind up sleeping exactly like the other,” said leading cat biologist and feline sleep expert Dr. Tobias Winslow. ”I’ve never seen anything like it.”
A polysomnogram revealed nothing out of the ordinary about the cats’ brain functions, eye movements, muscle activity, breathing or heart rhythms. ”We had expected to find that Merry and Pip were synched up on an internal level,” explained Winslow, “but it is literally just in the way they position their bodies for slumber.”
More tests will be done later this month during a scheduled comprehensive sleep study.
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Are you interested in the concept of Natural Learning? We are a group of families who are allowing their children to learn naturally without schooling. Our aim is to cooperatively widen our understanding of how learning occurs naturally in the home and community, and to share advice, tips, trials and tribulations so that we may all grow!
If you want to join this group, when you hit 'join group' please include some information about yourself and why you want to join - this is how we try to avoid spammers joining the group. Thank you.
Natural learning is building family, and then community, and places emphasises on the development of beneficial and co-operative relationships and associations. It is not something you can do with your child. Natural learning is what happens anyway, despite what you do. Natural learning is what we allow to happen - not what we make or create. Learning is a process, not a product or outcome.
Natural learning follows closely the patterns of activity already existing in daily life, building a rich and comprehensive educational experience. Children become intimately involved in all aspects of family life, often including family working life. They are not closeted away from the world of adults, but are welcomed, in 'apprenticeship' roles, and valued greatly for their contributions. Where skills and knowledge are needed, within these rich social contexts, resources are always found.
"What we need to do, and all we need to do, is bring as much of the world as we can into their lives; give them as much help and guidance as they ask for; listen respectfully when they feel like talking; and then get out of the way. We can trust them to do the rest." - Lisa Wood
Homeschool Australia has over 200 articles on all aspects of educating your children at home.
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The Open Vulnerability Assessment System (OpenVAS) is the most widespread Open Source solution for vulnerability scanning and vulnerability management. It is used and improved world wide by people ranging from security experts to private users.
Community Site: www.openvas.org
Greenbone's contribution: over 70%
OpenVAS is the scan engine used and supported as part of the Greenbone Security Solutions. The Greenbone development team has contributed significantly to the advancement of OpenVAS, since 2005. The international OpenVAS developer conference was held in Osnabrück in 2007, 2009 and 2011.
In technical terms, the basis of OpenVAS is a service-oriented client-server architecture: The OpenVAS framework consists of various modules, each with a clearly defined task. These communicate via well established protocols. The communication is consistently SSL-secured.
OpenVAS is compatible with the Greenbone Security Feed. For full scale use with our Feed, various optional functions of OpenVAS need to be enabled (for example WMI).
Further details are available under Tool Architecture.
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Every year the lives of thousands of people are saved or transformed through organ transplantation. Join the register.
Platelet donations are often life-saving. Have you given blood before? You may be able to donate platelets. More about Platelet Donation.
The British Bone Marrow Registry is a division of NHS Blood and Transplant. More about the BBMR.
Tissue donation gives many families the option of making a difference to others. More about Tissue Donation.
In creating one life why not save another? Are you pregnant and live in North London? You may be able to donate cord blood. More about Cord Blood Donation.
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BABY DEDICATION INFORMATION
A child is a God-given trust (Psalm 127:3), and Baby Dedication is a ceremony that signifies your commitment to uphold that trust. It is an event that symbolizes your pledge to raise your child in a Christian home and church where he or she can come to know, love, and serve Jesus. It also signifies a commitment by the people of First Assembly of God to provide a loving, biblical community that supports and prays for your family.
Baby Dedication at First Assembly is not the same as infant baptism. We believe that baptism is a public statement of faith that can be made only by someone who has personally believed in Christ. Infants cannot make a personal decision to believe in Jesus. Older children, however, can make that personal decision, and we offer baptism for those children.
If you have trusted in Christ as your Savior, you are invited to present your child in Christian dedication to the Lord. While parents often dedicate their children while they are young, you may dedicate your child at any age.
In order to participate in Baby Dedication, you must either be a member of our church, serve on one of our volunteer teams, or get expressed permission from one of the pastoral staff. We feel that these criteria are important as a first step for you as parents to understand what we believe and for us to truly be able to partner with you in the spiritual development of your child. If you would like to become a member of First Assembly of God, please Contact Us and ask for membership information. For more information on serving as a volunteer Click Here.
Step 1: We have three parenting messages from North Point Ministries that we feel will help you start right now to do the things that truly matter the most to you and your child in the future.
Step 2: You will attend a 30-minute orientation during one of our Sunday morning services. Complete the Baby Dedication form to register for the orientation.
Step 3: We would love for you and your family to participate with us in a time of dedication and celebration.
Choose a Dedication Date
Dedications are scheduled during the Saturday 6:00 p.m. and Sunday 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. services. When choosing your Baby Dedication date, make sure you can attend a mandatory orientation in advance. Orientations are held on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in the Children’s Center Library on these dates: For Orientation dates and available Baby Dedication dates, please call 239-936-6277 x316 or email us at email@example.com.
You will be asked if you are able to commit to this pledge: “Declaring Christ as Savior and Lord and believing in my heart that God raised Him from the dead, I this day acknowledge that my children are gifts from God, that I am a caretaker by His grace and, therefore, accept the responsibility for raising my family to know and follow Jesus. As a Christian parent:
• I will demonstrate for my child Christian integrity in my personal life. I will teach my child the meaning of
fidelity in my marriage.
• I will show my child the meaning of fellowship and servanthood through my church.
• I will model my faith in my life, in prayer, and in the application of the Bible's truth as I teach my child to
follow Jesus as Lord.
With God as my strength, I promise to give my child every possible benefit of home, school, church, and
community. And I ask His blessing upon him/her to guide and guard through all his/her years. Amen.
Registration and Questions
For more information email us at firstname.lastname@example.org or call 239-936-6277 x316.
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- ISBN/SKU: 9781557506641
- Binding: Hardcover
- Era: Age of Sail
- Number of Pages: 350
- Subject: U.S. Navy
- Date Available: January 2000
Your tax-deductible gift to the Naval Institute Press underwrites worthy books that might not otherwise be published.
An award-winning study of the Franco-American undeclared naval war at the turn of the nineteenth century, this history of the nearly forgotten struggle is filled with the dramatic actions of such frigates as the Constellation and her capture of l'Insurgente, as well as the sundry operations that protected American commerce from the depredations of the French corsairs in the Caribbean. First published in 1987, the book avoids the parochialism of earlier studies by placing the American war within a European context. It takes a critical look at the command and operations of the first secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddert, and how under his direction the Navy proved itself ship for ship as--if not more--effective against French privateers than the Royal Navy.
The book also examines how the Navy served the nation's commercial and diplomatic interests, a pattern of activity that would become known as gunboat diplomacy, and how the Navy's successes assured it a permanency that had eluded the Continental Navy. Awarded prizes from the American Revolution Round Table of New York and other organizations, the respected work answers penetrating questions about what happened and why, and the author's judicious evaluations of participants and their policies make an important contribution to the literature. This new Classics edition is introduced by the author, chair of the maritime history department at East Carolina University and author of three other books, including Origins of Maritime Strategy.
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Karl Max Allee is a monumental thoroughfare one and a half miles long and spanning 300 feet. Built in 1949, it was initially called 'StalinAllee' before being renamed and becoming a prestigious boulevard in the GDR. It was built in a very Muscovite or 'wedding-cake' style, as the Berliners called it. Karl Marx Allee is lined with gigantic buildings whose façades are uniformly covered with slabs of white concrete and ceramics. At first glace, this film set backdrop seems almost comical with its combination of extravagant and incongruous styles. However, leaving this aspect aside, there is in fact a certain charm to be found in this tasteless kitsch. As you've no doubt gathered, we really recommend you visit it.
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Oodles of “self help” books are on the market these days, all aimed at inspiring people to enhance their attitudes or work habits or personal character. There’s a lot of interest in at least reading about self-improvement, even if we don’t actually do it.
I recently picked up a cheap, second-hand copy of a 2008 paperback by Dr. Robert A. Emmons titled “Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier.” Emmons is a professor at the University of California-Davis and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Positive Psychology. I thought I’d skim a few pages, glean a few quotable quotes and then stick it on the shelf with all the other self-improvement books gathering dust in my basement. But this one grabbed my attention on the first page. I couldn’t put it down until I read the other 208.
This isn’t just a feel-good collection of generalities and catchy phrases. It’s rooted in what the latest science can teach us. In language a lay reader can easily understand, Emmons reveals groundbreaking research into the previously under-examined emotion we call “gratitude.” As defined by Emmons, gratitude is the acknowledgement of goodness in one’s life and the recognition that the source of this goodness lies at least partially outside one’s self.
Years of study by the author and his associates show that “grateful people experience higher levels of positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, love, happiness, and optimism, and that the practice of gratitude as a discipline protects a person from the destructive impulses of envy, resentment, greed and bitterness.”
A grateful attitude enriches life. Emmons believes it elevates, energizes, inspires and transforms. The science of it proves that gratitude is an indispensable key to happiness (the more of it you can muster, the happier you’ll be) and happiness adds up to nine years to life expectancy.
Gratitude isn’t just a knee-jerk, unthinking “thank you.” It’s much more than a warm and fuzzy sentiment. It’s not automatic. Some people, in fact, feel and express it all too rarely. And as grateful a person as you may think you are, chances are you can develop an even more grateful attitude, a task that carries ample rewards that more than compensate for its moral and intellectual challenges.
The research that Emmons cites contains a subtle but powerful message about the welfare state. If you think you’re entitled to it, chances are you won’t be grateful for it, which in turn will deeply and negatively affect your overall happiness.
In the final chapter, a mere 24 pages, the author lays out 10 steps (exercises, in fact) for cultivating the critically important emotion of gratitude. If you give this book a look, I guarantee that you’ll be grateful for the recommendation.
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Posted in News by AGavin on December 29th, 2007
PUBLIC DELEGATE RODGER YOUNG DELIVERS REMARKS ON THE ROLE OF DIAMONDS IN FUELLING CONFLICT, NEW YORK CITY, AS RELEASED BY THE U.S. MISSION TO THE U.N. SPEAKER: U.S. PUBLIC DELEGATE TO THE U.N. RODGER YOUNG
“Mr. President, the United States is pleased to co-sponsor the resolution on the role of diamonds in fueling conflict. The international community has much to be proud of when it comes to the efforts of the Kimberley Process. It is a tribute to the Kimberley Process that conflict diamonds today make up only a small percentage of the world’s diamond market. With the Kimberley Process, the international community now has the tools to head off future conflict and promote stability and security in diamond-rich regions of the world.
The unique manner in which governments, the diamond industry and civil society have worked together in the Kimberley Process to monitor and control the rough diamond trade should stand as a model as we confront other sources of conflict. This multi-stakeholder effort demonstrates what can be accomplished when governments join forces with the private sector and non-governmental organizations. We salute our European Community colleagues who have led the Kimberley Process in 2007 to encourage the major diamond trading and manufacturing centers to strengthen internal controls over the diamond markets. European leadership also positioned the Kimberley Process to address the ongoing problem of diamond smuggling from Cote d’Ivoire through neighboring West African countries. We are confident that these initiatives, launched under the European leadership, will remain the hallmark of Kimberley Process efforts in the years ahead.
We were particularly pleased in 2007 to welcome Liberia as a participant in the Kimberley Process. The Liberian government moved quickly in the past year to capitalize on international support. Liberia set up a credible diamond monitoring system to enable the lifting of United Nations Security Council sanctions on its diamond exports and to participate in the Kimberley Process. We appreciate the long way Liberia has come from an era when diamonds financed brutal atrocities to the point today when diamonds are playing a positive force in the country’s economic reconstruction. The United States also welcomes the efforts of donor countries to provide technical assistance to help Kimberley Process participants strengthen their internal controls. We believe that one of the best means to support stability and prevent renewed conflict in diamond- producing areas is to foster Kimberley Process controls at the same time that we support development opportunities for mining communities.
We look forward to working closely with India as it assumes the chair and Namibia as assumes the vice-chair of the Kimberley Process in 2008.”
Copyright © 2007 CQ Transcriptions, LLC
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The Stars at Night are Big and Bright... How large is the Big South Fork and what are it’s boundaries? Most of us would answer by, defining the “ground level” boundaries of the park as you would see them on a map.
Yet the boundaries can also be measured vertically and in that direction we have yet to define an upper limit to Big South Fork. Panoramic views from the parks overlooks can extend for miles on a clear day, but on a clear night we can see as far as 2 million light years away to the Andromeda galaxy! (Converted to miles, that’s 13.2 x 10 to the 17th power or 13,200,000,000,000,000,000 miles.) At night we can look back in time as well as across space. When we see the reddish star Antares in the constellation of Scorpio (visible before dawn in winter and spring), we’re looking at light that took 500 years to reach us.
Several factors make Big South Fork an excellent place for night sky-watching. Foremost is the absence of light pollution, so prevalent near developed areas, which makes this area unique among most viewing areas. For city-dwellers accustomed to seeing only a handful of stars, Big South Fork’s star-laden skies can be dazzling and a little intimidating. On the clearest nights, around 2,000 stars are visible to the naked eye. Add a few planets and some “shooting stars”, or meteorites, and you’ve got a nocturnal display that’s well worth staying up a little later! You don’t need a telescope to observe the night sky, although some people do like to use binoculars. As it becomes increasingly difficult to find places free of air pollution and light interference, places with dark, clear night skies become that much more valuable.
The noted Englishman Havelock Ellis said, “The moon and stars would have disappeared long ago had they been within the reach of human hands.” Though they still remain far from our reach, we are indeed losing sight of the stars through the work of our own hands.
National Park Service
The University of Tennessee works in cooperation with Big South Fork in presenting astronomy programs throughout the year. Paul Lewis, Astronomy Outreach and Education Director at the University of Tennessee, maintains a website which lists astronomy viewing, events, images and has teacher's information available.
Did You Know?
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area has over 150 miles of maintained hiking trails available for your enjoyment. Trails range from short, one mile loops to long multi-day hikes through the rugged backcountry. More...
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In linguistics, hypercorrection is the kind of mistake you make when you’re trying too hard to speak correctly. You know there’s a grammatically or phonetically tricky passage coming up in the sentence ahead, you prepare extra hard to get it right–but by overgeneralizing one grammatical error into an overbroad prohibition, you make a mistake you would have otherwise avoided. For example, you know it’s technically incorrect to say “Me and my wife are so happy to be here,” although we all say things like that sometimes. Then when you’re trying to speak extra-correctly under stress in a formal situation, you end up with sentences that are not just wrong but faintly ridiculous: “Thank you for welcoming she and I.â€? It happens to second-language speakers, too. Germans speaking English know that their letter [w] is pronounced like English [v], then leap under pressure–because speaking a foreign language is always a high-pressure situation–to the further false assumption that English [v] is also equal to [w], and so end up talking about wegetables, a word that is not just incorrect, but is even harder for Germans to pronounce than the correct alternative, and which also sounds ludicrous. In the same way, I once heard a German climber talk about his trip to Josemite. I make hypercorrection errors, too. I tend to overgeneralize the phonetic shorthand rule that English [k] = German [ch] and sometimes mispronounce streiken ‘to strike’ as streichen ‘to paint,’ and unintended hilarity ensues.
Is there such a thing as religious hypercorrection? I believe there is. We sometimes avoid topics that are in themselves uplifting merely to maintain our distance from another church’s teachings or practices: talking about Mary in Sunday School makes some people nervous, for example, as does anything vaguely reminiscent of creedal formulations. Maintaining group cohesion is of course important, but it’s possible to make mistakes–to be hypercorrect–when negotiating the boundaries.
The most spectacular errors are liable to occur when we try to adopt a foreign religious vernacular. ‘Being born again,’ for example, occupies a very minor place in our native idiom, even if the phrase describes a phenomenon that is very much a part of our religious experience. We can look up the relevant scriptures about being born again in the Bible and Book of Mormon, even work up a sacrament meeting talk about it on short notice if necessary, but we don’t have much practice with it in our daily conversation. Instead we use different terms and categories to approach it–it fits into our religious grammar under different paradigms (“receiving a testimony” under the category of confessional proselytization, for one, or “gaining a testimony” under the category of achieving spiritual maturity). ‘Being born again’ is also a term strongly associated with evangelical Christianity, which is often perceived to be hostile and sometimes actually is hostile to Mormonism, hence our use of the term is fraught with anxiety. The risk of hypercorrection, saying something that is both incorrect and unintentionally silly, is high. The same is true of theological descriptions of the Godhead. It’s not that we’re either unitarian or trinitarian, it’s that we usually just don’t care, and correspondingly most of us don’t have a well-developed language to talk about the relevant distinctions, and we’re fairly happy with this situation. We like to think that the First Vision pretty much makes theological elaboration beside the point (and I confess that I’ve become more sympathetic to that view after reading discussions about the precise structure of deity on this or other Mormon blogs, and I’m not particularly interested in hashing out the details here). Calling ourselves trinitarian may require extensive modification or explanation–I don’t know, it’s not an issue that I personally care much about–but calling ourselves polytheists, for example, is both incorrect and fairly silly.
Is hypercorrection a useful concept for thinking about belief? Do any other examples of religious hypercorrection come to mind?
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I just read an amazing interview with the two leaders of the Citation Project, where they discussed some of their findings. One of the things that really caught my eye was the location - in terms of the page in the article - where many students are pulling their citations from.
Based on their analysis of 1,911 citations (from 174 student papers), 46% are from the first page of the source being cited. 70% come from the first two pages. The researchers argue that this is important because it suggests that students are not engaged with the full text. Instead, they may be pulling a fact from an abstract or the introduction, which is located on these first two pages, but not understanding the context associated with that fact.
I can’t say that I find any of this surprising, but it’s certainly interesting to see it backed up by a study of actual student papers. It also shows that we need to go beyond making sure that students know how to cite something properly to making sure that they really analyze the source that they are using. So much information literacy instruction to do … so little time.
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Earlier this week, my twelve year old daughter approached me and asked to learn "All that computer stuff that you do." We had chatted previously about my job, but I had taken particular care to not pressure her into learning computers. Such a decision is best left to natural curiousity.
Hanna and I talked about several languages. She had wanted to learn C#, as that is what I spend most of my time with. Instead, I suggested Ruby. I've always wanted to learn the language, and an interpreted environment would make the edit-compile-debug loop a little bit easier.
Ruby has yet to disappoint me as a teaching language. While I haven't found any Ruby books suitable for teaching a pre-teen Ruby programming skills, I have been able to develop simple lesson plans to teach basic concepts. Along the way, I'm also learning the language, which is a big plus for me.
In two days, she has learned console input and output, variables, string comparison, arrays, simple iterators, if / else constructs, and more. It's really been a blast. I'd definitely recommend Ruby as a teaching language.
Next topic: Objects. Wish us luck!
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Tuesday, February 15, 2005
I had heard of this so-called Politically Incorrect Guide to American History before, and thought that it was the sort of thing that made the rounds of gun shows and Civil War re-enactments. Apparently this silly text is actually selling in considerable numbers. Fortunately there is fairly effective refutation here. The thing that I find fascinating is that this guy accomplishes his re-imagining of all of American history in under 300 pages. The guy writing this thing is from one of these silly organizations that want the South to rise again. So his particular bent on American History is predictable in that sense. What I cannot understand is how these people just cannot let go of their own mythological past. I say mythological because if you read what these people are on about, I think it really resembles myth more than anything. The South was interested in the propagation of slavery. Let's think about that, and examine that. The South wanted to maintain and expand a system that dehumanized an entire race and tore apart the families and communities of a people in the interest of its own economic well-being. The South was very much an agrarian society in the 1860s and that agrarian work was done by slaves. Slavery was the foundation of Southern society, not chivalry or some other nostalgic bullshit that Southerners like to get on about. Now I don't want to tar an entire region with the same brush, so let me say this: I believe that many in the South have renounced the bad old days. But that subset of fools and bigots that cling to it need to grow up. You lost, your society was built on oppression, grow up already.
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A commercial is a promotional medium used in television or radio to sell products or services, subsidizing the programming the audience is enjoying.
Paid commercials were used by Empire TV on planet 892-IV in 2268, broadcast during highly popular programs such as Name the Winner. (TOS: "Bread and Circuses")
Bang Bang Automatic Rifles advertised its products on a radio station on Sigma Iotia II in the same year. (TOS: "A Piece of the Action")
A real estate commercial falsely advertised property on "beautiful Nimbus III" in 2287. (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)
When B'Elanna Torres recreated a TV set for Tom Paris in 2376, she didn't understand the purpose of a jingle, a song designed to add appeal to a commercial. (VOY: "Memorial")
External links Edit
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http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Commercial
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Did you know that reptiles need a special type of lighting just to survive? They also need a specific amount of light and heat to live. This lighting has a great impact on the quality of your pet`s life, so you should be sure of the type of light source that you will give to your pet. With the Zoo Med Reptisun UVB 10.0 HO Light from Pet Store
, you can be confident that your reptiles will live longer and better. This source comes in the form of fluorescent bulbs that are similar to those that you use at home. However, it gives off a different color of light. It comes at a length of thirty six inches, which is perfect for large vivarias and cases.
The Zoo Med Reptisun UVB 10.0 HO Light can be installed inside any size of vivaria or case. It doesn`t matter if your reptile`s home is too tall or too wide. This special lighting can still give your pets their required warmth, regardless of the state and measurement of their current environment. It is important to note that different reptiles require different levels of heat. In this case, the Zoo Med Reptisun UVB 10.0 HO Light is very convenient for iguanas
, chameleons, etc. The warmth that it gives is just right to keep the reptile`s body functions working.
With the Zoo Med Reptisun UVB 10.0 HO Light, you are guaranteed that your pets will be safe and happy inside their controlled environment.
Zoo Med Reptisun UVB 10.0 HO Light 36in Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 High Output UVB Bulb is ideal for reptiles housed in larger vivaria whose natural environment and behavior patterns necessitate increased UVB exposure. •Provides an effective UVB source without providing excess heat•Great for old world chameleons and other reptiles requiring increased UVB exposure without higher temperatures •Allows UVB assisted photo conversion up to 20in from the lamp`s surface (compared to 12in on the Reptisun 5.0)•Allows turtles and tortoises the proper UVB wavelength.
Important InformationDid you know that taller cages, screen cages, and tank covers can reduce the amount of UVB rays getting to your reptile? The solution is here: The Reptisun 10.0. This fluorescent bulb features more UVB output than any other lamp! Effective at distance up to 20in, compared to 12in with the 5.0 UVB. This lamp will provide the UVB your pet needs in any cage-situation for up to a full year before needing replacement. Give your reptile the healthy UVB it needs with the Reptisun 10.0!
All lamps are T8 size.
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Research paper topics, free example research papers
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Research paper topic: Apec - 1566 words
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Apec The question is Can the Canadian government maintain its committment to globisation without comprimising its stand on human rights and why or why not? The answer is no. Canada's committment to globalization comprimises it's stands on human rights for different reasons. The main reason being APEC. The following paper will ague just that and how Apec is causing many problems in societies all over the world. APEC is a grouping of 18 economies which aims to impose a free trade zone in the Asia-Pacific region.
Despite the rhetoric, there is nothing free about free trade. It is the forced changing of rules to benefit corporations at the expense of people, governments and the environment. As Joan Spero, the US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs said, APEC has a customer. APEC is not for governments, it is for business. Through APEC we aim to get government out of the way, opening the way for business to do business. The Termination of our Social Safety Net In theinternational market, there are cut backs made on employment insurance, welfare, education and health care are they are made under the excuse of luring investment.
Any word of increasing taxes is extinguished by corporations forewarning to withdraw for a preferable business environment. Regardless of the skyrocketing profits, corporate contributions to tax revenues have plumetted from 50% in the 60's, to less than 8% today. It is suspected that it'll be sooner then later that Canada will adopt the impoverished American model - no safety net, just cold concrete. APEC has nagative effects on the Environment APEC and Free trade agreements like it, reduces international environmental standards by making the process of moving between states easier for businesses. In order for there to be compition, countries are obliged to slacken their environmental regulations to the lowest they can be by law.
Canadian mining industries, which have been know as some of the bigest global polluterson the planet, have been abusing trade agreements like APEC by transfering to countries where they may operate without being disrupted by environmental protection. Free trade has already granted a ghastly amount of power to businesses, permitting them to effect government policy. The Corrotion of Human Rights Secretary of State (Asia Pacific), Raymond Chan, expresses our governments position, affirming that discussion of human rights and social development might impede progress on economic and trade issues. We give praise to and give special treatment to mass murderers such as Jiang Zemin of China andGeneral Suharto of Indonesia, when APEC pays a visit. Jiang Zemin was compliant in the Tiananmen square massacre, referring to it as much ado about nothing, and was liable for the heavy crackdown that ensued. Suharto is accountable (among other things) for the appeals from dissidents in both countries, Canada withholds their position on human rights and refuses to take a stand against it's abuses.
(1) In order to save their reputation, Canadian government puts through constructive engagement. Constructive Engagement is a policy that allows the people of Canada to believe that the Canadian goverenmet is concerned with human rights, when in reality, it is business that they are really conscened with. Constructive engagement, for Canada, means voting againast or abstaining from every UN resolution condemning Indonesia's invasion of East Timor. However, we persist in the selling of weapon parts to the Indonesian military. Ultimately, Constructive engagement means we have a fatal fall back from life or death issues.
(2) We should perhaps examine what's happening on our own territory, in addition to giving support to dissidents overseas. Canada and the US are recongized as profesionals in the area of maltreatment of native peoples. There's no democracy in APEC Although it's only been sice 1989 that APEC has been around, most people have probably only heard about it recently due to it's arrival in Vancouver. This is not surprising as APEC functions through closed door meetings of politicians, big business representatives, bureaucrats, and academics. The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), is the only institutional presence in APEC, that is not apart of the government. ABAC is made up of CEOs. Those who are affected most by APEC's policies have no say in APEC deliberations and policies.
APEC does not function in isolation unlike some other organizations. Fundamental resolutions about our lives are made on an every day basis by economists and bureaucrats that represent establishments such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and World Trade Organization (WTO). According to the Director General of the WTO, Renato Rugiero,We are writing the constitution of a single global economy. (1) Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) and other treaties like it termed a bill of rights for investors, are secretly being drafted. These issues will transform the way society lives dramatically and there are no public debates on these issues.
(1) APEC Cultivates a Society of Consumption Many trade agreements including APEC don't just concentrate on commodities, they are all for turning our existence into a commodity. In the eyes of APEC, all the aspects of peoples lives are looked upon in terms of profit. . Assumptions of APEC Small Businesses will Prosper Small businesses will actually end up weakening due to APEC. Without the benifit to large-scale government subsidies that are handed over out to big corporations every day and without cheap resources and cheap labour, small businesses simply cannot compete with the big ones.
We are approaching an period of monopolistic capitalism, where a few major corporations can afford to play the game and because of that they can set the rules. There are more and more companies merging together and being bought out, it's common for this to happen now a days. Today, 51 corporations and 49 countries make up the 100 biggest economies, not 1oo countries not even 50% are countries. On top of that, 70% of international trade is controled by 500 transnationals. (1) It's inevitable Endeavours to make any positive modifications to the agreement are fruitless, since the entire founding of APEC is defective from the outset.
It is therefore no surprise that Canadian participation, thus far, hasvdone nothing but serve to promote APEC's corporate agenda. Canadian, Australian and US business interests are encouraging other APEC involved countries to liberalize their economies rapidly, more rapidly than these other countries would like. The Canadian government has declared that it does not have a will to take on critical social issues within APEC. Canada is even becoming worse then America inregard to overlooking the abuse to human rights within countries such as China. What if APEC decided to take positive stand on these imperative issues, would we as canadians really want corporations to be sharing the responsibility of making decisions about certain issues, for example, environmental protection? Great Opportunity for Cultural Exchange and Dialogue In order to defend their corporate agenda, the supporters and leaders of APEC have had the tendency to drag out the corpse of cultural exchange, APEC is strickly about business and that has been made distinct from the beginning, APEC has been business driven from the start, a feature that sets it apart from many other regional trade bodies. This quote can be read in a Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs document entitled An Open Door for Canadian Business, APEC is believed to be an prospect for cultural exchange, but it's not.
Opportunities for cultural change will continue to exist without APEC as they always have. (1) APEC an informal chit-chat. Although APEC agreements are often described as non-binding, this assumes that everyone comes to the table on equal footing. However, there are huge vested interests and imbalances of power at play. While the rules may remain somewhat flexible for the US and Japan, weaker nations will be forced into compromising positions.
In essence APEC is an attempt by the powerful developed nations to pry open the weaker economies in the Asia Pacific region. APEC is a colonialist tool, wielded by wealthy nations to exploit the environment and cheap labour of less prosperous nations. APEC will Result in Increased Prosperity for Everyone APEC means prosperity for investors and the business elite. This will be accomplished at the expense of the rest of us. Since the Canada - US free trade agreement, corporations have been experiencing record profits, yet the income of the poorest fifth of Canadians has dropped 20%.
APEC will continue this erosion of wages and working conditions. Labour will be forced to make concessions in order to compete with workers in countries such as Indonesia, where trying to organize a union can get you killed. APEC encourages child labour, and sweat shop working conditions. It is these sub-human labour practices which lure investment from companies like Nike. While the world is being made borderless for capital and corporations, human beings remain trapped in poverty. This is not about prosperity, this is about more poverty for more people.
There are No Alternatives No is an alternative. There are plenty of international organizations and conferences aimed at making the world a better place to do business. Making the world a better place, however, is left to underfunded NGO's and a few toothless UN bureaucracies. If the will exists to reduce tariffs and government budgets, then why shouldn't the will exist to reduce poverty and the size of the military? If we can negotiate Free Trade then we can also negotiate the dismantling of corporate rule. There are models for Fair Trade.
There are always alternatives. Political Science.
Research paper topics, free term papers, essays, sample research papers on Apec
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Sherman H. Skolnick
by Sherman H. Skolnick 3/15/02
ARTHUR ANDERSEN and the FEDERAL EXECUTIONERS
Old-timers were worried. They might not still be around, some grumbled, when the government finally forced the "Mafia/CIA's" book-keepers to face the music. After all, the bulk of the 20th Century passed by and only sharp-eyed, Sherlock Holmes types really understood what was happening.
Who noticed? When Arthur Andersen and their attorneys, tied to the Kennedy Family, reportedly covered up massive embezzlement of the First National Bank of Chicago, in the 1970s. It was part of an underworld-espionage operation in Greece. A Chicago Federal Judge, a former top CIA official, admitted to us he had to go along with side-stepping certain matters for reasons of "national security".
Certainly the Queen's newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, never bothered to pay attention. Did anyone bother to check out the numerous military intelligence and other espionage agency types working as reporters at this media flagship of the Federal Reserve District Bank in Chicago? Traditionally, the head of the Tribune Company was also the head of America's conspiratorial-like PRIVATE central bank Chicago District unit.
Like us, you got on a monopoly press "black list" for publicly commenting on such details.
Some called it "Al Capone Land". The nick-name for the Chicago enclave of Cicero. When the Federal hangman in the Windy City prosecuted the female Cicero Town President for various mis-steps, the press fakers identified Betty Loren-Maltese as the widow of a late mafioso. Left-out, of course, was the background of the reputed "Mafia/CIA" operation in her town, The First National Bank of Cicero. The long-time head of the Vatican Bank, Bishop Paul Marcinkus, was from Cicero and at the Vatican continued to dominate the worldwide operation as well of his hometown bank. To confuse matters, the Cicero bank in recent years changed its name several times.
Was anyone but us alert when in 1991 Marcinkus fled Italy under the protection of his Vatican passport? The Italian authorities wanted to grill him, for possible prosecution, for various reputed criminal offenses. Such as using the Vatican Bank facilities, jointly with the mafia, the American CIA, and the Bush Crime Family, to carry out the secret sale to state-sponsored terrorists of osmium nuclear bomb triggers, stolen gold, smuggled weapons, and aiding terrorists launder dope trafficking proceeds. These criminals specialized as well in distributing superior quality U.S. and foreign counterfeit currencies.
Marcinkus, with the Bush gang and others, for the American CIA, dealt in clandestine weapons shipments used to overthrow governments not favored by the spy agency and their dirty birds.
Did anyone but us, ever examine and copy the federal court records showing a top official of Arthur Andersen handled the profound cover-up of what Bush, Marcinkus, and the First National Bank of Cicero were all about? In 1991, just after Marcinkus sought refuge in Chicago, after escaping the Italian financial police--- who really noted what was happening?
In December, 1991, we decided to test out the known corruption in the Chicago office of the Chief Federal executioner. In a joint conference with an FBI official and a hotshot assistant federal prosecutor, we demanded they do something about a top Chicago U.S. Bankruptcy Court official, Wallace Lieberman, implicated with Arthur Andersen, and officials of Daddy Bush's White House administration, in various federal court rackets---federal crimes, done right in the same building as the Chief Federal Prosecutor! As we spelled out the technical details, our specialty, Lieberman, aided by Arthur Andersen and the then Bush White House, helped the Chief Judge at that time of the Bankruptcy Court, to siphon off some 141 Million Dollars, parked in offshore tax cheat havens. [Three years later in a lengthy interview with a key official of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Chicago IRS, we were warned that it was improper for us to know the details that the Chief Judge had not paid his income taxes for the previous 30 years. Prior to being Chief Judge, he was an official of some sort of the infamous First National Bank of Cicero. The interview and details are transcribed and filed, without challenge or dispute, in various little-known state and federal court documents.]
In our presence, the assistant federal prosecutor was criticized by the FBI official for accidentally informing us that the Wallace Lieberman matter was then pending before a federal grand jury inquiring into Arthur Andersen and others. But, a few days later, the whole matter was resolved as to Arthur Andersen, the First National Bank of Cicero, the Daddy Bush White House, Paul Marcinkus, the Vatican Bank, and a list of their mafia-CIA confederates. As an UNPROTECTED Federal grand Jury witness, Lieberman tried to shake-down the top official of Arthur Andersen handling the whitewash at the First National Bank of Cicero, as well as attempting to put the arm on bank officials, and White House criminals. The Queen's newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, did their usual whitewash. On Christmas Day, 1991, while others had holiday things on their mind, the Trib ran the story of the murder of Court Official Wallace Lieberman, adding that he was a business partner of Robert Bellavia, a longtime reputed gangster. The Trib did not bother to detail that Lieberman was killed mafia-CIA style, and his body was found behind an auto repair shop. Hey, get this---Lieberman was found not far from the Cicero bank. How come they did not have time, Chicago-style, to put his body in a car trunk and leave the vehicle parked at O'Hare Airport? [For our television show, we later did an on-location one-hour documentary at the murder site and at the bank.]
In 1993, the topmost official of an Arthur Andersen client, Household Bank and Household International, Edwin Hoffmann, was apparently murdered at his home. A financial wizard, knowing the most about the operation, Hoffmann was thought to be hard to replace. He asked a few of the wrong questions of his mafia-CIA book-keepers. As repeatedly mentioned in little-known state and federal court records, Household is interwoven with the corrupt doings of the First National Bank of Cicero, and Arthur Andersen. Who bothers to know that Household is the successor and alter ego of the bloody worldwide money machine, Nugan Hand Bank? The General Counsel of Nugan Hand as well as Household, was former Director of Central Intelligence, William Colby. Knowing the details, you can see why Colby's friends say he was murdered in 1996. In retirement, he talked too much. [For background, "The Crimes of Patriots" by Jonathan Kwitny.]
Known but only rarely discussed are the details of the role Daddy Bush played with the worldwide assassination funding and laundering apparatus, known as BCCI, Bank of Credit and Commerce International, also called Bank of Criminals and Conspirators International. [The history of BCCI is contained in part in extensive reports of a Congressional banking subcommittee.] The true history of BCCI would have to include the key role of members of the Bush Crime Family, including their Texas gang.
The environmental activists, Greenpeace, caused to be privately printed a soft-cover, large-page book on their version of the history of the garbage removal business, Waste Management, a client of Arthur Andersen. The book-keeping fakers had to pay damages by way of settlement for having apparently allowed book-cooking by Waste Management. The refuse hauling firm vigorously denies the thesis of the book, that Waste Management has a reputed gangster history background. [At the time of the posting of this story, we aired on our television show a one-hour documentary showing Waste Management committed apparent fraudulent practices in Highland Park, a northern suburb of Chicago.]
Certain traders and speculators on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and their step-sister, Chicago Board Options Exchange, reportedly put themselves in a position to enrich themselves, with prior knowledge of September 11, 2001. Prior to Black Tuesday, apparently using various trading instruments, they, in effect, sold "short" the securities of American Airlines, and United Airlines, whose planes were involved in the media and government described happenings. [Some challenge and dispute the official versions of what occurred that day.] Naturally, Arthur Andersen are the book-keepers for the "Merc", which when the federal indictment of Andersen was announced, said they were nevertheless satisfied with the auditing firms services. Some on the Mercantile Exchange reportredly aid the Bush Crime Family with laundering illicit funds jointly with the Red Chinese Secret Police. On the other hand, the Chicago Board of Trade, dominated by Irish Catholics and with the Bush gang heavily pro-British and Queen of England, is apparently facing Bush Justice Department frame-ups for not going along with the Bush White House secret laundering through the Chicago markets. [Visit prior related website stories of ours.]
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcan [that is what we name him] and the Bush Justice Department are running a substantial risk to prosecute Arthur Andersen. Why? Well, here is a list of what key people at Andersen know about, can document, and can, if they choose, confront the Bush Crime Family.
===At the behest of Daddy Bush and his bloody operations with the American CIA, long before and long after he was Director of Central Intelligence in 1976, what became known as Enron, was deeply involved in CIA dirty business, domestic and overseas. As we previously pointed out, the firm should properly be called ENRON/MARC RICH INTERNATIONAL, since Enron is a continuation and alter ego of the operations of the international swindlers who with the help of Daddy Bush, fled the U.S. for Switzerland. Marc Rich was corruptedly pardoned by Clinton as Bush Family crony. Among other things, Enron/Marc Rich have been deeply involved in fixing elections in the U.S., to get rid of Congressmen and Senators who are on the outs with the spy agency and their various layers of operations, Foundations, Proprietary so-called "Business" firms, and other adjuncts, immune from disclosure by Freedom of Information Act demands.[Visit our extensive website stories on the Red Chinese Secret Police operating in the U.S. and on the Chicago markets.]
===Jointly with members and cohorts of the Bush Crime Family, Enron/Marc Rich was used to apparently bribe officials in India regarding massive failure of an energy project. Richard Cheney, head of energy equipment firm up to the summer of 2000, Halliburton, ostensibly put the arm on high officials in India to try to force them to pay up Enron.
===Enron/Marc Rich International/Bush Crime Family crony, James Baker 3rd, a cabinet member when Daddy Bush was President, apparently was part of a team arranging to bribe southern Florida DEMOCRATS, to stop the year 2000 Presidential election ballot recount, so Bush Jr. could do the Electoral College trick. Some continue to contend that the actual elected but not inaugurated President is Albert Gore, Jr., who won the popular vote by 600,000 nationwide. Used for the bribery of Democrat officials was some 40 million dollars of dope trafficking funds of the co-founder of the Medellin Colombia dope cartel, Carlos Lehder, according to drug enforcement officials a business partner of the Bush Family. And reportedly assisting the bribery team was Marc Racicot, until January, 2001, Montana Governor. Journalists and law enforcement officials, in both Montana and Canada, assert that Racicot (pronounced ROSS-coe) should be prosecuted for assisting cross-border dope trafficking, in part for the benefit of the Red Chinese Secret Police and for the Bush Crime Family. Racicot after leaving as Governor, became a lobbyist and attorney for Enron, in Washington, D.C. and then head of the Republican National Committee.
===Daddy Bush and James Baker 3rd are part of the sinister, some say highly corrupt, Carlyle Group, tied to Saudi banks financing terrorist operations worldwide, including but not limited to Osama bin Laden.
===Arthur Andersen officials have as well documents and details, and knowledge of witnesses, showing the deep financial involvement of Daddy Bush and his cronies in the thousands of secret offshore Enron partnerships used to launder illicit funds from dope trafficking, tax-cheating, gold smuggling, weapons traffic, and such.
By comparison, Arthur Andersen's purported destruction of records, believe it or not, are almost a nothing offense compared to that of the murderous Bush circle.
===Arthur Andersen's documented details, witnesses, and knowledge of among other things, the Bush Crime Family, go back several years. A lingering hesitation is that just prior to the purported year 2000 Presidential "election", a top official of Arthur Andersen, who knew too much about Bush and their crimes, was murdered in the Chicago area.
So, questions remain. Would Arthur Andersen, by blackmail and confrontation, DARE cause the Bush Justice Department to mysteriously sabotage their own case that named Arthur Andersen as a criminal defendant partnership? It certainly would not be the first time that federal prosecutors were corrupted or blackmailed. After all, top officials of Arthur Andersen reportedly have witnesses, documents, and knowledge, going back 20 years as well as up-to-date, of, for example, Daddy Bush and the international swindlers, Marc Rich International, with Enron being the current front and face.
Another matter to consider. There have been two related "suicides", actually, murders. Prior to the short time he was Clinton White House Deputy Counsel, Vincent W. Foster, Jr., traveled worldwide as money laundry facilitator for Daddy Bush, the Rose Law Firm, and their circle of thieves including Ollie North and Bill and Hillary Clinton. And that included the ethnic Chinese, the Riady Family, interwoven with these gangsters. To silence him, Foster was "suicided", July, 1993. The press whores dare not call it murder.
In a way related to the demise of Foster, was the way J. Clifford Baxter was "suicided", yet actually murdered. As a top official of Enron, Baxter had specific knowledge of the criminal/American CIA aspects of the supposed energy giant. So, do the savvy sorts at Arthur Andersen DARE try to help themselves, to ultimately save themselves, from the Federal Executioners, by blackmailing the highest level of the central government of the United States?
More coming. Stay tuned.
Since 1958, Mr.Skolnick has been a court reformer. Since 1963,
founder/chairman, Citizen's Committee to Clean Up the Courts, disclosing
certain instances of judicial and other bribery and political murders.
Since 1991 a regular panelist, and since 1995, moderator/producer, of
one-hour,weekly public access Cable TV Show, "Broadsides", Cablecast on
Channel 21, 9 p.m. each Monday in Chicago. For a heavy packet of printed
stories, send $5.00 [U.S. funds] and a stamped, self-addressed business
sized envelope [4-1/4 x 9-1/2 #10 size] WITH THREE STAMPS ON IT, to
Citizen's Committee to Clean Up the Courts, Sherman H. Skolnick,
Chairman, 9800 South Oglesby Ave., Chicago IL 60617-4870. Office, 7
days, 8 a.m. to midnight, (773) 375-5741 [PLEASE, no "just routine
calls]. Before sending FAX,
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Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea. Jordan.
In a twist of schedules, we’re headed there in just over a week to experience it all for ourselves.
Ancient City of Petra
Jordan? How’d That Happen?
We’ve always been interested in visiting Jordan. It’s long had a firm spot on our itinerary for the Middle East.
Then, enter an invitation from the Jordan Tourism Board just a couple of weeks ago.
In light of the media’s rather predictable painting of the entire Middle East with the brush of what’s been happening in Egypt, we figured a visit to Jordan at this time makes a point: don’t make assumptions, don’t avoid an entire region based on what’s happening in a few countries.
This backdrop also gives our trip to Jordan added context, story.
Jordan Itinerary: History, Culture, Adventure, Food…People
Jordan is not very large (in fact, it’s about the same size as the U.S. state of Maine or Indiana), but its history is long and deep. If our itinerary is any indication, there’s absolutely no shortage of fascinating stuff to do there. As Uncornered Market itineraries go, this one is going to be chock-full. Here’s a rough idea:
- Scuba diving in Aquaba
- Trekking overnight in the Wadi Rum desert
- Ruminating on life in the Dead Sea
- Castles galore (Crusader Castles Karak and Showbak, Desert Castles, and Ajlun Castle)
- Roman ruins of Jerash
- Amman, the Citadel and the Roman amphitheater
Wadi Rum Desert
We are also looking forward to getting to know Jordanian food, with dishes like mansaf (lamb in yogurt sauce topped with a bunch of amazing Middle Eastern bits, nuts and herbs) and stews like maglouba. To that end, we’ve also managed to include a cooking class as part of the itinerary.
Since this will be our first visit to the Middle East, we’ll also consider this the beginning of a very long, drawn-out firsthand investigation into who actually invented hummus. (In case you’re unaware, this unresolved argument has stewed in the region for ages.)
And as excited as we are about what is planned, we understand that some of our most transcendent travel experiences often take place when we get lost, meet random people on the street, and explore the local culture in fresh, open markets. So we’ve negotiated a good bit of free time to do what we do best: wander, talk to people, discover.
To say that we are excited by all this: an understatement.
The Dead Sea
Is Jordan Really Safe? (you know, with all those protests in the region)
Anticipating some anxiety from our parents and friends — and understanding that the reality on the ground may not always match what circulates as news — we contacted a friend who has lived and worked for years in Amman, the capital of Jordan. His response: “Safety shouldn’t be an issue when making a decision whether to take this trip.”
More generally, the Middle East tends to fill the news too often for all the wrong reasons. We have long hoped to fill a few of our pages with the right reasons, including the experiences we’re known for having and the human connections we’re known for making.
The Wrap and What’s Up After Jordan
We are scheduled to fly to Jordan on Royal Jordanian Airlines on February 25th from our current perch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
So if you have any questions, any recommendations, any contacts, any anything with regards to Jordan, now’s the time to speak up. We’ll have two weeks in country to seek it out.
Finally, in case you are wondering, “What’s up with your trip to Bangladesh?” We are headed to Dhaka straight from Amman. After all, we’ll need someplace laid back to absorb all that we experience in Jordan.
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It is also called Brahma, Shiva, Indra, aksharbrahman, param virat, Vishnu, prana, kalagni, and chandrama.
The one who realizes that the past and the future – it is all the divine – is liberated from the cycle of birth and death.
There is no other way to liberation.
The one who sees that the self pervades all beings, and that all beings pervade the self, sees the brahman, the ultimate reality. There is no other way.
The ultimate mystery has many names, because basically in reality it has no name. First of all, try to understand a few things about names.
In man’s heart, there is a deep thirst. There is a prayer in him for the divine – but how to invite that which is anam, without a name? Even if you want to cry at the feet of the divine, where will you find these feet? You may even find a stirring arising in your being for it, but where, in which direction, should this feeling be addressed? Even if your feet want to run to it, where does it live? There is no address, there is no path to it, there is no direction to it – because all directions belong to it, all paths belong to it, and every single inch of space is its temple.
Man is in great difficulty, because when he moves he has to move in some direction. How can he move in a non-direction? He can only walk on some path. It becomes impossible for him to walk towards a place to which all paths lead, or, in other words, to which no path leads. Whenever man calls, he needs a name to call. The name may be just a formality, but he needs a name to call.
But the divine has no name. Leave the divine aside – nothing in the world has any name! We give names, we use those names, but that use is utilitarian, a day-to-day necessity. There is also a danger in using names: the name can be used so much that slowly, slowly the thing that was nameless, the person who was nameless, becomes secondary and the name becomes the important thing.
When a child is born he does not come with any name, he comes as a clean slate, a tabula rasa. But in such a vast universe, some label has to be put on him; otherwise it will become difficult to speak with him, impossible to communicate with him. So if we attach a false name to him, everything becomes easy. One is able to call him, one is able to talk to him or about him. To communicate and relate with him becomes easy, possible. It is a very interesting thing that to relate with the child is difficult, but a name, which is unreal, becomes the basis for all relating and relationships.
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NAGPUR: The Palasgaon tiger, which suffered injuries on its left paw and subsequent internal complications after getting entangled in a metal trap laid by poachers, has shown a slight improvement. However, vets treating it admit that it would be a big achievement to save the tiger.
"Although the health parameters show some improvement and condition of the tiger has not deteriorated further, I still feel it is not out of danger," Dr NP Dakshinkar, the professor & head of department of medicine at the Nagpur Veterinary College, told TOI.
On Thursday, a team of doctors including dean Dr A Samad, Dr Dakshinkar, Dr Gautam Bhojne, and forest officials including A K Saxena, additional PCCF (wildlife), Nagpur, East, ACF Kishore Mishrikotkar and honorary district wildlife warden Kundan Hate checked on the ailing tiger at the Seminary Hills nursery.
It has been under treatment ever since it was brought here on April 28. The poaching incident happened on two days earlier. One tiger died and a third escaped the traps that were cleverly set at a waterhole on the outskirts of the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve.
Dr Dakshinkar said although the tiger has not come out of the acute renal failure, there is definitely some improvement as toxic wastes are passing out. The tiger's liver functioning is absolutely normal and this possibly resulted in its improved appetite.
"The animal consumed 2.5kg meat on Thursday, which is a good sign. The urea-creatinine levels are still high but show a declining trend," Dr Dakshinkar said.
Looking into the tiger's improved condition, the vets have stopped administering IV fluids and as a change of strategy, are resorting to minimum medication. "If the need is felt, the fluids will be administered again," said Dr Dakshinkar.
The vets are leaving no stone unturned to see that the tiger comes out of bad health. Sources said utmost care is being taken during the treatment. "On Thursday, it took three hours to put a plaster on the injured left paw of the animal," said sources.
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Dáil Éireann - Volume 386 - 01 February, 1989
Written Answers. - Fishing Boat Licences.
Mr. Molloy Mr. Molloy
71. Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for the Marine the names of the persons to whom fishing boat licences have been issued since 1 January 1988; and the names and tonnage of vessels involved.
Minister for the Marine (Mr. Daly) Brendan Daly
Minister for the Marine (Mr. Daly): The information sought by the Deputy is of a confidential nature and raises legal and other issues which have to be investigated before release of such details. When these considerations have been clarified I will communicate with the Deputy.
Dáil Éireann 386 Written Answers. Fishing Boat Licences.
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I’ve read a lot of press releases about Ford’s upcoming Prius fighter, the C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid. But nobody has actually gotten a chance to drive this plug-in, nor has Ford been forthcoming about some of the most important figures, specifically an expected EPA MPG rating. Ford has however announced that the C-Max Energi will go up to 20 miles on just electricity, and will have a starting MSRP of $29,995, after a $3,750 Federal tax credit.
Undercutting the Competition
Before the tax credit (more on that in a second), the C-Max Energi goes for $33,745, including destination charges. Because both cars have smaller battery packs (4.4 kWh for the Prius, unkown-but-estimated to be around 8 kWh for the C-Max ), the Prius Plug-In only qualifies for $2,500 in tax credits, and after factoring in destination charges costs about $30,260. In other words, Ford beats Toyota in both price and electric range, and claims to have a 95 MPGe rating and a 550+ mile driving range as well.
What little marketing push the Focus Electric got seems to be going behind the C-Max Energi tenfold. Ford is definitely gunning for the Prius, and the C-Max Energi might just have the wherewithal to do it when it goes on sale this fall. But don’t expect the Prius to roll over without a fight. The Prius name still holds a lot of weight, and Toyota still has a well-deserved (though increasingly spotted) record for reliability…something Ford is still working to improve.
But the Ford C-Max, despite a rather bland name, could be a real contender…or just another also-ran. It will go beyond numbers and marketing; Ford has to build a hybrid that can both connect with people, and give them a reason to opt for hybrids over cheaper conventional cars. The Energi, like the Prius before it, might be able to do that.
So now is the time to place your bets.
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Garrett pays price for insulation debacle
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has been stripped of responsibility for the household insulation scheme and other energy efficiency programs.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced he is establishing a separate, stand-alone department for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.
The department will be headed by Climate Change Minister Penny Wong, but her assistant minister, Greg Combet, will be given direct responsibility for winding up the insulation program and rolling out its replacement.
Mr Rudd says Mr Garrett will remain as Environment Minister but his portfolio will focus on environmental protection as well as heritage and the arts.
Mr Rudd has steadfastly rejected Opposition demands to sack Mr Garrett and has even called him a first-class minister.
But he admits the department changes are a demotion for Mr Garrett.
"This represents a reduced range of responsibilities, that's a fact," he said.
"This move is designed to achieve stronger coordination and greater efficiency in the development and delivery of climate change policies and programs, especially in relation to energy efficiency and renewable energy".
In a statement, Mr Garrett said he welcomed the opportunity to focus on "key interests and passions".
And he defended his actions over the scheme.
"As I have said previously, rolling out a program of this size and scale has not been without its problems - problems I have recognised and endeavoured to address at every stage," he said.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who has had Mr Garrett in his sights for weeks, says Mr Rudd should have simply sacked Mr Garrett.
"We shouldn't have Peter Garrett shifted to what amounts to a new job," he said.
"We shouldn't have what amounts to a new department created just because the Prime Minister lacks the guts to just sack the minister who has been responsible for the most monumental administrative disaster in recent Australian history."
The Opposition's climate and environment spokesman, Greg Hunt, says it is unacceptable for Mr Garrett to remain in Cabinet.
"Only a few days ago Mr Garrett, according to the Prime Minister, was a first-class minister [and now] he remains a cabinet minister," Mr Hunt said.
"The only fitting outcome is for him to go and for the Prime Minister to finally recognise that reshuffling the deck chairs is not enough."
Garrett under siege
The insulation scheme, which was pushed out last year as part of the Government's $42 billion stimulus package, was linked to the deaths of four insulation installers and 93 house fires.
The $2.5 billion insulation program was supposed to play the dual role of creating jobs and reducing household greenhouse gas emissions, but it was plagued with troubles from the beginning.
After four deaths were linked to the scheme, Mr Garrett suspended the use of foil insulation over fears about its safety.
He also suspended some insulation companies amid concerns about their accreditation to operate under the scheme.
Last Friday Mr Garrett announced the Government was scrapping the program and planned to replace it with a similar initiative.
On Tuesday the ABC learned Mr Garrett's department was given a so-called "risk register" last April, which called for the insulation program to be delayed.
The risk register was prepared by the same consultancy firm that prepared a report about the scheme warning of house fires, fraud and shonky installation practices.
But Mr Garrett admitted he took 10 months to request a copy of that damning report.
All homes that were insulated with foil under the scheme will now be audited amid fears about 1,000 could be live.
Fifteen per cent of homes insulated with pink batts will also be audited to check there is no fire or electrocution risk.
On Wednesday, the Government pledged to spend $41 million on assistance for up to 6,000 insulation employees who could end up out of work after the sudden end to program.
And the Government is finalising another assistance package for businesses who may struggle until the new scheme starts in June.
Mr Rudd said yesterday that he was "disappointed with himself" for not asking more questions about the scheme.
"In the pace of events last year it's easy in hindsight to say we should have asked more questions, but we didn't have time, but I accept responsibility for that," he told the 7.30 Report.
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Unlike other Java to Objective-C solutions, Java-Objective-C Bridge doesn't require any code generation of class stubs. It allows you to use any Objective-C libraries and frameworks from Java without having to write any native code. In addition to being able to use Objective-C objects, it allows you to pass Java objects to the objective-c runtime as delegates, so that you can write an entire Cocoa application in Java. The bridge provides 3 levels of abstraction. At the lowest level, it provides wrappers around the Objective-C runtime functions. At a slightly higher level of abstraction, it provides a procedural API to send messages to the Objective-C runtime. At the highest level of abstraction, it provides a Proxy class that serves as a wrapper around any Objective-C object that allows you to work with it in Java almost the same as if you were in Objective-C.
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The music of we primates: Nada Brahmam
In this wide-ranging article eminent scientist Prof Balasubramanian shows us through one example how all knowledge is interconnected, that fields that seem as disparate as biology and history and music all must speak to one another if we are to understand any phenomenon in its entirety. This piece on musical instruments, drawn from his fortnightly column Speaking of Science, The Hindu, shows us how evidence needs to be interpreted from a variety of perspectives if it is to help us piece together the puzzle of life. Sound (or physics) is produced through bits of material to create harmonic patterns (mathematics) that we perceive as pleasing or not (psychology, culture) and this can in turn affect our physiological responses (finally, biology!). How the materials of music have evolved over time (archaeology) tell us something about how early man lived. Such an investigation can also be done through other fields of art – painting, sculpture, architecture, tool making. What does each of these have to do with biological knowledge and how do they in turn contribute to our understanding of different facets of biology? You can use this article in a high school classroom as a stimulus for a discussion on some of these questions, or to get the students to come up with their own questions.
Which is the world’s oldest musical instrument? The claims are many and contentious. One offers the honour to a drum, another to the veena, the third to the harp and several others to the flute. Scriptures, myths and legends do not help, since, as a sceptical scientist once remarked: “In god we trust, the rest must have data”. Biodegradable materials like wood, skin and gut do not survive even centuries. Metal strings too are recent; metallurgy of this kind does not even take us back to the Iron Age.
Bones and ivory
But bones and ivory, made essentially of inorganic material, pass the test of time. Thus, when Drs. Nicholas Conard, H. Jenson and Friedrich Seeberger of Germany reported the discovery of three flutes in a cave near Ulm, Germany, they were claimed to be the oldest man-made musical instruments. Dating the deposits where the flutes were found suggests the flutes to be anywhere between 30,000 and 37,000 years old.
This puts the period to be the upper Paleolithic Era of the last Ice Age. This was also the period when both the Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens (or modern humans of our kind) coexisted in Europe. The flutes are made of ivory – not of the elephant but of its long extinct relative, the woolly mammoth.
The craftsmanship of these flutes was not trivial. The crooked mammoth tusk was not hollow as bird bones are. It had to be split, the two halves hollowed out, and glued together airtight. And the holes had to be drilled in at the appropriate places to produce music. The technology involved in all these, given the period and the extant tools, is to be admired. What was the kind of music the flutes played? Dr. Seeberger made a replica in elderwood and played it.
He found the tones quite harmonic and followed the pentatonic scale that we use in India. Interested readers can go to the site www.nature.com/news/2004/041213/pf/041213-14_pf.html, and click on the box that allows you to hear a music sample. I did that and found the music to be vaguely reminiscent of the upper register of the raga Bhinna Shadja.
What struck me, though, is the similarity between this and the piece of music that came out of a set of intact, 9000-year-old flutes (made from the bones of the crane) found in Jiahu, China.
Hear this music at www. bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/1999 /Flute7.wav, or at www.eriktheflutemaker. com/?pageid=7405.
Were the German flutes crafted and played by Homo sapiens or by Neanderthals? This is an absorbing question, since the Neanderthals have not always had a good press in the Homo sapiens media. They were stockier, with bushy eyebrows, and not well-endowed in speech, language and thought to lack finer things in life.
However, research (see the book by Erik Trinkhaus and Pat Shipman) shows them to have been toolmakers of some sophistication, makers of art objects from bone and ivory, and possessed of some form of spirituality or religion.
Whether they had music is not clear. But the finding of a flute-like fragment of the thigh bone of a young cave bear in Slovenia, with three or maybe five well-drilled artificial holes in it, dating to the middle Paleolithic period (50,000-35,000 years ago) is suggestive. Neanderthals peopled the area at that time, and visited the cave occasionally.
Drs. Drago Kunej and Ivan Turk of the Slovenia Academy of Sciences discuss this flute in scholarly detail in a chapter in the book The Origins of Music (Eds. N L Wallin, B Merker & S Brown, MIT Press, 2001). Indeed, Geoffrey Miller of University College, London writes in the same book that this discovery suggests that not only aerophones (drone pipes) are reasonably ancient but Neanderthals made music, and perhaps even used clap sticks for rhythm.
This raises two points. One is the origin of music in humans. Is it a biological heritage that we are endowed with? In that case, do our ancestors – at least the primates and great apes – have proto-music in them?
Since all biology is history, we might be able to look at the origins of music through biology. The other point is about a possible universality of music. Charles Darwin posed the dual question in 1871: “Producing musical notes … must be ranked amongst the most mysterious with which man is endowed. They are present, though in a very rude and as it appears almost latent condition, in men of all races, even the most savage…
“Whether or not the half-human progenitors of man possessed, like the before-mentioned gibbon, the capacity of producing and no doubt of appreciating, musical notes, we have every reason to believe that man possessed these faculties at a very remote period, for singing and music are extremely ancient arts.”
Regarding the idea of music-making as a biological heritage, Dr. Dean Falk of the State University of New York writes in the book cited above, making some interesting points. First, he points out that music and language are neurologically intertwined They appear to have evolved together as brain size increased during the last few million years in the genus homo. Our close cousins of this period, namely the gorilla and the chimpanzee, too seem to have some form of proto-music.
While the anatomy of their vocal tracts does not seem to have permitted their acquisition of facile vocal expression (beyond grants and hoots), they seem to manage to hoot and beat together. Two or more male gorillas have been known to vocalise together in a manner that foreshadows human singing without words.
Dr. Schaller, who has researched on this, playfully calls this the Gorillian chants, a forerunner of the Gregorian Chants of medieval Europe.
And the primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall writes that chimpanzees engage in choral pant-hoots and drumming displays. These are non-referential or abstract items, not relative to any specific information transfer but just for fun! Falk speculates that our ancestor, the Australopithecus, who had vocal tract anatomy and cerebral cortex similar to the chimps, too might have engaged in calls and drumbeats in social and non-referential contests.
It appears that our musical prowess might well have this heritage. Voice is then the oldest instrument. But sophistication in musical ability and experience has had to await the increase in the size and the lateral partitioning of the brain into the two hemispheres.
The palaeo-neurologist Dr. Harry Jerison of UCLA argues in his chapter in the book that musical experience is related to the lateralisation of the brain, which is not seen in other mammals, but only in us and in songbirds. Incidentally, other than us it is only some songbirds that seem to create tunes and sing just for the pleasure of it.
Universality of music
Turn now to the universality of human music. Be it the flute of Neanderthals, the German flute of the upper Paleolithic, the Jiahu Chinese or others — the scale and the octave are identical.
The Neanderthal flute plays ga, ma, pa, dha, the mammoth ivory flute plays Bhinna Shadja and the Jiahu plays Mohanam. As the musicologist Dr. Robert Fink of Saskatchewan asks – have “natural forces” pushed the diatonic scale into existence? This makes me wonder whether this is not what our ancients meant when talking of Nada brahmam.
This article was first published in The Hindu, 13 January, 2005. It has been reprinted here with permission from the author.
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Pediatricians and other medical professionals are trying to block a Georgia Supreme Court ruling they fear could encourage lawsuits and harm production of vaccines.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which represents 60,000 pediatricians, along with several other health organizations, recently filed an amici curiae (friends of the court) brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking that it overturn a recent decision by the Georgia Supreme Court that would allow cases alleging injury from childhood vaccines to be decided by state juries.
The doctors claim the October ruling by the Georgia court threatens the no-fault system approved by Congress when it enacted the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act of 1986.
The federal act was intended to protect the small number of children injured by vaccines and to safeguard the nation’s vaccine supply, according to AAP. Leading up to passage of the legislation, vaccine-related lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers had spiked, and the backers of the federal act feared that rising litigation threatened to halt of vaccines.
The recent Georgia Supreme Court ruling in American Home Products Corp. v. Ferrari would reverse the intentions set forth in the 1986 act, argued AAP.
“If this decision is allowed to stand, it could lead to the very same crisis that Congress sought to prevent in passing the original legislation. There is a genuine threat to our nation’s public health if manufacturers abandon or consider abandoning the production of vaccines. This decision would set our country back decades, and have deadly consequences for our children,” said Stephan E. Lawton, co-author of the amicus brief.
Other organizations that have joined the AAP in the brief include: American Academy of Family Physicians, AAP Section on Infectious Diseases, American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians, American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, Every Child By Two, Immunization Action Coalition, Infectious Disease Society of America, Pediatric Infectious Disease Society, and the Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
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One lawmaker said the decision could hurt summer tourism.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- Gov. Ed Rendell's proposal to cut the $4.4 million aerial spraying that kills black flies came under fire by some who remember life before the program began two decades ago.
"It was horrible. ... I remember playing softball with a cigarette in my mouth just to keep the bugs away," said Lee Young of Mechanicsburg.
A group of Republican legislators from central Pennsylvania will discuss the potential elimination of black fly spraying when they meet Monday, said Rep. Bruce Smith, R-York.
"The black fly program is a wonderful program," he said. "I'm going to do everything I can to have it restored."
State Sen. Jeff Piccola, R-Dauphin, called the proposed cut "shocking news" and "both shortsighted and insensitive." Such a decision would make outdoor recreation more uncomfortable and could reduce summer tourism, he said.
"All Pennsylvanians should be offended. Not only will their quality of life be circumvented once again by the governor, but this proposal also implies that he does not intend to spend time here this summer enjoying the wonderful place we call home," Piccola said.
Eliminating the program was among the hard choices in Rendell's $23.8 billion budget, said Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Kurt Knaus.
"The black fly program is a quality-of-life issue and not necessarily essential to protect human health or the environment," Knaus said.
Some spraying will occur this spring, but if Rendell's budget is not changed, spraying will end with the fiscal year June 30.
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In New Jersey, as in many other states, auto insurance is a mandatory requirement. But, while the law mandates that you have to have insurance to drive in the state, it does not specify what type of coverage that you carry. According to the Auto Insurance Cost Reduction Act enacted in the Garden State, the basic policy must be made available to all drivers regardless of their driving or credit history. But, for many drivers, that basic policy may not provide enough coverage or protection for their situation, so they choose to add a GAP insurance policy to provide more security.
What Is a GAP Insurance Policy?
Not all insurance policies are created equally. In New Jersey, there are two main options, including the basic and the standard insurance policy. Both are written to provide certain types of coverage at stated minimum and maximum amounts. The amount that the insurance company will pay is determined by those limits. However, in the event of an accident, the costs can quickly surpass these limits even in the case of the higher coverage policy. If there is a lien or loan on the car, the amount that the insurance will pay may not be enough to cover the cost of the vehicle if it is completely destroyed.
Most lien holders will demand that the car be covered by more than just basic insurance to protect its investment, but even with the higher cost insurance, it may not be enough. That is when the GAP insurance policy comes in handy. As its name implies, GAP insurance covers the remaining amount that the initial insurance policy did not.
If you owe money on your vehicle, you will typically owe far more than what the insurance company will pay. Most insurance companies pay out only on what the car is currently worth, not what it cost. Even if you have an accident five days after buying the car, you will not get the amount that you paid for the car less than a week ago. And, if you financed the car, there will be additional expenses beyond just what you paid for it, which means that the balance you have to pay for the car you just wrecked will be fairly substantial.
Remember, financing does not include just the cost of the car itself but also interest, taxes and fees that can vary from lender to lender. If you wreck your car, you must still pay off the balance.
How GAP Insurance Works
In New Jersey, the standard policy has coverage limits for property damage. In the event of an accident, that amount will go toward paying off all of the costs associated with the accident, including the other car, other structures that were damaged and your own vehicle. If there is an amount remaining, that will become your personal responsibility to pay out. If you have a GAP insurance policy in place, it will pick up the remainder to prevent it from coming out of your pocket.
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This post in by Clint Watson, our founder and lead developer.
If you're not a geek - here's the bottom line of this post: The Facebook "like" buttons you see embedded on websites incorrectly report the number of "people" who "like" something.
Specifically, the button can inflate the displayed count of people. While this is fine when all you want to do is track some general level of "engagement" with a particular item, it was not accurate for the use I needed - counting each "like" as a vote in our BoldBrush Online painting competition
. What I needed is a way to get the number of actual people
who "like" something. And there is
a way to retreive that information from Facebook, but it is often a different number from what is shown on the "like" button itself. If you are a geek - here's the bottom line of this post:
If you're using the Facebook "Like" Button Social Plugin and you need an accurate count of the actual number of people
who have clicked the "like" button, you can't rely on the number reported by the button itself. You need to retrieve your URL's "fan count" number via Facebook's Open Graph API Background
When I started our online painting contest, I had always planned to roll out a feature that allowed users to vote for their favorite paintings - eventually maybe creating some sort of people's choice award category. When Facebook released the "Like" button social plugin, I thought it would be simpler to just use their code. Plus, I thought, it would solve some problems. I had always worried about implementing the feature myself because if awards were tied to the voting, there would be incentive to "game the system" and I just didn't want to deal with a bunch of fake user accounts and identity verification issues that would arise because of the gaming. So I thought since most people use their real identities on Facebook, using the Facebook like button would largely solve the issue for me.
I recently added that feature to our online painting competition. It lets Facebook users to "like" their favorite paintings. After a few weeks, I thought it would be fun to use those "like" counts to rank the paintings in order of popularity, with the "most popular" being the ones with the most "likes." So I dug into Facebook's api and found a way to retrieve the "like" data and hacked together a working solution. So far so good. The users were having a good time, it was interesting to watch the rankings change over time. I also decided not to tie any awards to these rankings (at least for now) since I didn't know how accurate the "like" data actually was - I'm glad I didn't. Like Button Inconsistencies
If you properly register your application with Facebook, the like button gives the application owner access to an administrative page for each item on his website that has been "liked." I quickly started to notice something odd. One of the early top-ranking paintings displayed 331 "likes" on the button itself. This number matched what I was pulling from the api and was storing in my own database for ranking purposes. But when I clicked through to the adminitrative page for that item, it clearly displayed "140 People like this." There's a pretty big difference between 140 and 331 - way too big a difference if awards get involved.
At this point, I wasn't too worried since it was just for fun upon the initial launch, but with future uses in mind, I decided to dive-in and create a more controlled situation and see if I could figure out what was going on. Duplicating the Problem
I visited a painting page that had no "likes" so far. I also picked a time when contest activity was low (it tends to be frantic toward deadlines and slow right after one contest ends and the next one starts). I also created a fake Facebook account (shhh don't tell Zuck) so that I could use my real account and the fake account to have data from two different Facebook users.
While logged into Facebook with the fake "B Rockhurst" account, I visited the web page and clicked "Like." The next thing that happed was that the like button opened up a text box to allow me to type a message and "share" the item on my Facebook wall. So I typed "cool" and hit submit.
Here's what the like button displays at this point: "B Rockhurst and one other person
So what's going on? To find out, I called Facebook's handy api
. For this particular call I used the old REST api call in the following format: http://api.facebook.com/restserver.php?method=links.getStats&urls=URL_OF_MY_WEBPAGE Which returned the following XML:
Notice the "like_count" actually returns 1. But and the "share_count" also returns 1. That is correct. "B Rockhurst" "liked" the page once and shared it once. It seems, however, that the Facebook "Like" Button Social Plugin displays the "total_count" - which is now 2
. In fact, I was already aware of this issue and had been using the "total_count" for my painting rankings so that the numbers would match the reported Facebook like button counts. I figured, in essence, everybody was allowed two votes - a "like" and a "share." And had decided not to worry about it until I had more time to study it.
Next I logged into Facebook under my real account. I visited "B Rockhurst's" profile and I clicked "like" under the shared item on his wall: Then I called the API again, but alas, no change.
Apparently "liking" an item on another's wall doesn't inflate the count (somewhat ironically since this actually is an instance of another person "liking" the item). OK, so what if I tried commenting?
So I commented on "B Rockhurst's" item by writing "pretty cool":
Again - checked the API - no change in the counts.
Hmmm. what if I shared
the item directly from "Barrett's" wall? Let's check the API again:
Bingo! The "share_count" has now increased to 2 and the "total_count" has increased to 3. Let's confirm. I visit the web page again, this time logged into Facebook as myself:
As you can see, the button total still matches the api total. It reports that "3 people like this" - even though only 2 people have been involved and only 1 person (B Rockhurst) has actually clicked the like button on the web page itself. Now, logged in as myself, I click "Like" and when the dialog box pops up I share it to my facebook wall: If my suspicions are correct, the number of "people" that the "like" button will report, should increase to five now
(since the like button reports the "total_count" field). Here's the api call: So if the like button counts are wrong, how do we get the right number (which at this point should be two people)?
The answer, I think, likes in the fact that each URL "liked" on Facebook actually becomes a "fan page." As the administrator of the application providing the like button, I get access to that fan page. So, let's visit the fan page and see what it says: That's perfect! That's exactly what I want. 2 people have actually visited the web page and clicked like. Can we get this information via the api?
One would think, based on looking at the api calls above, you could use the "like_count" shown. However, I knew from past experience that there is an issue with that number. I waited a couple of days and checked the api again: What? The "like_count" has now increased to four?
And the "total_count" (the number reported on the button itself) has now increased to seven? Did more people actually visit the page and "like" it? Let's check the admin page:
I honestly haven't totally figured out why the "like_count" increases that way. Perhaps some of the earlier actions I took did
increase the like count, but maybe you have to give them time to show up in the API. I do
know that the like count does
inflate beyond the actual number of people, and so, I can't use it for my intended purpose. Since, for the purpose of the actual number of people, the button count is wrong, the "like_count" is wrong - can we get the correct number from the api? The Solution The answer is yes, but, as far as I can determine, we have to make a different api call to the newer open graph api: https://graph.facebook.com/URL_OF_MY_WEBPAGE This api call results in the following, this time as a JSON object:
The "fan_count" number is what we want.
UPDATE 12/27/2010 - Facebook has changed the way they return this information from their API. The URL to the api call remains the same, but they have ended the field "fan_count" and replaced it with a field called "likes" (so that the example above would now read "likes" : 2 ). Other than this one change the data remains the same. Bottom Line for Our Use
I don't have an issue with the way the Facebook button normally reports the numbers - it's probably a good number for tracking an approximation of "engagement
" with a particular item, although reporting the number as the "number of people
" who "liked" an item seems a bit misleading.
However, in a situation where you want an accurate count or where there might be an incentive to game the system, the "fan_count" number is the one you really want to use.
In the end, I'll probably end up building our own voting system as it would provide more control and other useful data, but in the meantime, it's nice to know we can get more accurate numbers from the existing Facebook "like" buttons by changing our api calls. Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic Footnotes:
1. The open graph api call is https://graph.facebook.com/URL_OF_YOUR_WEBPAGE
2. I don't think anyone has tried to game the system so far. I think the number inflation has been a result of people naturally encouraging their friends to go "like" their paintings, which is fine.
3. I would have preferred to use the open graph api for all the calls, however, the old api let me pass multiple URLs in one call and it seems that the open graph api must be called one URL at a time. It's not going to be impossible, but I'm going to have to make a lot more calls to Facebook's api to retreive the data I need if I have to get one url at a time. If someone knows of a way to call open graph with multiple URLs, I would love to know the call. UPDATE 7/21/2010
- Duh, the call is easy it's https://graph.facebook.com/?ids=URL,URL,URL etc. We've now implemented the solution outlined in this post.
4. If Facebook was a smaller company, one might conjecture that they have an incentive to show the larger (but more inaccurate) number on the "Like" button because it is a publicly visible number that is more impressive. That higher number might encourage other webmasters to implement the like button, thus increasing the uptake of the button itself. On the other hand, making such a suggestion seems silly given that Facebook has 500 million users and is the most trafficked site on the Internet...savvy webmasters should already understand the value of engaging with the Internet's largest community.
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<urn:uuid:74ffb772-997c-49f6-bdc8-09754111dfba>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://faso.com/fineartviews/21028/facebook-like-button-count-inaccuracies
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en
| 0.959988
| 2,509
| 1.648438
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Math is becoming an increasingly essential component of our lives. Higher levels of math are being required for high school diplomas. In addition, higher and higher levels of math are being taught to middle and high school students. Because passing math courses is so important, much consideration must be given to a student’s placement in a math class.
My district uses several factors when determining which math course an incoming freshman will take. Part of the decision is based upon the student’s sixth and seventh grade math state assessment scores. Higher scores indicate that the student may be ready for Algebra. Lower scores mean the student will likely be placed in a basic math class.
Counselors and math teachers also put value into the opinion of the eighth grade math teachers. To help decide which math placement is right for a student, the eighth grade math teacher completes a form discussing the student’s mathematical abilities. The eighth grade teacher also records the student’s grades for the high school personnel to review.
One determining factor in the placement of a math course for freshmen is a placement exam called Orleans Hannah. The Orleans Hannah exam is different from other tests in that it helps to determine how easily a student will be able to learn math skills. Like most tests, the Orleans Hannah exam has question and answer type problems. In addition to these problems, the exam also has a teaching portion. The test describes how to carry out a math function and then shows examples of the skill being completed. The student then must answer the same type of problems on his/her own. The student may refer back to the directions and example if necessary. This portion of the test plainly tells the students how to answer the problems. Therefore, it is not assessing the student’s ‘know how’ but the student’s ability to learn.
The high school math teacher, the high school counselor, and the student’s parents determine the final decision on the placement of the student into a math course. This placement is very important because once a student is placed in a math course; he/she may not be relocated in a lower course. However, if the first placed is found to be too easy, the student may move up into a harder course.
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<urn:uuid:d862190f-65c3-4ae8-978c-c378b3f3a8c4>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.families.com/blog/high-school-math-placement
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.943396
| 456
| 3.46875
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Oklahoma County Tobacco Prevention Coalition urges members of gay community to quit smoking
Smoking rate is high in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, Oklahoma County coalition says.
The Oklahoma County Tobacco Use Prevention Coalition has launched a new effort to raise awareness of the dangers of using tobacco and to encourage members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to take advantage of resources such as the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline.
To learn more
“We're making a special effort to reach out to this community because smoking rates are so high,” said coalition member Robbinette Ramsey. “We want everyone to know that we are here to offer resources and support for everyone who wants to break free of tobacco.”
Oklahoma has one of the highest smoking rates in the nation, and the smoking rate in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is even higher. The result is an excess of heart disease, strokes and cancer.
The American Cancer Society estimates that tobacco use kills at least 30,000 gay and lesbian people each year in the United States.
According to the American Lung Association, “a growing body of evidence indicates that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals are considerably more likely to use tobacco than the general population, with some studies estimating smoking rates as much as double the national average.”
“These high rates of smoking aren't surprising considering that the tobacco industry's marketing has deliberately targeted the gay and lesbian community for so many years,” Ramsey says.
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<urn:uuid:5f92f4d8-7ee5-4c8f-b5ac-19bf488862af>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://newsok.com/oklahoma-county-tobacco-prevention-coalition-urges-members-of-gay-community-to-quit-smoking/article/3676754?custom_click=pod_headline_health-fitness
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.955865
| 309
| 2.515625
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|
Last week, when Roger Clemens told a congressional committee that it was his wife, not he, who had used human growth hormone, the embattled baseball star touched on a great big nonsecret about the alleged wonder drug: professional athletes seeking a competitive edge aren't the only ones who have turned to the controversial substance, which has been banned by all major-league sports in the United States as a performance-enhancing substance. High-school athletes, fading movie stars, aging prom queens and just plain, vain folks around the world spend an estimated $2 billion on the stuff every year. As many as 30,000 Americans are believed to have tried human growth hormone (HGH).
But while tales of stronger, faster and younger-looking customers abound—thank you, Internet marketers—the science behind HGH remains mired in contradictory and inconclusive results. In the two decades since scientists figured out how to mass-produce it, the myth of HGH's power has continued to grow, far exceeding what is supported by research into the actual effects of the substance. Proponents and opponents alike appear to have oversold it. "The biggest problem is that you have something that people believe works," says Richard Hellman, president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. "And when they believe it works, they will use it, no matter what the studies show."
What the studies show, in fact, is that HGH benefits a relative few, including the elderly, some AIDS and tuberculosis patients, and people whose natural production of the hormone is severely diminished, either from a pituitary tumor or a birth defect. Noticeably absent from the list: future Hall of Famers, Olympians and other athletic superstars.
Natural HGH is manufactured by the pituitary gland, a structure about the size of a small grape located at the base of the brain. Its main job is to stimulate the production of bone, muscle and cartilage in growing children. Hence, the hormone is most active during childhood and adolescence when the body is still developing. After the age of 20, however, HGH production starts to drop off, and continues falling throughout adulthood into old age.
In the early 1980s, scientists found that giving supplemental HGH to men in their 60s and 70s could increase muscle mass and skin elasticity while reducing body fat and minimizing bone loss. Excited by their findings, some study authors eagerly trumpeted this use of HGH as akin to turning back the clock 10 to 20 years. Women and men of all ages embraced the drug as an injectable fountain of youth. (Online buyers beware: HGH in pill form is destroyed by acid in the stomach and has no effect.) But, experts say, their enthusiasm has been based on a faulty premise. Yes, the body's own production of HGH slows to a crawl by the age of 60. But before then, at 30 or 40, for example, the body is still making plenty of its own. So, while giving supplemental HGH to someone in his 60s might help, giving it to a younger person probably won't.
But that hasn't stopped a lot of young athletes from using HGH in the hope of improving their performance, or, like pitcher Andy Pettitte, speeding their recovery from an injury. Even some sports doctors have given anecdotal testament to the drug's healing power, claiming that it can cut recovery times—from wear and tear, surgery and sports injuries—in half. "Our observations tell us that it works and that it works well," says Dr. Richard Hawkins, former team physician for the Denver Broncos. So far, however, solid evidence to support such claims is lacking. "There's a great deal of hype and a great deal of testimony, but there isn't a great deal of evidence," says Hellman. The main problem, researchers say, is that they cannot possibly study the effects of HGH in the quantities and combinations that athletes are believed to be using it.
Nor is it possible to take the findings from studies done on the elderly and the sick and apply them to elite athletes. The research that showed an increase in muscle mass and reduction of body fat in older men, for example, failed to show a corresponding increase in strength, endurance or exercise capability. In other words, bigger does not always mean stronger or faster. That has not dissuaded professional athletes from injecting the drug, however. By some estimates, more than 7 percent of major-league baseball players have used HGH. Its popularity is no doubt fueled in part by the fact that there are currently no effective tests for the substance.
Even if there were, some wonder whether it makes sense to forbid the use of HGH by professional athletes in the first place. Since there is no scientific evidence that it enhances performance (there's no evidence that it aids recovery, either), they ask, what's the point of banning it? "Elite athletes know their own bodies," says Charles Yesalis, a sports-doping expert at Penn State. "Maybe we should let them do what they want." Perhaps. Or at least until the science catches up with the myths.
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<urn:uuid:a44fe981-f745-4ff6-aa19-6491b3afc4a2>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/02/16/myth-meets-science.print.html
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|
en
| 0.972101
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dot blot - (Sep/29/2011 )
I am trying to explore the expression of an HA-tagged protein in cell lysate.
I used dot blot but there was a problem. Dots did not penetrate the PVDF membrane easily and formed a glassy layer after about 4 hours. On the other hand some dots became transparent like an oil spot.
Blots became white (not dark) in the developed film. I also had a dot from my primary antibody as a control which became dark in contrast to samples.
Does anybody have a suggestion?
Did you wet your membrane in 100% methanol before blotting? PVDF goes translucent/transparent when wet, so the dots going like an "oil spot" may very well be the only ones that have actually been absorbed by the membrane.
When you say the blots became white (not dark), do you mean the whole film, or the dotted parts? If the first, that probably means your dot blot has not worked at all, and there's nothing there to show black. If the second, your dots are white into a darker background, that could be explained by too much protein.
Could you tell us a bit more about what exactly is that you did and maybe post an image? It'll be easier for us to help you.
Thanks for your reply.
Should I activate my membrane before performing dot blot?
I drew 3 lines with pencil on the membrane for separating 6 regions. I put about 5 micro liters of each sample on the dry PVDF membrane and waited for dots to dry.
my oily dots were the middle-up and down-right in the attached picture. They lack my protein of interest!
About primary antibody dot (up-right) I made a mistake. my dot is the white spot. I am not sure what the dark spots are.
The other three dots were not absorbed easily, I scattered them around using pipette tip and saw that they became sticky. These dots were reflecting light when I started blocking the membrane.
Yes, you need to activate the membrane. PVDF is highly hydrophobic and will not bind your proteins otherwise. Soak it in 100% Methanol and then in water or wash buffer. I'd also recommend to blot your protein while the membrane is still wet, then allow to dry.
So you could draw your lines in pencil, then soak in methanol, followed by water or buffer. After this let the excess liquid off but DO NOT LET THE MEMBRANE DRY. Place the membrane on top of a bit of cling film, saran wrap or parafilm and do your blotting. Then allow to air dry for the proteins to be fully absorbed in the membrane.
Finally, I think 5ul is a bit too much. If you want to blot that much, I would suggest adding 1ul at a time.
Alternatively, you could use nitrocellulose which will absorb your proteins much better and will solve the hassle of pre-wetting and keeping wet.
Not sure how to interpret your results. I think the "oily spots" are a result of some protein dried off in the surface of the membrane (not properly absorbed), and all the blackness is high background due to poor blocking and washing but I don know how to explain the white spots.
what is your full protocol?
Here are a few links that will help you:
This one is for Nitrocellulose, but you can do the same with PVDF by previously soaking in methanol and water.
Thank you so much.
I read different protocols including:
Hope being in contact after my next dot blot
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<urn:uuid:63998975-2d9f-481e-b905-8c3112f3fb85>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.protocol-online.org/biology-forums-2/posts/22935.html
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|
en
| 0.943274
| 760
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Article 1 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union sets as one of its aims an "ever closer union among the peoples of Europe".
But the reality is very different. A European Policy Centre commentator, analysing the latest European Council meeting, recently explained the essence of the difficulty in resolving the Eurozone crisis. “In Germany there are huge discrepancies between Länder, but voters in the West think of those in the East as their brothers and sisters. We don’t have that in Europe". It's a different way of saying - see my post of 29 January 2012 - that "the Euro as constituted can't work unless, say, the Finns regard Greek public debt in the same way as a Finnish public debt".
So what lies behind the absence of political consent which would make a political union workable (and therefore make fiscal union and economic and monetary union possible)?
In my view the absence of political consent results from the barriers to a shared European identity ie the shared values and characteristics which make the people of an entity feel that others are their fellow citizens.
So what does a European identity mean?
My own personal journey towards understanding Europeannness began in 1973 when I first went to the United States and 1974 when I first went to the then West Germany. I initally felt a high degree of culture shock in the United States (in spite of the common language) as compared to West Germany (where I immediately felt at home), though of course I adapted during my semester of study to the entirely different milieu of Amherst College as compared to the then new Warwick University and at the end regretted having to leave.
But since then I've never felt more European than when I'm outside Europe, when I interact with other Europeans with many shared assumptions and common values. It's been the same in Zambia, where I lived from 1988-1990, and on visits to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, China, Sri Lanka, the Middle East and the Caribbean - in fact, in any of the more than 25 countries I've been to outside of Europe.
I don't say this to be negative about the rest of the world - virtually all of the trips outside Europe have been very enjoyable - but to underline that there's a stronger European identity that the dysfunctional nature of the way the EU works perhaps helps to conceal.
In the coming posts I'm going to look at this issue from a number of angles and suggest some themes for reflection.
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<urn:uuid:7bc21435-9115-4ee4-89ef-426c1be2438b>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://mikeburnett.blogspot.com/2012/03/true-union-of-peoples.html
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|
en
| 0.967429
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|
During the construction of my Split-Top Roubo Workbench (which is nearing completion), I was surprised to see Benchcrafted's plans calling for numerous tapped threads. Instead of attaching the various components of the leg vise using screws or bolts with nuts, they actually recommend cutting threads into the wood! I certainly understood the concept of tapping threads, but I never really considered applying it to woodworking. After picking up some taps and cutting a few myself, I am now a convert! I can just imagine the possibilites in the world of jig-building alone! Before learning to tap threads, I thought it would be helpful to review other types of mechanical fasteners and why they might not be as good as a bolt in a threaded hole. Nails Nails are pretty much a brute-force way of holding things together. The nail is driven into the wood, splitting and compressing fibers the whole way. Over time, natural forces cause the wood around the nail to compress even further eventually leading to joint failure. Screws A step up from a nail is the screw. When you rotate the screw into the wood, it pulls itself in and threads itself into the fibers. The good thing about screws is they are removable, but over the course of years the cut threads become wider and wider and the screw will eventually loosen up. Threaded Bolts This is the star of our show today. Once the threads are cut into the wood, you can pretty much remove and replace the bolt as many times as you want and it really doesn't do any damage to the wood. This is because the bolts threads are sized perfectly to fit into the threads that are cut into the wood. So this is perfect for applications where you may need to loosen and tighten components on a routine basis. Tapping Threads All you need to make a threaded hole is a drill bit and a tap. The drill has to be a very specific size and and you can typically find drills and taps in matched sets such as this one. If you need help matching up your bolt, drill, and tap, refer to the handy charts on this page.Here's how the system works. The drill bit is used to create the perfect size hole. The tap is then driven into the hole cutting the threads on its way down. You have to be very careful not to strip the threads during this part of the process but in a dense hardwood like maple, you should have no trouble at all. While you might be tempted to use a traditional T-handled wrench for this, I found it much easier to use a power drill at a very slow speed. Tee Nuts One alternative that we can't forget to mention here is the Tee Nut. These little threaded inserts accomplish the same thing as the threaded bolt technique only instead of actually cutting threads, we simply insert a threaded insert into a hole. They are very easy to use but unfortunately, the way they connect to a workpiece leaves a little to be desired. Over time, the small teeth that go into the wood fibers can break or the wood itself can compress, causing the Tee Nut to lose its grip. So while they can get the job done, I don't really see them as a good long-term solution.
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<urn:uuid:023a680f-00fa-4c22-be81-cdd250b3180b>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://blip.tv/the-wood-whisperer/episode-5980892
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|
en
| 0.972594
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|
Researchers from Emory University have discovered that norovirus in groundwater can remain infectious for at least 61 days. The research is published in the October Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Human norovirus is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis. The disease it causes tends to be one of the more unpleasant of those that leave healthy people unscathed in the long run, with diarrhea and vomiting that typically last for 48 hours. Norovirus sickens one in 15 Americans annually, causing 70,000 hospitalizations, and more than 500 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The results answer a question of great importance to public health, which had driven researcher Christine Moe and her colleagues Juan Leon and G. Marshall Lyon to conduct this research: If well water becomes contaminated with noroviruses--perhaps from leaking sewer lines or a septic tank—how long do these noroviruses survive in water, and when would it be safe to drink from that well?
To answer that question, they prepared a safety-tested virus stock solution. They then put a known amount of this solution into a container of groundwater from an Atlanta well, which had met Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards.
The researchers then tested the virus infectivity at days naught, 4, 14, 21, 27, and 61, by having volunteers drink the water on those days. The durability of the virus’ infectivity was unexpected, says Moe. Most of the 13 volunteers became infected at various time points, exhibiting among them the complete range of norovirus symptoms, which endured for as long as five days post challenge. “We were surprised to observe that even the volunteers that drank the water 61 days after we had added the virus still got infected with the norovirus,” says Moe.
Norovirus may remain infective far longer than 61 days. The researchers stored the groundwater at room temperature in the dark, using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to determine how much viral RNA remained after 622 days, and again after 1,266 days. They found no reduction after the first interval, and very little at the end of the second interval. Unfortunately, funding was insufficient to test infectivity in human volunteers beyond day 61.
“This study provides further evidence of the need to treat groundwater used for drinking water,” says Moe, adding that the Environmental Protection Agency and other decision-makers who regulate drinking water need to take these findings into account, particularly since roughly half the US population relies upon groundwater for drinking.
To ensure that the volunteers’ health would not be compromised, the investigators conducted the study in a special research unit of Emory University Hospital, while taking a variety of other precautionary measures.
Anticipating a question about who would volunteer to participate in a study with such potentially unpleasant consequences, Moe says that some volunteers have said that “they want to see how good their immune system is, and whether they will actually get sick.” Three of the 13 volunteers did not become sick. One volunteer was the local librarian “who came to the research unit with a huge bag of books that she wanted to read while she was in the study,” says Moe.
(S.R. Seitz, J.S. Leon, K.J. Schwab, G.M. Lyon, M. Dowd, M. McDaniels, G. Abdulhafid, M.L. Fernandez, L.C. Lindesmith, R.S. Baric, and C.L. Moe, 2011. Norovirus infectivity in humans and persistence in water. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 77:6884-6888.)
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<urn:uuid:12f6cd78-c4e8-4559-a1c0-36039ef3128c>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.asm.org/index.php/asm-newsroom2/journal-tipsheets/88-news-room/journal-tipsheets/1215-tip1011a
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en
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|
Supercomputer on Final Leg of Journey
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA -- A $10.2 million supercomputer began the final leg of its 3,500 mile journey to Fairbanks early this morning in a truck driven by an 'Animal.'
The 15,000 pound CRAY supercomputer, bound for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, departed Anchorage today (Thursday Sept. 9) -- driven by Pat 'Animal' Weisheipl, a contract driver for Cray Research Inc., the Minnesota-based company that built the machine. The 350 mile drive through the Alaska Mountain Range is expected to take about eight hours.
The supercomputer -- the first in the Last Frontier -- will form the basis of the new Arctic Region Supercomputing Center. This supercomputer should be available to academic and commercial users worldwide on September 15, and will be used mainly for scientific research.
The Arctic Region Supercomputing Center was established with a $25 million federal grant in 1992.
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<urn:uuid:0879d244-0000-470e-b47f-35dd14e2da35>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.arsc.edu/arsc/news/archive/y-mpjourney2/index.xml?request=classic
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en
| 0.902223
| 200
| 2.25
| 2
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- Lawgirl’s Copyright Basics – An upbeat approach to learning about copyright in simple comprehensible lingo. It hasn’t been updated in a while but it still a good resource to start.
- What is Copyright Protection – Basic and general copyright information all on one page. Laid out by a licensed corporate attorney.
- Understanding Rights and Copyright – An article by Moira Allen from Writing-World on how copyright affects us as writers in our every day dealings with editors.
- Protect Your Electronic Rights – Moira Allen discusses electronic rights as they relate to: contracts, terms, archiving, and websites.
- Understanding Contracts – How to understand a writing contract, the terms of common contracts, making your own contract and what a contract isn’t.
- Rights and Why They’re Important – A must read article by Marg Gilks on the different kinds of writing contracts out there and what they mean for the writer and contractor.
This Writing Thing This thing we do, writing, what’s with that? Do you understand it? I don’t. Not the compulsion to write down every thought,…
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<urn:uuid:2f1d60a7-f62f-436c-bb2f-0a3f95013fbc>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.book-in-a-week.com/biw-recommends/copyright-information/
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en
| 0.900608
| 236
| 2.5
| 2
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Widespread use of nanoscale silver will challenge regulatory agencies to balance
important potential benefits against the possibility of significant environmental
risk, highlighting the need to identify research priorities concerning this
emerging technology, according to a new report released today by the Project
on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN).
But existing information about the impact of silver on the environment offers
a starting point for some assessments of nanosilver, the report argues. See
www.nanotechproject.org/n/silver to obtain a copy of the report.
The issue of assessing the risks posed by nanoscale silver was highlighted
after the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) San Francisco office earlier
this year imposed a landmark fine of over $200,000 on a California company selling
computer keyboards and mouses coated with nanosilver. EPA issued the fine on
the grounds that the products should have been registered under federal pesticide
law because of the company's germ-killing claims.
Similar fines have not been imposed since, but the action is increasing attention
on the potential risks posed by nanoscale silver and oversight of nanotechnology
as a whole. There currently are more than 200 manufacturer-identified nanosilver
products on the market and contained in the online nanotechnology consumer products
inventory maintained by PEN —everything from baby carriages and air filters
to athletic socks and coin-operated washing machines. See www.nanotechproject.org/consumer
to search the inventory.
Silver itself is classified as an environmental hazard by EPA because it is
more toxic to aquatic plants and animals than any metal except mercury. Even
if a nanoparticle itself is not especially toxic, silver nanoparticles increase
the effectiveness of delivering toxic silver ions to locations where they can
"We need not assume that because nano is new, we have no scientific basis
for managing risks," says Dr. Samuel N. Luoma, the author of the PEN report
Silver Nanotechnologies and The Environment: Old Problems or New Challenges?,
which also offers a dozen lessons concerning silver in general that can be followed
for managing the potential environmental risks posed by nanosilver. "Our
existing knowledge of silver in the environment provides a starting point for
some assessments, and points toward some of the new questions raised by the
unique properties for nanoparticles that need to be addressed through new research."
The mass of silver dispersed to the environment from new products could be
substantial if one product, or a combination of such products, becomes widespread.
"The silver that went into wastewaters when millions of people had their
photographs developed taught us that small additions of silver to the environment
make a big difference," says Dr. Luoma, a former senior researcher with
the U.S. Geological Survey who now leads science policy coordination for the
John Muir Institute of the Environment at the University of California, Davis.
"Perhaps more significant, we have no means of detecting nanosilver in
the environment once it is released, even if concentrations rise to levels that
are toxic to aquatic ecosystems."
The U.S. federal government has invested only a small percentage of its overall
nanotechnology research funding in understanding the risks posed by nanomaterials,
according to an analysis conducted earlier this year by PEN (http://www.nanotechproject.org/news/archive/ehs-update/),
further highlighting the need for more research on the potential risks posed
by nanomaterials. In addition, laws and institutions shaped in the mid-20th
Century are not likely to succeed in addressing 21st-Century problems.
"Silver is an old problem, and nanosilver is a new challenge. The scope
of the new challenge is not yet clear because it is uncertain how much nanosilver
is now used as an antimicrobial in commercial and consumer products, and because
new uses are likely to be discovered in the future," says J. Clarence Davies,
a PEN senior adviser and a former EPA policy official. "Regardless of the
scope of the nanosilver problem, it underscores the need for more risk research
and new approaches to oversight to deal with new technologies and problems of
the new century."
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<urn:uuid:9da2430a-587f-48b9-b99d-8202e8df2de9>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?NewsID=7528
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|
en
| 0.928007
| 878
| 2.953125
| 3
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The following standards are covered. This is a very comprehensive Powerpoint. Covers everything under the 6th grade SS standards, and is very specific. You will not be disappointed.See standards below.
SS6G12 The student will be able to locate selected features of Australia.
a. Locate on a world and regional political-physical map: the Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, Ayers Rock, and Great Victoria Desert.
SS6G13 The student will explain the impact of location, climate, distribution of natural resources, and population distribution on Australia.
a. Describe how Australia's location, climate, and natural resources have affected where people live.
b. Describe how Australia's location, climate, and natural resources impact trade.
SS6G14 The student will describe the cultural characteristics of people who live in Australia.
a. Explain the impact of English colonization on the language and religion of Australia.
b. Evaluate how the literacy rate affects the standard of living.
Excellent resource for GA 6th grade, but might have to simplify a bit if the pacing for your county does not allow enough time
July 13, 2012
Love it. I'm glad that I have this resource for next year. Please post more of your stuff. It's great!
April 21, 2012
I am very pleased with the quality of this ppt. The text is great, but the pictures are outstanding. My students' interests will be peaked from the very first slide -that Australia map collage is a winner!
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1Now Gorgias took five thousand infantry and a thousand picked cavalry, and this division moved out by night 2to fall upon the camp of the Jews and attack them suddenly. Men from the citadel were his guides. 3But Judas heard of it, and he and his mighty men moved out to attack the king's force in Emmaus 4while the division was still absent from the camp. 5When Gorgias entered the camp of Judas by night, he found no one there, so he looked for them in the hills, because he said, "These men are fleeing from us."
6At daybreak Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men, but they did not have armor and swords such as they desired. 7And they saw the camp of the Gentiles, strong and fortified, with cavalry round about it; and these men were trained in war. 8But Judas said to the men who were with him, "Do not fear their numbers or be afraid when they charge. 9Remember how our fathers were saved at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh with his forces pursued them. 10And now let us cry to Heaven, to see whether he will favour us and remember his covenant with our fathers and crush this army before us today. 11Then all the Gentiles will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel."
12When the foreigners looked up and saw them coming against them, 13they went forth from their camp to battle. Then the men with Judas blew their trumpets 14and engaged in battle. The Gentiles were crushed and fled into the plain, 15and all those in the rear fell by the sword. They pursued them to Gazara, and to the plains of Idumea, and to Azotus and Jamnia; and three thousand of them fell. 16Then Judas and his force turned back from pursuing them, 17and he said to the people, "Do not be greedy for plunder, for there is a battle before us; 18Gorgias and his force are near us in the hills. But stand now against our enemies and fight them, and afterward seize the plunder boldly."
19Just as Judas was finishing this speech, a detachment appeared, coming out of the hills. 20They saw that their army had been put to flight, and that the Jews were burning the camp, for the smoke that was seen showed what had happened. 21When they perceived this they were greatly frightened, and when they also saw the army of Judas drawn up in the plain for battle, 22they all fled into the land of the Philistines. 23Then Judas returned to plunder the camp, and they seized much gold and silver, and cloth dyed blue and sea purple, and great riches. 24On their return they sang hymns and praises to Heaven, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever. 25Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day.
26Those of the foreigners who escaped went and reported to Lysias all that had happened. 27When he heard it, he was perplexed and discouraged, for things had not happened to Israel as he had intended, nor had they turned out as the king had commanded him.
28But the next year he mustered sixty thousand picked infantrymen and five thousand cavalry to subdue them. 29They came into Idumea and encamped at Beth-zur, and Judas met them with ten thousand men.
30When he saw that the army was strong, he prayed, saying,
34Then both sides attacked, and there fell of the army of Lysias five thousand men; they fell in action. 35And when Lysias saw the rout of his troops and observed the boldness which inspired those of Judas, and how ready they were either to live or to die nobly, he departed to Antioch and enlisted mercenaries, to invade Judea again with an even larger army.
36Then said Judas and his brothers, "Behold, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it." 37So all the army assembled and they went up to Mount Zion. 38And they saw the sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, and the gates burned. In the courts they saw bushes sprung up as in a thicket, or as on one of the mountains. They saw also the chambers of the priests in ruins. 39Then they rent their clothes, and mourned with great lamentation, and sprinkled themselves with ashes. 40They fell face down on the ground, and sounded the signal on the trumpets, and cried out to Heaven. 41Then Judas detailed men to fight against those in the citadel until he had cleansed the sanctuary.
42He chose blameless priests devoted to the law, 43and they cleansed the sanctuary and removed the defiled stones to an unclean place. 44They deliberated what to do about the altar of burnt offering, which had been profaned. 45And they thought it best to tear it down, lest it bring reproach upon them, for the Gentiles had defiled it. So they tore down the altar, 46and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until there should come a prophet to tell what to do with them. 47Then they took unhewn stones, as the law directs, and built a new altar like the former one. 48They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the interior of the temple, and consecrated the courts. 49They made new holy vessels, and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. 50Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and these gave light in the temple. 51They placed the bread on the table and hung up the curtains. Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken.
52Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year, 53they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering which they had built. 54At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals. 55All the people fell on their faces and worshipped and blessed Heaven, who had prospered them. 56So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and offered burnt offerings with gladness; they offered a sacrifice of deliverance and praise. 57They decorated the front of the temple with golden crowns and small shields; they restored the gates and the chambers for the priests, and furnished them with doors. 58There was very great gladness among the people, and the reproach of the Gentiles was removed.
59Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with gladness and joy for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev.
60At that time they fortified Mount Zion with high walls and strong towers round about, to keep the Gentiles from coming and trampling them down as they had done before. 61And he stationed a garrison there to hold it. He also fortified Beth-zur, so that the people might have a stronghold that faced Idumea.
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With this year's presidential race in full swing, it's easy to forget about alleged electronic voting glitches that snarled at least one congressional contest in 2006.
But a report issued by government auditors this week is drawing new attention to what many computer scientists view as the perils of touch-screen machines that don't produce a paper record.
It all goes back to the November 2006 election in Sarasota County, Fla., where more than 18,000 of the county's ballots--or, put another way, 1 in 7 voters--didn't register a pick in the U.S. House of … Read more
With all things touch-screen in an increasingly touch-screen centric world, I was given the "plastic or paper" option for casting my vote in the California primary on this most super of Super Tuesdays. So, not liking the marker fumes and being used to touching everything on the iPhone anyway, I opted to vote "plastic."
The polling place had 10 conventional optical-scan voting stations with real paper ballots, but only 1 digital voting machine. San Francisco uses the Sequoia voting machine and, well, here's my story:
The clerk handed me a plastic card to insert into … Read more
New Hampshire officials on Friday said they'll conduct a statewide hand recount of the results of Tuesday's primary in response to complaints from two underdog candidates. The last time New Hampshire conducted a statewide recount in a presidential primary was in 1980.
Dennis Kucinich, the Ohio Democratic congressman, and a Republican contender named Albert Howard, whose Web site proclaims "The Angel of the Lord told me in January of 1992 that Hillary Rodham Clinton and I would meet and be running against each other and that she would lose," will be expected to bear the costs … Read more
Amid the frenzied press coverage over Thursday's too-close-to-call caucuses in the Hawkeye State, 153,226 MySpace.com users have already cast their (unofficial) votes.
In a set of "virtual primaries" held on Tuesday and Wednesday, Republican Rep. Ron Paul and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama were declared the winners of the News Corp.-owned social-networking site's polls.
The poll was conducted entirely through MySpace's Impact political site. And for those who have been following Election 2008 on the Web, neither "victory" is particularly surprising.
On the Democratic side, MySpace users selected Obama … Read more
Glitches in touch-screen electronic voting machines without paper trails tend to rack up the most attention these days. But an irregularity over ballots marked by hand and scanned by a computer like standardized tests--known as the "optical-scan" approach--is poised to create a snafu in upcoming mayoral elections in San Francisco.
According to a San Francisco Chronicle report on Wednesday, there's concern among state officials that "less-sensitive" scanning machines at polling places across the California city won't be able to pick up ballots marked with anything other than a No. 2 pencil or a special … Read more
A Democratic-backed contingent in Congress is still hoping to enact a requirement that all electronic voting machines used in next fall's presidential elections produce voter-verified paper trails, but a bumpy road lies ahead.
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Rules met on Wednesday to begin discussing H.R. 811, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007, but never reached an agreement on how to proceed with the bill. They were supposed to meet again on Friday morning, setting the stage for a vote as early as Monday, but that meeting was canceled.
The update to Digg yesterday brought with it a handful of tweaks, although notably absent was the much anticipated photos section. Keep in mind that you'll still find Digg saturated in photos, there's just not a bona fide section for them, or way to view pictures on-site. While confirmed on the official Digg blog that a special photo section is on track for October (two months from now), there's already a handful of sites to get your fix for photos made popular by real people. Here are seven of my favorites:
Much of the debate surrounding the nation's required shift to electronic voting systems has boiled down to one major question: to paper trail, or not to paper trail?
But those dead-tree representations of a voter's intent do little good unless state election officials actually scrutinize a sampling of them after the election, know what they're looking for, and know what to do next, argues a new report (warning: 90-page PDF ahead) released Wednesday by researchers at two prominent law schools.
And most of them don't, according to the report's authors, who represent New York University … Read more
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NewsHour Features UI's Political Prediction Market
The PBS NewsHour will profile the Iowa Electronic Markets (IEM) tonight as part of a feature looking at alternative ways to forecast an election.
The IEM, operated by the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business, is a political prediction market in which buyers and sellers trade contracts using real money to predict who will win an election. It operates in a way that’s similar to any futures market, only instead of buying and selling contracts based on the future price of wheat or pork bellies or light sweet crude, the political markets use election outcomes.
The IEM is operating five markets for the current election: a Winner Take All market to predict which presidential candidate will win the popular vote; a Vote Share market to predict what percentage of the vote the two major party candidates will receive; and three Congressional Control markets to predict which party will control the next Congress.
As of this morning on the Winner Take All market, Barack Obama contracts are selling for 65.5 cents, which means the IEM’s traders believe Obama has a 65.5 percent probability of winning the popular vote. Contracts for Romney are selling for 35.5 cents, which means the market believes he has a 35.5 percent probability of winning the popular vote.
The NewsHour feature includes an interview with Joyce Berg, IEM director and professor of accounting in the Tippie College of Business.
Contact: Tom Snee, University Communication and Marketing, 319-384-0010
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Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Research
Many tumors take on added and more complex chromosome abnormalities as they progress.
In chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), this is a factor of certain secondary cell changes and the course of the disease in later stages.
Research is ongoing to see if there is a correlation with specific types of lymphoma. Data are also being compared to results of genetics research.
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The drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, came under renewed fire this past year. Fracking makes it possible to tap into vast domestic reserves of low-carbon natural gas, but the process—which uses sand, chemicals, and millions of gallons of water to free gas trapped inside dense rock—has sparked environmental questions. New evidence bolsters those concerns.
Drinking water samples from 68 wells in Pennsylvania and New York (in the Marcellus and Utica shale areas) were contaminated with excess methane, according to a report published last May in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, led by environmental chemist Robert Jackson of Duke University, was the first to find a conclusive link between fracking and groundwater pollution. The closer the wells were to the drill sites, the higher the methane concentrations, some of which were above the level that raises alarm at the Department of
the Interior. Subsequent tests of more than 100 additional wells confirmed the findings, says Jackson, who thinks the most probable culprit is faulty construction of the gas wells. Compounding concerns, reports from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) leaked earlier in the year indicated that fracking wastewater is too radioactive to be handled safely by water treatment plants.
In turn, legislators are pushing for more oversight. Over the past year Pennsylvania proposed doubling fines for safety violations at drill sites, and New York renewed a temporary ban on drilling in the state. At the end of 2010, the EPA shut down a Texas drilling operation because of tainted drinking water, and the agency is pushing for tougher rules on drill-site air emissions. The message, Jackson says, is that we need the natural gas, “but we have to extract it in a way that considers the environmental consequences.”
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2010 Apple licence offer: US$30 per smartphone, US$40 per tablet
Few patent-licensing companies would ever publicly reveal royalty agreements they make with others. Add Apple to the mix and you can see how true that statement might be.
Even so, Apple entered, into evidence in its trial with Samsung, a document showing that it had offered the South Korean company a licensing deal on some of its key technologies. Specifically, Apple offered to license the portfolio of patents if Samsung would pay US$30 per smartphone and US$40 per tablet.
To sweeten the deal, Apple offered a 20 percent discount if Samsung would cross-license some of its patents back to Apple as part of the arrangement. In addition, Apple wanted royalties on Samsung's Windows-based phones. In the document, Apple said Samsung would have owed it US$250 million in 2010.
Of course, things didn't quite work between the two companies, as they are now in a very public trial with each other. A small portion of this exhibit came out during the weekend, alongside a testimony from Boris Teksler, Apple's director of patent licensing and strategy. Teksler told the court about Apple's three-pronged patent strategy, noting that there was a small subset of what it considered unique patents, including designs, that it did not share with others.
The complete document is one of many that have become public in the case between the two technology giants. The case will run through this week, and is expected to last the rest of the month with closing arguments and jury deliberation. Samsung faces fines in excess of US$2.5 billion if Apple wins, though Samsung has also pointed patents back at Apple, something that could complicate verdict.
Here's the full document:Samsung-Apple licences
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High and more high their wonder rose
As the strange story reached its close,
And thus, with Lakshman, Ráma, best
Of Raghu's sons, the saint addressed:
'Most wondrous is the tale which thou
Hast told of heavenly Gangá, how
From realms above descending she
Flowed through the land and filled the sea.
In thinking o'er what thou hast said
The night has like a moment fled,
Whose hours in musing have been spent
Upon thy words most excellent:
So much, O holy Sage, thy lore
Has charmed us with this tale of yore.'
Day dawned. The morning rites were done
And the victorious Raghu's son
Addressed the sage in words like these,
Rich in his long austerities:
'The night is past: the morn is clear;
Told is the tale so good to hear:
Now o'er that river let us go,
Three-pathed, the best of all that flow.
This boat stands ready on the shore
To bear the holy hermits o'er,
Who of thy coming warned, in haste,
The barge upon the bank have placed.'
And Kas'ik's son approved his speech,
And moving to the sandy beach,
Placed in the boat the hermit band,
And reached the river's further strand.
On the north bank their feet they set,
And greeted all the (illegible) they met.
On Gangá's shore they lighted down,
And saw Vis'ada's lovely town.
Thither, the princes by his side,
The best of holy hermits hied.
It was a town exceeding fair
That might with heaven itself compare.
Then, suppliant palm to palm applied,
Famed Ráma asked his holy guide:
'O best of hermits, say what race
Of monarchs rules this lovely place.
Dear master, let my prayer prevail,
For much I long to hear the tale.'
Moved by his words, the saintly man
Vis'álá's ancient tale began:
'List, Rama, list, with closest heed
The tale of Indra's wondrous deed,
And mark me as I truly tell
What here in ancient days befell.
Ere Krita's famous Age 1 had fled.
Strong were the sons of Diti 2 bred;
And Aditi's brave children too
Were very mighty, good, and true.
The rival brothers fierce and bold
Were sons of Kas'yap lofty-souled.
Of sister mothers born, they vied,
Brood against brood, in jealous pride.
Once, as they say, band met with band,
And, joined in awful council, planned
To live, unharmed by age and time,
Immortal in their youthful prime.
Then this was, after due debate,
The counsel of the wise and great,
To churn with might the milky sea 3
The life-bestowing drink to free.
This planned, they seized the Serpent King,
Vásuki, for their churning-string,
And Mandar's mountain for their pole,
And churned with all their heart and soul.
As thus, a thousand seasons through,
This way and that the snake they drew,
Biting the rocks, each tortured head,
A very deadly venom shed.
Thence, bursting like a mighty flame,
A pestilential poison came,
Consuming, as it onward ran,
The home of God, and fiend, and man.
Then all the suppliant Gods in fear
To S'ankar 4, mighty lord, drew near.
To Rudra, King of Herds, dismayed,
'Save us, O save us, Lord!' they prayed.
Then Vishnu, bearing shell, and mace,
And discus, showed his radiant face,
And thus addressed in smiling glee
The Trident wielding deity:
What treasure first the Gods upturn
From troubled Ocean, as they churn,
Should--for thou art the eldest--be
Conferred, O best of Gods, on thee.
Then come, and for thy birthright's sake,
This venom as thy firstfruits take.'
He spoke, and vanished from their sight.
When Siva saw their wild affright,
And heard his speech by whom is borne
The mighty bow of bending horn, 1b
The poisoned flood at once he quaffed
As 'twere the Amrit's heavenly draught.
Then from the Gods departing went
S'iva, the Lord pre-eminent.
The host of Gods and Asurs still
Kept churning with one heart and will.
But Mandar's mountain, whirling round.
Pierced to the depths below the ground.
Then Gods and bards in terror flew
To him who mighty Madhu slew.
'Help of all beings! more than all,
The Gods on thee for aid may call.
Ward off, O mighty-armed! our fate,
And bear up Mandar's threatening weight.'
Then Vishnu, as their need was sore,
The semblance of a tortoise wore,
And in the bed of Ocean lay
The mountain on his back to stay.
Then he, the soul pervading all,
Whose locks in radiant tresses fall,
One mighty arm extended still,
And grasped the summit of the hill.
So ranged among the Immortals, he
Joined in the churning of the sea.
A thousand years had reached their close,
When calmly from the ocean rose
The gentle sage 2b with staff and can,
Lord of the art of healing man.
Then as the waters foamed and boiled.
As churning still the Immortals toiled,
Of winning face and lovely frame,
Forth sixty million fair ones came.
Born of the foam and water, these
Were aptly named Apsarases. 3b
Each had her maids. The tongue would fail--
So vast the throng--to count the tale,
But when no God or Titan wooed
A wife from all that multitude,
Refused by all, they gave their love
In common to the Gods above.
Then from the sea still vext and wild
Rose Surá, 1 Varun's maiden child.
A fitting match she sought to find:
But Diti's sons her love declined.
Their kinsmen of the rival brood
To the pure maid in honour sued.
Hence those who loved that nymph so fair
The hallowed name of Suras bear.
And Asurs are the Titan crowd
Her gentle claims who disallowed.
Then from the foamy sea was freed
Uchchaihs'ravas, 2 the generous steed,
And Kaustubha, of gems the gem, 3
And Soma, Moon God, after them.
At length when many a year had fled,
Up floated, on her lotus bed,
A maiden fair and tender-eyed,
In the young flush of beauty's pride.
She shone with pearl and golden sheen,
And seals of glory stamped her queen.
On each round arm glowed many a gem,
On her smooth brows, a diadem,
Rolling in waves beneath her crown
The glory of her hair flowed down.
Pearls on her neck of price untold,
The lady shone like burnisht gold.
Queen of the Gods, she leapt to land,
A lotus in her perfect hand,
And fondly, of the lotus-sprung,
To lotus-bearing Vishnu clung.
Her Gods above and men below
As Beauty's Queen and Fortune know. 1b
Gods, Titans, and the minstrel train
Still churned and wrought the troubled main.
At length the prize so madly sought,
The Amrit, to their sight was brought.
For the rich spoil,'twixt these and those
A fratricidal war arose,
And, host 'gainst host in battle, set,
Aditi's sons and Diti's met.
United, with the giants' aid,
Their fierce attack the Titans made,
And wildly raged for many a day
That universe-astounding fray.
When wearied arms were faint to strike,
And ruin threatened all alike,
Vishnu, with art's illusive aid,
The Amrit from their sight conveyed.
That Best of Beings smote his foes
Who dared his deathless arm oppose:
Yea, Vishnu, all-pervading God,
Beneath his feet the Titans trod
Aditi's race, the sons of light,
slew Diti's brood in cruel fight.
Then town-destroying 2b Indra gained
His empire, and in glory reigned
O'er the three worlds with bard and sage
Rejoicing in his heritage.
57:1 The first or Golden Age.
57:2 Diti and Aditi were wives of Kas'yap, and mothers respectively of Titans and Gods.
57:3 One of the seven seas surrounding as many worlds in concentric rings.
57:4 S'ankar and Rudra are names of S'iva.
57:1b S'árigin, literally carrying a bow of horn, is a constantly recurring name of Vishnu. The Indians also, therefore, knew the art of making bows out of the hons of antelopes or wild goats, which Homer ascribes to the Trojans of the heroic age.' SCHLEGEL.
57:2b Dhanvantari, the physician of the Gods.
57:3b The poet plays upon the word and fancifully derives it from apsu, the locative case plural of ap, water, and rasa, taste.... The word is probably derived from ap, water, and sri, to go, and seems to signify inhabitants of the water, nymphs of the stream; or, as Goldstücker thinks (Dict. s.v.) these divinities were originally personifications of the vapours which are attracted by the sun and form into mist or clouds.
58:1 'Surá, the feminine comprehends all sorts of intoxicating liquors, many kinds of which the Indians from the earliest times distilled and prepared from rice, sugar-cane, the palm tree, and various flowers and plants. Nothing is considered more disgraceful among orthodox Hindus than drunkenness, and the use of wine is forbidden not only to Bráhmans but the two other orders as well.... So it clearly appears derogatory to the dignity of the Gods to have received a nymph so pernicious, who ought rather to have been made over to the Titans. However the etymological fancy has prevailed. The word Sura, a God, is derived from the indeclinable Svar heaven.' SCHLEGEL.
58:2 Literally, high-eared, the horse of Indra. Compare the production of the horse from the sea by Neptune.
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Readings Part II
Body & Identity
“Is the cyber space your window or mirror,” is the question asked in Re:mote_corp@Realities, 2001. (p.165) What a profound question! This is a paradox question considering that individuals are continually looking for ways to define ourselves in the physical realm. The cyber space is an essentially another extension of who we are exploring to be in the physical. In Tina LaPorta’s (above mentioned) piece she explores examines the effect of technologies on relationships. The experience of her artwork must be like logging on to an on-line dating service. Where people can create profiles of themselves. More often then not, the profiles and pictures are misleading. In this case, cyberspace is acting like a mirror, even the though the mirror is reflecting an alternate reality. As for the window effect of cyber space, well that is simple, it every time anyone logs into the Internet. What do they Google? What it is they are looking for?
Beyond the Book: text and narrative environments
The publishing industry is running around trying to figure out what the next evolution of the book look like. Massaju Fujihata, has been exploring this question through his various pieces of his work, specifically, Beyond Pages, 1995. I have a feeling that experiencing this piece: sitting at an desk, activating the book with a light pen which animates the objects & text in the book is not too far off in the future. The publishing industry should pay attention to digital artists because they provide insights into feature of where the evolution of the book may go. (p.190)
Mobile and locative media
Mobile and locative media is where art is going.
In Jenny Maretou’s piece, Flying Spy Potatoes, 2005. In this piece, various portable media devices set up to record actions and interactions between the art and external world. The piece also raises questions about being a “spectator, surveillance and the contemporary society of spectacle.” (p.224) Important questions to ask over selves especially when technology is at our figure tips.
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I just got back to work today and the first patient I saw who had diabetes and high cholesterol asked me a common question that I usually get from my patients : are eggs healthy to eat ? and if so… how many eggs per week are allowed!
Depending on your risk for heart disease, a healthy meal should contain only 300 mg of cholesterol. If you have diabetes or heart disease, then it is recommended that ones total cholesterol intake per day should be limited to < 200 mg per day.
It is said that the extent to which dietary cholesterol raises blood cholesterol levels isn’t clear. The content of the food on saturated fats and trans fats will have a greater impact than dietary cholesterol in raising blood cholesterol. Thus when buying foods in the market… look at the food label and analyze not only the cholesterol content but also the amount of saturated fat in them.
Eating one egg with the egg yolk contributes 213 mg of cholesterol to your daily requirement. It is therefore rich in cholesterol and should be eaten in very limited quantity whether you are at risk for heart disease or not. However, an egg can still be included in your meal plan provided that other sources of cholesterol like those from meat or other diary products should be limited.
Eating egg whites with an egg substitute is one good way to avoid cholesterol from eggs because egg whites do not contain cholesterol.
One other tip regarding food safety in keeping your eggs is to store them in a refrigerator. This is recommended to avoid Salmonella contamination which can happen whether the shell is broken or not.
So… the next time you enjoy eggs for breakfast…
Think Cholesterol… Limit The
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE
An Updated Article was written on this Subject: Can I Eat Egss Everyday? Yes You Can written March of 2009.
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Entertainment & Sports Law
Would-Be ‘Bachelor’ Contestants File Suit Alleging Show Discriminates Against Minorities
Posted Apr 19, 2012 8:42 AM CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Two black men who were unable to land roles on The Bachelor have filed a suit claiming the reality show discriminates against people of color.
Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson say in their federal lawsuit that they were given little consideration during a casting call in August, report the Associated Press and Entertainment Weekly. Producers gave more time to whites who showed up to apply, the suit claims.
Claybrooks owns a barber shop and auto detailing business in Nashville, the complaint says. He was a star football player at Middle Tennessee State University and later played for a semi-pro team. Christopher Johnson, a teacher, was a star football player at Tennessee State and is preparing to try out for the NFL as a wide receiver.
The Hollywood Reporter blog Hollywood, Esq. has a copy of the complaint. The lawsuit claims that white applicants are featured because of a calculation that "minorities in lead roles and interracial dating is unappealing to the shows' audience."
Warner Horizon Television says the suit is without merit, Entertainment Weekly reports. The statement by the production company says the show has had various participants of color. The suit, however, focuses on casting for the starring role.
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The FDA Center for Tobacco Products has republished a rule, which becomes effective June 22, 2010, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) reported.
As of June 22 the rule will impose certain restrictions on the sale, distribution, advertising and marketing of cigarettes, rolling tobacco and smokeless tobacco. The regulations in this rule do not apply to pipe tobacco and cigars.
A summary of the regulations:
Retail Sale and Distribution Regulations:
-Prohibits the sale of cigarettes, roll-your own cigarette tobacco and smokeless tobacco products to a person younger than 18 years old (19 years old in Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah).
-Requires retailers to obtain photo identification of any customer that appears to be younger than 27 years old to verify that the customer is at least 18 years old.
-Prohibits the sale of cigarette packages with fewer than 20 cigarettes.
-Requires that cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco products be sold in a direct, face-to-face exchange between the retailer and the customer.
-Prohibits the sale of cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco products in vending machines, self-service displays, or other impersonal modes of sales, except that vending machines and self-service displays may be located in facilities where the retailer ensures that no one younger than 18 years of age is present, or permitted to enter, at any time.
-Prohibits free samples of cigarettes and allows free samples of smokeless tobacco products only in qualified adult facilities.
-While cigarette manufacturers can no longer include words such as “light,” “mild” or “low” on their packaging after June 22, 2010, the FDA law does not prohibit wholesalers and retailers from selling through their cigarette inventory which has these descriptive words. NATO noted it is waiting for FDA confirmation regarding the ability to sell through existing inventory after June 22, 2010.
-Prohibits manufacturers, distributors and retailers from sponsoring any athletic, musical, artistic, or other social or cultural event, or any team or entry in those events, in the brand name, logo, symbol or recognizable color of any cigarette, roll-your-own tobacco or smokeless tobacco product.
-Prohibits gifts or other items in exchange for buying cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products (for example, prohibits giving a customer a free lighter with the purchase of cigarettes).
-Prohibits the sale or distribution of promotional items, such as hats, t-shirts, ashtrays, etc. which have a cigarette, roll-your-own or smokeless product brand name, logo, symbol, or recognizable color.
-The republished FDA rule states that any advertising of cigarettes, roll-your-own or smokeless tobacco products by a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer shall use only black text on a white background. With a January, 2010 United States District Court decision declaring this ban on color advertising of cigarettes, roll-your-own and smokeless tobacco products to be unconstitutional, the FDA has appealed this part of the decision. The FDA has issued a guidance document, which indicates that the agency will not enforce the ban on color advertising while this appeal is pending.
-Requires that audio advertisements use only words with no music or sound effects.
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The 18th Republic of Korea presidential election will be held in South Korea on 19 December 2012. It will be the sixth presidential election since democratization and the establishment of the Sixth Republic, and will be held under a first-past-the-post system, meaning that there will be a single round of voting and the candidate receiving the highest number of votes will be elected. Under the South Korean constitution, presidents are restricted to a single five-year term in office, and the term of incumbent president Lee Myung-bak will end in February 2013. Registration for candidacy began on 23 April 2012.
Lee Myung-bak was elected President of South Korea in 2007 as the nominee of the conservative Grand National Party after a closely contested primary in which he narrowly defeated Park Geun-hye, and assumed office in February 2008. His victory brought to a close ten years of liberal administration under Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. The Lee Myung-bak government pursued the reduction of government bureaucracy and a laissez-faire economic policy, and came under criticism from the left for political scandals and controversial policies such as the Jeju-do Naval Base and its support of the South Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement, although both were initiated under the previous administration. Despite the fact that he was elected in a landslide victory and received initial approval ratings of 70%, Lee's ratings had declined to below 30% by 2012.
At the end of 2011, Park Geun-hye assumed control of the Grand National Party, which was subsequently renamed the Saenuri or New Frontier Party in February 2012. She distanced herself from Lee and led the party towards the center. In legislative elections in April 2012, Park guided the party to an upset victory, returning its majority in the National Assembly. This contributed to an increase in her poll ratings and consolidated her position as frontrunner for the Saenuri nomination.
Opposition to Saenuri is divided primarily between the Democratic United Party and independent supporters of Ahn Cheol-soo, who has emerged as a leading potential candidate despite his ostensible silence on the race. In the DUP, focus initially lay on Sohn Hak-kyu as a potential nominee, but by late 2011 Moon Jae-in, a confidant of former president Roh, had overtaken Sohn in polls. Although the DUP invited Ahn to join the party, only 2.3% of respondents to a poll on 21 April thought that Ahn was best suited to be DUP nominee. The DUP itself has been troubled by the split between pro-Roh members such as Moon Jae-in and the "Honam wing" of former president Kim Dae-jung, represented by Chung Dong-young.
Ann Cheol Soo
Ahn Cheol-soo is a South Korean business person, politician, and former professor. He founded AhnLab, Inc. an antivirus software company, in 1995. Until September 2012, Ahn was the dean of the Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology at Seoul National University and also serves as chairman of the board of AhnLab and its Chief Learning Officer, and chairman of the board of Noritown Studio, originally an internal corporate venture of AhnLab, now operating as a separate entity. Ahn was born on February 26, 1962 in Busan, South Korea. He earned his MD, MS and PhD in physiology at Seoul National University. He individually researched computer antivirus software programs while at Seoul National University Hospital and Dankook University Hospital, and founded venture after resigning from his medical duties. Later AhnLab Inc became the largest computer security company in South Korea, and has been included in recent annual lists of the Korea's most admired companies by Korea Management Association Consultants (KMCA).
In early September 2011, speculation spread that Ahn would enter politics by competing in the October 26 Seoul mayoral by-election. Analysts say that if positioned as an independent, Ahn would attract a degree of support from those disaffected by mainstream political parties in the wake of corruption allegations and continuing policy failures. As a medical doctor, professor, self-taught computer entrepreneur, and corporate leader, Ahn is representative of everything mainstream Korea dreams of becoming. Ahn's political motivation is very similar to Roh Moo-hyun-led populism in 2002. He alluded to becoming the nominee for the president via his book 'Thought of Ahn Cheol-Soo'.
On September 19, 2012 at 3pm KST, Ahn held a press conference and announced his intention to run for the 2012 Presidential election. This announcement came after months of speculation on whether or not Ahn was going to run for the presidency. The South Korean presidential election will be held on December 19, 2012. In the address that lasted around 20 minutes, Ahn spent a considerable amount of time on how he came to the decision to run for the president of the Republic of Korea, quoting the people that he met during the time of discernment for the presidency that expressed their strong urge for the "new politics".
Moon Jae In
Moon Jae-in is a South Korean lawyer and the former chief of staff to late President Roh Mu-hyun. On September 16, 2012, Moon was elected as the Democratic United Party's candidate for the 2012 presidential elections after winning a majority in the party primaries.
Born in Geoje, South Korea, Moon Jae-in was the first son. His father was a refugee from North Korea that fled his native city of Hamhung during the Hanghung Retreat. His father settled in Geoje as a laborer for Geoje POW Camp. He attended Gyoungnam High School, considered among the most prestigious school outside Seoul. He enrolled to Kyunghee University majoring in law. He was arrested and expelled from the university when he organized a student protest against Yushin Constitution. Later, he was forcibly conscripted to the military and recruited to the Special Forces where he participated in a military mission during the Axe murder incident. After discharge, he passed the Bar Exam and was admitted to the Judicial Research and Training Institute. He graduated second in the institute and despite his superb academic record he was not admitted to become a judge due to his student protests. He chose to become a lawyer instead.
Despite his earlier indifference to politics, he changed his reluctance and began to get involved in the politics. He published a memoir called "The Destiny of Moon Jae-in" which became a bestseller. His popularity has been rising steadily. In the February 2012 Poll, Moon gained parity with Park in popularity. Moon managed to capitalize on the conservatives' decline in popularity amid a series of corruption scandals as one pundit said "Moon had managed to portray himself as a moderate and rational leader who has the backing of the younger generation". In early 2012, Moon entered a bid for a seat at National Assembly and has been campaigning in western Busan.
Park Geun Hye
Park Geunhye is a South Korean politician. She was the chairwoman of the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) between 2004 and 2006 and between 2011 and 2012 (the GNP changed its name to "Saenuri Party" in February 2012). Park is a member of the Korean National Assembly who had served four consecutive parliamentary terms as a constituency representative between 1998 and 2012, and started her fifth term as a proportional representative from June 2012. Her father was Park Chung-hee, president of South Korea from 1963 to 1979.
Park was elected a Grand National Party (GNP) assemblywoman for Dalseong, Daegu in 1998 by election, and elected three more times in the same electoral district between 1998 and 2008, being the incumbent assemblywoman till April 2012. In 2012, Park announced that she would not run for a constituency representative seat for the 19th election in Dalseong or anywhere else, but for a proportional representative position for the Saenuri Party instead, in order to lead the party's election campaign. She was elected as a proportional representative in the April 2012 election.
Park hoped to emulate her father's success by becoming the presidential nominee of the Grand National Party. She eventually lost to Lee Myung-bak by a narrow margin. Lee had a commanding lead at the beginning of the primary season, but Park was able to narrow the gap through allegations of Lee's corruption. Park won the "party member's bid", but she lost the "national bid" which is a larger percentage of the total presidential bid.
Park has been the leading candidate for the 2012 presidential election in every national-level poll in South Korea between 2008, when Lee Myung-bak administration began, and September 2011. Park's approval rating was highest when 2008 National Assembly election showed her strong influence and lowest in early 2010 as a result of her political stance against Lee administration in Sejong City issue.
On July 10, Park formally announced her 2012 presidential bid at the Time Square, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. In this event she emphasized the right to pursue happiness, democratic economy, and customized welfare services for Korean people.
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“The torch of progressive politics has been passed to a new generation of politicians – and those politicians are Conservatives.”
Yes, you read that right. It was the opening salvo in George Osborne’s speech on progressive conservatism to Demos yesterday. It’s a matter of personal taste but the word ‘progressive’ – ill-defined and often value neutral – was always a hostage to fortune. Well, now the Conservatives have taken it hostage.
Who on earth would have believed that a frontline Conservative would ever extol the virtues of progressivism? Not only that, who would have predicted that the Conservatives would not only go toe-to-toe with Labour on progress but would actually make an audacious bid to wrench it from its grasp. But are these Conservatives really ‘progressive’?
The striking aspect to the George Osborne speech was that he placed Cameron-esque progressivism in a Conservative historical tradition. I’ll give him Baldwin, Butler, Shaftesbury and even Disraeli. Strangely, he omitted Peel who would have been first on my list and the inclusion of Margaret Thatcher in the list stretched credulity beyond breaking point.
He also outlined a global context to his brand of progressivism. Pointing to Sweden’s independent schools, America’s charter schools, and education reform in Australia and New Zealand, he placed Conservative proposals firmly in the reformist camp. But ultimately, that’s what it seems that he is arguing for: reformism rather than progressivism.
For Osborne’s concerns seem very much focused on finding different ways to improve public sector efficiency rather than drive an agenda built on values: equality, capability, and opportunity. Some of the ideas may well be interesting in an era of tight public spending growth or even cuts. But if ‘progressive’ is to mean anything, it is not just reform. It has to be about social justice too. Of that, we heard almost nothing from George Osborne.
And herein lies one of the difficulties for conservative progressivism. When David Cameron uses the construction ‘progressive ends, conservative means’ he is suffocating ‘progress’ at birth. For once you start to pre-judge the means, the ends become further from reach.
If we say that it is right to prioritise the improvement of education for all then that poses a question. There has to be pragmatic search for the best way of achieving that. It could constitute a whole variety of reforms and approaches. But once you say the means have to be one approach or another then you lose sight of the ends. That is why conservative progressivism – if it is to be more than the reformism proposed by George Osborne – will inevitably fail. You will have the conservative means but not the progressive ends.
But the left is just as guilty of this. Earlier this week, John Harris, in a breathtakingly divisive article where those he agrees with were celebrated while the motives of those he did not were impugned, stated:
“Labour is either the party of equality and the restriction of the market or there is no point in existence.”
Really? The left exists almost solely to restrict the market? Again, we are going back to old bad habits where we confuse means and ends – just as the Conservatives are doing. And some of us thought that had been ditched along with the old Clause IV. New Labour’s shortcomings are palpable and it is not the right solution for these times. But the notion that there are no market-based solutions that can advance progressive or social democratic ends is crazy.
Sticking with education, surely the aim is to create a system where there is equality of access to very best education that can offered? This may sound idealistic but why not?
Now let’s take what is happening in some of the poorest schooling districts in the United States under the charter school initiative. Schools in Watts district of Los Angeles – site of the famous race riots in 1965 – have been taken over by an organisation called Green Dot. Its agenda is simple:
“First, we create and operate high-achieving public schools where nearly all students graduate and go on to college. Second, we help parents throughout the city organize to strengthen their neighborhood schools. Finally, we push the Los Angeles Unified School District to move boldly to improve the city’s public schools.”
The results? 81% graduation rates compared with an LA average of 47%. California Department of Education calculates an Academic Performance Indicator for schools and school districts. Green Dot schools get 704. LA as a whole gets 593. All this has been achieved in partnership with trade unions and local communities. Access to the schools is via a lottery.
Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone is more sceptical of partnerships with trade unions. Nonetheless, its success has been just as astounding in a very poor part of New York. The market, non-public sector is delivering for the least advantaged children in America. Are we meant to ignore that fact just because the left is meant to be about ‘restricting the market’? What’s worse is that anyone proposing anything resembling the market or non-public means is instantly de-legitimised as being a New Labour throwback. It’s stultifying and energy sapping.
The Conservatives are blind to the benefits and importance of high quality, committed public sector delivery. Elements of the left are blinding themselves to the major benefits that the private and voluntary sectors can offer. To secure the ends of social justice, there needs to be pragmatic open-mindedness towards the means.
The post-credit crunch Labour party will face a formidable challenge in a Conservative party that is willing to steal its language and clothes. It would be easy to react to this by vacating the contested terrain. That would also be a disaster: politically and practically but they are not the most important considerations. It would be a disaster for the party’s ability to fulfil its mission. It could hinder the creation of a Britain that is more equal, with more opportunity and achievement, and so more socially just. If we fail in that then what is the Labour party for?
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1st Annual All-Hill Save Energy Competition
UCLA's 1st Residence Hall energy competition just completed. Students competed Hall-to-Hall to reduce their electricity usage for the month of February.
The competition was a great success. Hundreds of students participated and together saved a lot of energy.
After doing a weather adjustment (February was a colder month than January), we estimate the energy competition saved over 27,580 KWH of electricity for the month of February.
The energy saved is equivalent to:
- The energy needed to run 685 60-watt light bulbs continuously for an entire month
- 34,140 lbs of carbon emission
- $2,300 in utility costs
687 student residents pledged online as part of the competition. Hedrick Hall, Hedrick Summit, and Sproul Hall were tied for the highest number of pledges per residents in their buildings. About 10% of the students living in each of the hall pledged.
At the floor level, 2nd floor Sproul Hall had the most pledges of any floor, with a total pledge count of 28. 2nd floor Hedrick Hall was a close runner-up with 24 pledges.
The building with the greatest energy reduction was Hitch Suites, with a 7% reduction based on the January baseline (weather adjusted). Hedrick Summit had the next greatest energy reduction with 5%.
With a great showing in both percent building pledges and percent energy reduction, Hedrick Summit emerged as the Grand Prize winner. The grand prize for Hedrick Summit -- as well as some give-aways for pledgers --will be distributed the first week of spring quarter.
Thanks for Participating. Keep conserving!
UPDATE: Check out the photos from the Hedrick Summit Grand Prize Ice Cream Social!
Click on the images to enlarge.
Published: Monday, March 09, 2009
The UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability welcomes your comments.
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Difference between revisions of "Margao"
Revision as of 19:19, 6 July 2009
Margao is the commercial center of Goa. It is also the headquarters of the South Goa district, a entry and exit point for a number of visitors headed for South Goa, and has, in the past, been considered the "Athens" of Goa (because of its prowess in the field of culture).
Goa's cultural capital and commercial capital, this South Goa city is also the second-largest (after Vasco da Gama) by population but arguably the busiest. Being the administrative headquarters of South Goa might create a misleading picture; Margao too is close to the central coast.... the long white-sand beach stretch, rated by an early-1970s UNDP study as potentially one of the ten best beaches in the world.
This beach spans 30-odd unbroken kms., from Sancoale in the north to the Mobor Peninsula in the south. Margao lies somewhat in the middle of this beach, five kilometres eastwards. Hence a strategic base station for beaches like Velsao, Cansaulim, Arossim, Majorda, Betalbatim, Colva, Sernabatim, Benaulim, Varca, Fatrade, Cavelossim and Mobor.
Like other Goan places, Margao too gets called multiple names in different languages. It's called Madgaon by the Indian Railways, and the local Konkani pronounciation is Mudgannv or Modgannv. Margão is the Portuguese name and spelling.
Skirted in part by the River Sal, Margao is known for his huge Indo-Portuguese style mansions -- more visible around here than in other parts of Goa. Take a look around Abade Faria Road and its eastern parallel, the Padre Miranda Road, the area around the Holy Spirit Church and St. Joaquim Road that leads to Borda.
Margao is crowded and hot, but it's worth seeing. The hustle and bustle is quite incredible.
It is very easy to get a bike for rent in Goa, So go to any of the famous Motorcycle taxi guys and ask for a bike on rent and he will be ever happy to assist you. Auto rickshaws are very rare to find while Taxis (Maruti Omni's, ambassadors etc) are easily accessible.Motorcycle taxi's for single person are also effective. Private buses are also very effective in traveling within Margao and nearby locations. Remember one thing unlike other states Goa doesn't have separate men and women seating arrangement. So ladies please carry your equipment. Bus is cheap with maximum charges of around Rs 6 for a 3-5 kms distance.
Some landmarks in Margao include (around Abade Faria Road and Padre Miranda Road) include Presentation Convent (Holy Spirit Church area) and Fatima Convent (near the municipal square) are two of Margao's oldest unisex high schools started and being run by Catholic religious congregations, for girls.
Clergy Home along arterial Padre (Pe.) Miranda Road, near today's district hospital -- Hospicio, an unique edifice in its own right, founded by Rev. Antonio Joao de Miranda a humble Catholic clergyman, after whom the thoroughfare outside is named -- was among the first shelters for retiring priests built by the Goa Archdiocese. Seen today is the recently reconstructed version.
Clube Harmonia was called the Clube de Margao (subsequently renamed as Teatro de Harmonia) operating from a house at the Borda locality. The idea of a modern building for the Teatro de Harmonia was mooted by its members in 1936. The present structure was built 1955. Together with Bernado Peres da Silva (BPS) Club, Clube ABC and Margao Cricket Club, Harmonia is today a leading socio club of the town.
Hindu Mathagramasth Sabha: As the 'mathagram' in the name suggests, it's a Brahmin institution. Has rendered yeoman's service in education, irrespective of creed or caste, to Margaoites. Runs the Damodar Arts & Science Higher Secondary School (not to be mixed up with Damodar College, that's run by Vidhya Vikas Mandal, a different ball game), one of the best higher secondary schools in Goa, if one goes by Std. XII science board exam results.
Agha Khan's Children's Park: Few would be aware that the northern half of the Margao municipal garden was actually developed by a businessman, Abdul Javerbhai Mavany, hailing from Margao's minuscule Agakhani community. He did that after two young sons were lost to cancer and High Highness, The Agha Khan, was visiting Goa. The park was inaugurated by Goa's last Portuguese Governor General, Vassalo e Silva, in 1959.
Margao is home to the popular deity of Damodar, as reflected in names of local educational and other institutions.
It has four diocesan of churches, Holy Spirit in the central area, Our Lady of Grace adjoining the municipal square, St. Sebastian at Aquem and Rosary near the football stadium at Fatorda. The Holy Spirit, while entering the city from the Panjim side, is Salcete taluka's second-oldest (after the one first built within the Rachol Fort) built 1564-65, its present (fourth edition) edifice, re-built in 1645, being more grand.
The town has four chapels with near-Parish size following at Mungul, Ambajim, Borda and the picturesque 'Monte' hillock, all with resident Chaplains and regular daily services. In addition, there is a major church of the Carmelite order at Malbhat, besides half a dozen chapels of various religious orders from Jesuits to Salesians. A walk around this church-square reveals some grand homes, and great photo-opportunities. Check the scenic chapel on the nearby Monte Hill.
Check the scenic chapel on the nearby Monte Hill.
Gomant Vidhya Niketan: After Portugal became a republic in 1910, Margao based Hindus used the end of religious discrimination and their new found freedom to establish this noble institution on on March 19, 1912. It was then known as Saraswat Brahman Samaj (renamed to the present in Nov-1962) and ran a public library at the southern end of Abade Faria road. The present building housing the library in the rear of the ground floor and an auditorium upstairs -- venue of most of Konkani and Marathi stage shows to this date -- was built 1965. The society also runs a physio-therapy centre from rented premises further down the road.
A modern stage centre, Ravindra Bhavan, recently completed and situated near Fatorda's Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru football stadium, promises to be South Goa's major centre for the performing art
Among the town's spots one could check out: the early 20th century municipal building (Câmara) and the municipal garden lying in front of it, the muncipal garden, the recently-beautified Anna Fonte (natural springs), the Old Market or Mercado Velho, the Hindu crematorium ('smashant bhoomi'), the Catholic cemetery and the Muslim burial ground ('kabrasthan') all on Pajifond's Rua das Saudades.
Margao also hosts Goa's largest Nehru sports stadium, where one can run into popular off-monsoon evening football matches, and even the occasional international cricket Test match.
Konkan Railway is working on a Skybus (elevated rail system) which can be seen in Margao, amidst challenges on the fronts of costs and technology. Konkan Railway claims its Skybus, which technology it has patented, will follow the existing roads without taking "road space and be as flexible as a bus". It will have rail-based mass transit capacity, not divide the city, be derailment and collision-proof, free from vandalism, noise-free and pollution-free, and non-invasive (requiring the "least amount of scarce land space and not come in the way of development").
Margao's name is believed to come from "matha-grama" (the village of religious maths) as it was a village of temple schools (mathas) -- including the principal Vaishnavi 'math', Jeevottam, before it was shifted to Partagal in Canacona half a millennium ago. Margao's main Matha, Jeevottam, was shifted to Ordhofond, Partagal in Canacona in 1475, as political battles took on religious tones in those medieval days. Margao was also a temple town, with as many as 13 temples in 1544 when the population was around just five thousand, according to writer and former Margao municipality chief S Valmiki Faleiro.
Margao's Holy Spirit church square is also known for its baroque architectured church. It also is lined by palatial mansions around it. Structures in this area are low-rise, adding to the stately nature of the locality, with a maximum of two structures. Many have balconies (the balcao or balcoes) and varandas facing the square.
Running parallel to the Church Square is the Old Market's commercial street. Next to the church is a landscaped area called the Praca da Alegria (Square of Happiness).
Another landmark in Margao is the commercial-shopping area around the municipal garden and the old bus stand. Part of the garden was developed by the Mavany business family, and dedicated to the Aga Khan, during a visit of his to colonial Goa. Swami Vivekananda is also known to have stayed in the home of another business family, the influential Narcinva D. Naik residence, during a visit to Goa way back in 1892. The mansion also houses Margao's well-known temple-hall Damodar Sal.
In Aquem Alto, Arlem was Goa's first brewery started by the Chowgules at a locality of the same name (Arlem), on the outskirts of Margao. Incidentally, Goa's second brewery was the Mallya's, at Bethora-Ponda. Former politician Monte Cruz must have been the last to join the club with his brand of Kings.
Goa Bottling, better known locally as "Gold Spot" after the popular aerated softie it bottled in the yesteryears, was a latecomer to Goa. It straddles the corner junction of Margao-Ponda NH-4A and Margao's Eastern Bypass road. Among Goa's very first aerated soft drink bottlers was a seaman from Velim, who, immediately in the post-Liberation years, started his Crunet bottling unit at Borda, in Margao. Coke's Goa franchisee, the politically-prominent family of the Sequeiras, later started their unit in Borim. The mining-based Modu Timblo group later started Goa Bottling. It's now owned by Pepsi's Delhi-based principal franchisee in India.
Cupid's Haven is a recent-coinage open air event venue located nearby. It hosts dances and wedding receptions.
Also located nearby is Goa's second plant that makes industrial and medical oxygen gas from thin air, Goving Poy Oxygen. (The first was Gas Carbonico, on Margao's outskirts at Nuvem, a village that was once part of Margao. The company was taken over by Margao Govind Poys, once a smalltime hardware establishment that diversified into multi-purpose gases with factories in Cochin, Nashik and Goa.)
Also part of the city's map are places like the Pandava cave (near the current St. Sebastiao Church at Aquem, Torsannzor -- a healing mineral spring, more famous than Ana Fonte in yesteryears -- among others.
Some of the buildings are still styled in a colonial way, from the Portuguese past. Some places to visit in and around Margao are:
Margao also has a 'covered' market (earlier Mercado de Afonso de Albuquerque, near Pimplapedd or Pimpalakatta in Konkani), along Francisco Luis Gomes Road (a.k.a. Old Station Road), even if the town's main market today adjoins the Kadamba bus terminus near its northern reaches.
There are markets all over the place.
Margao isn't as rich in decent eating places, as compared to the touristic coast nearby.
Check some on these list: The restaurant at Hotel Nanutel (Indian/Chinese/mixed). Longuinhos (Goan/Indian/Chinese). Hotel Woodlands' bar. The restaurant of Hotel Saaj (Malayalee specialities). Shahi Durbar along FL Gomes (Old Station) Road for Mughlai/Indian, with nice cuisine even if a crowded area. Gaylin along Varde Valaulikar Road (behind the Collectorate) and Rice Bowl at Reliance Park, along the Margao-Colva Road, just beyond the municipal limits (Chinese), which is worthy of a recommendation.
Places to stay include the GTDC-run Margao Residence, behind the municipal building; Hotel Woodlands; Nanutel; Hotel Saaj, behind Fatima Convent, Miguel Loyola Furtado Rd (Behind Fatima Convent); Government Rest House, Monte; and Gold Star Hotel, Isidorio Baptista Road.
GTDC-owned Margao Residency, a fair place to stay on a budget. Margao has only budget hotels. Others: Woodlands, Margao's first multi-storeyed modern hotel (the ones before were lodges and traditional *pensoes* that almost went to rut), Hotel Saaj and the slightly upper middle-end Nanutel which stands on part of the Cine Metropole property, opposite Ana Fonte.
There are of course, numerous lodges, cheap as they come (Rs. 300-500), and with corresponding facilities. Milan, Goa Lodge, and a sprinkling around the Khareaband road leading to Benaulim, are generally patronised by outstation travelling salesmen. But there are better places to eat and stay outside of Margao proper.
Cybercafes in and around Margao:
Salcete (around Margao):
Express mini-buses run by the (Goa government) Kadamba Transport Corporation connect Margao to Panjim (Panaji), the state-capital. These mini-buses leave from the KTC Bus Stand, on the outskirts of Margao, and one needs to queue up to buy a ticket. They ply during peak hours (not after 8 pm or so).
Some inter-state buses touch Margao. For instance, buses headed to Bangalore via the Karwar route, touch Margao in the evenings, and pick up passengers there. Some of the buses for Bombay (Mumbai) leave from Margao, but this is only a few.
Buses connect the Margao-Panjim route till 9.30 pm.Margao is also connected to Ponda, Vasco-da-Gama, Canacona, Karwar and a number of outlying villages of Margao. Margao is a major terminus on the Konkan Railway route, and local and express trains connecting to Mumbai, Gujarat, Kerala, coastal Karnataka and Tamil Nadu halt here as per their schedules.
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Orange County, California Criminal Records
A background check involves the process of using publically available records to find out personal and professional information about an individual, for the purpose of getting a glimpse into their character. Background checks can encompass a wide variety of relevant information from court and criminal records, to credit history, and military background. An extensive background check is especially important when a job applicant is applying for a position of trust, such as working in a day care or a nursing home. Most background checks in California are comprised public records gained from county sheriff departments or the superior court system. The California Department of Corrections (DOC) and the California Department of Justice (DOJ) also has resources available to assist county residents in performing background checks. Most of the DOC and DOJ services will involve a processing fee of some sort, however.
Court records are a necessary and vital category of public records that are used when conducting a thorough, accurate, and extensive background check. Orange County, California residents who need court records will definitely have to petition the Orange County Superior Court. Currently the Orange County Superior Court has a total of eight branches, four of which handle criminal cases. These branches are displayed here:
Central Justice Center (CJC)
700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana CA 92701
Harbor Justice Center Newport Beach (HJC/NB)
4601 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach CA 92660
909 North Main Street, Santa Ana CA 92701
West Justice Center (WJC)
8141 13th Street, Westminster CA 92683
At each location, court is open to the public Mondays through Friday’s from 8:00am – 5:00pm, except holidays. The superior court has also created a full-service county webpage filled with court details and information, located here: http://www.occourts.org/.
If you wish to make sure that a county individual has no active misdemeanor or felony warrants, you can check the arrest warrants records provided by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. If you are going to the sheriff’s office in person, the address is as follows:
Central Jail Complex
550 N. Flower Street, Santa Ana, CA 92703
The central jail complex contact telephone number is 714-647-4666, and the sheriff’s e-mail address is as follows: email@example.com. In addition to the listed contact information, the superior court system has a county webpage that you can use to find out more about the sheriff’s office, and is located here: http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Sheriff-Coroner%20-%20Sandra%20Hutchens.
Finding information on parolees, past and present offenders, and parole absconders will mean searching the California Department of Corrections online offender database. In order to make use of the search tool, simply visit the DOC’s online webpage, which you find at this link: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Reports_Research/Inmate_Locator.html.
If you want to use the California Department of Justice to run a background check on yourself, go to the following webpage, where more details are provided: http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/security.php
If you are ever required to do your own background check in an official capacity for another business entity, you can use the California DOJ’s fingerprint based background check, with information located at this link: http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/.
Finally, you can use the Megan’s Law sex offender archive to search California offenders by going to the webpage, located here: http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/.
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The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest democratic and popular organization in Canada with 3.3 million members. The Canadian Labour Congress brings together Canada's national and international unions, the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils.
Posted: Thursday, 23 May 2013
On behalf of the 3.3 million members of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), I want to thank you for the opportunity to present our views on Bill C-60, an Act to implement certain provisions of the 2013-2014 budget.
The CLC brings together workers from virtually… Read More
Posted: Friday, 17 May 2013
Chris Vander Doelen, a writer for the Windsor Star, recently wrote about the Conservatives' anti-union Bill C-377, in glowing terms. The bill, which singles out unions to provide detailed information about their financial transactions, has now passed second… Read More
Posted: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Twenty three years ago on May 17th, the World Health Organization (WHO) made the monumental decision to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders and illnesses. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and/or queer (LGBTQ) people and their communities… Read More
Posted: Friday, 10 May 2013
OTTAWA ― The President of the Canadian Labour Congress says that the federal government’s labour market policy is failing young Canadian workers.
“Unemployment remains unacceptably high for younger Canadians and only a small fraction of those without… Read More
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When you start shopping, remember that just about any tub you buy will be awkward to use at first, mainly because bathing a squirming baby--who might be startled by temperature changes and by being put into even very shallow water--is daunting for even the most experienced parent. In other words, you want to get the job done quickly.
For a baby 6 months or younger who has limited head and neck control, buy a bathtub that has a contoured design, allowing a baby who can't sit up yet to relax in a slightly upright position. Many come with an internal sling that cradles a newborn in the water. A removable mesh or fabric cradle means your baby can't move around too much, keeping him secure so you can gently wash him. A mildew-resistant foam lining is also a plus. It's softer for a baby's head and body than hard plastic. To prevent mildew and soap-scum buildup on any baby bathtub, clean it and let it dry fully after each use.
At about 6 months, when your baby can sit up, she'll probably be too big to be bathed in an infant tub and you can move her to a bigger plastic child's tub that fits into your regular tub. (We recommend using a nonskid rubber mat, even under an infant or child's tub, to keep it from moving around.)
There are "convertible" tubs on the market designed for newborns to toddlers (up to about 25 pounds). Some convertible models also include the removable slings mentioned above, which you can take out when your baby can sit up unassisted.
Another type has a crotch post to keep your baby from slipping forward in the water. When this type is outgrown, your older toddler can move to a regular bathtub filled with a small amount of water. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under 6 be watched carefully while in the bathtub.
If you're short on space, you can buy an infant tub that folds. But keep in mind that you'll be using it for only about six months. There are some models on the market that collapse completely, which is handy for travel. If you're considering one of those, set it up to make sure it's sturdy before you put your baby in it.
A "whirlpool spa" might seem cute but you don't need anything that elaborate. Some of them come with a showerhead nozzle that activates with a button--a good idea because keeping water running is a safety risk. But a simple cup of water to rinse your baby off will do just fine. Don't buy a showerhead with a hose that attaches directly to a faucet because it poses a scalding hazard. And don't buy an inflatable bathtub, bath seat, ring, or bathing bucket even if your pediatrician or friends recommend it.
You might also see infant tubs that come with stands designed to save parents from the back pain that might come with bending over to wash a baby. We think the safest place to wash your baby is in an infant tub that fits in a sink or bathtub, or on the floor.
Expect your baby to protest the first couple of times. After that, she'll probably grow to enjoy bath time--and so will you. But remember, when your baby is in the bath, keep a hand on her.
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Solving Optical Skin Simulation Model Parameters Using Genetic Algorithm
ABSTRACT Near infrared spectroscopy is noninvasive method to obtain information from materials, such as human skin. A simulation model of light interaction with skin is used to simulate skin reflectance spectra when the chemical and physical parameters of the skin are known. Genetic algorithm is utilised for tuning the simulator to solve the inverse problem; to calculate the skin parameters from the measured reflectance spectra. The inverse problems are often ill-posed, which was also true for this problem in its original form. After assuming all physical parameters as fixed, the problem was regularised and a unique solution for blood melanin and water concentrations was found in all simulations. The accuracy and the uniqueness of the solution proved to be almost independent of the provided spectral resolution, as long as it is larger than three wavelengths. The accuracy of the solution depends on the MCML simulation noise level and the fitness function used. The performance of four different fitness functions was evaluated using fitness landscape and noise analysis, and the best of them was chosen. The achieved accuracy is satisfactory for many applications and it can probably be further improved by increasing the number of photons used in the MCML simulation or by further optimising the fitness function.
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Nomination of natural, mixed and cultural properties to the world heritage list - The Dolomites
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Documents WHC-07/31.COM/8B and WHC-07/31.COM/INF.8B.2,
2.Decides not to inscribe The Dolomites, Italy, on the World Heritage List on the basis of criteria (ix) and (x);
3.Defers the examination of the nomination of The Dolomites, Italy, to the World Heritage List on the basis of criteria (vii) and (viii) to allow the State Party to consider submitting a new nomination, more focused and coherent, that meets the conditions of integrity;
4.Recommends the State Party to consider the following issues in the revision of the nomination:
a) Refocus the nomination around the aesthetic, geological and, in particular, geomorphological values of the Dolomites (criteria (vii) and (viii)). These values should be confirmed through a global comparative analysis of the geomorphological, geological (stratigraphy, carbonate systems, palaeontology) and aesthetic aspects that can be regarded as being of Outstanding Universal Value in comparison to mountains already inscribed on the World Heritage List, and other comparable mountains elsewhere in the world; and
b) Make a new selection of a site or a much more coherent series of sites to convey those values at a landscape scale, and avoid including very small sites that represent very locally specific values. IUCN has suggested in its evaluation report a more appropriate configuration.
5. Further recommends the State Party to address the following specific areas of concerns to meet the conditions of integrity in relation to the requirements for protection and management:
a) Ensure that transparent, effective and coordinated legal protection is in place for the entire series that is eventually proposed;
b) Establish a management framework for the entire series, as a legally approved document to coordinate the management authorities concerned, with clear objectives and a realistic implementation strategy; and
c) Consider the need for more effective planning, management and regulation of tourist facilities and activities that are consistent with the carrying capacity of the nominated property. Tourist facilities have reached, or even exceeded, the limits of tolerance for natural World Heritage properties in a number of the core and buffer zones of the nominated property.
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This is an image of Io.
Click on image for full size
The Io Magnetic Field
The chances are that there is a magnetic field for Io. Io is composed
of lots of iron, Io is warm inside, and Io spins rapidly. These are all the ingredients for a magnetic field. The Galileo spacecraft will take detailed measurements to make a determination of whether there is an Ionian magnetic field or not.
Io's main contribution to Jupiter's magnetosphere is known as the "Io Torus", a donut-shaped cloud of particles which came from the atmosphere and found their way into the the magnetosphere. The cloud forms along the path of Io's orbit. This object has a major influence on Jupiter's magnetosphere.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our online store
includes issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist
, full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science, ranging from seismology
, rocks and minerals
, and Earth system science
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Evolution and the Australian Baseball Player
by, 08-22-2012 at 08:21 PM (897 Views)
Obviously I am no scientist. The folks who have read my threads or other tid-bits on this site, probably consider me some other choice words. I’m cool with that. I consider myself the guy that is rolling some dice in a back alley in urban America, making deals, breaking deals and throwing some ideas out there that probably won’t stick. I still try and one of these days they might stick… Ha, Ha!
Evolution – If you are a human being who believes in evolution, it is probably thought about in terms of a 100,000 – Millions of years.
It doesn’t seem like we talk about it in a year to year, decade to decade, millennium to millennium kind of way and when it comes to Australian baseball players – maybe we should.
What I am about to write is not about superiority or inferiority on a human level, but on a baseball level – please take note of that.
Baseball is an American Sport which borrowed some ideas from somewhat similar sports in the United Kingdom and beyond. America made it their own, ran with it, made it better and created the best sporting contest in the history of the world.
Baseball has reached out to other countries – far and wide and Australia is one of them that has sort of picked up the game.
Baseball in Australia is not a tradition as it is here in the States. I have no percentage on Australians playing baseball, but it is probably comparable to Americans playing Cricket or maybe a better comparison is Rugby.
I would imagine that the baseball gene is not yet imbedded in the muscle memory, coordination, and physical instinct of the baseball playing Australian. It took many generations of Americans to make this game what it is today (1860’s-2010’s). Australia is roughly 25 years into it.
Repetition, physical ability and love for the game are not only passed onto the next generation by word of mouth, but also by the ability to reproduce and implant their genetic mark, a mark that contains the imprint of baseball.
So far in Australia’s brief history with baseball, I am assuming that Dave Nilsson (position player) and Grant Balfour (pitcher) are the best players to come out of this country.
Although many are disappointed with Liam Hendriks and his performance thus far, he is genetically new to baseball and is one of the few Australians who has made it to the MLB level. Maybe he will have success, maybe not, but he will be one of the men who has an opportunity to reproduce, strengthen and further the Australian Baseball movement and evolution.
One day there will be an impact Australian Baseball Player!!!
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