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To the editor:
It says something important that the city's controversy over the city logo coincides with the national Chick-fil-A controversy. In both cases those who claim to defend freedom and diversity are attacking freedom of speech and expression and diversity of thought.
The Freedom from Religion group makes it clear that its agenda is not truly freedom of religious belief and expression, but the eradication of any sign of the very presence of religion, in particular of Christianity, in our society. This was the attitude of most militantly atheistic communist governments: you are free to worship inside the walls of your church or in your home, if you are willing to accept the discrimination which will follow you into society and the workplace. But your religious faith must remain private and hidden. It will not be tolerated in the public square, and the force of the state will ensure it stays hidden and innocuous.
We see the same attitude in the reaction of some politicians to the publicly stated religious beliefs of Chick-fil-A's president concerning so-called "gay marriage." In retaliation against the beliefs of the owner of the chain, these politicians proclaimed their own beliefs to be the only acceptable ones, and threatened to keep the restaurant chain out of their cities. This despite the fact that Chick-fil-A does not discriminate in hiring or serving anyone, and that the restaurant president was only expressing his own personal beliefs. The thought police would bring the power of government and state coercion to bear to silence or punish any opinion not their own. For these politicians, constitutional guarantees of freedom of belief, speech and expression belong only to those who agree with them, not to every citizen.
In the case of the Steubenville city logo, the attack by Freedom from Religion is clearly frivolous. The chapel silhouette with its cross is not a religious symbol, but a recognition of a very important presence and landmark in the city, one for which Steubenville is known internationally and which is a vital social and economic cornerstone of our community.
That it happens to also be a religious institution is immaterial for the purposes of the logo. Freedom from Religion hoped to use the coercive threat of expensive lawsuits, which the city can ill afford, to win an easy victory. The generous offer of pro-bono legal services to the city by civic-minded attorneys eliminates the economic coercion factor and allows the city to defend our constitutional freedoms against the new fascism seeking to remake America in its own intolerant and dictatorial image. I hope they will do so.
The Rev. Rade Merick
Serbian Orthodox Church
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A convergence of remodeling projects in Borrego Springs’ town core is bringing new life to what many say has been a neglected business district.
“We’re succeeding in turning the downtown into a friendlier and better-looking place that is more attractive and appealing,” said Gwenn Marie, a board member of the Borrego Village Association, the development arm of the Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce.
Borrego’s most notable current project is the refurbishment of the building on southwest Christmas Circle where it meets Palm Canyon Drive. Formerly occupied by the Borrego Valley Foods Market, the 8,000-square-foot structure has been vacant for about seven years. A $400,000 donation from residents Jim and Anne Wermers last year allowed the Borrego Art Institute to buy it. Local architect Richard Orne volunteered to redesign the building, which will provide offices and a gallery for the institute, as well as a restaurant and two retail spaces.
“This was a horribly mistreated building that had become an eyesore in town,” Orne said.
For preservationists, the building’s demise was particularly painful because it was designed in the 1950s by William Kesling, a prolific midcentury modern architect who also created the Borrego Desert Club. The recent discovery of Kesling’s original drawings for the building gave the project new direction, Orne said.
“Originally we were going to do a historical renovation but the building has been modified and changed so many times, there was no way to know what was built,” he said. “Now we have his original vision.”
Those concepts include replacing the previous doorway locations and using steel rather than aluminum for the storefront. Kesling’s characteristic floating roof will remain intact, as will the concrete block detailing. A new patio with umbrella tables and art exhibits will be added. Funding for the project, expected to cost $900,000, has been through private donations. Orne said $600,000 has been raised so far.
Other Borrego Springs business district upgrades include:
• The Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association bought the 6,400-square-foot building last year that it has occupied at 652 Palm Canyon Drive since 1999. The association’s executive director, Betsy Knaak, said the organization has raised $120,000 toward a $180,000 goal, which will pay off a second loan used to buy the property, as well as $80,000 in improvements. The improvements include new electrical and plumbing, exterior siding, roof repairs and installation of a new restroom. The acquisition also provides ABDNHA with 1.3 acres to be used for outdoor programs and social events.
• In March, Palm Canyon Equities purchased two 1,250-square-foot structures at 642 Palm Canyon Drive. Realty company Coldwell Banker is leasing the street-front building, which was originally designed as a real estate office when it was built in the ’50s, said Kathy King, co-owner of the Coldwell Banker branch. Improvements include painting, electrical and plumbing upgrades, and a plan to restore the wood exterior. The rear building will be converted to leasable office space.
• On April 20, SDG&E brought its vegetation management team to Borrego, where they joined community members to plant about 30 native palms and 20 other desert-friendly trees along the north side of Palm Canyon Drive. Roadrunner Tree Farm and Torres Desert Nursery donated most of the trees; an additional $17,000 was raised to pay for other plants and irrigation. The effort, part of the Borrego Village Association’s Palm Canyon Vitalization Plan, mirrors a 2011 planting on the road’s south side.
• The village association is installing memorial concrete benches along Palm Canyon Drive. Six of the $1,000 benches were put in last fall, and six more are expected this summer.
Christy Scannell is a freelance writer from San Diego.
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Reflexive Patriotism, Last Refuge of a Scoundrel Nation
by Kirkpatrick Sale: The
Sesquicentennial Is Upon Us
Of course one
of the difficulties in putting across the benefits of, the need
for, secession is the very deep-seated fundamentalism of we’re-number-one
American patriotism. If there is no perception that the American
government is thoroughly malodorous, corrupt, and iniquitous, if
at the base of every brain is the belief in one-nation-indivisible
(a phrase, by the way, created in 1892 by a socialist ideologue
to brainwash young boys), and if there is no underlying sense that
what we do around the world as a imperial power ranges from maladroit
to evil, then there’s no way anyone could possibly comprehend, much
less support, secession.
this to mind is the reactions around the country this past May to
the announcement that U.S. Special Forces had assassinated Osama
bin Laden in Pakistan. At so-called Ground Zero, in front of the
White House, at stadiums across the country, on college campuses
and village greens coast to coast, those who happened to be up late
on a Sunday night, a number fortified by alcohol, burst out in wild
flag-waving celebrations and raucous yoo-ess-ay cheers.
It didn’t matter
that this was an achievement that for some reason took intelligence
agencies a full ten years to bring off, that its significance in
the actual putting down of Islamic terrorism would seem to be uncertain,
or that it had and would have no effect soever on the bogged-down
war in Afghanistan. It didn’t even matter that this kind of killing
– assassination of political leaders in foreign lands – is generally
regarded as contrary to an international law that in general discourages
people going around offing bad guys they don’t like, and contrary
indeed to an American regulation that operated for nearly three
decades until overturned in the heat of 9/11.
following recommendations of the Church Committee, in 1976 issued
Executive Order 11905 saying, "No employee of the United States
shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, political assassination,"
which was understood to mean the killing of foreign leaders, and
that was endorsed by every succeeding President because it just
seemed a sensible and intelligent – and perhaps moral – policy.
That was changed in September 2001 with a law that then allowed
the President to use "all necessary and appropriate force against
those nations, organization, or persons he determines planned, authorized,
committed, or aided" the 9/11 attacks. That apparently gives
Obama the legal cover he needed to go after Osama, but it still
carries a bad odor – which is why the word "assassination"
still has negative connotations the world over.
Yet none of
this seemed to operate in an American public that quickly adopted
the Wild West mentality of Wanted-Dead-or-Alive that George Bush
used to stir up. You don’t bother to capture and try the Devil –
you shoot him down in cold blood. And any sidekicks that go down
with him, that’s collateral damage, not killing.
I’m not saying
that bin Laden was anything but a dangerous enemy of this country’s,
even though it was clear his influence was waning and his army shrinking.
I’m saying that assassination of a political leader on foreign soil
is a reprehensible practice and a moral trangression, and that’s
why for three decades it was taken as a given in this country that
it was impermissible and is more or less outlawed in international
codes. And I’m saying that those who unblinkingly and reflexively
approve of it with wild public demonstrations are guilty of the
worst of patriotism, the last refuge of a scoundrel nation.
And that last
refuge is sought perhaps most desperately when that nation is entangled
in the morass of at least four foreign wars (including Libya and
Pakistan, leaving Somalia aside), that are not being won and are
not winnable, and are costing many trillions of dollars and hundreds
of thousands of casualties, military and civilian. Which is an indication
of the depth of that unthinking and unreasonable sickness of mind
that supports America unreflectively and stands in the way of any
sensible contemplation of the virtues of secession.
the hold of this sickness I began to reflect why it was that the
movement, though obviously getting stamped on the national consciousness
in the last few years and drawing enthusiasm in a number of quarters,
has not made more inroads than it has. Why, in particular, has it
not drawn more attention on college campuses, where fringe ideas
with good intellectual credentials are often picked up and supported,
at least by the politically-minded minority of students and the
more adventurous of the faculty. Why, for example, has there never
been a single faculty member of Middlebury College or (with one
exception) UVM to come forth to join the Second Vermont Republic
or any of its sister causes? Why haven’t there been academic studies
in Vermont supporting secession by showing how the state would be
better off economically if it were free of Federal taxes and regulations?
And it dawned
on me that actually the American academia would be the last place
in the world that would be critical of the American empire, much
less interested in breaking it up. It is a creature of that empire,
it gets funding in the billions from it, its research is heavily
directed toward its needs, its faculties are intertwined with Federal
agencies, and insofar as academia may be said to have a philosophy
it would follow more or less the liberal support for big government,
and the bigger the better.
So how could
I expect any enthusiasm for secession from that quarter?
university system is enormous and it plays an enormous role in making
the nation what it is – it is not too much to say, in fact, that
it is an equal partner in the military-industrial-academic
complex that essentially runs the country. And it continues to expand
its role and power every year, getting added money in tuition and
fees every year ($37,000 annually for Harvard) despite a tight economy,
and getting added Federal money every year (now about $60 billion,
including student grants).
I would argue
that this is a bubble that will eventually burst, because it is
more and more obvious that just having an expensive college education
doesn’t guarantee a job, even less a job that will pay enough to
pay off that expense. But while it lasts, there’s no sign that academia
is in danger of loosing its comfortable place in the national pantheon
of imperial power.
the kicker: while it lasts it will obviously continue its role of
conditioning and indoctrinating the young minds in its care to have
a deep and abiding belief in the singular virtues of the American
republic, indivisible even at 310 million people, and its legitimate
business of imperial domination, regardless of party or faction.
They wouldn’t call it patriotism, the liberal faculties, and they
wouldn’t call it knee-jerk reflective, but that is what it is. And
it ill becomes institutions that once were in the tradition of skeptical
Sale [send him mail], scholar
and prolific writer, heads the Middlebury
2011 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part
is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.
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Cooperation, the Active Expression of Unity; and the Principle of Sharing
COOPERATION – THE ACTIVE EXPRESSION OF UNITY
To cooperate is to operate, or work, together. No single living object in nature is completely independent, and when this principle of interdependence becomes conscious and purposeful, it finds its perfected expression in the principle of cooperation.
Cooperation is essentially a human characteristic and is based on the equal worth of every individual. Yet it is in the human kingdom that this very factor of equality makes cooperation so unacceptable, for few men will admit that their nation, their race, their class or family, is not superior to any other.
In order truly to work together, a recognition of the uniqueness of others and an appreciation of what they have to contribute to the common effort is needed. Every individual is unique and every race and nation has a unique contribution to make in producing the rich variety of humanity. Every man, woman and child suffers, loves, hopes, fears and aspires. We are all capable, whatever our race, nationality, religion, or class, of sacrifice and service, of joy and sadness.
The principle of cooperation should be born, not from condescension or patronage, but from a recognition that in working with others for the common good we benefit mankind and, thereby, ourselves.
The main obstacle to such a recognition and willing cooperation is that, initially, pride and the sense of superiority must be sacrificed. The subconscious fear must be eradicated that in opening one's mind and heart to another, one may have to make an uncomfortable adjustment which may be alien to all one's standards of behaviour, habits and beliefs.
Cooperation exists today on many different levels and for many different motives. In many cases it is based on individual and national self-interest. In war there is the cooperation of allies for victory. In politics there is cooperation between nations, usually for the benefit of each particular nation. In business there is cooperation between multi-national combines for the benefit of those concerned. In science there is the broader objective of the development of some theory for the good of all.
Other examples of cooperation range from space travel to projects of the United Nations and its specialised agencies for abolishing want and disease and improving agriculture, industry and education on an international scale. These and the tens of thousands of philanthropic organisations provide ample evidence against the theory that man is a competitive animal who can only reach his full potential in fighting against and exploiting his fellowman. The World Goodwill blog contains numerous examples of the creative expression of goodwill in many fields.Competition and, worse still, hatred between nations, classes, ideologies and races are products not of human nature but of the distortion and the suppression of human nature. When all men respect their brothers and every man is his brother's keeper, poverty as well as personal wealth will be a thing of the past.
This sense of mutual respect and justice is not, by any means, a new factor in human history, for many so-called “primitive” communities have created just and harmonious societies. Greed and exploitation appear not only when there is a lack of food and possessions, but also when there is an excess of them. For then man's lust for self-indulgence is stimulated and the weak are exploited by the strong. This has never been so evident as today, when the powerful “have” countries are growing richer and the “have-nots” poorer. It is not only that the rich countries do not help the poor countries, but also that the aid is given in such a way that in the end the rich country benefits and the receiving country has to struggle just to maintain its economy, much less improve it. Even at national levels, where one would hope to see the principle of sharing in operation, we often see the steadily widening gulf between the poor and the wealthy.
However, the forces of globalisation are showing nations that the deeper a country falls into poverty, the greater the danger it will be to the world community: for in failing to produce its economic share of the world's goods, it becomes a burden on global resources. Moreover, it is a potential source of instability and violence.
Whether at home or abroad, the principle of cooperation goes hand in hand with the principle of sharing. Sharing of responsibility, as well as sharing physical resources, contributes to the quality of life and is an aspect of cooperation. In industry, for example, we must realise that high quality goods and efficient production are not solely dependent upon capital or management, but principally on the skill, the pride in work, the enthusiasm and the goodwill of the men and women who produce the goods. As one enlightened chairman has said: “The soul of a company lies in the hearts and minds of those employed in it; and these have to be captured first if any results worth having are to be achieved.”
In education we have the same need for sharing and cooperation. To cooperate in the process of world education every individual can be both pupil and teacher. He can be a pupil to whoever possesses the knowledge and skills he needs and a teacher to those who need such knowledge and skills as he possesses. Children can learn from their elders and can, in turn, increase their own knowledge by teaching younger children. The community itself can be a constant source of knowledge to all, as all participate in community life and communal service. And from the community every individual can widen his awareness both outward into the world and inward into his own and his fellow's subjective experience.
Similarly, in government, all can contribute to the common good by exercising the basic tenets of good citizenship – caring for and taking an active interest in the whole of society, pursuing harmony and well-being for all, and respecting cultural and philosophical differences. People in every nation and community can then participate actively and willingly in sharing the responsibility for building a rich, varied and cooperative life for all.
To cooperate is to give with generosity, and also to receive with gratitude. In the coming new era, right human relations and worldwide cooperation for the good of all will be the universal keynote.
THE PRINCIPLE OF SHARING
One of the major problems facing the planet today is that of the just sharing of Earth's resources. The enormity of the task and humanity's inexperience in dealing with this aspect of global life conspire to virtually overwhelm us when faced with the dire needs in various parts of the world for food, fuel, housing, education and freedom from oppression. It sometimes helps clarify our individual understanding of both needs and solution to look at this task from a higher point than the obvious physical level.
One aspect of the meaning of sharing is to partake of, use, enjoy with others, with no particular implication of ownership – simply mutual use. There is no suggestion of charity or giving something of our own to another, whereby gratitude is implied; rather there is the assumption that whatever is being shared is owned by none or all. No giving and no receiving – merely sharing that which is provided by the planet for the well-being of humanity. This is a particularly tricky concept in view of the habit of ownership which we have so firmly established. The emerging concept of the global commons, meaning all those goods, such as the atmosphere, that cross all state boundaries, and are depletable or pollutable, can help to focus our thinking in this crucial area. When it is understood by men and women of vision all over the world that the goal of right sharing is a major step towards right human relations, this aspect of life will be studied more thoughtfully and seriously.
It is rarely understood that sharing is in essence a manifestation of synthesis and the natural effect of justice in its clearest form. From a global point of view, all resources, all land and all effort belong to humanity. We speak here from a point of justice and realism in an inclusive way. A truly global civilisation will recognise that the produce of the world, the natural resources of the planet and its riches belong to no one nation but should be shared by all. A fair and properly organised distribution of the grain, oil and mineral wealth of the world will be developed, based upon the needs of each nation, upon its own internal resources and the requirements of its people. All this will be worked out in relation to the whole.
As an example, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a specialised agency of the UN, is responsible for leading international efforts to defeat hunger, and, as part of this task, monitors the production and stocks of important food stuffs, such as cereals. Working with other agencies, it is helping to put the world's computers to the task of a running inventory of the resources available to humanity. Armed with this knowledge, food can be directed to countries in emergency need, and it is surely not too big a step to envision a future in which the nutritional needs of all are equitably met. Similar plans could and should be put in place regarding other essential resources.
Perhaps sharing, as opposed to giving and receiving, might be more clearly understood in the light of an old Sufi saying to the effect that a man possesses only those things which cannot be lost in a shipwreck. That eliminates just about everything! Taking such thinking into account causes one to re-examine the practice and even the idea of ownership. How can the concept of those who have and those who have not be cleansed and purified in a practical manner into a more inclusive, lighted concept of sharing for the benefit of all?
Within the family of nations, the shouldering of responsibility for the one world must be realised as the goal of all national enterprise. This concept does not involve a world state, but instead involves the development of a universal public consciousness which realises the unity of the whole. It involves, for instance, the right management and proper development of every national unit so that it can adequately perform its international duties, and thus form a part of a world brotherhood of nations. When the sense of national security is more properly based on right relations and not on force, it will be possible to face this task with courage and insight.
The old rhythms are so deeply ingrained, so closely aligned with the ancient glamours of greed and fear, the duality of wants versus needs, that an abstract approach is needed to begin to clarify our thinking in a personal way. Ownership attitudes began the first time we were instructed to share our toys with another child. We were told, “Share your toys,” and yet rarely is the child told that the toy is only in his safekeeping to use so long as he needs it. It is not necessary that he give up the toy, only that he give up his claim to ownership, his attachment to the idea that it is his to do with as he wishes – forever. Rarely is a child taught the responsibility of guardianship of things, as opposed to ownership. In educating our children in the need for sharing, for a free circulation of all the essential commodities, we make a real beginning in establishing a new order of values.
It is seldom understood that it is not so much the actual owning of many objects and things which holds us back in our efforts towards inclusiveness, but our mental picture that we do own them. If mentally we give all back into the planetary flow, and yet physically retain guardianship, we will be freed of the weight of ownership at once. It is the idea of “holding and keeping” which is not in line with the natural flow and rhythm. As we begin to examine and readjust our attitude from that of ownership and possession to that of trusteeship and guardianship, we contribute to the clarification of this planetary hindrance. As we realise that all resources belong temporarily to those who have the need at the moment, then the circulatory flow of nature will begin to distribute the riches more evenly among the human family.
From the point of view of the one planet, the one humanity and the one Soul, the justice of sharing the wealth and life-giving resources of Earth is the most practical and reasonable of ideas. As energy follows thought quite naturally, each of us can begin in the task of reorienting humanity's attitude of selfishness, by eliminating these attitudes from our own life. As one man thinking clearly and with goodwill can transform the mental climate of his environment, so thousands of men and women of goodwill thinking in terms of justice, sharing, and right human relations can have the cumulative effect of radiating light and love all around the planet.
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C. Daniel Batson, in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Rational Processing or Rationalization?: The Effect of Discontinuing Information on a Stated Religious Belief, 1975, 32:1, 176-184), conducted a study on religious belief and cognitive dissonance that reveals what many of us suspected about religious dogmatism.
Researchers used a questionnaire and a measurement scale to assign a value to the strength of religious belief for a group of test subjects. Then the subjects were asked to publicly declare (in front of the rest of the group) whether or not they answered “yes” to the question: Do you believe that Jesus was the Son of God? Next, they were all given an article to read and discuss. The article, they were told, was written anonymously and “denied publication in The New York Times at the request of the World Council of Churches because of the obvious crushing effect it would have on the entire Christian world":
Here is the text of the fake article:
-Geneva, Switzerland. It was learned today here in Geneva from a top source in the World Council of Churches offices that scholars in Jordan have conclusively proved that the major writings in what is today called the New Testament are fraudulent.
According to the information gained from the unnamed source within the headquarters of the World Council of Churches, Professor R. R. Lowry (author of The Zarondike Fragments and the Dead Sea Scrolls) assisted by other scholars, has been carefully analyzing a collection of papyrus scrolls discovered in a cave in the Jordanian desert near where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Contained within this collection of scrolls, Lowry and his associates have found letters, apparently written between the composers of various New Testament books, bluntly stating: "Since our great teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, was killed by the Romans, I am sure we were justified in stealing away his body and claiming that he rose from the dead. For, although his death clearly proves he was not the Son of God as we had hoped, if we did not claim that he was, both his great teaching and our lives as his disciples would be wasted!"
Though Lowry initially suspected the authenticity of these scrolls, he was later quoted as saying, "Through radiocarbon dating and careful study of the Aramaic dialect used in writing these letters, I have found it impossible to deny that the manuscripts are authentic. You can't imagine what a struggle this has been; I find no alternative but to renounce my former belief that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. I can no longer be a Christian."
When Dr. Ernest Carson Baker, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, was confronted with Lowry's statement by this reporter, he at first denied that it was true. After a few minutes of questioning, however, he broke down and admitted, "This thing has got us so upset we're just not sure what to do. We just can't let this story get out!" Apparently the only avenue open to the Church in the twentieth century is the same avenue which it took in the first century— conceal the facts and proclaim Jesus as the divine Son of God, even though it knows such a claim is a lie.
After reading the article, 24% of the subjects indicated that they accepted the article as true. The rest of them were unsure or clearly rejected it.
Then researchers re-measured the strength of the subjects’ religious beliefs. The results are remarkable and familiar. The subjects who had identified themselves as non-believers at the outset had their level of religious belief drop after reading the article. The believers in the group who indicated that they doubted the belief-disconfirming story had their level of religious belief diminish. And the believers who also said that they accepted the story as true had their religious belief strengthened.
Batson says, “Those who had not committed themselves to a belief stance, even though generally skeptical about the veracity of the article, showed a significant drop in intensity of belief on the post test. Those who had publicly identified themselves as believers but doubted the veracity of the article showed no significant change in intensity of belief. Those who had publicly identified themselves as believers and accepted the article as true showed a significant increase in the expressed intensity of belief.”
That is, even when faced with outright disconfirming evidence that they accept as true, rather than come to doubt that Jesus is the Son of God, the believers indicated having an even stronger belief. Batson puts the result clearly: “Publicly committed to an apparently untenable belief, subjects seemed more concerned with defending and justifying themselves than with dispassionately reading off the logical implications of their statements.”
Then Batson comments, “It has been said, "You will know the Truth and the Truth will make you free [John 8:32]." The present research seems to question this assertion. The more one publicly proclaims one's conviction about personally significant truths, the more one seems bound to these truths. One is less free to modify one's position, to take account of new, discrepant information. But perhaps this is not what is meant by freedom in the above statement. If it means that one will be free from the rational process of taking account of all relevant information in the formulation of one's beliefs, than the present research seems clearly supportive.”
It is hard to conceive of a more clear, objective demonstration of outright irrationality.
Let me offer some further speculations. When we engage with the non-believer in a discussion about the evidence, arguments for the existence of God, intelligent design in the cosmos, the origins of the human moral capacity, and all of the other contentious topics surrounding religious belief, the non-believer typically assumes that there is a point. That is, when we argue about religious matters, the (clearly idealistic) goal is to achieve some rational progress on what conclusions are epistemically responsible to believe. We are all concerned (or at least we should be) with having sensible beliefs that fit with the facts, as best as we can ascertain them. If not, then there’s really no point to the exchange of views other than vain pronouncements of dogmatism.
What the evidence in Batson’s study shows is something that we have all seen at work in the words and behaviors of many believers. There are a great many religious adherents who are simply and obviously unconcerned with the facts. They are resolved to maintain their views in the face of blatantly contradictory evidence, even more so in cases where they profess to accept the contradictory evidence as true.
It should be obvious how frightening this tendency among religious believers is to the rest of us who have not been seduced by the religious urge. It should be obvious how dangerous this tendency among religious believers is to all of us. It is also obvious, although Batson’s study doesn’t document it, how widespread this sort of dogmatic irrationalism is.
So the believer who wants to discuss the reasons for disbelief with us owes us an accounting. We have substantial grounds for suspecting that their commitment to their dogma will lead them to be unresponsive to reasoning or evidence. Even worse, we have evidence for thinking that as the counter evidence increases, so will their stubborn refusal to think clearly about it. And we have substantial grounds for suspecting that their attachment to their dogma has nothing to do with reasons or evidence, despite their assertions otherwise.
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The U.S. Potato Genebank is just that a bank containing 5,000 populations kept as botanical seed, encompassing about 150 species.
Our responsibility is to collect, classify, preserve, distribute and evaluate potato germplasm, said John Bamberg, project leader for the genebank. This is the only genebank for potatoes in the United States.
The genebank, located in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., is part of the National Plant Germplasm System of USDA, which is funded through the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service and USDAs Agricultural Research Service. The program also has direct and indirect support from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The U.S. Potato Genebank began in the late 1940s because potato was a quarantine crop, and most potato germplasm comes from a foreign source there are only a few potato species native to the southwestern part of the United States. Materials that were imported were potential threats to
» Read more
While temperature is probably the most important potato storage concern, another important step in storing potatoes is ensuring adequate relative humidity levels in the storage shed.
Relative humidity is the amount of moisture in the air at any given temperature, relative to the maximum possible at that same temperature. It is dependent on the temperature, so cold air holds less moisture than warm air.
Potatoes lose more water during their first month of storage than any other time in storage. This is caused by wound healing, and can be kept to a minimum by controlling humidity.
The optimal level for potatoes in storage is around 95 percent relative humidity, or as high as possible without fully saturating the air, said Gale Kleinkopf, research professor emeritus at the University of Idaho.
At 100 percent humidity, water droplets can form on the tubers, which can speed up decay and
» Read more
In August, the U.S. potato industry gets its time to shine. Hundreds of growers, researchers and industry members are expected to descend upon Boise, Idaho, for the World Potato Congress. It may not be the Olympics or the World Cup but its exciting nonetheless to have an event of this scale in our own backyard.
In this issue of Spudman, youll find information on all you need to know about the World Potato Congress. The preview story, by Monty Cox, WPC project manager, highlights some of the activities going on the week of Aug. 20 during the WPC and Farm Show. Weve included the schedule for the congress so you can plan your week before you get there making the best use of your time. The preview stories included in this issue also spotlight some of the educational sessions congress organizers have planned
» Read more
After growers apply the desiccants that will kill their potato vines and set the stage for harvest, its not yet time to park the sprayer. They should plan to return within three or four days to make the first of perhaps two applications of fungicide depending on how fast the vines die.
Youve worked all season to grow a disease-free crop, said Walt Stevenson, plant pathologist at University of Wisconsin. The application of vine desiccant is not the time to stop that effort.
In past years, he said, growers were often advised to combine fungicide with the desiccant and do both jobs in one spray application. Now, he said, the recommendation is to apply the vine killer, wait a few days for it to work and then spray with fungicide when some of the foliage is gone, the canopy is more open and coverage will be better.
» Read more
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Subject: Processors | March 14, 2012 - 06:21 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: RISC, embedded systems, cortex-m0+, cortex-m, arm, 32-bit
ARM has recently announced a new 32 bit processor for embedded systems that sips power and is one of the lowest power designs yet. This new ARM processor is a new entrant to the Cortex M lineup and has been labeled the ARM Cortex-MO+. The chip features a full 32-bit RISC instruction set and is manufactured using the older, and low cost, 90nm process.
The magic happens when we look at the power draw, and according to ARM it will sip power at a mere 9µA (9 microamps) per Megahertz (MHz). It can further run any code designed for (existing) Cortex-M series processor including the Cortex-M3 and Cortex-M4. The new Cortex-M0+ is intended to be used in embedded systems and as microcontroller applications controlling larger machinery.
There is no word yet on pricing or availability; however, support has been promised by the Keil Microcontroller Development Kit and third part software such as Code Red, Micruim, and SEGGER. Freescale and NXP Semiconductor further have been named licensees of the technology thus far. In the case of NXP Semiconductor, they plan to replace existing 8 bit microcontrollers with the ARM Cortex-MO+ in devices such as their UPS units, active cabling, and touchscreens. Freescale, on the other hand, plans to develop their own version of the Cortex-MO+ in the form of the Kinetis L series processor. They will further use the low power chip to operate appliances, portable medical systems, and lighting (among others).
Subject: General Tech | February 1, 2012 - 12:24 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: RISC, quarterly earnings, earnings, arm
For total dollar revenue over 2011 the only company that can touch Intel's earnings would be Apple, who actually contributed to Intel's growth over the past year. When you talk about percentage growth over last year however ARM actually beat Intel's 21% growth, although not by much. Their pre-tax growth approached 50% for the year and they blew away analyst's predictions both quarterly and yearly. This probably has to do with the 2.2 billion ARM-powered chips sold globally over the past year, not just the new chips that power your phones and tablets but also chips they've been making for a long time which appear in vehicles, appliances and toys. ARM's way of doing business is different from Intel who prefer to tie you into an all Intel hardware or no Intel hardware contract, ARM is happy if their chips co-exist with others on a device; they just want a chip in there. As The Register points out, this flexibility as well as the release of an ARM compatible version of Windows 8 could make the coming years rather interesting.
"ARM, the eponymous designer of the chip architecture, had a stonking 2011 with revenue and profits up as it tightened its hold on both embedded and generic computing.
Revenue for the last quarter of 2011 was up by more than 20 per cent on the previous year, to £137.8m, while profit before tax jumped more than twice that percentage to £69m. For the whole of 2011 the numbers are very similar, revenue hitting £491.8m ($773m) and profit topping £229.7m ($362m), rather better than analysts had predicted."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- Radeon HD 7950 launches, beats GTX 580; HD 7990 and 7870 launch date leaked @ ExtremeTech
- SeaMicro packs 2TB of DRAM into a 10U @ SemiAccurate
- Microsoft ditches plug-ins for Internet Explorer 10 in Metro @ The Register
- AMD Leo DirectX 11 Demo Released @ NGOHQ
- Using Google documents as a web proxy @ Hack a Day
- Win a Dell XPS with OC3D & Dell Outlet
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Milky Way vs. Andromeda
Let's look four billion years into the future. A group of our descendents stands with their teacher and looks up at a night sky ablaze with thousands of dazzling white stars. All of these new stars are being born, their teacher tells them, because of an immense cosmic event.
Image to left: Many years from now, our descendants may see the mixing of the galaxies. Credit: NASA
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, has collided with another galaxy, called Andromeda. Although the two galaxies are passing through each other at a million miles an hour, the whole process will take many millions of years to complete. And when everything settles down, the two galaxies will have merged into one.
The students fear that this may be the end of life, as they know it. But, their teacher reassures her class that there is very little chance of stars from the Andromeda galaxy hitting the Sun or the Earth. Even though the galaxies pass clear through each other, she says, stars in a galaxy are spaced very far apart.
Image to right: An artist's impression of the night sky, four billion years from now. Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute
They are like grains of sand separated by the length of a football field. The Andromeda stars simply pass by. But galaxies are more than just stars. They contain giant clouds of gas and dust. And, when galaxies collide, these clouds smash into one another. The clouds contain the raw materials needed to make new stars. It is the collision between clouds that has triggered a starry baby boom!
Image to left: This movie is a computer animation showing the collision between two similar sized spiral galaxies. Credit: Frank Summers (Space Telescope Science Institute), Chris Mihos (Case Western Reserve University) and Lars Hernquist (Harvard University)
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Our story describes an event in the distant future for the Milky Way. But, galaxy collisions are common in the universe.
But don't worry about a collision during your lifetime. Right now, the Milky Way and Andromeda are so far apart that even light takes two million years to journey between them. But on the scale of galaxies, they are quite close together. Imagine the Milky Way galaxy as a music CD (the thickness compared to its diameter is about right).
Andromeda is a spiral galaxy of similar size, so we can think of it as a second CD. Now hold these CDs about eight feet apart. The gap is closing such that, in about four billion years, the CDs will touch. In that far-off time, the Sun will still be shining and the Earth may still be a planet teeming with life. What will our distant descendants make of the night sky?
Image to right: The beginnings of a merger. Two galaxies draw together, probably orbiting each other several times before the larger of the two (on the left) consumes the smaller. Credit: NASA and Hubble Heritage Team (STScI)
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After her husband falls to his death in Berlin, a propulsion engineer (Jodie Foster) takes a commercial flight back to the U.S. with her six-year-old daughter and awakes from a nap to find that the girl is missing and no one on board remembers seeing her. This thriller is effective if you can accept thatas with some of John Dickson Carr’s locked-room mysteriesthe trickiness counts more than any plausibility. There’s also some pointed if unstressed social commentary, and pitting Foster’s engineer, with her knowledge of planes, against everyone else makes for some lively moments. Robert Schwentke directed a script by Peter A. Dowling and Billy Ray; with Peter Sarsgaard and Sean Bean. PG-13, 98 min. (JR)
This entry was posted on Friday, September 23rd, 2005 at 12:00 am and is filed under Featured Texts. Follow the comments through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comments are closed, leave a trackback from your site.
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Grass Clippings: To Leave or Not to Leave - that is the Question
New studies and new mower technology says to leave clippings more often than collecting clippings.
Grass clippings are bagged up and thrown away because folks think the clippings look unsightly. But with new mowing technology you can’t even see the clippings. Mulching mowers chop grass into tiny particles. If you don’t have a new mower most old mowers can be retrofitted to mulch the grass.
Most grass is being mown taller. It’s recommended to grow bluegrass two and one half to three inches tall. With taller lawns even non-mulched grass clippings get lost in the long, growing blades.
A study by the horticulture department at CSU proves leaving grass clippings on the lawn is beneficial. Leaving lawn clippings improves the ecosystem, the soil and reduces carbon dioxide in the air. The study also shows leaving clippings reduce the need for nitrogen fertilizer.
As the clippings breakdown they build the soil. They add nitrogen and carbon to the soil. Both nutrients are essential for plant growth. When the soil holds the carbon, then less carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.
The study shows that twenty-five percent less nitrogen fertilizer can be used when clippings are left on the lawn. In fact if fertilizer isn’t cut back it counteracts the benefits of leaving the clippings. The study extrapolates over the long term nitrogen fertilizer could be reduced by half. Reducing fertilizer reduces the risk of nitrogen leaching into water supplies.
But leaving too many clippings can be a problem. The clippings build up as thatch. Thatch prevents air, water and nutrients into the soil. If it’s too thick it can suffocate the lawn. If you’re not using a mulching mower clippings should be left half the time and collected half of the time.
Using a mulching mower and leaving clippings could be a real time and money saver. Companies could save money on dumping fees and the time it takes to get rid of the clippings. The lawn owner could save money using less fertilizer.
All it takes is a little education. Leaving grass clippings builds the soil, uses less fertilizer and improves the environment.
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The International School for Holocaust Studies
Teaching the Legacy: e-Newsletter for Holocaust Educators
The Scope of the International School for Holocaust Studies
Although the School has been organizing teacher-training seminars abroad since 1997, in 2004, 39 trips were coordinated in 22 different countries, predominantly throughout Europe. According to Richelle Budd Caplan, who is responsible for the International Relations division of the School, the programming in 2004 increased by almost 25% over that in 2003.
In January and February 2005 alone, School staff members have travelled to Austria, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, and the USA to promote Holocaust education and remembrance. In the coming year, additional workshops will also be given in Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, UK, and in the USA.
If you are interested in organizing a teacher-training seminar with a Yad Vashem pedagogical expert in your region, please contact Richelle Budd Caplan at email@example.com.
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We created Pandora to put the Music Genome Project directly in your hands
It’s a new kind of radio –
stations that play only music you like
As a child, she wanted to be an actress right from the start. But, as her mother loved to sing, music was always around. Her father was not musically gifted, but loved to listen to Dorival Caymmi and Noel Rosa compositions. At 13, her family moved to Salvador, and she began to frequent the "university circles," intellectual groups gathering around art exhibitions and performances. The access to theater plays strengthened her desire to become an actress. At that time, a novice Caetano Veloso had become the musical partner of the play director Álvaro Guimarães. For Guimarães's short movie Moleques de Rua, Veloso composed a soundtrack which should have had, according to him, his sister singing in it. At 16, Bethânia tried to refuse, as she had never sung under such pressure. But Guimarães loved her timbre, and included her in his 1963 staging of Nelson Rodrigues' musical Boca de Ouro, where she performed a cappella. In the same year, they became acquainted with Gilberto Gil and Gal Costa. Next year, Veloso was invited to organize a Brazilian popular music show at the opening of Salvador's Teatro Vila Velha. The show, called Nós, por Exemplo, included Veloso, Maria Bethânia, Gilberto Gil, and Gal Costa (still under her name Maria da Graça). The show was a success and was reenacted two weeks later, with the addition of Tom Zé (still presented as Antônio José). The success was even bigger, and the group (without Zé) soon presented another show, Nova Bossa Velha, Velha Bossa Nova. In that same year, Bethânia acted alone in her musical Mora na Filosofia, directed by Veloso and Gil.
In January 1965, still a school student earning bad grades, she was surprised by the invitation to substitute for Nara Leão, already an established young singer who had had a problem with her vocal cords, in her highly successful show Opinião. Bethânia's opening on February 13, 1965, was very successful, and her dramatic performance of "Carcará" (João do Vale/José Cândido) launched her as an overnight national success, repeated during the São Paulo season. Because of the sucess, Guilherme Araújo, then assistant for Aluísio de Oliveira at the RCA label, invited her, through Veloso, to record for the label. In May of that year, Bethânia recorded her first single, and some months later, her first LP. On September 26, 1965, the Vila Velha gang opened the show Arena Canta Bahia, at São Paulo's Teatro de Arena. In April 1966, Bethânia, invited by Guilherme Araújo, opened her show Recital at the Cangaceiro nightclub, in Rio. It also opened the way for Guilherme Araújo to become the manager of Veloso, Gil, and Costa (receiving 20 percent for 70 of his songs, he would be sued by Gil in 1992). She also performed at the Barroco nightclub (Rio). In the same year, Bethânia performed in the show Pois É, together with Gilberto Gil and Vinícius de Moraes, at the Teatro Opinião. In the following month, October 1966, Bethânia performed "Beira mar" (Caetano/Gil) at the I FIC. In 1967, she recorded with Edu Lobo the Elenco album Edu Lobo e Maria Bethânia. Through 1970, she would also be featured in the shows Yes, Nós Temos Maria Bethânia (Teatro de Bolso, Rio), Comigo Me Desavim (Teatro Miguel Lemos, Rio), Recital Na Boite Blow Up (São Paulo), and Brasileiro Profissão Esperança (Teatro Casa Grande, Rio).
In 1968, she performed on the LP Veloso, Gil e Bethânia (RCA) and the solo LP Recital na Boite Barroco. In 1969 and 1970 respectively, Bethânia released the LPs Maria Bethânia and Maria Bethânia Ao Vivo. In 1971, she recorded for Philips the LP A Tua Presença. In July, backed by the Terra Trio, she opened at Rio's Teatro da Praia her show Rosa Dos Ventos, which yielded a live album under the same name, produced by Roberto Menescal. In 1971, she went to Europe and performed at the MIDEM (Cannes, France), and in Italy. Next year, she appeared, together with Chico Buarque and Nara Leão, in the film Quando o Carvaval Chegar. The movie's soundtrack was released in 1972 by Philips. Bethânia wrote the lyrics for Caetano Veloso's song "Trampolim," released on her album Drama. A European tour through Italy, Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Norway followed. In 1973, she opened her show Drama, Luz da Noite, also recorded as an album under the same title. Commemorating the tenth year of her career, she opened her show A Cena Muda (1974), recorded and released in November 1974. On June 6, 1975, Bethânia performed in a live show together with Chico Buarque, recorded and released as Chico Buarque e Maria Bethânia Gravado ao Vivo no Canecão. In 1976, she recorded Pássaro Proibido. In July, together with Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Gal Costa, she toured Brazil with the show Os Doces Bárbaros, which yielded a film of the same name by Jom Tob Azulay and a double album released by Philips in November 1976. On January 13, 1977, her show Pássaro da Manhã opened, released as a studio LP under the same title, which brought her second gold record. In May 1978, Bethânia released, with Veloso, a live show recorded in LP as Maria Bethânia e Caetano Veloso ao Vivo.
In 1978, the LP Álibi was released (certified as a gold record before hitting the streets, making her the first Brazilian female singer to reach one million sold copies), producing a show with the same name in July of the next year. In December 1979, she released the album Mel, which also brought the show Mel in January 1980. The same year came the LP Talismã. In the next year, she opened her show Estranha Forma de Vida and released her album Alteza. In 1982, Bethânia performed in the show Nossos Momentos. In 1983, she took another turn in her career with the album Ciclo, branching out of her popular formula toward a new acoustic direction. In 1984, she performed in her show A Hora da Estrela, with songs especially written by Veloso and Chico Buarque. The album A Beira e o Mar followed. In 1985, the show 20 Anos opened. The next year, Bethânia signed with RCA for the release of Dezembros, which contained unpublished songs by Tom Jobim, Chico Buarque, and Caetano Veloso, and "Canções e Momentos," written especially for her by Milton Nascimento. In 1988, she recorded Maria, with guest stars Jeanne Moreau and Gal Costa, which also was the name of her show which opened in that year. In 1989, the album Memória da Pele was released, and Bethânia presented the show Dadaya -- As Sete Moradas. Her 25th career anniversary was commemorated with the album and show 25 Anos, with participation from Nina Simone, Hermeto Pascoal, Egberto Gismonti, João Gilberto, and others. In 1982, she released the album Olho D'água, which was included in a major soap opera's soundtrack. Her 1993 album As Canções Que Cocê Fez Para Mim, also a show, was the best-selling record of that year (1,500,000 copies sold). For the label EMI/Odeon was recorded the album Âmbar, and also a show which was recorded live and released in 1997 as Imitação da Vida. ~ Alvaro Neder, Rovi
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A 34-year old woman from Kent, who has become the first person to ski solo across Antarctica without help from kites or machines, has described the euphoric highs and debilitating lonliness of her mission. Felicity Aston made it to Hercules Inlet on Antarctica's Ronne ice shelf on Monday morning, after pulling two sledges for 59 days across 1,084 miles of ice and snow. The meteorologist from Birchington-on-Sea also became the first woman to ski solo across the continent – with or without assistance.
"I am just so tired," she told the Guardian from a satellite phone in her tent as she waited for a plane to land to take her back to base camp. "It was nice this morning just to be able to turn over and go back to sleep."
Her journey had taken her from the Ross ice shelf, up the Leverett glacier and across the Transantarctic mountains to the continent's vast central plateau, where she had to fight headwinds most of the way to the south pole. "Physically it has been tough, but the mental side has been really tough," she said. "Being alone sounds like such a simple thing but when was the last time you a whole day without seeing any person? I have been going three weeks without seeing another person and feeling incredible lonliness.
"In the mornings I found it the most difficult and that was when my demons came out. I would think I can't do this, I need to get myself out of here and every single morning I would feel the same thing, back at square one. Some mornings I would get over it with positive thinking, other times I would have a good cry. Other times I would put music on as soon as I woke up to try and get through it."
Aston, who has worked as a researcher in Antarctica for the last three years, crossed the continent on telemark skis dragging 85kg of supplies. On occasions she was engulfed by bad weather for up to four days at a time and had to endure temperatures of -30C (-22F).
"I have been scared permenantly for the last two months," she admitted. "Just yesterday I had to cross two crevasses and that was a certain level of fear. Earlier in the trip, my lighter stopped working so I couldn't light my stove. I was aware that the smallest problem could cause a major catastrophe. I knew I had 46 matches left – I was counting them. All the time I was thinking what might go wrong.
"One day on the narrowest part of the Leverett glacier and I was hit by katabatic winds and I was sitting in the tent watching it buckle and I was thinking if the tent explodes now there's no way a plane could land anywhere safely near me. Suddenly you realise just how remote you are. In life how often are you truly responsible for your own safety? It struck me I was then, because there was no backup."
Ashton has previously been involved in expeditions in Siberia, Greenland and the Arctic and in 2009 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth, she selected and trained eight women from countries including Ghana, India and Jamaica and skied with them to the south pole.
This journey alone was tougher and even her attempts to pass the time became disorientating. The chapters of some Agatha Christie audiobooks Ashton had downloaded onto her MP3 player had got mixed up, so she had to listen to the mysteries with their plot lines bizarrely scrambled.
Because she had two stops to resupply, Guinness World Records said it could not recognise her achievement as a genuinely "solo" mission. But it confirmed it had no other records of anyone crossing alone without assistance of kite or machine.
"One of the most bizarre meetings of my life was three days after I had left the south pole and I saw a tiny black dot on the horizon," she said.
"I thought it could be a land or ice formation or some oil drums. It got larger and larger and eventually it looked like two people and it turned out it was two Australian skiiers heading towards the south pole. I had never met them before in my life but we greeted each other like old friends and it was big hugs all round. We could only have a brief chat because you are standing around in temperatures of -30 degrees."
Ashton described feeling intense joy during the adventure and described being in Antarctica as "a real privilege". She delighted in sun dogs and sun halos, spectacular tricks of the light seen around the south pole. "There were occasions when I had bad weather three to four days on the trot and then the sun would come out and it felt like a miracle," she said. "The whole world was visible again. It moved me to tears and I was euphoric."
Asked why she undertook the expedition, she said there were many reasons. "When I read about other people doing stuff I always ask myself would I have done that," she said. "In this case, I wanted to know if I could do it. Then it is about finding my own limits. At the start of the expedition I was at my limits every morning."
Aston is planning to meet with her sponsors from Kaspersky Lab on her way back to Kent, but before that she is looking forward to some home comforts. "I've been promised red wine and a hot shower."
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Regional integration is vital to creating the infrastructure that many poor countries are unable to build on their own: trade corridors, transport networks, energy development, water resources management, and telecommunications connectivity. Effective collaboration among countries can meet the critical gaps in basic access and service delivery that promote growth and development.
1 billion of the world’s poorest people are still without access to roads.
$93 billion is needed each year in infrastructure investment in Africa to reduce poverty by half from 1990 levels
International trade plays an important role in the fight against poverty. It creates the potential for higher economic growth and employment. IDA’s aid for trade financing nearly doubled from 2005 to 2008 in support of regional integration, export development and competitiveness, and trade facilitation. However, many low-income countries still face supply-side constraints that impede their integration into the global economy.
$3.9 billion the amount IDA provided in aid for trade financing in 2008
IDA-funded project reduces threat of desert locust in Africa’s Sahel region.
Regional integration can help countries increase competitive global growth rates that, in turn, combat poverty and serve as engines of development. Since the start of the IDA Regional Pilot Program in 2003, the enabling environment for integration has improved significantly due to increased political support among countries and growing private-sector demand for regional trade.
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Married or widowed
Mrs. Cole (born c. 1908) was the matron of the orphanage where Tom Marvolo Riddle lived before attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in the 1930s. She was skinny and harassed-looking, with a sharp-featured face.
At Wool's Orphanage
- Albus Dumbledore: "I was wondering whether you could tell me anything of Tom Riddle's history? I think he was born here in the orphanage?"
- Mrs. Cole: "That's right. I remember it clear as anything, because I'd just started here myself. New Year's Eve and bitter cold, snowing, you know. Nasty night. And this girl, not much older than I was myself at the time, came staggering up the front steps. Well, she wasn't the first. We took her in, and she had the baby within the hour. And she was dead in another hour."
- — Mrs. Cole relays the history of Tom Riddle's birth to Albus Dumbledore.[src]
On 31 December, 1926, Merope Riddle, not much older than Cole herself, stumbled into the orphanage heavily pregnant with a baby boy and ready to give birth. Mrs. Cole helped her into the orphanage, where she had the baby in no more than an hour. Life escaping from her, Merope spent her last moments instructing Mrs. Cole to name the newborn baby Tom, after his father and Marvolo, after his grandfather. Merope died in another hour, without another word. Cole was apparently so puzzled over the boy's naming that she was convinced that Merope's family were from the circus. Whether Mrs. Cole relayed this belief to Riddle is unknown.
As Tom grew up Mrs. Cole noticed that he was different from the other children. As a baby he rarely cried, and when he got older she started to notice that "nasty" things seemed to happen to children who bothered him: Billy Stubbs's rabbit was found hanging in the orphanage rafters the day after the two argued; when out on a day trip to the seaside, Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop disappeared with Tom and were never the same when they came back.
Albus Dumbledore's visit
Later on in her career in 1938, Mrs. Cole was visited by Albus Dumbledore, who had come to tell her that the late Merope's eleven-year-old son, Tom Marvolo Riddle, had been accepted into Hogwarts School. This news came as a surprise to Mrs. Cole, as she staggered him repeatedly with questions but, she allowed Dumbledore to visit Tom Riddle in person in his room at the orphanage.
Riddle ended up going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and received a magical education there. Riddle returned to the orphanage for the summer holidays, but after finishing his education at Hogwarts, he left forever and eventually became known as Lord Voldemort, the most dangerous Dark Wizard since Gellert Grindelwald.
Behind the scenes
- Mrs. Cole was portrayed by British actress Amelda Brown in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
- In the film adaptation, Mrs. Cole is depicted as quite older than the character is in the books, being around thirty in the novel and around fifty or sixty in the film.
- In the novel, Mrs. Cole mispronounces Dumbledore's name by first calling him Dumberton by mistake. But when she tries to correct herself, she mispronounces his name again by calling him Dunderbore. In the film, Mrs. Cole is able to pronounce Dumbledore's name correctly without making any mistakes as we hear her calling him 'Mr. Dumbledore'. This is most likely because the film deleted the drinks she had with Dumbledore before introducing him to Riddle.
- As Mrs. is the title used for married women, it could be presumed the Mrs. Cole had a husband, even though he was never even mentioned in any Harry Potter-related materials.
- In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, Mrs. Cole is a character that, like goblins, has a key and the power to open safes.
- At one point, Mrs. Cole says: "Oh, well, that's better than a whack on the nose with a rusty poker." In Patrick Süskind's Das Parfüm (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) a very similar character, Madame Gaillard, cares for that story's main character (and villain) Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, when he spends his youth in an orphanage. Madame Gaillard had been hit by her father with a poker just over the nose, thereby losing her sense of smell.
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (First appearance) (Appears in flashback(s))
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Appears in flashback(s))
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Appears in flashback(s))
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You are hereHome ›
Youth and Schools
Lambda Legal works for respect and acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, adult professionals and LGBT-headed families in schools and other organized youth activities, such as the Boy Scouts. Our work in this area goes back to the 1970s when we helped persuade a court to force the University of New Hampshire to treat a gay student group like every other group on campus. Since then we have secured first-ever federal court rulings that schools must protect gay students from violence and harassment and that gay-straight alliances must be allowed to meet under the same rules as other student groups. We also negotiated a first-ever federal court settlement recognizing the constitutional right of lesbian and gay youth to be out at school. Through vital outreach and support to youth allies and advocates, we help shape mainstream America's awareness and understanding of LGBTQ youth, making clear the harm that antigay discrimination causes all young people.
As more and more youth at earlier ages recognize and accept their sexual orientation or gender identity, their presence in schools has grown. Yet harassment of LGBTQ students remains a common problem across the country. According to a 2005 GLSEN survey, 75.4 percent of students heard remarks about lesbian or gay students. The same survey found that one-third of students experienced physical harassment at schools because of their sexual orientation, while one-fourth of students experienced physical harassment because of their gender expression. The average grade point average of LGBTQ students who experienced frequent physical harassment was a full point lower than students who experienced less harassment, according to the GLSEN survey.
Lambda Legal's Impact
Lambda Legal's leadership over the years has had a profound influence on this area of law and helped create more open institutions where LGBTQ youth are safe and secure, able to enjoy an education free of discrimination, as well as seen, heard and given the chance to reach their full potential and grow into healthy and successful adults.
Our landmark victories have allowed more and more young people to be open, safe and treated equally in schools. And our case challenging discrimination in the Boy Scouts significantly advanced the national discussion about the needs of gay youth and the fitness of gay adults to participate in this iconic organization. In addition to our litigation work, Lambda Legal serves as a central legal resource for youth and schools and provides educational opportunities and training for youth and teachers and administrators.
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Open year-round, dawn to dusk. Breakheart Reservation is a 640-acre hardwood forest with jagged, rocky outcroppings, two fresh-water lakes, and a rambling section of the Saugus River. Seven rocky hills, over 200 feet high, provide vistas of Boston, southern New Hampshire and central Massachusetts. An extensive trail system through the woodlands guides visitors to various areas of the reservation. Fishing in Silver and Pearce Lakes, hiking the trails and birdwatching by the Saugus River are popular year-round activities. The supervised swimming area at Pearce Lake, one of the few fresh- water swimming spots north of Boston, draws crowds in the summer. In addition to its natural resources, the reservation has a rich cultural history.
Things To Do & Events This Week!
Apps for Kids
If you like us, then 'Like' us!
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How would you feel if, when you came to flog your old XBox on Ebay, Bill Gates turned up and asked for a portion of the cash?
What about if you went to sell your stamp collection at auction, and discovered the Post Office hanging around outside the auction rooms looking for ten per cent on the grounds that they printed the stamps in the first place?
It wouldn't happen, would it? And yet the music industry is trying to grab a slice of profits on tickets sold on to other holders.
It's being touted as a move by bands:
Really? Radiohead and the Arctic Monkeys?
Ah. So it's management, not actually bands, then.
The idea is to form a 'Resale Rights Society', which is being headed up by Marc Marot who was quite senior at Island Records a few years back until his circumstances changed; this body will, for some reason, insist on being given a portion of ticket sales on eBay and through secondary markets:
"The secondary ticketing market offers benefits to music fans and the live music industry alike. It does not make sense to try and criminalise it," he said.
Here, we totally agree with him. Making it a crime to sell something you have legally bought is absurd.
We think we're about to part company with him, though:
So the "real issue of consumer protection" is that, erm, no money goes back to the music industry? Isn't that an issue of music industry self-interest rather than "consumer protection"?
Let's split out that contention into the two separate pieces it clearly is. One, the issue of "consumer protection". Now, it's true if you buy a ticket on eBay, there's a chance it might not show up - although if you pay through PayPal or Credit Card, you have a degree of consumer protection, and many of the secondary agencies are large organisations; you have recourse to the trading standards just as when you buy anything else. And even if you didn't, how does giving a slice of your purchase to the music industry make you any more protected? Unless the RRS is proposing to set up a fund to recompense people who lose out if deals go bad - which sounds a splendid idea to us; something of a licence to print money for fraudsters who could offer tickets that don't exist, their conscience clear as the defrauded will get paid back from the RRS? We bet this isn't what the RRS has in mind, and the 'consumer protection' line is just an attempt to make a spot of highway robbery seem more acceptable.
So, then the complaint that "no money is returned to the live music industry". Well, no; nor do the Post Office get any money from the sale of rare used stamps. Even Paloma Picasso finds she doesn't get a few quid when one of her Dad's paintings are sold. The music industry sets the price for tickets when it places them on sale. If they feel the price of the ticket doesn't represent a fair return on their investment, they should raise their prices. Why should they be rewarded for underestimating the value of their tickets? Why should they make money off people who have decided to risk their cash in the hope of making more? Either these businesses embrace capitalism, or they don't.
The RRS seems to be like a welfare organisation designed to help rich businesses that have simply underestimated the value of their products.
Not, of course, that they seem themselves like that - as with the RIAA trying to tax filesharing, the RRS claims they're interested in the little artists:
Now, since Marc is not a foolish man, he must clearly be spinning here. Does he really believe that new artists' tickets are being sold on eBay for massive profits? That the Secondary Ticket market is awash with sales for Cats and Cats and Cats at the Leicester Princess Charlotte? Of course this is about making money for management companies of large acts.
It's also totally unjustified. Marot is right - don't criminalise people for selling second-hand goods. There's absolutely no reason to. There's even less reason to tax them on products they've legally purchased.
[Thanks again to James P]
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Title: Col. John Jacob Astor Camp #28 United Spanish War Veterans Records
Collection Number: H041
Extent: 1.0 cu. ft.
Repository: Alfred M. Heston Collection, Atlantic City Free Public Library, 1 North Tennessee Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ 08401, (609) 345-2269.
Preferred Citation: Col. John Jacob Astor Camp #28 United Spanish War Veterans Records, Alfred M. Heston Collection, Atlantic City Free Public Library.
Creator: Col. John Jacob Astor Camp #28, Department of New Jersey United Spanish War Veterans.
The United Spanish War Veterans (USWV) was founded in 1904. It was formed upon the union of several Spanish-American War groups including: the National Army and Navy Spanish-American War Veterans; the National Association of Spanish-American War Veterans; and the Service Men of the Spanish War. Those eligible to join the organization included all military personnel who served during the Spanish-American War, and had been honorably discharged or continued to serve in the armed forces, and non-military personnel who served honorably during the war. The USWV existed until 1992, when its last member died in Phoenix, Arizona.
At the national level, the group maintained headquarters in Washington D.C. State organizations were called Departments, and at the local level groups were arranged into Camps. Camps were named for significant participants in the War. The Atlantic City group was named for John J. Astor. Astor served as a Lieutenant Colonel of a United States volunteer battalion, which he personally financed, in Cuba. His yacht, the Nourmahal, was also used by the United States government in the War. Astor died in the sinking of the Titanic on April 14, 1912.
Veterans groups such as Camp #28 held meetings and events at the All Wars Memorial Building, located at 814 Pacific Avenue. The building was opened on April 24, 1924 and boasted a 600-seat auditorium and a dining room that seated 280.
IN-DEPTH INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Scope and Content:
This collection consists of two ledgers: one which documents a list of officers and meeting notes, and a second which acts as a membership roll. The first ledger lists Camp #28 officers from 1926-1928 and provides meeting notes from 1926-1933. The second ledger provides the names of members, initiation dates, addresses, status within the organization (suspended, reinstated, expelled, withdrawn, resigned, or deceased), degrees obtained and dues paid.
While it is known that these ledgers were used to record organizational membership and attendance at functions held at the All Wars Memorial building, the full provenance of these ledgers is unknown. The Colonel John Jacob Astor ledgers were discovered within the Heston Collection during a collection inventory in January 2007.
OTHER INFORMATION FOR USERS OF THE COLLECTION
Col. John Jacob Astor Camp #28
Spanish-American War, 1898
Spanish-American War, 1898--Regimental histories
Spanish-American War, 1898—Veterans
Astor, John Jacob, 1864-1912
The Heston Collection has additional resources related to the topics of veterans groups in Atlantic City and the All Wars Memorial building. These vertical files and archival collections:
Vertical subject files:
Parks/Memorials/Monuments – All Wars Memorial Building
Grand Army of the Republic – 1910 Encampment
Other archival collections:
H009 – Atlantic City Photograph Collection
H015 – Morris Guards Collection, 1893-1977
H073 – Joe Hooker Post #32 GAR Records
Hex002 – 1910 GAR Encampment Collection
Hex006 – And They Marched On: Atlantic City Veterans, a Photograph Exhibit
Processing Note: The collection is processed. Finding aid written by Shannon O’Neill, archivist, September 2011
Copyright Notice: While the Atlantic City Free Public Library owns the collection, the Library may not own the copyright for the collection. Researchers wishing to reproduce materials are responsible for obtaining the proper permission.
Item 1 Col. J.J. Astor Camp #28 Dept. of NJ USWV list of officers and meeting notes (1924-1933)
Item 2 Col. J.J. Astor Camp #28 Dept of NJ USWV membership ledger
Note: The Colonel John Jacob Astor Camp #28 records are in fragile condition. Advance notice must be given in order to view this collection. At the discretion of the archivist, surrogate copies may be supplied rather than the originals.
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May 2011 – A Whirlpool in Tucana
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the galaxy NGC 406 in the constellation of Tucana. It exhibits spiral arms that are mainly populated by young, massive, bluish stars and crossed by dark dust lanes. As is typically observed in this kind of spiral galaxy, the yellowish central bulge, dominated by an older stellar
population, is less prominent and almost totally embedded in the disk structure.
This calendar is not available for sale.
NASA & ESA
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Last Modified: Tuesday, August 14, 2012 8:13 PM
One of the awesome aspects of writing about food are the conversations that I engage in with friends and strangers alike routinely.
Normally, my mind ends up focusing on a dish that a fellow food lover talked about.
Here’s an example of that type of moment.
While visiting with Dr. Harold Bienvenu a few weeks ago, we started talking about old-fashioned Louisiana cooking.
Dr. Bienvenu asked me about grillades.
“I’ve eaten them. But it has been a while,” I told him.
“Guess what I had for breakfast?” he asked, with a little smirk on his face.
“Uh, I don’t know Doc. What did you have for breakfast today?”
He signed in a satisfied way and said, “grillades.”
Grillades are small pieces of fried meat. They are considered one of south Louisiana’s most traditional Creole and Cajun dishes.
In the book “The Picayune’s Creole Cookbook-Sesquicentennial Edition” editor Marcelle Bienvenu wrote, “The many octogenarians who walk our streets, and who have been practically raised on grillades, for it is a daily dish among the Creoles, are the best refutation of the outcry that is made in the North and West against Fried Meat. The great truth is that the Creoles know how to fry meat.”
Needless to say, Doc’s breakfast gem triggered a need in my body. If you have the same desire, hear is a grillades recipe that should make you happy.
• Select a nice round steak and beat well. Cut into grillades of about four inches square and season highly with salt and pepper and cayenne.
From "The Picayune's Creole Cookbook-Sesquicentennial Edition"
Eric Cormier writes about food every Wednesday. Contact him at email@example.com or 494-4090.
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Equipment and On Road Behaviour, Laws and Rules. Cycling Promotion and Advocacy
I had a mate over last night, and during the course of conversation, road laws and cyclists came up. He is of the belief that "unless doing 40+kph" a cyclist MUST give way to traffic while riding on the road, (ie, hug the gutter when a car needs to pass). This is due to his interpretation of the law regarding slow moving vehicles obstructing traffic. Now, in this case, we were talking about a single lane of traffic in each direction, so as I understand it, the right to claim a lane doesn't apply. My understanding of the relevant law is that it is somewhat relative to the vehicle in question. Eg, a motor vehicle traveling at 20kph is "abnormally" slow, and could be considered to be obstructing traffic, while 20kph for a bicycle is not "abnormally" slow. While on a single lane each way (again, as I understand it) a cyclist is required to keep as far left as practicable, is there in fact a requirement to literally move out of the way (even if it means gutter-hugging, or moving off the road completely)?
We tried to find the relevant legislation last night, but had no luck.
What state are you in?
Eg. in Qld:
Note the use of "in the circumstances". The circumstances of a bicycle are that they are slower than cars when the traffic is flowing.
If riding legally 2 abreast, it would be polite to create room for an overtake where such an overtake would be safe, even though you don't "have" to.
Don't move into the path of another vehicle. Riding along a road and having a car come up behind you needing to overtake is not moving into their path.
On a single lane road, yes you need to ride as near as practicable to the far left side. This does not mean you have to ride on the shoulder (see (3)) or in a dooring zone.
It is, but they are both based on the Australian Road Rules so are very similar in most respects.
I think the link is http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/Domin ... orised.pdf
Awesome sauce. I found the relevant legislation. Seems I was right, so long as "being a cyclist" is considered a reason to travel slower than the rest of the traffic.
Hell, the legislation doesn't even say it needs to be a "good" reason. Taken literaly, any reason will allow you to drive at 20 in an 80 zone... seems to me that particular bit could use some clarification.
there is no requirement for cyclists to keep left:
It's very difficult to be any prescriptive than that as even 'good' or 'valid' or 'practical' are meaningless. There's just too many scenarios where you may need to drive slower to list them all.
This sort of thing annoys me about a lot of legislation. [A] says something that [F] directly contradicts.
It is not unreasonable for a bicycle to be travelling at 20ish.
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011
Depending on the circumstances it may be quite reasonable for a cyclist to be travelling at 9kmh. I have done this eg. climbing a steep hill with 25kgs of camping gear. I do not expect that I am required to leave the road if a car comes up behind me (but I do keep to the left as much as is practical and safe).
Riding bikes in traffic - what seems dangerous is usually safe; what seems safe is often more dangerous.
Yup. The other thing to bear in mind is that the example is, stricly speaking, not part of the statute. It's extrinsic material and as such can only be used to resolve ambiguities in the actual statute. So in-depth analysis of the example isn't likely to shed very much ligh.
Your friend seems to have the dented head
Riding bikes in traffic - what seems dangerous is usually safe; what seems safe is often more dangerous.
Well, he's getting his info from a source he trusts, a relative of his that has been cycling for years, and he believes this experienced cyclist knows more about it than a relative new-comer to cycling like myself. I tried to explain that I'd looked into the road laws regarding bikes given the unusual nature of my trikes, but I've often confessed my search-fu is pretty weak.
Bone up on your cycling laws... you can't have no idea about your rights if you want to play with the smokeboxes. It's absolute vital that you know your stuff because if you were to be involved in an incident of some kind, you can push your case on the police much better. That incident doesn't have to be an accident.
All the things your mate reckons have ZERO basis in law. The experienced rider is stating practicality, not statute. The driver friend should be able to manage a better legal reference than "some bloke I know who has ridden a bit on the road". If that was the basis of our road rules, we might as well abandon the licence test for L platers.
Couldn't agree more. I saved a copy of the 2009 legislation so I'd not have to search for it again for that reason. We (my mate and I) are both wargamers, and there's a saying among wargamers regarding rules disputes: "Page and paragraph, or Show me how to do it right". I figured it applied.
I agree here too, but the rider apparently expressed the "opinion" as law, and my mate believes him on the basis of his long experience riding. I emailed him the relevent sections of the statute this morning. Education is KEY!!!
I'm not sure I'm excited about this attitude. Sure it is a great idea to know the road rules properly if you are riding or driving on the road. However it seems a bit negative if you are preparing for an accident.
Knowing your 'rights' won't keep you safe. Safe cycling had numerous facets most of which are un related to road rules and some of which may even breech some. To keep it short, safe cycling involves making yourself visible, giving yourself space, behaving in a way that makes other people give you space, avoiding risky areas such as door zones and most importantly the ability to predict other road users actions (legal or illegal)
True, but I'm a firm believer of "Hope for the best, but plan for the worst". I'll also ride "illegally" if it's safer to do so (ie, there's a few places here in Ballarat where I slow to walking pace and ride on the footpath. It's ilegal, but safer than being on the roads at these places, mainly due to the busyness of the roads, the parking causing blind spots etc).
Also true. However, if I do know the actual laws, at least I can try to educate friends and family on their many misconceptions...
I tried this a couple of weekends ago when my wife's family came for xmas cake and coffee. Her uncles started with the baloney and I mostly managed to keep my cool but you could see they were ticked to be getting schooled about it. Considering they are family I have reviewed my cycling rules and rights dispersion policy: If it's close friends or family I'm only willing to discuss road rules and cycling with you if you are currently informed on the road rules regarding cycling, and if you're not, here are the relevant links...
the ignorance of people saying "you cyclists are crazy, you don't look where you're going you just have a deathwish!" hello genius, why would we cyclists, who easily can be killed with an 'error' as minute as moving a few inches off our line, ride like that? it's just an excuse for poor driving.
I dunno.. there are plenty out there who I sometimes think have a deathwish! Haven't actually started cycling myself yet so am very ignorant of many of the road rules (both the official and "unofficial") but have been paying ALOT of attention to cyclists on/around roads lately so that I can get some idea of what is expected and how they act in various situations (pulling up at lights, riding in traffic, hand signals etc - it has been very educational to simply pay more attention) and I saw a great example of one I would consider as having a deathwish this morning on my way into work..
Female cyclist riding along a fairly busy road in Perth, turning right at a roundabout. All kitted up and on a rather impressive looking bike so she certainly looked the part, but as she approached the roundabout and moved from the shoulder to claim the lane she gave a very weak signal (her hand barely left the bars - would have been easy to miss) and moved across without even a slight rearward glance. No mirror on the bike and there were plenty of houses and 2 sidestreets (one each side of the road she was on) within 50-100m behind her - so plenty of opportunities for a car to have entered the lane since whenever she had last checked.. She wasn't exactly belting along, so had a car been travelling along at or near the speed limit then I believe it entirely plausible that something could have easily occurred. Thankfully, there wasn't a car (I was coming from the other direction but was in slow moving traffic so had plenty of time to watch her - particularly as I would have had to give way to her at the roundabout)
When changing lanes in my car I ALWAYS check blind spot before moving across - it amazes me that someone on a bike wouldn't take a moment to do the same to protect themselves...
Just because you didn't see a mirror does not mean she didn't have one. Bar end mirror, Zefal spy mirror or mirror on the inside of her sunnies.
Some days you are a big, strutting rooster, some days you are a bit chicken and some days you are just a complete cocque. Roger Ramjet: 2009 Giant CRX3 Spockette: 2009 Trek FX 7.3 (WSD, property of Mrs Monsoon) Lady Penelope: 2011 Avanti Cadent 1.0 TdF
Warby, this is what's called anecdotal evidence. i have lost count of how many stupid things i've seen cyclists do. but for the most part, cyclists are paying pretty close attention to whatever is going on around them. have a look at drivers next time you're out and about - they're texting, half asleep, reading the paper(!) drivers don't check before changing their position on the road, they assume that unless there are marked lanes, they're occupying the whole side of the road. if i rode my bike like that, i'd be pretty dead in short time. it's a giant double std - they think it's normal for them to drive around oblivious to what's going on, while if a cyclist moves off their line slightly they've got a "deathwish".
No argument at all from me on any of this! I was just providing the previous as an example of why some motorists believe cyclists have a deathwish as it was one I witnessed just a couple hours ago and was still fresh
Even as "just another motorist" myself I've pretty much always been of the mind that 90% of motorists (especially in Perth!!!) switch off as soon as they get behind the wheel.. MANY people out there who should never have been let loose in 1.5t (or 2, or 3) of steel kiiling machine.. Part of the attraction of cycling for me is the opportunity to limit the amount of time I need to spend interacting with other motorists!
Fair point and I retract my previous "no mirror" in favour of a "no mirror that I could see" .. Either way, it still goes some way towards explaining why motorists get the impression that some cyclists have a deathwish - Was an easy example and not intended to cause any great debate
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This is fairly useful for a lot of people, some people do it without even knowing they do it. I thought i would go through what this means and how to stop doing it.
When a person feels like others around them are better than them they usually seek approval from the other, in other words they will try to fit in and look for acceptance from other people in a social group or social setting when around new people.
People will feel inferior in groups and it is quite common, the only thing here is that someone going out to make friends and get people to like them will end up using approval methods to be noticed or liked when they could have just appeared, been them self and simply sit back and relax, they could have spoken when they felt like it without worrying what others thought of them.
Approval seeking can be done in specific ways such as asking “can i please do this” or “i will buy you a drink” or “im so sorry, can i please ask you something”. Other include people giving compliments or gifts. This is not to say there are lots of people out there that do get on their knees and beg for friends but im just saying that if you are doing any of this please stop, take your self respect back and dont put anyone above yourself like this.
Instead of trying to fit in or get friends by giving them stuff or asking permission simply walk in and act like you know them or better yet sit with them and speak when you feel comfortable to speak. The best bit about approval seeking is that it can be very manipulative even if you don’t know it, it can be unconsciously manipulative for the better who do not know they are doing it. Bless them.
If you wish to have something such as a friend or partner stop walking in with the mindset they are better than you because they are not, no one is better than another. Your not better than them and they are not better than you. If you wish to be on a level playing field with others you must have that mindset from the beginning, if you walk in with a mindset of “they are better than me” you will always put them before you but also look for approval from them. Sometimes we as people do this for the most silly reasons such as winning someone over or getting something in return.
Approval seeking for getting something in return is almost like saying “can we trade?”, or in other cases “im not worthy of your presence so give me some approval”.
So remember know your equal to others, no one is better than the other, simply accept them as just people. Next time you see that freaky, good looking or intimidating person dont put them higher or lower, accept them. On that note do not let them see you are below them or afraid of them, if you wish to be lower than them you only encourage them to think they are much higher and better than you.
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Summary: This text is designed for the sophomore/junior level introduction to discrete mathematics taken by students preparing for future coursework in areas such as math, computer science and engineering. Rosen has become a bestseller largely due to how effectively it addresses the main portion of the discrete market, which is typically characterized as the mid to upper level in rigor. The strength of Rosen's approach has been the effective balance of theory with relevant ap ...show moreplications, as well as the overall comprehensive nature of the topic coverage.
New/Better coverage of nonhomogeneous linear recurrence relations with constant coefficients is now in the text, rather than in an exercise set.
Generating functions are now covered in a separate section in the main body of the text, expanding the coverage previously found in the appendix.
More coverage of probability theory is included in this edition. New topics covered include the variance of a random variable and Chebyshev's inequality.
Material has been added to the text that demonstrates that discrete mathematics is an active subject with many open questions and with many new discoveries. For example, there is now coverage of Mersenne primes, including the discoveries of new primes in 1997 and 1998, the range for which the Goldbach conjecture has been verified, and the variation of the Tower of Hanoi puzzle with four pegs.
Examples and exercises illustrating the application of discrete mathematics to the protocols and network architecture of the Internet have been added. For example, counting problems involving Internet addresses and Internet Protocol packets, Boolean searching for Web pages and examples about spanning trees and Internet routings have been added.
Many new exercises have been added. These include routine exercises, many requested by current users of the text, as well as challenging exercises, including those that develop new concepts.
Several new biographies have been added, including Charles Peirce, Pafnuty Chebyshev, and Marin Mersenne.
An extensive Web site has been developed to supplement the text for students and instructors. A special icon has been placed throughout the text whenever the Web pages for this book include annotated hyperlinks that can be used to find interesting Web sites relevant to the material under discussion. There are more than 100 different Web reference icons placed throughout the text. ...show less
More prices and sellers below.
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Well here we go again. Late in the evening of July 20, "a masked gunman entered a Colorado movie theater playing the new Batman movie and "opened fire " killing at least 12 people and wounding 50." The gunman was not a large anthropomorphized bat but rather a young white male, and he "was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and two handguns" all of which he had legally obtained.
This is nothing new in the Land Of The Free. Among the more notable victims of the nation's love affair with deadly weapons have been Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan (wounded) and, of course, John Lennon.
Then there are the recent (and periodically ongoing) mass murders among the population at large: the Columbine High School shootings, the Beltway sniper incidents, the Virginia Tech massacre, and the 2011 Tucson killings. To this can be added the daily shootings that occur in every city in the country. Taking the representative year of 2007, there were 31,224 deaths from gunshots with 17,352 of them (56 percent) being suicides. The numbers have, generally, been going up.
Those who stand against tightening up the nation's presently useless gun laws have a variety of arguments most of which are in good part delusional. Thus:
1. EXCUSE NUMBER ONE -- Guns don't kill people, people kill people.
a. It is certainly true that while sitting on a shelf, locked in a draw or carried in a holster, guns are inert pieces of machinery and, ultimately, it takes a finger to pull the trigger. Yet this fact is actually irrelevant. It's irrelevant because guns are not manufactured to stay on shelves, in draws or holsters. That inert status has nothing to do with why they exist. So, we can go on and ask:
b. Why are guns manufactured? Why do they exist? Primitive firearms were invented in China sometime in the 12th Century. They were invented to be used in warfare, that is to kill and injure other people. As the technology spread westward, first into the Arab lands and then to Europe, the technology was improved, but its raison d'etre (its reason for being) to kill and injure others stayed the same.
The only thing that has changed over time is that in certain lands, particularly the U.S., a monopoly on the possession of such weapons ceased to be held by the state and guns diffused into the population as a whole.
In the United States, this process of diffusion was allowed based on a peculiar interpretation of Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. That amendment says that the right of the citizens to bear arms shall not be infringed. But that statement forms a dependent clause in a sentence that links the right to bear arms to the maintenance of "a well regulated militia."
Apart from the National Guard, the modern U.S. does not maintain militias. And, most of the membership of the National Rifle Association (NRA), along with the other gun-toting tough guys walking the streets of (particularly) the middle and southern U.S., don't even belong to the National Guard.
c. The hard truth is that guns were originally invented, and still today are primarily made, to shoot people. Their other uses: in hunting, to shoot holes in paper targets, to blast clay projectiles out of the air for fun, are strictly secondary to their primary purpose.
d. So the argument that guns don't kill people is a-historical and something of a red herring. Guns are essentially our partners, intimate accessories if you will, in what is most often criminal activity, facilitating the efficiency of acts of homicide, assault and suicide. At the rate we pursue these activities, we just couldn't maintain the modern level of mayhem without them.
2. EXCUSE NUMBER TWO -- Guns are most often used for self-defense.
a. If you go on the Web, you can find surveys that allege the use of guns for self-defense numbering in the millions of episodes per year. However, these surveys are often carried out by biased organizations and are methodologically flawed. They have, therefore, been demonstrated to be unreliable.
b. More reliable studies, conducted by unbiased sources such as Harvard University, have shown, among other things, that: very few criminals are shot by law-abiding citizens; most criminals are shot either by the police, or by other criminals; and firearms reported to have been used in self-defense are, most of the time, used against members of a family or erstwhile friends during arguments.
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6 Characteristics of Central Auditory Processing Disorder
6 of 7
Difficulty Carrying on Long Conversations
Since sounds and noise easily distract a child with CAPD, he has a hard time carrying on long conversations. He has difficulty hearing and understanding what is being said and gives inconsistent responses. Conversations on the telephone are also difficult.
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ARRIAGA: Complete String Quartets (Camerata Boccherini) (Naxos: 8.557628)
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Juan Crisostomo de Arriaga (1806-1826)
Interest in the music of Juan Crisostomo de Arriagabegan to revive in the late nineteenth century. Sincethen, his works have earned the admiration of the musicworld, confirming the fact that his premature deathmeant the loss not only of an individually brilliantcomposer, but also perhaps of a significant link in thedevelopment of musical history itself.
Arriaga was born in Bilbao on 27th January 1806and soon became renowned in the city's musical circles.
His earliest compositions include the divertimento Naday mucho (1817), the Overture for nonet, Op. 1, and thetwo-act opera Los esclavos felices (The Happy Slaves),which was completed in 1819 and first performed togreat acclaim in Bilbao a year later. That same yearArriaga wrote the Tema variado en cuarteto, Op. 17,and La h??ngara, a theme and variations for violin andad libitum bass.
In 1821 he moved to Paris, where he studied theviolin with Pierre Baillot and composition withFran?ºois-Joseph Fetis. He put in very long hours,working both as a performer and as Fetis's teachingassistant in his counterpoint and fugue classes. The greatmajority of his extant works date from his time in Paris:three string quartets, a number of stage works such asAgar and Erminia, the Symphony and the Three Studiesor Caprices for piano. His excessive workload is themost probable cause of the pulmonary infection that ledto his death in 1826.
Arriaga's three string quartets were published inParis as the Premier Livre de quatuors in 1824 and,given the composer's early death, can be seen as worksof relative maturity. These most accomplished piecesare rich in melody, with enormous technical precision inthe contrapuntal writing of the different parts. Arriaga'sgenius for invention comes through in their innovativemovement layout and structure, which differ somewhatfrom traditional models.
The Quartet No. 1 in D minor comprises fourmovements. The first, Allegro, develops a mournfultheme to which a second, folk-inspired idea thenresponds. The Adagio is based on a long drawn-outphrase for first violin. In place of a scherzo, the thirdmovement is a Menuet, whose trio features pizzicatochords with a guitar-like accompaniment. An adagiophrase which unexpectedly recurs before the conclusionacts as an introduction to the Allegretto finale.
Quartet No. 2 in A major is formally the mosttraditional of the three. The atmosphere of the Allegro isone of great vitality, in which the four instrumentsconverse together, the four parts being remarkablyindependent but well balanced. The Andante convariaciones takes the place of a slow movement, the lastvariation created by a pizzicato effect. The Menuetto isfollowed by a cadenza-like passage which is repeated inthe final Allegro, after the exposition.
Quartet No. 3 in E flat major is the most technicallydeveloped of the three pieces. The opening unison in theAllegro is followed by a concertante interchange ofmotifs between the instruments, the development beingmarked by its expressive nature and shifts in tonality.
The second movement is a Pastorale rather than anAdagio, whose different episodes feature variousdescriptive effects, for example the tremolo to suggest astorm. Arriaga then lifts his thematic writing to a highpoint in the final Presto agitato.Santiago Gorostiza
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Transportation to and from school should not be considered a part of basic education. When I served on the SKSD citzens budget committee several years ago I came to the conclusion that parents should pay of the sevice if they choose to use it. And yes those who cannot afford it can have a lesser, subsidized rate similar to the school lunch program. This is one of the few ideas I have agreed with coming from the Governor.
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Memoirs & Diaries - Trenches At Vimy Ridge
As the War had to be, I shall always be glad I was able to play even a negligible part in it, or I should never have known with such certainty the madness of it.
During training I was aware only of the glamour of War. I prepared myself for it with enthusiasm, and bayoneted and clubbed the stuffed sacks representing the enemy with a sort of exalted ferocity. I was as jealous of my regiment as I used to be of my school.
The journey from Southampton to Havre in an ancient paddle-boat and on from there by train in a cattle-truck to the mysterious destination called the Front seemed a fitting prelude to the adventure. It was tedious and uncomfortable, but we told each other this was war. We became better acquainted with tedium and discomfort later.
When I made my debut in the line I had a cheerful conviction that nothing would hit me. And I remember standing on the fire-step for the first time and saying to myself exultantly: "You're in it at last! You're in it! The greatest thing that's ever happened!"
Lice and wind-up came into my life about the same time. At stand-to one morning a flight of whizz-bangs skimmed the top of the trench. The man next to me went down with a scream and half his face gone. The sand-bag in front of me was ripped open and I was blinded and half-choked with its contents.
This was in the summer of 1916. In the plain on our right the flash and rumble of guns was unceasing. It was the beginning of the Somme offensive we learnt afterwards, but even if we had known one of the big battles of the War was in progress at our elbows I doubt if we should have been deeply stirred. To every private in the line the War was confined to his own immediate front.
My first spell in the line lasted three weeks. Water was scarce, and even the tea ration was so short there was none left over for shaving. I had a nine days' growth of beard when we went down to rest. Some of us looked like Crimean veterans and we all began to feel like it. My socks were embedded in my feet with caked mud and filth and had to be removed with a knife.
Lack of rest became a torment. Undisturbed sleep seemed more desirable than heaven and much more remote. This is why two occasions stand out like beacons in my memory. One was when I found myself in bed in a field hospital for the first time.
The other was when I dropped among the straw in a rat-ridden barn after a long march down the line, tired beyond words and exquisitely drunk on a bottle of Sauterne. As I dropped into forgetfulness I felt I had achieved bliss.
I have slept on the march like a somnambulist and I have slept standing up like a horse. Sleeping at the post was a court-martial affair, with death or field punishment and a long term of imprisonment as the penalty. But, try as I would not to fall asleep, I often woke from a delectable dream with a start to find myself confronted with No Man's Land.
Once I was caught. It happened soon after dawn near the end of my spell. I had been watching a spot in No Man's Land where we suspected a sniper was operating. Suddenly I became aware of a voice saying, "The man's asleep," and knew it referred to me. Giving myself up for lost I sniffed loudly and changed my position as a sort of despairing protest.
Out of the tail of my eye I saw a Staff officer talking to the corporal. To my inexpressible relief, the corporal answered with one of the most ingenious lies I ever heard.
"He can't be, sir," he said. "He lent me this pencil only a second before you came." The officer was rather disinclined to accept the pencil as proof of my wakefulness, but, as I was then manifestly quite alert, he presently went his way.
The corporal's joy at having dished a brass-hat was unbounded. They were not popular in the line. Stark terror got hold of me one night on outpost guard in the Neuville-St. Vaast neighbourhood. These outposts were beyond the front line, sometimes within fifty yards of jerry's trench. The guard consisted of a corporal and four men. There were two sap-heads at the post in question.
They communicated with each other by an underground passage as well as by a short trench. I did not realize there was an underground communication when I was posted at the sap-head nearest the line. The corporal and the other three men went on to the other entrance to the sap.
Jerry had been restless all the evening, and not long after we had taken over he opened out with every gun he possessed. One of the fellows from the other sap-head came by with a bloody rag round his face. The racket of crumps and crashes and shrieking shells was too great to hear what he said, but I guessed he was going down to the first-aid post.
A little later I saw a flickering light approaching me from the depths of the sap. My hair literally stood on end, notwithstanding the tin hat. In my panic I thought Jerry must have countermined or found some other way into the sap and had chosen this way of attacking.
My first impulse was to fire and get a few shots in, anyway. Luckily, however, I was inspired to shout a challenge. It was answered by the corporal.
He and another man, both wounded, were helping each other down to the dressing station.
I envied them their luck and promised to go round occasionally to see how G., the only other survivor, was faring.
G. and I had joined the same day and had been friends ever since. I felt anxious about him and I wanted company, so went as soon as the others had gone.
At the end of the short trench I stumbled over something. A bank of cloud cleared for a moment from the moon, and I saw it was a headless body.
I went back to my post, frightened beyond anything that should be humanly possible. Twice I was blown off my feet by the concussion of bursting shells. The whine of falling shrapnel filled the air. I seemed to be all alone in a world tottering into ruin. If only the noise would stop I felt I might keep my reason. I think I prayed for a direct hit to end it all. By a miracle, however, I was not even touched.
I don't know how long after it was when my platoon officer crawled round the remains of a traverse. He had come to withdraw the guard. Back in the line I was told to take an hour's rest.
In the dug-out, stretcher bearers, unable to get down to the dressing station, were doing what they could for a man who had been buried. The candles constantly went out with the concussion of explosions outside, and every time this happened the man screamed.
A year or two after the War I was told a curious sequel to that memorable night. It had occurred three nights before my birthday. My mother was living at Vancouver at the time.
That night she roused the household in a panic because she said I had burst into her bedroom. I was wearing an old tweed suit in which she had last seen me in England. I looked ghastly, she said, and all I could say in reply to her questions was "Oh...! Oh!... Oh!..."
My sisters did their best to comfort her, but only the continuance of my letters, in which, of course, I said nothing about the outpost affair, at last convinced her that I had not gone West. I wonder if the essential part of me fled half across the world that night to a country I had never seen in search of the comfort and company I so badly needed?
We learnt next morning that Jerry had made an attack on our left. But it was all quiet then. Letters came up with the bacon.
I had one from a woman friend who had always seemed intelligent and understanding. Yet she asked this singular question: Is it as bad as they say it is out there, or is it only the shortage of cigarettes that makes it seem so rotten?"
The irony of it coming at that time made me giggle like a schoolgirl. The others wanted to know the joke so I read it aloud. The comments were unprintable.
One got used to many things, but I never overcame my horror of the rats. They abounded in some parts, great loathsome beasts gorged with flesh. I shall never forget a dug-out at the back of the line near Anzin.
It was at the foot of rising ground, at the top of which was a French war cemetery. About the same time every night the dug-out was invaded by swarms of rats. They gnawed holes in our haversacks and devoured our iron rations.
We hung haversacks and rations to the roof, but they went just the same. Once we drenched the place with creosote. It almost suffocated us, but did not keep the rats away. They pattered down the steps at the usual time, paused a moment and sneezed, and then got to work on our belongings.
A battalion of Jerrys would have terrified me less than the rats did sometimes. As a matter of fact, hatred of the enemy, so strenuously fostered in training days, largely faded away in the line. We somehow realized that individually they were very like ourselves, just as fed-up and as anxious to be done with it all.
For the most part; the killing that was done and attempted was quite impersonal. I doubt if I ever killed or wounded anyone. If I did it was more by bad luck than good judgment when we took pot shots at little grey working parties scuttling about at daybreak in front of their line.
My closest contact with the enemy was on a night raid which ended disastrously. The engineers missed a strip of concealed wire when they made a gap for the raid. We failed to get through, and less than half the party returned.
The folly of it all struck us at the oddest times. There was a tall, oldish man in my platoon who had been fixed up at the base with a set of false teeth.
Poor Mac was given to fits of sneezing and when this happened his Army teeth generally went flying. I was next to him on the fire-step at stand-to one night. Suddenly Mac made a queer half-strangled noise.
Then I heard him mutter, "Oh, hell!" and knew he'd lost his teeth. We fumbled among the sandbags, but it was quite a time before a Verey light revealed to me the lower set some distance over the parapet.
"'Anks," mumbled the toothless Mac, pocketing the dentures. Then, as a kind of afterthought: "'Sall so dam' shilly, isn't it ?"
There were many men it was good to have known. Soon after we got out one of our fellows found what looked like a bomb with a piece of fuse attached in the corner of the dug-out. He lit it with a cigarette end and then, getting frightened, threw it away.
It sizzled venomously on the floor, but only one man of the half-dozen of us there had the pluck and presence of mind to do the obvious thing.
While we all crouched where we sat, cursing the meddling fool, as we waited for the explosion, the clown of the platoon, a little Salvationist, threw his greatcoat over the smouldering thing and jumped on it. The bomb or whatever it was, proved to be harmless, but that made little B. none the less a hero.
A man next to me in hospital once had the most brutal-looking face I think I ever saw. I learnt he was "Young Alf," or some such name, a professional heavyweight. I never expect to meet a man with a kindlier outlook on men and things. His boils got well, and he was marked for convalescent camp.
When he said good-bye he insisted on giving me two English pennies, "for remembrance," as he said.
I knew they were all he had in the world and I determined not to part with them. But I forgot. They were spent or lost when I got back to the regiment. I rather think "Young Alf" would not have forgotten.
The most awesome and in some ways most dreadful thing I ever saw was a kind of ceremonial gas attack in the autumn of 1917. We withdrew from the front line to the support trench, so that the engineers could operate on the ground between.
It was a still moonlight night, one of those nights when the guns on both sides were quiet and there was nothing to show there was a war on. The attack began with a firework display of golden rain. The fireworks petered out and a line of hissing cylinders sent a dense grey mist rolling over No Man's Land.
What breeze there was must have been exactly right for the purpose. But the unusual silence, the serene moonlit sky, and that creeping cloud of death and torment made a nightmare scene I shall never forget.
It seemed ages before Jerry realized what was afoot. At last, however, the first gas alarm went and I think most of us were glad to think he would not be taken unawares.
Presently the gongs and empty shell-cases and bars of steel were beating all along his front, almost as though he was welcoming in the New Year. But I was haunted for hours afterwards by the thought of what was happening over there.
Sympathy was blown sky-high the next night, however. We were going out to rest and shortly before the relieving troops were due Jerry started one of the fiercest barrages I ever experienced. The relief could not come up.
The trenches were crowded with men all packed up and unable to go, and it rained - heavens, how it rained! Hour after hour we stood there in the rising flood, helpless as sheep in the pen, while the guns did their worst.
It was six in the morning before we got back to the rest billets, more dead than alive. Even then there was no rest for me.
I was detailed to parade for battalion guard in four hours. Battalion guard was a spit and polish business, and a full day would not have sufficed to remove nine days' mud from my uniform and clean my saturated equipment.
A scarecrow guard of deadly tired men eventually paraded. We had done our best to get clean, but neither the sergeant-major nor the adjutant, both looking fresh and beautiful, applauded our efforts. Very much the contrary, in fact. But we were all past caring what they thought or said about our appearance.
The next time I went into the line a spot of gas sent me out of it for good. I did not know American troops were in France till I found myself in one of their hospitals at Etretat. The nurses and doctors were gentle beyond anything I ever experienced.
I could only account for it by thinking they must regard my case as hopeless, and when I found a large white bow pinned on my bed there seemed no room for doubt.
I got rather light-headed and fancied my obsequies had already begun in the hustling fashion of the Americans. But the white bow only meant that I was on milk diet.
A week later I was in Blighty, the soldier's Promised Land. Six months afterwards I appeared in the streets again as a civilian with a profound hatred for war and everything it implies.
Private Harold Saunders enlisted in the 14th London (London Scottish) in November 1915, and went to France with the 2nd Battalion in June 1916. When the 6oth Division left France for Salonika he was left behind with a septic heel. He was transferred to the 1st Battalion, and was with them till a whiff of gas at Cambrai completed the wreck in October 1917. He was finally discharged April 1918.
First published in Everyman at War (1930), edited by C. B. Purdom.
Photographs courtesy of Photos of the Great War website.
A "chit" was British slang for a piece of paper.
- Did you know?
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how can i get my 1 year old son to learn his body parts?
My son is 13 months old. I've been trying for months to get him to point to his body parts with songs, activites, etc. And he just won't. He also has a ring stacker that we've been trying to play with since he was 6 months old. I don't know if he just doesn't get how to play with it or just won't. There is other toys he seems not to grasp the concept of either. I'm very patient with him but is it possible somethings wrong? or am I doing something wrong?
Posted: 06/08/2011 by mommamickey
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1 year old is a little young for that yet - closer to 18 months-2 years is more age appropriate.posted 06/22/2011 by a BabyCenter Member
Answer this question
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Within the last years, the increasing presence of large-scale architectures has introduced the era of Cloud Computing.
There is a huge number of different definitions available towards Cloud Computing. The term "cloud" itself is derived from the figurative abstraction of the internet represented as a cloud. The available definitions of Cloud Computing range from reductions it to be ``the next hype term" over pragmatic definitions focusing on special aspects to definitions, that see Cloud Computing as a general paradigm shift of information architectures, as an ACM CTO Roundtable [Cre09] has shown in 2009. Of the various features that are attributed to the "cloud", scalability, a pay-per-use utility model and virtualization are the minimum common denominators.
The key concept of Cloud Computing is the resourcing of services. These services can be generally differentiated into three vertical layers:
Referring to the terminology of Cloud Computing, a scalable web application is essentially a SaaS that requires appropriate execution/hosting environments (PaaS and/or IaaS).
In the following, we will consider some exemplary hosting providers and outline their service features.
Amazon was one of the first providers for dedicated, on-demand and pay-per-use web services. It is currently dominating the multi-tenant Cloud Computing market. Their main product is Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), a service providing different virtualized private servers. The provision of virtualized machines in scalable amounts forms an architectural basis for most of their clients. Instead of growing and maintaining own infrastructure, EC2 clients can spin up new machine instances within seconds and thus cope with varying demand. This traditional IaaS hosting is complemented by a set of other scalable services that represent typical architecture components.
Elastic Block Storage (EBS) provides block-level storage volumes for EC2 instances. Simple Storage Service (S3) is a key-value web-based storage for files. More sophisticated data storage systems available are SimpleDB, DynamoDB and Relational Database Service (RDS). The former two services represent non-relational database management systems with a limited set of features. RDS currently supports MySQL-based and Oracle-based relational databases.
Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) provides load-balancing functionalities on transport protocol level (e.g. TCP) and application level (e.g. HTTP). As a message queue, Simple Queue Service (SQS) can be used. For complex MapReduce-based computations, Amazon has introduced Elastic MapReduce.
ElastiCache is an in-memory cache system that helps speeding up web applications. CloudFront is a CDN, complementing S3 by replicating items geographically. For monitoring purposes, Amazon has come up with CloudWatch, a central real-time monitoring web service.
Besides these services, Amazon has introduced their own PaaS stack, called Elastic Beanstalk. It is essentially a bundle of existing services such as EC2, S3 and ELB and allows to deploy and scale Java-based web applications. Furthermore, there are additional services that cover business services such as accounting or billing.
The Google App Engine is a PaaS environment for web applications. It currently provides support for Python, Go and several JVM-based languages such as Java. Applications are hosted and executed in data centers managed by Google. One of its main features is the automatic scaling of the application. The deployment of the application is transparent for the user, and applications encountering high load will be automatically deployed to additional machines.
Google provides free usage quotas for the App Engine, limiting traffic, bandwidth, number of internal service calls and storage size among others. After exceeding these limits, users can decide to add billable resources and are thus getting charged for additional capacities.
The runtime environment of the application is sandboxed and several language features are restricted. For instance, JVM-based applications cannot spawn new threads, use socket connections and access the local file system. Furthermore, the execution of a request must not exceed a 30 seconds limit. This restrictions are enforced by modified JVMs and altered class libraries.
Besides an application container, the App Engine provides several services and components as part of the platform. They are accessible through a set of APIs. We will now have a brief look at the current Java API.
The Datastore API is the basic storage backend of the App Engine. It is schemaless object datastore, with support for querying and atomic transaction execution. Developers can access the datastore using Java Data Objects, Java Persistence API interfaces or via a special low-level API. A dedicated API provides support for asynchronous access to the datastore. For larger objects, and especially binary resources, the App Engine provides a Blobstore API. For caching purposes, the Memcache API can be used. Either using a low-level API or the JCache interface.
The Capabilities API enables programmatical access to scheduled service downtimes and can be used to develop applications that prepare for the unavailablity of capabilities automatically. The Multitenancy API provides support for multiple separated instances of an application running in the App Engine.
Images can be manipulated using the dedicated Images API. The Mail API allows the application to send and receive emails. Similarly, the XMPP API allows message exchange based on XMPP. The Channel API can be used to establish high-level channels with clients over HTTP and then push messages to them.
The Remote API opens an App Engine application for programmable access using an external Java application. Other web resources can be accessed using the URLFetch API.
Thanks to the Task Queue API, there is some support for tasks decoupled from request handling. Requests can add tasks to a queue, and workers asynchronously execute the background work. The Users API provides several means to authenticate users, including Google Accounts and OpenID identifiers.
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15 Oct 2009
Well I am sending some arrows from the indigenous (non violently of course) to promote climate action blog day
The real swindle is that current international efforts to deal with climate change...are based on carbon trading.
The bad news is most environmentalists are doing nothing to expose the fact that the up coming Copenhagen conference will cement a system that sells off the worlds rainforests, makes bankers rich and does nothing to cut emissions.
You will hear a lot of noise about climate change but the sad fact is that current approach is failing and like a train heading towards the abyss, time is all too short.
Those who say they want to pull the breaks are actually putting in more fuel.
Although there is much noise, media coverage and contributions from the great and the good from CEOs to globe trotting celebrities the global framework for dealing with climate change, has failed. Solutions that involve challenging business interests are unacceptable, because in a world dominated by the market, business interests are in charge. Everywhere the criterion for climate policy is based on potential impact on profit rather than effectiveness in protecting the environment and humanity from likely catastrophe. Cuts in fossil fuel production would be problematic for oil companies, so we have the bizarre spectacle of a media blizzard of news about climate change and politicians insisting they are taking action, together with a mad scramble to extract as much oil as possible as quickly as possible. The current system could be reformed, for example, secondary trading in complex carbon instruments could be outlawed, emission permits could be tightened so as to reduce emissions and fraud stamped out. However even with these changes the system would be full of flaws, as Kevin Smith has noted, 'Such schemes allow us to sidestep the most fundamentally effective response to climate change that we can take, which is to leave fossil fuels in the ground. This is by no means an easy proposition for our heavily fossil fuel dependent society; however, we all know it is precisely what is needed.' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6132826.stm.
There are battles raging across every continent of the world to stop oil and coal being extracted. Indigenous people are often at the centre of these struggles, concerned that extraction will damage the health of local citizens and wreck the environment, while cash flows to distant shareholders. Indigenous people also work hard to protect the rainforests and other carbon sinks vital for the conservation of the global environment. Rather than the failed policy of emissions trading action on climate change should start with these struggles around land rights and preservation. Rather putting bankers in charge of climate change, it would be better to give indigenous people a major say in decision-making, however they have been excluded from international climate conferences. In December 2007 indigenous people from Asia, Africa and Latin America, demonstrated outside the Bali, climate conference in Indonesia,
Surrounded by demonstrators wearing paper gags reading UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), Marcial Arias, one of Panama's Kuna people, made a passionate plea for the world to listen. "There are no name places for indigenous people, there are no seats for indigenous people," said Arias, referring to a UN conference in Bali, Indonesia on future plans for fighting climate change. "They want us to beg on our knees to be given the floor, but we have the right to participate," he said.
1. support the indigenous
2. support the climate camp
3. support the Vestas workers
so support the climate camp this weekend, cut carbon and put in renewables!
Posted by Derek Wall at 5:59 pm
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Germany and France are in a political saber-rattling with regard to the question whether the ECB should shift to a policy of large scale purchases of the PIIGS’ sovereign bonds via the creation of money. This would push down yields on for example Italian and Spanish government bonds, making it easier for these countries to tackle their economic difficulties. Without ECB support to lower yields, lowering debts and stimulating growth would be mission impossible. Such a policy would imply an expansion of the money supply, weakening the euro and probably leading to initially rising stock markets and long term bond yields for the stronger EMU countries.
France is a fervent advocate of such ECB policy, since a further drop in the prices of PIIGS’ sovereign bonds would drastically deteriorate the position of its banks. Were the ECB not to intervene, it is likely that many French banks would have to be nationalized. As a result the fiscal health of France would weaken and the country would loose its cherished AAA-status– as some credit rating agencies have already indicated –, making it the next victim in the euro crisis. More importantly still, the EFSF – the European emergency fund that should keep the weaker countries floating – would then see its fire power decline even further. This is something that Germany will want to prevent, but Germany nevertheless has two objections to ECB money printing:
The pragmatic German chancellor Merkel seems to be pursuing a strategy whereby new rules are being instituted to which EMU countries have to comply. These should guarantee a policy that focuses on stimulating growth and keeping debt controllable. One should expect proposals in this respect within one month or so, but the question remains whether all countries can indeed comply. Most likely, not all countries will be able to. This implies that financial markets will keep into account the possibility of one or more countries exiting the Eurozone. A result then is the large scale selling of especially peripheral government bonds, pushing interest rates North. Consequently, countries such as Italy and Spain would be facing mission impossible when it comes to controlling the debt burden and pursuing (on the short term costly) reforms that stimulate (long term) growth. Since this is not in the interest of Germany, it will allow the ECB to temporarily buy as many government bonds as necessary just to prevent the debt crisis from exploding.
This does mean that the euro will be under increasing downward pressure due to the ECB money printing policy and ongoing uncertainty with regard to Italy and Spain, which is stock market-negative and might mean that a bottom in long term bond yields for the stronger countries – most notably Germany – is near (given that investors are fleeing Europe and inflation fears are becoming more pronounced). In such a climate, EUR/USD could ascent to maximally 1,38 à 1,40, but in our view an immediate drop towards 1,315 and thereafter even towards 1,20 is more likely.
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||Where is Congress? It's way past time for members to stand up. Historic matters are at stake. The Constitution is being trampled, the very form of our government is being perverted, and nothing less than American democracy itself is endangered -- a presidential coup is taking place. I think of Barbara Jordan, the late congresswoman from Houston. On July 25, 1974, this powerful thinker and member of the House Judiciary Committee took her turn to speak during the Nixon impeachment inquiry.
"My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total," she declared in her thundering voice. "And I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction, of the Constitution."Where are the likes of Barbara Jordan in today's Congress? While the BushCheney regime continues to establish a supreme, arrogant, autocratic presidency in flagrant violation of the Constitution, members of Congress largely sit there as idle spectators -- or worse, as abettors of Bush's usurpation of their own congressional authority.
Why it matters
Separation of powers. Rule of law. Checks and balances. These may seem to us moderns to be little more than a set of dry, legal precepts that we had to memorize in high-school history class but need not concern us now. After all, the founders (bless their wigged heads!) established these principles for us back in 17-something-or-other, so we don't really have to worry about them in 2007. Think again. These are not merely arcane phrases of constitutional law, but the very keystones of our democracy, essential to sustaining our ideal of being a self-governing people, free of tyrants who would govern us on their own whim. The founders knew about tyranny. The monarch of the time, King George III, routinely denied colonists basic liberties, spied on them and entered their homes at will, seized their property, jailed anyone he wanted without charges, rounded up and killed dissidents, and generally ruled with an iron fist. He was both the law and above the law, operating on the twin doctrines of "the divine rule of kings" and "the king can do no wrong."
(Alert: Ready or not, the following is a high-school refresher course on American government. There will be a test.) At the front of the founders' minds was the necessity of breaking up the authority of their new government in order to avoid re-creating the autocracy they had just defeated. The genius of their structure was that legislating, administering, and judging were to be done by three separate but coequal branches, each with powers to check the other two, and none able to aggregate all three functions into its own hands (a result that James Madison called the very definition of tyranny). Just as important, to deter government by whim, all members of the three branches were to be subject to the laws of the land (starting with the Constitution and Bill of Rights), with no one above the law. As Thomas Paine said, "The law is king."
These were not legal niceties but core restraints designed to protect citizens from power grabs by ambitious autocrats. Such restrictions also make our country stronger by vetting policies through three entities rather than one. This balanced authority helps avoid many serious policy mistakes (or at least offers a chance to correct them later), and it is intended to prevent the one mistake that's fatal to democracy -- allowing one branch to seize the power to rule unilaterally.
Of course, sound schemes are oft screwed up by unsound leaders, and we've had some horrible hiccups over the years. John Adams went astray early in our democratic experiment by claiming the unilateral authority to imprison his political enemies; Abe Lincoln took it upon himself to suspend habeas corpus during the Civil War; Woodrow Wilson launched his notorious Palmer Raids; FDR rounded up and imprisoned Japanese-Americans; J. Edgar Hoover and the infamous COINTEL program spied on and arrested thousands in the Vietnam War years; and Ronnie Reagan ran his own illegal, secret war out of the White House basement.
In all these cases of executive excess and abuse, however, outrage flowed from the public, courts stood up to the White House, congressional investigations ensued, and the American system regained its balance relatively quickly. As Jefferson put it when he succeeded Adams and repealed the Alien and Sedition Acts, "Should we wander [from the essential principles of our government] in moments of error or alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety."
This time is different
Now, however, come two arrogant autocrats like we've never seen in the White House. George W and his snarling enabler, Dick Cheney, are making a power grab so unprecedented, so audacious, so broad and deep, so secretive, so stupefying, and so un-American that it has not yet been comprehended by the media, Congress, or the public. The dictionary defines "coup" not just as an armed takeover in some Third World country, but as "a sudden and decisive action in politics, especially one affecting a change of government illegally or by force."
Constantly waving the bloody flag of 9/11 and swaggering around in commander-in-chief garb, the BushCheney duo are usurping authority from Congress, the courts, and the people, while also asserting arbitrary power that does not belong to the presidency. Their coup is changing our form of government, rewriting the genius of the founders by imposing a supreme executive that functions in secret and insists that it is above the law, unaccountable either to congressional oversight or to judicial review.
As Al Gore pointed out in a powerful speech he gave last year (read it here), the BushCheney push for imperial power is much more dangerous and far-reaching than other presidential excesses for a couple of big reasons. First, the Bushites make no pretension that they want these powers only temporarily, instead contending that a super-powerful presidency is necessary to cope with a terrorist threat that they say will last "for the rest of our lives." Second, they are not merely pushing executive supremacy as a response to an outside threat, but as an ideological, right-wing theory of what they allege the Constitution actually meant to say.
Called the "unitary executive theory," this perverse, antidemocratic construct begs us to believe that the president has inherent executive powers that cannot be reviewed, questioned, or altered by the other branches. Bush himself has asserted that his executive power "must be unilateral and unchecked." Must? Extremist theorists aside, this effectively establishes an executive with arbitrary power over us. It creates the anti-America.
The list of Bushite excesses is long...and growing:
Their sweeping, secret program of warrantless spying on Americans -- in direct violation of a long-standing federal law intended to forestall such flagrant intrusions into people's privacy.
The usurpation of legislative authority by attaching "signing statements" to laws passed by Congress, openly asserting Bush's intention to disobey or simply ignore the laws. He has used this artifice to challenge over 1,150laws, even though the Constitution and the founders never conceived of such a dodge (signing statements were concocted by Ed Meese, Reagan's attorney general, and were pushed at that time by a young Reaganite lawyer who is now ensconced for life on the Supreme Court, Sam Alito).
Suspension of habeas corpus for anyone whom Bush deems to be an "enemy combatant"-allowing innocent people to be detained indefinitely in prison without charges or civil trial, subjected to abuse and even torture, and denied access to judicial review of their incarceration (thus usurping the power of the courts). The routine and illegal assertion of "executive privilege" to stonewall Congress's legitimate efforts to perform its constitutional obligation of executive oversight and to prevent the questioning of top officials engaged in outright violations of American law.
The assertion of a "state secrets" doctrine to prevent citizens and judges from pursuing legitimate lawsuits on the spurious grounds that even to have the executive's actions brought before the court would endanger national security and infringe on executive authority.
An ever-expanding grab bag of autocratic actions, including using "national security letters" to sidestep the courts and spy on American political groups and individuals with no connection at all to terrorism; censoring executive-branch employees and government information for political purposes and using federal officials and tax dollars to push the regime's political agenda; and, of course, outright lying to Congress and the public, including lying for the most despicable purpose of all -- putting our troops, our public treasury, and our nation's good name into a war based on nothing but hubris, oil, and ideological fantasies (including Bush's latest blatant lie that "progress" in Iraq warrants the killing and maiming of additional thousands of American troops -- none of whom comes from his family).
What we have is a lawless presidency. But our problem is not Bush. He is who he is -- a bonehead. He won't change, and why should he? He's getting away with his power grab! So he has no reason to step back, and every reason to keep pushing and to keep trying to institutionalize his coup.
Rather, our problem is those weaselly, wimpy, feckless members of Congress who have failed to confront the runaway executive, who have sat silent or (astonishingly) cheered and assisted as their own constitutional powers have been taken and their once-proud, coequal branch has been made subservient to the executive.
In the first six years of BushCheney, the Republican Congress operated as no more than a rubber stamp for the accretion of presidential power, shamelessly surrendering its own autonomy in a burst of mindless partisan zeal. Too many Democrats just went along, either buying the lies or being cowed by the unrelenting politics of fear and intimidation whipped up by Bush and Cheney. (The Bushites are still using these bullying tactics, as when they demanded this past summer that Congress legalize their illegal domestic spy program and CIA chief Mike McConnell warned publicly that "Americans are going to die" if Democrats failed to pass it.)
Which brings us to the new Congress run by Democrats. Where are they? Yes, I know they have only slim majorities and that the GOP uses veto threats, filibusters, and demagogic lies to fight them -- but, come on, suck it up! At least stop voting for "the diminution, the subversion, the destruction, of the Constitution." For example, the party now in charge did indeed cave in to Bush's summer demand that it legalize his warrantless spying on Americans (a Lowdowner sent an email to me saying he hopes Bush gets caught smoking pot, because then the Democrats will immediately legalize it).
The founders would be stunned that Congress has failed to assert itself. They saw checks and balances not as an option but as an obligation, a fundamental responsibility that goes to the very heart of each lawmaker's oath faithfully to support and defend the Constitution.
It's important to note that Congress is not a weak institution. It has powerful muscles to flex, including control of the purse, which Congress used in 1973 to tell Nixon, "No, we will not provide money for you to extend the Vietnam War into Laos and Cambodia." Nixon had to back off. Legislators also have clear constitutional mandates to oversee, probe, and expose presidential actions (remember the extensive Fulbright hearings in the '60s and the Church investigations of the '70s, for example). Members of Congress have wide-ranging subpoena power, as well as something called "inherent contempt" power to make their own charges against outlaw executive officials and to hold their own trials. And, of course, they have impeachment power -- which the founders saw not only as a way to remove an outlaw president (or veep or cabinet officer), but also as a means to compel a recidivist constitutional violator to come before the bar of Congress and to be held accountable. The process itself, even if it does not lead to conviction in the Senate, is educational and chastening, putting the executive branch back in its place.
None of this is about making a partisan attack on BushCheney. It's really not about them at all. Rather, Congress must find its backbone because our democracy cannot function without a vigilant legislative branch. Outlaw presidents must finally leave office, but their precedents live beyond them if left unchecked. As historian Arthur Schlesinger wrote of the power-grabbing Nixon administration, "If the Nixon White House escaped the legal consequences of its illegal behavior, why would future presidents not suppose themselves entitled to do [the same]?"
Bang pots and pans
Sam Adams, the organizer of the Boston Tea Party, knew that it is the citizenry itself that ultimately has to do the heavy lifting of democracy building. "If ever a time should come when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats of government," he declared, "our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin."
That's us. And now is that time.
What can we do? We can do what millions have been doing-only more of it, more insistently, more loudly, more creatively. Our friend Molly Ivins, just before she died this year, urged us to start "banging pots and pans" to make the bastards hear us. Raise a ruckus through street demonstrations, peace actions, visits (and/or confrontations) with lawmakers, political campaigns, alliances with military families, religious ceremonies, coalitions with constitutional conservatives, outreach to young people, and grassroots media action, including blogs, email blasts, call-in radio, letters to editors, op-eds, bumperstickers, and whatever you've got. Make a mighty noise.
Don't forget our friends in office. Such Democrats as John Conyers, Henry Waxman, Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey, Russ Feingold, Pat Leahy, and Dennis Kucinich are all over Bush and Cheney with investigations, subpoenas, censure motions, impeachment bills, and exposes -- not only on the war, but most emphatically on constitutional abuses. Thank them, find out what you can do to help them, demand that your own Congress critter join them.
And here's a creative idea from Garret Keizer. I have no idea who he is, but he wrote a punchy piece in the October issue of Harper's Magazine (read it here) that I like and that Lowdowners might want to embrace. He's calling for a general strike. Not by unions, but by us-you and me. As a symbolically appropriate day, he suggests the first Tuesday of November, the traditional date for our elections -- this year, Nov. 6. He dubs it "The Feast of the Hanging Chads."
A general strike means that We The People, as many of us as possible, would disobey the inept, corrupt, undemocratic (add your own adjective here) system by withholding our presence at for least one day. Don't go to work. Stay home. Better yet, take some political action. Also, don't go to the mall, the supermarket, or the bank; don't use your credit card or make any commercial transaction. This would be the ultimate affront to the corporate president who so pathetically told us after 9/11 that our highest patriotic response to the attack was to "go shopping." So don't fly, use your cell phone (hard, I know), watch TV, or otherwise participate. Sometimes, silence is the loudest sound of all. As Keizer says, "As long as we're willing to go on with our business, Bush and Cheney will feel free to go on with their coup."
On one level, the strike is against the war, against Bush thumbing his nose at the American majority that has already emphatically said -- OUT! -- and against the Democratic leadership that can't seem to muster the will to rein in the Bush administration. On another level, however, this is a strike for the Constitution, a strike against the betrayal of the rule of law and our democratic ideals. It's a strike for the America we thought this was. It's an affirmation that the people are the only "larger force" that can stop the BushCheney coup and make America whole again.
From "The Hightower Lowdown," edited by Jim Hightower and Phillip Frazer, October 2007. Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker and author of Thieves In High Places: They've Stolen Our Country and It's Time to Take It Back.
© 2007 Independent Media Institute
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The PDF Search Engine A PDF file is read by all the browsers on the web. In a PDF file you can store information as your requirement. But there lies a problem with it. PDF files can be read easily by an expert but while searching the file online it creates great problem to the reader. Keeping this point in view the developers of the software have invented software that can easily search many files at a time. It is nothing but a search engine that creates a cache of great number of PDF files at a time and represents you better choice of PDF files with just a mere click.
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Hume, the mind, and the world
(Reflections on Peter Kail’s Projection and Realism in Hume’s Philosophy. Oxford, 2007.)
In the first part, Kail shows that Hume’s account of how we come to believe in external objects is parallel to his account of how we come to believe in God. In both cases, we begin by experiencing changing sets of impressions. The instability and unreliability of the change unsettles us, and we seek psychological relief. We find that relief in positing the existence of something unchanging that is somehow causally responsible for the changes we experience. And thus we come to believe in an unseen world of stable objects, or in unseen spiritual forces, as ways of assuring ourselves that all is not as fleeting as it appears.
Of course, if we recognize what’s going on, we lose our confidence in those beliefs. But typically we don’t know what’s going on, and some of us even go on to construct sophisticated theories about the natures of external bodies, or of God, and in these extended efforts we just make ourselves look silly, according to Hume. As Kail writes, “Both sophisticated beliefs are ‘monstrous’ and ‘absurd’, while the primitive beliefs are instead ‘natural’ and merely false” (73). And if those are the choices, then better to be natural and false than monstrous and absurd.
In the second part, Kail takes on Hume’s view of causality. Hume is widely read as claiming that we really don’t have any evidence whatsoever for believing that events are conjoined to one another by bonds of metaphysical causal glue; at the very most, we are merely conditioned by our experience to expect patterns of seeming causality to recur; and so, while it is quite natural that we should end up believing in causal regularities, we really don’t have any good reason for doing so. In short, we have no good reason to expect causal laws to persist, but we can’t help ourselves.
Kail joins the ‘skeptical realist’ readers of Hume in saying that this reading misses something. It is right about our not having any evidence whatsoever for metaphysical causal glue. But, according to this reading, our lacking evidence doesn’t mean that really there isn’t any metaphysical causal glue; it means only that we don’t have any evidence for it. In fact, there are plenty of passages which seem to imply that Hume thinks there is metaphysical causal glue after all, this despite our not having any cognitive access to its existence. For example, from the Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (5.2.22): “We are ignorant of those powers and forces, on which this regular course and succession of objects totally depends.” And there are several other passages which similarly imply that there really are powers we are not seeing.
This raises a puzzle: just how does Hume have any idea of what he is talking about? Kail suggests that it would not be inconsistent for Hume to claim that while we don’t have detailed knowledge of metaphysical causal glue, we can at least know what it would be like to have this knowledge: it would be to be able to see the effect in its cause, to be able to somehow see why the effect had to come about, given the cause. In short, we can have “the Bare Thought” of causal necessity, even if we do not have knowledge of it, or even a clear idea of what it is. So Hume can consistently believe that there is genuine causality, and we do not have any good knowledge of it.
But what then would motivate Hume to believe in this glue that he has no way of knowing? Here is where things get interesting. According to Galen Strawson (The Secret Connexion), Hume was just too sensible a fellow to take seriously the view that there really isn’t any genuine causality. Perhaps, as he writes, it simply never occurred to him to make much of an effort defending such a basic belief. In fact, Hume made the firmness of his belief pretty clear in a letter to a friend in 1754:
“But allow me to tell you, that I never asserted so absurd a Proposition as that anything might arise without a cause: I only maintain’d, that our Certainty of the Falshood of that Proposition proceeded neither from Intuition nor Demonstration: but from another Source” (quoted by Galen Strawson in The Secret Connexion, p. 5).
Kail helps to show what this other Source is. As experience unfolds, we become so accustomed to seeing A then B, A then B, A then B, that we start to infer B-type events from A-type events. Then we make a mistake: we mistake the naturalness of our inference for an insight into a metaphysical necessity. “So the necessary connection depends on the inference, rather than the inference depending on the necessary connection” (108).
But it’s all still a mistake, then, isn’t it? Or, better, it is a lucky mistake, since even though our belief isn’t based on any reason or experience, it nevertheless ends up matching what’s really out there (according to the skeptical realist Hume). Would it be better still to say that our belief ends up matching what Hume himself can’t help but believe is out there?
I think this question brings us to what I call a “dual focus” in Hume’s epistemology. He’s trying to do two things at once, and they don’t quite line up. First, he is offering a “systems approach” to human cognition, explaining how the mind ideally should work as it manufactures ideas out of sensory impressions. If you built a pure Humean system and set it running, the system would never gain an idea of external objects, or of God, or of genuine causal connections. (It also would never become superstitious or have any moral feelings.) Then, secondly, Hume is offering a “natural approach” of understanding the place of humans in the world – we are in the same league as other animals, and because of our animal nature (our imagination, and our passions) we end up believing all kinds of things to which reason itself is blind. In developing this second account, Hume has to rely on causality, as obviously there is no making sense of our place in the world without it.
I think the incoherence of these two approaches becomes apparent in Hume’s discussion of causality in the Enquiry. He first sets out to demonstrate that experience and reason do not give us any evidence for genuine causal connections. Then he turns to explaining why we think there is causality, and his answer is: custom (or, what is the same, conditioning). But custom/conditioning is itself inherently a causal notion: repeated exposure to patterns causes us to expect them to continue into the future. He is taking an element from his naturalizing project to answer a question in his systematic project, and it just can’t do the work it is supposed to do.
It is precisely this incoherence which finally allows Hume to be untroubled by his own skepticism. He proves to himself that we are unjustified in our most important beliefs about the world. But this troubles him only in his philosophical study. As soon as he leaves the study, and goes out to play backgammon and billiards, the acute consciousness of the skeptical man recedes, and he gets on with a natural life. And he realizes that this is the human condition. The examined life makes living impossible. The unexamined life is where we belong.
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The recession may have sliced into cosmetic surgery profits, but, according to a recent survey released by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS), more people of color are going under the knife. More than half of those surveyed said cosmetic surgery has become more popular in their racial or ethnic group over the past five years. (The study measured perception of popularity, not actual numbers of patients.)
Naturally, the AACS is pleased by these results. "Cosmetic surgery is en vogue no matter who you are," said Mark Berman, MD, president of the AACS. "Feeling better about yourself and making improvements to your looks is thankfully not limited to a specific race or culture," he added.
Thankfully? Sigh. While yes, people of all shapes, sizes, and appearances can feel better about themselves, doing so doesn't require cosmetic surgery. We take a to-each-her-own approach at BellaSugar, but I wonder why surgery is perceived as more popular. (When Asian-American women have eyelid surgery, for instance, it's sometimes done to make the eyes look more Caucasian — not exactly the most self-loving reason to go under the knife.) What's your take on the study's findings?
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Washington’s DuPont Circle may now be a posh address for lawyers and diplomats—and 4,000 Starbucks outlets—but it was once a bohemian hotseat for intellectuals.
To rebuild the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast, Mississippi’s governor picked a panel of vaunted New Urbanists to submit plans. But is their nostalgia for small-town America appropriate, nevermind prepared for the task?
Whether or not the new head of FEMA knows what’s best for New Orleans is a matter of concern—at least for the one person who knows he knows what’s best for the city. Presenting a manifesto, a proposal, a parvum opus from one Mr. Ignatius J. Reilly.
Even in the face of disaster, life finds a way. But how long can we afford to flout forces beyond our control and live on unsteady ground? And what are we willing to pay? Our writer sends a dispatch from New Orleans.
Did David Childs really steal his Freedom Tower design from a Yale student? And can you call that stealing, or just the way the business works? Our critic explains how plagiarism exists in architecture, and why there actually should be more of it.
Great buildings deserve strong guardians and even stronger PR, and so do bad buildings apparently, as shown in the case of 2 Columbus Circle.
In the fourth installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer, who is living in Edinburgh for a year, visits Italy, where she marvels at people and architecture, and can never seem to elude those church bells.
The plan for the Sept. 11 memorial at the World Trade Center site is nearly finished, but what good is a design competition when we’re still trying to decipher the meaning of the event?
In recent years public architecture has a bad record in New York, especially after the uglification of modernism. Why then are people not paying more attention to Ground Zero?
Within the halls of Washington, D.C., lurks a stench of unsolved crimes, muttering highwaymen, and altogether strange behavior. Our writer peers into the capital’s dark corners.
New York City is a collection of islands, and one, Hart Island, is completely inaccessible, possibly because it’s reserved for the dead. A report on the home of potter’s field and an abandoned missile base.
Barring Times Square, nighttime New York is awash in a warm glow. Who do we thank for this? Why, our streetlamps! Investigating the rich history of light in the city.
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It depends a lot on what you mean by 'vipassana'. A lot of Theravada teachers and branches have very different ideas of what that is. I think for most uses of 'vipassana' it represent a fairly different technique from Silent Illumination.
Vipassana tends to be analytical and Silent Illumination eschews analytical meditation as being too conceptual. When it's not quite analytical and focuses more on recognising the three marks of existence for insight, this is still conceptual from a Zen pov, because it employs signs and has an object of meditation.
There are some forms of Vipassana, such as taught in the Thai forest tradition, that are fairly similar to Silent Illumination. When I stayed at Wat Pah Nanachat, they told me that sometimes they would simply hand beginners with little previous experience with meditation a copy of "Zen mind, beginners Mind." It was more or less what they were doing, but it's not written in the terse and formulaic language as the pali suttas, which required a bit of work to get into.
But even so, though the method is similar in many ways, I think the embedded context is fairly different. What I mean by that is that in Theravada, you practise for cessation. This non-doing, awareness is meant to liberate you from affliction and eventually cease them, culminating in full enlightenment. In Silent Illumination, affliction and bodhi are considered non-dual and the focus is really more on enacting and integrating this nondual enlightenment than to liberate affliction. Hence in Zen, 'one enlightened thought makes you a Buddha, one deluded thought the equal of a sentient being'. But in equipoise there are no distinctions of affliction and enlightenment made, nor is it done with a view to attain something since that equipoise is itself manifesting buddhahood (ie, the old adage 'you are already there'). Of course there is some background expectation that one's afflictions will be liberated through this process (we practise, after all, to be free), but it's not emphasised to the extent that it is allowed to get in the way of the nondual view. The context is not quite the same and these differences in view make some difference to the method as well, imo.
That is more or less how I see it anyway. Others will no doubt offer other opinions. I hope this goes some way towards answering your question at least.
"Even if my body should be burnt to death in the fires of hell
I would endure it for myriad lifetimes
As your companion in practice"
--- Gandavyuha Sutra
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KPRC to aid in medical research
May 27, 2009 10:19AM
The Kansas Bioscience Authority recently awarded a $4 million grant to kick-start these efforts, led by the newly formed Center of Innovation for Biomaterials in Orthopedic Research and involving researchers at PSU, K-State, Wichita State and others. Via Christi Health System organized the new center, which they say will create thousands of jobs in the Wichita area.
Steve Robb, director of the Kansas Polymer Research Center, said the goal is to make sturdier yet lighter materials that can be used for any number of medical purposes.
“We use bio-based composites, made by combining other materials,” Robb said. “These will be used either for medical instruments or possibly equipment like operating tables and other things that are in used in hospitals now that are made totally from steel. Eventually they will be made by materials that are lighter in weight but stronger than steel.”
Robb said these bio-based composite materials will prove especially helpful to hospitals treating heavier patients.
“You read about the obesity epidemic in the U.S.,” Robb said. “The patients are getting heavier and heavier, so the materials need to be stronger, and in order to move them around, they need to be lighter with the patients on them.”
Heavier patients are often those also in need of joint replacements – something Robb would like to see tackled one day by KPRC scientists.
“One of the goals of this center is to replace the metal hips and knees with a composite material that would allow the bone to grow into the composite material and form a joint,” Robb said. “Right now there is a barrier between the bone and the steel, and they can cement it in place, but that bond will only last about 15 years.”
For now, Robb said the KPRC is awaiting its first assignment from the Center of Innovation. He expects it to arrive within two or three months.
“The way this works is that they will develop projects in Wichita, and when it’s going to involve composite materials, they will give that assignment to us,” he said. “It’s exciting to think about what we’ll be working on.”
The Kansas Polymer Research Center is one of the world's leading centers specializing in vegetable oil-based polymer research and development. KPRC scientists work with industrial partners, state and federal agencies, and producer associations on developing and commercializing PSU's intellectual property.
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An anonymous reader tips a piece in Australian Geographic indicating that Pluto may be in for another demotion, as researchers work to define dwarf planets more exactly. "[Australian researchers] now argue that the radius which defines a dwarf planet should instead be from 200–300 km, depending on whether the object is made of ice or rock. They base their smaller radius on the limit at which objects naturally form a spherical rather than potato-like shape because of 'self-gravity.' Icy objects less than 200 km (or rocky objects less than 300 km) across are likely to be potato shapes, while objects larger than this are spherical. ... They call this limit the 'potato radius' ... [One researcher is quoted] 'I have no problem with there being hundreds of dwarf planets eventually.'"
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A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by the nations of Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with demi-culverin.
Galleons were an evolution of the caravel and carrack (also a nao or nau: Spanish and Portuguese respectively for "vessel), for the new great ocean going voyages. A lowering of the forecastle and elongation of the hull gave an unprecedented level of stability in the water, and reduced wind resistance at the front, leading to a faster, more maneuverable vessel. The galleon differed from the older types primarily by being longer, lower and narrower, with a square tuck stern instead of a round tuck, and by having a snout or head projecting forward from the bows below the level of the forecastle. In Portugal at least, carracks were usually very large ships for their time (often over 1000 tons), while galleons were mostly under 500 tons, although the Manila galleons were to reach up to 2000 tons. Carracks tended to be lightly armed and used for transporting cargo, while galleons were purpose-built warships, and were stronger, more heavily armed, and also cheaper to build (5 galleons could cost around the same as 3 carracks) and were therefore a much better investment for use as warships. There are nationalistic disputes about the origin of the galleon, which are complicated by its evolutionary development, but each Atlantic sea-power developed types suited to their needs, while constantly learning from their rivals.
The galleon was powered entirely by sail, carried on three to five masts, with a lateen sail continuing to be used on the last (usually third) mast. They were used in both military and trade applications, most famously in the Spanish treasure fleet, and the Manila Galleons. In fact, galleons were so versatile that a single vessel may have been refitted for wartime and peacetime roles several times during its lifespan. The galleon was the prototype of all three or more masted, square rigged ships, for over two and a half centuries, including the later full rigged ship.
The principal warships of the opposing English and Spanish fleets in the 1588 confrontation of the Spanish Armada were galleons, with the modified English "race built" galleons developed by John Hawkins proving decisive, while the capacious Spanish galleons, designed primarily as transports for long ocean voyages, proved incredibly durable in the battles and in the great storm on the voyage home; most survived.
Galleons were constructed from oak (for the keel), pine (for the masts) and various hardwoods for hull and decking. Hulls were usually carvel-built. The expenses involved in galleon construction were enormous. Hundreds of expert tradesmen (including carpenters, pitch-melters, blacksmiths, coopers, shipwrights, etc.) worked day and night for months before a galleon was seaworthy. To cover the expense, galleons were often funded by groups of wealthy businessmen who pooled resources for a new ship. Therefore, most galleons were originally consigned for trade, although those captured by rival nations were usually put into military service.
Because of the long periods often spent at sea and poor conditions on board, much of the crew often perished during the voyage; therefore advanced rigging systems were developed so that the vessel could be sailed home by an active sailing crew a fraction of the size aboard at departure.
With the evolution from the galleon to the ship of the line, the long straight beak-head became curved, shorter and more upright, jib sails were added, and eventually the lateen-rigged mizzenmast was replaced with square sails and a spanker sail. As the practice of boarding was reduced, the fore and aft castles became shorter to improve maneuverability.
The galleon continued to be used until the early 18th century, when better designed and purpose-built vessels such as the fluyt, brig and the ship of the line rendered it obsolete for trade and warfare respectively.
FORMER MCKINSEY DIRECTOR PLEADS GUILTY IN MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT TO INSIDER TRADING WITH GALLEON HEDGE FUND MANAGER
Jan 09, 2010; NEW YORK, Jan. 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Investigation New York Field Office issued the following...
FORMER MCKINSEY DIRECTOR PLEADS GUILTY IN MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT TO INSIDER TRADING WITH GALLEON HEDGE FUND MANAGER.
Jan 07, 2010; NEW YORK, NY -- The following information was released by the New York Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation: PREET...
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A crisis that shook French politics and society to their foundations. In December 1894 Captain Alfred Dreyfus (b. 1859, d. 1935), a Jewish officer from Alsace on the General Staff of the French Army, was convicted of treason by a military court for passing on military secrets to the Germans. Since the leaking of information continued, the new chief of the French intelligence service, Colonel Picquart, established that the culprit was not Dreyfus, but one Commandant Esterházy. The army refused to reopen the case, and Picquart received a posting to Tunisia. His successor began to manufacture evidence to prove Dreyfus's guilt, but meanwhile so many questions had been raised in public that a trial of Esterházy became inevitable. The latter's acquittal in a farcical trial spurred the famous novelist Émile Zola into action. He attacked the army's actions against Dreyfus in an open letter under the title J'accuse (‘I accuse’) on 13 December 1898. Yet it was not until a change of President (Loubet for Faure) and of Prime Minister (Waldeck‐Rousseau for Dupuy) that a retrial became possible. In August 1899, Dreyfus was still found guilty, but ‘with extenuating circumstances’, and his sentence was reduced to ten years. In response, Dreyfus received a presidential pardon, but it was not until 1906 that he was fully rehabilitated and reinstated in the army.
The affair revealed the deep anti‐Semitism that permeated every social strata in France and led to widespread disturbances at the height of the affair, in 1898. For the following decades, it polarized French society, which had just begun to overcome its political divisions, into a right wing hostile to the Republic and supported by popular Catholicism, which rallied around anti‐Semitism, and a left wing which had (generally) advocated Dreyfus's acquittal, and which rallied behind the Republic.
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Bligh: William Bligh in the South Seas
- Anne Salmond
- University of California Press
- 528 pp.
- Reviewed by Robert Knight
- October 19, 2011
An examination of Captain William Bligh’s three Pacific voyages yields a detailed portrait of a complex man.
Reviewed by Robert M. Knight
Captain William Bligh. The name sails through the ether and lands in our imaginations, representing sort of an inept, smalltime Saddam Hussein.
In makes and remakes of “Mutiny on the Bounty,” Bligh (1754-1817) was portrayed by actors as diverse in style as Charles Laughton, Trevor Howard and Anthony Hopkins. This should be a clue that he wasn’t all Saddam, but that he provided those around him with an array of traits, many of them admirable. Laughton was blustery, Howard properly military and Hopkins thoughtful and perhaps devious.
It is this complex Bligh that New Zealand scholar Anne Salmond explores through about 500 pages of dense prose in Bligh: William Bligh in the South Seas; Bligh the man, as well as the South Pacific islands and islanders he got to know so well.
Salmond ties the whole man — the good, the bad, the apparently schizoid — to a review of the whole of Polynesian culture, especially that of Tahiti. She examines not only Bligh’s second 1787 naval voyage to the Pacific, which was scarred by mutiny, but the other two. (On the first he witnessed the murder of Captain James Cook by Hawaiian islanders.)
A recognized authority on Polynesian history and culture, Salmond goes into some detail describing how the islanders lived and how they treated the British sailors who stopped by. But, as the title implies, it is Salmond’s detailed portrait of Bligh himself that characterizes — literally — this book.
He was a tyrant who could not hold his temper; his officers suffered most from his tyranny. Bligh was a miser who was said to occasionally skim the best of the victuals and supplies allotted to his crew for himself or his family. And he did indeed ride his chief mate, Fletcher Christian, to distraction and eventually mutiny with his peevishness. His sailors called him “the Don.”
But Salmond points out that he took care of his crew, making sure their breakfast gruel was warm and balanced with sauerkraut, dried cabbage and portable soup to prevent scurvy and pellagra.
“Spruce beer alternated with grog, and the ship was kept meticulously clean and warm, with fires burning in both cockpits (which made it intolerably smoky below),” Salmond writes.
Bligh’s men did admire his seamanship. He was considered one of the best chart makers in the British Navy. “It was when his superiority was challenged or his high standards were not met — especially by his immediate subordinates — that he became quick to insist upon his authority,” she writes.
Further, Salmond writes that although Bligh’s language and manner were rough, they were most likely no rougher than those of other ships’ captains in the late 18th century, and he had his seamen flogged much less than the average captain.
At least some of Bligh’s temper might have been the result of persistent headaches, which plagued him throughout each voyage. And HMS Bounty turned out to be much too small for the task it was set out to do: harvest breadfruit and transport it to the British slave colonies in the Caribbean. Even the “Great Cabin,” which was “the captain’s sanctum and symbol of his authority,” had become a greenhouse. Nor did he have a detachment of marines, which quelled disturbances on bigger ships.
Gauging from his letters home, which Salmond says she inspected thoroughly, it was obvious that Bligh adored his wife and their two daughters. They remained loyal to him not only during the Bounty mutiny, but during a similar incident 20 years later when he was governor of Australia’s New South Wales.
He treated the islanders with respect and was curious about their society. He learned their language and “made a particular study of Tahiti; and in his charts and sketches, as well as the surviving logs and journals, made many irreplaceable observations, fostered by a close relationship with his ‘family,’ the Pomare clan, and a confidence that Sir Joseph Banks, his patron back in Britain, would cherish any detail he could glean about life in those islands.” Salmond calls him a “pioneering ethnographer.”
Her own waters get a little murky at times as the reader tries to figure out who was doing what to whom, where, and keep track of the myriad names and relationships, genetic and otherwise, among the cheerful, generous, promiscuous and sometimes brutal Tahitians and Tongans.
She does, however, use previously unpublished research to fill in many gaps of understanding about Bligh’s apparently bipolar personality and about the islanders who fascinated him — and us.
Robert Knight is the author of Journalistic Writing: Building the Skills, Honing the Craft (Marion Street Press 2010). A veteran journalist, he taught at Northwestern University and Gettysburg College.
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Maybe your friend or family member is acting reckless. Maybe they feel hopeless. Or maybe they've made it clear that they are thinking about committing suicide.
If so, there is help available.
"Talking about it, that's the best way to deal with it," Nick Polites, a therapist at Lighthouse Counseling Services Inc. in Henderson, said about the topic of suicide.
"The more that you are able to talk about it, the better that is for everybody."
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and if you have a friend or loved one who is in trouble, here are eight common suicidal risk factors to keep in mind, according to Centerstone, a non-profit mental health and addiction services provider:
Expressing or communicating about suicide, death or personal harm.
Increased substance abuse.
Feeling no sense of purpose or hope.
Anxiety, agitation or trouble sleeping.
Withdrawal from friends, family, society and regular activities.
Rage, or uncontrolled anger.
Acting reckless or engaging in risky activities.
Dramatic mood changes.
"With those eight different factors, you don't just have one of them and become suicidal," Polites said.
"It's when there are three, four, five of them — that's when it takes place. When more of those factors are present, that's when there becomes more of a chance that that's going to be the result. That's when it becomes really dangerous."
Martie Gregory, a guidance counselor in the blue unit of Henderson County High School, was in charge of Suicide Prevention Week at the high school last week.
The program was focused on educating students and staff on recognizing the warning signs of youth suicide and how to help a friend, family member or loved one.
"Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth and young adults in Kentucky, yet it is seldom talked about until a tragedy occurs," Gregory said. "We are taking steps to be proactive in the fight against youth suicide and taking the 'silent' out of this silent epidemic."
That means that students were informed about the importance of suicide awareness and how to identify a friend who may be hurting. Students were also encouraged to have a game plan to help that friend, and that, most importantly, they should be part of the solution.
Gregory said students were also provided with statistical data, signs of concern, elevated risk factors and steps for intervention.
Teachers at County High also participated in a two-hour professional development course focusing on the same information.
Polites added that while it may be hard to talk with someone who is considering suicide, the best thing is to let that person know that you know they are having problems and that you want to help them address their issues in the best ways possible.
That may mean sitting down and talking with them about how they feel, or it may mean asking them who they trust to ask for help.
"There's kind of this old thought that you can't talk to someone about suicide because it's going to give them the idea to do it," Polites said. "That's absolutely wrong."
He said the emphasis should be on stopping people from harming themselves.
Polites has been with Lighthouse Counseling Services for about 3 1/2 years but has worked in the mental health field for a total of seven years.
He said that along with Lighthouse Counseling Services, which can be reached at 826-8761, there is also River Valley Behavioral Health at 1-800-769-4920.
There is also the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, which is staffed 24 hours per day. Its website is www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
Another website that promotes awareness about youth suicide is www.jasonfoundation.com
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What happens when the parents are home alone instead of the children?
[Note: This review has been expanded since the original post.]
The Empty Nest: 31 Parents Tell the Truth About Relationships, Love, and Freedom After the Kids Fly the Coop. Edited by Karen Stabiner. Hyperion/Voice, 320 pp., $23.95.
By Janice Harayda
Just last week, a professor of family studies told the Washington Post that the idea of the empty-nest syndrome has been pretty much debunked by scholars. Some parents, she added, feel more regret than others when children leave home. But “it’s not a widespread syndrome” now that e-mail and cell phones make it easier to keep in touch.
Other scholars have found that – contrary to the idea that mothers feel the most pain when the nest empties – men have more problems than women when children leave home. Women expect the departure of children to be difficult, so they plan (and often grieve in advance) for it. Men are less likely to see the event as a major transition, so they don’t prepare as well and express more regrets about lost opportunities to connect with their offspring.
Then why do we need a book that perpetuates some of the ideas scholars have debunked, especially when only seven of 31 contributors are men? Ellen Levine, a former editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping, says that mothers still have a hard time with separations from their children: “The dads … no problem.” Yet the idea that fathers have “no problem” with separations is exactly what a growing number of scholars – and some men in this book — dispute. If fathers don’t show their grief, all those repressed emotions may catch up with them when the children leave home for good.
A clue to the purpose of The Empty Nest comes from the publisher, which has tagged it “self-help/inspiration.” This is a bizarre label for an essay collection that, with its mix of dread and tears, reads at times like a cross between a Stephen King novel and Paris Hilton’s weepy courtroom outburst on getting sent back to jail.
Editor Karen Stabiner sets the tone when she writes that it will be “intolerable” when her daughter goes to college. Martha Schuur says she sank into “uncontrollable crying” when she dropped her firstborn off at school. Jamie Wolf felt “perpetual despair” when her daughter moved from California to New York. Hilary Mills “dreaded” her son’s “panic-inducing” departure, which became “bleakest day” of her marriage. Fran Visco knows that she could do things like going to Canyon Ranch now that her son’s away, but she’s too “brokenhearted” and lets herself “wallow in the sadness.” An unintentionally comical scene comes from Grace Saltzstein, who began “freaking out” after installing her daughter in an apartment at UCLA. What had unhinged her? Her daughter’s roommates had gotten to the place first … and left her the top bunk! And only one drawer! To judge by survivors’ accounts, many people who went down with the Titanic showed more fortitude as the ship sank than some contributors to The Empty Nest did as they sent their children off to the kind of colleges that provide students with maid service and Asian-fusion meals.
As if to comfort themselves in their trials, an alarming number of writers abandon any qualms they may have had about bragging about their children. Schuur wants you to know that her daughter Kelly is “pure goodness, always there for family and friends.” Glynna Freeman tells us that she has raised “three bright, beautiful, and really nice people.” Annette Duffy reports that if she “mourned” when her son Ben went to school, she was grieving for a child who was “handsome as the day” and “a nationally ranked freestyler.” Fabiola Santiago says that her daughter got into “the top university in our state,” but Susan Crandell one-ups her by pointing out that her child got into “one of the top schools in the country.” Perhaps the most perceptive comment in this book appears in an e-mail Charles “Chip” McGrath got after he wrote a piece for The New Yorker, reprinted in The Empty Nest, about dropping his son off at college. “It’s interesting, and typical, that people who love their children very much approach this moment in their children’s lives with almost total self-absorption,” his correspondent wrote. Almost total?
A striking aspect of many of the women’s stories — more so than in the men’s — is how unwilling their authors are to explore whether anything might be causing their pain except for a child’s departure. Did some women regret having worked so hard and not spending more time with their children? Did they have problems in their marriages and dread spending time alone with a spouse? Did they feel a spiritual void, having made motherhood into a surrogate religion? If so, they aren’t telling. Nor are they telling whether they drank, took Paxil or Prozac or went into therapy, even though some of their symptoms resemble those of clinical depression.
Good statistics on the divorce rate among people over 50 are hard to find, partly because many states don’t record the ages of couples who split up. But experts generally agree that it’s going up, partly because baby boomers’ children are leaving home, and in every generation, many couples wait to separate until the nest empties. Yet not one of the 31 contributors reports that his or her marriage took a serious hit when a child left. Maybe it’s true. Or maybe this is a “feel good about feeling bad book” that legitimizes lesser problems while sweeping bigger ones under the rug.
Stabiner seems to have tried to deflect criticism that this book promotes stereotypes of women by recruiting some feminist firepower. And to a degree, it works. Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Anna Quindlen and Ellen Goodman rise above solipsism in their essays and try put empty nests in a social context. Pogrebin says that her stage of life has advantages: “Not having to worry about where your children are at two in the morning frees you up to worry about global warming.” Quindlen argues, rightly, that her generation has “professionalized” motherhood, but goes around the bend when she concludes that for this reason, “the empty nest is emptier than every before.” No, Anna, your nest will not be “emptier” than that of women like Rochelle Reed’s grandmother, who sent four sons into World War II; one son, Reed writes, “was eaten by sharks after his plane crashed during a South Pacific monsoon.”
Of all the contributors, Goodman grapples most effectively with an issue at the heart of The Empty Nest: Isn’t this book a throwback to the 1950s? Isn’t the departure of children less traumatic now that women have more professional opportunities? Goodman says that she used to think mothers who had rewarding work “might avoid the cliché of an empty-nest syndrome.” But she doubts it now that her daughter has lived away from home for two decades. In her 60s, Goodman hasn’t lost her desire to integrate work and family, so she has revised her juggling act to accommodate a grandchild and stepgrandchild: “Think of it as Juggling Lite.” Her young relations are happy with the arrangement. So the question – for Goodman as for many other parents — has changed. It is no longer “How can I avoid the empty-nest syndrome?” It is, simply, “What empty nest?”
Despite such worthy essays, much of this book remains disheartening. The second wave of feminists fought passionately to show employers and others that women didn’t wallow in emotion but could remain tough and level-headed in the most difficult circumstances. On the evidence of The Empty Nest women are reclaiming their right to wallow. This a book in the Oprah mold, which ascribes more authenticity to experiences the more painful they are. Gloria Steinem used to say that many women were “man junkies.” And like much of our culture as a whole, The Empty Nest leaves the impression that some have become “child junkies” instead. Is it really a step forward to have traded one addiction for another?
Best line: Anna Quindlen’s: “Motherhood has changed from a role into a calling. Our poor kids.” The best overall essays come from McGrath, Goodman and Roxana Robinson.
Worst line: Anna Quindlen’s: “The end result is that the empty nest is emptier than ever before …” Apart from its off-the-wall implication that today’s stay-at-home investment bankers have it worse than parents who saw their children get drafted during the Vietnam War or look for jobs during the Depression, that “end result” is painful, too.
Caveat lector: The review was based on the advance readers’ edition. Some material in the finished book may differ.
Conflict alert: I’ve had encounters with a number of contributors to this book that other critics might or might not see as conflicts. For example, I used to be in a writers’ group with Ellen Goodman’s sister, whom I haven’t seen in nearly 20 years. All the other encounters are all similarly distant.
Reading group guide: A Totally Unauthorized Reading Group Guide to this book was posted just before this review on June 11 and is archived with the June posts. You can find the publishers’ guide, which is less extensive, at www.everywomansvoice.com.
Editor: Leslie Wells
Published: May 2007
Links: Karen Fingerman, a professor of developmental and family studies at Purdue, spoke about the myth of the empty-nest syndrome in “How to Make the Best of an Empty Nest,” by Jennifer Huget, the Washington Post, June 5, 2007, page HE04. For a discussion of the different effects of the empty nest on men and women, see Rebecca A. Clay’s “An Empty Nest Can Promote Freedom, Improved Relationships” in the American Psychological Association Online, April 2003. To find the article, Google “Rebecca Clay + Empty Nest + APA.”
One-Minute Book Reviews is an independent book review site created by Janice Harayda www.janiceharayda.com, an award-winning critic who has been the book columnist for Glamour, book editor of the Plain Dealer and a vice-president of the National Book Critics Circle. It does not accept free books or other materials from editors, publishers or authors. At least 50 percent of the book reviewed on the site are by women. Reviews of books by female authors typically appear on Mondays and Wednesdays and books by male authors on Tuesdays and Thursdays with the other days up for grabs. Totally Unauthorized Reading Group Guides appear frequently but not on a regular schedule.
© 2007 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.
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Even though people today are more committed to recycling than they used to be; not enough recycling is being done. Plastic, glass, and paper products pile up in landfills.
One company, GreenBottle, has taken on the challenge of creating milk, wine, juice, and other household containers and making them easier to recycle. According to the website, the shell of a GreenBottle is made from virgin or recycled cardboard and molded into the shape of containers.
Now you may be thinking to yourself, how can a paper container hold liquid? According to the website, inside the paper container is a plastic liner. What makes this idea so convenient for recycling is that consumers just simply have to rip the tab on the paper container, remove the plastic liner, and recycle properly. However, even if sometimes the bottle isn’t recycled, the paper section is biodegradable.
GreenBottle offers paper containers for: (Click the links below to see a picture and learn more about it)
- Household containers such as laundry detergent
- GreenBottle is designing bottles for other uses, such as:
According to the website, GreenBottle is available in the following areas:
It doesn’t seem that is it available in the U.S. market yet. However, if I saw it in my local grocery store, I would definitely buy it. If you visit the website and look at the pictures, in my opinion, it is nicely designed and appealing to the eye.
What are your thoughts? What do you think about the idea? Do you think it is something that will catch on worldwide? Do you think it makes recycling easier from a consumer standpoint? Would you purchase it?
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I read an insightful and practical article today that discussed the influences of behaviour and how you can affect change. The idea is that behaviour is caused or influced by something preceding it (the antecendent) and this results in a consequence. There are two models that together, help designers to understand how people make decisions and how they can influence this. I thought it would be worth pulling out the key points for future use.
The Theory of Planned Behaviour suggests there are three things we need to know in order to predict behaviour;
1) Attitude – is the person in favour of doing it
2) Subjective norm – how much social pressure does the person feel to do it
3) Perceived behavioural control – how in control of the action the person feels
The Stages of Change Model then shows how people move through a behavioural change. People can enter, exit or repeat the process so it’s important to understand where they fit:
- Preparation or determination
- Termination (100% self efficacy)
- Relapse (cycle back to an earlier stage).
This seems like a practical and powerful method of understanding how to affect behavioural change.
The full article is on Johnny Holland Magazine.
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And one more scam
Another tax scam making the rounds this summer is a throwback to one from last fall. Here's how it works:
You receive an email that appears to be from the IRS, informing you that an income tax payment you made through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System was rejected.
In its new version, the email has been tweaked to appear more authentic. But like its predecessor, it provides a link promising more details. If you click on the link, your computer downloads rogue software that can provide scammers with your personal and financial information already stored on your computer.
As with any unsolicited email that claims to be from the IRS, you should delete it without clicking on any links.
Also of interest: Virus protection scam to gain access to your computer. >>
Sid Kirchheimer is the author of Scam-Proof Your Life, published by AARP Books/Sterling.
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Ahhh… February….month of “new beginnings” – February is often the month we start to see early flowers blooming such as crocus and daffodil, and it truly feels like Spring is right around the corner. If you’re getting impatient to get your hands in some dirt, check out this great checklist on the ACES’s Alabama Gardener’s Calendar. It’s a great checklist of things you can do each month to get your gardens ready and keep them producing all year long.
This particular February, however, we apparently have another new beginning that is the source of great amusement in our family.
My son, Ben, has a girlfriend.
He’s in the first grade.
I discovered this the other day in cleaning out his backpack. There were many wadded up pieces of paper, which is not unusual, but one caught my eye with the phrase “I heart U Ben.” So of course I had to look all the other papers, and they were all proclaiming love for Ben. I quickly questioned him before he left for school and all he said was yes, he had a girlfriend and she tries to kiss him all the time. His sister found this hilarious, and we all launched into a chorus of “I luuuuvvv you Ben!” and “You make meeeeee soooo happppeeeee!”
When I picked him up from school, I decided I’d ask him a bit more about it. The conversation went something like this:
Me: How was your girlfriend today, Ben?
Ben: Good. She just started loving me, I don’t know why. We’re not allowed to have girlfriends in the first grade; I want to keep it a secret but she is telling everyone! I don’t want my teacher finding out.
Me: Well, I can understand that, you are in the first grade.
Ben: She keeps trying to kiss me all the time!
Me: You can’t be kissing her… you’d get in trouble and you don’t need to be kissing anyone in the first grade.
Ben: Yeah. I want to sit next to Izzy (his friend) at lunch but she takes his seat!
Me: So she’s trying to drive a wedge between you and your friend (I ask this while laughing)?
Me: Well, do you like her back?
Ben: Of course I do, what’s not to like??!!
We talked a bit more about it, then I let it drop. I’m just glad he likes a girl in his own grade – his prior interest was in the 6th grade and he liked her because she gave him hugs all the time.
On the flip side, my daughter (who is in the 4th grade) never discusses boys… which is just fine with me. I don’t think I’m quite ready for that just yet. But, when you the subject comes up, it goes something like this:
Alice: (all weepy sounding) Mom, so-and-so won’t leave me alone, he annoys me all the time and I can’t concentrate!!!
Me: Sounds to me that he might like you if he is annoying you that much and won’t leave you alone.
Alice: (Bursts into tears and cries for 10 minutes, and won’t make eye contact) Mom! I don’t want to talk about it!
Do you think there is more than she’s letting on?! Hmmm. I think I see the onset of pre-pubescent hormonal fluctuations… and I don’t like it, not one bit.
In my day, there were no “I love u so much!” notes, rather, it was the “Do you like me? Circle yes or no!” notes that were passed back and forth in elementary school. And, it seemed like boy/girl interest started much later, not this early.
What’s your experience with young love? When did it start in your household?
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Better school superintendents, more effective principals? A study of the relationship between superintendent leadership practices and principal job satisfaction
School districts across the country have reported principal shortages, especially in high-need areas. Many believe these shortages are due to the insurmountable pressures, long working hours, and lack of appreciation from constituents. In an effort to find ways to improve the overall job outlook for principals, this study sought to relate the leadership of the school district superintendent to the job satisfaction, efficacy, and career longevity of principals. ^ Using the Superintendent Understanding of Principals' Educational Responsibilities (SUPER) survey instrument, 119 principals rated their superintendents on leadership practices as defined by theorists, Kouzes and Posner (2008), developers of the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. Participating principals also responded to items in the survey that sought to determine their level of job satisfaction, efficacy, and career longevity. ^ The results of the analysis showed several statistically significant relationships between superintendent leadership practices and the job satisfaction and efficacy of their principals. Principals who rated their own job satisfaction and efficacy as high also gave their superintendent a high rating on each of the five leadership practices Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. The strongest correlation occurred between job satisfaction of principals and the Enable Others to Act leadership practice of their superintendents. This finding was consistent with previous research findings that link principal autonomy with improved job performance. ^ The career longevity of principals was influenced by age. Principals 50 years old or older felt significantly more efficacious than younger principals and desired to remain as principals rather than pursue careers as superintendents. ^ The findings from this study demonstrated that superintendent leadership is an important factor in the job satisfaction and efficacy of their principals. Using Kouzes and Posner's (2008) model of the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership, superintendents can develop their leadership practices as a way to increase the satisfaction and effectiveness of their principals. Superintendents who take steps to improve their leadership may help alleviate pressure on principals and increase the likelihood of getting and retaining good principals in the future. ^
Education, Leadership|Education, Administration|Psychology, Industrial
Robert Jay Roelle,
"Better school superintendents, more effective principals? A study of the relationship between superintendent leadership practices and principal job satisfaction"
(January 1, 2010).
ETD Collection for Fordham University.
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Some people choose to live on the streets of Toronto throughout the winter.
That's right, I said they choose to live on the streets. But the choice they make is a Hobson's choice between the overcrowded, bed bug infested and dangerous conditions of the city's shelter system or the hard, cold streets.
John Clarke from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) posted a photo on Twitter snapped by a shelter worker in February showing what he says is blood on a wall inside Seaton House.
The World Figure Skating Championships are ongoing in London, Ontario until March 17. Outside the arena, however, some in London are expressing their concerns about the impact of this event.
You may be wondering why London all of a sudden looks so "clean." You may also be wondering why "all those people" hanging out at Dundas and Richmond are no longer present. I can assure you that the rerouting of public transit to other streets is not the cause of the disappearance of many community members in the downtown core.
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CHAPTER IV. TEN YEARS OF THE REIGN OF THE CITIZEN KING.
Besides the affairs of the Duchesse de Berri, of Louis Napoleon, of Fieschi and his infernal machine, and difficulties attending on the marriage of the Duke of Orleans, the first ten years of Louis Philippe's reign were full of vicissitudes. France after a revolution is always an "unquiet sea that cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." Frenchmen do not accept the inevitable as Americans have learned to do, through the working of their institutions.
One of the early troubles of Louis Philippe was the peremptory demand of President Jackson for five million dollars, - a claim for French spoliations in 1797. This amount had been acknowledged by the Government of Louis Philippe to be due, but the Chambers were not willing to ratify the agreement. In the course of the negotiations the secretary of General Jackson, having occasion to translate to him a French despatch, read, "The French Government demands - " "Demands!" cried the general, with a volley of rough language; "if the French Government dares to demand anything of the United States, it will not get it."
It was long before he could be made to understand the true meaning of the French word demande, and his own demands were backed with threats and couched in terms more forcible than diplomatic. The money was paid after the draft of the United States for the first instalment had been protested, and France has not yet forgotten that when she was still in the troubled waters of a recent revolution, she was roughly treated by the nation which she had befriended at its birth.
The greatest military success in Louis Philippe's reign was the capture of Constantine in Algeria. So late as 1810 Algerine corsairs were a terror in the Mediterranean, and captured M. Arago, who was employed on a scientific expedition. In 1835, France resolved to undertake a crusade against these pirates, which might free the commerce of the Mediterranean. The enterprise was not popular in France. It would cost money, and it seemed to present no material advantages. It was argued that its benefits would accrue only to the dynasty of Louis Philippe, that Algeria would be a good training-school for the army, and that the main duty of the army in future might be to repress republicanism.
[Footnote 1: About the same time they took prisoner a cousin of my father, John Warner Wormeley, of Virginia. He was sold into slavery; but when tidings of his condition reached his friends, he was ransomed by my grandfather.]
In 1834, a young Arab chief called Abdul Kader, the son of a Marabout of great sanctity, had risen into notice. Abdul Kader was a man who realized the picture of Saladin drawn by Sir Walter Scott in the "Talisman." Brave, honorable, chivalrous, and patriotic, his enemies admired him, his followers adored him. When he made his first treaty with the French, he answered some doubts that were expressed concerning his sincerity by saying gravely: "My word is sacred; I have visited the tomb of the Prophet."
Constantine, the mountain fortress of Oran, was held, not by Abdul Kader, but by Ahmed Bey, the representative of the sultan's suzerainty in the Barbary States. The first attack upon it failed. The weather and the elements fought against the French in this expedition. General Changarnier distinguished himself in their retreat, and the Duc de Nemours showed endurance and bravery.
From the moment of that repulse, popular enthusiasm was aroused. A cry rang through France that Constantine must be taken. It was captured two years later, after a siege in which two French commanders-in-chief and many generals were killed. Walls fell, and mines exploded; the place at last was carried by assault. At one moment, when even French soldiers wavered, a legion of foreign dare-devils (chiefly Irishmen and Englishmen) were roused by an English hurrah from the man who became afterwards Marshal Saint-Arnaud. With echoing cheers they followed him up the breach, the army followed after them, and the city was won.
Louis Philippe had been raised to power by four great men, - Lafayette, Laffitte, Talleyrand, and Thiers. Of these, Laffitte and Lafayette retained little influence in his councils, and both died early in his reign. In 1838 died Talleyrand, - the prince of the old diplomatists. The king and his sister, Madame Adelaide, visited him upon his death-bed. Talleyrand, supported by his secretary, sat up to receive the king. He was wrapped in a warm dressing-gown, with the white curls he had always cherished, flowing over his shoulders, while the king sat near him, dressed in his claret-colored coat, brown wig, and varnished boots. Some one who was present whispered that it was an interview between the last of the ancienne noblesse and the first citizen bourgeois. Rut the old courtier was touched by the intended kindness, and when the king was about to go away, he said, half rising: "Sire, this honor to my house will be gratefully remembered in the annals of my family."
Deep and true was the grief felt for the loss of Talleyrand in his own household; many and bitter have been the things said of his character and his career. He himself summed up his life in some words written shortly before his death, which read like another verse in the Book of Ecclesiastes: -
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Hermits were of the Augustine order; they renounced all property, and lived
on the voluntary alms of “the faithful.”
were restricted to four orders: Franciscans (Grey Friars).
Augustines (Black Friars), Carmelites (White Friars), and
Dominicans (Preaching Friars).
Begging the Question
Assuming a proposition which, in reality, involves the
conclusion. Thus, to say that parallel lines will never meet because
they are parallel, is simply to assume as a fact the very thing you
profess to prove. The phrase is a translation of the Latin term,
petitio principii, and was first used by Aristotle.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
More on Begging from Infoplease:
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Why open source developers should thank Apple
(and why Apple should thank open source)
by Dj Walker-Morgan
From operating systems to phones, Apple has raised the competitive bar and opened doors for open source, even though their own use of open source has attracted criticism.
Apple has become the enemy-du-jour for the free software and open source movements, with complaints ranging from the Apple App Store's censorship of applications to Apple's use of DRM. But Apple have also set a high competitive bar for open source, and proprietary developers to exceed. For too long, the competition for open source was defined by Microsoft's offerings, which had a market dominance inherited from the 1990s. However, Microsoft's operating systems are rarely described as things of beauty and elegance, and as time has gone on, the competitive bar created by Microsoft has been getting lower and lower to the point where "Not crashing every day" became the mark of a "better operating system". As the bar lowered, especially so with the arrival of Windows Vista, so developers became complacent, thinking "If we don't crash every day we are better than Windows".
Then Steve Jobs reborn Apple, driven by his experience creating the NeXT Unix workstations, arrived at the start of the millennium with a Unix based operating system, a modern GUI and a level of polish that had been rare to find in operating systems. Coupled with a high quality industrial design process for the hardware, it created a computing platform with a lot of potential.
It did take Apple a number of iterations of Mac OS X to make it a compelling offering, and in some ways Apple's policy of only creating operating systems for their own hardware acted as a buffer, as only Mac users got to see what was going on. Even so, by the middle of the decade, a steady stream of developers were switching over to Mac OS X and people began to ask why. Although the Mac hasn't displaced Windows from its dominance, it has created a disruption in the market. Even Canonical's Mark Shuttleworth regularly refers to Mac OS X's user experience as the experience to aspire to.
Apple were already looking elsewhere for their next product, the iPhone. Many people forget what the mobile marketplace looked like before the iPhone; the mobile telecom carriers ruled the business. The only real way to get your application onto a phone was to do a deal with one of these carriers and wait for them to bring it to market. The same applied to the handset makers who would create specific feature sets as requested by the mobile telecom carriers. It was a business fraught with back room deals and agreeable handshaking. Free software was never going to get a look in with a business model built entirely around creating "value added services" for the carriers.
Apple came along and said they were not going to play that game. On the back of an exclusivity deal with AT&T in the US, they demanded unlimited data plans and control over when firmware updates were distributed to their devices. When Apple later launched the App Store and native applications for the iPhone, again they routed around the carriers and took control of the means of distribution. This created a business which allowed the smallest developers to compete with software giants.
It is arguable that if this had not happened, we would not have seen one of free software and open source's greatest successes, Android, in its current form. By knocking over the carriers control, Apple opened a door for Google who were able to talk to handset makers and offer them a free operating system for their mobile phones which could use a Google App Store to offer applications for their new handsets. The carriers could only look on as they saw two of the biggest companies in the business relegate them to acting as dumb pipes for their content. Android phones compete with Apple's iPhone now, and as the debate rages over whether users want freedom or curation, there is now an actual choice for consumers to make, rather than being fed the handset the carriers think they can lock down most effectively to raise their revenues.
Most recently, Apple launched the iPad, their take on the tablet computer. Tablets had been around in various form factors for years, but Apple approached it with their now trademark "User experience first" methodology, ignoring the tendency of other companies to focus on feature lists, and created a clean, simple platform. Other companies attempted to blunt Apple's iPad launch by announcing their own tablet offerings before Steve Jobs showed the world the iPad, but in the months following and after two million iPads sold, those companies have shelved their previous plans and gone back to the drawing board. Intel and Nokia, for example, realised that a fragmented mobile Linux market would do neither of them any good and pooled their resources to release MeeGo. HP decided to acquire Palm and its Linux based WebOS for their future tablet, and other device plans. Linux is now shaping up to be at the core of a large percentage of future mobile devices.
Apple's own use of open source has lead the company to be criticised, but their use of FreeBSD and the GNU tool-chain, within Mac OS X, has allowed them to benefit like many other companies from the availability of free and high quality code. Apple have also created things like WebKit, using existing open source code from KHTML, to create an open source alternative browser engine, which in turn has allowed Google to create the Chrome and Chromium browsers, providing increased competition in the open source web browser marketplace. Apple do not pretend to be an "open source company", but instead behave as a corporation with access to open source and the ability to contribute to open source when it suits them. Consider, for example, the CUPS printer subsystem found in many Linux distributions. CUPS originated back in 1997 and became a popular way of handling the complexity of managing printing, so much so that in 2002 Apple adopted it as their printing system and in 2007 gave the project solid backing by hiring the chief developer and purchasing, but leaving as open source, the source code for CUPS.
So, although Apple have made design, policy and commercial decisions that people in the free and open source software community vigorously object to, they have provided a number of things too: a real competitive bar to replace the complacent Microsoft competition and a disruption to the mobile phone market which has indirectly led to Linux based phones moving from oddities to centre stage. It is said that a rising tide raises all ships, and Apple have, in the last ten years created competition that is making all the players in the business rise to the challenge of competing. Open source and free software are rising to that competitive challenge and if that means users of free software and open source software get as good an experience using it as Apple's well polished offerings, isn't that something to be thankful for?
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Permanently Delete Files From Computer Software 7.0
This software offers a solution to users who want to permanently delete files so that they cannot be recovered using forensic methods.
The user simply adds the required files or an entire folder before starting the deletion. With this time saving software, large numbers of files containing sensitive information can be permanently deleted with just one click.
In this all-in-one episode, we include all the parts in our Solid State Drives series, including an explanation of SSD, how to upgrade your notebook, how to use external SSD, and how to upgrade your Macbook Air's SSD module. view it
The files from programs you install are placed contiguously, or in order, which is how you want them. We explain more on contiguity in this tutorial. view it
There are many benefits to installing a solid state drive into a notebook, which is why we'll show you how to upgrade to SSD in this episode. view it
We explain why you would want to use an external solid state drive as a storage option and explain how to use an external SSD. view it
Many thought that the you couldn't upgrade the Macbook Air's SSD hard drive. Well we found out that you can and show you how in this episode. view it
Some difficult problems can be solved or prevented view it
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Growth, Maturation and Physical Activity (Hardback)
$93.45 - Save $2.55 (2%) - RRP $96.00 Free shipping worldwide (to United States and
all these other countries) Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Short Description for Growth, Maturation and Physical Activity This updated edition features three new chapters and current research findings. Topics include prenatal growth and functional development, motor development, thermoregulation, obesity in childhood and adolescence and more.
- Published: 01 January 2004
- Format: Hardback 728 pages
- ISBN 13: 9780880118828 ISBN 10: 0880118822
- Sales rank: 224,921
$109.06 - Save $42.94 28% off - RRP $152.00
$25.08 - Save $2.87 10% off - RRP $27.95
$56.64 - Save $3.31 (5%) - RRP $59.95
$17.12 - Save $0.87 (4%) - RRP $17.99
$16.23 - Save $0.76 (4%) - RRP $16.99
Full description for Growth, Maturation and Physical Activity
The second edition of "Growth, Maturation, and Physical Activity" has been expanded with almost 300 new pages of material, making it the most comprehensive text on the biological growth, maturation, physical performance, and physical activity of children and adolescents. The new edition retains all the best features of the original text, including the helpful outlines at the beginning of each chapter that allow students to review major concepts. This edition features updates on basic content, expanded and modified chapters, and the latest research findings to meet the needs of upper undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers and professionals working with children and young adults. The second edition also includes these new features: -10 lab activities that encourage students to investigate subject matter outside of class and save teachers time-A complete reference list at the end of each chapter -Chapter-ending summaries to make the review process easy for students-New chapters that contain updates on thermoregulation, methods for the assessment of physical activity, undernutrition, obesity, children with clinical conditions, and trends in growth and performance-Discussions that span current problems in public health, such as the quantification of physical activity and energy expenditure, persistent undernutrition in developing countries, and the obesity epidemic in developed countriesThe authors are three of the world's foremost authorities on children's growth and development. In 29 chapters, they address introductory concepts and prenatal growth, postnatal growth, functional development, biological maturation, influencing factors in growth, maturation and development, and specific applications to public health and sport. In addition, secular trends in growth, maturation, and performance over the past 150 years are considered. You'll be able to recognize risk factors that may affect young athletes; you'll also be able to make informed decisions about appropriate physical activities, program delivery, and performance expectations. "Growth, Maturation, and Physical Activity, Second Edition, " covers many additional topics, including new techniques for the assessment of body composition, the latest advances in the study of skeletal muscle, the human genome, the hormonal regulation of growth and maturation, clarification of dietary reference intakes, and the study of risk factors for several adult diseases. This is the only text to focus on the biological growth and maturation process of children and adolescents as it relates to physical activity and performance. With over 300 new pages of material, this text expertly builds on the successful first edition.
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[amsat-bb] Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 6, Issue 492
ko6th_greg at hotmail.com
Sat Aug 27 16:01:31 PDT 2011
When you're going into eclipse without a battery, what difference would it make if you could? :-)
But, this post is about a different question... As the spacecraft tumbles in direct sunlight, I understand that there are some orientations it might tumble through that result in not quite enough power to run everything. First, is that correct? And, if so, what choices can the IHU make in terms of lightening the load on the solar panels? I presume the tumble would be slow enough that you could see the power dip coming... Can the various downlink components, the university experiment, etc. be independently shut down?
> From: w5did at mac.com
> Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2011 17:14:37 -0400
> To: amsat-bb at amsat.org
> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 6, Issue 492
> If the ARISSat-1 satellite goes into eclipse, and the battery has failed, the software doesn't get to decide when to shut down. The lights are out with no power.
More information about the AMSAT-BB
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Three attorneys for prisoners testified before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington that the lack of any prospect for release, especially for the majority of the 166 prisoners who do not face charges, has created a climate of despair at the U.S. base in Cuba.
"The situation at Guatanamo today is dire," said Ramzi Kassem, an attorney and law professor at the City University of New York, told the commission, which promotes human rights in the Western Hemisphere.
Kassem and another of the attorneys, Omar Farah of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said that most of the prisoners have been on a hunger strike since Feb. 6 to protest conditions. The U.S. military has said only a handful of men meet the government's definition of hunger strikers.
Kristine Huskey, an attorney with Physicians for Human Rights, told the panel that indefinite detention was likely a factor for the several suicides and hundreds of attempts since the prison opened on the base in January 2002.
"Indefinite detention can cause lasting and severe psychological trauma and physical consequences that rise to the level of torture or cruel and inhuman and degrading treatment," Huskey said.
"The United States only detains individuals when that detention is lawful and does not intend to hold any individual longer than is necessary," Williams, a senior adviser for Guantanamo policy, told the commission, made up of representatives from throughout the region.
Obama had pledged to close the prison soon after taking office but Congress opposed it, passing a law that prohibits the government from transferring Guantanamo prisoners to U.S. soil and requiring security guarantees before they can be sent elsewhere in the world. That includes dozens who have already been cleared for release and do not face charges.
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|Tweet|Artificial Cells NASA-supported researchers are learning to make designer
cells for dehydrated blood supplies and space-age medicines.
Right: Red blood cells. Credit: Iowa St. University
Imagine, for example, blood cells that could carry all kinds of things--medication as well as oxygen. Imagine blood that could be dehydrated, and stored for months or even years at a time. It could be carried by medics onto a battlefield--or by astronauts into outer space. Imagine blood that could be used for transfusions with no risk of AIDS or any other disease.
Bioengineers Dan Hammer and Dennis Discher of the University of Pennsylvania and Frank Bates of the University of Minnesota have created a special kind of molecule--a polymer--that forms something very like a cell membrane, and they've been able to coax these membranes into artificial cells, or polymersomes, that are stronger and more easily manageable than the real thing.
A polymer is simply a chain of smaller molecules that have been linked together. The cellulose in plants and the wool on sheep are natural polymers. Man-made polymers can be found in everything from nylon stockings to car parts to furniture stuffing.
The polymers used in polymersomes are larger and heavier than the natural molecules in cell membranes: They've got a molecular weight of over 3600, compared to about 750 for phospholipids, the fatty acid molecules used by cells.
Manmade molecules can be crafted with an important characteristic, which many naturally occurring molecules share; they can be engineered to be amphiphilic, where one end seeks water, and the other end avoids it. In a water-based solution, such molecules spontaneously arrange themselves into a double-layer with their hydrophobic (water fearing) tails in the middle and their hydrophilic (water loving) heads on the outside.
Above: Phospholipid molecules arrange themselves tail-to-tail in a double-layered membrane. [more]
"That was our insight," said Hammer. "We realized that there's nothing that prevents a polymer from forming a bilayer like a phospholipid would."
But polymersomes have one huge advantage: they can be controlled. By adding in different molecules, researchers are learning to manipulate their abilities and make them do things that biological cells just can't manage.
For example, polymersomes can be made strong. While it's true that the phospholipids in natural membranes hold together, they don't bond with each other very tightly. They move around within the cell membrane, and, without the pressure of a watery environment, they fall apart.
Polymersomes, on the other hand, can be designed so that they cling to each other tightly. Their atoms can bond not only within a single polymer, but also to the polymers next to them. This is called cross-linking, and it vastly increases the strength of artificial cells. (It's cross-linking that stiffens the curls in a beauty-shop permanent enough to keep the shape of the hair-do.) In fact, between cross-linking and the increased molecular weight of the polymers, polymersomes are a thousand-fold stronger than phospholipid cells.
"Probably the main advantage from NASA's point of view," says Hammer, "is that once the polymersomes are crosslinked, the cells become durable enough to be dehydrated into a powder." They can be stored easily, for a long time, and without taking up much space. In other words, it would be a perfect way to carry extra blood for medical emergencies on long distance voyages in outer space.
That, in fact, is the use that he and his colleagues initially envisioned, says Hammer. But they quickly realized that the polymersomes could be used for transporting other things.
Hammer explains: It's easy to encapsulate many kinds of molecules with polymersomes; such artificial cells could then be sent throughout the body. Because their outer membrane consists of molecules that don't interact with cells, polymersomes are invisible to the immune system. They can travel unhampered through the bloodstream.
Polymersomes can also be engineered so that some types of cells do react to them. Hammer, Discher and colleagues can add to their polymersomes particular molecules that latch onto the cells they're targeting. Typically, says Hammer, the polymersomes float through the bloodstream for about 18 hours before they reach their destination and grab onto the target cells.
Right: This sequence of microscopic photos shows how a tough crosslinked polymersome can be dehydrated (for, e.g., easy storage and transportation) and rehydrated again. Credit: University of Pennsylvania
The key word is "target." Doctors using polymersomes wouldn't have to pepper the entire body with medications. They could be targeted--sent only to the places they're needed. Arthritis medications, for example, could be sent only to a patient's swollen fingers, without the risk of causing reactions elsewhere. Polymersomes could carry cancer-zapping pharmaceuticals directly to a tumor. They could incorporate imaging agents like iron oxide particles, which can be detected by magnetic resonance imaging. If these particles are encapsulated into polymersomes designed to latch onto cancer cells, they'd be able to locate small tumor cells that have migrated through the body
Polymersomes could theoretically be designed to carry both the imaging agents that locate a problem, and the medication that treats it.
Left: Prof. Dan Hammer chairs the University of Pennsylvania's Bioengineering Dept., a leading center of polymersome research. [more]
Using manmade materials to produce an artificial cell is "a highly novel concept," says Hammer. "I think that NASA saw this as a wonderful material, and they wanted to see how far it could evolve." In some conditions, he says, polymersomes take on shapes that are very reminiscent of the ones biological cells take on when, for instance, they're dividing.
And Hammer and his colleagues are still exploring the possibilities. They're experimenting with different types of polymers, to see how the capabilities of artificial cells can be expanded.
The most exciting applications of polymersomes, believes Hammer, are still to come.
NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR) supports studies like these for the benefit of humans in space and on Earth
Voyage of the nano-surgeons (Science@NASA) -- NASA-funded scientists are crafting microscopic vessels that can venture into the human body and repair problems one cell at a time.
Cell Membranes (John Ross, University of Luton) diagrams and basic information about the architecture of natural cell membranes
Dan Hammer -- Professor and Chair of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania
"Polymersomes: Tough Vesicles Made from Diblock Copolymers" by Dennis Discher and Dan Hammer.
Join our growing list of subscribers - sign up for our express news deliveryand you will receive a mail message every time we post a new story!!!
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If you've moved, gotten a new pet, or have a pet that needs specialized treatment, you may need to find a veterinarian. These tips can help:
-Make an office visit. Visit the practice without your pet to see if it's clean, modern, and well-organized
-Talk to the veterinarian. Ask questions and make sure you can communicate well with the veterinarian and staff.
-Check on training. Find out about the veterinarian's training and if the practice is accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA).
Our online veterinary locator can help you get started by locating practices in your area. You can also get more tips on finding a veterinarian for dogs or for cats at the ASPCA®'s website. And remember, you can use any licensed veterinarian in the US or Canada with our plans.
"I love exploring the outdoors, and my dog Sophie goes everywhere with me. I had a feeling that giving her freedom to explore might increase her chances of injury or sickness. Signing up for ASPCA Pet Health Insurance was the best thing I've ever done. Multiple times we've needed your service to help cover veterinary costs. Sophie is naturally healthy, but as I anticipated, her high energy and accidental encounters have meant a few costly trips to the vet. I am very grateful for the reimbursements!"
— Anna H., Santa Cruz, CA
To celebrate October as Pet Wellness Care Month, we put together a fun quiz about wellness care earlier. Take the rest of the quiz now and see how you do:
4. What should you ask your veterinarian about at a wellness visit?
a) Proper diet and weight
b) Any concerns about your pet
c) Both a and b
d) Nothing – your veterinarian is busy with the exam
c) A wellness visit is a great time to ask questions, especially since your veterinarian can check out problems firsthand. Jot questions down before the visit, so you don’t forget them.
5. Are wellness care visits painful?
c) Your pet may not like going to the veterinarian or being examined, but these check-ups shouldn’t be painful other than a quick vaccination prick or blood draw.
6. Spaying or neutering is part of good wellness care.
a) Spaying or neutering your pet doesn’t only help with overpopulation, it can also improve the health of your pet!
Our friends at the ASPCA recommend at least one wellness visit a year for pets. Plus, ASPCA Pet Health Insurance has two options that can help you afford yearly check-ups as well as vaccines, spaying or neutering, and more.
Start a free quote to learn about coverage available for your pet. If you’re already a customer, you can view your plan online at the Member Center.
Many companion animals are not getting proper care because about 24% of pet parents believe regular medical check-ups aren’t necessary, according to a new veterinary industry study.
The Bayer Veterinary Care Usage Study sought to explain the decline in veterinary visits over the past several years. Other factors contributing to this decline that the study identified include the economic impact of the recession, the fragmentation of veterinary services and the cost of care. Additionally, many consumers substitute online research for clinic visits and have difficulty getting their felines to the veterinarian.
In fact, the study found a full one-third of pet parents have not taken their cats to the veterinarian within the last year due to “feline resistance.” The study found pet parents extend the time between visits because it’s difficult to get the kitties to comply. This lack of care is particularly harmful to senior cats, as they’re prone to diseases such as diabetes, kidney failure and cancer.
The study also highlighted the cost of veterinary services as a major reason for pet parents not taking their animals to the veterinarian. As with human health care, veterinary costs have risen significantly over the last 10 years, and 53 percent of pet parents say these expenses are much higher than they expected. We’re here to help on this front with pet insurance that can help pet parents afford quality veterinary care.
The online survey of 2,000 pet parents was conducted by Bayer Animal Health, the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) and Brakke Consulting.
Read more results from the study.
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Lucius Septimius Severus was born on 1 April AD 145 at Lepcis Magna in Tripolitania.
Severus was a small man, but powerfully built. Though in old age he was to became very weak and ridden with gout. He was not very well educated, he spoke little in public. And so too, he is renowned for his cruelty and ruthlessness. The Historian Cassius Dio says about him, 'Severus was careful of everything that he desired to accomplish, but careless of what was said about him.
Shortly after his eighteenth birthday Severus arrived in Rome and was appointed senator by Marcus Aurelius in about AD 175. Thereafter he became governor of Gallia Lugdunensis and Sicily and, towards the end of Commodus' reign, he was made consul in AD 190.
The plot succeeded and brought Pertinax to power. But soon after Pertinax was murdered and Didius Julianus bought the throne from the praetorian guard. Laetus was executed for his involvement with the murder of Commodus.
The three main people who had been placed in powerful positions by Laetus all found it was time to act. The three were Severus, Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus.
But Clodius Albinus, commander of the legions in Britain and with much support in the senate, was approached by Severus, who granted him the position of Caesar (junior emperor). This junior position clearly implied that Clodius Albinus was marked out as Severus' successor, or so at least Albinus was led to believe.
It was a shrewd political trick to buy off Clodius, as it now left Severus to advance rapidly on Rome. Advancing with no less than 16 legions under his command, opposition simply crumbled before him.
Severus ignored all of Julianus' threats and pleas, and shortly before his army's arrival at Rome, Julianus was indeed sentenced to death by the senate and was thereafter killed in his deserted palace.
Once he arrived in Rome, Severus had those involved in the murder of Pertinax executed. Meanwhile the praetorian guard which had proved such a threat to any emperor was disbanded, and its members were banished from Rome. Instead he put in its place a force double in size, made up of men drawn from his army, especially the Danubian legions.
Having firmly established himself at Rome and knowing his western borders toward Albinus secured with his grant of the caesarship, Severus was free to move eastwards and deal with Pescennius Niger. In AD 194 Severus Severus crushed Niger's forces at Issus on the very plain on which Alexander the Great had defeat Darius some 500 years earlier.
His rule of the east secured, Severus now turned his attention to Clodius Albinus. First he declared his elder son Caracalla to be Caesar and therefore his heir late in AD 195. This was clearly a slap in the face to Albinus, who understood himself successor to the throne.
What followed was very revealing about the man who was now the uncontested emperor of the Roman empire. Severus had Albinus stripped corpse laid out on the ground, so that he he could ride over it and trample it with his horse. Thereafter Albinus' head was severed and sent to Rome. His body, along with those of his wife and sons, was flung into the Rhine.
Albinus' province Britain was thereafter, like Niger's Syrian province, divided into two parts; Britannia Superior and Inferior.
If Albinus had enjoyed support in the senate, then Severus now clamped down on those supporters. He ruthlessly put to death 29 senators and numerous equestrians in Rome.
Now, Severus attentions once more turned back to Parthia. Had his earlier expedition into Parthia been a brief affair, most likely as he felt he had to return to the west to take care of Albinus, then now he was undisputed ruler and had no such restrictions.
The business of government was largely conducted on Severus' behalf by his praetorian prefects, who quickly became loathed by the public. Most notorious of all was the close friend of the emperor, prefect Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, who didn't take long to gain a reputation for abuses of power and utter cruelty. There was even a rumour that for his daughter Publia Fulvia Plautilla, who was wed to the emperor's son Caracalla, he had grown men castrated to be her eunuch-servants.
Throughout his reign Severus was one of the outstanding imperial builders. He restored a very large number of ancient buildings - and inscribed on them his own name, as though he had erected them. His home town Lepcis Magna benefited in particular. But most of all the famous Triumphal Arch of Severus at the Forum of Rome bears witness to his reign.
His health fading and weak from gout, Severus woudl set out one last time on military campaign. This time it was Britain which demanded the emperor's attention. The Antonine Wall had never really acted as a perfectly successful barrier to the troublesome barbarians to the north of it. By this time it had in fact been virtually abandoned, leaving the British provinces vulnerable to attack from the north. In AD 208 Severus left for Britain with his two quarrelsome sons. Large military campaigns now drove deep into Scotland but didn't really manage to create any lasting solution to the problem.
'Keep on good terms with each other,' is said to have been his last advice to his sons, 'be generous to the soldiers, and take no heed of anyone else !"
His sons Caracalla and Geta brought an end to any military campaigns into the Scotland which were still underway and then set out home, carrying the ashes of their father to Rome, where they were laid to rest in the Mausoleum of Hadrian. Soon after he was deified by the senate.
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Yesterday, at the AMA Foundation's Forum on National Security & American
Muslims, Michael H. Posner -- Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of State --
was challenged to answer 9/11 skeptics.
"9/11 is central to national security, terrorism and human rights," said Mr.
Enver Masud, Founder of The Wisdom Fund. He added that Osama bin Laden is
not wanted for 9/11 by the FBI. BBC News has reported several hijackers are
alive. A recent Angus Reid poll concludes that 26% of Americans do not
believe The 9/11 Commission Report.
Mr. Masud then handed Mr. Posner his book "9/11 Unveiled" together with a
letter to President Obama, and a copy of a quarter-page, newspaper
advertisement that contains highlights from his book.
Mr. Posner's response was that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had admitted to
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed admitted his role in 9/11 after being waterboarded
183 times. Skeptics of the official report do not believe that KSM is the
"mastermind" of 9/11.
Nihad Awad, Executive Director and co-founder of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and Sahar Aziz of the Bill of Rights
Defense Committee also spoke at the forum.
Among those attending the forum was Mr. Darron Paul Monteiro, Associate
Director White House Office of Public Engagement. He was scheduled to speak
at the event, but was not permitted to do so by the White House.
The forum was moderated by Dr. Agha Saeed, Founder and Chairman of American
Muslim Alliance Foundation, and sponsored by Muhammad Salim Akhtar, National
Director of the American Muslim Task Force on Civil Rights and Elections.
Mr. Masud is also the author of "The War on Islam." An expanded, 5th edition
is to be released on April 17, 2010 -- the 15th anniversary of The Wisdom
ORIGINAL with links
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Proponents of the principle believe that following its rules ushers good luck and lessens misfortunes. It is not fortune telling as many may have been misled. Rather, it emphasizes the importance of your surroundings to your life. The right orientation of your house and its element has a profound impact on you, on account of the "chi" or positive energy attracted.
Started by the Chinese hundreds of years ago, feng shui means wind and water, our sources of energy. However, through the years, the practice has spread to other nationalities. In the country for example, testimonies of its validity abound. Entrepreneurs have applied it in their lives and felt its benefits. One of them is Marites Allen. Allen has been a practitioner for 12 years and credits her accomplishments to feng shui. In fact, she has opened the country’s World of Feng Shui boutique first in Manila, and now in Cebu.
The World Of Feng Shui boutique located at the lower ground floor of SM City Cebu opened last Thursday. This boutique is a franchise of Lillian Too's company WOFS.COM Sdn Bhd, which has branches in USA, ASIA and EUROPE. Whatever charms, lucky and auspicious art items you need, they have it at the shop. It also offers consultations and readings onsite. If you need to ask a master about the upcoming year, go ahead!
A shelf is devoted to Lillian Too’s extensive work on the subject. Too is considered one of the world’s leading experts on the subject. Her bestselling books are being sold worldwide.
World Of Feng Shui Philippines is also proud to announce that this coming January, Too will be coming over to the Country. Too intends to share her knowledge and guide everyone through 2006 with her seminar slated early next year in Manila. Entitled "How to Increase Luck and Good Fortune in the Fire Dog Year 2006," Too’s talk will help you prepare for the upcoming year’s challenges and opportunities.
Attend Lillian Too's Feng Shui Extravaganza and let positive energy enter your life. During the session, Too will tackle topics that will be highly useful to feng shui practitioners. Increasing your wealth, avoiding misfortunes and finding solutions to your problems and cures for afflictions are just some of the topics that will be discussed.
It will be held at the Westin Philippine Plaza, Harbor Garden Tent, Pasay City on the 15th January next year.
For more information on Too's seminar and to know more about feng shui, visit the World Of Feng Shui boutique at the lower ground floor of SM City Cebu.
Click here for more information on Lillian Too in the Philippines.
Contact and address details:
Unit 023B, Lower Ground Floor
SM City Cebu, Cebu City
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Sunda Pangolins (Manis javanica) for sale at a wildlife trade market.
CI/Photo by Erwin Sopya
Think twice about that overpriced snakeskin wallet and your neighbor’s pet cockatoo. Increasing demand for plants and animals for food, clothing, pets, souvenirs, and medicine is causing localized extinctions and emptying ecosystems worldwide.
Driven by consumer giants like the United States and China, today’s annual wildlife trade is a multibillion-dollar enterprise – much of it illegal. Poaching of threatened terrestrial and marine species is particularly acute in Southeast Asia, where human population has grown by more than 300 percent in the last 50 years and individual purchasing power is increasing at an unprecedented rate.
COUNTRY PROFILE: Learn more about illegal wildlife trade in Cambodia.
Unregulated hunting and trading in biodiversity-rich countries, such as Cambodia and Myanmar, now joins habitat loss and climate change as primary causes of species decline. At greatest risk are species that are slow to reproduce, such as elephants and sharks, animals with restricted ranges like many primates and turtles, and those that are of particularly high trade value, including rhinoceroses and Asian big cats.
Beyond extinctions and biodiversity loss, recent epidemics caused by wildlife-to-human contact – such as avian influenza (bird flu), Ebola hemorrhagic fever, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) – underscore the public health implications of unregulated trade.
ARTICLE: Read a first-person account of a visit to a Bushmeat market.
CI is partnering with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, businesses, and local communities throughout East and Southeast Asia to address the factors allowing illegal trade of threatened species to continue. Together, we are:
- training forest guards and law enforcement officials to apprehend and convict poachers
- raising awareness of prosecutors and judges to increase convictions of wildlife criminals
- instructing airline workers on how to identify and report suspicious cargo
- conducting public awareness campaigns with the Beijing Olympic Committee and other partners in China to reduce the demand for, and consumption of, threatened wildlife
- exploring viable and sustainable wildlife harvesting alternatives with local communities.
Species especially impacted by illegal wildlife trade include:
People are eating sharks far more than sharks are eating people. The demand for shark fin soup has driven 20 percent of all sharks and their closest relatives nearly to extinction.
Wanted more dead than alive – crocodiles' safety will remain precarious until laws to protect them are better enforced.
The tiger is the world’s largest living cat and among the world's most highly threatened animals. Around 2,500 tigers exist in the wild today, down from 100,000 at the turn of the 20th century.
The world’s kitchens serve up turtles every which way. In China, the specialty is turtle soup. With a seemingly insatiable appetite for these reptiles, diners in Asia are practically eating freshwater turtles to extinction.
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The revolutionary uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East last year were made possible, in large part, by networked technologies ranging from mobile phones to Twitter. However, the same mobile phone that can be used to connect with idealistic protesters is also one that can be tracked by the government in order to carry out repressions against dissenters. By issuing an executive order making it possible for the U.S. government to impose sanctions against individuals or organizations providing technologies that enable foreign nationals to monitor and oppress their citizens, President Obama made clear that the digital networks that we increasingly take for granted in America are an important bulwark against potential government oppression everywhere.
From the perspective of autocratic regimes everywhere, the most dangerous threat facing a nation now is not a rival state, but a vast, networked organization of anonymous citizens connected by cell phones and communicating via social media. Government censorship was a simpler undertaking when media was not “social.” Now that we live in a hyper-networked age, the only way to combat the threat to authoritarian regimes is to turn the communications networks on their users. In places such as Syria and Iran, tracking cellphone activity, blocking Internet access and monitoring Internet browsing behavior can lead to beatings, murders and — as President Obama reminded us — even genocide. Once you control the social and communications networks of a nation, you have the ability to oppress your citizens.
By choosing the highly symbolic location of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. to announce the executive order, President Obama sought to make clear that his Administration was was firm in its commitment to combat atrocities anywhere in the world — especially those that can lead to genocide. But the issue, in this case, is not black and white.
Within hours of Post reporter Scott Wilson’s article covering Obama’s speech being published online, comments questioning the seemingly janus nature of the administrations approach started to come in. At the same time as America is warning against the use of surveillance technologies in places such as Syria and Iran, the U.S. is engaged in a very real debate about the scope of surveillance and government interference in our own digital lives. The same technologies used by regimes to repress citizens are also the same technologies being developed by Western, democratic nations. Look no further than Great Britain, where The Guardian has been reporting on government plans to implement a “snooping bill” — a highly controversial program of national surveillance.
The U.S. continues to be a role model to the world at the same time that it faces many internal contradictions about its use of surveillance technology. In both war and peace, we live in an era of digital networks, where our ability to participate in these networks provides a certain measure of security. Conversely, the ability of governments to control them through technology provides them a sense of security. We once talked of shutting down an Axis of Evil. We now must talk about shutting down Networks of Evi.
Dominic Basulto is a digital thinker at Bond Strategy and Influence (formerly called Electric Artists) in New York. Prior to Bond Strategy and Influence, he was the editor of Fortune’s Business Innovation Insider and a founding member of Corante.com, one of the Web's first blog media companies. He also shares his thoughts on innovation on the Big Think Endless Innovation blog and is working on a new book on innovation called "Endless Innovation, Most Beautiful and Most Wonderful."
Read more news and ideas on Innovations:
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September 7, 2006
There’s A Message in the Sounds of the Shofar
The approach of Rosh Hashanah always takes me back in memory to my bar mitzvah, which took place on Shabbat Shuvah -- the Sabbath of Repentance that comes between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Two weighty questions preoccupied me that day in 1964. One: what did it mean that God called Jews and the world to "repent" or "return," because all of us had "stumbled in sin?" The prophet Hosea, whose words I chanted that morning, insisted in God's name that God cared about how we treated one another, and that we could all do better.
He promised that God would help us do better if we turned to the task. I marveled at this promise. It was and remains a great mystery to me.
The other big question on my mind that September day in Philadelphia was whether the Phillies, under manager Gene Mauch, could hold on to their position atop the National League and win the pennant for the first time in my life.
The optimists among my friends took victory as a near-certainty. The Phillies were six games ahead. Things looked really promising.
The pessimists warned that the team would blow it. It turned out that they were right. The Phillies lost 13 of the next 20 games.
This, too, was a mystery to me. Was it bad pitching, bad managing, bad luck? Maybe it was fate.
I bring up the connection between Rosh Hashanah and the Phillies because it gets to the heart of what the Jewish holidays mean to me each fall. In a word: it's not fate. How things go is largely up to us, even if we do not control the circumstances of our lives.
The New Year is a time at once joyful and solemn for Jews, because it marks a new beginning for each of us. It carries the assurance that we all do get a second chance and urges us to seize hold of it.
The world, too, can be better than it is -- a hope desperately needed this year. We have witnessed so much suffering in the Middle East and elsewhere -- so little peace for Israel or Iraq, Darfur or the Congo.
I can still chant by heart, thanks to months of practice for my bar mitzvah, Hosea's promise that we can change this: "The person who is wise will consider these words. The person who is prudent will take note of them. For the paths of the Lord are smooth. The righteous can walk on them."
Hosea urged Jews more than 2,500 years ago to "blow a shofar in Zion" so as to call the people to turn and return. Jews still blow a ram's horn at Rosh Hashanah for exactly the same reason. We need to hear loud and clear, again and again, the message to which it summons us.
Many interpretations have been given to the notes struck by the horn, but the one that means the most to me is this. The shofar's first sound, tekiah, is a wake-up call. It calls us to attention. Look around, it says. Things are not OK. Your work is needed to set them -- and yourself -- right.
The second sound made by the shofar is called shevarim, or "breaks." The world is broken. The horn imitates its cries, preventing us from stopping up our ears or our heart.
Teruah, a series of short blasts one after another, gives us marching orders. Change requires small steps that each of us has to take modestly but with determination. Overreaching will not work.
The shofar-blowing ends with a return to the first notes, longer this time -- a "great tekiah." It lets us know what victory sounds like. We can change our ways. So can the world.
Honesty compels each of us to concede that we've tried before to turn things around and haven't managed it. Experiences of failure haunt all of us, not just fans of the 1964 Phillies. That's why we need Rosh Hashanah each year to remind us that this beginning can be different.
May we all heed the shofar's call this year and prove that the world, which so needs fixing right now, can be made better -- and that we can make it so.
Professor Arnold M. Eisen is chancellor-elect of the Jewish Theological Seminary.
You can listen the sound of the shofar online thanks to 613.org. It's in Real Audio format.
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‘Only dialogue can resolve Tibet issue’November 14th, 2011 - 3:31 pm ICT by IANS
Dharamsala, Nov 14 (IANS) The Tibet issue can only be resolved through a dialogue with China, the Dalai Lama’s special envoy has said.
“The present tragic situation in Tibet and the most repressive policies of the Chinese authorities makes one wonder if it is even worth making any efforts for the dialogue. On the other hand, the prevailing situation confronts every sensible person (with the fact) that the only way is through dialogue,” the Dalai Lama’s special envoy Lodi G. Gyari said in a post on the official website of the Tibetan government-in-exile Monday.
Gyari has participated in all rounds of talks with the Chinese on granting more autonomy to Tibet.
China and the Dalai Lama’s envoys have held nine rounds of talks since 2002 so far, but no major breakthrough has been achieved.
Gyari was re-appointed as the Dalai Lama’s special envoy in June this year by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) after the spiritual leader relinquished his political powers.
“I will be continuing in my present capacity as special envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for some time for the dialogue process, including leading our efforts in our talks with the Chinese leadership, with envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen,” the statement dated Nov 11 said.
Last month Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay called a meeting of the task force, which was set up in 1999 to assist the envoys to hold talks with the Chinese, here to mull ways to restart the dialogue process.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet along with many of his supporters and took refuge in India when Chinese troops moved in and took control of Lhasa in 1959.
India is home to around 100,000 Tibetans.
- Dalai Lama's envoys resign - Jun 03, 2012
- Tibetan meet aims to break deadlock with China - Oct 07, 2011
- Dalai Lama's envoys re-appointed - Jun 14, 2011
- Dalai Lama's 77th birthday celebrated in Dharamsala (Lead) - Jul 06, 2012
- Efforts on to restart talks with China: Tibetan PM-in-exile - Oct 12, 2011
- Sangay for resumption of talks with China - Mar 10, 2012
- China, not Dalai Lama, cause for self-immolation: Sangay (Lead) - Mar 10, 2012
- China, not Dalai Lama, to be blamed for self-immolations: Sangay - Mar 10, 2012
- US concerned over violence in Tibet - Jan 25, 2012
- Exiles seek UN intervention in Tibet - Mar 21, 2012
- Dalai Lama's envoys return after talks with Chinese - Feb 01, 2010
- Tibetan PM completes one year in office - Aug 07, 2012
- Dalai Lama's envoys to hold talks with Chinese leaders - Jan 25, 2010
- Resolve Tibet issue through dialogue, says PM-in-exile - Jan 26, 2012
- Tibet situation grim, needs global intervention, say exiles - Feb 24, 2012
Tags: autonomy, breakthrough, central tibetan administration, chinese authorities, chinese leadership, chinese troops, cta, dalai lama, dialogue, holiness, lhasa, lobsang, prime minister, repressive policies, sensible person, spiritual leader, task force, tibet issue, tibetan government in exile, tragic situation
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Boss's Tip of the Day: How to talk about behavior
Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog
Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.
If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .
How to talk about behavior
One thing new supervisors dread most is talking to team members about behavior. One thing experienced supervisors hate most is talking to team members about behavior. Here are three steps to start out right and increase the odds that your conversation about behavior will go well.
Tell them why you're talking . Describe the behavior without adjectives. Then move right into the next step.
Tell them why it's worth talking about. Describe the impact of their behavior. Then …
Wait until your team member speaks. This can be uncomfortable, but it's the only way to make sure you have a conversation about what's going on.
If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Supervisory Interview Basics."
If you're wondering how to master the world of social media, check out Becky Robinson's tips for ways to get better results from your social media investment in 12 minutes or less. Becky is my personal go-to source for ideas on how to use social media more effectively.
Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.
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Federal regulations can be maddening, but none more so than a current one that demands oil refiners use millions of gallons of a substance, cellulosic ethanol, that does not exist.
"As ludicrous as that sounds, it's fact," says Charles Drevna, who represents refiners. "If it weren't so frustrating and infuriating, it would be comical."
And Tom Pyle of the Institute of Energy Research says, "the cellulosic biofuel program is the embodiment of government gone wild."
Refiners are at their wit's end because the government set out requirements to blend cellulosic ethanol back in 2005, assuming that someone would make it. Seven years later, no one has.
"None, not one drop of cellulosic ethanol has been produced commercially. It's a phantom fuel," says Pyle. "It doesn't exist in the market place."
And Charles Drevna adds, "forcing us to use a product that doesn't exist, they might as well tell us to use unicorns."
And yet, they still have to pay what amounts to fines:
"Why would they ask them to blend any at all if it doesn't exist?" Pyle said. "Because they know that they can squeeze some extra dollars out of them."
The EPA does have discretion to lower the annual requirement. And one supporter explains, that's what the agency is saying.
"We are going to reduce your blending obligation by 98 percent because we feel that that’s the right thing to do," says Brooke Coleman, the executive director of the Advanced Ethanol Council of the Renewable Fuels Association. "We are going to maintain your blending obligation on the gallons that we think are going to emerge."
The EPA, which would not speak on camera, is still hoping production of cellulosic ethanol will emerge.
A study by the Congressional Research Service, however, says the government "projects that cellulosic bio fuels are not expected to be commercially available on a large scale until at least 2015."
Drevna of the refiners association says they had no other choice left since EPA insisted they still had to blend some of the nonexistent cellulosic ethanol.
"We've had to go to the courts and litigate this thing is because they just turned a blind eye to us," Drevna said.
So the refiners are now suing the EPA, in part because the mandate gets larger and larger-- 500 million gallons this year, 3 billion in 2015 and 16 billion in 2022.
And still, not a gallon of cellulosic ethanol in sight.
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Henderson county is located in northwest Illinois. Henderson county has 378.87 square miles of land area and 16.35 square miles of water area. As of 2010, the total Henderson county population is 7,331, which has shrunk 10.74% since 2000. The population growth rate is much lower than the state average rate of 3.31% and is much lower than the national average rate of 9.71%. Henderson county median household income is $43,450 in 2006-2010 and has grown by 19.35% since 2000. The income growth rate is higher than the state average rate of 13.70% and is about the same as the national average rate of 19.17%. Henderson county median house value is $77,600 in 2006-2010 and has grown by 35.43% since 2000. The house value growth rate is lower than the state average rate of 46.64% and is lower than the national average rate of 50.42%. As a reference, the national Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate for the same period is 26.63%. On average, the public school district that covers Henderson county is worse than the state average in quality. The Henderson county area codes are 217, 309.
Hot Illinois Rankings
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London, in case you were wondering.
It all began with a 1764 survey of the local infrastructure by the Commission of Sewers and Pavements (one can only imagine the sins a bureaucrat had to commit to end up on the sewer commission). The commission found that London roads were “defective, even in the principal streets.”
Apparently 18th century Londoners hated walking on cracked pavement and muddy roadway shoulders as much as we do today, because a year later concerns over the commission's findings prompted the creation of the city's first curbed sidewalk. Other cities followed suit, and by 1823 Paris had even enacted a law requiring property owners to install sidewalks adjacent to their buildings. (No one paid much attention to it, as these were the days before binding developer agreements.)
Of course, pedestrians had been on the minds of city leaders long before the apperance of sidewalks. Heavy traffic congestion led Julius Caesar to ban the use of cars and chariots between sunrise and sunset on the roads of ancient Rome--though (no big surpise) he reneged on an earlier promise to grant pedestrians the right of way over other road users. Nor did other pledged improvements, such as road paving, ever materialize.
In fact, it wasn't until 1,000 years after Caesar's reign that paving began in earnest throughout Europe (Paris began the trend in the late 1100s). Paved roadways made walking easier for pedestrians in medieval cities...but it also made walking easier for horses, oxen, and other types of "heavy vehicle" traffic.
The increasing chaos on city streets got architects thinking about how to design city transportation networks that served everyone. Leonardo da Vinci recommended that the problem be addressed by separating pedestrians from other forms of traffic. Here is one of his drawings from the late 1400s, showing how the concept might look:
Although his designs weren’t adopted at the time, da Vinci's vision of pedestrian-only spaces was prescient-- today you can find "pedestrianized" streets everywhere from New York to Costa Rica.
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By Huw Jones
LONDON (Reuters) - Regulatory action may be needed to end variations in the ways banks add up the risks on their books to determine how big their capital buffers should be, the European Banking Authority said.
As regulators put in place tougher capital requirements, known as Basel III, following the 2007-09 financial crisis, they want to be sure calculations used by banks to meet them are sound.
Faith in figures that banks publish is seen as core to restoring investor and public trust in the financial sector.
The EBA released interim results on Tuesday of its probe into risk-weighted assets on the main banking books of 89 banks, which it did not name, from 16 European Union countries.
It found material differences between banks, with half caused by different regulatory approaches and the structure of a bank's loan portfolio, and the other half because of the way banks calibrated in-house financial models for adding up risks.
Greater disclosure will not be enough to ease concerns raised by investors and market analysts on the reliability of banks' calculations, EBA chairman Andrea Enria said.
Taking the top 20 banks in its study, the EBA said the difference between the maximum and minimum values for risk was 46 percent.
Enria said that was "significant and calls for further investigations and possibly policy solutions".
The EBA said it will complete further studies by the end of this year, looking into areas such as banks' exposure to small and medium-sized enterprises and the home loans market.
Some regulators and bankers have questioned how risk weighted assets are being added up, amid reports some lenders may be gaming the system so as to have to hold less capital.
The global Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published a study last month into how 16 top banks use its rules to add up risks on their trading books and found considerable variations, mainly due to the use of in-house models at banks.
The Committee is now studying risk weightings on banking books and its secretary general, Wayne Byres, said on Tuesday in a speech in Korea it was reasonable for investors to complain that current risk disclosures are opaque.
Remedies could include a combination of better disclosures, stricter supervision and forcing banks to show risk calculations based on their own and a standardized model.
Byres said this would come at a cost but the "costs of a lack of confidence in bank capital ratios are likely to be substantial, so cost should not be a reason to immediately dismiss any ideas out of hand".
Bank of England director of financial stability Andrew Haldane and others says Basel III, written by the Basel Committee, should be simplified to stop over-reliance on the use of banks' own in-house models for totting up risks.
Byres said Basel's review of risk weights "does not mean, as some have suggested, that we should stop what we are doing to implement Basel III and go back to the drawing board."
Britain's Financial Services Authority is going through risk-weighted asset calculations at domestic banks and will report to the central bank's risk watchdog next month.
(Additional reporting by Steve Slater, Editing by Dan Lalor and David Cowell)
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A popular magazine announced a contest to solve Goldbach's Conjecture. Don't expect much enthusiasm from the mathematical community.
Goldbach's Conjecture. Any even integer greater than 4 is the sum of two odd primes.
Vinogradov (1937): There is an integer N such that any odd integer greater than N is the sum of three primes.
Chen and Wang (1989): N ≤ e e 11503.
Liu and Wang (2002): N ≤ e 3100.
Why aren't mathematician's thrilled?
Over the years, many of us have received purported proofs of famous conjectures or recently proven theorems. Examples
- The four colour theorem: The shortest accepted proofs so far (Haken and Appel, Seymour) have 500 or more cases. No mathematican expects that somebody will find a two-page solution in the near future.
- Fermat's last theorem: Andrew Wiles solved this (with a little help on one piece) after a seven-year effort. The proof is several hundred pages long. Again, no short proof is expected.
- Angle trisection, duplication of the cube, squaring the circle: These cannot be done with ruler and compass. It is extremely hard to convince a non-mathematician of this. However, the proof is understandable to students in undergraduate mathematics programs.
If I left out your favorite problem, you don't need to contact me.
What we all think will happen with the Goldbach award:
Many amateurs will construct what they believe are proofs. Because the contest requires the winning proof to be acceptable to a standard mathematics journal, the journals will receive many submissions on this topic. Then, the journals send those submissions to [unpaid] referees, who will most certainly not appreciate the increase in the workload. Perhaps the magazine is willing to pay referee fees? To top it off, most submissions by amateurs are not well-written, and most amateurs do not believe that the referees cannot follow their proofs. Some submitters will go so far as to try to sue the journals/referees for stealing their work. Don't laugh, it has happened.
Last modified April 11, 2000, by S.C. Locke.
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Olive Oil & Olives Glossary
Page 5: Terms With H ~ K
This is Page 5 of the Olive Oil & Olives Glossary. If you think we should consider terms or definitions than those we have provided, use the Contact Us links on this page. Also read our article, Flavors and Aromas of Olive Oil. Visit our collection of 60+ food glossaries to learn more about other food products.
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Olives that are picked by hand instead of harvested with a shaker or a row type harvester. Hand picking is considered to produce a better olive oil than fruit that is mechanically harvested. Mechanical harvesting can bruise the fruit, increasing acidity, but others argue that mechanically harvested fruit can also get to the press quicker, which lowers acidity. Detractors say that this might be true in a scenario of mass-produced oil, but any artisan-produced oil will harvested in much smaller amounts by hand gotten to the press within hours, the best of both worlds. Olives harvested with a hand-held pneumatic rake are usually considered “hand picked.”
Harvesting of the fruit is done in the autumn. Harvesting usually continues for about two months, or until the fruit becomes damaged by frost. The table olive harvest is done by hand-picking so as not to bruise the fruit; ladders are used to climb into the tree.
The FDA allows olive oil manufacturers to place a health claim on bottles linking olive oil to reduced risk of coronary heart disease. Olive oil controls LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels while raising HDL (“good” cholesterol) levels. Continuing research indicates there may be other benefits as well, from the redistribution of body fat to painkilling properties, but these have not yet received FDA sanction.
One of the major olive varieties of southern Spain, grown in the provinces of Córdoba, Granada, Malaga and Sevilla. Hojiblanca produces a yellow oil with a green and violet tinge. Its flavors vary between intense and fruity, and smooth and sweet. The oil is known for nuances of apple and green grass, which can give it a hint of bitterness, and almond finish. It is enjoyed for its smooth taste and lightness on the palate. Its stability is considered average.
INFUSED OLIVE OIL
Infusion is a method of flavor enhancement that adds the flavor of herbs or fruits into olive oil through crushing the produce along with the olives (or steeping the herbs/fruits in the oil and then removing them), or by adding the oil (or essence) of the produce to the olive oil. It different from “flavored” olive oils, which add less expensive, alcohol-based extracts (which can cost $7 per gallon, compared to $200 or $300 per gallon for essence). Check to see the base of the infused olive oil; the best ones will use extra virgin olive oil. See flavored olive oil. Notes:
(1) It is not safe to prepare homemade infused olive oils unless they will be used immediately. The inclusions (herbs, chiles, peppercorns, etc.) may promote bacterial growth that can cause illness. Commercial processes eliminate harmful bacterial growth.
(2) IOOC Definition: Technically, olive oil which has had herbs or fruits infused in it cannot be called olive oil. According to IOOC regulations it must be called “fruit juice.” In reality, few producers comply with this, labeling their products “lemon infused olive oil” or “basil olive oil.” Because of their immense popularity, the California Olive Oil Council is trying to come up with a meaningful labeling standard for flavored and infused oils.
Basil-infused olive oil from Fig & Olive Connection.
The International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) determines standards for grades of olive oil for most of the world.
KALAMATA or CALAMON OLIVE
A large, meaty black or deep purple olive, up to one inch in length, with a rich, fruity flavor. The almond-shaped Kalamata is largely used as a table olive, not generally pressed into oil. It is popularly served with lamb, swordfish and pasta dishes and is a component of a Greek salad. As a cocktail olive, it pairs well with Merlot. It is named after the city of Kalamata, Greece, in the southern Peloponnesian mountains.
Photo of Kalamata olives by Corey Lugg | THE NIBBLE.
These are from Sonoma Farm.
A small olive from the area around Kalamata, Greece, which represents close to 60% of the total Greek olive-growing area. Although difficult to cultivate, it has a high yield and produces olive oil of exceptional quality. The oil is very fruity, with an aroma of leaves and grass and a flavor with notes of green apple. It has some astringency, with hints of almond, fig and bark. Though very flavorful, it has low stability, i.e., has a short shelf life once the bottle is opened, so use it up quickly.
Photo of koroneiki olive by Aristides Papadakis | SXC.
Continue To Next Page: Terms With L & M
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Upton Sinclair, ed. (18781968). The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest. 1915.
Light Upon Waldheim
By Voltairine De Cleyre
(From his Will. American anarchist writer, 18661912. Waldheim is a cemetery in Chicago, where the executed Anarchists were buried. Upon the monument is the figure of a woman holding a dying man upon her knees, with one hand pressing a crown upon his forehead, and with the other drawing a dagger)
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Falkland Islands charm despite troubled past
The charred remains of a helicopter lie like darkened bones strewn about the landscape. They are grim reminders of yet another senseless war. Landmine fields, surrounded by barbed wire and danger signs, are in sharp contrast with the bucolic scene unfolding just feet away. Sheep now dot the land where, in 1982, British and Argentine soldiers engaged in 74 days of fierce combat after Argentina invaded the islands; giant petrels soar where fighter planes once ruled the air. Another bounce of our four-by-four jolts me to the present. This trip is not about war—we’ve come to the Falkland Islands to see penguins.
The war, however, still reverberates. We are here on our way back from Antarctica on the Crystal Symphony, on a pleasure cruise with various stops along the coasts of Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina. Cruise ships are now making scheduled daylong stops on the islands, which are located about 400 kilometres east of mainland South America. Yesterday afternoon, out on the open sea, we were mystified by the appearance of a military plane roaring above our cruise ship and making low reconnaissance passes. Geoff Renner, the ship’s expert lecturer on Antarctica and the surrounding region, explained that it was an Argentine plane patrolling the country’s sovereign waters. While the islands have been under British rule since 1833, tensions with Argentina still run deep.
Both warships and fishing boats are present in Stanley, the capital city, located on the island of East Falkland. We gather in small, excited groups around the four-by-fours that will take us across the island to Cape Dolphin, a sprawling private farm with an abundance of wildlife, including the Magellanic, gentoo, and king penguins that are the object of our visit.
Our tour guide, Dave, a former British policeman, takes the wheel and reveals a deep-seated passion for this land as he shares tales of its residents’ resilient and proud spirit. Dave is a “belonger”, as British citizens who have obtained Falkland Island status are known. He moved to the islands 20-odd years ago after meeting his islander wife in London. He makes a living from the thriving tourism industry and is also in the military reserve—something he, along with many other islanders, takes very seriously.
Falklanders are a proudly independent bunch. The islands in the archipelago are a self-governing territory of Great Britain, which is responsible for its defence and foreign affairs. The Falkland Islands’ population hovers at about 3,000 and islanders enjoy full British citizenship.
Leaving Stanley, we pass by several landmine fields. According to our guide, approximately 20,000 live and lethal mines still exist undamaged, but they pose no great danger as they are well marked and fenced. “Just obey the signs,” he says.
On our way to the penguin colony, we pass quaint, colourful cottages, many of which sport hothouses; the inclement weather and poor soil conditions, Dave says, conspire against food crops. Fresh produce is expensive, as most of it comes to the islands by air or sea, so many residents grow their own. Government plans to promote food self-sufficiency are fuelled by fears that rising tensions with Argentina may lead to shipping disruptions.
The town’s paved roads quickly give way to open land, and we’re soon driving on private roads, crisscrossing hectare upon hectare of rugged farmland. Sheep and cattle roam freely; fences are seldom seen. Rivers of rock, leftovers from the glacial age, scar the land in multiple parallel rows, some scarcely a few feet wide, others so vast as to resemble the surface of the moon. Dave points out some of the battlefields where the war of 1982 was fought, a war that touched the lives of all Falklanders who remained under the British mantle in the face of Argentina’s centuries’-old—and never relinquished—claim of sovereignty. Recent economic squabbles between the two countries concerning the islands have led to an increase in tension marking the conflict’s 30th anniversary. What is there to fight about? Offshore oil, of course.
While he talks about the challenges facing such a small, isolated population, Dave tells us about meeting his wife while she was attending university in London. This is a perk of being a Falklander, he says: high-school graduates are entitled to pursue higher education in the United Kingdom, paid for by the British government.
Dave’s narrative has made this long ride go by fast. After some serious off-roading, we finally make it to Cape Dolphin. As we crest a small dune, we spy the birds—what a treat! We step out of the vehicle and slowly become aware of two distinct sounds: the familiar low rumble of the waves breaking on the shore, and a disconcerting, loud braying noise. The latter comes from nearby groups of Magellanic penguins, aptly nicknamed “jackass” penguins. Off in the distance, two birds stand out, surrounded by several hundred of their gentoo cousins; the metre-tall king penguins are conspicuous in their brilliant golden neck feathers and majestic strut. Gentoos waddle about; orange beaks and feet lend them a cartoonish look, and chicks still moulting their baby feathers trustingly approach the human visitors.
Penguins number in the tens of thousands and live in a natural, untouched habitat where no roads, fences, or roped-off areas exist. We walk in the surf, drinking in the raw beauty and tranquillity of our surroundings, our footprints mingling with the penguins’ until the next wave washes them away.
As we make our way back to Stanley, we talk, not just about the penguins but about how unexpectedly rich this one-day port stop turned out to be.
When I was growing up in Peru, there was no such thing as the Falkland Islands; they were “Las Malvinas” and they were Argentina’s, as a popular Argentine slogan proclaimed during the war. On this trip, I learned that a country is defined not by longitude and latitude but by the heart of its people. These islanders’ hearts are Falklander through and through.
Access: You can fly to the Falkland Islands from Santiago, Chile, or visit by sea; several cruise and expedition ships make daylong stops on their itineraries through South America or Antarctica. For more information, see the Falkland Islands website.
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Women have stories. We share our stories with one another and make sense of our lives through our stories. Our lives consist of seemingly endless stories woven together with bits of thread and a little bit of patchwork along the way. Within the stories we find our meaning and our connection -- to each other and to ourselves. Where men find comfort in facts, women find comfort in each other's stories.
How does this work when it comes to money? Consider this example:
Fifteen women are gathered together in a 90-minute workshop talking about women, emotion and money. We're examining what money means to us, what we do with it and how we spend it. The conversation ambles comfortably as we share examples of our secret purchases and our guilty pleasures. Then, one woman speaks up and the room falls silent.
"I have a secret to confess." As the facilitator, I catch my breath. What will I have to deal with next? Am I ready for it? Secrets are scary things. How will I manage this? Her next sentence results in a collective exhaling of breath. And giggles. What did she say?
"I haven't opened my statements from my financial advisor in a year!" The women sheepishly, but with great pleasure, look at each other. And then one by one they say "Me neither." There. It's out. The group confession. From there, we tell our stories of what this ostrich behaviour meant to us, why we did it, what we were avoiding and how we can face our fears. By the end of the workshop, these fearful women were excited and asking for another workshop -- this time a full day. They had found a space where they could share their stories, their fears and really talk about what matters to them.
This is how women relate to each other and through this process they learn and grow. Money is one of the last taboos and is something many of us are uncomfortable discussing. Creating safe and open spaces for women to talk about money is one of the missing gaps in financial and investor education. For sure, financial literacy is a major problem. However, the solutions, which are offered by financial institutions, are all the same -- workshops and courses on investing, budgets, wills, and getting your finances in order.
For many women, the issue runs much deeper than simply getting the facts. Before women can pay attention to the facts, they need to understand their feelings about money and why they have disconnected from it. Why have they chosen to give up control? As research by Sheconimics has found, 80 per cent of women shop to cheer themselves up.
Women also shop when they're feeling good. Women's inability to exercise control over this area of their lives is costly to them. In fact, 70 per cent said they would spend less if they had better self-control. Therefore, simply informing women of products and services is ineffective if women have an underlying self-control issue. Investing and saving require self-discipline.
What is the answer is for financial professionals to accompany women on journeys of discovery? Workshops need to provide an environment were women can explore issues of relevance to them. Advisory meetings should be designed to help women sort out how their money affects all parts of their lives. Providing direction to women about their tough money and life issues -- this is where women are looking for support.
Listening to her story, encouraging her to explore her money choices and decisions through the stories in her life are where professionals can add real and meaningful. Help the female client to understand how her story impacts her money past, present and future. You'll be rewarded with a grateful and loyal client.
Follow Deborah Nixon on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deborahnixon
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A visit to Monona Terrace is a wonderful introduction to looking at architecture and understanding the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Student tour groups are requested to complete a tour request form. Visit here to learn more about our guided tour that meets academic standards in several disciplines.
"You did an excellent job! Thank you... it was amazing that you were so organized and the docents were knowledgeable and great with kids. Thank you so much for the wonderful experience."
- K.C W., Madison
“I have enjoyed researching you (Monona Terrace) for the past month for our Frank Lloyd Wright project. I chose to research you because you are very unique. You have many curvilinear designs on your exterior, as well as your interior and it makes you look stunning! We just had our Art and Architecture trip and on our second stop, we took a tour of you! That was definitely the highlight of my day!!…I hope you have fun meeting the next batch of 5th graders next year, and I will remember you and this trip forever.”
- Kylie M., Wakanda Elementary
The Wright 3, by Blue Balliett, is a mystery for 10-12 year old readers about the Wright-designed Robie House in Chicago. For activities based on the book in language arts, social studies and visual arts, contact Heather Sabin at email@example.com or 608-261-4015.
In the 1830´s, German educator Friedrich Froebel developed a system of educational toys that included "gifts" of wooden blocks. Frank Lloyd Wright played with Froebel blocks as a youth and acknowledged them as a fundamental influence on his architecture.
Monona Terrace facilitates Froebel block workshops in Dane County third, fourth and fifth grade classrooms. Each student works with a set of blocks to build two- and three-dimensional designs. The activities emphasize spatial thinking about shape, pattern, symmetry and scale. Throughout guided play, students will develop skills in cause and effect thinking, problem solving, concentration, and creativity.
Here's what some of the teachers had to say:
“The students enjoy this program each year. This was our third year. The activities are engaging to each student regardless of learning needs (from students requiring support to those requiring enrichment).” –Anonymous, April 2009
The program fee is $1/student. For more information, contact Heather Sabin at firstname.lastname@example.org or 608-261-4015.
Our biennial Terrace Town program challenges Dane County classrooms to design and build models of sustainable communities. Teachers work in partnership with volunteer "mentors"- architects, planners, and design professionals- to facilitate the students' work over several months. Terrace Town will next occur in the 2013/14 school year. Here's what some of the participating teachers had to say:
“Kids of all levels and abilities can be involved. Really builds class cohesiveness, teamwork, problem solving and compromising skills.” -Anonymous, Spring 2008
“The connections to our standards are numerous. The relevance/authenticity is high. And-oh yes- it’s fun!” -Anonymous, Spring 2008
For more information, go to http://www.mononaterrace.com/educatorspage/terracetown.
View an 11-minute video here.
Teachers interested in learning more about enrollment should contact Heather Sabin at email@example.com or 608-261-4015.
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1100 Jericho Turnpike
Westbury, NY 11590
6:00 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013
Museums | Sights
MARTIN P. SCHREIBMAN PhDRecipient, "2013 Outstanding Advocate for Science & Technology Award"The Science Museum of Long Island recently named Martin Schreibman PhD as a recipient of a 2013 OUTSTANDING ADVOCATE FOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AWARD. Dr. Schreibman will be honored on Wednesday, February 6th at the Westbury Manor for his outstanding contributions toward the advancement and education of science and technology.Please help support Dr. Schreibman in his goal to raise a minimum of $1,000 for this important fundraiser.Proceeds support the Science Museum of Long Island's programs and services for the children and families of the region! Below is a brief summary of impressive accomplishments by MARTIN P. SCHREIBMAN, PhD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology at the City University of New York’s Brooklyn College:Dr. Schreibman helped perfect a model for sustainable urban farming using cutting edge technology, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), to grow fish. Professor Schreibman is the founder and Director Emeritus of Brooklyn College’s Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center (AREAC), a research facility devoted to the study of aquatic organisms — how they grow, adapt, reproduce, and live in all temperatures and environments. He and a multidisciplinary team of researchers seek to answer questions about medicine, nutrition, pollution, aquaculture, fisheries, and marine ecology. AREAC’s projects include bivalve and fish aquaculture, breeding horseshoe crabs, educational outreach, and product commercialization. Dr. Schreibman has devoted the past 12 years to developing urban aquaponics — growing both fish and plants together in a symbiotic water re-use system. His recirculating farming techniques have been used for assorted projects — even in outer space. In 1998, on the space shuttle Endeavor, he worked with Dr. Volker Bluem of Germany to develop a small system to test whether growing fresh food in space could be an option for lengthy trips. He is credited with over 190 scientific published citations and seven books. His topics of research have ranged from issues and concerns of space travel and extraterrestrial habitation and biomedical concerns (cancer and aging) to the impact of urban communities on surrounding estuaries and aquatic ecosystems. He has also been involved in developing and implementing meaningful environmental science curriculum for high school students and their teachers.
The inaugural ADVOCATES FOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AWARDS takes place on Wednesday, February 6, 2013, 6pm to 8pm, at Westbury Manor. To register or for more information, call Tracey Gittere at (516) 222-0550 or TGittere@LegendaryEvents.net
Visit EventBrite.com for pricing.
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Dr. Joseph Berry - GIS Modeling Consultant
Dr. Joseph Berry is a leading consultant and educator in the application of GIS technology. He is the principal of Berry and Associates // Spatial Information Systems (BASIS), consultants and software developers in geotechnology. Joe is well known for his many publications over the past 30 years, including the "Beyond Mapping" column for GeoWorld magazine since 1989, and several books and over 200 papers on GIS theory and applications.
Joe has worked with Senior DTS staff members David Buckley and Dave Bouwman for many years - conspiring on GIS models and analysis projects for over 15 years with both of them. This has included several GIS software products and applications including landscape fragmentation analysis, advanced 3-D visualization, and wildfire risk analysis. Joe is actively working with DTS on several projects as a key component in our GIS model and related application development team. You can find out more about Joe at his web site.
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The independent, feminine spirit is personified in the Greek goddess Artemis. Her imagery shows us a woman who seeks her goals on a terrain of her own choosing. Although we need both masculine and famine qualities to achieve inner balance (this is the true meaning of wholeness), Artemis reminds us modern women to maintain emotional and intellectual balance in our lives.
The assertive Artemis
In Greek mythology, Artemis was depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrows. She favored nature and lived in the woods, where her companions were nymphs and wild animals. She punished mortals with unerring aim. In one story, the hunter Actaeon had the misfortune to discover the goddess while she was bathing. She changed him into a stag and set her hounds on him. They chased him and tore him apart. This is why you should never disturb a woman who’s taking a relaxing bubble bath at the end of a long, tiresome day!
Artemis was also very competitive, and kept love at arm’s length, though she loved the hunter Orion the hunter. One day her twin brother Apollo spotted Orion swimming far out at sea. He dared his sister to shoot an arrow into this target. Not knowing it was Orion, the goddess accepted the challenge and took aim. She beheaded her beloved Orion. Her one true love was a casualty of her competitive spirit.
Free spirit and independence define an Artemis woman
Cruelty and competitiveness have their place in our lives but so do sensuality and femininity. Because Artemis was also portrayed with the moon and stars surrounding her, she is considered a virgin goddess of the moon. She’s not a virgin in the sexual sense, but in the sense of being “one-unto-herself,” whole and free-spirited. The moon is a symbol of this independent virginity, of intuition and mystery, of the deepest intact parts of a woman’s self. In Artemis, we see this feminine, independent spirit as something that belongs only to her; when we see ourselves as Artemis, we are independent and not subservient to others. “Being “whole unto yourself” means you have a sense of completeness that is not defined by others. It’s living life on your own terms.
How can we embody these aspects of the goddess Artemis to create a balanced life?
- See yourself as a whole image of creation. The independent and confident spirit within you grows when you see yourself as a beautiful and whole, not just as a parent, wife, mother, business partner, or caretaker. You are not just an appendage to others; you’re complete as you are. Feel good about who you are!
- Seek your goals on a terrain of your own choosing. When you embrace the Artemis within, you must maintain inner and outer balance by embracing both beauty and cruelty, both life and death, as part of the earth experience. Life is reciprocal, and you can’t give all the time without accepting gifts, too. Self-worth is created on a two-way street.
- Honor your competitive spirit. Don’t suppress your energies but create them productively. To lead a balanced life, you need to respect both masculine and feminine qualities within.
Part of your ability to cope with life comes from knowing and respecting all your different aspects. Begin your day with an affirmation that helps you recognize your “wholeness.” Let’s affirm:
“Today, my life is filled with meaning and wholeness. I am alive with purpose and am a unique and special creation. I am a shining star among many constellations, and my light is bright. I am whole and powerful, and I feel full, knowing that I illuminate others across the universe. I make a difference in millions of lives.”
Watch the corresponding video on The Balancing Act here.
For all you Goddess Aficionados, here’s an Artemis quiz to text your mythological knowledge:
1. Artemis can be characterized as:
- A Greek Goddess who was dependent upon Zeus to provide her with happiness
- An independent spirit, a self-sufficient goddess who understood her masculine and feminine qualities
- One of the Seven Wonders of the World
- The best friend of Diana of Ephesus
2. Why did Artemis shoot Orion?
- She was preparing for the biathlon competition in the upcoming Greek Games with Apollo
- Orion caused Leto to be in labor for nine days
- She was being true to her nature at all costs
- He had an affair with Callisto and Zeus asked her to seek revenge
3. Artemis was associated with:
- Bows and Arrows
- Deer, stags, and mountain streams
- The moon and stars
- All of the above
4. Why does Artemis exemplify the concept of virginity?
- She could be “whole unto herself,” spiritually autonomous, and was comfortable in her sense of inner completion
- She could not find a satisfactory relationship and had no other choice
- She had to remain pure in order to be part of a triple goddess
- Actaeon desired her and she agreed, but she first took a bath in a mountain stream
Correct answers are: 1 (b), 2 (c), 3 (d), 4 (a).
© Charlene M Proctor and The Goddess Network, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Read Let Your Goddess Grow! Click Here to buy.
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The system will have to compete with data archiving products that established themselves during Honeycomb's long incubation, from fixed-content systems such EMC Corp.'s Centera, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Integrated Archive Platform (IAP, formerly RISS) and Hitachi Data Systems' Hitachi Content Archiving Platform (HCAP), to targeted email and file archiving applications.
Sun said Honeycomb will differentiate itself because it uses a
As promised early in its development, the 5800 system can also run applications, and Sun has opened some code to developers to create new applications through the Storage Beans program (named after Java Beans). Sun senior manager of strategy and planning Patrick Auth said these applications could include everything from image format conversion to data deduplication.
For the initial release, Storage Beans has come up with a search application that can run across all the nodes of Honeycomb, drawing on the processors in each of its servers, rather than requiring processing at the client/server level.
"We can preserve the metadata along with objects in the archive, and you won't have to pull them out of the archive to manage and manipulate the data," Auth said. Sun's stance is that during decades-long, long-term data preservation, relying on proprietary applications outside the archive to access data is a losing proposition.
Sun also claims its hardware migrations will be easier than those of its competitors because it uses industry- standard hardware. But Auth admits that Sun's software will still have to be updated to accommodate new hardware systems.
Sun left out one relatively mundane, but crucial feature: support for multisite replication. And like most Sun storage products released recently, Honeycomb uses ZFS, currently the subject of patent-infringement lawsuits with Network Appliance Inc. (NetApp). Honeycomb uses the filesystem to boot nodes and control metadata.
Storage systems product group director John Considine said Honeycomb could survive the worst-case scenario of ZFS being taken off the market. "I can't comment on the lawsuit directly," he said. "But if users are concerned, we could fall back just to the pure architecture and aren't necessarily dependent on the underlying file system for the core value proposition."
It's unclear how many users there are with the system in production to date, or how many of them are paying customers. Sun claims several user references with this release, including Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, Oxford University, Alberta Libraries and Southampton University, but would only confirm that Stanford, Johns Hopkins and Southampton hadn't had the system donated by Sun. Contacts at those institutions were not available for interviews by press time, although a representative from Stanford (where Sun was started) spoke with SearchStorage.com at the time the university joined the early adopter program for Honeycomb last year.
Analysts said it's a good sign that Sun is executing on its plan to base as much of its products as possible on Sun IP, and its goals of releasing hybrid storage server products when it combined its storage and server product groups last month. Sun's ability to port applications and capture metadata within the system is also winning fans.
"In markets like oil and gas and pharmaceuticals, they have very large data sets that are expensive to glean, and sometimes how they were gleaned is also important," Clipper Group analyst Anne MacFarland said. "Being able to run all that locally could cut down on the costs, and being able to use parallel processing to reuse data could improve the ability to retrieve the data quickly."
According to John Webster, principal IT advisor with Illuminata Inc., the server-grid architecture in the 5800 could also be a differentiator. "There really aren't too many products out there yet, especially in service to archival storage, based on parallel processing," he said.
However, Webster said, long-term object presentation is still being developed in open source communities. "They're still figuring out ways to migrate between hardware platforms, and it's harder to do that from a software perspective with object-based storage," he said. "It's more or less still an unsolved problem at this point."
The Honeycomb system is built in cells and is available in configurations of eight servers (known as a half cell) or 16 servers (a full cell). A full cell has a capacity of 32 TB and lists for $245,000; a half-cell holds 16 TB and is priced at roughly half the cost of the full cell.
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NEW ORLEANS -- People along the Gulf Coast may receive an unwelcome visitor on Christmas Day.
Rough weather, including a chance of strong tornadoes and howling thunderstorms, could be on the way from east Texas to north Florida.
Farther north, much of Oklahoma and Arkansas are under a winter storm warning, with freezing rain, sleet and snow expected on Christmas. A blizzard watch is out for western Kentucky. And no matter what form the bad weather takes, travel on Tuesday could be dangerous.
The National Weather Service says the storms could bring strong tornadoes or winds of more than 75 mph, heavy rain, quarter-sized hail and dangerous lightning in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Forecasters say storms would begin near the coast and spread north through the day, bringing with them the chances of storms, particularly in central and southwest Alabama.
The bad weather is a result of a storm front moving from the West Coast crashing into a cold front.
In California, after a brief reprieve across the northern half of the state on Monday, wet weather is expected to make another appearance on Christmas. Flooding and snarled holiday traffic are also expected in Southern California.
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Obama: America Has Emerged Stronger From 9/11
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2011 President Barack Obama today remembered those who were lost to terrorist attacks a decade ago and said the American commitment to freedom, justice, courage and liberty has not dimmed in the face of many trials.
Obama capped a busy day that took him to ground zero in New York, to Shanksville, Pa., where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed, and to the Pentagon.
Tonight, the president spoke at the Concert for Hope at the Kennedy Center here, where began his remarks with a quote from the Bible: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,” from Psalm 30.
Americans endured such a night on Sept. 11, 2001, Obama said.
“Mighty towers crumbled. Black smoke billowed up from the Pentagon. Airplane wreckage smoldered on a Pennsylvania field,” he said. “Friends and neighbors, sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters -- they were taken from us with heartbreaking swiftness and cruelty. On Sept. 12, 2001, we awoke to a world in which evil was closer at hand, and uncertainty clouded our future.”
In the past 10 years, much has changed, and America is at war, the president noted.
“We can never get back the lives we lost on that day, or the Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in the wars that followed,” he said, but he added that after a decade it is worth remembering what hasn’t changed.
“Our character as a nation has not changed,” Obama said. “Our faith – in God and each other – that has not changed. Our belief in America, born of a timeless ideal that men and women should govern themselves, that all people are created equal, and deserve the same freedom to determine their own destiny -- that belief, through test and trials, has only been strengthened.”
The past decade has shown America does not give in to fear, Obama said. He spoke of first responders running into doomed buildings and airline passengers taking on terrorists as just two examples, and he said Americans have worked together to defend the nation and its values.
“Two million Americans have gone to war since 9/11,” Obama said. “They have demonstrated that those who do us harm cannot hide from the reach of justice, anywhere in the world.”
The men and women who fight America’s wars are not conscripts, but volunteers, the president noted. “They are men and women who left behind lives of comfort for two, three, four, or five tours of duty. Too many will never come home. Those that do carry dark memories from distant places and the legacy of fallen friends.”
U.S. service members and their families have sacrificed in Afghanistan and Iraq, Obama said, but they do not sacrifice for conquest or to demonstrate America can occupy another country.
“Our strength is not measured in our ability to stay in these places; it comes from our commitment to leave those lands to free people and sovereign states, and our desire to move from a decade of war to a future of peace,” the president said.
And America holds on to its freedoms, Obama said, acknowledging that fierce debates have taken place about the balance between security and civil liberties.
“But it is precisely the rigor of these debates, and our ability to resolve them in a way that honors our values, that is a measure of our strength,” he said. “Meanwhile, our open markets still provide innovators with the chance to create, our citizens are still free to speak their minds, and our souls are still enriched in our churches and temples, our synagogues and mosques.”
And America has also not succumbed to suspicion and mistrust, the president said, evoking the words of his predecessor. “After 9/11, President Bush made clear what we reaffirm today: the United States will never wage war against Islam or any religion,” Obama said.
In the wake of 9/11, America has arisen from the canvas and demonstrated once again its resilience, the president told the Kennedy Center audience. “The Pentagon is repaired, and filled with patriots working in common purpose,” he said. “Shanksville is the scene of friendships forged between residents of that town and families who lost loved ones there. New York remains a vibrant capital of the arts and industry, fashion and commerce.
“Where the World Trade Center once stood, “the sun glistens off a new tower that reaches toward the sky,” he continued. “Our people still work in skyscrapers. Our stadiums are filled with fans, and our parks full of children playing ball. Our airports hum with travel, and our buses and subways take millions where they need to go. Families sit down to Sunday dinner, and students prepare for school. This land pulses with the optimism of those who set out for distant shores, and the courage of those who died for human freedom.”
America has met the test, and those who follow will appreciate the courage, commitment and resilience of Americans of this era, the president said. He stressed the word “united” when he said, “Nothing can break the will of a truly United States of America.”
Those of the future will remember and understand that the people of the United States “have overcome slavery and Civil War, bread lines and fascism, recession and riots, communism and, yes, terrorism,” he said. “They will be reminded that we are not perfect, but our democracy is durable, and that democracy – reflecting, as it does, the imperfections of man – also gives us the opportunity to perfect our union.
“That is what we honor on days of national commemoration – those aspects of the American experience that are enduring, and the determination to move forward as one people,” he said.
That determination to move forward is the real legacy of 9/11, the president told the audience. “It will be said of us that we kept that faith -- that we took a painful blow, and emerged stronger,” he said.
The president closed with a call that echoed President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: “With a just God as our guide, let us honor those who have been lost. Let us rededicate ourselves to the ideals that define our nation, and let us look to the future with hearts full of hope. May God bless the memory of those we lost, and may God bless the United States of America.”
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While tremendous inroads have been made over the last several decades against respiratory infections, diarrheal disease, birth injuries and vaccine-preventable infections like measles, there has been an explosive growth in cancer rates worldwide. Direct Relief supports effective global health initiatives aimed at decreasing the burden of cancer for vulnerable populations in the developing world, where over half of cancer cases occur.
Screening for Cervical Cancer in Haiti
Although cervical cancer is one of the most preventable and treatable forms of cancer, it is the second most common cancer found among women worldwide. Almost 300,000 women die each year from cervical cancer and 80 percent of those deaths occur in developing countries.
Over the past several decades the cervical cancer burden has decreased dramatically in developed countries with the widespread adoption of cervical cancer screening programs. In developing countries, however, it is estimated that only five percent of women have been screened for cervical cancer—a stark contrast to the 40-50 percent of women in developed countries who have been screened.
In Haiti, the incidence of cervical cancer ranks among the highest in the world. In an effort to reduce the incidence of this disease in Haitian women, Direct Relief—in partnership with Basic Health International (BHI)—supports a cervical cancer screening and training program with long-time Haitian partner, Fondation St. Luc, a division of St. Damien Hospital in Port-au-Prince.
Read more about the Cervical Cancer Screening and Training Program in Haiti
Treating Children with Burkitt’s Lymphoma in Africa
Burkitt’s lymphoma is an aggressive cancer that accounts for more than half of all childhood cancers in equatorial Africa. It is a rare disease everywhere else. The disease is related to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the first virus to be associated with human cancer, and current research has suggested that malaria may also play a role in the development of Burkitt’s lymphoma. Research is underway around the shore of Lake Victoria in East Africa, where the burden of malaria and Burkitt’s lymphoma is high.
In 2012, Direct Relief began collaborating with The Burkitt’s Lymphoma Fund for Africa (BLFA) to fund and support treatment of children in Africa for Burkitt’s lymphoma. Direct Relief collaborates with the BLFA in support of programs in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. In Uganda, Direct Relief is partnering with the Uganda Program on Cancer & Infectious Diseases (UPCID) who aims to treat 300 children with Burkitt’s lymphoma in a 2 year period. In Uganda, Burkitt’s lymphoma is the most common cancer for children and the average age of a child with the disease is five. A fast-growing tumor often develops in the jaw or abdomen that can interfere with breathing and make it difficult for young patients to feed adequately, leading to malnutrition. Currently, the five-year survival rate in Uganda is less than 40 percent.
“More than 85 percent of these children could be cured for less than $600 a case,” said Corey Casper, M.D., M.P.H., associate member of the Hutchinson Center’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division and co-scientific director of the UCI/Hutchinson Center Cancer Alliance.
In Tanzania, Direct Relief is partnering with the Sota Health Center, a rural health facility supported by the SHED Foundation where many young lives are being transformed by cancer treatment, and in Kenya, Direct Relief works with the Kisumu-based OGRA Foundation to support a comprehensive Burkitt’s Program at the Nyanza Provincial General Hospital.
Read more about the Burkitt’s Lymphoma Program in Africa
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Snowmobile Program News
Your groomer operators are now required to pass the Groomer Operator Awareness quiz for your club to qualify for the Capital Equipment grant. Please contact our office at firstname.lastname@example.org or 287- 4957 if you need the DVD and quizzes so your club will be in compliance.
New Capital Equipment and Municipal Grant Rules, Questions and Comments
Question: Does the required list of landowners have to include map and lot numbers?
Response: No, the list should include the name, address and telephone number of the landowner whose land the trail passes and have granted permission.
Question: Are land use permits eligible for reimbursement under the Municipal Grant?
Response: The ORV Unit can reimburse for administrative fees, but cannot reimburse for use of land. The landowner may not be protected by the State of Maine Landowner Liability Laws if the landowner charges for recreational use of their land.
Question: Concerned with the timing of the Snowmobile Capital Equipment Grant and how it may affect the USDA grant?
Response: USDA has two cycles with October being the end of the fiscal year. USDA grants are based on the number of applications and funding available. The funding target is approximately 50%. Requests over 100K are heavily scrutinized.
Question: Is there going to be an age restriction on individuals that may operate trail groomers?
Response: Age restrictions for groomer operators are not in the rules. The ORV Unit is a loaning agency (informal lien); it is up to the receiving managing entity (according to Risk Management). The State of Maine Department of Labor stated that 16-17 year olds are not prohibited from operating groomers or attaching drags, but are restricted from maintenance on equipment.
Question: Will the Municipal Grant program be open to new municipalities not already registered?
Response: No, the Unit cannot currently fund the number of participating municipalities. It would be unfair to accept more at this point in time and would shift limited resources.
Question: Can the “Maine Trail Groomer Operator Awareness Training” be broken down into units that would be appropriate for those with large groomers and small groomers?
Response: No, the ‘Maine Trail Groomer Operator Awareness Training” is more applicable in general concepts that are appropriate for all groomers regardless of size and tries to inform participants how to safely groom trails as well as what one can do to prepare for a breakdown or accident.
Question: Can the Snowmobile Advisory Council meetings be scheduled and advertised to allow others to attend and participate?
Response: The Unit advertises the meetings on the ORV Unit's website, notifies the MSA and known interested parties of upcoming meetings. By law meetings are scheduled on a biannual basis and/or depending upon management issues. If someone wants to be notified they can be put on an interested party list.
Question: Can grants be sent to participating organizations in July in order for applicants to be granted permission to conduct early season brush removal, bridge repairs and other pertinent trail work?
Response: Preseason routine trail work has been allowed on a regular basis for this program following public meetings conducted in 2007. Work requiring preapproval would include the construction of a new bridge or trail or the use of heavy equipment for trail development or improvement.
Comment: The rules as presented are not making it easier for clubs; there are a number of new mandates such as a mandatory trail groomer quiz to qualify for Capital Equipment Grants.
Response: Areas that are new are the Groomer Awareness Training for Capital Equipment grants and requiring groomer fire insurance. Best management practices (BMPs) have been required since the beginning of the program through LURC/DEP and local ordinances.
Is your club looking to buy or sell a groomer or drag? Please contact our office to let us know. We hope to facilitate clubs helping each other by connecting those clubs looking to buy or sell grooming equipment and keep more equipment in Maine. Call us at 287- 4957.
Bob White (email link) is the Spatial Database Manager for the Maine E-911, he is asking for your help to add trails to the Maine E911 system. Please contact him directly for questions about this program at 207- 624-9483.
The Maine Information and Analysis Center (MIAC), also known as the Fusion Center, is a cooperative effort between the Maine State Police and the Maine Emergency Management Agency, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The MIAC exists to evaluate information and intelligence about potential terrorist activity in Maine. The MIAC ensures that critical information is shared promptly with all appropriate agencies.
MIAC is asking for your help. REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY (Click on link for more information)
Grooming equipment is exempt from sales tax through TITLE 12 PUBLIC LAW #429. Please use the AFFIDAVIT OF EXEMPTION form at the bottom of the page when purchasing your grooming equipment (provide this form to the dealer). This is for qualified snowmobiles and trail grooming equipment sold to incorporated non-profit snowmobile clubs used directly and exclusively for grooming snowmobile trails.
Groomer Operator Awareness Training After much anticipation and many long hours of work, we are happy to provide an updated Groomer Operator Awareness Training program in the State of Maine. We encourage you to have each of your groomer operators view the DVD (provided by the Off Road Vehicle Unit), complete the quiz and submit it to us for correcting. Those groomers who pass will receive a certificate for your club to keep on file. Please find the quiz under Capital Equipment grants. To qualify for a Capital Equipment grant your operators must take and pass this quiz.
The DVD provides basic information and awareness to ensure your operators are efficient, safe and prepared. All trail groomers and potential trail groomers should watch this DVD then take the quiz. In order to receive the certificate of completion of the training program, you will need to return the quiz from each operator to the Off Road Vehicle Unit to the address on the quiz. A passing score is 56 out of 62 questions.
Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry
Division of Parks & Public Lands
Off Road Vehicle Unit,
22 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0022
Fax (207) 287-8111
TTY (207) 287-2213
- Scott Ramsay Director, Off Road Vehicle Unit (Snowmobile Municipal Grants)
- Joe Higgins Recreational Safety & Vehicle Coordinator (Snowmobile Clubs Grants)
- Lauri Noel Planning & Research Assist., (Capital Equipment Grants). Website questions, general information regarding Off Road Vehicle Unit.
The Maine Snowmobile Trail Signing Guidelines are available. Please refer to these guidelines when marking your trails.
Snowmobile Sign Guidelines Brochure
This pdf file is large and takes time to open. You can also contact our office at 287-4957, we will be happy to mail a hard copy to your club/municipality.
Note: Landowner permission is required in order to operate an ATV on trails (on agricultural lands it must be in writing). This is for ALL ATV riders, including club members who may be doing clean up for maintenance on trails from the snowmobile season. Be sure to pick up trail signs along public roads as well as private roads (as requested by landowner). Keep our trails neat!
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Two NJIT graduates built tools that will help the Curiosity Rover, above, search for signs of life on Mars. Photo courtesy of NASA.
Two NJIT alums, Mike Passaretti and Lee Carlson, won’t get much sleep Sunday night.
They’ll be up watching the Curiosity rover land on Mars. The huge robotic rover, which the two alums worked on, is due to land on Mars at 1:31 a.m. eastern time Monday morning. NASA will stream live images of the landing on its website, and Passaretti and Carlson will be anxiously watching.
The one-ton Mars Science Lab is the biggest and best-equipped rover ever launched. And the planned landing is so rife with complexities that there’s a chance it might fail.
“If the rover lands safely I’ll be so happy I won’t be able to sleep,” says Carlson, a systems engineer for Honeybee Robotics, a company that develops technology for spacecraft. “And if there’s a problem with the landing, I’ll be so worried I won’t sleep.”
Carlson (pictured left), who graduated in 2004 with a mechanical engineering degree, helped design and build the robotic mechanism (the Sample Manipulation System) that will help the rover to search for signs of life on Mars, past or present. Once the rover sniffs and scans and digs for samples from the surface of Mars, the sampling mechanism Carlson worked on takes the samples and robotically transfers them to one of three testing stations aboard the rover. The stations will test the samples for signs of life by measuring organic compounds. It’s the first NASA rover ever designed to directly test the habitability of Mars, so Carlson and Passaretti are making a bit of engineering history.
“There is a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that the work I did on the rover could help discover life on Mars,” says Carlson, who credits his NJIT education with launching his engineering career.
Along with a team of Honeybee colleagues, Carlson built the sampling mechanism with help from Passaretti, who manages projects in Honeybee’s Robotics & Automation Technology Group. Passaretti (pictured right) graduated from NJIT in 2005 with a computer engineering degree. Using his knowledge of electrical engineering, he designed and built the electrical harness that powers the sampling mechanism and allows it to communicate with the rover.
“Electronics is the brain of the mechanism, allowing it to signal to the rover when the surface samples are delivered,” says Passaretti. “It’s extremely complicated to make a robotic mechanism that must function on Mars -- 350 million miles away from Earth. "But I’m highly confident it will work. We tested it repeatedly and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, who we worked for, has some of the best engineer minds in the world.”
Passaretti also helped build a second mechanism for the rover, a so-called Dust Removal Tool. It’s mounted on the rover’s robotic arm and is designed to clear dust off the surface samples. Dust would interfere with the analysis of the rock samples, so it’s a key component on the rover.
“As an engineer I can’t think of anything more gratifying than to have something I built function on the surface of Mars,” says Passaretti. “I look forward to going to work every morning, and the best part of my job is working with hardware that is making history.”
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Recent archaeological studies suggest that by 4000 B.C., communities in what is now Thailand had emerged as centers of early bronze metallurgy. This development, along with the cultivation of wet rice, provided the impetus for social and political organization. Research suggests that these innovations may actually have been transmitted from there to the rest of Asia, including to China.
The Thai are related linguistically to Tai groups originating in southern China. Migrations from southern China to southeast Asia may have occurred in the sixth and seventh centuries. Malay, Mon and Khmer civilizations flourished in the region prior to the arrival of the ethnic Tai.
Thais date the founding of their nation to the 13th century. According to tradition, in 1238, Thai chieftains overthrew their Khmer overlords at Sukhothai and established a Thai kingdom. After its decline, a new Thai kingdom emerged in 1350 on the Chao Praya river. At the same time, there was an equally important Tai kingdom of Lanna, centered in Chiang Mai, which rivaled Sukothai and Ayutthaya for centuries, and which defines northern Thai identity to this day. Theravada Buddhism took hold in the country in the Sukothai period.
The first Thai recognition of Western power in the region was the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United Kingdom in 1826. In 1833, the United States began diplomatic exchanges with Siam, as Thailand was called, until 1938. However, it was during the later reigns of Rama IV (or King Mongkut, 1851-68), and his son Rama V (King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910), that Thailand reestablished firm ties with Western powers. The Thais believe that the diplomatic skills of these monarchs, combined with the modernizing reforms of the Thai government, made Siam the only country in South and Southeast Asia to avoid European colonization.
Although nominally a constitutional monarchy, Thailand was ruled by a series of military governments interspersed with brief periods of democracy until the 1992 elections. Since then, Thailand has been a functioning democracy with constitutional changes of government.
The typical school year runs from May through March. Six years of free education is provided. Secondary education lasts six years. Only a minority continue with secondary school.
The Thai education system comprises four levels: preschool, primary, secondary and higher education. Details of these levels can be summarized as follows:
Preschool education is provided for children ages 3 through 5. Every provincial capital has a kindergarten to serve as a model for the private ones. Since this level of education is optional, the private sector has played an active role. Most preschools are private and located in Bangkok.
Primary education is compulsory and free for all children ages 6 through 11. Primary school curriculum comprises basic skills development, life experience, character development, work-oriented education and special experiences.
Secondary education is divided into two levels, each covering a period of three years. The lower level emphasizes morality and basic skills. It allows the learner to explore his or her individual interests and aptitudes through a wide choice of both academic and vocational subjects. The upper level aims to provide appropriate academic and vocational knowledge and skills corresponding to the learner's interests and aptitudes. This knowledge and these skills will be beneficial for learners to continue study at a higher level or to enter the workforce. Secondary curriculum covers five broad fields: language, science and mathematics, social studies, character development and work education. There is also a wide range of exploratory pre-vocational subjects available.
Higher Education focuses on fully developing intellect and the advancement of knowledge and technology. This level may be organized in the forms of colleges, universities or institutions for specialized studies.
Attitude toward Education
Education in Thailand has improved remarkably after the current government issued and amended several laws, rules and regulations to push forward educational reform.
The government plans to strengthen access to education for all, to establish an efficient system of quality education, and to raise educational standards and enhance Thailand's competitiveness at an international level. As a result, many initiatives have been taken, such as expanding free schooling to 14 years and developing teachers.
Thai people, especially those who live in big cities, are more eager to pursue higher education than in the past. Education is considered a powerful tool that will enable them to compete with others in the current business world. A bachelor's degree is seen as less valuable than a master's or higher degree, which many people try to pursue regardless of the real benefit to their jobs.
Those who live in remote areas have realized more about the importance of education and view it as a steppingstone to a better career and income. However, many uneducated people have focused more on short-term solutions than the long-term ones. They want their children to be in a labor market as soon as they complete their high school or lower education so that they will help increase the family's income. Therefore, many children have missed a chance to continue their education.
The state religion in Thailand is Theravada Buddhism; however, it is not designated as such. Thailand's monarch must be a Buddhist. The law provides for freedom of religion and the government generally respects this right in practice. The constitution states that discrimination against a person on the grounds of "a difference in religious belief" will not be permitted. The government does, however, restrict the activities of some groups.
The government plays an active role in religious affairs. The state subsidizes the activities of the three largest religious communities (Buddhist, Islamic and Christian). The government allocated approximately $45.8 million (1.83 billion baht) during the fiscal year of 2004 to support religious groups. Included in this amount were funds to support Buddhist and Muslim institutes of higher education, fund religious education programs in public and private schools, provide daily allowances for monks and Muslim clerics who hold administrative and senior ecclesiastical posts and subsidize travel and health care for monks and Muslim clerics. This figure also included an annual budget for the renovation and repair of Buddhist temples and Muslim mosques, the maintenance of historic Buddhist sites, and the daily upkeep of the Central Mosque in Pattani. Christians also receive some funding from the government.
Religious instruction is required in public schools at both the primary (grades one through six) and secondary (grades seven through 12) education levels. The Ministry of Education has formulated a new course called "Social, Religion and Culture Studies," which students in each grade study for one to two hours each week. The course covers all the recognized religions in the country: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Brahmin/Hinduism and Sikh. Students who wish to pursue in-depth studies of other religions or of their belief may study at the religious schools and can transfer credits to the public school. Schools, working in conjunction with their local school administrative board, are authorized to arrange additional religious studies courses.
Source: U.S. Department of State, International Religious Freedom Report, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Nov. 8, 2005, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51531.htm.
Holidays and Festivals
Thai art includes temple decoration, woodcarving and religious sculpture.
Thailand retains cultural connections with India and China. Pop music and other forms of European and American music are extremely influential. The two most popular styles of traditional Thai music are luk thung and mor lam.
Luk thung, or Thai country music, developed in the mid-20th century to reflect daily trials and tribulations of rural Thais. Some of the biggest stars incorporate influences from Latin America, Asia and, especially, American film soundtracks and country music. The first all-luk thung radio station was launched in 1997.
Mor lam is the dominant folk music of Thailand's northeastern Isan region, which has a mainly Lao population. It has much in common with luk thung, such as its focus on the life of the rural poor. It is characterized by rapid-fire, rhythmic vocals and a funk feel to the percussion. There are about 15 regional variations of mor lam, plus modern versions. Some conservatives have criticized these as the commercialization of traditional cultures.
Sports and Games
New Year's Day, Jan. 1: schools are closed
Chinese New Year, Jan. 27-28: Celebrated by the Chinese.
Songkran Festival, April 12-14: A large Buddhist holiday where special foods are prepared and people visit elders and ask for their blessing.
Christmas, Dec. 25: Christmas is not celebrated by the general population of Thailand. Small churches in some larger cities observe Christmas services but Thais do not decorate or exchange gifts.
Thais enjoy soccer, table tennis, badminton, volleyball, kite flying and takro (a sport in which the player tries to keep a wicker ball in the air without using his or her hands).
Thai food includes rice, beef, chicken, eggs, vegetables, fruit and fish.
Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup (Tom Yam Goong) This hot and sour soup is popular; each region has its own variation. This recipe makes four servings.
- 8 oz. shrimp, shelled and deveined, with shells reserved
- 3 cups water
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 lime leaves
- 3 thin slices fresh or dried galangal
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 2 stalks lemon grass cut into 1-inch strips
- 2 shallots, sliced
- 1/2 cup sliced straw mushrooms
- 5 green Thai chili peppers (optional)
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 tsp. black chili paste
- 1 Tb. chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
Rinse the prawn shells and place them in a large pot with the water. Heat to boiling, strain the broth and discard the shells.
Add the garlic, lime leaves, galangal, fish sauce, lemon grass and shallots to the stock, then the mushrooms and chili peppers, if using. Cook gently for two minutes.
Add the shrimp to the soup and reheat to boiling. When the shrimp are cooked, place the lime juice and black chili paste in a serving bowl. Pour the soup into the bowl, stir, garnish with the cilantro leaves and serve.
Compassion in Thailand
- Sabai dee mai krap/kaa? (How are you? male/female)
- Sabai dee krap/kaa (I'm fine male/female)
- Sawat-dee krap/kaa (Hello, goodbye male/female)
Greetings in other dialects are slightly different. The differences are mostly in their tones and ending words. For example:
- Sumbai dee bor? (How are you?)
- Sumbai dee krap/kaa? (I'm fine male/female)
- Sabai dee kor krap/jao? (How are you? male/female)
- Sabai dee krap/jao (I'm fine male/female)
Northern women normally use the word jao as an ending word, instead of kaa. These ending words are used in polite conversation or with those who are older.
The greetings Sabai dee reu?/Sabai dee krap/kaa/Sawat-dee krap/kaa are understood by every Thai person.
Thailand Facts and Figures
Compassion's work in Thailand began in 1970. Currently, more than 32,700 children are registered in 210 child development centers. Compassion partners with churches to help them provide Thai children with the opportunity to rise above their circumstances and become all God has created them to be.
Visit the Compassion blog to learn more about our work in Thailand.
65,905,410 (July 2009 estimate)
*Note: Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
|307,212,123 (July 2010 estimate)|
Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects
|English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)|
|Religions||Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1%
|Christian 78.5% (Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%), Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)|
Definition: Age 15 and over can read and write.
|Percentage of population using improved drinking water sources||Urban: 99%
|Percentage of population using adequate sanitation facilities||Urban: 95%
|Climate||Tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid||Mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the Great Plains west of the Mississippi River and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are warmed occasionally in January and February by chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.|
|Percentage of population urbanized||33% (2008 estimate)||82% (2008 estimate)|
|Life expectancy||Male: 70.77 years
Female: 75.55 years
|Male: 75.65 years
Female: 80.69 years
|Under-5 mortality rate||7/1,000 (2008 estimate)||8/1,000 (2008 estimate)|
|GDP per capita||$8,400 (2009 estimate)||$46,000 (2009 estimate)|
|Monetary unit||baht (THB)||U.S. dollar (USD)|
|Number of people living with HIV/AIDS||610,000 (2007 estimate)||1.2 million (2007 estimate)|
|Percentage of population living below $1.25 a day||0% (2005)||Data not available|
Sources for facts: The World Factbook, 2009; The State of the World's Children, 2009
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For reasons we can’t explain, a June 29, 2010 study that showed “on average, charter schools had no significant impacts on student achievement in math and reading” drew zero attention from New York media — including education blogs.
The 15-state, 36-school study, funded by the U.S. Department of Education and conducted by the prestigious Princeton-based Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., was announced one day after the New York State Senate passed legislation raising the state’s charter school cap from 200 to 460 — a result of a months-long lobbying campaign by charter advocates.
Until the legislature’s approval, New Yorkers had been bombarded by TV commercials, print ads, and editorials and op-ed pieces in the Daily News, the Post, and the NY Times — all urging legislators to lift the charter cap to improve New York’s chance to win Federal funding in Round 2 of Race to the Top, the Obama administration’s school reform incentive program.
But critics suggested that the RttT eligibility goal was just cover for a well-funded opinion campaign aimed at pressuring legislators to increase the number of charter schools. Ultimately, the legislation incorporated several limitations, including a stipulation that new charters may not be operated by for-profit companies. Continue reading
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Both the quality and quantity of images set this photo library apart. There are over 100,000 high resolution photos, videos, and artist renderings of anything and everything related to NASA and space. Each item has rich metadata describing the photo or video in full. It is all delivered through a simple search portal. There are some categories like the Universe, Solar System, and Earth, but you quickly realize that even these pages are simply delivering search results. With so many photos and videos, the possibilities are limited only by your search string.
This photo library is light years beyond other government photo libraries. And it reveals the value of NASA and Internet Archive's public—non-profit partnership model. NASA's agreement with Internet Archive in 2007 described the project as an information digitization project. Other agencies have recently formed digitization partnerships. But they have done so with private companies, and the public value from most of them has been underwhelming.
However, NASA proved that the American people can have their cake and eat it too. Non-profit organizations have no profit motive to restrict access to information, so they are perfect partners to digitize public records. Other agencies should take this to heart and not sell out public access when digitizing their collections. NASA Images and the NASA-Internet Archive partnership show what can happen when the public and non-profit sectors work together on the Internet.
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National Transportation Safety Board
Office of Public Affairs
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the October 7, 2007 crash near Yakima, Washington of a Cessna 208. Search personnel located the missing wreckage on October 8, in remote steep mountainous terrain at about 5,000 feet mean sea level. All 10 persons aboard the airplane were fatally injured.
Howard Plagens, Investigator-in-Charge, from the NTSB southwest regional office is the investigator-in-charge. Members of the Board’s Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance are also on-scene.
The plane, a Cessna 208B (N430A), departed Star, Idaho with a pilot and nine passengers en route to Shelton, Washington. The aircraft was used for parachute drop activities. Radar data indicate that the aircraft made a tight 360-degree turn before losing 1,400 feet in 12 seconds. The aircraft appeared to recover and stayed at 13,000 feet for three radar hits before it entered a rapid descent of 6,800 feet per minute to the last radar hit at 8,900 feet.
Initial data indicates that adverse meteorological conditions were in the area of the accident site. No flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 flight.
Parties to the investigation are Cessna Aircraft, Pratt & Whitney, and the FAA.
Wreckage site of N430A, which crashed near Yakima, Washington on October 7.
NTSB Media Contact:
Terry N. Williams
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent federal agency charged with determining the probable cause
of transportation accidents, promoting transportation safety, and assisting victims of transportation accidents and their families.
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Chania (also spelled: Haniá)is the capital city, a place where different civilizations have flourished throughout the centuries. Wandering around the Old Town’s maze-like alleys with the beautiful Venetian mansions, the fountains and the elaborate churches will help you discover well-preserved historical monuments.
The city of Chania is built on the area of Minoan Kidonia, at the end of the homonym gulf between Akrotiri and Onicha peninsulas. It was the former capital city of Crete (from 1847 until 1972). Nowadays, it is the second largest city of Crete after Heraklion and capital of the homonym prefecture.
Chania includes the old and new city. It is one of the most beautiful and picturesque cities in Greece and for food lovers, it's a paradise!
Get familiar with the city of Chania by wandering around in its streets, visiting its museums and admiring the different architectural styles presenting the historical route of the city.
After Arabs and Byzantines it was conquered by Venetians in 1252 and was given to Turks in 1669, later it was annexed to the rest of the Greek State on December 1913 under the administration of Eleftherios Venizelos and King Konstantinos the 1st. The old town is an integral settlement with visible boundaries set by the Venetian walls surrounding it.
The old town is built around the Venetian port and is also a relatively integral area where Venetian buildings and later Turkish elements compose a unique architectural style. Due to the historic center of Chania with its Venetian walls defining the borders between the old and new city and its ramparts, the city has been pronounced as preserved. It consists of five connected districts surrounding the Venetian port.
Its design was made by Venetian engineer Michelle Sammichelli. The Lighthouse is located at the end of the rock protecting the port from the north. It was built in 1570 by the Venetians and reconstructed in 1830 by the Egyptians and from there on preserves its current state.
On the east of Palea Poli is Splantzia (or Plaza) district built on the former Turkish district. Here you will see among others Aghii Anargiri church, the only Orthodox church which had the permission to operate during the period of the Venetian and Turkish occupations. You will also see the Sintrivani square.
Neoria (or Chiones) district on the northeast side is located in the area of the former port of the city and of the Venetian ship yards of 14th and 16th centuries from which it also took its name.
Kastelli district is in the center of Palea Poli (Old Town) west of Neoria. It is the exalted location of the Byzantine citadel where “palatso” (palace) of the Venetian commander and the lodgings of Pashas of Chania were later built. Venetians used to call the area Castello Vecchio.
On the southeast of the old city lies the Hebrew district or else Ovraika. It reminds us the times when the developing Hebrew community of Chania was obliged by the Venetians to move to a delimitated area called judeca where two synagogues were operating.
On the boarders of Ovraika, in Chalides Street, you will see the Folklore Museum of Chania and Aghios Fragkiskos church (14th century) which houses the Archeological Museum of Chania. On the north side is the Turkish bath (chamam). In the south side of Ovraika and on Skridlof Street lies the so called Stivanadika (from stivani, the Cretan boots). Among the shops selling leather items and souvenirs survive some traditional shoe ateliers.
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Federal recognition among Northeast's good news
BOSTON - There was some good news in the Northeast in 2007.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, whose ancestors met the first colonist-settlers on the shores of Cape Cod in 1620, received federally acknowledgement Feb. 15 after spending 32 years in the BIA queue.
The tribe's good news was tempered a few months later, however, when former Chairman Glenn Marshall was ousted from office after admitting his rape conviction and his untruthfulness about his military service.
In July, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Interior Department's authority to take land into trust for the Narragansett Indian Tribe under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act.
The state had filed the lawsuit against Interior in 1998, arguing that the secretary was not authorized to take land into trust for any tribe federally recognized after the IRA was passed; that the Narragansetts' settlement act, passed by Congress in 1978, restricted the secretary's authority to place land into trust for the tribe; and that the Constitution prohibits the secretary from exercising trust authority.
The case was so important to Indian country - and its opponents - that it drew amicus curiae status from the National Congress of American Indians, dozens of individual tribes, more than a dozen state attorneys general and a national anti-Indian gaming group.
The 4 - 2 majority decision affirmed the Interior secretary's right to take into trust a 31-acre parcel of land, which is outside of the Narragansetts' 1,800-acre settlement lands, and that the state will have no authority over the property, which is under federal and tribal authority, or over any other land the tribe may acquire and Interior may take into trust.
In an earlier case, the court said that the tribe's 1,800-acre settlement lands are subject to state jurisdiction under the Rhode Island Indian Claims Settlement Act, even though the act doesn't say the tribe gave up its sovereignty and immunity.
But having insisted that the language of the settlement act meant only what it said, the court had ''worked itself into the mother of all corners and couldn't now turn around and say that the settlement act also applied to lands outside the settlement land even though it didn't say so,'' said an attorney involved in the case who asked that his name not be used.
The state has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Several individuals were honored for their achievements in 2007.
* Wayne Newell, a Passamaquoddy educator and tribal council member, was nominated by Maine Gov. John Baldacci to the board of trustees for the University of Maine System last April.
Newell, who has a Master of Education from Harvard University, is the first American Indian to serve on the board.
* Fredda Paul, a Passamaquoddy elder, medicine man, healer, storyteller and living encyclopedia on the uses of indigenous plants, was recognized for his knowledge and practice with an honorary degree in environmental science at Unity College's commencement ceremony May 12.
Unity College President Mitchell Thomashow paid tribute to the long history of Maine's coastal tribes in presenting Paul with the honorary degree.
* Charles Norman Shay, 83, represented Maine's Native veterans when Maine Gov. John Baldacci proclaimed June 6 Native American Veterans History Day.
Shay, Penobscot, served with 16th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division in 1944 during the fierce battle on France's Omaha Beach that became known as D-Day.
Shay earned a Silver Star for his unselfish heroism on that day, when he plunged repeatedly into the cold and dangerous waters of the Atlantic Ocean to carry critically injured men to safety.
And 63 years later, in November 2007, Shay was awarded an honorary knighthood in the Legion d'Honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on his first visit to Washington, D.C.
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Today marks the beginning of the fourth annual VegWeek celebration. If you’ve thought about eating more vegetarian or vegan foods but aren’t sure where to start, today is the perfect week to start experimenting.
Yesterday was Earth Day which aims to get individuals around the US thinking about ways in which their diets and food choices impact the planet. Today, VegWeek seeks to continue that trend and highlight the many benefits of vegetarian eating as well as encourage trying new vegetarian recipes and restaurants.
Join the thousands of people nationwide—including elected officials and community leaders—by pledging to choose vegetarian foods for seven days.
It’s easy: simply pledge today and you’ll get a free Vegetarian Starter Guide, including recipes and product coupons. Each day of VegWeek you’ll also receive an e-mail with even more meal ideas, nutritional information, product recommendations, and motivational tips. You can follow VegWeek on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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Obama’s Financial Plan Fails to Impress
Posted on Jun 18, 2009
President Obama compares his “sweeping overhaul of the financial regulatory system” to FDR’s crackdown on Wall Street, but New York Times business columnist Joe Nocera isn’t buying it. “Everywhere you look in the plan, you see the same thing,” he writes. “Additional regulation on the margin, but nothing that amounts to a true overhaul.”
The problem, according to Nocera, is that Obama is unwilling to anger the bankers, and that just doesn’t make for very effective regulation.
Joe Nocera in The New York Times:
The plan places enormous trust in the judgment of the Federal Reserve — trust that critics say has not really been borne out by its actions during the Internet and housing bubbles. Firms will have to put up a little more capital, and deal with a little more oversight, but once the financial crisis is over, it will, in all likelihood, be back to business as usual.
The regulatory structure erected by Roosevelt during the Great Depression — including the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the establishment of serious banking oversight, the guaranteeing of bank deposits and the passage of the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated banking from investment banking — lasted six decades before they started to crumble in the 1990s. In retrospect, it would be hard to envision even the best-constructed regulation lasting more than that. If Mr. Obama hopes to create a regulatory environment that stands for another six decades, he is going to have to do what Roosevelt did once upon a time. He is going to have make some bankers mad.
White House / Pete Souza
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Harborcreek Youth Services' educational program is licensed under the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Private Residential Rehabilitative Institutions (PRRI). We maintain a specialized educational facility on campus, staffed by Pennsylvania-certified teachers. Working in cooperation with the Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit and local area school districts, Harborcreek Youth Services has developed a highly structured, individualized, and adaptive educational program that is designed to meet each student's needs.
The curriculum and all related activities create a stable, consistent, and supportive learning environment that facilitates our clients' academic success. The curriculum includes math, language arts, reading, science, social studies, physical education, health, and employability skills. Students also participate in community service learning projects.
Harborcreek Youth Services offers a GED Program to older clients and those with limited success in traditional academic settings. The course of instruction prepares the student for taking the GED exam.
The Work Experience Program (WEP) is available to all clients who are high school graduates or enrolled in the GED Program. WEP encourages our clients to develop a work ethic and occupational experience in a real work environment.
The Father Fahey Memorial Scholarship Program is available to current and former Harborcreek Youth Services students who continue their education at a technical school, college, or university.
For more information about education at Harborcreek Youth Services, contact Jeanmarie Wozniak, Director of Educational Services, at (814) 899-7664, Extension 339. For information pertaining to special education services and programs, services for gifted students, and services for protected handicapped students, as well as your rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), click here.
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August 17, 2012, 03:32PM PT in Fitnovatives Blog |
The Real Benefits of Strengthening Your Core…Beliefs
Your core muscles form the sturdy link in a chain that connects your upper body and your lower body. Regardless of what you do while you’re lifting, twisting or bending – from putting on your gym shoes and socks to taking out the trash – your core is at work.
Low back pain? Check your core.
Problems playing your favorite sport? Check your core.
Trouble doing household chores? Check your core.
Issues with your posture? Check your core.
A little shaky on your balance and stability? Check your core.
Not thinking clearly or acting wisely? Check your core.
Wait a moment? What does your core have to do with thinking clearly or acting wisely? Plenty - if it's your core BELIEFS that you're talking about.
Typically clients know the drill for core exercises, but I'm going to show you additional exercises you may incorporate to add an additional real benefit to your coaching sessions. Have your clients ask themselves (and perhaps ask yourself) this simple question: "What idea have I feverishly and insistently held onto that causes many of the problems in my life?"
Here's a list adapted from the work of Albert Ellis, Ph.D., founder of Rational Emotive Behavior therapy. Known as the forerunner of cognitive behavior therapy, Ellis has compiled a list of the most common irrational thinking that leads to the most universal forms of human upset:
- The idea that it is a dire necessity for adults to be loved by significant others for nearly everything they do instead of their concentrating on their own self-respect, and on loving rather than on being loved.
- The idea that certain acts are awful or wicked, and that people who perform such acts should be severely damned instead of the idea that certain acts are self-defeating or anti-social and that people's poor behaviors do not make them bad individuals.
- The idea that it's horrible when things are not the way we like them to be instead of the idea that it's unfortunate and if it's not possible to change the situation, we should temporarily accept their existence.
- The idea that human misery is invariably externally caused and is forced on us by outside people and events instead of the idea that our upset is caused by the view we take of unfortunate conditions.
- The idea that if something is or may be dangerous or fearsome we should be terribly upset instead of the idea that we should face it and accept the inevitable.
- The idea that it is easier to avoid than to face life's difficulties and self-responsibilities instead of the idea that the so-called "easy way" is usually much harder in the long run.
- The idea that we absolutely need something other, stronger or greater than yourself to rely on instead of the idea that it's better to take the risks of thinking and acting independently.
- The idea that we should be thoroughly competent, intelligent and achieving in all possible respects instead of the idea that we should accept ourselves as imperfect creatures with general human limitations and specific fallibilities.
- The idea that because something once strongly affected our life it should indefinitely affect it instead of the idea that we can learn from our past experiences.
- The idea that we must have certain and perfect control over things instead of the idea that the world is full of probability and chance, and despite this we can still enjoy life.
Help strengthen your own and your client"s core beliefs by answering the following questions in writing:
"What idea have you feverishly and insistently held onto that is the cause of many problems in your life?"
Ask yourself what's inaccurate about this unhelpful thought. Do you have any evidence the useless thought is true? If not, why keep holding onto what's unnecessary? What can you replace this adverse thought with one that's more helpful?
Do this exercise mindfully everyday, one set, as many reps as needed.
Feel better? Thinking more clearly? Acting more wisely? Congratulations!
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I am trying to fully understand details about constants.
1. What is a multibyte character and what is a wide character?
What is the difference between 'A' and L'A'
2. The book I have says:
By default, the compiler fits a numeric constant into the smallest compatible data type that will hold it. Therefore, assuming 16-bit integers, 10 is int by default, but 103,000 is a long int.
What should I understand from that. When does the compiler fit the numeric constant, won't I always define the data type?
3. When should I use suffixes F,L and U?
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A planting scheme dominated by annuals (supplemented by readily available non-annual plants like mums) is often the best option for landscaping around a mailbox. This area is usually located near the street, meaning that any surrounding plants would be subjected to pollution (road salts, etc.). Depending on your neighborhood, vandalism, theft, or just plain carelessness (e.g., kids traipsing through your planting) are also possibilities. Perennials are relatively expensive (and some types even difficult to acquire), compared to annuals, so taking a chance with them in such an environment is risky. Besides, what you want in a flower planting around a mailbox (a highly visible area) is vibrant, long-lasting color. Annuals provide just that.
Because annuals are disposable and cheap, you can feel free to swap out an annual whose flowers are fading in favor of a fresh, new face. Your mailbox planting thus becomes fluid, rather than remaining static, with new plants brought in as the seasons progress. Here's a sample mailbox planting regimen for someone who lives in the North:
- Plant pansies in the spring.
- When the pansy flowers start to fade and danger of frost is past, change over to a planting of red salvia and white sweet alyssum.
- In fall, switch over to mums, which might even come back for you next year (if they're truly hardy mums).
If all that sounds like too much trouble (or you feel confident that you live in a good enough neighborhood not to have to worry about vandalism, etc.), select tough perennials and shrubs that can withstand pollution and dry conditions. An example is shown in the picture above, where the homeowners have chosen sedum and creeping juniper for landscaping around a mailbox. Consult my article on drought-resistant plants for an in-depth look at a wide variety of tough plants you can call upon for use in challenging areas.
Back to > Frequently Asked Questions About Plants
Back to > Index to All FAQs
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