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If you're Canadian, on July 1 your mind is probably on BBQs, fireworks, warm weather and having the 'rents home in the middle of the week. Maybe a few of you are thinking about visiting relatives or have no plans at all. But if you think Canada Day is just about food, sparklers and a great big birthday party - think again. There's a lot more to it than that.
Canada Day has been called a few names in the past. It used to be known as Dominion Day, the First of July, Confederation Day and July the First. Canada wasn't REALLY "born" on July 1, but the holiday celebrates the events that took place on this day. On July 1, 1867, the British North America Act created the Canadian federal government. This act stated that Canada would become an independant dominion (territory) of England, which is why Canada Day was originally called Dominion Day.
In 1982, Dominion Day changed to Canada Day after a vote in Parliament. Not everyone was happy about this change. Some people felt that a 115-year-old part of Canadian heritage was lost. But, the new name stuck and every July 1, Canadians celebrate Canada Day with parades, fireworks, picnics and food.
Interesting Canadian Facts
- Canada was named from the Huron and Iroquois word kanata, which means village.
- Canada has approximately three million lakes across the country. More than 30,000 of those lakes are larger than three square kilometers!
- Princess Juliana of the Netherlands gave Ottawa 100,000 tulip bulbs as a thank-you gift in 1945 for keeping the Dutch Royal Family safe during World War II. The Netherlands was occupied by the Nazis until Canadian soldiers liberated the country in 1944-45.
- The Bank of Canada issued the last $1 bill in 1989. It was replaced by the one-dollar coin, known as the loonie, which came out in 1987.
- The world's only flying saucer launching pad is in St. Paul, Alberta. It was built in 1967.
- The largest mall in the world is West Edmonton Mall in Alberta. It has over 800 stores and restaurants, an amusement park, the world's largest indoor lake with four working submarines, 26 movie theaters and a hockey-sized ice rink.
- More than 75% of the world's maple syrup comes from Canada.
Have Your Say!
What do you do on Canada Day? Tell us by leaving a comment below!
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The Low Pressure Area (LPA) inside Philippine area of responsibility has developed into Tropical Depression Saturday, the state weather bureau reported.
Jori Loiz, a weather forecaster at Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said they named the fourth cyclone to enter the country “Dante.”
Loiz said the tropical depression was spotted at about 690 kms. east of Casiguran in Aurora province with maximum sustained winds of 45 kph near the center as of 4 a.m Saturday.
Moving northwestward at 11 kph, the weather expert explained “Dante” is still too far from any point in Luzon for Pagasa to raise storm signals.
“Dante” is expected to be out of PAR by Tuesday should it continue to move with its slow pace.
While “Dante” is not expected to make landfall in any part of the country, the weather forecaster clarified it may become a tropical storm in the next few hours.
He explained this will affect rain-causing Southwest monsoon or Habagat, which will bring more rains in the provinces along the western part of the country.
He added “Dante” will dump moderate 5 to heavy 15 mm amount of rains in areas that will be covered by the weather disturbance’s 300-km diamter.
But Loiz clarified Pagasa cannot yet officially declare the onset of the wet season since at least five weather bureau stations in the country have not collected the required volume of rains.
In its advisory, Pagasa said that due to its extended cloudiness Mindanao and Eastern Visayas will experience cloudy skies with moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms.
This prompts Pagasa to maintain its advisory warning about flashfloods and landslides in Visayas and Mindanao.
It noted that the Bicol region and the rest of Visayas will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms.
Meanwhile, Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will have partly cloudy skies and experience isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.
Malacanang Palace suspended work, classes in Metro Manila, nearby provinces
Aug. 07, 2012. Tuesday morning 9:30am , Palace suspended work in Private offices in Metro Manila, Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal and Bulacan.
Around 8:50 A.M. Meralco company announces that it was switching off the power in various areas badly hit by flooding in the National Capital Region (NCR) for safety reasons.
Landslide has been reported at the Batasan in Q.C, with at least 4 houses affected, says Elmo San Diego of the Quezon City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Center.
The Government announced this 3am, work has been suspended in NCR and nearby provinces, the Office of the President announced Tuesday.
The recommendation of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and in view of the continuing inclement weather brought about by southwest monsoon (habagat), work in government offices and classes in college level in the National Capital Region and the provinces of Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal are hereby suspended today, 07 August 2012," the Palace said.
Reports now on TV show that the heavy rains have placed many areas in the Metro Manila under water. The North Luzon Expressway-Balintawak area is already flooded, with traffic being diverted.
Marikina river has also breached 19-meter level, prompting residents near the area to evacuate.
Continues heavy rains on Monday evening and La Mesa Dam's spill prompt local governments to suspend classes for Tuesday, as floods hit Quezon City, Valenzuela, and Malabon.
Typhoon Sendong kills 436 people
The national disaster agency said 987 were killed and 58 missing on Mindanao after Typhoon Sendong (aka Typhoon Washi) triggered the slides. Most of the casualties were in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan and tens of thousands remain homeless, many sheltering in evacuation centers.
Pres. Aquino met officials in the two cities worst hit by the cascades that swept down mountainsides as residents of riverside and coastal villages slept in the early hours of Saturday.
The first priority is to relocate to areas that no longer pose a danger to them, Aquino told a meeting in Cagayan de Oro, issuing instructions to implement disaster mitigation programmes, including reforestation.
He later told a gathering at a school: "We have no desire to engage in finger-pointing or to assign blame at a time like this. Yet, we have an obligation to find out exactly what has happened."
Aquino said he had formed a task force to investigate the reasons behind the disaster and to determine whether a nationwide logging ban had been violated.
He declared a state of national disaster, a move intended to release greater funding, and ordered the speedy restoration of power and drinking water supplies in all affected villages.
"If we want this tragedy to be the last of its kind, we need to learn from our mistakes," he saidd."
THE NATIONAL CALAMITY
The disaster agency said more than 348,000 people in 13 provinces were affected by the disaster, with nearly 43,000 still in schools, churches and gymnasiums.
More than 10,000 houses were damaged by the typhoon sendong and the flash floods, of which nearly a third were ruined. Many schools, roads and bridges were also badly damaged.
More than 15.1 million pesos ($340,000) worth of crops, mostly rice and corn, were damaged, but the Agriculture department said losses were minimal as the crops were in the early planting stage.
Pres. Pinoy said the government can also access funds from multilateral financial institutions, including $3 million from the Asian Development Bank and about $500 million in low-interest loans from the World Bank.
The survivors said huge logs thundering down mountainsides crushed residents. Television footage showed many recovered bodies with arms or hands raised as if reaching out for help or clinging on to something.
Cagayan de Oro and Iligan were struggling to prevent disease from spreading in evacuation centers, with construction proceeding quickly of burial vaults and plots in public cemeteries to bury decomposing bodies.
Iligan has started burying truckloads of bodies, with some family members or residents of the same villages entombed in a single sepulchre. A Reuters photographer saw bodies lined up along the highway in Cagayan de Oro outside a small funeral home.
An official of the British-based Christian relief and development organisation World Vision said people were fighting for space at evacuation centers.
"It is really overcrowded, there is almost no space in between people," group official John Salva told ANC Television. "Diseases are starting to appear."
It's really a struggle to manage those evacuation centers, there's a shortage of water and a shortage of food," he said.
The state-run Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said it had warned authorities in the area last year about the need to relocate families living along riverbanks that swelled after one month's worth of rainfall fell over the weekend.
"This tragedy that happened in Cagayan de Oro ... will be repeated in the future. And therefore, there needs to be appropriate preparation to prevent fatalities," Leo Jasareno, acting director of the MGB said in a television interview.
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Regulating capitalism: The Taylor Society and political economy in the interwar period
Abstract (Summary)This dissertation studies the emergence of a Keynesian political-economic strategy in America during the interwar period. It is concerned primarily with one crucial aspect of this process: the ideological role played by key political, economic, and managerial elites in the emergence of such strategy. It thus traces the political discourse articulated by the Taylor Society, the institutional home of scientific management, from its inception as an industrial research organization to its development as an important policy-making network during the New Deal. It focuses on key figures in the Taylor Society including Morris L. Cooke, Harlow S. Person, Henry Dennison, and Mary Van Kleeck, as well as those who were closely associated with the society, such as Rexford G. Tugwell, Louis D. Brandies, George Soule, Frances Perkins, and Sidney Hillman. The historical narrative shows how during the 1930s the Taylor Society became an important component of the political and economic network that put forward a Keynesian strategy based on the expansion of mass consumption (and thus social purchasing power) via the intervention of the state. This network was critical of the corporatist program, embodied in the National Recovery Administration, in which that state would sanction cartel-like arrangements among capitalists to reduce destructive competition, restrict production, and fix prices. This system of industrial self-regulation entailed minimal state intervention and a reduced role for the unions and the collective bargaining. The Keynesian strategy advanced by the Taylor Society and its allies, on the other hand, advocated an expanded and strong role for the state and unions in the political economy, along with macroeconomic policies that promoted social purchasing power and expanded mass consumption. During the "Second New Deal" the Keynesian elite entered the corridors of power and many of its members took key administrative positions in the welfare state. From these positions they attempted to shape the American political economy.
School Location:USA - Massachusetts
Source Type:Master's Thesis
Date of Publication:01/01/1992
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“Coexist” and It’s Copycat Brother “Contradict”
Recently, it has come to my attention that a symbol is going around the internet playing on the classic “Coexist” symbol. This one, however, “Contradict,” points out that all the religious symbols on the page contradict each other:
There are a few variations of this new knock-off and I can’t speak on all of them. Please take into account that my focus is on this one in particular.
The main tenant of contradictmovement.org is that not all religions can be true because quite a few of them contradict each other. The man who originally created this image, Andy Wrasman, has a blog right here on wordpress. Andy is well-educated, and unlike many who argue similar causes, claims to actually have studied world religions. He wholeheartedly believes that Christianity is the true religion and that no others are true. The only education he values is that of knowing God. He wants to write a book on world religions and why they all contradict each other and Christianity is the only one that’s right. He states that “The message can be shared in numerous ways as the Holy Spirit leads, but there is a desperate need at this present time to contradict the popular misconception that all religions are true and in fact, lead to the same end goal.” Now here’s where it gets complicated. In one of his blog entries, he discusses the idea that truths may be found in all religions. “If Christ’s claim is true that he is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), then all truth would be God’s truth, no matter where it is found.” So, here he goes contradicting himself now. Because according to him, not all religions are true, but if all truth is God’s truth, then it follows that all religions are true because they are the truths of man born in the image of God. Or is it, rather, that none of the truths of man are truths because human beings cannot conceive of God’s truth? “The world cannot accept Him [the Spirit of truth], because it neither sees Him nor knows Him … But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth” (John 14:17; 16:13) If supposedly no one but a Christian born into God’s light can know the truth, why are we even talking about it? Everyone else is just an idiot, right? Just pity us poor fools and leave us be.
Which leads me into the original–Coexist. For the record, my definition is taken directly from Yahoo answers, which is probably taken directly from dictionary.com or wikipedia or something like that. The coexist bumper sticker 8 or so different symbols that either are or are around the letters that create the word coexist. The meaning of coexist directly from dictionary.com is: 1. to exist together or at the same time. 2. to exist separately or independently but peaceably, often while remaining rivals or adversaries: Although their ideologies differ greatly, the two great powers must coexist. The eight symbols come from various ideologies and religions. The first is a crescent moon with a star this symbol is used a vast variety of things from islamic symbols to symbols used on flags. The second is a peace sign a symbol for peace. The third is the letter e with male and female symbols incorporated into it. The fourth is the star of david used in the flag of jerusalem and also a religious symbol for the jewish. I believe the fifth is the letter i with the dot as a pentagram a symbol used with Wiccan and witchcraft. The sixth letter is the letter S with a ying and yang symbol behind it. Ying and Yang are a representation of perfect balance or equality used in Chinese Philosophy. And last the Cross or crucifix this symbol is used for the belief that jesus christ is our lord and savor the cross is what jesus was nailed to as a form of punishment called cucifixion hence the name crucifix. The meaning of the sticker is to bring people together no matter what background you are or what your idea of what is and what isn’t. The meaning is just to learn to coexist accept other people for who they are.
So why is any Christian challenging the “coexist” movement? I respect that Christians are pointing out the conflicting viewpoints, but I don’t think anyone who believes in “coexist” claims that there aren’t conflicting viewpoints. They’re not even really saying that people who believe there is only one truth have to believe in multiple truths. It simply says learn to live together. It is my understanding that Christ was a proponent of people learning to live together, to love, and to give help to all those in need, regardless of their background. So, I have to ask, like I so often do of Christians, would Jesus really be happy with people joining a mass counterstrike against “coexist?” Pointing out differences is one thing, but this movement screams of elitism by referencing the Bible. By saying Christianity is the only truth (just like other religions state they hold the only truth). Again, I don’t care if you believe that’s true. There are plenty of wonderful people in the world that hold that belief. But by spreading around this counterstrike, so obviously derived from “Coexist,” you are making the statement, whether directly or indirectly, that you are somehow better than everyone else, that divisions and differences make it impossible to live together. This, my friends, is the downfall of civilization. If we cannot live together despite our differing beliefs, our increasingly popular and diverse society will crumble at our own hands.
It’s funny. I mean, yes, most religions contradict each other in one way or another. Division, in this manner, was created by design as various cultures have different needs and seek different answers. But they also have a lot in common. Reincarnation, God in human form, sacred texts, a spirit world, body mutilation, and the afterlife are just some of the general categories these items fall into. “The Golden Rule”, “Love thy neighbor,” and “Speak Truth” are prolific in numerous religions. The differences are superficial really compared to the unifying role of commonalities. I could never go into all of the commonalities. I have neither the time nor the patience. But let’s just look at some of the key deities for example. In comparing Jesus, Mithra, Osiris, Adonis, Attis, Hercules, and Krishna, many have at least one thing in common. Commonalities include being born near the holiday we now call “Christmas,” being born of a virgin mother, leading a life of toil for mankind, having nicknames like “mediator”, “light bringer,” and “savior,” having died and risen to become a pioneer of human kind, and given commemorative meals. It’s fascinating, really, how much we all have in common. So why are we all out to destroy each other?
Islam, Christianity, Buddhism etc. Most are “the only truth” to countless people. And it’s fine to believe that. But, what’s not fine is not allowing others to have their individual beliefs in the truth. Who cares if they’re wrong? Is it really hurting you? Only if you fight them. Only if you threaten. Only if you belittle, offend, annoy…There’s a saying that hate is like a burning coal you are intending to throw at someone. The only one who gets burned by holding onto hate is you. This isn’t necessarily hate, but it’s close-minded. The Contradict movement is, for all intents and purposes, a bully. And yet, look at how many previously bullied people who have now found God are getting behind it. And before you go and argue that Coexist people are bullies, too, here’s a reminder–they aren’t expecting you to do anything but let people live out their own lives, as ignorant to your version of the truth as they want. It is a wise man who realizes that action speaks louder than any amount of scripture reading and referencing ever will.
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TW, In the first post, you say the headlight comes on weakly, (not weekly?),
when ignition switch is in the "on", position.
Here's what I think is happening IF this is so: INside the generator are 2 field windings. one connects from the relay terminal internally, to the third brush. Sounds like that one is hooked up o.k. The other field winding should be hooked internally from the "switch" terminal, through the winding, to the ground brush terminal, again, inside the generator. However, on this generator, I believe the second field is hooked from the "switch" terminal internally, to the "relay" terminal internally. Hooked this way, with the ignition switch in the "on" position, current from the positive brush in the generator runs through the switched field through this wrong connection, and then out the switch terminal. From there it goes up to the Ign/lighting switch, connecting on the Lights terminal on the switch. The wire to the headlight also connects to this terminal. So the current then flows back through the headlight wire to the headlight. Then through the headlight bulb, and on to ground. Because the current is going through the field coil and then to the headlight, the voltage to the headlight is lowered by the resistance of the field coil, and the bulb lights weakly.
I really think all you're going to have to do is reconnect the switched field coil so that one wire is on the switch terminal, and the other is on the ground brush. Polarity will need to be correct on the connections, but I'd start by assuming that the wire on the switch terminal is correct, and the other lead only needs to be moved to the ground brush. Give it a try.
HOWEVER, if I misread about when the light lights weekly, this is all hogwash, and pay no heed. Except, it does explain how it IS possible for an internal genny connection to make the headlight light weekly, er weakly, Whatever.
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Philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre closed his 1981 book After Virtue by posing what might be called the St. Benedict option. As a society, we retain the vestiges of traditional moral language but not the communities and practices that produced that language. Moreover, our elites think that justice has no grounding apart from individual feelings. The Enlightenment project of replacing tradition with self-grounding moral rules has failed, and no grand replacement has emerged. According to MacIntyre, such a society is “not waiting for Godot, but for another—and doubtless very different—St. Benedict.”
To conservative American Christians—evangelical Protestants and orthodox Catholics—MacIntyre’s diagnosis sounded right. Christendom, the res publica Christiana inaugurated by the Emperor Constantine and (so it had been thought) carried on by the American Founders, appeared dead, and what had replaced it was not clear: perhaps a centerless web of individuals; perhaps a welter of groups holding incommensurate values; perhaps an aggressive secular empire. Conservative Christians saw that they had been routed from the commanding heights of culture, including the media, the academy, the state, and in particular the courts.
Whatever MacIntyre’s intent, his line about St. Benedict was often taken to mean that people adhering to traditional moral norms should withdraw to some extent from the corrupting influences of American society and into their particular communities. This communal turn was reflected in many of the books conservative Christians read in the 1980s and ’90s. Lesslie Newbigin’s work counseled them to abandon the old propositional apologetics and instead to evangelize through living as the Christian community, for “Jesus did not write a book but formed a community.” Quasi-Anabaptist writers such as Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon, for whom Constantinianism had been a colossal error all along, told a newly receptive audience that they had been making the correlative mistake of thinking of themselves as Americans before Christians. Thus Hauerwas, writing in 1992: “To become a disciple is not a matter of a new or changed self-understanding, but rather to become part of a different community with a different set of practices.” At the same time, the localism of Wendell Berry and the Southern Agrarians became plausible for many.
Christian social practices changed accordingly, most strikingly in the rise of home schooling. Many also expressed a desire to stop watching television, even if they found it difficult to do so. Paul Weyrich declared in 1999 that Christians had lost the culture wars: “We need to drop out of this culture, and find places, even if it is where we physically are right now, where we can live godly, righteous, and sober lives.”
Christians were not alone in turning from the general to the particular. In the academy, so-called perspectivalism took root, as postmodern theorists denied the possibility of a “metanarrative,” a master interpretation of the world such as the ones claimed by modern science or revealed religion. In political theory, communitarians faulted liberalism for its assumption—long uncontroversial in America—that people were at bottom individuals rather than members of communities. On a popular level, Americans began emphasizing their ethnicity in ways that would have baffled their grandparents. Whereas in 1900 most European-Americans strove to fit under the mythical, ethnicity-free American umbrella, in 2000 many were desperate to discover or invent for themselves some colorful ethnic heritage. Just about everyone outside the natural sciences and analytic philosophy turned with ferocity on the Enlightenment for its claim to have discovered rational foundations of knowledge: what one “knew” was now said to be chiefly a function of one’s race, class, or gender.
Conservative Christians did not abandon what they understood to be the Founders’ idea of America, a nation designed above all to protect liberty so as to allow the flourishing of Christianity. In principle they remained the most patriotic of Americans. But they did begin to turn away from the America as it was, with its high rates of abortion, divorce, and illegitimacy; its courts and public schools that seemed bent on extirpating religion and undermining traditional morality; its debased popular culture; and, in the late 1990s, its widespread indifference to the degeneracy of its President. Whereas post–World War II Christians had identified with America because of its liberty and self-government, post–Cold War Christians were prone to distance themselves from it for its depravities. Some thoughtful Christians also began to distance themselves from some of its institutions, particularly capitalism. What Berry, Hauerwas, and others had long been saying began to make sense to more Christians—that America’s free market and pursuit of ever-greater prosperity were not biblically authorized and might actually undermine community by encouraging people’s basest appetites.
It is clear that the deepening secularization of society just described bore some responsibility for American Christians’ disenchantment. Yet an additional cause is plausible as well: America’s lack of a serious foreign enemy. A well-developed body of social theory holds that group cohesion varies directly with external threat. Georg Simmel, Lewis Coser, and others long ago noted that a group that is externally threatened will typically exhibit more solidarity than a group that is externally secure.
American Christians are, by definition, members of two important social groups: the United States and the Church. Like all members of multiple groups, their identity and way of life fuses norms promoted by these as well as other groups; they are adept at discovering ways to harmonize their group affiliations. But at a given moment they will identify most strongly with the group most threatened. In the 1950s and ’60s the Communist menace was most dire, and America, the chief bulwark against communism, was the most salient group. In the 1980s and ’90s the threats of secularism and moral relativism began to dominate just as the threat from communism diminished, and so the conservative churches became more salient than the nation.
But this changed again on September 11, 2001, when America suddenly found itself again facing a serious foreign enemy. Islamist terrorism, of course, threatened all Americans, not just orthodox Catholics and Evangelicals. So conservative Christians in large numbers, like most Americans, suddenly began identifying more strongly with their country—not just with that historic Christian America that they remembered or imagined, but with the America they actually had. As in the Cold War, they were determined to defend not only their nation’s borders, property, and people, but also its institutions and way of life. Complaints about decadence and secular imperialism were quickly supplanted by once-familiar assertions about liberty and democracy.
Only things were not so simple. Social theorists also note that sometimes an external threat can aggravate divisions within a social group, as one side makes common cause with the foreign enemy against the domestic one. Some conservative Christians and some of their secular opponents immediately engaged in this sort of polemic, recruiting September 11 to fight the domestic culture wars. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson agreed that it was at least possible that God allowed the slaughter of 3,000 people as a demonstration of His wrath against apostate America. Some secularists retorted that September 11 proved that politics must be entirely free of religion—as if Falwell and Robertson might have hijacked the jets if only they had thought of it first. Each side accused the other of being a sort of Fifth Column, thereby dividing the country and making a unified response to terrorism more difficult.
In the ensuing months, a minority of orthodox Christians have refused to allow September 11 to dissuade them from their more communal visions of America. Right-wing writers such as Joseph Sobran and left-wing writers such as Stanley Hauerwas and Wendell Berry agree not only that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were dead wrong, but more broadly that the America we have—an empire determined to remake the world in its image—provokes terrorism and makes the world generally more dangerous. These ideas have their difficulties, as Jean Bethke Elshtain has made clear, but at least their propagators can claim consistency across time: their message was the same a decade ago.
Not so for most of the rest of us. Most Evangelical and orthodox Catholic Americans find ourselves loyal not only to what ought to be our most important spiritual community, the Church, but also to the community that God uses to keep us secure, prosperous, and free to worship Him—namely our country. We know that we must defend our homeland and sense that that defense must involve some degree of affirmation of American culture and institutions. If one’s country is wicked enough, if its institutions and practices are evil, as in the perennial limiting case of Nazi Germany, one should pray for its defeat in war. America is not nearly so wicked as that. It continues to be good to us and to the Church more generally, not just by shielding us from foreign threats but by allowing Christian life, and life in general, to flourish as it rarely has in history. The Islamists are wrong to regard the United States and the West more generally as thoroughly corrupt and worthy only of destruction.
But the Islamists are right that our society is ailing. Many of their complaints about America—that it produces selfish, decadent, impious people, weak families, and corrupt religious communities, not only at home but increasingly abroad through its cultural exports—are also our complaints as Christians. Hence our dilemma, for many of those who join us in defending America against Islamist terrorism have in mind a different America. Their America is the one from which we had begun to recoil and withdraw—until September 11.
Our task, then, is to defend two things simultaneously: the America we have and the Church to which we belong. Fighting for the first may tempt us to set aside the defense of the second for the sake of national unity; defending the second may compromise our battle for the first by weakening that unity. No clear solution to our dilemma exists. What we can do is remind ourselves and one another that we do face a dilemma and must not rush to grasp either horn: we must neither identify America with the Kingdom of God and thereby confirm the Islamists’ accusations nor leave our decadent nation to defend itself without our help. Beyond that, we must make clear to ourselves, our secular fellow citizens, the Islamists, and the wider world what it is about America that continues to hold our loyalty as Christians. Unless we were wrong in the 1980s and ’90s, it cannot simply be individual liberty. It must also include America’s continuing toleration of institutions that mediate between the individual and the state, institutions such as the Church itself.
September 11 has clarified matters. Though American society may deploy many corrupting influences against the Church and its members, the American state, by the grace of God, mostly continues to allow the Church to do its thing. The state, being the supreme coercive power in any country, is capable in theory of forcing the Church (and other communities) to change their practices or suffer punishment. America’s religious toleration is a reason why America not only deserves our loyalty, but also merits our continuing involvement. In a democracy the state is in principle responsible to the society it governs. Were Christians to cease being Americans in any meaningful sense, to withdraw completely from society, the state would be less responsible to us, and maybe less hospitable. God may use state persecution to purify His Church, but it is a perverse and unbiblical ethics that teaches that the Church should try to force God’s hand by enabling the state to become more oppressive.
In the end, the same trends that prod us to look for another St. Benedict require that we not follow him all the way into the cloisters, at least for now. Our love for the Church, our families, and other communities demands our continuing engagement in, and defense of, the America we have.
John M. Owen IV is an Associate Professor of Politics and a Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia.
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Home > Workshops (WS)
The SUSPLAN project performed an in-depth analysis of the regional characteristics of the energy systems taking into account technical, market, socio-economic, legal, policy, and environmental parameters. A special focus was set on the role of different grid infrastructures (electricity, gas, heat). The analyses were supported by quantitative computational modelling tools. All project partners were assisting in the development of the regional case studies.
Regional Kick Off Workshops
A workshop for each case study of WP2 was held with regional decision makers and stakeholders directly before starting to collect case specific data/information.
The project partner's and stakeholder contribution to the Regional Kick-Off workshops was of great value for further development of the case-studies regarding RES-infrastructures integration in the region.
Regional Workshops on Results
1st SUSPLAN Conference
After two years of project work including data analysis and modelling of energy systems the first SUSPLAN project results were presented in on 07th December 2010 in Berlin. During the conference "The future of energy infrastructure – a European challenge" delegates from involved research institutes, grid operators and the European Commission discussed solutions for regional and transnational infrastructure plans aiming for the integration of large shares of renewable energies in the European energy grids.
2nd SUSPLAN Conference
During the 2nd international conference in Brussels on October 07th the SUSPLAN results for technology deployment, system solutions and the developed decision procedure guideline for a more efficient RES integration were presented. Focuses were set on strategies for the implementation of the necessary infrastructure, technical and nontechnical barriers and the creation of acceptance for energy infrastructure projects.
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Western History & Genealogy Blog
Reply to comment
During World War II, the10th Mountain Division specialized in mountain and winter warfare. Following rigorous training at Camp Hale, Colorado and other locations, the Division’s “ski troops” compiled an outstanding record of victories during combat operations against the German Army in the mountains of northern Italy from January through May 1945.
In 1987, the National Association of the 10th Mountain Division, acting on behalf of the Division’s World War II veterans, designated the Denver Public Library and the Colorado Historical Society to be joint repositories of their historical materials. Material Culture items, including boots, uniforms, climbing equipment and other three-dimensional items are housed at the Colorado Historical Society, while “paper” items, such as personal correspondence, photographs, military orders, diaries, maps, scrapbooks and similar items reside in DPL’s Western History Collection.
Since 1987, the collection has continued to grow. 1,000 individual donors have now donated materials to the Denver Public Library for the 10th Mountain Division Resource Center collection, making it one of the largest collections of its kind in the United States.
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An Annotated Bibliography by Sharon Stoerger It's Not Whether You Win or Lose, but How You Play the Game: The Role of Virtual Worlds in Education: The articles that are summarized in this bibliography examine a wide variety of topics including immersion, creation (versus memorization), and game innovation, as well as Csikszentmihalyi's (e.g., 1993) concept of flow. Many of the authors take a constructivist rather than an instructivist approach to the topic and draw from the work of scholars, such as Piaget and Vygotsky. One theme that is repeated throughout many of these articles is the lack of empirical research and the reliance on anecdotal evidence that suggests conceptual learning. While the focus of the articles included in this collection is primarily on the positive aspects of educational gaming, references to concerns, such as violence, bias against girls, and game addiction are included, as well. In general, this annotated bibliography is an attempt to pull together and examine a corpus of the available literature on the topic of virtual worlds in educational settings. It is by no means an exhaustive list of resources; rather, it includes some of the more commonly cited sources related to the use of this type of technology for the purpose of teaching and learning.
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Special to AC360°
I, like true Scrabble players around the world, was horrified to read that a new U.K. edition of Scrabble was going to allow the use of proper names. Proper names!?; let me tell you something, if there’s no crying in baseball there’s certainly no proper names in Scrabble.
Scrabble, for serious players, is more of an obsession than a game. A serious Scrabbler will literally memorize the dictionary. I for one, during what had to have been in retrospect an incredibly boring period of my life, memorized all of the two and three letter words. Let me tell you, knowing that “Xi”, “Xu” and “Za” are words is a definite advantage when playing with normal people. The problem is that you don’t get to meet too many normal people if you are spending your time memorizing two and three letter words.
With these new rules, however, normal people can play with any serious Scrabble player, no matter how many words he or she has memorized. Who can compete with individuals who have a life time’s worth of brand names from Audi to Zantac permanently imbedded in their brains? And what about first and last names; forget memorizing the dictionary, just memorize the phone book.
What’s next; foreign words, acronyms and abbreviations? Let them all in and the game will collapse under the sheer weight of an infinite number of words.
Well, it appears that, despite all the hoo-hah, it may all be just a false alarm. Scrabble enthusiasts can put down those paper bags and stop hyperventilating.
According to reporter Daniel Terdiman of CNET, it may all just be a publicity stunt. As he puts it, “According to John Williams, the executive director of the National Scrabble Association, the news is just not true.” Williams goes on to state that “… Mattel, which owns the rights to Scrabble in England, is going to release a completely new version of the game there called Scrabble Trickster, in which anything goes...It's nothing more than a PR ploy by Mattel… Mattel has since confirmed that the new version will in fact be called Scrabble Trickster.”
Never mind. Now back to memorizing the dictionary.
Editor’s Note: Richard Gottlieb is an international toy consultant. You can learn more about his work and his business, Richard Gottlieb’s USA Toy Experts, here.
Filed under: 360° Radar
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
Questions or comments? Send an email
Want to know more? Go behind the scenes with
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Detailed Training and Nutrition Data From Olympic Marathoners
Including nutrition and training info from top marathoners.
Most of what we know about the training of elite marathoners is anecdotal -- small details revealed in interviews, without much context. So I was really interested to see a new study in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism that lays out a whole pile of details about the training of three Canadian marathoners: Reid Coolsaet, Dylan Wykes, and Rob Watson. The data comes from Trent Stellingwerff, a physiologist with the Canadian Sports Center-Pacific who worked with all three of the runners during a 16-week marathon build-up. The marathoners ran 2:11:23, 2:12:39 and 2:16:17 after the training described in the paper; they've since gone on to run 2:10:55, 2:10:47, and 2:13:37 respectively.
So what can we learn from the paper? Well, there's a ton of stuff. Here's the mileage each of them put in during their 16-week build up:
Marathon 1 is Coolsaet; 2 is Watson; 3 is Wykes. We can extract a few more details by looking at the daily TRIMP scores, which is a measurement of training intensity (basically you multiply the intensity of your session on a scale of 1 to 10 by the duration in minutes). Here's Coolsaet's TRIMP data:
In terms of intensity distribution, the runners did 74.3% of their training in the lowest intensity zone ("very easy" to "somewhat hard"); 11.0% in the middle zone ("hard," which loosely corresponds to what some people call threshold training); and 14.7% in the highest zone ("very hard" to "maximal"). That's consistent with lots of previous studies of elite endurance athletes.
One thing you notice about the final weeks of Coolsaet's TRIMP data is that there aren't a lot of blank spots: the runs get shorter, but not less frequent. That's consistent with what studies have found about optimal tapering (reduce volume but maintain frequency and intensity). During the three-week taper, Coolsaet's volume dropped by 52%, which is also consistent with recommendations.
Another topic the paper gives lots of details on is "low carb training" -- in other words, training with "empty" muscles to force your body to adapt by learning to burn fat more efficiently. (As Stellingwerff points out, this is a question of when you take your carbs, not whether. None of the athletes was following a low-carb diet.) There have been lots of articles about the theory of carb-restricted training, but this is a rare glimpse of how elite athletes are actually using it.
During the early and middle phases of their training, the athletes averaged about 2.5 low-carb sessions per week; in the final weeks, they reduced that to 1.3 sessions per week. The vast majority of these sessions simply involved running first thing in the morning after taking only water or coffee. They also did some harder sessions that involved doing a hard interval workout in the morning, restricting carb intake during the middle of the day, then doing another run in the afternoon -- but they only did a few of these (11 out of 107 total low-carb sessions) because they were so hard.
There are also plenty of details on how the marathoners practiced and individualized their fluid and carb intakes for race day. A lot of hard work went into figuring out exactly how much each runner needed and how much they could tolerate, and working to increase that tolerance. In the end, they averaged 61 grams of carbohydrate and 604 mL of fluid per hour. Of course, that doesn't guarantee that everything works on race day: in the unexpectedly hot conditions in London last month, Coolsaet still had GI problems that prevented him from executing his fluid plans fully.
Anyway, the paper is a fascinating glimpse into what top athletes are really doing. Kudos to Stellingwerff for collecting and analyzing the data, and to the athletes and coaches for allowing it to be made public. Here's hoping more do it in the future!
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The ballpoints and highlighters contained in the pencil case confused me. At first, I could not even figure out how to click the ballpoint out of the pen’s body. After fumbling with what looked like a button to depress, my thumb slipped and accidentally pressed down on the pocket clip, which pushed out the spring-loaded ink cartridge. When I tried out the pens (one with black and one with red ink), I was sadly disappointed that they wrote with a very scratchy feel, especially compared to the smooth-writing Jetstream from Mitsubishi Pencil Co. that had also been sent to me. I could not understand what was innovative or special about the scratchy pens or the highlighters, and I told my interviewer so.
He apologized for not having translated the Japanese on the package, which did not contain explanatory graphics. What was special about these pens (and highlighters), he explained, was that the mark they left could be erased just by rubbing across it with the plastic button that does not depress.
The trick was in a principle he termed “thermal friction,” hence the name Frixion for the implements. He demonstrated for me and asked me to try. I was duly impressed. Not only did the ballpoint and highlighter marks disappear completely, but there were no eraser crumbs left behind.
This was indeed an improvement on the erasable ballpoints that were introduced into the American market many decades ago. I was told that this Japanese innovation was the product of 30 years of research and development by the Pilot Corporation.
We talked about R&D, science versus engineering, and the depressed economy in both Japan and the United States. We also talked about the Nobel Prizes, which were being announced at the time of the interview, and the reporter told me how the Japanese were once again disappointed that none went to their countrymen. Japan may not be a leader in prize-winning science, I agreed, but it certainly is a force to be reckoned with in consumer products.
In the long run, I assured him, the kind of inventiveness that was exhibited in the stationery items and resulted from committed, product-driven R&D would lead to larger innovations that would help bring back the Japanese economy. I expressed the hope that the same will be true for the United States.
Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University. His latest book, An Engineers Alphabet: Gleanings from the Softer Side of a Profession, has just been published.
See Prof. Petroski's November column, An Engineer's Alphabet of Thoughts on Design.
See Prof. Petroski's October column, Distinguishing Between Scientists & Engineers.
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"...for the hour is come for the oathbreakers:
at the Stone of Erech they shall stand again...
From the prophecy of Malbeth the SeerThe Return of the King
V 2, The Passing of the Grey Company
A great black stone, spherical in shape and some twelve or more feet in diameter. It was half-buried at the top of the Hill of Erech at the mouth of the Blackroot Vale, far to the west of Minas Tirth. The Stone was a mysterious and eerie place, shunned by the people of the valley, who claimed it had fallen from the sky, and was haunted by restless spirits. In fact, the Stone had its origins in Númenor, and was brought to Erech after the Downfall by Isildur himself.
It was at the Stone of Erech that the King of the Mountains swore allegiance to Isildur's cause. When war came, though, his people failed to fulfil that oath, and Isildur cursed them to wander the hills until they made good their promise. After waiting through the long years of the Third Age, their chance came at last when Aragorn Elessar led them out from beneath the Dwimorberg to the Stone of Erech. There at last they fulfilled their ancient bond, and marched to the aid of Gondor.
For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.
Website services kindly sponsored by Axiom Software Ltd.
Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2003, 2011. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.
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LOVE TO WRITE!
Do you have a passion for writing but find yourself short of time (and inspiration) during the school year? Then immerse yourself in a week of no-stress-just-joy creative writing this summer!
“Love to Write” is a workshop that will stretch you creatively and give you plenty of kind, constructive feedback from instructors and peers.
We’ll experiment in a variety of genres: poetry, short stories, personal non-fiction, scene scripting, and journaling.
To kindle our creative juices, we’ll take short, inspirational field trips to prime “write sites” nearby, including the sunken garden at Keeler Tavern and the landmark Aldrich Museum right across the street.
By the end of the workshop, you’ll have renewed creative confidence, energized ideas, and plenty of samples for your portfolio. Plus, you’ll have new friends who love to write, too.
Instructor: Ms. Kathy Rattner , English Teacher at East Ridge Middle School
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Students taking notes about a dinosaur skeleton at the Museo de Historia Natural in Lima, Peru.
Graduate students work with the curators to set up the insect traps, collect specimens and process them for shipping.
Entrance to the Museo de Historia Natural
This is one of the traps we use to collect insects.
During the 2010 expedition, when it was unseasonably cold, bats flew into the lab space and roosted under the lab benches.
This is the view of the Amazon jungle from the river as we headed to our research field camp.
In the summer of 2010, KU entomologist Caroline Chaboo conducted a collections and research expedition with several graduate students in the Amazon rainforest of Peru. Professor Chaboo is conducting a similar expedition in 2011.
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Oil merger raises fears of raw deal at the pump
Explore This Story
Ontario drivers face the threat of higher gasoline prices if federal regulators approve Suncor Energy's monster $19.1 billion bid for Petro-Canada, industry watchers warn.
The proposed deal, the largest in the history of the country's oil sector, would put put more refineries under the control of fewer companies, says Jane Savage, president of the Canadian Independent Petroleum Marketers Association.
That shrinking group of refiners, she argues, will have more influence in Ontario over wholesale gasoline prices, which to a large degree determine the retail prices that drivers see at the pumps.
"Fewer participants means more concentration and less competition – and possibly higher prices," says Savage, who represents independent gasoline and diesel retailers.
The Suncor deal with Petro-Canada, unveiled yesterday, will create a "made-in-Canada" petroleum giant valued at about $45 billion and capable of producing the equivalent of 683,000 barrels of oil a day.
It will blend Suncor's strength in the Alberta oil sands with Petro-Canada's conventional oil and gas assets, giving the new company – which would keep the Suncor name – the scale it needs to compete against multinational big boys Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Investors cheered. Oil stocks shot up yesterday after the deal was announced and took Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index along for the ride. The Canadian benchmark index gained 452.16 points yesterday to 8,958.51, up 18.4 per cent since its year low on March 9.
Crude oil for May delivery jumped $1.73 (U.S.) yesterday to $53.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. At one point it surpassed $54, up 64 per cent since late December. Oil is a global commodity that's competitively traded, making it difficult for individual oil developers to influence price. The products refined from that oil are traded on more of a regional basis.
The new Suncor would be capable of refining 433,000 barrels of oil per day into products such as gasoline, diesel and petrochemicals out of facilities in Sarnia, Edmonton, Montreal and Denver.
Petro-Canada's Montreal refinery and Suncor's Sarnia facility serve Ontario, which also gets gasoline from a Shell refinery in Sarnia and Imperial Oil refineries in Sarnia and Nanticoke. The merger would reduce the number of refiners serving Ontario from four to three.
Savage called yesterday on the federal Competition Bureau to shed light on the blockbuster deal: "From our perspective, the bureau needs to take a hard look at this."
The competition watchdog confirmed yesterday it plans to review the proposed merger to determine its impact on competition.
Savage said those refiners determine the wholesale "rack price" – what retailers must pay in a given service area, such as Toronto or Barrie – by taking the price set on the New York Harbor market and adding their own margin or "spread."
"The spread varies. It can be consistent, but it can change. The question is on what basis?" said Savage.
Spencer Knipping, a petroleum analyst at Ontario's Ministry of Energy, said a refiner could only increase prices in a city, town or rural area where there's little competition.
"In a remote, smaller market where there's less competition, it could happen, but not in Toronto," he said. "Not in southern Ontario."
The Competition Bureau might also question Suncor's concentration in the retail market under a merger. In Ontario there are 444 filling stations carrying the Petro-Canada brand and 285 associated with Suncor through the Sunoco brand, according to a 2006 survey from Calgary-based MJ Ervin & Associates.
Together, the new Suncor would have 729 gasoline retailers in Ontario, putting it ahead of Esso, at 649, and Shell, at 554. That would concentrate more than half of Ontario's 3,800 retailers in the hands of three oil companies.
Suncor chief executive Rick George acknowledged yesterday the merged company's retail presence in Ontario could pose problems under the Competition Act. He called it his "primary focus" on the regulatory front.
"It's potentially an issue," said petroleum analyst Michael Ervin. "A dozen or so years ago Petro-Canada and Ultramar tried to merge and that got shot down by the competition tribunal. It does raise the spectre that they may deem this as giving them too much concentration of market share."
But Ervin and other analysts say it wouldn't be an issue in large markets, such as Toronto, where it's a short drive to the competition.
"We've proven time and time again this is a fairly competitive marketplace," said Tony Macerollo of the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, an industry lobby group in Ottawa. "Canadians will drive over concrete dividers to get gas that's 2 cents cheaper."
Gasoline prices in Toronto topped out last September at around $1.37 a litre before crashing to 66 cents in January. Since then they have been creeping back up alongside the price of oil. Pump prices around the city hit 89 cents yesterday and were expected to climb again today.
Anindya Sen, an associate professor of economics in the University of Waterloo's department of economics, said the Competition Bureau determines if a "market" is competitive enough based on the number of rivals in a given postal code or certain distance, such as a radius of three kilometres.
"At the wholesale level they define markets at the city level, but at the retail level it's much smaller," said Sen, who previously worked at the regulator as an economic. "I'll be surprised if there's any concern in the cities."
In rural areas, where Petro-Canada and Sunoco may be the only game in town, the company will likely just close one of the stations to streamline costs, said Ervin.
- York U students create comics to raise awareness about sexual violence
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Prices remain stagnant, inventory low five years after recession
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Khepera is a form of the sun-god Re. Khepera was specifically the god of the rising sun. He was self-produced and usually depicted as a human with a beetle on his head, or sometimes with the beetle as his head. His name comes from the Egyptian word, kheprer or "to become".
Khepera is the manifestation of the rising sun. Khepera would roll the sun along the sky, much as the dung beetle rolls a ball of dung in front of him (sometimes the Khepera was also shown pushing the moon through the sky). This ball of dung is what it lays its eggs in. The beetle larvae eat the ball of dung after they hatch. The Egyptians would see the beetle roll a ball of dung into a hole and leave. Later, when many dung beetles emerged from the hole, it would seem as though they created themselves. Khepera also had this attribute of self-generation and self-renewal.
The particular dung beetle the Egyptians identified with Khepera was
the Scarabaeus sacer.
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Priceless Advice from the author of "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior" -
“When people ask me abstract questions about time, or space, or reincarnation, I may respond by asking whether they exercise regularly, eat a wholesome diet, get enough sleep, show kindness to others, and remember to take a slow, deep breath on occasion – because it seems important to bring our spiritual quest down to earth. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with philosophical speculation. But let’s not mistake conceptual thought for the spiritual practice of everyday life. After all, what does it serve to know whether angels wear earrings if we can’t hold down a regular job or maintain a long-term relationship? What good does it do to pray like a saint or meditate like a yogi if we are unchanged when we open our eyes? What good to attend a place of worship on Saturday or Sunday if we lack compassion on Monday?”
Dan Millman from Everyday Enlightenment
If you cannot apply your knowledge to your everyday life and relationships, it stays just that…Knowledge. If you can utilize your knowledge to make things work with the closest people to you and the things you do every day, then it becomes Wisdom.
You may not get it right the first time, or even the second, or third. Don’t beat yourself up about it, just keep at it – practice, practice, practice, until eventually, you’ll get it right and become a better, healthier, happier person.
As Dan Millman also says…We’re Humans-in-Training!
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Pregnant mothers are being warned that the likelihood of their child being overweight in later life can be influenced by factors determined before they are born.
A first-born, premature or post-term child has an increased chance of being obese and developing diabetes later in life.
Professor Wayne Cutfield, director of the Liggins Institute at the University of Auckland, says obesity needs to be prevented earlier rather than being "inadequately addressed" later - and that includes debunking the cliche that it is okay for pregnant women to binge by "eating for two".
Professor Cutfield, who is speaking in Auckland at a transtasman obesity society meeting, said stronger education about healthy eating needs to be tailored to target women from their early teenage years.
He said a woman's health before pregnancy reflected on her child's health for the rest of its life.
Surprisingly, a recent study of the diets of women undergoing IVF treatments found few changed their alcohol, tobacco or coffee consumption prior to a successful pregnancy.
"If you look at the diets of women undergoing IVF, this is a highly motivated, educated group; if they're eating inappropriately what do we expect of the rest of the population?"
Professor Cutfield said it was a cliche that pregnant women could eat as much as they wanted to "because you're eating for two".
He said there were studies that proved the benefits of healthier diets for pregnant women but it was important that the information was more effectively taught.
The Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society's Annual Scientific Meeting will be held in Auckland from today until Saturday.
The theme of the three-day meeting is "for our children's children".
- APNZBy Kieran Campbell @KieranCampbell Email Kieran
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- Mark Liberman has stated that the storage requirements for all human speech for all of time are 42 Zettabytes. This assumes 16 kHz 16-bit audio encoding.
- If every man, woman and child everywhere in the world tweeted continuously for 100 years, that would amount to 1 Zettabyte of data.
- 1 Zettabyte is the amount of data held on 75 billion 16 GB Apple iPads (full).
A wise man once told me that we are all God in drag. I like that. Sometimes when I’m in a public place or sitting at a stop light, I’ll watch people walking by and I’ll silently say to myself, “He’s God. She’s God. He’s God. She’s God.” Before long I always find myself feeling a warm sense of affinity for these strangers. The experience is even more powerful when I do this while observing a person who is clearly suffering. On occasion I’ll test my little spiritual practice by turning on Fox News. Within minutes I become an atheist.
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A 17,000-acre wildfire in northwestern Los Angeles forced several hundred people to evacuate on Thursday.
The fire was burning across ridges that stretch for 10 miles along the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Firefighters hoped calmer winds would help them better contain the blaze.
Smoke hanging over the San Fernando Valley area prompted some schools to close because of health concerns.
On Thursday afternoon, the blaze was threatening mainly multi-million dollar homes. One home had burned.
Residents in parts of the suburbs of Chatsworth, Oak Park, Box Canyon, Woolsey Canyon, Bell Canyon, Lake Manor and Old Agoura evacuated, some to shelters in Los Angeles and Ventura County. At least 45 people were staying at the Canoga Park High School.
The fire was 5 percent contained on Thursday afternoon.
More links on Wildfires
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The second lightest naturally occurring atomic element, and the most common in the universe after hydrogen. About one quarter of all conventional matter in the universe is helium, and it is plentiful in stars, the atmosphere of gas giants, and the interstellar gaseous medium, though rare on smaller rocky or icy planets and moons lacking the gravity to retain it. Aside from the quantities formed in the original nucleosynthesis of the Big Bang, helium is also created from hydrogen atoms in the process of nuclear fusion that occurs within stars. The most common isotope of helium has two protons, two neutrons, and two electrons. Rarer isotopes of helium are important in fusion reactor technology. Before conversion reactors became prevalent, helium-3 was an extremely valuable resource, as it still is in regions lacking monopole-based technologies. Helium is the lightest noble gas, and because it is chemically inert it is very popular as the lifting gas in dirigibles, blimps and airships on worlds or on large habs with a standard Terragen atmosphere.
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Brookfield acupuncturist Jesse Foy believes the mind is a powerful tool in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Foy backs up that belief as the founder of Rooted in Mindfulness, a practice he developed several years ago after studying the discipline. Today, Rooted in Mindfulness offers an array of experiences from weekly drop-in practice sessions to formalized courses and workshops.
He became involved with mindfulness - a form of meditation - because he saw firsthand how his patients and others often get caught in a cycle of anxiety.
"This is really a combination of Eastern psychology and traditional medicine," Foy said. "I have worked privately with some of my clients for the past seven years or so, but the center just opened a few months ago."
The key to using mindfulness, he said, is living in the moment.
"In a nutshell, it is the practice of being able to look at your life and how you respond to what happens in your life," Foy said. "Instead of getting caught on automatic pilot in how you respond to certain situations, you learn to live with more intention and choice."
Foy said the key is to take in what the moment gives you, respond directly to it and move on.
"Whether you are dealing with being angry with someone or dealing with cancer, you can do this," he said. "But it takes practice. To master it is a lifetime thing. It's a matter of how much time you put into it."
Who it helps
It's easier said than done, and clients such as Lorrie Ransome and Patrick Nettesheim say it takes full commitment to master.
Ransome, of Sheboygan, said she felt a lot of stress in a previous job as a consultant for a global engineering firm. Her hectic travel schedule and high-level responsibilities were ingredients for an anxiety-ridden life.
After meditating on her own for 10 years, Ransome said, she met Foy at a stress-reduction workshop near her home. She has followed his practice and said coming to the Brookfield location is worth it.
"The more I got into it, the deeper I wanted to go," she said. "I don't react to things like I used to. If I get a flat tire, for example, I am calm about it.
"I wish I had encountered this much earlier in my life when I was in graduate school," she said. "There are periods of our life that are filled with stress."
An issue of health
Nettesheim, a Milwaukee resident with a pulmonary condition and chronic pain, said mindfulness has been one of the only successful answers to his health issues.
"I started with acupuncture with Jesse in 2005, and then I began with mindfulness after 2010," Nettesheim said. "It takes time, but you eventually learn to take the pain and compartmentalize it. We as humans can do a lot, and Jesse has a lot of faith in humanity. That's the key."
Traditional medical professionals also have begun to recognize mindfulness as an option. Dr. Corey Carr, a psychiatrist affiliated with Elmbrook Memorial Hospital, said mindfulness may not be mainstream, but professional therapists borrow from it.
One of those borrowed pieces is mindful-based stress reduction, a specific approach that Foy features.
"You see that stress-reduction component as a way to blend mindfulness into therapy," Carr said. "Therapy can be eclectic."
Try it out
WHAT: Rooted in Mindfulness drop-in practice and programs in mindful meditation
WHERE:4040 N. Calhoun Road
COSTS: range from $10 donations to $365
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- Brookfield and Elm Grove police join national Click It or Ticket campaign
- Pilgrim Park students' rocket takes first at regional competition
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Preventing Accidental Injury.
Contact: Cherie Sage, 785-296-1223, or
Halloween is supposed to be a spooky night, but parents don’t have to be scared about their kids’ safety if they follow some simple safety tips from Safe Kids Kansas. Over a recent five-year period, on average, twice as many child pedestrians have been killed on Halloween as have been killed on average throughout the rest of the year.* With the days getting shorter, children are likely to be trick-or-treating in the dark when it is harder for drivers to see them and the excitement of the holiday can make everyone less cautious.
“Parents need to remind kids about safety while walking before they go out trick-or-treating,” says Cherie Sage, State Director for Safe Kids Kansas. “Children should bring flashlights or glow sticks with them, carry reflective bags or have reflective tape on their costumes to increase visibility to drivers. Children should not wear masks which may inhibit their ability to see hazards.”
Tips for Parents and Kids
Safe Kids recommends that children younger than age 12 should not cross streets alone at night without an adult. If kids are mature enough to go trick-or-treating without adult supervision, make sure they go in a group and they stick to a predetermined route with good lighting. Make sure at least one child has a cell phone with them in case of an emergency. Parents must also remind kids to:
Tips for Drivers
Drivers need to do their part to keep trick-or-treaters safe from harm. Safe Kids reminds motorists to be extra careful this Halloween and recommends that drivers:
Although pedestrian safety is a main concern on Halloween, parents also need to keep in mind there are other hazards for their children on this holiday. Parents must check treats for signs of tampering before children are allowed to eat them. To prevent costume fires, keep jack-o’-lanterns that are lit with candles away from doorsteps and walkways, and consider using glow sticks instead of candles. Safe Kids Kansas suggests that parents look for non-flammable costumes and non-toxic designations when choosing Halloween makeup and make sure children wear well-fitting, sturdy shoes to prevent trips and falls. Finally, children should only go to homes where the residents are known and there are outside lights on as a sign of welcome.
For more tips on how to keep kids safe while walking on Halloween and throughout the year, visit www.usa.safekids.org.
Safe Kids Kansas, Inc. is a nonprofit Coalition of over 70 statewide organizations and businesses dedicated to preventing accidental injuries to Kansas children ages 0-14. Local coalitions and chapters cover Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Butler, Clay, Coffey, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Elk, Ellis, Finney, Geary, Harvey, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Labette, Leavenworth, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Mitchell, Montgomery, Pottawatomie, Riley, Saline, Sedgwick, Shawnee, Smith, Sumner, and Wilson counties, as well as the city of Emporia and the Metro Kansas City Area (Wyandotte county and several Missouri counties.) Safe Kids Kansas a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations whose mission is to prevent accidental childhood injury. The lead agency for Safe Kids Kansas is the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Visit us at www.safekidskansas.org and on Facebook.
* Children are more than twice as likely to be killed by a car while walking on Halloween than any other night of the year, according to Safe Kids USA. More than 540 kids under age 14 are killed in pedestrian accidents each year. In an analysis of deaths from 2002 to 2006, the group found an average of 2.2 children are killed in pedestrian accidents from 4 to 10 p.m. on Halloween, compared with one child every other evening at the same time.
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WASHINGTON — As Democratic Congressional leaders work to merge the House and Senate versions of major health care legislation, a big question is what they will do about the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which now provides coverage to more than nine million children and pregnant women and is expected to cover more than 14 million by 2013.
The Senate bill would preserve the program, known as CHIP, and would extend federal financing through 2015, two years past its expiration date under current law. Two Democrats, Senators John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, fought hard to protect CHIP in the bill.
The House bill, by contrast, would end CHIP and redirect the millions of children either to Medicaid, the federal-state insurance program for the poor, or to new health insurance exchanges where moderate-income Americans would be able to buy private coverage using new federal subsidies to help offset the cost.
Unlike many of the issues facing Senate and House negotiators, the question of what to do with CHIP is not just a cerebral policy point. In recent years, states have made huge strides in covering children, particularly those in low- and moderate-income families, and experts say those gains could be put at risk.
“Attention must be paid to the possibility that some children who lose CHIP coverage could fall through the cracks and become uninsured,” Genevieve M. Kenney and Allison Cook wrote last month in a brief prepared for the Urban Institute, the Washington research group.
Some House Democrats, including Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and a lead author of the health care legislation, have said it is difficult to defend a stand-alone government insurance program for children once subsidies are available for entire families.
In Transition, Risks
But many children’s health advocates cite numerous risks. Simply shifting children from one program to another could result in some losing coverage, even on a temporary basis. And there is a chance that parents, even with new subsidies, will find coverage unaffordable and choose not to buy it for themselves or their children, despite a new mandate in both bills that nearly everyone obtain coverage.
Then there are more complicated situations, like those of children whose parents have mixed immigrant status. Under both the Senate and House bills, illegal immigrants would not be eligible for the insurance subsidies.
Some experts project that as many as 14 percent of children with health care through government programs come from such families. And while the bills would provide for the creation of child-only insurance policies, it is unclear how those policies would work and whether children would face difficulties obtaining coverage that way.
The bills also seek to push people with access to employer-sponsored health insurance to buy it, allowing exemptions only for families for whom such coverage would be extremely expensive. Many low-income workers already choose to enroll their children in CHIP because private coverage is too costly.
“The country has made remarkable progress in covering kids in recent years because of the success of CHIP and its companion program, Medicaid,” said Jocelyn A. Guyer, co-executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University. “It would be a major problem if health reform undercut these gains by shutting CHIP down too abruptly or by moving kids into coverage that isn’t as affordable and as well-designed to get them the care they need to develop and grow.”
In an effort to tilt the debate in favor of maintaining CHIP as a standalone program, Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Casey prevailed upon the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, to include two more years of federal financing — through 2015 — which would serve as a bridge beyond the creation of insurance exchanges, where people would be able to buy subsidized private coverage.
Under the Senate bill, state-based exchanges would begin in 2014. The House bill calls for a national insurance exchange to begin in 2013.
Factoring in Medicaid
Tied directly to the question of CHIP’s future is the proposed expansion of Medicaid to include many more low-income Americans, particularly childless adults.
Medicaid would grow under both measures, with eligibility expanded to individuals and families earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level (currently about $29,327) under the Senate bill, and up to 150 percent of the poverty level ($33,075) under the House bill.
States have generally expressed apprehension about the proposed Medicaid expansion, because they would eventually share in the cost of covering new enrollees. Medicaid generally provides more comprehensive coverage than CHIP, but potentially offers fewer choices of doctors and other health providers because of Medicaid’s low payment rates. States currently must provide Medicaid coverage to all children through age 5, from families earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level, and to children ages 6 to 18 with family income up to 100 percent of the poverty level.
The House bill, in addition to more broadly expanding Medicaid eligibility, would also increase payment rates for primary care physicians — a step that many health advocates say is needed to improve access to providers for children and adults. The Senate bill does not increase Medicaid payment rates.
In a statement after the Senate adopted its health care bill on Dec. 24, Dr. Irwin Redlener, president of the Children’s Health Fund, a New York-based advocacy group, praised the preservation of CHIP, but criticized the Senate bill for not lifting Medicaid payment rates. “Unfortunately, the Senate bill fails to improve reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers and omits a provision to automatically enroll otherwise uninsured infants, both of which were in the House bill,” Dr. Redlener said.
The Fight Ahead
Mr. Rockefeller, in an interview just before the Senate adopted its bill, said that he was prepared to battle against his colleagues in the House to preserve CHIP in the final health care legislation. “I am not going to drop kids,” he said.
But Mr. Rockefeller also said he was optimistic that House Democratic leaders, however reluctant, would make the adjustments needed to get the final legislation through the Senate, where Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote.
“The House doesn’t like the Senate, anyway,” he said. “I don’t blame them.”
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Beretta pistols had garnered interest in law enforcement, sports shooting circles, and Armed Forces. When the US Air Force began the Joint Service Small Arms Program, Berretta entered the competition. The Beretta 92S-1 won, but the Army contested the Air Force's methods. There would be several more competitions, and Beretta refined the design of the Beretta 92SB into the Beretta 92SB-F and in slightly modified form the Beretta 92G. These designs were ultimately selected in the United States (Beretta 92F, U.S. Military designation of "M9") and now France (Beretta 92G, French military designation of "PAMAS"). The M9 was intended to replace the M1911A1 and .38 caliber revolvers and pistols. Over 500,000 M9 pistols were made and adopted; the switch-over was largely achieved. However, some branches and groups (for example, FBI) continued to use the former pistols or adopted different designs, but they were not a part of the program in the first place. (See M11 pistol, MK23 Mod 0)
The USAF has scheduled switching over from the early model M9 (92F) to the 92FS standard, according to planning documents. In May 2005, the USMC posted its intent to award a sole-source contract to Beretta for 3,480 "M9A1" pistols, which is basically an M9 with an accessory rail (available June 2006 to the public). In the U.S. Army, selected M9s were scheduled to be replaced by XM8 compact carbine variants. However, XM8 and the entire OICW Increment 1 program were suddenly suspended in July of 2005. Current model M9s are scheduled for replacement under the Future Handgun System, which was merged with USSOCOM's SOF Combat Pistol program to create the Joint Combat Pistol (JCP) program. The JCP winner is specified as having a number of new features; chambered for .45 ACP, an integrated rail, Day/Night sights, and capable of accepting a sound suppressor. In early 2006, the JCP program was renamed Combat Pistol and seemingly split from the Army program.
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No Reviews Available
* All text in the "More Information" section is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
Unless otherwise noted, images and video may not be used for any purpose without prior permission from AR15.Com LLC.
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The Carnival of Unschooled Life
Go to life, not school.
There is a void in the Blog Carnival atmosphere, and I have decided to fill it! The Expanding Life is now also the home of The Carnival of Unschooled Life.
Here are some general facts about the carnival:
- The carnival will appear on the first day of each month.
- One post per blog may be submitted to an edition of the carnival.
- The post submitted may be an old one or one written especially for the carnival.
- Posts may be rejected for not being relevant to the carnival’s philosophy and/or categories.
- The philosophy of the carnival is as follows:
- The categories for submissions are:
Unschooling is a way of life in which a family lives without grades, without textbooks (unless somebody reads them because they just really love them), without semesters, without gold stars, and without “teaching.”
Unschooling is a way of life in which parents accept that their children will learn what they need to know without going to school. A child may grow older and choose to attend college or some other school, but — unlike the public school system or “school-at-home” homeschooling — unschooling is not a way of life that is focused on preparing a child for that end.
Sandra Dodd’s Radical Unschooling web site is a great place to learn more about unschooling.
- Life at Home. Homes where unschooling happens reflect the interest of the people who live there, often more so than do other homes. For example, the home of an unschooled writer might contains hundreds of notebooks — because that person, unencumbered by homework, can write as much as she pleases. Tell the carnival about your home.
- Out in the World. Unschoolers don’t keep a 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. school schedule, so they can go outside, hop on a bus, take a drive, or sit in the park any time of day they choose. Many things are learned out in the world. Tell the carnival about your adventures.
- Inspirations. People such as Sandra Dodd, Rue Kream, John Holt, and many, many others have paved the way for unschoolers. Many of us have favorite quotes, essays, and books that inspire us to live this life on the road less taken. Sometimes, we even come up with inspiring ideas ourselves. Tell the carnival about what inspires you.
- Dark Nights of the Soul. Nobody’s perfect, so sometimes we wonder whether the road less taken will lead to a dead end or, even worse, a cliff. I know it’s happened to me, so I assume it’s happened to you. Tell the carnival about some unschooling-related worry that’s kept you awake at night.
- Encounters of the School-y Kind. Once again, it’s something we’ve all experienced. Some of us have even said we homeschool when in actuality we unschool — just to avoid the questions that an admission of unschooling will prompt. Perhaps by sharing our awkward situations, we can all build the courage to be unabashed unschoolers. Tell the carnival the worst thing a school-y person ever said to you.
- Beginnings. Some of us have unschooled from the start. Others came to it as a natural outgrowth of homeschooling. Every story is unique, as is every child. Tell the carnival why you unschool.
- Passages. If your unschooled children are grown, you probably have many thoughts about the experience of living an unschooled life. Whatever you child is doing now and how he feels about it have been profoundly influenced by the choice to unschool. Tell the carnival about what the passage from childhood to adulthood was like for your unschooler, and for you.
- Miscellaneous. Unschoolers are open to things that don’t fit into categories. Tell the carnival something you feel is worth sharing but is “none of the above.”
The Carnival of Unschooled Life will post its first edition here at The Expanding Life on August 1, 2009. Please send your entries here.
What is most important and valuable about the home as a base for children’s growth in the world is not that it is a better school than the schools but that it isn’t a school at all. ” –John Holt, Teach Your Own
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Use and distribution of this article is subject to our terms and conditions whereby bowlingball.com's information and copyright must be included.
How To Control Bowling Ball Loftbowling ball speed, control your ball direction to your target, and maintain a consistent rev-rate, all of which will work in helping you improve your scores.
Controlling your ball loft can accomplish a great deal as stated above. Some experimentation on the practice lanes will be necessary to pin-point the precise delivery method you need to help you get the ball over the foul line, control the distance of your loft, and avoid under or over lofting the bowling ball resulting in errant deliveries.
Here are a few tips to help you control your loft:
1. It all begins with a good set-up position on the approach. Make sure your knees are both flexed at least one inch before beginning your approach. Maintain a minimum of one inch knee flex throughout your approach. Use more knee flex so your legs are bending perhaps 45 degree to 75 degrees if your physical level of flexibility allows you to do so. Tilt the torso of your body forward about 10 to 15 degrees forward so you attain an athletic posture before beginning your approach.
Some senior bowlers cannot bend their legs much so we recommend a slight knee flex, perhaps one or two inches. Maintaining knee flex throughout the approach and slide will help with good balance while you are delivering the bowling ball if an athletic posture with a slight body tilt forward is maintained during the delivery process.
2. When your bowling ball exits your hand, focus on releasing the ball just prior to your ball reaching the back heel of your sliding bowling shoe. Repeat this three to five times during practice sessions.
3. Deliver the next series of 3 to 5 shots releasing the bowling ball as it arrives at the bottom of your swing when your bowling arm is perpendicular to the floor and as the ball reaches the shoe laces of your sliding shoe.
4. Deliver the final 3 ot 5 practice deliveries by releasing the bowling ball as your hand passes the tip of your bowling shoe toe.
5. Check the approach floor near the foul line and watch for ball skid marks behind the line. If you see a pattern developing of your ball falling off your hand too quickly and contacting the approach behind the foul line, then you are likely releasing your ball too soon in relation to your sliding shoe and need to focus on either Step #2 or Step #3 above. Any chance at maintaining an effective roll on the ball is eliminated if you consistently drop the ball behind the foul line.
6. Follow through fully on all deliveries in an effort to get the ball to land on the lane surface at a desired angle of entry. Follow through and hold your form until the ball passes the target on all deliveries. With some practice, you will develop a good bowling release and control your loft distance beyond the foul line.
7. If you are dropping the ball behind the foul line, a more common occurrence among lower average bowlers than one might think, one good practice technique is to place a bowling towel on the approach floor at the foul line extending beyond the line in the area where your ball contacts the lane surface. Make sure the towel does not interfere with your sliding shoe when you slide into the foul line and release the ball.
Practice delivering the ball so the ball clears the towel and lands out onto the lane surface without moving the towel from its position at the foul line on the approach floor.
If you can easily clear the towel 10 consecutive deliveries, then you will avoid the problem of dropping the ball too soon and you will control your loft distance.
If the towel moves, replace the towel in the same position on the approach floor and try another delivery until you are able to release the ball successfully and routinely with out disturbing the towel.
You can adjust the distance the towel is relative to the foul line and practice varying degrees of loft control.
8. Another technique to help you get the ball over the foul line is to increase your gripping pressure with your bowling fingers slightly and also work to delay your delivery as Steps 2 & 3 above indicate.
Some of the best players in the world vary loft control from just beyond the foul line, perhaps 6 inches to as much as 4 feet beyond the line, when they wish to control ball skid distances. Once you are able to control a consistent loft distance past the foul line and maintain a regulated ball speed, then you can work at controlling and fine-tuning loft distances. In any cases, avoid releasing the ball so soon that it does not clear the foul line.
Make sure you always maintain a consistent ball speed regardless of how much loft you use.
With some practice, you will develop a good bowling release and control your loft distance. We recommend you consult a local certified bowling instructor to help you improve your loft techniques.
Please take some time to review our extensive list of bowling products and kindly be reminded that our discounted prices are available with free shipping. free insurance, and with no hidden charges for any item at bowlingball.com. When you are ready to make your purchase, simply follow our easy online order instructions. Thank you for visiting bowlingball.com.
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<urn:uuid:b9951b99-8427-42ac-8169-0805fb42ceb5>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.bowlingball.com/BowlVersity/how-to-control-bowling-ball-loft-2
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|
en
| 0.920124
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| 1.773438
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|
William Hogarth (1697–1764), English painter, engraver, and philosopher of aesthetics. Hogarth was the son of a Latin teacher and scholar whose financial failure led him to apprentice young William to a silver engraver. At age twenty-two, the young engraver set up in business for himself, producing shop cards, book illustrations, and original satires. He associated himself with the tradition of English satiric literature from Butler and Dryden to Swift, Pope, and Gay.
To raise his status, he joined John Vanderbank’s academy, took up oil painting, and attached himself to Sir James Thornhill, the most successful native-born history painter, whose daughter he married. Hogarth began to paint small conversation pieces of groups in social settings. Then, with brilliant ingenuity, he joined these conversations, topical satires, and illustrations of satiric works (in particular, Butler’s Hudibras) to original stories of his own. The resulting works—A Harlot’s Progress (1732) and A Rake’s Progress (1735)—produced as both paintings and engravings, made his reputation.
Hogarth prefaced these projects with programmatic subscription tickets and incorporated into their images parodies of New Testament scenes, with the aim of showing that contemporary London life, represented by an English artist, was art as viable as the over-varnished history paintings of the foreign “dark masters” that then dominated the market in England. His most ambitious effort was Marriage à la mode (1745), but his attempt to sell the paintings for Old Master prices was not successful, and he turned to popular engravings with working-class imagery in Industry and Idleness, Beer Street and Gin Lane, and The Four Stages of Cruelty. He continued to paint portraits, and in the 1750s he returned to history painting on a larger scale with The Election (1754) and The Lady’s Last Stake (1759).
In the late 1730s, Hogarth abandoned the grim morality of his early “progresses” for something closer to pure comedy. He replaced the stark moral contrast of good and evil with balanced alternatives such as art and nature, or high culture and low. The mean was embodied by a pretty young woman, more nature than art, in examples such as The Distrest Poet, The Enraged Musician, or Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn.
From this time, Hogarth began to develop an aesthetics centered on the woman. He formulated it in writing in 1752 and 1753 and published The Analysis of Beauty (1753; edited by Ronald Paulson, London, 1997), a work that proposes a middle area between the Beautiful and the Great (or Sublime), based on metaphors of perception related to curiosity, pursuit, seduction, and surprise, which reveal in an object the greatest variety within a unity.
From anticlericalism and Protestant iconoclasm, Hogarth moved on to deism and freemasonry. The results were a morality that regarded the world as without God, and an aesthetics that replaced religion with natural beauty—the Tetragrammaton and the crucifix with Hogarth’s serpentine Line of Beauty, now known as the Hogarth Curve. In his final years, he fought the popular Burkean aesthetics of sublimity in images permeated by a Romantic strangeness unlike his earlier work, as seen in the engravings The Cockpit, Enthusiasm Delineated, and Tailpiece: Or The Bathos (c. 1759).
Hogarth exerted greater influence on writers (Fielding, Sterne) and aestheticians of the Picturesque (William Gilpin, Uvedale Price) than on artists, though a small school of Hogarth emerged in John Zoffany, Joseph Wright of Derby, the early work of Thomas Gainsborough, and (though much modified) that of J. M. W. Turner. His prints were immensely popular on the Continent, directly influencing J.-B. Greuze and, indirectly, J.-L. David, Francisco Goya, and others, and his aesthetics was highly regarded in Germany by G. E. Lessing and G. C. Lichtenberg.
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<urn:uuid:5261ae0b-1672-4cc8-9302-9517302dec30>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.arthistoryspot.com/2010/01/william-hogarth-short-biography/
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.963556
| 883
| 2.71875
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|
Facility will help transform polluting nutrients into environmentally friendly fertilizer
Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc. announced that the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, has approved the construction of a facility at its H.M. Weir Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) that will recover phosphorus and nitrogen from treated wastewater streams and transform them into a highly pure, slow-release fertilizer called Crystal Green.
Ostara’s technology provides the city with a cost-effective and environmental solution for removing polluting nutrients from the WWTP’s liquid wastewater stream. In addition to removing nutrients from the facility, the city selected Ostara’s Pearl Nutrient Recovery Technology to help overcome current operational issues caused by the unintentional build-up of struvite. Struvite is a concrete-like mineral deposit that chokes process equipment, increases operation and maintenance costs, and threatens plant reliability.
The unintentional formation of struvite is a common challenge in plants such as the Saskatoon WWTP, which practice biological nutrient removal and anaerobic digestion. Previously, the city has been forced to use chemical dosing to address struvite problems, which is cost-prohibitive.
“Ostara’s nutrient recovery technology provides a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative that will immediately solve Saskatoon’s wastewater treatment plant’s struvite challenges,” said Ostara President and CEO Phillip Abrary.
Saskatoon’s new nutrient recovery facility will be the first Canadian site to feature Ostara’s newly-designed Pearl 2000, which has the capacity to produce 730 metric tonnes of Crystal Green fertilizer every year. It will also be Ostara’s first commercial implementation of the WASSTRIP process, which is an ideal complement to the company’s Pearl nutrient recovery technology in plants that are using biological phosphorus removal.
The WASSTRIP process was developed in partnership with Clean Water Services to enhance the efficacy of the Pearl process and control struvite scale formations throughout the sludge treatment stream.
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<urn:uuid:cddc4eaf-1ff1-45ab-afe7-36ba1364fd3e>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.wwdmag.com/print/19659
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.922352
| 424
| 2.359375
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|
Stop-Motion - Make Animation With Your Phone
Tested version: 1.2
Latest version: 1.3.1
Requires Android: from 1.5
Few things can be cuter than Claymation and other stop-motion videos. There’s just something inexplicably adorable about them – whether they’re made with Legos, toys, paints or playdough. Stop-Motion is an Android app that is meant to give you the right tools to make stop-motion videos using your phone’s built-in camera. Sounds like a lot of fun, right?
Find out how I fared with stop-motion videos with this do-it-yourself app.
Features & Use
Based on the YouTube videos posted on the developer’s website, it’s possible to make high-quality stop-motion videos with virtually anything using your Android phone. Having watched though a couple of them, I decided to give stop-motion video making a trying using my younger brother’s old toys.
As soon as I opened up the app, I quickly realized that this was going to be a long and complicated process. On the main screen, you can adjust the playback rate (i.e the number of frames/second) and the picture quality. In the Lite version, you can only film in the lowest possible 176x144 quality, but with the full-version you can make movies in HD quality (2048x1536). The app lets you know how much space you have remaining on your 114MB, so you should select your resolution accordingly.
To start filming (or rather taking a series of consecutive pictures) press the Ready! Button – and off you go! Honestly, you feel like you’re being thrown off a cliff as you have no idea how the thing actually works. The app is too bare and simple to even figure out. There are no explanations included in the app on how to make stop-motion films – it’s wholly up to you to make the best of things.
You know you can start filming when a viewfinder with a square grid appears in the middle of the screen. Tap the screen to take a picture or rater capture a frame – as they say in the stop-motion world (clearly, not a very booming industry). And that’s all there is to it. Literally.
Take as many frames as you need by tapping the screen and then press Save to convert the whole thing into one single .mov file for playback.
So basically all the app really does is stitch the pictures together i.e. animates them. After you’re done, the .mov file is stored under the My Stop-Motions tab on the main menu. There you can watch them, edit them (meaning change their name and/or playback speed) and share them via Youtube, Bluetooth, Email and MMS.
I find it extremely hard to believe that the developers were successful at making this cool video with Stop-Motion:
Stability is key for stop-motion animation – something that’s very hard to do with a portable device. My hand kept on shaking, which made the frames impreciseand the animations very difficult to watch. Without a tripod (which, by the way, don’t exist for smartphones) it’s impossible to make a steady animation. What’s even more annoying is the fact that you have to tap the screen every time you wish to make a shot. Instead of this, it would make sense to have an automatic timer that would take pictures at certain intervals allowing you to hold the phone more stably with your two hands. Moreover, once you’re in the process of filming – you can’t save your progress and come back to it later. What a disaster!
Bottom Line: Having a stop-motion app is a great idea, but it takes a little more effort to make it actually user-friendly. Stop-Motion takes a great concept and fails to make it accessible and practical for people. Obviously, I full understand that stop-motion videos are time-consuming and complicated, but an Android app should make the entire process a bit more straight-forward. It’s not rocket science – all it takes is a couple of additional features such as shutter timer and more editing options.
Screen & Controls
The layout and design is abysmal. Frankly, it looks like a two year old put the whole thing together. Being minimalistic is one thing, but why does it have to be so bleak and ugly?
Yeah, all of the buttons work fine, but I didn’t like the controls choice. Adding a shutter button would be a good idea as well as making the whole thing more intuitive.
Another recommendation on my behalf for Stop-Motion: please, oh please integrate a how-to guide to making stop-motion films into the app.
Finally, the picture quality in the lower resolution has some weird lines that go across it. No idea where they’re coming from.
Speed & Stability
Surprisingly, Stop-Motion was both fast and reliable, although it may take some time to stitch the film together with HD quality pictures.
Stop-Motion can be downloaded for $1.99 from the Google Market. The price doesn’t match the product in all honesty unless they make some serious improvements.
For those of you wanting to give stop-motion videos a try, you can also download Stop-Motion-Lite for free from the App Center where you’ll only be able to make videos in the lowest possible resolution.
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<urn:uuid:4c65e8bb-cf11-42fd-babe-cec872dd633c>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.androidpit.com/en/android/tests/test/392406/Stop-Motion-Make-Animation-With-Your-Phone
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.941079
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| 1.648438
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|
Turbocharging is the single most popular method for adding brute power to an engine, but this video shows the manufacturing of a turbocharger is anything but brutal. Instead, the process combines precision machining with ancient methods of metal shaping.
The manufacturing process inside the Turbonetics factory starts with molten aluminum being poured to form the sandcast housings and progresses through exacting CNC processes and unhurried assembly. The human touch is the most notable part of the process: The making of these devices, which spin at 100,000 RPM and help hurl two-ton machines past 200mph, depends largely on the skilled hands of the company's technicians.
(Hat tip to EngineerDIVO at Reddit!)
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<urn:uuid:67f5d51f-7629-4728-8850-6de31269f422>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://jalopnik.com/5866757/how-a-turbocharger-is-made
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|
en
| 0.912773
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The Built Environment
Blueprint for the English garden: meandering routes plotted in ‘nature,’ interspersed with freestanding ‘ruins,’ occasions for a little voyage de la mémoire. Here, a scene extracted from classical epic is made familiar and livable through incorporation into the genre of landscape. So effectively that decades later, gentlemen of means did want to inhabit it, and to the best of their capacity, did. A new kind of professional was born: the landscape architect.
William Wylde, “View of Manchester from Kersal Moor” (1852)
Behold “Cottonopolis” as Manchester became popularly known, after its principle export. Seen today, landscape’s encounter with a realism of disruption and trauma bears more than a subtle resemblance to stock images from science fiction. Whereas the landscape garden opened up to refined sensation figures from refined history, Wylde’s painting locates the viewer on a preserved historical site (the moor, a city park, was heavily associated with Rome) at once surrounded by and comfortably distanced from its present and future. Among the first examples of a place’s complete redefinition according to its function within an integrated national production regime, it also came to be understood as the site where that regime’s excesses were the most visible, striking, ‘sublime.’ Contrast with London, locus of another kind of economic ‘function,’ another brand of ‘excess.’
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<urn:uuid:e69fe802-d9e6-4da0-8b00-87fe0b26e985>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://traxus4420.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/the-built-environment/
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|
en
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CONSERVATION EFFECTS ASSESSMENT IN THE SOUTH GEORGIA LITTLE RIVER
Location: Southeast Watershed Research
Title: Seasonal Hydrologic Impacts of Conservation Tillage for a Coastal Plain Soil
Submitted to: ASABE Annual International Meeting
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: December 3, 2007
Publication Date: June 29, 2007
Citation: Bosch, D.D., Potter, T.L., Truman, C.C., Strickland, T.C. 2007. Seasonal Hydrologic Impacts of Conservation Tillage for a Coastal Plain Soil. ASABE Annual International Meeting 06/29-07/02/2008. Providence, RI. p. 1-13.
Interpretive Summary: Strip till, a practice of planting into a narrowly tilled strip, is a growing practice among many Coastal Plain cotton growers. Strip tillage, and other conservation tillage systems, can lead to increased infiltration, reduced surface runoff, and reduced transport of sediment and agrichemicals. A research site comparing the rainfall-runoff characteristics of conventional till and strip till systems was studied for nine years. Annual water gains in the strip till system obtained through enhanced infiltration and reduced surface runoff were offset by increased subsurface losses. Subsurface losses from the strip till system were particularly high during spring months. Strip till had the greatest benefit in terms of increased water gains during years with the least annual precipitation, indicating that strip till can potentially offset the adverse impacts of drought during the growing season. Surface and subsurface losses from both tillage systems are the greatest during March, indicating a higher potential for agrichemical losses during this month.
Conservation tillage has proven to be an effective water management tool for cotton production on sandy, drought-prone soils throughout the Coastal Plain. Conservation tillage increases crop residue at the surface, leading to reduced evaporation, reduced raindrop impact, increased infiltration, reduced surface runoff, and reduced transport of sediment and agrichemicals at the soil surface. Prior research indicated that the benefits of conservation tillage are the greatest during the period from June through August. This research examines nine years of rainfall-runoff data from a paired conservation till / strip till research site. Differences between runoff characteristics from the paired plots are examined and quantified for both a cotton and a peanut crop. In addition, improved seasonal relationships for estimating runoff from the plots are presented.
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<urn:uuid:6d1bccdf-1f83-4d62-b216-d75ee07178be>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=217471
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|
en
| 0.930075
| 506
| 2.984375
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|
Andrew Otwell points us to an interesting half-hour video on Microsoft's Channel9 site, which showcases their forthcoming mapping/geolocation product, Virtual Earth. As Andrew suggests, it looks to be way more advanced than Google Maps in several ways, perhaps not surprisingly given Microsoft's (relatively) long history as the daddies of the digital mapping business. If you can bear the awkwardly non-staged, perhaps Dogme-influenced presentation - "Hey shove the 'tech guys' in front of the camera!", including the presenter's authentically childish "Take that, guys down at Mountain View!" and "Can you see sunbathing in the backyard? Hur hur" etc. - it's a pretty fascinating tour through the product, including some juicy facts along the lines that MS have had a SOAP API out for their mapping products for around 3 years now, doing 20 millions transactions a day ...
But more on Virtual Earth. A single killer feature is the hybrid view, which superimposes graphical map information on top of the photographic satellite imagery. Whilst I'm not 100% convinced of the efficacy of being able to zoom in to direct-overhead satellite photos, the beauty of this particular city view is utterly compelling.
In terms of the user experience, it's the already-ubiquitous AJAX-based approach (nice quote from one of the developers here: "The best way to share an application is over the web"), apparently cross-browser (which to MS means Firefox and Explorer). This means dragging maps around in the Google Maps style, but with additional keyboard control (arrows keys; + and - for zoom), as well as double-clicking to zoom in. This latter is interesting, as at some point, the double-clicking could stop zooming into the map and instead 'zoom into' (i.e. open up in the same window?) the website of the organisation concerned. This would be an extension of the Eamesian tunneling zoom, but instead opening up/continuing the zoom into the virtual representational space, rather than virtually rendered physical space. Interaction design problems abound - talk about a 'threshold' point - but possibilities perhaps.
The 'game panning' of the compass tool looks very smart i.e. replicating different pan speeds depending on your handling of the compass icon. Search is built in very cleverly, with queries remaining live and contextual i.e. it updates the query results as you drag the map around ... So searching for "public libraries" will keep a continually updating list going in a pane on the left, as you pan the map around. A scratchpad to the right contains those particular results you want to check out - or indeed one-click-blog to MSN Spaces (with deep links, jolly good). You can layer these searches i.e. perform multiple queries, marked with different coloured and numbered icons on to the map.
The user experience seems fairly smooth, and making the map itself the interface has a pleasingly recursive edge. One aspect of the experience is fairly fatally flawed though: the erroneously-named 'Virtual Earth' looks set to start with only one nation. Can you guess which it is? (Clue: It's not Wales). Again, geopolitical patterns of power implicitly replicated in code. A less hubristic name may be more appropriate while the Earth is in beta. But you have to start somewhere, and we can see why they have started there. And yet, from visiting Microsoft researchers and designers last October, I know that approx. 46% of Microsoft revenue comes from the USA, so the 146 countries they're also based in would already seem contribute a greater proportion.
The real killer feature, to follow apparently, is the "eagle-eye view" which gives a more comprehensible view of the city, drawn from a plane's low elevation flyover at 45 degrees. This begins to create a usefully recognisable city representation. This still isn't how the average punter sees the city though (exception for those in high-rises), and I'd like to hear Microsoft's thoughts as to something on the scale of Amazon's 'block-view' drive-by photos at eye-level. Zooming down to that level gets useful, over and above the gorgeous wow factor of the SimCity elevation. To zoom and rotate from overhead projection to isometric view to the view from the street level - in both graphical map and photographic form - is surely the long game here.
Right now, however, the zoom from these 'eagle-eye' photos goes potentially a lot deeper but the developers seem aware of the latent privacy issues involved. So these are not real-time images, and they don't zoom down to show license plate data or people's face, for instance. Although tantalisingly, they could. The images are actually "cleansed" (their word, and how Orwellian?!), which means that the images of the people are removed. Bizarrely - and inadvertently, wonderfully poetically - they leave the shadows that the people had cast in. So no people are present in Microsoft's cities, but their shadows are! This immediately conjures thoughts of other "cleansed" imagined cities, but is also reminiscent of Antonioni's Blow Up. Will people attempt to reconstruct the events from their photographic remnants? From the shadows that Microsoft are mysteriously offering us? The lipstick traces of human endeavour scored throughout their imaginary versions of Detroit and Duluth?
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<urn:uuid:257a4525-0905-4644-b6ca-aedbedf033a4>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2005/05/ms_city_10.html
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.94735
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| 1.835938
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|
During Fight or Flight, your body releases great amounts of adrenaline and cortisol, the Stress hormones, to help you cope with the perceived ”danger“ of the driving test.
Many physical changes occur, here are some of them you might recognise:
Oxygen leaves your front brain, the thinking brain, to go to the back brain, your survival centre. The result is loss of memory, mind going blank... Like failing to remember the Highway Code or forgetting to check mirrors.
Oxygen goes away from your stomach, because in time of peril, your digestion is not a priority. This explains the feeling of “butterflies” in the stomach or nausea…making it hard for you to concentrate.
Oxygen goes instead to your arms and legs, in order to fight or flee. No good for precise movements like tr
trying to change gears. Leaving you shaking, out of control.while attempting parallel parking!
Your muscles tighten up, producing tension in the shoulders, muscular pain in the neck, impossible to relax, to feel at ease...
Your heart pumps harder, your breathing is altered: feeling panicky and light headed, you’re finding it difficult to concentrate. How could you see that cyclist when you were too busy trying to catch your breath!
The pupils in your eyes dilate for peripheral vision as if you are scanning the environment for “danger”, which
means you can’t focus on the road ahead or make any sense of the road signs or even notice that red light!
Sounds familiar? Don’t worry! This programme can easily beat driving test nerves. By neutralising the effects of Fight or Flight, it brings back control when you need it most... During your Test!!
By neutralising the negative effects of Fight or Flight, this download can make it physically impossible to panic
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<urn:uuid:2aec4928-465c-4f6a-b823-b3878c6ce35a>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.testangel.com/fight-or-flight/4538118408
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.907338
| 384
| 2.90625
| 3
|
Full House in Draw Poker
Date: 7/28/96 at 14:40:22 From: Anonymous Subject: Probability of Getting Full House in Draw Poker A player is dealt 5 cards - a pair of aces and three other unpaired cards. What is the probability that she will wind up with a full house (three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank) by using 3 cards from her hand and drawing one pair of cards? I know that there will be two other aces to use that will allow me to make the three of a kind. Since I have three other unpaired cards, that gives me a total of 9 other cards with which I might make a pair of cards in the final hand. Other than that I am lost!
Date: 7/28/96 at 16:51:27 From: Doctor Anthony Subject: Re: Probability of Getting Full House in Draw Poker To fix ideas, suppose that your hand originally consisted of AAKQJ. You keep the two aces and the king, and discard the queen and jack. Now you have AAK in your hand, and you will get a full house if you pick up AK or KK. There are 52-5 = 47 cards that are available, amongst which are 2 aces and 3 kings. Probability of 1 ace, 1 king in the pair you pick up is (2 C 1)(3 C 1)/(47 C 2) = 2*3/1081 = 6/1081 Probability of two kings is (3 C 2)/(47 C 2) = 3/1081 Total probability of a full house = 6/1081 + 3/1081 = .00833 This is in fact the required probability, because you have the choice which extra card (besides the two aces) you keep, whatever the face value of that card, the probabilities will be the same; there will be 3 more of that value in the pack and 2 more aces from a total of 47 cards to be considered. -Doctor Anthony, The Math Forum Check out our web site! http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Search the Dr. Math Library:
Ask Dr. MathTM
© 1994-2013 The Math Forum
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<urn:uuid:030eda9e-c312-414d-b85a-45fb3105c5ef>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/56146.html
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.936941
| 462
| 1.578125
| 2
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Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Emperor Go-Mizunoo of Japan
- Consort: Tokugawa Kazuko (daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada)
- Second daughter: Imperial Princess Kazu-no-miya Okiko (女一宮興子内親王) - became Meishō
- Consort: Daughter of the Minister of the Left
- Fourth son: Imperial Prince ??-no-miya Tsuguhito (素鵞宮紹仁親王) - became Go-Kōmyō)
- Consort: ?
- Eight son: Imperial Prince ??-no-miya Nagahito (秀宮良仁親王) - became Go-Sai
- Lady-in-waiting: Kuniko, Daughter of the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
- Eighteenth son: Imperial Prince Ate-no-miya Satohito (高貴宮識仁親王) - became Reigen
On the third month, 27th day, Keichō 16 (1611), he became Emperor upon the abdication of his father, Emperor Go-Yōzei. On the 4th month, 12th day, he performed a ceremony of gratitude for his enthronement.
When it was found out that his favorite court lady while he was a prince was an imperial princess, Tokugawa Hidetada threatened to cancel the engagement to his daughter, Tokugawa Kazuko. However, apologizing for his actions, Tokugawa Kazuko was welcomed into the Imperial court. In 1627, the Purple Clothes Incident occurred, Tokugawa Iemitsu's wet nurse, being without rank or title, visited the Imperial court. The Emperor, who was unable to retain influence in the face of the shogunate, abdicated in favor of his daughter, who became the Meishō Empress.
He passed away in 1680.
In the grounds of the Sōkoku-ji in the Kamigyō Ward of Kyōto, Emperor Go-Mizunoo's teeth and hair are located, serving to enshrine him.
He is named after the Seiwa Emperor, who had the alternate name Mizunoo (Go- = "Later")
Eras of his reign
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Macon, Nathaniel (māˈkən) [key], 1758–1837, American political leader, b. near the present Warrenton, N.C. He served in the American Revolution and later became a political figure in North Carolina and an ardent champion of states' rights. He opposed the U.S. Constitution because he thought it gave too much power to the federal government. In the early years of the republic he was a national figure, serving as U.S. Representative (1791–1815; speaker of the House, 1801–7) and U.S. Senator (1815–28; president pro tempore of the Senate, 1826–28). He was a stout Jeffersonian, although briefly in Jefferson's second administration he sided with a small faction called the Quids, who favored James Monroe rather than James Madison as the presidential candidate to succeed Jefferson. From the time that he opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts to the end of his career he stood for Jeffersonian ideas of personal liberty and states' rights. He opposed protective tariffs, the reestablishment of the Bank of the United States, most of the plans for internal improvement, and (ironically enough) Macon's Bill No. 2, which bears his name (see Embargo Act of 1807). Some of his correspondence was edited by Kemp P. Battle (1902).
See biography by W. E. Dodd (1908, repr. 1970).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on Nathaniel Macon from Infoplease:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies
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I personally think North is a bit too quick to attribute chondromalacia. But below is info, posted at Runners World online, about that particular injury...
Chondromalacia Definition: A softening or wearing away and cracking of the cartilage under the kneecap, resulting in pain and inflammation. The cartilage becomes like sandpaper because the kneecap is not riding smoothly over the knee.
Symptoms: Pain beneath or on the sides of the kneecap. "It's a soreness, a nagging discomfort," says Dave Apple, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Atlanta's Piedmont Hospital. Pain can worsen over a year or so and is most severe after you run hills. Swelling is also present. In severe cases, you can feel--and eventually hear--grinding as the rough cartilage rubs against cartilage when the knee is flexed.
Causes: Excessive pronation (when the arch collapses too much and the foot rotates too far inward) can cause the kneecap to twist sideways. Fatigued or weak quadriceps muscles, which aid in proper tracking of the kneecap, can prevent the kneecap from tracking smoothly. A muscle imbalance between weak quads and tighter hamstrings can also pull the kneecap out of its groove. Hill running (especially downhills) can aggravate the condition, as can running on the same side of a cambered road, or, in general, overtraining.
Self-Treatment: Stop running. Ice the knee for 15 minutes two or three times a day. Use a flexible, frozen gel pack that wraps around the knee (or, in a pinch, try a bag of frozen vegetables). Take aspirin three times a day for 12 weeks. "Aspirin has been found to block further breakdown of cartilage," says Apple. Also try self-massage on the sore spots around the knee. Once the pain and swelling are gone, strengthen quadriceps by doing "step-downs". Stand on a step or box at least 4 inches high. Keep your right quadriceps tight while you lower the left leg slowly toward the floor. Then raise it back up to the box, and relax. Repeat 40 times with each leg. Continue increasing repetitions in increments of five every two days, all the way up to 60 reps.
Don't forget to stretch quadriceps and hamstrings. When you start running again, you also might try wearing a rubber sleeve with a hole that fits over the kneecap, which can help the knee track better.
You should be back to easy running in four to six weeks.
Post a reply on the Bulletin Board
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Study Island can be accessed by entering www.studyisland.com. Students will use their assigned usernames and passwords. This page is designed for students, parents, and teachers to aid in the learning, understanding, and enjoyment of mathematics. The internet contains wonderful resources but without guidance, can be hard to find. Thus this is a collection of annotated links to some good mathematics sites. Also each annotation includes possible grade levels and target audience(s) of the site. You're invited to scroll through the listing below and explore those that may be of interest to you. A disclaimer must be made: these are links to independently developed web sites. Some are individually created and others are commercially or academically sponsored sites. We have obtained permission from all to link but without endorsement by Miamisburg City Schools. With this in mind you are free to use at your own risk. Feedback via e-mail link given below the listing as to problems, usefulness, and broken links is welcome and appreciated. And we certainly would welcome suggestions for other useful sites we may have not have listed below. Thanks for visiting!!
What Good is Math? This site provides some real world examples of how math is used everyday. It has won several awards and could be used by students, parents, and teachers from upper elementary through high school.
AAAMath This site has LOTS of interactive practice and explanations of basic math skills for the K - 8 curriculum. It would be useful for students needing extra practice or additional explanations. There are also links for parents and teachers on the site.
A Math Refresher This site explains and reviews the basics of Algebra and Trigonometry. Located on the NASA site, the links do a good job of explaining some the necessary concepts to understanding these high school courses.
Algebra.help This site uses some of the latest technology that provides interactive lessons, calculators, and worksheets to aid in the learning and understanding of Algebra.
The Learning Network FunBrain Change Maker This is a game where students can make change in the currency of the world. It is part of The Learning Network's FunBrain sites. The most appropriate age level is probably upper elementary.
CoolMath.com An extremely interesting site to get kids (and adults!) excited about math. Many interactive demonstrations and activities are displayed mostly for junior and or high school students.
CoolMath.com 4 Kids Here are some fun activities which teach math concepts to as young as 3 through elementary grade school students.
Education World's Math Center This site is designed for high school math educators and has many links to standards, lessons, and resources to use in the classroom. However there are also links for Parents and Students seeking homework help.
Figure This! Math Challenges for Families The National Science Foundation and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (among others) sponsored this site geared toward interesting interesting math challenges that middle-school students can do at home with their families.
Helping Your Child Learn Mathematics This is a government publication with information and activities that can be used with elementary school children to aid in their understanding and use of mathematics.
A+ Math This web site was developed to help students improve their math skills interactively. The level of the activities appears to be for upper elementary and junior high students.
Professor Freedman's Math Help This site provides information about basic math, algebra, study skills, math anxiety and learning styles. Although designed for young adults it contains many useful links for high school students.
Helpful Math Links This site is provided by Dr. Freedman and contains many links to educational math sites for students, parents, and teachers.
MATHLETICS The application of math to sports is explored by this site.
QuickMath "QuickMath is an automated service for answering common math problems over the internet. Think of it as an online calculator that solves equations and does all sorts of algebra and calculus problems - instantly and automatically! When you submit a question to QuickMath, it is processed by Mathematica, the largest and most powerful computer algebra package available today. The answer is then sent back to you and displayed right there on your browser, usually within a couple of seconds. Best of all, QuickMath is 100% free!" (Quoted from site)
S.O.S. Mathematics This site contains review material from Algebra to Differential Equations and is useful for high school, college, and adult learners.
Shape and Space in Geometry The Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Project explores these Geometry topics through lab activities.
The Math Forum Home Page This site is sponsored by Drexel University and has links of interest to all math students, parents, and teachers.
Discover School's WebMath This site, sponsored by the Discover Channel offers homework help to all grade levels and links of interest to teachers and parents.
Geometry Through Art A Math Forum site with some useful links to help connect geometry and art for elementary and middle school students.
Tessellation Tutorials Another Math Forum geometry site with good examples, links, and aids to understanding the geometry of tessellations
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The short answer is no, though it’s hard to pinpoint precisely when the World War I and World War II—or First World War and Second World War—monikers arose. During World War I, of course, nobody knew that a second global conflict would follow closely on the heels of the first, so there was no need to distinguish it as the first of its kind. After initially referring to the “European War,” U.S. newspapers adopted “World War” once America entered the confrontation in 1917. On the other side of the Atlantic, meanwhile, Britons preferred “Great War” until the 1940s—with the notable exception of Winston Churchill, who reminisced about the “World War” in the 1927 volume of his memoir “The World Crisis.”
“World War II,” on the other hand, first appeared in print all the way back in February 1919, when a Manchester Guardian article used the term much in the way people today predict a hypothetical “World War III.” But it was Franklin D. Roosevelt who in 1941 would publicly label the conflict the “Second World War,” and his fellow Americans quickly followed suit. (In Britain, it remained simply “the War” until the late 1940s.) While Roosevelt may have helped popularize the name, it seems he wasn’t entirely satisfied with it. In 1942 he asked the public to propose alternate appellations, and over the next few weeks the War Department received 15,000 submissions ranging from “the War for Civilization” to “the War Against Enslavement.” Neither these nor Roosevelt’s own choice—“the Survival War”—had staying power. “World War II” and “Second World War” it was—and, as a result, “I” or “First” was appended to the clash that preceded it.
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This page under construction .
Any policies listed here may not have been approved.
The Role of Ergonomics in Preventing Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders
Working on your feet for long periods of time, performing repetitive motions, and working sitting down for extended lengths of time can all be harmful to your health. Employees who are subjected to cramped conditions, uncomfortable chairs, or jobs that require them to do something over and over again physically are all subject to work-related problems such as WMSDs, or work related musculoskeletal disorders. Ergonomics is the science of ensuring that workers are able to sit or stand in a way that will help promote healthy posture and prevent any work-related health problems. Ergonomic design ensures that skeletal injuries and other back and leg related problems have a much more minimal risk to the employee. People who work in many different fields can benefit from ergonomically designed furniture and other things. Some examples of people who should be aware of ergonomics include those working in the health care field, office workers, transportation, and manufacturing, to name a few.
What is Ergonomics?
The concept of ergonomics was designed to help identify and prevent work related issues, primarily back and leg pain, which can sometimes lead to chronic disorders or even permanent disability. The idea of ergonomics first came about in the late 19th century, when it was realized that workers could be more productive if they were to perform their job in smaller, even increment instead of large heavy loads. As time went on, other aspects of ergonomics were developed, such as designing furniture that is much more posture and back friendly to the body as it sits in one position for long periods of time. Around World War II, the government discovered ways to help ensure people were following the correct protocol to prevent injury and harm. Ergonomically approved footwear is another example, which helps workers who are on their feet better handle the stress and strain that it requires. Even furniture can be designed especially for people to ensure they maintain a comfortable and correct position throughout their work day.
Millions of people suffer from work related musculoskeletal disorders. These disorders can cause several different problems such as back pain, joint pain, headaches, neck strain, and many other problems. In many instances, employees sue their employer because of the harm they suffer due to the conditions they deal with day in and day out at their job. The reason people experience pain and muscle or skeletal related problems is because the body cannot endure too much strain for long periods of time. If someone is working in a position where they are constantly experiencing pressure put on the back, knees, or neck, they may end up with permanent damage to their body. This is why ergonomics are so important.
- Chair Adjustments – This helpful article explains how to sit properly and adjust your chair, so that you remain in an ergonomically correct position.
- What Is Ergonomics? – The basics of ergonomics, and what it means to the office worker.
- Ergonomics Guide – Some information about ergonomics and how to set up your workstation properly.
- History and Background – The definition of ergonomics and how it came about.
How Serious are WMSD's?
Work related injuries and chronic pain can become a serious problem for hundreds of thousands of Americans. The cost incurred from WMSD's can be quite high. Time lost from work is the first issue that arises, but medical related expenses and potential surgery are other financial burdens that many experience, as well as the need for prescription medication. People may have to live with constant, chronic pain, or can have more serious problems such as permanent nerve damage. Over 350,000 working adults file for some kind of work related injury compensation each year. Over 50% of women and 31% of men complain of work related headaches, while approximately 96% of all complaints overall are back related. People who move repeatedly in the same motion, and people who sit in the same position for a long time each day often have to see a chiropractor or physician on a fairly regular basis, so they can keep their work related pain at bay.
- WMSD Information – This website explains what WMSD's are, and how they can happen to people in certain areas of expertise.
- Sonographers and WMSD – An article that gives a good example of how certain professions can experience WMSD's and what can be done about it.
- Preventing Disability – Helpful information on how to prevent work-related disability, with a focus on back pain.
What Can be Done to Prevent WMSD's?
The best deterrent for employees is to educate themselves, and understand the basics of ergonomics. Many governmental agencies including the CDC and OSHA have special programs designed to teach employers and employees about the importance of ergonomics. Having a solid grasp on how to sit properly, and how to use the proper office furniture and tools can help go a long way to preventing WMSD's. Simple steps like bringing your work surface up a few inches, purchasing chairs that support the back and legs, and using a foot stool when sitting down for long periods of time can all help to keep the body in its proper position, and prevent muscle or skeletal damage. Ergonomic programs can help assess a place of business' ergonomic challenges, and help employees to have a more comfortable environment in which to work.
- Study on WMSD's – Informative study that discloses statistical information and facts on work related and repetitive motion.
- How to Treat – A bit of background on WMSD's and how to treat them.
- Factors & How to Identify – This site explains what can cause WMSD's and how workers can identify them.
- Ergonomic Assessments – A few tips and information about analyzing your workplace to ensure it is ergonomically correct.
- Preventing WMSD's – Article that explains how some places and organizations are working to prevent work-related MSD's.
- Resources – A comprehensive list of resources designed to help workplaces prevent WMSD's and provide education to employees.
- Practices for Prevention – What can be done to help keep people from experiencing musculoskeletal problems from their jobs.
- Guidelines – More information about WMSD's as well as some prevention guidelines.
- OSHA Ergonomics – Programs and rules set forth by OSHA.
- Proactive Ergonomics – Things every employer can do to encourage ergonomics, from NIOSH.
- Office Ergonomics – A plan for businesses to follow, from NYC. These suggestions can be used and implemented by any company within the US.
Health & Safety Ergonomics – Put in place by UC Berkeley, this easy to understand plan is designed to promote health and safety in the workplace.
- Program Example – An example of a positive, proactive ergonomics program that can help employees prevent work related pain.
Ergonomic Evaluation Form (pdf)
Ergonomic Training (pdf)
OSHA Ergonomics (external link)
4/19/2013 2:17:47 PM
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The oil industry is protesting a bill that cuts taxes for low-producing oil wells to keep them pumping.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The oil industry is protesting a bill that cuts taxes for low-producing oil wells to keep them pumping.
But North Dakota's tax department says the law also is being applied to some high-producing wells, and it's costing the state an estimated $50 million a year.
North Dakota Petroleum Council President Ron Ness says the exemption gives companies an incentive to drill in marginal areas.
Republican Rep. David Drovdal of Arnegard introduced the bill to cut the exemption. He says it's a matter of fairness.
The 1980s-era law excuses higher-producing wells from paying extraction taxes because they are near the weaker wells but drilling in the same oil pool.
Attempts to cut the exemption have failed in the past three legislative sessions.
(KFGO News file photo)
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- What We Do
- Who We Are
- The Results
- Get Involved
- Donate Now
Poverty is complex. It is caused by lack of education, inequality, unpredictable weather, corruption, disasters, unjust trade agreements and myriad more deep-rooted social and global issues. At the root of it all lies the fact that we live in a broken world. Solutions aren’t easy. Bringing transformation requires us to address the root causes of injustice as well as responding to people’s immediate needs. Prayer is not the least we can do: it is the most important place to start.
The Solution – the local church
The best way to help someone in need is to stand with them in their place of need. This is one reason why Tearfund Ireland works through professional, accountable partners who work with and through local churches. They operate at the point of need and from within the need. In Tearfund’s experience, this is the recipe for truly sustainable development.
The value of working with and through the local church is that it is a grass-roots network which leads to trust, access, community ownership & sustainability, cost effectiveness, replicability, accountability and ability to scale up. The local church also has enormous potential to positively influence attitudes, values and behaviours and provide leadership. It is recognised that there are clear challenges that must be addressed if the church is to realise its potential. This approach is known as Church-Community Mobilisation.
Some groups within society face higher risk of poverty and social exclusion compared to the general population.We seek to transform the lives of the most marginalised and vulnerable people in their community and thus have chosen to focus on Forgotten Children, Vulnerable Women, HIV and Emergencies.
Faith – We inspire and equip Christians in Ireland to understand God’s heart for the poor: to pray, to give, to act. It all counts.
Hope – We speak out against injustice and lobby for positive change
Love – We transform the lives of the most vulnerable and marginalised people by supporting local churches: with finance, training and technical expertise.
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How to Choose a Health Insurance Plan
Choosing a health insurance plan can seem like a daunting task. You need health insurance to protect you financially when an unexpected injury or health problem arises, but choosing the right policy involves research and comparison shopping. There are endless options at a number of price points from dozens of companies. To help you choose the best health care plan, this article covers the following topics:
- Why health insurance is important
- Employer sponsored health insurance
- Individual health insurance
- Types of health insurance plans
- How to choose a health insurance plan
If you’re generally in good health, you may think you don’t need health insurance. Foregoing a health insurance policy may seem like a good way to cut costs for young professionals with little cash. But having no health insurance is a dangerous risk. A minor car accident or surgery can quickly drain your savings account, and more serious accidents can lead to bankruptcy very early in your career.
It’s difficult to get health coverage if your insurance lapses longer than two months so make sure you always have coverage. This is especially true if you have a pre-existing condition, even a mild one such as asthma. Luckily, there are many affordable health insurance options that’ll keep you healthy without depleting your wallet.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, roughly 60 percent of the U.S. population has employer sponsored health insurance. It’s typically a good idea to elect health insurance coverage through your employer if it’s available. Employer sponsored health insurance plans are generally a better deal than individual policies because employers have access to lower group rates and often subsidize employee premiums, sometimes up to 75 percent. Some employers may withhold your portion of the premiums from your paycheck pretax which makes monthly payments even easier.
Employer sponsored health insurance also gives you COBRA coverage in the event that you leave your job and don’t have immediate access to health insurance through a new employer. If you work for a company with at least 20 employees and lose your job, COBRA – Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act – requires your former employer to let you keep your insurance policy for at least 18 months. This is typically much cheaper than individual health insurance even though you’ll have to pay the entire premium after you leave the company.
You’ll need to find an affordable health plan on your own if any of the following apply:
- You’re between jobs
- You’re a freelancer
- You’re self-employed
- Your company – or your significant other’s company – doesn’t offer health insurance coverage
Individual health insurance plans typically have more options than employer sponsored plans, but you’ll pay a higher price for individual coverage. To keep costs low, look into health coverage through your union, professional association, or any other group you belong to. If you don’t qualify, you still have plenty of options. HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 – guarantees that qualified individuals who have had health insurance coverage for at least 18 months will be allowed to purchase an individual health insurance policy if they meet certain criteria. For specific information about requirements, visit HIPPAA’s website. Once you understand your rights through HIPAA, compare individual health insurance costs and plans at ehealthinsrance.com.
Health insurance policies generally fall into three categories – fee for service, managed care and health savings accounts. Each type of coverage has pros and cons; here is a summary:
- Fee for service – If you elect a fee for service plan – also known as FFS or traditional indemnity – you’ll have the flexibility to choose any doctor you want and see a specialist without a referral. In exchange for this flexibility, you’ll pay higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Another drawback of these plans is the paperwork. Some doctors submit insurance claims for you, but others require you to pay the entire bill upfront and then file a claim for reimbursement with your insurance company.
- Managed care – If you opt for a managed care plan, you generally won’t have to submit any forms or claims. You’ll have lower out-of-pocket expenses as long as you see a doctor that participates in your health insurance plan or is in your network. There are a few types of managed care plans:
- HMO – This is one of the cheapest but least flexible plans. You’re required to select a primary care doctor and get a referral from him or her if you need to see a specialist.
- PPO – With this type of plan, you’re rewarded for using in-network providers with lower out-of-pocket costs. If you choose to go out of network, you’ll be partially reimbursed. With a PPO plan, you don’t need to choose a primary care physician or obtain a referral to see a specialist.
- POS – These plans are similar to PPOs; however a POS plan requires that you choose a primary care physician.
- Health Savings Account (HSA) – An HSA is a tax-free savings account where you save money to pay for routine medical expenses, prescriptions, and even over-the-counter drugs. You must have a high deductible health plan to open an HSA, which means your premiums will be much smaller. This is a good option if you want to minimize your costs while maintaining coverage in the event that an accident or serious illness strikes.
Finding an affordable health insurance plan that satisfies your needs and budget requires some research. You can work with an insurance agent or do your own research when comparing health insurance plans. Websites like insure.com maintain a national online database of carriers and allow you to search for policies that are available. Comparing health care plans doesn’t have to be overwhelming; however, there are a few things you should consider to make sure you’re getting the best health insurance policy:
- Services – Make a list of the health services you use or plan to use in the near future, and look for policies that cover these services. Don’t forget:
- Mental health
- Chiropractic services
- Costs – A low cost plan isn’t always your best option, but a good plan doesn’t have to break the bank. Calculate how much you’ll be able to spend on out-of-pocket expenses, and find a health insurance plan that meets your requirements. Don’t forget to factor in these expenses:
- Premiums – payments you make – usually monthly – that cover the cost of your plan membership.
- Deductibles – the dollar amount you’re required to pay before your plan covers any expenses.
- Copayments/Coinsurance – a fixed dollar amount or percentage of the total bill that you pay the doctor at the time of your treatment or visit.
- Restrictions – Understand the limitations of any plan you consider. Make sure your current doctors are covered by your new plan if you’d like to keep seeing the same health care providers. Also, find out if the insurance policy covers any pre-existing conditions you have.
With some time and research, you can find an affordable health insurance plan that fits your needs, saves you money, and helps you stay healthy.
By: Faith Hinz
Faith Hinz is a freelance writer who has written for industries ranging from healthcare to automotive. She lives and works in Chicago. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/faithaubrey and on her blog at www.advertisinginthecity.wordpress.com.
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After two years, the extraordinary Radio Open Source, hosted by Chris Lydon and produced by Mary McGrath, is off off the air and off the ‘Net. It’s a sad day for this hybrid radio/podcast program’s producers and listeners. I wish I’d been wrong, but I predicted this two years ago in my essay, The Future of Public Radio.
Radio Open Source’s problem is just that: It’s a hybrid. It has the cost structure of a public-radio program — a $1 million/year budget — in a podcast-revenue marketplace. Even an infusion of $250,000 couldn’t save them. In the past twelve months, between IT Conversations, Social Innovation Conversations and our other channels, we produced about 400 programs at a total cost of less than $50,000. Radio Open Source produced half as many programs for 20x the cost. I don’t know Radio Open Source’s audience, but we reached nearly a half-million unique listeners and averaged more than 20,000 downloads per program.
To some extent, this is an apples-to-oranges comparison. Radio Open Source was a live show, recorded in expensive WGBH studios, and had a good sized paid staff. We have no real studios, no paid full-time staff, and nearly half of our programs come from conferences that pay their own recording costs. But that’s the point. Whether non-profit or otherwise, every business has to work within a marketplace. Radio Open Source’s content and production values were terrific but expensive, and there simply isn’t an online market sufficient to support it. As I explained two years ago, there isn’t a public-radio market to support it either.
And why didn’t Radio Open Source succeed as a public-radio program? (1) Scarcity. Radio suffers from that old-school model in which there are only so many hours in the day in which to air a program. (2) Peculiarity. For a station to pick up Radio Open Source (a four-show-per-week series), it had to cancel another daily show and fill the extra day with something. (3) Timing. If a station did pick up Radio Open Source, it most likely ran it at some odd hour of the day, whereas the podcast edition was always available on my schedule. (4) Esotericism. Let’s face it: Radio Open Source was aimed at a fairly elite audience, and broadcast needs numbers.
I hope that Radio Open Source can resurface as a podcast-only program in the fall, perhaps as a weekly rather than four times per week. But to do so they will have to scale back their expenses to match the realities of the podcast marketplace. They won’t be able to re-hire that great team of producers. They’ll have to scrape to get by, just like all podcasters except those who are supported by unrealistic venture capitalists. Record in a bedroom. Leverage part-time and volunteer staff. Focus on Chris’ brilliance, but Chris and Mary may have to do all the research and scheduling themselves. Even then, it’s not at all clear they’ll be able to support themselves from Radio Open Source as a podcast. Very few of us can. And there are very few funders in the non-profit sector who want to underwrite any podcasts, let alone those produced on a broadcast-style budget.
I’d love to have Radio Open Source join The Conversations Network in the fall, and I’ve said as much to Chris and Mary. I look forward to discussing that opportunity with them once they’ve recovered from the trauma of having to pack up, move out and lay off the staff. In any case I wish them well and thank them for producing a truly excellent and inspiring program for these past two years.View Printable Version
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News & Updates
Find A Specialist
Resource Finder at Kennedy Krieger Institute
A free resource that provides access to information and support for individuals and families living with developmental disabilities.
M.E.B. Lewis, Ed.D.
Kennedy Krieger Institute
3825 Greenspring Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21211
Phone: (443) 923-7822
Dr. Lewis is the director of projects that introduce or extend knowledge of special education policy, interventions or information to both Kennedy Krieger staff and others in the outside community of educators, families, colleges, universities, agencies and community or business groups.
Dr. Lewis received her bachelor's degree in English and philosophy from Towson State College and continued her graduate education at Johns Hopkins University, where she received a master's degree as a reading specialist, and a doctorate in human communication disorders. She taught English and was a reading specialist in Baltimore City public schools for nine years before coming to Kennedy Krieger as principal of its school in 1980.
She has served in the capacity of principal and education director on both the Fairmount and Greenspring campuses, where both the elementary and middle schools were honored as National Blue Ribbon Schools. Dr. Lewis contributed extensively to the growth of the school program at Kennedy Krieger from a small elementary program to its current pre-K through age 21 model. She has also worked at the Maryland State Department of Education as a specialist in non-public schools. For five years, she was the Director of the Center for Reading Excellence at Johns Hopkins University before returning to Kennedy Krieger in 2005.
Dr. Lewis remains connected to the Maryland State Department of Education through her participation on both the Maryland Reading First Initiative and the Committee for the Redesign of Reading Curriculum, both activities involved with the examination of research-based procedures for teaching and learning about reading for school aged students. She has taught at Johns Hopkins University's School of Education for over 25 years, and serves on the neuro-education committee there.
Dr. Lewis' research interests include the neurological aspects of learning, and particularly, the disabling conditions that contribute to reading, writing and language deficits.
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-By Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist
A previous article reviewed how the latest USDA Cattle report
confirmed the impact of the drought in 2011 with continued
liquidation of cattle numbers and dramatic regional shifts in cattle
numbers. This article will look at what the report indicates about
prospects for 2012.
One important issue is the implication for feeder cattle supply in
2012. The January 1 estimate of feeder cattle outside of feedlots is
25.85 million head, down 1.06 million head (3.9 percent) from one
year ago. Remember that the feeder supply last year was down 2.9
percent from 2010. In total, the U.S. feeder cattle supply has
dropped 1.85 million head or 6.7 percent in the past two years.
However, the January 1, 2012 Cattle on Feed inventory was 14.12
million head, up nearly one percent from the previous year.
Moreover, the feedlot inventory on January 1, 2011 was up 2.7
percent from 2010. The point is that feedlots have done a
remarkable job of maintaining feedlot inventories but only at the
expense of future feeder cattle supplies. It seems less and less
likely that this can continue.One measure of this intensity of feeder cattle use is to look at the
ratio of feedlot inventory to the feeder cattle supply.
For January 1, 2012, this ratio or percentage was 54.85 percent. This is a
record high for this statistic. This value means that for every
animal in feedlots on January 1, there were only 1.83 feeder
animals outside of feedlots to replace them. This statistic has
increased since the mid-1970s. In 1975, the value was 17.2
percent meaning that there were 5.8 feeder animals outside feedlots
for every one already placed. As recently as the mid-1990s this
value was about 38 percent meaning that there were 2.6 animals
available for every animal in feedlots. The industry has continued
to get more intensive with the use of feeder animals but it is
unlikely that this percentage can continue to increase.
Another measure of the intensity of feeder cattle use is to look at
the estimated feeder supply as a percent of the previous year’s calf
crop. This provides a measure of how many animals are being
carried over from one year to the next. The value for 2012 was
72.9 percent, the second lowest value for this statistic. It indicates
that more calves were “used” quickly relative to the size of the calf
crop. This certainly reflects the drought induced early placements
that occurred in the summer and fall of 2011. This statistic
averaged 75.8 percent the past five years and was as high as 82
percent at the last cyclical peak in cattle numbers in 1995. The
point is that there were less feeder cattle brought into 2012 and that
less will be available this year for placement in feedlots.
These two measures both indicate that the long standing tendency
of the industry to pull cattle ahead, i.e use them more intensively,
accelerated significantly the past two years and it is unlikely that it
can continue for another year. I admit that I have been amazed at
the industry’s ability to find feeder cattle when it seems there are
no more. However, that ability last year was based on very
unusual behavior such as placing Mexican cattle directly in feedlots at light
weightsand was abetted by the drought forced early placement of calves.
I don’t think the industry has many
more tricks up their sleeve and I expect to see feedlot inventories
contract as we move through the next few months. Just how much
feedlot inventories will decrease will depend, in part, on how much
heifer retention occurs in 2012 and that will be the subject of the
The Numbers are In: Part 1
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ABSTRACT: This paper provides a status report for RADARSAT-2 system operations and performance now that two years of Routine Phase operations have been completed. Experience from the second year of operations is reviewed. System status, performance, and trends are described along with performance and achievements of the RADARSAT-2 operations functional groups. Normal operations now includes increased attention to orbital collision risk avoidance, and the RADARSAT-2 risk mitigation experience is summarized. In addition to meeting and maintaining specified performance requirements for the Routine Phase, the operations team has implemented a number of improvements to both the system and operations to provide enhanced performance. These include reduced tasking latency, enhanced beam modes, and further improved image quality. The improvements are described as part of the evolution of the mission capabilities along with some further planned enhancements.
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 2010 IEEE International; 08/2010
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Worst of all is the fact that “”There are now FB widows and ‘spending time on Facebook’ is replacing ‘spending time online watching porn’ as grounds for cruelty,” said Deshmukh.
There are also reports that Facebook increases Alcohol abuse.
Neela Gokhale, a divorce advocate, recounts that in Pune, a woman found her husband “obsessed with FB and ‘adding’ women friends. She has filed for divorce”. Facebook posts and pictures are being used as evidence in courts”
People want to pour out their emotions in Face Book , least understanding that the information they post may be used by professional Pimps ,lurking under the guise of Escort Service or offering to console them(men by women ,women by men).
One leads to another and ends up in illicit relationship.
You find a column(is it how it is called(?) where boys and girls state that they are in ‘Relationship?
In some cases it lets people know that they are in Love and use this to let the parents know of their Love through this medium or by those who can inform the parents,having seen the Status.
The ideal step,in the case of a Genuine Love, is to inform parents directly.
People do not know realize that it hurts a parent know of their children’s relationship through others, especially when they happen to be the last to be informed.
But in illicit relationships, the price one may have to pay ranges from Divorce to Death,Murder.
Many a future have been ruined by posting indiscriminatingly in Facebook .
No use in blaming the Social Media.
Post Garbage,get Garbage.
Please read my blog .Avoid posting these information On line‘
When Facebook gets involved, relationships can quickly fall apart – as Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi have discovered. But dictatorships are not the only ties being dissolved by social networkingsites: now Facebook is increasingly being blamed for undermining American marriages.
Even though the rate of divorce in the US has remained largely stable in recent years, American divorce lawyers and academics have joined Middle East analysts in picking out Facebook as a leading cause of relationship trouble, with American lawyers now demanding to see their clients’ Facebook pages as a matter of course before the start of proceedings.
“We’re coming across it more and more. One spouse connects online with someone they knew from school. The person is emotionally available and they start communicating through Facebook,” said Dr Steven Kimmons, a clinical psychologist and marriage counsellor at Loyola University Medical Centre near Chicago.
Yet while the US media has been quick to trumpet any evidence of Facebook as the country’s leading marriage-wrecker, the truth is “It’s complicated,” as the site’s relationship status would have it.
A 2010 survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) found that four out of five lawyers reported an increasing number of divorce cases citing evidence derived from social networking sites in the past five years, with Facebook being the market leader.
Two-thirds of the lawyers surveyed said that Facebook was the “primary source” of evidence in divorce proceedings, while MySpace with 15% and Twitter with 5% lagged far behind.
Those statistics included not just evidence of infidelity but other legal battles, such as child custody cases in which parents deny using illicit drugs but boast of smoking marijuana on their Facebook pages.
Photographs harvested from social networking sites – including those posted by friends or colleagues on their own pages – are a particularly rich source of damning evidence, according to divorce lawyers.
“This sort of evidence has gone from nothing to a large percentage of my cases coming in,” Linda Lea Vicken, a member of the divorce lawyers’ group from South Dakota, told the Associated Press.
Marlene Eskind Moses, president of the AAML, said the openness and sharing of social networking sites left their users’ public and private lives more exposed.
“If you publicly post any contradictions to previously made statements and promises, an estranged spouse will certainly be one of the first people to notice and make use of that evidence,” said Moses.
Statistics for January from online analysts Nielsen showed 135 million people in the US visiting Facebook during the month – nearly 70% of the country’s internet users. On average, users spent more than seven hours a month visiting the site, far longer than the less than half an hour spent on visits to Amazon or the average of two hours and 15 minutes on Google, America’s most popular web destination.”
It found those who used such sites daily were five times more likely to smoke tobacco as those who did not, three times as likely to drink alcohol and twice as likely to use marijuana.
The poll of 12 to 17-year-olds Americans, conducted by Columbia University, found 70 per cent of those interviewed said they used social networking sites on a typical day, while 30 per cent did not.
One of the main reasons for going on such sits, besides actually communicating with friends, is to keep tabs on peers by looking at their photographs.
But the study found that pictures of teenagers “drunk, passed out, or using drugs on Facebook and other sites” were “rampant”.
However, parents seemed unaware that browsing such sites could increase their child’s likelihood of abusing drink or drugs, with almost nine in 10 believing it did not have an effect on them.”
Case have increased fourfold in Sunderland, Durham and Teesside, the areas of Britain where Facebook is most popular.
Professor Peter Kelly, director of public health in Teesside, claimed staff had found a link between social networking sites and the spread of the bacteria, especially among young women.
He said: “Syphilis is a devastating disease. Anyone who has unprotected sex with casual partners is at high risk.
“There has been a fourfold increase in the number of syphilis cases detected with more young women being affected.
“I don’t get the names of people affected, just figures, and I saw that several of the people had met sexual partners through these sites.
“Some marriages may get saved, but Facebook, which a recent survey in UK blamed for nearly a third of all divorces, is leading to a rise in face-offs in family courts across India too. “Facebook is fast becoming a reason why many marriages are faltering,” said celebrity divorce lawyer Mrinalini Deshmukh.
As divorce petitions get peppered with the mention of Facebook and printouts of web pages, the reason is not merely because couples spend more hours individually on the site, Deshmukh said. “Spending more time, especially at night before bedtime, with friends on Facebook or merely playing games on the site is no doubt eating into couples’ together-time or intimacy. More pertinently, if someone wants to have an affair or flirt, then FB is an easy place to do it. People also use the ‘friend finder’ to re-unite with school or college friends and some really unite. One couple opted for mutual consent divorce when her husband found his former love on FB,” the lawyer explained.
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MORRISVILLE, N.C.--Innovation and commercialization firm Montie Design (www.montie.com) is helping to introduce a new product to the cold weather motorsports marketplace to solve an irritating and dangerous aspect of snowmobiling. Fog Thief is a new invention produced and distributed by Montie Design that keeps a snowmobile helmet's face shield from fogging up and interfering with the wearer's vision.
"When you exhale within your helmet, the moisture will fog up and ultimately freeze, making your see-thru visor dangerous for you or other riders," said John Younts, the creator of Fog Thief.
According to Younts, an avid snowmobiler for the past 15 years, the combination of temperatures and wind chill in the teens as well as riders getting a workout creates the perfect storm for a visor that fogs over or even freezes."
"When your helmet fogs-up, you have to pull over because you can’t see and then you pray that no one hits you," he said.
The only non-spray solution of its kind, the Fog Thief is a soft, comfortable mouthpiece that channels the user's breath outside their helmet, keeping the warm, moist air out. Made from an advanced polymer, the Fog Thief remains flexible even under extreme conditions of minus-50 degrees F temperatures and is compatible with all helmets.
The popularity and economic impact of snowmobiling are significant, with 129,087 snowmobiles sold worldwide in 2012 contributing to an estimated $23 billion industry in the U.S. alone. With over a million registered snowmobiles here in the U.S. and a half million in Canada, the Fog Thief is positioned to have a positive impact on a lot of people, said Montie Design President Montie Roland.
"We're excited to help provide a unique solution to a problem plaguing a major market sector," he said.
Younts approached Montie Design with a sketch of the Fog Thief concept. After several iterations, the design firm came up with a final version meeting the standards set forth in the initial concept and using materials and processes to ensure the product is made in the USA. Roland said his company will be producing the Fog Thief and processing online orders for the product, which retails for $34.95.
Utilizing creative approaches to product design and production – such as purposeful wondering, making a product’s current features more valuable by considering a wide variety of options – Montie Design identifies and applies cutting-edge solutions to keep manufacturing costs low while satisfying end-user requirements.
For more information on Montie Design, visit www.montie.com.
To order the Fog Thief, visit www.funprojex.com.
About Montie Design
Montie Design is an innovation and commercialization firm with core competencies in mechanical engineering and industrial design. Active in the product design, defense, and technology sectors, we leverage years of industry leadership and extensive technical capabilities to help clients take products from concept to marketplace that are economical to manufacture, elegant and robust. Montie Design is a North Carolina company headquartered in the Research Triangle region with clients across the country and overseas. We are dedicated to economic development throughout our home state and furthering excellence in design and engineering. For more information, visit www.montie.com.
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In Land We Trust
The conservative approach to preservation.
Sep 5, 2005, Vol. 10, No. 47 • By G. TRACY MEHAN III
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE WOULD NOT be surprised. It took a bit of time to happen, but happen it did. Today, Americans support more than 1,300 land trusts, nonprofit organizations that conserve land--open space, habitat, scenic vistas--primarily through purchase and gift of land and conservation easements. These nongovernmental, voluntary associations of like-minded citizens have protected more than 6.2 million acres, an area twice the size of Connecticut, according to the Land Trust Alliance, which tracks these things. This is a 226 percent increase over the 1.9 million acres protected in 1990.
Tocqueville, one Frenchman who will never be out of favor in this country, recognized that
Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions constantly form associations. They have not only commercial and manufacturing companies, in which all take part, but associations of a thousand kinds, religious, moral, serious, futile, general or restricted, enormous or diminutive. The Americans make associations to give entertainments, to found seminaries, to build inns, to construct churches, to diffuse books, to send missionaries to the antipodes; in this manner they found hospitals, prisons, and schools. If it is proposed to inculcate some truth or to foster some feeling by the encouragement of a great example, they form a society.
He noted how this was a uniquely American predisposition: "Whenever at the head of some new undertaking," he wrote, "you see the government in France, or a man of rank in England, in the United States you will be sure to find an association." The first land trust was established in 1891 in Massachusetts, by landscape architect Charles Eliot, to preserve 20 acres of woodland. By 1950 there were still only 53 land trusts operating in 26 states. Today, similar grass-roots organizations protect land in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
The growth in the number of these private institutions is due, in part, to the nation's increasing prosperity and the rise of the original conservation movement and modern environmentalism. It is also a reaction to the accelerated pace of development that inevitably accompanies a growing population and a thriving economy. The Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service reports that, between 1997 and 2001, 2.2 million acres were developed. Yet the Land Trust Alliance's most recent census of land trusts reports that, from 1990 to 2000, local and regional trusts conserved open space at a rate of about 500,000 acres per year.
The Little Traverse Conservancy, in northwest Michigan, is an example of this brand of local stewardship. It focuses on the area surrounding the bay of the same name on Lake Michigan. Since 1972, it has protected 22,400 acres and 67 miles of lake and stream frontage for public use and enjoyment, natural beauty, and resources protection. Recently, the Conservancy acquired a 200-acre parcel with a mile and a quarter of river front on both sides of the Pigeon River, a "blue ribbon" trout habitat with deep pools.
Conservationists have extended the trust concept to water in the drought-prone West, where maintaining minimum stream flows for fish, wildlife, and plants is a daunting task. In 1993, the Oregon Water Trust began buying and transferring valuable rights to water for the purpose of maintaining streamflows. Donors such as the Orvis Company support its work. Other states have emulated this example as a cooperative, voluntary means of reconciling traditional Western water law ("First in time, first in right") with conservation objectives.
The Nature Conservancy, incorporated in 1951 as a nonprofit entity and successor to the Ecologists Union, is the Ohio-class boomer of land trusts and conservancies. Starting out as a shoestring outfit on a corner along K Street in Washington, with modest offices over a prosthetics shop, it has become a gigantic organization with a commanding presence in worldwide conservation. It is now the largest environmental group in the world, bringing in over $800 million each year. It employs 3,450 people operating from 400 offices in 50 states and 28 countries. It protects more than a million acres of land a year, for a total of 120 million acres to date. And it has 1,500 trustees of boards in each of the states, and one million members and supporters.
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A 12:14 98-07-16 -0700, Keld J|rn Simonsen a écrit :
>Michael Everson writes:
>> >Some case mappings (e.g., for French and for Turkish)
>> >differ from the defaults.
>Yes, some French maintain that the uppercase version of lowercase
>accented letters do not have accents.
Right, they have been brain-washed in primary schools for almsost a century
(mainly due to mechanical typewriter constraints, and, previous to that,
due to stone-carving practices dating from long before the invention of
accents) in spite of evidence in all dictionaries to the contrary at the
same time (all major franco-French dictionaries' entries are in capitals
only, obviously with accents for words which require them, totally
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Tue Jul 10 2001 - 17:20:40 EDT
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The best scenario at the conclusion of any problem-oriented policing project is the occurrence of diffusion of benefits rather than displacement, but clearly this is not always the case. Even if displacement occurs, your project can still benefit the community if the displacement is managed properly. To effectively manage displacement, you need to gain an in-depth understanding of your displacement potential and plan for the analysis of displacement and diffusion effects within your project.
Knowing the different forms of displacement (such as benign and malign) allow you to orient your problem-solving efforts toward minimizing the impact of any displacement effects should they occur. This can mean taking steps to reduce the harm of displaced behavior, tailoring responses to protect vulnerable populations in the community, or shifting the impact of problem behavior where it has fewer consequences.
One way to manage displacement is to reduce the harms attributable to displaced behavior relative to the harms experienced in the response area before the project’s implementation. For instance, displacing a disorderly day labor site to an organized facility away from affected businesses and residential areas could alleviate the loitering, traffic congestion, and public disorder that previously existed.28 Similarly, relocating a popular teenage cruising strip to a designated area can eliminate harms to businesses and neighborhoods such as traffic congestion, loud car stereos, public drunkenness, and assaults, which may contribute to heightened levels of community fear of crime.29
Prevention efforts that are directed toward vulnerable populations such as the elderly, children, or immigrants can still be beneficial even if displacement occurs. These vulnerable populations are impacted by crime more than other community groups as they are less able to protect themselves from victimization and recuperate from or recover losses, and, because of this, generally have a higher fear of crime.30 Conceivably, even a project that prevents victimization among these groups and results in total displacement (e.g., 100 percent relocation of crime or problem behavior) to non-vulnerable community members can still be beneficial. Of course, it is best to reduce the problem without any resultant displacement. Even so, the variability to which crime problems impact different members in the community may be worthwhile to consider.
Another way the presence of displacement would fail to washout response effects is when victimization or the impact of crime and problem behavior is dispersed from concentrated places or people. Research shows that crime tends to disproportionately concentrate in time, place, and among victims.31 A response that targets community members who routinely experience a disproportionately high rate of victimization compared to others (e.g., repeat victims), or targets crime and problem behavior that is concentrated in a relatively small, specific place (e.g., hot spot, risky facilities) can continue to provide beneficial results even if displacement occurs. This is because the problem behavior will be less concentrated and as such, will result in less harm for the community. Again, any displacement is undesirable, but recognizing the benefit of crime dispersion could be useful.
For two reasons you should use caution when applying these ideas in practice. First, much of the knowledge regarding the nature of displacement is based on theoretical propositions that remain untested. Although they do stem from firm theoretical foundations regarding crime that have supportive research findings, there is little empirical evidence that displacement will behave the way the propositions specify (e.g., familiarity decay; movement to areas closest to former crime sites, etc.). Because of this they should be used as a guide to your approach to manage displacement not as hard and fast rules.† Second, orienting prevention efforts toward relocating the impact of crime or problem behavior may raise criticism from some community members and may pose some ethical dilemmas. Therefore, your primary goal should be to reduce crime and problem behavior outright without any displacement. Assessments of reduced harm should be used as a way to evaluate the impact of your efforts and to inform subsequent cycles of the problem-solving process.
† It should also be noted that social science is based in probabilities rather than absolutes. This means that theoretical propositions should be interpreted as proposing that it is more probable than not that a certain event will occur given various circumstances. For example, in the case of theoretical propositions regarding displacement, the theories hold that if displacement occurs, it will most likely occur in areas familiar to the offender, which will tend to be close to the original offending site. The failure of this to occur in any single instance does not negate the theory.
You may order free bound copies in any of three ways:
Phone: 800-421-6770 or 202-307-1480
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: the lowest wage paid or permitted to be paid; specifically: a wage fixed by legal authority or by contract as the least that may be paid either to employed persons generally or to a particular category of employed persons
Wage rate established by collective bargaining or by government regulation, specifying the lowest rate at which workers may be employed. A legal minimum wage is one mandated by government for all workers in an economy, with few exceptions. Privately negotiated minimum wages determined by collective bargaining apply to a specific group of workers in the economy, usually in specific trades or industries. The modern minimum wage, combined with compulsory arbitration of labour disputes, first appeared in Australia and New Zealand in the 1890s. In 1909 Britain established trade boards to set minimum wage rates in certain trades and industries. The first minimum wage in the U.S. (which applied only to women) was enacted by Massachusetts in 1912. Minimum wage laws or agreements now exist in most nations.
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Vol. 4, No. 2
Why Workers Quit, Come Back
Employees expressed, in a new survey from the Bernard Hodes Group, that a limited career path in their present position (cited by 51 percent of those responding) and pay and benefits that are not in line with their skill set (cited by 50 percent) were two reasons why they were looking for a new job or at least open to the idea.
The survey—2007 Workplace Study: Playing for Keeps/Recruiting for Retention—of both full- and part-time employees focused on drivers for retention and how companies should concentrate their recruiting efforts on retaining top talent.
Of those asked, 21 percent revealed that, at some point in their career, they had returned to work for an employer from which they had resigned. Sixty percent said they would reapply for the same job at their current employer.
"Fifty-three percent of those responding to our survey are passive job seekers," said Alan V. Schwartz, president and CEO of Bernard Hodes Group. "Engaging these employees to determine their needs can help shape a company's retention efforts and keep valuable employees with the company."
Bernard Hodes Group Senior Vice President Paul Austermuehle says that a retention strategy builds "on the friendships and sense of belonging that make so many jobs so satisfying in the first place. This takes considerable pressure off of the staffing team.
"Our study proves the old truism that 'people don't quit companies, they quit supervisors,' " adds Austermuehle. "It's great news to know that one in five of those people find a way to return to the company. And the data demonstrates that the power of community is what draws them back."
For more information about the survey, visit the retention study page .
Baby Boomer Retirements Most Significant Trend
Almost half of the senior executives surveyed by Robert Half International say baby boomer retirements will have the greatest workforce impact over the next decade.
The survey was conducted by an independent research firm and included responses from 150 senior executives with the 1,000 largest companies in the United States. (For more information, visit www.roberthalf.com.)Executives were asked, "Which of the following trends do you think will most significantly alter the workforce in the next decade?" Their responses:
- Baby boomer retirements - 47 percent
- Global business interactions - 31 percent
- Outsourcing - 11 percent
- Remote work arrangements - 5 percent
- Other - 5 percent
- Don't know - 1 percent
"The looming retirement of baby boomers has captured the attention of business leaders who are concerned about retaining the expertise of their most tenured employees," says Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half.
"Businesses that accommodate valued staff members who are not ready for retirement but seek new work arrangements, such as flexible or part-time schedules, are best able to keep top performers. Consulting arrangements allow individuals to remain challenged professionally while maintaining the flexibility to pursue outside interests."
Senior Execs Worry About Competition, Economy, Retention
Competition, the health of the global economy, and failure to attract and retain talent top the list of threats to business success for senior executives at some of the world's largest companies, according to new data reported by Accenture. (For more information on the survey, visit www.accenture.com .)
Questions were posed to more than 850 C-suite executives—representing all major industries and the public sector—in China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The executives perceived the top five threats to business success as competition (cited by 73 percent), the condition of the global economy (67 percent), the inability to attract and retain the best talent (67 percent), company reputation (62 percent) and the inability to develop new products and services (51 percent).
These same issues topped the list of threats cited in a similar Accenture survey in 2005. The one growing concern, however, is talent retention. Cited by 60 percent of executives in 2005, it rose 7 percentage points in the new survey.
Furthermore, executives reported that their companies' global reach had grown in terms of the suppliers they use, their own employees, their office locations and their customers. More than half (56 percent) said they are concerned or very concerned about the impact of the global economy on business.
Respondents also expressed concerns about their ability to maintain a common corporate culture (cited by 54 percent), to serve remote customers effectively and to understand local ways of doing business (52 percent each). One in five (21 percent) said their organizations are not adequately equipped to succeed as global enterprises.
Help Wanted: HR Volunteers
Second Chance Employment Services (SCES) is looking for a few good HR volunteers. The nonprofit organization is expanding the services it offers to high-risk women who often are the sole support for their dependents and who have limited job skills or extraordinary barriers to seeking employment.
"Employment is a key component to ending domestic violence," says Ludy Green, president and founder of SCES. Recruiters play a key role in the program by identifying jobs for the women and assisting them in preparing resumes and learning interviewing skills as well as by serving as advocates for these victims in their companies.
SCES needs more support from human resource managers and recruiters, Green says, because "as our services are expanding nationwide, more women victims of domestic violence and their children come to our doors for help." The organization currently has offices in Washington, D.C., and New York.
SCES provides individualized training and counseling services, such as bilingual and translation assistance, interview coaches to accompany applicants to interviews, and pre-placement and post-placement follow-up services for employers and employees. The organization also provides workshops that teach skills such as resume writing and assists in the completion of government and private-sector employment forms. In addition, SCES trains applicants on business communications and workplace image.
Green says that since its founding in 2001, SCES has successfully trained hundreds of women, placing them in meaningful, long-term positions with top-tier companies. SCES clients can receive pro bono services, such as legal services, dentistry and salon makeovers.
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November 4, 2009
Slavery in Mauritania
While noting the significant steps that have been taken in Mauritania to tackle slavery, an independent United Nations human rights expert today called for a comprehensive strategy to put an end to this scourge, warning of its impact on the country’s future.
“Unaddressed, slavery in all its forms may be an obstacle to the stability, sustainable development and prosperity of Mauritania,” said Gulnara Shahinian, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, at the end of her visit to the country.
During her visit, Ms. Shahinian met with various Government authorities, international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and visited communities in Atar, Rosso and the capital, Nouakchott.
She met with people who told her that they had been victims of slavery practices such as serfdom and domestic servitude.
“These victims said that they were utterly deprived of their basic human rights,” she said in a news release. “Having no alternative, they voluntarily stay or after fleeing, return back to slavery. This perpetuates the vicious circle of slavery for men, women and children. The women I met felt that they were the most vulnerable as they suffer triple discrimination firstly as women, secondly, as mothers and thirdly as slaves.”
She commended the country for taking legal measures to eradicate all forms of slavery, including the passing in 2007 of the law criminalizing the phenomenon, which she said sends “a clear message that slavery can never be tolerated in Mauritania.”
She recommended that a sustained awareness-raising campaign be carried out in the urban and rural areas to make all Mauritanians aware of the law. In addition, to encourage victims to come forward, she suggested that the slavery law include provisions that offer victim assistance and socio-economic programmes for their reintegration into society.
“A comprehensive and holistic national strategy specifically addressing slavery that includes awareness raising, access to basic services and income-generating activities is required in order to effectively put an end to this phenomenon,” said the Special Rapporteur.
Ms. Shahinian, who was appointed to her post in May 2008, works in an independent and unpaid capacity, and reports to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council.
November 4, 2009 | Permalink
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Angela Zou hardly writes text messages now. Sitting at her desk in an ad agency, Zou asks her iPhone where to eat. When it buzzes seconds later, she lifts it to her ear for her colleague’s reply. The conversation goes back and forth before they decide on a place for lunch.
Like millions of others across Asia, Zou is using WeChat, a smartphone app developed in China, to send voice messages, snapshots and emoticons to her friends.
Now that its walkie-talkie-style messages have become ubiquitous, she said typing feels like hard work.
WeChat’s popularity has grown dramatically since its launch last year.
Tencent, which developed the app, said in September that its users had doubled in six months to 200 million. Most are in China, though it is being launched across Asia and has users in the US and the UK.
Historically, it has proved difficult for Chinese internet firms to expand beyond the country, but WeChat is being tipped as the first Chinese social media application with the potential to go global.
However, as WeChat grows, politicians and dissidents are voicing concerns. Activists fear that the voice messaging allows security officials to monitor users’ movements in real time, and when the app was launched in Taiwan on Oct. 18, legislators said they feared that it posed a threat to national security, through the potential exposure of private communications.
WeChat is similar to the US-based messaging service WhatsApp, but it does more. An amalgamation of social media tools akin to Twitter, Facebook and Skype, it comes in eight languages.
“I used WhatsApp before I came back to China [from studying abroad] and found all my friends were using WeChat,” said Zou, 25. “Now when I want to contact someone I use WeChat first.”
The app’s features include “Look Around,” which allows users to chat to strangers nearby, while “Moments” works like Instagram.
However, like other social media, WeChat can access users’ contacts, text messages and location via GPS. In China, some fear this could potentially make targeted users susceptible to surveillance.
Hu Jia, a human rights activist jailed for three years on a charge of sedition, suspects that voicemail messages to his friends had been listened to by Guobao officials (China’s internal security bureau).
“I took a chance and assumed WeChat was relatively safe,” he said. “But the Guobao surprised me with their ability to repeat my words or voice messages verbatim.”
Tencent, the country’s biggest internet firm, said: “We have taken user data protection seriously ... and at the same time, like other international peers, we comply with relevant laws in the countries where we have operations.”
Adam Segal, a Council on Foreign Relations cyber-security expert, said: “WeChat shouldn’t be singled out ... many technologies have some type of vulnerability.”
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Major banks are agreeing to give local governments and nonprofit groups the ability to buy foreclosed homes before they are sold to private investors.
The Obama administration says local officials could benefit from acquiring these properties and using the land for redevelopment projects. Congress has provided $7 billion in money to buy the homes.
These groups have been outbid by speculators who are snapping up foreclosures.
The administration says the largest mortgage lenders in the country, including Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. have agreed to let the groups purchase the properties ahead of private speculators.
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Samosir island within the lake is an island within the island of Sumatra.
Lake Toba is an immense volcanic lake covering an area of 1,707 km² (1,000 km² bigger than Singapore) with an island in its centre.
Formed by a gigantic volcanic eruption some 70,000 years ago, it is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth. Some studies say it might have been associated with causing previous ice age/climate change and the largest human population bottleneck ever. Genetic estimates suggests that there were only a few thousand individuals that survived its catastrophic eruption.
The island in the middle - Pulau Samosir - was joined to the caldera wall by a narrow isthmus, which was cut through to enable boats to pass; a road bridge crosses the cutting. Samosir island is the cultural centre of the Batak tribe who are now mostly Christians.
Lake Toba was perhaps once more popular than it is nowadays, but for many it remains a firm fixture on the Banana Pancake Trail. It is a great laid back place to chill out for a few days after jungle trekking etc. The location is very popular with Chinese tourists around Chinese New Year, when availability drops dramatically and accommodation costs sky rocket.
Indonesian, known as Bahasa Indonesia. There are also local people who live in Toba region called Batak; they speak the local language Batak. Just say for the whole greetings HORAS means welcome, good morning, farewell and etc.
Get in
As of Sep 2012 here is only one Cirrus/MasterCard ATM on the island (at the white beach entrance) so you should get enough cash at Parapat before crossing the lake to the island.
By car
The road signs are pretty much useless, as is asking the locals for directions. Anyway, if you are going to Tuk Tuk keep going, even though it may seem to be taking forever and you have been in the Kijang for 8 hr with 10 other people, but you will get there and the hosts will be wonderful.
Do not try to drive out of Samosir Island by going up and over the top to the land bridge. The road is very bad.
By bus
You can get from Medan airport to Lake Toba entirely by public transport if you wish. First, you must go from the airport to Amplas bus terminal. Walk through the car park and go out of the main car exit of the airport. Cross the road and turn left after the petrol station, and then turn right (about a 10-15 min walk altogether). There, you can catch a yellow public bus, number 64, or number 63, to Amplas Terminal for Rp 3,000.
From Amplas terminal, you can get a public bus to Parapat for Rp 22,000. So you can get from Medan airport to Parapat for a total of Rp 25,000 (September 2012), and then get a ferry out to Samosir island for Rp 7,000/person. The boat drops you at your hotel.
By train
Another great way to get to Lake Toba is by train. Two or three trains leave each day in that direction and you want to get off either at Pematang Siantar or Tebing Tinggi (The train stops at one or the other).
If you want to get to the train directly from Medan airport, get a taxi or becak, and tell them or write Lapangan Merdeka and Setasiun Kereta Api Medan. From the station there's only 2 trains leaving Medan to Permatang Siantar (or Siantar) at 11:00 and 19:25. The fare is Rp 12,000 per person and the journey takes approximately 3-4 hr. Trains stop at almost each station. Once you reach the Siantar station double check the schedule for the train for going back to Medan. Then take a Becak or walk to the bus/taxi hub to travel to Perapat. The train is a wonderful way to travel if you like to learn more culture on their daily living and lifestyle. Once you are in your seat and have a stream of buskers, food vendors and friendly local passing by you will know why this is often the best way to travel overland. From Siantar (1 hr by taxi) or Tebing Tinggi (2 hr taxi) you will need to hire a taxi or a bus for road transport to Parapat.
By ferry
Parapat is connected to Tomok and Tuk Tuk on the Samosir Island by a ferry that runs every hour for Rp 10,000, the last one at 19:00. The place to catch the ferry to Tuk Tuk is called "Tiga Raja" harbour/jetty. The ferry man will drop you at the place you're staying at in Tuk Tuk. Try to use the ferry with a wooden bench inside and that's coloured light green. Those are the ferries that charge Rp 10,000 and that the locals take to cross over. Tuk Tuk is the main town to stay on Samosir. Use the boat service not the large ferry, they will drop you directly at your Tuk Tuk resort.
The ferry ride over is fantastic, just truly peaceful, apart from the car radios playing, the ladies selling peanuts, bottled water, mie or pretty much anything else. Normally some of the passengers and vendors will be able to speak English. Landing at the other end of the 1 hour ferry journey is daunting, but again, behave like everyone else in Indonesia and just push, ever so politely, but firmly and eventually you will get off the ferry and onto the main road. Alternatively use the boat service but watch out for the guys that ask for the fee before you embark — they do not work for the operators, you pay on the boat.
By air
From Medan Polonia airport you can fly directly to Silangit with Susi Air daily. Flights take approximately 30 min and are a safer way than the road trip. In Feb 2013, the flight cost Rp 425,000, (c. US$42) one way. Transportation options from Silangit airport are limited; it is a good idea to pre-arrange a driver to be waiting; From Silangit Airport to Parapat is 2 hr drive. To Silangit airport from Parapat there are many transport providers available around the ferry terminal area. Costs to/from Silangit and Parapat should cost around Rp 300,000 each way per vehicle.
By private hire vehicle
Get around
It may be obvious but just remember there are no taxis around Tuk Tuk. Sure you can walk the small part of the island in an hour or so but if you are heading out for the night, plan ahead on how you will get back home. The locals are very friendly people who will go out of their way to help. However, some corners of the island are very quiet at night and you may find yourself on a long long walk.
By boat
Local transportation around the lake takes the form of boats; cheaper, school boats with limited schedules and more expensive public boats that operate throughout the day).
Public Boats from Parapat and surrounding areas sail from either Ajibata or Tigaraja to Tuktuk or Tomok at Samosir Island. The fee is Rp 10,000 per trip.
There is also bigger ship which transports Cars and Busses sailing between Tigaraja and Tomok.
By moto
A popular way for tourists to get around Samosir Island is to hire a motorcycle. Care should be taken if choosing this option as the roads around the island are in poor condition and medical services very limited if you have an accident requiring medical treatment.
Hire a motorcycle for a day or two for Rp 85,000 per day including full petrol. You can bargain down to Rp 80,000 per day in low season if you hire for several days. Most of the motorcycles available for rent are the owner's own transportation, so you may need to return it to them before sunset (depends on owner) or you may be charged extra fees. Take a map. There are no police checking licenses and there is not much traffic - just watch out for the big trucks, buses and diabolical bridges. Honking around is a norm to indicate that there's incoming car from the opposite or there's a car bypassing you from the back (in driver's point of view). A good journey to take on a motorcycle would be to travel North from Tuk Tuk around to the western shore, stopping at the tourist sites along the way such as the many and varied traditional houses and villages. The roads are very bad in the centre of the island (bumpy and washed out) and it takes half a day to cross this way (verse 1-2 hours by coast road which is more scenic anyway). You can expect to ride at least up to 100 km in the day. If you're going around the island with motorcycle or bicycle, be sure to put on some sunblock as when you venture out in the morning things can be deceiving due to the cooler temperatures in the morning because of the higher elevation, but the sun will be intense by mid-day.
By bicycle
Most of the cottages and guest houses at Tuk Tuk will rent you a very serviceable bicycle for a nominal fee, this is a very much preferred way to get around, but be very careful for the cars as nobody looks and there does not seem to be any right side of the road, even when its the left side.
[add listing] See
There are hot springs on the western side of the island just across the causeway from Pangururan. The water is hot. Locals usually use their hands to get some water out of the pool, standing in the pool is possible, but you probably won't be able to swim. The fee to enter to the surroundings is Rp 2,000. The pools are free, there's some special foreigner pool for Rp 10,000.
[add listing] Do
Kick back and relax after the frenetic atmosphere of Indonesia. Swim in the volcanically warmed waters of the lake or arrange an overnight 'party' boat out on the lake if you can get enough volunteers together. A beautiful place to do nothing at all. Plenty of second hand book shops to stock up on reading material. Traditional Batak Dance in Restaurant Bagus Bay every Wednesday and Saturday from 20:15 onwards. After the dance, sit back and enjoy the folk songs done by a group of men.
[add listing] Eat
The main road around Tuktuk is lined with small restaurants of varying quality. Also on offer is magic mushroom and various "happy herb" pizzas if you want that.
[add listing] Drink
There is one discotheque on Fri and Sat nights - expect the latest 80s music. Better to drink at your guest house generally.
Saturday night is often the highlight on the local calendar. You can hear a chorus of parties going around the Tuk Tuk area.
There are a number of fine spots around the Tuk Tuk area to catch a sunset beer.
This area is in a depressed tourist state but is actual a wonderful gem that should be on the world stage. So while some places may look like not much is going on- just go in - and the momentum will build into a fun filled night with new friends.
[add listing] Sleep
There are numerous hotels and guest houses, mainly in Tuk Tuk but with a few scattered in other small towns around the island. During Chinese New Year (end of Jan/early Feb), many Indonesians come for vacation and will pay generously for their rooms (about triple the rate). To accommodate these guests, some guest house owners may ask their existing guests to vacate their rooms, but only giving them very short notice. Therefore, when arriving before Chinese New Year, check with the guest house owner to ensure your stay will not be interrupted.
Stay safe
The local Batak people are very respectful. Some of the local males may try to turn on the charm too much.
Go next
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SEMINAR OF THE MINISTERS OF EDUCATION OF THE SIGNING COUNTRIES
STATEMENT OF ARCHBISHOP J. MICHAEL MILLER, C.S.B.*
Krakow-Auschwitz, 4 May 2005
At the outset I would like to express the gratitude of the Delegation of the Holy See to the Polish Authorities for organizing this timely conference and for the courtesy shown us in this historical city of Krakow and at the prestigious Jagellonian University, the cultural heart of the Polish Nation.
Auschwitz: 60th anniversary
We are gathered here to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp at Auschwitz.
Last January, in his Message for this occasion, Pope John Paul II stated: "No one is permitted to pass by the tragedy of the Shoah. That attempt at the systematic destruction of an entire people falls like a shadow on the history of Europe and the whole world; it is a crime which will for ever darken the history of humanity" (John-Paul II, Message for the 60th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Prisoners of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp, 15 January 2005).
Such a programme of hatred must serve, today and for the future, as a warning to us never to yield to ideologies which in any way justify contempt for human dignity on the basis of race, colour, language or religion.
We now remember this suffering in order to pay honour to the dead, to acknowledge historical reality and above all to ensure that those terrible events will serve as a summons for all men and women to ever greater responsibility for our common history.
In various European countries many Catholic educational institutions have joined in the celebration of "The Day of Remembrance and the Prevention of Crimes Against Humanity" and in other similar initiatives. Such endeavours in schools and other centres of learning contribute towards keeping the memory of those tragic events alive, thereby offering fresh opportunities for reflection and self-examination.
Testimony of great spiritual value
The remembering of unspeakable horrors enables us to recall the heroic examples of commitment to goodness and generosity which also accompanied such persecution.
Many suffered with dignity, demonstrating love towards their fellow prisoners and even towards their tormentors. A testimony of such great spiritual value cannot fail to awaken consciences so that all will be inspired to work for peace.
Memory plays a necessary role in the process of shaping a future in which the past iniquities of such a horrendous catastrophe will never again be repeated. This anniversary calls all men and women of good will to assume moral responsibility for ensuring that never again will selfishness and hatred grow to the point of sowing such suffering and death.
The Holy See is grateful for the commitment to dialogue and to the prevention of conflicts and crimes against humanity. Through such a commitment, the teaching of remembrance through a nation's cultural heritage will become an ever more useful instrument for learning from the past and for safeguarding human dignity.
The Holy See also follows with great interest the programmes of the Council of Europe. Such projects manifest a common effort to contribute, through education and culture, to the building of a more united and democratic Europe, respectful of diversity and aware of its spiritual foundation.
*L'Osservatore Romano 21.5.2005 p.2.
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Given the [beep]load of results any search ends up with that's sometimes hard to say for sure but yesterday evening I ran into one that nicely albeit anecdotally "confirms" and illustrates my impression.
Bing: "vegan impossible pie"
Google: "vegan impossible pie"
One SERP does not a trend make but so far, again purely anecdotal, as soon as you veer off the main searches, the difference between Bing and Google is often significant.
Several times I've had very limited results, as the one above, or felt the Bing SERP didn't answer my search. So I would copy and paste the search in Google only to learn that yes indeed, there are no or hardly any good results for that search -- but yes, if you want, Google has these additional 10-100 utter spam results for you.
As is apparent from the above SERP : this is not under the radar blackhat "wow, how did they do it!!!" kind of stuff... These are the very type of spam techniques we presume to be killed off automatically by GG (Great Google).
To understand the non-anecdotal nature of that last comment, take a moment to read Scotland Yard crackdown exposes Google's flaws:
The real story here is how criminals came to own the SERPs. As I've written before, Google's ability to detect webspam and paid links appears at times to be non-existent. [...]
An even bigger question is how Google missed the questionable nature of the backlinks themselves. The following HTML code from one of the Chinese websites was placed above the starting <html> tag of the page [...]
it's absolutely astonishing that such a blatant and unsophisticated hidden linking tactic could be used in such a widespread fashion, all while Google still gives the linked-to websites top SERPs as opposed to penalties or outright bans.
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One of the last direct representatives of Pauline Viardot-Garcia and Manuel Garcia was Anna E. Schoen-René (1862-1942), a professor of singing at The Juilliard School from 1925 to 1942. She taught many well-known singers including Putnam Griswold, Florencio Constantino, Sonia Essen, Mack Harrell, Florence Easton, Margaret Harshaw, Risë Stevens, Lillian Blauvelt, Karin Branzell, Charles Kullman, Thelma Votipka, George Meader, Paul Robeson, Eva Gauthier, Lanny Ross, and George Britton.
As far as I have been able to ascertain, the interview below with Schoen-René, which appeared in the November 1941 issue of The Etude, is the only one given during her life-time that includes anything remotely related to vocal technique. It was the same year that her memoir, America's Musical Inheritance, was published. She died a year later.
One of the more interesting things is Schoen-René's assertion that the student must not only judge tones after they has been produced, but must “understand the anatomical principles underlying their production and the sensations they cause." Schoen-René also asserts that the voice must be resonated from the face, and vibrate freely there. This is, of course, the concept of voice placement.
Click each jpeg and then drag it off onto your desktop. Then click it on again. You should then see each one at full resolution.
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American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A native or inhabitant of Chechnya.
- n. A member of the predominant, traditionally Muslim ethnic group of Chechnya.
- n. The Caucasian language of the Chechens.
- adj. Of or pertaining to Chechnya
- n. An ethnic group originating from Chechnya in the North Caucasus region.
- n. Someone belonging to this ethnic group.
- n. A North-Central Caucasian language spoken in Chechnya.
- n. a native or inhabitant of Chechnya
- adj. of or relating to Chechnya or its people or culture
- n. a northern Caucasian language spoken by the Chechen
- Obsolete Russian, from Kabardian (Caucasian language of southwest Russia and Turkey) šešen. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
“Hoping to coopt the nationalists, Zavgayev allowed them to convene a so-called Chechen National Congress in November 1990.”
“In December 1993, Umar Avturkhanov, a former police officer and protégé of Zavgayev, formed a so-called Chechen Provisional Council in the Nadterechny region, two hours north of Grozny.”
“In May Mr. Yeltsin called the Chechen war the "greatest mistake" of his first term, and arbitrarily declared it to be "over.”
“The Chechen was the red-haired man who had fetched his brother's body away after Lukashka had killed him.”
“We have destroyed many odious gang leaders, and we will also get Umarov soon," he said referring to Chechen warlord Doku Umarov, who has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of Moscow's largest airport in January.”
“Lieutenant Marietta and Lt.Col. David Fivecoat, the battalion commander, said that the language had been identified as Chechen - a rare and tantalizing scrap of evidence that fighters from that region are present in eastern Afghanistan.”
“March 30, 2010: The two Moscow bombers were identified as Chechen women, probably widows.”
“The so-called Chechen trace is traditionally viewed as the main one during investigations of such disasters," said Alexei Mukhin of the Centre for Political Information -- but added that outdated infrastructure also caused major accidents in Russia.”
These user-created lists contain the word ‘Chechen’.
This is not a scientific list based on unified criteria, the sole aim was to collect as many language names as possible.
The list contains the names of the following artificial langua...
exonyms are names for a place or a people which are not used by the people themselves (or the residents of that place).
Those listed here are non-cognate with the corresponding endonym...
Words that have an adjacent repeat of three or more letters. I've omitted most words ending in "-inging" where both g's are hard. I've excluded words composed solely of repeats and the plurals of t...
Looking for tweets for Chechen.
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Yoga Works Great For Pregnancy
Yoga an ancient practice that enables one to bring mind, body and soul aligned with the Creator. Yoga for women has been very popular since they play the role of working mother and wife. Being a successful woman involves constantly balancing between jobs, education, and family. Yoga is a successful way for women to heal their bodies and minds. It can help them deal well with stressful situations and to maintain a positive attitude. An effective tool for good and healthy physical well-being, yoga brings much fruit and harmony to a woman during her months of pregnancy.
A time when life is blossoming within a woman, regular practice of certain yoga exercises, meditation and breathing techniques will ensure that she is totally fit both in mind, body and spirit, thereby will be able to influence her unborn child who is connected to her emotionally and spiritually.
A combination of yoga postures (mudras), breathing exercises (pranayama) and relaxation techniques, will not only aid the pregnant woman, but will enhance her body with vital energy, physical flexibility and agility. Practicing yoga helps a pregnant woman by creating a positive, serene outlook and giving her a relaxed attitude. The repetition of certain sounds calms the mind and aids development of the unborn child brain.
Practicing Yoga during pregnancy will strengthen the muscles and make the woman body more agile which will aid her during delivery. Exercises for pregnant woman would generally involve strengthening the abdominal region to assist the carriage of the fetus and aid proper development.
A strong spine and back is necessary for general flexibility, toning and the healthy functioning of the nervous system. During pregnancy a woman shoulder stoops due to the extra weight. By practicing yoga regularly she will be able to carry the extra weight without stressing her spine and thereby reduce strain.
Pregnant woman experience strong feelings of nausea , lethargy and loss of appetite. Through shatkarmas, a cleansing technique for the body the intensity of this condition can be lessened. Another practice is Yoga nidra, a powerful practice to be used during pregnancy, which involves a progressive system of deep relaxation using visualization techniques.
Here the woman can imagine her child with a healthy body, a good character and a lively and creative disposition. Ideally yoga must be practiced by both parents to make them an appropriate host for their child. A good spiritual, physical and mental well-being of both the parents will draw positive effects on the child to be born.
Kevin Pederson can guide you on the working principles behind Yoga which focuses on the benefits of Yoga techniques intended to produce a positive state of mind in us. Yoga is an effective tool for good and healthy physical well-being to a woman during her months of pregnancy.
More Yoga Nidra Articles
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posted by Michael Andre at
Think of Sherman's march to the sea. Or atomic weapons used in Japan.Sure, they were excessive. But war is supposed to cause enormous pain, in order to get someone to stop their behavior.Had Sherman for instance gone about in the south slapping wrists here and there or haranguing southerners from the town squares to give up their slaves they would have just strung him up from a tree.So he flattened Georgia.If we were dealing with democracies then we could use democratic means. We're not, so we can't.The Lebanese parliament didn't vote to declare war against Israel. There's a kind of lawlessness in operation through the Islamic world. They do not respond to law. There is no law. Al Qaeda doesn't have a legislature, or have elections. How can democracies deal with them democratically?Hezbollah is also an extra-democratic group. You can't deal with them as you could a law-abiding nation.The Confederacy were breaking human norms and wanted to go on holding human beings as property. We tried to argue with them for decades. Finally, they needed to be flattened.At the end of the Civil War there were a half million dead and a million other injuries to boot. But a principle was established at Gettysburg, as Lincoln put it, that none of us can forget.We need to spread the notion of human rights throughout the earth: that women can vote, that elections must be free, that arbitrary arrests and executions cannot be made.But how can we do this unless we ourselves are willing to go outside of the law? Lincoln himself was on legal thin ice going against states' rights in order to invade the South.Sherman broke every convention of warfare as he marched on Atlanta. It's hard to justify except by saying that the ends justify the means.Egypt and Saudi Arabia have rebuked Hezbollah, and also Al Qaeda. Even therefore major portions of the Arab world itself see Israel's right to self-protection, and have asked Syria to call off their proxies.
War makes me squeamish. It rarely has intended consequences. War just seems to set up issues for the next war. I said something like that years ago to a friend in the CIA. She said, "War is horrible but often necessary."
Sadly, I'd agree with your friend.Not to go to war is sometimes even worse, and to not go to war can also set up issues.But I hate war. I think there are some people who do love it. Fortunately some of them are our soldiers. I would make a lousy soldier, police officer, etc. I can't stand confrontations. I don't mind intellectual confrontations where principles are involved, and where intelligent people can discuss issues.But firing shells over borders at civilians would not be my cup of spiced chai.
Who does not admire the passivism of Gandhi? It is often said that Gandhi’s techniques would not have worked against Hitler. Contrariwise, two of the orneriest gents I’ve ever met were Israelis. One openly admired Hitler because “he knew how to win.” At the time I did not think to point out that in fact Hitler had lost.
But Hitler didn't lose against pacifists.Churchill firebombed Dresden.When the Russians came across eastern Germany after Stalingrad, they were far from Gandhian in their outlook.And of course the invasion at Normandy was far from the pacific.
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Unmuzzled OX published books and a magazine of poetry, art, music and politics for thirty years 1971-2001. Most of these publications are still available for purchase.
View my complete profile
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Most Active Stories
Thu May 5, 2011
Young Audiences of Louisiana
By Angela Taylor
New Orleans, LA – Most people think of art in the classroom as art for art's sake, not as an essential tool employed by schools to achieve academic or personal success. Since the 1960's, however, Young Audiences of Louisiana has grown into an arts education organization that integrates dance, music, visual and theatrical arts into the studies of New Orleans' public school students.
We invite your comments or ideas for future reports: firstname.lastname@example.org.
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More books by Cornelia Funke
Author's Facebook Latest
PublisherChicken House Ltd
Publication date3rd September 2007
Children's Author 'Like-for-Like' recommendations
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Igraine The Brave
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Lovereading4kids Price: £6.74RRP: £8.99 Saving £2.25 (25%)
The Lovereading comment:
This is a charming fairytale with a twist from a much-loved, best-selling author. With Cornelia’s trademark wit, warmth and quirky characterization, readers from 7 upwards can’t fail to be charmed by a feisty heroine and her big-hearted adventures amongst her mad-cap family, friends and foe.
SynopsisIgraine The Brave by Cornelia Funke
An adventure is what Igraine wishes for most in the world - and on her twelfth birthday she finds one. Everyone at Castle Pimpernel is looking forward to Igraine's birthday. But when her magical present goes wrong and her parents turn themselves into pigs, it's up to Igraine to put things right - even if that means facing giants, three-headed dragons and a particularly Spiky Knight.
I love Igraine because she is so feisty. Whether it’s spells going wrong, annoying big brothers, finding your castle is under siege, or having to dash off on a quest at a moment’s notice – she’s up for it. But Igraine’s not pig-headed, she learns about true bravery, and that it’s not just about swords and fighting. Cornelia Funke makes us laugh and learn a bit about that too. In fact I might become more chivalrous!
Barry Cunningham, Publisher and Would-be Knight
About The Author
Cornelia Funke is the New York Times bestselling author of the INKHEART trilogy, THE THIEF LORD and a whole host of popular children's novels and picture books.
Born in 1958 in the German town of Dorsten, Cornelia initially worked as an illustrator but soon began writing her own stories. She quickly established her reputation as one of Germany's best loved children's authors with her series Gespensterjäger (Ghosthunters) and the Wilden Hühner (the first two books of which series are published in the UK as C.H.I.X. THE SUMMER GANG and C.H.I.X. THE NEW GIRL).
Her international break-through came with the fantasy novel DRAGON RIDER, which spent 78 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Success continued with the publication of THE THIEF LORD, which immediately climbed to the #2 spot on the New York Times bestseller list and stayed there for 19 weeks, selling 1.5 million copies.
INKHEART, the first book in the INKHEART trilogy, followed, winning the 2004 BookSense Book of the Year Children's Literature Award. INKSPELL continued the trilogy's success, winning a second BookSense Book of the Year Children's Literature Award in 2006. The trilogy concluded with INKDEATH, in 2008. INKHEART the movie, starring Brendan Fraser, Helen Mirren and Paul Bettany, was released in the same year.
RECKLESS (first published in hardback in 2010) marked the start of Funke's exciting new Mirrorworld series, and is followed by FEARLESS this January (2013), along with a reissue of RECKLESS.
Cornelia Funke now lives in California in the USA.'
More books by this author
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It is the height of summer and the second week of the holy month of Ramazan. There are riots across the country despite the heat and a gathering sense of a population reaching the end of its tether. The nation has been driven to the brink of despair by a catastrophic failure of governance, an institutionalised inability to manage the national power generation and distribution infrastructure that is now close to causing widespread civil disorder. Last Saturday and Sunday saw the situation deteriorate still further with rioting and destruction of property, large demonstrations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab and to a lesser extent in Sindh, which anecdotally appears to be less affected by loadshedding compared to the rest of the country. On Monday, President Zardari announced that he was taking ‘strict notice’ of the power problems and was convening the umpteenth high-level meeting to get on top of matters. Political mud-slinging is the order of the day, with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif claiming on Sunday that his province’s loadshedding woes were a direct result of the ‘malicious and vengeful attitude’ of the Presidency.
It is the politics of power that has spread the cancer of circular debt, the appalling irony of which is that it is a cancer which can be cured by the relatively simple expedient of everybody in the circle paying what they owe to everybody else. This is not the economic equivalent of rocket science. Power generation and distribution has become deeply politicised, rather than managed as a state utility outside the political realm. Our leaders seem unable to resist the opportunity to make literal and metaphorical capital at every turn, and if the population and the economy suffer then so be it. The chairman of the Public Accounts Committee is threatening to resign over the issue of unequal loadshedding – something that the prime minister ordered an end to ten days ago. By contrast a seemingly-sanguine Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira blandly assured a sweltering nation that the current crisis was caused by a windstorm in Muzaffargarh and all would be well within two or three days – a statement that borders on arrant nonsense. People may not have power but they do have a vote. And their intelligence has been insulted long enough. It is likely that many voters remember the dark days of 2012 when they come to put their ‘X’ on the ballot paper come election day.
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Research conducted has revealed that a lot of people, who visit the internet daily, do so in order to get information that can better their lives.
But the question is that is everyone who comes to the internet daily gets what he is searching for? Of course, not everyone who comes to the internet gets all he needs. Many of these visitors leave the internet disappointed for their inability to get a suitable solution to their respective problems.
This is attributable to a number of factors among which are:
(i) Ignorance of the internet environment on the part of the internet visitors.
(ii) Failure of the internet marketing experts to present cases in clear and honest ways.
(iii) Complexity of the internet engineering technology.
It is a fact that not all the people who visit the internet are conversant with the robustness and sophisticated nature of the internet environment. Even, those people who are conversant with this technology are confronted daily with avalanche of promotional information that contains nothing than sales information.
Quite an ample of the online and information marketers are out to make sales at all cost. Most of these marketers are presenting their information unprofessionally in a must buy ways not minding the different categories of people who visit the internet.
A good online promotional or sales information document should be able to accommodate the different categories of visitors in a specific niche and address their problems.
It is common to hear online internet marketing experts suggest building of website as one of the key requirement of building an online or home based business.
Website building however, to someone who is ignorant of the internet environment or someone that has little or no money in his pocket at all looking for a way of making extra income is a big challenge.
Most time, you visit the internet for particular information and at the end you will become confused by the numerous misleading information you will come across that do not meet your need unless you take your time to filter out the unwanted jargons.
Although, website is one of the key tools in running an online business but , there is a lot of internet businesses that can still be done successfully without any website.
Instead of advising people to engage in setting up of a website in order to start online business, it is important to educate people on how to build a system upon which their online businesses will thrive successfully.
When you build a system for any business, it is often difficult for such business to fail except in rare cases.
Many online business owners that failed did fail because their businesses had no solid system or foundation to support the growth of such business. When a business lack foundation, it will surely fail.
In order to build a solid system for your online business, you will need to use already tested and working online business system template designed by world leading web marketing organization like buildit.sitesell.com/tunesco.html which has helped quite a large number of people to start and grow their online businesses successfully.
© 2010 SOFOLAHAN TUNDE firstname.lastname@example.org All Rights Reserved
It is no longer news that the whole world is experiencing a global economic meltdown.
The effects of this ugly phenomenon are so terrible on many Organizations now including world leading conglomerates.
Most of these conglomerates and Organizations are being forced almost on a daily basis to either close down their entire business operations or trim down their workforce through retrenchment of their staff in order to cut down over head cost.
Most Organizations that are not retrenching as a result of this global plague have also been forced to cut down staff salaries and other fringe benefits.
When companies retrenches or close down business operations, the members of staff of such companies are usually at a great disadvantage as most of them have little or nothing in term of monetary rewards as compensation packages to the concerned people.
Consequently, working class people are regularly being laid off by these companies that are adversely affected by the global economic crunch saga.
You will agree with me that this action will give birth to nothing but increased unemployment situation to the society that is already saturated with unemployed able-bodied youths.
Your own Organization may still be viable now .The question now is that God forbid should any eventuality occur right now, how do you intend to handle it? Experience they say is the best Teacher.
So, most people that are still actively engaged with their employers may not have a concise answer to the above question. I am very sure that those people that have been laid off by their employers for no just cause other than for global economic crunch will understand the question better.
I do not abhor the situation of this category of people. In fact I really feel for them because I understand what they are currently undergoing. I pray God will deliver all of you and you will rejoice again.
Regrettably, the whole world is still in search of solution to this global plague. All available prescriptions and procedures to arrest the situation have failed and there is no indication yet for any solution.
In a bad economy, what then must we do? Simple! In a debased economy like this, everyone needs to enhance his earning power. In order to improve your earning power however, there is a need to engage in a legitimate business that will yield extra good income working a few hours per day or per week as the case may be.
Internet has made this so easy that anyone who has the opportunity of getting a useful material from a reliable internet marketing Organizations will begin to make instant extra income from legitimate online business.
, you are not only introduced into a good online business, you are also taught extensively
I welcome you to this blog. The fact that you find yourself here reveal that you are one of those penciled down by God Almighty for greatness no doubt. This is because I am going to uncover the numerous ways of legitimately creating wealth for yourself using available internet resources and thus making extra Big income. Do I say making extra BIG income? Yes of course! It is true; millions of dollar are being transferred from hands to hands daily through online business transactions. All these legitimate business transactions shall be revealed and the step-by-step guide on how to do business rightly will be shown.
I advise you to pay attention to every information I personally post on this blog because they have the capability of changing your life in a matter of seconds.
I am quite aware of the fact that you have searched everywhere on the internet for at least a legitimate business you can do online without any tangible results. You may have even been outsmarted at one time or the other by the unscrupulous elements who claim to be online internet resource experts. Sorry about that. It has equally happened to me too and to several others.
It’s for this reason and many more that I decided to create a blog like this to help people out in the search for ways out of poverty into paths of greatness.
On this blog, several legitimate ways of making extra big income online shall be revealed as I said earlier and the best approach to convert each way into money making machine will also be treated.
I am going to personally take you by my hands to interesting and important places here on the internet where you too will begin to make not only extra income but extra big income to take care of the pressing bills and your family. Besides, you are going to be shown how you can also establish your own business by creating presence on the internet and begin to generate streams of income at the comfort of your home.
The only thing I need from you for are determination and seriousness and also believe that you can get all you need to turn your life around here on this blog.
All the odd ways that I passed through that yielded no fruits shall be omitted and the good ones shall be revealed so that you won’t have to waste your time, efforts and money on useless things that will not in any way alleviate your situation but rather compound it. Please, keep on visiting this blog for fresh information and do not forget to leave your comments.
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Campsites are limited to six people, three tents, and two cars (a vehicle towing a trailer, popup, tent trailer, fifth wheel or a motorhome pulling a vehicle is considered two vehicles). Holding or reserving campsites for persons not present is not allowed, nor can campsites be left unattended for more than 24 hours. Group sites accommodate 10 to 60 people. Each campsite has a picnic table and fire grate. Water and flush toilets are available in Black Rock and Cottonwood campgrounds. Showers are not available.
Water is available at the Oasis Visitor Center, Indian Cove Ranger Station, West Entrance, and Black Rock and Cottonwood campgrounds.
Quiet hours are from 10 pm to 6 am. Generator use is limited to six hours a day: 7 to 9 am, noon to 2 pm, and 5 to 7 pm.
Food-storage containers capable of preventing access by wildlife are required. Any scented or odorous items must be similarly stored.
Campfires: All vegetation in the park is protected. If you want to make a campfire, bring your own firewood. Fire grates are provided.
RVs: There are no hookups for recreational vehicles. Black Rock and Cottonwood have fresh-water fill-up and dump stations. Motorhomes and habitable trailers are prohibited at Cottonwood and Sheep Pass group sites. At Hidden Valley and White Tank campgrounds, and at Indian Cove group sites, motorhomes and trailers, including their tow vehicle, cannot exceed a combined vehicle length of 25 feet.
Reservations: Sites at Black Rock and Indian Cove campgrounds may be reserved from October 1 through May 31 by calling 1-877-444-6777 up to six months in advance of the date you want to reserve. Or you may make reservations online at www.recreation.gov
First-come, first-served campgrounds include: Belle, Cottonwood, Hidden Valley, Jumbo Rocks, Ryan, and White Tank. Black Rock and Indian Cove campgrounds are first-come, first-served only during the summer-June through September.
Group Site Reservations may be made up to 12 months in advance throughout the year by calling 1-877-444-6777 or online at www.recreation.gov. Group campsites are available at Cottonwood, Indian Cove, and Sheep Pass campgrounds. Cottonwood and Sheep Pass group sites are limited to tent camping only.
Camping Limits: There is a 30-day camping limit each year. However, only 14 nights total may occur from October through May.
Overflow Camping: There is no overflow camping in the park, however there are some BLM areas nearby. Click here for a map (270k PDF). The park also offers backcountry camping.
Overflow Parking is not available in the park. All overnight vehicles must be parked in a designated campsite.
You may call 760-367-3001, 760-362-4367, or 760-367-5549, if you have questions about camping in the park.
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Barcelona Spain In Drought: To Import Water By Ship
Barcelona is planning to import water by ship from Marseilles, in southern France, as well as from other nearby coastal sources of fresh water. It is an emergency measure: area reservoirs are only 20% full as a consequence of an historic drought.
The Catalan Water Agency says it has chartered 10 tankers to transport water to Barcelona for at least six months, or until rainfall returns to normal. This is expected to cost €22m (£17m, $35m) a month. Emergency wells are being dug in the region of Tarragona to supply the tanker ships.The politics of coping with the water shortage in Barcelona remind us of the parallel situation in Atlanta Georgia, USA. Except worse, as Atlanta at least has relatively uncontaminated groundwater. (The Barcelona region only began to address surface water pollution in the 1990's, 20 years behind North America, and groundwater pollution in developed areas is degraded, according to this source: Water Supply in the Barcelona Region) Via::Financial Times, "Barcelona plans to import water by ship" Image credit::Reuters Pictures, Sau Reservoir north of Barcelona, 2007.
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- Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield
Chimpanzee Making Of Chimpanzee
© Copyright 2011 Walt Disney Pictures
In Theaters: April 20th, 2012
Disneynature takes moviegoers deep into the forests of Africa with "Chimpanzee," a new True Life Adventure introducing an adorable baby chimp named Oscar and his entertaining approach to life in a remarkable story of family bonds and individual triumph. Oscar's playful curiosity and zest for discovery showcase the intelligence and ingenuity of some of the most extraordinary personalities in the animal kingdom. Working together, Oscar's chimpanzee family--including his mom and the group's savvy leader -- navigates the complex territory of the forest. The world is a playground for little Oscar and his fellow young chimps, who'd rather make mayhem than join their parents for an afternoon nap. But when Oscar's family is confronted by a rival band of chimps, he is left to fend for himself until a surprising ally steps in and changes his life forever. Directed by Alastair Fothergill ("African Cats" and "Earth") and Mark Linfield ("Earth"), "Chimpanzee" swings into theaters on Earth Day 2012.
Posted: April 13th, 2012
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California Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Natural Community Conservation Planning (NCCP)
- Environmental Review & Permitting
- Delta Regional Ecosystem Restoration Implementation Plan (DRERIP)
San Francisco Estuary Institute
BDCP Related Agencies
Bay Delta Conservation Plan
What is the Bay Delta Conservation Plan Unit?
The Bay Delta Conservation Plan Unit represents CDFW in the development of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). The BDCP is being developed as a Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP), as defined in the California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (NCCPA; Fish and Game Code § 2800). As the project applicant, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is responsible for preparing the plan in coordination with other plan participants. CDFW is an active partner in BDCP and assists the applicant in all stages of plan preparation to ensure that the BDCP meets the conservation standards set forth in the NCCPA.
Bay Delta Conservation Plan
The BDCP is a cooperative effort to protect habitats and species and is being prepared by state and federal agencies, a group of local water agencies, environmental and conservation organizations, and other interest groups.
The BDCP is being developed in compliance with the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the NCCPA. The California NCCPA and the ESA allow for the development of joint NCCPs and Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) by applicants seeking permits for activities affecting threatened and/or endangered species. The BDCP, like all NCCPs to date, is being developed as a joint HCP/NCCP. HCP/NCCPs take a broad-based, ecosystem planning approach to provide for the regional protection and conservation of fish and wildlife, plants, and their habitats, while continuing to allow compatible and appropriate development and growth.
When complete, the BDCP will provide the basis for the issuance of endangered species permits for proposed new north Delta water diversion facilities, the operation of these and existing facilities, and various other proposed activities (referred to as Covered Activities). Included among the Covered Activities are conservation measures such as habitat protection and restoration that will provide for a healthy Delta ecosystem and a comprehensive conservation strategy that addresses over 60 species. The Covered Activities have the potential to take¹ threatened, endangered, or other protected species and/or species that may potentially become listed as threatened or endangered under the California Endangered Species Act or the ESA. The BDCP will provide for the conservation of species while serving as the basis for permits under federal and state endangered species laws for the Covered Activities.
For more information regarding the BDCP, visit the official website.
For more information on Natural Community Conservation Plans and Habitat Conservation Plans, see the following links:
- Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (NCCPA)
- Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) (ESA § 10(a)(2)(A))
¹ State and federal regulations have different definitions of "take." The State defines take as "hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill, or attempt to hunt, pursue, catch, capture or kill" (Fish and Game Code § 86). Whereas, the federal ESA § 3(18) definition includes "to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or attempt to engage in any such conduct."
California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Policy Act
In concert with the development of the HCP/NCCP, a joint Environmental Impact Report/Statement (EIR/EIS) will be prepared for the BDCP to satisfy requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). DWR is the CEQA lead agency for development of the EIR. The U.S Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) are the federal co-lead agencies developing the EIS.
For more information on CEPA and NEPA, see the following links:
CDFW’s Role in the BDCP
As an active partner in the development of the BDCP, the BDCP Unit assists the applicant in all stages of plan preparation, ensuring that the HCP/NCCP meets the conservation standards set forth in the NCCPA and ESA. Unit staff are responsible for assisting the applicant in BDCP development through consultations with the applicant, supply of technical information and expertise, participation in meetings with the applicant and stakeholders to develop the plan, and review of draft documents.
The state and federal fish and wildlife agencies (collectively, fish and wildlife agencies) have somewhat different programs under the NCCPA and ESA. In an effort to streamline the process and provide consistency to plan participants, the fish and wildlife agencies strive to present a unified perspective. This requires a significant on-going effort to coordinate among fish and wildlife agencies on all plan issues.
In order to approve the final BDCP as a NCCP, CDFW must be able to make specific findings based on the plan. These findings address the statutory requirements of a conservation plan that is developed as an NCCP. CDFW staff work with the plan applicant and other stakeholders to ensure that the final BDCP will address the requirements of the NCCPA, so that CDFW will ultimately be able to make these findings.
CDFW is also a responsible agency and a trustee agency under CEQA. As a responsible agency, CDFW must use the environmental document prepared by DWR or prepare a supplemental document to issue CEQA findings. As trustee agency, CDFW is responsible for protecting the natural resources in the public trust (Fish and Game Code § 1802). The BDCP unit provides technical input in the form of comments and recommendations to DWR on BDCP environmental documents.
The BDCP Unit is the lead for CDFW’s review of BDCP documents. The BDCP Unit coordinates with CDFW branches including the Habitat Conservation Planning Branch, Fisheries Branch, and appropriate Regions to provide substantial technical input in the preparation of the BDCP.
For more information, contact Chad Dibble at firstname.lastname@example.org or (916) 445-1202.
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Freedom in the World 2010 - Senegal
|Publication Date||3 May 2010|
|Cite as||Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2010 - Senegal, 3 May 2010, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4c0cead5b.html [accessed 25 May 2013]|
|Disclaimer||This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.|
Political Rights Score: 3 *
Civil Liberties Score: 3 *
Status: Partly Free
President Abdoulaye Wade continued to consolidate power in 2009, announcing his intention to stand for a third term as president in 2012 and creating the appointed position of vice president, apparently for his son. However, the political dominance of Wade's Senegalese Democratic Party and its broader Sopi (Change) coalition was threatened after the opposition scored victories in municipal elections that were finally held in March after years of delay.
Since independence from France in 1960, Senegal has avoided military or harsh authoritarian rule and has never suffered a successful coup d'etat. President Leopold Senghor exercised de facto one-party rule through the Socialist Party (PS) for nearly two decades after independence. Most political restrictions were lifted after 1981, when Abdou Diouf of the PS succeeded Senghor. He went on to win large victories in unfair elections in 1988 and 1993.
Abdoulaye Wade's victory in the 2000 presidential poll – his fifth attempt – ended four decades of rule by the PS. Wade, the leader of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), defeated Diouf in a runoff that was deemed free and fair by international observers. A new constitution was approved in 2001, reducing presidential terms from seven to five years, setting the maximum number of terms at two, and abolishing the Senate created in 1999, among other changes. A coalition led by the PDS won 89 of 120 National Assembly seats in that year's legislative elections, with the PS taking only 10 seats. Wade secured a second term in the 2007 presidential election, which featured 70.5 percent turnout and fervent opposition accusations of vote rigging. The opposition coalition, including the PS and 11 other parties, boycotted legislative polls later that year, leading to an overwhelming victory for the PDS, whose Sopi (Change) coalition secured 131 of 150 seats, and a record low turnout of 35 percent.
Since taking office in 2000, Wade had disappointed observers by working to increase the power of the presidency and demonstrating a willingness to persecute those who threatened his authority. For example, in a move approved by the National Assembly in 2006, he amended the constitution to postpone legislative elections by a year and reestablish the Senate, where more than half of the members would be appointed by the president. The National Assembly also approved his 2008 measure to restore the seven-year presidential term beginning in 2012, and his 2009 decision to create the unelected position of vice president, believed to be intended for Wade's son, which will be filled for the first time in 2012.
Meanwhile, leading politicians had faced corruption allegations when they began to challenge Wade's dominance within the PDS. Idrissa Seck was dismissed as prime minister in 2004 based on accusations of embezzlement and threatening national security, and former National Assembly president Macky Sall was pushed out of office in 2008 when Wade shortened the term for his post from five years to one. Wade subsequently had Sall questioned by police about potential money laundering in January 2009. While all charges against Seck were finally dropped in May 2009 and he began working to reclaim his place in the ruling party, Sall formally resigned from the PDS in 2008, costing him both his seat in the parliament and his position as mayor of Fatick.
Wade also repeatedly postponed municipal elections. Originally scheduled for May 2007, they were first delayed until May 2008 and then pushed back to March 2009. When they were finally held that month, in conditions deemed free and fair, the PS and its opposition coalition, United to Boost Senegal (BSS), performed well. BSS members won in the majority of the main towns, including Saint Louis and Dakar, where Wade's son Karim was defeated. Despite the postponements and unfavorable results, the ruling coalition accepted its losses peacefully.
In September 2009, Wade announced that he intended to run for reelection in 2012. While the opposition argued that the bid for a third term was yet another example of Wade's authoritarian tendencies, other observers characterized the announcement as a ploy designed to stave off rivals within the ruling party until he could position Karim Wade as his successor.
The separatist conflict in the Casamance region remained unresolved in 2009. The peace process had wavered since the 2007 death of Augustine Diamacoune Senghor, head of the separatist Movement of the Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), which left the group's leadership in disarray. While the region was quiet during the first half of 2009, sporadic violence started up again in May when separatists attacked a military convoy near the border with The Gambia. By September, regular clashes between the rebels and the army had resumed, including military air strikes against MFDC bases.
While Senegal's lucrative trade deal with France, under which it receives $163 million in aid each year, is due to expire in 2010, France increased its aid to $202 million in 2009 after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) offered its qualified approval of Senegal's financial performance. Also during the year, the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation announced that it had approved a five-year, $540 million grant to Senegal to help reduce poverty.
Political Rights and Civil Liberties
Senegal is an electoral democracy. The National Observatory of Elections has performed credibly in overseeing legislative and presidential polls since its creation in 1997. The president is elected by popular vote for up to two terms, and the length of the term was extended from five to seven years by a constitutional amendment in 2008. According to President Abdoulaye Wade, who is currently serving his second term, that amendment also made it possible for him to seek a new term in 2012, although the opposition rejects this interpretation.
The president appoints the prime minister. In April 2009, Wade shuffled his cabinet and appointed a new prime minister, Souleymane Ndene Ndiaye, who had previously served as the president's spokesman. Wade has repeatedly replaced the prime minister in recent years, reducing the importance of the office.
Constitutional amendments that were put into effect in 2007 converted the National Assembly into a 150-seat lower house and created an upper house, the 100-member Senate. Members of the National Assembly are popularly elected every five years, though the most recent vote was postponed from 2006 to 2007 as part of the amendments. The Senate consists of 65 members appointed by the president and 35 members elected by public officials.
There are more than 75 legally registered political parties in Senegal. Major parties include the ruling PDS and the opposition PS. Many of the smaller parties revolve around individual personalities rather than firm party structures or policy platforms. The PDS currently controls most national political offices, but the opposition performed well in the 2009 municipal elections.
Corruption remains a serious problem. While the government pledged in 2009 to improve transparency and the management of public expenditures, it was revealed that officials had attempted to give $200,000 in cash as a "gift" to a departing IMF representative. The representative had the money returned as soon as it was discovered, and the affair was seen as an attempt to smear him after he voiced criticism of government policies. Separately, an investigative journalist released a book accusing the agency responsible for organizing a 2008 summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference of serious mismanagement; the agency was overseen by Karim Wade, the president's son. Senegal was ranked 99 out of 180 countries surveyed in Transparency International's 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index.
Freedom of expression is generally respected, and members of the independent media are often highly critical of the government despite the risk of criminal defamation charges. In 2009, two journalists received three-month jail sentences for defaming a member of parliament, but two others were exonerated and pardoned after being convicted of defaming Wade. There are approximately 20 independent radio stations and many independent print outlets, but the government owns the only national television station, which provides favorable coverage. Access to the internet is not restricted.
Religious freedom is respected, and the government continues to provide free airline tickets to Senegalese Muslims and Christians undertaking pilgrimages overseas. Senegal is a predominantly Muslim country, with 94 percent of the population practicing Islam. The country's Sufi Muslim brotherhoods are very influential; Wade has close ties with the most powerful brotherhood, the Mouride.
Academic freedom is legally guaranteed and respected in practice. In one incident in 2009, police entered a university campus and damaged property while looking for students who had rioted earlier over unpaid grants.
Freedoms of association and assembly are guaranteed. While the number of street protests and demonstrations has been on the rise in recent years, the government has taken action to repress some of them. This occasionally degenerates into violent clashes between protesters and riot police, as with 2008 demonstrations over rising food prices. There were few such incidents in 2009, though police used tear gas to disperse a demonstration protesting the corruption allegations against former PDS politician Macky Sall.
Human rights groups and other nongovernmental organizations operate freely in Senegal. Although workers' rights to organize, bargain collectively, and strike are legally protected for all except security employees, the labor code requires the president's approval for the initial formation of a trade union. In February 2009, a teachers' union went on strike over late salary payments and severe overcrowding in student accommodations, and in May unions threatened to strike following the government's announcement that it intended to sell a majority stake in the country's telecommunications company, Sonatel, to France Telecom. This threat, coupled with fervent objections from the opposition and local business owners, led the government to rescind its plans.
The judiciary is independent by law, but poor pay and lack of tenure expose judges to external influences and prevent the courts from providing a proper check on the other branches of government. Uncharged detainees are incarcerated without legal counsel far beyond the lengthy periods already permitted by law. Prisons are overcrowded, often leading to hygiene and health issues for the inmates.
Women's constitutional rights are often not honored, especially in rural areas, and women enjoy fewer opportunities than men for education and formal employment. A 2007 law required all political parties to introduce gender parity to their candidate lists, but the measure did not take effect in time for that year's legislative elections, and there are currently just 34 women in the 150-seat National Assembly. Only two sexual harassment cases have been brought in the courts since 1995, and men remain the legal heads of households. Many elements of Sharia (Islamic law) and local customary law, particularly those regarding inheritance and marital relations, discriminate against women.
Child trafficking is a problem in Senegal. A 2007 study conducted by UNICEF, the International Labour Organization, and the World Bank found that boys had been taken in by religious teachers' promises to educate them, but had been physically abused and forced to beg instead; 6,480 such boys were found in Dakar alone.
*Countries are ranked on a scale of 1-7, with 1 representing the highest level of freedom and 7 representing the lowest level of freedom.
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Legend has it, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was training for bodybuilding contests in his 20s, he’d study his form in a mirror and pick out his weakest points. Then he’d modify his workouts to emphasize these areas.
When we look at Olympians, it’s just the opposite: We see their strong points, and we want to have them. We admire the rock-hard abs a gymnast uses to work the rings, the bulging quads that power a cyclist to victory, and a rower’s strong upper back powering the shell through water. So we asked our panel of perfect-body experts—seven Olympians currently in London—about their best attribute and what they do to keep it in shape.
You, too, can build the ripped, shredded physique of an Olympian—in only 82 days! How? The new follow-along DVD series from Men’s Health, Speed Shred. The scientifically based metabolic workouts will incinerate fat like nothing you’ve ever tried before. Check it out today!
A Volleyball Player’s Shoulders
“If I had to pick one body part that we specifically work hard to build in the gym, I’d say it’s the shoulders,” says beach volleyball player Jake Gibb, a two-time Olympian (he and his partner Sean Rosenthal placed fifth in Beijing).
Jake Gibb’s strong-shoulders move: Y, T, W
Lie chest down on a medicine ball (or on a flat bench) with five-pound dumbbells in each hand. Extend your arms toward the floor, your palms facing each other. Form a “T” with your arms outstretched to your sides. Do 10 reps. Then use your arms to form a “Y” above your head. Do 10 reps. Finally form a “W” bending at the elbows. Do 10 reps.
A Sprinter’s Arms
“By pumping a weight for 20 seconds, my arms are going to be more open when I’m sprinting, which allows me to get a bigger step and cover more ground,” says Tyson Gay, the Adidas sprinter who beat Usain Bolt in the 100m in Stockholm in 2010.
Tyson Gay’s arm exercise: Dumbbell Arm Swings
Put your left foot about three feet in front of your right so you’re in a staggered stance. Hold lightweight dumbbells at your sides. With your elbows bent at 90 degrees, drive your arms forward and back, as if you’re running with your upper body. Repeat for 20 seconds. That’s one set. Do three sets, switching the lead leg each set. (Flatten your belly and reveal six-pack abs with the FREE weekly tips in our Abs Diet newsletter. Sign up today!)
A Gymnast’s Abs
“Gymnasts need to be able to lift our own weight, throw it around, and still have control of our bodies,” says John Orozco, who finished second at the U.S. Gymnastics Trials earlier this summer.
John Orozco’s abs move: V Ups
Lie flat on your back with your legs straight and arms extended above the top of your head. Raise your shoulders off the ground to form a “V” position, lifting your torso and legs as if you’re trying to touch your toes. (Don’t bend your knees or crane your neck.) Then lower your body back to the start. Hold each for 30 seconds. That’s one set. Orozco does 30 sets.
A Cyclist’s Quads
“There’s a lot of crazy things you can do out there to build muscle, but the basics are what really work,” says Team Liquigas-Cannondale’s Timmy Duggan, who was just crowned the 2012 USA Cycling Professional Road National Champion.
Timmy Duggan’s quad exercise: Box jumps
Stand in front of a sturdy, secure box that’s high enough so that you have to jump with great effort in order to land on top of it. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Dip your knees. Jump up onto the box with a soft landing. Step down and reset your feet. See how many you can do in 30 seconds.
A Fencer’s Calves
“Calf muscles can help propel a fencer’s lunge, so having strong and explosive calves is really important,” says fencer Tim Morehouse, a silver medalist at Beijing.
Tim’s calf muscle move: Calf raise
Place a small sturdy block flat on the floor in front of you. The block should be just high enough to slightly elevate your feet. Place the balls of both feet on the block, about hip-width apart, with your heels hanging off the back of the block. Simultaneously drive your heels up and then lower them below the edge of the block. That’s one rep. Do three sets of 20 reps. Want more ways to build up your chicken legs? Click here to find The Fix for Skinny Calves.
If you liked this story, you’ll love these:
- 30 Reasons to Watch the 30th Olympics
- The Best Advice from Olympians
- 12 Sexiest Female Olympic Athletes
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Pastor Rickey Baker was wrapping up a Sunday sermon at New Palestine Church in North Linden when he suddenly felt exhausted and weak, so much so that he eventually left the sanctuary and found a seat in the foyer.
Chest pains prompted him to call for emergency medical service, and he was taken to a hospital, where the father of four learned he had had a massive heart attack.
More than two years later, the 50-year-old Baker has changed his eating habits and slimmed down. He says God was trying to wake him up and set him on a path to ensure he'd be able to keep doing the work he was meant to do.
Baker is not alone in his struggle to stay healthy as the leader of a church congregation. Recent studies indicate that clergy members might sometimes be so focused on taking care of their flock that they neglect their own health.
For example, researchers at Duke University in Durham, N.C., found in 2008 that United Methodist pastors in North Carolina had an obesity rate of about 41 percent, versus the state average of about 29 percent. The pastors also had higher rates of high blood pressure, angina, diabetes, asthma and arthritis.
"They've been called to this vocation of serving God, and they see serving others as an important part of that," said Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, the research director of the Duke University Clergy Health Initiative, which includes a two-year intervention program for those involved in the study.
"It's never clear to them what is God's work in answering their call and what is taking care of themselves and OK to say no to," she said.
Added to the self-pressure is pressure from congregations that expect pastors to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Proeschold-Bell said. As church budgets shrink and people have less time to volunteer, pastors are responsible for everything from mowing the lawn to planning Bible camps to raising money for a new building.
She said it's important for church leaders to understand and address the pressures because the cost of clergy health care could bankrupt congregations. The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Methodist Church and the Reformed Church in America are among those that have taken steps in that direction, as have local groups.
In Columbus, personal trainer Sidney West of Body By Sid offers a Pastor Fit Program aimed at clergy members.
Methodist Theological School in Ohio, in Delaware, has overhauled food-service options to encourage more-healthful eating: All-you-can-eat meals and a soft-drink fountain have been eliminated from the dining hall, and fresh fruit is free with any purchase. In vending machines, soda has been replaced with juice, candy bars with granola bars. A goal is to raise awareness when potential clergy members are just beginning on their path, said the Rev. Jay Rundell, president of the school.
Along with changing food options, the school has offered more workout space and opportunities for students to take advantage of the campus' vast outdoor areas.
A healthy clergy, he said, can serve as a role model for congregations.
"A pastor has the privilege to be in a very central place," he said. "Most pastors in most congregations have a great deal of influence. With that kind of influence, you could set really good examples."
Pastors are constantly responding to phone calls, text messages and emails, Baker said. Even when things do get quiet, the members of their congregation are still on their mind.
He and his wife, Carolyn, New Palestine's co-pastor, joined West's Pastor Fit Program in September after their son heard a radio ad offering a free 28-day trial.
Mr. Baker said he also changed his eating, exercise and thinking habits, and the couple have continued to work with West. "I'm really looking forward to working out now. My body craves it," said Mrs. Baker, 48. "It's been so great for us physically, there's no way we could walk away."
West said he started his program because "Pastors have instilled so much in us, in me, so it was my time to give back. I realize I have a God-given gift, and I can't keep it to myself."
His work has led to a number of other faith-based events, including a "Chain-Breaking" health-and-fitness seminar for clergy this Saturday at New Palestine Church. A similar event for the general public is planned for February.
Mr. Baker said the new lifestyle has affected the way he and his wife preach, offering their congregation messages on good health and on moving forward "one step at a time."
"Being in this program has changed the way I look at life," he said. "It has changed the way I look at ministry."
Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
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They Swim; They Walk; They Even Pump Iron. Elderly Americans Find a New Lease on Life Thanks to UW Research Center.
by Julie Rathbun
Nellie Frye needed groceries. So she called her friend Mildred, and the two set off, on foot, to the supermarket.
"The last time I walked up that hill I swore I'd never do it again--it nearly killed me," claimed Nellie, age 94, a slight smile working the weathered corners of her mouth. "But this time we made it back all right."
Months earlier, Nellie's major activity was sitting in her easy chair. "It wasn't good. My daughter kept telling me to get out and my doctor gave me exercises but I didn't do them," she admits.
Her motivation to get moving came unexpectedly--the offering of a free exercise program for senior women living in her low-income housing building. Led by Marie Elaine Cress, UW exercise physiologist, the program is a research study designed to help seniors gain energy, motivation, strength and endurance through daily exercise.
Curiosity outweighing her skepticism, Nellie enlisted. And for the past month her week's activities have included walks and classes in strength training and flexibility.
Today, clad in a pink sweat suit, cuff-like weights hanging from her ankles, Nellie joins her fellow neighbors/fitness partners in the community room for strengthening exercises.
"It's time for your hip flexors," calls Cress brightly, exchanging smiles with the half-dozen women as she raises her leg up and down. "These are the ones that help you make it up the stairs."
With slow determination, the rest of the group follows Cress' lead--steadying their balance by clutching onto school chairs and exchanging encouragement, giggles and grunts. Like Nellie, other participants have been pleasantly surprised with the program, noting they "don't wobble as much," "have more energy" and "feel like a new person."
This newfound zest for life is spreading. Thousands of Seattle-area residents are reaping benefits from research projects and partnerships with senior centers, housing authority buildings and health-care management. At the center of this movement is the University of Washington Northwest Prevention Effectiveness Center, a collaborative center guided by the mission of "keeping older adults healthy and independent."
"Throughout the years our primary goal has remained the same: preventing dependence and institutionalization," stresses Ed Wagner, director of the prevention research center and the Center for Health Studies at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle. "These are the things seniors fear more than death."
Harnessing the Power of Prevention
Reaching Out to Seniors Where They Live
Partners in Prevention
Staying Active: 11 Tips for the Elderly
Send a letter to the editor at email@example.com.
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What she does: Caspari paints horses but does not consider herself to be an equine artist. Her large-scale, brightly colored, luminescent oil paintings depict horses in varying degrees of abstraction. “I use the horses as a vehicle of expression,” she explains. “It’s not about the horses; it’s about what’s going on in the painting. With horses, there is so much personification and connection with the human soul and emotion.”
Why she is an artist: “When you are an artist you don’t have a choice but to be an artist,” she says. “It is not a decision you have to make. You have something in you and you have to release it. … I’m a wreck if I’m not creating. I can’t survive mentally if I’m not painting.”
Why she paints horses: Caspari grew up in Goochland County surrounded by horses and says her first childhood memories revolve around the animals. She rode in shows as a teenager, and in college she continued her equestrian career as a horse trainer. “I have done pretty much every kind of riding you can think of,” she says, from Western and dressage to jumping and roping.
While she was an art student she “got in a really bad slump,” she says. “None of my paintings were good. I was trying this series of mountain goats, and they were awful.” Caspari approached a professor about her problem, and he agreed her paintings could use some work. “What are you passionate about?” he asked her. “You have got to paint what you are passionate about.”
Caspari decided she was passionate about horses and hasn’t painted anything else since. “I can’t think of anything more beautiful than a horse,” she says.
How she works: Caspari never works from a sketch — “I get bored trying to plan a painting,” she says — and instead begins a painting by working up a “nice, thick surface” on a blank board.
“Then I start to think a lot,” she says. “I start laying on color, and images start to come out.” Often, it takes a while for her paintings to evolve and she is not afraid to cover what she has done to begin again. “I try not to stay too committed to the work I’ve already done,” she says.
After she has developed the horse images, her painting becomes about line, color and shape. “That is where the language starts,” she says. “That’s where I get out of being an equine artists and start speaking in a visual language.”
Caspari paints on a wall-mounted easel that can be raised and lowered with a pulley system. She works with a mirror behind her to reflect the painting. “When I create a composition I always see it backwards first,” she says, as she applies paint to a work in progress and looks over her shoulder to see how it looks.
On the business of art: About four years ago Caspari began selling prints of her paintings. “I started doing the numbers in my head and started to realize I was not going to make a full living every year off of just [my] paintings,” she says. “For me it was a financial decision, and I wanted to get my artwork out to as many people as possible.”
A California printer produces gicleé prints of her original paintings, and she says they are experimenting with a hybrid gicleé serigraph print to capture the luminescence of the metallic paints she uses. “The new print should look and feel a whole lot like an original,” she says.
Where she gets her inspiration: From the horse, of course. Caspari still works with horses every day on her farm in Goochland County. “I’ve got to get on those horses every day to see them, touch them, feel their personalities,” she says. “That’s the other side of my work.”
Style Weekly's mission is to provide smart, witty and tenacious coverage of Richmond. Our editorial team strives to reveal Richmond's true identity through unflinching journalism, incisive writing, thoughtful criticism, arresting photography and sophisticated presentation.
We make sense of the news; pursue those in power; explore the city's arts and culture; open windows on provocative ideas; and help readers know Richmond through its people. We give readers the information to make intelligent decisions.
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Issue 03 Table of Contents
Trango Tower [Photo] Ace Kvale
Posted on: June 1, 2003
Think the recent high jinks in the Valley are a new phenomenon? Think again. Ian Parnell presents 150 years of evolution, from Italian limestone to Patagonian granite.
This article is not currently available on-line. To subscribe, click here. Or to download a copy of the
issue in which this article appears, please click here.
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Rec Departments' Health-Based Initiatives Receive a Shot in the Arm
SEEDS OF CHANGE
Vegetable gardens in Montgomery County, Ala., parks are part of a community-wide health-education effort.
Programs tend to be the darlings of recreation departments. The reason, according to Heidi Melancon, senior manager for strategic health initiatives at the National Recreation and Park Association, is that the benefits of a well-run program are tangible. High participation numbers alone can suggest community involvement; the smiling faces of a young athlete or an exercising adult engender immediate satisfaction within the programmer. That’s all good, says Melancon, but it’s certainly not all there is.
“You might be getting 30 people in a group exercise program, and that’s great,” says Melancon, “But all of those people already know they need to be there. They want to be there. What about the rest of the community?”
Answering that, Melancon adds, requires attention to policies, not just programs. “A healthy food vending policy might have to go all the way up to the city level because it’s a city contract,” she says. “It’s a policy that might not be considered on a daily basis, but it can affect everyone, not just people participating in a program.”
Melancon is NRPA’s representative in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Healthy Communities Program, known as ACHIEVE (Action Communities for Health, Innovation, and EnVironmental changE). What distinguishes the initiative from other health or recreation grant opportunities is that it’s not just providing money for local programming. Instead, it’s helping mold local policies — or, as the CDC describes it, “policy, systems and environmental change strategies” designed to promote community-wide health.
Through ACHIEVE, the CDC hopes to accomplish the broader goal of preventing risk factors for conditions such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease, cancer, arthritis and obesity. NRPA is one of four national partners directly involved in funding participating communities (43 communities throughout the United States — 10 through NRPA — were each awarded $35,000 grants in 2009.)
NRPA has an agreement with the CDC to administer 10 grants per year through 2013. (Applications for 2010 grants are due by Dec. 11.) Applying for and even accepting the grant involves each community in a fairly extensive process, from assessment to implementation. Once funding is obtained, two people— including at least one parks and recreation department representative — are identified as “coaches” and receive training at NRPA’s headquarters just outside Alexandria, Va. The coaches then help establish a community “CHART” team, which is essentially a local coalition composed of the coaches and any combination of local or state government representatives, health organization representatives or other community leaders.
“The CHART needs to be composed of folks who can actually help make policies come to life,” says Melancon, adding that she’s seen representation from health departments, YMCAs and other nonprofits, local foundations, planning and transportation departments, school districts, state government, city managers, mayors and city council members. “You need people who can make things stick in the books.”
Once the CHART team is in place, it works with NRPA using a comprehensive assessment tool to essentially perform an audit to determine where the parks and rec agency or other community organizations may be either succeeding or lacking in providing health-related services. From there, each community develops a “Community Action Plan.” Though each CAP is a unique reflection of a given community’s needs, they all involve plans to enact policy and environmental changes that can create sustainable and positive changes long after the ACHIEVE funding has run out.
“I’d prefer $1 million, but I love the fact that this money is just enough to get us organized and get us started on our way,” says Jennifer Anderson, a planner with the Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission who represents Montgomery County as an ACHIEVE coach. “This money is a great catalyst for a lot of initiatives.”
In rural Montgomery County, for example, the CAP calls for community fruit and vegetable gardens to be installed in already-established neighborhood parks. Produce will be harvested and used to teach children health lessons, as well as sold to provide the initiative with some revenue so it can sustain itself. The county’s CAP also incorporates a worksite wellness initiative, which will change policies related to smoking cessation and the marketing of workplace cafeteria food, among other goals.
The heavily populated City of North Miami, Fla., likewise is using its ACHIEVE money to drive worksite wellness policies, but its CAP also calls for improving and redeveloping health-related infrastructure to include a series of paths for walking, jogging and biking. For North Miami Recreation Department facilities supervisor and ACHIEVE coach Ron Bell, developing an action plan to effect change throughout the city has been an enlightening process. “Our focus in the past has been more on programs,” says Bell, who shares his coaching duties with Andrea Ramos, a special events coordinator who works closely with the city’s mayor and public information office. “Now, we’ve gotten a good education on how all the different city departments work, and how some of the planning works, on a large scale.”
Anderson says working with numerous agencies — including the county rec department, nonprofits, school districts, corporations, and state and local health departments — is not just recommended, but required for the initiative’s success. “These partnerships are what can create the sustainability,” she says. “There are a lot of people who know that promoting healthy policy is a good idea, but they need us to come in and connect them with other resources. Say you want to change a workplace cafeteria menu to make it healthier. I’m an urban planner by trade. I don’t know how to design a cafeteria menu. But what I can do is call my contact down at the Alabama Department of Public Health, they can send out a nutritionist, and we work from there. I’m just connecting those resources.”
Ramos has found that when such multidimensional partnerships are in place, funding can beget more funding. “One of our CHART team members is a nonprofit community leader who has been able to acquire another grant because of the partnership,” she says. “She is now going to develop a community garden through a cultural arts program. But that garden is being developed in one of our own facilities, a 22-acre park. And it’s involving the school system, which is coming out and doing the planning and actual gardening. You’re solidifying all these partnerships.”
Perhaps no stronger relationships are being forged through the program than those between local parks and health departments. For Melancon, who worked as a public health administrator before joining NRPA five years ago, the relationship seems perfectly natural.
“They’re relying on each other more than they have in the past, and that’s a great trend we’ve been seeing over the past five years or so,” Melancon says. “There are more alliances as they realize the work they do is complementary. Public health departments can lend their expertise and knowledge related to public health issues like obesity, and you can combine that with the expertise of these parks and recreation agencies, which can reach out to the community, get people involved, access kids. The public health department might come up with a new education piece, but the recreation department might be the perfect implementer of it.”
More on the ACHIEVE Healthy Communities program:
Facility of the Week
Ithaca College Athletics and Events Center
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A missing link is a proposed, but as-yet undiscovered, intermediate form between two similar species, commonly used to refer to a form between man and a common ape-like ancestor.
Creationists frequently cite "Missing Links" as evidence that evolution is fallacious. Darwin called this issue "...the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory..." and attributed the perceived lack of transitional fossils to imperfections in the geologic record.
Another Creationist strawman is to argue that evolution demands a transitional form between every creature. Kirk Cameron, for instance, frequently demands evidence for a "Crocoduck" - a creature with the physical traits of both a crocodile and a duck.
First, the theory of evolution suggests that ALL life forms are "transitional forms". All fossils, then, are transitional fossils. Referring just to the line that lead to modern humanity, geologists have discovered hundreds of distinct, progressing variations.
Second, the nature of evolution suggests that the massive variation we find in life forms today are the direct descendants of a much less diverse group of life forms, possibly as small as a single individual form. While ducks and crocodiles do have common ancestors, their lines diverged long ago, and each line evolved independently from the other. Discovery of a "crocoduck" would be far more damaging to the theory of evolution than the absence of such a creature.
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October 23, 2007
Citing increased fish stocks and some increases in fishing revenue, NOAA has determined that a commercial fishery failure under federal law has not occurred in the groundfishery in Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island. The determination was made after the states’ governors requested an examination of whether a commercial fishery failure exists.
“We understand New England groundfishermen have experienced some economic difficulty, but there is reason to believe we are turning a corner,” said William T. Hogarth, director of NOAA Fisheries Service. “Our latest research shows encouraging increases in most of the groundfish stocks. There is not a commercial fishery failure and we’re committed to doing everything we can to ensure one does not happen in the future.”
Fishing regulations required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act have contributed to the increases in groundfish stocks. Fourteen of 18 groundfish stocks show increases in the amount of adult groundfish able to reproduce in the most recent stock assessment. Total cod is up 36 percent. Georges Bank haddock is up more than 500 percent and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder is up 209 percent in a decade.
While groundfish revenue decreased between 15 and 25 percent in Massachusetts and Maine from 2005 to 2006, the decline was not at the level of a commercial fishery failure. Groundfish revenue in Rhode Island ports increased by 73 percent in the same period.
Total revenue from all fish species entering Massachusetts ports rose by $10 million in that period, bringing the state’s landings revenue in 2006 to $437.5 million. Fishing ports in the three states are among the top 20 ports for fish landings in the nation, with New Bedford, Mass., and Gloucester, Mass., ranked number 1 and number 11 nationally in the dollar value of fish landings.
“We still have a way to go to return the groundfishing industry to where it belongs, but we are encouraged by the progress New England has made to rebuild groundfish that were near collapse a decade ago,” said Hogarth. “Healthy groundfish stocks are essential to the economic and nutritional future of New England and our nation.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.
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In search of protection: The true partnership that was sealed on 6 February 1840 was between the Maori leadership and the British government in London. The chiefs hoped that a London-appointed Governor would stand between their lands, forests and fisheries and the Pakeha they feared the most - the settlers who were coming to stay.
This posting is a response to the lively debate currently raging on the Kiwipolitico blogsite.
IT’S JANUARY 1840, two sailing vessels are fast approaching the North Island of New Zealand. His Majesty’s Ship Herald carries Captain William Hobson bearing instructions from the Colonial Office to organise the voluntary cession of the islands of New Zealand to the British Crown. The other ship, Aurora, carries settlers to the newly established settlement of Port Nicholson. It has been chartered by the privately owned and organised New Zealand Company.
Captain Hobson’s instructions are not unrelated to the purposes for which the Aurora and her passengers set sail. The islands of New Zealand, conveniently located in the temperate zone of the southern hemisphere, are large but sparsely populated (the indigenous Maori population numbers approximately 125,000). Unsurprisingly, they have begun to loom large in the sights of European entrepreneurs, missionaries and imperialists.
Under pressure from the aristocratic backers of the New Zealand Company, and wary of the pretensions of competing powers – particularly the French – the Colonial Office in London is determined to regularise the confused jurisdictions of Australasia. If the land titles being sold to settlers by the New Zealand Company are to be legally enforceable, the question of sovereignty must be settled – and quickly. By fair means or by foul, New Zealand is to be annexed to the British Crown.
The cheapest, the most politically expedient, and (in the face of the Missionary Society’s strenuous submissions) the most morally defensible means of securing possession of New Zealand is to persuade the indigenous Maori tribes to cede sovereignty to her Britannic majesty, Victoria, voluntarily. Indeed, British agents and missionaries in New Zealand have been assiduously laying the groundwork for just such a solution since the mid-1830s. The British Resident, James Busby, has even secured a “Declaration of Independence” from his purpose-built “Confederation of Chiefs” so the Crown has something to sit down with when the time to negotiate a plausible treaty of cession finally arrives.
As HMS Herald drops anchor in the Bay of Islands on 29 January1840, this is exactly what Hobson and his confreres, Busby and James Freeman, prepare to do.
THE MAORI LEADERS gathered at Waitangi to korero with Captain Hobson have come with an equally clear set of priorities.
First and foremost, they are seeking protection.
From the early 1830s, a rough “balance of terror” has prevailed among the combative Maori tribes as more and more of them acquired firearms. Even so, the slaughter and dislocation of the so-called “Musket Wars” are still a searing memory, and nobody’s ready to wager the lives of their whanau and hapu on the blood-letting not breaking out anew. Information gleaned from Maori who’ve travelled to Australia – and further afield – suggests that the British Empire holds out the best hope of keeping the peace between the tribes.
They’re also keen for the British to keep the roughly 2,000 unruly Europeans who’ve settled amongst them to trade, hunt whales and seals, or simply to outrun the writ of whoever’s justice system is after them, under some semblance of control. There’s a lot of wealth to be had from these folk, but only if the tribes can enlist the aid of an entity with sufficient power to make sure they keep their side of any bargain – and pay up.
Having learned the hard way how skittish the Pakeha become when Maori exercise their own robust forms of tribal justice, they reckon it will make things a lot easier if their “guests” are forced to live under their own laws.
Among the shrewder Maori – including the wily Hone Heke – there is also a nagging fear that the ever-increasing inward flow of European settlers will not stop. They’ve learned that these new arrivals are different – not the usual traders, whoremasters, grog-sellers, whalers, sealers and fugitives that the tribes have grown used to accommodating.
More than anything else, the settlers arriving on the New Zealand Company ships desire land – Maori land. And, as more and more of them arrive, that hunger for Maori land will only increase. It's why the better educated and more travelled Maori are determined to secure their tribal possessions against settler pressure by placing them under the protection of the world’s most powerful nation – Great Britain.
Also at Waitangi are the Christian Maori – the products of more than twenty years of missionary effort. To these men and women the Pakeha have vouchsafed an entirely different understanding of the human condition. Christianity has conferred upon its native converts a new kind of power: a new mana.
They understand that the Pakeha’s morality, knowledge and technology offer their people a way-in to a world their ancestors could never have imagined. For them the future lies in a voluntary melding of their own and the newcomers’ cultures – and that melding cannot happen soon enough.
THE SIMPLE CLAUSES of the Treaty of Waitangi masterfully embraced the complex agendas of both its British and Maori signatories. It is, however, naïve in the extreme to characterise the document as a contract.
Treaties are not contracts: at least not in the sense that a mortgage or hire-purchase agreement is a contract. What a treaty actually amounts to is a description of the power relations existing between two peoples at a precise moment in history.
Almost always (and the Treaty of Waitangi is no exception) the relationship between the signatories is an unequal one (usually reflecting the stronger party’s military victory over the weaker). What makes the Treaty of Waitangi so interesting is that it was signed in anticipation of – and as a way of avoiding – the military clash which would have become inevitable if a voluntary cession of sovereignty to the British Crown had been refused.
But Maori did not emerge from the negotiations of February 1840 empty-handed. The quid pro quo, in return for making things easy for the Colonial Office, was the guarantee of what they had been seeking all along – the protection of the Crown. Protection against any return to the slaughter of the Musket Wars; protection against social disorder and commercial trickery; and protection against the Pakeha they were most afraid of: the ones who were coming to stay.
This was the real partnership enshrined in the Treaty: the partnership between the Maori tribes and the Colonial Office, or, to put it more precisely, with the executive arm of the British Government in London. This was the power the chiefs had aligned themselves with: a power which, in the person of the Governor, would stand between them and the predatory approach to land acquisition represented by the New Zealand Company and its growing body of imitators.
And there’s no question that the chiefs’ fears in regard to the settlers were entirely justified. Here, for example, is how one of the Governors of the New Zealand Company viewed the Treaty:
“We have always had very serious doubts whether the Treaty of Waitangi, made with naked savages by a consul invested with no plenipotentiary powers, without ratification by the Crown, could be treated by lawyers as anything but a praiseworthy devise for amusing and pacifying savages for the moment.”
THAT OMINOUS “for the moment” offers us a chilling reminder of just how historically contingent all treaties are. Certainly the Treaty of Waitangi – as a means of protecting the things Maori treasured – did not long survive the moment when the settler population reached a size sufficient to persuade London to grant it a measure of self-government (1852).
It was at that point that the Crown effectively ceased to be the protector of New Zealand’s indigenous inhabitants, and became, instead, the protector of the new settler state. In vain did the chiefs appeal to the Governor to uphold the Crown pre-emption clause of the Treaty. And when, in growing desperation, they crowned their own king and attempted to defend what remained of their tribal lands, the Settler Government promptly declared them rebels and traitors, and the British Government in London dispatched a vast army to crush the resistance of their nascent Maori state.
It is difficult to envisage any other outcome. The moment London acquiesced in the formation of a self-governing New Zealand colony, they set in place an entity which could only grow and prosper at the expense of the country’s original inhabitants. Because, as the chiefs rightly apprehended back in February 1840, if the new breed of settlers came to stay – it could only be on Maori land.
TO SAY that the Treaty of Waitangi was breached is, therefore, an accurate but ultimately trivial historical observation. Had it not been breached, New Zealand – as a colonial society inextricably enmeshed in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the British Empire – wouldn’t have existed. For the Settler State to become real, the Treaty had to become, in Chief Justice Prendergast’s brutal phrase: “a simple nullity”.
Was that wrong? Should the undertakings given by Captain Hobson on 6 February 1840 have been honoured? Removed from its historical context, the question is easily answered in the affirmative. Except that those who go in search of such unencumbered moral judgements, do so without understanding that such questions can never be extracted from history.
To judge the dead may give some comfort to the living, but no matter how fervently the misdeeds of previous generations are condemned, they cannot be undone. Therefore, whatever justice we seek to do here and now, let it be done to right the wrongs of the present – not the past.
We fair-skinned Polynesians are not – and can never be – “Europeans”. Just as contemporary Maori are not – and can never be again – the Maori who inhabited these islands before colonisation. Both of us are the victims of historical forces too vast for blame, to permanent for guilt.
And both of us have nowhere else to go.
This essay is exclusive to the Bowalley Road blogsite.
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Located in central Alabama, northwest of the state capital of Montgomery, Autauga County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. The town of Prattville began as a pioneering company
town and was founded by industrialist Daniel Pratt. Autauga County's proximity to the cotton-growing Black Belt made it a manufacturing giant during the nineteenth century. Blues musician George "Wild Child" Butler was born in Autaugaville, and world-renowned soul and R&B singer Wilson Pickett was born in Prattville. The county is run by an elected five-member
commission and includes three incorporated communities, each governed by a mayor and city council.
· Founding Date: November 21, 1818
· Area: 595 square miles
· Population: 54,571 (2010 Census)
· Major Waterways: Alabama River
· Major Highways: I-65, U.S. 31, U.S. 82, State Route 14
· County Seat: Prattville
· Largest City: Prattville
Autauga County was created by an Act of the Alabama territorial legislature on November 21, 1818, almost one year before Alabama became a state. Carved out of Montgomery County, Autauga once contained portions of present-day Elmore and Chilton counties. The county was named for the Autauga Indians, members of the larger Creek Confederacy, who once lived in the area. After the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, the area included in the territory ceded by the Creeks in the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814. The first county seat was located at Washington, on the former site of the Autauga town at Atagi, and then moved to Kingston in 1830. The first courthouse, an Italianate structure designed by George Littlefield Smith, was built in 1870; it was replaced by the current courthouse in 1907.
In 1830, the Boggs family established its pottery, which is still in operation. In 1833, industrialist Daniel Pratt settled in Autauga County and built a cotton gin manufacturing company that became the largest in the world. Pratt likewise built the first railroad in the county and helped finance the state's first iron and steel enterprises and constructed the Old Plank Road, a public route between Washington and his milltown Prattville, in 1848. In 1859, Pratt opened the Prattville Male and Female Academy to educate the children of his mill workers. In 1868, the county seat was moved to Prattville.
Major Cities and Demographics
According to the 2010 Census, Autauga County recorded a population of 54,571. Of that total, 78.5 percent identified themselves
as white, 17.7 percent as African American, 2.4 percent Hispanic, 1.6 percent as two or more races, 0.9 percent as Asian,
and 0.4 percent as Native American. The median household income in Autauga County was $55,165 compared with $40,547 for the
state as a whole, and the per capita income was $25,004, compared with $22,732 for the state as a whole. Prattville, the largest
city and the county seat, had a population of 33,960; other significant population centers in the county are Autaugaville
During the nineteenth century, farming and manufacturing were the prevailing occupations in Autauga County. Daniel Pratt’s cotton-gin business made Prattville the center of Alabama industry during the antebellum period. In addition to the cotton-gin factory, Pratt constructed the Prattville Manufacturing Company, which became one of the most successful cotton and woolen manufacturing companies in the South. He also built a millworks that produced sashes, doors, and window blinds, machine and blacksmith shops, tin and wagon factories, and a flour mill. The Civil War and Reconstruction disrupted the economy of Autauga County, and agriculture and industry declined as a result of the shortage of manpower and cash.
Currently the leading employers in the county are the International Paper Company; Haldex Friction Products; Kinedyne Corporation; Autauga County Board of Education; Walmart; City of Prattville; Autauga County; and Prattville Baptist Hospital. Continential Eagle purchased Prattville Manufacturing in 1899 and today continues to be one the largest employers in the county. The Prattville Chamber of Commerce estimates that upwards of 50 percent of the labor force commutes to jobs outside the county, most to neighboring Montgomery.
The workforce in present-day Autauga County is divided among the following occupational categories:
· Educational services, and health care and social assistance (18.6 percent)
· Retail trade (13.0 percent)
· Public administration (12.8 percent)
· Manufacturing (12.5 percent)
· Arts, entertainment, and recreation, accommodation, and food services (8.9 percent)
· Professional, scientific, administrative, and waste management services (7.1 percent)
· Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (6.9 percent)
· Construction (6.4 percent)
· Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (4.8 percent)
· Other services, except public administration (4.3 percent)
· Wholesale trade (2.6 percent)
· Information (1.4 percent)
· Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extractive (0.8 percent)
The Autauga County School System currently employs 937 teachers and administrators who serve more than 13 schools. In addition,
the county contains two private schools, Autauga Academy and Prattville Christian Academy.
Comprising approximately 595 square miles, Autauga County lies in the central area of state, wholly within the Coastal Plain physiographic section. It is bounded to the north by Chilton County, to the east by Elmore and Montgomery counties, to the south by Lowndes County, and to the west by Dallas County. The Alabama River runs along the southern boundary of the county and numerous creeks, such as the Little Mulberry, Autauga, and Swift, intersect the area. Interstate 65 is Autauga County's major transportation route, running north-south in the far western part of the county. U.S. 82 and U.S. 31 are the county's other major transportation arteries. Prattville-Grouby Airport Field is the county's only public airport.
Events and Places of Interest
Autauga County's gently rolling landscape is host to several outdoor parks and recreational areas. Cooters Pond Park, located on the banks of the Alabama River, contains boat ramps, covered pavilions, and large greenspace areas for outdoor activities. Other parks include Pratt Park, Wilderness Park, Heritage Park, and Overlook Memorial Park. The Roberta Case Pine Hill Preserve is a 374-acre Nature Conservancy property created to protect the federally endangered Alabama canebrake pitcher plant. The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Capitol Hill, featuring the Prattville Marriot Hotel and Conference Center, is located off Interstate 65 near Prattville. The Nationwide Tour Championship golf tournament has been held at Capitol Hill for the past five years.
Since 1984, Prattville has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Daniel Pratt's cotton gin manufacturing company and other features of this unique town can be seen via a driving or walking tour. Buena Vista, an antebellum plantation built by William Montgomery circa 1830, was the first designated historic site in Autauga County and is open for tours and special events. It also houses the Autauga County Heritage Association and the Heritage Center Museum.
Mims, Shadrack. A History of Autauga County. Prattville, Ala.: Prattville ARBC, 1976.
Nobles, Larry W. Old Autauga: Portrait of a Deep South County. Brierfield, Ala.: Cahaba Trace Commission, 2000.
Patricia Hoskins Morton
Published March 6, 2007
Last updated March 29, 2013
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Eunice and Ron Shanahan have shared with readers of the Victorian Web this material from their website, Letters from the Past. Click on thumbnails for larger images.
This letter from the past was written by Charles Parke, an angry man of strong religious convictions, to Jeremiah Duke in New Park Ballymote Ireland. Ballymote, Sligo, has a long and colourful history. The name means Homestead of the Mound, from the Gaelic Baile an Mhota. It has the ruins of the Franciscan Friary where the fourteenthth-century Book of Ballymote was written. This document, which supplied the key to the ancient Ogham script (used for writing the Irish and Pictish the Duke family of New Park do not seem to have made the headlines as the Dublin Archivist advised me that they have no records of them. I have another letter in my collection addressed to Robert Duke at the same address — possibly the father of this Jeremiah — dated 1803, so they were there for a number of years.
The mail service to Ireland was initially by sailing packets and during that time there were occasions when as a result of the weather conditions all the vessels were on one side of the Irish Sea or the other. So in 1821 steamships replaced the sailing packets. One steamship route was from Liverpool to Howth, and then by road to Dublin, where letters were sorted and sent out for delivery. The time taken for the passage across the Irish Sea varied but during the early years of operation averaged 7½ hours. Twenty years later the service would still have depended on the vagaries of the weather and other unforeseeable calamities.
For this letter, the postmarks show it was despatched from Liverpool 15 January 1831,(provincial datestamp type in use from 1829) and arrived in Dublin the next day as shown by the double-framed diamond datestamp in red AM 16 JA 1831 - type in use from 1815-1846 .
The charge shown as a black manuscript 1/3 is a mystery. The rate at the time was the land cost at both ends plus the 3d packet rate. The land cost from Dublin to Howth was 9d for the 103 miles, added to the 3d makes 1 shilling, so if any reader can explain the 1/3 charge, I would be pleased to hear from them.
The seal on the letter is quite unusual, being of a paling fence of 5 uprights, against a tree in full leaf with what looks like a fox running between the fence and the tree.
And now to the letter, which is 'crossed' making it very hard to read initially, but practice makes perfect! The letter begins normally, that is the first page follows on to the left part inside the letter, then continues onto the right hand side - then the outside two 'ears' or 'wings' of the letter. As he has more to say he turns the letter over and 90 degrees to the right, and continues writing across the front page, continuing across the inside two pages. In order to read it, you must concentrate on the line you are reading, and ignore the words written underneath. It was very messy, but it saved having to pay double postage.
In the first paragraph, the writer gives an insight into the workings of the post office at the time, showing that he was aware of the times of the mails.
No. 6 Gt George's St. Liverpool
4th Jany, 1831
My Dear Jeremiah
I hasten to write a few lines which I hope to get by some means into the Bag before the Irish mail is closed, to say that this moment I have recd your letter by a mere accident with its Enclosures from which I feel much obligd. When I again called at the office yesterday I found no letter, I made up my mind to write to Messrs Wright, London on whom I knew the order would be due, to beg of them to stop it if presented. However I got my letter back out of the P. Office, as no post leaves here for London on Fridays and it consequently could not leave Liverpool sooner than this evening. "
Note : the 14th January was a Friday and I like the idea of his going to the Post Office to get his letter back before it left in the night mails to London. The next paragraph is another comment on the postal service, but again he has come out the winner!
"I fear you have been uneasy and put to trouble since I wrote to your Father in which letter I requested he write to you to write to me. The excuses made by the P. Office was that this address which was written in a big and male hand was so defaced by the daub of a postman when it was recd in Dublin that they did not know for whom it was, but when they showed it me I knew it and proved my propriety to it - when they gave it me with many apologies then."
The next part of the letter refers directly to the turmoil in Ireland over Catholic emancipation and his strong belief and faith in the Lord.
"I was truly sorry to hear about the violent state of things in our poor Country owing to a few wicked individuals.
I suppose the Govt. have got their eyes opened at last as to whom are loyal and otherwise, they have been the great cause nearly of all the evils that they now see besetting. We may well be tired looking for relief from a man from whom we are warned to "cease" and whose Truth is in his nostrils. Happy are those alone in times of dismay and distress whose trust is in the Living God. I long to realize a more abiding trust in Omnipotent who, blessed be his name, reigneth over all, and will fulfil all his counsel.
Luke has declared that whosoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved, there is no other Salvation for us sinners nor do we want any other. The nature of Jesus is a strong Tower of Refuge for those who have faith to enter therein. That we may all be given this saving faith my dear Jeremiah is my prayer, however feeble, you are happy to hear."
Note: I cannot make sense of the part of the sentence 'looking for relief from man from whom we are warned to "cease" and whose Truth is in his nostrils' This cannot be the Duke of Wellington (although he had a large nose!), as he was no longer Prime Minister - perhaps it was a comment on the new Home Secretary, Lord Melbourne.
He then goes on to family and finance matters. The debentures he mentions were a form of investment much favoured for their stability and security. The 'new fours' means they were issued at 4%.
"The news I wrote to your Father of poor John I have none to add to it at present. I am rejoiced to learn you are all so well. I often think of your friends and those about you. I thank you for my acct which is entirely satisfactory, I did not know that I was so rich, perhaps you will send "Lananye" as much as to purchase a hundred debentures in this new fours, and if they are done away with to purchase stocks in some other - the most desirable in Jennett’s Parke’s name and for her act. If you see any objection to that you can defer it till you communicate with me.
When you write tell me how your business is getting on. If there was anything of an unpleasant or rather more unpleasant nature likely to occur in Ireland I shd be glad to hear as in that case (which I trust will be avoided) I should feel it a duty to be on the spot, even tho’ my presence would not be of any use, it will be satisfactory to myself. Should you have any time to write me a line I shall be obligd when you can give me any hints you feel necessary. With respect to the choice of tenants I feel quite satisfied and thankful for your selection."
Note: His final paragraph is a comment on contemporary England. The country was in uproar concerning electoral reform and there was rioting and violence in various parts of the country, until the Reform Act was finally passed in 1832.
I fear you will not be able to read this letter, such haste as I had written with. The state of this Country is deplorable not much better than Ireland, nothing short of revolution will content the unruly people and Rebellion is stalking through the Land. I am sorry to say it is by no means confined to the lower orders that this evil spirit is manifested.
I must stop, believe me your most affectionately and truly
This letter was written at a time of turmoil and political upheaval. 1830 had been a year of unrest in Europe. In July the French dethroned their King Charles X, and replaced him with his popular cousin Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans; the Poles rose against the Tsar Nicholas; Italy and Germany had their troubles and there was open war in Belgium and Portugal, in fact, riot and insurrection was the order of the day. A contemporary account like this shows how the people were affected. It seems 1831 was going to be no better.
W.S. Griffith of New South Wales sent this information concerning the postage rate query:
"You ask for comment on the charge of 1/3 and then quote the cost from Dublin to Howth as 9d for 103 miles. I can't argue about charges but something seems wrong here. The distance from Howth to Dublin is about 10 miles perhaps a little more as the horse went. Present day maps give the shortest distance Liverpool to Holyhead as 92 miles, but I expect that, as the road went then it probably was 103 miles. So could the 1/3 be 9d from Liverpool to Holyhead, 3d for the packet and 3d Howth to Dublin?"
This shows how easy it is to write something and mean something else. As W.S. Griffith says the distance from Howth to Dublin is only 10 miles, but I had calculated the whole distance including the sea journey!
The second letter was from Chris Barling in Victoria. I have quoted his letter in full, since he explains several of my questions.
I think I can clear up your puzzle concerning the man from whom we are warned to cease". The writer is clearly a Protestant who knows his Bible very well and assumes that his recipient does as well, because this section of his letter is largely based on scriptural quotation. I know Bible-loving people who still write and speak to each other this way: to outsiders it seems like a code or a sort of game, but to them it is just sharing precious ideas in a readily recognized and condensed form, and also a sort of mutual encouragement.
I am almost certain that you misquote the text: "We may well be tired looking for relief from a man from whom we are warned to cease, ..:": I think you will find that the text indicates that the reference is not to "a man", a particular person, but to "man", to humankind in general.
The text is in fact a reference to the prophet Isaiah, in the Authorized Version of the Bible chapter 2 verse 22, "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?" This is intended to be a rejection of human solutions to problems and an admonition to turn instead to God, which the writer I suspect takes to mean we should keep out of politics and rely instead on prayer — a position often taken by conservative religious people, which usually means that they in effect support the status quo. Certainly in this case the writer is horrified at the unrest caused by the whole Reform question, and the particular agitations occurring in Ireland ("owing to a few wicked individuals"), and just wants to put the whole complex of issues aside. In the original "whose breath is in his nostrils" is just a bit of primitive anatomy: "breath" is "spirit", and all he is saying is that human spirit is a temporary thing, depending on our staying alive and breathing, whereas God's spirit is eternal and unchanging. "Truth" here is either a misreading of the script on your part or a misquotation by Mr Parke, which is common enough when writing from memory.
Also, Parke says 'Luke' rather than 'St Luke', it indicates he is something of a non-conformist rather than Church of England, or else deeply evangelical. I suspect this is another hasty error on his part, because the "quotation" is much more like a text from St John, but the matter is open to question.
David Robinson, Postal History of GN & Ireland.
R.M. Willcocks, History of England.
Charles Oman, Great Britain Post Roads Post Towns and Postal Rates 1635-1839.
Alan W Robertson, AA Touring guide to Ireland.
Last modified 17 December 2002
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It's hard to miss Lake Merritt. This tidal lagoon covers 155 acres and is bedecked with fairy lights strung between vintage lampposts around its 3.4-mile circumference. A peaceful oasis of water and greenery surrounded by Oakland's cityscape, it's aptly named the Jewel of Oakland.
The lake and surrounding park are a destination that lures recreation and nature enthusiasts, avid gardeners, music lovers, children, lakeside diners and an ever-growing colony of Canada geese not content to restrict themselves to any designated wildlife refuge.
Whether you have an hour, a morning or an entire day, there is plenty to see and do.
Tune into wildlife
The Rotary Nature Center is rustic by today's standards but has a charm all its own, with an emphasis on a functional approach to nature, specifically estuary ecology. From the wall display of bird life and the case filled with animal skulls to the mural of Lake Merritt life, it serves as a good introduction to this nature area carved out of an urban setting.
The center is part of the larger Wildlife Refuge at Lake Merritt, where a cacophony of bird conversations fills the air. Year-round residents, including egrets, cormorants, herons and gulls, share two offshore islands with migratory birds. Leafless trees expose huge bird nests, while coots and mallards practice patterned swimming in the brackish water.
Tone and firm
The perimeter path is a great way to follow the Necklace of Lights -- those 4,000-plus tiny lights strung between 126 lampposts -- while getting in some exercise. Touring the rim also lets you take in all the fine architecture and attractive plantings that surround the lake.
The Lake Merritt Boating Center has a variety of nonmotorized water vehicles available for rental. Here you can exercise your feet with a pedal-boat, paddle a canoe, skim the lake in a kayak or sail an El Toro (a small sailboat). There's even a moonlight gondola cruise that's almost like being in Italy.
Take home ideas
There's much to see at the Demonstration Gardens, with a wealth of mature trees and shrubs, as well as recently planted beds with flowers and vegetables. Paths meander throughout, with benches placed for viewing and contemplation.
One pleasant spot for reflection is the koi pond, where the quiet sounds of rushing water are complemented by large boulders banked by bird of paradise plants and agapanthus. The looming orange Torii Gate, dedicated to Frank Ogawa, translates as a gateway to heaven.
A traditional Japanese wood fence encloses the Bonsai Garden, where carefully tended specimens on raised wood platforms are displayed among the simple elements of a Japanese garden with gravel streambed and stone ornaments. Highlights include a redwood trunk thick and gnarled with age, a shrunken Chinese quince and a Trident maple identical to those within the park in everything but its 3-foot-height.
Summer brings music from the Edoff Memorial Bandstand, where the Oakland Memorial Band has been putting on concerts for parkgoers since 1923. The open, multi-columned pavilion with patinated copper ceiling and red tiles is worth a look even when there is no concert.
At Children's Fairyland, the music of the calliope acts as a Pied Piper to a magic kingdom, where storybook sets, farm animals, puppet shows and gentle rides entrance the young at heart. With a Magic Key, nursery rhymes and stories come to life. The Johnny Appleseed Cafe offers snacks and lunch sandwiches, and Peter's Big Pumpkin Espresso helps parents keep up with the kids. If you want a peek inside, don't forget the kids; no adults are admitted without a child.
The Lake Chalet Seafood Bar and Grill makes the most of its ideal location, offering good food with a view. Guests can sit in an elegant interior or on the outdoor dock. The building's core was constructed in 1909 as a pumping station, but concrete walls now hide behind crafted wood and glass. The restaurant's 3-6-9 happy hour and taco Tuesdays bring in the crowds.
It's a snap to stretch a day at Lake Merritt, starting with a morning walk to an early evening enjoying fresh seafood while sitting in the glow of the lights circling the lake.
IF YOU GO
Lake Merritt/Lakeside Park: www.oaklandnet.com/parks/parks/lakemerritt
Rotary Nature Center: 600 Bellevue Ave., 510-238-3739. Open daily.
Lake Merritt Boating Center: 568 Bellevue Ave., 510-238-2196. Open daily.
Lakeside Demonstration Gardens: 666 Bellevue Ave., 510-238-2197.
Bonsai Garden: 666 Bellevue Ave., 510-763-8409. Open Wednesdays-Sundays.
Children's Fairyland: 699 Bellevue Ave., 510-238-6876. Open daily. Tickets $8 for all ages.
Lake Chalet Seafood Bar and Grill: 1520 Lakeside Dr., 510-208-05253
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Asbestos: court ruling opens way for insurance claims
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer which can take decades to develop
28 March 2012 Last updated at 14:43
The UK Supreme Court has made a ruling which could allow thousands of insurance claims by families of people who died after exposure to asbestos.
The court placed insurance liability at the time an employee was exposed to asbestos, not when symptoms appeared.
Relatives of workers who died of the cancer mesothelioma want to make claims on policies dating from the 1940s.
One insurance firm in the case said the ruling was not its “favoured outcome” but welcomed the clarity it brought.
The Association of British Insurers welcomed the ruling, and blamed a small group of insurers for the legal battle.
The Supreme Court was asked to rule on the issue after judges in lower courts failed to agree.
Families had a success in 2008, when the High Court said firms’ insurers at the time workers inhaled fibres were liable.
But two years later the Court of Appeal said that in some cases liability was triggered when symptoms developed – which could be decades after exposure.
Lawyers said the appeal court ruling had left victims’ families facing “confusion and uncertainty”.
The new ruling by a panel of five Supreme Court justices states that the disease can be said to have been “sustained” by an employee in the period when it was caused or initiated.
One of the judges, Lord Clarke, said: “The negligent exposure of an employee to asbestos during the [insurance] policy period has a sufficient causal link with subsequently arising mesothelioma to trigger the insurer’s obligation.”
Unite, the largest trade union in Britain and the Irish Republic, welcomed the ruling, which it said will affect “many of the 2,500 people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year”.
Unite’s challenge was on behalf of the family of Charles O’Farrell, a retired member who died of mesothelioma in 2003.
Commenting on the Supreme Court’s decision, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “It is a disgrace that insurance companies went to such lengths to shirk their responsibilities.”
Mr O’Farrell’s daughter, Maureen Edwards, said: “This is the right decision. I am delighted for all those families who have been awaiting this result.
“My dad worked all his life and was hoping to enjoy retirement before mesothelioma took him away.
“There was never any question about who was to blame – all this long battle was about was insurers wanting to get out of paying.”
Nick Starling, director of general insurance and health at the Association of British Insurers, said: “The ABI and our members are committed to paying compensation as quickly as possible to people with mesothelioma who have been exposed to asbestos in the workplace.
“We have always opposed the attempt to change the basis on which mesothelioma claims should be paid, as argued by those who brought this litigation.
“Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court has confirmed what most in the industry have always understood – that the insurer on cover when the claimant was exposed to asbestos should pay the claim, rather than the insurer on cover when the mesothelioma develops.
“This case has been pursued by a small group of ‘run-off’ insurers acting independently and at odds with the views of the majority of the UK insurance industry. [A "run-off" company is an insurance firm which is no longer accepting new business.]
One of the four insurance companies which contested the proposal to date liability back to the time of exposure was Municipal Mutual Insurance Limited.
It issued a statement saying: “Whilst the ruling does not reflect MMI’s favoured outcome, we welcome the clarity this judgment brings as it enables MMI to determine the extent of its liabilities and the available options for the future of MMI and its business.
“MMI participated in the joint action in order to determine the extent of the Company’s insurance liabilities under policies it wrote in the period up to September 1992 (the date the Company ceased writing new insurance business).
“MMI has continued to compensate local authority employers for Mesothelioma claims, despite not being obliged to pay out claims until the outcome of the case was known. The underlying claimants (the victims of the disease) who have received compensation from MMI have been paid in full and have not been disadvantaged in any way by the fact that this case was brought.”
A lawyer representing the lead claimant, Ruth Durham, said the judgement provided “clarity, consistency and comfort” for the families of thousands of mesothelioma victims.
Helen Ashton from Irwin Mitchell said: “This judgment means that the thousands of people who are yet to be given the devastating news that they have the deadly illness will at least know that their families can get access to justice and receive the financial security they need.
“But the sad fact is that many victims of mesothelioma who have been awaiting the outcome of this appeal may not have lived long enough to know if their families will now receive the compensation they deserve.”
She said asbestos-related disease caused more than 5,000 deaths every year.
The number of people affected by mesothelioma was still rising because of the time it can take for this illness to develop and was expected to peak around 2015, she added.
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An Inn to go within
Rishi Chaitanya Ashram personifies a serene place away from the city. It is a retreat from the hustle bustle of daily mundane life and gives you an opportunity to be calm, peaceful, and discover your inner bliss.
We are so engrossed in our material pursuits that we even forget to live this life beautifully. In the rush for earning livelihood and luxuries, we forego the serenity of our mind and continue doing so until comes the saturation point of breakdown. And then we begin the quest for a place where we could relax, rejuvenate, and experience the ever flowing blissfulness of life. The mystical surroundings of the Ashram offer an exquisite ambience where you can learn the art of living life as a celebration, and explore the deeper aspects of life itself.
Ashram – as beautifully explained by Her Holiness Anandmurti Gurumaa – ‘Ashram is amalgamation of two words of Hindi language- Aa means Come and Shram means ‘labor’ which means come to placed to leave all labor of body and mind. The term ‘labor’ is not associated with its usual interpretation of putting ones efforts in physical sense. It is rather an effort to be in communion with the Divine. And the uniqueness of the concept lies in negating the existing standards of attaining divinity through mere following the rituals. On the contrary, the methodology propounded by Gurumaa states not to be a mere believer in the dogmas and orthodoxy established by the societal agencies; it is to understand the meaning of the ‘truth’ which is omnipresent and to be in synonymy with the divine.
It is the presence of a Guru that makes the place divine. Because it’s the guidance of a Guru that helps an individual discover the pulsating happiness in every moment. Rishi Chaitanya Ashram is one such place, brimming with the presence of a living enlightened master. Surrounded by serene natural environment leading to a hub of an immense positive energy, it is a panacea for the modern world. It is a cosmic field of energy; energy that acts as a catalyst for self emancipation.
It is a place for spiritual retreat where one can live life of inner discipline and experience gushing energies and awaken to a new style of life – life of awareful joyousness. The serenity of the Ashram provides a unique ambience that helps foster the seed of creativity, which lies dormant within all of us. One also gets a rare opportunity to learn and practice various meditation techniques, which are tools to gain wisdom.If you have any query, please visit support center
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Egyptians seek to boost insurance industry
The insurance industry was in the limelight last week as Egyptian and American officials participated in a two-day seminar discussing its current status and future challenges.
The conference sponsored by the Egyptian Insurance Supervisory Authority (EISA), the Egyptian Insurance Federation (EIF), and the US Department of Commerce. It also brought together private sector experts to review recent improvements in the insurance industry and to outline strategies for boosting its competitiveness as a vehicle for future growth. According to Youssef Boutros-Ghali, minister of economy and foreign trade, "the insurance sector has to move center stage in the Egyptian economy."
Ghali is quoted by Al Alam Al Youm as saying the industry can, for instance, "reduce the risk associated with investments and create a more secure environment for foreign and local entrepreneurs" by promoting long-term savings in the absence of any claims from insurance policy holders.
At the same time, however, "it is crucial for Egypt's economy that the insurance sector develop in an open environment and that insurance companies operate to the benefit of Egypt's consumers by disclosing the terms of the insurance contract and the technicalities of the claim process," Ghali added.
Since competition from foreign insurance companies in Egypt encourages greater transparency, there might soon be more pressure on domestic companies to divulge the details of their policies.
According to Daniel Kurtzer, the US ambassador to Egypt, the process, however, is symbiotic.
Hence, "the development of Egypt's insurance sector will also attract more foreign investments, provide capital for infrastructure projects and a safety net in areas such as health care, retirement savings and the risks facing consumers and businesses."
Participants, however, also noted that the lack of public awareness among individuals and companies about the importance of insurance impedes growth in this sector of the economy. "People need to understand that insurance is for their own benefit. They have to know that insurance is a way for them to feel secure about their future," stressed Steven Goldstein, the senior vice president of the Insurance Information Institute, a private US trade association.
According to Goldstein, the government can help the insurance industry market its services and make "citizens feel more secure about the companies they do business with, either by accrediting these insurers or by requiring them to maintain a certain level of financial strength in order for consumers to feel confident that their money is going to be there when they need it."
He also suggested the government make greater efforts to ascertain the compliance of insurance companies with existing regulations to convince the public that it stands behind the integrity of the insurance industry. The EISA, which was established to protect the rights of insurance policyholders and beneficiaries, at this point only monitors insurance conditions by calling on companies to submit an annual report on any changes in policy and tariffs.
EISA is also responsible for increasing awareness of insurance benefits among individuals and companies through public campaigns. According to EIF chairman Hassan Hafez, Egypt is seeking to advance its insurance market by introducing strong solvency rules and focusing on the market conduct of insurance companies.
Currently, the three state-owned insurers - Misr, Al-Sharq and National - dominate the insurance market with a combined market share of 80 percent. – (Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
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Chapters 2, 4, and 5 of this dissertation present data collected using the RDT. Chapter 2 presents the complete fish assemblage reported by RDT and Stationary Diver Technique (SDT; referred to in Bohnsack, 1996, as the SST) surveys over three years of semi-annual surveys of the Flower Gardens and Stetson Bank, in the northwest Gulf of Mexico. Chapter 4 examines the quality of fish census data generated by REEF nonexperts, and was published in the Journal of Gulf of Mexico Science (Pattengill-Semmens and Semmens, 1998). Chapter 5 provides discussion on the applications and reasons for choosing the RDT and the SDT for this project. A comparison between the abundance estimates of the two methods and the biases inherent in each is also given.
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On June 21, 1998, at 1430 central daylight time, a Cessna 172, N99548, sustained substantial damage on impact with the terrain and nose over during a landing on runway 9 (3,270' X 40' dry/asphalt), at Campbell Airport near Grayslake, Illinois. The student pilot reported minor injuries. The airplane was being operated as a personal flight under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The pilot said his flare was high. He said on initial touchdown the airplane bounced and he lost control. The flight originated in Wheeling, Illinois at 1355. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. Use your browsers 'back' function to return to synopsisReturn to Query Page
The pilot reported on his second approach his flare was too high, but he did not correct it. The airplane bounced with the airplane veering to the left. He said he may have applied power while maintaining back pressure on the yoke. He said the airplane rolled into a soft area north of the runway and nosed over.
An inspection of the airplane subsequent to the accident did not reveal any pre-accident anomalies..
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Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Obama walks with Gen. David Petraeus to the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
President Obama walks with Gen. David Petraeus to the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Wednesday. Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Obama's decision to name Gen. David Petraeus as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan was the clearest possible signal he could send that American policy there will not change anytime soon.
"What we see in effect is that the administration is doubling down its bet that counterinsurgency is going to work in Afghanistan," says Andrew Bacevich, a professor of international relations and history at Boston University.
Petraeus, who ran military operations in Iraq before becoming head of U.S. Central Command in 2008, has been a primary architect of the counterinsurgency strategy, which seeks to win greater civilian support for the local government through increased security and engagement.
"He's the guy who actually wrote the counterinsurgency manual," says Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank.
Challenges Lie Ahead
Petraeus replaces Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who was relieved of command in Afghanistan following publication of a Rolling Stone article in which he and members of his staff criticized and even belittled top civilian officials within the Obama administration, including Vice President Biden.
Born: Nov. 7, 1952; raised in Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y.
Recent experience: Took over as head of U.S. Central Command in October 2008 after serving 19 months as the top American commander in Iraq during the troop "surge" to combat the insurgency there. Led the 101st Airborne Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and capture of Baghdad.
Education: U.S. Military Academy, 1974; Princeton University, master's degree in 1985, doctoral degree in 1987
Source: U.S. Central Command
"Not only is Petraeus an expert at turning around failing counterinsurgencies, but he is also extremely knowledgeable about events in Afghanistan," says Max Boot, a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations. "The transition to him means minimal disruptions."
Petraeus will have to be confirmed by the Senate before officially taking over the post. John McCain of Arizona, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said at a news conference that Petraeus would have no trouble winning confirmation, but added that his hearing will give GOP senators a chance to air their concerns about Obama's July 2011 deadline for beginning withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Petraeus would then face more serious challenges almost immediately — parliamentary elections in September; a scheduled administration review of progress in Afghanistan in December; and next summer's drawdown deadline.
Even supporters of the administration's approach worry that it may not succeed in time to hit that fast-approaching target.
"To believe that you can create a change of the magnitude that we're trying to create in Afghanistan in this short a time frame — I personally don't believe it's possible," Kori Schake, a Hoover Institution research fellow who served as director of defense strategy at the National Security Council from 2002 to 2005, told Robert Siegel on NPR's All Things Considered on Wednesday.
"Moreover," she added, "it doesn't look to me like the Afghans, the Pakistanis, the Taliban or others believe it's possible, either."
Since McChrystal began implementing the counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan last fall, U.S. efforts have suffered numerous setbacks. Military missions in Marjah and Kandahar have met with frustration, while efforts to build up the Afghan army and police also have been slow going. Complaints about corruption within the Afghan government led by President Hamid Karzai are widespread.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
From the U.S. invasion in 2001 through President Obama's ouster of top U.S. commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal, trace important moments in one of America's longest-running wars.
The entire counterinsurgency strategy is based on certain assumptions, including being able to work with a local government that is a viable partner, retired Marine Col. Thomas X. Hammes, a senior military fellow at the National Defense University, said on All Things Considered. In Afghanistan, he said, that is "a severely flawed assumption."
But Katulis, who agrees that Obama needs to rethink policy in Afghanistan, notes that the military is only about a third of the way through a planned 18-month phase pursuing this strategy. People inside and outside the administration will wait to see whether the counterinsurgency approach leads to tangible results on the ground within the next six to nine months, he says.
"It would be insane at this point to end the current strategy, if you don't have a new strategy in place yet," says Boot. "There would be a potentially dangerous sense of drift during these critical months of the summer fighting season."
One of Petraeus' chief tasks does not involve the Afghans, but rather other Americans. He must repair military relations with civilian authorities that were already badly stressed before the Rolling Stone article exposed the tensions to the world.
"This was both a way to assert civilian control — to send a clear message to the officer corps that this type of shenanigans is intolerable — yet minimize the disruptive effect of changing command of the war," says Bacevich, the Boston University professor.
As commander in Iraq, Petraeus had a close working relationship with Ryan Crocker, who served as U.S. ambassador there toward the end of the Bush administration. Petraeus, who has shown himself to be a politically sophisticated officer, understands that the military needs to work hand-in-glove with civilian entities to pull off the counterinsurgency approach, Katulis says.
"He's attuned to the need to work in a collaborative fashion with the State Department and other civilian agencies to get his job done," he says.
Katulis also notes that Petraeus has amply demonstrated his skill at a job requirement that McChrystal bungled — knowing how to work the media to his advantage.
"He's been very adept at co-opting journalists who have written glowing books and articles about him," he says. "He knows how to deal with reporters and use them for his purposes, as opposed to the other way around."
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Inexpensive Modern Furniture For Your Home
Buying modern furniture for your home will not cause your pocket to be empty. Several individuals have the mistaken belief that they are costly. A good research, on the other hand, will show you that modern furniture will not hurt any household’s budget. The materials used may be a factor for modern furniture to be expensive. Nonetheless, knowing and understanding your preferences as well as the purpose and essentialities of buying this type of furniture will be your gauge if it is indeed expensive or not.
From the various styles, structures and patterns, modern furniture has absolutely moved forward to adapt a more updated and fashionable look. The modifications in their styles made them to be more convenient causing their huge market demand resulting for their prices to soar.
The difference between the Modern and Ancient Furniture
Modern Furniture uses economical materials like glass, aluminum, vinyl and tubular steel.
Notwithstanding the economical materials used, the price of this furniture is still considered expensive especially to the masses. This is not the usual case, however, because of the comfort and practicality it offers. To illustrate this well, you can have a bed, a bedside table and a lamp by having a single bed. Another way to demonstrate this convenience is a sofa and a bed in one.
Ancient Furniture makes use of excellent quality materials that are tested for its durability; however, most of them do not serve two purposes unlike modern furniture. A few ancient furniture use real hard wood with intricate designs and because of that can compete with the sophistication of modern furniture.
Affordable Modern Furniture
Modern furniture is not exclusively made to cater for the wealthy but also for the common folks. Numerous online furniture stores offer affordable modern furniture. These are produced in number on a progressive assembly. This means that some companies create individual pieces and put them together afterwards to create a varied kind of home and office furniture. We know this as the modular type of furniture. The manner in which they are built makes them to be priced lower than the single-piece fitment. Modular furniture is available in online furniture stores and in your local shops.
Most modern furniture makes use of common elements such as rattan cane. These are fairly expensive than the traditional wood. Capable of being shaped into various outlines, furniture made of rattan cane can have designs that are more novel.
If you want to shop for modern furniture, the place to go is the Internet. It has a wide selection of furniture stores offering affordable modern furniture. These online stores offer both home and office modern furniture.
Affordable modern furniture need not be branded or exceptional. They will always look striking and offer the comfort the same way that expensive modern furniture does. A household who wants something nice for their home but with a restricted budget can still acquire modern furniture that is reasonably priced.
For excellent quality and reasonably priced modern furniture, you can also check on auction sales, garage sales, festival and clearance sales, during an exhibition or buy straight from factory stores. Season sale is the best time of the year to purchase modern furniture, as most of them are sold at lower prices.
So do not shy away from stores selling modern furniture. You are assured to find one that fits your requirements and your budget.
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I am 65 years old and have suffered from heel pain for several years and took early retirement because of it. I was afraid that surgery was the only solution for my foot and so put off going to the doctor. My daughter eventually took me to see Dr. LeBeau at his Foot and Ankle clinic. Now I wished I had come sooner.
St. Augustine Foot and Ankle
1 St. Johns Medical Park Drive
St. Augustine, FL 32086
If your foot pain is caused by abnormal walking (gait) patterns, you will likely be prescribed orthotics. These orthotic shoe inserts help you stand, walk and run more comfortably. They are also helpful to people recovering from surgery. Orthotic devices come in various shapes, sizes and materials. They are customized to your condition using state-of-the-art computer-generated design to improve your foot function and increase protection. There are three types of orthotics: rigid, soft and semi-rigid.
These control foot function and are made of firm materials like plastic or carbon fiber. They are usually made for dress or walking shoes and are based on an exact mold of your foot. Rigid orthotics direct the motion of the two major foot joints and bones located directly under your ankle joint, reducing or eliminating the strains and pains in your legs.
These are made of soft, cushioned materials. They absorb shock, take pressure off sore spots and improve balance. Soft orthotics are usually prescribed for people who suffer from diabetes, arthritis and deformed feet.
These provide foot balance, especially in sports. Semi-rigid orthotics offers support for walking, running and a variety of sports. They are made from soft materials layered with rigid materials. They are often prescribed to children who are flatfooted or have in-toeing or out-toeing disorders. Athletes also use them to alleviate pain.
Over-the-counter orthotics may help some people, but no two human feet are shaped and sized exactly alike. Orthotics can only provide true relief when they are made with the right materials for your condition and molded exactly to your foot.
For custom computer-designed orthotics from a highly skilled, caring podiatrist, call Thomas A. LeBeau today. Please feel free to use our online Request an Appointment form.
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The Sunday Intertitle: Men at Work
A Shadowplay first — Behind the Scenes of an Intertitle.
The chaps at Pathe Freres are seen hard at work here, churning out the intertitles we know and love at Shadowplay. The image is from Pathe: First Empire of the Cinema, known as The Big Book because it’s a primary source at the Screenworks office where we’re assembling NATAN: The Documentary.
I decided I had to read the intertitle, becoming perhaps the first to do so in a hundred years. This involved blowing it up to David Hemmings proportions — my humble cottage is now a magnificent piece of origami, a single print-out folded so as to cover every wall of every room. Wandering through the resulting gallery I perceive the phrase ADMIRACAO DE SEU VENINO, which is Portuguese for ADMIRATION OF HIS VENINO, which doesn’t help at all. But it’s interesting to see that Pathe was producing intertitles in every European language (because if they’re doing Portuguese, they must be doing everything else, right?) — truly, before the First World War, they were an empire.
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By TEDDYE SNELL
News pundits and politicians are clamoring to make their voices heard about the looming federal budget decision that, if not made by Dec. 31, could send America over the edge of the so-called “fiscal cliff.”
Local residents may be left scratching their heads, wondering what it all means, and how any budget decision – and the timing for when it’s made – will affect them.
Dr. John Yeutter, associate professor of accounting at Northeastern State University, explained that narrowly speaking, the “fiscal cliff’ is a set of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that will begin in 2013 if Congress does not reach an alternate agreement.
“For the average person, there are at least three issues that will affect them,” said Yeutter. “One is the Payroll Tax Holiday; another is the Alternative Minimum Tax; and the third is the expiration of a variety of current tax benefits, including tax rates.”
Yeutter said the payroll tax holiday is not technically part of the fiscal cliff, but it is set to expire at the end of 2012.
“For the past two years, workers have paid 2 percent less in Social Security taxes – 4.2 percent instead of 6.2 percent of wages,” said Yeutter. “This was done as an economic stimulus measure, to put more cash into the hands of middle-class workers. For someone making $60,000 per year, this is $1,200 – or $100 per month – more in taxes that they will pay, and thus $100 less per month to spend. Since workers stop paying into Social Security wages above $110,000, this is a tax increase that will specifically impact lower- and middle-class workers.”
According to Yeutter, who is also a certified public accountant and certified financial planner, the Alternative Minimum Tax was created to prevent those with high incomes from paying little or no taxes after taking deductions.
“The AMT includes an exemption amount of $33,750 for unmarried people, and $45,000 for married couples,” said Yeutter. “Taxable income above that amount is taxed at 26 percent. Every year until this year, Congress has passed an ‘AMT Patch’ that increases the exemption so the average taxpayer will not have to pay this tax. If the patch is not passed, a single parent with one child earning $52,000 will be subject to this tax for 2012.”
Congress often passes tax bills that expire after several years. Yeutter said some would particularly affect the average Oklahoman.
“The Indian Employment Credit and Depreciation provision – which expired at the end of 2011 - allows businesses and employers an incentive to locate on Indian reservations and ‘former Indian reservations in Oklahoma,’” said Yeutter. “The educator deduction allows school teachers who do itemize deductions to deduct up to $250 of their out-of-pocket cost of school supplies. This provision expired at the end of 2011.”
The “Bush Tax Cuts,” set to expire at the end of 2012, lowered tax rates at all levels, and added a reduction of the marriage penalty, according to Yeutter.
“The marriage penalty is a variety of provisions in the law that cause married taxpayers to pay more in tax than if they were not married,” said Yeutter. “The provisions in the ‘Bush Tax Cuts’ include having those married filing joint returns’ standard deduction twice that of the single deduction.”
As an accountant, Yeutter is concerned about the effect of the fiscal cliff on tax season.
“One result from this that will affect all taxpayers is that the uncertainty about current law has limited the ability of the IRS and tax software companies to prepare for coming tax season,” said Yeutter. “It is likely, if the expired deductions are extended, that many taxpayers will not be able to file their taxes electronically until March, so that the IRS processing system can be adjusted to reflect these changes. This was true for some situations this past spring; it will affect many more this year.”
As of Wednesday night, neither Congress nor Obama had conceded to compromise. Obama is resolute in raising taxes on the wealthy; the GOP in Congress insists on cutting federal programs.
But the stalemate may be ending. Thursday morning, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., told MSNBC that raising taxes on the wealthy may not be the worst short-term fix for the fiscal cliff dilemma.
“Personally, I know we have to raise revenue; I don’t really care which way we do it,” Coburn told MSNBC.
“Actually, I would rather see the rates go up than do it the other way, because it gives us greater chance to reform the tax code and broaden the base in the future.”
Coburn is known for taking a tough stance on “pork barrel spending,” meaning he would generally prefer to see entitlement programs cut to reduce the deficit. But he’s taking a more pragmatic approach in this instance.
“I think [the GOP] is arguing over semantics; $800 billion is $800 billion, and it’s still going to be a negative drag on the economy,” he said.
Yeutter, like many, others, is skeptical about either party conceding or compromising.
Yeutter referred to a poll taken by Dr. Robert Nassau, who teaches tax law at Syracuse Law School.
He polled 59 tax law professors at law schools about various parts of the fiscal cliff issue.
Over half of the respondents, 54.2 percent, believe Congress will act before the deadline; 42.4 percent believe Congress will surpass the deadline and will act shortly thereafter; and 3.4 percent indicated they think Congress will refuse to act at all.
“Why would this group of professors, who represent an informed and relatively unbiased group, appear so pessimistic about the ability of Congress to resolve these issues?” asked Yeutter. “The fiscal cliff was created in early 2012, to force Congress and the president to compromise. They haven’t been able to do it yet. Even though there are severe consequences to not acting, some appear willing to let these provisions expire, rather than act in the best interest of the country.”
Yeutter believes this to be evidence of an unprecedented political problem.
“I can remember Sen. Everett Dirksen and President Lyndon B. Johnson working to compromise on major issues like Medicare,” said Yeutter. “I remember Rep. Tip O’Neal and President Ronald Reagan likewise working together to reach a solution. I do not see that type of statesman-like action from the political leaders on either side.”
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It’s nice to look at gear you can’t afford though especially when there’s tons of it onstage.
But take a look at this…!
This is death metal band Immortal performing at the Hellfest a few years back. Note from the top picture the band publicly like to say “we use Marshall stacks!”. But this photo calls “bullshit!” to that. The Marshalls are hollowed-out props giving the impression that the band needs this kind of power.
What’s even more strange is that the band is using a couple of ENGL amps. I guess they had the “Marshalls” bought for them!
It’s hilarious to think that so many of us have been wowed by this sort of thing. When watching The Big Four DVD, I found it strange that more and more Marshalls were appearing onstage – so much so that when Slayer came on there were 24 on the stage! Strangely, headliners Metallica had a much smaller backline hidden under their stage ramps. I’m not saying that Slayer or Megadeth (the other band on the bill with a lot of Marshalls) use props like the above. Theirs is no doubt proper gear, just not “plugged in”.
From reading other blogs and messageboards, this sort of thing has been commonplace for years. People simply expect it – and anyway, it looks cool.
You’d be surprised what most people use in their backline. Some guitarists’ rigs consist of a couple of FX pedals going straight into the PA, some are a tiny practice amp that’s miked up to a PA. Personally about ten years ago, I used FX pedals into a Marshall half-stack and cranked it high (that is until the soundman would come over, turn my volume down and shove a microphone in front of one of the speakers). It’s a posing contest for us guitarists – like when Spinal Tap posed with cucumbers down their trousers.
You do find bands that do genuinely don’t even bother with the PA for guitars. The heavy metal band Manowar is one claimant of the title of “loudest band in the world”, citing a measurement of 129.5 dB in 1994 in Hanover. However, The Guinness Book of World Records listed Manowar as the record holder for the loudest musical performance for an earlier performance in 1984. Guinness does not recognize Manowar’s later claim, because it no longer includes a category of loudest band, reportedly because it does not want to encourage hearing damage. Manowar achieved a Sound Pressure Level of 139 dB during the sound check (not the actual performance) at the Magic Circle Fest in 2008.
Marshall, the most popular choice for rock guitarists, don’t really care whether the artist is actually using their amp or not, as long as the logo is on the stage. Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to buy their logo plates direct from their online store!
Point I’m trying to make is that it’s usually the PA system that brings the power. These days I, like most guitarists, use Guitar Rig loaded onto a laptop. You get all the guitar sounds you could want and it’s a lot cheaper and easier to carry than a wall of Marshall stacks… real or not!
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Heard old Parson Wibird, preach from Luke. XIX. 10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Mr. Cranch said he had heard it ten Times before. No one would complain if the Parson would read printed Sermons, But to hear one thing continually repeated over which does not deserve, perhaps, to be said more than once, is very fatiguing.
We had the Pleasure of Mr. Tyler's Company, in the morning, and at noon. It is the first Time I have seen him since I returned to Braintree.
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